Whether you’re a fledgling startup agency about to announce your grand opening, or a growing firm with some big news to share, one thing is certain: You need a way to get the word out — and fast.

But there’s more to a big announcement than firing off a press release and hoping it somehow reaches the intended audience. Sure, it’s easy to look at other successful campaigns and feel that they somehow just came together with a few clicks of a mouse and the help of a social media whiz, but don’t be fooled.

Successful PR campaigns require work — and lots of it. If you’re hoping to spread the word effectively, then you’ll need to put in the hours pre-launch to ensure everything runs smoothly.

No matter what your budget, or how much time you have before your launch, there are a few things you’ll want to do before your big reveal to help make your PR launch a success.

How to Prepare your Agency for a PR Launch

Create Perfectly Seeded Contributed Content

More than crafting a bunch of articles and firing them off in every direction, content seeding involves taking a more strategic approach to content distribution — one that always produces better results. With content seeding, your goal is to spread content to various websites and social media platforms where it will be read, and more importantly, shared.

Your secret to success with this approach pivots on two main things: Creating top-notch content, and tapping relevant influencers who are willing to use their own networks and connections to share what you’ve created with a broader audience. 

While many companies share content from their own branded account, getting key influencers to share your content can add more authenticity to your message. Research has shown that recommendations carry far more weight than corporate ads or sponsored content.

Even having just one influential person share your content can result in a significant jump in shares. Research from BuzzSumo found that having one influencer share a post resulted in an average of 31.8% more social shares. Having three influential people sharing their content doubled their number of social shares.

Data from Buzzsumo

One of the best ways to find influencers who are willing to share your content is by looking for opportunities to submit contributed content. If you can land authorship accounts, or submit guest posts on well-known publications (such as well as industry-specific publications and blogs) you’ll be able to extend your reach even farther.

Remember: content doesn’t have to be written. Supplement your articles with infographics, videos, and even photos of your agency to generate interest. And while you’re at it, start building relationships with other contributing writers and help promote their content. As you grow your network, your credibility grows, which leads to more opportunities to get exposure for your agency.

Create Compelling and Unique Case Studies

Case studies are boring — we get it. But there’s no reason you have to stick with the overdone one-paragraph blurbs. Give the monologs a rest and go straight for the Emmy by creating an intriguing and must-share video based on a real-life success story, like this one from HubSpot.

With your client’s permission, craft a fun and lighthearted take on how your product or service made life better for someone. Keep it short and sweet — five minutes or less is usually adequate. When done right, case studies can be valuable content you can use to generate interest in your agency’s services. They’ll also help to lend credibility to your brand, which is essential — especially if you’re a startup agency that’s still relatively unknown.

Make Your Team Famous

Encourage your people to become regular contributors to popular publications, podcasts, and even radio shows, and have them create content for your agency’s blog. Getting exposure for your team is a great way to add some personality to your company, and a give face to your brand.

Rallying your team to participate in content creation is also an effective way to get your message across. Instead of one person talking to the camera, there’s a whole team backing your services — which can’t hurt your agency’s credibility.

Need some inspiration? Check out this tongue-in-cheek video property management company Renters Warehouse created to introduce their team to the world.

Form Powerful Partnerships

To be truly impactful, strategic alliances need to go further than the typical approach of, “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” Instead, your goal should be to create meaningful and long-term relationships.

Look for opportunities to create co-authored content, or hold co-hosted events. Your trusted ally could be your business partner, a team member, or even someone from your network that you can team up with for a united cause. This will also help you to expand the extent of your outreach, since they’ll be able to share their work with their followers as well.

Your partnership could also be with another business or professionals in a different field. You could even get some willing customers or prospective customers involved. Get creative and find new ways to showcase your product, or create a promotional video that features people using your product in a fun and unique way. Who knows? The right partnership could even end up forming the cornerstone of your launch campaign.

Launch Press Releases That Celebrate Wins

Ah, the good old fashioned press release. While often companies use press releases as a chance to announce mundane facts and events, don’t fall into this trap.

The press release isn’t the place to talk about your move to a new building, or your newly renovated break room. Instead, reserve the traditional press release for the really exciting stuff. This means making a big deal about exciting new products, fascinating breakthroughs, ways that your agency has made a difference, or causes that your company’s involved with. This is the kind of news people actually care about and will take the time to read.

Hold Regularly Scheduled Live Events Online

Your Facebook page is your secret weapon. Take advantage of Facebook Live to host a live event to address issues that your prospects care about, or answer questions about things they’re interested in. Not sure what to cover? Get inspiration from the top ten queries that most prospects ask you about your agency’s services.

At Onboardly, we recently ran a Facebook Live to answer the often-asked question, “What are some ways I can get our service offering out to the public that helps us to stay on brand with no PR budget?” Facebook Live is a great tool to address questions, while helping spread the word about what you do.

Keep the Momentum Going Post-Launch

As you can see, there’s more to a PR launch than hitting publish and hoping for the best. Instead, it’s up to you to generate publicity for your campaign, and you’ll want to put in the hours behind the scenes to help build interest for your big day. You can do this by creating plenty of great content, and sharing it far and wide.

Finally, keep in mind that generating publicity isn’t a one and done event. It’s important to keep the momentum going after the launch as well. Post-launch, continue to create winning content and share amazing press releases and case studies. Look for opportunities to form partnerships, make yourself available for interviews, and spearhead co-hosted events. Keep looking for ways to drum up publicity for your agency — and word will continue to spread.

LinkedIn is a highly valuable tool to network with like-minded professionals. But here’s something we don’t talk about as much as we should — it’s also a highly useful marketing platform.

It might seem a little bit intimidating. You have enough on your plate — do you really need to be figuring out yet another way to create targeted content? Actually, yes. You have more power at your disposal with LinkedIn than you might realize.

That’s because LinkedIn has a powerful ads platform. If you’re already using pay-per-click (PPC) techniques to power your presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Google, consider yourself lucky — you can add LinkedIn to that list, too.

But if you’re new to LinkedIn ads, fear not — we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to setting up your first LinkedIn ad campaign. Bookmark this post, and refer to it when you’re ready to get started.

How to Run LinkedIn Ad Campaigns

1) Create a New Ad Campaign

To start, go to http://ift.tt/Agqtkd. Once in the ads platform, select “Create Ad.”

From there, you’ll be taken to your member dashboard, where you’ll be prompted to add billing information to your account, if you haven’t already. Don’t worry — you won’t be charged until your campaign is live, and from there, you’ll be charged periodically for ad clicks and other engagements.

