The ultimate list of B2B social media marketing trends for 2023 

From nurturing relationships at every stage of the marketing funnel to driving sales from new and existing customers, social media has proven to be a gold mine for B2B brands. We’ve discussed the importance and how to leverage social media for your B2B brand in length in our previous blogs. 

According to CMI (Content Marketing Institute), 19 out of 20 B2B marketers used at least one social media platform to influence buyers in 2022. But social media is constantly evolving. Hence, to stay on top of your social media game, you must keep an eye on social media marketing trends. 

But before we get straight into it, here are some B2B social media marketing statistics that you must know for 2023:

B2B Social Media Marketing Statistics you must know for 2023

• LinkedIn is the most used social media channel in B2B marketing.
• Facebook is used by 79% of B2B marketers, followed by Twitter (60%), Instagram (60%), and YouTube (56%)
• TikTok is the fastest-growing platform with a staggering 100% user growth rate between 2020 and 2022.
• The number of social media users worldwide grew by only 3% YoYfrom January 2022 to January 2023 (+137 million users.)
• Instagram’s engagement rates are four times higher than Facebook (0.60% to 0.15%), but have been continuously decreasing.
• 61.2% of total Instagram users are between the ages 18-34.
• There are over 63 million company profiles on LinkedIn.
• 87% of marketers say video marketing has helped them drive more sales.
• 53% of B2B buyers get product information through social media.
• 53% of B2B buyers get product information through social media.

Sources: Hubspot, Sproutsocial

Now let’s take a look at the most important B2B social media trends for 2023 that we’ve curated after extensive analysis and research.

Social media marketing trends 2023 

Establishing a social media presence is not enough for B2B brands in 2023. With new technologies, feature updates, and changes in consumer behavior, B2B marketers must embrace these changes to stay relevant.

But these social media trends are difficult to predict. But don’t worry. Here’s a detailed list of B2B social media marketing trends you should follow in 2023.

1. TikTok and Instagram for short videos 

Short video content will continue to grow in 2023 as the attention span of customers decreases. According to a study by HubSpot, platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are growing in popularity as they offer the highest ROI of any social media strategy.

Short video content allows B2B brands to leverage less curated and authentic content. The growing popularity of short video content is due to increased interaction and information retention. Because the shorter the video, the easier it is to consume and remember the content.

Here are some ways to leverage short video content for your B2B brand.

• Build awareness with branded videos
• Create testimonial videos
• Show employees and work culture
• Create short videos that answer FAQs
• Give a behind-the-scenes peek at your company

For example:

Semrush uses Instagram Reels feature to educate customers, answer FAQs, and share marketing tips and tricks. 

HubSpot, a leading B2B brand, uses trending audio files and formats to create Instagram reels to keep its audience informed.

2. Long form YouTube videos and Live events on YouTube 

Short video content is growing in popularity, but it’s important to remember that long videos won’t go away in 2023. Customers continue searching long YouTube videos to learn more about B2B products and services. But if you still haven’t explored long YouTube videos for your B2B brand, now is the time to do so.

Using long YouTube videos for B2B marketing in 2023 can set the tone for your sales message and make your brand look more trustworthy. The emotional impact you get from long YouTube videos surpasses all other formats. You can also create video playlists to organize your content and encourage your viewers to spend more time on your channel. 

Live events on YouTube further help you build a sense of community. It’s easy to get to know your audience, answer questions, and make them feel part of your channel with YouTube live. 

Here are different types of videos that work well on YouTube:

• Brand videos
• Customer testimonials
• Product videos 
• Animated explainer videos
• User interviews
• FAQ videos 

For example:

Shopify leverages YouTube marketing to create videos explaining product features, customer testimonials, and industry updates. It has further segregated YouTube videos into playlists. 

When it comes to longer video content, HubSpot creates videos to share customer success stories, product spotlights, and explainer videos.

Also Read: Top 17 Content Marketing Trends to Include in Your 2023 Strategy

3. Educate through carousel posts 

One content format that should be at the center of your social media marketing strategy in 2023 is carousel posts. Why? This is because carousel posts have the highest engagement rate of any feed post type.

A visually appealing and attention-grabbing carousel encourages customer interaction with your content. Most social media platforms allow you to create 10 slides per carousel post. You can also create Facebook or Linkedin carousel ads with a call to action at the bottom of each slide. This encourages users to take multiple actions in one ad, from visiting your site to making a purchase.

Using multiple slides gives you more creative space to talk about your B2B product features. You can also turn your blog content into carousel posts to educate your audience.

Here are a different use cases of carousel post for your B2B brand: 

• Showcase multiple products at once
• Explain different feature of a product or service
• Showcase customer reviews or testimonials
• Tell a behind the scenes story

For example: 

Slack creates several carousel posts for its Instagram account to explain product features and educate viewers about their B2B brand. 

Mailchimp is ahead of its time in creating carousel posts on LinkedIn. Mailchimp’s carousel posts on Linkedin talk about tips & tricks, case studies, product features, and more.

4. Boost ROI through social customer care

With the increased competition B2B companies should focus on customer retention in 2023 while showing how their brand experience outperform competitors. The best way to do this is to engage customer support on social media. Providing social media customer support can help both attract new customers and retain existing customers.

