A new report from BtoB reveals that 93% of all b2b marketers are engaged ‘to some extent’ in social media marketing. BtoB Online reports that three social media platforms are the core of most b2b marketers’ social campaigns:
- LinkedIn is employed by 72% of survey respondents
- 71% use Facebook
- 67% use Twitter
But many b2b marketers also employ:
- YouTube.com (48%)
- blogging (44%)
- customer communities (22%)
Each social media platform is seen as having different strengths for marketers. Branding is considered the primary strength of Facebook, blogging and YouTube. The strengths of customer communities include customer feedback (they are prime listening posts for marketers and natural ways to solve customer issues) and researching competitive intelligence. LinkedIn is noted for its ability to generate leads, and Twitter is seen as supporting website traffic and product/event promotion.
Marketers were also asked to name the single most important method used for b2b outreach:
- 26% chose LinkedIn
- 20% chose Facebook
- 19% chose blogging
- 14% chose customer communities
- 13% chose Twitter (despite its wide use, few felt it was ‘most important’)
- 7% chose YouTube
Top 3 major obstacles to adopting social media marketing:
- 70% said lack of resources
- 57% cited poorly defined success metrics and key performance indicators
- 44% said “lack of knowledge about social media” is holding them and their companies back
- 22% cited management resistance
Findings are from an online survey with 577 respondents, conducted in January and February 2011. See BtoB Online for a breakdown of the various company sizes and types that responded to the survey.
See the full report here – Emerging Trends in B-to-B Social Media Marketing: Insights From the Field
