Scientists Using Social Media to Inform Lab Purchasing Decisions

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Life scientists are highly engagedusers of a variety of social media, according to preliminary results of aworldwide study of more than 1,500 scientists released today byBioInformatics, LLC, a leading provider of market research services. Thesurvey, co-sponsored by BioInformatics, LLC and PJA Advertising + Marketing,an award-winning business-to business advertising and marketing agency, foundthat 77 percent of life scientists participate in some type of social media.

The leading reasons for this participation are to find application andtroubleshooting tips, protocols, and product reviews. In fact, companywebsites were identified as the most trusted source of product information,with 54 percent of respondents indicating that their purchasing decisions areinfluenced by social media.

Social media refers to blogs, podcasts, online communities, Wikis, andsocial networking sites that are increasingly being used by professionals toshare experiences, opinions and advice. While scientists still consider theirsuppliers to be the most trusted source of product information, 45 percent ofthose surveyed find "access to objective feedback on products and servicesfrom multiple sources" to be the most valuable aspect of social media.

"Life scientists were among the first to use the Internet to communicate,collaborate and contribute to a common body of knowledge," says Bill Kelly,President of BioInformatics, LLC. "But a new generation of Web applicationsis making this process easier and faster, which presents both opportunitiesand challenges for our corporate clients attempting to influence lifescientists' purchasing behavior."Hugh Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Partner at PJA concurred:"Scientists aren't laggards to the IT crowd in social media -- they've beenright there all along. It's only recently, however, that life sciencesuppliers have begun to grasp social media's potential as a way to bond withtheir customers in a way that really drives loyalty."

The preliminary results can be downloaded at:http://www.gene2drug.com/reports/Default.asp?action=details&report_id=184

ABOUT BIOINFORMATICS, LLC

BioInformatics, LLC is the premier research and consulting firm servingthe life science tools industry. By leveraging our professional socialnetwork of tens of thousands of biomedical researchers, we have supported morethan 300 companies and provided insights that lead to better businessdecisions. Our assignments include assessing the size and attractiveness ofmarkets, optimizing product configurations and pricing, validating corporateacquisitions, measuring customer loyalty, and evaluating brand strength andpositioning.

ABOUT PJA ADVERTISING + MARKETING

PJA is proud to be named 2006 Agency of the Year and 2007 Agency of theYear Runner-Up by BtoB Magazine. PJA is a $50 million advertising andmarketing agency with offices in Cambridge, Mass. and San Francisco, Calif.PJA serves a global roster of technology, life science and healthcare clientsthat includes: Novell, Boston Scientific, Akamai, Gene Logic, TriZetto, andInvitrogen. For more information, visit www.agencypja.com.