Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Preferred Platform Study, B2B Influencers & Blockchain For Marketers, & Travelers Turn To Instagram

Lane Ellis on May 25th, 2018     Online Marketing News

Marketing Charts Platform Usage Graph

Social Media Marketing Update: Preferred Platforms and Content Types in 2018
A multitude of the latest trends in social media marketing have been detailed in a new report from Social Media Examiner, revealing that Instagram has surpassed a declining Twitter in overall popularity, while B2B marketers continue to prefer LinkedIn. MarketingCharts

Study: Millennial travelers’ Instagram use has grown 375% since 2013
U.S. millennial travelers have turned to Instagram 375 percent more than they did in 2013, according to new research on social media usage among travelers, while Google stayed the top overall travel site. Marketing Dive

Facebook Releases Latest ‘Topics to Watch’ Report, Highlighting Key Trends
U.S. marketers now have access to Facebook’s latest list of topics to watch, as the social media giant released its “Topics to Watch” list for April, 2018, including the fastest-growing conversation topics on the platform. Social Media Today


Digital Marketing News: Preferred Platform Study, B2B Influencers & Blockchain For Marketers, & Travelers Turn To Instagram
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Debbie Friez

Building Better Influencer Relationships: 7 Cues Marketers Can Take from Sales

Debbie Friez on May 23rd, 2018     Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is booming with B2B and B2C brands big and small dipping their toes in the water. And it’s certainly not hard to see why. From declining consumer trust to content overload to near-dead organic reach on social channels, working with influencers enables brands to build credibility, authority with existing and new audiences, as well as connect with thoughtful industry experts.

And, of course, partnering with influencers can help drive marketing results. In fact, according to a Linqia survey, 94% of marketers who use influencer marketing find it an effective practice that can generate up to 11-times the ROI of traditional advertising.


Building Better Influencer Relationships: 7 Cues Marketers Can Take from Sales
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Nick Nelson

From Messenger Bots to the Growth of ‘Gram, Social Media Examiner’s Annual Report Reveals Trends to Watch

Nick Nelson on May 21st, 2018     Social Media

2018 Social Media Marketing Trends from Social Media Examiner Report

Engagement is down. Trust is dwindling. And the most popular social media marketing platform is now riddled with uncertainty.

For marketers, the social space has never felt more daunting or perplexing. Luckily, Social Media Examiner recently released its 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, the latest annual snapshot of where things currently stand in this critical frontier.

While the report doesn’t answer all our questions, it does offer some helpful clarity and context.

We’ve gone through Social Media Examiner’s in-depth report, which gathered input from more than 5,700 respondents, and distilled some of the most noteworthy nuggets for marketers to noodle on and insights on how you can improve your efforts.

Here’s what you need to know about the state of social media marketing in 2018.


From Messenger Bots to the Growth of ‘Gram, Social Media Examiner’s Annual Report Reveals Trends to Watch
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Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Millennial Pops’ Pinterest Passion, Facebook’s Housecleaning, Closing Klout, & Google’s Latest

Lane Ellis on May 18th, 2018     Online Marketing News

Facebook Housecleaning Graph May 2018

Facebook has disabled almost 1.3 billion fake accounts over the past six months
Facebook has stopped nearly 1.3 billion fake user accounts over the last six months, one of numerous statistics the company has revealed for the first time in a preliminary report announced this week. Recode

Pinterest proves popular with dads, pointing to shifting parental role
Pinterest has increased its popularity among millennial dads, with 42 percent of U.S. fathers in that demographic reporting that they find new products on the site, while nearly half of overall U.S. dads with a household income of $100K or more use Pinterest, according to new analysis data. Marketing Dive


Digital Marketing News: Millennial Pops’ Pinterest Passion, Facebook’s Housecleaning, Closing Klout, & Google’s Latest
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Caitlin Burgess

A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’

Caitlin Burgess on May 16th, 2018     Online Marketing

Ingredients for Content Marketing Cobbler

If you didn’t know, tomorrow, May 17, is home to a very special holiday: National Cherry Cobbler Day.

I know, I know—every day seems to be home to some strange, random, or innocuous holiday these days, but this one has a special place in my heart.

via GIPHY

While my palate generally prefers more savory options, fruit cobbler is my jam. (Does that count as a pun? No? OK.) And as it turns out, not only is cobbler of all varieties deliciously satisfying to eat—but it also serves up a tasty slice of content marketing inspiration.

You see, cobbler was an innovation in both sweet and savory cooking, originating in the British American colonies. Settlers didn’t have access to suitable ingredients or equipment to make their traditional puddings and pies, so using a little creativity with what they did have, the cobbler was born.


A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’
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Nick Nelson

Calling All Content Marketers: Sound Off in Our Content Marketing Planning Survey!

Nick Nelson on May 14th, 2018     B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, Content Marketing

2018 Content Planning Survey

We’re all in this together.

Granted, it might not always feel that way. The current environment we operate in as marketers is a competitive one. But we do have the power to collectively drive our discipline forward, toward greater efficiency and productivity. This begins with sharing knowledge, and improving our understanding of the most prevalent challenges and obstacles being faced.

In this spirit, we’ve partnered with our clients and friends at DivvyHQ to whip up a new 2018 Content Planning Survey, and we’d love your input.

What’s Inside the Survey

The idea is to gather data from a wide range of marketers in efforts to form a clear and accurate picture of how today’s content teams operate and where the key opportunities lie.


