Online Marketing Blog

How Can Marketer Be More Inclusive with Content and Influencers Right Now?

Lee Odden on Jul 13th, 2020
B2B Marketing

Female Executive

After the tragedy of George Floyd and the following protests and demonstrations, the awareness about the need for equality, inclusiveness and diversity has many companies taking action. Some organizations already have D&I initiatives and resources to guide them but many others are figuring out what is most relevant and meaningful for their business, customers, employees and community.

A lot of the negative bias that exists when it comes to equality is fueled by how people are represented or not in media and in marketing content. Marketers like our agency are in a unique position to make decisions about inclusiveness in the content produced and the people engaged as influencers both for the marketing performed for clients as well as for agency marketing.

How Can Marketer Be More Inclusive with Content and Influencers Right Now?

B2B Marketing News: Digital Ad Budgets To Grow In 2021, Google’s Rich Results Tool Goes Mainstream, & More Listeners Are Paying For Podcasts

Lane Ellis on Jul 10th, 2020
Online Marketing News

Gartner CMO Spend Survey Shows How Digital Budgets Will Increase In 2021
Within the next 18 to 24 months digital marketing budgets will return to business-as-usual levels, according to 57 percent of CMOs in recently-released survey data from Gartner, also showing 78 percent aggregate growth for digital ad budgets in the forecast for 2021. 44 percent also said that they face mid-year budget cuts this year due to the global health crisis. MediaPost

HubSpot: A Look Back at How COVID-19 Impacted Businesses in Q2
Up to 60 more sales team email has been sent during the pandemic, seeing open rates 18 percent above pre-COVID levels, with companies sending less email achieving the highest open rates — several of many finding of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-released report data from HubSpot’s weekly performance metrics. HubSpot

B2B Marketing News: Digital Ad Budgets To Grow In 2021, Google’s Rich Results Tool Goes Mainstream, & More Listeners Are Paying For Podcasts

From Mechanical to Meaningful: How to Optimize B2B Case Studies

Joshua Nite on Jul 9th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing

When was the last time a B2B case study made you feel something?

I mean, something besides mild interest or boredom.

I ask because, in theory at least, B2B case studies should be exciting stories. There are millions of dollars at stake, people’s livelihoods and professional reputations hanging in the balance. Each one is a three-act story arc of overcoming adversity and solving a problem.

That sounds like a riveting read, right?

Or at the very least, they should be useful stories. They should help someone with a similar problem be able to find a solution. Yes, even a solution above and beyond “buy our product.”

Here are a few ways that B2B marketers can make their case studies more human, more compelling, and ultimately more effective.

From Mechanical to Meaningful: How to Optimize B2B Case Studies

Always On Influence: Costs Less and Better ROI – Here’s Why

Lee Odden on Jul 6th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Virtually every marketing tactic is under evaluation right now as B2B marketing departments react to the domino effect of changes in consumer spending during the pandemic. Many B2C marketers are putting a pause on their influencer marketing investments as the world of travel, hospitality, retail, sports and entertainment have changed dramatically.

In the business to business world, things have changed as well but not anywhere near as significantly and not always at the expense of lowered marketing budgets. The trend in B2B is digital and self serve from virtual events and prospect engagement to buyers now conducting the majority of their research and interactions on their own before making purchase decisions.

Always On Influence: Costs Less and Better ROI – Here’s Why

B2B Marketing News: COVID19 Impact on B2B, Boost in Online B2B Purchasing, Google Combines Search Console & Analytics Data

Lee Odden on Jul 3rd, 2020
Online Marketing News

Which Recommendation Types Do Consumers Find Most Compelling? “Based on your favorite” is the most impactful recommendation type, study data shows. MarketingCharts

Google Expands Access to its Business Messaging Tools from Search and Maps. Expanded brand reach to customers via maps and search listings are among features in a new tool rollout. Social Media Today

