Yearly Archives: 2023

Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.

In today’s rapidly changing corporate landscape, the concept of “professionalism” is undergoing a transformative shift, one that may completely radicalize the working world for better.

For years, traditional professionalism standards have shaped how individuals present themselves and navigate the workplace. However, these standards have been criticized for their lack of inclusivity, sustaining inequality and limiting opportunities for historically underrepresented groups, especially Black and Brown individuals.

This article explores the historical context behind these constructed principles, the reasons they exist, and ways to empower BIPOC/POC professionals in their respective journeys towards creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces.

Table of Contents:

• Unveiling the Origins of Traditional Professionalism Standards
• Embracing DEI&B: Catalysts for a Progressive Workplace
• Rethinking Traditional Measures of “Professionalism”

• Forging a Brighter Path: A Future of Empowering, Inclusive, and Diverse Professionalism

Unveiling the Origins of Traditional Professionalism Standards

In the corporate landscape of America, the concept of “professionalism” has long been ingrained in the fabric of the working world. But to understand its current limitations and exclusionary nature in the present, we must look to the past.

Standards of professionalism were initially established with the intent of implementing objective measures for evaluating employees’ skills, behaviors, and appearance.

These tenets have inadvertently perpetuated a system and workplace culture that disadvantages and alienates underrepresented groups. And with the acknowledgment of this also comes the uncomfortable recognition of the fact that standards of professionalism have been built to covertly sustain colonial ideologies/behaviors as well as white normative philosophies.

In a candid interview with Forbes, Leah Goodridge — legal scholar, litigation expert, and author of the award-winning UCLA Law Review essay titled “Professionalism as a Racial Construct” — summarized it best: Standards of professionalism, especially in traditional workplace settings, tend to operate as an integrated vignette in a larger structure of oppressive racism.

“Workplace civility,” as Goodridge explained, “has become about not discussing anything that’s deemed politics but the problem is that.. anyone that’s not a white male is considered a political identity.”

According to Goodridge, workplace standards exist in many forms, and can impact POC professionals in many ways, such as:

• Misogynoir (misogyny explicitly directed towards Black women)
• Micro-management
• Discrediting work capability, background, knowledge, and performance
• Tone and identity-presentation policing
• Emotional manipulation/gaslighting
• Inability to receive promotions

The impact of these standards on historically marginalized folks cannot be ignored, as they often find themselves conforming to norms, to environments and guidelines, that do not align with their cultural and individual identities.

This lack of inclusion not only hinders diverse representation in the workplace but also stifles the creativity, innovation, and overall potential of companies/organizations.

To truly combat this harmful corporate ethos and generate a more inclusive culture, it is imperative to re-examine how professionalism as a structure (and not just an employee ask), functions, but also to create space for POC to feel comfortable about speaking out, and to validate their feelings and experiences when they do.

Embracing DEI&B: Catalysts for a Progressive Workplace

The consequences of this lack of diversity go far beyond just a need for representation. Research from Built In actually reports that “Executive teams with high ethnic diversity are found to be 33 percent more likely to perform above EBIT margins as of 2017.” If you didn’t know, EBIT margins are a measure of a company’s operating profit as a percentage of its revenue.

Although this is an amazing development, Harvard Law School’s Forum on Corporate Governance revealed some other striking statistics about DEI&B in C-Suite spaces:

• 88% of CEO roles are held by white leaders
• 56% of women in the C-Suite said men find it easier to get promotions, regardless of capability and performance
• There is only 9% of Asian leadership representation in C-Suite roles
• There is severe underrepresentation of Hispanic/Latino C-Suite execs (40% of S&P100 C-suites have no representation at all)

These jarring numbers speak loudly. They also echo why there needs to be more of an intentional, aggressive assessment of the linkages between employee representation and success at the corporate level.

By embracing DEI&B practices and employee authenticity, companies can not only create a more inclusive workplace but also acquire a competitive edge by trusting the wealth of ideas and perspectives that diverse individuals bring to the table.

Rethinking Traditional Measures of “Professionalism”

As the need for a more inclusive culture in professional Corporate America becomes increasingly recognized, the focus is shifting towards how companies can effectively do so. The answer? Empowerment and awareness.

This could look like many things in a corporate work setting, such as:

• Fostering diversity in C-Suite spaces, where leadership representation reflects the true diversity of your organization
• Creating Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that support multi-cultural experiences, perspectives, ideologies, and identities
• As suggested by The Harvard Law School Forum, assessing potential of employees, not just experience
• Tracking development of demographics such as gender, race, and ethnicity quarterly to address diversity gaps organization-wide
• Allowing all employees to come to work as themselves, not just as a uniformed representative of your organization

But this shift won’t be easy. It will require a collective effort to push back against years of conventions, and an increased awareness of the barriers that BIPOC and other POC face daily.

Organizations can absolutely set a new standard for inclusive professionalism in Corporate America, and the time to start is now.

Forging a Brighter Path: A Future of Empowering, Inclusive, and Diverse Professionalism

As we reflect on the evolution of professionalism in Corporate America, it becomes clear that traditional standards have often failed to embrace the reality of what true, unobstructed diversity and inclusion looks like.

The growing awareness of these limitations of these standards and a collective effort to redefine what it means to be professional.

By actively seeking out diverse talent, challenging norms, and celebrating individuality, we are paving the way for a future where everyone can thrive professionally, regardless of background, identity, or how they look as they strive towards career elevation and success.

Together, we can build a more empowering, inclusive, and diverse understanding of professionalism that reflects the true strength of our organizations and society as a whole.

Have you ever sat paralyzed, trying to craft the perfect text message? Well, one experiment from Google AI may provide the perfect solution. The team’s AI-powered Magic Compose provides multiple sample texts, so you just have to choose the right one. You can already join the waitlist to try it out.

This year, we’ve seen an explosion of AI tools — with the rise of Chat GPT and pending developments in AI search. Google is one of the major players looking to bring the power of AI directly to your fingertips.

In this post, we’ll explore Google AI, its progress, and how the company’s innovations could impact the future.

What is Google AI, anyway?

Announced in 2017, Google AI is a division of the tech company that focuses on artificial intelligence. The group aims to build tools that make AI accessible.

That builds upon the company’s core mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

The company published a look back on its 2018 research efforts on the Google AI blog, where it painted an extensive picture of where it has made the most progress within this realm of technology.

At the time, the company wrote, “Some consumers don’t directly feel that impact of AI, even when it carries out tasks that have become an integral part of day-to-day life for so many — shedding light on common misconceptions within this category of tech.”

In the five years since, AI adoption has accelerated. Google AI remains on the cutting edge of research and application.

Google published a look back at the AI announcements made at the 2023 I/O conference. From text-to-video generation to universal translator dubbing, Google’s dive into AI technology is resulting in huge advancements.

Let’s explore how the company’s focus areas have developed, adapting to today’s AI landscape.

Generative AI

With the advent of ChatGPT, the focus of AI has shifted into a world where generative AI tools are widely available to consumers.

AI technology is no longer a distant concept, invisibly built into the tools consumers use. Now, AI is set to become available for a far wider set of tasks and capabilities.

Technologists across the globe are fighting to stay at the cutting edge of these advancements, including Google.

At the 2023 Google I/O Conference, Google unveiled PaLM 2, its largest AI language model to date. The model features highly advanced speed and capability, powering the company’s search experiments and 25 other products.

Developers also launched a new capability called “chain-of-thought prompting.” This allows PaLM 2 to do more complex problem-solving.

With chain-of-thought prompting, language models can break down tough problems into multiple, less difficult steps. Programs can then tackle more complex problems than a standard prompting method.

Case Study: Gemini

Perhaps even more exciting was the announcement of progress in Gemini, Google’s other foundational AI technology. Instead of just text, Gemini takes a multi-modal approach.

With Gemini, users could have the AI interpret text, video, and audio. The program will also be able to generate text and image responses, giving Google a leg up over its text-based competitors.

Gemini, which has not yet been debuted to the public, could help create virtual assistants, chatbots, and educational tools.

If you’re looking to get started with generative AI today, start with HubSpot.

Our content assistant will enable content creators to generate copy for everything from blogs to emails and landing pages. Or, you can use ChatSpot to send follow-up emails, create reports, and manage leads.

Get started with content assistant today.

A Renewed Focus on AI’s Ethics and Mission

Google opened its 2018 report with the importance of ethics and mission-driven purposes within AI. Within the realm of AI ethics, Google spoke to training AI to “avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias.”

Within the broader scope of building ethical AI, Google also emphasized building technology that has a social impact.

To that end, Google launched a course on Machine Learning Fairness and its AI Impact Challenge, in which developers can submit proposals for AI projects that “help address societal challenges.”

Now, in 2023, Google is revealing the exact impact AI can have on these challenges.

For example, traffic engineers are using Google AI to improve traffic flow in cities such as Bangalore and Rio de Janeiro. The models are making traffic lights and traffic flow far more efficient.

Similarly, Google’s FloodHub feature has been expanded to 80 countries in an effort to make flooding more predictable so those affected can better plan and mitigate the impact of flooding.

Throughout all these exciting updates, Google re-emphasized its commitment to a responsible approach to AI and its incorporation into its products.

For example, the DeepMind team is a unit within Google specifically brought together to ensure safety and responsibility in the building of Google AI capabilities.

Case Study: Chirp

To explore ethical and accessible AI use, let’s explore Chirp. Google’s family of AI-powered speech models, Chirp, was trained on 12 million hours of speech.

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The program can automatically recognize over 100+ languages. Of course, the model can understand popular languages like English and Mandarin. Developers also ensured under-resourced languages were included in the AI training.

According to Google AI, Chirp can perform automatic speech recognition in Amharic, Cebuano, and Assamese. The wide range of languages allows more people to speak directly to their technology.

This technology can now help people with different lingual backgrounds, even if they don’t speak English.

Assistive Technology

Much of Google’s AI research has focused on broadening the prevalence of technology that assists users with the execution of day-to-day tasks.

Applications can aid in people’s personal and professional lives — usually in a way that reduces the amount of time spent on mundane tasks.

Case in point: Google’s Smart Compose tool. Launched in 2018, this feature uses machine-taught AI to predict how someone might finish a sentence with suggested text in an email composition.

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Tools like Smart Compose reinforce that everyone should have access to and benefit from AI.

The company has built upon that message with a suite of advanced tools. These experiments can help people do more than generate text. You can generate new content to supplement the skills that you already have.

Case Study: Imagen, Phenaki, and MusicLM

In the past, images and videos required advanced training.

You’d need to take art classes, download special software, and gather the tools needed to create something new. Not every person has the access or ability to make something visually compelling.

Then, AI tools made all the difference.

Imagen and Phenaki are two Google tools that allow people to generate content based on text descriptions. Just type in what you want to create and let AI do the rest. The user just needs to learn how to write accurate prompts.

If you want to see the power of these tools in action, check out I/O Flip. The art in this digital card game, which features Google’s Mascot, was all generated by AI.

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MusicLM also harnesses the power of generative AI. Now, anyone can make up to 20 seconds of music without any formal training. Just describe the mood you’re looking for and new synthetic sounds will be generated.

The Future of Search

If you’re using ChatGPT, you can ask it a question.

For example, I may ask, “Why is exercise part of a healthy lifestyle?” The system will give me a list of the benefits of exercising.

However, when I ask for recent statistics, the system is stumped. That’s because ChatGPT-3.5 is trained on information from 2021. The AI does not have access to more recent information.

That’s where Google’s Bard chatbot shines. This tool is able to pull information directly from the web, giving it access to more recent information.

When I asked Bard for recent exercise stats, it was able to send me relevant information.

Google plans to expand these capabilities beyond a chat-style interface. Soon, AI will change how we search for information.

Case Study: AI-Powered Search

Google plans to expand the availability and functionality of Bard, making it available to 120 countries across 40 languages.

Bard will also be expanded directly into Google search results, with an AI pop-up included alongside traditional results to answer a user’s search query.

In the future, you’ll be able to type a specific query into Google’s search bar. Generative AI will write an answer within a few paragraphs. It will also provide links with more information that you can click on.

From there, you’ll be able to ask a follow-up question or click on a suggested followup generated by AI.

