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How These 7 Companies Thrived During the Recession

Business Growth
July 7, 2020/by
How These 7 Companies Thrived During the Recession In 2008, the Great Recession was all over the news. At 14, I didn't exactly know what that meant. However, I understood that my parents were struggling financially. While it was the first economic crisis I was old enough to remember, it isn't the only economic downturn we've seen, nationally or internationally. In 1997, there was the Asian financial crisis. After 9/11, the New York Stock Exchange closed for four days, the first time that had happened since World War I. The world has faced uncertain times before, and I'm sure it will again. But, how do companies thrive during financially rough times? In this post, we'll review seven companies that grew during the recession and see how they succeeded during economic uncertainty. 1. TeamLogic IT TeamLogic IT provides IT solutions and consulting services for small businesses. Interestingly, IT has been a growing industry during times of uncertainty, including the 2008 recession. Since consumers are becoming more and more dependent on newer technologies, this industry usually does well during economic recessions. Technology impacts almost every area of our life from our security to our entertainment. In fact, sales for technology increased during the 2008 recession. Because of this trend, TeamLogic IT weathered the storm of 2008 well. If you want to start a business, it's important to consider whether that industry has done well during times of economic unrest. Industries such as tech, discount stores, accounting, grocery, healthcare, and DIY/repairs do...
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The Plain English Guide to Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

marketing budget
July 3, 2020/by
The Plain English Guide to Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) As a writer, I've never been very good at math. I know … shocking. Most marketers can relate, because as a bunch, we tend to be better at English and history than math and science. However, as a marketer, we need to be able to analyze data and calculate the effectiveness of an article or campaign, even though math might not be our strong suit. One of the calculations we need to run and metrics we need to track is return on ad spend (ROAS). Below, let's review ROAS. In this post, we'll discuss what ROAS is, how it's different from ROI, and how to calculate it. Ultimately, ROAS is meant to measure the effectiveness of a specific ad campaign, not your overall ROI -- more on that below. Besides ROAS, you'll most likely measure other metrics such as click-through rate and ROI. By measuring multiple metrics, you'll get a more accurate view of your results. Of course, measuring performance and tracking analytics is an important part of any marketing campaign. By tracking performance, you can improve and iterate on your marketing techniques. Plus, data is one of the only ways to truly prove that your department brings in revenue, which is incredibly important. However, it's important to note that not everything can be measured with quantitative data. For instance, calculating brand awareness and sentiment is much more difficult. And while you can calculate downloads or email sign-ups,...
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How to Develop a Successful Marketing Mix Strategy [+ Templates]

marketing budget
July 3, 2020/by
How to Develop a Successful Marketing Mix Strategy One of the first things you're taught in your Introduction to Marketing class is that marketing can be best explained using the marketing mix — also known as the four P's. They are — and say 'em with me, because if you took that class, you know these four words by heart: Product Price Place Promotion One of the first things you're taught in your first marketing internship or job, however, is that marketing entails so much more than can be simplified in a four-section marketing mix matrix. Still, there's an undeniable benefit of marketing teams organizing their work into the marketing mix framework. When you stray too far away from the four P's, it can be easy to lose focus on your purpose as a marketer. Marketing truly is about teams and individuals working together to promote a product in the right place at the right price point. Efforts beyond this scope are essential, but they do all stem off of this foundation of the marketing mix. Here, we're going to dive into what a marketing mix is and how to develop a successful marketing mix strategy for your own company. What is a Marketing Mix? The marketing mix refers to the actions a company takes to market its product(s) and/or service(s). Typically, it acts as a framework for breaking down the four key components of marketing — product, price, place, and promotion. ...
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How HubSpot Video Managers Coordinate and Produce Content Remotely

Video Marketing
July 2, 2020/by
How HubSpot Video Managers Coordinate and Produce Content Remotely In early 2020, video overtook blogs and infographics as the most used type of marketing content. Around the same time, remote work grew more than ever before. As companies quickly began to pivot to remote workspaces, video marketers were left wondering how they would create content with the same production level as something filmed in a brightly lit studio with professional equipment. Additionally, video creators who once filmed interviews or explainers featuring thought leaders needed to determine how they'd continue to incorporate talent remotely. Despite the challenges of making videos from home, companies like HubSpot ultimately figured out processes that allowed them to keep creating helpful content for their audiences. If you're a video manager working remotely for the first time, you might still be learning how to navigate and produce effective content on a timeline. To help inspire new video strategies, I spoke to HubSpot's Academy and social media teams to get tips on how they implemented and created new remote production processes. How to Coordinate and Create Videos From Home 1. Brainstorm content ideas that your audiences will value. As you would with any content marketing campaign, consider topics that will educate, entertain, and delight your audiences -- even when they're clearly filmed in an at-home setting. To come up with video ideas, schedule a virtual brainstorm with your team. Consider your brand's goals, messaging, and problems you can solve for your audience with informative content. Then...
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Gated Content: What Marketers Need to Know

