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When we introduced INTENTIVE, our intention (yes, pun intended) was to change how B2B marketing gets done. 

In this blog, we’ll share some of the exciting results and new developments taking place within the INTENTIVE platform, and how it’s making waves by providing real-time insights into active intent within B2B accounts.

Unmatched Performance of INTENTIVE

INTENTIVE vs. BuiltWith in Google Ads

In this channel test, our marketing team ran an experiment with targeted ads using two different sets of data: 

• The first packed with insights and information gleaned from INTENTIVE
• The other from BuiltWith, a third-party web-scraping tool

The results? 

INTENTIVE’s data didn’t just perform well; it outperformed the competition significantly.

Here are the highlights:

• Accounts Reached: 9.1% increase in the number of targeted accounts reached by our ads.

• Accounts Engaged: Engagement skyrocketed, with a 72.7% increase in accounts that interacted meaningfully with our content.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Our CTR jumped by an impressive 66.7%.

Regardless of title, anyone within a marketing organization should be able to look at these results and ask themselves if they’d like to improve their advertising metrics like this.

The answer should be a resounding yes.

INTENTVE’s Universal Export Pays Off

The ability to export INTENTIVE’s insights was a recent addition to the platform. Initially a manual process for the NetLine team at launch, INTENTIVE now allows any user to export Explorer data at the global level, along with filtering.

This new feature paid immediate dividends to a leading enterprise data infrastructure organization at the end of 2023. 

By leveraging INTENTIVE’s insights, they quickly identified a lucrative opportunity and secured a six-figure agreement within weeks of discovering the prospect’s intent signals. A remarkable success for everyone! 

Exciting New Integrations

We’re not stopping there. INTENTIVE now boasts new integrations and functionalities to maximize intent. 

Users can seamlessly export their data to major platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, or any platform of their choice.

• Salesforce Integration: This includes custom reports for immediate visibility into intent-showing accounts, empowering sales reps and managers to identify and prioritize new opportunities.
• HubSpot Integration: Users will have access to raw data fields from INTENTIVE, offering unparalleled flexibility in CRM workflows, campaigns, and outreach strategies.

Enhanced AI and NLP Capabilities

To top it off, we’ve enhanced INTENTIVE with advanced AI and NLP capabilities. This improvement ensures even more accurate ingestion of buyer behavior and its correlation with our comprehensive topic taxonomy.

David Fortino, NetLine’s Chief Strategy Officer, points out that the accuracy of INTENTIVE’s data in pinpointing the “who” in the buyer’s journey is unmatched. 

“This precision is not just theoretical,” he said, “it’s proven in practical applications, redefining the way B2B marketing and sales teams utilize buyer intent data.”

The enhancements of the platform through AI and NLP allow INTENTIVE to better fulfill its promises to users and bring the highest quality intent insights across their organizations.

The Future of INTENTIVE

As Google removes third-party cookies from Chrome, the need for buyer-level intent data has never been more apparent. 

Pushing beyond what B2B marketing has been is critical to success in the cookieless future. 

The INTENTIVE platform is primed to support marketers and sellers, alike, as we enter this new world. 

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate.

Few apps cycle through trends as quickly as TikTok. I spend endless hours scrolling through the app, and it feels like every other day, a new trending sound, topic, song, or challenge is going viral.

It can be hard to keep up, and I say this as a content creator and marketer whose job is to stay in tune with the latest happenings on social media.

Fortunately, I and a few other creators are savvy enough to see what TikTok trends are coming to the forefront in 2024.

So, if you‘re curious about what trends to look out for and what it could take to go viral on the app this year, you’ve come to the right blog. Here are some TikTok predictions for 2024, according to content creators.

TikTok Predictions for 2024

1. Authenticity

It‘s well known that TikTok is one of the most popular apps among Gen Z. In fact, 63% of Gen Z social media users report using TikTok in the last 4 weeks, according to Statista.

It’s also no secret that Gen Z consumers crave authenticity and relatability in their media.

Don’t believe me? A recent survey shows that 82% of Gen Z consumers would trust brands more if they used authentic images of real customers in their advertisements.

Content creator and data analyst Sundas Khalid says Gen Z’s preference for authentic content will fuel the content that gets the most attention on TikTok.

“I expect storytelling, authenticity, and spontaneity to be the key themes in 2024,” she explains.

Khalid says, “Relatability was a big theme in 2023, and people found value in finding people they could relate to — but I think it was overextended to the point where it lost authenticity.”

She predicts relatability will still be valuable to TikTok audiences in 2024, but not if the creator or brand seems too keen on coming off as relatable to audiences.

“People would still want to relate but only if it’s authentic and doesn’t seem like ‘trying too hard,’” Khalid explains. “Being unique without being relatable will be more accepted and encouraged on the platform.”

