B2B brands need a savvy social media marketing strategy. And this strategy must be designed to handle changes, updates, the whims of algorithms, and audience expectations on each platform.
This guide will help you evaluate the most valuable channels for B2B social media marketing.
The best social media channels for B2B marketing
It’s easy to think of social media as a new development for B2B marketing. But it’s worth remembering that major platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook are two decades old. Younger generations grew up with these platforms and are now firmly established in the workforce.
Let’s take a look at the role each of the most popular social media platforms can play in your B2B marketing strategy.
LinkedIn: The powerhouse for professional networking
LinkedIn isn’t just a job site anymore. It’s the B2B marketer’s paradise. With over 1 billion professionals networking, sharing insights and seeking opportunities, it’s the virtual watering hole where business relationships are nurtured and brands gain visibility and build thought leadership.
Engagement on LinkedIn is high and continues to rise. Comparing 2021-2022:
- 22% view increase on Feed Updates YoY
- 25% increase in public conversations YoY
- 25% increase in content shared YoY
Why LinkedIn matters for B2B marketers
People go to LinkedIn to improve their careers. They’re in a professional mindset, actively seeking valuable content that will help them get that next promotion or make the next wise decision. It’s where your brand can showcase expertise and forge connections throughout your industry.
LinkedIn is not only a great place for brands to shine; it’s also a prime location to build your executive thought leadership. Your CEO can become an extension of the brand to boost authenticity and credibility.
Strategies for success on LinkedIn
A recent TopRank Marketing post offers six ways to drive B2B marketing excellence on LinkedIn:
- Leverage collaborative articles
- Use new AI options
- Create more effective calls to action
- Leverage new accessibility options
- Use LinkedIn Newsletters to reach new audiences
- Tag brand partners to build relationships
Note that it’s still possible to build an organic audience on LinkedIn – a relative rarity for social media platforms. But you will see quicker and bigger results with a paid strategy.
LinkedIn Ads are a powerful way to address decision-makers and influencers directly. By leveraging its precise targeting options, such as job titles, industries, or company sizes, B2B marketers can tailor their campaigns to reach the right audience with relevant content and solutions.
Elevating your B2B marketing with LinkedIn
The real magic of LinkedIn for B2B marketing lies in its ability to nurture relationships beyond the digital world. It’s a springboard for partnerships and collaborations just as much as acquiring leads and prospects. In short, LinkedIn should be the primary platform of choice for virtually any B2B marketer.
X/Twitter: Down but not out
Until recently, Twitter was the go-to platform for having real-time conversations that spark engagement and help make connections. We wouldn’t have hesitated to recommend it to any B2B marketer. Now that Twitter has become X, the situation is more complicated. Here are the facts:
On the plus side:
- X still boasts 200 million daily users.
- X estimates that users are 4x more likely to act on ads versus other social media platforms.
- The audience on X is predominantly in the coveted 25-34 demographic
On the other hand, since 2022:
- X has lost millions of daily users
- X has lost 50% of its ad revenue
- Brands are concerned about a rise in hate speech and objectionable content
Many brands have stopped advertising on X, and many have abandoned the platform entirely.
It remains to be seen whether X will rally and become the conversational hub it once was. Would-be replacements like BlueSky and Threads are still in the early stages. It’s worth evaluating whether your target audience is active on X, and whether you can engage without damaging your brand reputation.
Facebook & Instagram: Targeted community engagement and visual storytelling
It’s a common perception that Facebook is past its prime. However, it still boasts 2.9 billion monthly users, and nearly 2 billion daily users. The sheer size of the user base, combined with a lower cost per click than Google or LinkedIn, make Facebook attractive for B2B.
According to the latest Social Media Examiner industry report, Facebook and Instagram drive more traffic for marketers than LinkedIn does.
Why Facebook & Instagram matter for B2B marketers
Facebook and Instagram are distinct platforms with their own norms and preferred posting styles. But both offer space for B2B marketers to showcase their brand personality, engage communities, and tell compelling visual stories.
While Facebook is often seen as a hub for personal connections, its business-oriented features, such as Pages and Groups, as well as its robust advertising tools, present a goldmine of opportunities for B2B marketers.
Instagram, with its visual and video-centric approach, has grown far beyond its lifestyle-content roots and is now a canvas for B2B marketers to share visually engaging stories.
Strategies for success on Facebook & Instagram
The most successful posts on Facebook tend to be:
- Visual, funny or informative
- Images and video
- Entertaining vs educational
Meanwhile, Instagram, with its emphasis on visual storytelling, allows B2B brands to humanize their business. Use it to take viewers behind the scenes, highlighting the people who create your company culture. Use Stories for quick slice-of-life videos or beautiful pictures of your solutions, your campus, even your CEO’s ski trip.
