A new study from media analytics firm Catalogues 4 Business (C4B) has revealed that almost a third of companies in the UK haven’t yet embraced the  effects of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

The report found that social media is now second in the list of the most popular marketing tools for businesses. While approximately 60 per cent do use it, Ian Simpson, C4B’s managing director, claimed the rest are missing out. He said:

“Nowadays social media and digital marketing has become such a wide trend and it makes it so shocking that some businesses still haven’t deployed it.

“You would currently expect all companies to have social media within their mix, and more importantly have a purpose and end goal in mind.”

C4B’s researchers also found that around 20 per cent of firms are using image-led social platforms, like Instagram and Pinterest, as part of their sales strategies. As the demand for quick and convenient visual content grows, more businesses are beginning to create short videos, memes and infographics to engage with consumers.

Simpson spoke about the use of photo and video-sharing platforms, saying:

“This enables the customer to physically see the products or services that are being offered, the same function of catalogues.”

Despite the popularity of mobile internet access growing rapidly, the study’s results did reveal that around 40 per cent of businesses that have a presence online are yet to optimise their sites for viewing on smaller devices.

Here at Pressroom, we know how to create engaging content, but we also fully understand that for it to be effective, it has to reach the right people. In the business world of today, social media sites – whether image-led or otherwise – are just too big to ignore.

Graeme Parton

Graeme has experience creating content for online sources and for the radio, and at university he studied Multimedia Journalism.