connecting with your content - europe - 2014
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Priming the Economic EngineHow social drives business growth and business decisions
COMMISSIONED STUDY CONDUCTED BY
Social MediaEurope’s engine of business growth
New research from LinkedIn and Join the Dots reveals the huge role social media is playing in restarting economies across a large part of Europe. More than half of the fastest-growing businesses in the UK, France and The Netherlands credit social platforms with a big part in their success. And as social becomes more fundamental to all areas of business activity, an effective presence on social platforms will be essential for you to gain your share of Europe’s recovery.
Our in-depth survey of decision-makers for UK businesses with revenues of £4 million+, and more than €5 million for The Netherlands and France, reveals that social is now seen as an essential, all-round business tool. Business leaders rate it as highly effective for everything from brand awareness and generating advocacy, to researching buying decisions, sourcing information, learning from experts and listening to feedback. And well over three-quarters of businesses trust social when it comes to informing their financial decisions and guiding their choice of financial providers.
Amongst the key findings of the study are:
64% of Europe’s large and medium-sized businesses increased their revenues in the last year, and more than half of the fastest-growing businesses say that social media is crucial to their success
Businesses that have increased their spend on social are more likely to be growing quickly, and half of all growing businesses say they will increase their social spend next year
81% of business decision-makers use social media to guide their financial choices and strategy
55% are open to receiving financial information on LinkedIn, more than for any other social platform
81% of all business decision-makers have taken action after exploring financial content on LinkedIn
About this Study
LinkedIn partnered with research agency Join the Dots, which spoke to 300 business decision-makers in the UK, 263 in France and 144 in The Netherlands, generating a sample size of 707 across Europe as a whole. We asked each respondent about the performance of their business during the last year, their use of social media for business purposes, and their view of the effectiveness of social media for different tasks. We also asked in detail about each respondent’s use of social to guide their business’s financial decisions, and how financial content on social media influenced their choice of providers.
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The role of large and medium-sized businesses in Europe
Large and medium-sized businesses such as those in our study exert a huge influence over European economies. Prior to the global economic downturn, they employed more than half of all Europeans, despite representing only around 1.3% of companies. This immense clout has continued during the region’s growing recovery. A report from the UK’s Department for Business Innovation & Skills shows that businesses employing 50 people or more contribute just over 66% of all business turnover in the country.
With so much of European countries’ GDP flowing through large and medium-sized businesses, the ability to engage decision-makers in these companies is critical to success. It is clear from this report that effective use of social media will vastly increase that ability. This is particularly true of the financial services sector, an area in which business leaders are particularly accustomed to seeking guidance from social before making decisions.
How social became the essential growth tool
As Europe recovers from the economic downturn, social media has taken on a hugely important role in driving business growth. Broad, varied and effective use of social has emerged as the key characteristic of the fastest-growing large and medium-sized businesses in the region:
77% 52%54%
of large and medium-sized businesses
use social media for business purposes,
and a further 8% plan to do so in the future
of the fastest growing businesses reported
that social made a direct contribution to
that growth
of those reporting revenue growth had
increased their spend on social in the past year
LinkedIn is the most frequently used social network for business decision-makers in Europe, accessed regularly by 61% overall and 56% of those working
in the fastest-growing businesses.
In the UK, 67% of the fastest-growing businesses currently use LinkedIn
Highly versatile and highly effective
Business leaders are keen to increase their spend on social because they recognise it as one of the hardest-working investments that they make. Outbound communications are an important aspect of social’s role (72% say it is important for marketing their company and 61% agree that it is important for gaining and retaining customers) but its contribution goes far beyond this: from informing decisions to gathering feedback and improving business performance, social is one of the first places decision-makers turn when looking to drive growth.
Business leaders have a clear appetite for learning and listening through social, and for using feedback from social platforms to optimise their operations and meet customer needs more effectively. Learning from industry experts, understanding what others are saying about their business and delivering customer service are all hugely valued social media roles, as is sourcing the right talent to keep their businesses growing.
81% for delivering
content
65% for lead
generation
77% for advertising
75% for delivering
customerservice
72% for generating word of mouth
66% for gaining learnings,
insights or best practices
75% for findingnew talent.
74% for understanding what others are
saying about their company
rate social media as effective
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In the Netherlands, 80% rate social as an effective tool for learning from experts in their industry,
70% say it is effective for driving leads, and 82%rate it an effective customer service channel.
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A key component in future growth plans
66% of business decision makers agree that social media is essential to their company’s future, and 51% of those reporting revenue growth say that they will increase their spend on social media advertising in the future. However, the agenda that they have compiled for social incorporates different priorities in different markets:
• In the UK, delivering content (49%), advertising (48%) and maintaining a company identity (48%) top the list
• In the Netherlands, company identity (44%), generating leads (39%) and driving word of mouth (38%) are most important
• In France, word of mouth (38%), sales-focused advertising (37%) and building awareness (36%) are the key drivers
Fuelling financial strategy for business
Of all the business purposes that social media is directed towards, driving financial strategy and informing financial choices are amongst the most valued. In all, 81% of business decision-makers in Europe use social media for corporate financial purposes, and across all three countries in the survey, LinkedIn is the social platform where decision-makers are most open to receiving financial information:
82% of decision-makers in Europe list driving growth amongst their key motivations for using social media.
