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“We have a 9 a.m. meeting? Hold on — let me just click around the internet like a maniac to find something for the morning tweet.” 

Sound familiar? Scrambling for social content is nothing new. We have meetings. We run late. Things come up. And it’s really hard to get any meaningful amount of work done when you have the next social media update looming over your head every 30, 60, or 90 minutes. It all moves so fast that you might periodically feel a case of the vapors coming on, which is why pre-scheduled social media content should be your new best friend.

To make social media content easier for companies to plan and schedule across the accounts they manage, we created a social media content calendar template. And recently, we updated to be better, faster, stronger, and just generally prettier. 

You can fill it in at the same day and time every single week to prep for the following week’s social media content. That means when you burst through the office doors at 9 a.m., you won’t be in panic mode looking for something to push out to your Facebook fans — you already took care of that last week.

This blog post will walk you through exactly how to use the template to stay on top of your social media content planning for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+.

Note: HubSpot customers can also schedule content through Social Inbox, or use this spreadsheet to organize their content and subsequently upload it to Social Inbox. Detailed instructions for doing this exist in the cover sheet of the template.

How to Use the Social Media Calendar Template to Plan Your Content Schedule

When you open up the social media content calendar template, you’ll notice the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet has several different tabs, most of which are dedicated to a specific social network.

The reason you’ll want a different worksheet for every social network is simply that every social network is a little bit different. You can’t just craft one, single social media update and use it across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+. You can certainly promote the same piece of content across all six of those networks, but that doesn’t mean you’ll craft your update in the same way for every single one of them. (In fact, you may even want to add additional tabs if you’re active on other networks, like Quora or YouTube.)

This following sub-sections will walk you through how to fill out each of the four tabs you see in this template — the updates for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+. But before we get to that, let’s just walk through the “Monthly Planning Calendar” so you know what that’s for.

Monthly Social Media Schedule 

The tab “Monthly Planning Calendar” provides an overall snapshot of your monthly social media campaigns. It’ll help you coordinate better with other stakeholders, not to mention keep all the moving parts straight in your own mind. Here’s what it looks like:

There are three sections to take note of when you edit this template for your own purposes. First, the color-coding key: These are the types of content or campaigns around which you might coordinate, like ebooks, webinars, blog posts, product launches, and so on. Though only some of these might be relevant to you, they’re there to indicate what you may want to put in there — so be sure to edit these categories to align with your own campaigns.

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

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

Planning Your Twitter Content Calendar

Alright, now let’s get to the social media content. This section will be the lengthiest, because all subsequent sections will draw on the instructions we go through here. So if you read one section in this whole post, make it this one.

Let’s say you want to add some tweets to your scheduling template. Skip over to the “Twitter Updates” tab, where you’ll see this:

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

Now, let’s move over to the “Message” column. Here, input the copy you’d like to appear in your tweet, bearing in mind you should cap it at 116 characters to allow enough room for a link, and at 115 characters to allow room for an image. (Read this blog post for a full character count guide.) This spreadsheet will auto-calculate the number of characters you’ve entered to keep you on-point, turning yellow when you’ve reached 95 characters, and red when you’ve reached 116 characters.

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

Finally, in the “Image” column, attach the tweet’s image (if you have one). For Twitter, we recommend images that are 1024 x 512 pixels. (Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.) If you’re having trouble attaching your image to the spreadsheet, follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the cell in which you’d like your image.

Step 2: Click “Hyperlink,” then click the “Document” button, and finally, click “Select” to choose your image.

Step 3: In the “Choose a File” window, select the image from your computer and click “Open.”

Step 4: You’ll now see the image attached to the “Insert Hyperlink” screen. Feel free to edit the “Display” text to change the file name, then click “OK.”

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

Planning Your Facebook Content Calendar

Now, let’s talk about how to plan your Facebook marketing in advance with the template. Navigate on over to the tab in your template labeled “Facebook Updates.”

Facebook updates work similarly to Twitter updates, with the exception being bulk uploading your content is not possible in Social Inbox.

The first three columns, “Day,” “Date,” and “Time” are there for your convenience. Head on over to the column labeled “Message” and input the copy you’d like to appear in your status update, corresponding to the days and times you’d like those updates to run. Then, move to the “Link” column and input the link you’ll be, you know, linking to in the update. (Don’t forget that tracking token.) If you’d like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the “Campaigns” column. Finally, attach an image just like you did with your Twitter updates — if you’re using one, we suggest you edit it to be 1200 x 900 pixels. (Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

Planning Your LinkedIn Content Calendar

LinkedIn updates are the most unique, because you have both Company Pages and Groups to consider. To demonstrate the difference between Company Page updates and Group updates, let’s navigate over to the column labeled “Title (For Group Discussions Only).”

LinkedIn Groups let you post a few kinds of updates, one of which is called a “Discussion.” You will only fill out the “Title (For Group Discussions Only)” column if you’re looking to post a Discussion to your LinkedIn Group — because Discussions are the only update you’ll be posting that requires a title. If you’re not posting a Discussion to a LinkedIn Group, you don’t need to fill out this field, because your update will not have a title.

You’ll fill out the next column, “Message,” for every type of update you post, whether it’s for a Company Page or a Group. Simply input your copy into this column, and then navigate to the next two columns, “Link” and “Campaign” to input the URL to which you’re directing readers with the tracking token you’ll use to track activity, and the associated campaign if one exists. If you’d like to use an image for an update, attach it per the instructions laid out in the “Twitter” section. We recommend editing the image to 700 x 520 pixels.

Planning Your Instagram Posting Calendar

Now, let’s move on to how to set up your Instagram photos and videos in advance with the template. Navigate on over to the tab in your template labeled “Instagram Updates.”

Instagram updates work similarly to Facebook updates, in that content can’t be uploaded in bulk to Social Inbox like it can with Twitter.

The first three columns, “Day,” “Date,” and “Time” are there for your convenience. Head on over to the column labeled “Message,” and input the copy you’d like to appear in your post’s caption, corresponding to the days and times you’d like those updates to run. Keep in mind that although Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters long, they cut off in users’ feeds after three lines of text. The exact length of these three lines depends on the length of your Instagram handle. (Read this blog post for a full character count guide.)

Next, move to the “Link for Bio” column and input whichever link you plan to put in the bio when you publish the accompanying Instagram post. (The reason you’d put a link in your bio and not the photo caption itself is because clickable URLs aren’t allowed anywhere except the single “website” box in your bio. See #13 in this blog post for more on how that works.) Oh, and don’t forget that tracking token.

If you’d like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the “Campaigns” column. Finally, attach an image just like you did with your other social media updates — we suggest you edit it to be 1080 pixels x 1080 pixels. (Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

Planning Your Pinterest Content Calendar

Alright, now let’s go over how to set up your Pinterest pins in advance with the template. Navigate on over to the tab in your template labeled “Pinterest Updates.”

Pinterest updates work similarly to Facebook and Instagram updates, in that content can’t be uploaded in bulk to Social Inbox like it can with Twitter.

The first three columns, “Day,” “Date,” and “Time” are there for your convenience. Go to the column labeled “Message,” and input the copy you’d like to appear in your pin’s description, corresponding to the days and times you’d like those updates to run. Then, move to the “Link” column and input the link you’ll be, you know, linking to in the update. (Don’t forget that tracking token.)

If you’d like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the “Campaigns” column. Finally, attach an image like you did with your other social media updates — we suggest you edit it to be 735 pixels x 1102 pixels.

Planning Your Google+ Posting Calendar

Finally, we come to Google+.

Update: Google recently announced it is shutting down its Google+ platform. Please consider using the template and instructions below for any potential social networking platform Google launches in the future, and check back with us for an updated template that reflects this rollout.

Start in the “Message” column, and input your status update. Then move over to “Link” column, where you’ll input the link to which you’re directing readers. If you’d like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the “Campaigns” column. If you’re attaching an image, you could use multiple different sizes, but 960 pixels x 960 pixels works best. (Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

Content Repository (Or, Where to Source Social Media Content)

This template also provides you with a tab called “Content Repository,” which should help you keep track of all your content and maintain a healthy backlog of fodder to make sourcing social media content easier.

As you create more assets, you’ll likely want to resurface and re-promote those pieces down the line, too. To ensure you don’t lose track of all of that content, record it on this tab so you’re never at a loss for what to publish on social. If the content you’re promoting isn’t evergreen, be sure to include an expiration date in the column marked “Expiration” so you don’t promote it when it’s jumped the shark.

This tab will also help you maintain a healthy balance of content: A mix of your own content and others’, a mix of content formats and types, and mix of lead generation content vs. MQL-generating content vs. traffic-friendly content.

Don’t Forget to Interact With Your Followers

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

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

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

When you think of Snapchat, what do you think of?

Personally, I think of a single thing: “It’s crazy how much marketing opportunity there is on this app.”

Now, you may be thinking, “There’s no way,” or “Which one is Snapchat, again?” (if you need a reminder, it’s the yellow one with the videos and ghost logo).

Snapchat is an undeniably popular social media app, with over 200 million millennials and Gen Z users opening the app every single day.

Additionally, Snapchatter’s use Snapchat’s Discover feature for their news, to catch up on shows, or to see new sponsored posts from their favorite influencers.

Of these users, 38% of them don’t use Facebook or Instagram, so some of that audience is exclusive to Snapchat.

News, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and a few other industries currently use Snapchat’s Discover page to — well — get discovered by new audiences.

Image Source

If you’ve seen Discover, you know what I’m talking about. It’s almost like a personalized home screen. And any marketer would love to know how to get that Discover exposure. Let’s explore that, next.

Snapchat Discover Basics

Snapchat Discover is a page on Snapchat that’s basically a news feed. On it, you’ll find content in the story format from news publishers, also known as publishing partners, such as The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, and other content from influencers or brands.

On Discover, Snapchatters can subscribe to a channel, watch snaps in Stories, see what their Snap friends are watching on their Discover page, and see recommended content, curated by the app based on their history.

This content can range from product demos and television shows to news reports. Snapchat has over 50 publishing partners to date, making the popular Discover page a key news source for Snapchatters. And of the 210 million daily active users on the app, every account member has a Discover page.

Because of the high volume of users, Discover seems like a no-brainer to place ads, right? But, unfortunately, partnering with Snapchat to get on the Discover page isn’t as easy as uploading a viral video. You have to become a publishing partner.

Another interesting thing to note about Snapchat Discover is that the app doesn’t allow promotional language or ad-based stories to be featured, so if building conversions or turning over a high ROI are your social media goals, you might not benefit from becoming a publishing partner.

If you can’t become a publishing partner, there are still a few ways you can advertise on Snapchat and potentially land on Discover pages. For more information about it, check out How 13 Brands Are Leveraging Snapchat Discover.

So how do you get on Discover?

1. Become a Snapchat publishing partner.

Snapchat is somewhat secretive about how to become a publisher. It’s a process in which your brand and Snapchat come to an agreement to post content on Discover that will engage audiences.

Think about the content on Discover: it’s a typically high budget, high-quality news stories, teen shows, and successful influencer content.

Alternatively, you can submit to be featured on the story of one of Snapchat’s partners, like fashion magazine Cosmopolitan, if becoming a Snapchat partner isn’t in the cards for you at the moment.

2. Submit to be featured on Snapchat’s Story.

Snapchat itself has a story on the Discover page, and you can submit your Story for a chance to be featured. Some stories are chosen by the Snapchat team, while others are chosen by trusted third-party services.

For your story to be featured on Snapchat’s, you first have to post the Story. Then, in the editor tool, you can click “Add to Our Story” to submit yours. If chosen, your story has the chance to be featured on the Discover page.

As for guidelines about how to get chosen, look at the content that’s frequently posted on Discover. It’s probably light-hearted, fun content that connects to younger viewers. Your brand might have to follow suit to keep Snapchat’s theme consistent.

3. Make sure your Story meets community guidelines.

A major roadblock you may be running into if you can’t get your stories on the Discover page may be the content of your story. The Discover page is strict about its content meeting Snapchat’s community guidelines.

It would be a good idea to review their community guidelines to see if you can leverage exciting stories while abiding by Snapchat’s rules. Basically, there’s no way your content can reach the Discover page if you don’t follow their rules.

Even though it may not seem like the easiest task to get on Discover, marketing or advertising on Snapchat is still possible. You can still reach a large audience of young people, Discover or not. All it takes is a solid knowledge of the app and how it’s used.

Take a look at Snapchat Marketing: The Ultimate Guide for more content related to marketing and advertising on Snapchat.

As an acquisition marketer, I hear questions like this all the time: “Is the PDF dead? Is the webinar dead now too? How should we continue generating leads for our sales team while continuing to innovate on the content formats we produce and gate behind a form?”

It’s 2020, and the way our prospects and customers find and consume content has certainly changed. While I would love to say that there’s one new, highly optimal content format that all marketers should use for lead generation instead of older formats, I can’t — it’s a little more complicated than that. Instead, I’ll make a bold claim: webinars aren’t dead, and neither is the PDF ebook.

What has changed, however, is a saturation of mediocre PDF ebooks, webinars, and other forms of gated content available online. So while webinars aren’t dead, that doesn’t mean marketers should continue running the same, tired playbook.

Luckily, HubSpot and GoToWebinar teamed up to bring you the ultimate guide, “How to Produce Webinars Your Sales Reps and Prospects Will Love.”

Make sure you’re following these steps to create an effective webinar that works in 2020.

Webinars Drive Sales

According to InsideSales.com, 73% of marketing and sales leaders say webinars are one of the best ways to generate quality leads. Why?

• They are highly engaging. According to GoToWebinar, the average webinar attendee viewing time is 61 minutes.
• They work across the entire customer journey. From thought-leadership panel discussions to weekly live demos, webinars are a dynamic and effective way to move prospects down the funnel from awareness to closed deal and beyond.
• They generate high-quality leads for Sales. Webinars come with a ton of information about your prospects you can use to identify high-quality, sales-ready leads. With each webinar registrant, you can collect lead and engagement data your sales team can use to initiate personalized outreach.

Follow Along With the Ultimate Webinar Planning Kit

We know planning and promoting a webinar can be difficult if you’ve never done it before. That’s why we’ve compiled a guide, template, and checklist for you to get your webinar off the ground – whether its your first or fortieth. Click here to download the kit for free.

1. Brainstorm the right topic.

Before you can get started on making your webinar, you’ll have to decide the topic you want to speak about.

The topic you choose should answer questions that your audience typically asks and preferably be highly specific. For example, if you’re hosting a webinar on email marketing, you can choose to focus on subject lines in particular.

Overall, your webinar should provide value to your audience. Think about your company as a whole and your unique value proposition. What topics are you an expert on? What topics can you provide value on? Those are the topics you’ll want to use for a webinar.

2. Choose a webinar tool.

There are many webinar services you can use to create your webinar. For example, there’s ClickMeeting, GoToWebinar, and Zoom. 

When you’re researching a tool to use, consider your objectives. How many people do you think will attend? Do you need a tool that could allow over 1,000 attendees? How much does it cost? And how easy is it to use? These are questions that you should look in to when you’re deciding on what webinar tool to use.

Additionally, you’ll want to make sure the tool can handle the type of webinar you want to host — can it handle video chatting for panel or Q&A webinars? The right tool for you will depend on the overall objectives of your webinar.

3. Produce the content.

Once you find a tool and you know the topic you want to present on, you’ll have to decide what type of webinar you want to host. Will it be a PowerPoint and talking head presentation? Or perhaps you want to do a live panel Q&A? Either way, you’ll have to produce the content and prepare for the big day.

For example, if you’re creating a PowerPoint, you’ll need to create your slide deck. Make sure that the slides emphasize your points, but don’t include a script. These slides should be visually appealing and include interesting graphics, such as images or GIFs.

If you’re hosting a discussion-style webinar, plan out your speakers, gather audience questions, and prepare any other questions you might have so you can prioritize your time during the webinar.

4. Select the right day and time.

You’ll want to consider where your audience lives. Use tools like Google Analytics to see where people are, so you can choose a convenient day and time zone.

According to ON24, Tuesday from 10-11 a.m. GMT is the best day to host a webinar. This is because it’s great for a wide range of time zones, and should avoid most commute times or work hours. Typically, this time avoids conflicts with the most amount of people.

However, if your audience is solely in the United States, then you wouldn’t need to worry about global time zones. Instead, you can focus on planning a time when most people aren’t commuting. For example, early afternoon or after work hours are generally good times.

5. Promote your webinar.

Now that you’ve done the backend work, it’s time to ensure you have people who want to attend.

To promote your webinar, you can create a landing page where people can sign up and then distribute and promote that link in several ways.

For example, you can consider running ads through social media and search engines. Additionally, you’ll want to use free promotion tactics as well — you can post on your own accounts, on your website, and send an email to your subscribers. It’s important to use your own follower base to get people interested.

Additionally, reminder emails are also helpful. Consider sending “Don’t Miss Out” or “Seats Are Filling Up” emails as the day gets closer.

And when people do sign up, you’ll want to remind them leading up to the day. You should send them the webinar link about an hour before so it’s top of mind and they don’t have to go looking for the link in their registration email.

6. Follow up with your audience.

Webinars are obviously a great sales opportunity, and you don’t want people to leave your webinar and never think of you again.

That’s why you’ll want to send them a thank you email and gather feedback from attendees so you can plan better webinars in the future.

Additionally, attendees generally like to have a recording, so you can send them a link to the recording afterwards so they don’t have to take fervent notes during the webinar. This also means you can send it to registrants who wanted to attend but weren’t able to.

Convinced that webinars are still a relevant acquisition strategy in 2020? Follow these strategies to create an effective webinar.

1. Leverage your sales team for content topic ideas.

When it comes to building a successful webinar strategy, it comes down to sales and marketing alignment. If the marketing team is creating content that isn’t helping their sales conversations, it won’t be a successful effort for driving high-quality leads to sales.

Luckily, you have experts at your disposal for coming up with content ideas that will actually compliment and aid the sales conversation: the reps themselves.

Instead of guessing what your sales team might want a webinar to be focused on, ask them. Get reps’ buy-in for a webinar before you plan it. Set up a meeting to discover new content ideas and to find out what pain points they need to help solve. This will go a long way for ensuring sales’ follow up with registrants is seamless once the webinar is over.

2. Nail your promotion strategy.

Once you’ve come up with relevant content topics for your webinar, its your job as marketers to get that webinar in front of as many eyes as possible. With webinars, it’s not just about generating initial excitement; you have to build excitement and encourage engagement once the webinar goes live. Here are a few tips for doing both:

• Try your hand at Co-marketing. One of the best ways to get new expertise, generate interest for a piece of content, and expand the reach of a campaign is to run a co-marketing webinar. Instead of running a webinar with speakers internally, try working with another company that’s going after a similar buyer persona and bring their expertise into the conversation. Doing so creates more interesting content and gives you the opportunity to get your webinar in front of another company’s established audience.
• Create automated email reminders under each sales rep’s name that will be sent to prospects who have been invited but not yet registered.
• Create manual email templates reps can send in their one-on-one communication with prospects.
• Set up an automated email to notify reps when one of their prospects has registered for your webinar. This will help them engage and close those prospects done the road.
• Once you’ve gotten registrants, that doesn’t mean they’ll show up. After all, if you promote a webinar 1-2 weeks in advance, a portion of your registrants are likely to forget when the live date comes around. Remember to send out reminder emails the day before and day-of the live event so ensure a high live attendance rate.

3. Don’t just stick to a PowerPoint and talking head.

The format of slides with a person speaking on screen has been done time after time. Don’t feel the need to stick to the script — literally. Instead, think about ways to mix up how the information in your webinar is presented:

• At HubSpot, we’ve found unscripted, discussion-style webinars to be quite effective at engaging our audience. In many of our live events, we’ve foregone the slides completely and instead brought two speakers together and had a host ask live questions on air. It’s effective for both encouraging Twitter participation via a hashtag and keeping the content conversational, but informative.
• Try building a webinar around your prospects’ questions. Send a call for questions to be answered live on-air. This will help build engagement and excitement for what’s to come. Hopefully, the people asking questions will be more likely to show up day-of too.
• You can also use a landing page, like this, that includes a voting feature for people to upvote their top questions. This will also help your prioritize the material your audience is most interested in.

4. Deliver necessary information to sales.

A huge part of the pre- and post-webinar process is making sure the right information gets delivered to sales. That’s why GoToWebinar and HubSpot recommend creating one webinar hub that’s easily accessible by sales with the following information:

• On-demand recordings of all webinars.
• A calendar with past and future webinars.
• Documentation that details the webinars goals, title, target persona, funnel stage, key points, speakers and logistics.
• Promotional and follow-up emails.
• Collection of graphic and text CTAs sales reps can drop into their communications.
• Mechanism to collect suggestions from sales reps for new topic suggestions and general feedback.

Once the webinar is done, however, it’s time to make sure the sales reps are ready to close those leads. Send a follow up email to your reps and include the following information:

• Leads who registered
• Leads who attended
• Leads who registered but didn’t attend
• Leads who never registered
• New SQL leads from post-webinar lead scores
• Any other relevant webinar data
• Send email templates sales can use to send to leads based on their webinar behavior. Include other relevant content they can use to continue to nurture leads in the coming weeks.

Putting the extra effort in will go a long way toward making sure the webinar is a success from both a sales and marketing standpoint.

It’s All About Alignment

Webinars as a marketing tool aren’t dead. But they’re also not just an effective marketing tool; they’re also effective sales tools – but only if your sales team has the information, content, and tools to use them to move prospects down the funnel and close deals.

However, creating the kind of alignment you need to make this all a success isn’t easy. That’s why HubSpot and GotoWebinar created this ultimate guide for creating a successful webinar in 2020 and included a checklist to guide you through pre, ongoing, and post webinar communications.

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

As a writer who loves covering emerging technology and human being, I’m surrounded by technology.

Each morning, I wake up to my Amazon Echo’s alarm and ask Alexa about the weather. On my train ride home from work, I’m taking Snapchat selfies using AR filters. When I get to my house, I ask Alexa to turn the lights to a specific hue. Then I ask my smart TV to launch Netflix or play a basic VR game on my Google Cardboard. Before bed, I might check my fitness levels with a smart scale or use my toothbrush’s app to figure out what areas of my mouth I’m missing.

It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of emerging media, technology, and innovation. As an individual, this technology is already impacting my life. As a marketer, I’m curious to see how brands could leverage smart technology.

I’m not the only one who recognizes emerging technology as something that could completely change today’s marketing world. In fact, a Deloitte study found that a growing number of private companies are more heavily prioritizing emerging technology and hiring talent in their annual budgets.

At the moment, a few buzzy topics include augmented and virtual reality, general and voice-based artificial intelligence, and smart home devices. And, with the dawn of 5G — a cloud-based high-speed wireless network — tech innovation won’t be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a Deloitte study notes that many marketing firms are ramping up their information technology processes because of it.

With all the technologies out there, it’s hard to cut through online chatter and determine which innovations are mostly just hype and which might actually change the way we market.

While many of the major emerging technologies are getting more accessible, you could also still be wondering, “Which might be worth investing in for my industry specifically?” For example, if you run a B2B firm, you might realize augmented reality isn’t a practical technology to research. But, at the same time, you might look into AI software or services that can help your team work more efficiently or learn more about customers.

To give you a bird’s eye view of some of the most buzzed-about innovations that could impact marketers in the near or distant future, I’ve collected 45 stats related to four types of emerging technology.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

For years, researchers have hypothesized that virtual reality, which provides viewers a completely immersive and interactive 360-degree visual experience, will hold the best opportunities in gaming, entertainment, and academic industries.

Meanwhile, experts have also thought that augmented reality, a partially immersive but still interactive experience, will thrive in the world of branding and marketing.

We have already seen these AR and VR predictions come to fruition as the gaming industry continues to announce games for VR headsets and brands have used AR to allow customers to preview products — such as furniture — in their own homes.

Here are 14 stats that demonstrate the growth and opportunities of AR and VR.

• The AR/VR market is currently estimated at $1.6 billion (IDC)
• In 2019, 42.9 million people in the US used a VR product, and 68.7 million people used an AR once monthly. (eMarketer)
• Seven in ten media planners want to add AR to their strategies in the future. (Vibrant Media)
• In a 2018 study based in the U.K. and U.S., 90% of participants knew what VR was while only 65% were aware of what AR was. (GlobalWebIndex)
• 42% of people who use a VR headset at least monthly say they used a mid-range device such as the Google Daydream or Samsung Gear VR. (GlobalWebIndex)
• In 2018, 88% of companies with budgets between $100 million and $1 billion were already experimenting with different forms of AR. (Deloitte)
• A quarter of VR users believe it has a strong potential for brands and marketers. (GlobalWebIndex)
• While 43% of people who report using VR headsets once monthly say they own their own device, 35% of once-monthly VR users say they use a family or friend’s device. (GlobalWebIndex)
• 71% of consumers would prefer to shop at stores with an AR experience (Lumus Vision)
• 64% of consumers say VR has the most potential in gaming, while 52% recognize its potential in Film and TV. (GlobalWebIndex)

Image Source: GlobalWebIndex

• In 2018 mobile VR made $3 billion globally, in part due to purchases related to the mobile app Pokemon Go. (Digi-Capital)
• It’s estimated that AR platforms such as mobile and AR glasses-related apps will hit 2.5 billion installs in 2023. (Digi-Capital)
• Meanwhile, VR platforms are expected to see 30 million installs across devices by 2023 (Digi-Capital)
• Snapchat’s Q3 2019 Earnings Report notes that over 600,000 AR Lenses have been created through the company’s Lens Studio, This increased from 500,000 at the end of Q2. (Snap Inc.)

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is so prevalent in 2019 that many of us don’t even notice all the ways we interact with it on a given day. In fact, all of the other technologies on this list require some type of AI algorithm to work smoothly. If you’re less familiar with AI, here are 12 stats to keep in mind:

• Over 37% of organizations have implemented artificial intelligence in some form. The number of industries that have implemented it has grown by 270% since 2015 (Gartner)
• In a 2019 ranking of the top 10 emerging technologies, the World Economic Forum noted, “social robots” as number two. (World Economic Forum)
• It’s estimated that 80% of emerging technologies will involve AI by 2021 (Gartner)
• 40% of marketing and sales teams say that machine learning and data science-based AI will be a crucial part of their future strategies (2019 Data Science and Machine Learning Market Study)
• It’s estimated that AI-based analytics and marketing software will give the average data analyst back one-third of their time, which could then be used for bigger projects or other tasks. (Gartner)
• At 2018’s F8 summit, covered by VentureBeat, Facebook said there were more than 300,000 chatbots on Facebook Messenger. (VentureBeat)
• The percentage of businesses that offer chatbots could grow to 80% in 2020. (HubSpot)
• 63% of businesses say they will consider AI in the near future due to pressures related to reducing costs. (BCG and MIT Sloan School of Business)
• The facial recognition market is estimated to grow by 20% in 2020. (VisionGain)
• There’s only a 1.4% chance that a marketing manager’s role will be taken over by artificial intelligence. (HubSpot)
• It’s estimated that this year, customers will be able to manage 85% of their enterprise relationships without working with humans. (Gartner)
• Online mentions of automation have increased by 70% year over year. (Adobe)

Voice Assistants and Smart Speakers

While voice assistants are technically a segment of AI, they’ve become so prominent in the emerging media world that they deserve their own section of stats.

