We recently spoke about the most effective platforms for B2B social media marketing to help to narrow down what social networks are worth devoting time and energy into. Today, with help from DemandGen’s 2016 Content Preference survey, we’re taking a look at the top 3 channels B2B buyers use to share content with peers. With 51% of buyers relying more on content to research their purchasing decisions, it’s crucial for B2B marketers to provide them with high quality content directly on the channels our buyers are looking for it.
Email remains as the most used channel for sharing B2B-related content, with 97% of buyers reporting that they share content with their peers through this channel. This is also a great tactic to help keep your brand at the top of buyers minds as they research and compare purchasing options.
If you’re just starting out with email marketing, check out these 3 easy ways to grow your email list so you can start getting your quality content in front of prospects.
LinkedIn has always been a popular channel for business professionals, and now it’s one of the most popular channels for users to share business-related content with their peers. With 85% of B2B buyers reporting to using LinkedIn to share content, this proves that LinkedIn is a powerful place to promote your content and get it in front of the right set of eyes. Even more, LinkedIn gained a slight increase when compared to the 74% who responded in 2015.
With 62% of buyers reporting to sharing content via Twitter, it’s really no surprise that this powerhouse platform moved from ‘Social Media Networking’ to ‘News’ on the App Store in an attempt to gain more visibility. This may also help explain the increase from the 58% who reported to using this channel in 2015. One great benefit of using Twitter for B2B content is the ability to share your content more than once. Because content moves so quickly on Twitter, you are able to share the same piece without annoying your followers. In fact, many may appreciate the continued sharing as they may have missed it the first time it was shared.
DemandGen also showed that after Twitter, preferences dropped significantly in regards to channel preference. Only 38% of B2B buyers reported to sharing content on Facebook, and 33% citing SlideShare. These stats help prove the argument of creating quality content over a large quantity, as you’ll get the most from sharing your best content on the channels our buyers are sharing on, rather than getting content out on every single channel available to us.
