Think about all the times you’ve signed up for things in your life. Did you once download Evernote? Dropbox? Spotify? Maybe you’ve even taken a class on General Assembly.

Each one of these signups is likely a result of an effective call-to-action (CTA).

And it’s really important to guide your visitors through the buying journey using strategic CTAs. Think about it: If you hadn’t been drawn in by the copy or design of the CTA, or been guided so eloquently through your sign-up process, you would probably use a lot fewer apps and websites than you do now.

To help you identify what’s effective and what’s not, we’ve listed out 31 examples of CTAs that totally rock. These call-to-action examples are broken out into three categories:

• Simple and effective CTAs
• CTAs with great call-to-action phrases
• CTAs that balancing multiple buttons on one page

Simple & Effective Call-to-Action Examples

1. Evernote

CTA Button: Sign Up

“Remember Everything.” Visitors can immediately understand that message the moment they land on this page. The design on Evernote’s website makes it super simple for users to see quick benefits of using the app and how to actually sign up to use it. Plus, the green color of the main and secondary CTA buttons is the same green as the headline and the Evernote logo, all of which jump off the page.

2. Dropbox

CTA Button: Sign up for free

Dropbox has always embraced simple design with a lot of negative space. Even the graphics on their homepage are subtle and simple.

Thanks to that simple design and negative space, the blue “Sign up for free” call-to-action button stands out from everything else on the page. Since the CTA and the Dropbox logo are the same color, it’s easy for the visitor to interpret this CTA as “Sign up for Dropbox.” That’s one effective call-to-action.

3. OfficeVibe

CTA Button: Subscribe

Here’s a slide-in call-to-action that caught my attention from OfficeVibe. While scrolling through a post on their blog, a banner slid in from the bottom of the page with a call-to-action to subscribe to their blog. The best part? The copy on the slide-in told me I’d be getting tips about how to become a better manager — and the post it appeared on was a post about how to become a better manager. In other words, the offer was something I was already interested in.

Plus, I like how unobtrusive slide-in CTAs are — as opposed to what my colleague Rachel Sprung calls the “stop-everything-and-click-here-pop-up-CTA.” I find these CTAs offer a more lovable experience because they provide more information while still allowing me to continue reading the blog post. (Click here for a tutorial on how to add slide-in CTAs to your blog posts.)

4. Netflix

CTA Button: Join Free for a Month

One big fear users have before committing to sign up for something? That it’ll be a pain to cancel their subscription if they end up not liking it. Netflix nips that fear in the bud with the “Cancel anytime” copy right above the “Join Free for a Month” CTA. I’d venture a guess that reassurance alone has boosted signups. Also, you’ll notice again that the red color of the primary and secondary CTAs here match Netflix’s logo color.

5. Square

CTA Button: Get Started

To achieve effective CTA design, you need to consider more than just the button itself. It’s also super important to consider elements like background color, surrounding images, and surrounding text.

Mindful of these additional design components, the folks at Square used a single image to showcase the simplicity of using their product, where the hovering “Get Started” CTA awaits your click. If you look closely, the color of the credit card in the image and the color of the CTA button match, which helps the viewer connect the dots of what to expect if/when they click.

6. Prezi

CTA Button: Give Prezi a try

The folks at Prezi are also into the minimalist design look on their website. Other than the green dinosaur and the dark brown coffee, the only other color accompanying the predominantly black-and-white design is a bright blue — the same blue from their main logo. That bright blue is strategically placed on the homepage: the main “Give Prezi a try” CTA, and the secondary “Get Started” CTA, both of which take users to the same pricing page.

7. Full Bundle

CTA Button: Our Work

Full Bundle is another company that uses negative space to make their primary CTA pop. The white “Our Work” call-to-action stands out against the dark greys of the background. Their choice of CTA is strategic, too. Given that they primarily exist to build out clients’ online presences, it’s important for them to showcase their work — and that’s what most folks are going to their website for.

8. Panthera

CTA Button: Join

The folks at Panthera are looking for users who really care about wild cats around the world and want to join a group of people who feel the same way. To target those people in particular, we love how they use language that would speak to big cat-lovers: “Join the pride today.” The page itself is super simple: an on-page form with two, simple fields, and a button asking folks to (again) “Join.”

CTAs With Creative Call to Action Phrases

9. Huemor

CTA Phrase: ‘Launch (Do Not Press)’

If you went to a website and saw a “Launch” CTA accompanied by the copy “Do Not Press” … what would you do? Let’s be honest: You’d be dying to press it. The use of harmless reverse psychology here is playful, which is very much in keeping with Huemor’s brand voice.

10. Aquaspresso

CTA Phrase: ‘Send Me Specials Now!’

The whole point of a call-to-action is to direct your site visitors to a desired course of action — and the best CTAs do so in a way that’s helpful to their visitors. The folks at coffee company Aquaspresso really nailed that balance here with the pop-up CTA on their main blog page.

Here, the desired course of action is for their blog readers to check out what they’re actually selling (and hopefully buy from them). There are many ways they could have done this, including putting out a CTA that urges people to “Check out our most popular products!” or something very direct. But we love what they’ve done instead: Their CTA offers blog readers something much more helpful and subtle — an offer for “today’s specials” in exchange for the reader’s email address.

Adding that the specials are for today only is a great example of a psychological tactic called scarcity, which causes us to assign more value to things we think are scarce. The fear that today’s specials are better than tomorrow’s might make people want to fill it out and claim their offer while they can.

(The call-to-action above was created using HubSpot’s free conversion tool, Leadin. Click here to learn how to easily create CTAs like this one using Leadin.)

11. QuickSprout

CTA Phrase: ‘Are you doing your SEO wrong? Enter your URL to find out’

No one wants to be wrong. That’s why a call-to-action button like QuickSprout’s slide-in CTA on their blog is so clickworthy. It asks the reader, “Are you doing your SEO wrong?” Well, am I? All I have to do is enter my URL to find out — seems easy enough. It’s language like that that can really entice visitors to click through.

Plus, having the CTA slide in mid-blog post is a great tactic for catching readers before they bounce off the page. Traditionally, many blogs have CTAs at the very bottom of each blog post, but research shows most readers only get 60% of the way through an article. (Click here to learn how to add slide-in CTAs to your blog posts.)

12. Grey Goose

CTA Phrase: ‘Discover a cocktail tailored to your taste’

Here’s a fun, unique call-to-action that can get people clicking. Whereas site visitors might have expected to be directed to product pages or press releases from the homepage, a CTA to “Discover a Cocktail Tailored to Your Taste” is a pleasantly surprising ask. People love personalization, and this CTA kind of feels like an enticing game. The play button icon next to the copy gives a hint that visitors will be taken to a video so they have a better idea of what to expect when they click.

13. Treehouse

CTA Phrase: ‘Claim Your Free Trial’

A lot of company websites out there offer users the opportunity to start a free trial. But the CTA on Treehouse’s website doesn’t just say “Start a Free Trial”; it says “Claim Your Free Trial.”

The difference in wording may seem subtle, but think about how much more personal “Claim Your Free Trial” is. Plus, the word “claim” suggests it may not be available for long, giving users a sense of urgency to get that free trial while they can.

14. OKCupid

CTA Phrase: ‘Continue’

OKCupid’s CTA doesn’t seem that impressive at first glance, but its brilliance is in the small details.

The call-to-action button, which is bright green and stands out well on a dark blue background, says, “Continue.” The simplicity of this term gives hope that the signup process is short and casual. To me, this CTA feels more like I’m playing a fun game than filling out a boring form or committing to something that might make me nervous. And it’s all due to the copy.

15. Blogging.org

CTA Phrase: Countdown Clock

Nothing like a ticking timer to make someone want to take action. After spending a short amount of time on blogging.org’s homepage, new visitors are greeted with a pop-up CTA with a “limited time offer,” accompanied by a timer that counts down from two minutes.

As with Aquaspresso’s example in #10, this is a classic use of the psychological tactic called scarcity, which causes us to assign more value to things we think are scarce. Limiting the time someone has to fill out a form makes people want to fill it out and claim their offer while they can.

Curious, what happens when time runs out? So was I. Hilariously, nothing happens. The pop-up CTA remains on the page when the timer gets to zero.

