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Are Marketers More or Less Productive in the Office? [New Data]

Productivity
September 10, 2024/by
Are Marketers More or Less Productive in the Office? The remote work productivity debate will never end, and frankly, it shouldn't. Leaders and employees alike should never stop being critical of how time is spent and seeking improved productivity levels. Is it tiring to refine and edit how we work constantly? Sure. Change is always tiring to a degree, but thankfully, marketers are resilient to change because it's inherent to what we do. I feel like I've lived nine lives as a marketer: unpaid intern, salaried in-office employee, hybrid worker, remote contractor. Most of my experience has been completed outside of the office setting, and as a remote work enthusiast and author, I prefer it that way for my productivity and quality of life. But am I the norm? Where are other marketers most productive? I asked more than 100 marketers if they feel more productive (and happier) working in the office or at home. Here's what they had to say. Table of Contents Remote, Hybrid, In-Office: The Marketing Landscape Today Productivity Statistics What Experts Have to Say Remote, Hybrid, In-Office: The Marketing Landscape Today Today, millions of marketers are showing up to work across the globe. How are they working? These are the three main organizational models. Fully In-Office Teams The concept of a fully in-office team doesn‘t need much of an introduction. Despite remote work dating back to the...
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The Oops That Proves SEO Basics Still Matter

HubSpot Labs
September 10, 2024/by
The Oops That Proves SEO Basics Still Matter When I asked today’s HubSpotter to share an SEO tactic, he asked if he could share a cautionary tale instead. And I accepted because his story proves that technical SEO basics still matter — even in the face of major search changes. It’s the scary story of how we lost, and then recovered, 41% of targeted organic traffic and conversions. Presented for the approval of you masters in marketing, I bring you a story I call … The Tell-Tale Tag. (The Cask of the Canonical? I’ll find the joke eventually.) A Scary Day in Search Our story begins with a call over to France, and a coworker whose technical skills are outmatched only by his wicked Gallic accent. (To get the most out of this post, I suggest you read his lines aloud in your very best French.) Sylvain Charbit, our senior technical SEO strategist, has been in SEO/content marketing for 15 years, so it takes a lot to rattle him — an 82% drop in daily organic traffic is just such a thing. “We discovered the problem in the most common way possible,” Sylvain laughs. “Conversion and traffic were in freefall all of a sudden.” As you can see from the graph above, pants were soiled on or around July 25th. The drop was first noted by our conversion optimization team, who immediately called over to SEO. (I like to imagine it like a disaster movie, where the...
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The Best AI Tools for Ecommerce & How They’ll Boost Your Business

Business Tools
September 7, 2024/by
The Best AI Tools for Ecommerce & How They'll Boost Your Business As a one-woman solopreneur running her own business, I’m constantly looking for new AI tools to help save time, increase productivity, and bring about a better ROI. The ecommerce sector is no different. That’s why I’ve spent some time reviewing the best AI tools for ecommerce so you can get a leg up on your competition. If I know anything about trying out new tools, it can quickly become costly. So, instead of spending precious dollars from your budget, bookmark our list of AI tools to use whenever you need to add something new to the stack. Before we discuss which tools are the best, let's review why AI tools are helpful for ecommerce. Table of Contents Why use AI tools for ecommerce? The Best AI Tools for Ecommerce Why use AI tools for ecommerce? I like to think of AI tools as “software on steroids.” Ecommerce software helps streamline your business, but you can do so much more in less time when AI is added to the mix. These kinds of tools are high-performing, meaning you can achieve results, gather new insights, or finish a task much more efficiently than if you were to do it by hand. There are plenty of reasons to consider adding AI tools for ecommerce to your sales platforms. Let’s look at a few more benefits of adding AI...
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How HubSpot Media’s Head of Audience Development & Distribution Breaks the Marketing Mold

Uncategorized
September 4, 2024/by
How HubSpot Media's Head of Audience Development & Distribution Breaks the Marketing Mold It's been an interesting year in the marketing world. Advancements in AI and constant changes in Google's algorithm have all but turned the industry on its head. And as the marketing industry continues to evolve rapidly, marketers like HubSpot's Head of Audience Development and Distribution, Dréa Hudson, are not only keeping up with the changing tides but also thinking far enough outside the box to be on the next wave. So today, we're going to pick Hudson's brain to learn how marketers can win and stand out in the ever-shifting marketing world. We'll explore why keeping calm is her superpower, how she ensures AI works for her, and why good ideas should always be broken down in favor of better ones.  What Marketers Can Learn from HubSpot's Head of Audience Development and Distribution 1. Leverage YouTube in your strategy. According to Nielsen, YouTube topped the list for streaming time for 17 consecutive months in July. YouTube is also the biggest video-sharing platform in the world and the second largest social media platform in the world, with over 2.7 billion users. So it's no wonder Hudson says marketers should look to YouTube to increase visibility for their brands, especially since formerly tried-and-true channels like Google have become more volatile over the last year. "Marketers should really be looking to sharpen their skillsets on YouTube," she says. "It doesn't always have to be keyword and search-based, either....
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How to Set (Crushable) Marketing Goals, According to HubSpot Pros

