Yearly Archives: 2023

Artificial intelligence is being introduced to more users every day — using it to shuffle through music, write strategic plans, make images or art, and improve our lives and business.

But many people don’t entirely trust it. Lack of transparency and discrepancies in results could prevent the tech from improving, and the implementation of an AI ethical framework can reform that.

In this post, we’ll discuss AI ethics and how ethical decision-making can improve the technology. But if you’re in a pinch, jump to the information you need.

• What are AI ethics?
• Why are AI ethics important?
• Biggest AI Ethical Concerns
• Benefits of Ethical AI

It’s a system that AI developers should have in place to serve people better while minimizing negative consequences. Technology can only be as efficient as it’s built to be and should follow a universal guideline to benefit its user base.

Why are AI ethics important?

The use of ethics in AI is essential to prevent the misuse of technology. Without an ethical framework behind it, artificial intelligence can result in privacy invasion, unequal bias, and other risks many may not even consider when beginning to use it.

Let’s break down some of the biggest ethical focuses in AI that developers should prioritize as it evolves.

Biggest AI Ethical Concerns

AI is just like any other technological advancement in need of guidelines. Many professionals can already see the consequences of using the tool without moral consideration. HubSpot Product Manager Kevin Walsh and the founder of PR 20/20, Paul Roetzer, sat down to discuss ethical concerns for the future of AI.

Professionals from different backgrounds and industries have much to consider as they incorporate AI into their strategy, and we’ll discuss some of the biggest ethical concerns in AI.

1. Privacy and Security Concerns

We interviewed one of HubSpot’s marketing blog editors, Martina Bretous, to get her perspective on this concern, “It can impact the brand’s credibility but also bring legal ramifications. For content creators and artists, there is a real fear of intellectual property theft. How can I ensure that my content is protected from AI?”

AI is a valuable and time-saving tool, but the information it uses to improve isn’t guaranteed to be protected. The amount of personal data users unknowingly give away for AI solutions isn’t disclosed — and it could be using unauthorized intellectual property to work. Without ethical guidelines, it can lead to data breaches, legal conflict, and other misuses.

2. Social and Environmental Wellbeing Concerns

AI systems can have an impact on individual and environmental well-being. Developers of the technology should clearly outline the objectives of the tech they create to erase ambiguity. Additionally, they should ensure its use is for the benefit of everyone who uses it equally.

3. Reliability Concerns

According to the HubSpot State of AI survey, 30% of marketers don’t use AI because they believe it sometimes produces inaccurate information. Users of artificial intelligence rely on the tech to operate as advertised, but there are valid concerns about whether the results it generates are reliable.

Bretous builds on this point to say, “With AI, there’s no shortage of ethical implications – it just depends on whose lens you’re looking from. For brands, for instance, one ethical dilemma they may have to wrestle with is how they’ll disclose the use of generative AI in their content marketing. Does the audience deserve to know when something – say a blog post – has been AI-generated or should audiences just assume it’s the name of the game now?”

Typically, AI doesn’t disclose the exact sources of information it shares with users — much less a game plan for accident mitigation or investigation when information is false or leaked. To combat these concerns, AI ethics could change these doubts into real plans for beneficial change.

Benefits of Ethical AI

More trustworthiness and privacy protection.

AI ethics can change people’s perception of the technology if it becomes an industry standard to provide transparency and explainable disclosures to its users. Building confidence in the technology will likely increase its use and allow users to understand processes and how data is used.

Avoid unfair bias.

Bretous also said, “From a consumer’s perspective, bias is an incredibly important concern and this is where AI literacy will be key – just because AI said it, doesn’t mean it’s accurate or reliable. This is all to say that we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible but also what’s dangerous about AI.”

A benefit of AI ethics is that its use can become fairer. Many AIs have displayed an insensitive or unfair bias for certain individuals or groups using the technology, and adhering to ethical guidelines can help prevent these results. It provides equitable access and representation.

Universal value alignment.

People make decisions by considering universal values, a framework that can be forgotten if not included in artificial intelligence. While AI developers could gradually address individuals’ ethical issues, a universal code of ethics can set the standard for how humans use the technology and how AI evolves according to guidelines.

Ethics in AI are a Must

Just as humans have moral guidelines behind what they do, so should the technology we use. AI will become a standard tool across many industries, and to ensure it’s used equitably and safely, will benefit from ethical guidelines.

Rebranding can be daunting, but it can improve your brand recognition and help you gain a larger following — and we’ve seen it done right by some of the biggest names out there.

In this blog post, we will explore some of the most notable famous rebrands and what marketers can learn from them to apply to their own businesses. Whether you’re looking to rebrand your business or for inspiration to take your brand to the next level, these rebrands offer valuable insights into what it takes to refresh and modernize a brand successfully.

1. Meta

In October 2021, Facebook underwent a significant rebranding effort, changing its name to Meta. This change reflects the company’s shift in focus from being a social media platform to becoming a metaverse company. It now focuses on creating virtual reality experiences that allow users to interact in a more immersive and interconnected way. This rebranding effort also included a whole new visual identity and logo design.

One lesson marketers can learn from this rebranding effort is the importance of staying relevant and not shying away from innovation. Facebook recognized that the world is changing and that people are increasingly looking for new and creative ways to connect and engage with each other.

By shifting its focus to the metaverse, Meta is positioning itself as a leader in this emerging field and demonstrating a willingness to adapt and change in response to evolving consumer needs and preferences. Marketers could learn a thing about the importance of staying attuned to changes in the market and being willing to make bold moves to stay ahead of the competition.

2. Petco

In October 2020, Petco announced it would no longer sell electronic “shock” collars. The announcement highlighted the company’s rebranding efforts as a health and wellness company for pets.

The pet store redesigned Petco’s homepage, as well as the Petco app, to focus on their new initiatives — including health and wellness resources for pet parents, a “Right Food Finder” tool to help parents identify the healthiest foods for their pets and an extended range of pet healthcare and insurance offerings.

Nowadays, many American pet owners treat their animals as family members — so Petco’s rebranding makes a lot of sense. The new design better reflects the brand’s more holistic approach to animal wellness — including a dedicated landing page that outlines how to take care of your pet’s mental, physical, and social health, with a tagline, “We’re working with trusted experts to improve pet wellbeing by raising the standards of everything we do. Because it’s what we’d want if we were pets.”

Overall, this was an extremely successful rebrand as it focused on a shift in consumers’ lifestyles and ensured the company’s refreshed vision reflected those priorities.

3. Dunkin’

In 2019, Dunkin’ Donuts announced a rebranding effort, changing its name to “Dunkin’.” The move was designed to reflect the company’s expanding focus beyond donuts and towards a wider variety of food and drink options, including breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and other snacks. The rebrand also included a new visual identity and logo featuring a bold, modern font and an updated color scheme.

Dunkin’ recognized that consumer tastes and preferences were changing and wanted to rival the coffee giant Starbucks more than retain its identity as a donut shop. The brand knew it needed to adapt to remain competitive, and it was a successful rebrand that’s still going strong. By rebranding as “Dunkin”” and expanding its offerings, the company was able to position itself as a more modern, versatile brand that could meet the changing needs of its customers.

This highlights the importance of regularly reassessing your brand’s positioning and messaging and being willing to make bold moves to stay ahead of the curve. Additionally, it underscores the importance of keeping your brand consistent across all touchpoints, from visual identity to customer experience, maintaining a solid and cohesive brand identity.

4. Adobe Creative Cloud

In May 2020, Adobe released a blog post, “Evolving Our Brand Identity.” The article dives into the decisions behind Adobe Creative Cloud’s rebranding and states, “We’re making these branding changes to ensure our portfolio continues to be easy for our customers to navigate and understand, as well as maintain a fresh look and feel.”

Among other things, Adobe Creative Cloud redesigned its:

• Logo: The company redesigned the logo to an all-red logo with warmer hues.
• Creative Cloud logo: The new logo uses a colorful gradient to represent “the importance of creativity.” The colors in the logo are pulled together from various Adobe products and the latest Adobe red logo.
• Product logos: The company is adding 3-letter mnemonics to help viewers determine product families — like Adobe Photoshop (Ps) and Adobe Photoshop Camera (PsC). The designers also used colors to organize products into categories.

These redesigns successfully highlighted and organized the many product offerings of Adobe Creative Cloud. For instance, when you navigate to the “Video” product page on Adobe’s website, all apps within the Video category are similar shades of blues and purples.

While some designers have expressed frustration over the new logo color similarities, it makes sense that the brand needed to organize its products better — with a catalog of over 50 products, choosing the right ones for your needs can feel overwhelming. The updated logos should help make it easier to pick and choose.

5. Starbucks

Over the years, Starbucks — one of the most valuable brands in the world — has proven the true power of a good brand. And one of the telltale signs of a good brand is the ability to consistently innovate and push the boundaries rather than settling for what’s already working.

In 2020, Starbucks released its “Starbucks Creative Expression” brand expression guide. The site focuses on Starbucks’ defined voice, typography, and logo to create consistency across channels and Starbucks locations.

In a few words, Starbucks aims to create an open, creative, carefree, and modern brand. On the Voice page, for instance, it reads, “We’re confidently turning down the volume of competing messages to elevate experience, removing obstacles in the way of people finding exactly what they seek at Starbucks.” The guideline adds, “When we have the space, we tell a passionate coffee story. But even with just a few words, our copy can make you smile.”

Ultimately, this most recent Starbucks rebrand is simple and effective. Rather than moving too far in the opposite direction of the brand’s roots, the company sticks to its fundamental company vision while making slight alterations to continue serving the needs and preferences of its consumers.

6. GoDaddy

A web hosting service founded back in 1997, GoDaddy needed an upgrade. In early 2020, they created a brand-new logo, refreshed their website design, and created new marketing campaigns to match the new look. Their design page reads, “A new brand for a new era” and focuses on how GoDaddy’s users — the everyday entrepreneurs — inspired the new look.

One of GoDaddy’s most striking changes is the new logo, named the GO. GoDaddy believes the GO represents “the indomitable spirit of everyday entrepreneurs.” Its contemporary design uses colorful visuals, hand-drawn illustrations, and a bold, serif font to evoke a sense of inspiration and joy. GoDaddy’s brand voice, depicted in recent campaigns, aims to be casual, human, and friendly.

