In baseball, it’s technically true that games in April matter just as much as those in September. Each win and loss ultimately carries the same weight, no matter when it’s recorded. Still: every player, coach, and person involved will tell you they feel the added pressure of late-season games in a close pennant race. More than ever, decisions are scrutinized and moments are magnified. It’s where the stars take center stage. The approaching end of the year invokes similar vibes for marketing leaders – especially here in the year 2022, as we gaze ahead into an uncertain future, burdened with the likelihood of a looming recession. Now is the time to play your best cards, make the most out of the remaining budget, and launch into 2023 with momentum. Much like a baseball team scrambling for a postseason berth, the pressure is on and focus needs to be dialed up. Here are three pointers to help you make your push and finish strong.
Home Stretch: 3 Key Content Marketing Priorities
It’s no secret: the bar is raised for B2B content experiences. Marketers must elevate their craft in kind to meet it. Here’s where the industry is setting its sights to keep brands growing and demand flowing.1 — Take me out with the crowd: Tune into your audience
In a recent editorial at CMSwire, Integrate’s director of content strategy Marcia Trask went to bat for a buyer-driven approach, challenging B2B marketers to better adapt to shifting dynamics. “Despite all the significant changes to buyer behavior, the B2B marketing approach has remained essentially the same,” Trask wrote. “In the current purchasing climate, this is a big miss. Marketers need to pay attention to buyers, empathize with their problems or opportunities, speak their language, understand the underlying business or technical needs to be addressed and articulate how their solutions provide value to the purchasing organizations.” She urges B2B marketers to take a step back and connect the dots by asking themselves the right questions:- To whom do you sell?
- Why do they buy?
- Who makes the decision?
- How do you reach them?
- What do you deliver?
2 — Moneyball: Harness data to gain an edge
Once the final stretch of the season comes around, data becomes all the more powerful to a baseball team. By now, managers have almost a full season’s worth of information to guide their decisions. And they need it, because the stakes are high. Marketing leaders can’t afford to lean solely on guesswork or intuition when planning for what’s ahead. The ability to activate data in the right ways is a prime differentiator for B2B companies. New research from Anteriad found that marketers with data insights are 3X more likely to have increased revenue. And yet … Gartner now predicts that 60% of CMOs will cut marketing analytics teams by 2023. It’s a conundrum, because the coming deprecation of third-party cookies will call for greater expertise and data innovation than ever. As one example of a more evolved and data-driven approach to content, look no further than Brightcove* CMO Jennifer Griffin Smith’s presentation at INBOUND 2022, as recapped by our Lee Odden. She advocated for a more “media-company-centric measurement model” that derives greater insight and value from video content engagement. Examples of core metrics under such a model include Net View Share, Attention Index, and First Watched. That’s first-party data management built for the new age. [bctt tweet="“Marketing leaders can’t afford to lean solely on guesswork or intuition when planning for what’s ahead. The ability to activate data in the right ways is a prime differentiator for B2B companies.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN" username="toprank"]3 — Rally time: Don’t let up with your strategic content efforts
The whispers of an economic downturn will likely only grow louder in the coming months, if forecasts and prognostications prove true. Last month, Metadata.io’s VP of Marketing Jason Widup offered advice to his peers on how to show your B2B marketing value in a down economy. His first tip? “Don’t freak out.” One thing the B2B marketing industry has learned, pretty convincingly, from past recessions is that the negative impact of pulling back spend (or “going dark”) becomes greater, as does the positive impact of sustaining. This owes to a simple competitive reality: when others are reactively inclined to protect budget – or “freak out” – there’s more opportunity to gain ground. As Widup explained, “The companies who don’t make knee-jerk reactions are positioned well to catapult out of tough times because everyone around them is pulling back, which creates more space in the areas you’re advertising in to get in front of the right people at a lower cost. Chances are not only will your marketing performance get better, but you’ll also come out leaner.” Consistency has always been key to effective content, and marketers should resist any pressure to pull back with that in mind. These can be pivotal moments for attracting eyeballs, gaining mindshare, and growing loyalty. Marketers will be playing under the big lights here in the final stretch of 2023. If you tune in to your audience and its changing needs, embrace a culture of data, and keep showing up in the right places with your content, then you’ll be poised to meet the challenge and wow the crowd. Learn more about TopRank Marketing’s content marketing services and how we can help your brand score big. *Brightcove is a TopRank Marketing ClientThe post Crunch Time: Maximize Your Content Marketing Impact When It Matters Most appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.
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LinkedIn Looks to Improve Messaging Interactions with ‘Focused Inbox’, Adds New Sales Analytics Tools Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has begun rolling out a new artificial intelligence-enriched account dashboard to the professional social platform's Sales Navigator product, while also launching an updated private messaging inbox meant to make it easier to find the most important messages — two of several new features LinkedIn has recently announced. 
A lighthearted look at “Procurement and Partnership” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — 
First, identify your purpose. Dive deeper into understanding your clients, their true objectives, and how your business serves them. Through client surveys and interviews, you’ll learn how your clients feel, gain new insight into their influences, and strengthen your overall relationship. 
Next, it’s time to invest and execute. Use your newfound understanding of your buyers to create a small pilot program. Start by collecting new data, testing overall program effectiveness, and identifying areas for improvement. A pilot program is a learning opportunity that prepares you for long term strategy. Kind of like an hors d’oeuvre before dinner. 
Last (but not least) activate ROI. Take what you learned from your pilot and use it to build out a long-term B2B marketing strategy. Focus on nurturing influencers, seeking win-win collaboration opportunities, driving overall program efficiency and delivering real results. >>>Did you know that 12 times more marketers describe their programs as successful when they use an always on strategy vs. campaign based programs?