B2B Influencer Marketing Named Top Marketing Tactic for 2022: What You Need to Know

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B2B Marketing News: B2B Marketers Turn To Predictive, Twitter Adds New Analytics, & More Young Marketers Are Buying Via Smartphone

B2B Mobile Mania: Young Staffers Use Smartphones To Buy Business Products 53 percent of B2B buyers in the Gen Z demographic say they use their smartphones when researching and buying for business, and once a purchase has been made 50 percent see brand newsletters as very important — two of several insights of interest to digital marketers contained in recently-released survey data. MediaPost The Behaviors and Attitudes of U.S. Adults on Twitter [Pew Study] Some 69 percent of adult U.S. Twitter users say they utilize the platform to stay informed, with 45 percent looking to express their opinion, some of the findings contained in newly-released Pew Research Center study data examining Twitter usage. Pew Research Twitter Launches Updated Tweet Analytics Card, Providing More Specific Performance Insight Twitter has rolled out new tweet engagement metric data, including a variety of insights on profile visits, media views, new follower counts, link clicks and more, all featured in the social platform’s latest analytics update, Twitter recently announced. Social Media Today The Marketing Trends of 2022 [The Ultimate Guide] [HubSpot Report] Influencer marketing was the leading marketing specialty that marketers plan to invest in during 2022, with 46 percent of those already using influencers saying they plan to increase spending on influencer marketing next year, according to newly-released report data from HubSpot, also showing that 56 percent of marketers who invest in working with influencers work with micro-influencers who have less than 100,000 followers. HubSpot The New Business Climate for Marketing Agencies in 2021 A majority of agency executives have said that 2021 has provided more new business opportunities than last year, and that business from existing clients has been the most effective way for generating business — two of several statistics of interest to online marketers contained in recently-released survey data. MarketingProfs App Annie predicts TikTok to reach 1.5 billion active users in 2022 Gen Z mobile app users are expected to increase their financial involvement by 160 percent through the use of financial apps such as Coinbase and Robinhood, according to newly-released forecast data from app ranking firm Ann Annie, which also predicts that 2022 will see TikTok surpassing the 1.5 billion user mark. ZDNet Instagram adds TikTok-like Text-to-Speech and Voice Effects tools to Reels Facebook-owned Instagram has brought greater accessibility features to its Reels short-form vertical video format, with the roll-out of new text-to-speech and vocal effect tools, giving marketers additional options for reaching broader audiences with the format, Instagram recently announced. TechCrunch Brands Say They've Recovered From The Pandemic, But Risks Persist, Experian Reports 74 percent of brands have incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) tools, a five percent jump from 2020, and 59 percent of organizations have mostly or completely weathered the pandemic storm, according to recently-released survey data of interest to digital marketers. MediaPost Consumers Increase Their Video Use While Email Is Flat: Study 60 percent of consumers worldwide have said that they are utilizing more video chatting to communicate with businesses in 2021 than they did last year, while some 47 percent have increased their use of digital communication formats for engaging with organizations, according to newly-released survey data. MediaPost How Are B2B Marketers Going About Building ABM Target Account Lists? When it comes to how B2B marketers plan to grow their account-based-marketing (ABM) account lists, a leading 52 percent said that predictive data will be tops, followed by technographic, behavioral, and intent-signal data, while sales team-selected and firmographic data top the list of types currently in-use, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at the “black friday & holiday shopping” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Instagram asks suspected bots to verify themselves with video selfies — The Verge TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — 5 Questions 4: Understanding influencer marketing and why it's important for B2B companies with Lee Odden — Demandbase
• LEX Markets — A Harlem office building heads to an IPO — Crain's New York
• Lee Odden — Membership Update Fall 2021 [Digital Marketing Institute] — Digital Marketing Institute

Have you recently found your own top B2B marketing news from the past week? Please drop us a line in the comments below. Thanks for taking the time to join us for the week's TopRank Marketing B2B marketing news, and we hope that you'll return next Friday for more of the week's most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

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Bountiful Thanks: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Most Grateful For

As the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving Day this week, the world looks back at another year of challenges, changes in the marketing landscape, and workplace shifts. Despite the global challenges we’ve all faced, we’ve overcome, grown, and adapted, and now is the time to look back on those parts of our lives for which we're the most thankful. This year our team here at TopRank Marketing has continued to grow, and we'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on thankfulness in both our professional and personal lives, continuing our annual traditional post sharing messages of gratitude. Our ability to see and express gratitude in challenging times such as those we’ve all faced over the past two years can be especially meaningful and even replenishing. Let’s take a moment to open our hearts and take in sentiments of thankfulness from our team, shared with the hope that you’ll also be inspired to reflect on the silver linings that may be hidden in our lives if we simply take the time to listen.

What the TopRank Marketing Team is Most Thankful for in 2021

Lee Odden

CEO and Co-Founder 2021 has been an eventful year and one in which many people have re-examined their priorities, goals and plans for the future. While it’s important to look forward, there’s also a lot of value in reflection and gratitude. The world in 2021 is very different than 20 years ago when TopRank Marketing was founded. Not only did we not anticipate there would be a global pandemic, we also couldn’t have imagined how well our team adapted, and excelled at the new normal of B2B marketing. I am incredibly thankful for the entire team at TopRank Marketing for their equal parts passion for the craft of search, content and influencer marketing with service to clients and to each other. All are instrumental in our efforts to help elevate the voices, experiences and humanity of B2B marketing. Of course success is great but it’s not worth much without health and family. I am incredibly thankful that I have been able to find a passion in running and be on track to run over 2,000 miles in 2021. I am also thankful for my amazing kids and supportive parents who continue to teach me invaluable life lessons.