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Innovation in the World of AI

Innovation in AI is driving groundbreaking advancements across industries.

Google is just one major player shaping the future. Soon, how we search, the way we interact with technology, and what we can create will be augmented with artificial intelligence.

Referral traffic is a powerful and often overlooked way to give your website a competitive edge.

In the never-ending quest for more traffic, marketers turn to search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), blogging, and social media marketing.

The problem is that SEO takes time to work, PPC is expensive, Google is oversaturated with blog content, and it’s tricky to prove ROI with social media. That’s where referral traffic comes in.

So, what is referral traffic, and how can you use it to generate more leads? Today, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know — why it’s important and seven steps you can take to improve yours.

What is referral traffic?

Why is referral traffic important?

7 Steps to Generate More Referral Traffic

1. Publish Your Website To Online Directories

2. Get Published On Review Websites

3. Publish Guest Blog Posts

4. Leverage Social Media

5. Comment On Blogs

6. Be Active On Industry Forums

7. Publish Infographics

Next Steps

What is referral traffic?

When visitors land on your website from sites other than the major search engines, that’s referral traffic.

When someone clicks a link on a website or social network, and it takes them to another site, tracking software, such as Google Analytics or HubSpot, counts that visitor as referral traffic.

The originating website is the “referrer” since it refers to traffic from one website to the other.

HubSpot’s marketing analytics tools can provide you with insight into your referral traffic. You can isolate this traffic from other categories and determine your best referral sources.

With this information, you can measure the effectiveness of your strategies to boost referral traffic.

Get started with HubSpot’s traffic analytics.

Why is referral traffic important?

Referral traffic is valuable to inbound marketers because it sends potentially qualified visitors to your website. This, in turn, gets your content in front of new people, giving your website the opportunity to convert that visitor into a lead.

Your sales team will take it from there, as they then have the opportunity to convert that lead into a new customer.

That’s not the only reason referral traffic is helpful, however. Referral traffic also has SEO benefits. When someone visits your website from another site, they are usually clicking on a link or completing some type of social activity.

Google and other search engines consider these links and social signals as positive ranking factors — as long as they are coming from trusted websites.

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Sounds pretty good, right? Well, let’s get started on getting you some juicy referral traffic so you can brag about all the hot leads you have rolling in.

7 Steps to Generate More Referral Traffic

Ready to increase your referral traffic? Start with these seven tricks.

1. Publish Your Website To Online Directories

Submitting your website to online directories is one of the easiest ways to get referral traffic, but you don’t want to publish your website to every directory out there.

Instead, focus on the ones that are most relevant to your industry or generate the most traffic. Whether you’re a veterinarian in St. Louis or an assisted living facility in Daytona Beach, Moz has you covered.

It offers a free resource for finding the top directories by category and city.

Once you’ve submitted your website to the top directories for your city and industry, focus on finding directories that can generate some serious traffic. How do you know which directories will accomplish this?

It’s as simple as performing a Google search.

The directories that appear at the top of the search results should, in theory, generate the most traffic.

For example, if you do a search for “personal trainer in Los Angeles,” there are three directories that show up on the first scroll of the search results: Thumbtack, Yelp, and FitnessTrainer. Focus your efforts there to start.

You can’t use SEO to pass up these directories in the search results overnight. What you can do, however, is use these directories to your advantage.

List your website on these directories in order to generate quality traffic and get some free SEO juice.

After all, if someone is looking for a personal trainer in Los Angeles and finds your website via Yelp, that referred visitor is just as valuable to you as them landing directly on your website.

2. Get Published on Review Websites

Review websites are another tried and true tool you can use to increase referral traffic. These visitors have already completed the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey.

They’ve now reached the decision stage and are comparing vendors or products. What better time to get your product or service in front of them for consideration?

Getting listed on a review website can vary depending on whether you are a B2B or B2C company.

If you perform a search for “St. Louis roofing company reviews,” there are seven websites that you would want to be listed on if you were a roofer: AngiesList, Yelp, BBB, This Old House, Expertise.com, Houzz, and Porch.

By adding your website to these seven directories, you’re increasing the likelihood of your website being found during the decision phase of the buyer’s journey.

The next step, however, is getting those reviews. If you’re operating a respectable roofing company that treats customers fairly you should have no problem standing out from other roofers that have not-so-positive reviews.

B2B businesses will find that it is more difficult to get featured on review websites.

A lot of times, you have to “pay to play,” meaning you will basically have to pay to be featured toward the top of the review listings. For example, if you do a Google search for “top mobile app developers,” the first search result is Clutch.co.

They showcase a list of mobile app development firms with reviews, but if you look closely, you’ll notice that they are “sorted by sponsor.” Essentially these companies are paying to have their website and reviews featured first.

It’s a slick way for Clutch to make money but also maintain its reputation as a respectable source for reviews.

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3. Publish Guest Blog Posts

Guess what? You’re currently looking at step three of seven for increasing your site’s referral traffic. That’s right — you’re reading a guest blog post by Agile & Co, a HubSpot Partner Agency.

Guest blog posts create numerous opportunities to get referral traffic to your website. External links (like the two in this paragraph), author bios, and calls to action (like the one at the bottom of this post) are typically present on most blogs.

If you can get a post featured on a well-known industry website, you’ll benefit from the referral traffic and links coming to your site.

It’s best to focus your efforts on websites that are considered thought leaders in your industry. Since we’re an inbound marketing agency, HubSpot is the perfect place for us to contribute a guest blog post.

I mean, HubSpot literally coined the term inbound marketing.

Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind when guest blogging:

1. Focus on websites related to your industry. No one wants to read about fall fashion trends on a blog about dogs. In most cases, the dog blog wouldn’t even give a fall fashion post an okay.
2. Keep the target audience in mind while writing. Most blogs have strict guidelines in place for guest bloggers.
3. Write content under your own name. You deserve to get credit for your work. Plus, with enough blogging, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in the space.
4. Link to influencers. They will notice and might even help promote your guest blog post, which in return will increase the referral traffic it generates.

4. Leverage Social Media

According to Social Media Examiner, a whopping 86% of marketers indicated that social media generated more exposure for their business. Additionally, 76% found their website traffic increased as a result of their social media efforts.

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok were the top six social media platforms used by B2C marketers.

However, most B2B marketers ranked LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok as their top social media platforms.

Being active on social media isn’t just for fun — it’s a tactic most marketers are using to get more traffic, leads, and sales. And if you’re not leveraging it, you’re seriously missing out.

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Every time you tweet, share, like, or pin a piece of content, you are creating an opportunity to drive referral traffic to your website. Plus, you’re increasing the likelihood of your content showing up at the top of Google.

76% of marketers using social media reported improved search traffic, and 55% reported improved sales. As mentioned before, referral traffic not only brings more potential customers to your website but also helps with SEO.

5. Comment on Blogs

A question that comes up a lot is, “Does blog commenting help SEO?” Not only can it help with SEO, but it can also generate more referral traffic for your website.

According to Neil Patel, his 240+ comments on blogs have generated close to 4,000 visitors to his website.

Commenting on blogs will definitely increase your referral traffic — just make sure you’re not filling the interwebs with more spam. Here are a couple of tips for the newbie blog commenters out there:

1. Make sure your comments are valuable. No one likes a complainer or bragger. If your comments are negative or promotional in nature, just keep them to yourself.
2. Focus on blogs that allow links in the comments. Remember, you’re trying to get more traffic. In order to do that, you need to add a link to your website
3. If you aren’t first, you’re last. Just like search engines, if your link is at the top of the comments list, you’re more likely to generate more clicks and traffic.

6. Be Active on Industry Forums

Online forums are a great source of potential leads and customers but are often overlooked as a marketing tactic for generating traffic.

Similar to blog comments, you should focus your efforts on forums in your niche and always try to add value without sounding too promotional. Here are a couple of steps and tips below for getting the most out of forum marketing:

1. Make sure the forum is active. Don’t waste your time on a forum that hasn’t had a new post for a month.
2. Register using your brand name. You want to make sure people associate your comments with a memorable brand name.
3. Create a signature with a call-to-action link. This is how you’re going to drive traffic to your website.
4. Participate. You’ll want to participate in the areas of the forum where you have the most expertise.
5. Use real-life examples, don’t just offer your advice. Try to provide value using your personal experiences.
6. Share your resources and start a new thread with a link to a resource you think could benefit the group. If you’re proud of a particular piece of content, it’s likely others will enjoy it too.

7. Publish Infographics

When asked to select the social media platforms they want to learn more about, 68% of marketers selected YouTube and Instagram, which are heavy on visuals. The reason is pretty simple.

Humans have attention spans shorter than goldfish, and it’s easier for the brain to consume an image than a bunch of text.

Plus, you’ve probably noticed that an image of a cute puppy gets liked and shared more than a 100+ page industry report.

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The great thing about infographics is they can help people understand complex data with simple visuals.

The goal is to get your infographic shared, liked, and pinned on social networks and have others embed it in their articles (like I’ve done above), thus creating links to your website.

In addition to your own website, there are several websites where you can post an infographic. One of my favorites is Instagram, which 37% of marketers rank, along with Facebook, as the best platform for developing loyalty.

Instagram gives you the option to link your infographic to your website and makes it easy for it to be shared on other platforms.

Next Steps

Once you start receiving additional referral traffic, you’ll want to make sure your website is ready for these new visitors.

Download the FREE eBook below to learn some best practices for ensuring your website is set up to convert visitors into leads for your business.

 

The average person spends five to six hours on their phones, while the average smartphone user unlocks their device around 150 times. 

What the heck are we doing with our devices all day? Well, when we’re not endlessly scrolling the web or social media, we’re probably texting.

In 2023, 15 million texts are sent per minute while nearly 70% of people open up a new text message within five minutes of receiving it. With endless stats like this in mind, businesses are presented numerous opportunities and touchpoints to engage their target market through SMS. 

What is SMS marketing?

SMS, an acronym for “Short Message Service,” is a communication channel used to send and receive text messages on mobile devices. It allows users to send brief messages, typically 160 characters, to individuals or groups instantly. Text messaging has gained immense popularity due to its simplicity, convenience, and widespread availability across different devices and networks.

On the other hand, MMS, or “Multimedia Message Service”, goes beyond simple text and allows users to send multimedia content such as pictures, videos, audio files, and even formatted text. 

SMS marketing allows businesses to connect with their target audience through personalized and timely text messages. It leverages the widespread use of mobile phones and the convenience of SMS to deliver promotional offers, updates, reminders, and other engaging content directly into the palm of the recipients’ hands. 

Integrating SMS marketing alongside email and social media allows businesses to strike the right balance when it comes to timing and frequency of their messages.

2023 SMS Marketing Usage Data & Results

Based on the compelling trends from 2023, SMS marketing plays a crucial role for businesses in 2024. 

With 86% of business owners and marketing managers having embraced SMS marketing in the past year, it’s clear that it’s become an integral part of marketing strategies. What’s more, 71% of those who used SMS marketing reported an increase in their 2023 SMS opt-in rates in 2023, highlighting its effectiveness in engaging and capturing the attention of audiences across many industries. 

Think people are bothered by SMS from brands? Think again. Today, the unsubscribe rate for SMS subscribers is less than 5%, demonstrating the high level of engagement and satisfaction. This is in stark contrast to email marketing, where approximately 20% of subscribers leave each year. 

Additionally, incorporating an SMS follow-up to an email has shown to increase open rates by 20-30%, proving the effectiveness of a multi-channel approach. Lastly, SMS advertising also boasts an exceptional return on investment (ROI) of approximately $71 for every dollar spent, exceeding the estimated ROI of email marketing, which stands at around $36 per dollar invested.

AI’s impact on SMS Marketing

Gone are the days of spending hours crafting the perfect SMS message. With AI-powered tools at your disposal, you can now quickly generate personalized and impactful messages that will wow your audience. 

Harnessing the capabilities of AI, you can leverage customer data and insights to create tailored SMS campaigns that resonate with your recipients.

Check out HubSpot’s newest AI tools. >>

How to Get Started with SMS Marketing

1. Identify your SMS use case:

The key to achieving success with SMS marketing lies in effective planning. As you prepare to launch your first SMS campaign, it is essential to have a clear idea of the use case you are addressing with your messages.

