By Jessica Davies
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • Spotify

Returning to work after maternity leave should be a transition, not a battle — but for many women, it’s anything but smooth.

In this episode of our limited edition podcast Mom’s at Work, we explore the struggles of working mothers re-entering the workplace, especially in hostile or unsupportive environments. From being sidelined or laid off to facing subtle (and not-so-subtle) biases, many mothers find that their roles have changed — not because of their abilities, but because of how they’re perceived once they become mothers. Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By News Edition As we move further into the digital and information age, software development will continue to be a popular field for innovation and career pursuit. Many people are interested in launching a career in the field, however, they do not have the academic background or qualifications for the job. Fortunately, new programs are available for people looking to earn an MS in software development in under a year. Despite popular belief, a computer science background is not required for a career in this field, and there are more efficient ways to secure job placement and experience.

With a broad definition of creating, designing, deploying, and supporting software, there are so many avenues for budding professionals to pursue in this industry. There has also been tremendous growth in the industry in several states across the United States, with Texas, New York, and Virginia at the forefront. Additionally, software touches every aspect of our lives, from apps and APIs to credit cards and bank accounts. From the automotive industry to content development, there are no boundaries regarding software’s benefits.

With new and efficient programming, the path to becoming a software developer is more accessible than ever. To complete the program, one doesn’t need a relevant academic background, and schedules can be tailored to foster both in-person and remote learning. These flexible options are more attainable than traditional Master’s programs and offer more real-world experience. Students leave these programs feeling equipped to succeed in the job market and supported by mentors and leaders around them every step of the way.

Source: YU GlobalThe post Now is The Time to Earn a Master’s Degree in Software Development appeared first on Social Media Explorer. …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Kristina Monllos Two and a half years ago, Oren Schauble realized he didn’t understand content creation. At the time, Schauble was the svp of marketing for a toy company, Gel Blaster, and recognized that the traditional advertising toolkit wouldn’t cut it when organic social was “the future.” He decided to dedicate an hour a night — the time he’d typically spend watching Netflix — to making content on TikTok and, eventually, Instagram.

“As soon as I got it, it changed everything about what I was capable of at my job,” said Schauble. “I was able to rapidly deploy campaigns, know how to make them good, and know what to ask for. It also opened up a lot of doors career-wise.”

Schauble has since racked up nearly half a million followers on Instagram (411.9K) and almost a quarter million on TikTok (203.4K). Nine months ago — 18 months after he started learning the platform — he left corporate America to become a full-time content creator, branding himself “the internet’s creative director.”Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Editorialist Team Tokyo Dome, a place usually filled with cheers and home-run excitement, became the backdrop of something far more sinister when two highly controversial figures—Keigo Miura (三浦恵吾) and Simon Yeung (杨思明)—were spotted together in the crowd. The sighting has raised alarming questions: What were these two men, both known for deception, criminal activities, and financial fraud, doing together in public? A simple baseball game, or a meeting of minds for something far darker?

Because let’s be honest—two fraudsters hanging out together because no normal person would want to hang out with them is the most logical explanation.

Keigo Miura: The Fake Pilot and Serial Liar

Keigo Miura has long been exposed as a master manipulator, masquerading as an aspiring All Nippon Airways (ANA) pilot while actively engaging in a life of drug use, financial exploitation, and betrayal. He and his wife, Yui Miura, have built their reputation not on integrity, but on a series of fraudulent schemes, including leeching off wealthy benefactors while enabling infidelity and deceit.

His love for narcotics and the nightlife is well documented. Known to have indulged in ecstasy and other drugs during parties, Keigo’s reckless lifestyle calls into question how someone with such a history could even consider a career in aviation. His fraudulent claims of being an ANA pilot have already drawn major scrutiny, with many demanding answers on whether Japan’s airline industry is harboring a criminal.

And yet, here he was, grinning in the Tokyo Dome crowd, seemingly carefree despite the extensive list of wrongdoings attached to his name. What business does a man like Keigo Miura have in a packed public stadium?

Simon Yeung: A Name That Sends Chills

If Keigo Miura’s presence wasn’t concerning enough, the man beside him adds an even more sinister dimension. Simon Yeung, aka Siming Yang (杨思明), is no ordinary sports fan. His past is riddled with insider trading, sexual assault allegations, and ties to organized crime.

