Why Content Marketing Is Important for B2B Brands

For B2B brands, having a content marketing program tends to be a given. But one of the challenges of having a baseline assumption is that it can be easy to lose sight of why content marketing became such a cornerstone of B2B marketing in the first place.

Let’s take a detailed look at why content marketing is important for B2B brands and how you can get the most from your content strategy.

1 — Content draws people organically to your brand

Consistent content creation supports your broader search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, making your brand more discoverable and authoritative in organic search results.

The more high-quality content you have, the better your website will perform overall. This is especially true after Google’s helpful content update that rolled out in summer 2022.

This update from Google is incredibly good news for B2B brands, because helpful B2B content is also intent-qualified content. In other words, if you’re writing what B2B buyers in your industry are genuinely looking for, and providing legitimately useful information, you’ll eventually start showing up higher in search results.

So, instead of cramming your blog post full of keywords, write something that is actually useful to your customers and you will be rewarded with additional organic traffic.

Research has shown that organic search accounts for more than half of all website traffic.

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“Instead of cramming your blog post full of keywords, write something that is actually useful to your customers and you will be rewarded with additional organic traffic.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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2 — Content reinforces your credibility

Ranking well in search results is a good first step toward establishing your content’s credibility. But that initial goodwill only goes so far. To reinforce your brand as an authoritative voice in your field, you need to send signals to your readers that you are a credible source of information.

The baseline signal of credibility is being brand-agnostic and user-focused. If your content comes across as salesy and pushy, readers will move on quickly.

On the other hand, if your content prioritizes answering reader questions, includes relevant statistics, cites third-party sources, and links to other relevant content on your own website, you are much more likely to be seen as a credible resource.

If that’s not enough, you can supercharge your brand’s credibility by including influencers in your content marketing. Relevant quotes from industry experts are a potent signal to readers that you are interested in providing a holistic take on the topic at hand, and that your brand is in alignment with respected voices in your niche.

3 — Content helps you build relationships and loyalty

Performing well in search gets readers in the door, and reinforcing your credibility keeps them reading. If you keep doing this by consistently publishing relevant and valuable content, you can foster strong, long-lasting connections with your target audience.

But you can’t just address final decision makers or subject matter experts. You’ll want to have content that covers every stage of the marketing funnel and customer journey: everything from defining basic industry terms to deep dives on specialized, technical topics.

Why put all that effort into your content strategy? Because when you develop a trusting relationship with a customer, they’ll come back to you, again and again. Demonstrating your expertise via content marketing is one of the most effective ways to show your brand walks the walks, and can solve problems for your customers.

Content Marketing Institute has found that 78% of top-performing content marketers use content to build loyalty among existing customers.

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“Demonstrating your expertise via content marketing is one of the most effective ways to show your brand walks the walks, and can solve problems for your customers.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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4 — Content helps you generate leads

You can leverage your brand’s credibility to capture contact information from a self-selected group of potential customers. Putting a piece of premium content, such as eBooks, whitepapers, and webinars, behind a lead gen form can be an effective way to entice readers to share their details with you.

The age-old technique of using gated content to generate leads only underscores the importance of the previous benefits we’ve covered: building trust and credibility around your brand will make prospects feel more comfortable sharing their information, more confident that the gated content will be worth their time, and ultimately more receptive to sales outreach.

Don’t overlook the value of ungated, upper-funnel content for your B2B lead generation strategy. It can play a critical role!

5 — Content is an investment in your brand’s future

Content designed to perform in search, especially evergreen content, can continue to drive traffic, engagement, and conversions over months — and years.

Unlike a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign that stops performing the moment the campaign is over, content marketing is always-on. When you continue to add content to your website, that investment compounds, especially when you are building topical authority by diving deep on key subjects.

Publishing pieces that address perennial topics or frequently asked questions in your industry ensures that your content will remain valuable and draw in new readers long after its initial publication.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that even the most evergreen of content does not always stay fresh and relevant year after year. To capitalize on built-up equity your post on a specific topic or keyword might have, we recommend going back and refreshing your content for accuracy, relevance, and optimization. Keeping older content up to date will further reinforce your credibility and bolster brand trust, while also helping it maintain strong traction in search.

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“Unlike a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign that stops performing the moment the campaign is over, content marketing is always-on.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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6 — Content delivers measurable results

Before launching a content marketing campaign, you have to define clear objectives. These objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

To measure these key performance indicators (KPIs), you’ll need to implement analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics, or marketing automation platforms like HubSpot or Marketo. These tools provide detailed insights into where website visitors are coming from, what they’re reading, and whether or not they’re converting.

