Categories B2B

Stumped by AI in Public Relations? Here Are 6 Ways It Can Boost Your Strategy

I know. “AI public relations” (PR) kind of sounds like an oxymoron.

Download Now: Free Press Release Template

Public relations is about shaping and sharing your human stories with other humans. It’s about capturing and creating genuine human excitement and resonance. How can we ever leave that to the robots?

Well, we can’t — at least not entirely. Like applying AI to digital marketing or any other field, you must be selective and thoughtful about incorporating AI into your public relations strategy. That’s where we come in.

We’ll unpack the pros and cons of using AI in public relations and share some of the smartest use cases and expert tips to help you get the most out of it.

Table of contents

Why Use AI in Public Relations (PR)

Using AI in public relations has many benefits, but they all come back to one all professionals strive for — improved productivity.

graphic showing the pros and cons of using AI in public relations

Let’s break down the specifics.

Pros of AI Public Relations

Higher Efficiency

HubSpot research found 90% of marketers say AI and automation help them spend less time on manual tasks, more time on the responsibilities they enjoy most (80%), and more time on the creative aspects of their role (79%). Public relations is no exception.

In fact, 76.6% of PR professionals already use AI tools to automate their most tedious and repetitive tasks, according to Prowly.

For PR professionals, AI can mean quicker market and campaign analysis, as well as faster press release and pitch drafting. AI and automation can also help eliminate manual tasks like email follow-ups to your press partners.

Lower Costs

By aiding with time-consuming and mundane tasks, AI can also help minimize unnecessary expenses in your public relations budget.

For example, if you pay a freelancer by the hour to draft press releases, using an AI tool like Jasper or even HubSpot’s Free AI Content Writer can help cut the need for those hours.

Don’t believe me? Prowly found that 43.5% of PR professionals using tools say it has reduced their companies’ overall costs and resource needs. That’s on top of 48.2% reporting they struggled with working with a small budget in the past 12 months.

These small efficiencies add up.

Increased ROI

With lower costs comes the potential for increased return on investment (ROI). Hard to argue with that.

Cons of AI Public Relations

As great as AI sounds for public relations, it still has drawbacks.

Data Quality & Accuracy

Data quality and accuracy are some of the biggest concerns of using AI in public relations or any use case, really.

Most public artificial intelligence runs off information fed from its users and the internet — and I think we all know we can’t trust everything we read online.

Because of this, you can’t always know if the results you get from AI are accurate or based on reliable sources. This can be dangerous when using AI in public relations, especially when doing research.

Be wary of validity and even bias. The last thing you want to do is make strategic decisions based on false or misguided information.

Privacy

There’s no doubt that AI can help expedite your public relations workflow, but that often means sharing details about your brand or company to produce results you can actually use.

AI is currently unregulated, so any information you share is at risk of being stored or passed onto others using the tool, including potentially our competitors.

Lack of Human Touch

Public relations is about human connection. It’s about how your brand or client is perceived by other people and the public at large.

While impressive, AI or automation’s ability can only go far in this arena.

AI can’t create personal relationships and bonds. It can’t take photos with fans, shake hands with potential investors, or attend a charity event. It can’t “read the room” or understand the sensitive nuances of current events or culture.

And its insights and information are only as current as its last update. So. tread lightly when using AI or automation for one-on-one communication.

Without careful editing or strategic use of the tools, its artificial nature can be easy to spot.

This personalization mistake from UK restaurant burgerific is a common one.

Screenshot of a burgerific email showing a personalization token

Image Source

How is AI used in public relations?

The possibilities of artificial intelligence are pretty boundless, but with the cons and limitations we discussed in mind, here are some of the best use cases in public relations.

1. Drafting press releases and pitches

In one of my first marketing and PR jobs, I wrote and distributed about 2-5 press releases a day. I enjoyed it, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t time-consuming, let alone draining.

I may also have developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from all the typing, but we’re not here to discuss the importance of workspace ergonomics.

With generative AI, you can dramatically reduce your press release and pitch writing time (and maybe even Carpal Tunnel Syndrome).

All you need is a prompt answering these questions:

  • What is the goal of your press release?
  • What important information do you have to include?
  • Who is it intended for?
  • What tone do you want to use?

To illustrate, I gave ChatGPT this prompt:

“Can you write me a press release about Apple’s September 2024 Product Event? It should include the date and time — Monday, September 9th at 10:00 AM PT and get the general public excited about it.”

Here’s what I got back:

Screenshot showing a sample press release written by ChatGPT

But remember, this should only be a starting point. Neerja Patel, a PR professional of over 15 years and founder and CEO of her own PR firm, advises, “Use AI to enhance your creativity and assist with research and content creation.”

“It shouldn’t replace your thought process or be used as a substitution for your work. The most impactful campaigns that have maximum outcomes are the ones that blend the human mind with AI.”

Pro tip: “To ensure you are telling the best narrative in AI-assisted press releases, include not only important and relevant information but also current world trends,” continues Patel.

“This will help strengthen your messaging, ultimately increasing your chances of garnering attention from journalists and securing stories in publications.”

Also, are you not the savviest with ChatGPT or prompting just yet? Our free guide, “How to Use ChatGPT at Work,” will introduce you to the tool and share best practices and 100 prompt ideas to get you started.

These skills are easily adaptable to other chatbot-style tools like HubSpot’s Free AI Content Writer. You can try them in a tool specifically designed for public relations, like Meltwater.

2. Automating social media engagement

Being able to schedule social media posts for publication frees up a lot of time for marketers and PR professionals, but the use cases for AI and automation don’t end there.

You can also use AI to respond to comments or direct messages automatically.

There are a few options out there for this, but personally, I’m a big fan of the conversational marketing tool ManyChat.

Screenshot showing what automation can look like on the backend of ManyChat

ManyChat can be used to automatically respond to comments on Instagram posts or send a personal message when people use a specific word or phrase. It can also be used with Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.

3. Monitoring brand sentiment and reputation

AI and automation can also help keep you keep a pulse on how the public feels about you or your brand. In other words, it can help you monitor brand sentiment and reputation changes.

It all comes back to social listening.

For example, Digimind’s social listening tool “combines Digimind’s AI Sense with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to monitor social media, blogs, reviews, podcasts and more, to detect key events about any brand or topic,” explained MarTech managing editor Constantine von Hoffman.

“It then determines important metrics, such as reach, brand impact, and key mentions sent to ChatGPT to be analyzed and summarized in plain English in real-time.”

Need a more simple or budget-friendly alternative?

Screenshot of the Google Alerts page

Set up Google Alerts for any phrase or keywords you like, such as your brand or product name. For there, Google monitors the web for new content matching your terms and sends an automated email when a new result appears.

It’s free and effortless for you to maintain.

Pro tip: If you’re a HubSpot user, use social inbox streams.

Screenshot showing HubSpot social monitoring tools

Image Source

These streams allow you to monitor social media for mentions of your brand, product, or other keywords from within your portal.

4. Maintaining your press list(s)

Prowly’s State of PR Technology reports that nearly half of public relations professionals struggle to find relevant media contacts.

Databases like those from Prowly, Cision, and Brandwatch can help, but even once you find your contacts, maintaining the list can be just as hard.

Thankfully, this is one area where AI shines brightest.

For one, AI and automation can help you segment your press contacts into different lists based on their unique specialties or demographics.

You can create one list for television, another for digital media, and others segmented by location, like New York or London.

Screenshot of HubSpot smart list tool

Source

AI can also help clean your data by automatically identifying and removing inactive or bounced email addresses, correcting typos in email addresses, and filtering out duplicates.

All this helps reduce list decay and improve deliverability rates.

Pro tip: If you use HubSpot, use smart lists and workflows to keep your press lists current.

Smart lists will automatically update, adding and removing contacts based on the criteria you set, while workflows can be used to clean data in the CRM.

5. Reaching out to media.

AI doesn’t just help you build and maintain your press list; it can help you contact it.

For instance, using automated email tools like HubSpot’s, you can set up follow-up messages for new contacts who download your press/media kit or those who email about press inquiries.

You can even set up a series to follow up with contacts who may not have opened your outreach or have gone dark.

Screenshot showing what it’s like building a workflow in HubSpot

Source

Rather than having to send out dozens, if not hundreds, of manual emails, automation can scale your outreach efforts and increase your chances of getting

6. Researching

This likely goes without saying, but AI can be a game-changer in public relations research.

Using AI rather than a conventional search engine can make it easier to answer specific queries. Why exactly? Well, there is no need to click through multiple pages and hope you find what you need; AI does that for you.

It crawls the web for related resources and then distills and summarizes the content for you. While it may take a few tries to get the exact information you need, an AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Meta AI can save you massive amounts of time scrolling.

(Ai)ding your public relations success

As quick-witted as many people are, AI can generally process requests, analyze data, and respond faster than humans ever could.

I mean, think about it this way: I can do long division, but that doesn’t mean a calculator won’t help me get the answer faster.

Take our tips and advice above and start using AI in public relations with the same mindset.

Categories B2B

What Channels See The Most Social Media ROI? [New Data To Inspire Your Strategy]

To be candid, I have a love-hate relationship with social media.

Download Now: The 2024 State of Social Media Trends [Free Report]

Sometimes, I’m annoyed at how exciting those “likes” can be.

At others, I’m ecstatic at the social media advertising ROI (return on investment) my teams can generate. It just keeps me coming back for more — and I know I’m not alone in this feeling.

According to our 2024 State of Marketing & Trends Report, marketers consider social media their biggest source of ROI alongside their website or blog. Paid social media content follows closely in the second spot.

But what platforms and tactics can deliver the most ROI for your business?

Let’s dive into the latest findings from HubSpot’s 2024 Social Trends Report to answer those questions and hear from experts at Brandfolder, Sprout Social, Rakuten Advertising, and more.

Table of Contents

What is social media ROI?

Simply put, social media ROI is exactly what it sounds like — the return on investment you get from your social media marketing and advertising campaigns.

It measures the results you make or receive compared to how much you spend.

Depending on your goals, this can be done using a number of different metrics.

For instance, if your goal is to build brand awareness, you might prioritize metrics demonstrating reach or engagement — such as new followers, impressions, audience growth rate, or social shares.

These tend to be the most common, in my experience, but other metrics to measure social media marketing and advertising ROI include likes, comments, or sales.

Arguably the most direct approach is to zero in on revenue.

How do you calculate social media ROI?

graphic showing social media roi formula and example

Our survey found that measuring ROI is one of the five biggest challenges marketers face with social media. That’s out of 22 possible options.

Numbers and I don’t always get along, so I get where they’re coming from. But thankfully, measuring social media ROI is pretty simple.

This formula can be used with revenue in mind:

Social media ROI = (Total Revenue – Total Investment) / Total Investment

“Total revenue” is the amount of money generated from your campaigns, while “total investment” is the amount of money you put in (like resources, labor cost, cost per click, etc.).

When you run your calculation, a negative result means you spent more money on your campaigns than you got back — womp — and a positive result means the opposite.

Let’s illustrate with an example. Say you spent $500 on social media advertising last quarter and made $1250. Using our formula:

= (1250–500) / 500

= (750) / 500

= 1.5

Your social media advertising ROI is 1.5. This means you made $1.50 for every dollar you spent.

Note: This formula will give your ROI in the dollar amount, but if you’d like it expressed in a percentage, follow: (Total Revenue – Total Investment) / Total Investment x 100

Check out this helpful guide by my teammate Flori Needle to learn more about what a good social media advertising ROI is and how to calculate it.

Which social media channels have the best ROI?

bar chart showing the social media channels with the highest roi

HubSpot’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report found YouTube provides marketers with the highest ROI while Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram trail closely behind.

TikTok follows, but X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and other small platforms clock in with less than 10% of marketers vouching for them.

This list is likely not surprising. The top five are some of the largest and most active social media networks. Plus, those marketers reported delivering the highest ROI when working with influencers/creators.

Let’s dig deeper into the top four to learn why, and I’ll share some tips on getting the most out of them.

1. YouTube

Ranking third in our list last year, YouTube has made a huge jump to our #1 social media channel for ROI this year for marketers — and more than half (54%) plan on increasing their investment in the platform this year.

But why exactly?

First off, there’s reach.

YouTube receives about 30 billion monthly visits and commands an audience of over 2.5 billion people (including over 100 million Premium subscribers). Every generation, from alpha to boomers, is on the platform. This means there’s a strong chance your audience is, too.

Our survey found that marketers think YouTube has the best audience targeting tools. This makes reaching your audience easy with its paid ads.

The platform also has a very low barrier to entry.

Setting up a YouTube channel is free, and with a smartphone and some editing software, you can create content at little to no cost. Throw in AI and you can streamline your effort, too.

This automatically sets you up for a great return on your investment.

YouTube is also one of the most respected names in video, and consumers across the board have shown a strong preference for video content.

How to Get the Most ROI Out of YouTube

Team up with creators or influencers.

21% of marketers say YouTube (alongside Facebook) offers the highest ROI when working with influencers or creators. That’s the highest of all platforms.

Read more in the Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing.

Experiment with both long and short-form content.

While known for its long-form content, YouTube Shorts can be used to capitalize on the user preference for short-form video. (More on that later.)

Check out our free YouTube Marketing Course to get started.

2. Facebook

With over 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform worldwide — despite what much of Gen Z may tell you.

Baby boomers and Gen X name it one of their top favorite platforms, while millennials and Gen Z frequent it for events and Facebook Marketplace.

However, its large audience is just one reason Facebook remains the social media platform with the second highest ROI since last year. And also why 53% of marketers plan to increase their investment in it this year.

According to our survey, Facebook offers the second-best audience targeting tools out of all social media platforms, only losing out to YouTube by 1%.

The social media giant lets you target by demographics, interests, and even previous behavior — like visiting your website or attending one of your Facebook Events.

These paid ads can appear in a user’s newsfeed or Messenger app and include formats like carousels, boosted posts, and videos. Marketers can also leverage Facebook Lead Ads to get users to fill out a lead generation form without leaving the social platform. Here’s an example from YSL Beauty.

example of a fb lead gen form ad example of a fb lead gen form ad

Nicole Ondracek, HubSpot’s Paid Advertising Senior Marketing Manager, agrees that Facebook is an incredibly viable channel.

“At HubSpot, Facebook is a valuable channel for us in driving return on ad spend. A main reason why is that we can provide our content to a relevant audience using Facebook’s audience targeting features. For instance, Facebook’s lookalike audiences allow us to go after people who look like our current customers,” she shared.

“Facebook’s algorithm is great at finding similar audiences who are likely to convert, which is why we see a positive return on investment going after these types of audiences.”

How to Get the Most ROI Out of Facebook

Over the years, I have seen Facebook evolve into one of the hardest places to make an organic impact.

Facebook Groups still prove to get traction and you certainly want to maintain a presence on the platform with a business page. But depending on your goals, your time and effort is likely best spent on Facebook Ads.

