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Top 7 Ecommerce Podcasts You Should Listen to in 2022

Podcast Suggestions
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Top 7 Ecommerce Podcasts You Should Listen to in 2022 Are you thinking of launching an ecommerce business? Before you start, learn everything you need about ecommerce with these 8 podcasts. This list of ecommerce podcasts offers it all – education, inspiration, and entertainment. Check them out below. Shopify Masters If you’re getting into ecommerce, what better way to learn than from one of the biggest ecommerce platforms? On Shopify Masters, the hosts invite successful entrepreneurs and ecommerce experts to discuss the tools needed to build a thriving online business. This includes everything from ads and crowdfunding to market research and ambassador programs. Standout episodes: The One Data Insight That Doubled This Brand’s Sales How This Menswear Company Worked Past Major Breaking Points to Scale How to Grow Your DTC Business on a Budget Ecommerce Playbook If you’re a beginner in the ecommerce space and looking for straightforward, tactical advice, this podcast is for you. Host Andrew Faris, former CEO of an ecommerce aggregator and now the VP of Growth for an ecommerce growth agency, shares his journey with listeners, from recent wins to big failures. He also brings in entrepreneurs to talk about their ecommerce journey. Standout episodes: How Much Should I Spend on Ads? 21 AntiFragile Ecommerce Tactics Know Your Numbers (No, Your Real Numbers) DTC Pod Are you launching a direct-to-consumer ecommerce business? If so, listen to this podcast. It was specifically...

9 Marketing Automation Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make

Marketing Automation
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9 Marketing Automation Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make According to a 2021 HubSpot Blog Marketing Trends Report, 69% of marketers surveyed say they use automation in their marketing role. Whether automation is a new or standard practice in your company, we want to help you avoid common traps marketers often fall into. In this post, we'll discuss them and alternatives that solve these challenges. 1. You have dirty data. In a 2021 state of marketing automation report, 58% of B2B professionals say the number one tactic that most amplifies the success of their marketing automation tool is quality data. Dirty data can cost brands not only money but also time, as they take actions based on inaccurate information. This can be anything from duplicate records and naming inconsistencies to outdated contact information and incorrect attribution. A simple example of dirty data is an email list that's never been cleaned. Your list likely has disengaged users, spam addresses, and duplicate emails that threaten the integrity of your data. This will lead to low engagement numbers, damage to your IP reputation, high email marketing costs, and a loss of leads. For your automation to function properly, it's essential that you work with clean data to ensure your work will be worth the effort you're putting in. 2. You picked the wrong automation tool. A HubSpot Blog research report on media and content planning revealed that finding the right tool is a roadblock for many marketers. In fact, 45.9% of...

6 Nonprofit Marketing Trends that All Marketers Should Know About [HubSpot Data]

Marketing Strategy
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6 Nonprofit Marketing Trends that All Marketers Should Know About Marketing your nonprofit can be challenging. Thankfully, learning from others that have already engaged with nonprofit marketing, leveraged trends, and found success can be helpful when it comes to developing your own strategy. In this post, discover expert insight and tips from HubSpot’s Nonprofit Marketing Trends Report for 2022 that will help you build the brand awareness you’re looking for. Nonprofit Trends to Watch in 2022 1. Collect donations on social media platforms with native donation features. TikTok has grown in popularity for nonprofits in reaching audiences and collecting donations. In fact, almost 75,000 donations were made within the app in support of various organizations and causes in 2021. Its donation feature is a native TikTok tool, so it’s valuable for nonprofits looking to use it as you can reach your target audiences on the platforms they already use rather than directing them down a donation path off the app. The image below displays the donation CTA on the Malala Fund’s TikTok profile. Image Source Other platforms like Instagram and Facebook have charitable donation tools, and Twitter recently launched a profile tipping option that nonprofits can leverage to connect donations on a profile. 2. Championing user-generated content. User-generated content is content created by your audiences that relates to your business. So, for example, someone posting a picture on Twitter where they’re wearing athletic wear from a company. According to...

