Marketers still struggling with social media: Weber Shandwick study

It suggests that while marketers and executives are embracing the digital revolution, they are still yet to find what it calls "the sweet spot" of brand positioning on social media.

The “Socialising your brand: A brand’s guide to sociability" report says there is a disconnect between the theory and practice of social media use for brand building. While 52 per cent of the 1897 executives from high-revenue companies who responded to the survey said that they believed "sociability" was a rapidly growing contributor to overall brand reputation, a much higher proportion (84 per cent) admitted that their own efforts in this department were not up to "world-class" standard.

Nearly all the respondents (87 per cent) said they already had an active social media strategy in place, suggesting many of these are currently ineffective.

The problem is most apparent in the Asia-Pacific region, where brand executives are significantly more likely to report difficulty quantifying soclai media results and gauging ROI. The report found this was the leading reason many brands in Asia said they avoided using social media more widely.

Lack of talent is a second issue holding Asia-Pacific social media use back.

Jon Wade, Head of Digital Practice, Asia-Pacific for Weber Shandwick, says marketers need to study the opportunities and technology more, in order to find the best fit option for their brand.

"All too often, brand managers clamor for the latest and greatest application and new technology, bypassing the need for clear business objectives,a true social orientation, and programmes that deliver real value to brand communities," he said. "To be a fully socialised brand, leaders need a new blueprint; one that factors in both proper internal structure as well as external programming that help people be informed and identified with brands they engage online."