Want to know how well the biggest B2B brands are doing when it comes to social media marketing? Well, if a new - and rather damning - report is anything to by, many of them are way behind the curve.
According to a new BrandWatch study, recently reported on the Brafton website, nearly a quarter (24%) are severely lacking in the social media presence department.
The study assessed the activity of the top online B2B brands, first composing a list of the top 20 performers based on the number of positive and neutral mentions received online over a period of two months - this covered everything from social media to chat forums and reviews.
The report noted that mentions on social media were valued higher by decision makers than news mentions, meaning that social media offered the best opportunity for smaller brands to compete with the big dogs, who get mentioned frequently in online news.
Software companies were the sector that came out on top, with IBM receiving more mentions than anyone else and Oracle and Cisco also doing well with their unique take on using social media. Other companies mentioned frequently related to energy, aerospace and medical.
But what concerns me most is this 24% who weren't on social media at all. The benefits of the channel are certainly no secret - it can boost engagement, drive traffic and raise brand awareness on a global scale. So it beggars belief that this many B2Bs are yet to incorporate it into their marketing strategies.
If you're looking to boost your B2B's presence on social media, the article offers the following suggestions: tweet on weekends - audiences are often less busy and therefore more engaged during this time, and there will be less competition; get on Twitter and start making conversations (this may sound obvious, but the report found that a staggering 42% of the top B2Bs weren't on Twitter!); and post visual content including video, images and infographics.
Of course, it can also be beneficial to enlist the help of a social media specialist! Outsourcing will not only improve your social media efforts, it'll free up more time for you to get on with other aspects of the business.