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Lee Odden's Recent LinkedIn Posts

Lee Odden

Lee Odden

@leeodden

Owner & CEO at TopRank B2B Marketing Agency | Building Best Answer Brands with Integrated Search, Content, Influence, & Thought Leadership Marketing

en23 postsLinkedIn

Posts

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

Stop scrolling and check out this good news! As we monitor research on B2B marketing hiring and talent trends each quarter, we also track role changes amongst B2B marketing executives. This data provides insight into what roles B2B companies are investing in and over time, how leaders are progressing or "making moves". This week we published the Winter 2026 edition of B2B Marketers on the Move, recognizing and celebrating marketing leaders advancing in their careers. B2B marketers are navigating a lot right now and in times like these, pretty much every marketer is searching for sources of trust they can follow with confidence and believe in. Make no mistake, this group is a brain trust of talent and experience. As part of TopRank Marketing's ongoing Elevate B2B effort, we invest resources into shining a light on talent that others in our community can follow, learn from and connect with. Making human to human connections is more important than ever, and if we can help make that happen in the B2B marketing community, those connections are worth celebrating. Congratulations Winter 2026 B2B Marketers on the Move! Tyrona Heath Sarah Groves Rayna Naclerio Michelle Ragusa-McBain James Montana-Pickering Min-Jee Hwang Michelle Blondin Julie Zisman Jon-Mikel Bailey Nakul Goyal Isaac Montoya Charlie Riley Scott Neuman Lindsay Munro Debra Jayson Treasa Dovander Debbie Kestin Schildkraut Robert Brittain Holly Meredith Robin Kim Dakota Shane Nunley Leslie Jurgens Mark Milinkovich Torarie Durden DAGMARA SZULCE Dianne B. Julia Monti Brianna Neumann Elif Hız LuJean Smith Ken Kundis Claire Karjalainen Erica Mitchell Sarah Peek Heather Bresnahan Richard Maclachlan Rob Patey Karen N. TraKisha McNeil Shelby Hegy and more! See the blog post for the full list https://lnkd.in/g8Zd8esz
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

"Retention is like the long lost stepchild of marketing objectives". Michael Brenner Our research on B2B Thought Leadership with Ascend2 found that 97% of B2B marketers say thought leadership is critical to full-funnel success, and yet only 43% extend it beyond acquisition to engage and retain customers post-sale. In our latest episode of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast, I had the opportunity to talk with the brilliant Michael Brenner to shine a light on this opportunity and the work he's doing in his role as VP of Thought Leadership and Customer Advocacy at Workday. With context from a Harvard study that 5% invested in retention gets 90% return, Michael shared, "We use thought leadership to target our existing customers and we use our customers to target net new - it's really a full funnel approach." He then went on to talk about a focus on storytelling and how the intersection of thought leadership and customer stories helps create more meaningful and interesting connections with customers. We cover a LOT of ground in our conversation on everything from AI to thought leadership and influencers to a deeper dive on storytelling best practices for B2B brands and of course, the importance of being the best answer for your customers in traditional and AI search. Listen, watch or read the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/g26N3sgv
38

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

Sometimes I get to sit in the guest seat on podcasts and thanks to Kia Johnson at DesignRush I had a great opportunity to talk about experiential content and where it fits within Best Answer Marketing. For fun, I've taken that conversation and written up an overview plus some bonus perspective on how to map insights around buyer questions to content formats, especially content experiences.
22

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

International Women's Day is this weekend, Sunday March 8th, and I would like to share my appreciation for the smart, professional B2B marketing leaders at TopRank Marketing. Their passion for all things B2B marketing, support for each other and our clients is second to none. From senior management and operations to sales, account management, and our marketing solutions, this leadership team is making a difference and driving impact for an impressive portfolio of B2B brands. I am thankful to work alongside these pros and learn from them every day! Thank you Alexis Hall, Claire Luinstra, Jane Bartel, Amie Krone, Debbie Friez, Theresa Dorsey Meis, and Samantha Berbrick for all that you do to make TopRank Marketing a Best Answer Brand! #IWD #IWD2026
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

