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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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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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Letter tiles that spell email represent the resurgence of B2B email marketing.

B2B Email Marketing Trends and Tactics for 2024

Business-to-business (B2B) email marketing is experiencing a renaissance, thanks to new technologies and tools. Increased demand for authentic and personalized interactions among buyers is another contributing factor. If you’re treating email marketing like you did 10 years ago, it’s time for a reboot. Email is a core digital marketing format

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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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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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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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A racetrack with 7 places represents the top 7 metrics for meeting your content marketing goals.

The Top 7 Content Marketing Goals to Track

It’s crucial to develop a consistent cadence for tracking your content marketing goals. This sets your team up to make smart content marketing decisions. Tracking will help you: Understand your current and prospective customers’ habits Foster relationships with your target audience Run informed content marketing campaigns Fine-tune your content marketing

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Top 4 Tips to Align Sales and Marketing

If you want to stay competitive in today’s digital world, your companies’ sales and marketing teams must work together. However, many companies struggle to reach this utopian vision. Why? First let’s explore each team’s function: Marketers are all about building brand awareness and generating leads. Salespeople turn that brand awareness

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This yin yang symbol represents content marketing versus SEO working together for website traffic.

Content Marketing Versus SEO. Which Drives More Traffic?

If you were betting on content marketing versus search engine optimization (SEO) winning the race for website traffic, which would one would you pick? You might ask yourself which one drives more traffic.  Or you could think I’m asking you a trick question. Content marketing and SEO work hand in

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2023 drawn in the sand represents 2023 digital marketing trends.

5 B2B Digital Marketing Trends for 2023

B2B digital marketing trends will shift in 2023. Brands that keep up will thrive next year and beyond.So, which trends will be the drivers of change for digital marketing in 2023? Let’s take a look at my top five B2B digital marketing trends… 1. Digital-first experiences will (still) rule B2B

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Does Your Website Have a Good Conversion Rate?

Do you want to improve lead generation on your company’s website? If that’s one of your goals, look at your website’s conversion rate. This metric refers to the percentage of website visitors who complete a specific goal. The two types of website conversions are: Micro-conversions A micro-conversion is when you

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Woman at computer thinking about answers to 5 B2B marketing questions

B2B Marketing: 5 Questions That Drive Strategy

For a long time, B2B (business-to-business) marketing was all about inbound. The goal was to attract customers with valuable, tailored content. Companies put marketing dollars into developing engaging material. The content showed the companies’ offerings without pushing sales. The goal was to create brand awareness and attract new business. They

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