16. IMPACT Branding & Design

CTA Phrase: ‘What We Do’

CTAs can feel really pushy and salesy if the wrong language is used. I like IMPACT’s educational approach, where they challenge visitors to learn what the company does before pushing them to take any further action. This calls-to-action is especially intriguing to me because they don’t even use an action verb, yet they still manage to entice people to click.

17. EPIC

CTA Phrase: ‘Let’s start a new project together’

The folks at the agency EPIC use their homepage primarily to showcase their work. When you arrive on the page, you’re greeted with animated videos showing some of the work they’ve done for clients, which rotate on a carousel. While there plenty of other places users might click on their site — including their clients’ websites — the main call-to-action stands out and always contrasts with the video that’s playing in the background.

I love that it features friendly, inclusive language — “Let’s start a new project together” — which gives a hint to users looking for a creative partner that they’re an especially great team to work for.

18. Brooks Running

CTA Phrase: ‘Find out when we have more’

How many times have you hotly pursued a product you love, only to discover it’s sold out? Well, as you might know, it’s no picnic for the seller either. But just because you’ve run out of an item doesn’t mean you should stop promoting it.

Brooks Running uses a clever call to action to ensure their customers don’t bounce from their website just because their favorite shoe is out of stock. In the screenshot below, you can see Brooks touting an awesome-looking shoe with the CTA, “Find out when we have more.” I love how this button turns bad news into an opportunity to retain customers. Without it, Brooks’ customers would likely forget about the shoe and look elsewhere.

When you click on the blue CTA button depicted below, Brooks directs you to a page with a simple code you can text the company. This code prompts Brooks to automatically alert the visitor when the shoe they want is available again.

19. Humboldt County

CTA Phrase: ‘Follow the Magic’

Humboldt County’s website is gorgeous on its own: It greets you with a full-screen video of shockingly beautiful footage. But what I really love is the unconventional call-to-action button placed in the bottom center, which features a bunny icon and the words “Follow the Magic.”

It enhances the sort of fantastical feel of the footage, making you feel like you’re about to step into a fairytale.

What’s more, once you click into that CTA, the website turns into a sort of choose-your-own-adventure game, which is a fun call-to-action path for users and encourages them to spend more time on the site.

Balancing Multiple Call-to-Action Buttons

20. Uber

CTA Buttons: Sign up to drive | Start riding with Uber

Uber’s looking for two, very distinct types of people to sign up on their website: riders and drivers. Both personas are looking for totally different things, and yet, the website ties them together really well with the large video playing in the background showing Uber riders and drivers having a good time in locations all over the world.

I love the copy of the driver CTA at the top, too: It doesn’t get much more straightforward than, “Make money driving your car.” Now that’s speaking people’s language.

21. Spotify

CTA Buttons: Go Premium | Play Free

As soon as you reach Spotify’s homepage, it’s pretty clear that their main goal is to attract customers who are willing to pay for a premium account, while the CTA for users to sign up for free is very much secondary.

It’s not just the headline that gives this away; it’s also the coloring of their CTA buttons. The “Go Premium” CTA is lime green, making it pop off the page, while the “Play Free” CTA is plain white and blends in with the rest of the copy on the page. This contrast ensures that visitors are drawn to the premium CTA.

22. Ugmonk

CTA Buttons: Send me the coupons | I’m not interested

Exit CTAs, also known as exit intent pop-ups, are different than normal pop-ups. They detect your users’ behavior and only appear when it seems as though they’re about to leave your site. By intervening in a timely way, these pop-ups serve as a fantastic way of getting your reader’s attention while offering them a reason to stay.

Ugmonk has a great exit CTA, offering two options for users as a final plea before they leave the site. First, they offer a 15% discount on their products, followed by two options: “Yes Please: Send me the coupon” and “No Thanks: I’m not interested.” It’s super helpful that each CTA clarifies what “Yes” and “No” actually mean, and I also like that they didn’t use guilt-tripping language like “No Thanks: I hate nature” like I’ve seen on other websites. Finally, notice that the “Yes Please” button is much brighter and inviting in color than the other option.

23. Pinterest

CTA Buttons: Continue with Facebook | Sign Up

Want to sign up for Pinterest? You have a couple of options: sign up via Facebook or via email. If you have a Facebook account, Pinterest wants you to do that first. How do I know? Aesthetically, I know because the blue Facebook CTA comes first and is much more prominent, colorful, and recognizable due to the branded logo and color. Logically, I know because if you log in through Facebook, Pinterest can pull in Facebook’s API data and get more information about you than if you log in through your email address.

Although this homepage is optimized to bring in new members, you’ll notice a very subtle CTA for folks with Pinterest accounts to log in on the top right.

24. Madewell

CTA Buttons: Take me there | What’s next?

Madewell (owned by J.Crew) has always had standout website design, taking what could be a typical ecommerce website to the next level. Their use of CTAs on their homepage is no exception.

When you first arrive on the page, you’re greeted with the headline “I’m Looking For …” followed by a category, like “Clothes That’ll Travel Anywhere.” Below this copy are two options: “Yes, Take Me There” or “Hmm… What’s Next?” The user can choose between the two CTAs to either browse clothes that are good for travel, or be taken to the next type of clothing, where they can play again.

This gamification is a great way to make your site more interesting for users who come across it without having a specific idea of where they want to look.

25. Instagram

CTA Buttons: Download on the App Store | Get it on Google Play

Since Instagram is a mainly mobile app, you’ll see two black CTAs of equal size: one to download Instagram in Apple’s App Store, and another to download it on Google Play. The reason these CTAs are of equal caliber is because it doesn’t matter if someone downloads the app in the App Store or on Google Play … a download is a download, which is exactly what Instagram is optimizing for. If you already have Instagram, you can also click the CTA to “Log In” if you’d prefer that option, too.

26. Barkbox

CTA Buttons: Get Started | Give a Gift

The two CTAs on Barkbox’s homepage show that the team there knows their customers: While many people visiting their site are signing up for themselves, there are a lot of people out there who want to give Barkbox as a gift. To give those people an easy path to purchase, there are two, equally sized CTAs on the page: “Get Started” and “Give a Gift.”

As an added bonus, there’s an adorable, pop-up call-to-action on the right-hand side of the screen prompting users to leave a message if they’d like. Click into it, and a small dialogue box pops up that reads, “Woof! I’m afraid our pack is not online. Please leave us a message and we’ll bark at you as soon as pawsible.” Talk about delightful copy.

27. t.c. pharma

CTA Buttons: Find out more | View products

Turns out Red Bull isn’t its own parent company: It’s owned by Thailand-based t.c. pharma, a company that makes popular energy drinks, electrolyte beverages, and functional drinks and snacks.

Its homepage features two call-to-action buttons of equal size: “Find out more” and “View products” — but it’s clear by the bright yellow color of the first button that they’d rather direct folks to “Find out more.”

28. General Assembly

CTA Buttons: View Full-Time Courses | Subscribe

As you scroll through the General Assembly website, you’ll see CTAs for various courses you may or may not want to sign up for. I’d like to point your attention to the CTA that slides in from the bottom of the page as you’re scrolling, though, which suggests that you subscribe to email updates.

Although this feels like a secondary CTA due to its location and manner, I actually think they try to sneak this in to become more of a primary CTA because it’s so much more colorful and noticeable than the CTAs for individual classes. When you create your own CTAs, try using bolder colors — even ones that clash with your regular stylings — to see if it’s effective at getting people’s attention. (Click here for a tutorial on how to add slide-in CTAs to your webpages.)

29. charity: water

CTA Buttons: Give by Credit Card | Give by PayPal

Charity: water’s main goal is to get people to donate money for clean water — but they can’t assume that everyone wants to pay the same way.

The CTAs featured on their homepage take a really unique approach to offering up different payment methods by pre-filling $60 into a single line form and including two equally important CTAs to pay via credit card or PayPal. Notice how both CTAs are the same size and design — this is because charity: water likely doesn’t care how you donate, as long as you’re donating.

30. Hipmunk

CTA Buttons: Flights | Hotels | Cars | Packages

When you land on the Hipmunk site, your main option is to search flights. But notice there are four tabs you can flip through: flights, hotels, cars, and packages.

When you click into one of these options, the form changes so you can fill out more information. To be 100% sure you know what you’re searching for, Hipmunk placed a bright orange CTA at the far right-hand side of the form. On this CTA, you’ll see a recognizable icon of a plane next to the word “Search,” so you know for sure that you’re searching for flights, not hotels. When you’re on the hotels tab, that icon changes to a hotel icon. Same goes with cars and packages.

31. MakeMyPersona

CTA Buttons: Grab the template! | No thanks

Here’s another example of a great pop-up with multiple calls-to-action — except in this case, you’ll notice the size, color, and design of the users’ two options are very different from one another. In this case, the folks at MakeMyPersona are making the “Grab the template!” CTA much more attractive and clickable than the “No, I’m OK for now, thanks” CTA — which doesn’t even look like a clickable button.

I also like how the “no” option uses polite language. I find brands that don’t guilt-trip users who don’t want to take action to be much, much more lovable.

There you have it. By now, we hope you can see just how important little CTA tweaks can be.

Full Disclosure: We don’t have data to know if these are all scientifically successful, but these examples all follow our best practices. If you decide to recreate these CTAs on your site, please remember to test to see if they work for your audience.

Want more CTA design inspiration? Check out some of our favorite HubSpot call-to-action examples.

Twitter today followed up on its March request for proposals to measure the health of its network with announcements of a new approach to how it will handle abuse on its platform.

In a statement written by VP of Trust and Safety, Del Harvey, and Director of Product Management, Health, David Gasca, it was noted that while less than 1% of accounts make up those reported as abusive, Twitter acknowledges they still “have a disproportionately large — and negative — impact on people’s experience.”

To address that, Twitter says it’s taking action to curb content that misrepresents and distracts from larger, important conversations — by measuring the behavior of actors and users who intend to share it. 

Twitter to Measure New Behavioral Signals

The Signals

The behavioral signals Twitter will measure — which it says are not all externally visible — include flagging accounts without a confirmed email address. Blocking notifications or mentions from accounts of this nature is an option in the network’s user settings, along with several other criteria.

Additionally, Twitter will flag instances of a single individual signing up for multiple accounts in a short period of time (or at the same time), as well as accounts that habitually Tweet to other accounts that don’t follow them back.

Twitter also says it will institute new practices to detect indications of “coordinated attacks” on its site, as well as ways to measure the behavior of accounts that violate standards and the way they engage with each other.

What the Signals Will Do

The point of these behavioral measurements is to be proactive — to help Twitter detect abuse on its platform before users have to report it themselves.

Ultimately, the signals will determine the way Twitter synthesizes and displays content to users in ways that are public across the network — like visible conversations among users, as well as search results.

The tricky part, however, is that these behaviors and the content that often comes with it don’t directly violate Twitter’s standards. The company, therefore, can’t completely remove it — or so the statement suggests.

So, while the content will remain live, Twitter will make it harder to find. For example, in order to see it, users will have to click “Show more replies” at the bottom of threads to see such content, or change their settings to see all search results.

The Results

The outcome, Twitter hopes, is a higher visibility of (and engagement with) what it describes as “healthy conversation.”

Twitter has been testing these signals in various global markets, seeing such results as a 4% decrease in abuse reports from search, and an 8% decrease in abuse reports from conversations and threads.

At the same time, however, Twitter says there’s still a long road ahead to fully addressing the health of the network.

“We’ll continue to be open and honest about the mistakes we make and the progress we are making,” write Harvey and Gasca. “We’re encouraged by the results we’ve seen so far, but also recognize that this is just one step on a much longer journey to improve the overall health of our service and your experience on it.”

Facebook released its first-ever public-facing Community Standards Enforcement Report today, which includes a preliminary inventory of rule-violating content and the removal action Facebook took on it.

The report, which was included in the company’s overall Transparency Report, largely covers the content in violation of Facebook’s Community Standards that was discovered and removed from October 2017 to March 2018. 

It focuses on content that falls into six key categories:

1. Graphic Violence
2. Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity
3. Terrorist Propaganda (ISIS, al-Qaeda and affiliates)
4. Hate Speech
5. Spam
6. Fake Accounts

Earlier this year, Facebook published its content moderation and internal Community Standards guidelines, in hopes of shedding light on why certain items are removed from the network. In the context of this newly-released report, it was perhaps an anticipatory move prior to publishing content removal figures.

Here’s a look at the nature and extent of content removal in the above six categories.

Facebook Publishes Its First-Ever Community Standards Enforcement Report

1. Graphic Violence

Facebook either removed or placed warning labels on roughly 3.5 million pieces of violent content in Q1 2018, 86% of which was flagged by its AI before anyone reported it to Facebook.

The Community Standards Enforcement Report includes an estimate of the total percentage of content views consisted of graphic violence. That is, out of all content viewed on Facebook in Q1 2018, for instance, the company reports that somewhere between 0.22% and 0.27% violated standards for graphic violence.

Source: Facebook

That’s up from the estimated 0.16% to 0.19% in Q4 2017 — “despite improvements in our detection technology in Q1 2018.” The explanation for that, the report says, is simply due to a greater amount of content of this nature published on Facebook.

Additionally, the 3.5 million pieces of content Facebook within this category on which Facebook took action, is also an increase — from 1.2 million in Q4 2017.

So while there was likely an overall increase in the content of this type shared on the network, the growth in the number on which Facebook took action is probably due, the report says, to improvements in its AI detection systems.

2. Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity

Facebook removed 21 million pieces of content containing adult nudity and sexual activity in Q1 2018 — 96% of that was discovered by its AI technology before it was reported.

It’s predicted that 0.07% to 0.09% of all content viewed on Facebook in Q1 2018 violated standards for adult nudity and sexual activity in Q1 2018 — so, roughly 7-9 views out of every 10,000.

Source: Facebook

That’s an increase from 6-8 views in the previous quarter, which is too small for Facebook to account for what might be causing it. In the previous quarter, too, Facebook took action on a similar number of content pieces within this category.

3. Terrorist Propaganda

Facebook doesn’t currently have statistics on the prevalence of terrorist propaganda on its site — but it does report that it removed 1.9 pieces of such content from the network in Q1 2018.

Source: Facebook

That’s up more than 72% in the previous quarter, when 1.1 million pieces of terrorist propaganda content was removed.

Again, Facebook credits its AI detection systems for this increase — 99.5% of such content removed in Q1 2018 was removed by these systems, compared to 96.9% in Q4 2017.

Facebook classifies terrorist propaganda as that which is “specifically related to ISIS, al-Qaeda and their affiliates.”

4. Hate Speech

One of Facebook’s boasting points in this report is the fact that its artificial intelligence systems were responsible for flagging and removing a good portion of the standards-violating content in many of these categories.

But when it comes to hate speech, writes Facebook VP of Product Management Guy Rosen in a statement, “our technology still doesn’t work that well.”

Human review is still necessary to catch all instances of hate speech, Rosen explains, echoing many of the statements made about AI ethics during F8, Facebook’s annual developer conference.

Not only is hate speech nuanced, but because humans (who train the artificially intelligent machines designed to help moderate content) have their own implicit biases, that can sometimes cause flaws in the way something as relatively subjective as hate speech is flagged.

Nonetheless, Facebook removed 2.5 million pieces of hate speech in Q1 2018, 38% of which was flagged by AI technology. It does not currently have statistics on the prevalence of hate speech within all content viewed on the site.

Source: Facebook

5. Spam

Facebook defines spam as “inauthentic activity that’s automated (published by bots or scripts, for example) or coordinated (using multiple accounts to spread and promote deceptive content).”

It represents another category for which Facebook does not currently have exact figures of prevalence, as it says it’s still “updating measurement methods for this violation type.”

However, the report says that 837 million pieces of spam content were removed in Q1 2018 — a 15% increase from Q4 2017.

Source: Facebook

6. Fake Accounts

“The key to fighting spam,” writes Rosen, “is taking down the fake accounts that spread it.”

Facebook removed roughly 583 million fake accounts in Q1 2018 — a decrease of over 30% — many of which were voided almost immediately after they were registered.

And despite these efforts, the company estimates that somewhere between 3-4% of all active accounts on Facebook during Q1 2018 were fake. 

As for the decrease in fake account removal from the previous quarter, Facebook points to “external factors” like cyberattacks that often come with a deluge of fake account creation on the network — usually by way of scripts and bots, with the goal of spreading as much spam and deceptive information as possible.

Because these factors occur with “variation,” Facebook says, the number of fake accounts on which the company takes action can vary from quarter to quarter.

Why Facebook Is Publishing This Information

In a statement penned by Facebook VP of Analytics Alex Schultz, the company’s reasons for making these numbers public is fairly simple: In transparency, there is accountability.

“Measurement done right helps organizations make smart decisions about the choices they face,” Schultz writes, “rather than simply relying on anecdote or intuition.”

And despite strong Q1 2018 earnings, as well as an enthusiastic response from the audience at F8, Facebook still continues to face a high degree of scrutiny. 

Tomorrow, for instance, brings yet another congressional hearing regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where whistleblower Christopher Wylie is due to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

This week, Facebook has issued a particularly high volume of statements and announcements about its growing efforts in the areas of transparency and user protections. The last time Facebook issued a high volume of this type of content was in the weeks leading up to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional hearings.

These latest announcements could indicate preparations for further hearings — some outside of the U.S.

Facebook — Zuckerberg, specifically — is also under mounting pressure from international authorities to testify on user privacy and the weaponization of its network to influence major elections.

European Parliament continues to press Zuckerberg to appear in a hearing (now, it’s willing to do so in a closed-door session, according to some reports) after initial rumors of such a testimony surfaced in April. 

Additionally, members of U.K. Parliament have been particularly staunch about Zuckerberg appearing before them, after recent testimony from CTO Mike Schroepfer allegedly left several questions unanswered.

In an open letter to Facebook dated May 1, House of Commons Culture Committee chairman Damian Collins wrote that “the committee will resolve to issue a formal summons for [Zuckerberg] to appear when he is next in the UK.”

I have today written to @facebook requesting that Mark Zuckerberg appears in front of @CommonsCMS as part of our inquiry into fake news and disinformation. Read it here: https://t.co/jXZ5TjiZld pic.twitter.com/m0NU5Uyf2L

— Damian Collins (@DamianCollins)
May 1, 2018

Yesterday, Facebook’s UK Head of Public Policy Rebecca Stimson issued a written response to that letter, in which she outlined answers to the 39 questions that the Committee said were left unanswered by Schroepfer’s testimony. 

“It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points,” Collins responded today. “We expected both detail and data, and in a number of cases got excuses.”

Featured image credit: Facebook

It’s one of the worst feelings in the world.

You’ve spent weeks perfecting your resume and crafting the perfect cover letter, and you’re finally ready to submit your application for your dream job.

But when you scan the company’s careers page, panic starts pouring over you. The job you wanted to apply for is no longer open. It’s gone. And as you stare at your laptop screen in shock, you can’t help but think you’ll never be able to join your dream company.

What should you do in this situation? You can’t just put your job search on pause until the company opens the position again. How do you express interest in joining a company when the position you want isn’t currently available?

One of the most effective ways to grab a hiring manager’s attention and get your foot in the door is by writing a letter of interest to the company.

Sending a letter of interest is a great way to introduce yourself to a company, and it shows them you’re willing to take the initiative to proactively reach out. This can keeps you top of mind when the company starts recruiting for the job you inquired about or if they have any upcoming job opportunities that could be a good fit. If you’re really impressive, some companies might even create a position just for you.

Other times, sending a letter of interest can lead to a coffee chat or an informational interview with the hiring manager of the team you want to work for.

Writing a letter of interest sounds like an easy way to get your foot in the door at any company, but it’ll only pique a hiring manager’s interest and elicit a response if it actually resonates with her.

To do so, we recommend following a formula called problem-agitate-solve. It’s modeled after an old copywriting framework and has helped one job seeker skyrocket her cover letter response rate from 0% to 55%. We’ll flesh it out below.

How to Write a Letter of Interest

To compel a hiring manager to read your letter, respond to it, and consider you for a job, there are four crucial elements you need to include in your letter of interest:

1. Hook the hiring manager with proof that you understand her problem.

Hiring managers don’t hire people just to be nice. They hire people to help them run their team better. To immediately grab a hiring manager’s attention, you should show how you understand the problems she’s trying to solve, like the hook below:

“As a two-year blogging veteran in the marketing technology industry at companies like Return Path and SlideBatch, I know how hard it is to write well. I also know how challenging it is to get found on Google.”

By describing a similar experience you’ve had at your current or prior job, you can relate to her on a deep level, which will engage and prompt her to read the rest of the letter.

The hardest part of this step is discovering the hiring manager’s problems. One way to figure it out is by listing off the job’s responsibilities and asking yourself why these tasks are important to her team. If you keep analyzing until you reach a dead end, you’ll usually find her needs there.

2. Agitate the problem to remind the hiring manager she needs a solution.

How do you make a hiring manager realize how valuable a solution could be? You remind her just how painful her problems are. And to make her visualize her dreaded problem as vividly as possible, you need to be specific, just like the example below:

“According to HubSpot’s careers page, you’re not currently hiring, but, in the future, if you’re looking for someone who can not only engage an audience with clear, concise, and compelling blog posts, but also optimize them for search engines, while hitting every deadline, you can count on me.”

When she realizes how much pain she’s actually in, she’ll have more of a sense of urgency to resolve it. And this’ll push her to respond to you because you might be her fastest route to a solution.

3. Prove that you’re the solution with an example of your skills and experience.

If you’re really the solution to her problems, you must prove to the hiring manager how you’ve used your skills to solve similar paint points in previous experiences. Then, you should describe how you’ll be able to use those learnings to help solve her current problems. Check out the example below:

“Last year, at Return Path, I was the top performing blogger, writing weekly posts that averaged 7,500 views, 1,000 social shares, and 35 new blog subscribers gained. The year before, at SlideBatch, I devised and implemented a new keyword strategy that increased organic page views for our Visual Marketing 101 blog series by 15%.

I’ve read HubSpot’s blog every day since I started my content marketing career, and I’m inbound, content, and email marketing certified, so I strongly believe I’ll be able to hit the ground running if I were to work on HubSpot’s blog team one day.

Whether I’d be uncovering high opportunity keywords or crafting blog posts to support and develop your team’s new pillar cluster model, I’m confident my skills and experience can help your team crush their goals.”

By quantifying your accomplishments and researching the company’s pain points, you’re proving your worth. But if you just list your skills and work experience, you’re only proving to the hiring manager that you’ve failed to make an impact.

4. Confidently request to move on to the next step.

At the end of your letter, you should express your interest in exploring upcoming opportunities or ask her to keep you top of mind when an opportunity opens up, like the call to action below:

“I’d love to learn about any upcoming roles on your team or be considered for a position later down the road. My resume is attached, and my contact details are listed in my email signature below. Thank you for your time! It was a pleasure connecting.”

These call-to-actions are crucial because they tell her how to get the ball rolling. If you don’t tell the hiring manager what to do next, then nothing will happen.

Letter of Interest Example

All together, a successful letter of interest looks like this:

Letter of Interest Template

Hi [Hiring Manager’s First Name],

As a [X]-year [Your Profession] veteran in the [Space You Work In] industry at [Most Prominent Companies You’ve Worked For], I know how hard it is to [Pain Point #1]. I also know how challenging it is to [Pain Point #2].

According to [Company] careers page, you’re currently not hiring, but, in the future, if you’re looking for someone who can not only [Solution for Pain Point #1], but also [Solution for Pain Point #2], you can count on me.

Last [Specific Timeframe], at [Current or Old Company], I was the best performing [Your Profession], [List Your Responsibilities and Describe the Impact You Made]. The [Specific Timeframe] before, at [Current or Old Company], I [List Your Responsibilities and Describe the Impact You Made].

[Show Hiring Manager that You’re a Voracious Learner and You Regularly Keep Up with Company News], so I strongly believe I’ll be able to hit the ground running if I were to work on [Company] team one day.

Whether I’d be [What the Team is Working on Now], I’m confident my skills and experience can help your team crush their goals.

I’d love to learn about any upcoming roles on your team or be considered for a role later down the road. My resume is attached, and my contact details are listed in my email signature below. Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure connecting!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Steps to Take Before You Send Your Letter of Interest

After you finish writing your letter of interest, you need to make sure the company will actually open it. So before you send your letter, it’d be ideal if someone on the team personally knows who you are.

To do so, ask your connections or alumni that work at the company to introduce you to the team’s hiring manager. If you can’t do that, you could add the hiring manager on LinkedIn, tell her why you want to connect, and send her your letter of interest.

Getting your foot in the door will ultimately help you stand out from the crowd of job seekers who are all sending the same “hire me” pitch to her.

At 1:00 AM EST, Facebook released a statement that it has launched its Youth Portal: a guide to help teens navigate the network.

According to the statement, penned by Facebook Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis and Global Policy Programs Manager Karuna Nain, the Youth Portal serves a few primary purposes.

One appears to be educating teens on how they can best use Facebook’s features and products (like Pages and one’s own profile) with safety in mind, as well as information on how Facebook uses and collects data.

This information appears to primarily reside in the “Facebook Basics” section of the portal, where users can read basic information on the aforementioned products and learn how to control their networks — things like sending friend requests, unfollowing or un-friending, or blocking users.

Source: Facebook

Within this page, there are also sections with information on how to set up a strong password and where users can learn more about advertising and data policies.

The way these policies are described in the Youth Portal — under the “Privacy” section — somewhat fulfills the simplified explanation that many users and lawmakers have demanded since March revelations that consulting and voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica improperly obtain and abused personal user data. 

Within the Youth Portal, these policies are described in a few short paragraphs (though there is an option to expand the section on the data policy), with links to read the full terms of each.

But as Buzzfeed‘s Ryan Mac pointed out in a tweet, there remains the issue of getting teens to visit these pages and read the material in the first place.

While Facebook claims that it began communicating this information directly to teens on the network this month — like showing tips in the News Feed, for example — it’s unclear the extent to which these tools are being leveraged by their target audience.

Ultimately, it seems that the Youth Portal is quite possibly designed to keep teens on Facebook, which aligns with the company’s overall goals in recent history.

Numerous features and algorithm changes that impact all users, not just teens, have been put in place to discourage navigation away from Facebook, like native video (Facebook Live) and written content (Instant Article) tools.

Now, it seems that the same approach is being applied to younger users on the network with an undercurrent of safety and youth use cases. Within the Safety section of the Youth Portal’s basics, there’s an item about taking a break. However, the information that follows doesn’t encourage taking a break from the network — but rather, from particular people on the site.

Source: Facebook

The Peer Voices section is something of an extension of that — a destination where the same safety tips are re-framed as Principles to encourage civil behavior and common sense on the network (“think … before you speak” and “don’t share your password with anyone”).

However, the section also contains a blog that could serve as a helpful resource for teens struggling for ways or people to speak to about certain issues. For instance, in one entry titled “Finding Your Voice and Your People Online,” author Dani Leever writes about Facebook serving as a highly valuable platform for finding youth LGBTIQ communities.

“Being in online spaces that allow us to be who we are can help us become that person offline,” Leever writes. “Particularly if we now have the support of online friends who can help us through navigating some of the difficult parts, too.”

Facebook says it’s continuing its collaboration with experts in social media use among teens, indicating that the Youth Portal may continue to evolve.

The Youth Portal is available in 60 languages.

A SWOT analysis is a useful technique to evaluate a new project or objective your business faces, or your business as a whole.

Essentially, a SWOT analysis is a roadmap for how you should move forward with your business, which opportunities you’re missing out on, and which challenges you should tackle.

It’s an effective method to maximize opportunities while minimizing negative factors associated with a given project or objective. Plus, it lets you unbiasedly evaluate your business’s strengths and weaknesses, which is key to avoiding unnecessary errors down the road from lack of insight.

Here, we’ll provide a SWOT analysis template, and conduct SWOT analyses on major brands Apple and Starbucks. When you’re done reading, you’ll have all the inspiration and tactical advice you need to tackle a SWOT analysis for yourself.

SWOT analysis template

You know a SWOT analysis is important, but, how do you conduct one?

There are four steps you’ll want to take when evaluating your business as a whole, or your product in particular. Before you start, you’ll need to figure out what you’re evaluating with your SWOT analysis. Creating a social media program, launching a new product, or considering a brand re-design are all good reasons to conduct a SWOT analysis.

To visualize your SWOT analysis, it’s helpful to make a table. Here, I’ve created a sample using a simple Google Doc table — feel free to use the model yourself, or create your own as it suits your needs.

SWOT Analysis Table

Check out the four steps below and use those as references when filling in your table.

1. Identify your strengths.

Let’s say you want to use a SWOT analysis to evaluate your new social media strategy.

If you’re looking at a new social media program, perhaps you want to evaluate how your brand is perceived by the public — is it easily recognizable and well-known? Even if it’s not popular with a widespread group, is it well-received by a specific audience in particular?

Next, think about your process: is it effective, or innovative? Is there good communication between your marketing and sales to ensure both departments use similar vocabulary when discussing your product?

Finally, evaluate your social media message, and in particular, how it differs from the rest of the industry. I’m willing to bet you can make a lengthy list of some major strengths of your social media strategy over your competitors, so try to dive into your strengths from there.

2. Identify your weaknesses.

If you’re examining a new social media strategy, it’s critical to foresee any potential negative factors that could mitigate your success.

Start by asking yourself these questions: First, if I were a consumer, what would prevent me from buying this product, or engaging with this business? What would make me click away from the screen?

Second, what do I foresee as the biggest hinderance to my employees’ productivity, or their ability to get the job done efficiently? What derails their social media efforts?

When identifying weaknesses, consider what areas of your business are the least profitable, where you lack certain resources, or what costs you the most time and money. Take input from employees in different departments, as they’ll likely see weaknesses you hadn’t considered.

3. Consider your opportunities.

This is your chance to dream big. What are some opportunities for your social media strategy you hope, but don’t necessarily expect, to reach?

For instance, maybe you’re hoping your Facebook ads will attract a new, larger demographic. Maybe you’re hoping your YouTube video gets 10,000 views, and increases sales by 10%.

Whatever the case, it’s important to include potential opportunities in your SWOT analysis. Ask yourself these questions: What technologies do I want my business to use to make it more effective? What new target audience do I want to reach? How can the business stand out more in the current industry? Is there something our customers complain about that we could fix with our social media strategy?

The opportunities category goes hand-in-hand with the weaknesses category. Once you’ve made a list of weaknesses, it should be easy to create a list of potential opportunities that could arise if you eliminate your weaknesses.

4. Contemplate your threats.

It’s likely, especially if you’re prone to worrying, you already have a good list of threats in your head.

If not, gather your employees and brainstorm: what obstacles might prevent us from reaching our social media goals? What’s going on in the industry, or with our competitors, that might mitigate our success? Is there new technology out there that could conflict with our product?

Writing down your threats helps you evaluate them objectively. For instance, maybe you list your threats in terms of least and most likely to occur, and divide and conquer each. If one of your biggest threats is your competitor’s popular Instagram account, you could work with your marketing department to create content that showcases your product’s unique features.

SWOT analysis examples

The template above helps get you started on your own SWOT analysis.

But, if you’re anything like me, it’s not enough to see a template. To fully understand a concept, you need to see how it plays out in the real world.

Here are two examples of SWOT analyses on major corporations, Apple and Starbucks. The list of strengths and weaknesses is not exhaustive, and I’m sure you could add some yourself, but hopefully, it’s enough to inspire your own SWOT analysis.

Apple’s SWOT analysis

Here’s how we’d conduct a SWOT analysis on Apple.

First off, strengths. While Apple has many strengths, let’s identify the top three:

1. Brand recognition
2. High prices
3. Innovative products

Apple’s brand is undeniably valuable, and was named the world’s most valuable brand by Forbes. Since it’s easily recognized, Apple can produce new products and almost ensure a certain degree of success by virtue of the brand name itself.

This degree of recognition lends itself to Apple’s ability to sell products at extremely high prices. For instance, in 2016, Apple sold 78 million iPhones, the average cost of which was $695. In comparison, Samsung sold their smartphones for $500 less. And yet, 92% of the profits in the smartphone category for 2016 went to Apple. Often, people don’t care about price as much as they care about brand recognition.

Lastly, their innovative products: Apple didn’t earn its reputation for nothing. They create highly innovative products, which are often at the forefront of the industry.

Next, let’s look at three of Apple’s weaknesses.

1. High prices
2. Closed ecosystem
3. Lack of experimentation

While the high prices don’t deter Apple’s middle and high class customer-base, they do hinder Apple’s ability to reach a lower-class demographic.

Apple also suffers from its own exclusivity. Apple controls all its services and products in-house, and while many customers become loyal brand advocates for this reason, it means all burdens fall on Apple employees.

Ultimately, Apple’s tight control over who distributes their products limit their market reach.

Lastly, Apple is held to a high standard when it comes to creating and distributing products. Apple’s brand carries a high level of prestige, but that level of recognition inhibits Apple from taking risks and experimenting freely with new products that could fail.

Now, let’s take a look at opportunities for Apple.

It’s easy to recognize opportunities for improvement, once you consider Apple’s weaknesses. Here’s a list of three we came up with:

1. Expand distribution options
2. Create new product lines
3. Technological advancement

One of Apple’s biggest weaknesses is its distribution network, which, in the name of exclusivity, remains relatively small. If Apple expanded its network and enabled third-party businesses to sell its products, it could reach more people globally, while alleviating some of the stress currently put on in-house employees.

There are also plenty of opportunities for Apple to create new products. Apple could consider creating more affordable products to reach a larger demographic, or spreading out into new industries — Apple self-driving cars, perhaps?

Finally, Apple could continue advancing its products’ technology. Apple can take existing products and refine them, ensuring each product offers as many unique features as possible.

Finally, let’s look at threats to Apple.

Believe it or not, they do exist.

Here are three of Apple’s biggest threats:

1. Tough competition
2. Lawsuits
3. International issues

Apple isn’t the only innovative tech company out there, and it continues to face tough competition from Samsung, Google, and other major forces. Many of Apple’s weaknesses hinder Apple’s ability to compete with the tech corporations that have more freedom to experiment, or that don’t operate in a closed ecosystem.

A second threat to Apple is lawsuits. Over the last few years, Apple has faced a bunch of lawsuits, particularly between Apple and Samsung, and so far it has only won one case. These lawsuits interfere with Apple’s reputable image, and could steer some customers to purchasing elsewhere.

Finally, Apple needs to improve its reach internationally. It isn’t number one in China, and doesn’t have a very positive relationship with the Chinese government. Then, in India, which has one of the largest consumer markets in the world, Apple’s market share is low, and the company has trouble bringing stores to India’s market.

If Apple can’t compete globally the way Samsung or Google can, it risks falling behind in the industry.

Starbucks SWOT analysis

Now that we’ve explored the nuances involved with a SWOT analysis, let’s fill out a SWOT template using Starbucks as an example.

Here’s how we’d fill out a SWOT template, if we were Starbucks:

Ultimately, a SWOT analysis can measure and tackle both big and small challenges, and opportunities, and both big and little strengths and weaknesses.

While the examples above focus on businesses in general, you can also use a SWOT analysis to evaluate and predict how a singular product will play out in the market.

Hopefully, our SWOT template will supplement your market research and business analysis, and provide fair insights into how to optimize your products for bigger payoffs, and less hurdles.

“Really? We’re talking about QR codes?”

Fair reaction. For several years now, QR codes have been at the center of the popular “___ is dead” trope we marketers love to argue when talking technology. We’ve even debated it ourselves on this blog.

But if there’s one thing the QR code debate shows you, it’s that there sure isn’t a consensus — the efficacy of QR codes still hotly contested.

Download our full guide to creating and using QR codes effectively here.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying the popularity and convenience of the QR code. Keep reading to learn how to create your own QR code, and how you can encourage your customers to scan them when they come across your content.

What Is a QR Code?

QR codes, short for “quick response” codes, are square-shaped black-and-white symbols that people can scan using a smartphone to learn more about a product.

These encrypted squares can hold links, coupons, event details, and other information that users might want to take with them for referring to later.

QR codes usually look something like this:

Although not every QR code is shaped like a perfect square, they’re most often found looking like the image above — with varying patterns displayed inside. You’ll often find them on direct mail, signage, billboards, and even commercials where you can quickly scan the code on the screen using your phone.

QR Codes vs. Barcodes

Does the rise of QR codes mean traditional barcodes are a thing of the past? Of course not. Traditional barcodes are still a common way for businesses to identify consumer packaged goods (CPGs) and manage their product inventory. 

                     

Images via Wikimedia Commons | Wikimedia Commons

However, there are a number of differences between barcodes and QR codes — both in their uses and their characteristics. Here are three important differences:

QR Codes Are Shaped Differently

Barcodes are typically rectangular in shape, requiring scanning devices to read the barcode’s data horizontally. QR codes are often square-shaped, displaying their data vertically or horizontally. 

QR Codes Hold More Data

Due to a QR code’s square shape, it can hold much more data than a barcode. In fact, QR codes can hold hundreds of times more encrypted characters than a barcode.

QR Codes Hold Different Data

QR codes are often used differently than barcodes. Barcodes hold key product information at the point of sale, such as the price and name of the manufacturer. QR codes offer more passive and intangible information, such as location data and URLs to promotions and product landing pages.

How Do QR Codes Work?

Originally designed in Japan for the automotive industry, marketers adopted the barcodes because of their large storage capacity and ability to translate additional information to consumers beyond what creative and/or packaging could convey.

If a consumer sees a QR code somewhere, they can take out their mobile device, download a free QR code scanning app, and “scan” the barcode to gain access to additional information, like so:

So if you wanted to create, say, a bus stop advertisement promoting your podcast, you could display a QR code on that printed ad that brings people right to your iTunes page when they scan it with their phones. Pretty simple, right?

How to Make a QR Code

The QR code creation process is pretty straightforward. Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Select a QR code generator.

There are tons of QR code generators out there. The best ones give you many options for using your QR code, and compatibility with most mobile QR code reader apps.

Other things to look for when choosing a QR code generator are whether you can track and analyze performance, and if it allows you to design a code that’s unique to your brand.

Some QR codes, for example, display logos and other icons within the code that immediately tell people what information they’ll get from scanning it.

Step 2: Choose the type of content you’re promoting.

Let’s select one of the QR code generators above and do a walk-through together. I’ll select qr-code-generator.com, one of the eight preferred QR code generators above.

First, select what type of content you want your QR code to show the person after they scan it. You can choose from one of 10 types, as shown in the screenshot below. For our purposes, we’ll promote a URL that directs users to our podcast.

Step 3: Enter your data in the form that appears.

Once you select the type of content you’re promoting with this QR code, a field or form will appear where you can enter the information that corresponds with your campaign.

If you want your QR code to save contact information, for example, you’ll see a set of fields where you can enter your email address, subject line, and associated message.

To save a link to our podcast, we’ll simply enter the URL in the field that appears, like so:

Step 4: Consider downloading a dynamic QR code.

See the option below for “dynamic”? One significant pitfall to making a QR code is that you can’t edit the data it contains once you print it. But with dynamic QR codes, you can edit this data. 

With a free membership to QR code generators like qr-code-generator.com, you can print a dynamic QR code, scan it, and pull up an editable form where you can modify the data your visitors will receive when they scan the QR code themselves.

Step 5. Customize it.

The fun part of creating QR codes is customizing the design of the codes to your brand. Want your code to look like your logo? Go for it. Want it to reflect your website’s design scheme? No problem.

Using qr-code-generator.com, we can customize our QR code by clicking the button to the top-right, as shown in the screenshot below. Keep in mind not every QR code maker offers this design option — depending on the QR code you’re looking to generate, you might find some tools limited in their functionality.

Of course, you can customize your QR code further — adjusting the colors, adding a logo, creating social options, and more. 

Keep in mind, however, that some customizations can make it more difficult for QR code scanning apps to properly read the code. It’s a good idea to generate two versions of your QR code — one plain version and another with your preferred design.

Step 6: Test the QR code to make sure it scans.

Because a customized QR code can make it difficult for some mobile apps to “read,” don’t forget to check to see if the QR code reads correctly, and be sure to try more than just one reader. A good place to start is the free tool Google Goggles, which takes a picture and then tells you what link or item it “reads to.”

Another great free tool is QR Code Reader, which automatically takes you to whatever it “reads.” Apple’s Passbook also offers a built-in QR code reader on iOS 7, so you should test to make sure your code is readable there, as well.

Step 7: Track and analyze performance.

Just like any marketing campaign, you should follow up on any collateral or campaigns using QR codes to see whether they’re actually working. How much traffic comes from each specific code? Are people scanning your code but not redeeming their offer once they get to the landing page? Or are they not even compelled enough to scan your QR code?

