Following the establishment of an observatory on brands and social media, the results of a study conducted by OssCom – the Center for Research on Media and Communication at the Catholic University – and Digital PR are ready. Under scrutiny are about a hundred companies from various sectors (from banking to automotive, consumer electronics, and product/service distribution), analyzed for their presence and interaction on social media in the Italian market.
How and how often are corporate profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube updated? How is communication conducted via company blogs?
The first available data specifically concern the “Consumer Electronics” sector, thus relating to selected companies that produce game consoles, mobile phones, PCs, TVs, printers, and cameras.
Behaviors on all Italian social pages were observed, both from the company’s perspective and the user’s: not only was the frequency of page updates verified, but also user responses and the interaction created between the two 2.0 “actors.” This evaluation includes comments left, “likes” received, and responses actually given by the brands examined.
Leading the pack is Nokia: high frequency of use of Facebook and Twitter profiles; on average, also one YouTube video per month. The response is not long in coming: approximately 21,000 users follow the brand’s official pages, which has successfully diversified its web engagement methods. While Twitter is preferred for sharing fresh and rapid news, the Facebook page is used specifically to interact with fans. Furthermore, Nokia shows a high frequency of page updates, indicating a rather continuous and constant presence behind the accounts.
In second place is Nikon: the YouTube profile, in particular, garners significant engagement, while on Facebook, the focus is less on a unified brand strategy and more on individual products, each with its own specific page.
Third place goes to Samsung, consistently present on Facebook and Twitter, with an added advantage on YouTube that effectively generates consumer responses: interaction between end-users and the brand occurs regularly.
Fourth place for LG: the only entity also utilizing a company blog, where space is entirely dedicated to in-depth content. As for Facebook and Twitter, these are the chosen platforms for interacting with consumers.
Fifth position secured by Canon: similar to Nikon, the best results are observed on the YouTube channel, although other social media also receive attention, on average.
Sixth place for PlayStation, which lacks Twitter and YouTube accounts and thus concentrates on its company blog and Facebook: from one medium to another, the interplay is constant and cross-references are frequent. It is needless to mention that during the hacker attacks on the PlayStation Network, engagement on the Facebook page saw an understandable surge.
Immediately below is Xbox: although the Facebook page is updated and serves as a showcase for new product launches, there is not much user participation.
Eighth position for Sony, which continuously manages all pages across all social networks, without using specific pages for individual products.
Blackberry ranks ninth: although page updates do not reach high levels, its communication strategy is highly focused on direct user engagement, requesting responses to surveys or product suggestions.
Conversely, HP (in tenth position) appears to prioritize brand affirmation over user interaction.
JVC, in eleventh place, is a classic example of a presence for its own sake: the brand exists but does not stimulate fans, nor does it frequently update its pages (which are also poorly connected to each other).
Epson (12th position) uses its Facebook and YouTube profiles to promote specific initiatives, but there is little cohesion between the two channels, to the detriment of user response.
Asus has decided to leverage communication solely through Facebook, and indeed, the update frequency is noteworthy.
In 14th place is Apple: this company also chooses only Facebook but focuses exclusively on communication related to the iTunes product. Despite this, fan numbers remain high.
Philips (15th position) closes the ranking of brands present on social media in Italy.
Other companies observed were Nintendo, Acer, Lenovo, and Panasonic: however, it is not possible to compare their data with the brands listed so far, as these latter entities only have international profiles, not specifically targeted at Italy.
In conclusion, company blogs seem to be losing ground compared to more social channels: Facebook leads, Twitter is on the rise, and interaction via YouTube is considered very interesting.
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