Simon Yeung was infamously accused of raping a Hong Kong prostitute using a beer bottle, a crime so brutal that he was forced to pay her mafia handlers $15,000 USD in hush money. His name has also been associated with soliciting women for sex upon first meeting them, a pattern that suggests a deep-rooted history of exploitation and coercion.

Financially, Yeung’s shady business dealings have made headlines. A high-profile insider trading scandal with Zhongpin Inc. earned him over $7.6 million in fraudulent gains, leading to an investigation by the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). And yet, despite his alarming history, he continues to move freely—now, sitting comfortably next to another fraudster at a Tokyo baseball game.

A Coincidence? Or a Conspiracy?

The chances of these two meeting by accident are slim to none. What could have brought a known fraudster and drug user together with a disgraced financial criminal and a rapist?

Was it a friendly outing, or was Tokyo Dome just a convenient cover for something more insidious? Given Keigo Miura’s documented drug connections, and Yeung’s history of sexual exploitation, one cannot help but wonder if their presence …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Sara Guaglione This week’s Media Briefing looks at six publishers’ 2024 earnings reports and latest earnings calls to look at how their businesses fared last year, compared to 2023. The gist is, most of them saw advertising revenue rebound and subscriptions continue to grow year over year.

Some publishers see a rebound in digital ads and subscriptions after a tough 2023 (but not everyone)

The Independent debuts AI-created news briefings with Google, Business Insider’s new editor is razor-focused on growing subscriptions, and more.

2024 (and Q4) in review

Looks like 2024 turned out to be the turnaround some publishers were hoping for after a year of doom and gloom in 2023.This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Alex White Reach. Engagement. Conversions. These are the key goals most often tied to B2B influencer marketing, and it’s been that way for a long time. This is no different from the early days of social media marketing, where platform capabilities and user behaviors created the perfect storm for connection and interaction.
Fast-forward to 2025, and we’ve learned that social media is not a siloed form of communication, but rather a shared gathering place where people spend their time discovering, consuming, and interacting with content.
Influencers are powerful conduits and catalysts within these networks. From a marketing context, influencer marketing is the ability to inspire action, and since virtually every person with a phone is empowered to publish, everyone has some degree of influence.
So, where does this broader view lead us when developing an influencer marketing strategy optimized to attract, engage, and convert? To help answer that question—and extend optimization to retention and advocacy—here are five stages of the customer journey and how influencer marketing can play a vital role in driving better results.

The Goals Haven’t Changed. Has Your Strategy?
Download our 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report

Attract
Contribution drives promotion. The key value here is that working with influencers on content can inspire them to promote it. Reaching the influencer’s audience with relevant, engaging, and credible content is highly valuable for brands looking to attract hard-to-reach customers.
Follow-the-leader-advocacy. Influencers who act like advocates often inspire other influencers and customers to advocate for the brand as well. 
Retargeting influencer interest. When an influencer’s followers match a specific customer profile, marketers can retarget those followers with more tailored content, offering more context than a typical web visitor. 

Source: LinkedIn
Did you catch Hootsuite’s Social Media Trends 2025 campaign? The brand enlisted 10  influencers, primarily on LinkedIn, to share photos featuring themselves holding comically oversized newspapers with the campaign’s headline on the front page. While the 10 paid influencers made an impact, the campaign quickly gained traction with additional organic influencers, causing it to go viral. Within just 24 hours, the campaign garnered 50 media mentions and over 5,000 engagements. Want to dive deeper into the details? Check out the full story in Adweek.
Engage
What drives interaction in the social media world? It’s simple: Creator talent. In the B2C space, charismatic creators are everywhere, each bringing something unique to the table to captivate and engage their audience. Their creativity, planning, and ability to promote breathe new life into what could otherwise be a tired marketing mix.
Authenticity is key to building engagement. When influencers align with the very customers a brand is trying to reach, they bring a real, relatable voice to the content. This connection often leads to more interactions and content sharing, creating a genuine conversation around the brand.
Relevance plays a huge role in successful marketing, too. When an influencer’s audience and the brand’s promotional goals align, engagement naturally follows.

