It’s the age old debate between quality and quantity — only it’s focused towards the new medium of social networks.   A recent study by StickyEyes focused on measuring the balance between volume of social media activity and degree of engagement of target audiences.

The results of the study highlighted that the most active social media players in the retail space were generating impact but were not necessarily winning the engagement game.  

For us the key takeaway here is that companies need to be clear about their ultimate goals on social media and then adapt their efforts to ensure they are meeting them.  Social programs, like other marketing efforts, is full of ‘false achievements’ which allow companies to fool themselves into thinking they’ve achieved a lot in their social efforts.

The findings about top UK retailers brings home the point that many companies are not clear about exactly where they’re aiming — and ultimately affects the ROI of social programs.