But have you ever considered the impact and the reach social media has had in the marketing world? How much engagement brands now get from the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like? And what you could be missing out on if you’re not playing in that space?
Well buckle up, ‘cause I’m about to tell you. Here are 5 stats about B2B social media marketing, that will blow your mind and make you wish you’d been doing it sooner.
71% of consumers who have had a good social media experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others. (Source: Ambassador)
I can attest to this personally – if a company has been responsive, helpful and pleasant to deal with over social media, I am more likely to use them again. Don’t be put off here by the word “consumer” if you’re B2B – we’re all still marketing to humans. A B2B customer may prefer or want to engage with you on social media. Being responsive, and above all providing a good experience, improves their perception of your brand overall.
79% of marketers said they saw increased traffic with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing (Source)
This one is big. 6 hours a week is just over an hour a day, and by investing that time you can get more people coming to your website? It’s a no-brainer! Just remember – what are you going to do with this increased traffic? Is there stuff on your website to keep them engaged? What are the next steps? Read this post for more guidance on converting visitors into leads on your website.
54% of B2B marketers said they’ve generated leads from social media (Source)
If you can get people interested in your products and services just by engaging with your social media profiles, then you’re onto a winner. Investing time in great social media activity has helped over half of B2B marketers generate leads. The key here is – follow-up. Social media is fleeting – a tweet sent yesterday might be forgotten by the time they get back to their desk, or pick up their phone the next day. Don’t expect social media leads to come back to you chasing information – be responsive, engage, and follow-up in a helpful and timely fashion.
LinkedIn users are almost 4x more likely to visit your website than Facebook users are (Source)
I’m not embarrassed to admit this one blew my mind a little. Don’t worry – I had to double check to reaffirm for myself too, and it’s true – our clients (all B2B), and Inflowing, get the most referrals from LinkedIn, with the same level of activity across all networks. Does it mean abandoning Facebook and Twitter? Not necessarily, but it might be time to assess how you’re using this LinkedIn anomaly to your advantage. Perhaps LinkedIn is your engagement engine, whereas Facebook and Twitter are more about awareness. Food for thought. And to add even more food to that thought plate…
Visitors from LinkedIn are 3x more likely to convert into leads than visitors from Twitter and Facebook (Source)
OK, if you’re not active on LinkedIn and you weren’t convinced by the previous point, surely you must be creating a company page as we speak? The takeaway point here is pretty much the same as the last one – it’s probably time to start thinking about posting more conversion opportunities on LinkedIn, as well as spending more time engaging and building your audience there. If you’ve got the budget, paid advertising can be handy way to get in front of your ideal customers – you can target by business, job title and industry.
The numbers don’t lie
Hopefully these stats have inspired you to kick-start your B2B social media strategy. They’re also a very handy way of getting other players in the business on-board with supporting your social media drive. If you need any help building or executing your social media strategy, get in touch.