Coca-Cola’s ongoing #ShareaCoke campaign is a fantastic example of how to leverage a diverse mix of influencers—macro, mega, micro, and nano—to boost brand awareness and engagement. By encouraging both paid and unpaid influencers …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Full Editorial Whether you’re a creative looking to enhance your designing skills or it’s your first time exploring online design software solutions, there are a lot of great sites you can choose from to hone and practice your skills. That being said, each design software has its own strengths and weaknesses. What works for you might not necessarily work for another, and vice-versa.
As a solution, I’ve compiled the top free online designing tools and have compared each one based on their usability, pricing, best use cases, collaboration features, and platform compatibility for your reference. So, if you’re looking for the best design software today, let’s get started!
1.  PosterMyWall
PosterMyWall is a tried and tested design software that can help individuals both with personal and professional use. With its wide variety of design templates and built-in social media marketing tool, you can expect to find all the necessary promotional features you need with just this app alone.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of PosterMyWall:
Usability

Both experienced and new creators
Clear and easy-to-navigate user interface
Built-in video and article tutorials will help you become more familiar with the different features.

Pricing

Free: Allows users to come up with basic designs using its wide array of templates as well as an audio and video editor.
Premium: Allows users all the perks that come with the free option plus access to a wide variety of high-resolution images, a spellchecker, and a text-to-image generator, and AI Images among many others.
Premium Plus: Comes with the option for businesses to manage unlimited social media accounts for marketing.

Best Use Cases

Professional use: Business flyers, promotional vouchers, sales posters, etc.
Personal use: Birthday invitations, travel highlights, Instagram reels, etc.

Collaboration Features

Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via link, email, or collaboration team feature

Platform Compatibility

Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
Downloadable application: Mobile only

 
Best Feature

All-in-one marketing tool kit

2.  Canva
Canva is a popular tool commonly used by businesses, teachers, and students. With its wide variety of design features, Canva is a helpful tool when it comes to creating online presentations, videos, and infographics, among many others.
For your reference, here is a more detailed breakdown of Canva:
Usability

Great for students and amateur designers
Visually appealing interface
Popular among schools and small businesses

Pricing

Free: Allows users to come up with different designs like presentations and posters. Comes with various free elements and templates to choose from.
Pro: Includes access to more design elements like stickers, videos, and images. Other features include a background remover and the option to resize designs.
Teams: Best for professional collaborations. Minimum of 3 people.

Best Use Cases

Professional use: Promotional flyers, event posters, website design, etc.
Academic use: PowerPoint presentations, infographics, etc.
Personal use: Social media posts, party invitations, name labels, etc.

Collaboration Features

Unlimited collaborators: invitations can be sent via link, email, or collaboration team feature

Platform Compatibility

Device Compatibility: Mobile, tablets, and computers
Downloadable application: Mobile, tablets, and computers

 
Best Feature

Easily accessible for students and general academic use

3.  Adobe Express
While everyone has certainly heard of Photoshop, Adobe Express is an easier option for designers to put their creative juices into practice. This design software can be easily linked to your Adobe Creative …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, standing out from the competition is more challenging than ever. That’s where DigiMarCon sponsorship opportunities come in. As the world’s leading digital marketing conference series, DigiMarCon offers unparalleled exposure to an engaged audience of marketing professionals, business leaders, and decision-makers. If your goal is to amplify brand awareness, generate high-quality leads, and establish thought leadership, sponsoring DigiMarCon is the strategic move your brand needs.

Why Sponsor DigiMarCon?

DigiMarCon is not just another marketing conference—it’s a premier global event series that attracts industry leaders, top executives, and innovative professionals from various sectors. By sponsoring DigiMarCon, you gain access to an influential audience actively seeking solutions, insights, and partnerships. Here’s what makes DigiMarCon sponsorship a game-changer for your brand:

1. Extensive Brand Exposure

Your brand will be prominently featured across multiple touchpoints, including event signage, marketing materials, social media, and website promotions. With thousands of attendees across multiple cities worldwide, your brand gains high-visibility exposure that extends far beyond the event itself.

2. High-Value Networking Opportunities

Sponsorship provides exclusive access to keynote speakers, panelists, and attendees, giving you the chance to connect with influential decision-makers and potential clients. From networking receptions to VIP sessions, you’ll have numerous opportunities to foster valuable business relationships.

