Only 33 per cent of businesses have a social media strategy in place, while 77 per cent are not yet engaging with their customers via social media channels, according to a survey conducted by Maginus.

The most popular channel is Twitter with 44 per cent of businesses surveyed regularly tweeting, closely followed by Facebook. Thirty three per cent of companies have a Facebook profile, while LinkedIn is the next most popular with 22 per cent using its services. Eleven per cent also use YouTube to post video case studies.

Eighty per cent of those who are yet to introduce a social media strategy are considering putting one in place this year, but the remaining 20 per cent do not plan to implement a strategy in 2010. All of the companies that have a social media strategy in place handle it in-house and do not use a specialist company.

Russell Dorset, sales and marketing director at Maginus, says: "Social media, in particular online video, will continue to grow in importance in 2010, as companies realise how they can use social networking to their advantage. The survey results demonstrate that businesses have some understanding of social media, but there is still a way to go before they are using it to its full benefit. Eighty per cent of the companies without a social media strategy are considering how it can support their business, which shows how popularity in social media is growing."

Share Story: