15 Essential Social Media Facts and Figures For B2B Marketing

Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments
Categories: B2B Social Media Marketing, Social Media Marketing


Social media has been the plaything for Business to Consumer (B2C) Marketers and they have always seemed to have grabbed the headlines because their products are funkier and sexier than a B2B 15 Essential Social Media Facts and Figures For B2B Marketing service or product. In fact B2B social media marketing has been put in the ‘boring’ category for too long.

I have noticed latelythough that the B2B social media marketers seem to be coming out of the closet, only this morning a friend of mine and fellow blogger Mark Schaefer sent me a link to a post at his blog called ‘Business Grow.com‘ where he provides a fascinating case study about a company ShipServ who is a leading e-marketplace in the maritime industry providing a portfolio of software, services and hosted applications designed to enable efficient global shipping. This type of industry you would think is not appropriate for social media marketing but for some impressive stats pop over to Marks blog to read the story.

Also just last week this very cool YouTube Video was kindly sent to me byErnest Agency and I think they had a secret evil plan that if I liked it enough I would spread the word .. and you know what?.. it succeeded…it is very good, in fact it is even excellent and well worth taking 3 minutes and 48 seconds to view. I have also put some of the statistics into a text format for those of you who prefer to read than watch.

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Some Facts and Figures To Consider For B2B Social Media Marketing

  1. 81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C
  2. 75% of B2B brands participate in Twitter versus 49% of B2C
  3. 54% of Chief Information Officers ban the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at the workplace
  4. 93% of all business buyers believe all companies should be on social media platforms
  5. 85% of  of those buyers should use social media to engage and interact with them
  6. 9 out of 10 buyers say that when they are ready to buy, they will come looking for you
  7. Eight out of Ten  IT decision makers said word of mouth is the most important source when making buying decisions
  8. 37% of B2B buyers asked questions on social media sites when looking for suggestions
  9. 93% of B2B buyers use a search engine such as Google to begin the buying process
  10. 74% of C- Level executives say that the internet is a very valuable source of information
  11. Six out of  Ten C-Suite executives conduct more than six online searches a day
  12. Managers in information technology are the top ranked users of the Web for information gathering
  13. 49% of B2B marketers do not measure return on investment
  14. 90% of marketing deliverables not used by sales
  15. Sales generate 53% of their own leads and the marketing department provides only 24%

So how are you using social media marketing for your B2B go to market strategy?



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  • http://www.goldcoastsocialmedia.com Cam Gleeson

    Hi Jeff, great post as usual.

    If you get a chance can you expand on ” 90% of marketing deliverables not used by sales” and give some examples.

    I have been both in Corporate Marketing and Corporate Sales i can think of some examples but I did stuggle to make up the 90% figure.

  • http://earnestagency.wordpress.com earnestagency

    Jeff, first off many thanks for blogging about our Vital Statistics video – hope your followers enjoy it.

    Cam, the ’90% of marketing deliverables not used by sales’ stat comes from a report by Jeff Ernst entitled “The new rules of Sales Enablement” [Download here for free: http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/101751/create-content-sales-will-love-tips-from-the-new-rules-of-sales-enablement.

    Apologies I think the source on our blog needs correcting. From the anecdotes we’ve heard and our own experiences of working with a number of large IT services firms this statistic unfortunately rings all too true. It’s why we always try to ensure that any sales enablement tools (from playbooks to rich media videos) are scoped and tested with a sample of the people who will actually use them. That way we can go some way to avoiding the other problem Jeff E highlights – that sales people spend 30 hours a month searching for and creating their own sales materials. Hope this helps.

  • http://www.theorganicview.com OrganicGuru

    B2B in some industries is tough because it is all about word of mouth, for the most part. I think this article does a great job providing valuable information to show just how drastic B2B marketing is changing. It is something definitely worth thinking about, especially if your business does sell wholesale, in addition to B2C.

  • http://www.acceleratedbr.com/blog Kendra Ramirez

    Love the data. Sure would be nice if you had a share this button on your blog so I can share with others easily. =) Don’t make me cut and paste. LOL

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  • http://twitter.com/crocbites/status/17561959792 Croc Bites

    Excellent: 15 essential social media stats for B2B marketing: http://ht.ly/26aVA (from @jeffbullas)

  • http://twitter.com/crocbites/status/17561959792 Croc Bites

    Excellent: 15 essential social media stats for B2B marketing: http://ht.ly/26aVA (from @jeffbullas)

  • http://twitter.com/crocbites/status/17561959792 Croc Bites

    Excellent: 15 essential social media stats for B2B marketing: http://ht.ly/26aVA (from @jeffbullas)

  • http://twitter.com/crocbites/status/17561959792 Croc Bites

    Excellent: 15 essential social media stats for B2B marketing: http://ht.ly/26aVA (from @jeffbullas)

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  • http://twitter.com/moneygreat/status/17796607698 Michael Brooker

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  • http://twitter.com/sitetastic/status/17854901521 Kevin Carvill

    GREAT video too RT @pattybriguglio Great list! RT @AdamHoldenBache: Interesting facts about B2B social media marketing: http://bit.ly/c7Ygo0

  • http://twitter.com/sitetastic/status/17854901521 Kevin Carvill

    GREAT video too RT @pattybriguglio Great list! RT @AdamHoldenBache: Interesting facts about B2B social media marketing: http://bit.ly/c7Ygo0

  • http://twitter.com/sitetastic/status/17854901521 Kevin Carvill

    GREAT video too RT @pattybriguglio Great list! RT @AdamHoldenBache: Interesting facts about B2B social media marketing: http://bit.ly/c7Ygo0

