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Inclusive content is no longer considered a bonus for video marketers; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is an integral component of an effective video content strategy.

According to Facebook Advertising, 64% of audiences in the US, UK, and Brazil said they would like to see more diversity. Deloitte’s Heat Test Report found 69% of brands with representation in ads saw an average stock gain of 44%.

But where does one start? Diversity isn’t something you can simply check off a list — implementing inclusive content is complex. It has many facets internally and externally in an organization and includes multiple areas that must be taken into consideration when brand and marketing teams plan and produce diverse content strategies.

Many marketers are working against legacy systems and ways of doing things that have been in practice for years, if not decades or more. What can brands and marketing teams do today to start implementing successful DEI content strategies?

At Storyblocks, a rapid video creation company, we’ve released the Diversity in Video Report to help businesses and marketers implement effective DEI content strategies. Through conducting quantitative and qualitative market analysis over a period of the last four years, we could see how the DEI landscape has evolved in video marketing and determine what the key takeaways are for brands today.

About the Diversity in Video Report

Thanks to our growing diverse video content library at Storyblocks, we’ve been given unique access to what is important to content creators and brands today. Our research analyzes over 250 million searches and over 45 million downloads from our user database of businesses, marketing teams, and individual content creators from 18 industries worldwide.

In addition to these quantitative data points, the research also includes a qualitative in-depth analysis of noteworthy brand DEI initiatives over the last few years. Through evaluating what the top global brands have done to implement DEI strategies, this qualitative study shines a light on best practices and lessons to be learned from the successes and failures of the big players in the market. We include specific examples from companies like Citi, Netflix, Sesame Street, and more.

Diversity in Video Report Findings

1. Diversity doesn’t stop at race.

Diversity is often thought of in terms of race, but our research suggests that diversity in video marketing extends beyond that. Diversity has many layers and includes diversity in faith, age, sexual orientation, ability, body type, and more in addition to racial diversity.

In 2021 the top five DEI keywords and searches by all businesses were: body diversity, elderly, Muslim, general diversity, and African American.

Body diversity, particularly the representation of plus-sized bodies, is something multiple industries prioritized in 2021. This is an area of diversity that has been historically underrepresented, with most ads showing thin body types. Today marketers are approaching this differently, highlighting the importance of body diversity in content planning.

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2. There’s an increased demand for BIPOC representation in media and marketing.

Compared to 2019, there has been a 113% increase in BIPOC (Black, Indigineous, and People of Color) video searches from members and visitors, with 937,000 more searches in 2021. There has been a 195% increase in the number of BIPOC video downloads, with 2.3 million more downloads in 2021 compared to 2019.

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This increase in demand for BIPOC representation in media is likely linked to the murder of George Floyd and the vast racial inequities that led to increased coverage of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that took place in the spring of 2020.

This movement resulted in a global cultural awakening that led to a ripple effect on different facets of media and business. Similar to the evolution of BLM, demand for BIPOC representation in media is not a ‘moment’ — the movement is still continuing and growing today.

3. Demand for diversity is clear with an increase of over 100% in just two years.

It’s clear that brands and video marketers are getting the message and listening to consumers’ undeniable demands for representation. Many businesses have been prioritizing inclusion when producing video content in the last few years.

In 2021, diversity searches including race, ethnicity, ability, age, body and LGBTQIA+ increased by 104% from 2019, with 1.1 million more diversity searches in 2021 from both Storyblocks members and visitors.

Similarly, downloads of diverse content increased by a massive 191% from 2019, with 3 million more downloads of content that include more authentic representation of communities in 2021.

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What the future of diverse content looks like.

The data indicate DEI is not a trend — the increase in diverse video content creation and consumption in media is increasing. We see DEI in video and advertising becoming an intentional, thought-out practice that more businesses invest in and strategize around.

Diverse Video Content Best Practices

1. Don’t insert your brand into a community without research.

The most powerful tool to invest in when approaching DEI is research. If a community is “trending” and receiving increased attention in the media for any given reason, be careful before your marketing team dives headfirst into the conversation.

Do your due diligence and fully understand the community you are planning on representing in your content. So many failed DEI campaigns that have received public backlash could have been avoided if the research phase was done properly.

2. Have a DEI strategy in place.

Set clear and measurable DEI goals and targets that are cross-functional and involve different workstreams and teams in your organization. DEI initiatives shouldn’t just be put on a singular group — DEI should be incorporated into your company’s strategy as a whole.

When a company is serious about its DEI efforts and has a results-driven strategy, dedicating financial resources is essential, similar to how sales and marketing have quarterly and annual budgets. DEI should be no different.

3. Diverse representation needs to exist at the decision making level.

This past year, Storyblocks worked with Indigenous filmmakers to increase the representation of Indigenous communities in our libraries. We recognized our team did not have adequate Indigenous representation, so our marketing team hired a board of external advisors from the Indigenous community to act as guides on how to best communicate, understand the community’s pain points, encourage compassion and avoid harmful misrepresentation.

When aiming to create content that’s inclusive, make sure the decision makers represent who you are speaking to. Recognize when your team is not as inclusive as you’d like and reach out for third-party support to make up for the representation your team is lacking.

Final Thoughts

Armed with the information we’ve compiled in this report, you should be able to build or take a critical look at your DEI video strategy successfully. A crucial part of that success lies in you and/or your business’s ability to approach DEI thoughtfully. Learn from the successes and failures of other brands, bring in diverse voices and understand that this isn’t something you should rush to implement. Take time and care in crafting your approach.

We’re still learning lessons ourselves, and are on this journey with you. We can’t wait to see what you create.

Instagram is a top-rated app, with more than 1 billion global monthly active users.

Given the size of its user base, businesses have valuable opportunities on the platform to generate an audience, build a community, and drive sales.

To help learn more about how to grow your business on the app and create an engaged community, the HubSpot Blog surveyed more than 1,000 marketing professionals that use the platform. Here are some of our key findings.

How Marketers Grew Their Following in 2021

In 2021, marketers reported that the key to growing an account to the first 1,000 followers on Instagram was by creating shareable content with high-quality captions. Growing their following past 1,000 followers involved posting engaging Stories, engaging with users, and partnering with influencers, all of which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

If you’re having trouble growing your following, or are losing followers, marketers report that this typically occurs for a few key reasons: not posting often enough, being too sales-y, and Instagram removing bot followers.

How Marketers Grew Engagement in 2021

In 2021, marketers increased engagement on Instagram through audience interaction, and creating content that encourages engagement. For example,

• Creating content that is shareable, inspiring audiences to share it on their own profiles via Stories or reposting on their feed,
• Monitoring your comments and mentions to find user-generated content that you can share on your profile,
• Responding to comments and DMs from audience members when it makes sense to do so.

How Marketers Grew Instagram ROI in 2021

49% of marketers reported that, out of all the platforms they leverage, Instagram has the highest ROI. Here are the strategies that they used to grow ROI:

• Leveraging Instagram shopping tools.

This was the most popular strategy, as 79% of Instagram marketers have used shopping tools in their roles, and 33% plan to use them for the first time in 2022.

• Creating content centered around a brand’s product and services.

This informs audiences of your offerings on a platform that they’re already familiar with, and has the second highest ROI of any content type.

• Creating interactive Instagram Stories.

The tool is leveraged by 45% of IG marketers, and 92% plan to increase or maintain their investment in 2022. Stories are also the number two format for gaining followers and getting your content shared on Instagram.

Instagram Growth Tips for 2022

Now that you know some of the key ways marketers found success on Instagram in 2021, let’s look forward to how you can create an organic Instagram growth strategy for your business in 2022.

1. Leverage different content formats.

Video and carousel posts are the most engaged with type of content on Instagram, especially when compared to single images. For reference, carousel posts contain multiple different media forms (image or video) in one, allowing you to create high-impact posts.

Both forms of content keep users engaged for longer, whether they’re scrolling through your 5 picture photo set, or watching a video. The longer a user stays interacting with your content, the longer they’re engaged.

While video and carousel posts are the most popular, you can also experiment with different content formats (like Reels and Stories) and see what resonates most with your audience.

2. Post at the right times.

When you post on Instagram, it’s important to post a time that allows you to meet your audiences when they’re online and more likely to engage with your posts.

The best way to decide what time to post on Instagram is to monitor your analytics, as mentioned above. However, the universal benchmark for ideal timing is posting between 6PM and 9PM, and the best days are Saturday, Friday, and Sunday, respectively.

3. Post consistently.

Growing your profile is tied to how much you post, so aim to post consistently. The more content you share, the more opportunities you have for engagement and growing your profile. As such, create a consistent posting schedule that helps you stay top of mind for your audiences.

Many marketers report that four to six posts per week is the sweet spot. Be mindful, though, that there is such a thing as posting too much on Instagram. Don’t oversaturate your audiences, but instead be strategic.

4. Partner with influencers that are relevant to your business.

While it seems like a best practice to partner with influencers with tons of followers, HubSpot’s Instagram Engagement Report says your efforts are more worthwhile if you partner with influencers that are more connected to their audience and community over follower count.

When you do this, you’re working with someone that has built trust with their audience, regardless of its size. And, when an influencer’s audience trusts them wholeheartedly, they’re more likely to trust their opinion on products or services and be curious and eager to learn more about what your brand offers.

Micro-influencers with 10k to 50k followers and nano-influencers with under 10k followers are considered to be the next wave of influencer marketing.

5. Monitor your engagement.

You may be saying “Yeah, I knew that” but monitoring your Instagram engagement is important, so it’s an important callout. In fact, it is the most impactful way to grow your engagement, as you’ll learn exactly what works and what doesn’t.

For example, your profile insights may say that users engage more with your videos. If you spend most of your time creating Stories, you’re actively ignoring what your audiences value most. Instead, you’d want to leverage the information from your insights and focus on sharing high-quality video content.

Consistently monitor your engagement analytics to make informed decisions that will help you grow better.

5. Write strong, compelling captions.

Always include captions on your posts — doing so can increase your engagement by almost 2%. Quick and short captions (1-20 characters) perform well, and so do longer ones (over 2000 characters).

Regardless of their length, you should always aim to create high-quality captions that are informative, engaging, and related to the content you share.

7. Use hashtags.

Using hashtags on Instagram helps you get your content seen by people who don’t follow you but surf the hashtags you use on their Explore page.

