Lack of resources for monitoring social media seen as biggest hurdle
Only 17 per cent of Canadian companies post to social media sites regularly and often monitor for corporate mention, found a recent survey.
While 30 per cent post to social media sites at least several times per week, only three in five of those often monitor social media conversations, according to a survey by SAS Canada of 1,000 executives.
"While the majority of Canadian companies are engaging in social media, most of them aren't combining the two fundamental pillars — posting information and monitoring what people are saying — with enough frequency to build lasting relationships with their customers," said Katie Delahaye Paine, CEO of KDPaine and Partners.
Thirty per cent of executives surveyed said their company often monitors for corporate social media mentions. For those that don't actively monitor for mentions, one-half of them (49 per cent) cited a lack of resources as the reason they aren't doing it more often.
"Most executives understand that social media can impact their business, but they perceive the cost of engagement to be prohibitive," said Lori Bieda, executive lead of customer intelligence at SAS Americas. "A great place to start, however, is automating the monitoring process by using advanced analytics software tools to begin listening, which will lead to sharing and, finally, connecting."
One-quarter of respondents (24 per cent) said social media strategies and tactics are driven by the CEO. Twenty-one per cent said efforts are driven by the director of communications, while 18 per cent cited the chief marketing officer as the corporate social media lead.
"With social media most often driven from the top, and so many options to choose from, it is important that executives have a system in place to figure out what is working or not working to advance the corporate goals," Paine said. "Haphazard use of social media, like posting without regular, consistent monitoring, is not only an ineffective use of resources, but also misses a fantastic opportunity to engage with customers on a personal level."
Thirteen per cent of those surveyed said their company does not engage in social media at all because it is viewed as a waste of time and effort.