By aligning your SMS strategy to the various stages of the buyer’s journey, you gain a deeper understanding of the purpose behind each message and how it contributes to both your target audience’s needs and your business goals. This strategic approach enables you to ensure that every SMS you send serves a specific purpose in guiding your persona towards the desired outcome. 

Consider these common SMS use cases:

Informative:

• Order updates: provide real-time tracking information and keep customers informed about their purchase progress.
• Receipt confirmation: ensure customers have proof of their purchase and create a seamless customer experience.
• Product launches: generate excitement and awareness among customers for a new product.
• Brand announcements: effectively communicate important updates, new initiatives, or significant milestones to your audience.

Promotional:

• Seasonal campaigns: leverage the time-sensitive nature of holidays or specific seasons to drive customer engagement, boost sales, and create a sense of urgency. 
• Loyalty programs: nurture customer relationships, reward loyalty, and promote continued engagement and brand advocacy.
• Event management: effectively communicate event details, updates, and reminders to attendees for a seamless and organized event experience.

Customer Service:

• Timely support: providing quick and convenient assistance to customers.
• Onboarding flows: guide new customers through the process of getting started and ensure successful user adoption.

Sales

• Marketing to sales handoff: seamlessly transfer leads or prospects from the marketing team to the sales team.
• Upsell/Cross sell opportunities:  leverage existing customer relationships to offer additional products or services.

Non-Forbidden Messsage Categories

• If you’re using HubSpot’s SMS tools, you should also be aware of use cases that are non-compliant due to the forbidden message categories. These regulations are upheld by most SMS service providers and are outlined by CTIA. 
• If you’re sending your SMS messages using HubSpot, be sure to review your use case against the forbidden message categories in order to ensure you don’t run the risk of being filtered or blocked. 

2. Build a compliant consent process

Establishing a robust and compliant consent process is crucial for the success of your SMS campaigns, protecting you from sending messages to inappropriate contacts, which could undermine the effectiveness of your campaign and expose you to the risk of being blocked.

Depending on the specific use case you have chosen, your consent process may vary, but it should incorporate essential elements to ensure compliance and maximize results. In this section we will explore the key inputs that should be addressed in every consent process, empowering you to build a solid foundation for engaging your audience through SMS campaigns.

Gather explicit consent: Obtaining explicit consent is vital when it comes to SMS marketing, setting it apart as a highly effective and engaged channel. Explicit consent is defined as consent given when you ask an individual for permission to send them marketing materials and they agree. The recipient has to manually opt-in to receive your content through written consent, clicking a checkbox on a form, or by confirming through double opt-in. 

Alternatively, implicit consent is defined as consent given when an individual gives you their email address for some business purpose, but has not explicitly stated that they want to receive marketing content from you.

1. Utilize opt-in terminology: Contacts have the option to opt in by using any of the three words: START, UNSTOP, or SUBSCRIBE. These keywords allow individuals to express their interest and willingly join your communication channel.
2. Provide value in exchange for consent: Transparency is key, so it’s important to offer your contacts something valuable in exchange for their consent. Clearly communicate the frequency of messages they can expect and define the specific content they will receive, such as order updates, exclusive discounts, or dedicated customer support. By providing this clarity and promising real value, you’ll build trust and increase the likelihood of obtaining and retaining consent.
3. Manage contact consent status: Leverage a comprehensive consent management tool to effectively handle and track the consent status of your contacts. This tool should enable you to efficiently manage the consent of your contacts, offering the flexibility to handle consent in bulk or manually as needed.
4. Always offer opt-out: Prioritize giving your contacts the option to opt out of receiving messages.

3. Register your business for SMS.

Before sending SMS messages, it is crucial to register your business with your SMS service provider. While the specific nomenclature may vary across providers (check out HubSpot’s process here), the registration process typically involves following these steps:

1. Register your business: Provide specific details about your business including status, website URL, registration number, and industry. 
2. Provide SMS details: Enter additional information about how your business intends to use SMS and manage consent. Ensuring you have properly outlined your intended use cases and consent process is vital to this step. 
3. Get an SMS number: Generate a phone number that your business will use to send SMS messages. 

4. Set up your first campaign.

Create a list of contacts: Compile a list of contacts who have provided explicit consent to receive your SMS messages. It is crucial that all contacts on the list have willingly opted in to receive SMS communications from your business.

If you need assistance in expanding this list with qualified contacts, consider implementing a low-barrier opt-in method, such as a QR code, on another channel like social media. This allows for easy and seamless engagement, helping you grow your contact list while maintaining compliance with consent requirements.

5. Write Actionable SMS Copy

Remember, when you’re messaging someone in their SMS inbox, you could be adding to the many texts they’re already receiving from family, friends, and other competitors, so you should ensure that your messaging is valuable, relevant, actionable, and concise so they understand why you’re reaching out to them there and seeing enough benefit in your messages to stay subscribed. 

Customize these messages according to the specific stage of the buyer’s journey your contacts are in. For optimal targeting, consider segmenting your list into smaller, more focused groups based on the various stages of the buyer’s journey. 

SMS Campaign Samples

Re-engagement Campaign:

The SMS copy below reminds users that they’re still a member, user, or past customer of a given service and encourages them to re-engage with a brand in some way – ideally by highlighting perks they’ll discover when they re-engage.

Event Updates: 

When hosting an in-person or online event, sending event updates can keep your attendees excited, engaged, and in the know before, during, and sometimes even after an event. 

Marketing to Sales Handoff: 

When a prospect converts, these messages can help smoothly introduce them to your sales team incase they choose to buy a product.Customer service feedback:

After a deal is made, keep the customer journey going by following up and seeing how their experience went by sending customer service feedback or survey messages.

Kickstarting & Reporting on SMS Campaigns

Once your messages have been carefully crafted and thoroughly reviewed, it’s time to initiate sending them to your contacts! Take the step forward and begin delivering your impactful messages to engage and connect with your audience.

To ensure your campaign’s running as planned, analyze key performance indicators such as click-through rate and return on investment (ROI). Monitoring and reporting on these metrics will help you measure the success of your campaign and make data-driven adjustments as needed.

Check out HubSpot’s Analytics tools. >>

SMS Marketing Best Practices 

• Say hello! Send a welcome message to any new contact. Clearly state who you are and why you’re messaging to provide valuable context. 
• Manage your subscriber lists: Effective contact management is crucial for successful SMS marketing and ensures you’re sending the right messages to engaged contacts at the right time.
• Segment different groups: By strategically categorizing your audience into segments, you can tailor your SMS campaigns, ensure message relevancy, and optimize engagement with specific segments of your target market.
• Get to the point: By keeping messages brief, recipients can easily read and action the information across smartphones, watches, and digital assistants like Siri.
• Don’t overdo it: SMS is a high cost communication channel. Make sure you reserve SMS for use cases that are deeply personalized and/or express urgency. 

• Personalize your copy: Tailor SMS communication, recommendations, or offers to individuanamescipients and/or acknowledge their name, preferences, and past interactions, to create a sense of relevance and make a meaningful connection with them
• Incorporate AI: Want to personalize a campaign, but don’t have time to write 1000 individual message,es? AI tools, like workflows or tools can bring a new level of efficiency, personalization, and effectiveness to SMS cahigh-cost 
• Avoid forbidden message categories: If sending your SMS messages using HubSpot, never send a message that falls into a forbidden category. 
• Be transparent: Consistently reintroduce your brand, purpose, and message frequency. 
• Offer a way out: Every message should include the option to opt out.

Step into SMS with HubSpot Today

Get started with HubSpot SMS for Marketers today! You can learn more about HubSpot’s SMS tools on our knowledge base. For pricing and packaging details, please visit our Pricing and Services catalog.

Not ready to invest in a new product just yet? Check out our free resource with a plethora of SMS templates you can use across many different business strategies by clicking the banner below. 

 

Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a new blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.

White authors dominate book publishing, and it can be difficult for people of color to find successful entrepreneurship stories written by founders, CEOs, and marketing executives with similar cultural backgrounds.Penguin Random House, a “Big Five” publisher, reported that 76% of their released books in 2019-2021 were by white contributors. This percentage may correlate with 74% of their staff being white.

Between statements to prioritize DEI efforts and leadership restructuring—like at PRH after their bid to acquire Simon & Schuster was halted—time will tell if publishing houses will make significant strides in diversity across their rosters and workforces.

Learning from someone with lived experiences you can relate to is invaluable and affirming. It’s a chance to feel less isolated when creating the blueprints for a company you once thought was an improbable dream.

To learn new avenues for success and strategies to build your business, community, and wealth, here are five must-read books by entrepreneurs of color.

1. This Is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, a Culture, a Community–a Life in Streetwear by Bobby Hundreds

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In his memoir, Bobby Hundreds invites us into the behind-the-scenes journey of building his iconic and culture-shifting streetwear brand, The Hundreds. It’s an intimate story that starts with a tumultuous upbringing in Southern California as a punk Korean-American outsider and cascades into in-depth anecdotes about emerging as a prominent voice in the industry.

Beyond practical advice and the gripping history of streetwear’s global influence on fashion, art, and music, this memoir is a motivating salute for preserving the essence of streetwear and the importance of nurturing the lifeline of a brand–a ride-or-die community.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Review excerpt: “This book is more than just a story of a brand that sold shirts, it shows how in order to build a lasting brand it‘s more than just a cool design or logo, but building a community that will call you out on your BS and support you to the end because you’ve held true to your foundations.”

2. Jefa in Training: The Business Startup Toolkit for Entrepreneurial and Creative Women by Ashley K. Stoyanov Ojeda

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Written in Spanglish, Jefa in Training is a playbook and tool kit for solopreneurs and small businesses in the startup stage. In conversation with Latina immigrants and Hispanic Americans, Ojeda shares first-hand experiences, guest stories, worksheets, and templates to guide women of color to transform their projects into full-fledged businesses.

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Review excerpt: “This book helps you overcome every fear you have that may be holding you back from starting a business. The quotes at the front of every chapter keep you motivated, the worksheets at the end keep you productive, and the tips/stories from other Latina entrepreneurs remind you that your dreams are attainable.”

3. The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage by Daymond John with Daniel Paisner

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Shark Tank star Daymond John had humble beginnings. He sold products on the streets of Queens and turned that hustle into the $6-billion brand FUBU. Through his personal story and those of other hustling visionaries with empires, John shares how ambitious entrepreneurs can turn the desperation of being penniless into a superpower to be more efficient and innovative to achieve greater success.

Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5

Review excerpt: “The most comprehensive business book I’ve read! So many examples of successful entrepreneurs and their journeys to the top. I enjoyed the format of the book with all of the case studies, I really felt like I learned a lot. Daymond is very authentic and I think that is how people relate to him most. He is very approachable and humble and it comes across this way in his book.”

4. It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage by Arlan Hamilton with Rachel L. Nelson

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Arlan Hamilton is a Black, gay woman who survived on food stamps and slept on the floor of the San Francisco airport.

Even with no college degree, background in finance, or any contacts in Silicon Valley, her tenacity and hard work propelled her to become a venture capitalist investing in underrepresented and underestimated people like her.

Her book is an unfiltered and inspiring account of staying true to yourself while pursuing success, overcoming obstacles, and staking your claim as an entrepreneur, even if no one like you is breaking into your dream industry.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Review excerpt: “As someone who doesn‘t plan to raise capital as part of my business models, I originally didn’t think this book would apply to me. How wrong I was. From the beginning chapter, I was hooked on Arlan’s story, and her innate ability to weave in business advice, truth and pointed (and poignant) realities, as well as real life suggestions to change the narrative.”

5. We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rogers

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Rachel Rogers is on a mission to rewire the way women think about money so they can take charge of their lives, overcome the history of systemic inequality, and secure financial freedom.

While seven figures may sound wildly unattainable, Rogers’ book is a practical guide on million-dollar decisions, savvy strategies for making and investing money, and tackling mindsets that limit you.

Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Review excerpt: “Part autobiography, part roadmap to success, wholly authentic, and 100% relatable – this book is THE new book for women in business. I read a lot of personal development and business books and run my own 6-figure generating business and I can say without hesitation that there is next-level mentorship between these covers.”

