Caitlin Burgess

Caitlin Burgess

TopRank Marketing’s Top 10 B2B Content Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2019

Caitlin Burgess on Dec 5th, 2018     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

It’s that time of year, B2B marketers. As the holiday seasons kicks into high gear and the countdown to a new year accelerates, we all find ourselves looking into our figurative crystal balls to gauge what the new year will bring, and how we’ll improve ourselves and our content marketing strategies, capitalize on opportunities, and adapt or side-step new challenges as they come.

2018 was a big year for content marketers—from the implementation of new data privacy and security regulations like GDPR to the rise of promising new tools and technologies to enhance personalization, measurement, and data analyzation. And from our perspective, 2019 is on track to bring even bigger changes, presenting both opportunities and challenges for B2B marketers.


TopRank Marketing’s Top 10 B2B Content Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2019
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Caitlin Burgess

Giving Thanks: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Thankful For

Caitlin Burgess on Nov 22nd, 2018     Digital Marketing, TopRank Agency News

TopRank Marketing Gives Thanks

For centuries, Thanksgiving has been an American tradition, bringing families and friends together for a day of feasting, gratitude, and—most importantly, in my opinion—unity.

For the TopRank Marketing team, it seems that every day is Thanksgiving.

Each day, I have the privilege to see team members engaging and laughing. I see huddling and collaborating as everyone works hard to do their best work to not only drive results for our clients, but also lift themselves and other team members up. I see constant praise for good work or lending a helping hand. I see unity.

TopRank Marketing Team Gives Back

So, in the spirit of TopRank Marketing tradition, I’ve asked team members to share what they’re most thankful for in work and in life. Here’s what many had to say.


Giving Thanks: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Thankful For
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Caitlin Burgess

6 Steps for Making Delicious Meals Out of Your Content Marketing Leftovers

Caitlin Burgess on Nov 21st, 2018     Content Marketing

How to Repurpose Content Marketing Leftovers

What’s the best part about Thanksgiving?

Sorry, that was rhetorical. Clearly, there’s only one correct answer and that is: Devouring reimagined leftovers for days to come.

Hot turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy. Fried stuffing bites drizzled with cranberry sauce. Turkey a la king. Turkey noodle soup. Turkey pot pie. Turkey … everything.

Do I need to go on?

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For content marketers, every day can be Thanksgiving.

You have no shortage of content ingredients on-hand—from tasty influencer tidbits to assets overflowing with insight and flavor. And with a dash of new content, a cup of creative planning, and a large dollop of strategy, you can repurpose “content leftovers” into deliciously satisfying meals for your audiences, all while reducing production time and boosting efficiency, and without sacrificing taste.


6 Steps for Making Delicious Meals Out of Your Content Marketing Leftovers
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Caitlin Burgess

6 Scary Good Tips to Take Your Content Marketing ‘Beyond the Grave’

Caitlin Burgess on Oct 31st, 2018     Content Marketing

Save Your Content Marketing Campaign from the Digital Graveyard

After conjuring all the budget, talent, and creativity you can muster, the moment you release your content marketing campaign into the digital wild is devilishly satisfying. All your hard work comes alive right before your very eyes, and that’s certainly cause for celebration.

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But after the campaign lives its best life, what will its fate be?

Oftentimes, all that spooktastic work is retired to the content marketing graveyard. However, with the right mix of will and witchcraft, your campaigns can be saved from the digital depths of darkness and be given new life.

How? Below we offer several frightfully fantastic tips to take your content marketing campaign well beyond the grave.


6 Scary Good Tips to Take Your Content Marketing ‘Beyond the Grave’
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Caitlin Burgess

Interactive Content Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Should Take Their Content from Boring to Bold

Caitlin Burgess on Sep 20th, 2018     Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Why B2B Marketers Should Consider Interactive Content

Show of hands, B2B marketers: How many of you know which Hogwarts house you belong in? Or which Disney princess best represents your personality and relationship ambitions?

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Don’t be shy. I’m a Gryffindor wizard through and through—and apparently, I’m more of a Jasmine than an Ariel. And I know all this thanks to the rise of interactive content.

From quirky quizzes to ROI calculators to guided eBooks, interactive content is a rising content marketing star. BuzzFeed is perhaps the most prolific example, creating dozens of quizzes each week that are making their way into social feeds and search results. (And almost all users reportedly finish them).

But why should B2B marketers consider adding interactive content to their mix?


Interactive Content Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Should Take Their Content from Boring to Bold
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Caitlin Burgess

How Can Marketers Create Stronger Customer Bonds? Focus on Convenience, According to Shep Hyken

Caitlin Burgess on Sep 17th, 2018     Digital Marketing, Interviews

Shep Hyken on Convenience Marketing

Savvy digital marketers have their ears to the ground and eyes to the sky, striving to be on the cutting edge of the latest and greatest trends, tactics, strategies, and tools. After all, change comes hard and fast in this industry—especially when it comes to evolving buyer demands and expectations.

However, innovation doesn’t have to be net-new. To put a slight spin on a classic line, everything old can be new again. And that’s where convenience as a strategic digital marketing tool.

