Understanding Audience Needs Across Organic & Paid Channels
In B2B marketing, it’s no longer enough to just get content in front of people. It has to be the right content, on the right platform, in the right format—matched to what the audience actually wants. In this episode of B2B Marketing Futures, Joaquin Dominguez spoke with Nikolas Dimopoulos and Toyin Bayagbon about how they blend organic and paid strategies to reach and engage global audiences. The conversation focused on how to identify what audiences need, how to deliver content that matches those needs, and how to test and improve campaigns in different regions and channels.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez, Head of Marketing at Adzact
Guests
Nikolas Dimopoulos, Digital Campaigns Specialist at Hempel
Toyin Bayagbon, B2B Marketing Consultant (formerly at Hempel)
Start with the Audience, Then Match the Content
Nikolas began by explaining how campaign planning always starts with a clear goal. Is it about brand awareness, a product launch, or positioning the company as a leader in a certain sector? Once the goal is clear, the next step is to define the target audience and understand what matters to them. Only then does the team decide on platforms and content formats.
For example, LinkedIn works better for long-form content like white papers, while platforms like Instagram or Facebook need lighter, more visual formats. People use each platform for different reasons, so the same content won’t work everywhere.
Toyin added that in industries like energy or infrastructure, building trust is key. Organic content helps with this by showing that you understand the audience’s challenges. Paid media then helps to reach more people with those messages. She shared how a campaign about industry compliance started with interviews to gather insights, led to a webinar, and then extended into email and LinkedIn campaigns. It all tied back to understanding what the audience needed to know and using that to shape every step.
Organic and Paid Should Work Together
Both speakers agreed that organic and paid media should support each other. Organic is where you test what works and build trust. Paid is how you scale that to reach more of the right people.
Nikolas said that his team often boosts strong organic posts to get more value out of them. Since those posts already have some likes or comments, they can help build trust with new audiences too. And because organic posts stay live for longer, they’re useful as ongoing proof points for campaigns.
Toyin pointed out that in B2B sectors with long sales cycles, this trust-building work matters even more. The content has to show real understanding of the audience’s pain points—not just product features. That’s what keeps people engaged and builds loyalty over time.
What Content Formats Actually Work
When it comes to ad formats, Nikolas made it clear there’s no one-size-fits-all. Success depends on the stage of the funnel, the platform, the region, and the audience.
At the top of the funnel, video works well to get attention and build a retargeting audience. But for conversion, LinkedIn lead gen forms stood out. With pre-filled forms and no need to leave the platform, these ads delivered a 4% conversion rate—far better than the 0.8% they saw from traditional landing page formats.
Document ads were another strong performer. Even though they had doubts at first, the team found that these ads often had 5% engagement rates. Because people could scroll through a document and learn something useful, they were more likely to interact—and the team could retarget based on how much was read.
Not every test worked. Spotlight ads, which appear in the corner of the screen with a personal message, had a low cost but didn’t deliver much engagement. Still, they might have some value in awareness campaigns.
Toyin highlighted that what works in one region might not work in another. In Africa, video-first content got better results. In Europe or North America, longer-form content still worked well. It’s important to test by region and audience, and not assume one format will perform everywhere.
How to Know What the Audience Really Wants
Toyin said the best campaigns are built from the ground up. That means listening to sales teams, working with product and R&D, and talking to customers. She described a campaign where the marketing team mapped out common questions with the sales team, used insights from product experts, and created content that spoke directly to what customers cared about. Feedback loops from surveys and CRM data helped them keep improving.
“The best campaigns aren’t built in a boardroom. They’re built from the ground up—by listening to sales, collaborating with product and R&D, and shaping content around what customers actually say and need.” – Toyin Bayagbon
Nikolas agreed. AI and campaign data can help, but nothing replaces real conversations. And even then, you need to test—because audiences don’t always behave the way you expect. He gave an example of an ad that worked well in the Middle East because it was text-heavy, but the same ad failed in the US, where simpler visuals performed better.
Be Bold—But Be Local
Creativity still matters. Nikolas shared a campaign where they added an unexpected image—a group of babies playing in front of a ship—to grab attention. The result was a big spike in engagement. Even better, they created versions with different babies for different regions, and the localised version performed twice as well.
This kind of creative risk, combined with local relevance, helped the campaign stand out while still connecting with the audience.
“In B2B, we often play it safe—but creativity is what makes people stop scrolling. When we added something unexpected and made it locally relevant, engagement more than doubled.” – Nikolas Dimopoulos
Final Advice
Toyin encouraged marketers to build campaigns with input from across the business and to stay close to customer feedback. She believes marketers must anticipate needs, not just react to them. That means staying informed about industry trends and working closely with teams like product and sales.
Nikolas’ advice was to keep testing. Even the most detailed planning won’t guarantee success. Campaigns that work are built on curiosity, testing new ideas, and being willing to adapt.
Key Points to Remember
Start with goals and audience, not platforms.
Use organic to test and build trust, then scale with paid.
Lead gen forms and document ads can outperform more traditional formats.
Match content to the region—what works in one market may flop in another.
Talk to sales and customers to understand real needs, and don’t assume.
Be creative and take risks, but make sure they feel relevant to the audience.
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