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Customer use of social media to communicate with their utilities is growing at a staggering rate: about 57 million customers worldwide used social media for that purpose in 2011 and that number is expected to hit 624 million by the end of 2017, according to a new white paper from Pike Research.

 

And while many utilities have jumped on the social media bandwagon, others have not, Pike says. And the market research and consulting company says those utilities that aren't taking advantage of the benefits are missing out. Those benefits include keeping customers informed about pricing and billing changes, new products and services and the opportunity to develop a more "engaged relationship" with them.

 

"For many people social media has emerged as a useful way to engage with their utilities, and somewhat surprisingly, these customers are doing so on a fairly frequent basis, as our survey data shows," said senior analyst Neil Strother. "Most of these customers are younger adults under 30 who have embraced social media as their preferred communications tool. Utility managers should have some strategy in place for listening to and engaging with customers via these newer channels like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube."

 

While the total percentage of customers who communicate with their utilities through social media is far from huge – just under 11% – almost 60% of those who do said they do so "very often" or "regularly."

 

Pike says that as social media becomes more pervasive, utilities and other companies will be looking at investing in and increasing their presence there.

 

The paper is based on a Web-based survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers which the company says is a nationally representative and demographically balanced sample.

 

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