No matter your story, success is unlimited, and the path to it differs for everyone. Whether you’re just getting started or have an established company, pick up a book from this list and invest in your business journey by learning from those who endured the highs and lows of entrepreneurship before you.

Sorority recruitment has transformed from a secretive process to big social media business.

In the fall of 2021, sorority rush at the University of Alabama took TikTok by storm, effectively becoming RushTok. During that recruitment season, sorority hopefuls posted daily TikTok vlogs sharing everything from their outfits of the day, to what they’re carrying in their bags, documenting the entire process until the sororities made their final selections.

Audiences worldwide quickly became captivated by the process, choosing their favorite recruits to follow and root for. To date, the hashtags #BamaRush and #RushTok have 4B and 2B views, respectively.

Potential new members (PNMs) curated their social media feeds months in advance, hoping to make a good impression. Some PNMs who documented the process via TikTok used the week of events to jumpstart careers as influencers, continuing to deliver (sometimes branded) content to the audiences amassed during recruitment.

It’s not just the potential recruits using social media to make an impression — the chapters also use social media as a recruitment tool. Plenty of RushTok videos also showcase highly choreographed dance routines and friendship-based content to woo potential new members.

How RushTok Became A Marketing Engine

What started as engaging content in 2021 has evolved into a powerful marketing engine that brands want in on. As potential new members shared their experiences and gained popularity, they also caught the attention of brands.

Scrolling through the comments of RushTok videos, the accounts of major brands are among those rooting for certain participants. It’s a simple social listening play to garner visibility in the comment section of popular posts during a key social media event.

Beyond social listening, major brands such as Rent the Runway and Amazon, along with local Alabama brands like the Pants Store took things a step further by working with RushTok creators on sponsored content deals.

Last year, cosmetics brand Tarte sent free products to 90 sororities and 100 sorority hopefuls who received high engagement while using the hashtag #RushTok. The move generated valuable social impressions for Tarte.

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Though college students may not be every company’s target demographic, the RushTok audience spans wider. Users of various age groups and backgrounds have been locked into recruitment content for the past three years and are actively participating in the comments section of RushTok posts alongside various brands.

As RushTok continues to grow, marketers will find more creative ways to get in on the action, and the process will likely continue to introduce audiences to the next generation of creators.

Job satisfaction is like a warm, cozy blanket on a cold winter day. It‘s waking up and being excited to go to work. It’s the feeling of achievement and gratification after completing a task. In other words, job satisfaction is the degree of joy and fulfillment a person attains from their selected occupation.

Would you like your workforce to be driven, devoted, and efficient? Then, you need to focus on their job satisfaction. Research has revealed that content, happy employees are likely to remain in the organization, take fewer absences due to illness, and be more efficient.

It falls upon you as a manager to ensure that your team members are satisfied and dedicated to their work. This article will explore five guaranteed ways to boost job satisfaction on your team, backed by data and research so that you can improve productivity, retention, and overall success in your organization.

Table of Contents

• What is job satisfaction?
• Why is job satisfaction important?
• Famous Companies Take On Job Satisfaction
• How to Boost Job Satisfaction
• Job Satisfaction Statistics

What is job satisfaction?

Job satisfaction refers to the overall fulfillment, contentment, and positive emotions an individual experiences towards their job.

It’s influenced by factors such as meaningful work, autonomy, fair compensation, opportunities for growth and development, and work-life balance.

According to a global survey run by LinkedIn and Imperative, 74% of job candidates desire employment where their work matters.

High levels of job satisfaction can lead to increased motivation, and a strong desire to stay with a company.

Overall, job satisfaction is a crucial element in a fulfilling and successful career.

When people feel fulfilled at work, they tend to exhibit greater commitment, motivation, and productivity. Ultimately, this leads to enhanced job performance and organizational achievements.

Why is job satisfaction important?

Picture this: An office full of employees with smiles on their faces, eagerly tackling their work with enthusiasm and energy. It‘s a scene any employer would want to see, and it’s all thanks to job satisfaction.

Here are five of the biggest reasons job satisfaction is important.

1. Boosts Employee Engagement and Productivity

Satisfied employees are more engaged, motivated, and productive.

In fact, a University of Warwick study shows that happy workers are 12% more productive than unhappy ones.

However, according to a Gallup poll, only 34% of US employees are engaged at work, meaning that most workers aren’t fully committed to their jobs.

To put it in perspective, companies with engaged employees earn 147% more than their peers. Prioritizing job satisfaction can help companies enjoy these benefits and more.

2. Increases Customer Satisfaction

Employees who are happy in their jobs often provide better customer service.

A Gallup study revealed that employees engaged with work have a greater likelihood of improving customer satisfaction ratings by 10% and boosting sales by 20% compared to those who are disengaged.

3. Promotes a Positive Company Culture

Cultivating a workplace that emphasizes the importance of employee satisfaction and well-being can have widespread effects within an organization.

By valuing and supporting employees, there’s a greater likelihood that they’ll approach colleague and customer interactions with positivity and enthusiasm. The result can be a more collaborative, productive company culture.

4. Reduces Turnover Costs

Employers invest considerable effort and resources in attracting and preparing new staff members. Retaining employees by ensuring job satisfaction can save costs associated with high turnover rates.

In fact, a Gallup study found that replacing an employee can cost up to 200% of their annual salary.

By prioritizing job satisfaction and creating a positive work environment, businesses can retain valuable employees and save on turnover costs.

5. Improves Employee Health and Well-Being

The effects of job satisfaction go beyond employee performance, as it also greatly impacts employee health and well-being.

Some research shows that employees who are satisfied with their jobs are likely to experience less stress and better overall health.

According to a study by the University of Michigan, workers who experience job satisfaction have a lower risk of heart disease compared to dissatisfied team members.

Famous Companies Take On Job Satisfaction

Enhancing job satisfaction is a critical element for organizations to retain high-performing employees, improve productivity, and foster a favorable corporate environment.

Here are three examples of famous companies that have prioritized job satisfaction in their workplace — with success.

Google

Google recognizes that job satisfaction is vital to employee engagement and retention. An array of benefits, such as onsite wellness services, high-quality meals, and access to healthcare, help ensure employee satisfaction.

The company encourages creativity and ownership among employees by providing them with the opportunity to devote 20% of their time to personal projects.

This may result in heightened job satisfaction and a feeling of pride in the organization’s offerings.

What we like: Google’s focus on employee satisfaction and happiness is a key part of their corporate culture, and it shows.

By offering unique benefits and encouraging creativity, they’ve created a workplace where employees are excited to come each day.

Best for: Organizations seeking to cultivate an environment of ingenuity and inventiveness while also prioritizing the contentment and welfare of their workforce.

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a global consumer goods company that’s implemented several initiatives to improve job satisfaction for its employees.

One of the company’s most notable programs is its “Connect + Develop” open innovation strategy, which encourages employees to collaborate and share ideas with colleagues from different departments and locations.

This approach fosters a sense of teamwork and belonging and offers opportunities for personal and professional growth.

What we like: P&G’s focus on collaboration and innovation helps build a positive company culture while also creating a more fulfilling work environment for employees.

P&G has fostered a collaborative work climate where employees share ideas and work towards a shared objective, leading to a workplace where individuals feel appreciated and driven to succeed.

Best for: Companies looking to promote teamwork and collaboration among employees while encouraging innovation and personal growth.

P&G’s Connect + Develop program offers a model for building a culture of creativity and collaboration, leading to increased job satisfaction and improved business outcomes.

Adobe

Adobe prioritizes employee engagement and satisfaction by offering a variety of programs and benefits.

One example is their “Life@Adobe” program, which provides employees with a range of resources, such as health and wellness programs, financial counseling, and career development opportunities.

They also encourage a culture of transparency and open communication through employee feedback and regular town hall meetings.

What we like: Adobe shows its commitment to employees’ well-being by providing a variety of benefits, including health and wellness and professional development opportunities.

They encourage a culture of openness and communication in the workplace so that employees feel valued and appreciated.

Best for: Organizations that aim to cultivate an environment of open communication and transparency, prioritize employee well-being, and encourage professional growth.

How to Boost Job Satisfaction

1. Give consistent praise, and focus on impact.

Office Vibe’s State of Employee Engagement research report found 63% of employees don’t feel they get enough praise.

By consistently telling your employees when they‘ve done a good job, you’ll make them feel more proud of their work and provide them with incentives to work harder in the future.

Additionally, as previously stated, employees need to feel like their work matters.

Rather than saying, “Good job on that Facebook campaign,” consider explaining to your employee how her work makes a difference for your team and the company as a whole.

Your employees will feel less dispensable if you focus on how their work relates to long-term company goals.

For instance, you might say, “I’d like to take the time to thank you for the effort you put into your last Facebook campaign.

The campaign helped attract an audience of over 17,000, and 12% of that audience turned out to be quality leads, which is incredible.”

With this praise, you‘ve demonstrated to your employee that her work matters to the company’s bottom line and to the future success of your team. This positive reinforcement could go a long way toward increasing her job satisfaction.

2. Offer career development, training, or education opportunities.

Nowadays, career development is no longer just a nice perk.

In fact, a LinkedIn Workplace Learning report found 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career.

By offering career development and actively seeking out opportunities to help your employees grow, you’re signaling how much you care about their long-term success.

Training your employees and allowing them to expand their skills will also help your team become more successful long term.

For instance, HubSpot offers master classes, which are classes in which employees teach other employees skills such as video production or SEO.

As employees gain these skills, they can apply them to their roles, making them more well-rounded and innovative.

A Leadership Training program is also a chance for you to prepare your employees to become managers and team leaders down the road. This can reduce turnover and enable your employees to grow with the company.

3. Show you care about your employees’ mental and physical well-being.

Your employees can‘t be satisfied in the workplace if they feel they’re sacrificing their physical or mental well-being.

To boost job satisfaction, it‘s critical you make an effort to show employees that their health matters. Plus, if your employees take the time to recharge throughout the day, they’ll be more productive on the job.

To show you care about your employees’ physical well-being, consider how you might incorporate physical activity into the workplace.

It‘s okay if you don’t have the budget to install a gym — simply creating a culture in which it’s okay to leave early to catch a workout class can help.

Additionally, it’s important you create opportunities to reduce stress and promote mental well-being.

For instance, perhaps you offer flexible hours, so employees can avoid a stressful commute in the morning. Alternatively, you might create lunchtime mindfulness sessions, like Google, Nike, and Apple.

At the very least, take the time to check in with employees and ask them how they’re feeling about their workload. If they seem stressed, consider how you might help delegate tasks to help them get back on track.

4. Foster an environment in which coworkers can bond.

The majority of people dedicate more hours to their jobs than to their significant relationships with spouses, children, or friends.

To boost job satisfaction, it’s critical you find ways to help your employees connect with one another and form genuine friendships.

To foster workplace connections, consider adding games or activities to your shared space — for instance, you might purchase a ping-pong table or game console to encourage employees to engage with one another.

Alternatively, you might plan weekly “breaks” from work, like Friday happy hour or Monday team lunches.

It‘s also important you plan regular team outings to get outside the office. Your employees are more likely to form authentic friendships outside the office when they don’t feel they need to act as strictly professional.

For instance, you might take them to an arcade or baseball game. A new environment could help employees bond on a deeper level.

Additionally, taking the time to celebrate major milestones in employees’ lives can help them feel appreciated. For example, you could gather a group for a coworker‘s birthday or another coworker’s engagement.

5. Conduct job satisfaction surveys.

You‘ll never know if your strategies are working if you don’t regularly conduct surveys to see how happy and satisfied your employees are. Job satisfaction surveys will help you see areas of improvement you might’ve otherwise missed.

Additionally, job satisfaction surveys show your employees that you care about how they feel. By allowing them to voice their opinion, you’re showing them they are important to the company.

Ensure your survey is anonymous so employees feel comfortable voicing their concerns.

The eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) is a good tool to measure employee engagement. Alternatively, you might create your own company survey using SurveyMonkey or Google Forms.

Job Satisfaction Statistics

To understand the measurable difference job satisfaction can make for your company, take a look at the following statistics.

