The Sweet Spot for Getting to Know B2B Influencers

Blind pitching rarely works. It sometimes works, but not to the level you need for a meaningful relationship. For real success in B2B influencer marketing, a real relationship is needed. What motivates influencers to work with a B2B brand? Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, said in the TopRank Marketing 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report she has to “Feel rapport with the brand and with the people behind the brand,” and “Like the people I work directly with.” Finding that sweet spot where you can have a meaningful conversation and rapport with top thought leaders is where you will find real success in B2B influencer marketing. It’s just like knowing that that one place your kitten will let you pet, the one he likes more than anything, so you can make him purr on demand. That's when you have found the sweet spot.

1 — Get to Know the Influencer Prospects

Several years ago, my friend, PR and marketing guru and Rutgers mega-fan Jon Newman wrote a blog post about the need to read the content of the reporters and publications media relations pros you pitch. He even suggested (gasp!) going to the library or bookstore to make it easier to get quick scans of several publications. I’ve always said media relations and influencer relations are cut from the same cloth. The skills transfer easily. Where to start? I like to start with the influencer’s social media profiles. I read their posts, watch their videos and dive into their content. And, this goes without saying, I follow them on social media, so I can continue to keep up on their content. But, beyond the basic social media review, actually reading their articles, blog posts or listening to their podcasts is where the real candy lies. My colleague Alex White is great about sharing what he’s learned from reading an influencer’s blog post. His emails include questions and ideas from the article, so you can tell he didn’t just read the headline and first paragraph. It’s an automatic connection that sets a basis for an ongoing relationship. Carrying that conversation from email to a call takes it to another level. Recently, we engaged an influencer to write about edge computing. It’s not a new concept to me, but I felt her blog post helped me better understand it. So, I asked her more questions the next time we talked. She lit up, and dove into helping me learn more about the technology. It was a win for all. Just the other day, I was listening to a podcast from two of my favorite thought leaders. I was immediately inspired by the research they were discussing. I emailed the research lead and said we needed to pitch it to a client in the new year, and he agreed. It will be a win for the thought leader, TopRank Marketing and our client. All because I listened to a podcast as I was doing things around the house. Which goes to show, you can be imaginative about how you find time to take in all the great content. My advice for success — take the time to understand the work produced by thought leaders you want to work with. TopRank Marketing has polled thought leaders on numerous occasions, and their number one advice is always to get to know them and their content better. [bctt tweet="“Media relations and influencer relations are cut from the same cloth. The skills transfer easily.” — Debbie Friez @dfriez " username="toprank"]

2 — Keeping Track of It All

I would love to tell you I keep all this amazing information about amazing influencers in my head. But, sadly, like most people only some if it sticks. So, I have to take notes. And, having a good CRM and/or influencer marketing database that allows for notes is key. I will add notes about who their assistant is, the topics they discuss, and other personal tidbits, like their favorite food or sport team. Then anyone on the team can utilize the research. I can’t say it enough. The sweet spot is all about the relationship. And, just like with your friends, if you show interest in their interests, the relationship continues to develop. So, don’t take it for granted. Keep asking what they are up to and what they are working on. “Influence relationships operate by much the same rules as any friendship: Get to know the person, don’t talk about yourself too much, give something before you ask for anything, and be sensitive to their emotions and needs. And, of course, don’t propose marriage on the first date (unless it’s going REALLY well),” said TopRank Marketing’s Josh Nite about nurturing influencers. [bctt tweet="“The sweet spot in B2B influencer marketing is all about the relationship. And, just like with your friends, if you show interest in their interests, the relationship continues to develop.” — Debbie Friez @dfriez" username="toprank"]

3 — B2B Thought Leadership Sweet Spot

The amazing thought leaders we work with have so much knowledge about technology and business. So, there is often a learning curve to fully understanding. Take the time to dive into the content they produce, because it will not only help you develop a relationship with the influencer, but it will also help you connect with your client and better understand their business. That connection is the real sweet spot for all. Want some help finding the sweet spot with your B2B marketing influencer relations? Let’s talk.

The post The Sweet Spot for Getting to Know B2B Influencers appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Marketing News: Rising B2B Tech Investment, ChatGPT Goes Pro, Top Marketing Word Study, & New Global Ad Spend Data

