Social media is the digital marketing tool with the potential to give you the most bang for your buck – and it doesn’t have to cost you a cent. You already know the good that it can do for B2C companies, but what do you know about the benefits it can provide to B2B brands? This infographic from Real Business Rescue lists some vital stats about social media marketing that will make even the most skeptical B2B marketer consider taking the plunge into some serious social media strategy. Let’s take a look.
B2B Benefits
In 2016, social media will help to generate leads for more than half of all B2B companies. But that isn’t the only benefit to be had from a good social media strategy. But that isn’t the only benefit that B2B marketers have reported. What else did they discover?
- 50% reduced their marketing expenses
- 55% grew their business partnerships
- 55% established thought leadership
- 58% improved their search engine rankings
- 69% developed loyal fans
- 77% increased their traffic
- 90% increased their exposure
Social media is a powerful tool that makes it possible to connect with customers 24/7, wherever they may be. 90% of companies now respond to customer service inquiries via social media, which is a great way to strengthen a relationship. This new connectivity has great implications – 72% of a brand’s followers on Twitter are likely to purchase from that brand in the future.
Top Sites for Social Media
Facebook may lead the pack with 1.59 billion users per month, but the breakout star of last year was Instagram, which doubled its monthly active users to the tune of 400 million within 12 months– not even Facebook can make that boast. Other social media options include:
- YouTube at 1.44 billion users each month
- Twitter at 320 million active users each month
- Pinterest at 100 million active users each month
LinkedIn has 400 million users, but only 25% use it monthly. If you do use LinkedIn for marketing, it is best to branch out onto other platforms as well.
Social Media Spend
- Over a third of CMOs will be spending 75% or more of their budgets on digital marketing within the next five years
- 51% of B2B marketers bought paid ads on social media in 2015
- Over the next year, B2B service companies will devote 16% of their marketing budget on social media
- By 2017, social media ad spending will account for 16% of all digital ad spending
Content is King
What sort of content should you be creating for social media? A picture really is worth a thousand words.
- Infographics: 3x more likely to be liked and shared by users, and 30x more likely to be read than text.
- Video: Extremely shareable on social media and YouTube is the most highly engaged of all the platforms.
- Images: You’ll net 64.9% more Facebook shares and 20.36% more Twitter shares if you include a picture in your post.
Challenges
- 17% of B2B service companies haven’t been able to prove the impact of social media on their business
- Only 30% of projects by B2B marketing use marketing analytics
- 15% of B2B companies find it challenging to meet “the expectations of the always-connected customer”
Tips and Trends
What should you do to get the most out of social media?
- Include images in your posts
- Start an employee advocacy campaign
- Invest in shareable content
- Get into livestreaming with Facebook Live and Periscope
- Experiment with new platforms
- Try 360 degree video
What social media platforms do you currently use? What sort of impact have you seen on your business? Let me know in the comments!
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