Over the past few years, consumers have become increasingly concerned with how companies use their data. And many feel passionate about protecting their privacy — in fact, HubSpot’s Blog Research found 80% of consumers believe data privacy is a human right.

Data security has become a critical component for long-term customer retention and loyalty. So it’s vital brands behave responsibly when it comes to collecting and protecting consumer data.

But many marketers have relied on third-party data for years, so the phaseout of Google’s third-party cookie in 2023 will likely cause some concern. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to.

Here, let’s explore the effective strategies marketers will implement to ensure they’re still reaching new audiences and connecting with customers even without third-party data.

How Marketers are Preparing for Google’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout

1. Marketers are enhancing or developing their data collection operations and management models.

One surefire way to prepare for the third-party cookie phaseout? Begin developing or refining a strong first-data party data strategy.

As Microsoft Advertising’s Head of Evangelism, John Lee, told me, “Microsoft Advertising is working with the digital advertising industry and its clients to evolve and uplevel data privacy maturity for a privacy-first cookieless world. While there is no market-ready solution available today that manages data end-to-end, our guidance for our clients is to take steps now to prepare a first-party data strategy and to conduct robust data management practices.”

He adds, “First-party will lead the way and now is the time to ensure that you have the best resources and information available to enhance or develop data collection operations and management models. It is your ability to communicate with your customers transparently and in a personalized, yet meaningful way, that will enable better relationships and business success in the future.”

Ultimately, creating a strong first-party data management framework will enable your entire organization to transition seamlessly off third-party data while continuing to reach new prospects and leads.

To create an effective enterprise data management strategy, take a look at Everything You Need to Know About Data Management.

2. Marketers are gathering customer data through email marketing.

Cynthia Price, Litmus‘ SVP of Marketing, believes email marketing is a powerful option for continuing to collect customer and prospect data instead of relying on third-party cookies.

As Price puts it, “About eight in 10 marketers depend on third-party cookies, so when they do vanish, those who haven’t adapted their data structures and their data-gathering processes will struggle to effectively personalize their email programs.”

To combat these challenges, marketers will need to shift to ensure their email strategies leverage first-party data. This will help you create a more individualized email experience. 

Price suggests, “Email can be used to gather customer and prospect data with new, evolving email software and with dynamic content templates. Forms, in-email purchase options, and customizable marketing paths are all valid, successful tactics to use in order to garner more first-hand recipient information.”

Price adds, “Brands with siloed data structures have been unable to achieve a full, single view of their customers, with data getting pulled into multiple directions.”

Price says, “The evolution of privacy regulations will put email even more at the center of the marketing mix — as the channel that offers the most comprehensive view into zero and first-party data, and the ability to use it effectively.”

She continues, “This adoption of zero and first-party data will also allow for more practical uses of AI in email, with AMP and dynamic content automation.”

3. Marketers are focusing more on customer loyalty and retention.

The phaseout of third-party cookies will impact how some marketers acquire new customers, but it won’t impact how marketers retain existing customers — which is why some marketers will adjust to this third-party phaseout by refocusing their efforts.

SVP of Marketing at Cordial, Carrie Parker, says, “The phaseout of Google’s third-party cookies is forcing marketers and advertisers to think about engaging their customers and audiences in more personal and authentic ways. With cookies going away, acquiring new customers will become more complex, but on the other hand, retaining customers will be a much more critical piece of the puzzle than in the past.”

She adds, “More marketers are increasingly focusing on loyalty and retention within their current customer base, enhancing their experience with the insights readily available that consumers have provided.”

Parker told me Cordial recently conducted a study and found 70% of consumers dislike online ads that target them using websites and products they’ve viewed — and, on the contrary, more than eight in 10 consumers are more likely to buy from stores and brands that communicate with them in personal, relevant ways.

Parker continues, “Consumers want more from companies when it comes to personalization than what they’re receiving from most brands these days. Personalization does not mean inserting a name on an email and hitting send. Instead, it requires considering the value added to the consumer and keeping them loyal customers. With cookies going away, first-party data strategies allow brands to emphasize personalization, loyalty, and retention of their customers. Brands can use their customer base and provide something of value to make them come back.”

Ultimately, the phaseout of the third-party cookie is a good opportunity to re-evaluate how you’re interacting with both new and existing customers. First-party data strategies will ultimately help you better connect with your customers.

4. Marketers will focus on the best impressions rather than the best users.

Melinda Han Williams, Chief Data Scientist at Dstillery, says, “One of the most challenging aspects of preparing for this transition is that any good campaign will include a portfolio of post-cookie solutions and technologies after third-party cookies are gone. Even the marketers who are furthest along in their post-cookie testing journeys may still have much more preparation to do.”

She adds, “New identity solutions, such as UID2 and RampID, allow advertisers to reach people who have opted-in to tracking and addressability. Marketers who have tested these solutions have progressed toward post-cookie readiness, but they’re not done yet.”

“Why? Because some people don’t want to be tracked on the internet.”

Williams points out that marketers need to prepare solutions to reach people without tracking them or compromising their privacy or preferences.

The solution here? Understanding you might not need that much data about each customer in the first place.

As Williams told me, “The good news is you don’t need to know who someone is to know whether they’d be receptive to your message. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) enables marketers to choose the best impressions rather than the best users.”

She adds, “Once you reframe the problem this way, rather than trying to find out as much about the user as possible with increasingly limited data, it is possible to do inventory-based targeting with performance and scale rivaling the cookie-based, tracking-based solutions that will soon be retired.”

Change is always difficult, particularly when it comes to the ways in which marketers reach new audiences. Fortunately, this change is likely for the best. Shifting to a first-party data model will help your organization appeal to the majority of consumers who are hesitant to share their data with companies, and it will set you up for long-term growth after Google’s third-party phaseout.

A
leaked TikTok for Business deckstated that the average user spends 89 minutes per day on the platform.

Eighty-nine minutes is, inarguably, a long time to spend on an application. However, eighty-nine minutes means that businesses have invaluable opportunities to capture audience attention and generate interest.

If you’re hoping to get in on the action, read on to discover high-quality ideas for content to post on TikTok.

What is TikTok?

As a refresher, TikTok is a social media platform where users can record, edit, and share video content. These videos can be anywhere between 15 seconds to three minutes long, creating ample opportunity for all types of content to take center stage.

What to Post on TikTok

Let’s go over some high-quality ideas and examples of content you can post on TikTok.

1. Day-to-day routine videos.

Daily routine videos give viewers insight into how work happens at your business.

It shares the processes that bring your product or services to life, and it can be a fun way to build a connection through a behind-the-scenes look. If you leverage this tip, it’s a best practice to create a daily routine video that features everyday tasks most related to your business.

Glass Half Full is a small business in Louisiana that diverts glass products from landfills by collecting used glassware and recycling it into sand and glass cullet. It uses TikTok to generate awareness and interest in its business, and the video below demonstrates what a day of glass collection and recycling looks like.

2. Share content that reflects your brand values.

Content that reflects a brand or business’ values performs best on social media and has the 3rd highest ROI of any content type. Customers also care now, more than ever, about the causes that their favorite businesses stand for and use them as a factor in their purchasing decisions.

As such, sharing your brand values on TikTok is a valuable way to connect with your audience. Those who stand for the same causes as you will take notice, and you have the potential to draw them in as a customer.

Ensure that you’re genuine with this practice, though, as consumers see businesses that make false claims as exploitative and opportunistic.

3. Spotlight your employees.

Spotlighting employees puts a face to your brand and shows audiences the people behind the products and services they love. It also humanizes your business and shares an exciting and exclusive peek into your operation.

4. Educate your audience on relevant topics.

You can share information with your audience on TikTok that will educate them on things related to your industry or niche. If you’re committed to always educating and helping, you’ll build authority, and people will return to you as a source of truth to continue learning more.  

Jeeves is a dry cleaning service that shares helpful, educational content with its audience. In the video below, an employee explains the importance of separating light and dark colors when doing laundry.

5. Create product campaigns and tease new launches.

Running product campaigns or teasing upcoming launches on TikTok can help you generate excitement. Viewers know that they can expect a big reveal on your page, and they’ll be waiting on the edge of their seats and returning to your profile to see if you’ve released more information.

A pro tip is to combine a product campaign or launch with a related and relevant sound or hashtag to get more visibility from users scrolling through current trends.

6. Share a unique business story.

Sharing a narrative story about your business is an engaging way to connect with your audience, as these videos represent something that they can only find in your business. For example, customer spotlights or success stories, explaining the lifecycle of your products or services, or an exciting story about related industry news all uniquely relate to your business and what you offer.

One of the great things about TikTok is that audiences don’t expect high-production-value from videos, so you can simply generate an idea and turn on the camera and start filming.

7. Answer audience questions.

Answering questions is a great way to connect with your audience and build relationships. TikTokers often ask questions without being prompted, so you can browse your comments and create video replies to questions or leverage TikTok’s native Q&A feature.

A bonus is that answering questions gives you insight into customers’ troubles with your business. If you see the same asks repeatedly, you might learn that you need to update your FAQ page or provide additional information about specific topics on your website.

In the TikTok below, Franziska, founder of Glass Half Full, answers a comment in a video reply about the business’ practices when it comes to throwing products away.

