Lane Ellis

5 Top B2B Brands Maximizing LinkedIn Engagement

Lane Ellis on Sep 18th, 2019     B2B Marketing, LinkedIn

Group of businesspeople image.

With more than 645 million users in over 200 countries, LinkedIn* has increasingly grown as a platform for both B2B and direct-to-consumer brands looking to creatively and effectively showcase products and services.

LinkedIn has released scores of new features over the past several years that have helped it remain the foremost social media platform for professional business users.

It’s also increasingly become a destination for all manner and size of brands, and users looking for an experience markedly different from that offered by Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Since LinkedIn has rolled out so many new tools for brands to maximize their engagement on the Microsoft-owned platform, let’s take a look at how five large primarily B2B companies are connecting with audiences through the myriad of page, group, and showcase page options LinkedIn now provides.


5 Top B2B Brands Maximizing LinkedIn Engagement
Leave a Comment
Alexis Hall

Tales from the Trenches: How to Transition from Marketing Doer to Marketing Leader

Alexis Hall on Sep 17th, 2019     Digital Marketing

I was roughly five years into my marketing career when I began managing my first direct report. It was the biggest challenge I faced yet. I was now being evaluated on the actions, successes, and failures of another person—and I also knew it was my responsibility to give them the support and tools they needed to have more successes than failures.

I felt as if I didn’t know how to influence, motivate, or persuade another person. But I was given the opportunity to try and to learn. I had a great group of bosses, mentors, and peers giving me advice, listening to my concerns or wins, and allowing me to make mistakes.


Tales from the Trenches: How to Transition from Marketing Doer to Marketing Leader
Leave a Comment
Nick Nelson

Trust Factors: Why Your Brand Should Take a Stand with Its Marketing Strategy

Nick Nelson on Sep 16th, 2019     B2B Marketing, Digital Marketing

Earlier this year, Salesforce made waves by announcing a policy that compelled retailers to either stop selling military-style rifles and certain accessories, or stop using its popular e-commerce software. 

For a massive brand like this to take such an emphatic stand on a divisive social issue would’ve been unthinkable not so long ago. But in today’s world at large, and consequently in the business and marketing environments, it’s becoming more common. This owes to a variety of factors, ranging from generational changes among consumers to a growing need to differentiate. 

But, like so many other trends and strategies we see emerging in digital marketing, I think it mostly comes back to one overarching thing: the trust factor.


Trust Factors: Why Your Brand Should Take a Stand with Its Marketing Strategy
Leave a Comment
Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Google Phases Out Search Console & Adds Bidding Options, Marketing Business to Gen Z, Instagram Post Study & More

Lane Ellis on Sep 13th, 2019     Online Marketing News

2019 September 13 Campaign Monitor Chart

The rise of Spotify as an advertising channel
Spotify has over 217 million users, and the music and podcasts they increasingly listen to have brought greater attention from marketers. ClickZ takes a look at how marketers are embracing Spotify for advertising. ClickZ

Ad Revenue Holds Steady Despite Recession Worries
Digital advertising spending was up nearly 20 percent in the second quarter of 2019, according to newly-released study data that also highlights the comparatively greater number of small-to-medium size firms using digital versus traditional formats. Broadcasting & Cable

Google’s First-Price Auction Switch Is Making Header Bidding Partners Win More
Google has moved to implement a full launch of its previously-announced unified first-price ad auctions, a move that will take place in the coming weeks, bringing new options for digital marketers who use Google Ad Manager. AdExchanger


Digital Marketing News: Google Phases Out Search Console & Adds Bidding Options, Marketing Business to Gen Z, Instagram Post Study & More
Leave a Comment
Lee Odden

B2B Marketing Spotlight: Ann Handley on Being a “Badaxe” Marketer #mpb2b

Lee Odden on Sep 12th, 2019     B2B Marketing, Interviews, Marketing PR Conferences

Interview Ann Handley
Twelve years ago I had the good fortune to connect with Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs and she’s been a positive influence to me on what’s possible in content and B2B marketing ever since.

