B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®

B2B Marketing views, news and interviews.

Break Free B2B Marketing: Dez Blanchfield of Sociaall on Joining the Conversation

Dez Blanchfield

When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, it’s natural to wonder just what an industry influencer actually looks like?

Our third season of Break Free B2B Marketing video interviews feature conversations with top B2B influencers, looking closely at the issues that each expert is influential about in their industry.

For more than a decade our team at TopRank Marketing has fostered a strong community of leading influencers, developing close relationships with subject matter experts in many industries.

Running a successful business is the art of juggling a thousand different things in a thousand different ways. It can be challenging to know which of these things to truly focus on and which balls are okay to drop for the sake of company growth. With so many new technologies at the forefront: cloud, machine learning, IoT, big data, virtualization, cybersecurity, and dozens of others – how do you know where to focus? How do you know which business best practices are the right one for your company vs. others?


Break Free B2B Marketing: Dez Blanchfield of Sociaall on Joining the Conversation

B2B Content Marketing: 10 Tips to Level Up Your Writing Skills

Typewriter on Faded Blue Wood Background Image

What is the biggest challenge a writer faces? 

Nothing.

Well, by “nothing,” I mean a blank white screen and a blinking cursor. 

It mocks you with its unlimited potential. It fills you with fear that anything you put on that screen won’t be an improvement over its pristine emptiness.

We content marketers have to face this challenge nearly every day, and somehow find a way to write content that connects, engages, and persuades.

I’ve spent my entire adult life working in the content trenches — first as a comedy writer, and now as a content marketer. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up that can elevate your writing and make that blank screen less daunting.

10 Tips for B2B Marketers to Elevate Their Writing Skills

#1: READ


B2B Content Marketing: 10 Tips to Level Up Your Writing Skills

Break Free B2B Marketing: Tamara McCleary of Thulium on Visions of the Future and Doing No Harm

Tamara McCleary

When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, it’s natural to wonder just what an industry influencer actually looks like?

Our third season of Break Free B2B Marketing video interviews feature conversations with top B2B influencers, looking closely at the issues that each expert is influential about in their industry.

For more than a decade our team at TopRank Marketing has fostered a strong community of leading influencers, developing close relationships with subject matter experts in many industries.

Sometimes you meet a person who ticks all the boxes: they’re smart, they’re funny, they’re connected, they’re brave, and they’re an expert — in not just one thing, but many. You can learn a lot from people like this: tips, tricks, advice, best practices, and more. The one thing they can teach you about more clearly than anyone else, however, is what’s going to happen next.


Break Free B2B Marketing: Tamara McCleary of Thulium on Visions of the Future and Doing No Harm

Hophead Marketing: What B2B Marketers Can Learn From The Craft Beer Industry

Master draft brewer in brewery image.

What can the wildly successful craft beer industry teach B2B marketers?

From storytelling and keeping content fresh to making corporate campaigns delightfully crushable, there’s plenty the B2B marketing world can learn from taking a look at the craft beer industry and its emphasis on customer delight, engagement, and more.

While the pandemic has slowed the growth of the craft beer industry with the largest disruption to the industry since the days of Prohibition — leading to an 8 percent decline in sales among small and independent craft brewers — its trajectory over the past decade has been undeniably admirable.

The global health crisis has forced the craft beer industry to change, including an expansion of direct-to-consumer sales in the face of closed taprooms, yet there’s still much that B2B marketers can learn from the long-term ascendancy of the craft beer world.


Hophead Marketing: What B2B Marketers Can Learn From The Craft Beer Industry

Brave New World: The Model for B2B Marketing Success, Post-Pandemic

Business Meeting in Office with Masks Image

“The new normal.”

I believe that’s what we would call the opposite of a compelling lede. Nobody wants to hear that phrase anymore, I know it. While that may be the case, it’s an unavoidable truth that our world does, and will, look different in many ways following a globally disruptive pandemic.

Savvy business and marketing leaders are already planning proactively for what lies ahead. They’re assessing what’s changed in the past year, analyzing trends and indicators, and optimizing their strategies to thrive within an altered economic and social environment.

We’re here to help. Read on for research and recommendations that will help you equip your B2B organization for maximum success going forward.


Brave New World: The Model for B2B Marketing Success, Post-Pandemic

Always Have A Backup: Why B2B Marketers Must Be Prepared

Hard drive platter in clean room in engineer's hand image.

Are you ready for World Backup Day?

For World Backup Day we want to explore the importance of backing up not only your business’ data, but why B2B marketers should always have a backup plan B — and preferably also a plan C and D — at the ready.

“Don’t be an April Fool. Be prepared. Back up your files on March 31st,” the World Backup Day website admonishes for the annual day celebrating the importance of backups, which falls just ahead of April Fool’s Day.


Always Have A Backup: Why B2B Marketers Must Be Prepared

Creating B2B Podcasts That Rise Above The Noise

B2B Podcasts Recorder Image

It’s never impressive to hear someone say they have a podcast. Making a podcast is easy! I have one that’s nearly a decade old and 400 episodes strong. 

