THE SOCIAL THIRD:HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS TRANSFORMING IT SALES

#SOCIALIT

About this report: GolinHarris has teamed up with YouGov to explore the ways in which IT buying decision makers are being influenced by social media. YouGov surveyed people online on both sides of the purchasing spectrum: marketers from technology companies and the IT buyers they are trying to reach.

THE SOCIAL THIRD:

Few things have captivated the imagination of communications professionals more in recent years than social media. But it has not been plain sailing.

There have been suggestions that social media for some has been a vanity exercise, characterised by too much broadcast, too little meaningful engagement and little strategic foundation.

For consumer brands wanting to sell soft drinks or chocolate bars to millions of consumers, social media has provided an invaluable route to a broad audience. But in the world of B2B marketing, where target audiences may number just a few thousand people and messaging is often considered more complex, some have suggested social media is too lightweight, too random, or even irrelevant as a medium.

This research report proves that if ever this sentiment held true, then it certainly no longer does.

INTRO

MEET THE SOCIAL THIRDAny lingering doubt over how important social media is for B2B marketers should be dismissed. In total 34% of IT buyers surveyed – the ‘social third’ of this report - have been positively influenced by online interactions with a brand when making a purchasing decision.

To dismiss the opportunity to reach those individuals would be to ignore a large proportion of the market. Given that in a relatively short period of time social media communications have become part of the consideration process for one third of buyers, we can safely assume their relevance will only increase.

The social third is therefore the group of buyers that marketers should be targeting.

INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE

PURCHASING DECISIONS OF IT BUYERS

34%

POSITIvE

11%

NEGATIvE

55%

NEUTRAL

Many of the arguments against social media have been made with the assumption that the channel itself is wrong. In reality – and perhaps unsurprisingly - this report reveals that IT buyers are more put-off by poor content and poor tailoring, regardless of what channel it comes through.

Similarly, doom-laden prophecies about the ineffectiveness of social media can become self-fulfilling, with brands often cutting off campaigns before they have even had a chance to influence audiences who are open to them.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS TRANSFORMING IT SALES

KEY FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH

BE TOPICAL:

of IT buyers think it important that B2B brands take a position on relevant issues in the daily news agenda

In truth, a of IT respondents would stop following a brand altogether during a purchasing decision if they are not timely in their insights

BE SELECTIvE

AND RELEvANT:

of IT purchasers say nothing annoys

them more than unnecessary content

of IT purchasers say the lack of relevant

content is the primary reason they would

stop following a brand, whilst

37% said the same of limited

information

Despite this, of marketers surveyed state that real-time marketing (the rapid creation of written or visual content in response to breaking news) is not important to social media campaigns

GIvE CAMPAIGNS A CHANCE:

73%of IT buyers surveyed take up to three months to make their

purchasing decisions, yet one third of marketers (34%) end social

media campaigns after less than one month

31%50%

quarter

43%

39%

GET CLOSER TO THE CUSTOMER:

Over one third of IT purchasers rate localised content as important to them

Despite this 35% of marketers rank creating localised content as unimportant to their social campaigns

Only 23% localise all of their content

This disconnect is particularly concerning in regions such as Europe, which some global companies treat as one market despite the fact that its citizens speak over thirty languages and live under dramatically differing socio-economic conditions

BE INFORMATIvE:Over two in five (44%) of IT purchasers want IT vendors to act as advisors that proactively offer them information and knowledge

41% of marketers echoed this sentiment, stating that the most appropriate role for their business was to act as an advisor with a focus on opinion, analysis and insight

The results of this survey are clear: there is today a significant opportunity for technology brands to use social media and online engagement to positively influence IT decision makers.

Moreover, with generations of future decision makers now growing up with social media, it is probable that this trend is still in its infancy. It is vital that IT brands start work now on building a social presence and getting in place the right governance and creative structures to create compelling real-time content.

