Less than half of companies have a strategy to govern their use of social media, according to a new report.

The research report by Digital Brand Expressions (DBE) explores how social media is being used, and controlled, in corporate organisations, with findings suggesting that there is not yet a social media ‘model’ which companies follow.

The study, which polled 100 companies, found that, while 78% of respondents are using social media, only 41% have a strategic plan in place for their social media usage, leaving close to 60% without a game plan for their social media activities.

The use of social media varies between departments. According to the report, the move into the social arena appears to be being led by Marketing (94%) and PR (71%) departments with HR (16%) “lagging behind”.

The study highlights how a lack of official protocol may be potentially damaging. Veronica Fielding, president and CEO of Digital Brand Expressions said: “Most companies appear to be shooting from the hip, with no cohesive game plan leaving the organizations exposed to problems arising out of employees communicating in ways that inadvertently hurt, rather than help, their company brands.”

She suggests that CEOs have a “new challenge of planning and implementing brand aligned initiatives enterprise-wide and gaining control to ensure brand protection as well as network and intellectual property security.”