B2B Marketers Prioritizing Data and Technology to Succeed in 2023 86 percent of B2B marketers have said they will invest more in technology during 2023 that they did in 2022, with 36 percent planning major increases, while 46 percent noted that centralizing and unifying data were their top priorities for making better use of data in the coming year, according to recently-released Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey data. ANA Microsoft eyes $10 billion bet on ChatGPT Microsoft has reportedly been in talks to invest $10 billion in the OpenAI research organization — the group behind the popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot technology — funding that would value OpenAI at some $29 billion, and eventually see Microsoft holding a 49 percent stake in the organization. Semafor Global advertising spend forecasts reduced by $90bn as digital slowdown bites - report 52 percent of marketers said that they plan to increase investment with creators and social media influencers, despite overall global digital advertising spending predicted to fall some $90 billion for 2023, with 65 percent having noted their focus on content creators is due to being part of communities authentically aligned with their brand, according to newly-published forecast data from the World Advertising Research Center (WARC). Mobile Marketing YouTube Tests Suggested Hashtags For Shorts Creators Google's YouTube has launched tests that provide creators using the Shorts video feature on the video platform a new array of hashtag finding tools and suggestions, currently limited to users of the platform's mobile app, YouTube recently announced. MediaPost OpenAI begins piloting ChatGPT Professional, a premium version of its viral chatbot The OpenAI research organization will begin a fee-based usage system for its forthcoming ChatGPT Professional chatbot system, with the new paid version expected to offer increased uptime and at least double the present daily limit of prompt queries, OpenAI recently announced. TechCrunch More Americans Say They’re Engaging with Brands on Social Platforms 88 percent of U.S. consumers have said that they engaged with brands via social media during 2022, up from 82 percent in 2021, with 61.8 percent using Facebook, 54.6 percent YouTube, 45.2 percent Instagram, and 35 percent TikTok — two of several findings of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-published survey results. MarketingCharts AI For SEO: Can You Work Faster & Smarter? AI technology once primarily available only to large organizations has become within reach for small and medium size businesses, and an increasing number are focusing the technology on multiple aspects of their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, and Search Engine Journal recently took a look at some of the SEO-related opportunities AI now offers. Search Engine Journal Words To Live By: Language That Engages Consumers - Or Drives Them Away Among the words that performed the best when used in marketing email subject lines during 2022 were announcement, "Re:", dropped, scored, confirmed, and ASAP — some of the findings contained in newly-published analysis derived from over 21 billion consumer impressions. MediaPost Instagram is removing the Shop tab, moving Reels from the center spot in design overhaul next month Meta-owned Instagram will move its Reels short-form video format content icon from the front and center position within its app, replacing it with the Compose button for content creation, while doing away with the Shop tab, in changes that are expected to roll out in February 2023, Instagram recently announced. TechCrunch In Which Areas Are B2B Marketers Most Proficient with ABM? When it comes to account-based-marketing (ABM), B2B marketers are most proficient at campaign planning and execution, followed by sales and marketing collaboration and integration, with cross-organizational collaboration rounding out the top three spots, according to newly-published survey data of interest to B2B marketers. MarketingCharts ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at the “AI Tidal Wave” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Chuck E. Cheese still uses floppy disks in 2023, but not for long — Ars Technica TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Joshua Nite — This Week in Marketing: Always-On Marketing in a New B2B World — LinkedIn (client)
• TopRank Marketing — 10 Compelling B2B Influencer Marketing Statistics for 2023 — The Social Media Hat
• Lee Odden — 13 people I’d love to have coffee with in 2023 — Arik Hanson Social Media

Have you found your own B2B marketing news item for this week that we haven't yet mentioned? If so, please don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below. Thanks for joining us this week for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you'll be back next Friday for another selection of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News: Rising B2B Tech Investment, ChatGPT Goes Pro, Top Marketing Word Study, & New Global Ad Spend Data appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

The Prompt Whisperer: ChatGPT’s Rising Reach In B2B Marketing & The AI Revolution

How is ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot technology poised to revolutionize B2B marketing in 2023, and what dangers do marketers and brands need to navigate in order to make the most of it? For a prototype that launched a mere two months ago, ChatGPT — which is short for generative pre-trained transformer — has initiated a surprising explosion in how people are putting the technology to use. It’s also raised new questions that touch on the very fabric of online communication. Let’s take a look at the technology ChatGPT and various offshoot programs offer, including some of the very real benefits it offers to B2B marketers, along with an assortment of pitfalls to avoid.

1 — What Does ChatGPT Technology Offer B2B Marketers?

ChatGPT was rolled out in November 2022 by the OpenAI AI research organization founded in part by Elon Musk, and takes the form of a website interface where users type in questions and receive written responses. The old computer adage of “garbage in, garbage out” still applies even with ChatGPT, however part of the reason that it’s generated so much interest lies in its ability to give answers that are much more human-like than previous chatbots. In some cases this has caused people to raise an eyebrow with worry, contemplating how the technology might be misused. Two of the key parts driving the success of ChatGPT and other AI technologies are providing a large and accurate collection of data to train the software on, and prompting it with finely-tuned questions — or prompts, as they’re more often called in the world of AI. When AI technology is trained on a collection of inaccurate or outdated information, it will still produce human-like output, but with flawed conclusions. The other challenge that B2B marketers using the technology face is crafting the best prompts for a certain task. Thankfully refining prompts is relatively straightforward, and some in the industry have envisioned job titles dedicated entirely to the practice, which means it’s likely we’ll soon see “ChatGPT & AI Prompt Specialist” and variants popping up. We’ll take a look at some of the areas of ChatGPT use where a cautious approach may be wise, however let’s begin with a quick rundown of some of the many ways that the technology can provide real benefits in the B2B marketing environment. Before we begin, a recent work by marketing cartoonist Tom Fishburne, a.k.a. the Marketoonist — “AI Tidal Wave” — pokes lighthearted fun at how some professionals are feeling about the swift recent rise of AI.

