Email marketing and search engine optimisation are topping the list of tactics for B2B marketers to entice new clients.

A report in the 2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Advanced Practices Handbook found 12 per cent and 11 per cent of B2B marketing budgets are being spent on e-mail and SEO respectively.

E-mail marketing services and SEO spending managed to see off competition from other channels such as telemarketing, direct mail or public relations, cites Top Ten Wholesale.

Content creation has also been cited as a good investment “as it can be repurposed on company blogs or social media sites”.

Social media content is also an option for B2B marketers, as statistics show the usage of social media has almost doubled. Only 52 per cent of B2B firms used the platform in 2009 as opposed to the 90 per cent that use it today. However, only 7 per cent of marketing budgets are allocated to social media enterprises.

This is not to say social media is less important than e-mail and SEO. Firms should calculate the highest ROI for each channel and decide from there.

Lori Feldman, a web marketing expert, told btobonline.com how digital based marketing exploits can help firms: “A social web environment is extra well-suited to building trust; generating and converting leads and proving a mechanism for sustained engagement.”