Bob Sperber, Editor, Branded Content

LinkedIn may be the leading B2B social media platform, but there are many more ways to connect with your tribe — be it in engineering, R&D, the sciences, or a related field. This is especially true as time ages both your audience and the “usual suspect” marketing platforms to which you’ve grown accustomed.

In its recent content marketing outlook for 2025, the Content Marketing Institute uncovered some interesting facts about how B2B marketers view and use social media. Says CMI: 

• 84% of B2B marketers said they use paid channels.
• Of those, 73% use paid ads or promoted posts, typically to distribute and promote their corporate blogs, news, and other content.
• 85% in CMI’s survey said LinkedIn delivers the best value for B2B marketers.

In CMI's last annual survey, 68% of marketers increased their use of LinkedIn, followed by YouTube (31%), Instagram (27%), Facebook (20%), and others who saw only single-digit increases: TikTok, Reddit, and X/Twitter, which is trending strongly downward among marketers.

Reddit is one to watch now that its content is searchable in Google (and is training the search engine's AI). Topic searches yield discussions (subreddits) on multiple engineering disciplines, material science, pneumatic conveying, and r/injection molding. There’s always something, if not always pro-level.

Where else can you look to find more professionally-focused platforms?

Hidden gems that aren’t, once you know them

Smaller, topic-specific groups on larger platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Reddit may be good places for organic content engagement and/or paid marketing. Then there are full platforms that are more highly specialized. They can offer high-quality engagement if your solutions and content are aligned with the audience.

Here are a few platforms you may not know, but which offer various elements of social media platforms, sharing, and collaboration for technical pros:

• Stack Exchange is a network of 173 Q&A communities drawing more than 100 million people per month. There are communities dedicated to many manufacturing and engineering topics where professionals seek answers. Perhaps marketers can serve a role in providing them. 
• ResearchGate connects technical professionals through a social network-type platform where users share research papers and related work across engineering, physical, and biological sciences.
• Dribbble is focused on design in all its forms, from branding, product, and packaging design to machine design. It’s a cross between a social network, collaboration platform, portfolio showcase, and job board. 
• Spiceworks Community lets IT professionals share expertise, evaluate vendors, and help solve challenges. Parent Spiceworks sells IT management software and also offers free help-desk software.

The above examples offer various forms of advertising, sponsorship, or partnership solutions. Below are two more that don’t — but may be of interest to marketers: 

• GitHub, the world’s largest open-source code repository, has grown to become a “hub for learning, sharing, and collaborating,” says Product Marketing Alliance. For example, machine builders can search for control software, learn all about it, download free software to configure a control system, and buy a runtime license if it suits their (customer’s) needs.
• Discord started as a hangout for gamers. Its live text, chat, and video streaming is maturing, as are the users. Several groups (a.k.a. servers) tagged as “engineering,” featuring CAD, bioengineering, aerospace, and more.

These are just a few examples, and there are many more industry forums. Seek and you shall find. If not, try asking your company’s tech gurus where they go for answers. 

Happy hunting!