If you choose hashtags relevant to your business and use them in your captions, people can find your posts, discover your profile and follow you and help you grow your account. Case in point, 81% of marketers say that using hashtags has been somewhat or very effective for their Instagram strategy.

Over To You

Growing a following on any platform can be challenging, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Leverage the tips on this list from other marketers who have gone through it and reaped the benefits to begin creating your own Instagram growth strategy that helps you build an engaged community.

Products are never just products, right?

Coca-Cola is more than a soda. Starbucks is more than coffee. Ray-Ban is more than a pair of sunglasses.

Interacting with these products provides experiences, and we buy them with that experience in mind. Better yet, the companies that create and market them know exactly the experience they want you to have when you make (or consider) a purchase. That’s why they cultivate their brands.

From the language in their Instagram caption, to the color palette on their latest billboard, down to the material used in their packaging, companies who create strong brands know that their brand needs to live everywhere. They know their names extend far beyond the label and can entice consumers to choose their products out of a lineup of options.

Who doesn’t want that? I know I do. That’s why we built this guide — to equip you to create and manage a strong brand that’ll help your business be admired, remembered, and preferred.

If you’re in a pinch, use the links below to jump ahead to find what you need.

What’s a brand?

A brand is a feature or set of features that distinguish one organization from another. A brand is typically comprised of a name, tagline, logo or symbol, design, brand voice, and more. It also refers to the overall experience a customer undergoes when interacting with a business — as a shopper, customer, social media follower, or mere passerby.

What is branding?

Branding is the process of researching, developing, and applying a distinctive feature or set of features to your organization so that consumers can begin to associate your brand with your products or services.

For example, the Coca-Cola brand is one of the most recognizable logos and color stories around the world. The classic red and white lettering, vibrant artwork, and distinctive font have lasted for over a century.

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Having stood the test of time, the Coca-Cola brand is a testament to the power of consistent, successful branding that consumers have come to love.

That being said, branding is an iterative process and requires getting in touch with the heart of your customers and your business. It’s important for a variety of reasons — and we’ll go through them below.

Branding can be the deciding factor for consumers when they make a purchase decision. In fact, a Capgemini study found that users who feel a connection to a brand spend twice as much money as those who don’t.

Branding gives your business an identity beyond its product or service. It gives consumers something to relate to and connect with.

Branding makes your business memorable. It’s the face of your company and helps consumers distinguish your business across every medium (which I discuss later).

Branding supports your marketing and advertising efforts. It helps your promotion pack that extra punch with added recognition and impact.

Branding brings your employees pride. When you brand your company, you’re not only giving your business identity, you’re also creating a reputable, highly-regarded workplace. Strong branding brings in strong employees.

Branding Terms to Know

Here are some other brand-related buzzwords you should know. They further demonstrate the importance and value of branding your business.

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness refers to how familiar the general public and your target audience is with your brand. High brand awareness leads to brands being referred to as “trending,” “buzzworthy, or “popular.” Brand awareness is important because consumers can’t consider purchasing from your brand if they’re not aware of it.

👉🏼 Strong branding makes your business known.

Brand Extension

Brand extensions are when companies “extend” their brand to develop new products in new industries and markets. Consider Honda lawn mowers or Martha Stewart bedding. Brand extensions allow companies (or individuals) to leverage brand awareness and equity to create more revenue streams and diversify product lines.

👉🏼 Strong branding brings in more money.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the personality of your business and the promise you make to your customers. It’s what you want your customers to walk away with after they interact with your brand. Your brand identity is typically comprised of your values, how you communicate your product or service, and what you want people to feel when they interact with it.

👉🏼 Strong branding gives your business more than a name.

Brand Management

Brand management refers to the process of creating and maintaining your brand. It includes managing the tangible elements of your brand (style guide, packaging, color palette) and the intangible elements (how it’s perceived by your target audience and customer base). Your brand is a living, breathing asset, and it should be managed as such.

👉🏼 Strong branding requires consistent upkeep.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition is how well a consumer (ideally in your target audience) can recognize and identify your brand without seeing your business name — through your logo, tagline, jingle, packaging, or advertising. This concept goes hand-in-hand with brand recall, which is the ability to think of a brand without any visual or auditory identifiers.

👉🏼 Strong branding keeps your business top-of-mind.

Real-life brand example: Want to test your brand knowledge? Take this Logo Quiz by Business Insider to see how well you know your corporate brands. This is brand recognition at work.

Brand Trust

Brand trust refers to how strongly customers and consumers believe in your brand. Do you deliver on your marketing promises? Do your salespeople and customer service go above and beyond? These things can create trust among your customers, which is important in a world where a mere 25% of people feel confident in large businesses.

👉🏼 Strong branding builds trust with your customers.

Brand Valuation

Brand valuation is the commercial valuation of your brand derived from consumer perception, recognition, and trust. This concept goes hand-in-hand with brand equity. A powerful brand can make your business invaluable to investors, shareholders, and potential buyers.

👉🏼 Strong branding increases your business’s value.

Here’s how you can create a brand — or begin the process of rebranding your current one.

There’s a lot that goes into a brand, and there’s a lot to consider when building a strong one. So, grab a notebook and jot down ideas as you move through this section. Recognize that branding is an iterative process, so you might be repeating some of these steps as you brainstorm and build your brand.

Want to build an effective, measurable brand? Download our free guide on How to Build a Brand.

1. Determine your target audience.

Branding leads to awareness, recognition, trust, and revenue. We’ve talked about that. But let’s take a step back and understand where those stem from: consumers. And not just any consumers — your target audience and customers.

If your brand doesn’t resonate with your audience, it won’t lead to that awareness, recognition, trust, and revenue. That’s where target market research comes in.

Before pressing pen to paper (or cursor to digital document), you must understand to whom your branding will be speaking. Who does your product serve? Who is your ideal customer? Why did you create your business in the first place?

What you learn about your target market and buyer personas will influence your branding decisions down the line, so make this step your first priority.

Download our free Persona Templates to easily organize your target audience research and strengthen your marketing.

2. Establish your mission statement.

Let’s return to a question I asked in the previous step: Why did you create your business? Answering this will help you build your mission statement, which defines your purpose and passion as an organization.

Before you can craft a brand that your audience recognizes, values, and trusts, you must be able to communicate the purpose that your business provides. Then, every part of your brand (logo, tagline, imagery, voice, and personality) can reflect that mission and vision.

Your mission statement is a building block of your brand manifesto, which encompasses why your organization exists and why people should care about your brand.

Download our free guide to Defining Inspiring Mission and Vision Statements and learn the ins-and-outs of two of the most valuable strategic planning elements for businesses.

3. Define your unique values, qualities, and benefits.

There are probably lots of businesses in your industry and niche. It’s easy to focus on your competition (and there’s a time and place for competitive analysis), but, for now, let’s focus on you.

What’s one thing that your business has that no one else can mimic (er, legally)? Your brand.

Because of that, you must ensure that your brand is comprised of and inspired by elements that are solely yours: the values, benefits, and qualities that make your company unique.

Take a moment to jot down a list of what sets your business apart from others. I’m not talking about product features (like appearance, components, or capabilities); I’m referring to how your products or services improve lives and contribute to success.

Real-Life Brand Example: Alani Nutrition

You’ve probably never heard of Alani Nu; they’re a nutrition company based in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. I order their vitamins because 1) they’re proven to work, and 2) I trust and respect the brand (and it’s gorgeous!). On their website, they’ve clearly and simply outlined their unique values and benefits as part of their overall brand. Highlighting these makes it easy for customers like me to trust their products and choose them over competitors.

4. Create your visual assets.

At this point, you should understand your target audience, your mission statement, and the unique qualities that make up your business.

If you can say with confidence that you’ve mastered these steps, it’s time to move on to one of the more exciting parts of branding — the visual design. We’re talking about your logo, color palette, typography (fonts), iconography, and other visual components.

As you create these elements, build a set of brand guidelines (or a brand style guide) to govern the composition and use of your visual assets. This will ensure that whoever uses your new branding does so accurately and consistently. Check out HubSpot’s brand guidelines for reference.

Note: Design can be just as intimidating as it is exciting. Consider hiring a professional with logo and identity design experience or starting with a few helpful design templates.

Take your brand to the next level with this free e-book on creating a brand style guide. Download templates, too!

5. Find your brand voice.

Next, consider the auditory component of your brand. What would your brand sound like if you had a conversation with it, or if it texted you?

How you communicate with your target market is also considered part of your branding. You want to define a brand voice that connects and resonates with your audience — otherwise, they probably won’t pay attention. Because of that, don’t hesitate to return to step one to get familiar with to whom you’re speaking.

From your advertising campaigns and social media captions to your blog posts and brand story, ensure your tone is consistent throughout all of your written content. Give your audience a chance to get familiar with your brand and learn to recognize the sound of your voice. Better yet, master a fun, entertaining voice, and your customers will look forward to your social media and email updates.

Real-Life Brand Example: MailChimp

MailChimp is a great example of a brand that speaks with a clear, consistent tone. When I used their free plan for my small business, I always chuckled when receiving their emails and working in their interface. From its web copy to its email blasts and social media captions, MailChimp has established a brand voice and personality that is personable, fun, and accessible — it can be hard to explain the technical parts of a software product (like A/B testing), but MailChimp has mastered that, too.

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6. Put your branding to work

Your brand only works if you do. Once you finish designing and creating your new brand (or rebrand) integrate it throughout every inch of your business. Pay extra attention to ensure it’s displayed anywhere your business touches customers. Here are a handful of tips for applying your brand across your organization.

Website

Splash your logo, color palette, and typography across your website. Don’t use anything but your predefined assets in your brand guidelines. Your website is a major part of your company identity — if it doesn’t reflect your brand, it will only provide a jarring customer experience. Also, be sure that all web copy, calls-to-action, and product descriptions reflect your brand voice.

Social Media

All profile photos, cover art, and branded imagery should reflect your brand. Consider putting your logo as your profile photo — this will make it easier for customers to recognize your business. As with your website, be sure all profile information, posts, and captions reflect your brand voice.

Packaging

If you have a physical products business, your product is probably the most tangible way that customers interact with your brand. For that reason, your packaging should reflect your new branding — in its design, colors, size, and feel.

Real-Life Brand Example: Chobani

I love Chobani yogurt (confession: I’m eating it right now). Their new branding immediately tells me that they produce authentic, healthy Greek yogurt. That’s one of the main reasons I buy Chobani. Recently, I realized that their yogurt packages are made with a very earthy, textured material — an intentional decision that supports the overall experience they’ve paired with purchasing and eating the Chobani brand.

