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The first time I was prompted with “Tell me about yourself” in an interview, I reeled off a canned spiel about how I love helping people – I was positive it would impress my interviewer. But after my cliched answer triggered a disappointed look on her face, I panicked.

I ended up rambling about how “fun” I was, citing my time as the lead singer and guitarist for a Blink-182 cover band in the sixth grade as compelling evidence. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.

As the old saying goes, you never get a second chance at first impressions. So to nail your interview, learn how to answer the question, “Tell me about yourself.”

What Interviewers Really Want to Know

If you’re in the process of interviewing for a new role, you know how difficult it can be to find a unique and compelling answer to this common prompt.

“Tell me about yourself” is very open-ended yet one of the most popular ways interviewers start the conversation. This answer has a huge impact on your interviewer’s first impression of you and can shape the entire conversation.

To gain some insight on the best way to respond to “Tell me about yourself”, I asked Claire McCarthy, a recruiting manager at HubSpot, about the best way to respond to the prompt.

“There’s no ideal answer to ‘Tell me about yourself,’” she says, “but I always encourage candidates to create a value proposition for themselves that touches on a couple of things.”

According to McCarthy, the ideal value proposition covers:

• Your motivation
• The specific challenges that excite you
• What you can bring to the table
• Why you want to work for the company you’re interviewing at and why now
• Why this job is a good fit

Armed with McCarthy’s advice, we’ll help you develop a strong, cohesive value proposition that answers all of these questions.

1. Be honest.

The most important thing about answering this question is being honest.

If you start your interview by embellishing details about your experience or lying about your skills, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Even if the hiring manager doesn’t realize it at the moment, they’ll likely detect inconsistencies later on.

It’s hard enough to get this question right, don’t make it harder on yourself. Instead, skip the games and bring your full self to the interview.

2. Tell a story.

Think of this question as an opportunity to tell the interview a short story about yourself.

Just as a story has a clear beginning, middle, and end, yours should too – except you’ll be covering the past, present, and future.

Throughout your answer, you’ll weave in several elements that will highlight your skills, motivation, and future goals.

3. Weave in personal details.

This step requires a delicate balance.

You’ll want to weave in personal details about yourself that will help hiring managers discover what drives you and have a holistic view of who you are.

However, you don’t want to do a deep dive into your personal life.

So, only highlight personal details that tie back to a professional skill or goal. For instance, you might mention your love of storytelling from early childhood and how that led you to start a career in content creation.

4. Describe what motivates you.

One of the most important (and common) traits hiring managers typically look for in candidates is their intrinsic motivation. Research suggests intrinsically motivated employees produce a higher quality of work than extrinsically motivated employees do.

So if you can recount a personal anecdote that proves you’re a craft-driven professional, and not just someone who is enamored by the company’s lucrative stock options, you’ll immediately grab the hiring manager’s attention.

To do so, lead off your value proposition like this:

“As I approach my five-year anniversary working in the content marketing space, I’ve learned a lot about myself. More specifically, I’ve realized I feel the most fulfilled when I can craft gripping stories that actually help and inspire people.”

5. Explain what challenges excite you.

Hiring managers don’t generally hire candidates to maintain their team’s status quo. They hire candidates who will challenge it and propel their team to greater heights.

To show that you can be a catalyst on the team, speak to the challenges in your industry or this particular role that excite you, just like the example below:

“Today, we both work in an industry where countless brands fight for a limited amount of attention, saturating our space with mediocre content. It’s never been harder to cut through the noise. But this doesn’t intimidate or discourage me. It actually excites me because it forces me to keep innovating and finding new ways to connect with an audience.”

6. Highlight your most relevant skills.

Once you explain what challenges pique your interest, you can then naturally segue into how you possess the necessary skills to overcome them and excel at the role, like the example below:

“There’s a fierce battle for attention in content marketing right now, and it has pushed me to master both my writing and analytical skills. Data drives decisions in our industry, and I know if I want to make an impact on a team, I need to be both a creative and a strategist. Thankfully, my ability to adapt has allowed me to pick up the necessary skills to accurately extract insights from data and weave them into a compelling story.”

7. Spell out why you want to work at the company you’re interviewing at.

Highlighting your most relevant skills will capture your hiring manager’s attention. But to truly impress her, communicate how your passion and skills align with the company’s interests and goals, like the example below:

“That’s why I think I’d be a high-impact employee here – you care a lot about doing two things right: making objective, data-driven decisions and telling great stories. I believe I can help you get better at both of these things.”

8. Illustrate why you want to work for the company right now.

After you spell out why you want to work for the company, delve into why you want to work for them right now.

This shows that you took initiative to learn about the company’s most recent updates, and the hiring manager will definitely take note of your proactiveness. Check out the example below:

“This is also one of the best times to work at HubSpot – I was at INBOUND in September and was impressed with all your new product launches. It’s clear that HubSpot is doubling down on innovation and strives to propel to the top of the industry. I’d be pumped to be a part of that.”

9. Prove that you’d be a good fit for the job.

To pack a punch at the end of your value proposition, show the hiring manager how you’ve used your skills to improve your current team by quantifying your accomplishments.

These previous experiences will prove your worth and qualify you as the employee who can take the team to the next level. Cap off your answer with something like this:

“And as the top-performing content strategist at my current company, where I’ve doubled blog views and grown our email subscription list by 40% in only one year, I think I could help you develop a killer content strategy, write some of the best stories in MarTech, and build an even more loyal audience than you boast now.”

What Not to Do When Asked “Tell Me About Yourself”

Just as there’s a long list of things you can say when answering this question, there’s also one for mistakes you should avoid.

When answering “Tell me about yourself,” don’t:

• Wing your answer – Memorize the key points to hit so that you can ensure a concise answer every time without sounding rehearsed.

• Focus on your personal life – Given the context in which this question is asked, focus on your professional journey instead your personal one.

• Discuss contentious topics – Topics like politics, religion, and sex have no place in an interview, much less during this question.