As your content marketing efforts progress, you should regularly collect data and analyze it against your defined objectives and KPIs. This includes tracking the performance of each piece of content, understanding user journeys, and identifying patterns and trends. With the insights from your analysis in hand, you’ll be able to optimize your current and future content strategies.

B2B marketing is built on content

As a B2B brand, your long term success relies heavily on a well crafted content marketing strategy. To make the most of your content, learn more about what goes into a high-performing content strategy with our forthcoming in-depth guide to B2B content marketing, and find out how we can help with your content marketing efforts.

The post Why Content Marketing Is Important for B2B Brands appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: AI Changing B2B Search, LinkedIn Benchmark Report, & Google’s New Ads Editor

B2B Tech Decision-Makers Look for Content to Inform Them of Industry Trends
67 percent of B2B technology buying decision-makers have said that finding trend data was the top reason they engaged with content, with 39 percent having done so to compare product solutions, and 33 percent to find new business strategies — three of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingCharts

How the Responsibilities of B2B Marketing Teams Are Changing [Report]
57 percent of B2B marketing leaders have indicated that business results including sales, revenue, margin, market share, and return on investment (ROI) represented the core responsibility that has increased in importance the most over the past several years, with 51 percent pointing to customer acquisition and 43 percent noting the push to prove effectiveness, according to recently-released report data. MarketingProfs

LinkedIn Launches New Ad Campaign Which Highlights the Confusion Around B2B Buzzwords
From cloud sales to CPGs, LinkedIn’s newly-launched “No One Knows What You Do” ad initiative has sought to take a lighthearted riff on explaining the many B2B buzzwords used by the Microsoft-owned platform’s 100 million users, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today

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“Not everyone gets it – not our parents or friends or loved ones. But even if they don't understand, LinkedIn has the people who do. With over 70 million decision-makers, LinkedIn is the place to B2B.” — Keith Browning @TweetOfKeith
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What Are B2B Content Marketers’ Biggest Challenges? [Survey]
57 percent of B2B content marketers have said that when it comes to their largest obstacles, crafting the right content for a particular audience topped the list, with 54 percent pointing to consistent content creation, the same percentage noting the challenge of differentiating content, and 45 percent who said overcoming SEO challenges — some of the findings in newly-published B2B content marketing report data. MarketingCharts

Meta Adds New Tools for Reels Creators, Including A/B Testing, Reach-Based Incentives and More
Meta-owned Instagram has begun rolling out a slew of new Instagram Reels metrics, along with a new Professional Dashboard content management system, offering B2B marketers more content performance data on the platform, Meta recently announced. Social Media Today

2023 LinkedIn Benchmark Report [Rival IQ]
Brands have been twice as active on Microsoft’s LinkedIn professional social network than on TikTok, while video and photo content has been the most successful for brands on LinkedIn — two of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published Rival IQ report findings. Rival IQ

Google Ads Editor version 2.5 rolls out with 16 new features
Search giant Google has released an array of new changes and features to its popular Google Ads Editor product, including new ad strength and deep linking updates, as the firm seeks to streamline the tool, Google recently announced. Search Engine Land

LinkedIn on the overlooked 5th ‘P’ of marketing: customer promise
In addition to the traditional promotion, price, place, and product of B2B marketing, LinkedIn and its B2B Institute think-tank have sought to add promise to the customer as a new fifth “P” element, and The Drum recently explored LinkedIn’s collaboration with organizations including Cannes Lions to place greater focus on the customer promise. The Drum

Ad, PR Jobs Increased 2.3% In October
When it comes to marketing job growth, jobs in the advertising and public relations sectors grew by some 2.3 percent during October, according to newly-published U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics data of interest to B2B marketers. MediaPost

Is AI in Search Changing B2B Content Strategies? [Report]
31 percent of B2B content marketers have said that they have placed greater strategic focus on user intent data due to the influx of AI technology among search engine firms, with 27 percent creating more thought-leadership content, and 22 percent crafting more conversational content, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:

A lighthearted look at “The AI Pivot” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist

Researchers Uncover the Fastest Semiconductor Yet — IEEE Spectrum

TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• TopRank Marketing — B2B Galvanizers: Influencer Marketing Takes Hold In Business-to-Business — MediaPost
• TopRank Marketing — B2B influencer marketing drives revenue — Financial Promoter
• Lee Odden / TopRank Marketing — October 30, 2023 Content Chat Recap: How Influence Elevates Your B2B Marketing — Erika Heald
• Lane R. Ellis — Gliding Beyond Limits — The World’s Longest Cross-Country Ski Streak — Minnesota Trails

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW:

Brian Piper @brianwpiper
Carmen Collins @CShirkeyCollins
Cassie Kozyrkov @quaesita
Matthew Jaffe @matthewbjaffe
Amber Naslund @AmberCadabra

Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry.

