Instagram Stories: Perfecting "The Hook" and How To Get It Right
Instagram Stories play an essential role in connecting and strengthening relationships with audiences. Discover how you can maximize it to leverage your brand.
6 B2B Social Media Trends for 2025
Updated February 10, 2025
Even for B2B companies, social media is one of the most effective ways to connect with potential customers. We sat down with Scott Emalfarb, CEO of Fresh Content Society, and Mandy McEwen, CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, to learn more about what social media trends they expect to take over B2B digital marketing in 2025.
Social media isn’t just for sharing funny memes or scrolling through your aunt’s vacation photos anymore. It’s become one of the most powerful tools for connecting with potential buyers. Even for business-to-business (B2B) companies, platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn offer countless opportunities to build client relationships and promote your products and services.
Whether you’re posting a viral TikTok dance or sharing insightful educational content, social media leaves a lasting impression on potential customers. It’s an excellent way to increase engagement and build brand recognition. In 2024, for instance, Wellhub and BambooHR captured headlines for their innovative Murder in HR podcast. The software companies promoted the series across Instagram, YouTube, and other social media channels.
Looking for a Social Media Marketing agency?
Compare our list of top Social Media Marketing companies near you
Like many digital tools, social media evolves at lightning speed. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), personalization software, and other technologies allow businesses to hone their content and engage customers in new ways. By following the latest B2B social media trends, you can use this technology to its full potential and stay ahead of the competition.
6 B2B Social Media Trends to Watch
- How to measure organic social ROI
- More companies are investing in video
- B2B influencer marketing continues to evolve
- Personalized engagement on social is gaining traction
- Creating platform-specific content is essential
- Leveraging AI is still topical
Looking for a digital marketing agency? Search for industry-leading service providers on Clutch. Filter based on client rating, pricing, services offered, and location to find the perfect partner for your project.
1. How to Measure Organic Social ROI
We all know that while creating a social media account is free, social media marketing itself is not: whether partnering with influencers or buying lighting equipment, you’ll need to invest money and time to create high-quality content that performs well on social media. However, it can be challenging for marketing leaders to attribute conversions and sales to organic social.
Of course, social media marketing provides intangible benefits that you can’t plug into a calculator. “Organic ROI is tough to measure because it doesn’t directly tie to revenue in a way that makes people comfortable," said Scott Emalfarb, Founder and CEO of Fresh Content Society. "You’ve got brand awareness, community building, and engagement metrics that don’t immediately scream ‘dollars,’ so everyone’s left trying to connect dots that aren’t always clear.”
As a result, it can be hard to justify your social media marketing spend to stakeholders. Emalfarb adds, “The value is there — we know that — but proving it to clients or execs? That’s a challenge. We need better frameworks and industry standards to get everyone on the same page about organic’s long-term value outside of attributions.”
Generally, social media marketers need to identify the metrics that align with their business goals to show the impact of their work. Then, they need to assign a monetary value to those metrics based on the lifetime value of a customer, their conversion rate, and more.
Calculating your social media’s return on investment (ROI) enables you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. It also helps you identify the most successful content, so you can improve your efforts and grow your business.
ROI = ((Income earned - cost of investment) / cost of investment) x 100
For instance, if you spend $5,000 on an influencer campaign and estimate that the campaign generated $20,000 in revenue, your ROI would be:
(($20,000 - $5,000) / $5,000) x 100 = 300%
2. More Companies are Investing in Video
Text-based content still has a place on social media platforms, but customers increasingly crave video content. The most popular types of videos include:
- Viral videos (watched by 35% of users weekly)
- Educational videos (26%)
- How-to or tutorial videos (26%)
- Product review videos (25%)
- Influencer videos and vlogs (23%)
Video is one of the most engaging forms of media, using images and sound to capture attention. This content lets you showcase your products and services in vivid detail. Silly or emotional videos — like funny skits or moving customer testimonials — also humanize your brand.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram favor short-form videos, while YouTube allows you to share lengthier content. Incorporating both short and long-form video content can help you reach the more viewers across different channels.
For many businesses trying to invest more in video, repurposing content is a great way to maximize value of each content piece. “The best way to leverage both long-form and short-form video on YouTube is to repurpose,” said Mandy McEwen, Founder and CEO of Mod Girl Marketing. “First, record long-form videos. Then, either leverage AI or a human to decide what clips can be used for short-form reels.”
By doing this, you can optimize content to share it across various channels, allowing you to reach a broader audience. “Of course, you need to ensure you're recording properly so that your longer horizontal videos can be edited into short vertical videos,” McEwen continues. “The snappy, quick tips that can be explained in under 60 seconds — make those your reels. You can distribute them across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Keep the in-depth explanations inside your longer videos.”