• Over 46% of people use voice assistants. (Pew Research Center)
• More than 36% of consumers own a smart speaker. (Adobe)
• Of those who own a smart speaker, 54% say their voice assistant can easily understand them when they speak. (Adobe)
• Nearly 112 million people in the U.S. use a voice assistant once monthly across devices. (eMarketer)
• Roughly 34% of people who don’t own a smart speaker are interested in purchasing one. (GlobalWebIndex)
• According to a 2018 poll conducted by HubSpot via Lucid Software, 52% of consumers say they’ve used a voice assistant solely on their phone. (HubSpot)

Data Source: Lucid Software

• Millennials are the heaviest users of voice assistants, but usage is growing across age groups. (eMarketer)
• In a late-2018 test where the Amazon, Google, and Apple voice assistants were asked 800 questions each, all understood over 99% to 100% of the questions. (Loup Ventures)
• In the study noted in the above bullet, Google was named the “smartest” voice assistant because it answered more than 86% of the questions correctly. (Loup Ventures)

Image Source: Loup Ventures

• In Q2 of 2019, Amazon shipped 6.6 million of its smart speakers, maintaining the lead over competitors like Google. (Canalys)
• Amazon Alexa, the voice assistant associated with Amazon Echo smart speakers, now has over 100,000 Skills globally. (Voicebot.ai)
• By 2023, digital voice ecommerce is expected to triple to an $80 billion industry. (Juniper Research)
• Between August 2018 and February 2019, smart speaker ownership increased by 4% (Adobe)

Source: Adobe

Smart Devices and Appliances

While you may not realize the significance that smart appliances and devices could have on marketing, this is something that I and my colleagues have been paying close attention to. Although this space is still young, it’s already seemingly providing interesting opportunities to bigger brands.

As you can imagine, devices like smart TVs could provide great potential for content marketing and branded media, However, a more unique example of an appliance that could provide brand potential is the smart refrigerator.

“I’m excited to see how a smart fridge that can tell me when my avocados are about to spoil can be leveraged by a brand to give me information that might serve me in that particular information, says Amanda Zantal-Wiener, a senior content strategist who creates content for HubSpot that covers news and trends.

But, Zantal-Weiner’s excitement doesn’t end at smart-home appliances. She’s also fascinated by the world of smart cars

“Until we start to see self-driving cars on the road, the idea of connected cars can also be used to help me do more than mindlessly scroll through my phone when I’m using a ride-hailing service, by serving as a distribution channel for real-time, relevant information during that trip. Everything is connected, and I’m excited to see which brands are able to adapt to that earlier on in a way that actually helps customers,” Zantal-Wiener explains.

While the smart appliance space is still fairly nascent and harder to report on statistically at the moment, here are a few interesting stats that highlight why you should keep these technologies on your radar.

• According to a Fluent Survey, 55% of internet users already own some type of smart device. (Fluent)
• The same survey found that the most common device was a smart television, which 38% of participants owned. The next most commonly owned devices were lighting (17%), thermostats (16%) and security systems (14%), and kitchen appliances (7%). (Fluent)
• 31% of people ages 18 to 34 and 38% of people over 35 say that their main purchasing concern related to smart appliances is cost. (Fluent)
• Consumers over the age of 35 are more worried about hacking and data security on smart appliances than 18 to 34-year-olds. (Fluent)

Image Source: eMarketer

• The average cost of a smart-home device is expected to drop by 52% by 2023 (Juniper Research)
• In 2018, 70% of TVs sold globally were smart TVs. (Statista)

Navigating the Future of Marketing

Yes, creating voice assistant skills, leveraging AI, and building branded AR/VR experiences might be pretty inaccessible and costly to your company right now and in the near future.

But, if you want to continue to innovate your brand, or be a competitive marketer in the far future, you’ll want to keep up with how technology and marketing possibilities are evolving. By keeping up with marketing innovation news, you’ll be more prepared to adopt new technologies when they are accessible in the future.

For some detailed guides on emerging technologies that could or are already impacting brands, check out blog posts on artificial intelligence, voice technology, Snapchat, smart devices, and chatbots, and video game marketing — which can leverage of few of the technologies noted above.

Have you ever sat in a meeting where a project was described as a success, yet all the details of failure that led to that success were left out?

Alternatively, have you ever watched while data was cherry picked to make things seem rosier than they actually are?

These are common embodiments of a very common, yet little known, phenomenon called “Success Theater”.

Success theater is, at its core, an informal operating system that says to employees: “you’re expected to win, and you should only discuss wins. Failures need not be exemplified.”

More concretely, success theater describes “the efforts that we make to make things look good, even if actual performance isn’t good or getting better.”

Ultimately, it is an avoidance of data that conflicts with your opinions. It’s a fear of confronting failure or uncomfortable conversations and reflection.

I like this definition (and the whole article) from John Cutler:

“Success Theater is celebrating hitting the quarterly goal without acknowledging the corners you had to cut and the people who will have to clean up the mess. It’s listening to someone rattle off vanity metrics. And it’s being told you’re not a team player for having some doubts about a recent ‘win.’ … And it’s rampant in our internal meetings, blog posts, and presentations.”

Success theater is … exactly what it sounds like it would be.

Of course, in the real world, failure is going to happen. In fact, it needs to happen in order to succeed.

Tons of value can come from documenting and sharing lessons from failed campaigns. Survivorship bias can warp the expectations of both leaders and new team members, and digging up your ‘graveyard of knowledge’ can help elicit new ideas and insights that could contribute to major breakthroughs in marketing and optimization.

In general, it’s best we confront failure honestly, instead of hiding from it.

The Ruinous Path of Success Theater: GE’s Horror Story

One of the most popular stories about success theater is a Wall Street Journal piece on General Electric.

According to the story, former CEO Jeffrey Immelt was constantly optimistic in the face of future projections. In addition to his optimism and “can-do attitude,” he and his fellow top deputies also shielded themselves from any bad news or data that contradicted that narrative.

Unfortunately, the results were catastrophic:

By 2018, the stock price had dropped by roughly 44%. In the same year, they announced they would cut their annual dividend for only the second time in their 125-year history.

They also announced they were taking a $6.2 billion charge in their fourth quarter related to their insurance operations and needed to set aside $15 billion over seven years to bolster insurance reserves at the GE Capital unit.

Finally, they had to restate their earnings for 2017 and 2016, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating them for these accounting issues.

Identifying and Diagnosing Success Theater

GE is an extreme example of Success Theater starting at the top and trickling down, eventually taking over the company. But smaller and subtler versions of it could happen at your company.

Liane Davey outlined some signs to look out for:

• Everything is an opportunity (If your organization finds creative ways to describe issues to obscure the real issues, worry)
• Every plan is a hockey stick (If your company is always predicting that next year will be the year it all comes together, you’ve got a problem)
• You hit the number at any cost (You know you’ve got a problem when you start taking short-term gains that create long-term pain)
• You shoot the messenger (If the harbingers of trouble can no longer be heard, you have a problem)

Additionally, I’ve found a simpler sign — if you notice data cherry-picking and storytelling frequently (and on purpose), that’s a strong symptom of underlying success theater.

Success theater can also show up in our industry-wide narratives. You can see it in the constant flurry of 315% conversion uplift case studies shared on Twitter, and at the top of GrowthHackers (and also, of course, in the glorious rise and tremendous fall of WeWork).

How to Combat Success Theater

There’s no silver-bullet solution to avoid success theater, and it will probably always exist to some degree. We just want to curb it to the point where it doesn’t poison productivity.

I talked to several growth leaders and also wrote down my own favorite ways of combating success theater, which I’ll share now.

1. Write About and Share Failed Experiments

Our team at HubSpot places a huge value on learning, and not just on reporting our wins week-over-week.

We keep a weekly calendar spot to write down our learnings for the week. We talk about those insights during Monday meetings. We’re all encouraged to write internal posts about failed campaigns — or even mediocre campaigns. We don’t want to build a graveyard of knowledge where we’re only writing about the big winners and seeking applause.

We also have a company-wide Failure Forum where we share our failures and celebrate the risks we take on the path to innovation.

When Joanna Lord was at Porch, she talked about a ritual they developed at the company involving a pink fuzzy animal named Mr. Sparkles. Whoever failed the biggest each week would get Mr. Sparkles. As she put it:

“You put him on your desk and it’s like this badge of honor that you like did something so bold that you literally messed up the site badly.

And you know what I love? You see my CEO walk around the room and he’s high-fiving the Mr. Sparkles owner. And people are like, ‘What did you do? What did you do to get Mr. Sparkles?’

But the reality is we’ve made it a positive thing. We’ve made it a badge of honor. You are living out the Porch-y way in being bold. What can you do in your culture to make it fun and acceptable? And almost, you know, become famous for it.”

In a broader industry-wide context, blogger and marketing consultant, Ryan Robinson, has long been an advocate of transparently sharing the behind-the-scenes stories of his own business failures with the readers of his blog:

“I’ve launched several businesses over the past decade, and most of them have landed somewhere between mixed results and utter failure. I go out of my way to highlight those experiences in long-form stories to the readers on my blog, because it’s important to illustrate that the path to achieving meaningful results will be filled with missteps and lessons to be learned along the way. My failure-related articles are consistently the most popular with my readers.”

