Anne Leuman

4 Marketing Productivity Tips from Workfront’s Mike Riding #DSMPLS

Anne Leuman on Aug 15th, 2019 Digital Marketing, Digital Summit, Marketing & PR Industry

Does work follow you home? When was the last time you had a work week that was actually 40 hours?

Marketers often feel pressed for time and overworked. In fact, according to recent Workfront research:

64% say they’re being asked to come up with new ways of working
58% are so swamped, they don’t have time to think beyond their daily tasks
56% they’re completely overwhelmed.

Mike Riding, Workfront’s Director of Digital Marketing, came to Digital Summit Minneapolis with the sole goal of helping marketers get more work done. While organizations typically turn to technology to solve the productivity problem, Mike offered four actionable, process-driven ways marketers can modernize their work and become more productive.

4 Marketing Productivity Tips from Workfront’s Mike Riding #DSMPLS

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The Future of Marketing As Seen By Randi Zuckerberg #DSMPLS

Anne Leuman on Aug 15th, 2019 Digital Marketing, Digital Summit, Marketing PR Conferences

“Technology is changing the way we do business.”

Said everyone, ever.

Marketers know technology is changing how we interact with our audience. But knowing it’s happening and doing something about it are two very different things.

Randi Zuckerberg is no stranger to technology and its effects on business, daily life, and social structures. As the founder and CEO of her own media company, Zuckerberg Media, and a former marketing leader at Facebook, Randi has a unique vision for the future of marketing and how today’s marketers can adapt.

Explore that future with her insights below from the floor of Digital Summit Minneapolis.

We’re Afraid to Fail

We’ve been talking about the evolving state of marketing for years. But maybe we as marketers haven’t changed all that much. Why?

The Future of Marketing As Seen By Randi Zuckerberg #DSMPLS

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Cooked to Strategic Perfection: The Layers of a Deliciously Integrated Content Marketing Lasagna

Anne Leuman on Jul 29th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Few things in this world are as delicious as a corner piece of lasagna. For starters, the top layer of cheese is both gooey and crispy. The tomato sauce is sweet yet peppery. The meat? It’s flavorful and hearty. And don’t get me started on the ricotta and mozzarella layers—my favorite by far.

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Lasagna is the perfect dish. And its perfection is not just defined by quality ingredients, but how each ingredient is artfully layered together to bring satisfaction with each and every bite. That’s where the magic happens.

Cooking a delectable lasagna to perfection is not unlike crafting an integrated approach to content marketing. On their own, your tactics may whet your audience’s appetite, but don’t pack the tasty punch of working together to make a lasting impact or drive savory results. Paid, SEO, content, social, influencer, design—all need to work in tandem to ensure your marketing objectives are met.

Cooked to Strategic Perfection: The Layers of a Deliciously Integrated Content Marketing Lasagna

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Standing Out From the Crowd: Insights From 12 Marketing Industry Leaders

Anne Leuman on Jul 15th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

It’s time for B2B content marketers to stand out. You know it. I know it. We all know it.

But capturing attention in a crowded content room is hard to do, especially when content creation has seen the biggest uptick in spending among your fellow B2B content marketers. You can’t be subtle. You can’t be boring. But you also can’t be obnoxious; relevance and resonance are paramount. You have to accept and adapt to what your audience needs and wants at any given moment. It takes speed, flexibility, bold ideas, fearlessness, and more.

Where do you start? How about starting with a little inspiration and insight from industry leaders?

Below we have insights and advice from 12 marketing and customer experience leaders on how to stand out from the crowd and create content your audience can’t ignore.

Standing Out From the Crowd: Insights From 12 Marketing Industry Leaders

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Making the Case for Video at Every Stage of the Buyer’s Journey

Anne Leuman on Jul 8th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Video

It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: Video across the digital landscape is what buyers and consumers alike crave.

The average U.S. adult spends 5 hours and 57 minutes a day watching video. Compare that number to the average amount of time someone reads each day (16.8 minutes), and you’ll find that people watch videos over 21-times longer than reading text. Video informs, engages, and entices audiences, which means video can and should have a place within your B2B content marketing strategy.

But when and how should you leverage video? It’s not just a top-of-funnel tactic reserved for B2C brands. And here are the *stats that showcase it’s potential.

15 Video Marketing Statistics for Every Stage of the Buyer Journey

Attract

84% of marketers credit video with increasing traffic to their website. (3)

Making the Case for Video at Every Stage of the Buyer’s Journey

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When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments

Anne Leuman on Jul 4th, 2019 Digital Marketing

Marketers are a passionate breed. Whether we’re crafting content, unearthing optimization opportunities, or digging into performance metrics to understand where we went right or wrong, we’re wide-eyed and determined.

