Businesses in India and other emerging markets are using social media platforms more than their developed-market peers for expanding their customer relationships and for hiring purposes, says a KPMG survey.
According to the survey, conducted among nearly 4,000 managers and employees around the world, more than 70 per cent of businesses in India use social media, while the same is even higher in China at 88 per cent.
In Brazil also, 68 per cent of businesses use social media to reach out to their customers and prospective employees.
In contrast, the adoption of social media is much lower in developed countries — 27 per cent in Japan, 41.6 per cent in Australia, 41.7 per cent in Sweden, 43 per cent in Germany, 48.2 per cent in the UK, 51 per cent in Canada and the 71 per cent in the US.
“The adoption of social media is widespread for businesses in the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil who on average are 20 to 30 percentage points more likely to use social media than counterparts in the UK, Australia, Germany or Canada,” KPMG noted.
Overall, more than 70 per cent of organisations operating across the globe surveyed are now active on social media.
The report also said that organisations that attempt to restrict access to social networks to eliminate employee use may suffer the consequences.
It noted that one-third of employees surveyed with blocked access were not only using social media at the office, they were ‘jail breaking’ their work devices to satiate their social networking needs.
The report attributed the adoption of social media services in the emerging markets to rapidly declining cost of internet access and devices in these places.
In addition, the majority of businesses use social media to enhance their relationships with their customers. But more than half of the respondents are also expanding their use of social media to drive innovation in their products and services, and for recruitment.
“The emerging markets seem to be quickly finding that social networks offer a relatively low-cost opportunity to leapfrog the competition in developed markets,” KPMG Partner (Australia’s Digital Economy Practice) Mr Malcolm Alder said.
“In some cases, inefficient, unreliable or monitored email systems are forsaken in preference of the faster and unfiltered, interactive social network channels. In others, a lack of alternatives may be driving businesses to adopt social networks within the enterprise,” Mr Alder added.
However, the executives should consider balancing the risks of engaging in social media against the opportunity cost of not participating, the report said.