Marketing

Marketing Like a Castaway

lbrowning@hubspot.com (Laura M. Browning) — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:41:22 GMT

Here’s a hint as to the identity of today’s master in marketing: When I asked what his pie-in-the-sky marketing dream was, he sighed like Ahab hunting the white whale.

“I would love to get cast members from The Bear” — Hulu’s Chicago-set show ” — “to record announcements or do videos for us, highlighting what a Chicago icon we are.”

“We’ve had quite a few cameos in it, and it’s made us look really good.”

Any guesses?

Meet the Master

Eric Munn, Director of marketing, Chicago Transit Authority

Job: Juggling the marketing of the second-largest public transit system in the U.S. with a government agency-sized budget. (That's a lot smaller than it sounds.)

Claim to fame: Introducing these sweet limited-edition throwback CTA passes

Fun fact: Juggling isn’t just a day in the life of a scrappy marketer. Eric can also juggle apples … and take a bite of them at the same time

Lesson 1: Digital is important — but it’s not everything.

Munn is by no means a Luddite, but he cautions against focusing so much “on the current and latest trend [that you] forget about the reliability and success of some old-school marketing that’s as simple as mailers or billboards.”

Yep, even if your audience is mostly Gen Zers and young millennials.

I was surprised that the CTA’s target audience skews that young, but “those are the people still learning their transportation habits.” It makes sense — he’s marketing to older teens who are using public transit on their own for the first time and 20-somethings who moved to Wrigleyville after college graduation.

So I was doubly surprised at how keen Munn is on old-school advertising. Mailers? Billboards? In this economy?

Photo courtesy Chicago Transit Authority.

But one of the CTA’s most successful campaigns is a new resident mailer, reminding them that the CTA is just $2.50 to ride. “I think it’s a great way for a Chicago icon like the CTA to welcome you to the city.”

It may seem like an old-fashioned marketing tactic, but Munn says he hears from people who kept that postcard because it was the first mail they received as a newly minted Chicagoan.

Old doesn’t have to mean passé. Mailers, billboards, sponsorships, partnerships — these are all “really great ways to still get your brand and message into places, and might be a lot more affordable.”

Photo courtesy Chicago Transit Authority.

Lesson 2: Go local (or at least regional).

Last year, the CTA implemented its first influencer campaign, beginning with three Chicagoland influencers. Munn outlines two big advantages to this strategy: Affordability and a higher probability of success.

Munn was pretty specific about what he wanted. “Our campaign was focused on using the CTA because it saves you money, which means more money in your pocket to go do all of the things that Chicago has to offer.”

So he sought out influencers who make content like “five things to do in Chicago this weekend” or “Chicago’s hidden gems.” Because there aren’t as many creators doing this type of content as, say, a top travel influencer, these niche accounts often have extremely engaged, valuable followers. And compared to top travel influencer prices, local influencers are more affordable, even on a smaller marketing budget.

(And FWIW, all evidence indicates that Munn’s onto something: HubSpot’s latest State of Marketing report identified niche-influencer marketing as a rising trend in 2025.)

Lesson 3: Relationship-building stretches in every direction.

Munn says that some days he feels like Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway, who “had to get really innovative with very few resources.” When you’re working for a government agency, “resources are very tight. You’re doing a lot of hard work.” And sometimes you want to knock out your own teeth with an ice skate.

So when he talks about building relationships, he’s casting (pun intended) a wide net. Riders, social media users, even marketers at other public transport agencies (“a really cool group, because they’re not my competitors, right? We’re all rooting for each other.”).

“I have introduced myself to many — I call them transit advocate accounts — people who are just regularly posting about the CTA or just about public transportation in general,” Munn says.

He takes the time now to get to know them “so that when I have a campaign, I can reach out to them and say, ‘Hey, we're thinking about doing this, and I wanted to get your thoughts.’” (I used to work in the same office as Munn, and can vouch that this isn’t a cynical marketing play; he’s as genuine as they get. I’m unsurprised to hear that he’s found success with this tactic.)

If you’re facing leaner budgets, lower head count, or other belt-tightening measures, think about the meaningful relationships you can build outside of the usual stakeholders. Like Hanks’ Castaway character, use what you have around you to build your own success.

Lingering Questions

This Week’s Question

What is a blind spot in the marketing world that, if addressed, would make people's lives better? —Jeff Wirth, Co-founder of the Interactive PlayLab

This Week’s Answer

A major blind spot in the marketing world is forgetting that most people aren't as aware of your brand as you are.

Many brands use messaging that already assumes people know who you are or what you offer. Make sure you're clear about what your product or service is going to do to help people. Witty and eye-catching is fun, but the conversion is in solving people's problems.

Next Week’s Lingering Question

Munn asks: What‘s a career you’ve always wanted to get into but never have?

B2B Marketing Analytics That Every Team Needs to Track — My Take as a Marketer

Zoe Ashbridge — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I primarily work with B2B clients, so I’m getting very well-versed in B2B marketing analytics. Every month, I report on the marketing for the prior month, and I turn those marketing analytics into stories and actions. Believe it or not, B2B marketing analytics doesn’t have to be boring.

I use various tools for my analytics, including but not limited to Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Looker Studio for automated dashboards (which makes light work of reporting on marketing analytics), Semrush, and so many more.

In this article, I’m digging into B2B marketing analytics, including what it is, the essential data to collect, and how to set up B2B marketing analytics — and I’ve shared tools, too.

As I said, there’s no one way to report on B2B analytics, so I spoke to B2B marketers who manage analytics for B2B companies daily. I got their insights on their favorite tools and what they love about them.

Table of Contents

What is B2B marketing analytics?
B2B Marketing Data to Collect
How to Set Up B2B Marketing Analytics
B2B Marketing Analytics Tools

What is B2B marketing analytics?

B2B marketing analytics is data that helps you understand your product, service, and/or audience. Marketers use marketing analytics to understand if marketing promotes a product or service successfully and increases sales.

Through data, marketers can create stories that lead to actions on how marketing can refine campaigns to get closer to company and marketing goals.

B2B marketing analytics includes:

Collecting data.
Measuring and analyzing data.
Using data to make data-driven business decisions.

Collecting data and knowing what to measure is no easy feat. Marketers talk about analysis paralysis, which describes the feeling of overwhelm when you have so much data at your disposal that you struggle to make decisions.

The clue is in the name, but marketing analytics is not the same as business analytics. However, business goals and performance should be considered when measuring marketing.

B2B Marketing Data to Collect

The best and worst thing about digital marketing analytics is that you can track everything, which can be overwhelming.

The key is to track what you need. The metrics you need should be things that help you understand your customers and your business so you can make data-driven decisions that improve your business.

To find out what metrics B2B marketers are tracking, I reached out to marketing managers who shared the B2B marketing analytics they track and why.

Revenue and MRR

Revenue and monthly recurring revenue (MRR) are obvious metrics to follow. Revenue, in particular, is the one metric that is crucial to all businesses.

For Ivan Burban, head of marketing at Coupler, revenue data is the most important. Burban describes MRR growth as the “north star metric.”

When I asked him why tracking revenue and MRR is important, Burban said, “Understanding data from all marketing channels [gives] insights into how your activities impact MRR traction.”

Burban notes that teams can see how marketing channels performed during the period and how successful acquisition/retention efforts were. “This also allows you to push well-performing activities, experiment, and cease non-performing efforts,” he says.

For example, he told me they invested in PPC for a few months and analyzed its performance. When it became clear that it didn’t boost their MRR growth even though they were spending substantial resources, they paused advertising and focused on developing a partner program.

I love what Burban is saying here, particularly the importance of understanding data from different marketing channels. Most B2B marketing analytics tools allow you to view and compare revenue from channels. With this functionality, you can see what’s working and what needs improving.

Pro tip: For larger marketing teams with online and offline marketing efforts, I’d like to note the importance of media mix modeling here. While revenue data in the screenshot above is incredibly useful, it doesn’t always tell the whole picture. I wrote an entire article on media mix modeling, which details the relationship between marketing and sales, even if it’s not directly obvious in reports. It’s definitely worth a read.

Considering the above (that the revenue graphs don’t always show the full picture), I wanted to know how Ivan Burban makes sense of data.

He says, “To decide on action points, you also need to evaluate customer data (CLV and retention rates) and data per marketing channel (for instance, the conversion rate for your landing pages and blog).”

In any case, Burban notes that revenue-related data is the most useful since it helps to prioritize marketing activities and understand the overall marketing state.

Burban agrees that revenue in isolation is not enough; you need to measure more to understand the full picture.

Engagement Metrics

Although revenue is the one metric that spans all businesses, engagement metrics were the most spoken about metric.

Of all the B2B marketers I spoke to, over half of them mentioned engagement metrics. For this reason, engagement metrics are listed here as the second metric.

Dominick Tomanelli is a marketing expert, co-founder, and CEO of Promobile Marketing. He knows a thing or two about B2B marketing analytics.

Tomanelli leaned into engagement metrics as data B2B marketers must track. For Tomanelli, engagement metrics are “the most valuable data.” He particularly likes to analyze how target audiences interact with campaigns.

He explains, “For example, it’s not just about how many people see a campaign but how many take the next step — signing up for a service, requesting more information, or even spending extra time engaging with the content.”

In B2B, these micro-actions are key indicators of intent. “If a decision-maker clicks on a demo request or spends significant time exploring a product page, that tells us we’ve hit the mark. It’s about quality over quantity. I’d rather have ten engaged leads than a hundred passive impressions,” Tomanelli says.

As a B2B marketer myself, I agree with Tomanelli. Engagement metrics are particularly important in B2B because sales cycles can be long. Marketing might get a conversion, but by the time the prospect has vetted options, involved stakeholders, engaged in demos to aid decision-making, etc., it can be months before a deal closes.

As a result, there’s no immediate revenue data, but if engagement is there, then marketing has some form of immediate feedback.

If, like me, you’re a consultant in the B2B space, you might have clients who aren’t great at “tying the loop,” i.e., telling you exactly how sales are doing from your leads. When this happens, you must rely on engagement metrics, such as form fills, whitepaper downloads, etc.

In my B2B marketing analytics meetings, I report on engagement metrics and conversions that I believe lead to sales. Below is a screenshot from my client’s monthly report. It shows:

Form fills.
Clicks to make a call.
Clicks to email.

The great thing about this is that it’s automated using Looker Studio. I’ll tell you more about that later.

I put the report above in front of clients and ask them to tell me what’s been happening in sales. How are sales reporting on lead quality, for example. It’s critical to understand the data at a human level, otherwise it’s just numbers.

Tomanelli agrees, that the most important part of marketing analytics is always remembering the human side of the data. Numbers are great but only meaningful when you connect them to real people and their behaviors.

“Whether it’s a busy executive deciding whether to engage with a campaign or a nonprofit evaluating how well we met their goals, the data is just a way to better understand and serve those people,” Tomanelli says.

Pro tip: HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics is a great tool for measuring website engagement. The great thing about HubSpot is that you can do this alongside a lot of other analytics within the same tool, which spares the need to invest in and use several tools. HubSpot is seamless.

Check out HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics tool now.

The Sales Cycle

Since I mentioned the sales cycle earlier, I wanted to dig deeper into that. In B2B marketing, the sales cycle is particularly impactful on analytics.

Arthur Favier, founder and CEO of Oppizi, is here to tell us more. “Knowing the sales cycle — especially how long it takes to move leads through the funnel — is one of the most important pieces of information because it lets us know that our strategies perform well for our clients.”

Knowing the typical duration from initial contact to finished sale is very important in B2B settings because decision-making frequently involves several stakeholders, Favier notes.

“It assists you in determining whether a bottleneck is slowing down the process or if your strategies are shortening the cycle. For instance, if your data indicates that the sales cycle is taking 120 days when the industry average is 90 days, it is a strong indication that further investigation is necessary,” Favier says.

I loved this point from Favier. You can use benchmarking to determine if your marketing is helping or hindering your sales cycle.

I wanted to know what this data has taught Favier.

He says, “What I’ve learned is that not all leads or channels perform the same, and analytics are key to uncovering why. For example, tracking lead velocity across stages can reveal which parts of your funnel need attention — are leads dropping off after the demo stage? Are specific industries moving faster through the cycle?”

According to Favier, this level of detail allows you to focus resources where they’ll have the biggest impact, like adjusting messaging for slower-moving segments or prioritizing follow-ups for high-value leads. “Instead of guessing, you can make precise decisions that directly improve revenue and efficiency,” Favier says.

When it comes to your user’s journey through the funnel, CRMs like HubSpot keep track of this information. In a contact’s history you can see exactly what a contact has done throughout their entire history with your company. This data can be used to make data-driven decisions on what to do next.

Customer Acquisition

I spoke to Zayed Ahmed from ASL BPO about customer acquisition. Though, like any good B2B marketer, Ahmed started talking to me with a caveat — one mentioned earlier in this article, but important enough to repeat here. Ahmed said, “The most important thing is understanding the data that matters for your business goals.”

I wanted to repeat this because I know too well how easy it can be to read an article like this and get blindsided by all the tracking possibilities. Stick to what’s important for your business.

Ahmed claims that customer acquisition is B2B marketing data that’s important to him because “it shows me how people find us and why they choose us over others. This data tells you which marketing channels are bringing in leads, how people interact with your website, and what steps they take before they contact you.”

When I asked Ahmed for an example, he said, “I’ve seen patterns where most of our qualified leads come through organic search or LinkedIn. That tells me where to invest more of my time and resources. I’ve also learned that when leads drop off, it’s usually because something about the messaging isn’t connecting with them or the process is too complicated.”

Tying in nicely with an earlier point, Ahmed says, “I don’t try to track everything. That’s overwhelming and pointless. I focus on data that answers specific questions: Where are my leads coming from? Why are people dropping off? What do clients care about the most?”

Ahmed notes that when he gets these answers, he can make practical changes that help the business grow.

“It’s not about the numbers themselves. It’s about using them to solve real problems or find opportunities,” Ahmed says.

I’m noticing a theme of being able to create stories and humanize data in B2B marketing analytics.

Pro tip: You can make light work out of customer acquisition metrics using HubSpot’s resources.

A second B2B marketer, Christian Hed, CMO of Dstny, also values the role of customer acquisition. Hed notes that his marketing team mostly collects data that helps measure the success of the campaigns we’re running.

“For example, if that’s SEO, we’ll collect data on the volume and growth of sessions, clicks, click-through rates, and organic-generated conversions. If it’s paid, we closely measure the particular creatives and how well they perform,” Hed says.

Hed recommends tracking results carefully because we often prove our guts wrong.

“Without tracking data, you don’t continuously iterate and improve — or even know if something was a success. We once made an entire campaign we were so sure would work … and it flopped so badly. We were happy to know that that was the wrong direction to go in, even if it hurt our creative soul a little,” Hed says.

What I like: I really liked what Hed said about proving your gut wrong. I work closely with my co-founder, Leigh Buttrey, who has amazing marketing instincts. She wanted to run an email campaign with a brand-new, minimalist email style. I was adamant it wouldn’t work. She was confident it would.

Buttrey ran the test, and the data spoke for itself: The email received higher engagement, and everything I thought I knew about email was challenged.

I learned that day never to trust my gut because mine was so wrong! Get data. If the data supports your feelings, great; if it doesn’t, what an opportunity to learn.

Use Multi-Touch Attribution Models

When it comes to multi-touch attribution models, those who work in an agency have a lot of experience. Agencies juggle many campaigns across many channels for many businesses. Plus, they need their reporting to be time-efficient, accurate, and useful.

For insights on multi-touch attribution models, I spoke to Aaron Whittaker, VP of demand generation and marketing at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency.

Whittaker fits the bill of a multi-talented B2B marketer. He works on content, SEO, PR, and media relations and uses multi-touch attribution models to analyze marketing success.

He says, “Instead of focusing solely on last-touch metrics, we developed a multi-touch attribution system that tracks prospect interactions across months-long buying journeys. For example, we discovered that technical white papers, while rarely the final conversion point, played a significant role in enterprise deals by building credibility early in the decision process.”

Pro tip: You won’t have an easy time if you track multi-touch attribution manually, so do look for marketing analytics tools that can make this easy for you. HubSpot makes light work of tracking B2B analytics.

Source

Whittaker credited an integration between HubSpot and GA4 for revealing unexpected insights about content engagement.

He says, “We found that prospects who engaged with product comparison content earlier in their journey had shorter sales cycles and higher conversion rates. This discovery led us to restructure our content strategy to introduce comparison tools sooner.”

Most valuable has been tracking micro-conversions throughout the buyer journey, according to Whittaker. Rather than just measuring form fills or demos booked, the team monitored actions like repeat visits to pricing pages or multiple team members from the same company viewing specific content. These behavioral patterns helped them identify high-intent accounts before they reach out.

“Looking at platform effectiveness, we leverage Tableau for custom reporting that connects marketing activities to actual revenue. This helps us understand which content types and channels drive the highest-value opportunities, not just the most leads,” Whittaker says.

I loved this insight about integrations from Whittaker, particularly because I know my co-founder, Leigh Buttrey, also finds this powerful. Buttrey is a PPC specialist and an incredible B2B marketing data analyst. Her reports are beyond insightful. She knows how to get the best data most efficiently. I’d be lost without her!

Buttrey says, “I like to use CRM integrations as part of my monthly reporting. With this, I’m able to identify leads right through to close.”

You’ll remember that I mentioned earlier how consultants can struggle to see what happens to leads acquired by marketing if clients aren’t transparent or particularly good at tracking it. Buttrey’s solution puts the power into marketing’s hands.

I wanted to know if there are any tools or tips for CRM integration.

Buttrey says, “Ensure that the CRM is properly set up with UTM tracking and automation workflows. HubSpot, and even some smaller CRMs, have powerful reporting tools, but they’re only as good as the data you feed them/

Buttrey says to always make sure clients have clear lead source attribution. This helps track campaign effectiveness through to revenue.

Buttrey warns, “It’s easy for a CRM to become messy over time. I schedule monthly checks to clean up data, ensure tracking is still accurate, and refine reporting to ensure we focus on the most valuable metrics.”

How to Set Up B2B Marketing Analytics

There are a multitude of ways in which you can set up B2B marketing analytics. For a moment, even I was overwhelmed by which reports I could teach you to set up. I knew I wanted to focus on GA4, though. I chose GA4 because I believe we should all use it (even better if you integrate it with your CRM).

Luckily, I know Kyle Rushton McGregor, who has extensive experience tracking B2B marketing analytics across a range of businesses and industries. He knew exactly which reports every B2B business should set up.

Rushton McGregor is a GA4 pro and the CEO of KRM Digital Marketing Ltd. He dedicates his entire working life to helping people get better at tracking, training people on GA4, and implementing GA4 reporting for clients.

As Google Analytics came to the end of life, Rushton McGregor did what many failed to do: He learned the ins and outs of GA4. As a result, Rushton McGregor knows a lot. He helped me scope this section, advising you to set up these main reports in GA4:

Event tracking.
Key events.
Exploration reports.

The beauty of setting up these B2B marketing analytics is that you can customize them exactly to your business and marketing goals. I’ve already mentioned the importance of that.

My familiarity with Rushton McGregor’s work meant I had a couple of fun analytical setups I wanted to include, and that’s

Tracking visits from AI (there’s nothing like being prepared for the future!).
Customizing reports because it’s fun and helps a report feel like yours.

This guide assumes that you already know how to set up GA4 and that you have admin access. If you don’t have GA4 set up, there’s a thorough tutorial video here:

Okay, let’s get into it, starting with event tracking.

Step 1: Start creating the event.

You need admin access to create events in GA4. You need to go to the Admin Console, Data display, and click Events in the menu.

Then, click Create event.

Source

I walked through this in real time so I could provide the latest screenshots. Once you create an event, you might need to select your data stream if you have many. Once done, you can create or edit existing events.

We’re creating an event, so I clicked Create to configure the event details.

Step 2: Configure the event.

When it comes to configuring the event, there are some best practices you want to adhere to. To avoid confusion later, Rushton McGregor advises, “When you create a custom event name, I recommend you use lowercase letters and underscores for spaces. You’ll want to set your matching conditions using event_name and additional parameters.”

If you are starting out, GA4 has enhanced measurements that include events such as:

When someone downloads a file.
A click to an external site.
A video view.

Understanding this can help you understand how to configure additional, more granular events.

Rushton McGregor provides an example of how configuration looks for a form thank you page filled out.

You can create custom events for a range of actions. For my own sites, I’ve set up:

Button clicks (only to key buttons on my website).
Forms filled.
Downloads.
Engagement and clicks within specific areas of a site (a blog sidebar, for example).
And more!

Rushton McGregor provides more examples in his guide to creating events in GA4. His examples include:

Page views.
File downloads (I recommend this one).
Outbound clicks.

Now you’ve got your custom events set up, let’s look at how you can visualize these using GA4’s exploration reports.

Step 3: Build an exploration.

To build an exploration, find the Explore tab in the left-hand menu of your GA4 account. Then, click Free-form.

From here, you’ll be presented with options for creating a bespoke exploration where you can see precisely the B2B marketing data that’s most important to you.

For the purpose of this example, I wanted to show how you might track engagement from particular cities. As you can see in the screenshot below, I’ve pulled in the “organic traffic” segment, so the data is funneled down to organic only, then a row of towns and cities.

From this graph, I can now see where most of my organic traffic is coming from by city.

Step 4: Think about AI traffic sources.

This might not be a must for every business (yet), but I think this report is especially exciting. Rushton McGregor figured out how to pull your views from AI sources. For most businesses, the data won’t be all that impactful yet, but it doesn’t hurt to start tracking this data as a way to future-proof your marketing for when the inevitable switch to AI search happens.

For this report you need to repeat some steps from step one. Make sure you’ve got admin access, then go to Admin, Data display, and Channel groups.

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Click Create new channel group.

Rushton McGregor advises that you set the condition by doing the following:

Parameter: Session Source
Condition: Matches Regex
Regex Pattern: (Use a regex that includes common AI tools such as chatgpt\.com|perplexity\.ai|beacons\.ai|coursefinder\.ai)

Here’s how this looked for me:

Another tip from Rushton McGregor is to reorder the report so your new AI group is at the top. Here’s how I did that:

Once reordered, press Save Group.

Finally, you need to click the pencil (pictured below because it took me an irrationally long time to find it).

Select Primary Channel with AI as the default.

And that’s it! Data should be analyzed in traffic acquisition reports.

Step 5: Have fun with B2B analytics!

B2B marketing analytics can feel intense, no doubt about it, especially when there’s so much you can track, pressures from above, and more.

You want to create reports you love and want to use and reports that feel like yours.

Kyle Rushton McGregor has a final fun tip for making your reports your own. He says, “This isn’t going to change your analytics game, but you can use emojis to make reports in GA4. It’s a great way to add visualization and imagery to brighten up the interface.”

Pictured below is a customized GA4 report that’s as functional as it is fun.

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B2B Marketing Analytics Tools

We’ve already mentioned tools above, but in the section below, I’m going to dig into some details. If you want more tool recommendations, I have already written about the best AI tools for B2B marketing. Fair to say, I truly do think these tools are the best because there are a couple of repeats in this shortlist.

1. HubSpot

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HubSpot has earned its reputation as a leader in the B2B marketing space. G2 recognizes HubSpot as the number one marketing software, and, as pictured below, the platform received nine G2 awards in 2024.

For B2B marketers, HubSpot has everything. I’m going to whittle the features down to some favorites.

CRM With Workflows and Automation

With HubSpot’s CRM, you can set up workflows, monitor prospect engagement, and view customer history and touchpoints. With the data, you can make data-driven decisions about what to do next to close a lead. Better, with HubSpot’s AI, you can rely on the recommended actions delivered to you.

Katherine González Rodríguez, international marketing and partnership manager at WeUni, uses HubSpot CRM to support B2B marketing.

González Rodríguez says, “My favorite marketing analytics tool is HubSpot. WeUni utilized its CRM feature to streamline our lead nurturing process. We set up automated workflows to track engagement and score leads based on behavior, significantly improving our lead qualification process and conversion rates.”

In another insightful use case, Rodríguez’s team applied HubSpot to segment audiences based on engagement metrics. This segmentation allowed them to personalize content and target messaging more effectively, enhancing engagement and conversions.

Customer Journey Tracking

I mentioned customer journey tracking earlier, but Dominick Tomanelli provides tips for tracking engagement metrics with HubSpot.

Tomanelli says, “A great use case we’ve had is tracking the customer journey from the first touchpoint — like an email click or a landing page visit — to the final action, whether scheduling a meeting or making a purchase.”

One time, Tomanelli ran a campaign targeted at mid-sized tech firms. Using HubSpot, he could see exactly which emails were being opened, which links were getting the most clicks, and even how long prospects were spending on our website.

“That level of detail allowed us to refine the messaging in real-time and focus on the genuinely interested prospects rather than wasting resources on a broader, less targeted approach,” Tomanelli says.

Gathering the data is one thing, but I wanted to know what the data meant to Tomanelli. How did he use the data to take action?

He says, “The way I use these insights is pretty straightforward but effective. For example, if we notice that certain content consistently drives engagement — say, a case study or a how-to guide — we double down on creating similar materials.”

On the flip side, Tomanelli says, “We tweak something or pivot entirely if something isn’t resonating. It’s not about perfection; it’s about being adaptive and willing to make changes based on what the data tells you.”

Best for: Any marketing team, big or small, who wants a comprehensive solution with everything in one piece of software.

Pricing: You can get access for free, then pricing increases depending on needs. HubSpot is definitely a platform you can grow with.

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub G2 Ratings: As above, HubSpot is highly rated on G2. At the time of writing this article, the platform has over 12,000 reviews and a rating of 4.4/5.

2. Pardot and Salesforce

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Salesforce Pardot is a B2B marketing automation solution.

Like HubSpot CRM, it is known for providing a range of features for B2B marketers, including lead scoring and grading, as well as engagement metrics. Arthur Favier uses Salesforce to analyze the sales cycle (his recommended metric above).

Favier says, “We combine Salesforce with a platform such as Marketo. One use case that comes to mind is when we discovered that leads from one channel were converting nearly twice as slowly as leads from other channels. That channel didn’t seem to be doing well at first glance.”

However, Favier’s team discovered that those slower leads actually had larger transaction sizes — roughly 35% larger than the average — when they added pipeline data.

“We were able to boost our budget for that channel and modify our follow-up expectations as a result of that information, which eventually raised our revenue without compromising efficiency,” Favier shares.

Best for: Those who are already familiar with Salesforce and want to stay on the platform.

Pricing: Pardot starts at $1,250/month.

Pardots G2 Ratings: Pardot’s ratings are now combined with Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement. The software has 2,376 ratings and a rating of 4/5.

3. Google Analytics (GA4) & Looker Studio

I’ve already mentioned both GA4 and Looker Studio and how much I like these tools for managing my reporting of B2B marketing analytics.

Google tools are amazing because they are free, and when you consider what you can access with these tools, it is a must-use tool in B2B marketing analysis.

Examples of data that you can analyze in GA4:

Demographics.
Engagement metrics.
Devices and technology.
Attribution data.
And so, so much more.

As I’ve shared above with Kyle Ruishton McGregor’s custom events, you can make GA4 your own and make reporting easy with Looker Studio.

As your marketing analysis becomes more sophisticated and you start using tools, you can integrate GA4 with software like HubSpot, bringing all this insightful data into one place.

You will remember Zayed Ahmed from earlier; he recommended tracking customer acquisition metrics. Ahmed relies on GA4 more than any other tool. He says, “Google Analytics is one of the tools I rely on the most. It’s simple but gives you everything you need if you know how to read it.

“Once, I noticed that one of our service pages for virtual assistance wasn’t converting as well as others. The data showed that people were spending only a few seconds on that page before leaving. That’s a clear red flag,” Ahmed recalls.

Ahmed dug into the page and realized the problem — there was too much text, and the specific services the company was offering seemed unclear. He simplified the content, added a FAQ section, and made the contact form more obvious. Within a month, they page saw a noticeable increase in inquiries.

“I will caution that although GA4 is amazing, it can only gather data from those who accept cookies, so you never get all of your data in GA4. If you’re using GA4 to track revenue, for example, you’ll find that GA4 likely underreports on revenue,” Ahmed says.

When it comes to GA4, you don’t want to see stats off by more than around 10%. If you see a disparity of more than 10%, then it might signal there’s an issue, Ahmed notes.

Best for: I’ll say it again, everyone should be using GA4 and Looker Studio. They’re free, and there’s nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Pricing: Free.

4. Semrush

I’m surprised I’ve reached this point before mentioning Semrush, honestly! I love it and use it almost daily.

Semrush is great for SEO and competitor research related to SEO. You can use the tool to maintain your website, too.

The screenshot above is a picture of the position tracking graph for one of my clients. I like tracking keywords with Semrush because I can easily track specific keywords. I can also make notes about changes I’ve made that may influence position (see the red notes at the bottom of the graph).

Other benefits of Semrush include competitor analysis and the website health check.

Zayed Ahmed also rates Semrush highly.

He said, “I’ve learned that chasing high-competition keywords doesn’t always work. Instead, I focus on specific phrases that potential clients might search for, like ‘outsourcing back-office tasks for startups.’ These keywords might not have as much traffic, but the people searching for them are usually the ones ready to make a decision.”

Best for: Businesses who are very serious about SEO. Although you can also monitor website health, track keywords, and do competitor analysis, I feel a company would want to be serious about SEO to justify the price.

Pricing: For tracking up to five projects and 500 keywords, Semrush is $139/month. For businesses with one website, this will likely be the most suitable package, but if you want to increase trackable keywords or report results, the Guru package is $249.95/month.

Semrush’s G2 Ratings: Semrush has a rating of 4.5/5 and has been rated by 2,411 people.

5. Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity is an excellent tool, and it’s free, so why would you not use it? I’m not the only one that rates Clarity highly for B2B marketing.

Collins Agbonghama is a web developer at Profile Press. He also recommended Microsoft Clarity.

Agbonghama says, “Knowing how visitors use a website, such as how long they stay, what they click on, and how they move towards making a purchase, can help you improve your site to keep them interested.”

Microsoft Clarity is a free tool for analyzing site interactions. It provides heatmaps highlighting the most viewed parts of your pages, helping you place important information where it’s most effective.

Session recordings let you watch how users navigate your site so you can spot and fix any issues. Clarity also tracks clicks and scrolls, showing which buttons or links get the most attention. “This information helps you understand what works well and what needs improvement, leading to better user experiences and more successful marketing efforts,” Agbonghama notes.

I strongly agree with everything Agbonghama says. I’ll add that screen recordings are fascinating. You can see in real-time where users are most engaged and where they might be struggling. You can also filter to your most important pages to see behavior on particular areas of your site. Starting with an analysis on those money-generating pages is my recommendation.

Clicks and scroll depth are also interesting. Below is a picture of what that looks like.

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Best for: All businesses. It’s free, it’s useful, it’s a must-have.

Pricing: Free

Clarity’s G2 ratings: I’m really surprised to report that Clarity, a free tool, only has 37 reviews. It’s rated at 4.5/5.

6. Dreamdata

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Dreamdata is an incredible team. I was first introduced to Dreamdata because a client had it set up. My co-founder, Leigh Buttrey, got to grips with this tool immediately, and she loves it even more than I do.

The tool is brilliant at helping B2B businesses understand and optimize their sales cycles. It offers insights into lead behavior, including touch points throughout their entire journey.

Buttrey used this tool to close the loop on over $320,000 worth of proposals and, thanks to the tool, was able to attribute the proposals to her ad work. We also knew who the leads were and that they were qualified.

Best for: Businesses who want to focus predominantly on attribution.

Pricing: Free

Dreamdata’s G2 ratings: 194 ratings and a score of 4.7/5.

Track the B2B Marketing Analytics That Matter Most to You

When I started writing this article, I wasn’t expecting to write much, but there is a lot to say regarding B2B and marketing analysis. I could’ve written so much more!

As a B2B marketer, I had a lot to say; it is my passion, after all. However, even after 10 years in marketing, I do not know it all, so hearing from other B2B marketers and how they manage and analyze data was a great pleasure.

If I could remind you of one thing, it would be this: Do not get daunted by marketing analysis. Think strategically about the right metrics for your business, and start by tracking the essentials only.

13 Media Planning Tools I Tried & What Worked Best [+ Free Template]

AJ Beltis — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Nowadays, people are consuming marketing and media in more ways than one, which means that media planning tools are no longer optional for those who want to reach their audiences across a variety of channels.

I’ve found that while traditional outlets like TV, publications, and radio can still be valuable for certain businesses, more media planning is needed across online platforms like email, social media, influencer, and search than ever before.

That means comprehensive media planning software is important for staying on top of what you’re doing and determining how it works.

But where do you start? To help, I've rounded up a list of the essential media planning tools, software, and templates to use this year to help grow your audience.

1. HubSpot Media Planning Template [Featured Resource]

Source

Price: Free

HubSpot's paid media template can help you track your spending on paid media, when your messages are going out, and how much revenue you're generating from each source.

With this media tool, you'll have access to charts that automatically adjust when you add your spending and ROI information. This resource is free — get your copy now.

Key Features

Available in Google Sheets — no logins or apps required
Allows full customization based on your needs
Designed for easy tracking and reporting month-to-month

What I like: You can use this template to compile monthly data from your media efforts. With this media planning tool, you'll see which paid media channel works best for your company and produces the best results for your bottom line.

Best for: Small teams and solopreneurs who want an easy-to-use document to plan and report on efforts.

2. Bionic Media Planning Software

Price: $995/month for up to 5 users

Bionic has some of the best media planning tools. They offer companies flowcharts, IOs and RFPs, trafficking, reporting, and dashboards about clients.

With regular updates, agencies using the software are provided with up-to-date planning tools to run and organize their campaigns.

Key Features

All-inclusive pricing means you don’t have to pay for each feature
Cloud-based platform
Intuitive interface

What I like: Bionic is a cloud-based media planning tool. You can be up and running with this tool in minutes with unlimited training, support, and data backups at no additional cost.

Best for: Agencies and mid-sized organizations with complex advertising needs.

3. SRDS Media Planning Platform

Price: Contact for pricing

The most important tool in media planning is data, and SRDS offers companies some of the best data-gathering tools. Thanks to their top-notch data-gathering software, you can feel confident promoting your media on all platforms. I wasn’t able to demo this specifically, but it consistently receives high rankings.

Key Features

Ability to compare and evaluate advertising options
Ability to connect directly with media reps
Makes it easy to find media used by your target markets

What I like: You'll have access to extensive datasets that showcase audience statistics and demographics. This will help you choose the right platforms and messages to target specific audiences.

Best for: Agencies and larger organizations who use lots of different ad placements and channels.

4. Media Plan HQ

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Price: 30-day free trial; $45/user per month (minimum of 3 users)

Media Plan HQ is a great media planning tool that doesn't rely on spreadsheets. A real-time interface tracks dates, placements, and budgets without relying on Excel. The organized interface will make it easy for you to manage projects, track your marketing ROI, and share all the data with your team and stakeholders.

What’s more, it helps you break down your media buys by media, category, campaign, and stores/locations, which means that you can get the reporting and tracking you need with seamless insertion order development.

Key Features

Creative project management
Marketing invoice validation
Marketing request forms
Unlimited media plans, organizations, and media vendors
Unlimited creative storage, free upgrades, and free email support

What I like: There’s a lot to like here. Coming from an agency world, I love that it’s a collaborative, all-in-one platform that combines project management with media buying. Because you can work alongside team members without all the back-and-forth communication in emails, the reduced complexity means the platform can grow with your needs and your team.

Best for: Small creative teams or departments and agencies.

5. Mediatool

Price: Contact for pricing.

Mediatool is a collaborative marketing platform that can help companies plan media to target whoever they want to. You can leverage actionable insights, collaborate with your team members, and develop impactful ad campaigns to make you stand out.

Key Features

20 integrations and counting
Oversee campaign data and tracking
Provides a platform you can use for a single source of media data
Helps enhance productivity with efficient workflows
Easy to customize and scale to your needs
AI-integration provides media data insights instantaneously through a GPT-style chat

What I like: The platform is efficient, easy to understand, and easier to use than other media software — it’s intuitive and provides a centralized place to manage media data.

Best for: Mid-size companies with a variety of complex advertising needs.

6. Quantcast

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Price: 30-day trial; Contact for pricing

When you use Quantcast, you'll have insights with data from over 100 million websites. The tool uses AI so users can better predict how their media will influence their target audience. Due to the continuous bombardment of ads for products and services, this feature is essential.

Getting started is easy — a credit card is not required to set up an account. Their intuitive platform walks you through the process step by step.

Key Features

Audience source location filtering
Supports cookieless and omnichannel advertising
Uses 3rd party data and AI to create real-time audience insights
Easy to pinpoint new and existing audiences
Insights into customer journey
Intuitive interface and exceptional documentation

What I like: Quantcast is fantastic for understanding your audience‘s behavior. It provides real-time insights based on your ads and media to your audience, which can help you better understand them and create ads they’ll appreciate.

Best for: Marketing pros who want to simplify their existing media planning martech suite.

7. BasisAutomate+

Price: Contact for pricing

Basis Technologies offers an all-in-one advertising platform that optimizes media planning, execution, and analysis. It’s a great solution for teams who want to be more efficient and strategically focused without getting bogged down in tedious tasks.

Key Features

Automated planning, performance, and measurement
Reduces operational complexity and manual work
Single platform to integrate all advertising efforts

What I like: When running multiple ad campaigns, it can feel chaotic. Basis Technologies allows you to integrate all your ads and media in one location across several platforms.

Best for: Marketing pros who want to simplify their existing media planning martech suite.

8. Proximic by Comscore

Price: Contact for pricing

Proximic is a platform by Comscore designed to help marketers reach their audiences at scale despite the challenges of modern advertising. With options for media buyers to precisely target audiences and media sellers to maximize monetization, Proximic offers solutions for both sides of the media equation.

Since we’re focused on media planning and marketing primarily, I’m focusing on the solution for media buyers, which is designed to improve reach by creating predictive audiences that don’t require personal identifiers.

Key Features

AI-powered contextual targeting improves reach
Meets consumer data privacy requirements by eliminating ID-based targeting
Content targeting to ensure your ads appear alongside brand-safe content

What I like: In the post-cookie world, where signal loss is a major problem faced by advertisers, I love that they have an AI-driven solution to make it easier to reach existing and new audiences.

Best for: Growing organizations with significant advertising needs and advertising agencies.

9. Nielsen

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Price: Contact for pricing

Nielsen is a household name in audience measurement. It's mainly for television metrics, but you can use it for other metrics across platforms. With a suite of solutions under categories of audience measurement, media planning, marketing optimization, and content metadata, it’s pretty much a media planner’s powerhouse, making it easier to gain an all-encompassing view of your audience.

Key Features

Audience segmentation
Competitive intelligence
Consumer insights
Scenario planning

Note: Because Nielsen offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for media planners and marketers, the list of key features is quite long when you factor in audience measurement, marketing optimization, and content metadata. While those could be quite beneficial solutions for marketers, I’ve focused exclusively on Nielson’s media planning solutions.

What I like: Nielsen has advanced audience segmentation and competitive intelligence that shows you the total picture of the media landscape. This media planning software can help your brand stand out among your competition.

Best for: Large organizations.

10. HubSpot Social Media Software

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Price: $15/month/seat Marketing Hub Starter; $15/month/seat Starter Customer Platform; $800/month (3 seats) for Marketing Hub Professional; $3,600/month Marketing Hub Enterprise (5 seats).

HubSpot Social Media Software is the best option for those who want to plan media specifically for social media. It allows you to publish any media on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or another social media platform. You can also see how your audience converts from social media to CRM.

Key Features

Centralized location for planning, building, and managing social media campaigns
Social mention monitoring
Social media marketing reporting

What I like: It can be time-consuming to constantly refresh your social media to see how many people have interacted with your ads. This platform will help you save time and effort from continually refreshing your socials. I also love that HubSpot’s Social Media Management Software provides weekly insights and AI-generated recommendations to help you stay on top of the content most likely to drive engagement.

Best for: Small businesses and solopreneurs, especially those using HubSpot as a CRM.

11. Scarborough from Nielsen

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Price: Contact for pricing

Scarborough is another name from Nielsen in media planning. It‘s a media planning tool that helps you get more hyper-focused on audience insights from locals from your area. It’s perfect for region-specific ads and promotions.

Key Features

Market-specific consumer habits
Cross-platform consumption
Insights into emerging and growing segments

What I like: You‘ll be able to profile consumers much more than with standard demographics. You’ll see their shopping behaviors, media consumption, and lifestyle. You can further narrow it down by people who watch specific sports or what they stream on devices.

Best for: Local businesses or businesses advertising in specific geographic markets.

12. MRI-Simmons

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Price: Contact for pricing

MRI-Simmons focuses on consumer insights and analytics that make it easier for media buyers, marketers, and advertisers to understand consumer behaviors and make data-driven decisions. There are three outstanding media planning tools, each covering slightly different aspects:

Catalyst is the primary platform for media planners focused on consumer behavior analysis.
Activate Campaign Targets (ACT) helps marketers gain insights from the data and use them to target campaigns.
Brand Catalyst provides a tool for analyzing brand positioning and perception.

Companies using MRI-Simmons include Spotify, Coca-Cola, Dell, and more.

Key Features

Shareable reports and dashboards
Visual storytelling for quick analysis
Interactive quick reports

What I like: MRI-Simmons is a powerful segmentation tool that can help you find new audiences and follow trends. Knowing your new audience can help you anticipate their behavior and attitudes and find the best ways to market your products or services to them. I love the integration of all three tools for a comprehensive approach to media planning and marketing.

Best for: Mid-size to enterprise-level companies.

13. Monday.com

Price: Free for up to 2 seats, limited features; $9/seat/month for Basic; $12/seat/month for Standard; $19/seat/month for Pro; Contact for Enterprise pricing.

Monday.com is an all-encompassing tool that enables you to schedule your media and implement it in the best ways possible for your audience. You can also use the task management features to check off your to-do list.

I have used Monday for so many different kinds of projects, including content planning and management, ticketing systems, project management, and creating an internal marketing agency — and that’s the tip of the iceberg.

Some ways that it could be used for your media planning include:

Campaign planning and management.
Content and asset audits and cataloging.
Media buying and budgeting.
Task management.
Media schedule tracking.
Reporting — internally and for clients.
Automations.
Integration with media tools.

Because Monday isn’t specifically designed for media planning per se, it’s important to go into it with a solid understanding of what you want it to do for you. It’s an incredibly powerful and versatile tool — however, without a solid plan, it can be overwhelming.

If you opt for this one, make sure to map out how you see it working and then work with Monday or even outline your use case with generative AI for advice on how to structure your boards. Additionally, you can choose one of Monday’s templates and use it as a starting point.

Key Features

200+ integrations
200+ templates across a variety of categories, including marketing, sales, and more.
A centralized hub for data
Comprehensive automations
Multiple views, including table, calendar, Gantt chart, and more.
Forms for data entry and marketing/media requests
Customizable dashboards

What I like: It's an affordable media planning tool. Major companies like Hulu, Canva, and NHL use it, to name a few. I love how easy it is to use and customize. And between Monday’s support, automations, and the aid of outside generative AI, I’ve found that it can do just about anything you need.

Best for: Businesses of all sizes from solopreneurs to enterprises who do not need the audience development and targeting aspect and/or have a separate department for those lists.

Bonus Resource: HubSpot Academy's Paid Media Course

HubSpot Academy's paid media course is a great introduction to media planning software.

It's perfect for all budgets and can allow you to develop paid media strategies and use media through the consumer's journey.

Planning Your Media Strategy

While I found that many of these media planning tools hide demos and pricing behind their sales team, this article should help you narrow them down by capabilities and simplify your decision-making process.

As for where to go next? First, decide which channels you want to use — from traditional advertising to social media. Second, think about your media planning goals — do you need a tool to help you stay on top of multiple moving parts and dates, or do you want in-depth audience insights (or both)?

Using those decisions as a lens, I recommend revisiting the media planning tools above to choose which best aligns with your plan, and either take their free trials for a spin OR schedule demos with their sales teams.

Whatever media planning platform you choose, it should make your life easier and allow you to focus more on strategy and less on busy work.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign [Strategies, Data, + Examples]

adecker@hubspot.com (Allie Decker) — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

From P&G’s “Thank You, Mom” to Dos Equis’s “Most Interesting Man in the World,” marketing campaigns have a way of sticking with us. I find that the best types of marketing campaigns have a long shelf life — sticking in my brain for years, decades even (Sarah McLaughlin’s tear-jerking “Arms of an Angel” ads for the SPCA, anyone?). Why is that? Campaigns make companies memorable.

The entire goal of just about every type of marketing campaign is to build an emotional and memorable connection. I always tell people that campaigns should promote a focused effort that guides your audience toward the desired action. Marketing campaigns give your brand an identity, personality, and emotion.

That’s why I’ve been working on this guide — to help you make decisions about how you’ll approach your next marketing campaign. I also have more than 20 years of marketing experience, so I’ll share my insights along the way. Keep reading to get started, or use the links below to jump ahead.

Table of Contents

What is a marketing campaign?
Types of Marketing Campaigns
Marketing Campaign Components
Top Marketing Campaign Strategies [Data]
How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign
Great Marketing Campaign Examples (and Why They’re So Great)

Marketing Campaigns vs. Advertising Campaigns

Marketing is how a company raises awareness of its brand and convinces customers to make a purchase. Alternatively, advertising is the process of creating persuasive messages around these broad goals.

In terms of campaigns, an advertising campaign might be one facet of a larger marketing campaign strategy.

Let’s say Nike launched a campaign surrounding the release of a new product. Its advertising efforts only reflect one aspect of its marketing strategy. I’d also expect to see the brand use email newsletters, social media, and paid search to meet its goal.

Now that we understand the difference between advertising and marketing campaigns, here are a few more types of marketing campaigns you might run.

Using AI for Marketing Campaigns

No conversation about any type of marketing campaign today would be complete without talking about how to use AI effectively and ethically. Since AI came out, just about every tool I’ve demoed, tested, or reviewed has taken steps to integrate it … somehow. With that in mind, it’s important to see AI as your colleague (or assistant) to help you plan your efforts.

However, like any other tool, AI needs some guardrails. I caution you to make sure you understand all the elements of whatever type of marketing campaign you’re launching. What I’ve found after testing and playing with different AI tools is that if you don’t know what a good output — in this case, a marketing campaign — looks like, you won’t know how to evaluate whatever you use AI to create or ideate.

Candidly, that’s where this guide comes in. By taking the time to understand the different types of marketing campaigns, components, strategies, and examples I’ve shared, you’ll be able to work more effectively with whatever AI program you choose.

Whether you’re using generative AI to help you identify any angles you might have missed, create content, or solve technical issues, AI cannot replace your brain, your unique lived experience, or your gut intuition. However, it can help you speed up the process to get your campaign up and running, get creative off the ground, and analyze the data so you can test your idea and adjust accordingly.

Marketers have a wealth of choices when deciding what kind of marketing campaign to build. So, how do you make the right choice?

Before I take this discussion any further, I want to give you a short definition of each so you understand what they are and how they work.

Looking for a place to manage all your campaigns, no matter the type? Marketing Hub lets you work more efficiently with the help of AI. Personalize messaging, automate campaigns, and gain actionable insights. Start for free today.

1. Product Marketing Campaign

Product marketing or product launch campaigns are centered around building as much buzz as possible — usually related to a new release. Product launch campaigns are one of my favorite types of marketing campaigns. They come at an exciting time in a company when there’s a ton of collective energy related to a new release. In addition to having some really fantastic angles, it’s the perfect time to create buzz and draw people in.

Campaigns are usually omni-channel and rely on collaborative efforts, which means

lots of moving parts. Depending on the size of your organization, you’ll need a central team or person to manage critical checklist items for the launch.

Example of Product Marketing Campaigns

Apple typically does a great job of this with its annual product launches.

Source

However, in my experience, unless you have devoted superfans, most people aren’t waiting with their wallets out, ready to buy your next new product.

So you need this type of campaign to hype up your audience.

Best For

Creating awareness, excitement, and demand for new products so people are ready to purchase as soon as they become available.

2. Brand Development Campaign

Brand campaigns are simply about building awareness about your company and what sets you apart from your competitors.

These are often eye-catching ads that set out to create an emotional reaction of some kind — humor, frustration, and nostalgia are common — to stick in people’s minds.

Example of Brand Development Campaigns

Coca-Cola has incredible branding campaigns that are usually targeted at creating unity around a shared interest that bridges all kinds of differences. The common thread? Drinking a Coke.

I’ve seen many great Coca-Cola campaigns over the years, but some of my favorites come during the holidays or during the Olympics, which are natural times of gathering.

Best For

Increasing brand awareness and creating memorable emotional connections with people. This isn’t usually a type of marketing campaign for driving sales.

3. Email Marketing Campaign

Email marketing is one of the most effective types of marketing campaigns because you own the list and don’t have to rely on algorithm changes, and it’s one of my favorites.

Email is a relatively low-cost investment in terms of money and time and offers an effective opportunity to get in front of your audience.

Example of Email Marketing Campaigns

My favorite example of email marketing campaigns is BarkBox. While their campaigns won’t be the right fit for every brand, they’re absolutely delightful to find in my inbox.

That said, depending on your business and deliverability needs, you might find that text-based emails work better for you. The key lies in having a strong strategy.

Best For

Nurturing a connection with your audience, which will ultimately drive sales.

4. Content Marketing Campaign

In a nutshell, content marketing is focused on serving relevant and useful content to your audience, often solving problems and showing how your services can help.

This type of marketing campaign can take place on a variety of platforms. While goals come first with any good content marketing campaign, I typically use the written word as the foundation of my content strategies.

Then, I repurpose the copy across design, audio, and video into different social media platforms and formats.

Example of Content Marketing Campaigns

HubSpot is pretty much the holy grail of content marketing — and yes, I’m writing this article for HubSpot, but it’s the absolute truth. HubSpot basically coined the term “inbound marketing,” which is largely content-driven.

Their Marketing Hub and Breeze Copilot AI tool make it easy to create effective content that connects with your audience and drives leads.

Best For

I talk about content marketing as the long game because it can take a while for Google to index content and drive traffic. However, it’s one of the best ways to establish authority and maximize your SEO game.

5. User-Generated Content (UGC) Campaign

UGC campaigns are fantastic because the onus isn’t on you to create content; it’s on your audience.

When your audience creates content, their friends are more likely to take notice.

Well done UGC starts trends that go viral. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge, which started as an ALS campaign?

Example of UGC Marketing Campaigns

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral — as a way to build awareness for ALS. Hundreds of people participated, partly for fun, in the popular trend.

Source

On the other hand, other UGC marketing campaigns might involve creating a user forum for products where people can answer each other’s questions. It’s a great source of voice of customer research, and more importantly, can give your company an idea of common problems that you may need to address through knowledge base content, tutorials, or other product service content.

Best For

Viral trends like the ice bucket challenge are great for growing your community. The other types are fantastic for creating a knowledge base or getting people engaged with your product.

6. Public Relations/Awareness Campaign

This type of marketing campaign focuses on spreading the word about something that’s going on, often an upcoming event or the debut of a new product.

While public awareness campaigns don’t often go viral, the idea behind them is catching attention and getting people to share the information organically — and sometimes by capturing the attention of journalists and news organizations.

Example of PR Awareness Campaigns

Lego’s Play is Your Superpower campaign is one of my favorite PR and awareness campaigns in recent years. With a goal of bringing awareness to the role that play … err … plays in brain development and encouraging families to encompass more playtime in their lives, Lego’s campaign is filled with bright colors, powerful statistics, and a compelling narrative.

Best For

Gaining attention and awareness for your brand by connecting with emotions and journalists.

7. Direct Mail Campaign

I adore direct mail because this type of marketing campaign has a much higher reach percentage than just about any other platform.

Why? People like getting mail — and if it makes it to our mailboxes, at a minimum, we’re going to touch it and look through it. When it’s well done, people hang onto your direct mail promotions — what’s more, they spend 45% longer engaging with your direct mail than other types of marketing campaigns.

The only drawback is that it can be more costly, but in my opinion, it just means you need to be more strategic about your direct mail efforts.

Example of Direct Mail Campaigns

If you’re reading this in an election year, you already know how powerful direct mail can be. Candidates and PACs are always using postcards to build awareness. However, that’s not my favorite type of mailer.

My favorite type encourages people to hang onto the mailing, whether it comes in an envelope or as a flat postcard. Some examples might be:

Coupons
Calendars
Magnets
Pens

While you can go fancy, like in the example I’m sharing below, it can also be a simple letter and magnet with their contact info — like my septic company sent out shortly after we moved into our home in the country.

However, the best example in my book is Tommy Bahama. Their mailings often come in an envelope with a gift card attached. The savings are almost always worth hanging onto, also.

Source

I’ve also seen successful direct mail campaigns from service companies with a simple message along the lines of “We just painted a house on your street. Can we give you a quote, too?”

Best For

Developing brand awareness, driving traffic to a store — whether brick and mortar or online, and encouraging people to take action — for example, calling for a quote.

8. Affiliate Marketing Campaign

Affiliate marketing campaigns, also known as influencer campaigns or referral campaigns, are immensely popular ways to connect with new audiences.

People love to buy what other people love, so these types of campaigns provide more awareness, more sales, and commissions to the influencers who are selling your products. These can be ongoing offers or specific promotions.

Example of Product Marketing Campaigns

There are so many great examples of affiliate marketing campaigns. For example, there are several influencers only who promote the Fab Fit Fun box — I see their posts spin up a few times a year.

Clothing and gear brands also often have ambassador programs, which provide a discount to individuals to share with their followers — and deals on their own purchases — in exchange for posting content with photos and videos of their products. One of my clients is building an Ambassador Program to get user-generated content for marketing and use the power of influence.

However, one of the most popular examples is Amazon Associates, which creators can use to gain commissions from product sales.

Best For

Growing your reach and harnessing the power of referrals and recommendations, while getting great content to repurpose in your own marketing.

9. Social Media Campaign

Social media marketing campaigns are simply about reaching your audience on the social media platform where they hang out.

I’ve used these types of campaigns to build brand awareness, nurture relationships, and even do some selling.

Example of Social Media Marketing Campaigns

Everywhere you turn, there are great examples of social media marketing campaigns, which makes it hard to choose. However, I love the Dove Self-Esteem Project, especially their recent Face of 10 campaign, which focuses on helping protect kids — young girls especially — from “anti-aging skincare content that can negatively impact their self-esteem.”

As a parent myself, this resonates with me as I try to protect my kids from social pressures… and this example goes to show how social media can be used for good as well as business growth.

Best For

Organic social media is all about getting as much unpaid engagement as you can. Paid social media campaigns are designed to widen your audience or deepen your reach and might include retargeting people who visited your site.

10. Acquisition Marketing Campaign

Acquisition marketing is a type of marketing campaign focused on growing by finding new customers, while working to keep existing customers engaged and happy. These campaigns focus on attracting, nurturing, and converting leads and may lean on a variety of other types of marketing campaigns I’ve explored here.

Example of Acquisition Marketing Campaigns

Referral programs are great examples of this. I’ve seen this everywhere, from my kids’ summer camp to software I use — where current users benefit from sharing, sometimes monetarily, and sometimes with additional benefits in the program itself.

Dropbox’s Referral program awards additional space for every person a user refers.

Best For

Keeping current customers happy while offering incentives to new customers. I particularly like this model because, so often, it feels like new customers get the best deal and existing users aren’t rewarded for staying — I see this often with cell phone and internet providers.

11. Paid Marketing/Advertising Campaign

Paid marketing or advertising campaigns decrease reliance on organic reach and focus on helping improve your position with paid efforts.

In a recent client project, we determined that we needed a blend of Google, YouTube, and Facebook ads, supported by organic content, to continue building the momentum we captured with her new launch.

That meant we needed a variety of different types of assets — landing pages, videos, blogs, social posts, and email sequences, among other types of marketing assets — to support our paid campaigns.

Example of Paid Marketing Campaigns

As with social media campaigns, there is no shortage of great paid marketing and advertising campaigns. The best ones provide an incentive for the audience to take action now and get answers to their questions.

If you’re doing a “request a quote” or “request a guide” type of campaign, you’re likely to get more clickthroughs in-app, whether by pushing your audience to join a chatbot message or filling out a form.

On the other hand, great ads offer an incentive to shop now — such as this one for Anabei sofas, which you can purchase for “up to 60% off” and according to this ad, “the entire sofa can go into the wash.” For a family with kids, dogs, and cats like mine, it’s quite the value prop!

Best For

Getting leads that you can convert through a nurture sequence or on your website.

12. SEO Marketing Campaign

While search engine optimization campaigns are less sexy to talk about than some of the other topics, simply put — they work. By analyzing what people want to know (search intent) and the words they use to search (keywords), you can create SEO strategies that drive traffic to your site.

Because the algorithm is continually changing, I always tell people that the most important part of writing SEO content starts with creating good, helpful content first that people want to read. In my book, that means that I write first for the humans who will be reading the content, while optimizing it for SEO to make it accessible to search engines.

While technical SEO on the back end of your website is critical, when I talk about SEO campaigns, it’s not usually what I’m referring to.

Instead, SEO campaigns usually refer to optimizing individual pages and content with specific keywords, including the content itself as well as the titles and metadata.

Example of SEO Marketing Campaigns

SEO is such an integral part of content marketing, so again, HubSpot gets a gold star for being great at SEO content with its Marketing Hub and Breeze Copilot AI tool.

Looking for more great examples? It’s as easy as doing a Google search for anything and seeing which topics pop up first.

Best For

SEO, like lots of content marketing efforts, is usually a long game. It’s best for building authority and driving traffic.

13. Video Marketing Campaign

Video campaigns will continue to be important elements of every marketing strategy. YouTube, TikTok, and Meta platforms have billions of views each month, which means that if you’re not using video, you should be.

While video should be part of most other types of marketing campaigns on this list, they also serve as a standout process. And, what I love most about video campaigns is there’s a huge range from polished and highly-produced to grittier, low-production videos, meaning that there are opportunities to show up on video, whatever your budget. Moreover, you can do short-form content or longer videos based on the audience you want to appeal to.

For example, I love live video because it offers authentic insights into a brand or person. And, from a personal standpoint, I love that I can’t get stuck in editing and re-editing — it’s live, and you just keep going.

Example of Video Marketing Campaigns

There are approximately one gazillion examples of great video marketing ads that run the gamut from ads to live broadcasts and everything in between. Since it’s so difficult to find an example, I’m sharing a few of my favorites:

First up, Dollar Shave Club — because they launched their entire business with a video, which was just to prove the concept and demand for their products before they really had a business infrastructure.

The second is Old Spice. Roughly 15 years ago, they had a campaign called “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” to breathe new life into the brand. The first video in that series is here:

I loved that ad and still find it hilarious. Recently, they’ve brought back the concept with the “Smell like your own man, man” campaign featuring videos like this:

Obviously, those are some of the more highly produced videos, but you only have to go to TikTok or Instagram to find more great video campaigns that are shorter-form. Or, perhaps you can join your favorite business coach’s livestream workshop, which is another type of video marketing campaign.

Best For

Building familiarity with the product and creating demand. I particularly like video for small businesses because it helps people build a relationship and identify with the business.

The Anatomy of a Successful Marketing Campaign

In our 2025 Marketing Strategy and Trends Report, we found that data-informed marketing strategies have become the most popular type of marketing campaign.

Brands also emphasize agile marketing and the ability to pivot in the types of campaigns they run.

Successful marketing campaigns continue to focus on social media marketing and brand-building. Companies have focused on online communities to drive more engagement.

Regardless of the type of campaign, the most popular marketing asset is video.

This is followed by images, blog articles, infographics, podcasts, and other audio content. Video continuously has the highest ROI of any media format — a trend that remains strong in 2025.

Marketers are continuing to invest more in video elements of marketing campaigns.

Beyond video, the most successful campaigns today include a blend of digital strategies to ensure that you maximize your efforts.

Marketing Campaign Components

Multiple components go into the planning, execution, and results of a stellar marketing campaign. We'll discuss the most important components of campaigns below.

Goals and Key Progress Indicators (KPIs)

This component defines the end goal of your campaign. You‘ll develop specific, measurable goals. Then, you’ll state which metrics will be used to track progress.

For example, your content creation campaign might be measured by organic traffic. Each post may aim to drive 1,000 views per month and 10 new contacts. These categories will be measured in Google Analytics and Looker.

Channel

Where will your content and messaging be distributed?

Let's say you’re running a social media marketing campaign. You might prioritize growing the channels most relevant to your audience. You can also omit those where you’re least likely to grow a loyal following.

Budget

Not all marketing campaigns require an incremental budget, but many still do. Factor in the agency, advertising, and freelance costs. Then, factor these numbers into any ROI analysis for your campaign.

Content Formats

Determine what kind of content you will be creating to fuel the campaign. It’s common for marketers to include multiple content formats in a singular campaign.

For example, a branding campaign could include video ads, press releases, and guest blogs.

Team

Who are the individuals you’re relying on to get the job done? Before kickstarting your campaign, designate people to work on every aspect of the campaign. You should know who handles copywriting, design, media buying, and reporting.

Creative Assets

A great marketing campaign should have great creative assets to match. Whether it’s a sleek website design or an interactive infographic, make sure your design is professional. All your assets should fit the purpose of the campaign.

Top Marketing Campaign Strategies [Data]

According to our 2025 State of Marketing report, there are several types of marketing campaigns and strategies that every business needs to stand out. Here are five of the top strategies marketers cite as their priority in 2025:

Flexible strategies that allow rapid pivoting if needed.
Customer retention to keep current customers happy.
Data-informed marketing strategies drawing on powerful marketing analytics software.
AI-driven marketing strategies, which help everyone remain competitive.
Short-form video, which has the highest ROI.

As a numbers nerd, I want to share more about the statistics behind these strategies to help you understand why each is so vital this year (and beyond).

Flexible Marketing Strategies

Flexibility may sound like a strange strategy, but it’s vital for agile marketing. Based on everything I’ve seen in the last several years, flexibility can make the difference between success and failure. Here’s what our report found:

Marketers rank planning ahead as the biggest way marketing has changed in recent years.
80% agree that they are able to pivot in the case of major events like recessions, a pandemic, or political turmoil.
Marketers cite rapid change in people’s lives in recent years as the biggest challenge to understanding the target audience.

Customer Retention Strategies

It costs more to get new customers than to keep current customers (and, potentially, upsell them). More marketers today are leaning into that, working to find new ways to reduce customer churn. Here’s what our report found:

The majority of marketers surveyed agree that focusing on existing customers takes priority over finding new ones.
90% of marketers plan to invest the same amount or more in improving customer service through multiple channels, including social media DMs.
94% believe that personalized experiences increase the likelihood that people will become repeat customers.

Data-Informed Marketing Strategies

As marketing departments everywhere feel the pinch, it’s more important than ever to lean into data, and most marketers agree. I’m seeing this with my clients, too — they’re willing to invest money but need to see the ROI. Here’s what survey respondents have to say about how it supports their marketing:

82% say they can turn their data into meaningful insights.
73% agree they have the data they need to reach their target audience effectively.
77% say they have high-quality data on their target audience that makes it easier to understand them.

AI-Driven Marketing Strategies

This should come as no surprise. However it’s interesting to see how AI stacks up with trends, budgets, and strategies.

66% of marketers already use AI and marketing automation in their role.
89% plan to invest the same amount or more into implementing AI marketing strategies this year.
90% plan to grow or maintain their investment in SEO to prepare for generative AI in search.
Marketers say that AI and automation is the top new trend they’ll use for the first time this year.
83% agree that AI and Automation tools help them spend more time on the most important part of their job, and 76% say it’s the part of their job they enjoy most.

Short-Form Video Marketing Strategies

Short-form video isn’t going anywhere. It’s one of the best ways to find new customers and build relationships with them — with relatively little investment of time or energy on your customers’ part. And while it’s the only specific tactic or type of marketing campaign in this list, it goes to show how important it is to marketers around the world:

Short-form video content is the #1 trend marketers plan to invest the most in during the year.
93% of marketers plan to maintain or grow their investment in short-form video content.
Marketers cite short-form video as the marketing trend with the biggest ROI in the last year.

How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign

Now, you might be wondering, “How do I get started from here?”

Well, now is the time to plan your campaign. In fact, the planning process is my favorite part. I always start by identifying key goals so I can start mapping out the strategies and tactics that will help me (and my clients) get there.

Next up is a campaign plan with a course of action that lays out the types of marketing campaigns and the marketing software that we’ll use to build and measure our efforts. And, as a reminder, this should detail required resources, assets, stakeholders, and measurable goals so we have a roadmap for tracking success.

Let’s dive into what that process will look like in detail in the section below. If you're more of a visual learner, this video can help.

1. Understand the elements of your plan.

Before you get started, it’s important to understand that creating a successful marketing campaign requires considerably more effort and strategy than simply creating the marketing assets and making a post. No matter what type of marketing campaign you’re undertaking, I want you to take a moment to realize that you’ll need to spend time:

Planning your marketing campaign.
Creating and distributing your assets via the public-facing part of your campaign.
Converting your new leads into customers, whether through a nurture sequence, on-site, or something else.
Assessing your marketing campaign success and using that data to inform future efforts.

I’ll walk you through each step of the way below, but before going any further, I simply want you to acknowledge everything that goes into a successful campaign strategy.

2. Set a purpose and goal for your campaign.

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I always like to start simple when it comes to planning every type of marketing campaign. Why are you running this campaign? What would you like your campaign to accomplish for your business?

If you’re having trouble defining your campaign purpose, start broad. I always recommend reviewing a set of goals like those below so you can identify which is most closely aligned with your own:

Promote a new product or service.
Increase brand awareness.
Gather customer feedback or content.
Drive leads.
Generate revenue.
Boost user engagement.
Advertise an upcoming event.

This is hardly a definitive list, but it gives you an idea of general business goals a campaign could help reach.

Got your key goals?

Now, let’s take this broad campaign purpose and turn it into a S.M.A.R.T. goal. We'll use the third option as an example: Gather customer feedback or content.

“The goal of my marketing campaign is to gather user-generated content from 100 customers via a branded hashtag on Instagram featuring our new product line by December 31.”

The goal is specific (user-generated content), measurable (100 customers), attainable (via a branded Instagram hashtag), relevant (featuring the new product line), and timely (by December 31).

See how this broad campaign purpose instantly transforms into an actionable, attainable goal?

Pro tip: Setting SMART Goals is simple when you have the right tools. Check out the free SMART Goal-Setting template below to get started on this critical piece of your marketing campaign.

Featured Resource: Free SMART Goal-Setting Template

3. Establish how you’ll measure your campaign.

This will look different for everyone, depending on the channels you're leveraging and your end goal. You might measure email open rates, new Facebook likes, or product pre-orders. You can also track a combination of several helpful metrics.

These answers will depend on your overarching campaign goal. Here are a few examples of metrics based on the campaign goals mentioned above.

For promoting a new product or service: Pre-orders, sales, and upsells.
For increasing brand awareness: Sentiment, social mentions, and press mentions.
For gathering customer feedback or content: Social mentions and engagement.
For generating revenue: Leads, sales, and upsells.
For boosting user engagement: Blog shares, social shares, and email interactions.
For advertising an upcoming event: Ticket sales, vendor or entertainment bookings, and social mentions.

If your campaign involves multiple marketing channels, it’s wise to define how you’ll measure your campaign on each medium.

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For example, say I was running my user-generated content (UGC) campaign on social media, email, and our blog. First, I’d define my key performance indicators (KPIs) for each medium, which may look like:

Instagram engagements (likes and comments) and profile tags.
Email open rates and click-through rates.
Blog views, click-throughs, and social shares.

Then, I’d define my primary campaign KPI: Instagram-branded hashtag mentions.

While the above KPIs indicate how well my campaign reaches and engages my audience, my primary KPI tells me how close I am to reaching my SMART goal.

Lastly, let’s think about another question: What does “success” look like for your company? Sure, it’s exciting to reach a predetermined goal, but that’s not always possible. What (outside of your goal) would constitute success for you (or serve as a milestone)?

Pro tip: When determining how you’ll measure your campaign, consider setting up some checkpoints along the way.

Let's say your campaign involves boosting brand awareness, and your goal is to reach 50 PR mentions by the end of the year. You can set benchmark notifications at 10, 25, and 40 mentions.

This will remind you to keep pushing toward your ultimate goal and boost morale within your team. Checkpoints are a reminder that your hard work is paying off.

4. Define your target audience.

Imagine constructing a bulletproof marketing campaign only to be met with crickets.

In that case, you might think you chose the wrong marketing medium or that your creative wit wasn't enough. However, the culprit may be your audience.

To resolve this problem, figure out what stage of the buyer’s journey your campaign is targeting. Are you trying to bring in new customers? Are you attempting to gather feedback from existing clients?

Are you marketing to those who recognize your brand? Or are you introducing a new brand identity altogether?

Your marketing message will vary depending on whether your campaign audience is in the awareness, consideration, or decision stage. Even though your campaign may reach those outside your target audience, it's vital to design your campaign with a specific target in mind.

Next, identify your audience's interests and pain points. Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team to better understand your audience.

What are my audience’s general interests? What magazines do they read? What TV shows do they watch? How do they spend their free time?
Where does my audience hang out online? For what purpose do they use Instagram, Facebook, and other networks? Do they engage or merely browse?
What kind of content gets my audience’s attention? Do they respond to straightforward sales messages? Would they rather consume witty, humorous content? What cultural references would they understand?
What kind of problems do they have that my product, service, or brand could solve?

Becoming well-acquainted with your campaign audience will help you confidently answer these questions and any others that may arise during the campaign.

Pro tip: To uncover more about your audience, survey your existing and potential customers in your market. Then, use this data to create your buyer personas. You can even enter that data into a free buyer persona generator like the one below.

Featured Resource: Buyer Persona Generator

5. Set a concept for your campaign and get in contact with the right team.

Marketing campaigns require a mission, vision, and visual identity. Great campaigns are an offshoot of their parent brand — both visually and creatively. These campaigns stay consistent with the business brand while maintaining their own identity.

When creating campaign assets, some businesses use an in-house team. Others opt for an agency. You can also hire a freelancer or contractor to complete a specific portion of the project, such as the copy or design.

Pro tip: We recommend starting with your in-house team and moving forward from there. This team includes experts. They know your brand and can speak to what your campaign needs to succeed.

This step will likely take the longest, as you’ll be creating your campaign concept from scratch. Next, we’ll dive into how you’ll distribute your campaign assets and connect with your audience.

Featured Resource: Market Research Kit

6. Choose the channels on which you’ll run your campaign.

This choice depends on your audience preference, budget, and brand engagement levels. Your answers to the questions above should guide your decision.

Take a look at the current media channels you use to promote your company. Which ones perform the best? Which ones allow you to pay for advertisements? Which ones have the best engagement? Most importantly, where are your customers hanging out?

7. Set a timeline for your campaign.

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Establishing a campaign deadline gives you a better idea of when, how, and how often you’ll promote it. Here's how to do this:

Build a general campaign timeline. Then, mark your campaign start date and deadline on a calendar.
Take a look at your marketing assets and chosen promotional marketing channels. Then, work backward from the campaign launch date. Based on your resources, how often can you afford to post and promote your campaign content? With this information, create a promotional calendar for each marketing channel.
Decide on a cadence for each channel and map your scheduled posts, emails, etc., on your calendar.

Visually mapping your marketing campaign will help you evenly disperse your campaign promotions. You can then publish equally on each medium.

Visual mapping also gives you an idea of where your time and energy are going. When the campaign is over, you can look back to assess your effectiveness.

Pro tip: If your promotional calendar seems full, don’t fret. Social media and email scheduling tools can alleviate the pressure of posting daily. Check out tools, like HubSpot and Buffer, to help you schedule and manage your campaign promotions.

8. Ensure your campaign is driving users toward a desired action.

Even if your campaign is effective and drives a ton of traffic, it still needs to complete its desired action. By “the desired action,” I’m talking about that SMART goal you initially defined. Let’s take a moment and reiterate that goal.

For my sample campaign, my SMART goal was “to gather user-generated content from 100 customers via a branded hashtag on Instagram featuring our new product line by December 31.”

This step is all about calibrating your marketing efforts and channels to lead your customers to complete your desired goal. This is done through conversion assets like calls-to-action, landing pages, and lead forms.

Pro tip: Lead conversion assets can be used separately or in conjunction with one another. For example, you may feature a lead form on a landing page or create a call-to-action asking your audience to complete a form.

9. Monitor the right metrics.

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Your campaign effectiveness metrics will depend on what type of marketing campaign you’re running. This section merely serves as a baseline list to give you an idea of what to watch.

Focusing on vanity metrics like generated traffic, click-through rate, and impressions is tempting. A bump in these areas is a good thing.

However, they don’t necessarily indicate a change in revenue. Vanity metrics can’t be the only means to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.

Pro tip: Bookmark all the marketing metrics to watch. It's organized by marketing channel. You can quickly scan the list for new metrics to track.

10. Establish success numbers and metrics.

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Start by considering your campaign's initial SMART goal. Did you meet your target? If it did, great! If it didn’t, you can dive into the data to assess why.

For example, if your goal was to increase organic blog views by 100K, any bump in views would be considered successful. But there’s a difference between a campaign that works and a worthwhile campaign. A worthwhile campaign gives you an ROI proportionate to the time and energy you put into it.

Pro tip: While it’s OK to celebrate any bump in pre-orders, leads, views, or engagements, don’t assume that’s enough. There’s a reason the very first thing to do is set a campaign goal. Sticking to that goal and calibrating your investment will ensure your campaign is worthwhile.

11. Decide what you'll do with the campaign data.

This step helps maximize your campaign’s business impact.

When you analyze and apply your data, its value increases tenfold. The data helped you assess your campaign results. Analyzing further gives you clarity on your audience, marketing methods, creative prowess, and more.

Let’s return to my UGC Instagram campaign.

In addition to meeting my goal of 100 posts with UGC, the data I collect in the process also offers insights into who my audience is. I can understand when and how often they post on Instagram, what languages they use, and how they use my product.

Whether you collect lead information, pre-orders, social engagements, or offer downloads, your data can equip you to expand your marketing efforts as a whole.

Pro tip: The campaign isn‘t over once you’ve pulled that final report. Spend time with your team in a retrospective meeting. Ask yourselves questions like:

What could’ve been done differently?
How could we have saved money?
For anything that went wrong, why do we think it went wrong?
What did we learn about our audience or marketing channels?
What kind of feedback could we gather from participants or customers?

Great Marketing Campaign Examples (and Why They’re So Great)

This wouldn’t be a HubSpot Ultimate Guide if we didn’t share some examples from the pros.

1. The Lip Bar's “Something BAWSE is coming.”

In 2022, The Lip Bar celebrated its 10-year anniversary. It also released a new product called “The Bawse Bundle.”

In early February, the brand launched a multi-channel campaign, from website and social media to billboards.

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The campaign is built around a story of resilience and perseverance, focusing on the CEO's negative experience on the show Shark Tank.

Why This Campaign Works

It accomplishes multiple things through a single campaign: It gives the audience a peek into the brand's journey. It builds on that journey and beautifully connects it to a product.

Current customers share in this excitement because of the 10-year anniversary. Plus, new customers will be drawn in by the CEO's personal story.

2. Meta: “The Metaverse”

In 2021, Facebook announced the rebranding of its parent company. The new name, Meta, came with its own marketing campaign that introduced the world to a new concept called the “metaverse.”

The video posted to the Meta Facebook account showcases an alternate reality where people can interact in 3D.

Why This Campaign Works

The idea of a Facebook rebrand had been speculated before the launch of the campaign, which piqued the public‘s interest. That meant even if they didn’t like the change, they would still be interested in seeing what happens next.

3. Popeyes: “Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce”

Popeye's already hit the ball out of the park with its chicken sandwich marketing campaign. Then, it nailed it again with the Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce collaboration.

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Arguably, Popeyes created one of the best chicken sandwiches on the fast-food market in 2019. At the same time, artist Megan Thee Stallion was becoming the hottest rapper in the industry.

So, it made sense that in 2021, the two would join forces to debut a remix of the successful chicken sandwich.

Why This Campaign Works

This campaign targeted the younger crowd with both just chicken sandwiches and merchandise.

Popeyes was able to tap into this segment of the market and increase sales while continuing to capitalize on its success. Plus, the campaign never came across as stale.

4. Cheerios: #GoodGoesRound

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kSv3UgjPTs]

General Mills ran a non-profit campaign called Good Goes Round via its Cheerios brand. This effort lobbied to raise enough money to fund one million meals.

Why This Campaign Works

The campaign featured its own landing page, video marketing assets, and hashtag (#GoodGoesRound). This separated the campaign from its parent brand and made it more shareable.

The company also paid to promote the “Good Goes Round” URL on Google, giving the campaign more visibility.

5. Apple: “Shot on iPhone”

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You've probably seen a billboard with an amazing image that declares, “Shot on iPhone.” This series highlights the high-quality images that customers can capture on the iPhone X.

It’s a product launch campaign that focused on one specific feature of the new Apple smartphone.

Why This Campaign Works

This campaign was unique. It’s similar to a user-generated campaign but was also promoted heavily by the brand itself.

Apple launched its own Instagram account to share the #ShotoniPhone content. The brand also collaborated with professional photographers and videographers. There were even official TV advertisements.

6. The General: “Rebrand”

When it comes to cheesy commercials, The General's old marketing strategy fits the bill.

The brand became synonymous with pixelated animations and low-quality production. This inevitably had a negative effect on the way potential customers perceived the quality of service.

In 2020, the company changed its marketing campaign to target a more rational customer who appreciates a little humor.

Shaquille O'Neal became the face of the brand. He appeared in commercials alongside other notable celebrities, like Montell Jordan and Ernie Johnson.

Why This Campaign Works

The General listened to its customers' opinions of the brand before moving forward with the new campaign and saw great success as a result.

The tone of the marketing campaign remained light-hearted but took a more mature approach to the humor. The key selling points of The General shine through.

7. Airbnb: “Made Possible by Hosts”

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel companies such as Airbnb saw unprecedented losses in profit.

How did the company respond? It created a series of videos called “Made Possible by Hosts.” These videos showed appreciation for the hosts who have continued to accept guests on the platform.

Why This Campaign Works

What I really love about the campaign is that it doesn’t put Airbnb customers at the center.

Instead, it spotlights the hosts who accept customers in the first place. In doing so, Airbnb focuses on the human aspect of its platform: You’re not renting an Airbnb property. You’re renting someone’s home.

8. Patagonia: “Earth is Our Only Shareholder”

In 2022, founder of Patagonia Yvon Choinard decided on “going purpose” over “going public” which involved donating 100% of profits after reinvesting in the business to two nonprofits committed to championing the environment.

Why This Campaign Works

While less of a traditional marketing campaign and more of a business decision, I love Patagonia’s approach to double down on its values and attract its core audience — people who love the outdoors and want to protect it. It’s a powerful branding strategy and has the potential to continue spinning up lots of great campaigns.

Over to You

Marketing campaigns aren’t easy, but they’re valuable and integral to growing a successful brand and business.

Campaigns set apart certain deliverables from general promotional efforts. You can reach your audience in creative and exciting ways.

If you’re not sure where to start, I recommend putting yourself in your audience’s shoes. Start with what would be valuable to your audience and go from there.

After all, your audience is critical to your success as a company, so you’ll never go wrong by putting them first.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The 6 Best Content Planning Software — Experts Explain Their Top Choice

Jenny Romanchuk — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I’ve been in content marketing since early 2015. With almost a decade of experience, I’ve tested dozens of content planning software, spreadsheets, and calendars over the years.

Collaborations with leading companies like HubSpot, Cognism, Userpilot, and small startups gave me the chance to work with tons of workflows and features. Some were love at first click, and some were meh.

This article is a rundown of my six favorite content planning tools out there, complemented with insights from other content experts.

Table of Contents

What is content planning software?
4 Benefits of Using Content Planning Software
What to Look for in Content Planning Software
The 6 Best Content Planning Software

What is content planning software?

Content planning software is a tool that helps you organize, schedule, track progress and post-dues, and manage your content creation process with teammates in one place.

It keeps your ideas, deadlines, briefs, publishing, and content distribution tasks on track, whether you’re working solo or as part of a team.

A content marketing manager easily spots gaps in content planning one month's time ahead and gets their team to address the issues collaboratively.

4 Benefits of Using Content Planning Software

Content planning software is so versatile that its benefits become a long list. Yet I’d group them together into four categories:

1. Keeps everything organized and saves time.

Remember the days when your content ideas were scattered across random docs and notes? OK, I’m still guilty of it. But now I move everything written to software and set deadlines, add attachments, draft the concept into a task’s description, etc.

Plus, it became a priority for our team’s weekly planning meetings — every idea goes to a backlog where a manager or responsible person picks tasks to work on a given week.

At HubSpot, we also use Asana to organize content marketing, media, and SEO, work with contractors and freelancers to keep them on track, and govern the whole process of content creation.

2. Helps track progress.

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing tasks move from “in progress” to “done.” I love the visual progress bars and calendars — they keep me motivated and show me exactly where things stand.

Speaking of that, Scan2CAD demonstrated how Trello streamlined its workflows.

With over 90,000 customers and fewer than 25 employees, they needed a simple way to track progress. Before Trello, juggling multiple systems made tracking a headache for the entire time.

Now, Trello takes care of everything and gives a clear view of where each task stands — from content creation to sales to development.

Its straightforward setup made it easy to manage workflows and hit deadlines. As CEO Luke Kennedy, says, “We’ve saved hours of time and pain, plus a lot of money.”

3. Encourages collaboration.

Instead of endless email threads, everyone in the team updates the same tool. Comments, changes, and approvals happen all in one place, saving us tons of back-and-forth.

Mangopay’s experience with Notion is a perfect example of this. They streamlined their knowledge-sharing by replacing multiple tools with a single workspace. This added to collaboration and engagement — 64% of their 500 employees contribute as editors and 91% are active monthly.

By tearing down silos, Mangopay saw impressive results — like eliminating an HR Slack channel because answers were all in Wikis.

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4. Improves efficiency.

Having a clear plan means fewer last-minute scrambles, which leads to better ideas and execution. I can now schedule brainstorming sessions and still have time to refine everything before it goes live.

A perfect example of this is ON24 and their experience with CoSchedule. Before they started using it, their marketing team struggled with organizing their social media and blog content.

Deadlines were missed, and opportunities to grow their online presence were often overlooked. But once they centralized their content planning, they quadrupled their blog output from 24 to 112 blogs a year🔥. This boost in content production drove a 98% increase in blog traffic and a massive 1,412% growth in organic traffic.

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A content planning tool is a must. But how should you select which one to use from so many options?

What to Look for in Content Planning Software

When I was looking for a perfect content planning tool, here’s what I focused on:

Ease of use. I wanted something simple. No complicated dashboards and a fancy design to waste time figuring out how to use it.
Collaboration. Since I work with a team, it needed to have real-time collaboration features. Task assignments, comments, attachments, postponed tasks, notifications, recurring tasks, multiple assignees, subtasks, and easy file sharing were a must.
Content calendar. I needed a solid content calendar to keep everything organized and on schedule. I wanted to see all my posts and deadlines in one spot.
Customization. I needed to adjust the tool to fit my process. I didn’t want to change how I worked just to make the tool fit.
Integrations. It had to sync with other tools I already use — social media managers, analytics, you name it.
Analytics. I wanted to track how my content was doing without pulling info from a bunch of places.
Templates. Templates for blogs, social posts, and newsletters helped me save time. No need to start from scratch every time.
Mobile access. I needed a tool I could access on the go. Cloud-based or mobile-friendly was another must.
Storage. I wanted to store everything in one place — drafts, images, final pieces — so I don’t need to dig through emails or folders.

Alright, let's now see which tools cover all (or at least most) of these nine points mentioned. Each one has its strengths, and in the end, I’ll leave the final decision up to you.

The 6 Best Content Planning Software

1. Asana

My first time using Asana wasn’t exactly a great experience — but I didn’t really give it a fair shot. Plus, to be honest, it wasn’t as awesome back then as it is now.

Now, 90% of my past and current clients use Asana for all their content management. From the very first stage of ideation to the final publishing, we handle everything through Asana’s boards — and I absolutely love this tool.

It’s a complete system for organizing your content calendar, streamlining workflows, and keeping everything centralized — whether we need to schedule a blog post or map out a campaign timeline.

Pricing

Personal (Free): Great for individuals; includes basic project views (list, board, calendar), integrations, and reporting.
Starter (€13.49/user/month): Adds timeline and Gantt views, automations, and dashboards — ideal for growing teams.
Advanced (€30.49/user/month billed annually): Includes portfolio management, advanced reporting, and resource management for larger companies.

Best for: Teams looking to automate and streamline their content workflows with a highly visual, centralized planning tool.

What do experts say about Asana?

Most experts I’ve spoken with agree that one of Asana’s best features is definitely its automation and super intuitive dashboard.

“The way I use the dashboard is pretty straightforward. I create a project for each campaign, and within that, tasks for content creation, approvals, and publishing. Every task has a due date, assigned team member, and clear instructions, which keeps everything organized… My team didn’t need much training to get started; the layout is intuitive enough that we just dove in and figured it out as we went,” shares Brenda Beltran, SEO content manager at Holafly.

When it comes to the downsides, Beltran pointed out that it doesn’t always integrate smoothly with every platform they use, like specific analytics tools. To work around this, they rely on Zapier to connect Asana with Google Sheets, creating custom reports to track campaign performance.

2. Content Marketing Planning Templates by HubSpot

The real pain isn’t the writing and creating itself — but everything else that goes into making sure content flows smoothly. That’s why I love HubSpot's content marketing planning templates. They are fantastic for anyone in the world of brainstorming, scheduling, and optimizing blog posts.

A set of free templates makes content planning so enjoyable, whether you're using Excel, Google Sheets, or Google Calendar.

Organize and prioritize content by breaking it down into key elements like topic, goal, content type, target persona, and responsible individual. Each idea is scored based on its benefit and cost, helping teams focus on high-impact strategies.

You can also track the status of each idea, ensuring alignment with business goals and efficient use of resources.

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You’ll also love HubSpot editorial templates if you need something simple and cost-effective for your blog management. They make data aggregation and organization simpler, and they’re easy to customize. The learning curve is quick, and they integrate well with calendar apps and content management tools.

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However, they’re not ideal if you need to track multiple channels, and collaboration options are quite limited.

Pricing

HubSpot offers free editorial, blog, and social media calendar templates.

Best for: Content marketers looking for an organized, simple, and free way to plan and schedule blog posts and social media content.

Pro tip: Test out HubSpot Content Hub — a suite of tools with content planning templates, AI-powered content generation, lead capture tools, a scalable CMS, video and podcast hosting, A/B testing, SEO recommendations, and advanced analytics.

Use it as a standalone tool or integrate it with a project management tool like we do with Asana to facilitate content production across different teams.

3. Notion

Notion’s versatility shines through with its content calendar templates made by different creators (both free and paid), which let you plan, track, and manage content seamlessly.

But if you prefer to start from scratch instead of using pre-made templates, you can totally do so.

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Personally, I use Notion for a slightly different purpose than Asana. I don’t use it as a calendar or schedule but mainly for planning and progress tracking.

Here’s how.

I’ve set up a few key documents where I add tasks and track the entire process. For instance, I have a “Content Strategy” section where I map out detailed strategies for each client/website.

I also created a “Content Backlog” to keep track of all topics we've covered so I can see where each one stands — whether it’s a sprint candidate, has been published, is still in progress, or is in the distribution/promotion phase.

I put all my topics into one Notion sheet and track their status using colorful tags that help me clearly see what's happening with each content piece at any given moment.

Of course, Notion also lets you use a Kanban board if you need a calendar-like view of tasks.

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Pricing

Free: Great for personal use and smaller teams with basic content management needs.
Plus (€11.50/seat/month): Perfect for small teams, offering unlimited blocks, file uploads, and integrations with third-party apps like Slack and GitHub.
Business (€17/seat/month): Designed for growing businesses, with advanced analytics, database automations, and more.
Enterprise: Contact sales for large-scale teams needing advanced security, custom integrations, and extensive control features.

Best for: Teams that want a highly customizable content management tool with a collaborative workspace and deep integration with other apps (Mailchimp, Asana, Calendly, etc.)

Pro tip: Notion is used as a tool to document content marketing processes and share across teams, stakeholders, and remote employees or freelancers. Userpilot and Lemlist use Notion to write and store standard operating procedures (SOPs).

What do experts say about Notion?

I had a chance to talk to Jake Ward, the founder of Kleo, a browser extension that helps you discover and create content on LinkedIn.

When I asked him about the tools he’s used for content planning, he said he’d tried a lot over the years — Asana, Trello, Monday.com — but Notion was the one that stuck.

Unlike other tools that lock people into rigid templates, Notion lets him set up custom databases, see a calendar view, and track progress exactly how he needs, Ward said.

“My dashboard in Notion has three main parts: Campaign Calendar, Content Hub, and Analytics. It’s color-coded, which helps me navigate faster. It’s easy to use, too — any new team member can pick it up without much trouble,” Ward adds. “The workflows are customizable, so I can make templates that fit exactly how I like to work. Every stage of content, from planning to review, has its space.”

Ward also shared that Notion doesn’t have the same built-in automation features as Trello or Monday.com, so he uses Zapier to get the job done. It’s an extra step, but it works.

“Paired with Kleo, it helps me create and grow my audience without spending hours managing stuff that doesn’t matter. It’s a simple setup, but it’s effective, and it’s helped me build an audience of over 150,000 followers in two years,” Ward says.

4. Trello

I used Trello for 8 months within my client’s workspace, and I enjoyed its simplicity. The Kanban view of the Content Calendar had the team stay on track and assign extra tasks like reading a memo, a new guideline, etc.

Trello uses boards, lists, and cards to break down tasks and track progress. Offers you a feature to label your tasks with priority, topic, etc. Core features come free of charge, making Trello a starting point for blogging. If you’re looking for something super intuitive and extremely easy to use, you’ll definitely like it.

For grown-up teams, IMO, the tool is too simple.

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Pricing overview:

Free: For individuals or small teams. Unlimited cards, Power-Ups, and boards (up to 10 per Workspace), plus 250 Workspace command runs per month.
Standard ($5/user/month): Unlimited boards, advanced checklists, and 1,000 command runs per month.
Premium (contact for pricing): Includes advanced features like a timeline view, additional automation options, and priority support for growing teams.

Best for: Teams that need a simple but effective tool for managing content workflows and projects, with flexible views and plenty of integrations.

What do experts say about Trello?

I caught up with Tiago Pita, brand and ecommerce director at Whole Food Earth, to ask more about his content workflow. His Trello has three main boards: Ideas, In Progress, and Published. Plus, there is a separate board for seasonal campaigns with specific deadlines and subtasks.

“It takes about 15 minutes to get a new team member up to speed. Its simplicity allows us to onboard quickly, which is great for a fast-paced environment like ours. Our on-time publishing rate improved by 30% after implementing Trello. It has helped us maintain a consistent content cadence, which has positively impacted our engagement rates across platforms,” says Pita.

When I asked if he’d tried anything else, he said they’d used Asana before, but it felt too feature-heavy for their needs at the time. Trello’s simplicity won out.

On the other hand, Trello lacks advanced analytics. To work around this, Pita’s team paired Trello with Google Sheets for metrics tracking. It’s not ideal, but it bridges the gap effectively.

5. CoSchedule

The tool is famous for its social media and content planning features with UNICEF, Yamaha, and P&G among their customers. That made me study the tool’s overviews and schedule a demo with their sales team to get an inside look.

From everything I’ve researched, CoShedule lives up to the hype.

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What stood out to me is how it simplifies managing multiple projects or campaigns with color coding, labels, complex cross-team workflows, subtasks, integrations, APIs, etc.

Pricing

Free: Best for individuals managing basic social publishing. Includes 2 social profiles, 15 scheduled posts, and basic support.
Social Calendar ($19/user/month): For small teams focused on social media strategies. Offers unlimited posts, five social profiles, and advanced analytics.
Agency Calendar ($49/user/month): Tailored for agencies managing multiple clients. Includes client brand profiles, white-label reports, and more.
Content Calendar (custom pricing): Combines all content and social plans. Ideal for mid-sized teams needing robust tools like Kanban views and advanced reporting.
Marketing Suite (custom pricing): For large-scale teams handling complex campaigns, with features like asset management and enhanced permissions.

Best for: Teams that need an all-in-one content management solution with campaign-level organization and collaborative features.

What do experts say about CoSchedule?

I got some great insights about CoSchedule from Aaron Whittaker, vice president of demand generation and marketing at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency.

His team turned to CoSchedule's Marketing Suite after evaluating several tools, including Monday.com, which lacked the specialized content marketing capabilities they needed. (I tried working in Monday, too, and it’s a nightmare with missing features for content collaboration.)

The standout CoSchedule’s features for him were Content Organizer, ReQueue + an integrated AI assistant that predicts content performance based on historical data.

“We can now visualize how a single topic branches into multiple content formats across different channels, with each piece automatically inheriting relevant campaign tags and deadlines,” Whittaker says. “The ReQueue feature alone saved us around 10 hours weekly on social media scheduling.”

Moreover, customizable workflows and content pillars helped them manage complex approval processes, although Whittaker noted limitations in the number of custom statuses allowed.

6. Basecamp

My first run-in with Basecamp? Not great.

The client who gave me access basically just threw me into the deep end, and I had to figure it out myself. I wasn't too impressed, and a lot of it was honestly confusing. Back then, the original version of Basecamp was more complicated, and a great deal of marketers would agree.

But when they updated to the latest version, Basecamp went literally on fire.

Basecamp pulls everything into one simple dashboard: you’ve got to-do lists, shared calendars, and file storage to track every part of the content process. Unusual for content planning software and takes time to get used to but effective for small content teams to keep all content docs in one place.

Plus, team members can comment right on tasks or files, and there’s also a Campfire chat, so communication stays tight and organized.

Pricing

Basecamp ($15/user/month): Ideal for freelancers, startups, and small teams. Includes 500GB of file storage, and you only pay for employees, with guests being free.
Basecamp Pro Unlimited ($299/month, billed annually): For growing teams or larger organizations. Includes everything in Basecamp, plus 10x the file storage (5TB), 1:1 onboarding, priority support, and advanced admin features.

Best For: Teams looking for an all-in-one, user-friendly tool that simplifies communication, task tracking, and scheduling in a single platform.

What do experts say about Basecamp?

“Each content manager in charge of a specific country’s content needs to be kept up-to-date, and everyone needs to work together on things like planning blog topics, localizing content, and handling distribution,” says Mia Jozipović, content manager at Siterice.hr (part of the FamilyCare Group).

“Basecamp helps us stay more connected — not just between content managers, but also with social media managers and the rest of the team. We can see each other's tasks, but if we need a clearer view, we can filter to just our own,” Jozipović says, “And when we need to share something, we have a separate Campfire chat for that.”

As a small downside, Jozipović mentioned that Basecamp can be a bit more complicated to get the hang of compared to tools like Trello, which is extremely intuitive.

From Scattered to Sorted Under One Roof

Less stress, fewer worries, and finally, no more waking up in a panic about what I need to tackle today. That's what life feels like after adding content planning tools and editorial templates to my routine.

My final advice for the tools:

Small teams: Basecamp, Trello + free content planning templates by HubSpot
Mid-sized and large teams: Asana or CoSchedule — for content planning, Notion — for SOPs in content marketing + HubSpot’s editorial templates.

Marketing Budget: How Much Should Your Team Spend in 2025? [By Industry]

Caroline Forsey — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

As a marketer, I’ve learned firsthand that developing a marketing budget is a critical component of any marketing strategy. Unfortunately, figuring out exactly how much your team should spend can be no small challenge.