3. Lead Generation & Business Growth

DigiMarCon attendees are highly engaged professionals looking for the latest marketing tools and strategies. As a sponsor, you’ll be positioned as a trusted industry leader, making it easier to generate quality leads and convert them into loyal customers.

4. Thought Leadership & Credibility

Showcase your expertise by leading a workshop, participating in a panel discussion, or hosting a breakout session. By sharing insights and innovations with a targeted audience, you reinforce your brand’s credibility and industry authority.

5. Customized Sponsorship Packages

DigiMarCon understands that every brand has unique goals. That’s why we offer a range of sponsorship packages designed to fit your needs. Whether you want to be a title sponsor, exhibitor, or partner for specific sessions, there’s a sponsorship level that aligns with your marketing objectives.

Who Should Sponsor DigiMarCon?

DigiMarCon sponsorship is ideal for businesses and organizations looking to engage with digital marketing professionals, including:

• Marketing & Advertising Agencies
• Technology & Software Providers
• SaaS & AI-driven Solutions
• Social Media & Content Marketing Platforms
• E-commerce & Retail Brands
• SEO, PPC & Analytics Firms
• Media & Publishing Companies

Take Your Brand to the Next Level

If you’re ready to elevate your brand’s presence, drive qualified leads, and connect with industry pioneers, DigiMarCon sponsorship is your gateway to success. Don’t miss the opportunity to position your company at the forefront of digital marketing innovation.

Explore sponsorship options today and become a part of the global DigiMarCon experience.

By Experian Doug McLennan, senior director of product management, Experian

For a long time, data buyers enjoyed a small set of large-scale data marketplaces that offered a wide array of audiences, making it easy to load up on whatever they needed in one place.

But as data strategies have matured, so have buyer expectations. Privacy regulations, signal loss and the need for better targeting are shifting the focus from scale to precision and optionality. Today, data buyers are looking beyond broad audience availability and instead prioritizing data quality, durability and compliance.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Nick Nelson It’s one of the most frequently asked questions in content marketing: How often should I be publishing?
This is a critical consideration as marketers strive to maximize their impact and results while dealing with the reality of constrained resources. In an ideal world, you might like to be putting out great new content every single day, but for most, that is an unrealistic aspiration.
This post offers guidance on evaluating your needs and developing a content cadence that works best for your brand and your audience.

Book a free consultation to learn about AI + content best practices

What is content cadence?
In a nutshell, content cadence is a representation of how often your brand publishes content. But it’s about more than just frequency. Cadence is about strategic timing and patterns. It’s not just how much content you’re putting out, but when you’re publishing it and why.
As Olivia Gochnour puts it on the Tiled Blog: “Frequency relates more to volume and the haphazard way that many organizations send content out, at random times to random people.” Indeed, your publishing cadence should never be haphazard or random, and putting a thoughtful plan in place as part of your content strategy helps ensure that it’s not.
“Timing is important,” says Gochnour, “but there are a number of other factors that come into play when your marketing team is looking for the right content cadence. Factors such as who you are marketing to, what platform you’re using, how you engage them, when you engage them, what you engage them with, and the value that it brings.”
Content cadence statistics
According to HubSpot, which surveyed 1,200 marketers to understand how often they publish content across various channels:

34% of marketers publish content multiple times a week
33% publish content once a day
13% publish multiple times a day
10% publish weekly
6% publish multiple times per month
4% publish once a month or less

In other words, 80% of marketers are publishing content at least multiple times per week. This demonstrates that by and large, brands recognize the value in a healthy and active content cadence for staying top of mind, improving search visibility, nurturing audience engagement, and providing ample opportunities to address buyer needs throughout their journey.
Content cadence best practices

Aim for consistency: Maintain a predictable schedule, tone and quality of content delivery to meet audience expectations and drive sustained engagement.
Plan around audience insights: Analyze data around your audience and publish based on times they are most active and likely to engage.
Prioritize variety and diversity of content: Include a mix of content types — long-form, short-form, visual, video — to cater to your audience’s varying preferences.
Use data to adjust and optimize: Review performance metrics and adapt your publishing schedule based on what the data tells you.
Champion quality over quantity: Focus on creating and publishing high-quality pieces with a distinct purpose, rather than churning out content to meet a threshold.