Advertising

Because advertisements (digital and print) are often used to establish brand awareness and introduce consumers to your brand, it’s critical that they reflect your branding. In fact, your branding should make the ad creation process easier — with your brand style guide, you already know how your ads should appear and what type of copy to write.

Sales and Customer Service

A brand is only as powerful as the people behind it, and if your people aren’t putting your brand to work, it won’t work for you. Moreover, your brand applies to more than your marketing. Inform your sales and customer service folks of your brand guidelines and tell them to use it, especially when they engage directly with customers. Whether they are sharing a branded product demo or answering customer support inquiries, encourage them to use your logo, tagline, imagery, and brand voice.

1. Treat your brand as a person.

To best wrap your head around the branding process, think of your brand as a person. Your brand should have an identity (who it is), personality (how it behaves), and experience (how it’s remembered).

Ask yourself these questions about your brand:

• How would your brand introduce itself? If it had to describe its appearance, how would it do so?
• How would your brand talk about your products or services? Would it be serious and professional, or would it be humorous and edgy?
• What would someone say about your brand after “meeting” it for the first time? What are a few sentences they’d use to describe it?

The purpose of branding is to create relationships with your customers. The easiest way to do this is to treat your brand as a person and understand that you want your customers to do the same.

Real-Life Brand Example: Whiskey Riff

Whiskey Riff is another brand you’re probably not familiar with. It’s a two-man media company based here in Chicago that’s dubbed themselves “the most entertaining country music site ever”. I’m a fan because I love country music, enjoy their written and podcast content, and proudly wear some of its awesome apparel.

If Whiskey Riff was a person, here’s how I’d think it would answer the questions above:

• “Hey, I’m Whiskey Riff. I love country music and, you guessed it, Whiskey. My logo was inspired by the Y in the circle on the Chicago Theater marquee, and I’m adorned with horizontal red stripes and stars — which represent the American and Chicago flags.”
• “I publish in-your-face content about what’s going on in country music today. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. My podcast featured my founders interviewing country music artists and telling hilarious stories. Check out my apparel line; my t-shirts, tanks, hats, and accessories can be seen at country music festivals (and on stages) nationwide.”
• “Whiskey Riff is like that first shot of Jack Daniels — that much-needed, refreshing drink after a long day. It’s a break from that cookie-cutter way of life, and you immediately appreciate — and trust — its candidness. There’s absolutely nothing like it in the industry.”

2. Prioritize consistency.

Inconsistency is the number one branding mistake that companies make. Inconsistency undermines your brand and confuses your customers. Recognizable, valuable brands prioritize consistency — and they reap the benefits. When your brand is a unified presence across mediums and platforms, customers can easily get familiar with, recognize, and come to prefer your brand over time. Brand guidelines can help with this initiative.

3. Build and follow a brand strategy.

A brand strategy is more than your brand guidelines; it’s a plan with specific, long-term goals that can be achieved as your brand evolves. These goals typically revolve around your brand’s purpose, emotion, flexibility, competitive awareness, and employee involvement.

Remember how I said that branding is a continuous process? There’s a lot that goes into it. A brand strategy can help you turn that process into a well-oiled practice that keeps your brand moving toward success and recognition.

4. Don’t let inspiration turn into imitation.

Competitive analysis is important. Not only does it educate you on where your competition stands and how they are excelling, but it can also give you ideas on how you can improve or further set apart your brand.

However, be conscious to not fall into an imitation trap. Keep your competitive research limited and focus on what your organization brings to the table. Just because a competitor (or two) has branded their company in a certain way doesn’t mean that you have to follow suit. New, unique, provocative brands are memorable brands.

5. Use branding to hire.

Strong branding makes your employees proud. I know I’m proud to be associated with HubSpot, much less work there. Leverage your branding to attract talented people. If hiring is a strong initiative for your organization, dedicate some of your resources to employer branding. Employer branding is how you market your company to job seekers and current employees. If you’re publically proud of your organization, others will be, too.

Ready, Set, Brand

Branding is your organization’s name, logo, color palette, voice, and imagery. It’s also more. It’s that intangible feeling your customers have when they interact with your brand. You know, that experience we talked about in the beginning.

That’s how powerhouse brands deviate from all the others. The tangible components contribute to this — a gorgeous logo, a clever tagline, an authentic manifesto, and a clear brand voice — but truly strong brands thrive when they focus on the big picture of their brand. Get to the heart and soul of your target audience and your organization, and a successful brand will follow.

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

Just because we’re marketers doesn’t mean we really know the science behind what drives consumers to purchase. But marketing without that information is like walking outside with a blindfold on – it’s going to be very hard to end up at your destination without a scratch.

Below, we’ll cover some data sets on buyer behavior, their key findings, and the lessons you should take away from each piece of research.

So let’s dive right in.

Statistics on the Growth of Online Shopping

According to Statista, online shoppers have increased from 209 million in 2016 to 230 million in 2021.

While technological advances were already shifting how consumers approached shopping, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 aided this shift event more.

In fact, a Stackla report found that 67% of consumers say their online purchasing has increased since the start of the pandemic – 27% said it increased considerably.

With social media platforms offering advanced shopping features, it’s no wonder shoppers are buying more online. On Instagram, you can discover a brand, sift through its products, and complete a purchase without ever leaving the app.

This frictionless shopping experience helps contribute to a consumer base that shops exclusively online.

A Jungle Scout survey found that 46% of consumers only buy holiday gifts online.

So, what does this mean for brands? This forces brands that focused more on offline campaigns to shift gears and redirect their attention to online consumers.

This data isn’t suggesting that you should now change your business model to an online-first approach. However, to stay relevant and competitive, building a strong digital presence is key.

What Drives Online Shoppers

One of the biggest questions marketers have surrounding online shopping is what gets the consumer to finally click that “Buy” button. The answer is complicated because it varies based on the audience, the industry, the product, and many other factors.

However, there are some universal elements that definitely help steer consumers toward purchase.

The first is personalization. According to the Stackla report, 72% of people say they are more likely to purchase from a brand if it consistently provides them with a more personalized experience.

Personally, any brand email I receive that includes my name gets more attention than the ones that don’t. Why? It catches my attention and makes the email feel more intimate – even though I know it was likely automated.

Another big driver is user-generated content. We know that social proof can be incredibly effective in creating buzz surrounding a brand.

In the same report, 79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions, considerably more than branded content and influencer content.

Another form of social proof? Reviews.

58% of consumers have left an ecommerce store without purchasing because the site didn’t contain any customer reviews or photos.

Images can be incredibly impactful when someone is considering a purchase. In fact, most consumers surveyed in the Stackla report say they’re more influenced by social media images and videos than they were before the pandemic.

A long-term play that drives purchases is building community.

According to the report, 61% of consumers would be more loyal and more likely to buy from a brand if they were invited to be part of a customer advocate community or content creators.

When you build a community with your audience, they feel more connected to your brand and thus, more likely to purchase and spread the word.

Millennials Online Shopping Statistics

When it comes to Millennials specifically, here are some interesting stats about their online shopping behaviors.

• 60% of Millennials have left an eCommerce store without purchasing because the site didn’t have customer reviews or photos. (Stackla report, 2021)
• Millennials spending power is $2.5 trillion. (Ypulse, 2020)
• 30% of Millennials used buy-now-pay-later services (BNPL) in 2021 and 39.5% are forecasted to use them in 2023. (Statista, 2021)
• Roughly 40% of Millennials say that they have started a new relationship (or strengthened an existing one) with businesses that prioritize the environment. (Deloitte, 2020)

If you run a website, then you’ve likely spent time creating and optimizing a marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website. But how many visitors should you aim for your website to get?

To answer that question, you will need to complete the following steps: 

• determine how many visitors are typical to websites in your industry
• determine how many visitors are “good” for websites in your industry
• establish a goal based on variables like industry, size, and user experience and create an action plan to achieve it

In this post, we’ll walk through how to complete each of these steps. Feel free to jump on one of the links above to skip to that step. Otherwise, let’s get started. 

How many visitors does a website typically get?

It depends. With over 1.9 billion websites on the internet today, it is impossible to provide one number, or even a range, to accurately answer this question. Fortunately, there is data as well as tools and other resources to help you make an educated guess for websites in your industry.

To this end, the HubSpot Blog surveyed over 400 web traffic analysts in the U.S. to gather data on various metrics including their monthly traffic, bounce rate, click-through rate, and the strategies they use to rank on search engine results pages. The majority tracked analytics for B2C websites, while the rest tracked for B2B sites. Thanks to this survey, we can provide some answers for how many visitors a website typically gets and where these visitors come from. 

When asked how many total visitors the website they tracked analytics for got per month, the majority answered between 1,001 and 15K. Here’s the breakdown:

• 1,001-15K (46%)
• 15,001-50K (19.3%)
• 50,001-250K  (23.2%)
• 250,001-10M (11%)
• 10M+ (0.5%)

These percentages change when you consider other factors, like the size and age of the website. Let’s look at those breakdowns below. 

Visitors by Website Size

Since website size might refer to the company size (ie. the number of employees) or to the amount of content on the website, we looked at both factors and how that affected total monthly visitors. 

According to the HubSpot survey of over 400 web traffic analysts, the number of employees correlates to the number of monthly visitors — but more employees doesn’t always mean more visitors. Sites with over 1000 employees did make up the majority that get between 50,001-250K and 250,001-10M total monthly visitors. They were also the only sites that get over 10 million total monthly visitors.

However, approximately 8% of companies with fewer than 10 employees get between 250,001-10M total monthly visitors whereas 0% of companies with 11 to 200 employees do. Also, approximately 31% of companies with 201 to 500 employees get between 50,001-250K and 250,001-10M total monthly visitors, which is higher than the percentages of companies with 5001 to 1000 employees and companies with more than 1000.

According to the data, the less frequently you publish, the less visitors you get per month and vice versa. For example, 36% of sites that publish multiple times a day get between 1,000 and 15K monthly visitors whereas 100% of websites that publish once a quarter or less do. Also, only sites that publish multiple times a day get over 10 million total monthly visitors.

Visitors by Website Age

According to HubSpot data, the age of a website correlates to the number of monthly visitors. Sites that have existed for over 10 years did make up the majority that get between 250,001-10M and over 10 million total monthly visitors, and the minority that get between 1,001-15K.

