Topline Findings from Wave V of Toolbox.com/AgencyPJA Social Media Survey

Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index
The Role of Social Media in Professional Brand Building and Reputation Management

brought to you by Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing — Survey Fielded: January 6-22, 2010

Executive Summary

Completed in January 2010, the fifth wave of our multi-year study of social media
use among global IT decision-makers and influencers demonstrates the rising
importance of social media as a tool in professional brand-building and reputation
management. For this wave of research, HR and Finance community members at
Toolbox.com were surveyed as well, offering deeper insight into how social media
usage compares among different verticals.*

Key Findings:
• Active participation in social media is seen as key to career advancement: both building
competitive edge as a job candidate and keeping it as a professional.

• Social media consumption among IT executives and professionals has stabilized at approximately
42% compared to 31% for editorial sources and 27% for vendor sources.

• IT respondents named staying current (71%) and networking with peers (69%) as the most popular
uses of social media. Among HR and Finance professionals, responses were 78% and 73% for
staying current and 71% and 62% for networking, respectively.

• 55% of IT professionals say social media is important in building their personal brand. Among HR
and Finance professionals, responses were 52% and 49%, respectively.

• More than half of IT decision-makers have responded to a question posed by a peer, and 50% have
posted a question themselves.

• All three groups believe social media’s biggest impact on career is to increase their level of
expertise.

* Results based on 4,364 completed responses to 17-question survey

© 2010 Toolbox.com and PJA Advertising + Marketing Page 2 of 23

Overview

Study Goals:
1. To confirm the role of social media in professional What is your geographic location? [Global IT results]
brand building and reputation management among
global IT decision-makers and influencers

2. To expand the focus of this ongoing study to HR Asia
and Finance professionals and look for meaningful 21%
differences

Survey Details:
• E-mail blast to 533,955 IT community members,
18,892 HR community members, and 10,276 Finance North America
community members at Toolbox.com. The survey was 51%
fielded from January 6-22, 2010. Europe
17%
• 17-question survey

• 4,364 completed responses
Rest of World
11%
Note: User-generated content and social media tools are
defined as blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis,
and profiles/social networking.


Part 1: Ongoing Use of Social Media and User-Generated Tools

Tracking Media Consumption in Wave V

Social media consumption has leveled off from Wave IV (July 2009), but continues to
outpace vendor and editorial content consumption.

How many hours per week do you spend online consuming or participating in the
following media types? [Global IT results]

Wave
Social media/user-generated content 1 3.48
(e.g., Toolbox.com, Wikipedia, LinkedIn) 2 3.26
3 3.74
4 4.72
5 4.59
Wave
Online editorial media 1 2.88
(e.g., InformationWeek, CNN, WSJ.com) 2 3.06
3 3.35
4 3.54
5 3.35
Wave
Online vendor content 1 2.71
(e.g., vendor-produced 2 2.88
white papers, webcasts)
3 2.85
4 2.79
5 3.05



Social media consumption among IT executives and professionals leveled off compared to
Wave IV (Jul 2009). Social media still outpaces editorial media in its popularity, however.

Which of the following statements best describes how you use social media for
professional use? [Global IT results]

{ }
Wave 1
Note: The Toolbox.com/PJA Social
Social Media 104 Media Index uses editorial media
Editorial Media consumption in Wave 1 to
100
calculate a mean score of 100.
Wave 2
Social Media 118
Editorial Media 111

Wave 3
Social Media 135
Editorial Media 121

Wave 4
Social Media 195
Editorial Media 139

Wave 5
Social Media 190
Editorial Media 132

100



When comparing the indices, there has been an impressive growth in social media consumption
across job titles with business decision-makers showing the most dramatic increases.

