#345: The One Where We Make Business Legal Jargon Sexy with Ashley Kirkwood

Legally protecting your content and intellectual property is important stuff  Attention all entrepreneurs: There’s a new law in town that’s a game-changer for your business… and you need to know about.  Trust me when I say that this law is going to make your life a whole lot easier. And because I’m always on a […]

The post #345: The One Where We Make Business Legal Jargon Sexy with Ashley Kirkwood appeared first on Amy Porterfield | Online Marketing Expert.

from Amy Porterfield | Online Marketing Expert https://www.amyporterfield.com/2020/11/345/
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Adobe’s Rani Mani: 5 Tips For Creating Your B2B Influencer Marketing Love Affair #MPB2B

Rani Mani, head of global employee advocacy at Adobe* delivered an impassioned presentation filled to the brim with B2B influencer marketing insights, with a special focus on how the best influencer relationships are in essence not that different from successful personal relationships. Rani explained how she’s come to have a love affair with influencer marketing, and shared the process she uses to help turn mere social media heavyweights into long-term and deeply-engaged Adobe advocates — a plan than can be implemented by any brand willing to put in the time, effort, and especially the passion that Rani and her team have. When it comes to the domain experts Adobe is leveraging for the good of the brand, there isn’t any magic involved — no algorithm or gimmicks to beat the system — instead simply leveraging the power of humanity within B2B marketing influencer relationships, just as we do in successful real life relationships, Rani explained. Now let's jump right in with the five top tips I took away from attending Rani's insightful MarketingProfs B2B Forum #MPB2B 2020 session, "Influencer Love Affair: Dating With an Eye Towards Long-Term Commitment, Not One-Night Stands."

1 — Building Sustainable B2B Influencer Relationships

Rani examined how building sustainable influencer relationships involves a journey through the funnel, from being generally unaware about your brand to obtaining a certain level of awareness, and then moving on to genuine interest, ultimately followed by engagement, connection, and becoming powerful and loyal brand advocates. Rani suggested working with influencers towards a goal of making the conversion from being unaware to passionate advocates for the brand, at which point they can become active and important parts of a brand’s strategy. Many of the best practices that Rani shared are equally adept in the oftentimes different worlds of B2B and B2C, she noted, sharing an "Influencer Mantra" theme she has used for Adobe. The mantra focuses on how building new B2B influencer relationships can benefit from some of the similarities with dating, with an eye toward long-term commitment and engagement, while also recognizing that not all influencers want to be involved in long-term commitments.

2 — Starting Out With Long-Term Influencer Programs

How do successful long-term influencer relationships begin? Many times they start with saying “thank you,” Rani suggested, coming in the form of a physical hand-written card sent through the mail system, or via e-mail or a public social media post. Whatever form these thank you messages take, influencers should be addressed by name, and thanked individually for what they've done for you or your brand. Holidays provide additional opportunities to thank influencers with gifts, which Adobe uses to help show just how special their influencers are, Rani noted. When posted publicly on social media, expressions of influencer thanks and appreciation can be powerful messages that other brands will often see. Thanking your existing or potential B2B influencers can also come in the form of a LinkedIn* endorsement, and can even involve referring them for additional influencer work at partner brands.

3 — Investing Time Upfront Pays Off With Lasting Influencer Relationships

A big part of any lasting relationship is when we each learn about one another, and Rani explained how it’s no different in B2B influencer marketing, where savvy brands will genuinely want to find out what makes the heart of a particular influencer sing? It’s important to put in the time to develop strong and enduring influencer relationships, Rani noted. As in any relationship, learning who an influencer really is requires time, and speed-dating just doesn't work, as strong relationships don't happen overnight. Learn about influencers by asking thoughtful questions to learn their passions and topics of interest, and this can be accomplished adeptly by asking open-ended questions such as “Where do you want to go, and what do you want to do?” Rani suggested. Then comes the time to perform the match-making part of the influencer marketing equation, by putting the knowledge you’ve gained about an influencer to use in connecting with the most relevant campaigns, brands, brand partners, or with other similar influencers. Rani also urged a share-the-mic approach when it comes to leveraging brand equity to build, grow, and help influencers.

