Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Intent Data, LinkedIn’s New CTA Buttons, Marketing’s Rising Role, & Top Social Platform Study

Microsoft results top forecasts, shares jump 8% as AI juices sales Microsoft saw revenue that climbed by seven percent to $52.9 billion during the first quarter of 2023, with its productivity segment including LinkedIn (client) among those topping expectations, as LinkedIn revenue increased by eight percent, with Microsoft's overall advertising and search revenue rising by 3.4 percent to top the $3 billion mark, Microsoft recently announced. Reuters The Value of Intent Data for B2B Go-to-Market Teams 45 percent of B2B marketers have said that potential customer intent data is most useful for account expansion, with some 42 percent pinpointing its success for advertising, and 35 percent for lead generation — three of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingProfs [bctt tweet="“Commercial organizations will prioritize buyer intent data as a key input to enable reps to focus on the right opportunities, not all opportunities.” — Alyssa Merwin Henderson of @LinkedIn" username="toprank"] Social Media Marketers Dish on Top Platforms, Formats, and Content Types 90 percent of social media marketers have said that building an active online community is critical to 2023 success, and when it comes to return-on-investment (ROI), 25 percent of social media marketers consider Instagram the top platform, followed by 23 percent who said Facebook, 14 percent YouTube, 12 percent TikTok, and 11 percent LinkedIn, according to recently-released global HubSpot survey data. MarketingCharts Report: Marketers Continue To Lag Significantly On Sustainability Front A scant 43 percent of marketers have said they include sustainability metrics within their organization's dashboard key performance indicators (KPIs), while 94 percent of client-side marketers noted that marketers need to act with greater bravery and use experimentation to drive sustainability changes, according to newly-published report data. MediaPost More brands choose Boomer, Gen X influencers, as ‘older audiences can be just as impactful’ as young ones As authenticity has grown in importance among digital marketing efforts, more brands are turning to older influencers rather than creating separate campaigns for certain demographic groups, and DigiDay takes a look at some of the flexibility and advantages influencer marketing offers when it comes to brand storytelling. DigiDay Alphabet Growth Slows Again in Q1 as YouTube Ad Revenue Falls for 3rd Quarter in a Row During the first quarter of 2023 Google parent firm Alphabet recorded its third straight quarter with falling revenue from its YouTube property, which had a three percent revenue drop with revenue of $6.7 billion, as overall year-over-year Alphabet revenue climbed by three percent year-over-year, to $69.8 billion, Alphabet recently announced. The Wrap Marketing Has Taken on More Responsibilities Since the Pandemic 41.4 percent of chief marketing officers have said that they now see marketing as being responsible for revenue growth, a figure that was up from the 32.7 percent mark recorded in 2020, while 91.4 pinpointed brand, advertising, and digital marketing efforts as the primary responsibilities of marketing, according to newly-published survey data of interest to B2B marketers. MarketingCharts Content Producers Say AI Tools Will Replace Writers 39 percent of B2B content producers have said their primary 2023 focus was on demand and lead generation blog posts, 34 percent on photos, graphics and visuals, and 31 percent on short-form videos, while 58 percent of B2B and B2C content marketers said they believed that content built using generative AI tools will be penalized by search engines — some of the findings contained in recently-released content marketing survey data. MediaPost LinkedIn Adds New Custom CTA Buttons on LinkedIn Premium Member Profiles Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has begun rolling out a new call-to-action button to its premium members, offering six profile presets for linking directly to websites, portfolios, and other destinations, the professional social media platform recently announced. Social Media Today Advertisers using news brands see increase in ad effectiveness of 'up to 52%' Trust and quality have become more aligned with effectiveness and profit over the past 23 years, with newer brands often lagging behind established ones, while news brands have experienced greater overall trust — three of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published news brand report data. Campaign US ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “Focus Groups and the Oracles of Eden Prairie” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist The Tremendous VR and CG Systems—of the 1960s — IEEE Spectrum TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — 15 experts creating the simpler, smarter, better future of social media marketing — Sprinklr (client)
• TopRank Marketing — The growing importance of influencer marketing for B2B — Michaletz Zwief

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW: Jo Peterson @digitalcloudgal Kamales Lardi @KamLardi Maribel Lopez @MaribelLopez Kate O’Neill @kateo Christina Trampota @tektalk Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry. Have you crossed paths with a top B2B marketing news item we haven't yet covered? If so, please don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to join us for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you will return again next Friday for another array of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Intent Data, LinkedIn’s New CTA Buttons, Marketing’s Rising Role, & Top Social Platform Study appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/elevate-b2b-marketing-news-b2b-intent.html

A Home-Run for Humanizing B2B Content: Why Generative AI Can Only Get Your Business to First Base

With the Major League Baseball season now underway, one of the sport’s great ongoing debates has once again found traction: to stick with human umpires, or embrace the electronic strike zone? It’s just another example of how rapid advancements in technology are fundamentally impacting everything in our society, from the classic American pastime to the ancient art of writing. Those of us in the content marketing space are having our own debates about the true value of robots and automation, and how they fit going forward. The consensus at this moment? Artificial intelligence is going to be a game-changer in many ways, but its limitations will continue to make the human element essential when it comes to driving content marketing outcomes. Let’s explore some of the ways generative AI solutions can help get your business on base and set up opportunities, and why the human touch is critical to ultimately putting runs on the board. [bctt tweet="“AI is going to be a game-changer in many ways, but its limitations will continue to make the human element essential when it comes to driving content marketing outcomes.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]

Advantages of Generative AI Content for Marketing

While the urge is understandable, content creators who are actively avoiding generative AI tools out of apprehension are doing themselves a disservice. There are a lot of great benefits that can fundamentally enhance the way we work and the outputs we produce as marketers. Here are some of the most helpful advantages technologies like ChatGPT can bring to B2B content marketing. Expansive and comprehensive research, made efficient. This is one of the benefits I’m most excited about, and have been most impressed by. Researching, if you want to do it right, can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of content creation – there’s so much information out there to seek out and sift through. With the right prompts, content creators can leverage AI to answer questions and receive targeted info at lightning speed. I’m not going to be leaning on these tools as my sole source, because they are susceptible to inaccurate, outdated, and incomplete information, but I’ve already discovered plenty of shortcuts through the technology and look forward to exploring more. Streamlined content development and production. I would argue that (for various reasons we will soon cover) you generally don’t want to put AI in control of creating content. However, that’s not to say these tools can’t be immensely helpful in the process of content creation, especially the early stages of ideation and outlining. If you’re a writer, then you probably know that the hardest part of creating a new piece can be getting started: sourcing your talking points, organizing your thoughts, ensuring your content will thoroughly cover the topic it addresses. When provided with suitable direction, a generative AI tool can present ideas, information, and outlines in an instant. For example, you might prompt, “I want you to create a table of contents for a report about [X],” and boom, you’ve got your jumping off point to start building valuable content. By layering in more prompting specificity in terms of context and constraints, you can get more focused and useful outputs to guide your process. Scalable experimentation for faster innovation. The ability of generative AI to rapidly retrieve information, build concepts, and answer prompts paves the way for content marketers to constantly test different approaches, messaging styles, and techniques capable of improving their workflow efficiency as well as the quality of their final output. For an example of how this might take shape, I simply went ahead and… asked ChatGPT to share how it might help facilitate a content experiment. Here’s what it suggested: 

• ChatGPT could analyze a company's existing website content and identify areas that could be optimized for better performance. This could include improving headlines, adjusting tone or style, or adding more relevant keywords.