While some brands might need less of a makeover, GoDaddy’s older image felt outdated and less cohesive. Their rebranding reflects the modern tastes, personalities, and needs of the modern user.

7. Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn, a roughly 70-year-old home furnishing company, has now put sustainability as the central focus of their brand, promising consumers that what they purchase will be worthwhile — both in terms of quality and environmental impact.

Pottery Barn, named the most sustainable home furnishings retailer, has focused its efforts on sustainability with a dedicated landing page outlining its commitments:

• Plant a tree (with the Arbor Day Foundation) every time a consumer purchases a piece of indoor wood furniture.
• Use responsibly-sourced cotton.
• Keep products out of landfills by restoring items with a new Pottery Barn “Renewed” line.
• Contribute money for communities to invest in health clinics, water filtration systems, and more (the brand has currently contributed $3 million).

Ultimately, as your brand grows with your consumers, it’s essential to consider what matters to them today. Pottery Barn has done an excellent job identifying a sweet spot in the furniture marketplace: Sustainability. As consumers continue to use this value as a guiding light in their purchasing decisions, it makes sense for Pottery Barn to ensure all their updated marketing materials reflect its mission.

8. I❤️NY Logo

We’ve spoken about all these successful rebrands, but marketers have just as much to learn from famously failed rebrands.

On March 20th, 2023, the “We ❤️ NYC” logo by Graham Clifford was announced to be New York City’s new branding campaign to replace the iconic “I ❤️ NY” logo by Milton Glaser — but it failed to capture the same emotional connection and visual appeal that made the original so famous.

While the new logo featured a more modern font and a heart symbol made up of various New York City icons, it lacked the simplicity and elegance of the original design, which has become synonymous with the city itself. Additionally, the new logo failed to resonate with New Yorkers and visitors like the original, eventually abandoning it.

Marketers can learn from this failed rebrand attempt the importance of respecting and building upon existing brand equity. The “I ❤️ NY” logo had become an iconic symbol of New York City and its culture, and attempting to replace it with a new design was a risky move that ultimately backfired.

Marketers should carefully consider the existing brand equity of a company or product before making any significant changes and focus on building upon that equity rather than starting from scratch. Additionally, marketers should listen to the feedback of consumers and stakeholders before making any major branding decisions and be willing to pivot or change course if necessary.

Key Takeaways from Famous Rebrands

The above examples make it easy to spot some similarities that made them all strong contenders for best rebrands. But before you begin your rebrand for your own business, remember these takeaways:

1. Keep your audience at the forefront of your plans.

What tastes and preferences do they have? What inspires or excites them? How would they want your website designed? Identifying and catering to a specific audience or buyer persona will give you a better chance of succeeding through a rebrand than trying to appeal to the masses.

2. Use your consumers’ outside preferences to shape your rebranding.

Consider your consumers’ passions beyond your products or services and what they care most about — you can weave those into your brand story.

Like Petco and Pottery Barn’s successful rebrands, ethical or sustainable marketing can garner attention from those who want to see their money fuel a socially responsible business.

3. A rebrand is more than just a logo change.

You want your rebrand to be bold. Otherwise, it’s just a brand refresh.

To properly rebrand, you’ll want to conduct a content audit and analyze all your existing content to ensure each webpage, logo, graphic, and advertisement is updated to fit your new image.

4. A brand guideline page is critical for cohesion.

Most examples in this list have a dedicated brand guideline page for ensuring each employee is empowered with the right tools to create content that fits the new look.

Both GoDaddy and Starbucks, for instance, outline how the voice should sound, what fonts to use, and even what colors to include in any public-facing marketing materials.

Rebrand with your customers in mind.

Ultimately, a rebranding strategy can be an exciting and effective opportunity to delight existing customers while attracting new ones. We hope these famous rebrands inspire you to get started with your fresh look.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in May 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As algorithms and trends evolve, managing social platforms effectively has become one of the biggest challenges for marketers.

Fortunately, social media AI tools have emerged as powerful solutions that can streamline the process and enhance overall performance.

In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to 10 cutting-edge social media AI tools that can help you optimize your social media strategy, boost productivity, and drive positive ROI.

From social listening and analysis tools to AI-powered content creation platforms, these tools can help you gain deeper insights into your audience.

So, let’s dive in and discover how these innovative AI tools can transform your social media strategy.

3 Ways to Implement AI in Your Social Media Strategy

The 10 Best Social Media AI Tools

3 Ways to Implement AI in Your Social Media Strategy

As a social media marketer, you wear many hats. You’re a content creator, analytics expert, and advertiser. Luckily, AI can help with each of these roles. Below we’ll explore how AI can augment your work and free up your time.

1. Use AI software to create basic post content.

Are you stuck writing filler posts instead of filming viral videos and creating detailed Instagram stories? Creating the right captions and tweets uses brainpower that can be better spent elsewhere.

Many marketers are using generative AI like ChatGPT to write full blog posts. However, there are specialized AI tools that can help social media marketers create the content they share online.

So how can AI craft and suggest a tweet for you? One subset of AI is called natural language generation (NLG). It can be trained to create written narratives out of data, like simple reports or fact sheets.

So let’s say your department produced a huge, data-driven report, and you want to create a few high-impact social shares from it. You can put your copy into AI platforms, like Copy.ai, and make sort posts with your critical data.

2. Monitor and analyze your social media channels with AI.

Writing content and responses is only half the battle of social media management. A huge portion of social media marketing is managing and monitoring social channels.

Luckily, AI can shoulder data-heavy tasks and help you make better marketing decisions. That’s because AI tools can collect information from millions of posts at scale and use that data to make predictions.

“Managing” a channel is a loaded term. A few of those tasks, like discovering high-impact influencers, can be handled by tools like Emplifi.

3. Create, optimize, and manage paid social media advertising.

As mentioned above, AI is capable of developing social media posts. The same can be said for ad copy that resonates with different audiences. AI can help you write ads optimized for clicks and conversions using predictive technology.

The 10 Best Social Media AI Tools

1. Lately

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Lately makes generating posts easy. This tool can recognize context from a larger piece of content and create social media posts for promotion.

Within the Lately dashboard, you can use a simple form to generate a number of tweets at once related to a URL, document, or information posted in a text box.

You can also include campaign information and hashtags that you’d like to work into your social posts.

When you click “Generate Content,” the tool will create tweets related to it. Once your content is created, you can schedule your work and manage your projects.

Lately also analyzes the historical metrics of your pages to recommend the best posting times for maximum impact.

Best for: Creating post content.

What we like: Lately offers a standout AI feature that lets you quickly and easily generate social media by repurposing any long-form content.

Pricing: Lately offers three different plans. The Startly plan costs $29 per month. The Litely plan costs $49 per month, and you can opt for the Professional plan for $129 per month, which includes additional features.

Case Study

Erica Mitchell, the Director of Marketing at Supporting Strategies, has successfully used Lately’s dashboard to enhance the company’s online presence.

Initially, she faced the challenge of managing over 179 social media channels for her company, which provides outsourced bookkeeping services with over 90 locations in the United States.

To simplify her workflow while ensuring compliant messaging at scale, Erica implemented Lately.

By using 35 Lately dashboards linked to all 179 social media channels, Erica was able to amplify Supporting Strategies’ organic social content.

This effort yielded impressive results, with the company experiencing a remarkable 2x increase in web traffic within just one year.

2. Sprout Social

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If you use your social platforms for community management, Sprout Social’s automated technology can help you reply to fans, customers, or followers.

You can see and respond to posts directed at your company all through the Sprout Social dashboard. Sprout admins also have the power to manage direct messages through the platform.

In both the dashboard and direct message view, Sprout can analyze the wording and sentiment of a message and suggest an auto-response that you can use or tweak.

Although AI is not having a full conversation with all of your followers, automation makes the process faster.

Best for: Managing messages from customers.

What we like: Sprout Social’s Social Listening solution is a great feature that leverages the power of global conversations using AI-driven technology.

You can extract valuable insights from thousands of unfiltered thoughts, opinions, and feedback to enhance your strategy.

Pricing: Sprout Social’s Standard plan starts at $249 per month. The Professional plan is priced at $399 per month, and the Advanced plan is priced at $499 per month.

Case Study

Goally, a company that offers a skill-building app and electronic devices for kids, has experienced success with Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox.

By leveraging the personalized customer care and engagement features of Smart Inbox, Goally has been able to maintain a 100% action rate on TikTok content, ensuring a high level of responsiveness and satisfaction among their target audience.

3. HubSpot

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We can’t ignore HubSpot, either: HubSpot’s social media software is designed to simplify your social media content creation and posting process with the help of AI.

The software automatically creates engaging social media posts by analyzing the provided link’s metadata.

Anyone subscribed to HubSpot’s Marketing Hub or higher can use the tool, which can be found in the platform’s Social section.

Click “Create Post” and choose a social channel. Once the text box opens, attach a URL from your own site or another location.

Once you insert post attachments, like the URL, you’ll either see a short headline or a meta description of the page along with its link and a photo.

After the post copy is pulled and generated into the text box, you can tweak the copy to fit your social voice or add more depth or comprehensiveness to the overall post.

Best for: Creating post content.

What we like: HubSpot’s social media management tool facilitates seamless content publishing across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Moreover, the software enables you to connect your social media accounts to your blog, automatically sharing content as it’s published.

Pricing: HubSpot’s pricing varies depending on how many users you have and whether you want to purchase just the Marketing or other Hubs.

However, HubSpot’s Starter pack begins at $50 per month and includes Marketing Hub functions plus the free features of HubSpot’s CRM.

Case Study

Aermec North America is a leading brand that offers innovative HVAC solutions in the North American market. However, despite their high-quality products, they struggled with low social media engagement and few followers.

The company’s marketing team leveraged HubSpot Marketing to enhance its social efforts to address this issue.

Over one year, the company saw a remarkable 44% increase in its collective followers across all social media and a significant 60% surge in social media shares.

4. Copy.ai

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Writing the perfect copy, with the right word count for each platform, can take hours of your day. Copy.ai helps automate the process. All you need to do is follow these three steps.

• Specify what platform the copy will be for, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
• Give the AI context for your post. That could be a command related to the topic of your post or a larger portion of text, like a section of a blog post.
• Choose from multiple options and make the tweaks you see fit.

Best for: Creating post content.

What we like: If you need to write multiple posts for the same campaign, Copy.ai gives you multiple options that you can choose from — or you can schedule them all.

