I use Facebook every day to catch up with my friends, RSVP for social events, and post photos of my cat.
However, I don’t use it for business.
Although my clients are likely on Facebook, I’ve determined that this social network isn’t the best place for me to interact with them. For business, I prefer LinkedIn, Twitter, and industry-specific social networks.
There’s always been a debate about whether Facebook is a good platform for B2B marketers. According to the 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends—North America report, 84% of B2B marketers use Facebook. However, only 32% think it’s effective.
Now, a Forrester study suggests that brands are wasting their time and money on Facebook and Twitter. I’ll save Twitter for a different discussion, but the study found that only 0.07% of a brand’s Facebook fans interact with each of its posts. Plus, Facebook is ending its organic social marketing in January. This means that if you want engagement, you’ll need to pay for it.
So, if Facebook and Twitter don’t work, where should you focus your B2B marketing efforts in 2015?
According to Forrester, one area to focus on is email.
“Your emails get delivered more than 90% of the time, while your Facebook posts get delivered 2% of the time,” says Nate Elliott, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. Plus, customers who want to stay in touch with your brand are almost twice as likely to sign up for your emails as they are to interact with you on Facebook.
Since email can deliver better results than the top social networks, I wanted to share tips on how you can improve your email marketing in 2015. Here are three resources to help you:
This Spiceworks video shows you how to craft subject lines that get IT buyers to open your emails. The advice will also work if you’re selling to other B2B buyers.
This Pinpointe article compiled some of the best research on when to send emails. The post is broken down by day of the week, so you can see how your preferred days stack up.
Did you know that your prospects receive 32% more marketing campaigns and emails than they did two years ago? This Alinean article highlights some of the biggest mistakes B2B marketers make with their emails. It also offers tips on how to get leads to open your emails.
With all the pro-email data, you may want to ramp up your email efforts in 2015. Also review your social efforts to see whether networks such as Facebook and Twitter are working for you.
3 Ways to Apply This Information Now
- Download the editorial calendar template to plan your 2015 emails and other content.
- Read “What You Can Learn from the World’s Worst Sales Email” for more ways to improve your email marketing.
- Click to share this article on LinkedIn. Sharing quality content increases your visibility and credibility with your existing contacts, creating conversations, and potentially new business.