Here are a few ways to get the best ROI with that in mind:

Boost posts.

​​Is a post on your Facebook page getting a lot of engagement or clicks? Think of that as a successful experiment proving your audience enjoys that content. It likely has great potential to perform well as an ad through “boosting.”

Learn more on boosted posts.

Try retargeting.

Retargeting means you can target users on Facebook with ads related to pages they’ve visited on your website or actions they’ve taken. This helps make the ads feel more personalized, relevant and, in turn, more likely to boost your ROI.

Learn more on how to get the most out of your Facebook Ads budget.

3. Instagram

I was surprised to see this, but Instagram actually fell two spots on our list of social media platforms with the highest ROI from last year. But no need to panic.

The margin is small, and 52% of marketers plan to increase their Instagram investment next year.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Meta-owned Instagram engages a large global audience, offering opportunities for many types of businesses.

Marketers can increase reach and boost sales through non-organic means like Instagram Ads or shoppable posts. In fact, our survey found that 71% of marketers who sell products on Instagram rated it as high ROI more than any other channel.

Plus, 50% of users are more interested in a brand after seeing its ads on Instagram.

(After being hit with ads like this one for Candlelight Concerts for months, I finally caved in February and it was amazing.)

instagram story ad example from candlelight concerts

But it shines with generating ROI from organic content as well.

90% of users follow at least one business on Instagram. And with high-engagement features like Stories, Reels, carousels, and Live streaming, there’s no shortage of opportunities to get creative.

Instagram is also the social platform with the second-highest ROI when working with influencers/creators (20%), missing the top spot by just 1%.

How to Get the Most ROI Out of Instagram

Team up with creators or influencers.

Instagram missed our spot for the channel with the highest ROI when working with influencers by just one percent, so they certainly deserve some attention in your social media strategy.

Whether you’re collaborating on content, conducting an interview, or simply sponsoring a post, take some time to explore your options.

Read more in our article, “Influencer Marketing Strategy: How to Build a Plan Creators & Customers Will Love [+ Templates]”

Post Stories with stickers.

We already know Instagram Stories grab eyes with their prime real estate at the top of the app’s home screen, but the benefits don’t stop there.

Stickers can help make content more dynamic and interactive by soliciting options and clicks. You can use Stickers to create polls, ask and answer questions, or link viewers to your website.

Dig deeper into how to boost your performance on Instagram with our Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing.

4. TikTok

I can’t lie to you: TikTok is still a bit of an enigma to me.

Not much is understood about how to please the algorithm, and the types of content that do well are all over the spectrum — from ASMR to talking-head storytelling.

I have a younger cousin who gained over 20k followers from one video, and she still can’t tell you how or why it happened.

Despite all the mystery, TikTok is still the social media platform with the fourth-highest ROI, according to our research.

As of 2024, TikTok has over 1.5 billion monthly active users and is predicted to hit 2.2 billion by 2027. And these users aren’t passive about their engagement.

They spend an estimated 4.43 billion minutes watching videos each day and 30% of daily users have used TikTok Shop.

screenshot of tiktok shop

This growth and passionate engagement has 56% of marketers planning to increase their investment in TikTok next year, the highest of any platform.

Users are not just members of Gen Z either, though they certainly lead the pack. According to Statista, millennials (46%), Gen X (32%), and baby boomers (14%) report using the app as well, though in smaller numbers.

How to Get the Most ROI Out of TikTok

Follow and engage with trends.

Trends are born and they die on social media, and this is especially true on TikTok. One of the easiest ways to start making traction on the platform is by hopping on trending sounds and video styles.

This way, you make yourself relevant to conversations that are already happening rather than trying to steal attention from them.

Dunkin is strong in this area, as seen in this video using the viral “Very Demure” audio from creator Jools Lebron:

And if you click on the audio link, you can see they’re not the only ones.

screenshot of all the videos using joolie annie's very demure audio on tiktok

Try TikTok Ads.

Getting organic traction on TikTok can be difficult, but to speed up the process you can try TikTok Ads. We have an article to get you started.

Pro tip: If you’re a HubSpot user, you can also explore using the TikTok Ads integration with HubSpot. It can be used to:

  • Capture TikTok leads in the HubSpot CRM in real time.
  • Connect TikTok to HubSpot in under 10 minutes without using code.
  • Immediately reach out to new leads from TikTok when they’re most open to chatting.

Which strategies get the most social media advertising ROI?

Now, regardless of the platform, there are certain trends and truths you can follow to help get the most ROI out of your social media efforts.

Here are seven I recommend based on our data, my own personal experience, and insight from other industry experts.

1. Short-form Video

According to our survey, 67% of marketers plan to increase their investment in short-form video in the next year, while 31% will maintain their investment.

And why not? 71% of marketers using the medium already report it has high ROI, the highest ROI out of all content mediums.

graphic showing the high roi of short-form video

We also know consumers love video in general, with Sprout Social finding it the most popular medium on social media. Yet, many marketers find it is underutilized, especially in social media advertising.

Adina Jipa, co-founder of Socialinsider, told us, “A recent study about Facebook video strategy shows that only roughly 15% of the content [on Facebook] is video, while photos represent 38.58%.

Facebook wants to become a video-first platform and favors pages with video content, but for most brands, it is [primarily] a photo-sharing platform.”

Instagram was also public about pushing short-form video content to compete with YouTube and TikTok.

That said, to stand out and increase ROI, consider how you might incorporate video into your social media efforts.

Additionally, consider testing out different video formats across your channels. For instance, Facebook allows brands to create vertical video ads for mobile users, which is also needed for Instagram Story ads.

As Jipa says, “You can use vertical videos on ads to get more clicks. Almost 69% of marketers say video ads outperform image and plain text ads on Facebook, and 81% of Facebook users only access the platform via mobile devices.

“Looking at these behaviors, using vertical video allows you to get more visibility and increase the chances of getting more clicks.”

2. Incorporating Humor

According to our study, humorous content results in the biggest ROI of any content type.

Using humor in marketing and advertising is nothing new. It’s been a strategic move for decades. I mean, I’m still laughing about this Orbit gum commercial 17 years later:

Humor grabs attention, is memorable, encourages sharing, and makes you likable overall. So, look for ways to incorporate it naturally into your social media content.

Oreo does a great job of incorporating humor and current events into its social media content.

3. Repurposing Content for Multiple Platforms

Should you be posting the exact same content and message across all your social media platforms? Of course not — they all have unique cultures and user behaviors, let alone technical specs.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t adapt and repurpose a single piece of content for different platforms.

“Far too often, content is created for one-and-done campaigns or promotions,” Casted’s CEO and Co-founder Lindsay Tjepkema explains.

“This means marketers are working harder and harder to produce more and more constantly, yet ROI and ROE (return on effort) results are disappointing.”

She continues, “To change this, we must stop creating content for content’s sake and focus instead on creating content that educates, entertains, and delights that can be broken down and amplified across all other channels not just once, but many times over.”

To repurpose your content across channels, perhaps you post snippets of a full YouTube video on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram.

Alternatively, you could take select text from a blog post and repost it on your channels to add value to your existing content. This way you’re repurposing user-generated content across channels.

There are countless ways to refresh and re-use content to appeal to new audiences uniquely without exhausting your social team.

Pro tip: Use AI to expedite the process of repurposing. Ask ChatGPT to write tweets for you based on the copy from a blog. Or, if you use HubSpot, give Content Remix a try.

With Content Remix, Professional and Enterprise-level users of Content Hub can repurpose existing content into new formats.

screenshot of hubspot's context remix

This can include content hosted on HubSpot (i.e., images, social posts, text messages, ads, and blog posts) or new content you upload to the tool.

4. Aligning your Platform with Your Goal

It’s difficult to achieve results on social without taking the time to set clear goals for your team. But not all social media channels are good for the same goals.

To see the best ROI from social media, make sure that you are choosing the platforms best suited to your needs.

For example, if you’re trying to boost website organic traffic, YouTube may be the way to go. YouTube is owned by Google, and its videos are shown in SERPs. The video platform is also conventionally held as “the world’s second-largest search engine.”

As Brandfolder’s Senior Digital Marketing Manager Amanda Turcotte told us, “In order to achieve a return on your social media investment, you must have clear goals set before any tactical planning takes place.”

“Various social media tactics can be applied differently to each of the platforms, meaning they’ll produce different outcomes. So your goals must be determined up front to ensure they align with your social strategy.”

Pro tip: Use UTM tags for tracking

quote from amanda turcotte about using utm tags

The only way to know if you’re truly hitting your goals is by being able to track and measure your activity. UTM tracking links are one of the easiest ways to do this.

As Matt Janaway, CEO of MarketingLabs, told us, “Tracking is now more important than ever thanks to the complications of iOS privacy improvements, so to really yield the best ROI, you have to make sure you are using UTM tags on all links.”

“This way, you can correctly track the performance of your campaigns in Analytics and get the data you need to make decisions that can drive more engagement and ROI.”

If you’re a HubSpot user, you can create tracking URLs right within the platform.

5. Establishing Consistency

Once you‘ve determined your social goals, you’ll want to create a consistent brand and strategy so your audience knows what they can expect from you.

What time will you post? What type of content will you post? What will the posts look and sound like?

Establishing these guidelines will also help your team execute more cohesively and efficiently.

Turcotte told us, “To move your team from strategy to action and keep everyone on the same page, it’s crucial to develop a regular posting plan that documents your approach across each channel, where all team members have access.”

Additionally, Agnieszka Jaśkiewicz, Head of Social Media & Community at LiveChat shared:

Digital templates for creative assets — set to the specifications of the organization‘s core social media platforms — can also add agility to social media managers’ ability to publish, allowing teams to be more timely and quickly act on new opportunities.”

Pro tip: To make posting consistently easier, try using a social posting tool like HubSpot’s Social Inbox Tool or Later.

Jaśkiewicz agrees that creating a strategy and using tools to support your team’s goals is critical for finding success on social channels.

As she put it, “The greatest area of ‘untapped potential’ for most brands comes in streamlining creative workflows.”

“Digital workspaces [and tools] allow creatives and marketers to collaborate from a central location to stage, revise, and produce content, limiting back-and-forth communication and unnecessary steps in production.”

6. Social Commerce

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in social commerce, or the ability to make a purchase without leaving a social platform.

You’ve likely seen this on Instagram and TikTok (see below). And as we discussed earlier, users are taking a liking to it.

example of a shoppable videos on tiktok example of a product page in the tiktok shop

Rachael Samuels, Senior Manager of Social Media at Sprout Social, told me she sees social commerce as a great opportunity to continue to increase ROI on social channels as it allows users to take action the second the urge to buy hits them.

She shared, “Social commerce not only provides more seamless buying experiences for customers but equips marketers with the ability to show direct attribution and ROI as a result of their efforts.”

Pro tip: Leverage Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns.

It‘s no secret that Meta’s suite of platforms — namely Instagram and Facebook — packs a huge ROI punch. Yomi Arokoyo, VP of Performance Solutions at Rakuten Advertising, attributes this to Meta’s powerful algorithm.

He told us, “Each social platform has improved its algorithm over time to be more intuitive and automated, but none more than Meta. For example, with Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns, brands can find new customers in places they never even thought to look.”

Launched globally in 2022, Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns largely rely on AI and automation to find the right audience for your ads (as opposed to manual targeting). On top of that, it even adjusts ad formats to understand which format performs best.

To take advantage of this new tech, Arokoyo recommends employing as much creative differentiation as possible. For instance, add old creative or cut up longer videos into smaller, more digestible clips. This gives the algorithm more data to determine which campaigns are effective.

7. Encouraging Your Employees to Become Brand Ambassadors

One area of major underutilized social media potential? Your employees.

Many users ago, one of my responsibilities at a former employer was running the employee advocacy program. In other words, I created and distributed copy and materials to make it easier for everyone on our team to promote the company’s content and initiatives on their own social media.

It eventually ended because individual platforms began cracking down on third-party publishing. But for many years, it dramatically helped boost our reach, traffic, and engagement.

As Casted‘s Tjepkema explains it, “As consumers, we’re far more driven to engage with user-generated content, yet so many brands spend too much time and money trying only to push content from their own brand.”

quote from casted ceo Lindsay Tjepkema

“Rally your employees around the content you’re creating and encourage them to share it with captions that show their unique and personal perspectives. This is a great way to help each member of your team build their personal brand while also amplifying your content to audiences in a more authentic way.”

LiveChat’s Jaśkiewicz agrees with this notion, saying, “[You should] give employee advocacy a

bigger seat at the table in your social media strategy, especially when it comes to LinkedIn.”

“It takes some time and effort to provide people with the knowledge and imply the ‘brand ambassadors’ mindset in the organization — however, employee engagement is a cost-effective way to increase your reach organically.”

This is something HubSpot does frequently with the roll out of big announcements such as our 2024 Spotlight.

Our product team had a comprehensive content plan leading up to the big day, including videos and emails. It also created a comprehensive social media kit to help others at HubSpot spread the word.

screenshot of employee advocacy slidedeck from hubspot

We also frequently host HubSpot Employee Takeovers and highlight “Days in #HubSpotLife” from employees on the HubSpot Life Instagram account.

These campaigns help show audiences the faces behind the brand and create a sense of community and authenticity that you wouldn’t find with branded content alone.

To Many Happy Returns… On Investment

Our survey found that most marketers believe proving ROI will be the second-biggest change they’ll face in social media marketing in the coming year.

Social can clearly have a societal and cultural impact, but that also takes time and attention. So, of course, you need to be able to prove it’s worth it.

Increasing your social media ROI won’t happen overnight. But by experimenting with your platforms and the strategies and tactics we shared, you can start moving towards the right formula for your brand.

Categories B2B

How to Do Meme Marketing, According to Memelord Jason Levin

When most people see memes pop up, they don’t think much about them.

Download Now: The 2024 State of Social Media Trends [Free Report]

“Oh it’s just a stupid meme page,” you might say. “What’s there to think about? What’s the big deal?” But what if I told you some of these “stupid meme pages” are making millions?

And what if I told you it wasn’t just meme pages, but some of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups and the world’s most iconic luxury brands are using memes to make millions, too? Would you start thinking about how to use memes in your marketing too? Of course you would!

Meme marketing leverages the power of humor to get attention on the internet, but humor-based marketing isn’t a new thing. It’s been done for hundreds of years since newspaper ads in the 1700s for magical hair growth potions.

Meme marketing is just the newest internet-native version of it. And it’s been used by the biggest brands in the world — from Duolingo to Porsche, Sony, and more.

As Gen Z and Gen Alpha take hold and become the next class of founders, CEOs, and CMOs, I believe this trend will only continue to grow.

Here’s why you should implement it in your marketing strategy ASAP.

meme marketing examples, Duolingo, Porsche, Sony

Memes are the highest leverage marketing on earth.

Leverage is all about achieving bigger results with less work.

