Alexis Hall

5 Common Digital Marketing Data & Analytics Challenges and How to Start Solving Them

Alexis Hall on Dec 10th, 2018     Digital Marketing

The volume and velocity of the data at our fingertips today has the power to transform the way we do marketing. Armed with the right data about our target audience, we can reach them at the right time, in the right place, with the best tailored messages. Given the deluge of marketing messages inundating consumers and B2B buyers at every moment, it’s critical that your marketing messages be the most relevant in order to break through the clutter.

However, many of us still aren’t using data to its full potential. Only 30% of B2B marketers use data to inform decision-making. That’s because harnessing data is hard. Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day, across so many different people, channels, devices, and technologies. And nearly 50% of marketers say they don’t have the the right people, processes, and technologies in place to make use all of that data to make an impact.


5 Common Digital Marketing Data & Analytics Challenges and How to Start Solving Them
Leave a Comment
Joshua Nite

Next-Gen Lead Gen: How to Refine Your Marketing to Get More B2B Leads

Joshua Nite on Dec 3rd, 2018     Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

How to Refine Your Marketing to Get More Leads

A few days ago, I was watching a 2005 episode of Doctor Who with my nine-year-old. He saw a strange artifact in a character’s hand. “What’s that thing?” he asked.

“An iPod,” I responded. “It’s like a smartphone, but it could only play music and had a black-and-white screen. No, no touchscreen. It held a LOT of music, though! Like hundreds of CDs! Okay, so a CD is…”

The point being: You kids need to get off my lawn.

Okay, the actual point being: Technology has changed fast in the past decade, and what used to be mind-blowing is now laughably obsolete. That’s doubly true in B2B marketing. We have the tools and tech to do amazing, iPhone-XS-Max-quality B2B lead generation.


Next-Gen Lead Gen: How to Refine Your Marketing to Get More B2B Leads
Leave a Comment
Lee Odden

25 Influential Women in Digital Marketing Who Rocked and Inspired in 2018

Lee Odden on Nov 28th, 2018     Digital Marketing

25 Women Digital Marketing

The digital marketing industry is like no other, and one of the great joys of publishing a top marketing blog is the opportunity to shine a light on top talent. People who are doing great work, inspiring others to do great work and making a difference in marketing.

Working in this industry over the past 20 years has provided numerous opportunities for me to connect with, learn from and be inspired by incredibly talented marketers. Many of them women.

And so, for the ninth year in a row, TopRank Marketing is publishing it’s annual influential women in digital marketing list.


25 Influential Women in Digital Marketing Who Rocked and Inspired in 2018
Leave a Comment
Caitlin Burgess

Giving Thanks: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Thankful For

Caitlin Burgess on Nov 22nd, 2018     Digital Marketing, TopRank Agency News

TopRank Marketing Gives Thanks

For centuries, Thanksgiving has been an American tradition, bringing families and friends together for a day of feasting, gratitude, and—most importantly, in my opinion—unity.

For the TopRank Marketing team, it seems that every day is Thanksgiving.

Each day, I have the privilege to see team members engaging and laughing. I see huddling and collaborating as everyone works hard to do their best work to not only drive results for our clients, but also lift themselves and other team members up. I see constant praise for good work or lending a helping hand. I see unity.

TopRank Marketing Team Gives Back

So, in the spirit of TopRank Marketing tradition, I’ve asked team members to share what they’re most thankful for in work and in life. Here’s what many had to say.


Giving Thanks: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Thankful For
Leave a Comment
Lane Ellis

How to Optimize Customer Experience with AI – Top Tips from Microsoft’s Purna Virji

Lane Ellis on Oct 18th, 2018     Digital Marketing, Pubcon

Microsoft's Purna Virji at Pubcon Las Vegas 2018 Photo by Lane R. Ellis

Purna Virji, senior manager of global engagement at Microsoft, has spoken at the Pubcon conference several times over the years, but the main stage presentation she gave yesterday in Las Vegas was her first time taking a deep look at the ever-evolving artificial intelligence landscape and how it can bolster customer experience.

“When it comes to optimizing the customer experience, design for conversation from the start. Remember, the most important thing for the user is convenience,” Purna recently told our CEO Lee Odden in his Pubcon preview highlighting nine top speakers at the event.

Is Voice Search Living Up To The Hype?

Purna began by asking the gathered audience whether they thought that voice search was generally overrated and not living up to all the hype it has increasingly attracted as more AI-assisted devices are in our homes, cars, offices, and lives in general.


How to Optimize Customer Experience with AI – Top Tips from Microsoft’s Purna Virji
Leave a Comment
Alexis Hall

Want to Go Stress Free? Here Are 6 Reasons to Hire A Digital Marketing Agency

Alexis Hall on Oct 4th, 2018     Digital Marketing

When to Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

From developing and executing your marketing strategy to measuring results, your plate always has a healthy heaping of responsibilities—all of which are likely served with a side of stress from time to time.

If you’re nodding your head in agreement, you’re certainly not alone. A couple years ago, Workfront released its Marketers Stress Report revealing that 80% of marketers feel they have too few team members and too much work. Furthermore, 1 out of 4 marketers said they were “overly stressed” or “stressed to the max.”

Fast-forward to today, the stress factor still remains as marketers contend with a myriad of challenges, from lack of internal resources to adapting to the changing digital landscape. The good news, of course, is that a digital marketing agency (like TopRank Marketing) can lend a helping hand.


