Quick riddle for you: What do you have in common with podcast hosts, YouTube sensations, TikTok stars, and Instagram influencers?

Stumped? Okay, okay. I’ll tell you the answer.

Statistically speaking, you probably also consider yourself a ‘content creator’, at least on some level.

Recently, HubSpot’s Blog Research team ran a study and found 30% of 18-24 year olds and 40% of 25-34 year olds call themselves content creators.

That number might seem high at first, but when you consider how deeply ingrained social media has become in our lives, it starts to make sense. 

What did surprise me, however, was this: When asked how many followers most of these content creators had, 84% reported less than 10,000, and 39% reported less than 1,000.

This confused me. In high school, I had roughly 100 followers. But I’d never considered myself a content creator. I guess, as it turns out, maybe I should have.

To investigate whether ‘everyone is a content creator’ is true — and what it means if it is — I spoke with three content creators and influencers about their relationship to the ‘content creator’ label. Let’s dive in.

Is anyone who creates content a ‘content creator’? 

Li Jin is an investor and co-founder of Variant Fund, a venture firm investing in the ownership economy. Jin, who’s been called ‘The Investor Guru for Online Creators‘, believes everyone is a content creator.

As Jin told The Information, “No matter which industry you’re in, people are all going to be creators … This embrace of virtual brand-building is already starting to happen but will accelerate in coming years, as doctors, CEOs and other established professions, including venture capitalists, realize the importance of cultivating online profiles.”

Jin adds, “Everyone will have to build influence online, because we’re living more of our lives online … All of us will have to adopt some of the skill sets and behaviors of creators in order to be successful.”

If a content creator is defined as someone who “produces entertaining or educational material that caters to the interests and challenges of a target audience”, then it makes sense to label anyone with a social profile as a content creator. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just me posting a funny Instagram video to share with my 300 followers, or a major TikTok influencer doing the same thing for her 3 million fans.

Leslie Green, HubSpot’s Senior Social Strategy Manager, agrees. She says, “Nike believes ‘everyone is an athlete’, and I also believe everyone is a content creator. There may be varying levels of skill, but if you have a phone with a camera, you’re a content creator.”

A few years ago, being a content creator — or influencer — required a certain follower count to earn the title, and it was a relatively exclusive club, reserved for brands, mega-influencers, or celebrities.

Now, anyone with a smartphone has the opportunity to become one. There’s something incredibly freeing about this: As we broaden the scope of what we mean when we say ‘content creator’, we’re inevitably opening the doors for more diverse voices. Which means consumers worldwide can find content creators who mirror their unique, distinct experiences.

In other words: Content doesn’t need to reflect one singular version of reality anymore. Now, it can encompass all of them.

Nicole Phillip, The Hustle’s Senior Social Media Manager, told me she sees major benefits to the fact that there are no guardrails when it comes to labelling yourself as a content creator.

As Phillip puts it, “Content creator is definitely an overused descriptor … But that speaks to how accessible the arena is, which in some ways is great for people who otherwise would’ve hit glass ceilings or invisible walls trying to get their work out there through conventional means.”

To become a content creator, you only need a smartphone. 

Admittedly, there are levels of skill, expertise, and influence within the creator economy, just like there are levels to any profession. But what’s surprising is that, unlike other professions, there’s no entry-level requirement to becoming a content creator.

You don’t need to possess certain skills or live in a specific region or be an expert in a particular field — you just need to own a phone or a computer.

Which is perhaps what makes it so enthralling for so many. Consider, for instance, how the hashtag #contentcreator reveals more than 9 million results on Instagram:

What’s equally interesting is the growth of the creator economy over the past few years — which Bloomberg reports is now worth more than $20 billion.

The creator economy, a term that refers to the marketplace of content creators as it relates to businesses, skyrocketed during the pandemic.

The pandemic also greatly impacted the requirements of becoming a content creator. As people were stuck at home with nothing but their phones, they had to make due. And, as it turned out, audiences didn’t care about super-polished content, anyway.

Instead, audiences appreciated and sought out the more authentic posts that spoke to the true state of the world.

As Phillip acknowledges, “Being a content creator used to mean you had a super large following and created original content that would consistently go viral to large audiences. Then, we started having micro and nano-influencers, which lowered the barrier to entry, so there’s no particular follower count necessary, either.”

She adds, “In terms of content types or quality, there’s an audience for every niche and ability, so someone who only has an iPhone 8 just recording their thoughts during their morning commute can compete in the same space as a celebrity makeup artist operating with a DSLR and an entire team.”

It’s undoubtedly thrilling to consider the possibilities of creative individuals with less resources competing in spaces with high-profile, mega-rich celebrities.

But that leads me to my next point: What’s the end game with all of this, anyway?

Becoming a content creator on social media is no longer a means to an end. 

A few years ago, becoming an influencer was oftentimes a stepping stone to fame.

A few names come to mind: Consider King Bach, who became famous on Vine and has since starred in multiple TV shows, including The Mindy Project and Punk’D; or Addison Rae, a TikTok dancer who was recently featured in Netflix’s movie He’s All That.

And yet, nowadays, becoming an influencer is in-and-of itself the goal.

One TikTok creator, Brady Lockerby, decided to become a full-time TikToker after recognizing the financial incentives outweighed her previous employment.

As she notes, she made roughly $50,000 in her corporate 9-to-5 job. By comparison, she now makes upwards of her yearly corporate salary in one month.

Lockerby told me, “The first time I posted on TikTok, I never expected it to turn into what it is today for me. It’s something that truly just fell into my lap. Once my TikTok career started to take off and I realized, ‘Wow, this could actually be my job,’ I made the plunge and quit my job. Freedom was probably the driving force.”

She adds, “It seems that nowadays most people are just in it for the money and receiving free items — but I believe that building authentic relationships is key. Whether that’s with your followers or a brand, if you don’t have that trust, no one will believe your content. You make the choice to put your life online, and it makes my heart warm to know that people genuinely care about not only what products I’m promoting that month, but about me and my life.”

It’s important to note: The money you make as a content creator is well-deserved. As easy as it is to earn the label of ‘content creator’, it’s not easy to make a living off of it.

In fact, Philip predicts that in the future, many will actually consider quitting as the market becomes increasingly saturated.

She told me, “People can get content from every corner of the internet, and to maintain an audience through such competition can be stressful and exhausting. I’ve seen this first-hand just working on branded social. There are no off days and you constantly have to feed the beast.”

It’s true: Content creation is a 24/7 gig. And if you don’t consistently post engaging content, you could lose your audience’s attention as they move onto the new creator of the moment.

But that shouldn’t deter you from embracing your role as content creator if that’s what you want.

As Green advises, “In 2022, content creators have more power than ever. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are competing for content and are actively helping to produce income for their most valuable asset — content creators. If you’re looking to break into content creation, don’t be discouraged. Brands and platforms are looking for your personality and expertise.”

Green continues, “My best advice: pick a niche, stick to one platform, and focus on volume. Social media may feel like a crowded space, but there’s room for everyone. Be patient, test a variety of formats, and stick to a cadence you can be consistent with month over month.”

Ultimately, just as art means something different to every individual, so too does content. Which means the narrow scope we’d previously defined as ‘content creator’ was too limiting. There’s value in leveling the playing field, and allowing anyone with a camera and a voice to be heard.

After all, every content creator has the unique ability to connect deeply to their audience — and whether that’s an audience of one or one million, there’s power in that.

Think about the best boss you’ve ever had. What made them great?

Were they open to new ideas? Did they lead with humility? Showed empathy when you needed it? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, this person could be considered a transformational leader.

Transformational leaders empower and motivate others to achieve extraordinary feats and, in the process, sharpen their own leadership skills.

Here, we’ll cover the basics of transformational leadership, define the key characteristics of this style, and see how it differs from transactional leadership.

To get a better idea of how transformational leadership plays out in the workplace, we need to look at its four primary elements:

• Idealized influence — this is the degree to which a leader models the behavior they want followers to emulate. In doing so, they gain trust and respect from their followers.
• Inspirational motivation — this is the degree to which a leader articulates a vision and outlines future goals. By aligning followers under a singular vision, they can drive the group forward.
• Individualized consideration — this is the degree to which a leader tends to each follower’s needs and acts as a mentor or coach. As a result, followers feel empowered to make individual contributions to the team.
• Intellectual stimulation — this is the degree to which a leader challenges assumptions, takes risks, and solicits ideas and feedback. The goal here is to stimulate creativity in their followers.

Now let’s take a closer look at the impact of this leadership style in the workplace.

Why is transformational leadership effective?

1. Promotes psychological safety.

Transformational leaders know that psychological safety is key for encouraging participation, bringing new ideas forward, and uncovering solutions. They urge people to think independently and challenge the status quo.

Part of fostering psychological safety is replacing criticism with curiosity. For example, if an employee misses a few deadlines, transformational leaders don’t spend too much time on fault. Instead, they might say, “I’ve noticed you missed a few deadlines this month. I assume there are some factors impacting your performance. Can you walk me through what those are?”

