Digital channel advertising in business-to-business is expected to remain strong in 2018. Confidence in digital marketing is improving, and many companies will be increasing their budget this coming year.



A recent study by The Content Marketing Institute found that 89% of B2B marketers are now using content marketing as a core component of their online marketing strategy. And 52% of companies not currently using content marketing say they will launch a new campaign within the next 12 months—meaning, by the end of 2017, almost 95% of B2B marketers will be utilizing content marketing.

Looking ahead at 2018, B2B marketers plan to increase their investment in paid searches. That’s the second year in a row, and edges out attention to social media. Budgets for other channels stayed relatively the same except for display advertising.

There will also be an increase in higher quality content, that will drive higher quality leads. With the increased prevalence of influencer marketing, and with blogs and videos being a large part of the digital marketing mix, business-to-business marketers need to have high quality content that brings in their audience with the answers to their questions. And their questions need to be able to be answered on their mobile.

According to Inbound Marketing the following statistics prove this trend.

1. 69 percent of digital media time is spent on mobile, according to comScore’s 2017 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus report.
2. Worldwide, over $100 billion will be spent on mobile ads in 2017;
3. Location-targeted mobile ad spend will grow from $12.4 billion in 2016 to $32.4 billion in 2021, according to BIA/Kelsey,
4. Influencer marketing is delivering tens of millions of impressions and as of 2017 has been known to deliver up to five times the marketing investment according to NeoReach.

The advantage of these higher quality leads that are generated from videos, micro influencers, and blogs is that it permits the B2B marketer to become nimbler in their content creation. The era of high production costs per lead is coming to an end in the mix of advertising. With more and more marketers creating in the moment videos, blogs, and other web content to deliver high-quality content, we are seeing a rise in authentic and reliable leads.


In 2018 there needs to be an emphasis on addressing the customer’s issues and solving their problems via their mobile device. Do not waste valuable advertising dollars by focusing solely on your products’ features, and putting your valuable audience to sleep. The most successful consumer brands know that their interaction with their customers doesn’t end with a sale.
B2B marketers work hard to ensure their customers will keep coming back for more, and ideally act as advocates and encourage their friends to buy. Many B2B marketers are using these digital marketing strategies already, but as demand generation continues to evolve, the most successful marketers will be those who combine multiple strategies to provide truly audience-centric marketing campaigns, which truly addresses their wants and needs.
What are the plans for your company that you have laid down? Share it ahead in comments below.