- Research shows UK is turning social media to business value in spite of security concerns, with Linkedin and Facebook still preferred over Twitter -

The lines have officially been blurred between home and the workplace as UK enterprises embrace the business opportunities offered by social media, according to new research, commissioned by Open Text Corporation. The research shows that more than 50 per cent of enterprises surveyed in the UK are using social media in the workplace and 95 per cent believe social media offers business an opportunity to improve communication with both internal and external audiences.

The research was completed at Open Text’s recent customer Content Day event, sampling more than 300 IT executives and business decision makers.  A total of 43 per cent confirmed business drivers for using social media are its direct and personal route of contact with customers and partners. Unsurprisingly security was seen to be the biggest barrier to long-term adoption registering 41 per cent, with 20 per cent reporting that a lack of control over message was also a concern.

Mark Finch, director of social media at Open Text commented: “The accessibility and transparency of social media means that at every level of business there can be input and feedback. At the top, social media is as much about the ideological approach as it is about product promotion and marketing; whereas at customer level it is more focused on end-user support and having an independent voice within the broader collective market. The advancement of web content technologies and the ease of content syndication through social networks, have and will continue to impact both business and consumers in a positive way.”

The results follow news earlier this month that Open Text has expanded its family of social media offerings that enable businesses to securely apply the value of social media to solve core business challenges, such as improving customer engagement or promoting team productivity (http://www.opentext.com/2/global/press-release-details.html?id=2371).

Other key research findings include:
•   More than a quarter of large organisations expect social media to improve customer service
•   93 percent of respondents believe corporate blogging can help corporate communications
•   33 percent of businesses found that corporate employee training videos were most valuable with 30 percent listing product demonstrations
•   More than a quarter of organisations regularly use Twitter for business purposes, but the most popular site is Linkedin with 35 percent
•   40 percent reported that Facebook and Linkedin were both preferred social media sites for ease of use