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How B2B Brands Can Break Into Interactive Content

Caitlin Burgess on Oct 16th, 2019 B2B Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Pop quiz, B2B marketers: When it comes to creating content that effectively reaches, informs, engages, and inspires buyers and buying committees, you should…

Embrace the “boring-to-boring” status quo. (Buyers and committees want the facts, not a spectacle!)
Push tradition aside and dip your marketing toes into interactive content waters. (Who says B2B content has to be boring?)

(Psst. Here’s a hint from TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden: “The sheer volume of information and media that confronts people in the business world is overwhelming and often pretty boring. Creating compelling experiences with interactive content is one way to stand out, differentiate, and optimize for effectiveness.”)

How B2B Brands Can Break Into Interactive Content

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Bye-Bye Boring B2B: Lee Odden Shows B2BMX Attendees the Power of Interactive Influencer Content

Quick question, B2B marketers: How many of you wake up feeling like this about your B2B content?

via GIPHY

Not so much? Hey, it’s OK. You’re a passionate and proud B2B marketer. But finding a way to create exciting, inspiring, infotaining content that connects with your audience is hard work. After all, B2B isn’t innately sexy—it’s booooooring. Oh, and between content overload, changing consumer preferences for personalization, and diminishing audience trust, it’s increasingly hard to capture and keep attention.

So, here’s another question: Are you ready to say bye-bye to boring content and hello to exciting, inspiring, and infotaining content experiences?

Yes so much? Good. Because, as TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden told a packed room at B2B Marketing Exchange this week, you can.

Bye-Bye Boring B2B: Lee Odden Shows B2BMX Attendees the Power of Interactive Influencer Content

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How B2B Marketers Can Make the Most of Interactive Content Tools

Caitlin Burgess B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Informative. Engaging. Entertaining. Inspiring. Interactive content is a rising B2B marketing star, allowing brands to break free of their “boring-to-boring” reputations to give their audiences bold, beautiful, badass experiences.

And to make it increasingly easy for B2B content marketers to deliver those interactive experiences, interactive content tools—from simple web-based tools to robust platforms—have proliferated.

But here’s the thing: From upping marketing efficiency to collecting unique audience data insights, the beauty and utility of many interactive content tools extends well beyond content creation and delivery.

So, if you truly want to make the most of your interactive content investments, you should take care in making the most of your tools of choice. How? Here are a few tips.

How B2B Marketers Can Make the Most of Interactive Content Tools

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Embracing Interactive Content: 19 Statistics Every B2B Marketer Needs to Know

Anne Leuman B2B Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Modern B2B content marketing evolved out of the opportunity to provide buyers with the information they seek at every stage of their customer journey. But in an increasingly crowded content landscape and as consumer preferences and technology evolve, it’s no longer enough to just inform buyers.

Today and beyond, to connect on an intellectual and emotional level with their audience, B2B marketers need to provide engaging content experiences. And that’s precisely where interactive content can play a massive, highly-effective role.

Not sold on the potential of interactive content for B2B? Let’s look at some of the research and commentary from several sources, including:

Embracing Interactive Content: 19 Statistics Every B2B Marketer Needs to Know

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Interactive Content Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Should Take Their Content from Boring to Bold

Caitlin Burgess Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing

Show of hands, B2B marketers: How many of you know which Hogwarts house you belong in? Or which Disney princess best represents your personality and relationship ambitions?

via GIPHY

Don’t be shy. I’m a Gryffindor wizard through and through—and apparently, I’m more of a Jasmine than an Ariel. And I know all this thanks to the rise of interactive content.

From quirky quizzes to ROI calculators to guided eBooks, interactive content is a rising content marketing star. BuzzFeed is perhaps the most prolific example, creating dozens of quizzes each week that are making their way into social feeds and search results. (And almost all users reportedly finish them).

But why should B2B marketers consider adding interactive content to their mix?

Interactive Content Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Should Take Their Content from Boring to Bold

5 Cool Ways to Make Marketing Magic with Interactive Content

Joshua Nite Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Online Marketing

On the occasion of the new trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I was thinking about the fantastical wizarding world of Harry Potter. Who wouldn’t want to live in a world with magical items like pictures that move, newspapers that automatically update themselves, portraits that speak?

Then it hit me: My smartphone can show moving pictures and auto-updated news, and it doesn’t have to be delivered by owl. AND it’s a lot more compact than the average Daily Prophet issue. Sure, we can’t play proper Quidditch yet—someone get Elon Musk on flying broomstick development—but as far as interactive content goes, Muggles have got it on lock.

