Companies Worldwide Plan to Increase Social Media Marketing

Emarketer

Companies Worldwide Plan to Increase Social Media Marketing

DECEMBER 13, 2011

More Latin American companies plan to increase use for advertising, recruiting and communicating with customers

Social media is becoming an important part of business around the world, and companies in many regions are planning to increase their use of it in the coming months.

For its “International Business Report,” Grant Thornton LLP spoke to senior executives from across the globe in August and September 2011 to determine how their companies used social media.

Companies in Latin America were the most likely to use social media, as 53% of respondents there said their companies currently do so and 78% said they planned to increase its use. Businesses in countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and those in Nordic countries also planned to increase social media use in the coming months, at 75% and 72% of respondents, respectively, according to the Grant Thornton report. Comparatively, 47% of companies in North American countries currently use social media and 60% planned to increase use.

Companies in Select Regions that Use Social Media, Sep 2011 (% of respondents)

As emerging markets grow economically and internet access becomes more widely available in their countries, companies in Latin America and the BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, Indian and China—are leveraging social media to reach their target audiences.

Meanwhile, businesses in Europe “are understandably preoccupied with the current economic difficulties, but they shouldn’t lose sight of the longer term opportunities social media offers,” said Mark Henshaw, head of media and entertainment at Grant Thornton UK, in a statement about the survey.

Communicating with customers is only one way companies worldwide are using social media. Overall, 53% of respondents used social media for advertising, 51% used it to communicate with customers and 43% leveraged social media for recruitment.

Reasons that Companies Worldwide Use Social Media, Sep 2011 (% of respondents)

As emerging markets and regions beyond North America embrace social media and increase their marketing outreach on these channels, look for Latin American, BRIC and ASEAN countries to take a leadership role going forward.