150 Social Selling Statistics You Must Read: 2024 Data Analysis & Market Share

Social media has revolutionized the way we do business. It has accelerated the formation of a digital economy that spans the whole world. COVID-19, meanwhile, accelerated social selling as it forced people to stay at home. In response, many companies started using social media management platforms to engage their target audiences. These platforms not only allow marketers to create campaigns and CRM professionals to engage customers but also offer tools to salespeople to help them do their jobs.

As social selling statistics show, salespeople have been leveraging social networks more than ever. In this article, we are going to look at the current state of social selling in numbers.  In this way, you will be able to know the lay of the land and leverage it to grow your business.

Social Selling in China Statistics

During the pandemic, both marketers and customers flocked to social media. Social media networks became the primary channels where parties can get in touch with each other—easily. Thus, social media became one of, if not, the best platform for selling, as marketers attest.

Social Selling is Popular Among Marketers and Salespeople

• A good 31% of B2B professionals claim that social selling helped them build deeper relationships with clients. (Ouellette, 2021)
• Also, it was reported that 78% of sales professionals using social selling are outperforming their peers in sales. (Ouellette, 2021)
• A little over 10% of sales representatives have closed five or more business deals by being active on social media. (Ouellette, 2021)
• Social sellers, also, are 51% more likely to achieve their sales goals. (Ouellette, 2021)
• Businesses that consistently employ social selling strategies and processes are 40% more likely to achieve their revenue goals than those that don’t engage in social selling. (Ouellete, 2021)
• Many B2B professionals, at 39%, claimed that social selling reduced the time they spend looking for leads. (Ouellette, 2021)

Moreover, during the pandemic, B2C companies took advantage of live video selling. This might lie outside the strict webinar meaning. However, in its general form, live selling (especially with an entertaining host or program) is just a webinar. It is just simpler, cheaper, more interactive, and, for many, more enjoyable.

It is also popular among B2C consumers

• 53% of customer loyalty is due to having a salesperson with the ability to provide unique useful insights. This is easily done on social media. (Ouellette, 2021)
• A whopping 92% of B2B customers want to engage with salespeople who are known to be leaders in their industries. (Ouellette, 2021)
• Most consumers, at 76%, are ready to have a conversation with potential providers over social media. (Ouellette, 2021)
• 78% of Millennials claim that they are using social selling tools. (Ouellette, 2021)
• 63% of those claim that social selling is integral to their businesses. (Ouellette, 2021)

B2B consumers like them too

Warner (2019) laid out a case that B2B businesses can learn from the social selling strategies and tactics by B2C companies. These include promotions like incentive plans and partnerships. And, B2B consumers are warming up to buying on social media. And, webinars are a good way to provide ‘free’ value and getting your company’s name out there.

• A study found that 84% of C-level executives employ social media to find information that can help in their purchasing decisions. (Ouellette, 2021)
• 33% of consumers would rather engage with brands on social media than make a phone call. (Ouellette, 2021)

Moreover, one very important tool for social selling is live videos. And, social media communication and webinar platforms can do just that. In fact, many social media networks have released webinar or video conferencing software modules. And, live stream selling is most popular in China.

China: Live Stream Selling Capital of the World

• Because of the lockdowns, internet adoption and consumption almost doubled in China in less than 10 months, reaching 420 million users during the period. (Dragan, 2020)
• Starting in 2020, 265 million Chinese internet users buy products via live streams. (Dragan, 2020)
• In China’s latest annual shopping festival, the sales from live stream ecommerce reached north of $449.5 million. This is on the 1st of July alone. (WARC, 2020)
• Also, during the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival in 2020, live streaming drove $6 billion in sales. (Hallanan, 2020)
• The total GMV from live streaming during the Festival grew 100% from 2019. (Hallanan, 2020)
• In 2019, the share of live streaming ecommerce GMV in online shopping in China was 4.5%. (iResearch, 2020)
• From November 1 through 11, an estimated 300 million users watched live streams on Tabao. (Hallanan, 2020)
• Almost 500 live streaming channels generated over $1.5 million in sales. (Hallanan, 2020)
• Moreover, 33 channels reached more than $15 million in sales. (Hallanan, 2020)

