Why B2B Marketers Are Sleeping on TikTok (And Why That's a Mistake)
The platform you've been dismissing might be your next best-performing paid channel.
When most B2B marketers hear "TikTok," they picture dance trends, Gen Z humor, and viral sounds — not pipeline generation or cost-per-lead optimization. It's an easy channel to write off. But what if that instinct is costing you real revenue?
On our most recent episode of the EIC Podcast, we make a compelling case for why B2B brands should stop dismissing TikTok and start testing it — strategically. Here's what we uncover, and why one of the biggest names in B2B software is already putting money where the algorithm is.
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TikTok for B2B Marketing: A Smarter Strategy Than You Think
The skepticism is understandable. TikTok built its reputation on short-form entertainment content aimed at younger audiences. But the platform has matured rapidly, and so has its user base. Today, TikTok is one of the fastest-growing channels among older demographics and affluent professionals — exactly the kind of decision-makers B2B marketers are trying to reach.
The real question isn't whether your audience is on TikTok. The real question is whether you're willing to meet them there.
HubSpot Did It — And Saw a 30% Drop in Cost Per Lead
If you need proof that TikTok can work for B2B, look no further than HubSpot. In 2025, the marketing software giant made a bold move: they reallocated a significant portion of their ad budget away from LinkedIn and into TikTok. The result? A 30% reduction in cost per lead.
HubSpot leaned into content that felt native to the platform — how-to videos, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes looks at how their product works. Not polished brand campaigns. Not hard-sell demos. Real, useful content that helped viewers identify their own problems and see how HubSpot could solve them.
If one of the most recognized names in B2B marketing is shifting budget to TikTok and winning, it's worth asking: what are you waiting for?
Your B2B Audience Is on TikTok — Here's How to Reach Them
One of the biggest objections B2B marketers raise is targeting. LinkedIn gives you firmographic filters — job title, company size, industry — but TikTok's native targeting isn't built for that kind of precision. So how do you make sure your ads are reaching actual buyers and not just anyone scrolling through their feed?
The answer lies in third-party audience targeting tools. The EIC team uses a platform called Primer, which allows marketers to define their audience using traditional B2B signals — job titles, company industries, technology stacks — and then activate those audiences across channels including Google, Meta, and TikTok.
With a tool like Primer in place, the concern of "I can't reach the right people on TikTok" becomes a non-issue. You're not just running ads on a consumer platform and hoping for the best. You're prospecting with the same precision you'd expect from any enterprise-grade paid media strategy.
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Where TikTok Fits in Your B2B Marketing Funnel
TikTok isn't a bottom-of-funnel tool. If you deploy it expecting direct lead generation and a flood of demo requests, you'll be disappointed — and you'll likely kill the channel before it has a chance to work.
Here's how to think about it instead:
If you have a targeting tool like Primer, you can use TikTok for top-of-funnel prospecting. CPMs on TikTok tend to be significantly lower than LinkedIn, making it a cost-efficient way to create initial brand awareness among net-new B2B audiences.
If you're working with tighter budget constraints, TikTok becomes an exceptionally powerful retargeting layer. The strategy works like this: drive the right users to your site through search or other intent-based channels. When they leave without converting, retarget them across TikTok, YouTube, Meta, and LinkedIn — a surround-sound approach that keeps your brand top of mind across multiple touchpoints.
This mid-funnel retargeting strategy does something powerful: it builds trust over time. When a prospect sees your content multiple times across different platforms, you stop feeling like a cold vendor and start feeling like a familiar, credible brand. That shift in perception directly impacts downstream conversion rates.
What Kind of Content Actually Works for B2B on TikTok
This is where many B2B brands go wrong. They try to repurpose the same polished creative they'd run on LinkedIn or YouTube — and it falls flat. TikTok has its own content culture, and audiences there are quick to scroll past anything that feels overly produced or overtly salesy.
What works instead:
How-to content. Break down a process, explain how your product solves a specific problem, or walk through a common challenge your customers face. Practical, educational content performs exceptionally well on TikTok because it delivers immediate value to the viewer.
Customer testimonials and user-generated content. Let your customers tell the story. Authentic voices speaking to real results are far more persuasive than a scripted brand message. The goal is for a viewer to watch and think, "I have that exact problem" — and then see your solution in action.
Explainer videos. Give prospects a genuine look at how your service or product works. Transparency builds trust. When people understand what they're buying and can see the inner workings of your offering, they're more likely to move forward in the sales process.
The common thread across all of this: don't over-produce it. Phone-quality, conversational video often outperforms studio-quality creative on TikTok because it feels real. Lean into that.
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Measuring TikTok Success the Right Way — Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot
This might be the most important section of this entire post. If you set up TikTok campaigns and measure them by lead volume or conversion rate, you will almost certainly conclude that TikTok doesn't work. And you'll be wrong.
TikTok — used as a mid-funnel trust-building and retargeting channel — needs to be measured by mid-funnel metrics. Think about:
Video views and completion rates — Is your content resonating and holding attention?
Retargeting audience growth — Are you building a warm audience you can then convert elsewhere?
Engagement rates — Are people interacting with your content in meaningful ways?
Downstream conversion lift — When you layer TikTok retargeting into your mix, do leads from other channels convert at a higher rate or close faster?
The ROI from TikTok often shows up one or two steps removed from the platform itself. A prospect sees your TikTok content multiple times, develops trust in your brand, and then converts after clicking a Google search ad or responding to an email. If your attribution model doesn't account for that assist, you'll undervalue TikTok's contribution every single time.
Track the right metrics at the right part of the funnel, and TikTok will start to look very different on your performance dashboard.
The B2B TikTok Playbook: A Quick-Start Summary
If you're ready to start thinking about TikTok as a serious B2B channel, here's the framework to build from:
Get your targeting right. Invest in a tool like Primer to ensure you're reaching actual B2B buyers, not just a broad consumer audience.
Start with retargeting. Before you spend on prospecting, build a retargeting campaign to re-engage site visitors and warm leads on TikTok.
Create content that fits the platform. Prioritize how-tos, testimonials, and explainer videos. Keep it authentic, not overproduced.
Set realistic expectations. TikTok builds trust and warms audiences. Leads come from the retargeting and nurture layers that follow.
Measure mid-funnel metrics. Don't judge TikTok by bottom-of-funnel results. Track engagement, audience growth, and downstream conversion lift.
The Bottom Line — Stop Writing Off TikTok for B2B
The brands that are winning in digital right now are the ones willing to test channels before they become saturated and expensive. TikTok is in that window right now for B2B marketers. CPMs are lower, competition from other B2B brands is still relatively thin, and the audience is actively growing into the demographics you care about.
HubSpot saw it. The EIC team has validated it with their own clients. The strategy works — but only when you approach it with the right tools, the right content, and the right expectations.
If you've been dismissing TikTok as a B2B channel, now is the time to take a second look.
Want to go deeper on this topic? Read more B2B marketing strategy content on the EIC blog, or tune in to the full podcast episode to hear Mike and Dustin break down their complete TikTok strategy, including how they use Primer for audience targeting and which creative formats are driving the strongest results for their clients.
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Watch the full episode of the EIC Podcast
This article is based on insights from the EIC podcast hosted by Mike Patterson and Dustin Trout, digital marketing experts focused on helping businesses maximize their advertising ROI.
