Today you can't have a robust business without a solid personal brand. But it's not always easy to know where to start. That's why I wanted to share with you a list of 15 personal branding experts whose content can help you to develop and polish your own brand.

Say you need surgery. Would you go to a doctor who hasn't updated his techniques for the last 10 or 15 years? Of course not! New and better techniques have since come out and you want someone familiar with those. The same is true with your PR strategy. You want to be sure that you're using the latest techniques and trends.

Personal branding puts you in front of your brand instead of behind it. It's not about dressing you up and giving you a script. It is about taking you -- the person you really are -- and showing your audience what you're all about. 

B2B content marketing has become a mainstay in many businesses. But many companies are hitting a wall -- not notching all the results that they want. What should they do?

Say you notice a water spot on your ceiling. Would you demand an entire, new roof? Of course not. You would take the time to examine where it's come from and how to patch it. The same can be said of content marketing. Many businesses are noticing issues -- but these issues are easily fixed by examining your strategy and finding ways to improve it.

Fifteen years ago, if you had told me that PR and social media were going to work together and that we would use social media for PR, I may have chuckled.

Ironically, despite the ballyhoo and effusions, PR is facing its own PR crisis. It turns out PR folks (myself included) aren't master communicators when it comes to our own profession. A recent study showed that a significant number of executives don't believe that PR delivers good value for their brand. What can we do to combat this?

Before you panic, let's look at this as a doctor would a patient. Let's discover what the problem is, decipher the root cause, and prescribe the best remedy.

Influencer marketing strategy, although being fairly new to the B2B marketing mix, has changed a lot since its first use, particularly in the B2B space. What's different in the B2B marketing strategy? How can you use it to its best advantage in your own strategy? 

Thought leadership is a tested concept that works. But the tactics behind this strategy have changed. So what should you know about thought leadership as it's used today? Let's look at the top thought leadership trends and how you need to respond to these trends.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is nothing new. If you've been working around PR and marketing, you no doubt already use it to some degree. But what is on the horizon for this technology -- and how should brands use AI in PR to drive results?