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Nowadays, 75% of B2B businesses and 65% of B2C businesses use Twitter for marketing purposes — which means Twitter outranks YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat in terms of popularity among businesses.

Undoubtedly, the popularity of Twitter for business makes the platform a crowded place. And, ultimately, your success on Twitter is measured by follower size and audience engagement — two metrics that can be difficult to achieve with so much content posted daily on the platform.

Of course, it’s critical you create high-quality content for Twitter, but if that content isn’t seen by the people you’re trying to reach, then it’s wasted effort.

So how can you grow your Twitter audience and ensure your content is seen by the right people?

Ultimately, when you’re eager to gain followers and increase engagement, you might be tempted to take a shortcut and buy followers. However, it’s a dangerous tactic and could actually decrease engagement and destroy your brand’s reputation.

Here, we’re going to explore how to buy Twitter followers, why it’s a bad idea, and what you can do, instead.

How to Buy Twitter Followers Fast

If you want to buy Twitter followers, you might use one of the following services:

1. CheapFollowersLikes.org — Has multiple Twitter package options, including 100 Twitter followers for $15, or 2,500 followers for $50. The service promises worldwide followers, and a lifetime replacement guarantee.
2. AudienceGain.com — Provides the option to purchase Twitter followers, Twitter retweets, or Twitter auto-likes/retweets. Has multiple package options, including 100 followers for $20 or 1,000 followers for $120.
3. GetAFollower.com — Only enables you to purchase 100 followers per order, but for the incredibly low price of $3.

It’s important to note, these services only provide you with fake Twitter followers — the followers you purchase off these sites will never become real customers for your business. As much as you might think purchasing followers is a good decision, it ultimately won’t result in any additional customers, so it’s not a smart strategy.

Additionally, the fake followers you purchase from these sites won’t engage with your tweets and can’t retweet your content with their own audience. Which means that, ultimately, purchasing Twitter followers could backfire by decreasing your engagement numbers.

For instance, let’s say you have 2,000 followers, but 1,000 of them are fake or inactive accounts. Then you post a Tweet, and it receives 200 retweets. That means only 10% of your total audience engaged with your tweet.

Alternatively, let’s say you stick with your 1,000 real followers, and receive 200 retweets. That’s 20% of your total audience — a much more impressive number to Twitter’s algorithm, and it’s also a true sign of your content’s worth.

Additionally, it’s important to note, your business can get in trouble and risk getting suspended on Twitter if it violates rules by buying fake followers.

Having real followers is a much more worthwhile long-term investment than purchasing Twitter followers. Real followers enables you to properly measure your business’s success on Twitter, and engage with potential customers.

However, this likely seems easier said than done — how can you increase your organic reach and find these real followers?

Fortunately, there is a paid strategy you can implement to buy high-quality Twitter followers fast — Twitter Followers Campaign. While not free, it’s undoubtedly cheaper than most fake follower sites, and will offer a much greater ROI.

How to Increase Your Twitter Followers

If you want to invest money in your Twitter strategy, you might consider paying for a Twitter Ads campaign rather than buying followers.

To create an Ads campaign, go to Twitter’s Campaigns dashboard and click “Start a Campaign” in the top right. Then, click the “Go to Twitter Ads” CTA button.

You can specifically choose “Followers” as your Ad objective.

Next, fill out the necessary information, including Campaign title and how much money per day you want to invest. Then, click “Targeting” in the left navigation bar.

Here, you’re able to choose a specific demographic. You can target an audience based on interests or followers, which enables you to reach people who are similar to other specific Twitter accounts. This allows your business to reach people who are similar to your existing Twitter audience, which will likely attract the right people to your profile.

Alternatively, you could use Tailored Audiences to target people on a predetermined Twitter list you’ve created. You might create a list based on people who’ve visited your website, or certain influential people in your industry.

Take a look at Twitter Ads Campaigns: A Simple Setup Guide to learn more.

Ultimately, you’re not buying followers using Twitter Ads Campaign, but you are buying the opportunity to reach the right people — real people.

This is undoubtedly a more successful strategy for your business.

Ultimately, Twitter isn’t meant to be a popularity contest. The site is designed to encourage meaningful conversation and connection among users. If you can attract 100 high-quality followers who appreciate your business’s content and eagerly share it with their own audiences, then you’re doing much better than a company with 1,000 fake followers.

There are hundreds of emojis available on iOS and Android mobile device keyboards — everything from tacos, to national flags, to artists are represented in cartoon emoji form.

On Snapchat, however, the emojis you see appear next to your friends’ names mean a myriad of different things — and they can be hard to decipher.

If you know me, you know I love two things more than anything: cats and sleeping. So it’s fitting that the two emojis I use most often in my normal texting keyboard are:

Another thing you may already know about me is that I love using Snapchat. So when emojis started popping up in my list of chats with friends in the app, I needed to get to the bottom of it.

In this post, we’ll dive into the history of Snapchat emojis and what they all mean. Bear in mind that these emojis vary slightly across iOS and Android devices, so we’ve written out what the faces look like, too.

Want to see these Snapchat emojis in their proper context? Check out the Snapchat screenshot below, along with a few different emojis you might see in your own app. To access this page, open up your Snapchat app and swipe right.

As you can see in the screenshot above, each emoji appears to the far right of the user with whom you have a unique Snapchat relationship.

When Snapchat was first created, the app used to show whom a user’s best friends were publicly (your “best friends” on Snapchat are the users to whom you’ve sent the most snaps back and forth). You can imagine why users took issue with this; can you imagine the awkwardness of finding your best friend or significant other was best friends on Snapchat with somebody else?

So, in 2015, Snapchat (now Snap. Inc) made the “best friends” emoji private, in the name of user privacy, and hid the lists of other users’ best friends. This, of course, brought about more outraged reactions. Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel has said the app will reintroduce public best friends, but how and when this will take shape remains to be seen.

Today, the friend emojis we decoded for you below can appear inside a specific group of best friends, as shown in the screenshot above, to provide greater detail about the nature of your relationship with each of your Snapchat friends.

But with more more insight into how users interact with friends, you need to know how these behaviors are represented in the app. Let’s dive into each emoji so you can understand your Snapchat contacts list better. And remember: These emojis are only visible to you.

Snapchat Emoji Meanings

Snapchat Friend Milestones

1. Smiley Face Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: This user is one of your best friends on Snapchat. You frequently send Snaps back and forth to each other.

2. Yellow Heart Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: This user is your #1 best friend. You send the most Snaps to this user, and they send the most Snaps to you.

3. Smirking Face Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You’re one of this user’s best friends, but they aren’t one of your best friends. They send you more Snaps than you send them.

4. Grimacing Face Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: Your #1 best friend is their #1 best friend, too. You both send lots of Snaps to the same user.

5. Sunglasses Face Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: One of your best friends is one of their best friends. You send a lot of Snaps to someone they also send a lot of Snaps to.

6. Red Heart Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You’ve been #1 best friends (yellow heart status) with this user for two weeks in a row.

7. Pink Hearts Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You’ve been #1 best friends with this user for two months in a row.

8. Fire Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You and this user are on a Snapstreak — you’ve been sending each other Snaps for several days in a row. The number of fire emojis you have next to your friend’s name dictates the number of days you’ve been on a Snapstreak with them. After a certain number of days, a numeral will appear next to a single fire emoji to tell you how long your streak has lasted.

9. 100 Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You’ve been on a Snapstreak with this user for 100 days in a row.

10. Hourglass Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: Your Snapstreak with this user will end if you don’t send them a Snap very soon. You can send them a Snap or a Chat to keep it going.

11. Baby Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You and this user have recently added each other as Snapchat friends.

12. Gold Star Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: Someone has replayed this user’s Snap within the past 24 hours.

13. Gold Sparkles Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: You’re in a Snapchat Group Chat with this user. Learn how to start a Snapchat Group in this article.

14. Birthday Cake Emoji on Snapchat

What it means: Today is this user’s birthday. This emoji will only appear if the user indicated their date of birth in their Account information. Learn how to add your birthday to your account in this article.

Snapchat Story Emojis

While the 14 emojis above describe your relationship with each of your Snapchat friends, there are other emojis that represent the “verified” accounts of Snapchat’s most famous users. Here are some of them:

1. Key 🔑 — Musician DJ Khaled (username: djkhaled305)
2. Balloon 🎈 — Musician Rihanna (username: rihanna)
3. Cactus 🌵 — Actor and musician Jared Leto (username: jaredleto)
4. Bicep 💪 — Actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger (username: arnoldschnitzel)
5. Pink Heart 💟 — Actor and musician Selena Gomez (username: selenagomez)
6. Clapboard 🎬 — TV personality Ryan Seacrest (username: ryanseacrest)
7. Shortcake

   🍰

    

   — Musician Steve Aoki (username: aokisteve)

8. Disc
   

   📀

    

   — DJ and musician David Guetta (username: davidguettaoff)

9. Crescent Moon
   

   🌙

   — Musician Ariana Grande (username: moonlightbae)

10. Fleur-De-Lis ⚜ — New Orleans Saints football team (username: saints)
11. Lipstick 💄 — Actor and model Ashley Benson (username: benzo33)
12. Praying Hands 🙏 — Musician Justin Bieber (username: rickthesizzler)
13. Pear 🍐 — Musician Rick Ross (username: ferrarifatboy)
14. Cherry 🍒 — Actor and musician Demi Lovato (username: theddlovato)
15. Chequered Flag 🏁 — Racing driver Lewis Hamilton (username: lewishamilton)
16. Rowboat 🚣 — Musical group The Lonley Island (username: tliboys)
17. Up Arrow ⬆️ — Musical group One Direction (username: onedirection)

Snapchat Status Icons

Last, but not least, in your Snapchat emoji lexicon are the chat icons. These icons appear underneath the name of the Snapchat user on your friends list, as shown below.

These icons represent the status of a chat you’ve sent or received from one of your Snapchat friends, and they can help you determine to whom you sent or received a snap, the type of snap, and if the snap has been opened. Here they are and what they mean.

1. Purple Arrow Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have successfully sent a video snap — or a snap that includes sound — to another Snapchat user. When the emoji turns from solid to white, the snap has been viewed by that user.

2. Red Arrow Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have successfully sent a still-image snap — or a snap that does not include sound — to another Snapchat user. When the emoji turns from solid to white, the snap has been viewed by that user.

3. Blue Arrow Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have successfully sent a text-based snap to another Snapchat user. When the emoji turns from solid to white, the snap has been viewed by that user.

4. Purple Square Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have received a video snap — or a snap that includes sound — from another Snapchat user. After you open and view the snap, the emoji will turn from solid to white.

5. Red Square Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have received a still-image snap — or a snap that does not include sound — from another Snapchat user. After you open and view the snap, the emoji will turn from solid to white.

6. Blue Square Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that you have received a text-based snap from another Snapchat user. After you open and view the snap, the emoji will turn from solid to white.

7. Interlaced Arrow Emojis

What they mean: The emojis above indicate that the Snapchat user to whom you sent a snap has opened and taken a screenshot of your snap using their mobile device.

How to Change Emojis for Friends and Snapchat Streaks

If these emojis aren’t speaking to you, you can change them within your Snapchat account. For example, your best friends could be represented by a pizza slice instead of a yellow heart if you really love pizza (and your friends, I suppose). Here’s how it’s done:

1. Open up your Snapchat app and swipe down. You’ll see your profile screen and Snapcode.

2. Tap the Settings gear in the upper right-hand corner.

3. Select “Manage” under the “Additional Services” menu.

4. Select “Friend Emojis.”

5. From there, you can tap into each signifier and choose a new emoji to represent what it means.

Source: Snapchat Support

There you have it. We’ll keep this post updated with new developments in the world of Snapchat emojis. In the meantime, keep snapping to see how your emojis change, and let us know how long your longest snap streak is.

Want more advice on Snapchat marketing? Check out some of the best brands on Snapchat right now.

