1. How social
are you?
A study looking at how the UK’s leading technology
companies are using social media.
www.emlwildfire.com/tech_social_media
@EMLWildfire

2. How social are you? 2.0
Social media dominates our online lives. More businesses right way. And, when it comes to social media, that means
than ever are turning to social networks. engagement.
But are they actually being social? This report takes some of the fastest growing UK tech
companies and looks at how they are using social media.
Social media is increasingly at the heart of everything
we do online. At EML Wildfire, our approach focuses on
using the right channel for the right audience in the

3. Is your business really social?
Or do you just use social networks?
Last year, we looked at the social media activities of 50 What did we do? We took the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 –
of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies. a ranking of the UK’s fastest growing tech companies - and
looked at how they approach social media. We then pooled
We found that, while an increasing number were using all our findings and cross-checked them with last year.
social networks, few of them were using these networks to
be social. A year on and we’ve decided to revisit the exercise This report reveals what we found.
and find out what, if anything, has changed.

4. Social media usage continues
to grow, but we still aren’t
being social
Our research has found that, while technology companies brands last year, Facebook seemed relatively unpopular.
have generally expanded their use of social media over However in 2011, 70% of the companies we looked at had
the past year, engagement levels are still low. Companies a registered account.
are still stuck in a ‘push marketing’ mindset rather than
engaging directly.
Facebook on the up
Almost all (92%) of the companies in our study had a
LinkedIn account, an increase from last year (72%),
making it the most used social network in the study.
Twitter remained popular, with 82% of the companies
in our survey having an account, up from 74% from last
year. But the biggest leap forward came in the number
of Facebook accounts being used. Used by only 40% of

5. Interestingly, this increase came wholly from B2B received comments and only 8% of those comments
businesses. While 100% of the B2C companies assessed received replies.
used Facebook in 2010 and all eight B2C brands this year
were also on the platform, there was a huge rise from B2B Twitter saw the highest levels of engagement overall. Of
brands; up from 32% in 2010 to 64% of the 42 assessed the 41 Fast 50 companies with a Twitter account, 68%
in 2011. used it to build relationships with followers. However,
on average, only 14% of tweets were replies and 14%
Engagement shows little change were retweets. So while a company’s Twitter account was
So, while there’s been a big increase in social media usage generally used more for engagement compared to other
over the last 12 months, engagement is still low. Only social media sites, there is still a very low proportion of
31% of those with a Facebook account used it to engage tweets that are used for two-way dialogue.
with users. And of companies that had a blog, only 20%
By far the most popular use of social media was sharing
relevant articles and news. On the whole, most social
media content contained links to other sites with news and
comment about related industry news. The second most
popular use of social media was for one-way marketing
communications.

6. HOMEPAGE LINKS
Over half of tech companies
link to social channels from
their website homepage
In recent years, website homepages have moved from Companies were most likely to publish a Twitter link on
a simple shop-front to dynamic, engaging portals. their homepage (58%) and this was the case for both B2B
Linking to your social network presence gives visitors and B2C brands.
a way to keep in touch even if they aren’t ready to buy,
allowing you to build relationships off-site.
Only 58% of the companies we assessed had social media
links on their homepage despite the fact that over 90%
of the companies had at least one social networking site.
This is, however, still a significant increase from last year,
where only 38% had links.

7. The only major disparity between B2B and B2C companies 6. Put your latest blog posts on your homepage – encourage visitors
was in relation to LinkedIn with, unsurprisingly, under half to visit your blog by pulling in your latest post on the homepage
(45%) of B2B companies providing a link but only 13% of or even featuring relevant posts throughout the site
B2C doing the same. But this is hardly a criticism as LinkedIn 7. Feed in your latest tweet or status update on your homepage –
is much more appropriate for B2B brands. this gives your website a real-time and dynamic appearance while
demonstrating that you regularly update content and that it’s
worth visiting again
Top tips for integrating social media into your website
8. Include links to your social media profiles on your contact page –
1. Provide prominent links – clearly advertise social network
if you are advertising your phone number and email, why not your
accounts on every page
Twitter or Facebook details too?
2. Explain what customers will be getting if they join your social
9. Add staff social media profiles – do you have a ‘staff’ page on
network – for example, something like: “for regular service
your website? Add their social media profiles alongside telephone
updates, follow us on Twitter”
numbers or email addresses
3. Keep social network links at the top of your webpage – or at least
10. Add ‘Like’, ‘tweet this’ or +1 links – adding these will encourage
further up the page so they don’t get missed. By your telephone
visitors to share website content with like-minded peers on social
number is a good place; after all, it’s just another way to get in
networks
touch
4. Use social network logos – they are instantly recognisable and
take up less space
5. Add your blog to your site navigation bar – if you have a
navigation bar on your website, add your blog as one of the tabs

8. Intamac shows how to keep social networking links simple and accessible.

9. TWITTER
Only 14% of tweets are replies
Because of its openness, Twitter has always been B2C companies were much better than B2B at using
the most accessible network for both B2B and B2C Twitter as a social tool. An average of 35% of tweets from
brands. It is therefore also the easiest way for B2C companies were replies compared to just 7% from
brands to begin having two-way conversations. B2B brands.
Twitter was the best used of all the social media sites. Another interesting finding was the increased use of
While the most common use of Twitter was to provide Twitter as a recruitment tool, with 19% using it in this
content and articles, 68% used it as a tool for having way – the same as Linkedin. Elsewhere, 86% of companies
conversations with consumers, journalists, and other used Twitter for one way marketing communications, while
companies. This was a huge leap forward from last year 90% of companies tweeted about industry related articles
where 43% of brands had never replied to a tweet. and content.
But it’s not all good. While many brands are being ‘social’
on Twitter, many still neglect their account. Of those that
have a Twitter account, an average of only 14% of tweets
are replies.

10. Top tips for using Twitter to engage
1. Don’t be cryptic – with only 140 characters at your disposal, it’s 6. Link Twitter to your web analytics service – use web analytics to
often tricky to get ideas across, but being clear and concise is identify what drives traffic and how effective or likely this traffic
crucial in keeping your followers engaged is to convert
2. Give followers a reason to click your link – include a link in your 7. Retweet interesting content – embrace your community and if
tweets whenever possible and keep your tweets interesting to one of your followers tweets something interesting, retweet it to
encourage click-throughs your followers. Add a comment for extra points
3. Convey your personality through your tweets – don’t be afraid to 8. Ask questions – one of the best ways to encourage engagement
use a lighter tone on Twitter. The more approachable you are, the with your followers is by asking questions. Why not get feedback
more likely you are to build relationships with your followers on your latest product or ask for content ideas for your blog?
4. Create lists of key people in your industry or useful contacts 9. Be flexible; don’t just tweet about the same thing – the best
– use Twitter Lists to put together useful groups of relevant brands on Twitter provide a good balance of different tweets –
people. This will help you build links with these influencers and some serious and some promotional, but others that are lighter
will also act as a useful resource for your followers in tone and give a more human side to the company
5. Respond to replies quickly – if someone directs a message at you 10. Pimp your profile by using your company colours and putting
on Twitter, do your best to respond as quickly as possible. Even if together a bespoke background – keep your Twitter profile
you don’t know the answer or need to find more information, you consistent with your company branding to make it feel more
can still set expectations credible

11. The best example of how to use Twitter as a social tool came from LOVEFiLM. Not only
did the B2C brand use Twitter to engage in general conversation, it also used it to help
customers with problems and answer queries

12. Facebook
Brands f lock to Facebook, but
only 31% use it to be social
With more than 800 million people on Facebook and and a very low percentage (31%) used it for customer,
over 700 billion minutes per month spent on the site, journalist and business engagement.
the potential to use Facebook to reach an audience is
clear. Facebook remains the realm of B2C brands but, over the
last year, B2B use of Facebook rose from 32% to 64%.
There has been a dramatic rise over the last year in the There has also been an increase in customer engagement
number of tech brands using Facebook. In 2010, only 40% from B2B sites moving from 5% in 2010 to 22% this time
of companies had a presence on Facebook, but this now round. For most (59%) B2B companies, Facebook was used
stands at 70%. A potential reason for this could be the for posting related articles and content. Also popular was
way Facebook has opened up the network to brands in the posting one-way communication messages with 56% of
last year with the changes to Facebook Pages. B2B companies using Facebook for this.
Although the increase in brands using Facebook shows Tech companies have taken steps in the right direction in
growing understanding of its importance and potential, the past year, but Facebook still remains underused and
only 14% of companies used it for customer services misused.

13. Top tips for using Facebook to engage with fans
1. Post regular status updates – as with all social networks, it is something negative, don’t just leave it unanswered. Consider
important to post useful and engaging content regularly. Don’t taking it offline to prevent mud slinging!
overdo it in terms of frequency but don’t leave it weeks between 7. Share latest blog posts on your Facebook page – if you have
posts a blog, then make sure you share your latest posts on your
2. Use other content such as videos or images – Facebook is a very Facebook fan page. You can even use tools to help you automate
visual platform (just check out an average user’s profile page) so this process
use as much video or imagery as possible 8. Consider running Facebook adverts to increase fan base – there’s
3. Run promotions or competitions – these can be a fantastic way to no shortcut to proper engagement, but targeted Facebook ads
increase fans and make your community feel valued can be a useful way to initially help grow a relevant fan base
4. Respond to comments on your posts – if someone responds to 9. Don’t be too commercial – your fans will likely know what you do
a post or asks a question, make sure you get back in touch and and offer so you don’t need to be overly commercial. Not every
start developing a dialogue post needs to be “me, me, me”
5. Experiment with different tabs or discussion groups – the 10. Offer exclusive content to your fans – show your fans you care, by
Facebook wall is only one element that can be included on a offering them something they cannot get elsewhere. This could
page. Discussion groups can also be a great way to build up more be early access to a new product or a special discount code, for
interest within your community example
6. Reply to criticism, don’t just ignore it – if someone does post

14. Retail Eyes is a prime example of how not to run a Facebook page as, despite the
page being set up months ago, nothing has been posted so far!
SkyScanner provides a fantastic example of how to use Facebook effectively. The
variety of topics discussed and competitions encourage fans to return and the live
chat function is a great way to provide customer service on a social network.

15. Blogs
Don’t forget, blogs can be
social too
Blogs have long been at the forefront of the web However, for a blog to be ‘social’ it’s necessary to
2.0 revolution and there are now 130 million in encourage and engage in dialogue with readers and other
existence. Companies have flocked to this ‘owned bloggers. Only a tiny minority of tech companies entered
media’ channel, but how many realise it can be social? into two-way conversations with their audience: just five
of the blogs (20%) received comments on a regular basis;
Used well, blogs can drive traffic, encourage engagement and only 2 of these had a response posted from the brand.
and help create community. But, if not updated regularly,
they can quickly become stale and uninteresting. There is still a way to go before blogs can claim to be truly
social; companies need to carefully weigh up the benefits
Exactly half of the companies in our study had some of investing in a two-way blog strategy against the
sort of blog, which is close to last year’s findings (46%). resources required to implement it.
Overall, the majority of companies updated their blog
monthly and nearly all (96%) blogged about related
industry news.

16. Tips for running a corporate blog
1. Set realistic frequency targets and stick to them – don’t pretend 7. Add RSS and email sign-ups – RSS feeds allow your readers to
you’ll blog every day if you know that will be a challenge. Be subscribe to posts without having to visit regularly. Alternatively,
realistic with content goals, making it easier to stick to them and you can let visitors subscribe by email
setting expectations for website visitors 8. Share your posts on social networks – ensure you remember to
2. Keep posts, paragraphs and sentences short – we read differently alert followers on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn about your latest
online so keep it short! Around 300-500 words is ideal with sub- blog posts
heads to break the text and help readers navigate through your 9. Read and respond to other blogs – as a blogger, you need to
post participate in the community to really reap the benefits. Reply to
3. Make your content interesting and relevant – think about your posts on other blogs in your sector and they may start to return
audience. Who is it you are trying to appeal to? Make sure your the favour
content will be interesting and useful to them 10. Be controversial – make your blog stand out from the crowd by
4. Convey personality – set the right tone, but don’t be afraid to give saying something different. This will help you attract and retain
your bloggers the freedom to convey their own individuality readers
5. Demonstrate your expertise and knowledge – show your readers
you know your industry and make them feel they can trust you to
come up with the goods
6. Always reply to comments on your blog – even if it is just a
sentence or two. Make your readers feel valued and they’ll return
again and again

17. Again, Mimecast excelled here by not only replying to posts on its blog but also
trying to engage posters in further conversation.