Have you found a top B2B marketing news item that we haven’t yet covered? If so, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below.

Thank you for taking the time to join us for this week’s Elevate B2B Marketing News, and please return again next Friday for another array of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @TopRank on Twitter/X for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: AI Changing B2B Search, LinkedIn Benchmark Report, & Google’s New Ads Editor appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How to Measure the Value of SEO

If you can’t measure it, you can’t make sense of it. This points to one of the biggest barriers facing business leaders when it comes to search engine optimization.

There’s no question that SEO delivers a return on investment. That’s been proven over and over again. But the math is not as simple as, say, pay-per-click advertising with its straightforward transactional nature.

Marketing leaders across industries are wondering: How much of my marketing budget should be allocated to SEO, and what can we expect to get out of it?

SEO is a long-term play, no doubt. But don’t mistake that to mean it doesn’t make a real, concrete, and measurable revenue impact. Taking steps to track and grow the value of your SEO efforts is not easy, but it is very much worthwhile.

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“Taking steps to track and grow the value of your SEO efforts is not easy, but it is very much worthwhile.” — @NickNelsonMN
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Measuring SEO value: 6 key metrics and focuses

There’s a difference between metrics and techniques used to measure the performance of your SEO versus the value of your SEO. You’ll find an assortment of performance and optimization metrics listed in our forthcoming comprehensive guide to B2B search engine optimization.

Here, we’ll shine a spotlight on value-based measurement methods that can help demonstrate the bottom-line impact of a high-performing SEO strategy.

1. Organic traffic (and attributed leads)

The guiding key performance indicator (KPI) for virtually any SEO program is organic traffic, which refers to visitors who arrive at your website from unpaid search. When you’re driving organic traffic around terms that matter to your business, that means you are putting your brand in front of relevant and interested people.

Search engines are evolving around search intent. Understanding your buyer’s journey and delivering helpful content to support it helps you win rankings and attract qualified website visitors. Unsurprisingly, this type of traffic tends to convert at a higher rate than most other sources.

Measuring the leads and opportunities your company is sourcing to organic search and then comparing the quality or conversion rate of those leads to other sources can be a good window into the essential role SEO plays.

Of course, tracing an eventual customer back to organic search is not always (or often) an A-to-B equation. Marketers use different techniques, including multi-touch attribution, to gain this insight.

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“Measuring the leads and opportunities your company is sourcing to organic search and then comparing the quality or conversion rate of those leads to other sources can be a good window into the essential role SEO plays.” — @NickNelsonMN
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2. Keyword rankings

Ranking at the top of a search engine results page (SERP) for a keyword or query of great importance to your business is more than a point of pride. It can lead to substantial revenue impact!

The reality of online search is that top-ranking results in a SERP get a vast majority of the clicks from users. According to Ahrefs, 75% of all clicks go to the top three organic results and 32% of clicks go to the top-ranking page.

As we just discussed, organic traffic is money. Although, how much money it is depends on how well your strategy capitalizes on this traffic. High-quality content that keeps users on the page, demonstrates thought leadership, and compels next steps will help turn those clicks into commercially valuable outcomes.

3. Click-throughs to high-value pages and assets

Many marketing teams have high-scale initiatives and investments they are pursuing in the name of pushing robust growth. These campaigns might include events, assets, sponsorships, influencer programs, and more.

Use your high-performing SEO pages as conduits to this content, funneling qualified traffic to the premium work in a context that makes sense based on the original search intent. You can also use relevant SEO content to direct traffic to social media campaigns, which are often difficult to discover organically outside their platforms.

When you ultimately measure and evaluate the success of those investments, be sure the contribution from SEO gets its due.

4. Savings on paid search campaigns

Paid search is an important ingredient in a digital marketing strategy. But when companies become overly dependent on this tactic, it ceases to be cost-effective, and can also prove limiting for the brand’s reach.

When your organic search strategy is bringing in clicks for intent-driven terms, there is less need to pay for those clicks, and thus marketers can scale back their advertising spend while still creating pipeline impact.

Yes: creating effective SEO content does require an up-front investment and strategic groundwork. But the free clicks and engagement your SEO content drives over time will lead to sustained, snowballing value.

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“When your organic search strategy is bringing in clicks for intent-driven terms, there is less need to pay for those clicks, and thus marketers can scale back their advertising spend while still creating pipeline impact.” — @NickNelsonMN
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5. First-party data

Access to quality, reliable data is a major challenge for marketers looking forward. Many third-party data sources that were traditional staples will no longer be available or will be less trustworthy. This is increasing the collective emphasis on first-party data.