In this blog post, I’ll share some helpful marketing budget templates. I’ll also share what a marketing budget is, why you need one, and everything else you need to create a marketing budget with confidence. So, let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is a marketing budget?
How Much to Spend on Marketing
Why You Need a Marketing Budget
Inside a Typical Marketing Budget
Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue
Marketing Budgets by Industry
Marketing Budget Best Practices

What is a marketing budget?

As content strategist Rana Bano explains, “A marketing budget outlines the specific amount of money a company allocates to its marketing activities.”

She continues, “It influences your marketing strategy by helping you understand how much you spend promoting your business.” But what exactly does this look like in practice?

As with anything, the specifics of an effective marketing budget will vary depending on your unique industry, organization, and resources. I’ve found that for companies that prioritize digital ads, for instance, breaking down target spending by different types of online ads can be helpful.

For example, the marketing budget below outlines target spending for Google Ads and Instagram Ads:

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In contrast, other organizations may be less focused on digital advertising platforms. For these companies, specifying spending on marketing traditional platforms such as billboards, TV and radio ads, or in-person events may be more useful.

The sample budget below details spending for an in-person event, accounting for everything from venue and food costs to name tags, programs, and swag items:

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How Much to Spend on Marketing

So, you know you need a marketing budget. But what’s the best way to decide how much to spend on different marketing initiatives? In my experience, I’ve found that it’s important first to determine how much funding is available for all of your marketing efforts.

There are different approaches to answering this question, but if you’re not sure where to start, I’ve learned that benchmarking against industry averages can be helpful.

A recent survey of chief marketing officers found that an average 7.7% of company revenue was allocated to marketing in 2024 — so, making sure your marketing budget falls around that range is likely a good idea.

Then, once you’ve determined how much funding you have access to, you can start to figure out how much to spend on different parts of your marketing strategy. This can start with a fairly high-level view. For example, the sample B2C and B2B budgets below outline how much of a total marketing budget should go toward several broad categories.

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Of course, once you’ve laid out a rough, high-level budget, it’s time to get specific. Here’s one of my favorite examples of a detailed marketing budget, which illustrates just how granular you can get with allocating marketing spend:

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Why You Need a Marketing Budget

Take it from me: Today’s marketing landscape is complicated. Budget cuts are more frequent than ever, and underperforming marketers quickly fall under the axe. Beyond that, more than half of marketers in HubSpot’s recent survey reported that how they spend their budget and the ROI it produces is being scrutinized more now than it was in the past.

That’s why a comprehensive marketing budget is so important. A well-thought-out budget will help you avoid these negative outcomes and ensure you have the cash you need to execute your marketing strategy.

In addition, I’ve learned that developing a marketing budget can help you:

Prioritize projects to invest in.
Allocate funds for software purchases.
Compare your year-over-year progress.
Allocate funds for projects in advance.
Justify the importance of specific projects.
Calculate the ROI from your marketing projects.
Show the value of proposed marketing projects to your higher-ups.
Show positive ROI, which can help you get a bigger budget in the future.
Allocate funds for freelancers and full-time hires who’ll execute your strategy.

At the end of the day, sustained investment is critical for marketing success.

As Vistatec CMO Simon Hodgkins points out, “To avoid the pitfalls of reduced marketing budgets, companies must reframe their view of marketing from a cost to an investment. This investment should be aimed at achieving long-term objectives, such as brand building, customer acquisition, and market expansion.”

It may be tempting to cut costs by thoughtlessly trimming your marketing budget — but that’s unlikely to pay off in the long term.

Inside a Typical Marketing Budget

According to a recent survey from HubSpot, today’s marketers are seeing the biggest ROI from social media marketing tools. As such, it’s no surprise that these platforms are receiving the lion’s share of many organizations’ marketing budgets.

Specifically, when asked which formats deliver the highest ROI, survey respondents highlighted the following areas:

Short-form video (21.02%).
Images (19.47%).
Live streaming video (15.53%).
Interviews (15.19%).
Blog posts (14.79%).

In addition, when asked where they plan to increase marketing investment in 2025, respondents mentioned the following areas:

Short-form video (17.13%).
Images (14.85%).
UGC (13.93%).
Live streaming (13.88%).
Podcasts or other audio content (13.08%).

Of course, social media has been a core component of marketing for years. However, in 2024, another growing marketing trend emerged: Nearly one in four survey respondents reported that influencer marketing played a substantial role in their 2024 strategy.

Moreover, respondents shared that in many cases, working with small-scale influencers (that is, influencers with audiences under 100k) is particularly effective.

These trends suggest that, when allocating their marketing budgets, more marketers are prioritizing social media marketing and small-scale influencer marketing.

Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue

Decisions related to marketing budget allocation remain largely industry-specific. But, as a general rule of thumb, experts suggest that B2B companies should spend 2-5% of their revenue on marketing, while B2C companies should spend closer to 5-10%.

Marketing Budgets by Industry

Diving a little deeper, it’s helpful to understand just how widely marketing budgets vary by industry. Below, I’ve shared the average percentage of revenue CMOs in different industries reported spending on marketing in 2024.

INDUSTRY	MARKETING BUDGET (% OF COMPANY REVENUE)
Consumer packaged goods	18.09%
Education	14.59%
Communications/media	13.82%
Transportation	11.67%
Consumer services	11.25%
Banking/finance/insurance	11.18%
Professional services	11.06%
Mining/construction	10.20%
Real estate	9.82%
Healthcare	9.31%
Tech software/platform	9.16%
Pharma/biotech	8.21%
Manufacturing	6.67%
Retail wholesale	5.46%
Energy	3.21%

On the low end of the spectrum, this data shows that energy companies spend just 3.21% of their revenue on marketing. In contrast, consumer packaged goods companies spend a whopping 18.09%. As such, it’s important for marketers to benchmark their own budgets against these industry averages.

Indeed, I’ve found that benchmarking is a great way to convince the higher-ups to sign off on your proposed budget. Then, once you’ve got buy-in on what you need to execute your strategies, you’ll be set up to outshine others in your industry and make your company a model for how other teams in your space should approach marketing.

Marketing Budget Best Practices

According to data from HubSpot, fewer than one out of five marketers today feel very confident when deciding where to invest budget to maximize ROI. What does it take to craft a marketing budget like a pro? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution — but here are some of my favorite best practices to make sure you’re set up for success.

1. Understand your customer journey.

Most customer journeys are not as straightforward as Googling a term, jumping on an email list, and then converting. On the contrary, the vast majority of journeys are full of twists and turns.

Figuring out how your customers go from product awareness to purchase varies from industry to industry. What works for B2B brands may not work for B2C, and what works for a large organization may not work for small businesses.

That’s why David Hoos, former B2B performance marketing manager at The Outloud Group, says you should take the time to understand your customer journey before spending a dime of your marketing budget. If you invest in this research first, you’ll uncover:

What channels to spend your budget on.
What platforms to use to reach your target audience.
What messages will resonate with them.
What kinds of content will entertain and educate them.
What solution will convert them.

Understanding your customer journey is key to unlocking the highest ROI efforts. Moreover, reporting tools like HubSpot’s Customer Journey Analytics can help you paint a clearer picture of these journeys, maximizing your chances of optimizing your marketing budget.

2. Hire a marketing agency where needed.

In my personal experience, it can be really hard to oversee multiple marketing projects without help — even when you have a strong in-house marketing team.

Besides the time required to hire, train, and onboard a team, you’ll have to pay your in-house employees competitive salaries and offer benefits … all of which might be a stretch if your budget doesn’t allow for a huge team or if you don’t have the time to supervise them.

This is where marketing agencies come in. While agencies aren’t cheap, they eliminate some of these challenges, and they can function as an extended arm of your team.

Indeed, I’ve found that partnering with a marketing agency can give you access to a team of specialists who may help you hit your goals faster, while using up a lot less of your marketing budget.

3. Get an in-house marketing team.

At the same time, relying on an agency to run all of your projects isn’t the wisest use of your marketing budget.

As former Managing Director and Global Head of Brand at Accenture Mark Prince explains, “An in-house agency is an investment that will lead to cost savings.” He goes on, “Our in-house agency (Accenture Canvas) is revered above all external partners due to getting the above right. We’ve also reduced agency spend by >50%.”

In other words, there are times when an external marketing agency can be a great partner — but it’s also important to invest in building a solid in-house marketing team.

4. Invest in content repurposing and updating.

Charlie Southwell, marketing director at Technically Write IT, notes that creating unique and valuable content is expensive. For this reason, Charlie’s team tries to repurpose everything they create.

Their first step is to produce evergreen content that will remain valuable for at least two years. After creating these high-quality assets, the team repurposes and promotes them in multiple content formats.

Adopting this strategy in your own organization may be easier than you realize. If you published some evergreen assets a while back, consider updating and repurposing them. Beyond just providing current info for your audience, a content update may help your content move up the SERPs.

One of the biggest benefits of repurposing and updating content in this way is that it can give you leeway to re-promote your assets multiple times per year. In Southwell’s words, “Not doing this is a missed opportunity that prevents content from getting enough mileage and maximizing value from your marketing budget.”

5. De-prioritize underperforming channels.

Time and time again, I’ve learned that understanding which channels drive the most revenue for your business — and which are falling short — is critical to marketing budget optimization.

As Sidharth Kumar, head of marketing at DRTConfidence, explains, businesses should constantly assess their campaigns to uncover those that may be underperforming. Doing so will help optimize spending in the right direction, and it will empower teams to phase out campaigns that don’t generate sufficient ROI.

To gain visibility into how your budget spent on marketing campaigns is (or isn’t) translating into revenue, consider using a tool such as HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics software. With a tool like this, you can also generate reports based on CRM data to identify key insights that can help you with marketing campaigns.

If your data suggests that some underperforming channels might still work some of the time, use those channels for experimentation and apply the 70-20-10 rule when budgeting for them: According to this rule, 70% of your marketing budget goes to proven strategies, 20% goes to new strategies, and 10% goes to experimental strategies which are unproven but which could illuminate opportunities for future growth.

6. Constantly re-evaluate your marketing strategy.

Another important best practice to keep in mind when developing your budget is the SMART framework: An effective marketing strategy will have objectives and key results (OKRs) that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Ensuring your marketing goals are SMART is vital for budget optimization, as SMART goals and metrics help you track progress and evaluate (and re-evaluate) which channels and campaigns work best.

Indeed, “Constantly reviewing and re-evaluating your marketing strategy helps you know when to stay the course or pivot,” says Thomas Simon, marketing manager at Monitask. “It also lets you use effective tactics and not blindly follow a particular plan without the data or results to back your decision.”

And how often should you review your marketing goals and re-evaluate performance? Corey Haines, co-founder of SwipeWell, recommends marketers do a biweekly or monthly review of budget allocation. After all, “Regular reviews help you cut unnecessary spending, reallocate to high-performing campaigns, and decide when to increase or decrease variable costs like ad spend,” he explains.

7. Don’t underestimate the power of automation.

Finally, no collection of marketing best practices would be complete without acknowledging the growing importance of AI and automation. In HubSpot’s latest survey of marketers, one in five respondents reported currently leveraging AI agents to automate marketing, and the top three AI use cases they identified were:

Content creation (using generative AI to write copy, create images, get ideas, etc.).
Learning to do things (using generative AI to learn an Excel function, debug SQL code, etc.).
Data analysis/reporting (using generative AI to analyze or manipulate marketing data).

Chang Chen, former head of go-to-market at Bardeen.ai, has seen significant efficiency boosts from integrating AI and automation.

Chen says, “AI now aids with SEO, user research, and even the crafting of highly personalized emails,” she explained. “This allows our team to focus on strategic and creative aspects of their work, freeing them from routine tasks and enabling them to apply their creativity towards business expansion.”

Chen continues, “[AI] also shortens the time to market and quickens the feedback cycle, fostering growth. An experiment that used to take 1-2 months to launch can now be ready in a few weeks.”

Chen then ties this investment back to budget planning, sharing: “We have incorporated this improved efficiency directly into our marketing budget. This not only optimizes the use of our current resources but also allows room for innovation.”

She concludes, “We have allocated a portion of our budget specifically for experimentation, allowing us to continue exploring the capabilities of new technologies and automation possibilities.”

In other words, automation is here to stay. Top-performing marketers will embrace these new technologies, proactively identify opportunities to experiment with them, and incorporate them into their marketing budgets.

Manage Your Marketing Budget the Right Way

Ultimately, I’ve learned that being a successful marketer isn’t just about thinking strategically. It’s also about adhering to a strict budget, achieving new levels of growth, and choosing the most cost-effective options for your company.

Armed with the knowledge and best practices I’ve outlined above, you’ll be set up to manage your marketing budget right — and you’ll be on your way to building a successful, optimized marketing budget strategy for your organization.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in March 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

7 Essential Landing Page Elements You Need to Have

jmeher@hubspot.com (Jessica Meher) — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation. But they’re only effective if you know what to put on a landing page to begin with.

It’s common to put more attention and resources into your main website and product pages, but landing pages are the most direct way to convert a higher percentage of visitors into leads.

To get the most out of your lead generation strategy and increase your conversion rate, here’s what to put on a landing page.

Landing Page Elements

A great landing page turns your visitors into leads.

Sometimes referred to as a lead-capture page, landing pages contain a lead generation form that collects the visitors’ contact information in exchange for something of value, like an ebook, an offer, or a discount.

The basic elements of a great landing page are:

A headline and (optional) subheading
A brief description of what’s being offered
At least one supporting image or short video
Most importantly, a form on the landing page itself to capture information. If, for some reason, you can’t include a form on the landing page, use a large CTA button to direct visitors to the next step.
GDPR compliance and any other legal requirements
It’s optional, but supporting proof elements like testimonials, customer logos, or security badges can build your credibility with new leads
Optional AI chatbot

The difference between a landing page and your main website is that your website doesn’t have a single goal or call-to-action (CTA) for visitors to follow. The goal of a landing page is to tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do and why they should do it.

You can create as many landing pages as you want — one for every campaign or offer you launch, for example. According to a 2023 survey we conducted, over half of marketers have between five and 10 landing pages on their websites.

Homepages, while still an important element of a website, are typically less focused on a particular task because they serve the masses. They’re great for direct traffic, but when you can control how visitors arrive on your site, a landing page is the best place to send them.

When you have a specific product or campaign to promote, create a dedicated landing page for it. You can drive traffic to that page through email marketing, social media, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

If your messaging and the rest of the landing page features are aligned with the visitor’s goals, you’ll have a greater chance of converting visitors into leads. In a 2023 HubSpot survey of 101 marketers, 10.9% say their landing pages have a 20% or higher conversion rate on average.

Wondering what it takes to get a stellar landing page conversion rate? Check out the tips below to learn what to put on a landing page to drive traffic and gain leads.

What to Put on a Landing Page: 10 Tips and Best Practices

1. Never use your homepage as a landing page.

It can be tempting to direct visitors to your website homepage simply because you’re unsure what to put on a landing page in the first place.

But if you’re running a campaign for a specific product or offer, you need a dedicated landing page.

As mentioned above, homepages typically have too much messaging, making visitors feel lost. I'd also recommend not using a main site product page either.

Even if your homepage and sub-pages are awesome, a dedicated landing page will perform better when it comes to converting visitors into leads because they are focused on one task.

Plus, you don’t need experienced design skills to create landing pages. You can use a landing page builder to seamlessly create a landing page that matches your website and offering.

In fact, our survey found that 43.6% of marketers use pre-made CMS themes and templates to create their landing pages.

Get Started With HubSpot’s Free Landing Page Builder

2. Follow the standard structure.

Your headline should be benefit-focused to let people know right away what’s in it for them. Keep it brief while clearly communicating your offer. You can go into more detail with a brief description.

The description should emphasize the benefit in the headline and provide a few more reasons why visitors should convert. Writing compelling copy that engages users can be a challenge at times. But don’t let this part slow you down in the landing page process.

Instead, consider using an AI tool like HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant. The tool can help you generate copy for your landing page in seconds — all you have to do is refine it so it’s in your brand voice.

Speaking of AI: If you have an AI chatbot, consider using it on product landing pages. Here’s an example from HubSpot’s landing page for its landing page builder (say that 10 times fast):

Finally, don’t skip the visuals.

Of marketers surveyed, 38.6% say that video is the landing page element that most positively impacts conversion rate, while 35.6% say imagery or graphics do.

In either case, landing page visuals are clearly impactful, so take your time developing images and videos for your landing page campaigns.

3. Remove extra navigation.

A landing page is used for one purpose and one purpose alone — to encourage a visitor to take a specific action.

To keep visitors focused on your landing page’s content and message, remove the main site navigation from the page so they don’t move off the page.

We ran an A/B test for paid ad visitors and found that removing the main navigation boosted our CVR by 11%. Rebecca Hinton, a CRO strategist here at HubSpot, says, “If you send [paid ad visitors] to a website with full navigation, maybe they get distracted. Maybe they just [wanted the ebook].” HubSpotter Curt del Principe talked to Hinton and has the whole story, plus everything you need to run your own A/B test.

You should also be mindful of navigation as it relates to the lead generation on your landing page. If you have a form, keep your questions to a minimum. Of the marketers we surveyed, 30.7% suggest four is the ideal number of questions to put on a landing page.

Need to add a form to your landing page? You can easily put together a form using HubSpot’s free form builder tool.

In the landing page example below from MIT Technology Review, the form includes seven fields to fill in, with one being optional.

The rest of the page is straightforward, offers clear navigation, and outlines exactly what you’ll get after submitting the form.

Source

4. Keep the objective simple and straightforward.

Don’t stuff too much information on your landing pages. Make it clear what the page is about and what you want the visitor to do.

Limit the amount of copy, images, media, and links to only what’s necessary, and organize your content in a proper structure so objects are in logical order. It’s especially important that the CTA is as crystal clear as possible for the visitor.

Let’s take a look at an example landing page from HubSpot. This landing page is designed to promote a free guide about optimizing landing pages for lead generation.

The design is simple — as soon as a visitor lands on the page, they’re greeted with the most essential elements:

A headline
Brief description
CTA button
Image or video

Source

The headline and description are clear and let visitors know exactly what the offer is and why they need it. The CTA button is also straightforward, which is another best practice for landing pages.

Looking for more inspiration for your landing page? Check out these stellar landing page examples.

When thinking about your CTA button, avoid using the word “Submit” — it’s vague and it doesn’t let the user know exactly what they’re submitting their information for. Always use language that indicates what they’re getting in return.

For example, “Download Now,” “Get your Free Evaluation,” or “Join our Mailing List.”

5. Match the content to a visitor’s previous source.

Whether a visitor comes from a PPC ad, email, or CTA from another source, ensure the messaging matches throughout the entire conversion path.

If your PPC ad says, “Download our Marketing Ebook,” your landing page should say the exact same thing — or be similar enough that users know they’re in the right place.

If there is a disconnect in your messaging, visitors will feel as if they are in the wrong place and will likely hit the “Back” button.

6. Reduce friction.

Friction is caused by objects (or missing objects) on a page that inhibit a visitor from taking action. This can include providing too much information (adding complexity), animation that is distracting, lack of customer proof or security, etc.

Make your visitors feel confident in their choice to provide their information. To reduce friction, keep the page simple.

Include your most important elements, like the main message, your offer, and the lead generation form, at the beginning of the page.

Save the more detailed description, testimonials, and FAQs for later in the page as the visitor scrolls down.

Source

Don’t require visitors to read too much, and don’t present internal links that will lead them away from the landing page.

Do include social proof elements such as customer testimonials, number of downloads or sales (to indicate acceptance from others), or security badges (if you’re dealing with sensitive data such as credit card information).

And, as mentioned above, make sure messaging matches throughout their conversion path.

7. Focus on value.

What you put on a landing page is just as important as what the landing page is for in the first place.

While landing page campaigns should be used often in your lead generation strategy, be intentional about what you’re offering.

The offer has to be valuable for leads to exchange for their information, and it has to be something they can’t get anywhere else.

Here are a few examples of what provides value and what doesn’t:

Don’t create a landing page to download a fact sheet (never put these behind a form).
Do create a landing page for a valuable whitepaper.
Don’t use a landing page for “Contact Us.”
Do use one for a valuable guide, free trial, demonstration, or evaluation. Offering something of value will enable you to generate more leads so you can nurture them over time until they are ready to buy.

8. Only ask for what you need.

When it comes to lead generation forms, there is no magic answer for the number of form fields that should be required.

But here is one simple rule of thumb: Only ask for what you or your sales team really needs. If you don’t need their hair color, don’t ask for it. Try to stay away from sensitive or confidential information, too.

As for contact information, depending on what you’re generating leads for, name and email address is usually enough. HubSpot’s forms (below) ask for information based on whether you’re already in our CRM — that way, you don’t have to input info we already have.

If you want to ask for more, 25.7% of marketers in our survey agree that a phone number is the next most important thing to request on a landing page form after name and email.

9. Create a lot of landing pages.

Every new campaign or offer needs a landing page. The more landing pages you have, the more opportunities to convert traffic into leads.

And because these landing pages aren’t directly linked in your website’s navigation, you don’t need to worry about crowding your site or distracting visitors who are casually browsing your company page.

According to our 2023 survey, a majority of marketers (37.6%) have five or fewer landing pages on their websites. However, 6.9% of marketers have over 26 landing pages on their websites.

There is no magic number, but you can create as many landing pages as you have offers.

10. Make your landing pages shareable.

This is optional, but it’s another great way to drive more visitors to your landing pages.

Include social media sharing links or a social sharing widget on your landing pages so visitors can easily share that content with their own personal networks, and, in turn, drive more opportunities for converting leads.

If you partner with another company on an offer — let’s say an ebook — make a plan for both teams to distribute the landing page on their channels. The more coverage you can get, the higher the chance of visitors you’ll have.

Evaluate your landing pages, and use these best practices as a checklist for setting up the perfect page.

Effective landing pages are what will turn your website into a lead-generating machine. And don’t forget to test your landing pages to see which ones work best for you.

Create Great Landing Pages

There are really just a few essential elements that you should feature on your landing pages — this isn’t the time for maximalism. Use these tips to create landing pages for your products or offers, and watch your conversions grow.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The Most Effective B2B SaaS Marketing Tactics — Everything I Know as a Marketer

Stephanie Trovato — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

When I worked in-house at a SaaS company, marketing felt like an endless challenge. We covered all the basics: paid campaigns, blog content, and email marketing. On paper, it looked like we were doing everything right. But users weren’t converting, and growth stalled.

Something was off. It wasn’t a lack of effort but a lack of alignment. We didn’t fully understand how customers found and engaged with our product. I needed better insights into their journey, so I met with the product team to dig into feature usage, trial behaviors, and key friction points.

This collaboration transformed our strategy. For example, many trial users hit a wall right after signing up. They struggled to get started, so we built educational content and onboarding flows designed to guide them. This simple change boosted activations and drove long-term conversions.

I’ll share the strategies and metrics that helped us turn things around in this post. Whether your goal is to grow trial users or win enterprise accounts, these tactics will help you build a scalable and sustainable SaaS marketing engine.

Table of Contents

What is B2B SaaS marketing?
10 Effective B2B SaaS Marketing Strategies
6 B2B SaaS Marketing Benchmarks to Measure Success

What is B2B SaaS marketing?

B2B SaaS marketing builds strategies that drive brand awareness, user acquisition, and customer retention for cloud-based software products. Compared to other industries, B2B SaaS relies heavily on digital touchpoints to attract, educate, and convert customers across a longer buying process.

Your goal is to show potential customers how your product solves their business challenges. Effective SaaS marketing goes beyond generating leads. It involves collaboration between product, marketing, and sales teams to remove friction and improve the customer experience at every stage.

In my experience, three key factors shape successful SaaS marketing:

Customer pain points. What specific problems does your product address? Clear, targeted messaging is critical.
Buyer personas. Who are you targeting? Different personas, from end users to decision-makers, have varying priorities.
Sales cycles. Are you offering a freemium model, a trial-to-paid conversion, or a longer enterprise cycle? Your marketing tactics should reflect the customer journey.

Recurring revenue models, evolving user needs, and fierce competition create unique challenges for SaaS companies. Marketing must consistently provide value — through both product and communication — well beyond the initial sale.

Learn more about how to create an effective SaaS marketing plan here.

10 Effective B2B SaaS Marketing Strategies

The most effective SaaS marketing strategies connect your product’s strengths to your customers’ goals. Collaborating across teams is essential.

The product team offers insights into feature adoption and usage trends, while customer success can provide feedback on pain points and wins. Coordinating these efforts can help you design strategies that resonate with customers at different stages.

Below are key strategies I’ve found highly effective in B2B SaaS marketing.

1. Growth Loops

Growth loops generate compounding results by integrating referrals and virality directly into your product or marketing processes. Unlike a funnel, which ends with a conversion, a growth loop (or flywheel, as we like to call it at HubSpot) creates a feedback cycle where users generate new users.

For example, Slack promotes growth through team invites. A single user invites their entire team, creating multiple new accounts. Similarly, platforms like beehiiv incorporate a viral loop — emails sent through the platform display a “Publish on beehiiv” badge that leads recipients to the website.

Why it works: Organic growth through referrals builds a strong foundation for both acquisition and retention, reducing reliance on paid channels.

2. Website and Homepage Optimization

Your website — especially your homepage — often forms a potential customer’s first impression of your SaaS product. If visitors don’t find what they need quickly, they may leave.

In my experience, a strong homepage needs to address three core questions:

Desire. Does this product solve a problem that matters to me?
Role. Can I see how this product fits my needs and goals?
Belief. Is this product trusted and used by others like me?

I think Webflow’s homepage effectively speaks to user desire by showcasing how the platform empowers creativity.

Source

Notion builds trust with detailed customer studies and testimonials that highlight success stories.

Why it works: Clear messaging that anticipates user questions builds trust, reduces decision fatigue, and encourages next steps.

3. Content Marketing and SEO

In my experience, content marketing and SEO play a major role in building awareness and generating organic leads. When people have a problem, their instinct is often to search for answers. Your content needs to show up and provide those answers, which builds credibility and trust.

For SaaS businesses, this means focusing on three types of landing pages:

Feature pages. Explain your product’s core features.
Use case pages. Highlight real-world applications for different roles or industries.
Comparison pages. Show how your solution compares to competitors.

SEO has become more complex with AI-generated summaries and greater content competition. Even with these changes, I’ve found that the basics — relevant keywords, clear structure, and content that solves user problems — still matter.

Well-targeted blog content helps attract potential customers at the discovery phase, guiding them toward becoming leads.

Why it works: SEO content builds long-term visibility and attracts leads actively searching for solutions. A strong mix of targeted pages and supporting blog posts creates a steady pipeline of potential customers.

4. Community Marketing

Building a community can take your marketing to the next level. Whether it’s a Slack group, a webinar series, or a newsletter, a strong community offers value and builds loyalty over time.

For example, I like how Clearscope runs webinars with industry experts that attract marketers looking to level up their SEO skills. These webinars consistently attract marketers and build brand credibility.

Why it works: People tend to trust and advocate for brands they feel connected to. Building a community helps create these relationships, leading to increased word-of-mouth referrals and long-term customer loyalty.

5. Email and Newsletter Marketing

Email marketing is more than transactional updates or onboarding messages. A well-structured newsletter can engage both leads and customers by consistently delivering valuable content.

Take the Animalz newsletter, for example. It provides real-world marketing insights based on internal experiments and feedback from its audience.

Source

I love that they focus on giving readers helpful strategies instead of promoting their services. One feature allows readers to request pricing details for certain types of blog content, which leads to hundreds of new signups.

Why it works: Targeted, helpful emails keep readers engaged and guide them toward taking the next step with your product. Over time, these emails strengthen customer relationships and encourage deeper product adoption.

6. Launching an Affiliate Program

Affiliate programs offer a scalable way to grow your user base. Customers, influencers, and partners refer new users to your product in exchange for a commission. Unlike traditional ads, where you pay upfront, affiliates are compensated after conversions, which I find makes it easier to control costs.

Jasper AI is a great example of a SaaS company with a thriving affiliate program. They offer ongoing commissions that keep partners motivated to refer users. Tools like PartnerStack and Rewardful simplify affiliate management by automating payouts and tracking referrals.

Why it works: Word-of-mouth referrals carry more weight than ads. Affiliate programs capitalize on this trust while keeping acquisition costs under control, creating a reliable growth channel.

7. Micro-Influencer Sponsorships

Micro-influencers may not have the largest followings, but they build strong connections with their audiences. Many focus on niche topics, which makes them valuable partners for SaaS companies targeting specific industries. Their authentic engagement can help increase both awareness and conversions.

An excellent example is Sara Stella Lattanzio’s collaboration with Semrush. Through LinkedIn posts, she shares her experiences with Semrush’s tools, prompting her audience — many of whom were marketers and SEOs — to check out the product for themselves.

I personally love her posts because they never feel like she’s selling something. She provides the what, why, and how to do something by using the product without ever pushing the sale.

Why it works: Niche influencers maintain high trust with their followers. Their endorsements often outperform traditional ads in converting leads within targeted markets.

8. Product Hunt Launch

Launching on Product Hunt can generate a spike in visibility and traffic for SaaS products, especially among early adopters and tech professionals. It’s a platform where users upvote and discuss new tools and innovations.

A successful launch can drive thousands of visitors to your site in just a few days. To maximize results, I find it helps to plan ahead:

Timing. Launch early in the day to maximize your product’s visibility on the homepage.
Community engagement. Encourage your network to support the launch with upvotes and comments.
Hunter partnerships. Collaborate with a well-known “Hunter” to help broaden your reach.

Why it works: Product Hunt attracts decision-makers and early adopters who are actively looking for new tools, making it a great platform to generate leads and momentum.

9. Manual Outreach via LinkedIn & Email

For SaaS products with longer sales cycles, reaching out directly to prospects through LinkedIn and email can open doors to high-value opportunities. This approach focuses on finding the right leads and crafting personalized messages that address their business challenges.

Tools like Hunter.io and LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help identify decision-makers and gather context on their needs. Personalization is key — sending generic mass messages often leads to poor engagement and hurts your reputation. A thoughtful message that offers immediate value stands out.

I once contacted a VP of Product after spotting a scaling issue their platform faced. I shared a few tailored suggestions in my email, which led to a demo and eventual conversion. In my experience, that level of personalization consistently delivered higher response rates than generic outreach.

Why it works: Thoughtful, personalized outreach helps establish trust and credibility with potential customers, leading to stronger relationships and higher conversion rates.

10. Paid advertising

Paid ads can help SaaS companies grow quickly, but scaling requires careful planning to manage costs and returns. In my opinion, choosing the right platforms is crucial to targeting the right audience. Common channels include:

Google Ads. Best for prospects searching for specific solutions.
LinkedIn Ads. Great for reaching professionals based on job title, company size, or industry.
TikTok & Facebook Ads. Better for brand awareness, especially for freemium or B2C models.

Tracking customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) is essential to scaling ad campaigns sustainably.

Why it works: Paid advertising accelerates lead generation and boosts visibility. With the right targeting and budget management, ads can provide significant short-term growth.

6 B2B SaaS Marketing Benchmarks to Measure Success

Monitoring the right benchmarks helps SaaS companies track performance and refine their strategies. These metrics provide insights into how well your marketing efforts drive growth and profitability.

1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

CAC measures the total cost of acquiring a new customer. This includes expenses for marketing, sales, and lead generation activities.

High CAC can reduce profitability, so I recommend finding ways to lower costs without sacrificing conversions. As your business grows, optimizing CAC becomes crucial to scaling sustainably.

Why it matters: CAC highlights how effectively your marketing and sales strategies attract customers. Keeping CAC manageable is essential for long-term profitability.

2. Lifetime Value (LTV)

LTV calculates the total revenue a customer generates over the course of their relationship with your business. It helps determine how much you can afford to spend on acquiring new customers.

For example, SaaS companies often boost LTV through upsells, such as offering premium features or product add-ons at key points in the customer journey.

Why it matters: LTV sets a limit on how much you can invest in customer acquisition. A higher LTV allows for more flexibility in marketing budgets and helps improve overall profitability.

3. Conversion Rates

Conversion rates show how many visitors take a specific action, like signing up for a trial, requesting a demo, or making a purchase.

Monitoring conversion rates across your funnel stages helps pinpoint where prospects lose interest. This insight reveals where to focus improvements. For instance, I’ve found updating landing pages with stronger calls-to-action (CTAs) and customer testimonials can drive more demo signups.

Why it matters: A higher conversion rate signals that your messaging, design, and CTAs are effectively moving prospects through the funnel.

4. Retention Rate (Churn)

Retention rate tracks how many customers continue using your product over time, while churn measures cancellations. These two metrics go hand in hand with LTV — the longer customers stick around, the higher their value.

I suggest improving retention through better onboarding, product education, and proactive support. For example, personalized onboarding flows and timely updates keep customers engaged and reduce early churn.

Why it matters: Strong retention boosts LTV, lowers acquisition pressure, and supports long-term revenue growth.

5. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to visitors who reach your site through search engines rather than paid channels. It plays a key role in driving scalable growth for SaaS businesses.

SEO and content marketing help attract high-intent leads actively searching for solutions. Over time, strong organic performance reduces reliance on paid acquisition, bringing down CAC.

Why it matters: Organic traffic builds brand visibility and delivers a steady stream of potential leads without the ongoing expense of paid ads.

6. Net promoter score (NPS)

NPS® measures how likely customers are to recommend your product. Customers rate this likelihood on a 0-to-10 scale, with higher scores reflecting greater satisfaction and loyalty.

Companies use NPS to spot areas for improving customer experience. I think an additional perk of this metric is that a strong score can also indicate that your customers are happy enough to refer others, driving organic growth through word of mouth.

Why it matters: NPS provides a snapshot of customer loyalty and can predict growth through referrals. High scores often lead to better retention and stronger advocacy.

Start Your Path to Sustainable B2B SaaS Growth

Writing this article reminded me that successful SaaS marketing is about balancing short-term wins and long-term investments. Paid ads or outreach can deliver quick growth, but lasting success comes from ongoing efforts in SEO, content, and customer retention.

Adaptability is key. Regularly track metrics like CAC, LTV, and retention to stay informed on what’s working. Keep experimenting and iterating based on the results you see.

It’s your turn now. Test these strategies, measure your progress, and build a B2B marketing engine that drives steady growth and customer loyalty.

45 Video Marketing Statistics for 2025 [New Data]

Precious Oboidhe — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Recent video marketing statistics show that visual storytelling wins. Video is an increasingly powerful way to communicate your brand story, explain your value proposition, and build relationships with your customers and prospects. I personally like the storytelling, relatability, and brevity of video content.

To help you leverage video in your marketing, I’ve gathered new video marketing statistics from HubSpot and third-party studies to highlight how marketers use video, its performance, and more.

And if you’re looking to get started with your own video marketing, say, yesterday, check out Clip Creator — our free AI-powered video maker.

Table of Contents

General Video Marketing Statistics
Video Marketing Performance Stats
Social Media Video Marketing Stats
YouTube Shorts Marketing Stats

General Video Marketing Statistics

1. 89% of businesses use video marketing. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

2. 13.99% of marketers say they’ll invest more in video marketing channels in 2025. (HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing)

3. 93% of marketers consider video a crucial part of their overall strategy. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

4. 37% of marketers say they haven‘t adopted video marketing because they don’t know where to start. Other common reasons include lack of time (26%), uncertainty about video marketing ROI (16%), perceived high costs (11%), difficulty convincing decision-makers (5%), and not seeing the need for video (5%). (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

5. 65% of marketers who don’t use video marketing say they plan to start in 2025. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

6. 18% of businesses leverage AI tools for their video content production. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

7. Auto-generating captions and transcripts is the top AI use case (59%) for videos. ( Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

8. 254% more businesses captioned their videos in 2023 than in 2022. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

9. Tech marketers create videos to explain complex products (49%), improve brand awareness (39%), branding (31%), generate leads (29%), launch a product/service (27%), increase engagement (24%), and increase conversion rates (17%) (VidCo 2024 State of Video Marketing Report)

10. 55% of marketers produce videos in-house, 14% outsource to vendors, and 31% use both. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

11. Company websites are the number one platform businesses share their video (67%). Followed by email (49%), LinkedIn (43%), YouTube (40%), Instagram (22%), Facebook (19%), TikTok (7%), and X (4%). (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

12. Company video marketing budgets range from under $999 to over $20,000 monthly. ( VidCo 2024 State of Video Marketing Report)

13. When asked which content format they plan to invest more in for 2025, 17.13% of marketers chose short-form video, making it the top choice. 13.88% also said they’ll invest in live streaming. (HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing)

14. 51% of marketers say they've used AI tools for video creation or editing, while 49% have not. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

15. In 2024, 36% of marketers invested in video ads, while 64% relied on organic reach. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

16. U.S. businesses spent more on digital video ads ($85 billion) than on traditional TV ads ($59 billion) (Statista)

17. When asked who makes videos for your company, 62% said individuals at the company, 46% said an in-house video producer or team, 21% said freelancers, and 16% said a video production agency. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

Video Marketing Performance Stats

18. 93% of marketers report a strong ROI from video marketing. (Wyzowl Video Marketing Statistics 2025)

19. 21% of marketers say short-form videos deliver the highest ROI, while live-streaming video ranks third at 15.53%. (HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing)

20. Shorter videos drive higher engagement, but longer videos achieve more watch time. Videos under one minute average 16 seconds of watch time, while those 60+ minutes average 16 and 40 seconds. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

21. The average engagement rate for 3-5 minute videos is 43%, but how-to videos of the same length see 74% engagement. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

22. 74% of companies measure video ROI using engagement metrics like views, view rate, and average watch time. 48% use conversion rates. 48% use traffic and 33% use brand perception. ( VidCo 2024 State of Video Marketing Report)

23. The top three video types companies aimed to create in 2024 are product videos (44%), educational, instructional, and online course videos (38%), webinars and live events (32%). (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

24. Marketers ranked YouTube as the top-performing video marketing channel in 2023. In decreasing order of performance, the other channels are website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn & email, and X & television. (VidCo 2024 State of Video Marketing Report)

25. Companies A/B test videos by creating different versions of a video (31%), call-to-action (CTA) or email form (26%), two completely different videos (21%), custom thumbnail (18%), and player design or color. (4%) (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

Social Media Video Marketing Stats

26. In 2023, 35% of companies created social media videos and planned to do so in 2024, making it the fourth most common video type. (Wistia 2024 State of Video Report)

27. When asked which social formats they’ll invest more in 2025, the top three responses were YouTube (29.58%), Instagram (28.84%), and TikTok (27.64%). (HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing)

28. Short-form videos, like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, are the most commonly used video formats among marketers, with 29.18% leveraging them in their roles. Additionally, 19.19% of marketers incorporate live streaming in their content mix. ( HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing)

29. On TikTok, most top publishers uploaded videos shorter than 30 seconds. However, videos between 5 to 10 minutes got the highest average views ( Tubular 2024, State of Video)

30. TikTok ad videos with captions get an extra 95% boost in brand affinity, a 58% increase in recall, and a 25% jump in uniqueness. (TikTok Creative Center)

31. 97% of LinkedIn videos are vertical. (The Reeder, 2025)

32. 78% of LinkedIn videos are shot with a smartphone, while 22% are shot using professional gadgets. (The Reeder, 2025)

33. 65% of LinkedIn in-feed videos don’t have a CTA. However, the most common CTAs are “Follow for more tips” (19%), “Check the link in my bio” (10%), and “Comment your thoughts” (6%). (The Reeder, 2025)

34. According to the Wistia 2024 State of Video Report, the best times to post on social media are:

Instagram – Monday at 9 AM PST.
Facebook – Monday at 10 AM PST.
LinkedIn – Monday at 1 PM PST.
X – Friday at 9 AM PST.
YouTube – Saturday at 7 PM PST.

YouTube Shorts Marketing Stats

35. Alphabet Inc, YouTube’s parent company, reports that Shorts' monetization rate relative to in-stream viewing has more than doubled in the past 12 months, indicating that advertisers are allocating more budget to Shorts. (Alphabet 2024 Q1 Earnings Call)

36. Shorts had an engagement rate of 5.91% in Q1 2024 — the highest of all short-form video platforms (Statista)

Source

37. YouTube Shorts average over 70 billion daily views. (Alphabet Q3 Earnings Call)

38. Shorts had an average of 2 billion monthly viewers as of July 2023. (Statista)

39. 70% of YouTube channels that upload content each month post Shorts. (Alphabet Q3 Earnings Call)

40. The number of channels uploading Shorts grew 50% year-on-year in 2023. (Alphabet 2024 Q1 Earnings Call)

41. Since October 15, 2024, YouTube has allowed users to upload 3-minute long Shorts (Alphabet Q3 Earnings Call)

42. Advertisers (in up to 40 markets) can now book First Position on YouTube Shorts, meaning your ads get shown first when consumers scroll their Shorts feed. (Alphabet Q3 Earnings Call)

43. Most Shorts are 30-40 seconds long. However, 50-60 seconds Shorts get the most views. ( INFLOW Network)

44. Videos with an average watch time of 50 seconds or more get 4.1 million views, whereas those with lower watch times tend to receive fewer views. (INFLOW Network)

45. GenZ consumers in the U.S. spent about 29.3% of their video time on YouTube in 2023. (Statista)

My Takeaways

The most important takeaway while working on this piece is the reminder that video marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. According to the VidCo 2024 State of Video Marketing Report, most companies have a budget of less than $5,000.

While content assets like customer case studies may require a professional touch, your in-house team can create other basic videos with their smartphones.

If you aren’t already using video marketing, create your strategy, pull out your phone, and start smiling for the camera. And if you already do video marketing, use the insights in this article to audit and improve your marketing strategy in 2025.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Manage Your Entire Marketing Budget [Free Budget Planner Templates]

Shadrack Wanjohi — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT

The words “marketing budget” are enough to stress out every marketing leader. Every dollar has to earn its place. That’s why, when budgeting season rolls around, I stock up on coffee, fire up my spreadsheets, and brace for tough decisions.

For every marketing leader, budgeting isn’t just a numbers game. It’s a high-stakes balancing act between ambition and resources.

In this post, I’ll show you how to make every dollar work harder, defend your budget confidently, and set your team up for success. To simplify the process, I’ve got eight battle-tested templates ready for you.

Table of Contents

What is a marketing budget?
Marketing Costs
Marketing Budget Breakdown
How to Create a Marketing Budget
Marketing Budget Templates
Sample Marketing Budgets
Marketing Budget vs. Advertising Budget
What is an advertising budget?
What to Include in an Ad Budget
How to Set and Monitor Your Ad Budget

What is a marketing budget?

As a marketing leader, I’ve found that every smart marketing strategy comes down to three key investments:

Getting your product in front of the right people.
Building brand awareness.
Setting up backend systems that make scaling easier.

Nail these, and you’re not just spending — you’re investing in growth.

For example, when it comes to advertising, it’s not just about running ads. It’s about getting the most out of every dollar.

My approach? Dynamic ad content that adapts to user behavior and platform-optimized creative that outperforms generic ads. The result is higher engagement levels, better conversions, and more efficient ad spending.

Brand awareness has evolved, too. It’s no longer just about publishing blog posts or ebooks. It’s about spending strategically on multi-channel experiences that meet customers where they already are.

That means investing in podcasts, video content, and interactive resources that don’t just push content but actually build real connections.

But none of this scales without smart operational investments. Automation and SaaS tools free up budget and resources by streamlining everything from email sequences to CRM tracking to performance analytics.

AI takes it even further, optimizing ad spend, personalizing content, and delivering real-time insights that help every dollar work harder.

At the end of the day, marketing isn’t just a cost center. It’s a growth engine. When every investment works together, marketing stops being an expense and becomes a force multiplier for the business.

Marketing Budgets for Small Business

I've seen small business owners wrestle with marketing budgets, tight margins, tough calls, and the ever-present fear of wasted money.

But keeping costs lean isn’t a choice. It’s survival especially when you're scaling.

The hardest part about budgeting for your small business is balancing immediate needs with long-term growth.

Marketing fuels growth. No marketing? No sales. No sales? No business. Winning isn’t about outspending big competitors. It’s about outsmarting them.

The first step is identifying your most profitable customer acquisition channels. Double down on what works and cut the dead weight.

Ready to make your budget go further? Grab our free marketing budget templates and get started.

How much should a company spend on marketing?

While the answer depends on your industry and audience, one thing is clear: In 2025, digital advertising will make up 62.7% of global ad spending.

It’s the fastest-growing channel in advertising, and for good reason: As consumer attention shifts online, brands either follow them or risk becoming invisible. I’ve watched this shift accelerate, and it’s reshaping how companies are prioritizing their budget allocation to digital channels.

Digital ad spending spans everything from desktop ads and search engines to video platforms, social media, and mobile. These channels are evolving with new ad formats, algorithms, and user behaviors, which is reshaping engagement.

Mobile-first strategies are no longer optional; they’re essential. With mobile making up over half of all digital media consumption, brands that don’t prioritize them are becoming irrelevant.

So, how do you allocate your budget? I recommend allocating at least half to digital, if not more.

Brands winning today often allocate 60% or more to digital because that’s where consumers actually spend their time.

Don’t just stick to that number. Invest where it drives real impact.

Seeing killer results from LinkedIn? Lean in. If your brand thrives on TikTok and Instagram, double down there. Start by analyzing where you’re getting the best ROI and adjust accordingly.

So, where should the rest of your budget go? Let’s break down the smartest moves for maximum impact.

Marketing Cost Examples

After years of managing budgets (and making plenty of mistakes along the way), I've found five core areas that really move the needle: software, freelancers, personnel, advertising, and content creation.

I‘ll walk you through each one and share what I’ve learned about making smart spending decisions.

1. Software

Building a tech stack feels overwhelming. There's a free tool for everything these days, and they all promise to revolutionize your marketing.

But here's what actually works: Start with the basics that directly affect your goals. Nearly half of businesses (47%) start with Google Analytics because, well, you can‘t improve what you don’t measure.

Another 43% use Canva or similar design tools because good visuals matter, but not everyone needs the full Adobe suite on day one.

Since there’s a marketing tool for just about any task you can think of, they are generally broken down into the following categories:

Pro tip: I've found the key is being ruthlessly practical. What problems are actually slowing your team down? Invest in those tools first. The rest can wait.

2. Freelancers

Here’s a scenario I bet sounds familiar: You’ve got a big campaign launch next week, and suddenly, your designer is swamped, your copywriter is overloaded, and your deadline isn’t moving.

That’s when I turn to freelancers, my secret weapon for getting high-quality work done quickly without overloading my team or scrambling at the last minute.

A quick tip from someone who’s learned the hard way: Set your freelance budget before you even start looking. Trust me, it’s way too easy to fall in love with a freelancer’s portfolio only to realize they’re way out of your price range.

3. New Personnel

While HR handles recruitment, you need to think bigger about how new hires fit into your marketing vision.

Here‘s what’s interesting: 70% of hiring professionals say we're facing a talent shortage, especially when it comes to finding that perfect mix of industry knowledge and soft skills.

I've learned to approach hiring with three key questions:

What specific skills gap is holding back our marketing goals?
How will this role evolve as our marketing strategy grows?
What's the mix of technical expertise and emotional intelligence we need? (Fun fact: 3 in 4 hiring pros say EQ is now the most crucial skill to look for)

Pro tip: Successful hiring is about finding people who can adapt as marketing evolves. Over half of companies are moving toward skills-based hiring, focusing less on traditional requirements and more on what candidates can actually do. When budgeting for new hires, think beyond the initial investment and consider how they'll help scale your marketing efforts long-term.

4. Advertising

Here's something that took me years to learn: Creating great content is only half the battle — you need to get it in front of the right people.

With 5.5 billion people online (wild, right?), you've got to be smart about how you promote your content.

I use a pretty straightforward approach:

Put most of your budget (70%) into what's already working. If LinkedIn ads are crushing it, don‘t fix what isn’t broken.
Test new channels with about 20%. Maybe TikTok's your next gold mine?
Keep 10% for unexpected opportunities. Trust me, they always pop up.

The goal isn‘t to be everywhere. It’s to be where your audience actually pays attention.

5. Content Creation

Content marketing generates three times more leads than traditional methods, but let's be real: it also requires time and money to do well.

Budget how much money will go into creating this content so you can adjust accordingly based on its return on investment.

Now that you know what to include in your budget, let’s break down where that money actually goes.

Marketing Budget Breakdown

How do you divide your budget for maximum impact? Start with the 70-20-10 rule:

70% goes to proven strategies that already drive results.
20% funds new strategies designed to fuel growth.
10% is reserved for bold, experimental ideas.

This framework keeps your marketing steady while leaving room for innovation.

Marketing Cost Example

I've found that practical examples are often the best way to understand budget allocation. Let me walk you through how I typically recommend structuring a $10,000 marketing budget:

Invest $7,000 (70%) in your proven channels. In my experience, this means focusing on the marketing software you rely on daily, the paid search campaigns that consistently perform well, and your established social media marketing efforts.
Next, set aside $2,000 (20%) for growth opportunities. This is where you‘ll test marketing for new products or features. I’ve seen this approach help businesses expand their reach while managing risk.
Finally, keep $1,000 (10%) for experimentation. This is your chance to try sponsored content or emerging marketing channels that could give you an edge over competitors.

Allocation by Channel

While I love the 70-20-10 framework as a starting point, I always look at broader industry patterns to sense-check our strategy. The latest Gartner research has revealed some fascinating trends in how CMOs are investing their 2024 budgets.

Source

Here‘s what I’m seeing: Digital channels now take 57.1% of paid media spend, with investments breaking down like this:

Search advertising leads at 13.6% (I‘m not surprised. It’s still one of our most reliable channels)
Social advertising follows at 12.2% (and growing steadily, in my experience)
Digital display holds strong at 10.7%

But don‘t count out traditional channels. They’re still powerhouses:

Event marketing: 17.1% (I've seen incredible ROI from well-executed events)
Sponsorships: 16.4%
Television: 16%

The scale of marketing investment keeps growing. We're looking at $1 trillion in 2025, with $750 billion going to digital ads.

But here‘s an interesting insight I’ve noticed: while CMOs rank digital video/streaming as their most effective channel, it does not receive the top budget allocation. In my experience, this often signals an opportunity. Sometimes, the highest-impact channels aren't the most obvious ones.

Let‘s dive into how these trends translate into practical budget decisions for each major marketing channel. I’ll share what I've seen work best across different scenarios.

Paid Search Advertising

I've found that successful PPC budget management goes well beyond creating and running ads on Google and basic bid optimization. When I structure search budgets, I focus on strategic allocation across the full funnel.

While bottom-funnel conversion campaigns often command the largest share, maintain a 15-20% for brand protection and competitor terms. This balance has consistently helped my clients maintain market position while driving growth.

Cost management in paid search requires a nuanced approach. In my experience, tracking your CPC: Customer Lifetime Value ratio by campaign type gives you the clearest picture of scalability.

I use Google's keyword planner for initial research, but I‘ve learned that actual performance data is your best guide for budget optimization. Even with a set budget of $2,000, you may only generate $1,500 in clicks, which I’ve found is often a sign you need to refine targeting rather than just increase spending.

Here's how I approach PPC budget allocation:

Map campaign types to business objectives.
Set performance thresholds by campaign category.
Monitor impression share against budget caps.
Adjust based on quality score impact on efficiency.

Social Media

When building social media budgets, I always start with the strategic fundamentals. Like PPC, social platforms use auction systems for ad delivery, but I've found that success depends more on sophisticated audience targeting than pure bid strategy.

From my experience working with various team structures, I have learned that there are two main options:

Build an in-house team.
Partner with an agency.

Agency partnerships typically cost between $2,000 and $20,000 monthly, but I've learned to look beyond the retainer. The best agencies usually maintain a 30/70 split between strategy and execution, a ratio that consistently drives stronger results.

Here's the framework I use when deciding between in-house and agency approaches:

Strategic control requirements.
Platform complexity and specialization needs.
Creative production scale.
Performance analysis depth.

Content Marketing

I break content marketing investments into four core areas.

Strategy and planning (15-20%): This is your foundation. I invest in content architecture, audience research, and comprehensive topic mapping. I've found that companies who skimp here often end up with content that drives traffic but fails to convert.
Creation and production (35-40%): This typically requires the largest allocation. It covers development, editing, design, and multimedia production. I recommend balancing investment between cornerstone content that builds authority and tactical content that drives conversions.
Distribution and amplification (25-30%): Many organizations underspend here. I allocate a significant budget to paid promotion, strategic partnerships, and syndication. In my experience, even exceptional content needs strategic amplification to deliver ROI.
Performance optimization (15-20%): This is crucial for sustainable success. I ensure resources for analytics, testing, and regular content refreshes. I've seen strategic optimization double or triple content performance within months.

Content marketing costs vary widely based on your goals and area of focus. Hiring outside consultants or agencies to handle content marketing for you can range from $2,000 to $10,000 per month for small to medium-sized businesses.

When advising on resource allocation between in-house teams and agencies, I evaluate several factors:

Required content velocity and complexity.
Specialized expertise needs.
Distribution channel mix.
Measurement capabilities.

For ROI tracking, I recommend focusing on three key dimensions:

Direct revenue impact through lead generation and conversions.
Brand authority building via a share of voice and audience growth.
Operational efficiency improvements in sales and support.

Here‘s a key insight from my experience: Most struggling content programs aren’t failing due to content quality — they're failing due to improper resource allocation across these areas.

Pro tip: I track these metrics using HubSpot's campaign budget management system, which helps me monitor performance across channels while maintaining a clear view of our overall marketing spend distribution.

Email Marketing

While analyzing channel performance, I‘ve found email marketing’s reputation for high ROI is well-deserved.

But there's a catch.

While it delivers acquisition rates 40x higher than Facebook and X combined, this performance depends entirely on strategic investment in the right areas.

Let me share how I structure email marketing budgets for maximum impact. I break it down into these four core components:

First, there's your technology stack (15-25% of budget). This isn‘t just your ESP. I recommend including automation tools, testing platforms, and critical integrations. I’ve seen too many companies underinvest here and limit their program's potential.
Next comes strategy and planning (20-30%). This covers segmentation development, journey mapping, and integration planning. When I audit struggling email programs, weak strategy is often the culprit.
Content creation typically requires the largest allocation (30-40%). This includes campaigns, nurture flows, and transactional emails. Success correlates directly with content personalization capabilities.
Finally, never skimp on analytics and optimization (15-25%). In my experience, robust testing and optimization processes often double or triple program performance within the first year.

For companies weighing agency partnerships versus in-house development, I evaluate three factors:

Technical complexity of required automation.
Volume and sophistication of required content.
Internal resource availability and expertise.

The right choice depends on your specific situation. For instance, I often recommend agencies for complex automation needs but suggest building in-house teams when content volume is the primary driver.

Search Engine Optimization

Effective SEO investment depends heavily on your SEO maturity stage. I categorize this into three levels: foundational (technical optimization), growth (content authority building), and competitive advantage (market leadership).

Here’s how I structure SEO budgets for maximum impact across these stages:

Technical Infrastructure (20-30%): I start with the foundation. This covers site architecture, speed optimization, and indexation management. I've seen too many companies underinvest here, only to face costly fixes later. When I audit struggling SEO programs, technical debt is often the hidden performance killer.
Content Development (30-40%): This typically requires the largest allocation. It includes strategic content creation, on-page optimization, and regular content refreshes. I've found that sustainable SEO success correlates directly with consistent, high-quality content investment.
Authority Building (20-25%): This is where I focus on digital PR, strategic partnerships, and targeted outreach. The key here is quality over quantity. I've seen better results from five relevant, authoritative links than fifty mediocre ones.
Analytics and Strategy (15-20%): Never underestimate the value of robust tracking and analysis. I always ensure budgets include resources for advanced analytics, competitive analysis, and opportunity identification. This often reveals high-ROI opportunities others miss.

When advising clients on agency partnerships versus in-house teams, I evaluate several factors:

Existing technical debt and resolution complexity.
Required content volume and expertise.
Competitive landscape intensity.
Internal team capabilities.

For measurement, I recommend looking beyond basic traffic metrics. Focus on:

Revenue contribution by content type.
Customer acquisition costs compared to other channels.
Brand search volume trends.
Market share of search metrics.

Spreadsheet knowledge alone won‘t help you understand how you’ll spend your marketing money this year. Creating a sound marketing budget starts with knowing what purpose this budget will serve and which marketing teams it will represent.

Here’s how I approach creating a marketing budget.

1. Know your buyer's journey.

Your buyer’s journey consists of the steps your audience takes to go from prospect to paying customer.

By mapping out your buyer’s journey, you can see how your audience interacts with your marketing at each stage. This helps you sharpen your goals and spend your budget where it matters most.

I always ask myself these questions as I define my buyer's journey:

How do leads and customers typically discover my products?
What information do they need before making a purchase?
How many site visits does my website receive each month?
How many leads do we generate per month, and what percentage convert to paying customers?
How much does it cost to acquire and convert new leads?
What is the average revenue per lead?

Defining my buyer’s journey helps me identify what’s working, fix what’s not, and focus my budget where it counts.

2. Align your budget with your marketing goals.

Your marketing spend — how much and where — depends entirely on your goals.

So, when creating your marketing budget, make sure you only fund initiatives that align with your current goals, which are based on your audience’s journey from prospect to customer.

These might include:

Display ads to promote a new product you're launching this year.
Sponsored social media posts to grow your new Facebook page’s following.
Paid search engine ads to drive traffic (and purchases) to a specific product page.
Hiring contract bloggers to boost organic search traffic to your company's website.

I've seen budgets stretch (and break) depending on whether the focus is lead generation or lead conversion.

Jessica Webb Kennedy, formerly a demand generation marketer at HubSpot, now product marketing manager at Jasper, breaks this down.

“Most of the money you spend on paid efforts is usually calculated based on the volume of clicks or impressions. Because of this, you'll often want to allocate more budget to campaigns with broader audiences and high-engagement offers,” Kennedy says.

For example, she explains, a tweet or Facebook ad promoting a top-of-funnel lead generation offer will likely attract more clicks than a mid- or bottom-funnel campaign.

Your paid advertising costs will also shift depending on how wide of an audience you're targeting.

“You can look at Twitter advertising as an example,” Webb says.

“You have the option to target your campaigns based on users' interests or keywords searched for. Interests are a much broader category, whereas smaller pockets of users are searching for any given keyword. So, your interest-based audience is going to be much larger and require a larger budget,” she adds.

I've seen this play out firsthand. Targeting a broad audience, such as interest-based segments, requires a larger budget because it reaches more people. In contrast, keyword-based targeting focuses on a smaller, highly specific group, offering potentially greater relevance at a lower reach.

At the end of the day, your marketing dollars should work for your goals. Spend wisely.

3. Beware of hidden marketing costs.

A well-maintained budget spreadsheet prevents those end-of-quarter or end-of-year freak-outs when you realize, “Whoa … what did I spend all that money on?”

I’ve seen it happen. Overlooked expenses sneak up and suddenly, marketers are scrambling to cover unexpected costs. Product marketing, in particular, is one of those areas where budgeting oversights can lead to serious surprises.

Meghan Keaney Anderson, former HubSpot VP of marketing, now head of product marketing at Watershed, points out that marketers often forget about key costs beyond just promotion.

“People often budget for product marketing with only launches and promotions in mind,” Anderson explains.

But successful product marketing isn’t just about the big splash. It requires investing in research and message testing well before launch.

“Talking to customers early about their pain points sharpens messaging and paves the way for a powerful launch,” Anderson says.

4. Remember where your priorities lie.

Marketing is full of add-ons, upsells, and “premium” versions, but how many are actually worth the price? The best way to find out is to track every expense.

I monitor my budget closely and match every dollar spent to the results I’m getting. When you know exactly where your money is going, it’s easier to focus on what’s working and cut the rest without second-guessing.

Take public relations, for example. It’s a field packed with budget-draining tools, which makes smart spending even more critical. You might be splurging on flashy distribution software while underinvesting in media relationships that would move the needle.

There are plenty of tools “to help PR pros create and distribute content, target key stakeholders, and measure reach and effectiveness,” says Nathaniel Eberle, former PR director at HubSpot and now VP of global brand at GoTo.

Before spending money on PR tools, teams need to determine which journalists, influencers, or decision-makers they need to reach and then budget accordingly.

“As the media and digital landscape evolves at breakneck speed, continually reassessing the tools, services, and programs you’re using is key to understanding the real-time ROI of your spend. Today’s must-have tool may be worthless tomorrow,” Eberle adds.

The PR landscape moves fast. If you’re not constantly re-evaluating your tools and spending, you’re probably wasting money.

5. Spend your budget smartly.

When you open these marketing budget templates and check out all the various expenses detailed in them, don’t fret if you can’t tick every box.

I'm not advocating for an “always spend more” approach to marketing. I’m advocating for an “always spend smart” approach. The expenses listed aren’t mandatory.

They’re just meant to guide your thinking and to help ensure that you haven’t overlooked any hidden costs.

6. Prepare to measure ROI.

When I put a certain amount of money into a certain area, I want to determine if my budgeting helped or hurt me as I plan out future budgets. The best way to do this is by measuring ROI.

If the money I’ve spent on one item results in my company making more in return, I may want to increase the budget in the next year. If my money doesn’t end in a positive ROI, I re-examine my budget.

Marketing Budget Templates

It can feel overwhelming when you’re unsure how to split or track your spending. I’ve been there. But here’s the good news: these marketing budget templates can help to take the guesswork out of budgeting. I know how much easier budgeting becomes when you have the right tools in place.

Whether I’m tracking content spending, paid ads, or event costs, these templates — available in both Excel and Googe Sheets — give me clarity and control over my marketing budget so I can manage everything at a monthly and quarterly level.

Let’s dive in and see how these templates can simplify your planning and tracking.

1. Master Marketing Budget Template

Free Download: Master Marketing Budget Template

While it’s helpful to have individual budget templates for specific marketing departments and activities, it’s also nice to be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

The Master Marketing Budget Template lets you do just that: It's the place where you can collect the totals from the other seven templates in the bundle and see all of your expenses in one place.

Budget overview from all departments: In the first table, you get to see both your budget and actual spending from all marketing departments, including product marketing, content marketing, paid advertising, PR, branding and creative, and events.
Month-over-month expense summary: For a more bird’s eye view of all expenses, look at this table, where you can see the aggregated budget and actual spending for all marketing activities.
Marketing budget vs. actual spend chart: This chart allows you to pinpoint trends in spending and budgeting — where you came under and where you overspent.

2. Product Marketing Budget Template

Free Download: Product Marketing Budget Template

This template will guide you step-by-step through the process of budgeting for a product launch.

From determining product/market fit to running user testing sessions to promoting your finished product, our Product Marketing Budget Template will help ensure you don't overlook any important expenses.

Budget and spend per product marketing activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track your spending for product marketing activities such as carrying out focus groups, hosting launch events, and creating white papers.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as product release spending and product testing. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Year-to-date summary chart: This chart allows you to see a visual breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

3. Content Budget Template

Free Download: Content Budget Template

The budget required for creating and promoting content can vary greatly from organization to organization.

For example, while some organizations keep most of their content operations in-house, others rely more heavily on freelancers and contractors.

And while some use many different software products, publishing tools, and services, others take a much simpler approach.

Budget and spend per content marketing activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for content marketing activities, such as purchasing design software, creating landing pages, and hiring freelance writers
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as software purchases and freelancer costs. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Year-to-date summary chart: This chart allows you to see a visual breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

This is designed to cover as many content-related bases as possible. So, if you see any expenses listed that don‘t apply to your organization, go ahead and delete them. (That’s the beauty of Excel spreadsheets: You can customize them to your specific needs.)

4. Paid Advertising Budget Template

Free Download: Paid Advertising Budget Template

Paid advertising: Does it really qualify as an inbound marketing tactic/channel? That is a loaded question, my friends, and one that I don't have room to answer in-depth in this post.

What I can tell you for sure is that you can do paid advertising in an “inbound” way — i.e., by targeting specific buyer personas and using paid advertising as a supplement to your organic efforts to help drive awareness and conversion opportunities.

Measuring the effectiveness of your paid advertising campaigns is also paramount to doing things the inbound way.

Using our Paid Advertising Budget Template, you can keep tabs on your monthly (and quarterly) ad spending and then cross-reference the amounts with your lead-generation metrics to determine your cost-per-lead.

Budget and spend per paid advertising activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for paid advertising activities, such as launching CPC campaigns, creating social media ads, and investing in a content discovery platform.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as search advertising and lead generation. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Year-to-date summary chart: This chart allows you to see a visual breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

5. Public Relations Budget Template

Free Download: Public Relations Budget Template

Public relations expenses amount to more than just paying for press releases. From reputation monitoring software to traveling (e.g., to events and trade shows) to applying for awards, there are many PR costs that can be all too easy to overlook.

To ensure you’re accounting for all of your organization’s PR-related expenses, check out our Public Relations Budget Template.

Budget and spend per public relations activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for PR activities, such as purchasing a press release service subscription, creating PR content, and hosting PR dinners.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as subscriptions, content, tradeshows, and media relations. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Year-to-date summary chart: This chart allows you to see a visual breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

6. Branding and Creative Budget Template

Free Download: Branding and Creative Budget Template

In order to produce high-quality, innovative graphics, videos, and other content, the branding and creative teams of today need more than just Photoshop ... a lot more.

One of the largest — and often most overlooked — expenses is: storage.

If your organization is producing a lot of video, storage is especially important. Because as it turns out, when budgeting for video storage, you shouldn't be thinking on a megabyte (MB) or even a gigabyte (GB) scale, but on a terabyte (TB) scale. FYI: 1 terabyte = 1 trillion bytes.

You can keep track of all your storage costs (and other branding and creative costs) using our free template.

Budget and spend per branding and creative activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for branding and creative activities, such as purchasing creative software, investing in hardware, and renting equipment.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as software subscriptions, equipment rentals, and outsourcing costs. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Year-to-date summary chart: This chart allows you to see a visual breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

7. Website Redesign Budget Template

Free Download: Website Redesign Budget Template

Budgeting for a website redesign can be seriously tricky. With so many moving pieces to consider, there is a lot of room for underestimating or miscalculating costs.

We created our Website Redesign Budget Template so you can keep all of your redesign-related expenses in one convenient location. (Unsure if your current website is right for a redesign? Grade your website using this tool.)

Budget and spend per website redesign activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for website redesign activities, such as purchasing a domain name, investing in CMS software, and creating wireframes.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as software, content and design, and content migration. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Website redesign “Actual cost by category” pie chart: This chart allows you to see a percentage breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for figuring out where to scale back and where to invest more.

8. Event Budget Template

Free Download: Event Budget Template

When planning an event, the associated costs can seem obvious at first. There’s the venue to consider, of course. And the P.A. system and microphones. And then, the costs associated with booking and bringing in presenters/performers.

That’s pretty much it, right? Wrong.

For example, does the venue come with tables/chairs, or will you have to rent those separately? Do you want your attendees to wear name tags, and if so, will you be printing out the name tags ahead of time or will attendees be writing their own names on blank tags?

If the latter, have you factored in the pens or markers you'll need to accommodate that? As you can see, planning for an event can lead you down many rabbit holes.

Use our Event Budget Template to stay organized.

Budget and spend per event hosting activity: This table allows you to set a budget and track spending for event hosting activities, such as renting an event hall, purchasing food and drinks, and hiring presenters.
Year-to-date summary of categorical expenses: Here, you can see an aggregated summary of all expenses divided by category, such as revenue, refreshments, and promotion. It will also automatically calculate the amount of money you have left.
Event “Actual cost by category” pie chart: This chart shows a percentage breakdown of where most of your funds are going, which is immensely helpful for determining where to scale back and where to invest more.

Sample Marketing Budgets

How much should you actually spend on marketing in 2025? With marketing budgets averaging 7.7% of revenue in 2024, every dollar has to work hard. But what’s the best way to allocate it?

Based on the downward trend of post-pandemic marketing budgets, I’ve broken down how different industries might structure their marketing spending and what that means for your strategy. Each budget reflects how each type of business makes money and what it needs to prioritize to grow.

Early-Stage SaaS Startup

Annual Revenue: $2M
Marketing Budget (7.7%): $154,000

Quarterly Breakdown

Digital Advertising (35%): $13,475

Search ads: $7,000 (focused on high-intent keywords)
Social media ads: $4,475 (primarily LinkedIn and Meta)
Display ads: $2,000 (retargeting campaigns)

Content Marketing (25%): $9,625
Sales Enablement (20%): $7,700 (tools, collateral, and training to help sales teams convert leads efficiently — critical for SaaS companies with long sales cycles)
Events/PR (15%): $5,775
Testing New Channels (5%): $1,925 (exploring emerging platforms and new acquisition strategies)

What I Like

I like how this budget prioritizes demand generation which is exactly what an early-stage SaaS startup needs.

35% of the budget goes to digital ads because acquiring customers fast is key. The search ad spend of $7,000 makes sense since SaaS thrives on high-intent keywords that target buyers actively looking for solutions.

I also appreciate the 25% for content marketing because SaaS has long sales cycles, and content helps educate and nurture leads over time.

The 20% for sales enablement is a smart move, too, since SaaS sales require strong collateral and training to help reps close deals.

Finally, I love that 5% is set aside for testing new channels. Startups don’t always know which platform will scale best, so keeping a small but dedicated budget for experimentation is a smart way to stay ahead of trends.

Established Ecommerce Business

Annual Revenue: $10M

Marketing Budget (7.7%): $770,000

Quarterly Breakdown

Performance Marketing (40%): $77,000

Search advertising: $25,000
Social media ads: $30,000
Shopping ads: $22,000

Email Marketing (25%): $48,125 (retention, abandoned cart recovery, and lifecycle automation)
Content and SEO (20%): $38,500
Brand Awareness (10%): $19,250
Experimental Channels (5%): $9,625

What I Like

I like how this budget leans heavily into performance marketing (40%) because ecommerce is all about scaling fast and converting traffic. The split between search, social, and shopping ads ensures a diversified ad strategy, which reduces risk.

The 25% for email marketing is something I really appreciate. Too many ecommerce brands overspend on ads and forget that email marketing delivers some of the highest ROI. A strong investment here ensures brands can maximize lifetime value, recover abandoned carts, and create repeat buyers.

I also like the 20% for content and SEO. It tells me the brand isn’t just relying on ads but also building sustainable, long-term traffic through organic search. That’s a critical move as ad costs continue to rise.

Professional Services Firm

Annual Revenue: $5M

Marketing Budget (7.7%): $385,000

Quarterly Breakdown

Lead Generation (30%): $28,875 (targeted outreach, inbound strategies, and conversion optimization)
Content Marketing (25%): $24,062
Event Marketing (20%): $19,250
Digital Presence (15%): $14,437
Brand Building (10%): $9,625

What I Like

I like how lead generation gets the largest share (30%) because in professional services, you don’t win clients through impulse purchases you build relationships. The focus on targeted outreach and inbound strategies tells me this budget is structured for high-value lead conversion, not just volume.

I also appreciate the 25% investment in content marketing because expertise is what sells in this industry. Whitepapers, webinars, and thought leadership all establish trust and authority.

The 20% for event marketing also makes sense. This industry still relies heavily on networking and in-person relationships.

Events are where firms can connect with high-value clients and close deals, so this budget reflects how sales actually happen in professional services.

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Brand

Annual Revenue: $20M

Marketing Budget (7.7%): $1.54M

Quarterly Breakdown

Social Media Advertising (35%): $134,750
Influencer Marketing (25%): $96,250
Content Creation (20%): $77,000
Email Marketing (15%): $57,750
Customer Research (5%): $19,250

What I Like

I like how 35% of the budget goes to social media advertising because that’s the backbone of D2C growth. Social ads allow for precise targeting, quick testing, and scalable acquisition.

The 25% for influencer marketing is also a smart investment. D2C buyers rely on trusted voices and social proof, so this ensures a mix of organic trust-building and paid amplification.

I also love the 20% for content creation. With social platforms prioritizing engaging content, a D2C brand can’t afford weak creative. This budget ensures high-quality visuals, UGC, and video production.

B2B Manufacturing Company

Annual Revenue: $50M

Marketing Budget (7.7%): $3.85M

Quarterly Breakdown

Trade Shows and Events (30%): $288,750
Digital Marketing (25%): $240,625
Sales Support (20%): $192,500
Account-Based Marketing (15%): $144,375
Market Research (10%): $96,250

What I Like

I like how trade shows and events take up 30% of the budget because that’s how major B2B deals get made. Face-to-face networking is still essential in this industry, and this budget reflects that.

The 25% allocated to digital marketing is also a smart move. Historically, manufacturing companies have underinvested in digital, so this ensures paid search, SEO, and content marketing help generate inbound leads.

I also appreciate the 15% investment in account-based marketing (ABM). B2B sales require targeting specific high-value accounts, so this allocation ensures marketing efforts are aligned with sales to drive large deals.

Marketing Budget vs. Advertising Budget

In my experience, one of the most common points of confusion I encounter is the difference between marketing and advertising budgets. While both aim to capture consumer interest and increase sales, they serve distinct purposes in your overall strategy.

Marketing budgets cover the entire customer journey. When I create a marketing budget, I plan for everything from market research and brand development to customer retention and analytics tools.

It's like planning for an entire house, including the foundation, rooms, and all the furnishings that make it functional.

Advertising budgets, on the other hand, focus specifically on creating awareness and engaging customers through paid channels.

Think of it as your megaphone: the tools and platforms you'll use to amplify your message. In my budget planning, advertising typically falls under the larger umbrella of marketing, much like how your living room furniture falls under your overall home improvement budget.

While ad budgets often represent the largest portion of marketing budgets (I typically see them accounting for 40-60% of total marketing spend), I've learned that ads are only effective when integrated with larger marketing efforts.

Pro tip: When I run a paid social campaign, I need to ensure we have the right content strategy, landing pages, and follow-up sequences in place to convert that paid traffic into actual customers.

This is why I always emphasize to my team that successful marketing isn't just about having a big advertising budget but a comprehensive marketing budget that supports every touchpoint in the customer journey.

Advertising Budget Example

Here’s a small sample budget for a quarter’s worth of expenses by a hypothetical company that has decided to invest heavily in video marketing. This template was created using the Master Budget Template, the first template listed in the section above.

Based on the figures above, video advertising’s total expenses for the quarter exceeded budget by $20, while full-time recruitment’s total expenses exceeded budget by $2,400. This means the company is trending over budget for the first three months of the year.

Why might this happen? Perhaps a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign on YouTube received more clicks by viewers than expected, and a sharp, video-savvy job candidate negotiated a higher salary.

Based on the difference between this company's planned spend and actual spending, their budget template produced the following graph:

What to Include in an Ad Budget

Six costs form the core of effective ad budgets. Let me break down how I think about each one.

1. Internal Resources

When I plan for internal resources, I think beyond just headcount. I consider both the people and tools they need to succeed.

For example, my team‘s time spent on ad campaigns isn’t just about their salaries. It's about investing in their specialized training for new ad platforms, ensuring they have the right tools to work efficiently, and building in time for creative collaboration.

I've learned that underestimating these supporting costs can seriously impact campaign effectiveness.

2. Market Research

Market research has evolved far beyond simple surveys and focus groups. I invest in both ongoing customer feedback loops and broader market analysis.

This might mean running A/B tests on ad creative, analyzing competitor strategies, or using AI-powered tools to spot emerging trends. I've found that solid market research often pays for itself by preventing costly campaign mistakes.

3. Third-Party Providers

I approach agency and freelancer partnerships strategically. Rather than viewing them as just extra hands, I see them as specialists who can fill specific expertise gaps.

For instance, I might bring in a specialized agency for a product launch while keeping day-to-day ad management in-house. This flexible approach helps me scale efforts up or down as needed without maintaining a larger permanent team.

4. Asset Creation

The days of one-size-fits-all creativity are long gone. I budget for creating multiple versions of assets tailored to different platforms and audiences.

This includes variations for different screen sizes, platform-specific formats (think TikTok versus LinkedIn), and different stages of the customer journey.

I've learned that high-quality, platform-optimized creative often delivers better ROI than generic assets used everywhere.

5. Ad Space Spending

Ad space isn't just about buying impressions anymore. I allocate budget based on platform performance and audience behavior patterns.

This might mean investing heavily in search ads during peak shopping seasons or allocating more to social platforms during specific audience engagement times. The key is maintaining flexibility to shift spending based on real-time performance data.

6. Performance Evaluation

I've learned that performance evaluation needs its own dedicated budget. This covers not just analytics tools but also the resources needed to turn data into actionable insights.

I invest in tools that can track cross-channel attribution, measure brand lift, and calculate true ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). This helps me make data-driven decisions about where to invest more and where to pull back.

In my experience, the success of an advertising budget often depends on how well these six components work together rather than how much is spent on each individually.

Total up the cost of these six components to get your potential ad budget. If this is your first year creating an ad budget, set budget caps slightly higher than you anticipate. If you have previous years’ data on ad performance, use this information to help determine expected costs.

It’s also worth noting that ad budgets rarely remain on target as the cost of digital advertising space increases and customer expectations evolve.

As a result, it’s worth building in some extra budget room in case ads don’t live up to expectations or high-performing campaigns can benefit by increasing their reach.

How to Set and Monitor Your Ad Budget

Advertising budgets aren’t static. Instead, they change over time in response to business goals and consumer expectations.

To make the most of your ad budget, I think it’s important to both set a baseline and monitor metrics over time. Here’s what this looks like in practice.

Setting an Ad Budget

Follow three steps to set your basic ad budget.

Step 1: Decide on a strategy.

I always recommend starting with strategy before numbers. Too many teams jump straight to channel selection without considering their overall goals.

Before allocating a single dollar, I ask: Are we trying to enter a new market, defend our current position, or launch a new product? Each scenario requires a different approach to budget allocation.

For example, when I plan a new product launch, I typically allocate more budget to awareness and education channels. However, when I focus on market share growth, I might shift more resources to conversion-focused campaigns.

Pro tip: Meet customers where they are, not where you want them to be. If current strategies aren’t working and data tells you that customers have moved on, pack your bags and make the change.

Step 2: Select measurable goals.

Vague goals lead to vague results. When setting goals, make them specific and measurable.

Instead of saying, “increase brand awareness,” aim for specific targets like “achieve a 25% increase in branded search volume” or “reach a cost per qualified lead of $50 or less.”

What's crucial is connecting these goals to actual business outcomes. I make sure every metric I track ties back to revenue or strategic business objectives. This makes it much easier to justify budget adjustments when needed.

Pro tip: Pick just a few metrics to start. While more data provides more insight, doing too much too quickly can lead to information overload, increasing the risk that actionable data gets lost in the shuffle.

Step 3: Do your research.

Research isn't just a one-time activity before launching campaigns. I maintain ongoing research in three key areas:

Competitive analysis. Understanding competitor spending patterns and channel preferences
Customer behavior. Tracking changes in how our audience consumes media.
Channel performance. Monitoring which platforms are delivering the best results for our industry.

Pro tip: Cast a wide net. Combine in-person interactions, online reviews, digital surveys, and customer service histories to better understand what customers want and whether you’re providing it. Equipped with strategies, goals, and data, you’re better positioned to create a realistic ad budget that will allow you to target the ideal audience and capture their interest.

Monitoring Your Budget

Keep your budget on track by monitoring three key metrics:

1. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

ROAS helps determine if your ads are generating sales or losing money.

To find ROAS, divide sales tied to ads by the cost of those ads.

For example, if your ads produced $1,000 worth of sales and cost $200, you divide $1,000 by $200 to get a ROAS of 5.

Higher ROAS values mean more performance for the cost. Values under 1 mean that ads cost more than the revenue they produce.

Pro tip: ROAS isn’t enough in isolation. While it shows the total value of ads compared to spending, it doesn’t tell you anything about customers themselves. If your goal is to encourage repeat purchases, ROAS can show you that ads are working, but it can’t tell you if the same customers are returning or if purchases are one-and-done.

2. Conversion Rate

Conversion rate measures how frequently customers take a specific action when they view an advertisement.

This action might be clicking on the ad to visit your website, clicking through to download a free ebook or other resource, or signing up for email newsletters.

To find the conversion rate of your ads (measured in a percentage), divide the total number of conversions by the total number of advertisement views, then multiply by 100.

Pro tip: Conversion rate is often the first metric to fall as advertisements lose efficacy. As a result, it’s worth measuring conversions weekly or bi-weekly to make necessary ad changes.

3. Cost per Lead (CPL)

Cost per lead offers a per-person look at ad spending.

This value is calculated by dividing the total amount spent on an advertisement by the total number of leads attributed to it.

While metrics like ROAS show sales related to ads, CPL shows the number of leads.

Consider a company that measures ad-attributed sales at $10,000 and ad spend at $1,000 for a stand-out ROAS of 10. The following month, however, sales plummeted. What’s going on?

CPL, meanwhile, shows just 20 leads for the ad, meaning that each lead cost $50. Without repeat spending the following months, the ad underperformed. As a result, it’s critical to measure both ROAS and CPL to get the big picture.

Pro tip: Companies can reduce their CPL by testing A/B ads before campaigns go live. The concept is simple: Test two (or more) ads in limited distribution to see which generates the most interest and leads.

Smart Marketing Budgets: Focus Your Spend, Fuel Your Growth

A smart marketing budget is your team’s roadmap to measurable success. Without a clear strategy, it’s easy to overspend on flashy campaigns that don’t move the needle or, worse, underinvest in the areas that truly drive growth.

That’s why I always return to the basics:

Revisit the buyer’s journey.
Sharpen my goals.
Eliminate distractions so that every dollar has a real impact.

I focus on high-ROI initiatives, double down on what’s working, and resist the urge to chase trends that don’t align with my strategy.

Your budget isn’t just about numbers. It’s about where your brand is headed. Plan wisely, invest intentionally, and watch your marketing efforts translate into real, sustainable growth. Your team’s success depends on it.

Editor's Note: This blog post was originally published in March 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

What's a Marketing Audit? [+ How To Do One]

Erin Rodrigue — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Being a marketer in today’s landscape is equal parts exciting and terrifying, am I right? But a marketing audit has never been more crucial. The competition is fierce, and with AI on the horizon, it’s difficult to tell what the future will bring in the next five years or so.

If you haven’t revisited your marketing strategy for a few years, or you’re seeing some key metrics drop, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to the bottom of it. That’s what a marketing audit will help you with.

In this piece, we'll take a closer look at marketing audits, the best time to conduct one, and a few best practices to pull one off.

Table of Contents

What is a marketing audit?
Elements of a Marketing Audit
Who does a marketing audit?
When should I do a marketing audit?
How to Do a Marketing Audit [+ Best Practices]
Marketing Audit Example

To get the best results, your marketing audit should be objective, systematic, and recurring.

The objective is to ensure it's free of bias.
A systematic approach ensures your audit is structured, organized, and measurable.
A recurring audit helps you discover and address problems early on.

Keep in mind that a marketing audit can encompass your entire operation or a subset of it — such as a specific campaign, process, or focus (e.g., social media marketing).

Elements of a Marketing Audit

A comprehensive marketing audit may include one or more of the following elements:

1. SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis outlines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your marketing. Using this framework, you can take inventory of your marketing assets and roadblocks.

2. Competitive Analysis

As the name suggests, a competitive analysis takes stock of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. It puts a magnifying glass on their products, prices, marketing strategies, campaigns, and target audience.

3. Market Research

Even if you think you know your customers through and through, market research can reveal even deeper insight into their needs, preferences, motivations, and behaviors. On top of that, you can tap into emerging trends and new opportunities in the marketplace, helping you stay ahead of the curve.

Who does a marketing audit?

It’s common for companies to outsource marketing audits to a third party. This is for a few reasons.

Firstly, it’s time-consuming. If you don’t have a large team that has the time to dedicate days, if not weeks, to market research and internal data analyses, working with an external partner might be the way to go.

Secondly, your audit needs to be as objective as possible. If your team has been responsible for a lot of the existing marketing strategy, it might be hard to examine it without bias.

Third-party firms also have more experience conducting audits, and that experience really matters. They're often better equipped to identify best practices and opportunities for improvement and may have access to specialized tools, technologies, and research capabilities.

This doesn’t, however, mean that you cannot do a marketing audit yourself. If you have time and resources (i.e., people) you can give it a go.

Alternatively, you could also decide on a mixed approach, as Jacob Barnes, founder at FlowSavvy, suggests.

“Outsource your analysis from time to time. External audits can reiterate that your in-house team is on track and making the right moves. It also helps to reduce any biases in the assessments or conclusions,” he told me.

Pro tip: If you choose to conduct your audit internally, this market research kit can provide a great starting point.

When should I do a marketing audit?

As I mentioned above, a marketing audit should be conducted on a regular basis. After all, the sooner you capitalize on what‘s working (and remedy what’s not), the stronger your marketing plan will be.

The exact frequency of your audits depends on your organization's industry, size, and goals.

Generally, it's good practice to conduct an audit on an annual basis.

Other factors may trigger the need for an audit, including:

Significant market changes (e.g., a new competitor).
Lack of results.
Notable business changes (e.g., a merger).
Planned investments (e.g. a product launch).

Now, let's cover the steps for conducting a marketing audit and a few best practices.

1. Choose what you want to audit.

As I already mentioned, your marketing audit can cover your entire operation or target a specific campaign, process, or area. Ultimately, what you choose to audit is entirely up to you and will depend on your marketing priorities.

That said, your marketing is likely comprised of interrelated components, so it can be beneficial to look at your entire conversion funnel. That’s what I heard from Arham Khan, founder and CEO at Pixated.

He said they did an audit for an ecommerce brand whose product pages were getting decent traffic, but conversions were down. The team knew immediately where the gap was: the product pages needed work.

“After our CRO experts took a detailed look, we identified the problems. Their product descriptions read like bad novels, and the ‘buy’ buttons got lost in the clutter. We took things back to basics and simplified it. Punchy product descriptions replaced the waffle, we brought the product images into focus, and made those call-to-action buttons impossible to miss,” said Khan.

The results spoke for themselves: product page views jumped 28%, and conversions climbed 32% in just a few weeks.

2. Identify your goals and objectives.

Want to know which of your social media campaigns are performing well? Or how your content strategy stacks up against your competitors? Or, maybe, you want to refresh your branding or customer personas.

Start by picking an objective that will serve as the “North Star” for your audit. Next, break down your object into measurable goals.

For example, suppose your main objective is determining which social media channels provide the best engagement. In that case, your goal might be, “Meet a minimum quota of 200 new followers per month on TikTok.” Then, your marketing audit would put this to the test.

3. Collect the right information.

Now that you have well-defined and measurable goals, the next step is gathering information. This can come from a number of sources — such as campaign metrics, website traffic, social media metrics, and marketing spend.

For instance, if you're tracking the effectiveness of a specific campaign, HubSpot users can access a wealth of campaign data via the marketing analytics dashboard. From here, they can direct their marketing budget toward their most successful efforts.

Source

You can also gather data from external sources like market research reports, industry benchmarks, and competitor analysis — but ensure the data is reliable and accurate.

Will Hatton, founder & CEO of The Broke Backpacker, thinks that competitive analysis is a must.

“Think of it as having your rival's playbook. You can see their keywords, what type of content they are creating, and which social media platforms they are getting the most hits on,” says Hatton.

He added that you might notice one of your competitors is crushing it on Instagram with their stunning display of travel photos. And that is a very big clue that you can take full advantage of.

Pro tip: Once you've gathered the data, organize it in a way that is easy to analyze and reference later. You may want to create charts and graphs, and consolidate data into a single document.

4. Surface any findings or insights from the data.

How you evaluate your data depends on the goals of the audit. For instance, you might perform a competitive analysis if you're looking to evaluate your pricing strategy against your competitors.

Document the results or findings from this step so you can make effective recommendations down the line.

5. Make recommendations (and track them).

Lastly, make recommendations for improving your marketing strategy — such as readjusting your messaging, marketing channels, or spending.

For example, if you discover your Facebook advertising strategy isn't capturing enough leads, a recommendation might be to redirect that spend to another channel.

After you make these adjustments, monitor the results to determine their effectiveness. This involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and making changes as needed.

Marketing Audit Example

Let’s imagine I work at a SaaS company that sells a CRM.

Here’s the fictional setup: Despite investing significant resources into lead generation, we’ve seen a drop in new customer signups over the past six months. Conversion rates from website traffic to trial signups have declined by 25%, and churn rates among new customers have increased.

My best guess is that the issue lies somewhere in the marketing strategy or its execution. My team and I decided to conduct a marketing audit to get to the root cause.

Step 1: Defining the goals and scope.

My objective is to improve my conversion rate and extend my new customers’ lifetime value.

As you can imagine, there might be a lot of factors contributing to this state of things, so I need to decide which areas I’m going to investigate.

I could decide to focus on the following:

Blog content.
Email marketing.
Social media.
Website copy.

This is going to be the scope of my audit.

Step 2: Collecting data and evaluate your marketing strategy

The basis of any marketing audit is data. To analyze what’s working and what isn’t, I need to have the tools that will collect it for me.

So, as far as blog content and landing pages are concerned, I could turn to Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Among others, I could also check if the reason for a drop in signups is due to an overall traffic drop for my domain (for example, due to search rankings going down).

If I’m going to dive into my on-site content analysis, I could also set up a session recording tool. This would help me see if people aren’t scrolling down beyond the above-the-fold of a landing page.

Or, maybe, an article on “The best strategies for successfully implementing a CRM” that used to be the number one in Google has dropped to the 12th position. Let’s say after watching a dozen or so recordings, I notice that people no longer read past the introduction.

I verify that, in the meantime, my competitors wrote a lot of high-value content on the topic, including expert roundups, which have outranked you since they follow EEAT guidelines.

For social posts, I’d look at likes, comments, and click rates in the platform’s own reporting tools or a social media management platform.

Meanwhile, for email marketing, I’d have to turn to my CRM/marketing automation tool to verify open rates and click rates. Perhaps I’ll see that people drop out at a specific stage of an email marketing sequence, or another illuminating behavior pattern.

In my audit, I could also ask customer support to send over answers to any customer churn surveys they’ve run. With this information, I notice that many clients who had a short lifetime value mentioned that a feature they wanted to use was too complex. And so, they decided to leave my company’s tool for a competing solution.

Step 4: Creating benchmarks for marketing performance.

At this stage, I take my findings and cross-reference them with industry standards to get a sense of how well others are performing. I could also use a tool like KeySearch to get benchmarks for those who publish in the CRM space.

www.keysearch.co

Daniel Vasilevski, director and owner at Bright Force Electrical, told me that the practice that he always follows during every audit is benchmarking the marketing performance against competitors. “Without that, there is no way to know if our efforts are working or if we are falling behind,” he said.

He told me that most marketers assume that a marketing strategy is working just because it brings in leads, but if a competitor is attracting twice as many with the same budget, that is a problem.

Benchmarking identifies where you are outperforming others and where you need to improve.

“If we see that competitors have stronger rankings in local search, higher engagement on social media, or better ad conversion rates, we know exactly what to work on. Without these comparisons, decisions are made blindly, and that may lead to wasted marketing spend,” Vasilevski added.

Pro tip: Bear in mind that you need to define your competition correctly. If you’re not an enterprise, defining Zendesk or HubSpot as your main competitors will only lead to frustration, as you don’t have the market share or budget to win the fight for clients.

The next two points will help you define your most suitable competitors.

Step 5. SWOT analysis

As I now have a lot of data on my business (both past and present) and these initial benchmarks, it’s time to run a SWOT analysis. Here’s a quick overview of what it could reveal.

Strengths

Established brand presence. The brand is a recognized name in the SaaS industry, with a history of reliable service.
Steady marketing budget. The company consistently invested in marketing activities that brought results.
High-quality product offering. The CRM product is known for its robust features and industry-specific solutions, with many positive reviews on Capterra and G2Crowd.
Experienced team. Me and my fellow marketing team members have experience running marketing analyses. I also have access to advanced analytics tools, so finding relevant data isn’t a problem.

Weaknesses

Lack of updated strategies. My marketing strategies may be outdated, as I haven’t revisited them in recent years. I’m still dedicating the same budget to marketing activities, but some of the strategies might not be as effective as they used to be.
Lack of a social media specialist on board. The person who was responsible for managing my social media channels left the company, and I haven’t found a replacement yet. It’s now managed by a few team members, but no one can dedicate their full attention to it.
Limited customer feedback integration. Insufficient use of customer feedback to refine the product and marketing messaging.
No updated website. We introduced a few new features but failed to communicate them in the website copy.

Opportunities

Emerging markets. I’ve noticed that I’m getting more and more clients from the APAC region. This might hint that global expansion could be the way to go.
Content optimization. Revamping the website content and trial signup process could engage more potential customers.
Customer retention programs. Developing onboarding and engagement strategies has the potential to reduce churn and increase lifetime value.
Partnerships. I want to explore how collaborating with complementary SaaS products for cross-promotions and bundle offerings could boost sales.
AI and personalization. Using AI-driven tools for personalized marketing and improving customer experience could fix my current issues.

Threats

Competitive landscape. Competitors may be more agile in adapting to customer needs or launching new features.
Economic uncertainty. External economic factors may reduce customers’ willingness to spend on CRM solutions.
Changing customer expectations. A shift in customer needs and most important features can make current marketing efforts ineffective.
Market saturation. Intense competition in the CRM space can make it harder to stand out.

Step 6. Summarizing your key findings and recommendations

As you wrap up your marketing audit, make sure to write an Executive Summary on top and a section on Key Audit Findings, along with recommended actions.

In my example, I have found the following issues:

Drop in conversions from the blog due to outdated content which is no longer useful. Higher-quality, more comprehensive content from competitors has been published since my last content update.
The website copy isn’t up to date – it lacks a clear value proposition. The “Product” page doesn’t mention all the existing features. My lower conversion rates might be caused by clients turning to a competitor, as they can’t find information on a must-have feature they’re after.
Social media profiles aren’t looked after – comments from prospects appear on my social media channels but no one replies to them, as I don’t have a dedicated social media specialist on board.

Recommended actions:

Updating blog content with expert-level insights.
Updating product pages to reflect my CRM’s features.
Using my SWOT analysis to update my homepage and underline my platform’s and team’s unique qualities.
Hiring a social media specialist or working with a contractor who’ll not only post relevant content but also reply to customer queries on time.

Marketing Audits Should Be a Recurring Thing

My biggest takeaway after working on this piece is the reminder that no strategy is set in stone. Just because something brought results for a few months doesn’t mean it will work equally well in a year – or even three months. As the business environment changes, so should my marketing strategy.

That’s why I think running a marketing audit is vital — especially if you’re seeing a performance drop. The audit doesn't always have to be robust. You can focus on one specific problem only.

The good news is that the more frequently you audit your existing strategy, the fewer issues you’ll find – and the faster you’ll be able to resolve them.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

2025 CPL and CAC Benchmarks [HubSpot Research]

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

As a marketing consultant, I work on client accounts and ensure their marketing is working (i.e., making money for the business). To gauge marketing success, I particularly like two benchmarks: the cost per lead benchmark (CPL) and the customer acquisition costs benchmark (CAC).

These benchmarks are helpful for everyone in business to know, but especially important for sales and marketing teams.

I work primarily in the B2B space, and the B2B cost per lead benchmark is one of the most valuable metrics. B2B sales cycles can take a long time, and it can be tricky to determine the exact customer acquisition costs, but you must get as close as possible to these numbers.

To help refine your marketing strategy to lower the costs of acquiring leads and customers, here are some helpful CPL and CAC benchmarks, plus insights from a recent HubSpot survey of hundreds of marketers. I wanted to look at what the numbers tell us about CPL and CAC, alongside the behaviors of marketers in 2025.

