Marketing staff locked out of social media sites
A survey from McCann Erickson UK confirms, yet again, that many companies still aren’t getting the point about social media. Two thirds of the senior marketers polled freely admit that they don’t really know how to use it.
While 86% acknowledge social media is not a fad but is here to stay, almost half (46%) say their companies’ IT department actually block access to popular sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Clearly that makes it impossible for them to monitor what is being said about their brands – one of the most fundamental reasons why they should be getting to grips with it.
Some common misconceptions also surfaced, for instance that social media is really just for the under 25s, claimed by just over two thirds of marketers polled. That doesn’t really apply: according to Nielsen, people using Twitter tend to be older with 35-49 year olds making up 42% of traffic, and most (62%) accessing it only at work. It certainly doesn’t take account of LinkedIn, which is becoming increasingly important to business professionals.
Other views were surveyed, for instance on how social media impacts on traditional forms of communication and its role in business, commercial communication and marketing activity. Full details here.
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