First-party data, in short, is data that you own. It can be collected from your company’s app or through your product, but the most common source for first-party data is your website.

When your SEO strategy is driving qualified organic traffic to your website, that means you’re acquiring relevant and engaged users. They are often more inclined to interact with the content, subscribe to newsletters, fill out contact forms, create accounts, and engage in surveys or feedback requests, all of which involve the collection of first-party data.

Additionally — and crucially — keyword research insights gained from organic search inform content creation and personalization, which can shape your broader marketing strategy in profound ways.

6. Return on investment

Of course, this is the big metric that everyone cares about, and rightfully so. Any company investing in a marketing strategy should expect to see a greater return than they put in. Calculating the ROI of SEO is absolutely possible, but you won’t get an accurate view unless you think about the return holistically.

Several different calculations exist to measure the ROI of SEO. Ahrefs shares this example:

SEO ROI = (value of organic conversions – cost of SEO investments)/cost of SEO investments

The beauty of this formula is that it’s practical and uncomplicated. You could set up goal tracking in Google Analytics to define and measure “organic conversions,” and then compare the quantified value of those conversions against the overall cost of your SEO program.

The problem, as readily noted by Michal Pecánek in the piece, is that there are major challenges and limitations involved with measuring SEO ROI through such a basic lens.

Not only do marketing attribution flaws make it difficult to confidently categorize all organic-sourced conversions, but, as we’ve explored, those conversions themselves hardly account for the totality of SEO’s value to the business. We haven’t even touched on the crucial relationship between SEO and brand building, which itself is instrumental to growing market share.

Bring out the value of your SEO strategy

Measuring the business value of SEO is not easy, but no marketer should let that stop them from focusing on it. When businesses possess an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of their search strategy’s impact and role in revenue growth, it can lead to very costly decisions (or indecision).

At TopRank Marketing, we know how to show and grow the value of SEO. Learn about our services and how we can help you find answers with your search strategy.

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B2B Marketers on the Move: Spotlighting Autumn B2B Industry Leadership Talent

As November marches ahead towards 2024, so to do exciting new opportunities, and as B2B marketers adjust to the changes this year has already brought — from the rise of AI tools to the increasing power of personalization, the industry continues to offer growth opportunities as well as unexpected shifts that often seem to happen so quickly they can be difficult to fully appreciate.

For over 22 years, TopRank Marketing has had the honor of helping a diverse selection of the world’s top B2B marketers and major global brands elevate beyond merely being competitive, to truly standing out from the crowd with creative and award-winning successes such as our recently-launched 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.

Throughout 2023 we’ve focused on elevating through intelligence, relevance, and the kinds of human touches that set brand messaging apart from the increasing reach of those touched solely by AI. In this spirit, over the past several years now we have regularly taken the time to honor and congratulate B2B marketing leaders who have recently seen career advancement.

B2B marketers taking on new leadership roles naturally seek out trusted resources that help professionals in new positions hit the ground running, and TopRank Marketing is honored to be a go-to B2B content and influencer marketing agency for so many top marketers in new leadership roles. As we push towards 2024, we continue to seek out B2B technology industry influencers advancing in their careers to partner with on compelling and unique content collaborations.

We extend our heartfelt soon-to-be winter congratulations to each of the B2B marketing leaders featured in this twelfth edition of B2B Marketers on the Move, and extend our thanks for those who have shared insightful B2B marketing career advice.

B2B Marketers on the Move: Celebrating B2B Industry Rising Leadership

Lauren McCadney has taken a new position as Vice President, Performance Marketing, at CDW.

Do not aspire to be someone else. Define success for yourself. Then be brave and pursue it with reckless abandon.

Lauren McCadney

Carolyn Shelby has taken a new position as Principal SEO at Yoast.

Stay on top of the latest technologies and changes in the industry (obviously), but also make a concerted effort to *show up* and network at industry conferences (speak if possible!) even if you think you don’t have anything new or earth shattering to contribute. Try to write for industry publications. What is old news to you might be earth shattering to someone else, so share your knowledge. Being visible and available is important, and writing establishes your credibility and expertise.

Carolyn Shelby

Ryan Gervais has taken a new position as Senior Manager, Demand Generation Strategist, at Deloitte.

In a world where business challenges seem to be increasingly complex, logic alone may not be enough. Leaders can drive growth and adapt with resilience by harnessing the power of human creativity.

Ryan Gervais

Kristine Naltchadjian has taken a new position as Regional Director Southern Europe, at Coursera.

