Lee2B

If you can drop budget on software, events, and big splashy promos... you should be investing in content your audience will engage with and people your buyers actually trust. LinkedIn for Marketing released an article digging into how marketers are using influencers to drive real business outcomes. Not just for reach, but for trust, relevance, and demand. Among those leveraging influencer marketing: - 88% say it builds brand awareness - 81% say it helps establish trust - 76% say it humanizes their brand - 75% say it supports lead gen - 65% say it improves loyalty Thank you to Tequia Burt for letting me part of the conversation and share my thoughts! And I really liked what these marketers had to say too: 🗣️ “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘉2𝘉 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦.” - Vasileios Mylonas 🤘 🗣️ “𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰. 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.” - Brendan Gahan 🗣️ “𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳-𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.” -Drew Neisser Read the full article here where you can also download the benchmark report. https://lnkd.in/e9-282ms #B2BMarketingBenchmark #influencermarketing

Does your GTM need a mid-year makeover? New research in the "2025 B2B Benchmark Report" from LinkedIn for Marketing highlights 1) video and 2) creators as primary ways to build capital in the biggest currency in B2B, trust. "Marketers who lead with authenticity, invest in credibility, and deliver value through human-centered content are setting themselves apart and seeing the results," identifies Tequia Burt, Editor in Chief @ LinkedIn. "Because when buyers trust your message, they’re more likely to act on it. And when they trust your brand, they come back." Some eye-catching data was previewed in Tequia's article (check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gw3dPX53): For example, 55% of B2B marketers leverage influencer marketing and still partner with classic content creators, but now also select subject matter experts, practitioners, and other trusted industry voices. Why? "Trust is a competitive advantage,” explains Lee Moskowitz 🌈, host of Lee2B. "It's why brands exist," agrees Drew Neisser, CEO of CMO Huddles. He also explains why it's so elusive: "Most companies don’t have the patience and courage to build enduring trust." But is the ROI on "trust" there? Brand plays typically take longer to pay off, but now is the time to invest. The data reveals that companies using influencer marketing are more likely to expect budget increases next year (84% vs. 58% for non-users), suggesting that trust-focused strategies are also gaining leadership support. “Anyone can run an ad to an audience," explains Brendan Gahan, CEO and Co-Founder of Creator Authority, "but getting a positive review from a well-known thought leader in their niche is the best content you can run on social." It's because authenticity matters to balance the AI slop. (Love this term, Lee!) “In B2B, trust isn’t earned in a pitch, it’s built in moments,” Vasileios Mylonas 🤘, Founder & Chief Strategist of The Cool Lion, shares. And beyond the data proving video is the most effective format (it does), it's the HUMAN feeling those moments that matter, or trust-building opportunities, evoke: AJ Wilcox, founder of B2Linked | LinkedIn Ads Performance Agency, confirms, “I feel more trusting of a brand after watching a 1-min clip of their founder talking than if I read five of their blog posts.” What do you think? Are you integrating video, creators, or other trust-building activations into your GTM? Let me know in the comments. I also recommend the LinkedIn for Marketing blog for the latest in B2B marketing news: https://lnkd.in/gFja4maA

Idk about you, but I'm even more skeptical than usual these days... including in B2B. Trust might have been a buzzword slapped into pitch decks, but now it’s something that decides if people buy. 94% of the marketers surveyed by LinkedIn for Marketing agreed that trust is the key to success in B2B. It’s what drives every deal, every decision and every long-term relationship. 42% even said their top business priority is increasing brand awareness and reputation among decision-makers. Thank you to Tequia Burt for including me in the 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark: The Video + Influence Effect Starts With Trust [Part 1] Read the full article here where you can also download the full benchmark report https://lnkd.in/eFthirNg #B2BMarketingBenchmark

I'm honored to be recognized as one of the Top 15 Marketers With Diverse Voices To Follow On Social Media in 2025! Thank you so much to global social media management platform Emplifi for including me and putting together this list, as well as my LinkedIn community for all the support. According to a survey from the Williams Institute at UCLA, 46% of LGBTQ+ workers have experienced unfair treatment at work, and more than a third have looked for a new job as a result of feeling unwelcome in the workplace. I started posting because I know how isolating things can feel. If I can make someone feel seen, or a little less alone, or maybe even make them laugh, it’s all worth it. Big congrats to the other marketers on this list—some of you I already know, and some I’m excited to connect with for the first time because of this list: Patrick Timmons 🏳️🌈, Matt Skallerud, Rocio Sanchez, Robyn Streisand, Jen Whitfield, Jennifer Rhiannon Lewis, Roy Broderick Jr, Brent Miller, Andi Fernandez, Angel Mason Broadus, Myke Celis, M.A., PCC #pride #lgbtq