Whether it’s on Facebook Messenger, their website, or even text messaging, more and more brands are leveraging chatbots to service their customers, market their brand, and even sell their products.

But even though most chatbots can handle moderately sophisticated conversations, like welcome conversations and product discovery interactions, the if/then logic that powers their conversational capabilities can be limiting. For instance, if a customer asks a unique yet pressing question that you didn’t account for when designing your chatbot’s logic, there’s no way it can answer their question, which hangs your customer out to dry and ultimately leaves them dissatisfied with your customer service.

Fortunately, the next advancement in chatbot technology that can solve this problem is gaining steam — AI-powered chatbots. By leveraging machine learning and natural language processing, AI-powered chatbots can understand the intent behind your customers’ requests, account for each customer’s entire conversation history when it interacts with them, and respond to their questions in a natural, human way.

If you’re currently using a standard chatbot, but want to upgrade to an AI-powered one, we’ve put together a list of the best AI chatbots for 2019. Read on to find the right one for you.

1. Watson Assistant

Image Credit: IBM

Developed by one of the leaders in the AI space, IBM, Watson Assistant is one of the most advanced AI-powered chatbots on the market. Pre-trained with content from your specific industry, Watson Assistant can understand your historical chat or call logs, search for an answer in your knowledge base, ask customers for more clarity, direct them to human representatives, and even give you training recommendations to hone its conversational abilities.

Watson Assistant can run on your website, messaging channels, customer service tools, and mobile app. The chatbot also comes with a visual dialog editor, so you don’t need any coding experience to develop it.

2. Bold360

Image Credit: Bold360

Trusted by customers like Intuit, Edible Arrangements, and Vodafone, Bold360 patented its own natural language processing technology to help brands build chatbots that can understand your customers’ intent without the need of keyword matching and learn how to deliver the most accurate answers to them.

Bold360’s conversational AI can interpret complex language, remember the context of an entire conversation, and reply to customers with natural responses. Customers can even buy your products through the chatbot. You can also give your chatbot its own personality and run it on most messaging channels.

3. Rulai

Image Credit: Rulai

Armed with deep-learning based natural language understanding and adaptive multi-taking capabilities, Ruali, an AI-powered chatbot for enterprise brands, can understand the context of a conversation, predict user behavior, grasp customer preferences, take actions, switch to different tasks, and ask customers for more clarification.

Rulai also integrates with most messaging channels, customer service software, enterprise business software, and cloud storage platforms. You can either build a Ruali chatbot from scratch with its drag-and-drop design console and let its AI adapt to your customers or you can implement a pre-trained chatbot that has been fed data from your specific industry.

4. LivePerson

Image Credit: LivePerson

By collecting over 20 years of messaging transcript data and feeding it to their AI-powered chatbot, LivePerson can automate almost every industry’s messaging and integrate with most messaging channels like your website, mobile app, Apple Business Chat, text messaging, Google Rich Business messaging, Line, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Google AdLingo.

LivePerson’s BotStudio also lets you build chatbots from scratch, without any coding knowledge, and its analytics dashboard can track metrics like real-time sentiment, bot containment rate, bot conversation time, total conversation time, average order value, and bot contained sales, allowing you to grasp the impact your chatbot has had on your business’ bottom line.

5. Inbenta

Image Credit: Inbenta

Designed specifically for enterprise brands, Inbenta’s chatbot leverages machine learning and its own natural language processing engine to detect the context of each customer conversation and accurately answer their questions. Inbenta also offers a dialog manager, which allows you to craft custom conversation flows and paths.

Additionally, when Inbenta’s chatbot realizes that one of your customers needs to talk to a human, it’ll escalate the conversation to the appropriate support agent. To make your chatbot seem more human, you create a custom avatar for it, too.

6. Ada

Image Credit: Ada

Trusted by customers like Medium, Shopify, and MailChimp, Ada is an AI-powered chatbot that features a drag-and-drop builder that you can use to train it, add GIFs to certain messages, and store customer data.

Ada can also integrate with most messaging channels and customer service software, send personalized content to your customers, ask for customer feedback, and report on your bots’ time, effort, and cost savings. According to their website, Ada has saved their customers over $100 million in savings and 1 billion minutes of customer service effort.

7. Vergic

Image Credit: Vergic

Vergic offers an AI-powered chatbot that can serve as your businesses’ first line of customer support, handle transactional chats, and transfer more complicated problems to your actual customer service agents. It’s like a hybrid chatbot that can boost your employees’ productivity.

By leveraging natural language processing and natural language understanding, Vergic can also perform sentiment analysis, share documents, highlight pages, manage conversational workflows, and report on chatbot analytics.

If you’re considering spending any amount of money on ads to reach your target audience, then you’d better spend it in the right place. That is, somewhere with over 246 million unique visitors, 3.5 billion daily interactions, and an estimated 700% return on investment.

Somewhere like Google Ads.

Google Ads was launched just two years after what has become the most popular website in the world: Google.com. The advertising platform came on the scene in October 2000 as Google Adwords, but after some rebranding in 2018, it was renamed Google Ads.

Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that falls under a marketing channel known as pay-per-click, where you (the advertiser) pays per click (PPC) or per impression (CPM) on an ad. The better your ad campaign, the more clicks you generate, and the greater your probability of obtaining a new lead or customer. (And, yes, this guide will show you how to create an optimized ad campaign.)

Brush up on your PPC knowledge with our guide to PPC advertising.

Ads from the platform span several channels, including Google, YouTube, Blogger, and millions of other websites known as the Google Display Network. Given Google’s expansive reach, chances are you’ve seen (and probably clicked on) a Google ad … and so have your potential customers.

This guide will teach you what you need to know to get started advertising on Google. We’ll cover features specific to this platform and teach you how to optimize your paid campaigns to achieve the best results with your ads.

Why advertise on Google?

Google is the most used search engine, receiving 3.5 billion search queries a day. Not to mention, the Google Ads platform has been around for nearly two decades, giving it some seniority in the area of paid advertising. Google is a resource used by people around the world to ask questions that are answered with a combination of paid advertisements and organic results. And, according to Google, advertisers make $8 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. So, there are a few reasons why you’d want to consider advertising on Google.

Need another reason? Your competitors are using Google Ads (and they might even be bidding on your branded terms). Thousands of companies use Google Ads to promote their businesses, which means that even if you’re ranking organically for a search term, your results are being pushed down the page, beneath your competitors.

If you’re using PPC to advertise your product or services, Google Ads should be a part of your paid strategy — there’s no way around it (except maybe Facebook Ads, but that’s another article).

Reasons Why Your Google Ads Aren’t Working

If you’ve tried unsuccessfully to advertise on Google, don’t give up. There are many reasons why your Google Ads could be underperforming. Let’s cover some common offenders.

1. Broad Keyword Terms. You really need to nail it when it comes to your keywords, which is why testing and tweaking should be a part of your strategy. If your keywords are too broad, Google will be placing your ad in front of the wrong audience which means fewer clicks and a higher ad spend. Review what’s working (i.e. which keywords are generating clicks) and adjust them to best match your ads with your target audience. You likely won’t get the mix right the first time but you should keep adding, removing, and tweaking keywords until you do.
   How to fix it: Review the keyword strategies that we cover below.
   
2. Irrelevant Ads. If your ad doesn’t match the searcher’s intent, you won’t get enough clicks to justify your ad spend. Your headline and ad copy need to match the keywords you’re bidding on, and the solution your ad is marketing needs to solve whatever pain point that searcher is experiencing. It’s a combination that will yield the results you’re looking for, and it may just be a few tweaks away. You have the option to create multiple ads per campaign — use this feature to split test which ads work best. Or, better yet, use Google’s Responsive Search Ads feature.
   How to fix it: Read our best practices for ad copy.
3. Low Quality Score. Your Quality Score (QS) is how Google determines how your ad should rank. The higher your rank, the better your placements. If your quality score is low, you’ll have fewer eyeballs on your ad and fewer chances to convert. Google will tell you your Quality Score, but improving it is up to you.
   How to fix it: Keep reading to learn how to improve your QS.
   
4. Poor Landing Page. Your efforts shouldn’t stop with your ad — the user experience after a click is equally important. What does your user see once they click your ad? Is your landing page optimized for conversions, meaning does it use the same keywords? Does the page solve your user’s pain point or answer their question? Your user should experience a seamless transition through to the conversion.
   How to fix it: Review landing page best practices and implement them to increase your conversion rate.

These common terms will help you set up, manage, and optimize your Google Ads. Some of these are specific to Google Ads, while others are related to PPC in general. Either way, you’ll need to know these to run an effective ad campaign.

AdRank

Your AdRank determines your ad placement. The higher the value, the better you’ll rank, the more eyes will fall on your ad, and the higher the probability that users will click your ad. Your AdRank is determined by your maximum bid multiplied by your Quality Score.

Bidding

Google Ads is based on a bidding system, where you as the advertiser selects a maximum bid amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad. The higher your bid, the better your placement. You have three options for bidding: CPC, CPM, or CPE.

• CPC, or cost-per-click, is the amount you pay for each click on your ad.
• CPM, or cost per mille, is the amount you pay for one thousand ad impressions, that is when your ad is shown to a thousand people.
• CPE, or cost per engagement, is the amount you pay when someone takes a predetermined action with your ad.

And, yes, we’ll review bidding strategies below.

Campaign Type

Before you begin a paid campaign on Google Ads, you’ll select between one of three campaign types: search, display, or video.

• Search ads are text ads that are displayed among search results on a Google results page.
• Display ads are typically image-based and are shown on web pages within the Google Display Network.
• Video ads are between six and 15 seconds and appear on YouTube.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Your CTR is the number of clicks you get on your ad as a proportion of the number of views your ad gets. A higher CTR indicates a quality ad that matches search intent and targets relevant keywords.

Conversion Rate (CVR)

CVR is a measure of form submissions as a proportion of total visits to your landing page. Simplistically speaking, a high CVR means that your landing page presents a seamless user experience that matches the promise of the ad.

Display Network

Google ads can be displayed on either search results pages or a web page within Google’s Display Network (GDN). GDN is a network of websites that allow space on their webpages for Google Ads — these ads can be text-based or image ads and are displayed alongside content relevant to your target keywords. The most popular Display Ad options are Google Shopping and app campaigns.

Extensions

Ad Extensions allow you to supplement your ad with additional information at no additional cost. These extensions fall under one of five categories: Sitelink, Call, Location, Offer, or App; we’ll cover each of these ad extensions below.

Keywords

When a Google user types a query into the search field, Google returns a range of results that match the searcher’s intent. Keywords are words or phrases that align with what a searcher wants and will satisfy their query. You select keywords based on which queries you want to display your ad alongside. For example, a searcher that types “how to clean gum off shoes” will see results for advertisers that targeted keywords like “gum on shoes” and “clean shoes.”

• Negative Keywords are a list of keyword terms that you do not want to rank for. Google will pull you from the bid on these keywords. Typically, these are semi-related to your intended search terms but fall outside of the realm of what you offer or want to rank for.

PPC

Pay-per-click, or PPC, is a type of advertising where the advertiser pays per click on an ad. PPC is not specific to Google Ads, but it is the most common type of paid campaign. It’s important to understand the ins and outs of PPC before launching your first Google Ads campaign.

Quality Score (QS)

Your Quality Score measures the quality of your ad by your click-through rate (CTR), the relevance of your keywords, the quality of your landing page, and your past performance on the SERP. QS is a determining factor in your AdRank.

Click to get our free guide on how to use Google Ads.

Many factors impact your ability to create effective and high-performing Google Ads. Let’s cover them below.