Lead Generation
July 2, 2020/by
Gated Content: What Marketers Need to Know As William Shakespeare once wrote, "To be or not to be, that is the question." Marketers have a similar classic debate and that is: gated versus ungated content. While 80% of B2B content marketing assets are gated and lead generation is one of the top objectives for marketers, it's not an open and shut case. That's why we've gathered everything you need to know about gated content in this post. Below, let's review what gated content is and how it compares to ungated content. Then, we'll dive into gated content best practices and look at some examples. So, how does gated content work? Usually, users arrive at your website and see a CTA or pop-up that offers them access to a piece of content in exchange for their information. Your CTA or pop-up could lead to a landing page where the visitor will get more information on the content offer. It's important to note that gated content for inbound marketing is free and not hidden behind a paywall. Users just need to submit contact information to access the content. Now, you might be wondering, "Why would I hide my content from my audience?" Typically, the goal of gated content is lead generation. Marketers will create targeted content for their audience and use it to attract leads. Gated content isn't used for brand awareness or visibility campaigns because the nature of hidden content doesn't allow for high traffic. Below, let's discuss the...
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5 Email Testing Tools to Try (& What to Test on Them)

A/B Testing
July 1, 2020/by
5 Email Testing Tools to Try (& What to Test on Them) A/B testing is one of those techniques that, if you have enough volume to give you significant results, is pretty much guaranteed to generate better results from your marketing. Email marketers have known this for ages, but what drives me nuts is that they waste their time on tiny little tests -- instead of tackling some of the bigger, more exciting tests that yield real insights and improvements. In fact, MarketingSherpa's email survey found that subject lines are still the most commonly tested element in email marketing. Meaning that those few words that get your subscribers to open your emails and see your wonderful offers are what marketers focus on most in their attempts to optimize their email marketing. While I'm sure this strategy can end up getting you the most tested, optimized subject line that will ever reach an inbox, the impact of these tests are minimal compared to all the other things an email marketer could be testing. So, are you ready to run some big, exciting tests? In this blog post, we'll highlight the top email testing tools to try and what to test on them.  A/B testing is a great way to test two different newsletter formats that promote the same content or two newsletters with slightly different design elements, such as different images or types of CTAs. ...
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The Ultimate Guide to Social Testing

A/B Testing
July 1, 2020/by
The Ultimate Guide to Social Testing As marketers, we know the importance of making data-driven decisions. The more data we know about our audience — from how many are being reached to how many engage with our content — the more we're able to make effective marketing moves. Having the numbers to back up marketing strategy is almost as important as the strategy itself. If numbers aren't your favorite thing to calculate, that's not a problem (thankfully). There are so many strategies and automation tools to back up those tough marketing choices effectively — no math needed. For instance, let's say you're running a social media campaign, and one of your Facebook posts includes a video. You've never run a video ad, so you need data to prove it's the right move for engaging audiences. To get that data, you decide to run a social test for engagement. In your test, one Facebook ad will show a short cut of the video and the other, a longer cut. If one of the videos reaches 50% of your benchmark engagement goal, you'll know the length is a good choice to capture the attention of users. Social media tests, like the one explained above, let you run an experimental campaign before investing in the real thing. They show different versions of the same ad to the desired audience and allow you to pick the winning ad based on the campaign's objectives and what you know your audience wants to see....
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Why Marketers Should Implement User-Generated Content: 23 Stats to Know

User-Generated Content
July 1, 2020/by
Why Marketers Should Implement User-Generated Content: 23 Stats to Know As a Boston-based young professional, the biggest product I've had to invest in was an over-priced apartment. And this year, with apartment tours going fully virtual, I've found it even harder to do the extreme research needed before committing to a lease. Now, as I research apartment after apartment online, my new process feels like an intense buyer's journey. In my research phase, I spend hours on end scouting listings, looking up addresses on Google Maps, researching neighborhoods, skimming through Yelp reviews of prospective property managers, and analyzing photos or video tours for potential problems that an unseen apartment could have. Ultimately, I've found that the apartment listings I'm most drawn to have links to video tours filmed by current tenants. When I've watched tours filmed by tenants, they'll explain what they like about their apartment, note major pros and cons, and give tiny -- but authentic -- details that the average salesperson might not offer. For example, in one video, a tenant honestly revealed one pro and one con about a bathroom by saying, "The bathtub has a great jacuzzi, which makes up for the lower water pressure." After viewing a pleasant and seemingly trustworthy virtual tour, I feel like I've gotten an in-depth and authentic look at the product, as well as thoughts from a previous customer who is an expert on the product. Additionally, because the tenant often voluntarily offers their time to host the create...
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12 of the Best Marketing Techniques for 2020

Marketing Strategy
June 30, 2020/by
12 of the Best Marketing Techniques for 2020 When content marketing was gaining steam, there were really only a few techniques you could leverage. On a typical day, you'd write a blog post, hope it ranked on Google, send it to your email subscribers, and post it to your social media profiles. That was pretty much it. This is still the main strategy most marketers use nowadays, but since content marketing has exploded in popularity since its early adoption, it has developed into a much more nuanced and complex type of marketing with many techniques for reaching and resonating with an audience. To help you learn about the most effective marketing techniques around today, we've rounded up the best ones to add to your content marketing arsenal. 1. CTA Copy Test Every company has a different set of customers, so there's no one-size-fits-all formula for designing the most optimal CTAs. To figure out which CTA copy will produce the best results for your company, you must discover what your unique set of customers prefer. With A/B testing, you can run an experiment between two variables, like a red and blue CTA, and identify which one produces better results. A/B testing shouldn't be confused with multivariate testing, though, which allows you to simultaneously test many variables. To conduct an A/B test, you can use HubSpot's A/B testing kit. With this kit, you'll get guidelines for A/B testing, learn what variables to test, and gain access to a simple significance...
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