{ }
Wave 1: June 2007
Note: The Toolbox.com/PJA Social
Wave 2: December 2007
Media Index uses editorial media
Wave 3: August 2008
consumption in Wave 1 to
Wave 4: July 2009
calculate a mean score of 100.
221 Wave 5: January 2010

196 192

179
168 168
162 160 161 163
154

138 135 137 136
126 125 125
120 122
114 116 116
104
100
100

Wave 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

Executive IT Business IT Analyst/ Developer
Decision-Maker Decision-Maker Manager Admin


Part 2 : Attitudes on the Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management

Role of Social Media in Brand Building and Reputation Management

Staying current and networking with peers are the most popular uses of social media in the
professional setting.

professional use? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]

Sharing content with peers 57.4%
Networking with other professionals 68.6%
Staying current 70.9%
Searching for jobs 32.7%
Advancing your career (building skills and expertise) 58.1%
Managing your reputation (demonstrating expertise/building personal brand) 24.5%
Other (please specify) 6.2%

professional use? [Global HR results] Please select as many as apply.


professional use? [Global Finance results] Please select as many as apply.




Best practice communities are used slightly more (60%) than professional networks
like LinkedIn (54%) for career advancement among IT professionals and executives.

In the last six months, which of the following social media tools have you used to
advance your career? This includes searching for new jobs/opportunities, networking
with peers to fill current knowledge gaps, and training. Please select as many as apply.
[Global IT results]

Best practice communities (Toolbox.com, StackOverflow) 59.7%
Vendor-run communities (Oracle Technology Network, IBM Developerworks) 34.7%
Professional networks (LinkedIn, Ryze) 54.1%
Social networks (Facebook, MySpace) 36.7%
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr) 13.7%
Sharing networks (SlideShare, Digg) 10.3%
Blogs (Blogger, LiveJournal) 6.2% 20.3%
I don’t use social media for career advancement 18.9%



Social media’s greatest role in career advancement is increasing level of expertise in
current positions (56%). Increasing confidence with a support structure was a distant second.

How has your participation in social media had a positive impact on your career? Please
select as many as apply. [Global IT results]

Created new job opportunities for me 21.6%
Increased my responsibilities in my current position 21.4%
Resulted in a promotion 6.9%
Resulted in new business/project opportunities 21.3%
Increased my level of expertise in my current position 56.7%
Increased confidence with a support structure through professional networking 38.4%
Benchmarked my skills against peers 25.9%
Participation in social media has not impacted my career 27.2%



Social media complements or increases the respondents’ value as job candidates.

How does your social media presence affect your value as a job candidate? [Global IT
results]

Creates risk and significantly lowers value
0.5%
Creates risk and lowers value
Greatly increases value
2.5%
9.3%

Neutral
49.2%
Increases value
38.6%



Social media complements or has no effect on the majority of traditional career-building channels.

How has your participation in social media (profiles, blogs, online communities, etc.) had
an impact on your use of traditional channels in building your career? [Global IT results]

No Effect Replaces Compliments

Training 32% 6% 61%
Resumés 46% 10% 44%
Career Fairs 60% 12% 28%
Headhunters/Recruiters 52% 10% 38%
Offline Networking 50% 9% 41%
Online Job Boards 50% 10% 40%



More than half of respondents say social media is important or very important for
building personal brand.

How important is active participation in social media for building reputation and your
personal brand? Active participation means engaging and interacting with other
professionals through social media by posting and answering relevant questions.
[Global IT results]
Waste of time
3.4%

Not very important Very important
8.9% 15.9%

Neutral
31.7%

Important
40.0%



Professional networks and best practice communities lead the way in reputation-
building channels.

Which of the following social media channels do you use in building your reputation
online? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]

Best practice communities (Toolbox.com, StackOverflow) 48.0%
Vendor-run communities (Oracle Technology Network, IBM Developerworks) 25.4%
Professional networks (LinkedIn, Ryze) 50.4%
Social networks (Facebook, MySpace) 31.5%
Microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr) 11.8%
Sharing networks (SlideShare, Digg) 7.2%
Blogs (Blogger, LiveJournal) 15.0%
I don’t use social media for career advancement 24.5%



More than half of respondents have replied to a question on a social media site in
the last six months, while just over half have posted a question themselves.

Which of the following statements best describes your participation in social media in
the last six months? Please select as many as apply. [Global IT results]

Replied to a question posted by a peer 54.3%
Rated peer contributions (answer or article) 28.4%
Commented on an article or entry posted by a peer (blogs) 39.2%
Posted a question to community members/peers 51.3%
Shared content that was posted by my peers 34.9%
Built knowledge network through connections 43.0%
No community interaction or engagement 14.6%



Quality and frequency of posting is seen as the most important attribute in a social
media expert, followed by promptness and language proficiency.