AdRank and Quality Score

AdRank determines the placement of your ads, and Quality Score is one of the two factors (the other being bid amount) that determines your AdRank. Remember, your Quality Score is based on the quality and relevance of your ad, and Google measures that by how many people click on your ad when it’s displayed — i.e. your CTR. You CTR depends on the how well your ad matches searcher intent, which you can deduce from three areas:

1. The relevance of your keywords
2. If your ad copy and CTA deliver what the searcher expects based on their search
3. The user experience of your landing page

Your QS is where you should focus most of your attention when you first set up your Google Ad campaign — even before you increase your bid amount. The higher your QS, the lower your acquisition costs will be and the better placement you’ll get.

Ad Campaign Types: Search, Display, and Video

You can select from one of three campaign types on Google Ads: search, display, or video. Let’s cover the optimal uses for each and why you might choose one over the other.

Search Ads

Search ads are text ads that are displayed on Google results pages. As an example, a search for “pocket squares” returns sponsored results, or ads, like these:

The benefit of search ads is that you’re displaying your ad in the place where most searchers look for information first — on Google. And Google shows your ad in the same format as other results (except for denoting it as an “Ad”) so users are accustomed to seeing and clicking on results.

Responsive Search Ads

Responsive search ads allow you to enter multiple versions of headlines and ad copy (15 and four variations, respectively) for Google to select the best performers to display to users. With traditional ads, create one static version of your ad, using the same headline and description each time. Responsive ads allow for a dynamic ad that is auto-tested until you arrive at the version that is best suited for your target audience — for Google, that means until you get the most clicks.

Display Ads

Google has a network of websites in various industries and with an array of audiences that opt in to display Google Ads, known as the Google Display Network. The benefit to the website owner is that they’re paid per click or impression on the ads. The benefit to advertisers is that they can get their content in front of audiences that are aligned with their personas. These are typically image ads that draw users attention away from the content on the webpage.

 Source

Additional options for Display Ads include shopping campaigns and app campaigns, which are displayed on search engine results pages.

Video Ads

Video ads are displayed before or after (and sometimes in the middle of) YouTube videos. Remember, YouTube is a search engine, too. The right keywords will place you in front of a video, disrupting the user’s behavior just enough to grab their attention.

Location

When you first set up your Google Ad, you’ll select a geographical area where your ad will be shown. If you have a storefront, this should be in a reasonable radius around your physical location. If you have an ecommerce store and a physical product, your location should be set in the places where you ship. If you provide a service or product that is accessible worldwide, then the sky’s the limit.

Your location settings will play a role in placement. For instance, if you own a yoga studio in San Francisco, someone in New York that enters “yoga studio” will not see your result, no matter your AdRank. That’s because Google’s main objective is to display the most relevant results to searchers, even when you’re paying.

Keywords

Keyword research is just as important for paid ads as it is for organic search. Your keywords need to match searcher intent as much as possible. That’s because Google matches your ad with search queries based on the keywords you selected. Each ad group that you create within your campaign will target a small set of keywords (one to five keywords is optimal) and Google will display your ad based on those selections.

Match Types

Match Types give you a little wiggle room when it comes to your keyword selections — they tell Google whether you want to match a search query exactly or if your ad should be shown to anyone with a search query that’s semi-related. There are four match types to choose from:

• Broad Match is the default setting that uses any word within your keyword phrase in any order. For example, “goat yoga in Oakland” will match “goat yoga” or “yoga Oakland.”
• Modified Broad Match allows you to lock in certain words within a keyword phrase by denoting them with a “+” sign. Your matches will include that locked-in word at the very least. For example, “+goats yoga in Oakland” could yield “goats,” “goats like food,” or “goats and yoga.”
• Phrase Match will match with queries that include your keyword phrase in the exact order but may include additional words before or after it. For example, “goat yoga” can yield “spotted goat yoga” or “goat yoga with puppies.”
• Exact Match maintains your keyword phrase as it is written in the exact order. For example, “goat yoga” will not show up if someone types “goats yoga” or “goat yoga class.”

If you’re just starting out and don’t know exactly how your persona will be searching, move from a broad match to a more narrow approach so you can test which queries yield the best results. However, since your ad will be ranking for many queries (some unrelated) you should keep a close eye on your ads and modify them as you can gain new information.

Headline and Description

Your ad copy can be the difference between a click on your ad and a click on your competitor’s ad. It’s important that your ad copy matches the searcher’s intent, is aligned with your target keywords, and addresses the personas pain point with a clear solution.

To illustrate what we mean, let’s review an example.

A search for “baby swim lessons” yielded this result. The copy is concise and uses the limited space wisely to convey their message and connect with their target audience.

The Swim Revolution knew to put the keyword in their headline so we instantly know that this ad matches what we’re looking for. The description tells us why this is the best option for swim lessons because it addresses the concerns of their persona — a parent looking to enroll their baby in a swim class. They use words like “skills,” “fun,” “confidence,” and “comfort in the water” to ease our nerves about putting a baby in a pool and to prove to us that we will get what we want out of this class — an infant that can swim.

This kind of ad copy will get you clicks, but conversions will result from carrying this level of intention into your landing page copy.

Ad Extensions

If you’re running Google Ads, you should be using Ad Extensions for two reasons: they’re free, and they give users additional information and another reason to interact with your ad. These extensions fall within one of these five categories:

• Sitelink Extensions extend your add — helping you stand out — and provide additional links to your site that offer users more enticing reasons to click.

  

• Call Extensions allow you to incorporate your phone number in your ad so users have an additional (and instant) way to reach out to you. If you have a customer service team that is ready to engage and convert your audience, then include your phone number.

  

• Location Extensions include your location and phone number within your ad so Google can offer searchers a map to easily find you. This option is great for businesses with a storefront and it works well for the search query “…near me.”

  

• Offer Extensions work if you’re running a current promotion. It can entice users to click your ad over others if they see that your options are discounted compared to your competitors.

  

• App Extensions provide a link to an app download for mobile users. This reduces the friction from having to perform a new search to find and download the app in an AppStore.

  

How to Set Up Your Google Ads

Setting up your paid campaigns on Google is relatively easy (and quick), mostly because the platform takes you through the setup and provides helpful hints along the way. Once you visit the Google Ads site and click “Start Now,” you’ll be taken through a series of steps to get your ads up and running. If you have your ad copy and/or images created, set up should take you no more than 10 minutes.

What may be less obvious are all the additional things you need to do to make sure your ads are optimally set up and easily trackable. Let’s cover these together. These are the steps you’ll take once your ads are submitted for review.

Link Google Analytics

You likely have Google Analytics set up on your website so you can track traffic, conversions, goals, and any unique metrics. You also need to link your Analytics account to Google Ads. Linking these accounts will make tracking, analyzing, and reporting between channels and campaigns much easier because you can view these events in one place.

Add UTM Codes

Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes are used by Google to track any activity associated with a specific link. You’ve probably seen them before — it’s the part of a URL that follows a question mark (“?”). UTM codes will tell you which offer or ad led to a conversion so you can track the most effective parts of your campaign. UTM codes make it easier to optimize your Google Ads since you know exactly what’s working.

The trick, though, is to add your UTM codes at the campaign level when you set up your Google Ads so you don’t have to do so manually for each ad URL. Otherwise, you can add them manually with Google’s UTM builder.

Set Up Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking tells you exactly how many customers or leads you’ve acquired from your ad campaigns. It’s not mandatory to set up but, without it, you’ll be guessing the ROI of your ads. Conversion tracking allows you to track sales (or other activities) on your website, app installs, or calls from your ads.

Manage and organize your ads with our free Google Ads Kit and Templates.

Integrate Your Google Ads With Your CRM

There is something to be said about keeping all of your data in one place where you can track, analyze, and report on it. You already use your CRM to track contact data and lead flows. Integrating Google Ads with your CRM gives you the ability to track which ad campaigns are working for your audience so you can continue marketing to them with offers that are relevant.

Google Ads Bidding Strategies

Once you’ve set up your ad campaigns and have tracking in place, it’s time to start bidding. Remember, your ability to rank in Google Ads depends on how you bid. While your bid amount will depend on your budget and goals, there are a few strategies and bid settings you should be aware of when launching your paid campaign.

Automated vs. Manual Bidding

You have two options when it comes to bidding on your keywords — automated and manual. Here’s how they work:

• Automated Bidding puts Google in the driver’s seat and allows the platform to adjust your bid based on your competitors. You can still set a maximum budget, and Google will work within a range to give you the best chance at winning the bid within those constraints.
• Manual Bidding let’s you set the bid amounts for your ad groups and keywords, giving you the chance to reduce spending on low-performing ads.

Bidding on Branded Search Terms

Branded terms are those with your company or unique product name in them, like “HubSpot CRM.” There is much debate on whether to bid on your branded terms or not. On one side of the debate, bidding on terms that will likely yield organic results could be seen as a waste of money.

On the other side, bidding on these terms gives you domain over these search results pages and helps you convert prospects that are further along the flywheel. For instance, if I’ve been doing research on live chat tools and am heavily considering HubSpot’s Live Chat, then a simple search for “HubSpot live chat software” will yield exactly the result I’m looking for without the effort of scrolling.

The other argument in favor of bidding on your branded terms is that competitors may bid on them if you don’t, thereby taking up valuable real estate that should belong to you.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

If the idea of spending money to convert prospects into leads makes you uneasy, then you can set a CPA instead and only pay when a user converts into a customer. While this bidding strategy could cost more, you can take comfort in knowing that you only pay when you acquire a paying customer. This strategy makes it easy to track and justify your ad spend.

Additional Resources to Optimize Your Google Ads

Your ad copy and headline is not the only component that will make your paid campaign successful. Getting a user to click is only the beginning … they should arrive on a landing page that’s optimized for conversion and then be taken to a Thank You page that tells them what to do next.

If you want your Google Ads to produce qualified leads and customers, then check out these additional resources and use them as guidelines as you set up your Google Ads campaign.

• Landing Page Best Practices will teach you how to set up a landing page that’s prime for conversions so you don’t waste those precious clicks.
• Optimized “Thank You” Pages shows you what to do with your new lead post-conversion, how to keep them on your site, and ways to maintain their attention.
• Tips for Mobile Google Ads teaches you the key differences between desktop and mobile ads and how to optimize both.
• Optimizing Google Ads Costs will show you how we, at HubSpot, maximize our Google Ads spend to get the best ROI.
• Quality Google Ads Examples That Convert shares examples of Google advertising campaigns that got it right.

Start Your Campaign

Given its reach and authority, Google Ads should be a part of your paid strategy. Use the tips we covered to get started, and remember to refine and iterate as you go. There’s no such thing as a Google Ads campaign that doesn’t work — there are only ones that need a bit more work. Using the strategy and information provided above, you have what you need to create a successful Google Ad campaign that drives clicks and converts leads.

While no content marketing tool can replace a solid strategy and talented humans, having the right tech stack can certainly help you get the job done better, easier, and more efficiently.

There are hundreds of content marketing tools available, some free or cheap and some very expensive. They also serve tons of different purposes, from content ideation to production to promote, optimization, and more. The content marketing technology landscape is growing every year.

This is exciting, since it means that if you have a problem, you can probably find a software solution to help you solve it. But it’s also overwhelming. How do you know which of the couple hundred tools are worth trying?

This post will help clarify those decisions for you. We’ll outline the top 19 content marketing tools in 2019.

1. HubSpot

HubSpot offers many content marketing tools, and many of them are free to try. These include:

• A powerful form builder
• Popup tools
• Live chat and chatbots
• And all-in-one WordPress plugin for marketing

In addition to free content marketing tools, if you really want to build a growth machine, HubSpot has a world-class CMS and the most powerful marketing automation platform in the industry and allows you to centralized everything to a free CRM. This means that, at each and every level of a company’s growth, HubSpot has some solution that can help you build your content marketing program.

HubSpot also makes products for sales and service teams. As such, it can really be the ground control for your whole business.

Meta, right?

2. WordPress

WordPress is the most widely used CMS in the world. As of August 2018, VentureBeat reported that WordPress powers about 30% of the internet in general.