Some of TikTok’s biggest stars grew their platforms by showcasing their real, authentic personalities. Perhaps the most compelling example is Keith Lee, one of my favorite TikTok content creators.

Lee rose to fame by doing food reviews of local, independent, and family-owned restaurants in his hometown of Las Vegas.

His unique on-camera presence, honest reviews, and acts of kindness helped him stand out. It also grew his TikTok following to 15 million and earned collaborations with celebrities like Kevin Hart and brands like Chipotle.

Recently, Lee went to several cities across the country to review restaurants, and, on some occasions, there were mishaps in filming and unexpected turns of events.

Instead of shying away from these issues or pretending they didn’t happen, he would share honest stories about what happened behind closed doors and why some restaurants received poor ratings.

His authenticity helped legitimize his reviews and build trust with his audience. Authenticity can do the same for your brand on TikTok.

And if you need extra help building trust with consumers on the app, consider partnering with influencers — especially micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers build deep relationships and communities with their viewers. They often yield more success for marketers than if they were to work with celebrities or macro-influencers.

Of the marketers who worked with influencers and creators in 2023, 64% worked with micro-influencers, making them the most popular choice for influencer marketers.

 

2. Educational Content

For years, Google was my go-to when I needed information on almost any topic.

While I still rely heavily on the classic search engine, I’m starting to use TikTok to gain insight on everything from pop culture updates to breaking news to how-to tutorials.

And I’m not the only one. A recent study found that 40% of consumers use TikTok for informative content. So, it makes sense that creators like Jon Youshaei predict education content will shine on the platform in 2024.

“Creating educational content will become even more important to going viral on TikTok in 2024 because of the platform’s rise as a search engine,“ he says. ”For years, TikTok has been where the For You Page is dominated by trends, pop culture, and memes.”

However, Youshaei says the tide is shifting as more people turn to TikTok to search for tutorials, recipes, and specific questions.

“There will be a rise in creators who can create content that provides answers, which is much easier to monetize and create a sustainable business around,” he explains.

For example, TikTok content creator Mndiaye97 has over 16 million followers and is known for posting humorous but educational videos on animal behavior and wildlife.

In addition to amassing millions of followers, Mndiaye97 content has also snagged him collaborations with BBC Earth and PBS. On average, his videos gain at least 1 million views and more than 100,000 likes. Some videos have as many as 20 million views.

Professional chef Cassie Yeung has over 3 million followers on the app and is known for showing her followers how to cook simple yet delicious dishes at home.

Her videos receive anywhere between 1 million to 10 million views or more on the platform.

Both creators provide helpful or interesting information in a friendly and casual way.

Mndiaye97 sprinkles every video with hyperbolic jokes and memes, and Yeung ends every video with “First bite, bestie,” followed by a genuine reaction to her meals.

So, in 2024, consider posting educational videos, but you don’t have to take the approach of a monotone lecturer. Have fun and give helpful information to your followers in a unique way to your brand.

3. More AI-Generated Content

“I think in 2024, you’re going to see more content created by AI. I think it’s going to get to a point where every other content you see on the app is AI-generated in some way,” says content creator Chris Dillon.

And I don‘t think that’s a far-fetched prediction. Nowadays, I often come across videos on TikTok that are entirely AI-generated or heavily rely on AI.

For example, one of the most popular styles of short-form videos is “Which Room/House/Place Would You Choose?”

These videos will feature AI-generated photos of aesthetically pleasing bedrooms, landscapes, and homes and ask users which they would choose to live or relax in—many of them wrack up millions of views and tons of engagement.

The Spongebob R&B covers popping up on the app is an equally popular but slightly more unhinged trend.

In these videos, creators use AI to manipulate the voices of cast members in Spongebob Squarepants to make the characters sing popular R&B songs by artists like Jasmine Sullivan or Keisha Cole.

Note: While the Spongebob trend is popular, it has raised many questions surrounding the ethics of using actors‘ voices to say or do things they usually wouldn’t.

Though I wouldn’t look to the Spongebob covers for inspiration in your next TikTok campaign (remember: ethics), I can attest that AI can be an excellent tool for generating short-form videos efficiently and quickly.

Just look at the video I made below, using only AI tools.

“Eventually, AI-generated content will feel stale and become oversaturated on the platform — to the point that authenticity will become even more important,” Dillon warns.

With that in mind, I suggest using AI as more of an assistive tool and being wary of becoming overly reliant on it to generate content meant to connect with your audience.

A page that strikes the right balance would be Jeremy the Manager on TikTok. The TikTok account follows a cat named Jeremy who lives (and “works”) at Citipups, a pet store in New York.

Employees at the business use a British voice to give the cat the personality of a cranky manager who intimidates his coworkers. The voice is AI-generated, but the employees create the dialogue and skits.

The voice is put over actual footage of Jeremy the cat hanging out around the store. In this example, AI is used for humor and doesn’t take away from the personality and authenticity of the content.

