In this episode of Behind the Post, Alina Dallal goes behind the scenes of Oktopost’s B2B Social’s Rising 30. She breaks down how it came to life, from spotting the gap in recognition for B2B social media marketers to engineering participation and launching it at scale. She also shares the tactical systems, creative decisions, and personal touches that turned it into a community-led movement that kept growing long after launch.
Listen to the Podcast:
Or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube
Watch the live recording:
Episode Summary
“I learned through stepping into B2B social that it is so misunderstood. It’s really strategic. It’s really creative. It drives real business value and ROI. And B2B is anything but boring.”
In her final episode, Behind the Post host Alina Dallal steps into the hot seat, joined by Oktopost’s CMO Colin Day, to go behind the scenes of B2B Social’s Rising 30 — a community-led campaign celebrating 30 standout voices in B2B social media who are pushing boundaries, sparking conversations, and shaping B2B social as we know it. An initiative she built and executed from the ground up that took the B2B social industry by storm.
She unpacks the “why” behind it: spotting a clear gap where social media managers were driving real business impact, but rarely getting the recognition they deserved. What started as a simple idea became a standout industry moment, spotlighting the people behind B2B social’s real influence.
Alina breaks down how she brought it to life, shaping the concept, engineering participation at scale, and keeping execution tight with simple but critical systems like a single source of truth and strong launch-day structure under pressure. She also shares what most campaigns miss: making people feel seen. From tailored winner messages to physical recognition, she unpacks why small, personal moments carried more weight than any mass announcement.
But the real surprise wasn’t the launch, it was what followed. The campaign sparked a peer-led movement that continued to grow long after going live, something she’s excited to keep watching evolve. She reflects on how much fun it’s been building B2B Social’s Rising 30, how strongly it resonated with the community, and how she’ll be cheering on every future cohort from the sidelines.
As Alina puts down the mic, her message is simple: soak up every opportunity, challenge yourself constantly, and don’t wait for a reason to connect with industry peers — because the relationships you build often shape your career more than anything else.
Hot Topics:
- Why understanding your audience is everything, and how it shaped Rising 30 from day one
- How to design for participation, not just awareness, and actually get people to take part
- How to run a seamless launch day with one source of truth, clear structure, and tactics that ensure zero chaos
- Why personal, human moments beat mass comms every time
- Why staying curious, connecting with peers, and building real relationships will accelerate your career more than you think
If you know someone who deserves the spotlight on 2026’s B2B Social’s Rising 30, nominate them (or yourself!) by May 21, 2026.
As for what’s next for Behind the Post, this podcast will be back before you know it in a refreshed format with a new host, so make sure you’re still subscribed so you don’t miss what’s next.
Meet Alina
Alina Dallal is a strategic and creative marketer who believes there’s no room for boring in B2B.
As the Content Marketing Manager at Oktopost, she leads content strategy, influencer campaigns, employee advocacy, webinars, and hosts the Behind the Post podcast. She’s also the founder of Oktopost’s B2B Social’s Rising 30, a community-led campaign built to spotlight the B2B social media marketers driving real business impact behind the scenes.
From Times Square campaigns to LinkedIn communities, she’s focused on one thing: making B2B social feel a lot more human, creative, and worth paying attention to.
Love going Behind the Post? Catch all of the episodes here and don’t forget to leave a review!