The hard part is getting people to listen. My personal podcast has maybe 200 monthly listeners and brings in just enough in donations to pay for our web host. And at that, we have 198 more listeners than a lot of podcasts out there. 

The barrier to entry is low… but if you’re a B2B brand looking to engage with potential buyers, you’re going to want to aim higher.

How do you make a B2B podcast that actually gets listened to? One that inspires people to subscribe and tell their friends about it? 

It’s simple:


Creating B2B Podcasts That Rise Above The Noise

How B2B Marketing Influencers Are Finding Success On New Social Channels

Woman showing phone screen image.

In the world of social media, the only constant is change. Each platform continues to update and add new features, and new channels appear on a regular basis. With this change comes opportunities for B2B marketing influencers to share their thought leadership in new ways and have their voices heard.

I tapped top B2B influencers and thought leaders to see where they are finding successes on some of the newer social channels. Come along and let’s explore the social media maze with them.

Finding Business in the Clubhouse

If you are jumping on trends, don’t miss getting an invite to the audio-only Clubhouse app. TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden noted “audio and voice will continue to be a trend for information discovery, consumption and engagement in 2021.”


How B2B Marketing Influencers Are Finding Success On New Social Channels

Break Free B2B Marketing: Nicole Brady of SAHM Reviews on the Importance of Empathy in Reaching Your Niche

Nicole Brady Image

For over a decade our team at TopRank Marketing has fostered a strong community of leading influencers, developing close relationships with subject matter experts in a wide variety of industries.

When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, it’s natural to wonder just what an industry influencer actually looks like?

In our third season of Break Free B2B Marketing video interviews, we’re continuing in-depth conversations with a selection of top B2B influencers, and taking a close look at the issues that each expert is influential about in their own industry.

Each successful B2B influencer has a rare mix of the 5 Ps — proficiency, personality, publishing, promotion, and popularity — as our CEO Lee Odden has outlined in “5 Key Traits of the Best B2B Influencers.”


Break Free B2B Marketing: Nicole Brady of SAHM Reviews on the Importance of Empathy in Reaching Your Niche

Break Free B2B Marketing: Eric Vanderburg of TCDI on The Changing Cybersecurity Landscape

Eric Vanderburg

For more than a decade our team at TopRank Marketing has fostered a potent community of leading influencers, developing close relationships with subject matter experts in a wide variety of industries.

When it comes to B2B influencer marketing, it’s only natural to wonder just what an industry influencer actually looks like?

In our third season of Break Free B2B Marketing video interviews, we’re continuing in-depth conversations with a powerful selection of top B2B influencers, and taking a close look at the issues that each expert is influential about in their industry.

Every successful B2B influencer has a rare mix of the 5 Ps — proficiency, personality, publishing, promotion, and popularity — as our CEO Lee Odden has outlined in “5 Key Traits of the Best B2B Influencers.”


Break Free B2B Marketing: Eric Vanderburg of TCDI on The Changing Cybersecurity Landscape

5 Payoffs B2B Marketers Win From Precision Pacing

Precision clockwork gears image.

How does having a proper pace make for better B2B marketing?

Is there such a thing as an ideal pace when it comes to marketing efforts, and does it matter if you’re in a sprint or an ultra-marathon?

Part of proper pacing is recognizing the length of your marketing race and maximizing your efforts to fully take advantage of each mile of the journey, whether its a short one-off campaign or a protracted always-on marathon.

Knowing and implementing steady pacing are often-overlooked elements in long-term B2B marketing success, so let’s take a look at five ways they pay off.

1 — Burning The Marketing Candle at Both Ends Will Fizzle Out

It’s unfortunately all-too-common for marketers to engage in marketing efforts at an unsustainable pace, leading to burn-out, especially during the pandemic when the boundaries between professional and home life have narrowed or disappeared entirely.


5 Payoffs B2B Marketers Win From Precision Pacing

Find, Engage and Close: Demandbase’s Jon Miller on Recasting the B2B Marketing Automation Journey #B2BMX

Smiling bearded businessman holding production slate image.

How can B2B marketers recast the marketing automation journey to meet today’s challenges and be ready for those to come?

Jon Miller, chief marketing officer at Demandbase, recently presented a session at the 2021 B2B Marketing Exchange Experience virtual conference, and explored new account-based marketing best practices.

Although this pandemic year at #B2BMX won’t see B2B marketers gathered in the event’s usual sunny Scottsdale, Arizona location, many new attendee opportunities were on tap virtually.

Refresh, renew, remix has been the conference’s theme this year, and to help ease the lack of physical networking, #B2BMX included a Spotify music playlist, live music performances, and even various charitable elements.


Find, Engage and Close: Demandbase’s Jon Miller on Recasting the B2B Marketing Automation Journey #B2BMX

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