The Role of Social Media in B2B buyers’ decision making | CustomerThink

Some key facts and recommended read on the role of social media in B2B buyers‘ decision making, which should make us think.

To put this in perspective, one American university study found a massive 75% of B2B buyers were influenced by information they found on social media – showing that having a well thought out strategy really can prove vital.

…, researchers divide buying into 3 distinct phases: Identifying and defining the need (Awareness stage). Identifying potential suppliers. (Consideration) and final supplier selection (Conversion).

According to their findings, Facebook and blogs are most useful in the first phase. LinkedIn and blogs are the most effective in the second phase and Twitter and Facebook are most useful in the final stage of buying.

… 57% strategically browse existing conversations on social media as part of their purchase research. So taking part in those industry-related conversations and showing off your expertise online is a must…. The most popular sites used being industry-specific forums, which stood out from the rest in terms of both usage and their influence.

…Love them or hate them, it’s worth mentioning here that Google still remains the first place many people will go when they want to search for something online – be it a product, service or company, reviews or other information. …

Source: The role of social media in B2B buyers’ decision making | CustomerThink