Big Brand Social Media Marketing Study
Curious about the adoption of Google+ by big brands, Ann Stanley and Bhavesh Chauhan from Anicca Digital, have conducted some research to find out just what large UK retailers and high street shops are doing, if anything, to increase their online presence. The findings – displayed below in a handy infographic made on Easel.ly – were interesting to say the least.
Mobile responsive design and mobile apps
With the exponential growth in mobile internet usage there are obvious opportunities for businesses small and large to capture customers while they are in transit or even watching tv. Mobile optimised websites were the first tool that allowed businesses to engage with customers in a meaningful way through this medium resulting in increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. Later, mobile applications were introduced as a way of enriching the customer experience by providing features unavailable on websites.
Of the companies in the study, 20% did not have mobile optimised websites. 22% did not have a mobile application and 10% had neither. Surprising, isn’t it?
Comparing the use of Twitter and Google+ (and implication for search results)
According to Mintel’s report on Digital Trends (2012) search engine use was – at 95% -the second most popular internet activity on desktops, but was the most popular internet activity on smartphones and tablets. Considering that Google is currently the largest search engine provider, surely it would be logical for businesses to use Google+ to engage with more people and to improve the effectiveness of SEO activities? The research, however, found that many more companies are relying on Twitter than they are on Google+.
The interactive scatter graph below (created on Tableau) helps to visualise this.
It seems as though companies more active on Google+ are also more active on Twitter, but this is not the same in reverse – Pizza Hut for example, currently has 352,504 followers on Twitter, but does not have a Google + account. Similarly, Greggs has 60,194 Twitter followers, but does not have a Google+ account. On the other end of the spectrum, internet retailing giant, ASOS and fashion brand, Topshop both have a 500,000+ followers on both platforms.
Is this a sign that those using and maintaining Google+ profiles are more SEO savvy? Or just that Google+ has yet to make an impact on social media?
Whatever the reason may be, the time has come (or is coming soon) for businesses to take a holistic approach to building online communities using platforms that matter.
Want to know more?
The research also highlighted:
- whether retailers website were ecommerce enabled
- the level and recency of posts in Twitter and Google+
- the presence of local listings (with the map) for retail outlets
- the presence of knowledge graph in Google results.
Please contact  Ann Stanley by email on [email protected] or call 07930 384443  if you would like a copy of the data.
We are happy for you to use or publish this data as long as you cite Anicca Digital and provide a link back to this post.
