Gut check: Four or five years after companies started taking blogs, Facebook and Twitter seriously, many companies are still not capitalizing on new media content and the people who create it. Specifically, new research suggests that company blogs are not being used or updated frequently enough to attract readers and discussion.

Worse, companies are not actively championing their thought leaders on their websites. In fact, nearly 30 percent of company websites in the study failed to clearly identify any thought leaders at all. So says new research by New York-based PR firm BlissPR.

Other offenses Bliss found: Companies are not posting frequently enough on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services on an on-going basis. And they're using these mediums to push out news rather than to engage in the conversation with the community.

But the worst offense is that "Only 15 percent of these firms have blogs," says Bliss Managing Director Elizabeth Sosnow.

She continues: "If you drill down further, seven of those blogs had been completely dormant. Only three of the blogs were current, post more than once per week and average more than a few comments per post. Most firms that had blogs were lucky to get two comments at most."

The Bliss study focused on websites created by management consulting firms. But it represents widespread social media trends across all industries.

And PR is in the perfect position to change all that and get companies back on the right social media track, Sosnow says. "Most people think of social media as a crazy, overwhelming thing. As PR professionals, we can say, ‘My job is to help you navigate through it,'" she explains. "PR professionals can offer order to the social media chaos. We can make it manageable."

Below, she talks more about the study results and offers perspective and tips on the changing trends in social media:

Can you discuss the methodology behind this study?

We sat down and did an extensive audit on 46 large and small management consulting firms. We started with their websites. Then we checked their presence on YouTube and other sites. It continued through a spreadsheet with 30 entries per firm. We spent a lot of time on blogs. Who writes it? Can you post comments? Do people actually comment? We tried to get into the real nitty-gritty.

What were the primary findings?

Not surprising, we found that large firms are doing more than small firms in terms of experimenting and sticking their toes in the water. Smaller firms are interested in social media, but they're standing around the edge of the pool. Consulting firms have a risk-averse approach to marketing, and they're not generally going to be the first in the pool. They want to watch someone else go first, which is often typical of B-to-B firms.

However, this is an industry built on content, case studies and ideas. One big thing we found in the study is that B-to-B firms are in a fantastic position and it's a real opportunity for them. They've got the goods—the intellectual capital.

What is the biggest mistake companies make when using social media?

The biggest mistake is a misunderstanding about how to use these tools. A lot of companies just want to say, "I've done a video-cast." Or companies will have a small presence on YouTube, but not a dedicated channel. There's no sense of program or an on-going series.

What is your advice to these companies?

Do an on-going series on YouTube. Get a flip-cam for $100 and ask experts questions every week, and then post it. It's all about being methodical. A lot of blogs get abandoned because it's a lot of work. But you have to keep doing it.

What other social media mistakes are companies making?

The biggest mistake among consulting companies is that they have all this content, but it's not associated directly with their thought leaders. Consulting is sold on the backs of people and brains. It's a huge time loss if you take the time to create something but don't put it in the mouth of a person who can say it. Think it. Sell it. There has to be that human element.

If you look at the firms we studied, only 54 percent of them organized their sites so that it's easy to link a thought leader to their content. That means that half the industry isn't doing a good job with this. In fact, 30 percent failed to identify any thought leaders at all. If readers can't associate the idea with the person, it's a lost opportunity.

One more big mistake: Many firms are trying out these tools, but are looking at them as distribution outlets. To push news out. Instead, there should be conversational engagement. As PR professionals, we have to help our companies and clients make the shift from blasting news out to engaging in community dialogues and conversations.

Tell us about a company that's doing it right.

McKinsey & Company's "What Matters" is the gold standard. One of their stories had over 38 comments. That's unheard of. Also, a European company called Roland Berger Strategic Consultants is doing a good job. If you look at their site, you can sort to find their thought leaders by practice, geography and other metrics. They make it easy to find their thought leaders, contact info and associated content. Every page has bios with contact info and each thought leader's expertise and publications.

What is job number-one for PR people in terms of social media?

Job number one for PR professionals is help companies build a home base. It's not a hard thing if you already have the content. A blog is an ideal home base, because a lot of top companies have people who write. The problem comes when the big rainmakers don't have the bandwidth to write a blog. But they should invest in the rising stars that have the time and appetite to write the blog.

