Poll shows social media isn’t a fad

Communicators eager to adopt social media next year even as execs guffaw over its benefits

A poll due for release next week shows social media use among corporate communicators will increase in the coming year despite continued caution among members of the C-suite.

The poll, conducted by PollStream, indicates employee communications will see the largest spike in social media adopters, more so than marketers or external communicators.

Of the 377 respondents to this poll—which asked communicators about their plans for social media usage in 2008—54 percent said they planned to “leverage online social media” next year for employee communications. Marketing communications comprised another 35 percent of respondents. A mere two percent indicated social media is a fad.

“There’s no longer an appreciation, but an expectation for authentic conversation from companies,” explained PollStream CEO Steven Green. His Toronto-based company creates online interactive polls for organizations. This social media poll was commissioned in collaboration with Ragan Communications and featured on MyRagan.

Internal communicators most likely to tap social media in 2008