B2B Marketers Increasing Social Media and Search Spending
Tue, Jun 2, 2009
I spotted an article about Online B2B Marketing over at E-Marketer. The articles focused on research conducted by MarketingProfs and Forrester Research which looked at how B2B Marketers were planning their 2009 budgets versus 2007 and 2008 especially in the midst of the current economic downturn.
A quick review of the data shows some interesting results. For example the top half of the list of areas in which marketers are increasing spending are all digital, with a heavy focus on search marketing and social media. Closely followed by inside sales and public relations. What does this tell me? That B2B companies are relying more on their web presence to generate sales and leads. Additionally they are opting for longer term brand and lead building opportunities versus short-term media buys and sponsorships.
Do you see this trend in your business? Do you agree with these results?
Kipp Bodnar is publisher of SocialMediaB2B.com. Follow Kipp on Twitter @kippbodnar or Google+.
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As you would assume — but you know what they say about “assuming” — the top four items easily can go hand-in-hand (tied to a corp Website).
It is good to see the coordinated effort. For online marketing, a company’s Website should be its top priority, followed closely by going out to where its markets are (via social media).
Nice post, and good to see a growing number of B2B studies.
-Mike
I definitely have seen similar spending changes. People are starting to pull their money out of expensive mediums that are hard to track and not extremely addressable.
Improvements to your website or an increase in email marketing can provide quantifiable increases in sales as well as a more relevant and personalized experience for your audience. It’s much easier to justify that a that line-item in difficult economic times.
However, I think this is a move that won’t be reversed when the economic economy turns around – hard numbers and increased sales are difficult to argue with.
It’s great news that B2B marketers are realising the opportunity with social media but sometimes I am not sure they actually get it. Too often they seem to think that having a social media strategy means starting a Facebook page or getting on Twitter. If they want to see some good returns they have to understand that social media requires just as much (if not more) attention and planning as any other initiative in the overall marketing strategy. Looking at some of your best practices like Boeing and Scania B2B marketers will understand the effort that is needed to succeed.
I think too many B2B marketers are jumping on the bandwagon before they know where they want to go.
But I am hopeful!
This echoes a recent survey we’ve conducted with 100 of Europe’s leading B2B marketers on this topic…
39% of B2B budgets are now allocated to new media – 15% to web development, 12% to email, 10% to online ads, 2% to social media
70% of B2B marketers plan to increase spend on social media in the next 12 months…but interestingly 57% feel they don’t know enough about this area
More details can be found here – B2B social media report