B2B content trust and accessibility challenges

Last Tuesday, I watched a $1M software deal die in real time. The champion texted the AE afterward, "My team killed it. They loved the product, trusted the ROI, but said you felt too 'risky' for a company our size." Six months of perfect demos. Strong case studies. Pricing that made sense. But they'd been focused on one person while eight others were making the real decision. In B2B, deals often die from collective anxiety. Your champion can love your solution, but if the CFO, IT director, and three VPs have never heard of you, you're asking them to bet their careers on a company that feels invisible. What we call "trust" in B2B is actually cumulative familiarity across a buying group. It's not one person feeling confident, it's 6-8 people independently thinking, "Oh yeah, I've seen them around. They seem solid." This is where many B2B marketers leave money on the table. We optimize for the champions and decision makers while the real decision happens in rooms we're not invited to. Connected TV (CTV) helps solve for this. That CFO who questioned your pricing? Last night, they saw your 30-second spot during their favorite show. No laptop multitasking. No ad blockers. Just your brand message on a 65-inch screen while they're mentally relaxed. Your IT director saw your retargeting banner during their morning research. Your LinkedIn ad during lunch. Your CTV spot during their evening unwind. That's not multiple touch points. That's one familiarity campaign reaching different decision-makers in different mindsets. Our data at LinkedIn for Marketing shows this opportunity: - 94% of LinkedIn's professional audience can be reached via CTV, - 71% of CTV viewers aren't accessible through traditional TV, - CTV campaigns are 4.3x more effective at reaching B2B targets. Psychologist Robert Zajonc proved that mere exposure creates preference. We don't need to consciously process your message. Seeing your brand repeatedly in different contexts builds what behavioral economist Rory Sutherland calls "subconscious safety signals." When your champion walks into that second meeting, something's different. Your brand doesn't feel new anymore. It feels familiar. "Oh yeah, I've been seeing their ads everywhere" carries more weight than any case study. Because buying groups evaluate solutions and risk. Start building familiarity across ecosystems. Map your buying group. Understand where each decision-maker consumes content. Then orchestrate exposure across channels so by the time they meet to decide, you're not the unknown risk, you're the obvious choice. Because in B2B, trust is built through strategic, repeated presence across the moments that matter. #B2BMarketing #CTV #Trust #LinkedInMarketing

Yesterday, I reviewed the content of a founder who wanted to attract more inbound B2B leads through LinkedIn. They were posting consistently— but with zero conversions for the past 3 months. My first reaction: you don’t have a content consistency problem. You have a content psychology problem. Here’s what I mean: They were sharing great insights. But not in the language a founder thinks, speaks, or buys in. No founder is waiting to read your 5 content tips. They do care about this though: → 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀. So I showed them 3 types of psychology-first posts that actually convert in B2B: → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. Instead of “How to build content funnels,” say “You built a content funnel, but forgot the buyer.” → 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴. Not “audience clarity” but “Why your ICP isn’t even seeing your content.” → 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. Like: “Content doesn’t build trust. Proof does. Content only carries it.” The founder instantly got it. We rewrote just one post, using these exact shifts— and it brought 11 qualified comments and 3 demo requests. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲: If you’re creating B2B content for founders, you don’t need to educate. You need to mirror their thinking back to them—better than they’ve said it themselves. Because B2B founders don’t chase content. They chase clarity. And when your content sounds like how they already think, They trust you without even knowing why. 𝗣.𝗦. This is how I’ve helped B2B creators build trust that actually converts. 👉 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗮 for more B2B content strategies that convert with clarity.

Education from strangers is rarely accepted, yet that's exactly what a lot of B2B content marketing is asking prospects to do. The classic thinking when it comes to TOFU content in B2B is still heavily anchored around awareness through education and demonstrated expertise. But it fails to account for a few very important things: 1. If your audience doesn't already know you, and have a strong association with you and the category you're speaking on, then it's very unlikely that you'll get meaningful engagement from long-form content. 2. Much of the audience isn't looking to be educated - especially not on categories and solutions. Marketing that requires effort and cognitive load is marketing that gets ignored by audiences not in-market. The friction that our dense educational content comes up against is often that of a lack of awareness. Ironically, the problem it's facing is the problem it's trying solve. Category presence, through low cognitive load brand content is often the real upper funnel effort needed to allow the permission to deliver longer-form expertise content.

LinkedIn generates 80% of B2B social media leads, yet most fintech companies still treat it like a press release channel. While you invest millions in product development, your LinkedIn presence looks like a ghost town.  The trust gap in fintech communication is costing you deals: → Technical buyers consume 13 content pieces before making purchasing decisions - yet only 15% of fintech blogs provide substantial educational content → 88% of B2B marketers report case studies as the most effective content for converting technical buyers - but they're nearly absent from fintech LinkedIn strategies → 89% of decision-makers say thought leadership enhances their perception of companies - yet only a third of fintech CEOs maintain active profiles Fintech buyers don't wake up wanting a "blockchain-enabled payment optimization system" - they wake up worried about payment reconciliation errors, cross-border transaction costs, or compliance risks. Create content that addresses these actual problems rather than showcasing your features. Companies building comprehensive content ecosystems that establish authority consistently outperform those merely promoting their platform. Trust is the currency of financial services... without it, even the most innovative tech falls flat

I’ve been spotting weak thought leadership faster than ever. Why? Because it’s everywhere and it all sounds the same. (Here are 3 things B2B brands keep getting wrong (and how to actually lead):  ↓ 1. Content ≠ Conviction Posting 3x/week doesn’t mean you’re leading. Especially if the posts sound like this: → “B2B buyers want personalization.” → “Authenticity is the future.” → “AI is changing the game.” Yawn. If your content sounds like a webinar summary or an AI output… You’re not leading. You’re echoing. Real thought leadership is earned. → It challenges norms → Saying what others in your category won’t → Publishing POVs with actual stakes → It might even make your PR team nervous (that’s a good sign) Less “content calendar,” more conviction. 2. Stop writing for your peers. Most posts are crafted to impress the internal crew… Not the people with budget and decision power. The result? Fluff. Buzzwords. Jargon soup. Your buyer doesn’t want to decode another vague post. They want to know: → “Do you get my problem?”  → “Have you solved it before?” → “Can I trust you to guide us?” If your dream customer wouldn’t DM you after reading it, rewrite it. 3. You’re hiding behind the brand. Buyers follow people, not logos. Yet most B2B orgs still bury their best insights in gated PDFs, anonymous brand posts, or ghostwritten blogs that no one reads. Want influence? → Turn your founders into category narrators → Make your subject matter experts (customers & prospects!) unignorable → Share unpolished truths, not perfectly safe talking points Most B2B “thought leadership” is just content with a clean layout and no soul. Want to be remembered? Be real. Be bold. Be someone your buyer would actually trust.

B2B buyers expect more —and your website is failing the test. 𝘉𝟤𝘉 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘳𝘢—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. Industrial websites used to get away with being "good enough." A place to check a box. Host a spec sheet. Maybe capture a contact form. But in 2025? That won’t cut it. Mid-market firms are now expected to deliver the same level of digital experience as the top players in their category. And if they don’t? → Prospects bounce. → Competitors dominate search and mindshare. → Sales teams are left unsupported. Here’s what 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 are doing to stay ahead: → Designing with conversion and credibility at the core → Building trust from the first click with modern brand perception → Communicating complex solutions with total clarity → Making their website a growth asset— not a brochure → Integrating sales enablement directly into UX → Proving category leadership with data, not claims → Delivering mobile-first, lightning-fast experiences → Refreshing content regularly to reflect evolving offerings → Using SEO strategically—not as an afterthought → Prioritizing accessibility and inclusive design The new benchmark is simple: Your website should make people believe you’re 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵—and back it up with proof. At Huemor, we’ve spent 14+ years turning underperforming B2B websites into digital sales engines. We’re not guessing where the future is headed—we’re building it. --- Follow Jeff Gapinski for more content like this. ♻️ Share this to help someone else revamp their B2B website.