The road to success is long, sometimes perilous, but above all different for everyone. The trick is to believe in it. To have this deep will, this great conviction, that we can do it.

Kristine Naltchadjian

Susan Wenograd has taken a new position as Fractional CMO at Three Ventures Technology, Inc.

What do you have no control over that gets in the way of doing your job better?’ This is something almost no company asks a marketer, but it would be such a productive conversation.

Susan Wenograd

Michaela Balderston has taken a new position as Head of Marketing & Communications at Lead Edge Capital.

I’ve always loved working closely with CEOs as they scale their businesses and it’s never been more clear that to succeed in today’s environment, adding value is not just a nice to have, it’s a need to have.

Michaela Balderston

W. Morgan Lippitt has been promoted to Head of Global Product GTM, LinkedIn Ads, at LinkedIn*.

What makes a great brand and who are the leaders in brand building? The answers to these questions are what every marketer (including me) spends their career constantly exploring, challenging, and innovating against all in service of evolving the art and science of our craft.

W. Morgan Lippitt

Shelly Fagin has taken a new position as Director of SEO at DigitalOcean.

Building a strong industry network is key when you looking to make position moves. Attending conferences and the social events surrounding them is how you build the relationships that will give you the connections to get your foot in the door at your dream company. When you get there, know you deserve to be there and let your instincts lead you.

Shelly Fagin

Martin Hanna has taken a new position as Vice President of Communications at Vontier.

Never forget we’re a support function and we exist only if we add value. You need to understand the business and talk in the language of your leaders and customers to be in the best position to add significant value and be a successful business partner or trusted advisor.

Martin Hanna

Carola de Jong has taken a new position as Strategic Field Marketing Lead, BNE, at Miro.

Lucy Zarlengo has taken a new position as Chief Marketing Officer at Employ.

Don’t be afraid to recognize and embrace your greatness and what makes you unique as a marketer and as a leader, even if it might seem out of place in the environment you work it. Some of the best career opportunities you likely will have will come from others who see and appreciate this greatness.

Lucy Zarlengo

Nick Heim has taken a new position as Director of Growth at BioRender.

Carol-Lyn Jardine has taken a new position as Vice President of Growth Marketing at DHI Group, Inc.

Whether you’re all in on a remote-first workforce, starting to transition back to the office, or leveraging the best of both worlds with a hybrid approach, it’s critical to make sure you’re sourcing talent with motivations that are aligned to both the role and your company culture.

Carol-Lyn Jardine

Jose Miguel Amenabar has taken a new position as Consumer Brand Manager – Dell Outlet, at Dell Technologies.

Alyssa Clementi has taken a new position as Director of Communications and Community Engagement at HCA Healthcare.

Emotional Intelligence is a key indicator of future job performance and leadership potential.

Alyssa Clementi

Caitlin Doyle has taken a new position as Social Media Manager at MRP.

Posting on LinkedIn should be a balance between helpful content for those in your industry, and personal posts that show you are. This goes for personal profiles and brands! People want to connect with brands and individuals they can see and relate to.

Caitlin Doyle

Jessica Martin has taken a new position as Head of Marketing at Metaphor Data.

Kaylee Hultgren has been promoted to Content Director at Access Intelligence.

Donna Robinson has taken a new position as President & CEO at TopRank Marketing.

The transition of leadership is as much an evolution as it is a revolution. As I step into this new role at TopRank Marketing, my philosophy for 2024 and beyond is clear: leaders in the B2B space must embrace adaptability and foresight. The market is too dynamic for us to stay stagnant.

Donna Robinson

Thanks To Each of These Rising Leaders For Helping Elevate B2B Marketing

We offer our thanks to each of the talented B2B marketing professionals we’ve featured here, who have all recently been promoted or taken on new industry positions. We’re certain that each of you will elevate with intelligence, relevance and a human touch, and reach new heights as we push ahead towards 2024.

You can find our previous edition of B2B Marketers on the Move here, and if you want to talk about how to make your own content spring to life this year, we’re ready to help.

*LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

Download The 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report

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The 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: Key Insights & Takeaways

When Lee Odden asked me to lead the team at TopRank Marketing, I barely hesitated. It’s an exciting time to be a B2B marketer. I can’t wait to lead our team to new heights.

What makes B2B marketing special right now is we’re finally — finally — leaning into creativity and human emotion. The most successful B2B campaigns connect with people on a human level. They inform, inspire, and even entertain. Imagine that! People like being entertained.

Influencer marketing is one key way to deliver exceptionally valuable, trustworthy and fascinating content. B2B influencers are experts in their subject, with practical experience to back up the stories they tell. And influencer marketing is a specialty at TopRank. I wouldn’t say we invented it… but we did help shape it into the strategic, results-getting powerhouse that it can be.

