As we found in our B2B Digital Ad Spending Forecast 2023 report, B2B marketers are increasingly targeting younger, digitally savvy users on social media platforms. According to our forecasts, LinkedIn and Meta will together account for 42.2% of US B2B digital ad spending in 2024, while TikTok has emerged as a competitor for organic and creator-based B2B marketing. Here’s the B2B marketing argument on TikTok:
The future of B2B marketing is social. According to an April 2023 survey by Wpromote and Ascend2, half of US B2B marketers say social media is the most contributing factor in achieving their top-of-funnel goals. TikTok has a large, engaged audience.
According to a June 2023 forecast, the platform is expected to have 87.3 million U.S. adult users in 2024, or 32.6% of U.S. adults.
We predict that these adult users will spend an average of 55 minutes per day on the platform, putting TikTok ahead of YouTube (50 minutes) and Facebook (30 minutes) in terms of time spent by U.S. adult users.
As Monday.com and Workday’s Super Bowl ads show, B2B content doesn’t have to be relegated to specialized platforms like LinkedIn. TikTok is a great platform to experiment with fun B2B content. B2B influencers are already present on TikTok.
TikTok creators are teaching viewers how to use Microsoft Excel, analyze Chipotle ads, respond to FTC letters, and giving career advice.
And even users without large followings are creating content about their professional lives.
Ogilvy cited “employee advocacy” as one of the influencer trends for 2024, suggesting that companies will expand their marketing reach by putting their own employees on camera. B2B employee advocacy is a long-standing trend on LinkedIn that could expand to TikTok in 2024. Healthcare IT company Epic Systems uses TikTok for video recruiting campaigns featuring employees.
Other B2B companies, including Adobe, Grammarly, and Monday.com, also have a strong organic presence on TikTok.
Gen Z and millennials are becoming B2B buyers.
These generations are aging and taking on more decision-making power in the B2B buying process.
Nearly a quarter of TikTok users in the U.S. will be between the ages of 25 and 34 in 2024, a higher share than any other age group. This age group includes people who make B2B purchasing decisions or work with decision makers who may be influenced by the media habits of this age group.
