This Week in Marketing: Opportunity Knocks

That sound you hear, B2B marketers? It’s opportunity knocking at the door. Are you ready to answer?

LinkedIn’s expansive research and analysis for the 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark surfaced a feast of insights, including some key timely focuses for today’s organizations. Last week on the blog, we highlighted four urgent areas of opportunity that emerged in the report, from setting AI guidelines to developing versatile skills. 

Today, we’ll zoom out and scan the B2B horizon to find more opportunities worth pursuing for you and your marketing team. Here’s why you should consider prioritizing video, influencers, HR collaboration, DEI commitment and more in the second half of 2024.

What to Read

Why B2B Marketers Can't Afford to Ignore Video Marketing (Fast Company): “By overlooking video marketing, B2B marketers leave significant revenue on the table,” writes Peter Hillowe. The B2B Marketing Benchmark found that video is the top content type in terms of both current and planned use.

B2B Influencer Marketing Is a Growing Field (eMarketer): With 85% of B2B marketers now saying they incorporate influencers into their strategies, this tactic is becoming a standard. As Kelsey Voss writes, it’s important to understand the nuances of B2B influencer marketing versus B2C, where big followings and celebrity status are more highly valued. 

Why HR and Brand Marketing Are More Connected Than Ever (WorkLife): Tony Case touches on a key development in the world of B2B: marketing and HR working more closely, driven by a competitive job market and the increased emphasis on employer branding. 

2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark: Practice What You Preach When It Comes to DEI (LinkedIn Collective): One of the top aforementioned opportunities to emerge in the B2B Marketing Benchmark was better follow-through from B2B organizations on their inclusivity ambitions. At the Collective, I shared some insights and tips on this crucial topic.

Boring to Bold: How B2B Marketing Creativity Transforms Brands (CMSWire): We’ve long been beating this drum, but Jason Ball offers a great data-informed take on why bold creativity in B2B is essential

What to Watch

Measuring Impact in B2B Marketing

In this LinkedIn Collective Studio at Cannes session, marketing leaders discussed the current state of B2B marketing measurement and what’s next. Find seasoned perspectives from:

• Gina Kleiner, Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn
• Sunil Naryani, Chief Product Officer of Media at Dentsu APAC
• Divya Gururaj, Global Chief Client Officer at Brainlabs

What to Know

If you’re a marketing leader who is being asked to do more with less, you’re not alone. Research from Gartner, as highlighted by Digital Commerce 360, found that the average marketing budget has fallen to 7.7% of company revenue this year, down from 9.1% in 2023.

Make sure to follow the LinkedIn Collective for more insights.