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How Often Should You (or Your Company) Blog? [New Data]

Blogging
August 4, 2020/by
How Often Should You (or Your Company) Blog? Starting a blog is tough. Thinking about what to post and how to promote it requires strategic planning. And will your content resonate with and delight your customers? We haven't even covered how often companies should post — a factor that can make or break even the greatest of content. You might be surprised to know that even though there's a surplus of hard data about why blog posts are integral to marketing, there's not much on the frequency of posting. This is because, well, it depends. If ambiguity gets your heart racing, fear not. Here, we'll offer suggestions and stats to help inform your decision. If you're a marketing team of one, don't feel the need to constantly pump out content. If you do, you'll probably find yourself getting burned out and releasing content that's not beneficial to you or your audience. Keeping a schedule when blogging is important for two reasons. First, it builds organic traffic. Next, it helps with brand awareness. We'll get into why below. Organic traffic Blogging is important for SEO if you want to increase visits to your website. But, if you are already posting valuable content, it might benefit you to go back and update that content, especially if after a little while, you want to give certain posts a boost. Blog post traffic is compounding, which means it gains organic results over time. This is why updating posts are important. This...
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Reach and Delight (The Right) Customers with Cooperative Marketing

Co-Marketing
August 4, 2020/by
Reach and Delight (The Right) Customers with Cooperative Marketing Let's say you're buying a new phone. You probably also have to buy a screen protector and case. But, never fear — The phone store has an array of both from different companies. They are bundled with the phone for a lower price. A phone store that bundles their products with complementary ones is an example of cooperative marketing. This offer takes advantage of products you'd already need to invest in when buying a phone, and uses that to entice you into purchasing. That way, instead of spending time and money to make a campaign about the phones a screen protector is great for, the cooperative partnership drives leads and sales in a more organic way. Whether the partnership is with direct competitors or complementary ones, all can enjoy the exposure and business a cooperative marketing campaigns offer. Now that you have a pretty good idea of how cooperative marketing works, let's look at some examples from companies that have excelled with their campaigns. This strategy leaves plenty of room for experimentation — some can even leverage it as part of their business model.  Let's dive in, below.  Cooperative Marketing Examples Cooperative marketing can show up in many different business types. You've most likely seen cooperative marketing in action around you. Let's take a look at examples from other companies for tactics you can use in your own campaign planning. 1. Cafe Integral + Freehand Hotel Freehand Hotel is...
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8 Ways Digital Rewards Can Help Marketers to Stand Out

Marketing Strategy
August 4, 2020/by
8 Ways Digital Rewards Can Help Marketers to Stand Out Many of us scroll past ads in our newsfeed, delete emails, or even run to the bathroom during commercial breaks. As consumers, we’re constantly bombarded with advertisements and calls-to-action. This is the challenge of marketing: campaigns are everywhere. And, if campaigns are everywhere, they can be easier to tune out and ignore. In fact, social click-through rates on ads went from 2.6% in late 2018 to 2% in late 2019, a sure sign that social media users have advertising fatigue. Ultimately, marketers need to try increasingly new and innovative approaches to grab consumers' attention. Marketers work hard daily to create the exception: a message that can't be ignored. Here, we're going to dive into one innovative strategy that could help marketers' stand out in 2020: digital rewards. Digital Rewards: The Secret Weapon for Standing Out Digital rewards are e-gift cards, either from retailers or virtual Visa/Mastercards that can be delivered in an instant via a link or email. These virtual rewards can help you stand out against competitors. More often than not, marketers ask for consumer’s attention without much upfront benefit. Every time consumers see marketing campaigns, they make a decision within seconds — and it often follows the logic of, “if I click this Facebook ad, am I really going to buy this product?” They risk spending valuable time evaluating a purchase, but then ultimately decide not to. Digital rewards minimize that risk by creating tangible upfront value....
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6 Stats that Prove the Importance of Product Videos for Ecommerce

Product Marketing
August 1, 2020/by
6 Stats that Prove the Importance of Product Videos for Ecommerce Producing quality videos for your ecommerce site is hard, we know. Equipment is expensive, and specialists who know how to use that equipment cost even more. For that very reason, many ecommerce businesses will settle for photos and graphics just to get the job done. These video marketing statistics show that video might just be an investment worth making. Sure, you’ll have to dig a little deeper into those pockets at first, but the results will return more than you dreamed. Product Video Stats Marketers Need to Know 1. Video is the #1 content type used by marketers to sell products and services. In our Not Another State of Marketing Report, marketers surveyed said that video is the top content type being produced in their content marketing programs, passing blog posts for the first time ever.  2. More than half of marketers invest in some sort of product-related video. Also in the HubSpot report noted above, we found that nearly one quarter of marketers invested in product promotion videos, while nearly one fifth invested in product demos.   3. 73% more visitors who watch product videos will make a purchase.  Did you know that your products are more likely to sell if you create videos for them? There are quite a few reasons for this, which we’ll cover in the next points. The most important thing to note, however, is simply that videos for your products do prompt more...
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14 Reporting and Business Intelligence Tools For Your Marketing Toolkit

