Social Media Influences Buying Decisions
By Brian Solis, blogger at PR 2.0 and principal of FutureWorks PR, Co-Author Putting the Public Back in Public Relations and Now Is Gone
On the heels of my recent post, "Is Social Media Recession Proof," Forrester released new details associated with its latest research survey that links business buyers and their process of researching solutions to Social Media.
Forrester interviewed business buyers to learn about their social activity, in this case, more than 1,200 technology buyers in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. with 100 employees or more in seven major industries.
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
According to the responses, Social Media isn't only limited to consumers or B2C. In the real of business-to-business research, analysis, and decisions, data points to peer-to-peer influence and collaboration in Social Networks and blogs...
69% are ―Spectators‖—they read blogs, watch user-generated videos and participate in other social media for business purposes
37% are ―Critics‖—they contribute comments or react to content they see in social formats. This is the next most common behavior after reading and watching
29% are ―Collectors‖—they use social technology to collect information and stay on top of trends
29% join social networks (―Joiners‖)
Only 5% are nonparticipants (―Inactives‖)
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis
Brian Solis is globally recognized for his views and insights on the convergence of PR, Traditional Media and Social Media. He actively contributes his thoughts and experiences through speaking appearances, books, articles and essays as a way of helping the marketing industry understand and embrace the new dynamics fueling new communications, marketing, and content creation. Solis is Principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR agency in Silicon Valley. Solis blogs at PR2.0, bub.blicio.us, TechCrunch, and BrandWeek. Solis is co-founder of the Social Media Club and is a founding member of the Media 2.0 Workgroup. Solis has been actively writing about new PR since the mid 90s to discuss how the Web was redefining the communications industry – he coined PR 2.0 along the way. Solis is considered an expert in traditional PR, media relations, and Social Media. He has dedicated his free time to helping PR professionals adapt to the new fusion of PR, Web marketing, and community relations. PR 2.0 has earned a position of authority in the Technorati blog directory and currently resides in the top 1.5% of indexed blogs. BrianSolis.com is also ranked among the most influential blogs in the Ad Age Power 150 listing of leading marketing bloggers. Working with Geoff Livingston, Solis was co-author of ―Now is Gone,‖ a new book that helps businesses learn how to engage in Social Media. He has also written several ebooks on the subjects of Social Media, New PR, and Blogger Relations. His next book, co-authored with Deirdre Breakenridge, ―Putting the Public back in Public Relations,‖ is now available from FT press. Connect with Solis on: Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Social Median, or Facebook --Subscribe to the PR 2.0 RSS Feed
(cc) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com - Twitter, @briansolis