Fortune 500 Social Media Stats

The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently released their follow-up study to Fortune 500 companies adoption and usage of the most popular social media tools.

I’ve highlighted the statistics I’ve found the most interesting.

Most Relevant Data

Blog

• 22% or 108 companies have a public-facing corporate blog with a post in the past 12 months (up +6%)
• Of the 108 blogs located, 93 (86%) are linked directly to a corporate Twitter account

Twitter

• 35% or 137 companies have a Twitter account with a post within the past 30 days
• Boeing, Footlocker, FPL Group and Winn-Dixie Stores) had their Tweets protected and required a request to view their profile
• Nine companies:  Baker Hughes, CIT Group, Computer Sciences, Delta Air Lines, Ecolab, Manitowoc, Mattel, MeadWestvaco and Union Pacific…with corporate Twitter accounts had not posted within the past 30 days
• 69% or 120 companies consistently responded with @replies or retweets within the past thirty days

Podcasting / Video

• 19% of the 2009 Fortune 500 is podcasting (up +3%)
• 31% are using video on their blog sites (up+10%)

Quick Analysis

Although the numbers are going in the right direction, these are still extremely low.   22% of the world’s largest 500 companies having a blog is nothing to brag about.

For companies of this size, it’s difficult to have one Twitter account that speaks for many many different product lines and brands.  But with marketing teams and budgets as large as a Fortune 500 company…they should have some presence.  I’ll need to look further into the study to determine if this study included all brands of a company or if they just looked at the company as a whole entity.

There is NO excuse however for 9 companies to have a Twitter profile that has not been updated in 30 days.  Someones head should roll for that.  Another non-excusable offense is a “locked” or closed account.  Even someone with a basic understanding of social media and Twitter should know that a locked account is completely missing the point of the tool.

I’m fascinated with watching these giants try and dabble into the social media space.  Slow and steady does not win this race…not here.  Those that are innovative will see benefits.  Those that wait on the sidelines will not.  It really is a simple as that.

For a look at the Full report click HERE

For a look at the Full List of Fortune 500 click HERE

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Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a marketing strategist with a specialty in social media. He is an avid blogger and active across the net. He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

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Facebook User Stats

Here is a great list of important Facebook stats.  If you’re going to incorporate Facebook into your social media marketing strategy, you need to have an understanding of the Facebook user.

Here is a terrific breakdown of user activity.

As you can see, the average Facebook user’s activity is limited when it comes to pages, event, and groups.  If you’re trying to engage in targets to attend an event or join your Page / Group…you better have a good pitch.

Create a compelling reason to join your page.  Really focus on langauge that creates value of your event.

Avergage Facebook User Stats

• Average user has 130 friends on the site
• Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
• Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
• Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
• Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
• Average user becomes a fan of 4 Pages each month
• Average user is invited to 3 events per month
• Average user is a member of 13 groups

Facebook User Totals

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day
• More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

Facebook Mobile Statistics

• There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
• People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
• There are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products

(information directly from Facebook.com)

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Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a marketing strategist with a specialty in social media. He is an avid blogger and active across the net. He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

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RJ Metrics recently released their latest update for Twitter Number of Users and Twitter User Engagement statistics.

As a skeptic, I’m weary of most social media statistics.  However, as a marketer it’s my job to analyze data that comes my way and offer my opinions and analysis of how it will affect you or your business.

You can access the data HERE.  But here’s a run down.

• Number of new Twitter users per month is about 6.2 million (down about 20%)
• Past 6 months have shown steady decline in new Twitter account registrations
• 2009 ended with just over 75 million active users
• Average Twitter user has 27 followers (down from 42 in August 2009)
• 80% of Twitter users have tweeted 10 times or less
• Only 20% of tweeters come back to tweet in their second month

What Do These Twitter Statistics Mean For Me or My Business?

The only clear sign that these statistics show…is that most of the Twitter users you are going to interact with are going to be very loyal to the network.  Twitter is almost a perfect example of the Pareto Principle (commonly know as the 80/20 rule).

