By Lee Odden

Having spent over 20 years in the B2B marketing space, my team and I have had opportunities to meet and work with some amazingly talented B2B marketers as they grow and advance in their careers. The industry has evolved quite a bit in that time and as B2B brands navigate the intersection of humanity and technology in today’s uncertain environment, it’s important to highlight smart B2B marketing voices that are actually making sense of it all.

That’s why I was quite happy to sit down with Steve Kearns, Global Head of Content, Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn for the latest edition of the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast.  Steve has advanced in his career with a combination of intelligence, strategic leadership, high standards and the ability to inspire greatness from others. Also, Steve is the epitome of substance and style.

We covered a lot of ground including the origin story of LinkedIn’s involvement with the Cannes Creative B2B Lions, the intersection of strategy, data, and storytelling, the role of taste in B2B Marketing, thought leadership, evolved SEO and what successful brands are doing to market and advertise on the LinkedIn platform. This episode is a must-watch or listen!

Here’s a list of the show highlights:

• LinkedIn’s Role in B2B Marketing at Cannes
• Understanding LinkedIn’s Business Model
• The Intersection of Strategy, Data, and Storytelling
• The Role of Taste in B2B Marketing
• Successful Campaigns and Content Strategies on LinkedIn
• The Importance of B2B Thought Leadership
• Navigating SEO in a Changing Landscape
• Embracing Video Content in B2B
• Finding Motivation in Marketing Leadership

Listen to the full interview with Steve here:

Watch the full podcast conversation with Steve (including my sunburnt face) here:

If you’d prefer a text summary of our discussion about storytelling, AI and the importance of taste in marketing creativity, we have you covered:

In Episode 5 of the Beyond B2B Marketing podcast, Steve Kearns, Global Head of Content for Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn, talks about the evolution of B2B’s presence at the prestigious Cannes Lions festival and LinkedIn’s journey to become a dominant force that championed the creation of the Creative B2B Lions awards category. The major theme at this year’s Cannes event was AI, which sparked both optimism for its potential and anxiety about its impact on creative roles.

“If we (LinkedIn) want to be the category leader in B2B, then we need to think about how we show up in spaces like Cannes, even if the winner of the B2B Lions isn’t always going to have done it on LinkedIn.”

Steve also talked about the combination of data analysis and storytelling as the key to excelling in modern B2B marketing. He argues that marketers typically lean toward one skill or the other – the analytical, “spreadsheet style thinker” or the emotive, creative storyteller. However, true success in B2B marketing requires mastering both. He describes a flywheel for success that begins with a strategic business insight, translates it into a compelling creative campaign, and, finally, measures its success with data. Without this full-circle approach, even the most brilliant creative work or data-driven …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron