Fewer than one-half (45%) of B2B companies have only the basics of a social media presence—such as a Twitter and Facebook account, or a company blog—and only 32% are engaged in social media on a day-to-day basis, according to a survey from White Horse.
Meanwhile, 52% of B2C marketing professionals surveyed say their companies are actively engaged in social media on a daily basis.
However, overall levels of social media inactivity are comparable: 18% of B2B marketers say their company is not actively engaged in social media marketing, as do 14% of B2C marketers.
Interestingly, the most sophisticated use of social media—full integration with paid media activity—is slightly more prevalent among B2B companies than B2C. That finding likely reflects the nature of B2B marketing—typically lean and ground-level—and thus more easily integrated across channels, according to White Horse.
Below, other findings from the report B2B Marketing Goes Social, which surveyed 104 marketers about their companies' use of social media marketing.
Low B2B Executive Buy-In
Fundamentally "handshake" businesses, B2B companies rely on long-term relationships and one-to-one connections between sales reps and customers, White Horse points out.
Combined with target markets that are typically small and narrowly focused, B2B marketers have a tougher time than their B2C counterparts making business cases for social media—and gaining executive buy-in.
Over one-third (36%) of B2B marketers report low executive support for social media, compared with just 9% of B2C marketers.
Another 27% of B2B marketers say executives support the use of social media but are not actively engaged, as do 39% of B2C marketers.
On the other end of the scale, however, deep and direct executive engagement is as typical of B2B marketers as it is for B2C—once again reflecting the ground-level nature of much of B2B marketing, in which executives often play an active role.
Most-Used Social Tactics
Overall, B2C marketers are more involved in nearly all forms of social media. However, B2B marketers are slightly more likely to participate in third-party forums and to produce podcasts—effectively using social tactics to support traditional B2B marketing activities.
Meanwhile, B2B marketers rely significantly less on mobile applications and user-generated content.
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Social Media Obstacles
B2B cultures are far more likely to express a bias toward traditional marketing—and to view social media as irrelevant to their target audience.
Among the leading obstacles cited by B2B marketers are insufficient personnel (roughly 50%), followed by a three-way tie between lack of organizational knowledge, a preference toward traditional marketing, and perceived irrelevance to their field (all roughly 45%).
Meanwhile, brand-sensitive B2C marketers are far more likely to express concerns over loss of brand control and negative customer feedback.
In addition, because B2B marketers usually participate in complex, consultative sales rather than direct sales, there tends to be less concern about proving direct ROI for social media initiatives.
Measurement
Over one-third (34%) of B2B marketers say they do not measure social media marketing results; 10% of B2C marketers say so as well.
Coupled with B2B marketers' lower concerns regarding social media ROI, it's likely that many B2B marketers see the inherent value of engagement apart from its measurement—in much the same way that cultivating leads through business networking has a value that's not immediately measurable.
Other findings:
- 40% of B2B companies surveyed say they devote one or more full-time marketers to social media marketing (vs. 54% of B2C companies).
- 71% of B2B companies devote two or more part-time marketing resources to social media management (vs. 62% of B2C companies).
- Only 10% of B2B companies have engaged an agency for help with social media (vs. 28% of B2C companies).
About the data: Findings are from a survey of 104 marketing professionals across a broad range of businesses, conducted by White Horse in March 2010.