• ChatGPT could generate variations of the existing content based on the identified optimization opportunities. For example, it could provide alternative headlines, reword sentences, or suggest different calls-to-action.

• The company could run an A/B test to compare the performance of the original content versus the optimized versions generated by ChatGPT. This could involve randomly showing different versions of the content to visitors and measuring key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, or engagement.

• Based on the results of the A/B test, the company could choose to implement the optimized content that performed best or continue iterating and testing further variations.

Even if you don’t end up using the exact copy produced by ChatGPT, this highly-automated experiment can deliver key insights about content elements or CTA types that are connecting with your audience to inform your strategy. [bctt tweet="“AI experiments can deliver key insights about content elements or CTA types that are connecting with your audience to inform your strategy.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]

Key Limitations of AI for B2B Marketing Content

As powerful as it is, smart and strategic marketers can rest assured that generative AI is not equipped to replace them. There are several limiting factors that prevent this technology from making the human aspects of marketing irrelevant. In fact, as these tools become more widely adopted, the skill and experience of a talented marketing professional will arguably grow more vital and differentiating than ever. What are the shortcomings of generative AI for marketing content? Let’s start with the most straightforward: AI isn’t designed to be factual or accurate. And it’s often biased. This is one of the most fundamentally important things for anyone to understand about AI. Because the algorithms are so sophisticated, it’s easy to assume they have built-in mechanisms to ensure information they serve is correct. But, they really don’t. “They're simply generating text that sounds plausible based on the data they've seen,” explains Joe Amditis. “This means that they can ‘hallucinate’ information or even ‘lie’ in some cases, and their outputs should therefore always be checked by humans for accuracy.” This same dynamic makes AI-generated content ripe for biases. “ChatGPT is only as good as the data it is trained on, and if the training data is biased or inaccurate, it can lead to biased or inaccurate content generation.” Amditis recently published a guide called Beginner’s prompt handbook: ChatGPT for local news publishers, from which the above insights are drawn. Geared toward journalists who are interested in utilizing the technology while responsibly navigating its downsides, I found the guide incredibly insightful and valuable. One of the primary, highlighted takeaways from the handbook? “The key is to employ strict and redundant human oversight whenever and however you decide to use ChatGPT, but especially in high-stakes situations where the information it spits back to you is meant to be used in any public, professional, or non-trivial way.” [bctt tweet="“The key is to employ strict and redundant human oversight whenever and however you decide to use ChatGPT.” — Joe Amditis @JoeAmditis" username="toprank"] AI lacks originality and human resonance. Or Shani, who founded the digital advertising AI tool Albert, is quick to acknowledge where the technology falls short. “Where we see AI as having limitations are in the obvious areas: emotions, feelings, subjective thinking,” he told the Marketing AI Institute. “Humans are unique in their ability to feel in a very complex way and translate those feelings into emotional connections.” That’s a crucial consideration at a time where the B2B sector at large is recognizing and celebrating the essential value of breakthrough creative and emotional impact in their marketing. AI lacks judgment and expertise. Artificial intelligence is able to draw informed conclusions based on the data available to it. But that data is inherently limited and far less valuable than the personal experience of marketers, executives, and other talent involved with a business. Even small decisions pertaining to content strategy can have massive ripple effects on a company’s success, and this is where the intervention of skilled, experienced humans is most indispensable. As Shani added: “Limitations in artificial intelligence will also stem from the degree of precision with which technologists are able to replicate human ‘intelligence’ and decision-making.” Or, as Joe McKendrick and Andy Thurai wrote at Harvard Business Review: “Artificial intelligence is designed to assist with decision-making when the data, parameters, and variables involved are beyond human comprehension. For the most part, AI systems make the right decisions given the constraints. However, AI notoriously fails in capturing or responding to intangible human factors that go into real-life decision-making — the ethical, moral, and other human considerations that guide the course of business, life, and society at large.” In B2B marketing, those “intangible human factors” are hard earned through experience, collaboration, and professional growth. [bctt tweet="“In B2B marketing, “intangible human factors” are hard earned through experience, collaboration, and professional growth.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"] Circling back to our original scenario of robots replacing human umpires in baseball, that notion loses its practicality when you think about the broader responsibilities that the role entails, beyond calling balls and strikes. Human umpires are crucial to the game of baseball as they bring experience, intuition, tradition, and authority to the game. While technology can aid in making calls, human umpires are an essential part of the game's fabric, and their presence adds to the authenticity and atmosphere of the sport. Don’t take my word for it – the last paragraph was lifted verbatim from ChatGPT. In business, needless to say, the stakes tend to be a bit higher than a baseball game. Generative AI is a hit for B2B content strategies, but it’s not a home run. Want to learn more about creating content that breaks through and delivers brand impact in the age of AI? Check out our guide, Marketing with Intent: The Future of SEO and Qualified B2B Search Traffic.

The post A Home-Run for Humanizing B2B Content: Why Generative AI Can Only Get Your Business to First Base appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-home-run-for-humanizing-b2b-content.html

Turning B2B to Being-2-Being: 5 Top Insights B2B Marketers Need To Know About Google’s AI Search Future

What will Google’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) search future look like, and will the search giant be able to make good on its goals of aligning its systems to principled human values? Google recently set forth plans to expand its generative AI search technology offerings, laying out an initiative code-named Project Magi, which could have a limited roll-out as early as May 2023, while its all-new generative AI-powered search experience has been slated to arrive sometime after. “Working on AI at Google literally feels like you’re living in the future. It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my career,” Marvin Chow, vice president of global marketing at Google, recently noted. “History shows that we will under-estimate the long term possibilities but over-estimate the short term impact. Regardless, all of our lives are about to go through a rapid evolution of change that will make things easier, make us smile but also make us question our responsibility to society and our community,” Chow observed. [bctt tweet="“Working on AI at Google literally feels like you’re living in the future. It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my career.” — Marvin Chow @theREALmarvin" username="toprank"] Google’s long-standing dominance in search has undergone a certain amount of foundation-shaking turbulence with Bing’s public launch of its AI-infused search offerings, and with several of Google’s lucrative search partnership contracts including Apple and Samsung up for renewal in 2023, this will likely go down as the year the search giant faced the most disruption since it rose to the top of the search mountain.

