Telecoms provider O2 is one of the utility industry’s fastest growing social media brands, according to the latest Utility Social Media Benchmark results from IORMA eDigitalResearch.
O2 top all three league tables and are the only brand within the benchmark to reach over 1million followers on Facebook. The mobile provider regularly engages with its audience with frequent competitions and offers utilising its O2 Priority rewards scheme.
The study also found that Ovo Energy have made one of the biggest improvements wave on wave, having moved an impressive nine places up the Facebook league table becoming the highest ranked energy provider. The energy provider has also managed to attract almost 7,000 new Twitter followers in the past twelve months, moving them into the Twitter top ten for the first time. Ovo Energy reinforce its business model across social media sites, posting content on product range and highlighting lower prices alongside fun posts, such as recipes and energy saving tips.
British Gas, who provide to over 11million homes are ranked ninth in the Facebook overall league table with 33,426 followers, whereas Ovo Energy, with around 310,000 customers are ranked seventh with 44,370 Facebook followers suggesting having more customers doesn’t necessarily mean having a larger social media following.
Further analysis shows that, wave on wave, utility brands are actually posting more regularly across social media platforms throughout the course of the week, especially on Twitter. However, many are still failing to update their accounts over weekend periods.
eDigitalResearch has tracked the use of Twitter and Facebook in various industries with our benchmarking since 2010. Our research shows that utility brands, are on average, posting more than double the amount of content compared to food and beverage brands, especially on Twitter.
Kat Hounsell, Sales and Marketing Director at eDigitalResearch, comments, “Social media usage is now paramount for utility brands who need to ensure they are reaching out and proactively engaging with their audience. The utility sector, especially energy providers, have come up against some negative press in the past couple of years. Engagement levels are often lower than many retailers or leisure brands, especially where consumer choice is limited for certain utility supplies. With that in mind, it is key for utility providers who really want to have a positive impact with customers to really engage on social media with an interactive strategy. Our results show that brands who do this well, such as O2 or Ovo Energy, are able to attract a higher number of social followers.”
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