LinkedIn Now Up to 900 Million Members, Continues to See ‘Record Levels’ of Engagement
Microsoft’s latest quarterly performance report has revealed that its LinkedIn (client) professional social network has topped the 900 million member mark and seen record levels of engagement, with the number of user sessions expanding by 18 percent, accompanied by revenue that grew by 10 percent during the most recent quarter year-over-year, and a ten-fold increase in newsletter creation on the platform, Microsoft recently announced. Social Media Today

2023 Global Digital Report [Meltwater / We Are Social]
During 2022 some $27.51 billion was spent on online influencer activities, which was a 20.4 percent increase year-over-year, while influencer advertising represented 4.1 percent of total digital advertising spending during 2022, a rise of 4.6 percent year-over-year, with 71 percent of brands having said that they expect influencers to play a bigger role in 2023, according to newly-released data from Meltwater’s Digital 2023 Global Overview Report. Meltwater

2023 Edelman Trust Barometer: Business is only institution viewed as ethical, competent
62 percent of global respondents in Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer have said that they place the most trust in businesses, topping the 59 percent achieved by second-place category non-governmental organizations (NGOs), achieving top marks for both competency and ethical factors, according to data from the newly-published survey. PRWeek

Gartner Survey: 84% Of Leaders Cite Customer Data & Analytics As ‘Very Or Extremely Important’ For Achieving Goals
84 percent of both B2B and B2C leaders have noted that they consider customer analytics and data as very or extremely important in reaching 2023 organizational goals, while 80 percent have highlighted the importance of increasing digital channel effectiveness — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in recently-released report data. Demand Gen Report

B2B Marketers Prioritizing Data and Technology to Succeed in 2023
86 percent of B2B marketers have said they will invest more in technology during 2023 that they did in 2022, with 36 percent planning major increases, while 46 percent noted that centralizing and unifying data were their top priorities for making better use of data in the coming year, according to recently-released Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey data. ANA

Microsoft eyes $10 billion bet on ChatGPT
Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to invest $10 billion in the OpenAI research organization — the group behind the popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot technology — funding that would value OpenAI at some $29 billion, and eventually see Microsoft holding a 49 percent stake in the organization. Semafor

The Top Strategies B2B Marketers Plan to Explore in 2023
42 percent of B2B marketers have indicated that they plan to explore artificial intelligence (AI) marketing and sales strategies more in 2023, with 32 percent pinpointing video marketing, and 30 percent influencer marketing — the top three new strategies B2B marketers are looking to use more this year, according to newly-publishing survey data. MarketingProfs

LinkedIn Previews New Job and B2B Product Search Options Coming in 2023
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has previewed an array of new features the professional social media platform plans to implement in 2023, including better search options and new job filtering criteria, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today

5 Major Takeaways From This Year’s ANA B-to-B Marketing Virtual Conference
B2B marketers can achieve market share expansion and greater outcomes when they focus on a broader reach, while a connection between data and creativity builds more emotional connectivity — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published insight from a recent Association of National Advertisers (ANA) event which featured marketers from LinkedIn (client) and other B2B organizations. Adweek

Marketers Are Adjusting Their Brand vs. Performance Budgets Amid Economic Woes
63 percent of marketers have said that the economic recession has had an impact on consumer concerns that will affect their 2023 marketing strategies, with 33 percent pinpointing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) along with social justice issues, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts

Changes to California’s Privacy Law Will Affect B2B Brands
When B2B exemptions to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) end in January 2023, privacy notices when engaging leads and other changes will be required for compliance with the California law, and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has taken a look at how the new requirements will affect B2B brands and marketers. ANA

B2B Leaders Are Facing More Headwinds in Data Quality Investments
Budget concerns, lack of internal resources, and the inability to show return-on-investment (ROI) proof were cited as being among the biggest obstacles when it comes to B2B data quality investments, according to newly-released survey data. MarketingCharts

Where Marketers Plan To Spend Budgets Across Advertising, Marketing In 2023
41 percent of marketers have said that they plan to increase their influencer marketing spending in 2023, with 34 percent of B2B marketers having noted that they plan to increase overall marketing budgets — two of several findings of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-released survey data. MediaPost

Why tightly connected branding yields higher online B2B sales [Forrester Survey]
Despite 53 percent of B2B marketers noting that they have completed a purchase through a digital channel, how smoothly that process takes place is in need of improvement to reduce friction and complexity, according to recently-published Forrester Research report findings. Digital Commerce 360

LinkedIn Details 3 B-to-B Marketing Trends That Will Shape 2023
The B2B marketing industry will undergo significant transformation in 2023 and beyond, with more personalized and meaningful outreach, a shift to minimizing risks, and greater engagement with high-probability buyers — three of several findings of interest to B2B marketers from LinkedIn (client) shared with Adweek. Adweek

Podcasts Are Now A Top Source of Thought Leadership Content in the US
Social media business influencers, traditional email newsletters, also with webinars and virtual panels joined business podcasts as the top thought leadership content sources among business decision-makers, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts

New LinkedIn Analytics: More Insight Into Followers & Top Posts
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has rolled out an array of new performance measurement features for posts on the professional social media platform, including new content impression and interaction data, along with updated follower demographic information, LinkedIn recently announced. Search Engine Journal