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12 of the Best AI Chatbots for 2021

Chatbots
January 28, 2021/by
12 of the Best AI Chatbots for 2021 Whether it’s on Facebook Messenger, their website, or even text messaging, more and more brands are leveraging chatbots to service their customers, market their brand, and even sell their products. But even though most chatbots can handle moderately sophisticated conversations, like welcome conversations and product discovery interactions, the if/then logic that powers their conversational capabilities can be limiting. For instance, if a customer asks a unique yet pressing question that you didn’t account for when designing your chatbot’s logic, there’s no way it can answer their question, which hangs your customer out to dry and ultimately leaves them dissatisfied with your customer service. Fortunately, the next advancement in chatbot technology that can solve this problem is gaining steam -- AI-powered chatbots. By leveraging machine learning and NLP, AI-powered chatbots can understand the intent behind your customers’ requests, account for each customer’s entire conversation history when it interacts with them, and respond to their questions in a natural, human way. If you’re currently using a standard chatbot, but want to upgrade to an AI-powered one, we’ve put together a list of the best AI chatbots for 2021. Read on to find the right one for you. 1. HubSpot Image Credit HubSpot has an easy and powerful chat builder software that allows you to automate and scale live chat conversations. Your customers will be able to get answers to frequently asked questions, book meetings, and navigate the site. At the same...
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The 5 Key Steps for a Successful Transition into a Marketing Role

Office Culture
January 27, 2021/by
The 5 Key Steps for a Successful Transition into a Marketing Role Nowadays, significant career shifts are as prevalent as they've ever been. Some people want to assume a different degree of responsibility. Some want to pursue a passion they've put on hold for too long. And some flat-out need a change of pace. It's a popular course that comes with a host of challenges, several potential pitfalls, plenty of barriers of entry, and a lot of requisite hard work — especially when it comes to transitioning to a role in marketing. And if you're making that leap, you'll need all the help and insight you can get, so we've provided some tips and tricks to consider if you want to shift your career trajectory and become a marketer. 1. Study, study, and study some more on your own time. This one might go without saying, but you can't expect to smoothly transition into a marketing role if you have no concept of what marketing entails. One of the best ways to make your job search and ultimate career shift more viable and straightforward is to study marketing on your own. Learn as much as possible on your time. Check out some books on the subject. Follow marketing influencers. Conduct independent research, and if you have the necessary time and motivation, complete some online courses to help bolster your marketing knowledge and relevant skillset. Employers are rarely interested in new marketing candidates who haven't demonstrated the interest and...
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What Is YouTube CPM? [+ Why It Matters]

Youtube Marketing
January 23, 2021/by
What Is YouTube CPM? With over two billion monthly active YouTube users, YouTube is an undeniably powerful channel for advertising — which means, if you're a YouTube creator, there are plenty of opportunities for you to make money off the platform.  For instance, if advertisers pay to display ads on your videos, you can increase revenue in the form of CPM.  Along with increasing your revenue, CPM is a strong indicator that your content is valuable, and helps you identify businesses with whom you may want to partner down the road.  Whether you've been a YouTube creator for years or are just starting out, CPM is an important metric to understand to ensure you're maximizing YouTube's potential as a revenue generator.  Here, we'll explore what CPM is, how it's calculated, and what makes a "good CPM".  What is CPM, and how is it calculated?  CPM, or cost per 1,000 impressions, is the cost an advertiser needs to pay on YouTube for every 1,000 impressions their ads receive on your video. CPM varies depending on how much an advertiser pays to display the ad. Ad price on YouTube depends on a range of factors, including bidding price, type of ad, and consistency.  So, for instance, let's assume an advertiser is paying $9 for an ad, and the ad was seen 5,000 times on your video. To calculate CPM, you'd divide 9 by 5,000 = $0.0018, then multiply $0.0018 by 1,000. The CPA, then, is $1.80. You'll receive 55% of...
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A Plain-English Guide to Market Research

Conducting Market Research
January 22, 2021/by
A Plain-English Guide to Market Research In some circles, market research is a catch-all term for asking the industry what it wants. "Do we know what the demand is for this product? Who's even looking for our services? Let me do some market research to find out," someone might say. But what does that actually mean? Here's a simple definition of market research that encompasses all the possible goals of this practice, in fewer than 100 words: Market Research Definition Market research is the process of examining an industry's buyers, the product these buyers want, and where they're currently getting it. By engaging the right people and data, a business can use this research to position itself in the market and predict where the market will go in the future. Market research can answer various questions about the state of an industry, but it's hardly a crystal ball that marketers can rely on for insights on their customers. Market researchers investigate several areas of the market, and it can take weeks or even months to paint an accurate picture of the business landscape. However, researching just one of those areas can make you more intuitive to who your buyers are and how to deliver value that no other business is offering them right now. Certainly you can make sound judgment calls based on your experience in the industry and your existing customers. However, keep in mind that market research offers benefits beyond those strategies....
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What’s a Conversational Landing Page (& How Do You Create One)?

