The post Digital Marketing News: B2B’s AI Questions, Marketers Struggle with Personalization, Nielsen’s Neuroscience, & Brands Try Twitch appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Friday, April 12, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
20 Podcasts To Elevate Your B2B Marketing
Gaining insight, advice, and new perspectives from top B2B marketing industry leaders is an incredible way to help scale your marketing skills and efforts to new heights. And podcasts, which are exploding in availability and popularity, can be a fantastic medium for getting access to those talented and seasoned industry leaders. From the emerging B2B marketing trends to heartfelt stories of life’s great successes and bitter failures, there is so much we can learn by listening to people who have persevered and thrived. And lucky for you, we’ve compiled 20 of the best podcasts for B2B marketers right here. via GIPHY We’ve touched on podcasts a time or two here, with Senior Content Marketing Manager Josh Nite bringing you a first edition of digital marketing podcasts to consider back in 2016. Many of those podcasts have continued to evolve, making it hard not to mention them again here. But there are some new kids on the block, too. And with adoption as a marketing medium and a learning and entertainment tool rising, we hope you'll find something that strikes your fancy. 
[bctt tweet="Great stories happen to those who can tell them. — This American Life podcast host Ira Glass @iraglass" username="toprank"] Now let’s fast-forward to our list of 20 diverse podcasts that will provide a fascinating array of ideas and trends to expand and improve your B2B marketing efforts, presented in random order.
#1 - Marketing Over Coffee
Summary: Marketing Over Coffee explores the intersection of marketing and technology, with news, tips, and author interviews.
- Hosts: Chris Penn and John Wall
- Recent Topics on Tap: Influencers, Social Media Listening Tools, Heirarchical Ontology
- Recent Guests: Brendan Kane, Samuel Monnie, Jocelyn Brown
- Episode Length: 25 - 30 minutes
#2 - Six Pixels of Separation
Summary: Six Pixels of Separation offers insights on brands, consumers, technology and our interconnected world.
- Hosts: Mitch Joel
- Recent Topics on Tap: Business, innovation, and the marketing landscape.
- Recent Guests: Joseph Jaffe, Bernadette Jiwa, Ekaterina Walter
- Episode Length: One hour
#3 - Marketing Smarts
Summary: Marketing Smarts talks to industry leaders and authors such as Chris Brogan, Ann Handley and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as c-suite executives from organizations including IBM, National Geographic, Dell, and the Baltimore Ravens. Hosts: Kerry O'Shea Gorgone
- Recent Topics on Tap: Livestreaming, Branding, and a Scientific Approach to Metrics, Measurement, and Marketing ROI
- Recent Guests: Laura Gassner Otting, Minter Dial, Brian Fanzo
- Episode Length: 25 - 35 minutes
#4 - Social Media Marketing Podcast
- Hosts: Michael Stelzner
- Recent Topics on Tap: Facebook organic marketing, How to Avoid Distraction as a Marketer
- Recent Guests: Mari Smith, Brian Solis, Nathan Latka
- Episode Length: 45 minutes
#5 - Scott Stratten's Unpodcast
Summary: Scott Stratten's Unpodcast presents real-life examples, tips and guidance from experts on human resources, marketing and branding, networking, public relations, and customer service.
- Hosts: Scott Stratten, Alison Stratten
- Topics on Tap: Instagram Stories, Influencers on Instagram
- Episode Length: 30 minutes
#6 - Adweek's CMO Moves
Summary: Adweek's CMO Moves podcast offers inspiring career advice and the personal success stories behind an array of top marketing leaders.
- Hosts: Nadine Dietz
- Topics on Tap: How to Win as a Team, The Hunt for a Signature Move
- Recent Guests: Emily Culp, Seth Freeman, Meredith Verdone
- Episode Length: 30 minutes
#7 - LinkedIn Live with Marketers
Summary: LinkedIn Live with Marketers is a video-based series that can also be enjoyed listening to only the audio, as the LinkedIn (client) hosts tackle challenges top of mind for marketers.
