Participating in the Social Media Ecosystem

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Participating in the Social Media Ecosystem survey was initiated in December of 2009. The intention of the study was to get a broad look at social media ecosystems, as well as insight into how companies utilize social media.

We received approximately 125 responses. Participants represent a healthy swath of the types of organizations participating in online community building activities, including: large software companies, large community destination sites, niche community sites, platform providers, interactive marketing firms and independent consultants.

A sample of the 125+ organizations that participated include (with their permission):
Microsoft, Intuit, Best Buy, Cisco, Museum of Life and Science, VMWare, BusinessWeek, Autodesk, Consumer Reports, Time Inc., REI, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Quest Software, WiserEarth, Current TV, and TripIt.

Overall, we were very encouraged by the level and quality of responses to the research questions.

Several key issues pertaining to participating in social media ecosystems surfaced during this report, including:

• More than half of the participants, 56% (70), have developed a comprehensive social media strategy within the last 6 months compared. In our last Social Media Ecosystems study in March of 2009, only 18% of the respondents had a comprehensive strategy in place.
• The two most common changes respondents made in their social media strategies over the last six months are: 
• Utilization of Social Media Sites, such as Twitter and Facebook   
• Refinement based on Lessons Learned
• Twitter and Facebook emerged as the prevailing social media sites. 92% of respondents use Twitter and 87% of respondents use Facebook.
• Google Analytics is the most commonly used tool to measure participation in the ecosystem.