Ultimately, it’s up to the leader to model the behavior they want to see from their employees. In doing so, they foster an environment of trust and respect.

2. Prioritizes career development.

Transformational leaders act as a mentor or coach to their employees. They make themselves available to support and advise others when they need it. Most importantly, they look for opportunities – and even create opportunities – to help their employees get closer to their goals.

3. Boosts innovation and high performance.

Transformational leaders don’t shy away from risks, and they often push themselves — and their employees — outside of their comfort zone. Sometimes, this means failure. But other times, it results in exciting, innovative solutions. This motivates employees to keep raising the bar and improving team performance.

4. Cuts down on micromanaging.

Transformational leaders value employee autonomy more than oversight. They give space to employees to work autonomously and make decisions.

That said, this isn’t a complete laissez-faire style. Leaders provide clear instructions and the necessary resources for employees to do their job. Additionally, they provide appropriate, well-timed support without overstepping boundaries.

5. Nurtures a growth mindset.

Transformational leaders embrace new ideas, solicit feedback, and admit when they’re wrong. In other words, they aren’t afraid to learn and grow.

This type of growth mindset is contagious in the workplace, allowing employees to feel comfortable making mistakes, receiving constructive criticism, and keeping an open mind.

Transformational Leadership vs. Transactional Leadership

Transactional versus transformational leadership is not a question of good versus bad. While polar opposite, both are effective in different situations.

To state the obvious, transactional leadership involves a transaction. Leaders set goals and, in exchange for achieving them, employees receive rewards.

It involves maintaining a status quo, hitting specific targets, and controlling outcomes. While this approach may seem cold or impersonal, it’s an effective approach for mid-to-large organizations operating under rigid targets or rules.

For instance, imagine a sales team grinding to hit a certain quota per week. Or line workers at a manufacturing plant inspecting a certain number of products per day.

This is quite different from transformation leadership where employees are given autonomy and space to create and innovate. This is a fitting approach for organizations looking to retain and develop talent instead of meeting a fixed quota.

Transformational Leadership Examples

1. Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and People Officer at Chipotle.

“HR leaders need to have clarity on values, with a deep understanding of who the company is and what it stands for as an organization.”

2. Katie Burke, Chief People Officer at HubSpot.

“When things have gone sideways (big or small), we have always leaned into transparency and being upfront with people about what we have learned from the experience. We also try to actively celebrate failure. Doing so helps ensure we don’t just celebrate the things that go perfectly and that our leaders set the tone on failure as part of our journey.”

3. Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo.

“If you don’t give people a chance to fail, you won’t innovate. Most importantly, we want to create a company where every employee can bring their whole selves to work.”

Back To You

Transformational leadership could be the difference between a stagnant team and a high-performing one. It enables you to retain and develop talent while driving positive change. If you’re in a leadership role, consider how this style could take your team to the next level.

Over the past few years, consumers have become increasingly concerned with how companies use their data. And many feel passionate about protecting their privacy — in fact, HubSpot’s Blog Research found 80% of consumers believe data privacy is a human right.

Data security has become a critical component for long-term customer retention and loyalty. So it’s vital brands behave responsibly when it comes to collecting and protecting consumer data.

But many marketers have relied on third-party data for years, so the phaseout of Google’s third-party cookie in 2023 will likely cause some concern. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to.

Here, let’s explore the effective strategies marketers will implement to ensure they’re still reaching new audiences and connecting with customers even without third-party data.

How Marketers are Preparing for Google’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout

1. Marketers are enhancing or developing their data collection operations and management models.

One surefire way to prepare for the third-party cookie phaseout? Begin developing or refining a strong first-data party data strategy.

As Microsoft Advertising’s Head of Evangelism, John Lee, told me, “Microsoft Advertising is working with the digital advertising industry and its clients to evolve and uplevel data privacy maturity for a privacy-first cookieless world. While there is no market-ready solution available today that manages data end-to-end, our guidance for our clients is to take steps now to prepare a first-party data strategy and to conduct robust data management practices.”

He adds, “First-party will lead the way and now is the time to ensure that you have the best resources and information available to enhance or develop data collection operations and management models. It is your ability to communicate with your customers transparently and in a personalized, yet meaningful way, that will enable better relationships and business success in the future.”

Ultimately, creating a strong first-party data management framework will enable your entire organization to transition seamlessly off third-party data while continuing to reach new prospects and leads.

To create an effective enterprise data management strategy, take a look at Everything You Need to Know About Data Management.

2. Marketers are gathering customer data through email marketing.

Cynthia Price, Litmus‘ SVP of Marketing, believes email marketing is a powerful option for continuing to collect customer and prospect data instead of relying on third-party cookies.

As Price puts it, “About eight in 10 marketers depend on third-party cookies, so when they do vanish, those who haven’t adapted their data structures and their data-gathering processes will struggle to effectively personalize their email programs.”

To combat these challenges, marketers will need to shift to ensure their email strategies leverage first-party data. This will help you create a more individualized email experience. 

Price suggests, “Email can be used to gather customer and prospect data with new, evolving email software and with dynamic content templates. Forms, in-email purchase options, and customizable marketing paths are all valid, successful tactics to use in order to garner more first-hand recipient information.”

Price adds, “Brands with siloed data structures have been unable to achieve a full, single view of their customers, with data getting pulled into multiple directions.”

Price says, “The evolution of privacy regulations will put email even more at the center of the marketing mix — as the channel that offers the most comprehensive view into zero and first-party data, and the ability to use it effectively.”

She continues, “This adoption of zero and first-party data will also allow for more practical uses of AI in email, with AMP and dynamic content automation.”

3. Marketers are focusing more on customer loyalty and retention.

The phaseout of third-party cookies will impact how some marketers acquire new customers, but it won’t impact how marketers retain existing customers — which is why some marketers will adjust to this third-party phaseout by refocusing their efforts.

SVP of Marketing at Cordial, Carrie Parker, says, “The phaseout of Google’s third-party cookies is forcing marketers and advertisers to think about engaging their customers and audiences in more personal and authentic ways. With cookies going away, acquiring new customers will become more complex, but on the other hand, retaining customers will be a much more critical piece of the puzzle than in the past.”

She adds, “More marketers are increasingly focusing on loyalty and retention within their current customer base, enhancing their experience with the insights readily available that consumers have provided.”

Parker told me Cordial recently conducted a study and found 70% of consumers dislike online ads that target them using websites and products they’ve viewed — and, on the contrary, more than eight in 10 consumers are more likely to buy from stores and brands that communicate with them in personal, relevant ways.

Parker continues, “Consumers want more from companies when it comes to personalization than what they’re receiving from most brands these days. Personalization does not mean inserting a name on an email and hitting send. Instead, it requires considering the value added to the consumer and keeping them loyal customers. With cookies going away, first-party data strategies allow brands to emphasize personalization, loyalty, and retention of their customers. Brands can use their customer base and provide something of value to make them come back.”

Ultimately, the phaseout of the third-party cookie is a good opportunity to re-evaluate how you’re interacting with both new and existing customers. First-party data strategies will ultimately help you better connect with your customers.

4. Marketers will focus on the best impressions rather than the best users.

Melinda Han Williams, Chief Data Scientist at Dstillery, says, “One of the most challenging aspects of preparing for this transition is that any good campaign will include a portfolio of post-cookie solutions and technologies after third-party cookies are gone. Even the marketers who are furthest along in their post-cookie testing journeys may still have much more preparation to do.”

She adds, “New identity solutions, such as UID2 and RampID, allow advertisers to reach people who have opted-in to tracking and addressability. Marketers who have tested these solutions have progressed toward post-cookie readiness, but they’re not done yet.”

“Why? Because some people don’t want to be tracked on the internet.”

Williams points out that marketers need to prepare solutions to reach people without tracking them or compromising their privacy or preferences.

The solution here? Understanding you might not need that much data about each customer in the first place.

As Williams told me, “The good news is you don’t need to know who someone is to know whether they’d be receptive to your message. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) enables marketers to choose the best impressions rather than the best users.”

She adds, “Once you reframe the problem this way, rather than trying to find out as much about the user as possible with increasingly limited data, it is possible to do inventory-based targeting with performance and scale rivaling the cookie-based, tracking-based solutions that will soon be retired.”

Change is always difficult, particularly when it comes to the ways in which marketers reach new audiences. Fortunately, this change is likely for the best. Shifting to a first-party data model will help your organization appeal to the majority of consumers who are hesitant to share their data with companies, and it will set you up for long-term growth after Google’s third-party phaseout.

A
leaked TikTok for Business deckstated that the average user spends 89 minutes per day on the platform.

Eighty-nine minutes is, inarguably, a long time to spend on an application. However, eighty-nine minutes means that businesses have invaluable opportunities to capture audience attention and generate interest.

If you’re hoping to get in on the action, read on to discover high-quality ideas for content to post on TikTok.

What is TikTok?

As a refresher, TikTok is a social media platform where users can record, edit, and share video content. These videos can be anywhere between 15 seconds to three minutes long, creating ample opportunity for all types of content to take center stage.