Search Is Most-Desired AI Feature

It should come as no surprise that the AI-driven product a leading 49 percent of U.S. adults were most interested in came in the form of AI-powered online search, according to recently-published survey data. In in the B2B sector — with its longer buying cycles and greater number of touch-points than in the B2C world, a better search experience thanks to generative AI could be especially welcome, as B2B buyers seek to find information about generally more complex products and services. Marketers have traditionally made search a component of brand promotion strategies, in both non-paid organic and paid search advertising, with Google long holding the undisputed dominant role in search. 76 percent of U.S. advertising buyers noted that ads placed alongside Google search had the highest return on investment (ROI), according to Cowen survey data, and recent WARC survey data has shown that 53 percent of marketers expect to boost spending with Google in 2023 — a figure that is down from the 59 percent seen in 2022 — with some 11 percent planning to increase spending with Bing. An increase of 27 percent during 2023 over 2022 global spending on AI has been predicted, with 2023 spending set to climb to $154 billion — an increase of more than $30 billion year-over-year — while overall AI spending is expected to eventually top the $300 billion mark by 2026, according to newly-published IDC forecast data, as we recently covered in our weekly Elevate B2B Marketing News. 52 percent of search industry practitioners have said that AI will be extremely important when it comes to delivering relevant search results in the future, according to newly-published survey data.

Despite Challenges AI Content Labeling Is Expected

Adding AI to its search offerings sees Google facing many of the same challenges and considerations that Microsoft and other firms also face. Recent Gartner data has shown that while consumers presently expected a certain level of misinformation to appear within AI-generated content, there was an expectation for organizations using AI-built content to clearly label it as such. “All these businesses have a big task ahead of them to make sure that what they’re doing in generative AI is very plainly disclosed to the consumers that are interacting with them,” Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence recently observed. [bctt tweet="“All these businesses have a big task ahead of them to make sure that what they’re doing in generative AI is very plainly disclosed to the consumers that are interacting with them.” — Debra Aho Williamson @DebraWilliamson" username="toprank"] Garner’s data also showed that 85 percent of consumers had only “some trust” or “no trust” in AI-generation search results. There are also growing concerns among marketers at having content plagiarized under the guise of AI training. Social news aggregator and discussion platform Reddit recently became one of the first organizations to implement restrictions on the open use of its content archive for training AI services, through the use of an application programming interface (API) that will charge firms using the platform for AI training, as Kevin Purdy, technology reporter and product specialist at Ars Technica recently explored in “Reddit will start charging AI models learning from its extremely human archives.” With both Google Bard and ChatGPT having named Reddit as a source of existing AI training, it’s unclear how or if AI training sources will have a legal mechanism to retroactively charge for that previous training, or to request that its data be removed. Recent AI add-ons have been included in product updates from Mailchimp, GoDaddy, among many other technology organizations. A recent joint study from Sprout Social and Cint found that 71 percent of social media marketers have started using AI and machine augmented learning (MAL) tools, with 82 percent of that group reporting positive results including increased productivity, higher accuracy, and swifter content curation, with 14 percent having noted that it was too early to say. “We view generative AI as one of the most meaningful technology innovations in our career,” Baird Equity Research analysts noted, according to a recent piece by Laurie Sullivan, senior writer and editor at MediaPost, exploring the large impact that AI is having on technology, in “Generative AI Most Transformative Technology On Par With The Internet.” It is in this light that I asked five top industry leaders involved in B2B marketing and search to share their thoughts on what they expect Google’s AI search future will look like, and whether they believe the search giant will be able to make good on its goal of aligning its systems to beneficial human values. Let’s jump right in and see what marketing and search innovators are expecting from Google throughout 2023 and beyond.

1 — A False Fabric of Truth in the Machine

Dixon Jones CEO, inLinks I believe that Google will not miss the boat around generative AI, in spite of the early lead from ChatGPT and Bing. I do, however, see that keeping bias and errors out of the output is extremely hard to do consistently. The technologies are based largely on what humans have said about the world that they live in. Humans make fundamental mistakes, for one thing. We used to think the universe revolved around the earth. How absurd is that notion now? So what mistakes are we currently making in our view of the world? These mistakes then become part of a false fabric of truth in the machine. The second issue is that the underlying data (web content) is written by people trying to push an agenda, not by people trying to balance truth and uncover facts. My third concern is one of power. Some topics and groups in society generate much more data than others, which in turn will abnormally increase their “presence” in the outputs from the machines. The USA will get more exposure than (say) South Africa. Why should this be, in a “fair” representation of the world? [bctt tweet="“I believe that Google will not miss the boat around generative AI, in spite of the early lead from ChatGPT and Bing.” — Dixon Jones @Dixon_Jones" username="toprank"]

2 — Google AI Changes Will Arrive in Stages

Barry Schwartz CEO, RustyBrick Founder, Search Engine Roundtable I don’t think Google even knows how AI will change how search looks and feels in the future. We see a lot of experimentation, mostly from Bing right now, and then a lot of PR buzz from Google executives on the topic. One thing is for sure, there will be change and it will happen in stages. First we will see elements of AI chat features across Google Search and Bing Search, while also bridging it back from the chat feature directly into search. Then we may see chat based answers, maybe in place of featured snippets. We know ads will be baked into both experiences. Times are changing and it is super exciting to be watching the changes happen in real time. [bctt tweet="“I don’t think Google even knows how AI will change how search looks and feels in the future. One thing is for sure, there will be change and it will happen in stages.” — Barry Schwartz @rustybrick" username="toprank"]

3 — A Fluid Future With Opportunity & Ethics Concerns

Neil Marshall Administrator, WebmasterWorld Co-Founder, Marshall Jennings PR As of today, it’s clear that Bard is lagging behind OpenAI’s offering in some respects: Bard has a more recent data set but seems less creative, and that’s why the search leader is putting in a great deal of effort to catch up with Bing’s lead. The future looks a little fluid right now because this technology can do some things very well and others not so good. For sure, Google’s team will be working hard on monetization opportunities. This is disruptive technology, and there’s a great deal more to come, along with pressure from the ethics lobby and eventually legislators getting involved. [bctt tweet="“Bard is lagging behind OpenAI’s offering in some respects: Bard has a more recent data set but seems less creative, and that’s why Google is putting in a great deal of effort to catch up with Bing’s lead.” — Neil Marshall @engine" username="toprank"]