4. Recommendations

Of course, I’m both a content creator and a chronic TikTok scroller, so I figure I should put in my own two cents. I predict videos giving recommendations will see a massive boom in 2024.

Remember what Youshaei said about consumers using TikTok as a search engine?

That includes searching for recommendations. For instance, one of my favorite communities on TikTok is #booktok.

On the #booktok hashtag, creators recommend classic upcoming books for fans of horror, comedy, romance, and more.

So, in 2024, consider creating content recommending useful products and services to your consumers or collaborate with an influencer so they can recommend your brand to their audience.

And trust me, there are definitely consumers who will buy a product or service after seeing a recommendation on Tiktok. According to the platform, 50% of TikTok users have bought something after seeing it on TikTok LIVE.

Furthermore, 78% of TikTok users have purchased a product after seeing it featured in TikTok creator content.

Finally, let’s not forget that TikTok is especially popular among Gen Z consumers, and 33% of that demographic purchased a product from an influencer-founded brand in the past year.

Final Thoughts 

So there you have it: four trends creators predict will take over TikTok in 2024. Going into 2024, make sure your TikTok videos are authentic, but not relatable to the point of being cringy and overdone.

Consider creating content that is valuable and helpful, such as educational videos or product and service recommendations. And finally, be open to using AI as an assistive tool, but don’t let it strip your content of personality. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be scrolling TikTok again for the next hour or so. 

Welcome to HubSpot’s Expert Edge Series, where we interview top execs at major brands to explore their perspectives on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the industry.

Puppies and the park.

Beach days and ice cream.

Some things just obviously go together — but what if I put sales and marketing together in that list? Would you still think they worked better as a pair?

More than likely, you haven’t quite considered your sales and marketing to be the “peanut butter and jelly” of your company. But sales and marketing alignment is more critical than you think.

As LinkedIn’s Global Product Marketing Leader Taina Palombo-Price puts it, “The work that marketing does sets up the sales organization to do the part of the job that is theirs. You can’t do one without the other.”

Here, let’s explore tips from Palombo-Price to cultivate stronger sales and marketing alignment for your organization in 2024.

But first – Why does sales and marketing alignment matter, anyway?

Simply put, sales and marketing alignment matters because, while it might seem like they are two separate organizations focusing on separate goals, both teams fall under one go-to-market motion for your business.

“You’re still one team, even if you’re under two leaders, because you’re marching towards the same goal — or you should be,” Taina Palombo-Price told me.

Nowadays, buyers expect a cohesive, seamless buyer experience — which is an impossible feat if your sales and marketing teams aren’t aligned.

Plus, having strong sales and marketing alignment is critical for your business’ bottom line. In fact, sales professionals who say they are aligned with their marketing team are 106% more likely to say they are performing better than their sales goals this year.

But cultivating sales and marketing alignment — or creating a stronger, more cohesive process in 2024 — can be difficult to achieve. Let’s jump into some tips from Palombo-Price now.

How to Create Strong Sales and Marketing Alignment, According to LinkedIn’s Global Product Marketing Leader

1. Create goals that your sales and marketing teams can share.

Oftentimes, marketing teams are goaled on top-of-the-funnel metrics like traffic, leads, or brand awareness. But their job typically ends once they’ve created a net-new contact or lead for sales.

Sales, on the other hand, is goaled on closing deals and driving revenue.

This separation of goals, Palombo-Price told me, is oftentimes one of the biggest barriers to successful alignment between teams.

“If KPIs are separated instead of unified, that means people are working to satisfy the goals against which they get their paychecks. But the places I’ve seen sales and marketing alignment work most effectively is when those goals are tied together and teams are looking at revenue metrics across both sales and marketing together,” She says.

Palombo-Price adds, “And then you start to think about it as a funnel that’s actually connected, versus a set of disparate tasks that drive one set of KPIs.”

To facilitate stronger alignment, it’s vital as a business leader that you take the time to align both organizations under one common metric, like revenue. Each organization can set various KPIs under that one metric, but by laddering each KPI up to one unified goal, both teams can begin speaking the same language when it comes to alignment and performance.

2. Ask your marketing and sales team to create a buyer persona together.

Your marketers have a firm pulse on the consumer — they‘ve conducted extensive research, they’ve engaged with prospects via social media and email, and they’ve held focus groups.

But, more than likely, your marketers haven’t spoken directly to these prospects. They might not fully understand your prospects biggest pain points, or the challenges they face that your product or service currently can’t solve. These insights can only be obtained from your sales team.

Ultimately, to get a full picture of your consumer, it’s critical that each team help craft the buyer persona. For instance, perhaps you have your marketing team create an initial buyer persona through research and brainstorming sessions — but then you gather input from salespeople to modify and refine that persona.

Getting initial input from salespeople, as well as asking for final approval on a buyer persona, is critical to ensure each team is working together with the same consumer in mind.

3. Ensure marketers know which types of leads sales reps need in any given quarter.

I‘ll admit – as a marketer, I’d never considered that sales reps could be looking for different types of leads in any given quarter based on their current pipeline.

But it makes sense.

As Palombo-Price explains, “Sales teams don’t always need the same kind of targeted precision in the conversations they want to have. If their pipeline is full, they’re having a lot of high-level conversations and they have a limited need to close big deals in the year. They want to talk to only the buyer who’s deeply in-market — who’s ready to buy something. And so their threshold is very different than it could be in a moment where you’re trying to expand and grow.”

She continues, “It’s all about the right types of leads at the right time, and at the right velocity.”

Which leads me to my next point, and a solution to this challenge – regular check-ins between sales and marketing.

4. Set-up regular check-ins between BDRs/SDRs and marketing teams.

One of the most critical roles when it comes to sales and marketing alignment is the BDR (business development rep) or SDR (sales development rep).

BDRs/SDRs focus solely on prospecting and qualifying leads, and pushing them further down the sales funnel — Which is why they’re a vital part of sales and marketing alignment.

Palombo-Price told me she encourages bi-weekly or monthly check-ins between BDRs/SDRs and whoever on the marketing side handles lead generation.

As she puts it, “It’s important to get into a room and look at, ‘What’s marketing driving? How does it move through the stages of the funnel? How does it do against lead scoring and the ideal person sales wants to be talking to?’”

She encourages both sales and marketing teams to sit together and consistently monitor how their lead scoring strategy is faring in terms of qualified leads for sales, and how they might continue to refine it.

5. Use those check-ins as a chance to educate both sides.

Once you‘ve organized bi-weekly or monthly check-ins between sales and marketing, you’ll want to ensure both sides are open-minded and eager to learn from the other. If each team plans on blaming the other when leads are unqualified or don’t turn into closed deals, these meetings will quickly deteriorate.

As Palombo-Price puts it, “Instead of just being like, ‘these leads are all garbage’, come to the table and say, ‘Hey, we had 15 conversations this week, and six of them were totally off the mark.’ And then look at it together.”

She continues, “Because if you don’t educate both ways, marketing can’t target better. And sales is assuming that the ideal customer profile (ICP) that they’ve been chasing is always going to be correct. But we know buying groups change.”

Ultimately, there has to be a joint evaluation in which both teams are willing to investigate the aspects of the process that are successful – and the aspects that aren’t.

6. Leave functions at the door.

When I asked Palombo-Price the number one tip she’d give any business leader when it comes to sales and marketing alignment, her advice was simple: Leave functions at the door.

She says, “It’s a funnel. It’s not actually two teams — it’s one team in a business that’s trying to sell a product or service. And those lines of demarcation, I think, are actually what start to make it really challenging to view how early day brand work impacts close rates for salespeople.”

She continues, “The intent is to try to help draw out some of those through lines so that the impact of the work can be seen on both sides. That’s our solution. There’s ways you can do it by looking at spreadsheets together in a way that drives that alignment earlier so that those concepts start to stick before you’re thinking about how you would leverage those functionalities.”

7. Keep track of every interaction your customer has with your company.

Nowadays, this is one of the most critical strategies you need to implement. It eliminates friction for the customer, and it also helps your sales reps close more deals.

For instance, consider how you‘d feel if you spoke with a sales rep for the first time, and he already knew where you worked, how long you’d been there, which email newsletters you‘d subscribed to, and which company networking events you’d attended. You‘d likely be more impressed than if you spoke to a sales rep who’d never heard of you before, right?

It’s vital you find a way to keep track of each interaction your customer has with your company — a CRM is incredibly useful for this. You might also want to check out HubSpot’s CRM integration with LinkedIn, which enables LinkedIn Sales Navigator to match LinkedIn’s Lead and Account data with the Contacts and Companies objects in HubSpot. (This integration is currently in beta, but you can sign up to receive updates on its launch date.)

Ultimately, understanding the full start-to-finish buyer’s journey — and which aspects should be owned by marketing, and which by sales — and creating a culture that encourages transparent and clear communication between sales and marketing will be vital for your organization’s success in 2024 and beyond.

I‘m pretty sure I’ve said this in a few blog posts already, so if you‘ve heard this from me before, I apologize, but it’s true: In addition to being a blogger, I‘m in charge of curating and sending out HubSpot’s Marketing Blog newsletter.

So, I know a thing or two about email marketing.

Done correctly, email marketing can be as powerful as any other marketing tactic today. But notice the key phrase: done correctly.

Fortunately, you‘ve get this handy dandy guide you’re reading that will set you up for success in your email marketing strategy.

Without further ado, let’s review the best ways to leverage email marketing. I’ll also cover benefits and statistics that show the importance of email, just in case you need extra convincing. Let’s dig in.

What is email marketing?

Getting Started with Email Marketing

How to Send Marketing Emails

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email Marketing Tips

The goal is building customer relationships, promoting products or services, increasing brand awareness, and ultimately driving sales.

In my experience, email marketing allows me to reach my target audience directly with personalized and relevant content. It’s also cost-effective, easy to track, and provides valuable data for analyzing campaign success.

Marketers have been using email as a channel for almost as long as they’ve been using the internet. The first marketing email was sent in 1978, resulting in $13 million in sales.

Email has been one of the most highly used marketing channels ever since.

This is because email is a flexible yet cost-effective way to reach many people relatively quickly. I can also personalize my message to target specific audiences and generate leads.

Email marketing can take many different forms. These campaigns can include a single email announcing new content, an ongoing newsletter delivered regularly, or contacting customers about product updates.

Email isn’t as shiny as newer channels, like messaging and social. However, email is an effective way to build an audience that gets results.

“One of my favorite parts about email marketing is its intimacy,” says Rob Litterst, head of strategy and operations for HubSpot’s Newsletter Network.

“Access to someone‘s inbox is sacred, and for a person to welcome you in, there’s already a certain level of trust that you just can’t achieve with other platforms,” he says.

Master the fundamentals of email marketing with a free online course.

When to Use Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tactic to:

• Build relationships. Build connections through personalized engagement.
• Boost brand awareness. Keep your company and your services top-of-mind for the moment when your prospects are ready to engage.
• Promote your content. Use email to share relevant blog content or valuable assets with your prospects.
• Generate leads. Entice subscribers to provide their personal information in exchange for an asset that they’d find valuable.
• Market your products. Promote your products and services.
• Nurture leads. Delight your customers with content that can help them succeed in their goals.

Email Marketing Benefits

• 87% of marketers say that email marketing is critical to business success.
• Email is the third most popular owned media platform B2B marketers used to distribute content in the past 12 months.
• There are over 4.3 billion email users worldwide, so if you’re looking for a way to reach your customers, email is the perfect place to find them.
• The number of global email users is set to grow to 4.48 billion users by 2024.
• As of 2022, email generates $36 for every dollar spent.
• 51% of marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel, according to our Marketing Trends survey.
• 53% of marketers are continuing to invest in email marketing in 2023.
• 33% are increasing their investment in email marketing in 2023.
• 33% of marketers send weekly emails, and 26% send emails multiple times monthly.

Beyond just the statistics, perhaps the best reason to use email marketing is that you own the channel. Outside of compliance regulations, no external entity can impact how, when, or why you reach out to your subscribers.

Time and time again, email proves to be an unsung hero in marketing.

While it’s the third most-used marketing channel (beat by social media and websites), a whopping 95% of email marketers call it practical,” says Pamela Bump, head of content growth at HubSpot.

“For HubSpot — and our blog team — we’ve deeply leveraged email and even catered blog posts to our very subscribers,” she says. “Over the years, this has driven high ROI, millions of page views, countless conversions, and even customers.”

Still have doubts? Consider this:

Email marketing has an impressive ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. Furthermore, email marketing revenue is expected to reach $12.88 billion in 2024, according to Statista.

In addition to boosting revenue, marketing emails can also boost traffic to your website. I know this from personal experience. As I mentioned earlier, I run the marketing blog email newsletter. One of my responsibilities is to monitor the traffic our blog content generates.

So, I personally noticed that blog posts bring in significantly more traffic when they’re included in our email marketing newsletter.

Email Marketing Stats by Industry

Email marketing rules change based on your industry and who you’re marketing to. Below are some email marketing trends for B2B, B2C, e-commerce, and real estate companies that can inform your email marketing strategy.

Email Marketing Stats for B2B

• Email is the third-highest owned-media platform B2B marketers used to distribute content in the last 12 months.
• 44% of B2B marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel.
• B2B marketers say email engagement is the fourth most insightful metric when evaluating performance over the past year, more than social media, search rankings, and lead quality.

Email Marketing Stats for B2C

• 50% of B2C marketers say growing their email list is one of the biggest challenges in their role.
• 37% of B2C marketers send daily marketing emails to their subscribers.

Email Marketing Stats for Ecommerce

• 57.2% of marketers say the e-commerce brands they manage have 1,000 to 10,000 contacts on their email lists.
• 85.7% of e-commerce marketers say the primary business objective of their email strategy is increasing brand awareness.
• Roughly 72% of e-commerce marketers say the biggest challenge they face with email is low open rates.

Getting Started with Email Marketing

I know it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the vast possibilities of email marketing, so let’s break down a few key steps to get you started building a solid email campaign that will delight your customers.

You can think of these steps as creating a successful email marketing strategy.

