Bangalore, March 7, 2013: Indian companies have a long way to go with respect to maximizing the benefits of social media, finds a nationwide study by leading next-generation market intelligence, social media and data analytics organisation, blueocean market intelligence. ( The Tata group companies seem to be an exception).Their ‘2013 Social Effectiveness Index (SEI) 20’, charts the Social Media Effectiveness of 20 of India’s Most Admired Companies (Fortune India-The Hay group survey). The study incorporated sectors that included IT, ITES, BPO, Oil & Gas, Automotive, Apparel, FMCG, Metals & Mining, Infrastructure, and Auto Components.
The study found that effective utilisation of social media for business is found wanting. The key challenge for Indian companies is to understand exactly how social media interacts with consumers, enables product and brand recognition, and drives customer acquisition, retention and loyalty. With social media in its nascent stages, there is an undeniable opportunity for companies to create a well-established, customer-centric image.
The 2013 SEI 20 rankings revealed the following as top five performers -1. Tata Steel 2. Tata Motors 3. Dell India 4. Tata Consultancy Services 5. Bosch
According to the study, engaging consumers across channels will work well to drive greater volumes of conversations, and effective campaigns. The study also observed, good chartered social media plans strategies that are in sync with the core business objectives will have the greatest influence over customer experience.
Greater volumes of conversations and effective campaigns that worked well towards engaging consumers across channels drove higher social effectiveness rankings, the study observed. Well-defined social media strategies that tightly align with core business objectives have the greatest influence over customer experience, the study added.
The SEI 20 ranking methodology is designed to measure business impact by integrating analytics, measurement, and monitoring. It captures conversations across the breadth of social networks and online communities, and correlates their impact with key business metrics such as revenue and brand value. It also directly measures business to consumer interactions in social media, including how Facebook and Twitter drive site visitors and purchase behaviour.
blueocean employed a comprehensive ranking methodology covering five key parameters that correlate to business metrics such as revenue and brand value. The brand’s share of volume of online conversations, customer engagement rate, depth of customer engagement, number of influencers and advocates on social channels, and net sentiment were measured by capturing conversations across the breadth of all social networks and online communities.
Says Kumar Mehta, Global CEO, blueocean market intelligence: “blueocean market intelligence has conducted the most comprehensive study designed to evaluate social media effectiveness and identify the top performers among India’s top companies. This exclusively Indian index captures the full gamut of social media, providing deeper understanding of how these efforts drive brand recognition (equity), customer acquisition and retention.”
“The top performers truly understand how social media can be used to achieve business goals. Business of all sizes can benefit from their experience and learn how to provide high quality customer engagement on digital channels by focusing on metrics that typically have the greatest business impact,” Mehta added.
blueocean has developed unique capabilities in the Social Media, Big Data and Analytics space, moving in sync with changing consumer dynamics. Increased consumer interaction across various channels (including Social Media), indicates a new age of consumer activism. The creation of the SEI 20 index has been powered by blueocean’s big data analytics practice.
To view a complete version of the SEI 20, including a detailed explanation of the ranking methodology and a compilation of top social media performers by sector, http://blueoceansei100.com/