B2B Marketing in 2024: Trends & Strategies In The New Marketing Playbook

B2B marketing is drastically changing. Right now. 

There are a bunch of reasons, between technology, business models, consumer expectations, remote work, and more. 

I’ll get into that later…

But first, I’ll share an example of my testing this hypothesis. 

This summer, I wanted to test LinkedIn video. 

I’d seen lots of compelling examples of people doing well with videos on LinkedIn.

So I created a video a day for one month straight. 

My goal was to hit 100k impressions in that month.

The goal was 10x what I’d normally get. 

(Impressions may not be the best KPI, but it’s a proxy for getting reach on the platform, and easy to measure). 

Over the month, I hit over a 1 million impressions. 

Here’s a video where I walk through and show some of the behind-the-scenes numbers:

But recently, things have increased even more. 

Past 28 days, almost 8 million impressions:

Honestly, in some ways take the number of impressions with a grain of salt. 

But pay attention directionally to what’s going on: 

LinkedIn is pushing video. 

Hard. 

And this is a great opportunity for all of us.

Here’s how I see things shifting for B2B Marketers:  

🎭 Personal Brands & Founder Brands: A New Marketing Channel

Do you prefer to hear and learn from a logo, or a person? 

Think about it. 

When you're choosing between two products, do you just look at features and price? 

Or do you also think about the people behind the product? 

But it's not just about the bosses. 

Other people in companies are getting known too:

• Product managers write about new trends on LinkedIn.

• Customer success folks make helpful videos on YouTube.

• Developers share their work and get followers on GitHub.

Imagine if these individuals collectively push their company product, benefits, mission.

All these people help spread the word about their company.

 They do it in a real, human way.

This is changing how B2B companies do marketing. 

Founder brand is definitely a big play.

So is the notion of personal brand, in general.

But I can see this extending to companies, where companies are encouraging (even expecting) their employees to share.

Instead of boring reports, they're letting their team members shine:

• Real people host webinars and share their experiences.

• Case studies now have quotes from actual people who worked on the project.

Personal branding doesn't replace company branding. 

It makes it better. It adds a human touch.

What can you do about this?

Find out what your team members are good at. 

Encourage them to share their knowledge. 

They could write posts, speak at events, or write articles. 

Here’s an example of this in action, from Michel Lieben, CEO of ColdIQ.

His goal is to help team members become creators in their own right.

There’s the individual benefit of course, for a person to create their own audience.

But the downstream impact, of a team of creators all within one company, is a powerful prospect:

📱 Social Media: The New Frontier of B2B Marketing

In the past, B2B companies focused on safer, traditional marketing: blogs, whitepapers, and email campaigns.

These old school methods still work.

But they're not the whole story anymore.

Now, social media is where it's at.

Here's why:

1. That's where the decision-makers are. CEOs, managers, and buyers are all on social media. They're not just sharing cat videos - they're looking for business ideas and solutions.

2. It's more personal. Social media lets you talk directly to your customers. You can answer their questions right away. It feels more like a conversation and less like a sales pitch.

3. It's faster. Got a new product? Tweet about it. Want to share a customer success story? Post it on LinkedIn. Social media lets you share news and updates instantly.

4. It's more engaging. Videos, polls, live streams - social media has lots of ways to interact with your audience. This keeps people interested in your brand.

5. It builds trust. When people see your company active on social media, sharing helpful info and responding to comments, they start to trust you more.

LinkedIn is especially big for B2B.

It's like a professional networking event that never ends.

Remember, social media isn't replacing all other marketing.

It's becoming a big part of the mix. The best B2B marketers use social media alongside other strategies, not instead of them.

Here’s a great overview from Alex Lieberman, Co-Founder of Morning Brew:

🎥 Video Dominance: Short Form 

A few months ago, there were whispers of LinkedIn adding a short form video feed to its mobile app. 

Now it’s here. 

The TikTokification has hit LinkedIn. 

That’s why I started experimenting with a bunch of videos. 

And the good news, is that consumers in general prefer video.

There’s a caveat here though.

I think that short form video is great for generating awareness and Top of Funnel.

But longer videos are still key — for building trust, and demonstrating actual expertise.

Moreover, there’s a trend to long form videos gaining more traction.

And in those long form videos, creators not gatekeeping anything — sharing the exact processes, tools, prompts and more.

That’s almost the point.

So after watching it, you may throw up your hands, mutter “that’s just too much work.”

But the creator has shown the light, and demonstrated what’s possible.

It’s at that point that you may look further into how specifically they can solve your problems.

That’s just how I think about it anyway, and how I’ve ended up buying from people who I trust (from watching them do the actual work).

🤖 AI: The Great Accelerator

Needless to say, AI is the foundational change behind all of this.

AI makes it easier than ever to create content.

Everyone can level up.

And this results in more noise.

Hence, why Personal Brands, Video, and Creators are more important in B2B marketing.

This is why we’re in a big shift in B2B marketing, which is fun. And where there is so much opportunity.

Which of these trends resonates most with your experience?

I'm keen to hear your insights and discuss how we can leverage these shifts to drive unprecedented growth in B2B marketing.

Stay Super, Marketers!

Gen