According to a new report from MarketingSherpa, the B2B marketplace is rapidly evolving, and marketers are resistant to adapt to the latest best practices. 68% of B2B marketers haven’t even identified their Marketing-Sales funnel. Resistance to market changes and the failure to identify the customer journey are huge obstacles for improving B2B marketing effectiveness.

In light of these challenges, it’s refreshing to know that progressive and successful B2B marketers are offering advice to become more innovative and customer centric. “Speak customer”, “Be Human” and work to innovate by understanding the sales funnel so performance can be optimized are the trends to follow.

To advance B2B marketing innovation, TopRank Online Marketing and MarketingProfs have partnered to create an impressive collection of 33 B2B Marketing innovation tips from some of the top B2B thought leaders and brands.

You can view the full eBook embedded from Slideshare below. You can also get more info on the B2B Marketing Innovation eBook on this post at Online Marketing Blog.

From Ann Handley herself to famous B2B marketers and social media strategists like  Paul Gillin, Joe Pulizzi, Amber Naslund, this free eBook is a cornucopia of great advice on how to break free of boring B2B. Top B2B marketing brands and practitioners include IBM, Cisco, SAS, Salesforce, Silverpop, Lattice Engines and many others.

Download the eBook from Slideshare and let me know which is your favorite tip.

We are looking for a design savvy Web Developer that also understands the technical side of SEO. This role requires proficiency in web publishing applications, web design and their impact on search engine visibility.  It also offers a chance to learn and grow as web technologies and search optimization continue to evolve.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

• Design and development of websites, email landing pages, blogs, social media backgrounds and more for clients
• Developing web, social and blog templates
• Supporting website SEO audits for clients
• Supporting web analytics and search marketing reporting
• Creation and testing of email campaigns and response tools
• Identifying and troubleshooting SEO issues with content management systems (CMS) and other dynamically generated websites

Qualifications:

• Three to five years of web development and design along with technical SEO experience.
• Experience working in an agency setting.

Proficiency in the following:

• PHP & MySQL
• WordPress
• Dreamweaver or similar
• Google Webmaster Tools & Analytics
• Forms/Landing Page Development Skills
• CSS, ASP & HTML
• Content Management Systems
• Photoshop or Fireworks
• Website Analytics & Performance Reporting

This Web Developer candidate should also have strong aptitude for client support and:

• Understand how to prioritize and manage multiple projects/tasks in a deadline-driven environment
• Strong written communication abilities
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills
• Time management skills
• Good communication skills for internal discussions
• Excellent organizational skills
• Work well with an internal team of marketing professionals to develop strategic, integrated campaigns to drive client success

TopRank Online Marketing is a leading digital marketing agency based in Minnesota that helps clients increase sales and brand visibility online as well as improve customer relationships through search, social, email and content marketing. TopRank offers a strong opportunity for advancement, extremely competitive time off policy, IRA retirement plan, premium health insurance, and a creative office environment overlooking Lake Minnetonka.

If you feel that you posses the skills that we are looking for, please contact us: Human Resources with “Web Developer 111″ in the Subject line.

On April 10, 2012 Social Media Club Chicago (SMC Chicago) will be hosting an exclusive event based on Odden’s new book as well as his experience as a veteran online marketer.

What Will You Learn?

In an age of information ubiquity, consumers and technology have shifted the way we discover, consume and share information in amazing ways. Now more than ever, businesses have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the convergence of search, social media and content marketing to “optimize” brand messages and consumer experiences whether they happen on a social network or a search engine.

From 30,000 foot strategy to practical and actionable tactics, this presentation will provide attendees with a framework for optimizing their digital communications to better attract, engage and inspire communities to take action.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn the importance of creating customer segments and buyer personas
• Optimize your content for all stages in the buying cycle
• Different content ideas for multiple platforms

Event Details

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
5:30pm-7:00pm (CST)

Location:
ITA/TechNexus
200 S. Wacker Dr.
15th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

Register Now

We hope to see you all at SMC Chicago’s event next week in Chicago.  Also, keep an eye out for tweets from TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden (@leeodden) and TopRank Online Marketing (@toprank).

