Tighter budgets are extending the B2B purchase cycle
38 percent of B2B buyers have been conducting more stringent return-on-investment (ROI) analysis during 2023, with 31 percent having increased the research time they spent surrounding purchase decisions, while 31 percent said they have had to postpone potential purchases because of budget freezes — three of numerous findings included in recently-released survey results. MarTech

AI Stats and Trends Small Businesses Need to Know Now [Report]
When it comes to how small-to-medium size businesses have been utilizing AI, 58 percent have indicated that they expect to save at least $1,000 over the next 12 months, with 33 percent reporting a time savings of more than 40 minutes each week on marketing efforts because of AI — two of many statistics of interest to B2B marketers contained in newly-published AI survey data. Constant Contact

“As AI continues to reshape the marketing industry, one thing is sure: adaptability and creativity will be the keys to success.” — George B. Thomas @GeorgeBThomas
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LinkedIn Tests Microsoft Designer Integration to Enable Generative AI Image Creation In-Stream
The integration of Microsoft Designer’s AI prompt-generated imagery has undergone limited testing on Microsoft’s LinkedIn (client) platform, bringing some of the software’s advanced image editing and creation tools to the professional social network, and Social Media Today recently took a look. Social Media Today

Most marketers are experimenting with AI but feelings are mixed, survey says
Over 40 percent of marketers have said that AI will improve creativity and work quality, while nearly 30 percent noted that they expected decreases, with 87 percent of marketing and communications professionals having indicated that they have used or experimented with AI-related tool, according to newly-published survey data of interest to B2B marketers. Marketing Dive

WhatsApp Adds Screensharing for Video Calls in the App
As Meta-owned WhatsApp has sought to expand the reach of its app in Western markets, the addition of a new screen-sharing option has aimed to entice more business users and brands to the communications platform, WhatsApp recently announced. Social Media Today

6 New ChatGPT Features Include Prompt Examples & File Uploads
OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT large language model-based chatbot has rolled out an array of helpful additional features, including keyboard shortcuts, longer allowable session times, and the ability to upload multiple files — all part of ChatGPT’s newest update, OpenAI recently announced. Search Engine Journal

Americans Held Dim Views of Twitter Prior to Its Rebrand
Some 40 percent of U.S. adults have said that they consider Twitter — recently rebranded as X — to be dominated by unpleasant people who hold extreme views, with a scant 12 percent considering the platform fun to use — two of several findings of interest to digital marketers contained in newly-published social media platform survey results. MarketingCharts

TikTok Adds New Required Labels for AI-Generated Content
TikTok in March implemented rules requiring the identification of AI-generated content on the social platform, and it recently rolled out greater enforcement of those rules, aiming to more prominently label AI-generated realistic scenes, TikTok recently announced. Social Media Today

OpenAI’s ChatGPT New Web Crawler – GPTBot
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has set its own new web crawler in motion, with the launch of its automated GPTBot, which has begun indexing the web’s vast array of information, and Search Engine Roundtable recently took a look at how webmasters have adjusted to the new crawler. Search Engine Roundtable

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:

A lighthearted look at “Beyond Gen Z” by Marketoonist Tom Fishburne — Marketoonist

The 1990s Amiga with Video Toaster has a VFX cool factor that endures today — IEEE Spectrum

TOPRANK MARKETING & CLIENTS IN THE NEWS:

• TopRank Marketing — 56 Influencer Marketing Agencies to Work With in 2023 — Business of Apps
• TopRank Marketing — Top Influencer Marketing Services (2023) — Business of Apps
• Lee Odden — 68 SEO Experts To Follow On Threads — Search Engine Journal

FRIDAY FIVE B2B MARKETING FAVORITES TO FOLLOW:

Shruti Deshpande @shruti12d
George B. Thomas @GeorgeBThomas
Kelly Hungerford @KDHungerford
Lisa Marcyes @lisa_marcyes
Purna Virji @purnavirji

Learn more about TopRank Marketing‘s mission to help elevate the B2B marketing industry.

Have you a top B2B marketing news item we haven’t yet covered? If so, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line in the comments below.

Thank you for taking the time to join us for the Elevate B2B Marketing News, and we hope you’ll return again next Friday for another array of the most up-to-date and relevant B2B and digital marketing industry news. In the meantime, you can follow us on our LinkedIn page, or at @toprank on Twitter for even more timely daily news.

The post Elevate B2B Marketing News Weekly Roundup: Longer B2B Buying Cycles, AI Marketing Usage Study, & WhatsApp Gets Screen-Sharing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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