8. Product Demonstrations

Product demonstrations help your audience learn how to use your products in a digestible way. Instead of reading an instruction manual and deciphering pictures or being walked through the process over the phone, they can actually watch someone take the steps and follow along.

9. Partner with relevant influencers.

Influencers have audiences that trust them and their values, so partnering with one related to your niche is a valuable tool for generating brand awareness and building your following on TikTok. These partnerships are also a valuable form of social proof for viewers, which is a big factor in purchasing decisions.

You can leverage this tip and post influencer content to your profile, but you can also have influencers share content on their profiles to expose you to a new audience group.

Small Business TikTok Ideas

As a small business, you may be wondering if it’s worthwhile to create another social media profile on another app.

Considering that 92% of global TikTok users take action after watching a video and are 1.5x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform, you have the opportunity to really build your brand if you use the app.

The ideas mentioned above are valuable for large and small businesses alike, and you can leverage many of them without a large budget. However, there are specific content ideas that are relevant for small businesses, and we’ll discuss them below.

1. Share your origin story.

Sharing your small business’ unique origin story humanizes your business and helps you connect with your audience. They’ll clearly see how you came to be and why you care about what you offer, and your video can also be a source of inspiration for your followers starting their own business endeavors.

As mentioned before, TikTok viewers don’t demand high production value, so you can tell your story however you see fit.

In the TikTok below, Pierce Woodward explains how his jewelry business, Brand Pierre, began its journey and grew into what it is today.

2. Highlight your production process.

Showing viewers what goes into creating what you offer is exciting because they’ll see how the things they care about come to be. It also shows the hard work, dedication, and care that goes into creating what you offer, demonstrating your commitment to giving value to your customers.

Victoria Adrian is a textile artist who creates custom rugs and embroidery projects. She frequently shares her production process on TikTok, displaying the care and thought that goes into creating her products.

3. Use trending sounds and hashtags.

Using trending sounds and hashtags helps you build brand awareness for your small business as your videos are visible to a broad audience. People browsing through the sound or hashtag will see all of the different videos that were uploaded and have the potential to land on your video, click on your profile, and learn more about what you offer.

4. Duet and stitch videos.

Duets and Stitches are ways to build on existing TikTok videos. With Duets, you add on to another user’s existing video, and with Stitch, you clip specific scenes from another user’s video to add to your video.

As a small business, using these native TikTok features allows you to engage with existing related content and incite conversation with your audience. You can Stitch and Duet videos from anyone on the platform with the feature enabled, so you can even begin conversations with users that may not know you exist.

Jeeves expertly uses the stitch feature to answer audience questions. The video below is a stitch from a video where someone asks how to take care of an item of clothing.

5. Partner with relevant content creators.

Partnering with content creators or influencers helps you gain exposure to a new audience relevant to what your business offers. By working with a content creator, you’re also benefiting from the trust they’ve built with their audience that the products, services, and businesses they work with and use are trustworthy and worth doing business with.

about time coffee in New York City partnered with a group of sisters, sister snacking, who are influencers in the New York Food scene. The business posted the video to its profile, and so did sistersnacking, featuring some of the store’s products to their audience of 147.6K followers.

6. Showcase what makes your business shine.

A great way to get people excited about what your small business offers is to showcase how well you do what you do. This shows viewers exactly what they can expect from you, generating excitement and maybe helping people decide to work with you based on your expertise.

The Pool Guy, Miles Laflin, is a swimming pool engineer in the UK who often posts videos of the pool cleaning process and the effectiveness of his work. He shows a before and after picture that clearly demonstrates how he brings pools from green and swampy to clear and ready for swimming. He shows that he’s good at his job, alerting potential customers he can bring their pool back to life.

Over To You

TikTok was once the app to watch in 2019.

Now, 52% of social media marketers who leverage the app plan to increase their investments in 2022. If you’re hoping to get in on the channel for the first time or improve your presence, the business examples on this list are a great source of inspiration for you to get started.

What does it take to be a good manager? Some say it’s empathy, others will say it’s transparency. The truth is, it’s a combination of many elements.

I surveyed and spoke with internal and external employees to discover the makers of a good manager. Whether you’re currently managing a team or are interested in doing so, keep reading to discover what we found out.

• 7 Skills People Managers Must Master
• Tips on Being a Good Manager

• How to Be a Good Sales Manager

• How to Be a Good Marketing Manager
• How to Be a Good Project Manager

7 Skills People Managers Must Master, According to HubSpot Employees

Why do people really quit their jobs? Many will say it’s because of salary, benefits, or workload. However, studies show it’s usually due to management.

Studies show companies need good managers to retain good employees.

But what exactly does a good manager look like? What skills or strategies can you develop to ensure you’re considered a good one?

To explore this issue, we polled people and asked them to check off all the qualities they felt were most important for a great manager.

Respondents listed these top three qualities or skills:

• 58% said, “They trust me to work autonomously.”
• 46% said, “They are empathetic and understanding.”
• 45% said, “They give me useful, clear feedback.”

Other answers included a willingness to teach, interest in career growth, strong communication skills, awarding credit, and inviting fresh ideas.

Along with this data, I consulted my colleagues to get their thoughts on what makes a people manager effective. Here are 7 crucial qualities of a great team leader.

1. Good managers help employees navigate change.

Consider the last time you experienced change within your organization.

I’m willing to bet the change felt daunting at times. Fortunately, good managers can mitigate the negative or ambivalent emotions that arise from change.

“The strongest managers are ones who can help their teams navigate change in a very personal way,” Christine McLaughlin, a senior project manager on HubSpot’s Sales Leadership Enablement team. “I’m a firm believer that every challenge presents an opportunity. But, because we’re human, we can’t always see the opportunity from the start.”

McLaughlin adds, “Our personal life, mental health, physical health, the last meeting we had, the next meeting we’re preparing for, all play a role in influencing how we perceive change. Do we view it as a challenge? An opportunity? A setback? A relief?”

“Strong managers can translate change for each individual on their team. They meet their teammate where they’re at and help to answer their questions and concerns to bring them to where they need to go.”

How can you do this? Start by fostering psychological safety, so your employees feel comfortable mentioning how they feel about a certain business change. Then, listen carefully to their concerns and work on providing solutions for those issues.

For instance, let’s say your team has experienced a reorg and one of your direct reports is concerned her role is going to change as a result.

To mitigate those concerns, consider creating a document that outlines which (if any) of their responsibilities might change as a result of the reorg — along with some new opportunities they can pursue to continue developing their professional skills.

2. Good managers are open and transparent.

Trust and transparency are undeniably critical components of good leaders — and, post-pandemic, this is continuing to rise in importance.

In fact, Edelman’s most recent 2021 benchmark barometer on trust in leaders found employees ranked “good employee communication” 44 points higher than in the previous year.

Keri Polmonari, HubSpot’s Manager of Customer Success on the SMB team, believes transparency to be one of the most important attributes a good leader can possess.

“Business changes — like changes in department goals, processes, or personnel — can be difficult and overwhelming,” she says, “when everyone understands the why behind these business changes, they are more open and understanding of implications this could have on their jobs, both positive and negative.”

She adds that transparency builds trust, fosters relationships, and creates organizational alignment, all key components of a company’s and individual’s success.

3. Good managers encourage vulnerability.

When was the last time your manager started your 1:1 with a slightly more personal question, like, “How was your birthday this past weekend?” or “Read any good books lately?”

These questions ultimately help encourage vulnerability by creating space for you to share information about your life outside of work — and they can go a long way toward creating stronger bonds.

“Whenever I start a new role or inherit a new team, I begin by enabling and encouraging vulnerability,” said VP of marketing at Trusted Health, Jill Callan. “This helps me forge strong bonds with my direct reports and allows them to be comfortable to share ideas and admit weaknesses.”

Callan adds, “I’m also very intentional about getting to know my team as individuals and learning about their lives outside of work. Taking the time upfront to build a strong, authentic relationship with my direct reports helps us tackle inevitable tough challenges down the line.”

To encourage vulnerability, consider how you might increase your own openness with your team. For instance, perhaps you admit when you’re feeling overwhelmed with childcare duties, mention a Netflix show you’ve been binging, or simply chat about the gardening hobby you’ve picked up.

And embrace vulnerability by admitting when you’ve made a mistake or you’re feeling overwhelmed — it will help your employees feel comfortable admitting the same.

4. Good managers find ways to supplement their team member’s weaknesses.

I once had a manager who repeatedly sought out learning and development opportunities for the areas we’d determined as weaknesses of mine. She would often email me public speaking courses, or data & analytics workshops.

As a result, I continued to grow professionally, and I felt challenged. This is what a good manager does: Continues to keep a direct report’s weaknesses in mind, and provides guidance to help them improve.

Former HubSpot Senior Manager Christina Perricone concurs.

“Good managers find ways to supplement their team member’s weaknesses,” she said. “Each of us has skills that come naturally to us, as well as skills we’re not so great at.”

“An attuned manager can identify an individual’s weak areas and will surface resources or offer guidance to assist in those areas.”

With this in mind, take stock of your team’s weaknesses and actively pursue resources that can help your team develop their weaker skills.

Additionally, use the hiring process to create a more well-rounded team by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing employees.

