63% of businesses have increased their digital marketing budget in the past few years, and this is only the beginning.
As we move forward, more B2B businesses will understand the importance of digital marketing, especially for lead generation.
But we get it, there are so many different strategies and ideas when it comes to lead generation.
How are you supposed to know which ones are actually worth your time and investment?
Don’t worry, this article will go through 20 of the best B2B lead generation examples that will help you increase conversions and get the traffic your business deserves.
Trying to learn how to increase your lead generation but don’t know where to start? Let us help.
Our Top 20 Favorite B2B Lead Generation Examples
This list is in no particular order.
All of these B2B lead generation examples can and should be used in your digital marketing strategy and taken into consideration.
1. Content Marketing
Content Marketing is by far one of the most important B2B lead generation examples on the list.
By creating high-quality content on a consistent basis, you show your visitors and Google that your company is an expert in its field.
This not only makes your pages rank higher overall, but it will make it apparent to prospects that you know what you’re talking about and can help them fix their problems.
B2B clients will always do research before committing their budget to any particular product or service.
This is why having well-written content that solves all of the main issues your customer personas have is a must if you want to attract clients and build trust from the start.
The best example of this is HubSpot. They became a global leader in inbound marketing mainly due to hundreds of different articles and content they built up throughout the years.
The company didn’t stop at blog posts, though. They created eBooks, marketing guides, videos, and even podcasts. Their strategy has generated millions of leads for them over the years.
2. Case Studies
B2B clients want to take as few risks as possible when it comes to buying a product or investing in a service. They want to have proof that your solution is the best and that it can solve their problems fast.
Case studies give them exactly that.
A good case study is one of the most perfect B2B lead generation examples because of how much it does at the same time.
A case study shows prospects how your company approached a client’s problem, how your product or service solved it, and what results they got from it.
This is all valuable information for a B2B company looking for a similar solution that you provided to a past client.
It reduces any type of skepticism a potential client might have by showing clear facts and information.
Salesforce has one of the best B2B lead generation examples on the list. They create detailed case studies that outline how their products helped solve a big problem while showcasing measurable ROI achieved by the end.
3. Webinars and Virtual Events
Webinars are amazing for lead generation due to their covering several important aspects in one go. Webinars let you show your company’s expertise, products, and let you answer questions in real time.
Not only that, but people who register provide you with valuable lead data.
Webinars attract leads who are already interested in your company as a whole; this means that the people who join the webinar are willing to go further in the buyer’s journey.
LinkedIn provides us with multiple B2B lead generation examples by running hundreds of webinars over the years.
If you want to attend any of their webinars, you’ll have to register with your professional details.
After the webinar, they follow up with an email to further drive you into trying their product demos.
4. Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Campaigns
ABM changes how funnels are used by focusing only on high-value targets instead of going for as many leads as possible.
These campaigns hyper-focus on a specific customer persona, which means that they tailor the messaging and content to that persona.
Demandbase runs ABM campaigns where Fortune 500 companies receive personalized landing pages tailored to their specific industries and problems.
This makes prospects feel understood right from the start and dramatically increases Demandbase’s conversion chances.
5. Email Nurture Sequences
Fully automated email nurture sequences keep your brand on top of a B2B company’s list while slowly guiding them towards your buyer’s journey.
These campaigns drip content over weeks and offer insights, case studies, and information that help the lead.
Most B2B leads don’t convert on the first go. This is why setting up nurture emails to build trust over time is vital.
You need to warm up your cold prospects until they are ready to buy.
One of the better B2B lead generation examples on this list is from Adobe Marketo, since they use segmented nurture campaigns to send each of their prospects tailored content every single day.
6. Free Tools
While this doesn’t apply to every industry and business, offering free tools creates value upfront when trying to capture leads. Free AI tools show what your leads need and how you can move that towards a sale.
Tools are interactive and provide immediate value. This makes it more likely for visitors to provide their contact information just to get access to them.