It’s important to note with both of these platforms that you will need a paid strategy to increase reach. Organic reach on either platform is a tiny sliver of your potential followers—it’s pay-to-play or be invisible.
Elevating B2B engagement with Facebook & Instagram
Despite the challenges inherent in Facebook and Instagram marketing, don’t underestimate their power as part of your marketing arsenal. Both can be spaces for dynamic engagement with your community.
TikTok: Emerging Opportunities for B2B Brands
TikTok is known for its short-form, engaging content, a young and diverse user base, and an algorithm designed to keep people glued to their screens. It’s still a young platform and may seem daunting for B2B marketers. However, as the platform attracts a more mature and professional user base, it’s worth exploring the unique opportunities it presents.
Why TikTok matters for B2B marketers
Despite its reputation as a platform for viral dances and entertaining content, TikTok isn’t limited to just Gen Z entertainment. B2B marketers can adapt TikTok’s short and sweet video format to showcase the brand personality, share quick educational content, and show off their corporate culture.
With its algorithm-driven For You Page, TikTok can expose B2B content to a broader audience beyond traditional demographics.
Strategies for success on TikTok
More than any other platform, TikTok requires a unique content strategy to fit your messaging to the platform’s style. Aim to showcase your creativity, tell a memorable story, and/or offer valuable insights with just a few seconds of video.
Unlocking B2B potential on TikTok
For B2B brands, TikTok represents an opportunity to break away from the conventional and experiment with content that resonates with a younger, digitally-savvy audience. TikTok might seem unconventional for B2B, but its rapidly growing user base and innovative content formats make it a potential goldmine for adventurous brands.
Reddit: Niche communities and lively conversation
It’s hard to explain what Reddit is because it isn’t one consistent thing. Rather, it’s an ever-growing collection of niche communities known as “subreddits,” each aligned to a particular topic or group. Each subreddit has its own norms, memes, visual language and rules of engagement.
As such, Reddit can be a tough nut to crack for B2B brands. But it’s worth exploring how your brand can use the platform to reach and engage highly active and unique audiences.
Why Reddit matters for B2B marketers
According to SemRush, Reddit is the fifth most popular website in the U.S. The platform’s secret to success is it facilitates authentic conversations and shared interests within its diverse range of communities.
B2B marketers can find subreddits dedicated to specific industries, professions, and interests, providing a platform to connect with professionals seeking genuine insights, advice, and discussions.
Strategies for success on Reddit
Engaging on Reddit demands a nuanced approach. Redditors are famously resistant to inauthentic, overly-promotional overtures from unsubtle marketers. So focus on contributing valuable content, participating in discussions, and offering genuine insights within relevant subreddits. Always seek to add to, rather than interrupt, the conversation.
Leveraging Reddit for B2B growth
Compared to other platforms, Reddit takes more time and effort to achieve success. But B2B marketers who invest in understanding and respectfully engaging with these communities can tap into a goldmine of industry-specific insights, establish credibility, and foster relationships that transcend traditional marketing approaches.
Discord, Mastodon, and other “dark social” platforms
The future of social media may be more decentralized and less visible to marketers than any of the above platforms. Younger users are gravitating towards decentralized platforms with multiple niche communities. These new social media channels offer unique opportunities for B2B marketers willing to explore the unknown.
Why “dark social” platforms matter for B2B marketers
Networks like Discord, Mastodon, and others thrive on fostering highly engaged, niche communities. They’re not tied to a single central platform; any group or individual can set up their own instance of the software that is isolated from any other instance.
This means that social media-averse people can come together and communicate with increased privacy and fewer intrusions—making a marketer’s job harder, but not impossible. Most importantly, these platforms represent an audience you may not be able to reach anywhere else.
The private nature of these servers means that B2B marketers can engage in direct conversations, share exclusive insights, and cultivate relationships with a more focused audience. This means the potential to foster deeper connections compared to traditional, public social media.
Strategies for success on “dark social” platforms
As with Reddit, success on these platforms relies on understanding their specific community dynamics and norms. The first step when you discover a promising Discord or Mastodon community is to listen. Discover how people talk, what they talk about, and what kind of comments get favorable feedback.
Stay flexible, stay real, stay social
Social media has come of age and continues to evolve, and there are ample opportunities for B2B marketers to engage with specific audiences.
Success isn’t just about showing up on every channel; it’s about strategic adaptation, authentic engagement, and the cultivation of meaningful connections.
While each channel has its own etiquette and best practices, there are a few constants: Honesty, humility, respect, authenticity and engaging storytelling will always beat a cold sales pitch.
Learn more about TopRank Marketing’s Social Media Marketing services.
