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How to Measure Thought Leadership ROI

How to Measure Thought Leadership ROI

Key takeaways: Thought leadership ROI goes far beyond likes, impressions and website traffic. The most effective measurement strategy tracks awareness, buyer engagement and revenue together, giving marketing leaders a clear view of the business results. When you also measure the value generated for every hour your experts invest, you gain the evidence you need to […]
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Why More CEOs See Marketing as a Cost Center

Why More CEOs See Marketing as a Cost Center

Key takeaways: The marketing cost-center problem is old, but it’s accelerating. The share of CEOs who see marketing as a cost rather than a profit center jumped from 35% to 60% in one year. The cause is measurement. Only 13% of CEOs feel confident that marketing can show financial benefits, and producing more content with […]
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The Double AI Lie: You’re Losing Time and Your Edge

The Double AI Lie: You’re Losing Time and Your Edge

Key takeaways: AI and critical thinking have an increasingly complicated relationship. Research shows that heavy reliance on AI can reduce critical thinking, weaken independent judgment and make ideas more alike. AI can help with efficiency, but marketers still need to question assumptions, challenge outputs and focus on original thinking. AI has incredible power and potential, […]
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The Lab Results Are Fine: When B2B Marketing Data Hides a Sick System

The Lab Results Are Fine: When B2B Marketing Data Hides a Sick System

Key takeaways: Healthy B2B marketing data can make a broken system look fine. Isolated metrics, such as organic traffic, cost per click and lead volume, can hide problems with buyer intent, sales trust and pipeline movement. When sales cycles exceed historical norms or sales teams stop trusting marketing leads, marketing teams need to look at […]
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Why AI Is Ignoring Your B2B Customer Case Studies

Why AI Is Ignoring Your B2B Customer Case Studies

Key takeaways: When B2B customer case studies bury customer problems and measurable results beneath company background and product details, AI systems can’t identify the information buyers need. As a result, many case studies never appear in AI-generated answers. Most B2B customer case studies make it hard to identify the problem, the solution and the results. […]
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The Thought Leader’s Shortcut: Build a Content Bank From 1 Asset

The Thought Leader’s Shortcut: Build a Content Bank From 1 Asset

Key takeaways: Break one anchor asset into a Content Bank of articles, social posts, carousels, videos and sales tools. Use a content repurposing strategy and employee advocacy to distribute those assets and support a 90-day, multichannel campaign. This allows you to reach buyers throughout their research process. In the last Expert-Led Content Engine article, we […]
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The Trust Gap: Why Human Content Wins in an AI Market

The Trust Gap: Why Human Content Wins in an AI Market

Key takeaways: Human-first content in B2B is grounded in experience, a clear point of view and informed judgment. It helps buyers build trust before they with speak with sales. For years at The Simons Group, our North Star has been “content-first.” It’s how we keep the focus where it belongs: on the message rather than […]
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Stop Asking Experts to Write: The Two-Touchpoint Content Workflow

Stop Asking Experts to Write: The Two-Touchpoint Content Workflow

Key takeaways: A two-touchpoint content workflow concentrates expert involvement into two focused moments that support speed, cost discipline and buyer expectations. By structuring participation around an input session and an accuracy review, organizations share insights while buyers are evaluating options. In addition, this workflow reduces inefficient use of expert time, supports consistent execution and aligns […]
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Create a Quarterly Content Planning Sprint

Create a Quarterly Content Planning Sprint

Key takeaways: Quarterly content planning gives B2B teams a clear, repeatable way to set direction before execution. Rather than reacting to scattered requests, teams align on priorities, themes and proof points during a focused planning sprint that brings marketers and experts together at the right moment. Experts contribute insight once per quarter, while marketers carry […]
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B2B Trust Has Turned Inward. Thought Leadership Gets You In

B2B Trust Has Turned Inward. Thought Leadership Gets You In

Key takeaways: B2B trust now forms early and close to home. Buyers place greater confidence in familiar people and proven judgment. New research shows that thought leadership content plays a role in helping buyers assess expertise and reduce perceived risk. However, today, merely showing up with content isn’t enough. Organizations that pair expert-led insights with […]
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A magnifying glass image represents how buyers prefer self-service vs. talking with sales reps.