Pricing: Pro plans start at $36 per month.

Case Study

Copy.ai can help you feature keywords that generate traffic and help your users find your posts.

Lucy Werner, PR and branding expert at The Wern Agency, is a frequent user of Copy.ai. She uses the rewrite with keyword function to help optimize her content for search.

“It will pop them in for you with a rejig at the click of a button,” she writes.

5. Emplifi

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Emplifi, previously known as Socialbakers, is an AI-driven social media management platform that provides advanced audience insights.

The platform includes a unified content feed, an analytics dashboard, and smart scheduling tools.

If you’ve found that it takes too much time and resources to find, vet, track, and keep up relationships with influencers, Emplifis’ AI-driven influencer dashboard will streamline the processes.

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When you click into the influencer dashboard, you can toggle between different social media platforms and categories, like “Food” or “Health.”

You can then see influencers that match the most with your audience, which Emplifi continuously analyzes.

Best for: Finding influencers to work with.

What we like: Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud offers top-of-the-line analytics and insights capabilities. The software allows you to generate custom reports to uncover actionable insights that drive real business results.

Pricing: Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud costs $200 per month, billed annually with a 10-profile limit. If you’d like to run 20 platforms, you can subscribe to Essential’s second tier for $400 per month, billed annually.

The Complete Social Marketing Cloud plan, which offers influencer tools, is available upon request.

Case Study

Organix, the UK’s premier baby and toddler finger food brand, collaborated with influencers for their WonderDen campaign. The goal was to establish authentic and trustworthy connections between the brand and its community.

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To manage the campaign, Organix leveraged the powerful Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud.

The software allowed the brand to track content performance across all social media touchpoints, including both influencer and brand-generated content.

As a result, Organix achieved a remarkable 34x engagement efficiency.

6. Cortex

When it comes to sharing content, you can use Cortex to receive recommendations on when and how often to post based on historical metrics. Cortex can also generate detailed analyses of your competitors.

Cortex has a dashboard that shows off your posts and your social schedule. When you create a post, Cortext uses data to suggest posting times.

If you upload one or more photos, the software will also note colors that are most engaging for your audience to help you pick the best image for the post.

Best for: Analyzing your social media performance.

What we like: Cortex’s ability to monitor content trends and identify emerging keywords and layouts can help you stay ahead of the curve.

Additionally, you can leverage their advanced analytics and insights to better understand your audience.

Pricing: Prices are available upon request.

Case Study

St. Regis, a luxury hospitality brand with a strong visual focus, recognized the need to improve their images to better connect with both existing and potential future guests.

By leveraging the advanced insights provided by Cortex, St. Regis saw an astounding 72x increase in engagement on Facebook. Their Instagram page also saw a significant 61% increase in followers on Instagram.

7. Linkfluence Radarly

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You can also use something like Linkfluence‘s Radarly software to assess the mountains of data social media audiences produce daily.

That means measuring your brand impact, detecting trends, and pulling specific insights on your most important target audience.

With Radarly, you’re able to log on and see a dashboard that connects data from all of your accounts. In the first column, you can see a live feed of posts and tweets that acknowledge your brand name or handle in some way.

Then in the next columns, you can see scoring that explains how negatively or positively people are talking about you on social.

You’ll also view which platforms people are discussing you most on and data about your audiences, such as interests, languages, or hashtags they’re using.

Best for: Analyzing your social media performance.

What we like: The social listening platform analyzes live streams of social data to give you a better understanding of your customers, including their behavior and sentiment.

Pricing: Prices are available upon request.

Case Study

Pernod Ricard, one of the world’s largest spirits brands, wanted to leverage social data and consumer insights to drive business decisions.

With the help of Linkfluence’s advanced social listening and contextual analysis platform, Pernod Ricard gained a comprehensive understanding of its target audience.

This enabled the company to tailor its products and marketing efforts accordingly. This customer-centric approach drove Pernod Ricard’s annual sales to a staggering €8,987 Million in 2018.

8. Phrasee

Phrasee pulls data from past marketing assets, including emails, social media copy, and other online posts, to determine the most and least effective.

From there, Phrasee can show you the weak or strong copy-related aspects of past ads. You can then draft prospective copy and test its effectiveness within the software. You can also use ad copy that the software suggests for you.

Best for: Optimizing social media advertising.

What we like: Phrasee’s AI-powered technology allows you to generate, optimize, automate, and analyze marketing messages in real time.

Pricing: Prices are available upon request.

Case Study

Wowcher, a prominent ecommerce brand in the UK, partnered with Phrasee to enhance its social media marketing.

Wowcher used Phrasee’s AI-driven content creation software to optimize its Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns. Within a few campaigns, the company achieved a remarkable 31.2% decrease in cost per lead (CPL).

9. Pattern89

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AI can tackle some of the nitty-gritty ad management tasks, like optimizing bids, divvying up a budget, and recommending channels to help your ad perform.

Pattern89 is an AI marketing tool that provides recommendations on almost every aspect of your ads, including recommendations for adjusting your spend and audience targeting to massively increase performance.

When you log into the tool, you’ll see a screen filled with alerts and suggestions related to improving your ad’s effectiveness. If you’d like to follow the platform’s suggestions, you can click “Show me how” to learn how to make ad adjustments.

If the platform shows you a “Do this automatically” button next to a suggestion, you can click that to have the platform make the adjustment.

Aside from allowing you to monitor live and completed ads, the tool also offers a Creative Ads Manager. This allows you to search and analyze past ads with filters including ad set, campaign objective, audience, and other ad targets.

Best for: Optimizing social media advertising.

What we like: Pattern89 is a top pick if you want to conduct in-depth analyses of customer behaviors on social media, particularly on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Pricing: Prices are available upon request.

Case Study

SnapShyft is a marketplace that offers flexible staffing solutions for the food service and hospitality industries. The company partnered with Pattern89 to enhance its marketing efforts and increase conversions.

Using Pattern89’s marketing AI, SnapShyft was able to analyze ad creative and audience engagement in real time, optimizing its in-flight campaigns for maximum impact.

In just four months, Pattern89 drove 75% of new add-to-carts and 96% of new checkout for SnapShyft.

10. LocaliQ

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LocaliQ, previously known as Wordstream, is an innovative social media marketing tool designed to help you reach potential customers through social ads.

With LocaliQ, you can collaborate with their team to create a tailored social ad strategy that aligns with your unique objectives.

The LocaliQ platform provides a unified lead dashboard, allowing you to monitor and analyze your campaign’s performance.

Additionally, you can use the platform to generate leads, connect with prospects, access reports, and automate your marketing initiatives with ease.

Best for: Optimizing social media advertising.

What we like: Using LocaliQ’s XMO technology, you can allocate one budget for your business objectives and automatically adjust spending across multiple channels based on real-time performance data.

Pricing: Pricing is available upon request.

Case Study

Aubuchon Homes is a leading luxury home design company based in Southwest Florida. Despite its reputation for exceptional design, the company faced challenges in generating new leads.

To address this issue, Aubuchon Homes sought the expertise of LocaliQ.

Leveraging LocaliQ’s Smart Social ads tools, Aubuchon Homes drove remarkable results quickly. The targeted advertising campaigns drove a 300% increase in leads, with the new leads being of higher quality.

As a result, the company saw a 42% increase in the average home sale price, leading to greater revenue and profitability.

AI for Every Social Media Marketer

If artificial intelligence still seems like an overwhelming topic, you’re not the only one who might be intimidated by it. After all, we’re marketers, not data scientists.

Good news: You don’t need to be a data scientist to understand, start using, and make a massive impact with the help of various AI. You just need to start using AI platforms for social media. Get started with these tools today.

Finding the right influencer for a brand campaign can feel like dating. You want someone who shares your values, aligns with your goals, and will make a great impression on your friends and family — or followers, in your brand’s case.

The same can be said if you’re an influencer looking for a brand that will take your career to the next level.

Whether you’re a brand or an influencer, this article will help you find the perfect match by showing you the top channels for influencer marketing.

Discover the best social media channels for your next influencer marketing campaign and what platforms to use to find a brand or creator to collaborate with.

Best Channels for Influencers

Influencer Platforms for Creators

10 Best Influencer Platforms

Best Channels for Influencers

Below are the channels marketers leverage the most in influencer marketing and where influencers achieve the highest ROI for the companies they work with.

1. Instagram

According to our survey, 72% of marketers listed Instagram among the social media platforms on which they work with influencers and creators.

Most marketers surveyed (30%) also said Instagram is the platform they get the biggest ROI when working with influencers and creators.

Furthermore, most marketers (32%) said Instagram is the easiest platform to work with influencers.

2. YouTube

58% of our survey’s marketers listed YouTube as a platform they leverage when working with creators and influencers. 20% of marketers said YouTube yields the highest ROI when working with influencers.

When asked which social media platform is the easiest to leverage when working with influencers, 20% of marketers pointed to YouTube. And 18% of marketers plan to use YouTube for influencer marketing.

3. TikTok

61% of marketers listed TikTok among the social media platforms on which they work with influencers and creators. However, only 14% said it results in the biggest ROI when leveraging influencer marketing.

14% also said TikTok is the easiest to work with when collaborating with influencers and creators.

4. Facebook

Finally, 57% of marketers listed Facebook as their platform of choice when working with creators and influencers.

It also ties with YouTube regarding ROI, with 20% of marketers saying it yields the highest ROI when leveraging influencer marketing.

18% of marketers said it’s the easiest platform to work with when collaborating with influencers and creators.

Influencer Platforms for Creators

If you’re an influencer or creator looking for a platform to help you connect with brands, expand your reach, and book paid campaigns — consider joining the platforms below.

1. Mavrck

Mavrck is an influencer marketing platform that connects brands with creators (and vice versa) for collaborations and marketing campaigns. Its influencer index is especially helpful for creators.

Through the influencers index, creators can make a profile on the site and make their accounts searchable. Brands can then reach out directly to the creators and influencers they want to work with.

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2. Activate

Influencers who want control over the campaigns and brands they work with get a lot of use out of Active.

The platform allows creators to scroll through partnership opportunities posted on the site, negotiate their rates, and submit partnership proposals.

Influencers can also filter campaigns based on compensation.

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3. #Paid

On #Paid, influencers can set their rates for their content posts and the custom content they create to be posted by brands. To see campaign opportunities, users must sign up.