  • http://twitter.com/sitetastic/status/17854901521 Kevin Carvill

    GREAT video too RT @pattybriguglio Great list! RT @AdamHoldenBache: Interesting facts about B2B social media marketing: http://bit.ly/c7Ygo0

  • http://twitter.com/asmaamethqal/status/17882047321 Asmaa Methqal

    15 Essential #SocialMedia Facts and Figures For B2B Marketing: http://bit.ly/bSvvcW #SMO

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  • http://twitter.com/erinorr/status/17887198113 Erin Orr

    81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C. More great stats http://tinyurl.com/39uwk95 #booyah

  • http://twitter.com/erinorr/status/17887198113 Erin Orr

    81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C. More great stats http://tinyurl.com/39uwk95 #booyah

  • http://twitter.com/erinorr/status/17887198113 Erin Orr

    81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C. More great stats http://tinyurl.com/39uwk95 #booyah

  • http://twitter.com/erinorr/status/17887198113 Erin Orr

    81 % of B2B companies have accounts on social media sites compared to 67% of B2C. More great stats http://tinyurl.com/39uwk95 #booyah

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  • http://www.customedia.net/2010/08/18/how-b2b-marketers-are-using-social-media/ how B2B marketers are using social media | Customedia

    [...] consultant Jeff Bullas recently compiled 15 facts and figures on how B2B marketers are utilizing social media. Although his data isn’t cited (I would like to explore these more thoroughly), they are [...]

  • http://www.newincite.com/implement-marketing/social-mediaweb-2-0/top-ten-social-media-questions/ Top 10 Social Media Questions Businesses Have

    [...] a recent blog post, Paul Dunay referenced Jeff Bullas‘ blog on  B2B social media statistics. The stats referenced on Bullas’ blog are from [...]

  • http://www.italoblog.it/2010/08/15-dati-per-la-tua-comunicazione-b2b/ 15 dati per la tua comunicazione B2B : www.italoblog.it

    [...] ad alcuni numeri, ecco alcune tendenze pubblicate da Jeff Bullas, con video annesso, da considerare per capire il panorama del B2B Marketing sui Social Media, tema [...]

  • http://allisterfrost.com/2010/09/06/when-two-tribes-go-to-war-b2b-vs-b2c/ When two tribes go to war: B2B vs. B2C | The Digital Marketer

    [...] help us understand the differences, a new video by Ernest Agency (c/o Jeff Bullas’s blog) shares some impressive stats about how B2B and B2C marketers are using social media, an area where [...]

  • http://social-insight.co.kr/?p=21 Social-Insight LAB > B2B 기업이 소셜미디어 도입을 고려해야 하는 이유

    [...] 부서는 53%의 실적을 내는 한편 마케팅 부서는 24%만의 실적을 냄) 출처 : http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/06/21/15-essential-social-media-facts-and-figures-for-b2b-marketing/ 그리고, 아래 댓글 하나만으로도 B2B 기업 분들께서 소셜미디어를 활용하고 [...]

  • Jake Coventry

    I can’t believe that 81% of B2B companies have a twitter account. This figure is extraordinarily high. Maybe it is true for the USA, but the UK is definitely nowhere near that figure. I actually doubt that 80% of B2B companies in the UK even have a website let alone a twitter account.

  • Jake Coventry

    Sorry I read it wrong.. change twitter to social media… I still think it is too high.

  • http://B2design.wordpress.com Brian Blake

    Great post… Very cool video.

    I always question statistics because I believe they can be twisted to represent whatever one wants. However, I whole-heartedly agree with the general thrust. The B2B market is about to explode in the social media world.

    I think the video glazed over two incredibly important parts, though. I tell people that “Twitter and Facebook are the ‘candy’ of social media… The real meat is in blogging and forums.”

    It is in these arenas that the B2B channel is best addressed. A buyer from a paint manufacturer who is looking to purchase a forklift is not going to search Twitter to find out who is the best forklife manufacturer. However, that buyer might do a Google search and find the “Forklift Forum”. From there, this buyer can learn the pros and cons of various models… And even build a relationship with a local distributor who participates on this forum.

    Social Media Works. I use it every day.

  • http://gyrometrics.gyrohsrclients.com/15-essential-social-media-facts-and-figures-for-b2b-marketing/ Gyrometrics » Blog Archive » 15 Essential Social Media Facts and Figures For B2B Marketing
  • http://bit.ly/dCZetW B2B Social Media Marketing

    You get a chance can you expand on ” 90% of marketing deliverables not used by sales” and give some examples.

    Thanks for others comments its helps to clear the doubt on marketing field

  • http://twitter.com/jwatton jwatton

    Thanks for the name check on ShipServ. Hopefully sharing our story encourages other “deeply B2B” businesses like us. With 65% of our target audience believing that social media is a “distracting waste of time”, we could’ve easily canned any social media efforts. So my message to everyone: is stick with it – it’s worth it.

    John
    CMO, ShipServ
    @jwatton

  • http://www.rainbowzebra.co.uk Rainbow Zebra

    Great stats there!

    Makes you wonder what reasons companies give for NOT having a blog or a social media presence!

  • http://twitter.com/bbwheaven bbw-heaven

    Fascinating stats. Amazing that 49% of B2B marketers do not measure ROI.

  • http://www.kbkcommunications.com/is-bad-website-design-hurting-your-business/ Is Bad Website Design Hurting Your Business? | KBK Communications

    [...] Where do your customers do research? Online [...]

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    [...] creëert 53% van de leads zelf, de marketing afdeling maar 24%. Bron: Jeff Bullas’s 15 Essential Social Media Facts and Figures For B2B Marketing [...]

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