Short-form videos are everywhere nowadays. And, now, as platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Google, LinkedIn, and Pinterest expand their short-form offerings, brands are continuing to take notice.

In the HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Survey, we found that more than half of marketers (51%) who use short-form video plan to increase their investment in 2022. Meanwhile, 38% plan to continue investing the same amount.

What’s more? Short-form video has the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy as 30% of social media marketers plan to invest in it more than any other trend in 2022.

So, how can you join in on the short-form video action to grow your business? And what are some trends to look for in the next year? Learn what HubSpot marketing experts advise, below.

• What are short-form videos?
• How do short-form videos fit into your content strategy?
• Short-Form Video Trends to Look Out For

Brandon Sanders, former digital marketer for HubSpot Academy, highlights that what’s considered short-form can also depend on the platform.

“With the rise of platforms like TikTok, Reels, and Vine, short-form video is actually getting shorter and lending itself more to 60-second to two-minute videos,” he said.

“I think the perception of short-form content on platforms like YouTube is actually around that 10-minute sweet spot because content on YouTube tends to be more comprehensive and longer.”

So, when you’re thinking of short-form videos, Youtube is the exception, whereas TikTok and other growing short-form platforms are the rule.

How do short-form videos fit into your content strategy?

A 2020 study by Wyzowl reported that people share videos at twice the rate than any other form of content. It also found that 84% of people were convinced to buy a product or service based on the brand’s video.

So, we already know video content is increasingly becoming an important part of every brand’s content marketing strategy.

But when we look at short-form video specifically, the data (gathered from the HubSpot Blog’s 2021 social media trends report and 2022 video marketing report) speak for themselves.

• Short-form ranks #1 for lead generation and engagement.
• Marketers will invest in short-form video more in 2022 than any other content format.
• Nearly half (47%) of marketers surveyed believe short-form videos are most likely to go viral.
• 54% of marketers surveyed say their companies leverage short-form videos.

Sanders says short-form videos give creators an innovative way to showcase their content.

“The growth of social media is causing the human attention span to become shorter and shorter,” he said. “So, leveraging the power of short-form content will give you a leg up on your competition and help engage your audience.”

Aside from length, one thing that sets short-form video apart is the trend culture.

TikTok, for instance, is run by dances, sounds, and social challenges. So, to get on the “For You” page on TikTok — which is equal to the “Explore” page on Instagram — brands must often join in on the fun.

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As with any new trend or platform, former HubSpot Senior Content Strategist Amanda Zantal-Wiener says you should always consider your audience first.

“It all goes back to a very old question: Which channels are your audiences using and for what?” she said. “And therefore, for which channels does it make the most sense for your business to create this short-form content?”

This means that while short-form video is often known for its entertainment value, you can adapt it to align with your brand.

Short-Form Video Trends to Look Out For

1. Brand Challenges

When short-form videos first gained popularity, it was through viral content based on dances, songs, and sounds.

Today, brands can make their own sounds, filters, and challenges go viral.

According to our social media trends report, 20% of marketers surveyed leveraged branded challenges and 42% said they performed better than expected.

In addition, marketers rank them among the most effective social media trends of 2021.

Short-Form Video Example: Colgate

To celebrate Mother’s Day, Colgate launched the #MakeMomSmile challenge, which encourages users all around the world to share videos in which they did something special for their mothers.

It’s also a great play on words, as Colgate is all about providing beautiful smiles to its customers.

2. Influencer Ads

Brands have been leveraging influencer marketing for years, that’s nothing new.

However, we’re seeing more brands use them in short-form video content.

HubSpot Blog Research found that 66% of marketers’ companies work with influencers on TikTok. They also rank it #5 in ROI when working with influencers.

For instance, popular TikTok influencer TiffFoods was recently in an ad for food brand Fly by Jing to promote its latest product.

Short-Form Video Example: Fly by Jing

With short-form content lending itself well to native advertising, brands can create videos that are more likely to generate conversions.

3. Product Teasers

Think about the average commercial you see: It’s usually anywhere between six seconds to 60 seconds. This also happens to be the average length of a short-form video.

Because of this, brands can leverage short-form video platforms to promote their products organically.

It can be incredibly effective because it doesn’t require a large budget, it has the potential to go viral, and it builds anticipation around your brand.

Short-Form Video Example: KaseMe Design

To build anticipation for its newest product launch, KaseMe Design posts a video using a popular TikTok sound and a cleverly deceptive low-battery sign.

It creates suspense by getting users to be even more invested in the launch as they wonder what the reveal is.

4. More User-Generated Content (UGC)

Consumers generally love UGC. In fact, it influences their purchasing decisions more than brand- or influencer-generated content.

According to HubSpot Blog research, UGC also offers great ROI, with 40% of marketers surveyed ranking it a high-ROI format on social media.

Our research also suggests it’s popular with Gen-Z, which is the biggest demographic on TikTok.

Why is UGC a winning strategy? Well, without using up too many resources, brands can publish videos that evoke emotion. It’s also budget-friendly.

Short-Form Video Example: Chipotle

This is a great example of how you can leverage user-generated content in your strategy. In this instance, Chipotle collaborated with these content producers to create a fun, viral-worthy video.

One of Chipotle’s target audiences might be young, college students looking for inexpensive meals. This video features two creators who reflect the audience they may want to attract. Brands should keep this in mind when considering UGC and ask, “will my audience relate to this?” If the answer’s “yes,” move forward.

5. More Behind-the-Brand Videos

Consumers seek out authenticity and transparency in brands. With short-form video, you only have a few seconds to connect with your audience.

So, how do you do that? Well, there’s no exact science to it, but consumers tend to feel more connected to brands that show the people behind the brand.

In one Sprout Social study, 70% of consumers said they felt more connected to brands whose CEO is active on social media platforms.

So, going into 2022, brands should pull back the curtain and engage with their audiences on a more personal level.

Our social media trends report revealed that 36% of marketers surveyed currently leverage the authentic, behind-the-scenes content that’s so popular on short-form video platforms like TikTok.

Those who do use it rank it third in ROI, with 68% of marketers saying it’s the most effective content behind funny and interactive content.

Short-Form Video Example: Sierra Nicole

Trendy? Check. Informative? Check. Prompts action? Check! This video works because it has all the ingredients for an effective short-form video.

It first grabs the viewer’s attention by including a popular song and dance. The content addresses pain points viewers may be facing. Then, the call-to-action (CTA) in the caption rounds out the video by turning viewers into potential leads.

6. More Explainer or Educational Videos

In 2022, brands will likely focus on educational content in their short-form videos – think how-to’s, DIYs, and explainer videos.

A 2020 Wyzowl report found that viewers want to see more of this video style from brands.

Wondering where we currently stand? 32% of marketers surveyed in our social media trends report say they currently leverage educational content and 57% of those who do say it’s one of the most effective content types.

Educational videos are great added-value content because they help audiences in their day-to-day lives. Brands that make education a priority in their marketing strategy can improve lead generation and build stronger brand loyalty.

Similarly, explainer videos target users who are at the decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey and, if done right, they can turn decision-makers into customers.

It’s a win-win situation: Brands get to address their audience’s pain points and offer solutions, which is (surprise!) them. Not sure what I mean? See the example below.

Short-Form Video Example: Soy Yo Candle

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by SoyYo | Candle company (@soyyocandle)

Soy Yo Candle used this formula to create this short-form video. Presumably, one of the biggest struggles of owning candles is making them last.

In just a few seconds, the brand presented a problem, offered a solution, and promoted its product. It can be as simple as that.

Another highlight in this video is that it caters to viewers who may be discovering the brand and those who already know it. Because of the value it offers, the brand can reach a broader audience organically.

Takeaways for Video Marketers

Social Media Content Manager Kelsi Yamada says it’s a low-commitment and engaging way to connect with your audience.

“You can get a good laugh or learn something new in a minute or less on TikTok or Reels,” said Yamada.

“On the flip side, it’s also relatively easy to create, which means there are more people who can share their humor or points of view. Because of this, brands should figure out what their unique point of view is, and how they can stand out in the noise.”

The desire to be on-trend is always tempting. But Yamada stresses that brands should be selective about which trends they partake in.

“Not every viral TikTok sound or meme format will align with your content strategy or brand, so don’t force it,” she said.

“Focus on catering to your niche and staying authentic first. Don’t be afraid to make something completely from scratch – trends have to start somewhere!”

With this in mind, it’s all about finding the balance between what’s trending and what’s on-brand for your business.

1. TikTok

With at least 47% of its users between 10 and 29 years old, TikTok is definitely the platform for the Millennial and Gen Z population.

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The TikTok homepage features a timeline of videos separated into two tabs. The “Following” tab with videos posted by the user’s followers, and the algorithm-driven “For You” page based on user behavior (what they like, comment on, scroll past, etc.)

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The “Discover” tab on TikTok highlights trending topics and hashtags, a great resource for marketers to generate new content ideas.

B2B marketers have been wary of using the platform, but it could be because success on the platform relies on emotional appeal. Yet, that emotional appeal may be exactly what they need.

According to a LinkedIn study, B2B strategies that appeal to emotions are seven times more effective for revenue generation than “rational messaging.”

Still not quite convinced TikTok is a viable marketing platform for your business? Check out this video explanation of how TikTok has grown into one of the most go-to platforms for short-form content today.

Now, it may be time to start practicing those dance moves.

2. Reels

Some call it TikTok 2.0, but Instagram Reels is proving to be its own beast.

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The Reels tab on Instagram is a scrollable video timeline, similar to what users see on their Explore page. From this page, users can click on the music the account used to see what other Reels feature that sound.

With over 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram already had consumers’ attention. When they launched Reels back in August of 2020, it became another marketing tool for brands and a worthy opponent for TikTok.

Instagram caters to a broader age demographic than TikTok. And when considering their other marketing features, Reels is another way for brands to expand their reach in a minute or less.

3. YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is Youtube’s latest attempt to turn its long-form video platform into one that also houses short-form content.

YouTube first started testing it in September 2020 and it is now available to users globally.

When using YouTube’s mobile app, you’ll see that Shorts now have their dedicated tab on the platform. Users can create Shorts up to 60 seconds and, similarly to other short-form video platforms, can edit the videos directly within the app.

4. Triller

Triller is Tiktok’s musical theater friend (or rival), the one who bursts into song anytime, anywhere without cause or notice.

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Triller’s homepage looks similar to other short-form video platforms. However, They have made music a prominent feature on the app by making top and trending music the main tab.

The platform is popular among musical artists and allows users to edit 60-second videos within the app. This includes music, filters, effects, and transitions. Triller grew in popularity earlier this year when there was some uncertainty surrounding a TikTok ban in the United States.

With music playing a key role on the app, marketers should use music as a storytelling element in their videos. For instance, the song “You Got It” by Vedo, a song about unlocking your potential, made its rounds on Triller last year.

