Which B2B companies are best at using social media?
Key takeaway
There is no single agreed ranking, but HubSpot is named by four engines (Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT), Salesforce by four (Perplexity, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot), and Slack by three (Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot). Their shared reason is that these firms offer education, humor and human storytelling rather than product pitches. The engines say the best B2B brands drop dry corporate jargon and give audiences useful content first. HubSpot is praised for education and thought leadership, Slack for human voice and humor, and Salesforce for thought leadership mixed with personality. Several answers cite roundup articles such as Informa TechTarget and TopRank.
Mostly agree
HubSpot is a top B2B social media performer.
Salesforce is among the best B2B social brands.
Slack stands out for human, humorous social content.
Mailchimp excels through creative branding and a distinctive voice.
Where they differ
Which companies make the list beyond the common few
Whether agencies count as B2B social leaders
Which platforms are emphasized
Verdict
There is no single agreed ranking, but HubSpot is named by four engines (Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT), Salesforce by four (Perplexity, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Copilot), and Slack by three (Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot). Their shared reason is that these firms offer education, humor and human storytelling rather than product pitches.
What engines actually searched
The sub-queries each engine actually searched before answering.
Cited, but not mentioned
2 sites cite this answer without naming anyone
Full responses
5 of 5 engines that answered. Full stored text as captured, with dashes shown as hyphens. Nothing is summarised.
If by “best” you mean B2B companies that consistently make social content people actually want to consume - rather than just posting product announcements - these are the ones I’d study.
My B2B social-media shortlist
| Company | What they’re exceptionally good at | Best channel(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Gong | Turning proprietary data + sales expertise into highly shareable content | LinkedIn, YouTube |
| HubSpot | Making marketing/sales education entertaining and culturally relevant | LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube |
| Notion | Product storytelling, creator/community content, visual brand | LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube |
| Slack | Human voice, workplace humor, cultural relevance | LinkedIn, Instagram |
| Canva | Making a B2B-ish product feel like a consumer brand | TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn |
| Ahrefs | Educational content that earns attention without feeling like advertising | YouTube, LinkedIn, X |
| Semrush | Data-driven marketing content + personality | LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram |
| Mailchimp | Distinctive brand voice and creative storytelling | Instagram, LinkedIn |
| Shopify | Founder/entrepreneur stories and business education | YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn |
| Salesforce | Executive thought leadership + major-event amplification | LinkedIn, YouTube |
🥇 If I had to pick just five
1. Gong - best overall B2B content model
Gong is probably my favorite example for a traditional B2B SaaS company. Its content doesn't constantly scream “buy Gong.” Instead, it owns a subject - sales and revenue performance - and repeatedly gives its audience useful observations, data, opinions and memorable takes.
It also has significant distribution: Gong's LinkedIn presence is currently around 348K followers, and its recent posts mix product news, customer stories, awards, events and revenue-team insights. Gong | LinkedIn
Lesson: Own a category of knowledge, not just a product category.
2. HubSpot - best at turning expertise into a media brand
HubSpot is the classic benchmark. It has essentially built a media company around marketing, sales, customer service and entrepreneurship.
What I particularly like is the combination of:
- genuinely useful educational content
- recognizable brand voice
- memes/humor
- original research
- executive content
- product content
Its current LinkedIn feed is a good illustration: alongside product and research posts, you'll find jokes about sales quotas, Q4, marketing teams, etc. HubSpot | LinkedIn
HubSpot has ~1.76M LinkedIn followers, giving it enormous distribution as well. HubSpot | LinkedIn
Lesson: Your social feed shouldn't feel like your product brochure.
3. Notion - best at product + community + aesthetics
Notion has figured out something many B2B companies struggle with: make the product itself culturally interesting.
Its social content frequently showcases how customers actually use Notion, highlights community members and employees, demonstrates product capabilities, and connects the product to broader conversations around AI and the future of work. Notion | LinkedIn
It has also built a huge LinkedIn audience - currently around 1.1M followers. Notion | LinkedIn
Lesson: Don't just explain features. Show people what they can become with the product.
4. Canva - best example of making B2B feel like B2C
Canva is especially interesting because its audience crosses the B2B/B2C boundary. It doesn't behave like conventional enterprise software marketing.
Its social presence tends to emphasize:
- visual creativity
- trends
- templates
- creators
- cultural moments
- educational content
- product utility
Lesson: If your product is inherently visual, don't let “B2B” become an excuse for boring content.
5. Ahrefs - best educational/content-marketing machine
Ahrefs is a great example for companies with complicated products.
Instead of constantly explaining SEO software, it teaches people how to get better at SEO. The product naturally appears in the educational ecosystem.
