While much of the business world is reeling in the wake of Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency, life — and business — goes on. And so we’re back again with another edition of B2B Trending Conversations, our weekly roundup of who’s talking and what’s trending in the B2B space. This week, we’ll compare inbound and outbound marketing, learn how to improve lead generation using LinkedIn, listen to a podcast on content marketing and more. The election’s over, time to get back to work!

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

5 Ways Outbound and #InboundMarketing Complement Each Other – https://t.co/EgFDqGegyh @ActOnSoftware #B2B pic.twitter.com/6z0ef4DcuB

— Shane Barker (@shane_barker) November 5, 2016

What kind of marketer are you? Many B2B marketing professionals define themselves as either inbound or outbound marketers. Deloitte’s Pam Neely explores five ways to blend the two dominant approaches to utilize the best marketing tactics from each for best results. Use inbound marketing to attract, outbound to close. Remember that the goal of inbound marketing is to get you to outbound. The two approaches can cross-promote, and both can be supported by advertising. They also both generate the same amount of leads. “Balance is always a good thing,” writes Neely. “Using a balanced approach to your marketing strategy with both inbound and outbound marketing tactics can let you do far more than if you were using only one approach.”

B2B Lead Generation with LinkedIn

4 LinkedIn Optimisation Tips to Generate B2B Leads https://t.co/HDUcddGlB5 #B2B #LeadGeneration

— Jason Gordon (@JasonGordons) November 7, 2016

Improving your LinkedIn page can help you generate more leads. Having an optimized profile can give you a real edge over your competitors in the B2B lead generation race, and Strong Social offers four great tips on how to get there. Keep your profile as relevant and up-to-date as possible. Add depth and always keep an eye toward optimizing SEO. Get more involved by joining relevant groups. Follow these tips and you’re well on your way to generating more and better leads.

B2B Big Data

How to Grow Your #B2B Business with Actionable Insights from #BigData https://t.co/Sw90CJFq9p via @ShellyKramer

— Devumi (@devumi) November 9, 2016

While Big Data has been around for decades, collecting, managing, analyzing and implementing it effectively has remained a herculean undertaking. V3B’s Shelly Kramer, a small business owner serving B2B customers, helps make sense of the amazing information that’s right there at your fingertips so you can put Big Data to work for you. “You don’t have to be Amazon.com or Coca-Cola to use big data to grow your company,” asserts Kramer. “But understanding its value, and knowing how to collect and use it will become immeasurably valuable for that future growth you’re building now.”

B2B Content Marketing (Podcast)

A great conversation w/ @dougkessler about localizing #B2B content marketing beyond borders https://t.co/wIuXwvPYXy #podcast pic.twitter.com/8pfL3pCJAI

— Moravia (@Moravia) November 9, 2016

In this episode of Moravia’s Global Speaking podcast, hosts Michael Stevens and Renato Beninatto are joined by Velocity Partners co-founder and B2B content marketing guru Doug Kessler. Topics include the biggest threat to content marketing, how content marketing differs from promotional advertising, why content marketing is crucial in the B2B space and much more. With more than three decades of industry experience, Kessler’s insights can help you craft and implement a superior content marketing strategy.

Emotion and B2B Buying (Infographic)

How Emotion Influences #B2B Buying [#INFOGRAPHIC] #Sales #DigitalMarketing #SocialMedia #Marketing #SMM
RT @ipfconline1 pic.twitter.com/hcF46uTaEq

— Vamshi Krishna (@nvkvamshi) November 8, 2016

How does emotion influence B2B buying? Would you be surprised to hear that people buy things based more on emotion than logic or reasoning? A CEB study found that 71 percent of buyers who make an emotional connection to a B2B product ultimately purchase that product or service. Personal value significantly trumps logic and reason in the mind of buyers.

If you missed last week’s installment of B2B Trending Conversations, head here to check it out. As always, if you have any B2B content or ideas you think we should focus on next week, let us know via @B2BNewsNetwork. We love hearing from you, and we’ll see you again next week!

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