- Hosts: Jann Schwarz and others
- Recent Topics on Tap: The Staying Power of Breakthrough Ideas, Brand Awareness vs. Lead Gen: Battle or Balance?
- Recent Guests: Wendy Clark, Rob Norman, Peter Weinberg
- Episode Length: One hour
#8 - Lexicon Valley
Summary: Lexicon Valley digs deeply into language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages.
- Hosts: John McWhorter
- Recent Topics on Tap: Is Social Media Changing English?, One Tongue to Rule Them All
- Recent Guests: Deborah Tannen, Lane Greene
- Episode Length: 40 minutes
#9 - Should This Exist?
Summary: Should This Exist? is hosted by Flickr and Hunch co-founder Caterina Fake, and explores the impact technology in all its forms has had on humanity. “We’re seeing amazing new technologies that are emerging every day that we need to have a conversation about,” Fake recently told Fast Company.
- Hosts: Caterina Fake
- Topics on Tap: Affectiva: Software that detects how you feel, Halo: A headset that makes you learn faster
- Recent Guests: Neuroscientist Daniel Chao, entrepreneur and scientist Rana El-Kaliouby
- Episode Length: 35 minutes
#10 - The Art of Process with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo
Summary: The Art of Process sees hosts Aimee and Ted talk to friends across the creative spectrum to explore how they work, and the process of turning ideas into art.
- Hosts: Aimee Mann and Ted Leo
- Recent Topics on Tap: The rise of streaming services, How to tackle a blank page
- Recent Guests: Wyatt Cenac, Rebecca Sugar, Dan Wilson
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#11 - Without Fail
Summary: Without Fail is hosted by former This American Life contributor and NPR journalist Alex Blumberg, and takes a weekly look at someone who’s taken a big risk and either failed or found success.
- Hosts: Alex Blumberg
- Topics on Tap: Bringing Brands Back to Life, The Man Behind the Iconic Apple Stores: Ron Johnson
- Recent Guests: Andrew Mason of Groupon, Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal and Girlboss
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#12 -The Marketing Book Podcast
Summary: The Marketing Book Podcast fills each Friday with a new episode interviewing bestselling marketing authors.
- Hosts: Douglas Burdett
- Recent Topics on Tap: Marketing Flexology, Laughing @ Advertising, Questions that Sell
- Recent Guests: Guy Kawasaki, Jay Acunzo, Mark Schaefer
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#13 - The BeanCast
Summary: The BeanCast is a weekly exploration and roundtable discussion of advertising trends that could have an impact your brand.
- Host: Bob Knorpp
- Recent Topics on Tap: Marketing Ethics, Branded Podcasting, Frictionless Brands
- Recent Guests: Jay Baer, Colin Glaum, Lisa Laporte
- Episode Length: One hour plus
#14 - Social Pros Podcast
Summary: Social Pros Podcast, named the best podcast at the Content Marketing Awards, provides inside looks at real people doing real social media work.
- Hosts: Jay Baer and Adam Brown
- Recent Topics on Tap: Why Your People Are the Secret to B2B Social Media Wins, How to Use Authenticity to Become an Iconic Business,
- Recent Guests: Seth Godin, Rohit Bhargava, Need James
- Episode Length: 50 - 55 minutes
#15 - The Marketing Companion Podcast
Summary: The Marketing Companion Podcast serves up insights and ideas to boost your marketing skills. It's billed as "always fun, always interesting, and always on-target with insights and ideas that will turn up your marketing intellect to an '11.'"
- Hosts: Mark Schaefer and Brooke Sellas
- Recent Topics on Tap: Social media burn-out, Mind-bending social media trends
- Recent Guests: Kerry Gorgone, Mitch Joel
- Episode Length: 25 - 40 minutes
#16 - Copyblogger FM
Summary: Copyblogger FM gets to the heart of the latest marketing tips, tactics, stories and strategies that provide acceleration for your business. Featuring a rotating lineup of analysts, this podcast covers a variety of tactical areas such as email marketing, content marketing, conversion optimization, and more.
