Everyone knows social media is slowly, but surely, finding its way into just about every area of our lives. Now that several popular platforms have adopted video, we’re also seeing an increase in that medium online, as well. One area you may not expect social media or online videos to play a major role is business-to-business purchasing. But as a recent article on AdAge points out, nothing could be further from the truth.
The Growth of Social Media
The study cited by AdAge in their article was entitled “2013 B2B Buyer Research” and surveyed over 440 business-to-business buyers during the second quarter. Though the study itself, which was conducted by TriComB2B, was not focused on social media, the findings showed how influential the networks were becoming with business-to-business buyers and marketers.
Though networking is always a valuable commodity when it comes to social media, the survey found that buyers were using these sites as resources for valuable information as well. Put another way, buyers were actually visiting social media sites to research potential purchases.
One example is the popular professional networking site, LinkedIn. TriComB2B found that a quarter of those surveyed referenced the social media site as a valuable resource for considering purchases. This number is more than twice what it was back in 2011. Perhaps most interesting, this growth in popularity was across all age groups.
The Importance of Online Videos
But TriComB2B’s study did more than highlight the importance of social media. It also found that online videos were continuing to grow in popularity. 57% of those surveyed reported they had used an online video to help make a purchasing decision. In 2011, the number had been 51%.
That being said, 92% of the respondents who cited videos as an important source for information were much more likely to view them on a company’s website, as opposed to YouTube, another popular option. Vimeo, another alternative, was far less likely to be considered.
Purchase Price
As with all information, it’s important to put this data into perspective. Fortunately, the “2013 B2B Buyer Research” has other numbers in its 29 pages. Perhaps most interesting of them are those that show that the importance of the actual purchase price is dropping when it comes to making decisions about buying. 59% of those interviewed claimed that at least 60% of their purchase decisions were influenced, primarily, by the price. In 2011, this number was 64%.
So, while new options like social media and online videos are creeping up in influence, those that used to play a far more important role, like the actual price involved, are falling. Adaptive business-to-business marketers will be able to use this information to gain an advantage. Those that can’t, however, may soon be out of a job.
Though it’s hard to imagine life without them, social media and online videos are still very modern features on our technological landscape. Nonetheless, business-to-business marketers can’t afford to look at them that way. The “2013 B2B Buyer Research” study done by TriComB2b makes it clear that both are having a profound effect on how people decide to buy.
Source:
adage.com/article/btob/research-finds-social-media-online-video-influential-b-b-purchases/290722/?btob=1
http://tricomb2b.com/sites/default/files/TriComB2B-UD_Research_Report-2013.pdf
Drop us a line to discuss how we might be able to help drive your sales through social selling: info@ridge-consulting.com
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