GfK study: Companies use social media to improve relations with clients

Cristina Blanaru Marketing, Studies

A study made by GfK Romania – “How do companies use social media” – analyzed which are the social networks preferred by corporate communication specialists and what they are used for.

As the study showed, 69% of the companies used, last year, Facebook as a platform to promote, with 43% of them also using discussions forums.

In what concerns this year, companies showed a slightly increased growth in communication on existent and well positioned channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Youtube, but also an increased interest in using more Twitter and independent blogs (+8% and +6% increase). This is how Twitter gets to be interesting for 19% of the interviewed companies and independent blog campaigns get to be appealing for 27%.

In 2012, companies focus more in using these platforms for consolidating their relationship with clients, compared to 2011. Loyalization is an important objective for this year for 60% of study’s respondents  (up from 49% in 2011), followed by clients interactions with the brand (almost 50%, up from 34% in 2011) and a way to provide clients relations services (39%, up 10% compared to 2011). Also important objectives for companies are to achieve increased sales.

If many companies focused last year on creating a brand or company image through social media, companies are aware more, in 2012, the role online platforms have in getting them closer to the client. Obtaining a positive image is completed now by indicators on sales increase and loyalization

Traian Nastase

Online Project Manager GfK Romania

GfK’s “How do companies use social media” offers info on social channels used by companies to promote themselves, the purpose they have when using these channels and the ways they are measuring the effects of the campaigns they ran. The study was made online, with the help of askGfK respondents panel. The sample of respondents was of 410 people that decide or have a role in deciding companies’ communication activities, that ran or intend to run campaigns in social media in the following 12 months.

Present on Romanian market since 1992, GfK Romania is, for over 10 years, the leader of the research market, with a turnover of almost Euro 9.5M in 2010.