Although only 20% of users come back to tweet in their second month, the folks who do come back increase their usage over time.  That means that those who come back find value in the network and are there to stay.  This is great news for a marketer or user than can create value.  But like everything with social media marketing, it’s up to you to create value.

Actions Learned From These Statistics

• Stay In The Fight – Your Twitter usage and effectiveness will increase over time.  If you don’t see immediate results after a week, don’t give up.  We’re reluctant to engage with a new account because most don’t come back.
• You need to actively acquire new TARGETED followers – Many of your followers may drop off, actively acquire new followers and keep new conversations flowing
• Create Engagement – Those who remain active on Twitter tweet regularly.  Find your targets and engage regularly
• Monitor the conversation – spend time monitoring tweets so when you do engage you can add value
• Build Connections – Focus on users you can continue conversations over time to build deeper relationships
• Focus on Conversations, Not Just Retweets – With the average user only having 27 followers…most retweets won’t lead to much traffic.  It’s a great sign that they liked your content, but follow up with a conversation.

Although these stats do point that Twitter may have “peaked” for rising new users.  However, Twitter is not going anywhere soon.  The social network has 75 million users and although it’s not climbing as fast as last year, it’s still a social media force.

That being said, Twitter is not for every body.  Do your research and analyze how the social network will work for your business before you dive in.  Otherwise you’ll find little value and be another fallen user who never comes back.  If you’re having trouble seeing the benefits with your accounts, contact me.  I love the network and have found Twitter to be quite useful.

This is DAY 17 of my “28 Day Blogging Challenge“

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Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a marketing strategist with a specialty in social media.  He is an avid blogger and active across the net.  He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

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Who Do We Trust?

Who do we trust?

It’s a valid question, and one that PR giant Edelman recently tried to answer in their continued survey for measuring their “Trust Barometer”.  Their conclusion is…we put no value into our friends or peers opinions anymore.

According to Edelman, you trust your friends and peers WAY less than you did two years ago.  The drop from 45% of people saying their friends were credible sources about companies  in 2008 compared to 25% in 2010 is substantial.  It’s such a dive, that I don’t regret not having any friends and devoting all of my time to this blog.

But for those of you out there with friends and or peers…what happened?  So do you really not trust your friends opinions anymore?

Rather than rely on survey data…I prefer to put my eggs in the basket of common sense.  No one puts complete credibility into their social networks, and everything is relative.  If I’m seeking information about a particular product, obviously I’m going to weigh different answers by the relevancy of who is giving their opinion.  Let’s say you’re a regular reader of this blog…that puts me in your “social network”.  If you ask me about blogging platforms and the best tools to reach the most people…I can give you solid advice.  If you ask me what restaurant you should take your wife for her birthday, my opinion means nothing.

So how can you answer the survey?

The curse of this survey is the choice of wording and lack of follow up questions.

There are no set standard terms for what a “friend or peer” mean?  Were they speaking about Facebook friends, Twitter, LinkedIn, coworkers?  A Facebook “friend” is a title, nothing more.  Being a “friend on Facebook” has no association with being a true friend or valued confidant.  No more than a Twitter “follower” is an actual follower of mine as if I’m leading some rapidly expanding cult.  As they explain in the study the fact that most social networks are becoming more open, may decrease what they’re defining as “trust”.

But is this true.  Search on your Twitter stream and you can count the number of peers seeking answers and opinions left and right.  LinkedIn has an entire portal dedicated to asking strangers for opinions and answering questions.  So how can we devalue our friends opinion so much?

Well, at least it’s not all bad news…although your friends have all turned lousy and become half as trustworthy for information as they once were…CEO’s are climbing back.  And great to see with all of this awesome economic news that financial analysts are booming at 52%.