Our work is a labor of love, and we’re often driven by special moments that spark awe, imagination, and a sense of accomplishment. Those moments that make us go “Boom!” Those moments where we can sit back for a few minutes and watch in wonder. I’m talking about those firework marketing moments.

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What moments light up the marketing skies for some of our team members? See what makes them go oh, ah, and cheer for an encore.

Our Firework Marketing Moments

Ashley Zeckman

Senior Director of Digital Strategy

When Sparks Fly: The TopRank Marketing Team’s Firework Marketing Moments

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When & Why Net-New Content Creation Makes Sense—And When It Doesn’t

Anne Leuman on Jun 11th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

1996: The year content was named “king” in a burgeoning digital world.

2001: The year “content marketing” was officially coined and the modern content revolution began.

130 trillion and counting: The number of webpages currently indexed by Google.

One zillion infinities: The number of pieces of content you stand to create during your B2B content marketing career.

Zero: Perhaps the number of times you’ve asked yourself, “Do I really need to create a new piece of content?”

If the last one strikes a little too close to home, we’re not passing judgement — rather we’re reminding you that you don’t always have to start from scratch.

When & Why Net-New Content Creation Makes Sense—And When It Doesn’t

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Side-Stepping the Summer Slump: 5 Tips for B2B Content Marketers

Anne Leuman on May 27th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Summer is coming.

For months we’ve been dreaming about barbecues, sun-filled vacations, long weekends at the lake, and the glorious start of summer office hours. It’s so close.

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But for B2B marketers, summertime often means distracted or out-of-office target audiences, prospects, and customers. We marketers may even sneak out of the office for a few days. And from dips in organic website traffic and social engagement to being short on internal resources while the sales team begs for more leads, the “summer slump” sets in.

The good news is that summer opportunities do exist for entertaining, nurturing, and strengthening connections with your audiences throughout the funnel, as well as help you test and refine your approach to finish out the year strong. Here are some tips worthy of consideration.

Side-Stepping the Summer Slump: 5 Tips for B2B Content Marketers

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The B2B Content Marketing Derby: When & Where to Place Strategic Bets

Anne Leuman on May 2nd, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

The Kentucky Derby has long been referred to as the fastest and most exciting two minutes in sports. And when it comes to your B2B content marketing efforts, getting your audience to sit on the edge of their seats, glued to your content for two whole minutes can be a major feat.

To generate Kentucky-Derby-like attention for your B2B brand, your content marketing strategy needs to leverage the right tactical mix for your audience, industry, product mix, and objectives. However, over the last decade, the content marketing field has become crowded and even convoluted with hopeful tactical and strategic champions. The field has evolved from traditional winners like blogging and eBooks to include a new breed of favorites like influencer marketing, interactive content, and more.

The B2B Content Marketing Derby: When & Where to Place Strategic Bets

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Everything Old Is New Again: Why & How to Refresh B2B Content

Anne Leuman on Apr 18th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Content creation—it’s the linchpin of our B2B content marketing strategies. And 56% of B2B content marketers have upped their investment in content creation over the past year—more than any other spending area.

Without a steady cadence of fresh, quality content we can’t proactively adapt to our audience’s changing needs nor consistently reach, inform, engage, entertain, or inspire action within them. And for most content marketers, this effort is often grounded in creating net-new content. But freshness is the eye of the beholder; quality content creation doesn’t have to be done from scratch.

Refreshing existing content is a massive opportunity, playing an integral role within your always-on content marketing strategy. It’s not only more efficient to produce, but when done strategically, it can also boost results, improve user experience, and extend the life and relevance of the content you’ve worked so hard to produce.

Everything Old Is New Again: Why & How to Refresh B2B Content

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B2B Marketers, Are Your Content Marketing Efforts Sparking Joy for Your Audience?

Anne Leuman on Apr 3rd, 2019 B2B Marketing, Content Marketing

Best-selling author, tidying expert, and star of a massively successful Netflix show, Marie Kondo, is really on to something. Her simple yet effective tidying method is brilliant, but what it stands for is what’s truly inspiring.

All over the world, people are asking themselves a simple yet powerful question: Does it spark joy?

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But be honest, B2B marketers: When’s the last time you stopped to consider whether your marketing efforts were sparking joy for your audience? (Was it before, during, or after you dropped your latest white paper?)

Joy is a powerful emotion—it signals happiness, triumph, and exuberance. And in a time where delivering amazing, personalized experiences to our buyers is the new bar, we need to commit to delighting our audience throughout their journey. When we do this, we not only give them what they want and need, but we can also build a stronger connection with our brands.

B2B Marketers, Are Your Content Marketing Efforts Sparking Joy for Your Audience?

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