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Why P2P Marketing Might Be a Good Alternative to Influencer Marketing

Brand Experience
April 6, 2021/by
Why P2P Marketing Might Be a Good Alternative to Influencer Marketing To understand what peer-to-peer (P2P) marketing is, let's start with an example. Recently, I was looking for a new face moisturizer. Of course, I could've trusted the numerous influencers I follow on Instagram, all with strong opinions regarding the "best, most effective" options available. But I wasn't convinced these influencers had my best interest in-mind. Yes, most influencers' (and micro-influencers) are successful because they promote valuable products. But they're getting commission off those posts, too. So I handled my problem the old-fashioned way — I texted my friends and asked what products they use. This isn't to say influencer marketing is ineffective. Quite the opposite: When done right, influencer marketing is a fantastic opportunity to expand your brand's reach and increase sales. But depending on your team's budget, influencer marketing could be limiting. Plus, influencer marketing inhibits your brand from reaching those consumers who still trust their peers above all else. Enter: P2P marketing. Given 93% of consumers trust friends and family over all other influences (including review sites, blogs, and social media platforms), it makes sense why P2P marketing works. And P2P marketing, a form of word-of-mouth marketing, isn't new. People have been giving personal opinions about their favorite — and least favorite — brands, products, and services long before social media. Some older forms of P2P marketing include Yelp, reviews on personal business' websites, and good old-fashioned conversations between your consumers and their friends and family. However, there are...
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Media Buying 101: What It Is and How It Works [+15 Platforms to Use]

Media Planning
April 3, 2021/by
Media Buying 101: What It Is and How It Works Ever wonder who is behind those banner ads on the sites you visit the most? Or the Super Bowl ads we talk about for weeks after they've aired? The answer is media buyers. When a brand gets a marketing budget, a portion of that typically goes to paid advertising. That's where media buying comes in. It doesn't get much buzz in the marketing industry, but this process is responsible for the targeted ads we see today. Let's dive into this process of which so many of us are on the receiving end. Whether they're watching a TV show or scrolling through a website, media buyers get brands in front of their target market. It's not like social media where users come and find you. It's an outbound strategy that is only effective if you have a well thought-out strategy. Rex Gelb, director of advertising and analytics at HubSpot, says one of the biggest mistakes brands make is not thinking through their marketing goals. "Some ad placements might be good for one set of goals, but bad for another. Let's say you're an airline and your focus is impressions and awareness, rather than an immediate sale, you can buy a placement that is known to get cheap impressions," he said. Gelb continued,"Now, let's say you're a CEO who wants to promote a 'letter to our customers.' In this instance, what you'll care about is cheap clicks. Buying cheap...
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A Marketer’s Short & Sweet Guide on Diversification

Business Growth
April 3, 2021/by
A Marketer's Short & Sweet Guide on Diversification To consider the potential payoff of product diversification, let's start with an example. Lululemon, an athletic apparel company, was founded in 1998 with one core product: yoga clothing for women. If you've been to a store recently, you've likely seen how far beyond women's yoga-clothing Lululemon has grown. For instance, my brother now buys all his button-down shirts and work pants from Lululemon. Additionally, last week I bought a bathing suit from the shop. On their Our Story page, Lululemon states: "Our first designs were made for women to wear during yoga. Through plenty of feedback from our guests, ambassadors and elite athletes, we now design for yoga, running, cycling, training and most other sweaty pursuits for women and men." This is an example of effective diversification in-action. Here, we'll explore what diversification marketing is, and how it pertains to your marketing strategy. Why diversify your product offerings? There are three reasons a business might choose to diversify its existing product line: You've reached the 'limit' on the amount of people you can convert in a market segment. You've identified a new product or service that complements the needs of your existing customers. You've decided a new level of growth can only be achieved through addressing new market segments. Let's dive into the difference between the three of these reasons, now. First, perhaps you've reached the limit of the amount of people you can reach...
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The Plain English Guide to Writing a Business Case

Business Skills
April 2, 2021/by
The Plain English Guide to Writing a Business Case Have you ever heard the age-old classic story of a company that got its start from a back-of-the-napkin idea? Or about the start-ups that started in someone's garage? While all those stories are, of course, inspirational, a huge element that they leave out is that every business started because someone felt the project justified spending time and money on it. That's why some projects require you to write a business case. Whether you want to start a company, pitch a new product, or perhaps you just want your business to use a new project management tool. Either way, a project that requires time and resources will also require justifying those expenses in the form of a business case. Below, let's review what a business case is, plus an example and template to inspire your own business case. In a business case, you might include the background on a project, expected benefits, costs, risks, and opportunities. This document will justify taking on a certain project. So, how do you develop a business case? Let's dive in below. Business Case Development To develop a business case, you'll need to write several key components, including a proposal, strategy, budget, SWOT analysis, and project plan. With these documents, you should be able to prove that the project you're pitching is worth doing. Let's dive into the steps for how you'll develop a business case below: 1. Research Before you can write a business...
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How to Make Quotes for Instagram: 9 Apps to Try This Year

Instagram Marketing
April 2, 2021/by
How to Make Quotes for Instagram: 9 Apps to Try This Year When you come across a beautiful sight -- be it a beach, a mountain, or your pet's face -- sometimes, it inspires you to think bigger about what certain sights and experiences mean. For those moments, you might consider posting a photo on Instagram with an equally inspiring quote as the caption. But you could take it even further -- and save characters -- by posting the photo with the quote. You've likely seen quotes on Instagram posts before, but you may never have created one for your brand's account. Here's a recent Instagram quote we shared here at HubSpot: See what we mean? Posting quote images on Instagram can diversify your content on the platform and humanize your brand a little, too. Everyone could use a motivational quote during a busy Monday morning or a slow Tuesday afternoon, so try out an Instagram quote for your next post with the help of these free apps. 9 Instagram Text Apps to Make Inspiring Quotes Featured Resource: 9 Instagram Quote Templates HubSpot created a collection of 9 Instagram quote templates for posts and stories – in addition to 13 more free Instagram posts for business. Download the collection of templates today to make Instagram quotes right in Google Slides for free.  1. FaceGarage Web App FaceGarage is a browser tool that helps you create Instagram images with quotes overlaid in...
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25 Post Event Survey Questions to Ask

Event Marketing
April 1, 2021/by
25 Post Event Survey Questions to Ask Just like Joey from "Friends," we recognize the importance of giving and receiving in marketing. One of the best things to give and receive is feedback. Without feedback, we would never be able to improve. And even though it's hard, feedback is a great way to measure success. With a post event survey, you'll learn what attendees thought about the event, how they heard about it, and what they enjoyed most. Measuring attendee satisfaction will help you improve your event marketing and figure out what's working and what isn't. In fact, 90% of virtual event organizers use surveys to measure attendee satisfaction. And 80% report that attendee engagement and satisfaction were KPIs used for measuring event success. To design a post event survey, you'll want to ask several types of questions -- from Yes/No, rating, to open-ended questions. Below, let's review the best post event survey questions to ask. 1. How satisfied were you with the event? First and foremost, it's important to ask attendees about their overall satisfaction with an event. You can also ask participants to rate specific things including the venue, date, speakers, vendors, catering, quality of sessions, amount of sessions, and more. This will help you gauge specifically how well you did in each area, but also the overall satisfaction of attendees. This is probably the first and most important question that is asked on most surveys. It's a great starting point for the specific questions...
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What is Comparative Advertising? [+ Examples]

Advertising
March 31, 2021/by
What is Comparative Advertising? Advertising is the process of creating messages that raise awareness of your brand. These messages can have various purposes like attracting potential customers, promoting upcoming sales, and introducing new products to market. Most advertisements center around one business, but a unique type, called comparative advertising, centers around two. When done right, comparative ads can successfully convince consumers to do business with one brand over another. But, when done wrong, companies may find themselves in the middle of a lawsuit. Given this, using comparative advertising requires care and attention. In this post, we’ll explain what comparative advertising is, give examples from real-life businesses, explain the legality of using the strategy, and present pros and cons that you can use to make the best decision for your business. These ads can directly or indirectly mention a competitor, but consumers can typically deduce who the other business is through product features and call-outs. Comparative ads also give customers a direct point of comparison between two companies, as they can view products and assess features all at once, rather than needing to seek out information from multiple sources. Although they may feature two businesses, it is important to note that one company creates the ad for their benefit, so its tone is swayed in their favor. That being said, businesses aren’t allowed to make false claims about their competitors, so consumers are presented with factual information. There is no set template for comparative advertisements; they can be...
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