As you may recall from some of my previous posts, I love data! So when I came across a list of 28 Awesome B2B Social Media statistics, I had to hold back from squealing with glee! Here are 9 of my fav’s plus a couple of surprise stats.
Surprise stat:
- Only 50% of B2B marketers formally analyze metrics to judge ROI – but those that do find online marketing more effective. (Source)
Really? Only 50% actually analyze metrics to judge ROI?? I find that shocking.
Usage:
- 86% of B2B firms are using social, compared to 82% of B2C. (Source)
This surprises me a bit…its more than I thought!
- B2B firms aren’t as active in their social media activity with only 32% engaging on a daily basis compared with 52% of B2C firms. (Source)
Not surprising. I think B2B’s are still unsure how to find the resources to manage social.
- More than half (53.5%) of marketers surveyed said they currently use social media as part of their marketing strategy. This is up from 2009, when 45.0% of marketers said they used social media for marketing. (Source)
Nice trend….
Growth:
- B2B social media marketing spending will grow from just $11 million in 2009 to $54 million in 2014. (Source)
Wow – thats a nearly 500% increase!
The mix:
- According to an eMarketer study, B2B online marketers focus on lead generation (38%), retention (34%) and awareness (28%). (Source)
- B2B advertisers see cross-media marketing as most effective; 78% combine three or more major marketing methods. (Source)
Amen – Preaching to this choir!
Measurement:
- Website traffic, brand awareness, engagement with prospects and engagement with customers are the leading metrics used to measure the success of social media for B2B companies. (Source)
Determining methods of measurement is still in its infancy but is evolving…
Forecast:
- Within online marketing, the top areas that will see spending increases include Web site development (70.7% plan increases), email marketing (68.6%), search marketing (62.3%), social media (60.3%), video (50.7%) and webcasts (46.0%) (Source)
Email marketing is such an underutilized marketing channel… glad to see the forecast is for an increase in spend in that channel!
Original post on Social Media B2B
SocialSonya - Marketing Coach 
I’m not surprised about the low percentage of folks NOT measuring their results with social media. Measurement takes planning and time; two things most folks don’t do when it comes to marketing. Makes for exciting time and the beginning of another trend or wave.
Thanks for sharing the data, Sonya. I’m a data hound, too 🙂
Thanks for commenting Theresa 😀 Us data hounds need to stick together 🙂 LOL
I guess what surprised me is that B2B marketers tend to be more hard core about measurement, ROI etc. and I find it surprising that the trend hasn’t made its way in to social media marketing (yet).