On April 2nd, 2012 at PRSA’s Annual Digital Impact conference in New York TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be presenting a session on “Content Marketing & Public Relations: Optimize & Socialize to Persuade Your Audience to Act.” This session will teach you how to use marketing best practices to create a strategy that inspires your audience to share, purchase from, and recommend your brand online.  Other key tactics that will be discussed include:

• Developing personas for your target audience
• Instruction on researching social topics and keywords
• Discover tips for leverage your social networks to create strong relationships and promote your content

This isn’t Lee’s first time speaking at a PRSA conference.  Check out this video’s from last year’s PRSA International conference in Orlando, FL where he discusses ways to reach your consumers and integrate your social media strategy.

We hope to see you all at the PRSA Digital Impact Conference next week in New York.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on twitter and if you’re interested in learning more about specific sessions be sure to visit the Program page on the PRSA website.  TopRank CEO Lee Odden and Jolina Pettice will be interacting and and tweeting at the event @LeeOdden and @TopRank for those of you who do not already follow us.

At this years conference TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be giving a solo presentation titled “Optimize This: Integrating Social, SEO, & Content” and co-presenting a session titled “The Convergence of Search, Social, & Content Marketing”.  Want to learn more?

Online Marketing Summit 2012

Tuesday, February 7, 2012
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM – Optimize This: Integrating Social, SEO, & Content
Location: Sapphire H
Solo Presentation by: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of “Optimize”

Lee Odden is a firm believer that If it can be searched it can be optimized and that it’s far more valuable to optimize for customers before keywords.  This session will provide principles and best practices for attracting and engaging more customers through an “Optimize and Socialize” approach to Content Marketing. You’ll learn:

• Strategies for integrating content marketing with SEO and social media across the enterprise
• Develop customer persona-driven content that attracts, engages and inspires action
• Killer creative content ideas for websites, blogging, social media and re-purposed content

As the online marketplace evolves and becomes increasingly competitive, marketers around the world are searching for advantages that can increase their efficiencies, and improve the performance of online marketing efforts.  Many companies are implementing Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media programs but few are integrating them or coordinating optimized and socialized content across the organization. This session will provide a valuable perspective, roadmap and tactical mix for integrating Content Marketing, SEO and Social Media in ways that you can implement today.

Event Details
OMS San Diego
February 6-10, 2012

Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

More Info & Register
(Use Discount code TOPRANK10 and save 10%)

SES Accelerator

Tuesday, February 9, 2012
10:00 AM – 10:50 AM – The Convergence of Search, Social, & Content Marketing
Location: Sapphire I
Presenters
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing CEO and author of  “Optimize”
Arnie Kuenn, Vertical Measures President and author of “Accelerate”

What makes great content?  Content does not become great until your audience finds it, reads it, and shares it.  Curious to know what you can do to increase your odds of being found in both Search and Social Media?  This session featuring Lee Odden and Arnie Kuenn will present an approach to content optimization that emphasizes the convergence of Search, Social Media and Content.  Lee and Arnie will provide step-by-step advice and examples that can be applied by an organization of any size to increase relevant website and social media traffic.

Event Details
SES Search & Social Accelerator
February 9, 2012

Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

More Info & Register
(Use Discount code TOPRANK10 and save 10%)

We hope to see you all at the Online Marketing Summit and SES Accelerator in San Diego next week.  Be sure to follow the conference buzz on Twitter under the hashtag: #OMS12.  If you’re interested in learning more about the specific sessions or workshops be sure to visit the Schedule page on the OMS website or the Agenda on the SES Accelerator site.

TopRank will be live blogging, Tweeting and networking at the event of course and can find us on Twitter at: @LeeOdden or @AZeckman.

