2026 B2B Marketing Trends & Predictions

It’s that time of year when everyone posts their Spotify Wrapped… but I’m here to share something that people actually care about: my annual B2B marketing trends and predictions for 2026!

While 2025 was all about doing more with less, 2026 is about being smarter with the same. From balancing brand with performance to grappling with AI, here’s what’s in, what’s out, and what marketers need to know to keep up.

Brandformance

In recent years, many businesses over-prioritized performance marketing and it cost them in more ways than one. So, in 2025, marketers ramped up investments in evergreen brand-building to get with the times and build for long-term success. 

According to Forrester, 83% of B2B CMOs expect budget increases in 2026 - but if you factor in inflation, most of that growth is flat. On top of that, Nielsen reports only 55% of CMOs will dedicate 60% or more of their budget into brand building, with performance being top priority. 

That’s why 2026 will be the year of Brandformance. It’s a real word, Google it!

Brandformance is all about creating campaigns that build your brand while also driving conversions to keep your CFO happy.

This will include things like:

• Thought-leadership ads promoting proprietary insights

• Interactive ads that engage and convert

• Podcast sponsorships

• Webinars

• Events ...and more  

My Prediction:

As for my prediction, I predict we’ll see more teams adopt Marketing Mix Modeling to better capture how all their channels and touchpoints actually contribute to business results. 

Owned Media Goes Velvet Rope

In 2025, B2B brands doubled-down on owned media to engage their audiences directly and sidestep algorithms. With economic uncertainty looming in 2026, the pressure is on for marketers to use what they’ve built to deepen engagement and show hard ROI.

Marketers will be challenged to turn passive audiences from things like newsletters and podcasts into qualified leads and customers. 

One way they’ll do this is by offering “velvet rope” content like: 

• Exclusive podcast episodes

• Expanded, premium newsletters

• Industry insights

• E-learning courses ...and more.

It doesn’t stop at content - experiences like private panels, early access to product updates, and even private workshops will be key.

My Prediction:

I predict marketers will use creators, industry experts, and brand partnerships to help draw interest in their velvet rope offerings. Speaking of which, I’m now accepting requests - for me.

Community Marketing 

Social media isn’t what it used to be. Organic reach is dying, AI slop and spam are everywhere and your feed is clogged with ads and posts from pages you don’t follow. 

Even LinkedIn is slipping. Pause your reading and go scroll Linkedin. I promise you’ll see dozens of posts and using the same ChatGPT “X is not Y, it’s Z” line like it’s some clever mic-drop moment. Go ahead - I’ll wait!

In 2025, 50% of adults cut back on social media and that number is expected to increase in 2026. According to Sprout Social, 51% of global social media users will increase their time on community-driven platforms instead. To get ahead of the shift, B2B marketers will have to focus on building communities of their own.

This can include:

• Slack groups

• Discord forums

• Subreddits

• In-person meetups

• Career and Product support groups

• E-learning circuits

My Prediction:

I predict that user-generated content will power these communities, which is a win-win - marketers save resources and users get authenticity. To keep things on the rails, community moderation services will be in demand. Because the last thing you need is someone posting nudes in your product support group. Unless, of course, you’re OnlyFans…then maybe it fits.

Brand Reputation Management as SEO 

SEO feels like the wild west these days, thanks to AI search. Is it SEO, AEO, GEO…Oreo? 

While some groups are experimenting and trying to navigate the chaos, others are exploiting it. Let’s look at what actually matters for B2B SEO…

• AI search converts about the same as traditional search, but traditional search drives the bulk of traffic and conversions (Amsive).
  

• On top of that, Google Search grew 20% in 2024 and still processes roughly 373x’s more searches than ChatGPT (SparkToro). It’s pretty clear Google and traditional search aren’t going anywhere anytime soon...
  

• At the same time, AI search is growing in importance. Around 90% of B2B buyers use AI to research and validate vendors (Forrester), which means marketers can’t afford to ignore it.
  

So, how should marketers respond?

There’s no shortage of advice on what to do to rank in AI searches but a lot of it is shaky, unproven, or sounds weird - “chunking?” Yeah, miss me with that. 

Google says you don’t need anything to rank in AI searches, beyond traditional SEO fundamentals, but whether there’s more to it than that, time will tell.

Let’s focus on what’s concrete. Knowing that B2B buyers use AI search to research and validate solutions, marketers will need to prioritize the things that actually influence that process. That’s why brand reputation will be a top priority in 2026.

This includes:

• Product reviews

• Case studies and customer testimonials

• Product comparisons

• Social listening

• Press and media coverage

• Online sentiment

• Share of voice

My Prediction:

I predict more marketers will make YouTube a part of their SEO strategy in 2026. YouTube citations in AI search skyrocketed by 25% in 2025 alone. In fact, AHREFs found YouTube mentions show the strongest correlation with visibility across ChatGPT, AI Mode, and AI Overviews.

Podcasts Become Essential 

As owned media became a major focus in 2025, podcasts have low-key become one of the strongest channels for B2B marketers. As trust wanes online, podcasts give marketers a way to share real human voices and thought leadership, without fighting algorithms. 

64% of B2B buyers find podcasts valuable during the early stages of their buying journey, making them the second most valued content format after case studies.

In 2026, podcasts will become an essential marketing tool, like having a social media presence or a blog. 

We’ll see marketers will use podcasts in a number of creative ways, from leveling up their content to showcasing customer success stories.

Here’s what you can expect: 

• Since YouTube is the top platform for streaming podcasts, more marketers will expand their shows to video

• With that, marketers will repurpose podcast content as short form videos, social content, newsletters and even blog posts 

• Spotify will be a focus for socializing podcasts, thanks to features like comments, polls, video, and exclusive content.

• Marketers will experiment with formats, such as mini-series, customer spotlights, account-based networking with target decision makers, and more

• Lastly, expect more podcast events, from exclusive live tapings to sessions at trade shows

My Prediction:

Ok here come the hot takes. I predict that in 2026, traditional and AI search will surface podcast content - not just full episodes but chapters too. I also predict LinkedIn will add a feature to let business pages to showcase podcasts, just like they do with products and newsletters.

Final Thoughts On B2B Marketing in 2026

Welp, that’s my list and I’m sticking to it! What 2026 has in store is anyone’s guess. Whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll include the words “AI” and “reshape.”

As you prepare for 2026, never forget that great marketing starts with strategy, not a budget. Until then, congrats on making it through 2025 in one piece and thanks for reading!