Meme marketing isn’t some magical get-rich-quick scheme. It’s a lever to pull like anything else. And I think it’s one of the strongest out there.

Think about it. Memes are:

  1. Free to make
  2. Fast to make
  3. An easy way to go viral

What could be higher leverage than that?

When I realized this, I became obsessed with understanding the tricks to meme marketing.

I interviewed every memelord, meme marketer, and meme page operator I could find: a memelord who sold a content agency for $1M+, a growth hacker at a fintech startup worth $100M+ whose main growth tactic has been ads on meme pages to grow it, and a startup founder who drove $3M+ in SaaS sales from viral memes and sold his company for $100M+.

Then, I wrote all about it in my book Memes Make Millions.

Jason Levin sitting on a couch reading his book, Memes Make Millions

But I didn’t just write about the tactics.

I put the tactics into action to prove they worked. I tweet memes like a madman and get millions of views every month.

I went viral and got 26M+ views for a video of me reading meme-y books on the New York Subway. I even went viral in Paris and got turned into a meme!

All this attention has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year as a marketing consultant helping startups go viral (and blow up the internet).

So, how does meme marketing work?

Step 1. Learn the industry and trends.

If you tried paying me $100k to make memes about hockey, I couldn’t do it.

I know nothing about hockey (except that Canadians are weirdly good at it for some reason). But I can make memes about startups and venture capital all day.

I live and breathe startups. I listen to All-In and My First Million. I go to the tech parties. I read the books. I work with startups all day everyday, and many of my friends are founders/VCs.

I’m on the timeline interacting with people in this world all day. I’m deep in this world. And I can make viral memes night and day.

The takeaway: You can only make memes about industries you’re deep in.

You can make memes about any industry from hockey to gardening to healthcare to startups. The main thing is you need to know the zeitgeist and what’s going on.

Because the meme world is so fast-paced, I actually started a daily newsletter with new viral memes to help people figure out the meme zeitgeist.

Step 2. Know the problems.

Good memes come from problems your industry faces.

If you look at the best meme pages across finance, tech, whatever, the best memes are typically about problems you’re facing.

If you’re in accounting, you meme about Excel. If you’re in startups, you meme about VCs taking the summers off to party in France.

If you’re making memes for your brand, become hyper-focused on what problems your users face. If you’re working on software for writers, you better know what problems writers face (e.g., writer’s block, not enough caffeine, etc.).

Step 3. Know who you cannot offend.

This is something super underrated that most social media managers don’t think about.

It’s actually okay to offend some people. I don’t mean using offensive language like insults or charged words — that’s never okay.

But it is okay to poke fun at a job group like accountants or YouTubers. You just have to be thoughtful and selective about who you’re offending and who you don’t want to ever offend or poke fun at.

For example, at one startup I work with, the product is all about helping founders, so we never try to offend founders. Instead, we pick on VCs (they’re easy targets).

At another startup, the customer was engineers, so we never tried to pick on engineers. Instead, we picked on product managers (again, another easy target).

Step 4. Embrace the cringe.

Is making money cringe?

I don’t think so.

After all, I’ve proved that memes make millions.

Memes are a powerful marketing tactic used by everyone from solo creators to public companies like Netflix. Stop worrying about being cringe, and focus on being funny and making money.

Cringe is the new cool. Become a cringe arbitrageur. When you’re willing to be cringe and do things others are afraid of, you can get so much more attention on the internet.

example of the evolution of three meme marketing posts on X (formerly Twitter)

Step 5. Master the tools.

The tools and software are actually the least important part.

Speed is the most important thing.

Yes, you can use paid software like Photoshop, but you can just as easily use free software like Imgflip or Canva. Really just use whatever is the fastest.

My advice? Don’t overthink the tools.

This isn’t a graphic design job — this is meme marketing. Don’t worry about high fidelity, just focus on being funny. Because remember, in the attention economy, being funny makes millions.

The Takeaway

“Humor is related to strength. To have a sense of humor is to be strong: to keep one‘s sense of humor is to shrug off misfortunes, and to lose one’s sense of humor is to be wounded by them. And so the mark — or at least the prerogative — of strength is not to take oneself too seriously.

The confident will often, like swallows, seem to be making fun of the whole process slightly, as Hitchcock does in his films or Bruegel in his paintings — or Shakespeare, for that matter.” – Paul Graham, Taste

Or as I wrote in my book, “Never underestimate the jester because he may be a king in disguise.”

From the 22-year-old NYC goofball posting finance bro memes to the venture-backed startups making memes about Silicon Valley to public companies leveraging meme marketing — they’re all proof that being silly on the internet can help you make serious money.

Categories B2B

Product Management vs. Program Management vs. Project Management: Key Differences

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

I started my career as a Designer before transitioning into Project Management, and I’ve now been in this field for over 15 years in which 10 of them I worked as a Program Manager. It’s amazing to reflect on how much the landscape has evolved and matured, with new roles and responsibilities along the way.

Download Now: Free Project Management Template

When I moved to the United States and was building my career in this new country, I spent a lot of time searching for jobs, interviewing, and reading job descriptions, of course. Two things really surprised me during that process.

First, although I had been doing Project Management for quite some time and understood what a Product Manager was, I had never encountered the term “Program Management.”

When I came across it in job descriptions, I thought, “Wait a minute, I’ve been doing this for years — I just didn’t call it program management.” It was eye-opening to realize that the terminology was new to me, but the work itself wasn’t.

The second discovery that caught me off guard was noticing that some companies were hiring for “Product Manager” roles, but after interviews with them, it seemed like they were actually looking for a Program Manager.

It was surreal — almost as if companies were hiring for one title but expecting the responsibilities of another. This raised an important question for me: Are companies clear on what they want? Or is there confusion about these roles?

Product Management vs. Program Management vs. Project Management: Key Differences

With that in mind, I wanted to write about this experience since I think it’s essential to clarify the differences between Product, Program, and Project Management. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Product Management

A product is anything that can be offered in the market to solve a problem or satisfy a need. The Product Manager focuses on the “why”, defines the value proposition, determines how the product differentiates itself in the market, and ensures it meets customer needs while aligning with business goals.

Read more:

Program Management

Programs consist of multiple interconnected projects that contribute to long-term business objectives. A Program Manager leads the overall program strategy, sets objectives, and evaluates its business impact, ensuring alignment across projects.

Project Management

A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end, and therefore a defined scope and resources. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

Read more:

Tips to Apply for the Right Role in Product, Program, and Project Management

In today‘s dynamic job market, a lot of us are seeking new opportunities. To help you navigate this, I’d like to offer guidance to help you make sure you’re applying for the right role and that you understand the distinctions between Product, Program, and Project Management roles.

It’s important to recognize what’s expected from each role so you can better align your skills with the expectations of the position. Look for:

Product Management Roles

  • Do they ask you for an example of a successful product launch you’ve led?
  • Are they curious about how you create a product vision and strategy?
  • Do they ask how you handle product-market fit or customer feedback to improve the product?
  • Are they looking for insights on how you prioritize product features and balance user needs with business goals?

Program Management Roles

  • Do they focus on your experience working with multiple teams managing different projects concurrently?
  • Are they asking how you ensure cross-functional teams are aligned with overall program goals?
  • Are they interested in your approach to balancing competing priorities and managing risks across the program?
  • Do they ask how you ensure the program meets long-term business objectives?

Project Management Roles

  • Are they asking if you can deliver projects on time and within scope?
  • Do they ask about how you manage project budgets and resources effectively?
  • Are they concerned with how you communicate progress and manage stakeholder expectations?
  • Are they asking for examples of how you’ve handled changes in project scope or unforeseen challenges?

Product Management vs. Program Management vs. Project Management Roles

If they ask about risk management:

Program Management

  • Are they asking about how you manage risks across multiple projects?
  • Are they asking questions about alignment with the program’s overall strategy?

Project Management

  • Are they asking how you identify and mitigate risks within a specific project?
  • Are they focused on schedule and budget requirements?

Product Management

  • Are they asking how you assess customer-related risks when defining the product roadmap, such as feature prioritization or competitive threats?

If they ask about communication:

Program Management

  • Are they interested in how you communicate across various projects and teams to keep stakeholders aligned and informed at the program level?

Project Management

  • Do they expect you to provide project-specific updates, manage team communication, and ensure everyone is on the same page about milestones and deadlines?

Product Management

  • Are they asking about your ability to communicate the product vision and strategy to different departments to ensure successful development and launch?

This article is meant to guide your conversations with potential employers. It won’t provide definitive answers. Use this information to spark meaningful discussions that can deepen your understanding of the company’s expectations.

It’s important to keep in mind that different industries and companies often use varied terminologies and role descriptions.

A PM role is more than its title.

As I reflect on this, I’d like to recognize that some companies may understand the distinctions between these roles but choose not to label them correctly.

For instance, a Product Owner might take on the responsibilities of a Product Manager, while in other cases, a Program Manager can handle project management tasks. Other organizations would treat the Product Manager role as equivalent to a Project Manager.

The goal here isn’t to discourage you or make you the “PM police” during interviews. Rather, it’s about empowering you to make informed decisions about your career, enabling you to ask the right questions and secure a fulfilling work experience.

Categories B2B

60+ Core Company Values That Will Shape Your Culture & Inspire Your Employees

No matter how much I love my job, at the end of the day, it’s still a job. It will and should never replace the things about life that bring me the most joy — my loved ones, exercise, travel, a glass of Pinot Noir, or my parents’ home-cooked food.

Download Now: 50 Examples of Company Core Values

However, there are some ways to make a job feel more meaningful. Apart from great colleagues and exciting projects, company values can help direct team members toward a common goal and align groups around a bigger purpose.

Companies need something their teams can get behind and understand to maintain growth.

This search has led many people to The HubSpot Culture Code — and the original 2013 deck has almost 6 million views online. The main focus around our culture code is “Creating a company we love,” which all companies should work towards to add structure to goals and retain employees who believe in those goals.

Table of Contents

Why are company values important?

1. Give your team a shared purpose to rally around.

One of our Nickelodeon company values is that we put kids first in everything we do. This value reminds me that, even when work gets busy or trying, I work here because I believe in educating and entertaining kids and helping them be their best and truest selves.

Core company values give employees purpose, which is undeniably critical for employee satisfaction. A McKinsey & Company survey found 70% of employees said their sense of purpose was largely defined by work. However, that number dropped significantly to 15% when non-executive participants were asked if they were living their purpose at work.

This is why your core values must be embraced at every level, not just by the executive team. Purpose doesn’t just improve employee satisfaction — it also increases your bottom line and builds trust with customers.

Professor and author Ranjay Gulati explains in his book Deep Purpose that “to get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it but also how they conceive of and relate to it.”

Gulati calls this process “deep purpose,” which furthers an organization’s reason for being in a more intense, thoughtful, and comprehensive way.

2. Increase team well-being and motivation.

As much as I may try to “leave my baggage at the door,” stresses and tribulations can sometimes weasel their way into my workday.

At times like this, it helps me to know that, whatever is happening outside of my company, this is a place where I can be happy about and proud of the work I get to do.

WifiTalents data found that 56% of employees cite company culture and values as having a significant impact on their happiness, which is crucial since companies with higher employee happiness levels were shown to have approximately 23% higher revenues.

3. Go public with an aligned message.

What you do should be just as important as why and how you do it.

While your main goal for your company may be increasing sales, awareness, retention, or another key business metric, many consumers nowadays care immensely about purchasing from brands that align with their values.

An MIT Sloan Management Review article references a B2B customer study that asked tens of thousands of consumers how much it mattered if a company was less aligned with its social or environmental values than one of its competitors.

The study found that once buyers become aware of these differences between companies, a lack of alignment in values could reduce sales by as much as 30%.

This risk means it is essential to proudly share public-facing communications about your company values to be authentic about your company’s purpose while drawing in consumers who align with those values.

Ultimately, core values are critical if you want to create a long-lasting, successful, and motivating workplace, whether you work for a new company in need of core-value inspiration or an older company requiring a value revamp.

Elements of Company Core Values

1. Clear and Concise

Having too many values (that may not make sense or contradict each other) or using a lot of unnecessary jargon can make them feel inaccessible to new or younger employees.

Thus, it is essential to keep your company values clear so that they can be understood and embraced by all employees, regardless of their level or position.

For instance, Nickelodeon’s value of putting kids first in everything we do might mean something different to each person, but it’s easy to grasp and something I can easily keep in mind on every campaign.

2. Brief and Memorable

Don’t over-explain your company values — keep them brief, instead. Having bite-sized values will make them easier to remember, making it more likely that they will be internalized and adopted as part of your company culture.

Plus, having short and catchy values can help create a distinctive brand identity, giving your company a competitive advantage.

It will be easier to differentiate your company from others in the market when the values are memorable and unique.

3. Action-Oriented

It’s easy to use attractive, vague words like “Authenticity” and “Diversity” without actually thinking about how those terms can and should apply to your company’s work. To create a significant impact, your values should be action-oriented.

One of The HubSpot Culture Code tenets is “We work to be remarkably transparent.”

The action-oriented aspect of this comes in its proof; the Culture Code states that HubSpot shares (almost) everything with its 4,000 employees, including financials and diversity goals, and everyone has equal access to the same data.

This proves that HubSpot isn’t just stating values that sound nice but has taken actionable steps toward exemplifying that value. This helps establish accountability among employees and empowers us to do our best work.

4. Reflective

Your core values establish the foundation of your company’s culture, which is why they must be unique to your company and accurately reflect your mission, vision, beliefs, and objectives.

For instance, one of the Culture Code tenets is, “We solve for the customer.”

While other companies may be able to state this same value, it has a unique meaning for HubSpot, since we continuously develop and market new software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service designed to increase customers’ efficiency and efficacy.

Keeping your values consistent with your objectives can help create an authentic brand image and foster trust among your customers, partners, and employees. It will also help attract and retain employees with the same beliefs, resulting in a more cohesive and effective staff.

5. Adaptable

While core values should always be consistent with an overall mission, don’t be afraid to make adjustments as your company grows.

Your company may not look like it did when it first started out, and your original values may not be as relevant or effective as they were then.

For instance, HubSpot has updated its Culture Code over 30 times since its founding. As your business evolves, regularly obtain feedback from employees and other stakeholders, and re-assess your core values when necessary.

Examples of Companies with Inspiring Core Values

1. Google

  1. Focus on the user, and all else will follow.
  2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
  3. Fast is better than slow.
  4. Democracy on the web works.
  5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
  6. You can make money without doing evil.
  7. There’s always more information out there.
  8. The need for information crosses all borders.
  9. You can be serious without a suit.
  10. Great just isn’t good enough.

On Google’s philosophy page, they don’t just list their core values — they also provide examples.

Google’s “Ten things we know to be true” company philosophy page header.

For instance, consider their value, “You can make money without doing evil.”

While many companies likely tout the benefits of integrity, Google references strategic efforts it has made to avoid “evil” business, including “Advertising on Google is always clearly identified as a ‘Sponsored Link,’ so it does not compromise the integrity of our search results.”