2. Be Careful With Case Studies

I’ve ranted about CRO case studies a ton by this point, so it’s suffice to say I don’t trust most of them.

Even if the data is accurate and you’re not reading about a blatant false positive on a sample size of 14, you’re likely looking at a PR piece that is almost certainly subject to Survivorship Bias.

Very few companies and thought leaders are incentivized to write about their failures and inconclusive experiments, so you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Sure, you can absolutely get some inspiration from case studies. But don’t look around in exasperation and think that everyone’s winning except you. It’s all an Instagram-esque illusion.

3. Embrace Transparency

Shannon Callarman, a Content Marketing Specialist at ShipBob, told me about a cool ritual they’ve developed at her company to share candid feedback and ask probing questions:

“Every month, ShipBob’s leadership team leads a forum called ‘Ask Me Anything’ that allows employees to ask candid questions about the growth of the business and internal operations, and they’ll get an honest answer.”

When leaders embrace uncomfortable conversations and open themselves to feedback and questions, it shows the rest of the organization that it’s alright to do the same.

Along the same lines, I find it worthwhile to explicitly outline and publicly post your team and company values. This helps create both an explicit and implicit operating system where your employees and leaders are encouraged to embrace your values (in this case, honesty and transparency). A great example of this is this post from BounceX’s CEO, Ryan Urban.

4. Embrace Being ‘Wrong’

In Ronny Kovahi‘s talk at CXL Live a few years ago, he brought up a great point on A/B test results: the best case scenario is when you test something you thought was ‘meh’, and it wins.

If you
thought it was going to win, however, and it wins, you haven’t learned much. Value in
experiments comes when the “absolute value of delta between expected outcome and actual outcome is large.”

Yes, being wrong is the best possible thing that can happen to you when you run A/B tests!

This is also the strategic basis for Andrew Anderson’s Discipline Based Testing Methodology — test a wide variety of options, some of which might be totally radical, and let the winner surprise you (you’d never expect Comic Sans to win a font test, right?).

Celebrate being wrong and learning new things.

5. Hug the Messenger

When leaders expect only good news, those who bring up problems or constructive feedback are looked upon unfavorably.

In companies like this, the messenger is ritualistically shot.

A better way to act is to embrace those who are brave enough to ask interesting questions and point out possible flaws in the data.

Nigel Stevens, founder of Organic Growth Marketing, encourages an embrace of failure internally and externally:

“Whenever I only hear of ‘wins’ for a while, I start to get nervous. Because that tells me we’re not proactively sharing — and learning from — the things that don’t work.”

Stevens adds, “Fortunately, we’ve developed a very healthy culture of saying ‘hey, this completely flopped, and now I’m sharing it with others so you all know.'”

6. Lower the Cost of Failure (and Experimentation)

One of the most impactful things you can do within an organization, especially if you’re working on growth or conversion optimization, is to lower the cost of failure.

A/B testing does this by nature — you can only lose as much as your losing variant lost during the course of the test.

However, you can further decrease the cost of failure by making it easier and cheaper for everyone to set up and run trustworthy experiments.

After enough optimization, the big and easy wins stop coming so frequently, so growth looks a lot like this:

This is, of course, a riff on Nassim Taleb’s ideas on optionality — he uses a chart similar to the above to describe trial-and-error tinkering and how it leads to stark innovation.

Simply put, it’s impossible to achieve any degree of outstanding innovation without a tremendous amount of tinkering. The more at-bats you allow, the more optionality/luck/upside you can generally collect.

Content marketing blogger and expert Levi Olmstead mentioned this attitude (fail fast) being key in previous startups he worked at:

“A core value we often repeated was ‘fail quickly and continuously, iterate quickly and continuously.’ Without failing, you can never learn from past mistakes. In my experience, many ideas have strong pillars but they’re not full-fledged ideas. To create a strong, sustainable strategy, you need to learn how to fail and how to turn those lessons into future successes.”

Making experiments cheaper and easier to run isn’t an easy feat, but luckily there’s a lot of material out there on the subject (I’d start with this paper from the booking.com team).

7. Invest in Trustworthy Data

Data attribution modeling is still a large digital marketing challenge today. With different data models like first-touch attribution, last-touch, multi-touch, and others, teams need to choose one and stick with it.

Adam Enfroy, who runs the popular marketing blog AdamEnfroy.com, witnessed this data challenge firsthand while managing digital teams for different SaaS companies, including BigCommerce:

“Success theater often runs rampant in companies when teams aren’t aligned on which data platform is the final source of truth. This leads to different teams reporting on conflicting data sources that drive the (often misleading) narrative they want to tell.”

Let’s take a weekly business review meeting as an example.

Consider this — the digital marketing team pulls from Analytics Platform A because the ROI looks favorable with last-click attribution. At the same time, the business intelligence team pulls from Analytics Platform B, which doesn’t look as good but is more aligned with finance. Then the partner team pulls from a different data source entirely so they can take credit for more revenue.

In the end, this leaves confused executives looking at three different data sources — and listening to three different stories — while no actionable insights can be gleaned.

To avoid success theater, invest in trustworthy data and align teams on which platform is the ultimate source of truth. This involves strong alignment between BI, marketing, sales, and partner teams.

Additionally, seek to stress test and constantly monitor the veracity of your data. As my friend Chris Mercer always stresses, “trust, but verify.”

8. Invest in Education

Old joke …

CFO asks CEO: “What happens if we invest in developing our people and they leave us?”

CEO: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?”

This is true of any business function, but I find it particularly true in more technical fields like growth, conversion optimization, and SEO.

There many ways to do this — invest in a library for your office, start a company book club, send your team to conferences, pay for training programs like CXL Institute or Reforge.

HubSpot invests a ton in education and I always feel supported in learning new things (currently taking a course on Python and machine learning from Udacity).

Small companies can do this, too, though (in fact, they need to). Ben Johnson, Head of Content at Proof, has seen the impact of this mentality at his SaaS company:

“We’re a small team of 15, so a lot of time, you’re not going to be able to learn how to do something from someone in-house. For that reason, we’re always reading, meeting with more experienced individuals, and using our naivety as a strategic advantage.”

Johnson adds, “Our leadership is great about encouraging this growth mentality across the organization — making introductions, providing funding for marketing conferences and programs like Reforge, and paying for a book per month. Overall, I think creating a culture of curiosity and helping your employees get the resources they need is a key part of building a growth culture.”

9. Diagnose Narrative Fallacy

Storytelling is natural to humans, but it can also dilute efficiency and decision making. The Narrative Fallacy, popularized by Nassim Taleb, describes our tendency to ascribe a clean causal “why” to something that happened in order to simplify our understanding of the world.

For example, if you A/B test two headlines against each other, you may determine that version B won “because it invoked social proof”, while someone else may attribute the win to “the clarity of new message”.

A good way to transform your culture is to try to curb storytelling where you can, because while the narrative fallacy is limiting when ascribed to wins, it’s detrimental when people try to explain away suboptimal campaigns.

Mark Lindquist, marketing strategist at Mailshake, mentioned one version of this is when people move the goalpost of what they define as “success” after the campaign is run (technically, this is known as the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy):

“Consider an SEO who is brought into an organization to grow top-of-the-funnel leads. 18 months in, they’ve 50x’d organic traffic, but leads are only up 15%.”

Lindquist continues: “A story you could tell yourself would be ‘well, this is great for our brand. We’re getting our name out there and we’re on our customer’s radars when they are ready to buy.’ That may be true, but it probably isn’t, and it certainly isn’t based on any data. Start your marketing campaigns with clear goals, and if you don’t reach those goals, don’t pat yourself on the back for accomplishing something you never set out to do in the first place. Be radically transparent with yourself and your team.”

Ultimately, the purpose of experimentation is to encourage innovation and to mitigate risk, and in the process, most of your ideas are likely to fall flat of what they were intended to do. The best next step is to dust off and iterate and keep learning and trying.

Success theater may feel good temporarily, but risks limiting the scope of the program. You should celebrate wins, but feel comfortable sharing failures, too.

For the last three years I’ve been an architect on the Hipchat team working remotely, with the rest of my team working far, far away from me in San Francisco and Austin.

People talk a lot about remote work these days, but as with most things, you never truly know until you’ve experienced it. I’ve learned quite a bit about remote teamwork along the way as an architect and developer. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Put people over product.

In just over a year, my team went from a close, eight-person unit to over a hundred people. That’s a lot of growth in a little time. As more and more people were joining the team, I found myself focusing on the many features that needed to get out the door, instead of training and onboarding new developers (who were basically left to fend for themselves).

As an architect, I should have realized how short-sighted that was. As an Atlassian, I should have realized that our values for teamwork were more important than our code.

Like bad first impressions, on-boarding done poorly can leave lasting damage that takes a long time to repair. On-boarding is about much more than teaching a developer where the source code is located, it is about communicating and living your company values, in our case, “Play as a team” or “Be the change you seek”.

Personally sitting down and working shoulder-to-shoulder with a new team member imparts far more valuable information about your values than a hundred powerpoint presentations. When someone new joins a company, they come with a fairly blank slate for how things work and what is expected from them, so it is essential for them to see a team’s values in action and be given early opportunities to build relationships and contribute value.

Lesson: Let that new feature release slip by a week. Sit down with a new team member and work on something together. Let them see rather than just read about your company’s values. Put aside the inconvenience of traveling for work and make that extra effort to connect with a new team member. The impression you give them, the relationships you build and the sense of purpose you instill will benefit the company far more than one week of coding.

2. Ownership is more important than perfection.

During a particularly busy time at work, my team brought in a bunch of new developers who had a steep learning curve ahead of them. As a developer, I was concerned about the quality and consistency of the code, so I doubled down trying to review and be consulted on every change to the system. I might have been a tad bit overbearing. Looking back, I wish I realized the value of ownership, and how important it is for people to feel like what they’re working on is theirs.

In my world, these types of extra duties might be fixing what’s broken, cleaning up unnecessary elements, taking time to improve the design, or writing documentation. These tasks often aren’t reflected Jira tickets or roadmap plans, but they’re part of the day-to-day work that keeps a codebase clean and flexible.

Without ownership, developers do the absolute minimum required, causing the code base to become a dumping ground for different and often conflicting styles and patterns. And this can have a serious impact on morale when the language, frameworks, or code are unfamiliar. This isn’t about one architecture or another. It’s about onboarding and empowering developers.

Lesson: Approach your code with a DevOps mindset, which encourages giving ownership to others. It is hard to trust someone new with your baby but find a way through onboarding, pairing, frequent trips, or even solving production failures together. Historically, Atlassian has given every developer write access to all products because that was the kind of open, trustworthy culture we wanted to create. If that’s not an option for you, find a non-critical part of the project they can dig into and feel like they own.

3. Define your role clearly.

When I started at Atlassian in 2006, the engineering titles were developer, senior developer, and founder. That was it. Although we’ve grown a lot since then, I like to think of us all as just developers doing whatever is needed to make great products for our customers. But the reality is that as an organization grows, more specialized roles are needed to scale alongside the code and number of customers.

A title is more than an ego boost, it is a way to communicate what you are (and are not) responsible for. Simply telling new folks your title isn’t enough, as it can be interpreted differently with every new person that hears it. Again, getting this wrong can cause long-term damage and be a factor in future disagreements or missed connections. Therefore, not defining your role isn’t about just you. It is about not hurting your team, your project, and ultimately, your customers.

Architect is a title that has traditionally been a source of confusion not just at Atlassian but also in our industry. When I was the second person at Atlassian to receive this title, I figured it just meant a more senior developer, someone outside the normal planning process.

When I became the integration architect, where I had to try to coordinate the activities of the different Atlassian architects, I realized the need to define the job description and I attempted to do so, with mixed results. Even today, that definition seems to be in flux. Regardless, it is especially important that your team is clear about what role you will play, and the sooner that is done, the easier things will be.

Lesson: At the beginning of your tenure and with every onboarding, sit down with team members and talk about what you expect from them, what they should expect from you, and what shouldn’t be expected from either side. It is sometimes more important to discuss what aren’t your responsibilities than what are.

4. Tone matters online.

As nearly all of us have experienced, in-person communication is much different than online communication. And there are even differences in how to communicate in different online contexts. For instance, what tone you take or what words you use in a personal chat or email may, in fact, not be appropriate for a large team chat room.

In a large chat room, you may not have a solid personal relationship with each member, and their impression of you may come solely through chat communication. Chat is such an abbreviated form of human communication without all the nuances of facial expressions, body language, and tone, that the bits the reader fills in the gap may not match your intention. For example, what is meant as a joking, “wtf dude?” could be read by someone that can’t see you as an offensive attack.

To add another layer, what words may be appropriate in one culture aren’t necessarily appropriate in another. For example, from my time working with the US Navy and then later in Sydney, I picked up a habit of swearing like a sailor and telling it like it is. While these habits are well understood by my friends from these groups, another group could take them as wildly inappropriate.

Lesson: Be careful how you communicate in a large chat room. Even if you know each member at the time of the chat, others could read it later and develop an unexpected impression of you that you might not find out until it’s too late. I once heard that remote communication is opt-in, whereas local is opt-out. Make sure they want to opt-in.

5. Remote-friendly is not necessarily remote-first.

Hipchat being a chat application itself, we believe in the concept of remote office collaboration and we are remote-friendly. We operate in three major offices (Sydney, San Francisco, and Austin), and have local and remote workers spread out across at least eight different time zones. Even with the way we live and breathe remote collaboration, there are still gaps between this vision and a true remote-first culture.

One particular perpetrator is the in-person side conversation that comes up between local people over lunch or in the hallway after a meeting. These are great and productive for the people involved, but since they are exclusively local, remote team members can’t voice and represent their views.

If these hallway conversations aren’t communicated in a timely manner they can create a rift in team consensus, and sometimes create lasting hard feelings. Similarly, local people can feel threatened by unexpected or uncommunicated changes initiated by remote folks, and remote workers can be frustrated by decisions made in their absence or personal issues that aren’t communicated in a timely manner. It really is all about communication.

Remote-first teams adopt a structure both for communications and processes that allows each member, regardless of where they live, to be included in major and minor decision making, daily collaboration, and social interactions.

The best example I can think of is from my time at theApache Software Foundation. In ASF projects, every single decision had to be proposed and approved on the single developer mailing list. This process took a lot longer than putting 10 people in a room for two hours, but it leveled the playing field for all team members.

Lesson: Be very cognizant of the culture of the team you join as a remote employee. Find a way to create a remote-first team of remote or remote-friendly workers that can own a project and its execution independently. Failing that, ensure all decisions are made transparently and include remote workers as appropriate, leveraging time zone-friendly online tools and processes.

Minimize the number of remote relationships that you need to create and maintain to do your job, and don’t think that knowing a few key folks in a remote office is enough. Be aggressive in identifying and reaching out one-on-one with remote team members that may disagree with your proposals; don’t wait to be told that there is dissension as it’ll be far too late.

Final thoughts

As my experience has shown me, being an architect is about so much more than code, frameworks, or system design—it’s about people and teams. If you are hired on a team, you are technically qualified to be there. What is less obvious, and admittedly more difficult to remember, is the importance of the non-technical bits. There seems to be a happy medium between getting shit done and singing kumbaya around the fire. While I’m still figuring out where the right balance is, I’ve learned that focusing on the long-term is much more impactful than getting bogged down in the details of the short-term.

This article was originally published on The Atlassian blog and republished with permission.

When people arrive at your Facebook Page, where do you think they first look?

I’ll give you some hints. It’s a visual piece of content that sits at the top of your Page. Its dimensions are 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall. It takes up almost a quarter of the screen on most desktop browsers.

That’s right — it’s your Facebook cover photo.

Sometimes called your Facebook banner, this graphic is one of the most noticeable parts of your Page. It’s therefore crucial that you follow Facebook cover photo best practices.

Whether you’re using Facebook to generate leads, close your next sale, or create a customer community, knowing how to make and optimize your cover photo is very important. And when you consider the Facebook cover photo dimensions above, it can be tough to balance creativity with the requirements of the platform.

As you can see from the figure above, there’s a lot of space that you can risk cutting off of your final cover photo design depending on where your audience is viewing — mobile or desktop. Therefore, it’s best to focus the brunt of your content in that green space, where everyone can see your cover photo regardless of the device they’re using.

Need help getting started? Below, you’ll find 11 Facebook cover photo templates, and just as many best practices to guide you when designing your brand’s banner artwork. At the bottom of this post, find out how to turn your cover photo into a cover video, and check out a few examples to see what others have done.

11 Facebook Cover Photo Best Practices

1. Do abide by Facebook’s cover photo guidelines.

It seems like a no-brainer, but obeying Facebook guidelines is crucial to your Facebook Page existing in the first place. I’d highly suggest reading through the full Page Guidelines, but here are a few important things to keep in mind for your Facebook banner:

• Your cover is public.
• Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright.
• You can’t encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines.

If you get caught violating the above terms, Facebook could take action against your Page. And while Facebook doesn’t explicitly say what will happen if you violate their Page guidelines, it’s probably not smart to get your Facebook Page taken down over a cover photo infraction, so read the guidelines in full and adhere to them.

2. Do make sure your Facebook cover photo size is right.

As stated at the beginning of this article, the best Facebook banner size is 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall for computers, and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on mobile devices.

You don’t want to spend all this time designing a cover photo only to have it look weird when you upload it to Facebook.

If you upload an image smaller than those dimensions, Facebook will stretch it to fit the right size, as long as it’s at least 399 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall.

If you want a no-hassle way to make sure your cover photos are the right size, download our pre-sized template for Facebook cover photos here.

3. Don’t worry about the old ‘20% text’ rule, but still try to stay visual.

Back in 2013, Facebook removed any reference to the 20% rule on text in cover photos … but that doesn’t mean you should go wild with using text in your cover photo. The previous rule said that only 20% of your cover photo could be text. Personally, I thought that was way too restrictive for marketers, but the sentiment behind the rule was a good one.

If you’re going to use text in your cover photo, keep that text concise. Your photo will be much more informative and engaging. You can see how we’ve tried to strike that balance on HubSpot’s Facebook Page below.

4. Do give your cover image a focal point and colors that match your brand.

Think of your cover photo as the portion of your Page that’s “above the fold.” If it’s distracting or confusing, people will be more likely to click off the Page.

Many of the best Facebook cover photos include a centerpiece to focus visitors’ attention, along with a color scheme that aligns with the rest of their brand. Remember, your social media accounts are extensions of your business, and should give that impression to visitors right away.

