B2B marketing is quickly changing. We’re seeing brands using empathy, humor, celebrity influencers, and even Tik Tok—historically B2C marketing strategies—to reach out to buyers and decision-makers of small and large businesses.
In this article, we’ll show you some of the best and most successful marketing techniques to incorporate into your 2022 marketing strategies. We’ll explain how and why each campaign works.
#1 Social Responsibility: Beco
As critical as it is for a business to ensure their brand stands out from their competitions’, a unique brand differentiator can be difficult to achieve. But Beco has two differentiators: their brilliant employees and their incredible social responsibility.
How It Works
Beco’s #stealourstaff video is part of an integrated marketing campaign that takes social responsibility to a whole new level. The environmental soap manufacturer used packaging, public advertisements, social media, press releases, and a website recruitment tool to challenge other businesses to steal their employees, 80% of who are visually impaired.
Why It Works
Beco used targeted messaging, empathy, authenticity, and brand ambassadors to make a big impact. Their campaign positioned the company as a leader in social and environmental responsibility.
For a modest ad spend (£3K), the campaign racked up 25 million impressions, a 1500% increase in web traffic, a 96% increase in sales and 40+ brands got in touch. Plus, the campaign won the 2021 Drum award for Health & Wellness.
#2 Environmental Responsibility: AWS
It’s equally crucial for businesses to incorporate environmental responsibility into their business and marketing strategies. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is on-point with their commercial, which highlights an environmentally sustainable partnership.
How It Works
The recent increase in impact investments and the rise in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures has many companies scrambling to define their ESG practices. As a result, businesses that meet ESG standards are reaching out a hand as partners to help other businesses reach their ESG goals.
Why It Works
In this ad, AWS targets energy businesses and addresses the challenges the energy industry faces in meeting environmental objectives. It answers these challenges with AWS sustainable solutions that accommodate their goals and provide even deeper sustainability.
#3 Tooting Their Horn on Tik Tok: IBM
While social marketing has become the new normal for B2B brands, TikTok is entirely new territory. It’s taking a while for B2Bs to recognize what B2Cs already know: TikTok is no longer dominated by tweens and teens. According to Backlinko, 53% of TikTok’s one billion users are over the age of 30 and 75% are 20+. That’s a huge adult audience to make an impression.
How It Works
In this incredibly simple ad, IBM steps up as the leader in U.S patents. In 15 short seconds IBM asserts their authority in science and research. The video has an incredible 168.8K views and 16.1 likes on IBM’s feed alone for a 9.5% engagement.
Why It Works
TikTok is one of the best platforms to reach mass audiences to increase brand awareness. B2B video advertising is new to TikTok, which means forward-thinking businesses can corner the TikTok market in their industry. The short and authentic video format is perfect for sneaking in low-budget, niche ads that don’t feel like ads. At the same time, TikTok’s algorithm cleverly serves up videos that are relevant to the viewers interests, utterly simplifying the targeting process.
If you need more proof that TikTok is the next big advertising channel for B2B, check out these two case studies:
- Tailor Brands promoted a short and simple eye-catching video that makes a game of guessing which logos are AI-generated. The video had nine million views and an incredible 10.5% conversion rate.
- BigDug used a micro-influencer to increase brand awareness. They teamed up with TheP00LGuy to work their products into his videos, without straying from his authentic, helpful, and humorous format. The video was a huge success, receiving 1.5 million views with a 10.19% engagement rate.
#4 Celebrity Influencer: Squarespace
Celebrity influencer marketing can be difficult to pull off. They tend to speak to a broader audience than, for example, employee advocates or industry experts. Which means that you might be shooting wide. You also risk credibility if the influencer is perceived as ingenuine. However, Squarespace has created award-winning influencer marketing campaign for years. This year, it was 5-to-9 with Dolly Parton.
How It Works
Squarespace uses empathy and targeting to narrow in on their ideal client. Understanding their customers, their challenges, their unique personalities, and how hard they work for their dreams.