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4. Clever

Clever is a full-service influencer marketing agency that connects creators with brands and brand campaigns. The agency works with influencers at every level but focuses primarily on micro-influencers.

Clever’s services include:

• Campaign designs
• Influencer profile definitions
• Influencer selection
• Influencer program management
• Reporting

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10 Best Influencer Platforms

Whether you’re a content creator, influencer, or brand — the platforms below are best if you want to collaborate and get the most out of your influencer marketing campaign.

1. Shopify Collabs

Shopify Collabs is free for anyone with an existing Shopify plan. The all-in-one tool allows brands to partner with influencers on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch.

Marketers can create their brand’s custom application page, discover the right influencer for their next campaign, and manage affiliate payouts and special offers.

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2. YouTube BrandConnect

As mentioned earlier, YouTube is one of the best social media platforms to leverage when working with influencers and creators.

If you’re trying to find the right influencer for your next YouTube marketing campaign — YouTube BrandConnect is what you need.

With YouTube BrandConnect, companies can reach out to creators with a strong following to create innovative, authentic, and engaging branded content.

Furthermore, YouTube BrandConnect synchs with your Google Ads account and gives access to a suite of influencer marketing tools exclusive to Google.

With these tools, you can monitor your campaigns, find ways to increase engagement, and offer products in real time.

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3. Grin

If you like having a wide range of tools at your disposal, then you’ll enjoy Grin. The platform boasts a plethora of tools that support:

• Relationship management
• Discovery and recruitment
• Content management
• Product seeding
• Payments

Grin can also integrate with your marketing stack, including email providers and e-commerce solutions.

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4. Aspire

Aspire is an excellent platform if your goal is to build a unique influencer marketing program. The platform’s fully customizable relationship workflows make it easy for marketers to tailor their influencer marketing process to their needs.

Aspire also allows users to find and connect with influencers, brands, and industry experts. Additionally, Aspire has tools and dashboards to help you measure the ROI from your campaign.

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5. Creator.co

Creator.co offers tools for reporting, insights, and campaign execution. With Creator.co, you can search for creators, build your own creator community, and create a seamless onboarding process for the creators you wish to collaborate with.

Creator.co also offers tools such as:

• Creator CRM
• Campaign management
• Paid social and ad permissions
• API Integrations
• Reporting and insights
• Competitor benchmarking

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6. Open Influence

Open Influence calls itself your “campaign co-pilot” that will assist you from campaign ideation to creator selection to performance tracking.

If you want help with production, you’ll want to check out its studio feature. Open Influence’s studio provides video production, pre-production, and post-production tools.

It also offers services for live streaming, aerial videography, and virtual reality.

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7. Klear

Klear offers tools to connect brands and influencers; however, one of its main focuses is analytics. Its influencer analytics tool provides influencer insights, demographic data, trending data, and brand safety audits.

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8. Traackr

Traackr focuses on data-driven influencer marketing. With Traackr, you can find partners, collect addresses, create reports, monitor posts, and share briefs.

If you’re looking to run affiliate and paid programs, Traackr boasts tools to manage links, define attribution models, track conversions, and pay commissions.

And, of course, it allows users to sort and vet influencers for potential collaborations.

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9. Impact.com

If you’re a brand with multiple partnerships, Impact likely has the service you need. Impact helps users manage and optimize all of their partnerships through every stage.

Whether you’re a brand, affiliate, influencer, publisher, or sponsor — Impact is an excellent tool for building relationships and fostering successful collaborations.

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10. Influence.co

Influence.co is a directory and portfolio site where creators can network and showcase their work.

The platform’s pricing model focuses on helping creators promote their brand, which allows small businesses on a budget to use Influence.co for free to find relevant creators.

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If you’re a creator looking for your next paid brand collaboration or sponsorship, you know the platforms to help you find your perfect match.

The same goes for if you’re a brand looking for an influencer that shares your vision and aligns with your goals.

Now, go out there and find the best collaborator for your next big influencer marketing campaign!

In the last six months, economic trend surveys we’ve conducted revealed that 37% of marketers are reporting budget cuts – likely due to our changing economy.

As a marketer, knowing where your leadership team might need to cut can help you prepare to pivot to strategies with less resourcing. And, if you lead a team, you’re likely wondering how marketing leaders are navigating this time to make the best decisions for your staff and business in uncertain times.

To help you navigate reducing your marketing budget in 2023, we used tools like Glimpse to survey more than 500 marketing leaders on their top strategies for cutting costs. We also asked them which channels they plan to pull back on first, so you can get an idea of what to expect.

How Marketing Leaders Are Already Pivoting

Our full report, the Marketing Leader’s Playbook, revealed 80% of leaders have already taken steps to plan or prepare for a recession – so let’s dive right in and see what we can learn.

How Marketing Leaders Are Cutting Costs in 2023

Marketing leaders say leaning into earned media, leveraging automation or AI, looking for emerging marketing opportunities, using organic marketing channels, and optimizing your media mix are the top strategies for cutting costs, so let’s take a look at each in more detail below.

1. Tapping Into Earned Media over Paid Media

Tapping into earned media is a great (and free) opportunity to expand your reach when budget cuts are on the horizon.

Traditional examples of earned media include getting your brand spotlighted by a news publication or rated by a review site. Not only is it free, but the fact that it comes from an independent source adds credibility to your brand.

Another powerful earned media asset is content from your very own satisfied customers who might share their pleasant experiences on social media, review sites, or other channels.

Also known as user-generated content, assets created by happy customers are a great way to promote your brand in an authentic and credible way. Sharing and interacting with UGC on your official page will also deepen your connection with your customers and incentivize others to share their stories too!

2. Leveraging Affordable AI and Automation

Let’s have AI (courtesy of OpenGPT) write this section on how AI can help marketers:

“Marketers can use AI to cut costs in several ways. For instance, they can use AI to automate repetitive tasks such as data entry and analysis, which can save time and reduce the need for human labor.

Additionally, AI can be used to optimize marketing campaigns, helping to target the right audience and increase the effectiveness of marketing efforts, which can reduce the amount of money spent on marketing activities.

Furthermore, AI can be used to improve the customer experience, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, which can help to reduce the cost of acquiring new customers.”

Yes. The writing above isn’t perfect. But, it makes the necessary points and just needs a few tweaks to be great.

While AI isn’t ready to write intriguing full-fledged blog posts on its own, and we don’t condone replacing your team with AI, marketers and leaders can leverage automation, like HubSpot’s Content Assistant, to save time and money in a wide range of ways, like:

• Using AI for basic web research
• Generating post outlines
• Creating short meta or social media descriptions

Artificial intelligence could be such a major evolution in today’s economy and workplace, that it’s even the topic of our next research report and series, which will cover The State of AI in business. Bookmark this page to check out our survey’s marketing highlights.

3. Embracing Emerging Marketing Opportunities

From AI to social media, marketing is always evolving, with new apps and features popping up constantly.

These are often free to use and being among the first brands to hop on a new trend presents a massive opportunity.

For example, embracing BeReal, a new social media platform popular among Gen Z, can make a splash with that demographic in a space brands haven’t yet saturated. You can also try out new social media features, like Instagram’s shopping tools, which offer marketers a high ROI as Millennials and Gen Z continue discovering products (and buying them) through social media.

4. Leaning into Organic Social Media Content

Leveraging social media to gain organic, free awareness is a no-brainer in this day and age, especially for the leaders we surveyed. Rather than investing time and money into making paid ads, you can create great content tailored to the interests of your audience and let social algorithms do the targeting for you.

And as we’ll get into later, paid social media content is the first channel marketing leaders plan to cut in a recession, so organic may be more important than ever.

The good news is that you no longer need a professional camera and the perfect setup to win on social media. Nowadays, authenticity and relatability go much further, especially with Gen Z and Millennials.

Brainstorm a few ideas, grab your phone or pop open Canva, and hit the post button. Analyze your results, double down on what works, and watch your audience grow.

5. Optimizing Media Mixes

Optimizing your media mix is all about figuring out what works (and what doesn’t) and shifting your investment accordingly.

Analyze the performance of your marketing channels and amplify the ones giving you the best ROI. At the same time, you can either cut underperforming channels or switch up your strategy.

Speaking of cutting back on underperforming marketing channels, let’s take a look at where marketing leaders expect to see budget cuts if a recession were to happen.

Where Marketing Leaders Could Cut Costs

If our economy worsens, most marketing leaders expect to see budget cuts in their paid social media content, followed by organic social content, print ads, email marketing, and video content.

Since these are among the most popular marketing channels, it’s no surprise that budget cuts will affect them disproportionately, simply due to the fact more marketers use them in the first place.

With all of that said, one thing worth keeping in mind is that the data above doesn’t necessarily mean marketing leaders will get rid of things like social media or email completely: they just might invest in them differently and more conscientiously.

On the other hand, marketing leaders least expect virtual events, podcasts, SMS, and physical ads to see budget cuts in a recession – possibly because these are used least often. Still, around one in five leaders still think these channels would be on the chopping block.

One definitive finding is that blogs are also among the least likely to be cut, despite being the second most popular marketing channel. Based on that, we can assume blogs will see less of a pullback than other equally popular marketing channels like social media, email, and video.

Get Ahead With Key Economic Insights

With one in three marketers saying a recession will have an even bigger impact on their marketing activities than COVID-19, preparation and continuous monitoring will be key to success.

Now that you know how marketing leaders are planning to cut costs, dive into the full survey results by checking out the Marketing Leader’s Playbook.

We’re also regularly surveying marketers on how the recession is impacting them and the strategies they’re using to persevere.

After reading our blog content, learn about the latest trends, innovations, and other ongoing challenges in the marketing space today by downloading our free State of Marketing Report below.  

Optimizing your content to rank high in search engines can be tedious, especially when there are many factors to consider. Page load times, keywords, content quality, and videos are all things that can affect SEO.

Fortunately, AI SEO tools are available to streamline SEO optimization and boost your website’s rankings.

In this article, we’ll explore the various AI tools available to you, but first, let’s dive into how marketers use AI and the definition of AI SEO.

How Marketers Use AI

What is AI SEO?

15 AI SEO Tools Marketers Should Know

How Marketers Use AI

We surveyed more than 1,350 marketers to learn how they use AI. Here are some statistics we found:

• The majority of the marketers we surveyed (48%) reported using generative AI to conduct research.
• 45% of marketers use generative AI for content creation.
• When creating marketing content, most marketers surveyed (22%) said they use AI to generate ideas.
• 70% of marketers said generative AI is important to their content marketing strategy.