Table of Contents

Most Effective Strategies for Lowering CAC
Marketing Channels With the Highest and Lowest CAC
Most Effective Strategies for Lowering CPL
Marketing Channels With the Highest and Lowest Quality of Leads
Marketing Channels With Lowest and Highest CPL

Most Effective Strategies for Lowering CAC

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is how much a company spends to get a new customer.

HubSpot State of Marketing surveys have previously proven that CAC varies between companies and industries.

What reduces customer acquisition costs will depend greatly on your industry, product or service, customer, and preferred buyer journey. The good news is that you can find data with the cost per lead benchmarks by industry, and this should help you see how your website performs.

I wanted to find some data to see what might reduce CAC. I used HubSpot’s State of Marketing Survey to understand what marketers are doing in 2025 and beyond. Safe to say, any marketing that’s getting the attention of the masses is what’s moving the needle for the business.

Here’s what I found:

User-generated content (UGC) is voted as the top marketing strategy for 2025.
If you use UGC in marketing, consider what form of media your audience is most engaged with. For example, marketers report short-form videos as having high ROI.
Think about your audience. Both B2B and B2C businesses are primarily targeting millennials.
Authenticity seems to be leading the charge for the majority of marketers. Of marketers surveyed, 92% plan to maintain or invest more in brand awareness. I would argue that branding and authenticity go hand-in-hand with video.

Marketing Channels With the Highest and Lowest CAC

Being mindful of the channels you’re using and how much those channels cost is another way to lower the cost of acquiring customers.

Marketing Channels With the Lowest CAC

According to First Sage Page, organic marketing channels with the lowest CAC include email marketing and public speaking for B2B, as well as social media marketing and webinars for B2C.

Source

For paid channels, the lowest CAC channels are:

Direct Mail and PPC/SEM for B2B.
Facebook Ads and PPC/SEM for B2C.

Source

When measuring your CAC, consider your sales cycle and time to close leads.

I used to work in a B2B marketing agency, and every year, we’d run a cheap direct mail campaign. However, the campaign results often didn’t show up for years. The customers we did get were excellent, though! The takeaway is that while low CAC is desirable, you must balance this with efficiency.

Marketing Channels With the Highest CAC

The tables above also show us the highest CAC by channels for B2B and B2C.

I wanted to investigate the marketing people are doing in 2025. It’s safe to assume that these channels are thought to lower the CAC.

Let’s take a look at social media in 2024. Except for LinkedIn, both B2B and B2C businesses prioritize the same social media platforms. The favorite is Facebook, followed by Instagram, Linked (for B2B only), YouTube, and TikTok. B2C brands favored LinkedIn last, which makes sense.

Pro tip: It may be that channels with the highest CAC support channels that have lower CAC. If you’re doing a lot of marketing, consider media mix modeling to identify how channels, such as a higher CAC channel, support others.

An example from the media mix modeling article I wrote perfectly demonstrates what I mean: As pictured above, radio ads have a high CAC for B2B. However, a marketer found that radio ads increased clicks and engagement in social media by 25%. Marketing channels all have different roles to play and should be measured individually and collectively.

Most Effective Strategies for Lowering CPL

Cost per lead (CPL) tells you how much you’ve spent on marketing before you get a lead. A lead might be the customer’s contact information or interest in the business’s product or service.

One effective way to lower CPL is with marketing automation. Using AI tools like HubSpot’s AI, Breeze, increases inbound leads by 99%. If you can increase quality leads with minimal effort — using AI — CPL will decrease.

Kyle Denhoff, HubSpot’s Senior Director of Marketing, successfully reduced cost per lead with creator partners. Denhoff says, “Creators have become one of our top growth drivers in less than three years. Some long-term creator partnerships cut our cost per lead by 30-40% compared to ads on Meta and Google. We’ve now got over 100 creator partners, and they’re driving about 50% of our media network reach and demand.”

When it comes to CPL, you want to spend less money per lead. But what does a good CPL look like? Well, that depends on industries and channels, but here’s a look at CPL for different channels according to Visitor Queue.

If you’re wondering what is a good CPL, then you can refer to averages as shown in the table below.

Source

Marketing Channels With the Highest and Lowest Quality of Leads

Not every lead is a good lead — they don’t all have the need or desire to buy a product or service from your company. To ensure you’re reaching your target audience, here is a breakdown of channels marketers use to attract the highest quality leads.

Marketing Channels Resulting in Highest Quality of Leads

According to First Page Sage, marketing channels that result in the highest ROI (and, therefore, assumed the highest quality of leads) include:

Public speaking.
Thought leadership and SEO.
Webinars.
Email marketing.
Podcasts.

First Page Sage presents this information in a table with the time to results.

Source

With this new data in mind, I want to nod back to what I said earlier about the direct mail campaign. The highest ROI lead generation channels are:

Mostly medium to very hard to execute.
Expensive.
Take time.

Our direct mail campaign took years to pay off, but we got quality leads. It was at least low-effort and cheap, though.

The truth is that generating high-quality leads for your business isn’t easy, and it will take time.

Pro tip: Make these channels as efficient as possible so you can get the most out of them. For example, AI can help write content, generate blogs from video transcripts, and vice versa. Use the right software (Marketing Hub, for example) with built-in AI to help streamline processes. The more streamlined you’re working, the greater the chances you’ll bring your CPL in line with cost per lead benchmarks.

Josh Ames is a HubSpot and GTM Manager at Phocas Software, and he’s using HubSpot’s AI to do more testing.

Ames says, “HubSpot’s data enrichment feature quickly improved our data quality, leading to more effective campaigns and better alignment. 92% of companies in our CRM had at least one new enrichment property populated by the new feature. AI allows you to go from A/B testing to A to Z testing and quickly find out which ads or posts are the most likely to perform the best with your audience.”

Marketing Channels Resulting in the Lowest Quality of Leads

Marketing that results in low-quality leads is marketing done poorly. Likely, you’re not reaching your audience in a way that resonates, or you’re using marketing channels that your audience doesn’t use.

For example, HubSpot’s Consumer Trends Report found that Millennials’ number one channel for product discovery is social media. Considering that marketers in B2B and B2C businesses are targeting Millennials, a social media presence is a must!

Remember what I said earlier? The top three social media channels used by marketers are:

B2B: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
B2C: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.

Source

Marketing Channels With Lowest and Highest CPL

What is a good CPL? Similar to CAC, another way to lower the cost of generating leads is to look to channels with the lowest costs.

Marketing Channels With the Lowest CPL

Visitor Queue recorded data CPL by channel. Using the cost average, the lowest CPL channels included:

SEO ($31).
Email marketing ($53).
Webinars ($72).

It’s important that you explore your industry to determine what returns a low CPL for you. The data found by Visitor Queue conflicts with First Page Sage, which listed SEO as the third most expensive channel with medium to high time to get results.

There’s no one-size-fits-all in metrics, and even businesses within the same category (B2B or B2C) need to dig into their niche data accordingly. For example, the B2B SaaS cost per lead benchmark may be different from B2B in general.

Marketing Channels With Highest Cost per Lead

Sticking with Visitor Queue’s data on CPL by channel, they found the channels with the highest cost per lead included:

Trade shows ($811).
PPC ($181).
Content creation ($92).

CPL and CAC Are Essential Parts of the Puzzle

Now that you know which strategies and channels are the most effective for lowering CAC and CPL, you can confidently refine your marketing strategy to attract new customers and leads while also saving money.

While I like to track CPL and CAC, thinking about the bigger picture, how marketing channels influence each other (remember media mix modeling), and the time to close a deal is essential. As I learned by putting this article together: The channels with the lowest CPL that bring the highest quality leads are also the channels that take the longest to see results.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Succession Planning — the Best Way to Ensure Your Company’s Future

Katrina Kirsch — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

If you’ve seen the award-winning HBO show “Succession,” you know how dramatic and challenging it can be to adequately succession plan for the next generation of business leaders. I’ve personally worked at companies that took succession planning seriously, and those that didn’t, and the difference was stark.

According to this 2023 report, “three years is the critical tipping point when valuable leaders consider whether they should look for their next opportunity internally or externally.”

I’ve felt this in my own professional experience. If there’s no plan for me to move up internally at a company after working for three years, I’m left feeling undervalued and looking for other opportunities.

Developing a succession plan can set your company up for smooth transitions when leaders resign or accept a promotion. A well-thought-out plan can significantly impact employee morale and position your team to skillfully handle future business challenges. Read further to learn the ins and outs of succession planning so you’re prepared for any transition.

Table of Contents

What is succession planning?
What is the importance of succession planning?
Succession Planning Best Practices
Business Succession Planning Example
Succession Planning Steps
CEO Succession Planning
Employee Succession Planning

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is a strategic process for identifying high-potential employees and taking steps to prepare them for future leadership positions. It helps your business develop and retain the talent pipeline so you can quickly fill vacant leadership roles.

Some succession plans look ahead 12 to 36 months for when a leader retires, steps down, advances, or leaves. Others, including CEO succession plans, look years into the future to secure the next several generations of leaders.

We'll cover the specifics of C-suite transitions later on. However, all succession planning has similar benefits, such as thinking ahead and identifying what you want in a successor.

What is the importance of succession planning?

The Global Leadership Forecast 2023 reports that 59% of CEOs prioritize “attracting and retaining top talent,” and 50% also prioritize “developing the next generation of leaders.”

It’s important to remember that baby boomers are hitting retirement age in 2025 in numbers never before seen. Succession planning has never been a more critical strategy for CEOs and businesses to implement to bridge the gap between new hires and retirees.

The benefits of strong leadership are apparent. It improves employee turnover, ensures the execution of goals, and contributes to the company‘s survival. So, if a crucial leader leaves, a succession plan can help ensure the role is filled, and your company continues to thrive. But that’s not the only upside.

Benefits Of Business Succession Planning

Finding and developing people for future leadership roles allows you to promote from within. These employees have organizational knowledge and internal relationships that outside hires lack.
Letting employees know that you're investing in them is a huge morale boost. It can also increase motivation and loyalty to the company.
Training employees for leadership roles forces you to identify the skills, knowledge, practices, and relationships needed for each role in your succession plan. This can attract new talent, retain current employees, and keep you competitive.
Hiring for highly specialized roles isn't easy. Succession planning helps you find people with unique competencies when it comes time to replace the current employees.

Currently, leaders looking to develop skills outside of their daily work want more coaching and development assignments in addition to assessment and formal training. Succession planning is the perfect way to formalize training for both present and future leaders.

Succession Planning Best Practices

Succession planning isn't simple. But if you consider these best practices when choosing successors, your company will be well-equipped to manage transitions and unexpected changes.

Formalize a plan.

The earlier you set a succession plan, the better. You don't want to risk a leadership vacuum that leaves teams feeling unsupported. That can quickly lead to an entire team or department leaving, especially if the leader is particularly strong and has a close relationship with their direct reports.

Once you have a succession plan, write it down. Then, make it clear there's a plan in place for when the inevitable transitions happen.

Pro tip: Fill out this free succession planning template to evaluate your organization’s leadership strategy.

Stay dynamic.

Volatility is common at every company. People move cities, find new jobs, and retire. Your succession plan should be able to adapt to change. Instead of creating a plan and only revisiting it when the time comes to fill a role, see the plan as an evolving process that needs to be constantly updated.

Pro tip: Remember that checking in frequently with employees, understanding their passion, helping them reach goals, and more are important for retaining top talent. Ambitious employees won’t stay at a workplace that doesn’t have a plan in place for them.

Evaluate talent.

Part of a fluid succession plan is taking the time to assess employees' interests, skills, performance, and opportunities. This can be done through 360-degree feedback, weekly check-ins with managers, informal training, or tools like the nine-box grid.

The goal is to get an idea of people's strengths and weaknesses, career goals, and growth opportunities so you know who may be the right fit for leadership roles.

Pro tip: Read the free guide “How To Be a Leader” and see which of your employees contains the potential for leadership. Encourage candidates to also read the guide, so they can self reflect on their own goals and aspirations.

Communicate openly.

Communication builds trust, which makes it easier to set expectations and ensure everyone is on the same page. As you build a succession plan, have honest conversations with employees.

Find out where people want to be, and tell them where they're currently at. The whole point is to make your plan a reality, and successors will appreciate your openness when the time comes to offer them a role.

Pro tip: Ask your candidate what sort of timeline they would like to see for their job role. You might be surprised that some candidates want more time to train while others feel confident in moving up quickly.

Make diversity and inclusion a priority.

Companies with women in leadership roles experience almost 50% higher profit and share performance. In fact, 78% of executives expect their hiring managers to do more for DEI in the next year, making DEI a top priority.

Prioritizing DEI matters during succession planning because it addresses internal biases that hiring managers may have. For example, perhaps a certain role has always been filled by one gender, which may influence a manager’s opinions on who should succeed. By evaluating your own biases and committing to DEI, you can find the best candidate.

Pro tip: Remember, diverse teams will collaborate better, improve your company’s culture, and foster a safe work environment for everyone.

Business Succession Planning Example

When asked, a whopping 61% of organizations said they didn't have a direct report who could step into their CMO role tomorrow. That's a bad sign for C-suite succession plans. Without a strategy to replace leaders, a company can quickly go downhill.

So, what does succession planning look like when done right?

When researching this piece, Apple was mentioned time and time again as a succession planning role model. To explain, we have to go back in time. After iconic founder Steve Jobs left the role in 2011 to focus on cancer treatment, Tim Cook — the COO at the time — took the position. Since then, the company has grown to a $3.4 trillion market cap.

So what made Tim Cook’s tenure so successful? Well, Cook and Jobs formed a close relationship, working together for over 12 years. But beyond that, the company has Apple University, an executive education system designed to help leaders think like Jobs. This program helps keep the spirit of innovation at the company alive for those who may lead it down the line.

Let’s fast forward to 2024. The company has many executives at roughly the same age who may have retirement on the horizon. Publications like Bloomberg, are able to speculate who might take the reigns because several leaders have taken more public facing roles for the company.

The takeaways:

Forge strong relationships between leaders and potential successors so forthcoming executives can learn the ropes.
Find a way to train or coach executives, investing in future talent.
Put potential future leaders in public-facing roles so transitions will seem smooth to your customers.

Succession Planning Steps

1. Make a plan for your plan.

This step is all about defining the goals of your succession plan and aligning with everyone involved. For some companies, this will mean meeting with your board to outline strategic priorities. For others, it will require meeting with senior leaders to define what you're looking for in a successor.

You'll be ready to move on to the next step once you:

Define the roles, skills, core competencies, and experience required for a successor.
Gather information and feedback on the above from your team or experts within your network.
Forecast your company's needs. Consider turnover trends, retirement dates, compensation strategies, and management training.
Update your job descriptions and any leadership models to reflect the information you've gathered. You want to be clear about your expectations before looking for candidates.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot’s Free Succession Plan Template to get started.

2. Identify potential candidates.

Using the succession profiles and job descriptions you‘ve created, you’re ready to seek out candidates. Make sure your approach is easy to repeat and introduces as little bias as possible. It can be helpful to get support from the HR team, who can share the tools needed to engage candidates and help facilitate the process.

To identify candidates, you can:

Look for leaders who develop others, follow through on projects, take action to support the company vision, and have strong leadership skills.
Get insight into each candidate's goals, disposition, and potential by holding interviews, creating surveys, and setting up focus groups.
Ask people for ideas on how to improve succession and leadership to get buy-in and discover who's engaged with the process.

Pro tip: Ask potential candidates to attend a specific leadership training or to complete a course. This can both better prepare them for succession and weed out those who aren’t going to take the responsibility seriously.

3. Inform candidates.

There‘s a great debate on whether or not companies should let employees know they’re succession candidates. However, informing people of their potential will not only motivate them but also prevent them from wondering about their future with the company. A great candidate may jump ship if they're in the dark and think they can find a better opportunity elsewhere.

Instead, communicate your intentions about the positions, people, and planning. Just keep your expectations incredibly clear regarding the roles and people involved.

Pro tip: If you’re not sure of a specific timeline for a candidate's succession, make sure they know that there isn’t a set date and that you will check in frequently to assess their progress. Notify them immediately when you do have a timeline. Candidates who are given vague expectations and timelines can become frustrated and even disillusioned with the potential succession plan.

4. Set up professional development efforts.

Your company likely has programs in place for onboarding and training employees. However, development is about creating opportunities for people to gain experience beyond their current role and skill set. This is especially important for team members who can get caught in a specialist silo.

Once you identify candidates who you want to develop, you‘ll want to figure out the specific skills and knowledge they’ll need to move to the next level. This often involves a succession plan template, continuous feedback, mentoring or coaching, formal training, and open conversations between the employee and their manager.

Pro tip: Mentoring a candidate isn’t as simple as checking in on a weekly basis. Discover the different types of mentorship and how to better coach your candidate in this blog.

5. Do a trial run.

As potential successors accelerate their growth, they'll become true contenders for leadership roles. This is the ideal time to start trial runs to test their knowledge and expose them to various aspects of a position. Exposing candidates to real-world situations can highlight what effective leadership looks like and give them insight into overall company goals.

There are a variety of ways to get candidates involved; just choose the method that makes the most sense for the role:

Job shadow a senior leader to learn about their day-to-day tasks.
Take on responsibilities when their manager is away.
Invite them to sit in on higher-level meetings.
Bring them into discussions on strategy, execution, or company forecasting.
Involve them in the hiring process for junior candidates.
Give them more responsibility on projects or involve them in cross-functional work.

Pro tip: A key part of succession planning is making sure your candidate is adequately trained and prepared. Add key requirements and goalposts to your succession plan template so you can keep track of candidate readiness.

6. Adjust your hiring strategy.

Eventually, the time will come when you extend an offer to a potential candidate. And you'll need someone else to fill their role. Luckily, the successor can use their new leadership skills to help interview or train the person filling their position. This can be an employee a few levels down or a new hire.

That‘s why it’s important to adjust your hiring strategy to account for the successor‘s roles. Without them, your plan won’t go as smoothly, and their team will likely be scrambling to fill the gap.

Pro tip: Onboarding candidates to their new role isn’t accomplished day one. Check out this blog on how to effectively onboard employees from their first day to their first year.

7. Implement the plan.

Succession planning is a complex process with multiple short- and long-term layers. But eventually, it will be time to make the transition. Make an announcement and celebrate the succession. This will show employees that your company prides itself on strong leadership and has a plan for everyone's career development.

Sometimes, a more gradual transition is needed. Family businesses often struggle with smooth succession planning because of familial relationships, emotions, and intertwined histories. In this case, a clear succession plan based on business needs is exceptionally crucial to ensure the company's continued success.

Pro tip: Establish clear expectations by writing specific goals that will detail whether succession planning has been a success. Let your successor know the exact metrics you’d like them to reach during their first year and what their success will look like.

CEO Succession Planning

DDI reports that “Today, only 40% of leaders report that their company has high-quality leaders. This represents a significant drop from two years ago.”

That's a low score for such a high-stakes business priority — especially considering the majority of CEO successors are internal hires.

Harvard Business Review (HBR) states that “of all the decisions that a company’s board of directors makes, choosing the next CEO is arguably the most crucial." Replacing a CEO needs to involve a long-term, well-devised plan that's linked to both short and long-term company priorities.

CEO succession planning can follow similar steps to employee succession planning, but there are specific considerations for this top-level role. HBR outlines the following tips for developing a CEO successor:

A candidate's competencies, personal attributes, and experiences need to be connected to business priorities. A charismatic senior leader may seem like the top pick, but a company may need a successor with expert-level technical skills in addition to social skills.
Think several generations ahead instead of focusing on the immediate successor. Succession is a long game, so you want to position it as a continuous process to develop top talent.
Identify seven potential CEOs in your company across all generations. This can take the stress off of each CEO transition and help keep your talent pipeline top-notch.
Train CEO candidates through a combination of on-the-job experience, executive coaching, education, mentoring, and cross-functional training.

Developing talent to take on the CEO role will require time and effort from high-level stakeholders. But it's absolutely worthwhile to prevent the vacuum this leadership role can leave if succession is poorly managed.

If a board is involved in the process, HBR recommends using board meetings to combine strategy sessions with talent development. That way, stakeholders can make sure strategy changes reflect the skills needed for potential successors.

Employee Succession Planning

Succession planning extends to employees in all roles across a company. Viewing it this way, rather than saving succession plans for senior leaders, helps you identify high-potential employees at all levels. You can then take steps to develop them into leaders who are able to take on additional responsibilities when a role opens up.

When looking for successors, keep an eye out for employees who are interested in learning new skills, are comfortable with change, can adapt to uncertainty and new leadership, and can manage various work environments. All potential successors should be motivated and engaged in the process because they have a chance to grow their knowledge and take on more challenging, rewarding roles.

When you see a path for an employee‘s growth, they’ll see it too. So the next time a key leader steps down or a new director position is created, you'll know just the right people to recruit for the role.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The 12 Sharpest Lessons from Marketing Leaders at Fortune Media, Liquid Death, Oatly & More

cdelprincipe@hubspot.com (Curt del Principe) — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:29:03 GMT

Each week, Laura, Caroline, and I get to sit and chat with some of today’s most innovative marketing masters. We’ve run down the rabbit hole with folks from Spotify, Liquid Death, Oatly, New Balance, Zapier, Hootsuite, the Brooklyn Nets, and even the makers of Chicago’s most beloved tirefire-flavored liquor.

If you could smoosh all of their combined wisdom into your head, it would be like getting your… well… master’s in marketing. (Oh, hey. I just got the name.)

Well, you can’t. Not until brain chips are a thing.

Until then, you can do the next best thing: Check out 12 of the most insightful, provocative, or just downright useful lessons our experts had to share.

Lesson 1: People aren't brainless consumers.

Here‘s a fun fact: At Liquid Death, they don’t use the word consumer. Ever.

Instead, they have a team called “human insights.”

Greg Fass, Liquid Death’s VP of marketing, is proud to work against the mindset that people are just “brainless consumers” whose sole purpose on Earth is to consume products. (Yep – that's a direct quote.)

Instead, he says, “At Liquid Death, I‘m proud that we think of our audiences as people. And when you think of them as humans, you understand they’ll get a piece of copy that isn‘t straightforward, or jokes other brands are afraid to make. They’re intelligent, and have a sense of humor.”

It's a philosophy that has served them well. Just consider the commercial where Martha Stewart is a serial killer chopping off hands to make candles — not exactly something that would go over well in a standard marketing pitch.

Liquid Death has done more than reinvent the better-for-you beverage category — they've reinvented marketing, as well.

Embracing their anti-marketing approach can help you discover fresh and novel ways of connecting better with, well, other humans.

Read Martha Stewart, $400K Fighter Jets, and Comedy Writers: How Liquid Death Wins at Anti-Marketing, According to Liquid Death's VP

Lesson 2: “If you're not risking your career on a bold marketing move, you're not thinking big enough.”

Ron Goldenberg, VP of international marketing & innovation at BSE Global, got plenty of pushback when he pitched a Brooklyn Nets activation — in Paris, complete with an orchestral tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. and Brooklyn Nets-inspired pizzeria.

One colleague even said to him, “You really think Parisians are going to show up to a Brooklyn Nets pizzeria?” (I get the hesitation — don't they live off of escargot and croissants?)

He knew there could be major ramifications if the event flopped. But he believed in the concept enough to risk it all.

“If I‘m going to get fired for anything, it’s worth [it] for an orchestral tribute to Biggie in Paris,” Goldenberg told me last week. “When your ideas are big enough and bold enough, and you believe in them to the degree that you‘re willing to take a reputational risk, that’s when you're onto something.”

Playing it safe can be a risk in itself. But marketing thrives on standing out, which demands taking chances.

For Goldenberg, the payoff was massive:

Fans snapped up all 15K tickets to the Nets-Cavaliers game, 3.3K visitors indulged in Brooklyn pizza, and Biggie's tribute sold out in five days 🍕
450K unique visitors to Brooklynets.com/paris
64K emails captured (90% net-new to their database)
195% YoY surge in ticket sales to French consumers and over seven figures in total revenue 💵

Source

Goldenberg got stakeholders on board by being blunt: “You all need to understand how important this is, not just for the Nets but for our fans and the global sports industry,” he told colleagues. “It's never been done before at this scale.”

Sticking to the tried-and-true is tempting. But it was insight matched with instinct that landed Goldenberg his big swings.

Read How An NBA Marketer Brought the Brooklyn Nets to Paris (& What Marketers Can Learn from Him)

Lesson 3: Break the fourth wall.

The first Malört ad I ever saw was in 2022, in season one of the Chicago-set TV show The Bear, of all places. Anna Sokratov says it was one of the first ads they ever ran — for nearly a century prior, Malört relied on word of mouth and Chicagoans pranking out-of-town guests.

Since marketing Malört is such a new phenomenon, Sokratov, brand manager for Jeppson’s Malört, feels a lot of freedom to be funny, to be outlandish, to be experimental. (In fact, one of the people she looks to for inspiration is previous marketing master Greg Fass of Liquid Death.)

It’s an old saw at this point that authenticity drives consumer loyalty. But less is said about what authenticity looks like. “People are really looking for brands that break that fourth wall,” Sokratov says. “They want to see the people behind the brand.”

Past and present employees appear in a series of ads featuring Malört faces (Google it), which are underscored by the tagline, “Do not enjoy. Responsibly.” Malört may be a lot of things, but it’s neither dishonest nor indirect.

Read “This is disgusting, try some”: Marketing Chicago’s vile-tasting liqueur

Lesson 4: Use the peanut butter method.

“Everyone hates advertising, but they're okay being sold to,” Hassan S. Ali, creative director of brand at Hootsuite, says.

It’s like using peanut butter to sneak your dog a pill. “If people are willing to be sold to, pitch the pill in something yummy. People will watch it.” (Let’s ignore for a moment that we are all the hapless dogs in this analogy.)

“I often think that the best ads are ones we can‘t measure, because they’re shared in a group chat with friends.” I sincerely hope nobody is working on a pixel that can track my group chats, but it’s true that if somebody shares an ad, it’s because it’s both funny and emotionally resonant.

Maybe you see a funny ad for diapers. Your sister’s just had a baby, and you share the ad in the family group chat. “All of a sudden, there’s a bond formed through this piece of advertising.” And it goes beyond “here, buy this thing,” Ali says.

Without that (hopefully imaginary) group-chat tracking pixel, traditional marketing metrics won’t necessarily be of much use.

“But what did you solve for the customer?” Ali asks. “Those are the real results.” The more we can focus on that, “the better we’ll be as marketers.”

Read Marketing for the Lulz

Lesson 5: Don't let growth marketing dominate your strategy

A favorite rant of Brendan Lewis (EVP of global communications and public affairs for Oatly) is his belief that growth marketing needs to be “neutered, if not totally destroyed.”

“It‘s nothing more than spreadsheet marketing,” he tells me. When marketers are buying clicks and perfecting their emails for click-through rates, Lewis says they’re leaving out an essential ingredient: emotion.

“If you water down your message to optimize it for clicks, you lose your soul,” he tells me without a trace of grandiosity. “The emotion and the belief has to be there. It can't just be somebody looking at email click-rates all day.”

(Got it – I‘ll stop obsessing about this email’s subject lines…)

For Oatly, this means taking the leap without testing it to death first. Like in 2023, when the company bought billboards in Times Square to proudly endorse its climate label. (The Oatly team invited the dairy industry to join them. They declined.)

The secret sauce? Oatly is a mission-led company that happens to sell oat milk; it’s not a product-led company in search of a mission. So its leaders are able to act on impulse and hunch as long as they know their messaging caters to their larger goal of promoting sustainability.

Read It’s Like Marketing, But Made for Humans: Lessons from Oatly’s EVP

Lesson 6: Less strategy, more heart.

I'll admit, this lesson sounds suspiciously like a Friday Night Lights quote.

But it's also a takeaway Jenna Kutcher, host of The Goal Digger podcast, is passionate about sharing.

“As creators, we need to get back into the creation of our content. We need to go back to what worked a decade ago and share our lives and what we love online,” she tells me.

"Too many business owners have created systems and teams and gotten too far away from the content, and their audiences feel that divide."

Case in point: How likely are you to respond, “OMG CUTE” to an Instagram reel from Lululemon‘s branded handle? I’m guessing not likely.

But what about when a friend posts herself in new Lulu joggers?

In the age of AI, people are desperate to connect with real humans.

Impressively, this means Jenna is the only person who creates IG content for her 1M+ followers. She also responds to all her own DMs and comments.

Nobody on her team has access to her login because “that's the heartbeat of my connection with my audience.”

Jenna's advice here is simple, but not easy: “Take some of the strategy out, and put the heart back into it. Be off the cuff, and share things for the sake of sharing versus just looking for ways to monetize.”

Read Digital Marketer Jenna Kutcher Thinks You're Overcomplicating It

Lesson 7: Your customer is the hero. Not you.

April Sunshine Hawkins, co-host of the Marketing Made Simple podcast, sees too many marketers position their brand as the heroes, and she says it's one of the biggest mistakes marketers can make.

“Everybody wakes up the hero of their own story. Your customers, the people you're trying to draw in… The story needs to be about them.”

In other words, you’re not Batman — you’re Alfred.

Take a recent example: Hawkins was working with a jewelry brand that creates products in Malawi and pays their workers 3-5X the minimum wage. Naturally, they wanted to shout that from the rooftops. Who wouldn't?

But Hawkins stepped in and pointed out that the brand isn't supposed to be the hero. The customer is.

“We rewrote the campaign to ask, 'How can these pieces help people celebrate a milestone — like a promotion, an anniversary, a birthday?”

Suddenly, the jewelry wasn’t just jewelry; it became a badge of a customer's big (and small) life moments.

Have you ever landed on a website and read the first few sentences and thought, Wow, is this person in my head? That's the end-game: For your customers to feel like you get them.

“When we can position our products to align with what our customers are feeling, it creates that 'ding, ding, ding' moment — 'That's me! This is for me!'” Hawkins says. “That's what we're looking for.”

Read You're Not The Hero — Your Customer Is

Lesson 8: Engage with the people who engage with you.

While you’re busy figuring out how to connect with your audience, don’t forget to actually connect with your audience.

“The number one thing you can do to maximize any budget you're spending is to simply engage with the people who are engaging with you,” says Chandler Quintin, co-founder and CEO of Video Brothers.

And he’s not just talking about reactive engagement, like answering social messages or responding to emails. That stuff’s a given. He’s talking about proactive outreach to the people who interact with your business presence. Quintin himself sends a message to anyone who views his LinkedIn profile or watches a video he posts.

“We have booked almost 80% of our calls through simply engaging with people that engage with us versus them going to our website and filling out a form.”

And I’m a living testimonial to this tactic. Thursday morning, I’m sipping tea and cruising LinkedIn in search of marketing masters. (I do it for you! Well… not the tea. That’s for me.) Minutes later, Quintin messaged me asking for help because he was upside down. (See the hero image above.) Friday morning, we’re scheduling an interview.

Quintin acknowledges that this takes effort.

“It does take a lot of time. There might be some ways to automate it. But at the end of the day, I think people can kind of see through automations a little bit. Especially when you're trying to make an authentic connection. The bar for that is: Just be authentic. Be a human being.”

But the return is worth the effort.

“If you only have $1,000, you're going to be able to turn that $1,000 into the power of five or 10,000 if you just go that extra mile and engage.”

Read How an Entertainment Strategy Helps You Cut Through the White Noise

Lesson 9: Turn negative moments into a chance to show up.

Dawn Keller, CMO for California Pizza Kitchen, recounts a story:

Recently, a customer ordered mac and cheese from CPK — and just got cheese.

After she posted the vid on TikTok, CPK responded with a video in which Chef Paul jokingly walks through the steps of properly making a mac and cheese (emphasis on: Add the mac) and then announces 50% off mac and cheese for all CPK customers. (Since the customer only got 50% of her meal — get it?)

CPK's TikTok response got 13.5 million views. Keller was shocked… and thrilled.

"It was mind-blowing to everybody [how well it did], but we believe what really made the difference was how we showed up — in a super authentic, humble, self-deprecating way. It wasn't corporate-y or stuffy."

CPK could‘ve chosen to ignore the customer’s complaint altogether, or they could‘ve commented on the video with a generic "I’m sorry!" customer service response. Instead, they decided to use the opportunity to reframe the narrative into something fun and lighthearted.

And as Keller points out, “We still got to reinforce what matters to us — which is that we have quality food, and we care about our guests. Authenticity and entertainment is what gets people's attention… Not just that you're using socials as an advertising channel.”

We've heard it across the board this year from Greg Fass, Jenna Kutcher, and plenty of other Masters in Marketing, and the point holds true: Being authentic and showcasing the human behind your brand is a much better strategy than a polished ad these days.

Read How California Pizza Kitchen Embraces Change, Goes Viral on TikTok, and Gives Consumers FOMO

Lesson 10: Be ready to tell leaders what you'll stop, start, and continue.

Emily Kramer, founder of MKT1, has been the "first-ish” marketer four times at companies ranging from 10 to 300 employees, so my first question was an easy one: If you're the first marketer at a company, where the heck should you start?

Kramer told me whether you're a team of one or leading a 200-person marketing department, the answer is the same: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.

“First, you need to figure out where you can win. Where can you stand out? Where do you have the biggest advantage over competitors? What channels make the most sense for your business?”

This translates to: Stop doomscrolling through TikTok for “inspiration” or convincing yourself a snazzy newsletter giveaway will save the day. Start with what matters most.

"You‘ve got to have a framework for how you’re prioritizing — you have to put a stake in the ground about what you think is important, and why. If you don‘t, you’ll just get barraged with requests."

One of Kramer's go-to moves when joining a new company is to create a “start, stop, continue” plan. That way, execs can quickly see, “Oh, we already tried that,” or “We’re stopping this, and here’s why.”

Otherwise, your founder might just get a little too obsessed with the idea of you publishing ebooks on Amazon as the “next best marketing move.”

(Not speaking from experience or anything.)

Read How An Obsession With Quality Led Emily Kramer to 48k Newsletter Subscribers and Counting

Lesson 11: DIY — with curiosity.

“I always seem to have a side hustle these days,” says Maryam Banikarim, managing director of Fortune Media. (One gets the sense that Banikarim has always had to have a side hustle.)

It’s just that Banikarim’s side hustles would make most primary hustles envious. Last weekend, she celebrated the third year of The Longest Table, a community-building event born out of a need for human connection back when everyone was masking up and sharing tips on finding Lysol wipes.

She saw a neighbor put a folding table outside so they could eat dinner with a few friends. She introduced herself and thought, “What if I did that?”

One also gets the sense that Banikarim doesn’t do rhetorical questions. She started with a few posts on Next Door and an eight-person outdoor potluck on her street in Chelsea. On October 6, 2024, over a thousand people showed up for dinner.

Together they cobbled together a Squarespace website, and “we use HubSpot to email people.” (We did not bribe, pay, or threaten her to say that.—ed.) Banikarim doesn’t complain about DIY marketing tech; on the contrary, she refuses to be outpaced by evolving technology.

“Marketing has always been for people who are curious,” Banikarim says. And “in order to constantly be learning, it’s really helpful to be touching the tools yourself and not just directing from up high.”

Read One Question That Will Reinvigorate Your Approach to Marketing

Lesson 12: Marketing should make your buyer feel confident — not insecure.

Fashion is a notoriously confidence-crushing industry. Plenty of major fashion and beauty brands thrive off making their consumers feel less-than. They want you to know you're not cool yet, but you will be when you wear those jeans or that jacket.

But Matt Zaremba, director of marketing for Bodega, calls that kind of marketing “empty calories and empty suits.”

“Sure, you‘ll find a cohort of people who you’ll grow with because you‘re showing them what they’re not. But eventually they‘ll find a brand that makes them feel like they are enough, and they’ll switch to that brand,” he says.

His MO? Being as humble and relatable as possible: "Fashion brands should offer tweaks to your journey of style and culture. I don‘t want to talk down to people and say, ’Oh, you don‘t know this musician?’ I‘d rather be like, ’You gotta check this out.' There should be no ego in it."

Whether you're a B2C or B2B marketer, the sentiment stands — personifying your brand as the “cool kid” works for some brands, but what works better for most is simply being helpful, curious, and encouraging.

Read Bodega's Matt Zaremba on How to Avoid Empty Calorie Marketing

Mastery in the Making

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Gen Z is turning this CEO's business model upside down

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:24:18 GMT

"This whole entire generation is about to turn all of our business models on its head."

I'm a consumer who falls somewhere between baby millennial and geriatric Gen Zer, and after hearing Hootsuite CEO Irina Novoselsky talk about my generation — she gets it.

I’m sure her being a millennial, thus closer to Gen Z than the average CEO, helps her keep in step with younger consumers, but I also think how intentional she is as a marketer sets her apart.

She's even gone as far as to speak with 500 Gen Zers to understand their consumer and social media habits.

"What pushed me to do that is I came across the stat that over 65% of all business decision-makers are going to be Gen Zers or millennials starting next year," Novoselsky says. "The fun fact is that 2024 was already the first year that there are more Gen Zers in the workplace than boomers."

Here's what Novoselsky discovered:

1. Gen Z is a generation of contradictions.

"They grew up with a phone in their pocket but don't want it to talk, they don't want it to be sold to, and they don't want our push model today," she explains.

And she's right. My inbox is full, and I don't like companies playing on my phone, so I'd rather find my next favorite lip liner-gloss-combo on my own terms before giving any brand my money.

Novoselsky says the current push model approach to marketing is a little too aggressive for Gen Z consumers. All those emails I get when I abandon a shopping cart or browse a few items? Yeah, I'm not reading all that.

And Novoselsky says this is pretty common among Gen Z.

She explains, "They complete 60% of their buying journey before ever actually engaging with the sales representative because they want to discover and evaluate their business on their own terms."

Like when I was in the market for a new vinyl record player, I scoured the internet for TikToks, YouTube Shorts, Reddit forums, and blog posts detailing recommendations and features to look for before deciding to invest in the Fluance RT80.

2. Forget about speaking to the manager; Gen Z wants to hear from your CEO.

When Gen Z researches a new brand, they‘re not just interested in your latest flashy product. They want to know what your brand stands for, if it’s taking any important stances online, and whether its values align with theirs.

Most importantly, they want to know what your leadership is all about.

"The majority of them won't do business with a company where the CEO isn't posting," Novoselsky says.

Yep, that‘s right. Your CEO can’t just be the person behind the current; they need to pull out their phone, open up TikTok or Reels, and start talking directly to Gen Z consumers.

For example, the founder and CEO of Huda Beauty, Huda Kattan, is in almost every Reel, TikTok, photo, or ad for the makeup company. She's also appeared on podcasts and has collaborated with celebrities like Olivia Culpo and Kehlani.

Image source

She is as much a content creator as a business owner and CEO.

She's also very vocal about diversity and inclusion in the beauty industry and speaks out about important causes, which is crucial because a recent study shows that 58% of Gen Z consumers lose trust in a brand if it doesn’t publicly address societal issues.

Kattan's approach is working. The company has about $200 million in annual sales and is valued at $1.2 billion.

So, if you‘re looking to connect with Gen Z, tell your CEO it’s their time to shine.

3. Gen Z wants to hear from their peers, not your ads.

“And that peer review can come from social media platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Or, it comes just from their own network,” Novoselsky says.

Don‘t believe her? Well, here’s a statistic for you: A recent analysis found that Reddit shows up 97.5% of the time in Google Search product review queries.

Novoselsky says Gen Zers want to know what their friends or community members are using, how they‘re interacting with the product, and whether it’s worth investing in.

So, I strongly recommend building community around your brand. Host Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), live-streaming events, or create platforms specifically for your audience to connect, share ideas, and talk about your brand.

One of my favorite examples actually comes from a previous employer of mine, a Florida TV station called First Coast News. In order to boost ratings for its weather segment, the station started a Facebook group called First Coast Weather Watchers, where viewers could join and share photos and videos of local weather phenomena.

Members would give each other advice on how to prepare for upcoming hurricanes and tropical storms, and they'd have real-time conversations with meteorologists to gather information on weather impacting the region.

The community not only boosted ratings for the segment, it also established trust between viewers and the station. So, when a tropical storm was on the rise, I would often see viewers on social media recommend their peers to join the Facebook group and tune in to our channel.

4. Basically, Gen Z will continue to turn marketing on its head.

Novoselsky is excited about the future of marketing and the type of creativity Gen Z consumers and marketers will bring.

“Anytime that you're being forced to do something innovative and think outside the box, it just challenges you to think differently,” she says. “This whole entire generation is about to turn all of our business models on its head.”

And part of thinking outside the box means finding new ways to show up organically to your target audience.

Novoselsky says marketers should ask themselves, “How do you create this environment where you can show up in this authentic, organic way and let this generation really do their own research and diligence instead of having this push model?”

“Gen Z really wants to be put in control,” she explains. "That starts by arming them with data in the places where they want to be reading it and creating that two-way dialogue."

Fenty Beauty nails this approach.

Gen Zers flock to TikTok in droves and one of the app‘s most popular features is its filters. So, what did Fenty Beauty do? The brand created its own filter on the app that allows users to virtually "try on" different lipstick and liner combinations. Then, if users like what they see, they can purchase the products via TikTok Shop or look up the products on Fenty’s website.

The company met its target demographic where they're at (TikTok) and made a fun filter that gave consumers the power to decide for themselves if they liked the product. Then, they made purchasing the product easy to do within the app.

Regardless of your target demographic, Novoselsky has a lot of wisdom that you can apply to your own marketing strategy. Consumers, how they shop, and how they interact with brands are changing, so you must be prepared to think outside the box and adapt.

For example, 84% of marketers say video has helped increase traffic to their website.

That‘s why I’ve branched beyond the usual scope of writing to start HubSpot's Blog Video Program. In this program, writers create short-form video content to accompany blog posts and grant their content a second life on video-sharing platforms like Reels and YouTube Shorts.

So, take a page from Novoselsky‘s book and break out of the traditional marketing mold. It’s time to embrace Gen Z.

Optimizing B2B Conversion Rates — All My Tips and Strategies

Cassie Wilson Clark — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:39:28 GMT

One of my favorite things to do is watch college football. And if you think I’m going to compare optimizing B2B conversion rates to football, you’re absolutely right.

Just like each player of the team needs to work together to score a touchdown, the parts of your B2B conversion strategy need to work in harmony to catch website visitors and turn them into paying customers.

If there’s a weak link in your strategy (like a player on the team not performing at their best), you’ll need to tweak it or pull it from the roster.

For this post, I sat down with Daniel Lynch, President and Owner of Empathy First Media, to discuss optimizing B2B conversion rates. Settle in as we go over the differences between B2B CRO and B2C CRO, and I’ll share some of his tips to help you plan a winning conversion strategy.

Table of Contents

What is B2B conversion rate optimization?
B2B CRO vs. B2C CRO
B2B Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

What is B2B conversion rate optimization?

Before I go too far into it, let’s take a moment to define B2B conversion rate optimization.

B2B conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a strategy to improve the number of desired actions on your website and landing pages. Ideally, your desired action, whether it’s a new sign-up in your forms, a new subscriber to your channel, or a click on a demo link, leads to a new conversion.

I like the way Lynch puts it. “In my opinion, where conversion rate optimization is going for B2B is not just the form fill,” he explained.

“Instead, it’s the first impression of what your brand offers. Like customizing it to that person and then having very detailed automated responses with sequences and chatbots. Then, using conversational artificial intelligence data enrichment to foster those conversations.”

Lynch said conversion rate optimization should really be dubbed “conversation rate optimization.” He said, “A conversation rate optimization is more than just a conversion. The conversion can be a vanity metric. But, conversations are what the goals should always be with marketing.”

CRO boils down to understanding the customer journey, identifying ways to improve it, and making it more appealing to potential customers to start a conversation. As your customers journey through your sales funnel, they come in contact with elements designed to grab their attention and spur them to action.

Those touch points include:

Sales and landing pages
Sign-up forms
Pop-ups
Call-to-actions (CTAs)
Compelling content and copy
Free trials and freemium tools

Making an effort to optimize each of these things can help convert a lead to a loyal customer. You’ll want to track and analyze each part of your conversion strategy to fully understand where you need to make changes to encourage more clicks or sign-ups.

Thankfully, there are tons of conversion rate optimization tools that can help you analyze your sales funnel and optimize your strategies. These tools can help you make appropriate, meaningful changes, as changing the wrong strategy or tweaking the wrong layer of your funnel could negatively impact your CRO.

You also don’t want to make a ton of changes at once. Instead, consider using a conversion rate optimization planner to help make small, meaningful, and measurable changes.

B2B CRO vs. B2C CRO

Let’s face it: Conversion rates vary across markets.

Even though over 60% of B2B and B2C leaders are leveraging AI tools for marketing, the marketing and conversion strategies that work well for each market are very different.

This means you can’t really use the same B2C tactics to optimize your B2B conversion rates. Logically, it’s still marketing, and it seems like the strategies you’d use for B2C sales should apply, but the B2B market is a whole different ball game.

Here’s why.

Target Audience

As marketers, you and I both know how important it is to understand our target audience. You’ve likely spent time creating an audience persona to gain a deeper understanding of what makes your audience tick.

But, when it comes to B2C marketing, the audience persona is likely just one individual. Instead of appealing to a broad group of people, B2C marketers can get oddly specific in their personalized marketing strategies.

This is often easier because you really only need to influence one person to convert a sale — the individual buyer.

In B2B sales, though, the target audience is a wide range of people, from the CEO to the director of marketing to the content marketing manager.

For instance, let’s pretend your company sells engagement software designed to make connecting with customers easier. To really drive home the benefits of your software, you need to think about how it improves the workflows of each department within an organization.

This means you need to segment your audience into subcategories.

Going back to the engagement software example, your sales team will use that software differently than your marketing and customer support departments.

So, to really nail down how to connect with these groups, you’ll need to think about how your software can best serve them and tailor your approach to speak to those solutions.

Segmenting your audience isn’t just a good idea for companies — it’s a great strategy to bring in more revenue. 70% of companies use segmentation to better market to their customers. And, of those who use this strategy, 80% of those businesses see an increase in their profits.

So, if you want a better ROI and optimized conversion rates, consider segmenting your target audience.

Decision-Makers and Research

As I mentioned, in B2C sales, a purchase is usually an individual decision. However, in B2B sales, the decision to make a purchase is a group activity.

With more stakeholders involved, there are more decision-makers. If those decision-makers are anything like me and have to research a product from all angles before purchasing, it means there will be double or triple the research notes before the group as a whole decides to purchase a product or service.

With more people helping to make a decision, individual research will likely uncover more purchase options for group consideration.

According to B2B SaaS Reviews, 27% of B2B buyers consider six or more options before making a purchase, compared to just 17% of B2C buyers.

This means that to convert visitors on your website who are somewhat interested in your product, you really need to position your product or service as the solution to their B2B needs — or you risk losing a lead to your competition.

Sales Cycle

Remember the days when you watched infomercials in the middle of the night and were persuaded to purchase new exercise equipment that would solve all your insomnia problems?

For me, it took just thirty minutes into one infomercial to decide to buy a new piece of gym equipment.

The point of that story? The B2C sales cycle is relatively short. It often goes like this: You see something that catches your eye, you think about how it’ll solve all your most pressing problems, and then you plunk your card down and go home with something new.

Seems like a relatively effective sales cycle, right? It is — for B2C.

That’s not how it works in the B2B world, though.

B2B sales often take more than 30 minutes to reach the end goal. In fact, the average B2B sales cycle is just over two months long.

During this time, your sales team will need to make every effort to convert leads, strike up a conversation, and close a sale. That might mean that you invite decision-makers to lunch, call them to follow up and re-pitch (and re-pitch!) your services, or schedule a live product demonstration.

These are all tactics you wouldn’t use to close the B2C sales cycle.

Messaging and Marketing

How you market your products or services also varies slightly depending on your market. Content marketing, influencer partnerships, and social media marketing are all effective conversion methods, but some work better than others for B2B sales.

For example, influencer partnerships are a fantastic idea for promoting your brand, but they work best for B2C brands, as they can be more persuasive to the individual.

Content marketing is a great option for getting the word out about your products or services, and 91% of B2B marketers include it in their overall strategy.

For B2B marketing, writing how-to tutorials, offering case studies, or sharing videos of product walk-throughs is a great way to produce highly engaging content that converts leads to sales.

Content marketing works for B2C brands, and 86% of B2C marketers include it in their strategy. But, the more effective content they share, like short-form, trendy videos, is different.

Customer Journey

Finally, the biggest reason B2B CRO varies compared to B2C is that the customer journey is different.

B2C brands know that they’re often selling a one-time purchase product. This doesn’t mean they won’t have repeat customers — they will. However, it does mean their focus is on getting customers to their site as quickly as possible to make a low-value purchase.

B2B purchases, though, are high-value purchases. This means your customers aren’t just purchasing a product; they’re purchasing an experience.

They need to know upfront the value they’re getting from your product or service before agreeing to a contract. It’s why your B2B customer journey should be filled with as much valuable content as possible.

Instead, you should focus on providing various resources, including explainer videos, case studies, and tutorials, to help influence their purchasing decision before encouraging them to contact your sales reps.

Oddly enough, involving your sales reps too soon can be detrimental. Garner found that 44% of millennials don’t want to interact with a sales rep before making a B2B purchase.

Lynch said this is because we (as consumers) are selfish with our time. That’s why text-based marketing, like chatbots, works so well in B2B marketing and sales.

Now that we know the differences between B2B and B2C conversions, let’s look at some of Lynch’s favorite B2B conversion rate optimization strategies.

B2B Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies

1. Monitor your website.

Heat Mapping and Recording Sessions

Your website is a gold mine of information, and you can uncover valuable information about your website visitors with the right AI tools.

And I’m not just talking about metrics relating to form fills or bounce rates. Lynch told me the key to optimizing B2B conversion rates is implementing AI tools for heat map tracking and session recording.

These conversion rate tools provide users with a visual representation of the most visited places on their websites. This gives you a better understanding of the kinds of things, like your calls-to-action or graphics, that catch your visitors’ eyes.

Lynch told me he likes using heat maps because they create a timeline where you determine the sequence of button clicks by users. He said, “It's super important that you identify with their cursor. What did they highlight? What did they focus on their screen?”

Once you understand their interests, you can filter out your product or service features your leads don’t care about and only focus on the things they do. Not only does this cut down on wasted time, but by targeting their interests you’re on your way to opening a meaningful conversation (and conversion!) with your leads.

User Experience

This strategy might sound repetitive, but the user experience does affect your overall conversion rate. In our conversation, Lynch made it a point to tell me that a well-designed landing page doesn’t necessarily mean it’s chock full of interactive elements. Instead, less is more.

He said, “What a lot of people don‘t realize is that the best landing pages are the ones that don’t look the best. You want them low, quick, to serve the purpose, and have some visual aesthetic to them. But less is more.

“Minimalistic is what drives conversions. You just want to get them to sign up, so you can talk to them and move on. And the more you add to that page, the longer it takes to load. And the longer it takes to load, the lower your conversion rate will be.”

If you’re not sure which landing page converts the most users, consider A/B testing. A/B testing can help you easily identify which elements of your landing pages lend to the best user experience.

2. Optimize lead forms.

Although your lead forms are only a small part of your conversion rate optimization strategy, they still hold some weight. And a bad form will send your visitors running in the wrong direction.

According to Lynch, “There‘s plenty of data that every additional form field you add lowers your conversion rate because it’s one more field that people have to take time to complete.”

And he’s right. 27% of people will abandon a form because it’s too long. Thankfully, there are AI conversion rate tools available to help optimize your forms. He wholeheartedly recommends using them, too.

AI-optimized forms work by collecting user data as a visitor roams around on your website. Think data — like company name, industry, and position within the company. Then, when they land on a form, your AI tool can change the form to collect only the necessary data.

This can drastically reduce the number of form fields a user needs to complete, which in turn can help increase your conversion rates.

3. Use social proof.

Remember how I mentioned 44% of millennials don’t want to talk to a sales rep when making a B2B purchase? It’s important to keep this stat at the forefront of your mind when tweaking your conversion rate strategies.

One way to show off your brand without involving a salesperson is to use social proof. Lynch said, “Testimonials, reviews and trust badges help leverage your authority and position you as an expert in that industry.”

Considering 84% of B2B buyers use review sites, it’s worth it to take some time collecting customer reviews. You’ll also want to scour the internet for any mention of your product or service on review sites like G2, TechCrunch, and TechRadar.

It’s also not a bad idea to ask your loyal fans to record a short video for your website and social media platforms. If other B2B customers sing the praises of your product or services, it’s easier to convince another business to work with you.

No sales reps needed.

4. Incorporate conversational AI.

When I asked Lynch for his thoughts about millennials not wanting to speak to a salesperson, he wasn’t surprised. Instead, he told me that’s why incorporating conversational AI tools, like chatbots, into your website is so important.

He said, “A lot more people are going to be less hesitant to anonymously engage with chatbots.”

AI-powered chatbots can be trained on your visitors’ behavior and your company data, including your company’s knowledge-base library and your tutorials.

So, when a visitor lands on your website, your chatbot is equipped with the best, most up-to-date information to help guide visitors to fill out your forms or book a demo call.

Plus, chatbots provide immediate support. Lynch mentioned that potential customers, as a whole, are selfish with their time and don’t necessarily want to wait on a response from a sales rep.

He said, “They want to have real-time conversations. The beautiful thing about chatbots is you give them that instant dopamine, versus having to wait for someone to call them and schedule it. A scheduled call doesn't respect your time as much as an instant one does.”

While AI chatbots can’t do everything to close the loop on your B2B sales cycle, they do lend a helping hand to help speed up the lead generation process before potential leads lose interest in your brand — talk about optimizing your conversion rates.

5. Dynamic content optimization.

There’s no doubt you’re creating content based on your ideal customer profile (ICP). But, because there are so many decision-makers in a B2B purchase, it can be challenging to nail down the right call-to-actions or the most effective copy.

Enter: dynamic content optimization. Using AI and its data to optimize your copy and content takes the guesswork out of your advertising. AI can detect who in the decision-making team is looking at your landing pages. Then, it can optimize your call-to-actions to better encourage sign-ups or clicks.

For example, if a CEO is on your webpage, your CTA might be “book a call.” Compared to a content manager who might need approval before scheduling a demo, the CTA might say, “Request more information.”

Lynch likes to think of this approach as “marketing with the scientific method.” He told me, “That‘s why the data is so important. If you cannot improve your copywriting optimization, unless you’re willing to assume you're wrong. Look at the data to adjust your approach, adjust your copy, and go from there.”

6. Account-based marketing.

Going back to the football reference that I started out with, to optimize your conversion rates, you need to think of the B2B decision-makers as individuals on a team.

Each individual has their own role, whether that’s the CEO, a department manager, or a department director. Each of these roles functions differently within a company. How they interact with and use your product or service will be different, too.

It’s best to think of how each decision-maker will use your product or service and market it based on that.

But you shouldn’t just think about how they’ll individually use your product, you also need to map out who has the most buying power and pull within the team.

Lynch explained it to me like this. The CEO holds quite a bit of power in the buying decision, but they also don’t want to spend time wrestling with the decision — they’re busy. They have things to do, and they trust their team to make the best decision.

On the other hand, there will be someone in the decision team who thinks it’s better to go with your competitors. These are the people you should focus your marketing efforts on.

And, it’s where account-based marketing comes in.

Danial said, “Account-based marketing is identifying buying roles in the process that match your ICP and audience personas. You can associate the different buying roles and identify them as the gatekeeper, the champion, the blocker. The champion is the one who wants to choose you … [and] is advocating for you to the team.”

According to Danial, the blocker is someone who wants to go with someone else.

“And if they‘re a blocker and you’ve identified that, you can even put them into a list to be retargeted with certain emails, LinkedIn messages, Facebook ads, or LinkedIn ads to try to change their mind by giving them more trust with your brand,” Danial says.

This is also why it’s really important to create compelling content, like case studies and ebooks. You can send those materials to help persuade team members to start a conversation with your brand.

Optimizing B2B conversion rates starts with a conversation.

Your B2B conversion rate strategy doesn’t have to fall flat. Instead, consider using AI to help optimize your conversions and generate better leads.

After all, like Lynch told me, conversions boil down to conversations. And, using the data your AI tools collect, you’re better equipped to have more meaningful conversations with interested prospects, without needing to go over the preliminaries and risk wasting valuable time.

What's Below the Line Marketing Anyway? I Dove Deep Into BTL Marketing to Find Out

Alex Sventeckis — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:34:01 GMT

I cringe whenever I look at how many unopened emails live in my work inbox. I’m lucky if I open maybe ten percent of them — including anything promotional.

But, of those ten percent, what convinced me to open and respond to them? Those companies did below the line (BTL) marketing right.

Email marketing, direct mail, events — below the line marketing includes these and similar targeted tactics to convince and convert buyers. What goes into running a successful BTL campaign? And where do you begin?

To help you start, I dug into BTL marketing: the history, its relationship with other marketing tactics, and best practices from experts. Here’s what I found.

Table of Contents

What is below the line marketing?
Above the Line vs. Below the Line Marketing
How to Make Below the Line Marketing Work for You
Below the Line Marketing Examples
Below the Line Marketing Best Practices

What is below the line marketing?

Great question! Answering “What is BTL marketing?” is surprisingly tough.

First, let’s look at history. Below the line marketing got its start in the 1950s.

Manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble wanted to separate advertising activities based on who got paid for them. “Traditional” advertising costs (aka, TV, radio, OOH) payable to ad agencies made it above the line on the company’s draft budget. Everything else fell below the line.

In modern marketing parlance, I’d say below the line marketing is a spiritual cousin to demand generation. However, BTL marketing in practice feels more like a subset of demand gen — enabling demand gen’s strategy through tactical details and execution. BTL campaigns often run on shorter operational timelines.

The results BTL generates focus more heavily on responses and conversions instead of demand gen’s longer-term customer acquisition and nurture goals.

For our purposes, BTL marketing tactics will include:

Direct mail
Email marketing
Trade shows and events
Location-specific promotions
Targeted online outreach

While traditional BTL marketing relies on a physical component, the internet’s reach is inescapable. So long as it’s highly targeted, personalized, and time-bound, you could make a case to include physical and digital marketing tactics.

Above the Line vs. Below the Line Marketing

Speaking of the internet, digital marketing has blurred the lines between above the line (ATL) and BTL marketing. Yet, whether it happens in cyberspace or physical space, we need distinction between both operations. For our discussion, let’s say:

ATL marketing involves broad campaigns aimed at wide audiences.
BTL marketing involves targeted campaigns aimed at specific segments of your target audience.

The elements of targeting and personalization make the difference. Instead of billboards nationwide, it’s mailers sent to a dozen neighborhoods. BTL brings a clear focus to connecting with an audience subgroup and convincing them to buy.

This targeting shrinks a campaign’s size and scale, so BTL actions typically cost less than their ATL counterparts.

What do ATL and BTL marketing look like in practice?

To answer this question, I went to Sara Croft. Croft is the CEO of Five Four Partners, a growth agency that helps companies launch and scale. Many of her early-stage startup clients use below the line marketing tactics.

She positions the ATL/BTL divide with her clients like this: “Let’s take a LinkedIn ad campaign example,” Croft said. “A generic, broad message about your product that’s targeted to a very wide audience and sends people to your home page could get a lot of eyeballs and maybe some clicks, but likely won’t result in a conversion. For an early-stage company, this wastes time. While brand building is important, startups need customers — now.

“For targeted BTL marketing, an early-stage startup could consider running LinkedIn ads for a webinar,” she continued. “It’s a lower barrier to entry for the audience to sign up to attend a webinar versus signing up for a demo of a potentially six-figure product purchase. The webinar educates the audience further and helps qualify and disqualify prospects. The results are tangible, measurable, and actionable.”

A strong marketing strategy requires both ATL and BTL actions, but it’s vital to know when to apply each:

ATL marketing is great for companies wanting to increase brand awareness and reach. If your metrics are more top-of-funnel-focused, you’ll do well with ATL tactics.
BTL marketing is for specific audiences and supports bottom-of-funnel-related metrics. If your goal is to convince and convert, BTL is the way to go.

Or, as Croft puts it, “ATL marketing makes the prospect aware of a pain and its solution, but BTL marketing helps them know what to do about it.”

How to Make Below the Line Marketing Work for You

Whether you’re running marketing for an early-stage startup or a multibillion-dollar conglomerate, BTL marketing can offer many opportunities to convert your target audience. But it can be daunting to start.

When I build BTL marketing plans, I find it helps to adopt journalism’s Five Ws (Plus H):

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?

With these questions in mind, let’s see how you can build and execute your plan. For our purposes, I’ll also share details from BTL donor relations campaigns I’ve run to tie these concepts to concrete outcomes.

1. Define your target segments.

Who are you talking to? Because of BTL’s tighter targeting, you need to get detailed with your target segments. The more information you have on your potential buyers, the better.

In past campaigns, I’ve built donor outreach lists based on demographic and psychographic data gathered through various sources:

Age
Location
Disposable income
Engagement with other content
Previous interest (e.g., volunteered at an organizational event, visited a physical location)
Previous giving data (if available)

These data points helped me build the vision for my ideal buyer.

2. Customize and personalize messaging.

Once you know who you’re talking to, you must understand why you’re reaching out and what you want them to know. I’ve seen marketing teams run with generic copy from other campaigns and call it a day. That’s a surefire way to waste your and your buyers’ time and resources.

Through market research and past interactions, you can build a nuanced understanding of your messaging. What clicks with prospects? What makes people’s eyes light up in interest? What scares them away?

At this stage, practice articulating your messaging with draft copy. I find it helpful to lay out an internal brief containing:

Core messaging
3-5 key points I want buyers to remember
Purpose statement (Why am I reaching out to you?)
30-second elevator pitch copy (What am I trying to say?)
Draft copy for short-form and long-form content

Great writing comes from great thinking. Use this internal brief model to organize your thoughts and state your case.

3. Pick the right channels.

You’ve chosen your segments and crafted a compelling message. Now, where will you find your buyers? When will you reach out? And how will you do it?

BTL marketing campaigns survive on nitty-gritty details. From your research and experience, you should know where your buyers spend their time.

Coupled with clear messaging, you can choose the right delivery channels:

Direct mail
Email marketing
In-person experiences

My donor base loved receiving letters in the mail. They tended to be older and were more apt to respond and convert by mailing back a check instead of completing a digital donation form.

So, my organization would send a letter every two months to over 1,200 donors or prospects. The copy would be ghostwritten as a board member, program manager, or even program beneficiary. We’d tell donors about their gift’s impact and invite them to renew or upgrade.

While we offered multiple engagement channels (e.g., “Find us on Facebook” or an online donation link), that letter converted and upgraded more donors than any other tactic.

Pro tip: I wouldn’t use generative AI to write full drafts. But, AI tools can help you include personalized information from your CRM to humanize copy.

For instance, calling out a donor’s last volunteer interaction at the annual holiday festival helps you connect more meaningfully. AI can scale those small insertions across hundreds or thousands of letters.

I knew my donor base inside and out, which helped me run successful BTL campaigns. With all these pieces in place, you can start running your campaign.

4. Measure and analyze results.

As you execute your plan, check your progress often. Pay close attention to how your BTL campaign fits within your overall marketing strategy’s goals. Know which metrics matter to your organization, and use those metrics to track your campaign’s outcomes.

For instance, my donor management role’s goals included:

Establishing new giving relationships with prospects.
Reactivating lapsed givers.
Upgrading gift amounts for current donors.

Every letter in my direct mail campaign focused on meeting one of these goals. I’d then check the response and conversion rate on those letters to learn what worked, what didn’t, and how I could improve for the next batch.

Remember to gather quantitative and qualitative data, too. Post-action surveys can deliver extra intel on your audience and core messaging. Prospects might not respond to your initial BTL action.

But, offer them a chance to win a $500 gift card if they complete a survey telling you what you did wrong? That’ll start conversations.

5. Tinker and retry.

You won’t always get it right the first time. In fact, it’ll probably take around eight touchpoints to move a prospect. Use your data to tinker with previous stages and try again.

Like any good scientific experiment, don’t alter too many dependent variables at once. You want to track what you’ve changed so you can replicate winning outcomes. Try altering one segmentation criterion (e.g., shift the age group) or channel choice, and rerun your experiment.

Croft relayed that this is one of BTL’s greatest benefits. “BTL marketing helps you identify what to scale,” she said. “When you start with more targeted marketing, you can better understand the campaign's ROI.”

Below the Line Marketing Examples

You can spot BTL marketing throughout your daily life. Let’s focus on two examples from my life — and how these companies converted me.

Example 1: Email Marketing to My Canine Friend

Email is a popular channel that is overwhelming users. These days, your buyers probably never open your email: 79% of consumers delete branded emails at least half of the time.

And even when they open it, consumers spend an average of nine seconds before deciding to buy or trash it.

Your email should inform, engage, and convert in nine seconds. That’s a tall order for any marketing team.

BarkBox did that to me. I have a dog, and she’s classified as a “Super Chewer.” She loves gnawing on tasty treats and tough toys. BarkBox knows this and sends me highly targeted, personalized emails.

They put my dog’s name in the title and waste no time in presenting the offer. The email contains their Super Chewer lineup for the holiday box, so I know exactly what I’m getting. And BarkBox offers a clear CTA to convert me in seconds. Guess who will chew on their Rudolph-themed toy this holiday season?

Pro tip: If you’re struggling to use email successfully, our comprehensive email marketing guide can help you begin.

Example 2: Direct Mail Gift Boxes to Upgrade My Subscription

Receiving a physical item still means something to people. Research from gifting platform Sendoso found that 83% of recipients feel closer to a company after receiving a physical gift.

But that gift has to mean something: Business.com research found that 54% of professionals have received a gift so bad that they immediately threw it away.

You need to know exactly what your buyer wants and reinforce that sentiment with your gift selection.

For instance, I’ve been using and evangelizing an AI presentation generation tool called Gamma for over a year. As a reward for my support and advocacy, they asked me my shirt size and sent me a swag box.

Inside, I received a properly-sized branded hoodie, a water bottle, and a personalized note. Gamma sent me useful, meaningful items. While this box celebrated our relationship, it also nudged me toward upgrading my subscription.

I did exactly that. And I’ve been more apt to share the tool with my marketing friends.

There’s a higher upfront cost to this tactic — and a higher cost for failure if you don’t know your audience. But in the right hands and with the right people, direct mail can deliver big conversion numbers.

Below the Line Marketing Best Practices

We’ve covered a lot about BTL marketing so far, but before you begin your next campaign, let’s review a few final (yet vital) best practices.

Do your research.

Successful BTL marketing means knowing your target audience intimately. There’s no shortcut to this process. Your goal should be to reach the right people, in the right place, at the right time, with the right message.

Audience research helps you achieve that objective. Deep research lets you segment an audience across several axes:

Demographics like age, gender, and income.
Purchase intent like people searching for “best college laptop to buy.”
Lifestyle, including attitudes, opinions, and interests.

A vast amount of quantitative and qualitative data is at your disposal to help you segment appropriately. Explore target audience research tools and techniques to get the good stuff.

Secure relevant permissions.

BTL marketing is exciting, but pause to consider any legal and ethical implications. Did your direct mail recipient consent to a gift box? Are you following CAN-SPAM regulations with your targeted email outreach?

Because BTL tactics typically need personal data, review your data security and privacy requirements before launching campaigns. Tell people how you plan to use their data and what value exchange they can expect. It pays to be upfront about your intentions and let people opt out easily.

You can even turn permission gathering into a touchpoint. For example, let gift box recipients pick the swag they actually want. You gather their consent while letting them take part. Plus, they’ll be extra excited when their hand-chosen package arrives.

Integrate BTL into your overall marketing strategy.

This tip might seem self-explanatory. But I’ve seen teams try to execute BTL tactics without understanding how other marketing actions and ATL tactics affect their audiences’ brand perception and intent.

For example, you can build an incredible booth experience at your industry’s largest trade show. But if nobody knows you’re there or what to expect (i.e., content you share in an above the line press release and media outreach campaign), you’ll miss out on significant foot traffic and coverage.

Effective BTL actions require you to understand marketing’s influence across your organization. Marketing and communications, sales, customer success — engage anyone involved in achieving marketing’s strategic outcomes.

Also, plan comprehensively to ensure everyone agrees and is tracking the same outcomes. For instance, use HubSpot’s email marketing planning template to help you plan, calendar, and optimize your BTL email marketing campaign. Share this document with all stakeholders to keep everyone on track.

BTL Marketing Matters More in Busy Digital Worlds

My review of BTL marketing left me thinking we need more marketing like it. Generalized brand building has a vital place in our marketing toolkits.

I don’t think we’ll have a world where you’ll never run ads or buy billboard space.

But, amid the noise around scaling marketing and deploying AI and similar technologies, there’s something refreshing about true personalization. About something meant for me.

That’s why I opened those ten percent of emails with:

Offers tailored to my needs.
Simple and clear calls-to-action.
Delivery at the right place and time.

In a busier world, help your customers feel seen and heard. BTL marketing done well can help you deliver on that feeling while also driving stronger marketing outcomes.

What Are the 4 Ps of Marketing? The Marketing Mix Explained [Example]

Rebecca Riserbato — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:30:00 GMT

If, like me, you’ve worked in marketing for a long time, then the four Ps of marketing might seem like a throwback. They are a bit, but I’ve worked in marketing for over a decade now, and some things never change.

The four Ps of marketing are still foundational today. Those who studied marketing in college will likely know the ins and outs of the four Ps and the marketing mix, but if you’re not familiar, let me introduce you to the marketing mix.

The four Ps include product, price, place, and promotion.

In this article, I outline their role in marketing, including their history and evolution, examples, and how to use the four Ps to create effective marketing.

Table of Contents

What are the 4 Ps of marketing?
The History of the 4 Ps of Marketing
The 4 Ps of Marketing vs. the 4 Cs of Marketing
How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing Mix in Your Strategy
The 4 Ps of Marketing (Example)
The 4 Ps of Marketing Examples: Apple and e.l.f. Cosmetics

The four Ps help marketers consider everything about a product or service when deciding how to market it for their business. Framing your marketing around the four Ps will help you learn what the competition is doing and what customers want from you.

The History of the 4 Ps of Marketing

Source

It might feel new and trendy, but marketing has been around for a long time. When looking into the history of the 4 Ps, I found some articles dating marketing back to over 1,000 years ago, as part of the bartering system, where people bartered and traded items.

The four Ps of Marketing is a relatively new concept. E. Jerome McCarthy introduced it in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach. McCarthy’s introduction of the 4 Ps in the 1960s was timely. Marketing was changing, and McCarthy used the 4 Ps of marketing and considered the impact of e-commerce on marketing strategies, highlighting lessons from successes and failures. He explored new perspectives from customer relationship management (CRM), focusing on customer equity, acquisition, and retention costs.

The world was changing, and marketing needed to adapt.

I think it’s fair to say that since the 60s, particularly from the 90s onwards, the digital world has not stopped changing, and marketing has not stopped adapting.

To keep up, some have adapted the four Ps and turned them into the seven Ps.

4 Ps of Marketing Plus 3: The 7 Ps of Marketing

The seven Ps of marketing are a continuation of the four Ps. Included in the seven Ps are:

Product.
Price.
Place.
Promotion.

As well as:

People.
Process.
Physical evidence.

Continuing the four Ps includes other elements that improve the marketing foundations.

People are those who take the product to market. This includes sales teams and customer service representatives. In modern marketing, it could also include influencers and brand advocates (customers who sell your product for you).
Process is the “P” that asks you to look at your operations. How quickly can you ship products, do you have enough stock, etc?
Physical evidence is especially important in a digital world. People buy from brands online, sometimes stumbling across their marketing before they know the brand exists. With this customer journey, brands need to provide physical evidence that they can be trusted. Think reviews, about pages, company addresses, and more.

Source

The 4 Ps of Marketing vs. the 4 Cs of Marketing

Understanding the four Ps of marketing helps to understand the other parts of the marketing mix, namely the four Cs of marketing.

The 4 Cs of marketing include:

Customer
Cost
Convenience
Communication

I think of the four Cs as an inversion of the four Ps. Instead of being product-focused, they are customer-focused.

The customer is the person you’re selling to, and everything involved with the buying journey through their lens: the customer journey, why they need the product or service, and the emotions they feel en route to buy.
Cost (to the customer) is a more emotive way of viewing marketing. Cost considers the overall value perception and effort from the customer’s perspective, not just monetary price. Ask yourself how customers are going to feel about the price. How can marketing encourage them to part with their hard-earned cash?
Convenience refers to how easy it is for the customer to buy and get the product. Is the website easy to use, the product in stock, and the shopping and delivery fast?
Communication is a two-way interaction; this isn’t just about shouting your product or services to the masses; instead, aim to communicate with your audience, respond to feedback and understand what your customers are telling you.

The four Cs and the four Ps support each other. When thinking about marketing strategy, it helps to consider both. Thinking about:

Customer and product.
Price and cost.
Place and convenience.
Promotion and communication.

Helps to think about marketing from all perspectives. For me, this only elevates my marketing.

How to Use the 4 Ps of Marketing Mix in Your Strategy

You can use the four Ps to answer questions about the product, price, place, and promotion of your product or service.

For example, you can ask yourself:

Product — How does your product meet your customer's needs? What problem(s) does it solve? What unique value or features does it offer?
Price — What is the value of your product? What are my competitors charging?
Place — Where are customers looking for your product?
Promotion — How can you differentiate your product from competitors? Where can you reach your audience?

Always consider the needs and preferences of your target audience. Ultimately, your product, its price, its place of distribution, and its promotional strategies should appeal to your customers the most.

Thinking about your marketing in terms of the four Ps will help you strategize how to reach your customers. The 4 Ps of Marketing is also known as your marketing mix — more on that below.

To develop a marketing mix, you‘ll need to think about how you can uniquely position your brand amongst the competition. The most important part of thinking about the marketing mix — or the four Ps of marketing — is to understand the customer, the competition, and your company. You’ll evaluate your product and how to promote it.

But getting started isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve created the ultimate collection of marketing mix templates you can use to visualize your marketing mix and share it with your employees or investors. Use the templates to organize your initiatives and activities in the right section.

Featured Resource: Marketing Mix Templates

Click here to download the templates for free.

Use the template to follow along with the 4 Ps of marketing below.

The 4 Ps of Marketing (Example)

1. The First P of Marketing: Product

When you think about your product, consider exactly what you‘re selling. Is it a specific product? Or is it a service? Your product can be a physical product, an online app, or a service such as house cleaning. Really, anything that you’re selling is the product.

Then, think of your brand messaging, the services you offer, and even packaging. When you define your product, think about what problem your product solves for your customers. Consider how your product is different from competing products. What features are unique to your product?

It's important to know your product intimately so you can market it.

Product Example

I’ll use HubSpot’s Marketing Hub as an example.

What is it? “Marketing automation software to help you attract the right audience, convert more visitors into customers, and run complete inbound marketing campaigns at scale — all on one powerful, easy-to-use platform.”

Who is it for? Modern marketers who juggle too much data and who are stuck with impossible-to-use software solutions that make their job harder, not easier.

Which features does it have? Marketing Hub offers blogging, SEO, social media management, email marketing, and ad tracking tools in a single, intuitive platform.

What problem does it solve? Marketing Hub simplifies the marketing automation process for busy marketers by bringing all data and tools under one roof.

Pro tip: Once you’ve established your product and its messaging, you can monitor marketing success in HubSpot’s Marketing Hub. You can see your customers’ complete journey and how each interaction helped take your audiences from prospect to buyer. You can analyze messaging and engagement rates to identify whether your expectations match your customer's needs.

For example, if you’ve correctly outlined the features most important to your users, then these will be the features most engaged. Through your analysis, you might find that other features garner more interest from specific audiences. Once you’ve got data, you can pivot strategy or double down on what’s working.

2. The Second P of Marketing: Price

When it comes to price, you have to consider how much you're going to charge customers for your products or services. Of course, you need to make a profit.

When coming up with your pricing strategy, you also need to think about what competitors are charging for the same product or service and how much customers are willing to pay. You can also think about what discounts or offers you can use in your marketing.

When you decide on a price, you want to think about perception. Do you want to be known as a cost-effective option in your industry? Or perhaps you're a luxury brand, and the price is slightly higher than the competition on the market. Keep in mind that pricing SaaS products is a little different than pricing physical products.

Either way, the language you use to market your product will be greatly impacted by the price of your product.

P.S. You can download a sales pricing calculator here for free.

Price Example

Marketing Hub is priced to grow with you as you grow.

HubSpot offers the following subscription tiers:

Free: $0/month
Starter: $20/month per seat
Professional: $890/month (3 seats included)
Enterprise: $3,600/month (5 seats included)

Pro tip: Your product’s price needs to be desirable to customers and effective for business. With HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, you can measure campaign success and identify the KPIs that best support your business and represent the goals you want to achieve. For example, you can measure the success of a campaign, the count of leads and purchases, and conversion rate measurements.

3. The Third P of Marketing: Place

When it comes to place, this might mean the physical location of your company, but it could also be defined as anywhere you sell your product, which might be online.

The place is where you market and distribute your product.

Remember that not every place makes sense for every product. For example, if your target market is seniors, then it won‘t make sense to market on TikTok. It’s important to choose the right places to market your product and meet your customers where they're at.

Think about possible distribution channels and outlets you could use to sell your product. Be sure to take into account whether your business is B2B or B2C.

At this point, you'll need to think about how to market your product on all the various channels that make sense for your company.

Place Example

As a provider of SaaS products, HubSpot offers Marketing Hub directly on its website.

Marketers can sign up for Marketing Hub by creating an account directly on the platform. HubSpot also created a convenient sign-up page for free subscriptions, or customers can request a demo from their friendly sales team.

4. The Fourth P of Marketing: Promotion

Promotion is the bread and butter of marketing. This is when you'll think about how to publicize and advertise your product.

Additionally, you'll discuss brand messaging, brand awareness, and lead generation strategies.

When it comes to promotion, keeping communication in mind is of the utmost importance. What messages will resonate with your target market? How can you best promote your product to them?

Think about where, when, and how you'll promote your brand.

Promotion Example

When promoting Marketing Hub, Hubspot needs to be wherever its target audience (marketers) is. Most importantly, we want to help them grow in their careers — as well as grow their businesses.

HubSpot does a lot of inbound marketing, and its promotion focuses primarily on organic acquisition. Marketers will find Marketing Hub over the following channels:

The HubSpot Marketing Blog

HubSpot Academy

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Pro tip: HubSpot’s Marketing Hub helps you analyze the performance of every marketing asset or tactic. You can measure how different placements have worked. For example, if you notice that a particular asset is generating leads, then you can share this asset across all of marketing. Or, you might find your Instagram efforts are superior to TikTok. With findings such as this, you can make data-driven decisions on what steps to take next for effective marketing.

The 4 Ps of Marketing Examples: Apple and e.l.f. Cosmetics

Let's break down the 4 Ps of marketing by looking at examples from Apple and e.l.f. Cosmetics.

Apple

Source

Product: iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, Software, and Services (i.e., Apple Music, Apple TV, iTunes, etc.).
Price: Apple products are often priced at the higher end of the market. The brand commands premium pricing due to its reputation for innovation, quality, and design.
Place: Consumers can purchase products online and in retail stores. Apple products are sold worldwide and have a significant global market presence.
Promotion: Apple places a strong emphasis on cultivating a dedicated and loyal consumer base. Their marketing campaigns reinforce the idea of being part of an “Apple ecosystem.” Once users buy one product — like an iPhone – they're more likely to choose other Apple products like MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watches, and more. This ecosystem fosters deep brand loyalty. This sense of loyalty is evident in their product launches, which are a must-see event in the tech industry.

e.l.f. Cosmetics

Source

Product: e.l.f. offers a comprehensive range of makeup and skincare products, brushes, and beauty tools.
Price: One of e.l.f.'s main value propositions is its affordability. Many of their products have a low price point, making the brand accessible to a wide range of consumers. Its lower price point sets it apart from other brands in the beauty space.
Place: e.l.f. products are widely available in drugstores and big-box retailers like Target and Walmart. It also has a strong online presence, selling products directly through its website and other online retailers.
Promotion: As a challenger brand in the beauty space, e.l.f. seeks to establish itself as a recognizable and reliable option at the drugstore and beyond. The brand is proactive across social media, including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, to engage with younger demographics. In addition, their campaigns often involve user-generated content to foster a sense of community with their audience.

Back to You

Even though marketing has changed a lot since the four Ps were developed, the foundational elements of the industry haven't. You can apply the concepts of the marketing mix to create winning marketing strategies that help you profitably launch and promote your company’s products.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll likely find that the four Ps of marketing are part of your strategy, even before you knew what they are. It’s intuitive and foundational to weave elements of the four Ps into marketing.

However, an awareness of the four Ps and the marketing mix can only help your strategy. Keep them in mind every time you plan marketing.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

TAM, SAM & SOM: What Do They Mean & How Do You Calculate Them?

cchi@hubspot.com (Clifford Chi) — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:30:00 GMT

As a marketer, I often find myself sitting down at my desk with a calculator to do some basic math. And most of the time, I’m in a kerfuffle with three acronyms: TAM SAM SOM.

Calculating your total addressable market (TAM), serviceable addressable market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM) can be helpful beyond the realm of just marketing.

Business owners can use these calculations to determine the viability of a business. Product teams can validate new product offerings. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of the TAM, SAM and SOM trio.

Ignoring these numbers can be detrimental. You could enter a market that doesn’t have a large enough market size to convince investors to back you, or you could set an unrealistic revenue goal for your business and burn your employees out.

To help you avoid these issues, I’ve put together a guide that’ll teach you exactly how to calculate your industry’s total addressable market, serviceable addressable market, and share of market.

Table of Contents

TAM SAM SOM Definitions
Why TAM SAM SOM Matters
How to Use a TAM, SAM, and SOM for Your Business
TAM, SAM, and SOM Template

These metrics are key components of a business plan, particularly as you craft your marketing and sales strategy, set realistic revenue goals, and choose to enter the markets that are worth your time and resources.

Before I break down how to use these in your business, let’s get clear on what TAM, SAM, and SOM are and their relationship with one another.

TAM SAM SOM Definitions

If you’re new to TAM SAM SOM, it’s easy to feel like you took a wrong turn somewhere and landed in alphabet soup.

But, I want you to know that TAM, SAM, and SOM are simply overlapping metrics that make it easier to fine-tune your business plan, identify achievable goals, and understand the potential revenue and operational impacts of certain business decisions.

So let’s break them down.

TAM (Total Addressable Market)

TAM Definition: The maximum potential demand of a specific market.

I know it can seem like finding this information can feel like a big task, so I’ll show you how to calculate TAM below.

In the meantime, to simplify it further, total addressable market or TAM refers to the total market size — more specifically, the demand for a product or service. It’s the maximum amount of revenue a business can generate by selling its product or service in a specific market.

Total addressable market is most useful for businesses to objectively estimate a specific market’s potential for growth. This data also helps companies figure out product market fit.

SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)

SAM Definition: The size of the TAM you can reasonably target as you build your audience.

Due to the limitations of your business model, which might include your specialization or geographic limitations, among other variables, you’ll have a tough time servicing your total addressable market.

SAM is a segment of TAM you can use to identify the addressable potential of a market segment, or the amount you can realistically market to, making it easier to estimate revenue and audience targets.

Serviceable addressable market is most useful for businesses to objectively estimate the part of the market they can acquire to figure out their targets.

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)

SOM Definition: The size of the SAM you can potentially convert.

Unless you're a monopoly, you most likely can’t capture 100% of your serviceable addressable market. Even if you only have one competitor, it would still be extremely difficult to convince an entire market to only buy your product or service.

That’s why it’s crucial to measure your serviceable obtainable market to estimate how many customers would realistically benefit from buying your product or service.

Serviceable obtainable market is most useful for businesses to determine short-term growth targets. It can also help with competitive awareness and strategizing.

Why TAM SAM SOM Matters

TAM, SAM, and SOM are essential to business strategy and growth planning. This is because these metrics show how much opportunity a particular market holds at every stage of business growth.

TAM SAM SOM is also useful because it’s a simple and succinct way to present the value of an idea. This data gives teams an idea of the target audience and income opportunities for a market or niche.

These metrics can also help businesses share key insights with investors if they are seeking funding. The process makes it easier to make decisions that impact growth.

For example, say you don't have a clear picture of the right segment for your SAM. This could make your serviceable addressable market too big, which can then impact your SOM.

“In my experience, these tools are extremely informative when determining how to niche. Take the time, and understand the opportunity or lack thereof with your new target,” says Lori Highby of Keystone Click.

Highby says as her team niches further in their business, they use numbers from market research reports from firms like Gartner, Forrester, etc. as well as government and trade associations to calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM. They can then “find out which niche is the most viable,” says Highby.

How to Use a TAM, SAM, and SOM for Your Business

I know that all this sounds great, but it can be tough to understand how to actually do TAM, SAM, and SOM calculations and use the data for your business. So, let’s break this down into some steps you can follow.

Step 1. Define your market.

Before you can do a TAM SAM SOM, you need to figure out what your market is, and what you’re marketing — a service, a specific product, or even a category of products.

To calculate this, get as clear and specific as you can about your audience, factoring aspects like:

Geographic location(s).
Gender.
Age.
Characteristics.
Problem your offer solves.

Step 2. Use a TAM calculation to find the total market size.

Now, it’s market research time — dig in to find out how many potential customers are out there and the potential revenue value if everyone in that market purchases.

For example, if I’m looking at women between the ages of 25 and 65, I’d want to find out how many women fit that definition. Then, I’d calculate the potential revenue if all those millions of women bought your product.

Step 3. Use a SAM calculation to find the size of your potential market.

In the example above, let’s say I work for a high-end luxury women’s professional clothing retailer looking at the U.S. market.

So, I want to find how many women fit the demographic of ages 25 to 65 in the U.S. and then calculate the potential revenue.

Step 4. Use a SOM calculation to find your potential market share.

People living paycheck to paycheck aren’t likely to shop my brand, and women who don’t work in offices or don’t regularly attend professional functions are less likely to be my target market.

Since my SOM calculation is about estimating the portion of the SAM I can realistically market to, I might find it by refining my market by income and/or employment. I can then refine it further by identifying the portion of that market I’m likely to capture, given the competitive landscape.

Step 5. Identify opportunities and challenges.

Now that you have the calculation, it’s time to dig into the data and strategize. I’ll start by asking questions like:

What is the market doing now?
What do your competitors do well? Poorly?
Any gaps in the market?
Are there any segments of the market that aren’t being served?

Then, when I’m armed with answers, I can think about strategies for standing out from the competition and leaning into my strengths to reach my market.

TAM, SAM, and SOM Template

Now that you know what each of these acronyms is and what they’re used for, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to calculate TAM, SOM, and SAM.

Doing so requires advanced market research ahead of time, but here are the formulas once you're able to get those figures.

Total Addressable Market (TAM) Calculation

The best way to calculate total addressable market is by running a bottom-up analysis of an industry:

Count the total number of customers in a market.
Identify the average annual revenue of each customer in this market.
Multiply the two numbers.

TAM is useful for:

Starting a new business.
Launching a new product, service, or product category.
Reviewing market strategies.
Revising or revisiting your business plan.
Identifying opportunities to increase market share.

Example TAM Calculation

Using our sample high-end professional women’s apparel for this calculation, I learned that the global women’s apparel market was US$1.002 trillion in 2023 (IMARC group). Assuming growth of 3.3% each year, we can estimate that number to be $1.035 trillion in 2024.

Pro tip: If you want to make your life easier when calculating TAM, use HubSpot’s TAM analysis template. It completely demystified the concept for me and helped me understand not just tam, but also the ACV itself.

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) Calculation

To calculate your serviceable addressable market:

Count up all the potential customers that would be a good fit for your business.
Find the average annual revenue of these types of customers in your market.
Multiply the two numbers.

SAM is useful for:

Planning new marketing strategies and sales tactics.
Doing market research and competitive analysis.
Determining product viability.

Example SAM Calculation

To continue using our sample high-end women’s professional apparel brand, remember we were looking at women ages 25-65. Using data from the latest census, there are 86 million women in that range.

Let’s say that each year, those 86 million women spend $2,000 on average every year on apparel.

86 million x $2,000 = $172 billion SAM

And looking at the numbers, we’re not too far off. The U.S. women’s apparel market was estimated at $191.4 billion in 2024.

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) Calculation

To calculate your serviceable obtainable market:

Divide your revenue from last year by your industry’s serviceable addressable market from last year.
This percentage is your market share from last year.
Multiply your market share from last year by your industry’s serviceable addressable market from this year to find your new SOM.

SOM is useful for:

Budgeting for operations and marketing.
Creating achievable, reasonable growth plans.
Developing marketing and sales strategies.

Example SOM Calculation

Now here’s where we get more hypothetical. Because the TAM and SAM speak to total markets available, and SOM speaks to more realistic market share, we’re going to make up some numbers.

Our high-end women’s professional apparel brand has a higher price per item but most customers are likely to buy fewer pieces, and we’re likely to have fewer customers than, say, Walmart.

For the sake of round numbers, let’s say:

We have $500 million in revenue for last year.
The $172 billion SAM was 2023 numbers.
The $191.4 billion SAM is the 2024 growth.

Note: I’m aware that these numbers represent unrealistic year-over-year market growth rates — I’m simply providing them for the purposes of showing you the calculations in action.

$500 million / $172 billion 2023 SAM = 0.003% market share

0.003% * $191.4 billion 2024 SAM = $574.2 million

That means, based on these completely fictional numbers that show drastically increasing demand, my fictional apparel company can reasonably expect 15% growth over last year.

And if that’s accurate, it has significant repercussions for budgeting, operations, and production.

But unless there’s something drastic happening in the big picture that reduced spending in 2023 and increased it in 2024, there’s a good chance these numbers are not realistic, so it’s important to go back to the numbers to make sure we’re factoring in things accurately.

Right Size Your Market Opportunities with TAM, SAM, and SOM

When I started my marketing, TAM, SAM, and SOM felt like abbreviation-heavy jargon. It was easier to just nod along and let the numbers go in one ear and out the other.

However, today, I know these numbers matter. I even run the calculations myself!

As you get started, keep in mind that these figures will largely be estimates to inform your strategy. The more market research you do and the more historical data you build up, the more precise your planning will be.

Don't just figure out the opportunities in your market. Use your research to decide who you want to target and how you plan to engage them with your products. Then, use these templates to make your plans clear.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Launch a Successful Email Marketing Campaign: Tips + Data from an Email Marketer

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

At the start of my marketing career, I managed two small email lists — one for my beauty blog and another for a literary magazine — and this experience was my first ample glimpse into growing a business. This email marketing guide stems from those early days, when I quickly discovered why marketers are so passionate about email marketing.

Unlike social media platforms, these email lists were entirely mine (as I managed them), and this allowed me to build close, meaningful relationships with my subscribers. Over time, I realized that most of the magazine’s ardent readers and the people who frequently bought the affiliate products on my blog were my email subscribers.

If email marketing was so effective for these two small ventures, just imagine its potential for larger businesses.

In this guide, I’ll show you what email marketing is, from its benefits and types to getting started and some drawbacks you may experience. You’re in for a ride, so buckle up.

Table of Contents

What is email marketing?
Benefits of Email Marketing
Email Marketing You Can Send to Customers
Getting Started With Email Marketing
How to Build Your Email List
How to Send Marketing Emails
Email Marketing Stats You Should Know
Email Regulations You Should Know
Email Marketing Tips
Drawbacks of Email Marketing

The goal is building customer relationships, promoting products or services, increasing brand awareness, and ultimately driving sales.

In my experience, email marketing allows me to reach my target audience directly with personalized and relevant content. It’s also cost-effective, easy to track, and provides valuable data for analyzing campaign success.

Marketers have been using email as a channel for almost as long as they’ve been using the internet. The first marketing email was sent in 1978, resulting in $13 million in sales.

Email has been one of the most highly used marketing channels ever since.

This is because email is a flexible yet cost-effective way to reach many people relatively quickly. I can also personalize my message to target specific audiences and generate leads.

Email marketing can take many different forms. These campaigns can include a single email announcing new content, an ongoing newsletter delivered regularly, or contacting customers about product updates.

Email isn’t as shiny as newer channels, like messaging and social. However, email is an effective way to build an audience that gets results.

“One of my favorite parts about email marketing is its intimacy,” says Rob Litterst, head of strategy and operations for HubSpot’s Newsletter Network.

“Access to someone’s inbox is sacred, and for a person to welcome you in, there’s already a certain level of trust that you just can’t achieve with other platforms,” he says.

Master the fundamentals of email marketing with a free online course.

When to Use Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tactic to:

Build relationships. Build connections through personalized engagement.
Boost brand awareness. Keep your company and your services top-of-mind for the moment when your prospects are ready to engage.
Promote your content. Use email to share relevant blog content or valuable assets with your prospects.
Generate leads. Entice subscribers to provide their personal information in exchange for an asset that they’d find valuable.
Market your products. Promote your products and services.
Nurture leads. Delight your customers with content that can help them succeed in their goals.

Benefits of Email Marketing

Email marketing has steadily proven itself as a powerful channel for reaching and engaging your audience. It offers a mix of personal touch and cost-effectiveness that many other channels just can’t match. Let’s dive into some of the key benefits you can harness when you add email to your marketing strategy.

1. Cost-Effective

Email marketing is budget-friendly compared to traditional advertising methods like print ads or television commercials. Most email platforms offer affordable plans, and sometimes even free options, that still pack a punch in delivering your messages.

Since you don’t have to invest heavily in expensive media placements, you are free to experiment more, refine your campaigns, and allocate resources to other creative or strategic projects.

Moreover, email marketing has a high return on investment (ROI), making you an average of $36 for every $1 spent.

2. Direct and Personalized Communication

One of the reasons I rate email marketing so highly is because it gives you the ability to deliver personalized messages straight to your audience’s inbox. I’ve experienced firsthand how personal touches, like addressing me by my name or referencing a previous interaction we’ve had, has made me fall in love with a brand and made me look out for every email they send me.

By segmenting your email list based on factors like purchase history or interests, you can make each email feel like it was written just for that person. It’s like having a one-on-one conversation with your customers.

3. Strengthened Brand Awareness

Every time you send an email, you get a chance to reinforce your brand’s identity. With consistent messaging, carefully chosen images, and a unique tone of voice, your emails help establish who you are and what you stand for. Over time, this builds a strong association between your brand and the quality or value you provide.

Your subscribers start to recognize your style and look forward to your emails, which is exactly the kind of lasting impression you want to create. Whether it’s through eye-catching designs or thoughtful content, each email adds another brushstroke to the overall picture of your brand.

4. Measurable Results and Insights

With email marketing, every send and every click is trackable. This level of measurement is a game-changer because you always know what’s working and what isn’t. You can look at open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and even conversion rates to see where you might improve.

For example, if a particular subject line isn’t performing well, you can adjust it and test a new approach the next time. This constant feedback loop means you’re always learning and evolving, so your campaigns get better with each send.

5. Increased Customer Engagement and Loyalty

Consistency is key when it comes to building lasting relationships with your customers. With email marketing, you get the chance to stay in regular contact with your audience by sharing news, special offers, or insightful content. This regular engagement isn’t just about selling — it’s about building a community around your brand.

When I still ran my beauty blog, I liked to think of my (very small) email list as a group of friends who trusted my advice and recommendations. Over time, that trust translates into customer loyalty, and loyal customers are more likely to stick with your brand for the long haul.

6. Increased Conversion Opportunities

Every email is a chance to drive your audience toward a goal, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for an event, or simply visiting your website. By including clear calls-to-action (CTAs) in your emails, you guide your readers step-by-step through the customer journey.

“While it’s the second-most used marketing channel (beat by social media), a whopping 95% of email marketers call it practical,” says Pamela Bump, head of content growth at HubSpot.

“For HubSpot — and our blog team — we’ve deeply leveraged email and even catered blog posts to our very subscribers,” she says. “Over the years, this has driven high ROI, millions of page views, countless conversions, and even customers.”

A great way to increase conversions is to experiment with different CTA placements and phrasing to see what resonates best with your audience. For example, you can shift your CTA button closer to the top of the email to see if it’ll result in more click-through rates. It may sound simple, but these tweaks can make a big difference in turning interest into action.

7. Automation and Scalability

As your business grows, so does the challenge of staying in touch with every customer. Email marketing platforms come with powerful automation tools that let you schedule emails or even trigger messages based on user actions — like a thank-you email when someone makes a purchase.

This means you can “set it and forget it” to a large extent. For example, when I ran the email marketing for a literary website, I set up an automated email series that nurtured leads over days or even weeks. This saved me countless hours while still delivering a personalized experience to every subscriber.

Automation not only helps you scale your efforts but also ensures that each customer journey is smooth and consistent.

Email Marketing You Can Send to Customers

Email marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on your audience, goals, and the current stage of your customer journey, you can adopt various email types to engage your audience effectively. Here are some common types of email marketing that you can send to your customers (with examples from my own inbox):

1. Welcome Emails

A welcome email is usually the first email you send new subscribers, and it sets the tone for your relationship with them. This email typically provides a warm introduction to your brand, offers essential information about your products or services, and may include a special incentive — like a discount or free resource — to encourage further engagement.

It also typically includes one or more CTAs that show how a new subscriber can derive value from your offering.

Here’s a welcome email from Strava, the running app:

What I like: The headline and the accompanying cheerful images right above it did a good job of setting my mind at ease and making me feel accepted as I resumed my running journey. Right off the bat, Strava put a CTA urging me to get started with using the product to record my running progress.

But it doesn’t stop there. It goes on to list three ways I can derive value from Strava: by tracking up to 50 different sports, connecting GPS and smartwatches with Strava to get even more health information, and adding/inviting friends to join in their fitness endeavors.

This helped me know exactly what I can do with the app and where I should go next. And on the off chance I was still in doubt about whether or not to proceed, there was a testimonial right beneath those CTAs to convince me the product is amazing.

Pro tip: Include testimonials in your welcome email to sway on-the-fence subscribers to give your product a try.

2. Promotional Emails

Promotional emails are designed to spark immediate action from your audience. They typically highlight special offers, discounts, or upcoming events to drive short-term engagement and sales.

Here’s one from ASOS, the fashion brand:

What I like: I’m a regular ASOS shopper and, in this promotional email, ASOS is offering a generous discount up to 70% off to close out the year. They smartly capitalized on the fact that people like to shop near year-end, but also want to save money. In the header, ASOS provides all the information I need to get the discount, including the code, the CTA to Shop Now, and the deadline for the discount (which creates a sense of urgency and FOMO).

Beneath the header, there are pictures of some skincare products and clothing articles to lure me in, as well as some suggestions on the brands ASOS thinks I’ll like. I do like New Look a lot, so I know they pay attention to customer behavior.

Pro tip: Personalize your promotional emails by suggesting products/brands/services that your recipients regularly patronize. Also, offer a generous discount they can’t resist!

3. Newsletters

Newsletters are a versatile tool for nurturing long-term relationships with your audience. They typically deliver valuable content, including industry news, expert tips, or insights related to your products and services. The goal of a newsletter is to keep your subscribers informed and connected with your brand over time.

As a content marketer, one of my favorite newsletters is Field Notes from Omniscient Digital, a premium content marketing agency:

What I like: This particular newsletter on SEO epistemology is really long, and I couldn’t even get up to half its contents into the screenshot. Yet, every sentence is value-packed and fluff-free. I take a couple of days to read through the newsletter because I keep taking notes and learning stuff. It goes out about once or twice a month, and I “star” it every time it hits my inbox because I know I’m going to learn a lot from it.

And that’s the point of a newsletter: to teach your subscribers about your brand/industry.

Pro tip: In your newsletters, balance informative content with a friendly tone and maybe some visuals. This will keep your audience consistently engaged and boost customer loyalty.

4. Transactional Emails

Transactional emails are automatically triggered by user actions on your website or app. These include order confirmations, shipping notifications, and password resets. Though their primary purpose is to inform, they also offer a prime opportunity to reinforce your brand’s professionalism and reliability.

If you shop on Amazon, you’ve likely received one of these before:

What I like: This email was triggered when I purchased a tattoo stencil gel and ink mixing solution from Amazon. It succinctly offers all my shipping information, including what I bought, the order number, where I’m shipping to, the date my package will arrive, and a link to track my package’s movement.

It could stop there and still be a good transactional email, but Amazon went further to add a Keep shopping for section with suggestions that relate to previous purchases.

Pro tip: In your transactional emails, suggest products/services you think recipients will like to buy/hire to increase your average order value and keep them using your product.

5. Re-engagement Emails

Re-engagement emails are designed to win back inactive subscribers or customers who haven’t interacted with your brand in a while. These emails typically include a message that acknowledges the time gap and may offer incentives — such as exclusive deals or a quick survey — to reignite interest.

I haven’t found a brand whose re-engagement emails have worked on me as well as the ones sent by Duolingo:

[alt text] email marketing guide, duolingo reengagement email

What I like: Duolingo clearly takes the emotional route with this email, humanizing the rather adorable green bird and making me feel as though I owe him my lesson attendance. And if I falter, I’m doing him a disservice. So, to stop Duo from feeling sad, I click the Get back on track button and take my Spanish lessons.

Pro tip: Craft your re-engagement emails with empathy and a clear value proposition, as they serve as a second chance to capture your audience’s attention.

6. Abandoned Cart Emails

Sometimes, you try to order something from a website. You have your money. You’ve put the items you want in the cart. But, life gets in the way, and you forget to check out. Don’t worry. It happens to the best of us.

When you notice that a customer has added items to their online shopping cart but hasn’t completed their purchase, send them an abandoned cart email. This email serves as a reminder and often includes elements like product images, customer reviews, or a discount offer to help nudge the customer toward finalizing the purchase.

Here’s one I like from FashionNova:

What I like: Of course, I intended to buy those stunning boots, but the 50% off everything FashionNova offered was a great incentive to get me to check out with the speed of lightning. I even ended up adding two more items to my cart because of the product recommendations FashionNova made right underneath the boots.

There was even more incentive in the form of Buy Now, Pay Later, which is very effective for customers who prefer to pay in installments.

Pro tip: Increase your average order value by making personalized product recommendations in your abandoned cart emails.

Getting Started With Email Marketing

I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the vast possibilities of email marketing, so let’s break down a few key steps to get you started building a solid email campaign that will delight your customers.

You can think of these steps as creating a successful email marketing strategy.

1. Create an email marketing strategy.

You can learn how to build an effective email strategy and send emails that people actually want to read. It just takes a plan (one that can be broken down into a few key steps).

Think of the following five steps as an outline for your email strategy. We’ll dive deeper into some of these in a moment.

2. Define your audience.

Effective emails, whether a campaign or a one-off, start with understanding your audience.

Like everything else in marketing, start with your buyer persona, understand what pain points they’re dealing with, and tailor your email campaign to your audience’s needs. To better use and understand your defined audience, I suggest using HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics software.

3. Establish your goals.

Usually, before I think up campaign goals, I gather some context.

I always want to know the average email stats for my industry and use them as benchmarks for my goals. This should be your process as well.

Source

As you can see, these benchmarks vary greatly. Using this guide will help you create realistic goals for your team.

4. Build your email list.

You need people to email, right? An email list (I’ll cover how to build your email list in the next section) is a group of users who have permitted you to send them relevant content.

To build that list, you need several ways for prospects to opt-in to receive your emails.

Don’t be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list. It can take some time to build. In the meantime, treat every subscriber and lead like gold, and you’ll start seeing your email list grow organically.

5. Choose an email campaign type.

Email campaigns vary, and trying to decide between them can be overwhelming. Do you send a weekly newsletter? Should you send out new product announcements? Which blog posts are worth sharing?

The answer is subjective, but I recommend starting by understanding the different types of email campaigns (here are some excellent ones). For example, there are:

Promotional emails, which focus on getting the word out about your offers.
Regularly scheduled newsletters that keep recipients updated on your business, promotions, events, etc.
Customer journey emails, like welcome emails to greet new customers or milestone emails to congratulate people on the length of their relationships with your company.
Transactional emails that outline recent transactions, order updates, or abandoned cart notifications.
Nurturing emails that push your potential customers further down the buyer’s journey with relevant and interesting information.
Surveys and questionnaires that collect helpful data from email recipients.
Re-engagement emails that build renewed interest from customers or leads you haven’t heard from in a while.

Then, based on your email marketing goals, you decide what works best for your audience.

You don’t have to choose just one type. You can set up different lists for different types of emails so customers and prospects can sign up for and receive relevant emails.

Pro tip: Need help writing your emails? I recommend Campaign Assistant, HubSpot’s generative AI tool that helps you quickly write effective marketing email copy that aligns with your campaigns.

6. Make a schedule.

Decide how often you plan to contact your list and inform your audience upfront.

This way, they’ll know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Forgetting this can lead to high unsubscribe levels and even get you in their spam.

In addition, once you set a schedule, be consistent. It will build trust and ensure you stay at the top of your audience's mind.

7. Measure your results.

This should come as no surprise. As a marketer, I measure everything. Being meticulous about every key metric will help you make small changes to your emails, yielding large results.

I’ll dive deeper into the exact KPIs to monitor further on, but marketers told us that the most important email marketing metrics to track are click-through rate, open rate, and leads/conversions from email.

These metrics hint at your emails’ subject lines and body copy effectiveness, but can also give you the green light to send out follow-ups at just the right time for maximum response rates.

Pro tip: You can get notified as soon as a prospect interacts with an email with HubSpot’s free email tracking software. This way, you can be sure you’ll send out perfectly timed follow-ups.

8. Choose an email marketing platform.

An email marketing provider (ESP) is an excellent resource if you’re looking for any support while fine-tuning your email marketing efforts.

Depending on your needs and types of campaigns, there are several paid and free email marketing platforms, including HubSpot, Constant Contact, MailChimp, or other Mailchimp alternatives.

For example, HubSpot’s Email Marketing tool allows me to efficiently create, personalize, and optimize marketing emails that feel and look professional without designers or IT.

There are a variety of features to help me create the best email marketing campaigns and support all of my email marketing goals.

Additionally, I can analyze the success of my email marketing so I can share the data that matters most to my business with my team. The best part? HubSpot’s Email Marketing service is available for free.

Start using HubSpot’s Email Marketing Service for free.

Here are examples of features services like HubSpot offer to consider when choosing an email service provider:

CRM platform with segmentation capabilities.
Good standing with Internet Service Providers.
A positive reputation as an email service provider (ESP).
Easy-to-build forms, landing pages, and CTAs.
Automation.
Simple ways to comply with email regulations.
Ability to split test your emails.
Built-in analytics.
Downloadable reports.

Now that you understand the steps to creating an email marketing strategy, we’ll look at what’s involved in building your email list.

How to Build Your Email List

Now, to my favorite part: filling the email list with eager prospects who are excited to hear from you.

There are many creative ways to build your email list (and, no, purchasing emails ain’t one).

Tactically speaking, list building comes down to two key elements that work cohesively to grow your subscriber numbers: lead magnets and opt-in forms.

Featured Resource: The Ultimate Guide to Email Newsletters

Here’s how I build and grow my email lists.

Use lead magnets.

Your lead magnet is exactly as it sounds: It attracts prospects to your email list, usually as a free offer.

The offer can take many formats, should be valuable to your prospects, and is given away for free in exchange for an email address.

There’s just one problem: People have become hyper-protective of their personal information. You can’t expect to receive an email address without exchanging it for something valuable.

Think about a lead magnet that is relevant, useful, and makes your prospects’ lives easier.

Here are a few types of lead magnets you could create:

Ebooks.
Whitepapers.
Infographics.
Reports or studies.
Checklists.
Templates.
Webinars or courses.
Tools.

If you’re short on resources, you can even repurpose existing content to create lead magnets.

Create an enticing opt-in form.

Your opt-in form is how you get a prospect’s information to add them to your list. It’s the gate between your future leads and the incredible asset you created with them in mind.

Here are some tips for creating an enticing opt-in form:

Create an attractive design and attention-grabbing header.

Your form should be branded, stand out from the page, and entice people to sign up. You want to excite readers with the offer.

Make the copy relevant to the offer.

While your goal is to get people to enter their information, it isn’t to deceive them. Any information on your form should be a truthful representation of the offer.

Keep the form simple.

This could be one of your first interactions with your prospect. Don’t scare them away with several long-form fields.

Ask for only the most essential information: first name and email is a good place to start.

Set your opt-in form for double confirmation.

It may seem counterproductive to ask your subscribers to opt into your emails twice, but some research on open rates suggests that customers may prefer a confirmed opt-in (COI) email more than a welcome email.

Ensure that the flow works.

Take yourself through the user experience before you go live. Double-check that the form works as intended, the thank you page is live, and your offer is delivered as promised.

This is one of your first impressions of your new lead — make it a professional and positive one.

If all goes well, you’ll have built a robust list of subscribers and leads waiting to hear from you. But you can’t start emailing just yet unless you want to end up in a spam folder, or worse, a blocked list.

Here are a few important things to remember before you start emailing your list.

1. Implement email segmentation.

Once you’ve added people to your list, you must break them down into different segments.

That way, instead of having a monolithic email list of everybody, you’ll have easier-to-manage subcategories that pertain to your subscribers’ unique characteristics, interests, and preferences.

Your subscribers are humans, after all, and you should do your best to treat them as such. That means not sending generic email blasts.

Why should you segment your email list?

Each person who signs up to receive your emails is at a different level of readiness to convert into a customer (which is the ultimate goal of all this).

If you send a discount coupon for your product to subscribers that don’t even know how to diagnose their problem, you’ll probably lose them. That’s because you’re skipping the part where you build trust and develop the relationship.

I try to make every email I send treat my subscribers like humans I want to connect with, as opposed to a herd of leads I’m trying to corral into a one-size-fits-all box.

I’ve found the more I segment my list, the more trust I build with my leads, and the easier it is to convert them later.

How to Segment Email Lists

The first step in segmentation is creating separate lead magnets and opt-in forms for each part of the buyer’s journey. That way, your contacts are automatically divided into separate lists.

Beyond that, email marketing platforms allow you to segment your email list by contact data and behavior to help you send the right emails to the right people.

Here are some ways you could break up your list:

Geographical location.
Lifecycle stage.
Awareness, consideration, and decision stage.
Industry.
Previous engagement with your brand.
Language.
Job title.

In reality, you can segment your list any way that you want. Just make sure to be as exclusive as possible when sending emails to each subgroup.

2. A/B test your marketing emails.

Not all email lists are created equal. Some audiences prefer personalization, and others will think it’s spammy. Some audiences will like bright, eye-catching CTA buttons. Others will prefer a more subtle call-to-action.

You’ll never know what type of people make up your email list until you test the variables. That’s where A/B testing comes in handy.

“If you’re considering making any structural or content alterations to your email marketing, A/B testing is an excellent way to determine if the changes will be successful or worthwhile before they’re implemented on a larger scale,” says Madison Zoey Vettorino, former marketing manager and SEO content writer for HubSpot’s Website Blog.

Surprisingly, not many brands leverage it.

A/B testing, or split testing, is a way to see what type of email performs best with your audience by analyzing the results of email A against email B. This can be especially helpful when working with templates.

“Since emails often have the same template, A/B testing is smart because you can usually control variables outside of the test and get a solid signal on what performs better,” HubSpot’s Litterst says.

Here’s the step-by-step process I use for A/B testing my emails:

Select one variable to test at a time, e.g., subject line, CTA, images.
Create two versions of the email: one with and one without the variable.
Allow your emails to be sent out simultaneously for a period of time.
Analyze your results and keep only the version that performed better.
Test a new variable and repeat the process.

Most email service providers will have A/B testing built into their software, which will make it easy for you to compare email results without much manual work.

When conducting an A/B test, I suggest following these tips:

Test one element at a time.

“For example, try the same email with a different subject line. Or the same email and same subject line with a different CTA,” Curtis del Principe, a content strategist and writer at HubSpot, told me.

“It might be tempting to make several changes at once, but that makes it harder to pinpoint the true cause of your wins or losses,” he says.

Don’t try to “eyeball” an A/B test.

A/B test should be run with intention. Making quick changes and approaching results unscientifically can lead to incorrect conclusions.

“You might be tempted to run an informal A/B test by making a change and then casually paying attention to the responses that you get. This unscientific method can easily be skewed by factors outside your control (like seasonality or deliverability),” says del Principe.

“It also leaves out a ton of valuable data, like open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, or sharing/forwarding rate.”

Instead, I recommend using an email marketing tool, like Marketing Hub or BuzzStream, to help you get a broader and more accurate understanding of your email performance.

Featured Resource: The Complete A/B Testing Kit

3. Analyze your email marketing performance.

Once you’ve got your first few campaigns, it’s time to see how they’re performing.

By diving into your email marketing analytics, you’ll be able to make better decisions that will help your business’s bottom line, resonate with your subscribers, readers, and customers, and justify your work to the rest of your company.

4. Set email marketing KPIs.

I think there are four key metrics to pay attention to when evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign.

Deliverability measures the rate at which emails reach your intended subscribers’ inboxes.
Open rate is the percentage of people that open your email once it reaches their inbox.
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on your CTAs.
Unsubscribes measures the number of people who opt out of your email list once they receive your email.

5. Adjust email components to improve results.

Many factors impact your KPIs, and it will take some experimentation and guesswork to figure out which tweaks to your emails will yield the biggest significance.

If you aren’t getting the desired numbers, I suggest playing with these variables to improve your email results.

Deliverability

Ensure that you’re following best practices regarding spam filters.
Remove inactive people from your email list to keep only engaged subscribers.
Check which emails have bounced and remove those email addresses from your list.

Open Rate

Play with the language in your subject line to entice people to click on your email.
Adjust the time and day that you send your email to see what works best.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Evaluate your offer to ensure that it provides value to your segmented list.
Rewrite your copy to make sure that it’s clear what you want the reader to do.
Try different CTAs, e.g., graphic versus inline copy, bold versus subtle.

Unsubscribes

First, consider if this is a blessing in disguise, as uninterested parties are removing themselves from your list.
Regularly send an email to inactive subscribers on your list asking if they still want to be a part of it.
Evaluate whether the email you sent is aligned with your brand.
Ensure you haven’t performed a bait-and-switch by promising one thing and delivering another.
Make sure your emails are providing value to your audience before trying to upsell.

6. Use an email marketing report template.

Once you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, it’s time to look at how they performed. Your data does no good if you can’t report it in an organized fashion.

An email marketing report is a spreadsheet where you can record your results in one place to help you make inferences from your KPIs and take action to improve them.

Here’s how I like to organize my reports.

Metrics

Total number of emails sent.
Number of emails delivered.
Deliverability Rate.
Bounce Rate.
Open Rate.
Click-Through Rate (CTR).
Click-to-open Rate (CTOR).
Unsubscribe Rate.

Data

Subject line.
Length of the email body.
Offer.
CTA (inline or graphic).
List segment(s).

Questions To Ask

Was your deliverability rate high in comparison to previous periods?
How did your CTR compare to your open rate?
Were your unsubscribe numbers consistent with other emails?
Did a certain subject line perform better than others?
Does the length of the email make a difference in CTR?
Could another style of CTA perform better?
Was the offer appropriate for the list segment?

Email Marketing Stats You Should Know

Knowing the stats can help you understand the lay of the land. Here I’ve gathered some statistics regarding email marketing in general and by industry.

General Email Marketing Stats

34% of respondents use generative AI for copy at least occasionally.
Over 80% of marketers saw some performance improvement when using subject line personalization, live or real-time content, and using dynamic content personalization.
Email marketing generates a whopping ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.
90% of email marketers say email segmentation boosts performance.
In 2024, 66.7% of marketers saw an inbox placement rate of less than 70%.
67.1% of marketers say their average email open rate was more than 20%.
48.6% of marketers claim that 40%–60% of their email engagement comes from mobile devices.
40% of marketers sent 1–4 emails per month on average to each subscriber in 2023.
Newsletters were the most sent email campaign, with 16.8% of marketers sending it, followed closely by promotional emails (15.3%).
67.6% of marketers used a CTA in their email signature.
48% of marketers started using AI in their email marketing.
49.5% of marketers claim that AI has helped improve the automation and efficiency of email campaigns.

Email Marketing Stats by Industry

Email marketing rules change based on your industry and who you’re marketing to. Below are some email marketing trends for B2B, B2C, and ecommerce companies that can inform your email marketing strategy.

Email Marketing Stats for B2B

B2B survey respondents reported using more video in email than B2C brands.
71% of B2B marketers sent email newsletters to their audience
73% of B2B marketers are targeting Millennials in 2025, and 40% are targeting Gen Zs.

Email Marketing Stats for B2C

B2C email programs are nearly 3X more likely than their B2B counterparts to use different tactics, including AMP for email, live content, multivariate testing, and loyalty programs.
56% of B2C marketers use email data to form their target audiences.
74% of B2C marketers are targeting Millennials in 2025.

Email Marketing Stats for Ecommerce

26.5% of ecommerce marketers measure conversion rate, and 24% measure CTR, making these the two most popular email marketing metrics after open rate.
35% of ecommerce marketers want to send more automated emails in the future.
87% of ecommerce marketers have plans to increase or maintain their email marketing spending in the future.

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email regulations are important to follow as they regulate and protect consumers’ desires to know how and why their information is being used.

If there’s anything I’ve learned you should care about, it’s complying with what your customers — or potential customers — want.

There are a few key ones that you should understand:

1. CAN-SPAM Compliance

Technically, CAN-SPAM is an acronym for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (because sometimes the two go together).

In practice, it’s a way to protect your subscribers’ right to only receive emails that they’ve requested.

The law was passed in 2003 and applies to any commercial emails used for business purposes.

Here are the ways to ensure that your emails are CAN-SPAM compliant:

Include your company name and address in every email.
Place visible unsubscribe links within your emails.
Use real email addresses in the “From” and “Reply to” fields.
Write subject lines that indicate the contents of the email.

Please note: This is not to be confused with legal advice. See the FTC’s site for more specific legal information regarding CAN-SPAM laws.

2. GDPR Compliance

While some may view these newly implemented email regulations as burdensome and unnecessary, I think the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) moves us closer to building long-lasting, trusting customer relationships.

GDPR is about giving your customers the right to choose. They choose your emails. They decide to hear from you. They choose your products. And that is exactly what inbound marketing is about.

It is important to note that GDPR only applies to businesses operating in the European Union and businesses that market to EU citizens.

Noncompliance will result in significant fees that aren’t worth the risk, so I encourage you to read the GDPR guidelines entirely.

Here’s an overview of how you can comply with GDPR laws:

Use precise language when requesting consent to store personal information.
Only collect contact data that is necessary for and relevant to your business.
Store contact data securely and only use it for the agreed-upon purpose.
Retain data for justifiable business purposes only.
Delete contact data on request.
Make it easy for contacts to unsubscribe from your list or update their preferences.
Comply promptly with a contact’s request for access to their data.
Keep company records to prove GDPR compliance.

These regulations will be taken seriously (as they should), so I recommend creating a GDPR strategy for your business before sending emails.

3. Avoid spam filters.

After spending time creating the perfect email and adhering to regulations, the last thing I want is to end up in a spam folder — and I imagine it’s the same for you.

You want to avoid the spam folder because:

It hurts your deliverability rates across the board.
Your contacts will likely miss all of your emails.
You won’t be able to measure your email marketing effectiveness accurately.
Your analytics will be skewed.

You can avoid being deduced to spam with the following.

Get whitelisted.

A whitelist is a list of approved senders that can reach the subscriber’s inbox. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have your new subscriber add your email address to their address book.

Include directions on how to do this in your welcome email.

Mind your copy.

Avoid using all caps and multiple exclamation points, as well as spam trigger words, like “opt-in,” “click below,” and “order,” that are easily detected and marked down by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Use a reliable email service provider.

Your email service provider’s reputation affects your deliverability, so stick to established, well-known companies.

Implement a double opt-in.

Once someone opts into your email list, send an email asking them to confirm. This ensures that your new subscriber is genuinely interested in your emails and will likely be more engaged.

(Check out more ways you can avoid the spam filter.)

And last but certainly not least, you need to consistently measure the success of your email marketing efforts. There are a number of options you can choose from when it comes to your business’s email marketing analytics.

Email Marketing Tips

While I usually don’t think twice about the formatting or subject line of an email I send to a friend, email marketing requires a lot more consideration.

I’ve learned that everything from the time you send your email to the devices on which your email could be opened matters.

Your goal with every email is to generate more leads, which makes crafting a marketing email a more involved process than other emails you’ve written.

How to Write a Marketing Email Well

Let’s touch on the components of a successful marketing email.

Copy: The copy in the body of your email should be consistent with your voice and stick to only one topic.

Images: Choose images that are optimized for all devices, eye-catching, and relevant.

CTA: Your call-to-action should lead to a relevant offer and stand out from the rest of the email.

Timing: Based on Mailmodo’s State of Email 2024 findings, the best day to send your emails is Tuesday. According to GetResponse’s email benchmarks report, the best time to send emails is either before your audience wakes up (4–6 am) or later in the afternoon (5–7 pm).

Responsiveness: Nearly 50% of email marketers say 40%–60% of their email engagement comes from mobile devices. Your email should, therefore, be optimized for this, as well as all other devices.

Personalization: Write every email like you’re sending it to a friend. Be personable and address your reader in a familiar tone.

Subject Line: Use clear, actionable, enticing language that is personalized and aligned with the body of the email.

Featured Resource: 100 Email Subject Lines We Actually Clicked

Pro tip: Leverage AI for email marketing. By using tools like our AI Email Writer, you can generate copy that suits your goals, saving time along the way.

Personalize your email marketing.

“Personalization isn’t just about adding a contact’s name to the subject line anymore but is all about creating personalized experiences that demonstrate you understand them and have insider knowledge about how they can use your products to succeed,” Aleia Walker, growth marketing manager at HubSpot.

Once you know who you’re emailing and what’s important to them, sending emails with personalized touches will be much easier.

Sure, you’re speaking to 100+ people at one time, but your leads don’t need to know it.

Personalized emails have higher open rates. In addition, 83% of customers are willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience.

You’ve gathered all this unique data. Your email marketing software allows for personalization tokens. You have no excuse for sending generic emails that don’t make your leads feel special.

“It’s more impactful to base email personalization on two or three factors instead of just what a contact is engaging with on your side,” Walker says.

Walker suggests, “Consider personalizing emails based on what you know about your contact, such as their location, industry, employee size, etc., alongside how they engage with your content.”

Here are a few ways I like to personalize my emails:

Add a first name field in the subject line and/or greeting.
Include region-specific information when appropriate.
Send content that is relevant to your lead’s lifecycle stage.
Only send emails that pertain to the last engagement a lead has had with your brand.
Write about relevant and/or personal events, like region-specific holidays or birthdays.
End your emails with a personal signature from a human (not your company).
Use a relevant CTA to an offer that the reader will find useful.

Use email marketing templates.

Email marketing templates — like these ones from HubSpot — are another great resource to help you with your email marketing.

Unless you’re a designer and developer, on top of being a skilled marketer, templates will save you a ton of time — they take the design, coding, and UX-definition work out of crafting your emails.

Just one caveat: When making your selection, I advise choosing email templates that are proven to be effective.

The highest-quality templates come from the most reputable ESPs that have tested them against thousands of alternatives. So, stick with the professionals.

If you’re struggling with the above tips, HubSpot offers email marketing tools to help personalize your marketing emails, optimize your emails with A/B testing, and create aesthetically pleasing emails using templates.

Furthermore, HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant uses AI technology to generate copy for marketing emails.

Drawbacks of Email Marketing

While email marketing offers many benefits, it isn’t without its challenges. As you incorporate this channel into your marketing strategy, you may encounter certain limitations that require thoughtful planning and adjustment. Here are five common drawbacks of email marketing:

1. Deliverability Issues

Just because your emails successfully send from your end doesn’t mean every subscriber on your list will see them. Spam filters and changes in email provider algorithms can sometimes reroute your messages to the spam folder — or worse, block them entirely. This means that even the most well-crafted email could go unseen if your sender reputation isn’t solid.

For example, a prospective client sent me a link to set a password for their WordPress website recently. I only found the email two weeks later because it went straight to spam. This is why, from time to time, I carefully check my spam box before emptying it out to be sure I didn’t miss any important emails.

To manage this risk, you need to follow best practices for email hygiene, such as regularly cleaning your email list, using double opt-in processes, and avoiding spammy language. Most email platforms also allow you to see your deliverability metrics, so keep an eye on that.

2. Overcrowded Inboxes

Your audience receives a flood of emails every day, which makes it tough for your messages to stand out. With so much competition, even a highly engaging email can be easily overlooked if it isn’t timed right or doesn’t immediately capture attention.

If your emails add to the clutter, you risk annoying your subscribers, leading them to ignore or even unsubscribe from your list. I’ve found that finding the right frequency and making sure your emails provide clear value can reduce your chances of getting lost in a crowded inbox.

3. Content Fatigue

Creating fresh and engaging content for your email campaigns can become a challenge over time. Even if you have a lot of ideas at first, keeping up with the demand for interesting, personalized content can lead to fatigue. The risk here is that repetitive or uninteresting emails can diminish your audience’s interest in your brand and reduce engagement rates.

That’s why I think it’s crucial to develop a content calendar weeks, or even months, in advance, seeking inspiration from customer feedback and sometimes even incorporating user-generated content. This can keep your email campaigns vibrant and prevent content fatigue from setting in.

4. Technical and Design Challenges

Email design isn’t as straightforward as designing for a single web page. With so many devices, email clients, and screen sizes out there, ensuring your email looks great every time isn’t easy. Even minor issues, such as a broken link or poorly formatted text, can affect the overall impression of your brand.

I have encountered situations where an email looked perfect in my preview but displayed awkwardly on a mobile device. To overcome this, conduct thorough testing across platforms and use clear guidelines for responsive design before sending emails out. This ensures that your emails maintain their intended impact, regardless of what devices people view them on.

5. Time and Resource Commitment

Despite its cost-effectiveness, email marketing still requires a significant investment of time and resources. Crafting compelling emails, segmenting your lists, analyzing campaign performance, and continuously optimizing strategies are ongoing tasks that can divert attention away from other strategic initiatives.

This is why automation tools are necessary — they help balance the immediate demands of building an email campaign with long-term strategy planning. But even email automation requires thoughtful setup and regular oversight. The key is to plan strategically and allocate resources effectively, so that the benefits outweigh the time commitments.

Beginning Email Marketing

While there are many rules to sending a marketing email, the most important is this: Treat the reader on the other end like you’re writing to a friend.

Trust me, you can achieve all of your email marketing goals if you keep this golden rule top of mind in every autoresponder, lead magnet, and subject line.

And remember, the more you help your subscribers, the more they will want to hear from you and look forward to opening emails that you send.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Create a Stakeholder Map for Seamless Project Tracking

Kiran Shahid — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Six years ago, I led a website content overhaul that nearly derailed when the product team and sales department had completely different ideas about our messaging priorities.

Despite my experience with content strategies, I made a rookie mistake — I hadn’t created a stakeholder map. That experience pushed me to develop a systematic approach to stakeholder management.

Now, as a content strategist who’s guided content projects for over 30 SaaS companies, I’ve seen how the right stakeholder strategy can transform scattered feedback into a clear direction.

Table of Contents

What is a stakeholder map?
Stakeholder Map Example
How to Create a Stakeholder Map
Stakeholder Map Template

What is a stakeholder map?

A stakeholder map is a visual document that plots out everyone who has influence over or is affected by your project. It shows who needs to be involved, how much influence they have, and how their priorities connect.

What makes it powerful is that it forces you to step back and see the whole picture. You document each stakeholder’s role, their level of influence, what they care about most, and how they prefer to communicate.

The map becomes your guide for managing expectations and preventing conflicts before they happen.

For example, when I create content strategies for SaaS companies, my stakeholder map typically includes product managers (who know the technical details), sales teams (who talk to customers daily), and executives (who hold the vision) — each bringing different needs to the table.

Stakeholder Map Example

Let me share a real stakeholder map I created for a recent SaaS website revamp project.

The map organized the different types of stakeholders into three key circles of influence:

circle of influence	types of stakeholders
Core Decision Makers	VP of Marketing: Final approval on messaging strategy and budget. Content Director: Day-to-day decisions on content direction. Product Marketing Manager: Product positioning and feature communication.
Key Influencers	Sales Director: Input on customer pain points and objections. Product Manager: Technical accuracy and feature roadmap. Customer Success Lead: User feedback and common customer questions.
Supporting Contributors	SEO Specialist: Keyword strategy and content optimization. Brand Designer: Visual consistency and brand guidelines. Legal Team: Compliance review and risk assessment.

For each person, I noted their primary concerns:

The VP of Marketing focused on market positioning and ROI metrics.
The Sales Director cared most about having strong customer case studies.
The Product Manager needed technical accuracy in feature descriptions.

This map helped me prioritize feedback and plan my communication strategy. When conflicting opinions arose about messaging priorities, I could refer back to each stakeholder’s core concerns to find common ground.

How to Create a Stakeholder Map

Understanding and identifying your key stakeholders is critical when launching new initiatives or making changes. It ensures smoother implementation and reduces resistance. Here are six steps to create a stakeholder map.

1. Identify and list all potential stakeholders.

Start with a comprehensive brain dump of everyone who might influence or be affected by your project.

As Menaka Gopinath, Chief Marketing Officer at Project Management Institute (PMI), explains:

“Critical is understanding who is going to be most impacted by the outcome, who is going to guide how you drive the outcome, and who you have to rely on to deliver the outcome.

“This helps guide where you can avoid unnecessary barriers — a lot of times, there is a cohort of people who just want to know what’s happening, even if they don’t play a critical role in delivering. Proactive communication at cadenced times can help avoid meddling that can take you off track.”

I include obvious stakeholders like direct supervisors and team members. But I also think broader and consider compliance teams who need to review deliverables, external partners who provide resources, and end users who will be impacted by the project outcomes.

Create a master list organized by department or function. For each stakeholder, note their role and potential contribution to the project. Look beyond formal titles — sometimes, a junior team member might have crucial institutional knowledge that makes them a key stakeholder.

Consider both direct and indirect stakeholders. Direct stakeholders actively participate in the project, while indirect stakeholders feel its effects without direct involvement.

For example, your IT team might not attend project meetings, but they’re crucial stakeholders if your project requires technical implementation.

2. Assess power and interest levels.

Once you’ve identified your stakeholders, evaluate each one based on two key factors: their power (ability to influence the project) and their interest (how much they care about the outcomes). This assessment helps you determine how to manage each relationship effectively.

Create a simple grid with power on the vertical axis and interest on the horizontal axis. This visualization helps you place each stakeholder into one of four categories:

As Gopinath notes, “At PMI, there is a great deal of learning available to guide stakeholder management. The Stakeholder Salience Framework prioritizes stakeholder engagement based on three attributes — Power, Legitimacy, and Urgency. The more attributes a stakeholder possesses, the greater priority you would put to engaging this stakeholder.”

3. Define communication preferences and needs.

Understanding how each stakeholder prefers to receive information is just as important as knowing what to communicate. Some stakeholders want detailed weekly reports, while others need only high-level monthly updates.

Document these preferences in your stakeholder map, noting:

Communication channels (email, meetings, project management tools).
Frequency of updates (daily, weekly, monthly).
Level of detail (executive summaries versus full reports).
Format preferences (visual presentations versus written documentation).

Many teams successfully use project management or CRM systems to track and manage these communication preferences systematically. This approach ensures everyone on your team knows how to engage with different stakeholders effectively.

According to Iqbal Ahmad, Founder of the Britannia School of Academics, this systematic tracking is crucial:

“We make sure that we have a clearly defined Stakeholders Map on our CRM that every member of our management and leadership team can see. This helps us in ensuring that priorities are set accordingly for each and every stakeholder.

“Similarly, if we are launching a new project, we make sure to have a specific stakeholder map for that project so that directed and specific project-related efforts can be made to ensure maximum stakeholder engagement.”

Preferences might change throughout the project lifecycle. Check in periodically to ensure your communication approach still serves everyone’s needs.

4. Plot internal vs. external dependencies.

Every project operates within a web of internal and external relationships that need careful management. Start by creating two lists of dependencies that could impact your project’s success.

Internal Dependencies	External Dependencies
Legal team for compliance review Finance for budget approval IT for technical implementation Product team for technical accuracy Brand team for visual consistency	Clients or customers Regulatory bodies Vendors or contractors Industry partners External subject matter experts

As Sidharth Ramsinghaney, Director of Strategy and Operations at Twilio, explains, “Though corporate functions like IT security and finance remain constant, their relative influence and engagement levels shift. Starting with a clean slate for stakeholder mapping, coupled with a robust RACI framework and clear executive sponsorship structure, has proven crucial for project success.”

I recommend mapping these relationships in terms of their sequencing — which approvals or inputs need to come first?

For example, you might need legal approval before external vendor engagement or customer feedback before internal development can proceed.

Remember that dependencies aren’t just about approvals. Consider knowledge dependencies too — who holds crucial information your project needs? Document these information flows to prevent bottlenecks later.

5. Build feedback loops.

Regular feedback from stakeholders shouldn’t feel like pulling teeth.

I’ve found creating systematic ways to gather input helps you spot potential issues before they become problems and keeps everyone aligned with your project’s direction.

Digital analytics provide a quiet but powerful feedback channel. Track how stakeholders interact with your shared documents, which sections they comment on most, and where confusion typically arises. These patterns reveal more than what people might say in meetings.

Set up multiple channels for feedback based on stakeholder preferences. Some might prefer quick voice messages, while others give their best input through collaborative documents. The key is making feedback feel natural rather than forced.

Iqbal Ahmad shares, “To gather stakeholder information beyond traditional interviews and surveys, we have implemented innovative techniques tailored to the unique business environment in which we operate.

“One effective approach is leveraging data analytics to track real-time behaviors, such as engagement, completion rates, and feedback patterns. Another technique is using sentiment analysis on communication platforms like emails and social media. This provided a clearer understanding of stakeholder concerns and preferences without requiring extensive feedback sessions.”

Create regular checkpoints where stakeholders can raise concerns or share wins. But remember — not every stakeholder needs to weigh in on every decision. Be strategic about whose feedback you seek and when.

6. Plan for conflict resolution.

Stakeholder conflicts are inevitable, especially when multiple departments have different priorities for the same project. The key is having a clear system for resolving them before they derail your timeline.

I suggest creating a decision matrix that weighs each stakeholder’s input based on their role in the project. When the sales team wants more product features highlighted but the design team pushes for a cleaner layout, you’ll have a framework for prioritizing these competing needs.

Document how previous conflicts were successfully resolved. This builds an internal playbook you can reference when similar situations arise. Often, past solutions can be adapted for current challenges.

Ahmad explains how a prioritization framework and using other factors helps with this:

“We rely on a prioritization framework that evaluates stakeholders beyond the two traditional factors of interest and influence — by attempting to devise tactical solutions that meet the varying and competing expectations of stakeholders across different groups.

“For example, when student feedback demanded more flexible learning while our awarding organizations emphasized stricter compliance checks, we prioritized addressing both by designing stricter assessment and quality assurance checks to meet the expectations of both.

“Transparency and communication are key to managing such conflicts. We actively involve stakeholders in the resolution process, often through feedback loops or collaborative meetings.”

When conflicts arise, I prefer to focus discussions on project objectives rather than individual preferences. I find this shifts conversations from personal opinions to measurable outcomes that benefit the project.

Stakeholder Map Template

Starting with a tested template saves you from building your stakeholder map from scratch — and helps ensure you don’t miss critical relationships that could impact your project’s success.

HubSpot offers a stakeholder map template that makes this process simpler.

Download HubSpot’s free stakeholder map template now.

Use it to:

Track both internal stakeholders (like product teams and subject matter experts) and external ones (like clients and industry partners).
Document each stakeholder’s potential impact on project timelines and outcomes.
Plan communication strategies for different stakeholder groups.

Classify stakeholders, understand their potential contributions or roadblocks, and improve communication with everyone from investors to interest groups involved in your projects.

Start Building Your Stakeholder Strategy

Creating a stakeholder map might seem like extra work when you’re eager to dive into your project. But I’ve learned that this upfront investment pays dividends throughout the project lifecycle.

Start small — map out your next content project using the template and guidelines above. Pay attention to how relationships evolve and which communication approaches work best. Your first map won’t be perfect, and that’s okay.

Also, stakeholder mapping isn’t a one-time exercise. Let your map grow as you gain new insights about your stakeholders’ needs and priorities.

I Asked Experts About Improving Keyword Rankings — Here Are Their Tips

Kasia Kowalska — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I’ve been in content marketing for over a decade, and let me say that it’s never been this hard to rank highly in search.

The reason is that there’s a lot of content out there — Google says that it indexes “hundreds of billions of webpages,” which take up over “100,000,000 gigabytes in size.”

With these numbers, does it even make sense to publish new articles? Absolutely — you just have to change your approach to creating content to improve your keyword rankings.

Here’s how to find out what your current rankings are, along with 11 tips to help you boost your positions.

Table of Contents

What is a keyword ranking?
How to Check Your Keyword Ranking
How to Improve Keyword Rankings

What is a keyword ranking?

A keyword is a phrase you enter into a search engine to get an answer to your query. In an ideal scenario, you’ll get a list of results matching your intent. Keyword ranking refers to a web page’s position in those search results.

For example, if we Google “best content marketing tactics,” HubSpot ranks first for this phrase and Outbrain second.

Why are keyword rankings important?

Since I started my marketing career, brands have fought to secure a spot in the top three search results — and for good reason. The number one result has an average click-through rate of 27.6%, which is 10 times higher than a source ranked in the tenth position.

As the saying goes, the best place to hide a dead body is on page two of Google. Most people don’t want to go through hundreds of websites to find an answer. They focus on the first page, trusting that a high-ranking site means high-quality content.

How to Check Your Keyword Ranking

There are two types of tools for checking keyword rankings:

Admin panels like Google Search Console (GSC), which provide data directly from search engines.
External software designed for keyword and rank tracking.

Let’s say you’re starting from scratch and haven’t set up Google Search Console or Google Analytics yet. In this scenario, it’s easier (and faster) to run a quick ranking audit through an external tool. There are plenty to choose from on the market. Personally, I use Keysearch.

That said, you can’t rely solely on commercial solutions like these. Your owned rank tracking tools show you first-party information. You’ll see not only your keyword positions and traffic but also your website performance.

Rank tracking tools let you manage your site technicalities and alert you about any site performance issues — both of which could impact your SEO ranks. You also need them to set redirects between pages and to index your web pages faster.

To set these accounts up, you need to follow the instructions from search engines — here’s a step-by-step from Google.

In this section, I’m going to show you how to get an overview of your keyword rankings using external tools. Most ranking tracking tools work similarly. In this step-by-step, I’ll refer to Keysearch since that’s my go-to choice:

Step 1: Create an account.

You sign up by filling out your details. Some companies offer free basic keyword rank tracking tools (like Ahrefs does with their webmaster tools). Others give you a free trial or require upfront payment. In any case, setting up an account shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

Step 2: Go to competitive analysis and select organic keywords.

Once you’re in, you can start checking your keyword ranks in search. Different tools can call this functionality differently. In Keysearch, you click on “Competitive Analysis” in the search bar, and then select “Organic keywords” from the drop-down list.

Source

Step 3: Enter your URL.

Enter your URL. If you’re using Keysearch like I am, you’ll have two drop-down lists to choose from before you run your keyword rankings analysis. To see the highest-ranking keywords for your website at the top, select the “by rank” option in the first drop-down list:

Next, you get to decide if you want to see results for the entire domain or maybe just for a specific page. Assuming you’ve never checked your rankings before, you’ll want a site-wide analysis, so you select “entire domain.”

Next, click on “Search” and wait for the numbers to roll in.

Step 3: Analyze your results and use sorting for more context.

For this example, I decided to check HubSpot’s existing rankings. Here’s what I got. Notice that there are a lot of keywords that rank first in Google:

They’re listed in alphabetical order, so you can’t say how many high-volume keywords you have at top ranking yet. You also don’t know how much traffic your domain gets for these particular phrases.

To find the answers, click on the Volume and Traffic tabs. Here’s a sorted list of keywords by their search volumes:

And here’s a view of keywords sorted by the actual traffic your site gets:

You can do the exact opposite and use sorting to see which keywords get little or zero traffic. You can correlate it to the keyword’s search volume and so-called difficulty score (i.e., a score that tells you how hard the competition is for each exact phrase from other publishers).

This is just the start of your SEO keyword rankings journey. Now that you have your current numbers, you can seek out opportunities for ranking for more phrases and, ultimately, getting more clicks.

Important note: If your website is new and doesn’t have many subpages or content, you’ll likely see few keywords in your results. In some cases, you might not be able to see any at all. Don’t worry. You’re just at the start of your SEO journey. The more content and the bigger your site becomes, the more phrases you’ll likely see in rank-tracking tools.

How to Improve Keyword Rankings

To help you put your best foot forward, I spoke to several content and SEO specialists, asking them for advice. I’ve also shared my own experiences from working on keyword rankings for clients. Here are 11 tips I recommend following.

Create topic clusters.

Content clusters are a tactic I can swear by as someone who’s implemented it across multiple projects.

If you haven’t heard of them before, it’s an approach popularized by HubSpot, which focuses on structuring content around core topics (pillar content) with related, interlinked supporting pieces. You can take a look at the image below to understand the structure:

Start by creating a list of keywords that revolve around the main topic. Then, create articles and a pillar guide around them. This lets search engines notice that you publish a lot of content around a topic, which positions you as a subject expert (and, ideally, boosts your content in results above other brands who don’t pay much attention to the area).

Parker Warren, founder and CEO of PWA Media, also found success with this tactic. He told me that his brand uses clusters to strengthen content relevance and interlinking.

“We identify the main keyword that is already ranked, and then we focus on developing supporting content for the closely related topics. From these closely related topics, we then link back to our main page, signaling Google about the well-structured content and completeness of the topic”, Warren shares.

PWA Media used this approach to help a healthcare client increase their primary keyword from position number #14 to number #3 in search in just three months. Warren says that this also increased organic traffic by 60%.

Work on your DA.

One factor that significantly impacts your keyword rankings is your Domain Authority (DA). The higher your DA, the better your chances of ranking in the top 10.

I am not saying that a lower DA makes it impossible to secure a good position. Exceptionally good content can sometimes outrank a brand with a higher DA. That said, a higher DA generally makes ranking easier.

The best way to improve your Domain Authority is by building backlinks. Focus on quality over quantity — a few backlinks from high-authority sites are far more valuable than dozens from low-authority ones. Also, it’s worth comparing your DA against your competitors.

For example, if you were a freelance writer, you’d have to compete with DAs as high as 80 and 90. An average DA for the phrase “freelance writing” is 56, and this is the score you should aim for (initially).

Use semantic keywords.

A good tactic for boosting your keyword rankings is adding semantic phrases to your main keyword or topic.

Brendan Brown, SEO expert and content strategist at Global English Editing says he focuses on strengthening content through related terms and context. Instead of just targeting the same keyword repeatedly, he aims to improve its relevance by integrating similar terms that support the overall content.

Brown points to the article “The 120 Best Websites for Writers.”

“I didn’t just focus on the main keyword ]websites for writers.’ I also included related terms such as writing/planning tools, freelance writing, and online writing platforms in a natural, helpful way. This helped Google see the page as authoritative on the subject and boosted its rankings without keyword stuffing,” says Brown.

Use Schema markup.

Schema markup (also called structured data) is a type of code that you add to your website to help search engines understand what your content is about. By clearly communicating to Google the purpose of your content, you enable it to display the right pages to your target audience, which can improve your CTR and drive more organic traffic.

Jakob Kapus, chief marketing officer of Newsapi.AI, calls this strategy “Data-Driven Serpentine Storytelling.” It involves creating a seamless content journey using structured data to anticipate and answer follow-up queries a user might have after interacting with the main article.

“For instance, if an article focuses on ‘How AI revolutionizes journalism,’ we embed structured FAQ schemas that predictively address deeper questions like ‘What are the risks of AI in journalism?’ … The content flows like a story, with each section designed to capture long-tail keywords users might search for after their initial query,” says Kapus.

Such an approach not only satisfies user intent but signals relevance and depth to search engines, helping Newsapi.AI rank higher and retain traffic.

Look into user engagement metrics.

At first glance, it might seem like on-site user engagement and keywords are unrelated, but that’s not true. Looking at how long visitors stay on each of your landing pages and blog content can inspire plenty of keyword-related improvements.

Hanzel Talorete, content manager at Get Smart Series, told me that she analyzes several on-site behavior statistics.

“We analyze how readers interact with our content — what they click on, how long they stay, and what they share. We then use this data to adjust the content's depth, clarity, and usefulness, tailoring it to meet user intent more effectively,” Talorete says.

These learnings can also inspire new keywords worth including in each blog post.

Talorete says that aligning content more closely to their readers’ values brinings two benefits. Firstly, it’s about meeting their audience's needs. Secondly, about signaling to search engines that these valuable pieces are worth ranking higher.

Identify underperforming content and update or remove it.

It’s never enjoyable to see your content hidden way down in search results. The silver lining is that not all declining or plateauing keyword rankings are lost forever.

Chris Bajda, managing partner at Groomsday, recommends using tools like GSC and Ahrefs to analyze two types of keywords:

Those that your site currently ranks for between positions 8-20.
Those with declining clicks and impressions.

You should then reassess the intent behind each such keyword. “Has it shifted? Ensure your content aligns with current search intent (e.g., informational, transactional),” Bajda says.

Once you know this, you can enrich content with questions related to the topic using tools like People Also Ask or AnswerThePublic. He also recommends enriching the content

with updated statistics, multimedia (videos, infographics), and unique insights.

Bajda uses such an approach to improve keyword rankings at Groomsday.

“For example, our ‘Top Wedding Gifts’ article was slipping from page one, so we added fresh product recommendations, updated links, and integrated long-tail keywords. This not only revitalized the content but also increased user engagement, leading to a 20% boost in organic traffic and reclaiming our spot on the first page,” Bajda says.

How about content or pages that became obsolete and seem hard – if not impossible – to fix? Nathan Clark, CEO of Organix SEO Agency, says that it’s worth pulling the plug on some pages as they can harm your rankings. This is known as “content pruning”.

“It’s effective because when you get rid of weak pages, you ensure that only quality and useful pages are left, and enhance your site’s authority,” he says.

What about keywords lost in the content deletion process? You can repurpose them in new articles or copy/paste parts of the deleted content into other articles to create cornerstone content for your audience. This can improve rankings because you focus on providing real benefits to the users.

Use internal links.

When you create a new content piece, do you remember to add internal links? If you don’t then you should start immediately. Maurizio Petrone, founder and CEO at PressHERO says strategic internal linking is his favourite tactic for improving keyword rankings.

“By identifying high-authority pages on your website and linking them to the pages you want to boost, you can transfer link equity and improve their rankings,” says Petrone.

Here’s how he does it step by step:

Find a high-authority page (e.g., a comprehensive guide) that ranks well for relevant keywords.
Identify a target page you want to improve rankings for.
Add a contextual link from the high-authority page to the target page, using descriptive anchor text.
Monitor the target page's rankings and organic traffic over time.

“I've used this tactic to improve rankings for key pages by 2-5 positions on average, resulting in a 20-30% increase in organic traffic,” adds Petrone.

Kacper Rafalski, a demand generation team leader at Netguru, follows a similar approach. He says that internal linking is often an overlooked strategy that, when done right, has a huge impact on rankings.

“I’ve seen results quickly — about a 15-20% boost in rankings for some of our lower-performing pages within a few weeks,” adds Rafalski.

Integrate long-tail keywords into your already high-performing content.

A lot of us marketers are guilty of focusing mainly on broad, high-volume keywords, hoping to attract more traffic. Unfortunately, they’re very competitive and as such hard to rank for. Also, as they’re more generic, they have a lower conversion potential. Does it mean you should ignore them completely? Absolutely not.

Rather than focusing solely on broad, highly competitive terms, pinpoint and incorporate specific, niche long-tail phrases that closely match the search intentions of your audience, says Dionne Jayne Ricafort, marketing manager at CSO Yemen.

Ricafort notes that refreshing top-performing pages with detailed phrases allows the team to boost visibility for more targeted queries. They can also increases user engagement by meeting the searcher's needs.

“This approach has been particularly successful in moving our rankings from the top 10 to the top 3 for several key pages,” adds Ricafort.

Include expert insights.

If I were to give you just one piece of advice for your content, then this would be it. For each article you publish, try to include a few first-hand experiences or tips.

Depending on the subject you’re writing about, these could come from your own knowledge of the topic or from someone from your company. You can also enrich your content with insights from external experts (as you’ve probably noticed, this content is a perfect example of such an approach).

Google pays attention to the expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness of online content (known as EEAT). The more you can prove to readers – and search engines – that you’ve written a valuable piece, the higher your chances of taking a high spot for a phrase.

Focus on MOFU content.

Marketers love creating TOFU (top-of-funnel) content because it usually includes high-volume keywords. However, while this approach may drive more traffic, it often results in low conversion rates, as these keywords are too broad to attract the right audience. So, what should you do instead?

Alex Ugarte, operations manager at London Office Space, recommends shifting your focus toward mid-funnel content, targeting keywords and topics that align with the specific interests and needs of your buyer personas at this stage.

“It’s a strategic pivot that allows us to capture the attention of users who are further along in their decision-making process. By pre-emptively offering them the detailed information they're seeking at this point in the customer journey, they’re less likely to seek it out elsewhere,” Ugarte says.

According to Ugarte, by concentrating on content that compares services with competitors, the company engaged more qualified leads and improved conversion rates.

Many Factors Contribute to Reaching High Keyword Rankings

Getting your web page or article to the first few results in Google comes down to a lot more than just shortlisting relevant phrases. Just because a keyword has a high search volume or a low difficulty score doesn’t necessarily mean you should target it.

Working on your organic search ranks requires strategic thinking about each keyword’s intent. What do people entering the term into Google want? Is that something you can offer?

Perhaps most importantly of all, make sure that the content you write always adds value. If you create relevant content, search engines will take note – and so will your audience.

Lead Generation Strategies to Start Attracting Business Leads the Inbound Way

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Lead generation is essential for growing any business, but I can’t stand those telemarketing calls that interrupt dinner. I cringe every time my phone rings mid-meal, and, let’s face it, those calls never seem to connect with real leads because I’m almost never interested in what they’re selling.

I prefer a more strategic, customer-friendly way to reach potential buyers — one that respects personal space and encourages genuine relationships. This is the best way to attract people who are already seeking the solutions you offer and want to learn more before making a decision.

In this guide, I’ll show you what lead generation is, why you need it for your business, how to generate qualified leads, and why inbound lead generation is much more effective than simply buying leads.

Table of Contents

What is a lead?
What is lead generation?
Why do you need lead generation?
How Lead Generation Works
The Lead Generation Process in Action
The Lead Generation Funnel
How to Generate Leads
How to Qualify a Lead
Lead Generation Strategies
Tips for Lead Generation Campaigns
Lead Generation Statistics
Lead Conversion Statistics
Lead Generation Trends & Benchmarks

What is a lead?

A lead is any person who indicates interest in a company’s product or service.

Leads typically hear from a business or organization after opening communication (by submitting personal information for an offer, trial, or subscription) instead of getting a random cold call from someone who purchased their contact information.

Let’s say I take an online survey to learn more about how to take care of my car. A day or so later, I receive an email from the auto company that created the survey. This process is far less intrusive than if they’d just called me out of the blue.

From a business perspective, the information the auto company collects about me from my survey responses helps them personalize that opening communication to address my existing problems.

Leads are part of the lifecycle of transitioning visitors to customers. Not all leads are the same. There are different types of leads based on how they are qualified and what lifecycle stage they’re in.

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Marketing-qualified leads are contacts who have engaged with your marketing team’s efforts but aren’t ready to receive a sales call. An example of an MQL is a contact who fills out a landing page form for an offer.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

Sales-qualified leads are contacts who’ve taken actions that expressly indicate their interest in becoming paying customers. An example of an SQL is a contact who fills out a form to ask a question about your product or service.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

Product-qualified leads are contacts who’ve used your product and taken actions that indicate interest in becoming a paying customer. PQLs typically exist for companies who offer a product trial or a free or limited version of their product with options to upgrade.

An example of a PQL is a customer who uses your free version but asks about paid features.

Service Qualified Lead

Service-qualified leads are contacts or customers who’ve indicated to your service team that they’re interested in becoming paying customers.

For example, a customer could tell their customer service representative that they’d like to upgrade their product subscription. At this time, the customer service representative would up-level this customer to the appropriate sales team or representative.

These lead generators are just a few examples of lead generation strategies you can use to attract potential customers and guide them toward your offers.

Whenever someone outside the marketing world asks me what I do, I can’t simply say, “I create content for lead generation.” I’d get some really confused looks.

So, instead, I say, “I work on finding unique ways to attract people to my business. I want to provide them with enough goodies to get them interested in my company so they eventually warm up to the brand and want to hear from us!”

That usually resonates better, and that’s exactly what lead generation is: It’s a way of warming up potential customers to your business. This gets them on the path to eventually making a purchase.

Why do you need lead generation?

When someone shows an organic interest in your business, the transition from stranger to customer is much more natural. You enhance this transition through inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing is a methodology to attract loyal customers to your business by aligning with your target audience’s needs.

Creating tailored marketing experiences through valuable content is the core of an inbound marketing strategy that helps you drive customer engagement and growth.

Lead generation falls within the second stage of the inbound marketing methodology. It occurs after you’ve attracted an audience and are ready to convert those visitors into leads for your sales team.

As you can see in the diagram below, generating leads is a fundamental starting point in an individual’s journey to becoming a delighted customer.

How Lead Generation Works

Lead generation ensures a steady flow of potential customers, which is essential for sustained growth and profitability.

Effective lead gen strategies also encourage long-term relationships, enhance brand reputation, and provide valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. This results in a business that is better positioned to identify opportunities, respond to market demands, and achieve its strategic objectives.

The lead generation process involves several key stages: attracting, capturing, nurturing, qualifying, and converting leads.

1. Attracting Potential Leads

The first step in lead generation is attracting the right audience, and you typically achieve this by creating and distributing valuable and relevant content that resonates with your target market.

You can use various content marketing strategies, such as blog posts, social media updates, videos, webinars, and search engine optimization (SEO), to increase your online visibility and draw in potential customers.

For example, if you’re a tech company, publishing insightful articles on the latest industry trends or producing instructional videos showcasing your products is a great way to attract individuals (or other businesses) interested in those topics.

2. Capturing Lead Information

Once you start attracting potential leads, the next step is to capture their contact information. Back in the day, you just asked people to give you their email.

However, now that there are probably dozens of other companies (your competitors) hustling for that same contact information, you have to go the extra mile by offering them something of value in exchange for their details. This could be an ebook, a free trial, a discount on their first purchase, or access to a webinar.

For example, a marketing agency might offer a free downloadable guide on improving online presence, requiring visitors to enter their first name and email address to access the resource.

3. Nurturing Relationships

After capturing a lead’s information, nurturing the relationship is vital to move them through the sales funnel. This involves engaging with leads through personalized email marketing campaigns, targeted content, and follow-up communications over time.

For example, a real estate company may send regular updates on market trends, new property listings, and home-buying tips to keep potential buyers engaged and informed.

4. Qualifying Leads

Not all leads are ready to make a purchase immediately, which makes qualifying leads a critical step so you can focus your efforts on those with the highest potential. The lead qualification process involves assessing the lead’s readiness to buy, their budget, authority to make decisions, and specific needs.

Techniques like lead scoring (which we’ll discuss soon) help you identify the most promising prospects. For example, if you’re a B2B company, you might prioritize leads that have attended multiple webinars, downloaded several resources, and have a company size that matches your ideal customer profile.

5. Converting Leads to Paying Customers

The final stage of lead generation is converting qualified leads into paying customers. This involves presenting tailored offers, addressing any remaining objections, and facilitating a smooth transition from prospect to customer.

In this phase, you need to implement effective sales strategies and timely follow-ups, and have a clear understanding of the lead’s needs. For instance, if you’re an online course provider, you might offer a limited-time discount to leads who have shown high engagement, encouraging them to enroll in a program.

The Lead Generation Process in Action

Now that you understand the steps of the lead generation process, let’s see it in action.

First, a visitor discovers your business through one of your marketing channels, such as your website, blog, or social media.
That visitor then clicks on your call-to-action (CTA) — an image, button, or message that encourages website visitors to take some sort of action.
That CTA takes your visitor to a landing page, which is a web page designed to capture lead information in exchange for an offer.
Once on the landing page, your visitor fills out a form in exchange for the offer. Voila! You have a new lead. That is, as long as you follow lead-capture best practices.

See how everything fits together?

To sum it up: A visitor clicks a CTA that takes them to a landing page where they fill out a form to get an offer, at which point they become a lead.

By the way, you should check out our free lead generation tool. It helps you create lead capture forms directly on your website. Plus, it’s easy to set up.

Recommended: HubSpot’s Free Lead Generation Software

Get Started Free

The Lead Generation Funnel

The lead generation funnel is a strategic framework that divides the customer journey into three distinct stages: top of the funnel (TOFU), middle of the funnel (MOFU), and bottom of the funnel (BOFU). Each stage has a unique purpose, tailored content, and specific tactics to engage prospects based on where they are in their buying journey.

Top of the Funnel (TOFU)

At the top of the funnel, the primary focus is on awareness. In this stage, potential customers are just beginning to recognize a problem or need, and they may not yet be aware of how to address it. The goal here is to create content that attracts a wide audience and generates interest.

This content includes:

Blog posts addressing common industry challenges.
Educational videos or infographics that explain basic concepts.
Social media posts aimed at sparking curiosity.
Ebooks or whitepapers providing a high-level overview of a topic.

Case in point:

Say I’m a small business owner researching ways to improve my digital marketing strategy. I come across a blog post that explains the fundamentals of SEO. This content sparks my interest and introduces me to the idea that effective online marketing requires targeted strategies — a realization that sets the stage for deeper engagement.

Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)

The middle of the funnel focuses on consideration and evaluation. By this point, potential customers have identified their needs and are comparing potential solutions. The objective is to educate and nurture these prospects while building trust and credibility.

Some kinds of content to create for this purpose include:

In-depth guides that compare different products or services.
Webinars and case studies that showcase successful product implementations.
Detailed how-to articles or FAQ sections that answer specific questions.
Email newsletters that provide targeted insights and industry trends.

Case in point:

As a marketing manager, I download a beginner’s guide on digital marketing from a marketing agency’s website. Over the next few weeks, I receive a series of informative emails that delve deeper into topics like lead generation strategies and best practices.

Additionally, I view a pre-recorded webinar featuring a case study from a similar company that successfully improved its online presence. With these resources, I evaluate how the solutions might fit my company’s needs and start considering a specific service provider.

Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)

At the bottom of the funnel, the focus shifts from evaluation to conversion. Prospects in this stage are well-informed and have a clear understanding of their needs. They’re now evaluating final options and looking for compelling reasons to choose one solution over another.

In this case, here are some kinds of content that can tip them over to your camp:

Detailed product demonstrations or free trials that provide hands-on experience.
Customer testimonials and success stories that illustrate real-world benefits.
Personalized consultations or sales calls designed to address specific queries.
Limited-time offers, discounts, or comprehensive service comparisons.

Case in point:

I have now been actively researching digital marketing agencies for months. After participating in several webinars and reading multiple case studies, I narrow my choices down to two providers.

At this point, I schedule a live demo with one of the agencies, receive a personalized proposal, and read testimonials from current customers. This final step addresses lingering questions and directly paves the way toward making a purchase decision.

How to Generate Leads

Once you put all of these elements together, you can use your various promotional channels to drive traffic to your landing page and start generating leads.

But what channels should you use to promote your landing page? Let’s talk about the front end of lead generation — lead gen marketing.

If you’re wondering how to generate leads in digital marketing specifically, I think it’s time to analyze your existing online channels and identify opportunities for conversion. This can include everything from your website to your organic and paid social media presence.

There are even more channels you can use to get visitors to become leads. I’ll discuss the most impactful below.

1. Create compelling content.

Content — and its trusty companion, SEO — are often the go-to methods businesses use to generate leads. And for good reason, too!

Ryan Robinson, the founder and CEO of RightBlogger, explains that content marketing and SEO “allow you to attract leads who are already interested in what you offer, rather than interrupting people with disruptive ads and promotions.”

I find content is a great way to guide users to a landing page. Typically, you create content to provide visitors with useful, free information. You can include CTAs anywhere in your content — inline, at the bottom of the post, in the hero section, or even on the side panel.

Robinson shared an anecdote with me to illustrate just how powerful content and SEO can be for generating leads.

“I vividly remember one client who initially found us after reading a blog post … That post showed him how AI writing assistants could streamline his process while still allowing for human oversight and quality control. A few weeks later, he signed up for one of our AI writing packages,” Robinson recalls.

In other words, the more delighted visitors are with your content, the more likely they are to click your CTA and move onto your landing page.

Pro tip: HubSpot’s Blog Ideas Generator leverages search volume data from Semrush, giving you the insights necessary to identify content ideas that both search engines and website visitors will love.

Featured Resource: HubSpot Ebook Templates

2. Send regular emails.

Email is a great place to reach people who already know your brand, product, or service. It’s much easier to ask them to take action since they’ve previously subscribed to your list.

Noel Griffith, the CMO at SupplyGem, knows all about using email marketing for lead generation. Griffith explains that within a few months of launching a new email newsletter, “it became the top source of new leads for our business.”

He says that “by consistently providing helpful information for free, we were able to build strong relationships… When the time came for them to make a purchase or renewal decision, we were the first ones they thought of.”

Pro tip: When writing emails, use CTAs with compelling copy and an eye-catching design to grab your subscriber’s attention.

Featured resource: The Beginner’s Guide to Email Marketing

3. Use social media.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (previously Twitter), and LinkedIn are powerful tools for reaching potential leads directly.

These platforms make it easy to guide your followers to take action, from the swipe-up option on Instagram stories to Facebook bio links to URLs on X.

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I love that you can also promote your offerings on social media and include a CTA in your caption. Learn more about social media campaigns in this post.

While you can organically build an audience on social media, these platforms also allow you to run paid ads that help you build brand awareness and generate leads in a shorter period of time.

Jason Hunt, the co-founder and CMO at Merged Media, shares that “the real power of social media advertising lies in its ability to segment audiences very precisely and test different messages to see which performs best. This approach ensures that the message is being seen by a highly relevant audience, increasing the chances of turning those individuals into leads.”

Pro tip: If you want people who see your ads to convert, be sure that your landing page and offer match exactly what is promised in the ad and that the action you want users to take is crystal clear.

If you need help with your email and ad campaigns, check out HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant, a free AI-powered tool that can help you create landing page copy, email copy, and paid ad copy for your marketing campaigns.

4. Write informative blog posts.

I think the great thing about using your blog posts to promote an offer is that you can tailor the entire piece to the end goal.

Suppose your offer is an instructional video on setting up Google Search Console. In that case, you can write a blog post about selecting your marketing metrics, making your CTA highly relevant and easy to click.

For a quick overview, check out our video guide:

Not sure what to write about? Use HubSpot’s Blog Idea Generator to brainstorm blog post ideas, create a blog outline, write your first draft, and publish to your website.

Featured resource: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

5. Offer product trials.

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You can break down many sales barriers by offering trials of your product or service. Once a prospect uses your product, you can entice them with additional offers or resources to encourage them to buy.

Another best practice is to include your branding in your free versions so you can capture other potential customers, too.

6. Ask for referrals.

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Referral, or word-of-mouth marketing, is helpful for lead generation in a different way. It gets your brand in front of more people, increasing your chances of generating more leads.

According to Daniel Nyquist, the CMO at Crosslist, referral marketing is effective because you’re asking satisfied customers to refer you to their network.

Nyquist told me that once he implemented a referral program to reward existing clients, referrals accounted for over 40% of new business within six months. Nyquist says, “The key is building genuine relationships and delivering exceptional value so people are eager to tell others about you.”

Whatever channel you use to generate leads, you’ll want to guide users to your landing page. As long as you’ve built a landing page that converts, the rest will handle itself.

7. Organize industry events.

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Industry events are a great way to get face-to-face with members of your target audience. Through networking at events, you can nurture new contacts into qualified leads.

If you have the marketing budget, you can take this further and exhibit at events.

Exhibitions make qualifying new leads from your booth easier with a personalized demo or consultation.

8. Collaborate with other businesses and creators.

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Business partnerships are often a source of huge untapped potential for lead generation. Your target audiences are usually closely aligned, even if your products and services differ.

Partner marketing can be as simple as a logo placement on your partner’s website. But you can take it further with joint content strategies, promotional materials, and more. This way, you both get your respective brands in front of each other’s customer bases in a mutually beneficial way.

Another way to explore this is through partnerships with influencers that align well with your brand and objectives. Mike Falahee, the owner of Marygrove Awnings, has experienced a lot of success by collaborating with micro-influencers.

He shares, “You can generate leads by working with micro-influencers whose followership is highly engaged and who fit your target demographic and brand values.”

9. Build a community.

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I’ve found communities are ideal for turning visitors into leads. They’re also a great way to nurture and qualify existing leads.

For example, let’s say I’ve got a new free trial user. They have a question about the product, so they head to my knowledge hub only to find a forum of engaged promoters discussing my product and providing guidance on how to use it.

Seeing how others use my product and the extent of my existing customer base can make the difference between a user who chooses to upgrade and one who simply walks away.

Remember, stellar customer service experiences are key here — this is what drives most users to openly talk about your products. Using dedicated customer service software can elevate your customers’ experience, as it includes all the features necessary to improve the customer’s satisfaction. Some examples include omnichannel messaging, self-serve knowledge bases, and customer portals, as well as live chat and AI-powered chatbots.

Why not just buy leads?

Marketers and salespeople alike want to fill their sales funnel — and they want to fill it quickly. Enter: the temptation to buy leads.

Buying leads, as opposed to organically generating them, is much easier and takes far less time and effort, despite being more expensive. But you might be paying for advertising anyway, so why not just buy leads?

First and foremost, any leads you’ve purchased don’t know you. Typically, they’ve “opted in” at some other site when signing up for something and didn’t opt into receiving anything from your company.

The messages you send them are unwanted messages. In my opinion, sending unwanted messages is intrusive. If the prospect has never been to your website and indicated an interest in your products or services, then you’re interrupting them, plain and simple.

And if they never opted in to receive messages specifically from you, then there’s a high chance they could flag your messages as spam, which is dangerous.

Hear me out. Once enough people flag your messages as spam, your email address will be flagged and shared with other email providers. Once you get flagged, it’s really, really hard to become credible again. In addition, your email deliverability and IP reputation will likely be harmed.

It’s always better to generate leads organically rather than buy them. Learn how to grow an opt-in email list instead of buying one.

How to Qualify a Lead

As I covered in the first section, a lead is a person who has indicated interest in your company’s product or service. Now, let’s talk about how someone can actually show that interest.

Essentially, a sales lead is generated through information collection.

This could result from a job seeker applying for an open role, a shopper sharing contact information in exchange for a coupon, or a person filling out a form to download an educational piece of content.

Gauging a Lead’s Level of Interest

Below are a few ways you can qualify someone as a lead. I think each of these examples shows that the amount of collected information used to qualify a lead, as well as their level of interest, can vary.

Let’s assess each scenario:

Job Application. A candidate shares personal information because they want to be considered for a position. That application shows their interest in the job, qualifying the person as a lead for the company’s recruiting team — not marketing or sales.
Coupon. If a shopper finds a valuable coupon, they may be willing to provide their name and email address in exchange for a deal. Although it’s not a lot of information, it’s enough for a business to know that someone has an interest in their company.
Content. While the download of a coupon shows an individual has a direct interest in your product, content (like an ebook or webinar) does not. To understand the nature of the person’s interest, you’ll probably need to collect more information.

These three general examples highlight how lead generation differs from company to company and from person to person.

You’ll need to collect enough information to gauge whether someone has a genuine interest in your product or service — how much information is enough will vary depending on your business.

Here's a great example of what to ask for in a lead gen form:

Full Name. This is the most fundamental information needed to personalize your communication with each lead.
Email. This serves as a unique identifier and is how you will contact your lead.
Company. This will allow you to research your lead’s industry and company and how the lead might benefit from your product or service (mainly for B2B).
Role. Understanding an individual’s role will help you understand how to communicate with them. Every brand stakeholder will have a different take and perspective on your offering (mainly for B2B).
Country. Location information can help you segment your contact by region and time zone and help you qualify the lead depending on your service.
State. The more detailed information you can obtain without sacrificing conversions, the better. Knowing your lead’s state can help you further qualify them.

If you’d like to learn more intermediate-level tips on information collection and what you should ask for on your lead gen forms, I suggest reading our post about it here.

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is a way to qualify leads quantitatively. Using this technique, leads are assigned a numerical value (or score) to determine where they fall on the scale from “interested” to “ready for a sale.”

The criteria for these actions are up to you, but they must be uniform across your marketing and sales departments so that everyone works on the same scale.

A lead’s score can be based on actions they’ve taken, the information they’ve provided, their level of engagement, or other criteria that your sales team determines.

For instance, you may score someone higher if they regularly engage with you on social media.

Borrowing from the examples above, you might give a lead a higher score if they used one of your coupons — an action that would signify this person is interested in your product.

The higher a lead’s score, the closer they are to becoming a SQL, which is only a step away from becoming a customer.

You may need to tweak criteria until you find the formula that works, but once you do, you’ll transform your lead generation into customer generation.

Lead Generation Strategies

Online lead generation encompasses various tactics, campaigns, and strategies depending on the platform you use to capture leads.

Earlier, I talked about lead capture best practices once you have a visitor on your site, but how can you get them there in the first place?

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Let’s dive into lead generation strategies for a few popular platforms.

SEO Lead Generation

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving your website’s visibility on search engines, making it easier for potential leads to find your content organically. SEO is effective at helping you generate leads because it can drive a lot of visitors to your website organically.

There are three kinds of SEO: on-page SEO (to optimize the content on the website), off-page SEO (optimization techniques done outside the website), and technical SEO (optimizing the underpinnings of the website).

While these three branches work together to make a well-optimized website, I’ll be focused on on-page SEO — and I’ll touch on the most important steps to take:

1. Select keywords.

Identifying the right keywords is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy. These keywords represent the search queries your target audience uses to find information and solutions to their problems.

You can use a free tool like Google Keyword Planner (if you have a Google Ads account) or paid tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush to gather initial keyword ideas. The paid tools go further to give you information like search volume, keyword difficulty, traffic potential, and a SERP overview for each keyword.

When choosing keywords, I advise you take care to choose those with a good balance of high search volume and low-to-moderate competitiveness so you have a better chance of ranking. For instance, a keyword like “seo strategy” might have a high search volume but also high competition, often requiring numerous quality backlinks to rank in the top 10.

If you don’t have a website with many ranking pages, you’d do better to optimize for “seo lead gen strategy,” which has a decent search volume and low competition.

Also, ensure that your chosen keywords directly relate to your business or the problems your audience is facing. For example, if you offer a lead generation solution, look for keywords that indicate interest in lead generation strategies, tools, or best practices.

2. Create and optimize your content with your keywords.

Put those keywords to good use by developing relevant content (articles, blog posts, guides, videos) that provide helpful information, answer common questions, or solve problems related to your keywords.

If you’re unsure what to create, analyze the top-ranking pages for your chosen keywords to understand what type of content is performing well. Then, create content that offers more depth, better visuals, or updated insights.

As you write, naturally integrate your target keywords into the title, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the body of your content. Also, link to related content on your website to help search engines discover and rank your new page more quickly.

Pro tip: While it’s technically off-page SEO, it’s also a good practice to obtain quality external backlinks that signal authority and trustworthiness to search engines. Also, ensure that your website loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and provides a clear, intuitive layout that encourages visitors to explore further.

3. Create and offer lead magnets.

As I mentioned earlier, the best way to get people to give you their contact information is to give them something valuable in return, for free. That free item is known as a lead magnet. It could be an ebook, webinar, checklist, case study, template, or any resource that dives deeper into a topic of interest to your audience.

However, you can’t just create any lead magnet you want to. Your lead magnet should complement the content your visitor just consumed. For example, if you have a blog post about lead generation best practices (like this one), your lead magnet might be a detailed guide or toolkit on how to implement those practices.

After creating your lead magnet(s), ensure that the process to access it is simple. Use a short form to capture essential information (name, email, etc.) without overwhelming the visitor.

Pro tip: Before attaching the form for the lead magnet, communicate what the visitor will gain by providing their information. For instance, “Download our free toolkit to supercharge your lead generation efforts.”

Facebook Lead Generation

Facebook has been a method for lead generation since its inception. Originally, companies could use outbound links in their posts and information in their bios to attract strangers to their websites.

However, when Facebook Ads was launched in 2007, and its algorithm began to favor accounts that used paid advertising, there was a major shift in how businesses used the platform to capture leads.

Facebook created Lead Ads for this purpose. Facebook also has a feature that lets you put a simple CTA button at the top of your Facebook Page, helping you send Facebook followers directly to your website.

To run a Facebook Ads campaign, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Define your objectives and audience.

First, set clear goals to achieve with your campaign. Do you want to generate a specific number of leads, boost your email subscribers, or drive traffic to a landing page? Clear objectives will guide your campaign’s structure.

When your goals are set, use Facebook’s audience insights to create a detailed buyer persona. Consider factors like:

Age
Location
Interests
Behavior, etc.

Pro tip: Consider creating custom audiences based on existing data (like website visitors) and lookalike audiences to expand your reach.

2. Create a compelling offer and lead form.

Decide on an incentive that encourages prospects to submit their information, such as a free ebook, webinar registration, discount, or consultation. Once you’ve done that, design your lead form.

On the form, use a clear headline and a short description that explains what the lead will receive. Keep the form concise by asking only for essential information — typically name, email, and perhaps one or two qualifying questions (for lead segmentation purposes).

3. Choose the right campaign objective.

When you click Create to build a new Facebook ad campaign in Ads Manager, the first thing you have to do is choose a campaign objective. In this case, your objective would be Leads.

If you already have preset campaign optimizations you’d like to use, go ahead. If not, choose the manual option to build your campaign from scratch. If you choose manual, you’d have to:

Set your budget (daily or lifetime).
Specify your audience (from the information you gathered in Step 1).
Decide which ad placements you’ll use (Automatic Placements, which lets Facebook optimize delivery, or Manual Placements to select specific locations such as News Feed or Stories).
Set a start and end date or run the campaign continuously if you wish to gather long-term data.

4. Design engaging visuals and messaging.

You’ll need visuals and ad copy to run your Facebook Ads campaign. For the visuals, make sure you use high-quality images or short videos that capture attention, and include branding elements to build recognition and trust.

For the ad copy, craft a persuasive headline and clear CTA that highlights the benefit of your offer. Ensure the messaging is aligned with your target audience’s needs and pain points.

Pro tip: Consider creating A/B tests with different images, headlines, and CTAs to identify the best-performing combination.

5. Launch and monitor the campaign.

After uploading your visuals and copy, double-check all campaign settings, including targeting, budget, and ad creatives, to ensure they’re accurate. Then, launch your campaign.

As your ads run and leads start to trickle in, track metrics such as cost per lead, click-through rate, and conversion rate to understand how your audience is interacting with your ad and make adjustments as needed.

Get some lead generation tips for Facebook.

Featured Resource: 50 Facebook Ad Examples We Actually Clicked

X Lead Generation

X has X Lead Gen Cards, which let you generate leads directly within a tweet without leaving the site.

A user’s name, email address, and X username are automatically pulled into the card, and all they have to do is click “Submit” to become a lead.

Setting up an X lead gen card takes but a few minutes. Here are the steps to do it:

Log in to your X Ads account at business.x.com/en/advertising. If you don’t have an Ads account yet, click Launch a campaign, put in your location, and tap Create your first ad.
Once logged in, choose a campaign that fits your objective.

Next, input your ad text and visuals to create a promoted-only post. Customize the messaging on your tweet to clearly explain the benefit of submitting their information. X will then start the verification process for your ad.
In the meantime, customize your delivery by specifying your audience demographics (age, gender, location), targeting features (keywords, operating systems, interests, language), budget (daily budget and date range), and payment method (including tax information).
Once X approves your ad, it will go live and start reaching your targeted audience. As it runs, keep an eye on your performance and make adjustments to targeting, creative elements, or bidding strategies if needed.

(Hint for HubSpot users: You can connect X Lead Gen Cards to your HubSpot Forms. Learn how to do that here.)

Featured Resource: How to Use X for Business (+ Follower Tracking Template)

LinkedIn Lead Generation

LinkedIn has been increasing its stake in advertising since its early days.

Regarding lead generation, LinkedIn created Lead Gen Forms, which auto-populate with a user’s profile data when they click a CTA, making it easy to capture information.

Here’s how to create a LinkedIn ad campaign:

Navigate to linkedin.com/campaignmanager to log in to your LinkedIn Ads account. If you don’t have one, set one up by specifying an account name and linking to an active LinkedIn Company Page, as this is required to run ads.
Once logged in, select your campaign objective. This will likely be Lead Generation.

Select your campaign type (Classic or Accelerated) and an ad format (usually a single image). Then, specify your product name and product URL (your landing page or form).
Next, add the specifics: targeting settings, audience signals, ad details (introductory text, headline, visuals, CTA, form details, lead details, and custom questions), ad placements, budget and schedule, and payment details.
Once satisfied with all settings, click “Launch Campaign.” Your ads will enter a review process before going live.
Use LinkedIn’s analytics dashboard to monitor key metrics such as impressions, click-through rate (CTR), conversions, and cost per lead. Observe which ads perform best and analyze why they’re driving higher engagement.
Adjust targeting parameters, modify bids, or tweak ad copy and visuals based on performance data.

Get tips from our experience using LinkedIn ads.

PPC Lead Generation

When I say pay-per-click (PPC), I’m referring to ads on search engine result pages (SERPs). Google gets 8.5 billion searches a day, making it prime real estate for any ad campaign, especially lead gen.

The effectiveness of your PPC campaign relies heavily on a seamless user flow, as well as your budget, target keywords, and a few other factors.

To set up a PPC campaign on Google, here are the steps to take:

First, sign in or create an account at ads.google.com. Complete any necessary billing information and account setup.
From your dashboard, tap Create (the ‘+’ icon on the left side of the page) and tap Campaign.
Choose your campaign objective (which is Leads), select a campaign type (Search, Display, Demand Gen, Shopping, etc.), and select the ways you’d like to reach your goal (website visits or store visits).

Input your website or store URL, then choose your lead conversion goal. You can either let leads enter their information right through your ad, or let them enter their information via a form on your website.
Name your campaign and set a target cost per action.
Next, specify the networks you’d like for ad distribution, the locations to target, the languages, audience segments, and broad match keywords. Also, check out Google’s headlines and keyword suggestions.
Create a lead form to go with your ads and add other links to take prospects to certain parts of our website (About Us, Services, etc.).
Double-check your settings, keywords, ad copy, and tracking parameters. Then, launch the campaign and monitor performance using Google Ads and Google Analytics.

Pro tip: Use a mix of high-intent and long-tail keywords to capture a range of search queries.

Learn more about how to set up successful PPC ads.

B2B Lead Generation

For B2B companies, generating leads involves strategies that differ from B2C tactics due to the often longer sales cycle and complex decision-making processes. A multi-channel approach is critical here.

Here’s how to approach B2B lead generation:

Understand your audience. B2B buyers are often decision-makers with complex considerations. Begin by researching your ideal customer profile (ICP) and developing detailed buyer personas that include industry roles, company size, challenges, and purchasing behavior. Understanding these factors lays the groundwork for targeted messaging and strategic outreach.
Develop a comprehensive content strategy. Content is central to engaging B2B prospects, so create a mix of educational resources that address common pain points and industry challenges, including whitepapers, ebooks, case studies, webinars, podcasts, and blog posts. These help you provide valuable information and in-depth analysis to your audience while positioning your company as an industry thought leader.
Leverage multi-channel approaches. B2B lead generation often requires using multiple channels to reach decision-makers effectively. So, combine effective channels like LinkedIn, email marketing, PPC & display advertising, and industry events (or webinars) to reach your ideal customers.
Implement Account-Based Marketing (ABM). ABM tailors your lead generation efforts to specific high-value companies. So, identify target accounts and create personalized campaigns that speak directly to the needs and challenges of these organizations. This may include custom content, direct outreach through LinkedIn or email, and even one-on-one demos.
Optimize the sales and marketing alignment. Seamless collaboration between the marketing and sales teams ensures that quality leads are efficiently nurtured throughout the sales funnel. By sharing insights and feedback, both teams can continuously refine targeting strategies, content messaging, and follow-up tactics to meet the needs of the buyer.
Follow-up and nurture relationships. The B2B buying cycle is often longer than B2C, which makes relationship-building essential. Once a lead is captured:

Use email sequences to educate and engage the prospect over time.
Sales teams should reach out with customized messages that address the specific needs of the prospect.
Use remarketing tactics to re-engage visitors who have shown interest but haven’t converted yet.

Measure, analyze, and optimize. Establish and monitor clear KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as cost per lead, conversion rates, and engagement levels. Try to identify what works and what doesn’t. If possible, A/B test different approaches in content, targeting, and messaging to continuously optimize your strategy.

Learn the B2B lead generation techniques for every channel.

Website Lead Generation

Your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential leads. Optimizing it for lead capture is key to turning visitors into prospects. Here are some tips for website lead gen optimization:

Use clear headlines, engaging visuals, and persuasive copy that guides visitors toward your CTA.
Keep forms concise — ask only for essential information to reduce abandonment rates.
Ensure your website is fast, mobile-responsive, and easy to navigate.
Employ pop-ups or slide-ins that offer incentives like discounts or downloadable content in exchange for contact details.
Place CTAs strategically throughout your website, such as at the end of blog posts or in the header, to capture visitor interest promptly.
A/B test different CTA designs and placements to identify what resonates best with your audience.

Co-Marketing Lead Generation

Co-marketing involves partnering with other businesses or industry influencers to jointly create and promote content. This collaborative effort allows both parties to tap into new audiences and share resources.

If you choose to explore co-marketing, here are some tips:

Choose partners whose audiences align with your target demographic but who are not direct competitors.
Define clear roles, expectations, and benefits for both parties involved in the co-marketing initiative.
Develop co-branded resources such as ebooks, webinars, or research reports that provide value to both audiences.
Promote the content across all channels, including email, social media, and partner websites.
Use each other’s mailing lists and social media platforms to extend reach.
Organize co-hosted live events or Q&A sessions to engage directly with prospects from both companies.

Tips for Lead Generation Campaigns

In any given lead generation campaign, there can be many moving parts.

It can be challenging to tell which parts of your campaign are working and which need fine-tuning. Here are a few tips that can help when building lead gen campaigns.

1. Follow your data.

If you’re looking to build a lead generation engine, start with the bevy of data already at your fingertips. Begin by archiving which posts consistently rank well, bring in traffic, and have a clear connection to your product.

For instance, if you notice that a blog post about how startups can implement guerilla marketing consistently drives traffic, analyze its structure and topic focus to understand why visitors resonate with it.

Once you know what performs well, you can determine where to place CTAs.

“For these posts, ask yourself what the missing middle piece is between what someone is reading about and what you can offer them,” suggests AJ Beltis, a senior marketing manager focused on media conversion at HubSpot.

Beltis continues, “Perhaps it’s an actionable template, a more in-depth guide, or even a demo if the content is intended for those further along in the buying cycle.”

Remember, your CTA should not be a reach from the topic in the post. “Keep it straightforward and logical and the leads will come flowing in,” Beltis says.

Pro tip: Use analytics to set benchmarks for success and continuously adjust your CTAs based on audience engagement.

2. Use the right lead generation tools.

As you saw in our data, the most successful marketing teams use a formal system to organize and store their leads. That’s where lead generation tools and lead generation software come into play.

How much do you know about the people visiting your website? Do you know their names or their email addresses? How about which pages they visited, how they’re navigating around, and what they do before and after filling out a lead conversion form?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, chances are you’re having difficulty connecting with the people visiting your site. These are questions you should be able to answer — and you can with the right lead generation tools.

There are a few different tools and templates out there that’ll help you create different lead gen assets to use on your site:

CTA Templates. Create clickable CTA buttons to use on your blog, landing pages, and elsewhere on your site.
Lead Generation Software Tools. This free tool from HubSpot includes lead capture insights features, which will scrape any pre-existing forms you have and add those contacts to your existing contact database. You can also create pop-ups, hello bars, or slide-ins — called “lead flows” — to help you immediately turn visitors into leads.

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Visitor Tracking. Hotjar’s virtual heatmap tool creates a color-coded representation of how a user navigates your site. You can then understand what users want and care about. For example, here’s a scroll map that shows that no one scrolls below the fold:

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In this case, if the CTA to generate leads is situated below the fold, people don’t see it. By seeing this scroll map, the site owner will be able to take measures to fix it, whether by changing the content below the fold or moving the CTA higher.

Live chat. Live chat and chatbots are excellent for establishing first contact with leads who are interested in your company. You can also use them to capture contact details and send leads more in-depth information about your products or services — or generate conversions right away.
Form-Scraping Tool. A form-scraping tool that collects submissions on your website’s existing forms helps you consolidate all your leads into your contact database.

HubSpot customers can create and embed forms using HubSpot, which automatically populate into your CMS.
Non-HubSpot customers can use a form creation tool like Contact Form 7, JetPack, or Google Forms, and then use HubSpot’s free collected forms feature to automatically capture form submissions and input them to a contact database.

3. Create offers for all different stages of the buying cycle.

Not all of your site visitors are ready to talk to your sales team or see a demo of your product.

Someone at the beginning of the buyer’s journey might be interested in an informational piece like an ebook or a guide.

In contrast, someone more familiar with your company and near the end of the journey might be more interested in a free trial or demo.

Make sure you’re creating offers for each phase and offering CTAs for these offers throughout your site.

Yes, it takes time to create valuable content that nurtures your leads down the funnel, but if you don’t offer anything for visitors who aren’t ready to buy, they may never return to your website.

Here are 20 ideas for lead generation content to get you started.

The good news, sales software significantly speeds up the process. You can organize leads across various stages of the buyer’s journey, then quickly set up and deploy personalized email campaigns for each specific segment — all without having to rely on separate platforms.

If you want to take personalization a step further, try using smart CTAs. Smart CTAs detect where a person is in the buyer’s journey, whether they’re a new visitor, a lead, or a customer, and display CTAs accordingly.

Personalized CTAs convert 202% better than basic ones.

4. Keep your messaging consistent and deliver on your promise.

The highest-converting lead gen campaigns are the ones that create a seamless transition from ad copy and design to the deliverable itself. For instance, if an advertisement promotes a free ebook on content marketing strategies, the landing page and the ebook should both reflect the same quality and focus. This consistency ensures that visitors feel confident their expectations will be met.

If your lead gen campaign doesn’t mirror everything else on your website, including your blog, and the product you will eventually try to sell, you’ll have difficulty getting your lead to the next lifecycle stage.

Pro tip: Conduct regular audits of your marketing materials to ensure all messaging across ads, landing pages, and content platforms remains aligned and reinforces your brand’s core promises.

5. Link your CTA to a dedicated landing page.

This may seem obvious to you, but you’d be surprised how many marketers don’t create dedicated landing pages for their offers. CTAs are meant to send visitors to a landing page where they can receive a specific offer.

So, instead of directing visitors to your homepage, where they might be met with a variety of content and choices, a dedicated landing page focuses solely on one offer — like a free trial or an exclusive report. This focus ensures visitors know exactly what to expect and how to proceed.

It’s bad practice to use CTAs to drive people to your homepage. Even if your CTA is about your brand or product, you should still send them to a targeted landing page that includes an opt-in form.

For instance, if you have a CTA promoting a “Free SEO Audit,” the connected landing page should immediately offer that audit through a simple and prominent form, rather than making users navigate through a general home interface.

If you want to learn more about building and promoting high-converting landing pages, download our ebook on optimizing landing pages for conversions.

6. Get your sales team involved.

Remember when I talked about lead scoring? Well, it isn’t exactly doable without your sales team’s input. How will you know what qualifies a lead for sales without knowing if your defined SQLs are successfully sold?

Your marketing and sales teams need to be aligned on the definitions and the process of moving a lead from MQL to SQL to opportunity before you even begin to capture leads.

Be open to evolving your relationship with sales and how you guide leads along your funnel. Your definitions will likely need to be refined over time — just make sure everyone involved is up-to-date. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform is an excellent way to close the gap between your marketers and salespeople.

Marketers can get the tools needed to handle lead generation campaigns and add new leads to the database, while sales teams can take it from there to qualify, contact, and turn these leads into customers — all from the same place.

In any case, having sales teams actively involved in your lead generation strategy is what’s most important here. Their job is to determine what leads have high-conversion potential and nurture these leads until they turn into potential customers.

For example, a car dealership’s billboard might be enough to draw you into the lot, but it probably won’t convince you to buy a car just yet — that’s where a good salesman comes in.

7. Use social media strategically.

While marketers typically think of social media as top-of-the-funnel marketing, it can still be a helpful and low-cost source for lead generation, as shared in the lead gen strategies above.

Start by adding links directly to the landing pages of high-performing offers within your Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and other social media posts.

Tell visitors that you’re sending them to a landing page. That way, you’re setting expectations.

You can also do a lead generation analysis of your blog to determine which posts generate the most leads and then make a point of regularly linking social media posts to them.

Another way to generate leads from social media is to run a contest. Contests are fun and engaging for your followers and can also teach you a ton about your audience. It’s a win-win.

Read our step-by-step guide for growing your email list using social media contests, which covers everything from choosing a platform to picking a winner.

8. Leverage your partnerships.

When it comes to lead generation, co-marketing can be powerful. If your team works with partner companies, put your heads together and create some mutually beneficial offers.

“On the Content Offers team at HubSpot, we run campaigns with partner companies that have a similar target audience and brand values to create and promote gated content like ebooks, reports, and templates,” says Jasmine Fleming, a marketing manager at HubSpot.

Fleming says both HubSpot and our partners generate leads with the offer, and that “co-marketing offers have the potential to generate significantly more leads than a content piece created by one company alone.”

9. Remain flexible and constantly iterate.

Your lead generation strategy needs to be as dynamic as the people you’re targeting. Trends change, behaviors shift, opinions morph, and so should your lead gen marketing.

Use A/B split testing to see what CTAs perform best, which landing pages convert better, and which copy captures your target audience. Experiment with layout changes, design, UX, content, and advertising channels until you find what works.

Lead Generation Statistics

HubSpot surveyed over 1,700 global marketing professionals and compiled all the findings into the 2025 State of Marketing Report. Here are some lead generation and conversion statistics from this report:

Only 35% of U.S. marketers have a clear understanding of who their target audience is.
Approximately 41% of marketers describe their marketing strategy as effective.
38.92% of marketers say the leads they get are high-quality, and 33.14% describe their leads as “very high quality.”
71.29% of brands are trying to reach millennials aged 28-43 with their lead generation strategies, with 34.68% saying this group is also the most difficult to reach with marketing content.
Generating traffic, generating leads, and driving purchases are the top three challenges marketers faced in 2024.
45% of marketers say that basic demographic information (name, age, gender, location, etc.) is the most helpful data to have on their target audience.
34.49% of companies leverage email marketing, an effective lead generation channel, in their overall marketing strategy.
69.56% of marketers use Facebook in their marketing strategy, followed by Instagram (60.31%) and YouTube (58.77%).

Lead Conversion Statistics

23.31% of marketers say their website (or SEO) generated the most ROI for their businesses in 2024, closely followed by social media shopping tools, email marketing, and paid social media content.
Of all the media formats, 23.89% of marketers say short-form videos generated the most ROI for their businesses in 2024, and 20.12% of them plan to invest the most in this media format in 2025.
Sales, social engagements, and web traffic are the top three metrics marketers use to measure the effectiveness of their content marketing strategies.
53.95% of marketers say that Facebook is the social media channel that generated the most ROI, followed by Instagram (42.77%).

Lead Generation Trends & Benchmarks

So you’re getting web traffic and generating leads. But how are you doing compared to other companies in your industry?

Read on to discover what other marketers are doing with lead generation in 2025, along with important stats to consider.

Content repurposing is in vogue.

HubSpot State of Marketing Report 2025 found that 45.66% of marketers usually repurpose the same marketing content across various social media channels. Repurposing content is a great way to reach your target audience on different platforms without having to spend time tailoring content to each one.

Micro-influencers yield better results than mega-influencers.

49.90% of marketers say their companies worked with social media content creators/influencers in 2024. Of all the categories of influencers, 45.16% say that micro-influencers (10,000–99,999 followers/subscribers) helped them achieve the most success in 2024.

While 52.51% of brands say working with smaller creators is less expensive, 43.24% of them say that they prefer smaller influencers because they give brands access to more niche, tight-knit communities.

Content marketing helps drive leads.

Marketers also report that content marketing has helped them successfully generate demand and leads over the past 12 months.

To get in on this trend, read this helpful blog post on creating content for different stages of the buyer’s journey.

Grow Better With Lead Generation

Now that you know more about how to generate leads for your business, I recommend you try HubSpot’s free lead generation tool. Use it to add simple conversion assets to your site and see what content prompts visitors to convert.

The basics I’ve gone over in this blog post are just the beginning. Keep creating great offers, CTAs, landing pages, and forms — and promote them in multi-channel environments.

Be in close touch with your sales team to make sure you’re handing off high-quality leads on a regular basis.

Last but not least, never stop testing. The more you test every step of your inbound lead generation process, the more you’ll improve lead quality and increase revenue.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Inside the B2B Marketing Funnel — Everything I Know as a Marketer

Alex Sventeckis — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

If it feels like the “B2B marketing funnel” concept has been around forever, you’re not far off.

In 1898, advertising pioneer Elias St. Elmo Lewis created the AIDA model, laying the foundation for the funnel we marketers use every day. While the idea of selling something to someone is as old as humanity, the modern funnel framework helps standardize — and improve — a buyer’s experience.

What does it take to build a funnel? And how do you know it’s working? Let’s join other marketing experts and find out.

Table of Contents

What is the B2B marketing funnel?
B2B Marketing Funnel Stats
B2B Marketing Funnel Stages
How to Create a B2B Marketing Funnel
B2B Marketing Funnel Example

What is the B2B marketing funnel?

The B2B marketing funnel is a framework that charts the journey a business-to-business buyer takes to purchase a product or service. It gives marketers a structure on how they understand their audiences’ needs and then position content and experiences to meet those needs.

Typically, selling to businesses usually takes much more time, requires more complexity, and involves more buyers and sellers than consumers require. You might see more of a funnel take shape with larger consumer purchases, like cars or housing. But, people aren’t often meeting in committees for weeks to buy paper towels or ground beef.

In a B2B selling process, you’re managing more user needs and touch points. That’s where the marketing funnel framework helps standardize a company’s approach.

It defines specific stages and the activities that nurture potential buyers at each stage. Over time, data and feedback help you optimize your funnel to deliver more compelling buying experiences — and help close more deals.

B2B Marketing Funnel Stats

The B2B buying committee grew to an average of 11 members in 2024 — with some as large as 20 buyers or more. (The Drum)
Over 43% of marketers noted that focusing on the customer and their experience with your brand became more important this past year. (HubSpot)
34% of marketers say that Millennials (age 28-43) are the most difficult audience to reach with marketing content. Right behind them is Gen Z. (HubSpot)
Top marketing trends teams are currently exploring (HubSpot)

Using social media DMs (direct messages) for customer service.
Creating content that reflects your brand’s values (e.g., social responsibility)
User-generated content.
Brand content bylined by or featuring industry experts (e.g., blogs, videos, media with first-hand expertise from your brand).

90% of marketers report their experiences are at least somewhat personalized, with moderate or serious increases in sales coming from personalization. (HubSpot)
Email marketing remains the highest-performing channel for 42% of B2B marketers, just behind in-person events and webinars. (Content Marketing Institute)
Email marketing reigns supreme, with 34% of marketers using it in their strategies. (HubSpot)
Website/blog/SEO (search engine optimization) is returning the biggest ROI for more marketers. (HubSpot)
67% of B2B marketing teams say they make top-of-funnel content the most often. (Databox)
65% of B2B buyers say short-form content like blog posts and infographics is the most engaging. (DemandGen Report)
56% of marketers say their biggest hurdles in measuring content success are the difficulty attributing ROI to content efforts and accurately tracking customer journeys. (Content Marketing Institute)

B2B Marketing Funnel Stages

The stage names may be different, but the intent is the same: to lay out a path for a prospect to go from unknown to sold. Let’s see what’s happening each step of the way.

I’ve asked several marketers to weigh in here and share marketers’ most common pitfalls in funnel design and deployment.

Top of the Funnel (Awareness Stage)

You may see this stage called “top-of-funnel,” “TOFU,” or “awareness,” but it’s all the same thing. This stage marks the beginning of your prospect’s journey with your company’s marketing.

The goal of TOFU is to help the lead realize they have a problem and start looking into solving that problem.

For instance, managing content teams usually means managing a bunch of hyperlinks and floating deadlines. Perhaps you’ve used a spreadsheet or a super-long Google Doc to do that. Marketing content should show that this pain exists and explain why you can fix it for these stressed-out content teams.

Remember: In a B2B marketing funnel, you have several buyers working in concert within a company. You need a few different appeals to reach buyers, living the pain, managing the pain, and deciding on spending money to solve the pain.

Middle of the Funnel (Consideration Stage)

At the middle of the funnel (MOFU), leads are evaluating different vendors, comparing solutions, and seeking educational content. They want to know their options and figure out the best one for their business.

The goal of MOFU is to stand out from the competition as the best option for your buyer. That doesn’t mean just saying you’re “the best.” Rather, it’s about showing that you’re able, willing, and qualified to solve their problem.

Eugene Mischenko, President of the E-Commerce & Digital Marketing Association, feels that MOFU content often misses that problem-solving mark.

“One common mistake is failing to provide targeted, value-driven content that aligns with the prospect's needs and decision-making criteria,” said Mischenko.

Mischenko notes that marketers either bombard prospects with overly promotional content or neglect them altogether, assuming the initial lead magnet or sales pitch is enough to push them down the funnel.

“This can create a disconnect and leave prospects without the information they need to make an informed decision,” Mischenko says.

It’s that balance between too much and too little that Mischenko cautions marketers to assess deeply.

“The key to addressing the challenges of the middle funnel is understanding that this stage requires education, trust-building, and alignment with the prospect's needs,” he said. “Providing tailored, insightful content and maintaining consistent, non-intrusive communication are essential to moving prospects toward a confident purchasing decision.”

Sai Sathish, a B2B marketing leader at ConsaInsights, shares a similar sentiment.

“The key is understanding that B2B buyers need evidence-based reassurance and personalized support during evaluation. Success comes from mapping content and interactions to specific buyer concerns, maintaining consistent engagement without overwhelming prospects, and providing clear value demonstrations aligned with their business objectives.”

Sathish notes that making it an educational process leads to better outcomes: “By focusing on educational content that addresses specific pain points and offering tools that help prospects build internal business cases, marketers can transform the evaluation stage from a bottleneck into a powerful conversion driver.”

Bottom of the Funnel (Decision Stage)

At the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), leads are narrowing their options and are looking for proof they’re making the right choice. Your marketing content should provide them with satisfaction in their selection and help them make any final decisions internally.

Noel Griffith, CMO of SupplyGem, says that marketers can get ahead of themselves at this stage and to stay vigilant on prospects’ needs.

“Many marketers assume that once a lead reaches this point, the heavy lifting is done, and they focus solely on closing the sale. The mistake lies in neglecting to address lingering objections or failing to provide the final reassurance prospects need to commit,” said Griffith.

Griffith says the decision stage isn‘t just about pushing for the close — it’s about providing clarity and trust. “By addressing objections head-on and offering personalized support, you can turn hesitations into commitments and drive stronger results at the end of the funnel,” Griffith says.

Offering clarity helps you convert leads and equip sales to close the deal and turn prospects into customers.

Purchase and Retention

Sales usually handles closing deals and handling negotiations, contracts, and procurement. But, marketers can support this process and provide content to nurture the relationship once the deal is done through:

Onboarding materials to start the relationship on the right foot.
Quarterly best practices webinars to help customers optimize their usage.
Case studies on premium features to enable sales to upsell customers.

While customers might not go through the marketing funnel again, you can transform them into brand advocates who help champion your product to others.

How to Create a B2B Marketing Funnel

Ready to get your marketing funnel up and running? Let’s walk through the steps you need to get started.

Step 1: Learn about your buyer and their journey.

If you don’t know who wants to buy your product or service, how are you going to market to them? A well-constructed marketing funnel can attract all kinds of people, but if you’re grabbing the wrong crowd, you’re wasting time and money.

Start by defining your buyer persona. It’s different from a B2C persona, where you’re researching demographic data like age and income level or interests. But, understanding your buyer at the company level becomes key to making it work:

What industry are they in? And how much revenue are they generating?
What are their pain points? What’s hurting their business?
What challenges can you solve directly?
Who makes the final decision? And who informs that decision?

Chat with sales and customer support team members, too. Find out what common objections and questions pop up during the sales cycle. That information verifies your persona development.

Step 2: Create your funnel.

With a buying audience in hand, you then need to outline the process that buyer undergoes during their buying journey. The key stages in this process become the map to form your funnel.

Most often, you’ll find this journey breaks down into TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU. From there, define how you’ll know when a lead moves into each funnel segment. For example, a lead that downloads a research report and visits your pricing page is likely ready to move to BOFU and a sales conversation. These “marketing-qualified leads” (MQLs) are a big part of measuring funnel success.

Step 3: Make the right content.

The average B2B buyer engages with 3-7 pieces of marketing content before even talking to the sales team. You need to get these buyers the right information at the right time to make an impact.

What does that look like in the marketing funnel? Typically, content breaks down like:

TOFU — Blog posts, LinkedIn thought leadership, videos focused on awareness (who we are and what we do).
MOFU — Webinars, case studies, whitepapers, comparison guides, and emails.
BOFU — Pricing pages, testimonials, and interactive elements like ROI calculators.

Timing matters. If your buyer is just starting their journey, they probably won’t sit through an hour-long webinar on part of your solution. Be thoughtful about when you deliver these items; don’t overwhelm them, but don’t ghost them, either.

Pro tip: We call that process "defining your content cadence.” Check out our post on the content cadence to set up yours.

Step 4: Craft your distribution strategy.

You can have the best blog post ever. But, if it’s not front and center for your buyer, it’s useless. You need a strategy to distribute your content appropriately.

Part of this process is defining your marketing channels. Our recent research shows that short-form video channels like Reels and YouTube Shorts, influencer marketing, and SEO remain the top targeted channels. B2B marketers are also focused on their websites, blog channels, and email newsletters.

Also, assess your split between organic and paid opportunities. SEO drives organic search traffic, but with AI changing how Google and other search engines distribute content, it’s worth thinking about paid advertising — especially for TOFU content. Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads are two great spots for B2B marketers to start.

Step 5: Set up lead tracking and automation.

Will these strategies work? How will you know? Before you fire off your first content piece, prepare to monitor your funnel.

A customer relationship management (CRM) tool can help you track leads in your funnel and see where they might get stuck. Any tool should give you key metrics like traffic, lead conversion rates, and cost per acquisition (CPA).

Consider how you can use automation to help you do this more effectively. For example, you can schedule a sequence of emails to send to a prospect when they give you an email address. Don’t bombard them (I’ve seen sequences reach into the dozens of emails), but give them enough useful information to decide on moving to the next step.

Pro tip: HubSpot’s free lead management and tracking software helps you organize, prioritize, and engage prospects from one place.

Step 6: Align marketing and sales.

Hopefully, you had helpful conversations with sales on what pain points and objections buyers raise. But, alignment doesn’t end there — in fact, it’s only begun.

Marketing should deliver high-quality leads, and sales should close deals. Aligning each department’s goals, strategies, and tactics can lead to 24% faster growth rates and 27% faster profit growth while strengthening your teams. How do you align?

Collaborate on defining MQLs and sales-qualified leads (SQLs), so everyone agrees when a lead is warm and ready.
Share data using CRM dashboards where everyone can see lead interactions.
Check in every 2-4 weeks to refine your processes. Meet often earlier and scale back as your funnel takes hold.

Communicate on where the lead flow is getting stuck and think through options. For example, sales might get colder leads than expected. Marketing can create more MOFU content to share success stories and get prospects more engaged for sales.

Step 7: Optimize your funnel.

You’ll take the best first guess when you build your funnel. But, times change, buyers change, and assumptions will be wrong. You’ll need to iterate over time, using data and feedback to refine your stages, content, and distribution methods.

Optimize conversion rates by split-testing your landing pages, emails, and calls to action.
Identify drop-off points where your leads disengage and leave your funnel.
Survey your lost leads to see why they didn’t buy and what you could do better.

For instance, say your webinar series isn’t leading to enough product demo requests. Maybe your webinar isn’t compelling enough. Or, perhaps there’s not enough follow-up happening with attendees. Approach this process like a scientist: hypothesize, test, and iterate.

Pro tip: HubSpot can help you track this information and make informed decisions on optimizing. See our latest video on a common challenge: driving leads with blogs.

B2B Marketing Funnel Example

How about an example? In this case, we’ll use my content consulting business and the funnel I run to reach business buyers.

Primarily, I focus on content creation, professional writing services, and content team consulting, using a background in B2B tech. How do I reach people who need my services?

Audience

I work in B2B, so my target audience includes companies needing high-quality content. That’s not only writing long-form content but also supporting agencies offering content as a service.

Based on that, I researched different industries and verticals for market opportunities. Then, I establish which services they want and how I reach them:

Let’s say we have a prospect: a B2B SaaS company looking to scale content production in-house. Note that a B2B SaaS company likely has a few decision-makers involved:

The person most responsible for content, like a Director of Marketing.
Their boss, like a VP of Marketing or a CMO.
And, potentially, their boss, the CEO.

How do they proceed through my marketing funnel?

Awareness Stage

I need to make all those decision-makers aware of my services and pique their interest. At the awareness stage, or TOFU, I’ll do that with content like:

An optimized blog post about content as a service.
A LinkedIn post highlighting my blog’s main points and expanding with extra research.
An episode of my short-form video series on the common mistakes people make when farming out content production.

I’m tracking website traffic and social media engagement to see who gets involved and how deeply they engage.

Consideration Stage

As prospects notice me, they want to know more. They also want to see if I know my stuff.

For our sample B2B SaaS prospect, content at this stage could be:

A case study reflecting how outsourced content saved another tech company money and time while getting better results.
A subscription to my biweekly email newsletter, where I share blog posts and content tips and tricks.
A live Q&A where I walk through common content pitfalls.

Sometimes, I see content overlap between the TOFU and MOFU stages. Prospects don’t always have clear awareness of their challenges, and it takes additional content, prodding, and time to help them see.

I’m also tracking metrics like email opens and clicks and meetings booked to see what’s clicking with people.

Decision Stage

Once I’ve grabbed their interest and shown them what I can do, I need to win them over. That can happen in several ways:

A free consultation session to review and improve a lackluster content piece.
A calculator to develop a custom pricing package.
Testimonials from other B2B SaaS buyers sharing how I help their business grow.

I’ll often start with one small project, like a set of blog posts, before expanding into larger services. Services on retainer also usually work well for my business.

Naturally, I’m (very carefully) watching conversion rates and proposal acceptances. I also like to see where pricing ends up, so I can adjust prices accordingly.

From there, it’s about closing deals and keeping clients happy with high-quality work. That sets me up for nurturing clients and expanding my services in time.

Mastering the B2B Marketing Funnel

I believe the funnel is here to stay, even as tactics and channels change. While you may run into different names or segmentation, the purpose stays the same. Your customer is walking their path. It’s your job to show up and guide them. Use the B2B marketing funnel model to serve as your guide to making that happen.

CPG Design: A Look at Viral Trends + Real-World Examples & Strategies

Cyan Zhong — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Graza. Fishwife. Brightland. These brands represent some of my favorite CPG designs. Marked by bright colors, bold fonts, and creative illustrations, this style of packaging is now moving beyond specialty stores and into big retail aisles.

“If you walk into almost every major retail chain grocery store in the U.S., there would be at least one product that we designed, if not two,” says Mike McVicar, co-founder of Gander, a Brooklyn-based design studio.

To help you create catchy consumer packaged goods (CPG) designs, I’ve gathered insights from Mike that you won’t want to miss — as well as CPG design tips and real-life CPG branding examples to serve as inspiration.

Table of Contents

The CPG Design Pendulum
The Downside to a Trending Style
Differentiating CPG Brands Through Design
5 CPG Branding Examples
7 CPG Design Tips for Creating Attractive Packaging

The CPG Design Pendulum

In the late 90s and early 2000s, good design wasn’t a priority for consumer packaged goods (CPG).

Packages with call-outs and stickers that scream “33% less fat” were the mainstream, a style that Mike endearingly described as “over the top, ugly, and kind of extra.”

When the 2010s rolled around, branding design went to the other extreme — the blanding trend.

Packages became too minimalistic and generic, often featuring sans serif fonts and pastel colors.

And now with the rise of social shopping, many brands are catering to the dopamine-charged, color-forward Instagram aesthetic.

It’s also a renaissance of the Y2K style, with bold colors and playful textures.

“The pendulum has swung toward ‘it can be fun again!’” Mike said.

Big brands love this trend, too.

From Jell-O to 7UP, they’re redesigning to dial up the dopamine and creating a visual identity that spreads fun and joy.

The Downside to a Trending Style

The problem with this trend?

It has led some companies to prioritize “doing it for the ‘gram" when they come to Gander.

“You find brands that just have very decorative design or only feel interesting aesthetically. It won't pay off for them in the long run, or even in the short run,” Mike said.

It’s problematic for brands to emulate what everyone else is doing, or recreating a trend, because:

You’re assuming that someone else's solution is your solution.
You’ll be easily replaceable.
You’re not focusing on communicating your own brand values and differentiation to customers.

He also doesn’t believe the current dopamine packaging trend will stay for that much longer.

It’s a pendulum, after all.

Differentiating CPG Brands Through Design

Back in 2015, Gander worked on the rebranding for Banza, a pasta made from chickpeas.

Contrary to the popular style on the pasta aisle back then (think Barilla’s simplistic blue packaging), Gander went for a bright and expressive style.

Source

Banza was one of the early brands to make a bold statement with its CPG packaging, which impacted the food industry as a whole.

“Our ethos was to take an alternative food, and turn it into a CPG brand that has subverted what was expected for gluten-free pasta,” Mike said.

And it worked.

Banza went from anonymity to one of the top pasta brands in the U.S. It’s now in 25K retail locations nationally, including Target, Walmart, and Costco.

Since then, Gander’s helped many other CPG brands get on big retail shelves. Graza, whose design they helped build from scratch, hit $48M+ in revenue and can be found in 13+ locations.

Source

Looking back at their big wins, Mike gave three simple tips for any brand that wants to stand out through design:

Start with your story and history as a brand instead of following trends blindly.
Understand who your customers are, what kind of world they live in aesthetically, and what’s pleasing to them.
Look at your competition and see what opportunities align with your product and company that others aren’t doing yet.

5 CPG Branding Examples

1. NotCo

Source

NotCo is a food company using its AI Giuseppe software to create plant-based alternatives to animal products like milk and yogurt. Their products such as NotMilk, NotBurgers, and NotIceCream are on the shelves of over 3,000 stores across the U.S., including Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Amazon.

What I like: NotCo uses vibrant colors and playful graphic illustrations to make plant-based alternatives fun and healthy. I also like the minimalist designs on their packaging which look easy to the eye and reflect their “less is more” ethos. They are also strongly committed to using sustainable packaging for their products, which appeals to eco-conscious consumers.

2. Olipop

Source

Olipop is a U.S.-based beverage company that positions itself as a healthy alternative to soda. Its ingredients include plant fibers, prebiotics, and botanicals, which support a healthy gut. Olipop’s natural ingredients make them a favorite among health-conscious consumers, generating over $200 million in 2023.

What I like: There’s a lot to love about Olipop’s design. The bright color schemes and cheeky fruit illustrations are an attention-grabber. The product also highlights its prebiotic benefits and reduced sugar content to attract customers looking for tasty soda alternatives.

3. Chomps

Source

Chomps is a snack brand that makes delicious, healthy meat sticks. They are famous for their Grass-Fed Beef and Turkey Jerky Sticks, which they make with sustainably sourced ingredients. Each stick has 10-12g of protein and zero grams of sugar, perfect for fitness enthusiasts. You can find Chomps in over 20,000 stores in the U.S.

What I like: Chomp’s eye-catching packaging has bold colors and fonts that pop at first glance. It communicates its unique selling points such as “100% Grass Fed & Finished,” “Non-GMO” and “Gluten-free” which resonate with healthy-conscious customers looking for a healthy snack.

4. Hiya Health

Source

Hiya is a health and wellness company that specializes in daily children's vitamins and supplements. It was founded in 2019 by two new dads who discovered other vitamins contained sugar, artificial ingredients, or other gummy additives. They use essential vitamins and a blend of fruit and veggies to make their products.

What I like: I love Hiya’s simple design, bright colors, and fun illustrations, which capture the attention of parents looking for healthy daily nutrition for their kids. The packaging also displays the product's benefits and sustainably sourced ingredients, making it easy for parents to buy on the spot. Hiya generated $103 million in net sales in 2024.

5. Bobbie

Source

Bobbie is an infant formula company that sells organic and sustainable baby formulas. They make their formulas with milk from grass-fed cows and are the U.S.’s only mom-founded and mom-led baby formula company. The company was founded in 2019 and surpassed $100 million in revenue in 2022.

What I like: Bobbie’s choice of soft color schemes on its designs creates a soothing effect and conveys a sense of trust and reassurance for parents. Its unique selling proposition, “complete nutrition modeled after breast milk,” is prominent on the packaging which would surely resonate with parents seeking a more natural way to feed their babies.

7 CPG Design Tips for Creating Attractive Packaging

Taking Mike’s tips (above) and expanding on them with some best practices and strategies, here are seven tips to achieve next-level CPG branding.

Tip 1: Understand your target audience.

Doing this lets you tailor your CPG designs and messaging to resonate emotionally.

Think about who are you targeting. Where can you find them? What are their needs, interests, values, and concerns? For instance, Millennials might prefer eco-friendly packaging with minimalist designs and GenZ might want eco-friendly and clear nutritional information.

Real-world example: Unilever’s Dove is an example of a CPG brand that knows its audience well. In 2018, Unilever identified a growing demand for elevated sensory experience, moisturizing benefits, modern design, transparency in ingredients, and sustainability in its products. In response, Dove revamped its personal care packaging to emphasize these values.

The result? Dove recorded double-digit sales growth compared to the previous year. Also, 74% of customers preferred to buy the new design according to Design Analytics.

Source

Pro tip: Gather valuable insights about your audience using surveys, review platforms, online forums, and social media, and then use that to inform your design strategy.

Tip 2: Define your brand identity.

What do Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Nike have in common? A unique, recognizable brand identity that lets customers associate their products with trust, quality, and consistency. A strong brand identity makes your product stand out.

Whether your brand is playful, innovative, luxurious, or sustainable, your design elements — such as logo, colors, typography, imagery, and messaging — must consistently reinforce this identity. I believe this will help you build brand recognition and loyalty.

Real-world example: Take McDonald’s. Its golden arches and red and yellow color palette align with the brand’s image as a welcoming, family-friendly, and reliable choice, creating a sense of familiarity and trust with customers.

Pro tip: Develop brand guidelines to keep your design elements consistent across all branding materials.

Tip 3: Make the design functional.

While eye-catching package designs may capture attention, I’ve found that customers prioritize functionality when choosing a product — and for good reason.

Packages that are easy to open, reseal, transport, and store enhance the overall consumer experience and make your product more desirable. As such, people are more likely to become repeat customers and promote your product if it’s more convenient.

Real-world example: An excellent example is Ziploc bags, which I have used a lot. The brand became a household name thanks to its simple, innovative resealable bags, which keep food fresh, prevent spills, and are easy to reuse. In fact, it’s now a generic name for all reclosable plastic bags. (That’s when you know you’re made it!)

Pro tip: Balance aesthetics with function. Test your packaging to be sure it meets customer expectations.

Tip 4: Tell a compelling story.

A good story always captures attention, evokes emotion, and builds a meaningful connection with your audience. And the first step to telling an interesting brand story is to know your why.

As Simon Sinek famously said, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Your story could be about your founder’s vision, the unique origins of your ingredients, or your mission to create a better world.

Whatever it is, I’d advise you to use elements like handwritten fonts, founder stories, or imagery that reflect your journey and humanize your brand. This takes your product from just another item on the shelves into something that builds connection with your audience.

Real-world example: Consider Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Its packaging includes a Vermont landscape (where it was founded), a forward-facing cow, and a scoop of ice cream. The designs also feature bright colors, handwritten fonts, cheeky illustrations, and pun-based names, which fit the playful brand identity.

Source

Pro tip: When shaping your brand story, think about how you want your audience to feel when they use your product.

Tip 5: Incorporate minimalism.

By removing unnecessary clutter, your brand’s messaging and unique benefits become the main focus. From experience, using ample white space, subtle colors, clear typography, and high-quality images in your packaging gives your brand a modern, professional, and premium feel.

Real-world example: RXBAR is a great example of this kind of “less is more” design. They also take their minimalism to the next level by using it to communicate ingredient transparency as well.

Pro tip: Less is more, but don’t strip away too much. You can highlight essential information, like your product benefits, ingredients, instructions, or unique selling proposition, to convince customers on the spot.

Tip 6: Promote sustainability.

There’s a growing wave of environmental consciousness globally, especially with the younger generation. According to Flexcon, 70% of consumers choose products based on the sustainability of their packaging.

Using eco-friendly materials, reducing waste, optimizing resources, and promoting recycling or reuse are effective ways to showcase your brand’s commitment to a sustainable future. I also recommend you add clear eco-friendly labels to your packaging to connect with customers who value sustainability. This will enhance your brand reputation and position your product as a more responsible choice in the market.

Real-world example: Clif Bar & Company is an example of a CPG brand committed to sustainability by using eco-conscious packaging. One of its objectives is to ensure 100% of its plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025.

Source

Pro tip: Consider offering a discount or incentive for customers who return or reuse packaging to demonstrate your brand's dedication to sustainability.

Tip 7: Test, iterate, experiment.

Design is a continuous process. So let me remind you: don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. Conduct market research, analyze data, and gather feedback from customers.

Testing different packaging materials, sizes, and designs helps discover what works best for your target audience. Refine your packaging based on feedback and market trends to ensure your products align with consumer preferences.

Real-world example: Check out Organic Valley’s redesign. The brand originally used real photos of animals, kids, and farmers on its packaging. However, research showed this didn’t resonate with their consumers as they hoped. So, they overhauled the design. The outcome? A 10% sales increase within six months of launch.

Source

Additionally, customers appreciated the new packaging, praising its farm-scene illustrations and distinctive modern design.

Pro tip: A/B test your packaging designs and materials in real life to make data-driven decisions and to ensure your product drives sales.

Stand Out with CPG Designs that Boost Sales

The right packaging design can significantly increase product awareness, strengthen your brand presence, and drive growth. However, as I’ve illustrated in this post, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to creating CPG designs.

I recommend you start by understanding your target audience and then fine-tuning your brand identity to develop designs that resonate. Strive to balance aesthetics and functionality (I care about this and trust others do as well) to create a product that customers enjoy.

Also, allow your brand story to shine through the product while embracing minimalism and sustainability to align with modern consumer values. Finally, experiment to learn the design that will generate the most sales. After all, that’s the ultimate goal.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2024 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

TikTok Strategy for Brands: Expert Tips

Erin Rodrigue — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

TikTok is proving to be a major marketing heavyweight as more brands leverage the app to find and delight their audience. If you‘re a brand trying to find your footing on TikTok, you’ve come to the right blogger.

I spoke with social media expert Annabelle Nyst, former senior marketing manager for HubSpot‘s brand social channels and current social media content manager G-P.

But before we get into her insight, let’s go over a few things.

Table of Contents

How TikTok Can Help Your Brand
TikTok Marketing Strategies
5 Tips for Building a TikTok Strategy

How TikTok Can Help Your Brand

One of TikTok's most obvious benefits for brands is its ability to boost brand awareness and discovery. As of 2025, TikTok is estimated to have over 2 billion users, which is a lot of people who can potentially see your brand.

Even better, more and more consumers are learning about brands' products and services through the platform. In one of our recent surveys, 47% of consumers prefer discovering new products via short-form videos like TikTok.

TikTok can also help you build a community around your brand. Take Gymshark, a fitness apparel company, for example. The England-based company gained a huge following on the platform by teaming up with micro-influencers, sharing relatable memes, and creating challenges that engaged its audience, fostering community.

The brand faced the challenge of competing with massive brands like Nike and Adidas, both of which have more brand recognition and larger budgets than Gymshark. However, by community building, Gymshark has amassed almost as many followers as both competitors.

Furthermore, if you‘re looking to tap into Gen Z, a generation with significant buying power, then there’s no question your brand should be on TikTok. According to Statista, 78% of Gen Z social media users in the U.S. use TikTok.

TikTok Marketing Strategies

I‘ve seen brands use various strategies to market themselves on TikTok. Here are a few successful strategies I’ve noticed.

Influencer Marketing

When TikTok gained major traction in 2020, brands struggled to adapt to the creator-driven platform because TikTok users value authenticity and content from real people more than brands.

So, like Gymshark, brands began collaborating with influencers, and to this day, it‘s one of the platform’s most tried-and-true strategies. Influencers can humanize and introduce your brand to their audience, thus expanding your reach.

If you‘re working on a tighter budget, consider working with micro-influencers, creators with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. They’re typically more affordable than macro-influencers and celebrities.

They also tend to have a tighter-knit community and stronger bond with their followers than influencers with larger followings, so they'll be more likely to foster community around your brand.

Tutorials

Posting tutorials is a great way to establish authority and trust in your brand. They show that your brand is knowledgeable in its industry and can highlight your products' many uses.

ColourPop, for example, often posts short tutorials showing TikTok users how to achieve unique looks using the brand‘s products.

Trending Audio

Of course, TikTok wouldn't be TikTok without its trending audio. If you didn’t know, TikTok allows users to repurpose songs, phrases, and other sounds and incorporate them into their videos. Brands often join in the fun by connecting the audio to their products or services.

Remember, not every trend fits every brand, but we'll touch on that later.

Alright, let's get into these expert tips.

1. Know where your audience hangs out.

It‘s important to know where your audience hangs out online. For some brands, this includes TikTok, but for others, it does not. For instance, if you sell retirement homes, you won’t get much traction with the platform's predominantly younger audience.

“TikTok is obviously all the rage right now, and it makes sense that brands want to jump in. But before you do so, make sure to take time to ask the right questions: Does it make sense for our brand to show up on TikTok? Is our target audience there?” advises Nyst.

If you're debating whether to promote your brand on TikTok, remember to base your decision on the most important factor: your target audience.

2. Find your “why.”

Getting started on TikTok can feel overwhelming, especially when you don't have a goal to work towards.

Think of your goal as your compass. It influences the videos you make, the topics you cover, and your overall strategy. You don't need to have a specific goal right off the bat — and it will likely change over time — but you should have an idea of the general direction you want to go.

Here are a few common goals:

Build an engaged community
Increase brand awareness
Improve brand image
Promote products
Generate website traffic
Expand your audience
Provide customer service
Educate your audience

It‘s just as important to track your progress. Look at several key performance indicators (KPIs), such as profile views, video views, video likes, and follower growth, to see if you’re inching closer to your goals.

3. Determine how you'll provide value.

The next step is determining how you want to present your brand on TikTok. For Nyst, this starts with answering a simple question: how will you provide value to users?

She told me, “Asking this question upfront will help you establish your purpose for being on TikTok and what your brand's presence might look like on the platform.”

Remember what I said about Gymshark? The brand gained serious traction by providing value and entertaining its fans with fitness-related challenges, skits, and clothing hauls.

Because TikTok is quirky by nature, it creates a misconception that “serious” brands don‘t have a place on the platform. This isn’t true. However, you may have to approach your brand from a different angle.

For example, the Washington Post has raked up over 1 million followers on TikTok. If you haven‘t seen their videos, you might expect serious content. Instead, you’ll find comedic skits about the latest breaking news.

The goal is to provide value in an engaging way. This is achievable for many brands — serious or not.

4. Save time by creating a content calendar.

TikTok has billions of active users and millions of conversations on the platform daily. Plus, trends come and go rapidly. In short, TikTok can get overwhelming. For this reason, Nyst recommends planning a content calendar.

“Things move quickly on TikTok, and gaining new followers often depends on having a bank of existing content on your profile. So, think ahead to how many videos a week you'd like to post and what kind of topics you'll focus on,” Nyst says.

That said, TikTok is a trends-driven platform, so make sure to leave space in your content calendar to jump on trends and create time-sensitive content.

You also need to decide how often you should post on TikTok. Nyst favors quality over quantity, advising brands to aim for 1-2 videos per week. In other words, consistency is key.

Another upside to posting consistently is that the more you post, the more insights you gain from your viewers. This will help you understand what topics and video styles they respond to the most.

Want to know the best day and time to publish your videos on TikTok? Check out this helpful guide.

5. Insert your voice strategically.

When you first join TikTok, it's tempting to join every conversation, hop on every trend, and participate in every challenge. However, Nyst says brands need to set guardrails and be strategic with their content.

“There are so many conversations happening at once on TikTok, and they're changing all the time. It's important to remember that your brand doesn't need to be a part of every single conversation – so try to pick the ones where it makes sense to insert your voice,” Nyst told me.

She adds, “Sure, the latest dance trend might be exciting, but can your brand actually bring something new, unique, or valuable to the table?”

Not every trend or challenge will align with your brand or its messaging. On top of that, if you can‘t add a new or unique spin, it’s better to skip it entirely. But don't worry about missing out — trends on TikTok are a dime a dozen, and another one is right around the corner.

Back To You

TikTok remains a viable (and exciting) marketing platform. Before jumping in, make sure that TikTok makes sense for your brand. Once you're on the platform, focus on consistently targeting your audience with valuable content.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Consultant behind Meow Wolf, Blue Man Group shares lessons on joy, playing, and branded experiences

cdelprincipe@hubspot.com (Curt del Principe) — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:14:38 GMT

Pop quiz! What do Meow Wolf, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Disney Imagineering, and Ringling Bros. have in common? They’ve all sought out today’s guest as a consultant.

But today’s master is… actually not a master of marketing at all. In fact, he’s never worked a day in marketing. But he literally wrote the book on interactive performance.

And as marketing leaders pour big budgets into branded experiences, live events, and interactive brand activations, you’re going to want to hear what he has to say.

Name: Jeff Wirth, Co-founder of the Interactive PlayLab

Job: Designs, directs, and consults on interactive experiences, virtual world applications, and live immersive fiction

Claim to fame: Did you see the list of companies he’s worked with?!

Fun fact: Started his career as a clown for the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus

Lesson 1: Begin at the end.

When designing your interactive experience, Wirth recommends first thinking about what you want participants to walk away with. No, not a shopping bag full of merch. Think more philosophically.

“What do you want people to understand after the activation that they didn’t understand before?”

For Meow Wolf or Cirque du Soleil, that might be discovering a childlike sense of wonder. For a brand activation or marketing event, it’ll be… something no less deep, actually.

Sure, you could aim for them to walk away with some product info — if you want them to forget it by the time they get back to their car. Truly memorable experiences aim for something more profound.

Wirth says step 2 is asking: “How do we make it so we don’t tell them what to understand? We create a context within which they have an opportunity to discover that.”

That context is the skeleton for your event or experience design.

But Wirth emphasizes that this must only be an opportunity — trying to force a participant to a specific conclusion is, to his mind, both unethical and potentially damaging. Which brings us to Lesson 2.

Lesson 2: Empower your participants to think for themselves.

“Put the priority on the participant’s capacity to think for themselves,” Wirth advises.

As an anti-example, he shares the story of a pharmaceutical company that approached him to create an interactive experience. When Wirth required that the experience present their product among a range of options, the company quickly backed out.

That’s a mistake. Aside from being ethically questionable, railroading a participant will assuredly lead to an experience that is forgettable at best — at worst, it could be harmful to the participant and your brand.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give your participants something to think about. Wirth explains that if you want people to play, you need to give them enough to play with.

What’s more, “you need to give them the experience that they can play and be successful at it.”

In other words, your experience needs to provide enough context that your participants know how to play — and can even feel accomplishment — but not so much that they’re simply following instructions.

Lesson 3: Play is not just for children.

Play can be a powerful component of a live event. But “play” means different things to different people.

You can play a game. You can play around. You can play along. These all have different shades of meaning that affect what your participants are asked to do and what they get out of your event.

You need to decide what type of play serves the context you defined in Lesson 1. For Wirth’s experiences, play means “make-believe for the purpose of empowerment.”

Why make-believe? That’s a hard word to put in front of stakeholders.

“One, you get the opportunity to be more authentic. Because you’re not having to hold the mask that is how you present yourself to society.”

And two? Make-believe gives you “the ability to have deeper empathy for people who are not like you.”

“When you play make-believe, it doesn’t have to be winning and losing. The joy is simply in the making of belief.”

And, as for what a participant walks away with, “joy” is a pretty good bag of merch.

Why Top Performing Teams Use AI Workflow Automation and How You Can Do the Same

Alex Sventeckis — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

“If you build it, they will come” worked well in "Field of Dreams.” But, like a lot of marketers, I took a more cautious (yet still curious) approach toward AI integration.

When ChatGPT first hit the scene, it was exciting to see all the buzz but it left me hungry for more:

What is AI actually good for?
How does it work in a business environment?
And can it save me time, or am I going to rewrite absolutely everything it produces?

Well, like 75% of marketers, I believe AI will become a workplace staple in the next couple of years. And that will have a lot to do with how AI-powered tools help us automate our daily work.

Let’s explore the idea of AI workflow automation and how marketers stand to gain their time and lives back from repetition.

Table of Contents

What is AI workflow automation?
Why use AI workflow automation?
What You Need to Start AI Workflow Automations
How to Implement AI Workflow Automation for Your Team
5 Best AI Tools to Automate Workflows

What is AI workflow automation?

AI workflow automation involves using artificial intelligence tools and resources to make work processes easier and more efficient by handling repetitive tasks, informing decisions, and letting teams focus on higher-impact tasks.

Something to consider in workflow automation is what types of AI can work within your pipeline. Most of the online chatter has focused on generative AI (tools like ChatGPT or Claude).

We’re now seeing agentic AI emerge as a discussion point in company boardrooms. Instead of creating something as generative AI does, agentic AI accomplishes specific tasks autonomously.

You’ll see these subtypes as you explore workflow automation. Each has its uses, and they typically work together to automate workflows. But know that they are designed for slightly different use cases and be aware of it in your planning.

Why use AI workflow automation?

AI is poised to help marketers automate significant chunks of their workflows. And marketers are starting to embrace it: Our research shows that 64% of marketers use AI in some form at work. Yet, only 21% have integrated AI extensively into their workflows. There’s room for growth.

So, why do I think you should join the top 21% of AI-powered marketers?

Saved Time

Our research recently found that marketers using AI save an average of 12.5 hours per week. That’s nearly 26 working days per year. What could your team do with an extra month?

Timesaving benefits vary depending on where you incorporate AI into your processes. For instance, using AI to automate parts of content production can save you time drafting and editing — often the most time-consuming pieces of the process.

I’ll discuss setting goals and objectives of AI workflow automation later, but know that it’s important to identify time-consuming tasks before you integrate AI significantly into your process.

Effective Data-Driven Decisions

Data is drowning marketers. Amid oceans of information, what data matters to your team? And how can you use it to plan your next moves?

I think a key to conducting effective marketing is to find which data is most relevant to your needs and understand how to deploy it. AI is especially attuned to ingest data from the many sources in your organization’s workflow, analyze it for patterns, and deliver actionable insights to make things happen.

Targeting and customer experience personalization are ripe fields for AI disruption.

Imagine AI handling user data collection, process, and insight generation. You receive a list of “here’s what to do next” and can develop and execute campaigns to match.

Real-world example: Yum Brands (which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, among other fast-food stops) is seeing double-digit increases in consumer engagement and more purchases with AI-driven marketing decisions.

Scalability

Demands on marketers’ time and energy are soaring — I know I feel it, and I’m sure you do too. Recent surveys found that over 60% of marketers feel overwhelmed by what their jobs ask of them.

Marketers could always use an extra pair of hands — and that’s now started to include AI hands.

Marketers can use AI to automate repetitive or predictable tasks like data collection and analysis or social media post drafting. Or, AI can use all that data it analyzes to automatically personalize outbound messages, helping you reach people more effectively without manual effort.

AI doesn’t replace the human marketer (I’ll add more on that later), but it does help us do more — even if your marketing budget is stagnating.

What You Need to Start AI Workflow Automations

So, where do you begin? I recommend you give the following points some thought as you plan your AI workflow automation.

Throughout my exploration of AI workflow automation, you’ll hear from fractional CMO Tim Hickle. He’s invested significantly in understanding AI’s role in marketing for companies of many sizes and structures, and he shared a lot of great insight with me.

Team Needs and Pain Points

What’s actually bogging down your team? What tasks frustrate them or suck away their time from the higher-level, strategic work you need done?

Answering those questions takes quantitative and qualitative data. Sit down and ask your team what they feel eats at their time. Their responses won’t be exactly the same, but you’re likely to see patterns emerge. From those patterns, you can define the workflow steps ready for automation.

For instance, when we first explored AI integration, I sat with my content team to hear about their struggles. Each had their own interest, desire, and need for AI, but items like repurposing our long-form work for social media distribution felt time-consuming and frustrating. We could then form a hypothesis that AI integration could help us automate that process.

Pro tip: It’s also good to give yourself a few numbers to help — especially if you need executive buy-in. Have your people time-block their calendars or track using a specific hours-tracking tool (project management tools like Monday have these features built-in). See if their feelings match their actual time spent. You can then quantify the impact AI tools might have on your team’s time and productivity.

Your Tech Infrastructure

Before you commit dollars to new AI tools, understand what systems you’re running now. You need to know how your current selection of digital systems and tools (aka, your tech stack) can support AI integration.

For example, like many marketers, I deal with a lot of unstructured data in my workday. Emails, phone calls, meetings, social media comments, that random Powerpoint my coworker sent me a month ago — it’s all information I need to do my job, but it’s scattered across multiple platforms. For me to benefit from automated workflows, I must understand which of these tools affect my challenges the most.

Depending on your team’s needs, investigate your current tools like:

Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms (e.g., Salesforce or HubSpot)
Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or Notion
Ad and analytics platforms like GA4 or Tableau

Pro tip: I’ll share more about our AI tools later, but depending on the level to which you’ve integrated HubSpot into your systems, you might have access to a bunch of internal AI tools and resources already. Either way, investigate your tech stack for capabilities and integration points.

Budget

Many AI tools are priced reasonably to meet the needs of small or medium-sized businesses. Smaller marketing teams might get away with a few lower-cost AI tools without raiding the budget.

Successful AI workflow automation should eventually scale — within and outside your team. You may not need a significant budget now, but successful integration will likely cost you much more down the road. That’s not a bad thing — it means you found something useful.

Pro tip: I’ll talk later about pilot testing, but start small and low-cost while focusing more on measuring return on investment and improvement to your team’s pain points. Successful pilots and data will help equip you to advocate for larger budgetary needs.

Internal Knowledge Architecture

While picking the right tools for your team certainly matters, when I talked to Hickle he raised an interesting point about preparing your information for AI integration, and how that can make or break your workflow automation attempts.

“Most marketing leaders are asking the wrong question. They're obsessing over which LLM to choose — Claude, ChatGPT, or Jasper — when they should be laser-focused on building their internal knowledge architecture,” says Hickle.

“The choice between AI models might save you 10% of your time, but a well-structured knowledge management system can 10x your outputs. The real competitive advantage isn‘t in which AI you use — it’s in how you organize and leverage your company's unique intellectual capital.”

Pro tip: Amid planning to solve your team’s needs, review how you’re storing information. Where does your useful data live, and can your AI tools access and use it to help your team?

Data Management Strategy

Along with how you architect your information, Hickle also notes you need a strong plan about managing the specific units of data you plan to use in AI integration.

“The foundation of effective AI automation isn‘t the LLMs — it’s your data management strategy,” he says. “Marketing teams need to think of their internal data like Lego blocks: discrete, well-organized databases of high-quality information that can be used to train narrowly-focused AI models. Without this foundation, you're building on sand.”

You might’ve run into the idea of data hygiene before. Essentially, it’s cleaning up garbage data from your information system and ensuring AI gets the good stuff needed to make smart decisions.

Pro tips:

Run a data audit to clean old, outdated data before you include AI in your process.
Develop SOPs and procedures so people know what to use AI for — and what data not to give it. Like more than three-quarters of employees, marketers are still somewhat confused about using AI at work.
Create a structure, explanation, and approval process to give your people more support in their decision-making.

The Human Touch

Central to healthy AI deployment is the human you’re helping. There’s still a lot we’re learning about AI and how it fits into marketing workflows. Teams can’t leave behind the people aspect.

While AI offers much potential, don’t rely too heavily on it. HubSpot’s latest State of AI report found that 62% of marketers agree that they should use AI — but not use it too much.

How much is too much? I’d say that answer depends on what workflows you’re automating.

For instance, if you’re automating content creation, it’s oh-so-tempting to let the bot fill in the blinking cursor amid a bout of writer’s block. But, the writing process helps refine your brand voice, identify ideas to investigate further, and share your unique stance with the world. That, and you don’t want to let AI hallucinations slip through your content review unseen.

Hickle has seen that firsthand with his marketing clients.

“The real power of AI in marketing isn‘t in replacing human creativity — it’s in amplifying it through structured feedback loops,” he said. “By training AI models on carefully curated customer interactions and marketing outcomes, we‘ve transformed every piece of content into an opportunity for automated focus groups. This isn’t about quantity over quality; it's about using AI as a quality multiplier while maintaining human oversight for strategic direction.”

Pro tip: Inventory how your team uses their time and spot the biggest mismatches between effort and reward. Maybe there’s high value in writing long-form content yourself, but transforming it into snippets for five social media platforms bogs down your people. AI should help your people, not replace them.

1. Set your AI workflow automation goals and objectives.

Use your team’s needs and pain points to figure out what you want to automate and how you’ll get it done. Frame your goals like any other business goal (I like the SMART format) and be more specific about answering questions like:

Which tasks are too repetitive and consume too many resources?
Where are we getting stuck in execution?
What decisions could use a boost from AI?

Also, set specific criteria for success, including measurement standards. Are you trying to save hours spent on these tasks? The number of times you touch that task manually? What larger business objectives or priorities can this process support? Set benchmark data based on where you are now — that’ll do wonders for your future.

You might not have every detail at this stage, but better details lead to better outcomes. From there, you can identify the repeatable processes ready for AI integration.

2. Research AI tools.

I’ve included options later on, but your goals and objectives should drive your search. You’ve also reviewed your tech stack and know what integrations work with them. So, it’s a matter of finding the right tools to meet your needs and business reality.

When I’m looking at AI tools, I review points beyond integrating with my tech stack, including:

Data management policies. How is the vendor protecting me and my company’s data? Are they compliant with regulations like GDPR or SOC 2?
Ease of use. How quickly can I get up to speed using the product? Does the user experience make sense to me? And can I quickly train another person to use it, too?
Support. Do they have a solid knowledge base for quick questions? Does the support system rely solely on chatbots, or can I get to a human? Does that cost me extra?
Stability. Many AI vendors have only recently entered the market. I’ll choose the tool that best supports my needs, but it’s good to know if the vendor has legs under them. I check Crunchbase for funding profiles and search for case studies and comments on places like G2 or Reddit.

Pro tip: Run a few free trials or review product demos to visualize how you’ll use each tool. A full workflow automation might require 3-5 separate AI tools, depending on your needs, tech stack, and knowledge architecture. Check how much it’ll cost to run all these tools — and see if those new tools play nice with one another.

3. Train your team.

A tool is only as good as the person wielding it. And roughly two-thirds of marketers say that a lack of education and training is the largest barrier to AI adoption. Ideally, your AI tools include training materials, product walkthroughs, and demo videos. Share those with your team and walk through the most important parts together.

It’s also good to include smaller training tidbits throughout your regular team meetings. Part of AI integration is making it feel right, like this tool has been needed all along. A confusing or misplaced AI resource will throw that feeling out of balance.

Pro tip: Ask for regular feedback from team members and listen carefully to their responses. While people are usually willing to give it a go, continued frustration with AI tools will prevent you from getting the adoption you need to scale your automations.

4. Build a targeted pilot project.

Start your AI journey with a tightly controlled pilot. At this stage, draw a map showing each step in a part of a workflow you want to automate. Prepare for success, but get ready to learn from failure.

For instance, when ChatGPT released its public models in late 2022, my content team saw great potential in incorporating the tool into our workflow. Specifically, we wanted to use GPT 3.5 to repurpose our long-form content into shorter pieces we could share with clients to use on their social media platforms.

We mapped the steps in this process:

We executed this process for 2-3 months. It failed spectacularly.

Why?

At the time, GPT’s output wasn’t remarkable, and our clients demanded remarkable. We hadn’t properly assessed the need.
We spent far too much time and effort tinkering with the output; it would’ve been much faster to repurpose the content ourselves. We saw no time benefit.

So, our pilot failed.

But, GPT did help us brainstorm better ideas at the jump and prep for client interviews. We learned and adapted to use the tools where we truly needed them. Bring that mindset into pilot testing.

5. Integrate AI into daily workflows.

It could take a few small pilot tests before you find the right combination of workflow steps, tools, resources, and training to make it work. Once you do get it, document it.

Pro tip: Draw a diagram or map of the steps in your workflow so you can see how automation flows and how each step relates back to your goals and objectives. From there, encourage your team to continuously engage your chosen AI tools. Practice will breed habits, and it’ll help you iron out any nagging challenges or hiccups.

Be a source of consistency with your team as they learn to use AI every day. That’s why you took time to create SOPs, policies, and knowledge architectures.

6. Measure success criteria.

Continued success with AI workflow automation comes with measurement. Remember when you set your goals and objectives? Compare your benchmarks to where you end up. Regularly track numerical data over time, such as hours saved or content pieces produced per week.

You’ll want to keep refining your processes, too. Data can tell you where a tool isn’t performing well or where eddies are swirling around in the workflow river.

Pro tip: Pay close attention to your data and your team’s feedback during this tinkering stage (usually 3-6 months after daily implementation). You’ll see trends emerge and know how to address them as you work toward full scalability.

5 Best AI Tools to Automate Workflows

Now then, which tools should you use in AI workflow automation? The number of options grows daily. And there are plenty of great tools not on this list. But, each of these tools also adhere to the earlier criteria I set for myself and my teams.

And, while you can automate many workflows, most marketers are focused on using AI to create, optimize, and distribute content. These tools can help you do that (and other things) at scale.

1. HubSpot Breeze AI

Breeze is designed to operate across the full HubSpot suite. If you’re running your entire customer experience through HubSpot tools, you can take full advantage of Breeze and amplify its effectiveness.

Breeze offers the usual chatbot-style AI assistant, using your HubSpot data to generate insights. You also get agentic AI (in beta) to automatically handle prospecting, content generation, social media, and customer service.

What I like: The integration into the systems I’m already using. Having AI right at my fingertips without leaving the HubSpot platform makes it much easier to convince team members to use AI daily.

Best for: Companies using HubSpot to run and automate some or all of their customer journeys.

Pricing: HubSpot includes a basic level of Breeze AI, including Breeze Copilot, for free within the HubSpot platform. Various advanced AI features, like our beta agents, unlock with different paid plans.

2. Descript

Video is an incredibly powerful marketing tool. But boy, does it take so much time and effort to prepare. Small marketing teams might feel especially pressured to “do video” with, shall we say, “limited time and budget.”

With Descript, you can use AI to:

Automatically transcribe audio and video recordings.
Remove background noise and improve recording quality.
Remove filler words like “um.”
Insert AI voices trained on a bunch of voice data.
Correct misspoken words with an AI-generated overdub.
Write episode titles and show notes.
Choose and prep social clips.

Essentially, it’s an AI video editor in a box.

What I like: The text-to-video editing tool. Especially as someone who doesn’t want to listen to his own voice all day, I like editing via the transcript. You can cut, shift, and paste video just like a Word document.

Best for: Small to medium-sized marketing teams who need to handle podcast and YouTube video editing for their teams and leadership.

Pricing: Just jump to the Creator plan at $24/month (billed annually). It’s chock full of useful resources at a reasonable price.

3. Lately AI

I teach social media marketing, and I can tell you — it’s a jungle out there. Popular platforms change their algorithms without warning. Others struggle to stay operational these days (looking at you, TikTok). As such, it’s tough for marketers to keep pace with social media demands.

Lately AI reduces that demand by automating the social media content generation and distribution processes. It’ll ingest your company data and content (e.g., blogs, videos, podcasts) and produce good social posts. Automated calendaring functions identify the right time and schedule content for you. And, you get comprehensive campaign and post analytics to determine the most effective strategies.

Source

What I like: The content calendar automation component saves a lot of time. The AI points out impactful phrases from long-form content to help you create better social posts and puts them right into the calendar. Plus, I like how it looks. Don’t take aesthetics and good UI/UX for granted.

Best for: Businesses and agencies managing heavy amounts of social media content production and distribution.

Pricing: Lately has a Starter package for individuals, but I would only use Lately if you’re at a growing business or agency. Buy the Growth package at $199/month (billed annually). That’s where you unlock AI-automated calendaring, voice model editing, and performance analytics.

4. Notion

I use Notion to handle content strategies, plans, calendars, and content itself. It’s also incredibly useful as a repository for company knowledge and data, as Hickle points out.

“Personally, the most valuable tool I've found for incorporating AI into automation is Notion,” he said. “The open API makes it easy to pull data from and I can use ChatGPT to turn any Notion database into a useful chatbot, purpose-built for what I need.”

Notion is also great for document automation and team collaboration. The file structure can take some practice to perfect. But, Notion comes with a ton of internal capabilities and external connectors to fit into any tech stack.

What I like: Notion’s built-in AI bot is especially useful when you feed it internal databases and content. While I wouldn’t call it the strongest AI writer, it can summarize documents well and develop insights using multiple Notion pages, giving you insights personalized to your company.

Best for: Content marketers and marketing ops specialists who are planning strategies, executing tactics, and analyzing data.

Pricing: You can start a Notion space for free, but meaningful features really only come around at $10-15/seat/month (billed annually). Notion AI is an extra $8/seat/month (billed annually).

5. Custom GPTs with ChatGPT

Despite ChatGPT having a few years under its belt, most people have yet to learn how to build effective prompts and use ChatGPT’s full potential.

As Hickle noted, ChatGPT can ingest user data and build useful tools like chatbots. I use the Custom GPT function to build consulting tools, like a request-price-quote (RPQ) calculator based on my company’s capabilities and pricing data.

The Custom GPT pane lets you tinker with instructions, upload data sources, and activate capabilities to transform data. You can also add actions, which lets your GPT operate outside of ChatGPT (like Hickle’s chatbot concept). Plus, with the newly released “tasks” functionality, GPT is moving into agentic AI with task scheduling capabilities.

What I like: The control over how my GPT operates. There’s so much I can add, change, and adjust to get it to work how I want it.

Best for: Marketing teams of various sizes looking to scale content production and management, handle documentation and data analysis, or leverage AI insights to improve their campaigns.

Pricing: Explore the Team option, which grants you access to Custom GPTs and additional features. That’ll be $25-30/seat/month (billed annually). Or, if you’re a team of one, get Plus for $20/month.

Better Marketing Through AI Workflow Automation

The only way you’ll start making gains with AI is to give it a go. Start small with the most painful issues plaguing your team’s workflow, and build a pilot test with the right AI tools to work your way toward a real solution.

It doesn’t always work as you expect (as my team’s early ChatGPT pilot test showed). But, enter the process with an open mind, and you can find opportunities to simplify and automate your marketing. Let your humans do great human work and leave the rest to the machines.

'They Need a Little Rock n' Roll': How the Ad Suite Formula Shakes Up B2B Marketing

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

When I think of B2B marketing, rock ‘n’ roll is far from my mind. But Video Brothers CEO and former touring musician Chandler Quintin brings exactly that to his strategy.

It turns out the skills he built playing Warped Tour and opening for bands like Panic! At the Disco are surprisingly transferable to marketing.

“That kind of experience gives me the charisma to go out there and tell an industry like B2B, 'Hey, you're boring,'” he says. “B2B is having a really hard time standing out and cutting through the noise, so they need a little rock n' roll, right?”

But even the most raucous rockstars have a method to their madness, and Quintin says Video Brothers' method for helping B2B brands stand out is called the ad suite formula.

“One of the principles of the ad suite is bringing people through a journey because people like stories,” he explains. “They like to be entertained. We want them to remember things; the best way to do that is to tell a great story.”

The formula hits all the right notes. According to Quintin, after implementing this formula, Loxo, a Video Brothers client, experienced a 46% increase in quarter-over-quarter revenue and a 25% increase in pipeline growth.

So, what‘s the deal with this ad suite formula? Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: The Teaser Ad

Step 2: The Hero Ad

Step 3: The Follow Ups and Reminders

Bonus Track: The Landing Page

Step 1: The Teaser Ad

While most marketers get caught up in clicks and conversions, Quintin focuses on what he calls an “attention matrix.”

“Audiences are in this bottom left corner of not knowing who you are and not caring. They're also not going to watch a lot of content,” he says. “Our goal as marketers is to bring them to the top right, where they know who you are, care a lot about what you do, are problem-aware, and possibly solution-aware. Now, they'll watch a lot more content.”

Think of the 15-second teaser as an opener to a live show. It gets the crowd's attention and prepares them for the main act.

“We're not looking for clicks or conversions; we're looking to stop them in their tracks and introduce them to the pain because great marketers market pain,” Quintin says. “They don't market solutions.”

In the teaser ad Video Brothers created for Loxo, the problem is a recruiter trying to find the most elusive candidate yet — Bigfoot!

It's short, snappy, funny, and exciting.

The teaser ties the problem to the brand and spotlights the business as the solution.

And in a world where viewers like me struggle to muscle through even 10 seconds of ads, Quintin says it‘s okay if audiences don’t get through the teaser. The ad will just run again.

“We don't want to be afraid of showing the same ad twice because the ads are fun. People actually want to watch them,” he says. "The idea is to start warming the audience up, so we capture them with a teaser ad, we retarget them with a teaser ad again to get them to a higher viewer intent."

And once the crowd is warmed up, it's time for the headliner: the hero ad.

Step 2: The Hero Ad

If you've been to a concert, you know the headliner usually has the longest set. The same goes for hero ads in the ad suite formula.

The hero ad is about 30 seconds long and is a stand-alone, front-to-back narrative that introduces the problem and solidifies the brand as the solution.

“It's all done in this memorable, fun environment,” Quintin says.

Loxo‘s hero ad is an excellent example. The recruiters are looking for Bigfoot as a job candidate. Of course, Bigfoot isn’t easy to find. Notice how the ad shows the recruiters discussing the tools Loxo provides to lead them to Bigfoot.

Okay, you‘ve seen the opener and the headliner. That must mean the show’s over, right? Nope! It's time for the encore.

Step 3: The Follow Ups and Reminders

After the hero ad gives the audience the full story, they're treated to follow-up and reminder ads. The follow-up ad shows the positive transformation the brand provides and gives the audience closure regarding the story.

In the Loxo follow-up below, we see the recruiters finally reached Bigfoot via video call and are preparing to send him to the hiring manager.

The story may be over, but the work isn't. Video Brothers will roll out reminder ads to stay top of mind with the audience.

“The reminder ad plays into the psychology of needing reminders and signs to see things,” Quintin says. “You'll tune out a lot of information in your day-to-day life, but signs will stand out to you.”

Reminder ads are about 6 seconds long. Like stop signs and green lights, they convey one action the brand wants the audience to take. That action could be to make a call, book an appointment, or visit the brand's website.

“Think of reminder ads as video billboards where you could be scrolling by it fast, but because your brain recognizes the patterns from the prior ads, you know subconsciously that you're seeing ads from that company,” Quintin explains.

If the audience sees the ads enough, they‘ll eventually become curious enough to research your brand or visit your website. Just make sure your website isn’t a letdown.

Bonus Track: The Landing Page

I can‘t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a concert, fallen in love with a band, and then decided to visit their merch table, only to be underwhelmed by the items there.

No business wants its audience to be disappointed by a bland website, which is why Quintin says the visual aspects of the ad suite formula are crucial.

“The one thing a lot of marketers get wrong is that they'll have these awesome ads and send someone to a boring landing page with a form-fill,” he explains. “You were just entertaining them, and now you're baiting and switching them by bringing them to some boring website to ask for information."

To avoid this problem, Video Brothers clients often have themed landing pages to continue the fun. For example, the ad suite for Act, another Video Brothers client, plays out like a Law & Order episode.

“There's an investigation, the characters are looking at a small business owner's office, and there's chaos everywhere,” Quintin says. “They don't even promote their domain. They don't say, 'Visit us at Act.com.' They go to 'SolveMyChaos.com.”

At SolveMyChaos.com, visitors see a mysterious landing page that reads, “The investigation continues.” The site keeps the mystery/crime theme while showing how the business solves its customers' problems.

The point of the ad suite formula is to make your brand memorable and to delight your audience from beginning to end.

“If you're not memorable, you're not going to be the first thought when it's time for that audience to solve their pain,” Quintin says. “And if you're not their first thought, you're rarely going to be on their day-one consideration list, and then you won't win any of the races that you're in.”

TikTok Content Trends to Watch in 2025: What’s Next for Creators? [Expert Insights]

Erin Pennings — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Few apps cycle through trends as quickly as TikTok. I spend endless hours scrolling through the app, and it feels like every other day, a new trending sound, topic, song, or challenge is going viral.

It can be hard to keep up, and I say this as a content creator and marketer whose job is to stay in tune with the latest happenings on social media.

Fortunately, I and a few other creators are savvy enough to see what TikTok trends are coming to the forefront in 2025.

So, if you‘re curious about what trends to look out for and what it could take to go viral on the app this year, you’ve come to the right blog. Here are some TikTok predictions for 2025 based on our survey data, content creators, and social media marketing experts.

What is a content trend on TikTok?

TikTok content trends are popular types of videos or themes that spread like wildfire across the platform as new creators stitch, duet, or adapt the content to their own story. It may have started with TikTok dances, but now trends can take any form, using music, sounds, challenges, memes and other types of inspiration.

You’ll learn more about some of the trends below, where I talk about the Susi Pesto and Pepe Prawn trends. One of the most famous, as I just mentioned, is TikTok’s dance challenges, where people film themselves dancing to a specific audio clip — sometimes it’s great. And sometimes? It’s downright hilarious.

Understanding the TikTok Content Trends Cycle

TikTok content trends often seem to emerge randomly — and surprising things gain popularity. The more specific a TikTok trend, the shorter its staying power.

For example, if people are using a specific sound and format for their videos, it’s less likely to stick around for months on end than if it’s a simple text overlay. The Fancy Like Dance featured a song by Walker Hayes called “Fancy Like” and a specific dance:

While it had a lot of staying power, eventually, it fizzled out as new trends arose.

On the other hand, the POV (point of view) trend isn’t likely to go anywhere. It’s simple, with a text overlay of “POV: [whatever the viewpoint is]” sitting on top of images or a video, like this:

How TikTok Content Trends Emerge

As I’ve mentioned, there are lots of ways that TikTok Trends get started — and generally, the simpler it is, the faster it spreads. Here are three of the most common ways I’ve seen them emerge:

Organically: A single creator might post an idea, sound, or format that resonates with others.
Trending Sounds: Once someone uses a sound in a particular way — often just a clip of a song with text overlays or dramatic skits, people join in.
Real-World Relevance: Depending on what’s going on in the world, specific cultural references may turn into big-time trends.

When Trends Gain Traction and Peak

Once people start seeing more than a handful of creators picking up on a trend, the trends go viral extremely quickly, and we start to see widespread adoption from all kinds of different creators.

The more you see and engage with a particular trend, the more videos like it you’ll see. And as certain types of videos get more popular, they collectively start to get shown more.

Next, you may start to see trends evolve with new twists and changes. Fancy Like hit its peak when it became a commercial featuring TikTokers:

When Trends Fizzle Out and Resurge

Once things hit the big time— or when they’re simply everywhere, people stop watching every single one, and the next trend starts to rise.

However, just because a trend is on the downswing, it doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. One of my favorite TikTok content trends is the Grace Kelly song — while it petered out a few years ago, the tune is hauntingly beautiful and catchy.

It was a simple trend. People sing all different types of harmonies to the same set of lyrics, layering them on top of each other: “I could be brown. I could be blue. I could be violet sky. I could be hurtful. I could be purple. I could be anything you like.”

Then, as the Grace Kelly trend slowed down, Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell breathed new life into it before the trend sunsetted itself:

Fun fact: I still seek out this audio, watch this video, and smile.

How Your Brand Can Capitalize on TikTok Content Trends

In the section below on predictions, I’m sharing some of the trends the experts I spoke with are expecting to see in 2025 and beyond. But before you dive right in, there are a few things you should know and do so you can make the most of TikTok content trends.

Follow creators in your space.

Pay attention to trendsetters in your niche, as they often spot and create trends early. But remember, it’s not just about your space. It’s also about trends from other corners of TikTok that show up on your target audience’s FYP (For You Page — the content TikTok’s algorithm feeds you).

Have fun with it!

TikTok is fun — and to succeed with it, you can’t take it too seriously.

By that, I mean err on the side of playful (keeping in mind #6 below) and try lots of things. You never know what combination might be magic for you. Sometimes, it’s about timing. Sometimes, it’s about trends, and sometimes, it’s just about luck.

Be consistent.

Yes, timing is everything on TikTok, but you don’t have to go big or go home. Simply showing up and engaging consistently works. Things you don’t expect to go viral might take off, and things that you think are boring might just be the ticket to the big time.

Adapt quickly.

I’ve already talked about the unpredictability of TikTok, but haven’t yet touched on how quickly you’ll need to act to capitalize on content trends.

As Durga Kudumula, Head of Growth Marketing at Designity, says:

“TikTok trends move fast, and staying relevant requires speed, creativity, and strong relationships with creators. Brands need to monitor trends, adapt quickly, and collaborate with creators to ensure their participation feels genuine. It’s not just about copying what’s popular but aligning trends with your brand story in a way that resonates.”

Sure, I’ve seen some trends stick around for a while, like the Susi Pesto trend or the Pepe Prawn trend, surprising people with their shelf life.

Other times, trends only last a few weeks. So, if you want to jump on the bandwagon, you can’t afford to wait for weeks and weeks of hemming and hawing.

Set ground rules.

If you work with or for a brand, I recommend setting clear ground rules about what you can run with, as well as boundaries and guidelines for what you can — and can’t — post. The last thing you want is to get into hot water with leadership because you acted without approval. You also don’t want to be so far behind the trend that your content gets lost in the ether.

Engage, engage, engage.

The best part of growing your audience on TikTok is engaging in the comment section. Sure, there’s some negative stuff, but that’s really where the magic happens. Yet, so often, I see brands dropping post after post and not responding to their people. If you need help with this, HubSpot’s social media management software might come in handy — try it here.

TikTok Content Trend Predictions for 2025

1. Back Up Plan

Before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room. The legal challenges TikTok continues to face in the US mean that if the app becomes illegal, creators will need a backup plan.

While there is some discussion around whether it can be used on devices where it’s already downloaded, it’s reasonable to assume that it will become less and less prevalent. Several creators I follow, including Under the Desk News, are making backup plans and creating accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and Substack.

Truth be told, even if everything works out for TikTok, it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan, whether that means backup TikTok accounts or accounts on other platforms. In fact, it’s something I always recommend to clients. You never know when something is going to happen.

However, even if TikTok does go the way of the dodo bird (😭 say it isn’t so!), I do believe these trends will continue with regard to other short-form video content. So read up and get ready to slay your TikTok (and Reels and Shorts) videos!

2. Authenticity

It‘s well known that TikTok is one of the most popular apps among Gen Z. In fact, 63% of Gen Z social media users report using TikTok in the last 4 weeks, according to Statista.

It’s also no secret that Gen Z consumers crave authenticity and relatability in their media.

Don't believe me? A recent survey shows that 82% of Gen Z consumers would trust brands more if they used authentic images of real customers in their advertisements.

Content creator and data analyst Sundas Khalid says Gen Z's preference for authentic content will fuel the content that gets the most attention on TikTok.

“I expect storytelling, authenticity, and spontaneity to be the key themes,” she explains.

Khalid says, “Relatability was a big theme in past years, and people found value in finding people they could relate to — but I think it was overextended to the point where it lost authenticity.”

She predicts relatability will still be valuable to TikTok audiences moving forward, but not if the creator or brand seems too keen on coming off as relatable to audiences.

“People would still want to relate but only if it‘s authentic and doesn’t seem like ‘trying too hard,’” Khalid explains. “Being unique without being relatable will be more accepted and encouraged on the platform.”

Some of TikTok's biggest stars grew their platforms by showcasing their real, authentic personalities. Perhaps the most compelling example is Keith Lee, one of my favorite TikTok content creators.

Lee rose to fame by doing food reviews of local, independent, and family-owned restaurants in his hometown of Las Vegas.

His unique on-camera presence, honest reviews, and acts of kindness helped him stand out. It also grew his TikTok following to 15 million and earned collaborations with celebrities like Kevin Hart and brands like Chipotle.

Recently, Lee went to several cities across the country to review restaurants, and, on some occasions, there were mishaps in filming and unexpected turns of events.

Instead of shying away from these issues or pretending they didn't happen, he would share honest stories about what happened behind closed doors and why some restaurants received poor ratings.

His authenticity helped legitimize his reviews and build trust with his audience. Authenticity can do the same for your brand on TikTok.

3. Educational Content

For years, Google was my go-to when I needed information on almost any topic.

While I still rely heavily on the classic search engine, I'm starting to use TikTok to gain insight on everything from pop culture updates to breaking news to how-to tutorials.

And I'm not the only one. A recent study found that 40% of consumers use TikTok for informative content. So, it makes sense that creators like Jon Youshaei predict education content will shine on the platform in years to come.

“Creating educational content will become even more important to going viral on TikTok because of the platform's rise as a search engine,“ he says. ”For years, TikTok has been where the For You Page is dominated by trends, pop culture, and memes."

However, Youshaei says the tide is shifting as more people turn to TikTok to search for tutorials, recipes, and specific questions.

“There will be a rise in creators who can create content that provides answers, which is much easier to monetize and create a sustainable business around,” he explains.

For example, TikTok content creator mndiaye_97 has over 16 million followers and is known for posting humorous but educational videos on animal behavior and wildlife.

In addition to amassing millions of followers, Mndiaye97 content has also snagged collaborations with BBC Earth and PBS. On average, his videos gain at least 1 million views and more than 100,000 likes. Some videos have as many as 20 million views.

Professional chef Cassie Yeung has over 3 million followers on the app and is known for showing her followers how to cook simple yet delicious dishes at home.

Her videos receive anywhere between 1 million to 10 million views or more on the platform.

Both creators provide helpful or interesting information in a friendly and casual way.

Mndiaye97 sprinkles every video with hyperbolic jokes and memes, and Yeung ends every video with “First bite, bestie,” followed by a genuine reaction to her meals.

So, consider posting educational videos, but you don't have to take the approach of a monotone lecturer. Have fun and give helpful information to your followers in a unique way that suits your brand.

4. More AI-Generated Content

“I think you‘re going to see more content created by AI. I think it’s going to get to a point where every other content you see on the app is AI-generated in some way,” says content creator Chris Dillon.

And I don‘t think that’s a far-fetched prediction. Nowadays, I often come across videos on TikTok that are entirely AI-generated or heavily rely on AI.

For example, one of the most popular styles of short-form videos is “Which Room/House/Place Would You Choose?”

These videos will feature AI-generated photos of aesthetically pleasing bedrooms, landscapes, and homes and ask users which they would choose to live or relax in — many of them wrack up millions of views and tons of engagement.

The Spongebob R&B covers popping up on the app is an equally popular but slightly more unhinged trend.

In these videos, creators use AI to manipulate the voices of cast members in Spongebob Squarepants to make the characters sing popular R&B songs by artists like Jasmine Sullivan or Keisha Cole.

Note: While the Spongebob trend is popular, it has raised many questions surrounding the ethics of using actors’ voices to say or do things they usually wouldn’t.

Though I wouldn't look to the Spongebob covers for inspiration in your next TikTok campaign (remember: ethics), I can attest that AI can be an excellent tool for generating short-form videos efficiently and quickly.

Just look at the video I made below, using only AI tools.

“Eventually, AI-generated content will feel stale and become oversaturated on the platform — to the point that authenticity will become even more important,” Dillon warns.

With that in mind, I suggest using AI as more of an assistive tool and being wary of becoming overly reliant on it to generate content meant to connect with your audience.

A page that strikes the right balance would be Jeremy the Manager on TikTok. The TikTok account follows a cat named Jeremy who lives (and “works”) at Citipups, a pet store in New York.

Employees at the business use a British voice to give the cat the personality of a cranky manager who intimidates his coworkers. The voice is AI-generated, but the employees create the dialogue and skits.

The voice is put over actual footage of Jeremy the cat hanging out around the store. In this example, AI is used for humor and doesn't take away from the personality and authenticity of the content.

5. Recommendations

Of course, I'm both a content creator and a chronic TikTok scroller, so I figure I should put in my own two cents. I predict videos giving recommendations will see a massive boom in the coming year.

Remember what Youshaei said about consumers using TikTok as a search engine?

That includes searching for recommendations. For instance, one of my favorite communities on TikTok is #booktok.

On the #booktok hashtag, creators recommend classic upcoming books for fans of horror, comedy, romance, and more.

So, consider creating content that recommends useful products and services to your consumers. You can also collaborate with an influencer so they can recommend your brand to their audience.

And trust me, there are definitely consumers who will buy a product or service after seeing a recommendation on Tiktok. According to the platform, 50% of TikTok users have bought something after seeing it on TikTok LIVE.

Furthermore, 78% of TikTok users have purchased a product after seeing it featured in TikTok creator content.

Finally, let's not forget that TikTok is especially popular among Gen Z consumers, and 33% of that demographic purchased a product from an influencer-founded brand in the past year.

6. Striking the Right Balance of Silly

People like to laugh. So, it makes sense that videos that lean into the fun factor will be more likely to get more engagement. It might mean videos with sarcasm, pranks, and downright silliness.

Here’s the catch — each creator will have to decide what level of playfulness is right for them — and it’s going to be important to hit just the right tone.

Too far down the sarcasm route, and it can be seen as tone-deaf or not funny. Too silly? It can be seen as not serious and unreliable. As for pranks, they can feel mean.

So you’ve got to get it right. Unfortunately, by playing it safe, people might bet a watered-down version of what you want to share.

A few creators and brands that do it well?

Ryanair has some over-the-top videos designed to make people laugh, like this one:

Chipotle uses a blend of humor, fun, and really great food shots, making use of TikTok’s video and slideshow features, like this one.

The bottom line? Striking the right tone of humor for your brand is one of the most important TikTok content trends moving forward.

7. Poking Fun

While this may seem tied closely to the 6th trend on this list, self-deprecating humor and poking fun is a trend and vibe all on its own.

It’s not just making fun of yourself or not taking yourself too seriously. It’s also about poking fun at your industry.

Real estate TikTokers do an amazing job of playing around and getting away from the serious.

Like indianahomegirls:

Then there’s Starbucks, which nails poking fun at how seriously we take our coffee. The entire channel is gold, but I particularly giggled at this one:

8. Niche Influencers

Consider partnering with influencers to build trust with consumers on the app.

Micro-influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers build deep relationships and communities with their viewers. They often yield more success for marketers than if they were to work with celebrities or macro-influencers.

Over the last few years, influencer marketing emerged as a key trend in the marketing industry. More specifically, marketers were leveraging and benefiting from small-scale influencers with audiences smaller than 100k.

Here’s how that changed in the past 12 months. While in 2023, 64% worked with micro-influencers, in 2024, we saw that number rise even further to nearly 68%. Even more interesting? Just under 23% of marketers working with influencers chose nano-influencers, or people with fewer than 10k subscribers.

It makes sense — are you more likely to buy based on a friend’s recommendation or a huge, polished production? I’m always going to trust the person I see as real.

I think it’s more than reasonable to predict that niche influencer marketing will become an increasingly important TikTok content trend.

Thinking about going beyond influencers to capitalize on TikTok ads? HubSpot has an integration that helps you seamlessly capture leads.

Or check out this video on setting up a TikTok Shop:

9. Less Polish, More Grit

There’s a TikTok creator who I love following — dadchats. Everything he posts is real, and generally speaking, hysterical. He’s a fantastic storyteller and shares snippets from his home life, his kids’ antics, and anecdotes from his career as an attorney.

Worth noting, he also often breaks down legal concepts and shares them from an educational perspective to help people understand.

But that’s not where the grit comes from — there is rarely polish to his videos, and that adds to the charm and relatability:

Extreme closeups of his face to emphasize a point
Different coffee cups (often filled to the brim and somehow never spilling)
Videos shot lying on a pillow of his dog’s face, in his car, and other non-traditional video backgrounds.

In a world where AI is starting to take over, it’s refreshing to see creators focused on being real. Brands that can take advantage of this TikTok content trend will continue to build trust — and potentially at a more accelerated rate than brands that exclusively focus on high-production-value, polished content.

10. More Brands, More Creativity

A whopping 67% of marketers surveyed said they plan to maintain or increase their investment in TikTok! So, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see more brands showing up in increasingly creative ways on TikTok to connect with their audiences.

“TikTok is evolving beyond just mindless entertainment to also be about business. It’s becoming a more full-featured platform, catering to a wide variety of businesses and tastes,” says marketing expert Haley Gray, founder of In2itive Biz Solutions.

What will that look like? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. If TikTok content trends are anything, they’re unpredictable.

Remember when the Susi Pesto trend took over TikTok in late 2023 and well into 2024?

Suzi Vidal posted a video of her pesto recipe saying “Call me crazy if you want, but I’ve never liked store bought pesto.”

From there, thousands of people stitched the first few minutes and shared their crazy stories — that had nothing to do with pesto.

While I didn’t see brands getting in on that action, there could have been, and I missed it. Regardless, there will continue to be similar opportunities — and you can bet that brands will be ready to jump in!

11. Personal Storytelling

Jenn Robbins is an online influencer, marketer, and TikTok creator who I also happen to know. She said, “It’s been fascinating to watch the Pepe Prawn stories, because they are still going and I would’ve thought they’d died out by now.”

If you’re not familiar with Pepe Prawn, he’s a Muppets character known as Pepe the King Prawn. His full name, Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzalez, is a big name for a fictional puppet character. More importantly, he always looks panicked, mortified, or in total disbelief.

The TikTok content trend features slides of Pepe, set to a choral version of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” with text sharing embarrassing — and sometimes traumatic stories.

Here’s one that’s a little sillier — and totally relatable:

Robbins goes on to say she thinks people like a way to tell stories that are personal. I agree with that. What’s more, I think if there’s a way for brands to capitalize on similar content trends where they can highlight the real behind-the-scenes of their business, they can really build those connections.

12. TikTok Reviews

Directly related to TikTok content trend #8, businesses are going to rely more and more on small influencers to share reviews.

Why?

Reviews matter. As consumers, we take them seriously. According to Capital One Shopping Research, 92% of us read online reviews before visiting a local business. The same study shows that 84% of us trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

And if a picture is worth a thousand words — just imagine how many words a video review is.

And while influencer partnerships are critical, the best possible reviews are ones that come from the heart and aren’t necessarily trying to sell products directly.

After dadchats (who I mentioned above) shared a personal experience with a fire blanket, several people bought them, and he decided to do a promotion to help families in need:

13. The Rise of ASMR

What’s that? ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. ASMR videos usually show a blend of soothing audio and video content. Some people find it relaxing, and others find it stimulating.

Brands that do a good job of ASMR are likely to get lots of views. The challenge? Finding the right way to do it!

Here are a few businesses and creators doing a great job with this TikTok content trend:

This stationery brand:

This artisan and potter:

14. Party in the Comments Section

Remember, not all content on TikTok is video. Just like any other platform — and perhaps even more so on TikTok — the magic happens in the comments sections. Where individual creators often drop video reactions to comments, again, not everything is video-driven.

There are plenty of brands who live in the comments sections — notably, Wendy’s, Pepsi, Planet Fitness, and more, which is almost as much fun for people to interact with as any original content they create.

Is getting a comment from a big brand the new way to go viral? Maybe. Either way, remember the comments section of your content and other creators is a gold mine of opportunities to get eyes on your brand and to add a dose of fun.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it: four trends creators predict will take over TikTok in 2025. Going forward, make sure your TikTok videos are authentic but not relatable to the point of being cringy and overdone.

Consider creating content that is valuable and helpful, such as educational videos or product and service recommendations. And finally, be open to using AI as an assistive tool, but don't let it strip your content of personality.

Now, if you‘ll excuse me, I’ll be scrolling TikTok again for the next hour or so.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2024 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Why Am I Losing Followers on Instagram? What the Data Says + How You Can Fix It

Taylor Cromwell — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

The dreaded question of social media marketers everywhere: “Why am I losing followers on Instagram?” I spent years in the trenches as a social media editor for media brands and know the daily toil it takes to keep up with the latest media trends, platform updates, and more.

Inevitably, a situation arises where you are losing followers and unsure of the cause. Is it me or is the algorithm? The answer is complicated. But according to our research, you’re not alone. Our Instagram Marketing Report found that 10% of Instagram marketers report losing followers in the past year.

If you’re a part of that 10%, you may be panicking trying to figure out what’s causing the decline. Don’t fret — I’ve got you covered. Below, I’ll cover the top reasons why brands lose followers on Instagram and offer some tips about how you might course-correct.

Why am I losing so many followers on Instagram?

1. You’re not posting often enough or posting too much.

When we surveyed Instagram marketers, 44% said that not posting enough is the number one reason why brands lose followers. On the flip side, 18% said posting too much can have the same impact.

Source

When it comes to posting, I’ve found success lies in the balance. You’ll want to post enough to make sure you’re reaching your target audience and not disappearing in a sea of posts, but don’t want to post too much that your audience is getting flooded with your posts all over their timeline.

As you probably know, it’s extremely unlikely that your audience even sees everything you post these days given the algorithm.

Here’s What I Recommend

First, post at least once a day on the platform, whether it’s on Instagram Stories, Reels, or in-feed. If you have to choose, Stories is a great option just to stay current with updated content.
Second, share an in-feed post two to three times a week. You can increase this cadence based on how your audience responds, but you probably shouldn’t lower it.

Also: Don’t forget audience engagement.

In my opinion, too many brands over focus on how and when they are posting and too little on how they are interacting with their audience. According to our data, this is a crucial mistake.

Increasing engagement is now marketers’ primary goal — and I expect this trend to continue in 2025. That includes likes, comments, interactive elements, and more. You can (and should) take your unique spin on it.

TL;DR: Don’t get so caught up in your total follower count that you forget to engage with your loyal audience. That’s what will contribute most to your growth in the long run.

2. You’re being too sales-y.

The second most common reason for losing followers is being overly sales-y. 43% of Instagram marketers said this is a major turnoff for audiences.

Our survey found that content centered around a brand’s products/services is leveraged by 37% of IG marketers and has the highest ROI — but yes, there is too much of a good thing.

Source

If it’s the only type of content you post, you might alienate your audience.

Here’s What I Recommend

Balance is the keyword here.

In addition to posts that highlight your products and/or services, you should also post content that:

Reflects your brand values.
Invites conversation.
Builds community.

I know, as a user, I get frustrated if I open up Instagram while I have some time to relax and I feel like every post I come across is trying to get me to buy something — ick. I’m much more likely to engage with a funny meme or entertaining video.

The data backs this up, too: Our survey revealed that funny content is the second most effective for getting followers, shares, and engagement on Instagram.

Source

3. You had bot followers.

If you purchased bot followers, you’ll be in for a rude awakening when they all disappear and your follower list tanks.

20% of Instagram marketers surveyed say this is why brands lose followers.

While it’s tempting to buy bots to give the semblance of a strong follower base, this practice will only hurt you in the long run.

Instead, I recommend focusing on building a follower list organically through a consistent posting schedule, sharing valuable content, following trends, and listening to your data.

It doesn’t have to take long, either. Most marketers say it takes 4-6 months to reach 1K followers on Instagram. Only 17% reached that in under a month, and just 1% took over a year.

Here’s What I Recommend

If you’ve inherited a lot of bot followers, try manually removing inactive accounts to improve the quality of your audience and get better insights from your data.

Instagram now lets you look at your follower count and see any accounts that are flagged for review or inactive. You can start with these lists to start cleaning up your lists.

Source

4. You don’t have a consistent aesthetic and voice.

One thing audiences love is consistency.

Consistency in your branding and your creative assets is key in building strong brand recognition. In addition, consistency also helps build a visually appealing profile.

If a user visits your profile and every post looks like it was created by a different brand, they’ll have a hard time understanding what your brand is all about and choose to unfollow you.

Personally, if I’m scrolling and I notice a brand I don’t recognize on my timeline, I’ll visit their profile and if I don’t recognize their last few posts, I’ll likely unfollow them. I imagine many users behave the same way.

Here’s What I Recommend

With this in mind:

Figure out what your brand identity and visual aesthetic are early on in your branding process.
Leverage tools like Canva to build a visual profile that stays consistent across all platforms.

The Skimm, an email newsletter brand that sums up the biggest news of the day, is a great example of this. Their branding is clean and consistent from your inbox to your Instagram feed. And this consistency makes it easy to stand out from other news accounts I follow.

Source

5. Your audience has evolved and you’re not keeping up.

It would be so easy to market to our audiences if their interests and behaviors always stayed the same.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.

This requires marketers to stay on top of what attracts and retains their audiences. One of the most effective ways to do this is by relying on your data. What is it telling you?

Say you’re HubSpot and our feed consists of customer success stories, product highlights, company values, and industry trends.

Perhaps content surrounding industry trends used to perform very well but you’ve noticed a slow decline over the past six months. Perhaps your audience is not as interested in this content or the format in which it’s being presented.

Maybe if you used to leverage images, you should consider switching to video.

The biggest giveaway to me is using outdated tactics. If you’re stuck posting hashtag spam or posting giveaways to boost follower accounts, I’d recommend trying some of these new best practices. Audiences evolve fast — and the platforms evolve even faster — and it’s our job as social media marketers to keep up.

Here’s What I Recommend

If you’re looking for some help in evolving with your audience, check out our free Instagram for Business Kit. You'll learn how to get followers, build your audience, navigate algorithm updates, and measure success.

Source

Use This Data to Guide Your Instagram Strategy

My biggest takeaway from this data and from my years as a social editor? You need to give your audience a reason to follow you. It’s not enough to just show up and have a presence on Instagram.

You need to have a defined brand, a unique voice, and you need to show up authentically (and consistently!) to build meaningful relationships with your audience. That’s what your followers care about and, perhaps not surprisingly, the algorithm favors too.

Lastly, always use data to steer your strategy. If you don’t, you risk losing touch with your audience and slowly seeing your follower list decrease.

Losing Instagram followers can be a scary reality to face. However, once you identify the reason behind the decline, you can address it and regain them.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

A Roundup of Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Caroline Forsey — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I still remember the first time I sat down to write a case study as a SaaS content marketer. The client was a budding tech startup, and I wasn’t entirely sure where to begin.

Since then, I’ve written several case studies for different companies, and I’ve noticed that each one demanded a unique approach — whether it was in the research phase, how I interviewed stakeholders, or the way I structured the narrative.

Despite those differences, one thing remained constant: the focal point was always showcasing the product’s power and value.

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's not easy to create case studies that your audience can’t wait to read.

In this post, I’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you.

Table of Contents

What is a case study?
Marketing Case Study Examples
Digital Marketing Case Study Examples

A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but marketing case studies with solutions typically contain quotes from the customer.

This means that they’re not just ads where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial.

A great case study also has research and stats to back up points made about a project's results.

There are several ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy.

From featuring them on your website to including them in a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer.

Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started.

There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies. However, without case study examples from which to draw inspiration, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that convince visitors to submit a form.

Marketing Case Study Examples

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, I’ve put together a list of some of our favorites. This list includes famous case studies in marketing, technology, and business.

These studies can show you how to frame your company's offers in a way that is useful to your audience. Take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

These marketing case studies with solutions show the value proposition of each product. They also show how each company benefited in both the short and long term using quantitative data.

In other words, you don’t get just nice statements like “This company helped us a lot.” You see actual change within the firm through numbers and figures.

You can put your learnings into action with HubSpot's Free Case Study Templates. Available as custom designs and text-based documents, you can upload these templates to your CMS or send them to prospects as you see fit.

Download These Free Case Study Templates

1. "How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with the Help of HubSpot," by HubSpot

The last two times I moved houses, I organized the whole process of packing up boxes, ordering vehicles, carrying things up the stairs to the new apartment, and rearranging stuff myself. If you’ve done this before, you know how stressful it is, especially when you have other commitments like work or school.

Handled, a home services concierge, aims to relieve that stress by taking complete control over the moving process. However, unlike traditional moving companies, Handled developed a new way of moving that uses technology and high-level service reps to deliver personalized concierge services to customers.

To implement this model effectively, the company needed a CRM platform with automation capabilities to streamline the hundreds of workflows.

After trying a few popular CRMs, the company’s President and CEO, Seth Waite, chose HubSpot as their CRM of choice. After learning how to use HubSpot to its fullest potential, Seth and his team were able to automate convoluted processes and put sales, marketing, and customer service initiatives into a unified system of record.

This gave every team member 360-degree visibility into their customers and freed up time for them to deliver concierge-level services and answer customers’ questions.

With HubSpot’s help, Seth and his team were able to scale Handled from zero to 121 locations (in the US) in 37 states in just 18 months.

Takeaway

This case study meticulously described, in detail, the challenges Handled was facing, their process in finding a solution (HubSpot), and how that solution helped the company scale. You can use this format when you really want to show prospective customers how well your product works for their needs.

2. "Rozum Robotics intensifies its PR game with Awario," by Awario

Rozum Robotics is a company that builds stand-out robotic solutions like high-precision servo motors, frameless motors, and robotic tool changers. The company also created an advanced robotic coffee house called Rozum Cafe.

However, it had trouble increasing brand awareness and generating leads for the coffee house. After trying a few tools, the marketing team at Rozum Robotics chose Awario, a brand monitoring tool, to help them step up the company’s PR and lead gen game.

With Awario, the team was able to reduce the time it spends finding and tracking relevant media sources and influencers for promoting the coffee house by 70%. It was also able to define two new target audiences for the cafe, spot viral content, react to mentions of the cafe online, analyze competitors’ social media posts, and compare the sentiment of Rozum Cafe with similar automated coffee spots.

As a result, Rozum Robotics was able to save time, find and target new audiences, nurture newly formed media relations, and improve the quality of leads generated.

Takeaway

From the jump, this case study gives an overview of Rozum Robotics, including what the company does, its pain points, challenges, and then the solution. At the end, there’s a short bullet list of the results and improvements that Awario helped generate for their client.

Dividing your case study into these sections makes it easier for prospective customers to skim through and understand.

3. “How Meagan and Alex of Agents of Change 10X-ed Their Income With Thinkific,” by Thinkific

When Meagan Mitchell, one-half of Agents of Change, took the ASWB exam to become a licensed clinical worker, she only needed to get a book with which to prepare. There were other learning materials, but they were either limited or expensive. Not to mention outdated, too.

Noticing these inefficiencies, Meagan and her husband, Alex, decided to create updated materials and adapt the way people studied for their licensing exams to include more technology. That’s how Agents of Change was created in 2020.

At the time, Meagan was doing individual and group tutoring for people about to take their exams, but Alex advised her to upload her tutoring content on a course platform so people can learn at their own pace. They started with Gumroad, but a year later, they outgrew the platform and started looking for a more robust one. That’s how they found Thinkific.

With Thinkific, Meagan and Alex have been able to build an all-encompassing licensing exam prep course, build strong communities across several social media platforms, and assess their customers’ needs and iterate accordingly. They’ve also been able to create a branded mobile app for learners on the go, which has really boosted their business.

As a result, they’ve been able to 10X their annual revenue (from when they were using Gumroad) and transform Agents of Change into a thriving business.

Takeaway

This case study not only explains Meagan and Alex’s reasoning behind creating an online business that focuses on social workers, but it also lists some other lessons readers can learn from the couple on building and scaling an online business.

With this approach, you not only show people the value of your product, but you also deliver value by letting them learn from clients who might be in the same position as them.

4. "Embracing first-party data: 3 success stories from HubSpot," by Think with Google

In this case study, Christen Luciano, director of strategic alliances at HubSpot, explores how three small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) used first-party data (data collected directly from your audience, whether customers, website visitors, or social media followers) to improve their marketing effectiveness.

The first company is Zoe Financial, a New York-based wealth-planning platform. This company’s first-party data, stored in the HubSpot CRM platform, provided insights into what makes an ideal client.

They used the data to optimize their Google Ads campaigns, which resulted in its most valuable client segment making up 60% of sales, the highest ever since the company was founded in 2018.

The second company is Cluey Learning, an online tutoring startup that helps parents find personalized school support for their kids across Australia and New Zealand. The Cluey team used the first-party data they stored with HubSpot and Google’s shared solution to reach qualified potential customers with relevant campaigns. With this strategy, Cluey’s ads increased in effectiveness by 190%, and the cost of conversions decreased by 17%.

The third company is France-based startup Agicap, which struggled to stand out in an online space saturated with ads from its competitors. By feeding its first-party CRM data from HubSpot into Google Ads and leveraging Google’s Customer Match feature, Agicap was able to reengage its qualified leads with relevant ads. This resulted in a 10% increase in conversions and a 15% increase in revenue growth.

Takeaway

If you have a few clients who use the same tool in similar ways to get specific results, you can group them together in one case study instead of creating separate case studies for each of them. This way, prospective customers who would benefit from using your tool in the same way can see themselves in each company you discussed in the case study.

5. "A Healthcare System Plans for Resilience," by Herman Miller

Herman Miller sells sleek, utilitarian furniture with no frills and extreme functionality, and this case study details its partnership with a Catholic health system that includes thousands of healthcare facilities across the U.S.

This organization, which is deeply committed to the environment and financial stewardship, wanted to make its growing portfolio of facilities more efficient, effective, and agile.

