Before coming to Nostrum I worked for 3 years in the B2B sector as a buyer. When I started working there it was the height of Myspace, most people thought a Facebook involved an actual book, YouTube was just starting to take off, and twitter was a word for birdwatchers. Even in those early social days my industry was already social. There were (are) industry forums, blogs, videos, and even Myspace pages that were in wide use (albeit often subversive use). The challenge for many was getting around internal site blocking software to get to the information which was so badly needed. Everyone had tips and tricks to get around a system. You might say we had a subversive network of buyers. This wasn't the best system (obviously) but management didn't see the value in having an open ("dangerous") web. Management also didn't see the value in using social media... The statistics in the following video should not be shocking. Think about that subversive group of buyers, 4 years later many of them are finally getting into the management ranks. They understand the tools and they understand the potential, and now they have the power to make changes. It stands to reason that B2B will expand the lead over B2C in Social Media over the next 5 years. Lead in part by a subversive group of buyers...
Some Facts and Figures To Consider For B2B Social Media Marketing
81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C
75% of B2B brands participate in Twitter versus 49% of B2C
54% of Chief Information Officers ban the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at the workplace
93% of all business buyers believe all companies should be on social media platforms
85% of of those buyers should use social media to engage and interact with them
9 out of 10 buyers say that when they are ready to buy, they will come looking for you
Eight out of Ten IT decision makers said word of mouth is the most important source when making buying decisions
37% of B2B buyers asked questions on social media sites when looking for suggestions
93% of B2B buyers use a search engine such as Google to begin the buying process
74% of C- Level executives say that the internet is a very valuable source of information
Six out of Ten C-Suite executives conduct more than six online searches a day
Managers in information technology are the top ranked users of the Web for information gathering
49% of B2B marketers do not measure return on investment
90% of marketing deliverables not used by sales
Sales generate 53% of their own leads and the marketing department provides only 24%
