Social media is regarded as a key channel in the B2B arena, but many companies are still some way off complete integration with the rest of their marketing activity.
Social media networks are broadly in use among B2B organisations and their usage is set to increase further within the next 12 months. However, currently, B2B companies are still engaged in the process to define clear direction and strategies for this channel to be integrated in their overall objective.
This is one of the key findings of B2B Marketing’s first Social Media Benchmarking Report, produced in association with Circle Research. The report shows 78 per cent of responding B2B organisations are already conducting social media activity, while another 19 per cent are planning to introduce it in the next year. Despite this, only one quarter of respondents have managed to devise a strategic plan to integrate social media activity with their wider business objectives. It is also interesting to note that when techniques to develop social media approach and strategy are involved, ‘gut feel’ remains a key factor, second most popular overall. In terms of internal organisation, dedicated social media marketing managers remain rare – with only six per cent of respondents having this role within their organisations. Among the remainders, there is no clear consensus regarding how social media is managed, with 40 per cent allocating responsibility to one individual, and another 40 per cent assigning it to a team of people.
Budgets set to increase
Although social media is generally regarded as a highly potent marketing channel, this is not currently reflected in the way companies allocate their budgets and resources. According to the research, only 22 per cent of respondents currently assign a specific portion of their budget to social media. Furthermore, when considering the proportion of investment in social media against overall marketing activity, it emerged that three out of four B2B companies spend less than 10 per cent of their overall marketing budget on this channel. It is interesting to highlight that respondents showed slightly more inclination to invest time, as opposed to marketing budget, in social media; just under half of them dedicate less than 10 per cent of their total time resources to this marketing channel. However, only four per cent of respondents say they dedicate more than half of their time on social media.
These results are likely to correlate with the relative novelty of social media platforms, of which B2B organisations may still be holding back their adoption, as well as to the low level of investment required for basic social media activity – such as blog posting, tweeting, etc – when compared with almost every other kind of marketing activity. Nevertheless, despite being modest at present, social media budgets are predicted to grow in the next year. Looking ahead, three quarters of the B2B companies surveyed expect to increase their investments within the next 12 months, with 18 per cent anticipating this increase to be significant and 58 per cent forecasting a slight increase. Within the remainder, less than five per cent expect a decrease in social media budget allocation, or don’t know at this stage.
B2B’s social media favourites
In terms of social media techniques in use, the research revealed B2B companies are keen on utilising existing social networks, such as LinkedIn or Facebook, with 90 per cent of respondents using them and none of the respondents not considering them at all. Other platforms, such as company blogs and online PR emerge as being used by 51 and 50 per cent of respondents respectively, while another 34 and 36 per cent are planning to adopt them in the near future. Focusing on social media platforms, Twitter and LinkedIn appear to be the most popular social networks among B2B brands, with 85 per cent of respondents having a corporate presence on Twitter and 77 per cent owning a LinkedIn page. Facebook and YouTube are not far behind; 67 and 66 per cent of respondents respectively have a corporate page on these networks. Other networks’ usage (for example Slideshare, Quora, Xing, Foursquare) is much lower at present and consequently their penetration is still quite restricted. Twitter (81 per cent) and LinkedIn (74 per cent) are also regarded as the most useful social media platforms at present, with Facebook and YouTube slightly further behind. However, according to the report, this picture is likely to change. Respondents predict YouTube will acquire more relevance within the next year, reflecting the growth in importance in video as a marketing channel. In addition, B2B companies also expect smaller social media platforms to gradually increase their relevance, with Slideshare in particular, set to see its usefulness triple within the next 12 months.
Advertising on social media
Use of commercial social services seems to be still in its infancy in the B2B arena. B2B Marketing’s survey reveals 62 per cent of respondents have not used any advertising or commercial services from social networks at all to date. The key reasons cited for this were ‘other priorities’, ‘don’t understand’ and ‘not good value’, which seem to indicate the social networks themselves haven’t been good enough at developing and selling their commercial propositions. However, this is likely to change in the near future, as social media continues to become more sophisticated.
Of the commercial social services that are currently being used, LinkedIn is the most popular (21 per cent), followed by Facebook (15 per cent). Despite being ranked first for usage, Twitter was chosen for advertising by only three per cent of respondents. However, Twitter’s clear intention to monetise its services and become profitable might determine a change in B2B companies’ advertising behaviours in the future.
