Lee Odden

About Lee Odden

@LeeOdden is the CEO of TopRank Marketing and editor of TopRank's B2B 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.

25 Women Who Rocked as B2B Industry Influencers in 2022

Lee Odden on Dec 29th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Over the past few years aka “the Covid years” the role of influence in B2B marketing has grown significantly. Our 2022 research report, The State of B2B Influencer Marketing, reported that 85% of B2B marketers believe that interest in working with influencers in the coming 12 months will increase. On top of that, of the B2B marketers that do engage in influencer marketing programs, 86% consider their efforts successful.

There’s a lot to be optimistic about, especially in a business environment that requires B2B marketers to find every advantage they can to grow in a potentially down market.

25 Women Who Rocked as B2B Industry Influencers in 2022

LinkedIn #B2Believe and The Playbook for Promise Making in B2B Marketing with Jim Habig

Lee Odden on Nov 22nd, 2022
B2B Marketing

b2believe selfie Tusar Barik, Jim Habig, Lee Odden

Selfie with Tusar Barik & Jim Habig of LinkedIn at #b2believe

How can marketers put promise making into practice? LinkedIn Vice President of Marketing, Jim Habig, shared the keys to the power of storytelling, the importance of creativity, and the exciting opportunity ahead for B2B marketers at LinkedIn’s inaugural B2B marketing conference, B2Believe in San Francisco last week.

Without a doubt these are interesting times and many B2B marketers are experiencing a challenging economic market. Jim challenged the 800+ marketers in attendance that we need to prove our value more than ever before.

Despite challenges of budget reductions, hiring freezes and an uncertain economic forecast, there is hope.

We B2B marketers can’t always get what we want. But if we try sometimes we will find, we can get what we need.

Sound familiar? Who knew the Rolling Stones had insight into B2B marketing tenacity?

LinkedIn #B2Believe and The Playbook for Promise Making in B2B Marketing with Jim Habig

How LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Uses Blogging to Power Its Growth Engine

Lee Odden on Sep 27th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Blogging Strategy, Content Marketing

It was with great pleasure that I was able to wrap up my 2022 Content Marketing World experience with a session featuring two exceptional marketers that I’ve known for many years*: Steve Kearns (LinkedIn Senior Manager, Content Marketing and Social Media) and Tequia Burt (Editor in Chief LinkedIn Ads Blog) with a topic that is near and dear: How LinkedIn Marketing Solutions is Using the Blog to Power its Growth Engine

In an age of social media with Instagram, TikTok and even LinkedIn, does blogging still matter? For LinkedIn, the answer is absolutely yes.

How LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Uses Blogging to Power Its Growth Engine

Forrester: Most Thought Leadership Isn’t Thoughtful or Leading: We Need to Fix That!

Lee Odden on Sep 15th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Thought Leadership is a bit part of many B2B brand strategies but Lisa Gately @LisaGately, Principle Analyst at Forrester says most thought leadership isn’t thoughtful or leading, so we need to fix that.

What is thought leadership personified? Many think of Dr Fauci. There are many examples of trusted experts we rely on for information, direction and inspiration.

Lisa says most B2B content isn’t serving buyers or business goals. Technology buyer research from Forrester shows buyers are oversaturated with content, yet they are seeking trusted subject matter expertise backed by data to help them make decisions

Here’s a thought leadership:definitionL Thought leadership is an intentional exercise of knowledge skills and expertise to increase awareness elevate perception and drive preference related to key issues that audiences care about.

Forrester: Most Thought Leadership Isn’t Thoughtful or Leading: We Need to Fix That!

12 B2B Marketing Sessions You Can’t Miss at Content Marketing World 2022

Lee Odden on Sep 13th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences

Photo: CMWorld 2021

It’s amazing to think that 2022 marks the 12 year anniversary of Content Marketing World. This year also represents the 12th time I’ve presented at CMWorld with the first presentation in 2011: A Content Marketer’s Guide to Social Media and Search Strategy. That first amazing event had about 50 speakers and around 600 attendees.

Conference Comic CMWorld 2011

Fast forward to today and this year’s Content Marketing World has nearly 200 speakers providing workshops, keynotes, and breakout sessions with anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 attendees. I am just as excited to present this year as my first with a session on The Secrets of Creating Inspired B2B Content Experiences Wednesday September 14th at 1pm in Grand Ballroom B.

12 B2B Marketing Sessions You Can’t Miss at Content Marketing World 2022

Brightcove’s Jennifer Griffin Smith: Why Every Company Should Act Like a Media Company

Lee Odden on Sep 9th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Video

I am sure you can relate to the frustration of being bombarded with information online. There are distractions everywhere. The thing is, if you’re frustrated as a customer, you’re certainly frustrated as a marketer trying to break through.