On your dashboard — or “Campaign Manager,” as it’s formally called — you’ll see a call-to-action (CTA) to create a campaign. Click that button, and you’ll be redirected to a site where you select what kind of ad you want to create.

As you’ll see, there are two types of campaigns that you can create:

1. Sponsored Content, which is used to “attract new followers to your company or showcase page” and “drives engagement with company-specific content.”
2. Text Ads, which are said to be the budget-friendlier option, but are still “highly targeted.”

The differences between the two are largely visual — Giovanni Perri of Rebel Hack likens them to the visuals that might appear in your Facebook News Feed. And while that can lead to a higher clickthrough rate (CTR), his own data shows that Text Ads can often yield a higher conversion rate. 

In this post, we’ll be walking you through how to create a Text Ad. That said, Sponsored Content is still highly valuable — to learn more about it, check out this page. If you’re first starting out, decided between the two might come down to budget. Outline your priorities, and then you can decide which type works best for you.

2) Set Your Ad’s Basic Parameters

Once you’ve selected your campaign type, you’ll be asked to answer a few basic questions, like the language in which you’d like your ad to appear. You’ll also be asked to choose a name for your campaign. These are only visible internally, so the more informative the name, the better.

For example, if I was doing a test to determine the best type of demographic targeting, I might use the title, “Unicorn Food Ad Test-North America 18 to 24-female.” That name describes exactly who I’m targeting, without having to view its details — as opposed to something like “Unicorn food test 1,” which doesn’t indicate anything about who the ad is targeting.

When selecting a language, keep in mind that LinkedIn won’t translate your ad into other languages — but it can be written in any of the languages LinkedIn supports, including Spanish, French, and German.

Hit “Next,” and then, the fun begins.

3) Establish the Ad’s Media and Format

Once you establish the basic parameters for your ad, you’ll be prompted to start building it. Decide where you want visitors to be directed when they click on your ad — either to a specific LinkedIn page, or to a website. You’ll want to create the copy for your ad, pair it with an image, and preview the different layout options. Of course, there are a few guidelines around the copy that we would suggest.

Ad Headline

The headline of your ad cannot be more than 25 characters.

Ad Body

The body of a LinkedIn ad can be up to 75 characters long. The copy should be relevant both to the person viewing the ad, and the offer or page to which you’re sending them.

For best results, create a different ad for each of your buyer personas, and tweak the copy accordingly. For example, when promoting a book to college professors, leading the title with the words, “College Professor’s Guide to” may generate a higher CTR than generic, un-targeted copy.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

Having an actionable CTA within your ad copy will also help you improve your ad’s clickthrough rate. Consider asking people to “Download your ebook now,” or “Click now for free samples,” instead of writing copy that’s devoid of actionable next steps.

Value

Incorporate your value proposition into your ad copy — that can make people more likely to click on your ad. By boasting something like, “20% off your first purchase,” or “Clearance sale ends today, shop now,” you’re sending a clear signal of what someone will specifically gain when he or she clicks your ad.

Testing

Don’t be afraid to test your ad copy, either. You can create multiple variations of your ad in each campaign, which allow you to test different images and copy within ads, to find what works best for your audience.

5) Target Your Ad

Targeting who sees your ad can help increase conversions — the more specific and relevant it is to your audience, the more clicks it’s likely to get. LinkedIn allows you to target according to a few different categories, which we’ve outlined below. Even better? This process is the same for both text ads and sponsored content.

Note: You don’t have to use all of these options, but the more specific your targeting criteria, the more relevant it’s likely to be to the audience you select — and, therefore, the more likely you are to have a better ROI.

Location

You must select at least one location for your ads. Depending on your business, more specific targeting may be helpful. You can select a location as broad as North America, or as specific as the San Francisco Bay Area. If you’re trying to expand franchise sales in Hartford, Connecticut, for example, it won’t be a very good use of advertising dollars to target people in, say, Los Angeles.

You can also tailor your ad copy to specific locations. For instance, hardware stores trying to sell snow shovels might target Massachusetts, whereas hurricane protection might be best targeted to audiences in states like Florida.

Company

If your target audience has a certain employer, you can target it directly — even by name. You don’t need to have specific names in mind, though; LinkedIn allows you to also target companies based on industry — like Legal, Non-Profit, or Finance — and company size.

Job Title

If your product or service is best for CFOs, targeting only people with “CFO” in their titles will increase your conversions, and ultimately save you money. You can choose specific job titles, or chose from job functions, seniority, and years of experience. From the CEO of manufacturing companies, to the entry-level associates at an accounting firm, you can target a specific group of people for your ads.

Member Schools

If you are looking to target people who have a particular educational background, you can target your ads based on schools. For example, perhaps you’re trying to target a certain alumni association — you can reach out to it through a LinkedIn ad. You can also customize the targeting according to field of study and degree,

Member Skills

Your target audience may have a certain skill set — email marketing, financial planning, risk management. Think about what your target audience does well, or where it aspires to excel. Then, use the ad to target people with similar capabilities.

Member Groups

One of LinkedIn’s best attributes is the ability to join groups with like-minded professionals, where you can discuss industry trends and topics. If your audience is very vocal on a topic, or you’re trying to gain thought leadership in a certain area, this type of targeting might be a good option for you.

Gender and Age

If your audience is heavily skewed toward one gender and/or age group, target your ad toward them.

Once you establish your ad targeting criteria, you can save it as a template for future campaigns.

5) Choose Your Bidding Options

After selecting your targeting options, you can set up the bidding options that work best for you. The two options you have for any pay-per-click advertising are:

1. Cost Per Click (CPC). You’ll be charged each time someone clicks on your ad. LinkedIn will suggest a bid range depending on your budget and the competition for your ads — the more advertisers bidding on a similar campaign, the higher your bid will need to be. This bid is the maximum you will be charged. If the current rate is lower than your max bid, you will only be charged the current rate.
2. Pay Per 1,000 Impressions (CPM). You will be charged a certain amount each time your ad is viewed by 1,000 people on LinkedIn.

Deciding on the best maximum bid can be tricky. When deciding between CPC and CPM, think about your end goal. Are you trying to get as many people as possible to see your ad to help with something like a branding campaign? If so, CPM might be your best option.

On the other hand, if you want more people to click on your ads to drive traffic to your website or generate new leads, CPC might be better for you.

As for your optimal maximum bid, some trial and error might be necessary. LinkedIn will give you a suggested bid, which is a good place to start. Then, think about when your audience is most likely online. You’ll want to bid higher during that particular time, to be sure that your ads are the ones being seen. And make sure LinkedIn is actually the best place to reach them, too — different populations use different types of social media. Play around with your bids, and see when you get the most return for your dollars spent.

