70% of business professionals don't believe B2B brands know how to effectively communicate through social media claims research
Almost three quarters of business professionals do not believe that B2B brands know how to effectively communicate through social media, according to research undertaken by Maxus for Business.
The recently launched B2B division within Maxus used the agency’s LinkedIn audience of 500 members, over a two-week period, to find that 70 per cent of respondents didn’t believe that B2B brands effectively used social media to channel their communications, while 73 per cent said that LinkedIn was its most trusted social media network.
Facebook was considered the least suitable B2B channel with only 9 per cent of business people considering using it as a communications platform for work, while less than a fifth (17 per cent) chose Twitter as their preferred B2B medium.
Of those involved, a quarter were also found to have no restricted access to social media in the work place, while two thirds of business people said that they wanted to build a relationship with companies.
Respondents were asked what time of day they found to be the most effective time for using social media to communicate with business professionals, with the evenings proving to be the most popular time to make contact at 23 per cent, just ahead of first thing each working day at 22 per cent.
Only 14 per cent wanted to be communicated with at lunchtime or before work, while 16 per cent did not wish any contact in the afternoon.
When it came to social media content, 44 per cent said that they wanted to read news, while a fifth (20 per cent) were looking for How To guides. Only 6 per cent were looking for webinars and 7 per cent for whitepapers, while 8 per cent was only 8 per cent of what respondents were seeking.
The most sought topic of news sought by respondents was news about their company (86 per cent), promotions at 79 per cent and insights by 70 per cent. Also sought by two thirds of respondents was information on product development (66 per cent), while 59 per cent explained that they wanted to be inspired, and 44 per cent were looking to be entertained.
James Bailey, head of Maxus For Business, commented on the findings: “Luckily for B2B marketers, this survey shows that business people are keen to hear from relevant brands. However, some brands could benefit from improved targeting and perhaps sometimes a better understanding of the day-to-day realities of busy, time-poor executives’ working lives.”
He added: “There’s a gap in the market for a best-in-class specialist media planning offer and Maxus For Business has been created to meet this need.”
Led by Bailey, Maxus for Business was set up alongside account director Katy Halewood and account executive Will Bradley, with support from Maxus effectiveness director Harry Davison and head of strategy Stuart Butler.
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