Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands

TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on B2B SMEs and their social networking practices, particularly, usage, perceived barriers, and the measurement of effectiveness of SNS as a marketing tool.

About: This article is published in Industrial Marketing Management.The article was published on 2011-10-01 and is currently open access. It has received 743 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Social media.

Summary

1. Introduction

• The advent of Web 2.0 has created new ways to communicate, collaborate and share content (Enders, Hungenberg, Denker, & Mauch 2008).
• Statistics from NielsenWire (2010) show that in 2009, social media and specifically, social networking sites (SNS) such as such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, were a popular online activity in terms of average time spent.
• Second, the study provides insights into the extent of use and the reasons why B2B SMEs use SNS, as well as insights into the perceived barriers that inhibit usage.
• The findings are discussed in the light of the previous literature highlighting implications for practitioners and suggestions are made for further research.

2.1 B2B Branding and the Internet

• Previous research has established the importance of branding for B2B firms (e.g. Mudambi 2002; Lynch & de Chernatony 2004; Leek & Christodoulides 2010; Lindgreen, Beverland & Farrelly 2010).
• A strong B2B brand results in enhanced quality perceptions in the market (Cretu & Brodie 2007) and allows organizations to transfer brand equity in other categories through extensions (Hutton 1997).
• It raises the barriers to entry for competitive brands and leads to higher demand and/or allows companies to command a premium price (Mitchell et al.
• Following the advent of the internet, business marketing companies have started to appreciate this tool as a value-adding channel that enables companies to provide information, to accommodate connectivity, community and transactions, and to share cost reductions (Sharma 2002).
• Along similar lines to Sharma (2002), Walters (2008) advocates three value-adding strategies when using the internet, namely information rich strategy, relational exchange, and joint learning strategy.

2.2 Social Networks, Social Media and SNS

• Social networks originate from sociology and, in a business context, refer to two or more connected business relationships, where an ‘exchange’ exists between business partners (Anderson, Hakansson, & Johanson 1994; Pitt et al. 2006).
• Within a commercial context, social networks offer significant benefits, including the enhancement of economic value for organizations (Stephen & Toubia, 2010).
• A number of studies have used social networking theory to study the social networks of firms in B2B environments (e.g. Björkman & Kock 1995).
• In particular, SNS such as Facebook are some of the most popular and frequently visited web sites in the world (alexa.com) and, as such, marketers have intuitively recognized their potential in helping to achieve brand objectives (van den Bulte & Wuyts 2007).

2.3 Benefits and Barriers of Social Media

• Anecdotal evidence from market research reports suggests that firms use social media, including SNS, inter alia, to build direct relationships with customers, increase traffic to their website, identify new business opportunities, create communities, distribute content, collect feedback from customers, and generally to support their brand (Breslauer & Smith 2009; eMarketer 2010).
• Indeed, due to their non-transactional nature, SNS are particularly suited for collecting information/feedback from customers, initiating two-way conversations with customers and developing relationships with customers through communication and interaction (Enders et al. 2008; Kaplan & Haenlein 2010).
• Indeed many organizations have been slow to adopt new technologies due to perceived barriers such as lack of money, time and training, negative views about usefulness, as well as unfamiliarity with the particular technology (Buehrer et al. 2005; Venkatesh & Davis 2000).
• Adoption of an innovation is therefore based on the perceptions of organizations regarding the particular technology, which ultimately determines the time of adoption (Dillon & Morris 1996; Iacovou, Benbasat & Dexter 1995).
• Frambach and Schillewaert further suggest that smaller firms are more innovative, and are therefore expected to be more receptive to new technologies.

