B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

9 Questions to Ask When Hiring a B2B Influencer Marketing Agency

top questions when hiring a B2B influencer marketing agency

Confidence amongst B2B marketers in the role of influence, both externally and internally, has grown substantially in the past year. Following that growth is the number of B2B influencer marketing success stories inspiring marketers to investigate collaborative content strategies that include influencers.

At the same time, the pandemic has had its effect on marketing budgets and one of the trends over the past year that has stuck is the need for greater accountability and demonstration of ROI for marketing investments. While research shows that 96% of B2B marketers that engage influencers consider their program to be successful, 60% of marketers overall do not feel they have the skills or expertise in-house to execute on influencer programs.


9 Questions to Ask When Hiring a B2B Influencer Marketing Agency

Brave New World: The Model for B2B Marketing Success, Post-Pandemic

Nick Nelson
Nick Nelson on Apr 15th, 2021
B2B Marketing

Business Meeting in Office with Masks Image

“The new normal.”

I believe that’s what we would call the opposite of a compelling lede. Nobody wants to hear that phrase anymore, I know it. While that may be the case, it’s an unavoidable truth that our world does, and will, look different in many ways following a globally disruptive pandemic.

Savvy business and marketing leaders are already planning proactively for what lies ahead. They’re assessing what’s changed in the past year, analyzing trends and indicators, and optimizing their strategies to thrive within an altered economic and social environment.

We’re here to help. Read on for research and recommendations that will help you equip your B2B organization for maximum success going forward.


Brave New World: The Model for B2B Marketing Success, Post-Pandemic

Hybrid & Remote Work Trends That Will Alter The Future Of B2B Marketing

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Apr 14th, 2021
B2B Marketing

Dozens of black and white photos of business professionals.

How is the shift to remote and hybrid work affecting B2B marketers?

Which trends will endure in the post-pandemic marketing landscape?

The dramatic shift to hybrid and remote work that has been brought about by the pandemic is set to forever alter the way B2B marketers and the organizations they work for and with do business.

Let’s take a look at some of these changes, and the trends that are likely to permanently affect B2B marketers, and I’ll offer my own perspective coming from a long-term background in remote work.


Hybrid & Remote Work Trends That Will Alter The Future Of B2B Marketing

5 Things B2B Content Marketers Need to Know About Working with Influencers

B2B influencer content marketing

Given the rapid increase in influencer engagement amongst B2B brands over the past year, the opportunity and impact from working with influencers has become clear, especially with influencer content marketing according to the B2BIMReport:

  • Results – 63% of B2B marketers agree that marketing would have better results if it included an influencer marketing program.
  • Always-On Wins – 12X more marketers who run alway-on influencer marketing programs are very successful vs those running periodic campaigns.
  • Impact on CX – 74% of B2B marketers agree that influencer marketing improves customer and prospect experience with the brand.

1. B2B Content Influencer Marketing defined:

The practice of engaging internal and industry experts with active networks to collaborate on content in a way that drives mutual value and helps achieve measurable business goals.


5 Things B2B Content Marketers Need to Know About Working with Influencers

SEO Harmony: Why B2B Marketers Need To Integrate Search With Content Strategy

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Apr 7th, 2021
B2B Marketing, SEO

People pushing giant puzzle pieces together at sunset.

Siloed and segmented SEO and content strategies work against B2B marketing success, but can they come together and work to compliment one another?

The best SEO specialists can use their skills to make even the most boring B2B content shine in the search engine spotlight — for better or worse, as the case may be.

The very top content creators can craft fantastic digital assets that are often able to rise to the heights of search success with little to no accompanying SEO.

Both of these scenarios are all-too-familiar in B2B marketing efforts, however segmented SEO and content don’t need to be so separate, and indeed the best efforts occur when both SEO and content practitioners or teams work together in harmony.


SEO Harmony: Why B2B Marketers Need To Integrate Search With Content Strategy

5 Striking Insights On Successful B2B Marketing Engagement

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Apr 5th, 2021
B2B Marketing

Hands forming a heart image.

How important is engagement in B2B marketing?

To say that engagement plays a crucial role in creating successful B2B marketing content is an understatement, as it’s how we connect with customers, and a key element in the process of building trust and the desire to continue interaction with a brand.

Engagement is also a fundamental building block of content marketing, offering many innate benefits well worth the effort it often takes B2B marketers to properly achieve.

To get that process started, let’s take a look at five striking insights on successful B2B marketing engagement, from some of the top marketers in the industry today.

1 — Brian Solis

“Meaningful customer engagement starts with discovery,” Brian Solis, global innovation evangelist at Salesforce, observed in our groundbreaking 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report.


