B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

Gold Medal Marketing: 5 Lessons B2B Marketers Can Learn From the Winter Olympics

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Feb 9th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Cross-country skiers racing in the Winter Olympics image.

What can the inspiring athletes of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and their compelling stories teach us about crafting the very best in B2B marketing?

B2B marketers can elevate their 2022 marketing efforts by taking a close look at some of the powerful characteristics currently on display in Beijing, whether it’s the endurance of Nordic skiers, the swiftness of speed skaters, the strength of downhill skiers, the all-around fitness of hockey players, or the transformative grace of figure skaters.

Let’s strap on our B2B marketing skis, don our digital thinking caps, and glide along the pristine snow as we take in five marketing lessons from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

1 — Aerobic Marketing: Nordic Skiing Endurance

via GIPHY


Gold Medal Marketing: 5 Lessons B2B Marketers Can Learn From the Winter Olympics

Why Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Matter More than Ever for B2B Marketing

Joshua Nite
Joshua Nite on Feb 7th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Beautiful space view of the Earth with cloud formation image.

The team at TopRank Marketing asked me to write a blog post on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in B2B Marketing. 

Every introduction I wrote rang hollow. I talked about how representation matters, including a post with an adorable kid overjoyed at seeing himself onscreen in Encanto. I tried starting with a statistic about brand values. 

I tried starting with a question: What is a cis straight white guy doing writing a post about diversity, equity and inclusion?

The idea was to follow up that rhetorical question with a post that would justify its own existence.

But it turns out that question isn’t rhetorical at all: It demands an answer. And I don’t have a good one.


Why Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Matter More than Ever for B2B Marketing

B2B Marketing News: Omni-Channel B2B Sales Insight, Google & Microsoft’s Rising Ad Revenue, & Instagram’s Live-Stream Banners

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Feb 4th, 2022
Online Marketing News

2022 February 4 MarketingCharts Chart

How B2B Businesses Can Get Omnichannel Sales Right
B2B sellers now more often offer digital channels than in-person ones, and recent survey data shows that marketers also find digital channels more effective, and The Harvard Business Review recently examined the power of a more holistic and customer-centric approach to collaboration in B2B. Harvard Business Review

Google parent company Alphabet broke $200 billion in annual revenue for the first time
Google’s parent firm Alphabet topped the $200 billion revenue mark during 2021, a year-over-year rise of some 41 percent to $257 billion, with Google advertising revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 totaling over $61 billion, Alphabet recently announced. The Verge


B2B Marketing News: Omni-Channel B2B Sales Insight, Google & Microsoft’s Rising Ad Revenue, & Instagram’s Live-Stream Banners

New Google Search Updates & How B2B Marketers Can Use Them To Elevate Efforts

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Feb 2nd, 2022
B2B Marketing, SEO

Woman B2B marketers jumping image.

In 2022 Google has made changes that affect what B2B marketers are able to accomplish with its search and advertising offerings, but how can these sometimes subtle changes be utilized to elevate marketing efforts in the year ahead?

Google’s recent search updates — and its plans for the year ahead — offer B2B marketers new opportunities and challenges. Here’s a look at five changes, and how they can help improve your B2B marketing efforts in 2022.

1 — Google & The Cyclical Nature of Content Delivery Evolution

Gary Illyes, webmaster trends analyst at Google, recently joined fellow Google associates John Mueller, senior webmaster trends analyst, and Martin Splitt, Google Search Relations team developer advocate, in an episode of Google’s “Search Off the Record” podcast, and the trio took a fascinating look at several areas of interest to B2B marketers.


New Google Search Updates & How B2B Marketers Can Use Them To Elevate Efforts

B2B Marketers on the Move: 2022 Brings New Opportunities

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jan 31st, 2022
B2B Marketing

B2B Marketers on the Move

The B2B marketing landscape consists of swift changes, with growth often happening at a speedy pace that can sometimes be difficult to fully appreciate.

For over 20 years TopRank Marketing has been honored to help some of the world’s top B2B marketers and brands elevate and go beyond merely being competitive, to standing out from the crowd with a variety of creative and award-winning successes. In this spirit we regularly like to take a moment to congratulate and honor business marketers, thought leaders, industry influencers and our own team members who have recently advanced in their careers.


B2B Marketers on the Move: 2022 Brings New Opportunities

B2B Marketing News: B2B Data Acquisition Strategies, Rising Social Privacy Concerns, Meta Brings WhatsApp To Its Workplace Platform, & The Role Of Timing In B2B Marketing

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jan 28th, 2022
Online Marketing News

2022 January 28 Cyance Chart

Which Contact Data Acquisition Strategies Are Most Effective for B2B Marketers? [Survey]
79 percent of B2B marketers have said that their website registration forms are the most effective customer and prospect data-gathering tactic, followed by 54 percent who said content downloads from dedicated landing pages, and 47 percent who said in-person events, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts

B2B sellers deal with challenges of online customer experience
Half of B2B sellers see budget and supply chain improvements as the largest challenges they’re likely to face in 2022, with 47 percent noting that data management will be among their top issues during the year ahead, according to newly-reased survey data of interest to digital marketers. Digital Commerce 360


B2B Marketing News: B2B Data Acquisition Strategies, Rising Social Privacy Concerns, Meta Brings WhatsApp To Its Workplace Platform, & The Role Of Timing In B2B Marketing

In-Person, Virtual & Hybrid: How To Get The Most From B2B Marketing Events In 2022

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jan 26th, 2022
B2B Marketing, Marketing PR Conferences

B2B marketers viewing remote event video.

