B2B Digital Marketing Trends: How Do You Stack Up?

The B2B sector has always been notorious for putting marketing efforts on the backburner when compared to its consumer facing counterparts, especially in digital marketing. But this is quickly changing, as a new study from DemandWave highlights.

Although digital channels and levels of investment varied from company to company, a common theme is that digital marketing is surging through the B2B vein – and companies are reaping the results.

It’s not uncommon for us to see double and triple digit increases in lead generation, online sales, and traffic with our customers when they take the plunge into digital marketing. If you’re still relying on traditional offline marketing tactics, or worse, not investing at all, it’s time to catch up!

Let’s look at the data on B2B Digital Marketing Trends, and how your 2016 plans stack up.

Plans for 2016 Budget

When asked about their digital marketing budget, 64% of B2B respondents said they are increasing their digital marketing budget in 2016; 26% said their budget will stay the same; 7% said they aren’t sure; and only 3% said they will decrease their budget.

Channels That Are Effective in Driving Leads

When asked to select all channels that drive leads, 75% of B2B respondents said Email; 67% said Organic Search; 47% said Paid Search; 44% said Social Media; 28% said Display, and 5% were not sure.

Digital Marketing Channels worth an Increased Investment

When asked to select all digital marketing channels that they will be investing more into in 2016, 51% of B2B respondents said Paid Search, 41% said Organic Search, 41% said Social Media, 37% said Email, 26% said Display and 19% said they would not be investing more in any channel.

B2B Digital Marketing Trends: The Tactics That Drive Leads

When asked to choose all marketing tactics that drive leads, 61% of B2B respondents said whitepapers; 58% said webinars; 44% said case studies; 32% said blogs; 29% said videos; 25% said infographics; 16% said they weren’t sure, and 5% said mobile apps.

Social Media Platforms – What Results Are B2B Companies Seeing?   

When asked to choose all social media platforms that drive leads, 59% of B2B respondents said LinkedIn; 33% said they weren’t sure; 28% said Twitter; 24% said Facebook; 13% said YouTube; 4% said Other; 2% said Instagram, and only 1% said Pinterest.

Have B2B Digital Marketers Caught Up With Mobilegeddon?

When asked if their website was responsive/mobile-friendly, 79% of B2B respondents said Yes; 17% said No, and 4% said they were Unsure.

62% of respondents who said they did not have a mobile-friendly website said they plan to invest in one in 2016.

In 2014, investments into a mobile-responsive website was about 57%; in 2016, it is 79%.

Using this Data to Shape Your 2016 Plans

So now that a lot of the cards are on the table, you can get a clearer picture of what your industry and competitors are investing in when it comes to digital marketing…and where YOU stack up!

To view the full content of the survey and learn more about other B2B Digital Marketing Trends, visit DemandWave’s website to view the full study.

We’d like to hear from you – how do your 2016 plans compare to what others indicated in the survey? Which channels are proving most effective for lead generation? What initiatives and projects are at the top of your to-do list?  Let us know in the comments!