The Annual Report “State of Corporate Social Media” confirms the importance of social networks within the marketing strategy of companies. The study, developed by Useful Social Media, is based on a survey of a sample of 850 marketers, and community leaders, at a global level; Including representatives from the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

90% of companies include social media in their marketing strategy. It is a tool with great potential to reach the target, interact with it and encourage engagement.

The use of Social Media is more widespread among B2B; These companies are more aware of their effectiveness in reaching their target audience. 87% of B2B marketers use social networks to increase brand awareness; For which they prefer LinkedIn.

Facebook is still the most used social network by B2C companies ; 97% bet on it. However, the Social Media strategy of these organizations also includes other actions:

• More than half of brands (51%) have a corporate blog.
• The Social Media Mix includes other social platforms, although to a lesser extent; As is the case of Twitter (83%) and Youtube (70%).
• For its part, Instagram has not reached the coverage that would be expected in the beginning; Only 23% of the brands have it in consideration.
• In terms of utility, Facebook also predominates; 65% of B2C brands stand out as the most useful social network. In contrast, only 20% of brands bet on Twitter in these terms. It seems that even companies are not clear how to tap into their potential.
• In the case of B2B companies, Facebook descends to the third place; Only 17% find a valid application for their strategy. LinkedIn predominates in this sector (37%), followed by Twitter (21%).

The importance of social networks as a customer service

The most relevant data that the study shows is that half of B2B companies and one third of B2C are using Social Media as part of their customer service strategy. In addition, the study indicates that it is a rising trend. 67% of companies are planning for this year to offer support to their customers through social channels.

Social networks are definitely consolidated as an important part of the marketing strategy of companies. Ninety-three percent of respondents emphasize their key role, with 40% confident that they can contribute to increased sales.