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.

B2B Marketing News: COVID19 Impact on B2B, Boost in Online B2B Purchasing, Google Combines Search Console & Analytics Data

Lee Odden on Jul 3rd, 2020
Online Marketing News

Which Recommendation Types Do Consumers Find Most Compelling? “Based on your favorite” is the most impactful recommendation type, study data shows. MarketingCharts

Google Expands Access to its Business Messaging Tools from Search and Maps. Expanded brand reach to customers via maps and search listings are among features in a new tool rollout. Social Media Today

COVID-19’s Impact on the B2B Industry. B2Bs are figuring out how to stay in business, operate and recover. This often requires a digital transformation of marketing and sales efforts. eMarketer

Google to pay some publishers for content; others dubious. Alphabet’s Google on Thursday took a step towards resolving its spat with publishers, saying it would pay some media groups in Australia, Brazil and Germany for high-quality content and expects to do more deals, but others were skeptical.. Reuters

B2B Marketing News: COVID19 Impact on B2B, Boost in Online B2B Purchasing, Google Combines Search Console & Analytics Data

Three B2B Marketing Tactics That Will Outlast the COVID19 Pandemic

Lee Odden on Jun 29th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing, SEO

Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the B2B world with companies generally reducing marketing budgets. At the same time, many B2B companies are maintaining or increasing marketing spend as we’ve seen with most of our clients at TopRank Marketing.

While there has generally been a shift from explicit sales/push marketing content to brand messaging that is more aligned with the times and empathetic to customers, sales expectations still exist for B2B brands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge many B2B marketers are facing is to understand how to navigate both the short term changes in what works for customers in the current environment as as well as in the long term, post-crisis.

Three B2B Marketing Tactics That Will Outlast the COVID19 Pandemic

Trust in Marketing: How to Build Influence with the C-Suite and on the Street with Customers

Lee Odden on Jun 22nd, 2020
B2B Marketing

80% of CEOs don’t trust marketers.

And yet 91% of CEOs do trust CIOs and CFOs

Ouch!

In addition to the many challenges marketers are currently facing with the COVID-19 pandemic and overall social change, a study by Fournaise Group found that CEOs felt marketing was not meeting expectations, causing a lack of confidence. Whether it was due to too much emphasis on martech or marketing “hype”, the outcome is clear: the credibility of marketing is at risk.

The thing is, those credibility issues are not limited to the C-Suite. Customers have trust issues with marketing as well and for good reasons:

Brand vs. Customer Focus
Lack of Confidence & Trust
Not Delivering Value
Not Meeting Expectations
Lack of Authenticity

Trust in Marketing: How to Build Influence with the C-Suite and on the Street with Customers

How to Tap the Most Powerful Marketing Force in the World – Fanocracy

Lee Odden on Jun 15th, 2020
Book Reviews

Photo: David Meerman Scott

One of the most coveted things a brand can earn is the emotional investment of their customers in the brand itself. That undeniable force that can make or break a business is why the Wall Street Journal bestseller, FANOCRACY – Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans is a must read for marketers today.

Co-authored by best selling author and international keynote speaker David Meerman Scott and his daughter Reiko Scott, Fanocracy was 5 years in the making. David and Reiko have developed a blueprint of 9 steps for marketers to tap in to the most powerful marketing force in the world: passionate fans.

How to Tap the Most Powerful Marketing Force in the World – Fanocracy

Always On Influence: Short Term vs. Long Term for Success During a Crisis

Lee Odden on Jun 8th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

The focus of Always On Influence for B2B brands is to establish and maintain relationships with business influencers through content co-creation, engagement and various types of activations that create and reinforce brand thought leadership.

In fact, those strong relationships with industry experts create value for driving marketing performance across the entire customer lifecycle from awareness, to purchase to advocacy. There are many of examples of B2B brands implementing ongoing influencer programs and having impact.

When the COVID-19 pandemic came along, many B2B marketers took a moment to evaluate whether their marketing programs were a fit, taking care not to sound tone deaf or too opportunistic. With the current movement about racial justice and equality, even more considerations are at hand with all social channels rich with messages about social change and little with commercial intent.

Always On Influence: Short Term vs. Long Term for Success During a Crisis

Marketers: We Can Do Better Than Words with Action

Lee Odden on Jun 4th, 2020
Marketing & PR Industry

Minneapolis

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d send an email with the subject line: USA on Fire – What are we doing? What do we say?

