Companies struggle to manage masses of social media accounts

The report, authored by Altimeter analyst Jermiah Owyang, found that large companies and brands juggle an average of 178 business-related social media accounts.

This astounding number includes accounts with Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, forums/message boards and YouTube but not individual employee accounts. The report shows that, on average, companies manage 39 Twitter accounts, 32 blogs, 30 Facebook Pages and 29 LinkedIn accounts.

The problem lies with managing such a fragmented and diverse explosion of communication. An uncoordinated approach leads to customer confusion and an inconsistent experience yet companies simply haven't implemented goal-driven and coherent social media strategies.

The resulting chaos, according to Forbes contributor Chris Perry, is down to "too many firms trying to make an omelet before they learn how to fry an egg by launching accounts and campaigns without systems in place or governance to keep things on track."

The full report can be read on Jeremiah Owyang's blog.

Tags: business objectives, customer experience, online management, social media, social media strategy