As Perricone says, “Good managers are skilled at balancing out their teams by recruiting talent that can fill in the skill and experience gaps, thereby creating a more well-rounded unit.”

5. Good managers work for their employees — not above them.

You might be thinking, “Managers work for their employees? Isn’t it the other way around?“

Actually, a manager, like an employee, is more effective when they’re an active team player.

While an employee’s job is to fulfill tasks within a job description, a manager’s job is to make their team successful. To do this, a manager shouldn’t be afraid to chime in during meetings, assist on projects, or help their team grow or succeed in other ways.

For instance, consider asking your direct reports during a 1:1, “Is there anything you need me to do?”

This question can be translated in multiple positive ways, including:

• “Are there any blockers I can remove for you?”
• “Are you waiting on a decision from me on anything?”
• “Are you working on an idea that you want to share with me?”
• “Is there something going on in your world outside of work that’s competing for your time and attention?”

Ultimately, a good manager considers it their primary job to make their employees successful.

6. Good managers are always aiming to improve their emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence — or the skill that requires you to understand your own emotions, learn how to manage them, and know how to respond to the emotions of others on your team — is a vital component of good leadership.

Emotional intelligence can help you ensure you’re giving clear directions and allows you to be empathetic to the needs of others. In short, it can help you foster stronger professional relationships and communicate effectively.

Most importantly, emotional intelligence enables you to stay calm during high-stress or unexpected situations — which can prevent you from making rash decisions as a leader, or stressing your team out unnecessarily.

7. Good managers can establish and promote psychologically-safe environments.

The ability to cultivate psychological safety is a critical asset that Jennifer Brault, team manager on HubSpot’s social media team, values in her own people manager.

“Feeling supported, heard, and understood is the foundation I need to be able to come to work every day with the right mindset to do good work,” Brault says.

Brault adds, “Genuine empathy and psychological safety are hard to fake, and it’s something that I think everyone should master before they consider the people management path.”

Psychological safety fosters innovative thinking and the ability to adapt well to change — and yet, according to a 2020 McKinsey Global Survey, only a handful of business leaders often demonstrate the behaviors associated with psychological safety.

If you’re a manager or hoping to be a better leader, it’s important you take time to identify aspects of your management style or overall office culture that could benefit from psychological safety.

For example, rather than using language that makes your team members feel scared of missing deadlines or goals, keep an open and supportive dialogue.

You’ll find that they will confidently come to you with successes, learnings from failure, or concerns while they’re working on high-pressure projects.

Alternatively, if a team member is having trouble with a project, you should offer advice or assistance to help them remove blockers, rather than telling them to just get it done.

Supportive communication with team members allows them to learn from mistakes and grow as employees, rather than work tirelessly on projects because they fear that they’ll lose their jobs.

Tips for Being a Good Manager

As outlined in the data above, there are a few key traits required of any good manager. These include:

• Providing coaching and mentoring when necessary, but enabling your team to work autonomously and trusting them to get the job done.
• Showing empathy toward your direct reports as people with lives outside of work, and creating a sense of psychological safety for your employees to feel comfortable admitting when they’re struggling or need help.
• Being clear and direct with feedback.
• Going the extra mile to help foster your employees’ professional growth through training, learning & development opportunities, or 1:1 sessions in which you coach them on certain skills.

However, a good manager looks different depending on the department or role — a good sales manager, for instance, requires different skills than that of a good marketing manager.

Let’s dive into those, now.

How to Be a Good Sales Manager

Being a good sales manager requires a few unique skills outside of those listed above.

Along with setting clear expectations, communicating effectively, and inspiring your sales reps to perform at their best, a good sales manager needs to demonstrate a positive mindset, build team unity, and learn how to best support each sales rep in the unique way that will serve him or her best.

Good Sales Manager Examples

• Using a dashboard or task management tool to easily track metrics for each sales rep. With this approach, you avoid taking up too much time in your meetings discussing metrics and focus on how you can help, support, and coach your reps.
• Planning team outings or events that allow your team to build relationships with one another. Sales can be high-pressure and stressful, so it’s important you provide dedicated time to enable your sales reps to connect with one another and feel that they’re part of a support system.
• Looking for training and development opportunities so your sales reps can continue to improve. In 1:1 meetings, focus on how you can help them achieve their goals; in team meetings, figure out what types of training can help the entire team perform better.
• Motivating your team by focusing on the ‘bigger purpose’ to ensure they feel intrinsically motivated. Sales isn’t just about hitting quota and making money — remind your team of your company’s bigger purpose to ensure they feel fulfilled and motivated.

Looking for more sales manager tips? Take a look at what sales leaders should prioritize in 2022 and things every sales manager should know.

How to Be a Good Marketing Manager

Marketing managers are often responsible for a content property or program, which means their tasks can vary greatly.

Good Marketing Manager Examples

• The ability to think big-picture by leveraging data to create a strong long-term strategy.
• Knowing when to pivot when an existing strategy isn’t working out as expected.
• Communicating effectively with various stakeholders — this includes inspiring and motivating your direct reports, communicating team goals cross-functionally and to leadership, and creating clear external communications, as well.
• Delegating and organizing tasks effectively.
• Facilitating your direct that growth by giving them projects that align with their interests.

To learn more about managing a marketing team, take a look at What Is a Marketing Manager?

How to Be a Good Project Manager

To be a good project manager, you need a few additional technical skills compared to the other managers on this list.

A few other project management skills and responsibilities include:

• Setting realistic goals and understanding what resources are required.
• Having good organization and communication skills. A good project manager is organized and detail-oriented to effectively delegate tasks to the right teams, and can clearly articulate the full scope of a project to various stakeholders to ensure alignment on the larger strategy.
• Analyzing and determining potential risks. A good project manager foresees potential roadblocks in any given project and analyzes metrics and data to determine the best way to mitigate those risks.
• Using the best project management software options at their disposal to create a streamlined process and keep track of responsibilities and timelines.

That’s it! With all of this information, you’re well on your way to becoming a better manager.

Remember, like any other role, becoming a good manager requires time, patience, dedication, and a consistent desire for feedback from your direct reports to iterate and grow over time.

As a salesperson, your success rests largely on quota attainment. Make quota consistently, and you’re a superhero. Miss quota a few months in a row, and everyday inches you closer and closer to a performance plan.

For reps or managers in the latter bucket, desperate times often call for desperate measures. First, maybe hitting the number is a matter of closing a few more deals. Then, suddenly, you’re stretching the truth on features and saying, “Sure, we can do that!” when you’re not sure you can really do that — or worse, you’re sure you absolutely cannot do that.

Sales is a notoriously stressful job, and the pressure to fudge the truth with prospects can become overwhelming when your goal is a long way away. But the unpleasant repercussions are not worth it. But before we delve into why lying doesn’t pay, let’s first see why salespeople lie.

Why Do Salespeople Lie?

An “honest salesperson” is a myth and a perfect example of an oxymoron to many. But why do salespeople lie?

We list three reasons why they do. Perhaps after reading this section, you’ll be more sympathetic towards them.

1. They don’t know the product

This is one big reason why the average salesperson distorts the truth. They simply don’t know what a product can or can’t do, so they stretch the truth about its capabilities.

As salespeople, they’re expected to know everything about what they’re selling, so it’ll be pretty embarrassing to admit, “Oh gee, I don’t know whether it can do this.”

2. They want to build a relationship with the customer

Most people have an innate desire to be liked, and salespeople are no exception. Thus, they tickle the ears of the customer because they want them to like them enough to make a purchase.

3. To make more money

No, we aren’t going to skip the primary reason people lie: to make money. Many salespeople lie about products and services to make a quick sale and move on to the next prospect.

Why Salespeople Shouldn’t Lie During the Selling Process

We now look at nine reasons why lying during the selling process is definitely not worth it.

Your new customer won’t be happy for long.

If you promised something that your company can’t deliver on to make a sale, your new client would learn the truth in short order, and warm, fuzzy feelings will turn into buyer’s remorse. By not being 100% honest, you might have sold them a defective product or service for their needs.

They may give you or someone else at your company an earful and leave it at that. Or, they could take to social media to air their grievances — which you never want to happen.

You’ll cause damage to you and your company’s reputation.

An angry phone call is bad, but an angry tweet or Facebook post is far worse. Your company just got crossed off vendor shortlists — not good for your organization’s brand perception or your personal reputation. Reaching trusted advisor status is the goal of many salespeople today, and that’s much harder to do with that type of baggage.

You’ll kiss upsell opportunities goodbye.

One of the perks of becoming a trusted advisor in your clients’ eyes is that they’re more receptive to upsell suggestions.

However, if you’ve already shown yourself to be a fibber, why should clients take your word on any additional items? You might have won a quick buck originally, but it could cost you additional revenue in the long run.

You may lose referrals, too.

Referrals are the best. You can skip a large portion of the prospecting and initial interest stages and dive right into the meat of your sales process with a higher success rate. In fact, according to NoMoreColdCalling.com, the close rate for referred clients is about 50%.

But if your new customer has caught you in a lie? I doubt they’ll be referring your company to much of anything, except maybe the door.

You’ll risk making internal enemies.

Let’s say you sold a product on a promise for a special kind of support you know your company wouldn’t typically provide. The client signs the contract, and you pass the buck along to the implementation team.

