08 Aug Social Media B2B
I can tell you that the PROGRESS in Lending Innovations Ceremony was a true testament to how this space is responding to real problems. I’ve been involved with PROGRESS in Lending and its Innovations Program since its inception. It’s a great honor for me to act as one of the six industry judges behind this competition. I look forward to reading the applications each year. Why? Because each application shows that innovation is alive and well in the mortgage space. And judging by the fact that over 100 prominent mortgage executives gathered at the Innovations Awards Ceremony proves to me that the industry agrees with me when I say that we need to recognize innovators and do our part to encourage future innovation. So, on this topic I want to share with you one way that I feel you can innovate when it comes to crafting the best B2B marketing strategy. Here’s my take:
Did you know that 61 percent of U.S. marketers use social media to increase their lead generation? I bet you didn’t. Are you using this technology to innovate when it comes to crafting your own marketing strategy? If not, you should.
According to an article called “How Social is B2B” By Shea Bennett, while the business to consumer (B2C) side of social media is both proven and well established, business to business (B2B) social marketing has been a harder sell. But the effort is paying off. A recent Business.com study showed that 55 percent of B2B survey respondents search for information using social media, and IBM reported an incredible 400 percent increase in sales in a single quarter after implementing a pilot program of social selling.
Some 53 percent of B2B companies actively use Twitter in their marketing efforts, but this is dwarfed by Facebook (90 percent), which generates about twice as many monthly leads overall. However, and as you might expect, it’s LinkedIn that rules the roost – while less than half of businesses actively use the platform, LinkedIn returns more leads than Facebook, Twitter or blogging for B2B marketers.
Sometimes a picture says it all. Check this out:
