• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, February 10, 2021

When the world went virtual overnight, it highlighted the lack of high-quality content readily available on the internet. “Blogging” has been on the rise since early January as more people turn to the web to conduct in-depth research before investing in products and services. Those of us in the B2B space have long understood the many benefits of running a blog, like increased brand awareness, credibility, search engine rankings, leads and ultimately, more sales. 

With companies making more use of out their built-in audiences through owned and operated channels, blogs are a great option to consider investing in. Today’s business decision makers are always looking for better thought leadership and are more likely to continue buying if they get it.

As we become increasingly reliant on online and omnichannel strategies, tracking the effectiveness of online advertising becomes paramount to your success. As such, “marketing ROI” remains a hot topic among marketers as evidenced by this week’s intent data. Since the onset of the pandemic, marketing teams have demanded attribution to measure their advertising effectiveness, including a cross-channel view of how their ad dollars are performing. 

The performance marketing industry has been effective in helping these brands incorporate data and analytics tools to engage shoppers through targeted advertising and personalized messages helping them make up for lost sales or fragmented customer experiences due to retail closures.

“Brand management” has been trending upwards among both marketers and agencies since early December, as measured by Bombora. Defined as “the analysis and planning on how that brand is perceived in the market,” brand management comes down to the totality of the brand experience and its ability to deliver on its customer promise at all stages of the purchasing funnel. 

In this scenario marketing takes a lead role in managing the entire customer experience – informed by data and imbued with brand purpose – to ensure total alignment with the perceived value of a brand and its products over time.