“Tell Me About Yourself” Sample Answer

Altogether, a strong answer to the “Tell me about yourself” prompt would look like this:

“As I approach my five-year anniversary working in the content marketing space, I’ve learned a lot about myself. More specifically, I’ve realized I feel the most fulfilled when I can craft gripping stories that actually help and inspire people.

Today, we both work in an industry where countless brands fight for a limited amount of attention, saturating our space with mediocre content. It’s never been harder to cut through the noise. But this doesn’t intimidate or discourage me. It actually excites me because it forces me to keep innovating and finding new ways to connect with an audience.

There’s a fierce battle for attention in content marketing right now, and it has pushed me to master both my writing and analytical skills. Data drives decisions in our industry, and I know if I want to make an impact on a team, I need to be both a creative and a strategist. Thankfully, my ability to adapt has allowed me to pick up the necessary skills to accurately extract insights from data and weave them into a compelling story.

That’s why I think I’d be a high-impact employee here — you guys care a lot about doing two things right: making objective, data-driven decisions and telling great stories. I believe I can help you get better at both of these things.

This is also one of the best times to work at HubSpot — I was at INBOUND in September and was impressed with all your new product launches. It’s clear that HubSpot is doubling down on innovation and strives to propel to the top of the industry. I’d be pumped to be a part of that.

And as the top-performing content strategist at my current company, where I’ve doubled blog views and grown our email subscription list by 40% in only one year, I think I could help you develop a killer content strategy, write some of the best stories in MarTech, and build an even more loyal audience than you boast now.”

Framing ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ as ‘Pitch Yourself’

“Tell me about yourself” might be one of the most dreaded prompts in the history of interviews.

But if you understand why hiring managers prod candidates with it, you can turn your answer into your pitch.

From there, structure your value proposition the way we did above and you’ll make a strong first impression.

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

How To Change All Margins In Google Docs

1. Navigate to Page Setup

2. Enter Margin size

3. Click “OK”

Many marketers use Microsoft Excel every day, whether it’s to create a chart, analyze data, or run a report to present at the next team meeting.

Creating reports like these in Excel is time-consuming enough. How can we spend a little less time navigating, formatting, selecting, and entering formulas for our data? Wouldn’t it be great if there were keyboard shortcuts that could help us get our work done faster?

So glad you asked.

We’ve put together a list of 43 keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel. Although you can do all of these maneuvers manually, knowing these tricks will help save you time so you can focus on the stuff that really matters.

All of these shortcuts can be accessed on PC and Mac, so we’ve included both types below where applicable.

(Note for Mac users: To access the F keys (F1–F12), you’ll have to hold the Fn key before pressing any F key — unless you’ve enabled those keys as standard function keys.)

43 Excel Shortcuts You’ll Definitely Want to Bookmark

Navigation Shortcuts

These simple shortcuts can help you navigate between workbooks, sheets, rows and columns:

Format Shortcuts

Formatting in Excel can be difficult if you don’t know of what you’re doing. Here are a few shortcuts that to help you easily format your cells. To start, here’s a featured formatting shortcut you might not have known about:

Here’s what cells look like with (left) and without (right) a border:

Shortcuts for Selecting Rows & Columns

Save yourself the manual dragging and selecting rows and columns with these handy keyboard tricks. To start, here are two featured rows-related shortcuts you might not have known about:

Formula Shortcuts

Formulas are a huge part of every marketer’s Excel toolkit. Here are a few shortcuts that’ll make you a formula wiz:

Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Here are a few more time-saving shortcuts. To start, here’s a final featured shortcut for managing the size of your Excel worksheet:

More businesses and social media platforms are relying on digital creators to boost brand awareness, revenue, and engagement — making digital content creation popular among marketers and creatives. But what exactly is a digital creator and how can you become one? In this blog, we’re going to explore what a digital creator is, the difference between being a creator versus an influencer, and how to get started in content creation.

What is a digital creator?

How To Be a Digital Creator

1. Find your niche.
2. Gather the materials you need.
3. Create.
4. Set SMART goals.
5. Get organized and on a consistent schedule.
6. Be active on social media.
7. Take advantage of monetization opportunities.

What is a digital creator?

A digital creator is someone who creates content across digital platforms. The content can be videos, photos, graphics, blog posts, or other forms of media — and the platforms can be YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, a website, or any digital space.

Often called content creators, digital creators produce content meant to engage an audience. Engaging content can include formats like TV show reviews, tutorials, or day-in-the-life vlogs. But no matter what their content looks like, a digital creator must produce high quality and engaging material —ultimately, that’s their job.

Though the two can overlap, digital creators are not the same as influencers. Influencers are social media personalities whose content is meant to influence their followers to do or buy something.

Typically, the influencer earns a percentage from the sale or receives some other incentive. Digital creators can influence their audience, but that isn’t the intent of their content. The intent is to educate, entertain, and engage people.

How To Be a Digital Creator

There is no one way to get started as a digital creator, but if you follow the tips below, you can set yourself up for success.

1. Find your niche.

You need to have a clear niche for a couple of reasons. For one, it’ll be hard to attract a loyal audience if your content is too broad, because your audience won’t know what kind of content to expect from you. Secondly, a specific niche will help keep you focused and consistent. If you hit a mental block and you’re not sure how to move forward, you can circle back to your niche to remember why you create content in the first place.

For example Therapy for Black Girls is a podcast with a niche that focuses on mental health as it applies to Black women and the specific issues they face. This niche attracts a loyal audience that desires that kind of content. It also keeps the podcast focused on its goal — providing Black women with mental health advice and resources.

Image source

2. Gather the materials you need.

Once you know what kind of content you want to make, it’s time to gather the equipment you’ll need, such as a mic, camera, and lighting. Just remember — you don’t have to splurge on the most expensive materials to get started, especially if you’re new to content creating.