On to the next month? Well, not quite. What happens when the customer starts asking about the support you pledged? You committed another department to something they might not be able to give, and they’ll be understandably upset. Once your colleagues find out who’s to blame for their misery, you’ll garner a negative reputation internally.

You’ll contribute to sales stereotypes.

As part of his research for the book To Sell Is Human, Daniel Pink and Qualtrics conducted a survey called “What Do You Do At Work?” The question “When you think of ‘sales’ or ‘selling,’ what’s the first word that comes to mind?” aimed to gauge people’s perception of the sales profession.

If you’re sensitive, you might want to stop here. Among the most prevalent words were “pushy,” “sleazy,” “ugh,” “yuck,” “dishonest,” and “manipulative.”

If you’re a salesperson who takes pride in your work, this is worth bearing in mind. Whenever you bend the truth to make a sale, you feed into the general psyche’s negative perception. Don’t be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your commitment to honesty might just change some deeply-rooted opinions about your industry.

Your customers will realize it.

Your customers are likely more intelligent than you give them credit for. Many can tell when you’re lying to them, skipping important information, or telling them what you think they want to hear.

Because of this, you’re far less likely to make a sale. So while you might meet someone that swallows your lies once in a while, you’ll lose more sales in the long run when you get called out on your lies.

Lying is counterproductive to your goals.

A lying salesperson might have contacted your current prospect, so they didn’t make a purchase. But when you bring honesty to the table, you’ll increase your chances of signing them up or making a sale.

Your self-esteem could suffer.

Having a reputation as an honest salesperson will boost your self-esteem. You’ll be happy knowing that you haven’t tricked or lied your way to making a sale.

A reputation for honesty improves professional and personal relationships. Furthermore, clients who trust your products stay loyal to your company, even through tough times.

Can Sales and Lying be Mutually Exclusive?

Although prospects are wary from the start because of past experiences with lying salespeople, you can set the foundation for a profitable relationship by being honest.

So, don’t ever lie to your clients. It might seem difficult to be upfront with customers, but they’ll appreciate your honesty, and you’ll be proof that sales and lying can be mutually exclusive.

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

Google Sheets offers many data visualization tools within its platform, with one of the most popular ones being the histogram.

Read more to learn what exactly a histogram is, what it’s used for, and how to make one on Google Sheets.

What is a histogram and what is it used for?

A histogram is a graphical representation showing the distribution of data points that have been grouped into specific ranges or categories.

Say you have a blog and you have blog posts ranging from 1 to 500 words, 500 to 1,000 words, and 1,000 to 2,000 words. You want to analyze which bucket gets the most organic traffic. You can use a histogram to accomplish this.

While a histogram looks like a bar chart, the two are not interchangeable. A histogram displays the frequency distribution of variables within a data set. A bar graph, however, serves as a comparison between separate variables.

Now that you know how to use it, let’s go over how to make one.

How to Make a Histogram on Google Sheets

1. Select your data set.

   

2. Click on “Insert” then select “Chart.”

   

3. Click the drop-down menu in “Chart Type” then scroll down to the “Other” section.

   

4. Review your histogram.

   

5. Edit your chart by clicking on the three dots and then clicking on “Edit chart.”

Use the chart editor to get the most out of your histogram. You can edit:

• The chart style by showing item dividers or changing bucket size for instance.
• The titles
• The series
• The legend
• The axis (both horizontal and vertical)
• The gridlines

There you have it – another helpful visualization tool you can use to understand your data. 

Press releases remain a critical link in the communications chain. According to Cision’s 2021 Global State of the Media Report, 78% of journalists say they prefer press releases and news announcements to other content types.

The problem? Writing a press release is simple — writing a good press release is no easy task. In this piece, we’ll break down 14 common bad press release characteristics and offer suggestions to help your team avoid press release mistakes.

14 Rookie Press Release Mistakes to Avoid

While there’s no such thing as the “perfect” press release, your team can get closer to the mark by avoiding common errors. Here’s a look at 14 of the most common rookie mistakes — and how to reduce your chance of making them.

1. Forgetting to Add Links

Press releases are not just for the press. Releases will likely be published on your website, and your team might also submit releases to wire services. The result? Press releases now live in a digital world — and they need links that drive readers to other relevant content. For marketing teams still using the traditional model of press release production, however, it’s easy to miss out on links.

The result is a release that might have great content but doesn’t go anywhere, meaning your team can miss out on potential conversion opportunities.

The Solution: Ensure all press releases are reviewed prior to publishing. If there’s no obvious place for a link, revise the release to include it.

2. Not Optimizing for Search Engines

Not only should you have links to your company website, you should also craft the “link text” (or “anchor text”) of some of these links so that they contain relevant keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. For example, if you are in the internet marketing software business, you would have a link in your press release somewhere such that the text of the link has internet marketing in it. On a related note, the page that you are linking to should have matching keywords in its page title and meta description.

The Solution: Check your press releases for SEO relevance using tools capable of measuring the impact of your content and offering suggestions before you publish.

3. Putting Your First Link Too Late

Try to get at least one link in the first third of your content. The reason for this is that when releases get picked up by aggregators or services, they often only include just the first paragraph or two, and the rest gets automatically placed into a subsequent page with a “read more” button.

The result? You might have two or three great links in your content that never see the light of day because readers are only skimming the first few lines of your press release.

The Solution: If you can’t find a place for links in the top third of your content, opt for a rewrite rather than running the risk of burying the link after the jump.

4. Not Including Contact Information

No contact information in your press release — including a phone number and email address — means interested parties have to do the work of looking up your company details and following through. While the effort here isn’t substantial, it’s often enough that potential contacts will simply forget about finding your number or will connect with companies that make their contact information more obvious.

The Solution: Make sure every release includes at least two ways for customers to get in touch — and make sure both still work. There’s nothing worse than sending out an email address that bounces back messages because it’s no longer active.

5. Leaving Out the “About Our Company” Section

Sure, most people aren’t going to read all the way through to the bottom of your press release. But those that do are primed to connect with your company, if you can provide the last little push into action.

This is where the “About Our Company” section comes in. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a small blurb about what you do and why you do it, but it’s worth including in every press release.

The Solution: Create an About Our Company section that’s clear, concise, and to the point. Then, regularly review it to ensure it’s up-to-date.

7. Ignoring the “Why”

Why should readers care about your press release? What’s newsworthy or interesting about your announcement? While it’s critical to communicate key information, the message also matters: Dry, dull, and boring press releases may get published — but they won’t get read.

The Solution: Lead with a compelling headline and first paragraph. Even if your release gets more detailed as it goes, capturing user attention up-front increases the chance that readers will actually reach the end.

8. Using Uninspiring Quotes

While it’s great to have quotes from executives or team leaders at your company, it’s worth steering clear of quotes from executives or team leaders that talk about how “excited” or “proud” they are about the information in your release. Why? Because these quotes don’t add any value. Of course staff at your company are interested in your announcement, but that doesn’t offer any insight for journalists or readers.

The result is a press release that looks like a carbon copy of similar content and won’t get much traction.

The Solution: Where possible, talk to the people involved with the project or product you’re announcing and get quotes about why it matters to the target audience — what pain points can it address? How does it transform existing processes?

9. Over-Emphasizing Your Brand

Your press release is about your brand — but it shouldn’t be all about your brand. If all you do is talk about how great your company is and how much work you’ve done, you’re not giving readers any reason to keep reading. Instead, they’re left wondering how much of what you’re saying is true and how much is hyperbole.

The Solution: Press releases are about walking the line between promoting your brand and highlighting the impact of your newest project, service, or research. A good rule of thumb? Make sure the headline and first paragraph are about what you’ve done, not how great you are.

10. Under-Supporting Press Release Promotion

Press releases are part of larger marketing campaigns. As a result, it’s easy to spend big on other efforts such as social media and search ads, and under-support press releases. This creates a gap in your marketing efforts that reduces the newsworthy impact of your announcement.

In practice, this limits the reach of your campaign and can frustrate efforts to generate market interest.

The Solution: Start with strategy. Sit down with your team before new campaigns get up and running to ensure there’s a plan for press releases that includes specific budget allotments and targeted news sources.

11. Opting for Style Over Substance

Creating a great headline and compelling first paragraph is a great way to get readers interested — but you’ll lose them in the next section of your press release if you can’t back up initial style with substance.

Consider a press release about a new product that claims to solve specific issues for your target audience. If you spend the first two paragraphs talking about the potential positive impact but don’t back it up with data, quotes, or other evidence, your press release won’t land.

The Solution: Start with solid data. Talk to your product teams and evaluate your market to see where your new solution fits and then find specific data that showcases your results.

12. Forgetting to Ask for Permission

Quotes are a great way to connect with your audience and increase the impact of your press release. The caveat? Always get permission. Internally, this is typically no issue, but if you’re using quotes from a third-party source, even if they’re directly and positively talking about your product, make sure to get express written permission.

If you don’t — and the source doesn’t want their quote used — you could end up doing serious damage to your reputation.

The Solution: Create a clear permissions process that involves identifying great quotes, reaching out to sources, and getting express permission in writing to ensure you’re on solid source ground.