4 — Meaningful Connections Are Still Vital & Possible Virtually

While face-to-face meetings may be on hold, their power shouldn’t be underestimated according to Rani, who shared several ways we can still connect virtually with influencers, including at Adobe’s upcoming Adobe MAX 2020 conference. At this and other events Adobe works to create very special experiences for their influencers, including:

• Exclusive influencer summits
• Event pre-briefings
• Sneak-peeks into embargoed programs
• Special forums asking for feedback

These help us learn what an influencer’s community of social media followers and fans are saying, and to find out what an influencer would do in a particular situation — all valuable information. In-person events allow for a variety of fun things that can greatly enhance camaraderie, such as at an AdWeek event Rani mentioned during which Adobe hosted a cooking extravaganza for their influencers. All of these are designed to be fun and provide a low-key way to relax and connect on a very real human level, Rani shared, recalling the time Adobe’s influencers went to NASDAQ and each had time on NASDAQ TV to share their predictions. The influencers were happy to promote this on their own channels, and Adobe was able to as well, all combining to further build the brand fan base. Bringing influencers to a company’s headquarters for briefings, tours, meetings with corporate management and other on-site activities can also be a great way to strengthen influencer relationships, Rani shared. During the pandemic this can all be creatively done in our new virtual landscape, Rani suggested, stressing the importance of going out of your way to make these types of connections, even if it’s as simple as getting on the phone for an hour, a Zoom meeting or happy hour, or an online group chat. Rani brought up Adobe’s especially active influencer direct-message Twitter group, a special forum she has found to be quite heartwarming, with influencers acting as trusted advisors for one another.

5 — Good Judgement Tops Any Algorithm

via GIPHY "Good judgement will always beat an algorithm," Rani said, while also noting that a smart influencer marketing program will need a certain amount of numerical and other data to help select the right cultural fit for an influencer, but that it’s even more powerful to understand that influencers are humans and not merely the sum of their various social media numbers. Rani urged B2B marketers to learn about influencers the way you would if you were checking on a potential soul-mate. How would you select someone for yourself, for a friend, or for your own family to date? In addition to audience number data, it’s important to look at the authority level of their audience, and to take the time and effort to filter this information from a personal and human level to understand the influencer’s cultural and overall makeup. Rani ended her insightful presentation with a famous Salvador Dali quote, “Have no fear of perfection — you'll never reach it,” and noted that while there will be disagreements with influencers, by having a long-term and mutually-respectful relationship, you’ll be able to honestly share such issues and work through them together. Finally, during the post-session question and answer period, Rani shared some of the key performance indicator (KPI) elements often used for measuring success, but suggested that these always varies from campaign to campaign, and can include KPIs such as social volume, retention, sales, or pure engagement. The ultimate KPI of an influencer having your back is both priceless and unquantifiable, however, Rani noted, offering examples of how Adobe’s influencers have been powerful allies when it comes to providing crisis management, as they are often the first to defend a brand. In today’s virtual environment, influencer connection requires a bit more ingenuity and effort but accomplishes the same things as during pre-pandemic times, Rani observed, noting that we should keep in mind that the key tactics haven't changed, and we shouldn’t use the current times as an excuse to not be human. Be sure to check out our additional #MPB2B 2020 coverage listed below, and don't miss our CEO Lee Odden's session “New Research: How to be Successful With Influencer Marketing” on Thursday, November 5th at 12:55 p.m. Eastern.

• 10 Must-See Sessions at MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020 #MPB2B
• 25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers To Follow In 2021 #MPB2B

*Adobe and LinkedIn are  TopRank Marketing clients.

The post Adobe’s Rani Mani: 5 Tips For Creating Your B2B Influencer Marketing Love Affair #MPB2B appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from Lane Ellis B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://www.toprankblog.com/2020/11/5-tips-for-creating-your-b2b-influencer-marketing-love-affair/
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10 Must-See Sessions at MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020 #MPB2B

MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020 will be the center of the B2B marketing world this week, as many of the world's leading B2B marketers gather virtually on November 4 - 5 to learn and exchange the industry's latest research and insight. This year's first-ever virtual edition offer a vast array speakers and sessions relating to all areas of B2B marketing, and while we've already shared our handy list of "25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers To Follow In 2021 #MPB2B," we also want to provide you with a list of some of the sessions that we're most looking forward to this week during #MPB2B. Here are 10 sessions that stand out to us as must-see presentations as we head towards 2021 and beyond.