I recently had the chance to sit down with Dave Frankland. VP and Research Director from Forrester to talk about the singularity happening in B2B Marketing. When you hear that word you're probably thinking of the AI singularity, when machines pass human intelligence. But Dave framed it differently. In math and physics, a singularity is a tipping point where increasing pressures cause existing models to break down and entirely new ones take their place. When applied to B2B marketing, Dave calls this the "GTM Singularity", a moment when long-standing sales, marketing, and customer success playbooks can no longer keep up with how buyers actually behave. Dave shared that many organizations are already past the point where incremental change will work. We're all seeing these changes: AI-driven buyer autonomy, larger buying networks, and fragmented revenue processes are all putting pressure on traditional GTM models. That friction is what happens when these outdated systems conflict with the new reality. The good news is that there is opportunity is for B2B brands that are willing to rethink how marketing, sales, and customer success work together and build go-to-market strategies designed for how buying actually happens today. Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg of our excellent conversation on the latest episode of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast that covered a range of topics in the run up to Forrester's B2B Summit North America including: ✅ Buying has become an act of confirmation, not selection ✅ AI-powered buyer autonomy is expanding buying networks ✅ Traditional funnel metrics and MQL-driven approaches are increasingly disconnected ✅ Trusted discovery now requires brands to design content and experiences for answer engines ✅ Organizations must avoid siloed AI implementation across marketing, sales, and customer success ✅ 75% of B2B enterprises are expected to increase budgets for influencer relations, Watch, listen or read the full interview to learn what the GTM Singularity means for the future of B2B marketing: https://lnkd.in/d7Ejz8af Shout outs in this episode to: Ian Bruce, Ph.D., John Buten, Lisa (Berkley) Gately, Katie Fabiszak, Karen Tran, Amy Bills, Ross Graber, Laura Ramos, Michael Brenner and Brian Solis. #ForrB2BSummit
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

When a break from remote work is needed, there’s nothing better than some Friday IRL "Admin" time with some of my team at TopRank Marketing!  BIG thanks to the brain trust of B2B marketing pros joining Amie Krone and I today: Alexis Hall, Nick Nelson, Debbie Friez (joined later) and Theresa Dorsey Meis!
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

Thought Leadership has long been a staple for building trust with B2B brands but there's a space where many B2B marketers are missing out. According to the State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026 report, 97% of B2B marketers say thought leadership is critical to full-funnel success. And yet fewer than half consistently extend it beyond acquisition into later stages where reinforcement matters most. That's the topic Theresa Dorsey Meis explored in her latest post on the TopRank Marketing blog: https://lnkd.in/gBbkDQvw Against the backdrop of research from a survey of 797 senior B2B marketers, there are several distinct ways top performing B2B Marketers approach building trust across the customer journey. ✅ Fortify credibility with evidence buyers can stand behind - Original research and data-informed insights give structure to thought leadership, grounding it in something more durable than opinion. ✅ Bring human voices into moments of evaluation - Experts, customers, and partners add perspective while influencers add context and validation. ✅ Stay present after the decision - Brands that continue to offer relevant guidance after the decision help buyers feel supported as they move into implementation and outcomes. ✅ Reduce friction through consistency - A familiar story, shared consistently, becomes easier to trust as decisions move forward. Check out the full post where you can get access to the research report and the Best Answer Marketing playbook to put those research insights into action.
14

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

"Contrarian for the sake of being contrarian does not make you a thought leader." In this clip from the latest episode of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast, Ashley Faus breaks down one of the most misunderstood ideas in B2B marketing: what thought leadership is, and what it isn't. Hot takes, executive titles, and saying the opposite of the status quo don't equal thought leadership. Ashley says real thought leadership requires tested ideas, rigor, and perspectives that help buyers think and act differently and I couldn't agree more. Ashley outlines a four pillar framework for thought leadership in her excellent book, Human Centered Marketing, which I recommend you check out. From Ashley's origin story, where a background in musical theater inspired her empathy for audiences, to her work leading lifecycle marketing at Atlassian, this conversation covered a lot of ground. We talked about how human understanding is at the center of the most effective B2B marketing and why "funnel thinking" doesn't reflect how buyers actually behave. We also talked about how trust is built (and broken) through everyday marketing experiences, and why AI-powered efficiency can compromise your credibility when intent is ignored. Overall, the takeaway from our talk is that B2B marketing works best when it is integrated, human-centered, and designed to help buyers think and decide with confidence - which lines up perfectly with the Best Answer Marketing system at TopRank Marketing and our recent B2B thought leadership research. How would you define thought leadership? Please share in the comments! HUGE thanks to Ashley for taking the time to share her B2B marketing smarts. You can listen, watch or read the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gmvv6MYm Ashley joins an alumni of B2B marketing brain powered guests on the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast including, Tyrona Heath, Christiana Marouchos, Amber Naslund, Kathleen Booth, Steve Kearns, Ann Handley, Jon Miller, Cindy Anderson, Heike Young, Brian Solis, Rishi Dave, Stephanie Losee, & Todd Lebo. Be sure to check out all episodes of Beyond B2B marketing wherever you subscribe to your favorite marketing podcasts.
51

