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Fewer than Half of Companies Are Prepared for a Social Media Threat

Fewer than Half of Companies Are Prepared for a Social Media Threat

twitter social mediaIs your company ready to respond to a social media threat that could damage your company and brand reputation? Surprisingly, research from eMarketer found that only 40% of corporate communications professionals believe their companies are prepared to respond to a social media-based threat effectively.

As if that’s not bad enough in 2012, only half of companies included in eMarketer’s research used social media to track and respond to consumer conversations and feedback.

First, take a look at the statistics related to the preferred method of sharing negative experiences about a brand or product according to U.S. internet users by age:

18-34 year olds

  • Social network such as Facebook or Twitter = 32%
  • Calling the company directly = 24%
  • Emailing friends, family and colleagues = 21%
  • Third-party site such as Consumer Reports or CNET = 19%
  • Other = 4%

47-65 year olds

  • Social network such as Facebook or Twitter = 9%
  • Calling the company directly = 42%
  • Emailing friends, family and colleagues = 23%
  • Third-party site such as Consumer Reports or CNET = 20%
  • Other = 6%

Clearly, if your target audience is 18-34 year olds, your brand needs to be spending time in the social media space both tracking conversations and engaging consumers.

Now, take a look at the top 5 reasons U.S. internet users use social media for customer service (all ages):

  • Seeking an actual response from a company about a service issue = 50%
  • Praising a company for great service = 48%
  • Sharing information about a service with a wider audience = 47%
  • Venting frustration about poor service = 46%
  • Asking other users how to get better service = 43%

Based on those numbers, consumers are saying positive and negative things about brands via social media, and they expect answers from companies. Those conversations also affect companies’ bottom-lines because they can have a direct influence on buying decisions.

The content and conversations published via social media has a direct effect on consumer purchase decisions as follows:

  • “Positive information I’ve read online has reinforced my decision to purchase a product or service recommended to me” = 87% (up from 80% a year earlier)
  • “Negative information I’ve read online has made me change my mind about purchasing a product or service recommended to me” = 80% (up from 68% a year earlier)

Despite the fact that social media content and conversations are directly affecting consumers’ satisfaction with brands and companies as well as buying decisions, the majority of companies are not involved in social media enough.

According to the eMarketer study, preparedness of companies to deal with a social media-based threat is surprisingly low:

  • Prepared = 40% (up from 33% a year earlier)
  • Not Prepared = 30% (down from 33% a year earlier)
  • Neither Prepared Nor Unprepared = 29% (down from 34% a year earlier)

Consumers have been talking about brands and venting frustrations for years via the social web. The fact that so many companies are unprepared to respond to social media-based threats and that so many aren’t even effectively tracking and participating in social media conversations is shocking. These conversations certainly aren’t going to stop. What are the waiting for?

An infographic from Larry Buchanan was published on Adweek, which displays the highlights from the study visually. Follow the preceding link to take a look.

Image: Bernard Goldbach

Quantifying and Visualizing Logo Trends

color_samplesThinking of using a leaf in your brand’s new logo design? You might want to think twice about that decision, because it’s not unique. That’s according to data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as analyzed in James I. Bowie’s new blog, Emblemetric, which uses quantitative analysis from USPTO data to decipher and report logo design trends.

Nearly 3.8% of logos use a leaf in their designs (that includes generic leaves only, not specific types of leaves such as maple leaves or elm leaves). The trend of using leaves in logo design picked up steam in 2000, and today, leaves are considered a visual shorthand of an eco-friendly brand message. However, the use of leaves in logo design is even more popular in specific industries such as agriculture, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and beverages (approximately 10%-13% of logos in these industries use leaves in their logos). Even the advertising industry is above average in its use of leaves in their own logos (approximately 4%).

Bowie also researched the use of color in logo design. He found that most logos include the colors blue, red, or green. Red took the top spot in the beverages and hospitality industries while blue is most popular in the chemicals, insurance, medical, and pharmaceutical industries.

More interested in the geography of logo trademarks? Bowie has analyzed that, too. He wanted to learn if logos differ based on the location of the companies and organizations they represent, and his research found the following geographic breakdown of U.S. logo trademark share:

  • West = 23.5%
  • East = 21.6%
  • South = 20.3%
  • Non-U.S. = 18.1%
  • Midwest = 16.5%

Bowie found that logos in the west are far more likely to use basketballs than any other region while logos in the east are more likely to use marijuana plants and surfboards. In the south, logos are more likely to include tobacco leaves, and logos in the midwest are more likely to include corn stalks. Foreign logos are more likely to include alcohol bottle labels than in any U.S. region. You can get all the details about these logo color trends by region here.

