Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – British American Tobacco
Posted on 26. Apr, 2008 by Chi-chi Ekweozor in Social Media Strategies
This article forms part of a study on social media usage amongst FTSE 100 companies.
Each company in the FTSE 100 index was reviewed on its usage of such social media tools as RSS feeds*, blogs, online video, podcasts and social media platforms like Flickr and Facebook on its main website and on occasion, on websites of well-known subsidiary companies.
*RSS feeds are a simple way of delivering fresh versions of a website’s content to online readers automatically.
According to the Guardian.co.uk Business Glossary:
“The FTSE 100 index comprises the 100 most highly capitalised blue chip companies on the London Stock Exchange, representing approximately 81% of the UK market.”
Here’s how tobacco giant, British American Tobacco (BATS.L) measured up.
| FTSE 100 Company | RSS | Podcast | Blog | Online Video | Audio | Facebook, Flickr, etc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British American Tobacco | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
………………
Online Video/Webcasts: Yes, via newscast.com
Usage of Social Media platforms: No
(Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, del.icio.us, Twitter, Digg etc)
According to Yahoo! Finance:
“Second largest harvester, producer and distributor of tobacco in the world, just behind Philip Morris, British American Tobacco runs 15% of the world tobacco market.
Apart from the brands known the world over – Benson & Hedges, Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans and Peter Stuyvesant among others, the Group runs numerous regional brands that are only distributed locally. With thousand of employees and over 300 brands in 180 countries on all continents, BAT is an empire.”
Commentary:
So how does this self-described ‘empire’ fare as far as engaging with consumers online?
Well there are no RSS feeds provided on bat.com at all, not even for company news. The only link to online video content on the home page is to Chief Executive, Paul Adams’ interview on CNBC Europe about 2007’s preliminary financial results and recent acquisitions.
An image and video library is provided courtesy of newscast.com which now features streaming video. The information is provided “free of charge for editorial use by the media.”
Recommendations:
- Start a company blog – The tobacco industry is probably one of the most litigated industries in the world, and consequently attracts a fair bit of press attention, something British American Tobacco acknowledge on their dedicated ‘press clippings’ page.
However, having a blog would allow the corporation to show the humanitarian aspect of its work and perhaps invite dialogue around some of the issues facing the global tobacco industry.
- Use more online video – Streaming video footage from fascinating British American Tobacco sponsored events like the Culture Bus in
British American Tobacco’s usage of social media is pretty minimal, not surprising considering its industry, some might argue. However, it has much to gain from providing the most basic of social media, RSS feeds of its news. This would probably be welcomed by the press community.
………………
What do you think?
Are you a customer, employee, shareholder or stakeholder of British American Tobacco? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this review. What would you like to see British American Tobacco doing more of in terms of social media? More online video? A CEO blog, perhaps?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Need any help?
Do you work for British American Tobacco and want some insight into some of the ideas published here?
Or perhaps you look after marketing for British American Tobacco and would like a quick chat about putting some of those recommendations into practice. Contact us.
Related posts:
- Social Media Usage amongst FTSE 100 companies – Companies 11 To 15: British American Tobacco to British Land
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Anglo American
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – British Energy
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Associated British Foods
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – British Land
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