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The post Digital Marketing News: Google Rejiggers Results Design, Instagram’s Brand Mentions Feature, Octi AR Social Network, & CX Gets More Budget appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank® . from Online Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://ift.tt/38NcG5c

Trust in marketing —how to build it and how to wield it for good—needs to be top of mind for every modern marketer. Why? Because nearly every decision people make, especially when it comes to purchasing decisions, has an element of trust built in. And content marketers have the opportunity to become trusty guides. “No one knows everything about everything,” Margaret Magnarelli , Executive Director of Digital Product Evolution and Growth Marketing at Morgan Stanley, shared with us in a recent Break Free B2B interview. “So, we have to be able to give our customers as much information as we can… and take them as close to the line of purchase—to the experience of purchase—as we can.” According to Margaret, understanding and leveraging the psychology of trust—the intellectual and emotional factors that guide our trust instincts—can be incredibly powerful. But building trust isn’t a solo marketing department endeavor (or ploy). “If you want to be a trustworthy company… it can’t b...

Marketing conferences offer a wealth of benefits to marketers looking to learn, network, and increase brand awareness, but how do you go about finding events that match your business and B2B marketing needs? Over the past decade the number of conferences has skyrocketed, making it harder than ever to hone in on the ones that can best help build your business, boost your networking opportunities, and offer the most relevant new industry education from top speakers, especially when it comes to B2B marketing. For 2020 we've gathered together no fewer than 50 events that place an emphasis on B2B marketing in all its facets, and we're thrilled to present the list here, in chronological order. [bctt tweet="“There really is no substitute for real-world interactions and creating a great experience for your customers or prospects.” @LeeOdden" username="toprank"] Now let's dig in and explore our collection of 50 top B2B marketing-related conferences and events f...

Star Trek is one of my favorite franchises. It’s a beacon to guide humanity to a brighter future: One without wars and scarcity, dedicated to discovery and enlightenment.  (Can you tell I really loved the Picard series premiere?) [caption id="attachment_27932" align="alignnone" width="600"] (He has a PIT BULL named NUMBER ONE.) Photo Credit: CBS[/caption] But the best tech in all of Star Trek isn’t the transporter, the replicator, or even the holodeck. It’s the universal translator, a gizmo that can process language in real-time and convey every nuance and idiom. We have a similar technology right now, but… well, it could use some work. “Shivers down my spine” turns into “chicken skin?” That kind of margin of error would cause some serious diplomatic crises in Starfleet. But we shouldn’t be too hard on Google Translate. Sometimes people speaking the same language have trouble communicating with each other. Marketers are good at speaking marke...

We are living in the age of speed: faster connections, faster answers, faster service. People expect many things to happen instantly, in real-time, and technological advancements are increasingly making it possible. As such, it might seem counter-intuitive to suggest that we as B2B marketers are wise to slow our roll. Sometimes we tend to go through the motions too quickly, or in the wrong order, and it can hurt our results. In fact, it can prevent us from even accurately evaluating our results. Sean Callahan recently wrote a post on the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions* blog arguing that a top priority in 2020 for B2B marketers should be to slow down when measuring ROI . The case is simple and convincing: Sales cycles have grown significantly longer but analytics haven’t responded in kind. Per the post, 77% of marketers are still measuring ROI in the first month of a campaign, even though the average B2B sales cycle is now about six months long. “The reality is,” writes Callahan, “...

The post Digital Marketing News: Micro-Influencer Trends, LinkedIn Adds Interactive Tools, Strong Online Ad Spending, & Google’s Cookie Drop appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank® . from Online Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://ift.tt/36nKJ2n

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This phrase is often uttered with a negative connotation, but incidentally, it also represents an aspirational ideal for B2B marketing managers and leaders.  In an environment that is constantly shifting, brands and agencies are tasked with navigating uncertainty while remaining steadfast in their pursuit of the same ultimate goals: engaging prospects, building relationships, driving business results. As such, change management becomes a key aspect of the job, particularly for those in leadership positions. Focusing on “how to help employees embrace, adopt and utilize a change in their day-to-day work” (as defined by Prosci ), change management is oft-overlooked but clearly essential for a profession where one day can look drastically different from the last. Carol-Lyn Jardine , who now serves as Vice President of Marketing Operations and Productivity at Alteryx, says she’s had the opportunity to enter new organizations mu...

Experiential content will help drive 2020’s digital agenda, and savvy B2B marketers should take notice. Experiential is a word with subtly differing meanings depending on which setting it’s used in, however at the core of each definition is the fact that it all boils down to experiences . Experiential content makes us a central part of a story, and not just a passive subject receiving a one-way brand message. Use of experiential content has grown over the past several years as online technologies have reached a level capable delivering vibrant and engaging motion and sounds alongside clickable, swipable, and all other manner of interactivity to put you front and center. TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden recently mentioned experiential content in his annual list of the top ten B2B digital marketing trends for 2020 . [bctt tweet="“Visual, experiential content that is easy to find and satisfies business buyer’s needs to be informed, entertained and inspired will continue to be area...

Trust is the linchpin of modern marketing . It plays a crucial role in every vertical, industry, or niche. But nowhere is trust a more essential crux than in health care, where the personal stakes are immense. “We're in an industry where, you know, it's serious,” says Emily Thompson in her interview for Break Free B2B. “This is about people's health and well being, and a lot of times people get very nervous — they're scared, they're sick.” As a Boston-based freelance writer and content strategist who primarily focuses on the health care sector, where she has worked with a wide variety of clients ranging from startups to enterprise, Emily acutely understands the impactful nuances of messaging. She says seeing things from the other side — as a first-time mother who frequently sought information online — helped her develop a more empathetic view. She incorporates this into her craft, creating patient-focused copy designed to build trust and confidence, and offer...