Yesterday, PR Week and MS&L announced the results of their first annual Social Media Survey. The overarching finding wasn’t too surprising…

“Despite the perceived prevalence of the use of social media in the marketing world, there are many companies that are still cautiously entering the space.”

I think most of us in the communications industry are aware that much of corporate America still thinks “the Twitter” and “the Facebook” are for teenyboppers and (if at all) are very cautiously considering the ever-diminishing MySpace (I don’t even remember my login details for MySpace!) for their debut in the social mediasphere. It’s sad because many of them could have improved their brand identities a long time ago, had they been ahead of the curve. Exhibit A: Wisconsin Tourism Federation (WTF?)

Here (in a nutshell) are some of the survey’s interesting findings:

• 37% of the 271 marketers surveyed reported that their company does not include any social media tools
• 49% of companies do not have a specific approach regarding the use of social media on behalf of the company
• 10% discourage employees to use social media to communicate on behalf of the company
• 22% allow only marketing and communications employees to use social media on behalf of the organization
• 20% of companies encourage all employees to use social media channels to share messages on behalf of the company or its brands
• Of the companies that do leverage social media…
  • 47% manage and monitor customer feedback
  • 40% reach key influencers
  • 39% use it to understand the consumer and competitive landscape
  • 32% use social media to create brand communities and fan pages
  • 31% use it for media relations
  • 28% for product launches
  • 19% for product reviews
  • 6% to monitor conversations

-Andréa S.

First of all, if you haven’t been watching the new show Glee on Wednesday nights, you need to start. Not only is it hilarious and features great musical numbers, they’ve also been doing a great job of online marketing. They’re currently holding a karaoke contest on MySpace, where people can submit videos of themselves singing the songs featured in the show, for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood to visit the Glee set. In addition, the show will donate $1 for each entry to the Grammy Foundation.

Although it has its drawbacks, MySpace is the perfect platform for such a contest, since it is still the social network that focuses most on music. The contest already has hundreds of entries, some of which are rather amusing. It’s fun for everyone! In addition, some of the Glee characters — @RachelBerryGlee and @KurtHummelGlee — have their own very entertaining Twitter accounts. And don’t forget to tune in to Glee tonight on FOX at 9:00 p.m.

—Alyssa

Myspace confirmed today that it has purchased iLike, a network which allows users to share playlists and interact with eachother, for $20 million.  The purchase of the company, which posted a profit last year, is an effort by Myspace to reclaim its place as the #1 social network despite mass layoffs and revenue loss.

-Maria

Sadly, this is probably somewhat true. I might have to buy the T-shirt.

—Alyssa (via Josh)

When I was flipping through the latest issue of Details on the train, something in the “Mavericks 2009” listicle made me do a double-take. The blurb about the founders of Twitter reads, “The microblog site may largely be the domain of tweens and teens.” Um, I’m pretty sure the kidlets are mainly chattering about the Jonas Brothers and Twilight on Facebook and MySpace. In fact, the Pew Internet & American Life Project recently found that the most avid microbloggers are between 25 and 34, with 18- to 24-year-olds coming in a close second. So, mainstream media, the next time you decide to write about “that new Twitter thing,” you might want to do some fact-checking.

—Alyssa

Friday Fun: MySpace Musics Amps Up its Services

I’ve never been a huge fan of MySpace.  What can I say; I’m just a Facebook girl!  I have used the platform for managing my music interests but found the set up to be user-unfriendly and rarely logged on.

Today while on Digg I noticed that TechCrunch recently posted a story on MySpace’s recent improvements to its music section.  It makes sense that MySpace would want to tout its music offerings as it seems to be the social network’s bread and butter.

I took some time to play around with the new offerings and I must say that I’m impressed.  It’s much more user friendly, although some of it is still leaves something to be desired aesthetically.  The improvements include the capacity for multiple playlists, multiple songs posting on user profiles and more.  Check it out!  The coolest feature I will never use (I really don’t need help embarrassing myself) is their karaoke feature.

Music lovers, enjoy your Friday fun.  Friday playlist on!

-Andrea

MySpace has announced a new ploy to increase user engagement (literally) — “Get Married on MySpace,” a Web series that invites MySpacers to choose the details of one unlucky couple’s wedding.

-Tom

According to new Comscore data, if Facebook and MySpace continue at their current growth rates, Facebook will overtake MySpace in the U.S. a year from now. Maybe I live in a tech-savvy bubble (very likely), but I honestly don’t know anyone who still uses MySpace.

—Alyssa

Ad revenue for social networks is not expected to grow at the rates previously expected, and estimates for 2009 spending have been slashed for the second time in weeks.  According to Mashable, 65% of the estimated $1.2 billion market will go to Facebook and MySpace, leaving a scant $435 million for the best of the rest.

All this means that we can expect fewer new introductions to the social network market next year and significant attrition among the smaller, less profitable networks.

-Tom