B2B Marketing Blog

B2B Marketing News: Top B2B Marketing & Sales Consolidation Obstacles, Twitter’s Branded Likes, Video Spending Soars, & Google’s New Page Experience Features

Lane Ellis on Jul 1st, 2022
Online Marketing News

Meta and Google’s hold on digital advertising loosens as TikTok and others gain share
Google and its YouTube business combined with Meta and its Facebook and Instagram platforms combined to account for 53.4 percent of all U.S. digital advertising spending, a figure that is expected to fall to 50.5 percent in 2022 and predicted to drop to 47.7 percent by 2024, according to newly-released forecast data. The data also showed that between 2020 and 2023 nine additional platforms will have become $1 billion advertising businesses. eMarketer

The Brand Lessons That Are Having An Impact This Year In B2B
B2B brands are seeing success using some of the techniques and styles typically reserved for B2C marketing efforts such as multichannel customer communication and an increased focus on environment, social and governance (ESG), and Forbes explores some of these shifts. Forbes

B2B Marketing News: Top B2B Marketing & Sales Consolidation Obstacles, Twitter’s Branded Likes, Video Spending Soars, & Google’s New Page Experience Features

Press Play: How Marketers Who Invest in B2B Video Earn Greater ROI

Lane Ellis on Jun 29th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Video

How is B2B video marketing continuing its ascendancy and generating greater return-on-investment (ROI) than ever, and where are B2B marketers finding the sweet spot when it comes to video success?

With investment in B2B video having climbed, search engines showing more video answers and social media platforms continuing to place video front and center, there’s never been more vibrant and bustling video marketing activity — or possibility — than now.

Let’s take a look at some of the most recent information about B2B video from the latest industry reports and surveys, and hear from some of the top subject matter experts and proponents of B2B video.

Press Play: How Marketers Who Invest in B2B Video Earn Greater ROI

10+ Top Content & Search Marketing Insights from MnSearch Summit 2022

Nick Nelson on Jun 27th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Search Marketing

When MnSearch, Minnesota’s premier collection of search marketing luminaries, held its latest big annual summit in St. Paul, we knew TopRank Marketing had to be in the house. I attended Friday’s festivities at the RiverCentre along with our search marketing manager Ryan Leighty.

It was my first time attending a marketing conference in almost three years — and also my first time meeting my awesome coworker Ryan in person — which created plenty of good vibes in itself. But there was also a lot of really great content from very bright folks, making this event all the more enriching.

Ryan and I divided and conquered the day’s sessions. Naturally, he dove into the more technical search topics — you’ll be shocked to hear Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was a recurring focus! — while I gravitated more toward the content-centric themes.

10+ Top Content & Search Marketing Insights from MnSearch Summit 2022

B2B Marketing News: LinkedIn’s New Event Features, B2B Customer Experience Data, Google’s Inclusive Marketing Resource, & Twitter Readies Long-Form Notes

Lane Ellis on Jun 24th, 2022
Online Marketing News

What’s Standing in the Way of B2B Companies Providing A Great Customer Experience?
When it comes to providing great customer service, 46 percent of U.S. B2B professionals have said that poor collaboration between teams was the leading challenge, followed by 42 percent who pointed to disparate team goals, and 33 percent who singled out the lack of a unified customer view — some of the statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-released survey data. MarketingCharts

TrustRadius’ new B2B report – The age of the self-serve buyer is here [Annual Report]
Nearly all B2B buyers have said they want all or at least part of their buying journeys to be self-serve — a rate up 13 percent from 2021, while 41 percent of those in the Gen Z and Millennial demographic said that their first step in buying was checking review sites — two of several findings of interest to digital marketers featured in recently-released report data. B2B Marketing

B2B Marketing News: LinkedIn’s New Event Features, B2B Customer Experience Data, Google’s Inclusive Marketing Resource, & Twitter Readies Long-Form Notes

Instagram’s Enhanced Creator Tags: Implications for B2B Influencer Marketing

Lane Ellis on Jun 22nd, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Social Media

How can B2B marketers make their content stand out and highlight the talented subject matter experts, creators, and influencers they partner with?

Earlier this year Instagram rolled out new enhanced tagging features that allow digital marketers to do a much better job of indicating and crediting the various influencers and creators involved in the creation of content shared on the platform.

Instagram’s addition of enhanced tagging — which is also available for use in video Reels — offers significant new exposure opportunities for B2B content that has been created by multiple professionals, often precisely the type of content that is either made or co-created by industry influencers.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages provided by Instagram’s enhanced creator tags, and how B2B marketers can best put them to use.

Instagram’s Enhanced Creator Tags: Implications for B2B Influencer Marketing

5 Ways Influencer Marketing Builds Trust for B2B Brands

Joshua Nite on Jun 20th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Ever notice that the people who say, “trust me,” are the least trustworthy people around? Something about those two little words immediately puts people on guard. If you were really trustworthy, we think, you wouldn’t have to ask.

Right now, we have a serious trust gap in our cultural institutions. The Edelman Trust Barometer for this year shows a continued downward spiral. Nearly half of respondents view the government and the media as divisive forces in society, rather than sources of reliable information.

“Trust me,” says the senator. “Trust ME,” says the pundit. And most of us say, “no, thank you.”

This trust gap may seem like the perfect opportunity for business to step in. After all, B2B brands want to be trusted advisors to potential clients. The only problem is, even if consumers trust us more than the government or media… they still don’t trust us all that much.

