A majority of companies do not plan to bring in social media as part of their marketing strategy for the internet, a survey of executives has found.

Global IT consultancy company Avanade found that "fear and apathy" were the main barriers, evoking an image of top execs either having nightmares about Facebook or lazing about doing nothing like teenagers.

Over half felt that introducing social media may decrease worker productivity, while 60 per cent did not think that management understood the potential it could offer both employees and customers.

"Social media technologies are reaching a turning point - they are no longer lingering outside the domain of IT departments," said the company's vice president of enterprise business solutions, Mike Pazak.

"Companies that do not adapt to these changes or move fast enough will lose customers," he warned.

And other results from the survey seemed to back this up - two thirds of companies had seen improved customer satisfaction after embracing social media in their online marketing while 64 per cent reported a better reputation in the marketplace as a result.

So with more and more surveys backing social media are we about to see a huge increase in the number of companies using it, or will "fear and apathy" remain?

Online Marketing specialists Business Feet help create value from business websites