Knowing this will help you troubleshoot and adjust your poorly performing QR codes to more closely mirror those that work well. I recommend you include a UTM tracking code on your URL so you can better measure performance — this is particularly important if you use closed-loop marketing analytics, and are used to more in-depth reporting on your campaigns.

How to Use QR Codes (And How Not to)

Now that you see how simple the QR code creation process can be, let’s talk about some best practices that’ll help increase the likelihood your QR code actually gets used.

Display your QR code where it’s convenient for people to scan.

Put QR codes in places where scanning is easy, and there’s enough time for the consumer to actually scan the code. While you may often see QR codes on billboards and TV commercials, they’re not exactly the most user-friendly locations. Think of places and mediums where consumers have the time to scan the code, and, ideally, a Wi-Fi connection as well.

Optimize the QR’s destination page for mobile devices.

Mobile-optimize the page to which you’re sending people. Consumers will be on their phone when scanning the QR code, so they should be brought to a page with a positive mobile experience.

Include a CTA that prompts people to scan your QR code.

Offer a call-to-action (CTA) with the code — that is to say, tell people what they’re supposed to do when they see the code, and what they’ll receive if they do it. Not everyone knows exactly what a QR code is, and those that do won’t be motivated to scan it unless they’re sure there’s something worthwhile on the other side. 

Don’t limit your QR code to one mobile scanner.

Don’t require a special QR code scanner. Your QR code should be app-agnostic so anyone can scan your code with any reader. A lower barrier to entry makes success more likely for you and the user. 

Use your QR code to make someone’s life easier.

Don’t use a QR code just for the sake of using one. For instance, it’s common for marketers to think, “How can I bridge the offline experience with the online experience? Uhhh … QR code!” That’s not wrong … but it’s not always right, either.

If you have content that makes sense to deliver to a mobile user, and you have an appropriate channel to do it (see use #1 at the beginning of this section), it’s more likely your QR code will drive results. For example, in South Korea, grocery store chain Tesco drove tremendous national business growth by using QR codes in subway stations (I guess they have mobile service in their subway stations) to let riders order their groceries while they wait. It’s a great example of using QR codes for the right end-goal, at the right place and time. 

This article from Search Engine Journal has some more examples of good times to use QR codes, as well. 

If after reading this you’re not convinced QR codes are the right move — or you just want some additional ways you can connect the offline world to the online world — consider also adding a short, memorable URL people can type in easily on their mobile phones in your creative. 

The future of QR codes could also mean an evolution — augmented reality apps certainly stem from the same concept, after all. Consider the AR News App, which lets readers augment a newspaper story into a child-friendly article by downloading an app and hovering over stories with a special marker (sounds pretty close to a QR scanner, doesn’t it?).

It may be that QR codes aren’t quite dead, but just the first step in a long evolution.

Facebook released a statement today indicating that 200 apps have been suspended from its platform for possible data misuse.

The update, penned by Facebook VP of Product Partnerships Ime Archibong, comes as a follow-up to a full audit and investigation of all apps with access to significant amounts of personal user information prior to the company’s 2014 platform policy changes that restricted the amount of data accessible by such apps.

The audit was first introduced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in March in response to revelations that personal user data had been improperly obtained and used by consulting and voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica.

In 2013, prior to the platform policy changes, Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan developed a personality quiz app that scraped the data of those who downloaded it, as well as some of their connections on Facebook, which were then shared with Cambridge Analytica.

Now, writes Archibong, in the course of this investigation, Facebook has examined thousands more apps and suspended roughly 200 of them, “pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data.”

In addition to banning any app that refuses or fails the audit, Zuckerberg wrote in his March statement that where there’s evidence of potential data misuse by other third parties, any users who installed such an app (as well as those with friends who did) will be notified.

The ripple effect of a potential data misuse by 200 apps currently remains unknown, but could carry significant magnitude. As Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier noted in a Tweet, Kogan’s single app was downloaded by 270,000 people, resulting in the improper sharing of close to 87 million users’ data. 

So Facebook is telling us there are so far at least 200 other potential Cambridge Analytica situations.
(In the Cambridge Analytica case about 270,000 users of an app shared info on up to 87 million people with a developer, who shared it with 3rd party) https://t.co/7LG0ntOzzk

— Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier)
May 14, 2018

That number represents about 6% of Facebook’s 1.45 billion daily active users. Depending on the download rate and nature of potential data misuse by these 200 apps, it’s possible that the percentage of Facebook’s entire user base impacted could be significantly higher.

Despite the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook posted strong earnings for Q1 2018, and the company’s annual developer conference, F8, was met with apparent enthusiasm by its audience.

However, the revelations occurred toward the tail end of Q1, and with these latest insights, it will be interesting what impact they have on Q2 earnings.

The efforts to identify all apps that had access to this type and extent of user data is only the first phase of Facebook’s investigation and audit. The second phase involves further questioning of apps that raise concerns, and could result in on-site inspections.

“There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people’s Facebook data,” writes Archibong, “and it will take time.”

Finding stylish fonts for your design projects can be a major time sink — especially when you have to wade through seemingly endless pages of typefaces that don’t suit the vision you have in your head.

Finding a free font can be even more of a hassle.

So what’s a budget-strapped designer to do?

We’ve scoured the depths of the internet so you don’t have to, coming up with 27 of the best free fonts you deserve to have on your computer. Here’s how we sorted them:

• Free Scripts
• Free Serifs
• Free Modern/Sans-Serifs
• Good Fonts for Logos
• Old-Fashioned Fonts

Many of the free fonts featured here were developed by designers, for designers, so they understand the need for versatile, polished, free typefaces firsthand. Check out the fonts below and keep them in mind for your next design project.

27 of the Best Free Fonts for Designers of All Skill Levels

Free Script Fonts

1. Hello Stockholm

What happens when you combine Scandinavian minimalism with classic brushstrokes? You get Hello Stockholm, a casual script that plays well with sans-serif fonts.

2. Wildera Regular

We think this whimsical, light-weight script would look right at home in a fairy tale (or in your next project).

3. Mightype

Subtle hand-drawn details set this script apart from the pack. Mightype is sophisticated without being stuffy.

4. Selima

Selima’s breezy brushstrokes are perfect proof that script typefaces don’t have to look old-fashioned or uptight — they can be casual and modern.

Free Serif Fonts

5. Oranienbaum Regular

From small print to bold headlines, multi-tasking Oranienbaum is up to the challenge.

6. Butler

A decidedly modern serif typeface, Butler comes in 14 different weights to suit a wide variety of different uses.

7. Arctic

If you’re looking for a slab serif font with a modern edge, give Arctic a try. It’s a great way to give your headlines some character.

8. Bitter ht

We love the versatility of Bitter ht, a contemporary serif typeface that looks stylish at any size or weight.

9. Agne Regular

With bold lines and contrasting stems, this elegant font is a fresh take on old-fashioned serif typefaces.

10. Yeseva One Regular

If you’re concerned that serif typefaces come across as too uptight or formal, consider Yeseva, a laid-back option for headlines and subtitles.

Free Modern Fonts

11. Moon

Have you exhausted your library of simple and free sans-serif typefaces? Add Moon to the mix. We love this font’s clean simplicity and round edges.

12. Mohave

This all-caps font was designed with bold headlines and big type settings in mind.

13. Alcubierre Regular

Clean, minimal, and geometric, Alcubierre is well-suited to projects that require subtle headlines and a clear focus on the content.

14. Bourbon Grotesque

Inspired by — you guessed it — classic bourbon labels, this sans-serif has a big personality that demands attention.

15. Frontage Outline

Frontage Outline is reminiscent of handcrafted facade signs, making it a suitable pick for logotypes.

16. Arciform Sans Regular

Arciform might be simple, but this sleek sans-serif is far from boring. Consider including this easy-to-read typeface in your next web design project.

17. De La Fuente

This cool typeface is decorative without being over-the-top, making it ideal for headlines, logotypes, and other design projects that focus primarily on the text.

Good Fonts for Logos

18. Westfalia

Give your next project an outdoorsy, authentic feel with this hand-painted brush sans, which makes for a playful logo as well.

19. Atami

Atami’s numerous weights and display options make it the Swiss Army Knife of modern sans-serifs — it can really do it all for a rising brand.