Lane R. Ellis

Social Media and Content Marketing Manager 2021 held many new wonders and delights, a few sad losses, all coming together to form a year I’m thankful for I’m especially thankful for my wonderful family, friends, and associates. Celebrating 20 years of marriage with my amazing wife Julie Ahasay tops my thankfulness list, along with the continuing joy of having my parents Konnie and Bob in my life, as well as my astounding and always-inspiring 104-year-old grandma Lilly Haldorsen, who recently hosted her first Zoom talk and has taken up learning a new language. I’m thankful for nearly 38 years of using the Internet, and to still be able to run, mountain bike, and cross-country ski the beautiful trails of Duluth, and for our loving cat Kukla Francis Oliver. Sadness came in the form of losing several dear friends, and our beloved eleven-year-old cat Phineas Faustus Ellis, and these losses reinforce how fortunate we are to have the gifts each day offers to us. It’s a great time to reach out and give the world and its endless opportunities a cozy wintery embrace, so here’s a big virtual hug to all of you I’m fortunate enough to know, lovely family and friends. Thank you.

Amie Krone

Senior Director of Operations & HR With all of the changes that have happened in the past 2 years (almost!) I am most thankful for having a team of people, both personal and professional, surrounding me – giving me support, inspiration and motivation to do great things. My family always serves as my rock and reason for everything I do and I can’t be more thankful to have all of them in my life, cheering me on to see me grow. The team at TopRank Marketing continues to be some of the most intelligent, interesting, and driven people I have ever met. Many of whom I can truly call friends, not just colleagues, I am so thankful to have the relationships with them I do. Their drive and passion push me to go beyond what I think are my limits – to do bigger, better things – day in and day out.

Maria Kawaguchi

Director of Agency Marketing Never would I have imagined that 2021 would involve me moving across the country, to my hometown of Columbia, SC. This year has challenged me even more to step outside of my comfort zone, open my eyes, and welcome new possibilities. I'm most thankful for having more time to spend with family, the honor of caring for my parents, and the opportunity to tap deeper into my passion for dance. Moving to a new place has taught me the beauty of connection and building community. With that, I'm grateful for all the opportunities to volunteer on the healthcare front-lines and at local shelters. Here I've met so many like-minded individuals who are committed to giving back and helping the under-served. Professionally, I'm grateful to have joined the TopRank Marketing team! Despite the fact that I have never met anyone in-person, it has truly been a breath of fresh air with all-around good energy! Thank you!

Mike Odden

Research Analyst I am very thankful for my wife Ruthe who has supported me all these 57 years, and also our children and grandchildren who we are especially proud of. Also the opportunity of working with a great team and company, TopRank Marketing.

Anne Leuman

Senior Operations Strategist Each year, I grow more and more thankful for my coworkers here at TopRank Marketing. The uncertain times we live in have not been easy - in life, or in work - and the support we have for each other has really shone through. I also am so grateful for our open-mindedness as an organization. From processes to resources to client programs and beyond, we are always willing to hear thoughts for improvement and make changes. That willingness to change and drive to improve makes TopRank an exciting and rewarding place to work each day.

Elizabeth Williams

Senior Account Manager My heart overflows with gratitude every year I get the chance to share on our annual blog. This year, I’m grateful for a brand new, healthy baby girl who’s already jumping and “talking” like crazy at 5 months. An energetic number-readin’ 4-year-old. A stretching 7-year-old sunshine. And the least thanked, superhero that makes our daily lives ‘go’ – my husband of 8 years!

Sam Kirchoff

Internal Marketing Manager I'm thankful for life. I mean that in both the grandest and minute way: we've all gone through so much these last nearly two years in a chaotic, pandemic world... and many people didn't make it through. But I did, and my loved ones did. I'm thankful for the ability to roll my eyes when my parents don't know how to use technology, I'm thankful for dear friends who always respond to late night texts, I'm thankful for a partner who always does the dishes because I hate getting wrinkly hands, I'm thankful for a workplace that makes me feel not only welcome, but celebrated. I'm thankful for instant noodles, good books, and BTS. I'm thankful for my cats, my wool socks, and my space heater. I'm thankful for everything. Mostly, though, I'm thankful for my daughter. Without her, all the rest would fall away. With her, my life is golden.

Debbie Friez

Senior Influencer Marketing Strategist I am thankful for almost 7 years of working with the amazing, smart, talented team at TopRank Marketing. Every day I look forward to new challenges and exciting experiences. The best part of my job is learning from the many thought leaders some will call influencers. I truly treasure the relationships I’ve built with so many great minds. In a year that has brought so many health challenges for the world, I am thankful for my health and that of my family.

TopRank Marketing Gives Thanks For You

All of us at TopRank Marketing are grateful for you, and thank you for being the supportive fans, amazing clients, friends, and enthusiastic influencers that have allowed us to achieve personal, professional, and brand success. Happy Thanksgiving! Sincerely, The TopRank Marketing Team

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13 Top Strategies For B2B Marketers To Host & Promote Live Virtual Events

Great news! It’s easier than ever to host a virtual event. Not-so-great news! Every B2B brand you’ve ever heard of is ALSO hosting virtual events. And most of us are sick to death of staring at a screen 24/7. That doesn’t mean to not do virtual events. But it does mean we have to be more strategic about putting one together. You have to bring all of your marketing might and prowess to bear in order to make sure your event is attended, and that the attendees have a great experience. Let’s take a look at a few things you can do before, during and after a virtual event to kick it up to the next level.

13 Top Strategies for Virtual Events

From content marketing to organic social, a successful virtual event uses every tool in your marketers’ toolkit. In addition, there are a few considerations that are unique to this particular channel.

