Inside B2B Influence

Inside B2B Influence Episode 17 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Advantages influencer marketing creates for B2B brands in 2022
• The most important qualities B2B brands should look for in influencers
• The importance for B2B brands to grow influence from within
• The next evolution of influence for B2B companies
• What B2B companies should consider in order to scale influence

Get more details on Brian and the interview at TopRank Blog: Brian Solis of Salesforce on the Future of B2B Influence

Inside B2B Influence Episode 16 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Sarita Rao, President - Integrated and Partner Solutions at AT&T.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• What prepared Sarita best for her current leadership role
• How social media engagement has impacted her career
• Advice for B2B executives on becoming more social online
• Advice for women who aspire to senior business leadership roles
• Insights into collaboration tools and technology for interacting with current and prospective customers
• Tips on making connections with employees more human
• How Sarita is helping to redefine customer experience at AT&T
• An example of what real human conversation and interaction looks like in today's business world
• The importance for today's modern sales or marketing leaders to be active on social channels

Get more details on Sarita and the interview at TopRank Blog: Sarita Rao of AT&T on Growing B2B Executive Influence with Social Media

Inside B2B Influence Episode 15 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Justin Levy, Director of Social and Influencer Marketing at Demandbase.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• How influencers fit in the marketing mix at Demandbase
• Opportunities for B2B brands to work with influencers post-pandemic
• What makes a good B2B tech influencer
• The importance of growing influence for brand executives
• Advice for B2B marketers new to influencer marketing
• What should B2B marketers expect from an influencer marketing agency
• B2B technology and marketing influencers to follow

Get more details on Justin and the interview at TopRank Blog: Justin Levy of Demandbase on Optimizing Marketing with Influence

Inside B2B Influence Episode 14 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Does everybody have influence? Yes and no
• How the change to digital first B2B marketing has affected demand for influencers
• Relationships are everything for long term influence
• Trends in influencer content collaboration
• Growing emphasis on executive thought leadership and influence
• Worst practices influencer engagement
• How to integrate influencers with your newsletter
• What B2B marketers should do to improve their influencer marketing
• Some of Ann's favorite B2B industry influencers

Get more details on Ann and the interview at TopRank Blog: Ann Handley from MarketingProfs on Confluence - The B2B Content and Influence Connection

Inside B2B Influence Episode 13 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews CEO of Onalytica, Tim Williams.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• About Onalytica as a B2B influencer marketing platform
• Tim's role as CEO at Onalytica
• The current state of B2B influencer marketing
• The impact of COVID-19 on B2B influencer marketing
• Why Always-On influencer marketing is good for both brands and influencers
• How to convince more B2B brands to focus on the experience they create for influencers as much as they do for customers
• Opportunities for B2B companies to leverage both external influencers and employee influencers for marketing
• B2B influencer engagement trends for 2021
• What B2B marketers can do to better showcase influencer expertise in content
• What B2B brands can expect if they hire an agency
• What to be optimistic about with influencer marketing post-pandemic

Get more details on Tim and the interview at TopRank Blog: Tim Williams from Onalytica on Optimizing B2B Influencer Experiences

Inside B2B Influence Episode 12 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Paul Dobson, Senior Director, Social and Influencer Marketing at Citrix.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Where influencer marketing fits in the mix at Citrix
• Tips on being great at influencer marketing for a B2B technology brand
• Influencer Marketing vs. Influencer Relations
• The impact of influencer marketing on customer experience
• Advice on starting an influencer marketing program at a B2B brand
• How to get executive buy-in to an influencer marketing program
• How to decide which influencers to work with
• Examples of influencer engagement
• Opportunities to grow influence with B2B brand executives
• How agencies can be most helpful to B2B brands with influencer marketing
• Predictions of influencer marketing in 2021

Get more details on Paul and the interview at TopRank Blog: Paul Dobson from Citrix on The Secret Sauce of B2B Influence: Authenticity

Inside B2B Influence Episode 11 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Marshall Kirkpatrick, influencer marketing pioneer, founder of Little Bird and now Vice President, Influencer Relations, Analyst Relations, and Competitive Intelligence at Sprinklr.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Marshall's evolution from the first blogger at TechCrunch to founder of Little Bird to VP at Sprinklr
• How Dan Pink's Symphonic Thinking translates to being a B2B influencer marketing thought leader
• Insights into working with B2B influencers
• B2B influencer activations that actually work
• Opportunities for B2B brand executives to build influence
• How to unlock influencer potential from executives who are not natural to social engagement
• Advice on outsourcing an influencer marketing effort with consultants or agencies
• What's most exciting about B2B and influencer marketing in 2021

Get more details on Marshall and the interview at TopRank Blog: Marshall Kirkpatrick from Sprinklr on Elevating B2B Content with Influencers

Inside B2B Influence Episode 10 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Ryan Bares, Global Social Programs Lead: Social Influencers & Employee Advocacy at IBM Systems.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Increased focus on employees as influencers
• Importance of senior B2B execs to grow their influence
• Optimism about influencer marketing at IBM
• The difference between B2B and B2C influencer marketing
• How IBM Systems engages with B2B influencers
• Advice on starting an influencer program at a B2B brand
• Integrating influencer content with other marketing tactics
• Opportunities for the future of influencer marketing

Get more details on Ryan and the interview at TopRank Blog: Ryan Bares from IBM on Influence Inside B2B Brands with Employees

Inside B2B Influence Episode 9 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews 8X best selling author, futurist, digital anthropologist and a key contributor to the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report, Brian Solis - Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Brian's role at Salesforce as a Global Innovation Evangelist
• The importance of Always-On Influence and creating value for customers
• What B2B brands should expect from influencer marketing
• The closing gap between B2B and B2C influencer marketing
• What B2B executives should consider when incorporating influence into the marketing mix
• What B2B marketers should expect from influencer marketing agencies
• Most rewarding experience with a B2B brand as an influencer
• The role influencer can play for B2B brands during times of uncertainty
• Tips for B2B executives on becoming more influential (and why)

