Content isn’t King, it’s the Kingdom
This adage from our CEO Lee Odden dates back to 2013, but it feels especially relevant in 2025 as B2B marketers experience AI-driven disruption firsthand. From creation and discovery to trust and action, the rules of content marketing are changing fast. Search engines are becoming answer engines, buyers are consulting AI tools before ever visiting a website, and the old playbook of publishing more to win more is only adding to the sea of sameness.
Blending in is not how B2B brands are going to win in 2026.
Content as a vehicle for standing out is harder, but it’s more important than ever for B2B brands to provide unique, distinctive points of view to become the most trusted, credible and relevant source everywhere buyers are looking. That includes using search using ChatGPT or Google to communities like Reddit or Quora to social platforms like LinkedIn. Original research powered thought leadership is one of the ways content is helping B2B brands become the best answer for their customers and this year we covered that topic in depth with the Best Answer Marketing Framework and Playbook.
Our top posts of 2025 covered the gamut of content marketing topics from a fresh definition of content to content strategy for AI search, to what kind of content to create and how often. We also covered content repurposing, connecting with full buying committees, optimizing B2B brand and content marketing agency relationships and whether blogging still matters. For insights that will inspire and direct you confidently into the new year, this collection of content marketing posts is a great place to start.
Content Strategy in the Age of AI Search: A Conversation Between Two Content Leaders
This post from Alex covers an interview Erika Heald did with me on how AI-driven search experiences are reshaping content visibility in 2025 and why traditional SEO alone is no longer enough. With AI Overviews now appearing in roughly 16% of queries and often reducing click-through rates by up to 50%, we talked about why brands must adapt their strategies to prioritize credibility, semantic relevance, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Content that isn’t optimized for AI discovery risks being overlooked entirely, even if it ranks well in classic search results. For any B2B marketer that wants practical guidance on how to future-proof their content strategy by aligning E-E-A-T signals, human expertise, and AI-ready optimization, this conversation is a good start.
What is Content? A Definition and Meaning
Normally we’d only include new posts but this refresh has generated so much visibility, it has earned a spot. Originally focused on defining content, in this post adds a fresh take considering the impact of AI and also goes deeper on the topic by describing categories of content according to purpose, format, goal and funnel stage, target audience, distribution channel, timeliness, personalization and creation method. A definitive post for sure.
Smarter B2B Content Marketing: A Pro Guide to Content Repurposing from Day One
When B2B marketers invest in content, getting the most value from every asset matters more than ever. In this post, my colleague Theresa Meis explains why building a day-one repurposing mindset is essential for extending reach, deepening engagement, and improving ROI. It shows how treating content as a multi-format hub, rather than a one-and-done deliverable, helps brands meet audiences across channels without increasing production strain. Intentional repurposing isn’t about doing more work, it’s about designing smarter content systems that maximize impact from every investment.
4 Keys to an Unstoppable Partnership Between Content Team and Agency
This post explains how content teams can unlock greater impact by strategically partnering with external agencies, especially amid today’s strained resources and evolving discovery landscape. As teams struggle with silos, limited bandwidth, and measurement challenges, the right agency can provide fresh perspective, specialized talent, and clearer insights into performance. Strong collaborations are built on shared goals, flexible alignment, and seamless communication, ultimately helping teams operate more efficiently and produce higher-impact work.
Facts Tell, Stories Sell: The Role of Experiential Content in Best Answer Marketing
B2B marketing often falls into the trap of focusing on what the brand wants to promote vs. the stories buyers want to hear – especially about how to solve their problem at hand. In this post, which is part of a series for the Best Answer Marketing Playbook, Lee breaks down why storytelling with experiential content is becoming a critical differentiator for B2B brands in an AI-saturated, information-overloaded landscape. He shares research that found 66% of B2B buying decisions are influenced by emotional factors and formats like interactive tools, video, podcasts, and events capture buyer attention more effectively.
Content Cadence: How Often to Publish, and Why
What’s the right content marketing approach to maximize impact and results? This post shares why consistency remains a competitive advantage, even as AI makes it easier than ever to publish more content. It tackles the growing tension between volume and value, explaining how a predictable, audience-aligned cadence builds trust, reinforces authority, and strengthens long-term visibility. As you evaluate how you’ll drive meaningful results through your content strategy, a quality-first approach consistency outperforms sporadic bursts of content.
B2B Thought Leadership in the Age of AI: Human POVs that Cut Through the Noise
What does it take for B2B thought leadership to cut through the noise in an AI-saturated world? It’s a question that most B2B marketers are grappling with. Nick is back with the answer, highlighting that genuine thought leadership isn’t generated by prompts or automation. It comes from human voices with real insight, experience, and perspective that distinguish a brand from the rest. In an era where trust and distinctiveness are harder than ever to earn, decision-makers increasingly value distinctive style and expert point of view as signals of quality, with research showing that a majority of hidden decision-makers say distinctive content correlates with high-quality thought leadership.
How to Win Over B2B Buying Committees with Best Answer Content
The traditional idea of a linear, sales-controlled funnel has faded. replaced by a more complex, self-directed buying journey navigated by larger buying committees that include hidden buyers. Understanding the modern buying committee is essential for creating content that resonates with B2B decision-makers. In this post Lee shares how the “Best Answer” content ecosystem is designed to meet the unique priorities and pain points of every stakeholder in the buying journey, improving relevance, trust, and influence. He highlights that aligning content to the needs of the full buying committee drives deeper engagement and stronger business outcomes.
The Evolution of B2B Content: Stephanie Losee on Thought Leadership, Trust, and Experience
As AI reshapes content discovery and buyer expectations in 2025, human-centered thought leadership is emerging as a key differentiator in B2B marketing. In this episode of the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast, Lee and Stephanie Losee, Director and Executive Editor at Salesforce, discuss how content must evolve from transactional messaging into a strategic engine for trust, credibility, and differentiating insight. They highlight why high-quality, expert-driven perspectives stand out amid an influx of AI-generated content, and why aligning editorial work with internal teams (like sales and customer success) is essential for connecting with real buyer needs. You’ll get a clear perspective on why investing in authentic voices and experience-led content builds trust, elevates brand authority, and drives measurable outcomes across the modern, self-directed journey.
Does Blogging Still Matter in B2B Marketing? Plus 5 Examples of Great B2B Blogs
You’re reading this blog, so you already know blogging still works. Even in 2025, with AI, zero click searches, and new formats all competing for attention, strategic B2B blogging continues to deliver value that goes far beyond quick wins or SEO experiments. In our final top 10 content marketing of 2025, Lee reflects on nearly 22 years of blogging, from that first hello world post to building a hub that attracts millions of readers, influences major media coverage, and drives real business outcomes. If you’re looking for an audience-centered blog approach, designed to build trust, visibility, credibility, and long term impact, this post is for you.
Together, these top content marketing posts tell an important story: content success in 2025 is about building systems that understand the questions buyers are asking and use those insights to inform an integrated strategy that drives trusted, multi-channel content experiences. In a world that is increasingly shaped by AI-driven discovery, self-directed buyers, and knowing which information sources can be trusted, the brands that stand out are those that treat content as a connected ecosystem where strategy, credibility, experience, and distribution all work together.
That system of strategic content creation, promotion and optimization, powered by the Best Answer Marketing framework is how TopRank Marketing elevates B2B companies from blending in to becoming Best Answer Brands.
