InSites: Companies don't see benefit from social integration

The consumer base may be heavily invested in social networks, but for big business - and even small business - many say they don't see the benefit to heavy investment. While most businesses have social network profiles (70% are on Facebook, 62% on Twitter and 50% on LinkedIn), those profiles aren't necessarily integrated with marketing efforts, finds a report from InSites Consulting.

by Kristina Knight

While most brands have some kind of social network profile in many cases those profiles aren't 'working for' the business. What that means is that many social profiles are simply that - a profile of the company - and don't offer anything for the consumer base to engage with; these profiles aren't creating a presence, they don't incorporate advertising/branding messages and they don't give anything back to consumers.

According to a recent report from Insites Consulting most (47%) of companies studies are still experimenting with social integration while only 14% report full social media integration. Why the hold-up when it's clear consumers are spending more time on socnets? Nearly half (48%) say their company sees no financial benefit in such integration and 42% feel their products or services aren't 'suited to' the social space.

As for what brands want from social media 52% say lead generation is the most important metric while 46% want to increase online reach and 34% are looking to impact online conversations.

Meanwhile, Experian Hitwise reports Facebook and YouTube are two of the top 5 most-visited websites (US) with 9.48% and 2.89% visit shares respectively. Specific to social networks, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter lead the social networking pack, accounted for more than 80% of social network visits.

Tags: Hitwise, InSites Consulting, social integration, social marketing, social marketing tips, social marketing trends, social networks