Looking for some interesting things to do while you’re in San Diego?  I found this great list of “25 Fun & Free Things to Do in San Diego.”  Also, I don’t know if there are any other “Top Chef” fans out there but I have heard a lot of great things about Chef Brain Malarkey’s restaurant Searsucker and it’s less than a mile from the conference.  Hope to see you all there!

Ken Horst has joined the agency as an account manager to assist clients in meeting increasingly critical online marketing goals including content marketing, search engine optimization, and email strategy.

Ken has been involved in Internet marketing since the mid 1990’s, before Google,  when he as doing keyword research, content optimization and pay-per-click for an IT training company. Since that time, he has provided Internet consulting in the areas of strategy, site design, content plans, social media integration and more to both billion dollar companies and small businesses with a hyper local focus.

Dave Folkens will join the agency to serve as director of marketing communications in January 2011. A veteran communicator with an established background in traditional strategies as well as online development, Folkens brings both agency and corporate communications history along with a deep understanding of social media to TopRank.

Dave will be responsible for leading efforts to expand the agency brand and highlight the work of leading TopRank clients along with providing counsel on future growth opportunities for the organization. Prior to this new role, Folkens has worked at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, Medtronic Inc., Orphan Medical, and the Minnesota AIDS Project providing a wide range of experience across industries.

Lee Odden, TopRank CEO, stated “Thanks to a strong list of creative, forward-thinking clients we have been fortunate to continue to increase our capabilities over the past few years despite a challenging economic environment.  We’re excited to be in a position to add some very strong, experienced staff to assist us with future growth and to serve increasingly savvy digital marketing clients. Ken will add great direct client service to our existing team and Dave’s background in public relations and marketing will be an asset to us as we seek to add new opportunities to build and lead our industry.”

Be sure to watch TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog for contributions from both Dave and Ken on search, social and content marketing topics.

In a test of your micro-content writing skills, all you need to do is post a creative tweet using ALL of the following:
@TopRank @garyvee @baratunde http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #mimasummit

The responses were pretty amusing. We compiled them and shared in a super secret manner to the TopRank super-secret-voting-on-contests-involving -Twitter team.  Apparently Justin Bieber struck a chord because Dan Monfre racked up the votes for his tweet, which was tied by panelectric, whose real name we don’t know yet, with an ode to the cool kids.

Winning Tweets from TopRank  Online Marketing Ticket Giveaway for the 2010 MIMA Summit:

@danmonfre: Justin Bieber is NOT performing at this year’s #mimasummit He is being replaced by @garyvee and @baratunde http://tprk.us/mima-2010@TopRank

@panelectric: RT!: Help a geek win a seat with the cool kids @TopRank @garyvee@baratunde #mimasummit http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #SinceWereBeingHonest

Other tweets that received votes from the TopRank Online Marketing team (in order of votes received most to fewest)

• @rohnjaymiller: I refuse to have any part in @TopRank @garyvee @baratundehttp://tprk.us/mima-2010 #mimasummit social media promo just for a free MIMA pass!
• @annesteja: I need a break frm trashy daytime TV Plz RT 2 help me win @TopRank#MIMASummit free pass 2 see @garyvee & @baratunde
• @MNPlanner: Support the cure for Bieber Fever: @TopRank @garyvee@baratunde http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #mimasummit
• @SEONickLeRoy: Please Help Me Become a force In Search by winning#MIMASummitt free pass from @TopRank 2 see @GaryVee & @baratundehttp://tprk.us/mima2010
• @JLBraaten: My wish: to sit with @TopRank while watching @garyvee &@baratunde at #mimasummit: http://tprk.us/mima-2010
• @ChrisNalty: REALLY? RT @ChrisNalty: Watch @TopRank @garyvee @baratunde Jello-wrestle for lutefisk @ #mimasummit http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #StrangeGames
• @joeleyba: If I win the free #mimasummit pass I will buy @TopRank @garyvee and@baratunde a Summit Oktoberfest. http://tprk.us/mima-2010
• @pamelamuldoon: @TopRank @garyvee helps me Crush It, I grew up w/The Onion@baratunde & @leeodden is my MN SEO hero;-) ohttp://tprk.us/mima-2010#mimasummit
• @sanna_lee: @TopRank + @garyvee + @baratunde = #MIMASummithttp://tprk.us/mima2010 (doing my best to win a free pass!)
• @LisaMyers77: It would be swell to win a free mima pass from @TopRank @garyvee@baratunde http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #mimasummit
• @NSBRadioNetwork: @TopRank We didn’t get a media pass! Small Biz needs to hear from @garyvee & @baratunde http://tprk.us/mima-2010 #mimasummit pls RT

