LinkedIn B2B marketing report brings optimism

B2B market has changed significantly over the past few years, and today B2B companies are some of the most successful companies in the world. We reveal the current state of B2B marketing and the trends we can expect in the future based on the research and predictions made by LinkedIn, the largest social media for business networking. Here are the key findings from LinkedIn B2B marketing report.

Budgets will increase

Despite the current economic situation, around half of marketing leaders are optimistic about the revenue they will be able to generate in the following year. An increase in marketing budgets could be one of the causes of this optimism. Fifty-nine percent of marketing experts said that their marketing budgets were higher in the last year compared to the year before, and 67 % expect that they will continue to increase in the next year as well.

B2B marketing experts recognize the importance of brand building, connecting with clients, and building trust, so the largest portion of the budget (36 %) is spent on lead generation, 30 % on brand building and awareness, 20 % on demand generation, and 15 % on account-based marketing. Furthermore, they think that acquiring new clients will be the biggest marketing challenge over the next few years, so they will invest more in finding new clients than in retaining existing ones.

The return of in-person events

The participants of LinkedIn’s research stressed the importance of both online and offline marketing channels. They mentioned in-person events as the marketing strategy they plan to use the most in the coming year because these events offer excellent networking opportunities. Personalization and building relationships with clients will be more important than product promotion, so video (59 %) and thought leadership (57 %), the content which positions the CEO as an expert in their field, will be used the most on digital channels. For B2B marketing, LinkedIn is still the most used social platform, followed by YouTube (63 %), Facebook (57 %), and Instagram (52 %).

AI is efficient, but can’t replace creativity

Generative AI is one of the newer tools which is used today in almost every industry, and B2B marketing is no exception. The research participants highlighted its efficiency and ability to generate more content in less time as its main advantages. They plan to use AI in the future because it gives them more time to focus on higher-value tasks. However, AI has its limitations. Although it is excellent for processing and analyzing large amounts of data, the participants agree that it cannot replace human creativity.

Data analysis is the skill of the future

Marketing experts should continually develop their skills in order to be prepared for the constant changes in the industry which are brought upon by the development of new technology and economic uncertainty. Creativity and storytelling are among the most important skills in marketing and communication in general. However, although creative skills are important, technical ones shouldn’t be overlooked either. As one of the most important skills of the future, the participants have mentioned marketing technology and data analytics mastery. The key message here is that good analysis is the foundation for improving marketing strategies and reaching set goals­.