• Engagement-driven organizations outperform non-engaging organizations by 202% (Business2Community).
• When employees are given new challenges, they are 83% more likely to stay with their organizations (ReportLinker).
• When it comes to choosing a job, 42% of millennials say learning and development is the most important benefit (Udemy).
• Globally, only 15% of employees are engaged at work (Gallup).
• Over 80% of full-time workers are actively seeking or passively open to new job opportunities (Ajilon).
• 77% of job seekers consider the culture of the workplace before seeking a job there (Business News Daily).
• 92% of employees said they would stay with their jobs longer if their bosses showed more empathy (Businessolver).
• When employees feel they have the chance to use their best strengths and abilities at work, they are 15% less likely to quit their jobs (Gallup).

Invest in your employees’ happiness today.

The level of job satisfaction among employees plays a substantial role in their engagement, retention, and the overall performance of a company.

By implementing these five guaranteed ways to boost job satisfaction on your team, you can improve the workplace environment and create a culture of positivity, creativity, and productivity.

Keep in mind that contented employees are more driven, and the returns on investing in their happiness are significant over time.

Image is an important aspect of brand awareness, which influences whether your potential customers know, like, and trust you. Where publicity is outside a brand’s control, public relations (PR) is an effective way to contribute to the conversation.

In this article, we’ll define what public relations is and what to expect if choosing it for a career path.

Skip to:

• Public Relations Definition
• Being a PR Professional
• Types of PR
• PR Damage Control

There’s an old saying: “Advertising is what you pay for; publicity is what you pray for.”

Public relations isn’t an easy profession to define. In fact, in 2012, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) accepted a few thousand submissions before finally agreeing on one:

So how can an organization take its beneficial relationship to the public and turn it into good press? Are you really “praying” for something, like the old saying goes, if you’re using a strategic process to get results?

If public relations is a bridge for that relationship, then public relations professionals are the bridge builders. Let’s talk about them a little more specifically:

What is a public relations professional?

A public relations professional is in charge of creating and executing a PR strategy, helping a business or individual cultivate a positive reputation through various unpaid or earned channels and formats, including press, social media, and in-person engagements. They also help clients defend their reputations during crises that threaten their credibility.

Working in PR

The path to becoming a PR professional is not linear like one for something in STEM. Instead, PR professionals often come from a variety of backgrounds including communications, political science, business, or journalism.

Despite having disparate backgrounds, most people working in PR are scrappy, problem-solvers who can think of solutions on the fly. They have great written and oral communication skills combined with an eye for detail and strong critical-thinking muscles.

Since all organizations need some form of PR, those looking for a career in the field have options across multiple industries. This makes it easy to choose a niche that interests you most. From tech to government to nonprofits — public relations professionals are in demand.

Public Relations Types

In larger companies, public relations functions are often split into different departments. Below are some of the most common.

Media: Media relations is responsible for fostering favorable relationships with external media like news organizations, blogs, and industry-related organizations.

Community: This department focuses on building a brand’s reputation within a specific community or niche. For example if a company sells camping equipment and hiking gear, it makes sense to form relationships with outdoor enthusiast organizations.

Government: Government relations is responsible for managing the relationship between a brand and a governing body. PR professionals in this role aim to influence politicians and lawmakers to get favorable outcomes for the brand. This could mean influencing certain policies or providing feedback to decision-makers about industry-specific topics.

Investor: Found in publicly traded companies, investor relations departments manage communication between shareholders and analysts.

Internal: Internal relations is responsible for communication between a brand and its employees. This department not only disseminates important company information, but also acts to quell employee dissatisfaction before it hits a public forum.

Production: This department handles one-off projects like new product or service launches, manages communication around a particular product change, or other special marketing campaigns.

In order to understand how all these PR facets work together, you must first consider the two sides of PR: the positive storytelling side and the negative damage-control side.

Positive Public Relations

If an organization is proactive about their image, they will likely be investing in positive public relations where a PR professional helps portray the brand’s reputation, idea, product, position, or accomplishments in a positive light.

So, in a sense, you can think of PR professionals as storytellers. Unlike advertisers, who tell stories through paid methods, PR professionals tell their stories through unpaid or earned media.

These unpaid or earned avenues include:

• News and press
• Media outreach
• Social media
• Speaking engagements

Keep in mind that a PR professional isn’t just trying to reach a paying customer … they’re trying to reach everyone.

Example of Positive PR

Let’s say you work for a small interior design company, and your business just won an award: “Best Interior Design Company in Chicago.” A PR specialist might draft a press release and conduct outreach to reporters to write a story about this accomplishment to spread the news to the public.

Along with building a credible reputation for your interior design business, the PR professional is also helping the public receive relevant information about this accolade. If I’m a consumer looking for an interior designer, this announcement could help me, too.

Public relations extends to government, too. PR professionals can execute political campaigns or explain a government’s new policy to the public. In this case, you can see how PR professionals work to maintain a healthy and productive relationship between their client (the government) and the general public, who have a right to hear about new policies.

Damage Control in PR (Negative Public Relations)

PR isn’t just used for positive storytelling. It’s also used to mitigate any damage that could weaken a client’s reputation.

If public discourse around a particular brand has a negative sentiment, perhaps as a result of negative publicity or news, a PR professional’s job is to advise the organization on how to proceed.

After all, if conversations are being had, then an organization should share its side of the story. However, how they respond will have an impact on the public’s perception. If done poorly, it could make the situation worse.

A PR professional will then be tasked with:

• Crisis communications
• Damage control
• Response and/or apology messaging
• Reputation restoration strategy

Example of Damage Control in PR

In the early 1980s, numerous bottles of Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol product were laced with cyanide by an unknown person, killing seven people. This led to widespread panic and could have resulted in the end of Tylenol products.

Johnson & Johnson took aggressive PR measures to mitigate the damage: First, the company pulled all of its Tylenol products off the shelves and issued a national statement warning consumers not to purchase or use Tylenol. Then, Johnson & Johnson created a new tamper-resistant seal and instructed 2,000 sales personnel to deliver presentations to the medical community to reintroduce these new, safer Tylenol bottles.

This effective PR strategy saved Johnson & Johnson’s reputation as well as their product — in fact, Tylenol shares climbed back up to 24 percent just six weeks after the cyanide crisis.

In the case of Johnson & Johnson, a simple advertising campaign wouldn’t have worked. Instead, PR was necessary: PR professionals were able to spread a story that portrayed Johnson & Johnson as a company that puts consumers ahead of profit. Along with mitigating damage to Johnson & Johnson’s reputation, PR was used to save more people from consuming cyanide-laced Tylenol, and then used to inform the public that Tylenol was safe again. A win-win-win.

PR as an Important Marketing Strategy

In these examples, you can see PR professionals are adept at handling a wide variety of both good and bad circumstances and must address these events so the public and client can maintain a beneficial relationship. PR specialists also play a role in advising management on the best policy decisions or actions to take and conducting programs, such as fundraising or networking events, to help the public understand the organization’s goals.

PR isn’t just used to influence a story after it happens — it’s also used to write that story in the first place.

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

Some things you think will be simple actually end up getting really complex. Google knows this all too well, which is why Google Calendar has plenty of nifty features to simplify scheduling.

Your Google Calendar comes with your personal Gmail address, and you won’t believe how simple it is to use and set up. However, when working at a company with a corporate Google account you suddenly have to find out how best to integrate your personal calendar with your weekly meeting schedule.

Below are some of our favorite tips, tricks, and features available in Google Calendar.

Skip to:

• Using Find a Time
• Enabling World Clock
• Setting Desktop Notifications
• Creating Appointment Schedules

21 Google Calendar Features That’ll Make You More Productive

1. Create new calendars for different parts of your life.

When you first start out on Google Calendar, you’re given one calendar to start with — it’s the one with your name under “My calendars,” as shown in the screenshot below.

So, if you want to use your calendar for multiple purposes — like managing your actual schedule, planning periods of focused work time, and scheduling repeating reminders — you only have one place to do it. But when you’re only working with one calendar, all of those things get treated equally — meaning you can’t quickly and easily pull up the non-repetitive, important tasks you have for the day.

To combat this, just create a new calendar for each part of your life you’d like to keep track of on your Google Calendar.

How to Use This Feature

To create a new calendar, click the little plus sign (+) next to “My calendars,” and you’ll see the option, “New calendar.” Select this option, name your new calendar, give it a description and time zone, and voilà — you’ve got yourself another calendar.

Pro Tip: You can even color-code each calendar to make it easy for you to pick out what you’ve got to do each day.

2. Schedule meetings with groups using “Find a time” or “Suggested times.”

Do you ever need to arrange a meeting with several people who have busy schedules? It can be really annoying to try to figure out when you’re all free. Thankfully, Google Calendar actually has two features that can do the heavy lifting for you: “Suggested times” or “Find a time.”

How to Use This Feature

To use either of these two options, first make sure you’ve added everyone to the event who needs to attend. Then, if you’d like Google to suggest a time for you to meet, simply select the “Suggested times” link below your guests’ names. A dropdown window will appear with a list of times when every meeting guest, including you, is available with no conflicts.

“Find a time” is the other way to quickly find a time that works for every guest included on the meeting invitation. To use this feature, choose the tab next to “Event details” called “Find a time,” and you’ll see everyone’s schedules side-by-side for the day of your intended meeting. When you see a time when none of your guests have conflicts, click this line of the calendar to highlight the time and press “Save” at the top of your Calendar.

Pro tip: you can also use a free product like HubSpot Meetings to easily schedule meetings without back-and-forth emails. With HubSpot’s Meetings tool, you can send a generic link and ask customers or prospects to choose a time on your calendar that works for them, or choose the sales rep who has the soonest availability.

3. Sync meetings with your CRM.

Use a CRM daily? It can be annoying to back and forth between your Google Calendar and your CRM. Instead, dive into your CRM settings to see if there’s an existing integration with Google Calendar.

HubSpot CRM users, you’re in luck — it’s quick and easy to set up this integration. Learn how to do this here.

4. Sync your calendar with your marketing software.

If you want to make your Google Calendar align even more with your marketing activities, you can integrate it with your marketing software.

For HubSpot customers, you can use Zapier to set up some pretty nifty workflows, such as creating a social media message every time an event starts. Check out this page for more on how you can set up that integration, as well as some ideas for ways you can integrate the two.

5. Hide your event details.

Sometimes, the meetings you host or attend are sensitive in nature. Keep in mind, however, that a closed door isn’t the only way for others to know what’s going on inside. The event’s details in Google Calendar can also reveal more to the rest of the office than you’d like.

To ensure you have as much privacy as you need during more sensitive meetings, set your event to “Private.” This makes it so nobody viewing your weekly schedule sees the details of the event — meeting name, attendees, attachments, and so forth. By default, the public label on the event block will simply be, “Busy.”

How to Use This Feature

To privatize the details of certain events on your calendar, click the event from your calendar view and select the pencil icon to edit the event’s details. In the window that appears, find the briefcase icon just above the event description field.

With the first field set to “Busy,” click into the second field and select “Private” from the dropdown, as shown below. Hit the blue “Save” button at the top of your screen and you’ll be all set.

6. Add a Google Meet to your event.

Need to easily set up a face-to-face remote meeting? Just click the link to “Add Google Meet,” and Google will set up a video call for your event attendees to use. (Learn more about Google Meet here)

7. Add attachments.

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself attending meetings that require me to reference a relevant document. Maybe we’re all working off one Google Doc, or perhaps we’re pouring over an intricate spreadsheet.

Regardless, it’s best to make sure all meeting attendees have the materials they need before the meeting begins so they don’t have to go hunting in their inboxes for it. Google Calendar can help you do this, allowing you to attach documents directly to the event for guests to open and review.

How to Use This Feature

To attach a document to your event, click on your event block from the calendar view and select the pencil icon to edit the event, as shown below.

Once you’re in the event’s edit screen, look for a paper clip icon right above the description section, as shown in the screenshot below. Click this icon and a large window will appear where you can upload files to attach directly from your Google Drive.

Pro tip: When you reach the upload window, you can toggle to the “My Drive” tab to attach Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides that already exist in your Google Drive. Or, you can click the “Upload” tab on the far left of the window to attach offline files from your computer.

