A recent study shows that the brands most engaged in social media are also experiencing higher success rates than those of their non-engaged peers.
Of course, what everyone really wants to know is whether or not social media actually pays off in terms of extra revenue. This study seems to indicate that it does.
To determine the nature of this relationship, the study focused on 100 companies from the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands survey and the various social media platforms they used like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis and forums.
Top brands analysed for social media marketing success
Whether this correlation contains a causal factor cannot be proven: it can only imply that the relationship might be causal. However, given the large number of companies analysed and the consistent findings, it seems probable that social media has had an impact on the companies’ financial success.
The most-engaged brands are significantly outperforming their peers across numerous industries in both revenue and profit performance. They have even sustained strong revenue and margin growth in spite of the economy, according to the study.
It’s also worth noting that the level of engagement appears to be a factor, too. The companies deeply engaged in fewer channels (”selectives”) delivered higher gross and net margins than those only lightly engaged in more channels (”butterflies”). It other words, as the Report says, “It’s not about doing it all, but doing it right.”
The study grouped the brands into one of four engagement profiles that related to the number of channels they’re involved in and how deep their involvement:
The chart illustrates the results for each engagement type
At the top of the list are mavens, the brands heavily engaged in seven or more social media channels - like Starbucks and Dell, for instance.
Butterflies are like wannabe mavens, and are also engaged in seven or more channels but are spread too thin, investing in some channels more so than others.
Selectives focus on six or fewer channels but engage customers deeply in the ones they’ve chosen.
Finally, there are wallflowers, or brands engaged in six or fewer channels with below-average engagement; these include companies like McDonalds and BP.
The study was undertaken by Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group and the results released in July 2009. An accompanying website has also been launched.