- Hosts: Sonia Simone
- Recent Topics on Tap: Getting Your Big, Scary Projects Finished, The 3 Plus 1 Foundational Elements of Effective Persuasion
- Recent Guests: Amber Naslund, Pamela Wilson, Nathan Barry
- Episode Length: 25 minutes
#17 - Invisibilia
Summary: Invisibilia joins narrative storytelling and science to make you see your own life differently, with lessons applicable to marketers.
- Hosts: LuLu Miller, Alix Spiegel, and Hanna Rosin
- Recent Topics on Tap: The Remote Control Brain, Who Do You Let In?
- Recent Guests: Cord Jefferson, Max Hawkins, Renato Rosaldo
- Episode Length: 35 - 55 minutes
#18 - The Strategy Hour
Summary: The Strategy Hour offers actionable strategies and marketing tips for growing your business, plus in-depth interviews that go straight to the "meat and potatoes."
- Hosts: Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams
- Recent Topics on Tap: How to Listen to Your Audience, Why Creating Community is Crucial for Your Brand and Happiness
- Recent Guests: Kathleen Cutler, Sarah Peck, Nikki Porcher
- Episode Length: 35 - 40 minutes
#19 - Behind the Brilliance
Summary: Behind the Brilliance features "smart and funny" conversations and takes a weekly journey with leading innovators, creatives, and entrepreneurs.
- Host: Lisa Nicole Bell
- Topics on Tap: The link between self-awareness and success, The importance of starting small to make big changes
- Recent Guests: Laura Vanderkam, Jonathan Jackson, Paul Jarvis
- Episode Length: One hour plus
#20 - Women in Tech
Summary: Women in Tech explores marketing and technology featuring inspiring women who are Engineers, Founders, Investors, UX and UI Designers, and Journalists.
- Host: Espree Devora
- Topics on Tap: Women Empowering Technologies, Building technology-driven businesses
- Recent Guests: Kristine Kornilova, Linda Sinka, Marite Aleksandra Silava
- Episode Length: 11 - 40 plus minutes
Lifelong Learning From B2B Marketing-Focused Podcasts
Incorporating podcasts in the world of B2B marketing can be challenging, yet the advantages they offer make a strong case for considering them in your own campaigns. And it can be done. For example, our client 3M conducted one of the largest science studies ever focused on global attitudes about science. The resulting State of Science Index research report led to the launch of 3M’s first podcast, the Science Champions Podcast. Hosted by 3M’s Chief Science Advocate Jayshree Seth, the first season featured 21 science experts and influencers on topics ranging from an introduction to science in everyday life to careers in the field.
Results: The Science Champions podcast exceeded all expectations for downloads and engagement, resulting in the launch of Season 2 in March 2019. The podcast has also created relationships with science influencers and helped to showcase internal influencers. As another example, Dell Technologies wanted to partner with industry influencers to create useful content for customers and increase the influence of their internal experts, which led to the creation of the Dell Luminaries podcast, hosted by influencers Mark Schaefer and Doug Karr. The podcast highlights technology visionaries from inside Dell and out, and helps put a human touch on technology innovation. 
Results: The Dell Luminaries project built a single platform that brings voices from multiple companies under the Dell brand together. Our CEO Lee Odden recently wrote a Digital Marketing Institute article, which featured 3M and Dell’s podcasting success along with eight other B2B companies that have had strong results from influencer marketing.
It's Only Just Begun — What Are Your Favorites?
This list only scratches the surface of the excellent marketing-related podcasts available. If you have a favorite not listed here, please leave a comment with a podcast that inspires your B2B marketing efforts. Considering a podcast for your B2B brand? Get the what, why, and how lowdown on B2B podcasting from our own Joshua Nite.The post 20 Podcasts To Elevate Your B2B Marketing appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
How to Get It Done: Project Management Tips for Content Marketing Managers
When I was in high school, we had a science class project in which we were grouped into teams, and tasked with building a catapult. Whichever contraption could launch a tennis ball the farthest would win the contest. We quickly learned that the hardest part wasn’t constructing the actual catapult. It was wrangling all the team members, divvying up assignments, and keeping a collective group of energetic teenagers on track. In hindsight, maybe that was the point.
