5 B2B Social Media Trends to Shape Your Strategy in 2024

Social media has emerged as one of the most valuable resources in any marketing strategy. As of 2024, there are now a predicted 5.17 billion people with at least one social media account. 

These people aren’t just using social platforms to connect with friends and loved ones, they’re also using them to interact with brands, conduct product research, and share valuable insights. In the B2B world, around 95% of marketers say they’re using social media as part of their content strategy. 

However, simply having a presence on social media isn’t enough. B2B business leaders need to ensure they’re paying attention to the latest trends, and adapting their marketing strategies to suit the changing preferences of buyers. 

So, which trends will have the biggest impact on B2B brands in 2024?

1. Technology Remains Essential to Social Media Success

Achieving success with social media marketing requires companies to invest in a data-driven strategy of constantly posting new content, and interacting with their communities. This is often easier said than done, particularly as B2B brands continue to branch out from LinkedIn-focused strategies, into cross-promotional, multi-channel campaigns. 

LinkedIn is still the go-to platform for B2B social media marketing, but many organisations have begun to see new opportunities emerging from channels like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and even TikTok. To leverage all of these platforms effectively, businesses are starting to invest more heavily in things like:

• Artificial Intelligence: AI tools can help with a range of marketing tasks, from creating content to analysing preferences and consumer trends. Some companies even use generative AI to create more personalised campaigns for their account-based marketing tactics.
• Automation: Social media automation tools are excellent for ensuring you can publish and promote content at the right time, engage consistently with customers, and even segment leads for your sales funnel. 
• Analytical tools: Analytical tools can make it easier to collect valuable first-party data, for the development of more intuitive, engaging campaigns. Some solutions can help you track everything from customer sentiment to the performance of competitor strategies.

2. AI Increases Demand for Authenticity

As mentioned above, artificial intelligence can be a valuable tool in B2B social media strategies. Intelligent tools are excellent at analysing large volumes of data and surfacing actionable insights for your future campaigns. 

However, the rise of generative AI has created a complex environment for brands. On the one hand, generative solutions can help companies to create content faster, and scale their content production for multiple channels. On the other hand, over-reliance on generative AI has led to an increase in content that appears dehumanised and inauthentic on social channels.

B2B businesses in 2024 will need to ensure their use of generative AI tools doesn’t harm their relationships with prospects. After all, 62% of customers now say they’re less likely to engage with content that appears to have been created by an AI application. 

Before going all-in with generative AI, make sure you understand how your customers feel about AI and think carefully about how to distribute tasks between humans and bots. AI is great for basic tasks, but human beings will always be more effective at creating engaging, empathetic content.

Additionally, ensure you’re always editing and optimising any AI content you create with your brand voice and personality. 

3. B2B Brands Will Use Fewer Social Platforms

We mentioned above that many B2B brands have begun experimenting with platforms outside of LinkedIn, such as Twitter (X) and TikTok. However, many are also looking for ways to reduce the number of channels they use overall. 

Knowing which channels to use when engaging with your audience can be difficult when the average social media user logs into about 7 platforms each month. However, most B2B brands won’t have the time, resources, or budget to invest the same amount of effort into every available platform. 

As marketing budgets continue to diminish in the face of a complex economy, business leaders will need to be more cautious when choosing which channels to use. LinkedIn is likely to remain an essential option for B2B brands. However, when choosing other channels for promotion, businesses will need to think about the value each platform offers. 

Tracking the ROI of your campaigns across multiple channels will help you define which platforms drive the best outcomes for your company. Don’t just assume you should be on a platform because your competitors are. For instance, around 60% of organisations are present on Twitter (X) but only a third feel the channel benefits them. 

4. Video Continues to Thrive on Social Media

While many B2B social media trends change over time, some patterns have remained consistent over the last couple of years. For instance, video marketing for B2B brands has proven to be extremely valuable in recent years. In one 2023 study, 95% of B2B respondents said video played an important role in their decision to make a purchase. 

In 2024 and beyond, B2B businesses will need to continue to leverage video in all of its forms to support B2B buyers throughout their purchasing journey. This will include everything from creating informative product videos to webinars and events for LinkedIn. 

Although long-form videos can still generate excellent results for B2B brands, there’s likely to be a growing focus on short-form videos, as attention spans continue to dwindle. Shorter videos, such as snippets from in-person events, or customer review videos, can generate more engagement, and incur lower production costs. 

Studies show videos under two minutes long generally get the most engagement, so they could be ideal for capturing customers in the awareness stage of the buyer funnel. 

5. Greater Focus on the Full Buyer Journey

Finally, many B2B companies embracing social media marketing in recent years have used it primarily to capture customers at the top of the purchasing funnel. However, as buyer journeys in this industry become more complex, it’s becoming increasingly important to think about the middle and bottom of the sales funnel too. 

Social media channels offer businesses a multitude of ways to not only capture new leads, but also nurture customers, and increase brand loyalty. For instance, LinkedIn events are excellent for educating customers during the consideration stage. Companies can also create comprehensive how-to videos that assist with onboarding new customers and boosting customer success.

In today’s competitive marketplace, B2B brands will likely need to focus more on customer retention and loyalty, which means creating content for all stages of the buyer journey. Delivering personalised content to customers at different stages of the sales funnel will help you build stronger relationships with buyers, turn customers into advocates, and reduce customer acquisition costs. 

Leveraging Social Media for B2B Marketing in 2024

Today, most B2B leaders know social media is no longer just a crucial resource for B2C marketing. It’s also a powerful tool for building valuable relationships with B2B buyers. As we move into 2024, companies will need to redefine and rebuild their social media strategy, with a focus on embracing new technology (and platforms), reducing costs, and increasing brand loyalty. 

Investing in the latest trends, like video marketing, while implementing strategies to avoid challenges like dehumanisation from AI-generated content, will ensure your brand can maintain an edge as we move into the new digital era.