The 2015 Fortune 500 and Social Media:
Instagram Gains, Blogs Lose
Conducted by:
Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.
Ava M. Lescault, MBA
Glenn Holmes, MBA Candidate
Introduction
Fortune Magazine annually compiles a list of America’s largest corporations, aptly named the
“Fortune 500” (F500) given their size and wealth. Due to the hugely influential role that these
companies play in the business world, studying their adoption and use of social media tools
offers important insights into the future of commerce. These corporations provide a look at
emergent social media trends among America’s most successful companies.
Each May-June the list of the top 500 corporations is released in a special issue of Fortune
Magazine. The F500 list includes publicly and privately held companies for which revenues are
publicly available. For more information on the methodology used to select the F500
corporations, please visit http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/.
In 2008, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research released one
of the first studies on social media adoption among the F500 and has repeated that study every
year since. Initially only focusing on the use of blogs, the study has been expanded over the
years to include the use of Twitter and Facebook, two popular mainstays in social media, as well
as other popular social media platforms and tools (Google+, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and
Foursquare), business networking platforms (LinkedIn and Glassdoor) as well as indicators of
engagement such as the number of Twitter followers and Facebook “likes”.
Methodology
The following definition was used to locate 2015 F500 corporations with a social media
presence: A company was counted as having a presence on each platform studied if the primary
corporation had an active account (activity within the past 30 days).
It is worth noting that there is evidence of usage of social media tools such as blogs inside these
corporations. This research did not look at that subject, but instead focused on public-facing
corporate blogs as a barometer of social media usage to engage the public.
Due to the complexity of corporate legal structures in this group and no clear methodology on
how subsidiaries have been located or analyzed by others, the research presented here continues
to focus on the primary/listed corporation. While we acknowledge that mergers and acquisitions
along with expansions have resulted in segments or subsidiaries with social media, our focus has
consistently been at the corporate level.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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All corporations were analyzed using multiple steps. First, working from the published 2015
F500 list, all corporate home pages were examined for links to, or mention of, social media
accounts. If a link wasn’t found on the company’s home page a search was performed using
search engines. Any links resulting from these searches were followed and evaluated using the
established criteria. This proved to be an effective method since additional social media accounts
were located. The process was repeated for each social media platform.
Important Notice:
This year’s F500 included an acquisition of one F500 company by another: On July 1st
MeadWestvaco (no.464) was officially acquired by West Rock (no.293). Though Fortune
Magazine took note of this fact, it still included both companies since the acquisition had not yet
taken place at the time of publication. For this study it was decided to remove MeadWestvaco.
Therefore, this year’s report will be based on 499 companies.
In 2015 F500 there are 9 corporations who do not use any of the social media platforms or tools
examined in this study. These include:
 A-Mark Precious Metals
 Berkshire Hathaway
 CenterPoint Energy
 Franklin Resources
 Icahn Enterprises
 Liberty Interactive
 Old Republic International
 PBF Energy
 Wynn Resorts
Key findings of this study include:

In 2015, 103 corporations (21%) had corporate blogs, down 10% from 2014.

Twitter is more popular than Facebook (78% vs 74%).

Glassdoor (87%) has joined LinkedIn (93%) as a popular business tool.

The use of Instagram has increased by 13% pointing to more interest in visually rich
platforms.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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1a. Corporate Blogs
Our 2011 F500 study drew attention for the leveling off of blogging with only 23% hosting a
public facing corporate blog. After that, things changed. In 2012, there was a leap forward and
28% hosted public facing blogs. That surge continued in 2013 showing 34% of these corporate
giants creating and sharing content through blogs. A decline in blog use began in 2014 with a
decrease of 3% from the 2013 numbers.
The decline continued with the 2015 list: 103 (21%) of the F500 companies have blogs, or
10% fewer than 2014. In last year’s report it was postulated that a movement away from blog use
had begun, this year’s numbers continue to support that theory. This study documents some
movement towards visually rich platforms such as Instagram. Instagram had a double digit
increase (13%) in usage among the 2015 Fortune 500. This shift may explain some decline in
the more content dependent blogs.
