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What Will Influencer Marketing Look Like in 2020?

Influencer Marketing
December 1, 2021/by
What Will Influencer Marketing Look Like in 2020? Have you ever purchased something because a well-known person you admire used the product or service? I’m guilty of this — in fact, I recently bought myself a new waterski because a professional water skier and micro-influencer, Whitney McClintock, shared a video on Instagram of herself using the ski. I was in the market for a new ski and followed Whitney for quite some time. I figured since she used this particular ski, I should too — if Whitney promotes it, why wouldn’t I love it? You might be thinking, "Slightly questionable logic, Kristen." Maybe. But, did Whitney’s post get me to buy the ski? Oh, yeah. (And I do love my new ski for those of you wondering.) This is just one example of a tactic used by businesses across virtually every industry called influencer marketing. Examples of these channels include social media, blogs, columns, digital and print ads, and television. Influencer marketing is increasingly more popular among businesses these days because traditional advertising has become less effective in attracting leads and customers. Influencer marketing works because it uses tactics like word-of-mouth marketing and social proof, which are now critical aspects of any successful marketing strategy. Customers trust their peers, friends, and people they admire more than the companies selling the products and services they buy and use. Before we dive into the different types of influencers, let’s review the difference between a brand influencer and a...
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5 Things Gen Z Will Spend Money On & Why Marketers Need to Care

Product Marketing
November 30, 2021/by
5 Things Gen Z Will Spend Money On & Why Marketers Need to Care With a purchasing power of more than $143 billion, Gen Z is expected to shake up the retail industry. Although many in Gen Z are earning their first paychecks, entering college, or just joining the workforce, studies show that the generation shops and spends money much differently than its millennial predecessor. While millennials and past generations were more loyal to brands, Gen Z is more interested in buying products that will give them the best value based on their price. Gen Zers also admits to being more impulsive in their shopping habits than older generations. A Breakdown of Generation Z’s Spending Habits When it comes to the total share of spending, Gen Z accounts for an estimated five percent in the U.S., according to Afterpay’s 2021 Next Gen Index. However, that number is expected to grow 10% by 2030, as most will be entering the workforce. With every age group, generation Z’s spending habits declined at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the Afterpay report reveals that Gen Z recovered faster than older generations. So what are they doing right now? Well, they’re shopping more online. A 2021 Consumer Culture Report by 5WPR found that Gen Z is now spending 43 minutes more per on online shopping than they did before the COVID-19 outbreak. They (77%) say online shopping allows them to discover products from new or small companies they wouldn’t find in person....
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2021 Advertising Stats You Need to Know

Advertising
November 30, 2021/by
2021 Advertising Stats You Need to Know 2021 was a big year with advertisers, as they managed the remnants of the COVID-19 crisis and pandemic along with growing data privacy concerns. So, how exactly did advertisers fare in terms of strategy, challenges, and ad spend? To help you prepare for your 2022 strategy, we've gathered 27 stats. You'll learn which strategies advertisers are leveraging today, which ones they plan to invest in, and the challenges they faced and may face in 2022. Current Ad Strategies 84% of marketers' companies run marketing campaigns and for 42% of respondents, advertising products is one of their main goals. (HubSpot Blog Research) This year, print advertising was a low priority for marketers, with only 19% of marketers leveraging it. It was also one of the least effective channels for advertisers. (HubSpot Blog Research) Paid social is a top paid channel for marketers. (HubSpot Blog Research) In terms of account-based marketing (ABM), paid ads were one of the top three tactics marketers used, behind creating custom content and identifying target contacts/roles. (HubSpot Blog Research) In 2022, 21% of marketers plan to leverage paid social for the first time. (HubSpot Blog Research) In 2022, around 66% of advertisers plan to respond to data depreciation by 1) learning how to leverage their data in privacy-forward ways, 2) demanding more data transparency from partners, and exploring the adoption and experimentation of artificial intelligence. (Forrester) Advertisers plan to leverage...
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A Simple Explanation of Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees

Human Resources
November 27, 2021/by
A Simple Explanation of Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees There are two types of employees – "exempt" and "non-exempt." You might've seen these terms on job postings, or heard them in conversation. If you aren't sure what they mean, don't worry. Trying to understand labor laws can be confusing, especially if you’re new to the workforce. — We’ve broken these terms down to help you navigate the exempt vs. non-exempt employee classification. How the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Affects Exemption Status Signed into law in 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt, the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, and recordkeeping standards in addition to youth employment guidelines for both the private and public sector. During the time the act was signed, child labor was the norm and adults often worked 10 or more hours per day, six to seven days per week. While the conditions that brought about the FLSA may seem like the dark ages, the law is still relevant today and plays a major role in how the modern workforce is regulated. It establishes the guidelines for how work hours are documented and how exempt and non-exempt employees should be paid. Generally the FLSA provides an exemption from minimum wage and overtime regulations for employees in the following fields: Executive Administrative Professional Outside sales Computer-related occupations That said, job titles alone do not determine exempt status. Instead the employee’s specific job duties and salary have...
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The Ultimate Guide to Database Marketing