Managing Content Marketing Projects and People
Content marketing managers deal with these types of responsibilities on a daily basis. There are so many roles and functions typically involved with a time bound content initiative that we often must act as project managers, facilitating collaboration and ensuring that everyone is in a position to succeed. That’s tricky, because in most cases content marketing managers are not trained in project management. Your team is (probably) not a bunch of rambunctious high schoolers, but creatives and specialists can be fickle, and we all know that keeping them happy and harmonious is essential to producing quality work. It’s also something the business world at large could be doing a better job at. According to the 2019 In-House Creative Management Report from inMotionNow and InSource:- Only 45% of creative and marketing professionals report that morale on their team is high
- 72% say that “obtaining the necessary information to get started on a project” is the biggest administrative task that consumes their time
- 22% opine that collaboration between creative and marketing is ineffective
(Source) In the symbolic emoji measurement scale above, how can we shift the faces on our team from glum/shifty-eyed to smiling/delighted? Many organizations don’t have dedicated project managers on staff — or don’t have them available to assist with content programs directly — so this often falls on the content marketing managers themselves.
How to Improve Content Marketing Project Management
While orchestrating a variety of different individuals — all with their own personalities, preferences, and styles of working — can be highly challenging, there is a science to collaboration. So let’s map out some ways you can catapult your team to greater results.Start with Creative Briefs
We’ve been harping on the importance of documenting content strategy, and creative briefs are important incremental steps in this process. This was a key theme in the aforementioned In-House Creative Management Report, which found teams that receive adequate information at project kickoff are:- 26% more likely to say marketing leadership is effective
- 23% more likely to report high morale
- 14% more likely to get projects approved in three days or less
Keep Communication Lines Open
Even with the right groundwork in place, it’s inevitable that things will pop up over the course of a project requiring back-and-forths with multiple team members. There is a delicate balance in enabling snappy and responsive communications while ensuring creatives have the uninterrupted time they need to produce. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. One company’s ideal communication methods will look vastly different from another’s. In some cases, daily standup/huddle meetings (popularized by the agile framework) are just the ticket. For others, an office communication tool like Slack or Skype is preferred. And sometimes even plain old-fashioned email can suffice, although this seems increasingly rare. The best approach is to continually consult with your people and absorb their feedback. Figure out what works best for them and tailor it to the needs of your project.Find the Right Tools and Partners
We mentioned a couple of popular office collaboration platforms in the previous section. There are others built specifically for project management — such as Trello, Workfront, and Basecamp — and others still that are customized for content marketing initiatives. These platforms include Contently, CoSchedule, DivvyHQ, Kapost, Percolate, and more. If you manage a large, distributed team that produces high volumes of content, it might be worth your while to invest in such a solution for centralized organization and coordination. Many of the options offer free trials. Additionally, you might consider working with a partner to can lighten your load with time- and resource-consuming projects. For example, an experienced agency that specializes in content marketing (I can think of at least one!) reduces stress in numerous ways, freeing up your people to fully plug into their own work while offloading much of the management and execution.Standardize Your Review and Approval Processes
This has been an internal focus for us at TopRank Marketing. Quality assurance is a vital component of the content production process, and one where things frequently get bogged down. Nailing down the various considerations above will help smooth out reviews and approvals that push content over the hump. There are a lot of handoffs, prompts, and dependencies in play during QA, so it’s critical to have those communication lines locked down. Editorial calendar and content management software frequently has built-in workflows for multiple rounds of review. A detailed creative brief will also help provide structure for edits and feedback.Putting the Pieces Together
Ideally, you’d have a dedicated project manager running point on your content initiatives. But in reality, these responsibilities often fall on the content marketing manager’s shoulders, meaning we need to put on our PM hats and guide the ship as best we can. Pushing projects to completion, efficiently and exceptionally, isn’t all that different from building a catapult or any other class project. It’s all about understanding your people, establishing clarity with everyone involved, and giving them the tools, partners, and resources they need to succeed individually. If you’re curious about how my team’s catapult turned out, we decided to put our own twist on the assignment. We jury-rigged a spring-loaded baseball bat that — once triggered — swung forth powerfully and drove the tennis ball like a hundred yards. Unfortunately we were disqualified from the contest because we failed to adhere to the actual guidelines. I suppose that if our group had a documented plan, superior communication, suitable tools, and a more stringent review process, we might’ve delivered something more in line with the actual objective. I guess I did learn something that day. Certainly not how to build a catapult. Efficiency is often top of mind for any content marketing manager. How can you enhance your ability to manage your work and save time. Check out these tips to overclock your B2B marketing efficiency.The post How to Get It Done: Project Management Tips for Content Marketing Managers appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Monday, April 8, 2019