Expedia Sponsored link in search results when Googling “Flights LA to NYC.”

Fulfilling values like “don’t be evil” can be complicated. As Google grows and develops more products, there is more tension and scrutiny.

Ultimately, a core value is powerless if your company can’t list intentional, calculated decisions it has made to put values ahead of profit.

2. Coca Cola

  1. Leadership: The courage to shape a better future
  2. Collaboration: Leverage collective genius
  3. Integrity: Be real
  4. Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me
  5. Passion: Committed in heart and mind
  6. Diversity: As inclusive as our brands
  7. Quality: What we do, we do well

Coca-Cola demonstrates its diversity core value with its public Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page, which lists the company’s current efforts and future goals under this larger strategy. I appreciate that the company doesn’t just highlight what it’s already doing but also how it can improve and grow in years to come.

Coca-Cola’s three long-term ambitions towards diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Additionally, Coca-Cola’s Sustainability page exemplifies its commitment to climate. This page includes reports about water usage, packaging, climate, and more.

Coca-Cola’s Business & Sustainability Report, which promises to stay true to the company’s purpose of refreshing the world and making a difference.

By acknowledging both its efforts and its shortcomings, Coca-Cola is able to show its desire to live up to its values, while taking responsibility for any mismatch between its ideals and reality.

3. Whole Foods

  1. We sell the highest quality natural and organic foods.
  2. We satisfy and delight our customers.
  3. We promote team member growth and happiness.
  4. We practice win-win partnerships with our suppliers.
  5. We create profits and prosperity.
  6. We care about our community and the environment.

Underneath each of its values on its core value page, Whole Foods provides an in-depth, yet easy-to-understand, explanation. There are also some links, such as “Learn more about how we support communities and our environment,” which share more resources, such as the Whole Foods Market Foundation.

Brief description of Whole Foods Market Foundation with a link to Read more.

Ultimately, their page demonstrates their ability to walk the walk. For instance, to exemplify their commitment to local communities, Whole Foods created a Local Producer Loan Program, which has provided over 365 loans, representing roughly $28 million in capital, for small-scale, local, and emerging producers.

Additionally, Whole Foods provides a list of environmentally friendly efforts they’ve practiced since 1980, including being the first U.S. grocer to ban plastic grocery bags at checkout (2008) and plastic straws (2019).

I hadn’t even known they had paved the way for both these efforts, so your core values can also be an opportunity for a humble brag.

Whole Foods claim that states, “Every year, we reduce 1 million pounds of plastic.”

Amazon’s acquisition of the grocery chain in 2017 caused some loyal shoppers to question the brand’s authenticity, but Whole Foods brought in a new CEO in 2022 who is more dedicated to the company’s core values.

A Yahoo Finance article states that CEO Jason Buechel recognizes Whole Foods customers “… care about where the product was grown, raised, and produced, which comes at a higher cost, raising a challenge for the company.”

He is working to invest in technology, with Amazon’s help, to strike a balance between providing that same product value to customers while still growing the company’s sales and profits. This is partially why so many customers are brand loyalists: they support these efforts, too.

4. Airbnb

  1. Champion the Mission — We’re united in partnership with our community to create connection, which enables belonging.
  2. Be a Host — We’re caring, open, and encouraging to everyone we work with.
  3. Embrace the Adventure — We’re driven by open curiosity, hopeful resilience, and the belief that every person can grow.
  4. Be a Cereal Entrepreneur — We’re determined and creative in transforming our bold ambitions into reality.

Airbnb’s continued commitment to being by and for the people sets it apart. People like me use Airbnb to stay in real homes that embrace the culture of the region you’re visiting, so it makes sense that its values are rooted in kindness, connection, and growth. The company’s About Us section reads:

“Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 1.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe.

Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.”

Airbnb “What defines us” section with three distinct messages true to the brand.

Co-founders Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia are famed for their iconic origin story. They launched Airbnb at SXSW in 2008 and were met with uncertainty.

To create their own investment dollars, they sold self-designed cereal boxes featuring then-presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain at $40 a box.

This venture made them $30,000 but, more importantly, it caught the eye of Paul Graham from tech startup accelerator Y Combinator, who told the trio, “If you can convince people to pay $40 for $4 boxes of cereal, maybe, just maybe, you can convince strangers to live with each other.”

Obama and McCain cereal boxes designed by Airbnb co-founders around the 2008 presidential election.

As a brand rooted in travel, opportunity, determination, and connection, it makes sense that its core values and mission tie around these same beliefs. Airbnb makes it clear that it prizes its company culture and wants employees who fit into those values.

5. Gusto

  1. Embody a service mindset. — Never stop advocating for the needs of others.
  2. Dream big, then make it real. — Be ambitious. Show and do is greater than tell and talk.
  3. Be proud of the how. — Ensure deep integrity in everything you do.
  4. Embrace an ownership mentality. — Take initiative to leave things better than you found them.
  5. Debate, then commit. — Share openly, question respectfully, and once a decision is made, commit fully.

This popular payroll app supports more than 300,000 businesses in the United States. Gusto doesn’t just talk about supporting the needs of employees and customers; leaders at this company make it happen with radical transparency.

Gusto About Us page, with the statement, “We’re making work meaningful for everyone, everywhere.”

Gusto was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in human resources this year. One of the reasons behind this recognition is how Gusto continues to expand its opportunities and technologies to meet the needs of small-business customers — something that slots into several of its values.

By integrating with Chase Payment Solutions and adopting new AI technologies, Gusto shows that it will continue to make change that meets the needs of customers, is willing to strive for more, takes the initiative to keep growing the brand’s capabilities, and commits to change.

All of these tick boxes in its core values and proves the leaders’ accountability.

6. Adobe

  1. Create the future. — Creativity is in our DNA. We constantly look around the corner to see what is possible. But we don’t wait for the future; we create it. We are builders, makers, and inventors, driven by a deep empathy for our customers and users. We are open-minded and celebrate new ideas. We have the courage to disrupt the market and ourselves through bold bets and ideas we turn into reality.
  2. Own the outcome. — We think and operate like owners. We take initiative, have a bias toward action, and assume ownership for end results, not just our part. We are reliable and have clear points of view. We’re decisive and learn from our mistakes,
  3. Raise the bar. — We aim high, and we play to win. We relentlessly focus on execution, celebrate excellence, and are intellectually honest about where we must do better. We deliver both speed and quality by doing fewer things better. Our success is measured by the success of our customers and users.
  4. Be genuine. — The ability to be yourself is core to who we are. We embrace and respect diversity. We support and challenge each other by being honest and direct. We always act with sincerity, integrity, and the highest of ethics. We do this for our employees, partners, customers and communities.

These values were shared last year in an internal memo from Adobe chairman and CEO Shantanu Narayen to employees globally.

The memo’s goal was to share how the company would evolve its values and cultures to bring in new decades of growth.

Adobe graphic incorporating the brand logo and employees used in an internal memo from the CEO.

What I love about this memo is the immediate transparency of the values to the entire company, so everyone can read, understand, and align with them. Along with this information, Narayen shared his personal thoughts on the four company values, including the following blurb about being genuine.

“Being genuine is a hallmark of Adobe and something that always comes up when people talk about our culture. Ensuring that we reflect the diversity of the world around us — where everyone feels included, respected, and has the opportunity to make an impact — has been a core value since our founding.

It underscores how we support each other while being honest and direct. It also speaks to where we want to go and who Adobe should continue to be for our employees, partners, customers, and communities.”

While these values are relatively new for Adobe, they represent the idea that companies can evolve and update their core values with their growing businesses. Taking responsibility to adapt and share them with employees is a hallmark of a dedicated workplace.

7. American Express

  1. WE DELIVER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS — We’re driven by our commitment to deliver exceptional products, services and experiences to our customers. We value our strong customer relationships, and are defined by how well we take care of them.
  2. WE RESPECT PEOPLE — We are a diverse and inclusive company and serve diverse customers. We believe we are a better company when each of us feels included, valued, and able to trust colleagues who respect each of us for who we are and what we contribute to our collective success.
  3. WE CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES — We aim to make a difference in the communities where we work and live. Our commitment to corporate social responsibility makes an impact by strengthening our connections.
  4. WE MAKE IT GREAT — We deliver an unparalleled standard of excellence in everything we do, staying focused on the biggest opportunities to be meaningful to our customers. From our innovative products to our world-class customer service, our customers expect the best —and our teams are proud to deliver it.
  5. WE NEED DIFFERENT VIEWS — By being open to different ideas from our colleagues, customers, and the world around us, we will find more ways to win.
  6. WE DO WHAT’S RIGHT — Customers choose us because they trust our brand and people. We earn that trust by ensuring everything we do is reliable, consistent, and with the highest level of integrity.
  7. WE WIN AS A TEAM — We view each other as colleagues – part of the same team, striving to deliver the brand promise to our customers and each other every day. Individual performance is essential and valued but never at the expense of the team.

American Express doesn’t just hit the bare minimum with polite, helpful customer service. They go above and beyond to solve for their customers, even without strict protocol.

 what are company values? Header on American Express company mission page.

For instance, Raymond Joabar, group president of American Express’ global merchant and network services, told this story in a Forbes interview.

Joabar recalled a hotel café manager who alerted Joabar’s team that he sold a display cake with harmful chemicals. The manager needed to track down the customer before they ate it.

“Obviously, there’s no procedure for that, but our team took ownership of the problem,” Joabar told Forbes. Joabar’s team gathered all the information they could and found 21 card members who used their cards at the café during that time frame. They were able to track down the customer before the cake was served at an anniversary party.

“The important point here,” Joabar says in the interview, “other than that everybody ended up safe and sound — is that there isn’t a script for every situation, so we empower our care professionals to do what’s right for the customer.”

This anecdote exemplifies American Express‘s commitment to its customers, even when it’s not easy, and demonstrates the company’s dedication to living by its values and recognizing employees who do the same.

How to Develop Business Values

Now that you’ve seen what core values look like at other companies, you can use the following steps to create your own.

1. Check in with your team.

A quick way to get started is to consult your founders or executive team. They’ll often already have a mission statement or vision for the company values.

If not, I recommend setting up a few brainstorming sessions with your team. Company values can also come up as your team solves problems together.

As you start your business, jot down ideas as they come up, and keep them somewhere that‘s easy to find. This way, you have a go-to place for inspiration when you draw a blank.

Once you have that framework, you can work on fleshing out your organization’s core values.

If you’re having a hard time getting started, this company culture code template can help.

How HubSpot completed this step: HubSpot was operating for three years before co-founder Dharmesh Shah started work on HubSpot’s culture code. He started the project by asking questions and sending surveys to the team.

This took several rounds because one of the common themes was that employees love working at HubSpot because of the people. It took more time and effort to discover why and how that feeling could translate to a set of company values.

2. Solicit feedback.

The level of feedback you need for a project like this isn’t a one-and-done sort of effort. For instance, if I was asked, “Why do I value writing for the HubSpot Blog?” I could list dozens of amazing things, from the flexible hours to the ability to incorporate my personal experience into my writing.

However, if I was also asked, “What other values would I like the HubSpot Blog to embrace?” I might share some thought-provoking answers that can be taken into consideration. Building on your existing values is the best way to create a lasting company culture.

It‘s also important to key into informal conversations and non-verbal signals. Let your team know what you’re doing and why. Then, practice active listening. It may be tempting to argue or defend your point of view during these conversations. But interrupting in this way could mean that you’ll lose valuable insights.

These are some useful resources for gathering feedback from your team:

How HubSpot completed this step: HubSpot’s core employee values were initially outlined in the acronym HEART:

  • Humble.
  • Effective.
  • Adaptable.
  • Remarkable.
  • Transparent.

While getting feedback for HubSpot’s culture code update, co-founder Dharmesh Shah realized that something was a bit off. He found that the acronym was missing one integral part of how HubSpot does business: empathy.

Slide from The HubSpot Culture Code, defining “Empathetic.”

In response, Shah proposed replacing “Effective” with “Empathy” and encouraged employees to submit feedback via an internal wiki page.

3. Implement feedback.

Part of creating a set of company values is ensuring employees buy into those ideas. If collecting feedback is an essential step, the next step is putting that feedback into action.

While not every piece of feedback will be useful, it‘s important to recognize these contributions. As you review updates from your team, you’ll want to compare these insights and start to look for patterns.

Once you have some clear ideas of what you want to add or update, outline your next steps to put these changes into place.

Then, share the plan with your team and thank them for their insights.

How HubSpot completed this step: In HubSpot’s case, the team decided to update our culture code and the HEART acronym changed to Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent.

Slide from The HubSpot Culture Code, defining the HEART acronym.

This process took several years of refining. After this change and many rounds of feedback, the culture code was shared globally.

4. Make your core values unique to your brand.

Many industries have catchy phrases or jargon that are central to the business.

But those phrases probably aren‘t the best way to communicate the unique values of your brand.

Your company values aren’t just a blueprint for what your business does and what your employees believe in. It’s about what separates your team from everything else out there.

One of Nickelodeon-parent-company Paramount’s core values is “Optimism & Determination — We share a positive belief that we can navigate and thrive in the landscape ahead.”

This is foundational to our industry, which constantly embraces changes from the fall of cable to the rise of streaming and is core to how we approach these changes with excitement and resilience.

We learn from each other and develop tactics and strategies every day. These habits come from a foundation of shared values. So, your goal during this step is to bring those distinct values to light.

This may mean collecting quotes that inspire your team. It could arise from offsite meetings or impromptu conversations. No matter your creative process, you’ll need to think about what you want your values to do to make them unique.

Ask yourself:

  • How can my team act on these ideas?
  • What will make these ideas easy to remember?
  • Do these ideas inspire me to do my best?
  • Are these ideas inclusive and relevant for everyone on the team?
  • Are they specific enough to guide us when making tough decisions?

As you refine your core values, make sure that they embody the spirit of your business and team.

How HubSpot completed this step: Core values often relate to the problems your business wants to solve and how that relates to your personal values.

For example, in a talk at Stanford University, Dharmesh Shah shared the quote, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

He told a story of how he interpreted this Louis Brandeis quote and then explained how it came into conversations that he and co-founder Brian Halligan were having about transparency.

You can hear the full story in the video below:

Company values often use short sentences and declarative phrases. Because of this, it can also be useful to explain how your team interprets a simple phrase within your values. For example, the culture code explains what transparency is and what it isn’t at HubSpot.

Slide from The HubSpot Culture Code, explaining the difference between transparency and democracy.

5. Continue to evolve when necessary.

Change is the only constant. Your business will change over time. Societal norms, values, and trends will change too. To keep your company culture in line with the times, you’ll want to revisit your values regularly.

First, spend some time with your core values. These will often stay the same. That said, the way your business applies or interprets these values may have shifted.

In my earlier Paramount example, navigating and thriving in the landscape ahead could have meant something entirely different 30 years ago.

