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How Social Media Influences IT Purchases

When 95 percent of IT decision-makers use social media, vendors take notice.

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How do federal IT decision-makers choose which technology vendors to buy from? There are a variety of factors, but increasingly, social media is one of them. A recent survey sponsored by LinkedIn — The Social Bridge to the IT Committee — examined what IT workers want from social media sites, why they use the sites, and how vendors can benefit. Here are a few key excerpts from the study, which can be downloaded here.

IT Decision-Makers Use Social Media … a Lot

Tech-savvy IT workers understand the value of social media but they aren’t the only ones making decisions about technology. According to LinkedIn’s recent survey, an incredible 95 percent of IT decision-makers use social media for business purposes. It’s that social media drives purchases and that personal recommendations — whether in-person or online — are frequently more influential tha most forms of advertising.

This marks an important shift in the way IT is purchased, sold, marketed and delivered. Are vendors up to the task of engaging on social media? And, perhaps more importantly, can vendors effectively offer educational tools, not promotional material, using social media platforms?

Why Do IT Decision-Makers Care About Social Media?

Social media delivers a new kind of value. While algorithms drive much of the content seen by Internet users, IT leaders — like the rest of us — are more likely to make purchases based on their peers’ experiences with similar products and solutions. This survey’s respondents reported that social media helps them learn from trustworthy peers, find information quickly, access a broad network of people and connect with vendors.

Are Vendors Up to the Task?