13. Rushing the Release

Timing is everything when it comes to press releases. While it’s tempting to get your release out as soon as possible, if your release goes out before the rest of your campaign is ready, you may find yourself turning away potential customers until your product or service is actually ready for launch.

Best case scenario? You play catch-up and customers stick around. Worst case? They take their business elsewhere.

The Solution: Create a marketing timeline for new campaigns that specifically calls out press release dates and aligns them with other campaign efforts.

14. Trading Accuracy for Speed

The more quickly you can capitalize on emerging trends and customer sentiment, the better. The challenge? Trading press release accuracy for speed. If your release goes out on time but is riddled with spelling or grammar errors, it won’t have the same impact and could convince customers to take their business elsewhere.

The Solution: Put every release through at least two rounds of edits and evaluation to minimize mistakes.

Don’t Stress — Impress By Avoiding Common Mistakes

A bad press release can sink your marketing campaign. Improve your impact and cultivate a strong brand presence with your audience by avoiding these 14 common mistakes. 

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Recruiting or hiring the right talent is essential to the growth of any business.

However, it’s not always easy to find the right person. Most times, it feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack-like heap of CVs, with each new one looking better than the last.

Sorting through these CVs often requires a ton of time and effort — without the guarantee of picking the right candidate.

You can make things easier for yourself and increase your chances of picking the right candidate by using job simulations.

In this guide, you’ll learn what job simulations mean. We’ll also consider how job simulations can help you, its pros and cons, types, and how to create an excellent job simulation that’ll benefit your company and its employees.

Let’s begin!

For example, for a secretary position, a job simulation might include typing a dictation or completing forms.

A job simulation might also involve the candidate showing their soft skills like communication, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

Job role tests are specific to the job the applicant is applying for, and by using these tests, employers can determine whether a job candidate can do the job instead of hiring them just based on their CVs or interview answers.

85+ years of research compiled into the Schmidt-Hunter paper reveal that education and experience aren’t effective at predicting candidates’ ability. Instead, job simulations help test for skills directly!

Let’s now see some of the most significant advantages and disadvantages of using these tests in a job hiring process.

When to Use Job Simulations

These tests can occur at different points in the hiring process. Here are some of the best times to use them.

During Screening

Using job simulations as the first screening step can weed out less-suitable candidates, leaving recruiters with an optimized pool that’ll make the time, effort, and costs of undergoing custom aspects of the hiring process worth it.

Situational judgment tests and similar role-specific tests prove effective at this stage.

At the Final Interview Stage

Using simulations like in-basket tests and case interviews in the final stages of the hiring process will increase the chances of hiring right. Since these tests take time to create and execute, using these tests at this stage ensures that recruiting teams spend their time rightly because they’ll likely be testing serious contenders.

Advantages of Using Job Simulations

Why should you consider using job simulations when hiring? Let’s discuss five significant reasons.

1. It Tests the Candidates’ Skills

A CV can be an excellent way to gauge whether a candidate is suitable for a job. However, it’s not enough, especially considering that candidates can now pay great writers to help them write or polish their resumes and cover letters.

Interviews are also an essential part of the hiring process, but many recruiters will agree that great interviewers don’t always make for great employees and vice versa.

However, a job simulation is better than CVs and interviews to evaluate a potential employee’s skills objectively. Such tests ensure you’re moved to hire by actual ability and let you see how well candidates handle the job in real-time and under work conditions.

Using these tests can reduce the risk of a bad hire. And how vital hiring right is! Hiring right reportedly increases the productivity of UK companies by almost £7.7 billion, while employing the wrong person can cost a business three times higher than a misdirected salary.

2. It Reduces Bias

It’s illegal to discriminate against job applicants based on their gender, religion, race, and other factors.

Unfortunately, many recruiters still discriminate against some candidates because of unconscious bias.

Using job simulations, though, it’s easier to fight against unconscious discrimination actively, thus helping you choose the best person for the job regardless of who they are.

3. It Gives Deeper Insights

These tests open a window for recruiters to peek into the personality of potential hires. Since simulations mirror actual work conditions, recruiters can see how candidates behave under stress, in a team, and when facing agitated customers.

For instance, they might learn that Candidate A is rude to agitated customers and doesn’t work well with others, despite acing their interview. In contrast, Candidate B, who is shy and reserved, has an excellent way with customers and teammates.

4. It Reduces the Cost of Bad Hires

Filling a position takes a lot of time, resources, and effort. Recruiters have to collect resumes, sift through to shortlist candidates, interview candidates, and welcome the new employees.

Imagine hiring wrong and having to find a replacement for the position within only six months.

With the average cost of training new employees running into thousands of dollars, how important it is to hire right!

Job simulations help reduce these risks and assist companies in hiring at the lowest cost.

5. It Benefits Candidates

Companies aren’t the only ones that benefit from job simulations: candidates do too.

A job simulation lets candidates know what they are expected to do in the role. They taste the organization’s culture and processes and experience its dynamics.

When candidates realize from the start that the job isn’t for them, they can exit the process early. This self-elimination can help decrease employee turnover because you’ll have to only sort through people suited for the role and looking to stay will be hired.

Disadvantages of Using Job Simulations

Although a job simulation is generally excellent, it has a few disadvantages.

1. It Can Be Expensive

Simulations, particularly in-person simulations, will require a lot of resources. You’ll need a space to carry out the simulation, a scheduling program for everyone to do the simulations, and internal staff to administer and debris the simulations which could mean hiring a new team.

2. It Can Exhaust Time and Resources

Simulations can take time to create and execute. For example, it could take several weeks or even months to develop custom simulations. Depending on your recruitment goals, this may not be worth the time and people resources you’ll need to make this happen.

Types of Job Simulations

Job simulations have different forms, depending on the role. However, there are some common types of job simulation tests. Let’s discuss them.

In-basket Simulations

In this type of job simulation, the candidate must complete a set of tasks in a given period.

This simulation aims to see how the candidate deals with tasks and deadlines and applies critical thinking. In addition, by observing the potential hire, managers can see how well or poorly the candidate manages their workflow.

In-basket simulations are recommended if you’re hiring for an administrative or managerial position.

Situational Judgment Tests

The situational judgment test (SJT) is a simulation test where the candidate is put in pretend scenarios with obstacles and assessed based on how they deal with these challenges.

These scenarios are usually in the form of multiple-choice questions, and the results are anonymously collected to weed out any bias.

For example, an SJT may put the candidate in a situation where they have to deal with an angry customer—the potential employee has to choose from several options on how they’ll deal with the customer.

Take-home assignments

Some companies use take-home assignments to test their candidates. These assignments are due within a timeframe, but they offer candidates the advantage of doing the test in their comfort zone and within their schedule.

While it has been criticized as being a less accurate simulation, it can be helpful if a manager wants to know how well a candidate works independently and without close management.

Group tests

Group tests are instrumental in checking out how well potential hires work in teams and communicate with others.

These tests can be in the form of group discussions and presentations or could be a group activity where the group has to solve a work-related problem. Either way, it offers managers insight into the dynamics at work and even helps to assign roles if the company’s hiring more than one candidate.

Case interviews

In this simulation, the candidate is presented with a challenging business scenario that they must navigate.

It puts the candidate in the ‘hot seat’ and helps hiring managers to assess the candidate’s ability to deal with high-pressure, high-stakes conditions.

Tips for Creating Successful Job Simulations

Here are tips for creating successful job simulations.

1. Make it immersive.

Whatever the form of the job simulation, it’s vital to make it immersive. This means the candidate must genuinely experience what it feels like to work in the role. Depending on the position and requirements, a job simulation can take a few hours or take the entire day.

2. Make it clear and specific.

The simulation should be clear and specific. Therefore, hiring managers should explain what is measured and how it is measured to the candidates. Then, by guiding candidates, you let them focus on doing their best.

Clarity and specificity also extends to your hiring team. They should know what’s being measured and how it’s being measured. All team members should know the specific skills and qualities they should be looking for.

Final Thoughts on Job Simulations

Job simulations are an excellent addition to any recruitment process as they help you discover skills you’d otherwise not have found on a CV. Although the process can be time-consuming, especially if it’s the first time incorporating it in your recruitment process, the benefits are worth it.

We often hear the terms “leaders” and “managers” used interchangeably. However, there are key differences in how each operates.

In this article, we’ll dive into what those differences are and how you can leverage each one within an organization.

What’s most interesting is that every leader has likely taken on a managerial role. However, not every manager has been a leader.

This is because someone typically steps into a manager role when there’s a need within your organization. Anyone who can meet those needs will succeed as a manager.

However, a leader requires a different skill set and can emerge naturally at any point in an organization’s growth – in fact, a leader doesn’t need a title that specifies it.

Let’s break down the key differences below.

Vision vs. Execution

As a leader, you are responsible for setting the vision. This means the ability to see beyond where you currently are and imagine a future that goes beyond expectations.

Meanwhile, a manager will focus on executing that vision and figuring out the key processes to get there.

Leaders are able to see the big picture and develop a strategy for how to get there, whereas managers typically break down those goals into smaller, actionable tasks.

People vs. Processes

Another key distinction between leaders and managers is that leaders focus on people while managers focus on processes.

Leaders are there to inspire, motivate, and nurture the people they work with, often regarded as mentors to those they lead. To do so, they invest a lot of time in understanding their employees’ passions and values.

