Best Batch of B2B Blogs from Ideas@Work All Year
The end of 2014 has come. With the arrival of the new year comes a time to learn from the past and face the future, as a bigger and badder b2b marketing agency.
In the spirit of nostalgia, reminiscence, and improvement I have compiled a highlight real of the year’s 8 most successful Ideas@Work blog posts.
The year’s posts were judged almost completely on popularity, taking into account views and social shares.
Here’s the big 8:
8) 17 Free Ways to Create More Visual B2B Marketing Content
One of MLT’s copywriters: Tracey Anderson stresses the power of visual content; giving b2b marketers 15 tools to make their content more eye catching. From images, to infographics, to videos, Tracey shows different ways to create any desired visual content, for free!
7) B2B Marketing: Blogs are like opinions. Everyone’s got one.
Tracey shares insightful statistics about blogging and social media marketing from the 2014 Social Media Report. Tracey shows how huge blogging and social media marketing have become, and the benefits that they provide b2b marketers.
6) 4 Steps to Conversion: B2B Marketing Science
MLT’s Director of Buyer Behavioral Studies, Vann Morris, uses behavioral science for insights into creating buyer personas. She emphasizes the importance of implementing personas throughout all your marketing efforts, keeping it simple, and using emotional appeal to attract leads.
5) Inbound Marketing Certification, Is It Worth Your Time?
I’m proud to say that #5 was written by yours truly (Woohoo!). I wrote this a few days into my internship with MLT Creative, right after completing Hubspot’s Inbound Certification course. It’s a greenhorn’s reflection on the experience. It has proved to be a useful resource for those considering taking a Hubspot course.
4) For B2B Social Media Marketing: Facebook “Like” or “Share” Button
Vann Morris answers whether it’s better for a blog to feature a Facebook “like” or a “share” button. Vann finds that the share button offers more visibility, longevity, and customization than the “like” button.
3) Answer The Man In The Chair With Your B2B Marketing Content
MLT president Billy Mitchell addresses buyer personas and how they relate to the sales funnel. Billy points out how Buyer Personas are frequently discussed, but the steps for creating them are never explained in detailed fashion. By creating buyer personas that relate to different stages of the sales funnel, marketers can target leads with content that is most applicable to them. This post was written as a product of MLT’s collaboration with Ardath Albee in creating the Up Close & Persona tool.
2) Let Your B2B Brand Dominate with LinkedIn Showcase Pages
The 2nd place holder is a guest post written by the LinkedIn Guru: Viveka Von Rosen. This post is on gaining leads for your company using showcase pages, giving you tips on how to set them up and utilize them to connect with your target audience. This post was written as a product of the B2B LinkedIn LaunchPad Training Series that MLT and Viveka created.
1) Expert Advice About LinkedIn For Business And Your B2B Marketing
The most successful post of 2014 was written by Viveka Von Rosen as a product of the B2B LinkedIn Launchpad. Giving insights into how to build a healthy network of connections that grow your business, Viveka reminds us that there is no magic button to push for gaining leads on Linkedin. The best way to do it is to engage and build relationships with people.
Final Takeaways
The blogs with the most social shares were not necessarily the most popular.
#2 had seven times the social shares as #1, and yet #1 had twice as many views. The two blogs with the most social shares were #2 and #7. While social shares are important for gaining visibility, if those shares are not going to the right target audience, they won’t necessarily give your blog more exposure.
Interestingly, four out of the ten posts covered LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has become the favorite social network for B2B marketers. It makes sense that as a b2b marketing agency, MLT’s readership would be especially interested in LinkedIn.
The two most successful blogs weren’t even written by MLT staff!
By partnering with LinkedIn expert Viveka Von Rosen, MLT was able to offer readers more authoritative advice. Guest posts give a company a fresh voice and help it address specific issues with more precision and depth.