My message started with: “The past few days have been tragic and surreal to say the least. I feel we have an obligation to address this internally and in some way, externally. At the same time, I am not 100% clear on what to say.”

I share this because I think a lot of individuals like myself who basically live in a bubble, but are in a position to affect change and have the motivation to do so felt the same way. Who am I to say anything at all?

Marketers: We Can Do Better Than Words with Action

Why SEO & Influence are Critical to Pandemic Era Content Marketing

Lee Odden on May 25th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Marketing, SEO

On this Memorial Day of 2020, it is important we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country – not only in the military, but those on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to first responders, law enforcement, healthcare workers and all that support them!

The health and economic crisis we are all facing now compounds the many other uncertainties of our time including trust and expectations in the brands we buy from. The COVID-19 pandemic and our society’s reaction to it have changed the reality we have lived with into something different and very digital.

Why SEO & Influence are Critical to Pandemic Era Content Marketing

10 Worst Practices for B2B Influencer Marketing – Don’t be a Clown

Lee Odden on May 18th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

When it comes to sharing B2B marketing advice, I prefer not to clown around too much and do my best to be positive and optimistic with trends, insights and how to’s focused on looking forward towards best practices and getting better results.

Marketers expect serious results but unfortunatley, many B2B marketers insist on clowning around with half-hearted or incomplete influencer marketing efforts.

I know this from stories told by brand marketers that have worked with other agencies and from being on the receiving end of clueless pitches, minimum viable engagement efforts and willfully ignorant attempts to get me to promote something I really have no business caring about. I’ve heard much of the same from other people who are often engaged as influencers as well.

10 Worst Practices for B2B Influencer Marketing – Don’t be a Clown

The B2B Marketing Force Multiplier: Integrated SEO and Influencer Marketing

Lee Odden on May 11th, 2020
Influencer Marketing, SEO

As business customers with questions are ignoring tone deaf brand marketing (and tiring of Pandemic messaging too) they are increasingly in search of information more than ever. Trust Radius reports that some B2B tech categories are seeing anywhere from 194% to 613% increases in search driven traffic. Search engines are clearly positioned to deliver answers for buyers seeking answers, but where is the trust? And more importantly, is your brand the best answer when and where buyers are looking?

SEO alone is not enough. A study from CSO insights ranked Web searches the 8th most trusted source of information for technology buyers. According to a study by Forbes/Yext, only 50% of customers believe search results. Search ads are not necessarily the solution because 65% of marketers don’t trust them either (HubSpot).

The B2B Marketing Force Multiplier: Integrated SEO and Influencer Marketing

Four Ways to Optimize the Marketing Performance of a B2B Influencer Program

Lee Odden on May 4th, 2020
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Uncertainty for some is opportunity for others. While much is being said about changes in influencer marketing approach and B2C influencers losing work at scale because events are now cancelled and industries like retail, travel and hospitality have been disrupted due to COVID-19, consumer behavior has decidedly shifted towards digital experiences.

While in-person events have been a staple for B2B marketers, we’ve seen how working with digital influencers on co-created content can be a sound alternative.

How brands approach marketing during a crisis makes the issue of trust even more important. When planned and implemented effectively, B2B influencer marketing programs build trust and confidence for buyers, influencers and the brand.

Four Ways to Optimize the Marketing Performance of a B2B Influencer Program

Always On Influence: Definition and Why B2B Brands Need it to Succeed

Lee Odden on Apr 27th, 2020
Influencer Marketing

Always On Influence Series

Influencer Marketing in the B2B world is fast growing as an essential part of the marketing mix. How brands implement influencer engagement strategies varies from one off campaigns, to event activations to passive social engagement to the topic of this post: Always On Influencer Marketing.

According to research from Linqia. 42% of marketers have shifted to an “always on” influencer marketing strategy from individual campaigns. As B2B companies evolve in their influencer marketing maturity, confidence builds along with the realization that a relationship driven endeavor like engaging with influencers requires an ongoing effort.

The problem is, many B2B marketers still see influencer marketing as something you just turn on or off as needed. Such a short term approach does not yield the full benefit of developing strong content collaboration partnerships with industry influencers that can fuel thought leadership, be repurposed for demand gen and even sales enablement.

Always On Influence: Definition and Why B2B Brands Need it to Succeed