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Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media IndexThe Role of Social Media in Professional Brand Building and Reputation Management
brought to you by Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing — Survey Fielded: January 6-22, 2010
Page 2 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media IndexExecutive Summary
Completed in January 2010, the fifth wave of our multi-year study of social media use among global IT decision-makers and influencers demonstrates the rising importance of social media as a tool in professional brand-building and reputation management. For this wave of research, HR and Finance community members at Toolbox.com were surveyed as well, offering deeper insight into how social media usage compares among different verticals.*
Key Findings:
Active participation in social media is seen as key to career advancement: both building •competitive edge as a job candidate and keeping it as a professional.
Social media consumption among IT executives and professionals has stabilized at approximately •42% compared to 31% for editorial sources and 27% for vendor sources.
IT respondents named staying current (71%) and networking with peers (69%) as the most popular •uses of social media. Among HR and Finance professionals, responses were 78% and 73% for staying current and 71% and 62% for networking, respectively.
55% of IT professionals say social media is important in building their personal brand. Among HR •and Finance professionals, responses were 52% and 49%, respectively.
More than half of IT decision-makers have responded to a question posed by a peer, and 50% have •posted a question themselves.
All three groups believe social media’s biggest impact on career is to increase their level of •expertise.
* Results based on 4,364 completed responses to 17-question survey
Page 3 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media IndexOverview
Study Goals:
To confirm the role of social media in professional 1. brand building and reputation management among global IT decision-makers and influencers
To expand the focus of this ongoing study to HR 2. and Finance professionals and look for meaningful differences
Survey Details:
E-mail blast to 533,955 IT community members, •18,892 HR community members, and 10,276 Finance community members at Toolbox.com. The survey was fielded from January 6-22, 2010.
17-question survey •
4,364 completed responses•
Note: User-generated content and social media tools are defined as blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis, and profiles/social networking.
Asia21%
Europe17%
Rest of World11%
North America51%
What is your geographic location? [Global IT results]
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Part 1: Ongoing Use of Social Media and User-Generated Tools
Page 5 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media IndexTracking Media Consumption in Wave V
Social media consumption has leveled off from Wave IV (July 2009), but continues to outpace vendor and editorial content consumption.
3.05
2.792.85
2.88
2.71
3.35
3.543.35
3.06
2.88
4.59
4.723.74
3.26
3.48Social media/user-generated content(e.g., Toolbox.com, Wikipedia, LinkedIn)
Online editorial media(e.g., InformationWeek, CNN, WSJ.com)
Online vendor content(e.g., vendor-produced
white papers, webcasts)
How many hours per week do you spend online consuming or participating in the following media types? [Global IT results]
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Wave
Wave
Wave
Page 6 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Social media consumption among IT executives and professionals leveled off compared to Wave IV (Jul 2009). Social media still outpaces editorial media in its popularity, however.
Wave 1
Social Media
Editorial Media
Social Media
Editorial Media
Social Media
Editorial Media
Social Media
Editorial Media
Social Media
Editorial Media
Wave 2
Wave 3
Wave 4
Wave 5
132
190
139
195
121
135
111
118
100
104Note: The Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index uses editorial media consumption in Wave 1 to calculate a mean score of 100.{ }
100
Which of the following statements best describes how you use social media for professional use? [Global IT results]
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Tracking Media Consumption in Wave V
Page 7 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
When comparing the indices, there has been an impressive growth in social media consumption across job titles with business decision-makers showing the most dramatic increases.
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Tracking Media Consumption in Wave V
126
138 135
221
179
100
114125
168162
104
120
137
196 192
125116
136
160 161
116122
154
168163
ExecutiveDecision-Maker
ITDecision-Maker
BusinessManager
Wave 1: June 2007Wave 2: December 2007Wave 3: August 2008Wave 4: July 2009Wave 5: January 2010
IT Analyst/Admin
Developer
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5Wave
Note: The Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index uses editorial media consumption in Wave 1 to calculate a mean score of 100.{ }
100
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Part 2 : Attitudes on the Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Page 9 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Staying current and networking with peers are the most popular uses of social media in the professional setting.
