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

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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