Winning the Social Media Engagement Contest

Alinean Research of Fortune 500 Level of Engagement on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

In the first of a series of research projects, seeking to understand the return on investment (ROI) of Social Media, the ROI experts at Alinean analyzed which of the Fortune 500, and which industries, were the most engaged with the community, and what factors led to this engagement popularity.

The findings highlight distinct differences in levels of engagement based on company practices and customer profiles, with many companies and industries displaying an enormous leveraging of social media versus peers. As social media grows in use, promotional power and business value, the most popular and engaged companies will have a distinct competitive advantage in revenue generation, marketing efficiency and return on marketing.

The study found that the companies that have the most level of engagement overall in social media are centered in a few industries (on average), especially:

1. High Technology;
2. Consumer Products;
3. Retail;
4. Travel;
5. Media and Entertainment;
6. Hospitality;
7. Automotive.

Industries found to have companies with the least overall social media engagement (on average) include:

1. Energy;
2. Utilities;
3. Wholesale & Distribution;
4. Pharmaceuticals;
5. Healthcare;
6. Chemicals;
7. Professional Services / Service Providers.

The difference between most engaged and least engaged industries is dramatic, with the most popular industries being over 1,000 times as engaged as the least engaged industries. Within different industries, performance of individual companies is even more dramatic, showing the maturity and investment payoff (at least in terms of affinity) of certain companies versus others, and how far behind many individual companies are from the leaders.

Examining the reasons for engagement popularity, the study highlights five important factors for large enterprise social media engagement success:

1. Important and timely content marketing to support social media collaboration, including the development and communication of breaking news, blogs, reviews, thought provoking points of view, research, and entertainment;
2. An interactive dialogue with an active and engaged user base, with monitors and representatives responding to / collaborating with participants on a timely and personal basis;
3. Special deals, discounts, contests and giveaways to promote, targeting frugal buyers (both business and consumer) who are seeking the lowest price, fastest payback and best value from every purchase in this current “age of austerity” (a condition we call Frugalnomics);
4. A strong and passionate “lifestyle” brand connection to its user base;
5. A natural demographic alignment with social media participants.

Although some of the factors are inherent in the business and industry and a “given” which cannot be easily changed / addressed, the majority of factors highlight that the right strategy, social media campaigns and content investments can drive social media engagement, and a higher probability of ROI success.

For more information and resources on Social Media ROI, please visit: http://www.alinean.com/socialmediaroi.aspx

The full study can be found at: 

http://www.alinean.com/docs/Alinean_Social_Media_by_Industry.pdf

An expanded discussion of content marketing strategies to drive social media success can be found on Content Marketing Institute (CMI) at: http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/12/social-media-content/#more-3614