B2B Marketing Blog

12 B2B Marketing Sessions You Can’t Miss at Content Marketing World 2022

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.

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

Lee Odden on Sep 9th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences, Video

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

B2B Marketing News: B2B Content Amplification, Brand Perception & Trust Study, B2B Metaverse Use Cases, & Instagram’s New Reels Topics

Lane Ellis on Sep 9th, 2022
Online Marketing News

The Biggest Milestones in B2B Social Media History [Infographic]
From LinkedIn’s launch in 2003 and the eventual entrance of Facebook and Twitter on the scene in subsequent years to TikTok and others, a newly-released infographic takes a brief look at the history and milestones of B2B social media. MarketingProfs

This is the B2B century, and marketers will be the ones to lead it
With some 72 percent of U.S. businesses now primarily B2B, and B2B sales topping $9 trillion annually, The B2B Institute — LinkedIn’s think tank — takes a look at the next 100 years of marketing and how B2B looks to have an increasingly bright future. Marketing Week

B2B Marketing News: B2B Content Amplification, Brand Perception & Trust Study, B2B Metaverse Use Cases, & Instagram’s New Reels Topics

LinkedIn’s Allyson Hugley on What’s Next: Connecting with Future Buyers

Lee Odden on Sep 8th, 2022
B2B Marketing

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

Lee Odden on Sep 7th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences

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

Evolving Agency Roles: Why Outside Help Is More Important Than Ever For B2B Brands

Nick Nelson on Sep 5th, 2022
B2B Marketing

I know: it probably sounds self-serving for a guy who works at a marketing agency to talk about how agency partners are becoming more indispensable than ever for B2B brands.

But it’s simply the truth, and the numbers bear it out.

According to CMI’s latest B2B Content Marketing Benchmarking report, around half of all respondents report outsourcing content marketing activities. Of note: 57% of the companies categorized as “most successful” use outsourcing, compared to 36% of the “least successful.”

(Source)

“Regarding large companies,” CMI wrote in the report, “61% indicated last year that they outsourced. This year, the figure was up to 75%. This suggests that in the early phase of the pandemic large companies pulled the reins back on outsourcing but are now back to the practice. In fact, more large companies are outsourcing now than in 2019 (75% vs. 71%).”

Evolving Agency Roles: Why Outside Help Is More Important Than Ever For B2B Brands

B2B Marketing News: B2B Marketers’ Most Trusted Brands, Amazon’s B2B Push, LinkedIn’s New Pinned Comments, & Google’s Quick-Read Labels

Lane Ellis on Sep 2nd, 2022
B2B Marketing, Online Marketing News

The 30 Brands B2B Professionals Trust Most
Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, Amazon, and LinkedIn hold the top-five most-trusted brand spots among B2B professionals, with technology firms Google, Zoom, HubSpot, Samsung, YouTube, and Dell amoong the brands with exceptional or excellent trust factors, according to newly-released B2B survey data. MarketingProfs

“Upholding honesty within your brand allows for your audience to trust you, even in difficult times. Remain authentic and say exactly what you mean, so that you can retain long-term customers and clients.” — Goldie Chan @GoldieChan Click To Tweet

B2B Going Green
B2B firms Cisco and BMO were among the winners at the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) B2 Awards that have prominently featured their sustainability efforts, and the ANA has shared summary case studies on these and other B2B firms, the organization recently announced. ANA

B2B Marketing News: B2B Marketers’ Most Trusted Brands, Amazon’s B2B Push, LinkedIn’s New Pinned Comments, & Google’s Quick-Read Labels

Life Lessons: What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Marathon Running

Lane Ellis on Aug 31st, 2022
B2B Marketing

What can B2B marketers learn from marathon running?

Even if you’ve never run a step and have no plans to, there are powerful lessons we can all learn from marathon running that significantly align with successful B2B marketing.

I’ve been running marathons since 1998 and working in online communications and marketing since 1984 — two pursuits that may initially seem quite dissimilar, but which have much in common when you get down to it.

The eleven marathons and ultra-marathons I’ve run — and the training to prepare for them — have taught me life lessons that have continued on long after any particular race has finished. Let’s take a look at a handful of the many take-aways that B2B marketers can learn from marathon running.

Life Lessons: What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Marathon Running

Mental Health in Marketing: 4 Communication Tips for Neurodivergent Marketers

Sam Kirchoff on Aug 29th, 2022
B2B Marketing

The world isn’t a one-size-fits-all place.

Embracing diversity of experience, thought, and perspective is a practice we’re seeing grow throughout our industry and those adjacent to it. There’s no longer just one image of what a “professional” looks – or acts – like… there are many.

Elevating those that don’t fit the traditional professional mold is something we believe should be a priority for all businesses, including our own. One area we’ve noticed a need for additional support is mental health in the workplace that goes beyond basic tips for stress relief.

Did you know that somewhere between 15 and 20% of the population is estimated to be neurodivergent? Neurodivergent, in this case, being a word that encompasses conditions that lead to alternative interpretations of the surrounding world, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.

Mental Health in Marketing: 4 Communication Tips for Neurodivergent Marketers

B2B Marketing News: Thought Leadership Connections, Google’s People-First Search Update, Digital Ad Revenue Climbs, & YouTube’s New Podcast Site

Lane Ellis on Aug 26th, 2022
Online Marketing News

Digital Advertising Hits $189 Billion In 2021, Global Forecasts Predict 5% Yearly Growth Through 2027
U.S. digital advertising revenue of $189 billion in 2021 was the biggest increase since 2006, including audio advertising with a leading 57.9 percent growth rate, and newly-released report data predicts that the audio ad market will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.07 percent that will continue on through 2027. MediaPost

Google Helpful Content Update Is Now Rolling Out
The latest updates to Google’s always-in-motion search engine algorithm look to emphasize content written more for people and less for SEO, as the search giant began rolling out its “helpful content update” as part of efforts to surface more high-quality original content, Google recently announced. Search Engine Roundtable

B2B Marketing News: Thought Leadership Connections, Google’s People-First Search Update, Digital Ad Revenue Climbs, & YouTube’s New Podcast Site

Digital-First: Why B2B Marketers Need Digital Asset Management (DAM) More Than Ever

Lane Ellis on Aug 24th, 2022
B2B Marketing

The pandemic has ushered in a new digital-first era for B2B brands, complete with an ever-deeper and more complex ocean of digital assets — but how can today’s organizations and marketing teams keep track of this influx of online content?

Before the pandemic, digital asset management systems — DAM for short — were mostly seen as either a luxury that could be afforded only by large global corporations or as an über-nerdy technology used by musty librarians or professional photographers and videographers.

Earlier this year however, Adobe’s Digital Trends Report revealed that nine out of ten business leaders said customers are now digital first, with 54 percent planning to spend more on customer data technology and 52 percent expecting to increase spending on customer experience management systems.

Digital-First: Why B2B Marketers Need Digital Asset Management (DAM) More Than Ever