Discover the best marketing channels available to help your business connect with a high value target audience.
B2B marketing channels are growing at a rapid rate each year. With so many different options available, it can be overwhelming to choose the best channel for your business. We look at the top 10 B2B marketing channels currently used and how best to use them to gain the most advantage.
What are B2B Marketing Channels?
Business-to-business (B2B) marketing as the name suggests, is a way to promote products or services to other businesses. The goal is to increase profits through lead generation and lead conversion.
Top 10 B2B Marketing Channels
Every business has different needs depending on the industry and type of business. The following B2B marketing channels can help your business with its marketing strategy.
1. LinkedIn Organic Outreach
An organic LinkedIn outreach campaign is when a business or individual gains credibility in the market by continuously posting content on their account. Although this is a popular method to use, one of the biggest drawbacks is that this method can take an extremely long time and a lot of effort to generate leads. Linkedin paid ads are some of the lowest converting ads in the industry, so understanding the organic process is crucial to better results.
Linkedin is also limiting the number of prospects one can reach through organic outreach, which makes it not the most effective B2B marketing channel to use.
2. Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the primary B2B marketing channels. It enables businesses to directly interact with potential customers and grow their online audience. It is free to create an account which is a great benefit for small businesses.
Some of the most popular social media platforms to use are:
- Instagram – Video on written content.
- Twitter – Direct communication with customers.
- Facebook – Video content is becoming more popular.
- Linkedin & TikTok
3. Content Marketing
Content marketing is used by businesses to provide value to their customers through industry knowledge. The best strategy is to look at habits, needs and interests of a target audience and create content that fits the brief.
Potential customers will be more likely to use and recommend a brand that provides added value and insight.
4. Email Marketing
B2B email marketing is very specific. Unlike regular advertising emails, B2B emails focus on building relationships and providing information.
Newsletters are a great way to provide potential customers with tips and insights into your industry and brand.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the quality and quantity of web traffic generated from search engines.
Using tactics such as popular keywords, hashtags or headings potential customers might search for, will increase a businesses chance of being featured on the front page of search engine results.
6. Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising
PPC refers to a digital advertising method where a business is charged for every user that clicks on their advertisement. The benefits are that marketing data can be tracked through analytics and certain types of audiences can be targeted.
7. Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
CRO is the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a website that takes action. It involves the testing of different elements on a website to determine the most effective method for getting customers to purchase goods or services.
8. Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to reach potential customers on the go. The customer can listen to valuable content while performing other tasks. The key to a great podcast is to provide content that is relevant, engaging and valuable to the listeners.
9. Webinars
Like with podcasts, webinars focus on providing value and information. Most people go to webinars to learn something new and it is a great way for businesses to show off product features and industry knowledge.
10. Website Design
A website is often the first aspect of a business customers will see. It should be easy to navigate and a pleasant user experience. Potential customers will immediately be put off by a website that looks unprofessional and unorganized.
The Benefits of B2B Marketing Channels
There are various benefits of using B2B marketing channels and when used strategically, they can:
Be cost-effective
Traditional marketing strategies can be very expensive, but using B2B digital channels can cut the cost substantially. Most digital marketing channels allow a user to easily regulate and control spending to suit the marketing budget.
Attract more qualified leads
B2B marketing targets specific audiences that are already looking for the product or service on offer. Businesses can use certain criteria to attract the right potential customers instead of spending money on marketing campaigns that reach uninterested audiences.
Increase brand awareness
Online B2B marketing can reach potentially millions of potential customers worldwide. Online marketing can also help a business to appear first in search results, increasing the chance for potential customers to reach out.
Measure marketing performance
Tools Google analytics make it easier than ever before for businesses to measure the performance of their online marketing. Businesses are able to track time spent on their website, how many visitors do they attract, conversion rates and many more.
Improve return on investment (ROI)
Many of the digital marketing channels like SEO and social media are free and take less time to set up than more traditional marketing methods. Automation in the industry also allows for better planning of resources which increases ROI.
The Verdict
B2B marketing channels are valuable tools any business can use in their marketing strategies. There are numerous benefits like increasing brand awareness and generating more sales leads. To read some of the research on the concept of B2B marketing, we suggest the following sources:
Strategic social media use for B2B marketing.
Framework for Intelligence in B2B marketing decision making.