18. LinkedIn
Only 20% published job
vacancies on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the social network for professionals. (52%) of companies had an embedded newsfeed detailing
Research shows its members have more brand loyalty their latest news and activity on Twitter.
than any other network, including Facebook. Yet
many brands have not yet found a way to exploit its Although LinkedIn is often seen as a tool for recruitment,
popularity and realise its potential. only 20% of companies with an account used it to list
vacancies. Most just used it as a holding page on the
LinkedIn was by far the most popular social network with network for the company.
92% of the tech companies tested having an account.
However, while it was extremely popular, only just over half

19. Top Tips for businesses using LinkedIn
1. Fill out your company profile – your LinkedIn company (and 6. Share useful articles or resources – give your connections a
personal) profile is likely to rank quite high in web searches, so reason to keep listening. Share useful information and they’ll
make sure it is as up to date as your website come back for more
2. Use widgets to integrate other tools – LinkedIn makes it easy to 7. Request recommendations from happy customers or clients –
feed in information to your personal profile, like your latest blog peer recommendation is proven to be much more effective than
posts or Slideshare presentation for example, using widgets advertising or direct mail. If you have happy clients, make sure
3. Monitor and answer questions in LinkedIn Answers – keep an eye they write about their positive experience on your personal
on relevant questions and submit answers to demonstrate your profile
expertise. Give one person in your company responsibility for 8. Post job listings and tap into the wisdom of your community
checking these on a regular basis – once your community is a decent size, you can tap into this
4. Update your status regularly – many people ignore the status knowledge to find the perfect recruit
update potential on their LinkedIn personal account. You can 9. Include your LinkedIn URL on your signature and business card
even link your status updates with other social networking – make it easy for prospects, customers and acquaintances to
accounts to make it easier to manage all your social networks at add you on LinkedIn. Get a vanity URL and add it to your email
the same time signature and business card
5. Start or help manage a group for your product, brand or industry 10. Visit LinkedIn on a regular basis or integrate it into a third party
– if there is already a popular group relating to your industry, app – you might not need to visit LinkedIn as often as other
then get involved and reply to questions and posts. If there isn’t social networks, but by adding your LinkedIn account to a third
one, consider starting one party application like Tweetdeck, you can constantly stay on top
of what’s going on

20. DisplayLink make good use of
newsfeeds in their LinkedIn site. Moneybookers increases their personnel reach by advertising vacancies on LinkedIn

21. YouTube
83% increase in the use of
YouTube in the last year
Founded in 2005, YouTube quickly became the world’s of companies were seen to have an account, up from 24%
most popular video hosting website, with 24 hours of last year.
video content uploaded every single minute.
The story for the use of YouTube is similar to that of the
YouTube has a number of social features, including the other networks assessed; companies have an account but
ability to share and embed videos on websites, blogs or aren’t using it effectively. A mere 14% of videos received
other social networks, liking and disliking content and, of comments and only a third of those received a response
course, the ability to comment on a video on the site. from the company.
When leading technology companies like Salesforce put Most of the companies posting on YouTube provided
YouTube at the heart of their social media strategy, its company profile videos (82%) and 41% of companies
potential became clear. posted videos of interviews. Only 14% of companies
posted videos detailing new products.
2011 has seen a fairly substantial rise in the popularity
of YouTube for tech companies. In our latest survey, 44%

22. Top tips on using YouTube to help build brand awareness
1. Think about what video content your audience will find useful and Unifying your channel with your own branding will make it look
interesting – so many corporate videos end up being boring and more professional
dull, so think carefully about what will be most interesting and 7. Share your videos on your other social network accounts – don’t
relevant for your audience forget to share videos you have uploaded on your other social
2. Customers or prospects? – think about whether your video is network profiles
aimed at providing value to your customers or if it is more of a 8. Write clear titles and descriptions for your videos to increase
sales tool for prospects. The video and its message will likely be search traffic – video is playing an ever increasingly important
very different for each audience role in search. So make sure Google can find it easily by including
3. Uploading the video is only half the job – once your video is on lots of relevant keywords
YouTube, you need to think carefully about where to place it and 9. Keep them the right length – it is unlikely someone will sit
how to seed it. Would it be something that would be of interest to through a 20 minute video – unless it’s REALLY useful – so keep
bloggers or journalists? Can you post it on social networks? the videos short and to the point. This will also encourage more
4. Don’t forget to reply to comments – if someone posts a comment people to share
on your video – good or bad – make sure you respond 10. Keep your YouTube account active – if you’ve gone to the trouble
5. Track where your videos have been hosted online – keep an eye of creating a YouTube page, then make sure you keep it engaging
on whether your video has been embedded on other blogs or by adding new content at regular intervals
websites. There might be lots of conversation around the video
that you aren’t even aware of!
6. Add your logo and company branding to your YouTube channel
– if someone views your video, chances are they might then
click through to your channel to see what else you have to offer.

