Social Media B2B

B2B buyers are increasingly turning to online marketing content to help them research purchasing decisions before they reach out to interact with B2B sellers.

B2B marketers must understand that the content they create has to create value in order to win over B2B buyers. So how can marketers get more value out of their content marketing? Here are four ways:

1. Add social sharing buttons

When asked if “Share This” buttons had any impact on their perception of B2B content, 77 percent of B2B buyers said that adding social sharing buttons made the collateral either “much more influential” or “somewhat more influential” than collateral that didn’t include these buttons.

This is according to the 2011 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report by Eccolo Media.

The study shows social sharing, or even the possibility of social sharing, creates perceived value in the content. The proximity of a “Share This” button within or next to your collateral may carry the implication that the content is worth sharing.

2. Embed audio and video

B2B buyers find that collateral which includes embedded audio and video contributes to the perceived influence of the content.

83% say that when audio is embedded in content it positively or very positively effects the overall influence, and 92% say the same for video.

Buyers also respond better to audio and video content. 55% of buyers say they’ve consumed content with audio or video, up 10% from the year before.

3. Make it mobile friendly

Although the vast majority of B2B marketing collateral is viewed on the desktop, more than 1/3rd of buyers are using their mobile devices to research B2B purchases.

37% of tech buyers report that they have consumed B2B content using a mobile device. 33% reported viewing content using a smartphone and 16% via tablet.

4. Highlight it on your web site

Corporate web sites are the most frequently used channel for obtaining marketing content.

100 percent of the survey respondents indicated they had read company Web content in the past six months to evaluate a technology purchase.

The corporate Web site remains the primary location for your prospective customers to access collateral, so make sure you highlight your whitepapers, webinars, podcasts, e-books and other content so visitors can easily find and consume it.

Also make sure you link to your web-based marketing collateral in all your channels, as many find your content via email newsletters (46%) and social media (19%).

With content marketing playing such a huge role in the B2B marketing sales cycle, providing useful, relevant content that addresses buyers issues and helps solve their challenges will demonstrate that you have the ability to lead them towards success.

Adam Q. Holden-Bache is the CEO/Managing Director of Mass Transmit, an Internet Marketing Agency specializing in email marketing, web development and social media marketing. Follow Adam on Twitter @adamholdenbache.