B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

Ashley Zeckman

About Ashley Zeckman

13 Top B2B Social Media Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2020

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Dec 23rd, 2019
B2B Marketing, Social Media

There’s no denying that 2019 was a game-changer for social media platforms. Google+ bit the dust in April of this year, Tik Tok became an overnight sensation, Facebook was forced to create more transparency for consumers and just this month, Instagram opened up Collabs Manager to connect creators and brands. 

The nature of social media marketing platforms is that they evolve often and quickly, which means that the best practices that marketers need to follow to see success, also need to adapt. 

But, that begs the question: Are marketers actually adapting their social media marketing approach at the rate that they should to be successful?

Creating Meaningful Experiences That Inspire

Since inception, social media platforms have launched with a very clear objective in mind: connecting like-minded people together to share and communicate digitally, much like they would in the real world.


13 Top B2B Social Media Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2020

10 Top B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions for 2020

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Dec 9th, 2019
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing Predictions for 2020

In late 2018, B2B influencer marketing was on the industry watch list as predictions for what this year would hold began popping up. And what we saw were some major advancements in what B2B marketers had planned for influencer marketing in 2019 including:

Some of these initiatives rose to the top for 2019, while others got lost in the day-to-day shuffle. However, 2019 was the year that B2B marketers really LEANED IN on influencer marketing in a way they hadn’t before. Many of the predictions from last year have become best practices for some of today’s top brands.


10 Top B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions for 2020

Imagine What’s Possible: Top Insights & Favorite Marketing Moments From #MPB2B 2019

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Oct 22nd, 2019
B2B Marketing, MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Online Marketing

If we had to describe the experience at this year’s MarketingProfs B2B Forum in one word, we would probably have to go with “neighborly.”

Yes, this vibe was intentionally embedded by the event organizers, who constructed the main stage and supporting elements at MPB2B around a “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” theme. But the speakers and attendees at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center all did their parts to foster a helpful, friendly, and kind environment. 

As a result, we’ve returned home with our mental batteries recharged, full of inspiration and motivation to help our clients, partners, audience, and coworkers achieve new heights with B2B marketing strategy.


Imagine What’s Possible: Top Insights & Favorite Marketing Moments From #MPB2B 2019

Tales from the B2B Influencer Marketing Trenches with Leaders from Dell & SAP #MPB2B

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Oct 21st, 2019
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, MarketingProfs B2B Forum

When was the last time you made a purchase without reading multiple reviews, asking your friends for recommendations or relying on an endorsement from someone that you know and trust? The likely response is: “I can’t even remember that far back.”

While trusting the insights of others to inform our purchasing decisions has become second-nature for both personal and business purchases, influencer marketing for B2B organizations is still fairly new. In fact, only 24% of marketers are currently partnering with influencers to expand their reach (CMI & MarketingProfs). 

Last week at MarketingProfs B2B Forum, seasoned influencer marketing leaders Konstanze Alex and Janine Wegner from Dell* and Amisha Gandhi from SAP* teamed up to share tales from the trenches of influencer marketing at their respective organizations. Below is just a sampling of the insights they shared that can help guide your approach for your brand. 


Tales from the B2B Influencer Marketing Trenches with Leaders from Dell & SAP #MPB2B

Create a Stellar Audience Experience By Slowing Down with These Tips from Ann Handley #CMWorld

Ashley Zeckman
Ashley Zeckman on Sep 9th, 2019
Content Marketing, Content Marketing World

You know a conference session is going to be good when literally hundreds of marketers are turned away due to an already packed room. And you know a session is going to be great when the amazing Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs, takes the stage and is visibly bummed that she didn’t get the chance to connect with those marketers.

Part of Ann’s magic is her ability to make herself and her content very accessible. She accomplishes this by sharing stories that are personal to her, things she observes in everyday life that inspire her inner marketer. And her session at last week’s Content Marketing World 2019 was no exception.


Create a Stellar Audience Experience By Slowing Down with These Tips from Ann Handley #CMWorld

Your Interactive Guide to Creating Showstopping Content with Insights From Top #CMWorld Speakers

Content marketing wears many (top)hats. Brands incorporate content marketing as an avenue to help them reach, engage and convert their audiences. It’s also a tool for attracting the RIGHT people to your brand. And in the end, great content can inform, persuade and connect with your target audience on a deeper level. 

In Content Marketing Institute’s 2019 B2B Content Marketing report, they found that 95% of the most successful B2B marketers agree that their audience views their organization as a credible and trusted resource. Ask yourself: Would your audience say the same about your brand? 


