B2B content marketing is all about relevance and resonance. Marketers want to provide their audiences with content that sparks engagement: likes and other reactions, of course, but also comments, ongoing discussion, and resharing.
There are many ways to create content that compels engagement, some of which are polar opposites. You can be of-the-moment or timeless; observing broad trends or focusing on a single specific example; serious or entertaining.
In order to help you share more compelling content, our team looked at the marketers' most engaged-with articles on LinkedIn in the past year. This list is organized topically to highlight a few overarching themes.
Use this list to identify trending topics, inspire next year’s content calendar, and create your own share worthy posts.
Future of Work
Three years post-pandemic, business leaders are still pondering the evolution of work. Their opinions vary wildly, from promoting work-at-home and four-day work weeks to insisting remote work is a “failed experiment.” One thing is for sure: no matter where people work, productivity comes down to culture, incentive and emotional investment.
A four-day workweek pilot was so successful most firms say they won’t go back
Washington Post (103,996 engagements)
Highlights:
The advocacy group 4 Day Week Global ran an experimental pilot program with 61 companies and 3,000 employees. The companies pledged to either give employees a full extra day off each week or reduce working days in a year to average out to 32 hours a week.
Participating companies saw a decrease in burnout and resignations, while revenue increased year-over-year. Employees reported increased well-being and job satisfaction. Ultimately, only three of the companies declined to carry on with any part of the four-day work week. Eighteen will shift to a permanent four-day week and the remainder plan to extend their trial.
Takeaways:
Remote work has granted workers more power and autonomy than they may have previously had. Businesses looking to attract top talent need differentiators — a four-day work week may be an option worth exploring.
San Francisco CEO who’s closing his $215 million company’s upscale office lounge says return-to-work push is ‘fighting a losing war’
Fortune (45,356 engagements)
Highlights:
Tech company Expensify built a lavish cocktail lounge to entice employees to return to the office. It featured cozy spaces to collaborate and a fully-stocked bar. Now, just six months later, the lounge is closing shop. CEO David Barrett said the lounge was an experiment to see if anything could compel people to give up remote work.
In practice, Barrett says, “the lounge was a place that people would generally visit, marvel at, work for a bit, and leave.”
Takeaways:
While remote work may not be the right fit for every company, it’s overwhelmingly popular with employees. In a survey cited in the article, 63% of employees said remote work was the most important consideration for them, more than salary or having a good boss.
Marc Benioff may be right that Salesforce's young, remote employees are hurting the company's productivity. But it's not their fault.
Business Insider (28,984 engagements)
Highlights:
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff speculates that a dip in productivity may be due to inexperienced remote workers who have trouble staying motivated on the job. This article posits that the problem is likely not remote work as a practice—rather, it’s how remote workers are onboarded, trained, and managed.
Takeaways:
Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley claims there are “known impediments to remote workers’ productivity” that can be mitigated through smart management. Neeley recommends focusing on outcomes, providing coaching and supporting, and starting each new hire with comprehensive onboarding.
CEO says many of his remote workers didn't open their laptops for a month, and 'only the rarest of full-time caregivers' can be productive employees
Business Insider (26,172 engagements)
Highlights:
Clearlink CEO James Clarke addressed the “quiet quitting” phenomenon in a recent video. He claimed that dozens of employees went an entire month without so much as opening their work laptops. In addition, he observed that juggling full-time childcare and full-time work was unfair to employers and to the children involved. Clarke made the remarks in a meeting explaining the company’s return-to-work mandate, which will require employees to spend four days a week in the office.
Takeaways:
While some companies have reported great success with remote work, others are struggling. It’s clear that corporate culture, management and measurement are all part of the equation.
Worldwide Work-Life Balance Index 2023
Forbes (18,922 engagements)
Highlights:
Forbes Advisor evaluated 128 cities around the world on a diverse set of criteria, including World Happiness Index, Gender Inequality Index, average working hours, annual leave and more. The resulting work-life balance score identifies cities where employees can live in a pleasant environment, earn competitive pay and enjoy plenty of leisure time.
Takeaways:
Countries with strong worker protections dominate the list, with Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway in the top ten. In the No. 1 city, Copenhagen, workers put in an average of 26 hours a week, with 25 days off a year and 52 weeks of paid maternity leave. Only No. 25 on the list, Abu Dhabi, boasts a 40-hour work week.
The future of leadership is kindness
Bluenotes (13,808 engagements)
Highlights:
It’s often said that people don’t quit their job; they quit their boss. As the workforce skews younger, employees are more likely to resist command-and-control management tactics. Kindness, compassion and empathy are critical for creating a supportive and productive work environment.