10 Must-See Sessions at MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020

1 — Influencer Love Affair: Dating With an Eye Towards Long-Term Commitment, Not One-Night Stands

Speaker: Rani Mani, Head of Global Employee Advocacy, Adobe* Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 11:50 a.m. Eastern Rani will take a close look at the numerous advantages of long-term commitment in the would of B2B influencer marketing, and "why you need to stop using influencers as just billboards and mouthpieces, and instead tap into their unique skills and talents," along with sharing what it takes to build passionate and enduring influencer relationships. Learn more from Rani in her interview with our CEO Lee Odden, "B2B Influencer Marketing Interview: Rani Mani, Adobe," and in "20 B2B Influencer Marketing Pros to Follow from Top Brands."

2 — How to Create an Email Newsletter People Will Clear Their Calendars to Read: 5 Lessons from the Past 8 Months

Speaker: Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 1:00 p.m. Eastern Ann will examine the elements that B2B marketers can combine to create memorable and successful newsletters, including proven tips and examples that specifically focus on how the pandemic has affected email newsletter marketing.

"Come to this fun, inspiring session intervention to hear how to write one that gets fantastic results, and not squander the clear opportunity we all have," Ann notes

Learn more from Ann in her interview with Lee, "B2B Marketing Spotlight: Ann Handley on Being a 'Badaxe' Marketer."

3 — YouTube for B2B? Your Secret Weapon for Awareness and Demand

Speaker: Tim Matthews, CMO, HackerOne Time: Thursday, November 5  — 11:45 a.m. Eastern Join Tim for an insightful look at the power of YouTube in B2B marketing including its strength reaching target buyers, increasing awareness, along with setting demand generation targets — plus a look at the platform's unique SEO challenges and opportunities. "Most B2B CMOs know YouTube is the #2 search engine behind Google. Yet most phone it in when it comes to treating their YouTube channel as a serious marketing channel. That's a mistake," Tim suggests.

4 — How to Create Truly Memorable Content According to Neuroscience

Speaker: Joe Lazauskas, Head of Marketing, Contently Time: Thursday, November 5  — 12:20 p.m. Eastern Joe will use neuroscience as a lens for more clearly seeing what it takes for B2B marketers to create memorable and engaging content, with an examination of Steady State Topography (SST) and the new science of “branding moments.” He'll also share a proprietary study and other B2B marketing insight surrounding the creation of truly memorable content.

5 — New Research: How to be Successful With Influencer Marketing

Speaker: Lee Odden, CEO, TopRank Marketing Time: Thursday, November 5  — 12:55 p.m. Eastern Our CEO Lee will share his latest insights into building a successful B2B influencer marketing program, including new data from the industry's first State of B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report, in which hundreds of marketers were recently surveyed to identify strategies, tactics, best practices, and predictions for the future of influence in B2B. Lee will explore what this data reveals and how B2B marketers can best use it to implement a successful influencer program. "60% of marketers don't have the knowledge to execute or have the right skills in house to implement ongoing influencer marketing programs. And yet, of those that do engage influencers, 96% feel they are successful. Discover what they’re doing that can help you get your influencer programs working for your brand," Lee notes of this must-attend #MPB2B session.

6 — B2B Marketing Analytics Strategy

Speaker: Christopher S. Penn, Co-Founder, Trust Insights Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 1:35 p.m. Eastern Christopher is set to share how B2B marketers can best gain insight from analytics, including a look at which areas are important to measure and which may not be worth it. "You’ve heard the adage, 'You can’t manage what you don’t measure.' But in a world of ever-increasingly complex data and confounding circumstances, what if you’re not even sure what to measure," Christopher asks — one of numerous B2B marketing analytics strategy questions he'll tackle in his #MPB2B session.

7 — Keynote: Evolve your Strategy: 3 Mega Marketing Trends to Outperform Your Competition

Speaker: Tyrona Heath, Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute, LinkedIn* Time: Thursday, November 5 — 2:10 p.m. Eastern Ty's keynote presentation is set to reveal three mega-marketing trends along with key macro-trends that will endure — and which B2B marketers will be able to count on — over the next decade. "Discover how you can recalibrate your marketing strategy by following the key macro-trends you can count on for the next decade," Ty notes.

8 — Keynote: YES, You Can Build Passionate Fans in B2B Businesses!

Speaker: David Meerman Scott, Fandom Strategist, Fanocracy Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 11:00 a.m. Eastern David will deliver a keynote presentation showing how making business personal can be among the most powerful business strategies you can implement, and he'll also explore the process of creating the type of fandom he's written about in Fanocracy. "Creating fandom isn’t just for actors, athletes, musicians, and authors. Fandom can be rocket fuel for any company or organization that chooses to focus on inspiring and nurturing true fans," David notes of his #MPB2B keynote session, in which he'll also present examples from a variety of businesses and organizations that have incorporated newfound passion to create fans and achieve success.

