Digital marketing remains one of the best ways for both B2C and B2B companies to reach customers. A recent We Are Social study showed that 71% of internet users in the US searched online for a product or service in the last 30 days, and 66% made an online purchase (source). With so many consumers moving online for their buying journey, marketers realize the time for digital marketing is now.
What have marketers been doing?
At the close of 2015, B2B and B2C businesses had differing digital marketing objectives, but similar methods.
B2B marketers saw lead generation as their number one goal while B2C businesses focused on sales. However, both pinpointed social media (87% for both) and SEO (72% for B2C and 78% for B2B) as top techniques (source). Small businesses of all types reported marketing automation as a key tool, with 74% saying it brought them a competitive advantage and 55% reporting increased revenues (source).
What’s up for 2016?
How can businesses hit their digital marketing goals for 2016? The following methods and tools show promise.
Social Media Marketing
- There are 192 million active social media users in the US spending an average of about 2 hours a day on social (source)
- Platform usage runs the gamut: 41% of active US users are on Facebook, 17% on Twitter, 15% on Pintrest, 15% on Instagram, and 11% on LinkedIn (source)
- Facebook leads B2C traffic at 72% while B2B sees LinkedIn as most effective (source)
- More than 87% of B2B companies say social media has boosted their online exposure (source)
Content Marketing
- Content marketing brings in three times more leads than traditional outbound marketing and costs 62% less (source)
- Content creation and management takes up the second-largest share of digital marketing budgets (source)
- 87% of marketers use videos, trumping blogs at 66% and articles at 44% (source)
- 7 out of 10 B2B and B2C digital marketers say video is the most effective content marketing method (source)
- Marketers say content focused on audience relevance is more effective than those targeting user engagement or response generation (source)
SEO Marketing
- Organic search engine results gain 4% of total clicks while paid ads gain only 39.6% (source)
- Almost two-thirds of organic clicks go to the top three search results (source)
- 82% of marketers see writing SEO content for customers as more important than writing for search engines (source)
- SEO leads claim a 6% close rate compared to 1.7% from outbound methods like direct mail or print (source)
Marketing Automation
- In the last five years, marketing automation has seen the fastest growth of any CRM platform (source)
- Those using marketing automation to nurture leads see a 451% increase in qualified leads (source)
- 86% of small businesses reported improved lead management and nurturing with marketing automation (source)
- Easy campaign execution and tracking (64%) and increased efficiency and productivity (61%) ranked high among small business marketing automation benefits (source)
What’s Holding Back Digital Marketing?
Despite these convincing statistics, half of marketers spend less than 25% of their total budget online (source). Many point to a weak ROI connection as the root of their problem and nearly one-third don’t know which digital channel is making the biggest impact (source). A lack of strategy and poor tracking make it difficult to understand the powerful effect digital marketing can have for a business.
NuGrowth Digital can help. We specialize in helping businesses plan, implement, and track their digital marketing measures. Contact us to find out how NuGrowth Digital can help your business understand how to make the most of digital marketing.
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Author: Kate Gluck
As Director of Marketing for NuGrowth Digital, Kate Gluck is responsible for all facets of marketing for NuGrowth clients. From production management to content creation, she ensures that any marketing campaign is run smoothly, effectively, and on-time. Fueled by a lifelong love for writing, Kate produces and oversees the production of strong written content for a diverse array of clients.
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