Before the Event: Strategy & Promotion

1 — Set Goals Start your event process by setting goals for the business purpose you want to achieve. For example, if you’re raising awareness of the brand, you’ll want to have influencers and thought leaders that appeal to a broad audience. But if you want attendees to book a demo after attending, you’re looking for a smaller but highly targeted audience. This is the first decision that will shape your promotion strategy and even your content. 2 — Choose a Platform There’s a potentially bewildering array of virtual platforms out there right now. They range from something as simple as live-streaming on Facebook or Instagram, all the way to enterprise-level virtual conference halls with multiple customizable rooms. We find LinkedIn Events to be a good middle ground between these extremes. There are plenty of easy-to-use tools built in that make it more customizable and interactive than a flat live-stream, but it doesn’t have budget-busting bells and whistles. That said, if you’re an enterprise looking for an all-inclusive hosting solution, there are plenty of options. This blog post has the rundown on some of the most popular. No matter which platform you choose, make sure to have a backup plan in place. If your LinkedIn Livestream fails, for example, be ready to roll on YouTube. 3 — Pre-Record and/or Rehearse A virtual event doesn’t have to be 100% live — in fact, it might be a better audience experience if it’s not. You can present a few pre-recorded sessions livened up with b-roll and music, to balance out the talking heads. Whether you choose to pre-record or not, it’s a good idea to rehearse your segments before the event itself.  4 — Plan Your ‘War Room’ During the event, you will want to have a team of folks coordinating behind the scenes (more on that next section). Now is the time to figure out who will be on duty, which tasks they’ll be taking care of, and how the team will communicate if you’re working remotely. Some of our clients work with an instant messaging platform, combined with an internal video call to keep everyone connected.  5 — Set an Agenda Your virtual event should be highly structured — guests should know exactly what they’re getting, and be able to plan for the times they want to attend. When you set the agenda, make sure to plan for interactive segments, too. Give the audience a chance to add to the conversation and be active rather than passive. [bctt tweet="“Your virtual event should be highly structured — guests should know exactly what they’re getting, and be able to plan for the times they want to attend.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] 6 — Promote & Amplify The above tips will help make the webinar run smoothly. Now it’s a question of getting people to attend. Start with a little content marketing: Use your blog to introduce the speakers and subject matter. Add a notice to your newsletter, too. On social media, post organic posts asking your audience to submit questions, and consider paid ads to register for the event. If you’re on LinkedIn Events, you can offer a seamless registration process. And of course, our agency always includes influencers as part of the promotion strategy. Equip your presenters with social media images and messages they can use to amplify the even to their audiences.

During the Event: Support and Engage

7 — Screen Questions and Engage in Chat I mentioned the ‘war room’ up above — during the event, there should be a few moderators devoted to managing audience engagement. These folks can ask for feedback in the chat, post key takeaways in real-time to social media, and screen audience questions for a Q&A. This team makes it easier for your presenters and host to focus on what they’re doing, rather than trying to engage the audience. 8 — Have a Dedicated Socializing Space One thing that makes a virtual event feel more like a physical one: A place to chat, socialize and network. Some virtual platforms have these spaces built in — they’re virtual rooms with spatial audio that allows people to break into small conversation groups. If your platform doesn’t have this feature, consider a service like Gather, Topio or Bramble. Make sure to have a moderator or two in that space as well, to answer questions and keep order.   9 — Keep Promoting throughout the Event  Just because the event has started, doesn’t mean the promotion work is done. Your team should be posting on social media — especially Twitter, for immediacy — sharing takeaways and linking back to the event itself. You can keep inviting people to join as long as the event is running.

After the Event: Review and Repurpose

10 — Debrief Your Team While the event is fresh in everyone’s mind, have a meeting to discuss what went well, what could go better, and what you can improve for next time. It’s also a good opportunity to pull out key takeaways and spot opportunities for repurposing. [bctt tweet="“While the event is fresh in everyone’s mind, have a meeting to discuss what went well, what could go better, and what you can improve for next time.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] 11 — Create a Highlights Post Round up the key takeaways from your virtual event into a blog post. You can share the post with your influencers to reactivate them and start raising awareness for your next event.  12 — Share Influencer Highlights Create social media posts with images that feature quotes from the event. Make sure to equip your influencers with images and messages they can use to promote the takeaway blog, too. 13 — Send a Thank You Email If your virtual event required registration, you now have an email list that can be used (judiciously) to promote future events. Send an email thanking people for attending, and allow them to opt into emails from the brand, or just emails about future events, or to opt out completely.

A Virtually Perfect Event

Virtual events have evolved a lot in the past two years — it turns out necessity really is the mother of invention. As long as you approach a virtual event with the same depth of strategy that you would use for an in-person one, you can make it memorable for your guests and worthwhile from a business perspective. Check out Lee Odden’s post on virtual events, podcasting and Clubhouse to learn more.

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B2B Marketing News: Global Social Trends Study, What B2B Marketers Are Investing In, LinkedIn Product Pages, & New Google Search CTR Study