Social proof can sometimes lead us astray, but in this case, it turns out that WordPress is a pretty powerful tool, both at the beginning stages and as your grow your content marketing program (it’s used by sites like The New Yorker and The Next Web)

At its core, WordPress is an open source CMS that allows you to host and build websites. You can self-host or host your site via WordPress.com. WordPress contains plugin architecture and a template system so you can customize any website to fit your business, blog, portfolio, or online store.

It’s a highly customizable platform and is widely used by bloggers.

3. Google Docs

Google Docs is to content marketing what a kitchen is to chefs: it’s where all of the work gets done before the final presentation.

Personally, I don’t know any content marketers who don’t use Google Docs to draft their articles. It’s the best platform for collaboration by a long shot, but it’s also easy to use has a pleasant user experience.

In addition, you can usually find a way to upload Google Docs directly to your CMS. In the case of HubSpot, you can do that by default. If you use WordPress, you can use a tool like Wordable to help you out.

Google Docs is free, quite ubiquitous, and pleasant to use. Not many reasons not to use it.

4. Airstory

If you do want to step up your writing and collaboration game, Airstory is a more powerful platform for writers. If you find yourself moving too often between Evernote, Google Docs, Google Drive, and you always seem to have a hundred tabs open for research, it might be time to look into Airstory.

It helps you save quotes, images, and multimedia and drag and drop it into any application where you do writing. As such, it’s an incredible tool for collaboration, but also for writers who are working on longer form content (such as books or ebooks).

5. Grammarly

Grammarly has changed the game for me. I’m not naturally what you would call “detail-oriented,” so if it weren’t for talented editors, you’d be tearing me apart right now for the multitude of grammar mistakes littering my articles.

Grammarly, however, reduces my error rate by probably 50-80%. I still have some mistakes slip through, but to a large extent, Grammarly saves me from embarrassment (not just when writing articles, by the way – it also works for social media and forum comments).

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6. Yoast

Yoast is one of my favorite tools for writing SEO-focused content.

It’s a sort of “all-in-one” WordPress plugin for SEO that helps do pretty much everything, including optimizing content for a keyword, previewing and editing meta-descriptions and URL slugs, abstracting away technical SEO tasks, and suggesting relevant internal links.

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They have over 9,000,000 downloads, 4.9 out of 5 stars in the WordPress marketplace, and just anecdotally, everyone I know who uses WordPress uses Yoast. It’s just a great plugin.

7. Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is a great multi-purpose content marketing research tool.

One of the main things it can do is help you analyze what content performs best for any topic or competitor. You can see metrics like social shares, backlinks, and which influencers are sharing as given piece of content.

They also have great influencer reports so you can see who the thought leaders are for a given topic area.

8. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is my personal favorite SEO tool, and I use it just about every day. It’s great for everything from tracking the rankings of your keywords to analyzing your competitors’ keywords and traffic and much more.

Everytime I think I’ve mastered the full functionality of Ahrefs, I find a new feature that surprises and delights me. The basics, such as keyword research or site analyzer, are wonderful. But I also love reports like “top pages” (where you can analyze the most valuable pages on a website), or “content gap” (where you can see what competitors rank for that you don’t).

9. Vidyard

Vidyard is a video marketing platform that helps you host, share, and promote video content on your website.

They have a sales solution as well to help you close more accounts, but the marketing solution is what I’m most used to. Vidyard’s video analytics are robust, you can run A/B tests and personalize videos, and you can even gate videos at a certain time length to help capture leads.

10. Loom

Loom is a tool that I’ve more recently begun using, but at this point it’s a staple for me.

It’s a simple tool, but one with powerful use cases, even beyond content marketing. What it does is allow you to create, edit, and share screen share videos. For content marketing, I love this, because I can create and embed tutorials for technical walkthroughs.

Organizationally, I love it as well. It’s great for communicating quick questions or explaining concepts to other team members (without requiring a full, synchronous meeting).

11. Trello

When you really start producing content, you’ll need some way to manage the process. This is particularly true if you’re working with many staff writers or guest writers.

My favorite tool for this is Trello.

Trello is a simple kanban and project management tool, which means it can be used for many purposes. In fact, I’ve used it for tons of things, like growth experiments, sales pipelines, and product feature roadmaps.

But I really like it as an editorial calendar tool.

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12. Airtable

Airtable is another project management tool, though it’s a little more complicated (though also customizable). It’s kind of like a mixture between spreadsheets and Trello. Again, with Airtable, the use cases are many, but I really like it for two content marketing purposes:

• Editorial calendars
• Influencer/writer management

I’ve also used Airtable for several other things in the past, including growth experiments and general team operating documents.

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13. Google Analytics

When talking about content marketing tools, you can’t leave measurement out of the discussion.

Surely, you can get some good insights from SEO tools like Google Search Console as well as previously listed tools like Ahrefs. But you’ll also want a digital analytics platform so you can track business metrics.

Google Analytics is one of the most widely used platforms online. It’s easy-to-use (at least the basic configurations), and it’s free. Two big benefits.

However, it’s also very powerful if you’re technical and know how to setup a proper configuration. You can not only track goals, like form submissions or product purchases, but you can also set up behavioral events, like scroll-depth.

14. HotJar

HotJar is my favorite user experience analytics tool. It’s got some qualitative tools, such as on-site poll, surveys, and session replays. Where Google Analytics can help you uncover the “what” and “where” of user behavior, these tools can help you start to tiptoe into the “why.”

In addition, they also provide some quantitative tools such as heat maps. These allow you to get a good visual picture of where you visitors are clicking and scrolling.

One use case I love HotJar (outside of CRO) for is to source interesting content ideas:

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15. Google Optimize

We’ve got a quantitative digital analytics tool (Google Analytics) and a qualitative insights platform (HotJar), so we presumably can know a lot about our readers and our website at this point. But what if we want to make a change to our blog or landing pages?

My background is in optimization, so if there’s sufficient traffic, I like to set up A/B tests for site changes.

There are many tools out there for this, but I wanted to list Google Optimize because it’s free. It’s also a good starter option to get used to. If you do want to explore other options, here’s a good article comparing the market solutions. But Google Optimize is a great start.

16. Mutiny

A/B testing is one thing; personalization is also an interesting avenue to explore.

Where A/B testing is a controlled experiment with a limited time-horizon, personalization allows you to deliver different unique experiences to subsets of your overall audience.

For example, you could target mobile users with different popup forms. Or you could target visitors who have read three blog posts with an offer for a specific e-book. Or you could target people who scroll 75% of the way down a certain blog post with an in-text CTA.

The options are endless, only limited by your time, resources, creativity, and prioritization.

Anyway, Mutiny is my favorite platform in this space. It’s designed for B2B, so if you’re in ecommerce you may want to look at another tool like Evergage. But Mutiny is a good and promising newer player with lots of functionality.

17. TheStocks.IM

Most good content marketing includes imagery, so it only makes sense to include a stock photo site here in our list of content marketing tools.

I like TheStocks.IM because it aggregates several free stock photo sites, including Unsplash (my favorite) and Pixabay.

18. Canva

What about when a stock image doesn’t cut it, and you want to make your own imagery?

Canva is a great option here.

With Canva, you really don’t need to have excellent graphic design skills. I’m a horrible designer, and I can make decent looking graphics with Canva. It’s really designed for the layperson.

This tool is great for all kinds of content marketing imagery, like social media images, blog cover photos, Twitter cover photos, etc. It’s pretty all-purpose.

19. Adobe Photoshop

Now, what if you want to make your own imagery, but you actually are good at graphic design?

Well, in this case, Photoshop is the gold standard. It’s great for editing photographs as well as creating images such as Facebook photos, blog cover photos, and even screenshot tutorials.

I find that, just as with SQL, little bit of skill with Photoshop goes a long way.

Not all of the content marketing tools on this list are free, though many of them are. 

As such, if you’re a content marketer on a budget, look into the following tools, which can all be used or at least tested out for free. 

Content marketing tools won’t save a bad content strategy or a bad product

… but they’ll certainly help you get the job done faster and more effectively.

Obviously there are many more content marketing tools out there, but for this list, I tried to only list those that you really need as well as the tools that I like the most.

Science has shown the most successful people are often also those who rely heavily on the power of networking.

Ultimately, pursuing opportunities to connect with industry leaders or professionals with varying interests and perspectives is critical to your own career growth.

However, networking can be exhausting — and, at the end of a long work day, it might be the last thing you want to do.

When you’re sitting at your desk unsure if you’re actually going to go to the networking event you’ve had penciled on your calendar, it’s important you muster up both the energy and the motivation to power through and channel the confidence you need to make authentic connections.

Here, we’ve cultivated a list of 18 networking quotes to help you connect with people — and remember why it matters.

1. “The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.” — Keith Ferrazzi

2. “Networking is a lot like nutrition and fitness: we know what to do, the hard part is making it a top priority.” — Herminia Ibarra

3. “Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come.” — Diane Helbig

4. “The successful networkers I know, the ones receiving tons of referrals and feeling truly happy about themselves, continually put the other person’s needs ahead of their own.” — Bob Burg

5. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” — Steve Jobs

6. “Your network is your net worth.” — Porter Gale

7. “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want” — Zig Ziglar

8. “My Golden Rule of Networking is simple: Don’t keep score.” — Harvey Mackay

9. “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” — Brene Brown

10. “Instead of better glasses, your network gives you better eyes.” — Ronald Burt

11. “Networking is marketing. Marketing yourself, your uniqueness, what you stand for.” — Christine Comaford-Lynch

12. “Networking is not about just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities.” — Michele Jennae

13. “Pulling a good network together takes effort, sincerity and time.” — Alan Collins

14. “Networking is an enrichment program, not an entitlement program.” — Susan RoAne

15. “The single greatest ‘people skill’ is a highly developed and authentic interest in the other person.” — Bob Burg

16. “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.” — Steve Jobs

17. “Know where you want to go and make sure the right people know about it.” — Meredith Mahoney

18. “Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” — Michelle Obama

When people first start doing email marketing, they often assume they need an email newsletter.

“It’ll have everything our customers care about, all in one place,” they rationalize. “Our list will be different — people will actually look forward to getting our newsletter,” they argue. “Since we’re only sending it once a month, it’ll be a breeze to put together,” they say.

And while all of those things may become true for a few lucky individuals, lots of email newsletters flop. They become an uninteresting mush of content people automatically ignore, archive, delete, or straight up unsubscribe from. And this isn’t great for you, your metrics, or your company’s success.

So if you’re thinking about creating an email newsletter, read this blog post and think really hard about whether that’s the right move for you in terms of your marketing strategy.

If you’ve decided that you want to start an email newsletter, or you want to revamp one that’s not performing well, keep on reading. We’ve compiled some of our absolute favorite email newsletters to inspire you to make the best email newsletter for your company possible.

Each newsletter on this list is fabulous for different reasons. Some have exceptional design, some have exceptional copy, some have exceptional calls-to-action … but all are exceptional at solving for their subscribers’ needs. Check ’em out.

1. NextDraft

NextDraft is a daily email written by a man named Dave Pell, which is a curation of the best web content of the day. As Pell describes it, “Each morning I visit about fifty news sites and from that swirling nightmare of information quicksand, I pluck the top ten most fascinating items of the day, which I deliver with a fast, pithy wit that will make your computer device vibrate with delight.”

You can tell he’s a great writer. His copywriting is one of my favorite things about the newsletter. It starts with the subject line, which is usually a play on words or a clever one-liner on the top news of the day. It then extends to the body of the email itself, which is always descriptive, accurate, and clever. Finally, the minimalist design is fantastic.

Not only is content delivery is clear, organized, and digestible, but also the inclusion of social share buttons underneath each story is brilliant. Rather than assuming that the reader is going to make it to a social sharing option at the bottom of the newsletter, Pell provides them with multiple opportunities throughout. Social engagement can play a big role in growing your newsletter, as every share on social opens up a valuable opportunity to attract more subscribers.