I’m not alone.

During that time, we’ve both grown as marketers. Well, maybe I’ve grown, but Ann has exploded. She regularly fills keynote rooms at conferences, draws long, long lines of people to get one of her best selling books signed and her company MarketingProfs has attracted over 600,000 subscribers.

Ann Handley is a marketing influencers’s influencer or more creatively, she’s an Annfluencer.

Since Ann is the very first Chief Content Officer ever, a multi-book best selling author, international keynote speaker and who I like to call, The Khaleesi of Content, we’re pretty fortunate to share the following interview. And after recent events in Toronto, you call also call her a “badaxe” marketer.


B2B Marketing Spotlight: Ann Handley on Being a “Badaxe” Marketer #mpb2b
Leave a Comment
Lane Ellis

Content Marveling: Wonder and Astonishment in Marketing

Lane Ellis on Sep 11th, 2019     Content Marketing

Northern lights over mountains with astounded person below.

Two little letters. On the surface that’s all separating your standard issue “marketing” from the extraordinary and entirely different practice of “marveling.”

Marvel Word Definition Image

At TopRank Marketing, “Content Marveling” is the practice of bringing greater wonder and astonishment to traditional content marketing, and can be applied in both the worlds of direct-to-consumer and enterprise business-to-business, to engage and delight your audience.

Marketing efforts spending huge amounts of paid placement advertising, ever-more-ludicrous click-bait headlines and tactics, and even illicit black-hat methods are all used to simply get us to pay attention to marketing messages.

Among senior B2B marketers, a sizable 82 percent view content as important for achieving marketing goals, however only 48 percent believe their content is somewhat effective — or even ineffective, according to recent study data.


Content Marveling: Wonder and Astonishment in Marketing
Leave a Comment
Kelly Hogan

#CMWorld 2019 Recap: Top Insights & TopRank Marketing’s Favorite Moments

Kelly Hogan on Sep 10th, 2019     Content Marketing, Content Marketing World

Content Marketing World 2019 Recap

It’s always fascinating when thousands of marketers, many of whom are competitors, can come together for a week to share ideas, innovations, and advice with one another to grow their business and push the boundaries of their industry. Content Marketing World 2019 was no exception to this act of selfless sharing. It was my first time attending and between the thought-provoking content, industry-leading speakers, and generously engaging attendees, I certainly hope it’s not my last.

At TopRank Marketing, we made it our mission to ensure our readers would share in the benefit of our attendance. Below are the ideas, people, and moments that we were grateful to experience last week, all of which are summarized for your consuming pleasure below. We hope that similar to our conference experience, you walk away with a notebook chock-full of ideas to grow your content marketing programs. Enjoy!


#CMWorld 2019 Recap: Top Insights & TopRank Marketing’s Favorite Moments
Leave a Comment
Joshua Nite

How to Drive Better Content Marketing Results with Integrated Marketing Teams: Top Tips from NewsCred’s Shafqat Islam #CMWorld

Joshua Nite on Sep 10th, 2019     Content Marketing, Content Marketing World

Here’s a wild new idea: Consumers expect immediate, consistent, on-brand experiences across channels.

Just kidding about the “wild” and “new” parts. Most marketers likely have the phrase embroidered on a pillowcase by now. It’s fundamental.

But if we know that consumers demand an omnichannel experience… Why are so many marketing teams stuck in silos?

NewsCred Co-Founder and CEO Shafqat Islam believes this siloed structure is what’s holding marketers back from their omnichannel dreams. Integrated marketing requires integrated teams. During his Content Marketing World 2019 session, Shafqat shared how NewsCred reorganized to deliver better results.

Key takeaways: Integrated marketing is better for consumers and brands, modern marketing is collaborative, risk-taking content teams are best suited to drive transformation

Image courtesy Shafqat Islam & NewsCred.