A recruiting firm could’ve used that sound to create a short video targeting job seekers. The song would also work great as a backdrop for a business coaching company advertising its services. The limit does not exist.

5. Hippo Video

If you want to take short-form video content beyond social media, there’s Hippo Video.

The video marketing platform gives brands a one-stop-shop to produce, distribute, and analyze their video content. Users can also embed forms, CTAs, and annotations within the video, making conversions easier.

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For example, let’s say a SaaS company is launching a new product and the marketing team is using Hippo Video for the email campaign.

On launch day, they can send a product teaser video to current customers and include a “Schedule a Demo” CTA, leading users to a meeting scheduling page.

During the campaign, the team can track key metrics like total plays and average watch rate — taking video analytics to another level.

6. Magisto by Vimeo

Vimeo recently acquired Magisto, a video editing software that makes video marketing easy through artificial intelligence (AI).

The first step is uploading your videos. The software will then analyze the videos and put them together based on the video editing style you’re looking for. They have over 10 editing styles ranging from real estate and fitness to Facebook and YouTube ads.

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Once you select the style you’re looking for and the video is complete, you can distribute it on social media platforms and track the analytics.

This platform is ideal for brands that don’t want to spend too much time or too many resources on video marketing. This app does it so you don’t have to.

7. Lately.ai

If your brand is short on time and resources but wants to leverage short-form video, consider Lately.ai.

This software, powered by AI, takes long-form audio, video, and text and atomizes it into snackable posts for social media. How does it know what will work? That’s where the AI comes in.

It looks at what content your audience is most likely to respond to based on historical data and creates from there. It’s a great tool for brands who are dipping their toes in short-form content and want to build from their current library.

8. Wistia

Wistia is a leader in the video hosting industry, helping more than 300,000 businesses manage their video content and grow their audience.

When using this platform, you can build a customizable video player that matches your brand, use lead generation tools, and track your videos’ performance to gain insights.

You can also create custom ad audiences for search and social to ensure your content reaches the right audience and use integrations to sync all your tools.

There are hundreds of ways to incorporate short-form videos into your marketing strategy. But no matter which trends come and go, it will always come back to your audience.

Try a few approaches, and listen to where the data tells you to go next.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Jan. 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Here’s a little exercise for you: Check the timestamps on the emails you’ve gotten in the past day. What have you found? For me, I noticed that most of my emails, especially my subscription emails, were sent between 9-10 AM, or 5-6 PM.

This isn’t a coincidence, either.

While the answer to “What’s the perfect time to send an email to my customers?” isn’t an exact science, there are some key findings we’ve discovered through heavy research, and those times listed above are right in line with what we found. Keep reading to find out the best time to send an email, according to our findings.

The data reflects when most audiences begin their day and throughout the afternoon.

If you’re sending emails that include a sale or promotion, try sending them during the times your audience tends to take their lunch breaks simply because they may be more likely to check their emails at this time.

If you want something more specific when it comes to what time and day you should send an email, here’s what you need to know:

In our survey, we asked marketers which day of the week their marketing emails get the most engagement. 22.6% of U.S. marketers said Monday, 24.9% said Tuesday, and 21.3% of U.S. marketers said Wednesday.

When we asked those same marketers which time of day their emails get the most engagement we found that 34.9% said 9 AM to 12 PM and 27.6% said 12 PM to 3 PM.

From this data, it looks like the best days for seeing engagement fall during the first three days of the workweek, particularly between 9 AM and 3 PM.

For example, to send a customer an incentive, such as gift card from Rybbon, they are more likely to see it during that time. 

Keeping your audience in mind is a good tip for figuring out the time to send your emails. If your buyer persona is a professional with a nine-to-five job, sending emails during their ideal downtimes is the best. 

You can also use tools like postal.io to retain customers and boost leads.

Why Email Matters For Your Business

In our survey, we found that 85.4% of marketers leverage automation as part of their email marketing strategy. Therefore, if you aren’t leveraging automated email marketing your competition probably is.

Automated email marketing provides a chance for you to improve sales conversions — maybe even by 14%. It’s a way to send customers unique offers — such as product sales or newsletters updates — with information your reader can’t get anywhere else.

Emails should be personalized with what your customers want to see, allowing you to communicate with them instantly. Your emails should contain information your customers are interested in learning more about — such as discount offers, business updates, or product or service launches.

HubSpot‘s marketing email tool allows users to create and send automated emails for free. It also gives you the option to schedule your emails according to the preferences you’ve set. Then, your emails will be sent to the list(s) of contacts you select.

When you reach this option in your automated email tool, you probably spend some time wondering when exactly your audience would like to receive your email, especially if it includes a limited-time offer. You want to make sure the highest number of customers possible are reading your emails.

How to Measure the Performance of Your Email Sends

If you’re wondering about the best time to send a marketing email, there’s something you should know first. There’s a lot of data out there on the subject that provides differing answers, and one reason is that it depends on your audience and — more importantly — how you’re measuring success.

For example, the best time for people to open your emails could differ from the best time for people to take action. Here is a breakdown of the most important email metrics:

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate refers to the number of people who open a link or image in an email. This number will always be smaller than the total number of emails opened since some people will open your email but then abandon it without engaging with it any further.

52.2% of the marketers we surveyed reported increasing click-through rates to be the primary goal of their email marketing campaign. When asked to select up to three strategies that are most effective in improving click-through rates, 48.2% of respondents included email personalization, 36.5% included crafting effective subject lines, and 38.2% included providing value through marketing emails.

Click-to-Open Rate

When comparing the number of people that opened your email and the number that clicked on any links, that data is called click-to-open rate. This metric helps you identify which information in your emails is relevant to consumers. Finding CTOR is done by diving CTR by the open rate and multiplying it by 100%. For example, if your email receives 200 clicks and 120 opens, your click-to-open rate is 60%.

Open Rate

The open rate, then, is the percentage found from the number of subscribers who opened your email campaign. Emails that have great open rates have short, effective subject lines. Plus, they’re optimized for previews and preheader text.

To ensure you’re reaching your target audience, you’ll want to segment your B2B audience down even further — perhaps by job function or seniority — to accommodate different behaviors and modes of working with your email sends. You may even find that other times work better for your list

Continue experimenting and seeing what works best with your audience. One way to do this is by using an automation tool like Seventh Sense which will fine-tune your email sends using artificial intelligence.

Email marketing can be a tricky process . There are so many industries taking advantage of it in their own way and making an impact.

Your subscribers are already interested in your content. They appreciate what you are offering as a company, and as long as you’re sending them emails that relate to that, you have a good chance of obtaining great metrics.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Experimental navigation, scrolling effects, and kinetic typography are just a few of the web design trends dominating 2022. 

Check out the full list with examples of the best website designs in 2022 to get inspired to tackle your web design projects this year.

One common theme among these trends is motion design. Gary Simon, an experienced UI/UX designer and frontend developer, believes motion design will be everywhere in 2022. To see several examples of websites using scroll-based animations, parallax effects, animated SVGs and more, check out his video:

1. Experimental Navigation

What we like: Experimental navigation can help engage and guide visitors to browse the site in a particular way. 

Experimental navigation refers to navigation patterns that subvert the traditional pattern (all caps navigation across the top of the screen with sans serif typography). These experimental patterns can help create interest and guide users to move around the site in a specific way. 

Take Kim Kneipp’s portfolio site for example. If you click the Menu button in the right corner of the homepage, a menu slides in from the bottom of the screen that looks like the table of contents in a book. Each page is numbered to suggest an order of reading. On the right, the projects are also numbered and categorized by type and color. 

2. Scrolling Effects

What we like: Scrolling effects can stimulate visitors and encourage them to keep scrolling. 

Scrolling effects — animations that are triggered by scroll action — can create more dynamic web experiences. These are increasingly used on interactive websites to intrigue readers to keep scrolling, signify a break in content, and create a three-dimensional experience. 

Engineered Floors does just that using a combination of horizontal and vertical scrolling and other effects. For example, when the user lands on the homepage, they see an image of what appears to be a chair on the right. As the user scrolls, this image zooms out to reveal a living room, which is gradually covered in carpet. This 3D experience is delightful and informative. 

3. Kinetic Typography

What we like: Kinetic typography can delight visitors and help them digest your content. 

Kinetic typography — or moving text — is an animation technique that’s been around since the 60s when feature films began using animated opening titles. It can used for a similar purpose in website design to immediately grab the visitor’s attention once they land on the homepage.

It can also be used to highlight important sections, guide the visitor as they scroll, and gradually reveal information, like on Arcadia. 

4. Drag Interaction

What we like: Drag interaction can provide users with a sense of control over their experience. 

Drag interactions are designed to mimic an actual, physical action. They essentially allow website visitors to pick up and move objects on the screen. This type of gesture interaction is being implemented on more websites, and ecommerce and portfolio sites in particular. 

Take Robin Mastromarino’s portfolio site as an example. In addition to clicking on the controls of the homepage slider, you can drag and drop the different slides to browse his featured projects. The page transitions and animations are based on the drag speed to provide users with a sense of control over these effects.

5. Retro Typography

What we like: Retro typography can inspire a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality in website visitors.  

More and more companies are using big, bold typography with a retro feel to headline their homepages. This style works best for a short word, with the rest of the page kept minimal and clean.

This is part of a larger trend labeled “Neue Nouveau.” In its 2022 Type Trends Report, the foundry and technology company Monotype describes Neue Nouveau as a twist on the Art Nouveau movement, which was characterized by decorative designs, embellished stroke endings, and diagonal and triangular character shapes. We can see some of these same characteristics — like organic forms and flourishes — in typography today, according to the report.

Here’s an example from French restaurant Picky Joe. The psychedelic-looking headline matches the retro interior of the restaurant as seen in the image on the right. 

You can check out other restaurant website designs here. 

6. Cinemagraphs

What we like: Cinemagraphs can help draw the visitor’s eye around the page, even in the most complex layouts. 

Cinemagraphs — high-quality videos or GIFs that run on a smooth, continuous loop — have become a popular way to add movement and visual interest to otherwise static pages.

While full-screen loops were popular in the past, this year you’ll see smaller cinemagraphs incorporated into complex layouts to help draw the eye and keep readers scrolling, like in this example from the design and technology studio Grafik.

7. Brutalism

What we like: Brutalism prioritizes simplicity and functionality, which are pillars of the user experience.

To stand out in a sea of tidy, organized websites, some designers are opting for more eclectic, convention-defying structures. While it can seem jarring at first, many popular brands are now incorporating these aggressively alternative design elements into their sites, such as Bloomberg.

Brutalism emerged as a reaction to the increasing standardization of web design and is often characterized by stark, asymmetrical, nonconformist visuals, and a distinct lack of hierarchy and order. In other words, it’s hard to describe but you know it when you see it — like with the below example from Chrissie Abbott.

8. Monochromatic Gradients

What we like: Monochromatic gradients are visually interesting but not distracting. 