Big Influencers, Big Roles

• Top influencers spend more or less four hours from around 8:00 PM to about 12:00 AM every night. They present and sell highly-curated products. Often, they provide big discounts. (Greenwald, 2020)
• Also, around 12 products are presented every hour during that period. So, that averages out to 48 per night. And, they can sell out in practically seconds. (Greenwald, 2020)
• One of the most popular streamers is Jiaqi (Austin) Li. He is a former L’Oreal physical retail salesman. Now, he is known as the Lipstick King in China and is worth around $5 million. (Greenwald, 2020)
• And, Jiaqi Li has more than 6.5 million users on Tabao Live—the top platform in China—with a regular audience of 2 million viewers in his nightly streams. (Greenwald, 2020)
• On October 21, 2020, the two top-performing live streaming influencers, Viya and Jiaqi L, generated over $149.4 million in pre-sales deposits that are also non-refundable. (Hallanan, 2020)

Top Live Stream Channels in China

• The top Livestream ecommerce company in China is Taobao. Around 61% of Chinese consumers have viewed at least one live stream on the platform. (DATA100 Insight, 2020)
• And, this is followed by Douyin (39%), Kuaishou (26%), JD.com (26%), and Pinduoduo (22%). These round out the top five. (DATA100 Insight, 2020)
• Lastly, the platforms that ranked 6th to 10th are Little Red Book (13%), Vip.com (12%), Mogujie (8%), Douyu (4%), and Huya (4%). (DATA100 Insight, 2020)

And, many feel that the US is next when it comes to the live selling boom. In fact, many people already engage in live selling via different social networks. Formats range from live videos to sponsored podcasts.

Booming: Is the US next?

• Live stream viewers in China account for 47% of all stream viewers in the country. (Dragan, 2020)
• And, if this ratio is applied to the US with roughly 232 million internet video viewers, then there is a potential of 115 million new customers for the live ecommerce segment. (Dragan, 2020)
• Furthermore, experts believe that in the US, live social selling or live ecommerce is going to be big. By, 2023, they estimate that it will generate $25 billion in sales. (WARC, 2020)

Social Selling Boom: Is America Next?

China may be the social selling capital in the world, but America seems to be poised to have a boom as well. In fact, social selling has gained popularity over recent years. And, experts recommend that businesses put more effort into their social media presence. Check out these social selling statistics from the US.

• In 2018, only about 53.3 million Americans are social buyers. (Droesch, 2020)
• By 2019, the number grew to 65.2 million with a YoY growth of 22.32%. (Droesch, 2020)
• In 2020, the estimated number of social buyers in the US is 76.5 million with a YoY growth of 17.33%. (Droesch, 2020)

Thus, many experts are bullish about social selling gaining more ground in the US. In fact, they project a steep increase in the number of American social buyers in the coming years.

• By 2022, experts predict that the number of social buyers will reach more than 94.3 million. This is a 76.92% growth from 2018’s 53.3 million. (Droesch, 2020)

In Tandem with Social Media Marketing

Social selling does not work alone. Just like in-person sales, it is closely related to other business functions like marketing and CRM. Also, the increase in the popularity of social selling coincides with the increase in social media marketing usage.

• The social media marketing usage rate has been on a constant rise. In 2013, the usage rate was 86.2%. In 2019, it grew to 91%. (Freer, 2021)
• Conservative estimates peg usage rates for 2020 through 2022 to be at 91.7%, 91.9%, and 92.1%, respectively. (Freer, 2021)

Online Consumerism Sets the Stage for Online Selling

Sellers go where consumers are. The best ones monitor consumer behaviors and preferences in order to create conducive situations for buying. And, consumerism seems to be everywhere online. The most popular online activities involve everything from checking out new products to income-related searchers.

• The top three activities that US adults do online are text/instant messaging (92.3%), using e-mail (90.3%), and watching videos (74.3%). (NTIA, 2020)
• Also, the use of social networks is very popular at 73.7%. And, all of the three mentioned activities can be performed on social networks. (NTIA, 2020)
• US adults are not only internet users but also consumers online. One popular set of activities at 72.2% are shopping, making reservations, and using particular consumer services. (NTIA, 2020)
• Moreover, in relation to this, about 69.9% of US adults use online financial services like banking, paying bills, and even investing, among others. (NTIA, 2020)
• Many activities are also income-related. These include job search (20.5%) and remote work (23.8%). This can also include other activities like using the internet for video calls and conferences (50.8%). (NTIA, 2020)

Where Producers and Consumers Meet

• Around 11.3% of US adults sell goods via the internet and 7.6% offer services for sale online. (NITA, 2020)
• Also, a good 33.8% of adults request services provided by others online. (NTIA, 2020)
• And, content is seen as an important component with 16.7% of the population using the internet to publish blog posts, videos, and other original content. (NTIA, 2020)
• A good 55.9% of US adults consume audio content like podcasts, radio shows, and music throughs streams and downloads. (NTIA, 2020)

Still… a lot of potential

• Only around 29.6% of adult social media users have purchased from networking sites as of June 2020. (Enberg, 2021)
• There is still another 70.4% potential market for social selling. (Enberg, 2021)

Social selling is already somewhat popular in the US. However, there is much room for growth. Expect that in later social selling statistics 2021 to 2022 reports, the number of social buyers will be higher.