They also use negative white (i.e., empty) space as an advantage to make the subject, any copy on there, and other elements unique to Facebook (like the CTA button on Facebook business Pages) stand out even more.

Here’s an example from Makr:

And one from social media management platform Sprout Social:

5. Don’t try to blend the contents of your cover photo with your profile picture.

With some clever design tweaks, you used to be able to manipulate your profile picture and cover photo so they appear as if they’re two parts of the same canvas. You can still do this on your personal profile, but Facebook no longer sets up Business Pages this way.

One of Paris’ former cover photos did this nicely:

Now, as shown in the examples earlier in this article, the profile picture is completely separate from the cover photo.

We admire your creativity, but don’t prepare your design this way if you haven’t yet launched a Business Page — you’ll be disappointed.

6. Do draw attention to the action buttons on the bottom right.

You might’ve noticed in a few of the cover photo examples above that their primary call-to-action (CTA) buttons were different. Makr’s says “Shop Now,” while Sprout Social’s says “Sign Up.”

Depending on your business, you can launch a Page on Facebook with a unique CTA button to the bottom right of your cover photo. Take this button into consideration when designing your cover photo, and make it clear in the photo that this is a visitor’s next step.

Hotel Urbano does this is a charming way below, using the girl in goggles to draw your eyes toward the buttons she seems to be swimming toward …

Note: While it might seem like a good idea to add directional cues like an arrow to get people to click on the CTA buttons, note that those CTA buttons don’t appear the same way on the mobile app. In other words, it might be confusing to mobile users if you directly integrate the cover photo design with the buttons.

I’ll show you how Business Pages look on mobile devices in just a minute.

7. Do right-align the objects in your cover photo.

Since your profile picture is on the left, you want to add some balance to your Facebook cover photo design by having the focus of the image be on the right.

Take a look at these cover photos. Which one looks more aesthetically pleasing?

Right-aligned focus:

Left-aligned focus:

Doesn’t the right-aligned cover photo look better? The biggest design elements (the profile picture, the text, and the Statue of Liberty) are evenly spaced. In Samsung’s old cover photo, your attention goes immediately to the left side of the page, completely missing the name of the product on the upper-right side.

Not only is adding balance a crucial element of design, but it also allows for your cover photos to be more visually effective on mobile. Which brings me to my next point …

8. Do keep mobile users in mind.

As of 2019, reports Statista, 96% of Facebook’s user base accesses the social network from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. That’s huge — and it’s exactly why it’s so important to keep mobile users top-of-mind when designing your Facebook cover photo.

On mobile, a much larger portion of your cover photo is blocked out because the profile picture and the Page name are on top of the cover photo.

Image Credit: Twelveskip

Let’s take a look at a real-life example. Below, take a look at what Cisco’s Facebook Page looks like in a desktop browser versus on Facebook’s mobile app.

Desktop:

Mobile:

Notice that the sides of the photo are cut off on mobile. Whereas your cover photo displays at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on desktop, it displays only the center 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on smartphones. Take a look at this Facebook help document for more information.

Notice, by the way, how the text in Adobe’s cover photo is cut off on the right-hand side. While it looks best to right-align your visual elements, be careful not to put important content so far to the right that it gets cut off on mobile.

9. Do include a shortened link in your cover photo description that aligns with your page CTA.

If you want to use your cover photo to support a Page CTA, make sure your cover photo description also includes a text CTA and link to the same offer. This way, any time people view your cover photo directly, they can access the download link.

Here’s this practice in action on Adobe’s Facebook Page:

Make sure you shorten your links and add UTM codes so you can track clicks on them. Shortening and tracking features are available in the HubSpot Marketing Platform and in tools like bitly.

(If you want to learn more about how to write effective call-to-action copy for your cover photo description, click here to download our free ebook on creating compelling CTAs.)

10. Do pin a related post right below your Facebook cover image.

Have you ever “pinned” a post to your Facebook Page’s Timeline? Basically, pinning a post allows you to highlight a typical Facebook post on the top of your Timeline for seven days. It’s signified by a small blue push pin on the top right of the post, like on Fashion Nova’s Page below:

How does this relate to optimizing your Facebook cover photo? Well, if you’re spending time aligning your Facebook Page CTA, your cover photo design, and your cover photo description copy, you should also make sure to post about the same thing directly to your page, and pin that post to the top of your Timeline.

That way, you’re giving people one very clear call-to-action when they arrive to your page (albeit in several different locations) — which should help conversions.

To pin a Facebook post: Simply publish the post to Facebook, then click the three dots on the top right corner of the post and choose “Pin to Top.”

11. Do consider publishing a Facebook cover video.

You read that right. Facebook Business Pages now have the option to add a video in lieu of a static cover photo, provided they meet certain requirements — which we dug up for you:

Facebook currently supports cover videos that are between 20 and 90 seconds long, and a minimum of 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall. The maximum (and recommended) size is 820 by 462 pixels with a video resolution of 1080p.

Keep in mind that Facebook cover videos play on a loop — once it ends, it automatically starts over if the viewer is still on your Facebook page. With that in mind, make sure whatever you post is pleasant if seen more than once. Extreme, action-packed videos might appear exhausting when played over and over …

Once you pull the file from your desktop, you’ll click “Next” where you’ll be asked to select from 10 thumbnail versions of your video. The thumbnail you choose will display for users who hover their cursor over your profile photo before visiting your full Business Page.

Facebook Cover Video Examples

Cover videos are a terrific option for the video-inclined, and brands across numerous industries have already taken advantage of it to hold their visitors’ attention. Here are some great cover videos to inspire you:

REI

REI sells outdoor equipment for activities like camping, hiking, running, boating, and biking. The company’s subtle cover video reflects its products, all in one peaceful time lapse of the scenery it knows its audience craves.

Nokia

Nokia wants to be everywhere its users are — whether they’re paddle-boarding, scuba diving, skateboarding, or working. Its Facebook cover video embodies its core customer in a visually pleasing way.

WIRED Magazine

When your publication changes as fast as the news cycle, it can be hard to keep your readers focused on the stories you feel deserve extra attention. WIRED Magazine uses its Facebook cover video for just this purpose, as shown in the example below.

HubSpot Academy

Alright, maybe we’re biased, but our brilliant creative team crushed it with the video below, made for HubSpot Academy. Sometimes, animation is the best way to capture the essence of your brand.

As you can see from these examples, your video should be just as simple as a cover photo. Keep in mind the same guidelines outlined in best practice #1 apply to cover videos as well.

Want to see how HubSpot uses Facebook? Like our Facebook Page here.

dIn high school, one of my friends was determined to find the perfect time to post her Instagram photos to maximize the amount of likes she got. She was surprisingly scientific about it, posting at different times of the day and jotting down each of her posts’ “likes per minute.”

After weeks of testing, she figured out which post time raked in the most likes, and, from then on, she could easily get 200 likes on all her Instagram posts.

My friend’s rather scientific method to maximize her Instagram likes still makes me chuckle to this day. But since I’m a marketer now, her desire to build a strong Instagram presence also resonates with me.

To build a sizable Instagram following, you need to create compelling content that your audience actually craves. But if you don’t post your content at the right time, most of them will never see it.

So how do you figure out the optimal post time for your specific audience?

The best way to find an ideal posting time is by testing the timing of your posts to see which post time generates the most audience engagement.

But if you don’t have enough resources or time to conduct your own tests, Sprout Social, a social media management platform with over 24,000 customers, has you covered. Last year, they analyzed their customer data to see what time and day their social media posts generated the most engagement. They also segmented the data by social network and industry.

Looking at their aggregate customer data for Instagram, you can see that the following days and times — in Central Daylight Time (CDT) — are ideal for generating the most engagement on the social network:

As stated above, although 2 – 3 PM is considered the best time of day to post on Instagram, the day of the week on which you post can change how much engagement you actually get at 2 – 3 PM.

Why? Think about the little differences in your daily mood and routine — the ones you might not realize you have — and how they affect your behavior. The same goes for everyone following your Instagram account. Here are some additional insights about optimal post timing from data by Sprout Social to show you what I mean:

• Posting at 5:00 AM CDT from Tuesday to Friday generates some of the highest engagement — people usually check their phones right when they wake up.
• Posting from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM CDT during the weekdays also generates a lot of engagement — people usually check their phones during lunch or when they start to run out of mental energy toward the end of the work day.
• If you want to post on the weekends, post on Saturday around 11:00 AM CDT when people eat brunch or hang out with their friends.

So, when Instagramming, don’t go by this time range alone. Consider both the day of the week and the industry you’re in (we’ll talk about the latter in just a minute).

On average, here are the best times to Instagram during the week within each time zone globally:

* = particularly high levels of engagement

Want some easy marching orders based on this data? Post to Instagram between 9 AM and 6 PM from Tuesday to Friday. You’ll get the most consistent engagement that way. 

Need a visual to strategize around? Check out this Sprout Social chart which shows Global Instagram Engagement hotspots.

Source: Sprout Social

The general data above about optimal post timing is a great starting point for growing an engaged Instagram audience. But if you want to get more granular, here are the best times to post on Instagram if your organization is in the technology, B2C, education, healthcare, and non-profit industries, according to Sprout Social’s research.