What to Post on TikTok

Let’s go over some high-quality ideas and examples of content you can post on TikTok.

1. Day-to-day routine videos.

Daily routine videos give viewers insight into how work happens at your business.

It shares the processes that bring your product or services to life, and it can be a fun way to build a connection through a behind-the-scenes look. If you leverage this tip, it’s a best practice to create a daily routine video that features everyday tasks most related to your business.

Glass Half Full is a small business in Louisiana that diverts glass products from landfills by collecting used glassware and recycling it into sand and glass cullet. It uses TikTok to generate awareness and interest in its business, and the video below demonstrates what a day of glass collection and recycling looks like.

2. Share content that reflects your brand values.

Content that reflects a brand or business’ values performs best on social media and has the 3rd highest ROI of any content type. Customers also care now, more than ever, about the causes that their favorite businesses stand for and use them as a factor in their purchasing decisions.

As such, sharing your brand values on TikTok is a valuable way to connect with your audience. Those who stand for the same causes as you will take notice, and you have the potential to draw them in as a customer.

Ensure that you’re genuine with this practice, though, as consumers see businesses that make false claims as exploitative and opportunistic.

3. Spotlight your employees.

Spotlighting employees puts a face to your brand and shows audiences the people behind the products and services they love. It also humanizes your business and shares an exciting and exclusive peek into your operation.

4. Educate your audience on relevant topics.

You can share information with your audience on TikTok that will educate them on things related to your industry or niche. If you’re committed to always educating and helping, you’ll build authority, and people will return to you as a source of truth to continue learning more.  

Jeeves is a dry cleaning service that shares helpful, educational content with its audience. In the video below, an employee explains the importance of separating light and dark colors when doing laundry.

5. Create product campaigns and tease new launches.

Running product campaigns or teasing upcoming launches on TikTok can help you generate excitement. Viewers know that they can expect a big reveal on your page, and they’ll be waiting on the edge of their seats and returning to your profile to see if you’ve released more information.

A pro tip is to combine a product campaign or launch with a related and relevant sound or hashtag to get more visibility from users scrolling through current trends.

6. Share a unique business story.

Sharing a narrative story about your business is an engaging way to connect with your audience, as these videos represent something that they can only find in your business. For example, customer spotlights or success stories, explaining the lifecycle of your products or services, or an exciting story about related industry news all uniquely relate to your business and what you offer.

One of the great things about TikTok is that audiences don’t expect high-production-value from videos, so you can simply generate an idea and turn on the camera and start filming.

7. Answer audience questions.

Answering questions is a great way to connect with your audience and build relationships. TikTokers often ask questions without being prompted, so you can browse your comments and create video replies to questions or leverage TikTok’s native Q&A feature.

A bonus is that answering questions gives you insight into customers’ troubles with your business. If you see the same asks repeatedly, you might learn that you need to update your FAQ page or provide additional information about specific topics on your website.

In the TikTok below, Franziska, founder of Glass Half Full, answers a comment in a video reply about the business’ practices when it comes to throwing products away.

8. Product Demonstrations

Product demonstrations help your audience learn how to use your products in a digestible way. Instead of reading an instruction manual and deciphering pictures or being walked through the process over the phone, they can actually watch someone take the steps and follow along.

9. Partner with relevant influencers.

Influencers have audiences that trust them and their values, so partnering with one related to your niche is a valuable tool for generating brand awareness and building your following on TikTok. These partnerships are also a valuable form of social proof for viewers, which is a big factor in purchasing decisions.

You can leverage this tip and post influencer content to your profile, but you can also have influencers share content on their profiles to expose you to a new audience group.

Small Business TikTok Ideas

As a small business, you may be wondering if it’s worthwhile to create another social media profile on another app.

Considering that 92% of global TikTok users take action after watching a video and are 1.5x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform, you have the opportunity to really build your brand if you use the app.

The ideas mentioned above are valuable for large and small businesses alike, and you can leverage many of them without a large budget. However, there are specific content ideas that are relevant for small businesses, and we’ll discuss them below.

1. Share your origin story.

Sharing your small business’ unique origin story humanizes your business and helps you connect with your audience. They’ll clearly see how you came to be and why you care about what you offer, and your video can also be a source of inspiration for your followers starting their own business endeavors.

As mentioned before, TikTok viewers don’t demand high production value, so you can tell your story however you see fit.

In the TikTok below, Pierce Woodward explains how his jewelry business, Brand Pierre, began its journey and grew into what it is today.

2. Highlight your production process.

Showing viewers what goes into creating what you offer is exciting because they’ll see how the things they care about come to be. It also shows the hard work, dedication, and care that goes into creating what you offer, demonstrating your commitment to giving value to your customers.

Victoria Adrian is a textile artist who creates custom rugs and embroidery projects. She frequently shares her production process on TikTok, displaying the care and thought that goes into creating her products.

3. Use trending sounds and hashtags.

Using trending sounds and hashtags helps you build brand awareness for your small business as your videos are visible to a broad audience. People browsing through the sound or hashtag will see all of the different videos that were uploaded and have the potential to land on your video, click on your profile, and learn more about what you offer.

4. Duet and stitch videos.

Duets and Stitches are ways to build on existing TikTok videos. With Duets, you add on to another user’s existing video, and with Stitch, you clip specific scenes from another user’s video to add to your video.

As a small business, using these native TikTok features allows you to engage with existing related content and incite conversation with your audience. You can Stitch and Duet videos from anyone on the platform with the feature enabled, so you can even begin conversations with users that may not know you exist.

Jeeves expertly uses the stitch feature to answer audience questions. The video below is a stitch from a video where someone asks how to take care of an item of clothing.

5. Partner with relevant content creators.

Partnering with content creators or influencers helps you gain exposure to a new audience relevant to what your business offers. By working with a content creator, you’re also benefiting from the trust they’ve built with their audience that the products, services, and businesses they work with and use are trustworthy and worth doing business with.

about time coffee in New York City partnered with a group of sisters, sister snacking, who are influencers in the New York Food scene. The business posted the video to its profile, and so did sistersnacking, featuring some of the store’s products to their audience of 147.6K followers.

6. Showcase what makes your business shine.

A great way to get people excited about what your small business offers is to showcase how well you do what you do. This shows viewers exactly what they can expect from you, generating excitement and maybe helping people decide to work with you based on your expertise.

The Pool Guy, Miles Laflin, is a swimming pool engineer in the UK who often posts videos of the pool cleaning process and the effectiveness of his work. He shows a before and after picture that clearly demonstrates how he brings pools from green and swampy to clear and ready for swimming. He shows that he’s good at his job, alerting potential customers he can bring their pool back to life.

Over To You

TikTok was once the app to watch in 2019.

Now, 52% of social media marketers who leverage the app plan to increase their investments in 2022. If you’re hoping to get in on the channel for the first time or improve your presence, the business examples on this list are a great source of inspiration for you to get started.

What does it take to be a good manager? Some say it’s empathy, others will say it’s transparency. The truth is, it’s a combination of many elements.

I surveyed and spoke with internal and external employees to discover the makers of a good manager. Whether you’re currently managing a team or are interested in doing so, keep reading to discover what we found out.

• 7 Skills People Managers Must Master
• Tips on Being a Good Manager

• How to Be a Good Sales Manager

• How to Be a Good Marketing Manager
• How to Be a Good Project Manager

7 Skills People Managers Must Master, According to HubSpot Employees

Why do people really quit their jobs? Many will say it’s because of salary, benefits, or workload. However, studies show it’s usually due to management.

Studies show companies need good managers to retain good employees.

But what exactly does a good manager look like? What skills or strategies can you develop to ensure you’re considered a good one?

To explore this issue, we polled people and asked them to check off all the qualities they felt were most important for a great manager.

Respondents listed these top three qualities or skills:

• 58% said, “They trust me to work autonomously.”
• 46% said, “They are empathetic and understanding.”
• 45% said, “They give me useful, clear feedback.”

Other answers included a willingness to teach, interest in career growth, strong communication skills, awarding credit, and inviting fresh ideas.

Along with this data, I consulted my colleagues to get their thoughts on what makes a people manager effective. Here are 7 crucial qualities of a great team leader.

1. Good managers help employees navigate change.

Consider the last time you experienced change within your organization.

I’m willing to bet the change felt daunting at times. Fortunately, good managers can mitigate the negative or ambivalent emotions that arise from change.

“The strongest managers are ones who can help their teams navigate change in a very personal way,” Christine McLaughlin, a senior project manager on HubSpot’s Sales Leadership Enablement team. “I’m a firm believer that every challenge presents an opportunity. But, because we’re human, we can’t always see the opportunity from the start.”

McLaughlin adds, “Our personal life, mental health, physical health, the last meeting we had, the next meeting we’re preparing for, all play a role in influencing how we perceive change. Do we view it as a challenge? An opportunity? A setback? A relief?”

“Strong managers can translate change for each individual on their team. They meet their teammate where they’re at and help to answer their questions and concerns to bring them to where they need to go.”

