B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

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.

How LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Uses Blogging to Power Its Growth Engine

Tequia Burt Steve Kearns LinkedIn

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
Lee Odden on Sep 15th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Lisa Gately Forrester

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

Content Marketing World

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.

Content Marketing World 2011

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

INBOUND22 Jennifer Griffin Smith

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
Lee Odden on Sep 8th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Allyson Hugley, LinkedIn

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

INBOUND 2022 Conference

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

20 B2B Influencer Marketing Experts 2022

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


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

B2B Marketing Statistic MarketingCharts

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

B2B Marketing News: 28th CMO Survey, Growing B2B Creative Confidence, Google Core Update Completed, New LinkedIn Platform

Lee Odden
Lee Odden on Jun 10th, 2022
B2B Marketing

CMO Survey Deloitte

The CMO Survey: The latest results. The 28th edition of The CMO Survey examines the issues top of mind for marketers including the latest focus for marketing activities, spending, jobs, and performance. Deloitte

Majority of B2B leaders globally say “creative confidence” is growing: LinkedIn research from B2B Institute. 81% of senior B2B marketers believe B2B brands are increasingly producing creative campaigns that rival consumer brands. What’s New in Publishing

Google is combining Meet and Duo into a single app for voice and video calls. The new unified calling app offering rolls Duo’s functionality into Google Meet – The Verge

Chasing TikTok, Meta rolls out new Reels features and expands Instagram Reels to 90 seconds. A new Sound Sync feature will be available on Facebook Reels along with support for longer Instagram Reels of up to 90 seconds, instead of 60 seconds, previously TechCrunch


B2B Marketing News: 28th CMO Survey, Growing B2B Creative Confidence, Google Core Update Completed, New LinkedIn Platform

How the Most Successful B2B Marketers Work with Influencer Marketing Agencies

How to Work with B2B Influencer Marketing Agencies

As B2B companies look to create more authentic and meaningful experiences for digital first customers, content marketing co-created with industry and internal influencers has enabled many organizations to deliver information that is more empathetic, useful and inspiring.

Growth B2B brands are seeing the influence piece of the puzzle as an opportunity to better attract and engage increasingly distracted and distrustful customers. Many of those ambitious B2B marketers are looking for ways to accelerate their use of influence both internally and externally.

Since our first paid B2B influencer engagement in 2012 with a Fortune 500 brand that is still our client today, we’ve seen an acceleration in B2B marketers seeking expertise, technology and best practices for engaging influencers. In 2022 those solutions come in many forms ranging from independent B2B influencer marketing consultants, to software platforms that also sell services to specialist agencies with teams dedicated to the strategy, tactics, technology, measurement and scale of B2B influencer marketing programs.


How the Most Successful B2B Marketers Work with Influencer Marketing Agencies

Optimize for B2B Marketing Success with an Influencer Marketing Strategy Checklist

B2B Influencer Marketing Strategy Checklist

Did you know? 48% of B2B marketers say their top challenge with influencer marketing is a lack of a documented strategy. And no wonder: 53% of B2B marketers either do not have an influencer marketing strategy or it’s not documented. (2022 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report)

While influencer marketing for B2B brands has gained momentum and popularity, a lack of strategy is recipe for disaster. Of course no company can have all the answers right away, but working with influencers in a way that creates a positive impact on the business requires a unique approach.

If there is an expectation that partnering with influencers will advance marketing and business goals, key questions need to be answered.

  • Who are the right influencers?

Optimize for B2B Marketing Success with an Influencer Marketing Strategy Checklist