It could have meant coming up with fresh and exciting content to attract new audiences, whereas today, it may look more like embracing new platforms to broaden the reach of our content.

Next, add or remove values in line with changes to your culture. Make thoughtful updates and bring in a group of engaged employees to offer early feedback. Once the group feels satisfied with your updates, share them with the full team for another round of feedback.

Staying open throughout the process is important for keeping your team engaged. Your company values should consistently reflect the core of your business. This means that how you write and edit them will impact every person connected to the company.

As you make changes, start with leadership and ask them to model these updated values. Find ways to encourage employees to embrace updated values and engage them to ensure your company’s culture stays top of mind, fresh, and current.

How HubSpot completed this step: As HubSpot continues to grow, there are new ideas to consider. For example, the culture code covers concerns about time off, remote work, and more with a simple phrase – use good judgment. Leaders at HubSpot talk constantly about the culture, and HEART comes up in both tactical and strategic conversations.

In many ways, the team built HubSpot‘s culture code in the same way they create HubSpot’s products — thoughtful updates, regular feedback, and continuous investment.

This slide from the culture code deck emphasizes the importance of updates to company values:

Slide from The HubSpot Culture Code, highlighting the importance of hiring based on culture, as well as skills and experience.

As of now, HubSpot’s culture code has seen more than 33 revisions. Updates undergo a beta testing process that collects quantitative and qualitative data. And HubSpot employees work with HEART & SOUL.

Slide from The HubSpot Culture Code, defining the HEART and SOUL acronyms.

How to Implement Core Values

Creating the core values is one thing — implementing them into your everyday business is another. I’ve included some tips on how you can ensure your values resonate and become pillars to live by.

1. Encourage discussion as a step toward acceptance.

In 2023, Nickelodeon introduced a rebrand. It was successful for many reasons, but I believe one of the main reasons was that it was a topic of discussion amongst employees, which helped exponentially grow our excitement for it.

The more discourse employees can have — in meetings and 1:1 — the more they will remember, recognize, and accept the core values as something new but important to learn and adapt to.

2. Hire and onboard based on the values.

You may have gotten your current employees on board, but the key is ensuring future generations also want to abide by these values.

Embolden recruiters and hiring managers to incorporate these values into interviews to discover candidates who resonate with these basic company beliefs.

For example, if one of your values is “We take responsibility for our actions and mistakes,” you can ask candidates how they have owned up to errors in the past to gauge their willingness to continue observing this tenet.

2. Continuously mention and act on the values from a leadership perspective

As a senior coordinator at my job, I feel incredibly distant from some of our executive leadership. Wanting to impress leaders can be a daunting task, especially if you feel unable to relate to their day-to-day, and vice versa.

By relentlessly explaining and exemplifying company values, leaders can show that the values are for everyone — no matter your title.

This can help bridge hierarchical gaps and make employees more excited to follow the same guidelines maintained by their executives.

3. Urge employees to consider these values when reflecting on their performance.

It can be difficult to try to sum up six or twelve months of performance in a review with your manager. I try to align my projects and accomplishments around key business goals to prove how what I do every day has a company-wide impact.

Similarly, you can encourage employees at your company to consider the company values when preparing their performance reviews.

This works in duality — it provides a structure for employees when writing their reviews and helps them conceptualize how they already support company values.

4. Incorporate new activities and programs that reflect your values.

Some company values go beyond deskwork and meetings.

For instance, Whole Foods’ core value, “We Care About our Community and the Environment,” can be proven through high-level strategic decisions, as well as employee community service.

Think outside the box to find ways for employees to get involved in your core values, in and out of the office.

If one of your core values centers around ambition and resilience, host a biannual meeting where any employee can sign up to present an idea, no matter how outlandish. If one of your core values is sustainability, organize a local beach or park clean-up for employees.

The key is to show employees, in more ways than one, that these values aren’t just words on paper that sound nice. They are principles to live by and actions to take in everything your company does.

The Value in Company Values

As I grow older and have deeper thoughts about the world I live in, I care more about aligning myself with businesses that are working towards a positive impact.

One of the easiest ways to tell if a company cares about its employees, customers, and the larger world is through its values.

It’s not easy to articulate what your company cares about and is striving towards, but being able to do so can make a huge difference in the people you partner with.

Being able to explain in words what your business values can empower others to advocate for you. And, most importantly, it can return some much-needed purpose and vision to the company you care about.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Categories B2B

9 Simple Ways to Write a Good Introduction Sentence

When I started my journey as a freelance writer, I struggled with writing introductions. I’d often find myself diving into the main body of the article and even wrapping up the conclusion before circling back to the beginning.

→ Download Now: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

The pressure to craft an attention-grabbing opening was overwhelming, and I’d spend days trying to figure out the right angle. The reason is that intros have to be compelling enough to make readers continue.

They have to make a good first impression.

Compelling readers to read the article is an art form in itself. And if you don‘t do it well, you’re missing out on potential subscribers, leads, and customers.

In this post, I’ll share some simple techniques that helped me write powerful introductions that turn casual browsers into readers. Article introductions matter, and here’s how you can make yours count.

Table of Contents

How to Start an Introduction

Writing a compelling introduction is crucial for grabbing your reader’s attention and setting the tone for your entire article.

While there are many approaches you can take to your introduction, here are three common but effective ways to start an intro that captivate your audience from the very first sentence:

1. Using Quotes

Starting with a quote can immediately engage your readers by introducing a voice or perspective that resonates with the theme of your article.

Whether it’s a famous quote, a line from a relevant book or movie, or a statement from an industry expert, a well-chosen quote can lend authority and context to your topic. It can also spark curiosity, encouraging readers to think about how the quote connects to the content that follows.

In the article, The Hidden Costs of Hobbies and Side Projects, the author, Sam, starts with an anonymous quote: “You have to sacrifice in life, or your life will become the sacrifice.”

good intro sentence example - using quotes: “you have to sacrifice in life, or you life will become the sacrifice.”

While the article’s title is somewhat worrying, the quote does intensify the ominous feeling readers will likely develop as they examine their own lives to see what their hobbies and side projects might be costing them and how detrimental these costs are to their overall well-being.

Another example of how quotes multiply the impact an article intro has on readers is this one in an article about the three deep books that rewired his mind.

good intro sentence example - using quotes by famous people: “we question all our beliefs, except the ones we really believe in” - orson scott

While the quote is not the first sentence in the intro, it does appear quite early: “We question all our beliefs except the ones we really believe in” by Orson Scott.

This quote carries emotional weight, provoking thought and stirring curiosity in readers. It makes them want to find out the titles of these books, how exactly they rewired the author’s worldview, and if the books can help them question their own deeply held beliefs.

2. Setting a Scene

Setting a scene at the beginning of your article can draw readers into a specific moment, place, or situation. This method is particularly effective for creating a vivid mental image that makes the topic more relatable and engaging.

By painting a picture with your words, you invite your readers to step into the scenario and experience it alongside you, which can make your content more impactful and memorable.

Here’s an article titled Your OKRs Aren’t OKRs. While business-related articles can be boring and monotonous, the author of this one infuses life and color into the piece by starting with a scenario.

good intro sentence example - setting a scene: “Picture this: A new quarter is upon you, and your team is grudgingly setting OKRs. Eyes roll, sighs echo, and you hear someone mutter (or yell) ‘why do we even bother?’”

This scenario activates readers’ imagination, allowing them to “see” the context of the piece before consuming the main content.

It’s also written in a way that readers will likely be able to relate, especially as the author discusses their own former dislike for Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), showing that it’s something of a universal experience for managers.

When you set a scene, you’re not just describing a situation — you’re creating an atmosphere that evokes emotion.

Whether it’s tension, excitement, nostalgia, or calm, the scene you set can influence how readers feel as they begin reading. This emotional connection makes them more invested and more likely to continue reading.

Pro tip: Whenever I have a relevant personal or work experience to share (that relates to my article topic), I like to use my experience as the intro (as I did in this article). But instead of swapping one for the other, you can combine a fictional scenario with an anecdote to create a stronger impact.

3. Using Statistics or Fun Facts

Starting your introduction with a statistic or fun fact is a powerful way to grab attention by surprising your readers or providing them with a piece of information they might not have known.

This approach can quickly establish relevance and credibility, especially when the statistic or fact directly relates to the problem or topic your article addresses. It also encourages readers to think critically about the subject, making them more invested in learning more.

In this article about the benefits of eye contact, the author referenced a study by Intelligent.com that shows that over 50% of employers interpret a struggle to make eye contact as nervousness or a lack of confidence.

good intro sentence example - using statistics: “According to a recent survey from Intelligent.com, more than half of employers… interpret [struggle to make eye contact] as a lack of confidence or nervousness.”

This statistic achieves two things in this article. First, it educates readers who were not aware of this fact. Those who struggle to make eye contact, especially in interviews, will want to read the article till the end to figure out how to fix this issue and increase their chances of finding a job.

Second, it lends credibility to the piece and, by extension, the author. Instead of the author simply saying that not making eye contact can lead others to think one is nervous or lacks confidence, they find and reference an actual study to prove their point and emphasize the importance of eye contact in conversation.

Readers will more readily believe the study and other articles by the same author as they’ve seen that the author doesn’t pull claims out of thin air.

Fun facts might not be based on surveys, but using them in your intros is a, dare I say, fun way to quicken readers’ interest in your piece. The caveat is they have to be relevant to the topic you’re discussing.

Take, for example, this fun fact in the intro of an article titled, How Writing Makes The Invisible Visible (And Using This to Connect to Things Far Bigger).

good intro sentence example - sharing fun facts: “imagine being able to taste with your arms or feet. Sounds like science fiction, but for an octopus, it’s reality.”

The author uses the fact that octopuses can taste things (and thus, sample their environment) with their tentacles to draw a parallel to how writing can help folks “turn our complex worlds into structured language.”

Sure, this fun fact is great to learn, but it also provokes curiosity and helps readers think critically about the topic.

1. Keep it short.

I’m a big fan of short sentences. I love them because people can understand them easily. There’s great value in short sentences that are readable, digestible, and punchy.

how to start an introduction, example of short sentences

Writers often get so caught up in the pressure of a good intro that they deliver long, run-on sentences. The problem with these sentences is that they make readers work hard, which isn’t a great incentive to keep reading.

While the length of an introduction can vary, it’s best to aim for brevity with up to three short paragraphs. Using AI tools like our Paragraph Rewriter tool can help make your paragraphs more impactful and concise.

Readers are impatient to get to the meat of the article, so don’t bury the lede deep in your article — cut to the chase.

A good example of a short intro is this one by Pablo Srugo for his article titled “I Was Supposed To Be a Millionaire at 25 … Instead, I Went Bankrupt.” The intro is just three sentences long and adequately complements the attention-grabbing headline, prompting readers to continue.

good intro sentence example - use short sentences: “Startups are supposed to be about an innate drive to change the world. But not for me. I’m 22 and I have one goal: become insanely rich.”

Another one is this listicle explaining the top 15 software development trends. The intro quickly explains why software developers must be aware of these trends and segues right into said trends.

good intro sentence example - use short sentences: “As we step into 2024, the landscape of software development continues to evolve exponentially, driven by technological innovations and changing market needs.”

2. Say something unexpected.

You‘ve probably heard advice like “Create a hook” and “Grab the reader’s attention.” But what kind of stuff actually grabs someone’s attention?

The trick is to say something unexpected — something that catches the reader off guard.

This could be a personal story that’s relatable yet surprising, a question that challenges assumptions, compelling data that shifts perspectives, or a scene-setting sentence that transports the reader into a different context.

Think about it — your reader has already clicked on the headline. So, they’re interested in your topic. But now, you have to reel them in a little further.

If your very first sentence is interesting enough to make people want to read the next one, then you’ve done a good job.

For example, this intro for an article titled “Absurdism: The Philosophy That Changed My Mindset starts off with a thought that many people struggle with: Nothing good is going on in my life.

good intro sentence example - express shocking thoughts or opinions: “Nothing good is going on in my life.”

While this is a shocking way to start an article, it does communicate to readers that the author has been in their shoes and understands what they’re going through. And so, people who had never heard of absurdism before would be interested in continuing the article to see if there’s anything in it for them.

Here’s another example of a great intro, except this one sets the scene with a fictitious character named George, a recruiter whose job is to sort through thousands of resumes for new job openings.

good intro sentence example - describe a scenario: “Meet George, a friendly, dedicated recruiter at a bustling tech company in sunny California.”

This scene helps readers picture an environment in which they’re key players. In this case, the character they’re relating to isn’t George but the candidates whose resumes get stuck in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and who wait for a response that will never come.

George’s character provides the necessary context for candidates to understand what goes on at the other end of their application once they’ve sent it.

3. Don’t repeat the title.

You only have a few seconds to make a strong impression in your introduction, so use that time wisely.

While repeating the title of your article in the opening sentence might seem like a natural way to start, it’s actually a wasted opportunity. Your reader has already seen the title and clicked on it because it intrigued them. Now, they’re looking for something more.

Instead of reiterating the headline, use your introduction to reinforce the promise made by the title and set the stage for the rest of the article.

This is your chance to expand on the topic, provide context, and highlight the value your content will bring.

4. Use the word “you” at least once.

how to start an introduction example - use the word “you”: “Why would you need a script for making a phone call?”

The word “you” is a powerful word.

It tells the reader that you, the author, are writing the article with them in mind. You empathize with them, you care about them, and you want your piece to resonate with them.

It’s a simple trick that establishes a crucial connection with your reader. It can transform a piece of writing from a distant, impersonal narrative into a conversation that resonates with the reader on a deeper level.

I’m using this technique in this article itself.

After discussing my experience struggling to write introductions, I explained to you, my readers, why knowing how to write compelling introductions is important and how these techniques will help you write better intros.

5. Tell readers what’s coming next.

As you craft your introduction, guide your readers by letting them know what they can expect from the rest of your article. What will you be covering? What will the reader learn? How will this help them?

how to start an introduction example - tell readers what’s coming next: “In this post, I share how Steve Jobs managed to sway the world using simple yet powerful persuasion strategies that you can apply in your own life.”

By answering these questions in your intro, you set clear expectations and help your audience navigate your content. They might just jump to the section they’re most interested in or read the whole thing. Here are a few examples:

  • “You’re about to find out why sea turtles always lay their eggs on the beach.”
  • “And, if you’ve ever wondered why sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach, here’s everything you need to know.”
  • “This article explains the 17 reasons why these amazing creatures lay their eggs on beaches.”
  • “Fascinating, funny, and shocking, these are the reasons why sea creatures lay their eggs on the beach.”

But you don’t always have to be so explicit. Sometimes, a well-placed question is enough to help readers infer that you’re about to give them some good information or tips in the article.

Here’s an example of this from a business article about handling a low performer:

good intro sentence example - ask a question to segue into main content: “So what should you do when faced with an underperforming team member?”