However, older doesn’t always mean more visitors. For example, approximately 34% of sites that have existed for 7-9 years get between 50,001-250K total monthly visitors whereas only 29% of websites that have existed for over 10 years do.

Where do visitors come from?

Knowing how many total monthly visitors websites get on average is important — but it’s also important to know where these visitors are coming from. It can help you determine whether you should invest more in email or social media, for example, or in ensuring your site is mobile-friendly. Let’s take a look at the results of the HubSpot survey below. 

Visitors from Traffic Sources

According to HubSpot data, the distribution of website traffic by source is:

• Direct (22%)
• Organic Search (17%)
• Social (16%)
• Email (14%)
• Display ads (12%)
• Referral (9%)
• Paid Search (9%)
• Other (1%)

As you analyze other companies and industries, you can assume that direct traffic, organic search, and social are the top web traffic sources.

Visitors from Device Types

According to this HubSpot data, the distribution of website traffic by device type is:

• Mobile (41%)
• Desktop (38%)
• Tablet (19%)
• Other (2%)

Other data suggests that mobile makes up an even greater percentage of website traffic worldwide. In fact, mobile has accounted for approximately half of web traffic worldwide since 2017 according to data from Statista.

How do you scale this information to your business? There are a series of factors to consider when determining how many visitors your site should get and setting a “good” number — or benchmark — as your goal. Let’s take a look.

How many unique visitors per month is good?

The answer to this question depends on a few factors. First, are you evaluating a B2B, B2C, or hybrid company? B2B companies have a target audience of other businesses and organizations. B2C companies target direct consumers.

One can infer that the potential for more unique monthly visitors for B2C companies is greater than that of B2B companies simply because their target audience is exponentially larger. B2B companies use niche marketing to sell particular products or services to a specific group of businesses while B2C companies focus their strategy on the needs, interests, and challenges of people in their everyday lives.

Data from the HubSpot survey of over 400 web traffic analysts provides mixed results however. While 22.5% of B2C sites get between 40,001-100K unique monthly visitors, only 16.7% of B2B websites get that amount. However, 16.7% of B2B sites get over 100K unique monthly visitors and only 14.7% of B2C sites do. 

In the table below, you’ll see a breakdown of how many unique visitors that all websites included in the survey get, and a breakdown by B2B and B2C sites. 

Unique Monthly Visitors	Total	B2B	B2C
1-10K	39.6%	41.2%	39.1%
10,001-40K	24.2%	25.5%	23.8%
40,001-100K	21.0%	16.7%	22.5%
100,001-2M	13.9%	14.7%	13.7%
2M+	1.2%	2.0%	1.0%

Taking note of the data above, determining how many monthly unique visitors is “good” for your company depends on your answers to the following questions.

What is the standard in your industry?

To make an accurate guess of where your company should be, determine the industry standard. To do this, evaluate your competition. Using tools like the previously mentioned SimilarWeb and SEMRush, you can create a general overview of your competitors, and use these statistics to establish an average for your industry.

How much content do you produce?

The more content you have available on your site, the more opportunities you create for visitors to find it. How much new content are you producing? One? Three? Five or more? The size of your team will affect the amount of content you’re able to create. If you find that you’re unable to produce new content, consider expanding the size of your team to meet your needs.

How well is your content strategy working?

To fix something, you need to know if it’s broken. Evaluate whether your content strategy is working. Are you ranking for your keywords? Have you seen an increase in views over the last few months? Where is the bulk of your traffic coming from? Once you can determine how your site is currently performing, you can take active steps to create an effective content strategy.

What is the search volume for your targeted topics?

Search volume for your targeted topics is directly related to the demand for that information, product, or service. High search volume can mean more visitors; however, this is directly affected by the competitiveness of your keywords.

How competitive are your target keywords?

A combination of these factors affects your website’s unique visitors per month, but it boils down to competition. The more competitive your target keywords, the harder it is to rank on the first page of a SERP. The more competitive the industry, the greater the chances of having potential website visitors split among the competition.

For example, in the HubSpot survey, 29.4% of B2C websites described the competitiveness of their target keywords as above average, or highly competitive, whereas only 25.4% of B2B sites did.

Is your website secure?

Establishing a safe and secure website with an SSL certificate can boost your reputation and relationship with future consumers. Not only does it mean less time worrying about potential security incidents, but it allows your visitors to insert their information into your systems with confidence.

Is your website accessible?

Fifteen percent of the world’s population are persons with disabilities. Many still use the web, and businesses must ensure that their content is accessible. Accessibility is not a feature, and making your website convenient to all visitors is not a bonus but a necessity.

Is your website mobile-friendly?

If your site isn’t mobile-friendly for cell phone users, you’re cutting off a large portion of potential visitors. According to data from Statista, the number of unique mobile internet users stood at 4.66 billion in 2021, indicating that over 92 percent of the global internet population use a mobile device to go online.

Optimizing your website for mobile is therefore essential. Over 50% of the web traffic analysts surveyed by HubSpot said that it was one of the SEO strategies they leverage. 

Is your website optimized for the user experience?

Click-through rate and bounce rate are metrics that help determine the user experience on your website. You should evaluate them together. 

Click-through rate is the percentage of people who visit your page after it comes up in a search. Bounce rate is the percentage of people who arrive and leave your web page quickly after landing on it. While a high click-through rate is positive, a high bounce rate is negative. A high bounce rate sends search engines a signal that your content isn’t relevant to the users and negatively affects your rank.

In the HubSpot survey of over 400 web traffic analysts, the average click-through rate and bounce rate ranged widely. However, most of the websites (67%) had a click-through rate between 10-39%, while the majority (43.8%) had a bounce rate between 21-40%. These are good benchmarks to use for your site. 

Once you can evaluate your industry, website, and content strategy, the next step is to set goals and execute them.

Setting Reasonable Goals For Website Traffic

Focus on the word “reasonable.” A goal to reach 10,000 monthly visitors next month might not be a stretch if you garnered 9,000 visitors this month. However, if your website receives an average of 2,500 monthly visitors, this goal is less probable. Setting a realistic and attainable goal is the key to creating the proper marketing strategy for your business.

Step 1: Define your goal.

First, define your goal. To do so, analyze your current metrics and that of your competitors.

Platforms such as Google Analytics, HubSpot,  SimilarWeb, SEMRush, and Ahrefs will enable you to analyze the traffic of websites in your industry. Using a combination of these tools is common. For example, in the HubSpot survey, about 82% of the web traffic analysts used Google Analytics and 25% used HubSpot’s web analytics. The next three most popular tools were Mint, Spring Metrics, and SimilarWeb.

Let’s use HelloFresh and other meal kit delivery services as an example. The company’s direct competitors include Every Plate, Home Chef, and Blue Apron. The ranking for their monthly total visitors, according to SimilarWeb and Sitechecker, is as follows for February 2022:

• HelloFresh: 12M
• Every Plate: 2.9M
• Home Chef: 2.7M
• Blue Apron: 1.9M

Note that the same website may differ in traffic estimates provided by different tools. While you can’t assume which platform is more accurate than the other, you can use a combination of information from different sources to find an average. This will provide a snapshot of how many visitors a website typically gets. 

For example, if you’re a new meal kit delivery service looking at the total monthly visitors for these companies, you’d get an average of 4.9 million monthly views. Now, this can be a goal for future growth, with incremental benchmarks. 

A monthly goal for a small business receiving 5,000 total monthly visitors could be 10% or 500 visitors, for example. Set goals with a content plan in mind. With this goal in place, you can use it to determine the success of your content strategy.

Step 2: Build a content plan around MSV.

Monthly search volume (MSV) is the number of times a specific keyword is entered into a search engine each month. MSV allows you to anticipate the amount of traffic available for a particular keyword term. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to gauge which keywords are worth targeting for your content strategy. You’ll also be able to assess the needs of potential clients and customers and cater your content to them.

An effective content plan won’t only target keywords with the highest MSV. In the HubSpot survey, only 15% of the web traffic analysts described the MSV for their target keywords as “very high.” The majority (60%) described it as “somewhat high.”

Some free online keyword tools that help calculate MSV include Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Keyword Generator, and Answer the Public.

Step 3: Determine a publishing cadence.

In conjunction with creating your content strategy, lay out a schedule. How often you update your website is key to attracting more visitors because you increase the number of opportunities to land on your page. According to the data from the HubSpot survey shared above, you want to post new content to your website multiple times a month at least. Ideally, you should post new content once a day. Websites that post daily are more likely to get between 15,001 and 250K visitors per month, and less likely to get between 1,0001 and 15K visitors than websites that post monthly.

The amount of content is, of course, dependent on the size of your team and audience. The more resources you have, the more content you can create. The larger your audience, the more content you should create.

While determining a publishing cadence is necessary, it is equally important to stick to it and remain consistent.

Step 4: Assess your performance.

The first step to assessing your goals is having a data reporting software set up. Once you do, it’s time to look at a range of metrics. Of the web traffic analysts surveyed, total monthly visitors, unique monthly visitors, and bounce rate were the most common metrics used to assess website performance. Others included search traffic and industry-wide trends.

To start, check if your unique monthly visitors increased. Whether or not you met your goal, ask yourself the following questions to review your progress:

• Did your unique monthly visitors increase or decrease? By what percent?
• Are you ranking for targeted keywords?
• Was there a trend (increase or decrease) in visitors across your industry?

An increase or decrease in your unique monthly visitors isn’t enough to gauge the complete success of your goal or content strategy. Are you ranking for your targeted keywords? If yes, your content strategy is working, and your location in SERPs can lead to further increases in the future. If not, reassess and adopt new SEO methods for growth.

When assessing your performance, it might also be necessary to measure factors out of your control, for example, industry trends. Was there a mutual dip in unique monthly views among you and your competitors? It is possible that your keyword MSV wasn’t as high as in previous months. A decrease in MSV for your keywords is out of your control. However, it is your responsibility to pivot and discover what your target audience is searching for.

How many visitors should your site get?

In content strategy and marketing, consistency is key. How many visitors should your site get? Ultimately, it comes down to how consistent you are in the tips featured above. Do you keep up with industry best practices to guide your knowledge on MSV? Do you periodically evaluate your content to boost your SEO? Are you updating your information to guide your goals?

