Social media is often viciously mischaracterised as a perpetual motion machine that produces a ceaseless stream of sentimentality, animal memes and vitriol. In fact, this is only partly true.

While social networks are used by some people to torment politicians – and by some politicians to torment people – they can also be used to attract the attention of IT directors. After all, 38% are using them as a source of news, and for good reason. “Public social media allows us to witness and predict trends, position ourselves to respond well to events, identify new thought leaders in areas of interest and generally keep a finger on the pulse of our industry, business, and society”, according to Angela Yochem, CIO of BDP International.

Indeed, of those IT directors we surveyed, fewer than 10% (8%) claim they never spend time on social media during a given workday. As for the rest? Well, over 55% of IT directors are spending more than 30 minutes a day on social media, and 36% are spending more than an hour on it.

Here there are two main takeaways:

  • Marketers looking to engage with IT directors should treat social media as a strategic priority.
  • 36% of IT directors really ought to get back to work.

The right strategy can help you connect with IT directors and get your product noticed. But which platforms are the most effective?

We can see here that, with 69% citing it in their top three Facebook is the overwhelming favourite. That said, Twitter is cited by 41% LinkedIn by 40%, and YouTube by 38% – all close enough that none should be dismissed.

A worthwhile strategy ought to incorporate these platforms and more: social media is, after all, a plural term, and usage will vary according to the individual IT director. Adam, for instance, uses a combination of mainstream and niche platforms. “It’s useful to see what my connections are reading via Twitter and Linkedin”, he says, “but I also use apps like Feedly and Flipboard to follow dozens of industry feeds and influencer articles.”

Social media is all-important to IT directors – and it should be important to you as well.