So far, Bowie’s blog is interesting and entertaining. I’m patiently waiting for the swoosh and circle analyses – two of the most overused elements in logo design, in my opinion. What trend in logo design is most intriguing to you? Leave a comment and share your opinion.

Image: Joanna Kopik

How Much Do Brands Spend on Social Media Marketing?

budget investmentThere is no set rule related to how much brands should invest in social media marketing, but currently, the majority spend less than 20% of their market budgets on social media. That’s according to a study by Advertising Age and Citigroup that found 49.5% of U.S. marketers spent between 1%-10% of their marketing budgets on social media and another 19.0% spent between 11% and 20% of their budgets on social media.

The most surprising discovery from the study is the 9.7% of U.S. marketers who spend nothing on social media marketing. The specific breakdowns for social media marketing and digital marketing budgets follow:

  • 0% of the Marketing Budget = 9.7% social media; 3.0% digital
  • 1%-10% of the Marketing Budget = 49.3% social media; 24.3% digital
  • 11%-20% of the Marketing Budget = 19.0% social media; 19.3% digital
  • 21%-30% of the Marketing Budget = 8.5% social media; 11.4% digital
  • 31%-40% of the Marketing Budget = 4.3% social media; 7.4% digital
  • 41%-50% of the Marketing Budget = 3.6% social media; 6.2% digital
  • 50% or More of the Marketing Budget = 5.3% social media; 17.2% digital
  • Not Sure = 0% social media; 11.1% digital

On a positive note, respondents to the June 2012 survey did indicate that their budgets are increasing. In fact, 72.9% of respondents indicated that their social media budgets would go up in the next year. Of course, the biggest problems for marketers are getting executive buy-in to gain approval for a social media budget and tracking results effectively. Companies that aren’t investing in social media yet (the 9.7% mentioned above) are falling way behind and will have a hard time catching up.

I’m actually surprised by the digital marketing investment numbers, too. According to the survey, 27.3% of U.S. marketers are investing 10% or less of their marketing budgets in digital marketing. Given the fact that consumers and businesses typically turn to the web for product, service, and brand information first, it’s hard to believe that there are still companies that don’t invest in digital marketing or invest such a small percentage of their budgets into digital marketing. Let’s hope their digital marketing budgets will be going up in the near future.

What do you think? Will your social media marketing and digital marketing budgets increase in the next year? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Sufi Nawaz

Olympic Brand Sponsor Tracker Ranks Brands in a Virtual Foot Race

olympic brand tracker unrulyIn a creative effort to identify which Summer 2012 Olympic Games sponsors are generating the most social video buzz, Unruly Media created an interactive Brand Tracker tool that tracks the 25 Olympic Games brand sponsors in “a race for advertising glory.”

You can check out the embedded interactive infographic below. Just click the “Start Race” button to watch the leading brands race down the track. The top three finishers take their spots on the winners’ podium at the bottom of the chart when the race is over.

This is not only a useful tool to identify which brands are getting the biggest boost from their Olympic Games sponsorship investments, but it’s also a clever way to track brand buzz related to social video sharing in near real-time (the tool is updated every 12 hours). The data used to create the Unruly Media viral video chart comes from the Twitter and Facebook APIs as well as Unruly Media’s proprietary blog scanning engine, which tracks links and embeds of video ads from multiple sites.

You can drill down to specific video ads that are driving the most buzz using the viral video chart, too. Just click on any of the three brands on the winners’ podium at the bottom of the chart to view the top three ads for each brand that are getting the most buzz. You can even click on the ads to watch them and view graphs that show sharing trends for each ad. As I write this article, P&G is far in the lead followed by EDF and BMW in second and third place, respectively.

Small technology companies excel at creating clever tools like Unruly Media’s viral video chart. Imagine how your brand could come up with similar interactive and fun tools to tell your brand story!

Consumers Tell Brands “Your QR Codes Stink!”

qr code scanningQR codes started with a buzz, but they never really picked up the steam they should have. What’s the problem? Are consumers simply not interested in scanning mobile bar codes?

With so many people owning smartphones (expected to reach 58.3% penetration by 2014 in the United States), timely and useful QR codes would appear to be a fantastic marketing tactic. However, in 2014, it’s expected that just 15.7% of the U.S. adult population will use barcodes.

Even consumers who try using QR codes don’t use them more than once. During the third quarter of 2011, 60% of North American consumers who scanned QR codes did so only one time. That means QR codes have two problems: initial trial and repeat usage.

