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Lead generation might be a top goal for B2B marketers in 2015, but social media isn’t where they’re expecting to bring in qualified prospects, according to a new BrightTalk report.
In fact, social media and print advertising ranked the lowest on a list of 15 different lead generation tactics. A full 30 percent said these are ineffective lead gen tools and just 12 percent said they’re highly successful. On the contrary, email marketing was cited as the top tool, with 55 respondents saying it’s effective.
In an era when 7 out of 10 people utilize social media (and the average social media user is active 2 hours and 25 minutes daily), this is unsettling data. Marketers who consider social media ineffective for lead gen need to reconsider their current strategies and revamp what they’re doing to both promote the brand and nurture people to take the next step to learn more....
Via Jeff Domansky, Os Ishmael
The data is interesting, but "B2B" doesn't make much sense as a single entity from a lead generation point of view. Depending on whether the products and services are horizontal or vertical markets, direct or channel, the strategies and tools are different.
Which audience are we talking about, the ones that find you, or the one's you go out and find. They have completely different characteristics.
The figures above are presumably averages of the two approaches.
Then, both Social and Email marketing can be lead gen tools, but more often used for nurturing, a second stage process.
So, average of different strategies, and an average of different stages.
Is it not like saying "the players in my football team averaged 4 goals each last season". This wouldn't tell us what our striker is worth would it?
So is social media marketing the way of the future? Interesting read...
insight: b2b marketing , lead generation, social media still ranking not on top. Or are the effects just indirect? That is the key question.