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

Research from LinkedIn found 94% of B2B marketers agree that trust is the key to success. So how are brands breaking that trust? When I sat down with Ashley Faus, Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Portfolio at Atlassian for a recent episode of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast, she shared very specific examples of how many B2B brands are creating disconnects, especially with CTAs. It boils down to doing what you say you're going to do. If your website offers a resource, then provide the resource, don't pop up a form. If you are going to gate things, then position your CTA accordingly. Creating expectations and then delivering an obstacle results in disappointment, not an interested customer. We covered A LOT more than this from thought leadership to the role of influencers to the importance of more human centered marketing, so be sure to check out the full episode with Ashley where you can listen, watch or ready the transcript: https://lnkd.in/gmvv6MYm
27

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

Are B2B brands compromising their thought leadership with propaganda? When I spoke with Michael Brenner, VP of Thought Leadership and Customer Advocacy at Workday on the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast, he made a compelling argument for ensuring thought leadership remains true to its purpose. If you think about it, it's easy to understand why. When everyone wants to sell but no one wants to be sold to, it's a losing proposition for content marketing. Michael says, "We have to protect the church and state type of separation. Thought Leadership needs to be pure, it needs to be intentionally helpful and there needs to be a walled garden against insidious desires to sell." So how did Michael help level up content and thought leadership? When he started at Workday, a few focus areas he brought into the new role included: - Thinking about content like a business - Creating constantly and that was genuinely interesting - Focusing on the value of storytelling Watch, listen or read the full conversation where Michael gives a deep dive on all things thought leadership, content and B2B marketing.  https://lnkd.in/g26N3sgv
20

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

Is it just me or are thick framed glasses a thing these days? They look silly on me, but sure seem to work well for others. 😆 (Testing not being so serious on LinkedIn. Let's see what happens.)
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

80% of B2B marketing leaders say AI will automate work currently done by people. (Forrester) The transformation of marketing work has been disruptive in some ways and evolutionary in others. What these changes mean for B2B marketers and the new skills they need to succeed has created both uncertainty and opportunity. To better understand how successful marketers are managing change in this "age of AI transformation", I reached out to several marketing experts including Beverly Jackson, Robert Rose, Tyrona Heath and Pam Didner as well as the Winter 2026 B2B Marketers on the Move honorees for their best career advice on managing change. What came out of their advice were 5 themes: 1. Make continuous learning a career strategy 2. Anchor your work in timeless marketing principles 3. Build relationships that help you navigate change 4. Start with outcomes, not tools 5. Anticipate change and move early If you have advice on managing change, please share in the comments. HUGE thanks to James Montana-Pickering, Ken Kundis, Debbie Kestin Schildkraut, Rob Patey, Ed Erdem Demirtas, MBA, MS, Nakul Goyal, Treasa Dovander, Dakota Shane Nunley, Jon-Mikel Bailey, Mark Milinkovich, DAGMARA SZULCE, Beverly Spaulding, Sarah Groves and Dianne B. for sharing their advice and lessons learned! Check out all of the advice from this smart group of marketing pros here: https://lnkd.in/gHh83xPK
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

2mo

On the journey from mechanical to meaningful to being more strategic and effective, B2B marketers are evolving. And this conversation is all about how. On the latest episode of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast, David Rowlands, head of content at B2B Marketing / Propolis and I discussed the difference between a promotional marketer and a commercial marketer - and what that means in terms of marketing proving its value in a strategic way. We talked about how changing buyer behavior and AI are forcing a rethink of how marketing works, from how content is discovered to what actually drives trust and influence. David made a strong case for moving beyond campaigns and MQLs toward a more commercially accountable approach, where marketing is aligned with sales, product, and business outcomes. We also talked about the growing importance of data-driven, differentiated content and the role of credible voices, community, and storytelling in shaping high-stakes B2B decisions. We covered how the Propolis community works, how B2B organizations get involved and where things are headed. Listen, watch or read the full interview on TopRank's podcast channel: https://lnkd.in/g7ucsE89
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