So, what do these statistics tell us? Essentially, AI plays a prominent role in the workflow of many marketers.

If you want to stay competitive as SEO continues to change the marketing landscape, then it’s time to consider how AI can help your brand.

One way to leverage AI is in SEO.

Many AI SEO tools can analyze your website’s performance and provide solutions to areas that need improvement. If you’re looking for AI SEO tools to help your site rank high in SERPs, here are some tools you should consider.

15 AI SEO Tools Marketers Should Know

From content writing to keyword searching to video creation, marketers should check out 20 AI SEO tools.

1. Jasper

Jasper is an AI writing assistant that can create SEO-optimized blog posts, emails, and other written marketing materials. All you have to do is provide the AI with seed words and clarify the tone of voice you desire.

From there, Jasper will analyze the information to create phrases, paragraphs, or full posts. Jasper has more than 50 templates users can choose from as well as other helpful features like:

• Auto-save,
• Plagiarism checker
• Brand voice customization
• Multi-user login

2. AlliAI

AlliAI allows users to optimize their website for SERPs in just minutes. A key feature is its Bulk Onpage Optimization, which creates site-wide optimization rules. The feature also deploys code changes down to individual pages.

AllAI also has a live editor that edits and optimizes text, content, and code within your page.

Furthermore, its Self-Optimizer for Traffic ROI automatically generates sitewide page titles with real-time focus keyword A/B testing to efficiently boost organic traffic.

3. Pro Rank Tracker

Getting real-time updates on where your content ranks in SERPs can be challenging. While it’s possible to assess your ranking by manually searching in Google, the process can be time-consuming.

Plus, personalized and localized results can cause you to miscalculate your ranking.

Fortunately, Pro Rank Tracker is an SEO tool that provides daily automatic updates as well as updates on demand. Furthermore, its international tracking feature can track your rankings worldwide and in multiple languages.

4. RankIQ

Created specifically for bloggers and businesses with a blog, RankIQ is an SEO toolset that helps users create SEO-optimized blog posts.

RankIQ provides SEO content briefs identifying topics that Google’s algorithm wants you to cover, allowing you to create a blog outline in minutes.

Its content-optimizing writing assistant even tells you what to add in your post to make it more comprehensive and likely to rank at the top of search engine results. You can even optimize older, underperforming posts in less than 30 minutes.

5. INK

INK is an AI writing tool that learns from your competition so you can write brand content that outranks your competitors. The tool also serves as an SEO assistant by finding the right keywords to enhance and further optimize your content.

Advanced users can also access keyword clustering. Other key features are:

• AI Writer, a long-form document editor
• SEO Optimizer to score content for SEO
• Fully automated keyword search

6. HubSpot AI Tools

Click here to learn more about HubSpot’s AI tools.

HubSpot has various AI tools that help you create optimized content that will rank high in SERPs. For example, our SEO suggestions tools can scan your website and automatically pinpoint opportunities for optimization.

Furthermore, our AI content assistant helps users to toggle between manual and AI content creation to generate copy for blog posts, landing pages, marketing emails, and more.

The content assistant can generate blog ideas, outlines, paragraphs, and email content.

7. NeuronWriter

This AI-powered optimization tool uses natural learning processing (NLP), Google SERPs data, and competition insights to help users create high-ranking, SEO-optimized articles and social media posts.

Key features are:

• AI Writer, which generates AI-written content.
• Internal Linking, which gives users recommendations for related sites — taking the guesswork out of link building.
• Competitor Analysis, which analyzes the high-performing content from your competitor to give insight into what drives their ranking.

8. OutRanking

OutRankning examines data from top-ranking sites and uses the information to find opportunities to help its users rank higher.

Using SERP data, the tool can create an automated draft quickly, allowing users to make edits, fact-check, or re-write wherever they feel it’s necessary.

OutRanking can generate SEO-optimized blog outlines, briefs, titles, and campaigns.

9. Diib

Diib uses SEO and traffic insights to foster business growth. The AI SEO tool provides you with a personalized growth plan that includes customized objectives alerts to help with SEO.

It includes features that help monitor SEO keywords and develop new ones.

It also monitors backlinks and tracks competitor rankings. Even better, Diibs provides a daily health score to stay on top of your website’s health.

10. Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is an AI tool focusing heavily on SEO strategy to boost organic traffic, visibility, and rankings in SERPs.

One of the tool’s features, Grow Flow, provides weekly SEO insights to identify high-ranking keywords, research niche topics generate content ideas, and find relevant internal links.

You can also use its SEO Audit tool to pinpoint problems in your SEO. Other helpful features include:

• Content Editor
• Audit
• AI Outline Generator

11. PageSpeed Insights

Page speed plays a role in how high your website ranks in SERPs because search engines don’t want to send users to slow-loading platforms. In fact, page speed has played a role in Google’s rankings since 2017.

PageSpeed Insights is a free tool provided by Google for website owners to examine how Google assesses their page speed.

12. Scalenut

Scalenut is an all-in-one SEO marketing tool that includes a keyword planner, SERP analyzer, SEO article writer, and content optimizer. With Scalenut, you can analyze the search volume and relevance of potential keywords using AI.

Its article writer creates a guided workflow to automate outlines and create content based on SERP data. And its editor provides real-time feedback and recommendations to boost the visibility of your posts.

13. Pictory

Videos increase website retention time, which helps sites rank higher in SERPs. If you’re looking for a quicker, more efficient way to incorporate videos into your web content, then Pictory could be your tool.

Pictory is an AI video generator that allows you to easily create and edit high-quality videos. To get started, upload a script for your video, which will serve as the base of your video content.

You can also use Pictory to edit videos based on text, which is especially useful for webinars, podcasts, and Zoom recordings.

Furthermore, Pictory has a feature that automatically captions and summarizes videos.

14. Nitro Pack

As I mentioned earlier, page speed is important in how your content ranks. Similar to Page Speed Insights, Nitro Pack is an AI tool that optimizes your website page loading time.

Nitro Pack includes features such as image optimization, which sizes, compresses, and adapts your images to load faster.

Other features, such as automatic caching and code optimization, are also excellent for improving page load time.

15. Neuraltext

Neuraltext is a keyword research tool, AI copywriter, and content tool. The AI copywriting feature includes over 50 templates, such as Facebook ads, slogan ideas, blog ideas, and more.

Its content features use data from ranked pages on Google to help generate well-researched content.

To use its content features, type in a keyword, and the tool will pull from the top 20 results on Google along with data on suggested keywords, topics, questions, and statistics.

Now that you have a list of AI SEO tools to choose from, you’re ready to find the right one to address any pain points in your SEO strategy.

As customer behavior constantly changes, marketers face an ongoing challenge to keep up with their audiences. Personalization and need fulfillment are essential to the success of any marketing campaign, and failing to understand what your customers want could result in lost revenue for your business.

Marketers must stay in touch with evolving customer behavior and preferences to ensure their campaigns resonate with their customers. In this blog post, we’ll highlight the top challenges marketers face in understanding audiences from HubSpot’s very own 2023 State of Marketing Report to provide data-driven tips for overcoming them.

Challenges Marketers Face in Understanding Audiences

1. Identifying the target audience.

Surveyed marketers reported that their biggest social media challenges are consistently creating engaging content (22%), gaining and keeping followers (22%), and reaching their target audience (21%).

The special thing about these challenges is that the first two are contingent on the third.

Creating engaging content that grows your following is nearly impossible without understanding the target audience. Knowing exactly who you’re making content for is a foundational understanding marketers need.

Marketers can conduct more thorough market research to gather data on their target audience to gain a more concise understanding. They can use this data to create buyer personas and plan content for your ideal customer. These personas should be based on recent data and insights from trustworthy surveys, interviews, and other research methods.

2. Understanding customer behavior.

Another challenge that marketers face is understanding their customers’ behaviors. Understanding where they spend their time online, what they like, and what they don’t like is essential to creating effective marketing campaigns. You want to see how they prefer to view your content, the frequency with which they do it, and what will keep them returning to your business.

To overcome this challenge, marketers can use tools like Google Analytics or heat maps to gather data on customer behavior. They can use this data to analyze their customers’ website actions, track engagement, and identify areas for improvement. Marketers can also use social listening tools like Hootsuite to monitor conversations around their brand on social media.

3. Creating content that resonates with the audience.

Creating content that resonates with the audience is a significant challenge for many marketers. They may struggle to find topics their target audience is interested in or may not know how to write content that speaks to them.

For example, many customers in recent years have been looking for brands that share content that reflects corporate social responsibility on topics like social justice, sustainability, or ethical workplace practices. Current-day consumers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, want to buy from companies that display values and a purpose that resonates with them.

There’s proven potential in sharing values-based content with customers. According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report, 16% of marketers plan to get their company talking about values this year for the first time, and 89% of those who already do plan to increase or maintain their investment in this approach.

Marketers can use the data gathered on their target audience to better connect with the customer to create content that speaks to their interests and values. And to make things easier, they can also leverage tools like surveys or customer feedback to see what they want from your marketing content. Once you’ve identified topics your target audience is interested in, create high-quality content such as blog posts, videos, infographics, or ebooks based on the responses.

4. Measuring the success of marketing campaigns.

Measuring the success of marketing campaigns is another challenge faced by marketers. Without tracking the performance of their campaigns, it is impossible to know if they are effectively targeted towards their audience.

Marketers can set specific, measurable, and achievable campaign goals. They can use tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics to track the performance of their campaigns and adjust them as necessary to achieve their goals. By monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, lead conversions, click-through rates, and social media engagement, marketers can measure the success of their campaigns and optimize their strategies accordingly.

5. Keeping up with the latest marketing trends

Finally, keeping up with the latest marketing trends can be tedious for marketers. Digital marketing innovation and news is constantly changing, and marketers must keep up to ensure their campaigns are relevant and useful to the audience they’re trying to reach.

To keep up with these trends, marketers can follow industry blogs and social media accounts to stay informed of the latest developments in their niche. By keeping up-to-date on the latest marketing trends and implementing best practices, marketers can stay ahead of the competition.

Understanding your audience helps you cater to them.