Sharing content with peers
Networking with other professionals
Staying current
Searching for jobs
Advancing your career (building skills and expertise)
Managing your reputation (demonstrating expertise/building personal brand)
Other (please specify) 6.2%24.5%
58.1%
32.7%
70.9%68.6%
57.4%
Staying current
Networking with other professionals 71.0%
78.0%
Which of the following statements best describes how you use social media for professional use? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]
Which of the following statements best describes how you use social media for professional use? [Global HR results] Please select as many as apply.
Staying current
Networking with other professionals 62.0%
73.0%
Which of the following statements best describes how you use social media for professional use? [Global Finance results] Please select as many as apply.
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Page 10 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Best practice communities are used slightly more (60%) than professional networks like LinkedIn (54%) for career advancement among IT professionals and executives.
Best practice communities (Toolbox.com, StackOverflow)
Vendor-run communities (Oracle Technology Network, IBM Developerworks)
Professional networks (LinkedIn, Ryze)
Social networks (Facebook, MySpace)
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr)
Sharing networks (SlideShare, Digg)
Blogs (Blogger, LiveJournal)
I don’t use social media for career advancement
Other (please specify)
6.2%10.3%
20.3%
18.9%3.3%
13.7%
36.7%
54.1%34.7%
59.7%
In the last six months, which of the following social media tools have you used to advance your career? This includes searching for new jobs/opportunities, networking with peers to fill current knowledge gaps, and training. Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]
Page 11 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Social media’s greatest role in career advancement is increasing level of expertise in current positions (56%). Increasing confidence with a support structure was a distant second.
Created new job opportunities for me
Increased my responsibilities in my current position
Resulted in a promotion
Resulted in new business/project opportunities
Increased my level of expertise in my current position
Increased confidence with a support structure through professional networking
Benchmarked my skills against peers
Participation in social media has not impacted my career
Other (please specify)
38.4%25.9%
27.2%3.7%
56.7%
21.3%
6.9%21.4%
21.6%
How has your participation in social media had a positive impact on your career? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]
Page 12 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Social media complements or increases the respondents’ value as job candidates.
How does your social media presence affect your value as a job candidate? [Global IT results]
Greatly increases value9.3%
Increases value38.6%
Neutral49.2%
Creates risk and lowers value2.5%
Creates risk and significantly lowers value0.5%
Page 13 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Social media complements or has no effect on the majority of traditional career-building channels.
Training
Resumés
Career Fairs
Headhunters/Recruiters
Offline Networking
Online Job Boards
No Effect Replaces Compliments
How has your participation in social media (profiles, blogs, online communities, etc.) had an impact on your use of traditional channels in building your career? [Global IT results]
32% 6% 61%
46% 10% 44%
60% 12% 28%
52% 10% 38%
50% 9% 41%
50% 10% 40%
Page 14 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
More than half of respondents say social media is important or very important for building personal brand.
How important is active participation in social media for building reputation and your personal brand? Active participation means engaging and interacting with other professionals through social media by posting and answering relevant questions. [Global IT results]
Very important15.9%
Important40.0%
Neutral31.7%
Not very important8.9%
Waste of time3.4%
Page 15 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Professional networks and best practice communities lead the way in reputation-building channels.
Best practice communities (Toolbox.com, StackOverflow)
Vendor-run communities (Oracle Technology Network, IBM Developerworks)
Professional networks (LinkedIn, Ryze)
Social networks (Facebook, MySpace)
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr)
Sharing networks (SlideShare, Digg)
Blogs (Blogger, LiveJournal)
I don’t use social media for career advancement
Other (please specify)
7.2%
15.0%
24.5%3.0%
11.8%31.5%
50.4%
25.4%
48.0%
Which of the following social media channels do you use in building your reputation online? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]
Page 16 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
More than half of respondents have replied to a question on a social media site in the last six months, while just over half have posted a question themselves.
Replied to a question posted by a peer
Rated peer contributions (answer or article)
Commented on an article or entry posted by a peer (blogs)
Posted a question to community members/peers
Shared content that was posted by my peers
Built knowledge network through connections
No community interaction or engagement
43.0%
14.6%
34.9%
51.3%
39.2%
28.4%
54.3%
Which of the following statements best describes your participation in social media in the last six months? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]
Page 17 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
Quality and frequency of posting is seen as the most important attribute in a social media expert, followed by promptness and language proficiency.
