Social Media Marketing
February 5, 2024
With B2B marketing budgets shifting heavily to digital channels, companies are looking for ways to ramp up their social media platforms. When done well, social media marketing is a powerful tool that helps increase brand awareness, build trust and authority, and influence buyers' purchasing decisions.
Before you pursue new social channels or begin developing new campaigns, it's a good idea to look at the data. In this guide, we've compiled the most compelling social media marketing statistics to help B2B marketers shape their social strategy in 2024.
If you've landed here, chances are you are considering ramping up your social media marketing efforts. One of the first steps to developing a social media strategy is determining which social media platforms your team is going to focus on.
But, how do you decide which social media sites make the most sense for your business?
LinkedIn is one of the most popular social channels for B2B social media marketers. But, it's not the only channel that provides a strong ROI—especially when you consider social media content trends. Last year, people watched an average of 18 hours of online video per week, which equates to about 154 minutes per day.
This shift in user behavior and high demand for video content has changed the social media landscape. Professionals are searching for product or service video explainers, educational industry videos, webinars, and more.
If you want to take advantage of this trend, consider expanding your social media footprint to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and other channels that are great for showcasing video.
Data shows us that video content will be key to unlocking rapid social media growth in 2024.
According to HubSpot, 85% of companies ranked short-form videos as the most effective type of social content, and 64% of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video.
Marketing teams that haven't warmed up to video are usually short on time and resources or are unclear of the ROI. However, when B2B marketing teams that use video were surveyed, 86% said that video has helped increase website traffic, 84% say video has helped them generate leads, and 78% say that video has helped them directly increase sales.
The most common goals that marketers have for video content are:
The key here is to focus on creating short, quippy, relatable content. In 2021, the average engagement rate for videos under 60 seconds was 51%. That engagement rate steadily decreases as video length increases. Videos that range from 30 to 60 minutes in length only have a 25% engagement rate.
For longer-form videos, consider live streaming or branded video series. Live streaming sessions help bring back the social aspects of business in a digital space—something that many people crave during remote-first times. It's also a great format for Q&As that showcase your brand's customer support chops.
Branded video series can also be a valuable asset that speaks to B2B buyers who are in the consideration or evaluation phase of the buying process.
Often, the terms "social selling" and "social media marketing" are used interchangeably, but they are actually completely different strategies.
Social selling is a method where a salesperson connects with potential buyers on social media. They will demonstrate an understanding of the buyer's challenges, position themselves as a credible resource, and offer solutions to the potential buyer. The goal is to guide the buyer further down the funnel and eventually make a sale.
Social media marketing, on the other hand, is used to extend brand reach and awareness. This marketing channel is also often used to help position a brand as an authoritative, trustworthy leader in its industry and help drive more leads.
One isn't better than the other. In an ideal world, your team would implement both strategies, alongside an employee advocacy program. When social media marketing is done well, it helps facilitate social selling, both of which support your employee advocacy needs.
There's no question—social media is an important part of any team's content marketing strategy. Invest your time in the right channels and you'll reap the rewards of increased brand awareness, thought leadership, and industry influence.
Most importantly, these success metrics will help create more hand-raisers who are ready to learn about your team's product or solution.
The following social media stats show us that social content is not only great for brand awareness and education, but that it also plays a pivotal role in the B2B sales cycle. When buyers are making a purchasing decision, they often head to social media to find other real-life opinions about a product or service before making a commitment.
LinkedIn is one of the only social media platforms designed for a professional audience, so it should come as no surprise that it's the most widely used platform among B2B marketers.
With the number of potential B2B buyers on Linkedin, it's an ideal platform for social selling and leveraging B2B influencers. And while finding the right influencers to partner with for your industry can be a challenge, you already have a relationship with your strongest advocates: your employees!
Your employees are your best advocates and can become influencers for your brand. But, it's important for leadership to set the tone. Encourage employees to share company social media posts. Lead the way by actively engaging with potential buyers. Motivate employees by providing incentives. Read our blog about employee advocacy on LinkedIn for more tips.
Facebook isn't just for B2C brands. B2B companies can also tap into their audiences by marketing on Facebook.
Although Facebook ads may not be as targeted as LinkedIn ads, they are significantly cheaper and can still generate significant traffic. For the best results, consider making video ads that are optimized for mobile users.
If your team is focusing on organic social media content, think about creating video content that explains your products or services in a succinct manner. Posting highlight reels or short snippets of a webinar is also a great way to repurpose content you already have on hand.
Compared to the number of daily active users on Facebook, some people question why anyone would spend their time marketing on Twitter, which has a much smaller user base.
Due to the social channel's format and real-time nature, Twitter is the ideal space to join in on conversations with customers and potential buyers. Many brands have elevated their customer experience by providing company updates, and by monitoring public conversations and making users feel heard by responding in a timely manner.
With video being king in 2024, it's only natural that YouTube will be an important platform for marketers to explore. Compared to other social channels, not many B2B marketers are using YouTube as a part of their marketing strategy. This means, depending on your industry, the competition may not be as fierce.
While other social channels are pushing short-form video content, YouTube is a great platform for both short-form and long-form video.
In response to TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube has created "YouTube Shorts," an app feature that allows users to create 60-second videos. YouTube Shorts are a great way to connect with younger audiences on YouTube who have become more accustomed to short-form content.
For long-form video, product explainers, tutorials, previous webinars, and case studies are all great assets to host on YouTube.
TikTok has earned a reputation as the channel for entertaining, quippy, and viral video content. It's been a powerful tool for B2C marketers, but many B2B marketers struggle to figure out how they can leverage this channel in a strategic way.
Don't discount TikTok from your social media marketing plan—there's plenty of opportunity for B2B companies to network, connect with, and engage new audiences on TikTok. Morning Brew, Adobe, and Shopify are just a few examples of B2B companies seeing success with TikTok.
For TikTok, focus on creating relatable content. Unlike other mediums, video content on TikTok doesn't need to be quite so polished. In fact, video that has a casual, unedited look may come across as more authentic and down-to-earth to users—making TikTok a great channel to explore video marketing on a small budget.
How-tos and quick tips work great for the short video format. Content that also highlights your company's culture and personality resonates well with TikTok users. And since there's not as much competition on this platform, it's easier for B2B brands to cut through the noise.
Take hashtags, for example. Since B2B industry hashtags are much more niche, companies who use these types of hashtags and keywords have a much greater chance of being discovered.
Then, there are some professional areas that are blowing up on TikTok. For example, #CareerAdvice is a trending hashtag that drew in over 80 million views in February of 2021 alone. The growth of trending topics like these is just one reason why TikTok has been an ideal platform within the professional space, like for recruiting.
After taking a look at these social media stats, there are a few major takeaways you should keep in mind.
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Social Media Marketing
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