21 Ways that AI Can Help B2B Marketing Content Creation & Optimization

1. Blog post creation and research
2. Blog post topic idea generation
3. Social media message idea generation and creation
4. Keyword usage optimization
5. Infographic topic idea generation
6. Infographic creation and research
7. Newsletter creation and research
8. Case study topic idea generation
9. Case study research and creation
10. Podcast and webinar topic idea generation
11. Podcast and webinar transcription and derivative blog post creation
12. Event presentation topic idea generation
13. Competitive research data analysis and comparison
14. Landing page creation and research
15. Website content analysis and optimization recommendations
16. Key differentiator research
17. Refreshing existing content and creating derivative assets
18. Identification of potential industry creators and influencers
19. Website content optimization research and suggestions
20. Email marketing content analysis and creation
21. Combining separate content into topical power pages

These are only simple examples of how B2B marketers and brands can use ChatGPT technology, as its capabilities to ingest and analyze text-based content offer opportunities far beyond this list. As we mentioned, the rub lies in taking these tasks and writing the best prompts to feed into ChatGPT and other such tools. Even when providing simple prompts, most users have found the technology impressive, which leads us to wonder what future iterations of these tools will look like. [bctt tweet="“Two of the key parts driving the success of ChatGPT and other AI technologies are providing a large and accurate collection of data to train the software on, and prompting it with finely-tuned questions.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

2 — The Great Circle of AI Content Creation & Detection: Does It Matter?

It’s not only marketing content that is part of the cat and mouse game of creation and detection, as ChatGPT is also able to cobble together working programming code, and to debug broken programs. This has led to the inevitable use of the technology to create or modify computer viruses and malware, as Dan Goodin recently explored in Ars Technica’s “ChatGPT is enabling script kiddies to write functional malware.” AI has put into movement a digital perpetual motion machine, creating code that not only tries to hide the fact that it has been partially or fully programmed by AI, but is also put to use in trying to detect AI-written and obfuscated code. It’s a natural evolution of the kind of creation and detection that’s been going on for decades, with hackers and security experts ever racing for the upper hand with virus and anti-virus code. ChatGPT has become so popular with people either trying it out for various purposes or putting it to real business uses that some users have encountered messages noting that the system is temporarily unavailable due to exceptionally high demand. As users mature in their use of ChatGPT, they tend to gravitate towards writing more complex and precise prompts, which may contribute to system slow-downs or temporary unavailability. Many expect ChatGPT, which has been free to use, to eventually move towards a per-per-use or subscription-based model, which will likely bring more stability to the nascent tool, while other free-to-use variants are also likely to become available. [bctt tweet="“AI has put into movement a digital perpetual motion machine, creating code that not only tries to hide the fact that it has been programmed by AI, but is also put to use in trying to detect AI-written and obfuscated code.” — @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

3 — AI’s Impact On Search Engines

Microsoft’s Bing search engine expects to incorporate the AI capabilities of ChatGPT in order to deliver enhanced search results, stemming from collaboration the two organizations have had since 2019, Microsoft recently announced, as we covered in our Elevate B2B Marketing News. Microsoft has also reportedly been in talks to invest $10 billion in OpenAI — funding that would value OpenAI at some $29 billion, and eventually see Microsoft holding a 49 percent stake in the organization. Other reports note Microsoft’s desire to eventually include OpenAI technology in its Microsoft 365 suite of business applications. The search engine community has seen increased interest in ChatGPT technology, such as SEO industry pioneer Brett Tabke, founder of the Pubcon series of conferences and the WebmasterWorld message forums, who recently set up a private Facebook group to explore the intersection of AI and SEO. Another public Facebook group — “Chat GPT SEO, Content Writing & Marketing” — explores some of the same search issues, while the 21,000-plus member “#ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, Prompts, Insights for Recruitment” LinkedIn* group and additional groups on other social media platforms have sprouted up as interest in AI-generated text creation software has dramatically grown. Google has taken a less embracing approach to ChatGPT AI technology, as the New York Times examined in “A New Chat Bot Is a ‘Code Red’ for Google’s Search Business,” however many believe that it’s only a matter of time before it eventually incorporates its own flavor of AI-enhanced search. “I definitely think GPT and AI chat in general pose a threat to Google, but not across the board; it’s a good replacement for certain queries but only a fraction of all the things people search for,” Lily Ray, senior director of SEO and head of organic research at Amsive Digital, recently noted. “15 — 20 percent of searches on Google continue to be brand new all the time — AI will struggle to keep up with real-time knowledge, Ray added. “I’m actually super excited to see how this changes search in 2023. It would be super cool if Google launched its own public chatbot product but can’t even imagine the implications with misinformation and E-E-A-T,” she added, referencing Google’s abbreviation for its quality rater guidelines core components of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. [bctt tweet="“I definitely think GPT and AI chat in general pose a threat to Google, but not across the board; it’s a good replacement for certain queries but only a fraction of all the things people search for.” — Lily Ray @lilyraynyc" username="toprank"]