4 — Taking Greater Chances & A Star Trek Computer Paradigm

Roger Montti Independent, Search Engine Journal Owner, Martinibuster.com In a way we're already living in Google's iteration of AI in search. It's in products like Google Maps and Google Lens. AI also plays a role in search at the back-end indexing phase and on the front-end where the algorithm creates the search results, all invisibly in the form of Google's SpamBrain AI system. Google's approach to AI has consistently been in an invisible form within the traditional user workflow: Ask a question, get an answer. But that's the old paradigm. What will the new paradigm look like is what we want to know, right? Given that a fully conversational search has long been the goal of Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, I would answer that this is where Google is heading. The future of search, ironically, is going to look like the fictional future from the past. Google's inspiration for over ten years has been the Star Trek computer where users invoke a wake-up prompt, "Computer..." and then ask a question. The Star Trek computer is a natural form of interaction, much like speaking to a human. The Star Trek computer is an information assistant, which is what Google aspires to be. Initial attempts to do this on mobile devices have been limited to asking your phone a question and Google answers by speaking passages from websites that answer those questions. That wasn't AI — it was a kind of fake-out simulation of the Star Trek Computer (a computer with a lower-case "c"). That old fake-out version will in the future, in my opinion, be enhanced by AI. This goes beyond reading what's on web pages and fully crafting spoken responses, summaries, in natural language. This question is about what to expect for search, but I would expand that question into other domains like shopping. In that kind of scenario structured data "might" gain more importance at first in order to help teach the AI that its assumptions are correct, like training wheels. But at some point it may not need the structured data training wheels. Maybe it doesn't already need structured data. Lastly, Google is generally portrayed as scrambling to catch up to Bing but that's not, in my opinion, an accurate portrayal of the reality of what's happening. Google already has the technology, since at least the spring of 2022, to achieve fully conversational AI search. And it's not just proof-of-concept technology either. Google researchers have already created state of the art level technology. The bottleneck was a lack of leadership and vision. In my opinion Google lost ground when Alphabet selected the current CEO who is a technology person and not a business-oriented visionary planning moves ten steps ahead. This was evident in the recent all-hands meeting where the questions by employees indicated that they had no idea what Bard was going to be. That's the result of a lack of vision and leadership. Google used to lead but that is obviously no longer the case. So maybe this is a wake up call for Google to take this technology it already has and move forward with that Star Trek computer paradigm and start taking chances. [bctt tweet="“Google already has the technology to achieve fully conversational AI search. And it's not just proof-of-concept technology either. Google researchers have already created state of the art level technology.” — Roger Montii @martinibuster" username="toprank"]

5 — Better User Experiences Co-Existing With Human Values

Darwin Santos Senior Technical SEO Specialist, Amsive Digital Google stands to enhance the effectiveness of search results significantly by further integrating AI technologies into its search engine. We've already observed how search platforms like Bing provide a more satisfying user experience for some kinds of informational queries. However, it is important to note that not every search can be addressed just as effectively through chat-like interactions; some situations still call for traditional search results. As the dominant player, commanding over 93 percent of the market share, Google must exercise prudence. AI systems' inherent nature — with their potential to generate hallucinations and difficulty in controlling outputs — necessitates caution. By anchoring its responses in well-grounded facts, Google has the opportunity to develop a superior product that genuinely aligns with human values and needs. [bctt tweet="“By anchoring its responses in well-grounded facts, Google has the opportunity to develop a superior product that genuinely aligns with human values and needs.” — Darwin Santos" username="toprank"]

Can Google’s AI Search Future Help Turn B2B to Being-2-Being?

With all of the industry murmurations surrounding Google's forthcoming generative AI search offerings, a sense of something foundational is in the air among B2B marketers. Next year will be 40 years since I started working in online communications operating a 300-baud computer bulletin board system (BBS), and 2023 is most definitely an extremely exciting time in the evolution of not only search but technology's overall impact on humanity. I hope this look at Google's AI search future will help inform your own B2B marketing efforts, as more marketers learn to both harness the power of AI and to place newfound value of our uniquely human qualities. It's long been said that B2B could more aptly be referred to as human-to-human interactions, and as AI has proliferated I tend to see B2B also taking on more being-to-being characteristics, and search from Google and other firms will continue to play a key role in connecting us all. To learn more about B2B search marketing and AI, be sure to also check out these additional articles we've recently published on the topics:

• B2B Search Marketing: 5 Key Ways Generative AI is Changing the Future of SEO from Google’s Bard to Microsoft’s Prometheus-Based Bing
• Humanize, Organize, Strategize & Personalize: 4 Ways To Boost B2B Influencer Marketing With Generative AI
• Why Intent-Qualified Organic Traffic Will Power the Future of B2B Marketing
• What is Search Intent and Why Is It Fundamental to SEO?
• Intent-Based Strategy is the Future of SEO
• The Prompt Whisperer: ChatGPT’s Rising Reach In B2B Marketing & The AI Revolution

More than ever before, creating award-winning B2B search 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.

The post Turning B2B to Being-2-Being: 5 Top Insights B2B Marketers Need To Know About Google’s AI Search Future appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/turning-b2b-to-being-2-being-5-top.html

B2B Marketing Speaker Spotlight: Melanie Deziel on Content as Evidence for Ignite USA

With B2B Ignite USA 2023 just around the corner on May 23 through 24 in Chicago, we wanted to get some of the latest B2B marketing insight from Melanie Deziel, chief content officer at StoryFuel, who will be delivering a new presentation on “Using Content as Evidence of Your Most Important Claims" during the event. B2B Ignite USA 2023 features a powerhouse selection of more than 40 top B2B marketing thought leaders, including our own CEO Lee Odden who will present “The New Frontier of B2B Influence: Inside Out,” during two jam-packed days of inspirational talks, interactive workshops and round-table discussions, all contained in five content streams, plus the event’s Elevation Awards.