Understanding the audience is critical to the success of any marketing campaign. By overcoming these roadblocks, marketers can create campaigns that resonate with their target audience and potentially drive engagement and conversions. Remember to conduct market research, monitor customer behavior, and stay up-to-date on the latest marketing trends. Marketers can overcome these challenges by following these best practices and achieving marketing success.

Think about the brands you purchase from over and over. Why do you choose to buy products and or services from them even when cheaper options exist?

Well, there’s a good reason for it — because of their values which are expressed in their mission statement. As consumers, we like to patronize businesses that have values we believe in.

Still, Loyalty doesn’t happen overnight. Building brand loyalty, like creating mission and vision statements, takes time. If you’re in a bit of a time crunch, use this table of contents to find precisely what you’re looking for to inspire the development of your company’s mission:

This brief description helps customers, employees, and leadership understand the organization’s top priorities.

As a company grows, it may reach its early goals, and they’ll change. So, it’s important to revise mission statements as needed to reflect the business’s new culture as it achieves its goals and develops new targets.

What makes a good mission statement?

The best brands combine physical, emotional, and logical elements into one exceptional customer (and employee) experience that you value as much as they do. A good mission statement will not only explain your brand’s purpose, but will also foster a connection with customers.

When your brand creates a genuine connection with customers and employees, they’ll stay loyal to your company, thereby increasing your overall profitability.

Mission statements also help you stand out in the marketplace, differentiating your brand from the competition.

What are the 3 parts of a mission statement?

Your mission statement should clearly express what your brand does, how it does it, and why the brand does it. You can quickly sum this up in your mission statement by providing the following:

1. Brand Purpose: What does your product or service do, or aim to offer and for whom?
2. Brand Values: What does your company stand for? For example, are you environmentally conscious and provide a more sustainable solution to solve a problem? Values are what make your company unique.
3. Brand Goals: What does your company accomplish for customers? Why should they purchase from you instead of other competitors?

With these three components, you can create a mission that is unique to your brand and resonates with potential customers. Next, we’ll guide you step by step on how to write a proper mission statement to build on as your company evolves.

1. Explain your company’s product or service offering.

You want prospects to understand what your company does in a literal sense. This means explaining your offering in basic, clear terms. Your explanation should answer the most basic questions like:

• Are you selling a product or service?
• Why would customers buy it?
• How does your offering solve for the customer?

Record your answers and focus on how your product or service brings value to your buyer personas, otherwise known as your target audience.

2. Identify the company’s core values.

Now, this is where you can start thinking bigger. You didn’t just make a product or service at random. Instead, you’re most likely motivated by a set of core values.

Core values are deeply ingrained principles that guide a company’s actions. Take HubSpot’s culture code, HEART, for example:

• Humble
• Empathetic
• Adaptable
• Remarkable
• Transparent

These are principles that not only company employees respect, but are principles that our customers appreciate as well. By identifying core values that hold meaning on personal and organizational levels, you’ll have an appealing set to add to your mission statement.

3. Connect how your company’s offering aligns with your values.

So how can your company offering serve your core values? You need to draw a connection between the two in a way that makes sense to the public.

For example, if one of your core values centers on innovation, you want to frame your product or service as pushing boundaries and explaining how it helps customers innovate their lives or business practices. Essentially, you’re taking the literal benefit of the offering and expanding it to serve a higher purpose.

4. Condense these statements into one.

A mission statement can be as short as a single sentence, or as long as a paragraph, but it’s meant to be a short summary of your company’s purpose. You need to state the what, who, and why of your company:

• What: The company offering
• Who: Who you’re selling to
• Why: The core values you do it for

Once you have successfully conveyed your message, it’s time to refine and perfect your statement.

5. Make sure it’s clear, concise, and free of fluff.

Above all, your mission statement is a marketing asset that is meant to be clear, concise, and free of fluff. It should clearly outline the purpose of your company offering and show the common goals the company is working to achieve. You should also have other team members or advisors read the mission statement and make adjustments if needed according to their recommendations.

What makes a good vision statement?

A good vision statement should be bold and ambitious. They’re meant to be inspirational, big-picture declarations of what your company strives to be in the future. They give customers a peek into your company’s trajectory and build customer loyalty by allowing them to align their support with your vision because they believe in the future of your brand as well.

What are the 3 parts of a vision statement?

Your company vision is meant to be inspirational while also aligning with the company’s mission. A vision statement should have the following characteristics:

1. Aspirational and Ambitious: Have a lofty outlook for what you want your business to accomplish? Here’s the place to put it. Your vision statement should be aspirational and showcase how your business will grow in the future.
2. Practical and Achievable: While your statement should be ambitious, it shouldn’t be impossible. Set a goal that is both challenging and practical.
3. General: Your vision should be broad enough to encompass all of your brand’s overall goals. Think of it as umbrella for your mission statement and company objectives to nest under.

Both mission and vision statements are often combined into one comprehensive “mission statement” to define the organization’s reason for existing and its outlook for internal and external audiences — like employees, partners, board members, consumers, and shareholders.

The difference between mission and vision statements lies in the purpose they serve.

A mission statement is a literal quote stating what a brand or company is setting out to do. This lets the public know the product and service it offers, who it makes it for, and why it’s doing it. A vision statement is a brand looking toward the future and saying what it hopes to achieve through its mission statement. This is more conceptual, as it’s a glimpse into what the brand can become in the eyes of the consumer and the value it will bring in longevity.

In summary, the main differences between a mission statement and a vision statement are:

• Mission statements describe the current purpose a company serves. The company’s function, target audience, and key offerings are elements that are often mentioned in a mission statement.
• Vision statements are a look into a company’s future or what its overarching vision is. The same elements from the mission statement can be included in a vision statement, but they’ll be described in the future tense.

Now that we know what they are, let’s dive into some useful examples of each across different industries.

Mission and Vision Statement Template

Free Guide: 100 Mission Statement Templates & Examples

Need more examples to build your mission statement? Download our free overview of mission statements – complete with 100 templates and examples to help you develop a stand-out mission statement.

Create a mission statement with these useful templates, like this example below:

1. Life Is Good: To spread the power of optimism.

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The Life is Good brand is about more than spreading optimism — although, with uplifting T-shirt slogans like “Seas The Day” and “Forecast: Mostly Sunny,” it’s hard not to crack a smile.

There are tons of T-shirt companies in the world, but Life is Good’s mission sets itself apart with a mission statement that goes beyond fun clothing: to spread the power of optimism.

This mission is perhaps a little unexpected if you’re not familiar with the company’s public charity: How will a T-shirt company help spread optimism? Life is Good answers that question below the fold, where the mission is explained in more detail using a video and with links to the company’s community and the Life is Good Playmaker Project page. We really like how lofty yet specific this mission statement is — it’s a hard-to-balance combination.

2. sweetgreen: Building healthier communities by connecting people to real food.

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Notice that sweetgreen’s mission is positioned to align with your values — not just written as something the brand believes. We love the inclusive language used in its statement.

The language lets us know the company is all about connecting its growing network of farmers growing healthy, local ingredients with us — the customer — because we’re the ones who want more locally grown, healthy food options.

The mission to connect people is what makes this statement so strong. And, that promise has gone beyond sweetgreen’s website and walls of its food shops: The team has made strides in the communities where it’s opened stores as well. Primarily, it offers education to young kids on healthy eating, fitness, sustainability, and where food comes from.

3. Patagonia: Build the best product, Cause no unnecessary harm, Use business to protect nature, Not bound by convention.

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Patagonia’s mission statement spotlights the company’s commitment to help the environment and save the earth. The people behind the brand believe that among the most direct ways to limit ecological impacts is with goods that last for generations or can be recycled so the materials in them stay in use.

In the name of this cause, the company donates time, services, and at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of environmental groups worldwide.

If your company has a similar focus on growing your business and giving back, think about talking about both the benefit you bring to customers and the value you want to bring to a greater cause in your mission statement.

4. American Express: Become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them achieve their aspirations.

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Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.

— Simon Sinek (@simonsinek)

The tweet above is from Simon Sinek, and it’s one that we repeat here at HubSpot all the time. American Express sets itself apart from other credit card companies in its list of values, with an ode to excellent customer service, which is something it’s famous for.

We especially love the emphasis on teamwork and supporting employees so that the people inside the organization can be in the best position to support their customers.

5. Warby Parker: To inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style.

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In one sentence, the brand takes us to the root of why it was founded while also revealing its vision for a better future.

The longer-form version of the mission reads: “We’re constantly asking ourselves how we can do more and make a greater impact—and that starts by reimagining everything that a company and industry can be. We want to demonstrate that a business can scale, be profitable, and do good in the world—without charging a premium for it. And we’ve learned that it takes creativity, empathy, and innovation to achieve that goal.” This further shows how Warby Parker doesn’t hold back on letting its unique personality shine through. Here, the mission statement’s success all comes down to spot-on word choice.

6.InvisionApp: Transform the way people work together by helping them collaborate better. Faster. On everything. From anywhere.

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We love the way this statement is emphasized by bringing it back to InVision’s customers — top brands like Google, Zillow, and Slack — and linking to those stories. This mission statement is brief, authentic, and business babble-free — which makes the folks at InvisionApp seem trustworthy and genuine.

7. Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.

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Honest Tea’s mission statement begins with a simple punch line connoting its tea is real, pure, and therefore not full of artificial chemicals. The brand is speaking to an audience that’s tired of finding ingredients in its tea that can’t be pronounced and has been searching for a tea that’s exactly what it says it is.

Not only does Honest Tea have a punny name, but it also centers its mission around the name. For some time, the company even published a Mission Report each year in an effort to be “transparent about our business practices and live up to our mission to seek to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages.”

8. IKEA: To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them

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The folks at IKEA dream big. The vision-based mission statement could have been one of beautiful, affordable furniture, but instead, it’s to make everyday life better for its customers. It’s a partnership: IKEA finds deals all over the world and buys in bulk, then we choose the furniture and pick it up at a self-service warehouse.

“Our business idea supports this vision … so [that] as many people as possible will be able to afford them,” the brand states.

Using words like “as many people as possible” makes a huge company like IKEA much more accessible and appealing to customers.

9. Nordstrom: Offering customers the very best service, selection, quality, and value.

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When it comes to customer commitment, few companies are as hyper-focused as Nordstrom is. Although clothing selection, quality, and value all have a place in the company’s mission statement, it’s clear that it’s all about the customer: “Nordstrom works relentlessly to give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.”

If you’ve ever shopped at a Nordstrom, you’ll know the brand will uphold the high standard for customer service mentioned in its mission statement, as associates are always roaming the sales floors, asking customers whether they’ve been helped, and doing everything they can to make the shopping experience a memorable one.

10. Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play.

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Cradles to Crayons divided its mission and model into three sections that read like a game plan: The Need, The Mission, and The Model. The “rule of three” is a powerful rhetorical device called a tricolon that’s usually used in speechwriting to help make an idea more memorable. A tricolon is a series of three parallel elements of roughly the same length — think “I came; I saw; I conquered.”

11. Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.

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A company thrives when it pleases its customers, its employees, its partners, and its investors — and Universal Health Services endeavors to do just that, according to its mission statement. As a healthcare service, it specifically strives to please its patients, physicians, purchasers, employees, and investors. We love the emphasis on each facet of the organization by capitalizing the font and making it red for easy skimming.

12. JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.

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JetBlue’s committed to its founding mission through lovable marketing, charitable partnerships, and influential programs — and we love the approachable language used to describe these endeavors. For example, the brand writes how it “set out in 2000 to bring humanity back to the skies.”

For those of us who want to learn more about any of its specific efforts, JetBlue offers details on the Soar With Reading program, its partnership with KaBOOM!, the JetBlue Foundation, environmental and social reporting, and so on. It breaks down all these initiatives really well with big headers, bullet points, pictures, and links to other web pages visitors can click to learn more. JetBlue also encourages visitors to volunteer or donate their TrueBlue points.

13. Workday: Our core values guide everything we do — Employees, Customer Service, Innovation, Integrity, Fun, Profitability.

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Workday, a human resources (HR) task automation service, doesn’t use its mission statement to highlight the features of its product or how it intends to help HR professionals improve in such-and-such a way.

Instead, the business takes a stance on values. There’s a lot of great tech out there. But at Workday, it revolves around the people. We love how confident yet kind this mission statement is. It observes the state of its industry — which Workday believes lacks a human touch — and builds company values around it.

14. Lowe’s: Together, deliver the right home improvement products, with the best service and value, across every channel and community we serve.

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Sometimes the best way to communicate is direct. Lowe’s mission statement hones in on the who, how, what, and why behind this powerful home improvement brand.

It’s also a great lesson in how the words and phrases you choose show your audience the force behind your mission. This mission statement begins with the word “together.” So, no matter what location, products, or channel, the top priority of its mission is that it happens as a team.

That focus on togetherness also creates a foundation for the volunteer, scholarship, and charitable work that this organization does.

15. Tesla: Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

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A car company’s punny use of the word “accelerating” is just one reason this mission statement sticks out. But Tesla makes this list because of how its mission statement describes the industry.

It may be a car company, but Tesla’s primary interest isn’t just automobiles — it’s promoting sustainable energy. And, sustainable energy still has a “long road” ahead of it (pun intended) — hence the world’s “transition” into this market.

Ultimately, a mission statement that can admit to the industry’s immaturity is exactly what gets customers to root for it — and Tesla does that nicely.

16. Invisible Children: Partners with local peacebuilders across central Africa to end violent conflict through locally-led solutions.

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Invisible Children is a non-profit that raises awareness around the violence affecting communities across Central Africa, and the company takes quite a confident tone in its mission.

The most valuable quality of this mission statement is that it has an end goal. Many companies’ visions and missions are intentionally left open-ended so that the business might always be needed by the community. But Invisible Children wants to “end” violent conflict facing African families with local solutions. It’s an admirable mission that all businesses — not just nonprofits — can learn from when motivating customers.

17. TED: Spread ideas, foster community and create impact.

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We’ve all seen TED Talks online before. Well, the company happens to have one of the most concise mission statements out there.

TED, which stands for “Technology Education and Design,” has a succinct mission statement that shines through in every Talk you’ve seen the company publish on the internet. That mission statement starts with “Spread ideas.” Sometimes, the best way to get an audience to remember you is to zoom out as far as your business’s vision can go. What do you really care about? TED has recorded some of the most famous presentations globally. Then, it hones in on what great ideas can do — foster community and create impact.

18. Microsoft: To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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Microsoft is one of the most well-known technology companies in the world. It makes gadgets for work, play, and creative purposes on a worldwide scale, and its mission statement reflects that. Through its product offering and pricing, it can empower every person and organization.

19. Disney: To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling.

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Disney’s mission statement goes beyond providing ordinary entertainment. It intends to tell stories and drive creativity that inspires future generations through its work. This is an exceptional mission statement because it goes beyond giving consumers programs to watch, but ones that excite and change the way people see them and the world around them.

20. Meta: Giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.

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Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is a major social media platform with a concise vision statement. It provides a platform to stay in touch with loved ones and potentially connect to people around the world.

21. Vista Equity Partners: By providing technology expertise, operational guidance and capital for sustainable growth, we empower organizations across all industries to stay ahead in the digital economy.

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Some businesses sell a clear and easy-to-understand product or service. But many companies need to combine branding with product education. This means that some mission statements need to not only communicate how a brand does business but also make it easy to see what it’s selling.

Vista Equity Partners is a leading technology brand that supports a wide range of people, technologies, and products. In its mission statement, it clarifies what its company offers and why. It does this using the terms its audience uses most often to describe how it can help.

22. Dunkin’: Everything we do is about you. We strive to keep you at your best, and we remain loyal to you, your tastes and your time. That’s what America runs on.

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Dunkin’s mission goes beyond remaining a large coffee chain. Rather, the brand wants to be the consummate leader in the coffee and donut industry. It wants to become a place known for fun, food, and recreation.

Now that we’ve gone over successful mission statements, what does a good vision statement look like? Check out some of the following company vision statements — and get inspired to write one for your brand.

1. Alzheimer’s Association: A world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

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The Alzheimer’s Association conducts global research and gives quality care and support to people with dementia. This vision statement looks into the future where people won’t have to battle this now incurable disease. With the work that it’s doing in the present, both employees and consumers can see how the organization achieves its vision by helping those in need.

2. Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

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Teach for America creates a network of leaders to provide equal education opportunities to children in need. This organization’s day-to-day work includes helping marginalized students receive the proper education they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Its vision statement is what it hopes to see through its efforts — a nation where no child is left behind.

3. Creative Commons: Help others realize the full potential of the internet.

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This nonprofit’s vision statement is broad. It helps overcome legal obstacles to share knowledge and creativity around the world. By working closely with major institutions, its vision is an innovative internet that isn’t barred by paywalls.

4. Chipotle: We believe that food has the power to change the world.

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Delicious tacos, burritos, and bowls aren’t the only things that Chipotle is passionate about. Many fast food brands differentiate with products. But Chipotle offers a belief instead. This idea fuels practices like using local and organic produce, using responsibly raised meat, and cutting greenhouse emissions. Chipotle’s vision statement makes it clear what inspires and drives the actions of this international brand.

5. Australia Department of Health: Better health and wellbeing for all Australians, now and for future generations.

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This government department has a clear vision for its country. Through health policies, programs, and regulations, it has the means to improve the healthcare of Australian citizens.

6. LinkedIn: Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

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LinkedIn is a professional networking service that gives people the opportunity to seek employment. Its vision statement intends to give employees of every level a chance to get the job they need.

7. Purely Elizabeth: We believe that food can heal.

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Purely Elizabeth is a food brand selling granola, oatmeal, and cereal products. Its extended vision statement reads: “When you eat better, you feel better. It’s that simple. That’s why we use superfoods with vibrant flavors and rich textures to create delicious foods to help you thrive on your wellness journey.”

Food brands have a lot of competition, and this brand’s broad and inspiring vision offers a chance to connect more deeply with customers. Its podcast, blog, and recipe resources offer useful tools and tips for anyone looking to heal their bodies with their food choices.

8. AllHere: Connecting All Families with the Right Support at the Right Time

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Attendance is a big challenge for schools and families, especially with students in middle and high school. AllHere offers AI services like mobile messaging to overcome administrative and communication challenges. This helps students, parents, and teachers get the support they need for student success.

This vision statement emphasizes that this challenge is bigger than individual habits. It’s an empowering vision of an educational system that works for everyone.

9. Southwest: To be the world’s most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline.

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Southwest Airlines is an international airline that strives to serve its flyers with a smile. Its vision statement is unique because it sees itself not just excelling in profit but outstanding customer service, too. Its vision is possible through its strategy and can lead its employees to be at the level they work toward.

10. Supergoop!: Change the way the world thinks about sunscreen.

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For a vision statement to excite, but not overwhelm, it should be both broad and specific. Company mission statement examples like the one above from Supergoop! show that it may be tricky, but it’s also possible to balance those two extremes.

This vision says that sunscreen is important AND that sunscreen is more than sunscreen. This simple statement helps the audience think more about what its products are and what they should expect from those products. It’s about education, awareness, and quality. And this vision statement keeps the tone positive, bright, and direct.

Inspire Through Brand Values

Brand values play a much more significant role in customer loyalty than you think. Showing that your business understands its audience — and can appeal to them on an emotional level — could be the decision point for a customer’s next purchase. We hope you found some insight in this post that can help you brainstorm your inspiring vision and mission statements for your business.

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

The product marketing landscape is continuously changing. To keep pace with the latest trends, you’ll need to keep up with the experts. That includes reading books with fresh insights and perspectives.

To help, we’ve gathered a list of 15 essential product marketing books for your 2023 reading list. These books tackle how to lead a successful launch, tips for growing your career, and how to build customer-centric campaigns.

15 Essential Product Marketing Books

1. The Launch, A Product Marketer’s Guide: 50 key questions & lessons for a successful launch by Yasmeen Turayhi

• Pages: 130
• Where to buy: Amazon

Some of the best beginnings start with a question — or, as in the case of The Launch, 50. Through guided and thoughtful questions, this book will help you avoid common pitfalls and help put you on the path to success.

Best for: Understanding the framework of where to begin your product marketing. The Launch will equip you with questions to guide your product marketing journey.

2. The Influential Product Manager: How to Lead and Launch Successful Technology Products by Ken Sandy

• Pages: 384
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org

It can feel hard to justify what you do in your organization or prove your job value in the broader ecosystem of your company. The Influential Product Manager is about understanding how the product manager interacts with every level of the business to launch successful technology products.

What we like: Distilling decades of experience into learned lessons, this book offers a human perspective on product management in an actionable and practical guide.