For those who’d rather read news like this in a mobile app, the NextDraft app is free in Apple’s app store.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

2. REI

REI, the recreational sports outfitter, is a model of success in several areas of content marketing — and their membership email is no exception.

We included this email newsletter on our list because it does what many ecommerce and consumer product vendors find challenging: promote good products with good content. In the newsletter example below, you’ll see how REI delivers many different types of material to its subscribers, and each type relates to one another. Following the seasonal product offerings at the top of the email, the company offers trainings to help educate readers on its new products and blog posts for even more insight into the outdoor lifestyle.

Did you notice something else about this newsletter? It’s dedicated entirely to runners. Catering your email newsletter to a single audience — even if that audience belongs to an even bigger buyer persona — can help you tell a story in your email that resonates with the recipient from start to finish.

3. Austin Kleon

Not to play favorites, but this newsletter from Austin Kleon is one I really look forward to. First, I love the simplicity. It’s not flashy, nor is it overly promotional. That’s the hallmark of a successful email newsletter: The most effective newsletters aim to educate, not sell.

I also love the overall informal tone he takes, as it makes it feel as though you’re hearing from a friend. If you’re looking to lower the barrier between your company and your audience, consider using language that is friendly and inviting, not buttoned-up and jargony.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

4. FandangoNOW

FandangoNOW is a movie streaming app that allows you to build a library of purchased and rented movies around your interests. And it uses the below email newsletter as part of its customer retention strategy.

The email below offers movie suggestions for the weekend, making it a well-timed newsletter if it lands in your inbox on Friday afternoon. In addition, its design is easy to digest, despite being so graphic-intense. Using numbered icons and consistent “Buy” and “Rent” CTAs in corners of each movie tile, the email compartmentalizes a lot of content while still connecting each movie to the FandangoNOW brand.

5. InVision

InVision’s newsletter is a weekly digest of their best blog content, a roundup of their favorite design links from the week, and a new opportunity to win a free t-shirt.

Not only is their newsletter a great mix of content, but I also love the nice balance between images and text, making it easy to read and mobile-friendly. They make great use of animated GIFs in their emails (which you can see when viewing the whole email here). I also love the clever copy on their call-to-action buttons:

• “Cat GIFs on Every Page”
• “Set Your Sights”
• “Why So Serious?”

In addition to classic CTA buttons, they engage their audience at the bottom of every newsletter with a “You tell us!” text CTA.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

6. Community.is

Community.is is a handcrafted newsletter created for people who “put people at the center of their work.” This unique concept attracts a variety of readers from executives at ad agencies, to community managers at startups, to marketers and creatives of all shapes and sizes.

In an effort to cater to their melting pot of subscribers, Community.is adopted a three-tier format: Short, Mid, and Long. While an executive may only have time to skim the short stuff, a marketer might be looking for a more in-depth read to spark some inspiration for their next campaign. Organizing a newsletter in this way helps ensure that you’re serving the distinct needs of your audience without it being too confusing.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

7. Vox Sentences

Vox Sentences is a nightly email meant to quickly get its readers up to speed on the best stories from the day. The content ranges from the day’s top news to fun stories from all over the web. They do a great job balancing their own content with external sources, and the stories they choose are always really high quality.

You can read Vox’s entire newsletter from start to finish and get a great sense of the stories they’re covering — but you can also click through to any of the linked stories to get a more in-depth approach.

8. Fizzle

Fizzle’s newsletter is aimed at entrepreneurs who want weekly tips on building a business sent directly to their inbox and all in the email itself. Although they have a business blog and a podcast, what makes Fizzle’s newsletter unique is that the email content is independent from those other content assets. In other words, it’s written entirely for their subscribers.

The copywriting style makes the newsletter unique and appealing, too: It’s casual, honest, and written like the author is writing to a friend. The writing gives off the vibe of real, down-to-earth business advice — without the fluffy stuff. At the same time, it’s written with clear headers and sub-headers to break it up, and the important stuff is bolded, making for easy skimming.

9. TheSkimm

If you want to stay up on what’s happening in the world and have some delightful writing delivered to your inbox first thing in the morning, look no further than TheSkimm. It’s a daily roundup of what’s happened in the news in short, punch paragraphs.

The best part? You don’t have to click out of the email to read the news if you don’t want to — although they do link to their sources if you want to read further. And when it comes to more complex news topics (think: Brexit or the Cannes Film Festival), they’ll cover the most recent updates but link to their Skimm Guides, located on their website. These guides provide context for larger topics, and are written in the same style as the emails.

For your own email marketing, TheSkimm is the place to go if you’re looking for writing inspiration or for emails without much visual content.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

10. Medium

Medium is a blog-publishing platform that has been continuously building momentum since its launch in 2012. Publishing on the site has really picked up in the past few years, and nowadays, there are a ton of people publishing posts on the site every day.

Of course, that means there’s a lot of content for the average person to filter through. To help bring great content to the surface, Medium uses email newsletters. And after I open this newsletter every day, I end up going to visit several Medium posts without fail. (Mission accomplished for Medium, right?)

Here’s why: The newsletter feels pretty minimal. Because of the way that Medium uses colors and section dividers, they’re able to give you a ton of content in one email without it feeling overwhelming. Plus, they offer both a daily and a weekly version of the digest, allowing users to opt in for the email frequency they feel most comfortable with.

11. BrainPickings

BrainPickings is one of the most interesting newsletters out there. In fact, the folks who write it call it an “interestingness digest.” Every Sunday morning, subscribers get the past week’s most unmissable articles about creativity, psychology, art, science, design, and philosophy — topics that are really appealing to a wide audience. At its core, it explores what it means to live a good life.

This is one of the longest newsletters I’ve ever read, but what makes it still work well is how high quality and well packaged the content is.

(Bonus: Check out the delightful microcopy in the top right-hand corner.)

[Click here to see the entire email.]

12. Litmus

You’d hope that an email marketing testing company would have great emails … and Litmus definitely does. While the content of the emails is certainly interesting, I’m especially digging the design. The blocks of color help break up the newsletter into sections that are easy to differentiate.

I also like that the text calls-to-action at the end of each post’s description don’t just say something generic, like “Read this post.” Instead, they are matched with specific actions related to the post’s content, like “Get the checklist” and “Discover why you should test.”

[Click here to see the entire email.]

13. General Assembly

There are a lot of creative things you can do with images in your emails, from designing your own custom graphics to creating animated GIFs. General Assembly, an organization that helps expand professionals’ skill sets, likes to employ tactics like these in their newsletter.

From their attractive and minimal layout to their concise copy and helpful information, this is a great example of a newsletter that gives subscribers quick information in an easily scannable format.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

14. This.

This. (yes, the full stop is part of the brand name) is another great newsletter for finding — and sharing — the best and most entertaining content on the web. What makes their newsletter unique is that it isn’t just content curated by one person or one team; it’s content curated by a community of people on the internet.

Members are allowed to share one, single link every day — presumably the best content they find the entire day. The result? “We’ve built something we hope will connect you to the best the web has to offer — all its weirdness and beauty and diversity and ambition,” reads the website.

The newsletter consists of the editor’s picks from all the amazing content their community members have shared. Subscribers also have the option of signing up for a custom newsletter, which includes the editor’s picks and a custom feed from curators they can pick and choose. That’s some pretty cool personalization.

15. SaaS Weekly

This is the ultimate SaaS newsletter, from a guy that kind of knows a thing or two about SaaS. (Hiten Shah is the co-founder of CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics).

While his approach is simple, this roundup is packed with value and organized in a way that makes it easy to discover content around your specific interests. Shah does this by breaking the list of curated posts into different sections — Business, Product, Marketing Growth, Tip of the Week, etc. — which makes it easily scannable.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

16. The Ringer

Remember Grantland, the sports and pop culture blog owned by ESPN that was started by sports journalist Bill Simmons? In October 2015, ESPN announced it would be ending the publication of Grantland. Shortly thereafter, Simmons formed Bill Simmon Media Group and recruited a whole bunch of former Grantland staffers to launch a brand new newsletter in March 2016 called The Ringer.

Although The Ringer is written and run by many former Grantland employees it’s a different project than Grantland was. Where Grantland focused on sports and pop culture, The Ringer branches out into other areas like tech and politics. Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, is among the contributors. I like how focused they are on experimentation: “We want to have fun, take chances, analyze, theorize, obsess, and try not to take ourselves too seriously,” said Editor-in-Chief Sean Fennessey.

Another differentiator? The Ringer’s website was developed in partnership with publishing platform Medium — which means the newsletter reflects that clean, minimal design.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

17. Hacker Newsletter

Many marketers don’t frequent Hacker News, but they should still check out this hand-picked curation of the social network’s top stories of the day.

Why? The newsletter is clean and minimal, but still sends a ton of really great content its subscribers’ way. The way it distills potentially overwhelming information is by bucketing content into sections. The newsletter also looks very similar to the site, so for those who love the site and how it’s laid out, the newsletter feels like a comforting, familiar way to consume content.

[Click here to see the entire email.]

Even though newsletters are one of the most common types of emails to send, they are actually some of the hardest to do right. We hope these examples gave you some quality inspiration so you can create newsletters your subscribers love to get in their inboxes.

Negotiating salary with candidates can sometimes be tricky — particularly if you’re extremely excited about a potential candidate, but she’s asking for salary well-above the set salary range for the role.

When this is the case, there are a number of elements of an offer outside of salary that a candidate may place significant value on, and could carry more weight when deciding to join your team. For instance, you might offer more vacation time, higher bonus potential, or commuting reimbursement.

Alternatively, you might consider offering a sign-on bonus, which is a one-time increased payment to help you reach a total compensation package that is attractive to the candidate and offers a (sometimes significant) short-term financial incentive.

Of course, like with anything, there are pros and cons to sign-on bonuses. Keep reading to figure out whether a sign-on bonus is really the best tactic for your recruitment team or HR department.

Pros and Cons of Sign-On Bonuses

Pros

1. A sign-on bonus is a one time payment.

Let’s say your candidate asks for 100K, but you’re only able to offer 90K for the role. In a case like this, you might consider including a sign-on bonus to make the total compensation package more attractive to the candidate.

While your compensation expense as an employer in the first year is the 10K sign-on plus the prorated total salary, in subsequent years you are only paying the base salary.

This has less of a financial burden for your company in the long run.

2. A sign-on bonus can help you attract a candidate who might have competing offers.

If you know your candidate is in high demand or might be considering alternative offers, you might want to include an additional incentive to demonstrate your interest in her as a candidate. For instance, let’s say you want to hire a highly-skilled engineer, but she’s been given offers from other top firms in the city, as well.

The sign-on bonus could be your opportunity to persuade her to join your company — additionally, it shows you recognize her worth and want to be considered as a serious option.

3. A sign-on bonus can help you bridge the gap between the candidate’s desired compensation package and what you’re able to offer.

Simply put, a sign-on bonus enables you to bridge the gap between the candidate’s desired compensation package, and the compensation package your business is able to offer. While you might not be able to afford to pay her 5K more over the next couple years, you could find the funds to make the offer more appealing to her.

It’s important to note, a sign-on bonus often comes with fine print that ensures a candidate will stay with your company for a certain length of time — likely 6 months to a year, minimum.

Cons

1. Year two, the candidate might feel underpaid or under-appreciated when she returns to a base salary without the sign-on bonus.

Year two, when your candidate sees her total cash compensation comprised only of the base salary in the absence of the sign-on bonus, she might feel underpaid or under-appreciated — or like she just received a pay cut. Even if she understood the agreement when she made it, it’s difficult to mitigate feelings of frustration when that sign-on bonus goes away and the employee is making less than she was making year one.

Over the long-haul, she’s likely going to seek out opportunities to close the gap and receive what she initially expected, either through a salary increase, performance bonus, or long-term compensation — and, if she can’t find that opportunity at your company, she might look elsewhere.

