b2b brand | 4 Signs Your Marketing Is a ‘Nice to Have’, Not a Must-Have

1️⃣ Old Way: Corporate-Led Brand Marketing → New Way: Brand + People Work Together

Then: Brand marketing focused on corporate messaging, polished campaigns, and broad awareness strategies.

Now: Brand marketing is still essential, but it’s strongest when paired with authentic, people-led content.

📌 76% of B2B buyers say they’re more likely to trust a brand when its employees share insights. (Edelman Trust Barometer)

💡 How to Stand Out:

• Balance brand and personal voices. Corporate storytelling matters, but buyers also want to hear from real people.

• Encourage leaders and employees to share their perspectives.

• Use thought leadership, case studies, and real-world examples to build trust.

🔎 Example: Salesforce doesn’t just rely on brand marketing—they empower employees to be brand storytellers, making their content feel more personal and engaging.

2️⃣ Old Way: Text-Heavy Content → New Way: Visual-First Content Wins

Then: The go-to strategy was long whitepapers, 30-page reports, and walls of text.

Now: B2B buyers consume content like B2C consumers—fast, visual, and easy to digest.

📌 Posts with images and videos get 2x more engagement on LinkedIn. (LinkedIn Engineering Blog)

📌 Infographics are 30x more likely to be read than text-heavy reports. (NN Group)

💡 How to Stand Out:

• Turn long reports into bite-sized carousels, infographics, and short videos.

• Use engaging visuals to highlight key insights—don’t make buyers search for them.

• Leverage video content. Tutorials, explainers, and behind-the-scenes clips drive higher engagement.

🔎 Example: Slack’s "State of Work Report" is broken into snackable, engaging visual content that keeps people coming back for more.

3️⃣ Old Way: One-Off Campaigns → New Way: Consistency is Everything

Then: Marketing teams ran campaigns, collected leads, then… disappeared until the next launch.

Now: Long-term engagement wins. Buyers want ongoing conversations—not one-and-done campaigns.

📌 Companies that engage buyers consistently across multiple touchpoints see 28% higher conversion rates. (McKinsey)

💡 How to Stand Out:

• Stay top-of-mind with newsletters, reports, and regular engagement.

• Build relationships through valuable content—not just lead gen tactics.

• Follow up. If someone engages with your content, keep the conversation going.

🔎 Example: Adobe doesn’t just launch research reports and move on. They create multi-channel experiences—webinars, thought leadership pieces, and social engagement—to keep the momentum going.

4️⃣ Old Way: Serious and Formal → New Way: Edutainment Wins

Then: B2B content was formal, polished, and serious.

Now: Buyers want to learn—but they also want to be entertained.

📌 Humor and personality-driven content drives 30% higher engagement. (HubSpot)

📌 47% of B2B buyers say they engage more with brands that “don’t take themselves too seriously.” (Forrester)

💡 How to Stand Out:

• Use storytelling, humor, and personality to keep content engaging.

• Balance education with entertainment. People remember fun, relatable content.

• Ditch the corporate tone. If your content reads like a legal document, rewrite it.

🔎 Example: Duolingo’s playful, meme-driven approach to content keeps audiences engaged while still delivering real value.

The Bottom Line

B2B marketing isn’t about playing it safe anymore.

The brands that win are the ones that:

• 🚀 Put people at the center.

• 📊 Use visuals to make content digestible.

• 🎯 Engage consistently, not just during campaigns.

📩 Want to see what B2B decision-makers are actually engaging with? Contentive’s Audience Intelligence Reports track industry trends, so your content lands with the right audience.

👉 Get the latest Audience Intelligence Report here.