Gradients have been all over the web for the past few years, and are still very common in 2022. This year, many website background are gradients that are both monochromatic and pastel.

Kendra Pembroke, a Visual Designer at Red Ventures, said “I see a lot of gradients, especially monochromatic ones, which give a sense of depth and visual interest without being too distracting.”

Creative Studio Better Half illustrates a perfect example of how to make this effect look fresh and modern. It combines bold typography and hover animations with a monochromatic, pastel yellow gradient background.

9. Layering

What we like: Layering can help add depth to a site and tell the brand’s story. 

Layering images, colors, shapes, animations, and other elements add depth and texture to a site that doesn’t have a lot of text. Below is a stylish example from the singer-songwriter SIRUP. 

10. Text-Only

What we like: This minimalist approach ensures visitors only get the most essential information. 

Some websites are cutting out images and prominent navigation sections altogether, relying on a few choice lines of straightforward text to inform visitors about their company.

Danish agency B14 uses the hero section of its homepage to simply describe its mission statement, for example. It’s a modern, uncluttered approach to presenting information that provides a stark contrast to its portfolio section, which uses cinemagraphs, hover animations, and an animated cursor effect. 

11. Animated Illustrations

What we like: Animated illustrations help convey complex ideas and add some personality to a site. 

More companies are turning to illustrators and graphic artists to create bespoke illustrations for their websites. “Illustration works well to convey more complex ideas that lifestyle photos aren’t always able to capture,” Pembroke explained.

In website designs this year, these illustrations are often animated to add interactivity.

For example, if you hover over one of the illustrations on the NewActon site (designed by Australian digital agency ED), the illustration and those in the surrounding area will wiggle. Then, only the illustration you’re hovering over will continue to move in a small circle. This design is also functional: each illustration represents one of the categories from the navigation menu on the right.  

12. Ultra-minimalism

What we like: Ultra-minimalism can positively impact the user experience and website performance. 

Taking classic minimalism to the extreme, some designers are defying conventions of what a website needs to look like, displaying just the absolute bare necessities. This trend, known as “ultra-minimalism,” can be great for the user experience and load times.

The site from designer Mathieu Boulet is centered around a few choice links to their social profiles and information.

13. Mixing Horizontal and Vertical Text

What we like: Mixing horizontal and vertical text defies convention and can therefore delight and intrigue some users. 

Freeing text from its usual horizontal alignment and placing it vertically on a page adds some refreshing dimension. Take this example from action sports video producers Prime Park Sessions, which combines horizontal and vertical text alignments on a minimal page.

14. Geometric Shapes and Patterns

What we like: Geometric shapes and patterns can direct visitor’s attentions to certain products or CTAs. 

Whimsical patterns and shapes are popping up more frequently on websites, adding some flair in a landscape otherwise ruled by flat and material design. Canadian design studio MSDS uses daring, patterned letters on their homepage.

15. Thin Serif Fonts

What we like: This trend adds a level of sophistication to a brand. 

Due to screen resolution limitations and an overall lack of online font support, designers avoided serif fonts for years to keep websites legible and clean. With recent improvements, serif fonts had a big moment in 2021.

While last year was all about big and bold serifs, 2022 is ushering in thinner, light serifs, according to Monotype’s 2022 Type Trends Report.

As seen on The Sill, a svelte serif headline adds a dose of sophistication and style.

16. Overlapping Text and Images

What we like: Overlapping text and images maximizes space on the page. 

Text that slightly overlaps accompanying images has become a popular effect for blogs and portfolios. Freelance art director and front-end developer Thibault Pailloux makes their overlapping text stand out with a colorful underline beneath each title.

17. Broken Grids

What we like: This convention-defying technique can make standard website pages or sections more interesting.  

While grids remain one of the most common and efficient ways of displaying text and images on websites, broken grids continue to make their way into mainstream sites and offer a change-up from the norm. Check out the website for HealHaus, for example. Its homepage features images and text blocks that overlap.

18. Organic Shapes

What we like: Organic shapes add personality without distracting from the content.  

Gone are the days of strict grid layouts and sharp edges — now it’s all about curved lines and soft, organic shapes.

“Organic shapes can help add some playfulness without affecting the way the information is displayed,” Pembroke said.

In the example below from Spring Invest, the organic shapes in the hero section are not only decorative but functional. The yellow dots act like a cursor, drawing the tear drops that form the company’s logo. These shapes not only add a moment of delight — they also help reinforce the brand’s identity and value proposition to “shape the future of commerce.” 

19. Web Textures

What we like: Web textures draw attention to a particular section on a website. 

Web textures are background images that visually resemble a three-dimensional surface. When done well, textures can immerse viewers in a website by engaging tactile senses, as demonstrated by Color Of Change — the background evokes a duct-tape-like texture.

20. Grid Lines

What we like: This trend emphasizes the grid as an organizing principle. 

Grid lines have started cropping up more and more in recent months, and for good reason. Grid lines structure content in a way that makes it easy to read and understand — but it also adds a modern aesthetic. On the Foundations for a Better Oregon website, grid lines are used to create a clear layout that looks futuristic.

Design Trends You Can Use on Your Website

Of course, you don’t need to incorporate all of these trends to build one of the best website designs in 2022 — we doubt that’s even possible anyways. However, even adding a couple as prominent components or subtler details can improve your site’s UX significantly, leading to higher engagement, more CTA clicks, and a better outcome for your online business.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

It’s a question almost every fast-growing company runs into: should we hire a PR firm or build an in-house team? And if you wrestle with this question long enough, it quickly spirals into an endless back-and-forth (“on the other hand…“).

The truth is, depending on your specific goals, resources, and budget, one path may make more sense than the other. We’ve rounded up some helpful advice from PR pros at HubSpot to help you make the right call.

Let’s dive into the key benefits and drawbacks of hiring an agency, explore how to make the right decision for your business, and cover five PR tasks you can manage in-house.

Reasons to Hire a PR Firm

1. You know what you want.

Hiring a firm without knowing what you want is like driving to a new destination without a map. Chances are, you’ll get lost — quickly.

“Hiring a PR firm can be a significant investment, so before doing so, you need to be clear about your goals and what you’re hoping to achieve through PR,” advises Ellie Flanagan, Manager of Product & Corporate Communications at HubSpot.

Your goals are your compass. They influence your budget, timeline, and even the tactics you want to employ. Just as importantly, they give you a clear picture of what you need from an agency.

2. You’re ready to “feed the PR machine.”

PR is not a “set it and forget it” activity — even if you hire an agency to do the heavy lifting.

Mia MacKinnon, Head of Brand & Public Relations, APAC at HubSpot, echos this point, telling me, “If, as a founder or business leader, you don’t have capacity to invest in supporting your agency or in-house lead with developing and approving narratives, supporting launches, prepping for media interactions and events and being available for speaking opportunities, it’s going to be tough to see results.”

She continues, “If an agency’s drip-fed information, with little visibility of your business strategy and the challenges you’re facing, they’re going to have an incredibly tough time delivering results. You get out what you put in with public relations and my best agency partners have been ones where the team we’ve worked with have become an extension of our in-house team.”

In other words, you play a huge role in setting up your agency for success. If you treat your agency like a true partnership, you’re more likely to see great results.

3. You want to extend your media reach.

When you hire a PR firm, you not only access new ideas, perspectives, and expertise — you also work with people who have relationships with key contacts in the media. And when it comes to media outreach, you’re only as strong as your relationships.

Flanagan adds, “Building relationships with reporters is a core component of successful PR. If you do decide to go the agency route, it’s important that they have a day-to-day contact at your company that can bring them information and help them connect to internal stakeholders.”

That said, your budget may get in the way here. If that’s the case, fear not. Flanagan advises: “If you have a limited budget, hiring an in-house PR person to focus on relationship building can be a better investment. In-house teams also have better access to internal resources and spokespeople.”

4. You need specialized knowledge.

They say all press is good press — but that’s up for debate. Regardless, when a crisis situation comes a-knocking, most small businesses and start-ups are not equipped to handle it. Even negative feedback and disgruntled customers can impact a brand’s reputation and image.

All this to say, if your business needs crisis communication — or any specialized PR knowledge — it’s better to leave it to the pros. PR firms are more experienced and specially trained to handle (and prevent) these types of situations.

Now let’s explore some red flags you should consider before moving to the next step.

Reasons Why You Might Not Need a PR Firm

1. Your in-house team is closer to the information.

Your in-house team only has one client: you. Meaning they can give their complete and undivided attention, whereas an agency has to spread its time across multiple clients.

As Flanagan tells me, “In-house teams also have better access to internal resources and spokespeople.”

Whereas you need to educate an outside agency about the ins and outs of your business — and monitor their work for accuracy — your in-house team already has a strong grasp of internal company knowledge.

Additionally, with tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub and Hootsuite, working on PR-related tasks — like sending promotional emails and social monitoring — has never been easier.

2. You haven’t found a good fit with an agency.

When hiring an agency, never underestimate the importance of finding a good fit.

MacKinnon tells me, “There are many moving parts to finding the right agency — industry specialization, B2B versus consumer, agency size and how they structure their teams, how flexible an agency is, their model — are they pure media relations, or are they more integrated, and which of the two do you need?”

For small businesses that are new to the PR game, MacKinnon suggests looking for agencies that offer flexibility:

“Agencies who have a flexible model and can adapt to suit your businesses needs are often where smaller businesses find a great fit — until you have a set model of working, it’s important that the agency can flex to align with you — this might be a big launch one month, and a quiet period the next, as you prepare for your next campaign.”

Additionally, reputation is paramount in the PR world. Don’t hesitate to ask around for recommendations from others.

MacKinnon explains, “Exceptional agencies tend to be known and talked about — ask for recommendations from businesses whose public relations campaigns you admire, from businesses in an industry similar to yours, or who face similar challenges when it comes to awareness, perception and trust.”

3. You’re looking for a quick fix.

PR isn’t a “quick fix.” The PR seeds you plant today need time to grow, especially considering the nature of public relations is all about building real relationships. As a result, the relationship you have with your agency should feel like a true partnership — not a short-term investment.

If all that sounds daunting, the agency route may not be the answer.

MacKinnon echos this, saying: “One of the biggest learnings I’ve had in my career working in-house, and something I share with my team, is that once you find your agency, you have a huge role to play in setting you both up for success, and that’s to treat them like a true partner.”

5 PR Tasks Your In-House Team Can Manage

1. Press releases.

In today’s world, businesses have to generate their own buzz. Whether sharing a new product drop, an upcoming event, or changes in your organizational structure, a well-written press release can get the word out about your business. Check out this helpful guide on how to write a press release that stands out from the crowd.

2. Social media communications.

What people say about your business on social media can impact your overall reputation. Every in-house team should have their “ear to the ground” monitoring these conversations.