To ensure sustained employee satisfaction, it’s critical you’re able to pull other levers such as options, RSUs, bonuses, or annual compensation increases to cover the expectation.

2. You’ll need to ensure your company can offer it immediately.

It might be tricky to locate the funds to offer a sign-on bonus. Additionally, a sign-on bonus is expected to be paid in-full in the candidate’s first or second paychecks. So, while it might seem simple, it’s worth noting — you’ll want to make sure you have the funds immediately ready to give to your candidate once she accepts your offer.

Alternatively, you might choose to pay 50/50 at the start date and then midway through the year, with a one year clawback clause.

Most marketers think being data-driven means using web metrics to inform every decision they make. But that’s not actually being data-driven. That’s being Google Analytics-driven. To truly be data-driven, we must remind ourselves of the actual definition of data — all types of information.

One of the most insightful types of information is qualitative data or unstructured data. It can reveal your customers’ true opinions and feelings toward your brand, which is challenging to extract from quantitative data or structured data.

Even Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is a passionate proponent of using qualitative data to drive strategy. “The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. And there’s something wrong with the way you are measuring (your data),” he explained during an onstage interview at George Bush Presidential Center last April.

Bezos’ love for customer feedback shouldn’t compel you to supplant quantitative data with qualitative data when strategizing your next marketing campaign, though. It should compel you to inform your strategy with both sources of data. By combining the insights pulled from web metrics and customer feedback, you can get a full understanding of your marketing program’s effectiveness.

If you want a deeper explanation of what qualitative or unstructured data and quantitative or structured data is, check out this quick rundown of what both data sources exactly are and which tools you can use to store and analyze them.

Since you can’t store and organize unstructured data in typical databases, you need to store them in Word documents or non-relational (NoSQL) databases, like Elasticsearch or Solr, which can perform search queries for words and phrases.

Additionally, since you can’t use standard data analysis methods and tools to pull insights from unstructured data, you can either manually analyze or use the analysis tools in a NoSQL database to examine unstructured data. However, to use these tools effectively, you need a high level of technical expertise.

If you can successfully extract insights from unstructured data, though, you can develop a deep understanding of your customer’s preferences and their sentiment toward your brand.

Be Data-Driven, Not Just Google-Analytics Driven

In a world where Google Analytics can spit out every metric under the sun, you must remember that qualitative data, like customer feedback, is just as crucial for informing your marketing strategy as web metrics. Without unstructured data, you won’t have a clear understanding of how your customers actually feel about your brand. And that’s crucial for every marketer to know.

In Simon Sinek’s famous Ted Talk “How great leaders inspire action”, he fleshes out a concept that some of the most inspiring leaders and organizations — specifically Apple, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers — leveraged to build loyal followings. It’s called Start With Why.

Start With Why suggests that if your brand truly wants to inspire an audience to follow you, your core message should focus on your organization’s purpose — not how you make your product or what your product is. Spotlighting why people should care about your organization is how Apple, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Wright Brothers ultimately built a body of support for their causes, even though they all faced fierce competitors.

Simon Sinek’s notion that people buy the “why” behind your organization, not the “what” or “how”, isn’t some idealistic trend catching fire in the business world today. It’s actually rooted in human biology. To explain further, the most primal part of the brain is called the limbic system, and it controls all decision making. It also happens to control all of our emotions and feelings.

So, resonating with your audience will also appeal to the part of the brain that’s responsible for action. In other words, if you can evoke emotion, you can drive behavior. If you can’t do the former, though, you’ll struggle to build a loyal following, let alone sell them anything.

But how do you discover the “why” behind your organization? How do you actually connect with an audience and inspire them to follow you? One of the best places to start is by writing a brand manifesto.

5 of the Best Brand Manifesto Examples

1. Nike

Image Credit: Pinterest

Even though Nike endorses some of the biggest names in sports, like LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Serena Williams, they never boast about how the best athletes in the world use their equipment. Instead, they stick to what has skyrocketed them to the top of the sports equipment industry — emotional resonance.

Nike wants people to understand that success doesn’t mean becoming the greatest of all time. It means you did everything you could to become the best possible version of yourself. And that’s the “why” behind their brand — to empower every athlete, regardless of their talent or ability, to reach their potential and achieve their own greatness.

2. Fiat

Image Credit: Pinterest

Fiat isn’t just selling a sleek, Italian car. They’re selling a lifestyle. In their brand manifesto, you get a glimpse of the life they want to offer to their customers — a life that they can live with burning passion and thrilling excitement.

However, Fiat doesn’t want its customers to live recklessly. They actually want them to treasure the little things in life just as much as the big things. So the “why” behind Fiat’s brand isn’t really changing their customers’ lifestyle — it’s changing their attitude toward life. And that’s a compelling mission to have.

3. The North Face

Image Credit: Pinterest

Most travel equipment brands focus on how their products can enable you to travel and explore your surroundings, which is engaging on the surface. But, in The North Face’s brand manifesto, they go another layer deeper by diving into why we explore.

By describing how exploring helps us understand ourselves better, The North Face’s purpose is crystal clear — they not only want to help us explore more, but they also want to help us change for the better, lead more fulfilling lives, and cherish what we have.

4. Apple

Image Credit: Pinterest

For almost his entire career, Steve Jobs was considered crazy. His bitter disdain for the status quo compelled him to shatter conventional wisdom whenever he could, driving such a large wedge between him and his colleagues that they forced him out of the company he founded.

Despite all his controversy, though, Steve Jobs’ ability to think differently was what fueled Apple’s innovation and transformed it into the most valuable brand in the world. Steve Jobs’ story is the driving force behind Apple’s purpose. If they can inspire people to think differently and challenge the status quo, then they can help propel society forward and change the world — just like Steve Jobs did.

5. Levi’s

Image Credit: Pinterest

No one wants to coast through life. But, a lot of times, we drift away — and we don’t even notice it happening. To help catch yourself settling in life before it’s too late, Levi’s crafted a brand manifesto overflowing with so much purpose that it could convince Eeoyre from Winnie-the-Pooh to go make his mark on the world.

By asking their audience whether they’ve made the world any better and telling them that all they need is their gut instinct and the clothes on their back to make that impact, Levi’s conveys a brand purpose almost everyone would passionately follow for the rest of their lives — don’t ever settle.

1. Identify your organization’s “why”.

Your brand’s purpose drives your entire brand manifesto. Without presenting a clear and convincing purpose, your manifesto will seem like an inauthentic, emotionally manipulative sales pitch. Your audience wants to know why they should care about you — and your product’s “best-in-class” features has never been a compelling enough reason to support a business.

To uncover your organization’s “why”, consider asking your founders why they started the company. What problem were they trying to solve? Why did it bug them so much? And why do they want to keep growing the company? You’ll most likely find your organization’s purpose within those answers.

2. Write in second- or third-person to place your audience into the story you’re telling.

In each of the brand manifestos above, you’ll notice that the copy pulls you in by including the words “we” or “people”. That’s because Nike, Fiat, and The North Face all know that their audience primarily cares about how the brands can help them, so using pronouns like “you”, “we”, and “them” (when referring to their own customer base) can engage people on a personal level and place them in the narrative the brands are crafting.

3. Describe how your brand’s purpose will improve people’s lives.

Most people aspire to transcend their current identity and lives. Self-actualization is a universal goal that almost everyone wants to achieve. And the smartest brand marketers understand this about the human condition.

For instance, did you notice how each of the brand manifestos above is essentially a life mantra that can improve your life? Nike — define and meet your own greatness. Fiat — enjoy life to the fullest. The North Face — never stop exploring. Apple — think differently and challenge the status quo. Levi’s — don’t ever settle in life.

By describing each brand’s purpose in a such genuinely selfless fashion, each company’s brand manifesto can prompt their audience to imagine a future with their product or service bettering their lives.

Start With Why

Your brand’s purpose is one of the most challenging things to pinpoint and communicate. But if you want to craft a compelling brand manifesto that will engage an audience and persuade them to support your brand, you must be able to clearly convey the reason you exist and why anyone should care. Only then will you be able to build the loyal following that every brand craves.

I remember sitting in one of my career classes in college listening to my professor tell the class how long it can take to find a job.

“Sometimes you’re completely qualified for the positions in which you’re applying for, yet it can take several months to find the right position,” he said.

My professor wasn’t kidding. I started applying for my first job six months prior to graduation, and it took me all six months to find one I was excited about accepting. Then, when I began the search for my second job, it took me closer to nine months from the moment I decided it was time to start searching for new roles to the call I received with the job offer I accepted.

Long story short — searching for a new job isn’t always an easy process. It has the potential to become stressful, time-consuming, and frustrating. But no fear! We’ve created this guide to help you through the process and make it a bit less intimidating. We’ll review the first 10 things you should do when you begin your search, where you can find job listings of interest, how to prepare for an interview, and the ways in which you can accept a job offer.

Let’s dive right in.

Depending on your specific situation, you may not need to walk through each of the following steps. This list is here to simply guide you through the beginning stages of your job hunt, so feel free to modify it as needed.

1. Consider your personality.

Your personality tells you a lot about yourself — what you enjoy doing, what makes you happy, how you like to communicate, and even the types of jobs you’d likely be really great at. There are a number of ways to incorporate your personality traits and characteristics in your job search. You can take one of the many online personality tests to learn more about your specific traits and discover various types of work and tasks you’d be a good fit for. This information is also helpful when thinking about the type of work environment you’d be most productive in. 

Your personality will help you narrow your search in other ways too — for example, if your results come back with details about you being more shy, introspective, and reserved, you can research ideal jobs for introverts.

2. Think about your skill set.

Your skill set is a list of your abilities — such as communication, decision making, and ability to work under pressure. These are often listed on your resume, so they’re important to consider for that reason as well as to help you determine the type of role you’d be successful in. You can learn more about your skill set and how it plays a part in the type of career you’d be an ideal fit for by taking a career aptitude test.

3. Reflect on your background.

Your previous work experience and education, or your background, are also great ways to determine a career path you’d be suited for.

For example, I studied journalism in college and worked at a news station after graduation, yet wanted to leave the TV industry. My background, which was tailored towards writing jobs and content-heavy positions, made me an ideal candidate for a blog writer position at HubSpot.

If your background doesn’t align with your newfound career interests that’s alright too! This may require a little more research on your end about whether or not you’ll need to go back to school for a masters degree, get a certification of some kind, or work in an entry-level position in your new field of interest.

4. Brainstorm your career goals.

Brainstorm your personal and career goals to help you determine the right job for you. Think about things like work-life balance, salary, and what you can envision yourself doing in 5-10 years. This will help you narrow down your search as different industries and positions have a range of standards when it comes to factors such as career flexibility and growth.

5. Create a list of your dream companies.

Whether or not you’re sure about the actual position you’re looking to get into, you should create a list of your dream companies to work for. This is a great way to keep track of the companies you’re most interested in, remain goal-oriented, and remember to continually check their job listings to ensure you’re not missing the perfect opening. You can then tailor your cover letter and skill set on your resume to fit these target companies’ candidate requirements and expectations.

6. Consider companies similar to your dream companies.

Be sure to consider companies comparable to your ideal companies as well. For example, if you’re hoping to work for a major company like Nike, you might also consider a smaller but quickly growing company in the same industry such as NOBULL. By being open-minded and realistic about how you’re going to reach your end-goal, you avoid locking yourself into one, narrow career path option.

7. Network professionally.

Whether you’re looking to stay in your current industry or pave a completely new path in another, professional networking is critical. These days, over 70% of job offers at companies, or at least get interviews, as a result of networking. Networking can help you get your foot in the door at a company of interest, gain a new and valuable reference, and determine whether or not you really want to move into a specific type of role.

8. Clean up your social media accounts.

These days, recruiting managers, hiring teams, and other people at the companies you’re applying to will often look you up on social media as part of their candidate search and screening processes. This means you should either make sure all of your social media accounts are not public, or remove every picture, video, or comment that may lead a potential company to believe you’re not mature or professional enough to join the team. The last thing you want a hiring manager at your dream company to do is take you off their list of potential candidates because of something on your Instagram or Facebook profile.

