How Your Website’s Platform Affects SEO

website platform seo

Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in a website’s visibility. It’s estimated that 68 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. As such, it’s essential to optimize online content so your website appears in searches when target audiences are seeking information about your industry, expertise, products and services.

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Do’s and Don’ts of Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency

digital marketing agency

The skill sets, tactics and channels used by marketing professionals today can seem infinite, and the knowledge required to establish and execute a successful strategy can be overwhelming. As such, most companies can benefit by outsourcing some aspects of their marketing objectives to agencies with specialized expertise. Due to its highly technical nature, digital marketing is one area to consider turning over to the experts. While digital marketing agencies are popular, choosing the right one for your goals is no simple task.

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Understanding the Difference Between Peer-Reviewed and Editor-Reviewed Publications

publications

In the world of publishing, scholarly articles serve as a crucial means of establishing and advancing expertise within a specific field. They help individuals and businesses increase visibility, credibility and name recognition in their marketplaces. They position authors as experts and thought leaders and can appear in trade publications, peer-reviewed journals or other media platforms.

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What to Know About “Social Listening” for Today’s B2B Businesses

social listening

In the age of social media, it’s not enough for a brand to simply broadcast its message and hope it finds its target market. To truly connect with audiences, B2B brands need to listen to their customers and thoroughly understand what they are saying. This is especially true across digital channels such as online publications, social media and third-party review sites, where interaction and engagement are the name of the game.

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B2B Marketing Is a Chess Game: Mastering Strategies for Success

chess strategy

In the B2B marketplace, purchase decisions can be complex. They often involve multiple decision-makers, complicated budgets and long-term commitments. As such, strategic thinking and calculated moves are the keys to winning marketing efforts that drive business success. Much like a game of chess, B2B marketing requires careful planning, foresight, and adaptability to outmaneuver competitors.

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Three Core Pillars of a Corporate Growth Culture

growth culture

When most leaders think about growing their businesses, revenue and profits are typically top of mind. In a traditional “performance” culture, company and individual success is measured by accomplishments and financial impact. But research shows that this performance-based culture may not be the most sustainable way to drive results.

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Seven Must-know Realities About Generating Speaking Opportunities

Today’s thought leaders have a multitude of platforms to showcase their expertise via speaking engagements, both online and in-person. Opportunities include trade shows, conferences, conventions, educational institutions, webinars, podcasts and other events. Speaking engagements allow thought leaders and other experts to share captivating, empowering and authentic stories and insights that provide value to audiences and help speakers gain recognition and credibility with their target audiences.

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To Gate or Not to Gate: A Marketer’s Guide to Gated Content

gated content

How do companies attract website visitors and convert them into leads? One tactic is creating and publishing high-quality and high-value content. Effective content marketing answers your audiences’ questions, provides solutions to their challenges, and positions you as an expert in your industry. But simply attracting visitors to your website isn’t enough. To generate viable leads, businesses need to know who is reading their content and how to connect with them outside a digital space.

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Explainer Videos: What They Are, Why You Need One and Keys to Success

explainer videos

With countless marketing channels at our fingertips across social platforms, apps, and the internet, capturing and retaining the attention of target audiences are more challenging than ever before. With an overwhelming volume of information reaching prospects daily, marketers are always searching for innovative ways to stand out from the crowd and effectively convey their message to the people who need it most. One powerful tool to accomplish this is known as the “explainer video.”

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Seeking an Extraordinary Ability Visa? How Getting Published Helps

visa

Marketers understand the benefits of publishing bylined articles in trade publications. But getting published in relevant journals is also critical for business professionals seeking employment visas to live and work in the United States. Immigration to America can be a long and complex process. As global interconnectivity grows, it becomes more competitive.

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Summer Reading: Seven Books for B2B Professionals

As summer nears, many of us are making travel plans, planning for the second half of the year, and experiencing the fluctuation of school and business schedules. Whether this time of the year brings increased business or relaxation, the summer months are an excellent time to commit to growth and learning.

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Writing for Quality and Clarity: Common Writing Mistakes Every Professional Should Avoid

writing mistakes

Whether an important email, sales proposal, bylined article or video script, developing content is a universal need. Even with tools such as spell check, Thesaurus or supportive artificial intelligence (AI), quality writing can be difficult to produce. The way a brand communicates with the written word can have a significant impact on brand reputation, the success of marketing goals and professional interactions.

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Seven Reasons B2B Customers Buy and What It Means for Marketers

buyer motivation

What motivates people to make a purchase? Why do they choose one product or service over another? Buyer motivation is complex, especially when it comes to B2B customers. When marketers understand the motives behind a B2B purchase, they can intrinsically appeal to these factors from the beginning, thereby nurturing and expediting the buyer’s journey.

