25+ Social Selling Statistics that Matter for Sales Teams and Beyond

Todd Kunsman

Marketing Team Lead

9 minute read

Social Selling Statistics.

How many of your employees are already on social?

Looking for valuable social selling statistics that matter to sales and beyond? Below, you’ll find the very best social selling stats that will make you understand how valuable social media is and continues to be for your company.

Social selling is not a new concept and if you are reading this post, you more than likely already know pretty much about it.

If you need a full reminder and in-depth analysis, I recommend checking out our post here.

As you may know, a social selling strategy and process is key for sales teams and beyond. It’s also a critical component for B2B companies to connect with customers and prospects more efficiently.

While we could easily put a TON of social selling stats together, it made more sense for us to focus on the very best ones that can either:

  • Help you understand the value and need for social selling.
  • Or sell your company executives in focusing on a larger social selling initiative.

But before we dive in, lets first get some fascinating general social media stats. If you’d prefer to skip to the social selling statistics, feel free to click here to jump.

 

Social Media Statistics Your Company Needs to Know

Who knew a few years back how important social media would be for more than just vanity metrics?

These days, it’s where key customers and prospects are hanging out, researching information, and are providing a lot of insight into their industry.

The State of B2B Procurement Study finds that 94% of B2B buyers conduct some degree of research online before making a business purchase, with 55% conducting online research for at least half of their purchases.

While I don’t think we need to reiterate the value social media plays for organizations, it still is good to share some social media stats as a good reminder and ammo if any higher-ups are not seeing the value.

  • 22% of the world’s total population uses Facebook. (Statista)
  • There are more than 560 million LinkedIn user accounts (and growing) in over 200 countries. (LinkedIn)
  • 81% of millennials check Twitter at least once per day. (PEW Research)
  • Facebook continues to be the most widely used social media platform, with 79% of American internet users. (PEW Research)
  • Almost 80% of time spent on social media platforms happens on mobile. (Marketing Land)
  • More than 56% of online adults use more than one social media platform. (Small Biz Trends)
  • Close to half the world’s population (3.03 billion people) are on some type of social media. (Statusbrew)
  • 88% of 18- to 29-year-olds indicated that they use any form of social media, 78% among those ages 30 to 49, to 64% among those ages 50 to 64. (Pew Research Center)
  • 91% of B2B buyers are active on social media. (IDC)
 

25 Important Social Selling Statistics to Remember

Now, let’s get into the good stuff. Here are the very best social selling stats that can help you keep social selling at the forefront.

1. 73% of salespeople using social selling as part of their sales process outperformed their sales peers and exceeded quota 23 percent more often. (Aberdeen Group)

2. 80% believe their sales force would be more effective and efficient if they could leverage social media. (Sales Management Association)

3. Sales reps using social media as part of their sales techniques outsell 78% of their peers. (Forbes)

4. 90% of top performing salespeople now use social media as part of their sales strategy. (LinkedIn)

5. Companies with consistent social selling processes are 40% more likely to hit revenue goals than non-social sellers. (SalesForLife)

6. Half of revenue is influenced by social selling in 14 common industries, including computer software, healthcare, and marketing and advertising. (LinkedIn)

7. 80% believe their sales force would be more effective and efficient if they could leverage social media. (Sales Management Association)

8. 90% of decision-makers never answer a cold call, but 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions. (LinkedIn)

9. 54% of salespeople who use social media can track their social media usage back to at least one closed deal. (A Sales Guy Consulting)

10. CSO Insights and Seismic, 31% of B2B professionals said that social selling allowed them to build deeper relationships with their clients. (CSO Insights)

11. 77% of B2B buyers said they did not talk with a salesperson until after they had performed independent research. (CEB Global)

12. 53% of salespeople want help in understanding social selling better. (A Sales Guy Consulting)

13. Studies show that sales reps with high social network activity achieve 45% more sales opportunities, and are 51% more likely to hit their sales quotas. (LinkedIn)

14. Content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than content shared by brand channels. (Social Media Today)

15. According to IBM, when a lead is generated through social selling or employee advocacy that lead is 7X more likely to close compared to other lead gen tactics. (Vengreso)

16. On average decision-makers consume 5 pieces of content before being ready to speak to a sales rep. (CMO Council)

17. 92% of buyers say they delete emails or voicemail messages when comes from someone that they do not know. (SlideShare)

18. 68.9% use social selling tools for lead development. 64.9% use them for account research, followed by call preparation by 60.3%. (CSO Insights)

19. 15% of sales pros who do not use social selling miss their quotas more often. (A Sales Guy)

20. 90% of the top sales pros use social selling tools today. (LinkedIn)

21. 62% of sales pros at large companies agree social selling helps them build stronger & more authentic relationships. (LinkedIn)

22. 25% of executives say they prioritize social selling, however, only 18% of sales pros agree. (HubSpot)

23. Brand messages reached 561% further when shared by employees vs the same messages shared via official brand social channels. (MSLGroup)

24. 93% of sales executives have not received any formal training on social selling. (Tom Laine)

25. A social selling program can drive 16% better win rates, 2x pipeline, and deliver 48% larger deals. (EveryoneSocial)

26.  61% of organizations engaged in social selling report revenue growth. (Sales for Life)

27. In a 2022 LinkedIn study, 31% of sales reps using social selling reported closing deals worth over $500,000 without a single in-person meeting with the buyer. (LinkedIn)

28. Over 40% of sellers are “very active for business purposes” on LinkedIn, Whatsapp, and Twitter. (LinkedIn)

29. 89% of B2B marketers are already using LinkedIn to generate leads. (LinkedIn)

   

Final Thoughts

There you have it! Twenty-five of the best social selling statistics for sales teams and beyond.

And while these may relate more to sales, social selling is becoming more of a standard practice across multiple departments. It’s why I’ve been saying “beyond” throughout this post.

The impact social selling has on sales, marketing, brand, and communications is significant and is why more companies are encouraging employees to get social.

Use these social selling stats above as motivation, ammo, and education to ensure your company is on board with this social strategy.

Want to accelerate your social selling results and make it easier to organize content, field marketing materials, and streamline communications? Learn what EveryoneSocial’s social selling and employee advocacy platform can do.


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