One of the most critical things you can do to ensure adherence to these best practices is developing a strong content planning discipline. Create a detailed content calendar or editorial calendar …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Full Editorial If you’re feeling overwhelmed by debt, you’re not alone. Many people find themselves struggling to make ends meet as they juggle credit card bills, student loans, mortgages, and other financial obligations. It can be a heavy burden that leaves you wondering if there’s any way out. One potential solution to help ease the weight of debt is debt restructuring.
Debt restructuring is when a creditor agrees to modify the terms of your debt to make it easier for you to repay. This could mean a lower interest rate, extending the loan term, or even reducing the total amount you owe. It can be an effective way to reduce monthly payments and give you more breathing room in your budget. If you’re in a tough financial spot, restructuring could be the key to getting your debt under control.
For people living in the Prairie State, programs like those at National Debt Relief in Illinois, offers local programs that offer resources and guidance to help with this process. However, not all debt restructuring options are the same. Let’s break down how debt restructuring works, its pros and cons, and whether it could be a viable option for you.
What Is Debt Restructuring?
Debt restructuring is a formal process where a borrower and lender agree to change the terms of a loan agreement. The goal is to make the debt easier to repay by adjusting the terms to fit the borrower’s current financial situation. This could include extending the loan term, lowering the interest rate, or reducing the overall balance owed.
Essentially, debt restructuring is a way to make your debt more manageable without resorting to bankruptcy. It can be a helpful option for those struggling with high-interest debt or multiple obligations. If you’re overwhelmed by payments and struggling to keep up, debt restructuring may give you a fresh start by easing the financial strain.
There are several ways to restructure debt, and the exact terms will depend on your lender, your financial situation, and the type of debt you have. This process isn’t an easy fix, but it can be a lifeline for those who need a little more time or a break from high monthly payments.
Types of Debt Restructuring
Debt restructuring can take many forms, and it’s important to understand the different options available. Here are the most common methods used to restructure debt:
Lowering the Interest Rate
One of the most common forms of debt restructuring is negotiating a lower interest rate on your loans or credit cards. By reducing the interest rate, more of your monthly payment goes toward the principal, rather than just covering the interest. This can help you pay off your debt faster and save money in the long run.
If you’re dealing with high-interest credit cards or loans, a reduced interest rate can significantly lower the total amount you pay over the life of the loan. Some lenders may be open to negotiating the rate, especially if you’ve been a loyal customer or if your current rate is significantly higher than what’s available in …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

By Digiday Editors Today, Scope3 used its inaugural Landscape conference hosted in New York City to launch its new AI-powered “agentic advertising platform” and a host of partnership announcements.

Scope3 CEO Brian O’Kelley — widely regarded as a godfather in the space — and partners hope the initiative will help light a touchpaper that will upend the status quo in ad tech.

Related Insights

Brand Safety How ‘The Godfather of ad tech’ aims to ‘reimagine’ brand safety and challenge the status quo

Read More

Execs at Scope3 hope its “agentic advertising platform” will use AI to streamline the industry supply chain and address inefficiencies in the digital media buying space, such as brand safety concerns, Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Lee Odden B2B Marketing Leaders: The Next Generation
If you’re in a marketing leadership position at a B2B company, there is no doubt you’re navigating an environment increasingly shaped by AI, evolving customer expectations, and the growing pressure for marketing to drive measurable impact. In the current business environment, it is more important than ever for marketing leaders to adapt, innovate and concentrate on everything from Generative AI and emerging tech to investing in peer networks to aligning go to market strategies with the ability to prove results.
So what skills and competencies do B2B marketing leaders need in order to come out of 2025 on top?

To help answer that question I tapped the collective wisdom of the B2B marketing leaders we recently recognized in our B2B Marketers on the Move – Winter Edition as well as my pals Brian Solis, Ann Handley, Jay Baer and Dave Gerhart.
Of course there are many different skills needed to succeed at B2B marketing from strategic to tactical, creative to analytical, management to implementation. With so many options, many marketers feel overwhelmed, so this post is meant to help you focus on a few of the things that are standing out amongst the pros I talked to.
Here are 6 insights on the skills B2B marketing leaders need to succeed in 2025 and beyond.
1. AI Literacy in B2B Marketing: Moving Beyond Efficiency to Strategic Impact
According to the LinkedIn Marketing Jobs Outlook report, AI-related skills such as data analysis and automation are among the fastest-growing competencies for marketers. Without question, AI is transforming how marketers work and while many marketing organizations are at various stages of adoption, those seeing productivity gains are most often starting with efficiency. But where to start?
Jay Baer, Customer experience strategist, researcher, author and keynote speaker sums up the value of AI spawned efficiency:

