7 B2B Social Media Trends to Watch in 2024

Social media is not only a powerful tool for B2C marketing, but also for B2B marketing. According to a report by HubSpot, 75% of B2B buyers use social media to research potential vendors, and 84% of C-level executives use social media to influence their purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is crucial for B2B marketers to stay on top of the latest social media trends and leverage them to reach and engage their target audience.

Key Takeaways

Video content will dominate the social media landscape in 2024

Private communities will provide a space for personalized and meaningful interactions

Influencer marketing will evolve into product placement

Social listening will be essential for understanding and engaging with your audience

User-generated content will boom as a form of social proof and advocacy

Social commerce will expand as a way of selling directly on social media platforms

Niche social media platforms will rise as a source of focused and relevant content

Here are seven B2B social media trends that will shape the marketing landscape in 2024:

1. Video content will dominate.

Video is one of the most engaging and effective forms of content on social media, as it can convey complex information in a concise and compelling way. According to Cisco, video will account for 82% of all internet traffic by 2022. B2B marketers will need to create more video content to capture the attention of their audience and showcase their products or services in action. Video formats such as live streaming, webinars, tutorials, testimonials, and case studies will be popular among B2B buyers.

2. Private communities will grow.

As social media platforms become more crowded and noisy, B2B buyers will seek more personalized and meaningful interactions with their peers and experts. Private communities, such as Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, Slack channels, or Discord servers, will provide a space for B2B buyers to exchange insights, ask questions, share feedback, and build trust with brands and influencers. B2B marketers will need to create and nurture private communities that offer value and exclusivity to their members.

3. Influencer marketing will evolve.

Influencer marketing is not only for B2C brands, but also for B2B brands that want to increase their credibility and reach in their niche. According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, 91% of B2B marketers agree that influencer marketing can positively impact their brand awareness, reputation, and lead generation. However, influencer marketing will become more sophisticated and strategic in 2024, as B2B marketers will focus on finding the right influencers who can deliver relevant and authentic content to their audience. Micro-influencers and nano-influencers, who have smaller but more engaged followers, will be favored over macro-influencers and celebrities.

4. Social listening will be essential.

Social listening is the process of monitoring and analyzing online conversations about a brand, industry, or topic on social media platforms. Social listening can help B2B marketers understand the needs, preferences, pain points, and sentiments of their audience, as well as identify opportunities and threats in the market. Social listening can also help B2B marketers measure the performance and impact of their social media campaigns, as well as generate insights for content creation and product development.

5. User-generated content (UGC) will boom.

UGC is any form of content created by users or customers that features or mentions a brand or product. UGC can include reviews, testimonials, photos, videos, blogs, podcasts, or social media posts. UGC can help B2B marketers boost their brand awareness, trust, loyalty, and advocacy among their audience, as it showcases real-life experiences and opinions from satisfied customers or users. UGC can also help B2B marketers generate more organic traffic and leads, as it can improve their SEO ranking and social proof.

6. Social commerce will expand.

Social commerce is the process of selling products or services directly on social media platforms, without redirecting users to a separate website or app. social commerce can help B2B marketers increase their sales and conversions by reducing friction and providing a seamless and convenient shopping experience for their audience. Social commerce features such as shoppable posts, stories, live streams, or chatbots will become more prevalent and sophisticated on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest.

7. Niche social media platforms will rise.

As the social media landscape becomes more diverse and fragmented, B2B buyers will gravitate towards niche social media platforms that cater to their specific interests, needs, or goals. Niche social media platforms can offer a more focused and relevant content experience for B2B buyers who want to learn more about a specific topic or industry. Examples of niche social media platforms include Quora (a question-and-answer platform), Medium (a blogging platform), Reddit (a discussion platform), Clubhouse (an audio-based platform), or Product Hunt (a product discovery platform).