6) Set a Daily Budget

Set a daily budget for what works best for your company’s marketing spending. Before investing a lot into one campaign, test and measure the success of each campaign and ad variation. You don’t want to put thousands of dollars, for example, into an ad that doesn’t end up resonating with your target audience.

Let’s say you’re the VP of Marketing at a high-end floral company. You might assume that the majority of your target market is made up of soon-to-be brides, for example — so you direct your ads on LinkedIn to bridal groups. But after spending thousands of dollars, you only generated 10% of the leads you were hoping for, which your subsequent research shows was the wrong move, and you later learn that people near your store who are on LinkedIn are actually looking for flowers for corporate events. It would have been nice to know that before spending a large amount of your budget on LinkedIn ads.

That said, LinkedIn ads can successfully target niche markets, because of its extensive targeting opportunities. But the cautionary experimentation is crucial to do early on — if you observe a campaign performing well, then you can put a larger budget toward it.

Finally, you can choose if you want your campaign to be shown continuously, or until a certain date.

LinkedIn Ad Reporting

Congratulations — you’ve launched your LinkedIn Ad campaign. Now, you can track your progress in the Campaign Manager dashboard, where you’ll see various charts that measure things like clicks, expenditures, and CTR, over certain periods of time. You can also keep track of conversions in the graphs toward the bottom of the dashboard. And to automatically track conversions and the ROI of your ads, HubSpot Ads allows you to create and manage your LinkedIn spend.

When you finish setting up your first campaign, you’ll see a lot of “0”s — that’s because it’s new, obviously, and because LinkedIn usually has to approve your ad before it goes live.

What’s Next?

If Your Campaigns Are Under-Performing

There are things you can do to optimize campaigns that aren’t performing as well as you’d hope, especially if you have multiple ads. Look at the CTR of each one — is one out-performing the other(s)? If so, you may want to pause the less successful campaign. LinkedIn will automatically display less successful campaigns with lower frequency, so it makes sense to minimize any resources spent on them. Instead, putting more resources into successful ad variations and campaigns is more likely to accomplish your marketing goals.

Post-Click Reporting

Once your ads are running and people begin clicking on them, it’s time to determine if they’re actually driving qualified traffic to your website. That isn’t something LinkedIn can tell you — you need to do some closed-loop reporting on these campaigns to get more details on the makeup of this traffic.

How can you figure that out? It’s all about “gated” offers and forms — when someone clicks on your ad and lands on your website, putting the content you are offering behind a form will help you collect the data that qualifies that person as a good lead, or not. Connect that lead capture form to your customer relationship management (CRM) software, so that once the information is imported, your sales team can act upon them.

But pay close attention to your ad campaigns, alongside the landing page form data in your CRM. Is the traffic to your website generated by LinkedIn ads qualified? Is it generating customers? If not, you might need to further optimize your campaigns.

For example, if your LinkedIn ads are targeting people in companies sized 1-10, but you find that the majority of your closed deals are from leads with companies sized 100-200 — stop targeting those smaller companies on LinkedIn.

The targeting options we covered above allow you to change any of your criteria, so use it to your advantage. With the right amount of patience and strategy, LinkedIn Ads can be a huge factor in your brand’s success.

What has your experience been with LinkedIn Ads? Let us know in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2013 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is dominating both headlines and the attention of businesses — and for good reason. In 2016 alone, at least 40 AI companies were acquired.

The increasing sophistication of AI is also predicted to change the work force. An analysis from Oxford researchers reported than 47% of jobs are at risk, while a more recent Forrester report predicts that 7% of jobs may be eliminated by 2025.

This sounds ominous, and while there will be industries completely upended by the “robots,” the bigger impact will be on how we work. New types of jobs and processes will be created, and different skills will be required by the rise of AI.

For knowledge workers, the automation of time-consuming, menial tasks will free up their time for more strategic and impactful work, while the improvements in data processing speeds and insights can lead improvements in every area of a business — from customer service to marketing to sales to hiring.

To clarify what AI is and what it’s not, we’ve put together a guide on the technology and why marketers need to understand it. And to better explain the future impact on how we work and why business leaders need to understand AI, we’ve organized a live event on YouTube with Amir Salihefendic of Doist (the maker of Todoist), Bastiaan Janmaat of DataFox, and Adam Long of Automated Insights.

They’re going to discuss how AI is changing productivity, hiring, content creation, marketing, and more. If you want to learn more about how AI will impact your day-to-day work and the future of business, join us on February 9, 2017 at 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST, 4 p.m. GMT) for an hour-long discussion.

Click here to save your seat for this live event.

Will 2017 be the year agencies fall dangerously out of touch with client expectations?

How will the shift towards project-based work impact your agency’s ability to retain long-term clients?

Do clients intend to move more marketing services in-house in 2017? 

A new report from RSW/US examines these and other troubling trends, offering valuable insights into both agency and marketer perspectives on key topics such as spending, project work versus AORs, and the explosive rise of marketing technology.

Now in its 11th year of publication, the annual RSW/US New Year Outlook Report gathers and analyzes data from over 10,000 agencies and over 100,000 marketing decision makers across the US and Canada. As you begin to set your marketing and sales priorities for 2017, consider how the RSW/US data will impact your goals.

5 Trends Defining Agency New Business

1) There’s a growing disconnect between marketer plans and agency expectations for spending in 2017.

Since RSW/US first conducted the survey in 2011, marketer plans for marketing and advertising spending has seen a steady increase.

According to the 2017 survey, marketers will continue to get more aggressive with their spending, with 67% of marketers saying their budgets will increase somewhat or significantly this year.

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

While broadening client budgets might seem like great news for agencies, there appears to be a growing expectations gap between what marketers plan on spending and what agencies predict they will spend this year.

Of the agencies surveyed, only 48% expected marketer spending to increase somewhat or significantly in 2017. That’s a nearly 20% disconnect — one of the largest gaps in spending expectations between agencies and clients since 2011.

Mark Sneider, the president and owner of RSW/US, chalks this lack of alignment up to cautious optimism on the part of agencies, rather than an indication of a greater underlying disconnect between agencies and their clients. He urges agencies to take advantage of marketers’ willingness to spend more in 2017 by regularly pursuing new prospects, and keeping current clients consistently engaged with new project opportunities. 

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

2) Agencies are investing slightly less in business operations (people, marketing, and sales).

Even though a solid majority of agencies (89%) say they plan to invest somewhat or heavily in their business operations for 2017, this percentage has seen a slight decline since 2014, when a whopping 96% of agencies reported plans to invest more internally in their people, marketing, and sales resources.