SEMRush is a perfect example of this. They provide free SEO audit tools that give instant analysis to users.
If users want to get the complete report, they need to enter their email and basic information.
This lets SEMRush get important lead information while providing value to their potential leads and showing what their service is all about.
7. LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is an underrated B2B platform for lead generation strategies. Its native lead generation ads make the process of auto-filling user data from their profile seamless and fast.
This significantly reduces friction while increasing conversion rates.
Most B2B decision-makers are very active on LinkedIn; this makes the social media platform the perfect place for capturing high-value leads.
Microsoft is known for running big LinkedIn lead gen campaigns for its Azure cloud services. They have reported having gotten a higher conversion rate on LinkedIn when compared to landing-page-based campaigns.
Want to create a complete LinkedIn ads campaign but don’t know how? We can help.
8. Retargeting Ads
If every visitor converted on their first interaction with your B2B company, then marketing would be very simple. The reality is that not every visitor will convert on their first visit or interaction.
Retargeting ads let you bring back leads who engaged with your brand in some way but didn’t continue.
Retargeting ads help keep your B2B brand visible during its research phase, so it is impossible to forget what you offer.
Drift uses retargeting campaigns on both Google and LinkedIn all the time.
Any visitor who explored their chatbot product but didn’t sign up is instantly retargeted with ads the same day to get them back to the demo page.
9. Chatbots and Conversational Marketing
Chatbots are fantastic because there is no delay between a visitor asking a question and their answer. They can route and help prospects to the right resource or schedule meetings with your sales team if set up properly.
Remember, prospects want immediate answers; they don’t want to have to wait for any sort of answer, and if they do, then they would rather find an alternative.
Chatbots significantly reduce friction, capture details, and prevent leads from dropping off.
10. Gated Content and Whitepapers
While ungated content builds trust, gated content is specifically designed to capture leads.
Whitepapers, reports, or any other in-depth research are typically placed behind some sort of form visitors have to fill out to get access to.
B2B companies are willing to trade contact information for premium insights, especially if said insights can solve a problem they are having.
When it comes to B2B lead generation examples, few do it as well as Gartner. They offer in-depth industry reports but require users to fill out a registration form.
Since their research is so well-known, professionals in the B2B space are willing to provide them with their contact information in exchange for their content.
11. Social Selling on LinkedIn
Social selling is all about building relationships with specific individuals instead of hard-selling a product or service. By sharing important insights, engaging in discussions, and truly connecting with prospects, you can gain very high-quality leads.
Buyers don’t trust brands; they trust the people who are running the brands. Social selling creates authentic engagement and positions you as a thought leader.
IBM are masters at social selling and even has a whole sales team that focuses on using InMail on LinkedIn to share content and interact with leads.
This strategy has generated them thousands of leads every quarter from outreach alone.
12. Podcast Marketing
Podcasts can reach a broader audience that values thought leadership and might be interested in the product or service your B2B business offers.
Hosting a podcast and growing it from scratch is a long process that will slowly bring with it authority as you bring in more guests from your field to share their insights with your audience.
Audio content has been growing in popularity for years now; B2B decision-makers often listen to podcasts while commuting or doing hobbies or activities.
Creating podcast episodes also helps you broaden the type of content you provide to your audience and keeps it interesting for them.
13. Video Marketing on Both YouTube and LinkedIn
Videos can help explain complex topics in a simpler way, which in turn can build stronger connections with prospects.
Tutorials, product demos, and customer testimonials all work exceptionally well.
Most B2B buyers say that video plays an important role in their purchase decisions.
Cisco uses YouTube to post its explainer videos and all of its customer success stories. Its enterprise-level content directly contributes to lead generation.
14. Influencer Collaboration for Niche Markets
While B2B and influencers don’t necessarily match when it comes to audience, there are exceptions, especially when looking at B2B influencers.
While they might not have millions of followers like B2C influencers, they hold significant authority in the industries they specialize in.
