Session 2, Tench & Jones

Editor's Notes

1. Changing way we live, work and do businessOpportunities for creation, co-creation and production of knowledge and valueChanging how businesses operate, market their offerings (including CSR credentials), communicate and manage their affairsOld (media) world, new worldWeb 2.0 and corporate messagingEU communication directors survey findingsImpact on corporate thinking, messaging and behaviourRe-thinking communication strategies
2. An intriguing web!Companies are increasingly using social media to communicate their social responsibilityHow best to manage CSR and corporate reputation in the context of the social web is a management problematicSocial media means business reputation is no longer solely in the hands of management
3. Companies need to confront and minimise their CSI whilst developing and communicating their CSR.Companies need to build positive on-line CSR credentials and corporate reputations.
4. So what does some of the evidence tell us? From a European perspective we have the ECM (2007-2011). See the year on year growth of online and social media activities by practice (when asked how important are the following methods in addressing stakeholders?). On line the strongest but most recent rapid growth in social media (blogs etc)When focussing down onto channels, online communities (social networks) way ahead
5. Social networks leadingUnsurprisingly this survey provides a positive report and perception of the use, engagement and general understanding of online channels in communication management across Europe. There is evidence of tremendous growth in the perceived importance of online channels from the responses of the communication practitioners. This is most clearly emphasised by the number of professionals judging social media as an important instrument for communicating with a range of stakeholders (41%; a rise from 12% in 2007 and 20% in 2009). However, it is interesting to note that this is still a minority of the population. In fact, six out of ten practitioners in Europe do not see the importance of, or appear to believe in the value of, social media. In contrast a clear majority of the respondents emphasise the relevance of controlled online activities (web sites, e-mail: 75%) and online media relations (68%). When considering specific online channels and their use and application, online communities (social networks) continue to be the most important social media platform (50%). Twitter is still growing as a useful channel for practitioners and maintains its popularity (32%; up from 26 % in 2010). However it is not a consistent picture for all channels and some of the past stars that have been popular are in decline, such as podcasts, wikis and weblogs, which have all lost relevance during the last twelve months Weblolgs, wikis and podcasts LOST relevanceBut the big questions are on guidelines….
6. Guidelines performed badly in 2010 but in 2011 survey there is evidence they are In 2010, the ECM reported a disappointing picture regarding the management and leadership of online and social media usage by practitioners. There was limited evidence of social media guidelines, monitoring routines or key performance indicators to define and measure its usage. For 2011, however, four out of ten professionals working in communication departments are able to report the existence of social media guidelines. In this landscape, Sweden and the UK are at the forefront of developments in designing and implementing guidelines for social media usage. Another positive development is that every third organisation has established tools for monitoring the social web. Both of these elements are a clear improvement on the practice reported last year. However, key performance indicators to define and evaluate measures of success and training programmes are less prevalent (21%).
7. Overall, governance structures for social media are still underdeveloped and can be seen to be missing from most communication departments across Europe.
8. When considering the relative competence and practical capability of practitioners, it is clear that European communication professionals have only moderate social media skills. One explanation or reason to consider for this skills gap is their moderate private use of social media. Interestingly, almost every fifth practitioner uses participative platforms only once a week or not at all. The survey reveals that a stronger private use of the tools leads to a clear increase in social media capabilities. Some other unsurprising facts on social media usage are that private use of social media decreases with the increasing age of the respondent. There is also evidence of some sectoral diversification, with non-profit practitioners privately engaging most with social media.