The Mindset Divide

Editor's Notes

• #2: LinkedIn partnered with TNS, a global research firm, to understand the motivations and the mindset of people when using various social networks. We surveyed more than 6000 people in 12 countries to explore why people go on each network, what content they are looking for, and what they’re expecting when they get there. And we found some interesting insights around the different emotions that people feel when networking, and how marketers can tap into that.
• #3: Marketers have long understood that emotion plays a critical role in advertising success. Consumer brands have a long history of generating emotions in their advertising. In Visa’s “Go World” campaign for the 2012 Olympics, Visa used footage from Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 routine to evoke emotions around human achievement.In another example, BBH created the "Keep Walking" campaign in 1999 after research revealed that the most power demonstration of masculine success was not material wealth but a thirst for self-improvement. The "Keep Walking" campaign has run in more than 120 markets over eight years, with more than 50 TV adverts and more than 150 print ads, with Johnnie Walker racking up incremental sales of $2.21bn (£1.4bn) over the period.
• #4: Research shows that emotional advertising leads to greater ROI. In a study that compared 880 case studies from the UK national and international Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Awards, it was found that emotional campaigns are almost twice as likely to generate large profit gains than rational ones. -- Hamish Pringle and Peter Field, Brand Immortality – 2009
• #5: But marketers rarely target professionals that way. According to Philip Kotler, who is widely considered the “father of modern marketing,” one of the biggest myths in B2B branding is that there is no emotion involved when targeting professionals. The fact is, professionals are still consumers, and there is a surprising amount of emotion that can drive business decisions. Source:Branding in B2B firms, Kevin Lane Keller and Philip Kotler
• #6: We asked these users why they use personal and professional networks and we found that emotion plays an important role in both personal and professional networks, but they are dramatically different. This may come as a surprise because many people tend to think of professional networks as job boards that are void of emotion. But we found in our interviews that there are some very deep emotions on professional networks that are very different from personal networks.
• #7: Emotions on personal networks are about reminiscing with family and friends, and entertainment. What people are thinking and feeling are emotions around nostaligia; it’s about having fun, and it’s also about a distraction. It’s more casual and informal. In the research, people talked about being “in the moment” and also reflective of past moments, parties, vacations, holidays. It’s passing time on personal platforms without necessarily having a clear motivation to “do” something on personal sites. “Personal networking, is usually informal and not typically used to obtain anything tangible. ” - U.S.“I social network using Twitter and Facebook, but that is purely entertainment and making personal arrangements mainly. “ – U.K. "On Facebook, you find too much unnecessary information, which sometimes make you lose focus.” -- Brazil
• #8: Emotions on professional network on the other hand are motivated by a sense of purpose to achieve goals. It’s about empowerment and achievement. Professional networking is much more goal-oriented and purposeful. There is also an aspirational component, where people are looking for future opportunity. The emotions are about being the best you can be, improving yourself. They’re looking for information to work smarter, and that behavior is driven by a deeply emotional desire to succeed. It’s a tool that enables professional success. Particularly for marketers who want to tap into this aspirational mindset, this is an important finding. How can marketers think about attaching themselves to these emotions as part of their messaging and a part of the tonality that they use on professional sites. “The main benefit of an extensive professional network is that we can get help in our work.” – Singapore“It is an essential part of being successful in my business. - US
• #9: These emotions on professional networks are just below the surface. Meaning that people come to professional networks to network with colleagues and search for opportunities, but the underlying motivation behind that behavior are deep emotions around achievement, happiness, goals, and security. This is important because companies and brands can tap into these deep emotions on professional networks and create that emotional resonance with their target audience to create a greater impact around their message.Think about when you bought your first car or when you bought your first apt or house? How were you feeling when you got that promotion you’ve been working for? Think about what you were thinking and feeling and that sense of achievement from succeeding and realising your goal. These are the feelings and emotions that come into play on professional platforms. There’s a feeling that opportunity exists through your connections and that at some point in the future, knowing someone will lead to something greater, a new business opportunity or a new skill. This is a unique opportunity for brands, because emotional advertising has been shown to lead to greater ROI. And they can tap these deep emotions on professional networks. Professionals are people too and they want to be spoken to in a relevant way that appeals to the emotional side.
