A study into the impact of social media and the way products and services are marketed to us shows that more than half of the UK’s top marketing experts are not up to speed with social media and how it works as a marketing and communications tool. Two thirds (65.6 per cent) of marketers in the survey admit they do not have adequate knowledge on how to use social media correctly in marketing.

The McCann Erickson UK Social Media survey conducted by the global agency’s Bristol office shows that while 86 per cent of those who took part in the survey acknowledge social media is now here to stay and is not just a fad, almost half (46 per cent) of senior marketing professionals admit their companies’ IT departments proactively block access to popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter – rendering them incapable of effectively monitoring what is being said about their brands. 

Those that do have access cited Facebook and Twitter as the top two most used social networking sites in the McCann Erickson Social Media index.

Social media community – percentage of UK marketers with a presence:
 

1. Facebook – 72.8%
2. Twitter – 42.4%
3. LinkedIn – 40.2%
4. YouTube  – 28.3%
5. Flickr – 14.1%
6. Google Groups – 12.0%
7. My Space – 10.9%
8. Bebo – 3.3%
9. Plaxo – 1.1%

The lack of understanding of social media as a marketing tool may explain senior marketers’ reluctance to grasp its potential: 67.5 per cent of marketers in the survey thought social media is used more by the youth market (under 25s) however, according to Nielsen, people using Twitter tend to be older with 35-49-year-olds making up 42 per cent of traffic to Twitter.com with the majority (62 per cent) accessing it only at work.  

Opinion was split on how social media impacts on traditional forms of communication (such as telephone and face-to-face) with 48.2 per cent agreeing that this new form of ‘keeping in touch’ has a negative impact on traditional communication methods versus 51.8 per cent disagreeing.
                                 

Three-quarters of those questioned (75.9%) did acknowledge that social media has a place in business, commercial communication and marketing activity. Those who are proactive in social media utilisation cite profile raising and PR purposes and their main reasons for use:

Primary functions for social media marketing by UK business:

1. Profile raising/PR – 51.2%
2. Networking – 48.8%
3. Advertising – 30.5%
4. Surveys/studies – 24.4%
5. Recruitment – 19.5%
6. Trends analysis – 11.0%
7. Issues management/crisis handling – 4.9%

Twitter usage by marketing professionals – number of tweets posted by those with a Twitter presence:

• Occasionally (once a week or less) – 43.2%
• One per day – 5.4%
• 2-5 per day – 13.5%
• 6-10 per day – 8.1%
• 10-20 per day – 0.0%
• I have a Twitter account but it is not active – 29.7%

Commenting on the study, Joanna Randall head of PR at McCann Erickson Bristol, said: “There is a real thirst for information and knowledge on the subject of social media which is constantly evolving – making it hard to keep up with the latest trends. We have established this report as part of an ongoing study into usage and attitude, run through our specialist SoMe (Social Media) unit.

“This study highlights that some of the UK’s major businesses are ignoring social media channels – but they do so at their peril. Word of mouth is now more powerful than ever; opinions can be shared with a global audience at the click of a button; we all have the ability to influence, both positively and negatively, and therefore as marketing professionals we should be considering how best to harness the power of social media.”