Here’s What B2B Content Marketers Will be Investing in Next Year 69 percent of B2B content marketers have said that videos will be their top area of content marketing investment in 2022, with 61 percent saying that events will lead their investment areas next year, while 57 said that owned-media assets will top their content marketing spending in 2022 — two of several statistics of interest to digital marketing contained in recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts New LinkedIn data shows how gen Z is recalibrating the norms of work Gen Z comprises the fastest growing audience demographic on the LinkedIn (client) platform, with 63 percent visiting the Microsoft-owner professional network at least once a week, and 74 percent saying they use LinkedIn to learn new skills, according to newly-released report data. . The Drum YouTube gives dislikes the thumbs-down, hides public counts Google's YouTube video platform has done away with the default display of thumbs-down count data, moving instead to make that information available only as private feedback to video content publishers, in an effort to foster more respectful interactions between creators and video viewers, YouTube recently announced. The Verge B2B Buyers Say They’re Engaging Salespeople Late in the Process, But Are Open to Doing So Earlier The solution identification stage is the most frequent point of first engagement B2B buyers use with sellers, followed by the identification and clarification stage, with the evaluation of solutions phase rounding out the top three first engagement points, according to newly-released survey data of interest to online marketers. MarketingCharts Making the Business Case for Your Marketing Budget Building a collaborative relationship with corporate suite peers is a leading way to make the case for marketing budgets, and the Harvard Business Review looks at how CMOs can show the effectiveness of marketing in driving business, using data, trust, and more. Harvard Business Review Massive CTR Study Reveals Actionable Insights Differences in Google search desktop and mobile click-through-rate (CTR) insights garnered from 750 billion impressions are featured in newly-released third-party study data, which reveal that in the business and industrial sectors more searches for business-related content are conducted on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Search Engine Journal LinkedIn Quietly Experiments With Product Pages To Boost Conversations Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has undergone testing of specialized business product pages on the platform, as part of ongoing efforts to increase engagement between members, brands, and brand product development teams, the social network recently announced. MediaPost 25% of marketers cite sustainability as ‘general goal’ rather than employ specific metrics Gauging the success of sustainability efforts is a top challenge among marketers, with some 42 percent having said that they need to make new technology investments in the area, according to recently-released survey data of interest to digital marketers. The Drum ON24 teams up with HubSpot in app marketplace B2B users will be able to better integrate the features of the HubSpot platform and cloud-based hybrid engagement service ON24, with new event data-sharing options available in a forthcoming upgrade to the platforms, ON24 recently announced. MarTech Budgets Show Spending Across All Social Networks: Trends For 2022 Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are the three top social media platforms when it comes to effectively reaching business goals, according to Hootsuite's newly-released annual social trends report, which has also shown that younger people are increasingly using social networks to research brands instead of traditional search engines. MediaPost ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at the “inflation, shrinkflation, and skimpflation” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Instagram is Paying Up to $35,000 to Lure Creators Away From TikTok — PetaPixel Atari Unveils New Logo, Games, And More For 50th Anniversary — Forbes TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — 5 Questions 4 With Lee Odden — Demandbase
• Lane R. Ellis — What’s Trending: Embrace Your Inner Tinker — LinkedIn
• Lee Odden — Membership Update Fall 2021 [Digital Marketing Institute] — Digital Marketing Institute

Have you found your own top B2B marketing news from the past week? Please drop us a line in the comments below. Thanks for taking the time to join us for the week's TopRank Marketing B2B marketing news, and we hope you'll return next Friday for more of the week's most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post B2B Marketing News: Global Social Trends Study, What B2B Marketers Are Investing In, LinkedIn Product Pages, & New Google Search CTR Study appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Sign Me Up: How B2B Marketers Will Create Top-Notch Newsletters In 2022

What do B2B marketers need to know about crafting a successful email newsletter strategy in 2022 and beyond? What’s changed with newsletter creation during the pandemic, and which fundamental qualities will endure the shifts of time as B2B marketing — and most importantly — the people who build and read newsletters, evolve? While 47 percent of B2B marketers see email as a productive avenue for driving revenue (ANA), digital newsletters typically offer even greater effectiveness, especially as dark social, disappearing web browser cookie data, and an increase in the number of folks using ad-blocking technology are on the rise — a topic we recently explored in "Traffic’s Black Hole: What B2B Marketers Need To Know About Dark Social." Email newsletter offer a fantastic way to meet some of these challenges head on, while also solidifying the human connections that help drive B2B marketing success. Let’s open up the digital newsletter engine and take a look at what gears, cogs, wheels, and other content apparatus are needed to build a successful email newsletter in today's B2B landscape.

Expert Email Newsletter Insight From Ann Handley

Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, is set to soon reach issue number 100 of her long-running, delightfully informative Total Annarchy bi-monthly newsletter, having grown from around two thousand subscribers when it began at the beginning of 2018 to over 41,000 today. Ann’s latest newsletter, “How I Grew This Newsletter: What Worked, What Didn't, Weird Metrics I Use,” is filled with helpful tips and tactics she’s learning from the growth of her newsletter, such as:

• Building what you wish existed
• Using purpose to define goals
• Building newsletter reading momentum
• Focusing on the on-boarding process
• Creating something unique

Ann explores these and more in her latest newsletter, including the suggestion to focus on email open rates and not so much on click-through rates. Devoting special effort to building relationships with subscribers and influencers is another recommendation Ann has gleaned and shared from the widespread success of Total Annarchy. “I'm more interested in the quality of the list than the size of the list,” Ann shared in her most recent newsletter. Ann has also pointed to the importance of paying particular attention to that very first communication new newsletter subscribers get once they sign up, and to making sure that it reflects your particular tone and shares expectations for what will be arriving via email each month as a subscriber. The power of asking your existing subscribers to share your newsletter in a soft-handed way with others who might benefit from the content of your newsletter was another recent tip Ann shared. When it comes to sharing the news of your latest newsletter publishing on social media, Ann suggests highlighting the primary topic covered in the newsletter rather than a generic cookie-cutter message mentioning only that a new issue has been released. Before the pandemic, Ann spoke in person at the Social Media Marketing World event, and we published a collection of her insights on the nuances of successful online newsletter creation, in “Dear Friend: Secrets to Creating a Newsletter People Want to Read From Ann Handley.” In it, Ann shared more of her newsletter writing and promotion wisdom — ideas that are every bit as relevant now as we heard towards 2022. Here are just a few examples:

