Corporate Social Media Best Practice: List Social Networks on Your Website
We are currently working on our next research report on how public companies are using social media. This research is based on our analysis of over 350 companies and their uses of social media from a corporate and investor relations perspective. We have recently completed the primary research and have decided to share our findings as we go, through a series of blog posts that will highlight various aspects of the report.
To kick things off I thought we’d take a quick look at how companies are promoting their social media channels on their corporate website.
We are only just beginning to scratch the surface on our new research, but are seeing an increase in the number of companies who are providing links to all of the social networks they have adopted as part of their broader communications strategy via a “Stay Connected”, “Connect With Us”, or “Follow Us” approach.
We are also seeing some companies who have a dedicated social media tab on the main navigation of their corporate homepage. The social media tab links to a comprehensive listing of all of the social networks with details about the kind of information that can be found on each network.
The companies who have chosen to post the social networks they use on their website come from various sectors but technology leads the way, followed by services, pharma/healthcare/biotech and consumer goods.
What follows are some examples of those companies who we feel are innovators in this category and should be highlighted:
DEDICATED SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE
Ford has a “Ford Social Networks” link on the main navigation which is carried throughout all of the pages on the website. When users click on the link, it has a sub-navigation of all the social networks and what can be found on those particular networks. The company also has a right hand navigation that is also carried throughout all of the pages on the website and includes a link to their Twitter account with the most recent tweets, as well as links to their YouTube and Flickr accounts that each have thumbnails of recent videos and pictures respectively.
Henkel has a section on the right-hand navigation entitled “Henkel & Social Media”. Once users click on “Henkel & Social Media”, they are taken to a robust social media section. Like Ford, Henkel’s social media section has a sub-navigation that lists all of the social networks and what can be found on each.
CONNECT WITH US
Alaska Airlines has a “Connect With Us” link prominently displayed on the “About Company” homepage. They also have a dedicated “Social Media” tab on the left-hand navigation. Upon clicking on either of these tabs, users are taken to a listing of all of the social networks with a link and a description of what can be found on each channel.
I’d also like to point out an interesting feature they have called “flyer talk” which is a forum where customers can exchange ideas and interact with employees. Users can also login to Flyertalk using their Facebook account. I tried this and there doesn’t seem to be a flyertalk forum on there, but the company does a great job of interacting with people on Facebook as well as using it to post videos and other company information.
FOLLOW US / STAY CONNECTED
We are also seeing some companies that have a “Follow Us on the Web” or “Stay Connected” feature. For example, Monsanto provides a listing of all the social media links on their homepage only in a featured area “Follow Us on the Web”.
Agnico-Eagle has a “Follow Us” feature that appears on the top of every page – and once users click on this they are taken to a page with various ways to “follow” the company such as email alerts, RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo (disclosure Agnico-Eagle is a Q4 client).
While Monsanto and Agnico-Eagle do not have a dedicated social media page on their respective websites, these companies recognize the importance of letting users know of the other places they can interact with the company as well as putting this information on the website where it can be easily found.
We are still in the early stages of analyzing the data and will share more as we uncover the trends. To state the obvious, we strongly recommend that if your company is using social media, that you let your constituents know by adding a “Connect with Us” or “Follow us” area on your corporate website. Otherwise you are depriving them of the opportunity to engage with your company as well as limiting your company’s chance to interact with current and potential shareholders on their chosen medium.
Related posts:
- PotashCorp: The Makings of a Best Practice IR Website – Part 2
- Trends and Best Practices in Online Communications and Social Media in Corporate IR
- Poll: What role is your corporate website playing in your social media efforts?
- PotashCorp: The Makings of a Best Practice IR Website – Part 1
- How Q4 uses Facebook Social Plugins on Corporate IR Websites
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