Download - Making Content Relevant to IT Buyers: Part Two - Making content easier to find and more useful
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Making Content Relevant To IT Buyers
Part Two: Making content easier to find and more useful: Feedback from Senior IT Buyers in UK Enterprises
July 2011
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• How to improve access to content for IT Buyers • The rise of Social Media in the Buying Cycle• How to make content more useful to IT Buyers
Sources: July 2011 and April 2010 surveys of IT buyers in UK Enterprises conducted
by Vanson Bourne
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• How to improve access to content for IT Buyers • The rise of Social Media in the Buying Cycle• How to make content more useful to IT Buyers
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Figure 3: Types of information typically sought at these stages of the buying cycles 4
QUESTION: Thinking about the many different ways a technology vendor could make its content available to you, how convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
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Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
The Communication vehicles
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
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Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
% describing communication vehicle “easy/convenient” or
“very easy/convenient” to use
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
7
Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
8
Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
It’s not exclusively
about digital platforms
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
9
Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
Small in-person seminars or brief-ings
Large events conferences exhibi-tions
Print magazines
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
Over half regard “in-person events” as being
convenient ways of accessing vendor
content. Print magazines still have a strong
residual approval rating.
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
10
Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
The Point?
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Question: How convenient/easy to use do you find each of the following communication vehicles?
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Social media updates
Vendor sponsored community forums/sites
Blogs
Videos
Webinars/webcasts
Podcasts
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Articles/vendor contributions to 3rd party material
Print magazines
Large events, conferences, exhibitions
Case studies
Small In-person seminars or briefings
eNewsletters
Websites / microsites
25%
26%
28%
31%
33%
33%
34%
39%
40%
48%
52%
53%
53%
54%
61%
Clearly the website, as the gateway to all forms of digital content, needs to be very easy to
navigate. Vendors need to re-purpose all content across as many platforms as possible and use social media as the guide to content, not the
delivery vehicle.
Clearly the website, as the gateway to all forms of digital content, needs to be very easy to navigate. Vendors need to re-purpose all content across as many platforms as possible and use social media
as the guide to content, not the delivery vehicle.
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• How to improve access to content for IT Buyers • The rise of Social Media in the Buying Cycle• How to make content more useful to IT Buyers
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QUESTION: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?
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LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube SlideShare Other (Yammer)
None
66%
22% 21%
13%
5%3%
17%
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Question: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?
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LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube SlideShare Other (Yammer)
None
66%
22% 21%
13%
5%3%
17%
15
Question: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?
83% of our sample uses social media in a business context....
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LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube SlideShare Other (Yammer)
None
66%
22% 21%
13%
5%3%
17%
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Question: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?
....with two-thirds using Linked In
83% of our sample uses social media in a business context....
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LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube SlideShare Other (Yammer)
None
66%
22% 21%
13%
5%3%
17%
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Question: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?The Point?
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Question: Which social media channels do you use for work purposes?The Point?
An earlier slide showed that social media be used as the guide to content, not the platform. This one makes it clear where the return on
investment is to be found.
83% of our sample uses social media in a business context, with two-thirds
using Linked In
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube SlideShare Other (Yammer)
None
66%
22% 21%
13%
5%3%
17%
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• How to improve access to content for IT Buyers • The rise of Social Media in the Buying Cycle• How to make content more useful to IT Buyers
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QUESTION: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
% that selected this
answer
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
25
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
26
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
27
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
28
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
29
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22% In essence buyers want more independent material, that is relevant to their industry. Ideally it should provide a wider perspective on new technology ideas and provide information that allows them to benchmark themselves and vendors against the wider market
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
30
Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22% In essence buyers want more independent material, that is relevant to their industry. Ideally it should provide a wider perspective on new technology ideas and provide information that allows them to benchmark themselves and vendors against the wider market
The Point?
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Question: What should vendors do to make their content as useful as possible for you?
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Make content more ap-propriate to my role
Increase technical/product content
Increase customer/case study content
Present more ideas for applying technology
Make content more ap-propriate to my industry
Increase the element of independent research and
opinion
Provide more benchmark-ing / comparison tools
51%
50%
38%
35%
31%
22%
22%
The Point?Vendors cannot rely solely on generic “in-house” content or talk the technology without applying a meaningful overlay of market information, evidence and validation.
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About Vanson Bourne
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About Us
We create and deliver compelling, relevant content for technology brands to own and use in high value media relations, demand generation and thought leadership marketing campaigns.
We couple our specialist technology research expertise with our years of experience in helping tech brands communicate with their markets. The result is well-crafted, independent and robust content for B2B and B2C marketing programmes.
We adapt the delivery of our content to fit all your marketing communications and direct sales efforts. This makes it easier than ever to leverage our high-value content across both traditional and new social media channels, creating news coverage, market buzz and customer action.
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We create relevant, compelling content for...
Credible media and influencer relations
Press releases & FAQsBriefing packs for executive spokespeoplePresentation material for analyst house tours
Effective demand generation campaigns
Integrated email, direct & telephone marketing communicationsPresentation materials & conversation starters for sales teamsOnline and offline event presentations for prospects
Differentiating thought leadership initiatives
Whitepapers, data books, articles, blog posts, interactive tools…Executive & subject matter speaker materials Social media campaigns
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Contact UsVanson BourneConstruction HouseWinchester RoadBurghclere, NewburyBerkshire, RG20 9EQ
Tel: 01635 550449Email: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn