UPDATED 12/1 @ 5:52pm: At Direct Impact's request, this post no longer includes links to the complete report. My bad - I didn't realize that the pdf is not for general consumption. You can still get a free copy by requesting it directly from the company. Read on for the details.
Here are two commonly cited, but most likely unfounded, social media marketing concerns (read: objections) that I've grown tired of hearing from marketing executive who are, simply put, afraid to try anything but the tried and true...
B2B marketers are slower to adopt social media channels: I've never quite understood it, but this one comes up whenever I present to business-to-business marketing executives. The implication seems to be that social channels may be worth a look for consumer marketers but business people (and hence the companies looking to target them) aren't as socially active as consumer audiences. This may stem from a still common (and mostly inaccurate) perception that social networking, blogging, podcasting and the like are largely youth phenomena -- or it could stem from the fact that many senior marketers are not themselves active participants in the social space.
Evidently I'm not the only one bothered by these two misconceptions, because b2b lead gen firm Direct Impact Marketing has been tackling these bugaboos through a series of surveys that look at exactly how business marketers generate and close leads through digital channels.
While the latest survey reports that 'traditional digital' channels such as email, webinars and SEO are still king, it also clearly demonstrates that many b2b marketers do in fact utilize social media tools -- most notably their own blogs and active engagement on other people's blogs -- to find and connect with new leads. Specifically, the Direct Impact study found that 50% of business-to-business marketers use blogs as a component of their online lead generation programs. 44% use blog monitoring (listening and responding appropriately to third party bloggers and their readers.) The emphasis here is on lead generation. Not fuzzy brand awareness or the even fuzzier concept of 'conversation,' but the hard and fast science of direct response...
The Direct Impact survey presents lots of other interesting tidbits -- including drilldowns into exactly what tools and platforms the survey respondents prefer. You can't find it online but you can request a free copy by contacting Direct Impact's President, Robert Lesser, directly or through his company's 'Contact Us' form. It provide some good data and is well worth the read, so I highly recommend reaching out to Robert. If that sounds like too much of a commitment though, you might want to check out Direct Impact's useful online directory of the lead generation tools that the survey respondents (all b2b marketers, not tool vendors) report using.
It also highlights a major marketing truth that sometimes gets lost in the 'next new thing' shuffle -- whether you're talking about old channels or new ones, no single tactic can get the job done by itself. Many of the marketers surveyed reported using good old fashioned telephone follow-up to convert leads into sales. So maybe it's just the flawed expectation that doing something new means not doing the things that have always worked reasonably well that leads many marketers to nitpick over ROI and take a 'this isn't right for us' stance toward social media.
Request the complete report.
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