After all, that’s what’s going to ensure the success of the company.

Managers look at the processes that will deliver the desired outcomes based on business objectives. While they do pay attention to the people, that’s often not their main priority.

Leadership vs. Management Skills

Leadership skills are typically more soft skills-based, whereas management skills tend to be more hard or technical skills.

Common leadership skills include decision-making, communication, relationship building, and strategic thinking.

Top management skills include:

• Planning and budgeting
• Task allocation
• Creativity
• Problem-solving

Leadership vs. Management Characteristics

Both leadership and management involve setting a direction for others to follow.

However, leaders typically have more of a long-term vision while managers focus on the here-and-now.

Leaders also need to be able to build relationships and trust with their team, whereas managers may not need as strong of relationships since they are focused on task execution.

Characteristics of leaders include:

• Identifying and nurturing talent.
• Pushing the envelope of what is possible.
• Taking calculated risks.
• Championing employees.

On the other hand, some common management characteristics include:

• Maintaining the status quo.
• Detecting and addressing inefficiencies.
• Mitigating risks.
• Getting the job done.

Leadership vs. Management Examples

Let’s say you’re a project manager at an advertising agency.

Your daily tasks might involve overseeing client projects, delegating tasks to your team, and ensuring that deadlines are met.

Meanwhile, the agency owner might be focused on bringing in new clients, working on long-term strategy, and building relationships with other businesses.

Both roles have overlap in their responsibilities and skills. However, their priorities differ greatly.

If you think too long-term, you’ll never figure out what it takes today to get there. If you think too short-term, you’ll lack the big picture that tells you what you’re working toward.

There’s often the implication that leadership is better than management. The truth is, every organization needs a good balance of both to thrive.

If you’re looking to attract highly engaged leads, interact with your audience, get real-time feedback, and capitalize on exciting guest speakers, then you could benefit from webinar software.

In a blind test run by the team at Business2Community, it was discovered that live webinars got 2.3x the number of registrants than an on-demand video, and had 23% more.

In addition, live attendants were also more attentive as participants viewed an average of 80% of the live webinar content. That type of turnout can aid your business in lead generation and more conversions if they’re immersed in what you have to say.

To better engage with your audience and meet your marketing objectives, you have to choose the best software to host your webinars. In this post, we’ve listed our favorite webinar software platforms. If you’re in a pinch, we’ve divided them by category for easy research.

• Best Webinar Software for Marketers
• Best Webinar Software for Small Businesses
• Best Webinar Tools for Training and Classroom Sessions
• Best Free Webinar Software

Best Webinar Software for Marketers

1. WebinarNinja

Optimizing for the customer journey is crucial and WebinarNinja knows it. The team of WebinarNinja focused Its tool development on making it easy to track and customize according to a prospect’s position in the funnel. We love how this platform:

• Integrates with CRMs like HubSpot so you can easily track your leads.
• It offers a gated landing page option to charge for events, which is an excellent option for hosting online conferences or other high-value content alongside regular webinar programming.
• Provides more targeted, customized tracking with a Facebook Ad tracking pixel on webinar attendees.

2. WorkCast

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As the webinar platform that brands itself as “created for marketers,” WorkCast is simple to use and has many helpful features. Whether you’re offering live or on-demand webinars, creating evergreen content, or a combination of all three, WorkCast has your back with:

• Integrations with all of the most popular CRMs, including HubSpot, so you can track your leads and follow up automatically.
• No downloads or plugins are required to host, attend, or present at webinars.
• The option for simulative webinars uses pre-recorded video combined with a live Q&A session or presentation.
• All of the benefits of viewer engagement, without the stress of organizing a live webinar.

3. LiveWebinar

When you’re looking for a powerful webinar platform, LiveWebinar is one of the most versatile options available on the market today. Whether you’re someone who regularly hosts webinars, a teacher, a recruiter, or anyone else who can make use of an online communication tool, LiveWebinar can be a good option for you.

The platform works right from your browser and is free from plugins or downloads. It works on all major browsers, as well as mobile devices.

LiveWebinar is reliable and has been proven in action time and again. Here are some of the platform’s key features:

• Customize the logo and background, ads banner, and the colors of windows and fonts to create a room that reflects your brand fully.
• Use the whiteboard and screen sharing features to illustrate your ideas, or use features like polls & tests, and breakout rooms to start discussions.
• Integrate the marketing, education, or email tools that you use daily, such as MailChimp, Zapier, Integromat, HeySummit, and plenty more.

4. Demio

Demio is a great webinar platform for both PC and mobile devices with a sleek design and intuitive user interface. It’s an effective live video tool for marketers looking to host live or automated events that can assist in lead and demand generation goals. Our favorite features are:

• Material sharing like slides and videos can be done on the platform while streaming.
• The ability to give attendees permission to use their microphones and webcams for a more interactive experience.
• Poll presentations, handouts, and call to action on the platform to further engage your audience.

Best Webinar Software for Small Businesses

5. WebinarGeek

An easy-to-use platform that provides live, on-demand, and hybrid webinar features. With Its smart marketing features, you’ll be able to attract viewers and convert them to customers within the same platform. Priced reasonably for small businesses, WebinarGeek has several great tools, including;

• No downloads are required for your audience, which makes it easy for non-tech audiences to attend.
• Create your webinar channel to showcase all your on-demand and future webinars in one place.
• Highly rated customer support (9.8/10 on G2) that will help you set up and deliver seamless webinars.

6. Accelevents

Accelevents is a virtual event platform that’s easy to use and truly moves the needle. This platform can help you build and manage online events that engage, make an impact, and drive growth for your small business. Outstanding features include:

• Live streaming that can support over 100,000 attendees.
• Community building opportunities with the ability to enact breakout sessions.
• In-depth analytics reporting on engagement insights and lead reports.

7. WebinarJam

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Marrying a simple interface with comprehensive tools makes WebinarJam an easy favorite for small businesses looking to run live webinars, even on the go. We love Its:

• Customizable templates, such as waiting room graphics and emails, for an on-brand experience.
• Ability to add up to six co-presenters, making it easy to produce a collaborative and high-value presentation. You can even inject pre-recorded video for additional presentation options.
• Automatic recording function, which makes it easy to follow up with registrants who missed the live recording.

Best Webinar Tools for Training and Classroom Sessions

8. ClickMeeting

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ClickMeeting offers webinars and video conferencing in one tool. Schedule meetings or webinars easily, and scale your webinar program with ClickMeeting’s 5000 attendance capacity.

ClickMeeting is particularly useful for running training and classroom-style presentations because of its:

• Customizable waiting rooms with agenda layouts, file delivery, and presenter information.
• Full suite of webinar tools including additional rooms, whiteboards, and polls.
• Ability to join and deliver webinars on the go with the ClickMeeting mobile apps.

9. Loom

Loom is a screen recording software platform that allows users to share webinars, instructional videos, and other presentations to audiences asynchronously. Trusted by over 14 million people, some favorited features include:

• Speakers can record both their screens and webcams for a more intimate experience.
• While asynchronous, recipients can use emoji reactions, time-stamped comments, and interactive features to respond to videos and keep your team connected.
• Easy access to Loom recordings without logins or passwords, recipients can access your recordings with a link.

10. Adobe Connect

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Adobe Connect is ideal for guided training and seminars where you need to “set the stage” for your audience. Its classroom tools enable students to work together effectively. You can also:

• Create breakout sessions, whiteboards, and teaching aids to help you deliver your message effectively.
• Set up multiple “topic chats” to keep discussions on track.
• Read your audience’s digital body language with advanced analytics to help you improve your delivery.

Best Free Webinar Software

11. Zoom

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While many of us may have used Zoom for meetings, it’s also a great choice for webinars.

Because so many people are familiar with Zoom, hosts, and attendees both find it easy to use. Plus, if you’re on a tight budget, you can use Zoom’s video conferencing platform for small, free webinars (up to 100 participants).

Some of the benefits of Zoom include:

• Keeping the focus on the presenter’s video, rather than slides, makes for more human interaction.
• Leveraging virtual backgrounds, studio effects, and background noise suppression.
• Dedicated live event support, including monitoring and moderation.

12. Freeconferencecall.com

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One of the only wholly free webinar platforms, Freeconferencecall.com is still a powerful solution. It’s completely browser-based (which means no downloads for you or your guests), and:

• Offers one-click recording so you never miss out on saving your webinar.
• Has screen- and file-sharing capabilities so you can share your presentation materials effectively.
• Allows you to host up to 1000 guests.

13. Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting is a free online meeting platform that allows you to hold online meetings with real-time audio, video, and screen sharing at zero costs. Some features unique to ZoHo include:

• Secure moderator controls like the ability to lock meetings, seamlessly switch presenters and properly hand control of screen presentation options to different collaborators.
• Offers online and dial-in attendance for people with different devices or mediums.
• Co-branding in meeting invites and reminders for attendees to see.

Best Live Webinar Software

14. Zuddl

Zuddl is a live webinar platform like no other. With its software, your audience can feel like they’re walking into a virtual convention with unique widgets, hotspots, buttons, and iFrames to create an experience just like a physical event. Along with these capabilities, other standout features include:

• Zuddl’s inbuilt ticketing and email tools let you create customized registration pages and disburse paid or unpaid event passes through automated emails.
• Android and iOS-based mobile apps that help attendees join the event while being on the move.
• 50+ pre-built 3D themes for more intuitive sessions to better serve the purpose of your webinars.