5 Cool Ways to Make Marketing Magic with Interactive Content

Mobile Content Marketing With Apps: Pros, Cons, Examples and Best Practices

Nicolette Beard Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Online Marketing

Mobile Apps Early adopters of mobile technology in their digital marketing mix have been experiencing great results by providing convenient methods for customers and prospects to find, consume and act on brand information. Mobile commerce success is here too: According to IBM, 25.8% of total online sales for Thanksgiving, and 21.8% for Black Friday were via mobile.

As companies discover innovative uses of mobile technology for marketing and communications, they can help differentiate their services, reinforce corporate culture, and build long-term customer loyalty.

With growing demand as a content delivery and customer experience channel, mobile applications represent a substantial digital and content marketing opportunity for brands. Mobile is now 28% of all web traffic and the smart money is on those companies and organizations that can attract, engage and convert through the creative content opportunities mobile apps provide.

Mobile Content Marketing With Apps: Pros, Cons, Examples and Best Practices

Content Marketing with Interactive Tools: Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices

Nicolette Beard Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Online Marketing, Online Marketing Strategy, Visual Marketing

At first glance, interactive online tools may not seem like a content marketing tactic. But, when you consider their educational and entertainment value, interactive tools offer exactly the kind of ‘stickiness’ marketers and brands are looking for.

From the early days of collaborative online learning to sophisticated interactive tools that allow consumers to keep track of their calorie count and fitness level, today, numerous institutions, governments, news organizations and brands have incorporated interactive tools on their websites to further educate and engage their customers and constituents.

Why incorporate interactive tools as part of your content marketing mix? Because education is such a powerful and important fundamental to improving the customer experience. The ability to invest in effort and receive output contributes to a customer experience that can differentiate your brand. At the same time, useful interactive tools satisfy a need for your target audience. Ultimately, tools that enable user interaction and feedback can drive sales, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Content Marketing with Interactive Tools: Pros, Cons, Examples & Best Practices

List of Minnesota Marketing & PR Associations, Organizations, & Groups

Lee Odden Interactive Marketing, Marketing & PR Industry, Online Marketing

Minnesota Marketing Associations Sometimes it feels like I spend more time on the road than in Minnesota, but the Twin Cities has a fine digital marketing community that includes advertising, direct marketing, interactive, B2B, search, PR and communications groups that serve the needs of marketing and communications professionals in the region.

Networking locally can be incredibly important if you’re new to the area, want to connect with other professionals in your field or are in search of professional development and job opportunities. Below are a list of Minnesota (primarily Minneapolis & St. Paul) marketing and communications organizations that offer a range of opportunities for networking, education and industry involvement.

List of Minnesota Marketing & PR Associations, Organizations, & Groups

A-to-Z Internet Marketing News: Google Redesign, Cyber Monday, Speed Linking, Self Serve Twitter Ads, Damn Humans

Ashley Zeckman Interactive Marketing, Marketing Industry News, Online Marketing

[Note: If you click on the “more” tab in the presentation above and select “autoplay” it will eliminate the need for clicking through the entire presentation]

As I’m sure you’ve noticed we’re trying something a little different this week. Lee tasked me with creating a weekly news round up to share on the TopRank Blog. Who doesn’t love news? I thought this would be a good opportunity to share with our readers some information that has been released this week that we think is newsworthy. I also convinced Lee to let me try something a little different which is why there is a Prezi presentation which provides highlights of the overviews and links to articles listed below. I’m curious to know what you think of both the means of communicating the news as well as the articles themselves. Happy reading (and watching).

A-to-Z Internet Marketing News: Google Redesign, Cyber Monday, Speed Linking, Self Serve Twitter Ads, Damn Humans

5 Tips For More Effective B2C Internet Marketing

Ashley Zeckman B2C Marketing, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Online Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media

Is your internet marketing strategy putting customers to sleep?

Compared to B2B companies, businesses that serve consumer audiences are typically focused on a much shorter sales cycle due to the cost and nature of the purchase. They are searching for a one stop sale. B2C companies typically target a single decision maker or customer segment instead of multiple decision makers and influencers. As a result, the approach and internet marketing tactics mix needs to be more relevant to the consumer vs. the business buying experience.

The Holiday season gives B2C marketers plenty of reasons to improve their focus on best practices in internet marketing. Competition is tough for online buyers, so what should B2C marketers keep in mind with their Internet marketing strategy? Here are 5 essential tips for B2C marketers to get more sales online:

5 Tips For More Effective B2C Internet Marketing