Study: Less Than 20% of B2B Buyers Say Social Media and Blogs Impact Vendor Discovery Process

Caid Christiansen• May, 12 2015

A new B2B web usability report by KoMarketing and BuyerZone reveals a frightening statistic about social media marketing and blogging: less than 20% of B2B buyers say social media and blogs impact their vendor discovery process.

So what’s the deal? Is it time to completely abandon hope in social media and blogging?

You might be surprised to hear us say this, but no—it isn’t.

Rewinding for a moment, let’s go back to the study. KoMarketing and BuyerZone surveyed 262 B2B online buyers ranging from C-suite executives to consultants to get a better understanding of how online influences the B2B buying process. Buyers ranked thorough contact information as the most important factor in a company’s credibility, followed by about info and team bios.

While you can read the full study (and in fact, we’d recommend it), in general, the message is clear: there’s a disconnect between what B2B buyers want on a website and what vendors actually provide.

Which brings us back to the low-ranking impact of social media and blogs. Despite the clear disconnect showed in this study, the problem isn’t inherent to blogs or social media as mediums. The problem is with the way many companies do blogs and social media.

It doesn’t take long to find company blogs and social media profiles that fit the specs apparently outlined in the study. Self-centeredness, lack of awareness about SEO, lack of strategy, and bad writing top the list of reasons a company blog might fall flat. Self-centeredness, lack of engagement, lack of strategy, and slow response times top the list of reasons your social media fails to influence purchasing decisions.

All of these issues are issues that can easily be addressed early on in the strategy process when you figure out your goals for your business, your goals for online, and how you’ll meet both. It’s possible that social media and blogs may not help you meet your goals, but it’s just as possible that you’re executing one or both of them incorrectly.

If you think you might fall into the mix of companies whose blogs and social media fail to impact buyers, don’t immediately give up on the platform. Chances are, a simple question—“do my online efforts address the needs of my buyers?”—will tell you everything you need to know about why your efforts are failing.