A brand new report we’ve just released suggests that over half of businesses operating in industrial or scientific sectors are unlikely to have a strategy for using social media in their PR and communications – despite three quarters recognising that their target audiences are already active users.
This is just one of the findings in our new report, which looks at whether – and how – social media can be used effectively outside of consumer PR campaigns.
We found that while social media has proved its worth in consumer-facing marketing and PR, many are still reluctant to use it for business and staff communications, or to support a positive reputation.
As part of the report, we ran a small qualitative survey of businesses operating in our specialist areas – agribusiness, environment and industry. We found a real reluctance to engage through new forms of media; for example, while almost half these organisations were sending out information through Twitter, only a fifth were using it for two-way discussion.
The reasons given included difficulty measuring the impact on profits and business objectives, lack of knowledge or confidence, and poor support from the senior management team. However, another important factor was a feeling of losing control over what was being said about an organisation on the web.
The irony is these conversations will be taking place anyway, if not on the web then through other forums. Our advice is that you’re better being involved in them and showing how keen you are to solve them than simply pretending they’re not happening. And let’s not lose sight of how critical social media is in crisis situations – it’s where news now breaks and where first opinions are formed.
It’s true that not all social media is right for all businesses, but there are some fantastic opportunities outlined in the report. We’ve suggested a quick way to gauge how useful social media could be to you, what platforms to use and some practical tips for getting going. Click here to download the report for free.