COVID-19’s Impact on the B2B Industry. B2Bs are figuring out how to stay in business, operate and recover. This often requires a digital transformation of marketing and sales efforts. eMarketer

Google to pay some publishers for content; others dubious. Alphabet’s Google on Thursday took a step towards resolving its spat with publishers, saying it would pay some media groups in Australia, Brazil and Germany for high-quality content and expects to do more deals, but others were skeptical.. Reuters

B2B Marketing News: COVID19 Impact on B2B, Boost in Online B2B Purchasing, Google Combines Search Console & Analytics Data

Livestream Marketing: 5 B2B Brands Rocking LinkedIn Live

Lane Ellis on Jul 1st, 2020
B2B Marketing, LinkedIn, Video

How can B2B brands benefit from using LinkedIn Live, and what are some examples of businesses rocking their LinkedIn Live marketing?

LinkedIn* has seen its live-streaming LinkedIn Live feature being used by more major firms all the time, and we’ll take a look at five top B2B brands that are rocking their LinkedIn Live game.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to how B2B brands can use LinkedIn Live. Here are 12 to get you started:

Interviewing a Member of Your C-Suite
Answering Frequently-Asked Questions
Streaming a Keynote or Session
Highlighting Special Events
Streaming “Ask Me Anything” Episodes
Introducing Various Team Members
Deep-Dive Interviews
Showcasing Behind The Scenes Workplace Culture
Unveiling New Innovations
Launching Episodic Content

Livestream Marketing: 5 B2B Brands Rocking LinkedIn Live

Why Content Marketing is More Important Than Ever for B2B Brands

Nick Nelson on Jun 30th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

In his recently published eBook, Corona Marketing, Joe Pulizzi recounts how he and his wife launched the website Content Marketing Institute in 2007 at the exact time as a devastating financial crisis was beginning to unfold in the United States.

“At the time, we believed things couldn’t have been bleaker,” Pulizzi writes. “Looking back though, this was absolutely the best time for my wife and I to start a business.”

Why is that? Because their commitment to providing useful, helpful and relevant content – even at a time where it was difficult to drive direct revenue with that content – paid major dividends as the market recovered.

Why Content Marketing is More Important Than Ever for B2B Brands

Three B2B Marketing Tactics That Will Outlast the COVID19 Pandemic

Lee Odden on Jun 29th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, SEO

Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the B2B world with companies generally reducing marketing budgets. At the same time, many B2B companies are maintaining or increasing marketing spend as we’ve seen with most of our clients at TopRank Marketing.

While there has generally been a shift from explicit sales/push marketing content to brand messaging that is more aligned with the times and empathetic to customers, sales expectations still exist for B2B brands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge many B2B marketers are facing is to understand how to navigate both the short term changes in what works for customers in the current environment as as well as in the long term, post-crisis.

Three B2B Marketing Tactics That Will Outlast the COVID19 Pandemic

B2B Marketing News: 3 New B2B Marketing Studies, Twitter’s Audio Tweets, Google’s Pinterest-like Keen Project, & Gen Z Digital Consumption Habits

Lane Ellis on Jun 26th, 2020
Online Marketing News

The 10 Traits B2B Buyers and Managers Value Most in Salespeople
42 percent of B2B buyers value active listening when it comes to interacting with salespeople, according to recently-released survey data from LinkedIn (client), while 38 percent value problem solving, 38 percent confidence, and 34 percent who said that they value relationship building skills. MarketingProfs

Addressing the B2B void between product data and online sales [Survey]
52.8 percent of B2B professionals expect to add voice-controlled search technology to their customer experience (CX) program within the next 12 months, according to newly-released report data, while 44.8 percent plan to add live chat, and 39 percent expect to install new augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology. Digital Commerce 360

B2B Marketing News: 3 New B2B Marketing Studies, Twitter’s Audio Tweets, Google’s Pinterest-like Keen Project, & Gen Z Digital Consumption Habits