LONDON, UK. February 24th, 2026 – Dux-Soup has released its latest B2B Lead Generation Report 2026, which reveals how B2B marketing strategies have evolved over the past year as marketers adapt to email deliverability challenges, declining organic reach and growing pressure to prove ROI.
Based on responses from 244 B2B marketers surveyed at B2B Marketing Live in London, the report provides a year-on-year comparison with the inaugural 2024 study, offering fresh insight into how lead generation priorities, channel investment, and LinkedIn usage have changed – and what will define success for marketers in 2026.
Key findings highlight a clear shift toward digital, permission-based, and content-led lead generation, with LinkedIn firmly established as the centrepiece of modern B2B marketing.
Email and social media continue to dominate B2B lead generation, each now used by over 85% of marketers, reinforcing their position as foundational channels for outreach and engagement.
However, the biggest year-on-year increase is seen in PPC advertising, which grew by 11.29%, marking the strongest rise of any channel. This suggests marketers are increasingly turning to paid acquisition to offset declining organic visibility – potentially driven by AI-generated search summaries and reduced click-through from traditional search results.
In contrast, cold calling has experienced the steepest decline (-7.51%), signaling a continued move away from interruption-based outbound tactics toward permission-driven engagement.
LinkedIn remains the undisputed leader in B2B social media, with 95.7% of respondents using the platform – far surpassing all other networks.
Nearly three-quarters of B2B marketers use LinkedIn at least weekly for lead generation, confirming its central role in prospecting, content distribution, and relationship building.
While daily usage has dipped slightly, weekly usage has increased significantly (+10.74%), indicating a shift toward more deliberate, higher-quality engagement rather than constant activity.
Although LinkedIn dominates, the report reveals growing diversification across social channels. Instagram adoption increased by 13.71%, while YouTube grew by 12.09% and Facebook rebounded with an 8.11% increase.
This trend reflects rising demand for visual, video-first, and educational content, as B2B marketers experiment with richer storytelling formats beyond text-based platforms.
Despite LinkedIn’s importance, adoption of LinkedIn automation tools remains relatively modest. 27.23% currently use automation, but 62.13% do not and 10.64% are unsure.
While overall usage has slightly declined year-on-year, the report shows automation is evolving beyond pure lead generation. Marketers are increasingly using it to drive brand awareness, website traffic, and relationship nurturing, signaling more mature and strategic use cases.
The fastest-growing automation objectives include driving traffic to company websites (+13.31%), building brand awareness (+12.33%) and nurturing existing relationships (+10.63%).
Will van der Sanden, Founder of Dux-Soup said: “I believe the findings of our report point to a clear direction for the year ahead.
“Hybrid strategies combining PPC, content, events, social, and email deliver the strongest results, and content-led, permission-based engagement is replacing interruption-driven outreach.
“LinkedIn remains the primary B2B growth channel, but visual and video platforms are rising fast and weekly, high-impact engagement now outperforms daily posting volume.
“Automation works best when paired with a human touch, particularly for high-value relationships.
“The past 12 months have seen a gradual evolution in marketing trends, rather than a disruptive change. As competition intensifies across digital channels, B2B marketers who successfully balance paid acquisition, content-driven social strategies, and scalable automation – without sacrificing personalization – will be best positioned to generate demand, nurture relationships, and drive measurable growth in 2026.”
The full report can be downloaded at dux-soup.com.
ENDS