4 Personalization Trends in Marketing [2022 Data]

Marketing Strategy
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4 Personalization Trends in Marketing A 2021 Mckinsey & Company report found that 78% of consumers are more likely to make repeat purchases from brands that personalize. Nearly 80% are also more likely to refer their family and friends to these companies. As we know, personalization is the name of the game in customer experience nowadays. In this post, we’ll dive into key personalization trends you should know in 2022. Demand for personalization is increasing. According to Twilio’s 2022 State of Personalization Report, 62% of consumers say a brand will lose their loyalty if they deliver an un-personalized experience, up nearly 20% from 2021. Another report by Zendesk suggests that customer experience is more important to consumers now than it was before. Image Source This uptick in a need for personalization didn’t just start recently, it grew in part due to the pandemic in 2020. This was a time of uncertainty that forced most consumers indoors and online for an extended period of time. The Mckinsey & Company report reported that 75% of consumers tried a new shopping behavior during the pandemic. Consumers are seeking more valuable experiences from the brands they engage with. In fact, the same study revealed that over 70% of consumers now expect personalization and are frustrated when they don’t find it – making personalization a must-have for today’s brands. Online personalization is prioritized. According to a 2021 Zendesk report, 65% of customers want to buy from companies that offer quick...

The State of Consumer Trends [Data from 1000+ Consumers]

Marketing Trends
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The State of Consumer Trends As the world constantly changes, it can be hard to stay up to date with ever evolving consumer behaviors, preferences, and trends. But, as marketers, knowing your buyer persona -- and what motivates them -- is absolutely vital. To help both marketers and business professionals alike, we surveyed over 1,000 consumers across the U.S., talked with industry experts, and did a deep dive into generation-by-generation data to learn: What trends they're following. Which online platforms they use. How and where they prefer to shop. What they think about returning to the office. and much, much more. With this look into the minds, interests, and purchasing motives of today's consumers, we hope we can better help you meet your target audiences where they are. Without further adieu, let's dive into the biggest consumer trends you'll need to know about in 2022 -- and beyond. The State of Consumer Trends in 2022 1. More and More, Gen Z Differentiates Themselves From All Other Age Groups One of the most fascinating things to dig into when looking at survey results were the vast differences between Gen Z and other age groups -- including their closest predecessor, Millennials.  When taking a deeper dive into our generation-by-generation data, we found that Gen Z: When it comes to shopping, generations are highly influenced by price, quality, and product reviews. Gen Z especially values brands that have active communities...

Workflow Automation Explained & 6 Best Workflow Software for 2022

Data Entry Automation, Marketing Automation
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Workflow Automation Explained & 6 Best Workflow Software for 2022 Manual data entry might be one of the most tedious and inefficient tasks in the corporate world. Not only does it put you to sleep, but it also wastes precious time and resources, slashing your productivity to bits. According to Zapier, 94% of workers perform time-consuming, repetitive tasks. Fortunately, there’s technology that can automate these mind-numbing tasks, eliminating human error and letting you focus on the work that actually matters — workflow automation. By leveraging self-operating processes that run manual tasks, workflow automation can help your business save time and money, diminish errors, and boost productivity. Table of Contents How does workflow automation work? Workflow Automation Examples Best Workflow Automation Software How does workflow automation work? Workflow automation typically relies on a series of if/then statements to trigger another task. It then branches off depending on the action that was taken by a lead, employee, or another stakeholder. Let’s walk through an example workflow for turning a form submission into a deal opportunity. A website visitor submits a form. The action automatically enrolls the visitor in a drip campaign. It creates a new deal and sets the status to "New." The first email of the drip campaign is sent to the lead, requesting to schedule a meeting. The lead clicks through to the meeting scheduler and creates an appointment. A thank you email is sent to...

