Jarvis plc : Investis IQ Corporate Website Ranking Q4 2012 – social media in corporate communications hits the tipping point

Investis' ranking of corporate websites in the fourth quarter of 2012* shows that the number of companies using social media has reached the tipping point. 40% of FTSE250 companies have a corporate social media presence, up from just 14% of companies a year ago. These results refer only to those accounts used specifically for corporate communications and linked to from the corporate website, giving an accurate measure of corporate uptake and engagement. We've also seen social media growth in Europe, with the MDAX up from 20% to 44% while the SMI20 now has an impressive 60% of its constituents using social media. The rate of growth shows that companies will soon be in the minority if they continue to avoid the social trend.

Overall the rankings show the average score to have grown by nearly 1.4%. When the same indices were scored six months ago, the average score had fallen by over 5%. This was partly caused by changes in our methodology at the beginning of 2012 (http://goo.gl/yIrJ8), but also due to a lack of investment in corporate sites - this growth, though modest, is encouraging.

The SMI20 remains the highest scoring index with a score just a fraction less than that recorded by the FTSE 100 in Q3 2012. The SMI20 also showed the most improvement over the past six months (up by 4.6%) while the average score of the ATX20 continues to fall.

Commenting on the latest results, Marcus Fergusson, Head of Social Media at Investis said:

"We've seen the use of social media for corporate communications increase enormously over the past 18 months. We are now approaching a stage where talking about social media as an optional add-on is no longer relevant; it is rapidly becoming a day-to-day part of how communities communicate and as much a part of corporate communications as a press release or an RNS feed."

* We score each index once every six months: this quarter Investis scored the FTSE250, the MDAX, the SMI20, the ATX20 and the RTSI.

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Investis is Europe's leading specialist in digital corporate communications for public companies. Our services include corporate websites, social media solutions, apps and mobile sites, video and webcasting, website tools and integrated online reporting.

Investis works with over 1,600 companies in 30 countries, from the smallest companies to the largest, including more than 50% of the FTSE100. The company has offices in the UK, Germany, Italy, Finland and India.

The IQ survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2012 based on index constituents from the beginning of October. The IQ Ranking is the most comprehensive and authoritative of its kind, assessing nearly 200 criteria in measuring website quality and performance. Investis now scores more than 700 companies every six months, offering a unique view on the evolution of corporate websites for its clients and partners.

For more information on the IQ benchmarking service, please contact Marcus Fergusson on marcus.fergusson@investis.com, call +44 (0) 20 7038 9000 or visit http://goo.gl/nldfa.

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