Popular Social Media Networks for Making Purchases (eMarketer, 2020)

• 18.3% – Facebook
• 11.1% – Instagram
• 2.9% – Pinterest
• 1% – Snapchat
• 1.4% – TikTok
• 2.5% – Other

B2B Selling on LinkedIn

For B2B buyers and sellers, professional networking sites like LinkedIn are good places to connect with the right people. In fact, LinkedIn social selling statistics show that social sellers benefit well from using the site. Here are a few key statistical facts that the company found.

• 45% more sales opportunities (Linkedin, 2021)
• 51% more likely to achieve sales quota (LinkedIn, 2021)
• 78% of social sellers outperform their peers that do not use social media (LinkedIn, 2021)

US Social Media Buyers Profile Statistics

Social media buyers are a diverse bunch. Considering that they are divided into different demographics, preferences, too, vary. These include what social network they would rather shop among others.

• Around 45% of social shoppers prefer Instagram. (Tilley, 2021)
• And, 41% of social shoppers prefer to shop on Facebook. (Tilley, 2021)
• During the pandemic, digital sales grew by 18%. (Deloitte, 2020)
• And, about 14% of shoppers relied on social media for purchases. (Deloitte, 2020)
• Again, China is the social shopping capital of the world. WeChat alone generated $115 billion in revenue from social commerce. (Tilley, 2021)

Also, various age brackets tend to have different attitudes towards social media buying. As the age goes higher, the likelihood of being a regular social media buyer diminishes. Also, the likelier it is that they become disinterested. This is especially true in America.

People Aged 18 to 34 Years (eMarketer Editors, 2020)

• 11% – use social media for purchases regularly
• 37% – have used social media for purchases but not regularly
• 6% – have not used social media for purchases before but are very interested
• 21% – have not used social media for purchases before but are somewhat interested
• 20% – have not used it and are not interested
• 4% – don’t know what it is

People Aged 34 to 44 Years (eMarketer Editors, 2020)

• 5% – use social media for purchases regularly
• 19% – have used social media for purchases but not regularly
• 4% – have not used social media for purchases but are very interested
• 18% – have not used social media for purchases but are somewhat interested
• 47% – have not used it and are not interested
• 7% – don’t know what it is

People Aged 55+ Years (eMarketer Editors, 2020)

• 2% – use social media for purchases regularly
• 11% – have used social media for purchases but not regularly
• 4% – have not used social media for purchases but are very interested
• 15% – have not used social media for purchases but are somewhat interested
• 60% – have not used it and are not interested
• 7% – don’t know what it is

Room for Growth

As indicated by the statistics above, regular social media buyers in the US are the minority. However, there is room for growth. Hence, clever businesses and salespeople can find ways to change the minds of non-believers.

• There still is a 31% of US adults aged 18 to 34 that can be turned into social media buyers. Another 37% of social media buyers have the potential to be turned into regulars. (eMarketer, 2020)
• Also, a good 29% of US adults aged 35 to 44 still carry the potential to be social media buyers. Also, another 19% of this age bracket that is not regular social media purchasers still have the potential to be regular buyers. (eMarketer, 2020)
• Moreover, a considerable 26% of internet users aged 55+ have the potential to make social media purchases. And, the 11% who have already made purchases via social networking platforms can be turned into regulars. (eMarketer, 2020)

Statistics on Lead Generation, CRM Links with Social Selling

As mentioned before, the sales function does not exist in a silo. It is entangled with marketing and CRM efforts. So, social selling is the same way. In fact, because of the accessibility of social networks, the lines between these functions blur. This is especially so in smaller businesses where people wear many hats. The marketing point-person can also be doing the bulk of sales calls and after-sales service.

Social Media for Leads

The first thing, however, for marketers and salespeople is to gather and qualify leads. And, social media is a fertile place to effectively get this done.