After explaining how managers often inherit team members they didn’t hire, and some don’t meet the company’s expectations, the author asks, “So what should you do when faced with an underperforming team member?”

The presence of this question implies that the author will answer it in the main body of the article, so readers know to look forward to it.

6. Explain why the article is important.

It may be obvious to you why your article is important to your readers, but it’s up to you to emphasize its value and put it in context.

For instance, say you’re writing an article about TikTok written for a marketing audience. You could lead with a surprising TikTok stat about its user base. Here’s an example:

“In the past two years, TikTok’s user base has grown by 15% while other platforms are seeing stagnant or declining engagement. This suggests that marketers may want to pay more attention to this short-form video platform.”

In two sentences, you’ve presented an interesting tidbit and explained why it matters.

Take the introduction to this article. You’ll recall the following sentence: “And if you don‘t do it well, you’re missing out on potential subscribers, leads, and customers.

My goal here was to connect the topic of blog post introductions to a business’s bottom line.

This article by Rakia Ben Sassi about starting a YouTube channel does something similar:

good intro sentence example - explain why the article is important: “Whether you’re considering starting your own channel or you already have one but want to take it to the next level, I’ve got you covered.”

She sets the stage by describing the fear, excitement, and uncertainty people feel when starting a YouTube channel. Then, she talks about her credentials and why readers should trust her opinion (she launched her own channel three years ago).

Then, she explains why the article is important: It’s to help readers who are starting a new channel or trying to scale an existing one.

7. Refer to a concern or problem your readers might have.

Everyone in every field has their own set of problems. You should have some listed already from when you created your buyer personas.

Addressing a specific concern or problem your readers face is a powerful way to engage them right from the start.

By acknowledging their challenges, you show empathy and immediately establish the relevance of your content. People want to solve their problems, and articles that explain how to do this will help you earn readership.

how to start an introduction example - refer to a problem or concern your readers have: “The challenges of entrepreneurship can exist well beyond any entrepreneur’s control — but those troubling  roadblocks aren’t insurmountable.”

For example, if you’re writing an article explaining how digital marketers can keep up with the ever-evolving digital landscape, you could say: “Feeling overwhelmed by the constant changes in digital marketing? You’re not alone. In this article, we’ll explore strategies to help you stay ahead without burning out.”

This empathetic approach helps you build trust and credibility, as it demonstrates your understanding of your readers’ needs. When you tap into the reader’s problem-solving mindset, they’re motivated to continue reading in search of solutions, making your content more impactful and memorable.

8. Be careful telling stories.

Many people will tell you that you need to write a story in the introduction to captivate your audience. Stories can be a powerful tool to draw readers in, as they naturally spark curiosity and create an emotional connection.

However, there are both good and bad ways to use storytelling in your introductions. The key is to tell a concise, relevant, and compelling story that piques your readers’ interest without overwhelming them with too much detail.

While it’s tempting to delve into a long and intricate story, remember that an introduction aims to grab attention quickly and set the stage for what’s to come. A long-winded story can lose readers along the way, diminishing the impact of your article.

If you choose to begin your article with a story, consider withholding the conclusion of that story until later in the article or even until the very end. By delaying the resolution, you create a narrative thread that weaves through your article, maintaining your readers’ interest as you build up to the story’s conclusion.

For example, say you’re writing an article about overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship.

If you’re an entrepreneur yourself, you might start with a short anecdote about a time you faced a significant setback in your entrepreneurial journey.

Describe the struggle you faced and how it seemed insurmountable at the time, but don’t reveal how you overcame it just yet.

Instead, use the story to illustrate the theme of resilience and promise your readers that you’ll explore how you turned things around later in the article.

9. Use a stat or a fact to convey urgency.

When journalists begin a news story, they often give readers an eye-catching stat or fact about what’s going on.

good intro sentence example - use a stat: “48% of marketers say the potential for an economic downturn or recession has affected their company’s hiring plans in 2022.”

As a blogger or any type of writer, a really interesting stat or fact will draw your reader in and show them why your topic is really important.

For example, say you’re a plumber writing a blog post on pipe replacement. You might pull in more readers if you start a post by explaining how frequently old pipes burst in the winter.

Or, if you’re writing an article showing folks how to spend more time reading instead of scrolling their phone screens, you can start by sharing statistics on how many hours young people spend on their phones daily. Like this:

 good intro sentence example - use shocking statistics: “Gen Z spends 6+ hours on their phones daily and Baby Boomers 3+ hours daily.”

If readers see that this is a common issue that others face, they might keep reading to learn how they can avoid it.

Using Generative AI to Write Content

ChatGPT’s instant and massive popularity in late 2022 heralded serious discourse about using generative AI to write content.

While there are some polarizing opinions on how generative AI should be used, there’s no denying that AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai have become valuable tools for content creators, including myself. These tools help writers brainstorm ideas, overcome writer’s block, and generate content drafts.

In my experience, they speed up my writing process by providing a starting point, crafting compelling introductions, and suggesting alternative phrasings.

However, while generative AI can be incredibly helpful, I don’t think you should solely rely on what it generates. AI tools can produce coherent and well-structured content, but the output often lacks the depth and nuance that come from personal experience, deep research, and subject-matter expertise.

Moreover, AI-generated text may include inaccuracies or “hallucinations” — instances where the AI presents false or misleading information as fact.

In this article, the team at IBM detailed a few examples of AI hallucinations, including the time Meta pulled its Galactica LLM (large language model) demo in 2022 after it provided users with inaccurate information that was sometimes rooted in bias and prejudice.

This is why you should always fact-check anything AI generates for you.

That said, you can use AI as a starting point in your writing process and then refine the content with your own (or third-party) expertise to create an engaging and trustworthy piece. If you struggle with intros, here are the steps to using AI to craft article introductions:

  1. Determine the type of introduction you want to create. Are you starting with a fun fact, a quote, or by setting a scene? Each approach requires a different prompt.
  2. Next, write a prompt that instructs the AI on what kind of intro you need. Be clear about the tone, style, and content you’re aiming for.
  3. Once the AI tool generates the text, read it carefully. Look for any inaccuracies or areas that might need clarification, restructuring, or additional detail. The AI’s output is just a draft; it’s up to you to refine it.
  4. Edit the AI-generated content to incorporate your own knowledge, experiences, and voice. Make sure the introduction aligns with the rest of your article and provides an engaging start.
  5. Verify any data, quotes, or facts included in the AI-generated text and personalize the content where necessary to ensure it resonates with your audience and reflects your unique perspective.

Here are a few examples of AI prompts for different intro types.

1. Stating a Fun Fact

Prompt: Write an engaging introduction for an article about the benefits of morning exercise. Start with a surprising fun fact about how exercise impacts mental health.

Possible output: Did you know that just 20 minutes of exercise in the morning can boost your mood for up to 12 hours? In this article, we’ll explore how a simple morning workout can set a positive tone for your entire day.

2. Using Quotes

Prompt: Create an introduction for an article about leadership in the workplace. Start with a powerful quote about leadership from a well-known figure.

Possible output: “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” This quote by Ronald Reagan perfectly captures the essence of leadership. In this article, we’ll discuss how great leaders inspire their teams to achieve extraordinary results.

3. Setting a Scene

Prompt: Write an introduction for an article about the challenges of remote work. Start by setting a scene that highlights a common struggle for remote workers.

Possible output: It’s 7:00 AM, and you’re already answering emails from the comfort of your kitchen table. The line between work and home blurs as you sip your coffee, trying to find focus in a space that was once reserved for relaxation. This is the new reality of remote work, where the challenges are as complex as they are unique.

Note: If you find it difficult or time-consuming to write a whole blog post from start to finish, check out HubSpot’s free blog post templates that help you save time without compromising on quality.

Making a Great First Impression

While setting a scene and/or sharing a relevant anecdote is my favorite way to start an article intro, I learned — and I hope you did, too — that there are several ways to write an introduction that packs a punch and prompts readers to read till the end, including using quotes and sharing fun facts.

However, while these techniques are excellent for creating interest, over the past couple of years, I realized that what really keeps people reading a piece is the empathy I, the author, infuse into it.

Letting readers know that I know and relate to their struggles and that I have a possible solution for them, be it an alternative way of doing things or a contrarian idea to help them broaden their epistemic horizons, is what keeps them engaged.

So now, whenever I write an introduction, I think about what kind of introduction would make me want to read the article. I then use that to inform the approach I take.

Introductions are hard, and writing effective ones takes time and practice. But remember, it’s all worth it if it means keeping the attention of a few more of your readers.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Categories B2B

Challenges Faced By Native & Indigenous Entrepreneurs [Data + Expert Tips]

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

For many Native entrepreneurs, it’s not active discrimination that proves the biggest issue in getting a business off the ground. In fact, per a recent Breaking the Blueprint HubSpot Blog survey, many Natives don’t feel like their heritage figures one way or the other into their entrepreneurship challenges.

Instead, it is the generational disadvantages that accompany past discrimination, such as a chronic lack of credit and capital access, alongside new issues like discoverability and scalability.Read more Breaking the Blueprint content

It’s unfortunate that these challenges can pose significant hurdles to entrepreneurs and business people looking to find success. But they are survivable.

I reached out to Native and Indigenous Entrepreneurs to hear their direct takes on these challenges and ask their advice for rising above and overcoming them. Here’s what they had to say.

Top Challenges Faced by Native & Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Respondents to the survey I mentioned above were asked to name their three biggest challenges.

Roughly 56 percent of respondents pointed to financial issues such as raising capital or budgeting, while 33 percent cited growing and scaling their businesses as a major issue.

Lastly, getting the word out and building awareness was an issue for 24 percent of respondents.

native-and-indigenous-challenges

1. Financial Challenges

Financial challenges make sense, says Heather Fleming (Navajo), executive director for Tuba City, Arizona-based business incubator Change Labs.

Fleming’s program works closely with Navajo and Hopi entrepreneurs to hone and grow their businesses. She sees these challenges facing participants firsthand — many of them are the symptoms of larger problems, like infrastructure issues and a chronic lack of access to credit in Indian Country.

“The financial challenges like securing capital have been a long-standing issue, just because of the way land is structured. You can’t use it as collateral if it’s reservation land, because it’s held in federal trust,” Fleming said.

“When we talk about scaling — there’s a specific challenge for many people because of the transition to e-commerce. I was just reading our annual reporting, and a lot of members talked about the lack of reliable internet. How do you grow a business if everything’s confined to your home and your internet reliability isn’t great?”

The lack of credit access is often worsened by exclusion from otherwise good-intentioned financial programs at large, nationwide banks. Chad Johnson (Cherokee), founder and president of farm logistics company The Akana Group, pointed to a shortage of such programs at nationwide financial institutions.

Due to a combination of aforementioned land laws and a lack of generational wealth, credit in Indian Country is a different beast – and without specialized financial programs, that means Indigenous entrepreneurs miss out, Johnson said.

“There are these big guys, and they have these programs, but they’re not there for Natives,” Johnson said. “The financial institutions really struggle with getting credit access to Native entrepreneurs.”

Quote 1

There are resources, such as community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which are often tailor-made for the Native communities they serve. But funding for Native CDFIs is limited – and when a business owner hits a certain point, microloans aren’t going to cover scaling costs, Johnson said.

For example, the Akana Group has partnered with farm equipment manufacturer John Deere to get equipment into Native producers’ hands and has started doing business internationally for other projects. That means scaling well beyond the capacity of many Native CDFIs to cover, Johnson said.

“There’s this missing gap between, ‘I’m a start-up,’ and ‘I need a $10 million line of credit,” Johnson said. “Where do Natives go when they need a $10 million loan?”

2. Getting the Word Out and Building Awareness

Then there’s the marketing. Justin Quis Quis (San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians) heads up Sacred Bev, a beverage company in California. Quis Quis says marketing is a complex thing that requires a lot of focus and long term vision to pan out.

He pointed to initial marketing efforts for his company’s product – a set of functional beverages using Indigenous ingredients – as a costly failure.

“I’ve already been through a marketing agency, nationwide, and it did nothing for me,” Quis Quis said. “I spent a bunch of money, and it did nothing.”

To get the word out and build awareness, Quis Quis suggests leveraging marketing, focusing on your product, starting small, and working smart.

He has since gone back to marketing his drink locally, working on finding a distributor and building success from there. He just ordered his fourth run of 20,000 cans of his product.

His advice on marketing, and securing investors, is to develop a long-term vision for the product or service and focus as much as possible on its uniqueness.

“Marketing is a necessary evil,” Quis Quis said. “You just have to be careful which route you go. Be realistic with your ideas, and don’t spend a ton of money to start off. It’s easy to get caught up in something that seems big and translates to you going big. Be judicious.”

Quote 2

Fleming said it could be difficult to stay on top of marketing trends while managing all the other aspects of starting a business. Instead, she recommended finding marketing blogs or podcasts that could do some of that legwork to keep the messaging as on-trend as possible.

Fleming said it’s also a good idea to find other Natives to collaborate with when marketing Native products or services. Change Labs has had a lot of success when pairing its program participants with Native graphic designers, for example, since it’s more likely they will understand another Native’s needs and vision.

Her third big tip was to get comfortable with digital tools. She watched many business owners struggle with moving to e-commerce during the advent of COVID-19 as flea markets and art shows shut down.

Aspiring entrepreneurs should familiarize themselves with programs like Canva, which can help design logos and visual messaging, and AI tools like ChatGPT.

“We hear a lot of people say things like ‘I don’t know what I want to say,’” Fleming said. “You have all these tools now that can help you with that – you can get the basic message out and then get it into ChatGPT and have that help you clean it up. There’s no excuse for bad copy when you have tools like that now.”

Quote 3

3. Growing and Scaling

Say the marketing efforts pay off, and it’s time to grow. That means scaling up production, shipping logistics, or service access – and that means money, said Quis Quis and Fleming.

Fleming referred back to internet connectivity. Large swathes of the Navajo reservation are offline due to scattershot physical infrastructure like signal towers and fiber optic lines.

Running an online side business from a local library or coworking space is one thing, but aiming to make a living usually means scaling that idea up.

That means consistent connectivity, which could mean anything from a hotspot to a Starlink modem, which can run around $500. Small improvements like that can create huge growth for businesses expanding into new markets.

But even with a thriving side business, many Natives, being among the poorest demographics in the United States, won’t have that spare $500 for a unit, stifling their growth.

That can be where places like Change Labs come in, Fleming said. The organization offers participants loans after completing workshops and other activities as part of a yearly cohort.

“I think it’s critical that we do that. Access to just a little bit of money would improve their ability to participate in e-commerce,” Fleming said. “I think when you‘re a business owner, it’s easy to overlook how important it is to have access to loans or financing in order to grow your business.”

Quis Quis said access to credit is crucial to getting anywhere with growth, however. That goes back to marketing: being able to present a product or service to investors or lenders as something that can scale up. Putting together a solid business plan and a clear vision can make that process much smoother.

