3,000 Executives and Professionals Weigh In on Twitter, Social Media Trends, and Vendor Participation in Online Communities
Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing Survey Reveals Increase in Social Media Usage to 4.72 hours per week; Twitter Characterized as Becoming More Valuable for Professional Use
Scottsdale, AZ and Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) July 13, 2009 -- Toolbox.com, the operator of online communities for professional knowledge sharing, and PJA Advertising + Marketing, 2008 BtoB Agency of the Year, today announced results of Wave IV in the IT Social Media Index survey series.
View complete survey results: http://it.toolbox.com/trd/832512.
This survey series is designed to provide insights from IT executives and professionals on topical issues that affect decision making. Nearly 3,000 members of the Toolbox for IT community participated in Wave IV, conducted in early June 2009. They shared insights on their use of social media in the workplace, their attitudes about vendor participation in online communities, and how useful they find communities like Twitter for professional knowledge sharing.
"The results of this latest survey show that professionals are increasing their consumption of and participation in user-generated content in relation to other forms of media," commented George Krautzel, co-founder and president of Toolbox.com. "What is also exciting to see in this wave is the willingness that participants had towards vendors openly collaborating with them on solutions to workplace challenges. Vendors can interpret this data as an invitation from IT professionals to participate alongside of them within online communities."
The survey shows that the majority of executives and professionals value vendor participation in online communities, with 34.7% saying that vendors must have a presence in online communities, and 42.0% responding that it is important for vendors to listen to their audiences and engage in conversation.
"This survey debunks the common conception that technology vendors don't belong in online networks," commented Mike O'Toole, Executive Vice President and Partner at PJA Advertising + Marketing. "It also shows that the closer you get to senior level in IT, the more executives are engaging with Twitter as a networking tool."
This survey revealed the following about social media usage:
| | - Social media consumption continues to outpace editorial and vendor content consumption, increasing from 3.74 hours per week to 4.72 hours per week from Wave III (August 2008) to Wave IV (July 2009).
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| | - Consumption of social and user-generated content (blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis, and profiles/social networking) continues to rise ahead of editorial media. The Toolbox.com/PJA IT Social Media Index now stands at 195*, a 44.5% increase since Wave III research conducted in August 2008. *Note: The Toolbox.com/PJA IT Social Media Index uses editorial media consumption in Wave I to calculate a mean score of 100.
- Global consumption of social media and user-generated content has remained consistent, with use of profiles, peer-to-peer networking, discussion groups, and blogs leading the growth in consumption and participation.
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Additional results highlighting attitudes on vendors and Twitter include:
| | - Being transparent and open, posting interesting and relevant content, and responding to members' questions ranked among the most important contributions that vendors can make in an online community.
- More than 90% of executives and professionals rated topic-based communities and knowledge-sharing communities as most appropriate for vendor participation.
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| | - Among the executives and professionals who use Twitter, more than 72% have less than 50 followers, and 62% described Twitter as becoming more useful for sharing and finding content and expertise.
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View complete survey results: http://it.toolbox.com/trd/832512.
About Toolbox.com
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.
About PJA
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.
Media Contacts:
Bill Conn
Brand Manager / Senior PR Specialist
Toolbox.com
bconn(at)toolbox(dot)com
610-840-0698
Mike O'Toole
Executive Vice President, Partner
PJA Advertising + Marketing
motoole(at)agencypja(dot)com
617-492-5899
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