Tips

Use video content to showcase your products or services in action and demonstrate your value proposition

Create and nurture private communities to foster meaningful relationships with your audience and influencers

Collaborate with micro-influencers and nano-influencers who can deliver authentic and relevant content to your niche audience

Use social listening tools to understand your audience’s needs, preferences, pain points, and sentiments

Encourage and incentivize user-generated content to boost your brand awareness, trust, loyalty, and advocacy

Use social commerce features to reduce friction and provide a seamless and convenient shopping experience for your audience

Explore niche social media platforms to reach and engage your audience who are interested in specific topics or industries

B2B Social Media Trends 2024: A Statistical Report

Social media is no longer just a platform for entertainment and communication. It has become a powerful tool for B2B marketing, enabling businesses to reach, engage, and influence their target audiences. According to a report by HubSpot, 89% of B2B marketers use social media as a marketing channel, and 66% of them say it generates leads for their business. However, social media is also constantly evolving, presenting new challenges and opportunities for B2B marketers. In this report, we will explore some of the major social media trends that will shape the B2B marketing landscape in 2024, based on data from various sources.

Trend 1: Video Content

Video content is one of the most effective ways to capture attention, convey information, and elicit emotions on social media. According to a report by Wyzowl, 86% of B2B marketers use video as a marketing tool, and 93% of them say it has a positive impact on their ROI. Video content can be used for various purposes, such as product demonstrations, customer testimonials, webinars, live streams, and more. In 2024, video content will continue to dominate social media, as platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok will enhance their video features and capabilities. For example, LinkedIn recently launched LinkedIn Live, a feature that allows users to broadcast live video to their network or groups. According to LinkedIn, live video gets 24 times more comments and 7 times more reactions than native video. B2B marketers can leverage live video to showcase their expertise, interact with their audience, and generate leads.

Trend 2: Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is the practice of partnering with influential individuals who have a large and loyal following on social media, to promote a brand, product, or service. According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, the influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to $13.8 billion in 2021, up from $9.7 billion in 2020. Influencer marketing can help B2B marketers increase their brand awareness, credibility, and trust among their target audience. It can also drive traffic, conversions, and referrals. In 2024, influencer marketing will become more sophisticated and strategic for B2B marketers. They will focus on finding the right influencers who match their brand values, goals, and niche. They will also measure the effectiveness of their influencer campaigns using data-driven metrics such as reach, engagement, sentiment, and ROI.

Trend 3: User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is any form of content created by users or customers of a brand, such as reviews, testimonials, photos, videos, or social media posts. UGC can help B2B marketers build social proof, credibility, and trust among their target audience. It can also increase engagement, loyalty, and advocacy. According to a report by Stackla, 79% of B2B buyers say UGC influences their purchase decisions more than branded content. In 2024, UGC will become more prevalent and valuable for B2B marketers. They will encourage their customers to share their experiences and feedback on social media using hashtags, contests, rewards, or incentives. They will also curate and showcase UGC on their own social media channels or websites to amplify their brand message and reputation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between B2B and B2C social media marketing?
A: B2B social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms to market products or services to other businesses or organizations, while B2C social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms to market products or services to individual consumers.

Q: What are the benefits of B2B social media marketing?
A: B2B social media marketing can help businesses increase their brand awareness, reputation, trust, loyalty, and advocacy among their target audience, as well as generate more traffic, leads, conversions, and sales.

Q: What are the challenges of B2B social media marketing?
A: B2B social media marketing can be challenging due to the longer and more complex sales cycle, the multiple decision-makers involved, the higher price point and risk factor, and the lower emotional appeal of the products or services.

Q: How to measure the success of B2B social media marketing?
A: B2B social media marketing success can be measured by using various metrics and tools, such as reach, impressions, engagement, clicks, shares, comments, mentions, reviews, ratings, followers, leads, conversions, revenue, ROI, or analytics platforms.

Q: How to create a B2B social media marketing strategy?
A: A B2B social media marketing strategy can be created by following these steps: