50 Top B2B Content Marketing Influencers To Follow in 2021 #CMWorld

The all-virtual Content Marketing World 2020 is upon us. As the largest content marketing conference in the world, CMWorld brings together a stellar array of talented professionals who are loaded with curiosity for future trends, marketing knowledge, and aspirations for new successes in the post-pandemic world. For the past 12 years leading marketers from all over the world have gathered in Cleveland, Ohio for one of the world's strongest content marketing events, and for this unusual year Content Marketing World is entirely virtual. Readers of our blog know we have a long history with the conference starting at the beginning, with 10 years of speaking and attending along with seven years of partnering with the Content Marketing Institute to develop speaker and influencer content marketing campaigns. A TopRank Marketing tradition that has been imitated in recent years but never truly duplicated is our annual list of content marketing experts ranked according to their social influence, a helpful compilation derived from the hundreds of excellent #CMWorld 2020 speakers. List Methodology: For this list we utilize the Traackr influencer marketing platform to filter the content marketing experts who are speaking at the current year's Content Marketing World conference using a large number of criteria including the relevance of the individuals to the topic, the degree to which their networks engage, the size of their networks, and other factors. Online data is pulled from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms. The focus topic in question is most definitely "content marketing," and everyone included on this list is:

• A speaker at #CMWorld 2020
• Ranked in the top-50 for "content marketing" according to relevance, resonance, reach and audience metrics

People always thank me for including them in these lists and there's no thanks to be given other than to the people who worked hard sharing useful knowledge about content marketing to their social channels, in blogs, videos, podcasts, and online in general. Many thanks go to all the people who are actively sharing knowledge about content marketing by engaging and helping others with helpful opinions, insights and expertise on the social web. This list is only a starting point to help expand your content marketing universe. In this year's list there are familiar faces and quite a few new entries. We plan to learn new lessons from these 50 content marketing influencers and hope you’ll do the same throughout the rest of the year and into 2021 and beyond.

50 Content Marketing Influencers Speaking at CMWorld 2020

Julia McCoy @JuliaEMcCoy CEO, Express Writers Presenting: How to Build an Online Audience Through Powerful, Consistent Search Optimized Content Creation Christopher Penn @cspenn Co-Founder & Chief Data Scientist, Trust Insights Presenting: Practical Applications of AI in Content Marketing Lee Odden @leeodden CEO, TopRank Marketing Presenting: Influencer Marketing Unleashed: Top Tactics for Success from Global B2B Brands Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael Content Marketing Agency CEO & CMO Influencer, Marketing Insider Group Presenting: Content Optimization & Distribution Strategies - Mapping Content to the Buyer Journey (and ROI) Pam Didner @PamDidner Author, Founder & VP of Marketing, Effective Sales Enablement Presenting: 3 Trends You Can't Ignore As a Content Marketer Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Pam Dinner Christoph Trappe @CTrappe Chief Content & Marketing Officer, The Authentic Storytelling Project Presenting: How to Make Sure Your Company Ranks in Voice Search Ann Handley @MarketingProfs Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Ann Handley Presenting: Precedented: 5 Principles of the Last Chaotic 10 Months That Are the Very Key to Content Marketing Success in the Next 10 Years Viveka Von Rosen @LinkedInExpert Co-Founder & Chief Visibility Officer, Vengreso Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Viveka von Rosen Presenting: Why Your B2B Sales Force Should Be Your Greatest Content Distribution Channel Bernie Borges @bernieborges Chief Customer Officer, Vengreso Presenting: How to Develop an Account Based Podcasting Content Plan that Drives Revenue Robert Rose @Robert_Rose Chief Strategy Advisor, Content Marketing Institute Presenting: Architecting Desire: A New Strategy for Content Marketing for the Next Ten Years Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Robert Rose Presenting: Content Marketing 101 – Let’s Begin Presenting: Content Marketing Strategy For Agencies – How To Create, As Well as Deliver, Content Marketing Strategy To Clients Presenting: Welcome to Content Marketing World 2020 Dennis Shiao @dshiao Marketing Consultant, Attention Retention Presenting: The Magic of Meetups: How to Use Meetups to Build Community, Drive Brand Engagement and Inform a Content Marketing Strategy Erika Heald @SFerika Marketing Consultant, Erika Heald Consulting Presenting: Content Marketing for Marketing Agencies: Make Your Services Sing Melanie Deziel @mdeziel Chief Content Officer, StoryFuel Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Melanie Deziel Presenting: More Brain, Less Storm: The Power Of The Creative Process Andrea Fryrear @AndreaFryrear Agile Marketing Coach & Trainer, Co-Founder, AgileSherpas Presenting: Persistently Agile: Why the Key to High Performance Marketing Lies with People Not Projects Jay Baer @jaybaer Founder, Convince & Convert Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Jay Baer Presenting: Courageous Content: 6 Ways to Get Noticed Amidst the Noise Jay Acunzo @jayacunzo Founder, Marketing Showrunners Presenting: Start Here: How to Make Things that Make a Difference by Changing How You Begin Andy Crestodina @crestodina Co-Founder & CMO, Orbit Media Studios Presenting: Google Analytics for Content Marketers: How to Optimize Content for Traffic and Conversions Presenting: SEO Workshop A. Lee Judge @ALeeJudge Co-Founder & CMO, Content Monsta Presenting: Ask Me Anything With A. Lee Judge Presenting: Be Content Jonathan Crossfield @Kimota Content Writer & Storyteller, Freelance Presenting: Show Your Work: How to Become a Fact-Checking Pedant (and Why You Should) Presenting: The Content Marketing Diamond Model for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Kathy Klotz-Guest @kathyklotzguest Founder, Keeping It Human Presenting: Fearless Content Teams: Creating a Safe Place for Unsafe Ideas Joe Pulizzi @JoePulizzi Founder, Content Marketing Institute Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Joe Pulizzi Presenting: Keynote - Where Do We Go from Here? Disney, Diversification & The New Marketing Business Model Brian Fanzo @iSocialFanz Virtual Keynote Speaker, iSocialFanz Presenting: What Podcasting & TikTok Can Teach Us About Creating Empathetic Content! Amy Balliett @AmyBalliett Founder & CEO, Killer Visual Strategies Presenting: Marketing to Gen V: Engaging the Visual Generation Rich Schwerin @Greencognito Senior Content Strategist, Autodesk Presenting: The Magic of Meetups: How to Use Meetups to Build Community, Drive Brand Engagement and Inform a Content Marketing Strategy Amanda Todorovich @amandatodo Senior Director of Digital Marketing & Health Content, Cleveland Clinic Presenting: #CMWorld Cleveland Clinic Health Summit Presenting: The Test of Time: Long-Term Success at the Cleveland Clinic Zari Venhaus @zvenhaus Director of Corporate Marketing Communications, Eaton Presenting: Developing Global Content for Local Audiences Amber Naslund @AmberCadabra Principal Consultant, Content Solutions, LinkedIn Presenting: Digital Doubt: Fighting Imposter Syndrome in a Hyperconnected, Content-Saturated World Luvvie Ajayi Jones @iLuvvit New York Times Bestselling Author & CEO, AweLuv Inc. Presenting: Keynote Nancy Harhut @nharhut Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, HBT Marketing Presenting: 10 Human Behavior Hacks that Make Your Email Crazy Effective Andrew Davis @DrewDavisHere Keynote Speaker & Best-Selling Author, Monumental Shift Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Andrew Davis Presenting: Limit Less: How Successful Brands Increase Their Revenue, Generate More Leads, and Spread Their Message in a Crowded Marketplace Cathy McKnight @cathymcknight VP of Strategy & Consulting, The Content Advisory Presenting: Learn How to Move from Mayhem to Momentum by Building a Content Strategy Presenting: Technology Forum: From Figuring Out Your Audience to Gaining Market Share - A Tech Company's Guide to Effective Content Marketing Tamsen Webster @tamadear Founder & Chief Message Strategist, Find The Red Thread Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Tamsen Webster Presenting: Pressure Test Your Message Val Swisher @valswisher Founder & CEO, Content Rules, Inc. Presenting: The Personalization Paradox Giselle Abramovich @GAbramovich Executive Editor of Enterprise Thought Leadershhip, Adobe Presenting: Trade Secrets: How the World's Most Successful Content Marketers Deliver Results Tim Riesterer @TRiesterer Chief Strategy Officer, Corporate Visions Presenting: Account Expansion: The Conversations, Content & Collaboration that Grow Customers Sydni Craig Hart @SydniCraigHart CEO, Smart Simple Marketing Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Sydni Craig-Hart Presenting: Compelling Multicultural Marketing: What You're Missing, What's Working Now and How to Get Results Ardath Albee @ardath421 Interim VP of Marketing, Modus Presenting: Account Expansion: The Conversations, Content & Collaboration that Grow Customers Presenting: Take a Sales Enablement Approach to RevOps Presenting: Use Serial Storytelling to Drive Demand for Complex Solutions Liz Willits @lizwillits Founder, Liz Willits Presenting: Email Automation Crash Course: How to Create Emails People Want to Read Zontee Hou @ZonteeHou Head of Strategy, Convince & Convert Presenting: Financial Services Forum Maureen Jann @NeoLuxeMo Chief Marketing Strategist, NeoLuxe Marketing Presenting: Content Marketing for Marketing Agencies: Make Your Services Sing Presenting: The Content Marketing Diamond Model for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Doug Kessler @dougkessler Creative Director & Co-Founder, Velocity Partners Ltd Presenting: Let's Steal from The World's Most Awesome Content Jared Johnson @jaredpiano Founder & Content Producer, Shift.Health Network Presenting: #CMWorld Cleveland Clinic Health Summit Ashley Zeckman @azeckman Senior Director, Inprela Communications Presenting: Staying Power: How Authentic Storytelling can Transform Your Marketing from One-Hit Wonder to Lasting-Legend Ahava Leibtag @ahaval President, Aha Media Group Presenting: Writing with No Respect: Find Out What it Means to Me Christine Michel Carter @cmichelcarter Strategy Consultant, Minority Woman Marketing LLC Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Christine Carter Presenting: Creating Authentic Content for a $1.5 Trillion Audience Carmen Hill @carmenhill Principal Content Strategist & Writer, Chill Content Presenting: Combining Story + Structure to Create a Sustainable Content Marketing Strategy Laura Ramos @lauraramos VP & Principal Analyst, Forrester Research Presenting: Drive Your Content Transformation From The Bottom Up Shafqat Islam @shafqatislam Co-Founder & CEO, NewsCred Presenting: Ask Me Anything with Shafqat Islam & Alex Cheeseman Presenting: Beyond Breaking the Rules: Why Connections in Marketing Matter More Than Ever Jennifer Jordan Robustelli @jenastelli VP & Head of Content, USA, Babbel Presenting: Flood The Zone! A New System For Creating Compelling Social Video Jacquie Chakirelis @JacquieChak Director of Digital Strategy, Quest Digital Presenting: Even the best statistical analysis, no matter how deep and well-researched, can only take you so far in finding the people who you'll consider the most helpful and influential in your daily professional marketing lives, which is why we'd love it if you'd please share the name of content marketers that influence you most in the comments section below. To further your own content marketing expertise, here's a bonus list of some of our best recent posts about content marketing:

• How to Win at B2B Influence With The Magic of Content Co-Creation
• Your Guide to Effective Storytelling in B2B Content Marketing
• 5 Steps for a More Powerful B2B Content Marketing Strategy
• 7 B2B Content Marketing Tactics For Long Term Success
• How to Optimize Original B2B Research Content For Credibility and Impact
• A Day in the Life of a Content Marketer During the Pandemic: Challenges and Tips

If you'd like to learn more about creating a successful B2B influencer marketing campaign, you're in luck! Our CEO Lee Odden will be presenting at Content Marketing World on the topic. Here are the details: Tuesday, October 13th – 4:00pm – 4:30pm Eastern Workshop with Lee Odden & Ursula Ringham, Global Head of Influencer Marketing at SAP Influencer Marketing Unleashed: Top Tactics for Success from Global B2B Brands We hope to see you virtually at the Content Marketing World conference, and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @toprank for real time updates during the conference.

The post 50 Top B2B Content Marketing Influencers To Follow in 2021 #CMWorld appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

New Research: How B2B Content Marketers Are Impacted and Pivoting During the Pandemic

Each year, Content Marketing Institute releases a new version of its B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, providing a timely contextual snapshot of the discipline at large and its ever-shifting landscape. Needless to say, this year’s edition hits differently. While there is always change and evolution afoot in the annual study’s findings, 2020 has been a year of unprecedented upheaval for our profession, along with most every other. The impact of COVID-19 on B2B content marketing is a direct and prevalent focus in CMI’s latest report, which helps leaders and practitioners in the field understand how their peers are reacting and adapting to a disruptive global event.

B2B Content Marketing in the Age of COVID-19

You can find the full report here, but today I’ll share five particular stats and insights that struck me as noteworthy in the 11th Annual B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report.

1. Content strategies are changing, both short-term and long-term

Slowly but surely, we’ve been making progress. Forty-three percent of respondents this year reported having a documented content strategy, which is a bit disappointing on its own, but encouraging when you looking at the running trend:

• 2020: 43%
• 2019: 41%
• 2018: 39%
• 2017: 37%

That’s remarkably steady and consistent growth! I might argue we’re still lagging behind on the whole, but progress is progress. Having said that, it is a bit ironic that at a time where more B2B marketers than ever have gotten their strategy down on paper, we’re being forced to crumple it up and rewrite it. [bctt tweet="“It’s a bit ironic that at a time where more B2B marketers than ever have gotten their strategy down on paper, we’re being forced to crumple it up and rewrite it.” — @NickNelsonMN @CMIContent #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Maybe that’s a bit strong, but 70% of respondents in the CMI survey said the pandemic has had a major or moderate impact on their B2B content strategy. Two-thirds indicated that the nature of their adjustments are both short-term and long-term. With this in mind, if you’re among the majority that still hasn’t developed a documented content strategy, this might be a good time to flesh one out that strikes this balance between the big and small pictures. During times of turbulence (and long-distance collaboration), it’s always good to have a single source of truth. Last year I provided a simple three-point checklist for documenting your content strategy, and the guiding principles still apply.

2. Adjustments to messaging and targeting are the top reactive priorities

Asked about the specific changes their organizations have made in response to COVID-19, the top answer – selected by 70% of B2B marketers – was “Changed targeting/messaging strategy.” The most common answers after that were “Adjusted editorial calendar” and “Changed content distribution/promotion strategy.” Nothing too surprising about this. It goes without saying many marketing messages and campaigns that were conceived before the pandemic became irrelevant (if not blatantly tone-deaf) when the world was flipped on its side. Brands everywhere have been forced to fundamentally rethink what they’re saying, and who they’re saying it to. For that reason, I’m a little surprised that responses like “Reexamined customer journey,” “Increased time spent talking with customers,” and “Revisited customer/buyer personas” were all so low on the list. This does feel like a good time to get back in tune with the preferences and pain points that guide people toward our solutions.

3. Measurement methods have mostly remained stable

Another finding that stands out to me in the chart above is that “Adjusted key performance indicators” and “Changed content marketing metrics” were at the very bottom. For better or worse, it appears that most teams are sticking to the same yardsticks now as they were a year ago. Maybe that’s a good thing! If you’ve truly locked down your measurement strategy in a way that accurately proves out results and fosters constant refinement and optimization, it probably shouldn’t change based on outside circumstances. However, according to the 2020 Marketing Measurement & Attribution Survey from Demand Gen Report, 40% of marketers said their company’s current ability to measure and analyze marketing performance and impact “needs improvement,” while only 13% said they felt they were “excellent” in this regard. So perhaps reporting and analytics simply aren’t viewed as a priority at this time. I find that troubling, because in a time of widespread budget cuts and resource drains, the ability to demonstrate the revenue impact of marketing activities is arguably more important than ever.

4. Content creation challenges, not pandemic-related issues, are holding back success

Among those who rated their organization’s overall level of content marketing success in the past year as “Minimally Successful” or “Not at All Successful,” CMI broke down contributing factors in order to identify the most prevalent barriers. While the fairly broad “Pandemic-related issues” was available as an option, this was actually among the least common responses. At the top of the list, cited by 63% of laggards, was “Content creation challenges.” These challenges can take various forms (some of which can be doubly categorized as pandemic-related issues). “Our company needs more content. We serve a deep niche and few people understand our industry well enough to pop in and do small projects for us,” said one anonymous respondent quoted in the report. Said another: “Clients are getting bombarded with electronic information—especially now since in-person meetings and events are on hold. How do we create compelling content that gets distributed in a way that stands out from the clutter?”

5. Virtual events and live-streaming increased — but not THAT much

Among content types used by B2B marketers over the past 12 months, the biggest risers from last year are those you would expect:

• Virtual events/webinars/online courses increased from 57% to 67%
• Live-streaming increased from 10% to 29%

These are hefty jumps … but they still don’t point to ubiquity, by any means. There remains untapped opportunity on the frontier of online experiences, although clearly it’s getting crowded in a hurry. The second quote shared in the previous section points to this challenge, which is at the same time both new and old. Break through the clutter and earn attention: Amidst so much transformative change, this eternal edict of content marketers stays the same. We’re currently just seeing it play out in a new environment. [bctt tweet="“Break through the clutter and earn attention: Amidst transformative change, this eternal edict of content marketers stays the same.” — @NickNelsonMN @CMIContent #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Virtual events and live-streams have much potential for engagement and interactivity. We might receive some inspiration on these fronts when the folks behind this report bring their anticipated annual event, Content Marketing World, into the virtual realm this year for the first time. It’s going down on October 13-16, and our own Lee Odden will be delivering a presentation: Influencer Marketing Unleashed: Top Tactics for Success from Global B2B Brands. As Lee will illustrate, influencer marketing should be a piece of the puzzle in forward-looking B2B strategies. Many of the other trends outlined here will converge and shape the future of content marketing.

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Inside Influence: Garnor Morantes from LinkedIn on the Power of Always-On Influence

Welcome to the second episode of Inside Influence: What's working and what's not inside the world of B2B Influencer Marketing. Each week we feature an interview with a B2B marketing insider on all things influence and a deeper dive into the insights found in the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report. This week, we're talking to Garnor Morantes, Group Marketing Manager at LinkedIn. Our team at TopRank Marketing has been fortunate to work with Garnor on an award-winning, ongoing influencer marketing program for LinkedIn over several years and his leadership has been instrumental in its success. Our conversation touches on:

• What Always-On influencer marketing is and why its valuable for B2B brands
• The challenges faced by campaign-focused influencer marketing efforts
• Advice for B2B marketers considering influencer marketing
• How LinkedIn Marketing and Sales Solutions (clients) has developed an influencer community with an Always-On approach
• Key statistics from the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report
• How LinkedIn works with influencers to improve customer and prospect experience
• Whether marketers should pause or proceed with influencer marketing during the pandemic
• Who some of the rising star B2B marketing and sales influencers we should be paying attention to
• Predictions on the future of influencer marketing for B2B brands

The work that we’re doing with influencers is not centered around campaigns, it’s centered around relationships.

How would you explain an Always-On approach to Influencer Marketing to someone who is not familiar? Garnor: For us as we think about Always-On as a strategy, the biggest thing that comes to mind is that the work that we’re doing with influencers is not centered around campaigns,  it’s centered around relationships. What I mean by that is, who do we want to be working with, who do we want to tell our story, who do we want to engage with. It’s about building that relationship and finding people that are going to get mutual benefit out of this relationship and as a result we can have that type of engagement that isn’t just centered around different points in time like in a campaign based strategy. The other thing I think about when it's Always-On is really, are you activating this program through some channels that are always on? For us it’s our blog and our social channels and those are 24/7. I think that’s another way to think of an Always-On type of strategy. At LinkedIn Marketing and Sales you've take more of an Always-On approach to influencer marketing with some great results in terms of reach and engagement. Can you share a little bit about your objectives and approach? Garnor: Our objectives as we think about the influencer program is that it works really well in concert with our other programs, our other communities: customer advocates and even industry analysts is that we want to leverage and work with the influencer program in way that it is able to take the messages we want to deliver as a brand or business unit for Sales Solutions and Marketing Solutions, and empower those influencers to tell that story as well.