So why are agencies more reluctant than previous years to invest in their own business functions? It could be due to a perceived shift in client marketing/ad spends going towards project-based and in-house work, which agencies might take as a sign to invest less aggressively in building up their resources. 

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

3) Nearly half (44%) of marketers plan to move money away from marketing and into marketing technology.

If there’s one area agencies should be growing their expertise and beefing up their services offerings, it’s marketing technology. Marketers are actively seeking opportunities to leverage automation and analytics to make more data-driven decisions — and agencies need to keep pace.

Marketers are so committed to investing in marketing technologies, many are dipping into their traditional marketing and advertising budgets to reallocate money towards new tools. 44% of marketers told RSW/US they plan on moving funds away from marketing and towards marketing technology in 2017, and 74% said they plan on investing in more in marketing technology over the next three years.

Agencies planning on spending less on resources and talent in 2017 might want to reconsider. Meeting marketer expectations over the next few years is going to require an advanced understanding of data and automation, and agencies shouldn’t wait to fortify their teams against the impending shift.

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

4) Marketers are parsing out the majority of their work as projects (versus discipline-specific AORs)

The shift away from AORs and towards project-based work continues to intensify, with 35% of agencies reporting that over 60% of their current work is project-based. This is a 15 point jump from last year, when only 20% of agencies reported over 60% of their work as project-based.

So what does this shift mean for agencies looking to build long-term client relationships? Project work can no longer be approached as a quick payout option — it’s just the starting point of a relationship that needs to be nurtured over time. Agencies need to look beyond a single project and evaluate whether or not it sets them up for future opportunities with the client.

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

5) Agencies are seeing more marketers move agency services in-house.

Nearly 80% of agencies predict their clients will move some marketing services in-house in 2017 — that’s a 23% increase over 2016’s prediction.

Even though this number seems intimidating, agencies shouldn’t start to panic yet. Marketers themselves reported a much smaller shift, with a solid majority (84%) saying they’ll be moving 20% or less of their marketing services in-house in 2017.

According to the RSW/US report, most of what marketers are moving in-house is “smaller stuff,” and as long as agencies continue to offer large value propositions, they shouldn’t get overly worried.

Data from RSW/US 2017 Outlook Report

What are your predictions for agencies in 2017? Let us know in the comments.

Earning the trust of prospective customers can be a struggle. Before you can even begin to expect to earn their business, you need to demonstrate your ability to deliver on what your product or service promises. Sure, you could say that you’re great at X, or that you’re way ahead of the competition when it comes to Y. But at the end of the day, what you really need to win new business is cold, hard proof.

One of the best ways to prove your worth is through compelling case studies. When done correctly, these examples of your work can chronicle the positive impact your business has on existing or previous customers.

To help you arm your prospects with information they can trust, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to create effective case studies for your business — as well as free case study templates for creating your own.

How to Write a Business Case Study: The Ultimate Guide

1) Find the Right Case Study Candidate

Writing about your previous projects requires more than picking a client and telling a story. You need permission, quotes, and a plan. To start, here are a few things to look for in potential candidates.

Product Knowledge

It helps to select a customer who’s well-versed in the logistics of your product or service. That way, he or she can better speak to the value of what you offer in a way that makes sense for future customers.

Remarkable Results

Clients that have seen the best results are going to make the strongest case studies. If their own businesses have seen an exemplary ROI from your product or service, they’re more likely to convey the enthusiasm that you want prospects to feel, too.

One part of this step is to choose clients who have experienced unexpected success from your product or service. When you’ve provided non-traditional customers — in industries that you don’t usually work with, for example — with positive results, it can help to remove doubts from prospects.

Recognizable Names

While small companies can have powerful stories, bigger or more notable brands tend to lend credibility to your own — in some cases, having brand recognition can lead to 24.4X as much growth as companies without it.

Switchers

Customers that came to you after working with a competitor help highlight your competitive advantage, and might even sway decisions in your favor.

2) Reach Out to Case Study Participants

To get the right case study participants on board, you have to set the stage for clear and open communication. That means outlining expectations and a timeline right away — not having those is one of the biggest culprits in delayed case study creation.

It’s helpful to know what you’ll need from the participants, like permission to use any brand names and share the project information publicly. Kick off the process with an email that runs through exactly what they can expect from you, as well as what is expected of them. To give you an idea of what that might look like, check out this sample email:

You might be wondering, “What’s a Case Study Release Form?” or, “What’s a Success Story Letter?” Let’s break those down.

Case Study Release Form

This document can vary, depending on factors like the size of your business, the nature of your work, and what you intend to do with the case studies once they are completed. That said, you should typically aim to include the following in the Case Study Release Form:

• A clear explanation of why you are creating this case study and how it will be used.
• A statement defining the information and potentially trademarked information you expect to include about the company — things like names, logos, job titles, and pictures.
• An explanation of what you expect from the participant, beyond the completion of the case study. For example, is this customer willing to act as a reference or share feedback, and do you have permission to pass contact information along for these purposes?
• A note about compensation.

Success Story Letter

As noted in the sample email, this document serves as an outline for the entire case study process. Other than a brief explanation of how the customer will benefit from case study participation, you’ll want to be sure to define the following steps in the Success Story Letter.

The Acceptance

First, you’ll need to receive internal approval from the company’s marketing team. Once approved, the Release Form should be signed and returned to you. It’s also a good time to determine a timeline that meets the needs and capabilities of both teams.

The Questionnaire

To ensure that you have a productive interview — which is one of the best ways to collect information for the case study — you’ll want to ask the participant to complete a questionnaire prior to this conversation. That will provide your team with the necessary foundation to organize the interview, and get the most out of it.

The Interview

Once the questionnaire is completed, someone on your team should reach out to the participant to schedule a 30-60 minute interview, which should include a series of custom questions related to the customer’s experience with your product or service.

The Draft Review

After the case study is composed, you’ll want to send a draft to the customer, allowing an opportunity to give you feedback and edits.

The Final Approval

Once any necessary edits are completed, send a revised copy of the case study to the customer for final approval.

Once the case study goes live — on your website or elsewhere — it’s best to contact the customer with a link to the page where the case study lives. Don’t be afraid to ask your participants to share these links with their own networks, as it not only demonstrates your ability to deliver positive results, but their impressive growth, as well.

3) Ensure You’re Asking the Right Questions

Before you execute the questionnaire and actual interview, make sure you’re setting yourself up for success. A strong case study results from being prepared to ask the right questions. What do those look like? Here are a few examples to get you started:

• What are your goals?
• What challenges were you experiencing prior to purchasing our product or service?
• What made our product or service stand out against our competitors?
• What did your decision-making process look like?
• How have you benefited from using our product or service? (Where applicable, always ask for data.)

