The consistent growth of social media interaction throughout society has been a central topic of technological discourse over the past few years. The more recent uptake of the platform as a base from which to broaden business, as well as social connectivity, has become the latest development in the evolution of the social media phenomenon.

A study published by Trendstream on Tuesday demonstrates the progressive adoption of social media by businesses as a key tool in their inventory, equipping them more effectively and further enabling them to better communicate their message. The research, as part of the wider Global Web Index project, purports to illustrate the evolutionary shift in social networking over the past 18 months.

It is now believed that approximately 60% of Fortune 500 companies have created a Twitter account; almost double of the figure for the previous year. At the consumer end, research by ExactTarget stated that 40% of a survey had expressed their approval of a company or brand via Facebook in order to receive promotions and discounts.

A QueryClick.com spokesperson commented on the positive findings of the report:

“From the research carried out it is clear that the growing trend for B2C interaction via sites such as Facebook and Twitter has been bolstered at both ends by the behavioural modifications which have taken place.”

According to the findings of Trendstream, the advertising and marketing industry are leading the way in their involvement in real-time social media activity. Behind them – and by some distance – comes IT, retail, healthcare and the financial services, all of whom have embraced the business potential offered by social media activity.

Whilst the participation of the study respondents in real-time social networking and microblogging increased by some 20% over the time-scale, contribution and engagement with blogging and other static online dialogues decreased significantly. Blog writing has fallen by 4%, while forum contribution has undergone an 11% decrease.

The move away from the creation platforms (blogs and forums) to real-time networks mirrors the move into the world of immediate updates and constant communication by professional individuals and firms. One insightful statistic provided by the Trendstream report sheds further light on the connection between these factors: that the increase in links to company news stories was bettered only by the rise in the upload and browsing of personal photos.

Via EPR Network
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