B2B Social Media Marketing

B2B Marketing: in Linkedln vs. Facebook? For B2B marketers, conventional wisdom says that LinkedIn is the best social media platform to reach business decision makers. It's built for business networking so you would think LinkedIn would be better for marketing to B2B customers. Let's look at some stats... LinkedIn: TOP MIDDLE ENTRY 22% TOP LEVEL EXECUTIVES primarily use LinkedIn for industry networking (22%) and promoting their businesses (20%). 24% 24% Other Other Other 23% 20% 20% MIDDLE MANAGEMENT professionals primarily use Linkedin to keep in touch with other people (24%) and industry networking (20%). ENTRY LEVEL EMPLOYEES primarily use Linkedin for job searches (24%) and co-worker networking (23%). Industry Networking 61% Overall, the top activities on Linkedln are industry networking (61%), keeping in touch (61%), and co-worker networking (55%). As a social networking site for professionals, Linkedin seems to be delivering on its brand promise. Keeping In Touch 61% Co-Worker Networking 55% (Forbes-http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/08/09/study-r eveals-how professionals-use-linkedin/) Status Updates Facebook: Post/Status Comments On an average day, 15% of Facebook users update their own status. Photo Comments 22% comment on another's post or status. 20% comment on another user's photos. "Like" 26% "Like" another user's content. 10% send another user a private message. Messages (Pew Research Center) 100 Differences In Usage People do not shut off business thinking when on Facebook. The best reason to consider Facebook over Linkedin for B2B marketing is that business people spend more time on it. Business decision makers are typically older and there are almost twice as many on Facebook... in in in USERS MINUTES AGE 35+ 55 million Linkedin users in the United States. (www.linkedin .com) 155 million Facebook users in the United States. www.checkfacebook.com 326 million minutes spent monthly on LinkedIn in the United States. www.inkedin.com) 53.5 billion minutes spent monthly on Facebook in the United States. (www.checkfacebook.com) 22.5 million Linkedin users in the United States age 35+ www.inkedin.com 51 million Facebook users in the United States ages 35-64. (www.checkfacebook.com) Why Facebook Should Not Be Overlooked B2B companies need to market their firm on Facebook. NEW CUSTOMER 41% of B2B companies that use Facebook for marketing have acquired a customer through this channel. (source: HubSpot State of Inbound Marketing Report 2011) 41% SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE 93% of business buyers believe all companies should have a social media presence. (Buzz Marketing 93% 85% of business buyers believe companies shouldn't just present information via social media - they should also interact and engage with them. (Buzz Marketing) ENGAGE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA 85% If my business is on Facebook, what should we be doing? The top applications for the use of social media for B2B marketers are thought leadership (59.8%), lead generation (48.9%), customer feedback (45.7%) and advertising on sites (34.7%). (www.btobonline.com) 59.8% 48.9% 45.7% 34.7% Thought Leadership Lead Generation Feedback Advertising Example Why is the focus solely on the buyer's mindset? If mindset is so important, why do B2B companies advertise during sporting events? 45-seconds of the 2011 Super Bowl halftime commercials cost $4 million+. (Salesforce.com) 45 sec $4 $ Imill+ B2B marketers such as Southwest Airlines, Sprint Nextel and United Parcel Service of America are major advertisers on NFL programming. "From a marketing mix standpoint, we are using the whole gamut," said John Kennedy, IBM's VP-corporate marketing. "We advertise on television in an important way. Our advertising plan is built around major sponsorships with the Masters, the U.S. Open, the NFL playoffs and large anchor TV buys." Why? In 2011, there were approximately 111 million Super Bowl viewers, breaking the US record two years running. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/08/super-bowl-highest-ever audience) Increase Visibility X. Oo00 oo .. Television sporting events are where the viewers are, where these companies can optimize visibility and gain new business. When it comes to online social media marketing, Facebook is like the 2011 Super Bowl, it's where the people are. Brought to you by BOP DESIGN 760.470.1275 | [email protected] | www.bopdesign.com