Takeaways:
According to author Carina Parisella, there are three key factors for retaining talent in the 21st century: Effective communication, psychological safety and opportunities for growth. Leaders who can offer all of the above are more likely to have productive, stable teams, no matter where they’re working from.
Spotlight on Women and Work
Women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and its fallout. A National Institutes of Health report found the pandemic was associated with inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes, more violence against women and girls, and increased anxiety and depression.
Workplace inequality was intensified during the pandemic as well. Even three years later, these ripples continue to be felt, and the topic continues to spark discussion.
The real reason bosses are freaked out by remote work
Business Insider (15,928 engagements)
Highlights:
In this opinion piece, Aki Ito argues that sexism is one underlying force behind the push to return to office work. For older male CEOs, Ito says, “The office is for work, and the home is for — well, whatever unpaid stuff it is that women do while their men are at work. In the minds of many bosses, work from home is an oxymoron.” The challenge is to find a way forward that meets both employee and management needs, without losing the gains workers (and especially women at work) have made post-pandemic.
Takeaways:
The topic of women in the workplace was highly visible this year. This article highlights how outdated cultural norms can be a factor in how we define work. These biases are part of the conversation that business leaders can’t afford to ignore.
Flexible work is feminist–and women won’t return to a system that hasn’t served them well to spare the feelings of powerful men
Fortune (44,084 engagements)
Highlights:
For women, remote work is about more than simple productivity or work-life balance. Says Erin Grau, “The case for flexible work has a social and moral imperative. It helps retain women, reduces burnout, and makes it easier to have children and deliver on caregiving responsibilities.” Grau cites a survey in which 88% of female hybrid workers say flexibility is a gender equalizer in the workplace.
Takeaways:
The remote and hybrid work revolution is an opportunity for businesses to develop more equitable policies. This will help promote more diversity in the workplace and ultimately more success for companies that get it right.
‘It’s a huge concern’: Senior-level women are calling it quits after decades climbing the career ladder
CNBC (33,936 engagements)
Highlights:
From high-level execs to country-leading politicians, women are choosing to step down from positions of power. According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report, for every woman who steps into a senior role, there are two others who are leaving senior positions. Experts say that the key contributor is sexism in the workplace, including pressure to outperform male peers and take on extra responsibilities, which ultimately leads to burnout.
Takeaways:
Businesses that lose senior-level female executives face a host of negative outcomes, such as loss of diverse perspectives, stalling out of mentorship and sponsorship programs, and less motivation for young women in the company to seek leadership positions. It’s important that businesses offer support beyond diversity initiatives to create a truly inclusive environment for women in the C-suite.
Author Talks: Where are the women who are missing from the workforce?
McKinsey (35,448 engagements)
Highlights:
Women vanishing from the workforce isn’t just a C-suite phenomenon. It’s estimated that 13.5 million women lost their jobs during the onset of the pandemic, and the recovery has been slow. Author Reshma Suajani observes that even in a remote work environment, women are generally expected to serve as caregivers and homemakers in addition to their 40-hour workweek. Saujani observes that repairing this inequality will be an ongoing process, including securing more options for childcare and paid leave.
Takeaways:
Mandating that employees not care for children while working remotely isn’t likely to solve the problem. Forward-looking businesses can address inequality at the root by helping to subsidize childcare and providing more flexibility.
Nine out of 10 people are biased against women, says ‘alarming’ UN report
The Guardian (35,984 engagements)
Highlights:
A UN report based on over five years of data shows gender bias remains strong worldwide. The numbers are virtually unchanged from the previous report collecting data from 2005-2014. The report finds that, among people of all genders, half say they believe men make better political leaders. Forty percent say men make better business executives, and 90% show bias against women.
“Doing this exercise has been an experience of shock after shock,” says head researcher Pedro Conceição. “The first time that we released [the report], I was shocked with the magnitude of biases, and this time around I was shocked with the lack of progress.”
Takeaways:
The UN report underscores the trends illustrated in these most-shared articles. Gender inequality in the workplace is part of a much larger global inequality that spans country and culture. Business leaders should take this context into account when planning diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Marketing Trends
Businesses tightened their budgets and demanded accountability across the organization this year. Pressed to do more with their resources (and prove the results), B2B marketers were looking to both develop new tactics and optimize existing ones.
The Future of Influencer Marketing Is Offline and Hyper Niche
Vogue Business (196,040 engagements)
Highlights:
In an uncertain social media environment, some forward-looking brands are embracing offline (that is, in-person) influencer events. These “physical activations” put influencers directly in touch with communities that might not be addressable on traditional social media.
