UBM TechWeb released a social media research study on May 26, 2010, that details how technology professionals and technology marketers are using social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and blogs. Entitled “Social Media at Work,” it is the first study of its kind to examine both the usage and preferences of technology decision makers and the activities technology marketers employ to reach them.
The study examined the social media consumption habits of 630 technology professional respondents and 350 technology marketing respondents, reveals a gap between social media usage and marketing – “While many technology marketers have established a presence on Facebook and Twitter, many are not taking full advantage of the sites that technology professionals frequent and value most, such as LinkedIn and blogs,” said Brandon Friesen, VP and online strategist at UBM TechWeb.
For technology professionals (CIOs, IT VP/Directors, IT Managers, Line-of-business management, etc.), social media now accounts for an average of 13% of the total time they spend consuming media for work purposes, and four in ten respondents plan to increase the amount of time they spend with social media. LinkedIn and blogs were ranked as the top two social media most used for business purposes, and almost 60% use social networks to get information about technology purchases. Technology marketers (CMO/SVP/VP Marketing, Directors, Managers, Media Management, etc.) see Facebook and Twitter as the most influential sites, and they plan to increase spending on marketing for social media outlets over the next year. One-third of technology marketers will expect to use social media to deliver a marketing ROI in 2010.
“Understanding the technology decision-making audiences’ motivations and behaviors when it comes to social media is exceptionally critical – especially at this stage where marketers are still feeling their way when it comes to social networking,” said Scott Vaughan, VP Marketing, UBM TechWeb. ”Social media allows you to get a market pulse and truly listen to what your customers and prospects are saying, driving both short and longer term go-to-market strategy.”
