B2B marketing is changing fast. What worked in your last strategy could already be outdated.
To keep generating great leads without blowing your budget, you must know which trends to act on and which are just noise.
Here are eight data- and expert-backed B2B marketing trends for this year and beyond.
1. AI content creation becomes the norm (but tread carefully)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has left its experimental phase and is now part of everyday B2B marketing workflows.
Pipedrive’s State of AI in Business report found that content creation is the top AI use case across industries, ahead of transcribing calls, researching prospects and generating reports.
Marketers use generative AI tools to:
Create first drafts of blog posts and whitepapers
Generate headlines and social media captions
Analyze data and create insightful performance reports
For instance, they can prompt ChatGPT to generate initial outlines for a long-form guide to use as a lead magnet, saving hours of research.
AI email-writing tools are also making it easier to craft engaging, personalized messages with just a few prompts.
Pipedrive’s AI email writer is a great example of a tool that helps you produce personalized content with minimal effort. Describe what you want to say, set your tone and choose your desired length – like this:
In seconds, the tool will generate engaging copy to fit your needs. You can then review and edit the content to keep it original and your brand voice consistent.
With simple tools like ChatGPT and Pipedrive’s AI email writer, the challenge isn’t using AI but maintaining quality while scaling content production.
The solution is to avoid depending too heavily on tech and to continue applying human creativity and attention to detail in reviews.
On that topic, Annie Dean, Global Head of Team Anywhere at Atlassian, has this advice:
Dean’s use of the term “sparring partner” is key here. Treat AI tools as collaborators you bounce ideas off, rather than delegating creative tasks to them. Otherwise, your content risks sounding like every other AI user’s.
2. Podcasts are now a core content strategy (not a bonus)
Podcasts have become central pillars in many B2B marketing strategies, serving as ‘content engines’ that power multiple formats across channels.
“Podcasts produce media-rich and engaging content that performs well across multiple channels, including social media, blogs and newsletters,” explains Lee Judge, co-founder and CMO at Content Monsta.
For example, marketing agency Smart Panda Labs repurposes its co-founder’s podcast, Everything Clicks, as LinkedIn content.
The clip above includes a discussion about optimizing post-click experiences. It’s highly relevant to Smart Panda Labs’ target audience: B2C enterprises looking to grow website conversions.
High-quality video and audio content grabs social media users’ attention better than plain text (more on video shortly).
It also lets audiences hear tone, emotion and expertise directly, building trust faster and making messages more memorable – all without extra content creation.
The main challenge here is measuring success. As Judge explains, it’s hard to directly attribute podcast engagement to closed deals, especially given how people consume this type of content:
3. Hyper-personalization is happening at scale (without the enterprise price tag)
AI makes hyper-personalization more accessible to smaller businesses, allowing them to segment audiences and tailor experiences in detail without huge price tags.
That matters because today’s B2B buyers expect more than first-name greetings in their inboxes. They need quality content tailored to their industry, role, challenges and buyer journey stage, with 86% of customers expecting companies to be well-informed about their personal information.
Business leaders recognize this shift and are using technology to adapt. In a 2024 Twilio survey, 73% of respondents agreed that AI adoption will fundamentally change personalization and marketing strategies.
They expect chatbots, AI-driven customer journeys, predictive product recommendations and automated customer segmentation to be the most impactful applications over the next five years.
You’ll need the right customer data to apply these tools effectively, as Deloitte Digital managing director David Chan explains:
A strong CRM is essential. It centralizes and organizes customer data so AI tools have the fuel to deliver smart, timely personalization. The best systems include built-in AI features that reduce context-switching.
For example, Pipedrive’s AI Sales Assistant analyzes real-time behavior – like email opens and recent deal activity – to suggest the best next steps. Here it is recommending the user schedule a call to advance their deal:
Alternatively, if a lead opens a pricing email twice in one day but doesn’t reply, the Assistant might flag them as high-interest and prompt a callback. That way, sales and marketing teams can act fast with content that matches where the buyer is in their journey.
Start generating quality leads with your B2B Prospecting ebook
4. Value-first influencer marketing is on the rise (think expertise, not celebrity)
B2B decision-makers increasingly trust external experts more than branded content. This trend is accelerating as millennial and Gen Z buyers gain more purchasing power.
Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey 2024 found that 30% of younger buyers already involve ten or more people outside their organization in purchase decisions. The researchers expect this to reach 50% this year.
These influencers aren’t celebrities. They’re trusted figures from online communities, industry conferences and professional networks. B2B marketers must build trust through these external voices rather than focusing solely on promoting their own content.
Impactful activities to build into your B2B marketing efforts include:
Partnering with established industry experts
Engaging in online communities (i.e., targeted outreach)
Getting involved in the conversations buyers already trust
For example, Monday’s marketing team interviews leading figures from its target industries for The Standup podcast, a series of thought-leadership discussions.
Here’s a social clip of the B2B company partnering with Devin Reed, a content strategist with over 14,000 newsletter subscribers:
Reed’s insights help Monday reach a broader, engaged audience in a natural, trusted way.
Meanwhile, Reed borrows the credibility and target audience of a well-known software brand, bolstering his own reputation. Everyone benefits.
5. Short-form video dominates engagement (no fancy equipment required)
Video leads the way in engaging audiences, and authenticity matters more than high-end production. In fact, 58% of marketers told a B2B Content Marketing Institute survey that video was one of their most effective channels.