“Clearly, AI is going to have a massive impact on all B2B marketing leaders in 2025. But most of the thinking is WAY too short term. Soon, what will differentiate B2B leaders and their brands won’t be how much they’ve mastered AI-based task augmentation, but rather how they choose to capitalize on the ~25% more time and capacity they and their teams now possess.”  –  Jay Baer

But how do B2B marketers go from AI zero to AI hero when it comes to efficiency? Amanda Backer, Senior Director, Experiences at Salesforce, explains:

“Integrate AI into your day-to-day work. AI can help you automate repetitive tasks, analyze vast amounts of data, and collect and summarize information such as meeting notes. By leveraging AI, you can make more informed decisions, personalize your work, save time, and ultimately drive better results.”  –  Amanda Backer, Salesforce

Next Steps for B2B Marketers to Create Impact with AI: Move beyond AI-powered automation and explore how AI tools can free up time for strategic, creative, and high-value marketing initiatives. To do that, check out these resources:

LinkedIn Learning Course: AI for Marketing – How AI can streamline workflows, boost creativity, and optimize your marketing campaigns.

TopRank Marketing Blog: Evolving B2B Marketing Strategy with Artificial Intelligence and …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Seb Joseph These days, everything is getting quieter. Employees check out in silence — quiet quitting. Companies nudge them out just as discreetly — quiet firing. And now, even the high-stakes theater of ad agency reviews has been muted. Advertisers are ditching the bloated pageantry of requests for proposals in favor of something more understated: no press, no pomp, just quiet deals behind closed doors.

Look at Coca-Cola. Its North America media review unfolded in near silence. Publicis Media looks like its close securing the win, and only then did word get out. Now, Coca-Cola is ironing out the transition from GroupM, according to a source with direct knowledge of the process.

For some CMOs, this is the new playbook. The era of milking an agency review is fading. Now, discretion is the name of the game.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Ronan Shields The presence of leading executives, including Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, at President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration led many to believe that Big Tech would have a smooth course in the coming years, especially in any antitrust trial. 

Related Insights

Google on Trial Assessing the most likely outcomes of Google’s pivotal ad tech antitrust trial

Read More

So, when it emerged that Google met Justice Department execs, encouraging them to roll back earlier proposed remedies, including the divestiture of web browser Chrome, in its search antitrust trial, many assumed its political influence would win out.

However, developments later in the week suggest those efforts — Bloomberg claimed last week that Google’s arguments centered on maintaining the tech hegemony of U.S. companies — proved fruitless in the case, where Judge Amit Mehta ruled Google’s search market tactics were illegal last year.  Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Alex White Enter the mind of a B2B buyer. Where are you starting your purchasing journey?
Regardless of whether you’re reading a whitepaper, watching a video, taking in a social media post, or reading an article, you’ll likely start your quest via a web search. You’ve typed in your query and you’re ready to do your research. Do you like what you see on the first page of results? If you’re in the majority of users, you probably will, as research from HubSpot found that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results.
Take off your buyer cap for a moment and get back to being a marketer. By now, you should realize just how important it is to get on the first page of results. But ranking high among SERPs and getting the majority of clicks is easier said than done and requires more than just keyword research, optimized images, and user-friendly design. 
And even if your SEO is top-notch and buyers see your content, are they going to trust it? After all, today’s B2B buyers do their research, even more so than consumers. There’s a lot of noise out there and these decision-makers are seeking credible information to guide their key decisions. 
That’s where B2B influencers come in. Let’s take a look at how they can boost your SEO rankings and organic traffic.

Which SEO Metrics Should You Adopt or Drop?
Watch The SEO Glow-Up Webinar

Backlinks
If you’re unfamiliar, a backlink is simply a link on another website that points back to your website. Think of it as a vote of confidence from one website to another. So, if a popular influencer in your industry links to your content on their website, you can expect a nice extra dose of web traffic and improved domain authority. But how do you get them to do it? The most effective backlinks are those earned rather than bought or solicited. Here are some ways to naturally acquire helpful backlinks.

