Survey: Only 27% of companies have social media-focused employee
By Leigh Goessl (Guest contributor/Digital Journalist)
A new survey has found that less than one-third of companies have a designated employee to manage social media accounts. Instead, it appears most businesses assign social media as a task on top of other employee job responsibilities.
The survey, conducted by Ragan Communications and NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions, found that employers “are cautious” about assigning social media as a primary duty to specific employees, reported Mashable.
In determining these results, the two firms polled over 2,700 social-media professionals and it was discovered 27 percent of companies assign social media as a position, but 65 percent opt to include social media as an additional job responsibility on top of other designated tasks
.”They’re doing events, they’re putting out newsletters, they’re writing press releases, and now they’re handed this task of overseeing Twitter accounts, Facebook and Pinterest pages,” says Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications, in a press release.
The survey results led to the creation of an 18-page white paper that outlines all the findings.
“It is becoming more important than ever for communicators to pause to evaluate the role of social media within their organizations,” said Demetrios Skalkotos, senior vice president, NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions in the press release. “The Ragan/NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions survey provides insight to help communicators fully understand the current impact and potential of social media as a marketing and communications tool that can drive their business, deliver a positive client experience, create and sustain a positive brand and reputation.”
Other findings showed businesses have not been increasing their social media budgets and are unlikely to do so in 2013. Additionally, 70 percent of survey participants were “dissatisfied” or only “somewhat satisfied” with how they measure social media efforts.
Many experts today recommend including social media strategy as part of a company’s marketing plan as without a plan, it’s unlikely objectives will be reached.
The companies plan to create a six-part article series to be posted on Ragan.com that explores the survey data in greater detail.
This article originally appeared on Digital Journal [Link]
Half of Americans think bad weather affects ‘cloud computing’
by Darren Weir (Guest contributor/Digital Journalist)
The survey has found that while many Americans have heard of cloud computing, they don’t really understand what it means. Most believe it can be affected by the weather, while some think it refers to pillows, drugs, toilet paper or a mysterious network.
The survey commissioned by Citrix found that while 54 percent of Americans asked say they don’t use cloud computing, 95 percent of them do use things like online banking, Facebook, Gmail, online gaming, photo or music storage sites and online shopping, all cloud based services.
The survey questioned 1000 American adults last month and found a third of those asked, say they believe the cloud is a thing of the future, even though they are already using it. But despite their confusion, 59 percent believe the “workplace of the future” will exist entirely in the cloud.
About one in five Americans admit that they’ve pretended to know what the cloud is or how it works, 14 percent of them in a job interview. Young Americans are the most likely to fake it (36 percent ages 18-29, 18% ages 30 and older).After learning more about it though, 68 percent say it has economic benefits by lowering costs (35 percent) and encouraging small business growth (32 percent). Among those who hardly ever or never use the cloud, the top three reasons are cost (34 percent), security concerns (32 percent) and privacy concerns (31 percent).
Digital Journal reported last month that even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is worried about the security of cloud computing.But others see some unexpected benefits of the cloud, like the ability to work from home in their “birthday suit” (40 percent), accessing files from the beach (33 percent) and keeping embarrassing videos off their personal hard drive (25 percent).
This was originally published in Digital Journal [Link]
Survey: Consumers don’t know the benefits of 4G, two-thirds won’t upgrade
The smartphone market may soon be buzzing with 4G devices, but a recent study found many consumers aren’t aware of why this next-gen technology is any better than its predecessor.
Almost half of respondents “can’t currently identify the main benefits of 4G networks,” according to survey results from Morpace. The fourth generation of cellular wireless standards may be getting a lot of press, but only 18 percent of consumers have smartphone with 4G capabilities.
If consumers were looking to buy a 4G phone, what’s the main deciding factor? Nearly two-thirds said price was a key determinant, followed by network capabilities (58 percent) and touchscreen features (51 percent).
However, smartphone lovers might not be so keen on going the 4G route anytime soon. “At 34 percent, a minority of consumers say they are likely to upgrade to a 4G phone before the expiration of their current contract,” Morpace writes.
The survey provided some recommendations for 4G marketers. “It is obvious that a targeted communication plan about what 4G is and how consumers benefit could increase revenue streams from 4G networks,” Morpace suggests, adding, “cellular phone service providers who are willing to invest in their technology and educate consumers, coupled with a significant increase in network sizes will increase their market share.”
Photo by Brandon Shigeta