Anne Leuman

Anne Leuman

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

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

When New Content Creation Makes Sense

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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Anne Leuman

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

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

Marekting Tips for Avoiding the Summer Slump

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.

via GIPHY

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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Anne Leuman

Digital Marketing News: Content Pet Peeves, Facebook’s New Look, Personalization With AI & More

Anne Leuman on May 10th, 2019     Online Marketing News

What’s Most Annoying About Brand Content? Consumers Weigh In

Adobe’s* 2019 Brand Content Survey asked 1,000 consumers what they found the most annoying in brand content. The results showed that wordy content or poorly written content takes the cake with 39% of the vote. It’s also important to note that lack of personalization and too much personalization are both annoying pain points for consumers. Adobe

Video Is the Fastest Growing Type of Content on LinkedIn and Starts the Most Conversations

LinkedIn* posted a new infographic this week sharing the most surprising statistics about the platform. For example, the number of messages sent on the platform has increased 35% year over year. Plus, millions of LinkedIn members have already created video on the platform, making it the fastest growing type of content on the site. Their statistics also show that video starts the most conversations, making it a great engagement tool. LinkedIn


Digital Marketing News: Content Pet Peeves, Facebook’s New Look, Personalization With AI & More
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Anne Leuman

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

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

When & Where to Place Smart B2B Content Marketing Bets

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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Anne Leuman

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

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

Why & How to Refresh B2B Content

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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Anne Leuman

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

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

How to Spark Audience Joy with Your Content

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?

via GIPHY

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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Anne Leuman

How to Use Customer Service as a Marketing Opportunity With Shep Hyken

Anne Leuman on Mar 25th, 2019     Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

“Fine is the F-bomb of customer service.” @hyken Click To Tweet

What an opening.

The customer experience is all the rage right now. We’ve all heard the statistic that it is expected to surpass price and product as the No. 1 brand differentiator by 2020.

But what if we told you that you’re overlooking one of the most important parts of the customer experience?

While you’ve been focusing on your website’s UX or email nurture campaign, you’ve forgotten about your customer service and the impression that leaves on your customer relationships. As the master of customer service and experience, Shep Hyken had some advice on customer service management to share at last week’s Social Media Marketing World. Hear what he had to say below:


How to Use Customer Service as a Marketing Opportunity With Shep Hyken
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Anne Leuman

Chris Brogan’s Guide to Building a Fast Blogging Framework

Anne Leuman on Mar 22nd, 2019     Blogging Strategy, Social Media Marketing World

Chris Brogan at Social Media Marketing World 2019

Blogging is a part of our origin story here at TopRank Marketing. In fact, we just celebrated the TopRank Marketing Blog’s 15th birthday this past December. But despite our blogging longevity, we’re always refining and optimizing, too.

That’s why I attended Chris Brogan’s session on creating a fast blogging framework at Social Media Marketing World 2019. While there, I learned this bestselling author’s approach to writing blog content (and had a few laughs along the way).

Be Fast

The key to Chris’ framework? The word “fast.”

Being fast matters to Chris, informing the audience that “the average human only read 19 minutes a day. That includes texts, emails, and BuzzFeed articles. They’re not going to read your 2,000-word missive.”


Chris Brogan’s Guide to Building a Fast Blogging Framework
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Anne Leuman

Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis

Anne Leuman on Mar 22nd, 2019     Digital Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Social Media Marketing World

Brian Solis at Social Media Marketing World 2019

Photos. Texts. Emails. Video. Digital is a pivotal part of our daily lives.

So what if we stopped using it?

Brian Solis, the author of Lifescale: How to live a more creative, productive and happy life, wants us to think hard about our digital distractions and drop them from our habitual behavior. As digital marketers, this notion sounds antithetical to our mission. But Brian promises that disconnecting is beneficial to marketers as well.

Below, I share Brian’s thoughts on digital distraction and business from his session at Social Media Marketing World 2019.

Focus Is Elusive

“My ability to be creative, to dive deep, to focus, to give myself time away from my device, was not only difficult but impossible,” Brian said.


Dropping Digital Distractions With Brian Solis
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Anne Leuman

Why Marketers Need to Care About Blockchain With Joel Comm and Travis Wright

Anne Leuman on Mar 21st, 2019     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

Everyone has that one family member that invested in Bitcoin (or another cryptocurrency) – without knowing anything about it.

For my family, that person was my brother.

Before he invested in Bitcoin, he probably should have come with me to Joel Comm and Travis Wright’s Social Media Marketing World session on blockchain and cryptocurrency. That way he would understand the real value and potential of this new technology, instead of just blindly jumping on a hot investment trend.

One thing’s for sure after hearing from Joel and Travis – blockchain and cryptocurrency will revolutionize much of the world today, including marketing. Read on to learn why that is.

The World Is Ripe for Disruption

“Everything changes, nothing stays the same,” Joel said, using examples of disruption to prove his statement.


Why Marketers Need to Care About Blockchain With Joel Comm and Travis Wright
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Anne Leuman

Augmented Reality: How to Leverage AR in Marketing With Cathy Hackl

Anne Leuman on Mar 21st, 2019     Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing World

What do you think of when you think of augmented reality?

If you’re anything like me, you first thought of Snapchat filters, Pokemon Go, or the useful measuring tape app you have on your phone.

Augmented reality (AR) and applying it to marketing campaigns is still a little bit of a mystery. It’s not as popular as other tactics, but it’s attractive because it creates more immersive experiences for customers. As a marketer, it’s something I need to learn a bit more about.

Because of this, Cathy Hackl’s session at Social Media Marketing World 2019 immediately caught my eye. As an AR technology thought leader and futurist, Cathy was able to give insight into how marketers can weave augmented reality into the marketing mix. Below, I share the top takeaways from her session.


Augmented Reality: How to Leverage AR in Marketing With Cathy Hackl
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Anne Leuman

Social Media Marketing World 2019: What to Do & Who to See

Anne Leuman on Mar 18th, 2019     Marketing PR Conferences, Social Media, Social Media Marketing World

Social Media Marketing World 2019

The average person has 5.54 social media accounts and spends an average of 116 minutes on social media each day. But social media is changing – especially for marketers.

From data and privacy concerns to new product launches like live video and 3D photos, the social media marketing landscape is in constant flux. And you need to quickly adopt and adapt if you want to effectively raise brand awareness and engage audiences over social.

That’s why you can find us at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego this week. We’re excited to hear where the social media industry is headed, how they’ll adapt to potential data regulations, and expert advice on how to account for these changes in our social media marketing strategies.


Social Media Marketing World 2019: What to Do & Who to See
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