That's an important distinction:
Bad B2B social: “Here's another feature we launched.”
Good B2B social: “Here's something your customer desperately wants to know.”
Lesson: Teach the problem your product solves, rather than constantly teaching the product.
The pattern behind the best ones
The interesting thing is that these companies generally don't use social media like a B2B company.
They behave more like media companies:
Traditional B2B
Product → Feature → Announcement → CTA → Demo
Best-in-class B2B
Audience → Insight → Entertainment → Conversation → Community → Product
That's why Gong, HubSpot and Notion stand out to me.
And there's another increasingly important trend: the company account is only one part of the social strategy. The best B2B companies increasingly distribute ideas through executives, employees, customers and creators - not just the corporate account.
If you're trying to build a B2B social strategy
I'd steal one thing from each:
- Gong: proprietary data and strong opinions
- HubSpot: educational media + humor
- Notion: community + product storytelling
- Canva: visual-first creative
- Ahrefs: relentless usefulness
- Slack: human personality
- Mailchimp: distinctive brand world
- Shopify: customer/founder stories
If you tell me what type of B2B company you're interested in (SaaS, professional services, manufacturing, AI, fintech, etc.), I can give you a top 10 specifically for that industry and break down exactly what they're doing on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
When looking at B2B (Business-to-Business) companies that excel on social media, the traditional playbook of dry corporate announcements and stiff stock photography has been completely rewritten. The best B2B brands treat social media like consumer brands - focusing on human-centric storytelling, humor, education, and community building.
Several standout B2B companies lead the pack through distinct, highly effective social media strategies:
1. Slack (Master of B2B Humor & Relatable Video)
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The Strategy: Slack shattered the myth that B2B marketing has to be boring and overly formal. They use witty, documentary-style videos and dry humor to highlight the everyday chaos of office communication. B2B marketing examples from top SaaS brands - Artisan AIB2B marketing examples from top SaaS brands - Artisan AI
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Why it works: Their famous "So Yeah, We Tried Slack" video felt like an episode of The Office rather than an ad. By poking fun at messy email threads and chaotic team updates, they make their software feel like an obvious, stress-free solution while deeply entertaining their audience. B2B marketing examples from top SaaS brands - Artisan AI
2. HubSpot (The Gold Standard for Educational Value)
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The Strategy: HubSpot doesn't just sell CRM software; they built a massive digital ecosystem dedicated to educating marketers, sales pros, and business owners. Their social channels act as distribution hubs for templates, data-driven insights, quick tips, and career advice. 8 B2B Content Marketing Examples That Dominate (2025) - Fame.so
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Why it works: They practice "inbound marketing" in real-time. By giving away 95% of their knowledge for free on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram, they build immense trust and brand affinity. When a growing business finally needs a CRM, HubSpot is the default choice. 8 B2B Content Marketing Examples That Dominate (2025) - Fame.so
3. Mailchimp (Eclectic Visual Branding & Culture)
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The Strategy: Mailchimp treats its Instagram and LinkedIn channels like modern art and culture magazines. They lean into quirky animations, bold colors, design-forward imagery, and creative storytelling that highlights small business owners.
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Why it works: Even though Mailchimp serves a practical B2B function (email marketing and automation), their social feeds focus on celebrating the creativity of entrepreneurship. It proves that software companies catering to creative fields must look creative themselves.
4. Shopify (Building a YouTube & Community Empire)
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The Strategy: Shopify dominates YouTube and social channels by acting as an accelerator for entrepreneurs. They publish masterclasses, interviews with successful merchants, teardowns of online stores, and tactical advice on how to scale a business. 8 B2B Social Media Marketing Examples We Loved
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Why it works: Shopify's success is directly tied to the success of its customers. Their social content helps merchants make more money, which naturally drives them to sign up for and stay on the Shopify platform.
5. Gong (Data-Driven Insights & "Gong Labs")
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The Strategy: Gong (a revenue intelligence platform) uses its own data to publish surprising, counter-intuitive insights about B2B sales and buyer behavior (e.g., “How many times should you mention pricing on a sales call?”). 10 Inspiring B2B Content Marketing Examples - PathFactory
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Why it works: They use social media to share proprietary research data packaged into clean, highly shareable infographics and short text posts on LinkedIn. It positions them as the absolute authority on sales science.
Key Takeaways from Top B2B Social Media Leaders:
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Sell the transformation, not the software: Focus on the human pain points (stress, wasted time, scaling growth) rather than listing feature bullets.
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Entertain first, educate second: The best B2B posts stop the scroll because they are funny, visually striking, or deeply insightful - not because they read like a product brochure.
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Leverage employee advocacy: Top brands encourage their leaders and employees to build active personal brands on LinkedIn, amplifying company reach far beyond what a corporate logo ever could.
