B2B Digital Marketing: Strategies For Lead Generation And Nurturing In A Digital-First World

In this digital-first era, B2B digital marketing has experienced a paradigm shift. With customers increasingly using online sources like social media, chatbots, online ads, mobile apps, and other digital touchpoints to make informed purchasing decisions, companies need to evolve their approaches in order to remain competitive. In a survey conducted by Gartner, 80% of B2B buyers have come to prefer digital self-service and remote human interaction versus traditional sales. This shift has made B2B digital marketing not just an option but a necessity for lead generation and nurturing. At The Virtual Salt, a leading digital marketing agency, we’ve helped numerous B2B businesses navigate this evolving landscape. Here, we’ll explore some proven strategies for B2B digital marketing that can help your business generate high-quality leads and nurture them effectively in a digital-first world.

The Importance of Lead Generation and Nurturing in B2B Digital Marketing

Lead generation brings potential customers to a business, whereas lead nurturing establishes relationships and takes the audience through the sales funnel. According to a HubSpot study, 61% of marketers identify lead generation as their greatest challenge. This highlights the need for B2B companies to use digital strategies that can successfully convert the target audience into customers. B2B buyers are better informed and more empowered than ever.

According to a Forrester report, 68% of B2B buyers would rather research independently online, and 60% will only speak with a sales representative after they have determined that they have a specific need. This implies that your online presence needs to be powerful enough to capture, connect, and convert the target audience before they ever contact your sales team. The Virtual Salt excels at helping businesses apply these strategies effectively.

Content is the foundation of successful B2B digital marketing strategies. A strong approach to content marketing in digital marketing helps drive growth, engage potential leads, and establish your company as a thought leader in the industry.

• Develop Educational Content: Write whitepapers, eBooks, case studies, and how-to guides that respond to your target audience’s issues.
• Leverage Blogging: Create and publish blog entries on a regular basis that respond to frequent questions and deliver actionable information. Research by HubSpot has demonstrated that longer blogs of more than 2,000 words drive 56% more leads than brief articles.
• Use Gated Content: Make sure you share high-quality content in the form of eBooks, whitepapers, or case studies to gain quality contact information. This will help establish your email list. 

According to studies, 93% of B2B customers begin their purchasing process online. This means that B2B SEO is not optional, if you want to scale your business, you must exercise B2B SEO diligently. Search engine optimization of your website and content makes your brand visible to users when they are looking for solutions.

• Keyword Research: Find high-intent keywords that your target customers are looking for. SEMrush and Ahrefs are tools that can assist you.
• On-Page SEO: Here you need to optimize meta titles, meta descriptions, title headers, and even images for your target keywords.
• Technical SEO: Make your site fast, mobile-friendly, and simple to navigate. A slow website can raise bounce rates by 50%, Google reports. Organic search is responsible for 53% of all website traffic, BrightEdge reports, making it a lead generation must-have for B2B.

Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are excellent B2B lead-generation tools. LinkedIn, especially, is a treasure trove for B2B marketers, with 80% of B2B leads generated on the site.

• Share Valuable Content: Share valuable content like industry insights, case studies, and thought leadership articles to educate your audience.
• Run Targeted Ads: Target decision-makers on LinkedIn Ads by job title, industry, and company size.
• Have Conversations: Join industry conversations and comment on them to establish relationships. For example, get involved in LinkedIn groups that pertain to your niche and share useful insights.

Performance marketing is one crucial strategy that plays a huge role in quickly capturing high-intent leads, especially for businesses targeting decision-makers. Google Ads and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms are particularly effective for B2B lead generation.

• LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms: These pre-filled forms make it easy for potential leads to share their contact information without leaving the platform. This improves conversion rates and ensures high-quality leads.
• Google Ads for B2B: Running search and display campaigns targeting industry-specific keywords is effective. Use remarketing lists to re-engage potential customers who have visited your website and could potentially convert.
• A/B Testing: One good trick is to continuously optimize your ad copy, visuals, and CTAs to maximize ROI.

Email marketing is still one of the most successful channels used for B2B lead nurturing. HubSpot suggests that 59% of marketers indicate that email is their source of the highest ROI.

• Segment Your Audience: Tailor emails according to the recipient’s industry, job title, or buyer’s journey stage. For instance, send a customized email to CTOs regarding your new technology solution.
• Automate Campaigns: Utilize marketing automation software that helps to deliver targeted emails at the appropriate moment.
• Provide Value: Post relevant content, product news, and special promotions to keep your target audience interested. For example, send a monthly newsletter with industry tips and trends.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a very targeted strategy that targets specific accounts instead of large groups. ITSMA research indicates that 87% of marketers indicate that ABM returns a greater ROI than other marketing efforts. t’s especially useful for B2B businesses with long sales cycles and high-value transactions.

• Identify Key Accounts: Use data to pinpoint high-value accounts that align with your ideal customer profile. For example, if you’re targeting Fortune 500 companies, create a list of decision-makers within those organizations.
• Create Personalized Campaigns: Tailor content, ads, and emails to address the specific needs of each account.
• Align Sales and Marketing: Get both teams aligned to provide a seamless experience. For example, synchronize personalized email campaigns with follow-up calls by the sales team.

B2B lead nurturing is more effective when integrated with marketing automation and CRM tools. Many businesses have integrated CRM tools and here are some strategies that they can incorporate for maximum results.

• Automate Lead Nurturing: Set up email workflows that deliver personalized content based on user behavior.
• Lead Scoring & Segmentation: Use CRM tools to rank leads based on engagement and tailor messaging accordingly.
• Sync Sales & Marketing Efforts: Ensure there is seamless collaboration between sales and marketing teams by integrating CRM insights into outreach strategies.

Webinars and online events are great for lead generation and nurturing. You can present your expertise, interact with the audience in real time, and obtain valuable contact data. Studies by GoToWebinar suggest that 73% of B2B marketers indicate that webinars are the most effective way to create high-quality leads.

• Select Relevant Subjects: This strategy works because you can discuss topics that appeal to your target market.
• Encourage Effectively: Leverage email, social networks, and advertisements to push enrollment.
• Follow-up: Distribute a recording as well as resources to participants upon completion of the event. As an example, provide a downloadable PDF of slides from the webinar and a pointer to a connective blog posting.

Not every lead converts on the first visit. Retargeting enables you to re-engage interested audiences who have not yet converted. According to some reports, retargeting can boost conversion rates by as much as 150%.

• Utilize Dynamic Ads: Display ads with products or content the prospect has already looked at. For instance, if a prospect looks at a pricing page, display an ad that emphasizes your competitive pricing.
• Set Frequency Limits: Don’t overwhelm the audience with excessive advertising.
• Provide Incentives: Give discounts or free trials in order to incentivize conversions. For example, give a 10% discount for first-time customers.

In today’s digital-first world, B2B marketers need to employ a multi-channel strategy for lead generation and nurturing. By using content marketing, SEO, social media, email marketing, ABM, webinars, and retargeting, you can pull high-quality leads in and move them through the buyer’s journey seamlessly. Here at The Virtual Salt, we assist B2B companies in avoiding the intricacies of digital marketing. Whether it’s creating more leads, converting existing ones, or establishing a strong digital footprint, our experienced team is at your service. Let’s grow your business with some professional B2B digital marketing strategies and drive quantifiable outcomes together.