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A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram

Media Planning
April 3, 2020/by
A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram With 500 million active monthly users, Instagram offers a unique opportunity for marketers to reach their target audiences through ad campaigns. The other perk of advertising on Instagram? The ads can look almost no different than regular posts, making them much less invasive than other ad types. But setting up ads on any platform requires a lot of thought: What should your target audience look like? What should your copy say? What image should you use? There are a number of ads tools available that can help you create your ads and targeted audiences, but there's still the more technical aspects to consider like what size your image needs to be or how long your ad should run for. To simplify the process, we’ve put together a checklist to help you set up a campaign, one step at a time. How to Create Instagram Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide to Advertising on Instagram If you’ve ever set up a Facebook ad, you’re about 75% of the way there. After Facebook acquired Instagram back in 2012, the platforms conveniently merged, making setting up Instagram and Facebook ads merely the difference of a couple clicks. So even though your intent is to run ads on Instagram, all of the ad setup, budgeting, scheduling, and creation is done through Facebook's platform. To start, log into your company’s Facebook portal and select the account you wish to use. (Note: To run ads on Instagram you'll need to...
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How to Reduce Page Weight on Your Website [Quick Guide]

SEO Strategy
April 3, 2020/by
How to Reduce Page Weight on Your Website When it comes to your website pages, size matters. The smaller the file size of a page, the faster it will load for anyone who requests it. And people do notice how long a page takes to load. In fact, according to data from Pingdom, 24% of users will abandon a site that takes four seconds to load, and 38% of users will leave the page if it takes five seconds. Not to mention, Google has admitted to using site speed in web search ranking, as faster sites tend to create happier users. Additionally, nowadays, plenty of searchers use their mobile phones to find and explore websites —where spotty internet connections and slow data speeds make it even harder to load large page sizes. Ultimately, in order to maintain a healthy page rank, your business needs to be focused on delivering a fast, optimized website experience across all devices. To ensure your website doesn't take a hit in traffic,this post will explaineverything you need to know about page size and how to reduce it. What's Page Size? "Page size" — also called page weight — refers to the overall size of a particular web page. A page size includes all of the files that are used to create the web page, including the HTML document, any included images, scripts, and other media. What's a...
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The 5 Best Podcast Editing Software, According to HubSpot’s Senior Podcast Producer

How to Podcast
April 2, 2020/by
The 5 Best Podcast Editing Software, According to HubSpot's Senior Podcast Producer You've had the thought. You know — the one that kicks in on your way to the store, during the daily traffic jam, or underneath your subconscious before you fall asleep each night: I should make a podcast. One of podcasting's most endearing qualities is its accessibility. Not only can anyone make a podcast, but everyone should make a podcast. Yeah, I said it. Hot take around some circles. Hitting the record button and talking into a microphone isn't exactly going to land you on NPR. Your supportive aunt Janet might throw you a listen, but most audiences today expect a higher level of quality than an unedited, forty-five minute piece of audio. Even Janet deserves it. She's such a loyal listener. Editing a podcast means everything from cutting tape, to mixing tracks, to compressing audio. And the software you'll do it all inside is a digital audio workstation (DAW). Your choice in editing software should first take a close look at your budget and goals — not your dreams of becoming the next Ira Glass. Every DAW is different, and the purpose each one serves varies, sometimes wildly. But there's a right DAW out there for everyone. So let's get you that meet-cute moment and take a look at the top podcast editing software. Best Podcast Editing Software 1. Pro Tools Pro Tools is the Tesla Coupe DeVille of podcast editing software. While it won't make...
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How HubSpot Built a World-Class Conversational Marketing Program

Conversational Marketing
April 2, 2020/by
How HubSpot Built a World-Class Conversational Marketing Program Over the last few years, HubSpot's audience has gotten chatty. Chatbots and live chat became some of the most popular ways to reach HubSpot and the humans here. For years, prospects have wanted to ask questions and get direction while navigating the website. In the past, we met this need with live chat that handed off to "coaches". These coaches answered questions about pricing and features; they also helped free users better use their tools. Demand on this channel grew faster than our ability to hire coaches, so we scaled our live chat programs with chatbots. Those chatbots triaged, qualified, and routed prospects to the right team or content resource. Over time, we found that folks who engaged with chat used the product more often than those who didn't. Here’s what we did about it. Reducing Chatbot Friction Above all else, our goal was to create a remarkable customer experience with conversational marketing. Enabling prospects to cut through the noise and ask for help in their own words removed friction in the flywheel. We believed — and still do — that it’s always easier for users to see value in the free tools they're using. This came from our deep belief that "how you sell is why you win". Growing businesses often have to juggle dozens of tools, but don’t often have the opportunity to ask questions about how to use them together. Ambitious businesses deserve great software and experiences...
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8 Strategies for Writing Product Descriptions That’ll Generate Revenue

