LinkedIn Presents Latest B2B Trends for Contrarian Marketers

In marketing, it is advantageous to be contrarian, to deviate from the beaten path and stand out from competitors. This past week, LinkedIn held their 3rd Annual ‘B2B Trends for the Contrarian Marketer’ presentation hosted by LinkedIn’s own Peter Weinberg, a marketing strategist, who shared the five trends that all B2B marketers should keep top of mind. While the name might sound extreme, LinkedIn suggests that marketers are quick to celebrate novel, but non-replicable ideas, when, in fact, the key to scientific marketing is “investing in strategies that replicate for thousands of brands”. Often, marketers are concerned with idea “wear-out”, but it’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. Successful, replicable campaigns and slogans don’t wear out. LinkedIn’s Weinberg suggests that good creative “wears in” instead of wears out. For example, Nike’s “Just do it” has been replicated with continued success.Marketers extremely underestimate the value of thought leadership. A recent study showed that 58% of c-suite decision makers say they decide which businesses to work with after seeing their thought leadership. Only 26% of sellers see the value. Even worse, B2B buyers report that the thought leadership they see is only valuable 12% of the time.