How can you do this? Start by fostering psychological safety, so your employees feel comfortable mentioning how they feel about a certain business change. Then, listen carefully to their concerns and work on providing solutions for those issues.

For instance, let’s say your team has experienced a reorg and one of your direct reports is concerned her role is going to change as a result.

To mitigate those concerns, consider creating a document that outlines which (if any) of their responsibilities might change as a result of the reorg — along with some new opportunities they can pursue to continue developing their professional skills.

2. Good managers are open and transparent.

Trust and transparency are undeniably critical components of good leaders — and, post-pandemic, this is continuing to rise in importance.

In fact, Edelman’s most recent 2021 benchmark barometer on trust in leaders found employees ranked “good employee communication” 44 points higher than in the previous year.

Keri Polmonari, HubSpot’s Manager of Customer Success on the SMB team, believes transparency to be one of the most important attributes a good leader can possess.

“Business changes — like changes in department goals, processes, or personnel — can be difficult and overwhelming,” she says, “when everyone understands the why behind these business changes, they are more open and understanding of implications this could have on their jobs, both positive and negative.”

She adds that transparency builds trust, fosters relationships, and creates organizational alignment, all key components of a company’s and individual’s success.

3. Good managers encourage vulnerability.

When was the last time your manager started your 1:1 with a slightly more personal question, like, “How was your birthday this past weekend?” or “Read any good books lately?”

These questions ultimately help encourage vulnerability by creating space for you to share information about your life outside of work — and they can go a long way toward creating stronger bonds.

“Whenever I start a new role or inherit a new team, I begin by enabling and encouraging vulnerability,” said VP of marketing at Trusted Health, Jill Callan. “This helps me forge strong bonds with my direct reports and allows them to be comfortable to share ideas and admit weaknesses.”

Callan adds, “I’m also very intentional about getting to know my team as individuals and learning about their lives outside of work. Taking the time upfront to build a strong, authentic relationship with my direct reports helps us tackle inevitable tough challenges down the line.”

To encourage vulnerability, consider how you might increase your own openness with your team. For instance, perhaps you admit when you’re feeling overwhelmed with childcare duties, mention a Netflix show you’ve been binging, or simply chat about the gardening hobby you’ve picked up.

And embrace vulnerability by admitting when you’ve made a mistake or you’re feeling overwhelmed — it will help your employees feel comfortable admitting the same.

4. Good managers find ways to supplement their team member’s weaknesses.

I once had a manager who repeatedly sought out learning and development opportunities for the areas we’d determined as weaknesses of mine. She would often email me public speaking courses, or data & analytics workshops.

As a result, I continued to grow professionally, and I felt challenged. This is what a good manager does: Continues to keep a direct report’s weaknesses in mind, and provides guidance to help them improve.

Former HubSpot Senior Manager Christina Perricone concurs.

“Good managers find ways to supplement their team member’s weaknesses,” she said. “Each of us has skills that come naturally to us, as well as skills we’re not so great at.”

“An attuned manager can identify an individual’s weak areas and will surface resources or offer guidance to assist in those areas.”

With this in mind, take stock of your team’s weaknesses and actively pursue resources that can help your team develop their weaker skills.

Additionally, use the hiring process to create a more well-rounded team by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing employees.

As Perricone says, “Good managers are skilled at balancing out their teams by recruiting talent that can fill in the skill and experience gaps, thereby creating a more well-rounded unit.”

5. Good managers work for their employees — not above them.

You might be thinking, “Managers work for their employees? Isn’t it the other way around?“

Actually, a manager, like an employee, is more effective when they’re an active team player.

While an employee’s job is to fulfill tasks within a job description, a manager’s job is to make their team successful. To do this, a manager shouldn’t be afraid to chime in during meetings, assist on projects, or help their team grow or succeed in other ways.

For instance, consider asking your direct reports during a 1:1, “Is there anything you need me to do?”

This question can be translated in multiple positive ways, including:

• “Are there any blockers I can remove for you?”
• “Are you waiting on a decision from me on anything?”
• “Are you working on an idea that you want to share with me?”
• “Is there something going on in your world outside of work that’s competing for your time and attention?”

Ultimately, a good manager considers it their primary job to make their employees successful.

6. Good managers are always aiming to improve their emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence — or the skill that requires you to understand your own emotions, learn how to manage them, and know how to respond to the emotions of others on your team — is a vital component of good leadership.

Emotional intelligence can help you ensure you’re giving clear directions and allows you to be empathetic to the needs of others. In short, it can help you foster stronger professional relationships and communicate effectively.

Most importantly, emotional intelligence enables you to stay calm during high-stress or unexpected situations — which can prevent you from making rash decisions as a leader, or stressing your team out unnecessarily.

7. Good managers can establish and promote psychologically-safe environments.

The ability to cultivate psychological safety is a critical asset that Jennifer Brault, team manager on HubSpot’s social media team, values in her own people manager.

“Feeling supported, heard, and understood is the foundation I need to be able to come to work every day with the right mindset to do good work,” Brault says.

Brault adds, “Genuine empathy and psychological safety are hard to fake, and it’s something that I think everyone should master before they consider the people management path.”

Psychological safety fosters innovative thinking and the ability to adapt well to change — and yet, according to a 2020 McKinsey Global Survey, only a handful of business leaders often demonstrate the behaviors associated with psychological safety.

If you’re a manager or hoping to be a better leader, it’s important you take time to identify aspects of your management style or overall office culture that could benefit from psychological safety.

For example, rather than using language that makes your team members feel scared of missing deadlines or goals, keep an open and supportive dialogue.

You’ll find that they will confidently come to you with successes, learnings from failure, or concerns while they’re working on high-pressure projects.

Alternatively, if a team member is having trouble with a project, you should offer advice or assistance to help them remove blockers, rather than telling them to just get it done.

Supportive communication with team members allows them to learn from mistakes and grow as employees, rather than work tirelessly on projects because they fear that they’ll lose their jobs.

Tips for Being a Good Manager

As outlined in the data above, there are a few key traits required of any good manager. These include:

• Providing coaching and mentoring when necessary, but enabling your team to work autonomously and trusting them to get the job done.
• Showing empathy toward your direct reports as people with lives outside of work, and creating a sense of psychological safety for your employees to feel comfortable admitting when they’re struggling or need help.
• Being clear and direct with feedback.
• Going the extra mile to help foster your employees’ professional growth through training, learning & development opportunities, or 1:1 sessions in which you coach them on certain skills.

However, a good manager looks different depending on the department or role — a good sales manager, for instance, requires different skills than that of a good marketing manager.

Let’s dive into those, now.

How to Be a Good Sales Manager

Being a good sales manager requires a few unique skills outside of those listed above.

Along with setting clear expectations, communicating effectively, and inspiring your sales reps to perform at their best, a good sales manager needs to demonstrate a positive mindset, build team unity, and learn how to best support each sales rep in the unique way that will serve him or her best.

Good Sales Manager Examples

• Using a dashboard or task management tool to easily track metrics for each sales rep. With this approach, you avoid taking up too much time in your meetings discussing metrics and focus on how you can help, support, and coach your reps.
• Planning team outings or events that allow your team to build relationships with one another. Sales can be high-pressure and stressful, so it’s important you provide dedicated time to enable your sales reps to connect with one another and feel that they’re part of a support system.
• Looking for training and development opportunities so your sales reps can continue to improve. In 1:1 meetings, focus on how you can help them achieve their goals; in team meetings, figure out what types of training can help the entire team perform better.
• Motivating your team by focusing on the ‘bigger purpose’ to ensure they feel intrinsically motivated. Sales isn’t just about hitting quota and making money — remind your team of your company’s bigger purpose to ensure they feel fulfilled and motivated.

Looking for more sales manager tips? Take a look at what sales leaders should prioritize in 2022 and things every sales manager should know.

How to Be a Good Marketing Manager

Marketing managers are often responsible for a content property or program, which means their tasks can vary greatly.

Good Marketing Manager Examples

• The ability to think big-picture by leveraging data to create a strong long-term strategy.
• Knowing when to pivot when an existing strategy isn’t working out as expected.
• Communicating effectively with various stakeholders — this includes inspiring and motivating your direct reports, communicating team goals cross-functionally and to leadership, and creating clear external communications, as well.
• Delegating and organizing tasks effectively.
• Facilitating your direct that growth by giving them projects that align with their interests.

To learn more about managing a marketing team, take a look at What Is a Marketing Manager?

How to Be a Good Project Manager

To be a good project manager, you need a few additional technical skills compared to the other managers on this list.

A few other project management skills and responsibilities include:

• Setting realistic goals and understanding what resources are required.
• Having good organization and communication skills. A good project manager is organized and detail-oriented to effectively delegate tasks to the right teams, and can clearly articulate the full scope of a project to various stakeholders to ensure alignment on the larger strategy.
• Analyzing and determining potential risks. A good project manager foresees potential roadblocks in any given project and analyzes metrics and data to determine the best way to mitigate those risks.
• Using the best project management software options at their disposal to create a streamlined process and keep track of responsibilities and timelines.