How can B2B marketers get the most from events in 2022, whether they’re in-person, all-virtual, or in any of several combinations of hybrid formats?

The marketing event landscape in 2022 may not be as topsy-turvy and uncertain as it was in 2021, yet there’s no shortage of questions many events are still facing. Some have chosen to hedge their bets as long as possible, waiting to see whether an in-person format will work for their audience. Others have gone all-in with one format or another, hoping that their event won’t have to make last-minute format changes as the winds of the pandemic shift.


In-Person, Virtual & Hybrid: How To Get The Most From B2B Marketing Events In 2022

Three Steps to Elevated B2B Marketing in 2022: Innovate, Collaborate, Accelerate

Lee Odden
Lee Odden on Jan 24th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Elevated B2B Marketing 2022

B2B marketers have faced unprecedented challenges over the past two years but I am one of those people that genuinely sees these times as an opportunity. Working in the marketing industry, especially at a B2B marketing agency, means being adaptable and engaged in a constant state of improvement aka ABO (always be optimizing).

Information overload, changing buyer behaviors towards digital first information experiences and the dramatic increase in content competition mean B2B marketers cannot win simply be creating more content or chasing the latest shiny object tactic.

In these times of elevated digital savviness and access to digital content consumption, creation and engagement, we are all creators. We are all influential. We are all in market to engage on topics relevant to the brands that serve us. As marketers, we are also increasingly pressed to prove our impact to the business.


Three Steps to Elevated B2B Marketing in 2022: Innovate, Collaborate, Accelerate

B2B Marketing News: More Executives Using Social, B2B Events Rebound, New Trust Barometer Data, Meta’s New Ad Policies, & Mobile Ad Spend Rises

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jan 21st, 2022
Online Marketing News

2022 January 21 Edelman Chart

B2B Pros Worry About Leads Getting To The Right Person, Study Finds
58 percent of B2B marketers have said that they are only somewhat or not confident in their organization’s process for taking inbound leads to proper sales team members — one of several statistics of interest to digital marketers contained in recently-released survey data. MediaPost

More executives are turning to social media during the pandemic. [Report]
Some 56 percent of business executives have said that they are increasing their usage of social media due to the pandemic, with 68.4 percent expressing positive reactions to colleagues or leaders sharing industry news and content on social media, according to newly-released report data. PRWeekUS


B2B Marketing News: More Executives Using Social, B2B Events Rebound, New Trust Barometer Data, Meta’s New Ad Policies, & Mobile Ad Spend Rises

B2B Marketers: It’s Time to Make Inclusive Language a Priority. Here’s How.

Nick Nelson
Nick Nelson on Jan 19th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Diverse Marketing Team Collaborating on Inclusive Language

If you’re in the business of marketing, I don’t need to tell you that words have power.

They have the power to influence. The power to endear. The power to alienate.

If you’re in the business of marketing, I don’t need to tell you how undesirable that last effect is.

It’s the risk today’s brands are running if they fail to make inclusive language a priority. The words used in content and communications speak volumes about a company’s values.

Following a few simple guiding principles can make a big difference in projecting a brand culture and community that are welcoming to all, both externally and internally.


B2B Marketers: It’s Time to Make Inclusive Language a Priority. Here’s How.

How to Elevate Your B2B Marketing Career: Advice from Execs at Top B2B Brands

Lee Odden
Lee Odden on Jan 18th, 2022
B2B Marketing

Elevate B2B Marketing Career

As the talent that drives the B2B marketing world re-evaluates the meaningfulness, purpose and balance of their work and personal life, many B2B brands are also working hard to elevate how they do business. From creating better marketing experiences for customers to improving the employee experience, connecting the work to a purpose that is about more than profits and revenue is increasingly important.

But here’s the thing, it’s always been time for B2B brands to think and act on opportunities to improve opportunities for the people that power the company from front line workers in customer call centers to engineers and analysts to senior executives. While many B2B brands understand the importance of optimizing career opportunities for greater employee retention and attraction, not all have the benefit of insight about what up and coming or successful leaders really want.


How to Elevate Your B2B Marketing Career: Advice from Execs at Top B2B Brands

What Cannes Lions’ New Creative B2B Award Categories Mean For Marketers

Lane Ellis
Lane Ellis on Jan 17th, 2022
B2B Marketing

B2B marketer holding cellphone in front of large stone lion sculpture image.

The venerable Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has been around in one form or another since the 1950s, offering brands worldwide the opportunity to showcase their top marketing work and advertising talent.

They haven’t had specific B2B marketing awards, however. Until now.

What do B2B marketers need to know about the new Creative B2B Lions, which will launch during Cannes Lions 2022 this summer?

Let’s explore what’s on tap with the launch, and what B2B marketers and other creative professionals can look forward to learning from the new B2B awards portion of this preeminent event.

Welcoming The Creative B2B Lions

Colorful diverse finger prints image.

The new Creative B2B Lions event and awards have been established in conjunction with the B2B community, most notably The B2B Institute, the industry think tank funded by LinkedIn* that researches the future of B2B marketing and decision making.


What Cannes Lions’ New Creative B2B Award Categories Mean For Marketers