As a technology company, you’ll quickly get left in the dust if you’re not on the cutting edge of your field. The same goes for your marketing strategies. In an effort to help tech companies better understand and connect with their target audience, LinkedIn recently announced a new eBook titled “The Social Bridge to the IT Committee,” also available on SlideShare. The research was conducted in conjunction with comScore, Starcom MediaVest Group and Mashwork, and sheds light on recent industry marketing trends.
A significant portion of the information is based off of decisions made by a group LinkedIn dubs the “IT Committee.” This group is made up of stakeholders from departments like IT, finance and marketing. The research also addresses the changing needs and mindset of the IT Committee.
Major themes throughout the findings were engagement and participation. It’s no longer enough to solely rely on making your content available for your audience; you have to interact with them, too. Losing a customer due to lack of engagement may hurt your company more than you realize. Remember, it could be five times more expensive to take on a new client than continue to retain an existing one.
While there are many valuable points made in the eBook, we’ve put together a short list of the findings we thought were most important:
- Social media can help put you on the radar of the IT Committee. LinkedIn is the most popular social media platform for tech companies to connect on, and 68 percent of tech decision makers are open to connecting with vendors on social media.
- Building relationships with the right content is key. The IT committee is interested in a wide range of topics from industry news to assessment tools, so it’s up to your brand to distribute the subject matter correctly. That also means having content available on a variety of mediums and engaging with your audience once it’s out there.
- Getting your company on that vendor shortlist is possible; it just needs to be done strategically. Earn your leads by blending traditional lead generation with social relationships, and establishing trust and credibility.
The research offers a great resource to tech companies looking to gain some helpful insight into their own marketing tactics. Considering 95 percent of the IT Committee is actively using social networks for monthly business, your company may realize it needs to establish a stronger presence online.
How is your tech company employing marketing strategies today? Let us know in the comments!