B2B marketers are targeting evolution rather than revolution in 2019 after a new report from Informa Engage found that scaling and optimising will be the order of the day as brands focus on driving engagement and qualified leads to get ahead.
The B2B Marketing Trends Report released on Tuesday serves up a few unique insights for brands as they start to update strategies and campaigns for 2019. The first key trend is visual storytelling and how there is a growing interest in the B2B sector for exciting materials that can increase awareness and interest at the top of the sales funnel.
Video usage is now increasing, but high-quality images and infographics are other useful formats to weave into content to make esoteric resources easier to digest for audiences. Automation will also come to the fore next year as more brands pivot to newer digital solutions.
“Last year our research showed that marketers were preparing to increase their investment in content marketing. It appears that marketers have used their dollars wisely,” Informa Engage executive Scott Harris said. “This year’s report confirms marketers are expanding their content marketing efforts as they progress from a broad approach to a more audience-driven focus.”
Harris added that both “reach efficiency” and “attribution” will be a major focus for B2B marketers. Outside of traditional creative endeavours covering articles, blogs, whitepapers and videos, the report found that events are quickly becoming a marketing “linchpin”, with seven in ten citing it as a top tactic for lead generation.