When you rate a peer/community member as an “expert”, which of the following When you rate a peer/comm
attributes do you look for? [Global IT results] attributes do you look for? [G
"Least Important" and 5 = “M
Please rate on a scale of 1-5 where 1 = “Least Important” and 5 = “Most Important”.
No Ef

Promptness in response 3.3
Promptness in response
Deep experience and background in a particular field of expertise 4.0 Deep experience and background in
a particular field of expertise 5%
Thoughtful and detailed response 4.0
Thoughtful and detailed response 5%
Concise answers that directly address the specific question 4.1
Concise answers that directly
5%
address the specific question
The ability to reference multiple sources 3.3
The ability to reference 7
Quantity and frequency of posting/responding 2.9 multiple sources

Language proficiency 3.3 Quantity and frequency
of posting/responding

Language proficiency



More than 1,100 respondents offered opinions on the value of social media
participation. Most noted the value of connectedness, consolidation of knowledge,
and building out one’s professional network.

Among the responses:

“The more you put yourself out there, the greater the response will be.”

“There are very few new problems, so no need to recreate the wheel to find solutions.”

“It’s another tool. If you use it, you have more advantage.”

“The key factors of social media are Following, Doing, and Promoting in the disguise of Sharing.”

“For my profession it is largely a credibility factor. It helps me to demonstrate that I am not a fossil.”


Part 3 : Demographic Background - IT Respondents

Demographic Background - IT Respondents

What is your job role? [Global IT results]

Executive Decision-Maker
Other
4.4%
9.6%
IT Decision-Maker
13.6%

Developer Business Manager
22.1% 5.0%

IT Analyst/Admin
45.4%



What is your business focus/industry? [Global IT results]

Aerospace 36 1.2% Insurance/Legal/Real Estate 113 3.7%
Agriculture 14 0.5% Manufacturing/Process 328 10.6%
Banking/Finance 216 7.0% Marketing/Advertising 41 1.3%
Comm. Providers (ISP/Telco/Other) 89 2.9% Media/Entertainment 49 1.6%
Construction/Architecture 28 0.9% Non-Profit 36 1.2%
Consulting (Other) 83 2.7% Research/Development 41 1.3%
Consulting (Technology) 431 14.0% Technology (hardware) 79 2.6%
Data Processing Services 49 1.6% Technology (software) 390 12.6%
Education 165 5.3% Transportation/Utilities 65 2.1%
Energy (oil, gas, etc.) 64 2.1% Travel/Hospitality 27 0.9%
Engineering 63 2.0% VAR/VAD 10 0.3%
Government (incl military) 202 6.5% Wholesale/Retail 112 3.6%
Healthcare 184 6.0% Other 158 5.1%
HR/Staffing/PEO 15 0.5%



What is your company size? [Global IT results] What is your geographic location?
[Global IT results]
More than Asia
10,000 employees 21%
26.6%
Less than
1,000 employees
42.7%
North America
51%
Europe
Between 5,000 and
17%
10,000 employees
10.1%
Rest of World
Between 1,000 and 11%
4,999 employees
20.6%


About the Authors

Toolbox.com helps professionals do their jobs better by enabling them to easily share
knowledge with experienced peers. The online communities at Toolbox.com include
professional networking, blogs, discussion groups, wikis, and a vendor research
directory through which executives and professionals collaborate to solve problems,
make decisions, and increase workplace efficiency. Through the community, advertising
partners can engage prospects and customers either directly or by integrating their
message through a proprietary contextual matching engine. This combination of
community and advertising value has made Toolbox.com a leading destination for
professionals and a leader in online advertising. Toolbox.com is a division of Corporate
Executive Board (NASDAQ: EXBD). For more information, visit www.toolbox.com.

PJA is proud to be named 2008 Agency of the Year by BtoB Magazine. PJA is a $74 million
advertising and marketing agency with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
San Francisco, California. PJA serves a global roster of technology, life science and
healthcare clients that includes: Novell, GE Healthcare, Boston Scientific, Akamai, Trend
Micro, Infor, and TriZetto. For more information, visit www.agencypja.com.


Topline Findings from Wave V of Toolbox.com/AgencyPJA Social Media Survey

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