There is no magic number when it comes to monthly website visitors. Evaluate your website and use your current metrics to determine where you want to be in one, six, or 12 months from now. Changes rarely happen overnight. Set reasonable goals with realistic timelines, and you’ll eventually see growth.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2009 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Your company’s value proposition is the core of your competitive advantage. It clearly articulates why someone would want to buy from your company instead of a competitor.

So how do you actually write a value proposition statement that’s strong enough to lift conversion rates and sales? In this article, you’ll learn the definition of a value proposition, what a value prop isn’t, examples of some of the best value props we’ve seen, and tactics to create amazing value props.

We’ll cover:

• What is a value proposition?
• Value Proposition vs Mission Statement (vs Others)
• How to Create a Value Proposition Canvas
• Elements of a Value Proposition
• Value Proposition Templates
• Value Proposition Examples
• How to Write a Value Proposition
• Tactics to Develop an Effective Value Proposition
• Let’s summarize: What makes a good value prop?

Ready to dive in?

Value propositions are one of the most important conversion factors. A great value proposition could be the difference between losing a sale — and closing it.

For that reason, it’s important to create one that accurately represents your products and services and makes it clear why you’re the best choice. However, writing it from scratch is hard. Download our templates below so you can follow along with the rest of the post.

Your value proposition is a unique identifier for your business. Without it, buyers won’t have a reason to purchase what you sell. They may even choose a competitor simply because that business communicates its value proposition clearly in its marketing campaigns and sales process.

That said, you might think: Isn’t my value prop interchangeable with, say, my slogan?

Nope. It’s easy to confuse your value proposition with other similar brand assets, such as your mission statement, slogan, or tagline. We break down the differences below.

Value Proposition vs Mission Statement

Your value proposition details what you offer customers and why they should choose you, while a mission statement details your objective as an organization. While the two can have points in common, a value prop is more product- and service-oriented while a mission statement is more goal-oriented.

Here are two examples for HubSpot and our CRM platform:

Value Proposition: “An easy-to-use CRM.”

Mission Statement: “To help businesses grow better.”

Value Proposition vs Slogan

A slogan is a short, catchy statement that brands use in marketing campaigns to sell a specific product. While your value proposition wouldn’t necessarily go in an ad (at least, not usually), a slogan would. The most important thing to note is that a company can have different slogans for different campaigns or products.

Here are two examples from De Beers Group:

Value Proposition: “Exquisite diamonds, world-class designs, breathtaking jewelry.”

Slogan: “A diamond is forever.”

Value Proposition vs Tagline

A tagline is a short statement that embodies a certain aspect of your brand or business. While a value proposition is more concrete, a tagline can represent a concept or idea that your business stands for. Most businesses have only one tagline that is instantly recognizable and connected to their brand.

Here’s an example from Apple:

Value Proposition: “The best experiences. Only on Apple.”

Tagline: “Think Different.”

Value Proposition vs Mission Statement vs Slogan vs Tagline

Now, let’s look at an example of a business that has all four: Nike. Remember that slogans can differ depending on the campaign.

Value Proposition: “Customizable performance or lifestyle sneakers with unique colorways and materials.”

Mission Statement: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”

Slogan: “Twice the guts. Double the glory.”

Tagline: “Just do it.”

TLDR; While your value prop should help differentiate you from the rest of the industry, keep in mind it’s not a slogan, tagline, or mission statement. Those types of copy are important accessories to your brand, but your potential customers and employees don’t choose one business over the other solely based on these elements.

Your value proposition goes deep into the problems you want to solve for buyers, and what makes your product or service the perfect solution.

Now, before you write the statement itself, it’s important to create a value proposition canvas.

Taking these three elements into consideration, you’ll be able to make your own after you build a value proposition canvas.

The value proposition canvas is made up of two major components: the customer profile and the value map.

Here’s how to make one:

Step 1: Create a customer profile to represent your target buyer.

The customer profile makes up the first half of the value proposition canvas. When performing this exercise, you’ll want to start with this section first so that their wants and needs can influence the overall value proposition canvas.

The customer profile consists of three areas:

Customer Jobs

What is the task your customer needs to complete or the problem they’re trying to solve with your product or service? The answer to this question sums up the “customer job” or the purpose of your product or service in the eyes of the customer.

Customer Expectations

“Expectations” are also referred to as “gains” — in other words, what your customer is hoping to gain from doing business with you. No matter what you sell, your ideal customer will have an expectation of what that product or service will do for them. In this section, you’ll use research to explain what your customers expect from you in order to purchase your product.

Customer Pain Points

As your customer completes their “customer job,” what pains do they experience? Do they take any risks while they do the customer’s job? Do they experience any negative emotions? These pain points should be considered so that you include the most helpful products and services on the value map side of the value proposition canvas.

Step 2: Create a value map for your products and services.

In this section of the value proposition canvas, three specific sectors help describe what the business offers to the customer.

Gain Creators

These are features your products or services have that make the customer happy. Think creatively about the elements of happiness your customers experience. Consider their financial and social goals as well as their psychographics.

Pain Relievers

In the section above, we discussed customer pains. This section will define exactly how your business will help them overcome those pain points.

Products & Services

While this section won’t list every single product or service your company offers, it should include the ones that will create the most gain and alleviate the most pains for your customers.

Step 3: Determine value proposition-customer fit.

Once you’ve completed the value proposition canvas exercise, the next step will be to determine how your value proposition fits within the customer profile. To do this, you’ll use a ranking process that prioritizes products and services based on how well they address the customer profile.

All together, your value proposition canvas should look like this:

Next up, let’s go over the elements you should include in your value proposition when you’re creating it and publishing it on your website.

Elements of a Value Proposition

Your value proposition will most often appear on your website. While you can include it on marketing campaigns and brochures, the most visible place is your home page and, if you’d like, your product pages.

There are three main elements of a value proposition: the headline, the subheadline, and a visual element.

Headline

The headline of your value proposition describes the benefit the customer will receive as a result of making a purchase from your business. The headline can be creative and catchy, but it should be clear and concise, first and foremost.

Subheadline or Paragraph

The subheadline or paragraph should explain in detail what your company offers, who it serves, and why. In this section, you can elaborate on the information in the headline.

Visual Element

In some cases, a video, infographic, or image may convey your value proposition better than words alone can. Enhance your message with these visual elements to capture your audience’s attention.

To better visualize these tools, here are a couple templates to follow when formatting a value proposition.

Value Proposition Templates

Download for Free

We’ve crafted 15 templates to help you create an amazing value proposition for your brand — and pairing each of them with an example of how they may look for a real business. Click here to download these free value proposition templates for your business.

Now that we’ve reviewed the elements, visual tools, and templates — let’s look at some brand examples that effectively identify and satisfy its customer needs.

Because value propositions are typically internal information and rarely stated publicly, finding a value proposition example to model yours after can be difficult. We’ve taken the liberty of using the value proposition canvas and applying it to some successful companies that have been recognized by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI).

In these examples, you’ll see real-world instances of customer gains and pains aligned with well-known products and services offered by these companies.

1. HubSpot: “An easy-to-use CRM.”

Headline: “An easy-to-use CRM.” 

Subheadline/Paragraph: “HubSpot’s CRM platform has all the tools and integrations you need for marketing, sales, content management, and customer service.”

Visual Element:

Most companies can benefit from using a CRM — even freelance businesses and small family-owned firms. The problem is that most systems are over-complicated and cobbled together, not to mention expensive.

HubSpot’s value proposition aims to target active CRM users who are tired of handling over-complicated systems, and beginners who are intimidated by legacy options. To that end, the product’s value proposition emphasizes its ease-of-use and ability to synchronize different teams across the business. The brand includes an image of a smiling woman to show what it would be like to use the product in your team (hint: it’s so easy, it’ll make you smile).

HubSpot Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Profile

• Customer Jobs: HubSpot customers need to effectively enable their sales teams to do their best work while avoiding complicated workflows.
• Gains: Customers want to increase their sales rep productivity levels and boost sales.
• Pains: There are plenty of CRM options, but they’re often overcomplicated and create silos.

Value Map

• Gain Creators: The HubSpot CRM platform offers streamlined contact management software and productivity tools that will help sales teams do their best work.
• Pain Relievers: The user-friendly interface and unified platform offers ease-of-use and high visibility across systems.
• Products & Services: The HubSpot CRM platform includes Sales Hub, an enterprise-level sales software that’s simple yet powerful enough to cater to the needs of businesses small and large.

2. FedEx: “Manage your Home Deliveries”

Headline: “Manage Your Home Deliveries”

Subheadline/Paragraph: Sending and receiving packages is convenient and safe for individuals who want to ship ideas and innovations across the globe.

Visual Element:

Image Source

If you own a business, shipping and packaging prpoducts is likely a significant part of your operations, but it can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and plain inconvenient process. If you’re a consumer, you’ve likely experienced driving to a shipping office to get your package after a missed delivery. Both of these are significant pain points for FedEx’s target customers.

FedEx’s value proposition makes it clear that it will make managing your deliveries much, much easier — whether you’re a business or a consumer.

FedEx Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Profile

• Customer Jobs: FedEx customers want to share ideas and innovations with other individuals by shipping goods around the world.
• Gains: Customers want a hassle-free way to return online orders and are looking for a safe and secure way to receive their packages.
• Pains: Returning a package at a FedEx shipping center can be inconvenient, and managing home deliveries can be a hassle.

Value Map

• Gain Creators: Customers can drop off their FedEx packages at places they shop most like Walgreens or Dollar General, and have peace of mind knowing where their package is at all times.
• Pain Relievers: Thousands of FedEx drop-off locations across the country, receive notifications when a package is en route and inform the driver where to leave the package.
• Products & Services: FedEx Drop Box locations make returning packages convenient, and the FedEx Delivery Manager reroutes or reschedules deliveries to work with the customer’s schedule.

3. LG: “State-of-the-art Living Experience”

Headline: “State-of-the-art Living Experience”

Subheadline/Paragraph: LG SIGNATURE delivers an innovative product design that creates an exceptional living experience for people who want to achieve a state-of-the-art living experience.

Visual Element:

Image Source

The right home appliances can make your at-home experience easy and hassle-free — or it can quickly create headaches with low power efficiency and outdated features. In its value proposition, LG targets customers who are willing to spend just a little more on the right appliance in exchange for a comfortable, hassle-free, and luxurious experience.

Even the imagery helps you imagine what your life would be like after purchasing an LG appliance.

