For centuries, American families and friends have come together on Thanksgiving Day to feast and give thanks for all of life’s beautiful gifts. But I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again—Thanksgiving isn’t limited to one day in the TopRank Marketing realm. Every day, I see attitudes of gratitude. To date in 2019, our team has typed the words “thank you” in Slack communications a whopping 7,737 times, and “thanks” 4,113 times. via GIPHY As is TopRank Marketing tradition, I’ve asked team members to share what they’re most thankful for in work and in life. Here’s what many had to say.
Lee Odden
Annie Leuman
Keith Widerski
Josh Nite
Ashley Zeckman
Birdie Zepeda
Jack Fitzpatrick
Tiffani Allen
Elizabeth Williams
Debbie Friez
Lane Ellis
The post Grateful and Glad: What the TopRank Marketing Team is Most Thankful For appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
B2B marketing is swiftly embracing techniques that were once only for B2C, and we’ve got five smart B2C tactics to add to your B2B plans for 2020 and well beyond. Influencer marketing, engaging interactive content, awards events, chatbots, and podcasting are just some of the ways that today's savvy B2B marketers can add a healthy dose of the B2C experience to your business marketing efforts.
Even though influencer marketing is still largely associated with the B2C world, you’ve likely noticed that it’s being increasingly used by smart marketers as a highly successful go-to B2B tactic. Influencer marketing has already accounted for over $2 billion in annual marketing spending in the U.S. alone, and annual growth rates are predicted to from 41 percent all the way to 95 percent. (AdAge) 
B2C influencer marketing has relied heavily on celebrity influencers, a combination that has faced a growing backlash and played a part in diminishing trust in marketing. B2B influencer marketing, on the other hand, incorporates industry experts who have a genuine two-way relationship with a brand, a partnership that respectfully serves both parties equally well, and boosts trust. While influencer marketing may have had its ups and downs in the B2C landscape, influencers in the B2B world may just be a perfect match. [bctt tweet="“Invite people to be in your program first and then do some brainstorming with them and see what they like, how they like to interact or what they like to do for companies.” @AmishaGandhi" username="toprank"] Amisha Gandhi is vice president of influencer marketing and communications at SAP*, and she recently shared her B2B influencer marketing insights in one of our new Break Free B2B video interviews, including creative and fun ways that add sizzle and build brand credibility. Watch and learn from Amisha in “Break Free B2B Series: Amisha Gandhi on Global B2B Influencer Marketing.” [bctt tweet="If you don’t tie your influencer marketing to business objectives, you can quickly lose track of what you’re trying to accomplish. @Konstanze" username="toprank"] Konstanze Alex of Dell* is another leader in B2B influencer marketing, and along with Amisha and Dell's Janine Wegner at the most recent MarketingProfs B2B Forum conference, she explored some of the latest trends shaping influencer marketing, in "Tales from the B2B Influencer Marketing Trenches with Leaders from Dell & SAP #MPB2B." [bctt tweet="“Influencer marketing presents an opportunity to tap into the established credibility and connections that people in your industry or niche already have with their own audiences.” @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] Our own senior content strategist Nick Nelson and senior director of digital strategy Ashley Zeckman have also explored the subtle nuances of B2B influencer marketing, taking "A Journey Through Always-On Influencer Marketing with Ashley Zeckman #MPB2B." [bctt tweet="We pride ourselves on cultivating and nurturing long-term relationships with our influencers … which means we are always looking to establish a ‘give to get’ exchange where all parties come out ahead. @ranimani0707 @adobe" username="toprank"] Rani Mani, head of social influencer enablement at Adobe* is another leading B2B influencer marketing expert, and she has shared a number of her unique insights in "B2B Influencer Marketing Interview: Rani Mani, Adobe." Trust in marketing has been a growing concern among marketers — one that B2B influencer marketing is squarely seeking to improve — and here are five of our most recent articles that explore how marketers can build greater trust:
B2C brands have spent heavily on bringing consumers engaging interactive online content as a major part of many marketing campaigns. As the B2B landscape continues to speedily depart from its dusty Boring-To-Boring roots, business customers are expecting content and experiences that are increasingly similar to what B2C efforts have long provided, and engaging interactive experiences exemplify the type of content B2B firms need to offer if they wish to successfully compete. What could be less interactive or engaging than a hundred-plus page purely text industry white paper? Today’s B2B customers expect to have access to all of the relevant information that white paper contained, but brought to life through an online interface that’s not only easy to search and navigate, but also chock full of user experience features that make interacting an entertaining experience. [bctt tweet="“You may need to take baby steps with your audience to get them warmed up to the idea of interactivity.” — Caitlin Burgess @CaitlinMBurgess" username="toprank"] Engaging and interactive content marketing is a subject near and dear to our hearts at TopRank Marketing, and here are five of the most recent pieces we’ve published to help you learn more about building your own:
As B2B efforts become more like those in B2C, business marketers are increasingly looking for places to showcase their best work, and industry awards events can be a powerful way to share and celebrate cutting-edge work. Whether it’s physical red carpet award programs where industry professionals gather to honor the top B2B marketing work, or purely digital events that show off lists of winning campaigns, the benefits of highlighting great B2B marketing efforts can be far-reaching. LinkedIn* recently announced the winners of its "Best of LinkedIn Pages 2019," taken from submissions to its annual contest — a list that shows how building great content can lead to widespread industry recognition. We’ve examined the power of award-winning content in the following articles, including several examples from the Cannes Lions event:
B2C companies were some of the first to actively offer chatbots to consumers, however there’s been swift adoption in the B2B world, and with studies showing that people like interacting with powerful chatbots when they can quickly get the answers they seek, more B2B organizations are likely to begin using chatbot technology in 2020 and beyond. 
For a deeper look at how chatbots, artificial intelligence, plus augmented and virtual reality can work to your B2B marketing advantage, here are five recent articles we’ve published:
Just a few years ago the idea of podcasting in a B2B context would likely have been seen as preposterous by most business consumers. Now however, as podcasting’s popularity has skyrocketed in general — over 62 percent of podcast listeners say they listen to more now than a year ago — more B2B firms than ever are either starting their own or studying how to do so in the near future. B2B podcasting is ripe for business marketers, with some 13 million households already including avid fans of business podcasts, and 52 million households including casual fans of business podcasts, according to Nielsen podcasting data. Our senior content marketing manager Joshua Nite recently made the case for B2B marketers to take a serious look at podcasting, and presented “B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case.” [bctt tweet="“B2B marketers who are creating any kind of audio content should consider podcasting as a channel to earn attention, deeply engage an audience, and ultimately drive measurable business results.” — Joshua Nite @NiteWrites" username="toprank"] When it comes to B2B podcasting, making the leap from consideration to implementation can be a hurdle, however Josh has written an insightful guide to help marketers with the process, in “10 Crucial Steps for Launching Your B2B Podcast Into the Wild.” More B2B podcasting help and examples of top marketing podcasts can be found here:
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Influencer marketing is in a state of flux. In the past 10 days alone, I’ve seen suggestions that paid influencers are out, and that “influencer marketing — in the traditional sense — is in the midst of an irreversible fail from grace.” Neither of these arguments is off the mark, per se, but they both frame the concept in outdated B2C-centric terms (the authors more or less acknowledge this with their qualifiers). No one can deny that the impact of hired celebrity influencers, transparently shilling products or services, is waning. It’s not an approach that builds trust or credibility. However, strategic B2B influencer marketing is still very much on the rise, and nowhere near its peak yet. When done right, this practice isn’t about celebrity status, nor solely about paying for influence (although that can be part of the equation). It’s about building mutually beneficial relationships with established thought leaders in your space, founded on the focus of delivering value to your audience first and foremost. In this growing field, Janine Wegner and her team at Dell Technologies* are blazing trails. Few other B2B organizations have developed a level of influencer sophistication that matches Dell, and we’ve been fortunate to partner with them on several projects. [bctt tweet="Influencer marketing comes back those voices telling the story, helping our customers understand what the future looks like, and how they can get there. @JanineWegner #InfluencerMarketing #BreakFreeB2B" username="toprank"] TopRank Marketing President Susan Misukanis recently sat down with Janine, who is in charge of global thought leadership at Dell, for a lengthy interview on the path forward for influencer marketing in the B2B space, as propelled by her area of specialization. Join us for a fun conversation that touches on the serious side of B2B influencer marketing while also incorporating lighter themes of “dating and fun games.”
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What would you do with an unlimited content marketing budget? Oh, the eBooks and infographics and blog posts you could make! Video and audio, whitepapers, research papers, guides galore… endless money means endless possibilities. Okay. Deep breath. Snap back to reality. 
We’re all working with limited resources to create a finite amount of content to fit into a crowded editorial calendar. So how can you make sure you’re making the most of what you have? How can you know for sure that a proposed content project is worth your while — worth time spent researching, creating, amplifying and optimizing? It’s simple: T.H.I.N.K.! Let me explain. My wife is a middle school teacher (a moment of silence for her service). She has this poster on prominent display in her classroom: 
In the classroom, it’s an attempt to get middle-schoolers to stop cyberbullying each other. But these same five criteria can make sure your content is essential, valuable, and worthy of the time it takes to create it. Let’s break it down.
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Good grief, Josh, why can’t you shut up about B2B podcasting? Does the world really need another think piece, blog post, or webinar about the potential? Don’t people get it already? I hear you, theoretical reader. And yet, I persevere. B2B podcasting today is where content marketing was a decade ago. It’s emerging as a marketing discipline. People are starting to get sophisticated about deploying and measuring podcasts. We’re seeing new tools to make it easier to launch, promote, and monetize. And despite the thousands of hours of audio out there already, there’s no sign that the market is satiated. I believe that if you’re not already thinking about podcasting for your B2B brand, you should be. But if my beautiful words can’t convince you, let the data tell the story:
1: Nearly a quarter of all listeners started in the past 6 months. (2)
2: Globally, 36% of the sampled population has listened to a podcast in the last month. (1)
3: 51% of the U.S. population over 12 has listened to a podcast. (2)
4: 32% of the U.S. population over 12 has listened in the past month (90 million people). (2)
5: 22% of the U.S. population over 12 listen weekly (60 million). (2)
6: 62.6% of respondents said they listen to more podcasts now than they did a year ago. (3)
7: Only 3.1% said they listen less than they did a year ago. (3)
In summary: Podcasts continue to attract new listeners to their existing audience of 90 million people monthly. And, most promisingly, those who listen are far more likely to add new podcasts than cut down. [bctt tweet="Podcasts continue to attract new listeners... And, most promisingly, those who listen are far more likely to add new podcasts than cut down. @NiteWrites #B2BPodcasting" username="toprank"]8: 50% of listeners under 35 have listened to a podcast in the last month. (1)
9: 41% of podcast listeners make $75k a year or more, compared to 29% of the general population. (2)
10: Podcast listeners are more likely to be active on social media across channels and more likely to follow companies and brands. (4)
Read: How to Promote Your B2B Podcast
11: 76.8% listen to podcasts more than 7 hours a week. (3)
12: 61.2% spend more time listening to podcasts than watching TV. (3)
13: 52% of monthly listeners listen to the entirety of each episode. (2)
14: 70% of listeners say that, at least sometimes, they do nothing else while listening to podcasts. (2)
As that last statistic shows, podcast listeners aren’t the distracted, multi-tasking folks we might have imagined they are. If the material is engaging, they’re willing to devote their attention. Speaking of which... [bctt tweet="Podcast listeners aren’t the distracted, multi-tasking folks we might have imagined they are. If the material is engaging, they’re willing to devote their attention. @NiteWrites #B2BPodcasting" username="toprank"]15: 74% say they listen to podcasts to learn new things. (2)
16: 71% say they listen to be entertained. (2)
17: 59% say they enjoy podcasts because they make them feel smarter. (2)
18: There are avid fans of business podcasts in 13 million households. (4)
19: There are casual fans of business podcasts in 52 million households. (4)
20: Branded content has increased from 1.5% to 10.1% of podcast advertising since 2016. (5)
What's more, podcasts offer a range of content marketing benefits, which can inform and bolster your broader digital marketing strategy.Sources:
The post B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
Doesn't anyone like me? Where have all my likes gone? Likes on Instagram are being hidden, as the Facebook-owned firm recently began expanding a test program hiding the number of likes — or more accurately the small heart buttons we click to show support — that posts on the platform receive, showing the total number only to the person or brand who authored the post. via GIPHY Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently appeared on CBS This Morning and said, "We don't want Instagram to be such a competition. We want it to be a place where people spend more of their energy connecting with the people that they love and the things that they care about.” The change brought to some U.S. users what Instagram has had in the works since 2018, when it began testing hidden likes for certain users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. The tests have brought praise from some, outrage from others, and caused some to voice concern that hiding like counts could have a negative impact on marketers, especially those involved in influencer marketing. It’s no wonder that concern has been expressed by some marketers, as by 2022 brands are expected to spend as much as $15 billion on influencer marketing according to recent forecast data from Business Insider. How will hiding like and other engagement counts affect customer engagement rates, and how will it change B2B influencer marketing? Let’s look at some of the ways that B2B marketers can adjust to the new hidden Web.
As we mentioned, the ability to click the heart button to like an Instagram post hasn’t gone away during the test, but only a post’s author will be able to see how many likes their item has received. Exactly how this will affect the various engagement metrics brands have in place remains to be seen, however the measurement of likes now faces a sizable challenge. Although Instagram and parent company Facebook have yet to release any results from the tests, or even any indication that they may become permanent, some firms have started to look at initial results using their own data. One early study of 154,000 Instagram influencers from influencer marketing platform HypeAuditor looked at how like counts were affected in the non-U.S. test countries, showing that among influencers with between five and 20,000 followers there was an across-the-board decrease in the total number of likes, as shown in the image below. 
For influencers with between 5,000 and 20,000 Instagram followers, likes dropped between three percent and 15 percent in each of the nations, the study results showed. Among influencers with between 100,000 and a million Instagram followers, total like counts were also shown as having fallen, with the exception of those in Japan, where like counts surprisingly rose nearly seven percent, as shown in the chart below. 
Australia’s Marketing Magazine took a look at the study results specifically in that county, in “Australian Like counts drop 15% following Instagram Like hiding test.”
Research firm eMarketer recently produced a chart using data from GlobalWebIndex that shows which qualities U.S. and U.K. social media users see as the most important for influencers, as shown below. 
Trustworthiness, the ability to provide informative content, and being entertaining or humorous ranked as the top three social media influencer qualities in the study, while the total number of likes and followers an influencer has appears all the way at the bottom of the list. [bctt tweet="“Metrics that measure influencers by trust and the other qualities consumers value most will likely take on greater importance than those merely measuring likes and follower counts.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"] In a recent informal Twitter poll we asked B2B marketers which influencer quality they consider the most important in driving them to partner with an influencer on a campaign. 
Will hidden like counts be a major trend in 2020? We asked that question in our latest Twitter poll, where you can chime in with your own vote on top 2020 marketing trends. We’ve written seven recent articles about the importance of trust in marketing, which you'll find below, and with like counts increasingly being hidden, now is a good time to re-focus on engagement metrics that incorporate trust.
Instagram has given brands and influencers with more than 10,000 followers the ability to use its “swipe-up” feature to include an off-site link with referral or affiliate codes in Instagram Stories. Some brands and influencers have used these so-called “shoppable links” to drive purchasers directly to e-commerce platforms instead of merely seeking likes or shares. Wired explored some of the areas centered around the issue recently in “Why My Friend Became a Grocery Store on Instagram,” and earlier this year also looked at the so-called process of “demetrication,” and the affect it could have on social media use. Instagram isn’t the only major social platform to test changes in how like counts and other engagement metrics are derived. Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey has shared his concern about the potential for overemphasizing like and follower counts, and his firm even launched a test that gave less weight to likes and re-tweets on the platform. These changes from Instagram, Twitter and other social platforms may help marketers usher in a move to new measurement and analytics strategies, particularly those with an increased focus on the importance of comments. Challenges that like counts have had to face include both pay-for-like schemes and fake likes driven by AI-powered bots, yet even a shift to metrics that focus more on comments won’t be entirely immune to attempts at gaming the system with fake responses. If Instagram and other social platforms permanently adopt hidden likes, influencer measurement tools and services will undoubtedly continue to look for the most reliable and accurate engagement signals that can be repeatedly measured. Since I first went online in 1984 with my 300-baud bulletin board system, one of the fundamentals of online communications has thankfully remained — the written comment. [bctt tweet="“With the recent drop in emphasis on like counts we’re seeing, the comment remains as one of the purest ways a person can show their support for a brand.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"] If consumers know their likes will be hidden, will it increase the likelihood that they’ll instead go the extra mile and take the time to write a comment? That remains to be seen, however 2020 is likely to produce an increased focus on comments and other forms of measurable engagement that don’t involve like, follower or share tallies.
There have never been as many companies offering tools and services to measure marketing campaign success and engagement online as there are now, yet serious obstacles to thoroughness and accuracy abound, with an Internet today filled largely with walled communities that only allow certain data to be gathered for analysis. Even though the Internet is now 50 years old, and has brought about incredible and profound advances in many areas, there is still a long and largely unmarked path ahead before measuring engagement will ever be broadly accurate. Hope is certainly not lost however — far from it — as many excellent tools exist that work wonders with the data they’re able to pull in. We’re fans of influencer marketing platform Traackr, which we incorporate into our research when putting out our annual lists of the industry’s top influencers involved with B2B marketing, content marketing, women in marketing, and social media marketing.
The post Hiding Out: How B2B Marketers Can Adapt to Hidden Like Counts appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