4 — AI’s Impact On Trust, The Future Of The Web, & Humanity

Will ChatGPT technology permanently erode trust, or will the way we view the integrity of written communication evolve to the point where we can appreciate the benefits of AI-generated content, while still understanding and avoiding its risks? As someone who’s worked for 39 years in online communications — starting in 1984 operating a 300-baud computer bulletin board system — I’ve seen the overall trustworthiness of online content continuously dwindle, first when the Web began nine years later, and then as some SEO practitioners began seeking to game the search engine system, yet nothing has caused me as much concern as I have now in 2023 with the rise of ChatGPT technology. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever have a surefire way to show which bits of information we read online have been crafted by a human and which are the result of ChatGPT technology — imagine an all-powerful web browser extension that somehow had such a power — so acceptance of the widespread use of AI seems inevitable. Trust is a cornerstone of B2B marketing success, and a key issue with the use of ChatGPT technology is how it can best be used without compromising trust. A big part of earning trust in the era of ChatGPT will come from marketers who have taken AI-generated writing and spent appropriate time correcting any errors and adding human embellishments that will make content stand out from what is likely to be a sea of similar information. If ChatGPT technology output is able to answer all our B2B product or service questions, and we can save great amounts of time in the process, what’s the problem? When we can no longer easily tell whether the words we’re reading are from a human or AI technology — a milestone that is upon us — the entirety of written communication will be forever altered. Other areas of society are also struggling with the technology too, such as the concerns of educators outlined recently in “NYC schools block ChatGPT, fearing negative impact on learning.” While certainly creating legitimate new concerns, the technology also provides unexpected opportunities, such as DeepBrain AI’s offering Re;memory, which builds “digital twins,” as PetaPixel recently explored in “Eerie AI Tech Processes Photos to Let You Talk to Dead Loved Ones.” Artists and video and still image professionals also face similar prospects in their visual realms, as I explored in “Riding The Razor’s Edge of AI in B2B Marketing,” and new non-text-based derivatives are being launched regularly, such as those covered in “Microsoft’s new AI can simulate anyone’s voice with 3 seconds of audio,” adding renewed interest in being able to interact with an artificial version on anyone living or dead, as the New York Times recently explored in “A.I. Is Becoming More Conversational. But Will It Get More Honest?” [bctt tweet="“Earning trust in the era of ChatGPT will come from marketers who have taken AI-generated writing and spent time correcting errors and adding human embellishments that make content stand out from a sea of similar information.” — @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

5 — The ChatGPT Gold Rush Effect & What’s To Come

ChatGPT AI technology has ushered in a new digital gold rush of businesses putting the tools to use in a wide variety of areas relevant to B2B marketing. SlidesAI uses the technology to to create presentation slide decks, Character.AI allows for custom chatbot creation, while a new Google and DeepMind collaboration brings AI to the medical field, as Interesting Engineering covered in “Google and DeepMind just launched MedPaLM, a large language model.” New and improved versions of ChatGPT and other AI tools are bound to offer ever-slicker user interfaces, making it easier than ever for B2B marketers to begin using the technology. The next generation of GPT technology — GPT-4 — is highly anticipated, and AI author Gary Marcus recently shared insight into some of the improvements it may contain in “What to Expect When You're Expecting ... GPT-4.” [bctt tweet="“Shiny things are always fun to play with, and I fully expect GPT-4 to be the shiniest so far, but that doesn't mean that it is a critical step on the optimal path to AI that we can trust.” — Gary Marcus @GaryMarcus" username="toprank"]

B2B Marketers Will Ride The AI Roller-Coaster

via GIPHY B2B marketers can undoubtedly reap many important benefits from the roller-coaster ride that is today’s ChatGPT AI technology, and it certainly presents a prime opportunity to keep innovating as the technology matures. With these advances also come subtle obstacles we must be keenly aware of, as we look to view ChatGPT’s AI technology through the lens of what’s best when it comes to providing best-answer B2B marketing content. 2023 is set to be a breakthrough year when it comes to AI, and we hope that the areas we’ve explored here will help as you navigate the ChatGPT AI revolution taking place now. More than ever before, creating award-winning B2B marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why more brands are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out 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 many others. * LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

The post The Prompt Whisperer: ChatGPT’s Rising Reach In B2B Marketing & The AI Revolution appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How Influencer Marketing Can Drive a Full Funnel Content Strategy

In case you’re new to the blog, our agency is pretty sold on B2B influencer marketing. Now, when we say influencer marketing, we’re not talking about tanned and toned Gen Z’ers sitting poolside, endorsing your SaaS solution. At least not for your first campaign. No, influence in B2B is all about value and credibility:

• Your brand lends credibility & new audience to influencers
• Influencers lend credibility & new audience to your brand
• Both audiences get trustworthy, valuable content

As our recent report shows, B2B marketers are steadily increasing their influencer marketing sophistication. But despite the progress, many still think of it as an exclusively upper-funnel tactic. Just like content marketing, however, influencer marketing works better with a full-funnel approach.   Here’s how to tailor your influencer mix, topics and content types for each stage of the funnel.

Top of funnel: Reach & Attention

For customers at the beginning of their journey, influencer content is all about reaching as many relevant people as possible, establishing brand credibility, starting conversations, and building relationships. Aim to make a big splash with thought-provoking content from household names (at least, household names with established influence on your topic). Influencer Mix: While our research shows that follower counts/audience size isn’t as important as credibility and relevance are, at the top of the funnel you do need folks with a sizable network. At TopRank, we call these folks “Brandividuals.” That’s not an insult — these are people who have worked hard to build their thought leadership, credibility and audience. They’re keynote speakers, consultants, podcasters and social media geniuses. For top-of-funnel content, brandividuals should be the stars of the mix. Topic Selection: As with all top-of-funnel content, your topics will be more high-level, aimed at showing off your knowledge of the industry and the challenges your potential customers are facing.  Think about topics like:

• • Industry trends. What’s happening now and what’s on the horizon? How can your audience best prepare?
  • Best practices. What processes need fixing in your industry? What are people falling short at?
  • Starting points. What is the first step towards a transformation? How can your audience get the ball rolling?