Fortune 500 Corporations with Public Facing Corporate Blogs
(2009 - 2015)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
34%
40%
31%
28%
30%
22%
23%
23%
2009
2010
2011
21%
20%
10%
0%
2012
2013
2014
2015
1b. Level of Interaction on Corporate Blogs
All blogs were examined to determine the level of interactivity the blog allowed. This was done
by looking at the blog to see if comments were accepted, if RSS feeds or email subscriptions
were available and checking the date of the last post to determine how current it was. In 2015,
73% (vs. 78% in 2014) of the active corporate blogs allowed readers to make comments on their
posts.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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The range of topics of these blog posts varies among corporations. Posts usually revolve around
new and updated company products or services, news reports regarding the corporation or its
products/services and reports on the industry at large. Those making use of this tool appear to be
effectively engaging their audience.
1c. Corporate Blogs by Rank
Since the first study in 2008, it has been documented that rank influences adoption of blogging in
the F500. Those corporations ranked in the top 200 have consistently out blogged those in the
bottom 200. Forty-four percent 2015 F500 blogs belong to the top 200 corporations while 38%
come from those ranked 300-499. Rank continues to be a factor in the use of this tool.
1d. Corporate Blogs by Industry
The 103 corporations with blogs come from 44 of the 74 industries represented in the 2015 F500.
A partial list is presented below showing the industries with the most corporations’ blogging
within it. The Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components industry has 56% of their
corporations blogging, followed by Entertainment (50%), General Merchandisers (40%),
Telecommunications (36%), Commercial Banks (22%), Insurance: Property, Casualty (Stock)
20%), Utilities: Gas and Electric (17%) and Other Specialty Retailers (16%).
Corporate Blogs by Industry
Number of
Corporations
with Blogs
5/9
Percent
56%
4/8
50%
4/10
40%
4/11
36%
4/18
22%
4/18
20%
4/24
17%
4/25
16%
Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components
Entertainment
General Merchandisers
Telecommunications
Commercial Banks
Insurance: Property, Casualty (Stock)
Utilities: Gas and Electric
Specialty Retailers: Other
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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Some of the industries with no corporations blogging include the Aerospace & Defense industry
who have 11 corporations in 2015 F500, followed by Wholesalers: Diversified (11), Pipelines
(8), Household & Personal Products (7), Metals (7), Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual) (6) and the
Oil & Gas Equipment, Services industry with 6 corporations.
Corporate Blogs by Industry
Number of
Corporations
with Blogs
0/11
Aerospace & Defense
0/11
Wholesalers: Diversified
0/8
Pipelines
0/7
Household & Personal Products
0/7
Metals
0/6
Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)
0/6
Oil & Gas Equipment, Services
2. Comparison with the Inc. 500
In the past, the F500 corporations were blogging at a lower rate than other business groups,
specifically the Inc. 500. The Inc. 500 list is composed of the fastest-growing, private companies
in the US, while the F500 is based on total revenue (not growth) and may include public and
private companies. The Inc. 500 list is published in a special issue of Inc. Magazine in
September of each year.
Thirty-four percent of the F500 companies were hosting corporate blogs in 2013 while 52% of
the Inc. 500 used the tool. In 2014 blogging declined in both groups. The Inc. 500 dropped
6% while the Fortune 500 decreased by 3%. In 2015 the use of blogs by the F500 dropped by
another 10%, the second decline in the two years. While data on the 2015 Inc. 500 is not yet
available for comparison, this two year decline may signal a shift away from more mature tools
to newer ones. It may also demonstrate the impact of a blogging feature now incorporated in
other platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn.
3a. Corporate Twitter Accounts
Three hundred eighty-seven corporations (78%) in the 2015 F500 have corporate Twitter
accounts with a tweet in the past thirty days. This represents a 5% decrease from last year. Eight
of the top 10 corporations Ford Motors and CVS Health) consistently post on their Twitter
accounts. Berkshire Hathaway and Apple do not have Twitter accounts.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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3b. Corporate Twitter Followers
The main measure of engagement on Twitter is the number of followers. Facebook, Inc. in only
its third year on the F500 list continues to dominate with slightly under 14 million followers,
followed by Google, Starbucks Corporation, Microsoft, Nike, Inc., Whole Foods Market, Inc.
and The Walt Disney Company.
Corporation
2015
Twitter Followers
Facebook, Inc.
13,939,022
Google
12,468,233
Starbucks Corporation
9,900,879
Microsoft
7,061,055
Nike, Inc.