The problem to-date with QR codes is very simple if you listen to what consumers have to say about them. Brands aren’t offering the experiences from QR codes that consumers want. Why should consumers take time to scan a QR code if they don’t expect to get something of value in exchange for the effort?

As eMarketer reports, a September 2011 study (by the Association of Strategic Marketing) of U.S. marketers who used QR codes found that two out of three delivered QR codes provided product information to consumers. Less than one out of four QR codes delivered discounts, coupons, or savings.

Consumers want QR codes to offer discounts and freebies, but that’s not what brands are delivering. That’s the problem with QR codes, and usage won’t increase until consumers’ expectations for them are consistently met.

Specifically, eMarketer reports the following content that U.S. internet users would be interested in scanning QR codes for:

  • To get discounts, coupons, free items: 43%
  • To get more information about a product or service: 26%
  • To get exclusive content: 25%
  • To purchase or buy something: 23%
  • To get more information about an event: 22%
  • To get more information about a brand or company: 18%

Think of it this way — a QR code shouldn’t be any more interruptive to a consumer than it has to be. QR codes should add value and enhance consumers’ lives. Cluttering their lives with information they don’t need instantly won’t successfully encourage people to scan brand QR codes. However, a brand that learns how to deliver timely and useful information using QR codes, such as discounts, will develop a level of trust with consumers that will motivate those consumers to scan the brand’s QR codes again and tell their friends how great that brand’s QR codes are. Ultimately, that brand’s sales will go up.

Image: Brian Suda

Emotional Intelligence and Corporate Comms

I invited Sara Fletcher to write a guest post on emotional intelligence for us; an interesting and very relevant topic for corporate communicators with the needs of many stakeholders to balance.

Over to you Sara…

How can Corporate Communicators Improve their Emotional Intelligence?

In any workplace scenario, communication is an essential component to ensure smooth workflow. And in corporations, where members number in the hundreds and thousands, clear communication is a must in every situation. It’s likely that not every single individual will be blessed with a clear grasp of their emotions needed to convey their thoughts.

Luckily, there are a number of ways in which corporate communicators can improve their skills to benefit the workplace. One of these skills is emotional intelligence, which has become an increasingly important factor both small businesses and corporations alike.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as EQ, is defined as the ability to identify, understand and manage the emotions of both oneself and others. There are two main categories that make up emotional intelligence, personal and social competence. While personal competence handles how the individual manages his or her inner thoughts and drives, social competence deals more with how the individual is able to connect with others. Within these two components are traits that further enhance emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

In general, individuals with a high emotional intelligence are better able to perceive emotions, navigate social networks and build longer-lasting relationships. A combination of these skills can help the individual overcome a variety of challenges, ranging from workplace productivity to miscommunication issues.

How to Improve Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is a vital skill for any individual in a corporate situation, ranging from the average employee to the C-level executive. However, you don’t need a visit to a professional in order to enhance your EQ level. The following are just a few tips that can help you improve your emotional intelligence:

  • Stay Aware of your Emotions:

    Oftentimes, a lack of emotional intelligence is tied to the inability to understand our own emotions and feelings. Instead of dismissing them, try to stay aware of emotions as they arise to a particular situation. Assess how your emotions rise and fall, and what effect they have on your overall demeanor. Another practice is to find the connection between emotions and when they arose in the past. Doing so can help you understand your emotional state and better prepare you for future scenarios in the corporate environment.

  • Listen to Everything:

    Listening is an important component of displaying your emotional intelligence; however, this doesn’t apply simply to conversations and those around you. Instead, try to listen to cues on a deeper level. How does your body respond to certain situations, and what feelings do they correspond to? For example, nervous feeling in your stomach can be an indicator of stress or discomfort, while a tense jaw can show suppressed individual. By staying aware of both your bodily cues and that of others, you can better understand how to effectively direct communications.

  • Test your Perceptive Abilities:

    Emotional intelligence is not just about the personal; it also has a role in how the individual handles interactions with others. In a corporate scenario, it’s vital that the individual has a firm grasp on his or her ability to communicate with others. In any conversation, try to get a feel for the other’s emotional state and demeanor. Keep an eye out for body language, voice, and candor, and how it ties into their statements and reactions. By taking the time to observe the other individual, you can work towards developing your own emotional intelligence.

Thanks Sara!

Sara Fletcher is an avid blogger with an interest in recruitment, who writes on everything from emotional intelligence to how to search for jobs in Toronto. She has written on a variety of blogs and websites, and currently writes for Jobs.ca.