Melanie Deziel’s Discusses the New Frontiers In B2B Marketing

Our own director of agency marketing Katelyn Drake sought out Melanie’s take on several of the key B2B marketing topics that are moving to the forefront this year. Katelyn began by asking Melanie, “What's one of the new frontiers in B2B marketing that marketers should be focusing on in 2023?” "We’re going to continue to hear a lot about AI in the coming months, and I’m urging B2B marketers to take a measured approach,” Melanie shared. “As marketers — and the world at large — learn how best to use these tools, how to think about it ethically, and how they can or cannot contribute meaningfully to our work, it’s smart to be cautious and not panic. Take the time to explore the tools fully before making any major changes to processes,” she added. [bctt tweet="“We’re going to continue to hear a lot about AI in the coming months, and I’m urging B2B marketers to take a measured approach.” — Melanie Deziel @mdeziel" username="toprank"] We also took the opportunity to get a glimpse into some of the themes that Melanie will be speaking about during Ignite USA 2023. Question: What can we look forward to from your presentation at Ignite USA? “I’m excited to help the audience unlock their creativity with systems they can use to improve and focus their content operations,” Melanie noted. She also took the time to expand on how B2B marketers can build trust and increase authenticity. Question: With the rise of AI in content creation, how can marketers prove authenticity and build trust with their buyers? “Making providing evidence of your claims a priority is going to be increasingly important in the age of AI,” Melanie said. “Consumer skepticism was already on a steady increase for the last several years, and I imagine we’ll see an even sharper increase in consumer skepticism and doubt as AI becomes more integrated in our lives. Identify the business claims you’re making and the expectations you’re setting and aim to create content that corroborates and demonstrates their truth, as well as content that educates your audience about the importance of the claim in the first place,” she added. Authenticity in B2B is a topic that our own Theresa Meis recently explored in “3 Key Ways Authenticity In B2B Writing Helps Solve People Problems.” [bctt tweet="“Identify the business claims you’re making and the expectations you’re setting and aim to create content that corroborates and demonstrates their truth.” — Melanie Deziel @mdeziel" username="toprank"] Katelyn was also curious for Melanie’s take on getting the most out of the increasing number of in-person events that are returning. Question: Now that we are post-Covid times, what advice do you have for attendees to get the most from in-person conferences? “To get the most out of the conference, make a point to walk the exhibit halls to meet with sponsors and attend networking sessions and events so you can maximize conversations,” Melanie suggested. [bctt tweet="“To get the most out of the conference, make a point to walk the exhibit halls to meet with sponsors and attend networking sessions and events so you can maximize conversations.” — Melanie Deziel @mdeziel" username="toprank"] We took a look at some of the many additional ways that B2B marketers can learn from in-person and other types of events, in “In-Person, Virtual & Hybrid: How To Get The Most From B2B Marketing Events.” We were also curious about how B2B marketers are forging ahead and succeeding even while being asked to do more with less during uncertain economic times. Question: There's lots of talk about uncertainty within the market, what advice do you have for marketers who are being asked to do more with less? “Marketers never have the budget they’d like, or the team size, or the skills and tools, but we always find creative ways to fill those gaps and do work that matters,” Melanie noted. “Keep looking for creative solutions to resource shortages and prioritize the work that has resonance over pure volume of work,” she added. [bctt tweet="“Keep looking for creative solutions to resource shortages and prioritize the work that has resonance over pure volume of work.” — Melanie Deziel @mdeziel" username="toprank"]

Learn More From Melanie Deziel At B2B Ignite USA 2023

Many thanks to Melanie for taking the time to share her newest insights on the issues that B2B marketers are increasingly facing in 2023, along with a look at what is coming down the pike. You can learn about the B2B Ignite USA 2023 conference on May 23 through 24 in Chicago at the event website, and be sure to also check out Lee's look at some of the sessions we're most looking forward to at the event, in "Where to Find the New Frontiers of B2B Marketing at Ignite USA." We hope to see you in-person for a stellar event including Melanie’s must-see session. Look for additional coverage of B2B Ignite USA 2023 in the lead-up to the event and while it takes place, and be sure to follow the #B2BIgniteUSA hashtag for more information.

The post B2B Marketing Speaker Spotlight: Melanie Deziel on Content as Evidence for Ignite USA appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/b2b-marketing-speaker-spotlight-melanie.html

Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Trust Strategy, Google’s AI Search Plans, Instagram Expands Bio Links, & Influencer Compliancy Data

B2B High Performers Progress in Quest to Attain a 360-Degree View of Customers 71 percent of the top B2B marketing performers have said they place significant trust in their marketing metrics, compared to just 15 percent of under-performers, while 80 percent of top performers said they had the necessary tools to track marketing results, compared to only 24 percent of those in the under-performing category — four of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingCharts Manufacturers must evolve as B2B ecommerce goes mainstream 63 percent of European B2B digital and commerce leaders said that they expect to spend up to 20 percent more on digital objectives in 2023 than they did during 2022, while 24 percent said that they have implemented a systematic change management process, according to recently-released B2B eCommerce report findings. Digital Commerce 360 Why B2B Marketers Need to 'Prove It' With a Trust-Building Content Strategy: Melanie Deziel on Marketing Smarts [Podcast] In light of high levels of consumer skepticism, B2B marketers face significant challenges in building trust, and Melanie Deziel, chief content officer at StoryFuel recently explored the benefits that B2B marketers can gain from backing up their content marketing efforts using corroboration, demonstration, and education. MarketingProfs [bctt tweet="“Corroborate with other people's opinions, demonstrate by showing the truth behind your claims, and then educate to make sure that they understand what they need to trust you.” — Melanie Deziel @mdeziel" username="toprank"] Instagram Adds the Capacity to Display Up to 5 Links in Your Profile Bio In testing since 2021, Meta-owned Instagram has rolled out the ability to display up to five separate links on profile pages on the platform, giving brands a significant increase from the previous single link that page biographies could include, Instagram recently announced. Social Media Today AI spending will jump to $154 billion worldwide in 2023 An increase of 27 percent during 2023 over 2022 global spending on artificial intelligence (AI) has been predicted, with 2023 spending set to climb to $154 billion, while overall AI spending is expected to eventually top the $300 billion mark by 2026, according to newly-published IDC forecast data of interest to B2B marketers. Insider Intelligence LinkedIn Expands its Company Commitments Display to More Surfaces Microsoft-owned LinkedIn (client) has rolled out a new update that expands the visibility of a company’s values — such as work-life balance, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — on the professional social platform, and which also allows prospective employees to voice their interest in working for a particular organization, LinkedIn recently announced. Social Media Today Google planning new search engine while working on new search features under Project Magi Search giant Google has set forth plans to expand its AI offerings with its Project Magi initiative, which could have a limited roll-out as early as May, while Google’s all-new generative AI-powered search is expected to arrive after May, Google recently announced. Search Engine Land Is Your Influencer Marketing Program Compliant? [ANA] During 2022 influencer marketing saw some $16 billion in global spending from advertisers, which represented a rise of 18.8 percent from 2021, and along with that expanded spending and adoption of the practice have come challenges in compliance with U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulatory bodies, and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently took a look at best practices and certain legal pitfalls to avoid. ANA Enterprise Tech Budgets Remain Resilient 54 percent of enterprise technology firm chief experience officers (CXOs) have said that they expect to increase tech spending in 2023, with 40 percent having budgeted for spending up to 10 percent more on cloud software during the first quarter of 2023, according to newly-published survey data of interest to digital marketers. MarketingCharts How Does Industry Pro Use Of Social Media Influence Media Neutrality? A leading 49 percent of business executives have said that they turn to LinkedIn when it comes to finding professional business content, followed by 36 percent who pointed to Twitter, 34 percent who noted Google's YouTube, and 33 percent who pinpointed Instagram — one of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in recently-released survey data. MediaPost ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “Podcasts for Everyone” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist The Unbelievable Zombie Comeback of Analog Computing — Wired TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — 30 Tips to Improve Your Influencer Outreach Campaign — Inkbot Design
• TopRank Marketing — Learning resources for tourism marketing newbies — Tourism Currents