5,373,783
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
4,715,941
The Walt Disney Company
4,505,642
3c. Corporate Twitter Accounts by Rank
Rank influences the use of Twitter by the F500. Eighty-five of the top 100 corporations have an
active Twitter account. Forty-one percent of the Twitter accounts belong to the companies in the
top 200 on the list, while 37% come from those ranked in the bottom 200. Those ranked higher
in the 2015 F500 are more likely to adopt Twitter than their lower ranked counterparts, following
the same pattern as blogging.
3d. Corporate Twitter Accounts by Industry
For the second year in a row all 74 industries represented in the 2015 F500 had at least one
company with a corporate Twitter account. A partial list is presented below showing those
industries with the most corporations using Twitter. The percent of corporations with Twitter
accounts varies by industry. The Chemicals and General Merchandisers industries have 100% of
their F500 corporations on Twitter. Food Consumer products has 92%, followed by Other
Specialty Retailers (88%), Utilities: Gas and Electric (88%), Commercial Banks (78%) and
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock) with 67% corporations on Twitter.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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Number of
Corporations
with Twitter
Accounts
Percent
Chemicals
14/14
100%
General Merchandisers
10/10
100%
Food Consumer Products
12/13
92%
Specialty Retailers: Other
22/25
88%
Utilities: Gas and Electric
21/24
88%
Commercial Banks
14/18
78%
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
12/18
67%
Corporate Twitter Accounts by Industry
4a. Corporate Facebook Pages
Three hundred and sixty-eight (74%) of the 2015 F500 have Facebook pages, a decrease of 6%
from 2014 numbers. This decline has been attributed in large part to the introduction of twentysix new corporations to this year’s F500. Seven of the top ten corporations (Walmart, Chevron,
General Motors, Phillips 66, General Electric, Ford Motor and CVS Health) have a Facebook
page while Exxon Mobile, Berkshire Hathaway and Apple do not.
4b. Corporate Facebook “Likes”
The main measure of engagement on Facebook is the number of people who “like” the company.
Facebook, Inc. is the first company with just over 165 million “likes”. The next most liked
company is McDonald’s Corporation with nearly 59 million, or 36% of the amount of “likes”
Facebook has. The Walt Disney Company, Wal-Mart, Amazon and Intel follow.
Corporation
2015
Facebook “Likes”
Facebook, Inc.
165,211,700
McDonald's Corporation
58,805,519
The Walt Disney Company
50,763,476
Wal-Mart
32,699,915
Amazon
26,023,533
Intel
25,132,934
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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4c. Corporate Facebook Pages by Industry
Seventy-three of the 74 industries represented in the 2015 F500 have at least one company with a
Facebook page. The only industry not represented is Tobacco. A partial list is presented showing
those industries with the most corporations in their industry with Facebook pages. Ninety-three
percent of the Chemicals industry has a corporate Facebook page, followed by Other Specialty
Retailers (92%), Insurance: Life, Health (Stock) (83%), Motor Vehicles and Parts (79%),
Commercial Banks (78%), Utilities: Gas and Electric (67%) and Insurance: Property and
Casualty with 67% of their corporations with Facebook pages.
Number of
Corporations
with Facebook
Pages
Percent
Chemicals
13/14
93%
Specialty Retailers: Other
23/25
92%
Insurance: Life, Health (Stock)
10/12
83%
Motor Vehicles and Parts
11/14
79%
Commercial Banks
14/18
78%
Utilities: Gas and Electric
16/24
67%
Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)
12/18
67%
Corporate Facebook Pages by Industry
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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5. New 2015 Corporations
Twenty-six corporations are new to the 2015 F 500 list, eighteen of which were included in the
Fortune 1000 last year. The other eight corporations are shown as well. Popular companies like
Netflix and Expedia have joined the F500 for the first time.
Some of the variation in usage of certain tools might be accounted for by the types of
corporations coming into the F500. The 26 new comers include corporations from industries
which typically are less involved with social media.