To do that, its Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC) team started making plans for facilities that can respond to situations and accommodate changes of all magnitudes. However, the organization wanted to reduce fragmentation and ensure consistency across locations, so it partnered with Herman Miller (and its network of dealer partners, e.g., OfficeWorks).

Herman Miller worked with this organization to develop processes for planning, designing, and executing these projects while meeting stringent guidelines. They were also able to repurpose the existing casework and furnishings for the new clinics, which saved the organization over 50% of what it would’ve cost to order things brand new.

No material from the project ended up in landfills, which is a win for both the environment and the organization.

There were also other benefits of working with Herman Miller, which included saving time via streamlined processes/solutions, getting reliable day-to-day service from OfficeWorks (which is fully integrated into the organization’s team), stress-free disassembly and reinstallation, and continuity with updates.

Takeaway

Similar to the Handled case study by HubSpot, this one by Herman Miller takes an expository approach, which is effective if the client you’re discussing in the case study used your product/service for a large project with different moving parts.

An expository approach allows you to describe those moving parts and then connect them neatly at the end as you describe the eventual results you helped the client achieve.

6. “Sephora at Kohl’s to Expand Shop-in-Shop Concept to All Kohl’s Locations,” by Retail Touchpoints

Sephora first partnered with Kohl’s in 2021, the department store retailer, to replace Kohl’s beauty offerings with Sephora counters.

At the time, both companies planned about 200 store launches, but the partnership was so successful that the partnership grew to include nearly 400 stores in 2022. With the same growth rates reported that year, Kohl’s anticipated that, by 2023, it will have opened 800 Sephora at Kohl’s locations.

Since the launch of the partnership in August 2021, Kohl’s has seen over 1 million new customers, noting that the collaboration is attracting younger and more diverse audiences. The partnership is now projected to reach $2 billion in annual sales by 2025.

Takeaway

Before describing the success of the initial partnership between Sephora and Kohl’s, this case study noted that the collaboration is set to expand.

If you have a client who’s renewing their partnership with your business, you could take this approach by first making it known that they’re continuing their collaboration with you and then explaining why (the initial collaboration was massively successful).

7. "HackReactor teaches the world to code #withAsana," by Asana

Hack Reactor is a software engineering coding boot camp program that aims to provide a world-class education to its students. When the company was just starting out, its CEO, Tony Williams, could easily keep track of all the moving pieces. But as it got more students, hired more staff, and opened more locations, being so meticulous became a challenge.

Tony started looking for a tool his growing team could use to store information centrally, so they could use it. After using Asana personally and being satisfied with it, he rolled it out to the entire team.

The first thing they did was upload their detailed documentation on important processes like course development or facilities and made it available to everyone in the company. They also used Asana’s API to streamline their processes and make them more efficient.

Not too long after, the Hack Reactor team, which comprises over 200 people, started using Asana for many different workflows, including their management processes, performance reviews, standard operating procedures, HR policies, and team-building events.

The efficiency this brought has caused Hack Reactor to cut its operation costs by 50% and recruiting costs down to $0. Hack Reactor’s graduation rate is now 97.3%, and the job placement rate is 98.1%.

Takeaway

In the same vein as the case study by Omniscient Digital, this one by Asana puts the metrics (and accompanying figures) right at the beginning to pique the curiosity of readers. Then it goes on to explain how exactly Asana helped Hack Reactor achieve these results, featuring statements from the CEO himself.

8. "Rips Sewed, Brand Love Reaped," by Amp Agency

Patagonia, the American outdoor clothing and gear brand, appealed to its core audience with high-quality products, environmental activism, and sustainable business practices. However, it sought to connect with a younger demographic and change the relationships people have with the things they buy.

So, they hired Amp Agency to help them.

Upon learning what Patagonia wanted to achieve, the agency and its client worked together to come up with the Worn Wear program, which encourages people to repair and reuse existing items. To execute the program, the agency got a custom-designed biodiesel-converted Dodge truck named Delia, and embarked on a 7-week road trip to share this message with people directly.

This epic tour started in the California Bay Area and headed east, where they stopped at major Patagonia markets, smaller markets, college campuses, transit stations, local businesses, and outdoor community boards.

At each stop, Worn Wear tour team members mended and repaired used garments, shared valuable tips with DIYers, and sold used Worn Wear merchandise through Delia’s pop-up shop.

The agency documented the entire trip on social media and bolstered that with PR and guerilla marketing tactics, so Delia arrived at each stop to excited crowds. At the end of the 5,000-mile journey, they realized that they had over 11,000 tour attendees, an 88% merchandise sell-through rate during the tour, and nearly 700,000 page views on the Worn Wear landing page.

Takeaway

Taking the expository approach (but without quotes), Amp Agency succinctly describes the measures it took to reach young people with Patagonia’s message. However, at the end, it boldly lists the results it got for Patagonia, which ties up the exposition nicely.

9. “WorkDay Puts Evisort’s Connected Contract Intelligence to Work—and It Delivered,” by Evisort

The legal operations team at WorkDay, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance, HR, and planning, realized that the company could save hundreds of thousands of hours by automating contract data processes. The team posited that by streamlining their contracting processes using AI, the group could connect the contract data to locate information quickly.

When the team proposed this to the business, they were immediately on board and started looking for tools that can perform this function. They eventually found Evisort. Using the Evisort platform, Workday’s legal team were able to get time back. They used the platform for large-scale/global projects with multiple search parameters, and connected that data to other platforms, including Salesforce.

The Workday legal operations team also implemented multiple Evisort user levels — ranging from users who don’t frequently use the platform to those who use it every day.

By partnering with Evisort, Workday was able to optimize its legal operations, achieving a whopping 3,500% return on investment.

Takeaway

Right underneath the title, Evisort provides a short blurb that summarizes the entire case study. This helps readers who are unable to read the whole thing at that moment have an idea of what Workday is and how Evisort helped the company achieve an ROI that high.

This blurb increases the chances of readers returning to read the case study or downloading it for perusal later.

10. "Flexible Data Processing for Land Usage," by Cloudflight

This case study describes the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS), a European program for monitoring the Earth. Cloudflight explains that the CLMS has three parts, the second of which Cloudflight is currently developing (the CLC+ Core).

The case study goes on to describe the challenge of developing a system that covers the entirety of the EEA-38 + UK States and takes in tons of data, while remaining user-friendly and intuitive. It then describes the solution: The Cloudflight team created a blueprint that shows the opportunities to seize and best practices to adopt to make the system suitable for end-users while processing huge quantities of data.

Takeaway

This case study is highly specialized, and I don’t fully understand what the CLMS does and its significance. But, that’s the point. If your industry is deeply technical, don’t shy away from using jargon to describe what you do. It’s a great way to show prospects that you’re passionate about the industry and are not just trying to get their business.

11. “Twinkle Twinkle Little One Grows Revenue by 80% with Shopify POS,” by Shopify

Twinkle Twinkle Little One, founded by Rachel and Corey Glasson, is a Chicago-based premiere baby and child boutique that sells things parents need to care for their babies, like cribs, dressers, car seats, clothing, etc.

The challenge this company faced is that the POS they used didn’t integrate well with the brand’s e-commerce tool. As a result, staff had to manually cross-reference inventory quantities on both systems to maintain accuracy. Not only was this time-consuming and stressful, but it was also imperfect and they sometimes received orders for items that were actually not in stock.

To unify the sales channels and streamline the business’ operations, the Glassons decided to migrate to Shopify POS, which integrated seamlessly with the brand’s QuickBooks Desktop Accounting Software.

Since this migration, Twinkle Twinkle Little One has grown its revenue by nearly 80% year-over-year (YoY), reduced back-office tasks, and streamlined its sales, inventory, and financial reporting.

Takeaway

Right underneath the title is a blurb that makes it clear that the Glassons were using other tools before Shopify. Since prospective customers who read case studies are likely trying to make a decision on which tool to go for, this is a great way to show the value your product provides (compared to your competitors).

12. “How BlueBridge One Uses Happeo for Knowledge Management,” by Happeo

BlueBridge One is a leading Oracle NetSuite solution provider with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, the UK, and Romania. The company has over 80 employees who are all well-versed with the product and are experts in their field.

They had one problem, though: an overload of information. Also, with offices in different geographic locations and most employees working remotely, it was difficult to collaborate and share information.

So, the BlueBridge One team set out to find a tool that can serve as a universal source of truth. And they found Happeo, which proved to be more than just an intranet. It was also a social platform that bridged the gap between BlueBridge One’s offices and deepened the bond between colleagues.

Takeaway

The entire case study is almost exclusively composed of direct quotes from Lameshnee Chetty, BlueBridge One’s Knowledge Manager. In fact, the case study begins by introducing Lameshnee, rather than the company itself. This is a great way to humanize your client and give readers someone they can relate to in the case study.

13. "Red Sox Season Campaign," by CTP Boston

Unlike most case studies, which read like blog posts, this one by CTP Boston is structured in a landing page style. It details how CTP Boston created the annual Opening Day TV Spot for the Boston Red Sox, which it has been doing for over a decade as the team’s agency partner.

Below the hero video, the page shows the awards that CTP Boston’s work has garnered, including an Emmy and a Hatch award. This lends credibility to the work that the agency does and speaks to their expertise. After this, it briefly explains the challenge CTP Boston faced with that year’s campaign and the idea with which they approached the execution.

Then, the page showed a core metric: The Opening Day Spot earned over 1 million impressions within the first two weeks of airing, which is impressive.

Takeaway

This landing page-style case study takes the “show, don’t tell” approach seriously. The page opens with a video of the Red Sox team on the field, which sets the mood for the other videos of player spotlights on the page. There are also visuals from the print campaign and social media executions, as well as campaigns from previous years.

This is a great way to show the work that you can create for your clients as well as your range and adaptability.

14. "Reimagining the B2B Web Experience for a Challenger Digital Experience Platform," by Genuine

This case study covers Genuine’s partnership with Acoustic, an independent cloud marketing platform that helps marketers “unleash their brilliance.” Acoustic was building a new brand in a crowded marketing technology space and hired Genuine, a digital experience agency, to create a website that’ll help them stand out from the crowd.

And that’s what Genuine did! The company created a stunning website that put the needs of marketers and IT professionals at the center, helping site visitors identify the solutions they needed. So, instead of talking about what Acoustic does, the website focused on what Acoustic’s target audience needed.

This approach helped Acoustic get a 49% increase in form submissions, 212% increase in mobile form submissions, and a 72% increase in marketing qualified lead submissions.

Takeaway

In short, punchy sentences, Genuine described at the beginning what it did for Acoustic and the results the work brought. In similarly punchy paragraphs (with lots of white space), it gave an overview of Acoustic and what it needed, a testimonial from Acoustic’s CMO, and three takeaways from Genuine’s approach to Acoustic needs.

Having takeaways in your case study (or blog post, as in my case) is a great way to show your process and how you approach client work.

15. "Using Apptio Targetprocess Automated Rules in Wargaming," by Apptio

Apptio’s case study for Wargaming summarizes three key pieces of information: the goals, the obstacles, and the results. It uses bullet points and short sentences to convey the message, so instead of reading through long blocks of text, you’re able to get the message immediately.

Now, if you feel that there’s context missing or you don’t quite understand how Apptio helped Wargaming, there’s a 10-minute video in the header where Yulia Ivantsova and Diana Paliychuk (Project Manager, EPMO) at Wargaming answer questions and give more context into how Wargaming leveraged Apptio for its processes.

Takeaway

If you’re able to film an interview with a leader from the company that hired you or used your product, that’s a great way to humanize both your brand and your client’s brand, and get their unfiltered thoughts as to how they decided to partner with you and the results you’ve brought them.

When you do this, you don’t have to write a whole blog post explaining the entire process. You could just take Apptio’s route and write a 14-line summary broken down into sections.

16. "Coca-Cola Wins With First-to-Market Playable Ads,” by Uber

Uber isn’t just a rideshare company; it’s also an advertising company, as its collection of case studies proves. One of those case studies is this one that concisely describes how Coca-Cola partnered with Uber to engage customers during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

With the first-to-market Playable Ad, the iconic brand targeted sports fans, tourists attending the event, and Uber Eats grocery shoppers. Users could play a branded game within a Post-Checkout Ad to unlock a special Coke discount.

The strategy for Coca-Cola got 21%+ new customer redemptions, 40+ secs average playing time, and 90%+ game completion rate across both Australia and New Zealand.

Takeaway

The blurb and the results from Coca-Cola’s campaign take up over half of the entire page. This speaks to how effective it is to put the results front and center and then build the rest of the narrative from there.

17. "Discovering Cost Savings With Efficient Decision Making," by Gartner

Gartner collaborated with Charleston County School District, the second largest district in South Carolina, to provide insights on how Charleston IT leaders can streamline the decision-making process and determine the optimal IT security framework for the business.

With Gartner’s help, the IT leaders were able to save time on discovering long-term cost savings initiatives. They were also able to talk about existing IP addresses and their potential to bring more budget to the district worth north of $1 million.

Takeaway

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need a few paragraphs and bullet points, like in Gartner’s case study. Gartner does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs.

18. "Bringing an Operator to the Game," by Redapt

This case study example by Redapt is another great demonstration of the power of summarizing your case study’s takeaways right at the start of the study. The blurb describes in one sentence the kind of company that needed Redapt’s services, what they aimed to achieve, and how Redapt helped them achieve it.

The case study goes on to include three easy-to-scan columns: “The problem,” “The solution,” and “The outcome.” In these sections, Redapt explains that the company had online players from around the world and was trying to transition from running its apps on VMs to using a modern development environment centered around containers.

They hired Redapt, which helped them move to DevOps, containers, and Kubernetes. Because of this, the company was able to accelerate its game development process and cut costs, while reducing the need for always-available personnel.

Takeaway

Like Redapt, you can break your case study down into easily digestible sections. Also, use colored sections, like the “moment of clarity” and “end result” sections in this case study. With this addition, you can highlight the “turning points” for both you and your client when you were working toward a solution.

19. "The Soundtrack to Growth: A Spotify Marketing Case Study," by NoGood

Rather than exploring how it helped a client, this case study by NoGood, a growth marketing agency, explores the marketing strategies that Spotify employed to become the global phenomenon that it is today.

This deep dive covers the three pillars of Spotify’s strategy — Personalization, Emotion, and Data — and does a good job explaining Spotify’s target audience and the company’s approach to the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Promotion, and Place.

The case study explains how Spotify uses machine learning to identify each user’s listening habits and historical behaviors. It then uses that data to predict what they might want to listen to in the future, even going as far as getting an AI DJ to curate a playlist just for them.

The case study also talks about how the company uses the data it collects from its 640 million users to run relatable and humor-filled campaigns, including the popular Spotify Wrapped, which leverages users’ emotions (memory and nostalgia, mostly) and makes them feel like part of a community.

Takeaway

Your case studies don’t always have to be about your clients, especially if you’re a service-based business. It can be about other successful businesses that fit your ideal client profile.

Doing deep dives into these businesses tells prospective clients that you’re an expert in your field. You’ll show prospects that they can trust you to come up with strategies that will work for them.

Digital Marketing Case Study Examples

20. “Smartling Generates $3.7M of Pipeline With Product-Led Content,” by Omniscient Digital

Omniscient Digital is a premium content marketing agency that helps software companies grow using SEO and content. In 2021, Smartling, a language translation platform, partnered with the agency to increase brand awareness and conversions.

Before that, they’d been struggling with garnering organic traffic and conversions, which was bad for business, seeing as they relied on content to reach new customers. When they lost their in-house writer and subject matter expert (SMEs), they knew they had to seek external help. After trying a few agencies with little to no results, they found Omniscient Digital.

After the initial meeting, the Omniscient team was able to pinpoint Smartling’s challenges and goals. Then, Omniscient got to work researching and interviewing SMEs to learn more about the translation management industry and Smartling’s target audience. The team also audited Smartling’s existing content using Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, etc.

The data they discovered helped the team build a product-led SEO strategy and content roadmap that involved creating new content, optimizing existing content, and building high-value backlinks. The intention was to capture searchers with high-conversion intent who matched Smartling’s target audience.

And it worked!

From 2022 to 2024, the Smartling blog had a 118% boost in organic blog traffic and a 31,250% increase in blog conversions. All of this amounted to $3.7 million in pipeline.

Takeaway

The title of the case study is gripping, what with the mention of $3.7 million in pipeline. Immediately, Omniscient Digital bolsters this claim by showing three metrics (increase in blog conversions, sitewide conversions, and ROI on organic search program).

This approach piques readers’ interest further, encouraging them to read on and find out just how those numbers were achieved.

21. "How Fractl Earned Links from 931 Unique Domains for Porch.com in a Single Year," by Fractl

Taking the same web page approach as CTP Boston, Fractl, a digital marketing agency, showed how it helped Porch, a home improvement marketplace, earn links from 931 unique domains in one year. But that’s not all Fractl helped Porch achieve.

Just below the hero section is a rundown of metrics showing the full results of the campaign Fractl ran for Porch, including 23K+ monthly visitors added, 3,500+ press mentions, and TV coverage by Whoopi Goldberg on The View, among other feats.

Before delving into the explanation of how it achieved that, Fractl employs images to give readers a visual idea of Porch’s results, including screenshots of the analytics, logos of some companies and publications that mentioned Porch, and a map of the states that mentioned Porch.

Then, the case study explains the engagement highlights in more detail to give readers more context into these achievements, including positive responses and feedback from publishers they reached out to on Porch’s behalf.

Takeaway

Start your case study by stating the key results, like Fractl does, instead of putting the results all the way at the bottom. Let pictures speak for you by incorporating graphs, logos, and icons all throughout the case study. Also, include first-person accounts, if applicable, so readers can imagine the results they’ll get if they hire you to help them.

22. "In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study," by Switch

Switch is an international marketing agency based in Malta that knocks it out of the park with a case study unlike any I’ve seen. In 13 pages, Switch dives deep into how it helped its client (whose name it didn’t reveal) with their Search and Facebook Ad campaigns, which they were running in-house.

On the cover page, Switch noted that it helped this client increase ROI by 2,000% in just six weeks, positioning the case study as a “performance marketing” case study.

With clever multi-approach strategies, split testing, and ad optimization, Switch was able to raise the client’s Search ROI from 1.2x to 19x in a few months and the Facebook ROI from 1.07x to 35x in the same period.

Takeaway

Instead of the regular 1-page case study, do a deep into the results you’ve achieved for your clients. Specify the results you helped them achieve from the jump, and then explain, step by step, the approach(es) you took to help them achieve these results.

To showcase just how effective your strategies were, include industry benchmarks within your case study, like Switch does. Then, end with a call to action on how readers can get in touch with you if they need your services.

23. "Money Keywords Digital Marketing Case Study," by Cognism

Like Switch, Cognism’s approach with this case study is in-depth. Instead of talking about a client, the writer explores Cognism itself and how its marketers use keywords such as money to help it grow.

The case study identified key issues with Cognism’s SEO that caused them to lose SERP rankings and see a decline in seasonal traffic. It introduces their unique idea of solving SEO challenges with money keywords.

These are high-intent keywords that attract ready-to-buy visitors. By introducing such ideas and spreading them, Cognism tried to improve brand awareness among its audience.

Cognism also talked about its backlink strategy, detailing how it targeted high-authority websites and tracked their progress each quarter. They used guest blogging, leveraged outreach, and created linkable content to improve SERP rankings and boost domain authority.

They also gave examples of tools like HockeyStack, which helped with data visualization and used metrics like demo requests, generated deals, and revenue as outcomes.

Takeaway

If you just implemented a successful strategy for your own website/social media/email list, make a case study about it. Talk about your process in detail and the tools you used for execution to promote your ideas in your niche and gain authority.

24. “How Persona-Focused SEO Brings Preply 25K New Visitors Every Month,” by Animalz

Animalz is one of the leading content marketing agencies for B2B SaaS companies, and it uses a wide range of content strategies to deal with its clients’ unique challenges. One of those clients is Preply, an online language-learning marketplace.

With over 1,000 search-optimized pages (many of which are bottom of the funnel (BOFU) content), Preply relies heavily on SEO to attract new customers.

However, after its $70 million it received in funding, the company wanted to invest in better SEO to identify more potential customers higher up the funnel. It also wanted to increase its organic traffic, which had plateaued for much of the first half of 2023.

This case study meticulously explains what Preply wanted to achieve, where they were at the moment they partnered with Animalz, the steps that the Animalz team took to build and execute a winning strategy for the company, and the results of that strategy.

Takeaway

It’s one thing to list the challenges your client was facing prior to partnering with you; it’s quite another to describe, in detail, the stage they were at the time of partnership.

In your case study, showing readers what your client was experiencing before they hired you sets the foundation for explaining the progress they made after you executed the strategy. It puts the results into perspective.

25. “Online Revenue Increased by 27% and Offline Revenue by 44%,” by The Social Shepherd

The Social Shepherd is an award-winning social first agency, and the client they discussed in this case study is GoCustom Clothing, a personalized clothing company. In this case study, The Social Shepherd gave a quick overview of what the client company does, and its goal: to grow sales through paid digital advertising, while achieving a blended target ROAS of 460%.

The next section details what The Social Shepherd did to help the client, which included analyzing past performance and then using this information to update the account’s structures.

It also strategized around both online and offline revenue generation and created an extensive range of secondary conversions to understand how the offline revenue was being generated. This helped the agency plan the investment to support the conversions and get the expected returns for GoCustom Clothing.

This approach yielded impressive results for the client: it increased both online and offline revenue by 27% and 44% respectively and achieved a blended ROAS of 474% (which was above their target of 460%). At the end, The Social Shepherd noted that GoCustom Clothing plans to increase their budget for 2024, and is working with the agency to launch a paid media campaign on LinkedIn.

Takeaway

In your case study, outline your client’s goals to present clear objectives for readers. Then, explain how you help them achieve these goals, the results, and how the client plans to further their partnership with you (if applicable).

26. “LinkedIn Advertising Case Study for Healthcare Communication Company,” by Directive Consulting

Directive Consulting’s case study for TigerConnect’s ad campaign provides a clear narrative of the latter’s challenge, strategy, and results. The case study begins with a brief overview of what TigerConnect does and how it helps doctors, nurses, patients, and care teams communicate with one another.

Then, it boldly shows the results it got for the company: 31% increase in paid leads QoQ, 111% increase in overall visits from LinkedIn QoQ, and 71% decrease in cost-per-acquisition QoQ. Directive Consulting achieved these results by helping TigerConnect nail its targeting for paid adverts.

Since TigerConnect serves a very specific vertical of healthcare professionals, the targeting pool for paid ads is really narrow, and sometimes, they don’t target the right keywords, which causes them to lose money.

So, they enlisted Directive Consulting’s help, and the agency decided to use LinkedIn to target prospective clients at the top of the funnel and guide them down the funnel toward conversion.

This strategy was very successful, as it helped TigerConnect solidify a top-of-funnel paid strategy and hit their quarterly goals.

Takeaway

Give relevant context in the client overview section, so readers have essential background information on the client. Then, offer a step-by-step breakdown of your strategy, including initial actions and subsequent adjustments. This helps readers understand the reasoning behind each decision.

27. “Siege Media’s Digital PR Helped Vena Solutions Win 300+ High-Authority Links,” By Siege Media

Siege Media’s case study for Vena Solutions illustrates how the former helped the latter get over 300 high-quality backlinks.

At the time, Vena Solutions, a platform that helps financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams use Microsoft Excel to its fullest potential, needed a content marketing agency to create blog posts that would rank and bring in high-authority links from reputable news sources.

So, they hired Siege Media, a top marketing agency, that got to work creating shareable top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) content, including statistic-centric posts that encouraged others to link back to Vena as an authority in the FP&A industry. In about a year, the Vena Solutions blog saw a 197% increase in organic traffic value and 216% more links across multiple blog posts.

Takeaway

Let the visuals speak by including examples of the actual work you did for your client and graphs showing the results. This is especially useful if you’re a branding and/or marketing agency.

Start Creating Your Case Study Today

After researching and writing this piece, I realized there are countless ways to structure a case study — everything from a quick-read blog post or a traditional web page format, to long-form PDF reports and even a compilation of graphs showing results and news logos showcasing media mentions.

Sometimes, it’s most effective to write from your company’s perspective, but other times, telling the story from the client’s viewpoint brings a more personal touch. I learned that you can even mix things up with a few bullet points supported by a video interview featuring leaders from the client company.

I think you should pick whatever format helps you best highlight the results you achieved for your client. But if you’re not sure which structure to choose, feel free to download these free case study templates and start experimenting!

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The 7 Principles of Conversion-Centered Landing Page Design

pvaughan+oligardner@hubspot.com (Oli Gardner) — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Designing an optimized landing page isn’t just a task — it’s an art form. If you want a landing page that doesn’t just exist but actively converts, you need to master the craft of conversion-centered design (CCD). Ready to level up?

CCD is the science of crafting experiences laser-focused on achieving a singular business goal. Think of it as your cheat code to guide visitors toward one specific action — whether that’s sharing their details, learning about your offering, or taking the next step in your conversion funnel. And at the heart of CCD? Landing pages.

Landing pages are your ultimate conversion tool, designed with a single purpose: to drive users toward a decisive action. They use congruent design — everything working in harmony to achieve a singular objective. But how do you nudge visitors toward the finish line?

The answer lies in leveraging psychological triggers and design elements that focus attention and encourage interaction. Let’s unpack the seven principles that make CCD tick.

Table of Contents

What is conversion-centered design?
The 7 Principles of Conversion-Centered Design

What is conversion-centered design?

When I think about design for conversion, I like to imagine it as a digital storefront. You know how a well-organized, eye-catching store draws you in and makes you want to buy something?

That’s exactly what CCD does — it’s all about creating web pages, emails, or landing pages that not only look great but are strategically designed to guide visitors toward taking a specific action. Whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or making a purchase, CCD is the art of turning passive browsers into active participants.

At its core, CCD focuses on:

Clarity
Relevance
Urgency

It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about understanding your audience’s needs and removing any friction that might stand in their way. Think bold headlines, compelling calls-to-action (CTAs), and layouts that naturally lead the eye to the next step. Every element is intentional, from the colors to the copy, all working together to create a seamless user experience.

For me, the beauty of CCD lies in its balance — it’s both creative and analytical. It’s about designing with purpose, testing what works, and constantly optimizing to ensure your audience doesn’t just visit your page but takes the action you want them to. But, as they say, every house has its foundation, and CCD’s consists of seven key principles.

The 7 Principles of Conversion-Centered Design

1. Encapsulation

This is a classic technique I like to use to guide your visitors’ attention and create a tunnel vision effect. I like to think of it as carving out a clear window on your landing page — where your call-to-action (CTA) is the view they can’t miss. It’s all about creating a focal point that instantly draws the eye and leaves no confusion about what to do next.

In my experience, it’s best to have one primary object as the star of the page — your main CTA — supported by secondary elements that complement it. If you overcrowd the page with too many competing words, images, or CTAs, it can feel like visual noise. Visitors get overwhelmed, unsure of where to look or what to do, and that’s when they’re likely to bounce. Keep it simple, focused, and intentional, and you’ll keep them engaged and moving toward that desired action.

Example of Encapsulation

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I think this landing page for Radical Design’s new design course is a great example of encapsulation. The dark background helps keep our eyes focused on the fun, colorful words and makes the bright CTA really pop. There’s nothing to distract us from the main message of the page.

Pro tip: Center your main message in the vision tunnel. This doesn’t necessarily have to be in the middle of the page (in fact, off-centered focal points create more dynamic pages), but you want to draw all your viewers’ eyes to the same point.

2. Contrast and Color

Contrast isn’t just a design principle — it’s a conversion weapon. Your CTA should scream “Click me!” even from across the room. Combining similar hues? Forget it. But a vibrant orange button on a monochromatic layout? That’s how you win eyeballs — and clicks.

The more you can make your CTA stand out from its surroundings, the easier it will be to see.

Color psychology matters, too!

Orange, for example, is known to generate positive feelings and can be a great choice for the color of your CTA. Each hue carries emotional weight, and understanding these associations can help you evoke specific feelings that support your goals.

Red: Danger, stop, negative, excitement, hot.
Dark Blue: Stable, calming, trustworthy, mature.
Light Blue: Youthful, masculine, cool.
Green: Growth, positive, organic, go, comforting.
White: Pure, clean, honest.
Black: Serious, heavy, death.
Gray: Integrity, neutral, cool, mature.
Brown: Wholesome, organic, unpretentious.
Yellow: Emotional, positive, caution.
Gold: Conservative, stable, elegant.
Orange: Emotional, positive, organic.
Purple: Youthful, contemporary, royal.
Pink: Youthful, feminine, warm.
Pastels: Youthful, soft, feminine, sensitive.
Metallics: Elegant, lasting, wealthy.

Another important consideration is the contrasting effect of color. This idea borrows from white space and contrast techniques in that it’s a method of isolation via difference.

Example of Contrast and Color

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This has always been one of my favorite landing pages because of how barebones it is. White text on a black background, light blue on grey, white on dark blue, done. No nonsense, animations or beating around the bush.

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Ah, the old reliable. Orange is a very tricky color to include “tastefully,” but HubSpot gets it done with a simple white background. You’ll notice how there is enough content to make the white not too bright.

Pro tip: Want an edge? Leverage contrast to make your button pop. If your page is cool-toned, a fiery red or orange button will dominate attention. Pair colors strategically to avoid visual clashes while ensuring maximum impact.

3. Directional Cues

Humans are wired to follow directions — literally. Whether it’s arrows, pathways, or even the gaze of a photographed subject, directional cues are visual road signs guiding users straight to your CTA.

These cues capitalize on our natural tendencies to seek guidance, making them invaluable when it comes to design for conversion.

Arrows

As directional cues, arrows are about as subtle as a punch in the face, which is why they work so well. With so little time on your page, visually guiding the user to the intended focal point is a smart move.

Arrows let you say, “Ignore everything else, and pay attention to this please.”

The awesome example below shows four different cues at once. One arrow is more aggressive, while another goes in both directions. There’s also two signs pointing in the direction of the header, subtly leading people towards key features. I love it because it’s so free-flowing and direct at the same time.

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Now, let’s take a look at something more immediate and direct. The second example shows a man holding a Macbook, representing a satisfied user of Conversion Lab. I like how there aren’t too many bells and whistles, just a purple hand-drawn arrow pointing at the equally purple button. Less is more, folks!

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Pro tip: For maximum effectiveness, I suggest you design converging lines to draw people to your CTA. Triangles are the most dynamic of all shapes, and their natural tendency to point makes them a special design tool, in the same way that an arrow is a more intricately designed pathway.

Pathways

Another great design element here are pathways. Pathways represent real-world way-finding avenues that trigger our brains into thinking we need to follow them. Roads are so strongly ingrained in our psyche as the path of least resistance, that we naturally gravitate toward them as a transport guide.

This example shows a windy, inviting road, leading to some fabulous… well, Italian adventure… as described by this tour company. Notice how the CTA is placed so that your eye follows the path straight to it?

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Suggestive Power of the Eye

As humans, we’re all programmed to understand the purpose and use of eyes and the meaning that comes from the eyes of someone or something else. Who are they looking at? What is the gaze like? What emotion can we read from it?

In the first example below, the woman is looking at the screen, which is coincidentally in the same direction as the button to start a Pro trial for free. Her face also has an expression of excitement, which immediately made me want to know what all the fuss was about. Curiosity is the motivation that forces you to follow his gaze.

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You’d want your conversion target to be where she, and everyone else, is looking.

In the second example below, the directional cue is more subtle but still very clear. Your attention is first driven to the top right brush, which is pointing almost exactly at the Shop Now button.

The one below is also prominent, pointing to the Shop Now button in the middle of the landing page, which is also, incidentally, a different color compared to the one I first pointed out. Finally, to complete the triangular shape around the main conversion button, the third brush is a high-contrast position, pointing directly towards the Goby logo. Now that’s what I call harmony.

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4. White Space

White space is a design element that often goes unnoticed — yet it’s one of the most powerful tools for creating emphasis. This empty area surrounding key elements clears clutter, enhances focus, and brings clarity. It’s the visual equivalent of a pause that lets your CTA sink in.

I like to think of white space as the quiet that makes the message louder. It’s not just a stylistic choice — it’s a strategic one.

Example of White Space

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Ali Abdaal keeps it simple but still manages to deliver a stunning, complex page. How exactly? Pay attention to the different shades of white and grey. My eyes didn’t register them as colors designed to fill the space, instead perceiving them as regular emptiness. But when you look closer, everything is cohesive and the directional cues are all there.

Pro tip: White space gives your elements room to breathe. Reducing clutter, you amplify the impact of focal points, such as your CTA. The interplay between blank space and design elements creates a calming yet engaging aesthetic that keeps users focused and attentive.

5. Urgency and Scarcity

Now we’re moving from design principles to psychological elements that help create high-converting landing pages.

Two of the most common psychological motivators are the use of urgency (limited time) and scarcity (limited supply). They’re simple concepts that can be applied in a number of ways.

Example of Urgency

“Buy now.” “Don’t miss out.” We’re used to hearing these types of phrases. Statements of urgency are used to coerce us into making a purchasing decision right away. But how do you use them effectively?

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This is how. Coco Village manages to create a sense of urgency without additional pressure using three different elements. When I opened the page, my eyes were immediately focused on the 25%, followed by the words “exclusive” and “limited time only.” The subtle reminder doesn’t rush potential leads, but still manages to hasten the decision making.

Example of Scarcity

As humans, we naturally feel anxiety and a feeling to rush when something is running out. We want to snatch it ASAP without considering too many additional factors. That’s why there’s a limited time to make use of this feeling of urgency.

Airline ticket purchasing is very sensitive to the concept of scarcity, as the number of seats rapidly diminishes as the flight time nears. To leverage this, Expedia uses transparency as a psychological trigger to encourage you to get your credit card out and book right away.

They do this by showing the number of seats left on the flight, but only when the number is low, like only three seats left, as shown in this example:

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6. “Try Before You Buy”

Let’s be honest: Who hasn’t swiped a grape or two at the supermarket just to make sure they’re worth buying? It’s like a universally accepted little act of thievery that we all justify in our heads. Some feel guilty, others don’t, but we all know the drill.

As a marketer, you can take inspiration from this. Let your audience “taste” your product without hesitation or fear of commitment. A little free sample goes a long way in building trust and curiosity.

Example of Previews

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People love a sneak peek before committing. If you’re offering an ebook, why not give away the first chapter as a free download? Or, take a snippet and turn it into a blog post with a CTA that says, “Download the full ebook.”

Not everyone will bite, and that’s okay — you’re weeding out the tire-kickers and focusing on quality leads instead of piling up hundreds of contacts who’ll never convert. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Amazon is a classic example of this principle with its “Look Inside” feature, which lets you read a portion of the book in advance.

Pro tip: Letting people check out your product before committing shows confidence. It’s like saying, “We have nothing to hide” — and that builds credibility. People are way more likely to buy when they trust what they’re getting. Transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a game-changer for conversions.

7. Social Proof

Social proof works because humans are wired to trust the actions of a crowd. If everyone’s doing it, it must be good, right? It’s the “me too” factor in action and it brings instant believability.

You can create this same effect online. Show off your social proof: the number of shares, downloads, or sign-ups. People love seeing numbers that say, “Hey, everyone else is doing this” — it’s a great way to grab attention. Testimonials are another goldmine, especially when they’re from familiar names or industries your audience trusts.

Example of Social Proof

Sometimes, I get caught up in all the UI elements that need to be on a landing page that I forget how irrelevant they are compared to word of mouth. If there are real people advocating for the product, then the trust level rises significantly.

Source

Pro tip: Testimonials can hinder conversion rates if used incorrectly. Discover some top tips for leveraging customer testimonials.

Design for Conversion

Through writing this piece, I remembered the power of conversion-centered design and how psychological principles influence user behavior. Breaking down the seven key principles reinforced how strategic design elements — like contrast, directional cues, and urgency — can significantly impact engagement and conversions.

More than just aesthetics, CCD is about guiding users with intention, making every design choice purposeful. The process also highlighted the balance between creativity and data-driven optimization, reinforcing the idea that effective landing pages blend both art and science to drive results.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The Most Common Leadership Styles & How I Found Mine [Expert Insights]

Zoe Ashbridge — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Imagine the leaders who inspire you — each with their own leadership style, driving success in unique ways. I think leadership styles are important enough to shape how businesses operate, influence company culture, and impact team performance.

Leading a boutique marketing agency, I align most with democratic leadership, fostering collaboration and shared decision-making. Earlier in my career, I leaned more toward transactional or pacesetting leadership, but adapting my approach has strengthened my team and business.

Understanding your leadership style can help you become a more effective leader, and in this post, I'll explore common leadership styles and how to determine the best fit for you.

Table of Contents

What is a leadership style?
Types of Leadership Styles
Deciding Between Different Leadership Styles
How to Choose the Right Leadership Style for You
Leadership Style Assessment

Why is it important to know your leadership style?

Knowing your leadership style helps you provide adequate guidance and feedback to employees, and better understand your thoughts, how you make decisions, and strategies you can consider implementing when making business decisions.

It can also help you understand how your direct reports see you and why they may give you specific feedback.

For example, if employees feel stifled at work and don’t have many opportunities to speak their minds, they may tell you that you’re an autocratic leader who can benefit from changing their style.

That’s why I’m always so big on feedback — it allows me to constantly reassess my leadership traits and whether they’re what this situation needs. Are most of my team members introverts? Then, I need their feedback on whether I’m too rash or abrasive under pressure.

Don’t forget — each leadership style has its pitfalls, allowing you to proactively address areas of improvement. This is critical, because some employees might hesitate to speak up, even in an anonymous survey.

Ready to find out your leadership styles? Check out the most common styles below.

1. Democratic Leadership

Also called: Participative or Facilitative Leadership

Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like — the leader makes decisions based on each team member‘s input. Despite the leader being the one to make the final call, each employee has an equal say in how the project develops.

Democratic leaders often have the following characteristics:

Inclusive.
Collaborative.
Effective communicator.
Empowering
Supportive and empathetic.
Trust-building.
Emotionally intelligent.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

This leadership style resembles how leaders often make decisions in company board meetings.

For example, a democratic leader might give the team a few decision-related options in a company board meeting.

They could then open a discussion about each option. After a discussion, this leader might consider the board's thoughts and feedback, or they might open this decision up to a vote.

Why This Leadership Style Works

The democratic leadership style is one of the most effective because it encourages everyone to participate in all processes, share their opinions, and know that you will hear them.

It also encourages employees to be engaged because they know you will hear their feedback.

Team members feeling like they have space to participate can also increase employee empowerment, motivation, and participation.

Potential Challenges

Reaching a consensus can take considerable time, resources, and communication with a democratic style. It can also impact decision-making because some team members may not have the right expertise to make critical decisions.

My Experience as a Democratic Leader

I’ve grown into identifying as a democratic leader over time. In the past, I might have leaned more toward a transactional or pacesetting approach, adjusting to the needs of my environment and projects. But democratic leadership feels like home — it aligns with who I am and how I naturally operate.

This leadership style allows me to harness the collective intelligence of my team, fostering collaboration and valuing diverse perspectives. The rewards are immense, but so are the challenges.

I approach life with the mindset that everyone knows something I don’t. It’s an enriching philosophy, but facilitating group consensus can be a heavy lift. Balancing inclusivity with efficiency is a constant dance.

While I thrive on open discussions and shared decision-making, I’m mindful that not everyone finds this process enjoyable. Some team members may feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of contributing, and I have to remind myself that what excites me might feel like pressure to others.

Navigating this leadership style requires awareness, adaptability, and patience. But at the end of the day, the sense of unity and shared purpose it fosters makes the effort more than worthwhile.

In Dharmesh Shah’s free ebook, Lessons on Leadership the value of these goals are highlighted as a service to employees.

Genuine relationships builds trust and gives employees a reason to work beyond the paycheck. Opportunities for contribution help employees feel valued.

Featured Resources

2. Autocratic Leadership

Also called: Authoritarian, Coercive, or Commanding Leadership

Autocratic leadership stands in stark contrast to democratic leadership. Here, decisions rest solely in the hands of the leader, with little to no input from subordinates.

Defining Characteristics:

Centralized decision-making.
Direct, top-down communication.
Minimal delegation of authority.
Limited team autonomy.
Strong emphasis on hierarchy and control.
Resistance to feedback or criticism.

While not a long-term solution, this leadership style proves effective in high-pressure situations demanding immediate action. In emergencies or crises, an authoritative leader can swiftly implement strategies without waiting for consensus.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

Autocratic leaders carry out strategies and directives with absolute focus.

Autocratic leaders drive execution with laser focus. When time is of the essence, a decisive leader can act swiftly without the delays of consultation — critical when faced with high-stakes decisions.

Why This Leadership Style Works

This approach works best when dealing with complex issues where uninformed input could derail progress. It provides clear directives, compensates for gaps in team experience, and ensures efficient execution.

Responsible parties can make a decision and give employees a clear sense of direction, and it can also make up for a lack of experience on a team.

Potential Challenges

A rigid, top-down culture can stifle morale, innovation, and long-term engagement. Without collaboration, organizations risk alienating employees, leading to dissatisfaction and high turnover.

Imagine a manager at a restaurant changing the waiters’ shifts and weekly hours all the time. No one would be pleased and friction will always mount.

Other challenges with autocratic leaders include:

Intimidation.
Micromanagement.
Over-reliance on a single leader.

3. Laissez-Faire Leadership

Also called: Delegative or Hands-off Leadership

If you remember your high-school French, you'll accurately assume that laissez-faire leadership is the mellowest, least-intrusive form of leading. The French term “laissez-faire” literally translates to “let them do.”

Leaders who embrace it give nearly all authority to their employees and don’t take control over the project or situation unless it’s code red.

Some key characteristics of laissez-faire leadership include:

Limited guidance, direction, and feedback.
Minimal interference and control.
High autonomy and freedom.
Empowerment and trust.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

Laissez-faire leaders make employees accountable for their work without stifling them with unnecessary tasks. This gives many employees an incentive to approach their work more creatively.

This type of leader often creates a more relaxed company culture. This makes it a good model for creative businesses like ad agencies or product design. It's also a good fit for a business where teams are highly focused and full of seasoned professionals.

Why This Leadership Style Works

In a young startup, for example, you might see a laissez-faire company founder who makes no major office policies around work hours or deadlines.

They might put complete trust in their employees while they focus on the overall workings of running the company.

Because of this high level of trust, employees working for laissez-faire leaders feel valued, but also want to perform to repay the trust. They get the information they need and use their resources and experience to meet business goals.

Potential Challenges

Although laissez-faire leadership can empower employees by trusting them to work however they'd like, there are downsides.

It can limit team development and pose a challenge for new or inexperienced employees who would benefit from guidance as they get ramped up. Roles and responsibilities can also become unclear, and it can build a culture of working in silos where people might work autonomously rather than as a cohesive group.

This style can lead to overlooking critical company growth and learning opportunities, so keeping this leadership style in check is important.

Experiences as a Laissez-Faire Leader

Meg Prater is the head of content strategy & operations at HubSpot. Prater describes herself as a mix of laissez-faire and coaching leadership styles.

Prater says, “I like to trust the people I hire to do great work, but I also like to tailor my approach to each person on my team to best fit their working styles and career goals.”

Prater notes that some of her team thrive with more structure, and others thrive with more autonomy. What's universal is the need for strong alignment and communication within our team.

“My priority (and my job) is to ensure that my direct reports understand our team and company-wide goals and how their individual output contributes to those goals,” she says. “Once we’re aligned on expectations, we can work together to identify initiatives that push the needle … while fulfilling each person’s interests and professional growth on the team.”

One of the challenges for a laissez-faire leader is balancing the desire to trust the team while providing the guidance needed for inexperienced team members.

In my early career, my senior manager was a laissez-faire leader, and I sometimes felt a lack of guidance. However, as a bold problem-solver, I also appreciated the autonomy I had under this type of manager.

In some ways, the need to solve the problem alone helped develop those problem-solving skills, but I can see how it would be difficult for some team members.

Prater’s coaching leadership style also comes into play because she values the role of the leader and the benefit of feedback to employees.

Prater says, “I had the luxury of working with a fantastic leadership coach shortly after becoming a manager. She drilled into me the notion of ‘Being a kind manager rather than being a nice manager.’”

Prater notes that it‘s tempting to water down feedback or expectations — to be nice. It feels less uncomfortable but doesn’t always benefit either the manager or the direct report in the long run.

“Being clear, actionable, and direct can lead to uncomfortable conversations, but ultimately, those are the conversations that help both sides grow. That advice has really shaped me as a manager. While I don't always nail it, ‘kindness over niceness’ gives me a North Star,” she says.

Featured Resources

Guide to management

4. Strategic Leadership

Strategic leaders operate at the intersection of daily business operations and long-term growth. They combine vision, competitive awareness, and adaptability to drive organizations forward. Balancing executive priorities with employee well-being, they create an environment where stability meets innovation.

Strategic leadership isn't just about overseeing operations — it’s about shaping the future. With this approach, you can build a resilient, forward-thinking organization that stays agile in an ever-changing business landscape.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

Strategic leaders bridge the gap between high-level business strategy and team management. They ask critical questions, refine strategies, and align decisions with long-term growth. This leadership style directly supports key business priorities, such as:

Accountability. Encourages responsibility at all levels.
Productivity. Drives efficiency through clear direction.
Collaboration. Fosters teamwork and innovation.
Transparency. Builds trust through open communication.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Strategic thinking supports many employees at once, so it’s a desirable style for many companies. It encourages visualization, planning, and making the most of existing resources, and it can motivate employees.

Potential Challenges

Leaders who work strategically might take on too much and risk thinking too far into the future of possibilities while missing critical present-day issues.

It’s important to learn how to delegate with this leadership style and share the weight of decision-making.

Compromise, communication skills, and consistent outreach are also essential.

Featured Resources

5. Transformational Leadership

I believe transformational leaders don’t just manage their teams — they inspire them. They build trust, encourage growth, and create an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute.

It’s not just about meeting goals; it’s about pushing boundaries, shaking up the status quo, and helping team members develop into their best professional selves.

At its core, transformational leadership is all about driving positive change. As a leader, I don’t just focus on day-to-day tasks but am constantly looking for ways to improve processes, elevate my team, and create lasting impact. “Good enough” isn’t in my vocabulary — I’m always looking for ways to make things better.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

A great transformational leader helps employees see challenges as opportunities.

I push my team to think differently, take initiative, and find innovative solutions.

This type of leadership keeps companies evolving, improving productivity, and staying competitive. It also creates a workplace culture where employees feel empowered, motivated, and genuinely excited about their work.

Happy employees mean better results. Not to mention, When people feel supported and challenged in the right way, they’re more likely to be engaged, productive, and committed to the company’s success. I strive to cultivate an atmosphere of continuous improvement, where both individuals and the business thrive.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Imagine starting a new job and being handed a clear set of goals — not just basic tasks but challenges designed to help you grow. That’s what it’s like to work under a transformational leader. I don’t just tell my team what to do; I show them what they’re capable of and help them build the skills to get there.

With this leadership style, you’re constantly evolving. You might start with smaller, manageable tasks, but as you gain confidence and master new skills, your responsibilities grow. It’s a cycle of learning, achieving, and setting new goals, keeping work dynamic and rewarding.

Potential Challenges

While transformational leadership is powerful, it’s not without its challenges. Sometimes, in my push for progress, I can lose sight of individual learning curves. Not everyone grows at the same pace, and what’s inspiring to one person might feel overwhelming to another.

Another risk? Burnout. When employees are constantly striving for the next goal, they may feel pressure to always be “on.” That’s why I make it a priority to stay connected with my team, check in regularly, and make sure expectations remain realistic. Setting ambitious goals is great — but they need to be sustainable.

At the end of the day, transformational leadership is about balance: driving progress while ensuring employees feel supported every step of the way.

Experiences as a Transformational Leader

Pam Bump is HubSpot’s head of content innovation and research. She feels an alignment with a few styles but identifies most strongly with transformational leadership as her dominant style.

Bump describes her experience as a transformational leader. Before she was a manager, her role involved audience growth, brand development, experimentation, and tapping new markets.

“I’ve always jumped at major problem-solving opportunities, ambiguous requests from leadership, and identifying big bets for my companies,” she says. “Now … I encourage my team to do the same — whether they’re working on a joint team experiment or are individually investigating, launching, and scaling their own high-ROI projects.”

She is an inspirational leader who makes a conscious effort to balance the business‘s goals, the team’s needs, and individual needs. As listed as a challenge, transformational leaders can forget individual learning needs and the overall company's needs.

Bump has the solution, “To balance ambitious overall, transformative team-wide goals, and individual teammate needs, I check in with my direct reports about their growth, what they’re working on, and work that can help them grow their skills or visibility while also supporting team goals.”

Beyond weekly 1:1s, Bump also holds semi-regular career chats to discuss their personal long-term goals and the tactics or skills they can use to get there.

Featured Resources

Transformational leadership

6. Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership, aka “the carrot and the stick” approach, is based on reward and punishment to motivate and direct behavior. They tell employees they can expect rewards if a goal is met. However, they may require more 1:1s or check-ins if people aren’t meeting goals.

This leadership style is concerned with maintaining the status quo and meeting predetermined goals and standards. What most people forget is that this leadership style can overburden teams and make success an imperative, not just a goal.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

This style is popular in enterprise companies as it focuses on results, existing structures, and set systems of rewards or penalties. This leadership style also recognizes and rewards commitment, but isn’t as efficient with Gen Z team members.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Transactional leaders can offer helpful clarity and structure of expectations, which can help employees feel safe because they understand expectations. Employees also have a clear view of what they get in return for meeting business goals.

Potential Challenges

This style is more about using rewards to motivate and less about building relationships with employees, coaching, and developing team morale.

Keeping a diverse team engaged can be hard if only some are reward-motivated, and it can lead to low creativity and fear of punishment.

7. Coaching Leadership

Also called: Conscious Leadership

A coaching leader focuses on identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of each team member and developing strategies that will enable teams to work better together.

This style is similar to strategic and democratic leadership, but it emphasizes individual employees' success.

A manager with this leadership style might help employees improve on their strengths by:

Giving them new tasks to try.
Offering guidance.
Meeting to discuss constructive feedback.

They might also encourage one or more team members to expand on their strengths by learning new skills from other teammates.

Coaching leaders focus on building trust and establishing strong relationships with their team members. They foster an environment of open communication and psychological safety that encourages individuals to share ideas, seek feedback, and work together toward common objectives.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

Coaching leaders actively support skill development and independent problem-solving. They meet ambitious business goals by creating a strong company culture and add to a business's long-term vision as valuable mentors, often even after leaving a company.

Why This Leadership Style Works

This leadership style can motivate employees as they feel supported on the team. It recognizes that each employee is unique and can build diverse and exciting teams where each employee offers something different.

This leader focuses on high performance, with employees who can communicate well and embrace unique skill sets to get work done. They also encourage team members to seek new challenges, learn from experiences, and continuously improve their skills and knowledge.

Potential Challenges

It can take a lot of time to develop employees with a coaching style, but mentoring isn’t effective for every employee.

My Experience Working With a Coaching Leader

Marja Vitti is an editor at HubSpot who identifies with the coaching leadership style. I’ve received great feedback from Vitti on my pieces, and I think the coaching leadership style is a great fit.

On her leadership style, Vitti says, "While working with freelance writers and content creators, I quickly realized both the team and the work would benefit from leadership that recognized their individual strengths.”

Vitti notes that she gave everyone on my team the same opportunities but also showed up for them as individuals. One team member might need more positive reinforcement to gain confidence, another might show signs of needing a new challenge, and another might be burning out and need a lighter load.

“It was intuitive for me to lead with this coaching style, and it wasn't till after that I realized this was a designated leadership style,” Vitti notes.

Vitti’s guidance on my writing is always conscientiously given. She always invites further feedback and discussion, which I find empowering but soothing.

Any writer will know it can be hard to receive feedback on the work you’ve poured your soul into, but she knows how to balance the value of encouraging improvement with the writer’s need to feel supported.

Featured Resources

Servant leadership

8. Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders follow the rules. Unlike autocratic leadership, they might listen and consider the input of employees, but they might reject input that doesn’t align with company policy or past practices.

Some key features of bureaucratic leadership include:

Centralized decision-making.
Strict adherence to rules and procedures.
Clear chain of command.
Limited autonomy.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

This style works best for larger, older, or traditional companies that are successful in their current processes.

This leadership style works for these businesses because they want to maintain existing business models and processes because their current strategies are successful, and trying something new that doesn't work could waste time and resources.

Why This Leadership Style Works

This leadership style can be challenging for some, but it has many benefits. It lowers the risk of favoritism and replaces it with central duties, job security, and predictability.

This clear and efficient leadership style can lead to high levels of creativity for some employees.

Potential Challenges

Employees might not feel as controlled as autocratic leadership, but there can be a lack of freedom in how much people can do in their roles.

This approach can shut down innovation and is not the right fit for companies chasing ambitious goals and quick growth.

Featured Resources

Organizational culture

9. Visionary Leadership

Also called: Affiliative Leadership

Visionary leadership focuses on future and long-term goals. They aim to inspire and guide their team towards the achievement of a shared vision.

This type of leader encourages collaboration, emotional intelligence, and teamwork. They also foster a culture of innovation and change, encouraging individuals to embrace new ideas and approaches.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

Visionary leaders can create a clear plan for employees to follow and execute. They are powerful and persuasive communicators, which helps them energize teams toward impactful business growth.

As the focus is on future growth, visionary leaders can forecast potential roadblocks and outline action plans, giving employees increased confidence during uncertainty or challenging times.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Teams can do more and enjoy their work more if they have a vision to work toward. This type of leader offers vision statements and other tools to inspire and motivate teams to engage at work.

Potential Challenges

Visionary leaders can skip over day-to-day issues to focus on long-term ideas, missing roadblocks that could build up and cause problems in the future.

Another common challenge is hyper-focusing on a single goal, which can impact consideration for other ideas that may be just as valuable to the business.

Experience as a Visionary Leader

John Xie, co-founder and CEO at Taskade, identifies as a Visionary Leader. Like me, Xie developed his leadership style over time.

He says, “It took me a while to develop this leadership style. However, after working with many people at many different companies over the years, I realize that I'm best when I am encouraging a positive long-term vision for the team. Then they can see how their work will be impactful and stay motivated to keep going.”

As a visionary leader, Xie recognises the pitfalls and potential challenges. He knows he can be “a little too strategic,” but he’s found a way to “lean back and motivate the team.”

On overcoming the challenges of a visionary leader, he says, “Everyone has their own unique style, and it’s best to find the one that suits you naturally. When you try to force a different leadership style, you’ll notice the team quickly becoming disengaged, and that's when you know you should revert back to your natural style.”

Featured Resources

10. Pacesetting Leadership

A pacesetting leader sets ambitious standards and expects employees to meet those goals in the exact manner they’ve laid out.

These leaders expect productivity and high-quality outputs from employees, and they may step in to ensure things are done correctly and on time. As a pacesetter, this leader type paves the way and leads by example.

Some characteristics of a pacesetting leader include:

High performance standards.
Leading by example.
Results-oriented.
Preference for speed and efficiency.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

This type of leader sets ambitious goals with a clear and focused effort, so employees know exactly what is expected of them. For example, pacesetting sales leaders set and exceed ambitious quarterly sales cadences.

These leaders might also work alongside their team and push performance, boosting team morale.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Skilled and experienced teams often thrive under this kind of leader. They use the abilities of motivated and competent team members and make meeting goals feel urgent and exciting.

It can also be gratifying for team members to see their leader working hard alongside them.

Potential Challenges

Pacesetting leaders can sometimes create a high-stress workplace environment if goals are unrealistic, which can overwhelm and demotivate teams.

This can impact engagement and lead to burnout, where people struggle to meet goals and perform as expected.

Focusing on goals can also stifle creativity and diversity of thought, so employees don’t feel they can use their expertise to suggest alternative goals or strategies.

Featured Resources

Leadership behaviors

11. Situational Leadership

Situational leaders change their management style to meet the needs of the situation or team. This leadership style involves analyzing specific situations, assessing the competence and commitment of individuals, and adjusting the leadership approach accordingly.

It is proactive and recognizes that change is the only constant.

Why This Leadership Style Works for Businesses

This leadership approach can motivate employees and ensure that people aren’t stuck working in a way that doesn’t make sense for the situation.

It’s also valuable for startups or businesses requiring frequent changes and flexible talent and support.

Why This Leadership Style Works

Situational leaders are great communicators and use team feedback to make decisions. They also analyze market changes and can quickly evaluate and update processes to ensure success.

This can create strong relationships and help employees see and feel their value to the business.

Potential Challenges

Leaders need a high level of expertise in all business processes and functions to make decisions, and they must be able to pivot quickly.

It’s important to remember long-term goals and meet immediate needs; not every leader can do this effectively.

It can become confusing and stressful for teams if a leader’s approach changes too often, as they won’t know what to expect.

My Experience Working with a Situational Leader

Kaitlin Milliken is a senior program manager at HubSpot. She’s the editor who hired me to work with HubSpot, and we’ve been working together for over eighteen months.

On her leadership style, Milliken says, “Throughout my career, I’ve found myself changing how I lead based on who I’m working with. I naturally adapt to what other people need, so this type of leadership definitely fits my style.”

Milliken notes that this type of leadership allows her to work with people who have varying experience levels. Someone new to the field may need more mentorship. An expert may want to focus on organizational needs.

“It’s challenging to lead if I’m not very familiar with a person’s expertise. That’s something I’m always working on,” she says.

As someone working directly under Milliken, I’ve always appreciated her openness to provide autonomy. I feel comfortable recommending ideas and edits where I think they make sense. As a situational leader, Milliken welcomes these ideas but also expresses her genuine appreciation and praise.

Writing for HubSpot has always meant a lot to me. Early on, this led to some imposter syndrome, but thanks to Milliken’s leadership style, I grew to feel empowered, trusted, and comfortable.

Featured Resources

Deciding Between Different Leadership Styles

There's no single “best” leadership style, so figuring out which one is best for you and your environment is essential.

How do I understand my leadership style?

Leaders need good instincts, and many leaders focus on their own experiences and habits as they develop a leadership style.

In fact, your instincts and habits will always impact the way you lead. But, if you find yourself in situations that you're unsure how to respond to, you may want to look at other leadership styles.

Here are two examples:

If you're an extrovert with a shy member on your team, you may want to work on active listening.
If you're an introvert leading a team of outgoing people, you may need to learn new ways to nurture, support, and inspire your team.

Instincts will always influence leadership, but as Lisa Lanier, president and CEO of Lanier Law Group, P.A. says, sometimes you need to adapt to the situation as well.

“I’m naturally drawn to helping and guiding others, but I’ve also learned a lot from my mistakes and failures. Being resilient and learning from those experiences has helped me refine my approach and become more effective in different situations,” says Lanier.

Pro tip: As you start your path toward leadership, you may want to keep notes. Write down how you would handle specific situations or problems. Doing this can help you be a confident and capable leader, and if you notice things aren’t going as expected, you can reconsider your approach.

Can you change your leadership style?

Yes. While it may take some time and effort, you can always change your leadership style and improve your processes.

The first step to making changes is recognizing the need for change. Whether this comes from direct employee feedback, noticing that goals aren’t being met, or people seeming to experience burnout, identifying this is the first step.

Scott Knutson, founder and chief serving officer at Leading2Serve, shifted his leadership style based on feedback. He initially followed the lead of the leaders he was exposed to when he was promoted into a leadership role.

However, Knutson notes, “My success was totally about me. I wasn't concerned about anyone else. This became abundantly clear when I was required to complete a 360-degree assessment and learned that my team hated me. That was a figurative kick in the gut that forced me to begin to learn about different leadership styles.”

As Knutson highlights, your leadership style may be effective for your team, but you might have a more challenging time connecting with people.

Knutson took back control by researching leadership styles. He says, “Successful leaders led me to understand that leadership is not about the leader but about the team. Focusing on my team and helping them to be successful became what drove me.”

There is a lot to learn from Knutson’s experience: Changing leadership style is sometimes necessary, but it won’t always be easy. If changing your leadership style feels right for you, you should try it.

I personally shifted my leadership style from transactional or pacesetting leadership to democratic leadership. I like and value all of these leadership styles — but with confidence and experience, I feel most authentic when leading with a democratic style.

Pro tip: You don’t necessarily want to throw out your current style, but you’d want to identify what is and isn’t working. Then, get curious, and begin the work of adjusting the way you lead.

How to Choose the Right Leadership Style for You

There are many ways to find a leadership style that works for you. Because of this, it can be tough to know where to begin. If you're not sure what leadership styles will work for you, these steps can help.

1. Get to know yourself.

Everyone has a unique path to self-discover. Some take risks and try new things and others prioritize quiet time, writing exercises, and listing strengths and weaknesses.

Another path to learning about yourself is through physical activity and spending time with other people. However you go about it, getting to know yourself is an important first step toward being a leader.

The journey of getting to know yourself will lead you to a sense of authenticity. Gauri Manglik, CEO and co-founder at Instrumentl, values the role of authenticity in leadership.

She says, “Leadership is a journey, and you never stop learning. But staying true to your values and leading with authenticity is key.”

2. Outline your values and challenges.

Being a leader means working quickly and making decisions quickly, so having your values mapped out can be extremely helpful.

As you write out your values, look at pivotal moments in your life to date. Then, look for trends, people you're drawn to, and common themes. If your list is long, group similar ideas together.

Having an outline can help you see how you react, your strengths and weaknesses, and a base for your core values.

Mark W Lamplugh Jr., CEO at South Jersey Treatment Management Company, is heavily driven by his values around shared decision-making.

He says, “The leadership journey I have been through was heavily influenced by my experience in marketing and the mental health domain, where empathy and understanding are very crucial. In the style of participative leadership, I feel most connected with its values that support shared decision-making.”

Lamplugh noted the progression was natural. As he began to advance professionally, it became clear that collective brainstorming sessions were the best places for ideas to flourish.

3. Watch leaders you respect.

Observing leaders you respect can also help you define your leadership style. As you watch them in meetings, client conversations, and presentations, take notes of what you like.

Another approach is to view their actions with specific leadership styles in mind, helping you figure out what their approach is and whether it will work for you.

The important thing to note is that the leadership style must work for you. Gauri Manglik found her way to her leadership style after emulating the bosses or mentors she admired.

She says, “My leadership style developed organically over my career. Early on, I tried to emulate bosses or mentors I admired. But I quickly learned that I needed to develop my own style that fit my personality and strengths.”

4. Try different leadership styles.

A hands-on option is to try out different leadership styles. You can create an outline of what interests you and review your notes before your next meeting to see how you can incorporate it into your interactions.

I spoke to many leaders when writing this article, and there’s a common theme: leadership styles are developed over time.

Connor Gillivan, CMO at TrioSEO, started experimenting with leadership styles in college. He says, “I got real-life experience [of leadership] starting my own ecommerce business in college and building a team of 30 plus team members over four years.”

In over 15 years of being an entrepreneur, Gillivan’s leadership style has evolved.

His goal as a leader is to put people in a win-win-win situation: “a win for them in their personal growth, a win for the company in its growth stage, and a win for me in terms of growth,” he says.

5. Find a business coach or mentor.

Working with a business coach can also help you hone your leadership style.

A mentor can be someone in your workplace you respect and would appreciate feedback from, whether it’s another leader or a colleague you respect. You can also check out this guide on how to find a business coach.

Matthew Sanjari, founder and business coach at PRIME Consulting, says, “I've spent a significant amount of time developing my leadership style by being coached and mentored myself.”

6. Ask colleagues and leaders for feedback.

Another way to find the best style for your needs is to ask other colleagues, leaders, and team members for feedback.

The best approach for this strategy is to plan out what you want to ask and why so you get the feedback you need. Think about how people might respond and also set clear guidelines and expectations.

When you get feedback, make sure to listen carefully. You’ll gain valuable information about your strengths and weaknesses that will help you understand where you need to improve and the style that will help you improve.

Bhavik Sarkhedi, CMO at Write Right, credits feedback with helping him develop his style. He says, “My leadership style leans towards transformational leadership — I strive to inspire and motivate my team by setting a vision that pushes boundaries and fosters innovation.”

Sarkhedi notes that this style didn't emerge overnight. It was cultivated through continuous learning, feedback, and adapting to different challenges.

“Early in my career, I observed various leaders, noting what resonated with their teams and what didn’t. Reading extensively, from classic leadership tomes to contemporary articles, provided theoretical backing to the practical insights I gathered,” Sarkhedi says.

7. Complete a leadership style assessment.

Leadership assessments are helpful tools for leaders, yourself as an individual, and teams.

A leadership quiz can make it easier to understand your strengths and skills. It can surface habits and qualities you might not be aware of and give you a clear direction for growth.

If this is something you want to try, the leadership assessment below is a great place to start.

Inge Von Aulock, CEO of Top Apps, believes that high self-awareness makes a good leader.

She says, “There are a few key aspects of strengths-based leadership to consider. It requires you to have self-awareness because you have to get brutally honest with yourself about your own strengths through assessments and feedback.”

Leadership Style Assessment

Leaders carry a mix of the leadership styles mentioned above. At the root of these styles, leadership experts Bill Torbert and David Rooke say, are what are called “action logics.”

These action logics assess “how [leaders] interpret their surroundings and react when their power or safety is challenged.”

That's the idea behind the Leadership Development Profile, a popular management survey tool. Created by professor Torbert and psychologist Susanne Cook-Greuter — and featured in the book Personal and Organizational Transformations.

The survey uses a set of 36 open-ended sentence completion tasks to help researchers better understand how leaders develop and grow.

Below, I’ve used open-ended sentences to outline six action logics that describe each one. Review the sentences, see how they resonate with you, and figure out which leadership style upholds based on the action logic you most align with.

1. Individualist

The individualist is self-aware, creative, and primarily focused on their actions and development as opposed to overall organizational performance.

This action logic is exceptionally driven by the desire to exceed personal goals and constantly improve their skills.

Here are some things an individualist might say:

Individualist 1: “A good leader should always trust their own intuition over established organizational processes.”
Individualist 2: “It's important to be able to relate to others so I can easily communicate complex ideas to them.”
Individualist 3: “I'm more comfortable with progress than sustained success.”

2. Strategist

Strategists are acutely aware of the environments they’re in and have a deep understanding of the structures and processes that make their businesses tick. Still, they’re also able to evaluate what could be improved.

Here are some things a strategist might say:

Strategist 1: “A good leader should always be able to build a consensus in divided groups.”
Strategist 2: “It's important to help develop the organization as a whole, as well as the growth and individual achievements of my direct reports.”
Strategist 3: “Conflict is inevitable, but I‘m knowledgeable enough about my team’s personal and professional relationships to handle the friction.”

3. Alchemist

Rooke and Tolbert describe the alchemist as highly evolved and effective at managing organizational change.

They differ from other action logics in their unique ability to simultaneously see the big picture and minute details. No department or employee gets overlooked with an alchemist leader.

Here are some things an alchemist might say:

Alchemist 1: “A good leader helps their employees reach their highest potential, and possesses the necessary empathy and moral awareness to get there.”
Alchemist 2: “It‘s important to make a profound and positive impact on whatever I’m working on.”
Alchemist 3: “I have a unique ability to balance short-term needs and long-term goals.”

4. Opportunist

Opportunists are guided by a certain level of mistrust of others, relying on a facade of control to keep their employees in line.

“Opportunists tend to regard their bad behavior as legitimate in the cut and thrust of an eye-for-an-eye world,”Rooke and Tolbert write.

Here are some things an opportunist might say:

Opportunist 1: “A good leader should always view others as potential competition to be bested, even if it's at the expense of their professional development.”
Opportunist 2: “I reserve the right to reject the input of those who question or criticize my ideas.”

5. Diplomat

Unlike the opportunist, the diplomat isn't concerned with competition or assuming control over situations.

Instead, this action logic seeks to cause minimal impact on their organization by conforming to existing norms and completing their daily tasks with as little friction as possible.

Here are some things a diplomat might say:

Diplomat 1: “A good leader should always resist change since it risks causing instability among their direct reports.”
Diplomat 2: “It‘s important to provide the ’social glue' in team situations, safely away from conflict.”
Diplomat 3: “I tend to thrive in more team-oriented or supporting leadership roles.”

6. Expert

The expert is a pro in their given field, constantly striving to perfect their knowledge of a subject and perform to meet their own high expectations.

Rooke and Tolbert describe the expert as a talented individual contributor and a source of knowledge for the team. But, this action logic does lack something central to many good leaders: emotional intelligence.

Here are some things a diplomat might say:

Expert 1: “A good leader should prioritize their own pursuit of knowledge over the needs of the organization and their direct reports.”
Expert 2: “When problem-solving with others in the company, my opinion tends to be the correct one.”

Which Leader Are You?

So, which action logic above felt like you? Think about each sentence for a moment.

Now, using the chart below, check out which of the seven leadership styles you embrace on the right based on the sentences you resonated with on the left.

The more action logics you agree with, the more likely you are to practice a mix of leadership styles.

For example, if you agreed with everything the strategist said, this would make you a 66% strategic leader and 33% democratic leader.

If you agreed with the third statement and everything the alchemist said, this would make you a 50% transformational, 25% strategic, and 25% democratic leader.

Keep in mind that these action logics are considered developmental stages, not fixed attributes — most leaders will progress through multiple types of leadership throughout their careers.

Learn Your Leadership Management Style to Become a Better Leader

Whether you manage a big or small team, your leadership style heavily impacts how your direct reports see you and how your team works together to achieve your company’s goals.

There are many different styles of leadership, so choosing one that works for you can make you a more effective leader.

If you want to be a leader that makes a difference, you'll need to keep growing and embrace change. Are you ready to get started?

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

PowerPoint Tips to Present Like a Pro [Expert Advice & Free Templates]

weidertgroup.intern@gmail.com (Jamie Cartwright) — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

If you’re here because you’re wondering how to make a good PowerPoint, you’re in the right place. Let’s just hope it’s not the night before the big day.

But it’s okay… I’ve been there too. As a writer with extremely average design skills, creating great presentations can sometimes feel like an insurmountable task. The storytelling is a key component, which we’ll get into later, but your design approach and delivery tactics are just as important, too.

In this article, we’ll go over all of these aspects of a great PowerPoint — from the design and creation process to how to deliver a presentation like a pro. I’ll also share some helpful resources to get you started.

Table of Contents

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoint Presentation Tips
Common PowerPoint Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint is like a test of basic professional skills, and each PowerPoint is basically a presentation made of multiple slides.

Successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint’s design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and being consistent with your style.

Keep those in mind as we jump into PowerPoint’s capabilities.

Getting Started

1. Open PowerPoint and click ‘New.’

A page with templates will usually open automatically, but if not, I go to the top left pane of my screen and click New. If I’ve already created a presentation, I select Open and then double-click the icon to open the existing file.

Source

2. Choose a theme or create your own.

Microsoft offers built-in themes and color variations to help you design your slides with a cohesive look. To choose from these pre-built themes, I choose the File tab again, select New, choose one of the options, and click Create.

P.S. We have some great PowerPoint templates that you can try out — you can browse them here.

There is also an option to select a blank presentation if you prefer to start from scratch. I like this option because I can use PowerPoint elements, my design sense, and my brand’s color palette to make my own theme.

Creating PowerPoint Slides

3. Insert a slide.

I insert a new slide by clicking on the Home tab and then the New Slide button. When choosing the slide layout, consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading, text, and imagery.

Source

4. Create a variety of slides for different purposes.

You don’t want to present the same exact slide each time, just with different content on it. This would bore your audience, so make sure that you create multiple variations.

I suggest you consider what kind of multimedia you’ll be using and choose or create different layouts accordingly. At minimum, I usually use:

A title slide
An agenda or table of contents slide
A slide that introduces the speaker
Various content slides

5. Use the “Duplicate” feature to save you time.

There’s no need to create these designs over and over. Once I have a few to draw from, I simply duplicate them before inputting my content:

On the left pane, I right-click the thumbnail of the slide I want to duplicate.
I choose Duplicate Slide from the pop-up menu.

This will automatically add a copy of this slide to the presentation. From there, I can customize it for my needs.

6. Add photos to your slide.

Source

I add images by clicking Insert and clicking the Pictures icon. I can add other elements by using features in the Home and Insert tabs on the top ribbon. I like exploring my layout by dragging elements around.

Finishing Up Your Presentation

7. Save your presentation.

I click File and Save, making sure to specify where I want my PowerPoint to be stored. If you’re using your slides for education or teaching, it could be beneficial to convert your presentation to an online course.

8. Run your presentation.

I always do a trial run to ensure that my slides are set up properly and my animations fire the way I expect them to.

To present my PowerPoint, I go to the Slide Show tab and click Play from Start. The slide covers my whole screen so that my audience (or, in this case, me) is solely focused on the visual elements of my presentation.

9. Advance the slides.

Whenever you’re in presentation mode and ready to move on, click your mouse to advance to the next slide.

PowerPoint Style Tips

1. Don’t let PowerPoint decide how you use PowerPoint.

Microsoft wanted to provide PowerPoint users with a lot of tools, but this does not mean you should use them all. Trust me, you don’t want it looking like your tweenage Geocities site and playing unwanted midi-files.

To keep it professional, here are some key things I suggest you look out for:

Make sure that any preset themes complement your needs before you adopt them.
Avoid Microsoft Office’s default fonts, Calibri and Cambria — they can make the presentation feel underwhelming.
Professionals should never use PowerPoint’s action sounds.
PowerPoint makes bulleting automatic. Bullets are often appropriate, but not always.
All shapes start blue with a small shadow. Remove this shadow if it’s not needed, and don’t leave shapes default blue — it reads as a mistake to other PowerPoint users.

I think the easiest way to know you’re getting it right is to download some templates. We offer 30 free templates that you’re welcome to try out. Even if you don’t end up using them, you’ll get a sense of best design practices.

2. Create custom slide sizes.

Default slide sizes work for most presentations, but you may need to adjust them for larger presentations and/or weirdly-sized displays. Here’s how:

In the top-left corner, choose File.
Select Page Setup.
Type the height and width of the background you’d like, and click OK.
A dialogue box will appear. Click Scale if you want to also resize your content, or Don’t Scale if not. I recommend clicking Don’t Scale, then manually adjusting minor layout issues.

Pro tip: You can avoid a headache if you resize your slides before you add any objects to them. Otherwise, the dimensions of your objects will become skewed.

3. Edit your slide template design.

I find it’s much easier to edit your underlying PowerPoint template before you start — this way, you don’t have to design each slide by hand. Here’s how I do it:

Select View in the top navigation.
Click Master.
In the dropdown, click Slide Master.
Make any changes you like, then click Close Master in the top ribbon. All current and future slides in that presentation will use that template.

4. Write text with your audience in mind.

Remember that whatever else your PowerPoint presentation does, it needs to support the fantastic content you’re sharing with stakeholders.

A significant part of a PowerPoint’s content is text, and great copy can make or break your presentation.

I suggest you evaluate your written work from a few different angles so you know your entire audience can see and understand it.

Keep the amount of text under 6-8 lines (or 30 words max). Use a minimum font size 24 pt. How your text is received differentiates good presenters from the best.

Typography

Choosing the right font is important — the perception of your font type could influence your audience’s impression of you. I believe the right typeface is an opportunity to convey consistent brand personality and professionalism.

Some fonts are seen as clean and professional, but this doesn’t mean they’re boring. A common mistake is thinking your font isn’t exciting enough, which could lead you to choose a font that distracts from your message.

I recommend sticking to simple serif and sans-serif fonts. Avoid script fonts because of potential readability issues.

That said, you can still use fun and eccentric fonts in moderation. Offsetting a fun font or large letters with something more professional can create an engaging presentation.

Above all, be sure you’re consistent so your presentation looks cohesive throughout each slide. Check out this example from HubSpot’s company profile templates:

Interested in this presentation template? Download it for free here.

5. Make sure all of your objects are properly aligned.

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Having properly aligned objects on your slide is the key to making it look polished and professional. You can manually try to line up your images, but we all know how that typically works out.

Get rid of the guessing game and let PowerPoint work its magic to align multiple objects:

Select all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
Select Arrange in the top options bar, then choose Align or Distribute.
Choose the type of alignment you'd like.

Here’s how I align objects to the slide:

Select all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
Select Arrange in the top options bar, then choose Align or Distribute.
Select Align to Slide.
Select Arrange in the top options bar again, then choose Align or Distribute.
Choose the type of alignment you’d like.

PowerPoint Design Tools

6. Use “Format Object” to better control your objects’ designs.

I like format menus because they allow me to make fine adjustments that otherwise seem impossible.

To do this, right-click on an object and select the Format Object option. (The name of the object in the drop-down menu will change depending on whether you’re formatting a picture or shape.) Here, you can fine-tune shadows, adjust shape measurements, create reflections, and much more. The menu looks like this:

Although the main options can be found on PowerPoint’s format toolbars, look for complete control in the format window menu. Other options include:

Adjusting text inside a shape.
Creating a natural perspective shadow behind an object.
Recoloring photos manually and with automatic options.

7. Take advantage of PowerPoint’s shapes.

PowerPoint’s shape tools have come a long way. Today’s shapes include a highly functional Smart Shapes function, which enables you to create diagrams and flow charts in no time.

I find these tools are especially valuable because paragraphing and bullet lists are boring to look at — I love using shapes to help express my message more clearly.

8. Create custom shapes.

When you create a shape, right-click and press Edit Points to create custom shapes that fit your specific needs. For instance, you can reshape arrows to fit the dimensions you like:

Another option is to combine two shapes together. Select the two shapes you’d like to work with, then click Shape Format in the top ribbon. Tap Merge Shapes. There are several options to create custom shapes:

Combine creates a custom shape that has overlapping portions of the two previous shapes cut out.
Union makes one completely merged shape.
Intersect builds a shape of only the overlapping sections of the two previous shapes.
Subtract cuts out the overlapping portion of one shape from the other.
Fragment will split your shape into different parts depending on where they overlap.

9. Crop images into custom shapes.

You can also use PowerPoint to crop existing images into new shapes:

Click on the image and select Picture Format in the options bar.
Choose Crop, then Crop to Shape, and then choose your desired shape.

10. Present websites within PowerPoint.

Believe it or not, presenting websites within PowerPoint is something we’re still having to find workarounds for.

From my experience, these are some tactics that have worked in the past that may be helpful depending on which version of PowerPoint you have:

Traditionally, to show a website in a PowerPoint slide, you would just create a link to the page and prompt a separate browser to open.
Try adding the third-party program LiveWeb that you install on your PowerPoint program. Head to the LiveWeb website and follow the instructions. Unfortunately, Mac users don’t have a similar option.
Take screenshots of a website, insert the image on your slide, and link in through a browser. You can embed media (such as a YouTube video) by downloading it directly to your computer.
Some versions allowed a Web Viewer Add-on until Microsoft decided that was a security risk. Insert > Get Add-ons, search for Web Viewer, then click on the Add button.

Install ClassPoint, which essentially puts an internet window on top of your slide for use until you’re done with it. Then, you can just move to the next slide. You can even bookmark the web page you want ahead of time to jump straight to it. Using this does introduce a new navigation bar at the bottom of your presentation. Here’s a video, Introduction to ClassPoint:

Finally, PowerPoint Live is a new tool that enables you to do more seamless presentations during video calls and maybe a better overall match for doing presentations remotely. Check out this video:

11. Try Using GIFs.

GIFs are looped animated images used to communicate a mood, idea, information, and much more.

I enjoy adding GIFs to PowerPoints to be funny or quickly demo a process. They’re very popular with and easily recognized by Millenials and Gen Z, and it’s easy to add GIFs to your slides:

Download and save the GIF you want.
Go to the slide you want the GIF on.
Go to the Home tab, and click either Insert or Picture.
From the Picture drop-down menu, choose Picture from File.
Navigate to where you saved your GIF and select it. Then, choose Insert.
It will play automatically the moment you insert it.

PowerPoint Process

12. Keep it simple.

PowerPoint is an excellent tool to support your presentation with visual information, graphics, and supplemental points.

Your PowerPoint should not be your entire presentation, and the elements you do introduce need to function properly.

If the presentation simply repeats your words, has broken links, or shows unreadable text, the hiccups can become the takeaway of your talk, no matter how well-spoken the presentation.

I find slam-dunking the basics by keeping it simple is the way to go. If your slides have dense and cluttered information, it will distract your audience, and you could lose their attention.

In short? Keep your presentation persuasive by keeping it clean:

Limit bullet points and text.
Avoid paragraphs and long quotes.
Maintain “white space” or “negative space.”
Keep percentages, graphs, and data super basic.

13. Embed your font files.

One constant problem presenters have with PowerPoint is that fonts seem to change when presenters move from one computer to another.

The fonts are not actually changing — the presentation computer just doesn’t have the same font files installed.

To embed your fonts on a PC:

Click File, then Options.
Open up the Save tab.
Select the Embed fonts in the file check box under Preserve fidelity when sharing this presentation.

Now, your presentation will keep the font file, and your fonts will not change when you move computers.

To embed your fonts on a Mac:

On the top bar, click PowerPoint, then click Preferences.
Under Output and Sharing, click Save.
Under Font Embedding, click Embed fonts in the file.

14. Save your slides as a PDF file for backup purposes.

If you’re still afraid of your presentation showing up differently when it’s time to present, you can create a PDF version just in case.

I think this is a good option if you’ll be presenting on a different computer because if it doesn’t have PowerPoint installed, you can still use the system viewer to open a PDF.

The only caveat is that your GIFs, animations, and transitions won’t transfer over.

To save your presentation as a PDF file:

Go to File, then click Save as…
In the pop-up window, click File Format.
A drop-down menu will appear. Select PDF.
Click Export.

You can also go to File, then Export, then select PDF from the file format menu.

15. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint allows you to either link to video/audio files externally or to embed the media directly in your presentation. For PCs, I think two great reasons for embedding are:

Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It will look much more professional than switching between windows.
Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

If you use PowerPoint for Mac, it gets a bit complicated, but it can be done:

Always bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation.
Only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder.
If the presentation will be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format.
Consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting, no matter what.

16. Bring your own hardware.

Between operating systems, PowerPoint is still a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT versions, things can change. The easiest fix? Just bring along your own laptop when you’re presenting.

The next easiest fix is to upload your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup option — just make sure there is a good internet connection and a browser available where you plan to present.

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software that will show up the same way on all operating systems.

To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides:

Navigate to slides.google.com. Make sure you’re signed in to a Google account (preferably your own).
Under Start a new presentation, click the empty box with a plus sign. This will open up a blank presentation.
Go to File, then Import slides.
A dialog box will come up. Tap Upload.
Click Select a file from your device.
Select your presentation and click Open.
Select the slides you’d like to import. If you want to import all of them, click All in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box.
Click Import slides.

When I tested this out, Google Slides imported everything perfectly, including a shape whose points I had manipulated. This is a good backup option to have if you’ll be presenting across different operating systems.

17. Use “Presenter View.”

In most presentation situations, there will be both a presenter’s screen and the main projected display for your presentation.

PowerPoint has a great tool called Presenter View, which can be found in the Slide Show tab of PowerPoint. Included in the Presenter View is an area for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation display.

For many presenters, I’ve seen this tool help unify their spoken presentation and their visual aids. You never want to make the PowerPoint seem like a stack of notes that you’re reading off of.

Use the Presenter View option to help create a more natural presentation.

Pro tip: At the start of the presentation, you should also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will bring it back if you need it.

Common PowerPoint Presentation Mistakes to Avoid

Now that we’ve covered the basics on how to create a PowerPoint presentation, let’s go over the basics of what makes a presentation memorable — starting with what not to do.

1. Reading directly from the slides.

As someone who has sat through hundreds of presentations and webinars, few things frustrate me more than watching someone read their slides word-for-word. It makes the presenter seem unprepared and disengaged, and it quickly loses the audience’s attention.

Also, it makes the audience feel dumb — they are just as capable of reading the slide as you are, so if you don’t bring additional value, why bother with the presentation?

Try this instead: Try to have 2-3 main points per slide that you want to get across. Don’t feel the need to write it all on the slides. Instead, write out what’s most important to know and use bullet points, visuals, or keywords to guide your discussion.

2. Creating a presentation without a purpose.

Every presentation should have a purpose — a clear point that every audience member will walk away with. If you can’t state the purpose of your presentation in one sentence, your audience will feel lost and confused about what your message is.

Try this instead: Before you craft your presentation, ask yourself, “Why am I making this presentation?” and “What do I want my audience to take away from it?” After you answer these two questions, check your slides and talking points against your answers to make sure each one aligns with your ultimate goals.

3. Using too many “buzzy features” that distract from the message.

PowerPoint offers a ton of cool features — animations, transitions, sound effects — but just because you can use them doesn’t mean you should.

Too many effects can make your presentation feel cluttered and amateurish, and instead of focusing on your message, your audience is left wondering, Why did that text just spin onto the screen?

Try this instead: Let your message be what stands out the most. Try to simplify each slide as much as possible and eliminate until you have just what’s absolutely necessary to tell your story.

4. Not practicing timing beforehand.

If you’re new to delivering presentations, you might be surprised at how much longer it takes you to give your presentation IRL than when you go over your slides in your head.

Try this instead: Do a few rounds of practicing out loud at home (or, better yet, to a friend or partner) to see how long it takes you to get through your slides and where you might need to speed things up or elaborate more.

5. Speaking too fast or slowly.

When I was in journalism school, pacing was one of the hardest things to master. It’s easy to speak too fast when you’re nervous or excited. On the flip side, speaking too slowly can make you seem unsure or disengaged.

Try this instead: When you’re practicing, aim for a smooth, measured pace. Sometimes, it can be helpful to record yourself while speaking to see how your presentation might come across to your audience.

6. Using too many filler words like “like” or “um.”

We all use filler words when speaking, but too many can make you sound unprepared or unsure of your material.

Try this instead:

Practice pausing instead of filling space. A short silence feels much more natural than a string of “um’s.”
Be aware of your habits. If you frequently use filler words, consciously train yourself to replace them with pauses.
Try speaking more slowly. Filler words often come from rushing through a presentation without enough time to think.

7. Ending without a strong conclusion.

A weak ending — like “Well, that’s it” or “Any questions?” — can make your presentation feel unfinished.

You want to use your final moments to leave a message with your audience, whether it’s potential business investors or a job opportunity.

Try this instead: Before presenting, ask yourself what’s one thing you want everyone to walk away knowing after your presentation. Use your conclusion to recap your main points and get this message across.

Your Next Great PowerPoint Presentation Starts Here

Now that you have these style, design, and presentation tips under your belt, you should feel confident to create your PowerPoint presentation.

But if you can, I recommend exploring our other resources to make sure your content hits the mark. After all, you need a strong presentation to land your point and make an impression. And it will take both practice and time; don’t stress!

With several templates to choose from — both in PowerPoint and available for free download — you can swiftly be on your way to creating presentations that wow your audiences.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Create a QR Code in 5 Easy Steps

cwainwright@hubspot.com (Corey Wainwright) — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

A few years back, I remember walking into my favorite pastry shop and effortlessly flipping through a glossy, laminated menu before ordering. Now, every time I dine out, I’m handed a table tent instructing me to scan a QR code with my phone to browse the menu.

And it’s not just restaurants — many shops, cafes, and even art galleries urge us to point our cameras at tiny squares to pay bills, see product details, or access guides. It’s as though these codes bridge the traditional, tangible world and the digital realm.

Today, creating your own QR code is incredibly simple, and it’s a convenient, low-effort way to bridge the online and offline experience in your business, save overhead costs, and execute sleek marketing campaigns. In this article, I’ll show you how to make your own QR code for a link in just five steps — even if you’re not a tech expert.

Table of Contents

What is a QR code?
QR Codes vs. Barcodes
How do QR codes work?
How to Make a QR Code
How to Create a QR Code on Any Device
How to Create a QR Code on Android, iOS, and Desktop
How to Use QR Codes (And How Not to)
How Not to Use a QR Code
Best QR Code Generators
QR Code Best Practices

What is a QR code?

QR code is short for ‘quick response’ code. It's a square-shaped black-and-white symbol that is scanned with a smartphone or laser to learn more about a product or service. These encrypted squares can hold content, links, coupons, event details, and other information that users want to see.

QR codes typically look like this:

Not every QR code is shaped like a perfect square. Sometimes, they have unique patterns, colors, and logos displayed inside. You'll find them in non-digital spaces like direct mail, signage, billboards, and even TV shows where you can scan the code on the screen using your phone.

QR Codes vs. Barcodes

QR codes and barcodes are similar in that they are both visual representations of data, but how the information stored within them is read sets them apart. Barcodes are one-dimensional, and the data stored in them is read horizontally. QR codes are two-dimensional, and the data stored in them is read horizontally and vertically.

Both barcodes and QR codes can be scanned using a laser or a smartphone as long as the tool being used has the correct capabilities of reading vertical and horizontal data. Although most smartphones scan QR codes automatically, many won‘t scan barcodes so easily — you’ll need a special app for that.

Does the rise of QR codes mean traditional barcodes are a thing of the past? Of course not. Traditional barcodes are still a common way for businesses to identify consumer packaged goods (CPGs) and manage their product inventory.

However, there are several differences between barcodes and QR codes — both in their uses and their characteristics. Below are three important differences.

QR Codes Are Shaped Differently

Barcodes are typically rectangular, which requires scanning devices to read the barcode's data horizontally. QR codes are often square-shaped, displaying their data vertically and horizontally.

QR Codes Hold Different Data

QR codes are often used differently than barcodes. Barcodes hold key product information at the point of sale, such as the price and name of the manufacturer. QR codes offer more passive and intangible information, such as location data and URLs, to promotions and product landing pages.

QR Codes Hold More Data

Due to a QR code's square shape, it can hold much more data compared to a barcode. QR codes can hold hundreds of times more encrypted characters than a barcode can.

We learned a little bit about how barcodes and QR codes differ, but how exactly do QR codes work?

How do QR codes work?

Originally designed in Japan for use in the automotive industry, marketers adopted the QR code because of its large storage capacity and ability to translate additional information to consumers beyond what the packaging or advertising of a product could display.

Let‘s say a consumer sees a QR code. They can take out their mobile device, download a free QR code scanning app, or simply use their phone’s camera, and scan the QR code to gain more information about what they saw.

If you wanted to create, say, a bus stop advertisement promoting your podcast, you could display a QR code on that printed ad that brings people right to your iTunes page when they scan it with their phones. Pretty simple, right?

I used to think creating a QR code was difficult, but it’s actually not. No matter the device I’m using, the process feels pretty seamless. Here’s what I do.

How to Create a QR Code on Any Device

Step 1: Access a QR code generator on any browser.

First, I open up whatever browser I have handy — Chrome, Safari, Firefox — and navigate to a QR code maker. For this demonstration, I’m using qr-code-generator.com. Don’t worry if you prefer another site; there are plenty of other free, web-based QR code tools out there. If you’re stuck, here are a few recommendations.

Step 2: Insert your URL into the generator.

Usually, I’m creating a QR code to send someone to a website, so I just type in the URL into the QR code generator. But it doesn’t have to be a link — I can also turn a contact card, a PDF, or even an MP3 into a QR code.

At the bottom, there are options to create QR codes for things like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files, too. The exact selection depends on the tool, but most platforms will give me fields to fill in once I pick a content type. For example, if I want my QR code to save contact info, I’ll see fields for my email address, subject line, and message.

Once I enter my URL or upload a file, the tool instantly generates a QR code. Technically, I could download it right away, but I prefer to spruce it up a bit first to make it feel more on-brand.

Step 3: If applicable, customize your QR code.

Here’s where the fun begins. I love that I can add my logo or switch up the color scheme to match my website design and overall brand vibe. Using the basic generator on qr-code-generator.com, I can tweak the frame, shape, or colors. If I need more customization, I can sign up and head into the creator portal for even more design options.

After signing up, I get access to something like this:

Just keep in mind, not every QR code tool out there offers these customization features. If you can’t find what you need in one place, you might need to try another generator.

Step 4: Download your QR code.

If I’m aiming for speed and simplicity, I skip the sign-up and just hit Download. The site I’m using might nudge me to create an account, but I ignore those prompts unless I really want to store and manage multiple QR codes.

A message at the top usually says my code is being created and to avoid refreshing the page. Within a couple of minutes, a pop-up will appear so I can save my shiny new QR code and start using it. And that’s it — I’ve got a custom QR code ready to go!

Step 5: Use QR code for marketing and promotion.

A QR code won't be able to do its job unless people see it. So, make sure you add the code to any materials that will help you market your business. This could include displaying it in print ads, on clothing, or in physical locations where people can take out their phones to scan it. Scroll down for more tips on properly displaying a QR code.

As for how you'll add the JPG or vector file to print collateral, you can do so with a variety of tools, including:

Canva — Canva is an online design tool that lets you import JPG files and add them to your design. It offers flier and brochure templates for easy creation.
BeFunky — BeFunky is a tool similar to Canva and allows you to add JPG files to a design. It also offers templates for you to choose from.
Adobe Illustrator and InDesign — If you're a more advanced user, you can use a dedicated graphic design tool to add your QR code to pamphlets and brochures. Illustrator is a good fit for one-page designs; InDesign is a better fit for multi-page brochures.

If you‘re on a mobile device, good news: You can easily create a QR code that you can share with colleagues and prospects on the go. You’ll need the Google Chrome app to do so. Here’s how I create QR codes on Android and iOS devices:

How to Create a QR Code on Android

I’ve found that making a QR code on my Android phone is really straightforward, especially if I’m using the Chrome app. Right now, you can only create QR codes for URLs, but that’s perfect when I need to quickly share a product page, blog post, or any other webpage with someone.

Here’s what I do:

I start by downloading the Google Chrome app from the Google Play Store.
Then, I head to the specific URL I want to share.
Once on that page, I tap the three vertical dots (⋮) at the top.

In the pop-up menu, I select Share.
Then, I slide through the options at the top of the new menu until I see the QR code.

From here, I can either tap Download at the bottom to save the QR code as an image, or I can just hold my phone up for someone else to scan it.

And that’s it — I’ve got a shareable QR code right from my phone.

Note: The interface may look a little different depending on your version of Chrome.

How to Create a QR Code on iOS

Just like on Android, I can easily make a QR code on my iPhone or iPad. Here’s my process:

First, I download the Google Chrome app from the App Store. Note: the Google search app won’t work for this.
Next, I navigate to the specific URL I want to share.
I tap the Share button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

Then, I select Create a QR Code.

From here, I can hold my phone up for someone else to scan, or I can tap Share to print the QR code, save the image to my camera roll, or store it in my files for later use.

How to Create a QR Code for Desktop Using Chrome

Creating a QR code with Chrome on desktop is just as easy as on Android and iOS. Here's how to do it:

I open Chrome on my computer.
I go to the URL I want to share.
If I’m using a Linux, Windows, or Mac machine, I head to the right-hand side of the address bar and click the three dots.

From the pop-up, I select Cast, save, and share, then hit Create QR code.

Now, I can either copy the QR link, download the QR code, or scan it with a camera on another device.

Pro tip: If you click Copy, Chrome will add it to your clipboard as an image. This is super handy if you want to quickly paste the code into a design tool like Canva or Photoshop.

How to Create a QR Code on Microsoft Edge

Making a QR code on Microsoft Edge is also a breeze. It’s very similar to doing it on Chrome, and I love how quickly I can share URLs with others or save the QR code directly to my device. Here’s how I do it:

I open Microsoft Edge on my computer.
I navigate to the URL I want to share.
I right-click anywhere on the page.
From the drop-down menu, I select Create QR code for this page.

That’s it! The QR code instantly appears on my screen, ready to be scanned by someone else. If I want to hang onto it, I can download it right to my laptop.

