Social Media Use by Fortune 100 Companies

About the Burson-Marsteller Fortune 100 Social Media Study

• The study examined the Fortune 100’s current use of key social media tools

including Twitter, Facebook Fanpages and Blogs. The analysis looked to tally

what percentage of the Fortune 100 is now using each of these channels to

engage directly with stakeholders. The Data was collected between July 2nd

and July 17th and is based on content that is accessible within a reasonable

effort, i.e. by Facebook or Google search for the company name or looking for a

blog on a corporate site.

• Twitter – The study tallied official Twitter accounts for Fortune 100 companies.

This tally does not include independent subsidiary brands that do not share a

name with the parent company.

• Facebook - The study identified whether there was an established Facebook

fan page for each company within the Fortune 100. The study examined

corporate pages, but not individual brand fan pages.

• Blogs - The study tallied whether each Fortune 100 company had a branded

corporate blog easily accessible from its corporate homepage.

Percentage of Fortune 100 using each Social Media Channel

Twitter now platform

of choice

*Active - Regular postings

and evidence the company

interacts and/or posts

content on the page.

Fortune 100 Companies and Social Media

Companies using just one social

media channel overwhelmingly

use Twitter (76%)

Companies using two

channels likely to use

Blog and Twitter (64%)

Percent of Fortune 100 Companies active on Twitter,

Facebook, and their Corporate Blog

Industry Analysis Within the Fortune 100 Companies on Twitter

Breakdown by Industry

Number of

Fortune 100

Companies

Percentage

with a blog

Percentage

on Facebook

Percentage on

Twitter

Petroleum Refining 9 11% 11% 22%

Commercial Bank 8 25% 0% 38%

Aerospace and Defense 6 33% 17% 50%

Food and Drug Stores 6 17% 33% 50%

General Merchandiser 4 50% 75% 100%

Healthcare: Insurance and

Managed Care 4 0% 0% 50%

Insurance: Property and Casualty 4 0% 25% 50%

Specialty Retailers 4 50% 50% 100%

Telecommunications 4 75% 100% 100%

Computers, Office Equipment 3 67% 100% 67%

Entertainment 3 0% 0% 67%

Motor Vehicles and Parts 3 67% 67% 67%

Pharmaceuticals 3 33% 0% 33%

Wholesalers: Health Care 3 0% 0% 33%

Table limited to industries with at least three companies in Fortune 100

Fortune 100 Companieson Twitter

Fortune 100 Companies with Twitter Accounts

Some Key Findings - Fortune 100 Social Media Study

• Sixty-nine percent of companies that have at least one active Twitter accountpost frequently(at least four times a week).

• Currently the Fortune 100 are using Twitter primarily

– To distribute news and updates about their company

– As an extension of their customer service

– To announce marketing promotions

– As part of employee recruitment/human resources efforts

• The technology industry is by far the most active sector on Twitter with companies including Dell, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, and HP each having a number of accounts.

• In addition to the corporate accounts, there are a number of locally focusedTwitter accounts that were created by local units or offices of the Fortune 100.For example, Best Buy’s Arkansas stores have an account with 536 followers.Such accounts were not examined in this study, but are a growing presence on Twitter and robust additions to a corporate account. The local presence allowsfor more specific direct marketing.

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100

Descriptions of Twitter Uses

-News/Updates/Announcements: Industry or company news, postings about updates to a company blog or

website, announcements about products or events

-Customer Service/Direct Marketing Responses: Communication from the company account with consumers

or potential consumers, responses about service or products, answers to questions about the service or product,

or even suggestions or tips

-Promotions/Deals/Contests: Sweepstakes or contests, promotions or discounts, or sales online or in store

-Human Resources/Job postings: Lists open positions, posts information about hiring or Human Resources, posts resources or tips for applying for a position

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100

Bank of America

launched a customer

service Twitter account

@BofA_Help. They

include this security

warning to ensure that

customers do not divulge

passwords or other

personal information via

Twitter.

