Researchers using LinkedIn
As members of a fast-paced industry, marketing research and insights professionals across the globe recognize the importance of tracking trends and keeping up with the latest techniques, but the way they go about it changes with time.
In our continued quest to better understand where researchers are turning for information, Quirk’s again asked end-client researchers, “Which of the following do you utilize to stay up to date on research methodologies and techniques? (Select all that apply).”
According to Statista, 16.2% of LinkedIn’s 185+ million U.S. users log on to LinkedIn daily (2021). LinkedIn itself has published that “46% of social traffic to your company site comes from LinkedIn.”
So, in addition to our usual lineup of options for staying up to date, we decided to add “read and participate in LinkedIn posts” to our survey.
Corporate researchers and social media
Are end-client researchers using LinkedIn?
It turns out that the majority of Quirk’s respondents do not turn to it as a resource for staying up to date on methods and techniques. Forty-one percent of respondents selected “read and participate in LinkedIn posts,” and of those, 44% say they visit the site at least once per day – meaning 18% of end-client respondents turn to LinkedIn daily.
In the comments section, one respondent shared their personal frustration with the platform:
Can’t use LinkedIn anymore because it’s nothing but salespeople pitching me.
While we weren’t necessarily surprised by the data – personal experience already led us to believe the platform was not heavily frequented by client siders – we thought it might be useful to pause and take a peek at LinkedIn’s general user demographics and compare them to our own to better understand our findings.
LinkedIn boasts a well-educated user base, with roughly half of all adults who have a bachelor’s or advanced degree reporting they use LinkedIn (Pew Research, 2021). In this aspect, Quirk’s respondents fit right in, as 99% report having a bachelor’s degree or higher.
But age may be a dividing factor. Nearly 60% of LinkedIn users worldwide were between the ages of 25 and 34 (Statista.com, 2022). According to our research, end-client researchers skew older as compared to suppliers, with only 14% of this year’s end-client respondents selecting 34 years of age or younger.
Choosing new methodologies
So, what are the most turned-to resources for client-siders looking to try new methodologies? Today attending virtual conference or webinars is the most selected at 77%, with reading blogs or articles being selected by 70% of respondents.
See what’s being talked about in articles.
I get a lot of e-mail and delete most. But I will register for a webinar if something piques my interest or if I think it could be something valuable for our organization.
See them in action on online webinars, industry conferences or local specialized events before reaching out further.
Looking to the future
As more young Millennials move further into their careers and take on decision-making roles within brand research teams, will we see an increase in the use of LinkedIn as a resource for staying up to date on the latest methodologies and techniques? Only time will tell. What we do know is that as the role of researchers – and social media platforms – keeps shifting, Quirk’s will continue tracking the most turned-to resources.