Industry
Corporation
2015
Rank
359
2014
Rank
811
Increase
in Rank
452
Wholesalers: Food and Grocery
Spartan-Nash
Network and Other Communications ARRIS Group
Equipment
Packaging, Containers
Packaging Corporation of America
492
644
152
451
640
189
Mining, Crude-Oil Production
Pioneer Natural Resources
496
605
109
Automotive Retailing, Services
Lithia Motors
482
602
120
Computer Software
Salesforce.com
483
599
116
Electronics, Electrical Equipment
Harman International Industries
486
576
90
Financial Data Services
Alliance Data Systems
494
571
77
Specialty Retailers: Other
Netflix
474
563
89
Transportation Equipment
Trinity Industries
433
559
126
Wholesalers: Diversified
NGL Energy Partners
299
556
257
Health Care: Medical Facilities
LifePoint Health
495
555
60
Real Estate
Jones Lang LaSalle
478
552
74
487
533
46
465
532
67
Network and Other Communications Amphenol
Equipment
Utilities: Gas and Electric
AGL Resources
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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Industry
Corporation
2015
Rank
490
2014
Rank
530
Increase
in Rank
40
Apparel
Hanesbrands
Internet Services and Retailing
Expedia
458
515
57
Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)
481
511
30
Wholesalers: Diversified
Western & Southern Financial
Group
Lansing Trade Group
411
-
-
Publishing, Printing
News Corp.
331
-
-
Insurance: Property & Casualty
(Mutual)
Insurance: Life, Health (Stock)
Farmers Insurance Exchange
264
-
-
Voya Financial
268
-
-
Diversified Financials
Navient
463
-
-
Petroleum Refining
Delek US Holdings
345
-
-
Aerospace and Defense
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings
396
-
-
Miscellaneous
A-Mark Precious Metals
444
6d. Instagram (Photo-Sharing and Social Networking Site)
Instagram is used both as a means to advertise a company’s products and services and as a call to
action to purchase. A link can be included with a specific image, leading users to more
information and a means of buying. Companies will also post images of products and
representations of services without links, of their location(s) and of their employees; often
participating in charitable events, business-related conferences and meetings, or receiving some
form of recognition. Instagram helps to build a company’s brand and goodwill with consumers.
Instagram’s use by the F500 continued its rapid climb in 2015, increasing from 101 (20%) to 164
(33%) active users. This is an increase of 13% over last year’s numbers. Walmart, General
Motors, General Electric and Ford Motor all have an active account, while Chevron’s is
protected.
6a. YouTube (Video Sharing Site)
Three hundred and seventeen (64%) corporate YouTube accounts were found in the 2015 F500.
This is a decrease of 3% from 2014. Seven of the top ten companies, except for Exxon Mobile,
Berkshire Hathaway and CVS Health, have a corporate YouTube channel.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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6b. Pinterest (Pin Board-Style Photo Sharing and Social Networking Site)
Since its debut in 2010 Pinterest has gained users within the F500. In 2012, the first year data
was gathered on its use, 2% of F500 companies utilized the platform. Use grew to 9% in 2013
and increased again in 2014 to 36%. In 2015, the platform lost adherents among the F500,
dropping to 23% in usage. Like the decline in the use of Facebook, a majority of this decrease of
13% from 2014 numbers has been attributed to the addition of the 26 new listed companies
(outlined above), and the loss of the 26 companies that were replaced by them.
6c. Google+ (Multilingual Social Networking and Identity Service Site)
One hundred and sixty-six (33%) of the 2015 F500 have active Google+ accounts, a decrease of
5% from last year. Additionally, 116 (23%) have Google+ corporate accounts that have not yet
become active, an increase of 4%. Just as last year, Google+ is the only platform with a
significant number of inactive accounts. Of the top ten corporations, Walmart, General Motors
and Ford Motor have active Google+ accounts, while Phillips 66 and General Electric have
inactive accounts.
6d. Foursquare (Location-Based Social Networking Site)
The 2014 report stated that 254 (51%) of F500 companies had a Foursquare page. While that was
correct, the majority of those were created by consumers wanting to share basic information
about their favorite places. Once a page is created, it remains listed but does not become the
official page of the business until the business “claims” the page. That process requires a request
to claim the page and a verification process. After being verified, the business can add to its
page and expand the contents by purchasing packages that provide advertising and other business
tools.
It was decided that this year’s report would count only “claimed” pages in order to be consistent
with all of the other official corporate social media accounts included in this report. This change
in evaluation resulted in significantly lower numbers for business use of Foursquare. Forty-one,
or 8%, of the 2015 F500 have official, company run, Foursquare accounts.