23. HostelBookers provided fresh and interesting content on YouTube and the
comments they got were very positive.

24. Time to make the most of your
investment in social
It is clear that UK tech companies see the So why are so many of the fastest growing tech
importance of social media, with usage figures companies not using social media in a social way?
soaring over the last year. But too many are still
failing to make the most of this investment. Instead of sitting down and thinking carefully, and
strategically, about how to approach and use these
Why should they? new channels, companies are simply using them as an
extension of pre-existing marketing techniques.
Social media offers a diverse range of opportunities,
from learning about your audience and building a loyal The companies that have scored highly in our survey
customer base to nurturing prospects as they go through show that by being social, a business can begin to build
your sales cycle. sustained relationships with end users.
Social media marketing is not a black art that requires
vast experience or knowledge. Indeed, it could be seen as
one of the easiest forms of marketing. After all, most of us
already use social networks on a regular basis to chat with
friends or network with colleagues.

25. 5 steps to the perfect
social strategy
Anyone tasked with managing social media might be 3. What are you going to say?
tempted just to set up an account and start sending out Content is key. You could have the best community in the
messages. But, we’d suggest a more strategic approach: world, but if you’ve got nothing to say, you won’t be able to
engage in conversation.
1. What’s the objective?
From customer service and engagement to driving sales, 4. Who’s going to manage it?
social media can be used for a vast array of different Deciding who will run and manage your social media
business tasks. So it’s important to think about which activity will again depend on what you are trying to achieve
one/s are important to you. and who your audience is. Invest in training and find the
right people – internally and externally for the job.
2. How will you build a community?
Having an objective is one thing, but if no one is listening 5. How will you measure success?
to you, you’ll never achieve it. Building or tapping into As with all types of marketing and PR, if you can’t measure
a community is therefore crucial. So find where your outputs and outcomes, you’ll never know whether it’s
audience is and begin to reach out to them. working. Agree metrics in advance and review them on a
regular basis to work out whether it’s working.

26. The Deloitte fast
Technology 50 2010
Autonomy Corporation plc Geo Networks Mimecast Ltd
Beaming Ltd Global Personals Ltd Mobile Interactive Group (MIG)
Bglobal plc Gradwell Dot Com Ltd Moneybookers Ltd
Biome Technologies Ltd Greenlight Marketing Ltd Net Media Planet Ltd
Bloxx Grove Information Systems Lts Node4 Ltd
BlueGnome Ltd Gyron Internet Ltd O-bit Telecom Ltd
C4L Heart Internet Periscopix
Cambridge Broadband Networks Ltd Helveta Ltd Rehabstudio
ClinTec International HostelBookers Retail Eyes (UK) Ltd
Concentra Innovise plc Saffron Media Group Ltd
Content and Code Ltd Intamac Systems Ltd Skyscanner Ltd
DisplayLink (UK) Ltd Jagex Ltd TranslateMedia
Export Technologies Latens Systems Ltd TTG (southern) Ltd
Fjordnet Ltd Leaf Consultancy Ubisense Trading Lts
Fluidata Lovefilm UK Ltd UK Grid
Focus 4 U Ltd M247 Ltd Yudu Ltd
Forward Internet Group Markit Group Holdings Ltd

28. About EML Wildfire
Building awareness, engaging audiences,
driving sales
EML Wildfire is a technology PR agency delivering
high impact campaigns that build market awareness,
engage target audiences and drive sales for technology Download this report at
businesses across global markets. Our technology www.emlwildfire.com/tech_social_media
PR approach combines sector knowledge and market
insights with traditional and digital PR skills to generate
measurable results that position our clients for
commercial success.
+ 44 208 408 8000
newbusiness@emlwildfire.com
www.emlwildfire.com