Here’s the breakdown of the Trust Barometer: (NOTE: I’m only focusing on actual people, not mediums like TV / radio)

• CEO’s:  26% (increase)
• Government officials 27% (increase)
• Financial/industry analyst 52% (increase)
• NGO representative 44% (increase)
• Academic experts 64% (increase)
• Company employees (decrease 28%)
• Friends / Peer 25% (decrease)

Really? News and information about a company coming from the mouth of a CEO or a Government Official is MORE trustworthy than if it came from a  friend or a peer.  Am I the only one who feels like I’m taking crazy pills?  Forgive my skepticism.

Whether it’s deserved or not, Vince the Sham Wow guy has better credibility than most CEO’s and Government officials these days.

My instinctual response to these results are that they are utter nonsense.  As I wrote in Most Twitter Statistics Are Worthless…I take 90% of social media stats beyond number of users with a grain of salt.  Otherwise every spokesperson should be an Academic Expert.

As easy as these number are to argue, I don’t want to waste valuable reader attention on trashing every aspect of a survey.  The individual numbers may be inaccurate but the overall theme is not.

We’re a skeptical bunch when it comes to products and companies.

Question:  So How To You Get Consumers To Trust You?

Answer:  You Don’t.  Trust is not something you can do…it’s given to you after you earn it.

Very few products have the luxury of a spokesperson that can sell the product no matter what it is (I.E. Michael Jordan in 1992.  I would have bought cardboard shoes as long as “Air Jordan” was on it).  To reach your audience and penetrate this wall of skepticism, you’re going to have to spread a variety of information across multiple avenues.  Hmmm, sounds like a job for social media.

• Focus on results.  It’s hard to argue with facts.  If your product is good, show some statistics to back them up
• Always be focused on creating value, with every aspect of your marketing
• Focus on end results, not features.  What emotions can you connect with?
• Build communities of enthusiasts.  Rather than trying to cast a wide net, house your cats under one roof with a community they can interact with other customers
• Rather than posting everything about you, you you…promote some of your customers and how they are succeeding with your products
• Constantly seek open feedback…and publish how you’re learning and improving
• Stay consistent.  Speak consistently across social media platforms

Although these numbers should turn marketers on their head, I say be resilient.  My trust barometer with my friends may only be at 25%…but my trust barometer for most social media surveys is around 10%.

This is DAY 8 of my “28 Day Blogging Challenge“

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Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a marketing strategist with a specialty in social media.  He is an avid blogger and active across the net.  He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

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Twitter Statistics Are worthless

Twitter statistics are being published weekly.  More and more companies are creating studies about Twitter.  Seeing a new report pop up each week in my Google Reader is becoming pretty common.  Are any of them valuable?

Pear Analytics, a US market research firm based in San Antonio, Texas, recently conducted A short-term study on the types of messages that are sent on Twitter.  Their conclusion, 41% of Tweets are “Pointless Babble”.  For a full report click here.

I’m not here to challenge or breakdown this particular report…I’m here to challenge any and all Twitter reports about how people are using Twitter.  I do think it is valuable to know statistics like when the most tweets are sent.  But many statistics are worthless.  41% of Tweets are “Pointless Babble”?  Who cares.

There is no Twitter spam, there is no such thing as a bad Tweet, there is no Twitter “pointless babble”.  Why?

Because Twitter is only and exactly how you make it.  Period.

Twitter is anything you want it to be.  If I have spam in my Twitter feed, it is 100% my fault.  No one can send me a DM (direct Message) without me following them first, and anyone who I perceive to be sending spam, I have the option to unfollow.  If anyone is sending “pointless babble”, I can choose to unfollow them if I perceive their tweets to be of no value.

Most Twitter statistics are junk because they miss the point of the social network, it’s what we make of it.  One mans “pointless babble” is another mans treasure.  If you read behind the lines of many of these reports, you can sometimes find some hidden gems.  But their conclusions are often weighted or at least biased.

