Call me sad - you won’t be the first - but I really do love a good infographic, especially when it relates to B2B social media marketing. The latest corker I've come across (via Social Times) is entitled 'The Potential of Social Media for B2B in 2015'. It highlights just how beneficial social is expected to be for B2B marketers this year.
I always try to stress just how effective social media can be for the B2B sector - not only in terms of increasing exposure, but also when it comes to finding new clients and prospects. This time, however, I'm happy to let the numbers do the talking.
One of the most significant takeaways from the infographic is the benefits listed by B2B marketers themselves. Nearly all (92%) said that social marketing led to increased exposure, while many saw increased traffic and loyal fans as a key benefit, with 70% and 72% respectively.
Meanwhile, two thirds (66%) generated more leads as a result of using social media, and a similar number (61%) saw improved SEO rankings.
The study also looked at which sites were adopted by B2B marketers in 2014. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook and Twitter came in joint first at 89%; but it was interesting to see that LinkedIn running them so close with an 88% adoption rate last year.
Looking at what type of content is being shared by B2B companies on their social media pages, we see that the vast majority (94%) prefer original content written by themselves, while 73% curate content from others. Some 60% use original visual content or original videos, while just 22% create original audio content.
So what were found to be the key challenges for social B2B marketing this year?
Interestingly, it isn't so much budget that's worrying B2B marketers nowadays, but more the difficulty of proving ROI from the channel - a concern expressed by 50% of respondents. Around a third listed 'lack of time' and 'no strategic planning' as major obstacles, with a respective 33% and 32%.
Another area for concern was 'poor organisational understanding of social media' (23%) which reflects the need for social media to become more of a part of company culture in today's constantly-connected age.
If you want to check out the full infographic - and trust me, it's a ripper - you can find it here http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-b2b-stats/615931