For example, if you want to start a YouTube channel you can likely get away with using your smartphone’s camera while you save up to buy a higher quality one. For lighting, natural sunlight from a nearby window can work just fine. If you’re in need of a mic, Amazon has a variety of mics that are as cheap as $10.

Not only is it perfectly fine to use more affordable equipment at the start of your creator journey — it’s wiser too. You wouldn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on equipment only to realize you don’t enjoy content creating enough to stick with it.

3. Create.

Now you know your niche, understand the kind of content you want to make, and have the right equipment — it’s time to start creating! Don’t be discouraged if your content isn’t perfect at the start. The best way to get better is to keep doing it.

Keep track of your creative process, and take note of what works and what doesn’t. For example, you may find that filming earlier in the day is better than filming in the evening because you get more natural lighting for longer. Whether you’re doing a podcast, posting to YouTube, or blogging, make sure to go back and evaluate your work so you can get better with each post.

4. Set SMART goals.

One of the best ways to improve as a digital creator is to set goals. For example, your goal as podcaster could be to increase your listenership by 30% in the next year. To help you set proper goals and to keep yourself focused during your creator journey, you should set SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific, clear and well-defined.
• Measurable and can be tracked with numbers — like the podcaster example.
• Achievable, which requires being honest about what you’re able to get done.
• Realistic and relevant to your overall purpose.
• Timely and includes a target date for the goal to be completed.

SMART goals are more likely to be accomplished because they serve as a road map to achieving your ultimate goal as content creator — whatever that goal may be for you.

5. Get organized and on a consistent schedule.

To keep your audience engaged, they need to know they can expect quality content from you on a regular basis — so it’s important to get on a consistent schedule.Consider strategies like recording content in batches and scheduling it out over a period of time. For example, over the weekend you can record five TikTok videos in one day and schedule them to post individually over the next week.

When it comes to organization, some digital creators do just fine with physical planners and calendars, but there are also apps and digital tools that can keep you on track. One tool that’s popular among digital creators is Notion — an app that allows you to write, plan, organize your content, and coordinate deadlines all in one place.

Image source

6. Be active on social media.

No matter what kind of digital creator you are, you have to be active on social media to get your work in front of as many people as possible. Being active can be as simple as responding to comments under your social posts.

You should also create graphics, videos, polls, and other unique social media posts to build engagement and communicate with your followers. For example, you can post short clips from your YouTube videos to TikTok or Instagram Reels. You can also create video content for your podcasts to promote a special guest.

7. Take advantage of monetization opportunities.

Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitch, and Instagram all have paid opportunities for creators who have a certain number of followers and engagement. Keep track of your progress on these apps to see if you’re eligible or close to being eligible. Other ways to make money as a creator is through brand partnerships, sponsorships, and collaborations.

If brands aren’t reaching out to you organically, then create a press kit that has information about your content, follower count, social media, and engagement —and start reaching out to brands yourself.

The path to digital content creation looks different for everyone, but if you use the above tips to get started, you’ll have an easier time navigating your journey. With proper planning and goal setting, you’ll know the kind of digital creator you want to be and how you can grow over time.

Did you know that the first video published on YouTube was only 18-seconds long?

While short-form content on YouTube isn’t new, it does have a new name: Shorts. Launched in 2021, Shorts is YouTube’s answer to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other viral video platforms. But is it worth your time?

Let’s talk about what YouTube Shorts is, how it works, and how brands like yours can leverage it.

Table of Contents

What is YouTube Shorts?

How to Make YouTube Shorts

What Makes YouTube Shorts Different from Its Competitors

How 7 Brands Use YouTube Shorts

How to Prepare for YouTube Shorts

The launch of YouTube Shorts comes at a time when many social media platforms are making a drastic pivot towards video content — specifically short-form content.

Even in its most basic beta form, the Shorts feature saw solid performance in India. In March 2021, less than a year later, the Shorts beta was fully released in the U.S., quickly surpassing 6.5 billion daily views. By July 2021, Shorts officially launched globally in over 100 countries.

Today, a few things have changed. Most notably, the time limit on Shorts has expanded to 60 seconds, and many creators take advantage of every second. In fact, more than 70% of Shorts are longer than 15 seconds.

Although Shorts is still in its infancy — and only time will tell how viable it is as a marketing tool – this feature still deserves your attention, especially if you already have a video strategy on YouTube.

Below, I’ll walk through the basics of YouTube Shorts and what opportunities it presents for marketers pivoting to short-form content.

How to Make YouTube Shorts

When you have the YouTube app, creating a Short is one tap away.

When you land on the home screen, you’ll see the “+” icon on the lower center navigation. Once you click it, you’ll see “Create a Short” from the menu.

When you tap Create, it opens to a camera screen that allows you to:

• Record segments of a 60-second clip or a full minute-long video.
• Upload pre-created content from a camera roll.
• Film a “short” with back or front-facing cameras.
• Adjust video speed.
• Set a recording timer.
• Pick sounds for musical overlays.
• Add filters and text.

Here’s a quick screenshot of some of the platform’s features.

Image Source

Watching YouTube Shorts

YouTube has a dedicated tab for Shorts which can find to the left of the “+” icon.

Additionally, in an effort to promote YouTube Shorts, you can find a scrolling menu of recommended Shorts on the home page (see below).

When watching a Short, you can tap icons on the right bottom of the screen to “Like,” “Dislike,” or comment on the video. If you enjoy what you see, you can also tap “SUBSCRIBE” to follow the channel.

Once a viewer finishes a Short, they can swipe up — like on Reels or TikTok – to see a more Shorts from other creators.

What Makes YouTube Shorts Different from Its Competitors

As a marketer, seeing every social media platform pivot to short-form video may feel overwhelming. So much so, you may be asking yourself, “Is YouTube Shorts worth my time?” or, “Will it provide more opportunities than Instagram Reels or TikTok?“

Because YouTube Shorts is still in its infancy, it’s too early to measure its impact. That said, there are a few noteworthy factors that differentiate it from the pack:

1. Shorts provide a funnel to your long-form content.

To state the obvious, people like to engage with different videos throughout the day. For instance, someone may scroll through TikTok during their lunch break but then play a 2-hour long podcast on YouTube when they get home. 

Unlike TikTok and Snapchat, which are entirely dedicated to short-form content, YouTube is positioning itself as the go-to destination for both short- and long-form content.

In this way, Shorts could be a way for creators to reach a new audience who may become regular viewers of their longer content — giving you the best of both worlds.

2. Shorts do not expire.

While Instagram Stories and Snapchats expire after 24 hours, Shorts are permanent — which can help your grow awareness long-term on YouTube.

For example, if someone’s in a rush and searching for a quick how-to video related to something you’ve filmed, they might find and watch your short videos on that topic — even if you published them months ago.

3. Short-form creators could see a bigger reach.

While Gen Z users flooded TikTok, causing its astounding early growth, YouTube, the second largest website globally, launched Shorts to more than 2 billion monthly active users.

Rather than wondering, “Will YouTube Shorts get awareness?”, ask yourself instead, “How do I tap into YouTube’s huge audience with Shorts?”

According to Nelson Chacon, HubSpot’s principal YouTube content strategist, you’ll want to know which segment of YouTube’s huge audience you want to market to before producing Shorts — or any other YouTube video for that matter.

Additionally, if you have a solid subscriber list, continue to create content that’s still relevant to them — even if it’s shorter-form.

“Your subscribers know your channel for its content and Youtube, as a platform, works best with consistency,” Chacon says.

For example, say you regularly create long-form content related to your product or industry and find that it engages your audiences. Chacon notes that you can use Shorts to create quick tutorials or step-by-step videos around those content topics.

4. Brands in most industries could leverage Shorts.

Because TikTok has a somewhat niche user-base filled with younger consumers, some types of brands, such as B2B companies, might have a harder time growing awareness there.

While YouTube shares similar popularity with young adults, the content on its platform is so vast that it brings in people from all sorts of age groups, countries, industries, and niches.

Ultimately, there’s a video for everyone on YouTube. With Shorts, more brands will be able to engage with audiences from a much wider range of audience targets.

For example, while a B2B brand might have difficulty connecting with Gen Z consumers on TikTok, they might be able to connect with professionals looking for industry-related content on Shorts.

Similarly, if you target older generations, such as Gen X, your short-form content might get more engagement on YouTube than TikTok.

5. YouTube Shorts could be less vulnerable than other viral platforms.

Throughout most of 2020, TikTok was facing threats of a ban and censorship regulations.

If you’re a marketer who spends time mastering content strategies on a social media app, a ban or regulation of that app could mean that the content you’ve worked so hard on might never be seen.

However, because YouTube is one of the oldest and most successful online platforms, and it’s owned by the publicly traded Alphabet, it might be seen as more trustworthy than viral apps that provide less public data security information – like TikTok.

How 5 Brands Use YouTube Shorts

1. ESPN

Looking for bite-sized news about your favorite pro athletes? ESPN has you covered by providing Shorts that showcase trending videos, highlights, and fiery commentary.

ESPN’s YouTube channel has a loyal audience with over 8.5 million followers. By utilizing Shorts, the network is leveraging another format to connect with its audience online.

2. MrBeast Shorts

For Youtube megastar Mr. Beasts, Shorts are a great way to repurpose content from longer videos.

If you’ve been in the YouTube game for a while, consider clipping segments from your existing long-form content to make minute-long Shorts. While it may take some finessing, creating Shorts can breathe new life into your past content.

Plus, YouTube’s new “Edit into a Short” feature makes it easier than ever to cut videos into bite-sized snippets.

3. The Voice

To promote its new season, NBC’s The Voice created a Short featuring this year’s hosts.

What works well here:

• It serves as an ad for the brand.
• It utilizes text to emphasize certain phrases and keep the audience engaged.
• It includes a banner at the end with clear directions for viewers on when and where to watch the show.

4. LYFE Marketing

Who said informative content had to be long? LYFE Marketing shows that you can create fun, engaging, and informative content in under 30 seconds.

In this Short, the brand breaks down color psychology. The talent in front of the camera simply points to the text which appears on different parts of the screen during the video.

If you don’t have a big media budget, this is an effective, low-effort method of creating content your audience will be interested in.

5. WebFX

Shorts are a great way to repurpose content. You can take content from a blog post, live stream, or downloadable report to create a short-and-sweet video.

Digital marketing agency, WebFX, created a short to explain the costs behind social media marketing.

With the use of graphics, WebFX delivers great information in a succinct way. It’s likely the brand has an article or other form of content that dives deeper into this topic.

But for social media, snippets are the way to go. When done right, they pique your audience’s interest and lead them to your website.

6. Danessa Myricks Beauty

Have exciting news you want to share with your audience? Take a page out of this brand’s playbook.

In this countdown-style video, Danessa Myricks Beauty used a short to promote its launch in Sephora and build some anticipation.

In the first half of the video, multiple people can be heard saying “One more day.” Then, we see the CEO sending off a package to be sent to Sephora stores.

Here’s why this works: There’s no time wasted in this Short. It’s engaging from the very start and every frame serves a purpose. Secondly, there’s a clear message – the audience leaves knowing the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why).

Lastly, this Short creates excitement for the brand’s growth and invites the audience to join in the countdown.

7. Satori Graphics

Here’s another great example of how graphics and illustrations can take your Shorts to another level.

Satori Graphics is a popular YouTube channel to learn graphic design. The channel features hundreds of long-form videos on the topic and this Short serves as an extension of what’s already on the channel.

This tactic can work well for attracting new viewers to the channel, as a one-minute video is less intimidating than a 20-minute video. It’s similar to how you present a content offer at the end of a blog article.

A reader may be more likely to read a blog post first than read a 20-page report, as it’s an easier point of entry. The same concept can apply to Shorts.

