B2B losing the laggard label in digital marketing — leads use of Twitter

Rally all you B2B marketers around this nice infographic from the 2011 Webmarketing123 State of Digital Marketing Survey because it’s a great peek into the changing worlds of B2B and B2C. Notably, this is the second data set I’ve seen in the last week where B2B can be classified as in the lead for some digital marketing segments.

SEO is King
It’s interesting that arguably one of the oldest and most mature segments of digital marketing — SEO — is cited as the one that both B2B and B2C marketers agree has the biggest impact on lead generation. Plus, more B2B marketers believe in the power of SEO. B2B also lists this segment as the majority of the budget, meaning they see the value in having credible quality content that is visible to searches. This credibility is an advantage over pay per click in the eyes of the B2B marketer — or maybe B2B marketers are just cheaper!

What I would like to understand more is what steps both types of marketers are taking to embrace SEO principles if they find it so valuable. The art and science of SEO is no mystery to most mature marketers, yet I see few good examples of companies embracing advanced SEO techniques. What do you think?

B2B Loves Twitter
This study shows that B2B marketers are three times more active on Twitter. I have seen reports on B2B leading in this area but have not seen such a wide discrepancy over B2C. From our own experiences, B2B media relations and topical thought leadership on Twitter has been low hanging fruit, and it has been an easier foray into social for B2B brands. I am surprised the B2C “deal-of-the-day” tweets don’t have consumer marketers relying on this platform more.

It also appears that B2B is more bullish on social with nearly two times more saying they’ll increase social budgets in 2012. Maybe this is because B2B is later to the game, but clearly there is a lot of room for growth in B2B social marketing on the horizon — growth that B2B marketers like myself are excited to embrace.

Finally, the infographic indicates that “cross-promotional digital strategy” is the area where marketers want to learn more. This reinforces what we are seeing more and more of — it is increasingly difficult for marketers to coordinate and manage the numerous channels.

All in all, this infographic is proof that B2B brands are embracing the value of SEO and are now recognizing the power of social media. What are you doing to find the right fit for social in your marketing plan?

Comments

[Olivia J.]

I find it very interesting that B2C focuses mostly on Facebook and hardly pays attention to the other platforms. Just goes to show that the B2B world is getting smart about social and understands the advantages each platform offers. It's not all about Facebook!