B2B brands plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2023, according to the 2023 B2B Marketing Mix Report, a study by Sagefrog Marketing Group. 

Of the firms polled, 62% will increase their marketing budgets, while 25% will keep them at current levels. Only 13% forecast a decrease. 

The top areas of their marketing spend will be: 

• In-Person Trade shows & Events — 33% 
• Search Engine Marketing & Optimization — 31%
• Sales & Marketing Materials — 30%
• Website Development — 28%
• Branding — 25% 
• Direct Marketing — 23% 
• Marketing Automation & CRM Software — 23% 
• Content Marketing — 19% 
• Social Media — 18%
• Planning & Strategy — 17%
• Public Relations — 15% 
• Email Marketing — 14% 
• Video Marketing — 14% 
• Print Advertisements — 8%
• Virtual Events & Webinars — 4%

Budgets aside, SEO is the top marketing tactic for B2B brands, while email remains a priority, although a declining one. The respondents list these are their most implemented marketing tactics in 2022: 

• Search Engine Optimization — 49%
• Content Marketing — 43% 
• Organic Social Media — 43% 
• Email Marketing — 36%
• Paid Social Media — 35%
• In-Person Trade shows & Events — 35%
• Virtual Events & Webinars — 28%
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) — 27% 
• Public Relations—27%
• Video Marketing—21%
• Direct Marketing—20%
• Telemarketing—20% 
• Print advertisements—12%

The list is a little different for the top sources of sales & marketing leads: 

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — 34% 
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) — 30% 
• Paid Social Media — 29%
• In-Person Tradeshows & Events — 27% 
• Content Marketing — 22% 
• Email Marketing — 22%
• Networking — 19% 
• Direct Marketing — 16% 
• Directories & Sponsorships — 14% 
• Telemarketing — 14%
• Virtual Events & Webinars — 14% 
• Organic Social Media — 10%
• Print Advertisements — 8%
• Account-Based Marketing — 4%

Meanwhile, 97% of B2B companies have social media pages, and 85% claim they get results from paid social efforts.  

The most utilized social media tactics are:

• Facebook Ads — 55%
• Organic Social Posts — 46% 
• Boosted Social Posts — 44%
• LinkedIn Ads — 42%
• Twitter Ads — 34% 
• Instagram Ads — 30%
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator — 21%

The top marketing objectives for 2023? They are: 

1. Revenue & Conversions 
2. Client Retention 
3. Website Traffic
4. Brand Awareness 
5. Lead Generation

These are the new sales and marketing strategies being deployed in 2023:  

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Automation — 42% 
• Video Marketing — 32% 
• Influencer Marketing — 30% 
• Mobile-First Strategy — 26% 
• Personalization — 26% 
• Inbound Marketing — 25%
• Brand Storytelling — 24% 
• Account-Based Marketing — 24%
• Virtual Events & Webinars — 23%
• Podcasts & Livestreaming  — 21% 
• Social Media Advertising — 20%
• CRM Software — 20%
• Retargeting —19%
• Organic Social Media — 18%
• Conversational Marketing (chatbots) — 12%
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator — 10% 
• Co-marketing — 5% 

Sagefrog surveyed 900 B2B marketing professionals. 

Email — while a widely implemented strategy — is not getting much of an increase, Sagefrog Marketing Group reports.