Gate or no Gate? If at all possible, keep your ToFu influencer content ungated. Save the lead gen forms for further down the funnel. Example: DemandBase Assembles a Marketing Superteam I use this example a lot, but that’s only because it was a) really, really cool and b) got great results for our client, Demandbase. Together, we built an animated comic book to raise awareness of their new Smarter GTM™ solution. It’s bold, colorful, creative, and features some of the biggest names in the B2B marketing biz. And there’s not a gate in sight. 

Mid-Funnel: Practical Utility

To reach people who already have the big picture, you have to get into actionable, highly useful content. This type of content helps endear your brand to your audience. If you can help a key decision maker look brilliant in front of their boss, get a raise or get promoted — well, that’s worth more than gold. As such, your influencer mix will reflect a more “on the front lines” mentality. Influencer Mix: A brandividual or two is still a good idea for a mid-funnel campaign; you still want to reach a wide audience. But look towards adding folks with practical experience in your industry. That means either those who are actively working in your field, or those who have moved up the ranks but still keep a finger on the pulse of the industry. For example, someone who retired as a CFO and now runs a CFO interview podcast would be a great fit for talking about the finance department. But so would a potential prospect who is doing great work and enjoying success in their job. For these folks, it’s less about massive reach and all about useful, actionable information. Topics: Your content should aim to help people in specific ways that improve their business, job or employee experience. You can also bring your solution into the conversation, but sparingly. It’s fine to say, “A platform like ours makes it easy to automate this process.” Just don’t go as far as “The entirety of our advice is to buy our platform.” The latter is a bad look, especially since influencers typically shy away from outright endorsement. Stick to content types like:

• How-to guides
• Checklists
• Challenges & solutions
• Process refinements

Gate or No Gate? If you have a really useful offer — original research, for example, or a truly comprehensive guide — gating can work at this stage. Just remember to build a robust landing page that features your influencers, their head-shots, and a taste of their content; in other words, give them something they can feel good about sharing.  Example: Prophix Wants to Make You a CFO The Finance Career Acceleration Center features expert advice from CFOs and other finance department practitioners. The multimedia content here has a singular focus: To get their potential buyers to the next stage in their careers.

Bottom-Funnel: Differentiation and Proof

When your buyer is this far into the journey, they’re not looking for famous names and industry thought leaders. They want to know why your solution is the best option, and they don’t want to take your brand’s word for it.  Here’s where the definition of influencer gets even broader, to include your in-house experts and customers. Influencer Mix: Most of the influence here should come from people with hands-on experience with your solution. Use these fresh voices to tell the story of what makes your brand different from the competition. Customers in particular are useful here, as they can (preferably in their own words) paint a picture of life with and without your solution. Consultants and other brandividual types likely won’t play a role here. Two exceptions: 

1. If they have a history with your brand and solution and are willing to speak directly to that experience, awesome! 
2. If they are willing to write an introduction that lends credibility and sets the stage for why your solution is the right one.

Topics: Your content for bottom-of-funnel should use influencer voices to highlight what makes your brand, your people, and your solution special. In particular, seek to:

• Highlight the outcomes your solution makes possible - show what success looks like
• Show off your support system. What’s it like to be your customer?
• If relevant, introduce some of the people who make the company work, whether it’s engineers, contact center reps, or your CEO.

[bctt tweet="“Your content for bottom-of-funnel should use influencer voices to highlight what makes your brand, your people, and your solution special.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] Gate or No Gate? Bottom-funnel content is the right place for a lead gen form, certainly. As I said above, though, make sure to offer enough value in front of the gate that your influencers feel good linking to it.  Example: Deluxe Takes Bankers from Maps to GPS For their Off the Map asset, Deluxe wanted to highlight how their Banker’s Dashboard can help small banks and credit unions to automate processes and become more efficient. Advice from industry experts, practitioners, and customers all come together in an ungated asset.  Lead capture comes from a more promotional section on the landing page itself, leading directly to a “Contact Sales” CTA.

Remember, “influencer” without “funnel” is just “icer”

It’s true! All the letters of “funnel” appear in the word “influencer.” A coincidence? Most likely! But let it remind you that influencer marketing is a full-funnel practice, not just for raising awareness. With the right influencer mix and choice of topic, you can work with influencers to guide your buyers from awareness all the way to purchase and beyond. Ready to get started? Download our latest guide, B2B Full-Funnel Lead Gen: A Guide for Optimized Quality & Conversion

The post How Influencer Marketing Can Drive a Full Funnel Content Strategy appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Visual Search, ABM Use Rises, LinkedIn’s New B2B Search Features, & Google’s New Headline Limits