Goal Setting
August 31, 2024/by
How to Set (Crushable) Marketing Goals, According to HubSpot Pros Hey, marketers. Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by big, lofty marketing goals with little to no resources to execute them. ✋🏽*raises both hands* ✋🏽 In an ideal world, we’d have endless budgets and perfect conditions to work with. Like stable SERPs and simple social media algorithms. Or consumers who laugh at all of our marketing jokes. While that’s not (always) the case, it’s still possible to set goals that are both ambitious and attainable. For inspiration, I’ve compiled a list of the highest-priority goals for marketers this year. And as an added bonus, I asked a few marketing pros here at HubSpot to share some of their top tips for goal setting. Table of Contents The Goals Marketers (Actually) Want to Reach This Year Goal-Setting Tips from HubSpot Marketing Pros The Goals Marketers (Actually) Want to Reach This Year Earlier this year, we surveyed over 1,400 marketers to better understand the current state of marketing. These five goals bubbled to the surface for marketers who implemented winning strategies in 2023. P.S. You’ll see some familiar faces like increased revenue and reaching new audiences, but the way marketers are thinking about these goals is changing with the times. 1. Increase revenue and sales. → 24% of marketers listed increasing revenue and sales as their top goal for 2024. Everything we do as marketers ultimately...
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Creating Your Brand Voice: A Complete Guide

Branding
August 31, 2024/by
Creating Your Brand Voice: A Complete Guide Even if you’re brand new to brand voice, you already know exactly what it is. I promise. Think of a few of your favorite brands, and consider why they’re favs. The product or service probably has a lot to do with it, but that’s only part of the story — a brand’s voice or personality is also a major factor in consumer loyalty.  Think about the overall vibe of your favorite brand — is it friendly? Authoritative? Funny? That’s brand voice at work. A well-defined brand voice can underscore your authority, play up your playfulness, or simply bring the directness and relatability that consumers look for in brands. A poorly defined voice, or one that changes frequently, undermines your brand and alienates customers or clients. So let’s talk about how to start from scratch by looking at the elements that form a brand’s voice, plus 10 examples to inspire you. Table of Contents Brand Voice Examples What is a brand voice? Why Brand Voice is Important Creating a Brand Voice Brand Voice Template Crafting Your Voice Your company’s voice should resonate with your audience and build trust with them. In the U.S. market, 90% of consumers say it’s important to trust the brands they buy or use. Your brand voice shows your customers what to expect from your company’s content, services, and even customer service. Why Brand Voice is Important Brand...
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7 Ways to Use AI for A/B Testing: An In-Depth Guide [+ Expert Tips]

Artificial Intelligence
August 29, 2024/by
7 Ways to Use AI for A/B Testing: An In-Depth Guide Experimentation is central to making evidence-based decisions, and this is where A/B testing has always shined. But with the advent of AI, we now have tools for AI A/B testing, making experimentation smarter, faster, and infinitely more manageable. AI A/B testing gets you real-time reports and lets you test multiple hypotheses in a few clicks. To explore the magic that AI brings to A/B testing, I spoke with CRO experts who shared their unique insights. On top of that, I’ll also take you through the benefits, limitations, and best practices for integrating AI into your A/B testing process. In this article: Why use AI for A/B testing? Benefits of AI in A/B Testing Limitations of AI in A/B Testing How to Use AI for A/B Testing Why use AI for A/B testing? A/B testing is a research method used to analyze landing pages, user interfaces, or other marketing prototypes to determine the best version before full rollout. You split your audience into two groups or more. One sees the control (A; original version), while the other interacts with the variant (B; modified version). Tracking interactions, analyzing results, and refining content follows. With AI, you automate much of this heavy lifting. You get clear, actionable insights without the usual headaches because AI takes the guesswork out of the following: Testing idea development. AI systems, particularly those using...
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Gen Z, AI, and the Power of Creator Marketing

Creator Economy
August 29, 2024/by
Gen Z, AI, and the Power of Creator Marketing As AI reshapes marketing, the next generation of decision-makers is placing more trust in creators than in brands. Here’s how to use creator marketing strategies to keep your business relevant. Marketing strategies evolve with the technological shifts of each era, continuously redefining how businesses connect with consumers. In the early days of the internet, outbound marketing tactics like billboards and direct mail were the go-to approach. Then came Google and social media, giving rise to inbound marketing platforms like HubSpot. Now, we’re entering a new and highly disruptive cycle, this time driven by AI. This early ‘discovery’ phase — which Kieran and I anticipate will last 5-7 years before stabilizing — is marked by rapid innovation and an overwhelming influx of fragmented AI tools. But the real challenge isn’t just about keeping pace with AI; it’s about understanding how to connect with a new generation of decision-makers — particularly Gen X and Gen Z — while everything else is changing. But how? As discussed in a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, we believe that the answer lies in creator-led marketing. Here’s why — and how you can get started today. Why the New Generation of Decision Makers Trust Creators over Brands As new generations step into key decision-making roles within companies, their approach to purchasing decisions is significantly different from that of their predecessors. “Data shows that the new, younger generations rely primarily on social media and...
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How to Determine Your A/B Testing Sample Size & Time Frame

A/B Testing
August 23, 2024/by
How to Determine Your A/B Testing Sample Size & Time Frame I remember running my first A/B test after college. It wasn’t till then that I understood the basics of getting a big enough A/B test sample size or running the test long enough to get statistically significant results. But figuring out what “big enough” and “long enough” were was not easy. Googling for answers didn’t help me, as I got information that only applied to the ideal, theoretical, and non-marketing world. Turns out I wasn't alone, because asking how to determine A/B testing sample size and time frame is a common question from our customers. So, I figured I'd do the research to help answer this question for all of us. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned to help you confidently determine the right sample size and time frame for your next A/B test. Table of Contents A/B Test Sample Size Formula A/B Testing Sample Size & Time Frame How to Determine Sample Size for an A/B Test How to Choose the Right Timeframe for Your A/B Test for a Landing Page Choosing the Right Timeframe for Your A/B Test for Email A/B Test Sample Size Formula When I first saw the A/B test sample size formula, I was like, woah!!!! Here’s how it looks: Image Source n is the sample size 𝑝1 is...
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