For as long as I’ve been in the marketing game, the debate has raged: outbound versus inbound. Outbound advocates swear by prospecting lists, cold emails, and SDR armies. Inbound believers (myself included) argue that brand-building and content create a compounding engine of demand that outlasts any hack.
The truth? Both sides are hitting limits. Outbound is increasingly commoditised, with inboxes flooded by automated sequences and spam. Inbound, while powerful, suffers from distribution bottlenecks—great content often never reaches the right people at the right time.
I think the next big shift in marketing is going to be signal-based content. Imagine creating content not just based on personas or broad trends, but on real-time signals—like new job postings, ESG updates, regulatory changes, or even competitor moves.
That way, we’re not just pushing out relevant content—we’re making it timely, contextual, and something our buyers actually want to engage with.
The Problem with Outbound and Inbound Today
Let’s be honest: outbound is broken. Here’s why:
- The cost of building SDR teams is rising.
- Prospects are harder to reach, with gatekeepers and email filters blocking cold outreach.
- Even when signals like job postings hint at buying intent, the effort required to interpret and act on them overwhelms most teams.
Inbound, while healthier, has its own challenge: distribution. I’ve seen agencies and B2B companies produce brilliant whitepapers, videos, and podcasts, only for them to be buried by LinkedIn’s algorithm or ignored in crowded inboxes. Content without reach is just a digital diary.
Signal-based marketing offers a third way. It takes the intent data traditionally used in outbound and applies it to fuel content creation and distribution strategies. Instead of asking “Who should we cold-call?” we ask, “What should we create that speaks directly to what our buyers are experiencing right now?”
What is Signal-Based Content Marketing?
Signal-based content marketing is about listening to the market’s whispers and turning them into content that cuts through the noise.
Examples of signals include:
- Job Postings: A company hiring a Head of Marketing indicates they are gearing up for growth, which is perfect timing to create content on scaling demand generation.
- Regulatory Changes: New ESG reporting standards? Publish an explainer or checklist that positions your agency as a trusted guide.
- Competitor Activity: If your rival launches a new product feature, respond with thought leadership on the broader industry trend.
- Funding Announcements: A Series A round signals new budgets and expansion—ideal for content around building scalable marketing foundations.
These signals aren’t just “lead lists.” They are idea engines. They help us craft blogs, LinkedIn posts, webinars, or DMs that speak directly to the prospect’s current context. Done right, the buyer doesn’t feel “marketed to”. They feel understood.
ALSO READ: Why Every B2B Brand Needs a Strategic Marketing Roadmap Before Jumping into Tactics
Why Signals Matter More in 2025
The B2B buyer journey has shifted. Buyers don’t want another cold outreach message clogging their inbox. They also don’t want generic thought leadership that could apply to any company in any industry.
What they crave is contextual relevance. They want to know:
- Do you understand my industry’s current challenges?
- Are you aware of the pressures I’m under right now?
- Can you connect the dots faster than I can?
Signals give us the raw data to answer “yes” in a credible way. With AI tools, we can now process huge amounts of unstructured data such as job boards, social feeds, and financial filings, and turn them into actionable insights for content creation. This is where the flywheel of demand generation spins faster.
From Signals to Stories: The Playbook
Here’s how I think agencies and B2B marketers will actually put signal-based content into practice. It’s not just about spotting signals like job postings, ESG updates, or competitor activity, but more about building a system around them.
- Listen Intelligently
Set up social listening, job board scrapers, and AI tools to monitor industry-specific signals. But don’t drown in data—define which signals truly matter to your ICP (ideal customer profile).
- Interpret with Context
Raw signals are just noise. The real value comes when you layer them with your brand’s expertise. For example, if a cybersecurity regulation shifts, interpret it through the lens of how your solution helps companies stay compliant.
- Generate Content Ideas at Scale
Feed signals into an “idea bank.” Each signal becomes a prompt for blog posts, LinkedIn carousels, short videos, or podcast topics. The goal is to never face a blank page again.
- Distribute with Precision
Match content to where your audience lives. If the signal comes from LinkedIn job postings, distribute back on LinkedIn. If it comes from government announcements, pitch thought leadership pieces to industry publications.
- Engage Proactively
Use signals not just for broadcasting, but for conversations. A thoughtful DM that references a hiring announcement and links to a relevant article you wrote is far more powerful than a generic cold pitch.
The Strategic Payoff
Done right, signal-based content delivers three major payoffs:
- Relevance at Scale: Content that feels handcrafted for the moment, even when powered by AI and systems.
- Stronger Inbound Flywheel: Signals fuel a content engine that continuously attracts prospects in-market.
- Differentiation from AI Commoditisation: While everyone can generate generic content with GPT-5, few can combine it with market listening and human insight to create context-rich demand gen.
For agencies like mine, this also solves a bigger challenge: how to future-proof our services. If clients can generate generic content themselves with AI, then our role is to help them generate the right content, at the right time, for the right people. Signals give us that edge.
Final Thoughts
Marketing has always been about meeting people where they are. Outbound tried to knock on their doors; inbound tried to attract them with magnets. Signal-based content marketing is about listening at the right moment and showing up with something that matters.
In 2025 and beyond, agencies and B2B marketers who master this approach will stand apart. Not by shouting louder, but by listening better.
About the Author
Donald Chan is the Founder of IMPACT! Brand Communications, a digital and content marketing agency headquartered in Singapore. With over 12 years of agency leadership and 20 years of marketing experience, he helps brands in B2B, technology, and emerging industries achieve real marketing impact.