• by Aaron Baar , May 1, 2013

Telecommunications companies such as Dish, T-Mobile and Boost Mobile, are among the best U.S. companies when it comes to social media responsiveness, says a Socialbakers , a Prague-based social media analytics company. 

According to the company’s first-quarter “Socially Devoted” report, U.S. brands still trail the world when it comes to responsiveness in the social channel, though they are improving. (On average, U.S. brands answer 51% of questions posed by consumers on Facebook -- below the global average of 61%, but far better than the 22% they answered in a similar study from June 2012.)

“Social media customer care is a key part of any successful social media strategy, especially in service industries like telecom and retail,” Jan Rezab, CEO of Socialbakers, tells Marketing Daily, in response to e-mailed questions. “The most ‘Socially Devoted’ companies -- wherever they are -- take social media seriously and use it to their advantage.”

Of the companies that were among the top 10 most “Socially Devoted” in the U.S., seven are from the electronics and telecommunications sectors, while two (Best Buy and Target) are retailers. The competitive nature of those industries is a major factor driving their Facebook responsiveness, according to Rezab.  “Since [they’re industries] with high engagement and demanding customers, companies in those sectors have to be extremely proactive,” he says. “Otherwise, their competitors will take their customers.”

But for the companies still struggling with responsiveness, Rezab counsels them to look at social media as an important customer service channel.

“Even though Twitter or Facebook probably never intentionally designed company pages to also be used for customer service, it's something that has already happened,” Rezab says. “Customers found a use-case, companies found a solution. It's a great shift, and companies that ‘get it’ do have an advantage.”