Social Media Top Priority For Enterprise

Enterprise 2.0 will become a $4.6 billion industry by 2013, according to a report by Forrester Research. The top priority for enterprises will be social media applications and tools and most of the money is expected to flow to social networking tools and mashups.

Forrester defines Enterprise 2.0 as the corporate version of Web 2.0. Here’s the research firm’s definition:

In Forrester’s view, the key hallmark of Web 2.0 is efficiency for end users, and the ultimate goal is to use technology like Ajax, rich Internet applications, blogs, wikis, and social networks to foster productive, advantageous behavior among employees, customers, partners, and other networks such as Social Computing, the Information Workplace, and collective intelligence.

Across the board, Web 2.0 tools enter a crowded space full of legacy software and processes that are difficult to displace and with which Web 2.0 software must integrate to be fully effective. Integration with lightweight applications like email and Excel, as well as heavier applications like Web content management suites, campaign management software, portal software, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, must all be addressed over time.

Enterprise Social Media Adoption Ramping Up

A report issued by Society for New Communications Research reveals that many companies are adopting social media as a marketing tool however they are struggling to find effective metrics.

The report is based on findings from a survey of 297 advertising, marketing, PR and corporate communications professionals, 57% felt social media tools are becoming more valuable, 27% of whom say that social media is a core element of their communications strategy.

The most popular social media tools used were;
1) Blogs - 78%
2) Online Video - 63%
3) Social Networks - 56%
4) Podcasts - 49%

Awareness and engagement were cited as the most important criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the social media in addition to the following:

* Enhancement of relationships with key audiences
* Enhancement of reputation
* Search engine ranking of website
* Customer awareness of program
* Click-thrus to website
* Comments/posts relevant to company or products
* Social media coverage
* Unique visitors from influencers’ sites

Researchers expected social media to be more effective when targeted at younger age groups, with 18-25 being the most likely to be influenced. However, the over-65 age group closely trailed the under-18 and 26-35 age brackets.