15 Exciting Trends That Are Impacting B2B Digital Marketing In 2024
Cutting-edge technologies and innovative strategies are redefining how businesses connect and engage with each other. The B2B marketing space, in particular, is at the forefront of a revolution that promises to transform lead generation, content creation and distribution, customer engagement and, ultimately, the nature of business relationships in the digital age.
With more sophisticated and impactful tools at their disposal than ever before, B2B marketers are reimagining customer outreach and reshaping the digital landscape around them in 2024. Below, members of Forbes Agency Council discuss exciting tools, technologies, tactics and trends B2B marketers will be integrating into their digital strategies this year to build deeper connections with customers and drive greater success.
1. Video Storytelling
Better, more strategic use of video in the ongoing “consumerization” of B2B experiences is a key trend. With video, there is a huge opportunity to boost engagement in complex B2B buying cycles through inspired, creative brand storytelling and elevated production values. And with more B2B decision-makers coming from younger generational cohorts, video is a powerful medium for humanizing B2B brands and building relatability. – Pete Stein, Merkle
2. Website Visitor Identification Software
I’m excited by all that we, as digital marketers, are able to achieve by using website visitor identification software and intent data. If you consider that the vast majority of your site visitors do not submit a form, it would be a lost opportunity to not engage with them. Instead, uncover new opportunities with visitors showing strong buyer intent signals, even when they don’t submit a form. It’s a game-changer. – Tom Shapiro, Stratabeat
3. Creator-Generated Content
CGC from customer testimonials can be a real game-changer for B2B marketers. When real customers share their experiences, it builds trust and authenticity. Using these testimonials in paid social and programmatic ads makes the content relatable and more impactful, driving higher engagement and conversions by showcasing genuine success stories. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group
4. Old-School Strategies
What’s exciting to me is that many B2B marketers are leaving traditional lead gen marketing channels like Google Ads and LinkedIn because of the lack of ROI. Smart B2B marketers are going back to some old-school, tried-and-true strategies like trade shows, sponsorships, billboards and, my favorite—buying lunch. Business leaders are getting numb to digital strategies. – T. Maxwell, eMaximize
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
5. Programmatic PPC Newsletter Ads
Programmatic pay-per-click newsletter marketing is a great new tactic for B2B digital marketing in 2024. Newsletter sponsorships have always been a good marketing tool, but most charge a flat fee per send, and sponsors are subjected to open-rate variabilities that impact conversions. With new newsletter ad networks like Beehiiv and Paved, marketers can now pay per click and not be impacted by email open rates. – William Gasner, Stack Influence
6. Human-Driven Connections
One of the most important B2B considerations in a post-Covid world is the need to drive from digital to human connection. Data, automation, AI and account-based marketing are the digital tools that drive revenue, but the final touch is typically human. The main principle of B2B marketing? Your buyers are consumers. Brand affinity matters, and those selling your products are an extension of that brand experience. – Ellis Verdi, DeVito/Verdi
7. Video-Enabled Engagement And Support
In 2024, with advancements in video technology and analytics, B2B companies are increasingly leveraging video content not just for marketing, but also for client engagement and support. This creates a holistic content strategy that covers the entire customer journey—awareness, consideration and decision. – James Bryant, Venture Videos
8. Tying Your ‘Why’ To Your Prospects’ Purpose
Messaging is incredibly important in digital marketing, and it all goes back to crystallizing your “why,” or your company’s purpose, as marketing guru Simon Sinek touts. Find ways that your company’s “why” overlaps with your prospects’ purpose and put that front and center in your digital marketing to increase engagement and lead generation. – Jodi Amendola, Amendola Communications
9. Build-Your-Own Identity Graphs
We are seeing the emergence of build-your-own identity graphs, where B2B brands take the initiative to amass their own B2B2C data repositories to drive better omnichannel reach and flexibility with their customer acquisition campaigns while reducing costs and their dependency on big identity graph providers. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.
10. Aggregated Data Platforms
Platforms that collect and aggregate marketing, sales and business metrics together are trending. In B2B, these departments have traditionally been separated, but their impact on one another is undeniable. So when a platform can distill all the most important data in one place so CEOs, CMOs and CFOs can all understand it, it breaks down barriers and allows every team to understand how everyone is being impacted. – Bernard May, National Positions
11. 1P Data For ABM
By leveraging data you already own, you can hyper-personalize your outreach, targeting the right accounts with laser precision. It’s like having a custom map to your most valuable customers, driving better engagement and higher ROI. Plus, with privacy concerns growing, first-party data must be a critical part of your stack. – Alex Yastrebenetsky, InfoTrust
12. AI-Driven Media Mix Modeling Tools
AI-driven media mix modeling tools are a game-changer for B2B marketers. Analyzing vast datasets reveals insights into campaign performance, enabling budget optimization, resource allocation and precise ROI measurement. In today’s privacy-first world, AI-powered MMM gives marketers the ability to take a customer-centric approach to driving growth by better understanding customer journeys. – JP Johl, AdTribute
13. LinkedIn Live And Creator Mode
The recent algorithm change on LinkedIn has significantly altered our approach to using the platform as a marketing tool for B2B clients. Previously, we relied on LinkedIn to direct traffic to clients’ websites. Now, we need to create content tailored for LinkedIn to boost engagement within the platform. As a result, we are prioritizing the platform’s Creator mode and LinkedIn Live over other digital strategies. – Karolyn Raphael, Winger Marketing
14. AI Integrations Into Existing Tools
AI-powered capabilities within existing marketing tools such as Canva and CapCut can help marketers seamlessly design, create and alter content, flyers, landing pages and more. The in-depth integration of AI technology into existing marketing software and tools is transforming these tools into powerful assets, allowing any agency or business to more easily market its business and brand. – Tony Pec, Y Not You Media
15. Customized AI Bots
I’ve been building out AI bots using tools like CustomGPT and Google Notebooks to make my life easier so that I can focus on the human aspects of B2B marketing. They let me compile client information, so I don’t have to ask repetitive questions or sort through notes, and take care of simple but time-consuming tasks like putting together basic company research before consultation calls. – Evan Nison, NisonCo
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