Most of our customers are B2B marketers
so we strive to find the best channels and content to meet their goals for lead generation and conversion to customers. We usually include social media in the mix, some customers more than others, central african republic telemarketing database depending on where their buyers are most likely to be found online. The question remains—is social media an effective channel for B2B lead generation, or should we focus on other channels?
What Channels Do Most B2B Marketers Use for Lead Generation?
A 2013 Business.com survey of 500 pay-per-lead advertisers found that a majority of B2B marketers were skeptical about the value of using social media tools for lead generation. Instead, more than 66 percent favored outbound marketing (inside sales, telemarketing, live events and tradeshows). While content marketing and social media sharing were in use by 71 percent of B2B marketers, only about 22 percent rated these methods as “effective,” with customer testimonials and case studies rated as the highest performing types of lead generation. The infographic below summarizes this data.
What Happened to the Top of the Sales Funnel?
If you believe that the above data accurately represents CMO sentiments these days, there are some pretty surprising implications.
Direct marketing tactics are considered to be more effective than inbound
Marketers are trying content marketing, but doubt its effectiveness as a means of attracting qualified leads
Social media has only a minor role to play in B2B lead generation
We’re effectively back where we were 10 years ago in marketing, or maybe we never left!
I think the Business.com survey overlooks other surveys and reports showing the relative effectiveness of content marketing, social media and SEO in building sales pipelines. For example, the Content Marketing Institute reported widespread (and increasing) use of social media in content distribution in 2013, but, at the same time,
respondents considered LinkedIn to be the only
highly effective social media channel. CRM Daily reported inbound channels deliver up to 30X the conversion rate of outbound campaigns. According to HubSpot, inbound strategies double website conversion rates from 6 percent to 12 percent, and inbound marketing delivers 54 percent more leads into the marketing funnel than outbound marketing.