Thank you everyone (those listed here and in the Twittersphere) that entered. We appreciate your creativity and look forward to seeing Gary Vee, Baratunde Thurston and all the breakout speakers at this year’s MIMA Summit. If you see someone from TopRank Online Marketing, be sure to say hello!

How do you feel about social media, particularly as it relates to your brand?

Better put, how would you feel about social media marketing if you knew search engines took your company’s social activity into account when determining your search ranking?

Hallie Mummert of Target Marketing recently wrote an excellent piece titled Search: Get Real About Real Time SEO.  The article, featuring quotes from TopRank Online Marketing® CEO Lee Odden, opens with an example of a real time search conducted in the light of recent riots in Oakland, CA:

“Searching Google for “Oakland riots” led to a page of blended search results—one could find news stories, videos, blog posts and tweets. That’s right, Twitter posts showed up in an automated scroll box about halfway down the Google search engine results page.”

Mummert goes on to state that query-based, real time search is not unique to Google as other major search engines, including Yahoo! and Bing, are also integrating social media content into search rankings.

“You have to wonder, if you’re making it into the real-time results,” Odden ponders, “does that add another layer of signal to the overall signal to tell Google, Bing and Yahoo! that your content is of high value to the marketplace?”

Odden helps tie real time and social media results into the larger sphere of a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program by stating, “Search is already a moving target and real-time just escalates that. This makes it important for marketers to pay attention to the overall search landscape.”

Advice Odden provides to marketers in this article includes:

• Branching out beyond  Web analytics reports to see how the search results pages are composed
• Noting what content topics and types tend to rank highly
• Searching for patterns in search results
• Leveraging patterns for either immediate opportunities or to shape long-term search strategies

Read the rest of this article by visiting Target Marketing online.

Stay up to date with news from TopRank® Online Marketing by subscribing to our newsroom RSS feed, following @TopRank on Twitter, or becoming a fan of Online Marketing Blog on Facebook.

Learn more about B2B SEO and social media marketing programs offered by TopRank by downloading our Social SEO Guides.

(Who also doesn’t mind having meetings on the lake once in a while)

TopRank Online Marketing has a great opportunity for a talented writing professional to join our content marketing team. Business blogs, websites, social media content and other types of online promotional copy are core skills for this position that helps our clients win on the web.

The search and social media savvy writer we’re looking for knows online marketing communications and messaging from working client side, at an agency or both. Prior experience (2-3 years) with Blogging, Article Writing, Social Media Content Creation and Promotion as well as Search Engine Marketing will win big brownie points.

This position carries with it a number of potential benefits including: the opportunity to write for an agency blog that has over 36k subscribers & 120k visitors per month, attend 1-2 industry conferences each year (NYC, Vegas, San Francisco), work with a mix of Fortune 500-1000 clients and the opportunity to learn SEO and Social Media Marketing from some of the most talented consultants in the biz.

TopRank Online Marketing is a collaborative group that works in a team environment. We offer a significant opportunity for advancement, extremely competitive time off policy, IRA retirement plan, premium health insurance and a creative office environment overlooking Lake Minnetonka.