“Money is competitive,” Quis Quis said. “You need a really good financial plan in order to look attractive to investors and to have that plan set out as tightly as you can.”Quote 4

Cherish the little victories, because those are hard to obtain.

As much of an uphill climb as Native entrepreneurship can be, the results can be incredible. As a business journalist, I’ve followed stories of people who make the climb and begin building wealth for their families and communities.

For example, I first shared a profile for Johnson’s Akana Group well before their first forays into international trade missions and overseas business.

But getting there takes patience and perseverance, says Quis Quis.

“You have to have that long-term vision – there’s no overnight success. That’s not meant to be discouraging, just to say that it takes determination and the ability to see down the road,” Quis Quis said. “There’s a lot of good things out there, but you’re going to go through a meat grinder to find it. If you understand those realities, you can fight through it and succeed.”

There are resources for Indigenous entrepreneurs at nearly any step of their journey: tribal grants for people just getting started, incubators for people hoping to learn where to go next, and financial institutions for taking bigger steps into bigger finances.

While gaps exist and the available resources have a long way to go, seeing what’s available is always a good first step.

Johnson said one of those resources should be mentorship and connectedness with other Native businesses. It’s easy to feel compartmentalized and isolated, but working with other Native businesses can help with figuring out solutions to problems that are sometimes uniquely Indigenous.

“When I talk to other Indigenous business owners, I say, you’re not going through anything that’s unique to you,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to come together and show up for each other. That’s a big part of it.”

Click the link to discover more Breaking the Blueprint Content.

Categories B2B

3 Point-of-Need Advertising Opportunities — and How to Tap Into Them

Are you hoping to bypass overcrowded channels and engage your audience at the perfect moment? If your answer is yes, you may want to learn about Point-of-Need paid advertising opportunities.

Download Now: Free Ad Campaign Planning Kit

Too many advertisers stick to the basics — they pour money into Google keywords, Facebook ads, maybe even a few billboards or podcast spots.

But here’s the problem: these channels are overcrowded, and the competition is fierce. Ultimately, you end up paying top dollar for less impact, and the returns are dwindling.

If you’re ready to set yourself further away from the competition and tap into advertising channels where your audience is actually engaged, it’s time to rethink your approach. As Kieran and I discuss in a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, one high-impact way to do that is Point-of-Need advertising.

In this post, we dig into exactly what Point-of-Need advertising is and how you can use it to cut through the advertising noise and capture your audience’s attention when it matters most.

What is Point-of-Need advertising and why does it matter?

I’ll be honest: Point-of-Need (PoN) advertising is a term I made up. But it’s a potent, actionable strategy that Kieran and I frequently use to maximize our ad spend.

Point-of-Need (PoN) advertising is a tactic that targets your audience at the exact moment they’re most engaged and in need of something — like getting online during a flight, waiting for a taxi ride, or while watching their favorite show.

Especially when traditional ads are becoming increasingly ignored or skipped over, PoN advertising hits when your audience is already laser-focused. So instead of fighting for attention in crowded channels, you’re placing your brand in front of people when they’re most receptive and primed to pay close attention.

This boosts engagement and increases the chances that your message will stick and drive real results.

3 Ways to Incorporate Point-of-Need Advertising Opportunities

Not sure how to get started with PoN advertising? Kieran and I have you covered.

Learn how to reshape your marketing plans with these three, high-impact approaches, along with resources from HubSpot’s Free Advertising Plan Kit.

Let’s dive in!

1. WiFi Sponsorships

One of the most effective PoN advertising opportunities is WiFi sponsorships in transportation, like in airports or on trains. In fact, one of HubSpot’s most successful ad campaigns for both brand awareness and conversion came from testing WiFi ads on airplanes.

We hypothesized that this type of advertising would hit people when and where they’re more attentive — and we were right.

Think about it: when people are on a plane, train, or subway, they’re stuck. They can’t leave, they’re looking for something to do, and most importantly, they want to get online.

If the ‘price’ of WiFi is watching a short ad, they’re going to watch it until they get access to what they wanted in the first place — and that’s what makes this such a powerful PoN moment.

2. Gig Marketplaces

Another untapped PoN opportunity is in-app ads on gig marketplace platforms like Lyft or DoorDash. These are moments when users are waiting for a time-dependent service — a ride, a delivery — and they’re again actively engaged with the app, waiting for a status update.

Take a look at the customer experience when using Uber, for example. When you open the app to call a ride, you’re immediately locked into the experience — checking the driver’s location, ETA, car description, and other details.

Suddenly, an app that was built for transportation transforms into a robust advertising platform. Yet again, this is because users are completely glued to their screens, willingly giving you their undivided attention, until they get the service they originally ordered.

3. Free or Low-Cost Streaming Services

A final, often overlooked, PoN opportunity is Over-the-Top (OTT) advertising on free or low-cost streaming services like Hulu or the ad-supported version of Peacock.

What’s particularly powerful about this strategy is that OTT allows you to reach viewers who are already open to consuming content. They’ve already settled in to watch an entire film or episode — so what’s another 30 seconds?

Plus, with free streaming services, users already expect ads as part of the experience, making them more likely to engage with your message because it’s a transparent part of the deal.

To learn more about accessing untapped advertising opportunities, check out the full episode of Marketing Against the Grain below:

This blog series is in partnership with Marketing Against the Grain, the video podcast. It digs deeper into ideas shared by marketing leaders Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP, Marketing at HubSpot) as they unpack growth strategies and learn from standout founders and peers.

Categories B2B

The Best AI Recruiting Tools in 2024

Recruiters and HR professionals have a lot on their plate. From time-consuming customer screening to scheduling interviews and predicting success, they have much to keep track of — especially when hiring at scale.

Download Now: The Annual State of Artificial Intelligence in 2024 [Free Report]

But in 2024, professionals across industries are starting to take advantage of AI as a handy assistant.

As a writer and entrepreneur, I lean on AI tools every day to help lighten my workload. Recruiters can (and should) be taking advantage of AI recruiting software to help streamline their processes, too.

AI recruiting tools can’t replace a great recruiter or HR person, but they can certainly make recruiting easier.

I’ll be diving into the benefits and limitations of AI tools for recruitment and identifying some variables to assess before you select a tool. Then I’ll take a look at 12 industry-favorite AI recruiting tools.

Table of Contents

Why use AI recruiting tools?

For recruiters and HR professionals, AI recruiting software can relieve a long list of the tasks that make up their to-do list. But AI can’t do everything. Here’s a look at the benefits — and limitations — of AI recruiting software.

Benefits

  • Improved candidate matching. Recruiting tools can read hundreds of applications and find the ones that best meet your job description, sorting by skills and experience. Some experts have found that AI can cut down on the time spent screening candidates by up to 75%.
  • Improving cost per hire (CPH). AI tools minimize the need for excessive job advertising. They also reduce the manpower necessary to hire by automating large parts of the process, driving down CPH.
  • Reaching a wider talent pool. AI recruiting software can source talent from multiple platforms and siphon through more applications than a team member could on their own, allowing HR professionals and recruiters to consider a broader variety of talent.
  • Filling positions faster. AI recruiting tools speed up the hiring process at multiple points. The screening and interview phase moves quicker with AI augmentation, and many AI tools automate various administrative tasks. In fact, AI tools may cut overall hiring time by nearly 90%.
  • Improving candidate experience. AI recruiting tools personalize communication with candidates and provide information about the company and job. But most importantly, since AI tools lead to faster hiring times, candidates don’t need to wait nearly as long to hear whether or not they got the position.

Limitations

  • Lack of personal touch. AI tools are limited in their ability to mirror humans. While they can personalize communications, messages generally won’t feel as human as they would if a person wrote them. Not to mention, these tools can’t use intuition to analyze resumes.
  • Privacy concerns. Recruiting tools may collect, store, and analyze personal data, infringing on job applicants’ privacy rights.
  • Bias. Recruiting software may be trained on biased information, which actually furthers bias, rather than improving it. In fact, Bloomberg reported AI may be worse than humans when it comes to race and gender bias.
  • Waste of time for less frequent users. There’s a learning curve that comes with many of these tools, so if an organization is a one-time user looking to analyze a small set of applications, it may not be as much of a time-saver and so not worth the cost.
  • Accuracy. Because AI technology lacks human judgment, there are times when the tool may not make accurate conclusions about best-fit candidates for a job placement. AI model error, as well as human error in building the model, contribute to questionable accuracy at times.

I spoke to Dan Kevin Roque, a senior recruiter from HRUCKUS, to hear his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of using AI at work.

“Anything that requires human interaction and empathy like interviews, addressing candidate concerns, deciding on who to hire, etc. — are things I will not entrust to AI,” said Roque. “But the majority of the stuff recruiters do, including sourcing and writing job descriptions, can be improved with AI.”

Each recruiter may have different reservations and comfort levels with various AI use cases, so it’s important to research your tool well so it helps — and does not hurt — your preferred hiring process.

How to Choose the Right AI Recruiting Software

Augmented vs. Automated

Before you can decide the exact right software for you, you need to consider the two broad types of AI technology: augmented or automated.

Augmented AI technologies assist humans in completing their tasks. If you’re using AI recruiting software, augmented technology would assist you in recruitment analysis and increase your productivity — but it wouldn’t replace you.

I find that augmented technology is generally a bit more comfortable to use — especially for folks who aren’t used to relying on AI. I can audit my results rather than sending them off without looking, which helps build trust for the tools.

Automated technologies complete tasks fully without any human intervention. In the case of recruiting technology, an automated tool could send emails, source profiles, and screen resumes without any human interaction.

Automated tools are faster than augmented tools, but result in lower rates of accuracy — but depending on the task, that may be okay. If your inbox is piling up with interviews to schedule or resumes to peek at, it might be worth considering finding a fully automated tool to lighten your workload.

Roque shared his preference between augmented and automated technology, stating that he likes “a combination of both.”

“I don’t believe AI would truly be able to completely replace human input any time soon,” Roque continued, “but AI automation helps with minor tasks that can take a chunk of a recruiter’s time, and AI augmentation helps support human decision-making and actions.”

Other Considerations

Some other variables I consider when I’m assessing an AI tool are:

  • Integration. Does the tool integrate well with your existing hiring process, or will it require a process overhaul?
  • Accuracy. How well does the tool identify and evaluate candidates — and how well do you need it to?

(If you’re using it as an augmentation, you won’t need as high a level of accuracy as you would if it’s fully automated.)

  • User interface. How easy is the tool to use and what’s the technological proficiency of the recruiting team using it?
  • Customization. Can the solution be tailored to fit your organization’s exact needs?
  • Support. Does the tool offer good customer support and resources for set-up, implementation, and troubleshooting?

The answers to these questions vary considerably based on the type of problem you’re tackling and the organization you’re working within. I generally prioritize user interface and accuracy when I’m assessing a tool.

Best AI Recruiting Tools

Now that you know the benefits and limitations of AI tools, as well as the type of tool you’re looking for, it’s time to find the right tool for your organization.

There are a lot of great recruiting tools on the market, so here’s a high-level list identifying the basics of the tool, what stood out to me about the software, and the pricing information.

1. iCIMS

ai recruiting tool, iCIMS screen with candidate list, interview scheduling, and offers graph.

iCIMS offers a broad range of capabilities and applications, from a career suite to job postings management to a CRM.

The software is extremely comprehensive, providing end-to-end assistance for recruiters and hiring teams.

There’s an analytics dashboard, applicant tracking, email and messaging capabilities, and a video suite that allows you to personalize and humanize your hiring process.

What I like: iCIMS is a long-standing vendor with a rich history of providing great tools to users. It’s easy to use and straight-forward, so it checks the box for teams who are a bit less tech savvy. I like its broad capabilities — it’s great for companies looking for a comprehensive tool.

Pricing: Custom

2. SeekOut

Screenshot of ai recruiting tool SeekOut’s Insight dashboard reading, “Am I meeting my diversity goals” with a percentage featured.

The SeekOut tool starts when you upload a job description. As talent applies, you can filter and sort results by things like skills, licenses, education, and diversity variables.

Once you’ve found the right candidates, you can take advantage of AI-powered engagement tools to create personalized outreach. The platform is also rich in analytics, with dashboards dedicated to helping you track your hiring goals.

What I like: SeekOut has exceptional filtering, so the tool relieves a lot of the work required to find the right candidates. I also like how the software emphasizes diversity in hiring, which shows up in multiple ways throughout their platform.

Pricing: Multi-tiered annual packages — discover price tag after demoing the software.

3. Paradox.ai

ai recruiting tool, paradox.ai’s messaging app

Paradox.ai offers a few different conversational tools, but their recruiting CRM lightens the administrative load for recruiters.

The AI tool can schedule interviews and respond to questions from candidates automatically. With an 82% decrease in time-to-hire and a 99% candidate satisfaction rating, Paradox.ai is clearly doing something right.

What I like: Everything about Paradox.ai is simple and candidate-centric. As much as I want a tool that’s easy for me to use, I also want to make sure it offers a great user experience to the end client or candidate. The Paradox.ai tool is really exceptional when it comes to creating a great candidate experience.

Pricing: Custom

4. Fetcher

ai recruiting tool, Fetcher hiring sequence screen

Fetcher combines AI tools with recruiting experts to source great candidates for your organization. Use Fetcher to manage and create a pipeline with AI automation, then gather insights about candidate activity and demographics.

You can also integrate tools like your ATS, email, calendar, CRM, and Slack to further improve your team’s productivity.

What I like: I love how Fetcher uses in-house experts to screen your candidates in conjunction with the AI tool. That means you get all the benefits of AI automation with added accuracy from human supervision.

The other thing I like about this tool is that you can add specific diversity initiatives to the search, battling the biases that AI tools sometimes have.

Pricing: Custom

5. Textio

ai recruiting tool Textio, form that reads “Let’s draft a job post.” Includes dropdowns for job title, role type, location, and company, as well as a text box for “Anything else that you want to include?”

Textio helps you improve the quality of your job listings by giving you insights into tone and word choice.

For recruiters, this means it can also help you choose language that appeals to specific age groups and demographics. It also learns as you use it, so the more frequently you rely on it, the better the output becomes.

What I like: Most AI recruiting tools are about screening automation, but Textio helps you optimize the actual content of your job descriptions. It’s a unique tool that could fit well with other AI software.

Pricing: Tiered packages starting at $15k annually for teams of 1-199.

6. HireVue

ai recruiting tool, an Overview dashboard featuring various KPI charts showing satisfaction and achievement in categories from HiveVue.

HireVue is a tool for interviewing and assessing candidates.

It has a video interview feature, as well as a rich library of AI assessments that allow recruiters to evaluate candidates comprehensively — looking for potential in addition to experience.

It also automates recruitment communication, significantly speeding up the hiring process. Finally, the tool offers analytics, reports, and great customer support.