That’s it! With all of this information, you’re well on your way to becoming a better manager.

Remember, like any other role, becoming a good manager requires time, patience, dedication, and a consistent desire for feedback from your direct reports to iterate and grow over time.

As a salesperson, your success rests largely on quota attainment. Make quota consistently, and you’re a superhero. Miss quota a few months in a row, and everyday inches you closer and closer to a performance plan.

For reps or managers in the latter bucket, desperate times often call for desperate measures. First, maybe hitting the number is a matter of closing a few more deals. Then, suddenly, you’re stretching the truth on features and saying, “Sure, we can do that!” when you’re not sure you can really do that — or worse, you’re sure you absolutely cannot do that.

Sales is a notoriously stressful job, and the pressure to fudge the truth with prospects can become overwhelming when your goal is a long way away. But the unpleasant repercussions are not worth it. But before we delve into why lying doesn’t pay, let’s first see why salespeople lie.

Why Do Salespeople Lie?

An “honest salesperson” is a myth and a perfect example of an oxymoron to many. But why do salespeople lie?

We list three reasons why they do. Perhaps after reading this section, you’ll be more sympathetic towards them.

1. They don’t know the product

This is one big reason why the average salesperson distorts the truth. They simply don’t know what a product can or can’t do, so they stretch the truth about its capabilities.

As salespeople, they’re expected to know everything about what they’re selling, so it’ll be pretty embarrassing to admit, “Oh gee, I don’t know whether it can do this.”

2. They want to build a relationship with the customer

Most people have an innate desire to be liked, and salespeople are no exception. Thus, they tickle the ears of the customer because they want them to like them enough to make a purchase.

3. To make more money

No, we aren’t going to skip the primary reason people lie: to make money. Many salespeople lie about products and services to make a quick sale and move on to the next prospect.

Why Salespeople Shouldn’t Lie During the Selling Process

We now look at nine reasons why lying during the selling process is definitely not worth it.

Your new customer won’t be happy for long.

If you promised something that your company can’t deliver on to make a sale, your new client would learn the truth in short order, and warm, fuzzy feelings will turn into buyer’s remorse. By not being 100% honest, you might have sold them a defective product or service for their needs.

They may give you or someone else at your company an earful and leave it at that. Or, they could take to social media to air their grievances — which you never want to happen.

You’ll cause damage to you and your company’s reputation.

An angry phone call is bad, but an angry tweet or Facebook post is far worse. Your company just got crossed off vendor shortlists — not good for your organization’s brand perception or your personal reputation. Reaching trusted advisor status is the goal of many salespeople today, and that’s much harder to do with that type of baggage.

You’ll kiss upsell opportunities goodbye.

One of the perks of becoming a trusted advisor in your clients’ eyes is that they’re more receptive to upsell suggestions.

However, if you’ve already shown yourself to be a fibber, why should clients take your word on any additional items? You might have won a quick buck originally, but it could cost you additional revenue in the long run.

You may lose referrals, too.

Referrals are the best. You can skip a large portion of the prospecting and initial interest stages and dive right into the meat of your sales process with a higher success rate. In fact, according to NoMoreColdCalling.com, the close rate for referred clients is about 50%.

But if your new customer has caught you in a lie? I doubt they’ll be referring your company to much of anything, except maybe the door.

You’ll risk making internal enemies.

Let’s say you sold a product on a promise for a special kind of support you know your company wouldn’t typically provide. The client signs the contract, and you pass the buck along to the implementation team.

On to the next month? Well, not quite. What happens when the customer starts asking about the support you pledged? You committed another department to something they might not be able to give, and they’ll be understandably upset. Once your colleagues find out who’s to blame for their misery, you’ll garner a negative reputation internally.

You’ll contribute to sales stereotypes.

As part of his research for the book To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink and Qualtrics conducted a survey called “What Do You Do At Work?” The question “When you think of ‘sales’ or ‘selling,’ what’s the first word that comes to mind?” aimed to gauge people’s perception of the sales profession.

If you’re sensitive, you might want to stop here. Among the most prevalent words were “pushy,” “sleazy,” “ugh,” “yuck,” “dishonest,” and “manipulative.”

If you’re a salesperson who takes pride in your work, this is worth bearing in mind. Whenever you bend the truth to make a sale, you feed into the general psyche’s negative perception. Don’t be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your commitment to honesty might just change some deeply-rooted opinions about your industry.

Your customers will realize it.

Your customers are likely more intelligent than you give them credit for. Many can tell when you’re lying to them, skipping important information, or telling them what you think they want to hear.

Because of this, you’re far less likely to make a sale. So while you might meet someone that swallows your lies once in a while, you’ll lose more sales in the long run when you get called out on your lies.

Lying is counterproductive to your goals.

A lying salesperson might have contacted your current prospect, so they didn’t make a purchase. But when you bring honesty to the table, you’ll increase your chances of signing them up or making a sale.

Your self-esteem could suffer.

Having a reputation as an honest salesperson will boost your self-esteem. You’ll be happy knowing that you haven’t tricked or lied your way to making a sale.

A reputation for honesty improves professional and personal relationships. Furthermore, clients who trust your products stay loyal to your company, even through tough times.

Can Sales and Lying be Mutually Exclusive?

Although prospects are wary from the start because of past experiences with lying salespeople, you can set the foundation for a profitable relationship by being honest.

So, don’t ever lie to your clients. It might seem difficult to be upfront with customers, but they’ll appreciate your honesty, and you’ll be proof that sales and lying can be mutually exclusive.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Google Sheets offers many data visualization tools within its platform, with one of the most popular ones being the histogram.

Read more to learn what exactly a histogram is, what it’s used for, and how to make one on Google Sheets.

What is a histogram and what is it used for?

A histogram is a graphical representation showing the distribution of data points that have been grouped into specific ranges or categories.

Say you have a blog and you have blog posts ranging from 1 to 500 words, 500 to 1,000 words, and 1,000 to 2,000 words. You want to analyze which bucket gets the most organic traffic. You can use a histogram to accomplish this.

While a histogram looks like a bar chart, the two are not interchangeable. A histogram displays the frequency distribution of variables within a data set. A bar graph, however, serves as a comparison between separate variables.

Now that you know how to use it, let’s go over how to make one.

How to Make a Histogram on Google Sheets

1. Select your data set.

   

2. Click on “Insert” then select “Chart.”

   

3. Click the drop-down menu in “Chart Type” then scroll down to the “Other” section.

   

4. Review your histogram.

   

5. Edit your chart by clicking on the three dots and then clicking on “Edit chart.”

Use the chart editor to get the most out of your histogram. You can edit:

• The chart style by showing item dividers or changing bucket size for instance.
• The titles
• The series
• The legend
• The axis (both horizontal and vertical)
• The gridlines

There you have it – another helpful visualization tool you can use to understand your data. 

Press releases remain a critical link in the communications chain. According to Cision’s 2021 Global State of the Media Report, 78% of journalists say they prefer press releases and news announcements to other content types.

The problem? Writing a press release is simple — writing a good press release is no easy task. In this piece, we’ll break down 14 common bad press release characteristics and offer suggestions to help your team avoid press release mistakes.

14 Rookie Press Release Mistakes to Avoid

While there’s no such thing as the “perfect” press release, your team can get closer to the mark by avoiding common errors. Here’s a look at 14 of the most common rookie mistakes — and how to reduce your chance of making them.

1. Forgetting to Add Links

Press releases are not just for the press. Releases will likely be published on your website, and your team might also submit releases to wire services. The result? Press releases now live in a digital world — and they need links that drive readers to other relevant content. For marketing teams still using the traditional model of press release production, however, it’s easy to miss out on links.

The result is a release that might have great content but doesn’t go anywhere, meaning your team can miss out on potential conversion opportunities.

The Solution: Ensure all press releases are reviewed prior to publishing. If there’s no obvious place for a link, revise the release to include it.

2. Not Optimizing for Search Engines

Not only should you have links to your company website, you should also craft the “link text” (or “anchor text”) of some of these links so that they contain relevant keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. For example, if you are in the internet marketing software business, you would have a link in your press release somewhere such that the text of the link has internet marketing in it. On a related note, the page that you are linking to should have matching keywords in its page title and meta description.

The Solution: Check your press releases for SEO relevance using tools capable of measuring the impact of your content and offering suggestions before you publish.

3. Putting Your First Link Too Late

Try to get at least one link in the first third of your content. The reason for this is that when releases get picked up by aggregators or services, they often only include just the first paragraph or two, and the rest gets automatically placed into a subsequent page with a “read more” button.

The result? You might have two or three great links in your content that never see the light of day because readers are only skimming the first few lines of your press release.

The Solution: If you can’t find a place for links in the top third of your content, opt for a rewrite rather than running the risk of burying the link after the jump.

