What Is B2B Digital Marketing?

B2B digital marketing explained

B2B digital marketing uses online channels for marketing products and services to other businesses. It targets the interests and pain points of employees making purchases for their organizations, making the business itself the customer. 

Examples of B2B companies include:

• Upwork, a talent acquisition service that connects businesses with qualified freelancers
• Zoom, which provides teleconferencing software to companies with a remote or dispersed workforce
• Wrike, which offers collaborative work management software to help organizations do their best work

B2C and B2B can often intersect in the same company — for example, an office supplies company can sell to individuals and businesses. However, you would not use the same marketing strategy to appeal to both audiences.

B2B digital marketing strategies

Like every marketing strategy, a B2B digital marketing strategy must begin with understanding the buyer journey. How do your customers find you? How is your brand perceived through their eyes? What triggers them to make a purchase?

Then, you need to decide which digital marketing channels you will use to connect with your target customers. Here are a few examples to get you started:

SEO

It’s not enough for your company to have a website — you must ensure it is optimized to reach your target audience. Auditing your website for search engine optimization (SEO) means it’s more likely to rank highly on search engines. This can include incorporating relevant keywords in your content, editing image alt-text and metadata, and receiving inbound links from other websites.

Email marketing

According to HubSpot, 93% of B2B marketers use email, so it’s one B2B digital marketing channel you should not ignore. To get the most out of email marketing, follow these tips: 

• Write enticing subject lines that hook your audience from the very beginning
• Stick to one CTA per email to avoid confusing your readers
• Utilize email list segmentation to target different customer groups appropriately
• Ensure your emails show up correctly on both mobile and desktop — if not, they’re going straight to Trash

Content marketing

A content marketing strategy adds value for consumers through information and education. The possibilities are endless with content marketing — you can set up a company blog, write eBooks addressing customer challenges, and create videos on popular topics in your industry. Run tests to see what type of content attracts your ideal audience.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing can be more difficult for B2B companies than B2C, but it is a powerful tool for building brand awareness. Use it to share your content and position your business as an expert in the field. Employee-driven content is also a winner in B2B digital marketing, receiving over eight times more engagement than regular brand content.

With these tips in mind, you can craft an effective B2B digital marketing strategy that places your company at the top of the list for your target audience.