CorpComms Magazine

Business-to-business (B2B) decision makers are the most active of social networkers and four out of ten have used a microblogging site in the past month, which shows how important social media has become for B2B marketing, according to a recent survey by consultants GlobalWebIndex.

Not only are they the most active, but they are also the most engaged users in the world across all markets and demographics.

The research found that 60 per cent of decision-makers had used a social network in the past month, compared to just 50 per cent for the average Internet user.

The survey found that social media is now the most influential communication channel across the majority of markets, especially for business purchases, even above face-to-face meetings and traditional client entertaining. Social media also topped traditional trade advertising in most of the markets.

Up to 15 per cent of the global decision makers said that engaging with a company via a social network was their leading influence, and 'direct mails' came in second place with 13 per cent of votes.

The research carried out between 2009 and 2011 found that within the two years, the use of social networks increased from 41 per cent to 60 per cent, while use of microblogging sites almost doubled to 39 per cent.

In Australia, Argentina, Spain, Britain and Japan, online conversations trump sales presentations in terms of value.

Brett Petersen, senior strategy consultant at GlobalWebIndex, said: 'Social media has become an essential tool for business to business marketers and in some markets participation in these platforms could be the different between getting your foot in the door and making the sale.'

The research carried out between July 2009 and June 2011 involved interviews with more than 17,400 B2B decision-makers across 27 markets, who had all made direct purchase decisions for their company.

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