As B2B marketers increase their investments in social media marketing, they are looking to implement social media marketing platforms to improve efficiency.
KAWO, China's leading social media management platform, has released its 2024 B2B Social Media Marketing Research Report. This report is based on a survey of 50 Chinese international business-to-business (B2B) multinational corporations (MNCs) across 20 different industries and examines the use of social media and B2B marketing by international B2B multinational corporations in China. We delve into its role in detail. landscape.
Social media stands out as the top marketing channel among respondents, with most planning to double down on their social media efforts. According to the report, 94% of international B2B multinational companies in China recognize social media as one of their main marketing channels, and 70% plan to increase their social media marketing budget in 2024. got it. In comparison, offline events (86%) and paid search (66%) were identified as one of the main marketing channels. However, only 38% plan to increase their marketing budget for the next most popular choice, paid search, and 44% plan to reduce their display advertising budget.
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When using social media for B2B marketing, 42% said increasing brand awareness was the primary objective, while 34% chose lead generation. 88% cite impressions, views, and views as one of the social media metrics they use, followed by leads generated from social media (80%). Notably, only 18% use sales revenue as a metric for their social media activity. Many people want to turn leads into sales through social media marketing, but there's a lack of a suitable revenue contribution model that helps customers plan their journey and attribute social media sales with confidence. can not.
“As more international B2B multinationals seek to enter and expand the Chinese domestic market, the country's unique social media landscape can be difficult to navigate,” said KAWO Chief Executive Officer. said Alex Lee. “Our latest report found that many marketers need help and resources to ensure their social media efforts align with business goals and objectives. Like KAWO A social media management platform that helps marketers improve efficiency, streamline collaboration with international contacts, and seamlessly make data-driven decisions.”
Among all social media platforms in China, WeChat stands on top by a wide margin over its competitors. 100% of businesses surveyed have an official WeChat account, 76% use WeChat channels, and 80% believe WeChat is the best platform to achieve their business goals and objectives in the next three years. I think there is. Although lagging behind, the popular consumer platform has also been adopted by his B2B companies, with 40% saying they use Douyin, and over the next three years he hopes Douyin will increase Only 4% thought it would be the best platform for them.
“With the largest user base in China, it is no surprise that WeChat is the most popular social media platform for B2B marketing. WeChat has evolved into a leading marketing platform. WeChat's features, such as mini-programs, can be tailored to suit your branding and promotional needs, from managing sales funnels for lead generation, offering online consultation services, event management, and more. and have been found useful by B2B marketers to facilitate professional interactions.”
China's unique social media environment, with its many social media platforms different from other international markets, means that a significant amount of time is spent reporting social media data to headquarters based outside of China. Did. 90% of respondents said they spend 1-3 hours each week reporting and syncing with colleagues based overseas. To assist with this arduous task, 88% of them agreed that a bilingual social media management platform would help them collaborate better with colleagues abroad.
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B2B marketers recognize that high-quality content is the foundation of effective social media marketing, increasing their focus on creating engaging content (66%) and developing content that generates leads (66%) in 2024. It is cited as the biggest challenge of the year. When it comes to social search in China, 60% find connecting with their target market a challenge.
The biggest challenges when performing social media analysis were lack of time (27%) and lack of understanding (26%). More than 90% of those surveyed said they would like to implement tools to assist with social media marketing. This includes support for planning, scheduling, execution, approval processes, publishing, and data integration and analysis.
The majority view artificial intelligence (AI) positively, with 78% saying they would use AI for B2B activities on social media, and over 50% already using AI to edit images, text, video, and create content. We use AI to generate ideas. In the future, 70% want to use AI for content ideation. This is one of the biggest challenges identified in the report. And 58% want AI to generate reports, analyze data, and provide insights.
KAWO's 2024 B2B Social Media Marketing Research Report aims to provide B2B marketing professionals with insight and guidance on effective social media marketing strategies in China.
methodology
KAWO's 2024 B2B Social Media Marketing Research Report was conducted to understand the usage of social media by international B2B multinational companies in China. This report identifies more than 50 social media and marketing professionals and managers from China's international B2B multinational companies across 20 industries including chemicals, machinery, automation, pharmaceuticals, automotive, packaging, legal, finance, etc. Based on quantitative research conducted on the subject. Twenty in-depth qualitative interviews were also conducted alongside the analysis of 30 relevant case studies to generate relevant insights and best practices regarding social media B2B marketing in China.
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