The use of social networks, particularly LinkedIn, among engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial professionals continues to rise: 55% of surveyed tech professionals now use LinkedIn, up 18 percentage points, or 48.6%, from the 37% who did so a year earlier, according to a report by GlobalSpec.

Despite such growth, however, when researching work-related purchases, industrial and tech professionals tend to perceive social networks as less valuable than other established online platforms—though that perception appears to be changing, the study found.

Below, additional findings from Social Media Use in the Industrial Sector by GlobalSpec, based on a poll of 600 industrial and tech professionals.

Among surveyed industrial and tech professionals, the use of social networking is still growing: 

• 66% now use Facebook, up from 59% a year earlier.
• 29% have a Google+ account.
• 22% use Twitter, up from 15% in 2011. 

Notably, 66% of those who don't use Twitter say they're not likely to do so in the future. 

Across other digital media channels, 67% of industrial and tech pros use Google Reader, 20% use Flickr, 11% use Blogger, 8% use Plaxo, 6% use Digg, and 6% use Stumble Upon. 

How Industrial, Tech Pros Use Social Networks 

Keeping up to date with the latest business and product news and technologies is the most popular use of social networking: 61% of socially networked industrial and tech pros say they use various social channels for that purpose. In addition, such professionals use social networks to find information about products: 46% find peer reviews and recommendations, and 44% find vendors.

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