WE HAVE PUBLISHED A NEW 2011 SOCIAL MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX. DOWNLOAD NOW

General Electric, IBM, Starbucks, Ford and Dell lead the way in social media communications when it comes to talking about sustainability and CSR. That is the conclusion of a new in-depth SMI special report, the first-ever ranking of how the world’s largest companies communicate their CSR initiatives via social media. Called the Social Media Sustainability Index, it is researched and written by social media sustainability specialists Custom Communication.

The Social Media Sustainability Index offers a first-of-its-kind look at how 287 European and North American companies are using social media to tell their stories. They have been selected because all are part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the industry standard in identifying which companies operate the most sustainable business practices.

While GE and co. excel, after them the field narrows quickly. Of those 287 sustainability leaders, just 41 percent are using social media to communicate their corporate and social responsibility accomplishments. Furthermore, a mere 65 (22.5 percent) have a dedicated social media sustainability channel or advocate.

Here is the top 10 list of  companies on SMI’s Social Media Sustainability Index.

The numbers are more surprising when you consider that few of these companies can claim to be social media neophytes. Indeed, of the 287 companies that were looked at, 244, that’s around 85 percent, already
promote their consumer brands and ad campaigns through social media. Yet when it comes to where they stand on planet-saving and community-building initiatives they’re social-media mute.

At 40 pages, packed with industry sector breakdowns, competitor comparisons, handy charts, the Top 100 ranking, a guide to the Green Twitterati and a focus on 15 companies to learn from the Social Media Sustainability Index is a major undertaking that we hope will be of real value to social media communicators across the fields of CSR, corporate communications, internal communications and marketing.

This 40 page in-depth report offers an exclusive analysis of how 287 of the most sustainable companies are communicating their actions through social media. It includes the insight of leading social media communicators at major brands and provides a series of charts and graphs to help you understand the full landscape of social media sustainability.

It has been prepared specifically to provide key social media insight for CSR, internal comms, corporate communications and marketing professionals and the agencies that work with them.

When you purchase the report you will receive a:

• comprehensive analysis of how the world’s most sustainable companies are communicating their work using social media.
• critique of sustainability reputation management through social media.
• guide to how 15 leading companies are using social media for smart sustainability comms.
• sector-by-sector comparison of the companies that are excelling in sustainability social media.
• complete index of the 120 social sustainable companies with links to their social media channels and properties.
• considered guide to the Green Twitterati – the 100 top green business and CSR tweeters.
• list of Do’s and Don’ts for effective sustainability social media reputation management
• a top-line Powerpoint presentation to help promote training and in-house knowledge

The NEW 2011 report can be downloaded at http://socialmediainfluence.com/SMI-report/