ITtoolbox Vendor Research Directory Leverages User-Generated Content To Support IT Purchasing Decisions
Scottsdale, AZ - ITtoolbox, the online community where professionals share IT knowledge and best practices, recently announced the launch of the ITtoolbox Vendor Research Directory. This interactive directory for the information technology industry is the first resource of its kind to marry user-generated content with information from technology vendors to create a comprehensive and objective tool for evaluating IT purchasing decisions.
"The ITtoolbox Vendor Research Directory continues ITtoolbox's mission of helping professionals find solutions for challenges in the workplace by connecting them with experienced peers who can provide real and practical information about products and services from industry vendors," said George Krautzel, ITtoolbox president and co-founder. "This unique resource blends more than 1.7 million pages of vendor-focused community-generated content with information from the vendors themselves."
For IT and business professionals, the ITtoolbox Vendor Research Directory is a central product catalog that combines both vendor and user-generated content into one highly powerful decision support tool. Additionally, when users are connected with a vendor, their profiles receive instant news and updates from the vendor when available, making it a useful way to stay current on news and product changes.
Advertising partners participating in the ITtoolbox Vendor Research Directory gain direct access to a highly targeted group of IT decision-makers and influencers actively involved in the purchasing process. Through a social media profile, advertisers are given the unique ability to connect and interact with customers and prospects by promoting relevant and timely information including white papers, webcasts, news, and other pertinent company and product information. Advertising partners will also benefit from an SEO strategy that optimizes their profile rankings with major search engines.
For IT vendors, this ability to connect with customers through social media tools is particularly critical as professionals increasingly rely on online communities and topic-based networks as an important source of information. A recent survey conducted by ITtoolbox and PJA Advertising + Marketing found that IT decision-makers and influencers rely on topic-based and personal networks throughout all stages of the technology purchasing process. These same decision-makers place significant trust in user-generated content as an information source when researching purchasing decisions. Results of the IT Social Media Index can be viewed here: http://www.ittoolbox.com/da/645112.
SOURCE: Ittoolbox