Posts

Michael Rabinovici

So you think Facebook is no good for B2B service companies? Think Again!

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There seems to be a perception that Facebook may be good for big B2C brands, but not of much use to B2B marketers, especially those in the services industry.  As a recent article in the Social Media Examiner aptly put it, in the context of a legendary mission to the moon: 

“The story of Apollo 13 astronauts trying desperately to get back to Earth after a failed mission has a lesson for B2B marketers.  Astronauts used the moon’s gravitational pull to slingshot them so they had enough power left to get back to Earth.

“B2B marketers: Facebook is your moon.

“In the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, B2B marketers reported that they were far more likely to increase their use of LinkedIn and blogging than Facebook in the coming year.

“But while Facebook may not be your final destination for marketing to B2B customers, it has incredible gravitational pull. Savvy marketers, like the astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 mission, can leverage that pull to take them where they want to go.”

The article proceeds to detail the fascinating story of how some executive firms went about using Facebook to build a brand “in a crowded field in an industry that frankly isn’t very sexy”.   Click here to read the full article

Michael Rabinovici

Social Media Marketing in B2B vs. B2C, what’s the dif?

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As companies and internal marketing departments evolve their social media strategies and refine their tactics, research is becoming available to shed light on these efforts.

One area of particular focus has been the potentially different impact that social media has on B2B marketers in relation to their B2C brethren.  In a recent study titled “2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” Mark Stelzner asked marketers how they’re using social media, and more than 1,900 business-to-business (B2B) marketers shared their insights.

Here are some highlights:

•    Of the B2B marketers who took this year’s survey, over 93% use social media to market their businesses. While that’s slightly below their consumer-focused brethren (95.2%), there’s been a significant increase since the 2010 survey when only 88% of B2B marketers responded affirmatively.
•    Over 56% of B2B marketers acquired new business partnerships through social media (compared to 45% of B2C marketers)
•    Nearly 60% of B2B marketers saw improved search rankings from their social efforts (compared to 50% of B2C marketers)
•    B2B marketers are better able to gather marketplace insights from their social efforts (nearly 69% vs. 60% of B2C marketers)
•    The one area where B2B marketers significantly lag behind their B2C counterparts is in developing a loyal fan base. 63% of B2C marketers found social media helped them develop loyal fans, compared to only 53% of B2B marketers.

For more information on the report click here.

For more mind blowing research and insight about social media and mobile marketing, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mikerabinovici or email me at michael at ar-com.com