• #10: In this quote, Jonathan Becher, the CMO for SAP, speaks on the importance of the emotional connection even for a B2B company like SAP.
• #11: Our second key finding is that that the top drivers for usage of personal and professional networks are quite different. Personal networks are where people go to “Spend Time.” They’re looking to socialize, be entertained and even kill time. While on professional networks people are looking to “Invest Time”. They’re working with a purpose or an aspiration. You can see the difference very clearly. Professional networks are driven first and foremost by maintaining their professional identity and reputation. They also want to make useful contacts, search for opportunities, and keep up to date for their career. In other words, people on personal networks are spending time in a very casual mindset while on professional networks people are investing time in a very purposeful mindset. What this means for you as brands and marketers is that by understanding the mindset of users on each network, you can deliver more relevant content and build deeper relationships with your audience. By matching your messaging to the mindset, you will see more favorable results.Marketers can use this insight deliver more relevant content and build deeper relationships with their audience.
• #12: Anotherkey finding from the researchis that there is a huge difference between the content people expect on the different networks. Personal network users are looking for content and info that gives immediate gratification – info on friends, entertainment, updates on their personal interestsProfessional networks users want content that can help them build for the future – info related to their work and careers and updates from brands they are interested in. When we asked people what type of information they wanted to hear from brands/companies/products, the personal side was about hobbies, entertainment, concert updates, etc. The professional side was about how to improve yourself, how to be better in your career and in your industry, they want brands to talk to them in a relevant way to tap into this type of content.You can build relationships with professionals by sharing insights and listening.
• #13: When we asked users what types of brands they want to see on each network, it further confirmed the fact that people have very different expectations on personal and professional networks. On professional networks, they expect to see brands that help improve themselves professional and help them make business decisions. So they’re looking for brands that can help them be more successful in their jobs. It’s a very purposeful mindset. On personal networks, they are looking for brands that can entertain them, most likely with music and video. It’s a much more casual mindset. Both networks can serve very different purposes for marketers depending on who their audience is and the nature of the marketing campaign. But it is important that marketers understand the differences and utilize the network that fits best with their marketing strategy.
• #14: The power of social networks is the amplification of your message through influencers who share with their networks, and both personal and professional networks have them. However, people on professional networks are slightly more likely to share knowledge and insights with their networks because of the professional context. This presents an opportunity for marketers to give them the information and insights that they crave, which in turn can be amplified to their networks.
• #15: Recognize the separation between personal and professional networks and the opportunities they present for your brand. If you are only advertising on one type of network, there is a whole side of your customers’ lives that you are not reaching. Marketers can reach a new network of connections on professional networks in a trusted context. Frame how your brand helps users gain knowledge and success on professional networks.Help users accomplish their goals and show how your brand can become a part of their success.Enable professionals to help each other and create opportunities for your brand to participate.  Engage information-hungry influencers with exclusive information.Take advantage of the mindset on professional networks that users want to be first in the know and share with others. You can foster knowledge sharing and build your base of advocates to amplify your messages across networks – all in a highly targeted way.Treat advocates like an extension of your company by giving them the deepest level of education and information about your brand and even your industry. For example, utilize your internal brand education initiatives on the professional networks. Align your brand with emotion by matching your message to the user mindset – casual updates versus rich professional content. Understanding mindset is key to relevance. On personal networks, help users “spend time” by providing light, entertaining, playful content. On professional networks, help users “invest time” with deeper, more thoughtful information and insights. Create emotional appeals around achievement and success to connect with your audience in a deep and powerful way. As a result, your advertising messages will be considered more relevant, impactful, and timely. Understand the type of brand content users expect to see – coupons and discounts on personal; brand news and insights on professional. Build meaningful relationships by participating, sharing and listening.Social is a 1:1 dialogue, and just like in the real world, there is a time and place for every conversation. Treatyour brand like a person and engage in conversation and behavior that matches the appropriate mindset. By enabling professionals to share their thoughts / feelings and to help each other, and having your brand participating in the discussion, you become a meaningful contributor. By listening to the audience, you can see what the common needs/discussions are, creating an opportunity to improve your brand/product.