Our objective (with influencers) is that they know what our story is, that they are familiar with it and can lend input into it as well.

As I mentioned earlier, they have their own story to tell, their own brand, and their own narrative. So I feel that we are finding influencers that are already aligned with that message and that story. Our objective is that they know what our story is, that they are familiar with it and can lend input into it as well. They are the experts in many instances. They’re the feet on the ground who are talking to the marketers on a daily basis, talking to the sellers. So we want that feedback, that input into it. The objective is equally gathering that input, getting better at telling our story and developing our products and services, while at the same time empowering a set of advocates or people out there that have large followings, or developing followings or are just experts in their field to tell that story as well. That’s really at a high level the objectives we are trying to meet as we develop these programs. And we do that by keeping an eye out for the types of content that influencers might be creating that supports the message we’re telling. At the same time on occasion, creating some new campaigns in which we can arm these influencers with more information, with some assets that tell the story that we want to put out there - create some new content around that and have them be a key part of the delivery and the content creation. What do you think are some of the top challenges working with B2B influencers today?

You put your message and your brand in the hands of someone else, what happens if that person says some things that are not in alignment with your brand?

Garnor: I go back to what’s going on in society and really that backdrop that we all heavily need to consider with everything we’re doing these days. There is that risk: you put your message and your brand in the hands of someone else, what happens if that person says some things that are not in alignment with your brand? There’s a bit of that risk, there’s a bit of that challenge. For us, we have really placed a ton of emphasis on developing the trust and relationships with influencers - we feel pretty good about it, about where we stand, about the messages they're going to deliver and what they’re going to say. That’s a risk. Another challenge is one that you also mentioned earlier, is how do you find the right influencers? There’s so many people out there purporting to be experts. How do you find the right ones? We already talked about some of the ways to do that, being a more active part of the conversation. The number of B2B brands considering influencer marketing for the first time or elevating their efforts has actually increased in the past 6 months. At the same time, our research shows that 60% of marketers do not feel they have the right skills in house or capability to execute. What advice can you share with marketers considering an influencer marketing program? Garnor: I think the advice that I would give is take a moment and step back and not think of it as an influencer program. Think of it more as what is helpful for your buyers? What is important for your buyers and what they could benefit from?

Start thinking about who the audience truly is and as a result, who might be able to speak to them better than you can?

When you stop and take a look at that, then you start thinking about who that audience truly is and as a result, who might be able to speak to them better than you can? For example, if you think about our business lines, the ones that I support, we’re talking about marketers and sellers. Yes I work in marketing, but I don’t have the necessary skill sets that I think a lot of these marketers are asking for. So then you start to take a look at what are they asking for? What are those conversations and who is a part of that conversation and can we have a relationship with them? I think that’s the place to start. It removes some of the overwhelming nature of what setting up an influencer program can be. If you just think about who are the sales leaders and people who are experts in sales I should be talking to? Because that’s my end goal, to talk to sellers. Let me start there, let me build a relationship with them. Let me see what they need, or what they have to offer and what I can offer them. That can do some of the upfront work of identification of influencers and also what ultimate output, methodology and process are going to work best because it happens from those discussions and relationships. I think that’s the advice I would give. Check out the full video interview with Garnor here: To connect on all things B2B marketing with Garnor, be sure to follow him on LinkedIn. Next up on Inside Influence we will be talking with with Janine Wegner, Global Thought Leadership Program & Activation Manager at Dell Technologies on the intersection of influence and thought leadership. Be sure to check out our previous Inside Influence interview with Rani Mani, from Adobe.