Social listening tools — like HubSpot’s Social Media Management Software, Sprout Social, and Buffer — track mentions of your brand, relevant keywords, and direct feedback through hashtags and DMs. Additionally, many of these tools will allow you to respond to mentions on your social media accounts directly from the dashboard.

3. Blog writing.

Community outreach is a pillar of public relations. A great way to engage with an audience is through owned channels, like a company blog. When it comes to developing a well-rounded blogging strategy, your in-house team may need to divide and conquer — one person creates an editorial calendar, another person looks for guest contributors, while another person writes blog content.

4. Promotional emails.

Thanks to tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact, it’s easier than ever to manage, design, and send emails to customers. However, in order to send emails, you first need people to send them to. Therefore, building a healthy email list — and making it easy to opt in — should be a long-standing focus for your in-house team.

5. Employee communications.

Employee communications, also known as internal communications, has quickly become a major focus in PR. After all, employees can be a company’s harshest critics or most passionate advocates.

Employee communications involve sharing info through various channels, like email or an internal forum. In-house PR teams can share company news, project updates, and more. When employees feel “in the loop,” they’re more engaged, connected, and empowered at work.

Back To You

Ultimately, no one knows your business — and its needs — better than you. If you’re deciding whether to hire a PR firm or not, start with the advice in this article. And remember, as long as you factor PR in your business strategy to some capacity, you’re already headed in the right direction.

Digital advocacy efforts are vital for enabling nonprofit organizations to cut through the noise and win campaigns.

Without digital advocacy, it can be difficult to measure the success of your campaigns — or even know if you’re winning, at all. In fact, 94% of advocacy campaigners believe the opposing side is winning, and 86% believe they should embrace more impactful tactics.

It is time we step up our digital advocacy efforts.

Whether you’re a seasoned campaigner looking to go back to basics or are completely new to digital organizing and don’t know where to start — you’re in the right place.

Here, let’s explore five questions you’ll want to ask when starting a digital advocacy campaign.

5 Questions to Ask for a Successful Digital Advocacy Campaign

1. What is your goal?

Before starting any digital campaign, it’s important to understand what you’re trying to achieve. 

Think about what you want to accomplish. Do you want to turn the tides on a policy decision currently on the table? Do you want to help de-stigmatize an issue in your community? Do you want to mobilize your supporters to publicly support your issue ahead of an upcoming election?

Marshall Ganz is a scholar at Harvard and activist who has studied powerful movements and what led to their success. Through his research he found a framework for setting goals.

Ganz determined that effective campaign goals should:

• Be measurable and tangible to improve the lives of your supporters. You should be able to clearly measure the incremental progress towards the goal.
• Focus resources strategically to achieve your goal. Consider what you have in your back pocket– can you put your organization’s skills and strengths to use to achieve a single outcome?
• Build capacity for your organization internally. For example, when working towards this goal will you recruit and engage volunteers? Will you gain valuable experience or resources, exposure and clout that will help you with your next goal?
• Use points of leverage where you can use your communities strengths and/or capitalize off of your opposition’s weakness
• Focus on a single motivational issue that has a direct impact on your supporters’ lives.

2. What is your theory of change?

It is incredibly important to show your supporters that their actions can have an enormous impact.  

In our research report on Full Spectrum Engagement, we found that it’s essential to show how change is possible. Providing a blueprint for that path — and showing how you get from A to B — will help supporters understand the steps it takes to win, and they’ll directly see their role in that change. 

Google’s research into civic engagement attitudes shows that those who do not take action are held back in part because they didn’t believe their actions would have an impact. When people see how their small action plays into a larger strategic plan, they will be more likely to join.

Here is how the #StopAdani illustrated their theory of change:

The giant #StopAdani campaign used this graphic to illustrate the theory of  change of their campaign to stop a new coal mine in Australia.

3. Who are your targets?

Now that you have a goal, ask yourself, who are the key decision-makers in charge of making your goal become a reality? Who do you need on your side to make it happen? A good exercise for narrowing in on decision-makers is called power mapping.

To conduct power mapping, follow these steps:

• Brainstorm: List all of the people involved in your campaign, including stakeholders, influencers, decision-makers, and constituents who are directly affected by the issue.
• Power Map: Next, place them on a grid and map them based on how much power they have over your issue, and how sympathetic they are to your cause.
• Pick a Target: Once everything is on the grid, you can see who might be the best person to target in your campaign. Remember — it doesn’t have to be the most powerful person. Depending on how long you have, you may go for a more sympathetic person first, or even do an assessment of the most powerful person’s network. You need to analyze the pathways and relationships that can get you access to these decision-makers, and how to put pressure on them through a larger network.

Here is an example of a power mapping brainstorm. The goal is in the pink sticky note, and all of the actors related to the goal are in yellow sticky notes and have been mapped:

A Screenshot of a power mapping board. The campaign goal is to eliminate proof of immigration status when enrolling in school so they process aligns with the statewide sanctuary policy. The vertical axis maps the level of influence/power each actor has over the decision related to the campaign. The horizontal axis maps the level of support each actor has for your campaign. Template inspired by Anita Tang’s work at The Commons 

To get more in depth instructions on power mapping please check out our Advocacy Targeting with Intention Manual to give you step-by-step instructions and great prompting questions for your brainstorming.

4. How will you reach your goal?

You have determined your goal and your theory of change … but how will you put this plan into action?

New/Mode provides a platform for supporters to reach decision-makers and for their voices to be heard. We offer multiple avenues and channels to reach decision-makers.

Reaching a CEO or a bank? Perhaps they would be more receptive to the public and a hashtag on Twitter calling them out.

Need to reach a local representative? They have staff dedicated to opening, reading, and responding to their constituents. New/Mode has built-in datasets that automatically match supporters with their elected officials so none of the manual work falls on your shoulders.

Check out the types of digital advocacy tools you can use to achieve your goals:

Tweet Storm

Use Tweets to build a powerful public narrative, grow support, and make your campaign go viral.

Learn how the Regional Transportation Authority used the tweet storm to win funding for transit.

Letters to the Editor

Make the headlines! Encourage supporters to write letters to local publications and provide a platform for your collective story… decision-makers will be sure to notice!

Learn how organizations such as the Warren Democrats, Stand Up America, and New Hampshire Democratic Party have used this great tool.

Targeted Emails

Input multiple email subject lines and messages into the system to increase deliverability and open rates. Create conditional messages that are dependent on the decision-maker’s current vote or position. Give your supporters an appropriate script for the given situation.

Learn how Defund the Police campaigns all over North

America used email actions to give their supporters a strong voice.

Personalized Calls

Call your local, state/provincial, and federal officials, and candidates and tell them what matters most.

Learn how BattleForTheNet used the call tool to advocate for open internet for all.

Petitions

Give your supporters something to believe in! Provide an easy way for them to take action and get in touch with local decision-makers.

Learn how Safe Passage used a combination of the petition, tweet and letter to the editor tool to reunite families.

5. What is your follow-up plan?

Campaigning is a long and dedicated effort. In your digital advocacy campaign you are developing and furthering a relationship with both your supporters and decision-makers. You must have a plan for both of these relationships.

How to Nurture your Relationships with Supporters

You will have a list of supporters who take part in your advocacy campaign and you will have an opportunity to deepen your relationship with them.

Using New/Mode in tandem with a customer relationship management software is really effective to keep track of and nurture relationships. Once an action-taker uses New/Mode, their contact information will sync to HubSpot. In HubSpot you can see who has taken an action, and how many actions they’ve taken.

With this information you can start to follow-up with those people every couple of months and ask them to participate in an action they’re ready to take. For example, if someone starts with a low-barrier action such as a petition, you could ask them to do another simple action like sending an email to a representative or ask them to escalate their action and ask them to Tweet at their representative.

A helpful way to visualize this is a pyramid of engagement/ladder of engagement which is used by campaigners and organizers to define a series of tasks for supporters, usually escalating in difficulty or commitment required.

Different advocacy tools might be better depending on which level a supporter is at, as shown in this picture:

For more tips on how to engage your supporter base, check out this Campaign Engagement Checklist, developed from decades of experience leading advocacy campaigns across the globe.

How to Nurture your Relationship with Decision-Makers

Once your supporters contact their decision-makers you need to be ready to follow-up with them, make your ask again, and/or hold them accountable. You should ask supporters to notify you of the response they get so you can keep track of how receptive the decision-maker is.

Depending on how responsive the decision-maker is you may want to ask them for a meeting and invite supporters along so you can make your asks and demands face-to-face. If they’re not responsive, perhaps it’s time to try another communications channel if they are not receptive to the first request.

If they are not responding to emails, would they be more attentive if they saw their name in thousands of tweets or in the newspaper? If you do receive a commitment from a decision-maker, make note of this and come up with a plan to check in and hold them accountable.

Time to Get Started

You are officially set up for success because you now have a goal in mind, a plan to get there, targets to reach, a way to reach them and a plan to follow up on your efforts.

Good luck, and happy campaigning.

At New/Mode we are providing technology to help leading social good organizations cut through the noise and win campaigns. We provide digital advocacy software that is designed to turn engaged supporters into advocates that achieve tangible wins for our communities.

We support hundreds of cause-based organizations and so far have facilitated over 17,000 campaigns and 60 million civic messages to decision-makers with our software– we know what works and want to share the top five questions you should ask before launching your campaign to ensure you have a successful one.

It’s getting difficult for marketers to ignore the popularity and influence of TikTok. Brands on TikTok are reaching younger audiences, increasing brand awareness, and going viral — all by leveraging the power of short-form video.

Of course, it also helps that TikTok has over 1 billion active users and a fantastic engagement rate — far exceeding any other social platform today.

In this post, we’ll discuss why you should leverage TikTok marketing in 2022 and how smaller companies can build a scalable, fun, and creative strategy on the platform. We’ll also cover eleven brands that have gone viral on TikTok.

Table of Contents

What is TikTok Marketing?

Why Brands Should Leverage TikTok Marketing in 2022

11 TikTok Brands That are Winning at Marketing

TikTok Marketing Tips

What is TikTok Marketing?

Although TikTok might feel like a hub of strange posts, its popularity and video-driven content provide a variety of unique marketing opportunities.

Marketers can leverage TikTok in three main areas:

1. Influencer Marketing

A great way to leverage TikTok is by engaging with the influencer community. Because influencers have a solid understanding of the platform, they can transform stiff brand messages into fun and creative videos. This type of marketing is particularly effective at opening your content to a new audience and boosting brand awareness.

2. Original Content

Although fans of TikTok love original content, you don’t need to spend hours coming up with the next viral trend. Often, the best performing TikToks are ones that replicate or recreate a current trend. Start by exploring the app, its trends, and where your brand can join the fun.

3. Paid Ads

TikTok ads are a relatively new addition to the platform. Powered by their own advertising platform, TikTok For Business, brands can run in-feed ads or create branded hashtags and video effects.

Although many of the first brands to join TikTok were large, well-known companies, it can still be helpful for small businesses to look at why brands of all sizes are joining the platform.

