Not SEO, Not Ads: The 3 B2B Channels to Bet On in 2026
In this issue:
How to build a LinkedIn flywheel that drives revenue
Cold email is dead. Multi-channel outbound is NOT.
Not LinkedIn ads. Not SEO. Not cold email. The three B2B marketing channels to bet on in 2026.
1. How to build a LinkedIn flywheel that drives revenue
Mostly Growth podcast by Mostly Media, Episode: When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramer (Nov. 12, 2025)
TLDR:
Random Acts of Marketing (RAM) happens when you're executing every request without strategy, leading to scattered efforts that don't compound
A LinkedIn flywheel combines organic posting, thought leader ads, commenting, and signal-based campaigns into one integrated system
Most companies stop at posting, but the real growth comes from boosting content with $100+ and using engagement data to trigger targeted follow-up campaigns
Emily Kramer has worked as head of Marketing at Asana and Carta, and is currently advising B2B companies on growth strategy. In this conversation, she tackles one of the most common problems plaguing B2B marketing teams: doing a lot of stuff… without any of it connecting.
The RAM problem: when marketing feels like a checklist
Kramer coined the term "Random Acts of Marketing" (RAM) to describe what happens when marketing becomes purely reactive. You get a request from sales for a one-pager. Product wants a launch campaign. The CEO saw a competitor's LinkedIn post and thinks you should do something similar. Before you know it, you're executing a laundry list of tactics without any strategic thread connecting them.
The result? Marketing that doesn't compound. Each effort exists in isolation, generating temporary spikes but no sustained growth.
Building a LinkedIn flywheel that actually works
Most companies approach LinkedIn with a piecemeal strategy – maybe an executive posts occasionally, maybe they run some ads, maybe someone comments here and there. Kramer argues this is backwards. The real power comes from connecting all these activities into a flywheel.
Here's how it works:
Start with an individual posting on LinkedIn, not your company account. Individual posts perform significantly better than company posts because people connect with people, not brands. This could be your CEO, a marketing leader, or any executive who's willing to engage consistently.
Once you have a post, don't just let it sit there. Use LinkedIn's thought leader ads to boost the post with even just $100. These ads promote the individual's post to a wider audience while maintaining the organic feel. The cost is minimal but the reach multiplies dramatically.
But here's where most companies stop. The next step is crucial: track who's engaging with these posts. Pull that data from LinkedIn and match it against your target account list.
If someone from a key account has liked or commented on five of your posts, they're signaling interest. That's when you follow up. Not with a spammy "want a demo?" message, but with something contextually relevant like an invite to an executive dinner or a connection request.
Now the flywheel begins: more connections mean more people see your future posts organically, which drives more engagement, which gives you more qualified leads to follow up with. Each component feeds the others.
Why $100 goes further than you think
Kramer's insight is about LinkedIn's shift to pay-to-play. She's noticed her organic reach declining significantly compared to 2022, and LinkedIn now actively prompts her to pay to boost her own posts.
Her take? Don't fight it. Accept that LinkedIn has become more pay-to-play and work within that reality.
The good news is that thought leader ads are incredibly efficient. Even small amounts of money – $100 here, $200 there – can dramatically increase your reach and engagement. The key is not to think of this as paying for vanity metrics, but as paying to amplify your signal so you can generate qualified leads.
2. Cold email is dead. Multi-channel outbound is NOT.
Edbound with Kinner podcast by Edbound AI, Episode: Genius Founder's Outbound Playbook That Made $16 MILLION ARR Bootstrapped (Nov. 12, 2025)
TLDR:
Alan D'Souza built Zapmail and Reachinbox to $16M ARR in 12 months, entirely bootstrapped through outbound, growing at $1M per week
Cold email as we knew it is dead, but AI-powered multi-channel outbound (email + LinkedIn + ads) is the most predictable B2B growth channel
His playbook combines AI personalization at scale, intent data, and automated follow-up across channels to get 10x better results than traditional outbound
Most B2B founders think outbound is dead. Alan D'Souza thinks they're doing it wrong. As the founder and CEO of Zapmail, Reachinbox, and Outbox Labs, he's built a $16M ARR empire entirely on outbound.
Why outbound beats every other channel by 10x
If done right, outbound beats all other B2B growth channels by at least 10x. Here's why: it's the most predictable and controllable channel you have. With content marketing, you're hoping the algorithm favors you. With SEO, you're waiting months to see results. With paid ads, you're competing in auctions where costs keep rising.
With outbound, you control the entire process. You choose who to target. You decide what message to send. You determine the timing. You can test and iterate daily rather than waiting weeks for statistically significant results. And most importantly, you can scale it systematically.
The challenge is that most companies are still using tactics from 2018 that have stopped working.
Cold email is dead. Multi-channel outbound is NOT.
Here's what doesn't work anymore: sending generic cold emails with minimal personalization, hoping for a 2% response rate.