Although the healthcare industry is only moderately involved on Twitter, UnitedHealth Group recently started @ConnectingCare with Vice President and medical director of telehealthJim Woodburn tweeting updates, responses, and announcements.

Examples of Customer Service/ Direct Marketing Response Outside of

Consumer Product Sales and Communications Technology Industries

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 Cont.Examples of Promotions/Deals/Contests

Wallgreens promotes certain

products and specials.

State Farm Insurance

promotes an online

contest through their

Twitter account

@StateFarmIns.

How Twitter is Used By the Fortune 100 Cont.

Here, UPS posts a

range of positions

available in all of its

different offices on

@UPSjobs.

Examples of Human Resources/Job Postings

Fortune 100 Twitter Account Followers

• Of all the Fortune 100 Twitter Accounts, the average number of followers is 5,234, yet the median is 674 followers. The discrepancy is due to outliers at the end of the range.

When examining the ten Twitter accounts with the most followers…

• Over the past three months, the number of followers on these accounts has steadily increased. Eight of the ten accounts have more than doubled the number of followers than it had three months ago.

• The following chart marks the growth of the largest ten accounts over the past month. The dramatic increases suggest the growing popularity of Twitter as a means of communication with stakeholders.

Percentage Increase of Followers over the Past Monthof the Ten Twitter Accounts with the Most Followers

* Chart uses change in number of followers from June 15th to July 15th. Data collected from twittercounter.com

** There was a sharp increase in Microsoft account followers because the company just began posting

on July 1st. On June 30th, Microsoft had 980 followers. On July 15th, they had 11,081.

Fortune 100 Companies on Facebook

Fortune 100 Companies with Facebook Pages

Inactive - A page with little to no activity, few if any postings, and/or no indication that

the page was begun or managed by the company.

Active - Regular postings and evidence the company interacts and/or posts content on the page.

Facebook Fan Pages

• The pages are overwhelmingly consumer focused offering

– Promotions and product information.

– Some firms also promote their philanthropy and community.

– Some companies are using the discussion boards and the “Wall” to

engage consumers and

– answer questions. Others are not yet at that stage but being transparent.

(Below examples from AT&T and TIAA CREF)

Facebook Pages Continued

• Twenty-nine percent of Fortune 100 companies are actively communicating via a Facebook Fan page compared with the fifty-four percent that are using Twitter accounts

• Twenty-five of the Fortune 100 Companies have both Twitter accounts and active Facebook pages.

• Many companies have a groups on Facebook, but do not have a Facebook page. Others have inactive or unofficial fan pages that do not communicate any corporate information.

Fortune 100 Companies with Corporate Blogs

Fortune 100 Companies with Corporate Blogs

Blog Analysis

• Fortune 100 blog content typically includes current projects, external initiatives, and corporation’s community involvement/corporate social responsibility initiatives.

• Many of the corporate blogs are written by executives in order to personally communicate company initiatives and convey sense of accessibility to management

• Like its participation in Twitter, the technology and telecommunications industries also have high involvement in blogs, with companies including Dell, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, and HP maintaining a number of blogs specific to products or services, as well as employee blogs from all divisions and levels of the corporation. They often use blog rolls to aggregate all the blog content to one source.

Key Findings –Fortune 100 Blogs

• Many companies have avoided maintaining a blog and have instead gone straight to Twitter

• All companies that have at least one blog remain active and postconsistently (regular time intervals of weekly or monthly.)

• Industries least active in the blogosphere are the Healthcare and Food industries. (Food Companies tend to be more active at brand level.) Media companies tend not to have a corporate blog, but their subsidiaries maintain many blogs.

• The companies that do not have blogs do provide other ways to relay news and information in more traditional ways, most commonly a news roll or press release media section.

• Many companies often link to or incorporate external individual blogs from stakeholders encouraging them to share their own experiences with the company’s products.