Today, TopRank Marketing is launching our third B2B Influencer Marketing Report. This time around, we’re featuring insights from over 400 respondents, along with best practices and analysis from some of the brightest marketers around.

The report is good news for B2B marketers. In 2020, only 34% of respondents said they used influencer marketing as part of their overall strategy. This year, 85% reported they had a program.

We also found that those who use influencer marketing to any extent were more likely to report more brand awareness and enhanced credibility, compared to rivals who don’t use influencer content.

Click the image below to get the full report, and read on for highlights from the third edition of the B2B Influencer Marketing Report from TopRank Marketing.

What makes an effective B2B influencer marketing program?

To kick off our research, we asked respondents to rate their level of effectiveness in influencer marketing. Then we were able to see what the most effective programs were doing that the moderately successful weren’t.

The answers were eye-opening. We found nine ways in which the most effective programs differentiate themselves. Among other best practices, these high performers are more likely to:

• Use professional influencers
• Use industry and niche experts
• Use technology, including AI
• Measure and track performance
• And many more (get the full report for the rest)

These habits of highly successful programs lead to impressive results. Our respondents with extensive programs were more likely to report:

• Increased sales revenue (61%)
• Improved brand reputation (58%)
• Improved brand advocacy (47%)
• Improved customers satisfaction and retention (47%)

Follower count isn’t everything

When we asked what traits are most valuable in a B2B influencer, the response was unexpected. Follower count/size of audience took fourth place, beneath:

• Audience sees them as trustworthy
• Relevance of audience and network
• Professional credentials

It’s clear that B2B influence isn’t a popularity contest. If you had to choose between a highly relevant and credible influencer with a smallish audience, or a celebrity with no relevance in your industry but a massive audience, it makes sense to choose the former.

A mix of professional influencers, niche experts, internal influencers and trusted practitioners (like your customers) can be most effective.

Measurement is essential

In our research, 93% of respondents said the pressure to prove marketing ROI has increased in the past year. Nearly a quarter said they saw a significant increase. Measurement is a critical component of a successful program — both for optimizing your current program to continually improve, and for justifying your investment to the executive suite.

Yet despite this increasing pressure, only half of marketers are measuring the impact of their influencer marketing programs. The good news: That 50% were more likely to report their program as extremely successful in raising awareness and credibility.

A robust measurement strategy can include tracking engagement on social media, share of voice, and even tracking conversions and leads generated.

Use of emerging technology contributes to success

Generative AI is one of the few technological advancements where the application lives up to the hype. Marketers are finding AI useful across their entire influencer marketing program, from choosing influencers to measurement and optimization.

As the criteria for evaluating influencers becomes more complex, AI is an essential tool for finding the right people to work with. As data science and AI expert Christopher S. Penn puts it:

The future of influencer marketing hinges on harnessing AI’s unmatched data analysis potential.

Christopher S. Penn

Outsourcing can help overcome challenges

When you make influencer marketing a strategic, ongoing program, it takes knowhow and experience to get the best results.

Our respondents said they face significant challenges in their programs.

• Identifying, qualifying and engaging with ideal influencers (53%)
• Measuring and reporting results (46%)
• Collaborating with influencers and creating content (40%)
• Creating and documenting an integrated strategy (38%)

All of these challenges can be mitigated with the right partners on board. An agency that specializes in influencer marketing can help find and build relationships with the right influencers, create a strategy and content, and even help with measurement.

Help from a skilled and knowledgeable agency can be a deciding factor for the success of your program. In our research, 70% of the most effective respondents said their program is entirely outsourced.

An overwhelming 91% of B2B marketing professionals have resoundingly affirmed that influencer marketing is a potent catalyst for realizing their marketing objectives. This resounding consensus underscores the necessity of influencer marketing in the modern B2B marketing playbook.

Todd W. Lebo

It’s time to elevate B2B influencer marketing

I’m excited to join TopRank Marketing right as influencer marketing is truly changing the B2B landscape. We’ve seen a surge in adoption over the past year, but challenges remain. For most marketers, it’s less about how to get a program up and running, and more about applying strategic best practices to get better results.

Thankfully, that’s what this remarkable team — my team, now! — is good at.

Download the full 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report for benchmarks, best practices, and advice from marketers working for brands like Dell, SAP, Adobe, IBM and more.

Ready to get started? Contact our influencer marketing team now.

Download the 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report

Looking to create or co-create content for your own publications featuring the 2023 B2B Influencer Marketing Report? Check out today’s press release and contact our team!

