An Analysis of Social Media Presentation at Company Websites

Social media (SM) has grown impressively in recent years. Yet, it remains an emerging technology that is still evolving and needs to be more fully understood by companies and researchers. Many organizations are still grappling with how they can better leverage the power of social media to support their business goals, while researchers remain challenged to deliver insight and value on this topic. Most prior studies of company attitudes toward social media have been survey-based. This study examines this issue using a content analysis of INC. 5000 company websites. The results suggest that while SM presentation is pervasive across industries, some business sectors appear to be emphasizing social media more than others based on their website presentation of SM elements. Correlation analysis showed that industry type and website type had a significant effect on SM presentation, while company size did not. This exploratory study is designed to motivate further research, so that social media can be better understood and utilized.