Think about the ads that appear on the side of web pages. If I am in operations, researching technology providers, I don’t want to see what I was researching on the sidebar and header of every page I look at. It’s unsettling, and makes me want to delete my cookies more than to go back to the page I was looking at. 

How do you present yourself when you meet a client, or even a date? Imagine if you never made eye contact with them or didn’t offer a handshake. They probably wouldn’t want to deal with you, even if your product was impeccable or you were incredibly good looking. 

The most important part of your interaction is taking the small risk to engage. The same rules apply to your B2B marketing strategy. The market is saturated with content—heartless, cookie-cutter content. Make your campaign stand out by making it human. Here are three ideas to consider in that process.

If marketing automation isn’t part of your b2b marketing strategy, you might want to invest in it this  year. In fact, according to a 2015 survey by Ascend2, 42% of businesses are now using marketing automation, which is a significant jump up from previous years. Here are a few ways marketing automation can impact your marketing strategy in 2016.

“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.” –Seth Godin

In this new content marketing age, companies need to consider many factors when creating their buyer persona. In fact, the only way to learn more about your Buyer Persona is to identify comprehensive information from the get go before they go through the Buyer’s Journey. From there you can strategically target the ideal audience with a plethora of data that supports your approach and gain the right results.

If you are still trying to figure out how your company will stand out amongst your competitors online, you need to revisit the Inbound Marketing method. This method will allow you to identify the right kind of prospects online and turn them into satisfied customers and brand loyalists.

Before you dive into business as usual in the new year, take the time to map out a content marketing strategy that identifies new insights and inspirations that improve upon last year’s results.

Even the most skilled marketers cannot do it all. Graphic design, website development, branding strategy, marketing campaigns, advertisements and more shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of one person. The solution is to hire a digital branding agency that is reliable and the right fit for your company. 

Using an agency can allow you access to top talent and expertise in your industry if you find the right one. A good agency will act as a support team, there to help you tackle whatever projects or campaigns you need completed. Below are some pointers that will help you narrow down which digital branding agency is right for you.

Have you ever written a blog post, social media post or email that was never opened or read? This could be happening if you don’t have a content strategy that is specifically mapped to your buyer personas. Personas are a semi fictional representation of your real customer base that comes from industry research and your professional experiences.

Digital advertising has a fatal flaw—ad blocking, it’s costing the industry millions and it’s hurting your bank account too. If your online ads are not generating the ROI you expected, it is very likely that they are not being seen by your target audience or robots are filling out your forms. One of the solutions for this issue is content marketing.

The only constant that exists is change. As time passes your B2B brand may become outdated, your company message might change, or a merger may occur. Whatever the reason, there may come a point in time where you will need to rebrand your company name, logo and tagline.