Lee Odden

About Lee Odden

@LeeOdden is the CEO of TopRank Marketing and editor of Online Marketing Blog. Cited for his expertise by The Economist, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, he's the author of the book Optimize and presents internationally on B2B marketing topics including content, search, social media and influencer marketing. When not at conferences, consulting, or working with his talented team, he's likely running, traveling or cooking up something new.

How to Win at B2B Influence With The Magic of Content Co-Creation

Lee Odden on Sep 7th, 2020
Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Today we live in an age of information overload where the speed of content discovery and the variety of options for media consumption across connected devices presents new challenges for B2B brands and buyers alike.

The natural response for buyers is to filter their choices and focus those few sources which are most trusted, credible and meaningful. For brands that want to differentiate and even dominate in their category, becoming known as “the best answer” for their domain of expertise will have enormous impact.

The challenge of increased digital sophistication brings an opportunity: businesses can differentiate and capture market attention by growing their authority and influence.

How to Win at B2B Influence With The Magic of Content Co-Creation

5 Case Studies on How to Optimize B2B Influencer Engagement on LinkedIn

Lee Odden on Aug 31st, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

With over 700 million community members in 200+ countries and territories, LinkedIn is without question the place for businesses to do business. With 91% of marketing executives using LinkedIn as a content source (SocialPilot) it’s easy to understand why 94% of B2B marketers using LinkedIn to distribute content (CMI). In fact, there’s been a 50% year over year increase in content shared on the LinkedIn platform (LinkedIn).

With many social network options, LinkedIn has proven to be an effective choice for B2B marketers. A study from HubSpot showed that traffic from LinkedIn generates the highest visitor to lead conversion rate, 277% higher than Facebook and Twitter.

5 Case Studies on How to Optimize B2B Influencer Engagement on LinkedIn

5 Steps for a More Powerful B2B Content Marketing Strategy

Lee Odden on Aug 24th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Content Marketing continues to be a driving force behind meaningful B2B marketing that powers marketing and business growth. According to research by HubSpot, 70% of marketers actively investing in content marketing and there’s no sign of a slowdown, especially as SEMrush research has found, marketers are focused on using content to generate more quality leads (75%), attract more traffic to their website (71%), improve brand reputation (56%), and improve customer engagement and loyalty (45%).

The problem is, many of those marketers are not creating best answer content experiences. Creating useful content by itself is not an effective strategy in a world of brand distrust, content attention deficit and the distractions brought by a global pandemic. Being the best answer for your customers means being found and also delivering on expectations. Creating findable, credible content that is also useful and experiential is at the center of what being the best answer means for marketers.

5 Steps for a More Powerful B2B Content Marketing Strategy

How to Optimize Original B2B Research Content For Credibility and Impact

Lee Odden on Aug 17th, 2020
Content Marketing

For many in the B2B marketing world, original research provides an effective way to build thought leadership and drive content for owned and earned media.

Unfortunately, many research reports from B2B companies are dry, uninspired and focus solely on pontifications from the brand point of view. Such unremarkable content isn’t helping customers, especially if they never see it due to information overload or they don’t trust it.

“With more information, options and people involved in a buying process, buyers are paralyzed when trying to move forward.” Gartner

Fortunately, there’s a better way.

More often than not, B2B research reports have marketing objectives focused on building brand thought leadership, attracting new names for nurturing and to serve as a resource for sales. Since most B2B brands don’t have the credibility and distribution to reach their marketing goals on their own with such reports, they rely on advertising and PR to attract attention.

How to Optimize Original B2B Research Content For Credibility and Impact

In Search of Trust: How Authentic Content Drives Customer Experience

Lee Odden on Aug 10th, 2020
Content Marketing

The experience customers have through marketing content can be one of the most important differentiators for brands today.

And yet 58% of B2B buyers don’t not believe claims made by the vendors they most recently bought from (TrustRadius).

It’s hard to create a great experience if customers don’t trust brand communications.

Trust is the gateway to influence perceptions, behaviors and actions and brands that want to succeed in the uncertain environment of today’s digital world need to double down on building trust with their customers. But how?