9 — How to Create Meaningful Experiences That Inspire Action in an Unpredictable World

Speaker: Ashley Zeckman, Senior Director, Inprela Communications Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 4:45 p.m. Eastern Ashley will guide B2B marketers on a journey to create more meaningful experiences in a virtual world — a journey that's more important now than ever — including sharing how businesses can stand out and achieve strong results despite today's world of diminished brand loyalty "Brands across the globe have done what they can to continue to drive revenue and service customers, but something is missing: the human connection," Ashley notes of her #MPB2B session, which will also examine how B2B marketers can best maintain ongoing connections and create meaningful experiences with teams, customers, and industry experts in our increasingly virtual world.

10 — 5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Support Their B2B Sales Team

Speaker: Pam Didner, B2B Tech Marketing Consultant & Author, Relentless Pursuit Time: Wednesday, November 4 — 1:00 p.m. Eastern Pam is set to share some of the best methods and hidden opportunities that B2B marketers can implement to support their sales team, along with looking at why greater aligning with your sales team is vital when it comes to quantifying your marketing's ROI. "For complex sales or when selling technology, content that showcases the technology and product benefits can be key to moving prospects through the sales funnel. In the era of digital and social selling, marketers can use existing marketing elements to better engage and support sales," Pam explains, an area she'll expand on in her must-see #MPB2B session.

Join Us Virtually at MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020!

We hope you'll join us virtually for these 10 must-see sessions during MPB2B, and for the many additional stellar presentations that will take place over November 4 - 5, for B2B marketing insight to drive your efforts well into 2021 and towards the post-pandemic future. Also be sure to keep posted for live-blog coverage here on TopRank's Online Marketing Blog. * Adobe and LinkedIn are TopRank Marketing clients.

The post 10 Must-See Sessions at MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2020 #MPB2B appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from Lane Ellis B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://www.toprankblog.com/2020/11/must-see-sessions-mpb2b-2020/
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25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers To Follow In 2021 #MPB2B

Each year MarketingProfs B2B Forum is filled to the brim with the latest insightful B2B marketing tactics and strategies presented by a powerhouse lineup of exceptional speakers, and this year is no different aside from the virtual element the pandemic has necessitated. MPB2B will take place November 4 - 5, 2020 and features a stellar group of B2B marketing professionals the programming team at MPB2B has carefully assembled, in a new virtual format designed to bring you all the freshest industry knowledge without any of the screen fatigue. Just who are the experts that MPB2B has carefully chosen for this year's event? To help B2B marketing professionals learn more and connect with the experts and influential speakers at this year's event, we've sorted through the master list of presenters to identify 25 of the top B2B marketing social influencers to follow and learn from in 2021 and beyond. List Methodology: Our starting point is to identify and validate the credentials of all the speakers presenting at MPB2B. We then imported this scrubbed information into the influencer marketing platform Traackr. Using Traackr’s algorithm for ranking, we sorted the MPB2B speakers according to their respective B2B marketing social influence using reach, relevance, resonance, and audience metrics. A variety of criteria go into such a ranking, including:

• Topical relevance of the content each influencer publishes
• Network engagement with on-topic content
• Network size and reach

