The Social Bridge to the IT Committee How trusted content on social media

builds relationships with IT buyers

Commissioned study

conducted by: France

2

Through decision

making process

60%

Buyers are highly informed, savvy, and demanding

Source: CEB, “The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing”, 2012

First contact

with brand

Tech companies risk being on the

sidelines if they don’t educate and help

TECH

COMPANIES

3

Decrease in lead potential

Implications

Less exposure to client and prospect

projects

Limiting long-term perception as a trusted

partner and thought leader

Social media can help bridge the gap and build

relationships

4

TECH COMPANIES

Why is it so critical to foster long-term relationships?

THE IT COMMITTEE

They work

cross functionally

61% Work outside of IT

They include individual

contributors and managers

26% are individual contributors or managers

These scarce influencers include more than the IT

department and the Executive team

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 6

LinkedIn partnered with comScore, Starcom MediaVest Group,

and Mashwork to understand today’s B2B IT Committee

comScore: Q3 2013

SMG / Mashwork: 2012

LinkedIn data: Q2 2013 7

What are they thinking?

200 IT Committee members in

France

What are they saying?

3,000 tech posts from public

LinkedIn Groups

What are they doing?

IT decision makers on LinkedIn

Key Findings

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 8

Make the vendor shortlist by

fostering long-term relationships,

while serving short-term needs via

lead generation.

The vendor shortlist is more

exclusive and critical than you

think.

Social media is not just for

connecting with peers. The IT

Committee actively seeks insights

& conversations with vendors.

The IT Committee actively seeks conversations with vendors on social media

9

Nearly all of the IT Committee use social networks

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 10

2013

87% 95%

2012

83%

Use social network monthly for business

The reason? Social media – LinkedIn especially – provides

them with trust, efficiency, relevance, and access

Source: Commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2012 11

Access

A

Access a

broader network

41%

Relevance

R

Relevant context to

connect with vendors

22%

Efficiency

E

Quickly

find information

53%

Trust

T

Learn from

trustworthy peers

60%

TERA continues to drive even deeper utilization across the

entire IT decision process

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 12

62% 60% 59% 39% 97%

Implement

65%

Select

54%

Plan

69%

Scope

69%

Awareness

75%

Influence of social media at each stage of decision making

YoY Increase

As tech decision makers use social to learn and debate,

they’re looking to vendors to participate

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 13

68% Open to connecting with

vendors on social

Ready to have a conversation

with a vendor on social

89%

The vendor shortlist is

more exclusive and critical

than you think

14

The IT Committee already have a good idea who they want to

work with

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 15

vendors make their short list Only 3

purchased from a vendor that made the short list 90%

purchased from a new vendor Only 8%

How do you make the short list if you are a new vendor?

Old ways of communicating don’t work and can turn off your

audience

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 17

Top 5 reasons the IT Committee doesn’t connect with a

vendor on a social network

02

Talk too much about

themselves

01

Don’t believe would provide

any credible information

04

Don’t believe would provide any

info that is relevant to my job

03

Don’t want to receive a lot of

marketing materials

05

Not thought leaders in

the category

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013

Building relationships with the right content is critical to

being considered

18

AWARENESS SCOPE PLAN SELECT IMPLEMENT

The IT Committee are interested in a diverse range of topics

– earn more interest with multiple types of content

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 19

New product launches

Tips on how to make me more effective at work

Product / solution demo / software trial

Top types of information sought in each stage of IT

decision-making process:

Product / solution demo / software trial

New product launches

Tips on how to make me more effective at work

Tips on how to make me more effective at work

3,217 IT Decision Makers engaged with

this article on LinkedIn in June

"Windows 8 is gold: Release date just

days away [link] #ITBW for

@computerworld by @richi $MSFT”

Junior Decision Maker, Twitter

"It's nice to hear that Asian companies are

starting to adopt e-learning. [Link] E-

learning going mobile in Asia | ZDNet”

Senior Decision Maker, LinkedIn Groups

20 Source: commissioned social intelligence research conducted by Mashwork on behalf of Starcom MediaVest Group and LinkedIn, Q1 – Q4 2012

Senior decision makers are 2X more likely to have shared

and engaged with product / industry news

Senior decision makers were 11.5X more engaged with

thought leadership content

21 Source: commissioned social intelligence research conducted by Mashwork on behalf of Starcom MediaVest Group and LinkedIn, Q1 – Q4 2012

1,345 IT Decision Makers engaged with

this post on LinkedIn in June

22 Source: commissioned social intelligence research conducted by Mashwork on behalf of Starcom MediaVest Group and LinkedIn, Q1 – Q4 2012

Junior decision makers were 39% more engaged with best

practice content

"An interesting and insightful article elaborating on the

innovative applications of analytics to enhance VAS

revenues.... [Link]"

Junior Decision Maker, LinkedIn Group

Build relationships to make

the short list

23

Traditional lead generation needs to be blended with social

to earn leads

24

Sweet Spot

Social

Relationships

Valuable

Content

Traditional

lead generation

Likelihood of meeting with the IT Committee increases as

vendors engage with this audience on LinkedIn

25 Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013

# of types of engagement with vendor on LinkedIn before purchase

0%

25%

50%

NONE 2+ TYPES

Met with the vendor in person Received a demo

Attended a webinar from vendor Did a live chat with vendor

Pre-Purchase Vendor Engagement by

# of Types of Engagement on LinkedIn

Vendors who interact with the IT Committee at a high rate are

more likely to create promoters

26

Engagement on LinkedIn Prior To Purchase

Vendor Net Promoter Score

25

NONE

53

2+ TYPES

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in France on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013

Engage the IT Committee everywhere they learn

27

FEED

MOBILE

GROUPS

INMAIL

Earn leads and build relationships with content

28

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PERSONALIZED INSIGHTS VIA API

Implications for IT Marketers

29

01

02

03

04

Target more than IT functions in your campaigns.

Ensure your content is authentic, valuable, timely, and customized by decision stage and seniority.

Start earning leads via social in addition to buying leads.

Focus on building relationships to get on the short list.

Begin tracking how often and for what clients you make the short list. 05