The Communications Department

Here are some interesting statistics regarding the adoption of social media among North American corporate communicators.

“Social media played a greater role in 2008 in North American corporate communications departments than in European ones. Nearly two in 10 (18%) communications departments in North America relied upon social media/blogging in 2008 as communications tools/resources, compared to less than one in 10 (7%) in Europe. Further, nearly twice as many North American CCOs report they added a social media/blogging function to their department in 2008 as European CCOs (41% vs. 22%, respectively). However, European CCOs are just as likely as their North American peers to expect social media to grow as a critical tool in 2009 (26% and 30%, respectively).” (Source: The Rising CCO, an annual survey conducted by global executive search firm Spencer Stuart and global public relations firm Weber Shandwick with KRC Research.)

While the comparison is interesting, the bottom line is that the use of social media tools and the need for people with the skills to use them effectively continue to rise.