Why It Works
Squarespace acknowledges their unique clients with commercials that are bespoke to each celebrity. The campaign leverages creditability by using celebrities who are running businesses through Squarespace websites that are as bespoke as their commercials.
#5 Employee Influencer: Wix
Wix’s video ad grabs you at the intro with the claim that they use the platform for their own business.
How It Works
The ad is simple. Wix uses an employee advocate to build credibility, authority and authenticity. It demonstrates that the platform is intuitive and scalable.
Why It Works
The video emphasizes the platform’s potential and possibilities while pointing out the features, functionalities and benefits. It addresses the needs of small businesses with an informative no-nonsense approach.
#6 Client Testimonials: Turbo Tax
Client testimonials are essential to promoting your B2B credibility. They also boost the authority of your website. Turbo Tax created a campaign that proves testimonials can also be fun.
How It Works
Turbo Tax targets small business owners with attention-grabbing testimonials. This series of pithy videos promotes testimonials so uniquely that you’ll need to watch the next video (and the next).
Why It Works
Testimonials can be dull and the way they’re marketed tends to be duller still. Turbo Tax solved this issue by placing real client testimonials and real actors in mundane situations. The videos use humor, empathy, and client advocates to establish reliability and expertise.
#7 Client Influencer: Fiverr
In this genius Superbowl commercial, Fiverr hand-picked a client advocate for its serendipitous location in the middle of an awkward political press conference.
How It Works
The commercial incorporates humor, irony and timing into a persuasive client influencer campaign. In this video, Fiverr targets small businesses with strong understanding of their pain points and goals.
Why It Works
While taking a tongue-in-cheek, non-partisan poke at a failed press conference and the resulting social frenzy, the commercial provides clear small business solutions and wins. So, while the social and political timing was perfect, the ad still speaks to those who avoid such platforms.
#8 Perfect Timing: Vistaprint
Speaking of perfect timing, Vistaprint’s Hot Yoga ad addresses the need for businesses to pivot in an ever-changing world.
How It Works
Vistaprint’s Hot Yoga video is a nod to the changing needs of businesses, which are in flux and need to quickly adapt to the new normal. Vistaprint’s video uses humor, ingenuity and understanding to target their customers. It expresses one business owner’s ingenuity and ability to pivot in the face of disaster.
Why It Works
Vistaprint addresses a trending topic from a different perspective, keeping their ad evergreen with an unlikely event. The ad is not only perfectly timed to current world changes, but it also demonstrates Vistaprint’s ability to deliver timely marketing materials.
#9 Empathy: Travelers
Empathy is a marketing technique that’s quickly becoming table stakes in B2B. To use empathy right, businesses must know who their customers are and what matters to them. And Travelers does it right, utilizing empathy in an ad about a multigenerational business.
How It Works
Travelers’ ad targets small businesses, combining strong storytelling and empathy in a poignant video that cleverly illustrates the impact of each generation on the business.
Why It Works
It’s simple. The ad leverages an intimate knowledge about Travelers’ customers, pulling at the heartstrings while demonstrating an ability to meet their needs.
#10 Customer-Centric Marketing: Ram Agriculture
We all know that marketing should be customer centric. But approaching any campaign customer first can be difficult to do. Ram Agriculture proves not only that it can be done, but that they can do it without ever talking about themselves.
How It Works
Ram Agriculture targets the agriculture industry with an ad that features several different farmers who talk about what matters to them. Never, in this ad, do the farmers discuss their trucks or Ram Agriculture. Never, in this ad, does Ram Agriculture discuss or feature their trucks.
Why It Works
Customer-centricity is a deep differentiator for Ram Agriculture. With ads that never discuss their own business or their products, Ram Agriculture proves a strong understanding of their customers. It’s not what’s said that is so powerful about this ad. It’s what’s not said.
Bottom Line
To keep up with an evolving B2B market, brands need to step up their marketing campaigns for 2022. Tomorrow’s successful brands will take a leading position in global issues and leverage strategies typically used in B2C, including influencer marketing, customer empathy, and the latest social media platforms.