Most of South Africa’s big-name corporate brands have some sort of social media strategy, according to a study.

The South African Social Media Landscape 2012 study, unveiled by technology market researchers World Wide Worx and information analysts Fuseware, says that 95% of major brands surveyed have some form of social media strategy aimed at consumers.

However, the study says that only 51% of respondents rate their efforts on Facebook as effective, while only 33% believe they are effective on Twitter.

The report includes analysis of South African consumers’ use of Facebook, Twitter, Mxit, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Foursquare, as well as a survey conducted among corporate brand owners.

“The survey shows that corporate South Africa has woken up to social media, but it hasn’t yet figured out how to dress for the role,” says World Wide Worx managing director Arthur Goldstuck in a blog post.

“Most large companies are still neutral on the impact of social media, and are still feeling their way,” he added.

Fuseware managing director Mike Wronski, says, “We interviewed representatives of 61 major brands, and found that corporate use of social networks tended to be a case of responding to media hype.”

“The most popular social media platform in South Africa, Mxit, is used as a marketing tool by only one out of five large brands. This compares to Facebook, with nine out 10 using it, and Youtube, with two out of three,” he added.

Other findings, according to a World Wide Worx blog post, include:

• 49% of South African corporations surveyed leave social media in the hands of a marketing team, while 18% allocate it to public relations and a further 18% outsource it;
• The most commonly cited reason for using social media is as an effective PR channel, with 70% of brands using it for this purpose, while 62% use it as a core part of their marketing campaigns;
• Sales represent a key element of social media for corporations, with 43% using it for customer lead generation;
• Only 13% of companies are using social media specifically because their competitors are using it;
• Most companies intend to make investments in training their current people in social media best practices. A full 36% intend to use specialist social media agencies to assist in their social media PR and marketing. Only 15% say their skills are optimal.