What I suggest is talking to clients and conducting an intellectual capital audit. Find the best content they produce. Once you have an audit, help the client understand that it's not a situation where the best idea wins. It's the best idea the community wants to talk about. The savvy PR consultant can help them navigate that.

How can we figure out what ideas any particular community will respond to?

You have to experiment. PR should understand that the name of the game is experimenting. It's hard, but it's fun. You have a difficult job but, it's not impossible.

Can you give us some examples of experiments?

Maybe your client or executive has a 40-page paper on the retail industry. In the future, chop it down into four different papers. One might be about historical trends in industry. One could be on leaders in retail and what they're likely to do in six months. Another might be opportunities and gaps in the downturn. You can then push those out. Maybe the historical piece becomes a piece for Twitter. And the downturn piece gets turned into graphics on SlideShow.

You have to start somewhere. And you can see immediately what's working. It doesn't have to be string of noble failures. The hard part is that people are wed to their ideas. It seems superficial to chop down a paper and present it like this.

What are the obstacles to getting companies engaged with new communications technologies?

A lot of companies don't want to give up their intellectual capital. What they need to realize is that you can do a good job of pushing information out without giving up proprietary info. A cultural shift has to take place.

How do we as PR pros overcome that obstacle and encourage this cultural shift?

Work with the people who want to play. Find those people within the company who have a genuine marketing appetite. Some folks want to figure this stuff out. Look for those champions. What you can say is, "We have an opportunity to experiment. You're hearing these new tools everywhere. What if picked two tools—so it's not overwhelming. Let's use these two tools really well and measure them." This gives you numbers and comfort. Build with a few champions and other people will see the light.

Even if you can just get your clients to consider a listening program. I have a client that's a Fortune 100 company. They were highly skeptical at first, but within a week of being on Twitter, they had turned big industry conversations around. Sometimes, you just need a little proof like that. Who really doesn't want to know what their industry is saying?

How have companies in the Fortune 500 adapted to new communications technologies?

The Fortune 500 has not made a lot of progress. But you can't deny the differences between B-to-C and B-to-B companies. B-to-C companies are often more willing to listen to the prospect of social media than b-to-b companies. That's because, from a consumer point of view, it's hard to deny the power of Facebook and Twitter as a customer service tool. I saw a statistic recently that said if Facebook was a country, it'd be the fifth largest country in the world. Companies in the B-to-C space can't ignore what that means. But if you're a B-to-C company, you can try to ignore it. There's less of a must-have feeling.

But there's also an opportunity for B-to-B companies because it's a savvier group of people in some ways. There's a chance to achieve huge results. But b-to-b is hampered a little because if you're selling computer widgets to another group in the industry, it's hard to figure out what you're going to blog about. But all the content is there.

What are your top social media tips for PR people who want to get started?

1. Before you speak to the client or present the idea to management, read up and listen to what's out there. There's an eagerness to start talking about the tools immediately. Ignore your impulse to talk to the client and educate yourself first. Because the client will have a million questions. They're all worried. You have to have a sense of order within yourself.

2. Then, once you're speaking to clients or management, be prepared to get them to do the same thing. They need to listen and think. Any good social media program starts with a listening campaign to understand what the community is interested in.

3. Do not try to be all things to all people. The rules of marketing haven't changed. But people want to start licking the lollipop like crazy. Pick three things to do really well that are measurable and speak to client's objective. Because a lot of companies have a lot of Twitter followers, but there's no qualitative outcome.

4. Think about how you can create content to support business objectives. Find out what those objectives are. Look at your clients' business plans, goals for revenue and the markets where they want to be visible. Anyone who's good at PR wants to figure out how to support, enhance and protect business goals. Social media is no different. Any program starts with the business goals.

What are some upcoming trends or untapped tools you're noticing in PR and social media?

There's one tool I love that no one talks about. People use Delicious for bookmarking, but few have realized what a treasure trove it is for PR. As you start a social media campaign, the first thing you want to do is get up to speed on your clients' topics. We recently started a new campaign for client, and the first thing we did was plug in their search terms on Delicious, and we quickly understood not only the content, but where it ranks, how many times it's been bookmarked? Who's bookmarked it? How important is it?

With Delicious, you can search through all the different topics. It's like someone has done half the work for you.