Get more details on Brian and the interview at TopRank Blog: Brian Solis from Salesforce on How B2B Influence Adds Value to Customers

Inside B2B Influence Episode 8 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Srijana Angdembey from Oracle, who is responsible for driving global Social Media strategy for Oracle CX Cloud.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• How influencer marketing for B2B has changed
• What it takes to be a top B2B influencer marketing professional at a B2B brand
• Top challenges and opportunities for influencer marketing during the pandemic
• How influencer engagement impacts customer experience for B2B companies
• An example of a successful influencer marketing campaign
• Advice for B2B marketers that are considering working with influencers and what to expect
• Trends in influencer content
• Criteria for identifying and partnering with business influencers
• Measures of success for a B2B influencer marketing program
• Influencer marketing after the pandemic and future predictions

Get more details on Srijana and the interview at TopRank Blog: Srijana Angdembey from Oracle on How Influence Creates Better B2B Customer Experiences

Inside B2B Influence Episode 7 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Pierre-Loic Assayag, the CEO and founder of Traackr.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• Influencer Marketing in 2008 and 2021
• The business case for pandemic era B2B influencer marketing
• Crawl, walk, run options for influencer marketing software
• Influencer Marketing Success: Is it the software or Marketing technology?
• Skills needed to maximize influencer marketing platform ROI
• How influencer marketing software enables Always-On influencer engagement
• New updates to Traackr
• The future of influencer marketing tech and martech integration
• How B2B brands can justify dedicated internal influencer marketing leaders

Get more details on Pierre-Loic and the interview at TopRank Blog: Pierre-Loïc Assayag from Traackr on Influencer Marketing Technology

Inside B2B Influence Episode 6 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Amisha Gandhi, VP Influencer Marketing & Communications at SAP.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• The impact of the pandemic on influencer marketing for B2B brands
• How influencer marketing fits in the marketing mix
• What mutual value creation means for B2B brands and influencers
• The difference between B2C and B2B influencer marketing
• When to pay influencers
• Why Always-On influencer marketing is more powerful than campaigns alone
• How to win budgets for influencer marketing programs
• Where agencies can be most helpful for B2B brands with influencer marketing
• Top B2B influencer marketing mistakes
• Looking forward to post-pandemic influencer marketing

Get more details on Amisha and the interview at TopRank Blog: Amisha Gandhi from SAP on the Power of Mutual Value in B2B Influencer Marketing

Inside B2B Influence Episode 5 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Jen Holtvluwer, CMO at Spirion.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• 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 influencer
• 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

Get more details on Jen and the interview at TopRank Blog: Jen Holtvluwer from Spirion on Award Winning B2B Influencer Marketing

Inside B2B Influence Episode 4 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Janine Wegner, Global Thought Leadership Program & Activation Manager at Dell Technologies.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• What it takes to be an influencer marketing thought leader when you work at a global B2B brand
• Whether thought leadership and influencer marketing are independent or synergistic disciplines
• How Dell Technologies works with B2B influencers
• The benefits of working with influencers besides building brand awareness and lead generation
• Key insights from the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report
• The difference between influencer marketing and influencer relations
• How process is essential for scaling influencer marketing
• Top challenges when working with influencer marketing
• Predictions for the future

Get more details on Janine and the interview at TopRank Blog: Janine Wegner from Dell on Thought Leadership and Influencer Relations

Inside B2B Influence Episode 3 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Ursula Ringham, Head of Global Influencer Marketing at SAP.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• The key components of influencer marketing operations
• The importance and application of influencer marketing software
• An influencer marketing case study featuring an SAP podcast
• Advice for marketers that want the benefits of influencer engagement but are hesitant to commit
• What B2B brands can expect if they hire an outside agency to help with influencer marketing
• What B2B marketers should watch out for when working with influencers and influencer programs
• Rising influencer stars in the B2B tech space

Get more details on Ursula and the interview at TopRank Blog: Ursula Ringham from SAP on Influencer Marketing Operations

Inside B2B Influence Episode 2 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Garnor Morantes, Group Marketing Manager at LinkedIn.

Discussion topics in this interview include:

• What Always-On influencer marketing is and why its valuable for B2B brands
• The challenges faced by campaign-focused influencer marketing efforts
• Advice for B2B marketers considering influencer marketing
• How LinkedIn Marketing and Sales Solutions (clients) has developed an influencer community with an Always-On approach
• Key statistics from the 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report
• How LinkedIn works with influencers to improve customer and prospect experience
• Whether marketers should pause or proceed with influencer marketing during the pandemic
• Who some of the rising star B2B marketing and sales influencers we should be paying attention to
• Predictions on the future of influencer marketing for B2B brands

Get more details on Garnor and the interview at TopRank Blog: Garnor Morantes from LinkedIn on the Power of Always-On Influence

Inside B2B Influence Episode 1 - Lee Odden of TopRank Marketing interviews Rani Mani, Adobe Head of Employee Advocacy and manager of the B2B Adobe Insider's program.

Discussion topics in this interview include:
- 2020 State of B2B Influencer Marketing Report
- The role of influence across the customer lifecycle
- How influencers bring freshness and creativity to brand content
- The benefits of working with B2B influencers during the pandemic
- How influencers can help humanize B2B brands, including Adobe
- Top challenges working with B2B influencers
- Insights into the B2B Adobe Insiders community
- The future of B2B influencer marketing

Get more details on Rani and the interview at
TopRank Blog: Rani Mani from Adobe on the B2B Influencer Marketing Advantage