Microsoft hauls UK partners onto social media bandwagon

Vendor says embracing the trend could see partners grow its pipeline by £1m per month

Microsoft is encouraging its UK partners to make better use of social media, promising that those that succeed in embracing the trend could hit the jackpot in just a few months.

The vendor is offering its UK reseller base one-on-one social media training sessions at its global partner bash, which will be held in Florida next month.

During the sessions, Microsoft will give interested partners a full "masterclass", which it claims involves assessing partners' current engagement, discussing their objectives, practical sessions, as well as legal advice and tips on "social media etiquette".

The software giant - whose strategy revolves around the trends of social, big data, mobile and cloud - said social media-savvy partners are already cashing in.

"With over 75 per cent of B2B decision makers now heavily using social media to drive buying decisions (according to Forrester), technology providers must be increasingly visible online to drive demand and capture prospect buyers' attention," Microsoft said on a blog outlining the classes. "Many partners are already driving demand directly from social media, some generating over £3m pipeline within three months."

Microsoft has been giving its channel partners mixed messages on social media and digital marketing over the past few months.

In February, an Australian partner bigwig danced on the grave of "traditional" marketing methods such as email marketing and events and insisted social media was the way forward. But just last week, the same Microsoft man appeared to have had a change of heart, and talked up the benefits of the methods he had previously slammed.