3. Product Marketing, Simplified: A Customer-Centric Approach to Take a Product to Market by Srini Sekaran

• Pages: 203
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org, Audible

Under the fame of the customer’s needs, Product Marketing, Simplified is a comprehensive guide to product marketing that takes you through the steps. You’ll get best practices on everything from messaging to influencing the product roadmap.

Best for: Understanding the customer’s perspective. This book puts you in the customer’s mindset and helps answer questions around the “why” pertaining to the need of the product.

4. Product Marketing Misunderstood: How to Establish Your Role, Authority, and Strategic Value by Richard King and Bryony Pearce

• Pages: 206
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org

While product marketing is still a relatively new job function to the organization, there are a lot of misunderstandings about your role and how to position it.

Product Marketing Misunderstood offers guidance on personifying your value and driving the organization forward.

Pro tip: Product Marketing Misunderstood provides practical knowledge and applications. You can apply these tools to your job positioning, messaging, and personas.

5. Product Marketing Debunked: The Essential Go-To-Market Guide by Yasmeen Turayhi

• Pages: 134 pages
• Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org

Product Marketing Debunked provides a view into taking unformed concepts and creating a proper strategy for commercializing a product. You’ll learn how to make a go-to-market plan and release your final product into the marketplace.

Best for: Establishing a framework for releasing a product. This book offers a starting point that you can modify to match your industry and growth stage.

6. Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself by Wes Bush

• Pages: 276
• Where to buy: Amazon

If you are a product marketer following product-led growth principles, Product-Led Growth is the book for you. It guides you through the thought processes of product-led growth and puts you in your customers’ shoes to build a product that better serves their needs.

Best for: Understanding where the pillars of product-led growth fit into your product marketing plan and strategy.

7. The Product Marketing Manager: Responsibilities and Best Practices in a Technology Company by Lucas Weber

• Pages: 123 pages
• Where to buy: Amazon

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The Product Marketing Manager explains the product marketing role and focuses on practical applications. Weber ties insights to entertaining life lessons and anecdotes he collected.

What we like: The personal anecdotes and stories feel like wisdom passed down from a close friend who has learned a lot over the years.

8. INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan

• Pages: 368
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble

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To understand how to market a product, you must first understand the “why” behind the creation. INSPIRED helps equip product marketers with the skills and tools to sell a product customers will love.

Best for: Understanding how to assemble the right people and skill sets, discover the right product, embrace an effective yet lightweight process, and create a strong product culture.

9. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal

• Pages: 256
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org

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There are certain products that we now believe we can’t live without, constantly coming back to get the latest model or update.

Hooked details the “Hook Model,” a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior.

Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products bring users back again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.

What we like: This book helps you understand the psychology behind what gets people hooked on products. This can help you think through the same principles for your products.

10. Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford

• Pages: 202
• Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible

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So much of product marketing is product positioning, and understanding what positioning your customers react to is crucial to the sales cycle.

Obviously Awesome uncovers the principles of positioning and helps you find and position your product differentiators.

Best for: Putting yourself in your customer’s shoes to understand what makes them buy, what positioning they react to, and why they would want to buy from you continuously.

11. Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value by Melissa Perri

• Pages: 200
• Where to buy: Amazon, Bookshop.org, Target

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Companies that measure solely by outputs often fall into what Melissa Perri describes as the “build trap,” cranking out features to meet their schedule rather than the customer’s needs.

Following her advice, you can rethink the purpose of why something gets built.

What we like: This book helps you understand that to stay competitive in today’s market, you must adopt a culture of customer-centric practices focusing on outcomes rather than outputs.

12. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

• Pages: 336
• Where to buy: Amazon, Audible, Barnes and Noble

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In Made to Stick, the authors reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain how you can make your ideas stickier. You’ll learn about the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and explore how to address curiosity gaps.

Best for: Understanding the impact of messages and why some things stick with us while others are forgotten over time. This book will help you level up your messaging with impactful and thoughtful tactics.

13. To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink

• Pages: 272
• Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

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Nowadays, it can feel like everyone is trying to sell you something. While that’s not inherently bad, To Sell Is Human looks at the difference between selling and storytelling. This book offers a new perspective on the art and science of selling.

What we like: This book moves past typical sales jargon to explain why we sell and how to do it effectively. You’ll also learn how to communicate honestly with your customers.

14. Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D.

• Pages: 593
• Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

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Sometimes product marketers get so bogged down in their own messaging that they forget the science behind product launches.

Using memorable stories and relatable examples, Cialdini explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these insights ethically in business and everyday settings.

Best for: Brushing up on communication and persuasion skills. Influence is for anyone looking to go back to the fundamentals of influence. You’ll rethink messaging that might not be working.

15. The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to Go from $0 to $100 Million by Mark Roberge

• Pages: 224
• Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org

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As someone who’s been at the forefront of multiple sales builds, Mark Roberge demystifies the sales process and life cycle.

The Sales Acceleration Formula provides a framework that uses all your tools at your disposal — like data, technology, and personas — to accelerate your growth.

Best for: Understanding the impact of a full sales lifecycle and your role within it. Use this book as a guide, picking up helpful information and tips to market your products better.

Building Your Product Marketing Reading List

Much like product marketing itself, learning about this business process is ever-changing. Understanding the skills needed and applying practical advice will help you level up your processes.

Ready to expand your product marketing knowledge in 2023 and stay ahead of the curve? Our list of 15 essential product marketing books is the perfect place to start.

Content creation isn’t always as simple as we’d like it to be. It’d be great if marketers could just snap their fingers to launch a successful email campaign, YouTube series, or blog.

However, all content requires extensive planning, team effort, and a consistent content workflow to keep everything and everyone on track.

In this article, we’re going to explore what a content workflow is, why your team needs one, and the steps to craft the right content workflow to reach your marketing goals.

What is a content workflow?

Why Marketers Need a Content Workflow

Content Creation Workflow: Task-based Workflows vs. Status-based Workflows

Task-based Workflows

Status-based Workflows

Content Strategy Workflow: How to Build One

 

Key to an effective content workflow is clearly defining the people’s roles, the documents and materials at each stage, and the timeline in which everything must be completed. Your content workflow may change depending on the content type.

It’s normal for the materials, people, and timelines defined in one workflow to change depending on the content you’re creating, such as a blog, video, live stream, or web copy.

Why Marketers Need a Content Workflow

Content workflows ensure a project launches successfully without any hiccups. With a content workflow, you can:

• Create content that is consistent, timely, and accurate.
• Guarantee realistic deadlines and outcomes.
• Proactively plan for common roadblocks in content planning and launches
• Clearly establish how every team member fits in the big picture of creating the content

Essentially, a content workflow keeps you and your team on track to a seamless launch. Without a content workflow, you and your team are likelier to miss deadlines, make errors, and experience difficulty working toward your common goal.

Content Creation Workflow: Task-based Workflows vs. Status-based Workflows

Before learning how to build a content creation workflow, you must understand which would benefit your team the most — task- or status-based workflow.

Knowing the difference between the two will help you strategize the right workflow for you next project.

Task-based Workflows

Each stage of a task-based workflow is a task that needs to be carried out before moving on to the next step. In a task-based workflow, each step is described in detail, and everyone working on the project knows what is expected of them.

Task-based workflows are especially useful for new content teams because whoever is assigned to the task gets a clear idea of what needs to be done and what happens next.

Status-based Workflows

Status-based workflows are most often preferred by more experienced teams. In a status-based workflow, each stage is defined by status, and the stages don’t include detailed descriptions of what needs to be done like in task-based workflows.

Status-based workflows can be easier to track and can be used in a wide variety of content type. However, it’s crucial your team understands the content creation process and their roles within it.

Content Strategy Workflow: How to Build One

Follow these steps to craft a content workflow for you and your team.

1. Establish your content goals and audience.

Your goals will inform the content you want to create and the audience you’re trying to reach.

Is your goal to create brand awareness? If so, you’ll likely want to create product-led blogs or engaging social media posts. If you’re working to delight and retain your current customers, an effective email campaign would be the best fit.

2. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of everyone on your team.

Once you know your content goals and who your audience is, you’re ready to decide who on your marketing team will be involved in the project.

For content creation workflows, you’ll need content creators (bloggers, YouTubers, videographers, etc.), editors, type, and other stakeholders involved in content creation.

Whether your team is using a a task-based workflow or a status-based workflow, everyone involved must have a clear definition of their role, duties, and where they fit within the process.

For example, your workflow is for a YouTube content series — the content creators will be in charge of crafting the content. The editors will be tasked with ensuring the content is of the best quality and contains no errors.

Senior editors or project managers will give the final approval to launch each episode in the series.

This is also the time to figure out the tools and materials your team will need to create and launch the content.

For example, content management systems like CMS Hub are essential for publishing blog posts. Canva and Adobe Photoshop are great tools for design.

You’ll may also need to consider things like mics and cameras for videos, or email automation software for email campaigns.

3. Decide the content types and frequency of output.

Figure out the kind of content you want to create and how often you want to put this content out. For example, you might decide you want to put out YouTube videos once a week or Instagram Reels every other day.

Now is also a great time to create a content calendar to plan your projects in advance and to ensure you content is launched on time.

4. Develop the content creation process.

Brainstorm with your team the different steps that must take place for your brand’s content to launch successfully. These steps will vary depending on the kind of content you’re creating.

For example, the process to craft and launch a blog post may look like:

1. Strategizing
2. Planning
3. Creating
4. Editing
5. Publishing
6. Analyzing

These tasks may seem broad, but this is where you want to expand. For example, strategizing typically means performing content audits, creating buyer personas, and conducting keyword research.

Editing might involve implementing SEO techniques or adding images and links.

Every step in the process needs to be accounted for so it can be assigned to the appropriate team member.

5. Document and automate your workflow.

Companies typically use standard operating procedures (SOPs) to keep their teams aligned with the process. Marketing Hub, Trello, and Evernote are examples of systems that give teams easy access to documents like SOPs.

HubSpot also has an all-in-one workflow automated software that allows user to align all of their teams’ processes so there’s no confusion or hiccups from task to task.

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We offer templates or you can create your workflow from scratch to easily hand leads from marketing to sales.

Content workflows are a must-have if you want to create content regularly and efficiently with your team informed every step of the way. With a content workflow, you can increase productivity, reduce errors, and boost workplace engagement.

Think of your workflow as a roadmap for a seamless content launch that takes you to your goals.