What I like: HireVue does an exceptional job of reducing bias because of the type of algorithm they use. The tool doesn’t “learn” through increased use, which means that every candidate is assessed equally as time passes. As I start leaning more and more on AI tools, it’s important to me that they’re ethical, and HireVue does a great job of ensuring that.

Pricing: Packages start at $35K.

7. Manatal

best ai recruiting tools, Manatal’s candidate list screen

Manatal has a simple interface for sharing job posts and gathering a pipeline of qualified candidates.

The AI tool recommends candidates based on job requirements and helps you gather comprehensive information on the candidates from social media accounts.

What I like: Manatal pulls information from social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to paint a full picture of the candidates applying to your job description. This makes for a really thorough understanding of candidates that recruiters would otherwise have had to create themselves.

Pricing: Plans start at $15 per user/month. For enterprise companies, the price reaches $55 per user/month — which is affordable compared to other options. There is also custom pricing.

8. Humanly

ai recruiting software, Humanly helping compose an email

Humanly is an automation platform for recruiters that value human interaction. It automates tasks that don’t need a human touch so recruiters can give more attention where it really counts.

The tool screens candidates and answers questions and then provides feedback for hiring teams. It’s great for companies that are hiring at scale who still want their candidates to have a personalized, positive experience.

What I like: Humanly is aptly named — it’s completely focused on a human-centric application of AI technology. The homepage of the site states that the tool is, “Loved by candidates and recruiting teams.”

I like AI tools that emphasize both the user and the customer and, for both parties to love the tool, they’re really doing something right.

Pricing: Custom

9. Arya

ai recruiting software, Arya, graphs displaying talent intelligence, education, industries, and skills.

Arya is an AI-driven candidate sourcing tool that finds great candidates quickly and automatically. The tool screens, scores, and ranks candidates based on hundreds of attributes and seven multidimensional data points to predict the candidate’s likelihood of success in the role.

What I like: Arya’s focus is data and analytics. As a result, you get extremely strategic outcomes from the tool. If you’re recruiting at scale, this sort of specificity and accuracy is incredibly important. I think Arya is a great choice for teams hiring lots of candidates on a frequent basis.

Pricing: Custom

10. Skillate

ai recruiting software, screenshot of the Skillate’s Customer Success Manager widget, displaying various candidates in the talent pool and their percentage of fitness for the role.

Skillate provides candidate prescreening, automatic scheduling, job description feedback, and predictive analytics to gauge a candidate’s likelihood of taking the offer. It’s a really comprehensive tool for recruiters looking to take a data-driven approach to the entire hiring process.

What I like: Skillate provides in-depth analysis of your company’s hiring trends. You can see insights based on location, experience, education, past companies, and skills. Finding trends like these can significantly speed up the hiring process so it’s great for companies hiring often or at scale.

Pricing: Custom

11. TurboHire

ai recruiting software, screenshot of TurboHire’s Candidate Calibration screen. The user is on the “Skills” form, which asks the user to define the capabilities and skills of their ideal candidate.

TurboHire is an end-to-end tool that optimizes the entire recruitment process from candidate sourcing to final selection.

The AI recruitment software sources talent from across channels, screens candidates, and provides workflow management. Interviews are automatically scheduled and the tool integrates with any ATS.

What I like: TurboHire claims to reduce time to hire by 78% and cost to hire by 65% while improving the quality of the hire by 5x. It’s hard not to appreciate a tool that can offer such staggering results!

Pricing: Custom

12. Workable

ai recruiting software, Workable’s automation capabilities

Workable helps you source, interview, and communicate with candidates throughout the hiring process.

You can use the AI tools in the recruiting software to generate job descriptions and interview questions, as well as automate time-consuming tasks like interview scheduling.

Plus, Workable helps you manage signed-on employees at no extra cost.

What I like: With one-click, your job posting can land on 200+ sites. If you’re looking for a highly specialized candidate, or if you want your applications to come in from a diverse number of pools, Workable is a great option.

Pricing: Workable offers a 15-day free trial plan followed by a tiered pricing plan that starts at $189/month.

Finding the Right Tool

There’s clearly no shortage of AI recruiting software on the market — which means teams can be confident there’s a tool out there that’s a perfect fit for their organization.

I think recruiters and HR hiring teams should start by determining what they’d like streamlined before they dive into finding the exact right tool.

Some of these tools target communication, others target job description prep, and others are more focused on administrative automation. If you can clearly define what you’d like done, you’re going to have an easier time finding the right tool.

Categories B2B

Marketing Budget Approval: How to Get Yours Greenlit, According to Marketing Experts & Data

Securing approval for a marketing budget is often tough, especially in times of economic uncertainty.

Click here to download 8 free marketing budget templates.

I haven’t been there myself, but my learnings from C-level marketers show the many complexities around marketing budgets.

Budget slicing is a common occurrence. Entire initiatives are sometimes shelved.

But there are also those glorious moments when your strategic budget proposal gets the green light.

In this post I’ll share what I learned about marketing budget approval from experts in the field, industry data, and more.

In this article:

Expert Marketers Featured in this Post

To help you navigate the budget approval process, I talked to three marketers who’ve been in the trenches for 7+ years:

Their stories not only shed light on what it takes to secure a budget, but also offer practical tips you can use right away.

headshots and titles of experts later quoted on marketing budget approval

When I spoke to Sabina Brdnik, I learned the Tretton37 team follows a 4-step budget approval process, which you can adopt.

  1.  Forecasting
  2.  Budget proposal writing
  3.  Review and revision
  4.  Execution and reporting

Forecasting

Consider this the research, planning, and brainstorming phase. It includes evaluating past performance, analyzing market trends, establishing marketing goals, building your marketing strategy, and estimating associated costs.

Brdnik believes forecasting is the most important step of the budget approval process, and for good reason. If your forecasts aren’t thorough, you’ll struggle to build a compelling case for your budget.

Budget Proposal Writing

Outline the outcome of your forecast in a concise budget proposal. An excellent proposal includes your marketing goals, initiatives, channels, proposed expenses, and, when possible, expected ROI.

For Brdnik’s team, they first “present a detailed plan showing how much money will be invested in individual parts of [the] marketing plan (social media, SEO, influencers, etc).”

Pro tip: Focus your proposal on key points to ensure executives clearly understand the situation. Be concise, as they are likely reviewing proposals from multiple departments.

Review and Revision

Present your budget proposal to the company’s senior management for review and sign-off. Sometimes, they may instantly approve the budget and allocate the required funds. Other times, you may need to provide additional information or make adjustments.

Execution and Reporting

Brdnik says, “During the year, we implement the approved plan and track the actual spent budget versus the forecasted budget.”

Brdnik recommends setting aside 10% of your annual budget as a contingency fund for unexpected circumstances or opportunities, such as a viral trend that could help enhance brand visibility or testing out the new shiny AI tool that will help the team create better and faster articles.

As Johnny Hughes said, “New tools emerge each month, along with new opportunities and risks. We have to be extremely agile and conduct weekly efficacy reports to inform spending.”

Evaluating your budget’s effectiveness and documenting lessons learned helps future budget cycles. “HubSpot — and its endless integrations and dashboards — is our MVP tool that supports this effort,” Hughes adds.

Pro tip: To track your budget, consider using free marketing budget templates. They help you track marketing spend across various channels like content, paid advertising, PR.

Benefits of a Budget Approval Workflow

Below are three primary benefits of a budget approval workflow.

1. Faster Approval Times

Without a budget approval workflow, securing your budget can feel like driving through thick fog. The journey is slow and uncertain. A standardized workflow clears the fog, clarifies the next steps, and lets you move faster.

You can further increase speed by automating your workflow. Business process management software like Jira and Monday.com can help you eliminate hours of manual budgeting activities. For instance, instead of exchanging emails endlessly, an automated workflow can notify assignees to act.

2. Compels You to Set Robust Marketing Goals

Data from CoSchedule’s 2022 Trend Report reveals marketers who set goals are 377% more successful than their peers.

Yet, 30% of marketers do not set specific goals. I have seen firsthand how this results in wasteful spending — and worse, makes it difficult to measure success.

But with a marketing strategy required in your budget approval process, setting clear marketing goals becomes a must, leading to better resource management.

3. Democratizes Decision-Making

Top leaders need to delegate decision-making so they can focus on other high-level activities. A budget approval process lets them establish boundaries and set clear guidelines for decision-making. Once the budget is approved, managers can exercise autonomy within established limits.

Marketing Budget Approval

Why Marketing Budgets Are So Hard to Get Approved

When I spoke to Pamela Bump, she told me, “It’s often hard to tie marketing efforts and KPIs (like traffic or reach) to direct ROI (like sales or renewals).” That’s why leadership is sometimes reluctant to allocate funds to marketing.

Marketing attribution helps address this challenge by allowing marketers to analyze the buyer’s journey, identify effective touchpoints, and measure the impact of each effort.

However, recent events suggest attribution is dying and becoming increasingly difficult. Apple‘s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework and new privacy laws in New York, California, Canada, and the EU have significantly limited marketers’ ability to track buyers.

Additionally, about one-third of internet users use ad blockers which block tracking scripts.

These developments complicate efforts to measure marketing effectiveness and convince higher-ups that marketing investments will pay off.

How to Get Your Marketing Budget Approved

I asked our marketing experts to share tips to help others secure their marketing budget. Here’s what they said.

Align Marketing Goals with Company Goals

“The key to any successful budget request is knowing what KPIs your upper leaders need to drive,” says Bump. “Spoiler: They’ll likely tie it to company revenue,” Bump adds.

Your budget proposal should show you understand your leadership’s priorities and want to achieve them. Without this, you don’t have a leg to stand on.

Show Path to ROI

Determining marketing ROI can be tricky. Still, it’s important to justify your budget and prove it’s an investment, not a black hole sucking up the company’s profit.

As Bump shared, once you know the KPIs that resonate with your executives, you can show how your investment could drive ROI directly or support those KPIs.

For example, if you pitch for more blog writers, emphasize how the content will generate leads that drive visitors further into the sales pipeline, not just increase traffic or clicks.

Hughes’s team still relies heavily on marketing attribution data to track ROI.

First, Hughes ensures alignment on the key channels driving business growth. He also ensures the attribution data is clean for accurate ROI reporting. They then track returns on a week-over-week basis.

This approach helps Hughes avoid pushback from stakeholders.

Use Data to Justify Your Budget

“Ground your request and any estimates you make in data-backed evidence,” says Bump.

Without data, all you have is an opinion. And an opinion alone might be unconvincing.

Hughes considers data a “fortress of numbers to defend against budget cuts and welcome new investments” and says, “We rely heavily on ROI metrics from previous campaigns, market trend analysis, and competitive benchmarking.”

Similarly, Brdnik says that competitive benchmarking is vital when pitching new ideas without past firsthand data.

“I had an interesting experience getting approval for a new TikTok campaign. We are not active on the platform. So, to strengthen our pitch, we used competitor analysis showing similar brands saw up to a 30% increase in engagement,” Brdnik explains.

Request a Small Budget for New Ideas.

Justifying the budget for similar/past campaigns is pretty straightforward. For instance, if a Cost Per Purchase (CPP) campaign generated $100K in revenue for a $20K spend, it easily justifies a similar budget for future initiatives.

However, as Brdnik shared, “The problem arises when we have to justify more innovative/new ideas and strategies based on no previous data.”

In such situations, be more rigorous and creative in vetting opportunities. Then, run small tests to validate your hypothesis. If successful, securing additional investment becomes easier.

Brdnik said she allocates up to “20% of the annual budget for new/innovative projects.” Data from these tests then guide the next steps.

To improve their chances of success, Brdnik sticks to best practices when testing new ideas, and Hughes recommends implementing a flexible budget model and making real-time adjustments based on performance metrics.

Get Early Support

There’s a lot of lead-up work involved in getting marketing budget buy-in. If you’re in a big company, you likely can’t walk up to a busy CMO and ask for $1 million without other leaders supporting you.

So, before investing time in research or proposal writing, casually discuss your idea with your manager.

As Bump shared, “Your manager is human and has also requested, secured, and faced rejections of budgets before. Plus, your manager is likely the most KPI-obsessed person on your team to guide you in the right direction.

So they’ll know more about how to think and talk to the executives above them.

They’ll also know what motivates those executives and the biggest KPIs they desperately want to drive.”

With this early support and guidance, you set your proposal up for success or refine the idea if needed. This saves time on budget revisions or unnecessary proof-of-concept tests.

Here are some messages that Bump shared with me to start conversations with managers.

Example 1:

Hi [Manager],

I [noticed/read/observed] that [evidence] leads to [KPI], and I’d like to pitch an idea/project to test that I think could help us explore/scale this further.

I would love to get your thoughts and see if there’s any budget available for a test like this before I start writing a deeper proposal for you in our next one-on-one.

Example 2:

Hi [Manager],

I would love to pitch a [lean budget or project] to test how [tactic] leads to social media reach. However, I know reach doesn’t directly tie to the KPIs our department ladders up to.

I’d love to get your guidance on how we could connect these KPIs or how we’ve tied reach to revenue in the past before pitching potential tactics around it.

Be Prepared for Pushback and Be Open to Compromise

“It’s important to have concrete arguments about why something is necessary when stakeholders push back,” Brdnik says. Your executives may not have the details you do, so be ready to provide additional information and data to address their objections.

Remember, marketing is just one department, and there are others competing for a share of the company’s fixed budget. So, be open to compromise wherever it is possible.

“If stakeholders think $50K of the budget is excessive for influencer marketing, propose a pilot program for 50% of it and test (and measure) its effectiveness,” Brdnik advises.

The point is to put yourself in the shoes of your higher-ups. Think like a business owner aiming to generate significant returns from marketing spend. This will allow you to be more rigorous in your analysis.

Continue to Earn Trust

If you lock down the budget, spend it responsibly and report on the results, as Bump suggests.

This keeps you accountable for spending your budget based on impact. It’ll also earn you the trust and support of executives who can decrease or increase the budget in future quarters.

Brdnik regularly updates stakeholders, mostly via monthly email reports. Her team also creates quarterly reports that show all relevant KPIs (lead generation, conversion rates, etc.) to illustrate marketing’s contribution to overall revenue.

Getting Your Budget Proposal Greenlit

Marketing budgets are among the first to be scrutinized in many companies. I’ve seen several marketers vent about this on LinkedIn, especially when they experience budget cuts.

Sometimes, this scrutiny arises when executives view marketing as less essential than other departments. However, it’s also prevalent because leadership wants efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and solid ROI.

And that’s okay! After all, it’s their job to get value for every dollar spent.

Understanding this lets you embrace the challenge. Lean into it. Anticipate objections from leadership and become more strategic.

Plan thoroughly and prioritize the most impactful initiatives. These ultimately make you more effective in driving results and securing future investments.

Bump, for example, started with $0 per year but now manages an increasing budget, a team of four direct reports, and a part-time contractor.

By applying the tips in this post, you’ll not only secure the funding you need but also strengthen your ability to drive impactful marketing initiatives.