• Consider the newsletters you read and interact with, and pinpoint what drives your own engagement with them
• Take advantage of email being one of the few places left were people still have control more than algorithms
• Hone in less on the news portion and more on the letter element
• Keep newsletters simple and accessible

[bctt tweet="“Email is the only place where people — not algorithms — are in control.” — Ann Handley @AnnHandley" username="toprank"]

Learning From Missteps & 26 Years Of Email Spam

Sometimes when looking for what works for email and newsletter marketing, it’s helpful to also see examples of what should be avoided at all costs, and in my “Don’t Do That: Email Marketing Lessons From My 26 Year Spam Archive,” I explored five email marketing take-aways for empathizing, providing unique value, respecting your audience, using character and passion, and seeking out new connection and test opportunities, all framed with examples from some of the craziest examples of email spam. Empathizing with your audience is an important element used by successful newsletters, as understanding the concerns and hopes of the people you’re connecting with is vital for providing the information your email audience is seeking. Some things to ask yourself as you seek to empathize with your existing newsletter audience include:

• Why have they signed up for our newsletter?
• What are the traits common to our readers?
• If I were the recipient and not the sender, what would I change?

Another key factor to keep in mind is respecting the fact that whether you have a smallish mailing list or one numbering in the millions, maintaining your email and newsletter audience’s trust is key for long-term success, as our senior content strategist Nick Nelson explored in “Return to Sender: Email Marketing Is NOT Dead, But It Needs Rejuvenation.” [bctt tweet="It’s better to write for 10 people who truly want to receive your messages than 100 who are ambivalent or worse. @NickNelsonMN #NewsletterMarketing" username="toprank"]

The Marketing Message’s Medium Takes Many Forms

via GIPHY When it comes down to it, your marketing message and how it drives your readers to action or even enlightenment is paramount to success, and not particularly the medium or format in which it’s delivered. By using the clear and helpful tips and examples we're explored here, from Ann Handley and others, you'll have a head-start as you plan how to make your newsletter better than ever in 2022 and well into the future. Keep up to date with the latest B2B marketing industry news and subscribe to our own TopRank Marketing monthly newsletter, which has provided top-notch marketing insight for over 11 years and more than 132 editions. No matter how well you’re able to implement newsletter content, crafting award-winning B2B marketing takes considerable time and effort, which is why an increasing number of firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.

The post Sign Me Up: How B2B Marketers Will Create Top-Notch Newsletters In 2022 appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How B2B Content Marketing Can Build Trust that Stands the Test of Time

Nothing sends up red flags faster than someone saying “Trust me.” It’s the same as “Honestly, I swear, it’s the truth!” You can’t build trust by demanding it — the more you talk about it, the less credible you sound. Building trust takes continued action over time. It’s always a work in progress and it’s incredibly fragile. Brands need to work on building that credibility with their audiences. In the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer report, 53% of respondents ranked trust as a deciding factor in purchase decisions, second only to affordability. The report also found trust is a crucial indicator for customer loyalty, with half of respondents saying it played a major role. But here’s the challenge: less than half of those surveyed — in 11 countries across the globe — said they trust major brands.  As content marketers, we should be helping build that relationship. And there’s good news on that front! Advertisers are no longer the least trusted source of information. We’re now the second least trusted. Politicians are the one institution with less credibility. Okay, enough doom and gloom. Here are six ways that B2B content marketing can build trust with your buyers.

6 Trust Builders through B2B Content Marketing

I’ve divided this list into two sections. The first three are table stakes — these are things that brands should already be doing, that customers expect and demand. The second three are ways to kick that trust up to the next level.

Base Level Trust Builders

1 — Honesty You can’t get more basic in building trust than not lying to potential buyers. Your content should never attempt to mislead or misdirect your audience. This includes claims about your solution, or your competitor’s solution.  I would extend the definition beyond product, though, to the quality of the content itself. If you promise practical, valuable content but deliver a sales pitch, that’s dishonest.  2 — Transparency It’s not just what you say that can damage trust; it’s also what you don’t say. For a business, that could mean using consumer data without their express consent. It can be as major as covering up a scandal, or as small as deleting negative reviews.  In the Information Age, anything hidden will eventually be brought to light. If your business is lacking transparency, it will be found out — and trust will take a serious nose dive. 3 — Consistency Customer experience expert Shep Hyken says the secret to creating a raving fan is to consistently exceed expectations. It’s the “consistently” part that makes all the difference. For B2B content, that means establishing a regular cadence for publishing high-quality content and continually following through.  It’s much better to publish one amazing content piece a month than four mediocre ones. Set your content calendar to a level of commitment that combines consistency and quality. [bctt tweet="“It’s much better to publish one amazing content piece a month than four mediocre ones. Set your content calendar to a level of commitment that combines consistency and quality.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

Next Level Trust Builders

4 — Utility We all know that content needs to have value for your audience. That’s a given; you’re asking for their attention, so you should reward it. By ‘utility’ I mean offering value that goes beyond the narrow context of your brand’s solution.  Great B2B content can help your buyer impress their boss, do better at their job, or get that next promotion. If you consider the broader context of their lives beyond their interaction with your solution, you can find all sorts of opportunities to help.  Even if your content isn’t pointing people straight at your “request a demo” link, if it has true utility, it will build trust with the brand. That’s the kind of long-term relationship building that absolutely serves a business purpose. 5 — Sincerity Do you care about the people you’re marketing to? That may feel like a loaded question. Of course we care about these folks, right? We’re practicing empathy and building personas and personalizing content and we’re doing it all for them. But do you sincerely want these people to succeed, to be happy and content? Do you genuinely believe your content will help people achieve these goals? If you can say ‘yes’ to the above, that decency and sincerity will come shining through in your content. 6 — Purpose A few more statistics to round things out: In the Edelmant Trust Barometer survey, 60 percent of consumers in the U.S. say they would buy or boycott based on whether a brand speaks out on racial injustice. Nearly half said they care about a brand’s impact on the environment.  Utility and sincerity in content are about seeing the audience in the broader context of their lives. Purpose is about seeing your brand in the broader context of the world we live in. What is your brand doing to make the world a better place? How can your content support and amplify those efforts?  Marketers are natural-born storytellers. We can use that superpower to tell stories that desperately need to be heard. For a quick source of inspiration, check out Lush’s Instagram profile.  Right next to playlists about their bath and body products are lists tagged “Take Action” and “Decolonize.” Their purpose is an integral part of their brand. This approach may alienate a few potential buyers, but it inspires a community of raving fans who share Lush’s values.

