This Week in Marketing: Smarter Marketing for Turbulent Times

By Tequia Burt , Editor in Chief of LinkedIn Collective and LinkedIn Ads Blog

The majority of B2B marketers expect at least some budget increases in the coming year (according to the 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark ). But we shouldn’t overlook the 25% who are expecting stagnation, or even a decrease. And we shouldn’t take for granted that what we’re expecting – even what we’ve been promised – will materialize.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that nothing is ever 100% certain. All marketers need to develop flexibility and resilience to succeed no matter what the future holds.?

This week’s roundup can help you round out your skillset, adjust your strategy and get results through thick and thin.

Read on for the best from the LinkedIn Collective and the web at large.

What to Read

MarTech Interview with Tequia Burt, Editor-in-Chief, LinkedIn for Marketing Blog (MarTech Series) : I sat down with Paroma Sen and took a deep dive into our 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark to explore the trends impacting B2B marketers today and tomorrow.

Death by Data: Identifying the B2B Marketing Metrics that Matter (Forbes): Metrics that directly tie your marketing efforts to revenue are essential regardless of your budget outlook. Dave Foster details which metrics, across the entire funnel, can keep you focused on revenue.

CMOs Under Pressure: The Unseen Challenges in B2B Marketing (Search Engine Journal): The health of your marketing team can’t be measured by budget alone. CMOs are facing an “underground recession” marked by lengthening deal cycles, shrinking markets and more. Matt G. Southern has a full report along with next steps to help CMOs thrive.?

There’s a Troubling AI Knowledge Gap in B2B Marketing. Here’s How to Address It. (LinkedIn Collective): The 2024 B2B Benchmark found that AI is already essential for modern marketing – and that nearly half of respondents say their team’s AI skills are insufficient. My latest LinkedIn Collective article can help close that gap.

Lose the Lingo and Think TikTok: B2C Marketing Tips for B2B (Digital Commerce 360): Don’t panic: You don’t have to make your CEO do the latest viral dance craze. But you can use new channels to reach a broader audience, and even to funnel them back to your strong lead generation channels (like LinkedIn and your website). These tips from Matthew Levitt can help spark inspiration.

How to Catch Audiences with Extraordinary Hooks (CMI): Regardless of channel or content type, every marketing message should have a killer hook. Dennis Shiao illustrates the fundamentals of a great hook for text, images and video in this piece.

What to Watch

Reducing B2B Marketing Cost Per Acquisition by Increasing Brand Awareness

In case you haven’t noticed, our team is pretty sold on brand building as an essential component of B2B marketing. But it’s good to have some third-party verification, this time from marketing leaders Dots Oyebolu and Stefan Maritz .?

What to Know

According to the 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark, marketing teams are looking for soft skills like innovation, problem-solving skills and ability to adapt. Resilient, flexible marketers will not only be able to succeed wherever they’re hired, they’re more likely to be hired in the first place.

Follow LinkedIn Collective for more B2B marketing insights from smart marketers around the world.