"IT Buyers Shun Social Media"

“IT Buyers Shun Social Media” :

Arun Sudhaman:

New research suggests that IT buyers continue to shun social media, preferring search engines, personal networks, consultants, trade media and industry analysts when choosing their suppliers.

The study, from CCgroup, polled 150 IT decision-makers in the UK. It found that when researching suppliers, IT buyers were very unlikely to use LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. They were also unlikely to be influenced by national media or industry forums, placing their trust instead in peers & colleagues, search engines and consultants.

Bizarrely confused conclusions here. So, they trust search engines, personal networks, consultants etc — but don’t think to connect that those influencers may get their knowledge from social channels? If it’s vicarious influence, isn’t it just as valuable?

Also, you might expect that some of this audience doesn’t use social in a native sense. But there are no doubt innovative and forward-looking members of the group that do. And if you’re the vendor of something that’s ambitious, disruptive and innovative, aren’t those going to be the low-hanging fruit to convince to your side?

Unless I missed a bit, the conclusions here seem pretty off.