Three B2B marketing trends for 2024
Many businesses are reallocating their marketing budgets away from traditional channels such as print, TV, and radio towards digital and online channels.
Podcasting has become a mainstream marketing channel, with a projected listenership of 505 million worldwide by the end of this year. More businesses are opting to allocate funds to either creating their own podcast or advertising on podcasts aimed at their target customers. Hubspot launched The Growth Show in 2015 and is successfully reaching their target audience with over 1.5 million downloads to date. Many B2B companies are leveraging podcasts to engage with their audience, showcase their expertise, and build thought leadership in their industry.
Repurposing content is more important than ever. It can be time consuming to create effective content that turns “boring” material into something people want to watch, listen to and read. By repurposing content, businesses can maximize the value of their existing assets, reach new audiences, and reinforce key messages across different channels. Bite sized clips from podcasts and video can be shared on LinkedIn. Longer pieces of content, such as an ebook or white paper, can be broken into smaller, more digestible chunks like blog posts or social media posts. A blog post can be turned into a video, infographic, podcast episode, or slide deck to appeal to different audience preferences.
Learning to use AI tools that assist with B2B marketing. It’s important to acknowledge that AI is a buzzword these days though (thankfully) not yet a substitute for the human creativity behind compelling writing or aesthetic design work. However, notable AI tools are being used in the B2B space to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer engagement. For example, Google’s "Smart Bidding" feature in Google Ads uses algorithms to optimize ad campaigns by analyzing a wide range of data quickly to maximize conversions. ZoomInfo and Salesforce use AI algorithms that can analyze data to predict which leads are most likely to convert, allowing sales teams to prioritize their efforts on high-quality leads. As AI technology becomes more accessible and affordable, we can expect to see its adoption increase among B2B businesses looking to enhance their marketing strategies and drive better results.
The evolving nature of B2B marketing requires companies to be proactive, customer-centric, and adaptable to succeed in today's fast-paced digital landscape. While the trends may change, the name of the game will always be effective engagement with audiences to drive business growth.
