In the realm of B2B marketing, email often reigns supreme as the go-to tool for demand generation. And rightly so—it's personal, measurable, and cost-effective. But if email is the trusted workhorse, then social media is the sleek, high-powered engine that far too few marketers are even starting.
Despite billions of active users across social platforms, only a little over half of marketers actually tap into social media for demand generation. That’s a shocking gap, considering how pivotal social can be in nurturing leads, building interest, and accelerating deal cycles.
This blog explores why social media is an essential, yet underutilized, component of demand generation. We'll walk through how you can harness social to generate, warm up, and convert B2B leads by focusing on four key tactics:
Let’s dig in.
Why Social Media is a Goldmine for B2B Demand Generation
Social media is no longer just for selfies and memes. It’s a living ecosystem where B2B buyers research products, learn from peers, and evaluate vendors before ever filling out a lead form. In fact, according to LinkedIn, 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make buying decisions.
Yet despite this, B2B companies often approach social with a B2C mindset or worse, neglect it altogether. Instead of recognizing it as a powerful channel for inbound interest, it's relegated to brand awareness or an afterthought post queue.
But social isn’t just about awareness—it’s about action. From driving traffic and leads to directly contributing to pipeline, social can and should be a vital part of your demand gen engine.
Here are 4 key tactics to make Social count…
Whether it's a private Slack community, a LinkedIn group, or an invite-only forum, social groups are where B2B decision-makers go to share challenges and get advice.
Too many brands treat these spaces like billboards instead of what they are: conversations.
Best Practices:
By showing up consistently, you build authority and trust—long before you ask for anything in return.
Case in Point: Many early-stage SaaS companies build their first 100 customers directly through niche online communities.
Your team invests time and budget into creating stellar whitepapers, webinars, videos, and blogs. Don’t let that content gather dust on your website. Social media is the distribution engine that ensures your assets get into the right hands.
Best Practices:
Distribution isn’t just about blasting links—it’s about feeding your ICP content in formats they prefer, at times they’re active, and on channels they already trust.
Recommendation: Automate scheduling and analyze engagement: Use Buffer, Hootsuite, or or a marketing automation platform like HubSpot to schedule and track content performance across platforms.
In B2B, people buy from people. If your brand’s social presence is robotic, inconsistent, or forgettable, you’re missing out.
When your brand shows up consistently across social platforms with a clear message and voice, it becomes magnetic. Social is where you showcase the human side of your company—your values, your culture, your tone, and your story. This attracts not only leads but future employees, partners, and advocates.
Best Practices:
Social presence is brand equity. A strong, humanized brand builds interest and trust before a demo is even booked.
Bonus: A vibrant social brand also boosts ad performance. Familiarity breeds clicks.
Paid social advertising allows you to target your ideal customer profiles (ICPs) with precision. Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and Facebook give you robust filters to segment by job title, company size, industry, location, and even group membership.
Best Practices:
Paid ads are powerful not just for capturing attention but also for nurturing existing leads through multi-touch exposure.
Overcoming Skepticism in B2B Social Marketing
One reason many B2B marketers are hesitant about social is because they expect immediate ROI. Unlike email, which provides direct attribution, social works more subtly. It shapes perception, warms up leads, and nudges intent over time.
This doesn’t mean it’s unmeasurable. It means you need the right KPIs:
Social is a top-of-funnel powerhouse that fuels your pipeline if you give it the right time and attention.
Final Thoughts
Email may always be the B2B marketer’s comfort zone, but social media is the growth engine you can no longer afford to ignore. It’s where conversations are happening, decisions are being influenced, and buyers are spending their time.
If you want to generate meaningful demand, nurture qualified leads, and build a pipeline that converts—you need a social strategy that goes beyond sporadic posts.
Focus on:
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