9. Update your LinkedIn profile.

Did you know there are over 6.1 million users on LinkedIn? That includes people like yourself looking for new jobs, people who are content in their current jobs, and people who are looking to recruit for and fill various openings at their companies.

That’s why ensuring your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date when you begin your job search is critical. Be sure to describe in detail all of your relevant, past work experience including promotions and notable mentions, as well as your education, awards, certifications, and anything else you feel is worth sharing. Make your profile look even more professional by accepting and initiating connections with people you know so you’re more likely to receive endorsements for your skills, experiences, and traits.

Recruiters, hiring managers, and employers who find you on LinkedIn will see you as a competent, impressive, and qualified candidate who’s taking the hiring process seriously.

Learn how to use LinkedIn for professional networking, business, and marketing.

10. Prepare your resume.

You must prepare your resume at the beginning of your job search for the same reason you need to update your LinkedIn profile — to ensure all of your latest and most relevant experience is available to recruiters and hiring managers so they can determine whether or not you’d be a good fit for the role you’re applying for.

Without a strong and updated resume, the companies you apply to won’t have any reason to take you seriously. Pay attention to the small details, such as your resume font and the skill set you choose to share. After all, this is how you’re going to make an impactful first impression.

(When in doubt, you can always update your resume using a template to ensure a professional look and feel that will blow hiring managers away.)

How to Find and Apply For Your New Job

Now that we’ve reviewed which steps to take in the first stages of your job search, you might be wondering how to find a job you want to apply for and make yourself stand out as a candidate. We’ve created this collection of tips and tricks involving job search sites, cover letters, and interview prep to help you do just that.

Job Search Sites

Today, job search sites — also known as job search engines —are one of the most common ways to find a new job. These sites provide you with valuable information on companies, location, industry, salary, qualifications, company reviews, and more.

Other benefits to using a job search site are the ability to upload your resume and cover letter for quick and easy application submission and the option to be alerted when a new job listing is posted based on criteria you provide. 

There are a number of popular job search sites that are used by millions of people around the world — so which ones should you use? Below we list six of the most common options.

1. Indeed provides you with access to new job listings, company reviews, and accurate salary information. The site also allows you to post your resume so recruiters and employers can easily reach out you.
2. CareerBuilder gives you the opportunity to search for a new job based on specific criteria, including your experience, location, or skill set. You upload your resume so employers can recruit you and the site will also review your profile and recommend jobs to help you find the right match.
3. Monster allows you to upload your resume for a free assessment to ensure everything looks perfect. The site has a variety of other resources like opportunities to receive professional advice and interview tips, as well as to access to the latest (and most popular) job listings, salary information, and company reviews.
4. LinkedIn isn’t just a networking site — it’s also a job search site. The site will take you through a series of steps to help you begin your job hunt. You can then view position openings and employers can read your resume (as well as easily view your LinkedIn profile). LinkedIn also allows you to search for jobs according to your specific career interests to narrow down your options.
5. Craigslist is a very straightforward and simplistic job search site. Employers post their latest job listings and you can search through them by location and/or one of the site’s 20+ industry types.
6. Glassdoor gives you access to the latest job listings, employee reviews, interview tips, and salary information. You can post your resume for hiring managers to contact you and the site also has a feature to view the types of interview questions specific companies tend to ask so you can prepare to the best of your ability.

Once you’ve determined which job search sites you want to use, it’s time to begin preparing your cover letters to send along with your resume to your prospective employers.

Unique Cover Letters

In a job application, your cover letter accompanies your resume and persuades an employer to interview you. It should describe the reasons why you’d be a great fit for the position you’re applying for — and when paired with your resume, the employer should clearly understand what makes you qualified for the opening.

Save time and use templates to create the perfect cover letter.

Not all companies require cover letters. Some make cover letters optional and some choose not to accept them at all. If cover letters are optional for the positions you’re applying for, sending one in is really up to your discretion as there are a range of opinions about their importance. However, if you’re required or choose to include a cover letter, you’ll want to make sure it’s concise, well-written, and stands out against those of your competition. 

Discover everything you need to know about crafting the perfect cover letter.

Interview Preparation

Needless to say, nailing your interview is critical if you want to receive a job offer. Although interviews are often high-pressure experiences for job-seekers, thoroughly preparing for them is a great way to relieve some of the stress.

Here are some commonly asked interview questions you can review and think about in preparation for your next interview. You can click the links to learn how to answer these common questions.

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are the reasons for leaving your last job?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What motivates you?
• What makes you unique?
• What is your greatest weakness?

You can also use other resources for prep like Glassdoor’s past-interview-question feature, blogs about the job search process in your industry of interest — like this guide about marketing jobs — or ask the people you network with about their past interview experiences.

Accept A Job Offer

The last aspect of the job search process is the most exciting — accepting an offer!

Once you receive a job offer, be sure to get all of the important position details regarding salary, benefits, expected start date, and anything else you’re looking for clarity on. Remember, it’s normal — and expected — to ask for some time to think about the offer so you can review it before officially accepting. The hiring manager may give you a day, two days, or even a full work week to do this if you ask.

Don’t be afraid to decline the offer if the job isn’t the right fit for you. Other offers will come around — be patient and wait for the one that makes you excited. Also, you may choose to negotiate the salary upon receiving your offer. There are professional and realistic ways to negotiate a salary you’ll want to follow to ensure this process goes smoothly.

Lastly, you’ll need to give your current employer your two weeks’ notice to let them know you’ll be leaving the company so they can begin preparing to find a replacement or make any other necessary adjustments to your team and/ or department.

Learn about how you can prepare for your new job once you’ve accepted an offer.

Start Your Search

Beginning the job search process can be an overwhelming one. But following this guide and thoughtfully determining the exact type of role and company you’re looking for is a great way to make it less daunting. Remember to use job search sites to your advantage and prepare for your interviews so you’re ready to impress anyone you meet — get started searching for your next position today.

In 2018, Facebook enacted some algorithm changes that negatively impacted a brand’s ability to reach its audience organically.

HubSpot’s Latin America & Iberia Marketing team were no exception to this.

Despite having half a million Spanish-speaking fans on our Facebook page, we realized we were barely able to reach one percent of them — which is pretty shocking, if you think about it.

That meant, despite years of work building up our Facebook audience on the platform, that we weren’t even able to communicate with our fans when we had something interesting to say.

Unless, of course, we paid.

But, from our perspective, paying to talk to people who already know about HubSpot, and presumably already like us, didn’t sound the right thing to do. It also didn’t seem to align with our goal of creating sustainable, genuine connections with our audience.

After months of suffering a down-trend on our Facebook numbers, and finding out about an increasing number of Facebook updates, we reached a turning point when we realized we needed to change our social strategy — and, more fundamentally, the way we thought about Facebook.

Here, we’re going to explain the six fundamental changes we made to our Spanish-speaking Facebook strategy to increase our organic reach over two and a half times.

How To Increase Organic Reach Despite Facebook’s Algorithm Changes

1. Think of Facebook as a publishing platform.

Traffic was one of the main metrics we used to measure our Facebook performance in the past. As many brands do, we saw Facebook as a portal to our website — a channel to obtain traffic.

In fact, Facebook has traditionally be one of the most important sources of traffic for many businesses … so it would be foolish not to tap into it, right?

Unfortunately, that was the case for the old Facebook. In the last couple of years, however, Facebook has carried out many updates for the same underlying goal — to keep users on Facebook longer, and increase engagement on the platform itself. As a consequence, external links are not held in very high regard.

Now, brands that only use Facebook as an amplifying channel for their websites, or blog, are going to suffer the most from the algorithm changes.

We were part of that group.

Once we realized our old strategy wouldn’t work on the new Facebook, we knew we needed a mindset change — something many brands are likely unwilling to do.

To succeed on Facebook, we began thinking of Facebook as a publishing channel. This fundamentally meant creating quality content to be consumed directly on Facebook — no links.

Okay, I know what you are thinking now: What happens with my traffic then? How do I convert all those people?

This is what scares most people — you don’t. You grow your brand awareness, and grow your reach. People may not be on your website, but they are still seeing your content and your brand, so when they are ready to buy or need something from you, they will remember you. You will be top of mind.

And magic will happen.

2. Play by Facebook rules (engagement, engagement, engagement).

Facebook’s algorithm favors certain types of content. And those algorithm-favored pieces of content are put in front of more people — and, as a result, get more engagement.

Of course, those favored content types are constantly evolving at Facebook, as the company continues to try to improve the engagement of its users. So it’s critical you remain flexible and willing to experiment with content types as you enact your own Facebook strategy.

For us, videos have been our best bet over the past year, and have worked wonders for us — once we recognized the power of video, we moved from less than 10% video content to 50% video content, which consistently gets higher reach than any other type of content.

3. Break up with paid boosting.

Along with the change to our organic strategy, we also changed the way we approach boosting posts on Facebook.

We came to the conclusion that boosting is not a sustainable strategy to get people’s attention on Facebook. We slowed down our spending to focus on organic-only, and to understand which type of posts work for us — and which didn’t.

Once we started to see improvements in our organic reach and were happy with our overall strategy, we started investing again on boosting posts but, unlike in the past, we now only boost high-performing posts to generate extra engagement and reach, not clicks.

This approach reinforces our overall strategy and allows us to spread our net wider when it comes to brand awareness.

Additionally, it’s important to note we keep our paid social strategy completely separate from our organic strategy, since those teams have varying tasks and goals.

4. Change the way you measure success.

A year ago, we used number of likes as our main growth indicator for social — now, we see that number is meaningless.

Measuring the number of likes a post gets is no longer a good metric to determine the success of your Facebook strategy. There is no point in having 500K fans if your posts are being seen only by 5K. I’d rather have 100K fans, and have most of them see my posts regularly — wouldn’t you?

As a consequence, we came to the conclusion that we should move away from likes, and instead adopt a reach metric to measure our performance.

Of course, total reach can be easily manipulated by playing with frequency — but a metric like Average Reach per Post is something we felt could help us most accurately measure our performance, and how many people are exposed to our brand regularly.

5. Keep it organized.

Giving some structure to your social posting might sound like a basic tip, but it really gave us the consistency and focus we needed for Facebook.

We implemented a detailed social calendar and divided the posts by categories, allowing us to be more effective when creating content. It also enabled us to work better as a team. For instance, we allocate some weekly slots to areas of the business we want to surface, such as the Flywheel or Academy, and created social content with that in mind.

This structure also helps us to better analyze which posts perform best, and adapt our social calendar on an ongoing basis.

6. Consider alternatives.

Not everything works as planned. We have tested some ideas that have failed — alternatively, good-performing ideas have lost momentum.

#MartesEnVivo, a weekly Facebook Live broadcasting series, was our Tom Brady for months. Every week, it would be our top-performing post, driving up engagement and reach numbers.

But nothing lasts forever. When introducing more and more video content as part of our social content, we noticed that #MartesEnVivo was losing momentum, and the performance was not good enough for all the effort we were putting into it.

However, the content we shared in #MartesEnVivo was unquestionably valuable for our users, so we recently decided to spin the series and relaunch it on YouTube with a different name and different format.

The plan with this is to take advantage of YouTube search nature to make the lifespan of these videos longer — and, also, to free up some precious slots on Facebook for ephemeral videos that perform better there.

This will happen to you as well, so it’s always a good idea to keep in mind that Facebook is not the only social network that businesses can use.

There is always a channel for good content.

Our Results

The results have been surprising, even for us. We knew this was the right approach, but we never anticipated such a big improvement in our metrics in only five months.

Ultimately, we saw an average 185% increase per post. We also saw a significant increase in all the metrics related to video-viewing on Facebook.