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Overcoming Segmentation Challenges in B2B Marketing

Every marketing strategy should include determining the best way to narrow down the total addressable market (TAM) for that particular campaign. Audience segmentation is critical for using your marketing resources effectively. It’s how you make sure your message is shown to the right people — and only the right people.

Let’s explore what B2B audience segmentation is, some common challenges marketers face when segmenting, and how to overcome those challenges.

What is segmentation?

In B2B marketing, market segmentation is the process of separating your target audience into groups with common characteristics. Typical segmentation categories for B2B marketers include:

• Industry
• Company size
• Company revenue
• Company structure
• Industry pain points
• Functional pain points

While these categories are often used to segment B2B audiences, they are far from the only segments.

Challenges in B2B audience segmentation

Segmentation is not always as easy as it should be. Here are six common challenges in B2B audience segmentation and how to overcome them:

1. Availability and reliability of marketing data

Effective segmentation hinges on data, and the first challenge to create effective market segments often revolves around simply trusting your data. That’s why it’s crucial to gather comprehensive and accurate information about your target audience. Still, no matter how much customer data you’ve collected, there’s always the chance that it has become out of date or was simply entered incorrectly.

How to overcome this challenge: The best way to help ensure robust and accurate data is to rely on multiple sources for collecting data, including customer surveys, CRM systems, third-party data providers, and social media insights. A diverse range of sources can help you gather more data and cross-verify the data you already have.

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“The best way to help ensure robust and accurate data is to rely on multiple sources for collecting data, including customer surveys, CRM systems, third-party data providers, and social media insights.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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2. Lack of data expertise

Handling and interpreting large-scale data can be complex. Even with access to ample data, not all marketing teams have the technical knowhow to manipulate and interpret the customer data they have collected. This lack of expertise can result in poor market segmentation, leading to wasted valuable resources when your campaigns target less than ideal markets.

How to overcome this challenge: Data expertise can’t be faked, so the key to addressing this challenge is to invest in training programs focused on data analytics and interpretation. This should be done for anyone involved in working with market segmentation data. With these additional skills, segmentation efforts will be more precise and therefore more effective.

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“Data expertise can’t be faked, so the key to addressing this challenge is to invest in training programs focused on data analytics and interpretation.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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3. Complex buying cycles and decision-making structures

B2B buying cycles are uniquely intricate, and decision-making structures involve multiple stakeholders across functional teams. Navigating this complexity can be daunting when crafting segmented marketing campaigns. Presenting the same marketing message to each stakeholder — from individual contributor to C-suite executive — is a recipe for missed opportunities.

How to overcome this challenge: Perhaps the most powerful thing market segmentation enables is personalization of marketing messages. So instead of segmenting your target customers by industry, company size, or any other high level factor, segment them by role. This will help you speak directly to and build relationships with individual stakeholders regardless of where the overall organization is in their specific buying cycle.

4. Fluid market conditions

B2B markets are always moving — growing, stagnating, shrinking — and never in predictable ways. This fluidity can pose a challenge to segmentation efforts. Customer preferences, needs, and pain points may align one day and be totally at odds with each other the next. All this uncertainty means you are never quite sure when a particular customer may be in-market.

How to overcome this challenge: Continuous market research can help you understand which portions of your target markets are known to be in flux and in what way. You can then divide your segments so they present one type of message to targets more likely to be interested in buying and another type of message to targets who may be interested in a year or two.

5. Market fragmentation

Over time, markets are bound to evolve. When they do this, they tend to fragment into smaller niches, making it challenging to define broad segments. This fragmentation can make it harder to identify and target your ideal audience — and therefore more challenging to get the right message in front of the right audience.

How to overcome this challenge: One approach to correcting this is to conduct regular market analysis to identify emerging sub-segments early. When you discover a new fracture in the market, you can adjust your segmentation accordingly. This results in more, smaller segments, which allows you to be more nimble in how you target markets.

6. Failure to align with broader marketing strategy

Segmentation should be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. If segmentation is done in isolation, it may fail to align with your broader marketing goals. This can lead to disjointed campaigns and inconsistent brand messaging and a breakdown of your full-funnel lead gen strategy.

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“Segmentation should be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. If segmentation is done in isolation, it may fail to align with your broader marketing goals.” — Art Allen @punsultant
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How to overcome this challenge: Segmentation needs to be weaved into the strategic planning process. Before the strategy is complete, you should be able to identify which market segments are high value to your brand. This will help you formulate your marketing more effectively, since you will already have a clearer understanding of your audience and what their needs are.

Bake segmentation into your B2B marketing strategy

Segmenting B2B audiences is a foundational component of an effective marketing strategy. Learn more about what it takes to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy and how TopRank Marketing can help with our Marketing Strategy Guide.