Marketing Reporting
July 31, 2020/by
14 Reporting and Business Intelligence Tools For Your Marketing Toolkit Whether you're conducting a blog traffic audit or analyzing the success of your most recent social media campaign, it's undeniable that data is an integral part of any marketing role. As HubSpot's Director of Analytics, Bridget Zingale, says, "Reporting and attribution haverevolutionized marketing in every industry. Marketing data allows businesses to make more informed decisions about their audiences’ needs, challenges, and interests." Fortunately, there are dozens of analytics tools for marketers with the ability to collect data from different sources, crunch it effectively, and deliver helpful campaign analysis. Ultimately, reporting tools should do more than just calculate — they should also make the marketer’s job easier, and more productive. Creating attractive and readable reports is key to ensuring that the results of your work are clear for your entire team. Here, let's dive into some of the best data reporting tools, as well as some effective business intelligence (BI) platforms, to enable you to properly analyze your work. Best Business Intelligence & Data Reporting Tools As Zingale notes, "Data points such as age, ethnicity, gender, location, education, and employment have informed marketing teams and heightened the impact of campaigns across the board." Good tools you use should give you the above metrics — but greattools give you more. If you're one of the 75% of marketerswho report ROI from marketing campaigns, you're going to need reliable, accurate data. Let's explore the 14 best tools to help get you the...
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From Coffee Shops to Cat Videos: 13 Unexpected Productivity Hacks That Actually Work

Productivity
July 31, 2020/by
From Coffee Shops to Cat Videos: 13 Unexpected Productivity Hacks That Actually Work Recently, a friend of mine asked me how my day was. "Busy, but productive," I replied. But what did that even mean? I suppose what I'd really meant was that all I did was work: I got to work early, worked through lunch, broke for dinner, and then proceeded to sign back online to wrap a few things up after that. And now that I think about it, I barely even moved.  Many of us have this distorted idea of productivity where the more hours you put in, the more work you put out. The less you socialize during the day, the more work you put out. The less you move during the day, the more work you put out.  Trouble is, that's not entirely true. In fact, countless studies have proven that some of the things we might think of as "a waste of time" -- preparing and eating a healthy breakfast, watching a kitten video, taking a midday run -- actually boost our productivity by leaps and bounds.  To help put this idea in perspective, check out the following counterintuitive productivity hacks. Sure, they may sound a little strange, but don't let that deter you from trying them for yourself.  13 Unexpected Productivity Hacks That Actually Work 1. Build your schedule around your energy levels. Each person has their own unique biological schedule called a circadian rhythm. This rhythm makes you tired at night and keeps you awake during the...
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A Brief History of Productivity: How Getting Stuff Done Became an Industry

Productivity
July 31, 2020/by
A Brief History of Productivity: How Getting Stuff Done Became an Industry Anyone who’s ever been a teenager is likely familiar with the question, "Why aren’t you doing something productive?” If only I knew, as an angsty 15-year-old, what I know after conducting the research for this article. If only I could respond to my parents with the brilliant retort, "You know, the idea of productivity actually dates back to before the 1800s." If only I could ask, "Do you mean 'productive' in an economic or modern context?" Back then, I would have been sent to my room for "acting smart." But today, I'm a nerdy adult who is curious to know where today's widespread fascination with productivity comes from. There are endless tools and apps that help us get more done -- but where did they begin?  If you ask me, productivity has become a booming business. And it's not just my not-so-humble opinion -- numbers and history support it. Let's step back in time, and find out how we got here, and how getting stuff done became an industry. What Is Productivity? The Economic Context Dictionary.com defines productivity as “the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services.” In an economic context, the meaning is similar -- it’s essentially a measure of the output of goods and services available for monetary exchange. How we tend to view productivity today is a bit different. While it remains a measure of getting stuff done,...
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How to Create an Ebook From Start to Finish [Free Ebook Templates]

Design Templates
July 30, 2020/by
How to Create an Ebook From Start to Finish At age 11, I dreamed of being an editor at a major magazine. I even put together my first publication, Teen Scene Magazine, using colored construction paper, yarn, and in-depth feature interviews with ... my dad. Flash forward to today. I've swapped my colored construction paper and yarn for PowerPoint and InDesign. I've replaced my dad with marketing experts and influencers (in the office, that is). And week after week, I have the satisfaction of being an ebook creator. What Is an Ebook? Ebook is short for "electronic book," and uses either a computer, mobile device, or ebook reader to display long-form texts in book form. Ebooks have multiple digital "pages" that people can navigate through, and are often packaged as a PDF document so they can easily be sent from one user to another. What Are the Benefits of an Ebook? Let's say you have an amazing blog full of long-form content. Why in the world would you want to offer your readers an ebook? Is it even worth your time? Here's some advantages ebooks offer content creators: Unlike long-form printed media, an ebook is immediately accessible. You can put it behind an opt-in of some kind, incentivizing your website visitor to become a lead if they want the information. In some ways, ebooks have design capabilities you may not be able to achieve on your blog. After the initial creation of the ebook, you...
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The Ultimate Guide to On-Page SEO in 2020

On-page SEO
July 30, 2020/by
The Ultimate Guide to On-Page SEO in 2020 So, you've read dozens — if not hundreds — of SEO articles online. You've digested countless tips and tricks for improving your website's SEO. You've even (over)paid that self-proclaimed "expert" to help you develop an SEO strategy that aligns with your business goals. But after all of the reading and learning and strategizing, it dawns on you: You haven't actually done anything yet. Perhaps you're intimidated. Maybe you're crunched for time. Regardless, when it comes to on-page SEO, there's no excuse for dragging your feet. On-page SEO has the power to bring countless new visitors — and customers — right to your website. On-page SEO is also completely up to you: You get to establish what the topic and/or goal of each page will be. You get to decide on the target audience for that page. And you get to choose the target keywords and phrases you want to focus on. All you have to do is get started, and we built this guide to help you. Google's algorithm ranks your website on three main factors: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO: We'll cover on-page SEO elements below. Off-page SEO refers to social sharing, external linking, and more. Technical SEO refers to all the SEO elements not included in on-page and off-page practices, such as structured data, site speed, and mobile readiness — the more technical parts of SEO. Note: This SEO "trilogy" isn't always divided...
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