Elizabeth Littlewood, head of technology at GolinHarris:

“This report reveals a trend that we hope can spur into action those technology companies still pondering the relevance of social media to their marketing efforts. We also hope it will dismiss scepticism as to whether social media is just a nice to have that is only beneficial for consumer brands. Many business-to-business brands have had social channels up and running for some time, with varying degrees of success. What the report tells us is that investment in developing social channels – including time, resource and content creation efforts – should reflect the role social media is cementing for itself in buyers’ consideration and decision-making process. Ultimately, it’s not just about doing social media; it’s about doing it well.”

SOCIAL MARKETING: EMBRACE IT

THE SOCIAL THIRD:

BE ALWAYS-ONTo be truly social you need to have

an always-on programme that focuses on your audience’s interests

and naturally weaves a brand or product into the conversation

In order to maximise coverage and extend our visibility to a broader base of purchasing decision makers, we launched a RTM programme with GolinHarris UK this year. In PR it is increasingly true there are ‘the quick and the silent’. Responding to a fast moving news agenda not only raises our visibility, it demonstrates to our client that we are able to help them with their most immediate and imminent needs. The programme has generated coverage in more than 10 titles across national, trade and vertical press on topics such as women in IT and the impact of vacation trends on British retailers.

PAUL DE LARA, Head of PR, Europe at Infosys

TAPPING INTO THE SOCIAL THIRD

TO CREATE A STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE, IT

IS ESSENTIAL TO START WITH THE RIGHT STRATEGIC

BUILDING BLOCKS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE MEDIUM

IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT SHARING STORIES WITH YOUR

AUDIENCE IN THE MOMENT. INTRINSIC TO ACHIEvING

THIS IS DELIvERING CONTENT IN REAL-TIME. REAL-TIME

MARKETING (RTM) IS THE ART OF CREATING CONTENT

THAT RESPONDS TO THE NEWS AGENDA INSTANTLY AND

IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. IT IS A CORE PART OF BUILDING

A STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AND vERY EASY TO

GET WRONG. HERE IS GOLINHARRIS’ CHECKLIST FOR

ACHIEvING SOCIAL SUCCESS:

YouGov conducted this research on behalf of GolinHarris London. The total sample size was 105 IT purchasers and 103 marketers whose company have implemented marketing campaigns on social media. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13/09/2013 - 23/09/2013. The survey was carried out online.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS TRANSFORMING IT SALES

CHECK YOUR TONE OF vOICEEstablish a brand voice that is

relatable to the audience

BE PEOPLE CENTRIC

Make the brand relevant to people’s stories, don’t try to convince them to be a part

of the brand’s story

BE TIMELY & RELEVANT

This makes the brand look smart and of the

moment

12 MAY

BE HUMANGive customers information that is informative, useful, or entertaining

and remember to relate to your audience as individuals

Traditional marketing models are rapidly decreasing in effectiveness while the sales cycle is getting shorter. Our prospects’ research process starts long before any interaction with sales teams. As a consequence, we are ramping up our customer insight and mobile presence, as well as our digital and social marketing execution. We have found that tech professionals like to collaborate on online communities with their peers. Over the past few year our EMC Community Network (ECN) has grown tremendously. Here, customers and partners network, discuss their issues and give troubleshooting advice. The online community also lets members engage directly with subject-matter experts and obtain responsive customer service. Hosting these conversations drives brand loyalty and creates additional revenue for us. Ultimately, It’s important that engagement isn’t driven by EMC alone, but also by the customers and partners we work with.

SUHELA DIGHE,Social Media Marketing Director, EMEA, EMC

Elizabeth LittlewoodHead of TechnologyGolinHarrisM. +44 (0) 787 613 2262 / T. +44 207 067 0671elittlewood@golinharris.com

Jane FordhamDirector Marketing & TalentGolinHarrisM. +44 (0) 7770 401 436 / T. +44 207 067 0622jfordham@golinharris.com

www.golinharris.co.uk

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UK Consultancy of the Year

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