Over the next year, we are going to strive to push these numbers even further by continuing with this strategy, and trying new formats that can give us an extra push.

Facebook Stories, for instance, is receiving a lot of attention from the Facebook community — so it’s definitely something on our radar.

Ultimately, Facebook’s algorithm changes can be scary and frustrating for your company, but it can also serve as a major opportunity for new growth. By changing your Facebook strategy to respond to Facebook’s changes, you just might find new avenues to reach, and impact, an even larger audience.

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

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

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

Download our free two-week planner on running LinkedIn Sponsored Content campaigns.

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

How LinkedIn Ad Campaigns Work

Advertising on LinkedIn is a two-step process: first, setting up your LinkedIn campaign and then, creating your ad(s). In this section, we walk through how to set up a campaign and build your ad(s) — plus some best practices and tips for each.

Step One: Setting Up Your Campaign

Your LinkedIn advertising campaigns will live on a platform separate from the LinkedIn you see every day — the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions platform. Visit this page to get started with your campaign, and select “Create Ad.”

From there, you’ll be prompted to create a LinkedIn Campaign Manager account (if you haven’t yet). Make sure you enter your associated LinkedIn Company Page if you have one.

Next, you’ll be taken to your member dashboard. If you haven’t entered your billing information, you’ll need to do so to unlock your account. (Don’t worry — you won’t be charged until your campaign is live, and from there, you’ll be charged periodically for ad clicks and other engagements.)

On your dashboard — or “Campaign Manager,” as it’s formally called — you’ll see a call-to-action (CTA) to “Create campaign.” Click that button, and you’ll be redirected to a page where you can start setting up your campaign.

Note: As of February 2019, LinkedIn introduced a “new objective-based campaign creation experience”. We’ll be covering that new process in this article — to learn more, check out this page.

First, indicate a Campaign Group and name your campaign. Campaign Groups help you organize your campaign. You can leave the Default Campaign Group as-is, or create a new Group.

As for the campaign name, these are only visible internally, so we recommend you choose a highly informative name — especially if you have a few different folks working on the campaign.

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

Once you choose your Campaign Group and name, you can start setting up your campaign.

1. Objective Selection

First, choose your campaign objective. Your objective is what you want people to do when they see your ads. According to LinkedIn, choosing an objective helps them “customize your campaign creation, deliver the best ROI for your stated goal, and show you relevant reporting.”

There are three overarching campaign themes: Awareness, Consideration, and Conversions. Under those themes, the available campaign objectives are:

• Website visits will drive traffic to your website and landing pages. According to LinkedIn, this type of campaign will also boost brand awareness (at least while that objective option remains unavailable).
• Engagement will increase engagement on your content and boost followers on your LinkedIn Company Page.
• Video views will increase exposure of your videos to people who are likely to engage with them.
• Lead generation will show a LinkedIn lead generation form with pre-filled LinkedIn profile data to those LinkedIn users most likely to engage with the form.

Note: LinkedIn is still releasing a handful of features as part of their new campaign creation experience, including a handful of objective options. Check back for some exciting updates!

2. Audience

Next, choose the parameters of your target audience. Targeting who sees your ad can help it fulfill its campaign objective — the more specific and relevant it is to your audience, the better it’ll perform. LinkedIn allows you to target according to a few different categories, which we’ve outlined below.

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

First, answer a few basic questions, like the language in which you’d like your ad to appear. It can be written in any of the 20 languages LinkedIn supports, including Spanish, French, and German.

You must also select at least one location for your ads. Depending on your business, more specific targeting may be helpful. You can select a location as broad as North America, or as specific as the San Francisco Bay Area. Consider excluding any nearby locations from your campaign so your budget isn’t wasted on locations where your ad isn’t relevant.

Next, click “+ Add new targeting criteria.”

Company

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

Demographics

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

Education

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

Job Experience

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

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

Interests

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

Once you establish your ad targeting criteria, you can save it as a template for future campaigns. You can also enable LinkedIn to expand your audience to include people similar to your target audience.

3. Ad Format

Next, choose your ad format. There eight different types of LinkedIn ads you can create as part of your campaign.

• Text ads show up on the right column or top of the page on LinkedIn. They feature text only.
• Single image ads feature one image and show up on the LinkedIn newsfeed along organic content.
• Carousel ads feature two or more images and show up on the LinkedIn newsfeed along organic content.
• Video ads feature one video and show up on the LinkedIn newsfeed along organic content.
• Follower ads promote your LinkedIn Company Page and use LinkedIn profile data to personalize each ad. They’re only visible on the LinkedIn desktop platform.
• Spotlight ads promote a special offering and use LinkedIn profile data to personalize each ad. They’re only visible on the LinkedIn desktop platform.
• Job ads promote open jobs and use LinkedIn profile data to personalize each ad. They’re only visible on the LinkedIn desktop platform.
• Message ads are delivered to your target audience’s LinkedIn inbox.

When you toggle between the ad types, you’ll see that the Forecasted Results box on the right-hand side will change. This feature analyzes your campaign parameters (bid, budget, targeting, start/end dates, etc.) and takes into account similar campaigns and advertisers. It also simulates the ad auction to generate the numbers displayed.

Keep an eye on this box as you choose your LinkedIn ad type. If you’re first starting out, deciding what ad type to choose might come down to your budget. Outline your priorities, and then you can decide which type works best for you.

Additionally, some ad types require you to link your LinkedIn Company Page, and some tap into LinkedIn translation services.

4. Placement

Next, decide whether you want your ad to be displayed on the LinkedIn Audience Network, which gives your campaign more reach and exposure among LinkedIn’s third-party platforms and sites. Note: This option isn’t available for every ad type.

You can also choose to exclude or block certain categories, applications, and sites in the Network if you so choose.

5. Budget & Schedule

Next, set up the budget, scheduling, and bidding options that work best for you.

Budget

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

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

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

Schedule

Choose a date for your campaign to start. You can indicate for your campaign to be shown continuously or ‘til an end date.

Bid Type

In this section, the three options you have are:

• Automated bid, which allows LinkedIn to determine what amount will maximize your campaign objective and whatever option you choose (Clicks, Impressions, or Conversions).
• Maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bid, where you’ll be charged each time someone clicks on your ad. LinkedIn will suggest a bid range depending on your budget and the competition for your ads — the more advertisers bidding on a similar campaign, the higher your bid will need to be. This bid is the maximum you will be charged. If the current rate is lower than your max bid, you will only be charged the current rate.
• Maximum pay-per-1,000 Impressions (CPM) bid, where you’ll be charged a certain amount each time your ad is viewed by every 1,000 people on LinkedIn. This option is unavailable if you’re using the LinkedIn Audience Network option.

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

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

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

6. Conversion Tracking

Lastly, you have the option to set up conversion tracking for your LinkedIn campaign, which will track and measure the actions people take after clicking on your ads.

Conversion tracking is an optional part of setting up your LinkedIn advertising campaign but is highly valuable for your business.

If you choose to set up conversion tracking, click “+ Add conversions.” A new window will pop up, where you’ll name your conversion, choose your conversion settings, and decide how you’ll track the conversions. Note: The information on the right-hand side of the window is super helpful — it’ll answer any questions you have and walk you through the process.

For more help on implementing and managing your LinkedIn Conversions, visit their help page here.

Bravo! You’ll officially set up your LinkedIn advertising campaign … but you’re not done yet. When you’re ready to move on, click “Save.” Beware: Your objective and ad format cannot be changed once you save, so be sure about your choices before moving forward.

Step Two: Setting Up Your Ad(s)

This section corresponds to what type of LinkedIn ad you chose for your campaign. Once you establish the basic parameters for your ad in step one, you’ll be prompted to start building it and choose how LinkedIn will display and rotate your ad variations — if you create more than one.

To get started, click “Create new ad.”

A screen will pop up with the title “Create a new [Your chosen ad type] for this campaign” on which you’ll create the copy for your ad, pair it with an image, and preview the different layout options.

Of course, there are a few guidelines around the copy that we suggest:

• Ad image, which is the artwork or graphic that your audience will see for your ad. It must be 100×100 pixels and uploaded as a .jpg or .png file that is 2MB or smaller.
• Ad headline, which is the main message your audience will see. It cannot be more than 25 characters.
• Ad description, which is the body of your ad. It can be up to 75 characters long and should be relevant both to the person viewing the ad and the offer or page to which you’re sending them.
• Destination URL, which is where your audience will go when they click your ad. Double check that the URL is accurate.

Once you input this information, you’ll see it reflected in the Preview box to the right.

Once you click “Create,” you’ll be directed back to the previous Campaign Manager screen. From there, you can create more ads and, eventually, review and submit your order. Note: LinkedIn does review every submitted campaign order, so don’t expect to see your ads published right away.

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

Here are a few of our best copywriting tips for LinkedIn ads.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

Including an actionable CTA within your ad copy will also help you improve your ad’s click-through rate (CTR). Consider asking people to “Download your e-book now,” or “Click now for free samples” instead of writing copy that’s devoid of actionable next steps.

Value

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

Testing

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

How to Analyze Your LinkedIn Ad Campaign

Congratulations! You’ve officially launched your LinkedIn Ad campaign!

Now, for the best and debatably most important part of campaign marketing — analytics. LinkedIn makes it easy to track your progress in the Campaign Manager dashboard (under “Campaign Performance”), where you’ll see various charts that measure performance like clicks, expenditures, and CTR. You can also keep track of conversions in the graphs toward the bottom of the dashboard.

When you finish setting up your first campaign, you’ll see a lot of “0”s at first. Don’t worry, that’s only because your campaign is new (and don’t forget that LinkedIn usually has to approve your ads before they go live).

LinkedIn Ads is now LIVE within all HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise accounts! Track visitor and contact engagement, run reports on closed-loop marketing, sync leads from LinkedIn lead generation forms, and MORE — all within your HubSpot account.

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Ad Campaigns

Social ad campaigns can always be improved. Remember, your audience and content are always changing as well as the platform itself. Here are some ways to optimize your LinkedIn ad campaign.

Optimizing Under-Performing Campaigns

If your campaigns aren’t performing as well as you’d hope, here are a few measures you can take to optimize your campaigns. Tip: Set a reminder for yourself to check and optimize your campaigns each month.

Look at each campaign click-through rate.

Is one campaign out-performing the other(s)? If so, you may want to pause the less successful campaign(s). LinkedIn will automatically display less successful campaigns with lower frequency, so it makes sense to minimize any resources spent on them. Instead, putting more resources into successful ad variations and campaigns is more likely to accomplish your marketing goals.

Tweak one variable at a time.

Just because your ad is under-performing doesn’t mean you need to scrap the whole thing. Test different variations of the same ad to see what factor is contributing to or hindering its success. Edit the copy in your headline, change your feature image, tweak the target audience attributes, or update your bids — just don’t do these all at the same time or you won’t know which one is the fix.

Get — and stay — familiar with your audience.

Take a refresher on your target audience every month. Check out your buyer persona and conduct new research on the audience attributes that might need to be tweaked on your campaign. Update these attributes regularly so the very best people are always seeing — and hopefully engaging — with your ads.

Qualifying LinkedIn Ad Leads with Post-Click Reporting

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

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

Need a CRM to capture, track, and nurture your leads … for free? Check out Hubspot’s CRM software. It’s 100% free, forever.

But don’t neglect your LinkedIn ad campaigns in favor of the landing page form data in your CRM. Is the traffic to your website generated by LinkedIn ads qualified? Is it generating customers? If not, you might need to further optimize your campaigns.

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

The targeting options we covered above allow you to change any of your criteria, so use it to your advantage.

Ready to Try a New Ad Strategy?

With the right amount of patience and strategy, LinkedIn ad campaigns can be a huge factor in your company’s marketing success. LinkedIn has a very powerful advertising platform; don’t leave this off your social campaign marketing list. A well-researched, optimized campaign has the potential to bring in thousands of new leads — and sales.

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

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