Social media for B2B marketing: Statistics 2022

Social media has changed the way we live, interact with each other, and, yes, even market our businesses. More than 3.6 billion people use social media worldwide, making it one of the most popular online activities.

Designing an effective B2B social media marketing strategy, however, is no easy feat. To be effective, brands must develop a data-backed strategy, create an appropriate budget, and measure their success.

As you plan your B2B social media strategy, it’s important to consider the impact of social media on the industry as a whole and where other brands are succeeding —- and failing.

This blog outlines key statistics to help you focus on what matters in B2B social media marketing-

1. Social media reaches B2B decision-makers

84 percent of C-level and VP-level buyers are influenced by social media when purchasing according to IDG.

2. B2B buyers use social media for research

For higher-ups, social media is an essential resource to research B2B opportunities because it gives the social proof they need to make important purchases. B2B buyers love to do research before they buy. 55 % of say they look for information on social media.

3. The majority of marketers use social media

No wonder marketers love social media. It’s the most popular B2B marketing tactic with 83 % of marketers using it.

4. Social media bring in leads, fast

It’s also time efficient. With only six hours a week spent on social media, 66 % of marketers found social media brought new leads. And, social selling is a key tactic for businesses, especially retailers looking to increase sales online.

5. The vast majority of B2B tech companies use social media

Social is key for B2B tech companies. 76 percent of B2B tech companies are using social media to drive results. That’s more than blogging, organic search, and paid search.

The best B2B social media platforms

Social media spans a number of platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. So, let’s dive into some stats about these platforms and how to use them as a B2B business.

6. LinkedIn is King for B2B marketing

Some channels work better than others. Not all social media networks will yield the same results. Statista findings show that marketers have found LinkedIn to be the most effective social media platform for B2B. 66 percent of them believed it to be effective with only 30 percent finding Facebook to be effective.

7. Most companies are on LinkedIn

B2B marketers everywhere use LinkedIn. Nine out of ten B2B companies are using it.

8. Most B2B buyers are on LinkedIn

More than half of B2B buyers have used LinkedIn to help them make a purchasing decision over the past year. It’s the go-to social media platform for B2B buyers. Indeed, the more influence a buyer has, the more likely they are to use social media.

9. Instagram is a rising star

Instagram is on the rise. Two out of three marketers saying they plan to boost their organic usage in the next year. However, it remains stronger for B2C (72 % than B2B (57%).

10. YouTube is a potential route to success

YouTube is a social media channel that is becoming more important to B2B marketers. 56 percent of marketers rated YouTube as important to their overall success. This puts it fourth, behind print in third, LinkedIn in second, with email first.

11. Video is a valuable tool for social media

Video is on the rise. 77 percent of marketers said they were planning to grow their reliance on video.

12. Don’t forget about Facebook

There are many social media channels. So where should you focus? Well, don’t ignore Facebook, even if your focus is business customers. CEOs use Facebook too and it remains the biggest social media network for adults overall with 72 % of adults using it.

How to use social media well: Optimise, optimise, optimise. Here are some statistics on how to make the most of your social media.

13. Don’t think it’s easy

49 % of B2B marketers consider it the hardest tactic to generate leads from. It’s important to have the right social media strategy in place. Ideally, get guidance from those in the know.

14. Use images to increase engagement

Images are important to drive engagement. This probably isn’t news to you. However, a LinkedIn study of its own platform found images increase user comment rate by 98 %.

15. Track your results (if you can)

The ROI on social media is hard to track. Only 10%t of marketers found that they could effectively track their results on social media. (Using a platform like HubSpot can really help!)