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW: Theodora Lau @psb_dc Kimberly Ellison-Taylor @kellisontaylor Ty Heath @tyrona Helen Yu @YuHelenYu Shelly DeMotte Kramer @ShellyKramer Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry. Have you found your own top B2B marketing news item we haven't yet covered? If so, please don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below. Thanks for joining us for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope you'll return next Friday for another selection of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Trust Strategy, Google’s AI Search Plans, Instagram Expands Bio Links, & Influencer Compliancy Data appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/elevate-b2b-marketing-news-b2b-trust.html

Where to Find the New Frontiers of B2B Marketing at Ignite USA

Since I've been working in the B2B Marketing space for over 25 years from the days of direct mail and faxes to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, there is one thing that is certain: change. Adapting to change and continuously improving is essential for B2B marketers that want to survive and thrive whether the market is on the up or in times of uncertainty. Brands that can quickly and effectively adapt and even innovate can rise above and even elevate performance of their marketing efforts. However, staying on top of what's new vs. what's effective can be a challenge. That's why opportunities to learn, network and be inspired are critical. Opportunities like the Ignite USA conference happening in Chicago May 23-24, 2023. There, you'll find a concentration of B2B marketing pioneers, innovators and game changers offering their expertise to insight hungry B2B marketers from across the country. There are inspirational keynotes, topic specific breakouts and roundtables plus deep dive workshops to pick from featuring over 40 industry experts across 5 themed tracks. For even more inspiration, there's also the B2B Marketing Elevation Awards showcasing the best work in the B2B marketing space. Content at Ignite USA is focused across 5 themes including: Strategy, Creativity & Innovation, Experience & Engagement, Growth, and Marketing Operations. If you want to accelerate your knowledge and elevate your B2B marketing craft, Ignite USA is a great opportunity. BONUS: The charismatic, creative and high energy Katie Martell will be co-hosting Ignite USA with Editor-in-Chief of B2B Marketing Joel Harrison. The Katie Martell experience is not to be missed! Besides my own presentation (3pm May 23) about how B2B brands can create their own influencers to accelerate thought leadership and marketing success, here are several other presentations I'm looking forward to: Nothing works anymore: Why B2B needs a new playbook Jon Miller @jonmiller - CMO, Demandbase In this keynote, Jon will share his new playbook based on what works at Demandbase. It's filled with account-based techniques that are working today, including focusing on the right accounts, conditioning the market to your solution, and engaging the right accounts at the right time with the right plays. Dawn of the next-gen B2B marketer Paul Roetzer @paulroetzer - Founder & CEO, Marketing AI Institute In this presentation, Paul lays out the vision and opportunity for next-gen marketers who use AI to deliver the personalization and experiences modern consumers expect; unlock previously unimaginable creative possibilities; and drive efficiency and growth that leadership demands. Using content as evidence of your most important claims Melanie Deziel @mdeziel - Speaker, Author, & Coach, StoryFuel This session will share how to corroborate your claims, demonstrate your value and educate your audience on all of the differentiators that are most important to your business and brand. Marketing's role in creating an inclusive future: Workforce + supplier diversity Karen McFarlane @karenkmcfarlane - Chief Marketing Officer, LetterShop x KMC This session will share how marketers can use their strategic prowess to build an inclusive brand that strikes the right chord and speaks to the hearts and minds of their community. The new frontier of B2B influence: Inside out Lee Odden @leeodden - CEO & Co-Founder, TopRank Marketing (Hey that's me!) Research shows that employee content sees 8X more engagement than content shared on brand channels. Growing influence from within is an important differentiator and priority for B2B brands to build credibility with customers, industry thought leaders and improve sales conversations. This session will share use cases, ways to gain executive buy-in, top content formats and collaboration tactics for B2B brands to grow influence from within. Why B2B and Behavioural Science need each other Rory Sutherland @rorysutherland - Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK Two myths have always blighted B2B marketing. One is that business decision makers are rational. The other is that they behave just like consumers. Neither is true. B2B decisions are just as strange as consumer decisions, but in a completely different way. The marketing singularity: Large language models and the end of marketing as you knew it Christopher Penn @cspenn - Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist, TrustInsights.ai For marketers, with the advent of large language models and generative AI, the singularity is here. Models like GPT-3 and GPT-Neo-X have trivialized some tasks, allowed others to scale rapidly, and are changing the very foundations of digital marketing, particularly around SEO. Marketers are profoundly unprepared for what's happening right now and what's just around the corner. Ten steps to customer reactivation Ruth Stevens @RuthPStevens - President, eMarketing Strategy The facts are clear: It costs far less to reactivate a dormant customer than to acquire an entirely new one; recent activity is a powerful indicator of customer lifetime value; and investments in retention marketing deliver the highest ROI of any strategy. This session will review the strategies that are most effective in stimulating a renewed relationship with your dormant customers, to reduce customer defection and churn. Strategy and swinging for the fences… Phil Clement @PhilClement84 -  CMO, Johnson Controls The session explores marketing’s value along the lines of two primary vectors – a firm’s evaluation multiple and EPS. In the conversation Phil plans to demonstrate - through case studies and past experiences - how marketer’s actions translate into both metrics and the importance of purpose and passion in that business mix. Whether you're in the Midwest or anywhere in the U.S. really since Chicago is centrally located, make sure you check out the agenda and information about this B2B marketing conference. It's a great opportunity to learn, be inspired and connect with peers without having to deal with the chaos of massive events with overwhelming session options and drowning crowds of people. Ignite USA is May 23-24, 2023 in Chicago and you can easily register and get more information here.

The post Where to Find the New Frontiers of B2B Marketing at Ignite USA appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/where-to-find-new-frontiers-of-b2b.html

What Is Content? And How Does It Launch the Success Of B2B Marketing?

As a content marketer, it’s my job to take the axiom “no stupid questions” to heart. And when it comes to answering the question “What is content?” on a content marketing blog, you may think I’m stretching that skill to its limit. But you would be wrong! Content is often one of those words that means pretty much whatever you want it to mean, depending on the context. Even in 2015 we wrote about 40 different definitions of content. It’s like one of those things where it’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Still, for those just starting out, or those who always assumed they knew and are now looking for some deeper understanding, it’s important to step back and define what content is. Once we’ve done that, we can have a clearer idea of why this medium is such an effective option for marketers.

What is content?