Ecommerce Marketing
April 2, 2020/by
8 Strategies for Writing Product Descriptions That'll Generate Revenue I'll admit it -- I love online shopping. Recently, I've been shopping online more than ever. And I'm not the only one. In fact, last year annual online sales were over $3 billion. In 2020, online sales are projected to reach $4.2 billion. That's why product descriptions are more important than ever. As a marketer, it might be time to rewrite your product descriptions to increase online sales. Below, let's review what a product description is and how to write one. Then, to help guide your own writing process, we'll look at some examples and templates to get you started. Usually, a product description will include product details. Additionally, it should tell a story about how the product can solve the target audience's pain points. If a visitor can't imagine themselves benefiting from a product, they won't purchase it. 1. Consider your buyer persona. With any copy you write, you need to keep your buyer persona in mind. It's important that your product description is catered to your target audience. For example, your product description should specifically address pain points and goals of your buyer persona. Online visitors need to be able to visualize themselves using a product before they'll purchase it. Additionally, you should use the same language that potential customers use. Doing your keyword research will help you do this (more on that below). For instance, does your product description use the same humor of your target audience?...
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25 Stats That Prove Why Workplaces Need to Embrace Diversity

Office Culture
April 2, 2020/by
25 Stats That Prove Why Workplaces Need to Embrace Diversity As a legally blind person who's held roles that involve editing, design, and highly visual tasks, I thought I had it easier than a lot of other visually impaired people in my field. I'd never been blatantly discriminated against or felt like I didn't receive an offer due to my vision. In fact, I've been lucky enough to work on teams run by women or diverse leaders. However, as I got older, I realized that I hadn't completely evaded misjudgments related to my eyesight. While I've had a handful of great experiences, I've run into a few subtle job interview scenarios that seem more and more unacceptable each time I reflect on them. In my first job search after college, I realized that disclosing my blindness would always result in a look of concern or an incredibly awkward series of questions from a hiring manager. Many of these questions didn't even have to do with the job role I was interviewing for. Sometimes, an interviewer would try to hide a look of concern. Then, they'd make things even more awkward by trying to relate to me with statements like, "My second cousin is blind too! I should ask her what she has." Ultimately, I followed my instincts and didn't work for any of these people. However, even after I built a list of glowing recommendations from past employers, those uncomfortable interview memories stuck with me. Because of how...
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Does Your Blog Need Its Own Social Media Channels?

Business Blogging
March 31, 2020/by
Does Your Blog Need Its Own Social Media Channels? If you were to take a quick scroll down my Instagram feed, you'd see the three types of accounts I follow: reality TV stars, musicians, and food bloggers. Yes, you read that right: food bloggers. And, while it might sound a little out of the ordinary that blogs are popping up on social media channels, like Instagram, it's not an out of the ordinary practice. Blog owners can see great success on social media. They can engage with followers, use hashtags to find new ones and expand reach, and promote their posts. For instance, one of the bloggers I follow, Sweet Simple Vegan, has over 200,000 followers and posts new content daily. Source But, how do blog owners, like Sweet Simple Vegan's Jasmine Briones, know whether social media is the right choice for their blogs? And … does every blog need social media? Every business is unique, and so are each business' goals. If you're trying to make that decision, read on to figure out whether or not your blog really needs social media. How to Know if Your Company Blog Needs Social Media You may be on the fence about whether or not your blog needs social media channels. According to one of HubSpot's social media marketing managers, Kelly Hendrickson, "If you’re asking yourself if your business’ blog should have its own social channels, the first question you should ask is, 'What is the goal of...
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The Plain-English Guide to Local PPC

local marketing
March 31, 2020/by
The Plain-English Guide to Local PPC For the last few weeks, my husband and I have been ordering more takeout than ever. As we were trying to find a restaurant to order from, we came across an online ad for one of our favorite local restaurants that just started offering delivery. We were so excited and immediately placed an order. That's why local pay-per-click (PPC) can be a great option for local businesses. Even when budgets are tight, a local PPC campaign can improve the efficiency of your local marketing as it allows you to get in front of the right audience. Below, let's review the benefits and top strategies for implementing a successful PPC campaign. Benefits of Local PPC When you own or run a local business, you know it can be hard to get in front of the right audience. When the budget is tight, it can be even harder. However, with local PPC campaigns, you can run effective online advertising without breaking the bank. Below, let's discuss the top benefits of local PPC. 1. Running relevant ads. With local PPC, your ads will only show up in front of the right audiences because you're in control of who you're targeting. Ideally, you're only targeting people who can benefit from your business. Additionally, you won't be competing with national big names, so your budget will go a lot further. With more local campaigns, you'll see less competition and more clicks and conversions. 2. Increasing brand awareness....
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How 5 Brands Use WhatsApp For Marketing

Marketing Trends
March 30, 2020/by
How 5 Brands Use WhatsApp For Marketing In 2019, WhatsApp reached 2 billion global users and solidified itself as the most popular mobile messaging app worldwide. When the app launched in 2009, it was just a basic SMS platform that allowed you to log on, text message friends, send photos or videos, and make voice calls globally using Wi-Fi. The app became popular as an alternative to paying costly phone bills to communicate with loved ones around the world. As one of WhatsApp's earlier adopters, I discovered the app when studying abroad in Ireland. After blowing up my U.S. cell phone bill with roaming fees and spending countless euros just to text my roommate on pay-as-you-go Irish phone, my classmates told me to download WhatsApp. Almost instantly, I was able to call my parents and connect with friends in the U.S. and Ireland. I never needed to use my junky temporary phone again. After using WhatsApp for a few months, it was pretty apparent that this simple Wi-Fi fueled tool was going to be a big innovation in the telecommunication industry. A few years after my trip abroad, WhatsApp became even more well known when it was acquired by Facebook in 2014. Since then, WhatsApp's evolved from an SMS tool to a full platform of features. It's also gained major attention from brands. Most recently, in 2018, the app innovated even further by adding a group chat option and group video calls. With these features, companies like...
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