8. Enable your world clock.

Do you work with teammates who live around the world? You might find it’s difficult to figure out what time is appropriate to schedule meetings with them. Fortunately, you can — by enabling “World Clock” in your Google Calendar settings.

How to Use This Feature

To quickly check multiple time zones when arranging meetings, click the gear icon on the top-righthand corner of your calendar view. These are your settings. Then, navigate to the “World clock” section, check the first blue box, and select the time zones you want to see from your calendar view.

Once you’ve chosen the time zones you want, return to your calendar view and you’ll see the following on your Google Calendar’s lefthand sidebar:

9. Enable working hours.

Not everyone is a 9-to-5 worker, but they might work quite a bit with those who are. If you have an unconventional work schedule that none of your colleagues seem to remember, this feature is for you.

“Working Hours” is a setting that alerts people if they try to add you to a meeting that lies outside a range of hours set by you in Google Calendar. Hey, it beats having to hit “Decline” and then follow up with the meeting organizer to remind them you’re unavailable during that time.

A Google Calendar tipthat John Hall, Co-founder of Calendar, advises people to use is speedy meetings. “Beneath the default meetings duration settings is the option to create Speedy Meetings. Check the box and 30-minute meetings will automatically be scheduled to last 25 minutes while longer meetings will be cut by ten minutes. That way your working hours become more productive since you end meetings sooner and have time to catch up on todos that don’t keep you beyond working hours.”

How to Use This Feature

To enable specific working hours on your Google Calendar, click the gear icon from your calendar view to access your settings. Navigate to the “Working Hours” section, as shown below. Here, you’ll be able to specify when you’re in and out of work each day of the week.

10. Email event guests.

Remember the time you tried to email a large group of people about an event? Maybe you were trying to coordinate a team outing — or just let everyone know they should bring their laptops to the all-hands meeting. Regardless, I’ll bet it was annoying to figure out who was actually going to the event and ensure you didn’t forget anyone.

Well, this Google Calendar feature will come in handy next time.

How to Use This Feature

As long as you’ve added everyone to the event that needs to go, you can easily email everyone in the group by clicking on the event block from your calendar view and clicking the envelope icon.

Once you click on the envelope icon inside the event block, an email compose box will appear. Simply type in your message, type in the email addresses of the people you want to receive it, and hit send.

11. Add specific meeting locations.

I wish I’d known about this feature the last time I got coffee with someone in downtown Boston. We agreed to meet at Starbucks … but thanks to the multitude of Starbucks locations in Boston, our conversation went something like this:

“Okay, so let’s meet at the one on State Street,” I said.

“Oh, the one by the Court House?” he asked.

“Well, it’s kinda by the Court House, but further down State Street,” I replied.

“Oh, you mean the one by Downtown Crossing?” he clarified.

How to Use This Feature

The logistics of a meeting can get fuzzy without a specific address or conference room. Thankfully, Google Calendar has a feature that’ll fix all that. Instead of having the back-and-forth, I could’ve just sent my friend a calendar invitation with the specific address in the “Where” box. It integrates with Google Maps so it’s super easy to figure out where you’re meeting and how to get there.

12. Use desktop notifications.

As you probably can tell by now, I love Google Calendar … but there is one feature of which I am not a fan.

If you have your Google Calendar open as a tab in your browser when it’s 10 minutes before your next event, the 10-minute warning interrupts everything you’re doing and takes over your screen. Forget about what you were working on — Google Calendar will suddenly surface its tab with a big pop-up alert coupled with an annoying sound. It’s the worst.

Luckily, there’s a setting in Google Calendar that you can use to make notifications much less annoying: “Desktop notifications.” Rather than interrupting your work, you’ll see a much gentler box slide in from the top-righthand corner of your computer screen, displaying the name of the event that’s 10 minutes away.

How to Use This Feature

To enable “Desktop notifications” in Google Calendar, click into your settings using the gear icon on the top-righthand corner in your calendar view. Scroll down to “Event settings” and click the “Notifications” box, as shown below.

By default, your notifications might be set as “Alerts,” causing each event’s 10-minute warning to hijack your computer screen. Instead, select “Desktop notifications,” return to your calendar view, and you will have successfully enabled gentler meeting notifications.

13. Change the event notification time.

In the previous tip, you learned how to soften the notifications you receive in advance of a meeting. But did you also know you can change the number of minutes before the event you want to be notified?

How to Use This Feature

By default, Google will notify you 10 minutes before the event’s start time. To change this warning time for a particular event, click on the event from your calendar view, and select the pencil icon to edit the event’s settings.

In the event details, find the bell icon just below the video conferencing line. Hover your cursor over the box listed “10” and toggle up and down using the small arrow keys that appear to the right to change the number of minutes in advance you want to be notified. As you can see below, you can tell Google to notify you hours, days, or weeks in advance, too.

Pro tip: To the left of the “10,” you can change “Notification” to “Email” if you’d rather be told about upcoming meetings via email instead of a desktop notification.

14. Arrange appointment schedules.

Ever thought about incorporating “office hours” so other folks in your company can book time with you? Maybe you’re a part-time consultant with limited hours to book meetings, or want to limit the times your team can book time with you to certain times of day.

If any of the above scenarios resonate with you, think about using Google’s Appointment schedules.

Google’s Appointment schedules allow you carve out specific times of day on your calendar and then share these times with select people via a private calendar link. When these people click the link, they can schedule meetings with you at any of the times you carved out for them.

If your link recipients find a time they like, all they have to do is select it to book a private event with you, including all the information they’d need for the meeting.

How to Use This Feature

To set up your own Appointment slots, start by clicking anywhere in your calendar view to create an event. When the event options appear, click “Appointment schedules,” as shown below at the very top of the window. Set the date range of the slots you’d like to open up for appointments, as well as how long each appointment should be by default next to “Slots with duration.”

If you’d like more control over your Appointments, click “More Options,” and you’ll be taken to the window shown below. Click “This calendar’s appointment page” for the link you can then share with those whom you’re willing to arrange appointments.

15. Browse calendars of interest.

Want to make sure you’re keeping track of holidays in other countries, your favorite sports team’s schedule, or just the time the sun rises and sets each day? You’ll find these calendars (and more) on your Google Calendar’s lefthand sidebar.

How to Use This Feature

To browse and add interesting calendars, click the plus sign (+) next to “Add a coworker’s calendar.” Then, choose “Browse calendars of interest.” From there, choose the calendars you’d like to subscribe to.

16. Implement a custom view.

When you first set up your calendar, you’ll have the option to view it as a week, month, the next 4 days, or as an agenda. That “4 days” option? You can switch that out with a different interval in your “Custom view” options.

How to Use This Feature

To adjust the number of days you see in your calendar view, click into your settings using the gear icon on the top-righthand corner of your screen. Scroll down to “View options.” Click “Set custom view” and select how many days you want to see at one time from your calendar view, as shown below.

You can also make quicker, more general adjustments to your user interface right from your calendar view. Next to your settings’ gear icon, you’ll see a box that, by default, might say “Week.” Click it to reveal a dropdown menu where you can customize your view further, as shown below.

17. Share your calendars with others.

If you’re using Google Apps for your company, you can also control who sees your calendar, what they see, and whether they have permissions to edit it. (If you have an assistant, this tip will be very important to remember.) You can also make your calendar public, if you wish.

How to Use This Feature

To change your sharing settings, click on the plus sign (+) next to the preferred calendar and choose “Settings and sharing,” as shown below.

Then, you’ll be taken to the page shown below. Here, you can choose to do any of the following:

• Make the calendar public.
• Choose to show event details to everyone in your company, or just free/busy information.
• Add someone to your calendar and choose their individual permissions (see all details, make changes to events, hide all details, etc).

When you’re done, click the back arrow on the top-lefthand corner of your screen to return to your calendar view. Google will automatically save your new calendar settings.

18. Use keyboard shortcuts.

Are you looking to really streamline your Google Calendar efforts? Google Calendar’s got a ton of keyboard shortcuts to use, such as:

• t = Move your calendar view to today
• c = Create an event
• q = Quick Add an event

Check out the full list here.

19. Use quick shortcuts to find a time or jump back to your current time.

Rather than manually scrolling through each month to find a time far in the future, you can type the letter “G” when you’re on your Google Calendar to quickly find a date in the future.

Alternatively, if you’ve scrolled toofar and want to find your way back to the current time with manually scrolling, type the letter “T” to return to the current date/time.

20. Email all invited guests.

I’ll admit — I’ve been guilty of creating events and then missing a recipient or two when I’ve attempted to email the entire group a friendly reminder, or necessary information to peruse prior to the meeting.

Fortunately, with Google Calendar you don’t have to manually type-in every name on the invite. Instead, go to the top of your event and click the Email icon, which enables you to email all your guests from within the calendar itself:

21. Set a “Default Duration” to make shorter meetings, or a “Default Time” to eliminate weekends from your Calendar overview.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the 30-minute or hour-long meetings that consistently deprive you of your ability to get other work accomplished, consider setting a “Default Duration” of 15 or 20-minutes for meetings so that, when you’re planning quick check-ins on auto-pilot, you’ll ensure you’ve planned your time efficiently.

Of course, for certain meeting topics, 30-minutes to an hour is necessary. But if the majority of your meetings are “catch ups” or brief 1:1’s with colleagues, consider whether you can communicate the major points in 20 minutes or less, and save the more minor details for a follow-up email.

Alternatively, if you’re like me, you only use your Google Calendar for the workweek — why, then, do you need the added space of Saturday and Sunday?

A while ago, I clicked the “Week” toggle at the top of my calendar and de-selected “Show weekends” to ensure I felt I could visualize exactly how my workweek was going to look — and saved my weekends for relaxation and more casual plans I could save in my phone if necessary.

Streamline Your Schedule

Google Calendar can start to feel a lot less simple the more events you have on your agenda. Luckily, these hacks and under-the-radar features make your life in Google Calendar much easier to organize.

Ideally, you’ll use one (or a few) of these features to ensure you’re using Google Calendar to youruniquebenefit and to fit your own lifestyle and work preferences, rather than accepting the default settings.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

 

Did you know LinkedIn has over 774 million users across the globe? This metric alone makes the platform one of the top social networks today.

Is your business using LinkedIn to its fullest potential to improve brand awareness, build your network, boost leads and conversions, and increase revenue? With new social networks sprouting up constantly, LinkedIn is a platform that’s often underutilized. The truth is, LinkedIn can be a powerful addition to your social media content strategy.

This guide is chock full of LinkedIn tips you can begin implementing immediately to help you learn how to use the platform to improve brand awareness, share your marketing content, and grow your business.

 

 

When you use LinkedIn to market your business, you gain access to useful features related to analytics, connections, and brand-building, just to name a few. (Don’t worry, we’ll review all of these in-depth momentarily.)

Why is marketing on LinkedIn important?

When it comes to social media marketing, you may be tempted to put all your resources toward the big three: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Those are great platforms for reaching your target audience, but excluding LinkedIn is doing your business a huge disservice. As the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn generates leads 227% more effectively than Facebook and Twitter, so it’s an essential platform for your business when it comes to marketing.

But first, here’s a quick primer for those of you who may be new to LinkedIn.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn launched in 2003 with a focus on networking, building careers, and sharing ideas. The platform enables its members to connect and share content with other professionals including colleagues, potential employers, business partners, competitors, new employees, and customers.

This is why having your business on LinkedIn is so powerful — the platform is a fantastic marketing tool.

For a quick guide on the tips below, check out our video on “How to Use LinkedIn for Business and Marketing.”

 

Now, let’s review the ways you can use LinkedIn to market and grow your business.

LinkedIn allows you to drive traffic to your website, identify quality leads, share your expertise through thought-leadership content, and grow your network. It’s also a great way to market job openings and attract new talent to your company. These are just some of the reasons why LinkedIn is an ideal platform for all businesses to market on. Here are a few more tactical ways you can incorporate LinkedIn into your social media content strategy.

1. Use hashtags.

Hashtags are often used to add emphasis to your LinkedIn post, but they actually serve a purpose that can change your marketing strategy for the better. These simple phrases preceded by a hashtag symbol are goldmines for tapping into new audiences, industries, and niches. But using too many, or worse — the wrong ones, can hinder your reach.

