Experienced B2B marketing professionals understand that the path to buying a business isn’t always straightforward. Unlike consumer journeys, which typically consist of simply adding products to a cart, the marketing funnel and B2B customers’ purchasing processes are more complex.
Industry data shows that 75% of B2B companies spend at least 4 months to win a new customer, and the average sales cycle length for B2B SaaS companies is 83 days.
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That’s why, when developing campaign ideas, it’s helpful to look at some of the best examples of B2B marketing that have worked in the past.
And that is exactly what we are going to cover in this article. We’ll list some of the most notable B2B marketing campaigns and shed some light on what made them successful. We will also talk about the online marketing services and platforms that have powered these campaigns and share best practices you can use in your own efforts.
Specifically, we will discuss examples of B2B marketing campaigns in the following areas:
- Digital Marketing / Social Media
- Video marketing
- Advertising by e-mail
- creative marketing
- Out-of-home marketing
By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of what it takes to craft a killer B2B marketing campaign. You will also learn which strategies and tactics work best for different platforms and how to use various digital channels to your advantage. More importantly, you’ll get insights and inspiration to fuel your own B2B marketing efforts.
Let’s dive into it.
If you’re building a social media campaign for B2B prospects and buyers, LinkedIn should be on your priority social media list. Not only is it the largest professional social network (with nearly 800 million members), LinkedIn is also the most trusted social site on the web. According to Insider Intelligence73% of LinkedIn users trust the site to protect their privacy and data, compared to just 54% for Facebook.
However, it’s important to understand the types of content that work best on a professional social network like LinkedIn. While cat videos and dance challenges reign supreme on platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn is all about helping people improve their professional lives. As such, one of the best ways to grab the attention of LinkedIn users is to provide high-value information they can use at work.
The Semrush SEO platform has understood this well. Semrush teams know that their target audience wants to improve in SEO, so they regularly post search engine tips and insights. Best of all, the information is presented in colorful and engaging infographics, making it easy for users to consume the content and share it with their network.
Semrush’s approach works very well and the numbers speak for themselves. Many of the company’s infographics get hundreds of reactions and lots of comments from people talking about how useful the information is.
See if you can follow a similar approach. When launching a B2B social media campaign through LinkedIn or Instagram, aim to provide engaging, easy-to-digest information that your audience can use in their careers, and make your posts visually appealing through the use of infographics.
2. Best B2B Video Marketing Campaign Example
Who said business-to-business marketing had to be boring? While it’s true that B2B audiences are more professional than their B2C counterparts, that doesn’t mean your campaigns need to be too serious or bland.
Strive to bring your B2B marketing efforts to life by incorporating things like humor into the mix.
The following B2B video marketing campaign example illustrates this well. In 2014, the communication platform Slack produced a video called “So Yeah, We Tried Slack…”. The video was shot using a mockumentary style similar to The Office.
It featured the fictional Sandwich Video Inc., which before Slack used email and Dropbox to run the business. The company’s “employees” detailed the struggles they went through using disparate communication tools, but they did it in the most hilarious way possible. (Just ask the guy who would mostly hold meetings in the utility closet.)
Enter Slack, which completely transformed the way the team collaborated. With Slack, employees can communicate and keep their files in one place… Plus, it’s much easier to send funny pictures. See the video for yourself above.
Slack’s video campaign teaches us an important lesson: B2B marketing doesn’t have to be formal, full of industry jargon, or serious. With the right approach, adding humor and personality to your initiatives will make them more compelling, humanize your brand, and ultimately help you stand out from your competition to convert more customers.
3. Best B2B Email Marketing Campaign Example
While instant messaging and social media are making waves in marketing, email continues to be one of the most effective communication tools on the web.
Studies show this email has a median ROI of 122%, which is higher than other marketing channels, including social media and search.
For this reason, email should absolutely be part of your B2B marketing toolkit.
That being said, sending generic email marketing campaigns simply won’t cut it in today’s competitive business landscape. Office workers receive a average of 121 emails per dayso if your messages don’t immediately grab the attention of your target audience, your email will likely go straight to the trash.
If you’re looking for a good example of an email marketing campaign, consider this one from Airtable, a project management software company.
There are a number of reasons why we love Airtable’s post.
✓ It addresses an important pain point. The subject of the post reads: “3 Reasons Your Productivity Might Be Dropping”. The line may be short and sweet, but it addresses an important concern for many professionals: lack of productivity.
Many people who use Airtable want to be more productive, so the subject line of the email perfectly matches the needs and pain points of the company’s target audience.
✓ It integrates data. The email contains data from an actual survey of Airtable users. This improves the credibility of the message and encourages recipients to learn more.
✓ It is digitally accessible. Airtable email is digitally accessible. Although the message contains graphics, the main content of the email uses text and it works great with a screen reader so people with visual or hearing impairments can still read the message.
4. Best example of a creative B2B marketing campaign
One of the biggest challenges in B2B marketing is making seemingly boring (but important) topics more interesting and engaging for users.
If you sell enterprise security solutions, for example, talking at length about data centers and networks can make people’s eyes glaze over. That’s why marketers need to find ways to make B2B topics more exciting.
That’s exactly what Cisco did with its SuperSmart Security graphic novel. Rather than a typical white paper or spec sheet, Cisco has created a comic book-style resource that chronicles how a fictional organization (ACME Corporation) strengthened its security practices as part of an expansion.
The main protagonist is Phil, ACME’s head of security. The graphic novel shows Phil working with Cisco Supersmart to ensure the company’s security is airtight. Phil and Supersmart discuss common security vulnerabilities businesses face and how to combat them.
In the end, the bad guys fail to hack into ACME’s systems, and the company’s expansion continued without a hitch.
Consider implementing something similar when looking to educate users on a boring or tedious topic. Step things up by using non-traditional content elements to get your messages across. Recognize that while there is definitely a time and place for things like white papers and data sheets, supplementing these assets with more innovative components can help you create a winning creative B2B marketing campaign.
5. Best Out-of-Home B2B Marketing Campaign Example
Let’s not forget that great B2B marketing campaigns also happen in the real world (i.e. not just on the internet).
One of our favorite B2B out-of-home marketing campaign examples comes from work management software, Monday.com.
In 2019, Monday.com ran several London tube ads that “trolled” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The campaign featured a series of ads that said, “Manage everything. Even London” as well as references to the Prime Minister’s failed plans.
An advertisement mocked the canceled Garden Bridge project. While another showed London had been stuck on Brexit for over three years.
Of course, your initiatives don’t have to be as cheeky as Monday.com’s London tube ads. However, the company’s initiative shows us the importance of keeping up with the times.
By addressing current events and issues in its B2B out-of-home marketing campaign, Monday.com was able to get the audience talking. People took photos of the ads and shared them on social media. Media also covered the campaign, generating greater awareness of the ads – and Monday.com in the process.
Final Thoughts
Marketing to professionals doesn’t have to be boring or difficult. With a little creativity and a willingness to think outside the box, you’ll be able to come up with engaging campaigns that drive awareness and sales. And if you need some inspiration, just take a look at the examples we’ve shared above and grab a leaf from their playbooks and see how you can use their tactics in your own endeavors.
Did you like it? Discover our B2B marketing automation guide for more best practice examples to help you launch successful digital automation-assisted marketing campaigns.