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Five New LinkedIn Features to Boost Your Brand Presence

LinkedIn Features

LinkedIn has become an essential tool for brands, business professionals and entrepreneurs to connect, network and showcase expertise in their industries. In fact, 96 percent of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content to the platform’s millions of users. As the ever-changing landscape of business evolves, new features are frequently introduced. It’s crucial to stay up to date on these features to make the most of the platform. Without them, it’s possible to miss opportunities to engage with target audiences, increase visibility, and stay ahead of the competition.

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What Marketers Need to Know About Zero-, First-, Second-, and Third-Party Data

customer data

We live in a data-driven world. There are approximately 4.66 billion active Internet users worldwide, creating mass amounts of data across countless daily digital interactions. For today’s B2B marketers, navigating data is a critical skill. Additionally, the landscape of data collection and privacy is always changing. Federal regulations such as the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) or state-specific regulations such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) affect how companies collect, maintain and use data.

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Four Questions to Ask that Will Help You Find and Define Your Brand’s Tone

find brand voice

Communication is at the heart of any business relationship. Whether it’s with a new prospect or a longstanding business partner, the manner in which a brand communicates can make or break a sale. More than a color scheme or logo, a brand’s identity conveys who they are, what they stand for and what they do for their customers. This includes multiple factors such as brand tone and voice.

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Are Trade Publications Still a Viable B2B Marketing Medium?

Trade Magazines

All marketers know that an article in WBJ or a spot-on national news can have a huge impact on enhancing a company’s credibility, visibility and name recognition. The problem is that this type of media coverage is tough to get. Brands can spend valuable resources pursuing opportunities that never come to fruition.

While coverage in top-tier media may reach more people, trade magazines remain a relevant and powerful medium for companies who want to establish their thought leadership and gain a competitive edge in their industries. Trade magazines feature practical, informal, and action-oriented content for and from practitioners in the field. This specialized, technical focus makes the channel a perfect fit for B2B organizations looking to reach their target audiences.

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Content Marketing vs. Thought Leadership: What’s the Difference?

content marketing

In today’s increasingly digital and competitive landscape, it’s more important than ever to increase your brand’s visibility, credibility and name recognition. While content marketing is proven to attract prospects, convert leads, retain existing customers and grow your business, there’s an even more effective tool for marketers. Thought leadership takes content marketing a step (or more) further. Thought leadership demonstrates individual and organizational expertise, builds trust and has the power to transform an industry. While content marketing is essential for all businesses, nothing pulls in leads and boosts the long-term success of an organization like a well-executed thought leadership strategy.

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Six Warning Signs You Don’t Know Your Customers Well Enough

Customer Focus

Marketers and business leaders know that a rich understanding of their clients’ style, preferences, needs and priorities is essential to strong relationships, exceptional service and sustained business growth. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming you know everything about your clients. These blind spots can lead to missed opportunities, poor performance, miscommunication and lost business. When you see your customer through a magnifying glass and truly understand their every need, it creates a ripple effect throughout the organization that leads to more business, better business and a stronger bottom line.

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The Power of Images: How to Use Graphics to Enhance Marketing Content

Graphics

Humans perceive 80 percent of their surroundings through their eyes. Visual content attracts attention, evokes an emotional response, adds context and makes content more memorable. Yet, finding unique, on-brand and engaging imagery can be a challenge for marketers. Hiring a photographer can be costly but finding quality marketing photos requires time, creativity and access. Whether using product images, infographics, lifestyle photos or stock images, choosing the right graphic can make the difference between content that falls flat or one that drives customers to your door.

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The Power of Automation: How to Transform B2B Marketing with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Some of today’s biggest brands use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to gain a competitive edge. AI can sift through customer data, target paid ads, personalize user experiences and facilitate decision-making. With more than a third of companies reporting the use of AI in their business in 2022, marketers who take advantage of AI tools can stay a step ahead of the competition.

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Empathy in Marketing: Why a Human Touch Is Crucial

With the rise of remote workplaces, artificial intelligence tools, and data utilization, it’s easy to assume that relationships are founded on a network of technologies. These digital transformations sometimes cause customers to lose sight of the people behind a brand. The personal, human touch plays a vital role in successful business relationships. Empathy makes that genuine connection possible in an increasingly digital and global marketplace. Roger Ebert stated that “empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.” Does this make empathy the most essential quality of a successful, customer-centric marketing approach?

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How to Grow Your LinkedIn Following for Powerful Marketing Results

With more than 810 million users, LinkedIn is the number-one spot for members to  network professionally, ask and answer questions, post and find jobs, and demonstrate thought leadership. As a marketing tool, LinkedIn is one of the most effective places to find and engage with decision makers who could be interested in your products and services. In fact, users rank LinkedIn as the number-one platform for lead generation, making it a powerful (but often overlooked) tool for marketers to connect with an extensive pool of potential customers.

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