That means you’ll want to strike a balance between relevant and popular hashtags by doing hashtag research on LinkedIn. Use the search bar to query a broad hashtag first. For example, if you work in growth marketing, start by searching #growthmarketing to see how many people are following the hashtag, and how often it is being used.

From here, start with three to five hashtags that reach the audiences you want to speak to. These hashtags should vary in the number of people following them, so don’t get too fixated on high numbers. Related but lesser-known hashtags can narrow your reach to an audience who would be likely to engage with your LinkedIn content.

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2. Know when to use a LinkedIn Profile vs. a LinkedIn Page

LinkedIn Pages are able to be followed without sending a connection and waiting for approval. That means when a LinkedIn user shares your Page with their connections, those individuals will be able to follow your page and see your business’ content right away which has the potential for high engagement. LinkedIn Pages and LinkedIn Profiles serve different purposes in LinkedIn marketing. Pages are public and used primarily by businesses. Profiles are private and used by individuals. Each of them works with the LinkedIn algorithm, but you’ll have different tools that you can leverage to grow your audience.

LinkedIn Profiles can be followed as well, but what makes them unique is the ability to have one-on-one, private conversations with connections who request to join your network. If you’re a consultant, work in direct sales, or prefer to take an individualized approach to your business, you’ll want to have a LinkedIn Profile to capitalize on this feature.

Both of these LinkedIn entities can work in tandem to create the ultimate marketing workflow. For example, you can list yourself as an employee of your business by listing your business’ LinkedIn Page as your employer on your personal Profile. That way, when a visitor lands on your Profile, they’ll see your Page, too.

3. Create posts of varying lengths.

Quick, bold posts pack a punch on LinkedIn. Long-form stories capture the readers’ attention and lead to a longer dwell time on the app. Both of these types of posts should have a place in your LinkedIn content plan.

You don’t want to become known as the person who only shares monologues because your network won’t always have time to read them. Along the same lines, too many short posts can come across as lacking substance which could make you seem less authoritative as a thought leader.

Varying the length of your posts (as well as adding images and videos) can keep your content fresh and relevant to your network. You’ll have content that gets people excited to see what gems you drop next.

4. Share external articles on the platform.

Unlike other platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn’s algorithm supports external links to blogs and websites. So long as the content you post has value and is relevant to your audience, you’ll find success posting other people’s content on the platform.

Although you don’t have to worry about formally crediting the author if you’re linking directly to their website, it’s not a bad idea to tag them in your post or use their hashtag to give credit. Sometimes, they’ll share your post with their own followers, or comment under the post which introduces your Profile to their audience. How cool is that?

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5. Keep your publishing schedule consistent.

Known as the platform for having one of the longest content lifespans, LinkedIn is a platform that doesn’t need a ’round-the-clock publishing schedule. What it does need is a consistent one.

Whether you publish every day, every other day, or even once a week, your network will come to expect your content regularly which builds trust. Choose a schedule that makes sense for your business and stick to it for a month. See what days and times are yielding the best engagement and make those part of your publishing schedule.

Below, we’ll cover some effective ways to use the LinkedIn platform. These tips can be tailored to your needs — whether you have a personal LinkedIn page, business page, or both — no matter your industry or size. However, you’ll notice some of the points we’re going to cover are more suited for businesses looking to boost brand awareness or share content while others are more tailored towards those looking to recruit and hire new talent.

 

 

1. Customize your public Profile URL.

Make your Profile look more professional, and easier to share, by customizing your LinkedIn public Profile URL. Instead of a URL with confusing numbers at the end, it will look nice and clean like this:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/amandazantalwiener.

You can do this by clicking View Profile and then clicking Edit Public Profile and URL. Here you can change your URL to anything you’d like — such as your first and last name or business name — assuming it hasn’t already been taken by another LinkedIn user.

2. Add a LinkedIn background photo to your Profile.

Give your LinkedIn Profile a little bit more personality by adding an on-brand background photo. Although one is automatically provided to you, you can update it to showcase your personal brand, special interests, or catch the eyes of hiring managers and recruiters.

LinkedIn recommends a background photo size of 1584 x 396 pixels, and it must be a JPG, PNG, or GIF file under 8MB.

3. Add, remove, and rearrange sections of your Profile.

You can edit and reorder sections of your LinkedIn Profile to highlight specific pieces of information in any way you see fit. When you’re in edit mode, simply hover your mouse over the double-sided arrow in each section. Your mouse will turn into a four-arrow icon, at which point you can click, drag, and drop to another position on your Profile.

4. Optimize your LinkedIn Profile for the search engines.

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t limited to blogging — you can also optimize your Profile to get discovered by people searching LinkedIn for key terms you want to be found for. You can add these keywords to various sections of your Profile, such as your headline, your summary, or your work experience.

Download a free SEO starter pack to learn everything you need to know about optimizing your business’ content.

5. Become a service provider on LinkedIn.

You can become a service provider on LinkedIn by saying you’re open to providing services on your profile.

This is used to identify freelancers within LinkedIn’s user base. This service matches contractors with project managers who are seeking help.

Freelancers can display a badge on their Profiles to show prospective clients their skills, expertise, and recommendations. Plus, they get a standalone service page like this one:

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6. Take advantage of the blog and website links on your LinkedIn Profile.

You can add portfolio links and social networks to your LinkedIn page. Links to your content and business information can also be added to your Profile to increase clicks. This feature allows you to draw greater attention to specific areas of your page to drive traffic elsewhere.

For example, if you produced a podcast, you can share links to your episodes on LinkedIn (e.g. SoundCloud tracks) to promote your work.

7. Check your Network Updates (or share your own).

Found on your LinkedIn homepage, Network Updates are essentially LinkedIn’s version of the Facebook News Feed. Check this feed periodically for a quick snapshot of what your connections, customers, competitors, and others are up to and sharing. You can also share updates of your own, such as details about your products or services and noteworthy content your business has created and published.

You may choose to sign up for email notifications or sort by “Top Updates” and “Recent Updates” to filter your feed in any way you choose.

8. Be identifiable.

Your LinkedIn connections should recognize your Profile the moment they look at it. A great way to make your Profile easily identifiable is by ensuring your Profile’s name, headline, and other simple identifiers are easy to see.

Note: You should always have your Public Profile setting enabled as well, to be visible and identifiable for your audience.

9. Check out who’s viewed your LinkedIn Profile.

Learn a little about your audience members, potential leads, and customers who are viewing your Profile and marketing content that you’re sharing on LinkedIn.

How? With the Who Viewed Your Profile feature.

This tool, which is accessible in the main navigation via the Profile drop down, enables you to identify the exact people who have visited your page. You can see how you stack up against the Profile views for your connections, other businesses like yours, and more.

10. Design all aspects of your LinkedIn page.

The design of LinkedIn pages has changed a lot over the years. Make sure yours is set up correctly and optimized for the latest layout, featuring a compelling and high-quality banner image.

Take a look at what HubSpot’s Company Page looks like for inspiration:

Use guides and templates to discover the best ways to design your LinkedIn page for optimal business, marketing, and professional networking.

Next up, we’ll go over some LinkedIn networking tips so you can grow your network. 

LinkedIn Networking Tips

Networking on LinkedIn may feel nerve-wracking, but remember that the worst thing you can hear is the word “no.”

If you’re using your personal LinkedIn profile to network with clients, or if you’d simply like to use LinkedIn to network with those in and outside of your industry, use the following tips.

1. Optimize your profile to invite connection requests.

If you want the right people to find you and hit “Connect,” it’s essential to optimize your profile and make networking with you as appealing as possible. For that reason, you’ll want to:

• Showcase your unique value proposition: Highlight what sets you apart from others in your field. Share specific accomplishments, quantifiable results, and notable projects — that way, you can demonstrate your expertise.
• Include images and videos: Make your profile visually appealing and engaging by adding multimedia elements. Text alone can work, but to network more effectively  you’ll want a few pictures to do the talking. Videos, presentations, infographics, relevant projects — everything is game.
• Optimize your professional headline: Instead of using just your job title, how about highlighting your key skills or the problems you solve? This helps you stand out and piques the interest of potential connections or employers. Have fun with it (but not too much fun!).

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2. Personalize your connection requests.

By far, the most important thing you can do to network on LinkedIn is personalizing your networking requests.

Instead of sending generic requests, take a moment to write a note for each one. You can mention where and how you met, for instance, or explain your interest in connecting. This personal touch increases the likelihood of your request being accepted.

It sure worked when the young man below sent me a connection request, but I didn’t recognize his face! When he explained why he wanted to connect with me, I immediately accepted it. It turns out that we were both recipients of the same scholarship.

Something important to note is that your connection request message gets converted into an inbox message. This gives you a chance to start a conversation. Consider asking a question or an icebreaker to get people to interact with you after they click “Accept.”

After connecting with someone on LinkedIn, follow up to maintain the relationship. Engage with their content, congratulate them on achievements, or simply reach out to check-in periodically. Networking on LinkedIn isn’t just about having hundreds of connections — it’s about nurturing each one.

3. Engage with other people’s LinkedIn posts.

This one could be a bit obvious, but networking on LinkedIn requires interaction. Remember, we’re not just trying to have a long list of connections, but have a trackable presence. Interacting with other people’s content is one key way to build that presence and meaningfully connect with others.

LinkedIn not only has a feed, but it also sends you a notification when someone in your network has posted or interacted with another post.

These are all prime networking opportunities. But I especially love the curated notifications from LinkedIn, because they offer an opportunity to interact with content posted outside of your immediate network.

Plus, if your existing connections are interacting with that person’s posts, then chances are that they’re a good prospect to add to your network!

Then, it’s time to interact, but not to fear: It doesn’t have to be too complicated, either. You can regularly engage with posts, articles, and comments on LinkedIn with a simple like or share.

If you’re in the mood, you can also leave thoughtful comments, which can more effectively build relationships and increase your visibility within your network. This also demonstrates your expertise and willingness to contribute to discussions.

4. Join and participate in LinkedIn Groups.

LinkedIn Groups are a goldmine of networking opportunities. It’s so essential that we’ve mentioned it twice in this post. It’s good not just for marketing yourself or your business, but for expanding your network.

The best part is that you can find new networking opportunities based on an affinity or identity — which is much more organized than simply using LinkedIn search (although you should definitely use search).

I highly recommend joining relevant LinkedIn groups to connect with like-minded professionals in your industry or field. Now, don’t do it willy-nilly; be selective and choose groups that are relevant, or will become relevant in case of a career change.

Also, look for active groups with a significant number of members where the discussions align with your professional interests. If the posts don’t interest you, don’t clutter your feed with the group’s updates.

There are a few ways to get the most out of LinkedIn groups:

• Start meaningful discussions: Post thought-provoking questions, share interesting articles or resources, or seek advice from group members
• Share insights and expertise: Share valuable insights, offer advice, and provide solutions to common challenges in your field
• Scout for potential connections: Engage with individuals who share similar interests, connect with them, and interact with their content and posts

5. Request and give recommendations to other LinkedIn users.

A recommendation is the LinkedIn equivalent of a hug. If you really want to nurture your existing connections — and make it clear that you’re a valuable connection — consider giving your past and current colleagues a recommendation, even before they ask for one.

(Plus, that makes it easy to request one later!)

Now, I can’t emphasize the importance of requesting recommendations enough. By getting recommendations from colleagues, clients, or partners you’ve worked with, you can build credibility — which makes you a valuable addition to any network. That makes it easier for people to click ”‘Connect.”

Don’t have time to recommend colleagues, or feeling shy about requesting a recommendation? Consider endorsing a colleague’s skill on their profile instead. It’s simple and easy. It may not be as satisfactory as a hug, but it can be like a pat on the back, and that’s enough to keep you top-of-mind.

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6. Send thoughtful direct messages.

Sending direct messages on LinkedIn is one of the best ways to strengthen your existing network. But you have to be strategic about the direct messages you send. They should be thoughtful, have a clear purpose, and make it clear you’re genuinely interested in that person.

Make sure your message is personalized, concise, and valuable. Maybe even try to offer something relevant to the person, such as an interesting article or helpful insight.

Direct messages are a uniquely powerful way to nurture your existing network and expand your number of connections. Why? Because it’s private, personalized interaction — almost like having a conversation at a professional convention.

Plus, thoughtful direct messages help shape your professional brand and reputation on LinkedIn. When you consistently send well-crafted messages that add value, you establish a positive image as a proactive, thoughtful, and valuable connection.

7. Use LinkedIn’s advanced search features.

Once you’ve joined groups, perused your notifications, and even looked through your connections’ network, it’s time to use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find more potential connections.

I recommend taking this step once you’ve sufficiently “warmed” your existing network, or are in need of additional opportunities.

To start an advanced search, simply input a term into LinkedIn’s search bar, which will take you to a results page with a wide variety of filters.

You’ll want to click the “People” bubble so you can see whom you can connect with. From there, you can filter by common connections, location, or current company.

If you click “All filters,” you can go even further, filtering people by alma mater, industry, or even whom they follow (which is handy for finding those with common interests!). All of this enables you to strategically connect with like-minded professionals.

8. Use LinkedIn’s “Open to” feature.

If you want to network on LinkedIn specifically for the purpose of finding new job opportunities, hires, or clients, enable the “Open to” feature.

Under your profile headline, tap “Open to,” then tap your preferred option. You have three:

Finding a new job: This places an “Open to work” banner on your image.

Hiring: If you’re a recruiter, you can use this option to signal you’re hiring.

Providing services: This places a banner in your profile that showcases the services you’re providing.

Not only is this useful for advertising your services directly to your network, it also allows new clients to find you via LinkedIn Search. Voila — more networking opportunities right at your doorstep with business potential, too.

9. Publish valuable content on your LinkedIn profile.

While most successful networking entails you interacting with others, you’ll also want to provide that opportunity for others by posting content.

That not only allows your network to interact with you, it also allows you to share your expertise — strengthening your LinkedIn brand and positioning you as a thought leader.

Plus, it can help you broaden your reach. Your posts have the potential to go beyond your immediate network through LinkedIn’s algorithm and content discovery features.

This means that your valuable insights can resonate with a wider audience, attracting new connections. For instance, when my colleague liked the below post, it showed up on my feed, even though I don’t follow the original poster.

If you post valuable content, you can increase your chances of showing up in users’ feeds and earning a follow or a connection request.

10. Read or participate in LinkedIn collaborative articles.

LinkedIn has recently rolled out something called “collaborative articles,” where you can post your insights on a pre-written article generated by AI.

The ability to contribute has been made available to a limited number of users by invitation, but you can always read collaborative articles to find new networking opportunities.

You can like contributions and access each contributor’s profile. From there, you can easily send a personalized connection request and start a conversation. This feature is currently in beta, but I hope it gets fully rolled out in the next year.

Now that you know how to use LinkedIn and how to expand your network, let’s learn how to market yourself or your business on the social media platform. 

1. Use Saved Searches and Search Alerts in LinkedIn Recruiter.

If you use LinkedIn Recruiter, you can use Saved Searches to save your search criteria — if you’re marketing job opportunities via LinkedIn, this is a great addition to your tool belt.

With the feature, you can save as many searches as you want and receive alerts when new candidates match your filter refinements and criteria. You can elect to receive daily or weekly search alerts from the system about relevant results via the Recruiter homepage.

2. List job opportunities and recruit new talent with LinkedIn’s job postings.

And speaking of your business’ open job opportunities, don’t forget to add and market your new positions on the LinkedIn Jobs page.

Here, candidates can learn about your business and openings by searching for specific keywords such as job title, industry, location, salary, experience level, and more.

3. Take advantage of LinkedIn Endorsements.

LinkedIn offers a feature called Endorsements — this allows you to recognize people you work with by endorsing their skills.

You can promote and endorse the skills of the people you work closest with to help refer them for other work, make their Profiles more impressive, show your support, and more. 

Or, as mentioned, you can use this to nurture your existing network. 

4. Use Open Profile to send messages to people you’re not connected to.

To branch out and make new connections with potential partners, customers, and other industry leaders, you might want to send them a personalized message.

With the exception of fellow LinkedIn Group members, the platform only allows you to send messages to people with whom you share a first-degree connection. But did you know some people let you send them messages anyway, even if you’re not connected?

Here’s how that works: The ability to be part of the Open Profile network is only available to Premium account holders, but it allows those users to be available for messaging by any other LinkedIn member regardless of membership type.

Additionally, there are options for sending messages to those with whom you’re not yet connected, similar to sending a request to connect with a note (though we don’t recommend overusing this technique). Additionally, if you have a premium account, you can use InMail.

5. Export connections.

Now, it’s no secret that you can use the connections you make on LinkedIn to drive traffic to your site and grow your base of paying customers. Exporting your connections — to a contact management system, for example — is a great place to start.

Simply go to “Settings”, “Data Privacy”, then click “Get a copy of your data” to start exporting your LinkedIn connections.

6. Customize your Connections to grow your professional network.

LinkedIn offers features to help you grow your professional network and make valuable connections. There are several ways to do this depending on what you’re looking to accomplish.

Here are some examples:

• Add, view, and remove connections depending on their level of value to your business.
• Control who can see your connections — maybe you do or don’t want your competitors to see that list of people.
• Leverage your second and third-degree connections to grow your network and build new relationships.
• Import and sync your contacts from your email and other sources to stay in touch with colleagues, partners, leads, and customers across the board. These connections will see your content in multiple places so they learn more about who you are as a business, deepening their relationship with your brand.

7. Join LinkedIn Groups.

LinkedIn Groups are a great way to make connections with people who work in, or are interested in, your industry. They serve as a hub for you and other members to share content, grow your contact list, establish yourself as an expert in the field, and boost brand awareness.

There are several other benefits that come from joining LinkedIn Groups. For example, by joining Groups related to your industry and participating in discussions within those groups, you’ll inspire thought leadership in your industry.

Additionally, by joining Groups, you can view complete Profiles of other members of the same group without being connected. Also, if you’re a member of the same group as another user, LinkedIn allows you to send up to 15 free 1:1 messages to fellow group members per month (typically, you can only do this if you’re a first-degree connection).

8. Create your own LinkedIn Group.

Consider creating a LinkedIn Group of your very own, like HubSpot did with the popular Inbound Marketers Group.

You can use your group to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, grow a community of advocates, generate new marketing content ideas, promote brand awareness, and generate new leads.

9. Communicate with your LinkedIn Group.

And on that note, there are more reasons to create your own Group on LinkedIn. In fact, one of the perks of managing a LinkedIn Group is that LinkedIn makes it simple to interact and communicate with the members of the Group you’re in charge of.

You can either send messages to group members or create a group post. Sending messages allows you to write a member of your group directly, or share content with them, from your group’s page. This is great if you have something to share with a specific person in your group. Creating a group post allows you to share any content you’d like on your group’s page which is ideal for initiating a discussion.

10. Share your LinkedIn status updates on other platforms.

Consider using a social media tool such as Marketing Hub’s to cross-post your LinkedIn status updates on other platforms. This is also a great way to boost your followers across a wide variety of channels and increase youur LinkedIn connections.

Cross-post on LinkedIn and other platforms using HubSpot’s social media management software. 

For example, if you’re posting an update to LinkedIn that you’d also like your Twitter followers to see, you can easily syndicate that update by creating a new post in Marketing Hub and selecting both LinkedIn and Twitter. Just make sure that the post is apt for both audiences. 

11. Leverage @mentions in your status updates.

Want another LinkedIn user or company to see your status update? On LinkedIn, you can tag — or @mention — users and other companies in your status updates much like the way it works on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Include the @ symbol immediately followed by the user’s/ company’s name in your status update or post. As a result, that user/ company will be alerted that you mentioned them, and their name will also link to their Profile and Page in the status update itself. This is a great way to boost engagement and interaction on your content as well as improve brand awareness.

12. Create LinkedIn Showcase Pages.

LinkedIn Showcase Pages are niche pages that branch off your business’ page to highlight specific initiatives and campaigns or feature specific content you’re working on.

Think of Showcase Pages as extensions of your main page that allow you to promote specific products or cater to your marketing personas — this provides a more personalized and targeted experience for your page visitors. This is a great way to expand your network on LinkedIn because other users can choose to follow your Showcase Page(s) even if they haven’t followed your main page.

13. Post company status updates and target them.

Publish status updates for your business on your LinkedIn page for your followers to see. This keeps your LinkedIn connections engaged and in the loop regarding your business’ latest developments, work, content, and updates. In your status updates, you can share written information, images, videos, documents, and more.

You can also post Targeted LinkedIn Status Updates tailored towards specific people and groups within your audience. To do this, use criteria such as company size, industry, job function, seniority, geography, language, or by including/ excluding company employees.

These targeted updates will appear on your page — or Showcase Page — as well as on LinkedIn for the targeted users (specifically, in their Network Updates feed).

14. Experiment with LinkedIn Sponsored Content and Native Ads.

If you’re looking to complement your organic LinkedIn marketing efforts with some paid advertising, LinkedIn Ads are a smart choice. One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn advertising: the targeting options.

LinkedIn’s PPC ads let you target specific job titles, job functions, industries, or company size, to name a few — you know, the people who are more likely to want/ need what you sell.

If you want to get started with LinkedIn’s advertising platform, check out our free guide to advertising on LinkedIn.

15. Share content through LinkedIn’s publishing platform.

Good news! You no longer have to be a LinkedIn influencer to publish new articles on LinkedIn. Publishing is available to all users on the platform. Experiment with how this feature can support your marketing goals by creating content and promoting it on your business’ LinkedIn page.

For example, you might experiment with syndicating content from your blog to LinkedIn — this way, you can promote subscriptions to your blog via LinkedIn.

16. Add a Page Follow button to your website.

Add the LinkedIn Company Follow button to your website to promote your company’s LinkedIn presence and the content you share on the platform. When your website visitors follow your LinkedIn page via your site, they’ll automatically become connected to you and be able to view your company’s latest updates on the platform.

Using this method, you can boost your engagement and number of connections on LinkedIn by driving traffic to the platform directly from your website.

18. Analyze your LinkedIn marketing performance.

So … how are your LinkedIn marketing efforts faring? Analyzing your efforts and making necessary adjustments is critical to your success on the platform.

LinkedIn has in-depth page analytics as well as reporting tools for businesses to evaluate overall performance. There are specific data about how effective your status updates, content, and reach are as well as details about your page’s engagement and followers (like audience member demographics).

LinkedIn Marketing Options

LinkedIn allows you to drive traffic to your website, identify quality leads, share your expertise through thought-leadership content, and grow your network. It’s also a great way to market job openings and attract new talent to your company. Using ads will amplify all of these benefits to make them even more useful for your business. There are four different types of ads you can use on LinkedIn, each one is crafted to help you achieve different goals for your business.

1. Sponsored Content

The LinkedIn homepage for users features a news feed that is custom to each profile’s network. Sponsored content will show up in the LinkedIn news feed and reach a highly engaged audience. This content is labeled as “promoted” so it stands apart from the regular news feed. Sponsored content can include single image ads, video ads, carousel ads, or event ads.

2. Sponsored Messages

Each user on LinkedIn has an inbox to connect with other users. Only 48% of businesses use messaging to engage with potential leads, so there’s a great opportunity for you to be ahead of the curve with it. There are conversation ads that are in the style of “choose your own path” and message ads which are direct messages to potential leads.

3. Lead Gen Forms

Converting leads is the goal of your ads, and easily collecting their information makes the process streamlined for them and your business. These are pre-filled forms that help you collect and record leads on LinkedIn.

4. Text Ads

The LinkedIn platform has a right rail that can also feature ads. These can be text, spotlight, or follower. These are smaller, more condensed ads compared to the sponsored content.

Market Your Business on LinkedIn

Are you ready to get started marketing your business on LinkedIn?

With so many updates and additions to LinkedIn on the horizon, we can’t wait to see how the network continues to make itself an integral resource and platform for marketers, job seekers, candidate seekers, and other professionals. Get started marketing on LinkedIn by experimenting with one of these best practices.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.