5 Striking Insights On Successful B2B Marketing Engagement

Always Have A Backup: Why B2B Marketers Must Be Prepared

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Mar 31st, 2021
B2B Marketing

Hard drive platter in clean room in engineer's hand image.

Are you ready for World Backup Day?

For World Backup Day we want to explore the importance of backing up not only your business’ data, but why B2B marketers should always have a backup plan B — and preferably also a plan C and D — at the ready.

“Don’t be an April Fool. Be prepared. Back up your files on March 31st,” the World Backup Day website admonishes for the annual day celebrating the importance of backups, which falls just ahead of April Fool’s Day.


Always Have A Backup: Why B2B Marketers Must Be Prepared

Creating B2B Podcasts That Rise Above The Noise

Joshua Nite
Joshua Nite on Mar 30th, 2021
B2B Marketing, Podcasting

B2B Podcasts Recorder Image

It’s never impressive to hear someone say they have a podcast. Making a podcast is easy! I have one that’s nearly a decade old and 400 episodes strong. 

The hard part is getting people to listen. My personal podcast has maybe 200 monthly listeners and brings in just enough in donations to pay for our web host. And at that, we have 198 more listeners than a lot of podcasts out there. 

The barrier to entry is low… but if you’re a B2B brand looking to engage with potential buyers, you’re going to want to aim higher.

How do you make a B2B podcast that actually gets listened to? One that inspires people to subscribe and tell their friends about it? 

It’s simple:


Creating B2B Podcasts That Rise Above The Noise

Brandfluence – Why Growing Executive Influence is Essential for B2B Marketing

Brandfluence B2B Executive Influence

If there was one thing 2020 showed us in the B2B marketing world, it was the growing importance of influence in all aspects of the customer lifecycle from awareness to advocacy. People want to connect with other people, not some faceless brand.

The good news is that smart B2B marketers are putting a face to their brands through employee advocacy programs and building the visibility and influence of their key executives. But how should B2B brands approach the task of growing their brandfluence? At TopRank Marketing we deal in the business of influence and content in the B2B marketing world every day and here are 3 key trends we’re seeing drive an increase in focus on building executive influence:


Brandfluence – Why Growing Executive Influence is Essential for B2B Marketing

Choosing The Best B2B Influencers Is Key To Success — Here’s Why

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Mar 24th, 2021
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Professional woman holding yes and no signs image.

Why is it important to find the right B2B influencers?

Are there right and wrong ways to approach the process of choosing the best B2B influencers?

The crucial task of selecting B2B influencers who will drive the greatest success for a brand isn’t a simple one, yet it’s one often shrouded in mystery — a question that we’ll explore utilizing a collection of do’s and don’ts.

39 percent of B2B marketers state their top challenge with influencer marketing is that the process is too manual, and only 25 percent of less successful influencer marketers use software versus half of the most successful to identify influencers, according to our State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report.


Choosing The Best B2B Influencers Is Key To Success — Here’s Why

How B2B Marketing Influencers Are Finding Success On New Social Channels

Debbie Friez
Debbie Friez on Mar 23rd, 2021
B2B Marketing, Influencer Marketing

Woman showing phone screen image.

In the world of social media, the only constant is change. Each platform continues to update and add new features, and new channels appear on a regular basis. With this change comes opportunities for B2B marketing influencers to share their thought leadership in new ways and have their voices heard.

I tapped top B2B influencers and thought leaders to see where they are finding successes on some of the newer social channels. Come along and let’s explore the social media maze with them.

Finding Business in the Clubhouse

If you are jumping on trends, don’t miss getting an invite to the audio-only Clubhouse app. TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden noted “audio and voice will continue to be a trend for information discovery, consumption and engagement in 2021.”


How B2B Marketing Influencers Are Finding Success On New Social Channels

20 Ways to Build B2B Executive Credibility and Thought Leadership

B2B thought leadership

The pandemic driven digital transformation of B2B marketing to digital first has created all new levels of competition for time, attention and trust. In this environment, the importance of building credibility is essential in order to deliver stand out customer experiences. But how?

B2B brand Thought Leadership certainly plays a role and as the trends in trust focus more on individuals over companies, the opportunity to optimize content experiences through executive thought leadership and influence are growing. The more influence B2B brand executives have, the more credibility the brand has.

But how? How can B2B marketers build awareness, credibility and influence of their key executives with content? Here are a few tried and true tactics that continue to work in today’s digital B2B environment:


20 Ways to Build B2B Executive Credibility and Thought Leadership

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