6e. LinkedIn (Business Oriented Social Networking Site)
LinkedIn remains the most popular social media platform among the 2015 F500 by far.
Businesses have set up shop on the site to tell their story, network, stimulate word of mouth and
recruit. Ninety-three percent currently maintain a Linked in account, a decrease of 4% from last
year.
6f. Glassdoor (Business Oriented Social Networking Site)
New to the report this year is the inclusion of Glassdoor. Like LinkedIn, Glassdoor focuses
primarily on a company’s past, present and future employees and job growth. Unlike LinkedIn,
but similar to Foursquare, company Glassdoor accounts can be initially created by the company’s
employees. The company is then able to “claim” the account in order to interact with reviewers
and commenters. Four hundred and thirty-three (87%) of the 2015 F500 are active on their
Glassdoor profiles. There are also 60 (12%) companies that, like Foursquare described above,
have not yet claimed their user-created account.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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Fortune 500 Corporate Social Media Usage
(2013 - 2015)
100%
97%
2013
90%
2014
93%
2015
87%
83%
80%
77%
80%
78%
74%
70%
70%
69%
67%
64%
60%
51%
50%
38%
40%
35%
33% 34%
36%
33%
31%
30%
23%
21%
20%
20%
9%
10%
9%
8% 9%
0%
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Google+
Blog
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
Pinterest Foursquare Instagram
LinkedIn
Glassdoor
Page 12
Conclusion
There have been interesting changes in the use of social media among the 2015 F500. The
decline noted last year in blogging continued, with blogs down and additional 10% this past
year. As popular platforms begin to include blog like features, this mature tool has lost
ground. We are seeing a movement to more visually rich and less labor intensive platforms
like Instagram, which saw a double digit increase in adoption this year.
Twitter continues to be more popular with the F500 than Facebook, and Glassdoor has joined
LinkedIn as a favorite business tool for recruiting, networking and gathering industry
specific information.
Nine corporations (2%) do not use any social media. In addition, the 26 (5%) new
corporations joining the F500 in 2015 include many that have demonstrated similar behavior.
It appears that the composition of the F500 may be responsible for some of the declines in
use reported in this study.
America’s largest companies are actively reevaluating the social media tools they employ.
There is evidence of change in their preferred communications tools. These changes should
be of major interest to both social media platforms – who rely heavily on corporate
advertising and use – and to smaller companies, who typically follow the lead of their larger
competitors and partners.
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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About the Authors
Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph. D.
Nora Ganim Barnes is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the Center for
Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Nora has worked as a
consultant for many national and international firms. Working closely with businesses in the
Northeast US, Nora and her students have provided marketing research assistance to hundreds of
small businesses.
She has published articles in academic and professional journals and proceedings, has
contributed chapters to books, and has been awarded numerous research grants. Her work has
been covered online and in print by Business Week, Forbes, USA Today, Financial Times, NY
Times, Washington Post, CNN, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Fox News and Computer World
among others. She has been named Co-chair of Research by the Society for New
Communications Research.
Nora is a frequent speaker at corporate meetings and keynote at conferences.
Nora can be reached at nbarnes@umassd.edu.
Ava M. Lescault, MBA
Ava M. Lescault is Senior Research Associate and Associate Director of the Center for
Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Ava graduated from
UMass Dartmouth with a BS in Marketing and a Master's Degree in Business Administration
with a concentration in Marketing Research. She recently completed a Certificate in
Marketing Research from the University of Georgia. Ava has worked on approximately
twenty-five extensive research projects and is a published author. Her clients include the
cranberry industry, the shellfish industry, a national juice manufacturer, the Massachusetts
Department of Agricultural Resources and a Fortune 500 company. She was the first person
to hold the position of Senior Research Associate in the Center. Ava can be reached at
alescault@umassd.edu.
Glenn Holmes, MBA
Glenn L. Holmes is completing his Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a
concentration in Marketing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He earned a BS in
Business Administration from Salem State College concentrating in Human Resources
Management and minoring in Political Science. During his three semesters as a graduate student
Glenn worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the UMass Dartmouth Center for Marketing
Research. Glenn can be reached at gholmes1@umassd.edu
©University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research
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