INSIGHTS FROM EXPERTS ON LINKEDIN
Anthony Pierri explains why consultants need to turn down clients who, despite fitting the ideal customer profile, have fundamentally misaligned beliefs or expectations. If the client doesn’t buy into your strategic approach, even the best advice won’t get implemented, leading to frustration and wasted effort. Saying no upfront protects your energy, your reputation, and ultimately leads to better results for everyone involved.
Dale W. Harrison uses a simple example to explain two key marketing laws – Double Jeopardy and Duplication of Purchase based on the NBD-Dirichlet model. He shows how smaller brands naturally have fewer and less loyal customers, and how brand overlap in customer bases is mathematically tied to market share, not marketing strategy. These insights help marketers understand why growth requires increasing both reach and mental availability.
Thibaut Weller shares how he evaluates LinkedIn Ads using “qualitative signals” like engagement from ICPs, company-level activity, and IP-revealed website sessions. Instead of relying on simplistic attribution models, he looks at broader indicators such as demo mentions, demographics, and business-level trends. His approach underscores that LinkedIn’s true value lies in influence and awareness, not direct conversions.
Jon Dick announces that HubSpot is now the first CRM with a deep research connector built into ChatGPT, letting users pull customer context directly into the AI tool. With 75% of HubSpot customers already using ChatGPT, this integration helps marketers spend less time digging through dashboards and more time acting on insights. It’s a big step toward smarter, faster decision-making for sales and marketing teams.
Patrick Cumming shares a practical guide for B2B CMOs to measure brand impact without blowing the budget. He outlines seven affordable ways to track brand health, like ICP traffic, share of search, and audience reach, plus how to interpret conversion lift and incremental revenue. It’s a clear, actionable framework that helps CMOs prove ROI to the C-suite without relying solely on attribution.
Liam Moroney highlights a real-world example of two education brands – once neck and neck, where one pulled ahead by going all-in on brand marketing. Through OOH ads and distinctive assets, the brand drove major search growth, leaving the competitor playing catch-up without even realizing it. Ignoring your competitor’s marketing moves can cost you long before it shows in your pipeline.
Tas Bober breaks down Google’s 2025 update that favors landing pages with relevant, easy-to-navigate layouts, marking a shift from the old “no nav” rule. Instead of removing navigation entirely, she suggests anchored navs and minimal footers to guide users without distracting them. With tools like Unbounce now offering built-in templates, marketers can stay compliant and optimize for conversions.
Tim Davidson shares a surprising tactic for boosting LinkedIn spotlight ad clicks: tell people not to click. CTAs like “Don’t click me” consistently outperform traditional ones like “Learn more” or “Get demo” across multiple companies. Ironically, he prefers they don’t click – because if you’re using manual CPC, not clicking means not paying.
Peep Laja highlights a major shift in B2B buying: brand perception is often winning or losing deals before the first sales call. Citing studies from Dentsu, Forrester, and TrustRadius, he shows that most buyers pick vendors they already know and trust, making brand awareness a direct driver of pipeline, pricing power, and long-term revenue. Despite this, most B2B companies underinvest in brand and fail to measure its impact, leaving massive growth potential untapped.
WHAT'S NEW IN THE INDUSTRY
GenAI tools are thriving in practical, everyday tasks like writing and brainstorming, but most brands still struggle to stand out in high-stakes areas like productivity and business operations. While the space is crowded with similar claims, few brands have built memorable emotional value, helping users feel more confident, less stressed, and in control. GenAI brands that lean into emotional benefits and own specific use-case moments will win both attention and loyalty.
Salesforce has launched Salesforce Channels, a new integration that makes Slack the conversational front end of its CRM platform. These channels link directly to Salesforce records, enabling teams to collaborate on structured CRM data and unstructured conversations in one centralized space. The integration gives AI tools more context and keeps teams better aligned across platforms like marketing, sales, and support.
HubSpot has rolled out a deep research connector with ChatGPT, allowing users to analyze and act on CRM data directly within ChatGPT. Marketing, sales, and support teams can ask complex questions, like identifying top cohorts or forecasting ticket volume, and turn insights into workflows inside HubSpot. Available to all users with a paid ChatGPT plan, the connector ensures data security while making advanced research accessible and actionable.
Navah Hopkins is the new Ads Liaison at Microsoft Advertising, after four years at Optmyzr. She brings nearly 20 years of digital marketing experience and will act as the direct link between advertisers and Microsoft’s product team. Hopkins says Microsoft’s AI strategy will stay focused on people, and she’ll continue sharing PPC insights at events, just now with a Microsoft twist.
LinkedIn’s new report shows that B2B buyers trust creator content more than traditional ads – 82% say it influences their decisions. Buyers want real insights from real people, and tools like Thought Leader Ads and video content are helping brands stay relevant. If you want to stand out, start working with creators now.
LinkedIn has rolled out new video ad options to help B2B marketers grab attention. These include full-screen First Impression Ads and top-feed placements for Sponsored Content. They’ve also expanded CTV ads and added an Adobe Express integration to make creating high-quality videos easier. It’s all about helping brands make a stronger impact, especially through video.
Google’s Ads API v20 update adds helpful features like campaign-level negative keywords for Performance Max and better reporting for Demand Gen. There’s more granular targeting, improved forecasting tools, and deeper audience insights, though some are only available to allowlisted accounts. Developers will need to update their code to start using the new tools.
Using one default goal for all your Google Ads campaigns might seem easier, but it can lead to poor results. Setting specific goals for each campaign, like purchases for sales or form fills for leads, helps Google’s Smart Bidding work better and makes your reporting more meaningful. It’s a smarter way to spend your ad budget and get better results.
That’s the scoop for this week! If you found this valuable and any useful insights caught your eye, feel free to share them with your network.
Until next week!