The Top Strategies B2B Marketers Plan to Explore in 2023 42 percent of B2B marketers have indicated that they plan to explore artificial intelligence (AI) marketing and sales strategies more in 2023, with 32 percent pinpointing video marketing, and 30 percent influencer marketing — the top three new strategies B2B marketers are looking to use more this year, according to newly-publishing survey data. MarketingProfs LinkedIn Previews New Job and B2B Product Search Options Coming in 2023 Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has previewed an array of new features the professional social media platform plans to implement in 2023, including better search options and new job filtering criteria, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today Visual Search for B2B Marketing Success: Olga Andrienko on Marketing Smarts [Podcast] B2B marketers are increasingly looking to visual search as a brand differentiator, in a landscape that has yet to take advantage of visual search that way that B2C marketers have, and Semrush's vice president of brand marketing Olga Andrienko recently took a look at opportunities and challenges. MarketingProfs [bctt tweet="“If you're not sure whether you need visual search, or if you're not sure and if you don't have resources internally, see it as an experiment and seek out help externally.” — Olga Andrienko @Olgandrienko" username="toprank"] Google Drops 110 Character Limit From Article Headline Structured Data Search giant Google has made changes to its previous article headline hard limit of 110 characters, instead replacing it with a suggestion to be concise to avoid truncation on certain devices — a change that potentially gives B2B marketers new options for search engine optimization (SEO), Google recently announced. Search Engine Roundtable Microsoft Bing With ChatGPT Reportedly Launching In March Microsoft's Bing search engine expects to incorporate the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities of the ChatGPT chatbot software in order to deliver enhanced search results, stemming from collaboration the two organizations have had since 2019, Microsoft recently announced. Search Engine Journal What Types of Brand Messaging Appeal to Americans? 54 percent of U.S. consumers have said that humorous brand messaging was the most appealing — down from 57 percent a year ago — with motivational with reassuring content seeing the biggest gains between November 2021 and November 2022, according to newly-released survey data of interest to digital marketers. MarketingCharts Account-Based Marketing Is On the Rise [ANA] 66 percent of B2B marketers have indicated that they utilize account-based marketing (ABM) programs, while 87 percent believe that adding ABM insights to traditional lead-based strategies tops the list when it comes to maximizing revenue generation, according to recently-published findings from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). ANA A look at the US digital audio market in 2022: How big, who’s listening, and what are they listening to [Report] When it comes to digital audio consumption, adoption is greatest among younger demographics, rising from 84.1 percent in the first half of 2021 to 91.1 percent during the same time-frame in 2022, with the total number of listeners in the U.S. expected to climb from 222.7 million in 2022 to 234.2 million in 2026, making the format a prime target for advertisers, according to newly-released survey data. Insider Intelligence Tumblr is launching a livestreaming feature Microblogging and social networking platform Tumblr has begun rolling out support for live-streaming, in conjunction with video firm Livebox, offering creators and influencers a new opportunity to increase brand reach, Tumblr recently announced. The Verge Slow fade for Google and Meta's ad dominance For the first time since 2014 the combined revenue of Facebook and Instagram parent firm Meta and Google are expected to account for less than half of all U.S. digital advertising, as Amazon and TikTok have taken increasingly larger portions — a trend that is forecast to continue through 2024, according to newly-published report findings. Axios ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “Reinventing Marketing” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist I Named My Band “CVS Near Me” and Now We’re Impossible To Find on Google — The Hard Times TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Nick Nelson — Lessons for B2B Marketers From the Booming Craft Brewing Scene — LinkedIn (client)
• Lee Odden — MarTech’s B2B marketing experts to follow — MarTech
• Lee Odden — How to Break Free of Boring B2B Content Experiences In 2023 [Podcast] — Rock Content / Spotify
• TopRank Marketing — How the B2B Influencer Marketing Industry Is Changing [Infographic] — MarketingProfs

Have you come across a B2B marketing news item for the week that we haven't mentioned? If so, please don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to join us this week for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you will return next Friday for another array of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Visual Search, ABM Use Rises, LinkedIn’s New B2B Search Features, & Google’s New Headline Limits appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

How to Create Memorable B2B Experiences for When Your Prospect Is Ready to Buy

The concept of jogging someone’s memory seems, on its surface, like an unscientific and inscrutable undertaking. Memories and mental associations pop up at random. Right? The smell of a bakery reminds you of grandma’s cinnamon rolls. The color of a street sign invokes your old high school colors and jovial pep rallies. A friend’s choice of words causes you to blurt out a line from a classic comedy movie. The thing is, these moments aren’t random. The memories are physically stored in your brain, and the scenarios and experiences that took place caused them to trigger in your consciousness. Understanding this cause-and-effect relationship holds the key to effective B2B marketing that bridges brand with demand and leads to sustainable customer pipelines.

Marketing to future buyers

One of the most critical guiding principles of B2B marketing today – and one that’s been explored deeply by our clients at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions – is the 95-5 rule. In essence, it states that based on the nature of business purchasing cycles, 95% of customers in a given category at a given time are “out-market,” or not actively seeking your solution. Obviously, that 5% of active “in-market” buyers is in high demand. There is fierce competition for their attention, engagement, and consideration. But if your marketing strategy is overwhelmingly focused on that very small subset of your audience, you’re leaving a ton of opportunity on the table – opportunity to gain a key advantage with those many future buyers. (Source) The purpose of today’s article, then, is to explore proven and data-backed ways to gain this advantage. How? By developing a brand content strategy focused on creating positive mental associations, so when your audience moves into a solution-seeking mindset, you’re the first that comes to mind.

4 Ways to Stay Top-of-Mind in B2B Buying Situations

1 — Create positive emotional response

In the 2016 Ipsos Connect report, “Emotion, Attention and Memory in Advertising,” Gailynn Nicks and Yannick Carriou explored the influence and scientific underpinnings of our subject at hand. “The more consistent and appealing the emotional connections created and the more fitting the brand cues accompanying an emotion-based advertisement,” they wrote, “the more likely they are to be retrieved in the way that the advertiser desired at a suitable ‘relevant moment’. In behavioural psychology this is known as the ‘priming effect’.” It’s easy to misinterpret what an “appealing” emotional connection is; taken the wrong way, that prompt could lead to a lot of sappy and fluffy content. To generate a positive emotional response, you don’t need to make someone laugh or feel happy (though you can). You just need to resonate. The B2B Institute conducted an analysis of more than 600 B2B tech ads in the System1 database, and among their findings was this breakdown of creative elements that most strongly correlated with favorable emotional scores. I find the results interesting: (Source) While this analysis was specific to video ads in the tech industry, we can zoom out and think about the top elements through a broader B2B content marketing lens:

• Everyday Setting: In an increasingly hybrid and WFH world, audiences generally relate more to casual settings (and language) than formal business environments (and jargon).
• Fast Cut Scenes: Attention spans are short. Quick-hitting video cuts have the natural ability to catch the eye of a scrolling user. How else can your content create a sense of momentum?
• Story Arc: Stories are memorable, plain and simple. The structure and recognizable patterns naturally make information easier to recall. (Storytelling also builds trust.)
• Celebrity Character: The use of celebs plays off built-in recognition, trust, and affinity in your audience. Want a more accessible B2B use case? Think industry influencers.

2 — Associate your brand with its category

Of course, an ad or piece of content being memorable isn’t really valuable for a brand on its own – only if that memory is mentally tied to the brand, and to a potential future buying situation. That’s why the key to effective content lies at the intersection of impact and relevance. [bctt tweet="“The key to effective content lies at the intersection of impact and relevance.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] For an example of what I’m talking about, look no further than the Grand Prix Award-winning ad from the B2B Creative Lion category at Cannes 2022: “Speaking in Color,” from Sherwin Williams. The content is personalized to its audience in a very broad sense, and seamlessly illustrates myriad use cases. Even while introducing and showcasing the company’s first-ever AI color system, the ad feels more like it’s trying to make an impression with a specific buyer audience, as opposed to selling them a product directly.

3 — Show up often and in the right places

Encoding your brand in the memory of your audience is partially a matter of standout creative, and partially a simple matter of frequency, repetition, and variety. The B2B Effectiveness Code – a joint report from WARC, Lions, and the B2B Institute – found that creative commitment is directly correlated with B2B campaign effectiveness. What is creative commitment? It’s a calculation based on ad spend, campaign duration, and number of media channels. In other words, data shows that investing more robustly in creative brand campaigns pays off. (Source) [bctt tweet="“Data shows that investing more robustly in creative brand campaigns pays off.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]

4 — Measure the right things

If your campaigns are focused on building mental brand associations, then it is important to measure against that objective. Tracking sales conversions is a lagging indicator in a B2B world where sales cycles often span months if not years. Not to mention the challenges of attribution. How can you gain a more real-time view of brand salience being driven by your content and ads? Jon Lombardo of the B2B Institute recommends prioritizing these qualitative, feedback-based metrics as KPIs for creative ad campaigns:

• Ad recognition (“cut-through”). Do people remember seeing your ad? Did it rise above the noise and grab their attention? 

• Ad recall. Do people who remember the ad attribute it to the right brand? 

• Ad likeability. If people remember the ad and associate it with your brand, did they actually like what they saw? 

• Ad clarity. Finally, if people saw the ad, attributed it to your brand, and liked it, did they easily understand the message you were trying to convey?

For more SEO-focused brand campaigns, you might choose a specific subset of keywords with strong intent relating to the campaign, and measure the growth of organic traffic and/or rate of conversions within them. Or you might use social monitoring tools to gauge sentiment shifts and increased awareness relating to your executive thought leadership campaign. When possible, measuring share of voice can also be a valuable way to quantify the extent to which your brand is actually “top of mind” for your target audience. ROI is obviously the ultimate name of the game, but waiting to get a clear picture of it can deprive B2B marketers of vital opportunities to understand and optimize how their content is performing in ways that substantially impact final results.

Make Your B2B Brand Memorable

This post is not by any means an argument against the value of lower-funnel, conversion-focused campaigns. Only a suggestion that those campaigns – and your customer pipeline as a whole – will be much more fruitful with an always-on branding strategy geared toward making your company and its content top-of-mind with relevant buyers … even if those buyers aren’t currently in the market. Want to make some memories? Don’t forget to reach out to TopRank Marketing and learn about our best-in-class B2B content marketing services!