55% are open to
receiving financial
information on LinkedIn, more
than for any other social
platform
41%
34%
27%
23%
25%
use social to keep up-to-date on financial trends
use social to gather preliminary information for financial decisions
use social to seek advice on financial decisions
use it to evaluate or re-think their previous financial decisions
use it to recommend products and services to others
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The top five financial uses of social media by country:
Business leaders in France and the Netherlands are the most likely to use social for recommending financial products and services to their fellow decision-makers.
France
Gather preliminary information for financial
decisions
Recommend products and
services to others
Actively seek advice on financial decisions
Evaluate or re-think previous
financial decisions
1
31%1 3 4 52
39% 37% 34% 32% 27%
Keep up-to-date on
financial trends
Netherlands
Recommend products and
services to others
Gather preliminary information for financial
decisions
Actively seek advice on financial decisions
Evaluate or re-think previous
financial decisions
1
31%1 3 4 52
41% 28% 26% 25% 24%
Keep up-to-date on
financial trends
United Kingdom
Gather preliminary information for financial
decisions
Actively seek advice on financial decisions
Evaluate or re-think previous
financial decisions
Recommend products and
services to others
1
31%1 3 4 52
42% 35% 23% 18% 15%
Keep up-to-date on
financial trends
Influencing financial decisions throughout the consideration process
LinkedIn exerts the greatest influence of all social networks over financial decision-making, and maintains its influence all the way from initial discovery through to consideration and action:
• During the Discovery phase, 33% use LinkedIn for learning about companies or institutions, 26% for learning about specific products or policies and 26% for sharing this information with others
• During Consideration, 26% use it for conducting additional research, 25% for asking a financial professional for more information and 27% for contacting a financial representative
• As a result, 19% opened a new account, 15% purchased an investment product and 15% purchased an insurance policy
• In all, 81% of those using LinkedIn for Discovery and Consideration went on to take some action, and 42% went on to complete a purchase (64% in the Netherlands).
81% of all business decision-makers have taken action after exploring financial content on LinkedIn
7 7
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The top five actions taken by business leaders after accessing financial content on LinkedIn:
After accessing content on LinkedIn, decision-makers in the UK are most likely to research further and discuss with others, before making contact with a representative; business leaders in France and the Netherlands are more likely to get in touch with the company as their next step.
01
01
01
Learned about a financial company not previously aware of
Learned about a financial company not previously aware of
Contacted a financial representative
31%
37%
38%
04
04
Conducted additional research on a financial product
Conducted additional research on a financial product
23%
31%
03
03
Learned of a financial product not previously aware of
Discussed a financial product with a colleague, friend or family member
23%
33%
02
02
02
Shared information about financial trends, products or companies
Contacted a financial representative
Learned about a financial company not previously aware of
24%
34%
31%
05
05 05+
Asked a financial professional for more information
Learned of a financial product not previously aware of
Asked a financial professional for more information
20%
30% 30%
03
Shared information about financial trends, products or companies
28%
04
Asked a financial professional for more information
28%
05
Learned of a financial product not previously aware of
27%
France
Netherlands
United Kingdom
1
Key considerations for B2B marketers
Successful businesses invest in social not just because it helps to drive awareness and engagement, but because they trust it to support all forms of business decisions. Fewer and fewer choices are made without the use of insight, information and content sourced from social platforms. This has major implications for all B2B marketers, and especially for those working in finance, where social is at its most influential.
4 things that financial marketers must do to engage large and medium-sized businesses
Key learnings for marketers
The most successful large and medium-sized businesses use social as an information exchange, hugely valued both for outbound communication and as a source of insight to guide decision-making
As successful businesses’ investment in social grows, social media will become increasingly integrated into decision-making and will exert greater influence over buying choices
61% of Europe’s business decision makers are using LinkedIn for business, making it the most influential social network amongst this audience.
Prioritise financial content that is current and timely: keeping up with trends is the most frequent use of social for financial purposes, and will earn you attention and awareness
Vary your follow-up strategy according to local market priorities, because the socially driven purchase cycle varies between countries: follow-up research is the next step in the UK; decision-makers in The Netherlands and France need contact information to talk to your people directly
Ensure content is easily shareable – and encourage your audience to share it: many decision-makers are actively seeking to recommend financial companies and products to their peers, and sharing information with colleagues extends influence across buying committees
Make sure you are using decision-makers favoured social platforms; 55% of decision-makers access financial content on LinkedIn, and 81% of these have taken action after doing so.
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Build relationships on LinkedIn If you would like to receive more information on how to tap into the growing audience through social media, please visit: http://emea.marketing.linkedin.com/contact-us
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