In the marketing world, content is anything that you can consume: blog posts, tweets, podcasts, videos, infographics, memes — if it’s online and someone’s looking at it, chances are it’s content. This is where things get tricky. The conventional wisdom among marketers is that “content marketing” is made up of long-form written material: blog posts, LinkedIn articles, white papers, eBooks, and so on. Heck, even my title, content strategist, is often swapped with copywriter or even just writer. It should be noted that as I write this in 2023, content refers more and more to the whole umbrella of online media one can consume, not just blog posts. In fact, as an agency that provides B2B content marketing services, TopRank Marketing has produced plenty of infographics, podcasts, and even a comic book. [bctt tweet="“If it’s online and someone’s looking at it, chances are it’s content.” — Art Allen @punsultant" username="toprank"]

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is any written marketing material with the intent of convincing the reader to take an action. In fact, you’re reading content right now! No, I didn’t write this blog post because I want you to hire us (unless you want to…). I have written it with the hope that you’ll read other posts on this blog. The idea here is twofold: one, that you have some helpful content that makes your job as a marketer easier, or at least makes you feel a little smarter; and two, that when it is time to hire a marketing agency, you may just remember how smart those folks at TopRank are. Another way to look at it is this: content marketing is not a hard sell. Content marketing is distinct from advertising in that advertising is content that a brand has paid to be put in front of you, while content marketing is generally not a paid campaign — the reader comes to the content.

How does content marketing drive business?

While content marketing is certainly a slower approach to attracting customers, it can be highly effective. According to research conducted by MarketingProfs, nearly three quarters (71%) of content marketers said content marketing was more valuable in 2022 than it was in 2021. They attribute this to conversions (cited by 70%) and lead quality (cited by 60%). With that enthusiasm in mind, we should take a look at how content marketing drives business at each stage of the marketing funnel. Let’s say you work for a company that sells a SaaS solution that controls the speed and pitch for a machine that launches penguins long distances (don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt the penguins). Here is how your content might look for a content marketing strategy for each stage of the marketing funnel:

Top funnel

As a SaaS provider of control software, you are not the company actually selling the penguin launching machine. However, you have a strong interest in being seen as an expert in the field of penguin launching, so you may write a top funnel blog post answering common search terms about the machine, such as “why launch penguins” and “is the penguin launcher real?” By writing a blog post that answers these questions and tailoring your content to be friendly to Google, you have a good chance of ranking for those search terms. This will not get you customers, but it will establish your credibility in the eyes of search engines, which will help elevate all the content across your site. A common CTA for this type of content is to explore other posts on the blog.

Middle funnel

When penguin launching machine companies are ready to bring their speed and pitch controls to the cloud, they will start the lengthy process of searching for a provider. This is where middle funnel content comes in. Your content marketing approach for this type of content will be to answer more detailed and technical questions about SaaS speed and pitch controls for penguin launchers, such as “penguin launcher speed and pitch tool” and “penguin launch control SaaS.” Writing blog posts like this helps you to be seen as a credible SaaS provider to your target audience. If your content is sufficiently helpful to the reader, they will eventually put your company on the short list for potential SaaS speed and pitch control vendors. A common CTA for this sort of content is to download a whitepaper or read a case study.

Bottom funnel

When a penguin launching company is ready to select a SaaS speed and pitch control vendor, they will need a convincing reason to go with your company. Bottom funnel content can be an effective tool to help convert them into customers. Content at this level should answer specific questions about your offering without coming off as a sales pitch. Validate these claims with customer stories and whatever other data you can. Content at this stage will target search terms such as “plm speed pitch SaaS solution” and branded search terms. Common CTAs for this sort of content are to offers for a free trial or to book a demo. If you like what you read here, you’ll love what my colleagues have to say. Read more blog posts about content marketing on the TopRank Blog.

The post What Is Content? And How Does It Launch the Success Of B2B Marketing? appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/what-is-content-and-how-does-it-launch.html

3 Key Ways Authenticity In B2B Writing Helps Solve People Problems

Being given direction over and over again without clarification or elaboration can be downright frustrating. We’re guilty of this in marketing. When we repeatedly suggest that authenticity is the secret sauce to writing amazing content, what are we actually saying? The word “authentic,” as the wise and witty Ann Handly argues, is a lovely but vague directive, but “no one knows what it means.” It has become a marketing buzzword — but buzzwords do have their place. They offer nice, concise ways to say what we mean without having to spell it out every time. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t occasionally revisit the definition to ensure we haven’t gotten off track. That’s why we wanted to offer this deeper dive into what it means — what it REALLY means — to write authentic content.

1 — What is Authenticity, Anyway?

The thing about authenticity is that everyone wants it from other people, but it can be hard to do the self-work to identify it from within. That sentence? That’s authenticity. It’s the unvarnished truth, but not cruelty. Authenticity is derived from boiling down who you are — whether that be your brand, your workforce, or simply (and most importantly!) yourself — and mixing the distillate with a pinch of who you hope you are when you connect with others. [bctt tweet="“The thing about authenticity is that everyone wants it from other people, but it can be hard to do the self-work to identify it from within.” — Theresa Meis @TMeisWrites" username="toprank"]

2 — Identifying Your Authentic Voice

This top-down checklist of roles you fulfill as a writer should help you find center again when you’re searching for your authentic voice.

You Are The Brand

B2B content writers are masterful performers, donning the robes of brand identity and addressing the audience as the personification of whatever product, service, or idea the brand offers. Brand authenticity is accomplished by honoring an organization's agreed-upon values and mission through your writing. The good news is that more organizations are clarifying what those people-centered values are at the brand identity level, and you get to help amplify that to the world. [bctt tweet="“Brand authenticity is accomplished by honoring an organization's agreed-upon values and mission through your writing.” — Theresa Meis @TMeisWrites" username="toprank"]

You Are the People

The organization you write for may be an industry leader, composed of thousands of workers spread across the entire globe. Or, it could be a handful of visionaries working night and day to launch the next great thing. You might be asked to write on behalf of any number of leaders or experts within your organization. Authenticity is important for adding the flavor of their voice to your brand messaging.

You Are Yourself

As B2B content writers, we write from behind a mask, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have truths to offer. When you allow yourself to tap into your own deep well of personal experience, you elevate your writing from brand pitch to engaging storyweaving. And, yes, even if you’re writing about the most niche software solution. The insights into human nature learned from, say, bartending in college have given you wisdom that informs the way you approach problem-solving for people who are overworked and stressed (your Monday to Thursday clientele) and how to communicate unabashed exuberance (the Friday/Saturday crowd). Now, you probably shouldn’t tell those stories (I mean, it really does depend on the brand voice at your organization), but while you’re drawing on those memories while writing, your brain is in a human-centered space. That, right there, is the secret sauce of authentic writing.