How to Prepare for YouTube Shorts

While we aren’t sure how Shorts will evolve, it’s not too early to consider how you could implement it into your social media or video marketing strategy. Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind.

• Optimize short YouTube videos: Chacon says global creators should begin to add, “#shorts” to descriptions of videos that are 60 seconds or less.
• Identify short-form topics: Are there any topics your team creates content around that could be distilled into a few quick tips, steps, or data points? If so, you might be able to repurpose this information by creating a Short.
• Audit your short-form videos: Have you created Instagram Reels, TikToks, or other social media videos that would only need a few light tweaks to engage your YouTube audience? If so, you could test them on Shorts when the platform launches.

To learn more about YouTube Marketing, check out our Ultimate Guide – or download the free resource below.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March of 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

If you’re sitting at your desk staring at your to-do list and you have no idea where you should start, you need to apply the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80/20 Rule.

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule, is a common principle used across various industries and businesses to help determine the highest priority tasks that yield the most impact.  When you’ve identified the high-impact tasks, you’re guaranteed to increase your productivity and your profits.

In the early 1900s, Vilfredo Pareto recognized this occurrence when studying Italy’s wealth distribution.  Pareto observed that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by only 20% of the population.  Pareto also noticed this same 80/20 occurrence in other things, like the productivity of the pea plants in his garden.

It is important to understand the 80/20 Rule is not a mathematical formula. Instead, it is an observation explaining the correlation between effort and outcome. If only 20% of your task list is deemed a high priority and those high priority tasks yield the highest return, why not spend your time and effort there? 

Examples of the Pareto Principle

In business, for instance, this means 80% of your profits come from 20% of your sales.  So, it would help if you focus your energy on those clients who make up the 20% of your highest sales.

If you’re a marketer, you may have noticed that 20% of your marketing messages account for 80% of your campaign results. Or, if you’re working on a major marketing project, you might see that 20% of your initial efforts are responsible for 80% of the final outcome.

If you’re a financial advisor, you might have noticed that 80% of your business profits derive from 20% of your clients.  It might be best to work on maintaining the relationship with those particular clients.

The Pareto Principle doesn’t just apply to overall outcome observations, though.

Instead, the 80/20 Rule can be applied to nearly every part of your workday to help maximize efforts and productivity.

How to Use the 80/20 Rule to Your Advantage

According to the 80/20 Rule, 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results.

If you think about the Pareto Principle in terms of productivity, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should only work 20% of the time or go into the office one day of the week.

It is essential to note the Pareto Principle does not suggest you work less.

Instead, when applying the 80/20 Rule to your workday, the Pareto Principle can help you identify the tasks you need to focus on to maximize your time and results.

In other words: work harder on the tasks that matter the most and don’t sweat the small stuff.

How to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Maximize Productivity

If you are in charge of a team or overseeing a project, using the Pareto Principle can help you identify your team’s high-priority tasks.  The 80/20 Rule assumes that even if your team spends an equal amount of time on each task on the to-do list, only two of those tasks will carry the bulk of the results for the project.

So, to apply the Pareto Principle, you’ll need to make a list of all tasks that need to be done to complete the project. Make sure you include everything on this task list.  After making a list, consider which tasks will have the most significant impact on the project to give the highest results.  Some tasks may seem small, but sometimes the smaller tasks have the most significant effect.

Delegate these high-impact tasks to your team and worry about the other tasks later.

You can apply the same concept to your own to-do list. Identify which tasks will yield maximum results and focus your efforts there.

How to Apply the Pareto Principle to Make Business Decisions

The 80/20 Rule can help you make tough business decisions, too. Maybe you have a list of projects for several different clients, but you’re running short on time. If the 80/20 Rule is true, you’ll want to focus your time and efforts on pleasing and developing solid relationships with the 20% of your clients who yield the most results for you (read: profits).

This isn’t to say you should be unprofessional and disrespect your other clients. But, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or tight on time, it might be helpful to recognize where you’re receiving the most of your results and dedicate your time and effort to those clients.

The Pareto Principle can also help you think about business problems and potential solutions.  To apply the Pareto Principle to help you solve your problem, think of all the possible solutions, and work backward. You’ll want to work on the two best solutions that solve your problem.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of the Pareto Principle

Like all principles, the Pareto Principle has a few drawbacks. 

It’s important to remember that the 80/20 Rule is not about reducing your workload. Instead, the Pareto Principle helps you identify the most critical, high-impact tasks on your to-do list.  Don’t neglect the small tasks, unimportant tasks, though.  Eventually, those small tasks will become important if you let them sit too long.

The 80/20 Rule might help you identify which of your employees are producing the most work if you’re managing a team.  Looking at the 20% of employees that complete 80% of the work doesn’t necessarily mean you should fire everyone else.  Instead, use the findings of the Pareto Rule to delegate tasks to your team fairly. 

Encourage your team to collaborate on high-priority tasks.  Or assign different jobs to different people and check in with everyone to ensure they feel responsible for their part of the equation.   Your employees will be encouraged to work harder if they know they’re contributing to the biggest piece of the rewards—not just the minor details.

Understanding the Pareto Principle

Remember, the numbers 20% and 80% are not exact statistics, just estimations and observations.  The point of the 80/20 Rule isn’t the numbers.  The point is everything in business is not created equal.  There are a few things that are weighted with a far greater reward compared to other things.

Spend your time working on tasks or working with clients that will yield the highest results.  Applying the Pareto Principle to your business makes you more likely to increase your profits while cutting back on wasted time and efforts.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in [Month Year] and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

All told, our 2022 Content Consumption Report ended up being a whopping 65 pages. While that’s quite exciting from a productivity point-of-view, some folks might be scared off by the sheer size of it.

We get that.

So, in taking our own research to heart and knowing that Cheat Sheet consumption was up 56% last year, we wanted to highlight some of the most important stats and takeaways from our sixth annual report. 