4. Not Including Contact Information

No contact information in your press release — including a phone number and email address — means interested parties have to do the work of looking up your company details and following through. While the effort here isn’t substantial, it’s often enough that potential contacts will simply forget about finding your number or will connect with companies that make their contact information more obvious.

The Solution: Make sure every release includes at least two ways for customers to get in touch — and make sure both still work. There’s nothing worse than sending out an email address that bounces back messages because it’s no longer active.

5. Leaving Out the “About Our Company” Section

Sure, most people aren’t going to read all the way through to the bottom of your press release. But those that do are primed to connect with your company, if you can provide the last little push into action.

This is where the “About Our Company” section comes in. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a small blurb about what you do and why you do it, but it’s worth including in every press release.

The Solution: Create an About Our Company section that’s clear, concise, and to the point. Then, regularly review it to ensure it’s up-to-date.

7. Ignoring the “Why”

Why should readers care about your press release? What’s newsworthy or interesting about your announcement? While it’s critical to communicate key information, the message also matters: Dry, dull, and boring press releases may get published — but they won’t get read.

The Solution: Lead with a compelling headline and first paragraph. Even if your release gets more detailed as it goes, capturing user attention up-front increases the chance that readers will actually reach the end.

8. Using Uninspiring Quotes

While it’s great to have quotes from executives or team leaders at your company, it’s worth steering clear of quotes from executives or team leaders that talk about how “excited” or “proud” they are about the information in your release. Why? Because these quotes don’t add any value. Of course staff at your company are interested in your announcement, but that doesn’t offer any insight for journalists or readers.

The result is a press release that looks like a carbon copy of similar content and won’t get much traction.

The Solution: Where possible, talk to the people involved with the project or product you’re announcing and get quotes about why it matters to the target audience — what pain points can it address? How does it transform existing processes?

9. Over-Emphasizing Your Brand

Your press release is about your brand — but it shouldn’t be all about your brand. If all you do is talk about how great your company is and how much work you’ve done, you’re not giving readers any reason to keep reading. Instead, they’re left wondering how much of what you’re saying is true and how much is hyperbole.

The Solution: Press releases are about walking the line between promoting your brand and highlighting the impact of your newest project, service, or research. A good rule of thumb? Make sure the headline and first paragraph are about what you’ve done, not how great you are.

10. Under-Supporting Press Release Promotion

Press releases are part of larger marketing campaigns. As a result, it’s easy to spend big on other efforts such as social media and search ads, and under-support press releases. This creates a gap in your marketing efforts that reduces the newsworthy impact of your announcement.

In practice, this limits the reach of your campaign and can frustrate efforts to generate market interest.

The Solution: Start with strategy. Sit down with your team before new campaigns get up and running to ensure there’s a plan for press releases that includes specific budget allotments and targeted news sources.

11. Opting for Style Over Substance

Creating a great headline and compelling first paragraph is a great way to get readers interested — but you’ll lose them in the next section of your press release if you can’t back up initial style with substance.

Consider a press release about a new product that claims to solve specific issues for your target audience. If you spend the first two paragraphs talking about the potential positive impact but don’t back it up with data, quotes, or other evidence, your press release won’t land.

The Solution: Start with solid data. Talk to your product teams and evaluate your market to see where your new solution fits and then find specific data that showcases your results.

12. Forgetting to Ask for Permission

Quotes are a great way to connect with your audience and increase the impact of your press release. The caveat? Always get permission. Internally, this is typically no issue, but if you’re using quotes from a third-party source, even if they’re directly and positively talking about your product, make sure to get express written permission.

If you don’t — and the source doesn’t want their quote used — you could end up doing serious damage to your reputation.

The Solution: Create a clear permissions process that involves identifying great quotes, reaching out to sources, and getting express permission in writing to ensure you’re on solid source ground.

13. Rushing the Release

Timing is everything when it comes to press releases. While it’s tempting to get your release out as soon as possible, if your release goes out before the rest of your campaign is ready, you may find yourself turning away potential customers until your product or service is actually ready for launch.

Best case scenario? You play catch-up and customers stick around. Worst case? They take their business elsewhere.

The Solution: Create a marketing timeline for new campaigns that specifically calls out press release dates and aligns them with other campaign efforts.

14. Trading Accuracy for Speed

The more quickly you can capitalize on emerging trends and customer sentiment, the better. The challenge? Trading press release accuracy for speed. If your release goes out on time but is riddled with spelling or grammar errors, it won’t have the same impact and could convince customers to take their business elsewhere.

The Solution: Put every release through at least two rounds of edits and evaluation to minimize mistakes.

Don’t Stress — Impress By Avoiding Common Mistakes

A bad press release can sink your marketing campaign. Improve your impact and cultivate a strong brand presence with your audience by avoiding these 14 common mistakes. 

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Recruiting or hiring the right talent is essential to the growth of any business.

However, it’s not always easy to find the right person. Most times, it feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack-like heap of CVs, with each new one looking better than the last.

Sorting through these CVs often requires a ton of time and effort — without the guarantee of picking the right candidate.

You can make things easier for yourself and increase your chances of picking the right candidate by using job simulations.

In this guide, you’ll learn what job simulations mean. We’ll also consider how job simulations can help you, its pros and cons, types, and how to create an excellent job simulation that’ll benefit your company and its employees.

Let’s begin!

For example, for a secretary position, a job simulation might include typing a dictation or completing forms.

A job simulation might also involve the candidate showing their soft skills like communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

Job role tests are specific to the job the applicant is applying for, and by using these tests, employers can determine whether a job candidate can do the job instead of hiring them just based on their CVs or interview answers.

85+ years of research compiled into the Schmidt-Hunter paper reveal that education and experience aren’t effective at predicting candidates’ ability. Instead, job simulations help test for skills directly!

Let’s now see some of the most significant advantages and disadvantages of using these tests in a job hiring process.

When to Use Job Simulations

These tests can occur at different points in the hiring process. Here are some of the best times to use them.

During Screening

Using job simulations as the first screening step can weed out less-suitable candidates, leaving recruiters with an optimized pool that’ll make the time, effort, and costs of undergoing custom aspects of the hiring process worth it.

Situational judgment tests and similar role-specific tests prove effective at this stage.

At the Final Interview Stage

Using simulations like in-basket tests and case interviews in the final stages of the hiring process will increase the chances of hiring right. Since these tests take time to create and execute, using these tests at this stage ensures that recruiting teams spend their time rightly because they’ll likely be testing serious contenders.

Advantages of Using Job Simulations

Why should you consider using job simulations when hiring? Let’s discuss five significant reasons.

1. It Tests the Candidates’ Skills

A CV can be an excellent way to gauge whether a candidate is suitable for a job. However, it’s not enough, especially considering that candidates can now pay great writers to help them write or polish their resumes and cover letters.

Interviews are also an essential part of the hiring process, but many recruiters will agree that great interviewers don’t always make for great employees and vice versa.

However, a job simulation is better than CVs and interviews to evaluate a potential employee’s skills objectively. Such tests ensure you’re moved to hire by actual ability and let you see how well candidates handle the job in real-time and under work conditions.

Using these tests can reduce the risk of a bad hire. And how vital hiring right is! Hiring right reportedly increases the productivity of UK companies by almost £7.7 billion, while employing the wrong person can cost a business three times higher than a misdirected salary.

2. It Reduces Bias

It’s illegal to discriminate against job applicants based on their gender, religion, race, and other factors.

Unfortunately, many recruiters still discriminate against some candidates because of unconscious bias.

Using job simulations, though, it’s easier to fight against unconscious discrimination actively, thus helping you choose the best person for the job regardless of who they are.

3. It Gives Deeper Insights

These tests open a window for recruiters to peek into the personality of potential hires. Since simulations mirror actual work conditions, recruiters can see how candidates behave under stress, in a team, and when facing agitated customers.

For instance, they might learn that Candidate A is rude to agitated customers and doesn’t work well with others, despite acing their interview. In contrast, Candidate B, who is shy and reserved, has an excellent way with customers and teammates.

4. It Reduces the Cost of Bad Hires

Filling a position takes a lot of time, resources, and effort. Recruiters have to collect resumes, sift through to shortlist candidates, interview candidates, and welcome the new employees.

Imagine hiring wrong and having to find a replacement for the position within only six months.

With the average cost of training new employees running into thousands of dollars, how important it is to hire right!

Job simulations help reduce these risks and assist companies in hiring at the lowest cost.

5. It Benefits Candidates

Companies aren’t the only ones that benefit from job simulations: candidates do too.

A job simulation lets candidates know what they are expected to do in the role. They taste the organization’s culture and processes and experience its dynamics.

When candidates realize from the start that the job isn’t for them, they can exit the process early. This self-elimination can help decrease employee turnover because you’ll have to only sort through people suited for the role and looking to stay will be hired.

Disadvantages of Using Job Simulations

Although a job simulation is generally excellent, it has a few disadvantages.

1. It Can Be Expensive

Simulations, particularly in-person simulations, will require a lot of resources. You’ll need a space to carry out the simulation, a scheduling program for everyone to do the simulations, and internal staff to administer and debris the simulations which could mean hiring a new team.