Takeaways:
B2C and B2B influencer marketing have different tactics and best practices, to be sure. But it’s worth noting that in-person events are one of the most effective ways B2B brands use influencers. B2B marketers could look for niche influencers that could interact with a small subset of their target audience, rather than reserving influencers for large events.
How Brand Building and Performance Marketing Can Work Together
Harvard Business Review (28,116 engagements)
Highlights:
Performance marketing is the practice of paying for marketing results, including paid social media, search ads, direct mail providers, and the like. While performance marketing works, businesses who neglect brand building will struggle to maintain people’s attention and convert prospects to customers. Making brand equity a part of performance marketing KPIs can help marketers develop both together.
Takeaways:
B2B brands in particular need brand building. Sales cycles are long and there are far more potential buyers out of market than currently searching for a solution. The 95-5 rule posits that if your brand focuses solely on active prospects, you’ll miss out on the vast majority of your future customers. Brand building should be a healthy part of your marketing mix.
LinkedIn Changed Its Algorithms — Here's How Your Posts Will Get More Attention Now
Entrepreneur (20,036 engagements)
Highlights:
This interview with LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth and Director of Product (LinkedIn Search) Alice Xiong highlights changes LinkedIn has made to improve member’s feeds. The new algorithm means members are more likely to see posts from the people they follow, and more likely to see posts that offer valuable knowledge and trusted advice. These changes have led to an 80% reduction in complaints about irrelevant content.
Takeaways:
LinkedIn is a place people come to improve their professional life. If you offer genuine value in your posts, you are likely to see more engagement and interaction as your posts become more visible in others’ feeds.
Why JPMorgan's marketing chief says today's CMOs must think like CFOs and CEOs to drive growth
Fortune (22,134 engagements)
Highlights:
JPMorgan Chase doesn’t run Super Bowl ads. Despite their position as one of the largest financial institutions in the world, they don’t chase after the broadest audience possible. Instead, says CMO Carla Hassan, they take an extremely targeted approach to marketing. Specific products are marketed to specific subsets of the business’ clientele.
Takeaways:
Marketing is evolving to be about quality more than quantity. This is especially true for B2B, as B2B marketers should be aiming for a very specific audience with relevant and targeted content. Marketers have the data to create highly relevant audience segments and the channels to reach these segments with customized messages.
Amazing Feats of Marketing
B2B marketing is becoming more creative, and creativity has proven business benefits. These articles sparked engagement because they’re inspiring examples of just how far marketers can push the envelope. While you may not have the brand personality (or budget) of Nike or Gucci, you can still borrow best practices from these articles.
Sabato De Sarno’s Brave and Bold Reset for Gucci
AnOther (85,032 engagements)
Highlights:
The new creative director of Gucci, Sabato De Sarno, launched his first fashion line in September. While the show featured nods to Gucci’s historic past, the designs were forward-looking, a “clean slate” that was still undeniably part of the brand heritage.
Takeaways:
Reinventing a brand is dangerous business, especially if the brand has a great deal of equity. De Sarno’s feat of reinventing the brand without transforming it beyond recognition should inspire marketers to do the same. Take risks, evolve the brand, but don’t erase it and start completely fresh.
Inside NFL’s flag football campaign for Super Bowl 2023
AdAge (22,494 engagements)
Highlights:
Ad agency 72andSunny dreamed up an ad campaign for the NFL that celebrated the league’s history while pointing to a more inclusive future. The spot featured NFL-branded co-ed flag football teams in high schools, with a message of empowerment and the joy of sport.
Takeaways:
When expanding a brand, go back to the roots of what defines the brand and apply them to a broader audience. The NFL drew on the core qualities of sportsmanship, team building and athletic excellence to create an exclusive campaign.
Dunkin' Drops Taylor Swift-Inspired National Coffee Day Friendship Bracelets
Parade (18,848 engagements)
Highlights:
Taylor Swift fans trade homemade bracelets at concerts — it’s a part of the experience. Dunkin’ hopped on the bandwagon with Swift-esque bracelets that it sold to celebrate National Coffee Day. The bracelets were in limited quantities and sold at a high price point, but they accomplished the goal of attracting press and gaining awareness.
Takeaways:
Newsjacking is a tried-and-true marketing technique, and Dunkin’s approach is uniquely clever. They didn’t reference Swift directly, relying on the diehard fans to get the message. Since few B2B brands engage with pop culture at this level, there’s a… Blank Space… for clever marketing in this vein.
Keep up with the latest marketing news, trends and advice: Subscribe to the LinkedIn Ads Blog.
Topics: Trends, tips, and best practices
Related articles