Digital marketing is always a numbers game. Reach enough people, qualify enough leads, have enough meetings, and close the right number of deals to keep the lights on and the team growing.

We’ve got some good news for you and those numbers: a new study breaks down the most successful channels for B2B operators like you, helping you maximize investment of both time and money.

A report from DemandWave gives us a great look at the U.S., especially in the software and business service verticals — two of the biggest client segments we have here at 7 Figure Automation.

Channels Marketers Use Best

The number of channels marketers were using in 2017 was up compared to 2016, with more groups adopting video and direct messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Still, the most dominant channels people invested in where social media accounts, email, and organic search — 95%, 93%, and 91%, respectively.

Email was the clear winner when it came to generating leads, with organic hot on its tail. Social performed moderately, about as well as paid search, which may mean it’s time to narrow your focus on those efforts.

 

What we like most about this revelation is that it shows the power of email and hints at the reach of social. Those two methods cross when it comes to LinkedIn and, if you use a proven messaging tactic like we offer, you can put best practices for both to work for you to generate a considerable number of qualified leads.

The Best Content for Driving Leads

Like channels, top content types and efforts don’t always match with the most successful ones. White papers and webinars were the two types of leads that performed well for at least half of marketers, but blogs were the most used (published by 82% of marketers).

 

An important side note for this set is that items easy to promote as a benefit to the reader in a text-based environment are at the top. White papers tend to focus on best practices and establishing protocol, while webinars can be used to show lessons learned or what’s new. Both can be shared easily in email without needing images enabled on the customer’s side of things.

Why We’re Putting More Faith in LinkedIn

When it comes to social networks, the DemandWave research points to LinkedIn as the best option for generating B2B leads. It was the most used in general, reaching 89% of B2B marketers, while Twitter was a close second at 86%.

Now, look at the chart below to see the success rate of lead generation. The disparity between LinkedIn and Twitter is significant.

 

To us, this means that LinkedIn allows B2B marketers to make the best use of content and other lead practices for other channels. It’s the most like email and conversations that we know are at the heart of successful B2B marketing and customer acquisition.

Now, if you could combine that with the ability to see the LinkedIn company data of your  visitors, you’d have one of the smartest strategies for making the most of your leads across all efforts. There are more and more opportunities for us to collect and use data to reach the right people. We’ll keep sharing what we learn and invite you to let us know any tactics or tools that are working well for you.

Happy lead hunting.