the social bridge to the it committee

The Social Bridge to the IT CommitteeHow trusted content on social media builds relationships with IT buyers

Commissioned study conducted by:

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

4

Social media can help bridge the gap and build relationships

TECH COMPANIES

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

6

There is a scarcity of influential B2B tech buyers – tech companies can’t afford to alienate them

5X more expensive to gain a new customer than to retain an existing one 3

1 comScore PlanMetrix US June 2013

2 Forrester Research

3 TARP Worldwide

$820 billionUS IT spending2

15 millionUS Tech Decision Makers1

7

THE IT COMMITTEE

They work cross functionally

43% Work outside of IT

They include individual contributors and managers

50% 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 the US on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013

8

LinkedIn partnered with comScore, Starcom MediaVest Group, and Mashwork to understand today’s B2B IT Committee

comScore: Q3 2013SMG / Mashwork: 2012LinkedIn data: Q2 2013

What are they thinking?

379 IT Committee members

What are they saying?

3,000 tech posts from public LinkedIn Groups

What are they doing?

IT decision makers on LinkedIn

Source: commissioned study conducted by comScore in the US on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013 9

Key Findings

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.

10

The IT Committee actively seeks conversations with vendors on social media


Nearly all of the IT Committee use social networks

LinkedIn leads all social platforms

86%

2013

95% 95% 2012

85%

Use social network monthly for business

12

The reason? Social media – LinkedIn especially – provides them with trust, efficiency, relevance, and access

Source: Commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting in 8 countries on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2012

Access

A

Access a broader network

49%

Relevance

R

Relevant context to connect with vendors

37%

Efficiency

E

Quickly find information

40%

Trust

T

Learn from trustworthy peers

58%


TERA continues to drive even deeper utilization across the entire IT decision process

67%56% 58% 49% 61%

Implement

70%

Select

68%

Plan

74%

Scope

73%

Awareness

79%

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

68%Open to connecting with

vendors on socialReady to have a conversation

with a vendor on social

76%

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The vendor shortlist is more exclusive and critical than you think


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

vendors make their short listOnly 3

purchased from a vendor that made the short list92%

purchased from a new vendorOnly 1 in 6

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

Top 5 reasons the IT Committee doesn’t connect with a vendor on a social network

05

Talk too much about themselves

02

Don’t believe would provide any credible information

04

Don’t believe would provide any info that is relevant to my job

01

Don’t want to receive a lot of marketing materials

03

Not thought leaders in the category


19

Building relationships with the right content is critical to being considered

20

AWARENESS SCOPE PLAN SELECT IMPLEMENT

The IT Committee are interested in a diverse range of topics – earn more interest with multiple types of content


Best practices, how-to’s, checklists

Prod / solution demo / software trial

IT industry news / strategy info

Top types of information sought in each stage of IT decision-making process:

Diagnostic / assessment tools

21

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

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

22

Senior decision makers were 11.5X more engaged with thought leadership content

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

23Source: 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

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Build relationships to make the short list

25

Traditional lead generation needs to be blended with social to earn leads

Sweet Spot

Social Relationships

Valuable Content

Traditional lead generation


Context matters. Credibility and trust drive brand perception and willingness to consider a vendor for the shortlist

45%

46%

47%

32%

33%

31%

23%

23%

21%

% who trust LinkedIn more than other websites

Connecting more efficiently with vendors and relevant companies

Talking about my experience with IT vendors

Receiving information relevant to my IT decisions

LinkedIn Same Other websites

27

The IT Committee are more likely to engage with their vendors on LinkedIn than on other social networks


Reading a post from their vendor

Following theirvendor

50%more often than other

social networks

LINKEDIN IS USED

56%more often than other

social networks

LINKEDIN IS USED

28

Likelihood of getting a meeting with the IT Committee increases as vendors engage with this audience on LinkedIn


# of types ways engaged with vendor on LinkedIn before purchase

Pre-Purchase Vendor Engagement by # of Types of Engagements on LinkedIn

29

Vendors who interact with the IT Committee at a high rate are more likely to create promoters


Types of Engagement on LinkedIn Prior To PurchaseVendor Net Promoter Score

39

NONE

58

1 TYPE

62

2+ TYPES

30

Engage the IT Committee everywhere they learn

NEWSFEED

MOBILE

GROUPS

INMAIL

31

Earn leads and build relationships with content

SLIDESHARE CHANNEL

SPONSORED UPDATES

SLIDESHARE CONTENT ADS

PERSONALIZED INSIGHTS VIA API

32

Key Takeaways for IT Marketers

01

02

03

04

Target more than IT functions in your campaigns.

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

Start earning leads via social in addition to buying leads (traditional lead gen).

Focus on building relationships to get you on the short list.

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

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the social bridge to the it committee

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