Integrated Marketing
November 27, 2021/by
The Ultimate Guide to Database Marketing No matter what your service or product is, you need to get in front of potential customers in order to make the sale. Many businesses put their faith in social media. While social media platforms are an amazing way to get in front of people, they have two major drawbacks. First, you may have tens of thousands of followers on your platform of choice. However, thanks to algorithms that few (if any) humans understand, you only reach a small percentage of those followers with any given post. Second, what happens if that platform ever goes away? Don’t think for a minute that you’ll receive a neat list of contacts. If a platform ever shuts down, your audience will evaporate in seconds. Fortunately, knowing this is half the battle. Now that you understand that you don’t “own” your contacts through social media, it’s time to look at how to safeguard your audience and take ownership of and responsibility for their contact information and data. This is called Database Marketing and you’re about to learn why it’s essential to your business as well as how to utilize it properly. What is database marketing? Before our digital landscape became as vast as it is, businesses would collect names and addresses and send out direct mail pieces like postcards, brochures, flyers, etc. to potential and existing customers. While traditional direct marketing still exists and can be an asset to your business, digital options give business owners...
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How Do Conversion Paths Work? A Step-by-Step Guide

Conversion Rate Optimization
November 26, 2021/by
How Do Conversion Paths Work? A Step-by-Step Guide As a marketer, a big part of your job is to convert qualified website visitors into leads. Simple enough. More specifically, inbound marketing requires you to create remarkable content they'll want to trade their contact information for. From there, those leads turn into opportunities, who turn into customers and even promoters. Clearly, conversions are a big deal. So how can you optimize yours? By creating conversion paths optimized to most effectively convert your ideal visitors into leads. While not all conversion paths are identical and depend on the type of business they’re for, they have a few common attributes: a landing page, a call-to-action, a content offer or end point, and a thank you page. Landing page: A landing page is a specific page on your website designed to collect a visitor’s contact information in exchange for a resource, like a course, ebook, or other product. Call-to-action: A call-to-action is a section on a webpage or advertisement that persuades the visitor to act or do something. These can take the form of buttons prompting website visitors to sign up, subscribe, or buy a product. Thank you page: The thank you page shows your visitors that you appreciate them for taking a desired action. For example, a thank you page might appear after a visitor has signed up for a newsletter or filled out a form. End point: This may be in the form of a...
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A Simple Guide to Lean Process Improvement

RevOps
November 26, 2021/by
A Simple Guide to Lean Process Improvement There are many businesses out there that operate with a mindset of “Well, that’s how we’ve always done it.” Unfortunately, this type of close-minded thinking can lead to a great deal of waste. Tasks may be unnecessary to achieve the final goal, processes may be repeated multiple times when one would be sufficient, employees may be wasting time on superfluous responsibilities, and materials may be wasted during manufacturing. When this occurs within an organization, employee satisfaction decreases so turnover increases, quality suffers so customer satisfaction and retention is decreased, and one look at the books will likely indicate the company is hemorrhaging money. You might think that this type of operational inefficiency only occurs in large corporations and organizations, however, it’s just as prevalent in small-to-medium-sized businesses and can be seen throughout every department. Efficiency is the name of the game for successful businesses, and you’re about to learn one of the best ways to turn your business into a lean, mean, money-making machine. Lean Process Improvement What is lean process improvement? Lean process improvement is a concept originally developed by Toyota to decrease the amount of time it took from receiving an order to delivering it. While lean process improvement is often discussed in a production environment, the concept can be applied to service, healthcare, technology, and even government. Consider a marketing department that has multiple people working on the same project but not communicating. Rather than each handling a specific...
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Cumulative Layout Shift: What It Is and How to Measure It

SEO
November 26, 2021/by
Cumulative Layout Shift: What It Is and How to Measure It We’ve all had it happen to us: we try to choose an option on a website, and right before we click, the page jumps away and we end up clicking something we didn’t mean to. Doh! Like a game of “down low, too slow”, this website behavior makes us feel slow and frustrated. Fortunately, website developers are now incentivized to improve their site experience with the release of Google’s Core Web Vitals; a set of metrics that help site owners measure and improve the user experience of their web pages. Cumulative Layout Shift is one of these key metrics that measures the “jumpiness” of a website and how it unexpectedly moves as elements load. Let’s take a closer look at how this metric works, and how you can make sure your own website is following best practices so you rank higher on search engines and provide your users with a better experience. What is Cumulative Layout Shift? Cumulative Layout Shift (or CLS) is a measure of how much a webpage unexpectedly shifts during its life. For example, if a website visitor loaded a page and, while they were reading it, a banner loads and the page jumps down, that would constitute a large CLS score. Along with Largest Contentful Paint (the amount of time it takes to load the largest piece of content) and First Input Delay (how long it takes for a page to be interactive or...
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The HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Report: Data from 1,000+ Global Marketers

Marketing Strategy
November 24, 2021/by
The HubSpot Blog's 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Report: Data from 1,000+ Global Marketers The only constant in the world of marketing is that things are always changing. And, if you’re a marketer, business leader, or entrepreneur aiming to plan an effective 2022 strategy that puts you far ahead of your competitors, you probably want to know: Which trends are marketers leveraging today? And, which do they plan to start leveraging in 2022? Which marketing channels are they using? What are the top content-marketing formats? What challenges are they facing? And, most importantly, what are their plans and expectations for 2022 and beyond? As the HubSpot Blog's Research Analyst, I launched our Marketing Industry Survey to help fellow bloggers and readers answer the questions above -- and gain further industry insights into 2022 planning. Our Survey Sample We surveyed 1,067 global marketers from across B2B and B2C companies from small to large employee sizes. The sample included professionals at varying experience levels from seven countries: the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, France, and Japan. Read on to learn about some of the most interesting key findings, get strategic recommendations based on our data, and find even more blog content that dives even deeper into our research. Which trends are marketers already leveraging today? Influencer marketing, mobile-friendly website design, short-form video, virtual events, and experiential marketing are the top trends marketers currently leverage. These trends will see continued growth in 2022...
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