Over Half of the Inc. 500 Monitor Social Media
Fifty-one percent of the Inc. 500 companies are utilizing RSS feeds, web stats, video download tracking, and online activity from their competition as ways to monitor social media, according to a recent study from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research. Study authors also found that in companies like these, where social media is a "valued part of the culture," keeping tabs on how others in the business world are putting social media to use is extremely important.
"Inc. 500 companies are saying that not only is it important for us to communicate in an outbound way, but it's also important to listen to what is going on out there and what other companies are saying," said study co-author and marketing and social media consultant Eric Mattson. Reading the corporate blogs of their biggest competitors is one way the surveyed companies keep an ear to the ground for trends that can inform their own social media moves.