If you’re interested, please email us: hr at toprankmarketing dot com or get more info here: Online Marketing Copywriter

OMS conference organizer Aaron Kahlow arranged to shoot a quick video interview with Lee, Rick Burnes of HubSpot and Joe Pulizzi of Junta 42 and the Content Marketing Institute to discuss leave behind online marketing tactics, online trust/privacy issues and conference feedback:

Liveblog posts of the keynote came from TopRank’s Adam Singer and fom Mike Corak: ”Lee Odden rocked as always – great keynote – see him if you haven’t and check out TopRank for certain”.

Here’s a bit of OMS Minneapolis keynote feedback from Twitter:

@myklroventine: @leeodden Congrats again on a great #OMSMIN keynote.
@medallionfinder: @leeodden Very dynamic speaker at #OMSMIN . Good stuff!
@PriorityResults: Excellent presentation from @leeodden at #omsmin. Thanks!
@AaronKahlow: Facebook get’s more search traffic than AOL…Lee Odden says at Keynote at #OMSMIN @OMsummit… great session to kick off the day here

Thanks to Amanda Miller Littlejohn of Mopwater PR + Media Notes, below is a video from the first 10 minutes of Odden’s presentation outlining how SEO can boost the value Public Relations provides to organizations and how both SEO and PR can work together to achieve media relations and marketing goals.

If you would like to experience the full presentation, be sure to check out the PRSA Webinar coming up June 15th: The Top 10 SEO Tactics for SEO Professionals.  Of course, you can also find out more by visiting the online PR category of Online Marketing Blog.

Below is the full Powerpoint deck of the presentation including the Strategy & Tactics as well as the PRWeb case study. Below that is a video of the Strategy and Tactics presentation taken by Jeffrey L. Cohen of Social Media B2B.

The 45 minute video of Lee’s portion of the presentation covers: Content SEO Strategy, Core SEO Principles, SEO Best and Worst Practices.

The feedback received was very good, with several attendees rating it one of the best presentations of the conference. Watch the TopRank Online Marketing newsroom for our upcoming Optimized Content Strategy Guide – 100 pages of what marketers need to know in order to kickstart their content marketing and optimization efforts.

Much like trying to literally capture lightning in a bottle, haphazardly inserting social media tactics into a marketing plan in an attempt to force customer connection can be inefficient at best and dangerous at worst. In the article below, originally published in Target Marketing, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden offers three tactics that ensure better connection with customers on the social web:

The buzz surrounding companies investing in social media marketing to reach consumers has created a lot of attention for sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the recently popular Foursquare. Millions of consumers are spending their time online with social networking and media sharing sites instead of other media.

Some companies are wasting significant resources by chasing after too many different services without taking the time to figure out which social networks and Web sites their customers prefer. Why not fish where the fish are? Here are three tactics you can use to better connect with customers on the social Web:

• Ask Them! One of the most effective and accurate methods of finding out which social media sites your customers prefer is to survey them. That same survey can do double duty and invite customers to friend, fan or follow based on their preferences.
• Social Media Monitoring. Free services like trackur.com or socialmention.com can help uncover which sites customers are using that also discuss your brand. Paid services like Scout Labs or Radian6 are very useful for more advanced monitoring and social CRM.
• Web Analytics. Review your Web analytics to see which social media sites are already sending you traffic, and leverage that insight to decide where to participate.

Doing your homework on customer preferences for how they discover, interact and share on the social Web will shorten the time to reach the right people and help create a more relevant opportunity to interact.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news from TopRank® Online Marketing by subscribing to our newsroom RSS feed, following @TopRank on Twitter or becoming a fan of Online Marketing Blog on Facebook.

Learn more about the social media marketing programs offered by TopRank by downloading our Social SEO Guides.

Which notable industry publications and blogs mentioned TopRank® Online Marketing the first half of January, 2010? Here you go:

ClickZ Social Media All-Stars 2009 – TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden was included in this list of 20 “luminaries and pioneers of the social media frontier” by ClickZ author and author of Socialnomics, Erik Qualman. Erik got a little creative and blashpemous and assigned Odden as a DH for the American League of social media all stars. (The MN Twins are of course, in the National League)

SEMMYs 2010 – TopRank Marketing is helping with the judging for the 4th year in a row. Even better news is that TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog has 7 entries in various categories for top blog posts of 2009. Obviously, none of the categories we’re nominated for are categories we’re judging.

