B2B Marketing Trends
Posted by Murray Sye on Mon, Jan 18, 2010 @ 02:12 PM
“The future is here. It’s just not as widely distributed yet.”
– William Gibson
I thought that the above quote was quite fitting. For B2B marketers, business owners and entrepreneurs, social media (Web 2.0) has been batted around boardrooms like a baseball. Some may have tried it, you may even know companies that have used it with some success—but most (at least it’s been our experience) have little knowledge of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and the effect that they can have on the success of their business.
That was then, this is now
Marketing of eras past was simple. We placed an ad in a trade publication, we sent out direct mail and we attended trade shows. To grow the business we simply invested more in these ‘outbound’ marketing techniques. Today however, many of these tactics are null and void. The old method of broadcasting your message to the masses has been replaced with more focused ‘inbound’ marketing strategies that include social spaces where companies connect, interact and develop relationships with customers.
In the last year, Twitter traffic has multiplied almost 15 times over, with more than 37.3 million unique global visitors in May (2009), according to comScore. And as tweeting becomes hotter, companies feel more pressure to join the social-networking tool in order to stay competitive.
Inbound marketing strategies are key
We’ve entered a new era of B2B marketing, and to succeed it is crucial that we evolve and embrace these new communication models but most importantly, listen to what our customers have to say. For many businesses it’s hard to justify the ROI and time invested in these many new and crowded online social spaces when the results are not immediate and obvious.
Here’s the question we hear most often: “Is this really going to help me grow my business? Am I really going to make any money at this?” The answer is YES. If you don’t acclimate yourself to these social media channels you’ll soon fall far behind your competitors. It is no longer a question of whether to integrate social media into marketing plans; it is a prerequisite.
Think it’s just a fad?
I read a statistic recently that supports our advice. In May of 2009 data from Nielsen Online shows that people continue to spend more time on social networking and blog sites than ever before, with total minutes increasing 82 percent year-over-year and the average time per person increasing 67 percent year-over-year in May 2009.
Twitter grows 1,444% over last year!
Twitter.com was the fastest-growing Web brand in May 2009, increasing 1,448 percent year-over-year, from 1.2 million unique visitors in May 2008 to 18.2 million in 2009.
Get involved now!
Don’t let your limiting beliefs hold back the business, preventing progress. NIKE said it so well, “Just do it.” There is no fast track to business success, but there is a need to course correct your B2B marketing to include social media NOW. And for those that embrace it, the rewards will come, you just have to have patience.
To learn more about social media, specifically Twitter, check out our WHAT CAN TWITTER DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS? white paper.