Buyers are overwhelmed. Their inboxes are flooded. They've developed “banner blindness” to anything that smells like a sales pitch.
What works now is a multi-channel approach that combines email, LinkedIn, and retargeting ads into a single automated sequence. You're not just hitting their inbox once – you're creating multiple touchpoints across channels they're already active on.
Here's a typical sequence from D'Souza's playbook:
Day 1, send a personalized email.
Day 2, visit their LinkedIn profile (they get notified).
Day 3, send a LinkedIn connection request with a note.
Day 4, they start seeing your retargeting ads.
Day 5, send a follow-up email referencing something specific about their company.
Day 7, engage with their LinkedIn posts.
Each touchpoint is relatively low-friction on its own, but combined they create a pattern of presence that makes you familiar rather than random.
By the time they actually need your solution, you're not a stranger – you're that company that's been persistent without being annoying.
AI makes personalization scalable (finally)
Today, you can train AI models on your best-performing emails, feed them company-specific data (funding rounds, recent hires, product launches, tech stack, etc.), and generate emails that feel personalized because they actually are.
They reference specific details about each prospect's company. They address their likely pain points based on their industry and role. They use language that matches their communication style.
The key is not to let AI write entire emails from scratch – that still feels robotic. Instead, use AI to customize templates with specific details, while you control the core messaging and structure.
You're using AI to scale what already works, not to replace your strategy with generic output.
3. Not LinkedIn ads. Not SEO. Not cold email. The three B2B marketing channels to bet on in 2026.
Demand Decoded podcast, Episode: 2026 B2B Marketing Predictions: Our Top 3 Channels for B2B Growth (Nov. 10, 2025)
TLDR:
In-person events, YouTube, and AEO (AI Engine Optimization) are the top three B2B growth channels for 2026 because they offer human connection and brand building that AI-generated content can't replicate
Events create lasting relationships and pipeline, even if immediate ROI is hard to measure
YouTube remains undersaturated in B2B and lets you build deeper brand relationships than blog content
AEO focuses on getting your brand cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews, where buyers actually research solutions before ever visiting your website
In-person events win in an AI world
As AI-generated content floods every digital channel, the value of real human connection skyrockets. You can't fake showing up at an event, having a conversation over coffee, or building a relationship that lasts months.
Events fell out of favor before COVID because companies viewed them as expensive lead-generation machines. They'd spend $50K on a trade show booth, scan hundreds of badges, and measure success by how many "leads" they captured. The problem? Most people at events aren't ready to buy right now.
The smart approach: treat events as brand-building and relationship cultivation, not immediate pipeline. Yes, you'll generate some near-term opportunities from people actively in-market. But the real value comes from staying top-of-mind with buyers who won't need your solution for another 6 months.
When they're ready to buy, they'll remember you because they met you in person. That can't be replicated with an email sequence or a LinkedIn ad.
YouTube: the undersaturated B2B channel
Most B2B marketers have piled into blogs, LinkedIn, and podcasts. YouTube remains relatively untapped in B2B, which means there's still room for outsized impact if you show up now.
Why hasn't B2B embraced YouTube? The barrier to entry is higher. You need to get on camera, produce video content, and commit to consistency. Most marketers find that intimidating. But that barrier is exactly why it's an opportunity.
Here's the key insight: YouTube isn't just about informational content. It's about building brand relationships. When someone watches your 10-minute video explaining a concept, they spend way more time with your brand than if they skim a 500-word blog post. That deeper engagement translates to stronger brand affinity and higher conversion rates later.
Think about it: a business might get 1,000 video views from their target audience. That's not massive reach. But if those 1,000 people are exactly the decision-makers they need to reach, and each person spends 8 minutes watching, that's 133 hours of attention. Try getting that from blog posts.
AEO: optimizing for AI search engines
AEO stands for AI Engine Optimization – getting your brand cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and other AI-powered search tools. This matters because buyers are increasingly skipping Google entirely and asking AI tools for recommendations.
Traditional SEO focused on ranking for keywords. AEO focuses on becoming a trusted, cited source in AI responses. How do you do this? Create authoritative content, earn media coverage, publish original research, and build topical authority in your niche.
For example, if you're a marketing automation platform, you want to be cited when someone asks ChatGPT "what are the best marketing automation tools for B2B companies with 50–200 employees?" If your brand doesn't appear in that answer, you don't exist to that buyer.
The channel is still emerging, which means tactics are evolving fast. But the directional bet is clear: optimize for AI citations, not just Google rankings.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 B2B growth playbook looks different from 2023. In-person events create authentic relationships AI can't replicate. YouTube builds deep brand connections in an undersaturated channel. AEO positions your brand where buyers actually research. Pair these with strong website conversion, and you have a formula for sustainable growth in a world where AI content floods every traditional channel.
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