I read an interesting article this week on Small Business Trends “Study: How Are B2Bs Using Social Media“. I will share a few of the statistics with you here. The study documented their conclusions in a 58 page report. Here are highlights of their findings on what types of social media B2Bs are using.
Their findings on what types of social media are B2Bs using? “It’s worth noting that everyone questioned in the study is already using social media for business, either as a resource, to engage in initiatives or both. So the usage curve is probably higher than normal.
According to the study, people from mid- to large-sized companies (100 employees or more) were far more active in social media than people from smaller companies. I found that to be rather surprising.”
“46 percent of mid- to large-businesses use Twitter, compared to just 28 percent of SMBs.”
“Overall, B2Bs are more active in social media than B2Cs, with 81 percent of B2Bs maintaining one or more accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. They’re also much more likely to engage in micro-blogging on Twitter than B2C companies.”
What metrics of success are used by these companies?
* Web site traffic – 68 percent of B2Bs, 57 percent for B2Cs
* Brand Awareness, 61 percent and 52 percent, respectively
* Engagement with prospects, 60 percent and 57 percent respectively
* Engagement with customers, 52 percent and 51 percent, respectively
* Brand Reputation, 47 percent and 41 percent, respectively”
More than half of these companies are measuring engagement. Your company is missing out on an opportunity if you do not monitor the conversation.
Customers are talking about you and can be your advocates. Take the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. Your will build loyalists who will evangelize your brand.
Here I am networking with Ji Sun Chang who uses social networking to engage customers. Read more about how she engages customers here.