For example, Mod Girl Marketing created a one-minute video teaching B2B clients how to optimize their LinkedIn profiles. The company shared this content on Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms.
“This short-form video performed well across channels because it gives a simple tip that is applicable to anyone who has a LinkedIn profile (over 1 billion people),” McEwen explained. “The hook is different but similar across different channels . . . Because I'm giving them a simple tip (one) to help them reach more people, it's a video that piques people's interest and entices them to watch it.”
3. The Evolution of B2B Influencer Marketing
Partnering with influencers and content creators allows you to reach new audiences outside your usual networks. This strategy also builds your credibility. After all, people are more likely to trust recommendations from creators they admire than conventional ads.
People often use the terms influencer and content creator interchangeably, but they each offer value. Influencers are big names that have gained a loyal following for their personality or lifestyle — like Neil Patel. In contrast, content creators typically focus on producing videos in a specific niche, like cybersecurity or human resources.
B2B companies often struggle to choose between influencers and creators, unsure which one will have a bigger impact on their business. “There’s this ongoing tug-of-war between influencers and creators, right?” explains Emalfarb. “Influencers bring reach and recognition, but creators? They bring this creativity that resonates on a deeper level and often performs better long-term.”
Ultimately, Emalfarb recommends using both kinds of partners for B2B marketing. “We’re seeing brands grapple with who brings the most value, but it comes down to strategy: use influencers for reach and creators for relationship-building,” Emalfarb says. “Mixing them in a way that’s right for the brand takes finesse and strategic thinking.” By including both in your social media strategy, you can build your brand awareness and strengthen relationships with customers online.
4. Personalized Engagement on Social
Social media lets you engage with individual clients through comments, direct messaging, and posts. These personalized interactions increase brand loyalty and help customers learn more about your values. This engagement also lets you quickly respond to client concerns, protecting your reputation.
Adobe shares user-generated artwork created with its AfterEffects software on Instagram.
For instance, Adobe shares user-generated content on its Instagram page and responds to commenters. Similarly, HubSpot playfully responds to TikTok viewers with memes or lighthearted comments.
HubSpot often posts joking replies to user comments on TikTok.
These interactions make the brands seem more relatable and help users feel valued. Over time, this helps build brand loyalty and keeps your brand name top-of-mind.
5. Creating Platform-Specific Content
While it’s smart to repurpose content, you’ll need to tweak it for each channel. Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms have different features and user expectations. For instance, LinkedIn users typically prefer text-only posts, while Instagram is all about photos and videos.
“Each platform has its quirks, and the key to real growth is playing by those rules, but if you don’t have the resources, scaling this strategy can eat you alive,” Emalfarb explains. “It takes a solid game plan, a versatile team, and, frankly, enough budget to give each platform the attention it deserves without diluting the message.”
Yet, with proper planning and resource allocation, you’ll be able to leverage each social media platform to reach a wider audience or retarget those on multiple platforms. As you build out your content calendar, think about what you need to be successful on each platform, but also which platforms are most likely to help you reach your marketing goals. This will help you prioritize each channel and create more effective campaigns.
6. Leveraging AI is Still Topical
AI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a vital social media tool. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Jasper can provide endless content ideas and help you create posts faster. For instance, you can use this technology to brainstorm catchy social media captions and concepts for marketing videos. Plus, text-to-image generators like DALL-E and Midjourney create polished visuals in seconds, saving time and money.
Finally, incorporating AI analytics tools can provide a deeper understanding of user engagement patterns, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of your campaigns and ensuring that your business maintains a competitive edge in the bustling digital landscape.
Boost Social Engagement in 2025
While it can be difficult to prove the ROI of organic social media, it is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to engage B2B customers and drive sales. As businesses increasingly lean into digital interactions, having a robust social media strategy ensures you remain at the forefront of potential clients' minds. By experimenting with the latest trends, you can create consistently fresh content that engages users, grows your brand visibility, and ultimately, boosts the rest of your business.
Need a hand with your social campaigns? Browse Clutch’s directory of social media marketing partners for expert help for trusted specialists.
Hannah Hicklen is a content marketing manager who focuses on creating newsworthy content around tech services, such as software and web development, AI, and cybersecurity. With a background in SEO and editorial content, she now specializes in creating multi-channel marketing strategies that drive engagement, build brand authority, and generate high-quality leads. Hannah leverages data-driven insights and industry trends to craft compelling narratives that resonate with technical and non-technical audiences alike.
See full profile
Related Articles
Why LinkedIn Thought Leadership Still Wins in B2B
Learn why LinkedIn still wins for B2B thought leadership and how to leverage its benefits to pursue your business goals.
Why We Doubt Influencers — But Keep Buying Anyway
Consumers have grown more skeptical of influencer claims — yet they continue to make purchases based on brand recommendations. Here’s how to maintain...