Why Brands Should Leverage TikTok Marketing in 2022

Short-form video is dominating the social media landscape — and TikTok is the leading platform for it. It’s no surprise that more than half of marketers (52%) who use TikTok plan to increase their investment in 2022, which is one of the highest jumps of any platform.

While TikTok is relatively new compared to other social giants like YouTube and Instagram, it’s seeing stellar growth year-over-year. In fact, it was the most downloaded app in 2019 and 2020, racking up over three billion downloads so far. It also boasts 1.2 billion monthly users which experts predict will reach 1.5 billion by the end of 2022.

Additionally, TikTok is the most engaging of all social media apps with an average user session of 10.85 minutes. Its viral nature also deserves a shout out. Unlike other social platforms, even accounts with a handful of followers can spark millions of views on a great video.

If you think TikTok is only for the Gen-Z crowd, think again. While over half of Gen-Z consumers are on TikTok, it’s picking up steam with other age groups. In 2021, 36% of TikTok users were between 35 and 54 years old, a 10% increase from the year before.

That said, since TikTok is quirky by nature, brands need to get creative to gain their audience’s attention. In other words, a simple ad or sponsored influencer endorsement might not cut it on this fast-paced app.

Let’s look at eleven brands who nail TikTok marketing with creative content that draws attention.

1. The NBA

Unlike its Instagram channel, which focuses purely on basketball games and highlights, the NBA’s TikTok posts show a lighter side of the organization. For example, they’ll often post videos of players working out to music, dancing on the court, or answering fan questions.

In this video, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors busts a move from the sidelines after his teammate scores:

And check out this funny montage of Chris Bosh photo-bombing his teammates (including LeBron James) throughout his career:

Making your brand feel more personal can have a great effect on TikTok. For example, if your restaurant’s TikTok account posts funny videos of waiters dancing, viewers might think the restaurant has pleasant and happy staff. This might make them want to eat there because they can picture themselves having a fun dining experience.

What we like:

While you might expect the NBA to focus more seriously on stats and games, it uses the app to lighten up the branding and make its athletes look more relatable. While the videos still promote basketball, they also fit with other funny posts on TikTok feeds.

2. Fenty Beauty

One of the most popular types of content on TikTok is tutorials. Some brands lend themselves to this more than others, but a great example is Fenty Beauty, which uses TikTok to show makeup tutorials, wear-tests, and product launches.

What we like:

Tutorial-based videos can fit a variety of brands. For example, a clothing store can show how to style certain pieces of clothing. A hardware store can show how to build, restore, or paint something using its tools. Even a gym can offer a demonstration on how to use different equipment.

Start by brainstorming all the ways someone could use your products or services. If you can break a task into steps that last no more than 60 seconds, it may make for a great TikTok video tutorial.

3. Dunkin’

Dunkin’ was one of the first brands to employ influencer marketing on the platform by partnering with TikTok megastar Charli D’Amelio.

Together, they launched new menu items at Dunkin and collaborated on several videos.

After posting content about the partnership, Dunkin saw a 57% spike in app downloads and a 20% sales boost for all cold brew coffees.

However, if you believe you need to partner with a famous TikToker for it to work, think again.

When it comes to influencer marketing, relevance is more important than reach. Rather than partnering with an influencer based solely on vanity metrics (such as follower count), look for micro-influencers who have a niche audience that aligns with your own. Research shows that influencers with less than 1,000 followers receive more engagement than their more popular counterparts.

What we like:

This example highlights the power of influencer marketing on TikTok. By partnering with influencers, Dunkin’ benefits from word-of-mouth marketing while building social proof.

4. Milk Bar

TikTok videos thrive with music, and Milk Bar knows this too well. The bakery chain does an exceptional job at capitalizing on popular TikTok memes, formats, and audio.

Here’s Milk Bar putting a spin on the “Have you ever been in love?” video trend:

TikTok makes it easy to add music to video clips, which could result from having made legal arrangements with major music companies. Maybe this is why it’s nearly impossible to scroll through TikTok without seeing users dancing or lip-syncing to music.

What we like:

Viewers like to see brands joining in on current trends or putting a unique spin on an existing one. When brands take the time to understand TikTok and keep a finger on the pulse of the platform, it becomes easier to join trending topics, challenges, and memes. And if you’re not sure where to start, check out TikTok’s Discovery Page for inspiration.

5. Chipotle

Since joining TikTok in 2018, Chipotle has set the standard for how brands can grow their brand presence while engaging the TikTok community in a fun and authentic way.

Chipotle opts for a more casual vibe, often posting dance challenges and fan-made content, such as videos of people sharing their favorite Chipotle recipes and hacks.

Chipotle also showcases behind-the-scenes footage from real crew members in real Chipotle kitchens. Check out this “vlog style” video of a former Chipotle employee revisiting her job and interviewing her coworkers:

What we like:

If you need a creative way to spread brand awareness quickly, taking a note from Chipotle and sharing personable behind-the-scenes footage might be a great experiment. Also, lean into your brand advocates who may be willing to share their experiences on social media.

6. Gymshark

Gymshark is one of the leading fitness brands on TikTok, reaching 2 million followers in only six months. Gymshark caters to fitness fanatics by posting workout challenges, inspirational health journeys, and relatable fitness humor that makes the gym feel less intimidating.

Here’s one of those relatable fitness videos:

One of the brand’s most notable TikTok campaigns was the 66 Days: Change Your Life challenge, which highlights the fact that it takes 66 days to form a habit. TikTokers submitted videos of their own workout journey in hopes of winning a Gymshark membership.

The campaign was an overwhelming success, with the hashtag #gymshark66 generating 193 million views.

What we like:

Gymshark leverages the power of challenges. Challenges are one of the biggest trends on TikTok, and innovative brands are using them to fast-track their growth and connect with millions of users on the app. Consider creating your own challenge or putting a unique spin on an already existing one.

7. The Washington Post

The Washington Post was one of TikTok’s earliest brand adopters. Those who haven’t seen their videos might be anticipating investigative or serious content. Surprisingly, the newspaper actually uses its account to post comedic skits about the latest breaking news.

These videos fit in perfectly with the platform because they’re funny, timely, and embrace some of TikTok’s weirdest special effects. Check out this skit about Delta Airlines’ PR department struggling to write a press release about the COVID-19 delta variant:

The Washington Post displays how brands can succeed on TikTok by talking directly to its specific audience — young viewers who want to laugh.

Because The Post has a long history of groundbreaking, award-winning, and intellectual journalism, this comedic approach might also attract young readers who want to follow the news but used to worry that content from a newspaper would be too advanced or out of touch for them.

What we like:

Despite its reputation for “serious journalism,” the Washington Post did not shy away from TikTok. If your brand is in publishing, academia, or similar industries, testing out a video strategy that shows off your lighter side could be an interesting experiment. It might make your content and brand feel less intimidating and help you gain attention from newer audiences.

8. San Diego Zoo

Everyone loves a cute animal video. The San Diego Zoo’s TikTok account pleasantly takes advantage of this well-known fact.

The zoo’s strategy is simple: Post videos of cute animals with fun music. And with over 2 million fans, it seems to be working. How could anyone not want to follow them after seeing this video of an adorable red panda?

If that cuteness wasn’t enough, the zoo has also dueted with other animal-friendly accounts, like the Monterey Aquarium:

What we like:

This is a great example of how two similar brands can cross-promote using TikTok features. Because of the zoo’s tagging strategy, this video might be seen by fans of the aquarium and the zoo. This way, zoo followers might gain more interest in the aquarium and vice versa.

9. Duolingo

TikTok is known for its quirky “unhinged” content, and Duolingo has effectively carved out a space in this landscape.

The brand continues to go viral for its funny, trendy, and often chaotic videos featuring its mascot, Duo the owl. Duo can be seen dancing to popular audio, adding sassy commentary to pop culture news, and jumping on the latest trends.

Duo’s antics have successfully humanized the brand and epitomizes their witty brand voice — which also comes in handy when responding to TikTok comments.

What we like:

Your brand voice shapes every interaction you have online — from the videos you create to how you respond to comments. Duolingo has molded a strong brand voice which it uses to tell memorable and entertaining stories.

10. Crocs

While the love-hate relationship with crocs is very real, it’s all love for the brand on TikTok. Its winning strategy includes original music, brand-specific hashtags (like #CrocTok), and colorful, entertaining content.

That said, Crocs really shines at poking fun of itself and the perceived “ugliness” of their shoes. They lean into this by posting outfit of the day (OOTD) videos and tutorials on how to style their shoes with accessories and a great sense of humor.

What we like:

No one likes a brand that takes itself too seriously. At the end of the day, your buyers are people — not robots with credit cards. Humility and humor are two ingredients that can humanize your brand, cut through the noise, and build a connection with your audience.

11. Planet Money

Planet Money is a podcast by the National Public Radio (NPR) with the tagline — “The economy explained.”

It’s hard to imagine a brand covering such a serious (and complex) topic on a platform that’s synonymous with silly, snackable content. But Planet Money manages to infuse educational videos with an entertaining spin.

From inflation to rent control, no topic is too challenging for Planet Money to chip away at in an innovative and humorous way. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at this skit explaining how banks make billions from overdraft fees, which starts with a man trying to buy a burrito:

What we like:

If you feel your brand is too “serious” for TikTok, take a note from Planet Money and approach your brand — or your content — from a different angle. You may find that adding a dash of humor is just what you need to skyrocket on the platform.

TikTok Marketing Tips

While it might be challenging to get your content to go viral like the bigger brands, TikTok could be a great tool for getting in sync with younger audiences.

If you think TikTok might be part of your marketing strategy soon or in the future, now would be a great time to get ahead of your competitors by downloading the app and investigating what similar brands or potential audiences are doing there.

If you’re raring to go on a TikTok strategy, here are a few tips and takeaways that we’ve gained from looking at the brands that have already done well on the app.

• Show a different side of your company. The app is a hub for creativity and humor. Embracing a more personal tone or a behind-the-scenes approach could make your company appear more relatable or trustworthy to potential customers.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment. Unlike platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, there aren’t as many norms, best practices, or rules about what works and what doesn’t. If you think something might be interesting or funny, try it and see if it gets any likes, comments, or shares.
• Engage with your audience. Between challenges, duets, likes, comments, and shares, there are plenty of ways to engage with other TikTok users — even if you don’t know them. Try to come up with videos, challenges, or duets that aim to interact with others. As with other platforms, the more you engage with people, the more your fan base could grow.
• Don’t shy away from marketing your products, but make sure you do it in a creative way. Try your hand at tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to content that showcase the best parts of your products or services.
• Tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing with influencers. But remember that relevance is more important than reach, so partner with niche micro-influencers who share a similar audience.