Keep in mind that the questionnaire is designed to help you gain insights into what sort of strong, success-focused questions to ask during the actual interview. And once you get to that stage, we recommend that you follow the “Golden Rule of Interviewing.” Sounds fancy, right? It’s actually quite simple — ask open-ended questions.

If you’re looking to craft a compelling story, “yes” or “no” answers won’t provide the details you need. Focus on questions that invite elaboration, such as, “Can you describe …?” or, “Tell me about …”

In terms of the interview structure, we recommend categorizing the questions and flow into six specific sections. Combined, they’ll allow you to gather enough information to put together a rich, comprehensive study.

The Customer’s Business

The goal of this section is to generate a better understanding of the company’s current challenges and goals, and how they fit into the landscape of their industry. Sample questions might include:

• How long have you been in business?
• How many employees do you have?
• What are some of the objectives of your department at this time?

The Need for a Solution

In order to tell a compelling story, you need context. That helps match the customer’s need with your solution. Sample questions might include:

• What challenges and objectives led you to look for a solution?
• What might have happened if you did not identify a solution?
• Did you explore other solutions prior to this that did not work out? If so, what happened?

The Decision Process

Exploring how the customer arrived at the decision to work with you helps to guide potential customers through their own decision-making processes. Sample questions might include:

• How did you hear about our product or service?
• Who was involved in the selection process?
• What was most important to you when evaluating your options?

The Implementation

The focus here should be placed on the customer’s experience during the onboarding process. Sample questions might include:

• How long did it take to get up and running?
• Did that meet your expectations?
• Who was involved in the process?

The Solution in Action

The goal of this section is to better understand how the customer is using your product or service. Sample questions might include:

• Is there a particular aspect of the product or service that you rely on most?
• Who is using the product or service?

The Results

In this section, you want to uncover impressive measurable outcomes — the more numbers, the better. Sample questions might include:

• How is the product or service helping you save time and increase productivity?
• In what ways does that enhance your competitive advantage?
• How much have you increased metrics X, Y, and Z?

4) Lay Out Your Case Study

When it comes time to take all of the information you’ve collected and actually turn it into something, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Where should you start? What should you include? What’s the best way to structure it?

To help you get a handle on this step, it’s important to first understand that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to ways to present a case study. They can be very visual, which you’ll see in some of the examples we’ve included below, and can sometimes be communicated mostly through video or photos, with a bit of accompanying text.

When it comes to recommending written case studies, we recommend focusing on seven sections, which we’ve outlined here. Note — even if you do elect to use a visual case study, it should still include all of this information, but presented in a different format.

1. Title: Keep it short. Focus on highlighting the most compelling accomplishment.
2. Executive Summary: A 2-4 sentence summary of the entire story. You’ll want to follow it with 2-3 bullet points that display metrics showcasing success.
3. About: An introduction to the person or company, which can be pulled from a LinkedIn profile or website.
4. Challenges: A 2-3 paragraph description of the customer’s challenges, prior to using your product or service. This section should also include the goals that the customer set out to achieve.
5. How You Helped: A 2-3 paragraph section that describes how your product or service provided a solution to their problem.
6. Results: A 2-3 paragraph testimonial that proves how your product or service specifically impacted the person or company, and helped achieve goals. Include numbers to quantify your contributions.
7. Supporting Visuals or Quotes: Pick one or two powerful quotes that you would feature at the bottom of the sections above, as well as a visual that supports the story you are telling.

To help you visualize this case study format, check out this case study template, which can also be downloaded here.

When laying out your case study, focus on conveying the information you’ve gathered in the most clear and concise way possible. Make it easy to scan and comprehend, and be sure to provide an attractive call-to-action at the bottom — that should provide readers an opportunity to learn more about your product or service.

Business Case Study Examples

You drove the results, made the connect, set the expectations, used the questionnaire to conduct a successful interview, and boiled down your findings into a compelling story. And after all of that, you’re left with a little piece of sales enabling gold — a case study.

To show you what a well-executed final product looks like, have a look at some of these marketing case study examples.

1) “New England Journal of Medicine,” by Corey McPherson Nash

When branding and design studio Corey McPherson Nash showcases its work, it makes sense for it to be visual — after all, that’s what they do. So in building the case study for the studio’s work on the New England Journal of Medicine’s integrated advertising campaign — a project that included the goal of promoting the client’s digital presence — Corey McPherson Nash showed its audience what it did, rather than purely telling it.

Notice that the case study does include some light written copy — which includes the major points we’ve suggested — but really lets the visuals do the talking, allowing users to really absorb the studio’s services.

2) “Shopify Uses HubSpot CRM to Transform High Volume Sales Organization,” by HubSpot

What’s interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot credo, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why Shopify uses HubSpot, and is accompanied by a short video and some basic statistics on the company.

Notice that this case study uses mixed-media. Yes, there is a short video, but it’s elaborated upon in the additional text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don’t be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project’s success.

3) “Designing the Future of Urban Farming,” by IDEO

Here’s a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, he or she is greeted with a big, bold photo, and two very simple columns of text — “The Challenge” and “The Outcome.”

Immediately, IDEO has communicated two of the case study’s major pillars. And while that’s great — the company created a solution for vertical farming startup INFARM’s challenge — it doesn’t stop there. As the user scrolls down, those pillars are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and additional visuals.

4) “Secure Wi-Fi Wins Big for Tournament,” by WatchGuard

Then, there are the cases when visuals can tell almost the entire story — when executed correctly. Network security provider WatchGuard is able to do that through this video, which tells the story of how its services enhanced the attendee and vendor experience at the Windmill Ultimate Frisbee tournament.

Showcase Your Work

You work hard at what you do. Now, it’s time to show it to the world — and, perhaps more important, to potential customers.

But before you show off the projects that make you the proudest, make sure you follow the important steps that will help ensure that work is effectively communicated, and leaves all parties feeling good about it.

How does your company approach the case study creation process? Let us know in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2012 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

Once upon a time, back in 2005, there lived on the internet a website called YouTube. It’s a name that, today, many people recognize as a video-sharing website — and much more — that’s owned by Google. But over a decade ago, YouTube wasn’t what it is today. In 2005, YouTube was a dating site.

Yes, you read that correctly. YouTube began as a dating site.

It’s something that the co-founders have discussed in interviews, but the rest of us rarely do. Since the late 90s, how many websites have transformed into something completely different from what they originally set out to be? 

