Many business executives, still mired in digital immigrant status, refuse to accept that social media is here to stay and has not only become a business-to-business (B2B) reality but the new imperative for organizations looking to stay competitive and in touch with all of their communities.
Like most executives born before smart phones and the digital native generation forever changed how people communicate, consume information and moved from a data-driven to an app-obsessed culture, I too thought for the longest time that social media like twitter and Facebook had little to no role in B2B marketing strategies. Boy was I wrong, and I’m glad I now see the light.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to really get an understanding of inbound marketing and the power of social media in B2B marketing strategies. I started out skeptical about what we were putting in place. This skepticism quickly shifted to guardedly optimistic and then full on wonder and “I’M A BELEIVER” status. My team and I shifted what was:
- a 90% outbound/10% inbound marketing strategy
- generating 22,000 leads
- with an average cost per lead (CPL) of $120+
- and an average conversion rate of 17%
to a strategy of:
- 40% outbound/60% inbound
- generating over 48,000 leads
- with an average CPL of $55
- and an average conversion rate of 26%
- …all with the same budget!
Don’t take my word for it. Check out this video with great statistics from Burson-Marsteller’s Global Social Media Check Up 2012, then run, don’t walk to the nearest consultant or employee who can help you join the new age of social media driven marketing.
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