For brands, joining TikTok offers an opportunity to reach younger audiences and increase brand awareness in a highly playful environment. But succeeding on the platform relies on creating exciting content — so prepare to put your creative hat on and experiment with new formats.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Many businesses find creating a social media strategy overwhelming. There are so many networks available, and they’re constantly adding new features to learn and integrate into your plan.

If you don’t have a full-time team of social media experts at your disposal, it’s even harder. But the fact is that your success depends on having a sensible and straightforward strategy that fits your resources and goals.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to develop a social media strategy that will drive traffic and quell that overwhelming feeling you get whenever you open Instagram or Twitter.

Your social media strategy is your master plan for how you create, post, and engage with your social media content. It encompasses your social content guidelines, posting cadence, social media marketing campaigns, creative plans, and engagement strategy.

Many companies use social media to connect with their customers, provide support, advertise new products and features, and promote special offers.

Social media strategies differ depending on the brand’s voice and positioning, target audience demographics, and social media platform limitations. When you develop your business’ social media strategy, considering these factors will help your message reach the right audiences in the right format.

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For example, T-Mobile’s social media team capitalized on the Mother’s Day holiday to promote their T-Mobile Tuesdays app. The tweet uses humor to gain users’ attention and includes a timely promotion to appeal to Twitter users who haven’t bought a gift for Mother’s Day.

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You can also use social media as part of a larger marketing campaign. For example, Hershey’s posted a short video on Instagram featuring Mindy Kaling, the spokesperson for their “Celebrate SHE” campaign.

Why You Need a Social Media Strategy

The top three challenges that social media marketers face include reaching their audience, measuring ROI, and reaching business goals.

Crafting a social media strategy can help you tackle these challenges and more. Social media strategies also equip you to set goals and guardrails, track performance, and tweak your benchmarks over time. Without a starting point, you can’t measure what’s working and how to shift your activity to hit your goals.

Creating a strategy:

1. Helps you set goals and guardrails.

A social media strategy establishes clear expectations and goals for your business’ social media marketing efforts. Whether you aim to increase brand awareness, create buzz around a promotional event, or launch a rebranding campaign for your business, a social media strategy provides a blueprint that your team can follow to keep your marketing consistent, on task, and relevant to your target audience.

2. Allows you to track goal performance.

It’s not enough to simply have a goal for your business’ social media marketing; you also need to keep track of how you are progressing toward the goal. A social media strategy establishes
key performance indicators that you can analyze to monitor your business’ progress toward its social media goals.

3. Helps you tweak your benchmarks over time.

Benchmarking your social media marketing strategy allows you to track social media metrics and analyze your business’ current social media performance compared to industry standards, your competitors’ performance, and your past performance.

Evaluating your performance against benchmarks helps you determine elements of your social media marketing that need improvement to reach your marketing goals.

A social media strategy also helps you set expectations for broader team involvement and get everyone aligned on what they should and shouldn’t do on your social networks.

Let’s unpack how to start building a social media strategy from scratch.

1. Define your target audience.

If you haven’t already identified and documented your buyer personas, start by defining the key demographics of the audience you’re trying to reach, such as age, gender, occupation, income, hobbies and interests, etc.

Defining your target audience helps you create focused advertising that addresses your ideal consumer’s specific needs.

For instance, the below sponsored tweet by monday.com, a project management platform, highlights the platform’s flexibility and workflow customization feature. The tweet targets business owners and project managers who may feel limited by other project management software.

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Consider your ideal consumer’s challenges and what problems they’re solving daily. Focus on no more than four types of people that represent the majority of your buyers. Don’t get hung up on the exceptions or outliers, or you’ll never get started!

2. Start blogging.

Fresh content is the linchpin of a successful social strategy, so commit to consistently creating new, quality content. Compile a list of common questions from prospects and commit to addressing these questions with at least one new blog post per week.

Combining your blogging and social media strategies can help your content reach a larger audience. For example, you can create a social media post that includes a tip for your followers and a link to a blog post that expands upon the post. The social media post will drive traffic to your blog, making it easy for readers to share the blog post with their followers and expand the blog’s reach.

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This tweet by SellersFunding highlights the main points discussed in the linked blog post. The tweet provides enough detail to pique the reader’s interest and convince them to read the full blog post.

3. Create educational content.

Create downloadable content like ebooks, checklists, videos, and infographics that address your buyer’s pains. If your content is beneficial, people will likely share it on social media and extend your reach.

One example would be HubSpot’s social media trends report, which we offer for free:

4. Focus on a few key social channels.

Most startups and small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to establish and sustain a quality social media presence on every single channel. It’s also overwhelming to learn the rules of engagement on multiple networks simultaneously.

Here’s a video by HubSpot Academy explaining the social channels where you can post content for your business.

Start small. Research key networks to learn where your target audience is spending time. For instance, if your ideal consumers are business professionals, it may be beneficial to post on LinkedIn rather than Instagram.

Focus your effort on building, nurturing, and sustaining a community on the social channels where your target audience spends most of their time before moving on to another channel.

5. Develop a recipe card to guide you.

Social media isn’t an exact science. It doesn’t work the same for every business or industry. To see results for your business, create a recipe card. A recipe card is a posting and engagement schedule that keeps your team on track and helps you post content consistently. HubSpot has a list of 13 social media tools and templates that you can use to plan your content and create a posting schedule.

Develop a reasonable recipe card, one you can stick to and get your team to follow. Set goals for your posting and engagement frequency, and hold yourself accountable for following your recipe.

6. Measure your results.

There are countless things to track on your social media channels. Start by looking at how much traffic your social accounts drive to your website or blog.

Social media platforms offer tools to help businesses track analytics. For example, you can use Facebook’s Page Insights, Instagram’s Account Insights, and LinkedIn’s Visitor Analytics to see what people are responding to and look for trends related to particular topics or keywords that generate more interest than others. Once you get an idea of your average traffic and post performance, set goals for key metrics, and keep a scorecard to measure your progress.

Be sure to choose metrics that are easy to gather, because if it’s too time-consuming to track, you’ll fall off the wagon! Examples of simple metrics include net new fans and followers, number of interactions, and visits to your website from social.

7. Adjust your tactics.

Social media won’t start working overnight. Establishing a following, stabilizing your brand, and seeing the results of your efforts takes time. So experiment to find the right combination of channels, content, and messaging that works for your audience.

Keep track of changes in your post views, audience demographics, and post interactions, and make changes as needed.

Over time, you’ll be able to adjust your recipe card, content, and personas based on the information you’re gathering, which will help you fine-tune your strategy and generate more consistent results.

Social Media Marketing Strategy

Social media is a multipurpose business asset. It connects you with your audience and promotes your products, services, and brand. Both functions are equally important.

Building a social media strategy for marketing is different from the process we discussed above. How so? For example, your benchmarks and goals may be more specific to metrics you track for other marketing efforts.

When using social media to market your business, ensure the experience on your social networks is positive and consistent. All imagery and content on your social media accounts should be consistent with those on your website, blog, and any other digital real estate.

Pay close attention to any questions or comments your audience posts, and be quick to address them, as that engagement could make or break a conversion or purchase.

Take a look at these examples of what to stop, start, and keep doing to help your business’ social media marketing succeed.

Lastly, align the content you post and how you post it with marketing campaigns you’re running on other channels (e.g., email or ads).

Social Media Content Strategy

Content is the crux of any social media strategy. Without content, you can’t engage with your audience, promote your products, or measure performance.

The fleeting nature of social media may lead you to believe that you don’t have to plan its content as much as you do for your emails or blogs. That’s not true. Social media content may not be as static as your landing pages or blog content, but it’s still equally important for engaging your audience and representing your brand as a whole.

For that reason, you should also have a social media content strategy. This should include:

• Posting guidelines and specs for each network on which you’re active (e.g., share GIFs on Twitter but avoid them on Facebook)
• Determining the target audience nuances per network (e.g., the younger segment of your audience is more active on Instagram than on LinkedIn)
• Repurposing plans for long-form content from your blog, podcast, e-books, etc.
• Identifying who on your team is allowed to post, and who’s responsible for engaging followers
• Naming the companies, publications, and individuals you’ll repost (and those who you won’t/can’t)

HubSpot’s Aja Frost offers more tips for creating a social media content strategy in this video.

Social Media Strategy Templates

Social media is overwhelming; I get it. Starting your strategy from scratch is even more overwhelming, so we developed 10 free social media templates to help.

In the free download, you’ll receive:

• Scheduling templates for every channel, since social media channels aren’t one-size-fits-all
• A complete calendar of hashtag holidays, so you never forget to participate with new, fun content
• Social auditing template to track your followers, engagement rates, and more
• A social media content calendar to organize campaigns across every channel
• A social reporting template to track your monthly social successes
• A paid social template to help you manage and optimize your paid budget

Download our free social media template bundle to manage, optimize, and create more social content without sacrificing quality.

Time to Get Social

Do you still feel like social media is overwhelming? That’s okay. Although I’m not sure that feeling ever fully fades, you can diminish it by leveraging the tips in this guide and the free templates above. Remember: Tackle one social network at a time, prioritize your audience, and focus on the content that works. You’ll see results and traffic in no time.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

We asked our friends and combed the internet for examples of some of the funniest office pranks, and pulled together this list virtual April Fool’s pranks and in office pranks to serve as inspiration for your own.

Every company has a story about that funny office prank of yore. Whether you’re doing some early April Fool’s Day research, or just feeling a little tricksy, it’s time to get a prank of your own in the books. Here are some ideas.

Remote Pranks for Virtual Teams

The above pranks are awesome, but what about pranks that are inclusive for remote employees or teams that are 100% virtual? These pranks are ideal for the digital office:

1. Flash Mob

Here at HubSpot, we love flash mobs. That’s why Head of SEO Aja Frost and Blog Manager Christina Perricone jumped at the chance of organizing a virtual flash mob for one of our quarterly meetings.

This is a perfect prank for a large gathering but requires a bit of prep — from choosing a song, selecting the dancers, and teaching the choreography. However, the end result is worth it for the shocked and delighted expressions on coworkers’ faces alone.

2. Virtual Background Shenanigans

There’s a lot of pranking potential using the virtual background feature in Zoom and other video conferencing platforms. For example, one Twitter user creates a virtual background with the shocking appearance of a doppelgänger… or maybe a time warp?

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3. Jump Scare

One way to take the virtual background prank to another level is by impersonating a horror movie director and relying on one of the oldest scary movie tricks in the book: the unexpected jump scare. The video below walks through the steps for executing this prank successfully:

Just make sure that you know who you’re presenting to. The wrong audience may not appreciate the humor in this one!

4. You’re Not on Mute

We’ve all heard the horror stories of users who thought they were on mute and went on to say something embarrassing. One prank would be to stage this situation and make your coworkers think that you think you’re on mute. You could enlist someone in your household to say really embarrassing or completely outrageous, the goal being to see how long your coworkers will watch in horror before letting you know you’re on mute.