As it turns out, many of our most beloved destination sites — some of which we frequently write about and are essential to marketers — were borderline unrecognizable when they first launched. What were they then? And what can marketers stand to learn from it?

Spoiler alert: It’s been a long time since people recorded things in stone. It’s the internet, and it allows for progressive changes to design, product, and the way they’re marketed. But remember — be strategic. If you’re looking to make some big changes, check out our quick guide to branding.

7 Websites That Used to Be Something Completely Different

1) Amazon

• Founded: 1994
• Original model: “Earth’s biggest bookstore.“

Before:

Source: Newfangled

Founder Jeff Bezos is said to have chosen books from his list of 20 products he thought would sell online, because they were the lowest-cost and most universally-demanded. And sure, Amazon still sells books — and a lot more. The amount of growth it has witnessed in the two decades since its incorporation is beyond impressive.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking.“
  • It sells much more than just books — it’s now a full ecommerce operation.
  • In addition to online shopping, Amazon now produces and offers, among many other things:
    • The Amazon Echo, a digital personal assistant and smart home device.
    • The Kindle E-reader.
    • Original entertainment programing.
    • Streaming media tools and devices.
    • Music downloads.
    • Grocery delivery.
• Total assets: $67.7 billion
• Employees: 230,800

2) Netflix

• Founded: 1997
• Original model: “To offer online movie rentals.“

Before:

Source: Netflix

When Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph co-founded Netflix, the intention was clear — they wanted to create an easy way for people to rent and return movies, without having to drive to the now-extinct video store. Now, things look a little different.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “The world’s leading Internet television network.“
  • Offers original and syndicated programming via streaming technology.
  • Content is personalized, with algorithms designed to make recommendations based on viewing behavior and history.
  • DVD rentals are still available, but only through DVD.com, owned by Netflix.
• Total assets: $11.26 billion
• Employees: 3,700

3) Facebook

• Founded: 2004 (as Thefacebook)
• Original model: “An online directory that connects people through social networks at colleges.“

Before:

Source: Wayback Machine

There have been many pop cultural references to Facebook since its 2004 launch. But on the surface, founder Mark Zuckerberg’s intentions were fairly clear — to allow students at Harvard to connect online. Eventually, the network expanded to most U.S. colleges and universities, until it was announced in 2006 that anyone would be able to join.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.“
  • Anyone can create a profile, with some parameters for members who are minors.
  • Is the primary source of news for 44% of the general population.
  • Averages 1.18 billion daily active users.
• Total assets: $49.41 billion
• Employees: 12,691

4) YouTube

• Founded: 2005
• Original model: “The first online community site that allows members to post and share personal videos.“

Before:

Source: Wayback Machine

It’s true — as we mentioned earlier, YouTube had very brief beginnings as a dating website. Its founders have spoken to the press about it on more than one occasion. CEO Chad Hurley once told Time that the intention was for YouTube to serve as “a video version of HOTorNOT.com,” a site in which users would rate the attractiveness of complete strangers on a scale of one to 10. To the delight of its many current users, that’s no longer the case.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “Allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos.“
  • Offers YouTube Red, a paid membership that offers ad-free videos and music.
  • Acquired by Google in 2006 and has since operated as “a Google company.“

5) Inbound.org

• Founded: 2012
• Original model: “To enable great content from the world of inbound marketing to get noticed.“

Before:

Source: Wayback Machine

As the story goes, a pair of friends — Moz co-founder Rand Fishkind and HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah — started Inbound.org “for fun,” and to provide a platform for the content creators who were following the somewhat-new principles of inbound marketing. There were member-powered discussion boards, Q&As, and job listings. And while the foundation of that community is still, at its core, very much the same, the site provides even more to do and see.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “An online hub where good Marketers come to get better.“
  • Members can do more than ask questions and start conversations — they can post original content on Inbound.org. That comes with the opportunity for other members to “upvote” it.
  • Offers discussion boards, original content, and ways for members to earn badges, among other marketing-related resources. As Casey Henry — who oversees growth for Inbound.org — says, it’s “a community where marketers access, share, and leverage marketing resources all in one place.”
• Members: 204,929

6) BuzzFeed

• Founded: 2006
• Original model: “Distinguishes what is actually interesting from what is merely hyped.“

Before:

Source: Wayback Machine

It seems like BuzzFeed has really earned a name for itself in the realm of listicles, like “6 Items That Totally Overreact To Being Microwaved,” and other light — but fun — content, like quizzes to determine how many marriages you’ll have, based on your favorite cheese. (Even we can’t make this stuff up.) But it wasn’t always like that. BuzzFeed was actually founded on the principle to detect only the most important news items that were “on the rise and worth your time.“

Today:

• Current model:
  • “The leading independent digital media company delivering news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people around the world.“
  • Appears to be striving for a balance of listicles, quizzes, and serious news, with top stories ranging from topics like health care, to “43 Thoughts Everyone Has While Shopping At Target.”
  • Offers original, branded content in numerous formats, including video.
  • Has established a portfolio of owned and affiliated shows, including Tasty, which is best known for abbreviated cooking demonstrations.
• Total assets: $55.93 million (according to documents obtained by Gawker in 2015)
• Employees: 1,300

7) Airbnb

• Founded: 2008
• Original model: “An online marketplace for peer-to-peer traveling.“

Before:

Source: Wayback Machine

When Airbnb — first known as AirBed & Breakfast — started out, the mission was to help people make money. Much of the focus was on homeowners, and the efforts to help them earn supplemental income by renting extra space, empty apartments, and even fold-out couches to kind people. And yes, renters also benefitted by finding affordable places to stay when traveling. But since its inception, Airbnb has gotten a major makeover — one that’s safer, more expensive, and offers more than just lodging.

Today:

• Current model:
  • “A trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online.“
  • Has implemented a series of precautions to improve safety for both homeowners and travelers.
  • Affordability is no longer emphasized to travelers — listings are available for as much as $4,000 a night.
  • In addition to lodging, Airbnb now offers curated experiences for travelers who want a trip to center around certain interests, including:
    • Sports
    • Nature
    • Social Impact
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Arts
• Valuation: $30 billion
• Employees: 1,917

What’s Your Before-And-After?

Things change. Businesses, brands, entrepreneurs, and websites do, too. Maybe your original idea isn’t going in the direction you had hoped. Or maybe, you know you can make it bigger.

These examples show that it’s more than acceptable — and often beneficial — to ask questions like, “What’s next?” or, “What needs to change?” Of course, positive evolution takes time, and these brands had an average period of 12 years between their “Before” and “Today.” So be patient, but be creative. With that combination, there’s no limit to where your brand and its online presence can go.