2. It Can Exhaust Time and Resources

Simulations can take time to create and execute. For example, it could take several weeks or even months to develop custom simulations. Depending on your recruitment goals, this may not be worth the time and people resources you’ll need to make this happen.

Types of Job Simulations

Job simulations have different forms, depending on the role. However, there are some common types of job simulation tests. Let’s discuss them.

In-basket Simulations

In this type of job simulation, the candidate must complete a set of tasks in a given period.

This simulation aims to see how the candidate deals with tasks and deadlines and applies critical thinking. In addition, by observing the potential hire, managers can see how well or poorly the candidate manages their workflow.

In-basket simulations are recommended if you’re hiring for an administrative or managerial position.

Situational Judgment Tests

The situational judgment test (SJT) is a simulation test where the candidate is put in pretend scenarios with obstacles and assessed based on how they deal with these challenges.

These scenarios are usually in the form of multiple-choice questions, and the results are anonymously collected to weed out any bias.

For example, an SJT may put the candidate in a situation where they have to deal with an angry customer—the potential employee has to choose from several options on how they’ll deal with the customer.

Take-home assignments

Some companies use take-home assignments to test their candidates. These assignments are due within a timeframe, but they offer candidates the advantage of doing the test in their comfort zone and within their schedule.

While it has been criticized as being a less accurate simulation, it can be helpful if a manager wants to know how well a candidate works independently and without close management.

Group tests

Group tests are instrumental in checking out how well potential hires work in teams and communicate with others.

These tests can be in the form of group discussions and presentations or could be a group activity where the group has to solve a work-related problem. Either way, it offers managers insight into the dynamics at work and even helps to assign roles if the company’s hiring more than one candidate.

Case interviews

In this simulation, the candidate is presented with a challenging business scenario that they must navigate.

It puts the candidate in the ‘hot seat’ and helps hiring managers to assess the candidate’s ability to deal with high-pressure, high-stakes conditions.

Tips for Creating Successful Job Simulations

Here are tips for creating successful job simulations.

1. Make it immersive.

Whatever the form of the job simulation, it’s vital to make it immersive. This means the candidate must genuinely experience what it feels like to work in the role. Depending on the position and requirements, a job simulation can take a few hours or take the entire day.

2. Make it clear and specific.

The simulation should be clear and specific. Therefore, hiring managers should explain what is measured and how it is measured to the candidates. Then, by guiding candidates, you let them focus on doing their best.

Clarity and specificity also extends to your hiring team. They should know what’s being measured and how it’s being measured. All team members should know the specific skills and qualities they should be looking for.

Final Thoughts on Job Simulations

Job simulations are an excellent addition to any recruitment process as they help you discover skills you’d otherwise not have found on a CV. Although the process can be time-consuming, especially if it’s the first time incorporating it in your recruitment process, the benefits are worth it.

Today’s digital landscape is a competitive one. For any business to find success today, it must create and share media content (such as images, videos, written content, and podcasts) with its audience.

Publishing new media is how you boost brand awareness, engagements, conversions, and revenue for your business. Not to mention, media content helps you stand out from competitors.

Over time, it can become confusing to keep track of, plan, organize, distribute, and analyze all that media content.

The best way to combat these issues is through media planning.

Media planning has many moving parts, and the process can be difficult to get right.

By working through the media planning steps as well as using media planning templates, you’ll keep any media-related challenges at bay.

Benefits of Media Planning

Media planning aids with parts of content creation and distribution, including:

• Getting to know your target audience on a deeper level so you can effectively reach them through your media content
• Deciding on which media channels and platforms you’ll share your content
• Determining the timing and frequency of the media and content you publish and share
• Keeping up with the latest media trends and technology
• Sticking to your budget as you work to create, publish, and share high-quality and engaging media content
• Conducting analyses to measure the success of your media planning process

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of media planning, let’s review the steps in the media planning process so you can begin developing a strategy for your business.

As you work through the steps in media planning, keep in mind that how your business applies the results and conclusions derived from each step will be unique based on your audience and needs.

1. Conduct market research.

The first thing you’ll want to do when developing your media planning process is conduct market research. Market research allows you to tailor the content you create and the media plan you implement to your target audience and customers.

Start by creating and studying your buyer personas as well as developing an understanding of who your target audience and current customers are.

With this information, you can determine what media will reach, resonate with, and convert your audience. In addition, it’ll help you decide about the platforms and channels you will use to publish and share your content.

Featured Resource: HubSpot’s Market Research Kit + Templates

Download the Kit

2. State your media planning objective.

When planning a media campaign, keep a goal in mind to help you navigate the process effectively. Moreover, goals can help you know what content types and platforms you can say “no” to.

Here are some examples of media planning objectives you might have:

• Strengthen cross-team collaboration (e.g. content, graphic design, animation, video, blog, social media) while creating and sharing media.
• Enhance and streamline the publication and distribution processes for all media.
• Improve media distribution timeline to ensure our content is shared efficiently so it’s relevant to our target audience.
• Amplify the success of our media content by allowing for ample time to analyze its impact and reach our audience.

For instance, let’s say you’re looking to create a media plan for your Facebook and Instagram social content. Your objective may be to streamline the content creation process in a timely fashion and then schedule posts on both platforms in advance.

This way, you can ensure your posts are relevant to your audience. Consequently, that will help to boost engagement and stay on top of their minds.

3. Create your media plan using a template.

Now it’s time to make your media plan, but before jumping into templates, let’s go over what exactly a media plan is.

It’s not enough to simply do the planning and then assume everyone else is on the right page. You need to outline your strategy in a media plan document. When you do that, you’ll be able to ensure alignment on your team and keep all parties accountable.

Other media plans are standalone strategies that detail how organizations plan to leverage media (written, video, audio, etc.) to connect with followers and customers.

Media planning templates ensure you stay efficient and effective while working on all aspects of your media content. They keep your media content organized while publishing and sharing it among your audience members.

Due to the variety of templates available for different types and parts of the media planning process, the templates you incorporate will be unique to your business. Don’t be afraid to experiment with or combine different templates.

For example, if your business is looking to create a media plan for your Facebook and Instagram social media, you might choose to implement a social media calendar template.

This type of template will help you coordinate your content across both channels, boost engagement, and improve productivity among your team members — and therefore, achieve the objective you set in step two.

4. Implement your media plan.

Ensure all parties who should be aware of the plan have the necessary details to help you execute accordingly.

In addition, share the contact details of the media planning coordinator in your company, in case anyone has questions or comments.

To get a better understanding of what it means, let’s refer back to our example of steps for your social media plan designed for Facebook and Instagram.

If you implement a social media calendar template as part of your media plan, ensure everyone who will be working on it, be it on the creatives team or the publication team, has access to it.

5. Evaluate your success.

Whether your media plan revolves around individual posts on Instagram or a month-long, company-wide campaign, be sure to measure the success of your plan.

Ask yourself and your team questions like, “How did this media plan help us achieve our specific goals? If it didn’t, why?” and “How did the media planning templates and tools we used add value to our media creation and publication processes? If they didn’t, how do we move forward?”

The way you evaluate your media plan’s success should be directly tied to the specific goals of your business regarding your media content, the teams who create the media, and the value you hope to derive from the media (e.g. boost conversions, engagements, revenue, etc.).

Let’s look back at the example above one last time. Think about whether your social media content plan and the calendar template you implemented have helped you reach your target audience and achieve the objective you set.

In addition, ask yourself whether your media plan helped you boost engagement on the social platforms you focused on. You should also strive to find out how to collaborate and coordinate more effectively to increase team-wide productivity.

Media Planning Strategy Components

There are a few additional things to consider when crafting your media planning strategy.

First, what’s your media planning budget?

Media Planning Budget

If you’re aiming for free media, you can disregard this question. But if part of your media planning involves media buying, you’ll need to sit down with your marketing leadership to understand what funds you have to work with.

Set this budget before you start researching platforms and creating content. You don’t want to start formulating a campaign that you can’t afford down the road.

Second, consider the key messaging points you want your media to communicate.

Media Planning Messaging

You don’t have to pre-write all your media content, per se, but you should establish the main themes at the beginning so all media is consistent and on theme.

These messaging points will come from your audience research and may also influence what content types and platforms you pursue, so be sure to establish these early on.

Media Scheduling Strategy

Media scheduling allows you to generate content when your creative juices are flowing. It also helps you work on your advertising strategy when you’re ready, which saves time in the long run.

Your scheduling strategy will look different based on the kind of media you’re working on.

For example, timing is everything for social media posts (free or paid ads). You need to schedule your posts based on when your target audience is online, even when that time is inconvenient for you. Thankfully, there are many tools, such as HubSpot’s social media management software, that allow you to do this.

On the other hand, consistency is important when it comes to newsletters and blog posts. You want your audience to be looking forward to your media content, which in turn will boost traffic and build a community around your brand.