2.4 Social Media Metrics

• As with every marketing tool, SNS need to be evaluated for their effectiveness in achieving brand-related objectives.
• Traditional marketing metrics (for a summary see Ambler 2003) are based on a linear form of communication, and do not suit the interactivity of Web 2.0 (Hoffman & Novak 1996).
• The literature suggests that the measurement of such networks pose significant problems for marketing managers, who need to evidence the results of their spending.
• The measurement problem is highlighted in existing studies, with Borders, Johnston and Rigdon (2001) suggesting that, “…existing business metrics were designed for a world of concrete boundaries and fixed categories – a world that is slipping away day by day….
• The same phenomenon will plague the business economy, as networks become more influential while remaining temporary and informal.

3. Method

• Data was collected from a sample of 1,000 UK B2B SMEs, randomly derived from the FAME2 database via a mailed questionnaire.
• The questionnaire was sent to the marketing director or general director of each B2B SME, and a completion incentive was offered in the form of providing a summary of the study’s results.
• Companies targeted derived from various industrial sectors (e.g. manufacturing, agriculture, etc.) and varied in terms of employee numbers from 1 to 250, with a turnover below 50 million Euros, in line the EU definition of small and medium enterprises (European Commission 2003).
• Ten companies were excluded from the sample as they did not conform to the definition of SMEs.
• Finally, three items were used to capture organizational innovativeness based on previous research (Garcia-Morales, Llorens-Montes & Verdu-Jover 2006).

4. Analysis and Findings

• Initial statistics show that the average number of employees in SMEs in the sample was 66, and the average sales turnover was between £1 and £10 million.
• Respondents had held their positions in the companies concerned for an average of 9 years.
• Fame can be used to research individual companies and to search for and analyze companies with specific profiles (e.g. SMEs).
• Here Analysis of the data was conducted to explore usage or non-usage of SNS, as well as to uncover the perceived benefits of using SNS and the perceived barriers.
• Chi-square tests were also conducted to identify any differences among B2B companies in terms of usage, based on industry, small/medium size, and sales turnover.

4.1 SNS Users

• The findings indicate that 27% of the B2B SMEs included in the sample used SNS.
• The data shows that those using social networks had a presence on more than one site (Table 2).
• Table 3 summarizes the main reasons why companies use SNS.
• Here Companies using SNS tend not to evaluate their effectiveness in supporting their brands (53%).
• The vast majority of those measuring SNS effectiveness were doing so predominantly based on the number of users joining their group (73%).

4.2 SNS Non-Users

• On the other hand, 73% of B2B SMEs indicated that they were not using SNS to support their brand strategies.
• Finally, as in every competitive situation, competitors’ current practices and their decision not to use SNS also constituted a significant barrier to SNS adoption.
• Table 5 summarizes the main barriers perceived by the respondents.
• Interestingly, no differences were observed between companies operating in the services and goods industries with respect to their usage of SNS (χ2 = 1.13, p >.005).

5. Discussion

• The authors study contributes to the paucity of research on the usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing by B2B SMEs.
• B2B SMEs using SNS have recognized the importance of this tool to support marketing outcomes (van den Bulte &Wuyts 2007).
• The vast majority of SNS users are not evaluating the effectiveness of their SNS in supporting their brands.
• Yet, the increased influence of social networks (e.g., customer reviews/feedback) might force organizations to develop more customer-centered metrics to evaluate SNS effectiveness (Borders et al. 2001).
• A possible explanation for the lack of a significant relationship between firm size and the usage of SNS is the cost effectiveness of SNS, and the relatively limited financial resources required for their adoption.

6. Conclusion

• There is dearth of literature focusing on how B2B companies use SNS.
• This study contributes to knowledge by exploring the barriers, usage and perceived benefits of SNS among B2B SMEs in the UK, and reveals some interesting findings.
• In contrast to other technologies (e.g. e-commerce), SNS do not require a large investment.
• Being closer to their customers will enable them to create a unique brand identity and to differentiate themselves from the competition.
• Customers can also benefit from the company in that through the use of SNS, they will be able to communicate with the company and provide feedback.