Calling All Content Marketers: Sound Off in Our Content Marketing Planning Survey!
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Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Facebook Teases Ad-Free Subscriptions, Google Tests SERP Questions, & Online Ad Spend Jumps

Lane Ellis on May 11th, 2018     Online Marketing News

Digital Ad Spending Graph eMarketer

Facebook Weighs Ad-Free Subscription Option
Facebook is considering an ad-free paid subscription option for users, and has recently conducted market research on how such an plan would go over at the company, which brought in the vast majority of last year’s revenue of $41 billion from ad sales. Bloomberg

Instagram quietly launches payments for commerce
Instagram has been testing its own direct payment system among certain app users and partners, in a move that could increase the firm’s native payment footprint. TechCrunch

Google Tests Submitting Question Directly In Search Results
Google has recently tested question forms within search results that allow users to submit questions directly by text or voice to the Internet giant and its various publisher partners. SEO Roundtable


Digital Marketing News: Facebook Teases Ad-Free Subscriptions, Google Tests SERP Questions, & Online Ad Spend Jumps
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Anne Leuman

5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works & 5 Reasons It Doesn’t

Anne Leuman on May 9th, 2018     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Why Content Marketing Works & Why It Doesn't

It’s no secret that content marketing is a widely adopted tactic. In fact, over 90% of B2B Marketers say they’re using it to reach their larger business goals, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s 2018 B2B Content Marketing Report. However, just 24% of B2B marketers rate their content marketing as extremely or very successful.

Why is content marketing working extremely well for some marketers, but not for others? What makes content marketing so effective, and what holds (your content marketing efforts) back?

Well, let’s talk all about it. Content is at the center of everything we do here at TopRank Marketing. And below we dive into some of the key reasons why content marketing efforts succeed or fall short. Hopefully, this insight can help you level up your own content marketing strategy in a way that amplifies your results.


5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works & 5 Reasons It Doesn’t
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Lee Odden

32 B2B Content Marketing Case Studies for 2018

Lee Odden on May 7th, 2018     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

B2B Content Marketing Case Studies

One of the great honors of working in the marketing agency world is seeing your work recognized. For me, an even greater honor is seeing the work of our clients and my team recognized and that’s exactly what happened at the 2018 Killer Content Awards.

This year the award in question went to our client Cherwell Software. Thanks to amazing work by Alison Munn and the Cherwell Software team (pictured above), as well as our team at TopRank Marketing, their integrated influencer content program drove 22% of all new sales pipeline revenue in 2017.


32 B2B Content Marketing Case Studies for 2018
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Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Video Ad Spend Up, Snap’s Unskippable Ads, & Instagram’s Latest

Lane Ellis on May 4th, 2018     Online Marketing News

video ad spending

Digital video ad spend keeps rising, with social media (i.e., Facebook) set to see most growth
Social media and digital video advertising spending will see the biggest gains over the next year, according to new IAB study data from $1M+ buyers, with two-thirds planning to move traditional video budgets to digital video. Marketing Land

Unskippable six-second video ads are coming to Snapchat
Snapchat plans to test short unskippable ads, in what would be an about-face from the firm’s traditional practices, appearing in certain Snapchat Shows content. DigiDay

Instagram is Testing Slo-Mo Videos, a Mute Button, More
Instagram has been testing a number of new features including slow-motion videos, a story archive calendar, the ability to hide unwanted users, and other changes, according to an examination of the app’s code, in a possible preview of coming enhancements. Search Engine Journal


Digital Marketing News: Video Ad Spend Up, Snap’s Unskippable Ads, & Instagram’s Latest
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Alexis Hall

Redesigning Your Website? Make Sure SEO & Content Have a Seat at Website Migration Table

Alexis Hall on May 2nd, 2018     Content Marketing, SEO, SEO Tips

SEO and Content Integration During Website Migration

Digital marketers know their company’s website is more than a digital storefront. It’s a marketplace that must deliver a quality, engaging experience for prospects and customers once they arrive. So, it’s no surprise that the average company invests in a website redesign every three years to stay fresh, competitive, and meet evolving customer expectations.

In our experience, however, design faux pas aren’t the biggest marketing missteps that can lead to poor results after a migration—it’s the lack of a solid website migration strategy that encompasses both SEO and content considerations.

There’s no question that SEO needs to play a leading role in the planning, design, and execution of any website migration. But SEO can’t stand alone—it needs a content lens to ensure a solid performance after the switch is flipped.


Redesigning Your Website? Make Sure SEO & Content Have a Seat at Website Migration Table
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Anne Leuman

Camera Shy: 7 Tips for First-Time Video Marketers

Anne Leuman on Apr 30th, 2018     Content Marketing, Video, Visual Marketing

Video Marketing Tips for First-Timers

Video isn’t for the faint of heart. You need to feel confident enough to put yourself, and your brand, out there. But it’s a medium that a lot of marketers are exploring as it holds a lot of potential.

In fact, Cisco’s Visual Networking Index predicts that 82% of all internet traffic will be video by 2021. Video is a main source of content consumption, including everything from the news to YouTube tutorials. And as marketers looking to demonstrate thought leadership and credibility, video presents a unique opportunity to get in front of and educate your target audience. However, 64% of marketers agree that video is the hardest type of content to produce, turning many people away from embracing video.  


Camera Shy: 7 Tips for First-Time Video Marketers
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