Best Times to Post on Instagram for Technology Companies

• Best Time: Wednesday at 10:00 AM CDT
• Most Consistent Engagement: Wednesday to Friday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM CDT
• Best Day: Thursday
• Worst Day: Sunday

Best Times to Post on Instagram for B2C Companies

• Best Time: Friday at 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM CDT
• Most Consistent Engagement: Everyday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM CDT
• Best Day: Wednesday
• Worst Day: Sunday

Best Times to Post on Instagram for Educational Organizations

• Best Time: Monday at 8:00 PM CDT
• Most Consistent Engagement: Weekdays from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM CDT
• Best Day: Monday
• Worst Day: Sunday

Best Times to Post on Instagram for Healthcare Companies

• Best Time: Tuesday at 1:00 PM CDT
• Most Consistent Engagement: Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM CDT
• Best Day: Tuesday
• Worst Day: Saturday & Sunday

Best Times to Post on Instagram for Non-Profit Organizations

• Best Times: Tuesday at 3:00 PM & 9:00 PM, Wednesday at 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM, Thursday at 2:00 PM & 3:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 AM & 2:00 PM,
• Most Consistent Engagement: Weekdays from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• Best Day: Tuesday
• Worst Day: Saturday

Every brand’s audience is different. To build a sizable, engaged Instagram audience, you need to know who your followers are. And one of the best ways to get to know your audience and capture their attention is by knowing exactly when they like to surf the app. 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2018, but was updated for comprehensiveness and freshness January 24, 2019

When I first started blogging, I had no idea how to structure my posts to rank for search engines, or even why it was important.

I just threw in bolded words and phrases that looked good, and hoped to be randomly selected for the search engine results page (SERP).

Now, I know there is a science, and what I was throwing into my blog posts to make them look professional was called header tags — which is an important tool for comprehension and SEO.

When we talk about header tags, we’re talking about those bolded words that separate sections on blog posts.

To illustrate, the header tag referred to in this post is the title, “The Ultimate Guide to Product Marketing in 2020.” This is also called the H1.

Below are two other types of header tags (there are six,) which are indicated by arrows.

As you can see, every header tag looks different, and each header tag is used for different things. Here, let’s explore what header tags are, why they matter for SEO, and how you can add your own to HTML.

Here’s a quick guide on header tags and what they’re used for:

• H1 — The title of a post. They’re usually keyword-centric.
• H2 — These are subheaders that classify the main ideas of your paragraphs and separate sections. These should also be keywords.
• H3 — A subsection that clarifies the points of subheaders further.
• H4 — These are usually used in formatting lists or bullet points.

Keep in mind that H1 tags should always be at the top of your page because they’re usually the title. Your headers should stick to the theme of what you’re writing about. When you’re formatting, use your best judgment when breaking up sections.

Now that you know a little more about what header tags are, let’s get into how they’re used for SEO.

Header Tags and SEO

Header tags and SEO have more in common than it may seem at first glance. Not only are they used to differentiate important pieces of content, but they hold weight with keyword relevancy and readability.

Google favors headers. When it scans your post, it places header tags as high-priority. Ultimately, header tags is what Google uses to tell web browsers their search query is relevant to your post.

That’s why it’s important when using header tags to make sure they’re correctly matching a keyword intent. If a post’s H1 tag doesn’t have a keyword, it won’t rank well in search results.

To illustrate, let’s say your keyword is “eCommerce.” You’d want this to be reflected in your H1 tag, so a title like “The Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business” would be ideal. That would tell Google exactly how to send web browsers to your post.

Search engines also look at header tags within your post, so it’s good to keep those keyword-centric, as well. For instance, you might create some H2 sections surrounding popular long tail keywords related to eCommerce, like “five steps for creating an eCommerce business” or “best social media tools for eCommerce”.

You don’t have to think of keywords by yourself, either — in fact, you can do some easy keyword researching to help you out, or look into keyword research tools like SEMRush or Ahrefs.

Headers also make pages easier to read. Sectioning off different parts of a webpage keeps information organized and broken up in a comprehensible way. This helps readers, but also search engines, which are scanning along, too.

If your sections aren’t making sense, your page might not rank. Think of the sections in this post — do you think they were broken up in a readable way?

How to Add Header Tags in HTML

To add header tags in HTML, it’s a fairly simple process. If you want to notate an H1, you would type in <h1> and </h1>, putting the H1 text in-between those two tags. This is the same method for any type of header tag.

For example, if your h1 was “The Guide to Starting eCommerce,” it would look like this:

<h1> The Guide to Starting eCommerce </h1>

You can also include punctuation between the two tags. For instance, you might have:

<h3>Create an Instagram account to market your eCommerce products.</h3>

This will work for HTML4 or older. If you’re working with HTML5, you might have to use a slightly different line to get the same result. The change is to give a heads up to Google about what the H1 is:

<header> <h1> The Guide to Starting eCommerce </h1> </header>

Remember, Google will scan the HTML of header tags to tell web browsers what your page is about, so it’s important to look them over and see if your headers in HTML are formatted correctly.

Some blogging platforms, like WordPress and HubSpot, have an option on the toolbar to create header tags, so every time you want to add one, you don’t have to dig into the source code or HTML to do so.

The next time you create a post for your website, see if adding the correct header tags affect SEO, and how your readers are comprehending information.

A good test I like to use is sending posts to a close family member who doesn’t know much about blogging or marketing. Using outsider feedback and asking if they can comprehend my writing before I publish helps me format posts so they’re understandable.

The big things for header tags are readability and SEO, so as long as your headers are keyword-driven, they should see a jump in page rank.

Last November, my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Maui and one of the main activities we wanted to do was a zipline/hiking tour near the waterfalls.

We dreamt of swimming in the cascading water at sunrise.

However, today, we’re going to talk about a different, although just as beautiful, kind of waterfall — the waterfall chart.

Waterfall charts are a data visualization resource that can help you gather and track important data such as traffic goals and lead generation.

As a marketer, having the right tools in place to gather useful data is imperative.

Below, let’s review what a waterfall chart is, how to read one, and how to create one.

One of the reasons that waterfall charts are effective in marketing is because they give context on the data it’s reporting. Most data visualizations suffer from ignoring circumstances that result in a fall or rise in numbers, such as seasonality.

Usually, a waterfall chart is shown with initial and final values as columns and the positive or negative adjustments as floating steps in between.

At first glance, these charts can be difficult to read. Below, let’s review how to read a waterfall chart:

How to Read a Waterfall Chart

Reading a waterfall chart will seem foreign at first if you’ve never done it.

However, it’s important to remember that you’re reading it sequentially, from left to right.

For instance, let’s say you’re tracking blog traffic from month to month. On the far left, you’ll have the total traffic from the previous year. Then, you’ll include the gains and losses month over month for the entire year. At the end of the chart, you’ll see the total traffic for the year.

Here’s what that looks like:

Essentially, a waterfall chart is supposed to show you where you started and where you ended up, with details of how you got there.

In the example above, you can see which months gained the most traffic compared to the months that lost traffic. This could help you see seasonal adjustments, while also keeping the big picture in mind.

Now, you might be wondering, “That chart looks difficult to make. How can I make my own in Excel?” Below, we’ll review the simple three-step process to creating your own waterfall chart:

1. Create a table.

Before you can build a chart in excel, you’ll want to create a table of values that you want represented on your chart.

For example, are you tracking blog traffic numbers? Or perhaps you’re looking at leads generated from a certain marketing campaign? Either way, before you can create a waterfall chart, you’ll need to gather your data.

All you have to do is open Excel or Google Sheets, and begin manually entering your data. When you enter your data, make sure you denote the difference between positive and negative values. To denote a negative value, just add a minus sign in front of the number.

In the example below, we decided to track blog traffic. Note: all numbers are arbitrary and not reflective of traffic to any blog.

2. Insert chart.

Now that you have your values, highlight the table you just created. Then, go to Insert → Chart → Waterfall chart.

This should create a waterfall chart and the Chart Editor will show up on the right-hand side. When the Chart Editor comes up, make sure that Waterfall Chart is selected under Chart Type.

3. Format waterfall chart.

At this point, all the hard work is done. All you have to do is format your chart and make sure it looks how you want.

If you click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the chart and hit Edit Chart, you’ll get to the Chart Editor.

Here, you can choose the colors of your bars, adjust your legend, or add gridlines. Most likely, the main thing you’ll want to do here is to adjust your legend.

Now, you can also create a waterfall chart in other dashboard tools. For example, HubSpot offers free marketing reporting tools that you can use to create charts. Here’s how:

How to Create Waterfall Charts in HubSpot

1. Go to analytics tools.

Once you log in to your portal, hover over the Reports tab and click into the Analytics Tools.

2. Choose what you want to track.

Next, you’ll choose what you want to track. Perhaps you want to analyze blog traffic like we did in the example above. Or maybe you want to review analytics for a certain campaign.

Either way, you can choose what you want to track in the Analytics Tools.

3. Choose the chart type.

Lastly, all you have to do is choose the style chart you want. Right now, you can choose between an Area chart, Column chart, Line chart, or a Combination chart.

To ensure you’re analyzing the full scope of your analytics, we recommend creating a waterfall chart. It’s a worthwhile data visualization that can help you understand your analytics sequentially.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2011 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.