B2B social media measurement in 2025: What’s changed?

With so much accurate data at our disposal, why does B2B have such a big problem with social media measurement?

As it stands, nearly two-thirds of B2B marketing leaders feel their organisations don’t trust their data. Alarmingly, Forrester predicts this figure will continue to rise during 2025.

Why is that the case, and what can you do to buck the trend?

1. Buyer journeys are more complex than ever 

It’s no longer enough to target a single ‘decision-maker.’ Today, B2B brands must engage entire buying groups, often consisting of six to 10 stakeholders. To maximise success, you need to connect with the whole group – not just one person. 

Yet, measurement frameworks haven’t adapted. They still celebrate individual leads the same way they always have. Instead, marketers should prioritise tracking engagement across multiple decision-makers. This significantly increases their value as leads. 

2. Measuring effectiveness, not marketing outcomes 

Marketers often gauge the effectiveness of campaigns by looking at cost-per-result (cost per engagement, click or lead) and performance rates (engagement rate, CTR, or conversion rate). These metrics indicate whether content resonates and where to optimise, but they don’t measure business outcomes. 

While useful for marketers, these numbers mean little outside the marketing team. To drive meaningful business impact, they should be monitored separately from broader business objectives. 

3. Combining short-term and long-term measurement 

Marketers are typically measured against short-term targets, even though we all acknowledge the power of long-term brand building.

This contradiction leads many brands to abandon awareness campaigns before they’ve had a chance to succeed – and that’s if they don’t ignore top-of-funnel completely.

The most successful brands treat brand building and lead generation as distinct (though complimentary) initiatives. Each has its own measurement framework, with top-of-funnel efforts measured over an extended period using metrics like share of voice, rather than being evaluated on immediate conversions.

If you only measure quick wins, you’ll always be chasing them.

4. Last-touch attribution still hasn’t gone away 

It’s been 14 years since Google’s Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) research highlighted the importance of multiple touchpoints in a buying journey. Yet, after all this time, last-touch attribution remains common. 

Just last week I spoke with a client who was puzzled by low conversions from a Paid Social campaign. The culprit? Last-click attribution. Social media was introducing and engaging prospects and driving them to the website but, when they returned later to convert, search took all the credit. 

To truly understand performance, your measurement framework must account for the entire buyer journey and recognise every touchpoint that contributed to a conversion. 

5. Treating all leads as equal 

Not all MQLs are created equal. Yet many brands still treat them as a blanket success metric. As a result, MQLs are increasingly seen as vanity metrics. 

To be truly valuable, you need to predict conversion rates by source and campaign. If one campaign generates leads that convert at 2% while another converts at 20%, treating them equally is incredibly misleading.

Your definition of an MQL should align closely with qualified pipeline, with one always driving the other. 

6. Not accounting for lifetime value 

Just as leads aren’t all equal, neither are sales. A deal’s value on day one might look very different three years later. 

Measuring cost-per-acquisition against lifetime value provides a fuller picture of ROI than focusing solely on initial sales. This approach enables you to refine your strategy and optimise for long-term revenue growth. 

What’s next for social media measurement?

Social media marketing evolves rapidly, but no aspect shifts as fast as measurement. Reporting is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and B2B marketers must keep pace to demonstrate their actual impact. 

In 2025 and beyond, brands need to have a real-time 360-degree view of their buyer journeys. 

Now is the time to rethink your approach. By aligning your first-party, behavioral and offline data, you’ll finally have a complete picture and a marketing strategy that truly drives results.