SEO and Blogging Top List of Tactics Used by B2B Inbound Marketers

A mixture of inbound marketing tactics, including SEO, blogging, and social are helping B2B marketers drive business, according to a new report.

The “Inbound Marketing Effectiveness Benchmark Study Report” from Demand Metric and Act-On revealed that the majority of inbound marketing-reliant B2B marketers (77 percent) use SEO to drive their businesses. This is followed by blogging (64 percent), social media (59 percent) and pay-per-click (36 percent).

Over the next 12 months, 58 percent of B2B marketers stated that they will increase their investment in inbound marketing tactics. About 35 percent claimed that they will at least maintain the amount of money they spend on inbound marketing.

Overall, 82 percent of surveyed B2B marketers said they use social media and SEO regularly. Sixty percent stated that they run a company blog, and 41 percent use PPC.

The Value of Inbound Marketing Tactics

Research shows that B2B marketers are leaning on inbound marketing tactics, and a recent survey indicates that this may be linked to ROI. The “Inbound vs. Outbound: Consumer Perspectives on Marketing Effectiveness” survey from Moz and Fractl discovered that with a budget of $10,000, marketers can get more for their money via inbound marketing versus outbound.

Specifically, statistics showed that marketers could accumulate three million company views through content marketing with $10,000. With outbound marketing tactics, a company could only generate approximately 300,000 views, according to the researchers. This amount drops to 17,000 when considering the use of direct mail, rather than a local television commercial or another form of traditional marketing.