Text-based app struggles could be LinkedIn’s gain as B2B audience gets younger

Key stat: 80% of B2B marketers worldwide say they use LinkedIn, more than they use any other social platform, according to LinkedIn and Ipsos.

What’s happening? Active user figures are falling on both X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) and Meta’s Threads, which started strong but has stumbled recently, with more than 80% of users logging off. Their loss could be LinkedIn’s gain, as Gen Z use of the platform and B2B ad spend there increase.

• US LinkedIn user growth will accelerate to 6.3% this year, for a total of 75.8 million users, according to our forecast.
• US ad revenue growth will hit 8.8% this year on LinkedIn for a total of $3.95 billion, and will accelerate in 2024 to 15.1% growth, per our forecast.
• Job insecurity is sending young users to LinkedIn, while tight budgets are keeping B2B advertisers focused on LinkedIn, where they know they can target the right audience.

New features: LinkedIn is courting creators with several new features, a smart move as B2B professionals’ social media activity increases.

• Brand partnership tags will help label sponsored posts on the platform, similar to tags on Instagram and other social media platforms.
• Newsletter updates, including a better user interface and improved discoverability, will also help creators—and B2B marketers—grow their audiences.

An uptick in activity won’t change LinkedIn’s ad focus: Even as X users and creators turn to LinkedIn, advertisers should still treat it as a B2B mainstay. Over 90% of ads on LinkedIn are B2B-oriented, per our estimates.

But that doesn’t mean B2B social media ads can’t be creative. Millennials and Gen Zers will make up 61.6% of total US users in 2023, per our forecast, and those users expect to be entertained on social media.

Marketers can combine a B2B focus with playfulness in ads and influencer content. “Our goal was never about being cool,” wrote Tomer Cohen, chief product officer at LinkedIn, in a recent post. “It was about helping create economic opportunity for professionals worldwide. ...That said, I’ll take cool along the way.”

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