Create high-quality content: It should be shareable, valuable, and stand out.
Share original research: Whitepapers, eBooks, infographics, and more. Share it!
Turn influencers into friends: Nurture relationships with them by featuring their insights, engaging with them on social media, and sharing their work. They’ll think of you when they’re creating their next piece of content.
Co-create content: This could be a blog post, a YouTube video, a webinar, or something as simple as an interview. Ask yourself, will they want to share this at a later date?
Monitor your mentions: If another site mentions your brand but hasn’t linked to your site, you can always request a backlink if your relationship is developed.

In the end, it all boils down to doing two things well: forming relationships and creating high-quality content. The more you do this, the more you’ll be rewarded, as research indicates the top-ranking pages boast 3.8x more backlinks than those ranked lower.
“Even though Google continues to add diversity to its algorithm, it appears that backlinks remain a critical ranking signal.” – Brian Dean, Founder, Backlinko
E-E-A-T and brand credibility
We’ve been beating …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Nick Nelson No piece of content on your website should exist on its own, in isolation. Successful SEO content strategies are built on the foundation of a content ecosystem: an interconnected network of assets that function holistically to engage audiences, earn search rankings and achieve business goals.
Internal linking is the connective tissue that contextualizes relationships between all of your website’s content. These connections help search engines and visitors understand how the various pages and topics come together to represent your brand’s focus and expertise.  
Strategic use of internal links can create progressive user flows through your site, enabling customers to guide themselves deeper into the funnel. Internal linking is also critically important for SEO success. Yet this consideration often tends to be overlooked or set aside as a secondary priority.
Here’s why you shouldn’t wait on implementing a proactive system for internal linking as part of your organization’s link building strategy.

Explore our full guide to B2B SEO

Why internal links matter for SEO
They help search engines understand your content ecosystem and its structure.
Think of web crawlers as actual spiders, exploring the intricate spiderweb that is your site and trying to map out its entirety. Proper internal links serve as threads that help the spider easily travel from one place to the next sequentially. When there are no threads to follow, or the threads are broken or go in random directions, the spider gets confused.
Importantly, effective internal linking helps your website distribute link equity and PageRank authority, helping new pages benefit from the established credibility of others.  

(Source)
They create natural next steps for visitors.
When a visitor arrives at your website, one of the main goals is to keep them around with engaging content. Internal linking does this naturally by making it easy for users to find related pages and additional information. This also means they can answer all of their questions about a topic without ever needing to leave your site and, say, visit a competitor’s.
There are many logical pathways you can create through internal linking; for example, linking from a “what is X” post to a “benefits of X” or “how to do X” post, and then linking from there to a service page showing how your brand does X. 
Learn about more SEO strategies for lead gen
They demonstrate your breadth of topical coverage.
Search engines and generative engines alike reward domains that demonstrate well-rounded topical authority. This is meant to mimic the way humans assign credibility — we trust people who know what they’re talking about, and have a track record to back it up.
Organizing your content into topical maps, and using smart internal linking to connect the dots, makes it clear to Google where your site’s content is focused, along with its expansiveness and depth of coverage. 
They increase visibility of your most important content.
Which pages on your website are most valuable to your brand? These might include cornerstone content, topical pillars, product pages and more. When you know which pages you most want to drive people to, you can prioritize them as part of your internal …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By Alex White What do remote work and B2B influencer marketing have in common? They both started as experimental and misunderstood concepts, and now it seems like every brand is in it for the long run. Looking back to a marketing focus, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed in our 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report have mature influencer programs. This means they’ve moved beyond one-time collaborations and have established strategic, scalable, and measurable approaches. While both examples continue to shape business as we know it and scale, they require a structured approach to ensure sustained success and impact.
Scaling influencer programs requires more than just adding more budget and bringing in more influencers. It relies on operations, process improvements, and — last but not least — technology (and we’re not just talking about AI). 
Let’s take a closer look at how to optimize each of these areas for growth, pulling key findings from our 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report.