15. Riverside

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For businesses looking to engage wide audiences in real-time, Riverside is a wonderful resource. This remote platform doesn’t skimp on quality, in fact, it offers users clear and uncompressed audio and supports up to 4K video resolution. What we like most about it is:

• Users can simultaneously stream webinars on other channels like YouTube, LinkedIn, and more.
• Live audience members can chime in or leave feedback during broadcasts.
• You can hold dynamic discussions with up to eight participants.

16. On24

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On24 is the enterprise platform that does it all, as noted in Its positive reviews on G2: “We had a wide variety of needs for a service like this — internal training, external publications, panel forums, expert-led seminars, and more. We felt that ON24 checked every box.”

On24 specializes in live broadcasts and has a host of features designed to increase customer engagement with your video presentations. We love Its:

• Enterprise-level streaming quality. They’re built for big events that need to stream smoothly.
• Engagement analytics that integrate with your business intelligence platforms for better audience segmentation.
• Engagement hub that stores past webinars for an “always-on” experience.

17. BigMarker

BigMarker is the world’s most customizable platform for webinars and virtual events. This browser-based platform is easy to access for audience members, with no downloading needed and has extensive third-party app integrations.

• Engage with up to 10,000 audience members in one webinar.
• No limits to the number of presenters in a discussion.
• Includes the tools you need to promote your content, monetize your webinars, and measure everything to grow your audience

18. Jumbo

Jumbo is a newer webinar software platform that simplifies the live-streaming process. Made to be compatible for PC and mobile devices, it provides a no-fuss webinar service that customers can enjoy with features such as:

• White label formatting to let your brand be the main focus of any webinar.
• Interactive features such as live chat, breakout sessions, polls, trivia, and user profiles help your audience engage deeper with your content.
• Intuitive user interface that is easy to use, even for those who aren’t tech-savvy.

19. GoToWebinar

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A best-in-class option that makes running a live webinar feel positively smooth. Equipped with the greatest hits of live webinar management like engagement tools, automatic recording, and excellent integrations, GoToWebinar goes the final mile by offering:

• 24/7 customer service, which is essential in times of live webinar panic.
• Source tracking to help determine the most effective sign-up strategies.
• Truly excellent analytics that allows you to keep iterating and improving.

20. Webinar.net

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This is an easy-to-use webinar platform that looks good. Webinar.net might be one of the newest platforms on the market, but they’re starting strong with a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating on G2. Its customers love them because:

• They’re browser-based, so there are no downloads required for presenters or attendees.
• You can upload a background template and pick your colors and font so that your webinar matches your company’s branding.
• Broadcasts can be launched in under 60 seconds with Its five-step wizard.

Host Your Webinars in the Best Platform for You

There are so many different webinar platforms available to help you reach your audience. Choosing the right one for your needs depends on your budget and your goals, so we hope you found the one you were looking for with the help of this post.

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

When I graduated college, I didn’t have much prior work experience. However, I had something I believed made up for it — hard and soft skills for a resume. But what are hard or soft skills and how do they impact your professional future?

What are Hard Skills and Soft Skills?

Don’t let these antonyms fool you — both hard skills and soft skills play a vital role in crafting an optimal job skills section. But although best practice calls for a balance of hard and soft skills in the skills section of your resume, There are differences between soft and hard skills that you need to understand before you hit submit on that application.

Some additional examples of hard skills include:

• Web design
• Content creation
• Computer programming
• Accounting
• Technical writing

A few examples of soft skills are:

• Collaboration
• Time-management
• Conflict resolution
• Interpersonal skills
• Self-motivation

For instance, examples of soft skills like “strong communicator”, “detail-oriented”, or “self-motivated” may not be within the job description, but they could be the attributes that nonetheless help you thrive and succeed in the role.

But what makes a combination of hard and soft skills so important? These skills are vital because employers are looking for the right union of both qualities to find the best candidate profile for the position.

The main takeaway to remember as you list your skills is that soft skills relate to your personality once you’re at the office, whereas hard skills show what you can accomplish once you get to work.

Stand out through your resume skills section.

Admittedly, as I was writing my resume some of these skills likely didn’t stand out to recruiters as particularly impressive — for instance, “Facebook” is probably a skill I didn’t need to include, seeing as I wasn’t even applying for a social media position.

However, skills, like “ability to work under pressure” and “proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite,” did help me — particularly when I tailored my skills to fit the job description. Because when you are writing your resume and deciding what to put in the skills section, it’s critical that you provide applicable and exceptional examples to show recruiters you’re an ideal candidate.

To help you create an impressive resume that will make recruiters take notice of and demonstrate your unique qualifications, I spoke with HubSpot recruiters to consolidate 17 recruiter-approved resume skills (and useful tips) that’ll help you get the job.

1. Ability to Work Under Pressure

Skill Type: Soft Skill

Able to keep a steady hand under stress? Your ability to handle difficult situations as pressure mounts while producing impactful work and meeting deadlines is a super skill. For example, if you are interviewing for a role as an Executive Assistant and you have a track record of successfully scheduling leadership appointments with the stress of tight turnarounds and ever-changing demands, you have the ability to work under pressure. When recruiters and companies see this skill, they see you as a person who can stay focused and get the job done.

Pro Tip: This soft skill is one that employers ask frequently, so it is a great one to continue to refine -– especially in customer service, leadership, and hospitality roles.

2. Leadership

Skill Type: Hard Skill

If you can take charge of a situation and inspire others to achieve a common goal, then you can likely lead a team professionally. For instance, say you directed a team of accountants during a large-scale company audit and led everyone to accomplish their respective tasks to complete the project. Then you would be demonstrating leadership skills that can influence a company to trust your guidance.

Pro Tip: By detailing your leadership experience as a core skill, you can quite literally distinguish yourself from the pack — consider this hard skill mandatory if you’re seeking managerial and executive roles.

3. Graphic Design

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Having Graphic Design skills means that you can use software like Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and more to create visually appealing designs that could propel a project forward. Even if you’re not applying for a position in graphic design, listing this skill on your resume shows recruiters you’re able to design — or learn how to design — graphically appealing proposals, flyers, billboards — and even decks.

Pro Tip: The best way to prove your design abilities is to create a portfolio of your work so that a hiring manager discerns the quality of work for themselves. Be sure to incorporate impactful, colorful, creative graphics, as well as, clean and concise designs to showcase your range.

4. SEO Marketing

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Knowing how to apply SEO Marketing best practices tells employers that you have the potential to increase search ranking visibility and website traffic for the business. These marketing skills can involve optimizing content tracking, search analytics, and reporting results, but don’t hesitate to get clever about how you’ve helped market a brand even if the route was untraditional.

Pro Tip: Instead of simply listing your SEO marketing skills on your resume and describing your experience, provide results like a deck of the metrics of an SEO project.

5. Copywriting

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Copywriting is one of those communication skills that’s always in demand, especially if your desired role is in the marketing and advertising industry. If you are applying for a job that requires writing skills, be sure to highlight your copywriting experience on your resume with examples in your portfolio.

Pro tip: Show both short-form and long-form copywriting for a range of brands, industries, and brand voices. You want to show your versatility in creative, technical, or marketing writing so the hiring manager sees you as a cross-channel asset.

6. Ability to implement Social Media Campaigns

Can you create, execute, or monitor social media campaigns? From start to finish? Then make sure you list your social media expertise and ability to implement campaigns under your resume skills. Brands love the social media experience because it shows an affinity for marketing business products and services. Whether it’s retargeting a customer base or reaching new consumers — you can do so for one of the most powerful audiences: social media.

Pro Tip: Be sure to list the top social media marketing and writing aspects like your ability to write a striking headline and engaging text post.

7. Data Analysis

Skill Type: Hard Skill

If you prove that you can organize data into a clear and concise structure, then employers will entrust you with handling company data to turn it into useful information. For example, data analysis can include the ability to:

• Find, interpret, and transform data for decision making
• Solve problems quickly and efficiently by the conclusions made from organized data sets
• Communicate this information clearly and effectively to relevant stakeholders

Pro Tip: Data analysis is an intricate business. So highlight your methods of keeping detailed records for all your projects. This method will give recruiters insight into how successful you were at organizing information, as well as your cognition as an analyst.

8. Foreign Languages

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Knowing foreign languages is a valuable skill to have not only in business but in life. But listing a knowledge of languages as a job skill can really open doors because you are able to connect with consumers of different linguistic backgrounds on a deeper level — both verbally and through content. Whether you’re looking for a position in pediatrics or politics, being bilingual or multilingual can give you a serious advantage over the competition due to your ability to reach people.

Pro Tip: If you list a foreign language skill on a resume, be prepared to speak proficiently in that language during the interview process. If not it’s better to refine your understanding prior to listing it on the resume.

9. Editing

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Leveraging your editing skills for writing and video is crucial for most creative and technical arts. For instance, if you are applying for a role as a Content Writer, it’s imperative that you proofread and edit your work for grammar, punctuation, and clarity before you submit your blog posts. If you are publishing video content, then you need to be able to edit the footage into a cohesive (and compelling) story. Both abilities will work to your advantage when it comes to company messaging.