Landing Pages
January 22, 2021/by
What's a Conversational Landing Page (& How Do You Create One)? Marketers have found that conversational experiences on landing pages (such as chatbots and live chat) convert three-to-four times more than a traditional landing page. Additionally, a report from Juniper Research predicts that by 2023, the adoption of chatbots across the retail, banking, and healthcare sectors will save businesses $11 billion annually. So, what do these conversational experiences entail and how should chatbots be incorporated on your landing pages to increase conversions while saving your team time and resources? Conversational Landing Pages In this blog post, we’ll talk about what conversational landing pages are, what makes them unique, and how to create one of your own. Let’s dive in. Automate and scale conversations on your website with HubSpot’s Chatbot Builder Software. A conversational landing page may also answer visitor inquiries, resolve challenges, share specific offers, and guide customers to whatever it is they need via chatbot or live chat. If your landing page only includes a chatbot for visitors to interact with, you may customize the bot so it can detect complex issues that require the support of a human — then, the bot can direct visitors to live chat. What makes conversational landing pages unique? In addition to conversational landing pages, there are two other main types of landing pages that are used to engage visitors: traditional landing pages and hybrid landing pages. A conversational landing page looks something like this, with the chatbot conversation filling...
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7 Call-to-Action (CTA) Tools to Help You Increase Conversions

CTAs
January 21, 2021/by
7 Call-to-Action (CTA) Tools to Help You Increase Conversions When you create and add a compelling call-to-action (CTA) to any content — such as a website, blog post, or social media profile — you have the potential to convert more visitors into qualified leads and customers. That’s because a well-crafted CTA helps increase conversions and, therefore, prospects, customers, and revenue. Call-to-Action Tools Call-to-action tools, or CTA tools, exist to make the process of creating and adding CTAs to your website, blog, or social media posts simple. You may already have access to a CTA creator/generator in your current business tools, such as your Marketing Software. If that’s not the case, consider using any of the following CTA tools to efficiently create and add CTAs where you need them most. Here are seven tools for generating CTAs so can begin increasing conversions. 1. HubSpot Calls-to-Action Source HubSpot’s Calls-to-Action tool allows you to create, personalize, test, and optimize CTAs that drive qualified leads to your landing pages in seconds. The easy-to-use CTA builder doesn’t require a designer and helps you make CTA buttons or CTA pop-ups. You can also upload custom button design or image-based CTAs of your own. When personalizing CTAs, HubSpot provides useful information about individuals from your contact database (e.g. industry, lifecycle stage) to help you tailor the CTA to them. Or, if you're targeting anonymous visitors, use other helpful details like their location or language. Once your CTAs are complete, add them...
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How To Make a Vlog [Step by Step]

Uncategorized
January 21, 2021/by
How To Make a Vlog I will argue with alarming confidence (and no actual data) that 90’s kids were the original vloggers. When I was about 14 years old, someone handed me a digital camera that I spent hours talking to. I would take my audience (AKA me) on my teen adventures and say things like, "Hey guys, it’s Martina. Today, my cousin and I are going over to her friend’s house." Exciting stuff. Thankfully, that footage never saw the light of day. When YouTube first launched, people like me finally had a platform to share stories, entertain, and educate. But then, vlogging evolved into what we know it as today: a sustainable income source for influencers and an effective content marketing tool for brands. So, how do you start vlogging? We’ll cover that and more here. 1. Feel out the competition and find your niche. Before you pull out your camera and start filming, you’ll have to do some strategizing. It starts with finding your niche. This means narrowing down what your vlog will cover based on your brand, audience, and demand. Starting with your audience: Does vlogging align with your user persona? This is critical, as you want to meet your audience where they are. Imagine creating these high-quality videos for YouTube, but your ideal customer lives on Facebook and prefers short-form videos. In this case, you would have wasted time and resources. So, start by reviewing your persona and ensuring this venture is a...
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How to Monetize Your Brand’s Blog, According to HubSpot’s Blog Leaders

Blogging
January 20, 2021/by
How to Monetize Your Brand's Blog, According to HubSpot's Blog Leaders Whether you're running a personal blog or managing the official blog on your company's website, monetizing your work is entirely possible -- it just takes a good amount of time and effort. While there's no exact formula to start making money, there are some tried and true strategies you can start experimenting with to see what works best for your content, your business model, and your audience. Below, we'll dive into some of these monetization ideas and get advice from HubSpot's own blog leaders. How Do Blogs Make Money? Before we dive into the monetization strategies, you might be wondering, "How will my blog make money?" Well, your blog can make money in several ways including lead generation, affiliate marketing, brand partnerships, collaborations, or advertising. To find out more, you can learn about the types of blogs that make money and see which strategy would work best for your blog. Now that we know a few ways that blogs can make money, let's dive into the top monetization strategies for your blog. 1. Map blog posts to specific conversion points. As a company, you can use your blog to drive leads and conversions. AJ Beltis, a marketing manager on HubSpot's channel monetization team, says, "Conversion is the foundation of blog monetization. Whether it's an ecommerce purchase, a demo request, or a content offer download, it's imperative to have your blog posts point to an intentional, related next...
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