Yet another survey: "FTSE 100 companies 'behind the curve' in Web 2.0 "

Monday really is the day for surveys.

According to study by digital developers BroadView, a majority of large British firms are 'behind the curve in digital comms':

Despite recent warnings from the FT Bowen Craggs Index on the importance of web video, only 23 per cent of videos on FTSE 100 sites are for general corporate comms.

The majority – 59 per cent – are aimed solely at investors, with the vast majority simply standard webcasts of investor briefings. BroadView MD Stuart Maister called these videos 'boxticking exercises', aimed at fulfilling regulations.

'Making the most of websites is a hot topic, but companies still need to do more,' he said. 'The web 2.0 generation expects much more than text-heavy pages.'

While this survey is little more than a glorified sales pitch for Broadview's services, it does raise a few issues.

That reason that the percentage of videos for general corporate comms are so low is that quite often companies either do not have (or want to provide) the budget for Web 2.0 technologies, especially in the current financial climate. If they do have the budget, often there isn't a suitable executive to act as a spokesperson for the company (there's a reason there are so many media training companies out there). If a company does have a suitable executive to use, they are often too busy to spend a day or two filming. They are the leaders of a FTSE 100 company for a reason, and not for their acting ability.

As for the 'Web 2.0 generation', most of the FTSE 100 companies will only have a vested interest from investors. Last time I checked, video wasn't a prerequisite for fulfilling regulations. At the end of the day, analysts, investors, and the various stakeholders of FTSE 100 companies can glean much more information about a company's background and financial performance through traditional text-based methods, e.g. press releases and market announcements.

A FTSE 100 company website doesn't need to be text-heavy. It just need to provide the most relevant content in the clearest manner. Often, web 2.0 technology isn't the right way to present that information, although it may well in the future and that is when FTSE 100 companies will start to use it.