Online data for these rankings is pulled not only from Twitter, but also from blogs, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare, and several other platforms — an important item to know, as many lists rely entirely on Twitter and don't take into account relevant influencer activity from additional platforms in the social media universe. Many thanks go out to each of these generous speakers who provide top-notch B2B marketing best practices, tips, and advice during this year unlike any other. In our list for 2020 you'll likely see several familiar faces, along with a refreshing mix of new B2B marketing industry influencers. If you'd like to follow all 25 B2B marketers in one shot, we've made a Twitter list for you. Enjoy! Ann Handley @MarketingProfs Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs Presenting: KEYNOTE: Toast by the Fire: A Fireside Chat with Toast, Inc.’s Kevin Hamilton + Ann Handley About Marketing in a Covid World Presenting: How to Create an Email Newsletter People Will Clear Their Calendars to Read: 5 Lessons from the Past 8 Months Lee Odden @LeeOdden CEO, TopRank Marketing Presenting: New Research: How to be Successful With Influencer Marketing Christopher Penn @cspenn Co-Founder, Trust Insights Presenting: B2B Marketing Analytics Strategy Presenting: Ask Me Anything With Christopher S. Penn Pam Didner @PamDidner B2B Tech Marketing Consultant & Author, Relentless Pursuit Presenting: 5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Support Their B2B Sales Team Carla Johnson @CarlaJohnson Keynote Speaker, Author, Marketing & Innovation Strategist Presenting: Innovators and Intrapreneurs: B2B Marketing’s Next Big Role Mark Schaefer @markwschaefer Author, Speaker, Podcaster, Consultant Presenting: The Pandemic Made Me Reimagine Marketing Gini Dietrich @ginidietrich Founder & CEO, Spin Sucks Presenting: The Blueprint to Build a PESO Model Content Marketing Program Robert Rose @Robert_Rose Chief Strategy Advisor, Content Marketing Institute Presenting: Re-Boot Your B2B Content Marketing Measurement In 20 Minutes David Meerman Scott @dmscott Fandom Strategist, Fanocracy Presenting: Keynote: YES, You Can Build Passionate Fans in B2B Businesses! Juntae DeLane @JuntaeDeLane Founder & Chief Strategist, Digital Delane Presenting: Future-Proof your Brand: How to Grow Your Brand In A Time of Crisis Jon Miller @jonmiller Chief Product Officer, Demandbase Presenting: I Predicted Marketing Automation and It Changed Everything – Here’s What's Next Jason Falls @JasonFalls Director of Digital & Social Strategy, Cornett Presenting: Winfluence: Rethinking Influencer Marketing Brian Fanzo @iSocialFanz Virtual Keynote Speaker, iSocialFanz Presenting: Re-Inventing Virtual Presentations So They Suck Less Andy Crestodina @crestodina Co-Founder & CMO, Orbit Media Studios Presenting: Advanced Content Marketing And Optimization for B2B Marketers Ardath Albee @ardath421 CEO, Marketing Interactions Presenting: Dance with the Ones You Know: Use Retention Strategy to Grow Joe Lazauskas @joelazauskas Head of Marketing, Contently Presenting: How to Create Truly Memorable Content According to Neuroscience Melanie Deziel @mdeziel Chief Content Officer, StoryFuel Presenting: How to Generate Hundreds of Content Ideas Quickly & Easily Ashley Zeckman @azeckman Senior Director, Inprela Communications Presenting: How to Create Meaningful Experiences That Inspire Action in an Unpredictable World Nick Westergaard @nickwestergaard Chief Strategist, Brand Driven Digital Presenting: Presidentially Speaking: B2B Communication Secrets from US History Doug Kessler @dougkessler Creative Director & Co-Founder, Velocity Partners Presenting: B2B Content Ideas Worth Stealing Ashley Faus @ashleyfaus Content Strategy Lead, Software Teams, Atlassian Presenting: Scaling Thought Leadership: Four Pillars to Fast-Track Your Strategy Zontee Hou @ZonteeHou President & Chief Strategist, Media Volery Presenting: Future-Proof Your Social Media Strategy Through Smart Measurement Ahava Leibtag @ahaval President, Aha Media Group Presenting: Be a Better Marketer By Being a Better Baker Keith Reynold Jennings @keithjennings Vice President, Community ImpactPresident, Jackson Healthcare Presenting: Higher Ground: A Guide to Navigating Success & Significance in Your Career Tyrona Heath @tyrona Director, Market Engagement, The B2B Institute, LinkedIn Presenting: KEYNOTE with Ty Heath — Evolve your Strategy: 3 Mega Marketing Trends to Outperform Your Competition BONUS: In addition to this fine list of B2B marketing über-smarties, here is a list of 10 of our most insightful articles about B2B content marketing from the past 12 months:

• 50 Top B2B Content Marketing Influencers To Follow in 2021 #CMWorld
• Your Guide to Effective Storytelling in B2B Content Marketing
• 5 Steps for a More Powerful B2B Content Marketing Strategy
• 7 B2B Content Marketing Tactics For Long Term Success
• Why Content Marketing is More Important Than Ever for B2B Brands
• Manufacturing Runs: 9 Summer Content Marketing Tips Drawn from the Diamond
• Why SEO & Influence are Critical to Pandemic Era Content Marketing
• 5 Examples of Effective B2B Content Marketing in Times of Crisis
• Where’s the Marketing in Content Marketing? 10 Essential Promotion Tactics That Drive Results
• 5 Ways to Humanize B2B Content Marketing

And here are the previous B2B marketing influencer lists we've published:

• B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2019
• B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2018
• B2B Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2017

Thank you to influencer marketing platform Traackr for the use of their software to make this list possible, and to all of the top-notch influencers on the list. Be sure to connect with the TopRank Marketing team virtually attending the #MPB2B conference including Lee, who will be presenting "New Research: How to be Successful With Influencer Marketing" on Thursday, November 5th at 12:55 p.m. Eastern, and look for live-blog coverage here on TopRank's Online Marketing Blog.

