As a digital marketer in 2020, there’s a lot of things on your plate when it comes to client work. From blog post writing to social media management to data analysis, it is important to assess which B2B digital marketing strategies are worth the time and which are just filler tasks.

Being an effective B2B marketer is knowing how to prioritize daily workflow, what to automate, and always learning and iterating on your efforts. You want to fully understand your customers, keep tabs on the newest strategies and tactics for growing a business, and understand how to retain customers long term.

That being said, there are some key B2B digital marketing strategies that one must always have in their tool belt despite the ever-changing flow of the B2B marketing spectrum. I have broken this down into 6 key must dos.

Market Research: 

Research is very important in determining appropriate B2B digital marketing strategies. Effective research allows you as a marketer to know what other tools are needed for your company to thrive in the online marketing space. It will provide you with a baseline of who your target audience is, the tone and language they speak online, and what your baseline measurements should be.

By understanding who your target is, you as a marketer are in a better position to service that target market and more effectively. By conducting effective market research, you get a better idea of how your approach is performing and subsequently allow for effective and frequent optimization tactics to yield and improve results & leads.

A Good Website:

Building and operating a high performing and functional website should be your firm’s top priority. In today’s professional landscape, a good website is the first point of contact that any potential client or partner has. A good, high performing website projects a certain level of confidence and expertise in whatever field your company is in. You have the opportunity to win over new business or a client at this initial first level of contact. That being said, your site is your company/business’ greatest marketing asset.

As new users land on your site, providing good educational content on what the business does, easy and smooth navigation around the site as well as a strong design and clear brand identity will contribute to generating more qualified leads and subsequently new business.

Social Media:

This is 2020, whether you like it or not, a strong social media presence is one of the key B2B digital marketing strategies in building brand identity and conveying industry expertise. Research shows that 60% of potential buyers and new business are found on social media. Social media is the most commonly used source for referrals and recommendation in our current business climate. It expands your company’s reputation, expertise and content reach.

An excellent social media presence allows you to expand your network and make valuable contacts that in the future could be potential clients or collaborators. Lastly, through social listening, you can optimize your content for better engagement which in turn creates more leads.

Account Based Marketing:

ABM is a marketing strategy that involves tailoring sales and marketing strategies to a particular account that can yield the highest ROI. A good way of thinking about it is that traditional marketing is likened to fishing with a big net. You cast a wide and hope to eventually catch a big fish in your widespread net. Account Based Marketing is going in the water with a spear and focus efforts on the highest value prospects.

Account based marketers are not concerned so much with lead quantity but are focused more on the quality. Streamline your focus and customize your marketing strategy to target your best potential accounts. Accounts that have a higher chance of converting. In other words, do not waste time on a lot of small fish and go for the 1 or 2 big ones.

This strategy doesn’t fit everyone. It is more suited for businesses whose customers have more than one decision maker. Generally, it is suited for higher deal sizes and longer sales cycle. 

Advertising:

Advertising is one of the most important B2B digital marketing strategies in today’s competitive landscape. Like traditional forms of marketing where a company had to pay for ads in newspapers and other platforms, online advertising is a key tool in getting your business and content noticed and can play an important role in increasing your company’s expertise and visibility.

It is key to use tools best suited for professional services such as LinkedIn ads. This allows you to target and retarget appropriate industry audiences, which when done effectively leads to more qualified lead generation and conversions. SEM on the other hand can be expensive and harder to target for professional service purposes.

It is key to note that there are many different variations of these advertising types. Depending on your budget, purpose, and industry, services like Google Ads and Facebook Ads may be effective for your objectives.  

Analytics:

Through market research, you should be able to identify key metrics to analyze when determining whether your strategies and efforts are being successful or needs optimization. Tools will need to be put in place to track and collect data on all your efforts. From your website to social media as well as an ad you have run.

MOZ is a very effective and brilliant tool to help you study and optimize your SEO. Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics are web based tools that can help in understanding your website traffic. Understanding the data helps you put certain things in place when determining your next marketing steps and optimization.

With B2B digital marketing strategies, it is important to stay up to date with the ever-changing tools and tactics. Online marketing is evolving faster every day. You’re not going to be perfect at everything. Like I have narrowed down this list to 6 key strategies, you also will have to choose from the numerous options and run with what works best for your company and it’s objectives.

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