The post How to Create Memorable B2B Experiences for When Your Prospect Is Ready to Buy appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

B2B Twitter Alternatives: Mastodon, Post & Others Offer New Marketing Opportunities

Where are B2B marketers turning to fill the void an increasing number of brands are facing having paused or left the Twitter platform? Increasing numbers of brands and users have turned away from Twitter since its recent ownership change and subsequent top-down shifts in some of the platform’s fundamental policies. Mainstay B2B brands have joined their B2C counterparts in either taking a temporary break from publishing and advertising on Twitter, or in some cases pulling the plug entirely. This has led B2B marketers into an unusual period in the history of social media — one perhaps not seen since Google’s Plus platform shuttered its doors in April, 2019. Growing numbers of B2B marketers have found themselves seeking out Twitter alternatives, hitting just at the traditional time of end-of-year budget surpluses. For some these have combined to usher in a newfound period of taking a previously unheard of look at freshly minted social media platforms or alternatives that haven’t yet seen mainstream usage by B2B brands. New platforms Mastodon, Post, Spill, and Counter.Social along with existing social platforms such as Reddit, Discord, and others are in the spotlight of B2B marketers — each with unique strengths and challenges. Let’s jump right in and take a look at some of the top Twitter alternatives available now to B2B marketers and brands.

1 — Mastodon Woos Marketers

Mastodon is an open-source social media platform that has blossomed from a relatively small user base of just over half a million when Twitter ownership changed to recent estimates of over 3.5 million. Central to Mastodon’s charter is decentralized ownership and operation, through the use of multiple servers Microsoft presently has at least two verified accounts on Mastodon, and Adobe has had a presence on the platform since February, 2022, however as with other B2B firms, many seem to be primarily placeholder accounts set up for future use should Mastodon gain a stronger foothold. Audience research tool firm SparkToro has used its Mastodon account to reach new audiences, and drive content to its website’s blog, posting original content to Mastodon. Marketing author and speaker David Meerman Scott — among those featured in our “50 Top B2B Marketing Influencers, Experts and Speakers To Follow In 2022,” isn’t ready to anoint Mastodon as any sort of “new Twitter” — far from it. “I think marketers can safely ignore Mastodon. I do not think that this little flurry of interest is sustainable, and I do not think that Mastodon or any other social media service will take the place of Twitter. Throughout history, social networks that pioneer a new model can thrive — Instagram, TikTok come to mind — but copycats like Google Plus fail,” Meerman Scott recently shared with Jennifer Torres in CMSWire’s “Twitter vs. Mastodon: The Marketing Reality”

2 — Post News Offers Alternative

Post News — also known simply as Post — was founded in 2022 by Noam Bardin, former chief executive at transportation platform Waze, as an online platform bridging the area between social media and news. Yet to launch, Post has amassed more than 300,000 users on its waiting list to begin trying out an early beta test version of the platform, and recently gained funding from Andreessen Horowitz’ a16z. B2B brands have relatively little to lose by getting on the waiting list for Post, and reserving a presence for future use.

3 — BlueSky, CounterSocial, Spill & Additional Platforms

BlueSky, a non-profit initiative aimed at building a decentralized social media network protocol, was first announced in 2019 by Twitter co-founder and former chief executive Jack Dorsey. CounterSocial is an alternative social media platform founded by an anonymous person, which in itself may raise alarm bells for B2B marketers seeking transparency and authenticity, yet it too has gained followers since Twitter’s upheaval — more than 100,000 users by some estimates. Spill — billed as a real-time platform focusing on conversation that puts culture first — is also utilizing a waiting list for new users wishing to sign up. Among its initial features are expected to be creator monetization opportunities and methods to identify artificial intelligence (AI) content bias on the platform, which was founded by two Black former Twitter employees. LinkedIn* may be the biggest beneficiary of all from Twitter’s missteps, gaining newfound relevance among both B2B and B2C social media users. [bctt tweet="“LinkedIn may be the biggest beneficiary of all from Twitter’s missteps, gaining newfound relevance among both B2B and B2C social media users.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"] The nature of LinkedIn has been changing in recent years, and the recent exodus from Twitter has more people than ever giving the Microsoft-owned professional network either a second chance or a first genuine try. “My newsfeed is starting to include genuinely interesting comments, links to good articles, life updates from friends, even selfies,” Morgan Meaker, senior European business writer at Wired recently observed in “I Found the Perfect Replacement for Twitter. It’s LinkedIn.” “Influencers on LinkedIn are changing too. One of my favorites is Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic (and formerly editor in chief of WIRED), who posts regular videos titled ‘The Most Interesting Thing in Tech.’ LinkedIn is starting to seep into real life conversations,” Meaker also shared.

Shifting Social Platform Paths Energize B2B Content

via GIPHY While Mastodon, Post, Counter.Social and the other social media platforms we’ve explored here may not yet fully mesh with all of the specific needs of B2B brands, for marketers who have left Twitter either temporarily or for good, these alternatives are worth testing the waters. Whether the next major social media player will arise from this particular array of platforms during this unusual time in the history of online communications only time can tell, however savvy B2B marketers should be at the very least keeping a watchful lookout, and we hope you’ve found our brief introduction to some of the alternatives to Twitter. More than ever before, creating award-winning B2B marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why more brands are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out 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 many others. *LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

The post B2B Twitter Alternatives: Mastodon, Post & Others Offer New Marketing Opportunities appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.