Tap Blogging

What does the word “work” mean to you? A dictionary would tell you that work is, “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result,” or maybe, “a task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do.” But how do we know which tasks to tackle first? Or what specifically needs to happen in order to achieve our purpose? That’s where project management comes in. And for B2B marketing agencies or teams, there are a lot of nuances when it comes to project management. Launching several campaigns at once. Racing to meet tight deadlines. Ensuring important milestones are met and in the right order. These are not your typical projects. And the typical approach to project management just won’t cut it. What are our secrets to project management for B2B marketers? I share our top project management tips that boost marketing productivity with you below. Tip #1: Adopt Big-Picture Thinking Project management can either be granular or broad....

You've read the news, seen the reports, remarkable real-time graphs and updates from the CDC . Virtually all industry conferences are cancelled or postponed, major sporting events are postponed, most schools and many stores are closed and just about any venue for large crowds from malls to theatres are as empty as the toilet paper aisle at Target. COVID-19 is serious business and is undoubtedly having an impact on business . Should it stop companies from marketing to other businesses? We all have an obligation to make the changes necessary to minimize COVID-19 transmission through closures, postponements and having employees work from home like we just implemented at TopRank Marketing this week along with many other companies. While there will be a period of adjustment, these changes do not mean the work stops. It doesn't mean companies don't need information, solutions, support, products and services. The evolving environment we find ourselves in presents new challenge...

B2B Companies See Purpose As A Path to Success Some 82 percent of B2B executives see companies with purpose having more success than those without, with 86 percent saying that purpose is important to their business — two of the insights contained in a recently-released B2B brand purpose survey. MarketingCharts Content Consumption and Production Trends for B2B Marketers Creating brand awareness, educating audiences, and building credibility and trust are the three top B2B content marketing goals, according to a new report on content consumption and production trends. Blog posts, customer testimonials and reviews, and whitepapers were the most effective methods for moving prospects along the sales funnel, the report revealed. Chief Marketer Twitter starts testing its own version of Stories, called 'Fleets,' which disappear after 24 hours Twitter has begun testing its take on Story-format tweets, which it has dubbed "fleets" for the fleeting ephemeral element. If...

The hardest part is getting started. Has there ever been a more relatable expression? I know we can all think of a task or obligation that we put off endlessly out of some perceived dread, only to find that once we actually buckled down and got to it, the act was rather quick and painless. The spectre of starting from scratch can also stall a lot of decisions in the business world. Take B2B influencer marketing as an example. You might’ve seen the stats showing how effective it is , or how it drives shocking ROI . Maybe you’ve even seen TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden out on the speaking circuit, articulating the approach and sharing some of our success stories . But if you have no semblance of an influencer marketing strategy or infrastructure in place at the moment, hesitance is understandable. So to ease the friction and uncertainty, here’s a simple five-step plan to get a pilot program up and running. Launching a Pilot B2B Influencer Marketing Program in 5 Steps By no means wil...

Search strategy is undoubtedly vital for most B2B brands today, yet there are several elements that play important roles in its ultimate success that may surprise you. Leading the search engine optimization (SEO) program for a major brand is a vital role that’s only taken on greater importance over the years, as even the rise of social media marketing hasn’t eliminated the need for B2B marketers to have a strong search marketing strategy . With search influencers at top brands facing a nearly constant barrage of new SEO challenges, how do smart search industry leaders build successful campaigns? Non-paid organic search efforts have some of the lowest website visitor traffic bounce rates for B2B and B2C campaigns alike, which is why SEO practitioners at major firms continue to play such an important role in successful marketing efforts. Having a sound search strategy comes not only from long-standing traditional on-page technical elements, but more than ever before three additional t...

You already know what B2B influencer marketing is . It is “the practice of a B2B brand engaging internal and industry experts with active networks to help achieve measurable business goals.” But how is that changing in 2020 with social media distrust, the spread of misinformation, advertising regulations, and more? B2B influencer marketing in 2020 has seen new challenges arise, requiring a shift in approach. From trust to transparency to accessibility, 2020 is set to be a transformative year for influencer marketing programs. What is B2B influencer marketing in 2020 and how is it changing? We share the answers with you below. In 2020, B2B influencer marketing is… niche and targeted. That big-name influencer you’ve been working so hard to grab? You might want to pivot to a smaller, more niche expert. A whopping 70% of millennials prefer endorsements or sponsorships from non-celebrity influencers. Of course, exceptions exist, but bigger isn’t always better. In our experience, an inf...

Buyer distrust of advertising and brand communications is one of the top challenges of our time for marketers. As TopRank Marketing's Nick Nelson has shared, " trust is currency " and that trust is "arguably the most valuable currency in today’s B2B marketing environment." Studies continue to show that business peers and experts have customer attention over brands. 95% of B2B buyers say they prefer credible content from industry influencers according to a study from Demand Gen Report . As a result, it is more important now than ever for marketers to find ways to become part of this new “circle of trust” for buyers. But how? Like few other marketing tactics, Influencer Marketing provides an effective way for companies to partner with credible experts that have the attention and trust of customers. B2B brand and influencer content collaborations can deliver significant marketing performance improvements across the entire customer lifecycle from awareness to p...