How B2B Businesses Are Tackling Social Media In 2015

in f 8+ The Potential of Social Media for B2B in 2015 Today's B2B marketers can't go very far with traditional methods of digital marketing. Social media is one channel that can prove to be a loyalty builder for B2B businesses because customer relationships are not about one-off transactions. Social media helps B2B businesses showcase their credibility, acquire and retain customers, and build reputation in extremely tough markets. The Benefits of Social Media INCREASED EXPOSURE 92% INCREASED TRAFFIC 80% DEVELOPED LOYAL FANS 72% PROVIDED MARKETPLACE INSIGHT 71% GENERATED LEADS 66% IMPROVED SEARCH RANKINGS 61% GROWN BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS 58% REDUCED MARKETING EXPENSES 51% IMPROVED SALES 50% The list of benefits that marketers realise from Social Media continues to grow. Customer Loyalty has displaced Marketing Insights this year in 3rd place. Top Social Media Sites of 2014 Facebook f 1.35 Billion monthly active users You Tube YouTube 1Billion monthly active users Google+ 8+ 540 Million monthly active users Twitter 284 Million monthly active users Instagram 200 Million monthly active users LinkedIn in 187 Million monthly active users We've rated sites by monthly active users, rather than just the number of registered users. There are major social networks such as Pinterest, Tumblr and Vine that didn't make the cut. There has been a much wider proliferation of social networks in 2014 compared to 2013. Marketers need effective strategies to penetrate these networks. Social Media Adoption by B2B Businesses in 2014 89% f Facebook 89% Twitter 88% in LinkedIn 64% e Blogging 59% 8+ Google+ 52% You Tube YouTube 41% Pinterest 19% O Instagram 14% Forums 12% Social Bookmarking 12% Social review site 10% Geo-location 9% Short-form video 6% Podcasting 6% Snapchat Much like last year, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter continue to be neck-and-neck in the race for maximum adoption by B2B marketers. Instagram is catching on fast. Non-tech B2B companies with the best engagement rates on Instagram FedEx. CBRE MAERSK LINE POSTS POSTS POSTS 125 490 314 FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS FOLLOWERS 11053 3290 29406 3.49% 3.36% 2.78% Engagement Rate Engagement Rate Engagement Rate Social Media Advertising Will Witness Explosive Growth in 2015 UK Social Network Ad Spending (millions of £) % of Digital ad spending 14.7% 12.7% 10.5% 8.1% 6.0% 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Side facts: Paid advertising on social media includes display, search, video, apps and games. It doesn't include cost of setting up profiles. Facebook currently dominates the social networks for advertising spend. It is predicted to garner approximately one-tenth of all UK digital advertising outlay by 2016. Types of Content Used in Social Media 94% Original written content 73% Curation of other people's content 60% Original visual (infographic, memes, etc.) 60% Original Videos 22% Original audio content B2B marketers are more likely to use curated content than B2C marketers 78% vs. 69% However, B2B marketers place more importance on original written content 65% vs. 52% Key Challenges That B2B Businesses Face on Social Media Difficulty Proving ROI No Strategic Planning Lack of Time 50% 33% 32% 高尚 Poor Organisational Understanding of Social Media Insufficient Audience 23% 21% Note that Budget, one of the primary challenges faced by marketers in all areas, is not one of the top 5 concerns that B2B businesses face when it comes to social media. Degree to Which Marketers Are Able to Demonstrate ROI 6% 16% Completely or 16% most of the time 44% Some of the time 34% 34% Rarely or not at all 44% 6% Don't know / Can't say Social Media Tips for 2015 II Measure and quantify all your Ditch social networks that are social media activities. not performing well for you. Continually educate your social media team. Share different formats of content customised for social platforms. Step up your social media advertising. Sources: thesocialmediahat.com emarketer.com b2bmarketing.net socialmediaexaminer.com www.freepik.com Real Business Rescue Helping Limited Companies in Debt