Welcome to a new era of B2B marketing. Recent technological advancements and policy changes are setting the stage for transformative strategies. As AI continues to impress us, and Google tightens its grip on quality with new core updates and phase-out of third-party cookies, the bar is set high for content that truly resonates.
We've rummaged through articles, podcasts, and social conversations from marketing leaders to bring you the essential B2B content marketing trends for 2024. Shall we get started?
1. Authenticity and value-driven content
In 2024, the quest for authenticity in B2B content marketing has never been more critical. As AI continues to flood the market with generated content, B2B audiences are increasingly seeking genuine, insightful material that cuts through the noise.
Google’s March 2024 core updates further emphasise the need for high-quality, original content, pushing marketers to prioritise value over volume. The update targets low-quality, often AI-generated, content that’s cluttering search results, aiming to reduce spammy content by 40%.
But what makes content authentic and valuable? To answer this, we need to go back to basics with our content strategies.
Original research
The antidote to commoditised content is original research. This is research conducted by you and your team, with findings and insights that your audience cannot find anywhere else. While AI can analyse existing text, findings and ideas, and turn them into something new, it cannot imagine new theories or novel ideas like a human can. Not yet anyway!
Research-based content enhances credibility, authority, visibility, engagement and receives lots of backlinks. We’ll see marketers investing more in researching comprehensive and data-led content to beat AI-generated materials.
Content clusters
Yes, they are back. Content cluster strategy is a great way to optimise your SEO while also moving customers through the content funnel. They enhance website structure, build authority and trust.
This strategy relies strongly on keyword research to build successful content clusters. Semrush and SimilarWeb offer excellent AI keyword research tools. They help you identify the best keywords for your topics, by consideration your competitors, trends and existing data. In addition to this, making sure the content you produce is original, valuable and relevant to is extremely important.
Owned media
These are online content and channels that you own directly and manage, such as blogs, newsletters, website and brand communities. B2B marketers will refocus their efforts in owned media in order to minimise the impacts of Google algorithm changes and phase-out of third-party cookies.
This is a great way of getting back to your roots, communicating your value in a personal and authentic way. After all, it's what more and more customers are currently seeking.
2. AI for enhanced personalisation
AI is transforming how we tailor B2B content marketing, making it possible to personalise experiences to an unprecedented degree. By analysing user behaviour and preferences, AI enables marketers to deliver content that not only meets the specific needs of each audience member but also anticipates their future interests.
For instance, you could use AI in content marketing to segment your audience based on engagement patterns, creating highly targeted campaigns that speak directly to each segment's unique challenges or goals. You could automate content personalisation, and show curated content and products to each customer, like TikTok’s For You page.
More marketers will use dynamic website tools to target customers at each touch point. These tools help drive customers through the marketing funnel. Ad platforms like Google Ads, Bing Chat and Facebook’s Advantage+ will also play a crucial role in creating better and more targeted ad campaigns.
3. Shift towards video
Research suggests that video marketing gets 66% more qualified leads per year than other mediums. 91% of consumers want to see more online video content from brands. What this means is you should be investing in video content.
Video in content marketing offers a dynamic way to present complex information engagingly and memorably. Companies like HubSpot and Adobe are leading the charge, using video for everything from detailed tutorials to customer testimonials, enhancing their ability to connect with audiences. And so are we – take a look at our latest LinkedIn Ad campaign leveraging video content. The results speak for themselves – average CTRs are double that of single image ads, and impressions are 50% higher.
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Here are some examples of video content to incorporate into your B2B marketing strategy:
- Short and concise educational videos about your product or service, highlighting clearly the benefits and the pain points that would be solved.
- Promoting your company culture with behind-the-scenes videos such as pre-event preparation, following the journey of a product launch and teambuilding socials and events. See our video above.
- Showcasing customer success stories by doing a yearly wrap-up of all your projects, boasting amazing stats achieved or awards won.
However, these videos need to show personality and authenticity, and follow all the basic SEO guidelines for optimisation. Continue to collect and analyse your data, in order to refine your strategy for optimal results.
Tip: Interactive content, like our microsite, can engage your audience in new and creative ways.
4. Social media is the new search powerhouse
Thanks to advancements in technology like AI, new platforms like TikTok, and the rise of a new generation of consumers (Gen Z) stepping into decision-making roles, how we search is also evolving. The shift from traditional search engines and SERPs to social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit, signifies a major change in how information is sought and consumed. 57% of Gen Zs prefer TikTok over Google as a search engine. This generation prefers platforms that offer quick, authentic responses, making social media an essential tool for engaging with emerging B2B decision-makers.
TikTok is leveraging this trend by introducing new tools like Keyword Insights and Creative Assistant. These are AI-powered and help creators/marketers through the whole journey from ideation to execution, providing insights into video trends, audience analytics and so much more.
According to research, a majority of business’s content marketing budget is being allocated to social media and community building. So, if you want to be seen and heard, you need to be active where your future clients are.
5. Building your community
B2B marketers are increasingly realising the value of building communities around their content. 40% of B2B SaaS companies have dedicated brand communities. In fact, the number of organisations that have a dedicated brand community department has increased year-on-year.
Salesforce is a great example of what successful B2B brand community looks like. They offer a learning hub where users can earn industry credentials, align learning materials with career pathways and actual job opportunities, and engage in an online community forum. This hub is also accessible through a dedicated mobile app.
Other ways of fostering community engagement include delivering high-value content tailored to the needs and interests of the community, hosting and participating regularly in forums and webinars that allow for interaction and expert insights.
This strategy compensates for the diminishing role of third-party cookies with endless supply of ethically acquired first-party data. Importantly for tech, having a large-scale and dedicated community allows companies to crowdsource user support for products, and boost customer engagement and retention. Therefore, allowing companies to focus on solving urgent issues.
Compass is your all-in-one solution
These B2B content marketing trends show that businesses need to pivot their content strategies to become more authentic and high value to capture customers whose demands are changing. No longer can B2B marketing get away with being purely product-focused, inaccessible and mass-targeting customers. It’s all about being visible on social channels where your audiences are, including the newer generations rising in power, interacting real-time in engaging ways (like video content) and personalising their user experiences.
Leveraging AI in content marketing is not an option, it’s a must. AI will make these things happen, but research and testing is required to find AI tools that are compatible with your team and marketing strategies. One solution that removes this hurdle is Compass – an all-in-one genAI tool created for internal marketing, trained on 30+ years of domain and company knowledge with real-time context. It’s basically a full-service marketing team in the palm of your hand. Want to test it out? Let’s go.
Ready to spotlight your content strategy?
We'll help you translate these trends into lead-generating content strategies that will expand your B2B business. Ready to talk and make this happen?