LG Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Profile

• Customer Jobs: LG customers want simple, yet innovative technology that helps them achieve a state-of-the-art living experience.
• Gains: Customers have an intuitive and responsive experience with each appliance they interact with inside their homes.
• Pains: There are too many unnecessary buttons and features on appliances that get in the way of a simple living experience

Value Map

• Gain Creators: Customers can use technology to enhance their home experience without needing to read a manual.
• Pain Relievers: LG offers a simple design that focuses on the user and their lifestyle.
• Products & Services: LG SIGNATURE delivers an innovative product design that creates an exceptional living experience.

4. Subaru: “The most adventurous, most reliable, safest, best Subaru Outback ever.”

Headline: “The most adventurous, most reliable, safest, best Subaru Outback ever.”

Subheadline/paragraph: The 2022 Subaru Outback takes drivers to the most adventurous places in style with the most advanced safety technology.

Visual element:

Image Source

Subaru knows that its target audience uses its Outback SUVs for outdoor adventures. So in its value proposition, it makes it clear that the Outback will help its drivers go off the road safely and in style. Even more, it states as much right in the headline.

If I were a potential Subaru customer, I’d know exactly what I’m getting from that headline alone. That’s why it’s so important to think about your wording, because it’s likely the first thing potential buyers will see.

Subaru Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Profile

• Customer Jobs: Subaru customers want to explore the world’s most adventurous places in a reliable and safe vehicle
• Gains: Customers want to explore the land in a stylish and spacious SUV and look for advanced technological elements in their vehicles that enhance performance and safety
• Pains: The safest vehicles are not the most visually appealing, and some SUVs aren’t equipped for all-weather or all-terrain environments

Value Map

• Gain Creators: Subarus have a stylish exterior and interior with ample ground clearance that protects the vehicle against damage from the environment and advanced technology to reduce crashes and make long road trips safer.
• Pain Relievers: Subarus have a rugged blacked-out trim for style and protection, 9.5-inch ground clearance for better stability and performance, and driver-assist technology that helps drivers see better, prevent crashes, manage cruise control, and brake automatically in emergency situations.
• Products & Services: The 2022 Subaru Outback with standard eyesight assist technology, automatic pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane-centering.

5. Samsung: “Get Ready to Unfold Your World”

Headline: “Get Ready to Unfold Your World”

Subheadline/paragraph: This is everything you’d want in a premium, durable, 5G smartphone. Then we made it unfold — revealing a massive screen so you can watch, work and play like never before.

Visual element:

Image Source

In its value proposition, Samsung effectively targets its most tech-savvy segment by front-lining its most innovative design to date: a foldable phone that can double as a mini-tablet. Even more, it solves a common pain point for some customers: owning both a tablet and a mobile device can feel unnecessary, so why not get the best of both worlds?

Samsung’s value proposition for its foldable mobile device is smart, well-targeted, and visually stunning.

Samsung Value Proposition Canvas

Customer Profile

• Customer Jobs: Samsung customers are tech-savvy and follow the latest trends, driven by efficiency and aspirational lifestyles.
• Gains: Customers want an all-in-one way to enjoy media, work productively, and have a fun experience all in the palm of their hands.
• Pains: Common smartphones have size limitations that strain entertainment viewing, gameplay, and work capabilities.

Value Map

• Gain Creators: Samsung offers a unique and expansive design with capabilities beyond that of an average smartphone, offering the most advanced technology to help customers perform tasks to fulfill work and play.
• Pain Relievers: Samsung provides a smartphone that displays content in tablet-like viewing and displays up to three apps simultaneously.
• Products & Services:The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G folding 6.2-inch smartphone with dynamic AMOLED 2X screens, ultra-thin glass with S Penfold edition, and super-strong lightweight armor aluminum frame.

You’ve seen some brilliant value proposition examples, now let’s break down how to make your own.

Step 1: Identify your customer’s main problem.

While this will require some upfront research, you can get a head start on this aspect of the value proposition by speaking with different members of your team. Customer service reps, marketing specialists, and salespeople can fill in the gaps about what problems your customers are looking to solve by using your product or service.

For example, let’s say your business sells tax software on a subscription basis and automated templates are included in the software package. Your ideal customer is looking for an affordable and user-friendly way to access complicated tax documents for their business. In this example, your business’s offerings could be the solution they need.

Step 2: Identify all the benefits your products offer.

This step can be as simple as listing out every product you sell and describing its primary benefit. The benefit should be concise and focused on a single customer need.

In our tax software example, you’d list each tax template, explain the benefit it provides, and why a customer would need it.

Step 3: Describe what makes these benefits valuable.

Next, add another sentence that explains why this benefit matters to the customer.

Using the same example above, the value would be that customers have affordable tax documentation at their fingertips — something that would normally cost them thousands of dollars.

Step 4: Connect this value to your buyer’s problem.

Next, pair the buyer’s problem to the elements that make your product or service valuable. Do they align? If so, you’re ready to refine your value proposition to differentiate your offerings from the competition. If they don’t align, repeat the steps above until you find a valid buyer need and a viable solution your business offers to meet that need.

There’re three templates we think do an excellent job of connecting value to buyer pain points:

Step 5: Differentiate yourself as the preferred provider of this value.

Finally, polish your value proposition to make it unique. Is there a specific customer service offering your business provides that others don’t? Do you offer any additional services that other companies charge for? These elements can help differentiate your value proposition from competitors while keeping the focus on the buyer’s needs.

Once you understand these steps, you can easily implement them into value proposition templates as follows.

Value Proposition Templates

• Steve Blank Method

Instead of focusing on the features themselves, Blank saw the need to emphasize the benefits derived from the features in a simple sentence. By following this formula you’ll connect the target market and their pain points to the solution:

“We help (X) do (Y) by doing (Z)”

• Geoff Moore Method

Moore provides a template that’s more specific in identifying the industry categories alongside the benefits customers value. This makes a more clear value proposition formula as follows:

“For [target customer] who [needs or wants X], our [product/service] is [category of industry] that [benefits]”

• Harvard Business School Method

According to HBS a value proposition is executed best when it answers the following questions:

What is my brand offering?

What job does the customer hire my brand to do?

What companies and products compete with my brand to do this job for the customer?

What sets my brand apart from competitors?

Now that we’ve gone through steps and templates to follow, there’s some tactics we think you should keep in mind.

1. Conduct research to determine the value proposition of your competitors.

Because your value proposition is the differentiating factor between your business and the competition, it’s important to research the propositions of your closest competitors. You can use the value proposition canvas in this post to determine how each company meets the needs of your buyer persona.

Be honest here — it’s tempting to focus on the areas in which your competition doesn’t excel, but you’ll have a better idea of where your product or service fits within the market if you key in on your competitors’ strengths.

2. Explain the value of your products and services.

You’re probably familiar with outlining the features and benefits of your product and service offerings. This tactic takes that concept a step further. By matching the benefits of your offerings to specific values that your customers have, you’ll be able to align what your business provides with what your customers need.

3. Describe the benefits your ideal customer will experience when they choose your product or service over the competition.

When crafting this part of your value proposition, include details about how your product or service will benefit the customer and use examples where you can. Videos, photos, and live demonstrations are all effective ways to illustrate your value proposition because they show the customer exactly what they can expect from your business.

4. Develop a unique value proposition for each buyer persona you serve.

Ideally, you’ll be focusing your marketing efforts on a specific target audience. You’ll also find that this audience will have different needs based on their buying behaviors. Buyer personas can help you segment your larger audience into groups of customers with similar desires, goals, pain points, and buying behaviors. As a result, you’ll need a unique value proposition for each persona. Different products and services you offer may solve certain customer pain points better than others, so developing a value proposition for each persona will better serve each one.

5. Test your value proposition with your audience using various marketing channels.

Each of these tactics will likely be developed internally by your team which means you’ll want to validate your work with your target audience. Your value proposition will be communicated through various marketing channels like your website, social media accounts, video, audio, and in person. Test your proposition with members of your audience (both existing customers and non-customers) using each of these channels. Tools like UserTesting can help you streamline this feedback process so that you can implement changes quickly to finalize your value proposition.

We know the makings of a value proposition, so how can you make it a good one? Here’s the last three tips we have for you.

What makes a good value proposition?

Clear Language

Your value proposition should aim to address a primary customer need. This limited focus helps keep your value proposition clear and easy to understand. With just one main idea to comprehend, your audience will be able to quickly decide whether or not your product or service will be the best solution for them.

Specific Outcomes

Next, you’ll want to communicate the specific outcomes your customer can expect to receive from your product or service. Will they save time? Demonstrate how. Will their workflow become more manageable? Show a before and after workflow diagram. The specific outcomes will be critical components of your value proposition as they’ll exemplify exactly how your customers will use your solution to solve their problems.

Points of Differentiation

Not only are your potential customers evaluating your business’s offerings based on their own needs, but they’re also comparing what you offer against competitors. As a result, your value proposition will need to include detailed points of differentiation. These key points will help customers understand exactly what sets your company apart.

Compose a Remarkable Value Proposition

The factors that influence a potential customer to become a loyal customer are limited. Whether your industry has a lot of opportunities to differentiate (like retail) or virtually no unique identifiers (like dairy), you’ll find that a value proposition will help you understand your ideal customer and position your business as the best solution for their needs. Use the tactics, tips, framework, and examples in this post to craft your unique value proposition.

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

 

Conditional formatting is a feature in Google Sheets in which a cell is formatted in a particular way when certain conditions are met. The formatting can include highlighting, bolding, italicizing – just about any visual changes to the cell.

Just as it can be done for the cell you’re currently in, conditional formatting can also be set based on conditions met in another cell.

Let’s dive into how to create this condition based on multiple criteria.

How Conditional Formatting Works

To learn how to set conditional formatting, let’s use this workbook as an example.

It’s a workbook showing website traffic year over year from Q4 2020 to Q4 2021, with the page views along with the year-over-year percentage change.

Here’s what we want to accomplish here: When the percentage change is positive YoY, the cell turns green. When it’s negative, the cell turns red. This makes it easy to get a quick performance overview before diving into the details.

Here are the steps to set the conditional formatting.

1. Select the cell you want to format, click on “Format” from the navigation bar, then click on “Conditional Formatting.”

2. While staying in the “Single color” tab, double-check that the cell under “Apply to range” is the cell you want to format.