PostRank Top Blogs of 2009 – TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog earned 7 badges and 2 special mentions in the PostRank ranking of top blogs. A few of the category rankings include:

• Public Relations #1
• Online Marketing #1
• Content Marketing #4

Social Media Club Lousiville –  TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be presenting “10 Must Know SEO Tips for Communicators” at the Feb 16, 2010 Social Media Club event in Louisville, Kentucky.

American Express OPEN – TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden was included in this list of 80 Small Business Twitterers You Should Be Following along with Guy Kawasaki, Pete Cashmore and Mike Arrington.

CRM Mastery – How to Write Compelling Social News Headlines. Adam Singer’s post on headline writing gets due praises on Jim Berkowitz’s CRM blog.

Top 100 Most influential marketers of 2009 – TopRank’s (Not Top Rank) CEO, Lee Odden was ranked #16 in this list of most influential marketers in 2009 by Invesp.

SmartBrief on Social Media – Keep your Web site from becoming a “tombstone” – TopRankBlog was cited for a post on the need for content in digital marketing.

Techipedia – Best Internet Marketing Posts of 2009. Six posts from TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog by Michelle, Bowles, Adam Singer and Lee Odden were included in this coveted list of best internet marketing posts by Tamar Weinberg, Author of New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web.

Search Engine Land – 2010 Marketing Predictions & Resolutions. Three articles from Online Marketing Blog were included in this new year roundup of predictions.  BTW, that’s not a big list, this is a BIGLIST.

HubSpot – Must-Read Inbound Marketing Predictions and Resolutions for the New Year. TopRank’s coverage of eMarketer was included in this recommended list of 2010 predictions.

Social Media Today – Benefits of Running Polls on Twitter. Social Media Today syndicated a post from TopRankBlog gaining it an additional 100+ tweets.

MarketingVOX – Industry Buzz. A post by TopRank’s Michelle Bowles on Email Marketing was picked up by MarketingVOX

Penelope’s Trunk – Brazen Careerist – Penelope’s Guide to Blogging. TopRank’s advice on blogger relations was cited in this guide to blogging by the CEO of Brazen Careerist.

Compendium Blogware – Now here is someone who gets it!  Nice to see the folks at Compendium appreciating our advice on Blogging and SEO. We’ve been writing about it since 2004

Which notable industry publications and blogs mentioned TopRank® Online Marketing the second half of December, 2009? Here you go:

American Express OPENForum – 80 Small Business Twitterers You Should Be Following. TopRank’s Lee Odden was cited in this list of helpful Twitter users for small business information.

pamorama – 40 Social Media Blogs You Should Be Reading. TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog is included in this list of social media content blogs along with Chris Brogan, Scott Monty and Mashable.  TopRank’s Adam Singer is also included with his personal blog, The Future Buzz.

PRWeb – Best Webinars of 2009. TopRank’s webinar on optimizing news content is listed as the #1 most popular PRWeb webinar in 2009.

Smarter Social Media – Smartest People in Social Media. TopRank CEO Lee Odden was included in this list of social media pundits and practitioners.

Evan Carmichael – Top 50 SEO Blog Posts of 2009. TopRankBlog was ranked #13 for it’s post listing over 100 Search Marketing Resources.

Pierce Mattie PR – Best Blogs to Read in 2010. TopRankBlog was named a top PR blog to read in 2010 by this leading NYC PR agency.

Who’s Blogging What – Most Useful Posts of 2009. TopRankBlog was cited in this short list of resourceful blog posts in 2009.

The Comms Corner – 99 most useful Social Media (and PR) Blog posts of 2009. TopRankBlog’s post on social media marketing tips was cited in this roundup.