Shanghai, China – KawoChina'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 by international B2B multinational corporations in China. and delves into the role of social media in the B2B marketing environment. .
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 primary marketing channels. Still, only 38% plan to increase their marketing budget for paid search, the next most popular choice, and 44% plan to decrease their budget for display advertising.
When using social media for B2B marketing, 42% said increasing brand awareness was the primary objective, while 34% chose to generate leads. 88% cite impressions, views, and views as one of the social media metrics they use, followed by leads generated by 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 or expand into China's domestic market, the country's unique social media landscape can be difficult to navigate,” he said. Stated. Alex Lee, KAWO CEO. “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 We have risen to the top, far ahead of our 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 used his Douyin. Still, only 4% believe this will be the best platform for their company over the next three years.
“With the largest user base in China, it is no surprise that WeChat is the most popular social media platform for B2B marketing. WeChat's features, such as mini-programs, can be customized to suit your branding and promotional needs, such as managing sales funnels for lead generation, providing online consultation services, and event management. It has proven to be useful for B2B marketers to facilitate meaningful interactions,” Alex explained. .
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 to 3 hours a week reporting and synchronizing 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.
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 wanted to implement tools for 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. For more details and insights, you can access the report here.
