Resources often cited as roadblock to online monitoring
A survey by SAS Canada and Leger Marketing indicates that Canadian companies are not taking full advantage of social media as a communication channel. The study of Canadian executives revealed that while many companies either post frequently to social media sites or monitor such sites for mentions of their brands, relatively few do both on a consistent basis.
Leona Hobbs, vice-president and partner at Toronto agency Social Media Group, said the results of the survey are consistent with Canadian corporate habit of lagging behind U.S. firms in the adoption of new marketing channels.
“There’s a real disjoint between business adoption and the adoption of the Canadian public at large,” said Hobbs, who added that the survey answers prompted additional questions.
“I think we need to start looking at what it is about Canadian companies that causes us to lag behind the U.S. in the adoption of these technologies. And I think the broader question is, is that beginning to hurt Canadian competitiveness with our counterparts in the U.S.?”
Survey by: SAS Canada and Leger Marketing
Methodology: Online survey of 1,000 senior executives at large (500-plus employees) and mid-sized (50 to 500 employees), conducted in Jan. 2011.
Key findings
• Fewer than one-fifth (17%) of Canadian companies consistently post to social media sites and also monitor them for mentions
• 14% of respondents said their company posts to social media sites at least once a day, but about 25% of this group do not regularly monitor social media conversations for mention of their firm
• 10% do the opposite and regularly monitor conversations while rarely, if ever, posting to social media sites
• 49% of respondents whose companies do not monitor for mentions cite a lack of resources
• 24% said their company’s social media policy was driven by the CEO; 21% said it was the responsibility of a communications director and 18% said the chief marketing officer took the lead
• 13% said their company disregards social media entirely as a waste of time