Promptness in response
Deep experience and background in a particular field of expertise
Thoughtful and detailed response
Concise answers that directly address the specific question
The ability to reference multiple sources
Quantity and frequency of posting/responding
Language proficiency
When you rate a peer/community member as an “expert”, which of the following attributes do you look for? [Global IT results]
Please rate on a scale of 1-5 where 1 = “Least Important” and 5 = “Most Important”.
Promptness in response
Deep experience and background ina particular field of expertise
Thoughtful and detailed response
Concise answers that directlyaddress the specific question
The ability to referencemultiple sources
Quantity and frequencyof posting/responding
Language proficiency
No Effect 2 3
When you rate a peer/community member as an "expert", which of the following attributes do you look for? [Global IT results] Please rate on a scale of 1-5 where 1 = "Least Important" and 5 = “Most Important”.
4 Most Important
9% 13% 32% 29% 17%
5% 6% 15% 31% 43%
5% 5% 16% 36% 38%
5% 4% 14% 33% 44%
7% 13% 36% 31% 13%
14% 21% 36% 22% 8%
9% 15% 33% 29% 15%
3.3
4.0
4.0
4.1
3.3
2.9
3.3
Page 18 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management
More than 1,100 respondents offered opinions on the value of social media participation. Most noted the value of connectedness, consolidation of knowledge, and building out one’s professional network.
Among the responses:
“The more you put yourself out there, the greater the response will be.”
“There are very few new problems, so no need to recreate the wheel to find solutions.”
“It’s another tool. If you use it, you have more advantage.”
“The key factors of social media are Following, Doing, and Promoting in the disguise of Sharing.”
“For my profession it is largely a credibility factor. It helps me to demonstrate that I am not a fossil.”
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Part 3 : Demographic Background - IT Respondents
Page 20 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Demographic Background - IT Respondents
What is your job role? [Global IT results]
IT Decision-Maker13.6%
Business Manager5.0%
Developer22.1%
IT Analyst/Admin45.4%
Other9.6%
Executive Decision-Maker4.4%
Page 21 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Demographic Background - IT Respondents
What is your business focus/industry? [Global IT results]
1.2%36
0.5%14
7.0%216
2.9%89
0.9%28
2.7%83
14.0%431
1.6%49
5.3%165
2.1%64
2.0%63
6.5%202
6.0%184
0.5%15
Consulting (Technology)
Energy (oil, gas, etc.)
HR/Staffing/PEO
Consulting (Other)
Agriculture
Data Processing Services
Healthcare
Government (incl military)
Comm. Providers (ISP/Telco/Other)
Education
Engineering
Banking/Finance
Construction/Architecture
Aerospace 3.7%113
10.6%328
1.3%41
1.6%49
1.2%36
1.3%41
2.6%79
12.6%390
2.1%65
0.9%27
0.3%10
3.6%112
5.1%158
Research/Development
Other
Non-Profit
Wholesale/Retail
Media/Entertainment
Transportation/Utilities
Technology (hardware)
VAR/VAD
Marketing/Advertising
Travel/Hospitality
Manufacturing/Process
Insurance/Legal/Real Estate
Technology (software)
Page 22 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index Demographic Background - IT Respondents
What is your company size? [Global IT results]
Less than1,000 employees42.7%
Between 1,000 and4,999 employees20.6%
Between 5,000 and10,000 employees
10.1%
More than10,000 employees
26.6%
Asia21%
Europe17%
Rest of World11%
North America51%
What is your geographic location? [Global IT results]
Page 23 of 23© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing
Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index About the Authors
Toolbox.com helps professionals do their jobs better by enabling them to easily share knowledge with experienced peers. The online communities at Toolbox.com include professional networking, blogs, discussion groups, wikis, and a vendor research directory through which executives and professionals collaborate to solve problems, make decisions, and increase workplace efficiency. Through the community, advertising partners can engage prospects and customers either directly or by integrating their message through a proprietary contextual matching engine. This combination of community and advertising value has made Toolbox.com a leading destination for professionals and a leader in online advertising. Toolbox.com is a division of Corporate Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD). For more information, visit www.toolbox.com.
PJA is proud to be named 2008 Agency of the Year by BtoB Magazine. PJA is a $74 million advertising and marketing agency with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco, California. PJA serves a global roster of technology, life science and healthcare clients that includes: Novell, GE Healthcare, Boston Scientific, Akamai, Trend Micro, Infor, and TriZetto. For more information, visit www.agencypja.com.