How to Drive Better Content Marketing Results with Integrated Marketing Teams: Top Tips from NewsCred’s Shafqat Islam #CMWorld
Leave a Comment
Joshua Nite

Get Heroic Results from B2B Influencer Marketing with Advice from Ashley Zeckman #CMWorld

Joshua Nite on Sep 9th, 2019     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing World, Influencer Marketing

Ashley Zeckman Presents at CMWorld 2019

B2B content marketers have faced many epic foes over the last few years. There’s the nefarious Content Shock, the demoralizing Facebook Algorithm, and the destructive Google Search Update. We have battled them all and continued to thrive.

But now we face our most fearsome foe: The Dreaded Trust Gap.

Less than half of consumers trust brands. Seventy-one percent of buyers are turned off by overly sales-y content. Buyers increasingly prefer content from industry influencers rather than brands.

It’s a daunting problem that needs a bold solution: The Guardians of Content!

In her Content Marketing World 2019 presentation, our very own Director of Digital Strategy Ashley Zeckman explained how B2B content marketers can initiate and scale up a heroic influencer content program of their own. Here are a few key takeaways.


Get Heroic Results from B2B Influencer Marketing with Advice from Ashley Zeckman #CMWorld
Leave a Comment
Ashley Zeckman

Create a Stellar Audience Experience By Slowing Down with These Tips from Ann Handley #CMWorld

Ashley Zeckman on Sep 9th, 2019     Content Marketing, Content Marketing World

You know a conference session is going to be good when literally hundreds of marketers are turned away due to an already packed room. And you know a session is going to be great when the amazing Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs, takes the stage and is visibly bummed that she didn’t get the chance to connect with those marketers.

Part of Ann’s magic is her ability to make herself and her content very accessible. She accomplishes this by sharing stories that are personal to her, things she observes in everyday life that inspire her inner marketer. And her session at last week’s Content Marketing World 2019 was no exception.


Create a Stellar Audience Experience By Slowing Down with These Tips from Ann Handley #CMWorld
Leave a Comment
Joshua Nite

April Henderson on Data-Driven, Empathetic B2B Content #CMWorld

Joshua Nite on Sep 6th, 2019     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Content Marketing World

Forrester’s April Henderson started her Content Marketing World 2019 session with a classic cautionary tale:

Johann Rall was fighting for the British at the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The night before the Battle of Trenton, he was out celebrating at the home of a local Loyalist merchant. That merchant had seen General Washington amassing his forces and knew the attack was coming.

So what did the merchant do? He created relevant content! He wrote Rall a note and slipped it across the table. Rall nodded, put the note in his pocket… and continued his evening of revelry. The British were caught unawares, and the tide of the war began to turn. That lack of content engagement might be how America won the war.


April Henderson on Data-Driven, Empathetic B2B Content #CMWorld
Leave a Comment
Lane Ellis

Digital Marketing News: Facebook Like Counts & YouTube Subscriber Numbers Undergo Changes, Gartner’s New Hype Cycle Study & More

Lane Ellis on Sep 6th, 2019     Online Marketing News

2019 September 6 SocialInsider Quuu Chart

YouTube starts phasing out exact subscriber numbers
YouTube has begun removing precise subscriber counts for channels with over 1,000 followers, replacing them with rounded overview numbers, the Google-owned video service recently announced. The move has left some brands with subscriber accuracy concerns, especially large ones that could see rounded counts hiding nearly a million subscribers. Campaign US

Now Facebook says it may remove Like counts
Facebook has begun testing the elimination of “like” counts in news-feed posts, the social media giant recently confirmed, in a move echoing a similar shift from tests conducted with its Instagram property — aimed at placing greater focus on content and less on “like” counts. TechCrunch


Digital Marketing News: Facebook Like Counts & YouTube Subscriber Numbers Undergo Changes, Gartner’s New Hype Cycle Study & More
Leave a Comment