Your Interactive Guide to Creating Showstopping Content with Insights From Top #CMWorld Speakers

11 Qualities You Should be Looking for to Find Your B2B Influencer Match

At one point or another, we’ve all kept a mental list of the qualities we’re looking for in our perfect match. And over the years, that list has likely changed. Qualities that were once deal breakers (Justin Timberlake lookalike circa 2001), have now become “nice to have” or even “what was I thinking?”.

And over the years, influencer marketing has also matured in its tastes. Instead of simply focusing on the number of people in an influencer’s network, savvy marketers have begun to take a critical look at the qualities that REALLY make for a great influencer match.

At the core, working with influencers is about building solid relationships that last over time, not just a summer fling. B2B brands looking to partner with influencers should focus more on the quality of those relationships, and find ways to create mutual value for the individual experts that they co-creating with.


11 Qualities You Should be Looking for to Find Your B2B Influencer Match

5 Essential Questions to Guide Your B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy

5 questions about b2b influencer marketing strategy

Greetings friend! If you’re here, I assume it’s for one of three reasons:

  • You’re interested in the concept of influencer marketing and want to identify if it’s a fit for your B2B brand.
  • You’re dabbling in influencer marketing and are looking for ways to formalize your strategy.
  • You fell down some crazy internet rabbit hole and you aren’t quite sure how you got here.

Regardless of the reason, I’m happy you’re here.

Today, we’re going to dig into five essential questions that many B2B marketers are asking themselves about influencer marketing—everything from what it actually is (very important) to how to gain leadership buy-in and show value.

So dig in, enjoy the ride and be sure to add any of your own questions in the comments!


5 Essential Questions to Guide Your B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy

So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19

Have you ever experienced the post-party blues?

You know that feeling you have when the party has died down and everyone has gone home? The good news is, for years you’ll be left with the great memories of the things you learned and time you spent together (even if it was brief) long after the party ends.

While I was sad to leave sunny San Diego and the amazing marketers that I got to see and meet at Social Media Marketing World last week, I’m happy to have walked away with some incredible insights and deeper connections.

For those of you who were watching from afar (or attended but weren’t able to catch every session), I’ve included some top insights from the conference below. So, strap on your marketing (party) hat and join the festivities!


So Long, San Diego! Top Takeaways From #SMMW19

Dear Friend: Secrets to Creating a Newsletter People Want to Read From Ann Handley

Do me a favor. Go and check your work email inbox.

Then, look to see how many newsletters from individuals or brands you’ve received in the past week (for me it was around 20). After you have that number, look to see how many of those newsletters you’ve actually opened (for me it was 3). Lastly, think about how many of those newsletters you engaged with in some way (replied, shared, etc.), or which ones contained memorable content that you’ve added to your memory bank (for me it was 0).

Yikes! Can you imagine the manpower and dollars that likely went into developing and distributing those email newsletters that are just sitting in your inbox gathering dust? And worse yet, are your subscribers feeling the same way that you do, but about the content that you’re sending out?


Dear Friend: Secrets to Creating a Newsletter People Want to Read From Ann Handley

Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact

With the amount of data available today, you’d think that marketers would be confident in reporting the impact of their efforts. Unfortunately, a recent study from The CMO Survey found that the #1 C-suite communication challenge for marketers is STILL demonstrating the impact of their work on financial outcomes.

Part of the reason for this struggle is that while data is readily available, we aren’t tracking the right metrics, and may even struggle to understand how to set up proper tracking to access the information we need. And as we know, poor tracking leads to poor performance which leads to unhappy leadership teams.

In his presentation at Social Media Marketing World last week, Chris Penn took a deep dive into a framework for collecting high-quality data and the different options available for properly attributing the results of your marketing efforts.


Attribution Analysis: How Marketers Can Stay on the Cutting Edge & Prove Impact

Robert Rose Shares How to Add Purpose & Focus Back Into Your Content Strategy at SMMW

Over the past few decades, we’ve seen the rise, fall, and rebirth of content marketing. The launch of the internet changed the value of content and at first, companies saw a lot of early success. But then, the web was flooded with a high quantity of low-value content as content creation had become much easier to execute.

What many brands were missing was a true content strategy that had a purpose, focus, and aligned tightly with business goals.

In his session at Social Media Marketing World, Robert Rose helped the audience face the hard facts about why many of today’s content marketing strategies simply aren’t working and what can be done to flip the script on bad content marketing.


Robert Rose Shares How to Add Purpose & Focus Back Into Your Content Strategy at SMMW