5. Stolen Identity

If you have a workplace chat system, a simple and effective prank is to “steal” someone’s identity by changing your display name and picture to match theirs. The more coworkers you get to follow suit, the more effective, hilarious, and chaotic this prank becomes. Best of all, it’s easy to reverse at the end of the day: Just revert back to your original display name and photo.

6. Think Outside the Box

With video conferencing apps, we’re limited to our own little square of digital real estate… or are we? This Twitter user subverts expectation by dumping water on a coworker in another square, surprising all the other meeting attendees:

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Funny Office Pranks to Pull on Your Coworkers

7. Caramel Onions

When Halloween is around the corner, these caramel onions are no match for other tricks (or treats). Dip each onion in caramel — maybe some red food coloring first, if you need to further disguise them — and stick popsicle sticks down the center. Your colleagues won’t know the difference, but they will wonder why these caramel apples are making them cry so much…

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8. Nicolas Cage Toilet Seat

Speaking of Halloween, here’s what nightmares are truly made of. Nicolas Cage is easy to come by in the meme community. Print a picture of him at his most, well, enthusiastic — and allow him to greet everyone who takes a bathroom break.

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9. Fish Drawer

There’s something fishy about this office prank… Just be sure to include fish food; experts suggest you should feed this prank twice a day.

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10. Pants in the Stall

Usually, when you see feet underneath the stall, you just have to wait your turn. In this case, you might be waiting forever. Set this guy up in your office bathroom and see how long it takes for people to start talking. We just hope nobody called the paramedics on this poor, empty suit.

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11. Febreze for Days

Tighten the zip-tie, throw it, and run for your life. Or, leave it in your coworker’s office when they’re on break. They’re sure to return to a potent workspace.

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12. Vehicular Sticky Notes

This is the perfect use for those sticky notes that keep piling up — especially if they’re all for someone who just won’t finish his or her tasks. The prank below is a wonderful way to remind them before they take off for the day.

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13. Foghorn Entrance

Haven’t you ever wanted to get a room’s attention the second you walk through the door? Well, the prank below will even get the person entering to stand up straight. This is certainly one way to make sure everyone’s alert before a meeting.

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14. Ballooned Conference Room or Hallway

Hey, at least it’s not glitter? This prank works two ways: You can either surprise the next team who reserves this room, or have a day-long meeting in here without anyone knowing your business. You will of course have some static electricity when you exit the room.

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15. Desk Trolls

For trolls, by trolls. Luckily, you can buy many of these trolls in bulk. Click here if you’re serious about trolling your coworker’s workstation — just keep in mind you will have to buy more than one pack of trolls to make this stunt worth it.

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16. Water Works

Oh look, a budget trip to the beach. This prank gives a whole new meeting to the term, “staycation.” Surprise your coworker when he/she comes back from a beach getaway with, well, another beach getaway. The downside is it’ll be nothing like where they were. The upside is they won’t need a towel.

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17. Tiki Desk

Sick of those open office layouts? Create a tiki-themed hut for jokes and a bit of privacy.

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18. Nailed the Cake

Hey everyone, there’s cake up for grabs in the kitchen! The prank, however, is written in frosting. This is a good gesture to someone who loves the expression, “needle in a haystack.” Happy hunting.

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19. Psychedelic Supervision

“I don’t know, I feel like my boss is always watching me,” your coworker might say. Change their perception of micromanagement when this colorful prank. Suddenly a “quick check-in” doesn’t seem all that bad.

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20. Voice Toast

Simple, yet brilliant. Change the terms of breakfast ever so slightly, and the kitchen becomes the most confusing room in the office. This little note pranks the entire office — a true masterpiece of prank-dom.

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21. Work From Home

As Ron Burgundy from Anchorman says, “I’m not even mad. I’m just impressed.” Help your coworker who loves taking his/her work home, take their home to work instead. As you can tell, you might need to stay late the night before to get this prank just right.

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22. You’ve Been ‘Felined’

This could actually make your cat-loving coworker’s day. Or, it could make for the greatest prank of all time against the coworker who’s violently allergic to cats (that is, as long as they’re not allergic to photos of cats, too).

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23. The Seedboard

Work with your IT department to fertilize this prank perfectly. Soon enough, its user will wonder why their keyboard is growing. We suggest targeting someone who sits close to the window — some pranks just need some sunlight. “You said you wanted to spend more time with nature,” you might say in your defense.

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24. The Ceilings Have Eyes

You could freak out just looking at the photo of this horrifying prank. It might be a little too much for your jumpiest colleague, but for the person who can’t stop talking about scary movies, it’s just the revenge you deserve. (Hint: paper mache, white paint, and a black wig. Done.)

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25. Chair Scare

Similar to the Entrance Foghorn, this prank will probably scare more than just the person who sits down. Of course, it’ll be a lesson to anyone who, I suppose, tries to sit too low at their desk.

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Funny Pranks to Pull on Your Boss

26. No Stalling

For the employee who never has enough time. Or, for the coworker who takes way too many bathroom breaks during the day. Prank them with their very own throne the next time nature calls.

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27. Glitter Bomb

About that whole, “At least it’s not glitter” thing in prank #9? Well, this prank can’t make that promise. For the coworkers who don’t yet know the permanence of getting glitter on yourself, this prank is sure to set them straight.

28. Substitute Worker

Sometimes, you’re not sure how to ask for another day off. For those days where you simply can’t come into work, but don’t have the heart to call out again, the cardboard cut out who looks just like you is the perfect substitute. Or, just put ’em at your colleague’s desk and give them a much-needed identity crisis.

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29. Crushed It

When you finally learn about your colleague’s celebrity crush, make sure they know how much you care.

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30. World’s ‘Best’ Boss

When words just aren’t enough to express your sentiment, give your manager the perfect way to say “thank you” every time they go to take a sip of coffee.

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31. Cup o’ Spiders

“Hey chief, I found a spider on your desk, but don’t worry, it’s been handled.” This prank doesn’t have to have an actual spider in it — the mystery, alone, is all you need to prank your employee.

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32. That’s a Wrap

For the boss who has everything, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

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Show Off Your Prank Skills

All you have to do is find someone who will be in on the joke with you.

Pranking can be extremely good for morale and company culture. After all, why not have a little fun to break up the workday?

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Did you know that landing pages have the highest conversion rate at 23% than other types of signup forms? It’s true, but landing pages don’t convert visitors to leads all by themselves. If they don’t have attractive and compelling offers behind them, they won’t generate the leads your sales team is looking for.

That’s why it’s so important to create valuable content people want to download, and then package it in a way that’s visually appealing to your readers. An ebook is a practical content choice that delivers so much value to your audience that they won’t mind submitting a lead form to download it.

WP Forms reports that ebooks are the most popular lead magnet amongst subscribers, with 27.7% of marketers using them.

Adding ebooks to your content archive can be a worthwhile effort, but it’ll take work. While every step of creating an ebook is critical, a substantial step of the ebook development process is creating a design that helps tell the story in the copy. A professional and functional design makes the copy more readable to your audience, thus making it more likely that they’ll refer back to it and maybe even share it with a friend.

We know not every team has someone in-house who can (or has time to) whip up a slick, shareable ebook design. But we have good news: You don’t need to be a designer by trade to design beautiful ebooks yourself. With the right resources and approach, you can deliver valuable content to your audience in a fraction of the time.

A few years ago, we created ebook templates to help make this process easier for you. They were so popular that we decided to revamp the offer and include PowerPoint, Adobe Indesign, and Google Slides formats. We hope these templates minimize the time you spend on the details of design, allowing you to concentrate on writing valuable, lead-generating content your readers will love.

Download the Templates Now

Start With One of These Free Ebook Templates

Each of these templates is sure to organize your content into a readable, shareable ebook that your readers will enjoy. Each one is complete with a table of contents, chapter page, copy pages, and a call-to-action page at the end. Here is a preview of some of the ebooks you’ll find in the template bundle:

1. Process Improvement Theme

Download This Template

The Process Improvement theme is longer and more involved than most of those listed above — it could contain 10, 20, or even more chapters to help describe the specific actions needed to complete a process or achieve an outcome. By combining text blocks with summary sections and detailed highlight pages, this theme is a great way to break down a complex task or process into manageable, repeatable steps.

The Process Improvement Theme Ebook Template is best for:

• In-depth guides to multi-step processes
• Employee handbooks
• Training manuals

2. Conversational Theme

Download This Template

This theme trends slightly more casual with a conversational approach that helps you connect with readers. For example, the author introduction page starts with a familiar “Hello!”, an image of the author, and a brief description of their expertise. The following pages include plenty of room for author and other expert quotes to help establish your mastery of the topic at hand, without seeming stuffy or distant. This theme breaks up each page with differing text and image placement to help keep user interest high throughout.

The Conversational Theme Ebook Template is best for:

• Social media marketing and campaign guides
• Providing advice or guidance to repeat customers
• Brand storytelling

3. Artistic Theme

Download This Template

For the marketer, salesperson, or designer who needs to communicate a vision from high-level strategy to detail, the Artistic theme template is a smart choice. This template uses white space to set boundaries between sections, giving your ebook a clean, uncluttered charm. Colorful headers with serif fonts, eye-catching graphics, and stunning images will make your ebook come to life. The Artistic theme includes several unique layout options including light and heavy text pages, photo layouts, and more so that the design is fresh from one page to another.

The Artistic Theme Ebook Template is best for:

• Marketing Content
• Target Audience Personas
• Sales Tips and Tricks

4. Professional Theme

Download This Template

Appeal to the professional yet bold aesthetic, the Professional theme ebook template. Image-based title pages and thick, bold fonts draw attention to headlines and big ideas while body pages with room for photos make it perfect for a showcase or inspiration guide. The Professional template is made with the visual communicator in mind. Social media experts, event planners, and web designers — this one is for you!

The Professional Theme Ebook Template is best for:

• Social Media Guidelines
• Event Planning
• Web Design Content

5. Honeycomb Theme

Download This Template

Your ebook is sure to get the crowd buzzing with this honeycomb-inspired design. The hexagonal shapes in the background are neutral-colored in the original ebook template, but adding in your brand colors can make these hives look sweet. Inside, you’ll find page layouts for quotes and captioned photos, making it a good choice for ebooks with a healthy balance of imagery and copy.

The Honeycomb Theme Ebook template is best for:

• Recipe Books
• Customer Service Guidelines
• Technology Best Practices

6. Triad Theme

Download This Template

Great for educational workbooks that include heavy visual designs, the Triad theme provides plenty of space to organize your content on every page. The triangular shapes in this template give your ebook a sense of direction that keeps the reader moving forward. The bold complementary colors jump right off the page and grab your attention, but this template can be edited to incorporate your brand colors.

