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How to Repurpose 1 Case Study Into 5 Marketing Assets

How to Repurpose 1 Case Study Into 5 Marketing Assets

Key takeaways: Treating a B2B customer case study as a single PDF leaves valuable material unused. With a journalistic interview and upfront planning, you can repurpose one customer story into five marketing assets across the buyer journey: a one-pager, sales deck slide, native LinkedIn post, email nurture touchpoint and website proof point. Most B2B teams […]
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I’ve Been Flattening Our Writing for AI Search. I’m Not Sure It Was Right

I’ve Been Flattening Our Writing for AI Search. I’m Not Sure It Was Right

Key takeaways: We changed the way we write because AI search guidance told us to. We flattened introductions, front-loaded answers and organized content so machines could quote it cleanly. The writing became easier to extract and harder to recognize as ours. That raised a question we can’t shake: Did we improve the reading experience or […]
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How the B2B Content Review Process Kills Good Writing

How the B2B Content Review Process Kills Good Writing

Key takeaways: B2B content isn’t boring because of the topic. It becomes boring during the review process, where each edit strips out the opinions, specifics and examples that make it worth reading. The result of a bloated B2B content review process is drivel that nobody remembers, buyers who see hedging as a warning sign and […]
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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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Male hand holding a camera lens representing looking towards B2B digital marketing trends for 2024

5 B2B Digital Marketing Trends for 2024

From voice search optimization to content marketing diversification, digital marketers can look forward to new technologies and opportunities in 2024. Here are five B2B digital marketing trends that will reshape content marketing in 2024 and beyond. 1. Voice search optimization B2B decision-makers are always on the go. The way they

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Logos from the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and The Simons Group represent The Simons Group's membership in the CAI to promote authentic storytelling.

The Simons Group Joins the Content Authenticity Initiative

The Simons Group is now a member of the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), an association that seeks to develop standards and technologies for ensuring the authenticity and integrity of digital media. The group includes media and tech companies, nongovernmental associations, academics, technologists and journalists, who want trust and transparency at

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This soaring eagle represents how B2B marketing budgets are increasing and giving CMOs more spending power.

Research Alert: B2B Marketing Budgets Surge

B2B marketing budgets are on the rise worldwide. The trend is expected to increase in the coming years, new research reveals. Business-to-business (B2B) marketers are largely optimistic about the future, according to a recent LinkedIn/Ipsos report. “The B2B Marketing Benchmark” surveyed 1,954 B2B leaders in eight countries, including the United

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An image of a human eye represents how AI can help writers.

7 Quick AI Tips for Seasoned Writers

That got concerning for a bit there, didn’t it? When ChatGPT burst onto the scene in early 2023, it felt like it was trying to take us down as writers. Suddenly, anyone could create generally presentable marketing content – instantly. Fortunately, it looks like generative artificial intelligence (AI) will be

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A woman sharing good news represents how customer advocates can help boost your sales through word-of-mouth.

Customer Advocates Ignite Your Brand’s Success

If your brand wants an unbeatable advantage that will boost your sales, marketing and customer experience, build a strong customer advocacy program. Every brand – no matter how big or small – will benefit from having advocates. What is customer advocacy? Customer advocacy is about building authentic, strong relationships with

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Image of a brunette female that is worried about her marketing.

Marketing Hacks: A Cheat Sheet From an Open Mic

Raise your hand if you like public speaking. I thought so. Almost no one volunteers for that. Next, picture yourself singing at an open mic. Not. Gonna. Happen. The very idea gives many people heart palpitations. As a singer, you’ve got to put on your grown-up pants. Pretend you don’t

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A picture of an AI hand represents potential copyright challenges with generative AI platforms.

Generative AI and Copyright: Legal Concerns for Businesses

Generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT and Bard, may be angst-inducing for some people. The speed at which the technology is advancing and “learning” is key. More than one person has imagined machines turning on their creators. Businesses that use and create content have more immediate and less dystopian

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An empty page represents being out of content marketing inspiration.

What to Do When You Need Content Marketing Inspiration

When you’re out of content marketing inspiration and the well is dry, it’s a struggle to get out of that rut. You might explore topic ideas only to find that other creators have covered them. That happened to me recently. My next move was to tap ChatGPT and Notion.so. Unfortunately,

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Chess pieces represent how content marketing crushes cold calling.

How B2B Content Marketing Crushes Cold Calling

Business-to-business (B2B) content marketing crushes cold calling when it’s done well. I emphasize that point because crappy content marketing won’t get you anywhere. True cold calling probably won’t either, because it’s not based on problem-solving. It’s a fishing expedition to sell products and services. When I started working in corporate

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