Good use of social media goes with financial success

Levels of financial success and social media engagement go hand in hand for the world’s top 100 brands according to a new report from ENGAGEMENT db:

Financial performance correlates with engagement. Companies that are both deeply and widely engaged in social media significantly surpass their peers in both revenues and profits. For example, the study found that “Mavens” [the most engaged in social media] typically enjoyed revenue growth of 18% on average over the last 12 months, while Wallflowers [the least engaged] saw revenues fall 6%.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation of course and financially more successful firms may well feel that they have the room to experiment a little more. But if you assume that the most successful firms also (generally) have high quality management, then it is striking that so many of the best managers think social media is worth the time and money to do it well and extensively.