Digital Marketing plans for 2018 will consume a large portion of most B2B companies’ entire marketing budgets. The ease of tracking and adjusting mid-campaign, the extensive reach, and the preference by consumers for digital communications, make digital marketing a high priority for 2018.

Customer expectations have grown significantly over the last few years based on the ease and immediate gratification of locating information in their personal lives. Consumers now expect the same high level of service and convenience in their work lives.

Invest wisely in digital marketing. Not all approaches are right for every business, but it is important to take advantage of the ones that can amplify your efforts. Traditional marketing tactics are no longer enough to stay competitive.

Here is a quick look at a few of the most prevalent and productive digital marketing tactics to consider in your 2018 B2B digital marketing plan.

Video

Marketing spend on online video is up 114% since 2014. Video streaming was 75% of all internet traffic in 2017 and there are no signs showing things will slow down. In fact, video distributed in any number of digital formats continues to generate significantly better results than static images or copy alone.

Another increasingly common type of video content is the explainer video. These are particularly useful for companies that solve complex problems and need an easy way to explain their solution. Wirebuzz.com reports that on websites where an explainer video is present, visitors are 4 times more likely to watch the video than to read text on the page.

Mobile

Incorporating mobile into marketing plans has become a necessity vs. a nice-to-have. 96% of people using a smartphone to get things done. Optimizing your website for mobile devices should be priority one if you have not already done so.

With 60% of American adults using smartphones and tablets to search for local product and service information, you will want to determine whether Geofencing is right for your company. This technology pushes customized campaigns to your target market when they move into a specific, pre-determined geographic region.

Business Intelligence (BI) – Business Intelligence tools enable better-informed decisions for marketing leaders. For instance, you may discover that customers in one segment are more likely to respond to explainer videos whereas another segment responds better to social media marketing. Further, you may be able to correlate those response rates to an increase in sales pipeline by tying marketing automation information together with your deal tracking system.

Influencer Marketing – After having moved through an era where corporate marketing meant professional, formal, and perfect, people are now hungry for authenticity. Influencers are people who genuinely find value in your product and want to promote it. They can be powerful promoters, especially if you find ones who have great online reach. The key here is to ensure complete transparency with your community. Your influencers should be the creators of their content, not you.

Once you understand the digital marketing options that are available, you will be able to identify the ones that will be of value to your business. Put careful thought into exactly how you will use each method and do your homework on costs so that you can accurately budget. Measure your marketing budget against benchmarks to be sure you are not underfunding or overcommitting. Finally, if you are incorporating new digital marketing approaches, consider whether you need to rebalance your in-house team vs. outsourced resources and how that will affect your budget planning.

For a structured approach to building a full B2B digital marketing plan and budget for 2018, download the guide: “5 Critical Steps for Planning Your 2018 Marketing Budget” or contact for a complimentary marketing audit.