LinkedIn has emerged as the major traffic driver from social media to corporate websites in a recent study published by Investis IQ, as reported by Social Media Today.
LinkedIn, according to the study, is responsible for 64% of click throughs from social media to corporate websites. Facebook, for the sake of comparison, drives just 17% and Twitter 14% (but rising). See graph below from Social Media Today:
Click Throughs From Social Media Services to Corporate Websites
The results of the research aren’t particularly surprising – people use different social services for different purposes, with business users, the people most likely to visit a corporate website, most likely to be reached by brand communications in social media on LinkedIn.
This finding doesn’t signal a necessary shift from Facebook for consumer brands, but is important for more “corporate” brands, particularly in the B2B space. Also, whilst it’s true that direct click throughs are both useful and measurable, having a brand presence on multiple social services still has a positive impact on search visibility, so it remains important to spread content, even that aimed at corporate audiences, across multiple channels where possible.
What is key is that LinkedIn has changed dramatically over the last year or two, from a place where users look for new jobs to an important content hub both for brands and individuals seeking greater visibility amongst business oriented audiences. I used to worry when I saw members of my team updating their LinkedIn profiles – now I see it as an important tool for reaching professional audiences and keeping them engaged over time.