Bonus: Once I’ve created the QR code, Microsoft Edge “remembers” it. If I ever need it again, I just click the QR code icon on the right side of the address bar, and there it is!

By following these steps, you can easily create a QR code using Microsoft Edge, allowing you to easily share URLs with others or conveniently save the code for future use.

How to Use QR Codes (and How Not to)

Now that you see how simple the QR code creation process can be, let‘s talk about some best practices that’ll increase the likelihood that your QR code actually gets used.

Display your QR code where it's convenient for people to scan.

Put QR codes in places where scanning them is easy, and there‘s enough time for the consumer to scan the code. While you may often see QR codes on billboards and TV commercials, they’re not exactly the most user-friendly locations.

It's a safety hazard to entice people to pull out their phones while driving to scan a code, and a 30-second commercial might not be enough time for someone to find their phone and scan the TV.

Instead, think of places where consumers have the time and ability to scan the code. Places with a strong Wi-Fi connection will help, too.

Optimize the QR's destination page for mobile devices.

Mobile-optimize the page to which you're sending people. Consumers will be using their phones when scanning the QR code, so they should arrive at a page with a positive mobile experience.

Include a CTA that prompts people to scan your QR code.

Offer a call-to-action (CTA) with the code — that is to say, tell people what they‘re supposed to do when they see the code and what they’ll receive if they scan it. Not everyone knows exactly what a QR code is, and those who do won‘t be motivated to scan it unless they’re sure there's something worthwhile on the other side.

Don't limit your QR code to one mobile scanner.

Don't require a special QR code scanner. Your QR code should be app-agnostic so anyone can scan your code with any reader. A lower barrier to entry makes success more likely for you and the user.

Use your QR code to make someone's life easier.

Don‘t use a QR code just for the sake of using one. For instance, it’s common for marketers to think, “How can I bridge the offline experience with the online experience? Uhhh ... QR code!” That‘s not wrong, but it’s not always right, either.

If you have content that makes sense to deliver to a mobile user, and you have an appropriate channel to do it (see use #1 at the beginning of this section), it's more likely your QR code will drive results.

How Not to Use a QR Code

You don‘t want to add a QR code to digital content that people consume primarily on their mobile devices. This includes social media posts, stories, videos, and SMS messages. Sure, each of these content types can technically be viewed outside of a smartphone, but they typically aren’t, so save those channels for traditional URLs and sharing methods.

Earlier, we showed you an example of how to create your own QR code, but you don't have to create it from scratch. A QR code generator can speed up the process (and take a lot of math out of it, too.)

There are tons of QR code generators out there. The best ones give you many customizable options for using your QR code and compatibility with just about all mobile QR code reader apps.

Other things to look for when choosing a QR code generator are whether you can track and analyze performance in real time and design a code that's unique to your brand.

Below are some of our favorite QR code generators that make custom QR codes quick and easy to create.

1. Kaywa

Kaywa is a simple, no-fuss QR code generator that creates basic codes for coupons, URLs, and contact information. Simply enter your information, choose whether you want a dynamic or static code, and generate it.

Why I Like It

If I’m using my QR code as part of a marketing campaign, I can track analytics through Kaywa by creating an account. This means I’ll have up-to-date data on who interacted with my code, where they were when they scanned it, and when they did so. It’s incredibly helpful for understanding how my audience engages with my content.

2. GOQR.me

GOQR.me is a simple QR code generator that works best with short URLs, but it can be used to store text, geolocation, and event data. Simply click on the icon that corresponds to your data and fill in the fields.

Why I Like It

I like this tool because I can see a live preview of my QR code in real time, which helps me quickly make any final tweaks to my marketing materials. Plus, if I’m willing to pay a bit extra, I can even have a GOQR.me-affiliated designer add my logo for a more customized, branded look.

3. Free QR Code Generator by Shopify

QR codes work best when you have something to offer the people who scan them. And chances are, you're probably selling to people who buy products online with their phones every day.

Why I Like It

I love that Shopify lets me create a QR code with a single click, and I don’t even need to own a Shopify store to take advantage of this free tool. Plus, I can see the QR code preview as it’s being generated, which gives me confidence that everything looks just right before I finalize it.

4. Visualead

Looking for a one-of-a-kind QR code that suits your brand to a “T”? Visualead is the tool we recommend for the job.

Why I Like It

I’ve found that visual QR codes tend to grab more attention and spark more curiosity than the usual black-and-white codes. Because of this, I might get more scans and better engagement from my audience.

5. The-qrcode-generator.com

The-qrcode-generator.com features a simple UI that lets you create a unique QR code in minutes. Simply add your URL or the information you want to share, and your QR code will appear instantly.

Why I Like It

There’s a Google Chrome extension I can download if I’m making several QR codes at the same time. That can streamline the process and help me work more efficiently.

6. QR Stuff

As one of the more robust QR code generators, QR Stuff can create codes for just about any type of data you want to share with the world. YouTube videos, Zoom meeting invitations, and even Bitcoin information are supported through this tool.

Why I Like It

In just three steps, I’ll have a free, customizable QR code that looks great and works exactly as I need it to. Plus, there’s no limit to how many codes I can create.

7. Qr-code-generator.com

I used this QR code generator in our how-to guide above, and for good reason. Qr-code-generator.com is a simple tool that's user-friendly for even the least tech-savvy of us. Simply drop your link into the box, and let the generator do all the work.

Why I Like It

I find QR-code-generator.com really intuitive. It automatically detects the type of URL I provide and generates a fully functional QR code in just a few seconds.

8. QR Code Monkey

If the way your QR code looks is important to you, but you don't want to pay extra for a custom design, try QR Code Monkey. Once you add your URL, you can change the color, add a logo, and further customize the pixels in your code at no cost.

Why I Like It

With QR Code Monkey, I feel like my design possibilities are endless. All that’s needed is a bit of creativity and a bit of patience, and I can produce a branded QR code that truly stands out.

9. QR Code Generator Hub

QR Code Generator Hub is a widely used dynamic QR Code platform that offers many free features along with a full suite of tools for all your QR Code marketing needs.

Why I Like It

QR Code Generator Hub is the one of the only dynamic QR code tools I’ve found that’s both free and unlimited. I can create as many codes as I want, with as many scans and edits as I need, without paying a cent. And if I decide I want more advanced features like tracking and analytics, the paid option is a flat rate — no matter how much I use it.

QR Code Best Practices

1. Sign up for an account on a QR code generator website.

One significant pitfall to making a QR code is that you can't edit the data it contains once you print it. But by signing up for an account, you can edit this data. This is especially important if you expect to use a lot of QR codes in your marketing strategy.

With a free membership to QR code generators like qr-code-generator.com, you can print a dynamic QR code, scan it, and pull up an editable form where you can modify the data your visitors will receive when they scan the QR code themselves. You can also track performance analytics, which we'll cover below, and create a new customized version of your code.

2. Customize your QR code.

QR codes can be boring to look at, but not if you customize them as much as possible. If you sign up for an account on a QR code generator website, you can customize your QR code further — adjusting the colors, adding a logo, creating social options, and more.

Keep in mind, however, that some customizations can make it more difficult for QR code scanning apps and smartphone cameras to properly read the code. To cover your bases, it's a good idea to generate two versions of your QR code — one plain version and another with your preferred design.

Speaking of this ...

3. Test the QR code to make sure it scans.

Don't forget to check to see if the QR code reads correctly, and be sure to try more than one QR code reader. A good place to start is the free tool Google Lens, which takes a picture and then tells you what link or item it “reads to.”

Another great free tool is the app QR Code Reader, which automatically takes you to whatever it “reads.” Most smartphones these days include a built-in QR code reader, so you should test to make sure your code is readable there, as well.

4. Track and analyze performance.

Just like any marketing campaign, you should follow up on any collateral or campaigns using QR codes to see whether they're actually working. How much traffic comes from each specific code? Are people scanning your code but not redeeming their offer once they get to the landing page? Or are they not even compelled enough to scan your QR code in the first place?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you troubleshoot and adjust poorly performing QR codes to more closely mirror those that work well.

I recommend you include a UTM tracking code on your URL so you can better measure performance. This is particularly important if you use closed-loop marketing analytics or if you perform more in-depth reporting on your campaigns.

Create Your QR Code Today

In the process of putting this article together, I was able to create a QR code for my author website — and while doing so, I came across some other really great QR code generators that I can’t wait to try out.

Now it’s your turn! You’ve spent plenty of time scanning QR codes; why not make your own? Just follow the steps I’ve outlined here and pick one of the free QR code generators I’ve recommended. It’s an easy and effective way to get your business, project, or event out into the world.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in December 2011 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

I Tested Different Social Media Content Calendar Tools — Here’s How They Performed

fneedle@hubspot.com (Flori Needle) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:00 GMT

What do cross-country road trips, wedding speeches, and social media marketing have in common? Planning. I definitely can’t help you with your road trip or wedding speech (sorry), but I can help you create a social media content calendar to organize your next marketing campaign.

As marketers, we recognize that social media is integral to an effective inbound marketing strategy. With so many social networks available to us, staying organized and planning for when and what we share is crucial. This is exactly where a social media calendar enters the picture.

Before we dive into our list of top tools to stay organized, here's what you need to know about social media calendars and why they're essential.

Table of Contents

What is a social media calendar?
Benefits of Using a Social Media Content Calendar & Content Planner
How to Create a Social Media Calendar
Social Media Templates
Social Media Calendar Examples
Social Media Content Calendar Tools to Plan Your Messaging
How To Create a Social Media Posting Schedule for Your Business
How To Create a Content Calendar

What is a social media calendar?

A social media content calendar is a rundown of your upcoming posts organized by date and time. A social media calendar can be a spreadsheet (HubSpot offers a free one that you can download here), digital calendar, or interactive dashboard.

Benefits of Using a Social Media Content Calendar & Content Planner

A successful social media strategy requires regular publishing and engaging with followers to see positive results — whether you're looking for sales, brand recognition, lead generation, or all three.

If you're not already using a social media content planner, here are a few advantages to pique your interest.

Easily pivot when plans change.

Plan out posts for entire weeks or months in advance, freeing up your working hours to strategize for the future. This spares you from spending valuable time searching the internet daily for content to share, a known productivity killer.

Curate content just for your audience (on each platform).

Audiences expect to see something different on TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. That's why I recommend that all social media marketers take the time to craft custom messages for each network.

A good calendar will help guide you through this process. Our free social planner has tabs for each platform and is already programmed for each platform.

Source

For example, your Instagram followers want to see Reels, while your X (previously Twitter) followers like quick sound bites and shareable quotes.

Planning this content using a social media content planner will save you time and make drafting thoughtful and intentional content for each platform easier.

Improved collaboration.

A shared calendar can improve collaboration with internal teams and external stakeholders. Skip sending last-minute emails for links, project status, or partnerships.

Your social content planner gives you a simple way to let everyone know what you'll need well before you need it.

Source

Simplified performance tracking.

Content planning with a calendar helps you track impact and ROI for social media efforts. With a calendar, you analyze which content performed best to adjust your strategy accordingly.

If a particular type of post received significant views, you can recreate it for a different topic and potentially see the same success.

Some calendar tools come incredible with built-in performance tracking, like Later:

Source

Reach new audiences.

With the help of a content planner, you can plan for holidays, events, and observance days, such as National Cat Day or Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day .

This makes it easy for you to tailor your content and engage with a broader audience.

How to Create a Social Media Calendar

To create an effective social media calendar, you should:

1. Conduct a social media audit.

A social media audit assesses your social media presence, accounts, and engagement. In my experience, an audit is about more than just analyzing your social media performance.

It helps you better understand your target audience's interests, habits, and expectations and gives you crucial clues about how they engage with your content.

Plus, it keeps you in touch with new social media trends, tools, and features.

As you complete your audit, be sure to review:

Engagement rate.
Conversion rate.
Click-through rate.
Reach.
Impressions.

You can use these metrics across all your social accounts to draw conclusions and adjust your social media calendar from there. Seek to uncover patterns and understand what makes certain content perform better than the other posts.

Most platforms help you identify your top-performing content with their own built-in analytics, like Pinterest pictured below.

Connect your social content strategy to business goals.

Don’t treat social media as an independent marketing strategy — it should be a piece of a larger puzzle. Find the KPIs that are important for your business, then make sure your social strategy supports those KPIs.

For example, let's say that your company-level KPI is to increase sales by X% for a new product. You could write a detailed press release on your website and then share it on social media.

In this case, focusing on social media click-throughs to drive traffic to that specific press release contributes to the main KPI.

That’s exactly what Canva does on X:

Run a competitive analysis.

Review your competitors' social media accounts with these competitive analysis templates and check:

The types of content they're sharing.
Posting frequency.
Audience engagement.

Our free templates guide you through this entire process:

Try to get into as much detail as possible — just like when examining your own strategy’s performance. Want more details? Click here to learn how to conduct a social media audit step-by-step.

2. Choose your social media channels and the content you'll post.

Once you‘ve completed your audit, it’s time to use what you learned. Your audit should give you a sense of what you're doing right, where you should experiment, and which channels are best for your audience.

For example, say that Instagram has historically been your top social media channel for engagement, but you've seen a drop in the last six months.

Your audit should show you what engagement on IG looks like for your competitors, plus what is and isn't working for your business now.

Find the platforms your target audience uses most.

Target audience demographics are need-to-know information for planning your content. You’ll want to leverage market research, which can help you find the most popular social media platforms for your audience.

For example, say my target audience is Gen Z. I’m sharing Instagram Reels and posting on X, but nothing is taking. I know from our Consumer Trends Report (which is market research) that Gen Z’s favorite social media channel is TikTok.

This means that I would be better off pivoting my marketing strategy there to drive results.

Plan what content you want to create for each channel.

Once you‘ve chosen your platforms, it’s time to plan your social media content. To begin the planning process, review your team and budget to get a realistic sense of how much high-quality content you can produce.

You can often produce more high-quality content for less money if you create in batches, which makes careful content planning essential. Then, use your brand guide and social audit analysis to create content that resonates with your audience.

Create a smart mix of social content.

It's best to create a variety of content. Videos are popular, but images, text-based posts, infographics, testimonials, and live streams are potent too. For example, Instagram is ideal for visual storytelling.

With that in mind, activewear brand Popflex features products, product design sketches, behind-the-scenes peeks, and lifestyle content.

Glossier uses a unique content strategy for each social audience. For example, its YouTube channel features a “Get Ready with Me” playlist of videos of influencers, actresses, and CEOs using its products.

Over on LinkedIn, Glossier uses its social feed to highlight its take on culture and events. And on Reddit, the content engages the community with prompts for conversation and critique.

These content creation templates can speed up the process if you create unique content for multiple platforms.

3. Decide what your calendar should include.

As a starting point, your calendar should include the following:

The platforms you're using.
The day and the time your posts will be published.
Links, graphics, videos, and copy.

Color coding is also great for at-a-glance decision-making each month. This is how we color-coded content in our monthly social content planner:

As you become more adept with your calendar, you may want to expand it to include the following:

Platform-specific materials include Reels, TikTok LIVE, polls, shoppable posts, etc.
Geo-targeting.
The associated or vertical campaigns, such as product launches and contests.

4. Get feedback.

Once your calendar is complete, share it with your team and stakeholders to get their feedback and make sure it meets everyone's needs. Your social media calendar should be an easy-to-understand plan that aligns with your social media strategy.

The monthly template in our social media calendar is helpful when sharing your plan with stakeholders who want a sense of the big picture but don‘t need to get into granular details.

On top of being user-friendly, there’s also a user guide built directly into the webpage:

The other sections are useful for social media managers who are planning, creating, and posting to social media.

Once you’ve completed all these steps, the next move is to actually create your social media planning calendar with a template or tool.

Social Media Templates

Before working at HubSpot, I handled social media for a small nonprofit. I built its social media presence from zero, so planning and creating a calendar for myself (and the nonprofit leaders) was important.

I did my planning with a template I found online (which, coincidentally, was HubSpot’s template). It helped me stay organized and on top of when I needed to share content.

Below, plan out posts for entire weeks or months in advance, freeing up your working hours to strategize for the future. This spares you from spending valuable time searching the internet daily for content to share, a known productivity killer.

I’ll dive into two of HubSpot’s free social media calendar templates for you to download and their best features.

1. HubSpot's Social Media Calendar Template

If you're new to setting up social media calendars, HubSpot offers a free, pre-made downloadable template that you can use to schedule out full weeks of posts.

With the download, you’ll get access to multiple sheets that are helpful for your planning process, including:

Platform-specific tabs to plan and organize posts for each platform you use. This was the best part of the template for my social media work. I created separate plans for the platforms I used and then added the scheduled posts to the monthly calendar for a four-week overview.
A monthly planning calendar, where you get a high-level monthly overview. For me, this part of the template was extremely helpful for sharing with stakeholders who wanted to know what to expect but didn’t need access to the platform-to-platform breakdown.

2. HubSpot's Social Media Content Calendar Template for Startups

HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar Template for Startups is similar to the template above, but it also includes a content repository tab and helpful tips for posting on social media networks.

I like this template for startups because, as you scale, maintaining high levels of productivity is a must. This template makes it easier to organize your campaigns, grow your reach, and stay on task.

Here are some of the features I find most helpful for startups:

A content repository where you can list your existing content ready to share or write out ideas for the future. You can populate your content repository with ideas using our Blog Ideas Generator.
If you’re a HubSpot for StartUps user, you can easily bulk upload your planned content in the template to HubSpot Social Inbox with a .CSV file and HubSpot’s bulk uploader. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions in the template.

Now that we’ve gone over a few template options, let’s look at some high-quality examples of social media content calendars that you can use as inspiration.

Social Media Calendar Examples

1. Jotform Social Media Calendar

Jotform‘s social media calendar isn’t just visually appealing and functional. The tabs at the top reveal your social plan for every channel you execute your strategy on, including in-person or virtual events.

If you're modeling your social calendar after this one, I recommend including a tab for content details and who on your team will be responsible for creating the content.

You might also have a separate tab for each month to keep things organized.

2. Firefly Marketing Social Media Content Calendar

Going a more traditional route with your social media calendar? Try a Google Sheets template like the one created by Firefly Marketing. Each tab is dedicated to a different month, while the worksheet includes every channel you might need across the top.

The rows are separated by week, so you can quickly identify the date and time a post is scheduled for publishing. My favorite part of this template is the pre-populated social media holiday column with fun dates that your audience will love.

Social Media Content Calendar Tools to Plan Your Messaging

As I mentioned above, I handled social media for a nonprofit before working at HubSpot. I was mostly a novice, and the nonprofit was small, so I felt that a template was all I needed.

At the same time, a social media content calendar tool would’ve cut my planning time in half and given me more time to focus on creating content to share. Tools are helpful for anyone, regardless of experience level or business size.

I tested some of the leading social media calendar tools to give you a sense of how to make them work for your needs, and I compiled my main takeaways below. Consider the following factors (based on your needs):

Functionality. Some tools are simple, and you’d use them to plan content before posting it yourself, and others are more advanced, automated tools that go a step further and post content for you.

Features. The tool should offer the specific features you need, like managing multiple social media accounts or giving multiple team members access to the dashboard.
Customizations. Calendars should let you customize the layout, categories, tags, or other factors relevant to your needs.
Ease of use. A user-friendly and intuitive interface makes your job easier and helps you get started faster.
Cost. You want a tool that's within budget and includes all the necessary features.

Let’s take a look at my tests.

Note: I know some of the screenshots of calendars I’ve included look bleak and plain. Yours will undoubtedly look much more complete and valuable than mine. I’m just a helpful guinea pig.

1. HubSpot's Downloadable Template for Excel

Content Calendar

Price: Free

If I were to guess, you probably already use Excel to create reports and conduct data analysis. This multifaceted tool is also perfect for social media content calendar organization.

You can customize Excel according to the priorities and metrics your team is focused on, making it a great option for planning.

You can easily use our social media content calendar template on Microsoft Excel.

Marketers can easily use this template to plan individual social media posts — monthly or annually — while keeping an eye on more significant picture events, holidays, publications, and partnerships.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

This intuitive template is great for marketers with small teams and heavy workloads. You can add as many line items of scheduled posts as you like and color code every addition to organize your calendar based on your needs.

You can use the monthly planning calendar tab (pictured above) to get a bird’s-eye view of what’s coming down the pipeline in a given month and easily distinguish between posts by color-coding each platform.

Or, you can get more granular with platform-specific calendars.

Here’s the one for Facebook:

In the content repository tab, you can add the content you’ll be publishing to keep track of what you’ve already published and recall older content you can re-promote.

You can also draft and plan social media posts in the social network update tabs. For more on how to use the templates, check out this in-depth guide from my colleague Basha Coleman, HubSpot Blog Writer and Media Amplification expert.

It’s important to note that this template and its included tabs are for organizational purposes. After you’ve planned out your social media posts, you’ll need to manually upload the content from the posts to a social media publisher.

If you’re a HubSpot customer, you can organize your content in the spreadsheet and upload it directly into Social Inbox (check out instructions for this here).

HubSpot also offers social media software to create a custom publishing schedule to publish directly to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Your social interactions all link back to the HubSpot CRM for easy-to-measure ROI.

2. HubSpot Social Media Management Software

Price: Free tools available; paid plans begin at $20 a month per seat with Starter plan.

HubSpot’s Social Media Management Software is a great tool for creating a social media content calendar, as you can plan your content and run campaigns in one central dashboard.

You can also monitor your social inbox for engagement opportunities and track the ROI of your efforts.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

This tool makes it simple to draft your social posts account-by-account. You can quickly draft posts, upload media (like images), and any important campaign information for tracking.

I also like that you can easily add desired publish dates within the same draft window to ensure all your content goes live at the right time. Note: you can update any scheduled posts until they go live.

The social calendar also gives you a high-level view of your drafted and scheduled posts so you can make sure you have a consistent posting schedule to maximize engagement opportunities.

An additional feature I want to call out is the AI assistant, which you can use to draft social media content and save even more time.

3. Google Drive

Content Calendar and Asset Organization

Price: Free for personal use. Google Workspace plans for businesses start at $6 per month.

Google Drive has several helpful features that make it easy for social media marketers to build an effective content calendar.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

There’s no learning curve for existing Google Drive users; you’re just adapting them for different uses.

Here‘s a simple example of how I’d use Google Calendar to track my editorial and social media calendars to make sure posts align with new blog content. I can also easily share these calendars to avoid scheduling conflicts and align campaigns.

You can also use Google Sheets to schedule posts on social media, track the status of different pieces of content, and assign tasks to team members without switching platforms.

Google Docs is also great because you can keep comments in one place and collaborate on different projects instead of emailing back and forth or scheduling a meeting.

I find this especially useful when editing your social media content, which may need to be drafted and approved quickly.

It’s also convenient because you can use multiple Google products to create quick and seamless workflows.

For example, say I’m in charge of scheduling and publishing content, and my coworker is responsible for making creative assets.

I can fill out the shared social media calendar with dates, copy, and scheduling status, and my colleagues can easily upload the assets they create to Google Drive and add the link to the calendar so I have quick access when it’s time to publish.

A bonus is that HubSpot customers can easily link their Google Drive accounts to the HubSpot portal to upload files from Drive into the HubSpot software.

4. Loomly

Content Planning, Creation, Publishing, and Calendar

Price: A base plan is $32 per month for two users and 10 accounts when you choose the annual agreement.
Free Trial: 15-day free trial, no credit card required

As I mentioned, some social media content calendars are all-in-one tools offering content planning and publishing. Loomly is one of those tools with content creation, management, and scheduling features.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

I signed up for Loomly’s free trial quickly because I didn’t have to add credit card info, which I know can be a deterrent if you’re just looking to test a tool.

It was extremely easy for me to get started, and the step-by-step walkthrough led me through linking my social accounts and drafting my first post.

I really appreciated that I could preview how posts look on each platform as I created them. This makes for easy editing and updates instead of deleting a post to make edits after it’s live.

I scheduled a few test posts in less than five minutes to get a view of the calendar, and it’s a simple, no-frills look. Each post you schedule uses the platform icon so you can easily tell what’s going where. The image below is an example calendar:

And, since it’s an all-in-one tool, linking your accounts means it will also schedule your posts for you.

Overall, Loomly is a high-quality tool for anyone looking to plan their social media content at a fair price point.

5. Later

Social Media Management Platform & Link in Bio Tool

Price: Starter plan is $25 per month or $16.67 billed yearly
Free Trial: Basic 14-day free trial, credit card required for feature-rich trial

Later is a user-friendly social media calendar and publishing tool that simplifies the process of scheduling and automating posts across various platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

It’s meant for organic social media content, so you’ll need to use a different tool for your paid campaigns.

I tested the tool for free, but the more feature-rich 14-day trial requires a credit card.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

I’m impressed by Later’s social media calendar.

It took me less than two minutes to link my Instagram account to the calendar, and having it linked means I easily scheduled hypothetical posts for publishing on the exact day and time I designated.

It’s also an extremely interactive tool, as you can upload your multimedia assets and drag and drop them onto your calendar, which really makes it feel like you’re “building” a calendar…fun, right?

The post builder includes all of the elements you’d need to include in your post based on the specific platform you’re scheduling for.

Your calendar will undoubtedly look better and fuller than mine, but here’s the monthly calendar view with two sample Instagram posts I created:

You can also view your scheduled posts in list view to get a detailed breakdown of each upcoming week.

What sets Later apart is its specialized visual planning for Instagram. It offers powerful Instagram scheduling features. You can plan and preview your Instagram grid, schedule carousel posts, and even automatically publish Instagram Stories.

I find the focus on the unique visual aesthetic requirements that Instagram demands to be a stand-out feature, making it a go-to tool for businesses or creators heavily invested in the platform.

6. Sprout Social

Social Publishing and Content Calendar

Price: Standard plan starts at $249 per month for five social profiles, billed annually.
Free Trial: 30-day free trial, no credit card required

Sprout Social’s social media calendar and publishing tool make it easy for teams or individuals to plan and schedule their social posts. You can schedule content to automatically post to X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

I tested SproutSocial with its free trial. I found the publishing tool extremely easy to use with little learning curve, making it a great tool if you’re under a time crunch to choose a tool and get started.

I quickly linked my X profile, and creating a post took me about five minutes. I especially liked that there’s a live preview option to view your creations come to life in real time.

When your content is scheduled, you can toggle monthly, weekly, or list view for a deeper look or filter the calendar by platform. Here’s what the monthly calendar view looks like with three scheduled X posts:

A bonus feature worth calling out: Sprout Social's social listening tool lets you uncover niche conversations your audience is interested in so you can join in on the conversation.

I did find that this tool isn’t ideal if you focus on Instagram and TikTok because posting content requires an extra step. You have to download the Sprout Mobile App and designate a mobile publisher who manually publishes posts within the app.

Sprout Social is also the most expensive tool, making it better for teams or individuals with a larger budget.

7. Hootsuite

Social Publishing and Content Calendar

Price: Professional plan starts at $99 per month, billed annually
Free Trial: 30-day free trial, requires credit card

Hootsuite’s social media calendar and planner make it easy to create, schedule, and publish content so you can execute your social media marketing goals.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

Hootsuite is a robust and high-powered publishing tool to consider. Its primary features for social publishing are exactly what you look for in a publisher: easy content scheduling in advance to share posts with your networks.

It also has rich features for collaboration and post approvals.

Hootsuite stands out on this list because you can see paid and organic social content calendars side-by-side (other tools only allow for organic content).

Since it’s also a publisher, you can relax after you’ve scheduled your content because it will push it live for you.

You also get access to helpful features like uploading Canva templates for your posts and recommended times to post to get the most engagement.

8. Agorapulse

Social Publishing and Content Calendar

Price: Free individual account for one user and three social profiles; paid plans start at $49 a month per seat, billed annually
Free Trial: 15-day free trial, no credit card required

Agorapulse offers social publishing tools and a content calendar to easily manage your social media account queuing, scheduling, and bulk uploading posts (incredibly helpful for teams who use quarterly or monthly content plans).

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

I really like how straightforward Agorapulse’s interface is and how the welcome post immediately got me started with linking my social profiles.

The drag-and-drop builder made it easy for me to add posts to my calendar. Plus, I got a preview of what my posts would look like on each platform with the live editor.

I could view my calendar in a list, week, or month view, making it easy to get an overview or go more in-depth. Your complete calendar will look nicer than mine, but here’s a basic one I created:

What makes Agorapulse different is its social inbox, which allows you to manage all the interactions from various platforms in a single place. After all, content isn‘t just a one-and-done activity; it’s about building awareness and engagement with your readers.

9. StoryChief

Content Planning and Distribution

Price: Individual pricing starts at $210, billed quarterly
Free Trial: 7-day free trial, no credit card required

With StoryChief's smart calendar, you can better strategize and plan your content strategy across channels.

StoryChief is described as a “content distribution platform” that unifies analytics and publishing across multiple channels for a more simplified approach to content creation. Best of all, it syncs with HubSpot and your favorite calendar apps.

Why I Like This Social Media Calendar Tool

After signing up for the free trial, I was immediately brought to an extremely interactive and helpful walkthrough of the basics of the tool.

I felt confident enough after the tutorial to jump right into the tool. I easily linked my X account and scheduled a few sample posts with the easy post builder.

I forgot to cancel the posts I scheduled, and they were posted to my account. So, rest assured, the tool works as advertised, and your posts will go live as scheduled.

Here’s what the monthly calendar view looks like with my scheduled posts:

You can customize how you see your calendar and filter views by channel, campaign level, or content type.

How To Create a Social Media Posting Schedule for Your Business

Content posting strategies can differ depending on the social media platform, and you should consider not only what you're posting but also when and how often.

By creating a social posting schedule and adjusting the schedule to fit each platform, you can increase the chances that your posts will reach your audience.

Facebook

Facebook's Meta Business Suite makes scheduling posts and stories for your business easy.

Step 1: To schedule a post using the Meta Business Suite on your desktop, start by selecting your business's Facebook Page from the dropdown menu in the top left of your sidebar.
Step 2: Next, click Posts & Stories or Calendar, then click Create Post.
Step 3: Click Facebook News Feed to schedule the post to your news feed.
Step 4: Enter the details of your post, including text, media, and a link or location. If you add a photo to your post, you won’t be able to add a link preview. Click Call to Action or Feeling/Activity to add an optional call to action or feeling/activity to your post.
Step 5: A preview will appear on the right as you build your post. You can change the preview to see how your post will look on both desktop and mobile by using the dropdown menu at the top of the window.
Step 6: After building your post, click the arrow next to Publish and click Schedule Post. Select the date and time you want your post to be published, and click Schedule to schedule your post.

Instagram

Like Facebook, Instagram also uses the Meta Business Suite to schedule posts.

Step 1: To schedule a post to Instagram using the Meta Business Suite on your desktop, start by connecting your Instagram account to the Meta Business Suite.
Step 2: Once your Instagram account is connected, click the dropdown menu in the top left of your sidebar and select your Instagram account.
Step 3: Click Posts & Stories or Calendar, then click Create Post. Click Instagram Feed to schedule the post to your Instagram feed.
Step 4: Enter the details of your post, including text, media, and an optional link or location. If you choose to add a link to your Instagram post, it will not show a photo preview.
Step 5: A preview will appear on the right as you build your post. You can change the preview to see how your post will look on both desktop and mobile by using the dropdown menu at the top of the window.
Step 6: After building your post, click the arrow next to Publish and click Schedule Post. Select the date and time you want your post to be published, and click Schedule to schedule your post.

Only a super or content admin can schedule posts on LinkedIn.

Still, by using third-party software such as HubSpot's social media management tools that are included with HubSpot's Marketing Hub Professional accounts, you can easily create and schedule LinkedIn posts.

Step 1: To schedule LinkedIn posts using HubSpot's social media management tools, start by logging into your Marketing Hub Professional account.
Step 2: Next, navigate to Marketing > Social and click Create Social Post.
Step 3: In the right panel, click LinkedIn. Create your post in the text box, including emojis, hashtags, mentions, tags, and a content link. When using HubSpot's social media management tools, you can only mention or tag LinkedIn company pages, not LinkedIn users.
A post preview will appear if you add a content link to your post. You can add up to four images to your post by clicking the image icon or add a video to your post by clicking the video icon.
Step 4: Click Review, then Preview to see how your post will appear on LinkedIn.
Step 5: Then click Schedule post to schedule or publish your post.

X (Twitter)

Step 1: You can schedule posts for your business by logging into your X Ads account and navigating to the Creatives > Posts tab. To access the Creatives tab in your X Ads account, your account must have a credit card on file.
Step 2: Click on New Post in the top right corner and create your post. If you would like your post to only be seen by users you have targeted in a Promoted Ads campaign, click the Promoted Only checkbox. Leave this unchecked if you would like the post to be seen organically by your followers.
Step 3: Once you've written your post, click the down arrow next to post, click Schedule, and select the date and time you would like the post to be shared.

Pinterest allows you to schedule up to 100 Pins. You can schedule one Pin at a time, up to one month in advance.

Step 1: To schedule Pins for your business, log into your Pinterest Business account. Next, click Create at the left corner of your screen, then click Create Pin.
Step 2: Choose an image or video, and add a title, description, and link.
Step 3: Click Publish later and choose the day and time you’d like to publish your Pin.
Step 4: Choose a board from the dropdown menu, or create a new board by clicking Create board.
Step 5: Click Publish.

Step 1: Download HubSpot's content calendar template.

Consistently posting content is key to making the most of your business’s social media accounts. HubSpot‘s content calendar template makes setting up a monthly posting schedule for your business’s social media accounts easy.

HubSpot‘s content calendar template includes a monthly planning calendar, a content repository, and posting schedules for X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.

With HubSpot’s content calendar template, your team can view and manage your business' social media posting schedules and deadlines at a glance.

Step 2: Choose your content goals.

Americans spend an average of 151 minutes (over two hours) on social media every day, making it a great way to connect with your business‘s current and potential customers.

It’s not enough to know what you want to post; you must also understand why your business posts content.

When choosing your business‘s content goals, consider what your brand most needs to accomplish. Understanding your goals can help to confirm that your business’s content reaches the right audience with the right message.

Step 3: Determine what types of content you want to publish.

Once you know your business's goals, decide what types of content your business will post. Each type of social media content has advantages and disadvantages.

For example, blog posts and articles can help your business build credibility, but they can be time-consuming to create.

X posts can help your business gain consumer insight and hone its brand voice, but the shorter content form means your business may have to use long threads to get your message across.

Carefully choosing the types of content your business will post can help ensure that your content offers value to your audience.

Step 4: Determine what platforms you will post on.

Once you know your business‘s content goals and the types of content you will publish, it’s time to choose where your business will post.

Your business's social media presence should be informed by its content, goals, and target audience demographics.

Considering each social media platform's strengths and weaknesses can help you accomplish your business's content goals without wasting time and money marketing to users who are outside of your target audience.

We've already created tabs for the most popular platforms in your calendar:

Step 5: Determine the most efficient posting schedule for your content.

Each social media platform has peak engagement times — certain days and times of day when users are most likely to view and engage with posts. So, knowing the best times to post on each social media platform will help you maximize the reach of your business's posts.

For instance, user engagement on Facebook peaks between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Fridays. Engagement is lowest on Thursday and Sunday between 6 and 9 a.m. each day.

Add this in the “Schedule” tab of your spreadsheet:

When creating your business's content calendar, account for the engagement patterns for each of your accounts to demystify the scheduling process, save time, and get your posts in front of your audience when they are most likely to see them.

What is the best social media calendar?

Now that I‘ve reviewed a few helpful tools to kick your social media strategy into high gear, it’s time for you to experiment with them. The best social media calendar saves you time, streamlines processes, and helps you work smarter, not harder.

Several of the platforms I've suggested are free to use or offer a free trial. Have one person on your team test one out and report their findings.

You might find the tool that helps you reach your next social media KPI. Remember, every social media team is different. Combining these tools could help you execute your strategy efficiently to drive ROI.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How the Eisenhower Matrix Can Keep Your Projects on Track [My Experience]

Kinzal Jalan — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In my early days as a solopreneur, I often drowned in an endless list of tasks (more often than I’d like.) Every item on my to-do list felt urgent, and I was constantly pulled in different directions.

Yet, by the end of each day, I felt like the most critical stuff remained unattended. To put it lightly, I was frustrated with this pattern.

Desperate for a solution, I stumbled across the Eisenhower Matrix, which teaches prioritizing like a president. Once I adopted it, things started changing. Using the Eisenhower Matrix in my day-to-day task planning didn’t just help me get more organized: it transformed my decision-making process.

Over time, prioritizing like a pro has become second nature. I’ve been using the matrix for every decision I make — from making marketing plans and prioritizing my finances to chalking out and working toward my long-term goals.

To help you put chaos behind you as I did, grab this free Eisenhower Matrix template and get started right away. If you want to understand how it all works, I’ve compiled a detailed guide on using the Eisenhower Matrix for better prioritization and decision-making.

Table of Contents

What is the Eisenhower Matrix?
The Benefits of Using an Eisenhower Matrix
How to Use an Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix Template
Eisenhower Matrix Examples for Marketers
Tips for Making an Eisenhower Matrix

What is the Eisenhower Matrix?

The Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix, is a simple yet powerful decision-making tool. It’s a framework to categorize tasks into four quadrants based on urgency and importance.

The matrix was named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th U.S. President who inspired it. In a 1954 speech quoting an unknown university, Dwight famously said, “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”

These words encouraged Stephen Covey, the author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” to channel those words to develop what is now popularly known as the Eisenhower Matrix.

Source

Let’s look into what these four quadrants are all about.

Understanding the 4 Quadrants of the Eisenhower Matrix

Quadrant 1: Urgent & Important

This quadrant is the “do” one, where tasks to be done immediately should be placed. Here, you should add all the important, urgent, and high-priority tasks on your to-do list (and mind).

Example: Renew your business license before the lurking renewal date.

While filtering to add a task (or not) to this quadrant, some questions you can ask yourself include:

Should this be done right now, or can it be deferred?
Does avoiding this task have negative consequences or affect my long-term goals?
Will this task continue stressing me out till I complete it?

Quadrant 2: Important, Not Urgent

This quadrant is the “schedule” one. It should feature tasks that are not precisely urgent priority yet are essential for your long-term goals. These are the ones you want to address after tackling the quadrant one tasks that need to be done immediately.

Example: Building your content strategy.

Quadrant 3: Urgent, Not Important

This is the “delegate” quadrant. It must capture those tasks that you can classify as urgent but not important. Here, you can place in to-dos that need to be completed immediately but don’t impact your long-term goals.

Example: Water the plants in your office.

It’s best to delegate these to your team members since their completion doesn’t rely on your specific skill set to complete, and delegation helps you better manage your workload.

Quadrant 4: Neither Urgent nor Important

This is the “eliminate” quadrant, where you can add the unimportant or non-urgent tasks left over after filling up your first three quadrants. These tasks are more like distractions and get in the way of you accomplishing your goals.

Example: Doom-scrolling social media or checking your email every fifteen minutes.

But wait, why use this matrix and classify tasks into quadrants?

The Benefits of Using an Eisenhower Matrix

Since I’ve been using the Eisenhower Matrix, I’ve found myself prioritizing and managing my time better instead of spinning the wheels on low-value activities and panicking later. I’ve witnessed the following benefits of using the Eisenhower Matrix to plan.

1. Reducing decision fatigue.

According to research published by Harvard Business Review, the average adult makes 33,000 to 35,000 total decisions each day (yeah).

Imagine throwing weighty decisions into this mix, which we all must make in the daily grind of work. Everything gets overwhelming when it feels like a priority, right?

Decision fatigue pops in, precisely what the Eisenhower Matrix helps to counter.

Using the matrix, I’ve learned firsthand how to eliminate the guesswork in my plans and precisely define what deserves my attention first. This has saved me so much effort and mental fatigue.

Better still, I’ve been able to focus my quality time on decisions that matter most.

2. Ensuring long-term goals don’t fall through the cracks.

The second quadrant of Eisenhower’s matrix has helped me make a real change.

Systematically pursuing the items in the schedule quadrant has helped me ensure I don’t slack on dedicating time to strategic initiatives. With direction clarity from using the matrix, I now make it a point to spend time on tasks like developing my marketing strategy.

This has ensured I don’t sway from my goals, as 92% of people do statistically. In essence, it has driven actual results over time.

3. Saving time.

The Eisenhower Matrix has been a game-changer for saving time and helping me make the most of every hour. And time is money, right?

Highlighting low-priority tasks in Quadrants 3 and 4 has allowed me to quickly cut out the loose strings that had been delaying my productivity for years. With mental clarity, I now delegate what I must right at the onset and scratch out spending time on tasks I’d rather avoid.

Inspired by these benefits? In addition to using the Eisenhower Matrix, you can also use these Skill Development Templates to improve your skills and performance.

How to Use an Eisenhower Matrix

Using the Eisenhower Matrix is quite simple. Here’s how I worked through the process and how you can, too.

1. List all your tasks.

Start by brain-dumping. At this stage, I list everything I need to do without worrying about organizing anything, and that’s what you should do!

Pro tip: Listing everything can lead to an endless spiral of overthinking and wasted time. To focus better, use a timer to limit this step to 15 minutes.

2. Categorize each task.

Next, review your list and allocate tasks to the four quadrants. Here’s my thumb rule to classify tasks quickly:

Quadrant 1. Deadlines or emergencies.
Quadrant 2. Planning, relationship building, or strategy.
Quadrant 3. Quick-turnaround requests or tasks that I can delegate.
Quadrant 4. Activities that don’t add value.

Pro tip: Limit tasks to a maximum of ten per quadrant to avoid cluttering your matrix and leaving yourself overwhelmed. Remember, you can always create different matrices for professional and personal use, so there is no need to cram everything into one.

3. Act based on priority.

This is the final step to get the ball rolling and start acting on your to-dos.

When implementing, ensure you tackle Quadrant 1 tasks first; schedule time for Quadrant 2. Meanwhile, delegate Quadrant 3 tasks to use your time best. Lastly, remove the time-sucking activities in Quadrant 4 from your radar.

Pro tip: Start blocking time on your calendar for Quadrant 2 tasks. When you treat these appointments with the same importance as meetings, you’ll see how you’ll move closer to your long-term goals.

The Eisenhower Matrix Template

Would you like a head start on using the Eisenhower Matrix? I’ve found the simplest way to get started is to use a (free!) customizable Eisenhower Matrix template. It’s available as a Google Sheet and a downloadable spreadsheet.

Source

To use the template, simply fill in the four quadrants with your tasks, accounting for their urgency and importance levels. As an example, I’ve filled out one task for each quadrant.

Urgent & Important: I’ve entered a task that needs immediate attention. My blog has a deadline of tomorrow, so it’s both urgent and essential.

Important, Not Urgent: Here, I’ve added a project that’s strategically valuable to me. While building a content plan is definitely essential, it’s not urgent. I wouldn’t be in trouble if I took it up a few days later. So, Quadrant 2 it is!

Urgent, Not Important: Here, I’ve added a task that I’d prefer the team to help me with. Scheduling blogs on the CMS goes in here, as it doesn’t rely on my specific skillset. I could use help to save time for more critical activities.

Neither Urgent nor Important: I’ve filled this quadrant with a reminder of what not to do. Yep, endlessly surfing through my competitor’s social media and getting lost in that ocean is something I’d rather avoid.

Eisenhower Matrix Examples for Marketers

You may wonder if the Eisenhower Matrix is for everybody. I mean, does it make sense for those who are not in decision-making roles? I’d say yes. And if you’re wondering specifically if it makes sense for marketers, my verdict is: it's incredibly practical.

I’ve compiled some examples of how it applies to marketing. These should give you a direction on where to focus and where to avoid distractions in the marketing world.

Example 1: Using the Eisenhower Matrix in Content Marketing

Quadrant 1: Finalize a blog post due to be published today.
Quadrant 2: Create a six-month editorial calendar, conduct a content audit, or research trending keywords for SEO.
Quadrant 3: Respond to non-urgent media inquiries.
Quadrant 4: Tweak visuals on a low-performing blog post.

Example 2: Using the Eisenhower Matrix in Campaign Management

Quadrant 1: Fix a broken link in a live email campaign.
Quadrant 2: Analyze performance metrics to optimize future campaigns.
Quadrant 3: Review vendor proposals.
Quadrant 4: Scroll through competitor’s social media feeds without a specific goal.

Example 3: Using the Eisenhower Matrix in Social Media Management

Quadrant 1: Respond to the viral customer complaint.
Quadrant 2: Build a social media calendar for the next quarter.
Quadrant 3: Delegate graphic creation for routine posts.
Quadrant 4: Discuss social posts at length with the team without clear ROI.

Tips for Making an Eisenhower Matrix

Working with an Eisenhower Matrix over all these years, I’ve learned a few things that I now treat as thumb rules. Here are my top tips.

1. Start small.

In the beginning, the matrix can feel overwhelming if there are too many tasks — at least, that’s what happened to me. So, I figured it would be easier to start applying it to just one project or a week’s worth of tasks. Once comfortable, expanding is always easy.

2. Audit your tasks regularly.

Priorities shift, so it’s best to revisit my Eisenhower Matrix weekly. This ensures my to-dos are always relevant and keep up with the dynamism around me.

So, schedule regular audits and ensure your matrix is always a work in progress.

3. Be honest about what’s “important.”

Over the years, I’ve realized how easy it is to mistake urgency for importance. So now, to avoid that, before assigning tasks, I always ask myself, “What happens if I do this later?” or “Does this align with my goals?” I’ve seen how this simple exercise helps me compartmentalize better, and you should do the same!

4. Communicate priorities.

When I delegate tasks from Quadrant 3 these days, I make it a point to clarify why they matter. I’ve seen firsthand how explaining the bigger picture to the assignee impacts the outcome. So, don’t be shy about communicating priorities when you put someone on the task.

Ready to prioritize?

Eisenhower Matrix offers a valuable lesson that productivity isn’t about doing more but about doing what matters.

Using this framework has been game-changing for me. It’s helped me reclaim my time, reduce stress, and progress toward my goals. I recommend using the Eisenhower Matrix to improve your prioritization and decision-making skills.

On that note, happy prioritizing — like a president.

The Different Types of Marketing & What Your Brand Should Invest In

Kasia Kowalska — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

During the last 15 years I’ve worked at a few companies, and looking back, most of them relied on tried-and-tested types of marketing methods like paid ads, email marketing, and SEO.

These tactics still work well, but over the years a lot of new options and channels appeared. There have also been some major changes that influence how you can reach clients — think Google Core Updates, the introduction of AI, or privacy laws like GDPR, to name just a few.

So, I thought I’d bring together all the options that work today and are set to perform well in the coming years.

Table of Contents

The Two Top Types of Marketing
Types of Traditional Marketing That Are Still Relevant
Forms of Digital Marketing You Should Try
Types of Marketing That Work Across Traditional and Digital Channels
Types of Event Marketing to Experiment With

The Two Top Types of Marketing

While there are different ways you can categorize the types of marketing that exist, I believe that at the highest level, you can reduce them to two main groups: B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer). Let’s look at both.

B2B Marketing

Business-to-business marketing is about marketing products and services to other companies. But here is the thing: your customer isn’t the organization but the people within it. That means you need to figure out exactly who you’re targeting because decisions usually involve more than one person.

For example, the marketing manager and finance manager will have different priorities and challenges.

When it comes to B2B marketing strategies, focus on being efficient and logical — your audience cares about facts and results. Keep your messaging clear and to the point.

Also, remember that sales cycles in the B2B sector are usually longer and more complex. The decision-making process involves multiple stages and stakeholders. Make sure to adjust your marketing strategy to where your potential buyer is in the decision-making process.

B2C Marketing

Business-to-consumer marketing focuses on promoting services and products directly to individual customers rather than companies. The goal here is to appeal to people’s personal needs and solve their problems, and — in the long run — build emotional connections between them and the brand.

Since B2C is more emotion-based than its B2B counterpart, many of the marketing tactics used circle around encouraging impulse purchases. For example, social media-based campaigns can inform tentative buyers about flash sales, like “25% site-wide only today.”

Unsurprisingly, what also works for today’s consumers (particularly those who spend a lot of time online) is instant gratification. It could either mean same-day delivery or getting a free item or discount for their next purchase.

The reason why such tactics work is because the risks (and costs) of buying a product or service in B2C are lower than when someone’s buying for their organization. And so, sales cycles are also usually much shorter here than in B2B.

Types of Traditional Marketing That Are Still Relevant

When you hear “traditional marketing,” you probably picture TV ads, billboards, or newspaper placements. If so, you’re absolutely right — and it’s unbelievable to think that some of those have been around for well over a century.

But if you feel like these offline tactics are no longer worth investing in (after all, everyone’s online these days, right?), then you might be surprised by what I’m about to tell you.

1. TV and Radio Ads

Despite viewer fragmentation between TV and video streaming platforms, the former remains an important channel for B2C brands.

In the United States, the TV ad market is expected to reach $146.40 billion by the end of 2025. Estimates expect only a 1.16% drop in year-over-year ad spend until 2029. So, in my opinion, traditional TV ads aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

What convinces me particularly strongly, though, is that traditional media aren’t actually fighting against digital channels. As Marketing Dive reports, they’re even driving website traffic by catching people’s attention and motivating them to go to the company’s offering online.

2. Billboards

It’s hard to find a place without billboards (nature spots don’t count). And I have never seen as many as I did in Tokyo. While they might ruin the view, they’re undeniably effective.

According to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, 88% of consumers notice billboards and 78% engage with the brand in some way. The tricky part is measuring the effectiveness. Adding a QR code might help you track how many people engaged with your ad.

3. Flyers and Brochures

Even now, companies that sell physical products still rely on flyers as part of their marketing strategy. When I started my marketing career at Philips Healthcare, one of the tasks I was responsible for was creating flyers and brochures to promote medical equipment like CT scanners and MRIs.

We mainly used the flyers at events and during site visits at hospitals, and I have to say they worked surprisingly well. Or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised at all since as many as 85% of consumers are more likely to remember a business after getting a flyer.

Forms of Digital Marketing You Should Try

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In contrast to traditional marketing, digital marketing uses a wide variety of previously unavailable technologies to reach audiences in new ways.

It’s the fastest-growing type of marketing, encompassing all marketing efforts that live online.

Businesses investing in digital marketing, such as ProfileTree, use numerous digital channels, such as search engines, social media, email, websites, and more, to connect with their current and prospective customers.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the types of marketing tactics and channels at your disposal.

4. Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is focused on attracting customers to your business rather than reaching out to them as they engage in work or pastime activities. I’ll discuss the latter tactic (outbound marketing) further in this post.

While some inbound marketing tactics live offline, the majority fall under the umbrella of digital marketing, as consumers are empowered to do research online to progress through their buyer's journeys.

Inbound is built on three pillars: attract, engage, and delight.

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The initial goal is to create valuable content and experiences that resonate with your audience and attract them to your business. For example, if your business is in the women’s fashion niche, you could create a free style guide that your clients could download and use during the upcoming summer season.

The next step is to engage them through conversational tools like email marketing, chatbots, and, of course, continuously adding real value.

This would be where you could, for instance, inform your leads via email about a limited-time offer. Finally, you should delight them by continuing to share advice and great deals in the future.

What I’d like to add here is that you shouldn’t evaluate your inbound marketing effectiveness just by looking at the revenue it generated during the last quarter or so. Since this type of marketing is very broad, the various tactics you use impact your brand image.

A lead from an inbound campaign can become a client today or next week — but they could also keep reading your newsletters, and place their first purchase in eight months or so. This could make attributing sales to exact campaigns a bit tricky.

5. Content Marketing

As one of the best ways to attract your target audiences, content marketing is a critical component of an effective digital inbound marketing strategy.

That is probably why nearly nine in ten marketing professionals who have already invested in content marketing plan to maintain or increase their investment in podcast and audio content in 2025.

This form of marketing involves creating, publishing, and distributing content to your target audience through free and gated channels, such as social media platforms, blogs, videos, ebooks, podcasts, and webinars.

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The goal of content marketing is to help your audience along their buyer's journey while adding value and providing a supportive, delightful experience.

To do so, first, identify common questions and concerns your buyers are likely to have before they are ready to purchase.

Then, create an editorial calendar to track when you will create and share content related to those topics. A content management system (CMS) like Content Hub can also help you stay organized and keep your content and publication schedule on track.

A hot tip from me: Instead of choosing your article topic based solely on a keyword (and its volume), focus on a specific problem your customers face.

The Internet is flooded with mediocre Top of the Funnel content, so trust me, you’re better off investing effort into producing high-quality articles targeting the Bottom of the Funnel. Not only will there be less competition, but the chances of converting prospects will also be higher.

6. Product Marketing

Product marketing isn’t just taking product pictures or running launch campaigns. It's about driving demand for a product and its adoption through consistent positioning, messaging, and market research.

Product marketers sit at the intersection of product, sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

These product-focused marketers work with various organizational functions, supporting sales enablement and aligned marketing strategies.

It’s a critical role for any company, so it’s no surprise that, as of now, nearly 10,200 Product Manager roles are advertised on LinkedIn in the US alone.

Source

Miquel Palet, the founder and CEO of Get-Invoice.com, told me that product marketing is one of their most successful marketing strategies.

Palet suggests creating a free product that targets users from your target audience, and is highly shareable (i.e., users want to share it with their friends). This is exactly what they did at Get-Invoice.com.

“Taking advantage of Spotify's wrapped campaign, we created a similar free tool for showing email activity during the year. When we started posting the tool on different platforms, it quickly started gaining traction, which also put lots of eyeballs on our main product,” said Palet.

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7. Influencer Marketing

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By partnering with influencers in your space, influencer marketing enables your brand to tap into an existing community of highly engaged social media followers.

Influencers are considered experts in their niches and have built loyalty and trust with an audience you want to reach.

These programs are a substantial part of a modern marketing strategy.

Today, 87% of marketers plan to either maintain or increase their influencer marketing budget, which I think is a good move since as many as 69% of consumers trust recommendations from influencers over brands.

To get started with influencer marketing, I recommend building your influencer marketing strategy and defining what type of influencer you’d like to work with.

Then, you’ll want to create criteria for your influencer to ensure they align with your strategy and budget.

Factors to consider include their niche, the size of their audience, and their current metrics. From there, you can find influencers and reach out to them by:

Manually reaching out on social media.
Using an influencer marketing platform.
Hiring an agency to do the research and outreach for you.

It’s best to work with micro-influencers because they are both more affordable and credible — they simply feel “more like us.” I have my personal favorites.

For instance, whenever I look for skincare products, I check recommendations from Piotr Janicki, who is studying to be a dermatologist. Every product he has recommended has been a hit for me.

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8. User-Generated Marketing

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User-generated marketing is when businesses invite their audiences to participate in creating marketing materials. I think it was only a matter of time before brands, seeing the impressive ROI from micro-influencers, began turning to real-life customers to promote their products and services.

There are many creative ways to encourage users to generate this type of content. What will work largely depends on your industry and user demographics.

You could, for instance, run a social media hashtag challenge asking your followers to develop a jingle. Or you could invite users to share pictures or videos of themselves using your product and launch a raffle giveaway to incentivize people further to participate.

Why do brands use this approach? Over 85% of marketers say that building and nurturing an online user community like this has a positive impact on their company’s core operations.

Plus, it's cost-effective, builds stronger connections with your audience, and increases brand awareness.

9. Search Engine Marketing

Even though social media platforms have become key for discovering products and services, brands must still ensure a strong presence on search engines like Google and Bing.

That’s where search engine marketing, or SEM, comes in. It includes all strategies to ensure your business is visible on search engine results pages. With SEM, your goal is to get your business to the top spot when a user searches for a particular keyword.

According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Consumer Trends report, online search is the top way buyers discover new products (either through running traditional search or by using AI-powered search assistants).

59% of consumers also say that they prefer gathering information online themselves over speaking to a human.

There are two types of SEM:

Search engine optimization (SEO) for organic search results
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for sponsored search engine results.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

To get started with SEO, familiarize yourself with search engine ranking factors and common keywords relevant to your industry and products. Then, get proactive about producing content for search engines to index that use these terms.

Before you start publishing content, however, I recommend checking each keyword’s search intent and making sure that it relates to what your company offers.

In short, this step is about understanding what exactly a person is hoping to find or achieve after tapping a specific query into a search. They usually expect one of four outcomes:

Learning more on a subject.
Finding a specific company’s website.
Researching options before buying.
Finding a specific product or service once they’re ready to purchase.

Make sure that the content you publish aligns with your prospects’ expectations — if you pitch your product too early, you could scare them off. Or, conversely, miss an opportunity to mention your company’s offer for a transactional keyword.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Meanwhile, PPC also involves the use of keywords, but you bid on them to get your ads placed in search, through platforms like Google Ads. I recommend investing in ad management tools that help you create and manage your PPC campaigns.

When investing in PPC, I also suggest asking yourself whom exactly you’re targeting. Or, more specifically, whether your service or product can be used worldwide or is limited by geographic constrictions.

If you belong to the latter group, then you might find this tip from Esteban Largaespada, digital ads director at Online Optimism, incredibly useful:

“In my experience, hyper-localized Google Ads can be extremely effective in increasing conversion rates while lowering costs per conversion.” Largaespada says this based on 10+ years of PPC work for multiple clients.

“In one case, I was able to improve the conversion rate from 5% to 15% over the course of 12 months while simultaneously lowering cost per conversion from $173.24 to $55.71.”

What Largaespada did was start off by running ads for New Orleans locals, which was where the client’s company was headquartered and most known. Next, he told me that he expanded the advertisements’ reach to a select few major U.S. cities (Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando) and medium-sized markets like Dallas.

“This is where the company frequently worked and had good margins,” he explained.

This tactic did, however, require constant monitoring. Largaespada told me he quickly withdrew from running ads as soon as he noticed that the cost per conversion “wasn’t optimal.”

He also underlined the connection between PPC and SEO when making decisions for the brand’s paid ads: “I used intensive search term analysis and exclusions, as well as insights and established location pages from our SEO campaign, to further improve results,” Largaespada concluded.

10. Personalized Marketing

Personalized marketing aims to create a customized marketing experience for every user across your brand. Here is a great example of an email I received from Amazon a couple of days after I finished reading a book from one of my all-time favorite writers.

Notice how — in order to deliver tailored recommendations for future readings — Amazon first took note of the “Read” status of the book on my Kindle device, and then used it to trigger a set of “what to read next” suggestions.

This type of marketing has been around for well over a decade, with none else but Amazon being one of the first companies to go so deeply into users’ individual preferences.

What has changed in the last few years here, perhaps unsurprisingly, is who’s responsible for executing personalized campaigns (you’ve guessed it — it’s AI). 73% of marketers surveyed by Twilio Segment say that artificial intelligence will reimagine their approach to personalization strategies.

While AI will make it a lot quicker and easier to provide tailored recommendations, I do have a piece of advice. Remember that personalization and customer privacy must go hand in hand.

If your company wants to explore this form of marketing strategy, then ensure compliance with all security and privacy laws — in any technology you use to access user data.

11. Affiliate Marketing

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When a business rewards another brand — an affiliate or affiliate partner — with a commission for each purchase a customer makes through the affiliate’s promotion tactics, that’s affiliate marketing.

I’ve noticed that this approach is very trendy among influencers, but it can also be used by brands to promote other companies’ products or services that align with their own.

If you already have marketing assets performing well, such as a website that consistently generates leads or an engaged social media network, affiliate marketing is a great way to use those assets further.

Choose a product or brand that closely aligns with what you sell (but does not compete with you) and promote it to your audience.

Affiliate marketing is also a cost-effective way to spread awareness of your brand and an excellent revenue-generating alternative to influencer marketing.

And the best part is when launching an affiliate program, every business can design its own rules to meet its unique needs.

Patrick McDerrmott, the CMO of Max Cash Title Loans, told me that affiliate marketing has been a game-changer for them in generating qualified leads.

The key to success has been providing their affiliates with high-quality, optimized content and other resources tailored to their target audience. The aim was to empower them to effectively promote their brand while maintaining authenticity.

“We provide our affiliates with pre-written email templates, SEO-friendly landing pages, and customizable banners. We only partner with affiliates specializing in personal finance since we offer title loans. Our terms of engagement are flexible, and we always pay affiliate commissions on time,” said McDerrmott.

On average, the brand records a 29% increase in lead submissions year-over-year thanks to their robust affiliate program. Their top-performing affiliate achieved a staggering 16% conversion rate last year, which significantly boosted their ROI.

On top of offering promotional resources, “you should also track performance metrics closely and offer advice on how they can adjust campaign creatives to improve engagement. Most importantly, offer competitive payouts to establish a win-win partnership to fuel growth,” added McDerrmott.

12. Social Media Marketing

With platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, brands can promote their businesses and engage with their audiences on a more personal level.

Social media is the number one product discovery channel. The majority of consumers turn to social media to find products, and one in four social media users has made a purchase through these platforms in the past three months.

However, with social media, two factors are crucial to success: relevance and consistency.

First, relevance: No one logs on to social media looking for something to purchase. As such, it's essential to balance promotion with entertainment.

Compelling images and captions that encourage your audience to like, share, and comment will bring your brand that much closer to gaining a customer.

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Now, onto consistency: a consistent posting cadence will keep your followers returning. How can they get invested in your brand if they rarely see it on their timeline?

To make publishing content across platforms accessible, several social media tools automate the process.

Recently, I saw a post from Neil Patel who shared what happens when a company stops using social media. Just within half a year their organic social media traffic went down by 94% (on average) and their revenue was reduced by 6%.

While creating engaging social media content is time-consuming, it looks like it surely is worth the effort. Nowadays, I spend more time scrolling LinkedIn than reading blog articles from brands that I like.

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13. Video Marketing

According to a recent study, 87% of marketers say incorporating video into their marketing strategy has had a positive ROI. Whether on your website, YouTube channel, email newsletters, and/or social media, video can boost brand awareness, generate conversions, and close deals.

Mira Nathalea, CMO at SoftwareHow, told me that video marketing has revolutionized user engagement and download growth.

“In six months, by focusing on short, practical tutorial videos, we boosted engagement by 45% and downloads by 30%. For instance, a two-minute video demonstrating the ability of our Grab2Text app to extract text from images received 10,000 views in its first week … Users appreciated seeing exactly how the app could solve a problem, which helped to quickly build trust,” said Nathalea.

Some video marketing apps even allow you to analyze, nurture, and score leads based on their activity.

Nathalea shares the following advice: “Create videos that are specific, short (under 2-3 minutes), and visually appealing. Concentrate on use cases your audience can relate to. Optimize for keywords such as “how to [action] with [your app]” to increase discoverability, and experiment with different platforms. YouTube Shorts worked especially well for us.”

14. Voice Marketing

Voice marketing refers both to optimizing your website for voice search by incorporating the right keywords and to initiatives that use smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. These devices can now help you connect with your audience and answer questions about their topics of interest.

Consider opportunities to get inventive by developing a Google Home action or an Alexa skill. For instance, Uber created an Alexa skill that allowed users to request a ride with a simple voice request.

Similarly, TED developed a feature that allowed Alexa users to search for and play TED talks based on topic, tone, or speaker.

These tools may be relatively new, but they’re increasingly popular among marketers.

Peter O’Callaghan, head of marketing at ScrapingBee, told me that voice marketing has been a game changer for them in terms of podcast sponsorship and voice search optimization. They collaborated with a SaaS-focused podcast to create an episode in which the host discussed common scraping challenges and, naturally, introduced ScrapingBee as a solution.

“That single episode resulted in a 18% increase in signups within two weeks and a 3x return on sponsorship costs. Optimizing for voice search produced additional results. By focusing on long-tail, conversational keywords like “how to scrape websites efficiently,” we experienced a 22% rise in organic traffic over three months,” said O’Callaghan.

Pro tip: The most important thing is to understand how users speak, not type, when searching and incorporate this into your SEO strategy. Voice is about connection and relevance, so keep it conversational.

15. Email Marketing

Email marketing connects brands to leads, prospects, and customers via email. Email campaigns can increase brand awareness, generate traffic to other channels, promote products or services, or nurture leads toward a purchase.

I think email can be a potent tool — but it’s essential to use it responsibly and within legal restrictions. Regulations like the GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act require brands to comply with responsible commercial email practices, which boil down to three principles:

Only email people expecting to hear from you (i.e., people who have opted in).
Make it easy for subscribers to opt-out.
When you make contact, be transparent about who you are and why you’re emailing.

With these guardrails in mind, the first thing you'll need to do is strategize how to build your email list or the database of contacts to whom you can send emails.

Standard methods include lead capture forms on your website or lead generation partnerships. I am a huge fan of the latter.

Then, you'll need email marketing software and a CRM to send, track, and monitor the effectiveness of your emails.

To push your email strategy to the next level and maximize productivity, you may also want to look into email automation software that sends emails based on triggering criteria.

Take it further: To learn more about the ins and outs of email marketing, take the free email marketing course from HubSpot Academy.

16. Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a hyper-focused marketing strategy where teams treat an individual prospect or customer as their market.

These marketing teams create content, host events, and launch campaigns dedicated to the specific people associated with that single account rather than targeting an entire industry or territory.

This strategy allows brands to design personalized campaigns for their ideal clients and dedicate their time and resources to prospects exhibiting high-intent behaviors.

Gartner reports that ABM delivers big results, like a 28% boost in account engagement and a 25% jump in turning marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) into sales-accepted leads (SALs).

Here’s how I recommend to get started:

Start by identifying key accounts.
Create messaging based on issues that matter to them most.
Learn how to put that messaging into action with HubSpot's introductory ABM lesson
To streamline your efforts, you can also determine whether ABM software might be a good fit for your team.

Alex Ugarte, operations manager at LondonOfficeSpace.com, told me they had a lot of success

using ABM to target high-value corporate clients who are on the lookout for office space in Central London.

“Our strategy for this particular market segment focuses on highly personalized outreach materials, including detailed market reports that are tailored to each prospect’s industry, goals, and pain points,” said Ugarte.

He mentioned that one campaign they ran last year targeted a large tech firm that needed a scalable space due to their headcount continually expanding.

By using publicly available insights on their hiring trends and business growth, they proactively reached out with a curated list of properties that met their projected expansion needs. This highly targeted approach ended up securing a high-value, multi-year lease and a new big-name customer.

Here’s a tip from Alex: “Collaborate across teams when enacting an ABM strategy, involving sales, marketing, and data analytics to build a comprehensive profile of target accounts. The deeper your understanding, the better your outreach will resonate.”

Types of Marketing That Work Across Traditional and Digital Channels

17. Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing refers to unsolicited, outgoing promotions such as cold calling, email blasts to purchased lists, and print ads.

This marketing method is called “outbound” because it involves pushing a message out to consumers to raise awareness of your products or services — regardless of whether consumers have demonstrated interest in them.

In many industries, outbound marketing has grown less effective. I don’t think it’s surprising, as consumers today are inundated with so many marketing interruptions that they often need to pay more attention to these messages.

With regulations like GDPR in place, companies must be especially careful about sending emails to people who haven’t given their permission.

Pro tip: If you decide to do outbound anyway, I recommend making sure your content provides value and is tailored to your target audience. Additionally, avoid making it sound like a direct offer, as this could upset prospects and lead to accusations of legal violations. This happened to me a few months ago — not a nice experience.

18. Customer Marketing

In contrast to acquisition marketing, where the focus is on acquiring new customers, customer marketing is focused on retaining existing customers.

The goal is to turn your customers into long-term brand advocates by delighting them with your product or service and providing excellent customer service.

Here’s an example: Niche Beauty Labs is one of my favorite skincare brands; I use quite a few of their products. They did wonders to my skin, so when my friend was looking for an azelaic acid serum I recommended it to her, and she bought it immediately. This is customer marketing at play.

The reason why many companies invest in customer marketing is because the cost of customer acquisition is much higher than the cost to retain or upsell existing customers. But to reap these benefits, customer marketing teams must constantly work to improve the customer experience.

That means doing everything you can to ensure your customers are left with a great impression after you've provided them with your product or service.

John Wilson, owner and CEO at Wilson Plumbing and Heating, told me that it’s key to focus on building strong relationships with existing customers. They created a referral program that rewarded customers for recommending their services to friends and family.

This tactic led to a 30% increase in new customers over six months.

“By sending thank-you notes and offering discounts on future services, we kept our customers engaged and happy. Their positive word-of-mouth helped our reputation grow, and many new clients mentioned hearing about us from satisfied customers. Overall, investing in our current clients paid off significantly, showing that happy customers can be your best marketers,” said Wilson.

19. Conversational Marketing

Conversational marketing refers to any form of 1:1 conversation with your audience.

This is arguably one of the most natural ways to connect with customers, as it can be an effective way to remove friction from the buying process. It's essential to meet customers how, when, and where they want. As a result, these dialogues can happen across multiple channels.

Catherine Schwartz, CMO at EssayService, said that conversation marketing has been critical to their ability to build trust and convert more clients: “We increased conversion rates by 36% in the first year after implementing live chat.”

Schwartz told me that many students who visited their website were unfamiliar with the process or skeptical of the service's quality. Their team implemented live chat with proactive triggers, such as greeting users who spend more than 30 seconds on their FAQ or pricing pages.

“In one instance, a student browsing late at night received immediate assistance on how deadlines worked, which resulted in a same-night order,” she added.

Schwartz recommends using chat for speed and customization. “Bots might handle common queries, but complex cases should be escalated to humans as soon as possible. Timing is important — our data showed that 70% of conversions occurred within 10 minutes of engaging a visitor.”

Bear in mind that conversational marketing is more than just live chat, though — it extends to phone calls, texts, Facebook Messenger, email, Slack, and many other media.

When you’re getting started, you’ll first identify the channels on which your audience is most active. This may sound relatively straightforward, but things can get tricky when managing multiple channels while avoiding slow response times, internal miscommunication, or productivity loss.

That's why it can be helpful to use conversational marketing tools, such as a unified inbox, to streamline your efforts.

20. Brand Marketing

Brand marketing encompasses everything you do to shape your brand's public perception and forge an emotional connection with your target audience. This includes storytelling, creativity, humor, and inspiration.

The goal is to be thought-provoking and generate productive conversations so your brand is remembered and associated with positive sentiment.

Also, I can’t underline this strongly enough — don’t underestimate the power of a compelling story. Research from Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner has shown that facts are 22 times more likely to be remembered if shared as part of a story.

To begin brand marketing, I recommend getting to know your buyer persona first and understanding what resonates with them. You must also consider your position in the market and what differentiates you from your competitors.

This can help shape your values and what you stand for, giving you crucial fodder for your storytelling campaigns.

Head of Marketing at neptune.ai, Ani Ghazaryan, stands by the effectiveness of brand marketing. She said it’s been one of the most impactful strategies they’ve used to grow their presence and build trust in the machine-learning community. For them, brand marketing is all about showing their audience that they truly understand their needs and are here to help them succeed.

“One success story was when we launched a series of in-depth guides and case studies highlighting how top ML teams use neptune.ai. These weren’t just about features; they told real stories about solving real problems,” Ghazaryan told me.

The response was incredible, not just in traffic but in the relationships the brand built with users who saw them as a trusted partner.

“One of the most important tips is to always focus on authenticity. Brand marketing isn’t about shouting your name; it’s about earning trust. Share valuable content, highlight customer successes, and make your brand synonymous with solutions. That’s how you stand out,” added Ghazaryan.

21. Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing spreads brand awareness by placing bold, clever brand activations in high-traffic physical locations.

Examples of guerilla marketing include altering outdoor urban environments, promoting during a live event (without permission from sponsors or organizers), public stunts, and treasure hunts.

This can be a cost-effective way to garner widespread attention.

Here is a great example from Deni Ivanov, marketing manager at MagicProCleaning UK. In early 2023, they noticed a recurring problem — office workers in central London complaining about the lack of clean spaces in shared work environments.

“Instead of running traditional ads, we took a hands-on approach by setting up ‘Emergency Clean-Up Stations’ in co-working spaces and coffee shops. We placed branded cleaning kits — containing disinfectant wipes, screen cleaners, and microfiber cloths — at high-traffic areas with a QR code offering a free office deep-clean contest,” said Ivanov.

This small gesture sparked over 300 contest entries and a 67% increase in website traffic. “The best part? Many who didn’t win still booked our services, leading to a 30% spike in conversions,” she added.

Pro tip: If you’re taking this approach, do exercise caution. I believe that the more unconventional a guerilla tactic, the more time your company should spend on making sure it won’t backfire.

It could be anything as simple as your target audience simply not “getting” the goal of your campaign, or something worse, like coming across as insensitive. It might even be disrupted by weather conditions, law enforcement, or other factors beyond your brand's control.

If you’re looking for inspiration, look at this list of effective guerilla marketing examples, from Bounty’s human-sized popsicles and coffee cups littering the streets of New York to Deadpool’s Tinder profile.

22. Partner Marketing

Partner marketing, also known as co-marketing, is a marketing collaboration in which two or more brands partner up on a marketing campaign and share the results.

I think it's a great lead generation tool that allows brands to tap into an audience they may still need to reach.

In 2024, 89% of businesses surveyed by Foundry said they had a form of a partner marketing program, with 68% confirming that it “provides great value” for the business.

For partnerships to work, brands must have complementary products or services and similar user personas. Most importantly, they must also align on their shared goals and embrace a mindset of cooperation and teamwork.

Mary Lopez, marketing manager at Trusted Wedding Gown Preservation, shared how this can work for a B2C business.

“Our strategy focused on collaborating with bridal shops, wedding planners, and dry cleaners. The key was creating a win-win situation: we offered our partners a commission for each referral while they gained an additional service to offer their clients.”

The partnership program Lopez referred to included joining forced with 50 bridal shops across New Jersey. As part of the collaboration, these stores received branded display materials and sample preservation kits.

The results? Lopez says it exceeded their expectations. “We saw a 65% increase in sales within six months, and our partner network has since expanded to 200+ locations nationwide. Our most successful partnership, with a premium bridal boutique chain, generated 120 preservation orders in just three months.”

Lopez says it’s important to have a way to track down sales to each individual partner. What worked in their case was providing each store with a unique referral code.

Types of Event Marketing to Experiment With

23. Trade Show Marketing

You‘ve got an event coming up to launch a new product. Now, how do you get your target audience to show up? That’s where event marketing comes into play.

An event — a workshop, seminar, trade show, conference, or pop-up shop — helps brands connect directly with their target audience and build lasting relationships.

But making the most of these (often expensive) investments requires brands to plan a comprehensive promotion strategy, develop creative assets that drive anticipation, and determine the best channels to spread awareness.

I attended many trade shows while working at Philips Healthcare, and we usually spent months preparing for each. They were really expensive, so we wanted to make sure we got everything we needed to generate as many leads as possible.

Filippo Tonello, head of marketing at WeUni, shared a great example of how you can use trade shows in your company’s favor:

“One of our most successful trade show campaigns involved participating in an education fair in Milan. Instead of the traditional booth setup, we created an interactive ‘Career Path Simulator’ that allowed students to visualize their potential academic journey based on their interests.”

He shared that — with a €5,000 investment — the brand:

Generated 450+ qualified leads in just two days.
Converted 28 students into enrolled customers.
Achieved €120,000 in revenue within three months post-event.

What does Tonello attribute this success to? He says that the key for WeUni was focusing on growing engagement rather than direct sales from the trade show. “We used tablets for the simulation and collected contact details naturally through the process, allowing for meaningful follow-up conversations.”

24. Field Marketing

Field marketing, also known as field selling, involves going out into a community to promote your products or services directly to your target audience. While there is some overlap between event marketing and field marketing, the latter doesn’t require a formal setting and/or as much logistic preparation.

While event marketing can work well for both B2B and B2C, it’s my experience that field-based activities are effective for business-to-consumer products only.

Some examples of field marketing include leafleting or giving out free product samples at stores or in high-traffic areas. In the last few months, I’ve seen a few field marketing campaigns in my city from none else but B2C giants like Pepsi and Nivea — if they’re investing in giving out free samples and products, then they must be on to something!

The case of field marketing is a bit like traditional media like TV or radio. While it’s one of the oldest marketing strategies out there, many brands still run these in-person marketing efforts to complement their digital campaigns.

After all, even though we spend a lot of time in front of screens, we still go out for groceries, commute to work, or spend time outdoors with friends. The clients are literally out on the streets.

Pro tip: If you’re interested in field marketing like free product sample giveaways, then what I’d suggest is asking your team to pre-qualify your prospects. If possible to determine through demographics like age and gender, tell your team what type of customer you’re after so that they know who from the outdoor crowd might fit your ICP.

The Best Type of Marketing

I’ve been a marketer for over a decade, and from my experience, there's no right or wrong way to do marketing — as long as it connects with your desired audience and provides a return on investment.

If I were to give you a single piece of advice on how to find out what works best for your business, then it would be juggling between options. Most companies use a combination of the strategies outlined above to generate leads and acquire customers, so you must just find your ideal setup.

Some tactics might turn out to be a goldmine for years to come, while others might only drive short-term results. And that’s okay — just remember not to put all your eggs in one basket.

Ultimately, you'll want to choose what makes the most sense for your business based on your unique product, audience, and resources.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How I Repost on Instagram: Ways to Reshare Content From Other Users

Sophia Bernazzani Barron — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I know that Instagram is primarily about sharing striking visuals — images, videos, promotions, and even acting as a storefront for one’s business. But in truth, I spend much more time reposting other people’s content than my own.

Sure, Instagram is a powerful social media tool that can help me increase my brand’s reach and attract new business.

However, it’s also time-consuming and can be expensive to maintain the volume of original content needed to keep engagement growing long-term — which is exactly why I learned how to repost on Instagram.

In this post, I’ll walk you through a few simple, free ways to repost on Instagram. But before diving in, let me explain why and how reposting can benefit your brand.

Table of Contents

Why should your brand repost on Instagram?
How to Repost on Instagram
How to Repost on Instagram Using a Screenshot
What to Know Before Reposting on Instagram
Resharing on Instagram Best Practices
Best Apps for Reposting on Instagram
FAQs About Reposting on Instagram

Why should your brand repost on Instagram?

Instagram is one of the largest social media sites on the market. With over two billion monthly active users, brands that incorporate the site into their marketing strategy can reach larger audiences and gain visibility faster over other social media channels.

And with an audience like that, you want to consistently post high-quality content — but that can take time, effort, and resources that may not fit your budget just yet. Since most marketers post between 3-4 times per week, you should have a backlog of content to keep up with demand.

Additionally, user-generated content (UGC) performs exceptionally well. In fact, 93% of marketers who use UGC in marketing campaigns say that it performs significantly better than traditional branded content, according to Billo’s study. That tracks since 70% of Gen Z and 78% of Millennials find UGC to be a very helpful part of their buying journey.

For instance, consider the power of Warby Parker reposting this funny image from one of its customers, @cjronson:

Not only does the image likely appeal to Warby Parker customers, but it ultimately made Warby Parker marketers' jobs easier — they didn’t need to create that content in-house.

Reposting to Instagram can help you highlight brand endorsements from your customers, brand loyalists, and employees. UGC is typically considered more trustworthy since a consumer isn‘t gaining anything by promoting your product or service (unless it’s an advertisement) — they're just doing it to tell their audiences that they like your product.

How to Repost on Instagram

Instagram allows you to repost other users’ Reels and posts to your own Instagram Story using its native reposting functionality. However, it has its limits: It doesn’t let you repost to any permanent part of your Instagram profile, including your feed, Reels, or videos.

In other words, Instagram only lets you temporarily share someone else’s content for 24 hours max. If you do want to keep it permanently, you can add it to an Instagram Story Highlight.

If you’re looking to add a post to your permanent feed and credit the original creator, I’ll show you how to do that in the next sections. For now, let me show you how I repost content to my Story and add it to my highlights.

1. Navigate to the post, Reel, or video you want to repost.

I start by scouring Instagram for content that fits my brand. That could be regular posts, Reels, or videos. I do this in the following ways:

Sometimes, I’ll search for popular industry hashtags to find great posts from other brands and influencers;
Other times, I’ll look at my branded hashtags to see if any customers or fans have posted user-generated content.
I also check for posts I have been tagged in and repost any that align with my brand.
I keep an eye on the feeds of brands I admire to find posts that align with my style.

Note: Remember that you can only repost content from users and brands with public profiles.

You can also repost other people’s Stories, so long as you’re tagged in them. You can find those who’ve mentioned you in their Story in your Direct Messages.

If you’d like to connect better with people who tag you in their content, Social Inbox can help you with that.

This social media management software by HubSpot allows you to publish social media content from the same place you build campaigns, set up keyword monitoring so you get notified whenever someone mentions you (or your brand), and link all your interactions back to your CRM so you have contextual conversions with your audience.

2. Click the paper airplane symbol on the post or Reel.

Once I’ve decided on the post, Reel, or video I want to share, I click the little paper airplane icon. For photos and videos, it’s right next to the Like and Comment buttons.

For Reels, it’s between the Comment button and the three dots.

3. On the pop-up menu, click “Add to story.”

A menu will pop up with a few sharing options. If I’m sharing a post, I can add it to my Story, reply to the original poster (if they allow replies), or send the post via Direct Message to folks I interact with on Instagram.

Here, I’ll scroll through the bottom options (the apps) till I get to Add to story.

With Reels, the options are similar.

4. Tap to show and hide the post’s caption.

Once I click on Add to story, I see a draft of my Story.

I have the option to toggle the caption on or off by simply tapping the post. This lets me decide if I want the original text visible or hidden.

5. Add text, stickers, hashtags, and other elements.

This is where I get creative. Here, I get the option to spruce up the Story with text, stickers, hashtags, or even a link (or call-to-action) if it adds value. The goal is to make the repost feel on-brand for me and drive as much engagement as possible. Learn how to customize your Instagram Story here.

6. To share, click “Your Story.”

When I’m happy with the way it looks, I tap Your Story at the bottom to share it publicly with my followers.

Alternatively, I can click Close Friends if I want only a select group to see it. There’s also an arrow on the right-hand side that shows options for sending the Story via DM or just to my close friends list.

7. Add the shared post to your Highlights.

Since I can’t share reposted content directly to my permanent feed, I might add it to my Highlights if I want to keep it visible longer. Highlights stay on my profile indefinitely, which is a great way to showcase the reposted content that’s most relevant or visually appealing. Learn how to create Highlights here.

Here’s one example from the skincare brand Supergoop:

With Stories, the same best practices should be followed as for sharing a post. If you don’t know the person and suspect the content you’d like to reshare might be licensed material, ask for permission first. Give credit to the original posters whenever possible.

The screenshot method doesn‘t require other websites to repost on Instagram. It’s worth noting that this method only works for reposting photos, not videos.

Here's how I do it.

1. Find a photo on Instagram you'd like to repost, and take a screenshot with your phone.

I start by finding a photo on Instagram that I’d like to share, and then I take a screenshot with my phone.

If I’m using my iPhone, I press the Home and Lock buttons at the same time until the screen flashes.

But on my Samsung (Android device), I press the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons simultaneously until the screen flashes.

Pro tip: If you’re worried about accidentally capturing personal info or notifications in your screenshot, switch your phone to “Do Not Disturb” mode before taking it. This keeps your screenshot clutter-free.

2. Tap the new post button.

Once I have my screenshot, I head back to my Instagram account. At the middle bottom of the screen, I tap the plus sign inside a square.

Then, I choose Post (this is the default setting, and there are other options like Story, Reel, and Live, but Post is what I need).

Pro tip: If you’re using Instagram to boost engagement, consider experimenting with different formats (like Reels) for reposting content. You might discover that certain types of posts get better responses from your audience.

3. Resize the photo in the app.

My phone screenshot includes everything on my screen, not just the photo I want to repost. So, I crop or resize the photo in Instagram to show just the image I want to share. I do this by pinching or zooming the screenshot until it looks right.

Then, I tap Next in the top-right corner.

Pro tip: Pay attention to Instagram’s image orientation guidelines. If you want your repost to appear neatly in your grid, try to keep the image in a square or vertical format. Also, preview how the post thumbnail looks in your profile grid before finalizing.

4. Edit and add filters of your choice.

Here, I treat it like any other Instagram post — maybe I add a filter, adjust the brightness, or tweak the colors. I may also decide to add some music to go along with it.

Pro tip: Stay consistent with the editing style you use on your feed. This helps keep your branding cohesive. You can also use third-party editing apps before uploading to make your repost truly stand out.

5. Add a citation.

The repost won’t automatically include the original account info, so I make sure to credit the original poster by typing “@ + [username]” in my caption. This way, everyone knows where the photo came from.

Pro tip: If you want to strengthen your relationship with the original creator, send them a quick DM to let them know you’re reposting. People usually appreciate the courtesy and might even share your post with their own followers.

6. Add a caption.

At the top, I see a preview of my post and a space for a caption. I can tag people or organizations if needed or add a location to make the post more discoverable.

Pro tip: Use relevant hashtags to increase the chances of your repost appearing in hashtag searches. You can also tag collaborators, partners, or friends in the post to encourage more interaction.

7. Click share.

Once I've finished customizing the post with the options above, I tap Share at the bottom of my screen, and my repost goes live on my feed.

Here’s what the finished product looks like:

Pro tip: Consider scheduling your repost for times when your audience is most active. There are scheduling tools available, or you can simply pay attention to your own Instagram Insights to figure out peak hours.

What to Know Before Reposting on Instagram

Before reposting content on Instagram, here are a few things you should know:

1. You should understand usage rights and permissions.

Before you repost any photo, Reel, or Story, you want to make sure you have the right to do so. Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines still apply, and the content might have specific usage rights attached. If you’re not sure whether you can share it, consider asking the original poster for permission.

When I first started reposting, I often DM’d the user directly to double-check that it was okay for me to share their content. This step gave me peace of mind and helped me build positive relationships with other creators.

2. Always credit the original source.

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times in the article already, but when reposting, you should always give credit to the original creator by tagging them in the post or Story. Be sure to mention their handle in your caption or Story text. This not only shows respect for the creator’s work but also builds trust and goodwill.

3. Keep their context and messaging intact.

You don’t want to twist someone’s post into something it’s not, so avoid cropping or editing the content in a way that changes the original message. If you need to tailor the post for your audience, you can add stickers, text, or other Story elements, but keep the core content authentic.

4. Verify the accuracy of the post.

Before you share someone else’s photo, quote, or statistic, do a quick check to make sure everything is factual and up-to-date. Reposting content that turns out to be misleading can harm your credibility.

I’ve had a few moments where I was excited to share a trending post, only to discover it wasn’t entirely accurate. Taking that extra minute to verify the details protects you — and your audience — from spreading misinformation.

5. Be mindful of privacy and sensitivity.

Keep in mind that the person you’re reposting might be comfortable sharing certain details with their audience, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want it widely circulated beyond their own followers.

If you notice that a post contains sensitive content, it’s wise to double-check the privacy settings and the creator’s preferences. You don’t want to inadvertently share personal or private moments without the original poster’s full consent.

Resharing on Instagram Best Practices

When resharing content on Instagram, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

1. Engage with the original creator and their community.

Whenever I repost someone else’s photo, I like to leave a thoughtful comment on their original post and respond to any comments they might have on my repost. You can do the same — this open dialogue helps you build deeper connections with other creators, which can lead to future collaborations or mutual shares.

2. Be transparent about sponsored content.

If you’re sharing user-generated content that you or your sponsor wants to highlight, make sure you follow Instagram’s guidelines and FTC regulations. For example, I’ll include #sponsored or #ad in the caption if there’s any form of brand deal. You don’t want your followers (or the FTC) thinking you’re misleading them.

3. Incorporate your own angle.

When you repost content, don’t be afraid to add your personal twist to it. For example, I often include a sentence or two in my caption explaining why this particular post grabbed my attention or how it connects to my brand’s goals.

You should do something similar: take a moment to share your perspective so your followers understand what makes the repost valuable or relevant.

4. Time your reposts strategically.

Timing can be everything on Instagram. I once experimented by sharing reposts during different times of day and noticed that my posts got more engagement when I shared them around lunchtime or early evening.

You’ll want to keep an eye on your Insights or analytics to figure out when your followers are most active, then schedule your reposts accordingly.

5. Watch how often you repost.

Reposting too often without posting your original content can make your account feel like a patchwork of other people’s posts. You don’t want to make the mistake of reposting so frequently that your own content gets lost in the shuffle.

Instead, strike a balance by spacing out your reposts and mixing in plenty of original content to keep your Stories personal (or professional) and engaging.

P.S. If you’re having trouble creating enough original content for your Instagram, check out Breeze, an AI-powered social media agent that can generate post suggestions that align perfectly with your brand, target audience, and brand identity.

It can also analyze your social performance, brand details, and marketing best practices to build a multi-channel social media strategy to boost awareness and drive conversions.

However, if you already have post ideas but want to expand (or shorten) your copy, HubSpot’s AI social media post generator can help with that. It can help you overcome writer’s block, create compelling captions, repurpose posts by channel, and generate multiple AI-assisted Instagram posts you can schedule to go live at a later date.

Best Apps for Reposting on Instagram

1. Repost: Posts, Stories, Reels

Price: Free with in-app purchases

Source

For Instagram for iOS or Android. The app integrates directly with Instagram, so you can share content from other Instagram users from your mobile device.

If your brand’s Instagram profile follows a distinct brand style guide, Repost can help you customize your reposts to adhere to those guidelines. You can pick from 50+ different text styles and symbol art to create eye-catching captions to capture more attention.

2. DownloadGram

Price: Free

DownloadGram lets social media users download high-resolution copies of content to repost from their own accounts on Instagram.

You don’t need to download an app to repost using this process. Instead, you can copy and paste the URL to download videos, photos, reels, or stories to repost via PC.

3. Snapinsta

Price: Free

Snapinsta provides an efficient way to download HD-quality Instagram photos, videos, and reels, which helps keep your reposts looking sharp and engaging. Just copy the Instagram link, paste it into Snapinsta, and download the content to share it on your feed or Story easily.

FAQs About Reposting on Instagram

1. How do you repost on Instagram?

There are two ways to repost content on Instagram. The first is to share the original post to your Story. Just tap the paper airplane icon under the post you want to share, then choose Add to story.

If you’d rather repost it on your feed, you can take a screenshot or use a third-party app to download the image. After that, upload it like a regular post, and make sure you credit the original creator in your caption.

2. Is it okay to repost content from a private account?

Reposting content from a private account isn’t advisable. If someone’s account is private, it means they’ve chosen to share their content only with approved followers. You should always respect that boundary.

Even if you happen to see a great post behind a private profile, it’s best not to repost it — or, at the very least, ask the account owner for explicit permission.

3. What’s the best way to credit the original creator?

Tag the creator directly in the caption (e.g., “Photo by @username”) and, if it’s a Story, you can also include a text sticker with their handle. This will avoid any confusion about who owns the post. Not only does proper credit keep you on good terms with the original poster, but it also boosts their visibility.

4. What if the original content has a watermark or branding from the creator?

You should keep those elements visible. Removing or editing out watermarks and logos can come across as disrespectful to the original creator. If you want to add your own branding or text, place it separately from the creator’s watermark so there’s no confusion about who owns the post.

Share Your Favorite Instagram Posts

When I first started reposting on Instagram, I thought it was just a simple way to educate my audience and let them know I was still active whenever I was short on original content.

But, as I learned more about how to share others’ content the right way, I realized that reposting on Instagram can be a strategic tool for increasing brand awareness and building relationships with other creators/entrepreneurs.

I learned that with a little bit of care and respect, like sending a quick DM to the original creator or making sure their watermark is intact, you can go a long way in building positive relationships on Instagram.

It’s also become clear that timing is everything. Reposting at the right moment can help me reach new eyes and give proper exposure to the amazing work I’m sharing.

Now that you've learned how to repost on Instagram, you can diversify your profile with content sourced from friends, family, and brands. Use the methods above — being sure to cite the source of the original post — to quickly and easily reshare your favorite content.

If you’d like to quickly generate your own original Instagram posts, check out our free and customizable Instagram templates for Instagram posts and Stories.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Which LLM Should You Use for Your Business? [Pros and Cons]

Nathan Lands — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:34:41 GMT

Choosing the right large language model can feel overwhelming with so many options out there, especially if you’re not exactly living and breathing AI

But as we’ve worked through each one, we’ve gotten a real sense of what they’re good at (and where they fall short).

So, let’s talk about what to use, when.

ChatGPT & OpenAI-o1: The Reliable All-Rounders

Let’s start with ChatGPT and OpenAI-o1.

OpenAI’s latest model is impressive, and people are hyped about its “reasoning” abilities — basically, it’s designed to tackle more logic-heavy stuff alongside the creative tasks that ChatGPT has always been great at.

Why We Like It

Big on Logic: OpenAI-o1 uses something called chain-of-thought reasoning. In simpler terms, it’s better at walking through complex problems step by step.
Custom GPTs: This feature lets us create models that remember instructions specific to our work. If we need it to think like a project manager or a social media assistant, we can set that up with just a few clicks.

Where It Falls Short

Overkill for Basic Stuff: Most of the time, GPT-4 can get the job done. OpenAI-o1 shines with complex tasks, but you might not notice a huge difference for more straightforward use cases.
Not a Quantum Leap: The big improvements are behind the scenes. If you’re expecting to see massive changes in day-to-day use, you might be underwhelmed.

When to Use It: Anything involving more complex logic, or when you need tailored responses, like for coding or detailed content editing.

Claude by Anthropic: The Summarizer & Storytelling Champ

Claude is our go-to for summarizing and making sense of long documents.

It’s also fantastic at storytelling, which is helpful if you’re in content creation or need to simplify dense information.

What Makes It Stand Out

Document Summarization: Claude is amazing at boiling down information, so it’s perfect when we’ve got huge documents m and need a quick summary.
User-Friendly Customization: Anthropic’s Projects feature lets us set up custom instructions for repeat tasks. It feels more intuitive than ChatGPT’s setup.

What to Watch Out For

File Size Limits: If you upload a big file (over 20 MB), Claude sometimes throws a fit. We usually compress PDFs to work around this, but it’s worth knowing.

Best Use Case: Summarizing or creating content when you need a straightforward, reliable tool that’s easy to navigate.

Google Gemini: The King of Context (and Podcasting)

Google’s Gemini feels like it’s in a league of its own when it comes to handling tons of data.

We love that it has a massive context window, meaning it can hold and process entire books if needed. Plus, it has a quirky new tool called Notebook LM that turns docs into a mini-podcast for you.

Why It’s Cool

Handles Huge Data Loads: With a 10-million-word limit, Gemini can keep track of massive documents all at once, so we can load entire libraries if we need to.
Notebook LM: This feature actually turns documents into audio summaries in a conversational podcast format. It’s a great way to get the gist of something while multitasking.

Drawbacks

Limited Customization: While it has “Gems” (Google’s answer to custom GPTs), they’re pretty basic. You can’t connect it to other tools or APIs like you can with ChatGPT or Claude.

When to Turn to Gemini: When you need to process a mountain of data at once, or if you’re in the mood for an audio summary while I’m doing something else.

Llama by Meta: Privacy & Flexibility

Llama isn’t necessarily the most advanced, but because it’s open-source, it’s our go-to when privacy is a concern.

Unlike the others, Llama can run offline on your computer, so it doesn’t share data with a big tech company.

Why I’d Recommend It

Keeps Things Private: Since Llama runs locally, we can be sure our data stays off the internet.
Highly Customizable: Llama’s open-source, meaning we (or any developer) can modify it for unique needs. We don’t do this much, but it’s nice to know it’s an option.

Weak Spots

Not the Most Powerful: It’s not as good as Claude or ChatGPT for high-quality content or problem-solving. But for basic use cases, it’s solid.

When It Makes Sense to Use: Anytime privacy is key, like with sensitive internal data, or when you just need a quick local solution.

Grok by xAI: Twitter Data & Realistic Image Generation

Grok is a fun one — it’s a social media native, integrated with X (formerly Twitter).