1. Create an Email Marketing Strategy

You can learn how to build an effective email strategy and send emails that people actually want to read. It just takes a plan (one that can be broken down into a few key steps).

Think of the following five steps as an outline for your email strategy. We’ll dive deeper into some of these in a moment.

2. Define your audience.

Effective emails, whether a campaign or a one-off, start with understanding your audience.

Like everything else in marketing, start with your buyer persona, understand what pain points they’re dealing with, and tailor your email campaign to your audience’s needs.

3. Establish your goals.

Usually, before I think up campaign goals, I gather some context.

I always want to know the average email stats for my industry and use them as benchmarks for my goals. This should be your process as well.

As you can see, these benchmarks vary greatly. Using this guide will help you create realistic goals for your team.

4. Build your email list.

You need people to email, right? An email list (we’ll cover how to build your email list in the next section) is a group of users who have permitted you to send them relevant content.

To build that list, you need several ways for prospects to opt-in to receive your emails which we’ll cover in another section in just a moment.

Don’t be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list. It can take some time to build. In the meantime, treat every subscriber and lead like gold, and you’ll start seeing your email list grow organically.

5. Choose an email campaign type.

Email campaigns vary, and trying to decide between them can be overwhelming. Do you send a weekly newsletter? Should you send out new product announcements? Which blog posts are worth sharing?

The answer is subjective.

I like to start by learning about the types of email campaigns, then I decide which is best for my audience.

I also set up different lists for different types of emails, so customers and prospects can sign up for only the emails that are relevant to them.

6. Make a schedule.

Decide how often you plan to contact your list and inform your audience upfront.

This way, they’ll know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Forgetting this can lead to high unsubscribe lists and even get you in their spam.

In addition, once you set a schedule, be consistent. It will build trust and ensure you stay top of mind for your audience.

7. Measure your results.

This should come as no surprise. As marketers, we measure everything. Being meticulous about every key metric will help you make small changes to your emails, yielding large results.

We’re going to touch on the exact KPIs to monitor in a bit (or you can jump ahead).

Now that you understand the steps to creating an email marketing strategy, we‘ll look at what’s involved in building your email list.

8. Choose an email marketing platform.

An email marketing provider (ESP) is an excellent resource if you’re looking for any support while fine-tuning your email marketing efforts.

For example, HubSpot’s Email Marketing tool allows me to efficiently create, personalize, and optimize marketing emails that feel and look professional without designers or IT.

There are a variety of features to help me create the best email marketing campaigns and support all of my email marketing goals.

Additionally, I can analyze the success of my email marketing so I can share the data that matters most to my business with my team. The best part? HubSpot’s Email Marketing service is available for free.

Start using HubSpot’s Email Marketing Service for free. 

Here are examples of features services like HubSpot offer to consider when choosing an email service provider:

• CRM platform with segmentation capabilities
• Good standing with Internet Service Providers
• A positive reputation as an email service provider (ESP)
• Easy-to-build forms, landing pages, and CTAs
• Automation
• Simple ways to comply with email regulations
• Ability to split test your emails
• Built-in analytics
• Downloadable reports

9. Build Your Email List

Now to my favorite part: filling the email list with eager prospects excited to hear from you.

There are many creative ways to build your email list (and, no, purchasing emails ain’t one).

Tactically speaking, list building comes down to two key elements that work cohesively to grow your subscriber numbers: lead magnets and opt-in forms.

Featured Resources

• The Email Newsletter Lookbook
• How to Create Email Newsletters That Don’t Suck

Here’s how I build and grow my email list.

10. Use lead magnets.

Your lead magnet is exactly as it sounds: It attracts prospects to your email list, usually as a free offer.

The offer can take many formats, should be valuable to your prospects, and is given away for free in exchange for an email address.

There’s just one problem: People have become hyper-protective of their personal information. You can’t expect to receive an email address without exchanging it for something valuable.

Think about a lead magnet that is relevant, useful, and makes your prospects’ lives easier.

Here are a few types of lead magnets you could create:

• Ebooks.
• Whitepapers.
• Infographics.
• Reports or studies.
• Checklists.
• Templates.
• Webinars or courses.
• Tools.

If you’re short on resources, you can even repurpose existing content to create lead magnets.

11. Create an enticing opt-in form.

Your opt-in form is how you get a prospect’s information to add them to your list. It’s the gate between your future leads and the incredible asset you created with them in mind.

Here are some tips for creating an enticing opt-in form:

Create an attractive design and attention-grabbing header.

Your form should be branded, stand out from the page, and entice people to sign up. You want to excite readers with the offer.

Make the copy relevant to the offer.

While your goal is to get people to enter their information, it isn’t to deceive them. Any information on your form should be a truthful representation of the offer.

Keep the form simple.

This could be one of your first interactions with your prospect. Don’t scare them away with a long long-form several fields.

Ask for only the most essential information: first name and email is a good place to start.