Are you looking to revamp a social media strategy for a specific type of B2B product or industry?
The best B2B companies on social media succeed by abandoning dry corporate jargon, leaning into human-centric storytelling, and providing genuine value before ever making a pitch. Instead of treating social networks as static advertising billboards, they build engaged professional communities.
The top-performing B2B brands across social channels feature standout strategies from industry leaders:
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- HubSpot - A gold standard in inbound marketing, HubSpot dominates platforms like LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) by prioritizing educational resources, free tools, and masterclasses. They answer audience pain points directly, positioning their CRM platform as an authoritative industry guide rather than a hard-sell product.
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Mailchimp - Known for turning a software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool into a widely recognized brand, Mailchimp injects creative visual storytelling, humor, and snackable tips into channels like TikTok and Instagram. They prove that even backend automation and email marketing software can cultivate a playful, highly engaged community.
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Adobe - Balancing corporate prestige with modern creative expression, Adobe excels across LinkedIn and Instagram by showcasing real-world business impact through customer-led case studies, live streams, and highlighting internal company culture.
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General Electric (GE) - Long celebrated for making an "industrial" and technical sector feel exciting, GE leverages visual platforms like Instagram (such as their famous
#GEInstaWalkinfluencer campaigns) to turn heavy manufacturing and green tech into awe-inspiring, human-driven visual narratives. -
Salesforce - Salesforce masters the balance between expert utility and approachable personality on X and LinkedIn. Their social teams mix high-value industry data, product updates, and thought leadership with relatable humor, GIFs, and active follower interactions.
Would you like to explore how to apply these strategies to a specific B2B niche, or dive deeper into the tactics used on a platform like LinkedIn versus TikTok?
Strong examples include Cisco, which tailors content to each platform; HubSpot, which builds an audience with useful resources and thought leadership; Salesforce, known for creative social campaigns; and ACCIONA, whose targeted LinkedIn videos drew over a million unique viewers.(informatechtarget.com)(blog.socialmediastrategiessummit.com)(elevationb2b.com)(toprankmarketing.com)
Here are some of the B2B companies that stand out in 2025 for their social media excellence:
🌟 Tech & SaaS Leaders
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Hootsuite – Masters content repurposing across platforms (blog → YouTube → Instagram → LinkedIn), driving millions of organic visitors monthly.5 SaaS Brands Doing Social Media Right in 2025
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Gong – Uses bold, data-driven storytelling on LinkedIn and X to spark conversations around sales enablement.5 SaaS Brands Doing Social Media Right in 2025
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Slack – Builds thriving open communities on Slack itself and engages audiences with approachable, human-centered content.5 SaaS Brands Doing Social Media Right in 20254 Critically Acclaimed B2B Social Media Accounts | Informa TechTarget
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Shopify – Leverages social channels to showcase customer success stories and thought leadership in e-commerce.5 SaaS Brands Doing Social Media Right in 2025
🏢 Enterprise Giants
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IBM – Sets the gold standard on LinkedIn with deep yet accessible content on AI and quantum computing, blending technical authority with storytelling.Best B2B Social Media Accounts in 2025 - Callin
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Microsoft – Uses LinkedIn and YouTube to share case studies, industry insights, and thought leadership, maintaining a balance of educational vs. promotional content.Best B2B Social Media Accounts in 2025 - Callin
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Salesforce – Engages audiences with customer success stories, industry reports, and interactive webinars across LinkedIn and X.Best B2B Social Media Accounts in 2025 - Callin
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Cisco – Combines professionalism with personality, using Instagram for behind-the-scenes storytelling and X for real-time industry updates.4 Critically Acclaimed B2B Social Media Accounts | Informa TechTarget
📊 Agencies Excelling in B2B Social
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WebFX – Known for data-driven campaigns and ROI tracking through proprietary tools like RevenueCloudFX.The 50 Best BtoB Social Media Companies - OpenMoves - Digital Marketing Agency NY
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ICUC Social – Specializes in enterprise-level community management and 24/7 moderation, helping brands nurture loyal professional communities.The 50 Best BtoB Social Media Companies - OpenMoves - Digital Marketing Agency NY
🔑 Common Success Strategies
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Thought leadership: Sharing insights, not just promotions.
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Content repurposing: Turning blogs into videos, webinars, and infographics.
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Community building: Creating spaces (LinkedIn groups, Slack communities) for peer-to-peer engagement.
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Humanizing the brand: Showcasing employees, behind-the-scenes culture, and authentic storytelling.
👉 Would you like me to break this down into platform-specific best practices (e.g., LinkedIn vs. Instagram vs. YouTube), so you can see which companies excel on each channel?