The Future of B2B Content: Data-Informed, Interactive, and Influential
Before embarking on any new marketing initiative or trying a new tactic, B2B marketers need to answer and essential question: Why? While most B2B marketers won’t admit it, many still practice some "spaghetti/wall marketing” wherein each year they throw new digital tactics “against the wall” to see what sticks without really knowing why a tactic would work for their audience over another. This is not to say that you should stifle your desire to innovate and try new things. But you need to be strategic and test. I would challenge more marketers to do more research around customer insights and preferences so that any changes they make are driven by data and informed hypothesis—rather than simply trying new things to see if they will work.
Focusing Your Data Lens
For content, we focus on three types of customer data:- Discovery: Where, when, and how buyers find information that helps them identify a solution.
- Consumption: Preferences for channels, content types, topics, formats, devices, and experience.
- Action: What triggers will motivate the desired action.
A New View of Content
What does that customer driven content look like in today’s landscape? It’s data-informed. It’s interactive. It’s influential. For example, client Prophix provides Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software in an industry not known for exciting marketing. With an understanding that B2B buyers are also consumers, they decided to launch campaigns that would go beyond educating buyers to “info-taining” them. To create a standout content experience for their annual report for the financial planning and accounting industry, they brought together financial industry influencers with an interactive online game. The quiz-themed game asked questions using data from the report as well as from the influencers who were represented as avatars within the game.
The creative element to the content plus the collaboration with trusted industry experts drove performance of this program above and beyond expectations, beating the benchmark for asset views by 600%. With a taste for what interactive content and working with industry influencers for content and promotion can do, Prophix followed up with another campaign featuring a simulated voice assistant named Penny. An interactive microsite highlighted the intersection of finance and artificial intelligence with Penny as the guide. By interacting with Penny, users were able to access a group of influencers that provided their expertise via audio and text. The microsite had 189% more views than the benchmark and 642% more engagement. 
By taking what is often called “boring-to-boring” content and packaging it as an interactive experience with trusted experts providing useful information, Prophix was able to realize their “new lens” of marketing as something that was beyond a shiny object. It was effective marketing.
An Eye to the Future of B2B Marketing
B2B brands are increasingly investing in interactive influencer marketing to engage with industry influencers and co-create content that is packaged with brand content in an experience that is engaging for influencers and buyers alike. The sheer volume of information and media that confronts people in the business world is overwhelming and often pretty boring. Creating compelling experiences with interactive content is one way to stand out, differentiate, and optimize for effectiveness. At the same time, buyers don’t trust advertising or brand marketing messages. Co-creating content with trusted experts brings credibility and interest to the brand message. My upcoming presentation at the 2019 Clever Content Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 will help B2B marketers understand how to "break free of boring B2B” by exploring the top interactive formats, best practices for influencer engagement and case studies featuring mid-market and large enterprise B2B brands doing interactive influencer marketing right. Learn more about my presentation here. If you're thirsty for more on this topic, check out these other related posts:- B2B Brands Go Bold: 7 Great Examples of Interactive B2B Content
- Bye-Bye Boring B2B: Lee Odden Shows B2BMX Attendees the Power of Interactive Influencer Content
- Interactive Content Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Should Take Their Content From Boring to Bold
The post The Future of B2B Content: Data-Informed, Interactive, and Influential appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019
We made it, B2B marketers. Spring is finally in the air and Quarter 1 is officially a wrap. Take a moment to bask in your individual, team, and business successes—you earned it. As is tradition, in just a few short months the digital marketing industry has experienced some newsworthy shifts—from a big Google algorithm update in March to a host of new targeting and advertising features across several platforms. To build on the Q1 successes we just celebrated—and take full advantage of new opportunities—let’s take a look back at what 2019 has gifted us so far. What’s new and worth paying attention to? What opportunities and challenges have arisen? And what do we all need to keep in mind as we move into and beyond Q2? Let’s dive in.