• According to 23% of B2B marketers, social media is the fifth most effective way to get leads. (Chief Marketer, 2020)
• Moreover, about 25% of B2B marketers think that social media is one of the most valuable ways to nurture leads. In relation to this, about 22% of marketers also believe that webinars are a good way to nurture leads as well. It is good to note that it can be done on social media too. (Chief Markter, 2020)
• Content is essential in moving customers through the funnel. These include articles/blog posts (55%), customer reviews/testimonials (43%), whitepapers (38%), videos (33%), webinars (30%), research reports (28%), social media posts (23%), and content partnerships (19%). (Chief Marketer, 2020)
• For 84% of B2B marketers, Linkedin is the best platform for generating leads. (Chief Marketer, 2020)
• This is followed by Facebook (43%), Twitter (25%), YouTube (25%), and Instagram (16%). (Chief Marketer, 2020)
• And, customer experience, according to 80% of B2B marketers, is a significant focus. (Chief Marketer, 2020)

Biggest Challenges to Generating Leads (Chief Marketer, 2020)

It isn’t always smooth sailing when it comes to lead generation. You can ask both marketers and salespeople, and they’ll tell you that the whole thing is challenging. However, lead generation has many aspects. And, here are the biggest challenges that people have in generating leads on social media.

• 57% – Engaging target prospects
• 48% – Finding prospects that convert
• 31% – Finding qualified names
• 23% – Finding number of qualified prospects
• 19% – Cost of new leads
• 7% – Other

Social selling strategies are also tied together with social marketing strategies. And, on a larger scale, the marketing aspect also has many challenges.

Top Social Media Marketing Challenges (Chief Marketer, 2020)

• 63% – Engagement
• 55% – Measuring social ROI
• 36% – Having enough content
• 31% – Bandwidth
• 27% – Inadequate social budget

The Social Selling and CRM Link

Also, the sales function has a deep relationship with CRM, which also involves after-sales services. Even top software providers like HubSpot recognize this. Hence, they provide a CRM-based platform not just for social media marketing but also for social selling. This is a strong indicator that, in the future, sales, marketing, and CRM will be viewed more as the same function altogether by companies. In fact, CRM is already being believed by many to have a direct impact on sales.

• The main aims of having CRM are to improve customer service (74%) and customer satisfaction (66%). (MacDonald, 2021)
• However, around 54% and 53% implement CRM to increase sales and generate new business respectively. (MacDonald, 2021)

And, the use of social CRM has also been on the rise as social selling.

• Service interaction on Twitter has increased by 250% in the last two years. (Bagadiya, 2021)
• Also, around 64% of Twitter users expect companies to respond within an hour. (HubSpot, 2021)

What CRM does, as you already know, is not only provide after-sales service but also create a relationship with customers enough for them to repeat purchase time and time again.

• Social CRM use helps retain customers by up to 27%. (Strouse, 2020)

CRM to Increase Sales (MacDonald, 2021)

As you can see below, professionals see that the use cases for CRM programs and platforms are deeply related to the sales function. For instance, it helps companies track and forecast their sales numbers.

• 94% – Contact management
• 65% – Lead nurturing
• 59% – Email marketing
• 59% – Sales forecasting
• 9% – Customer service
• 5% – Information Management
• 2% – Sales Tracking

Also, as customers are always on their mobile phones, it is also best to have a mobile CRM option to engage customers and exceed sales quotas. On this note, you can always find out which top CRM software solutions have mobile CRM available.

Mobile CRM is Important

• Only 34% of companies, against 61%, have not implemented a mobile CRM solution. (MacDonald, 2021)
• Around 30% of companies with mobile CRM have registered more than 20% of improved sales productivity.
• About 65% of companies with mobile CRM have achieved their sales quotas against 35% who did not. (MacDonald, 2021)
• Also, around 78% of companies with mobile CRM have not achieved their sales quotas. Only 22% have. (MacDonald, 2021)

Statistics on Influencers in the Live Social Selling Sphere

Selling today is not just limited to in-house salespeople. Selling can be outsourced to outside agents and, well, social media influencers. And, as pointed out in the first section of this article, the Chinese market is an expert at this, especially in live social selling. Live distance selling, however, is not new. It has been pioneered on TV by channels like the Home Shopping Network (HSN) and QVC.

Now, though, as public information consumption has mostly moved to the internet, live stream selling via social networks hosted by social influencers is getting popularized.