3. Set your format rules.

It may automatically default to a standard conditional formatting formula. In this case, open the dropdown menu under “Format cells if…” to select your rules. Options will look as follows:

4. Choose your formatting style, then click “Done.”

5. Confirm the rule was applied under “Conditional Formatting Rules.”

6. Add another rule if needed.

7. Return to cell to view formatting, then drag the cursor to apply to other cells, if needed.

Now that you understand the basics, let’s cover how to use conditional formatting based on other cells.

Conditional Formatting Based on Another Cell Value

1. Select the cell you want to format.

2. Click on “Format” in the navigation bar, then select “Conditional Formatting.”

3. Under “Format Rules,” select “Custom formula is.”

4. Write your formula, then click “Done.”

5. Confirm your rule has been applied and check the cell.

Conditional Formatting Based on Another Cell Range

To format based on another cell range, you follow many of the same steps you would for a cell value. What changes is the formula you write.

1. Select the cell you want to format.

2. Click on “Format” in the navigation bar, then select “Conditional Formatting.”

3. Under “Format Rules,” select “Custom formula is.”

4. Write your formula using the following format: =value range < [value], select your formatting style, then click “Done.”

5. Confirm your rule has been applied and check the cell.

Google Sheets Conditional Formatting Based on Another Cell Color

Currently, Google Sheets does not offer a way to use conditional formatting based on the color of another cell. You can only use it based on:

• Values – higher than, greater than, equal to, in between
• Text – contains, starts with, ends with, matches
• Dates – is before, is after, is exactly
• Emptiness – is empty, is not empty

To achieve your goal, you’d have to use the condition of the cell to format the other.

Let’s use an example.

Say you want to format cell A2 (September 2020) to be red and match the color of cell E2 (-20%). There’s no formula that allows you to create a condition based on color. However, you can create a custom formula based on E2’s values.

You can say that if cell E2’s values are less than 0, cell A2 turns red. The formula is as follows: = [The other cell] < [value]. In this case, the formula would be =e2<0, as it signifies that cell A2 should turn red if E2’s value is less than 0.

With so many functions to play with, Google Sheets can seem daunting. By following these simple steps, you can easily format your cells for quick scanning.

Without a content governance model in place, your content marketing efforts can seem scattered and chaotic, opening the opportunity for your audience to replace you with a competitor.

Content governance keeps your relationship with your customers thriving, and allows you and your team to more effectively focus on your content goals.

In this post, we’ll cover the topic of content governance — what it is, why it’s important, and how you can create a model for your business.

The goal of a content strategy is for your company to create meaningful and engaging content that aligns with your business objectives and drives consumers to a particular action. Content governance ensures that you have a definitive way for this content to reach them. Who creates the content? On what platform is it published? How will it be updated in the future? While these questions and their answers help shape content governance, its framework involves more.

Content governance is more than consumer-facing content. It requires preliminary and behind-the-scenes work seen in an asset like an editorial content calendar. Consumers don’t have access to your company’s content calendar; however, this is an irreplaceable tool to keep your company on track with its strategy. Style guides and content audits are other tools that assist with content governance but are unseen by consumers.

Content governance encompasses content sent to consumers and content that waits for them. It is not only reserved for social media posts that land on their feed or emails sent to their inbox. It includes banner ads or frequently asked questions on your website. It’s your Instagram bio or the answering message you have for phone calls. In a business, content is everywhere, and content governance allows your business to manage all of its avenues.

Why is content governance important?

To illustrate the importance of content governance, let’s look at an analogy.

Content marketing is like a first date. You wine and dine with visuals and information and hope it builds a budding relationship. If it does, how do you move forward and keep building?

After that initial interaction, you publish two emails, one blog post, and four social media posts during week one. You drop the ball in week two. The amount of content decreases to one email and two social media posts. Week three is worse, but during week four, you’re able to publish three emails, two blog posts, and five social media posts. While the increase in content seems remarkable, your potential long-term customer has unsubscribed from your content after a month. Why?

Content needs to be governed by procedures and systems. Procedures mean consistency, and consistency is key to the success of any business. It shows effort and demonstrates to customers that you care.

Content works as a cycle. Although the number of steps might differ for each organization, content life cycles typically follow this process:

• Develop a strategy.
• Create the content.
• Store the content.
• Edit.
• Publish.
• Analyze.
• Update or repurpose content.

The content cycle never ends. There is always work to do. Use the steps above. If you finish strategizing, focus on content creation. If you’re not creating, your company can work on storing, editing, publishing, and more.

Content governance is important because it ensures that your company maintains an efficient process in its continuous content cycle. It can prevent delays, inconsistent messaging, or even legal issues. Content governance helps:

• Provide structure
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities
• Create detailed processes and workflows
• Outline company standards and policies

A comprehensive content governance model creates a standard for effective, consistent content, resulting in continued success.

The online world is fast-paced, and to keep up, businesses need to make sure that they’re covering all avenues. It used to mean website and email content; however, the growth of social media has expanded the number of channels businesses need to account for. Companies have had to shift gears and adjust their content strategies to accommodate social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

While content grows and changes, its governance models help companies scale, sustain, and recreate their content.

Creating a Content Governance Model

You’re ready to create your content governance model. While each step might require extensive work, the process isn’t complicated. Building your content governance model requires four steps.

• Establish and define the roles and responsibilities of the content team.
• Design content workflows.
• Create policies, standards, and procedures for content.
• Document guidelines and ensure company-wide compliance.

Let’s go over these one-by-one.

1. Establish and define the roles and responsibilities of the content team.

Good content doesn’t exist without people. While you could argue that the most vital person in the content experience is the consumer, you could also contend that content would not exist without the team.

To create a content governance model, decide on the roles and responsibilities of those within the company. Content roles include strategists, writers, editors, and analysts. When defining the obligations of the people in these roles, think about their function. Team members typically have a strategic, operational, or specialist function.

A strategic function, usually seen in roles like a content strategist, is for those who plan long-term strategy. Staff, who are operational, implement the content strategy daily. This work is carried out by writers, editors, photographers, and more. Lastly, members of the specialist function provide expert data to other team members. This could be an SEO specialist providing analytical information to strategists or writers that shape how they fulfill their role.

When establishing the roles and responsibilities for your team, you might find it necessary to create an overlap in function. For example, it could be beneficial to have your content writers specialize in SEO. As long as there is a clear distinction in role and responsibility, there should be no issue in team management.

2. Design content workflows.

How does your content go from Point A to Point B? Point A is an idea while Point B is publication. Consumers cannot see this process, but multiple steps are necessary to reach publication.

Content workflows follow these stages:

• Strategy: planning content
• Creation: writing, designing, filming, content
• Review: editing and fact-checking content
• Publication/Distribution: publishing and sharing content

While the list is short, the process isn’t. Content takes time. Once you’re aware of what it takes to create your content, use this to shape your policies, standards, and procedures.

3. Create policies, standards, and procedures for content.

Once you have the proper people in place, it is time to focus on your policies, standards, and procedures. Content policies are the values and goals of a company. Standards are targets used to make sure that a company upholds its policies. Procedures are a step-by-step breakdown of who is involved and what steps are needed to achieve the ultimate goal.

Consider this example. An online company has the policy to be a leading source of global news. The company enforces this policy by setting a standard for publishing at least 10 daily articles. Members of the content team, like the writers, editors, and publishers, have procedures to guide them through the content process and ensure that 10 articles are shared with the public every day.

Once your company creates policies, standards, and procedures for content, finish the process with documentation and compliance.

4. Document guidelines and ensure company-wide compliance.

There is no use in creating a content governance model if no one knows about it. The most significant element of content governance is ensuring that the entire company has access to it and complies with it.

Create documents for your company policies, standards, and procedures, and put them in a central location. Hold a meeting to walk through content processes and workflows. And lastly, regularly review and update your content governance models.

Content never ends.

Content lives on a lifecycle. You might think a blog post is complete after it is published and distributed, but its cycle continues with updates and redistribution. Managing one blog post without a system is most likely doable, but imagine an additional 20 content assets in one week. Scary, right?

Without any checks and balances, creating and managing your content can become chaotic. Content governance prevents this. With a content governance model in place, your company will have the framework and processes in place to successfully execute your content strategy.

Finding qualified candidates to fill your open positions can be challenging. Job posting sites claim to make the process easy by connecting you with hundreds if not thousands of potential employees. But having such a large pool of candidates can be overwhelming.

Just thinking about the sheer volume of work involved in reviewing applications, narrowing them down to good fits, and then vetting those potential candidates is enough to make anyone’s head explode.

You work with or run a solid organization with wonderful employees. How do you make sure that you don’t get a bevy of potential candidates, but rather the right candidate?

Look at this like finding the perfect place to take your significant other on a special occasion. Sure, you could do a Google search for random restaurants in your neighborhood. You could even check a review site for recommendations.

However, you don’t know any of those people, so how much weight does their opinion really carry? Instead of taking a risk on a very special evening, why not reach out to the people you trust? Asking friends and family for a recommendation is a much safer avenue to finding the perfect date night experience.

What if we applied this type of thinking to your search for the perfect employee? Rather than leave it up to a random internet search, ask the people you already know, like, and trust… your employees.

What is an employee referral program?

An employee referral program is a structured system by which you ask existing employees to recommend people they know for open positions within your organization. Employees often receive some sort of incentive for their assistance.

An employee referral program leverages the power of your employees’ networks and can save you time, money, and a huge headache when it comes to hiring the best talent for your business.

Benefits of an Employee Referral Program

There are many benefits to utilizing an employee referral program as part of your hiring strategy. These include:

1. High Quality Hires

Good employees know what skills are necessary to excel in a position and understand the workplace culture. When they recommend someone for the job, there’s a good chance they have the qualifications necessary to successfully perform in the role.

2. Decreased Turnover Rates

With employee turnover rates on the rise, you’ll want to keep it front of mind when you’re making hiring decisions. According to ERIN, 45% of referred employees stay with a company longer compared to 22% from job boards and 33% from career sites.

3. Less Time and Lower Cost Per Hire

According to LinkedIn, employees hired through referrals take an average of 29 days to hire and onboard, whereas job boards can take 39 days and a career site can take upwards of 55 days. The less time it takes to hire and onboard means less revenue lost, fewer employees stressed because they are handling multiple jobs, and more productivity from your new hire.

Using a headhunter? According to Jobvite, you can expect to pay between 15% and 25% of the gross annual salary of the candidate. If you’re hiring an employee at $100k per year, that’s $15k to $25k in headhunting fees. The cost to reward an employee for an amazing referral? Around $2,000.

