Millennial buyers want better content from B2B marketers
Better B2B content is a top concern among Millennial buyers, as the demographic accounts for some 33 percent of overall B2B buyers, a portion Forrester’s newly-released report expects to grow to 44 percent by 2025. Digital Commerce 360

LinkedIn Launches New ‘Featured’ Section on Profiles to Highlight Key Achievements and Links
LinkedIn (client) began a gradual roll-out of a new “Featured” section, where users’ key achievements will appear near the top of profiles when starred from updates, the Microsoft-owned platform recently announced. Social Media Today

How the Fastest-Growing US Companies Are Using Social Media
87 percent of Inc. 500 firms used LinkedIn for social media during 2019, topping a list of how the fastest-growing U.S. firms are using social media, outlined in a recently-released UMass Dartmouth report of interest to digital marketers. MarketingProfs

The Best Times to Post on Social Media According to Research [Infographic]
B2B businesses find that the best posting times on LinkedIn are before noon and around 6:00 p.m., one of numerous social media platform most effective posting time statistics outlined in a recently-released infographic. Social Media Today

Gen Z Craves Multifaceted Content, Audio – And Even Likes (Relevant) Long-Form Ads
Digital media consumption habits vary by generation, with members of the Gen Z demographic more often seeking out multifaceted content comprised of interactive elements such as polls and quizzes, according to recently-released content consumption preference data. MediaPost

Are Brands Getting Smarter About Social? New Data Reveals Surprising Trends Across Platforms
2019 saw U.S. brands receiving an average of five percent more social engagement that during 2018, with video engagement achieving an even higher eight percent growth rate — two of numerous statistics of interest to online marketers contained in recent social media activity study data. Forbes

How Businesses Handle Customer Reviews [Infographic]
Over 35 percent of businesses often or always use positive reviews in their marketing efforts, with Google, Facebook, and Yelp being the three platforms most often monitored for online reviews, according to recently-released survey data focusing on how reviews are used by businesses. Social Media Today

IAB: Programmatic Now 85% Of All U.S. Digital Advertising
By 2021 programmatic advertising spending will exceed $91 billion in the U.S. alone, and account for 86 percent of overall digital ad spend — two of several items of interest to digital marketers in newly-released Interactive Advertising Bureau report data. MediaPost

Facebook Tests New Format for Separate Facebook Stories Discovery Page
Facebook has continued to ramp up its support for content shared in the Stories format, announcing recently that certain Stories will receive larger images in a test of a distinct new Facebook Stories discovery page, according to the social media giant. Social Media Today

From Consistent Publishing to Performance Peaks: What You Need to Know About the Life Span of Content
Digital B2B content assets often bring peak value two months after publishing, while going on to achieve steady endurance among consumers, two of many findings of interest to digital marketers contained in new B2B content lifespan report data. Skyword

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:

A lighthearted look at what is digital transformation? by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist

Jif Partnered With Giphy to Make a Limited-Edition Peanut Butter No One Can Pronounce — Adweek

TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• Lee Odden — Not Another State of Marketing Report — HubSpot
• Lee Odden — What’s Trending: Aim for Excellence — LinkedIn (client)
• TopRank Marketing / Prophix — B2B Campaign Spotlight: Prophix Strikes a Chord with Visual Storytelling — LinkedIn (client)
• Lane R. Ellis — 10 Tips to Help You Better Understand Your Small Business Customers — Small Business Trends
• Lee Odden — How to Create Trustworthy Content That People Want to Read — Aweber
• Lee Odden — Speaker Spotlight: Lee Odden — Content Marketing Conference

Do you have your own top B2B content marketing or digital advertising stories from the past week? Please let us know in the comments below.

Thank you for joining us, and please return next week for a new selection of the most relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news. Also, don’t miss the full video summary on our TopRank Marketing TV YouTube Channel.

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