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B2B Marketing News: LinkedIn Tops Data Trust Survey, More Text Allowed In Facebook Ads, MarTech Spend Climbs To Pre-Pandemic Levels, & Google’s New Tables Tool

Facebook Is Removing Its Restrictions on Text Content in Facebook Ad Images Facebook will be relaxing strict text-in-ad-image ratio enforcement, while still encouraging the use of images that contain text in less than 20 percent of the image's visible area, a move that could pave the way for new more text-heavy image options for marketers. Social Media Today Google launches a work-tracking tool and Airtable rival, Tables Google has rolled out Tables, a utility that provides new work-tracking options for uses including customer relationship management (CRM), project management, lightweight database without coding, automation and more, the search giant's Area 120 incubator recently announced. TechCrunch Instagram Launches New Reels Updates, Including Longer Clips and Improved Trimming Instagram has launched a revision to its short-form vertical video offering and TikTok competitor Reels, which doubles the video length to 30 seconds and extends the recording timer function, among other refinements that come after Reels recent launch, the Facebook-owned firm announced. Social Media Today Consumers and marketers at odds over ad preferences, Kantar study finds Advertisers favor utilizing traditional mainstream social media platforms for digital ads, while consumers tend to be the most positive about ads seen on newer platforms, one of several findings of interest to online marketers in recently-released global survey data. Marketing Dive Pinterest officially launches new Story Pins format in beta Pinterest has launched Story Pins, its take on the widely-utilized stories format, incorporating a wide array of content types from text and images to video, and redefining the format by removing the ephemeral element present in offerings from other social media platforms, the firm has announced. TechCrunch The B2B content that can help your sales team close Survey data from multiple studies shows how B2B marketers are successfully creating content to be used at various stages of the buyer journey, and where content marketing priorities have been during 2020. ClickZ LinkedIn Updates Marketing Partner Program with New Specialty Categories LinkedIn (client) has refined its Marketing Partner Program to better guide businesses to helpful resources and partners in categories divided into planning, execution, and measurement, the Microsoft-owned professional platform recently announced. Social Media Today New Research: 67% Of Marketers Negatively Impacted By COVID-19, But Martech Investment Continues Some 44 percent of marketers expect marketing technology spending levels to return to normal in 2021, while 67 percent also say that they have seen a negative impact due to the global pandemic in 2020, according to recently-released survey data. Demand Gen Report With real-world experiences scarce, consumers warm to immersive tech, Accenture study says 64 percent of top consumer brands have begun investing in immersive digital experiences, with the technology credited in boosting consumer purchasing confidence by 9 percent in the U.S., while some 47 percent of consumers noted that they would pay more for products that could be personalized with immersive technology, according to newly-released survey data of interest to marketers looking to implement immersive experiences in the B2B realm. Marketing Dive Americans Trust LinkedIn With Their Data, But They Are Wary of Facebook LinkedIn (client) is the most trusted social media platform among U.S. users when it comes to personal data protections, topping Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram, while Facebook was the least-trusted platform, according to recently-released survey data of interest to digital marketers. Adweek ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “flipping the script” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Neuralink Brain Chip Comes Preloaded with Memories of New U2 Record — The Hard Times This Can’t Be Real! 9 Mind-Blowing Links That Will Take You To Visible’s Website Where You Can Purchase Their Services — The Onion TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — What’s Trending: Strengthen Your Strategy — LinkedIn (client)
• Lee Odden — 12 Tips for Tracking and Measuring Your Influencer Marketing Campaigns — Databox
• TopRank Marketing / SAP — Improving Live Events When You Take Them Virtual with Ursula Ringham & Rachel Miller — Golden Spiral

Have you found your own top marketing stories from the past week of industry news? Please let us know in the comments below. Thanks for taking the time to join us for the weekly B2B marketing news, and we hope you'll return again next Friday for another look at the most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post B2B Marketing News: LinkedIn Tops Data Trust Survey, More Text Allowed In Facebook Ads, MarTech Spend Climbs To Pre-Pandemic Levels, & Google’s New Tables Tool appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.