B2B Marketing Digest - August 2026
Dear Reader,
August is bringing a practical change into focus.
For months, B2B marketers have been hearing that discovery is moving beyond the traditional website journey.
Buyers are researching through AI tools. They are reading expert commentary on LinkedIn, watching videos, comparing opinions, asking peers, and building impressions long before they appear inside a measurable funnel.
Until recently, much of this activity remained difficult to observe.
That is beginning to change.
But they signal that AI search, social discoverability, expert visibility, and traditional website performance are becoming parts of the same measurement conversation.
The first meaningful interaction with your brand may happen on your website. But it may also happen through an AI-generated answer, a LinkedIn profile, a video, an expert quotation, a customer recommendation, or a forwarded newsletter.
Your brand is increasingly being discovered as a connected system rather than through one front door.
This edition explores what that means for B2B discoverability, expert-led authority, measurement, commercial AI workflows, and the growing importance of owned audiences.
I hope this Digest (as always) gives you both perspective and something practical to take into your own strategy. This time I also wish you took some summer break and enjoyed it without thinking of work.
Warm regards,
Kristīne
Hot Updates
Google Search Console Begins Measuring Social and Video Discovery
On July 7, Google introduced Search Console platform properties for Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
Once a platform account is connected, marketers can access information about impressions, clicks, search queries, and the individual posts driving discovery through Google Search. Google says the properties are being made available gradually. This matters because social content is no longer living only inside the platform where it was published.
A video uploaded to YouTube or an expert post published on a social account may also become a search asset. Buyers can encounter that content through Google without first visiting the company website or following the account. For expert-led B2B firms, this creates a new layer of visibility measurement.
What this means for B2B marketers: Connect the available platform properties, identify which posts and subjects are generating search impressions, and compare those themes with the questions buyers are asking on your website and in sales conversations.
Google Clarifies What Actually Matters for AI Search
Google has now published an official guide for succeeding in generative AI features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. One of the most useful messages is that AI search does not require an entirely separate collection of technical tricks. Google says traditional SEO foundations remain relevant. Content should be crawlable, technically clear, useful, original, and written for people. Unique viewpoints and first-hand expertise are more valuable than summaries that repeat information already widely available.
Google also addresses several increasingly common AI-search claims.
According to its guidance:
Special files such as llms.txt do not improve visibility in Google Search.
Content does not need to be divided into unnaturally small “chunks.”
There is no special AI-only writing style.
Inauthentic mentions and scaled content created primarily to influence rankings remain poor strategies.
There is no separate AI-specific schema required for inclusion.
Google is also directing website owners toward its Generative AI performance report in Search Console.
What this means for B2B marketers: Avoid rebuilding your strategy around every new AEO or GEO tactic being promoted online. The stronger foundation remains remarkably familiar: Clear positioning. Technically accessible pages. Original expert knowledge. Specific answers to real buyer questions. Consistent and current information. Credible evidence across the wider web.
LinkedIn Is Building Expert Credibility into Its Marketing Workflow
LinkedIn introduced Creator Marketplace and BrandWorks in June. Which I mentioned already in July`s Newsletter.
Creator Marketplace allows participating brands to identify creators by subject expertise, review audience and performance information, discover existing content mentioning the brand, and amplify selected posts through Thought Leader Ads.
BrandWorks provides selected customers with strategic and creative support for LinkedIn campaigns.
The research released around the announcement is especially relevant for B2B firms:
83% of B2B marketers say credibility matters more than traditional brand messaging.
70% say buyers rely more on peers and experts than on brand-produced content.
56% of B2B buyers depend on creator input during the final stage of the buying process to validate recommendations.
These figures come from LinkedIn-commissioned research, so they should be understood as platform-reported findings. Still, the strategic direction is clear.
LinkedIn is turning expert-led credibility from an informal content practice into a structured marketing workflow.
What this means for B2B marketers: Visible practitioners are becoming part of the company’s commercial infrastructure. The strongest expert voices should not sit outside the brand strategy. Their profiles, perspectives, content, relationships, and public credibility should be connected to the company’s positioning and market priorities. Companies that hide expertise behind a generic brand account risk becoming less convincing precisely when buyers are looking for human judgment.
Deep Dive Article - Interview- Māris Tašmans
Beyond Lead Generation
What Modern B2B Marketers Can Learn from Business Development
I first met Māris many years ago when we studied marketing and advertising together, and since then I have watched his career move through aviation, engineering, manufacturing and now defence innovation. In this interview, he shares what complex B2B environments have taught him about trust, partnerships, long sales cycles and the real work behind business development. It is also a reminder for marketers that strong commercial growth is rarely about generating more leads, but about creating relevance, proof and momentum around the right opportunities.
Quick Hits
AI Search May Indicate Stronger Purchase Intent
HubSpot reports that 42% of CRM buyers used AI search during evaluation and that those buyers were 36% more likely to purchase than buyers who did not.
This is HubSpot’s own vendor-reported research focused on CRM buyers, so it should not be generalized to every B2B category. Still, it is a useful signal that AI search is moving deeper into active vendor evaluation.
AI Is Already Entering Newsletter Production
A HubSpot survey of more than 400 newsletter professionals found that 62% already use AI assistance. The more important takeaway may be that as AI-supported newsletters become common, recognizable human voice, expertise, editorial judgment, and original access become more valuable differentiators.
Closing Note
Forward this Digest to a colleague or comrade who'd benefit.
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