The post 25 Top B2B Marketing Influencers To Follow In 2021 #MPB2B appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from Lane Ellis B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://www.toprankblog.com/2020/11/25-b2b-marketing-influencers-2020/
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Inside Influence: Jen Holtvluwer from Spiron on Award Winning B2B Influencer Marketing

When we conducted our research for the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report, we found what the most successful B2B marketers have in common. They:

• Have a Documented Influencer Marketing Strategy
• Engage in Always-On Influencer Engagement
• Have a Centralized Influencer Program
• Use Software to Identify Influencers
• Rely on Experts and Analysts
• Use Blogs as Content Platforms
• Create Interactive Content with Influencers

Learning from those who are already successful in a fast growing discipline is what the Inside Influence Show is all about. Of course, measuring success comes in many forms, from achieving and exceeding the specific goals of a marketing program to industry recognition. When someone is able to achieve both consistently, that's a special source of insight. Today we're bringing that special combination to you with Jen Holtvluwer, Chief Marketing Officer at Spirion. We've had the good fortune to work with Jen on multiple award-winning influencer marketing programs for B2B brands that not only earned industry accolades, but also high 7 digit sales pipeline goals. Whether it was the deep customer insight that informed a campaign for Cherwell Software that could be attributed to 22% of sales pipeline for the entire year or the innovative industry awards campaign for Alcatel Lucent that generated 7 figure sales pipeline, Jen has the track record we all aspire to as marketing leaders. In this Inside Influence interview, Jen and I talk about a spectrum of B2B influencer marketing topics including:

• What it takes to be at the top of your game when it comes to B2B marketing
• The secret to Jen's award-winning influencer marketing success
• Lessons learned from successful influencer marketing campaigns
• Whether it is reasonable to expect both brand awareness and lead generation goals from influencer marketing - Qualities to look for in an influencer
• Top challenges when it comes to working with influencers
• Opportunities for B2B companies to impact brand and sales by supporting executive influence
• What to say to other B2B marketing executives who do not believe there are influencers of their customers that they can work with
• How influencer marketing and B2B marketing will be different in 2021 and beyond
• Career advice for other aspiring CMOs

Here are a few highlights with the full video interview embedded below. A lot of influencer marketing is about demand gen, awareness, and top of funnel. As someone with experienced being responsible for sales in your career, do you feel like influencers can play a role in sales initiatives? A hundred percent. I was just on our quarterly board meeting yesterday and it came up. How much we're getting mentions by customers, which are certainly influencers. Also, how much we're getting mentioned by journalists, editors, and media which are all influencers as well. And one of our board members said, "How are you turning that into opportunities or SQLs?" And I said they don't always bring opportunities directly, but we take those mentions and we apply them in our demand generation and our prospecting efforts and they certainly influence and can accelerate the opportunity stage.

When people see your brand is being mentioned by an influencer, it gives them that double-take that validates you more in the market. @JenHoltvluwer

So that's, that's where our sales uses influencer mentions because when people see your brand is being mentioned by an influencer, it gives them that double-take that validates you more in the market. So it certainly influences and can accelerate lead to opportunity efforts for sure. Of course winning awards is not the only objective for an influencer program, but the reason you’ve won awards is in part because of great performance - like one campaign being attributed to over 20% of sales pipeline for the year and another instigating multiple large deals. What lessons have you learned from these kinds of influencer campaigns? I think one thing that I have done differently is make sure that the expectations of what you're wanting to gain from the influencers that you align with is very clearly outlined. Right? We've had some influencers that said, yes, you know, we'll sign up, we'll participate. And then when it came time to roll out the actual program, we didn't see as much participation as we would've liked. So, I think the communication upfront with the influencers about what you're expecting to gain from them is very important. They appreciate that too, because then they know fully what they're signing up for and what they can and can't do. I think that's a big lesson learned: make sure expectations are clearly outlined with influencers so that there aren't any surprises when you roll out the program and achieve what you need to accomplish. 84% of marketers say brand awareness is a top measurable benefit from engaging influencers followed by 69% that say lead generation is a top benefit. Is it reasonable to expect both? Absolutely. I started my career out very heavy on the demand generation side. It will always be my go-to passion. But I really have the firm belief that if you do branding, right, the demand will follow. And that makes taking your stories to market that much more memorable. So with influencer marketing, it's certainly helping with share of voice because you're getting more exposure through the influencers that you're partnering with. When it's done right, your sales team can actually take those actions that you're creating, those influencer soundbites, those nuggets, and build credibility and value into the business case sooner.

