Online Marketing Blog

Digital Marketing News: YouTube’s Longer Ads, Facebook’s Clear History Ad Impact, Google’s SEO Factors, & Landing Page Habit Study

Lane Ellis on May 24th, 2019 Online Marketing News

2019 May 24 Social Media Examiner Chart

YouTube Ads Are Getting Longer
The ads marketers run on YouTube are getting longer, with the number of 30-second ads rising from 19 percent in January 2018 to 24 percent in January 2019, bucking the notion that shorter is always better with video, one of several video trends shown in a new MediaRadar report. MediaPost

Survey Report: Landing Page Habits of Marketers
30 percent of marketers expect average landing page conversion rates of 10 percent or less, and more than half expect a rate of 20 percent or less, according to new survey data on landing pages and their lead generation performance. SmartBrief

Digital Marketing News: YouTube’s Longer Ads, Facebook’s Clear History Ad Impact, Google’s SEO Factors, & Landing Page Habit Study

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How to Intertwine Online & Offline Tactics to Cultivate B2B Influencer Relationships

Caitlin Burgess on May 22nd, 2019 B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Online Marketing

Effective B2B influencer marketing is rooted in brands developing and nurturing relationships—relationships with individuals who have the relevant topical expertise, reach, and resonance to align with the goals of the brand.

Of course, those relationships are often cultivated in the digital realm via social media, email, and audio or video conferencing. And that’s OK. We’ve all gone digital.

But there’s simply no replacement for face-to-face communication—and B2B marketers may have more chances than they know to proactively facilitate interactions or take advantage of in-person opportunities as they arise.

It’s time to bridge the digital divide. How? When? Where? Let’s dive in.

How to Intertwine Online & Offline Tactics to Cultivate B2B Influencer Relationships

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The Community Imperative: Engaging in Conversations Rather Than Disseminating Information

Nick Nelson on May 21st, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

What does effective marketing engagement look like?

In the common model we see today, it’s something like this: Brands push out relevant messaging, hoping to compel a response or interaction that leads to a conversation (and maybe ultimately a conversion). This can be anything from a comment on a social media post to a chat window initiation.

Nothing wrong with that. These back-and-forths between brands and individuals are important ingredients toward building trust and loyalty. The problem is that, as a sole method for driving engagement, the cast-and-wait approach is too dependent on explicit triggers to spark these interactions.

Devising and creating content that drives targeted engagement is hard work. It’s worthwhile, but hard, and sometimes even well conceived plans miss the mark. What if you were able to develop a self-driven engagement engine, which fostered strategic conversations built awareness among your most valuable customers and prospects?

The Community Imperative: Engaging in Conversations Rather Than Disseminating Information

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7 Top B2B Influencer Marketing Trends for 2020

Lee Odden on May 20th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

While there are some who think the expression “influencer” is an expired term, the role of influence on B2B buying decisions is irrefutable.

According to the World Federation of Advertisers, 65% of multinational brands will increase influencer marketing spending in the next 12 months and there’s good reason for increased confidence: The 2019 Content Preferences Survey from DGR reports 95% of respondents favor credible content from industry influencers as a top preference, a 30% increase compared year over year.

Earlier this year in a post about The Business of Influence for 2019, I shared 5 influencer marketing trends including:

Micro AND Macro influencers
Centralizing Influencer Operations
Always On Influencer Engagement
Focus on Quality vs. Quantity Metrics
Influencer Marketing Software Investment

7 Top B2B Influencer Marketing Trends for 2020

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Digital Marketing News: Google Ad Auction Changes, Instagram’s Chronological Likes, & 3 New Marketing Studies

Lane Ellis on May 17th, 2019 Online Marketing News

2019 May 17 Sprout Social Chart

Google shares details on how first price auctions in Google Ad Manager will work
Display and video ads sold with Google Ad Manager, Google’s ad server and publisher exchange, will get additional auction functionality aimed at removing Google’s “last look” outbidding advantage, while also bringing new minimum pricing strategies and rules, the search giant recently announced. Marketing Land

Instagram Separates New Likes on Posts, Adds Unfollower Stats for Creator Accounts
Instagram has tested showing most recent post likes first, along with adding unfollower statistics to Instagram Creator analytics data, features that could prove useful to digital marketers when eventually rolled out. Social Media Today

Digital Marketing News: Google Ad Auction Changes, Instagram’s Chronological Likes, & 3 New Marketing Studies

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Content Curation Inspiration: Types, Examples, & Use Cases for B2B Marketers

Caitlin Burgess on May 16th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

If you create and share content, curation is part of your B2B marketing strategy. From seasoning a blog post with key third-party statistics to sharing an interesting article from an industry publication or influencer across your social channels, you’re curating.

But content curation has a place beyond adding an insight or two to your content.

With large volumes of information available today and short attention spans, curation allows content marketers to create more convenient, valuable content experiences for their target audience, while growing thought leadership, bolstering their content calendar, and increasing production efficiency.

What types of curation exist? How are B2B brands doing curation? When does it make sense to do curation? Let’s dive in.

Content Curation Inspiration: Types, Examples, & Use Cases for B2B Marketers

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Do Your Homework: Selecting the Right Influencers for Your B2B Brand With Tips from the Experts

Caitlin Burgess on May 15th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Interactive Marketing

The influencer identification, validation, and recruitment process is time consuming, resource intensive, and high stakes. Without the right mix of influencers to drive awareness, intrigue, conversation, and action, your marketing initiatives will miss the mark with your audience and fall short of expectations.

But how? How do you artfully and strategically find, vet, and entice industry experts to partner with you?

You need to do your homework—and fortunately, insights from several seasoned B2B influencer marketing experts can provide some great guidance.

Read on to get perspectives and advice from leaders serving a range of B2B brands, as well as some of our own resident experts.

Do Your Homework: Selecting the Right Influencers for Your B2B Brand With Tips from the Experts

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Trust Factors: The (In)Credible Impact of B2B Influencer Marketing

Nick Nelson on May 14th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Trust is a currency. It’s arguably the most valuable currency in today’s B2B marketing environment. And much like real money, it needs to be earned; the risks of attempting to counterfeit trust are grave.

In the first installment of our Trust Factor series, we discussed how creating best-answer content serves a long-term trust-building strategy. Today we’ll examine the ways in which partnering with influencers can provide a dramatic boost to your brand’s credibility and authority in the eyes of your audience. We’ll also share some examples of companies that are already doing this effectively, and the lessons we can draw from them.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to developing genuine trust with your customers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take the shortest possible path, so long as you know where you’re going. Walking this road with the right influencers at your side can expedite the journey.

Trust Factors: The (In)Credible Impact of B2B Influencer Marketing

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Less Is More: Time to Cut Content Bloat & Create Content Connections

Nick Nelson on May 9th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

When it comes to the craft of writing, my favorite luminary is the late William Zinsser. His book, On Writing Well, is — in my opinion — the definitive work covering its stated subject.

On Writing Well is an essential read for anyone who wants to elevate their prose. Zinsser’s primary focal area is word economy. “Look for the clutter in your writing and prune it ruthlessly,” he implores. “Be grateful for everything you can throw away. Reexamine each sentence you put on paper. Is every word doing new work?”

That last question is especially pertinent to B2B marketing writers. The reader should always be our top concern when penning copy, but in this case, the stakes are even higher. Attention is at a premium with business professionals, so wasted words are especially costly. Content bloat leads to audience abandonment.

Less Is More: Time to Cut Content Bloat & Create Content Connections

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