Virtually every B2B marketer is using AI but not everyone has the skills they need to succeed. Research from LinkedIn says 95% of B2B marketers use AI at least weekly and 65% use it daily or more. At the same time, research from Workday found investment in AI for productivity gains has resulted in an ”AI tax”: for every 10 hours saved, nearly 4 hours are lost to fixing, clarifying, or rewriting content. This productivity paradox is something Michael Brenner and I talked about on the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast earlier this week. He suggests treating AI as a leadership strategy vs. a productivity shortcut. And to start by defining the business problem and measurable outcomes before choosing tools. Then redesign roles to show how work actually changes, and reinvest any efficiency gains into higher-value human skills like strategy and storytelling. As research from Bain & Company found, the takeaway is that B2B brands that focus first on investing in their people, then AI, see far more productive outcomes and team satisfaction. Brian Solis has written an entire book (Mindshift) on the shift in thinking needed before technology transformation can be effectively realized. We also discussed this at length on an episode of Beyond B2B. This is particularly important if we’re going to put confidence in things like Matt Shumer’s recent article about the transformation happening where AI is quickly evolving from a tool for efficiency to a system capable of independent judgment and “taste.” For B2B marketers in 2026, this means a shift where foundational skills like prompt engineering are being exchanged for things like “narrative orchestration.” As agentic AI begins to independently execute complex, long term projects that previously required senior-level human experts, there will be a growing importance for B2B marketing leaders who can provide the human nuance, taste and strategic oversight that AI can’t yet replicate. To dig in to this topic a bit deeper, my post today covers 4 AI focused trends for the B2B marketing labor market in 2026: 1. Strong demand for strategic, digital, analytics and AI-enabled marketing skills Robert Half 2. AI adoption in marketing has become a baseline requirement Jasper 3. CMOs will need to bridge their AI blind spot Gartner 4. Skills-first hiring and upskilling Mercer (See LinkedIn's 10 Fastest Growing Marketing Skills on the Rise) Expectations for AI in B2B marketing have been set but they're not met. Yet! Check out the full post for more depth and links to all cited research and examples PLUS we recognize 50 B2B marketing leaders: https://lnkd.in/g8Zd8esz
33

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

Great news! I'll be attending Forrester's B2B Summit North America this year and have some great recommendations to share: https://lnkd.in/gkkpaaQx The context: Buying groups and those that influence them have grown along with use of AI search. And yet a lack of confidence in AI answers is causing the need for validation across channels and sources of influence. The proof: According to Forrester’s State of Business Buying 2026, the average B2B purchase now involves 13 internal stakeholders and nine external influencers. At the same time, buyers using AI tools feel less confident because of unreliable AI-generated information. Can you relate? I know I can. That means buyers increasingly compensate by expanding the sources of information used to validate what they find with AI. The result: A buying environment where visibility is necessary but it’s not enough. At TopRank Marketing, discovery fragmentation is driving the importance of Best Answer Brands: companies that earn their position with proof and consensus as the most credible, relevant answer where buyers are looking whether it's in search, AI summaries, communities, through influencers, or analyst reports and research-based thought leadership. Forrester calls the force behind these changes and more in the B2B marketing space, the GTM Singularity, where AI-driven buyer autonomy is collapsing traditional go-to-market models across marketing, sales, product, and customer success. GTM Singularity is also the theme of B2B Summit North America, taking place April 26-29 in Phoenix. As prep for my first time at B2B Summit, I reached out to Forrester Analysts Laura Ramos, Kelvin Gee, Karen Tran and Lisa (Berkley) Gately for a preview of their keynotes and presentations as well as recommendations for how senior marketing leaders can get the most out of the event. If you're considering attending, this post is a useful preview of what to expect. If you're already signed up to attend #ForrB2BSummit then the advice on how to get the most out of the 4 day conference is very useful - who doesn't want to get more ROI out of attending an industry conference? Either way, if you're attending this year, I'd be happy to connect. Let me know if you'll be attending in the comments. Also, as a further preview of the conference, I will be hosting VP, Research Director at Forrester, Dave Frankland on the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast where we'll do a deep dive on GTM Singularity and major trends in the B2B marketing space. That episode will publish in the next few weeks so be sure to watch for it.
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