5 Ways Influencer Marketing Builds Trust for B2B Brands

B2B Marketing News: B2B CMOs Prove Value, Free Adobe Photoshop, B2B in Cannes, Metaverse On Track to 5 Trillion

Lee Odden on Jun 17th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing News

B2B Marketers Seek Advanced Metrics to Prove Their Worth. CMOs are feeling pressure to prove their value to others in the C-suite, and that desire to show marketing’s impact on pipeline and revenue is a leading reason why B2B marketers are increasing their focus on – or need for – deeper metrics, according to a study from Demand Gen Report, in association with Align BI. MarketingCharts

Why Cannes 2022 is a shining moment for B2B’s creative journey. Called The Creative B2B Lions, an official jury will award 11 winners for marketing disciplines such as cross-channel storytelling, brand experience, innovative content, and other areas between June 20 and June 24. The Drum

B2B Marketing News: B2B CMOs Prove Value, Free Adobe Photoshop, B2B in Cannes, Metaverse On Track to 5 Trillion

8 Tips for B2B Marketers with ADHD to Elevate the Writing Process

Art Allen on Jun 14th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

When you search for “jobs for people with ADHD,” nearly every list will have at least one iteration of “writer.” And, if you have ADHD and are reading this blog post, it’s probably pretty easy to understand why. Especially in B2B copywriting, the high demand for blog posts, landing pages, white papers, infographics, ebooks, and social posts means there is always something interesting to look forward to.

The flip side of this is bumping up against the mental and emotional dysregulation that comes with ADHD. When our brains get bored, overwhelmed, embarrassed, distracted, tired, or any of the other wonderful ways they like to betray us, they can shut down—and the flow of words onto the page shuts down with them.

But the words still need to be written.

8 Tips for B2B Marketers with ADHD to Elevate the Writing Process

Four Ways B2B Influencer Content Builds Better Marketing Reach & ROI

Harry Mackin on Jun 13th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Nearly every marketer is familiar with B2C influencer marketing, such as it is. Celebrities promoting iPhones, various alcohols and even “probiotic” yogurt. You like the celebrity, so you’re supposed to like the product.

But does associating a brand or product with a popular individual really work for B2B marketing? …really? Well, in a sense, yes, as TopRank Marketing has been proving for quite awhile now with companies like LinkedIn, Dell, SAP, and many more. B2B influencer marketing represents a huge opportunity for companies of all sizes to expand their reach and generate better ROI from their content. However, activating influencers to advance B2B marketing and business goals doesn’t work exactly the same as with B2C.

Four Ways B2B Influencer Content Builds Better Marketing Reach & ROI

B2B Marketing News: 28th CMO Survey, Growing B2B Creative Confidence, Google Core Update Completed, New LinkedIn Platform

Lee Odden on Jun 10th, 2022
B2B Marketing

The CMO Survey: The latest results. The 28th edition of The CMO Survey examines the issues top of mind for marketers including the latest focus for marketing activities, spending, jobs, and performance. Deloitte

Majority of B2B leaders globally say “creative confidence” is growing: LinkedIn research from B2B Institute. 81% of senior B2B marketers believe B2B brands are increasingly producing creative campaigns that rival consumer brands. What’s New in Publishing

Google is combining Meet and Duo into a single app for voice and video calls. The new unified calling app offering rolls Duo’s functionality into Google Meet – The Verge

Chasing TikTok, Meta rolls out new Reels features and expands Instagram Reels to 90 seconds. A new Sound Sync feature will be available on Facebook Reels along with support for longer Instagram Reels of up to 90 seconds, instead of 60 seconds, previously TechCrunch

B2B Marketing News: 28th CMO Survey, Growing B2B Creative Confidence, Google Core Update Completed, New LinkedIn Platform

Creative Tips For Better Virtual Brainstorming in B2B Marketing

Harry Mackin on Jun 8th, 2022
B2B Marketing

For the most part, we’ve all adapted to remote work pretty well. As we got used to working separately, we tended to find ways to transition, transform, or replace most of our old work routines to make sure everything keeps getting done. But most — as every remote work naysayer is quick to point out — is not all.

If there’s one big element of the in-person work process still missing from your new reality, it’s the big, impromptu “throw-it-all-at-the-wall” brainstorming session.

Sessions like those probably led to some of your team’s biggest and brightest ideas… and they’re also the kind of thing you may think simply can’t happen remotely. Well, as you’ve probably surmised from the title of this blog post, that’s what we’re here to prove wrong.

Creative Tips For Better Virtual Brainstorming in B2B Marketing

6 Ways Livestreaming Video Can Boost B2B Marketing Results

Joshua Nite on Jun 6th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Video

There’s at least one thing that became popular during the pandemic that I hope sticks around. No, not sourdough starters or puzzles — I’m talking about live streaming performances.

It’s funny: You can go to YouTube right now and pull up dozens of recorded contents from your favorite bands, whether they’re playing stadiums or dive bars. But there’s no substitute for watching it happen live. There’s an intimacy and immediacy that even the highest-def recording can’t match.

And livestreams aren’t just for musicians or comedians, either. B2B brands can use the format to reach and engage people in new and interesting ways. It’s no coincidence that our client LinkedIn, in its quest to become the destination for B2B marketing, now boasts robust livestreaming video capabilities.

6 Ways Livestreaming Video Can Boost B2B Marketing Results