Set your opt-in form for double confirmation.

It may seem counterproductive to ask your subscribers to opt into your emails twice, but some research on open rates suggests that customers may prefer a confirmed opt-in (COI) email more than a welcome email.

Ensure that the flow works.

Take yourself through the user experience before you go live. Double-check that the form works as intended, the thank you page is live, and your offer is delivered as promised.

This is one of your first impressions of your new lead — make it a professional and positive one.

Next, let’s take a moment to cover some universally accepted email marketing best practices regarding how to send marketing emails.

If all goes well, you’ll have built a robust list of subscribers and leads waiting to hear from you. But you can’t start emailing just yet unless you want to end up in a spam folder, or worse, a blocked list.

Here are a few important things to remember before you start emailing your list.

1. Implement email segmentation.

Once you’ve added people to your list, you must break them down into different segments.

That way, instead of having a monolithic email list of everybody, you’ll have easier-to-manage subcategories that pertain to your subscribers’ unique characteristics, interests, and preferences.

Our subscribers are humans, after all, and we should do our best to treat them as such. That means not sending generic email blasts.

Why should you segment your email list?

Each person who signs up to receive your emails is at a different level of readiness to convert into a customer (which is the ultimate goal of all this).

If you send a discount coupon for your product to subscribers that don’t even know how to diagnose their problem, you’ll probably lose them. That’s because you’re skipping the part where you build trust and develop the relationship.

Every email you send should treat your subscribers like humans you want to connect with, as opposed to a herd of leads you’re trying to corral into a one-size-fits-all box.

The more you segment your list, the more trust you build with your leads, and the easier it’ll be to convert them later.

How to Segment Email Lists

The first step in segmentation is creating separate lead magnets and opt-in forms for each part of the buyer’s journey. That way, your contacts are automatically divided into separate lists.

Beyond that, email marketing platforms allow you to segment your email list by contact data and behavior to help you send the right emails to the right people.

Here are some ways you could break up your list:

• Geographical location.
• Lifecycle stage.
• Awareness, consideration, and decision stage.
• Industry.
• Previous engagement with your brand.
• Language.
• Job Title.

In reality, you can segment your list any way that you want. Just make sure to be as exclusive as possible when sending emails to each subgroup.

2. A/B test your marketing emails.

Not all email lists are created equal. Some audiences prefer personalization, and others will think it’s spammy. Some audiences will like bright, eye-catching CTA buttons. Others will prefer a more subtle call-to-action.

You’ll never know what type of people make up your email list until you test the variables. That’s where A/B testing comes in handy.

“If you‘re considering making any structural or content alterations to your email marketing, A/B testing is an excellent way to determine if the changes will be successful or worthwhile before they’re implemented on a larger scale,” says Madison Zoey Vettorino, marketing manager and SEO content writer for HubSpot’s Website Blog.

Surprisingly, not many brands leverage it. A 2021 Litmus study found that 44% of marketers rarely A/B or multivariate test their emails. Only 19% do it often or always.

A/B testing, or split testing, is a way to see what type of email performs best with your audience by analyzing the results of email A against email B. This can be especially helpful when working with templates.

“Since emails often have the same template, A/B testing is smart because you can usually control variables outside of the test and get a solid signal on what performs better,” HubSpot’s Litterst says.

Here’s the step-by-step process for A/B testing your emails:

• Select one variable to test at a time, e.g., subject line, CTA, images.
• Create two versions of the email: one with and one without the variable.
• Allow your emails to be sent out simultaneously for a period of time.
• Analyze your results and keep only the version that performed better.
• Test a new variable and repeat the process.

Most email service providers will have A/B testing built into their software, which will make it easy for you to compare email results without much manual work.

When conducting an A/B test, consider these tips:

Test one element at a time.

“For example, try the same email with a different subject line. Or the same email and same subject line with a different CTA,” says Curtis del Principe, a user acquisition program lead and content strategist at HubSpot.

“It might be tempting to make several changes at once, but that makes it harder to pinpoint the true cause of your wins or losses,” he says.

Don’t try to “eyeball” an A/B test.

A/B test should be run with intention. Making quick changes and approaching results unscientifically can lead to incorrect conclusions.

“You might be tempted to run an informal A/B test by making a change and then casually paying attention to the responses that you get. This unscientific method can easily be skewed by factors outside your control (like seasonality or deliverability),” says del Principe. “It also leaves out a ton of valuable data, like open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, or sharing/forwarding rate.”

Instead, use an email marketing tool, like Marketing Hub or BuzzStream, to help you get a broader and more accurate understanding of your email performance.

Featured Resource

• The Complete Guide to A/B Testing

3. Analyze your email marketing performance.

Once you’ve got your first few campaigns, it’s time to see how they’re performing.