• Influencer marketing makes it easy for salespeople and marketers to associate their products with beloved personalities. About 89% of marketers agree that influencer marketing is effective. (Wiltshire, 2021)
• Today, around 69.4% of influencers pursued being influencers because of revenue. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2021)
• One study found that around 77% of influencer marketing is managed in-house. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2019)
• Moreover, another study showed that only 34% of influencer marketing programs are managed in-house. (Linqia, 2019)
• Other avenues include turnkey services (26%), self-service platforms (20%), and outsourcing (17%). (Linqia, 2019)

Benefits of Influencer Marketing

• On average, companies earn about $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2021)
• For 24% of marketers, influencer marketing is one of their top ROI-making marketing strategies. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2021)
• About 89% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is effective. (Wiltshire, 2021)

The Fastest Growing US Influencers as of June 2020 (InfluencerDB, 2020)

• 1,049.81% – Zion Moreno (@zion.moreno)
• 496.41% – Brittany Packnett Cunningham (@myackyetti)
• 117.13% – Munroe Bergdorf (@munroebergdorg)
• 231.48% – ChristineQuinn (@thechristinequinn)
• 288.24% – Mary Fitzgerald (@themaryfitzgerald)
• 122.27% – Nate Wyatt (@itsnatewyatt)
• 274.05% – Maya Vander (SELLING SUNSET), (@themayavander)
• 116.14% – Kadir Nelson (@kadirnelson)
• 111.48% – Steve Void (@stevevoidmusic)
• 103.87% -Nick Leventis (@nickleventis)

Content Creators as Social Media Sellers

It is also quite common to categorize social media influencers as those who demo products and services online. However, there are other kinds of influencers who sell ideas and content on social media. These include public intellectuals, podcasters, and content creators selling subscriptions on paid sites like Patreon or OnlyFans. Also, similar to the Chinese super influencers mentioned, they also do live interactive streams to interact with their audiences (paying and/or non-paying).

Top Patreon Creators by Number of Patrons as of May 4, 2021 (Graphtreon, 2021)

• 42,713 – True Crime Obsessed
• 37,344 – Chapo Trap House
• 27,066 – DarkCookie
• 24,851 – You’re Wrong About
• 22,692 – The Tim Dillon Show
• 23,260 – Jeff Wittek
• 22,094 – DankPods
• 19,548 – Flagrant 2
• 18,810 – Yagami Yato
• 18,499 – Not Another D&D Podcast

Many of these creators are also on other social networking websites to promote their subscriptions. For instance, Flagrant 2, a podcast by comedian Andrew Schulz and crew posts full episodes on YouTube. This provides free content that can get viewers hooked for more.

Patreon Pays

And, when you strike the balance of being a good creator and having a strong following, being on Patreon pays.

• In April 2020, individual pledges were estimated to be just over 7.6 million and estimated monthly payouts were $16.8 million. (Graphtreon, 2021)
• Come April 2021, the number of pledges grew by 44% reaching more than 11 million. Also, estimated monthly payouts grew by 36% to over $22.8 million. (Graphtreon, 2021)
• Currently, Patreon has a total of 11,113,592 pledges. The number of hidden pledges isn’t counted. (Graphtreon, 2021)
• $23,104,678 – this is the estimated monthly payout given by the site. Also, this excludes hidden earnings. (Graphtreon, 2021)

Integrating Social Media Marketing, Social Selling, and CRM

When you are doing business today, there is really no ignoring the internet. Something in your process, from communication and procurement to marketing and selling, is done over it. Whether you are a B2C or B2B business, a bunch of your target audience is already on social media. So, there is really no escaping the need to have a social media presence. That is if you want to bring your business closer to your target customers.

The best way is to use integrated marketing, sales, and CRM program in your social media engagement. In this way, you will be able to generate leads through marketing, qualify them through sales, and follow up with customers through CRM all in one operation. Surely, this is what smaller businesses do already when personnel wear many hats. And, this is especially true for small business owners with a small number of employees.

Moreover, in order to do a good job using this approach, a business needs to adopt digital tools to bring all of these together. Also, standalone tools might not cut it. You might need to bring them together by integrating them with project management solutions for scheduling, task management, and various tracking functions.

This type of software usually brings together other standalone products through integrations. In other words, you need a customized digital environment.

For instance, you can connect your sales analytics software with your task management functions and create triggers like task assignments.

Having a good working integrated marketing-sales-CRM program on social media is quite a complex feat. It has many moving parts. But, when you start implementing project management solutions the right way, you are surely going to see the benefit of having to just look in one place for many different functions.

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By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.