Elevate B2B Influence: Strengthen Your 2023 With Our Top 10 B2B Influencer Marketing Posts

2022 has seen B2B marketers continuing to find creative new uses of influencer marketing, which has proven to be more recession-proof than other marketing tactics — and why 2023 is expected to see even more marketers and brands utilizing the power of B2B influence.  We've been fortunate to feature many fine articles on our blog over the year that explore how B2B marketers are making the most of social media marketing to elevate and achieve new levels of success. We're also fortunate to have a wealth of talented B2B marketing professionals contributing to and reading the TopRank Marketing blog — which will celebrate its 20th year in 2023. The expertise our team has acquired in helping some of the leading brands in the world including Adobe, 3M, SAP, LinkedIn, and Oracle plan, implement and measure a wide range of marketing programs has often made it here to our marketing blog. To help our B2B blog community grow its social media marketing knowledge, we're happy to once again present our annual list of the most popular B2B influencer marketing posts of the year. The B2B influencer marketing articles that were our most popular of the year are listed below, and we hope they can play a part in helping you ask the right questions and continue to provide best-answer solutions to the challenges we'll all face together in 2023. We give many thanks to you — our dedicated readers, for continuing to make the TopRank Marketing blog a go-to B2B marketing resource for two decades.

Our Most Popular B2B Influencer Marketing Posts in 2022:

1. 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: New Data, Insights, Case Studies, Predictions — Lee Odden

This year saw the release of our comprehensive 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report, featuring Brian Solis, Jay Baer, Ann Handley and many others in 59 pages rich with survey insights, case studies from B2B brands, predictions from top B2B marketing experts, a list of 20 top influencer marketing practitioners from major global B2B brands, and much more. With all that, it's no wonder the blog post announcing the report by our CEO Lee Odden was the most popular B2B influencer marketing post of 2022 on our blog.

So what’s next when it comes to B2B marketing? What do digital-first B2B influencers look like? What are the best practices and technologies for influencer marketing? How important is it for B2B brands to build influence with their employees and senior executives? This report answers all of those questions and more including insights from some of the top B2B brands in the world including AT&T Business, Salesforce, Dell, IBM, SAP, Oracle, LinkedIn, SAS, Demandbase, Treasure Data, MarketingProfs and of course, our team at TopRank Marketing.

Check out all of Lee’s 2,600+ posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“When it comes to where B2B influencer marketing can take business in the next few years, our only limitations are our imaginations.” — Brian Solis @BrianSolis of @Salesforce" username="toprank"]

2. Spotlight on Talent: 20 B2B Influencer Marketing Experts to Follow in 2022 and Beyond — Lee Odden

In our second most popular social media marketing post of the year, Lee helped put the spotlight on 20 top B2B influencer marketing experts.

On the heels of publishing our 2022 State of B2B Influencer Marketing research, there are many questions that go beyond what can be contained within a robust 59 page report, especially when there’s so much optimism around the practice. For example:

• 73% of B2B marketing organizations are working with influencers
• 95% of B2B marketers that work with influencers have achieved one of their top marketing goals
• 72% of B2B marketers have improved brand reputation working with influencers
• 86% of B2B Marketers working with influencers are successful

Another way we’re working to elevate the B2B marketing industry is by putting a spotlight on marketing talent. A favorite way to do that is by curating and publishing thoughtful lists of professionals that are both practitioners and publishers of useful information. When it comes to influencer marketing in the B2B world, there’s a lot to learn and luckily the B2B marketing pros on the list that follows have a lot to teach us.

[bctt tweet="“If the influencer fits your brand persona and core values align, it means that the content is authentic to both the company and the influencer’s audience. It is a win-win for both.” — Srijana Angdembey @srijanaa of @Oracle" username="toprank"]

3. Infographic: 20 Key Insights From The 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report — Lane R. Ellis

What are some of the key B2B influencer marketing insights that B2B marketers can use to create more authentic, trusted and meaningful experiences as we forge ahead to 2023? In our third most popular B2B social media marketing article of the year, I shared an infographic filled with 20 valuable insights and statistics taken from our 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report, including the fact that 86 percent of B2B marketers that work with influencers consider their programs to be successful. You can check out all of my posts here, and follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“86% of B2B marketers that work with influencers consider their programs successful.” — @TopRank Marketing 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report #B2BInfluencerMarketing #ElevateB2B" username="toprank"]

4. 5 Ways Influencer Marketing Builds Trust for B2B Brands — Joshua Nite

How can B2B marketers build trust, and why is it more important than ever today? In the fourth most popular social media marketing post of 2022, our own Joshua Nite shows how B2B influencer collaboration boosts visibility and credibility, diversifies voices, builds community and more.

Ever notice that the people who say, “trust me,” are the least trustworthy people around? Something about those two little words immediately puts people on guard. If you were really trustworthy, we think, you wouldn’t have to ask. Right now, we have a serious trust gap in our cultural institutions. The Edelman Trust Barometer for this year shows a continued downward spiral. Nearly half of respondents view the government and the media as divisive forces in society, rather than sources of reliable information. Thankfully, this is one of the many B2B marketing challenges that co-creating content with influential industry experts and thought leaders can fix. Here are five ways that B2B influencer marketing can build trust.