Want to Go Stress Free? Here Are 6 Reasons to Hire A Digital Marketing Agency
Leave a Comment
Nick Nelson

How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

Nick Nelson on Oct 2nd, 2018     Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Fauxthenticity

Let’s be real for a second here.

Today’s marketers and brands are collectively recognizing the need to strike a note of authenticity with their audiences. That’s excellent.

But in the quest to get real, it’s all too easy to wind up making the exact opposite impression by trying too hard, especially on social media channels.

When I think about this subject I’m always reminded of Steve Buscemi’s attempt to conform with school kids on the TV show 30 Rock:

via GIPHY

So, we should ask ourselves: How can we, as businesses, avoid this “fauxthenticity” pitfall? How can we overcome the inherent barriers that inhibit genuine connections between brand and customer? How can we speak the language of our audience without looking like we’re trying really hard to speak their language?


How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall
Leave a Comment
Lee Odden

Stop Gambling with Your Marketing and Go Pro with Tips from Ten Pubcon Pro Speakers

Lee Odden on Sep 28th, 2018     Digital Marketing, Pubcon

Pubcon Pro

In the fast paced world of search and digital marketing, what separates amateurs from professionals often comes down one simple distinction: marketing as a gamble or marketing as a planned, measured and iteratively optimized discipline.

There are far too many marketing campaigns being implemented simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it”, as a reaction to the competition and as a limitation of the in-house team tasked with execution. Professional marketers go beyond wishful thinking and hopes of “better luck next time”.

So, what does it mean to be a “professional”?

Being a professional in any industry represents a combination of characteristics including:

  • Specialized knowledge
  • Competency
  • Honesty and Integrity
  • AccountabilitySelf-Regulation

Marketing professionals represent these things and more:

  • Creativity

Stop Gambling with Your Marketing and Go Pro with Tips from Ten Pubcon Pro Speakers
Leave a Comment
Caitlin Burgess

How Can Marketers Create Stronger Customer Bonds? Focus on Convenience, According to Shep Hyken

Caitlin Burgess on Sep 17th, 2018     Digital Marketing, Interviews

Shep Hyken on Convenience Marketing

Savvy digital marketers have their ears to the ground and eyes to the sky, striving to be on the cutting edge of the latest and greatest trends, tactics, strategies, and tools. After all, change comes hard and fast in this industry—especially when it comes to evolving buyer demands and expectations.

However, innovation doesn’t have to be net-new. To put a slight spin on a classic line, everything old can be new again. And that’s where convenience as a strategic digital marketing tool.

Convenience has been a core customer service principle for decades. And more often than not, convenience is a defining characteristic of customer experience and the brand as a whole. Think about what 7-Eleven did for weary travelers or time-crunched professionals. Think about what Amazon first did for avid, deal-seeking readers—and what they’re doing now for folks from all walks of life.


How Can Marketers Create Stronger Customer Bonds? Focus on Convenience, According to Shep Hyken
Leave a Comment
Alexis Hall

Use It or Lose It: 8 Ways to Make the Most of Your Digital Marketing Budget Surplus

Alexis Hall on Sep 13th, 2018     Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

How to Make the Most of Your Marketing Budget

For all marketing leaders, effectively managing your digital marketing budget is a delicate balancing act. Spend too much too early, and you’re running ultra-lean for the balance of the year and risk falling short of your goals. Spend too little, and you’ll likely lose those dollars at year’s end—and perhaps put yourself in a position to see cuts next year if your frugalness is taken out of context.

In our experience, we often see organizations slow to spend the first nine months of the year and eager to spend in the final quarter. So, if you’ll soon find yourself in the “use it or lose it” position, absolutely use it—but be thoughtful.


Use It or Lose It: 8 Ways to Make the Most of Your Digital Marketing Budget Surplus
Leave a Comment
Joshua Nite

How to Build a Resilient Evergreen Content Marketing Forest

Joshua Nite on Aug 8th, 2018     Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

Evergreen Content Marketing

Evergreen trees are a symbol of life and renewal because they never lose their leaves; they stay green year-round.

Tell that to anyone who has dragged a Christmas tree to the garbage on New Year’s Day.

The truth is, evergreen trees are part of an ecosystem. When they’re rooted and cared for, they thrive and the whole forest benefits. Cut one down and take it home, and it won’t be green for long.

Evergreen content is the same way. We tend to think of it as stand-alone pieces of content that bring in traffic without any additional effort. Something isolated, set-it-and-forget-it. But if you treat your content that way, it will start dropping needles on the carpet with a quickness.


How to Build a Resilient Evergreen Content Marketing Forest
Leave a Comment
Lee Odden

Trust in Marketing is at Risk. These CMOs and Marketing Influencers Share How to Fix

Lee Odden on Jul 23rd, 2018     Digital Marketing

CMO Half Life

The average tenure of a CMO is under 4 years representing a crisis in confidence amongst business leadership when it comes to marketing. Expectations for marketing are higher than ever amongst business leaders and customers alike.

To advance the valuable contributions marketing can make from boosting short term sales to growing long term market share, it is important for marketers to build trust and influence. But there are challenges:

  • A study from Fournaise Group that fond 73% of CEOs say “Marketers lack business credibility and the ability to generate sufficient growth and 80% of CEOs simply don’t trust marketers at all, while 91% do trust CIOs and CFOs.
  • New research from Marketing Week reports only 30% consider marketing ‘very important’ at large B2B companies.

Trust in Marketing is at Risk. These CMOs and Marketing Influencers Share How to Fix
Leave a Comment