What are your favorite before-and-after websites? Let us know in the comments.

Thank goodness for live chat. If you’re anything like me, you look back at the days of corded phones and 1-800 numbers with anything but fondness.

But as you’re chatting with a customer service agent on Facebook Messenger to see if you can change the shipping address on your recent order, sometimes it’s tempting to ask, am I really talking to a human? Or is this kind, speedy agent really just a robot in disguise?

Believe it or not, this question is older than you might think. The game of trying to decipher between human and machine goes all the way back to 1950 and a computer scientist named Alan Turing.

In his famous paper, Turing proposed a test (now referred to as the Turing Test) to see if a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior is indistinguishable from that of a human. An interrogator would ask text-based questions to subject A (a computer) and subject B (a person), in hopes of trying to figure out which was which. If the computer successfully fooled the interrogator into thinking it was a human, the computer was said to successfully have artificial intelligence.

Since the days of Alan Turing, there’s been decades and decades of debate on if his test really is an accurate method for identifying artificial intelligence. However, the sentiment behind the idea remains: As AI gains traction, will we be able to tell the difference between human and machine? And if AI is already transforming the way we want customer service, how else could it change our jobs as marketers?

Why Artificial Intelligence Matters for Marketers

As Turing predicted, the concepts behind AI are often hard to grasp, and sometimes even more difficult recognize in our daily lives. By its very nature, AI is designed to flow seamlessly into the tools you already use to make the tasks you do more accurate or efficient. For example, if you’ve enjoyed Netflix movie suggestions or Spotify’s personalized playlists, you’re already encountering AI.

In fact, in our recent HubSpot Research Report on the adoption of artificial intelligence, we found that 63% of respondents are already using AI without realizing it.

When it comes to marketing, AI is positioned to change nearly every part of marketing — from our personal productivity to our business’s operations — over the next few years. Imagine having a to-do list automatically prioritized based on your work habits, or your content personalized based on your target customer writes on social media. These examples are just the beginning of how AI will affect the way marketers work.

No matter how much AI changes our job, we’re not all called to be expert computer scientists. However, it’s still crucial to have a basic understanding how AI works, if only to get a glimpse of the possibilities with this type of technology and to see how it could make you a more efficient, more data-driven marketer.

Below we’ll break down the key terms you’ll need to know to be a successful marketer in an AI world. But first, a disclaimer …

This isn’t meant to be the ultimate resource of artificial intelligence by any means, nor should any 1,500-word blog post. There remains a lot of disagreement around what people consider AI to be and what it’s not. But we do hope these basic definitions will make AI and its related concepts a little easier to grasp and excite you to learn more about the future of marketing.

13 Artificial Intelligence Terms Marketers Need to Know

Algorithm

An algorithm is a formula that represents the relationship between variables. Social media marketers are likely familiar, as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all use algorithms to determine what posts you see in a news feed. SEO marketers focus specifically on search engine algorithms to get their content ranking on the first page of search results. Even your Netflix home page uses an algorithm to suggest new shows based on past behavior.

When you’re talking about artificial intelligence, algorithms are what machine learning programs use to make predictions from the data sets they analyze. For example, if a machine learning program were to analyze the performance of a bunch of Facebook posts, it could create an algorithm to determine which blog titles get the most clicks for future posts.

Artificial Intelligence

In the most general of terms, artificial intelligence refers to an area of computer science that makes machines do things that would require intelligence if done by a human. This includes tasks such as learning, seeing, talking, socializing, reasoning, or problem solving.

However, it’s not as simple as copying the way the human brain works, neuron by neuron. It’s building flexible computers that can take creative actions that maximize their chances of success to a specific goal.

Bots

Bots (also known as “chatbots” or “chatterbots”) are text-based programs that humans communicate with to automate specific actions or seek information. Generally, they “live” inside of another messaging application, such as Slack, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Line.

Bots often have a narrow use case because they are programmed to pull from a specific data source, such as a bot that tells you the weather or helps you register to vote. In some cases, they are able to integrate with systems you already use to increase productivity. For example, GrowthBot — a bot for marketing and sales professionals — connects with HubSpot, Google Analytics, and more to deliver information on a company’s top-viewed blog post or the PPC keywords a competitor is buying.

Some argue that chatbots don’t qualify as AI because they rely heavily on pre-loaded responses or actions and can’t “think” for themselves. However, others see bots’ ability to understand human language as a basic application of AI.

Cognitive Science

Zoom out from artificial intelligence and you’ve got cognitive science. It’s the interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes, pulling from the foundations of philosophy, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, and neuroscience.

Artificial intelligence is just one application of cognitive science that looks at how the systems of the mind can be simulated in machines.

Computer Vision

Computer vision is an application of deep learning (see below) that can “understand” digital images.

For humans, of course, understanding images is one of our more basic functions. You see a ball thrown at you and you catch it. But for a computer to see an image and then describe it makes simulating the way the human eye and brain work together pretty complicated. For example, imagine how a self-driving car would need to recognize and respond to stop lights, pedestrians, and other obstructions to be allowed on the road.

However, you don’t have to own a Tesla to experience computer vision. You can put Google’s Quick Draw to the test and see if it recognizes your doodles. Because computer vision uses machine learning that improves over time, you’ll actually help teach the program just by playing.

Data Mining

Data mining is the process of computers discovering patterns within large data sets. For example, an ecommerce company like Amazon could use data mining to analyze customer data and give product suggestions through the “customers who bought this item also bought” box. 

Deep Learning

On the far end of the AI spectrum, deep learning is a highly advanced subset of machine learning. It’s unlikely you’ll need to understand the inner workings of deep learning, but know this: Deep learning can find super complex patterns in data sets by using multiple layers of correlations. In the simplest of terms, it does this by mimicking the way neurons are layered in your own brain. That’s why computer scientists refer to this type of machine learning as a “neural network.”

Machine Learning

Of all the subdisciplines of AI, some of the most exciting advances have been made within machine learning. In short, machine learning is the ability for a program to absorb huge amounts of data and create predictive algorithms.

If you’ve ever heard that AI allows computers to learn over time, you were likely learning about machine learning. Programs with machine learning discover patterns in data sets that help them achieve a goal. As they analyze more data, they adjust their behavior to reach their goal more efficiently.

That data could be anything: a marketing software full of email open rates or a database of baseball batting averages. Because machine learning gives computers to learn without being explicitly programmed (like most bots), they are often described as being able to learn like a young child does: by experience.

