In November 2024, we sent three members of our Client Services team, Vogue, Kate and Hope to the B2B Marketing Expo at Excel in London. In this blog, we highlight some of the key takeaways, including:
- The challenge of quality traffic acquisition
- Podcasts as a strategic marketing tool
- The power of B2H (Business-to-Human) marketing
About B2B Marketing Expo
Hosted at Excel in London, B2B Marketing Expo event is packed with expert speakers, industry-leading exhibitors and live sessions with hundreds of attendees across various industries. This year’s event featured sessions on topics from Demand Gen and AI to content marketing, developing cutting-edge social media strategies, and growth marketing.
Our Main Takeaways from B2B Marketing Expo 2024
“Quality Traffic is Getting Harder to Acquire”
Digital Marketing Executive, Kate Staples, delved into detail about a standout talk from Leadoo, which shed light on the growing challenges B2B marketers face in driving relevant, high-intent traffic to their websites. There are 5 key reasons for this:
1. The Rise of Zero-Click Searches
‘Zero-click searches’ as a phenomenon that happens when users find the answers they need directly on the search results page. With the likes of AI overviews, local information, and rich snippets, a scary statistic from Sparktoro reveals that just 65% of searches now result in no click at all. While this improves the user experience, it reduces organic traffic opportunities, requiring a shift in strategy toward owning the content that powers these rich results.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In the world of AI, Bing made the first move with its integration of ChatGPT, sparking competition with Google’s Bard and Search Generative Experience (SGE), now rolling out at scale. The rise of AI-powered tools demands marketers to align content strategies with AI-driven search experiences, or businesses risk falling behind.
3. Intensified Search Ad Competition
Due to heightened competition in ad auctions and the convenience of automation, which diminishes marketers' control, it's unsurprising that search ad costs are expected to double by 2027.
- 2017 - $106b
- 2021 - $225b
- 2027 - $435b
With clicks on the decline, marketers must maximise the ROI of every interaction by sharpening targeting and messaging amongst other optimisations.
4. The Cookieless Future
Tech giants are moving away from cookies in response to privacy concerns, and this transition is reshaping the digital marketing landscape. While it’s a necessary step forward for users' rights, it also diminishes the precision of targeting options for marketers. This new era requires innovation in first-party data collection and privacy-friendly tracking methods to maintain effectiveness in campaigns.
5. The Rising Cost of Links
Securing high-quality backlinks has become more challenging than ever. Editorial outlets are recognising the value of links for SEO and are now often demanding payment for inclusion. Even with international coverage, there’s no longer a guarantee of securing backlinks. This underscores the importance of prioritising high-value, mutually beneficial partnerships to sustain link-building strategies.
The Bottom Line
It’s easy to get caught up in the number of sessions on a site, and traffic fluctuations can move marketers' focus on the short term, trying to understand the causes of these drops. But ultimately, we need to remember that traffic isn’t the end goal. On average, 98% of website traffic leaves without taking any meaningful action, so time is often better spent optimising for conversion and improving targeting to focus on the people who will convert.
Shifting Focus to B2H (Business-to-Human)
Client Services Manager, Hope Holman, explored a few of her key takeaways from the event:
Marketing has always been about connecting with people, whether you're talking to businesses (B2B) or individual consumers (B2C). However, one of the talks at the event discussed a fresh perspective with the idea of focusing on “Business-to-Human” (B2H) which was insightful. With an increasing amount of AI-generated content and the rise of AI tools that make it easy to mass-produce content at the click of a button, flooding our feeds, people are likely to become more sceptical of the content they consume and question whether it is authentic and genuine. In fact, what they’re actually looking for and craving are brands that genuinely understand them and make real, human connections while providing them with the solution they need.
One of the most memorable discussions emphasised that behind every job title you’re targeting—whether it’s a Sales Leader exploring a new tool or an Operations Director considering a innovative time management platform—there’s a person. The speakers reminded us that relying too heavily on AI risks losing that personal touch. In today’s noisy, automated world, the brands that stand out are those that prioritise authenticity, empathy, and meaningful human connections.
"Think Before You Act" for Successful Campaigns
One of the sessions, led by Emma Easton, Managing Director at Business-Bollox, discussed a simple yet powerful and often overlooked principle: Think before you act. It’s a phrase we all know in the everyday, but in the context of digital marketing, it can be easily forgotten in the drive to deliver ROI more quickly. The focus of the talk was on the importance of planning and understanding your audience before diving into a campaign and started by asking everyone in the audience whether they, as marketers, had ever launched a campaign that hadn’t quite delivered the results they were hoping for? A lot of hands were raised.
Too often, campaigns are launched with the aim of driving engagement, generating leads or simply being seen in a noisy competitive market without a clear understanding of who they’re targeting or what those people really need. This can lead to missed opportunities, mixed messaging to the audiences, potentially damaging reputations and most obviously, disappointing results. The talk went on to discuss the importance of really taking the time to truly understand your audience—where they are, what they do, their goals, and the kind of content they engage with. Doing this can make a world of difference in how well your campaign performs. Putting yourself in your end-consumer's shoes before acting on anything could be the difference between a disappointing or successful campaign.
The takeaway from this talk was simple: good marketing isn’t just about coming up with creative ideas; it’s about being precise. When you base your campaigns on solid research and a deep understanding of your audience, they’re far more likely to hit the mark.
Podcasts: A Gateway to Audience Engagement
The session on podcasting emphasised the growing role of audio content in building brand authority and engaging audiences. I learned how a well-crafted podcast can serve as a powerful tool for B2B marketers, not only to connect with listeners on a deeper level but also to subtly drive leads.
Key highlights included:
- End-to-End Strategy: From brainstorming content ideas to editing and promotion, creating a podcast isn’t as intimidating as it sounds when broken into manageable steps.
- Repurposing Content: Episodes can be transformed into blog posts, social media snippets, or even email campaigns, maximising ROI.
- Expanding Influence: A podcast positions your brand as a thought leader, creating a loyal following while building trust with potential clients.
With the right strategy, podcasts can cut through the noise, offering authenticity in an increasingly AI-dominated content landscape.
Discover our own podcast - Digital Marketing Answered!
AI and the Future of SEO
The session on AI-driven search was equally impactful. As AI overhauls search engine results, with features like generative 'AI Overviews' on Google, businesses face a choice: adapt or risk losing visibility.
The talk delved into:
- How AI Changes Search: Generative AI now summarises key information directly in search results, reducing clicks to websites. This means businesses must prioritise creating content that feeds these AI-generated summaries.
- Opportunities for Growth: By aligning strategies with AI-driven search, businesses can not only retain traffic but also attract new customers through optimised visibility in these cutting-edge features.
- A Warning for the Unprepared: Those failing to adjust risk seeing significant traffic declines.
The underlying message was clear: businesses must innovate and optimise for AI to stay competitive in the evolving digital landscape.
Looking forward: Bringing these Insights to our Clients in 2025
The B2B Marketing Expo was invaluable, and reinforced our knowledge as well as providing insights into new, innovative tools. As a leading digital marketing agency, we will no doubt integrate these insights into our clients' strategies to maximise their revenue and profitability.
If you’re looking for a trusted partner that can help your business grow and stay abreast of constant changes, Innovation Visual can provide just the expertise you need. Get in touch today to start the conversation.