If you do branding, right, the demand will follow and that makes taking your stories to market much more memorable. @JenHoltvluwer

I think we're all finding now that it's a big struggle trying to market during a pandemic and a recession. I bring that up because you've really got to create value sooner in the funnel so that people understand. If an influencer is endorsing this or sharing this and talking about this, I better take a look at this sooner, right? Because it's probably something that I need to be taking action on too. So there is a nice balance where I do think that the branding that you get out of influencer marketing can most definitely be used to accelerate the demand side, which leads to those opportunities that we're all wanting to get at the end of the day. What would you say to an executive that says, "There are no influencers in my industry"? I think that there are influencers in every industry. There's buyer influencers, there's market influencers. It's up to us as marketers and sellers to find out who those influencers are. For us in data, privacy, data security it is definitely the chief information security officers. What we've done is create our own podcast where we invite customers to come on. And it's not where we're talking about our brand. We're talking about impactful things that are happening in the industry. For example, the Blackbaud data breach is very top of mind for the CSO community right now. Inviting influencers in to participate with you is very important to do, especially in times like today.

There are influencers in every industry...most executives understand that you've got to align yourselves with people that are going to be that champion for your cause. @JenHoltvluwer

I think most executives that I work with, maybe it's because I'm so convincing and have a pretty good portfolio of examples to share, understand that you've got to align yourselves with people that are going to be that champion for your cause. If you can ever tie it back to data, which is one thing I think my team has done very well, you know this works. This has moved your share of voice X percentage point. This has brought in X number of pipeline resulting in X revenue. There are studies out there that show that impact too. So I think it doesn't take much to convince an executive when you have published data to back up your idea and your approach to influencer marketing. You’ve had an impressive career at companies like BMC Software, Cherwell, Alcatel Lucent Enterprise and now CMO at Spirion. What career advice do you have for other aspiring CMOs? When I look back at my career, I've had some highs and I've obviously had lows like we all do, but what's been the thing I've always had is I've always sought a champion within the organization that's at that director level or above that I've aligned myself with. And that is not something that you can just do. You've got to earn that trust. So you've got to put in the time to show that you're someone that they do want to put some time into, to mentor and coach. I think it's really important that people seek out who a person who is going to be a champion for them if they want to advance and grow their career.

It's really important that people seek out who a person who is going to be a champion for them if they want to advance and grow their career. @JenHoltvluwer

I've had David Weiss, Matt Dircks, Carolyn Tague, Sandra Booth. I've had so many that I still keep in touch with today that have been that champion for my cause. So I think it's really important to not to do it alone and make sure you put in the time and that your time is noticed. And make sure that you're marketing yourself to the right champion in the business. Then they'll stay with you and refer you as other opportunities come up. That's, that's really been my success. And that's what I like to pass along to people when I get asked that question. To see the full Inside Influence interview with Jen Holtvluwer, watch the video below: If you would like to connect with Jen further about B2B influencer marketing, you can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn. Next up on Inside Influence, we'll be talking to Amisha Gandhi, VP Influencer Marketing and Communications at SAP about creating mutual value with influencers. Be sure to check out our previous Inside Influence interviews:

• Rani Mani, Adobe - The Value of B2B Influencer Marketing
• Garnor Morantes, LinkedIn - The Power of Always-On Influence
• Ursula Ringham, SAP - Behind the Scenes with Influencer Marketing Operations
• Janine Wegner, Dell Technologies - Thought Leadership and B2B Influence

The post Inside Influence: Jen Holtvluwer from Spiron on Award Winning B2B Influencer Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from Lee Odden B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank® https://www.toprankblog.com/2020/11/inside-influence-jen-holtvluwer/
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