Social Media Trails Organic Search in Driving Traffic and Leads but Shows Potential

As revealed in Optify’s “2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report,” social media contributes only 5% of B2B website leads and traffic, compared to 41% for organic search, but, with better management, it has the potential to become a more effective channel. The Optify report found that companies that consistently measured and managed the activity on social platforms saw higher rates of conversion and engagements than companies that did not.

According to Optify, the top performing social networks used by B2B marketers include Facebook, which drives the most traffic, Twitter, which generates the highest rate of conversion, and LinkedIn, which has the highest number of pageviews per visit. The number of companies that are able to see these results is low, reported Optify, which indicates an overall immaturity in the use of social channels.

However, according to an Eloqua infographic, 85% of B2B marketers expect social media to positively influence traffic and inbound leads, but 43% don’t have a management strategy in place to do so. For B2B Marketers intending to expand the influence social media has on driving traffic and leads, the Eloqua infographic recommends that businesses “don’t departmentalize social media strategy…encourage everyone in the organization to work together on a cohesive strategy.” Eloqua claims that B2B marketers with an actively managed and integrated social strategy can benefit from the conversion possibilities of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

While organic search remains the number one driver of traffic and leads, there is the potential for B2B marketers to produce more effective social media campaigns by actively monitoring metrics and developing strategies of management.

source : Komarketing Associates