Experienced B2B marketing professionals understand that the business buying journey isn’t always straightforward. Unlike consumer journeys —which typically involve simply adding products to a shopping cart— the marketing funnel and the buying processes of B2B customers 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 crafting campaign ideas, it helps to look at some of the best B2B marketing examples that have worked in the past.
And that’s is exactly what we’ll tackle in this article. We’ll list some of the most notable marketing campaigns in the B2B realm and shed light on what made them so successful. We’ll also talk about the online marketing services and platforms that powered these campaigns and share best practices that you can use in your own efforts.
Specifically, we will discuss B2B marketing campaign examples in the following areas:
- Digital marketing / social media
- Video marketing
- Email marketing
- Creative marketing
- Out of home marketing
By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of what it takes to craft a killer B2B marketing campaign. You’ll also learn what strategies and tactics work best for different platforms and how to use various digital channels to your advantage. More importantly, you’ll gain insights and inspiration to fuel your own B2B marketing efforts.
Let’s dive in.
If you’re crafting a social media campaign for B2B leads and buyers, LinkedIn should be on your priority list of social networks. Not only is it the largest professional social network (with almost 800 million members), LinkedIn is also the most trusted social site on the web. According to Insider Intelligence, 73% of LinkedIn users trust the site to protect their privacy and data, compared to just 54% for Facebook.
However, t’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 work lives. As such, one of the best ways to attract the attention of LinkedIn users is by providing high-value information that they can use at work.
The SEO platform Semrush understands this well. The teams at Semrush know that their target audience wants to get better at SEO, so they regularly publish search engine tips and insights. Best of all, the information is packaged in colorful and engaging infographics — making it easy for users to consume the content and share it with their network.
Semrush’s approach works really well, and the numbers speak for themselves. Many of the company’s infographics get hundreds of reactions and numerous comments from people talking about how helpful the information is.
See if you can follow a similar approach. When running a B2B social media campaign via LinkedIn or Instagram, aim to provide easily digestible, engaging information that your audience can use in their career, and make your posts visually appealing with the use of infographics.
2. Best B2B video marketing campaign example
Who says business-to-business marketing has to be boring? While it’s true that B2B audiences are more professional than their B2C counterparts, this doesn’t mean that your campaigns have to be overly serious or bland.
Strive to breathe life into your B2B marketing efforts by incorporating elements like humor into the mix.
The following B2B video marketing campaign example illustrates this well. Back in 2014, the communications platform Slack produced a video titled “So Yeah, We Tried Slack …”. The video was shot using a mockumentary style similar to The Office.
It featured the fictional company Sandwich Video Inc., which, prior to 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 so in the most hilarious way possible. (Just ask the guy who would mostly hold meetings in the utility closet.)
Enter Slack, which completely transformed how 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, industry-jargon filled or serious. With the right approach, adding some humor and personality to your initiatives will make them more compelling, humanise your brand and ultimately help you stand out from competitors to convert more customers.
3. Best B2B email marketing campaign example
While instant messaging and social media are making waves in the realm of marketing, email continues to be one of the most effective communication tools on the web.
Research shows that 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 an average of 121 emails per day, so 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 email marketing campaign example, consider this one from Airtable, a project management software company.
There are a number of reasons why we love Airtable’s message.
✓ It addresses an important pain point. The subject of the message reads, “3 reasons your productivity might be dropping”. The line may be short and sweet, but it addresses an important concern for many professionals: the lack of productivity.
Many people who use Airtable want to be more productive, so the email’s subject perfectly aligns with the needs and pain points of the company’s target audience.
✓ It incorporates data. The email contains data from an actual survey featuring Airtable users. This improves the credibility of the message and encourages recipients to learn more.
✓ It’s digitally accessible. Airtable’s email is digitally accessible. While the message contains graphics, the main content of the email uses text and it works perfectly with a screen reader so people with visual or hearing impairments can still consume the message.
4. Best B2B creative marketing campaign example
One of the biggest challenges of B2B marketing is making seemingly dull (but important) topics more interesting and engaging for users.
If you’re selling business security solutions, for example, talking about data centers and networks at length may make people’s eyes glaze over. That’s why marketers must come up with ways to make B2B topics more exciting.
This is exactly what Cisco did with its SuperSmart Security graphic novel. Rather than a typical whitepaper or datasheet, Cisco created a comic book-style resource that shares the story of how a fictional organization (ACME Corporation) tightened up its security practices amid an expansion.
The main protagonist is Phil, ACME's Chief Security Officer. The graphic novel shows Phil working with Cisco Supersmart in ensuring that the company's security is airtight. Phil and Supersmart discuss the common security vulnerabilities that companies face and how to combat them.
In the end, the bad guys fail at hacking ACME’s systems, and the company’s expansion went on without a hitch.
Consider implementing something similar when you’re looking to educate users about a boring or tedious topic. Spruce things up by using non-traditional content pieces to get your messages across. Recognize that while there’s certainly a time and place for things like whitepapers and data sheets, supplementing these assets with more novel components can help you create a winning B2B creative marketing campaign.
5. Best B2B out of home 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 the work management software, Monday.com.
In 2019, Monday.com implemented several London tube ads that “trolled” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The campaign featured a series of ads that read, “Manage anything. Even London” along with references to the Prime Minister’s failed projects.
One ad poked fun at the canceled Garden Bridge project. While another showed London being stuck at 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 being relevant with the times.
By addressing current events and issues in its B2B out of home marketing campaign, Monday.com was able to get the public talking. People took pictures of the ads and shared them on social media. Media outlets also covered the campaign, thus generating more awareness towards the ads — and Monday.com in the process.
Final thoughts
Marketing to business professionals doesn’t have to be boring or difficult. With a bit of creativity and willingness to think outside the box, you’ll be able to come up with interesting campaigns that drive awareness and sales. And if you need inspiration, just take a look at the examples we shared above and take a leaf out of their playbooks and see how you can use their tactics in your own efforts.
Enjoyed this? Check out our B2B marketing automation guide for more best practice examples to help you with launching successful marketing campaigns assisted by digital automation.
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