The Digital Marketing Sights and Sounds of Q1
When It Comes to Digital Marketing Spend …
CMOs are continuing to diversify their budgets to adapt to new trends, take advantage of opportunities, and overcome challenges. According to Forrester, CMOs will spend nearly $150 billion by 2023 on search marketing, banner and outstream advertising, instream advertising, and email marketing in the United States. However:- Paid search is expected to lose share to shopping and voice search;
- Programmatic banner buys will retrench;
- Television innovation will likely drive more instream growth;
- And email will “woo B2B adopters.”
- As the B2B buyer’s journey becomes increasingly similar to that of its B2C counterpart, the B2B e-commerce market is expanding rapidly—and expected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2023. (Demand Gen Report)
- B2B brands are feeling the pressure to take a stand on values, as a new study reveals that 8 in 10 business leaders would end a business relationship based on the vendor’s failure to address high-stakes communications like data security. (Marketing Dive)
When It Comes to Search Marketing …
While Google always draws plenty of news coverage, it’s recent core update was a big attention grabber. According to Search Engine Journal, it was “one of the biggest updates in years,” focusing not on any particular signal or niche, but to make overall improvements. In addition, mobile continues to be an area worthy of marketers’ attention for a couple reasons: Mobile web traffic is dominating the search landscape, with Google releasing its first mobile-first indexing update last year and indicating that mobile-first will be an ongoing focus. As a result, this should be an ongoing focus in Q2 and beyond. Beyond the search implications, mobile is essential to connecting and creating amazing experiences. In fact, according to a new Adobe* survey of 1,000 adult smartphone owners:- 89% of respondents agreed strongly that they need a device while on the go, while one-fifth of respondents said that they cannot live without their devices.
- 50% of respondents said the ad offers they receive are just “OK.”
- Less than 20% of respondents said the offers they receive are relevant.
- Updates to Google My Business now gives business owners the opportunity to share service areas and information via Google Maps and Search. (Google)
- In addition, business owners can now respond to reviews via Google Maps on desktop. (Search Engine Roundtable)
- Bing began piloting Custom Audiences, which would enable marketers to remarket customized messages to each customer segment (Search Engine Land)
- Nielsen and Google announced a new partnership for mobile ad measurement. (Fast Company)
When It Comes to Content Marketing …
Content is the beating heart of digital marketing strategies. And Backlinko, with the help of their data partner BuzzSumo, recently analyzed 912 million blog posts to understand the current state of content marketing. Some interesting findings include:- Long-form content gets an average of 77.2% more links than short articles.
- When it comes to social shares, longer content outperforms short blog posts. However, for articles that exceed 2,000 words, return diminishes.
- Question headlines get 23.3% more social shares than headlines that don’t end with a question mark.
- “Why” and “what” posts, as well as infographics, received 25.8% more links compared to videos and “How-to” posts.
- How a Best Answer Content Strategy Drives B2B Marketing Results
- Power Pages and Best Answer Content: Should You Go Long Form or Short Form?