Convenience has been a core customer service principle for decades. And more often than not, convenience is a defining characteristic of customer experience and the brand as a whole. Think about what 7-Eleven did for weary travelers or time-crunched professionals. Think about what Amazon first did for avid, deal-seeking readers—and what they’re doing now for folks from all walks of life.


How Can Marketers Create Stronger Customer Bonds? Focus on Convenience, According to Shep Hyken
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Caitlin Burgess

Words of Wisdom: Lee Odden’s Top 9 Insights on How to Succeed at Influencer Marketing 2.0

Caitlin Burgess on Aug 28th, 2018     Influencer Marketing, Online Marketing

Lee Odden Influencer Marketing 2.0 Insights

Today’s content marketing space is a tumultuous one. Content shock, ever-changing search engine algorithms, social media’s midlife crisis, growing consumer distrust in brand messaging—marketers are constantly challenged to adapt and scale their strategies to simply bolster visibility, nevermind reach objectives and prove ROI.

Emerging from the noisy marketing mix is a promising strategic marketing star that can capture the attention of hard to reach buyers, improve audience engagement, bring insightful perspectives to the forefront, and build brand trust and credibility.

Of course, I’m talking about influencer marketing.

Spokespeople, brand advocates, experts—brands have been tapping “influential” people as marketing and advertising partners for a century. And, just as it’s always been, in the modern era of influencer marketing, some love it, some hate it, and plenty of people question whether it “actually works.”


Words of Wisdom: Lee Odden’s Top 9 Insights on How to Succeed at Influencer Marketing 2.0
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Caitlin Burgess

Creating Content Connections: 10 Lessons in Resonance from Content Marketing Pros

Caitlin Burgess on Jun 20th, 2018     Content Marketing

Lessons in Content Marketing
Spot on.

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Exactly.

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Truth.

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Accurate.

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Yaaaaaaaaaas!

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It’s hard to contain the excited, “uh huh” head nodding when you read, watch, or listen to a piece of content that really hits home … strikes the right chord … illuminates something deep inside your soul.

And for us marketers, these moments should remind us of an important digital marketing truth:

Creating content that resonates is key to building rapport, credibility, and trust with our audience, and, ultimately, driving marketing results.

When a piece of content connects with a customer or buyer, it makes them feel like you get it, that you understand their point of view or struggle—and that you may be worth paying attention to.


Creating Content Connections: 10 Lessons in Resonance from Content Marketing Pros
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Caitlin Burgess

Digital Marketing Spotlight: An Interview With Ursula Ringham, Head of Global Influencer Marketing, SAP

Caitlin Burgess     B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Interviews, Social Media

Influencer Marketing Interview Ursula Ringham

They say curiosity killed the cat, but in Ursula Ringham’s case, curiosity is her special gift—both personally and professionally.

“I’m a fiercely curious person who loves storytelling,” Ursula told me. “I guess it’s my hidden talent; I can strike up a conversation with a stranger and get them to tell me their full life story. I’ll talk to anyone. I want to know people and how they think.”

Her curiosity and “love of story” have guided her throughout her marketing career—from early positions at Adobe and Apple to self-publishing a thriller novel to her latest role as Head of Global Influencer Marketing at SAP*.

“I’m no millennial, but I have the millennial mindset,” she says. “You have to go after what you want. You can’t let fear decide your future. And I know if I put my mind to something, I can do it.”


Digital Marketing Spotlight: An Interview With Ursula Ringham, Head of Global Influencer Marketing, SAP
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Caitlin Burgess

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

Caitlin Burgess     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.

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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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Caitlin Burgess

Crushing Conclusions: Why Content Marketers Shouldn’t Skip the Ending

Caitlin Burgess     Content Marketing

Importance of Conclusions in Content Marketing

We marketing writers spend a lot of time crafting a piece of content. In fact, according to Orbit Media’s most recent blogger survey, most writers spend about three and half hours crafting one blog post—which is a one-hour jump from its first report in 2014, highlighting to me the focus on quality over quantity of output.

But let’s be honest, regardless of how long we spend on a piece of content, we have our priorities in terms of how we spend that time. The title, while just a few words, is how we grab audience attention or entice the click. The introduction is how we hook the readers. And, of course, the body is at the heart of it all where we make good on everything we’ve promised in the headline and introduction.


Crushing Conclusions: Why Content Marketers Shouldn’t Skip the Ending
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Caitlin Burgess

How to Succeed at B2B Content Marketing with More Credible Content

Caitlin Burgess     B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Creating Credible B2B Content

Ask any B2B marketer about their top digital marketing challenges and one of the first answers you’ll likely receive is: Getting in front of the right audience at the right time. In fact, Ytel’s 2018 State of B2B Marketing Communications survey revealed that 55% of respondents agreed that they have a hard time getting their message and content in front of their target audience.

Why is that? Well, there’s more content at buyers’ fingertips than ever before, search engines are getting in touch with their human sides, and organic visibility on social media is effectively extinct. But, let’s real talk for a minute, marketers—this is all old news. In today’s digital marketing landscape, creating meaningful connections with your audience on any channel really comes down to trust and credibility.


How to Succeed at B2B Content Marketing with More Credible Content
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