While creating social media content should be your priority in 2023 but don’t forget to focus on customer conversations and experience. Remember, customers use social media not only to discover new brands and products, but also to make purchasing decisions and ask questions. Hence, they expect to easily converse with the brands they’re reaching out to. And this conversation is extremely impactful early in the purchase journey. 

There is a lot of content on social media. What sets B2B brands apart is the experience they provide to their customers. Therefore, in 2023, you should focus on:

• Examining your social media channels to see where most of your customer conversations (acquisition/retention) take place
• Creating content that gets people talking
• Responding  to questions and complaints on social channels as quickly as possible
• Using social listening to find untagged conversations that mention your brand or product

To win in 2023 you should provide social media customer care to connect and communicate with your customers in a way that helps you humanize your brand and personalize customer experience. 

For example: 

Hootsuite stays on the top of offering great customer support by providing quick replies on Twitter. The B2B brand pays attention to customer comments and answering any questions they may have.

Mailchimp knows that often customers drop their queries in the Facebook comment section. The brand therefore has made sure to quickly respond to these queries and boost customer engagement. 

5. Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize B2B marketing 

The adoption of AI tools for B2B marketing will skyrocket throughout 2023. This allows B2B brands to unlock their potential and scale like never before. AI helps B2B marketers do basic creative work, giving marketers plenty of time to think about new ideas. So B2B companies that use AI have an advantage over those that don’t. 

AI technologies such as natural language processing and machine learning enable B2B companies to automate and personalize their marketing efforts like never before, delivering personalized, relevant and engaging experiences.

One of the leading AI tools driving this transformation is MidJourney. This AI tool allows you to quickly and easily create high-quality images tailored to your audience’s specific needs and interests, resulting in increased engagement and conversions.

Another groundbreaking AI tool is ChatGPT. ChatGPT enables businesses to automate customer interactions and engage in personalized and engaging conversations with customers in real-time. ChatGPt not only improves the overall customer experience but also increases sales and conversions.

Here are some ways to use automation and AI for B2B marketing in 2023.

• Automate your social media posts
• Render AI-driven customer avatars
• Generate original text for organic posts and social media ads
• Create attention-grabbing videos while on the go
• Monitor and respond to conversations

6. Purpose driven marketing 

Customers are becoming more conscious when purchasing goods and services. They want to buy from brands that are committed to a cause. Purpose-driven marketing is, therefore,  the important B2B trend for 2023.

B2B brands, thus, should use social media to highlight their company’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and their contribution to the larger community. Customers increasingly feel connected to companies that show trust and empathy, share how they treat their employees and are committed to improvement. Customers are conscious of their purchasing power when choosing the products they buy and the brands they support. They are increasingly committed to responsible consumption and expect companies to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.

Here’s how to harness the power of purpose-driven marketing for your B2B brand.

• Share employee testimonials
• Create behind-the-scenes content
• Promote environmentally friendly practices followed by the company
• Share CSR initiatives and their impact

For example:

Shopify, a leading B2B brand, creates social media posts on Instagram to celebrate employees, advocate for gender inclusion ideas, and empower women of color.

Klaviyo highlights employees in LinkedIn posts asking them to share their experiences at the company. Customers feel more trustworthy when brands take their organizational culture seriously.

7. Influencer marketing 

A popular trend among B2C companies, influencer marketing is now successfully making its way into B2B. This is because customers increasingly value brand reputation and value. This trend has been around for some time but has accelerated rapidly over the past two years.

However, B2B marketing does not mean celebrity endorsements. You can also rely on niche micro-influencers. The more niche your influencer is, the better. A study by Marketing Charts revealed that micro-influencers (creators with less than 15K followers) have the highest engagement rate across platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

B2B customers seek information from someone they can trust with knowledgeable, unbiased advice. This can include industry experts, subject matter experts, and established customers. 

Here are a few tried and tested B2B influencer marketing strategies that you can implement in 2023: 

• Platform takeover
• Shoutouts
• Sponsored content
• Give your influencer a product to give away to their audience
• Ask influencers to review your product or service
• Use a micro-influencer as a face for your How-To videos and Tutorials

For example:

Okta, a technology company that provides enterprise identity management solutions, leverages its customers for B2B influencer marketing campaigns. These clients act as macro or micro-influencers for their campaigns. They created a series of compelling videos in which clients share some of their success stories.

Kickstart 2023 with these B2B social media marketing trends 

By understanding these B2B social media marketing trends, you can create content around these hot topics to make a lasting impression and establish yourself as an industry expert. Create content related to social media trends to engage your audience. Are you ready?
But if you’re not sure how to leverage these B2B social media trends for your brand, contact us today. We are here to help!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which social media is good for b2b?

Linkedin is still the dominant B2B social media platform for all B2B marketers. However, Twitter can’t be ruled out just yet, even with the platform going through constant changes.  But this doesn’t mean you put all your eggs in one basket. The best strategy would be to diversify your content where your target audience is present.

2. What is B2B social media marketing?

B2B social media marketing is a type of marketing B2B marketers use to reach & promote their products and services through social media platforms.

3. Is instagram used for B2B? (also interlink to the blog we have in it)
   B2B buyers are on Instagram as well. With the right approach, a digital marketing campaign on this Instagram can be an excellent way to reach them. Learn more about what strategies work best for B2B marketing on Instagram, here. 

Does social media marketing work for B2B?
Yes, it does. That’s why 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to generate leads. And 55% of B2B buyers say they look for information on social media. Read more on how social media platforms can be used, here.