- The 2019 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study is out. It’s findings? Thought leadership content influencers the majority of buyers, but only if it’s done right. (Edelman)
When It Comes to Social Media …
We predicted that 2019 would bring a new age of “Stories-telling” on social media. Simply put, Facebook Stories for Pages and Instagram Stories have offered brands a new medium and style for reaching their audience. And some cool stuff happened on this front in Q1. Most notably, Facebook confirmed in mid-March that it was testing a new feature that would let Pages archive and share Stories. Why is this a big deal? Because it would allow users to help expand the organic reach of a brand’s content beyond its followers, according to Search Engine Land. And in a time when organic reach and engagement on social is dwindling for brands, it’s worth considering whether the Stories format fits in with your business and marketing objectives, your audience, and so on. Read more on this topic:- What You Need to Know About Instagram Stories for B2B Marketing
- The Future of Connection on Facebook: How Stories May Change the Marketing Game
- LinkedIn* launched its live video platform in January, giving organizations the ability to broadcast in real-time to select groups or the LinkedIn community at large. (TechCrunch)
- Facebook announced that it would be updating its ad reporting, replacing its singular relevancy score with three new metrics: Quality ranking, engagement rate ranking, and conversion rate ranking. (Search Engine Journal)
- Twitter announced it was developing new tools to make it easier for publishers to understand what type of content is resonating with their readers. (TechCrunch)
- To avoid data privacy issues and get paid for its data, Twitter announced that it will start requiring app developers to submit their app for review if that app calls recent tweets or mentions a user more than 100,000 times per day. (TechCrunch)
- LinkedIn announced a new partnership with Adobe to improve ad targeting. (Social Media Today)
When It Comes to Influencer Marketing …
Adoption of B2B influencer marketing continued to rise in Q1. From enhancing trust and credibility to reaching new audiences, more B2B brands are beginning to understand the many benefits of forming mutually beneficial partnerships with influential voices. Just last month, TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden outlined five B2B influencer marketing trends marketers need to pay attention to:- Micro and Macro Influencers. A lot of marketing press has emphasized micro or even “nano” influencers over celebrities. There’s merit to that. But successful programs map the right “big and small” influencers to the right content within the buying journey.
- Centralizing Influencer Operations. Disparate processes and lack of coordination can create real problems. But centralizing influencer marketing operations can create opportunities across organizations.
- Always-On Influencer Engagement. Early on, many B2B brands are campaign-focused when working with influencers. But more advanced marketers and brands are focused on developing relationships and fostering advocacy with influencer partners on an ongoing basis.
- Focus on Quality vs. Quantity Metrics. From influencer identification to brand vs. popularity, there’s a big shift happening in the way qualitative metrics are used.
- Influencer Marketing Software Investment. As organizations begin to implement influencer marketing initiatives across departments and businesses, coordination in identification, engagement, and measurement needs to be a priority. And specialized platforms can help.
- According to Buffer’s State of Social 2019 report, 37% of survey respondents—marketers from across a wide range of industries—say their business has invested in influencer marketing. And 68% say their investment has been “somewhat” or “very” effective. (Buffer)
When It Comes to The TopRank Marketing Team …
We’ve been busy. And without going into too much detail, here’s just a quick recap of some of the team’s highlights:- Lee continued his speaking adventures all around the real and digital world including: a live webinar with BuzzSumo on best answer content for B2B, a presentation on creating experiences with interactive influencer content at inOrbit 2019 in Slovenia and B2B Marketing Exchange in Scottsdale, AZ, and more.
- Senior Director of Digital Strategy Ashley Zeckman and Account Manager Jane Bartel teamed up to share how the team deployed an always-on influencer marketing program for a “leading social networking site for professionals.”
- We kept our live blogging skills sharp at B2B Marketing Exchange and Social Media Marketing World 2019.
- Our agency was featured in Forrester’s B2B Marketing Agencies, North America, Q1 2019” report—which to our absolute delight, called out our experience in B2B influencer marketing.
Bye-Bye, Q1. Hello and Welcome, Q2.
To recap our recap, here are some core things to keep in mind as you move into Q2 and beyond:- As innovation accelerates and preferences changes, budgets are shifting. Don’t set and forget. Always be looking for opportunities to refine and optimize.
- Mobile-first is the new mantra for improving performance and experiences.
- Best-answer content will continue to rule as buyers continue to guide their own search for solutions and inspiration.
- Social offerings are evolving in a way that benefits B2B brands. But before you jump in, do your due diligence to ensure you’re making an informed and strategic bet.
- As more B2B brands adopt influencer marketing, sophistication is growing (and so is the competition).
The post Q1’s a Wrap, B2B Marketers: Where We’ve Been & What’s Next in 2019 appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
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