My top tips for your media scheduling strategy include:

• Study your readers and prospects to know when they’re available on specific platforms
• Prepare your content in bulk to avoid any inconveniences such as delayed deadlines, which will affect your frequency
• Choose the correct automation tools for each platform
• Be consistent — consistency is everything!

With these points in mind, let’s walk through how to create a media plan of your own.

How to Create a Media Plan

1. Target your buyer personas.

As a marketer, you don’t want to advertise to just anyone. You want to attract the type of buyer who has interest in the media you’re creating — otherwise known as your buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers.

When you know exactly the type of buyer you need to target with your media plan, you’ll be able to attract the most valuable customers to your business.

When making your buyer personas, center them around these important attributes:

• Demographics: Age, income, location, or identity
• Background: Job, career path, and lifestyle
• Identifiers: Communication preferences and social media platforms
• Goals: Primary, secondary, personal and professional
• Challenges: Their roadblocks preventing them from achieving their goals

2. Define your SMART goals.

You want to write out SMART goals for your media plan. The SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound) is a framework that will enable you to better track and drive greater impact from your proposed plan.

It’s important to determine these goals before jumping into your work so you have a media plan that sets a clear direction for you and your team members, and ensures you’re able to celebrate the wins when they occur.

Some examples of SMART goal-setting in media planning could look like:

• Specific: “We want to generate a greater number of qualified leads.”
• Measurable: “We want our media plan to gain 2,000 followers across Twitter, Metaverse, and Instagram.”
• Attainable: “We previously reached 70% in customer engagement online over the past quarter, so we’re aiming for 75% in the next.”
• Relevant: “We want to achieve more positive customer engagement to better the brand’s reputation and gain more fans.”
• Time-Bound: “We want our media plan to gain 2,000 followers in the next three months across Twitter, Metaverse, and Instagram.”

Once you’ve determined your goals, you can begin looking at resources to assist you in reaching them.

3. Find the media planning tools best suited for you.

We will talk in further detail later in this post about some amazing media planning templates your business can use, but there are software tools that can do some of the heavy lifting for you.

To draft, plan, schedule, and collect conversion analytics, your business could benefit from HubSpot Marketing Hub.

Or if you still want to explore more options, we have a list of 12 essential media planning tools for you to use.

4. Analyze historical data.

You have to know where you began before you can start going forward. Look back at your previous media planning strategy and analyze its impact and reach.

For example, if your business was already on Instagram, check your business page insights to see just how far you got on your old posting schedule and content. Look at the posts that got the most engagement, the time period you had the most traffic, and what content helped to turn prospects into customers.

Make note of the effective elements of your previous strategy and let that drive some of your brainstorming for your new media plan.

5. Choose your media mix.

It’s important that you are up to snuff on the most popular marketing channels, along with your buyer personas preferred ones.

According to the HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report, 1,000 global marketing professionals believe that the top marketing channels are:

• Social Media
• Websites/Blogs
• Email Marketing
• Video Marketing

You want an omni-channel media plan to reach your target audience where they are, and by researching your buyer personas most frequented channels, and exploring new channels, you can decide upon the right mix for you.

6. Put your media plan into action.

As you conduct your media plan, track your insights and see how you’re doing in comparison to your SMART goals.

Also, understand that you can adjust your plan as necessary over time. Marketing is a rather volatile industry, and knowing when to change your approach is key.

Now that you know what it takes to create a plan, let’s review some resources available to simplify the media planning process.

Media Planning Templates

There are a plethora of media planning templates available online that you can purchase or download for free. The great part about using media planning templates is that you can customize and tailor them to your business’s specific needs and goals.

Depending on the media software your business uses, such as HubSpot’s (free) CRM, Marketing Hub, or Sprout Social, there may be customizable planning templates included (similar to this menu of options from HubSpot).

You may also elect to create templates on your own with the help of Google Sheets.

Either way, how you choose to implement and use media planning templates will be unique to your business and needs — so don’t be afraid to modify your templates over time as your goals evolve or audience grows.

Free Media Planning Template [Download Now]

Download this Template

Types of Media Planning Templates

To help get you started, here’s a list of common types of media creation and planning templates. (Click the links to be directed to an associated template resource.)

You might use one or several media templates based on your needs. Remember, there’s no right or wrong answer to which template you should use — it’s about preference and what works best for your business.

• Use a media planning template to organize your paid media efforts and expenses in one visual location.
• Use a social media strategy template to align your media content with your audience in a way that provides value for your business.
• Use a social media calendar template to customize a timeline for when you’ll share your social media posts in a simple, organized, manageable, and effective format.
• Use an editorial calendar template to plan and optimize all of the marketing content you’ll publish and share, including blogs, social media posts, and campaigns.
• Use a blog post template to simply fill-in-the-blanks and begin writing engaging, relevant, and well-optimized blog content for your audience (all while avoiding writer’s block!).
• Use an ebook design template to take the guesswork out of how to make your ebook professional, eye-catching, and beautiful, all while saving yourself valuable time.
• Use an infographic template in PowerPoint or Illustrator to quickly customize the way you present data, share insights, and promote offers in a way that looks and feels professional.
• Use an analytics and reporting template for Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Drive to make the processes of pulling, organizing, and sharing data simple no matter which metrics you track.
• Use a budget template to manage and review your spending and budget with Excel or Google Sheets.
• Use an advertising template to help you plan and manage advertising campaigns in a way that’s sure to convert audience members into leads and customers.

Media Plan Examples

Although we’ve discussed media planning and even shared a few media planning templates, doing it practically may still pose a challenge. Therefore, I’ve created media plan examples and linked the templates I used for more clarity.

Social Media Plan

When it comes to social media, it’s important to focus your efforts on the platform where your customers are active. However, if you’re in the discovery stage, it’s okay to experiment with a couple of platforms and see which ones work.

Here is an example of a social media plan inspired by the HubSpot Social Media Content Template that will help you explore multiple platforms.

Blogging Media Plan

Keeping tabs on how often you publish your blog content is very important as it helps track your progress. A blogging media plan also helps manage your writers without sending several emails asking about the progress of the blog posts.

Here is a simple example of a blogging media plan you can download from HubSpot.

PR Media Plan

A PR media plan is different and a little intensive because you have to include other organizations. You also have to decide on the form of advertisement that will work for your business, the resources you’ll need, and the people whom you’ll contact.

In this sample template, I’ll only share the reach out and content planning phase. However, the complete template from HubSpot has everything you need, including resource planning. As a bonus, if you’re a beginner, you can even take the free course on PR Media. Check out the complete HubSpot PR Plan template.

Activity	Description	Start Date	End Date
Guest posts	Promoting our new workout pants	3rd March 2022	3rd June 2022
Press releases in known publications	Promoting our brand in general	10th July 2022	20th December 2022
Newsletters	Send out monthly newsletters every month	3rd March 2022	29th December 2022

We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the ins and outs of media planning, but there’s another side that can help marketers on the job — media buying. Let’s get into it.

Media Planning and Buying

Digital media planning and media buying are closely related and work in tandem with one another. Depending on the size of your business and your budget, your team members who plan your media may also handle the media buying process.

So, what makes these processes unique?

Well, media planning is the process where you decide which media content is created, published, and shared among your customers and target audience. The media referred to here is all-encompassing, meaning it doesn’t always include paid ads and paid content.

This is where media planning and media buying differ.

What is media buying?

Media buying is related to paid media — whether that means your business is buying campaigns or ad space on various channels, paying to share targeted campaigns and ads, or negotiating with media vendors.

In a world where your business can share media and successfully reach your audience for free, media planning can happen without media buying.

However, media buying requires media planning. (It’s like, “a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square” lesson that baffled us all in elementary school.)

Media planning sets the tone and direction for the buying that needs to occur. Once ad space is purchased or content distribution plans have been negotiated, there needs to be a strategy (or media plan) for getting that media to your audience and customers.

If you don’t have an in-house media planner, you’ll need to consider hiring one to help you with the campaigns. But what does a media planner do? And how much will you need to part with to pay one? Below are the answers.

What Does a Media Planner Do?

A media planner takes over your whole media planning strategy, evaluates it, and advises you on the way forward.

Here are some roles that a media planner will handle in your company.

• Maximizing the impact on all advertisements you pay by networking with media buying agencies
• Coming up with creative ways to reach out to your target audiences for better engagement and conversion rates
• Identifying the best platforms for your business to ensure you’re spending your ad money where you’re likely to get returns

How Much Do Media Planners Make?

When working with a media planner, expect to pay them between $30,000-$150,000. According to Comparably, the median salary of media planners in the US is $54,500.

If you need an expert planner with many years of experience, then you’ll need to plan for $155,000.

However, you can always save money by paying a freelance media planner. Their hourly charges may be a bit higher, but you’ll only need to pay them when you have a project.

Begin Your Media Planning Process

Media planning is an integral part of your business’s ability to successfully create, publish, and share media content. It’s how you streamline cross-team communication and collaboration around your media, as well as ensure it’s shared with your audience in a timely fashion. So, work through the media planning process steps above and choose which templates you’ll use to begin reaching and converting more audience members.

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