Don’t Let Your Trust Fall

Trust is one of the key ways your brand can differentiate itself to win business, build relationships, and create raving fans. But you can’t simply ask for that trust: It has to be continually earned. Content marketers are in the best position to do that work — if we choose to take up the challenge. Want to learn more? Check out these content marketing insights from the latest CMI benchmark report.

The post How B2B Content Marketing Can Build Trust that Stands the Test of Time appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

B2B Marketing News: How Customer Data Helps Marketing Decisions, Top Areas of Media Investment, Video Caption Use Increases, Twitter Updates Spaces, & Digital Ad Spend Rises

IAB: First-party Data, Partnerships, Measurement Key Investment Areas In 2022 In 2022 marketing budgets will increasingly shift to digital, with the bulk of spending shifting to video, social media, digital display ads, and paid search, according to newly-released survey data from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). Partnerships with content publishers having first-party data is also expected to be a top marketing investment area in 2022, the survey showed. MediaPost Google, Facebook, and Amazon to account for 64% of US digital ad spending this year Digital advertising spending in the U.S. will grow by $20 billion in 2020, to over $211 billion, and is expected to top $300 billion by 2025 — with the majority of ad revenue being made up by Google, Facebook, and Amazon, according to recently-released ad spending forecast data of interest to digital marketers. eMarketer Dun & Bradstreet Acquires Two Ad-Tech Data Firms, Eyes Personalized B2B Targeting Dun & Bradstreet has entered into agreements to acquire advertising technology firms NetWise and Eyeota, in a move that would bolster its marketing offerings, especially when it comes to the type of merged professional and consumer data that could lead to more precise ad targeting, Dun & Bradstreet recently announced. MediaPost Facebook's work app Workplace to integrate with Microsoft Teams Facebook has made integration changes that will allow users of its Workplace social app to collaborate and share data with Microsoft's workplace collaboration offering Teams — including the eventual ability to live-stream video to Workplace from Teams, Facebook recently announced. Reuters Which Assets Have Produced the Best Results for B2B Content Marketers? The B2B content assets producing the best results over the past year have included virtual events, research reports, blog posts under 3,000 words, eBooks and whitepapers, along with case studies, all ranking above videos in recently-released survey data of interest to online marketers. MarketingCharts 6 in 10 Marketers Say They Use Customer Data the Majority of the Time When Making Decisions Some 24 percent of marketers have said that when it comes to making decisions, they always use customer data, with 36 percent using it most of the time, 28 percent sometimes, and eight percent who noted that they used customer data very little, according to newly-released survey data. MarketingCharts How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion Exploring personal diversity stories can be key in forming better inclusion programs, according to the Harvard Business Review and its recent look into building a more human-centric approach to inclusion and diversity. Harvard Business Review Twitter Adds New Option to Let Non-Twitter Users Tune into Spaces With Twitter's latest change, listening to Twitter Spaces audio broadcasts will no longer be limited to those having a Twitter account, the firm recently announced, in a move that will likely lead to new opportunities for expanding audiences among digital marketers who utilize Twitter Spaces. Social Media Today Why Captioning Is Becoming An Integral Part Of Video Ad Buys Across age demographics between 16 and those 55 and over, viewers watching video content on their phones do so with the volume muted, with newly-released research revealing how digital marketers benefit from captioning when it comes to combating a trend towards increased video muting. MediaPost 7 Things Content Marketers Told Us About Video [New Research] Some 48 percent of marketers say that they are not using their organization's existing video content to its fullest potential, despite 88 percent of content marketers who use video reporting that their organization achieves either excellent results from video or results that met expectations — two of numerous findings of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-released survey data. Content Marketing Institute ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at the “Chasing Gen Z” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Bounty CEO Rebrands Business As Metaverse Of Napkins — The Onion Atari Unveils New Logo, Games, And More For 50th Anniversary — Forbes TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• LEX Markets — A Harlem office building heads to an IPO — Crain's New York
• Lee Odden / TopRank Marketing — Top 50 SEO & Marketing Blogs & Influencers for 2022 — SEO.co
• Lee Odden — Membership Update Fall 2021 [Digital Marketing Institute] — Digital Marketing Institute

Have you recently come across your own favorite B2B marketing news from the past week? Please drop us a line in the comments below. Thank you for joining us for the week's TopRank Marketing B2B marketing news, and we hope that you will return again next Friday for more of the week's most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post B2B Marketing News: How Customer Data Helps Marketing Decisions, Top Areas of Media Investment, Video Caption Use Increases, Twitter Updates Spaces, & Digital Ad Spend Rises appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Traffic’s Black Hole: What B2B Marketers Need To Know About Dark Social

What do B2B marketers need to know about so-called dark social, and what are the best ways to manage and integrate unattributable site visitor traffic? Is the old adage that any traffic is good traffic still true as we knock on 2022’s digital marketing door? As we fall back for daylight saving time, let’s spring forward and take a look at these questions and more.