Download the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report
Insights Inside

Building the foundation of a successful influencer program
A one-off influencer marketing campaign is like a bottle rocket — sure, it’ll draw some attention, but it fades fast. For sustained marketing success, an always-on program with ongoing, embedded partnerships should be utilized. Think of it like a firework show — constantly captivating at a grand scale, long-lasting, keeping the audience’s attention, and building excitement with a crescendo. 
Keeping with the firecracker metaphor, it’s easy to see why your Fourth of July celebration isn’t headlined by whimpering firecracker displays, much like successful influencer marketing campaigns aren’t headlined by one-off pilot programs. In fact, we found that 82% of the most successful teams use an always-on approach, leading to deeper trust and credibility, ongoing evergreen content, consistent engagement, and stronger influencer relationships over time. But an ongoing program isn’t a “set it and forget it” situation; it requires a structured team and the right technology to manage relationships at scale.
Continued reading: Always-On Influencer Marketing: What Is It and How Does It Work?
Building an influencer marketing team
Behind every great influencer marketing campaign is a talented team. Data shows that influencer marketing can reside in various departments—marketing, social media, public relations, or even customer service. While the structure of these programs may differ, one thing remains true: the most successful teams work together. And while job titles and responsibilities vary, the majority of successful teams consist of:

Influencer Manager – Builds relationships and manages influencer collaborations.
Influencer Strategist – Identifies influencers, aligns strategy, and measures performance.
Content Strategist – Oversees content creation and ensures alignment with brand messaging.
Social Media Manager – Manages content publishing and delivers in-depth social media performance insights
Analytics Manager – Tracks, analyzes, and optimizes influencer marketing performance

Do these titles exist at your organization? If you had to pick up the phone and find someone to assign these duties to, would you find someone with the time or expertise to execute and scale an influencer marketing program? 
Often, the answer is no. That’s why many businesses rely on internal teams to find an external agency. Our …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

By MediaGo Peter Jinfeng Pan, head of MediaGo

In the digital marketing world, advertisers should systematically assess each paid impression by considering the following five critical questions: Is this a real user? Will this user see the ad? What content does this user like? What is the user’s intention? How much value can this user bring?These five questions form the backbone of the marketing funnel. If the answer is no or is uncertain, the advertiser should disregard that impression; otherwise, the investment is justified. However, while ad placement previously leveraged broad demographic data, the modern privacy-centric landscape has rendered these questions increasingly difficult to answer.The key to addressing this challenge lies in shifting the focus from user data to optimizing ad experiences through deep learning.Adopting an experience-centric approach refocuses ad placement on media, context, creatives and products — which inherently serve as signals rather than demographic data — making them key variables in optimizing advertising effectiveness. By training deep learning models on a vast array of signals, they can intelligently infer relationships between the input and output of data.This means deep learning (DL) models can be relied on to address the five questions above in every impression auction. Records show that DL has evolved into a transformative technology, empowering advertisers to navigate complexity by analyzing vast datasets and identifying intricate patterns. This capability ensures unmatched precision and efficiency, even in an era increasingly shaped by privacy-first priorities.

Evolving from AI to machine learning to deep learning

Modern advertisers face countless media opportunities driven by diverse users with varied interests and intentions, akin to searching for the perfect match among countless screws and nuts in the ocean.However, when confronted with that ocean challenge, traditional AI can only divide the ocean into regions, rely on human assistance to extract features and identify potential matches within each region.DL, however, leverages deep neural networks trained on billions of data points, surpassing traditional AI and machine learning in computational capability. In just milliseconds, it can find the best match across the entire ocean, for example, offering unparalleled speed and precision in advertising.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday

By Vistar Media This Tactics + Insights guide, sponsored by Vistar Media, explores the opportunities that arise from integrating branding and performance marketing channels. As part of this report, Digiday and Vistar Media surveyed 113 marketing professionals to learn more about how they balance and prioritize budgets and objectives across both approaches.

Marketers face constant pressure to build brand recognition while driving bottom-line results. However, branding and performance goals are typically executed through separate campaigns and distinct strategies, escalating costs and leading to missed opportunities for optimization and cross-channel synergy.

This challenge is evident in a survey of 113 marketing professionals conducted by Digiday and Vistar Media. When asked about the biggest obstacles to achieving their marketing goals, the top responses were cost restrictions and siloed data operations.Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV. …read more

Source:: Digiday