Key Learnings From NetLine’s 2022 Consumption Report

There’s more than 15 individual sections inside the sixth annual report that segment the data within a number of NetLine’s specific job parameters. We’ll get to some of the different slices of data in a moment, but for now, let’s start with some of the most impactful takeaways.

Flagship Stats From the 2022 Report

1. NetLine delivered 4.6 million first-party registrations across our platform in 2021, a 9% increase YOY.
2. Since 2019, NetLine has observed a 33% increase in total registrations, clearly indicating how important content marketing has become post-pandemic.
3. eBooks were 4.8x more likely to be requested compared to White Papers.
4. “Pandemic” was the #1 Keyword Rank across all content titles.
5. The 5 Most Active Job Areas: IT, Executives, Education, Engineering, & HR.
6. Senior VPs were the fastest to consume content, while Owners were the slowest.
7. 90% of all registrations came during the work week.
8. eBooks represented more than 43.3% of all registrations.
9. Webinar promotion increased by 69.8%.
10. The 10 most requested content types accounted for more than 87% of all requests.
11. The Spring and early Summer (Q2) saw an incredible swell in demand for content, post-the-most-stringent-COVID restrictions. This is staggering, considering Q2 2020 accounted for the least amount of engagements. Conversely, Q4 2020 accounted for 43% of the most active days for Content Consumption. 2021? 21%.
12. Desktop consumption represented nearly 93% of engagements.
13. More than 25% of Technology Job Areas consumed 10 or more assets, while Marketing Job Areas, start out as eager consumers, (representing nearly 8% of the audience consuming a second piece of content), but peter out as they reach the 10th asset (4.4%)
14. Information Technology professionals were the most active Job Area audience in 2021, representing 28% of all registrations.

By Job Area

NetLine’s Job Area analysis hones in on the specific consumption trends of the B2B professional within the individual disciplines their roles demand.

15. Manufacturing/Production/Operations were the smallest Job Area audience in the Top 10, accounting for only 2.42% of all registrations.
16. The Executive job area (13.12% of the total audience) had a sizable gain in demand, topping it’s 2020 totals by 19.41%.
17. Conversely, Marketing (4.17% of total audience) saw a 4.07% drop in consumption by job area.
18. With the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, professionals working in Biotech job areas were quite busy to start the year, requesting 25.9% more content than the prior year.

By Job Function

NetLine’s Job Function analysis looks at a B2B professional’s given role and which assets they request.

19. IT Systems Management professionals were the most active Job Function, accounting for 12.6% of total registrations. 
20. It’s remarkable to see this group at the top of the pile considering that this job function saw a 26.83% dip in overall consumption.
21. Faculty job functions had the largest loss in total consumption (-30.76%).
22. Executive Senior Management, however, had the greatest gain in consumption (+116%).

By Industry

This one should be self-explanatory. By Industry assess the consumption habits of users at the Industry level.

23. 75% of all Industries saw a Job Area increase in consumption.
24. Computers & Technology was king once again, representing 17.86% of all registrations from this group.
25. Construction represented 3.57% of all registrations, good for number 10 in the Top 10.
26. Of the 24 industries NetLine tracks, all but two groups (Advertising/Marketing -6.09%, Agriculture -12.07%) had more registrations in 2021 than in 2020.
27. Much like the Job Area chart, consumption from the Biotech field saw the greatest YOY gains (+22.42%). 
28. As the world faced a shipping crisis, Manufacturing (+12.86%) and Transportation and Logistics (+12.15%) each saw significant increases in B2B content consumption.
29. Healthcare/Medical (+15.7%), Manufacturing (+12.86%), Education (+9.11%), Finance (+7.96%), and Computers and Technology (+7.10%) also all saw sizeable gains, as well.

By Sub-Industry

We know that Industry analysis can be a bit broad at times. That’s why we dig further to get more specific about the kind of work users are doing.

30. Can you guess which sub-industry was the top performer? You guessed it: Information Technology at 7.58%!
31. Service Industry professionals accounted for 3.23% of all registrations, good enough for fourth on the Top 10 list.
32. YOY, this sub-industry saw a 10.42% growth in overall registrations, as professionals in this field raced to keep up with the breakneck pace and overwhelming demand placed on them and their colleagues.
33. Consumption at the local levels of Government rose 62.52%.
34. As supply chains tightened, Manufacturing had a 12.86% increase while Transportation and Logistics also saw a sizeable 12.15% increase.

By Job Level

Job Level analysis gives you an idea of where inside an organization your content is being consumed and requested.

35. 40% of all consumption stemmed from C-Level, Managers, and Directors.
36. Directors consumed 27.8% more content YOY while Individual Contributors accounted for 25.5% of all registrations.

The Consumption Gap and Consumption Times

The Consumption Gap is the time between the moment content is requested and the moment it’s opened for consumption.

1. 37. The average time for professionals to consume content rose by 3.6, increasing from 29.7 hours in 2020 to 33.3 in 2021.
   38. In 2020, the average time between a user’s first registration and their second was 16+ days. In 2021, it was 13+, meaning there was a 3+ day improvement—a 19% acceleration.
   39. Hypothetically, consumption can increase infinitely. B2B professionals, on the other hand, have a finite amount of time to dedicate to consumption. Therefore, as registration volume grows, the more likely it is that the consumption gap will widen.
   40. EVPs shaved nearly 4 hours off their 2020 consumption time.
   41. Supervisors had the greatest improvement, reducing their 2020 consumption time by more than 7 hours. 
   42. And while VPs saw their consumption time grow by nearly 5 hours, they were the Job Level most likely to consume their requests first.
   43. When it came to additional consumption, Consultants were the first group to come back for more, clocking in at 8.71 days between first and second request. 
   44. VPs were on the other side of the spectrum, as they took more than three weeks (22.37 days) before returning for another asset.

C-Level Observations

No matter who you are, what you’re writing about, or how you’re trying to position it, everyone wants the attention of the C-Suite.

