The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks

About This Study
Focus of the study:
Users of online professional networks
Examination of current use of online professional networks
Online preferences
Changes and predicted changes in use of online professional networks
Sample composition:
The survey “The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks” was administered online to 114 participants
Participants were notified through blogs and direct email invitation by study sponsors
Close to two in ten (18%) respondents identified themselves as the CEO of their organization, with close to half identifying themselves as a “Director” (20%) or “Manager” (24%)
Company size ranged from less than 100 to over 50,000 full-time employees
Age was well distributed with the greatest proportion in the 36-45 range
10 countries were represented, with 76% of respondents living in the US
All respondents were either the decision makers or influenced the decision maker

Key finding #1: Thought leadership is the new currency of online professional collaboration
Business professionals are changing how they collaborate as a
result of online professional communities and peer networks.
Social networks have evolved to = knowledge and communication networks.
Access to thought leadership content is the #1 reason why professionals surveyed visit networks and communities.
Professionals collaborate with each other through the thought leadership content they generate, curate or share. No longer is collaboration an experience between a limited number of people.

Key finding #2: The collaboration recipe = 1 to 2 large networks + 1 to 2 niche communities
While nearly all professionals surveyed (97%) use LinkedIn, the use of smaller (niche) professional network are being leveraged to find peers and content specifically related to the work that they do (by role, industry, geography, etc.).
Professionals are finding the right mix of large open networks and private communities to support their learning, networking and decision-making activities.

Key finding #3: Social business is starting to happen within professional communities of practice
Professional communities are being used more frequently to inform business strategy and supporting new products and services (much more than in 2009).
80% of respondents are able to accelerate decision process and information/strategy development by participating in communities.

Key finding #4: Professionals share and consume quality content within their professional networks as a way of exerting influence
Endorsement (via like, read, share, retweet) is at the center of collaboration in social media communities.
“ The Crescendo Effect ” in social media environments has great impact on the buying decision. High quality content yields transparency and credibility.
Professional collaboration is changing from a small professional exchange into an interaction with content in public ways. The consequence of sharing content online = influence

Mobile Devices To Access Professional Networks are On The Rise: 59% of Respondents Use them To Access Professional Networks
Essentially all respondents access social networks on a PC or Mac and about 6 in 10 respondents in 2010 access a professional network using a mobile device
2010 showed a significant increase in the use of mobile devices to access online networks (15%) increase. 59% of respondents access online networks via mobile devices (vs. 44% in 2009).

The Majority Of Professionals Use Online Networks Daily To Inform Their Work
Question: On average, how often do you visit the networks or communities you belong to?
Question: How has this changed over the last three years?
80% of respondents access social networks one or more times a day with change in use increasing for 88% of respondents over the last three years
More than four in ten visit professional networks many times each day

Many Professionals Use A Combination Of “Big Three” Networks Plus Smaller, Selective Online Communities
Almost all respondents participate in large public networks or communities
Two thirds participate in open social media networks such as Twitter or Yelp
About half participate in midsize or specialized communities

And They Prefer To Engage Deeply With Peers In A Few Networks
Most respondents were split evenly between preferring to deeply experience a limited number of networks and joining many networks but only participating heavily in a few

Professionals Value Online Communities To Connect and Compete
Networks are trusted environments for relationship management and decision support
Significantly more professionals value professional networks for monitoring competitive brands over their own company brand
Top Three Benefits Of Online Community Participation

People And Content Found Within Online Communities Are Widely Used To Identify Business Trends And In Support Of A Professional Decision
When Faced With A Professional Decision, Survey Respondents Are Likely To…
Eight in ten respondents use online social networks to identify trends and key topics for further exploration
Just over a quarter use them to help reach a professional decision

While Professionals Value Collaboration, Their Companies Seek To Invest In Social Media Marketing Programs
Question: In what ways do you see your company’s external use of social media changing over the next 1-2 years? (select up to 3)
More than half of respondents foresee more marketing programs and content distribution in the next one to two years
Very few foresee no change in social media usage

What we think this means...
Professionals now use their social media peer groups and online communities as reliable inputs into their decision-making
2009-10 was about exploring and experimenting with online relationships whereas 2010-11 is about capitalizing on them.
Thought leadership is the professional currency of the future
Professionals and organizations are now being defined by the quality of the content they exchange, curate and create.
However, few content creation channels have stood the test of time as there is less content being created as professionals have learned to curate only the best
New rules for collaboration in social media environments emerge
Endorsement is at the center of collaboration in social media communities
The endorsement (via read, share, like, retweet) drives influence that enables better decision making
And, anytime anywhere access to our professional peer groups is a growing necessity
Mobile access to online communities and professional networks is the new norm
Therefore, relationships are more fluid and on-demand as professional now have the online networking skills to reach the experts they need, when they need them.

Thank you!
For more information or to get a copy of the full study you can contact me…
Vanessa DiMauro
CEO, Leader Networks
Senior Research Fellow, SNCR
[email_address]
http://www.leadernetworks.com
617-484-0778

Demographics

Gender and Age
Question: What is your gender?
Question: What is your current age?
Slightly more than half of the respondents were male
A wide range of age groups were represented, with about two thirds of respondents falling between the ages of 36 to 55

Professional Role
Question: Which of the following categories best describes your professional role in your organization?
Close to two in ten respondents reported that they are the CEO in their organization

Primary Business
Question: Please indicate your organization’s primary type of business
One third of respondents described their organization’s primary type of business as “Business Services”
Another quarter reported that their primary type of business was computer products

Number of Employees
Question: Approximately how many full time employees does your organization have worldwide including all divisions and locations?
About half of respondents indicated that they work for an organization with less than 100 full time employees
At the other extreme, more than a quarter work for organizations with 10,000 or more employees

Responsibility
Question: Which of the following best describes your responsibilities in making decisions on products and services in your company or organizational unit?
Close to half of respondents reported that they are the final decision-maker
More than four in ten reported that they participate in the decision-making process, while one in ten do research in support of the decision-maker
Note: Those who indicated that they had no decision-making responsibility were excluded from the study

Size of Budget Managed and Influenced
Question: What is the average size of the budget that you 1) Manage and 2) Influence?
A third of respondents influence budgets of $1 Million or more, while just over one in ten directly manage budgets of that size

The New Symbiosis of Professional Networks

by Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)

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