What's the connection between B2B influence, research and thought leadership? 74% of B2B marketers who frequently collaborate with influencers say their research-based content is very effective, versus only 29% of everyone else. That's a finding from our newest research report, The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026 and it's just one of the topics we covered to kick off Season 2 of the #BeyondB2BMarketing podcast. In this episode I sat down with, Todd Lebo , CEO at Ascend2 , on the findings of our joint survey of 797 senior B2B marketers on the intersection of original research, influence and AI visibility. In this clip, Todd talks about how original research can be validated and contextualized by industry influencers to help provide the "so what" factor. And this collaboration with influencers and brand is mutually beneficial. I know from our own experience at TopRank Marketing with producing and marketing research reports for B2B brands like Adobe, HubSpot and LinkedIn, adding industry influencers to thought leadership content adds credibility and distribution in ways that can really have an impact on reach, engagement and building brand trust. You can listen, watch or read the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gX9PXnDr
AI fatigue is real and so is the growing hunger for "what's real" in all aspects of what we do in business and marketing. As technology plays an increasingly important role in what we do to advance, there's always been...

How can B2B Thought Leadership drive post-sale Impact? Our latest post on @TopRank's B2B Marketing Blog shares new research data, examples and use cases for using post-sale thought leadership to drive retention and expansion outcomes: https://t.co/tKMacGFHhQ https://t.co/rcgYc9Zsi6
B2B thought leadership is being elevated in the 2026 B2B marketing mix, but do you know what high ROI marketers do that others don't? Our research with Ascend2 that surveyed 797 senior B2B marketers in the U.S. and U.K. found...
How can B2B marketers optimize their thought leadership content to be more impactful? Make that content an experience that engages and creates both mental availability and contributes to buyability. From interactive experiences to events to video or podcasts - going...

When Every Marketer Has AI, How Does Any Brand Stand Out? Here are the Top B2B Marketing Skills to Differentiate https://t.co/Q5cv8ECkh0 https://t.co/JFn65z5bc4
The way today’s B2B buyers discover, evaluate, and trust brands is changing faster than at any point since the rise of search. And when it comes to the rising importance of AI, the pressure to "figure it out" is on....
If you want a great primer on how your B2B brand can maximize influencer and creator activations, here you go:
What will the future of AI first B2B Marketing look like? I spoke to @RishiPDave from @BainandCompany on our #BeyondB2B podcast who shared: we'll drive more, faster at higher quality, more personalization, & influence is back and bigger than ever....