Marketing is an important area for any business to cover. For those selling business-to-business (B2B), this is even more important, because this sector evolves before business-to-customer (B2C) marketing does. Businesses are at the forefront of marketing information and technology, and are constantly looking for new techniques and ways to improve old ones. Targeting them with outdated, irrelevant marketing is an easy way to LOSE business.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 5 trends you should be following in 2018.

  1. Hit the VR Market

The popularity of virtual reality is on the increase and marketers are already starting to look at how they can engage with this to land more customers. This increase in popularity and market size is forecast to take off hugely in the coming couple of years.

Some techniques which have already seen great success include the ability to place B2B buyers into a ‘virtual space’. This could be to simulate how a creation/design might look, or also to simply have virtual ‘face-to-face’ meets and get any questions answered quickly and effectively.

  1. Micro Moments

Micro moments have become way more popular in recent years. Micro-vids of 5-15s length are often used for advertising now, and apps like Snapchat and Instagram have helped to increase their popularity. Micro moments are so popular because they are concise and to the point, cutting out any fluff or filler – very important in todays’ busy world.

Utilize this to make sure every area of your marketing and business is covered by micro moments, allowing your B2B buyers to get fast, concise answers without having to hunt around or get in contact directly with you.

  1. Using LinkedIn

Social media marketing is without a doubt a key area to hit, which almost everyone already knows. With ad spend still growing and an ever growing user base, social marketing simply can’t be ignored.

The thing is, most platforms are used by customers rather than businesses. How do you get around that? You focus your B2B marketing on the platform that is mostly used by businesses and for professional purposes. That way you are targeting the relevant people, who ALSO have relevant aims at the time.

LinkedIn is the professional social network, so users are either working or looking for work-related people/products when they’re online. Take advantage of this and avoid unnecessary spending on Facebook etc., where your ads are likely to pop up while people are relaxing and simply viewing family/friends content.

  1. Multimedia Marketing

When it comes to B2B content marketing, multimedia is the new king while text marketing is old hat. Nowadays it’s all about pics, infographics, and of course videos. Vids allow for more to be said in less time, and it keeps the viewer engaged too. You can use visuals and demonstrations amongst other techniques to really sell your product and give the buyer a proper idea of what they’re getting.

  1. Mobile Targeting

Of course you can’t talk about marketing anymore without considering mobile marketing. Most people use mobile phones and tablets in one way or another. A lot of people use tablets to keep on working whilst relaxing at home, whether on a sofa or in bed. These professionals are exactly the type of people you need to target for B2B sales, so make sure you’re mobile efficient and ready to go!