45. The C-Level represented 14.8% of NetLine’s total audience in 2021—a 15.8% jump in volume.
46. Historically, when C-Level consumption rises then consumption from Directors and Managers dips. In 2021, this was not the case. Managers upped their overall consumption by 3% while Directors upped their registration by 27.82%, the second-largest YOY jump behind Individual Contributors.

Buyer-Level Intent Findings

Discovering “who” a prospect really is—and whether they’re actually a potential customer—has been a mystery to B2B Marketers and Sales professionals for years.

47. Content consumption is directly driving investments within the next 12 months. The more your audience consumes, the more likely they are to be closing in on a purchase decision.
48. Buyer-Level Intent Data: ~31% of professionals expect to invest in the next 12 months; 15% expect to invest in the next 6 months.
49. Of this ~31%, 55% expect to invest in the next 6-12 months, 26% expect to invest in the next 3-6 months, and 19% expect to invest in the next 3 months.
50. White Paper registrations are a greater indication that a user is in a late stage of a purchasing decision.
51. Professionals registering for Webinars are 29% more likely to have a purchase decision within six months of registering for the content vs. any other content format.

Get More From NetLine’s 2022 Report

There’s a ton of actionable information that we’ve taken out of this report but there’s still so much more that we couldn’t include. Uncover everything else that you’re missing and more by downloading our sixth annual Content Consumption Report!

YouTube is the internet’s second largest search engine, meaning that advertisers have significant potential when it comes to reaching audiences and driving conversions.

In this post, discover essential YouTube advertising statistics you need to know in 2022.

YouTube Advertising Reach Statistics

• YouTube advertising revenues reached 7.34 Billion USD in Q2 of 2022, a 5% YoY increase. (Statista, 2022)

• YouTube ads have the potential reach of 2.56 billion users, or roughly 1 in 3 people on Earth. (Hootsuite, 2022)

• YouTube ads reach more than three quarters of adults aged 18+, and more than 90% of adults in a total of 14 countries. (Hootsuite, 2022)
• YouTube’s biggest advertising audience is males between 25 and 34. (Hootsuite, 2022)
• The cost of YouTube ads can vary and can cost between $0.10 and $0.30. (HubSpot, 2022)

YouTube Advertising Statistics

• Apple Inc. and Disney were the top spending advertisers on YouTube in 2021. (Statista, 2021)
• 63% of people say they bought from a brand after viewing an ad on YouTube. (Think With Google, 2022)
• YouTube ads with strong CTAs have shown to increase the likelihood of short-term sales by 30%. (Think With Google, 2022)
• Audio is the No. 1 lift multiplier for effective YouTube ads. (Think With Google, 2022)
• The attention, branding, connection, direction (ABCD) YouTube ad strategy delivers a 30% lift in short-term sales and a 17% lift in customer lifetime value. (Think With Google, 2022)
• Testing different YouTube ads can lead to greater success, as advertisers who tested different YouTube ads and used the most effective result saw a 60% higher ad recall. (Think With Google, 2021)
• Using YouTube’s native product feed tool to showcase your products alongside your ads can drive on average over 60% more conversions. (Google, 2021)

Ready to start filming?

As shown above, advertising on YouTube has the potential to reach large audiences and drive high ROI. To reap these benefits, create a marketing strategy for the platform and, as they say, lights, camera, action!

To be honest, Gen Z can feel like foreign territory to all. Even myself, born in 2001. Although I’m smack in the middle of the TikTok, middle-part wearing generation, I don’t always fully understand the trends we start, stop, or totally cancel.

Even though I’m no genius when it comes to how to market to our generation, I can tell you it’s pretty obvious when marketers try too hard to sell to us. It often feels too forced and fake.

That’s why I’m here to help! Let me debunk a few myths and predictions marketers might have made about our wild generation so that you can find the right ways to grab our attention and keep us engaged. Let’s dive right into some of those incorrect thoughts, debunk them with data from our State of Consumer Trends Survey, and discuss tips for what you can do instead.

5 Gen Z Myths, Debunked

1. “Gen Z is obsessed with fast fashion.”

It’s easy to see SHEIN or Princess Polly hauls on TikTok or Instagram and think these represent our generation. Of course, these online retailers do have a grasp on our generation to some extent, but what grabs our attention are retail resale sites. For example, 90% of Depop’s users are younger than 26.

Today, Gen Zers are purchasing this apparel, but in a much less harmful way, being that resale clothing is second-hand.

Instead of getting caught up in cheap prices and deals, Gen Z, more than any other generation, considers the brand’s ethics and its stance on social issues. You don’t just need to take my word for it. we surveyed over 100 Gen Zers and found that how a brand approaches social responsibility has a real impact on Gen Z purchase decisions.

And, when we asked whether companies should take a stance on social issues, 50% of Gen Z said they should. As a marketer, this means that, if you haven’t already, you need to prioritize this for Gen Z and even younger millennial audiences.

I also urge you not to think of social issues as a broad term that is often thrown around without any substance to back it up. Instead, break it down into specific issues that you can actually fight with tangible results. And, just to help you out even more, here is where to start:

When we asked Gen Zers who want companies to take a stance on which issues are most important to them, racial justice was by far the top issue (69%), followed by LGBTQ+ rights (50%), gender inequality (46%), and climate change (42%).

2. “Data privacy and security are irrelevant for Gen Z.”

I get why many people believe this one. Gen Z is known for being glued to their phones, which obviously comes with the risk of unsecured and unrestricted data.

Furthermore, we are the TikTok generation, and – as many of us know — TikTok has had its share of privacy concerns. And yes, we may come across as irresponsible at times, especially when it comes to social media (the milk crate challenge was not the best idea); but don’t underestimate us.

As the first generation born into a technology-based world, we’ve seen the realities of a digital space more than any other generation, so data security and safety are naturally top of mind.