The Triad Theme Ebook Template is best for:

• Educational Workbooks
• Educational Presentations
• Seminar Courses

With these polished templates, you’ll be able to:

• Create beautifully designed ebooks without either the cost of a designer or experience with InDesign/Illustrator/Photoshop.
• Choose from six different ebook designs across three different platforms (Adobe InDesign, PowerPoint, and Google Slides), and even add your own brand colors for a custom look.
• Spend more time writing awesome content and less time getting the layout right.
• Use all of the stock images provided in the templates, free of charge.
• Save your ebooks as professional and attractive PDF files that are ready for download.

Start Creating Your Ebook For Free

Ebooks are one of the most popular content offerings available to consumers, but the effort required to make them can deter content creators from starting the process. These templates make designing your ebook simple so you can spend more time sharing your big ideas with the world.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Have you been on a time crunch to create social media content?

Most of us have and it’s a stressful position to be in. Creating content in the moment it needs to be published is less than ideal for more reasons than you may realize. Not only is your content less likely to meet the needs of your audience, but you’ll also miss out on the creative social topics and events that can be planned for in advance.

In this guide, you’ll get the best social media content calendar template and a step-by-step guide explaining how to use it.

Use the Above Template to Plan Out Your Social Media Holiday Posts

Why do I need a social media calendar?

There are several benefits of having a social media calendar. The first is that it keeps you and your team organized. Rather than coming up with content ideas on the fly, you can plan your content around your organization’s needs, trending topics, and current events.

Another benefit to having a social media calendar is that it can help you scale your content production without overwhelming your marketing team. You can pace the production around your team’s bandwidth and other duties your department is responsible for by planning the content in advance.

Creating a great content calendar isn’t as simple as adding a few Instagram post ideas to your Google calendar. You’ll want to make sure you include the correct components in your calendar to make it easy for your team to use and stakeholders to understand.

Perfecting your social media content calendar doesn’t have to be a chore. With these essential components, you’ll have a foundation to organize your social media strategy at a tactical level.

Key

As you noticed in earlier sections, your stakeholders will appreciate having an easy-to-read key that they can use to understand the information in the calendar.

As long as your key is clear, just about anyone in your organization can view your social media content calendar and understand exactly what’s happening on all platforms.

URLs and UTM Parameters

We’ve harped on these UTM parameters throughout this post for good reason. They’re critical to tracking the success of your campaign. Without them, you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t.

URLs and UTM parameters are similar, but they’re not one and the same. URLs are the links you’ll want to share from your website (or even another website if you’re curating content) on your social media platforms.

On the other hand, a UTM parameter is an extension of your URL. It’s a string of tracking code that’s appended to the end of the URL and it helps social media marketers track how well their posts are driving traffic to their website. By tracking and analyzing UTM parameters, you’ll be able to see what content is meeting your conversion goals and what content is better for engagement on social media platforms.

Date and Time

If you have stakeholders or other teams that rely on your social media content, you’ll quickly see the benefit of including dates and times in your social media calendar.

When teammates can view the calendar and identify exactly when a post was or will be scheduled, they’ll be able to quickly proceed with their workflow which is beneficial for you, too. That means you won’t be interrupted to give status updates about every Tweet on the docket for the day.

Message

Transparency and context are invaluable when it comes to social media content calendars. Giving a brief synopsis of the message or even sharing the caption for a post can go a long way in helping others within and outside your team understand what the intent of the post will be.

Pro tip: If you’re adding a video to your social media content calendar that isn’t finished, consider adding a short Loom video that gives an overview of what the video will be about.

Campaign

When it comes to tracking, it’s too late to start when the campaign is over. Start tracking your social media campaigns in your content calendar. You can make this prescriptive by having a dropdown list of predetermined campaign names, or if your campaigns are few and far between, simply copy and paste the names next to the corresponding content.

Pro tip: Align your campaign name with the campaign section of your UTM parameter for seamless tracking.

Image

Your social media content calendar will become just another spreadsheet without some imagery. Since much of your social media content will probably be visual, add a thumbnail-sized version of the image that will be included in the published post. Coupled with the message, stakeholders who view the calendar images will have a pretty good idea of what will be shared and when. To make editing your images for each platform easier, check out this cheat sheet for ideal image dimensions on each platform.

Step 1: Identify your goals.

The first step you want to take to build your social media content calendar is to identify your goals. These will determine how often you post, who should be involved in the content creation process, and which channels you’ll want to use.

If you’re not sure where to start with setting up your social media goals, we cover that here.

Step 2: Align your team.

With your goals etched in stone, it’s time to align your team toward these goals. Social media content creation is a tall order, especially for lean marketing teams, so don’t short yourself on resources — especially talent.

One thing we know to be true today is that video content is taking over just about every major social platform. That means you’ll want to have on-camera talent dedicated to producing video content to meet the needs of your social media calendar.

If you can, find a content creator who is well-versed in short-form written content, video content, and audio content to keep your content production moving quickly and prevent bottlenecks.

Step 3: Consider diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are topics to consider when developing your social calendar. You’ll want to make sure your content reflects and respects the values and experiences of your audience. Moreover, the faces, voices, and stories you share on social networks should be representative of your audience and the larger community where your business operates.

This isn’t something that can happen by accident, so you’ll want to plan for diversity and inclusion as you develop your content calendar. If you’d like some guidance on creating diverse and inclusive content, check out our original research on the topic.

Step 4: Decide what social channels you’ll use.

Every social channel is different and the content you post on each one should appeal to the layout of the platform and the users who use it.

If you’re a seasoned marketer or have a large team, you may find that using all of the popular channels and even experimenting with a new one could be beneficial to the goals you set in step one. However, if you’re a team of one, or your team is already stretched thin, it’s OK to start with a few social channels and work your way up to more.

Step 5: Determine your publishing cadence.

Similar to starting small and working your way to more social channels, the same applies to your publishing cadence. It’s not uncommon for brands to post daily on platforms like Twitter while posting once a week on LinkedIn may be more than enough to keep that audience engaged.

Take a look at the research for each social media platform you plan to use to get a sense of the posting cadence best practices. Then, compare that to the bandwidth on your team and the goals you want to achieve. Remember: the goal of a social media calendar is to create and publish a sustainable stream of content to your audience — it’s a marathon not a race.

Step 6: Set up UTM tracking.

One of the most important parts of a social media calendar is actually the part you don’t see — analytics and tracking. The easiest way to track how your social media content is performing is to use UTM parameters to track it. “UTM” sounds like a scary acronym, but they’re very simple to set up and use.

Once you’ve got them in place for each link on your social media posts, you can review the metrics of your social media content.

Step 7: Create an analysis tracker in your calendar.

For stakeholders who want to stay abreast of how well your social media content is, create a tab that shows clicks, views, engagements, and other metrics you plan to track to deem your content a success. Tracking analytics can be as simple or detailed as your team prefers.

For a full list of metrics to track and tools to do it, take a look at this year’s Ultimate Guide to Social Media Analytics.

How to Use HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar Template

If you don’t have time to create your social media content calendar from scratch, start with HubSpot’s free social media content calendar template. Download it now, and follow along with the steps below.

Featured Resource: Social Media Content Calendar Template

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The following subsections will show you how to fill out each of the tabs you see in this template — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Review the Monthly Planning Calendar tab.

The tab Monthly Planning Calendar provides an overall snapshot of your monthly social media campaigns. It’ll help you coordinate with other stakeholders and keep all the moving parts in order. Here’s what it looks like:

There are three sections to take note of when you edit this template. First, the color-coding key. Each color represents a type of content or campaign you might coordinate, like ebooks, webinars, blog posts, product launches, and so on. Though only some of these might be relevant to you, they’re just the beginning of what you may want to include here — so be sure to add and remove categories that align with your own types of content.

The other two sections you’ll need to edit are the Month and Year at the top of the calendar, as well as the cells below each day of the week. In those cells, you should enter the type of content you’ll be promoting that day and color-code it to align with the campaign it’s supporting.

Instead of deleting all the content in this spreadsheet each month, I recommend copying this worksheet twelve times over and creating a separate sheet for each month. (If that gets to be too overwhelming, you can always save those tabs as a separate workbook.)

Populate your first social channel in the calendar.

Alright, now let’s get to the social media content part of the calendar. For the sake of this blog post, we’ll use Twitter as an example, but these steps will work for each social channel tab in the template.

Let’s say you want to add some tweets to your scheduling template. Scroll over to the Twitter Updates tab in the content calendar spreadsheet, where you’ll see this:

Day, Date & Time

The first four columns, Day, Date, Time, and Date & Time are there for your convenience, and if you choose to use a third-party app for pre-scheduling your tweets (like HubSpot’s Social Media Management Software), then these columns will be useful. For now, just fill in the date for when you’ll publish updates to Twitter, and the time at which you’d like them to go out. The Date & Time column will automatically change based on what you type in the previous two columns.

Message

Now, let’s move over to the Message column. Here, input the copy you’d like to appear in your tweet, bearing in mind you should cap it at 217 characters to allow enough room for a link. (Read this blog post for a full character count guide.) This spreadsheet will auto-calculate the number of characters you’ve entered to keep you on point, turning yellow and eventually red as you approach 240 characters.

Link

After you’ve composed your tweet, paste the URL you’d like to include in your tweet in the Link column. Be sure to include UTM parameters so you’ll know whether these tweets are driving traffic, leads, and customers. This is an important step to remember if you’d like to demonstrate ROI from social media. You can also use the Campaign column to add an associated campaign which helps with more detailed tracking and reporting.

Image

Finally, in the Image column, attach the tweet’s image (if you have one). For Twitter, we recommend images that are 1200 x 670 pixels.

(Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

If you’re having trouble attaching your image to the spreadsheet, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on the cell where you’d like to place your image.

Step 2: Click Insert in the top row, then click the Image button, and finally, click Image in cell to choose your image.

Step 3: In the Insert image window, choose the option your photo will come from. In this example, we uploaded an image from our computer.

Step 4: You’ll now see the image appear in the cell.

Pro Tip: This process is just for organizational purposes. If you decide to upload the spreadsheet to your social media publishing software, it will not attach — you’ll have to do that manually. If you’re a HubSpot customer, details for how to bulk upload your Twitter content to the HubSpot Social PublishingTool can be found within the downloaded template.

Don’t Forget to Interact With Your Followers

Whether you use this spreadsheet to plan your content or upload it to a third-party app, you’ll still need to supplement these updates with on-the-fly content. Breaking news hits? Whip up a quick update to share it with your network. Did someone in your network tweet something interesting? Give it a retweet with some commentary. Got a fascinating comment on one of your updates? Respond with a “thank you” for their interaction.

Coming up with and scheduling your social media content in advance is a huge time-saver, but it should go without saying that you still need to monitor and add to your social presence throughout the day.

Finally, we encourage you to experiment with your social media publishing. This template provides publishing dates and times for each social network, but you may find those are way too many updates for you to fill, or perhaps too infrequent for your booming social presence. If this is the case, you should adjust your social media publishing frequency as needed.

Now that you’ve got the ins and outs of a social media content calendar, download the one below for free and start planning your content.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.