9 Things Our Trends Team Will be Following in the Next 6 Months & Beyond

Marketing Trends
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9 Things Our Trends Team Will be Following in the Next 6 Months & Beyond “Your next business idea, delivered weekly.” That’s our job over at Trends. And, when we say “business ideas,” we're not just talking about businesses you can start. We’re also talking about the next idea that’s going to help business operators, including insights on emerging consumer trends they can leverage in their marketing strategies. While you've likely learned about some of the latest consumer trends to watch in the State of Consumer Trends Report, we wanted to dive even deeper into the future business trends we plan to follow in the coming months. Take a look at the following nine trends that we think will pop over the next six months, including NFT subscription services, virtual pop-up stores, direct mail marketing, and more. 9 Trends We're Watching in the Coming Months 1. Gifting Forget loyalty points — gifting is the new customer retention strategy. As remote everything continues to rise, keeping connected to clients and loved ones will be key. Source: &Open Gifting powerhouse 1-800-FLOWERS had a record-breaking year in 2020, and venture capital is flowing into startups like &Open ($7.2m last May) and Gracia (~$14m since its 2017 launch). Another new player, Goody, sent 10,000 gifts in its first two months and has raised $32m since its 2020 launch. Co-founder Edward Lando told TechCrunch that the app serves as an additional acquisition channel for early D2C brands and a “giant shopping mall” for Gen Z consumers. Companies will also use...

15 Excel Formulas, Keyboard Shortcuts & Tricks That’ll Save You Lots of Time

Excel
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15 Excel Formulas, Keyboard Shortcuts & Tricks That'll Save You Lots of Time For most marketers, trying to organize and analyze spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel can feel like walking into a brick wall repeatedly if you'e unfamiliar with Excel formulas. You're manually replicating columns and scribbling down long-form math on a scrap of paper, all while thinking to yourself, "There has to be a better way to do this." Truth be told, there is — you just don't know it yet. Excel can be tricky that way. On the one hand, it's an exceptionally powerful tool for reporting and analyzing marketing data. It can even help you visualize data with charts and pivot tables. On the other, without the proper training, it's easy to feel like it's working against you. For starters, there are more than a dozen critical formulas Excel can automatically run for you so you're not combing through hundreds of cells with a calculator on your desk. What are excel formulas? Excel formulas help you identify relationships between values in the cells of your spreadsheet, perform mathematical calculations using those values, and return the resulting value in the cell of your choice. Formulas you can automatically perform include sum, subtraction, percentage, division, average, and even dates/times. We'll go over all of these, and many more, in this blog post. How to Insert Formulas in Excel You might wonder what the "Formulas" tab on the top navigation...

16 Common Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them

Psychology
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16 Common Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them Logical fallacies — those logical gaps that invalidate arguments — aren't always easy to spot. While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations undetected. Our guide on logical fallacies will help you build better arguments and identify logical missteps. Jump to: What a logical fallacy is Formal vs. informal fallacies Straw man fallacy Correlation/causation fallacy Ad hominem fallacy What is a logical fallacy? Logical fallacies are deceptive or false arguments that may seem stronger than they actually are due to psychological persuasion, but are proven wrong with reasoning and further examination. These mistakes in reasoning typically consist of an argument and a premise that does not support the conclusion. There are two types of fallacies: formal and informal. Formal: Formal fallacies are arguments that have invalid structure, form, or context errors. Informal: Informal fallacies are arguments that have irrelevant or incorrect premises. Having an understanding of basic logical fallacies can help you more confidently parse the arguments and claims you participate in and witness on a daily basis — separating fact from sharply dressed fiction. 15 Common Logical Fallacies 1. The Straw Man Fallacy This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a "straw man") to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of...

Instagram Takeover: How to Host One in 7 Easy Steps

Instagram Marketing
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Instagram Takeover: How to Host One in 7 Easy Steps Influencer marketing is a trendy topic these days, but it doesn't require a lot of work or a ton of money to harness the power of influencers on your brand's social media channels — and hosting something called an Instagram takeover is one of the lowest-effort, most organic ways to do just that. Not sure what we're talking about? Instagram takeovers involve a person or brand posting on your Instagram channel to give followers a peek at new and unique content from another perspective. Here's an example of our friends at WeWork taking over our Instagram account:   In this post, we'll dive into how to host your own Instagram takeover to drive engagement, brand awareness, and positive outcomes for your brand. But there are several different approaches to Instagram takeovers that can be beneficial to your brand. Other types of Instagram takeovers can include: Employee takeovers Customer or community member takeovers Event takeovers Product or offer promotions Instagram takeovers are mutually beneficial for the guest Instagrammer and the host account. The host can bring valuable new content to their followers without having to create it themselves, and the guest is able to reach an entirely new audience by posting on another account. Plus, Instagram takeovers help cultivate good-faith relationships between influencers that can create inroads for future collaboration and cross-promotion. Now, let's dive into how to get...