There’s a marketing revolution going on today, and B2B marketers aren’t immune from the shake-up. B2B buyers are using social media to guide themselves through the decision making process, relying more on advice from peers and influencers than sales copy. In this shifting landscape, social media marketing and content marketing have become powerful allies for B2B marketers looking to engage potential customers and current customers alike.
In a previous post, we shared 75 quotes to inspire marketing greatness. Now we’ve compiled this list of 60 quotes, stats and facts regarding the current state of B2B marketing to orient, guide, and motivate the modern marketer. Read on to see what’s happening, what’s next, what’s working, and what it’s all for.
1. “Content Marketing is all the marketing that’s left.” Seth Godin, Author, Tribes
2. 69% of the most effective B2B Marketers have a dedicated content marketing group in their organization. (Source)
3. 54% of the most effective B2B Marketers have a documented content marketing strategy.(Source)
4. “To win in 2015, smart marketers need to see through customer’s eyes, understand buyer personas, educate buyers, tap big data, and offer content mapped to the buyer’s journey. That’s the way to win.” George Stenitzer, Founder, Crystal Clear Communications.
5. 86% of B2B Marketers are using Content Marketing. (Source)
6. 55% of B2B Marketers plan to increase content marketing spend in the next year. (Source)
7. “Content isn’t king. It’s the kingdom!” Lee Odden, CEO, Toprank Online Marketing
8. 83% of B2B marketers use content marketing for lead generation. (Source)
9. “Content is the virtual salesperson for the long B2B buying cycle.” Rachel Balik, Sr. Manager Content Marketing, Demandbase
10. 70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago. (Source)
11. 70% of B2B Marketers are using video content. (Source)
12. ”Your writing doesn’t have to be boring just because it’s for other businesses. Businesses have people who read stuff.” Valeria Maltoni, Founder and CEO, Conversation Agent, LLC
13. 81% of businesses have reported their blog as “useful” or “critical” to B2B lead generation.(Source)
14. “Tell a story. And more importantly, relate that story back to your ideal prospect’s problems or desires. Even if the story focuses on the founding, evolution, or growth of your company, make sure people understand that all of those great things happened because of the value you provide your audience, customers, and clients.” Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Copyblogger Media
15. Companies with over 200 blog articles have 5x more leads than those with 10 or fewer.(Source)
16. ”Marketing is telling the world you’re a rock star. Content Marketing is showing the world you are one.” Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer, CMI
17. Companies that blog 15 or more times per month see 5x more traffic than companies that don’t blog. (Source)
18. “Content Marketing is a commitment, not a campaign.” Jon Buscall, CEO, Moondog Marketing
19. “You are competing with every piece of content ever made for every person’s attention. You need to be entertaining. Don’t outsmart. Out entertain.” Dolf van den Brink, President and CEO of Heineken USA
20. Only 42% of B2B marketers say they are effective at content marketing, up 6% from 2013.(Source)
21. “The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it’s better distribution.” Chris Penn, VP of Marketing Technology, SHIFT Communications
22. 54% of B2B Marketers see producing engaging content as a top content marketing challenge.(Source)
23. 50% of B2B Marketers see producing content consistently as a top content marketing challenge. (Source)
24. 49% of B2B Marketers see measuring content effectiveness as a top content marketing challenge. (Source)
25. “Content Marketing is no longer a numbers game. It’s a game of relevance.” Jason Miller, Sr. Content Marketing Manager, LinkedIn
26. “Content is king, but distribution is queen. And she wears the pants.” Jonathan Perelman, Vice President, Buzzfeed Motion Pictures
27. 85% of B2B buyers believe companies should present information via social networks.(Source)
28. 79% of B2B Marketers believe social media is an effective marketing channel. (Source)
29. Only 20% of CMOs leverage social networks to engage with customers. (Source)
30. ”Content is fire, social media is gasoline.” Jay Baer, President, Convince & Convert
31. 78% of companies now say they have dedicated social media teams, up from 67% in 2012.(Source)
32. “Whether you’re in the B2B or B2C sales side and whether or not your product is a cheap impulse buy or a multi-million dollar long term sales cycle, your business is now – without a doubt – a media company as well.” Mitch Joel, President, Mirum
33. 54% of B2B marketers said they have generated leads from social media. (Source)
34. Social media marketing budgets are projected to double over the next five years. (Source)
35. “’Build it, and they will come’ only works in the movies. Social Media is a ‘build it, nurture it, engage them and they may come and stay.’” Seth Godin, Author, Permission Marketing
36. 78% of marketers said they saw increased traffic with as little as 6 hours a week invested in Social Media Marketing. (Source)
37. “I’d say a major issue of the moment is data quality. B2B marketers need to be sure the contact and profile information they have on customers and prospects is both complete and accurate.” Ruth Stevens, President, eMarketing Strategy
38. 80% of B2B social media leads come from LinkedIn. (Source)
39. 94% of B2B Marketers use LinkedIn to distribute their content. (Source)
40. 50% of LinkedIn members report they are more likely to buy from a company they engage with on LinkedIn. (Source)
41. “LinkedIn is all about business. The mindset and intent are naturally more receptive to solving business problems.” Brian Clark, Founder & CEO, Copyblogger
42. 77% of B2B marketers plan to increase their use of LinkedIn in the future. (Source)
43. 63% of marketers rate LinkedIn the most effective for B2B social media. (Source)
44. 65% of companies acquired B2B customers through LinkedIn in 2013. (Source)
45. “Buyers today are looking for trusted partners as much as the features and functions of your product (if not more). Content is the ultimate vehicle to build your organization into the trusted advisor buyers crave. And LinkedIn is the ultimate platform to deliver this thought leadership to your audience.” Craig Rosenberg, TOPO and Editor, the Funnelholic
46. “In the digital space, attention is a currency. We earn it. We spend it.” Brian Solis, Principal Analyst, Altimeter Group
47. More than half of marketers increased their spending on email in 2014 as email ROI reached 2,500%. (Source)
48. 20% of B2B marketers don’t measure the ROI of their inbound marketing efforts. (Source)
49. “The focus in 2013 was about impressions, 2014 was about engagement, 2015 will be about focusing on the hard business results.” Adam Wexler, Founder, Insightpool
50. 82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing. (Source)
51. 92% of businesses that implement inbound marketing strategies have will see a direct increase in their website traffic. (Source)
52. 75% of companies using marketing automation see ROI within 12 months, 44% within 6 months. (Source)
53. “Going viral is not an outcome; it’s a happening. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Just remember, fans are vanity and sales are sanity.” Lori R. Taylor, Owner of Social Caffeine & CEO & Founder of Rev Marketing LLC
54. “The buyer’s journey is not really a linear path anymore. It’s more about being ready with the content that prospects need when they are making a decision.” Dillon Allie, VP of Client Services, HDMZ
55. 95% of website visitors leave without leaving an email address. (Source)
56. 80% of marketing emails are never opened. (Source)
57. 66% to 90% of the buying journey is complete before prospects contact a vendor. (Source)
58. Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost. (Source)
59. “If you invest in that top of pipeline content, if you invest in these early-stage relationships, you significantly subsidize the acquisition costs of deals not only in the medium future but well beyond that.” Matt Heinz, President, Heinz Marketing
60. Inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound marketing. (Source)
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