What Is Unattributable Traffic — a.k.a. Dark Social?

Historically, both dark social and the dark web have had somewhat muddled definitions, as each term has been used to mean both the unattributable segments of the online landscape and — quite differently — the unsavory portions of our Internet realm. For our purposes, we’ll examine dark social as it relates to the difficulties most marketers face when it comes to trying to measure visitor traffic from largely unknown sources. In our usage case, dark social simply refers to the way people share links to our content using private social channels, such as secure messaging apps — whether they originate from WhatsApp and its two billion global users, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Signal, Slack, or the vast array of other alternatives.

Dark Social Isn’t New

First let’s take a look at how the popularity of the terms “dark social” and “dark web” have changed over time and in our digital lexicons. Clearly dark social hasn’t seen nearly the usage that the dark web has, yet dark social has endured as an ongoing puzzle for marketers and search engine optimization professionals alike. The use of private messaging communication has increased worldwide, which means that more people are sharing links that don’t come from the traditionally measurable online public sources such as the major social media platforms, search engines, webmail, and easily-measured plain old web links. While dark social isn’t new, the measurement challenges it presents may be growing in scope, however, as marketers are facing a new black hole where attribution data was once available, in the form of disappearing web browser cookie data and an increase in the number of folks using ad-blocking technology.

Disappearing Cookie Data & Increasing Ad-Blocking Form A New Measurement Black Hole

via GIPHY Between 1994 and 1996, as the web grew, so did the implementation of cookies — the bits of data used to keep track of who’s visited a particular website before — and as marketers we’ve seen their use explode over the intervening years, leading to the data privacy concerns and regulations that have grown over the past several years. As the maker of the web’s most popular browser Chrome, Google’s decision this year to phase out its use of third-party cookies — those that go beyond simply tracking visitors on a single site — has undoubtedly caused substantial consternation among marketers. While Google pushed back its timeline for implementing the third-party cookie cutoff until the later part of 2022, marketers are exceedingly likely to eventually face a new day when it will no longer be possible to track site-to-site browsing history — at least for users of Chrome — and focus will out of necessity need to shift to new ways of using first-party cookies, along with Google’s forthcoming Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) alternative. One marketing industry professional recently urged those looking to gauge the impact of what they’re doing with consumer data in cookies by taking the time to ask themselves, “Would I do this with my own mother’s data?” — always a good question to ask when it comes to how we treat others, including their browsing data.

Is Any Traffic Good Traffic?

With so much existing unattributable traffic and some cookie tracking options on the way out, just where should marketers focus their efforts when it comes to measurement? As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote for his famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” and for B2B marketers dealing with dark social and significantly diminishing cookie tracking options, taking a similar approach could very well be a wise choice. In 2022 savvy marketers will meet these challenges head on and turn them into new opportunities by increasing their focus on the traffic sources that can be measured, and by paying greater attention to first-party cookie data. Surprisingly, dark social and the loss of third-party cookie data may be blessings in disguise, as marketers will increasingly have to get more out of the information they do have at their control. Then, as Sherlock suggested, the data black hole that remains — can also be more accurately measured against the known, making obscured traffic origins clearer by the brute force of eliminating the alternatives. Although hidden dark social traffic may never be thoroughly unveiled, unless fundamental tracking changes are made to the underpinnings of deeply entrenched Internet protocols — marketers may face a future with less user data than ever, especially as concern for data privacy increases globally.

What’s Old Is New Again — Server Log Analysis & The Power Of Trust

As B2B marketing teams look to do more with the data they already have access to, the rather old-fashioned and unglamorous practice of server log-file analysis may see an uptick in 2022 and beyond. A website’s server log files can contain a wealth of helpful information, potentially showing every search people conducted while on your site, along with tracking their navigation journey through a site. Getting access to this information depends on your organization and whether you host your own site. It’s important to know as much as possible about where your traffic is coming from, however with the rise of dark social and the eventual loss of the majority of traditional third-party cookie tracking data, smart marketers don’t want to overlook any information sources when it comes to finding out more about their audience and what they want. Dark social may hide the origin of your visitors, however the fact that you've got traffic arriving even in obscured form shouldn't be overlooked, and may point to an especially powerful type of content sharing. "Word-of-mouth remains one of the most effective and natural marketing drivers," Sanjay Sarathy, vice president of marketing at SaaS technology firm Cloudinary, recently noted. "The person who shares a link to a loved one has already qualified that potential lead, and in doing so has become a champion of your brand. People trust people more than they trust brands," Sarathy added. This type of trust reinforces the power of influence, especially in the B2B marketing landscape, as our CEO Lee Odden has explored in, "Inside B2B Influence: Sarita Rao of AT&T on Growing B2B Executive Influence with Social Media," and "Inside B2B Influence: Brian Solis of Salesforce on the Future of Influence in B2B Marketing." [bctt tweet="“Word-of-mouth remains one of the most effective and natural marketing drivers. The person who shares a link to a loved one has already qualified that potential lead, and in doing so has become a champion of your brand.” — Sanjay Sarathy" username="toprank"]

Turn Your Marketing’s Dark Social Black Hole Into Northern Lights

via GIPHY By keeping the concerns we’ve examined in mind, we hope that you’ll be better equipped to face the traffic attribution and data analysis changes coming down the pike in 2022, and turn the dilemmas of dark social into something more like a digital version of the curious spectacle of northern lights. Next year it will be even more important to stay on top of the latest news on dark social, data privacy, and other vital marketing topics. B2B marketing industry news sources, such as our long-running weekly TopRank Marketing digital marketing news each Friday, can help marketers stay abreast of key shifts and how they affect our industry. No matter how well you’re able to track it, crafting award-winning B2B marketing takes considerable time and effort, which is why an increasing number of firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.