Short, human-led videos are powerful in B2B because they explain new concepts quickly and make brands feel more relatable in a crowded digital space.
For example, Pipedrive used a series of short-form video content to support its involvement with OMR, a marketing event in Hamburg, Germany.
These simple clips give Pipedrive a human face and authentic voice. They make the brand more relatable and memorable without the need for big production budgets.
Other videos on Pipedrive’s marketing channels include:
Product explainers
Feature demos
Podcast episodes
Webinar recordings
These formats are no longer exclusive to large companies. Any brand can create video content that reaches new B2B customers and builds on existing partnerships with the right tools.
For instance, drag-and-drop video editors like Canva and Adobe Express are ideal for creating explainer videos. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok also offer built-in video design tools (e.g., Instagram and TikTok), while generative AI will help you plan scripts. Most of these tools are free or budget-friendly.
6. A shift toward bold, risk-taking brand messaging (goodbye, boring B2B!)
B2B brands are edging away from safe, generic messaging to embrace distinctive personalities and points of view.
As markets become more competitive, standing out takes courage and creativity. Small businesses often find this easier, with fewer rules and stakeholders to navigate than their larger competitors.
For your brand, boldness could take any of these forms:
Using humor in a traditionally serious space, like IONOS’s ‘Aunt Helga’ character
Taking strong positions on controversial topics, like Yurii Rebryk (Fluently CEO)’s LinkedIn posts
Breaking from industry conventions with visual branding, like Lemon’s blend of dark and light with colorful illustrations
Here’s the branding Lemon uses to stand out in a crowded software development space:
Note how it also uses unconventional language in places. These choices all contribute to a memorable brand experience.
Even candid honesty can be bold messaging in the right circumstances. Contentstack’s Gurdeep Dhillon told a story in a recent Demand Gen Report post about how a LinkedIn marketing influencer called out his brand for unclear website messaging:
If you plan to follow this trend, remember that balance is key. Bold messaging must still speak to real buyer pain points and not just be edgy to get attention. Otherwise, any extra traffic you get won’t translate to higher conversion rates.
7. Marketers are building communities (not just audiences)
B2B marketers increasingly see the value in owned communities like chat groups, forums and invite-only events for deepening customer engagement. They’re cost-effective and help generate organic brand advocacy.
Community development is all about creating spaces where members interact with each other, not just with the brand. This peer-to-peer connection builds customer loyalty, trust and shared identity, making your brand part of something bigger.
For example, Spendesk – a spend management tool – has a private community called CFO Connect. It gives “high-performing finance leaders” a space to network and learn from one another (via a Slack group, newsletter, exclusive events, etc.).
Instead of pushing sales messages, the brand facilitates meaningful peer-to-peer connections. The community has turned Spendesk into a valuable part of the finance ecosystem.
When finance leaders in the community need a procurement tool, they’re likely to turn to Spendesk because the relationship already exists. The brand is subtly influencing their decision-making without any pushy selling.
Other places you can build valuable brand communities include:
Private LinkedIn groups focused on industry challenges
Self-hosted forums for product users, like the Pipedrive Community
Discord servers for technical communities
However, finding the right platform is just one part of using communities to build loyalty and trust. Your purpose matters even more.
Speak to your customers online or in person. Gather feedback through surveys, interviews and social posts to learn what matters to your audience and build spaces for those conversations to thrive.
When your community delivers genuine value, members keep showing up and advocating for your brand without being asked.
8. Automation is table stakes in B2B marketing (start small, scale up)
Automation has moved from a competitive advantage to a B2B marketing must-have.
Our State of Sales and Marketing report revealed that 92% of teams now use at least one automation tool. That leaves just 8% still operating completely manually – an increasingly rare approach.
The good news for SMBs is that automation is more accessible and user-friendly than ever. You don’t need a huge budget to save time, just the right software and features.
For example, teams use Pipedrive to set up time-saving triggers for everyday tasks like assigning deals and updating data fields.
Here are some additional simple tools and tactics to start automating with:
Use Campaigns by Pipedrive to send automated email marketing sequences based on deal stage, customer behavior or list segment. It’s great for staying top-of-mind without manual follow-ups.
Use Zapier to connect your digital marketing apps without writing code. For example, automatically add webinar sign-ups from Eventbrite to your CRM or trigger a Slack alert when someone downloads a lead magnet.
Use ActiveDemand to build drip campaigns, schedule social posts and trigger personalized landing pages – all from a single interface.
Use Facebook Ads rules to adjust bids, pause underperforming ads or scale up the best performers in real time. These automations are ideal for small teams running always-on marketing campaigns.
These affordable tools can save dozens of hours. They keep your day-to-day marketing initiatives running while you focus on bigger goals, like search engine optimization (SEO) and account-based marketing (ABM) strategies.
Catch more hot leads before they bounce
Final thoughts
B2B marketing isn’t just progressing – it’s accelerating. From AI and automation to bold messaging and community building, today’s most effective strategies are smarter, faster and more human.
There’s one common thread across all these trends: relevance.
The brands winning attention, trust and revenue in 2025 are the ones that speak directly to their audience’s needs and then act on that understanding through the right tools and channels.
B2B marketing may be evolving quickly, but Pipedrive gives you the tools to stay ahead. Try Pipedrive free for 14 days to centralize your customer data, simplify workflows and grow profitability.