It’s a decent model and comes with a strong image generator, Flux One, that can make super-realistic visuals. But where it really shines is pulling in Twitter data in real-time.

Why We Use It

Live Twitter Insights: Grok lets us see what’s trending or analyze popular Twitter profiles on the spot.
Image Generation: Flux One can create realistic images of people, scenes, and more, with few limits on topics.

Downsides

Niche Use Cases: It’s great for Twitter data and images but doesn’t stand out in general tasks like summarization or storytelling.

Ideal Use: Social media research and generating realistic visuals for content.

Perplexity: A Researcher’s Best Friend

Perplexity isn’t technically an LLM in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s an AI-powered research tool that pulls information from the internet and then uses a model to organize it.

It’s our go-to when I need quick, accurate information or a second opinion on a topic.

What Makes It Indispensable

Web Search Capabilities: Perplexity searches the web and summarizes content, making it perfect for research-heavy tasks.
Choose Your Model: we can use GPT-4, Claude, or even OpenAI-o1 as our “engine” within Perplexity, so we always get the model that fits our needs.

Caveats

Double-Check for Accuracy: Sometimes it mixes up similar names or pulls outdated info, so it’s good to cross-check important facts.

When I Use Perplexity: Anytime I’m in “research mode” or need up-to-date insights for blog posts, presentations, or meetings.

Finding the right LLM can be as simple as matching a tool’s strengths to your needs.

Our advice? Try out a few, and don’t hesitate to mix and match to get the best results.

Why Keyword Intent Matters & How It Leads to Higher Search Rankings

Anna Rubkiewicz — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

A lot of marketers are guilty of paying too much attention to keyword volumes and not enough to what the content should cover. As a result, they produce large volumes of content that lack engagement and don't convert. That’s even true for pieces that are well-written.

That’s what happens when marketers ignore keyword intent, which is the missing element of the puzzle. Knowing not just what your audience is searching for but also why they want the information can transform your content strategy.

Below, I’ll share my deep dive into keyword intent. Here’s all you need to know about getting it right.

Table of Contents

What is keyword intent?
The Importance of Keyword Intent
Types of Keyword Intent
How to Identify Keyword Intent
Tips for Optimizing for Keyword Intent

What is keyword intent?

Keyword intent — or, as others call it, search intent — reflects what a user wants to find in search results. Their goal might be learning about a specific topic, making a purchase, or comparing options.

By understanding keyword intent, marketers can create content that matches searchers’ expectations. This should lead to higher rankings and more user engagement.

The Importance of Keyword Intent

In my opinion, keyword intent doesn’t get the credit it deserves when it comes to its impact on SEO. Getting it right is one of the must-haves in order to secure high search ranking results. How so? Think of the very way search engines work.

Google and its counterparts aim to show users relevant content and pages that help answer their questions. If you address a specific problem or topic with a keyword that’s relevant to the person’s intent, then Google can tell and consider it in the engine’s rankings.

Also, on top of “just” pleasing search engines, remember that understanding keyword intent helps you position yourself for phrases that relate to your offer. For example, we want HubSpot to appear in searches for “CRM.”

Beyond that, we want to optimize for more specific intents, like “how to keep my small business organized” or “how to organize my contacts.”

Types of Keyword Intent

There are four main categories for intent:

Informational

As the name suggests, this intent type applies to queries people tap into the search bar to get information on a subject. They either have a very simple question, like, “How long is a direct flight from NY to LA?”

The searcher either wants a straightforward answer or to go deeper into a topic. Think of queries like “benefits of vitamin D.” That’s a jumping-off point for more research.

Navigational

These keywords are often “branded,” or related to a company’s website or a dedicated webpage. In fact, just recently, I saw a post from Ahrefs CMO Tim Soulo, who shared that 36.9% of all U.S. searches include a company name. That’s quite a lot!)

Source

For example, a person who wants to log into their Slack account via a web browser could tap “Slack login page” into the search bar. Their intent is to get directed straight to the login subpage instead of going to the commercial site and finding the login feature themselves.

Similarly, someone who purchased a dress in Zara but it doesn’t fit well could search for “Zara return policy.” A person who wants to try on Nike shoes could Google “Nike store near me.” The goal here is to appear for those branded terms (especially since competitors might try to rank for your branded phrases).

Transactional

Recently, I spent hours looking for a dash cam. I knew exactly what model I wanted to buy, but I wanted to find the best deal.

After visiting a few sites, I went with a distributor who offered the lowest price and bought the camera immediately. My search intent was transactional — I knew what I wanted, and I wanted to buy it ASAP.

Commercial

Commercial intent is similar to transactional intent, except that people might not be quite ready to buy yet, so they evaluate their options.

Going back to the camera example. I am not a “car camera” specialist, so before finding the model that I liked I had to run “a little” research. In truth, I spent hours going through camera rankings and reviews, until I found the right one. I didn’t buy it then. I waited a few days until I was absolutely sure it was the “one.”

How to Identify Keyword Intent

Analyze SERP results and dive into the query’s language.

I always start with search results. If I were to write a piece on “best real estate agencies in Spain,” I would Google this phrase before deciding on the content format. Here is what I would get:

We can clearly see that search results include a list of real estate agencies worth working with. Users running this type of query are evaluating their options — this means their intent is commercial.

The best type of content to target this phrase would be reviews, case studies, testimonials, or comparison pages. Anything that could help users make an informed decision on which agency to work with.

If we dive deeper into each result, we can also notice that they include words like “pros,” “cons,” “best,” and “comparison,” which further confirms that the intent is, in fact, commercial.

Use a tool.

If you feel like you need some extra help identifying intent, tools like Semrush or Ahrefs work wonders. Both have features that assign intent to keywords automatically. If you already use either of these tools, then this will definitely be the easiest (and fastest) option.

Alternatively, you could also ask ChatGPT for help. It does a good job of analyzing language and meaning thanks to natural language processing (NLP). The chatbot can sort phrases according to keyword intent types.

That’s what I did when I ran an SEO audit for a client earlier this year. I provided ChatGPT with an export of keywords that the brand was already ranking for, along with terms that they wanted to create content on. I provided ChatGPT with the four keyword intent categories I shared earlier in this blog and asked it to add a relevant tag to each keyword.

Whether you use dedicated keyword software or ChatGPT, I’d like to share some advice. As neither Ahrefs, Semrush, or ChatGPT are human, they might make mistakes when identifying intent. So, whenever possible, verify its output.

Tips for Optimizing for Keyword Intent

Here are some practical tips on how to build a content and SEO strategy that incorporates keyword intent.

Pick the right content format.

The best way to check which formats work is to run a search for the phrase you want to target in Google. What type of content dominates the top 10 results? If most sources feature a listicle or a how-to resource, do the same.

It means that readers engage with this type of content and find it useful. Google takes note of this quickly, and will boost ranks for what’s proven to work. Bonus points: If you follow the same article or page structure, make sure it’s also more insightful than your competitors.

As a rule of thumb, there are certain formats that are particularly suitable for specific keyword intents. For example:

How-to guides or blog posts — informational keywords, where you introduce a site visitor to a topic and build out your expert image.
Landing pages and product listings — transactional keywords. These pages don’t necessarily have to be very short; you can optimize them primarily for transactional phrases and use additional keywords in the description or FAQs.
Comparison pages, articles, or reviews — commercial keywords.
Arguably, the most popular type is “[Tool A] vs [Tool B]” landing pages, where users who are familiar with two brands get an overview of both. These pages can convince users to choose one solution over another; just make sure they stay objective and aren’t too salesy.

Use intent-focused language.

Using intent-focused language means adjusting your vocabulary, tone of voice, and calls-to-action to your searcher’s goals. It will help you achieve better SEO rankings and, hopefully, improve conversions.

Let’s take a look at the type of language you should use based on the intent type:

For informational intent, go with clear, instructional phrases, such as “Learn how to” or “Discover tips for.” As for the CTAs, you could consider ”Read the full guide” or “Explore similar topics,” both of which encourage further topic exploration.
For navigational intent, use brand-specific terms, navigation hints, or direct links like “Login to [Brand Name].” For CTAs, consider “Go to the homepage or ”Access your account."
For transactional intent, focus on action-driven terms like “Buy now,” “Sign up today,” or “Get started.”
For commercial intent, use comparative and trust-building phrases like “Compare the best,” “Why choose,” or “Top-rated options for.” Your CTAs might include terms like “See how it compares” or “Check out customer reviews.”

Optimize meta tags.

Don’t forget about meta titles and descriptions. If you do, Google will simply generate one automatically from the page content. However, it might not align with what you’d like to say. Here are a few tips on how to optimize meta tags:

Make sure they reflect the search intent.
Promise value by focusing on key benefits and solutions your content provides.
Use action-oriented language to guide users on what to do next.

Here is an example of meta tags for a target keyword with an informational intent – “How to build a Progressive Web App.”

Meta title – “How to build a progressive web app (PWA) – a step-by-step guide”
Meta description – “Learn how to build a Progressive Web App (PWA) with this comprehensive guide. Discover key tools, service worker setup, and caching strategies to create a robust offline app.”

Creating a meta tag for each content format will have a positive impact on your click-through-rate, as visitors will know before entering the site if the content addresses their needs. This should also reduce your bounce rate.

Add structured data.

Google, Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo all use structured data to understand what a page is about and to learn about the brand, people, products, and companies that are mentioned in the description. A popular type includes schema markup, which is often hidden in the code as supplemental information.

While structured data is not seen by the site visitor, you can still use it to make useful information (packed with relevant keywords) very much public.

Let’s think about frequently asked question modules as an example. That’s what a software agency I cooperated with recently did for their new landing pages. I helped our client write the new website copy, which featured an FAQ section.

Not only does this approach let brands use relevant keywords, but it also helps answer common questions from prospects. Here’s an example.

Source

Focus on user experience.

Last but not least, optimizing your site for keyword intent also means tailoring your layout to the type of information you want to convey.

This means selecting the right formatting or visuals to make complex or comprehensive information as digestible as possible.

For example, the comparison pages I’ve already mentioned are great candidates for a chart or table. Instead of expecting your reader to go through a paragraph, you make the information scannable, reducing the user’s effort.

Verifying Keyword Intent Is a Must-Have for Your SEO Strategy

It’s my hope that keyword intent will stop being the content marketing underdog and that more brands will understand just how much it can do to optimize SEO.

It’s worth taking the time to verify a user’s search intent whenever you’re considering writing an article or publishing a landing page.

Ask yourself – what goals do my prospects have when tapping the keyword into Google? And, once they land on my page, how can I make it worth their while? If you can answer these two questions, you’ll already have a head start. Good luck!

How I Built a $75M Newsletter: My Top Tips to Make Yours Impactful in 2025

Alex Lieberman — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I started Morning Brew during my senior year at the University of Michigan while helping students prepare for job interviews.

When I asked them how they stayed up-to-date with business news, they all gave similar answers. "I read the Wall Street Journal because my parents told me to. It's dense. It’s dry. I can't get through it."

I was surprised. These were future business leaders who couldn't connect with the very content that was supposed to inform their careers. But that shock sparked an idea: What if I could create something different — something that made business news engaging and easy to digest?

That idea became Morning Brew, a daily newsletter with over four million subscribers. We’ve expanded beyond general business news, with spin-off newsletters dedicated to retail, marketing, emerging tech, finance, and more. Below, I’ll share that growth journey.

Here are my top five tips to make your newsletter unmissable.

Growing from a PDF to a Massive Newsletter

I had an idea — creating a product that makes business news captivating and memorable. I decided to test the idea by writing a daily newsletter.

Every morning, I’d spend hours combing through The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Financial Times, and The Economist to identify the most important stories for business-minded students. I’d then break them down into 150 to 300-word summaries that were informative yet concise.

The response was immediate.

Despite having zero tech infrastructure — I was manually converting Word docs into PDFs and emailing them out — our subscriber base kept growing.

I knew we had something special because getting on the list was painful. Students had to email me directly just to get added to my listserv (themarketcorner@umich.edu, in case you're curious). Even with that friction, they wanted the newsletter anyway.

Within three months, we had 750 subscribers in Michigan’s business school, and that number soon grew to more than 1,500. I remember sending out an email saying, “I want to take this newsletter a little bit more seriously. If you want to help me, let me know.”

I brought on a few people, and we moved to an email platform. We created a template. And, in March 2015, the very first Morning Brew was sent out following today’s format.

That’s the origin story, but getting here wasn’t easy, and the lessons I learned along the way will help anyone trying to build their own newsletter.

Tips for Building a Newsletter

1. Find your Level 3 sub-niche — and go deep.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when starting a newsletter is going too broad right out of the gate.

General interest newsletters covering topics like global business or politics may sound appealing, but they’re the most competitive, hardest to grow, and often have the lowest customer value.

That’s why I always recommend picking a very specific niche — one where you’re either already a subject matter expert or are committed to becoming one through research and interviews.

I like to think of niche selection as an upside-down pyramid:

Level 1: broad, general-interest topics like pop culture or world news. They have the largest potential audience but are overcrowded and difficult to break into.
Level 2: industry or passion-based niches, like marketing, retail, or gardening. They offer smaller audiences but higher engagement and less competition than general topics.
Level 3: sub-niches like “account-based marketing” instead of general “marketing,” or “bonsai tree pruning” instead of just “gardening.” They have the smallest addressable market but the most loyal readers and the highest potential customer value.

Creating a general-interest newsletter like Morning Brew would be difficult in today’s landscape. It's not impossible, but the bar is much higher because people can get broad news content in so many other ways. I’d say the lowest-hanging fruit of large audiences has generally been picked over.

Instead, you need to niche down and provide a product readers can’t get anywhere else.

2. Identify a very specific, very painful problem.

Picking the right niche is only part of the newsletter equation. The real key to creating an unmissable newsletter is solving a specific, meaningful problem for your audience. The more painful and urgent the problem, the stronger your newsletter’s value proposition will be.

For example, at Morning Brew, the problem was that our audience — emerging business leaders — didn’t have the time or desire to sift through dense, dry business publications. They needed a quick, engaging summary of what mattered most.

For your newsletter, you need to identify a similarly pressing pain point — something that will motivate readers to open and engage with your content.

In my experience, three questions can help you uncover the high-impact problems to solve:

Is the problem tied to their performance or success? Readers are more likely to engage with content that helps them do their jobs better, gain new skills, or achieve specific goals.
Does the problem involve saving time or money? Content that helps readers streamline tasks, avoid costly mistakes, or save time often creates immediate, tangible value.
Does the problem relate to critical knowledge gaps? Whether it’s staying professionally competitive or socially relevant, readers value content that fills gaps in their knowledge.

3. Develop a voice that keeps readers coming back.

Your unique writing style and tone of voice isn’t just about making your newsletter sound good — it’s about keeping readers engaged from the first sentence to the last.

Joseph Sugarman, author of The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, calls this creating a “slippery slide.” The goal of the first sentence is to get someone to read the second sentence, and the goal of the second is to get them to read the third. A well-developed, authentic voice acts like Vaseline on that slide, making it impossible for readers to stop.

At Morning Brew, we didn’t follow a rigid formula for tone, and that’s part of what made us successful. Our tone was conversational, relatable, and slightly witty, but the degree of entertainment varied depending on the audience.

For example, the daily newsletter is about 60% information and 40% entertainment because we knew our readers were seeking business news but appreciated a light, engaging delivery.

Meanwhile, our industry-specific newsletters, like Marketing Brew and Retail Brew, lean more toward 75% information and 25% entertainment since professionals reading them wanted actionable insights first.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking every brand needs to be quirky or funny. Your newsletter voice should feel natural to your brand and provide value. Whether you’re pithy, formal, or somewhere in between, the goal is the same: keep them reading.

4. Let demand drive growth before spending on marketing.

A lot of people assume that growth is all about marketing dollars, but the reality is, product-market fit comes first.

If people don’t naturally want to share your newsletter, paid acquisition won’t fix that. That’s why I recommend starting your newsletter strategy by focusing on organic growth.

At Morning Brew, we focused entirely on organic growth for three years before spending money on paid acquisition. Instead, we put all of our energy into perfecting the newsletter’s content, building organic referral loops, and deeply getting to know our readers.

This approach allowed us to grow efficiently without a big budget. We got valuable insights into what resonated with our audience, how they engaged with our content, and where untapped opportunities lie.

Only then did we start experimenting with paid marketing — testing, analyzing, and identifying which channels provided the most high-quality subscribers. Once we knew where we were getting the best return, we doubled down on those channels and scaled our efforts.

5. Focus on the metrics that actually matter.

Metrics are crucial for understanding how your newsletter is performing and where you need to improve. But knowing which metrics to focus on — and when — makes all the difference for long-term growth and sustainability.

For example, once we reached 500,000 subscribers, our North Star goal was to maintain a unique open rate above 40%. If our open rates dropped, it was a signal to investigate two key areas: Either we were acquiring low-quality subscribers, or our content was failing to keep readers engaged.

With Apple’s changes to auto-opening emails, however, open rates have become less reliable. To adapt, we’ve started shifting toward measuring clicks as a key barometer of engagement. For example, today, we consider a high-quality subscriber to be someone who clicks on content within their first two weeks of subscribing.

So, as your audience grows, evolve your key performance indicators (KPIs) to match your stage of growth. Early-stage newsletters should prioritize engagement metrics like opens and clicks, but as you scale, focus on retention and conversion to ensure sustainable growth.

Learn, Adapt, and Grow for Long-term Newsletter Success

Building a successful newsletter isn’t about having a perfect plan on day one — it’s about starting with what you know and adapting as you grow. Over time, those adjustments will compound into something readers won’t just subscribe to — they’ll depend on it. Start small, stay consistent, and keep building.

Why You Should Leverage Interactive Videos [Data from 500+ Marketers]

mbretous@hubspot.com (Martina Bretous) — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

When it comes to video, we marketers often focus the conversation on short-form video — no surprise, given this can be the most engaging format. Regardless of length, for me personally, some of the most impactful marketing content I’ve seen has been in interactive videos.

Even though the medium can be traced back to the decades-old “Choose Your Own Adventure” board game format — I LOVED those games growing up — it still feels relatively novel in the marketing world. I wonder if that’s why we don’t see much interactive video marketing? In any case, I’d like to see more of it out there.

If you’re curious, I’d love you to keep reading as I share what interactive video is, how to create one, and eight examples from brands that are really on the cutting edge of this format.

Table of Contents

What is interactive video?
Benefits of Interactive Videos
How to Make an Interactive Video
8 Interactive Video Examples

You can use interactive videos for several purposes. Many marketers use it to increase engagement, encourage two-way communication, and boost conversions.

There are multiple types of interactive videos:

Branched stories. This allows viewers to choose their own path when watching a video and decide what they will watch. They can also determine the storyline through their decisions.
Hotspots. These clickable areas within a video allow viewers to discover something new in the content.
Polls and quizzes. You can engage your audience with questions related to the content in your video.
360-degree view. This allows viewers to immerse themselves in the video and get an augmented reality experience.
Live videos and webinars with Q&A sections. This encourages a two-way dialogue between the host and the viewer where viewers can interact by asking questions and receiving answers in real-time.

Benefits of Interactive Videos

A 2024 Wyzowl report found that 91% of businesses use video within their marketing. Further, HubSpot surveyed over 500 global video marketers to learn more about 2024’s top strategies and opportunities in video marketing.

The result? Over 70% of survey respondents find video marketing effective in helping them reach their company’s broader business objectives.

Regarding interactive videos specifically, the biggest reason to use this format is the high return on investment — aka achieving a critical, but often illusive, business objective. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the data.

Source

At 52%, HubSpot’s video marketing report revealed that interactive content offers the fourth-highest ROI. For context, this landed behind product-related, trendy, and funny videos at 66%, 55%, and 53%, respectively.

When it comes to lead generation, around 50% of video marketers place links to landing pages on video ads via social media. These links are typically added to interactive elements like buttons or swipe-ups. To top it off, marketers cite this as one of the most effective ways to generate leads via video content.

Interactive video is also one of the best performers on the engagement front. For example, live videos — where the audience is often invited to ask questions — are in the top three video types that get the most viewer engagement.

This video type can also leave a deeper impression on its viewers. With so many brands fighting for our attention, one way to keep them engaged longer is through interaction. Doing so can help your brand awareness and recognition, helping you stand out from the competition.

Lastly, you can gain more insight into your audience through interactive content. Say you include a quiz in your video. Not only do you get insights from the video itself (views, time watched, etc.), but you also learn more about your viewer’s preferences through quiz results.

So, through interactive video marketing, you get more data through a single piece of content.

How to Make an Interactive Video

According to Wyzowl, 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024 and beyond.

Still, you know it, and I know it: As marketers, we must justify our creative efforts with results. One of the most significant results decision-makers want to see is a return on investment.

As I shared above, HubSpot data suggests interactive video content ranks highly for this metric. So, I wanted to share a few steps to help you make your own.

1. Brainstorm your concept.

Before you create your interactive video, you have to build a concept. What will the video be about? What’s the journey you want to take viewers on?

Your marketing objectives should drive your answers to these questions. Otherwise, creating a successful concept that gains buy-in from stakeholders outside of marketing will be challenging.

Once you have that sorted out, how will you engage the audience? Given the various types of interactive content you can have, you’ll need to determine which one will work best.

Pro tip: Not sure what marketing objectives to choose for your video content? No worries. I suggest taking inspiration from video marketing pros. HubSpot data indicates that video marketers prioritize the following three metrics:

Increasing brand awareness and reaching new audiences (52%).
Increasing online engagement (38%).
Increasing revenue and sales (36%).

Source

2. Choose your video platform.

The platform you choose will depend on the type of content you’re creating and what you want to accomplish.

Popular interactive video platforms include:

If you’re running an interactive live video or webinar, consider platforms that support this format. For context, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn — all of which cater to live video — are the most widely used video marketing platforms. In fact, 90%, 86%, 79%, and 76% of video marketers trust these platforms, respectively (Wyzowl.)

Once you select the right platform, it’s all about putting the pieces together, creating a draft, reviewing it, and re-editing until you have a great final version.

Pro tip: Whether you’re a video pro or completely new to the medium, I highly recommend HubSpot’s Clip Creator. Clip Creator’s AI features allow you to transform text-based instructions into watermark-free professional videos in a few clicks.

3. Analyze results.

Once your video goes live, the hard work isn’t done. It’s now time to assess its performance.

During your concept phase, you ideally set some KPIs. If this is your first time creating an interactive video, use your other videos as a benchmark.

This way, you’ll know what numbers to expect and have a baseline to evaluate your results.

Pro tip: I recommend using A/B testing as part of your analysis. For context, around 30% of video marketers use A/B testing to compare video elements or structural changes.

Need help figuring out what to test? Around 26% experiment with the positioning or wording of CTAs. A further 21% compare the performance of different videos against one another.

8 Interactive Video Examples

If you need inspiration, I’ve gathered eight examples of interactive videos to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Mile 22

To promote the 2018 action movie "Mile 22," the marketing team behind the film created an immersive, interactive video that allowed users to choose their path and get snippets from the movie based on their selection.

This video is interesting because it doesn‘t rely on just the trailer to build excitement. It takes the viewer on the characters’ journey and gives them a peek into how things play out in the film.

What I like: I really like that this interactive video positions the viewer as the lead character. I found that the “point and click” style progression naturally engaged me throughout. I wanted to keep clicking to find out what happened next, and before I knew it, I had worked my way through what was essentially an entire movie trailer.

Source

2. Sweet Digs

Usually, if you want to catch the latest episode of Sweet Digs, you head to YouTube. However, with the help of Eko, Refinery29 decided to switch things up with an interactive video instead.

Sweet Digs x eko: Interactive Home Tours

In this interactive video, viewers get a tour of someone's home, as usual, but this time, they get to make guesses as they watch about costs, designs, and more.

What I like: I think this video format is a great way to bring some freshness into an established series and keep viewers engaged. The show uses interactive elements cleverly, even allowing watchers to input design suggestions along the way. Then, at the end of the episode, viewers get to see if their design suggestions were used.

If interior design is an interest of yours, I can imagine this format would keep you entertained from start to finish.

3. Boursin

Ever wonder what a fridge full of Boursin products looks like? With this interactive video, you can. This brand reimagines what a food commercial looks like by offering viewers a 360 virtual experience through a fridge.

What I like: I love how the gold carpet guides viewers through the fridge. As a result, the viewer sees various Boursin products naturally placed throughout. I also love how the viewer can move the mouse to see other items in the fridge. I think this is a really fun way to advertise a product.

4. Mindstamp

The following interactive video created by Mindstamp is an example of a practical way to use this video format for appointment booking.

Viewers can interact with clickable in-video CTAs that link to external pages and explore branching storylines based on their responses throughout the video, resulting in a truly personalized user journey.

Source

The interactive elements create an engaging and immersive experience. I don’t know about you, but “engaging” and “immersive” are not two words that I’d usually use in conjunction with booking a meeting or appointment!

What I like: Like all new technology, interactive video might have started as a sort of fringe technology that seemed slightly intimidating and inaccessible. Now, that's changing. I love to see this format used in a business setting like this, making it easier than ever for leads to book appointments based on specific calendar preferences.

5. Honda

Honda’s interactive video, “The Other Side,” uses interactive branching to create a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style of advertisement. Each video clip gives the viewer a different choice or “path,” and each choice determines what happens next.

What I like: I like how this video invites viewers to participate in the narrative and have ownership over the plotline rather than passively consuming content.

6. The Jungle Book Interactive Video

Ahead of its 2016 release, Disney partnered with Wirewax to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the live-action version of The Jungle Book was created. The video allows viewers to use a slider to compare the filming stage to the end scene.

Source

What I like: Aside from an interactive slider, the video also uses hotspots. I love how Wirewax has incorporated this interactive feature. In this case, the hotspots allow viewers to open bonus content, including a profile and description of each character.

7. That Moment When

Eko makes the list again with its That Moment When interactive video series. The series follows a woman named Jill, who faces awkward moments at the start of each episode. Your job as the viewer is to help her survive each one.

Source

In the example pictured above, you need to help Jill navigate that time when she vaguely remembered someone who seemed to know her really well. The hilarious tagline is “Help Jill remember how she knows this guy and what his f***ing name is.”

What I like: I love how this show once again puts Eko at the forefront of interactive video. In Eko’s signature style, it’s relatable, hilarious, and incredibly engaging.

8. Dead Lonely

Dead Lonely is an interactive zombie romance created by Aardman Animations in partnership with Rapt Media. Anyone who enjoys the four-time Oscar-winning production studio Aardman Animations’ work will not be disappointed.

Like Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep, Dead Lonely is charming, quirky, and fun.

As for the premise, throughout the interactive film, the viewer is tasked with helping Fred (a zombie) reunite with his lost love, Barbara.

What I like: I love how creative this interactive video is. Even though the storyline seems innocent enough, plenty of morbid but fun moments keep viewers entertained. Overall, I think this is an example of something outside of marketing that could inspire creative content inside of marketing.

Source

Stand out From the Crowd With Interactive Video Marketing

Our data reveals that interactive content is a leading video format for ROI, but as I mentioned in my introduction, many marketers remain tentative about producing interactive video content. That could be because certain types require more technical expertise and a bigger production budget.

Here’s the thing, though: Yes, you can get creative with this format, which typically demands more finance and tech-wise. But you can also do something as simple as adding an interactive poll or CTA to your video.

Let’s also not forget that live video streams can be interactive, providing you allow space for elements like audience questions and polls. Plus, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram readily support live streams, and you can start one on any of those platforms for free.

Either way, I think interactive video marketing is something to test out for yourself, especially with so few others doing so.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in May 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Media Mix Modeling: What It Is and How to Use It [+ Examples]

Zoe Ashbridge — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I’ve worked in digital marketing for over ten years and always look for ways to improve my marketing analysis and reporting. Having worked in leading digital agencies and my own multi-channel agency, media mix modeling (MMM) is paramount in my work.

I co-founded an SEO and PPC agency with Leigh Buttrey, and we are dedicated to multi-channel marketing. She runs PPC, I run SEO, and we both know our work impacts the other. We also work closely with internal teams who have many other channels within their marketing media kit.

When it comes to marketing, I’m sure we can all agree that an omnichannel approach is best.

The challenge? Well, that’s in the analysis. We all know buyers rarely convert thanks to one media, but which media drives results?

Well, that’s where media mix modeling comes into play.

In this article, I explore media mix modeling (MMM), starting with its definition, framework, and examples of MMM in action. I reached out to marketers, sales professionals, and business owners using MMM in their marketing analyses. They share real-life anecdotes and tips to help you feel confident about MMM.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What is media mix modeling?
Media Mix Modeling in Marketing
Media Mix Modeling Framework
Media Mix Modeling Examples
Tips for Using Media Mix Modeling

If you understand how your channels are “playing” together and how impactful each channel is, you can optimize your media planning. For example, you will better understand which channels to invest more heavily in and for what purpose.

Stay tuned — later, I’ll share some real-life examples of how MMM has transformed a business's approach to marketing.

Media Mix Modeling in Marketing

Source

Media mix modeling is a marketer's best friend — though it’s no small feat to set up. You want a lot of clean data, ideally spanning years.

MMM uses historical data to identify and quantify the relationship between marketing channels and their impact on business objectives like conversion or revenue. This is where it differs greatly from other models.

Last-touch attribution models, for example, only consider the last marketing channel that resulted in a sale, while first-touch attribution does the opposite.

I feel that most marketers are happy to say that sales rarely come from one channel alone, and each media plays a role.

With media mix modeling, marketers can predict future performance, which helps them make marketing decisions such as allocating budgets.

With MMM, markers can:

Gather historical data on things like marketing spend, sales, trends, etc.
Develop a statistical model that explains the relationship between marketing activities and business outcomes.
Interpret results to understand the effectiveness of each marketing channel.
Use insights to reallocate budget and resources for maximum ROI.
Predict future performance based on different marketing scenarios.

In my opinion, the primary value of MMM lies in the data. Instead of making decisions based on gut feelings, you can quantify a channel's role in marketing. Also, you will move away from siloed channel metrics to help make wider data-driven decisions with the complete picture of marketing’s performance.

Media Mix Modeling Framework

Source

The media mix model framework consists of six steps.

Data collection relies on high-quality, longitudinal data from various sources and marketing channels. As pictured above, this could include sales, marketing spend, consumers, product, economic, and competitor data.
Data hygiene is as straightforward as it sounds, but it is time-consuming and a highly important step. It includes cleaning and pulling the data into a unified dataset ready for analysis. If you don’t get this right, you won’t get accurate data output. Spend your time here.
Model development generally depends on machine learning models to help you understand the relationship between marketing inputs and business outcomes.
Analysis is best done with some human intervention. AI can do a lot of analysis and is amazing for analyzing large data sets, but marketing is very nuanced, and a human overview of AI findings is essential.
Optimization varies largely on the insights gained, but with your new data-driven insights, you can optimize your marketing and budget allocation for future campaigns.
Forecasting is as it sounds. Now that you have data, you can predict the potential outcomes of different marketing scenarios, create hypotheses, test them, and reiterate them until your marketing leads precisely to your desired outcome.

Media Mix Modeling Examples

The best way to hear about MMM and its impact is through real-life examples. I was thrilled with the amazing insights received from the marketers below.

Spot Synergies Between Channels

Aaron Whittaker is the vice president of demand generation at Thrive Internet Marketing. When asked about the value of MMM, Whittaker said it had “transformed how we allocate marketing budgets and measure cross-channel impact.”

One particularly valuable application Whittaker found was spotting synergies between channels. In this solid use case, Whittaker explains, “When analyzing a retail client's holiday campaign performance, instead of looking at channels in isolation, our MMM revealed unexpected synergies between radio advertising and social media.

We discovered that radio ads during morning commute times amplified social media engagement by 25% in the following hours – an insight that wouldn't have been visible through traditional attribution models.”

What I like about this: Marketing attribution is a massive challenge for any business, and without MMM, it’s very easy to miss the value that, in this case, radio added. It would be easy to assume that social media visits, follows, engagement, etc., were up. What often happens is that efforts are completely attributed to social media, but the reality is that radio has a role to play here.

With this information, you can better rationalize why radio is a part of the media mix. Better, you can target the radio media at the right time (in the morning, when it’s proving effective).

Pro tip: If you’re working on your ads, struggling to get the results you want, or have proof (thanks to MMM!) that ads are working for you, then take a look at HubSpot’s paid media template. It makes light work of organizing your media planning and media buying.

Quantify Long-Term Brand-Building

Whittaker provided many examples for MMM. Choosing which ones to include in this article was a challenge! I had to include the value of long-term brand-building and how MMM can help quantify its role.

On brand-building, Whittaker says, “What's fascinating is how MMM helps quantify long-term brand-building activities. We found that podcast sponsorships showed minimal immediate ROI, but our modeling revealed they contributed significantly to reducing customer acquisition costs across other channels over six months. This insight helped justify continued investment in brand awareness channels.”

What I like about this: Similar to the point above, I really like how MMM helps justify marketing efforts that might otherwise go unnoticed. It is true that if a channel doesn’t result in immediate ROI, it becomes “untrackable” using the last-touch attribution model, but with MMM, you can see how these media work for your business.

Understand the Crossover Between Online and Offline Media Activity

Peter O'Callaghan, head of marketing at ScrapingBee, has found the most value using MMM to uncover regional trends. O’Callaghan describes MMM as transformational.

He says it helps “Allocate budgets, refine messaging, and identify growth opportunities. It’s a powerful tool for predicting where to invest and where to pull back.”

When asked for an example, O'Callaghan says, “It helped us pinpoint California and Texas as hotspots for scraping API demand, contributing 40% of our leads. By reallocating $5,000 to geo-targeted campaigns in these states, we increased regional engagement by 30% while shortening our sales cycle by nearly two hours per lead. This regional focus continues to shape how we approach campaign strategy.”

Tips for Using Media Mix Modeling

Tip 1: Start your analysis with a lot of data.

Alongside his winning MMM examples, Aaron Whittaker advised that anyone starting with MMM analysis should start with “at least 18 to 24 months of data.”

The more data, the easier it is to spot trends. Whittaker explains, “18-24 months of data [helps] account for seasonal patterns and long-term effects. We've found that shorter time periods often lead to misleading conclusions about channel effectiveness.”

Whittaker has another MMM example that demonstrates the value of data beautifully.

“A surprising discovery emerged when modeling seasonal impacts. Our analysis showed that the effectiveness of different channels varied dramatically by season. Email marketing peaked during winter months, while outdoor advertising delivered the highest ROI during summer. This led us to develop dynamic budget allocation strategies that shift spending based on seasonal effectiveness.”

What I like about this: I’m sure many marketers reading this are nodding in agreement. We all know that we need data — and the more of it, the better — to make a suitable analysis.

Tip 2: Make sure your data is clean.

Peter O'Callaghan advises that “MMM works best when you have clear, measurable goals. Without defined outcomes, it’s easy to misinterpret the insights and act on incomplete information.”

It’s easy to miss where your data needs work, but O’Callaghan has some tips for this, too.

Watch out for poor segmentation. O'Callaghan explains that poor segmentation hides valuable patterns. He says, “If the data is too generalized, key trends that differentiate user groups can be lost. Breaking data into smaller, meaningful segments allows you to understand the unique behaviors and preferences of different audiences.”
Balance your assessment of short-term trends or seasonal spikes. O'Callaghan cautions about short-term trends and seasonal spikes, explaining, “MMM outputs can occasionally mislead if you weigh short-term trends too heavily. Seasonal spikes or external factors can distort results if you don’t account for them. For instance, a one-time traffic surge led us to overvalue email performance. Now, we cross-check MMM results with longer-term metrics to ensure a balanced view.”

What I like about this: This is a sentiment we’ve heard earlier in this article. I like that O’Callaghan recommends cross-checking results with longer-term metrics. This tip aligns perfectly with Aaron Whittaker's tip about starting MMM with long-term data.

Get Started With Media Mix Modeling

As a marketer and primarily an SEO, I know the value of media mix modeling. Still, writing this article and speaking to other marketers, I can see how MMM helps businesses make better marketing decisions. Instead of feeling like a certain marketing media is working for you, MMM helps you prove it.

So, if you want to start with media mix modeling, do it. Just remember to gather that long-term data, and cross reference short-term findings with long-term trends.

My Tips for Designing Great Website Imagery [With Canva, HubSpot, + 3 More Tools]

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

I‘ve been designing images for websites for about seven years now, so I’ve come across many tools that make the process simple.

If you want to create or incorporate compelling images into your brand‘s website for the first time and you’re not sure how you're in luck.

In this post, I'll share my tips and favorite tools for designing website imagery that will make your site stand out and delight your visitors.

Table of Contents

What is website imagery?
Types of Website Imagery
Tips for Creating Great Website Imagery
How I Use Canva for Website Imagery
5 Website Imagery Tools

What is website imagery?

Website imagery pertains to any visual elements on a website, such as illustrations, photos, videos, or graphics. It enhances a website's quality, experience, appeal, share information, and delight visitors.

Types of Website Imagery

In addition to the types of images I mentioned above, other kinds of website imagery are:

Logos

It would be an understatement to say that logos are important to your website. I‘d argue they’re crucial to building brand recognition, trust, and credibility.

Denim company Levi‘s includes its logo in its website’s banner, and no matter where you click or scroll, the logo remains a constant presence. Levi‘s logo lets me, as a consumer, know that the website I’m visiting is legitimate, so I can trust I'm purchasing from the correct brand.

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Infographics

Infographics are images meant to share information or data. The example below uses a combination of graphics and texts to explain the hair donation process.

Infographics are a great way to simplify seemingly complicated concepts and make them more digestible for your audience.

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GIFs

Some say GIFs are going out of style, especially among Gen Z, but you'll have to pry GIFs from my millennial fingers. GIFs are short, looping images and animations often used to convey emotions, humor, reactions, or information. My friends call me the GIF Queen because I have a GIF for every scenario.

3D renderings

3D renderings are 2D images created from 3D models. They are typically used to give virtual tours of buildings or to give audiences an idea of how a 3D object would look in real life. I most often see them when I'm online shopping for furniture, and you probably have, too.

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Tips for Creating Great Website Imagery

I‘ve learned from my days as a digital journalist and content creator that creating excellent website imagery doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is the following:

Use harmonizing colors.

Colors that clash on your website can create disharmony and distract your audience. Worse, the wrong color scheme can make your website difficult to understand or read. So, try to harmonize colors on your website, especially when designing graphics.

I like using Canva's interactive color wheel to determine what colors harmonize. This way, I only need to pick a color and combination to design a color-balanced graphic.

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I'm not going to give you a full crash course in color theory, but I can break down three simple examples of harmonizing colors for you to keep in mind.

1. Complementary colors are colors that are directly across from each other on a color wheel. For example, yellow is directly across from violet on the color wheel. This combination creates high contrast and will stand out to the human eye.

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2. Analogous colors are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, like golden yellow, yellow, and chartreuse. Together, these colors can create a sense of unity and calm for the viewer.

See the example below. Feel calm yet?

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3. Triadic colors are evenly spaced around the color wheel and form a triangle. Examples of triadic colors are red, yellow, and blue, or orange, green, and purple.

Below is a site that uses orange, green, and purple together in its imagery.

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Use brand colors.

If you want to boost cohesion and brand recognition, consider using your brand colors throughout your website imagery. Target, for example, is recognized by its red and white bullseye, so it uses variations of red and white throughout its website.

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Once you have your colors figured out, ensure the images you create are high-resolution and not pixelated. High-quality images are clear, make your website look professional and authoritative, and won't turn off your page visitors.

Use original images rather than stock images whenever possible, and avoid using images that violate copyright. Original images boost your website's authority and add authenticity to your brand.

Finally, when possible, use alt text, which describes the content of your image and helps search engine crawlers understand it. This can boost your site's visibility and ranking.

Plus, it makes your site more accessible because screen readers analyze the alt text and convert it to screen elements, ensuring an equal experience for all visitors.

How I Use Canva for Website Imagery

I typically use Canva to create infographics and featured images. Its integration with Hubspot is most helpful because I can access Canva directly within HubSpot.

Pre-made backgrounds and images are already uploaded into a folder specifically for HubSpot content marketers like myself. I simply start by choosing a HubSpot-specific background I like.

If I interview someone for the post, I'll take the headshot of the interview subject and place it in front of the background.

I'll then adjust the headshot by removing its background and clicking the “Edit” button, changing its color-grading, and adding any effect I think will help it pop.

Then, when I'm satisfied, I can hit the request approval tab and have my teammates look over the image before using it. Finally, once the image is ready, I upload it into the blog post. Easy peasy!

5 Website Imagery Tools

I‘ve been using Canva for almost 10 years, and it is my favorite website imagery tool. However, I’ve also found the following tools useful, and you might too.

1. Unsplash

Unsplash offers millions of free, high-resolution images that are way cooler than your average stock photo. I don't use Unsplash for my HubSpot content, but I have used it for my passion projects and personal content creation.

In my experience, most contributors to Unsplash are professional photographers generous enough to provide gorgeous, unique photos that are free to use under the Unsplash license.

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2. Pixlr

This free photo editor works a lot like Photoshop and allows you to edit within your browser, smartphone, or desktop. I haven't used Pixlr in a while, but I remember loving how easy and intuitive it is, especially for beginner editors or creators with no editing experience.

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3. HubSpot's AI Image Generator

As far as text-to-image tools go, HubSpot's AI Image Generator is top-tier and easy to use. All I need to do is enter a text prompt and then choose a style and orientation. From there, an image will be generated, and I can enter it into my HubSpot blog.

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4. Pexels

Pexels is a website boasting royalty-free, high-quality stock photos and videos. It's very similar to Unspash in the sense that most contributors are professional photographers and videographers trying to get their work in front of others.

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Now, you‘re ready to start designing excellent website imagery for your company! Remember, you don’t need to be a photographer, designer, or someone with a special eye for color to create amazing graphics and images for your website.

All you need are the right tools, a little patience, and a willingness to experiment to see what works. Good luck!

The Sustainability Mandate: How Sustainable Marketing Drives Customer Loyalty & Other Proven Benefits

mbretous@hubspot.com (Martina Bretous) — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Consumers increasingly care about sustainability, and sustainable marketing practices are your vehicle for connection.

Consumers value sustainability so much they’re willing to pay 9.7% more for sustainable products. HubSpot’s State of Consumer Trends report also found that buyers take a company’s environmental impact, DEI commitment, and ethical production practices when purchasing from a company.

But here’s a critical point: sustainability and sustainable marketing are not about trying to make a quick buck. Brands must weave sustainability into their marketing transparently and avoid greenwashing. We’ll cover that and more below.

Table of Contents

What is sustainable marketing?
Sustainable Marketing Principles
Do customers care about sustainability? [New Data]
Sustainable Marketing Examples
Sustainable Marketing and AI

To help cover the topic of sustainable marketing, I reached out to the most conscious, sustainable marketer I know: Megan Thudium.

In her words, Thudium aims to “transform marketing to be people and planet first, then profit.” She strives to “create a better world for humanity, to create a better future for everyone that has more breathable air, equal opportunities in prosperity, and time for things that you love the most.”

Thudium commits to sustainable practices in her personal life, opting for overland travel instead of short-haul flights. This includes 12-hour train journeys from London to Berlin for a sustainability conference. Thudium maximizes her travel by combining multiple events to get the most out of longer train travel.

Professionally, Thudium is all about honest and ethical communication. She received a certificate from The University of Cambridge: Institute for Sustainability Leadership for Sustainable Marketing, Media and Creative. This year, she launched her new business, Content for Good & Co., a brand evolution from her already sustainable marketing practices that is now living and breathing sustainability in every way possible.

Progressive brands are bringing sustainability to the forefront of their marketing practices. So, how does a brand leverage sustainable marketing to appeal to a growing, socially conscious audience? Well, with Thudium’s help, let’s dive in.

Green Marketing vs. Sustainable Marketing

While both terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between green marketing and sustainability marketing. Green marketing focuses on strategies that promote environmental awareness and protection. Sustainable marketing, on the other hand, is a little broader.

The definition of sustainable marketing, according to the University of Cambridge, is “a purpose-driven practice that works to orientate businesses, brands, and society towards a sustainable future.”

The university notes that this type of marketing involves influencing awareness, adoption, and action across “economic and sociocultural systems” by taking accountability for a company’s impact. The goal is “long-term well-being for all.”

According to Thudium, sustainable marketing is more comprehensive and addresses the social and environmental impact of marketing.

She continues, “It’s also more holistic about transforming the discipline of marketing into a force for good, for example, using marketing to encourage positive behavioral change, such as sustainable living habits, that benefits people and the planet. It also addresses reducing the carbon footprint of your marketing activities, such as events and websites.”

Sustainable marketing encompasses green marketing, but it also includes practices that go beyond the environment, such as social and economic issues.

Sustainable Marketing Principles

As you build sustainability into the DNA of your brand and marketing strategies, it’s important to know which approach to take.

Thudium says, “Sustainable marketing … argues that the industry must evolve from one that manipulates customer behaviors and champions endless growth without considering the social and environmental constraints of our planet and society.

Thudium notes that clever sustainable marketers are innovative and creative. They take on this challenge to use marketing as a force for good.

Familiarize yourself with these three core sustainable marketing principles, which I’ll explain below.

1. Customer-Value Marketing

You can earn customer loyalty by designing products, services, and marketing strategies that align with customer values. For sustainable marketing, this often means highlighting eco-friendly attributes, values like diversity and inclusion, or the long-term benefits of sustainable products.

2. Sustainable Pricing Strategies

This principle involves educating customers about the full life-cycle costs to create a sustainable product, including sourcing and downstream costs of re-use and recycling. The right education and messaging can convince customers that the benefits are worth paying more for.

3. Societal Benefit Marketing

Also called societal marketing, societal benefit marketing emphasizes the long-term benefits to society beyond a company’s profit or the immediate benefit to the consumer.

For instance, Ben & Jerry’s positions its marketing around its three core values: human rights and dignity, social and economic justice, and the environment. “We believe ice cream can change the world,” they state. Then, they back those principles up with action.

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Do customers care about sustainability? [New Data]

The importance of sustainability in marketing and business is rising.

Thudium says, “Consumers, government and regulation, and investors are demanding more sustainable and ethical business practices from companies.”

While once seen as a luxury or niche tactic, sustainability has gained traction as a mainstream, cross-generational preference. In a world where I can buy the same product from dozens of online sellers, I look for one that’s local, that supports fair trade, or that supports a cause or charity I like.

In 2024, HubSpot surveyed over 700 consumers to learn about their shopping habits. Here’s what was found:

76% believe companies should try to improve the well-being of their employees.
64% believe companies should actively reduce their environmental impact.
58% believe companies should donate a portion of their profits to charity.
55% believe companies should advocate for racial justice and gender equality.
50% believe companies should do more to advocate for social issues, with the top issues being affordable healthcare (47%), climate change (35%), and income inequality (35%).

These values are reflected in consumers' purchasing decisions, especially for younger generations. While only 5% of Boomers say a brand’s environmental impact is a top purchasing factor for them, that jumps to 16% for Gen Z.

The difference is even starker for a company’s charity support and employee well-being.

So, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this question: Yes, consumers of all ages care about sustainability. Even if your brand isn’t rooted in this mission, you will still find value in investing time and resources in sustainable practices and marketing to attract more customers.

Learn more about consumers in our latest State of Consumer Trends report.

1. Have a larger purpose.

Brands typically judge their success by the numbers. How much revenue they have or will generate in any given period is usually the biggest KPI.

Sustainability shifts this perspective by having brands evaluate themselves by something other than profit. Bcorps operates in this way.

To quote B Lab U.K., “Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.”

Thudium mentions the “triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit. The movement that businesses need to take for future stability.”

As a brand, you have to promote something that’s bigger than your products and services and transcends any particular industry. “Do you have a clear social mission? If not, spend time discovering what that is and how your brand plays a role in furthering that mission,” Thudium says.

For example, Social Pantry, an independent and sustainable catering brand, makes sustainability part of everything they do.

The brand recently became B Corp Certified, and its commitment to sustainability goes beyond marketing messaging and into the operations and all that comes with running a sustainable business.

Social Pantry’s actions are guided by the change they want to see in the world

Investing in circular economies.
Developing sustainable business practices.
Committing to long-term initiatives that will positively impact future generations.

Alongside being an industry leader in prison leaver employment, they champion suppliers using regenerative farming practices, prioritize purchasing locally sourced food for their catering, and operate zero-to-landfill kitchens.

I spoke to Marketing Director Charlotte Lund-Morgan and asked how Social Pantry has adapted to become seamlessly rooted in sustainability.

Lund-Morgan says, “It’s always been important to us to act as a thought leader. For us, this means not just taking steps to tackle social and environmental issues but [also] ensuring that our brand mission is always clear and consistent so that we can inspire other businesses to do the same.”

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2. Think long term.

Sustainability marketing is all about building long-term value. Too often, brands focus on gaining immediate results.

For instance, many marketing tactics like running Google Ads and blogging are great lead generators. However, what happens once your lead has made a purchase and turned into a customer? Sustainable marketing looks at ways to nurture and educate consumers during the entire buyer’s journey.

Sustainability initiatives — like replacing styrofoam with paper or reducing your carbon footprint — can take years to implement. Releasing sustainability plans and updating customers on your progress go a long way in building trust, but they won’t yield immediate, attributable growth.

Education is one way to build loyalty with your audience early on, from the first point of discovery to post-purchase. For instance, a food brand could educate its audience on the importance of ethical farming on social media and continue this process post-purchase with package recycling tips.

This works well to build trust and loyalty in the long term. There is a strong correlation between consumer preference for sustainable practices and consumer preference for buying from brands they already know and trust.

Moreover, the data is nuanced. From their research, First Insight credits Gen Z as being a sustainable generation.

Some industries are more likely to inspire sustainable-driven purchases within different age ranges. For example, only 4% of people aged 65 and over will buy sustainable bags, compared to 21% of those age 21.

The food industry is where people are collectively most motivated to buy sustainably. For the younger generation, clothing is the top choice for sustainable purchases. Data is shown in the infographic below.

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Marketer Megan Thudium agrees that the shift to sustainability takes time. She says, “Sustainability is a journey and will take years to implement. There is no finish line but continued learning and growth to become a better company that aligns better with society‘s and the planet’s needs.”

3. Communicate

Communicating your sustainability commitments is a must. Thudium says, “Consumers, government, and regulation are demanding more sustainable and ethical business practices from companies. Investors are also demanding companies have a sustainability strategy to receive funding.”

That means there’s more pressure for businesses to reduce their emissions and become more sustainable, according to Thudium. However, it must be done authentically, honestly, and verifiable.

“Communicating your sustainability needs to move past being another differentiation factor. Yes, that is a benefit for business growth,” Thudium says.

“Yes, it's the right thing to do — but more so, it reduces long-term risk for companies. It makes them more desirable to employees and talent. It keeps them regulatory compliant without fines.”

4. Be customer oriented.

You might be thinking, “Isn’t being consumer-oriented what all marketing is?” Ideally, yes, but not always.

In traditional marketing, a brand often tries to push a product or service to a customer. With consumer-oriented marketing, it’s more about understanding your customers’ needs and tailoring your marketing to that.

First, leverage user research to find out what’s important to your customers. For instance, say your audience is craving more transparency in your sourcing practices or wants you to be more vocal on social issues.

You could use that information for your next campaign or even pivot your business practices to differentiate yourselves from everyone else in your space.

Thudium adds, “You can also expect cost savings from sustainable practices, less cost in acquiring new customers.”

5. Back up your claims.

Thudium warns that sustainability marketing doesn’t work if it’s not “honest, authentic, and backed by verifiable evidence.”

Imagine finding out a business that claims to be sustainable has failed to implement any practices to promote its mission. Consumers would distrust that brand, and it would be difficult to earn it back.

Make sure your brand is looking at sustainability from a holistic lens.

Are you preaching about sustainability but using unsustainable resources to build your product? Are you collaborating with brands that conflict with your mission? Is your team representative of the future you want to promote?

These are the questions you should ask to determine if your brand reflects the mission you’ve set out to achieve. Identify the areas that need work and go to the drawing board to figure out strategies that align with your mission.

Audiences don’t expect perfection. They do, however, value transparency. It’s okay (and recommended) to share where you currently fall short and how you plan to remedy these issues.

Thudium is a huge advocate for backing up claims. She says, “Backing up your claims is all about honesty, transparency, and verifiable claims … If your claims aren‘t verifiable, then it’s greenwashing.”

Thudium notes that could have dire consequences, especially in countries where greenwashing is against the law.

6. Engage stakeholders.

Since sustainability requires real change instead of shallow value-signaling, it takes collaboration. Sustainability is a big effort, and it requires leadership outside of marketing. Engage internal teams, shareholders, supplies, and community partners in conversations and research around sustainability.

In some cases, your organizational structure may make sustainable practices difficult, like getting buy-in for a more expensive but more sustainable supplier when a company has a mandate to increase profit.

Smaller companies can consider re-organizing as a benefit corporation or achieving B Corp status to formalize their sustainability commitments.

7. Go against the grain and be brave.

In marketing, it can seem like everyone’s playing a game of copycat, using the same promotions and tactics over and over again. Posting on social media about Earth Day or International Women’s Day, for instance, is a good practice but won’t stand out against the thousands of other brand posts.

Thudium encourages everyone to “go against the grain and be brave.” She says, “Use sustainable marketing campaigns to change consumer behavior for good and promote sustainable practices in everyday life.”

Breaking with your industry runs a risk of failure — but it could also pay off in a big way. Take the outdoor brand REI, for instance. When Black Friday sales reached a peak fever pitch, the brand shocked the public by closing its stores that day and instead encouraging people to #OptOutside.

While it loses in-store revenue each year on that day, it gains loyalty from its members and employees who would rather spend time outside than in a store.

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Sustainable Marketing Examples

Need some inspiration for how to market your sustainability practices? Learn from these six brands who belong in the sustainability hall of fame.

1. The Woolmark Company

A recent Woolmark company campaign aimed to encourage people to see the benefits of wool-based clothing and stop buying fast fashion.

Thudium describes why the campaign is important. She says, “Wool is healthier for your body, biodegradable, and can be ethically sourced.”

When asked why the campaign was effective, Thudium says the campaign has

Strong messaging about fashion waste.
Encourages the benefits of wool fibers.
Verifiable claims.

2. Thinx

Thinx is an underwear brand whose mission is to provide sustainable solutions to menstruation and incontinence. Everything the brand puts out marketing-wise is centered around this core value.

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The brand’s social media pages feature a mix of product promotion, educational content, and mission-focused announcements.

The key to sustainable marketing is doing it in an authentic way that feels embedded in the brand, as opposed to an add-on that’s leveraged when convenient. Thinx is a great example of how to do it right.

Pro tip: You can manage your brand’s content with a tool like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, which will help you measure and optimize all of your content efficiently.

3. Kind Socks

This clothing company was started based on the founder’s desire to find a socks company with a sustainable and ethical vision. While most brands focus on inviting their consumers to purchase, Kind Socks takes the exact opposite approach: Asking them to spend less and more thoughtfully.

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This strategy may seem counterintuitive to many companies, but emphasizing the brand’s mission can help build trust with its audience and increase brand loyalty.

4. Pangaia

Materials science company Pangaia wants to save the environment. Every piece of marketing the brand puts out is centered around this core mission, including this video campaign.

In it, the brand explains its mission to “reverse the cycle from the unnatural to natural, from plastic to plants […], from the new to the recycled.” What’s effective about this ad is that Pangaia describes the future it wants to see and outlines the strategies it will implement to get there.

Throughout the ad, you see Pangaia products, but they’re not the focus. This tells viewers the mission drives the products, not the other way around — and that’s sustainable marketing done right.

5. Nada Duele

In the previous section, we discussed the importance of having a holistic approach to sustainability marketing. With Nada Duele, their mission is reflected in everything: from their name, which represents the idea that products should not cause harm, to the initiatives they take part in.

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When you visit their “How We Work” section, you learn about their collaboration with a Guatemalan institute dedicated to protecting the forestry sector.

Pro tip: It’s important that the partnerships your brand takes on align with your values. Otherwise, you risk losing credibility and trust.

6. Satya + Sage

Social media is one of the best and easiest ways to implement a sustainable marketing strategy. You can share a range of content, from educating your followers on sustainable practices to sharing ways your brand is being sustainable.

In this example, the candle company Satya + Sage shares tips on how to use the seed paper that comes with every candle.

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Pro tip: On social media, in particular, pay attention to the questions your followers ask and the comments they make, as that can inform which marketing strategies you test in the future.

Sustainable Marketing and AI

As companies rush to explore how to integrate AI into every area of their business (including marketing!), it’s important to slow down and consider the holistic impacts. AI has the potential to reduce waste and the human footprint by performing tasks more efficiently, but the ripple effects are much wider.

Consider these facts and questions as you go about integrating AI:

Carbon footprint of AI. Training and running an AI system requires a huge amount of computing power and electricity, increasing CO2 emissions. According to an MIT report, the data center power requirement in North America nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023 — outpacing the demand of over 70% of countries.
Bias in AI systems. It’s well-documented that AI systems can replicate bias. For example, according to IBM, when asked to show images of doctors, the AI shows men; for nurses, it shows women. If you are integrating AI to interact with customers or creating marketing content with AI, consider the potential effects of bias.
Employee impacts. Our survey revealed that customers are paying attention to how companies treat their employees. As companies replace some functions like customer service with automation, think about your affected employees. Can you reskill them for new AI jobs or support them through a career transition?

While AI can have some negative impacts, it also has the potential to help you reach your sustainability goals.

For instance, you can build a model to analyze your systems and suggest ways to reduce your carbon footprint by optimizing your supply chain. You can also leverage an AI chatbot to educate customers on sustainable practices.

Is marketing with AI more sustainable?

I can’t give you a definite answer for whether leveraging AI is more sustainable for your brand. It really comes down to the sustainability priorities that you’ve identified and whether AI helps or hurts those.

Take Dove's beauty brand, for example. One of their longtime values has been recognizing real beauty and showing authentic women’s bodies.

In 2023, Dove released an ad campaign declaring that it would never use AI-generated women in ads because it would run counter to its values of elevating real beauty.

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While Dove may integrate AI in other ways internally, they realized it was important to state how they wouldn’t use it.

The truth is, AI hasn’t been around long enough for us to truly understand the sustainability implications (the good or the bad). I wanted to understand the reasons why AI is considered unsustainable and how marketers can make the best of it in the most sustainable way possible.

Here’s what I found.

Adam Zewe, writer at MIT News, shares some of the reasons why AI isn’t environmentally friendly. In his article, Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact, Zewe. Amongst other reasons, he cites:

OpenAI’s GPT-4 demands a staggering amount of electricity.
Increased demand for hardware, which has indirect environmental impacts (manufacturing and transport, for example).
Increased demand for water to cool data centers, which can strain municipal water.

There’s more, but these three stood out to me.

It’s tricky for conscientious sustainable marketers who want to be all things sustainable, while keeping up to date with an ever-growing digital world which demands use of the latest technology.

For balance, I wanted to look into the ways in which GenAI can be used sustainably. Shengyuan Su, sustainability director at Zendesk, shares tips for sustainable AI usage.

My favorite tip: “Use existing models and trained datasets whenever possible: Developing, training, and deploying new models requires additional energy and risk contributing to carbon emissions.”

For me, this seemed like a solid tip. We can use AI that is already fit for purpose, instead of spending hours training new models all the time. If the AI dataset is there already, then using is reduces energy and carbon emissions.

Engage Customers with Sustainable Marketing

From DEI to environmental impact, it’s clear to me that customers are starting to care more about where their products come from and the people behind them.

My main takeaway for you is this: Sustainable marketing isn’t just a box to tick off, it’s a whole-company practice and a cultural shift. It’s a long-term strategy that wins trust, loyalty, and customers over time.

As you consider new factors like AI in marketing and climate change, stay close to your customers to hear what they want to see from your brand.

Above all, customers value transparency and want to hear about your journey, even if you haven’t reached your goals yet. So don’t be afraid to start small and bring your customers along with you on the journey.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

What Is a Risk Assessment? My Tips and Best Practices [+ Free Template]

Rana Bano — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:35:23 GMT

No matter what you do for a living, you deal with all kinds of risks daily — whether it’s operational hiccups, financial uncertainty, or potential reputation hits.

But it’s the unexpected curveballs you don't see coming, like a sudden cybersecurity breach or equipment failure, that really shake things up.

Trust me; I’ve been there.

That’s where a risk assessment comes in.

With it, I can spot, analyze, and prioritize risks before they turn into full-blown problems. I can get ahead of the game, so that when the unexpected strikes, I already have a plan in place to keep things under control.

In this guide, I’ll share tips for running a risk assessment in five easy steps. I’ll also feature a customizable template to help you sharpen your decision-making.

Table of Contents

What is a risk assessment?
Purpose and Benefits of Risk Assessments
When should you conduct a risk assessment?
Types of Risk Assessments
How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Your Business
Free Risk Assessment Template

What is a risk assessment?

A risk assessment is a step-by-step process used to identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential risks to a business’s operations, safety, or reputation.

It helps businesses understand the threats they face and determine how best to manage or reduce those risks.

The risk assessment process involves identifying hazards, assessing how likely they are to occur, and evaluating their potential impact.

With this information, businesses can allocate resources effectively and take proactive measures to avoid disruptions or accidents.

Purpose and Benefits of Risk Assessments

At its core, a risk assessment is all about identifying potential hazards and understanding the risks they pose to people — whether they’re employees, contractors, or even the public.

By doing a deep dive into these risks, I can take action to either get rid of them or minimize them, creating a much safer environment. And sure, there’s the legal side — many industries require it — but beyond that, it's about proactively looking out for the health and safety of everyone involved.

It‘s important to note how crucial risk assessments are for staying compliant with regulations. Many industries require businesses to conduct and update these assessments regularly to meet health and safety standards.

But compliance is only one side of the coin. Risk assessments also show the company genuinely cares about its employees’ well-being.

Benefits of Risk Assessments

Think of a risk assessment template as your business’s trusty blueprint for spotting trouble before it strikes. Here’s how it helps.

Awareness

Risk assessments shine a light on the risks lurking in your organization, turning risk awareness into second nature for everyone. It’s like flipping a switch — suddenly, safety is a shared responsibility.

I’ve seen firsthand how, when people feel confident enough to call out risks, safety compliance just clicks into place. That’s when you know the whole team is looking out for each other.

Measurement

With a risk assessment, I can weigh the likelihood and impact of each hazard, so I’m not shooting in the dark. For instance, if I find that one task is particularly risky, I can change up procedures or workflows to bring that risk down.

Results

The real magic happens when you act on your findings. By catching risks early, I can prevent different types of crises like machine breakdowns or workplace accidents — things that can quickly spiral out of control.

Not only does this safeguard employees and minimize the fallout from those risks, but it also spares your organization from costly legal troubles or compensation claims.

When should you conduct a risk assessment?

Here are the most relevant scenarios for conducting a risk assessment.

Before Introducing New Processes or Products

If I’m launching a new product or service, I’d want to assess all the potential risks involved. This could include safety risks for employees, financial risks if the product doesn’t perform as expected, or even supply chain risks.

For example, as a manufacturer, you might evaluate the risks of new machinery affecting production lines.

After Major Incidents

If something goes wrong, like a data breach or an equipment failure, a risk assessment again comes in handy. I can better understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

For example, after a data breach, an IT risk assessment could reveal vulnerabilities and help bolster defenses.

To Meet Regulatory Requirements

Staying compliant with industry regulations is another big motivator. In industries like healthcare or finance, this could mean avoiding hefty penalties or fines.

Compliance frameworks like HIPAA risk assessment in healthcare or OSHA for workplace safety make regular risk assessments a must.

When Adopting New Technologies

Integrating new technologies, such as IT systems or machinery, can introduce new risks. I recommend conducting a risk assessment to identify any potential cybersecurity or operational risks.

Without this, your business could be exposed to new vulnerabilities.

When Expanding Operations

Whenever expanding into new markets, it’s essential to assess potential risks, especially when dealing with different local regulations or supply chains.

Financial institutions, for example, assess credit and market risks when they expand internationally.

Pro tip: Don’t wait for problems to arise — schedule regular risk assessments, either annually or bi-annually. This keeps you ahead of potential hazards and ensures you’re constantly improving safety measures.

Types of Risk Assessments

When conducting a risk assessment, the method you choose depends on the task, environment, and the data you have on hand. Different situations call for different approaches.

Here are the top ones.

1. Qualitative Risk Assessment

This assessment is suitable when you need a quick judgment based on your observations.

No hard numbers here — just categorizing risks as “low,” “medium,” or “high.” It’s perfect for when you don’t have detailed data and need to make a call based on experience.

For example, when assessing an office environment, like noticing employees struggling with poor chair ergonomics, I should label that a “medium” risk. Sure, it impacts productivity, but it's not life-threatening.

It’s a simple approach that works well for everyday scenarios.

2. Quantitative Risk Assessment

When you have access to solid data, like historical incident reports or failure rates, go for a quantitative risk assessment.

Here, you'll assign numbers to both the likelihood of a risk and the potential damage it could cause. This makes the assessment a more precise way of evaluating risk, especially for industries like finance or large-scale projects.

Take, for instance, a machine that breaks down every 1,000 hours, costing $10,000 each time. With this assessment, I can calculate expected annual costs and decide if it’s smarter to invest in better maintenance or just get a new machine.

3. Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment

This is a blend of the first two.

In this risk assessment method, you assign numerical values to risks but still categorize the outcome as “high” or “low.” It gives you a bit more accuracy without diving into full-blown data analysis.

At HubSpot, leadership used this when relocating an office. The team couldn’t exactly quantify the stress employees would feel.

By assigning scores (like 3/5 for impact and 2/5 for likelihood), leaders got a clearer picture of what to tackle first — like improving communication to ease the transition.

4. Generic Risk Assessment

A generic risk assessment addresses common hazards that apply across multiple environments.

It’s best for routine or low-risk tasks, such as manual handling or standard office work. As the risks are well-known and unlikely to change, you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

When dealing with manual handling tasks in an office, for example, the risks are pretty standard. But you must always stay flexible, ready to tweak your approach if something unexpected comes up.

5. Site-Specific Risk Assessment

A site-specific risk assessment focuses on hazards unique to a particular location or project.

For example, if you‘re evaluating a chemical plant, for instance, don’t just rely on generic templates. Instead, consider the specifics: the chemicals used, the ventilation, the layout — everything unique to that site.

By doing this, you can address unique hazards and often high-risk environments, like suggesting better spill containment measures or retraining employees on safety procedures.

6. Task-Based Risk Assessment

In a task-based risk assessment, focus on specific jobs and the risks that come with them. This is ideal for industries like construction or manufacturing, where different tasks (e.g., operating a crane vs. welding) come with varying risks.

As each task gets its own tailored assessment, don’t miss the unique dangers each one brings.

How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Your Business

When I need to run a risk assessment, I like to rely on a handy guide. Here’s a more comprehensive look at each step of the process.

1. Identify the hazards.

When identifying hazards, I try to get multiple perspectives so that I don’t miss any hidden risks.

Here's how I go about it:

Talking to my team. Since my team is the one dealing with hazards daily, their insights are invaluable, especially for identifying risks that aren’t immediately obvious.
Checking past incidents. I review old accident logs or near-misses. Often, patterns emerge that highlight risks I may not have considered before.
Following industry standards. If you work in certain industries, OSHA guidelines or other relevant regulations provide a solid framework to help spot hazards you might otherwise overlook.
Considering remote and non-routine activities. I make sure to assess risks for remote workers or non-regular activities, like maintenance or repairs, which can introduce new hazards.

For example, during a system audit, I might identify obvious risks like unsecured servers or outdated software.

However, I must also consider hidden risks, such as unsecured Wi-Fi networks that remote employees might use, potentially exposing sensitive data.

Reviewing past incident reports, like past phishing attempts or data breaches, may reveal both technical and human-related vulnerabilities.

By taking all these factors into account, you can better protect your data and keep operations running smoothly.

2. Determine who might be harmed and how.

In this step, I widen my focus beyond just employees to include anyone who might interact with my daily operations. This includes:

Visitors, contractors, and the public. That includes anyone who interacts with operations, even indirectly, is considered. For instance, construction dust on-site could harm passersby or visitors.
Vulnerable groups. Certain people — like pregnant workers or those with medical conditions — might have heightened sensitivities to specific hazards.

Take the unsecured server example mentioned earlier. IT staff might be aware of the risks, but I also need to consider non-technical employees who might not recognize phishing emails.

3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.

As I evaluate risks, I focus on two main factors: how likely something is to happen and how severe the impact could be.

Use a risk matrix. The risk matrix isn’t just a tool to categorize risks but a strategic guide to help me decide which business risks need action now and which can wait. I focus first on high-probability, high-impact risks that need immediate action, and then work my way down to those that can wait.

Determine the root causes. Next, I want to understand why a risk exists — whether it’s outdated software, lack of cybersecurity training, or weak password policies. This will help me address the issue at its core and create better solutions. Consider using a root cause analysis template to help you systematically capture details, prioritize issues, and develop targeted solutions.
Follow the control hierarchy. The hierarchy of controls provides a structured approach to managing hazards. My first priority is always to eliminate the risk, like disabling unused access points. If that’s not possible, I implement network segmentation, multi-factor authentication, or encryption before relying on user training as a last line of defense.

For example, when dealing with phishing risks, frequent incidents and inconsistent training were the main concerns. To mitigate them, I could start by providing more robust training and enforcing multi-factor authentication. I could implement email filtering tools to reduce phishing emails.

If that’s not an option, I can improve response protocols. Incident response plans would provide additional protection.

4. Record key findings.

At this stage, it’s time to document everything: the risks identified, who’s at risk, and the measures put in place to control them. This is especially crucial if you’re operating in a regulated industry where audits are a possibility.

Here’s how to lay out the documentation based on our earlier example.

Hazards identified: Phishing attempts, unsecured servers, data breach risks.
Who is at risk: Employees, customers, third-party vendors.
Precautions: Multi-factor authentication, email filters, encryption, regular cybersecurity training.

Pro tip: Digitize these records and include photos of the relevant areas and equipment. This will keep you compliant with regulations while also doubling as an excellent risk assessment training resource for new employees. Plus, it ensures everyone can access the information when needed.

5. Review and update the assessment.

Risk assessments aren’t a “set it and forget it” thing. That‘s why I recommend reviewing your assessment plan every six months — or whenever there’s a significant change.

Here’s how to approach it:

Trigger a review with changes. Whether it’s new equipment, new hires, or regulatory updates, any major shift calls for a reassessment. For example, after upgrading a cutting machine, I can immediately revisit the risks to address updated training needs and potential software issues.
Incorporate ongoing feedback. Employee input and regular audits play a huge role in keeping assessments up to date. By maintaining open communication, you can spot new risks early and ensure existing safety measures remain effective.

Free Risk Assessment Template

Need a quick, easy way to evaluate different risks — like financial or safety risk? HubSpot’s got you covered with a free risk assessment template that helps you outline steps to reduce or eliminate those risks.

Here’s what our template offers:

Company name, person responsible, and assessment date.
Risk type (financial, operational, reputational, human safety, etc.).
Risk description and source.
Risk matrix with severity levels.
Actions to reduce risks.
Approving official.
Comments.

Grab this customizable template to assess potential risks, gauge their impact, and take proactive steps to minimize damage before it happens. Simple, effective, and to the point!

Take Control of Your Workplace

Effective risk assessment isn’t just about ticking a compliance box—it’s a proactive way to keep your business and employees safe from avoidable hazards.

Always start by identifying specific risks, whether they‘re tied to a particular site or task. Once you’ve got those, prioritize them using tools like a risk assessment matrix or a semi-quantitative assessment to make sure you’re tackling the most pressing issues first. And remember, it’s not a one-and-done thing—regular reviews and updates are crucial as your business evolves.

Plus, with HubSpot's free risk assessment template on hand, you’ll always have a strong foundation to stay one step ahead of any potential risks.

What Is Digital Content? I Asked Experts What to Expect From It in 2025 — Here’s What They Said

rsukhraj@hubspot.com (Ramona Sukhraj) — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 20:12:18 GMT

Ok, this has to be one of the most meta projects I’ve worked on: a piece of digital content about digital content — but, hey, it’s an important one.

From toddlers to senior citizens, everyone today wields a mobile device. So much of our lives are spent staring at screens that very few can say they don’t consume digital content, whether they call it that or not.

No one knows this better than modern marketers, but for those of you new to the field or looking for a refresher on what actually falls under the umbrella of digital content, I’m here to break it down.

I’ll also share what some industry thought leaders predict digital content will look like next year.

Table of Contents

What is digital content?
Types of Digital Content
Importance of Digital Content
How to Create Great Digital Content
Examples of Great Digital Content
What will digital content look like in 2025? (According to Experts)

What is digital content?

Simply put, digital content is any type of media used to reach and connect with an audience that is created, hosted, and distributed through the internet.

Many people, like artists, digital creators, journalists, and media organizations, create digital content simply because it’s their offering; it’s a new medium for them to express themselves and communicate with others.

However, businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers like me usually create digital content to drive traffic and awareness, generate new leads, and convert new customers.

In other words, digital content could also be defined as online media created for content marketing.

Types of Digital Content

Content thought leader and Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs Ann Handley once said, “Everything the light touches is content” — and she’s not really exaggerating.

That email you deleted this morning? Digital content.

The meme your dad texted you this morning? Digital content.

The YouTube video linked in your group chat? Digital content.

This article? Digital content.

And that’s just scratching the surface. Digital content includes, but is not limited to:

Blogs/Articles
Videos (Static and Live)
Podcasts
Images (Photographs, Graphics, Infographics)
Emails (Newsletters, RSS feeds, transactional emails)
Downloads (Guides, Reports)
Webinars
Templates
Interactive Tools (Quizzes, Calculators, etc.)
Social Media

Now, some of these mediums can exist offline, too, like articles, quizzes, and templates, but when they are digitized, they offer a number of unique and unmatched benefits.

Importance of Digital Content

For modern businesses, the importance of digital content can’t be overstated — and I don’t say this simply because my career depends on it.

Overall, content can drive brand awareness and build trust with your audience but digital content management comes with a wealth of operational benefits that analog mediums don’t.

Benefits of Digital Content

Cost-effective

One of the biggest benefits of digital content is its cost-effectiveness. Many mediums use low — or no-cost tools such as blogging, SEO, and social media, making it accessible for businesses and teams of all sizes.

Yes, paying seasoned, skilled professionals to own and execute your digital content strategy can come at a pretty penny, but the barriers otherwise are quite low.

Plus, your work tends to compound. Once you build site authority and social media followings, quality digital content tends to deliver more without much more immediate attention.

Versatile and Scalable

Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional media. I love seeing what I’ve designed or written brought to life as something tangible that I can touch and feel — but these sensory analog treats are just not as versatile or convenient as digital.

With its online format, digital content is easy to repurpose for different platforms and mediums and enhance for use on larger scales. Blog posts can be turned into videos or social media posts, and podcasts can be transcribed into guides.

Digital content can also be cross-posted or promoted to multiple platforms with just the push of a button. This just can’t be done as efficiently with analog content.

Pro tip: AI can make repurposing content even easier for marketers. Learn more in this article.

Easier Collaboration

Being internet-based, digital content is also easier to share and collaborate on with people near or far. For instance, if I stage an article for publishing in the HubSpot CMS, anyone on my team with the right permissions can go in and leave comments or make edits to it.

All someone needs to share their input is a link and an internet connection.

Better Analytics

When you publish an article in a newspaper or hang a billboard, you can’t truly know how many people took the time to read that message and take action. With digital content, you can.

Most social media tools and content management systems offer in-depth information on your content’s performance, such as views/clicks and conversion rates, but they can also be linked to third-party tools like Google Analytics or Databox to get even more granular.

These insights can help you better understand what types of digital content are working to achieve your goals and what you may need to change.

Ok, so how do you create this oh-so-useful digital content?

How to Create Great Digital Content

Creating digital content isn’t really that different from creating for analog mediums. It’s when the time comes to distribute and analyze that the two go in different directions.

Let’s talk through the five main steps of creating digital content, and I’ll explain.

Plan

At this point, we will assume you’ve already determined what you are trying to achieve with your content.

In other words, you know what you need to get your audience to do or feel after consuming it and grasp who they are and what they’re interested in.

(This is all a part of a greater content marketing plan.)

So, here, you outline your content. You create your game plan for the piece of content you want to create. This includes, but is not limited to:

Title
Focus Keywords/Topic
Key Talking Points
Medium
Platform
Call-to-action

This is the first step I take with every article or piece of content I create.

Research

Now that you know what you’re writing, you can start your content research.

Even if you know the topic like the back of your hand (like I know digital content), you should still be doing some research. I certainly did when working on this piece.

Research is how you know what you’re up against (aka what your competitors say). It’s how you know what perspectives and ideas are already being discussed and what new value you can offer.

It also helps you fact-check yourself and find third-party data to support your claims.

Create

So, you have your outline and your research; here’s where you put them together. This is also where those differences between analog and digital that we talked about can start to show up.

Perhaps you’re writing in a word processor or CMS, stitching clips together in a video tool, or framing graphics in a design tool.

Regardless of the type of content, you’re likely creating it using a computer and possibly even collaborating with your team virtually.

Need some assistance? Tools like Canva and Visme have comprehensive libraries of templates and even AI to help you create visual content, while HubSpot’s free AI content writer can help with text.

Publish

After the content has been finalized, it’s time to set it live. With your content living online, it will be accessible to search engines, shareable through links, and in play for engagement via likes, comments, and shares.

Analyze

After your content is live, it’s time to see how it’s performing. Depending on your goals and the platform, this could mean analyzing the clicks, views, and leads generated or likes, shares, and comments. I suggest a minimum of three pulse checks:

On the day of publish
One week after publish
One month after publish

If your digital content is doing very well from the first check or the content is more of a long-term play, I’d increase this frequency.

Examples of Great Digital Content

1. Canva Design School [Resource Center]

Canva does so many things right with its marketing, and its digital content is no exception. “Design School” is essentially the brand’s resource center, where users can learn about design principles, color theory, trends, and how to use the Canva tools.

Source

It offers video-based, on-demand courses, tutorials, and certifications.

Why is this great digital content?

It offers tons of relevant educational value to the audience
It showcases Canva’s thought leadership, positioning it as an expert in the design space
It introduces people to Canva products and teaches how to get value out of them
Video-based, catering to modern buyer content preferences
Content exists both on the website and YouTube, expanding its reach and helping with SEO.

2. Semrush: “Barbie Phenomenon” [Infographic]

SEO tool Semrush capitalized on the Barbie movie craze during the summer of 2023 with this infographic.

The film's marketing made just as much of a splash as the film itself, and Semrush used this design to share various performance stats from its strategy.

Source

Why is this great digital content?

It incorporates a trending topic.
It shares information that is of interest to its target audience (marketers) and the greater public, giving it wide appeal and shareability.
Showcases what Semrush’s data tools can do

3. Strava: “Year in Sport” [Report & User Recap]

Strava’s “Year in Sport” is an annual report released by the fitness company that incorporates several elements. The digital content shares:

Results from Strava’s global survey of active people, including insights and trends from their motivations and barriers to exercise.
The biggest news stories and accomplishments of athletes, clubs, and the overall exercise community.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Strava (@strava)

“Year in Sport” also includes a personal year-end recap for paid app users. Like Spotify Wrapped (another great piece of digital content), it shares trends and statistics from the users' app activity from last year.

Why is this great digital content?

It shares exclusive insights of interest to their target audience (fitness enthusiasts)
It offers personalized value through its user recaps, crafting a unique, one-of-a-kind experience for each person.
User recaps encourage user-generated content (UGC)

4. Sprout Social: 5 Ways to Use AI Customer Service on Social Media [Video]

In this video, social media SaaS company Sprout Social teaches viewers how to use automation and AI customer service to do their best work without losing an authentic, on-brand voice.

While a short video, it makes great use of chapters to make it easier for users to find the information they need, as well as links to additional related resources in the description.

Why is this great digital content?

It discusses a trending topic (AI) and why it's relevant to the Sprout audience
It showcases Sprout Social’s thought leadership and positions it as an expert in the social media/marketing space
It’s a video catering to modern buyer content preferences
It’s hosted on YouTube, giving it increased reach potential
Its description/caption is optimized for traffic, conversion, and search.

5. Allbirds: Flight Status [Sustainability Report]

Footwear company Allbirds differentiates itself on its sustainable products and practices. It calls these practices its “flight plan.”

Source

To keep it honest, the company releases a “Flight Status” or sustainability report every year to keep customers and the market in the loop about how their efforts are performing.

Why is this great digital content?

It shares important company information that shows credibility.
It’s ungated, showing they genuinely just care about being transparent not getting leads.
It doubles down on their company values and those important to their target audience.

6. Il Makiage: Power Match [Quiz]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written about this piece of digital content, but hey, it deserves the praise.

Makeup brand Il Makiage’s Power Match is a brilliant online quiz that promises to find users their ideal foundation shade through only a series of multiple-choice questions.

After it identifies your shade, you can buy it directly from the site. They’re so confident in the results that they even let you try the product for 14 days before you have to pay for it.

It has since inspired many copycats, including Maybelline’s Fit Me Routine Finder.

Why is this great digital content?

It’s interactive and engaging.
It gives users/customers a customized experience on the website.
It makes the buying process easier for new customers.
It’s almost gameified the experience of buying from them, sparking a trend of customers sharing their results on social media. (UGC win!)

7. Google: The Year in Search [Video, Report, & Tool]

Google’s “The Year in Search” is one piece of content I look forward to every year.

It’s an in-depth look at the top Google searches of the previous year, including the most searched questions, the most captivating moments, and the most inspiring people based on search queries.

The campaign involves several different pieces of digital content, such as:

A video recap (seen above)
A dedicated landing page detailing the trends
An interactive tool that lets people dive into the trends in their specific area

Why is this great digital content?:

It’s interactive and can offer personalized insight.
It showcases Google’s offering and data only it has access to. This, in turn, highlights just how vast and impactful Google is.
It makes the buying process easier for new customers.
It shares information that is of interest to its users and the greater public, giving it wide appeal and shareability.

What will digital content look like in 2025?

Clearly, digital content is a wide umbrella, and it's constantly evolving. So, what will it look like in 2025? Here’s what three industry experts predict.

More Focus on Personalization

“...I believe the biggest shift is going to happen through personalized content that is tailored to the consumer,” shared founder & CEO of Foundation Ross Simmonds.

While Simmonds maintains video, which will continue to be one of the most valuable assets a brand can invest in, and blog content will still be the most important part of an SEO strategy, personalization is poised to be a key differentiating factor.

“Brands are now able to use AI and code to create content experiences for their audience that are tailored to their needs and their own personal attributes, challenges, goals, and worldviews."

"I believe more personalized and tailored content is going to be the most interesting and immersive format that we see in 2025. Marketers can prepare for this by experimenting and learning.”

What can you do? Learn everything you can about scaling personalization with AI:

Increased Experimentation

HubSpot’s Head of Audience Development Studio Andrea Hudson, echoed this thought, saying, “The digital content of the future is what we’re tinkering with now; in 2025, we’ll still be experimenting.”

She dove into specifics, saying, “The mass marketing approach of a digital asset working across platforms has been sunset for a while now, and we’re shifting to personalized digital experiences via the creative medium.”

What can you do?

“The only way to prepare for this shift is to become curious about it now by experimenting and leveraging trends as inspiration instead of roadmaps,” advised Hudson.

“Look outside of your industry, set aside a budget for experimentation, and redefine your content KPIs to make sure they’re aligned with what you’re creating.”

“Spotify has found a way to do this for years with their Wrapped campaign and other tentpole moments throughout the year that provide personalized experiences based on behavior and accompanying those experiences with immersive content.”

The Rise of Non-Search Content

“In the digital content space in 2025, one big trend I think we'll see is marketers leaning more towards discovery channels than ever before rather than search,” explained my HubSpot teammate Caroline Forsey.

“There will be a major emphasis on YouTube, social media platforms, and even more niche channels like Substack or Reddit — essentially, marketers will seek out as many non-search platforms as possible to begin reaching audiences in new places since consumers spend so much of their time passively consuming content on these channels.”

While search engine optimization is still important (there’s a reason Google continues to be the most visited website in the world), it’s not the only way brands can be discovered.

Social media is actually the preferred product discovery channel for Gen Z, millennials, and boomers, and it’s also where they go to consume content.

Leaning more into these channels in 2025 may be critical to digital content success.

What can you do? Review and scale your social media strategy. Here are some resources to help:

Digital Content Gets Bigger and Better

Digital content is both the lifeblood and pulse of modern communication and marketing, continuously evolving to meet the needs of our connected world.

As we look ahead to 2025, the trends highlighted by experts paint an exciting picture of more personalized, experimental, and diversified approaches to content creation and distribution.

To stay ahead, marketers must embrace personalization, experiment fearlessly with emerging formats, and expand their reach to discovery-driven platforms beyond traditional search.

By doing so, they can create meaningful connections, foster engagement, and deliver value that resonates deeply with their audiences.

Writing a Scope of Work: Steps, Templates, and Real-World Examples

Rana Bano — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:40:56 GMT

As a freelance writer, I’m always receiving and reviewing scope of work documents. These digital documents help me maintain clarity, so I know who’s responsible for what and when tasks are due.

Many projects derail because expectations aren't clearly set from the start.

Deadlines get missed, budgets spiral out of control, and no one seems to know the next step. The good news? A well-crafted scope of work can solve these problems before they arise.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to write a clear and effective scope of work, complete with examples and a handy template to streamline your process.

Table of Contents

What is a scope of work?
What does a scope of work include?
Free Scope of Work Template
How to Write a Scope of Work
Scope of Work vs. Statement of Work
Scope of Work Examples

Download HubSpot's Free Scope of Work Template

What is a scope of work?

A scope of work is a formal project management document that ensures the client and team are fully aligned on all project details — tasks, timelines, deliverables, and expectations. It covers the essential questions:

Who is responsible for what?
When is it happening?
Where is it happening?
How will everything be executed?

Consequently, everyone is on the same page, ensuring smooth progress without confusion or miscommunication. It acts like a project roadmap, detailing all the critical elements, so everyone stays on track.

What does a scope of work include?

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When I start working with a new client, I always dive deep into their scope of work documents. This helps me understand what they’re looking for and how we can create a long-standing partnership.

From my experience, here are the most important parts of a scope of work.

1. Project Scope Statement and Objectives

The project overview explains why the project is being undertaken.

It clears up what you’re hoping to achieve and tackles the business problem you’re aiming to solve. Having crystal-clear objectives helps everyone stay on the same page and avoids misunderstandings.

Ideally, anyone reading this section — even if they’re not directly involved in the project — should be able to get what the project is about and what success looks like.

2. Scope of Work

Here’s where you give a big-picture look at the work that needs to get done, but without getting too detailed just yet — things stay at a higher level.

For example, in a company blog launch project, the scope may include tasks like “designing a blog layout” or “writing and editing blog posts.”

It can also outline technical specifications, such as the CMS to be used, ensuring there's no confusion down the line and everyone knows the general plan.

3. Project Timeline and Milestones

The project timeline outlines specific start and end dates for each phase, while milestones mark those all-important checkpoints. Hitting these milestones keeps things on track and ensures key deliveries happen as planned.

Plus, they offer moments to reassess and pivot if needed.

Even in agile projects where things are more fluid, a timeline gives everyone an idea of how long tasks and phases are likely to take. As a writer, I love scopes of work that have due dates for first drafts, second drafts, and final drafts.

4. Project Deliverables

Deliverables are your “here’s what you’ll get” list. Whether it’s physical products, software components, or services, this section spells out exactly what will be handed over at the end.

This section is key to avoiding scope creep and making sure everyone’s on the same page about what’s coming. When deliverables are crystal clear, there’s no room for confusion later.

5. Reporting Requirements

No one likes being in the dark. That’s why this section is all about keeping every stakeholder in the loop. It breaks down how often status updates will happen and in what form — whether through reports, presentations, or meetings.

Regular check-ins make sure everyone stays aligned and issues are caught early, so they don’t become bigger problems down the road.

6. Estimated Costs

As the name suggests, this part of the scope of work outlines the costs associated with the project. It details how and when payments will be made, whether through milestones, deliverables, or a fixed schedule.

I appreciate when scopes of work spell out the payment method — think wire transfer or ACH — and the conditions that trigger payments.

This keeps the financial side of things crystal clear and helps avoid any awkward misunderstandings later.

7. Approval and Sign-Off

This is where you nail down the details. Who’s responsible for signing off on what?

This section ensures a clear process for approvals and might also include things like security requirements or legal terms.

And when you’re ready to wrap it all up, the sign-off guarantees everyone agrees on what’s being delivered, so there are no surprises at the finish line.

Free Scope of Work Template

Skip the hassle and grab HubSpot’s free scope of work template. Available in Microsoft Word, PDF, and Google Docs formats, it’s ready to be customized in minutes.

This template covers everything: project scope, deliverables, exclusions, milestones with deadlines, and stakeholders. It’s built to make sure everyone’s on the same page about what’s included (and what’s not).

How to Write a Scope of Work

Below, I’ll break down how to write a scope of work. To make things tangible, I’ll ground it in a practical example: starting a blog for a client.

1. Start with clear objectives.

The foundation of your scope of work is the why. What’s the big-picture goal? For a blog launch, I would write something like:

"Increase brand visibility and drive organic traffic by 25% in the next six months by publishing weekly SEO-optimized content to target relevant keywords for the industry."

I want to keep the objective concise but measurable. I avoid vague goals like “improve brand awareness” unless I can directly tie them to metrics (e.g., number of visitors, sign-ups, or conversions).

2. Outline the scope of work.

Now, it’s time to define the boundaries. That’s what’s included — and more importantly, what’s not. This prevents scope creep, which is just a fancy way of saying: avoid doing work that wasn’t agreed upon.

For the blog project, I want to feature content creation, SEO, and setting up the blog. My scope might include:

Conduct keyword research.
Set up WordPress CMS.
Write, edit, and publish five cornerstone blog posts.
SEO optimization for each post, including meta descriptions and alt text.

I don’t include things like ongoing maintenance or content updates because that’s not part of the deal. I want to keep the scope tight and focused.

3. Identify deliverables.

This is the meat and potatoes of your scope of work. What’s the tangible outcome of the project? What does “done” look like? Each deliverable should be something you can point to and say, “Here’s what we completed.”

For the blog launch, my deliverables look like this:

Deliverable 1: A fully functional blog site on WordPress
Deliverable 2: SEO-optimized content strategy for the next three months
Deliverable 3: Five cornerstone blog posts, each 1000-1500 words long
Deliverable 4: Google Analytics and Search Console setup for tracking traffic and performance

Each deliverable should be clear, concise, and measurable. If it’s a blog post, it should state the expected word count and quality standards (like SEO optimization, readability scores, etc.).

Make sure your deliverables are specific and measurable. If it's a blog post, include word count and quality standards like SEO optimization and readability scores.

4. Define tasks and timeline.

Once you know what’s being delivered, break it down into tasks and set deadlines.

For a complex project like launching a blog, I should create a timeline that aligns with my deliverables. Not everything happens at once, so I need to prioritize.

For example, my scope of work may look at this:

Week 1-2: Finalize blog design and set up WordPress.
Week 3-4: Conduct keyword research and develop a content strategy.
Week 5-6: Write and edit the first two blog posts.
Week 7-8: SEO optimization, content upload, and final launch.

Timelines should be flexible enough to accommodate changes but firm enough to keep things on track. And remember, if there are dependencies — like needing the keyword research before you can write the posts — make that clear.

5. Set acceptance criteria and payment terms.

This is the quality check step — what does “good enough” mean for each deliverable? Without this, you risk endless back-and-forth or, worse, delivering something that wasn’t what the client expected.

For example, for the blog, I can have the following criteria:

Acceptance criteria for each post might be: Flesch reading ease score of 60+, optimized for focus keywords, and reviewed for brand tone and voice.
For the website setup, it could be: Fully responsive web design, loading speed under three seconds, and mobile-friendly compatibility.

Additionally, specify the financial details, including when and how payments happen. I recommend tying payments to deliverables or milestones to ensure the project is moving forward before each installment.

6. Outline the reporting and change management process.

In your scope of work, specify how often updates will be provided and in what format. Maybe weekly check-ins over email or bi-weekly reports summarizing content progress and site performance metrics.

Continuing with my blog example, I might report:

Content creation progress.
SEO improvements (keyword rankings).
Traffic growth via Google Analytics.

In any project, unforeseen changes are inevitable. Scope creep happens when the project evolves without formal adjustments, so preempt that by establishing a change management process.

Think: If the client wants ten blog posts instead of five halfway through, how will that be handled?

Pro tip: Set up a formal request system where both parties agree on changes before the work starts.

Scope of Work vs. Statement of Work

You’ve probably heard the terms scope of work and Statement of Work tossed around like they’re the same thing. But, spoiler alert: they’re not.

A scope of work is a section within the larger Statement of Work. It’s the nuts and bolts—the tasks, deliverables, and nitty-gritty details that map out what’s needed to complete a project. Think of it as the detailed, action-oriented part of the plan.
The statement of work is a broader, more formal document that includes everything related to the project, such as objectives, scope, timelines, payment terms, and governance. It serves as the contract or legal agreement between parties.

Simply put, the statement of work is the master plan, and the scope of work is the to-do list that gets you there.

When should you use a scope of work vs. a statement of work?

If you’re pulling together a large project (think: construction or software development), the statement of work is your go-to.

It gives you a full contract, including payment terms, deadlines, and compliance details — everything you need to keep everyone on the same page and legally covered.

On the other hand, the scope of work is used for internal projects where you’re more focused on getting things done.

It’s perfect for projects like launching a blog or updating a website — basically, situations where you don’t need to involve legal paperwork but still want a solid plan.

Scope of Work Examples

1. Scope of Work for Social Media Management

This social media management scope of work template clearly lays out the project’s scope, breaking down tasks, deliverables, and what’s not included — keeping client expectations crystal clear.

The timeline? Realistic and tied to specific tasks, with estimated hours that keep everyone accountable. The budget section is structured to avoid any mix-ups, with each deliverable priced out.

What I like: This template smartly includes a list of resources needed from the client, making collaboration smoother. Plus, the terms for extra work or revisions help keep scope creep at bay.

2. Scope of Work for Content Writing Services

This scope of work document nails clear and straightforward communication. It covers the essentials—salary, start date, key responsibilities, and deliverables—so everyone’s on the same page from the start.

Notice how the overall tone strikes the right balance between professional and welcoming, showing off the company's culture and excitement about bringing someone new on board.

What I like: This template clearly lays out all the information the writer needs to know. Bullets make the document easy-to-skim, so the writer can return to it again and again.

3. Scope of Work for a Website Redesign

Right from the start, this scope of work document zeroes in on the mission: Enhancing the website’s user experience and making it more mobile-friendly.

The tasks are clearly outlined, leaving no wiggle room for misinterpretation, while the out-of-scope items ensure no extra work slips in unnoticed.

With a detailed timeline, the client knows exactly when each phase will kick off and wrap up, minimizing any guesswork. Plus, the straightforward budget and payment terms cut through potential misunderstandings.

What I like: The pieces in this document create a framework that keeps everyone on track and avoids the dreaded scope creep.

Define the Scope to Prevent Scope Creep

When drafting a scope of work, think of it as your project's roadmap. It needs to be clear, detailed, and easy to follow.

Be specific about what’s covered, from tasks to deliverables, so there’s no confusion later. Outline what’s not included to prevent scope creep, and make sure timelines and budgets are realistic and upfront.

A solid scope of work aligns everyone's expectations and keeps things running smoothly, avoiding hiccups along the way. And, of course, don’t forget: Both parties need to review and sign off before the actual work begins.