As you can see in the graph above, Gen Z purchase decisions are strongly influenced by whether or not they can trust a company with their data (as it is the second highest ranked consideration before purchase, at 83%).

The data above means that, as a marketer, you need to convey data privacy to our generation and can’t just assume we don’t care about these criteria. Assure us that we aren’t being scammed or exploited. We may not always prioritize it over experience and entertainment (as seen with our usage of TikTok), but don’t believe that you can do anything with our data, and we won’t mind.

3. “TikTok is The Best Way to Reach Gen Z”

TikTok is a great space for Gen Z; it offers a genuine feel to the content that no other app provides. This style is quite attractive for some of our shorter attention spans and busy schedules. In fact, TikTok is the app Gen Z uses most often. Despite this, surprisingly (or not), it’s not our favorite social media platform.

When we asked Gen Z their favorite social media app, Instagram and YouTube easily took the cake, with TikTok placing third, as seen in the graph below.

From your perspective as a marketer, this means that even though a significant effort should still definitely be made to generate TikTok content, don’t forget about our trusty old friend Instagram – even for Gen Z.

There are many reasons why Gen Z shies away from directly buying on TikTok. These include the concern for data privacy previously mentioned and just wanting to use that space for the sake of connection and entertainment rather than advertisements and purchasing.

So, If you plan to sell directly through social media, Instagram definitely should be your go-to (as 28% of Gen Z saying they bought something directly in a social media app in the past three months).

HubSpot’s recent Instagram Marketing Report goes into more detail on why the app presents such an opportunity for social marketing and selling, so don’t lose sight of it!

4. “Put a product in front of Gen Z, and they’ll buy it.”

Even though we do gravitate towards TikTok-style content, that doesn’t mean we’re receptive to just any type of short-form videos, including those that market products.

Before making a purchase via social media, we need to be made to feel like we found the product on our own. We don’t want to feel forced into any decision, especially when it comes from a clear advertisement that we can’t relate to.

To persuade Gen Z, brands must prioritize making entertaining content that feels authentic to grab our attention. Then, once they have our genuine interest, they can more easily slip in their product rather, than getting yet another eye roll from us.

As this graph above shows, the top way we prefer to discover a new product is through TikTok, Reel, or other short-form video formats, where the product is shown but not imposed on us. In a world where we are often made to feel powerless, we strongly value a sense of autonomy and agency– help us feel empowered through your actions.

5. “Word of mouth is a great way to reach Gen Z.”

Yeah, I know this may seem contradictory as we really like to talk but hear me out. As just outlined, Gen Z is stressed: we feel out of control, doomed, and like the weight of the world lies on our shoulders.

With that comes a unique sense of camaraderie and connection among us. As a result, Gen Zs trust other Gen Zs as they are also going through the same shared emotions. And, what better way to unify than via social media?

We have turned social media and online communities into our modern-day version of word of mouth. Therefore, we even trust influencers’ recommendations more than those from our friends and family.

This graph above helps emphasize that your marketing focus should be on connecting with Gen Z in the spaces we feel comfortable: social media. Sorry, Mom and Dad, but you don’t have much influence over us anymore.  

More Resources for Marketing to Your Target Audience

Now that we’ve explored and debunk some of the biggest Gen Z myths and predictions, you might be wanting to learn even more about the generation and how they shop. Here’s a quick list of more data-driven resources that we hope you enjoy:

• The State of Consumer Trends [Data from 1000+ Consumers]
• How Each Generation Shops Differently
• 5 Things Gen Z Will Spend Money On

And for a detailed deep dive into all of our consumer trends data survey (including insights not on the blog), download the free report below.

TikTok just announced a new feature in its Ads Manager platform, which allows advertisers to customize their attribution window for better tracking and performance.

Let’s break down how the attribution manager works, how to access it, and the benefits of using it.

Breaking Down Key Attribution Terms

Before we get into this new TikTok feature, let’s first get a refresher on some key terms:

Attribution – A reporting strategy that allows advertisers to know the path users are taking after clicking or viewing an ad.

Attribution window – The time between when a user clicks or views an ad and when they convert.

Conversion – The desired action taken by a targeted user, such as visiting a website or making a purchase.

Now that we have the basics down, let’s dive into TikTok’s new attribution manager.

Understanding TikTok’s Attribution Manager

When it comes to ad campaigns, no two are the same. The goal for one may be to increase purchases for a particular product while for another, it may be to raise brand awareness.

Brands may also have contrasting conversion journeys based on their industries.

With that in mind, TikTok introduced customized attribution windows to enable advertisers – those using the TikTok Pixel or Web Events API – to more accurately track performance and assess campaign results.

Image Source

The default setting is a seven-day click and one-day view window. This means that a user must convert within seven days of clicking an ad or 24 hours of viewing an ad for the conversion to register within TikTok’s ad manager.

Advertisers can now set different windows:

• 1, 7, 14, 28 days for clickthrough attribution
• Off, 1, 7 days for viewthrough attribution

When is it valuable to pick a one-day versus 28-day attribution window? It all depends on the goals of your campaign, the industry you’re in, and expected user consideration periods.

Say you’re a B2B software company with an ad campaign to convert free users into premium users. One-day conversions are probably unlikely given the product. However, a 28-day one seems more realistic given that their particular industry deals with longer consideration periods.

A jewelry brand, on the other hand, may opt for a 24-hour attribution window when running a sale.

Pro-tip: Want to sync your ads manager with your CRM? Try Leadsbridge.

How to Access TikTok’s Attribution Manager

Now that you understand how it works, here’s how to access this feature within TikTok’s Ads Manager.

1. Login to TikTok for Business.

2. Navigate to “Assets.”

3. Click on “Events.”

4. Narrow down to “Web Events.”

5. Select “Attribution Manager.”

You will also see the option to customize your attribution window when creating a campaign. It should show up under the “Bidding and Optimization” section.

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This great addition to TikTok’s Ads Manager will arm advertisers with more reliable data to understand their audience and leverage these insights into action.