Nine out of ten Swiss organisations and companies are active on social media, which has thus increasingly established itself as a key communications instrument. Two-thirds of those surveyed have a social media strategy for their entire organisation. Their strategies pursue goals such as image-strengthening and confidence-building, visibility and reach. When it comes to use, YouTube remains out in front, now taking top spot ahead of Twitter and LinkedIn, which is booming. Facebook is in fourth place (2018/2, 2016/1), failing to make it into the top three for the first time. The trend towards image-based, rapid dialogue and content via streaming or chat functions did not continue, despite a generally greater level of engagement triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. More than half of the organisations have stepped up their use of social media for dialogue and maintaining contacts.

A study conducted by Bernet Relations and the IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies at the ZHAW was launched in 2012 and has now appeared for the fifth time. Guido Keel, the academic head of the study, says: “This new study shows the great, ever-increasing importance of social media in organisational communication. More emphasis is being placed on strategic fundamentals and the integration of social media in communication, and more resources are being used for this purpose.”

Irène Messerli, an author at Bernet Relations, adds: “Over two-thirds of organisations and companies are working with corporate influencers. Their use has increased; administrative bodies and political organisations primarily focus on internal influencers, while companies utilise both internal and external ones. LinkedIn plays an important role, since internal influencers use it to comment on their organisations and what services and provisions they offer.”

The trend towards higher social media budgets continues. Some 85% of all respondent companies have a budget or are planning to provide one soon. The majority of companies and organisations are already paying to extend their reach. A third pay for advertising at least once a week. Facebook ads are even more widespread here than Google ads, which are only slightly ahead of Instagram ads.

Important internal influencers – little investment in continuing education
Personnel resources are still primarily flowing into the creation and management of content, followed by design and strategic development. Surprisingly, in 2020 too, little was invested in internal training and continuing education. At the same time, internal and external influencers are becoming ever more important: 67% have implemented corresponding measures or are planning to do so.

Great awareness of audience – concern about security, outrage and escalation
Swiss organisations and companies are increasingly working with fee-based monitoring tools. Popularity, reach, visitor numbers, engagement and dialogue are among the aspects being measured. The respondents believe that the greatest challenges continue to lie in the areas of data security and the risk of content triggering indignation. Fewer and fewer of those questioned expect to see a trend towards offline communication. In the future, they believe that the importance of social media will grow for companies’ personnel marketing, image and reputation, and that social media strategies will increasingly be developed across all departments and areas.

The complete study
Download complete 2020 study (PDF 8.0 MB)
bernet.ch/socialmediastudie
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Bernetblog articles on the subject of studies
Twitter: #SocialMediaCH20

Contact:
Irène Messerli, Dominik Allemann, Bernet Relations
irene.messerli@bernet.ch, dominik.allemann@bernet.ch
+41 44 266 90 80

Guido Keel, IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies at the ZHAW
guido.keel@zhaw.ch
+41 58 934 77 65

Bernet Relations advises clients in IT, technology, services, education, finance, administration and the non-profit sector on communications strategy and implementation. The team at Bernet Relations, led by Irène Messerli and Dominik Allemann, have been helping to further develop the field of communications for 20 years with their Bernetblog (launched in 2005), checklists and publications. This is their fifth social media study and the thirteenth Bernet research project.
www.bernet.ch/wissen

The IAM Institute of Applied Media Studies at the ZHAW has been promoting professionalism in journalism and corporate communications since its foundation in 2000. The IAM pursues the overarching goals of the university: education, continuing education, research and consulting.
www.zhaw.ch/linguistik/iam