In the face of disruption and transformation, confidence in marketing's ability to drive impact is more important than ever. So what is a confident marketer? To help answer that question, the Association of National Advertisers conducted a study and found that only 39% of B2B marketers are "extremely" or "very confident" in their ability to measure marketing's effect on financial performance. Their research found several consistent characteristics of confident marketers including sales/marketing alignment, data and analytics competency, AI sophistication and original / unique content such as thought leadership centered in original research. Huge thanks to Patricia Riedman Yeager for including TopRank Marketing in the article and for citing our marketing work for LinkedIn and Sprinklr as an example of making best answer, human-generated content (research, influence, experiential content, multi-channel). There's a lot to navigate in the marketing world right now and B2B brands are looking internally and some externally for sources of confidence. That's exactly what our Best Answer Marketing framework is set up to do. "A confident marketer is about being grounded in intelligence and insight about not only what your brand stands for and the value prop that you bring to your customers, but especially the pain points and the objectives of what's turning out to be a much larger group of decision-makers — explicit and hidden." Check out the full ANA Magazine article here:
21

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

What is the cost of AI efficiency without imagination, inspiration and human taste? I recently contributed to an article for Association of National Advertisers ANA Magazine on this very topic: Why AI Slop Can Make a Real Mess of Marketing (thanks Sean Callahan) https://lnkd.in/g_UTW2rh The influence of AI on the tools we use to create content is not as simple as input > output = AI slop. There are AI native tools like Chatbots (ChatGPT, Gemini), image (Midjourney, Nano Banana), video (Runway, Veo 3, Sora 2), audio (Eleven Labs) and vibe coding (Loveable, Cursor) platforms. There are also a growing number of AI powered content creation platforms like Adobe Firefly integrated with Photoshop, Google Workspace integrated with Gemini, and Descript and Riverside integrated with OpenAI's Whisper. Research from Content Marketing Institute reports that 95% of B2B marketers are using AI tools for brainstorming, creating content and for content optimization. However, only 18% say AI has significantly improved creative capabilities, 13% content quality and just 6% content performance. Without question, there's a lot more AI-generated and AI-assisted content being produced. The ANA article cites research from Kapwing that found 21% of videos shown to new YouTube users are AI slop. Here's my take: I use AI in some way, ever single day. But as I've said for years, a tool is only as effective as the expertise of the person using it. Effective use of AI for content is about the input, output and performance, not simply task completion and efficiency. Many people feel empowered by AI tools for content creation. But here's the thing: AI only makes you more of what you are. "If a marketer is not particularly experienced, creative, or imaginative, then their uninspired input will only result in an (AI-assisted) output that is mediocrity at scale. No brand wins by being average." Where a lot of people less experienced in creative production will find productivity with AI is in the derivatives of content assets. "You can create something evergreen and then use AI to suggest derivatives for different audience ICPs (ideal customer profiles), or different use cases." As marketers figure out the answer to what the best applications of AI first and AI enabled tools are, I think it's important to accentuate the imagination, craftsmanship and taste that people bring to the situation from their uniquely human experiences, and then identify where AI tools are most effective for those processes and extending the value of that human origination. I had a great conversation with Jon Miller on this topic over at the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast that's worth a listen - he's rocket science smart on this stuff and is in thick of it with his stealth AI startup. https://lnkd.in/gSDxiq9H
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

If you're at #DigitalSummit in Tampa today, be sure to check out my session on how to leverage original research and influencer engagement to build thought leadership content that delivers on brand, demand, revenue and customer growth outcomes. If you're not, check out the post below that summarizes this presentation and how you can differentiate your thought leadership content to build trust, brand memorability and decision confidence:
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

With the rise of ChatGPT and Google AI overviews/mode, does having a blog for your business still matter? If the thinking is that blogs are simply content, then maybe. But here's the thing: publishing blog content is about more than simply fueling LLMs with information they can use to answer questions or give Google content in the hopes of a ranking and a click. A lot more. Content Marketing is often viewed as creating useful information to help buyers make decisions - a sort of "give to get" perspective. However, B2B brands that see durable value from blogs and corresponding social media engagement have a different point of view: "give to build". Build what you say? Build a community Build expertise Build relationships Build visibility and engagement Build the business We've been blogging at TopRank Marketing since late 2003. That's 20+ years, thousands of articles, millions and millions of visitors and more than anything, relevance in a highly competitive market and relationships that are priceless. Of course we've adjusted our content and social media strategy and where blogging fits as one does in marketing. We adapt and adjust based on data. And that data tells a story about shifting topic interests, channels of discovery, content format preferences and what contributes to our goals and what does not. Blogging continues to create value for B2B brands, albeit a bit differently. The basic search value of blog content has changed, but the power of being relevant and co-creating content to build community is alive and well. As one of the tools in the B2B marketing mix, it's not whether blogging is still useful or impactful, it's about the strategy behind how you use it and the approach to optimize for effectiveness. If you want to be the best answer for your customers, you have to understand the questions they're asking and community building through blogging (and social media) is a priceless source of insight. If you'd like to learn more, I dig in to this a bit further sharing many of the outsized benefits we've received from blogging over the years as well as some examples of B2B company blogs to learn from here:
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