Buyers aren’t just searching for products. They’re searching for proof that you understand their world. And if your search bar can’t keep up? They’re already losing trust. Too many B2B ecommerce sites treat keywords like “filter” as universal. But context changes everything. This is why I've added "contextualization" as the fifth of the "5 Cs of Product Content". An HVAC tech, an auto mechanic, and a wastewater engineer will all type "filter." But what they need? Completely different. So let’s talk about context. Because that’s where B2B #ecomauthenticity lives. There are two kinds: 🔹 Long-term context The stuff that doesn’t change often—industry, facility type, buyer role. This should already be shaping the search results. It’s table stakes. 🔹 Short-term context This is where most B2B sellers fall short. A special job, a spec change, a short-term substitution—they’re hidden from most sellers, so they are harder to account for in the digital experience. Historically - they live in your salespeople’s heads. Here’s a real-world example: A cutting tools distributor finds out one of their aerospace customers is moving from jobs focused on aluminum components to those made of carbon fiber. That shift changes the game: Different edge geometry. Different coatings. Entirely different SKUs. If your ecommerce site keeps recommending the same old tools? You’ve just told your customer: we’re not paying attention. But if that insight flows from sales into your CRM and powers your search & merch logic? This is why having a system that makes it easy for your outside sales reps to track, report, and log any new short-term contexts is so critical in the new model of #b2becommerce. Because if you can do that... Now you’re showing relevance. Now you're showing expertise. Now you're building trust—before the buyer ever clicks “Add to Cart.” This is what authenticity looks like online: Not just having products on your site. But knowing which ones matter, to this buyer, right now. That’s what younger B2B buyers are looking for. Not claims. Not slogans. Signals.

I don’t think I’ve met anyone who buys someone’s course or purchases a high value product from a brand they don’t know and trust. 🙅🏻♀️  Because it’s simple, really.  People won’t buy what you’re selling if they don’t know and trust you.  And you can’t build trust unless you’ve established a digital process for people to FIND you and know more about you through a human touch.  Trust is a key 🔑 element in B2B purchasing decisions. Business buyers tend to favor companies they view as dependable and trustworthy, but it’s challenging to build trust when 75% of people don’t want to take to a real human in their decision-making process. Here are 3 ways to establish trust in a digital led buying journey:  🟣 Publish high-quality content. Our StandOut Authority mantra, “Content isn‘t king anymore, QUALITY CONTENT IS QUEEN.” still holds true. You can’t build trust if people don’t know you exist, and for people to know you exist—you need to make your mark online.  To make your mark online, you need to add value, thought leadership content that authentically reflects who you are, what you know, and how you can help your audience through evidence.  🟣 Become a thought leader in your industry, no matter which position you hold at your company. According to LinkedIn, 60% of buyers say thought leadership builds credibility for brands that are entering new categories.     It’s not enough for you to publish content and become an influencer. You need to have a voice and speak your mind about things you’re truly passionate about. This will help pull people through the buying journey and talk to you when they’re ready to purchase.   🟣 Connect your marketing and sales teams' efforts. The B2B sales cycle is at least 6 months long or even more depending on the size of the purchase. If your marketing messaging is completely disconnected to what the sales team is talking about with current and potential customers, it’s not going to close deals and certainly will not create long-term value.   How do you build trust with your audience?  #b2b #marketing #leadership #b2bmarketing #b2bsales #standoutauthority  

I’ve watched B2B brands struggle to earn trust from their audience. And 9 times out of 10? It’s because of 1 simple mistake. A lot of brands rely on a single channel (usually their website) to build trust. But trust is a two-way street. You’ve got to show up, consistently, across multiple channels: - Sales conversations your team has with clients. - A newsletter that adds real value, not just updates. - Events where people can meet you and feel the energy. - Sharing your leaders’ insights, so people know you actually get it. Your website is just the start. It’s where you plant the seed. The real work happens when you nurture that seed across every touchpoint your audience interacts with. When they see the same thinking, the same understanding, the same commitment everywhere, that’s when trust takes root. So show up everywhere your audience interacts with you. Add value. Solve real problems. Be consistent. That’s how trust is built. And trust me, it’s worth every bit of effort.