Here’s a quick list of some Twitter Statistics I’ve created:

• 84% of Tweeters have complained about spam in a tweet
• 100% of Tweeters have spam because they followed a spammer
• 73% of research firms create Twitter statistics solely because they know they’ll get instant free PR

Most Twitter statistics are junk.  What statistics have you found useful?

Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a social media and marketing strategist.  He also blogs about social media communities at AxeroPulse.com. He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

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Why Is Your Brand On Twitter

You or your organization have made a conscious decision to sign up to Twitter.

Why?

A recent study conducted by Nielsen states that 60% of Twitter users who sign up, fail to return the following month.  Although this statistic is quite interesting, I’m not worried that you’ll fall into this category.  My fears are based on a much more dismal result.  I fear that you’ll stay active on Twitter, and you’ll have no idea why.  I fear you’ll spend countless hours sending unrelated tweets, amass a completely random group of followers that have no benefit of your product or service, and you’ll ultimately receive absolutely no measurable benefits from Twitter.  And no, “showing our customers we’re hip and involved in social media” is not a real benefit.

I fear you’ll become one in the long long list of companies / brands on Twitter that no one cares about and offers no value.

I think the first fundamental mistake a company / brand makes on Twitter is not taking the time to think about why they are on Twitter.  Without that discussion and thought process, a proper strategy cannot be created.  First impressions are made once, don’t fail to think through this process.

If you are representing yourself and simply use Twitter as a way to connect with friends, then do anything you like.  However, if you are representing a brand or company, or you want to position yourself as a brand or an authority…then I think it’s about time you asked yourself…why am I on Twitter.  Playtime is over.

Common Bad Reasons Companies Are On Twitter:

• We Didn’t Want to Be The Only Ones Not At The Party:  Because all of your competitors are on Twitter, doesn’t offer a compelling reason to sign up without a strategy.

• Another Way To Push Press Releases:  While Twitter can be a good way to get new information about your products to a new audience and current fans, Twitter is meant to be a two-way dialogue.  You need to tweet solid content and interact, not just tweet one way press releases.

• Because Our Facebook Page Isn’t Working:  Lack of success with other social media networks doesn’t mean that Twitter will be your saving grace.  Lack of success with other social networks could be an indication that you need more work perfecting your strategy in social media.

Good Reasons Your Company Should Be on Twitter:

• We want to join in real-time conversations with our customers:  Twitter has quickly become one of the best and least expensive place for companies to have real time conversations with their customers.

• Looking to connect with folks in my field:  Twitter is a wonderful way to connect with peers in your industry.  These connections help to keep you up to date in your industry, and even partnerships can be formed.

• Looking for sales prospects:  Twitter is a great way to find new prospects.  Firing a few key words into twitter search or search engines like Bing or Icerocket can immediately find you new leads of people looking for your product or service.

• Contribute to Conversations With Customers:  Whether you like it or not, your customers are talking about you.  So rather than simply stressing about it, join in!  Your customers want and now even expect to hear from you.  Don’t disappoint.

• And on and on…I’ll add to this list in another post.

How Do Companies Focus on Why They’re on Twitter?
It all comes down to strategy.  Your time and actions spent in social media should be treated no differently than any other aspect of your sales or marketing.  That means you need a solid well thought out strategy.

I want to stay consistent with terms organizations are familiar with, so I label it a “Twitter Mission Statement”.

Don’t get caught up in the year long meetings that hammer out perfect wording.  Just finish these statements:

1. We are on Twitter because…
2. We hope to accomplish these goals…
3. We add value to our customers on Twitter by…
4. Potential customers will want to follow us because…

Without having a solid “mission statement” on Twitter, you may just be staying busy.  But being busy doesn’t mean you’re being productive.

So I challenge you and those in charge of your companies marketing to create a mission statement for your use of Twitter.  Only then you can begin to work backwards to develop a strategy and action plan.  You may have several reasons for Twitter, the point is to get you thinking more strategically.

So…what did you come up with?  Why are you on Twitter?  Feel free to leave your reasons in the comments area.

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