3 — Why We Need Authenticity In B2B Marketing

People don’t think of B2B purchases as an emotional buying decision, but if humans are involved, so are emotions… It’s no longer enough to inform customers, we’ve got to make them feel.” – Lee Odden, CEO at TopRank Marketing

These words from TopRank Marketing co-founder and CEO Lee Odden reflect the movement within B2B marketing to enrich content through connecting with customers at the human level. This sentiment also reflects the reason why human-centered content is now and will continue to be invaluable for B2B marketing.

Your B2B Audience Is People, Too

This is the biggest reason why content marketing should strive to be authentic. For far too long, B2B marketing was focused on connecting the cogs of industry, forgetting that we’re the cogs! A recent Gartner customer study revealed some startling truths about the B2B buyer journey:

1. 89% of buyers felt the information they encountered in a recent purchase was generally of high quality, relevant, and evidenced. However…
2. Over half of all B2B buyers surveyed reported feeling overwhelmed by the volume of trustworthy information they encountered as part of their purchase journey.

Rising above the noise requires a different approach, and the best way to differentiate yourself as a brand, as a seller, or as an individual human being is to embrace authenticity. [bctt tweet="“Rising above the noise requires a different approach, and the best way to differentiate yourself as a brand, as a seller, or as an individual human being is to embrace authenticity.” — Theresa Meis @TMeisWrites" username="toprank"]

It’s About Solving People Problems

Behind every B2B problem is a people problem. A machine goes down on the factory floor. The floor manager doesn’t know about it until it’s too late and serious damage has been done. The part is stuck in a shipping container somewhere, so the run of parts is behind, meaning everyone has to pull overtime to make it work. A lot of family dinners and little league games are being missed. Software that alerts the floor manager to potential machine problems could have helped them avoid this whole cascade of problems. But, which problem in that list is the one that matters most? B2B always has been about solving people problems. [bctt tweet="“B2B always has been about solving people problems.” — Theresa Meis @TMeisWrites" username="toprank"]

Your Brand Needs You

You are the secret sauce for authenticity in content writing, and authentic content writing is the secret sauce for exceptional B2B marketing. A final fascinating insight shared by Gartner looked ahead to the state of B2B marketing and selling over the next five years. “The best sales organizations will equip sellers to engage customers very differently with information. Sellers will pivot from being the source of information to helping customers make sense out of everything they’re learning, irrespective of source.” Brands that solve people problems will stand apart. Dig deep, embrace your authenticity, and get to solving people problems! If you are looking for a strategic partner to help elevate your current marketing strategy, claim a time to connect with our team of experts.

The post 3 Key Ways Authenticity In B2B Writing Helps Solve People Problems appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/3-key-ways-authenticity-in-b2b-writing.html

Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Buying Cycles Lengthen, Multilingual Benefits B2B, & Google’s New Conversational Search

The Case for Boosting B2B Customer Experience With Multilingual Support 56 percent of consumers have said that getting information in their own language is of greater importance than price, with 70 percent more likely to purchase a product or service that includes information in their own language — two of several findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingProfs Google Plans To Integrate Conversational AI Into Search Engine Search giant Google is preparing to enhance its primary search engine with the addition of conversational artificial intelligence (AI), as the firm seeks to offer a feature similar to that already in use by Microsoft's Bing search engine, Google recently announced. Search Engine Journal [bctt tweet="“Google’s decision to include conversational AI in its search engine shows a significant change in the industry.” — Matt G. Southern @MattGSouthern" username="toprank"] A Look at the B2B Buyer in 2023 [Infographic] 75 percent of B2B buyers have said that the average buying cycle has gotten longer over the past two years, with 20 percent noting that it has increased significantly, while 35 percent said buying cycles have increased somewhat, according to recently-published B2B survey data. MarketingProfs Meta Moves And Implications For Influencer Marketing Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has changed the way its Branded Content tool deals with creator and brand content collaborations, now requiring brands to grant access to their organization's Instagram account in order for co-created content to tag both the brand and creator, Meta recently announced. MediaPost LinkedIn Adds New ID Confirmation Elements to Provide More Assurance and Security Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is rolling out the option for its users to use the CLEAR biometric travel document verification platform to authenticate their identity, along with additional new employer verification features, LinkedIn (client) recently announced. Social Media Today Where Are Businesses Seeing Opportunities with Video Marketing? 81.2 percent of businesses have said that they use video marketing to build engagement, with 74.6 percent pointing to increasing brand awareness, while 69.6 percent use video marketing to increase lead generation — three of numerous findings of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingCharts Twitter Inc. Merged into X Corp. As Part of the Next Evolution of the App Twitter Inc. has changed its name to X Corp., however the social media platform has kept its Twitter branding, at least for the time being, with some expecting a future shift to the name X, the firm recently announced in a legal filing. Social Media Today IAB: 2022 Internet Ad Growth Slowed To 10.8%, Video Logs Largest Dollar Gain In 2022 search advertising held the largest share of overall ad revenue at 40.2 percent, a decrease from 41.4 percent in 2021, while overall Internet ad revenue growth came in at 10.8 percent during 2022, reaching $209.7 billion, according to newly-released Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) ad revenue report data. MediaPost Facebook Tests AI Generated Stories Based on Your Previously Shared Images Meta-owned Facebook has begun testing the ability to create new Story-format content with the assistance of AI that assesses previously-shared content on the social platform — a change that could offer brands additional ways to generate digital assets, Facebook recently announced. Social Media Today B2B Buyers Outline Their Most Valuable Content Types At Each Stage of the Purchase Journey Webinars, reports, and infographics typically see success in the early stages of B2B buying, while demos, reviews, and case studies tend to be the most valuable during the final stages of buyer journeys — two of numerous statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published survey data. MarketingCharts ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: A lighthearted look at “7 Deadly Sins of Innovation” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist DIY IBM Selectric type balls give ’60s typewriters new life (and Comic Sans) — Ars Technica TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden / TopRank Marketing — How To Build A World-Class B2B Ambassador Program In 5 Easy Steps — Forbes
• Lee Odden — How B2B Brands Can Succeed at B2B Influencer Marketing - An Interview with TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden — The Social Media Hat
• Harry Mackin — This Week in Marketing: Small Changes, Big Results — LinkedIn (client)

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW: Katie Martell @KatieMartell Tiffani Bova @Tiffani_Bova Meghan Biro @MeghanMBiro Sally Eaves @sallyeaves Sarah Barnes-Humphrey @bevictoryus Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry. Have you come across a top B2B marketing news item we haven't yet covered? If so, please don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below. Thank you for taking the time to join us for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope that you will return again next Friday for another array of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News: B2B Buying Cycles Lengthen, Multilingual Benefits B2B, & Google’s New Conversational Search appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Article Source: http://bathseoexpert.blogspot.com/2023/04/elevate-b2b-marketing-news-b2b-buying.html