Figures

Table 5 Barriers of Using SNS

Table 4 Measures of SNS Effectiveness in Supporting B2B brands

Table 3 Reasons for Using SNS

Figure 1: Google trends searching for “Social media”

Table 2 Most Popular SNS

Figure 2: Google trends searching for “Social media” and B2B

Table 1 B2B SMEs Characteristics

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: an exploratory investigation of small and medium b2b brands" ?

In this paper, the authors examined how B2B SMEs use social media and whether there are differences between users and non-users of SNS, based on their organizational innovativeness levels. 

Q2. What are the future works mentioned in the paper "Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: an exploratory investigation of small and medium b2b brands" ?

Future research should therefore focus on enhancing knowledge with respect to the reasons why the majority of SNS users are not assessing the effectiveness of their sites. Future research should focus on establishing the link between attitudes towards technology and the intention to adopt or actual adoption behavior. Their study could also stimulate future research, focusing on the use of SNS by B2B customers. Considering that SNS may be more relevant to certain industries than others, future research might focus on adoption times, and might investigate the impact of industry type on how quickly B2B firms adopt SNS. 

Q3. What are the important goals for B2B SMEs when using SNS?

Attracting new customers and cultivating customer relationships are considered to be the most important goals for such organizations when using SNS. 

Q4. Why are SNS particularly suited to B2B organizations?

due to their non-transactional nature, SNS are particularly suited for collecting information/feedback from customers, initiating two-way conversations with customers and developing relationships with customers through communication and interaction (Enders et al. 2008; Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). 

Q5. What is the main reason for the lack of a relationship between SNS and brand?

the study shows that over a quarter of B2B SMEs have recognized the importance of SNS in supporting brands (van den Bulte & Wuyts 2007) and are therefore using SNS primarily to attract customers and to cultivate customer relationships. 

Q6. What is the role of the internet in business marketing?

Following the advent of the internet, business marketing companies have started to appreciate this tool as a value-adding channel that enables companies to provide information, to accommodate connectivity, community and transactions, and to share cost reductions (Sharma 2002). 

Q7. What is the main argument for the argument that social networks can support brands?

Given the importance of social networks and the internet (e.g. Sharma 2002; Walters 2008), which facilitate direct unmediated inter-organizational associations (Berthon et al. 2003; Pitt et al. 2006), it is argued that social media, and particularly SNS, can support brands, including B2B brands by developing and maintaining relationships between B2B firms. 

Q8. What is the main reason for B2B SMEs to not use SNS?

To achieve a stronger competitive advantage, B2B SMEs indicate that SNS are important tools for communicating their brands online by capitalizing on SNS' potential toreach wide audiences. 

Q9. What is the role of social networks in business?

Within a commercial context, social networks offer significant benefits, including the enhancement of economic value for organizations (Stephen & Toubia, 2010). 

Q10. Why have B2B organizations been slow to adopt new technologies?

Indeed many organizations have been slow to adopt new technologies due to perceived barriers such as lack of money, time and training, negative views about usefulness, as well as unfamiliarity with the particular technology (Buehrer et al. 2005; Venkatesh & Davis 2000). 

Q11. What are the barriers to the use of SNS?

the study sheds light on the barriers with regard to the use of SNS which include the perceived irrelevance of SNS within the industry the company operates in, uncertainty as to the use of SNS to support brands, as well as barriers such as staff familiarity and lack of training. 

Q12. What are the main barriers to SNS use?

Consistent with the extant literature, where lack of training and management/technical support were established as significant barriers to using technology (del Aguila-Obra & Padilla-Meléndez 2006; Buehrer et al. 2005), their findings also highlight internal barriers such as lack of staff familiarity and technical skills as factors that prevent SMEs from using SNS to support their brands. 

Q13. What is the main reason why respondents did not investigate SNS?

Respondents seem to mildly agree that their lack of knowledge with respect to possible metrics was one of the reasons why they failed to investigate SNS’ effectiveness (M=2.81 sd = 1.47).