You can check out all of Joshua's posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“'The way to build trust is to align the brand with trusted, authoritative, influential people, and work with them to bring useful content to your audience and prove your commitment to the brand’s values.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

5. Optimize for B2B Marketing Success with an Influencer Marketing Strategy Checklist — Lee Odden

How can B2B marketers optimize for success? Elevating with influence provides a wealth of powerful new opportunities, and in our fifth most popular social media marketing post of the year, Lee Odden shared a helpful influencer marketing strategy checklist featuring the key considerations for developing a B2B influencer marketing strategy.

Did you know? 48% of B2B marketers say their top challenge with influencer marketing is a lack of a documented strategy. And no wonder: 53% of B2B marketers either do not have an influencer marketing strategy or it’s not documented. (2022 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report) While influencer marketing for B2B brands has gained momentum and popularity, a lack of strategy is recipe for disaster. Of course no company can have all the answers right away, but working with influencers in a way that creates a positive impact on the business requires a unique approach. If there is an expectation that partnering with influencers will advance marketing and business goals, key questions need to be answered.

• Who are the right influencers?
• How do you get the influencers to work with your brand?
• What kinds of influencer engagement and activations work best?
• Will the influencers be paid? If so, how much?
• What kind of content is best for the influencers you’ve selected?
• How will you know which influencers are effective?
• How will you measure success of the activations

Like all marketing disciplines, there are different levels of sophistication when working with B2B influencers. Once you’ve identified the topics that matter most to your brand and customers, those same topics will be used to find the right influencers.

[bctt tweet="“There are different levels of sophistication when working with B2B influencers. Once you’ve identified the topics that matter most to your brand and customers, those same topics will be used to find the right influencers.” — @LeeOdden" username="toprank"]

6. 25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers, Experts and Speakers To Follow In 2023 — Lane R. Ellis

Today's business landscape includes a wealth of B2B influencers who are shaping and elevating the future of marketing for 2023 and beyond. To celebrate and honor our industry’s B2B marketing subject matter experts, in our sixth most popular social media marketing post of the year we published our annual list of some of the world’s leading B2B marketing influencers. Our list features a few familiar faces, along with many new B2B marketing industry influencers and creators, together forming a refreshing mix of professionals to follow and learn from into 2023 and beyond. Today’s B2B marketing influencers face greater expectations for sharing content than ever, and the professionals on our list all rate especially well when it comes to audience engagement and resonance. [bctt tweet="“Today’s B2B marketing influencers face greater expectations for sharing content than ever, and the professionals featured on @TopRank Marketing's annual list excel in audience engagement and resonance.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

7. Four Ways B2B Influencer Content Builds Better Marketing Reach & ROI — Harry Mackin

Effective B2B influencer marketing is all about connecting your brand with subject matter experts who have built a devoted following, and in our seventh most popular social media marketing post of the year our Harry Mackin helped us understand four of the ways that B2B influencer content builds better reach and return on investment.

Achieving marketing ROI takes place on a longer timeline in B2B than when selling consumer products. In most cases, B2B buyers aren’t one-time-only… at least, hopefully. Instead, they’re long-term clients you may enjoy a working relationship with for years. You want these clients to look to you as a trusted service provider and subject matter expert. Influencer content can help facilitate those long term customer relationships. By partnering with the movers-and-shakers of your industry to cover the hot topics of today, you’re not just extending your reach or enticing highly-qualified new prospects. You’re also showing existing (and former) clients that you’re relevant and leading the competition. Each new piece of influencer content can put your B2B brand back at the forefront of your industry’s combination. The long term, ongoing content collaboration relationships B2B brands develop with relevant and popular influencers can in turn, help create long term relationships with customers.

You can check out all of Harry's posts here, and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“The long term, ongoing content collaboration relationships B2B brands develop with relevant and popular influencers can in turn, help create long term relationships with customers.” — Harry Mackin @Shiitakeharry" username="toprank"]

8. Turn Influential Fans Into Brand Ambassadors With B2B Influencer Marketing — Joshua Nite

What turns an influencer into a brand ambassador? From identification to relationship building, in our eighth most popular social media marketing article of the year our Joshua Nite shared a great collection of tips and insight for creating an ongoing B2B influencer program that your competitors can't match.

Once you have a group of true brand ambassadors on board, you’ve got something wonderful that your competition can’t duplicate. At the heart of it, creating brand ambassadors means pulling your influencers into a purposeful community united in common interests and goals. It means making an ongoing effort to engage and delight these folks so they can engage and delight their audiences.

[bctt tweet="“At the heart of it, creating brand ambassadors means pulling your influencers into a purposeful community united in common interests and goals.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

9. Does B2B Influencer Marketing REALLY Work? — Joshua Nite

Influencer marketing is taking B2B by storm. But does it really work? And if so, how can we make it work even better? From a more sophisticated approach to the compelling success of always-on efforts, in our ninth most-popular B2B social media marketing post of the year Joshua Nite has plenty of answers and compelling insight.

Break out the monocle and top hat — it’s time to look at the sophisticated methods of the most successful B2B influencer marketers. Having a documented strategy and making good use of tools (or employing an agency for both, cough cough) are both ways to up your maturity level. Another major component is refining your criteria for an influencer. We found that marketers are leaning away from sheer size of audience as a deciding factor, relying instead on relevance and resonance as key qualifiers. After all, would you rather reach 100,000 people including 15 potential prospects, or 1,000 people with 50 potential prospects? When you look at reach and relevance first, it broadens the definition of who can be an influencer. It could be the practitioner with a ton of industry experience, the analyst with a broad overview of the industry, your company’s executive suite, and even your employees on the front lines.

[bctt tweet="“B2B marketers are seeing success through the entire funnel with influencer marketing.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

10. 10+ B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions From Top Experts & Influencers — Lane R. Ellis

What does the future of B2B influence look like, and how will top global brands succeed with B2B influencer marketing in the push to 2023 and beyond? In the tenth most popular social media marketing article of the year, we turned to our 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report and put these questions to some of the top B2B industry influencers, leading B2B marketers from major brands, and influencer marketing technology platform executives. The popularity of influencer marketing is on the rise, with B2B marketers increasing their level of maturity and sophistication and shifting towards always-on, relationship-based influencer communities, and in this helpful article we share an array of insightful predictions.

(Click Through For More Predictions) [bctt tweet="“Marketers will need to plug the influencer component into the complex process of B2B purchasing cycles across all the touch points (from blog content to gated experiences to ABM to advocacy) to drive engagement and ROI.” — @AmishaGandhi" username="toprank"]

Thanks TopRank Marketing Readers

That's a wrap on our list of the 10 most popular B2B influencer marketing posts we've published on the TopRank Marketing blog in  2022. We published many other posts this year specifically about elevating B2B influencer marketing, a tradition we'll be certain to continue in 2023, so stay tuned. Please let us know which topics and ideas relating to the power of B2B influence you'd like to see us focus on for 2023 — we'd be delighted to hear your suggestions. Many thanks to each of you who read our blog regularly, and to all of you who comment on and share our posts on the TopRank Marketing social media channels at Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. *LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

The post Elevate B2B Influence: Strengthen Your 2023 With Our Top 10 B2B Influencer Marketing Posts appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Social: Optimize Your 2023 Social Media Marketing With Our Top 10 Posts

In 2022 B2B marketers have continued to find creative new uses of social media marketing as the marketing world experienced another year exploring uncharted territory. We've been fortunate to feature many fine articles on our blog over the year that explore how B2B marketers are making the most of social media marketing to elevate and achieve new levels of success. We're also fortunate to have a wealth of talented B2B marketing professionals contributing to and reading the TopRank Marketing blog — which will celebrate its 20th year in 2023. The expertise our team has acquired in helping some of the top brands in the world including Adobe, 3M, SAP, LinkedIn, and Oracle plan, implement and measure a wide range of marketing programs has often made it here to our marketing blog. To help our B2B blog community grow its social media marketing knowledge, we're thrilled to once again offer up our annual list of the most popular social media marketing posts of the year. The B2B social media marketing articles that were our most popular of the year are listed below, and we hope they will help you ask the right questions and continue to provide best-answer solutions to the challenges we'll all face in 2023. We give many thanks to you — our dedicated readers, for continuing to make the TopRank Marketing blog a go-to B2B marketing resource.

Our Most Popular Social Media Marketing Posts in 2022:

1. Virtual Vision: 5 New LinkedIn Features & How B2B Marketers Can Use Them To Succeed — Lane R. Ellis

LinkedIn* has released an impressive array of new features in 2022. From company page newsletters and the LinkedIn Podcast Network to the Future of Skills and many other new tools. In the most popular social media marketing post of 2022 on our blog, I shared 5 new LinkedIn features B2B marketers need to know. We've continued to explore new LinkedIn features and insight throughout 2022, including in our CEO Lee Odden's insightful "LinkedIn #B2Believe and The Playbook for Promise Making in B2B Marketing with Jim Habig," and "How LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Uses Blogging to Power Its Growth Engine." You can check out all of my posts here, and follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn. [bctt tweet="“Always seek the opportunity to acquire new ways to do marketing, because the ability to pivot & adapt to the unknown is the most valuable skill set.” — Som Puangladda @sompny" username="toprank"]

2. B2B Marketing Education: 7 Free Social Media Training Programs From Top Platforms — Lane R. Ellis

B2B marketing is ever-changing, especially when it comes to social media, and in our second most popular social media marketing post of the year we took a look at seven free social media training programs from top platforms including:

• Meltwater
• Sprinklr
• LinkedIn Learning
• Brandwatch
• Agorapulse
• Digimind
• SproutSocial

With more than 70 percent of companies recognizing online learning as essential to long-term strategy (Digital Marketing Institute), it's been a fantastic time to explore the vast array of online social media marketing courses available to B2B marketers from leading social platforms. [bctt tweet="“B2B marketers who take the time to focus on making learning a perpetual and lifelong endeavor gain key advantages that help future-proof the work we’re doing today and inspire what is coming down the pike.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

3. Survey Says: 2022 B2B Marketing Insight From Social Media Polls — Lane R. Ellis

What are the key areas in the B2B marketing industry where professionals see a need to adapt to meet new challenges? One straightforward way to gauge the pulse of the industry is simply by asking, and social media polls can offer a uniquely helpful look into the concerns of B2B marketers. In our third most popular B2B social media marketing article of the year, we took a look at what the latest poll data reveals about where B2B marketing is in 2022, from tactics and platforms to events, search and more, plus where it's headed in 2023. [bctt tweet="“Keeping on top of your audience’s outlook — whether it’s from poll results, questionnaires, surveys or other varieties of feedback — can make your B2B marketing efforts more grounded, data-backed, and authentic.” — @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

4. Listen Up: How B2B Marketers Are Expanding Social Listening Offline & Beyond — Lane R. Ellis

How can B2B marketers amp up their social listening strategy and expand it into other areas? Social listening is a vital aspect of modern B2B marketing, providing valuable insight into current and potential future customers, yet many marketers treat it almost as an afterthought. From devoting greater bandwidth to purposeful listening to using observational skills that drive marketing change, in the fourth most popular social media marketing post of 2022 we shared 5 key ways to take your listening skills to the next level. [bctt tweet="“'Listen' means much more than hearing with ears. It means to pay attention. Synonyms include observe, be attentive, give attention to, hang on words, and take notice.” — Meryl Evans @MerylkEvans" username="toprank"]

5. Livestream Marketing: 5 B2B Brands Elevating With LinkedIn Live — Lane R. Ellis

How are B2B brands elevating using LinkedIn Live? Throughout 2022 B2B brands have increasingly turned to LinkedIn’s live-streaming offering LinkedIn Live to elevate their messaging in creative new ways. Brands using LinkedIn Live are increasing engagement from virtually all public-facing sides of their organization, and pulling their professional communities closer than ever in real time using live-streaming. In our fifth most popular social media marketing post of the year, we take the lens-cap off and look at five B2B brands that are elevating customer experiences by live-streaming with LinkedIn Live, including:

• Salesforce
• Mitel
• Maersk
• Demandbase
• Mercer

[bctt tweet="“When it comes to where B2B influencer marketing can take business in the next few years, our only limitations are our imaginations.” @BrianSolis of @Salesforce" username="toprank"]

6. 5 Timely Ways B2B Brands Can Conquer Metaverse Marketing — Lane R. Ellis

What do B2B brands need to know about the metaverse? The metaverse is currently a disconnected hodgepodge of holographic hopes and digital dreams that may or may not eventually reach the sustainable velocity to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of the public and private sectors. Whether you're just testing the metaverse waters as a B2B brand, making the decision to go all-in, or taking a wait-and-see approach, in our sixth most popular social media marketing post of the year we took a deep dive into the current state of the metaverse, and shared top 5 insights B2B marketers can use today and in 2023. [bctt tweet="“People ask about virtual reality, and if the metaverse is going to be the whole future, and the answer is that it’s going to be part of the future.” — Sir Tim Berners-Lee @timberners_lee" username="toprank"]

7. Instagram’s Enhanced Creator Tags: Implications for B2B Influencer Marketing — Lane R. Ellis

How can B2B marketers benefit from Instagram's enhanced tagging features? Instagram’s addition of enhanced tagging — which is also available for use in video Reels — offers significant exposure opportunities for B2B content that has been created by multiple professionals, often precisely the type of content that is either made or co-created by B2B industry influencers. In our seventh most popular social media marketing post of the year, we looked at how enhanced Instagram tagging can help give a voice to industry experts, help elevate underrepresented talent, and boost brand visibility. [bctt tweet="“In a world where online visibility directly leads to brand sponsorships and other types of monetary opportunities, crediting is more important than ever.” — Alexandra Zaoui @ZaouiAlexandra" username="toprank"]

8. How B2B Brands Can Embrace The Metaverse, BeReal, & Other Developing Social Channels — Lane R. Ellis

Should B2B brands embrace the metaverse, BeReal, and other developing social communication channels, and if so, when is the right time to start becoming involved? While we haven't quite gone from B2B to B-to-BeReal just yet, emerging social channels such as BeReal and in a broader sense the metaverse do offer B2B marketers and brands plenty of opportunities, as we explored in our eighth most popular social media marketing article of the year. The web graveyard is littered with the digital skeletons of so many formerly promising social platforms, including some that were once seemingly poised to rise to the echelon of the most-used forms of online communication. This social media platform churn is also what helps keep the web interesting and alive, yet there’s no doubt the turnover has made it harder for B2B marketers to invest in new and developing social channels, a challenge that will continue into 2023. [bctt tweet="“People make purchasing decisions based on recommendations and perceptions of people (not brands) they respect and trust. Influencers will be essential for humanizing B2B brands in 2022.” — Tamara McCleary @TamaraMcCleary" username="toprank"]

9. Copious Content: 5 Creative Ways B2B Marketers Can Benefit From Twitter’s New Long-Form Publishing — Lane R. Ellis

How can B2B marketers rev up their social media engines using some of the new long-form social media content publishing features? In our ninth most-popular B2B social media marketing post of the year, we examined how community-building, executive influence, and episodic or unexpected content can help B2B long-form content thrive on social platforms. [bctt tweet="“It takes great storytelling to attract, engage, and convert in B2B marketing, and having a bigger slate to work with lets more powerful brand, customer, and employee stories gain a new audience.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

10. Cannes Creative B2B Lions: What Award-Winning B2B Marketing Looks Like In 2022 — Lane R. Ellis

What does award-winning B2B marketing look like? For the first time since the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity began in the 1950s, the 2022 event saw dedicated B2B-specific marketing award categories, offering a new opportunity for B2B marketers to have their efforts shine on the global stage. Now that the inaugural Cannes Creative B2B Lions awards event has taken place, in the tenth most popular social media marketing article of the year, we took a look at just what award-winning B2B campaign efforts look like in 2022, and where they are likely to be headed in 2023. [bctt tweet="“The next twenty years will be about the ‘Creatification’ of a new generation of tech businesses.” — Ryan Roslansky, @LinkedIn CEO" username="toprank"]

Thanks TopRank Marketing Readers

That's a wrap on our a varied and insightful selection of the 10 most popular social media marketing posts from the TopRank Marketing blog in  2022. We published many other posts this year specifically about elevating B2B social media marketing, a tradition we'll continue in 2023, so stay tuned. Please let us know which social media marketing topics and ideas you'd like to see us focus on for 2023 — we'd be thrilled to hear your suggestions. Many thanks to each of you who read our blog regularly, and to all of you who comment on and share our posts on the TopRank Marketing social media channels at Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. *LinkedIn is a TopRank Marketing client.

The post Elevate B2B Social: Optimize Your 2023 Social Media Marketing With Our Top 10 Posts appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Elevate B2B Marketing News: LinkedIn’s B2B Marketing Trends, SEO Adoption Climbs, & New Pew & Gartner Marketing Reports

LinkedIn Details 3 B-to-B Marketing Trends That Will Shape 2023 The B2B marketing industry will undergo significant transformation in 2023 and beyond, with more personalized and meaningful outreach, a shift to minimizing risks, and greater engagement with high-probability buyers — three of several findings of interest to B2B marketers from LinkedIn (client) shared with Adweek. Adweek Podcasts Are Now A Top Source of Thought Leadership Content in the US Social media business influencers, traditional email newsletters, also with webinars and virtual panels joined business podcasts as the top thought leadership content sources among business decision-makers, according to recently-released survey data. MarketingCharts New LinkedIn Analytics: More Insight Into Followers & Top Posts Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has rolled out an array of new performance measurement features for posts on the professional social media platform, including new content impression and interaction data, along with updated follower demographic information, LinkedIn recently announced. Search Engine Journal Nine Revisions Later, 2022 Global Ad Consensus Ends Close To Where It Began Advertising spending growth for 2022 is expected to come in at 7.6 percent in the latest consensus forecast data from Dentsu, GroupM, Magna, and Zenith, with 2023 expansion of 6.6 percent now expected, with 2024 ad spend forecast to rise by 5.6 percent, according to newly-published MediaPost data. MediaPost Google’s Desktop Search Results Are Now Continuously Scrollable Search results that would have previously taken up to six pages to click through are now displayed in one continuously-scrollable search engine result page (SERP), changing the nature of what marketers consider a traditional first-page ranking, as Google has launched its latest desktop search update, the search giant recently announed. Search Engine Journal Of All Their Worries, CMOs and Brand Managers Are Most Concerned with ROI When it comes to the top concerns facing chief marketing officers and other brand managers, return on investment (ROI), work location, inflation, and increasing profits were seen as the top concerns, according to newly-published survey data of interest to B2B marketers. MarketingCharts Reddit Adds Images in Comments for Selected Communities Social news aggregator and discussion platform Reddit has rolled out a new option that allows images in certain message thread comments — presently limited to some 1,500 of the platform's subreddits — offering marketers new brand exposure opportunities on the social platform, Reddit recently announced. Social Media Today Gartner: Uncertainty clouds CMO prospects for 2023 Some 75 percent of audiences have looked online for information about brands unfamiliar to them, as increasing brand loyalty and value were seen among the major 2023 trends forecast in newly-published CMO research from Gartner. Disruptive market dynamics and changing customer behaviors were also seen as factors marketers can be expected to increasingly face in 2023. Marketing Dive Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. is a Major Outlier A new Pew study shows that social media usage has climbed by 22 percent over the past decade, and over the past 20 years in the U.S. Internet usage has risen from 64 percent in 2002 to some 93 percent in 2022, according to the recently-released study data. Pew Research Center SEO Adoption Rates Rising As Marketers See Benefits 90 percent of enterprise search marketers have said that they see search engine optimization (SEO) as an important or extremely important channel in forthcoming 2023 marketing strategy, with 56 percent pinpointing SEO as extremely important in light of increasingly-scrutinized budgets — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey results. MediaPost [bctt tweet="“Investing in SEO and PPC are two halves of the same coin. They both require patience, strategy, and an understanding of how they work together to produce successful outcomes over time.” — Jim Yu @JimYu" username="toprank"] ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “Tip Creep, Tip-flation, and Tip Fatigue” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist I Found the Perfect Replacement for Twitter. It’s LinkedIn — Wired Mastodon Comes To The IBM PC — Hackaday Millennial Audiophile Prefers Warm, Crisp Sound of Music Downloaded From LimeWire — The Hard Times TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lane R. Ellis / TopRank Marketing — This Week in Marketing: Looking Back and Planning Ahead — LinkedIn (client)
• TopRank Marketing — The Top Marketing Channels, And How They’ll Change in 2023 [+Data] — HubSpot
• Lee Odden — How to Curate Social Media Content Like a Professional — Business 2 Community
• Debbie Friez — Job cuts at CNN, Gannett, Wash Post — LinkedIn (client)

Have you come across a top 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 be with us this week for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope 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: LinkedIn’s B2B Marketing Trends, SEO Adoption Climbs, & New Pew & Gartner Marketing Reports appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Take the Lead with Full-Funnel B2B Lead Gen

The definition of a ‘lead’ has been a point of contention for ages. Marketers feel like anyone who gives up their contact information in exchange for an asset should be considered a lead. Sales thinks the term should be restricted to people who are actually part of the decision-making process and currently in-market. The classic battle of marketing vs sales, but we are here to help connect the dots.  As businesses brace for a potential recession, marketers will increasingly be held accountable for the quality of leads we provide. We will need to get closer to the sales definition: People who are relevant, on the buying committee, and at least a few steps into their customer journey. The good news is that our existing B2B content marketing tactics can deliver all of the above. It’s just a matter of strategy. Content marketing isn’t just part of a full-funnel B2B marketing plan—it’s the foundation. Our team has developed a playbook to guide your full-funnel lead gen strategy for optimized quality and conversion. Download your copy now: Here are a few highlights from this resource to help you take the lead (get it):

1 — Develop a full-funnel content strategy

It’s easy to focus your content marketing efforts on the demand side. How often have we heard that content marketing shouldn’t be too sales-y or brand focused? But once we’ve raised that awareness and gen’d that demand, we can’t just drop people into the void. Content is the vehicle to move people through the entire funnel. Our agency defines full-funnel content like this: Your content strategy should include content for all three stages. What’s more, each should include a point of entry for someone in a previous stage and a logical next step to keep the journey going.

2 — Use content, influencers & promotion to select your audience

B2B marketers have the privilege of choosing our most valuable audiences. All we have to do is use the tools at our disposal. First, how you angle your content determines who will respond to it. Best answer content to specific search queries will draw in the specific audience you’re looking for. Influencer contributions are another way to select a specific subset of potential readers. Look for influencers who already have a following that matches your ideal customer profile.  Finally, use targeted ads (especially on LinkedIn) to promote your content to people in the right industry, role and seniority to become potential leads.

3 — Best answer content + strategic promotion = great results

One stellar example of full-funnel content marketing comes from our client Smartsheet. They wanted to raise awareness of a new Microsoft Teams integration, as well as drive new downloads and implementation of the tool. TopRank Marketing deployed a full-funnel campaign, starting with social-first posts featuring influencers, continuing through blog posts for middle funnel, and finally a campaign hub page to drive conversions. The result: Smartsheet saw a 30% increase in app downloads, in addition to top-of-funnel KPIs like traffic and page-views. Check out the full case study here

It’s time to be a lead gen leader

B2B organizations are battening down the metaphorical hatches as the economic forecast shifts. That can mean tighter budgets for marketers, not to mention more pressure to tie their efforts directly to revenue. Full-funnel content marketing can help you achieve greater marketing value and prove your worth to the business. Ready to take the lead? Download B2B Full-Funnel Lead Gen: A Guide for Optimized Quality & Conversion to get started. Ready to connect with one of our lead gen experts now? Book a time to talk about how we can elevate your 2023 strategy!  

The post Take the Lead with Full-Funnel B2B Lead Gen appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

20+ Reasons B2B Brands Are Increasingly Moving To Influencer Marketing

Why are B2B brands increasingly turning to influencer marketing? B2B influencer marketing is the business-oriented cousin to the B2C Instagram entertainment and lifestyle influencer. In B2B, some influencers go by creators, subject matter experts, industry experts, or other terms that disassociate them from the B2C influencer. Whichever term is used, B2B influencer marketing provides an ideal way to combat disintegrating brand trust, so it’s no wonder that by the end of 2022 the B2B influencer marketing vertical is expected to reach $11.7 billion in revenue, with over 38 percent of B2B firms exploring influencer marketing for lead-generation and more, according to AdAge. B2B influencer marketing is a many-faceted digital diamond that when done well shines brightly, however brands need to be wary of treating it like its vastly different B2C counterpart. Let's take a look at 20-plus advantages that B2B influencer marketing holds over traditional marketing strategies.

B2B Influencer Marketing Offers Key Advantages

New analysis published in the Harvard Business Review has shown that average brand boost could reach 16.6 percent by properly utilizing influencer marketing, with influencer originality accounting for a 15.5 percent rise in return on investment (ROI). B2B marketers have said that influencer marketing will be among their three top priorities in the next three to five years, as 59 percent of marketing leaders noted that they considered B2B influencer marketing a priority today, and 64 percent pinpointing it as a top priority over the upcoming three to five years, according to recently-released survey data from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The academic world has also begun to take notice of the power of B2B influencer marketing, such as the comprehensive "B2B Influencer Marketing: Conceptualization and Four Managerial Strategies" study recently-published by Science Direct / Elsevier, including numerous citations to our own groundbreaking first industry B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report. Social media publications are also increasingly becoming aware of B2B influencer marketing, such as Social Media Today's recent article "15 Ways the B2B Influencer Marketing Industry is Changing [Infographic]," featuring our own latest infographic filled with data from our newest free 59-page 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report. Influencer marketing has emerged as a key way that B2B brands can get the most marketing bang for their buck and help recession-proof marketing strategy. U.S. organizations are expected to spend $6.16 billion on influencer marketing during 2023, climbing from the $5 billion seen during 2022, as influencer marketing has been more resilient than other forms of marketing, with influencer marketing budgets staying strong, according to recently-published forecast data from Insider Intelligence.

Enduring Relationships & Increased Thought Leadership

B2B influencer marketing helps build successful and lasting relationships, as our CEO Lee Odden recently explored in a fascinating podcast with Justin Levy, director of social and influencer marketing at Demandbase, in "The Impact of Building Long-Term Relationships with Influencers with Lee Odden." 42 percent of organizations with more than 1,000 employees work with influencers and creators, while only 28 percent of smaller businesses with under 100 workers do, according to Hootsuite’s newly-released annual social trends report. 2023 is likely to see more B2B organizations of all size either expand their existing influencer programs or beginning their first. B2B influencer marketing helps improve brand reputation and awareness, as well as generating new leads, as diginomica recently explored in "Influencer Marketing - first, catch your influencer...," also featuring data taken from our most recent research report. B2B influencer marketing offers an ideal framework for successful content planning, creation, and promotion, as we covered recently in "Planning, Creation & Promotion: 5 Top Tactics For Creating Inspired B2B Content." B2B influencer marketing can have a direct impact on building thought-leadership and executive influence, and the time to redefine influencer marketing may have arrived, as our own senior content marketing manager Joshua Nite has explored in "How to Create More Authentic Influencer-Driven Content to Attract Qualified Prospects." "In our survey, over half of respondents said they included internal executives in their influencer content. Nearly half said they included their employees as well. This is a clear opportunity to create more valuable content and build your organization’s thought leadership at the same time," Joshua observed. "It’s time to redefine influence. Your most valuable prospects are looking to industry leaders, practitioners and peers for advice. Your team can deliver all of the above with the right mix of influencers," Joshua added. [bctt tweet="“It’s time to redefine influence. Your most valuable prospects are looking to industry leaders, practitioners and peers for advice. Your team can deliver all of the above with the right mix of influencers.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"]

B2B Influence Creates Meaningful Brand Experiences & Builds Trust

When it comes to creating meaningful brand experiences and authentically connecting with buyers, B2B influencer marketing has found growing success. "In times like these, the importance of influence is critical for B2B brands that need to connect authentically with their buyers and create meaningful experiences," Lee observed in our "2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report: New Data, Insights, Case Studies, Predictions." [bctt tweet="“In times like these, the importance of influence is critical for B2B brands that need to connect authentically with their buyers and create meaningful experiences.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden" username="toprank"] Social media platforms have proven to hold both influence and attention, while the influencer economy has gained precedence as a top form of customer communications, as B2B brand content creators increasingly become the faces of the brands they represent, as Talkwalker recently covered in its Social Media Trends 2023 Global Report. “Content creators will become the faces of the brands they represent, especially in B2B. People trust people more than companies. Expertise is key to building trust with your audience,” Daniel Murray, founder of The Marketing Millennials observed. [bctt tweet="“Content creators will become the faces of the brands they represent, especially in B2B. People trust people more than companies. Expertise is key to building trust with your audience.” — Daniel Murray @Dmurr68" username="toprank"]

Dispelling The Boring-To-Boring Myth & Boosting Engagement

The type of digital experiences that work so well within a B2B influencer marketing framework go a long way towards dispelling the longstanding notion of B2B being nothing but boring-to-boring, as Lee detailed in the recent "Break Free of Boring B2B with Influencer Content Ft. Lee Odden" episode of The Data-Driven Marketing podcast with host Mark Richardson, director of global content operations at Dun & Bradstreet. The popularity of influencer marketing is on the rise, as 85 percent of respondents to our extensive survey expect activity to increase over the next year, with B2B marketers increasing their level of maturity and sophistication and shifting towards always-on, relationship-based influencer communities. You can take an eye-opening look at the future and power of B2B influence from 10 of the world’s top experts and influencers in our “10+ B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions From Top Experts & Influencers.”

(Click Through For More Predictions) B2B influencer marketing also helps when it comes to boosting content engagement. In fact, 32 percent of marketers and influencers have said that influencer marketing has increased engagement, while 65 percent of marketers said that influencer marketing works more often than it fails, recent data has shown. Additionally, 30 percent of consumers have reported that recommendations from influencers are among the most important factors in purchase decisions — more than the 27 percent who pointed to friends or family, while an upcoming greater reliance on influencers has joined greater adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), according to HubSpot’s look at the future of social media.

B2B Influence Will See Increasing Use Among Brands in 2023

via GIPHY While this list of more than 20 of the reasons why B2B brands are increasingly moving to influencer marketing only scratches the surface, 2023 is certain to see new takes on B2B influencer marketing that we can't yet set, however by keeping on top of the most recent industry shifts, we'll be better prepared for what the coming years hold in store. Especially with B2B influencer content, crafting 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.

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B2B Marketing News: B2B Influencer Marketing A Growing Priority, LinkedIn’s Scheduled Posts & Competitor Analytics, & The Media Time Paradox

Changes to B2B ecommerce coming fast [SURVEY DATA] B2B executives expect eCommerce revenue to grow from 20 percent to 31 percent during 2023, while in 2021 digital-first B2B buyers said that they utilized 10 separate sales channels, up from 7.5 in 2020 — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published report data. Digital Commerce 360 3 Trends Driving The Consumerization Of B2B E-Commerce 60 percent of digital-first B2B buyers have said that they view e-commerce experiences as very important, with some 67 percent noting they switched to vendors that presented a more consumer-like experience, according to recently-released survey data. Forbes [bctt tweet="“The size of the B2B e-commerce market and its potential impact on the global economy should really be driving more headlines.” — Justin Main @jtothemain" username="toprank"] LinkedIn Adds New Tools for Company Pages, Including Updated Competitor Analytics Microsoft-owned LinkedIn (client) has unleashed an array of new features for business pages on the professional social media platform, including follower and engagement metrics relating to competitors, along with new search engine optimization (SEO) elements for LinkedIn's newsletter offering, LinkedIn recently announced. Social Media Today Marketers Continue to Up the Number of Data Sources They Use Marketers are not only using more sales channels than ever, but also use an average of 15 data collection sources, a number expected to rise in 2023, according to newly-published customer data source survey results of interest to digital marketers. MarketingCharts IAB releases guide for brands to start marketing in the metaverse The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has published a new resource for brands looking to enter or expand marketing within the metaverse, where continued connections with customers and greater exposure to new audiences are expected to drive significant value, according to data from the IAB report. VentureBeat LinkedIn now lets you schedule posts for later LinkedIn’s previously-announced post-scheduling features have begun rolling out for users of the platform's web and Android front ends, with Apple iOS support forthcoming, all allowing digital marketers the convenience of content planning and publishing directly within the platform, LinkedIn recently announced. TechCrunch Does Influencer Marketing Really Pay Off? New analysis published in the Harvard Business Review has shown that average brand boost could reach 16.6 percent by properly utilizing influencer marketing, with influencer originality accounting for a 15.5 percent rise in return on investment (ROI) — two of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in the report data. Harvard Business Review IPG's Magna Finds 'Media Time Paradox' -- People Spending Less Time With It By 2023 U.S. adults will spend 11.2 percent less time using media than during 2019, driven in part by increasing prioritization of experiences in real life along media burnout, as average weekly time spent with online media was expected to drop from 3.9 hours per week in 2022 to 3.6 hours in 2023 — faring better than non-digital media, according to recently-released forecast data. MediaPost Employee Advocacy: Most Will Share Company Posts if Encouraged When information about a company comes from an employee, consumers are three times more likely to trust it, while 62 percent of social media users have said that they would post content from their company if it made the process easier by writing content for them — some of the findings contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingCharts Marketers Must Be More Agile B2B marketers have said that influencer marketing will be among their three top priorities in the next three to five years, as 59 percent of marketing leaders noted that they considered B2B influencer marketing a priority today, and 64 percent pinpointing it as a top priority over the upcoming three to five years, according to recently-released survey data from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). ANA ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “Marketing Babble” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist Your High School Sweetheart Viewed Your LinkedIn Profile – Here Are 57 Things That Could Possibly Mean — The Hard Times The Onion Is Giving Away $8.3 Trillion In NFTs — The Onion TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — This Week in Marketing: Tasty Content Leftovers — LinkedIn (client)
• TopRank Marketing — B2B influencer marketing: Conceptualization and four managerial strategies — Science Direct / Elsevier
• TopRank Marketing — 15 Ways the B2B Influencer Marketing Industry is Changing [Infographic] — Social Media Today

Have you found your own top B2B marketing news item for the 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, and we hope you'll return next Friday for another round-up 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 B2B Marketing News: B2B Influencer Marketing A Growing Priority, LinkedIn’s Scheduled Posts & Competitor Analytics, & The Media Time Paradox appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Creativity & Inclusivity in B2B Marketing with Ty Heath

Last month, we introduced our all new podcast, Elevate B2B, with the goal of elevating the B2B industry. The show features conversations that inform, include and inspire the best of B2B marketing. Each episode will feature insights from a B2B marketing leader having a conversation with our very own Lee Odden. The Elevate B2B Marketing Podcast kicked off with the queen of content herself, Ann Handley of MarketingProfs. She shared insights about the new normal of B2B marketing and emphasized the need for empathy and emotion in content marketing. Check it out here if you missed it.  Featured guest, Tyrona Heath, joins this next episode of Elevate B2B to discuss creativity & inclusivity in B2B marketing. Ty is a leading B2B marketer, speaker, author, athlete and community builder who explores topics at the intersection of behavioral science, diversity, equity, inclusion and transformation. She is Director of Market Engagement at The B2B Institute at LinkedIn, which is a think tank funded by LinkedIn studying the future of B2B marketing and decision making. Ty is passionate about connecting people with information needed to make intelligent decisions, sharing research to help marketers be more productive and successful with a bit of humor. She is also a two time Olympic Trials qualifier and top B2B marketing influencer dedicated to leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion. When asked what she is move excited about in the B2B marketing world right now, Ty shared, “I feel the energy and the shift in the industry right now.  It's one of the most exciting times to be a B2B marketer. More people are excited to work on B2B creative and B2B ideas and are excited about the long term relationship building aspects and the science of it.” - Ty Heath [bctt tweet="“I feel the energy and the shift in the industry right now. It’s one of the most exciting times to be a B2B marketer.” — Ty Heath @tyrona" username="toprank"] “There's just massive growth potential in the B2B economy. B2B sales add up to be about $9 trillion a year, but it doesn't focus enough on long term brand building. That means there's an opportunity for massive value creation.” - Ty Heath [bctt tweet="“There's just massive growth potential in the B2B economy. B2B sales add up to be about $9 trillion a year, but it doesn't focus enough on long term brand building. That means there's an opportunity for massive value creation.” — @tyrona" username="toprank"] Here are a few highlights and topics covered in the conversation between Ty and Lee:

• The importance of investing in branding and marketing during market downturns
• Principles of creativity in B2B marketing
• Managerial diversity and prioritization breaking human bias
• The role of emotion and logic within marketing
• and MORE!

Check out the full interview podcast here:     Listen & subscribe to the Elevate B2B Marketing Podcast now

The post Creativity & Inclusivity in B2B Marketing with Ty Heath appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.