What’s a solution? Jennifer Griffin Smith the CMO at video communications platform Brightcove said in her presentation at INBOUND 2022 that thinking as a media company we can more effectively connect with customers. Just look at Netflix for example. They don’t renew a show unless the content performs. They think very specifically about the audiences they’re trying to serve and optimize programming and the content experience accordingly.

We’ve all heard “content is king”, but with 4.6 billion pieces of content consumed on a daily basis (eMarketer), there’s simply too much content.

Brightcove’s Jennifer Griffin Smith: Why Every Company Should Act Like a Media Company

LinkedIn’s Allyson Hugley on What’s Next: Connecting with Future Buyers

Lee Odden on Sep 8th, 2022
B2B Marketing

The 2022 edition of HubSpot’s INBOUND conference is an interesting mix of live and streamed sessions. As a B2B marketer that relies daily on LinkedIn, I was really looking forward to the insights Allyson Hugley, Global Director, Customer Insights at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions* had to share in her streamed What’s Next presentation, Connecting with Future Buyers: Winning Mindshare to Grow Market Share.

With over 850 million members, Linkedin is the top of the mountain when it comes to data around business professionals and Allyson did not disappoint in sharing her insights. According to research from Business Insider, people trust LinkedIn more than any other social platform. That trust and the rich insights available are essential for B2B marketers in understanding how to most effectively attract and engage future business buyers.

LinkedIn’s Allyson Hugley on What’s Next: Connecting with Future Buyers

11 Must See B2B Marketing Sessions at INBOUND 2022 Plus BONUS Picks for Inspiration

Lee Odden on Sep 7th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences

It has been a full 7 years since I’ve attended an INBOUND conference. In 2015 I gave a content marketing presentation, Hungry for Better Content: What the Mighty Hamburger Can Teach Us About Repurposing & Personalizing with Modular Content.

Sandwiched between Charlene Li and Mari Smith, expectations were high and unfortunately I spent the entire night before battling the effects of acid reflux. But I survived and so did the attendees of my session!

Fast forward to 2022 and I’ll be attending INBOUND to connect with top B2B marketers in the industry, as well as clients and peers in the lead up to the late Q3 and Q4 conference season. Due to COVID I haven’t attended many real-world events over the past 2 years and I’ve missed the connections, the insights, the competitive intelligence and customer engagement that conferences so easily facilitate.

11 Must See B2B Marketing Sessions at INBOUND 2022 Plus BONUS Picks for Inspiration

Spotlight on Talent: 20 B2B Influencer Marketing Experts to Follow in 2022 and Beyond

Lee Odden on Jul 18th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

On the heels of publishing our 2022 State of B2B Influencer Marketing research, there are many questions that go beyond what can be contained within a robust 59 page report, especially when there’s so much optimism around the practice. For example:

73% of B2B marketing organizations are working with influencers
95% of B2B marketers that work with influencers have achieved one of their top marketing goals
72% of B2B marketers have improved brand reputation working with influencers
86% of B2B Marketers working with influencers are successful

While we’re ready and happy to answer any questions about influencer marketing here at TopRank Marketing I also know there are many smart B2B marketing practitioners working at companies of all sizes that have important insight, experience and perspectives to share.

Spotlight on Talent: 20 B2B Influencer Marketing Experts to Follow in 2022 and Beyond

2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: New Data, Insights, Case Studies, Predictions

Lee Odden on Jul 11th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Click play on the video above for a highlight of the 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report or you can download the full PDF here.

With 2022 in full swing, the team and I at TopRank Marketing are happy to share our second report on the B2B Influencer Marketing. As the business world has overcome challenges, pivoted, adjusted and innovated we’ve had a similar experience getting this research completed, analyzed and visualized for the B2B marketing world.

Without question, the pandemic has impacted all aspects of business including B2B marketing, with 74% of respondents in our survey saying they made adjustments to their go- to market strategies.

The good news is that many B2B marketers have emerged from the pandemic as confident: Nearly half of the marketers we surveyed consider their marketing very or extremely successful.

2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: New Data, Insights, Case Studies, Predictions

B2B Marketing News: B2B CMOs Prove Value, Free Adobe Photoshop, B2B in Cannes, Metaverse On Track to 5 Trillion

Lee Odden on Jun 17th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing News

B2B Marketers Seek Advanced Metrics to Prove Their Worth. CMOs are feeling pressure to prove their value to others in the C-suite, and that desire to show marketing’s impact on pipeline and revenue is a leading reason why B2B marketers are increasing their focus on – or need for – deeper metrics, according to a study from Demand Gen Report, in association with Align BI. MarketingCharts

Why Cannes 2022 is a shining moment for B2B’s creative journey. Called The Creative B2B Lions, an official jury will award 11 winners for marketing disciplines such as cross-channel storytelling, brand experience, innovative content, and other areas between June 20 and June 24. The Drum

B2B Marketing News: B2B CMOs Prove Value, Free Adobe Photoshop, B2B in Cannes, Metaverse On Track to 5 Trillion