20. Anders

Anders just might be the avant-garde font of your dreams. It’s unique geometric lines make it an excellent choice for logotypes.

21. Westmeath

Westmeath adds a dose of swagger to an otherwise basic font, making a logo that uses this font both legible and stylish.

22. Polya

Polya is perhaps the most interesting font we could find. The webbing of each letter makes for a truly mesmerizing logo.

Old-Fashioned Fonts

23. Horizon

Horizon is a simple but retro font that elicits images of an old outer space movie. And yet, it still holds up.

24. ITC Bauhaus

Similar to Horizon, ITC Bauhaus has a rounded, retro look that comes in numerous thicknesses. Thicker versions look like the header of an old playbill, while thinner styles give off a jazzy vibe.

25. Bobbers

Bobbers is a script font that has the goofy and over-the-top qualities of an old sitcom. Bring it back from the 1970s in your next design project for a truly confident header.

26. FF Blur

The haunting glow of FF Blur reminds us of an old horror movie. But it might be just soft enough to intrigue the audience of your next project.

27. Canterbury

No list of old-fashioned fonts is complete without the old-English stylings of Canterbury. Emulate many of today’s most famous newspaper logos with this traditional typeface.

We hope you find these fonts helpful — but because they are offered by other parties on their sites, we can’t make any guarantees or promises about them (like that they will be available or free to use).

Also, we want to mention that the designers who offer these fonts might have rules about how you can or can’t use them, so there might be limitations that are applicable to use of the font.

Want more font tips? Check out this tip for identifying the name of a font.

There’s been a ton of research about lead nurturing and its ability to affect a funnel. We know that, on average, we see more qualified leads, shorter sales cycles, and larger purchase amounts made by nurtured leads when compared with non-nurtured leads. Who doesn’t want that?

And using automation, a single marketer can scale and own a global nurturing strategy.

However, with great power, comes great responsibility.

Nurturing is all about building relationships and providing value. Through helping your leads, users, and customers answer questions and tackle challenges, you build trust and prime them to buy from your company. However, many businesses today are using automation in ways that run counter to these goals and create a poor experience for their contacts.

Before we go any further, some context about our nurturing and automation “fundamental truths” will be helpful. At HubSpot, we believe that nurturing and automation:

1. Should not be about your company. If your flow only talks about your business, the awards you’ve won, how many customers you have, etc. people will tune you out, and your nurturing won’t be effective.
2. Should be customer-centric. You want your customer to feel empowered by your business.
3. Should not be a sales pitch. If your flow only talks about feature lists, price points, and discounts, people will lose interest quickly.
4. Should be helpful. You want to provide value up front, giving your contacts something that helps them before asking them for a single thing.
5. Should not be left on autopilot. If you leave your flow running for long periods without analyzing its performance, your nurturing won’t be effective.
6. Should be continually improved. You want to test, learn, and iterate to create an ever-better experience for your contacts.

If your automation falls into one of the “should not” categories above, don’t panic. This stuff IS NOT easy. Heck, we didn’t even nail this the first time. Read on to see how you can start fixing your nurturing strategy, and how we grew our own engagement by over 1000%.

Nurturing Based on Content Topic

We’ll start by taking a quick trip back in time.

It’s 2015. You come to hubspot.com and, after filling out a form, you download a social media offer, becoming a new lead in our system.

Because we see you’ve downloaded a social media offer, we enroll you in an email nurturing flow focused on social media, sending you additional social media content, and eventually trying to get you to book a social media assessment call with our sales team.

This strategy worked pretty well for us. 30% open rate (OR), and a 14% click-through-rate (CTR).

Nurturing Based on Goals

Now let’s fast forward to 2016.

We reflected on our 2015 strategy, and thought we may have gone too narrow. We know that the majority of our leads “wear many hats” or, do more than just one thing for their company.

So we aimed to broaden our approach. We identified the main problems HubSpot solved for: driving traffic to your site, converting that traffic into leads, and closing those leads into customers. We then bucketed all of our content offers into one of those three buckets. Then, when a new lead was created through a content download, we enrolled them into a nurturing flow associated with the appropriate bucket.

We appropriately named this our bucketed approach.

This approach worked well for us too. We saw an uptick in OR to 27% and CTR to 17%.

Our New Nurturing Strategy Yet: Pick Your Own Adventure

However, moving into 2017, we still had some work to do. We realized we were making assumptions about our leads’ most pressing business challenges, and we made the decision to stop assuming.

What did this look like in practice?

Well, we did something pretty crazy:

We asked.

We asked our contacts what their biggest challenge was and then contextually nurtured them to tackle that challenge. And maybe the craziest part? We saw our engagement skyrocket.

We call this strategy Pick Your Own Adventure. Here’s how it works.

You come to hubspot.com and, after filling out a form, download a social media offer. This action enters you as a new lead into our system.

The first email we send comes from me, and asks you what your biggest challenge is.

Let’s say, in this example, you selected “Generate More Leads”.

We then send you directly to a thank you page where you can download one of our top offers to help you tackle that challenge (no additional form fill necessary).

Next, you’re enrolled in a contextual nurturing track designed to help you tackle your lead generation challenges. Here are some of the emails that follow:

 

 

This last email generates the most meetings for our sales team of the entire flow.

Because of the relationship we’ve been building, through empathizing with your challenge, helping you address that challenge, and checking on your progress, our leads now feel comfortable enough to have a strategy conversation.

The final email of our flow goes to people who have not booked a meeting.

HubSpot Academy is a team of brilliant educators with an entire library of content, courses, and certifications dedicated to helping you grow your business and your career. Through this message, we show that we want to continue to provide value to you over time — and we’re here if you ever want to talk.

So how did our Pick Your Own Adventure Strategy perform?

Drum roll please …

We saw incredible success with this strategy. It’s extremely rare to see open and clickthrough rates like this.

Okay, that’s pretty cool… but where does the 1000+% come from?

When comparing contacts who identified their challenge in our Pick Your Own Adventure Strategy versus those who did not, we saw over 1000% increase in engagement (CTR).

Looking at our email metrics year over year we can see that our Pick Your Own Adventure Strategy performed significantly above our 2015 and 2016 strategies.

How to Launch a Pick Your Own Adventure Nurturing Strategy at Your Company

Nurturing is all about building relationships. To provide the best experience, we need to stop assuming we know what our leads’ challenges are. Instead, just ask. Then, follow up contextually to help them tackle that challenge.

To create a Pick Your Own Adventure Strategy of your own follow these simple steps:

1. Identify your main persona’s biggest challenges.
2. Which challenges can your business solve for? You’ve just identified your “adventures”. These will be the CTAs you use in your email campaign.
3. Identify which pieces of content can help your persona tackle the challenges you’ve identified. If you don’t have content for a specific challenge, that’s okay. This is a great exercise to identify opportunities to create new content.
4. When new prospects enter your database, send them an email welcoming them and provide your “adventures.” I recommend providing four adventures total — three specific, and one catch-all — and each should be a CTA.
5. Based on which CTA the lead clicks, enroll them into a distinct nurturing track associated with a specific adventure. If they don’t click a CTA, enroll them in the catch-all option. Pro Tip: Using the HubSpot Workflows tool you can easily take care of this part using if/then branching logic.
6. Once enrolled in the unique track, send a series of emails with the content you outlined above.
7. When crafting your emails, think about providing value up front. Focus the first few emails on addressing their challenge. Pro Tip: Make sure to acknowledge and empathize with the challenge your lead has selected in your emails. Try using some copy like the following “Last time we spoke, you mentioned your biggest challenge is X. I get it, X isn’t easy!”
8. Once you’ve provided value, aim for your goal, whether that’s encouraging them to book a demo of your product, scheduling a consultation call, or something else entirely.
9. Collect data, analyze, and iterate.

Once you’ve finished your build, give yourself a pat on the back — this stuff isn’t easy.

However, just because you’ve built it once doesn’t mean it’s done. I like to check in on my program every 30 days to collect email metrics and gauge the impact on down funnel metrics like marketing qualified leads, opportunities created, and new customers generated.

Pro Tip: Put a recurring event on your calendar for the first day of the month to report on how your program performed the previous month. This calendar event will hold you accountable to monitoring performance and improving over time.

Good luck and happy nurturing.