The post Overcoming Segmentation Challenges in B2B Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: B2B Buyer Trust Data, LinkedIn Tops 1 Billion Users, & Google’s $2B AI Investment

What Makes B2B Tech Buyers Distrust Brands? [Report]
42 percent of B2B technology buying decision-makers have said that providing case studies was the top way that B2B marketers could build trust with them, with 35 percent pointing to providing current and actionable data, and the same percentage who noted that providing access to experts was a top trust-booster — three of numerous findings contained in newly-published report data. MarketingProfs

Google agrees to invest up to $2 billion in OpenAI rival Anthropic
Search giant Google’s parent firm Alphabet will infuse up to $2 billion in AI firm Anthropic — maker of the Claude AI chatbot — beginning with an initial $500 million investment, as Google looks to bolster its AI partnerships as rival Microsoft did recently with OpenAI, Anthropic recently announced. Reuters

Forrester Predicts A Turbulent Year For B2B Marketers In 2024
Generative AI was among the top forces expected to drive change within the B2B marketing space during 2024, with some 70 percent of B2B buyers predicted to find a degraded purchase experience due to generative AI content that hasn’t had enough of a human touch involved in its creation, according to newly-released Forrester report data. Forbes

LinkedIn hits 1 billion members, adds AI features for job seekers
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn (client) has topped the 1 billion member mark, lifting the professional social media platform to a spot among the leading social media networks, LinkedIn recently announced, while also rolling out an array of new AI-infused features for job seekers. Reuters

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“Surpassing 1 billion members is not just about reaching a milestone; it’s about fostering a dynamic ecosystem.” — Tomer Cohen @CohenTomer of @LinkedIn
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Instagram Tests Collaborative Carousel Posts
Meta-owned Instagram has begun live testing of a new feature that will allow brands working with collaborators to have multiple contributors to content published in the carousel post format, offering creators and influencers new ways to collaborate on the platform, Instagram recently announced. Social Media Today

U.S. Ad Market Posts Third Consecutive Gain In September, Albeit Marginally
September marked the third consecutive month that the U.S. advertising market recorded a rise in year-over-year ad spending, with a scant 0.1 percent rise, continuing a rebound from previous months of declining ad revenue, with digital faring better than traditional formats, according to newly-released report data. MediaPost

Pew Research: Brands Not Targeting Gen X Are ‘Leaving Major Revenue On The Table.’
Only 13 percent of those in the Gen X demographic have said that they feel seen in social media advertising, despite accounting for some 31 percent of the world’s population, and has contributed to 30 percent lower engagement with influencer campaigns among Gen X audiences, according to recently-published Pew research findings of interest to B2B marketers. InsideRadio

Microsoft CMO Steps Down, Takeshi Numoto Steps In
After 32 years Microsoft chief marketing officer Chris Capossela has stepped aside, with Takeshi Numoto — previously the firm’s executive vice president and commercial CMO — taking the key marketing role reporting to CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft recently announced. MediaPost

What Skills Are Most Important for Strategists? [Survey]
68 percent of marketing strategists have said that gaining insight into emerging cultural and behavioral trends was their most important skill, with 54 percent pointing to the ability to deliver upstream brand planning insight, while 44 percent noted the importance of gaining insight into the latest consumer trends — three of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published WARC survey data. MarketingCharts

As more brands use generative AI to create social content, agencies are changing how they measure its success [Report]
66 percent of agencies and brands have said that creator-led content has driven greater return on investment (ROI) than more traditional forms of advertising, while the same percentage noted that they had used AI technology over the past year, according to recently-released influencer marketing report data. DigiDay

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:

A lighthearted look at “Fear of AI” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist

People are speaking with ChatGPT for hours, bringing 2013’s Her closer to reality — Ars Technica

TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Harry Mackin / TopRank Marketing — This Week in Marketing: Setting a New Course — LinkedIn (client)
• Donna Robinson / TopRank Marketing — 5 Ways To Think About Leadership For 2024 — Forbes
• TopRank Marketing — The Thinkers360 Guide to B2B Influencer Marketing — Thinkers360

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW:

Avinash Kaushik @avinash
Dennis Shiao @dshiao
Joanne Sweeney @JSTweetsDigital
Joe Pulizzi @JoePulizzi
Melanie Deziel @mdeziel

Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry.

Have you come across your own important B2B marketing news item we haven’t yet covered? If so, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below.

Thanks for joining us for this week’s Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you’ll come back again next Friday for another selection of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @TopRank on Twitter/X for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: B2B Buyer Trust Data, LinkedIn Tops 1 Billion Users, & Google’s $2B AI Investment appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.