B2B content marketers are working hard to demystify AI search and LLM visibility right now. It's one of the most common question topics we hear. At the same time, feeds now flooded with AI-generated advice about AI is more than a little ironic. There has been some useful research from Ahrefs, SparkToro and others plus practical guides that have come out AI search visibility recently. LinkedIn (Brooke Weller), How to Optimize Your Owned Content for AI Search (pdf) https://lnkd.in/dfybxDva Microsoft, AI Search Demystified: A Practical Guide for Marketers (featuring AI search smarties Britney Muller, Lily Ray, Aleyda Solís, Michael King and others) (pdf) https://lnkd.in/dYCmFZJ8 Microsoft also announced their AI Performance Dashboard: https://lnkd.in/dV39jfvY As a B2B marketer thoroughly entrenched in creating credible, memorable and actionable information for self-directed buyers and their stakeholders, working through the intersection of content, visibility and trust for any kind of discovery including AI search is critical. There's a growing narrative around creating content for people and content for LLMs, which is a bit deja vu if you've been in the SEO game for a long time. But what about a content perspective that helps you satisfy both? In that regard, I'd suggest there are two concepts that are particularly important for B2B marketers that want to create content that gets chosen as the best answer by LLMs and humans: proof and consensus. Proof differentiates and builds confidence. In action that means being intentional about publishing evidence in a structured way (case studies, original research or relevant, useful data). Consensus is reinforcement of relevance from trusted sources. Earning citations with that proof across known entities (websites, publications, influencers, blogs, social, etc) authentically and in a way that connects a topic to a brand helps build consensus that that brand is the best answer for the topic. Think about your current content strategy, thought leadership, influencer engagement, PR and media relations, SEO/AEO efforts, channels of distribution and how you measure it all. How are you integrating and coordinating content to create proof and earn the kind of validation that builds consensus? When B2B marketers are effective at this kind of intentional and thoughtful content coordination, we call them best answer brands. Being the best answer for your customers in any kind of discovery is less about campaigns and more about a system. At TopRank Marketing we call that system called Best Answer Marketing which has it's own proof and consensus efforts - walk the talk!
12

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

For B2B brands that want to lead in AI search, new research from Profound proves LinkedIn is the place to be.
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Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

3mo

This interview with Jessica Jensen, CMO at LinkedIn on the Uncensored CMO podcast by Jon Evans really resonates with me: 🔹Today’s B2B needs to open hearts and minds. Agreed! In B2B it is indeed no longer enough to simply inform, we must make people feel something with storytelling, experiential formats and credible, collaborative perspectives outside of the brand. 🔹It’s OK for B2B brands to have some fun in their marketing. Yes! The time to break free of boring B2B is long overdue. LinkedIn’s new ad campaign is a great example of that. And so do many of Jessica’s posts here on LinkedIn. 🔹 AI is creating more jobs than it is taking. Our own tracking in the B2B marketing space shows marketers transforming their skills and how they create value using AI beyond efficiency to impact are those getting hired and promoted. Overall, Uncensored CMO is an excellent podcast I highly recommend. This episode in particular is a nice gift of humanity, personality and intelligence we need more of in the B2B marketing space.
7

Lee Odden

Coaching & Leadership

4mo

As a marketer in the B2B space with limited resources and higher expectations, it can be pretty stressful to try and "be everywhere". The good news is, you shouldn't. We know that buying groups are larger including hidden buyers and they're consuming more information across more channels (an average of 10 per McKinsey) discovering, validating and building decision confidence. And that might seem like a call to be everywhere from AI tools to search engines to social networks and communities to influencers and creators. But visibility is not enough by itself. What's the point of being found if buyers don't believe? Trust, memory and decision confidence are just as much a function of multi-channel visibility as discovery. As the super smart Theresa Dorsey Meis says in today's post on the TopRank Marketing Blog, "What matters most is not the sequence of these interactions, which can vary widely, but the function they serve. Buyers are building up confidence incrementally. Each channel answers a different question, and together they determine whether an idea feels reliable enough to act on." To learn more about how high-performing B2B brands design for multi-channel discovery and the research behind it, check out Beyond Reach to Building Confidence: The Hidden Job of Multi-Channel Discovery https://lnkd.in/gYMRxY7i
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Lee Odden Recent LinkedIn Posts | EXEED AI