Partnering with them for both content and product or service collaborations can open doors to a completely new audience willing to give your brand a try.
Prospects are more likely to trust a brand that their favorite B2B influencer is promoting than if they find the brand by themselves.
Knowing that an industry expert is openly recommending a brand tells them that they should have no reason to worry about the legitimacy of the product or service itself.
SAP partners with tech influencers all the time during events such as SAP Sapphire. These influencers get thousands of people interested in SAP and drive completely new leads to them.
15. Free Trials or Demos
Letting prospects experience how your product or service works firsthand reduces friction and instantly builds trust. Trials and demos help B2B decision-makers see the value you provide without any financial risk.
Letting users experiment and find out what your product or service can do for their business is the best way for them to validate any claims before committing to a purchase.
We can’t talk about B2B lead generation examples without mentioning Zoom. They offer free trials of their enterprise conferencing software and give the prompt to users to upgrade to the paid version for full access to all of its features.
16. Co-Marketing Campaigns
Partnering with a complementary brand expands your reach to an audience that will be interested in what your B2B company offers.
Shared resources and audiences cut costs while still remaining highly impactful for both brands.
HubSpot and LinkedIn partnered at one point for a joint research report about B2B website and marketing trends.
Both companies captured thousands of leads from the campaign and leveraged the extended reach that the co-marketing strategy provided.
17. Industry Reports
Providing original data and reports sets your B2B website apart from the rest.
Reports that target something that no other company has talked about before will attract attention, media coverage, and high-quality leads.
Decision-makers want as much data and information as they can before they make any decisions. Offering original research positions your company as a trusted authority in your industry.
Deloitte publishes annual industry outlooks, for example.
All of the top executives download these reports, including Deloitte’s consulting pipeline.
18. Customer Referral Programs
Referrals leverage all of the trust built by existing customers.
By rewarding customers for referrals, businesses can generate qualified leads that trust them from the start.
Providing a worthwhile reward such as a discount or a special prize for the customer who brought in the referral is a great incentive.
Dropbox for business scaled extremely fast by offering extra storage the more referrals people brought in. B2B teams shared Dropbox with peers within their organization and helped fuel Dropbox’s viral growth.
19. Online Forums
While it might seem extremely time-consuming to keep track of an online forum, they are a great space to show your expertise and attract leads with little effort.
Creating a community where professionals can connect can lead to long-term engagement if done correctly.
Community leaders drive trust and provide value to anyone involved in the online forum.
HubSpot’s Inbound community is a platform where every single marketer can share knowledge and discuss it. Participation often leads to increased product adoption and customer acquisition.
20. SEO and Long-Form Content
SEO ensures that your business shows up organically when prospects search for solutions to their problems. Long-form blogs rank exceptionally well because they discuss and explain the solutions to their questions.
Organic search drives consistent, cost-effective leads over time and can continue to grow the more you nurture it.
Ahrefs alone can be mentioned in this B2B lead generation examples list multiple times and for good reason.
Ahrefs invests heavily in SEO-driven blog content.
Get a Custom B2B Lead Generation Strategy That Converts with Blacksmith
We just went through 20 of the most important B2B lead generation examples and what makes them so good nowadays.
All of them work perfectly when properly implemented and are simple to start.
But let’s be honest here for a moment. Creating a lead generation strategy for your B2B business takes a lot of time and effort.
That is without even including the maintenance and tweaking you’ll need to do in order to keep it working at its best.
This is time you could be using for other aspects of your B2B business. So what now?
That’s where we come in. Blacksmith is a premium digital marketing agency with seasoned digital marketers ready to create the perfect lead generation strategy for your business.
From utilizing all of these lead generation examples to adding industry-specific strategies, we’ll ensure your business is thriving after we’re done.
Still unsure if investing in a custom B2B lead generation strategy is the right call for your B2B business?
Don’t worry, click here to schedule a call with us and we’ll provide you with a complete website audit. This way, we can show you all of the areas on your website that need some work and how we can fix them.
