Why is Social Media Still Flying Under the Radar?

There appears to be a disconnect between what providers are offering in terms of social media oriented services, and where corporations are currently investing their money. Nothing new there, perhaps, but I am talking about a field that can (is) have an enormous impact on activities, and I am still a bit surprised that more companies are not grasping the opportunities – other than the fact that we always limp a bit behind what's available (case in point: I've only JUST bought an iPhone). What's spurring me on this introspective is a webinar I took part in, this week, hosted by Mike Cook of analyst firm NelsonHall. He reported on the results of a recent study on social media outsourcing; meaning: how are organizations partnering with third parties to leverage social media for their business? This effectively provided a snapshot of social media’s ranking in terms of business investment priorities – at least that's what I took away from it. The numbers are huge: LinkedIn says it has 200 million users worldwide; Facebook has over 900 million users; and Twitter generates more than 350 million tweets a day (though, on a side note, 56% of customers’ tweets to companies are still being ignored). That accounts for a lot of digital communication in the virtual world. For companies that have embraced social media the results are impressive. For example: 77% of BTC companies and 43% of B2B companies are currently acquiring customers through Facebook interactions. The potential is enormous. So what’s the reality? My guess is that most of you would place yourselves in the "not quite there" category, other than the obvious retail firms who can track their social media activities directly through to sales. When the value proposition is slightly more fuzzy, for example in the B2B sector, the trends are less obvious. But we are certainly on a growth trajectory, says Mike. This growth is being driven predominantly by four trends: the need for market segmentation, providing market insights, driving revenue, and "dipping a toe in the water". According to the study, the priorities driving adoption on the buy side (yours) are: –increasing social media followers and traffic flows –evaluating the impact of customer opinion on brand –supporting customers' purchasing decisions –providing technical support, mainly through forums –monitoring conversations across social media channels –developing a social media presence –alining with clients’ brands –offering skilled agents to provide a high quality service and/or ramp up demand when necessary Yet, progress is being hindered by lack of trust, the perceived risk of negative PR, lack of ROI data which is making executives hesitate, and concern about regulatory violations, especially for the healthcare industry. Of the four main drivers for social media – revenue optimization, market segmentation, gaining market insights, and "dipping a toe in the water" – "market segmentation" is the biggest driver for social media adoption right now. It accounts for 38% of that growth, and is focused primarily on the need to improve the customer experience. In particular, companies are making efforts to drive traffic away from e-mail and toward social media agents. "Market insights" accounts for 27% of the adoption and "Revenue Optimization" for 11%.evenue optimization is expected to grow the fastest, despite the fact that it is still difficult to measure or track results. Much of this development is driven by referrals to clients’ websites, particularly in the telecoms, media, and travel industries. The drive towards customer experience enhancements is strongest in the telecoms, retail, and high-tech industries, where, again, competition is extremely high. So much for the trends, but where is this growth happening? According to NelsonHall’s research the Asia-Pacific region will grow by a full 120% over the next five years (compounded average annual growth rate). By comparison, the US market will grow by 50% and EMEA by 55%. That's the power of Asia. The providers are ready. They're leading with new products across all four of the areas discussed above. Three of the companies that are worth highlighting for their progress in this area are Sitel, Aegis and Teleperformance. More will follow. My take on this is that the ball is rolling, though slowly right now, with, perhaps, some of the most interesting work – judging by Mike’s examples – still flying under the radar. But it’ll be mainstream before you know it (remember when "data analytics" was just for nerds?), so I’m hoping you’ll be prepared. Author: Barbara Hodge

Why is Social Media Still Flying Under the Radar?

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