Self-Service That Sells: Smart Moves for B2B Marketers

B2B buyers want control. They prefer to explore, compare and make purchase decisions on their own terms. That’s where self-service marketing comes in. It gives buyers the ability to access the information they need without waiting for a sales conversation. Many B2B buyers now complete most of their research before

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A graphic of parachutes and balloons in the sky and a man hanging onto one represents the challenge of getting leadership to approve your marketing budget.

Get to Yes: Selling Your B2B Marketing Budget to Leadership

If you’re in B2B marketing, asking for a larger marketing budget can feel like a tough sell – especially when you’re wearing multiple hats and working with limited resources. The challenge isn’t just in asking for more money than the previous year. Rather, it’s in showing leadership that the investment

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Stones on a board represent using KPIs and ROI together to measure marketing results.

KPIs and ROI: A Marketer’s Guide to Measurement

B2B marketers are under increasing pressure to prove the value of every effort. What worked last year might not be enough now. That’s why key performance indicators (KPIs) and return on investment (ROI) have gone from nice-to-haves to must-haves. These tools help you show what’s working, justify your budget, and

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A photo of a man slumped over his desk represents the frustration of making avoidable website mistakes.

3 Costly Website Mistakes B2B Marketers Make (and Fast Fixes)

You’d think after all the time and budget that go into B2B websites, the messaging would be clear, compelling and customer-focused. But you’d be wrong. As someone who analyzes websites for work and entertainment (yes, really), I recently discovered a site that broke every rule of effective B2B communication. Sadly,

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A man looking at a maze on a wall represents the challenge of simplifying complex tech content.

Explaining Complex Tech Simply: A B2B Writer’s Guide

Clear communication is essential in the B2B world – especially when you’re explaining complex tech. Whether you’re writing user guides, product documentation or research reports, the challenge is the same: How do you make complex information clear without losing accuracy or overwhelming your audience? Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools can

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A graphic of one yellow figure among many gray figures represents the importance of human expertise in AI content.

Human Expertise in AI Content: Your Gold in the Digital Flood

The rise of AI-powered search and content generation has many B2B marketers wondering about the future. But in this evolving landscape, human expertise in AI content is emerging not as a relic, but as the very gold that will help you stand out. AI-powered search tools like Google’s AI Overview

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An image of a man on a ladder looking through a pair of binoculars symbolizes the importance of content hubs in a zero-click search world.

Content Hubs Matter More Than Ever in Zero-Click Search

Here’s an unexpected truth: As Google answers more questions in search results, B2B content hubs matter more – not less. Basic info gets stuck in zero-click results, but in-depth, well-connected hubs still shine. Think of it this way: If someone can get a quick answer without clicking, they probably didn’t

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A woman standing in front of a presentation screen represents how important it is to share marketing ROI with stakeholders.

Turn Marketing ROI Into a Story That Matters

In B2B marketing, showing the value of your efforts is essential. Tracking numbers is important, but the real win comes when you explain what they mean. Marketing ROI stories help stakeholders see how your efforts support the business. Tailor your marketing ROI message to each audience Understand your audience and

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A woman with her fingers showing a zero illustrates that zero-click marketing isn't just another digital trend.

The End of the Click? A Quick Guide to Zero-Click Marketing

Have you ever typed a question into Google and found the answer instantly – without clicking a single link? That’s zero-click marketing in action. But what does it mean, and why does it matter to you? What is zero-click marketing? Simply put, zero-click marketing is about delivering information or experiences

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An image of a sloth represents how a slow website can affect user experience and search rankings.

Don’t Let a Slow Website Crush Your Business

Google is prioritizing website speed in a push to improve user experience. As a result, if your site doesn’t load within 2 seconds, you could be losing customers and lagging in search results. A slow website is frustrating for visitors, and delays of just a few seconds can cause them

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