Pro Tip: Be sure to create an online portfolio and add your published work that employers can easily access. Within your portfolio, you should spotlight any work with recognizable brands that an interviewer could find noteworthy.

10. Java Programming

Skill Type: Hard Skill

Java is a versatile and powerful programming language that is widely used in a range of industries. If you are applying for a job that incorporates DevOps, Analytics, or Data Analysis — so essentially every business with a website — then Java and JavaScript proficiency are great skills to start with as they are some of the most vital programming languages, globally.

Pro Tip: Similar to professional foreign language tests, it’s not uncommon to have a live coding portion during the interview. So be sure to refine your code to clean and organized language scripts so there’s no doubt you’re a wiz at coding.

11. Quick Learner

Skill Type: Soft Skill

What does it mean to be a quick learner — professionally that is? Well, it means that you are able to learn new job tasks and apply them efficiently. This valuable skill can show that you are adaptable and willing to take on new challenges.

Pro Tip: If you want to showcase your quick learning ability on your resume, be sure to detail examples when you met and overcame a real-world challenge through quickly grasping a concept– avoid any fluff.

12. Detail-oriented

Skill Type: Soft Skill

Sure, calling yourself detail-oriented could be the most overstated resume skill you can list — however it is also one of the most important soft skills an employer wants to hear. What makes this job skill so impactful is that it means that you are able to pay attention to the small, seemingly overlookable details that can make a big difference on a project.

For instance, say you are hoping to land a job as a pharmacist. In this role, you will be responsible for reviewing and administering doses of medication that will impact a person’s health. Therefore, you will have to be cognizant of each medication’s safety details to be able to ensure there are no negative interactions across prescriptions, and advise customers on safety instructions they may overlook. In this case, attention to detail can make the difference between performing your role successfully or failing detrimentally.

Pro Tip: If you want to show hiring managers that you are detail-oriented, then elucidate examples of times you ensured quality assurance or found and corrected a mistake others didn’t catch.

13. Collaboration

Skill Type: Soft Skill

A good collaborator is someone who is able to communicate effectively to work together with a team and put the needs of the project above their own. So if you want to show that you are a collaborative person, then be sure to include examples of times you have worked together with colleagues to contribute to the success of a project.

Pro Tip: A great strategy for efficient collaboration is agreeing on what your team’s common goal is and defining how you will contribute to achieving this shared goal.

14. Adaptability

Skill Type: Soft Skill

If you are professionally flexible and able to flourish in new situations, then you should add Adaptability to your resume skills section. For example, if you are a PPC marketer asked to assist with a colleague’s Amazon Retail workload, their tasks may be a bit out of your purview. But if you adapt and learn how to approach Amazon Retail strategically, you will prove you can wear the various hats you’ll have to wear throughout your job’s tenure. This is an asset and a job skill you should include on her resume.

Pro Tip: When you explain your Adaptability on a paper, it doesn’t have to simply be professional; being adaptable is also an inherent trait, so you can describe transformations during your education or personal life if you feel like it’s an appropriate, more true representation of yourself.

15. Communication

When it comes down to collaborating, presenting, and guiding in the workplace, it’s no wonder why they say communication is key. If you excel in written and verbal Communications you should note this under the resume skills section because it shows you can understand, conceptualize, and explain information for yourself and your colleagues, which is invaluable every workday.

Pro Tip: Expand upon your Communication skills by detailing how this relates to your ability to learn new ideas and concepts from others, in addition to by yourself.

16. Creativity

Skill Type: Hard & Soft Skill

Why is creativity an important resume skill example to list? It’s because employers are looking for candidates who can think outside the box and generate new, engaging ideas for how they can engage consumers or reinvent processes. It’s innovation that propels industry, so having a new hire who can push the dial forward for your business is a big win long-term.

Pro Tip: If you’re able to make a case for including Creativity on your resume, be sure to relate this skill to how you are also capable of finding creative solutions to more practical pursuits, like problem-solving, as well.

17. Microsoft Office — especially Excel and Powerpoint

Skill Type: Hard Skill

At this rate, most candidates are sophisticated in Microsoft Suite products like Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and more. This skill is important to employers because it allows candidates to complete projects, create presentations, and organize data through ubiquitously used software. If you want your resume to meet standards, be sure to list any other proficiency in Microsoft products you may have like Publisher or OneNote, too.

Key Tips On What Recruiters Look For — According to Recruiters

I spoke with Johanna Fleming, a former Services Recruiter here at HubSpot, about hard and soft skills and which are more critical for a resume. She told me, “Mostly, hard skills stand out. Soft skills don’t add a ton of value to resumes because they can be very subjective.”

Tip #1: Always prioritize showcasing your hard skills when you can.

Add a picture of Flemming

For example, says Flemming, “many people add that they have things like ‘strong communication skills’ … but it’s a bit fluffy because who is evaluating their communication skills?”

Instead, Fleming continues to underscore the importance of hard skills over soft. “Hard skills definitely are more important to highlight — especially technical skills and experiences. If someone is familiar with certain platforms or applications, it’s also definitely important to highlight those!”

Tip #2: Incorporate measurement metrics to detail skill performance.

Additionally, to demonstrate the validity of the skill, it’s important you incorporate real metrics. Holly Peterson, an Executive Recruiter here at HubSpot, says it’s critical you include “a track record of metrics-driven performance, and/or the impact you’ve had in each role. This could be something like, ‘Increase sales leads by 25%,’ or ‘Drove new users in thousands.'”

Noah Gilman, a Professional Services Recruiter at HubSpot, agrees. He says, “If you claim to have done really well in your last role, but don’t put any numbers behind it, that really weakens your message.”

Tip #3: Prove your skill set through real-world examples.

Along with including metrics in your work experience section, Noah suggests sticking to skills that you provide examples for as much as possible — “Stick to … things that you can answer questions about from a recruiter. For instance, when they ask questions like ‘What have you built using java?’ or ‘Talk to me about a cool report you built-in Tableau’, make sure you have real-world instances to offer. Prioritize hard skill examples like these, instead of something a recruiter would never ask … like ‘Talk to me about when you had strong communication skills.'”

Tip #4 Only mention the most impactful hard & soft skills.

Additionally, Glory Montes, a Technical Recruiter, mentioned a few other hard and soft skills that stand out as particularly impressive. One of the most vital hard skills: Presentations.

“It’s a big green flag if a resume mentions a time the candidate had to present to senior managers or present on work they did,” exalts the Technical Recruiter “I also look for collaboration skills,” Montes says when it comes to soft skills, “like if a candidate mentions they worked with co-workers in other departments. Being able to communicate across disciplines shows adaptiveness and strong communication skills.” Finally, showing project work outside of your day-to-day responsibilities shows me that you are passionate about your discipline.”

Tip #5: Stay clear and concise as you detail your resume skills.

It’s also important to avoid vague or general statements, which could seem untrue, particularly if other applicants often use the same phrases. To avoid this, Roshan Shah, a former HubSpot recruiter, told me specificity is key — “I don’t think many recruiters like seeing general statements like, ‘improved X process’ or ‘built relationships with stakeholders’. I strongly prefer more explicit details, like how much you improved a process or how you built relationships, and with which stakeholders.”

Tip #6: Be Honest In Your Skill Assessment & Stick to the Skills You Know

Roshan Shah echoes this, telling me, “Candidates should use their actual skillset as the barometer for how many things to list on their resume, rather than just the job description. They should list things they’re actually proficient in.” Because an honest assessment of your skill level can save you a lot of anxiety when employers put you to the test. “If you say you’re comfortable using AdWords because it’s on the job description,” says Shah, “but then we test you and you end up being pretty novice with it, that’s going to look much worse than if you’d just left it off your resume in the first place.”

So after you’ve looked at the job description, do some research on job sites like Glassdoor or Monster to see the qualifications other companies include for similar positions. This enables you to include skills the hiring manager hasn’t listed, demonstrating your potential to bring something unique to the role.

Tip #7: Get technical with your hard skills.

Paulina Valdez, an Executive Recruiter at HubSpot, told me, “It’s important to highlight the technical skills that the role requires. For my Spanish Translator role, I look for CAT tools in a resume, like MemoQ and SDL Trados. Soft skills are more buzz words than anything, so I prioritize hard skills related to the role.”

Tip #8: Make Sure Your Soft Skills Are Relevant to What The Role Needs

Finally, consider a list of soft skills you believe truly reflect your personality and work ethic. Include these if you believe they’re relevant for the position to which you’re applying. For instance, in the ‘my skills’ section of my resume, I’ve included “passion for learning”. While this attribute might not be listed for a specific role, it’s an authentic description and highlights in which type of work environment I do well, so it felt necessary to include it.

Show recruiters why you’re a top prospect.

Whether you are looking to land your dream job or making a career pivot to a new industry, clearly showcasing the skills on your resume that make you who you are as a professional is essential. If you want employers to consider you a top candidate, then be sure to include specific examples of when you demonstrated your skill under your Work Experience and once you make it to the interview. Plus it’s the moment recruiters see that your career skills meet– and exceed — the requirements of the candidate profile, where you stand out as an asset within an ever-competitive job market.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness in May 2022.

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