4. Increase Employee Satisfaction and Loyalty

Doesn’t it feel nice when you have a hand in the decision-making process? Employees that refer candidates feel like they’ve contributed to the company, making them more engaged and more likely to stay.

Employee Referral Program Ideas

Now that you see the benefit to you as the employer or hiring manager, how do you create an employee referral program that encourages your existing employees to introduce you to their quality contacts? There are a number of ways to do this and best practices that you can adopt to get the most out of your program.

Make it Clear What You’re Looking For

In a mid-sized to a large company, one department may have no idea what another one is working on. In order for employees to make connections, they need to know what your expectations are for the new position. When you reach out to employees looking for suggestions, provide them with all the details you can. This should include:

• Job descriptions
• Desired experience
• Necessary skills

Make it Easy for Employees to Refer

Consider the referral experience from your employees’ point of view. Is there a simple form for them to submit when they recommend someone, or do they have to jump through a variety of complicated hoops to pass along their referrals? Some companies even host recruitment happy hours where existing employees can invite friends who might be a good fit.

The easier you make it for your employees to refer their contacts, the more quality candidates will be presented to you.

Keep Your Employees Updated on Referral Status

It’s frustrating to make a suggestion or an introduction and not know if it’s been acted upon. When your employee recommends a colleague, keep them updated as to the steps of the hiring process. Some times to check-in include:

• When you receive an application
• When you make contact
• When an interview is scheduled
• When a position has been offered to their contact
• When the position has been given to someone else (after the candidate has been contacted)

Provide a Juicy Incentive

Surprisingly, this may not always be a monetary reward. While money is always appreciated, you can offer a combination of “cash” and experiences, time off, gifts, etc. For some, these may be even more desired than a financial incentive. One great option is to give your employees the choice. That way, you know they’ll be motivated to help. A few employee referral incentive ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Cash bonuses
• Gift certificates to their favorite restaurants and local establishments
• Weekend getaways or week-long excursions for frequent referrers
• VIP parking
• Show tickets
• Physical gifts (it’s important to let them choose so they don’t end up with something they can’t use)
• Perks like a gym membership or massage

The sky’s the limit when it comes to thanking your employees for their referrals. You can also consider using a platform like XoxoDay to make distributing employee referral perks as easy and streamlined as possible.

Show Appreciation for “Frequent Referrers”

If you’ve got employees that consistently send you quality employee candidates, acknowledge them publicly. This shows your amazing team members that they are appreciated and motivates other employees to step up their referral game.

Employee Referral Program Examples

Looking for real-world examples of these programs in action? We’ve compiled a few employee referral program samples to introduce you to some of the possibilities.

1. Inmobi, a mobile advertising company offers referring employees the choice of a bike or a trip to Bali. They park the vehicles in front of the company headquarters to motivate employees to participate.
2. Accenture, a consulting and IT company encourages philanthropy and community involvement by letting their employees donate a part of their referral bonus to a charity of their choice.
3. Distillery, an American software development company gifts their employees new tech gadgets for every referral they make.
4. Atlassian software company encourages employees to “Refer-a-Mate” and offers them $2,000 in cash bonuses.
5. Intel tech company takes financial incentives one step further by doubling their employee referral reward for women, minorities, and veterans that are referred to the company.

If you’d like to tap into a pool of qualified, trustworthy, easy-to-hire (and onboard) candidates, an employee referral program can help. Instituting this type of hiring process in your organization can save you money, time, headaches, and the pain of having to repeatedly hire for the same position when your first employee doesn’t work out well. In addition, you’ll improve your workplace culture and enhance your brand.

An employee referral program is the best thing you can do to improve the quality of your incoming employees. Choose your incentives wisely and then watch the quality candidates roll on in.

It doesn’t matter how awesome your e-book is if no one can download it.

And you might have the perfect agenda for your webinar, but if your customers can’t sign up, it’ll all be for nothing.

That’s why you need an effective landing page. They’re simple pages — often with just a few lines of text and a form — to drive conversions and turn visitors into leads.

When done correctly, a landing page can help you generate leads and pass off those qualified leads to your sales team.

Here, we’ll break down seven landing page builders and outline their costs, benefits, and drawbacks.

What is Leadpages?

One of the most popular tools for creating landing pages is Leadpages.

Leadpages offers a variety of tools that can help you create compelling landing pages — including pop-ups, a drag-and-drop page editor with a seemingly endless list of pre-made templates, and more.

But Leadpages doesn’t have a free version to help you get started, and doesn’t offer many marketing tools beyond landing pages.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Leadpages, there are a number of different tools that you can explore.

Let’s take a look at the seven best Leadpages alternatives.

1. HubSpot’s Landing Page Builder

HubSpot’s landing page builder helps you build beautiful landing pages that fit seamlessly into your marketing campaigns.

The drag-and-drop page editor is easy to use, and comes with a variety of templates for a number of different content offer types.

It includes all of the modules you’d expect, like a rich text module and a forms module, but it also has a video module and a meetings module, so your prospects can book meetings with your sales team directly on your landing pages.

Price: Free

Pros: HubSpot’s landing page builder is available for free and comes with the HubSpot CRM.

With the CRM, you can track every interaction your prospects have with your brand, allowing you to create marketing campaigns that focus on the end-to-end customer experience. And with HubSpot Academy, you’ll be able to learn how to effectively run a marketing campaign and easily apply those learnings to the next campaign you run.

As you grow your business, HubSpot’s landing page builder grows with you. You’ll be able to run machine-learning powered tests on your landing pages to ensure you’re constantly optimizing your pages for conversions, and revenue attribution reporting shows you exactly which offers are impacting your bottom line.

Cons: If you’re looking for more advanced features to help scale your marketing operations, you may need to upgrade to HubSpot’s Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plans of Marketing Hub.

2. Unbounce

Unbounce is one of the most popular landing page builders on the market today.

They provide landing pages and pop-ups geared at turning traffic into revenue for your business. Unbounce comes with over 100 templates that you can easily customize in their drag-and-drop editor. All their templates also work with WordPress.

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Price: $90/month

Pros: With Unbounce, you never start from a blank page. Powered by AI, its Smart Builder pulls data from over 1.5 billion conversions — helping you to predict which layouts and headlines will work best for your target audience.

Cons: Although powerful, Unbounce charges you based on the number of conversions you receive on your pages. For growing companies, this can add up quickly as you generate more leads from your content offers.

3. Instapage

Like the other landing page builders on this list, Instapage offers an easy-to-use content editor, and a number of templates to create your pages.

Instapage also includes a feature called AdMap. With AdMap, you’ll be able to visualize how your ads match your landing pages, and report on the effectiveness of your ad campaigns personalization.

Their landing page solution also lets you leave comments on different elements of a landing page and @mention team members of yours, making it easy to collaborate on your marketing campaigns.

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Price: $199/month

Pros: Instapages is one of the few landing page builders with built-in collaboration. We also like its 500+ layouts and near-instant page loads — with or without AMP.

Cons: Instapages limits the number of pages you can create, how many users you have, and the number of unique visitors to your pages.

4. Mailchimp

Mailchimp now does so much more than email.

They’ve built out a full suite of marketing tools that helps small businesses get up and running with their digital marketing efforts. Their landing page builder works alongside their ads, email, and social media tools.

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Price: Free — to a point. Paid plans start at $11/month

Pros: Their drag-and-drop editor is easy to use and lets you create beautiful on-brand landing pages in minutes.

Cons: You may need to upgrade to their paid tier to start collaborating with your teammates, get access to more templates, or start optimizing your campaigns.

5. Clickfunnels

Clickfunnels is a landing page builder and marketing automation tool focused on the sales audience.

Clickfunnels believes that your content should produce results just like your best sales reps would, and it’s a solution aimed at moving prospects through a sales funnel into becoming customers.

Clickfunnels has a number of templates to choose from based on intent — such as up-sell or webinar event pages. To edit these templates, you can use their drag-and-drop page editor to create a page that works for you and your business.

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Price: $97/month

Pros: They have pre-built “funnels” that you can use to visualize your customer’s journey with your brand — including follow-up funnels that will help you cultivate relationships with users who’ve converted on your content.

Cons: An important limitation to Clickfunnels is its lack of email marketing capabilities. Of course, you can integrate Clickfunnels with an email marketing tool, but this requires an additional fee on top of the $97/month starter plan.

6. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is a simple marketing automation tool that features a number of different tools that SMBs need.

From email marketing, SMS, Facebook Messenger, and a CRM, you get a suite of tools that can help you communicate effectively with your customers.

Price: $65/month

Pros: Their suite of tools includes an intuitive and straightforward landing page builder with pre-built templates you can choose from.

Cons: Although intuitive, their landing page builder is not included in their free product offering. However, other free offerings like their email marketing and SMS features are a great way to see if Sendinblue is right for you.

7. GetResponse

Like other landing page builders on this list, GetResponse comes with a variety of tools that can help you build amazing marketing campaigns.

With email marketing and pre-built sales funnels, you can quickly begin marketing to the leads that you generate on your landing pages. You can create your own design or choose from over 200 templates.

They also include a mobile-first editor in case you want to enhance your mobile-visitors experience.

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Price: Create one landing page for free, then $12/month

Pros: What sets GetResponse apart are its features they provide to help you design your pages. For instance, they have built-in integrations with Shutterstock and Giphy to help you add compelling visuals to your landing pages.

Additionally, its drag-and-drop builder is incredibly flexible, allowing you to place content blocks wherever you want on the landing page (rather than designated placeholders). 

Cons: GetResponse is primarily an email marketing tool, not a landing page builder. So if you’re looking to get advanced with your landing pages, it’s a good idea to test it out first. 

Choosing the Best LeadPages Alternative

Ultimately, deciding what landing page builder you go with will depend on your business’ needs.

For instance, if you’re looking for a point solution, tools like Unbounce or Instapage will be great for you — alternatively, if you’re looking for a platform that you can use across all your marketing efforts, other tools like Mailchimp or GetResponse will be better suited for your needs.

And, for growing teams looking to align their marketing efforts around the customer experience, HubSpot’s landing page builder is a powerful choice for you. You can get started for free, and track your customers’ journey with your brand through the HubSpot CRM.

Plus, as you grow, you not only avoid having to rip out other tools, but you gain access to more advanced solutions that will help you unlock even more insights into your customers’ experience.