Natural Language Processing

Natural language processing (NLS) can make bots a bit more sophisticated by enabling them to understand text or voice commands. For example, when you talk to Siri, she’s transposing your voice into text, conducting the query via a search engine, and responding back in human syntax.

On a basic level, spell check in a Word document or translation services on Google are both examples of NLS. More advanced applications of NLS can learn to pick up on humor or emotion.

Semantic Analysis

Semantic analysis is, first and foremost, a linguistics term that deals with process of stringing together phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs into coherent writing. But it also refers to building language in the context of culture.

So, if a machine that has natural language processing capabilities can also use semantic analysis, that likely means it can understand human language and pick up on the contextual cues needed to understand idioms, metaphors, and other figures of speech. As AI-powered marketing applications advance in areas like content automation, you can imagine the usefulness of semantic analysis to craft blog posts and ebooks that are indistinguishable than that of a content marketer.

Supervised Learning

Supervised learning is a type of machine learning in which humans input specific data sets and supervise much of the process, hence the name. In supervised learning, the sample data is labeled and the machine learning program is given a clear outcome to work toward.

Training Data

In machine learning, the training data is the data initially given to the program to “learn” and identify patterns. Afterwards, more test data sets are given to the machine learning program to check the patterns for accuracy. 

Unsupervised Learning

Unsupervised learning is another type of machine learning that uses very little to no human involvement. The machine learning program is left to find patterns and draw conclusions on its own.

Have an artificial intelligence definition to add? Let us know in the comment below.

Supermodels may have ruled the world in the 1990s, but today it’s the creatives. Everyone wants in on disruptive, viral, [insert your own buzz word here] intersecting worlds of design and technology. Especially the savvy students who are looking for challenging, fun, and economically rewarding professions.

Design and coding academies are rising to meet these opportunities, but there’s a lot of noise swirling around. If you want your academy’s message to shout out and reach your prospective students, you need to be using inbound and content marketing.

Fortunately, your creative natures and enterprises are great fits to achieve great results with content marketing and inbound.

You’re Already Flush with Content

For a lot of marketing teams, creating quality content on a consistent basis is a big challenge. Not so for design and coding academies. Your faculty and students already create amazing content daily. Student projects, faculty lectures, and documented curricula are all content sources ready to be tapped.

You can video individual lectures from different courses and post clips online. You’re naturals for developing some of the best visual content out there. Take some screenshots of the design or coding tools you teach students to use and add some eye-popping captions as a mini-tutorial. Share your faculty’s expertise by publishing their work paired with a short back story or interview with that teacher.

Getting creative is your jam. Review the wealth of content your community is already creating through the lens of your content strategy to attract new students. You’ll see your opportunities.

Improve Your SEO by Repurposing Your Content

The first step with the inbound methodology is attracting your target audience. This requires an SEO strategy based on relevant keywords and topics. A blog talking about things your personas don’t care about isn’t going to help your academy get found.

After you’ve done some SEO research, freshen up blog posts, newsletter articles, and other content you already have. Let’s say your research tells you that prospective students are curious about mobile UX design best practices. Now you can add new a summary, keywords and tags to a lecture video or presentation you’ve posted on this topic that are more relevant. Instead of captioning it “Introductory Lecture on Mobile Design,” you can change it to “Mobile UX Design: Learning Best Practices for Mobile Apps” (or whatever your research indicates).

Understanding what your SEO research is telling you will also help you select the most useful and on-point content to repurpose. Your academy does have a wealth of content, but that doesn’t mean you want to throw all of it up to see what sticks. You want to make strategic selections of what content to look for, what to create, and how to optimize it for SEO so you make best use of your resources.

Your Content Will Build Your Reputation

The linchpin of finding success with inbound marketing is using your content to build trust with your target personas. Academies and bootcamps don’t have the brand recognition that traditional schools enjoy. The waters are also muddied by the explosion in your direct competition.

The number of coding academies grew by nearly 50% in 2016 and is projected to continue growing rapidly. If you want to carve out a spot on the leader board, then you need to boost your brand recognition and make sure your brand connotes credibility and authority.

Prospective students won’t trust putting their professional training in your hands if they don’t see you as a go-to source on topics related to coding or design. Use your content to build up their confidence that your academy is at the front edge of your field and has the chops to make them employer-magnets after you graduate them.

You can share recent alumni stories that show how easily your graduates transition from students into lucrative careers. Quintupling your salary post-graduation? That’s not a bad haul.

Build your reputation as masters of your field by regularly publishing content that addresses its most pressing issues and trends. Publish your academy’s own insights on everything from your field’s fundamentals to controversial issues. The phrase is cliché, but you need to become a thought leader, not just as an academic institution, but within the professions you’re training students to enter.

Your prospective students are out there, dying for clear guidance and answers to their most pressing questions. If you can be resource that answers them, you’ll be the academy they choose. 

Here at HubSpot, we’re not shy about our fondness of Snapchat. Heck, we even devoted an entire day to recruiting via Snapchat. But maybe not everyone is as crazy about the app as we are. Personal feelings aside, it’s time to start taking it seriously.

If nothing else, there’s something to be said for Snapchat’s off-the-charts growth. It’s shown a 12% average year-over-year increase in revenue since 2014, and is estimated to earn just short of $1 billion is 2017. Why is it worth so much? Because people are listening and watching. In fact, content posted to the app gets, in total, 10 million views every day. 

So, are you ready to start listening and watching, too? If you’re not on board with Snapchat yet, have a look at this helpful infographic from our friends at WebpageFX. Think about what these figures might mean to your own organization — and start snapping.

As the number of email senders fighting for recipients’ attention continues to climb, many marketers are seeing their engagement rates steadily decrease — even if they’re using an approach that worked well a year or two ago. But that’s the problem: If you haven’t shaken up your email program in over a year, your emails are probably getting stale.

Whether you’re an email marketing veteran or are just getting started, you may be operating under certain common misconceptions about email that have been disproved by research. Even worse, your email may be getting dull due to a lack of experimentation or inspiration. Maybe you’re aware that it’s time to switch up your email marketing, but it can still be hard to know where to begin.

HubSpot and SendGrid are here to help. We’ve joined forces to jumpstart your effort to redefine your email program. In doing so, we created a guide with over 100 rigorously-researched tips on how to avoid common misconceptions, figure out what works for your audience, and bring new inspiration to your email program. Inside, you’ll find:

• Facts to help you push past the newest and most stubborn email marketing myths
• Test and experiment ideas you can use to optimize your email campaigns
• Tips and inspiration to help you identify ways to keep your emails fresh and engaging
• Extra juicy pro tips you can share with your network with one click

Click here to download 104 Email Marketing Myths, Experiments, and Inspiration