B2B companies have been relying on paid search and PPC to drive lead generation for years. While working with a B2B PPC agency remains an effective way to capture high-intent demand, it’s no longer enough to support a modern demand generation strategy.
B2B marketing is complex, with decision makers conducting research across social media platforms, engaging with video content, and following thought leaders long before entering the sales funnel.
As a result, successful demand gen strategies must go beyond capturing demand. They need to create it.
That’s where B2B influencer marketing and video marketing come in. Together, they help brands build trust and find the right target audience to ultimately drive more qualified leads and more revenue.
Why PPC Alone Isn’t Enough for Modern B2B Marketing
The Limits of Traditional Lead Generation
PPC plays a critical role in the marketing funnel, especially when it comes to capturing demand. It’s often one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers who are already searching for solutions.
However, in modern B2B marketing, much of the decision-making process begins before a search ever takes place. PPC creates the most impact when paired with strategies that help influence buyers earlier in the customer journey by building awareness and trust before they reach the point of intent. The Buyer’s Journey Starts Before Search
The buyer’s journey doesn’t begin with search, but with discovery.
Modern buyers:
- Engage with video content across social channels
- Follow thought leaders and subject matter experts
- Explore case studies and relevant content
- Evaluate product features through demos and educational assets
If your marketing strategy is only focused on bottom-of-funnel marketing tactics like running ads on search, you’re missing key opportunities to build brand awareness and shape perception earlier.
Have questions about strategy? Let’s chat.
Demand Generation: From Capturing Demand to Creating It
Traditional lead generation focuses on capturing existing demand. However, modern demand generation efforts can be a more effective strategy by helping brands influence potential customers before they actively enter the market.
A modern B2B demand generation strategy requires:
- Reaching your target market early
- Delivering relevant content across multiple touchpoints
- Engaging decision makers throughout the entire process
Shifting the primary goal from capturing demand to creating it allows B2B companies to generate more qualified leads and improve conversion rates across the marketing funnel.
Using B2B Influencer Marketing to Build Trust
Why Influencer Marketing Works in B2B
In today’s digital environment, thought leadership plays a major role in the decision-making process. Buyers are turning to subject matter experts to find solutions and understand product features as they navigate their journey through the sales funnel.
That’s why B2B influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for demand generation. It helps brands build credibility, deliver clear communication, and connect with their target audience in a more authentic way.
How Division-D Builds Strategic Influencer Campaigns
Division-D takes a strategic, full-funnel approach to influencer marketing. We combine a number of proven strategies to create content and campaigns that will be most effective for our clients.
Some of these strategies include:
Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
We identify and bring in credible industry voices to drive trust and education for your brand’s products through product demos and recommendations.
Diverse B2B Content Formats
From short-form video and POV content to long-form insights, our team helps ensure your goals are supported by your video marketing strategy.
3rd Party Audience Targeting + Paid Amplification
Division-D has partnered with industry-leading data platforms to provide your campaign with precision targeting at scale, allowing you to reach your desired audience without sacrificing reach.
How CTV and Video Marketing Drive B2B Performance
Video has become one of the most effective ways to engage decision makers throughout the buyer’s journey. From product explainers to thought leadership, video content helps simplify complex solutions and showcase a company’s product in a more engaging format.
But in B2B advertising, how and where that video is delivered matters just as much as the content itself.
Why CTV Is a Strategic Advantage
Connected TV (CTV) allows brands to place video content in premium, high-impact environments like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu, bringing together the reach of television with the precision of digital targeting.
This makes it a powerful tool for building awareness with the right target audience, especially in industries with longer sales cycles and complex purchasing decisions.
What Makes CTV and Video Effective in B2B
Successful B2B video marketing strategies combine the broad reach of video platforms with customizable precision targeting.
Division-D helps brands activate video campaigns using:
- Account-based marketing (ABM) to target high-value accounts and key decision makers
- Firmographic and CRM data to refine the target market and align messaging with the buyer’s journey
- Omnichannel distribution to reinforce messaging across the entire customer journey
How Division-D Delivers Video and CTV at Scale
Division-D helps brands activate video marketing strategies through premium inventory and advanced targeting.
We provide:
- Access to premium streaming platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Paramount, Max, and more
- Distribution across social channels and programmatic environments
- Creative support to optimize existing video assets for performance
Division-D has seen this approach deliver real results in practice. In a campaign to advertise our own services, we leveraged an audience-first CTV strategy to reach highly targeted viewers across premium streaming platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Paramount, and Max. We saw a 35% higher ROAS using this approach.
Click here to view the full case study.
Integrating PPC, Influencer, and Video into One Strategy
The most effective marketing strategies combine multiple channels into a unified system.
- PPC captures demand and drives conversions
- Influencer marketing builds trust and credibility
- Video marketing drives engagement across the funnel
Together, these tactics create a more effective sales funnel by improving lead generation, strengthening brand loyalty, and aligning sales and marketing efforts.
Measuring What Matters: Turning Engagement into Revenue
From Engagement to Action
While influencer and video marketing are powerful tools for building awareness and engagement, B2B advertisers are looking for conversions and revenue, not just more comments on their social channels.
To be effective, marketing campaigns must do more than generate interest. They need to guide potential customers through the marketing funnel, from first touch to conversion.
Tracking the Right Leading Indicators
Modern marketing leaders rely on a combination of leading indicators and performance data to evaluate success.
These include:
- Engagement with video content
- Interaction with influencer campaigns
- Traffic and behavior on landing pages
- Progression from engagement to qualified leads
Analyzing these signals gives brands valuable insights into how their marketing efforts influence the buyer’s journey.
Optimizing Campaigns for Long-Term Impact
The most effective marketing campaigns are built as part of a long-term strategy designed to improve over time, rather than focusing on short-term wins that might look good at first but don’t bring in the best ROI.
Division-D helps brands continuously refine their marketing tactics by combining AI-driven optimization with human expertise. By analyzing performance data and audience behavior across multiple channels, we can:
- Identify which campaigns are driving the strongest conversion rates
- Improve how brands capture leads and move them through the funnel
- Adjust content strategy to better align with the target audience and KPIs
This ensures that campaigns remain efficient, scalable, and aligned with business goals.
Key Takeaways
- PPC alone is no longer enough for modern B2B marketing
- B2B influencer marketing builds trust and credibility with decision makers
- B2B video marketing drives engagement and improves conversion rates
- A full-funnel approach leads to more qualified leads and more revenue
Ready to Move Beyond PPC?
If your current B2B demand generation strategy is too focused on simply capturing demand, you may be missing opportunities to influence buyers earlier in the buyer’s journey.
Division-D helps brands build full-funnel strategies that combine B2B influencer marketing, video marketing, and performance media across premium inventory and digital channels.
Contact our team to learn how we can help you create a more effective demand generation strategy and drive measurable growth in your B2B campaigns.