• #16: ChallengesMercedes was facing stiff competition from the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4 in the luxury car market, and needed to demonstrate its innovation while creating a community of “hand raisers.”Specifically, the company wanted to improve perceptions and raise awareness of its C-Class car.SolutionMercedes and LinkedIn decided to associate the brand with a professional activity – in this case, managing and improving members’ LinkedIn profiles via InTips ads.The Mercedes interactive content ad allowed LinkedIn members to request brochures and test drives, and encouraged them to follow the Company Page.The Mercedes Company page allowed followers to share their experiences with the car and recommend it to other social media connections.Why LinkedIn?Ability to target affluent professionals holding senior management positions.Ability to drive traffic to Company Page creates community, increases reach of recommendations.Multiple touch points for messages from Mercedes to the right people, at the right time.ResultsInTips ads created increased engagement with LinkedIn members – generating a clickthrough rate of 0.20%.Follow ads generated a clickthrough rate of 0.77%Recommendation ads outclassed standard display advertising: created 139,354 viral impressions with engagement rate of 0.27%.12,000+ company page followers in only 5 weeksMember Quotes from Company Page“Great car! I picked up my new C-Class 2 weeks ago and it’s the nicest exec car I’ve owned. Super drive and super comfy. Great technology in it too!” –IT director, Birmingham, UK“Mercedes just gets better in its field.” – Marketing manager, Nottingham, UK
• #17: Influencers on LinkedIn are much more engaged and likely to share your brand messages Influencers are defined as LinkedIn members who are media professionals, bloggers, poll creators, mobile users, etc.
• #18: Connect -- technically Connect: Professional Women's Network -- is a collaboration between Citi and LinkedIn to bring professional women the best curated and original content and resources on topics that matter most to professional women.Citi Women’s Professional Group Case Study-          54K members -          ~328 members/day (Created 4/20/2012, active 139 days)Unaided brand awareness is 47% higher for Connect Group members when compared to non-group members — Non-Group: 30%; Connect Group: 44%.Fastest growing group in 2012Membership / # of days since created2.5x more engaged than avg# of discussions and comments / membership
• #19: Citi’s Connect group became so engaged that the members organized their own offline meetup in NYC which resulted in a group of 30 professional women from various ages and backgrounds. One member mentioned she works with all men in IT, and loves the LinkedIn group for the female camaraderie and perspective. Another member mentioned that she doesn’t have co-workers or other people that she trusts for career advice, but the group fills that void for them. “What probably impressed me the most was the strong bond forged among the women, although most had only connected online a few months or even weeks ago.” – LindaDescano, CFA (from Women & Co blog)Women and Co. meetup event in NY: http://blog.womenandco.com/2012/08/making-the-right-connections.html
• #23: To understand mindset and emotion on different social networks, LinkedIn partnered with TNS to understand why people use social networks. The better marketers can understand the ‘why’, the better they can fulfill their audience’s needs and expectations.
• #24: As social media matures, the marketers that win will be the ones who understand the need to adopt a segmented approach and play to the relative strengths of each available platform.By understanding themindset and emotion across different social networks, marketers can improve relevance,engagement, and encourage individuals to amplify brand messages to their network -- and ultimately drive results that matter for your business.
• #25: We all know that people use personal and professional networks for vastly different reasons, but what are the top drivers for using one over the other? On Personal networks, it’s about more leisurely oriented drivers like socializing with others, being entertained and even passing the time. On professional networks, they’re more purpose-driven, where they’re accomplishing something like maintaining their professional identity, making useful contacts, and searching for opportunities.