The post Traffic’s Black Hole: What B2B Marketers Need To Know About Dark Social appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Live Now: 5 B2B Brands Winning With Live-Stream Content

How can B2B brands harness the increasing power of live-streaming content to build audience engagement? Over the course of the pandemic, live-streaming events have catapulted onto our screens and into many new areas of our business lives, and as 2022 looms, there’s no sign that live-stream content usage will dissipate. Quite the opposite appears to be in store, and with good reason, as our CEO Lee Odden outlined earlier this year in “How B2B Brands Can Boost Confidence in Livestream Video, Podcast and Clubhouse Marketing,” exploring how engaging B2B marketing experiences are more vital than ever. How are B2B brands achieving success with live-streaming today? Let’s turn on the cameras and mics and take a look at five global B2B brands that have had success through well-planned and innovative use of live-streaming content.

1 — SAP

With its Better Together, SuccessFactors, and other live-streaming initiatives, global enterprise software firm SAP* has brought digital transformation directly to its customers, partners, and thought leaders. For its Better Together: Customer Conversations series, live-streaming via LinkedIn Live has been utilized to foster communication around the SAP Business Technology Platform, with live-streaming also being tied together with accompanying podcast, blog, and social content. Recent episodes include looks at boosting sustainability and efficiency through digital transformation, sustainable IT for your business and bottom line, and success stories focused on turning customer service into customer experience. For its SuccessFactors’ Rise of HXM series, live-streaming using LinkedIn Live has also been featured, along with human experience management (HXM) content on YouTube, Facebook, and in other non-video digital content formats, with recent episodes bringing in industry subject experts to examine “Take Your Employee Experiences to the Next Level in the New World of Work,” “The 6 Steps to an Empowering Digital Learner Experience,” and “The Rise of HXM: How HR in the Cloud Accelerates Your People-first Strategy.”

2 — Vimeo

Video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider Vimeo has increasingly embraced the B2B landscape during the pandemic, recently launching its Vimeo Events platform with an array of powerful live-streaming features. With its VimeoEvents offering, Vimeo has worked to meet the increasing demands B2B firms have had when it comes to live-streaming, and with a robust feature set including tools to utilize before, during and after live events, there will likely be fascinating use cases in 2022 and beyond as the product matures. Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud recently shared news of the launch on LinkedIn, noting the platform’s ambitious goal of making webinars beautiful and democratizing events for marketers.

3 — Eaton

Global power management company Eaton has successfully utilized live-streaming to highlight a variety of topics, including a forthcoming LinkedIn Live broadcast focused on inclusion and diversity. Recent live-stream content has included episodes on “Enabling a digital mindset: what it is and how to get it,” “From engineering student to vice president, how to build your career,” and “Taking ownership of your career: Women leading the way at Eaton,” each showing how live-stream content can not only inform, but drive conversations and build thought leadership. Eaton’s live-streaming content has included an “Ask the Experts” series, and has also featured interactive social media elements to accompany live-streams, such as LinkedIn polls asking questions relating to upcoming episodes. Zari Venhaus, vice president of corporate marketing communications at Eaton, was featured on our Break Free B2B Marketing series of video and podcast interviews, in “Break Free B2B Series: Zari Venhaus on How to Scoot Your Way to Martech Transformation Through Storytelling,” which you can watch below.

4 — Oracle

With a variety of live-streaming content including Oracle Live and virtual events such as Oracle Database World, Oracle* has used live events to share insight from global thought leaders, also offering content archives for access once a stream has concluded. Recent Oracle Live events have included sessions on “The Future of CRM: Engineering Better Experiences,” “Connect Your Enterprise with AI-Driven Analytics,” and “Build the Future of Business with Oracle Cloud Applications,” among others. Srijana Angdembey, director of social media marketing at Oracle, sat down with our own CEO Lee Odden for a fascinating episode of our Inside B2B Influence show, “Inside Influence 8: Srijana Angdembey from Oracle on How Influence Creates Better B2B Customer Experiences,” including her insight on live-streaming video events and other interactive B2B content.

5 — SAS

Global analytics software firm SAS has increasingly used live-streaming content to help show the impact their products have on people’s lives, and has used the power of streaming to bring stories to life. SAS utilizes its SAS Events live-streaming content to connect with prospects, customers and its own team-members, such as in recent episodes “Be Curious. Be Innovative,” “Moments Matter More Than Ever as CX Goes Hybrid,” and “You Are In The Cloud! From Challenge to Decision,” along with both live and on-demand webinar content. Digital events platform Brightcove highlighted some of the creative ways that SAS has used live-streaming to bring to life what can be a rather intangible product, in its “How SAS Used Video to Show Their Products' Impact on People's Lives.”

Take Two — Live-Stream Content Can Live On

via GIPHY By itself, the type of live-streaming content we’ve seen here from SAP, Vimeo, Eaton, Oracle, and SAS, represents a powerful element for B2B content marketers to use. Don’t let the value of that content exist only during the live-streaming, however, as it has plenty more strength in an entire array of derivative forms. Live-streaming content can go on to lead a much longer life when it’s incorporated into digital assets such as:

• Blog articles built on live-stream transcriptions
• Round-up posts from multiple live-stream episodes all touching on a single topic
• Video content for a variety of social platforms
• Audio content for podcast sharing

Learn more about the benefits of repurposing B2B content in our “A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’,” and “5 Tips for Promoting B2B Content Co-Created with Influencers.” No matter how you stream it, award-winning B2B marketing takes considerable time and effort to craft, which is why many firms choose to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Contact us today to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others. * SAP and Oracle are TopRank Marketing clients.

The post Live Now: 5 B2B Brands Winning With Live-Stream Content appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.