Welcome to What We're Reading, a weekly rundown of news stories, marketing columns, and specific B2B industry news that caught our eye.

Boost ROI with four B2B marketing trends and tactics

A recent Salesforce report identifies current trends and strategies driving marketing ROI. No time to read the whole thing? The Pardot blog distills them down to four takeaways: set priorities based on customer expectations, collaborate across multiple departments, use marketing channels at strategic points in the customer journey, and use AI to your advantage.

LinkedIn ad budgeting tips for B2B marketers

Want to optimize your LinkedIn strategy and make the most of your budget? Skyword’s Content Standard offers tips to help B2B marketers keep an eye on their ad spend and performance.

Run more efficient meetings with these tips

Meetings are a necessary part of running your business — except when they’re not. Webbiquity suggests asking these questions before starting a meeting: what are my talking points? What are the objectives? And do we really need a meeting, or can we discuss this over email or Slack?

Are CGI influencers the future of marketing?

No. Just no. Please, God, no. These were just some of our initial thoughts as we checked out these impossibly high-cheekboned computer-generated influencers on Instagram. HubSpot delves into the uncanny valley and shares more details about the growing phenomenon.