Today’s increasingly digital buyers have high expectations of the companies they do business with: buyers want personalized and relevant information, they want a consistent experience across channels, they want confidence in the brand as a company that cares about privacy, their customers and the community.

In Search of Trust: How Authentic Content Drives Customer Experience

B2B Marketing News: Top Channels for B2B Audiences, Podcasts Soaring, Smartphone Video Rules for Millennials

Lee Odden on Aug 7th, 2020
Online Marketing News

Short Form Video NRG

With the number of global video viewers projected to reach 2.72 billion in 2023 Snap Inc. commissioned a study from National Research Group surveying 1,000 smartphone owners and found that for Gen Z and millennials, smartphones top all other devices with 78% watching more video on their smartphones than they did last year. – AdWeek

Podcast listenership in the US has been soaring in recent years and US podcast ad spending is expected to surpass $1 Billion in 2021 – eMarketer

Coronavirus pandemic is reshaping our approach to social media: report. The average user now holds some 8.1 social media accounts and spends nearly 2 ½ hours using them daily, according to new GlobalWebIndex data. Mobile Marketing Magazine

Twitter May Soon Display Retweets and Quote Tweets in Separate Counts – Social Media Today

B2B Marketing News: Top Channels for B2B Audiences, Podcasts Soaring, Smartphone Video Rules for Millennials

For Successful B2B Marketers The Engine of Influence is Always On #B2BIMReport

Lee Odden on Aug 5th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

As the need for B2B brands to reach and connect authentically with customers rises, B2B influencer marketers are evolving from transactional and intermittent campaigns to more relationship driven, Always-On Influencer engagement programs as our research from the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing report found:

19% are piloting
25% run periodic campaigns
34% use an Always-On approach

Transactional campaign approaches are hard pressed to develop brand loyalty and advocacy. That’s why, with 84% of B2B marketers focused on building brand awareness with their influencer marketing efforts, that ongoing influencer engagement has become essential for creating vested relationships that inspire more qualitative activations and brand advocacy.

For Successful B2B Marketers The Engine of Influence is Always On #B2BIMReport

20 B2B Influencer Marketing Pros to Follow from Top Brands

Lee Odden on Aug 3rd, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Recently we published the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing report after surveying hundreds of B2B marketers about their experiences, best practices, tools, budgets and plans for the future.

In an environment where B2B marketing is decidedly digital and marketers are hard pressed to squeeze more productivity out of fewer resources, credible information about marketing best practices, operations and trends for the future are in high demand. Judging by the response we’ve had to The State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report so far, we’re definitely meeting a need.

There is both optimism and an unrealized opportunity with influencer marketing for B2B companies. For evidence, check out these stats from the report:

78% of B2B marketers believe prospects rely on advice from influencers

20 B2B Influencer Marketing Pros to Follow from Top Brands

2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report from TopRank Marketing

Lee Odden on Jul 27th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

My team and I at TopRank Marketing are happy to announce the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report!

Influencer Marketing has fast accelerated as a topic over the past few years with B2C influencers and brands getting the majority of attention. While consumer focused influencers have been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, B2B is a different story.

Whether in times of crisis or in competitive markets, B2B marketers are challenged to reach distracted buyers and create meaningful experiences that inspire trust, confidence and action.

As B2B marketers search for solid insight and leadership around marketing strategies to survive and thrive during this time of uncertainty, Influencer Marketing offers businesses a welcome dose of optimism.

2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report from TopRank Marketing

Always-On Influencer Marketing: Building Thought Leadership for B2B Brands

Lee Odden on Jul 20th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Thought Leadership is often a concept associated with individuals but brands, especially in B2B, can develop their thought leadership amongst the customer community as well. Thought Leadership is important for brands and individuals alike because trust is an issue for companies as people navigate misinformation, changing sources and become more skeptical of what brands and their people say.

What is thought leadership in 2020? Beyond publishing articles, speaking and writing books, Thought Leadership is about creating a reputation for expertise and authority within an industry. The notion is that becoming known for an area of expertise creates trust which can lead to consideration, evaluation and influence purchase behavior.

“Brands that cultivate a culture of Thought Leadership reap greater reputation and sales impact than those that do not”. Edelman LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study

Always-On Influencer Marketing: Building Thought Leadership for B2B Brands

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

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