Vertical video shorts for B2B

If 2023 was the year vertical short-form video peaked, then 2024 could be the year B2B businesses embrace the format. 

This trend started in the TikTok boom of 2019, with Instagram Reels launching in 2020, and YouTube Shorts in 2021, and as pretty much everybody holds their phone vertically (94%), the format looks set to stay. If vertical video migrates to LinkedIn and X, then the world of B2B marketing will need to learn and compete in a new dimension. 

Content has always mattered in B2B marketing, from the sales reps and brochures of old to blogs and SEO today. The fundamental change here is how the content is distributed and how customers consume it.

A sea change in search

Some significant moves are afoot in search, driven by the fact that Google and many other search engines are now answering questions natively as rich results rather than signposting top-ranking sites. For companies heavily invested in and reliant upon SEO for traffic and revenue, this shift could make them vulnerable or invisible. 

But there are opportunities here, too. Search has also evolved considerably from the days of Google’s monopoly, and today, 40% of young people use social media platforms as their primary search engine. The fact that in 2024, people are searching through not only TikTok but also webinars, forums and custom-built large language models (LLMs) means your digital content isn’t totally reliant on Google search.

More content, more channels

Now to perhaps the most prevalent trend of 2024—this will be the year of more content. A lot more. 74% of marketers expect content and creative production volume to increase this year, according to Canto’s 2024 State of Digital Content report.

This is driven on one side by demand from consumers using digital devices more than ever and on the other side by the demands of an increasingly competitive digital marketplace—the more your competition is marketing itself online, the more you need to keep your edge. 

There are also a growing number of digital channels, each with their own formats, audiences, and requirements. With many businesses distributing content on their own website, podcasts, newsletter, and webinars, as well as socially on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and elsewhere—it’s no wonder marketers told Canto that keeping up with increasing content demands for various channels is their organisation’s top content challenge for 2024.

So, for marketers working in dynamic agencies or global in-house teams, the risk of content chaos in 2024 is real. Content arrives from all directions—in-house teams, agencies, vendors, partners, distributors—so the teams that win will get organised and stay consistent.

A drive towards DAM solutions

Doubling down on workflow in 2024 is another key trend—and one you underestimate at your peril. Put simply, with more content, channels, and AI-generated content set to go mainstream, this is the year for many marketers to get organised.

Only a third of companies (33%) are satisfied with how their content is managed. But there are easy ways—like with Canto’s digital asset management (DAM) solution—to organise, share and distribute your digital content. 

For example, marketers can use a DAM platform like Canto to create curated content collections for different groups, ensure people are using up-to-date and on-brand content, distribute the same brand assets to the right people, and use templates to lock in key design elements. And, yes, Canto also lets you discover digital assets faster with Canto AI Visual Search. Ultimately, all this can help you make efficiencies, get organised, and implement your content strategy.

The anti-trend trend

A final trend for 2024 sees marketers trying to get back to basics and not be swept away in the AI craze. This doesn’t mean shunning AI and new channels—far from it. Instead, it’s about getting the fundamentals right before reaching for an AI tool or new channel: understand your customers and give them a great experience. 

To put it another way, “trust and relationships will take centre stage”, according to the Content Marketing Institute. Keeping your customers at the forefront of your content, campaigns, and design means you’re focused on the right thing and makes it far easier to know which AI tool or digital channel is the best mechanism to deliver results.