Apparently, social media use among major corporations is on the decline. According to a new study, only about 60% of Fortune 500 companies use Twitter and/or Facebook to further brand interaction… and even more surprising, only 25% of the Fortune 500 maintain a company blog. Why have big brands seemingly given up on social media?

• Lack of immediate returns. It’s the question every social media enthusiast dreads: “What’s the ROI on this stuff?” What’s the ROI on your office phone, Chairman? Social media is a tool that brands can use to engage with their customers immediately, frequently, and meaningfully. It’s not a simple investment with a set end date that will magically make you rich. It’s an ongoing method of communication with the people who write your paychecks: the consumers.
• They don’t want to associate with “bad” comments. Big companies take big risks when they expose their brands to the potential slings and arrows of the social media community. A few negative comments might pop up on your Facebook wall. You might even see a critical Tweet or two. But while you may feel like these “negative” interactions are hurting your brand, wouldn’t you rather be a part of the dialogue than not? At least you have the chance to respond, refute, and repent if you’re in the game. Discussion of your brand is going to happen whether you want it to or not. You may as well be in the fray.
• It’s too hard to keep up. Do we need a Google+ profile? What’s foursquare and why does it matter? How do we engage our Facebook fans on a daily basis? This point is actually quite justified— it’s difficult to create and master a social media voice for brands. There are quite a few moving parts, and those parts are ever-changing. But one way that Big Brands can stay on top of things is by declaring and owning one or two different channels. If you want to be a Facebook/Twitter brand, then share and comment your heart out. If you want to own blogging and thought leadership, post regular high-quality updates and engage on similar industry blogs. Yes, it’s tough to keep up with the latest social media trends. But if you pick one outlet for your brand to master and completely own it, your customers will see that you’re serious.

While it may seem like the “social media for big brands” fad is waning, I think it’s just a reorganization of priorities. They’ve all seen how these tools work, and (hopefully) they have people on staff who know how to utilize them for maximum efficiency. Facebook isn’t right for every brand. Twitter can’t be a unilaterally helpful marketing application. It’s up to each individual brand to reflect and determine which aspects of social media are most useful to them. Once we reach this next plane of adoption, I think we’ll be seeing some of the most interesting and unique social media efforts that big brands have launched yet.

30-Day Challenge #8