CorpComms Magazine

Businesses worldwide are embracing social media to engage with the supporters and the critiques of their businesses, according to a recent study by creative communications practice BergHind Joseph.

The 'Building Reputations: How global companies are using the web to talk (and listen) to the world' study revealed that the majority of corporate websites included links to social media channels.

More than one quarter (28 per cent) provided links to Facebook and Twitter, followed by 20 per cent to YouTube. LinkedIn was used the least with just six per cent providing links to the site.

The study revealed a growing trend for global corporations, such as Nestle and Unilever, to use their websites to promote corporate social responsibility rather than just to promote their products.

The report considered the top 100 companies in the Fortune Global 500, which comprises those companies with the highest revenues worldwide, and focused on which communicated most successfully with their audience. It found that social media platforms are increasingly being used to do so.

Joseph Roger Burgess, knowledge director at BergHind, said: 'Anyone who can operate a keyboard can now gain worldwide attention for their views, leaving companies with a choice: do they engage and put their own views forward alongside those of the critics, or do they leave the field to their adversaries?'

Managing director Ian Brownhill added: 'True global leaders are using their websites as communication channels which allow them to build reputation and engage in the worldwide battle of ideas. The old model of the corporate website as the place you go to download PDFs is dead.'

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