Social media has become an integral channel for businesses to communicate with end users, customers, target customers and more. But for smaller businesses rushing to get orders out on time or businesses on the tail end of the innovation curve, the prospect of starting (or restarting) a social media program can seem daunting and possibly unnecessary. But as more information becomes available, it is abundantly clear that social media is the direction where marketing is headed, even for Business-to-Business marketers.
The following data points show the presence and use of social media in the B2B world.
(1) 92% of B2B Marketers use social media for content distribution (Source)
Coming in right behind email, B2B marketers see social media channels as a key ways to communicate with the masses, and target key industries and users to deliver their messaging.
(2) 54% of B2B Marketers say social media is a major part of their lead generation strategy (Source)
With close to two and half billion people on social media it’s safe to assume that some of the people online are your customers. Half of the B2B community has wised up to this notion and are using social media to keep their sales funnel full.
(3) 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions (Source)
Social media is helping increase decision-making confidence among B2B buyers. If your business isn’t out there for buyers to find, you are making it more difficult for them to buy from you.
(4) 79% of B2B Marketers said they saw increased traffic with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing (Source)
The end game for nearly all B2B social media campaigns is to drive revenue. Social media has become a proven way to drive website traffic which can lead to more inquiries and sales opportunities.
(5) 57% of B2B purchase decisions are made before a customer talks to a supplier (Source)
Over half of purchase decisions are decided before anyone at your business even talks to a prospective customer. Are you putting your best foot forward – making it easy to find your business across all the channels where buyers may be looking for you?