Marketing can be expensive, especially when you are targeting other businesses. But that does not mean you have to break the bank to get the leads and sales you need to grow your business.
In fact, there are many low-cost tactics you can use to drive more leads and sales without spending a fortune. In this blog post, we will discuss five of these tactics and how you can use them to stay in your B2B marketing budget.
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Top statistics on B2B marketing budget
Source: Skout PR
- According to a study by Gartner, B2B marketing leaders were not happy with the results of their marketing analytics investments.
- According to CMI’s 2022 B2B Content Marketing Report, of those who know their budgeting process, 66% expect their 2022 content marketing budget to increase over their 2021 budget, and 75% of the most successful respondents share this expectation.
- According to WPromote’s 2022 State of B2B Digital Marketing, 74% of marketers expect an increase in their B2B marketing budget, which represents a rise from 68% in the previous year.
To mitigate such increases but also get the most out of your existing B2B marketing budget, you may need to be proactive and follow certain steps.
5 Tactics to stay in your B2B marketing budget
Leverage the Power of Content Marketing
Source: Kuba
Content marketing is a powerful way to attract and engage potential customers without spending a lot of money. By creating high-quality content that is useful and relevant to your target audience, you can establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry and attract leads to your website.
To get started with content marketing, you need to identify your target audience and the content that they are most likely to engage with. This could be anything from blog posts and whitepapers to videos and infographics. Once you have identified the content you want to create, you can start producing and promoting them on your website and social media channels.
Remember that content marketing is a long-term strategy that requires patience and consistency. It may take some time before you see results, but if you stick with it, you’ll eventually attract more leads and sales to your business.
Use Social Media to Amplify Your Message
Social media is an excellent way to reach a large audience without spending a lot of money. By creating a strong social media presence, you can amplify your message and reach potential customers who may not have found you otherwise.
To get the most out of social media, you need to choose the platforms that are most relevant to your target audience. For B2B marketing, LinkedIn is often the most effective platform, but Twitter and Facebook can also be useful depending on your industry and audience.
Once you have identified the platforms you want to use, you can start creating and sharing content that applies to your audience. This could include blog posts, industry news, infographics, and other types of content that your audience is likely to find useful. You can also use social media to engage with your audience and build relationships with potential customers.
Leverage the Power of Email Marketing
Source: Danial Kashanian | Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your target audience and drive leads and sales. By creating targeted email campaigns, you can deliver personalized messages to your audience that are tailored to their needs and interests.
To get started with email marketing, you need to build a list of subscribers who have opted-in to receive your messages. You can do this by offering something of value, such as a free ebook or whitepaper, in exchange for their email address.
Once you have a list of subscribers, you can start creating and sending email campaigns that apply to their interests. This could include product updates, industry news, and other types of content that your audience is likely to find useful.
Remember to keep your emails short and to the point, and use attention-grabbing subject lines to encourage your audience to open your messages.
Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential part of any B2B marketing strategy. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can attract more organic traffic to your site and generate more leads and sales.
To optimize your website for search engines, you need to identify the keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords and assess their search volume and competition.
Once you’ve identified your target keywords, you can start optimizing your website content to include those keywords. This could include optimizing your page titles, meta descriptions, and headers, as well as including those keywords in your content. However, it’s important to use keywords naturally and not to overstuff them, as this can hurt your rankings.
Besides keyword optimization, there are other SEO best practices you should follow, such as ensuring your website has a fast load time, using alt tags for images, and having a mobile-responsive design.
Remember that SEO is a long-term strategy that requires ongoing effort and optimization. However, by investing time in SEO, you can attract more organic traffic to your website and generate more leads and sales.
Host Webinars to Educate and Engage Your Audience
Hosting webinars is a highly effective way to educate and engage your target audience, especially if you’re in a B2B industry where there’s a lot of complexity and nuance. Webinars can help you establish your brand as a thought leader and provide a platform for you to show your expertise and answer questions from your audience.
To host a successful webinar, you need to identify a topic that applies to your audience and that you have expertise in. You can promote your webinar through your website, email marketing campaigns, and social media channels.
When hosting your webinar, use engaging visuals and present the information clearly and concisely. You can also include a Q&A session at the end to encourage engagement and interaction with your audience.
After your webinar, follow up with attendees and provide additional resources or support as needed. Webinars can be a powerful tool for building relationships with potential customers and generating leads and sales.
B2B Marketing Budget Template
Below are areas for which you may need to allot a dedicated marketing budget.
Here is a B2B marketing budget template you can use as a starting point:
Advertising and Promotion
- Paid search (PPC)
- Display ads
- Social media ads
- Content syndication
- Influencer marketing
- Trade shows and events
Content marketing
- Content creation (blog posts, white papers, case studies, etc.)
- Content promotion (email marketing, social media, etc.)
- Content distribution (paid distribution, syndication, etc.)
Public relations
- Media outreach
- Press releases
- Thought leadership content
- Analyst relations
Website and SEO
- Website design and development
- Hosting and maintenance
- SEO optimization
- Web analytics and reporting
Email Marketing
- Email campaigns
- Email automation
- List building and management
Sales Enablement
- Sales collateral
- Sales training and support
- CRM and sales software
Marketing Technology
- Marketing automation software
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Social media management tools
- Webinar software
Miscellaneous Expenses
- Professional services (consulting, agency fees, etc.)
Next steps for your marketing budget template
- Put the relevant points on an Excel sheet
- Make columns for each month
- Under each month’s column, make 2 columns—forecasted marketing budget vs actual expenditure
You can later analyze your expenditure based on each quarter or even based on resources like people, tools, etc. Then, regularly review your B2B marketing budget to ensure you are getting the most out of your marketing investments.
Get started with your B2B marketing budget
Marketing your B2B business on a budget doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. By leveraging the power of content marketing, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, and webinars, you can attract and engage your target audience without spending a fortune.
Remember that marketing is a long-term strategy that requires patience and consistency. By investing time and effort into these tactics, you can drive more leads and sales to your business and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. And, the marketing budget template shared in the article will be a great starting point to control your expenditure.
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