By diving into your email marketing analytics, you‘ll be able to make better decisions that will help your business’s bottom line, resonate with your subscribers, readers, and customers, and justify your work to the rest of your company.

Here are the best ways to analyze the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

4. Set email marketing KPIs.

There are four key metrics to pay attention to when evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign.

• Deliverability measures the rate at which emails reach your intended subscribers’ inboxes.
• Open rate is the percentage of people that open your email once it reaches their inbox.
• Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the percentage of people that click on your CTAs.
• Unsubscribes measures the number of people who opt out of your email list once they receive your email.

5. Adjust email components to improve results.

Many factors impact your KPIs, and it will take some experimentation and guesswork to figure out which tweaks to your emails will yield the biggest significance.

If you aren’t getting the desired numbers, try playing with these variables to improve your email results.

Deliverability

• Ensure that you’re following best practices regarding spam filters.
• Remove inactive people from your email list to keep only engaged subscribers.
• Check which emails have bounced and remove those email addresses from your list.

Open Rate

• Play with the language in your subject line to entice people to click on your email.
• Adjust the time and day that you send your email to see what works best.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

• Evaluate your offer to ensure that it provides value to your segmented list.
• Rewrite your copy to make sure that it’s clear what you want the reader to do.
• Try different CTAs, e.g., graphic versus Inline copy, bold versus subtle.

Unsubscribes

• First, consider if this is a blessing in disguise, as uninterested parties are removing themselves from your list.
• Regularly send an email to inactive subscribers on your list asking if they still want to be a part of it
• Evaluate whether the email you sent is aligned with your brand.
• Ensure you haven’t performed a bait-and-switch by promising one thing and delivering another.
• Make sure your emails are providing value to your audience before trying to upsell.

6. Use an email marketing report template.

Once you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, it’s time to look at how they performed. Your data does no good if you can’t report it in an organized fashion.

An email marketing report is a spreadsheet where you can record your results in one place to help you make inferences from your KPIs and take action to improve them.

Here’s how you should organize your report.

Metrics

• Total number of emails sent
• Number of emails delivered
• Deliverability Rate
• Bounce Rate
• Open Rate
• Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
• Click-to-open Rate (CTOR)
• Unsubscribe Rate

Data

• Subject line
• Length of the email body
• Offer
• CTA (inline or graphic)
• List segment(s)

Questions To Ask:

• Was your deliverability rate high in comparison to previous periods?
• How did your CTR compare to your open rate?
• Were your unsubscribe numbers consistent with other emails?
• Did a certain subject line perform better than others?
• Does the length of the email make a difference in CTR?
• Could another style of CTA perform better?
• Was the offer appropriate for the list segment?

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email regulations are important to follow as they regulate and protect consumers’ desires to know how and why their information is being used.

If there’s anything we care about, it’s complying with what our customers—or potential customers—want.

There are a few key ones that you should understand:

1. CAN-SPAM Compliance

Technically, CAN-SPAM is an acronym for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (because sometimes the two go together).

In practice, it’s a way to protect your subscribers’ right to only receive emails that they’ve requested.

The law was passed in 2003 and applies to any commercial emails used for business purposes.

Here are the ways to ensure that your emails are CAN-SPAM compliant:

• Include your company name and address in every email.
• Place visible unsubscribe links within your emails.
• Use real email addresses in the “From” and “Reply to” fields.
• Write subject lines that indicate the contents of the email.

Please note: This is not to be confused with legal advice. See the FTC’s site for more specific legal information regarding CAN-SPAM laws.

2. GDPR Compliance

While some may view these newly implemented email regulations as burdensome and unnecessary, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) moves us closer to building long-lasting, trusting customer relationships.

GDPR is about giving your customers the right to choose. They choose your emails. They decide to hear from you. They choose your products. And that is exactly what inbound marketing is about.

It is important to note that GDPR only applies to businesses operating in the European Union and businesses that market to EU citizens.

Noncompliance will result in significant fees that aren’t worth the risk, so make sure to read the GDPR guidelines entirely.

Here’s an overview of how you can comply with GDPR laws:

• Use precise language when requesting consent to store personal information.
• Only collect contact data that is necessary for and relevant to your business.
• Store contact data securely and only use it for the agreed-upon purpose.
• Retain data for justifiable business purposes only.
• Delete contact data on request.
• Make it easy for contacts to unsubscribe from your list or update their preferences.
• Comply promptly with a contact’s request for access to their data.
• Keep company records to prove GDPR compliance.

These regulations will be taken seriously (as they should), so it’s a good idea to create a GDPR strategy for your business before sending emails.

3. Avoid Spam Filters

You spend time creating the perfect email and adhering to regulations, so the last thing you want is to end up in a spam folder.

You’ll want to avoid the spam folder because:

• It hurts your deliverability rates across the board.
• Your contacts will likely miss all of your emails.
• You won’t be able to measure your email marketing effectiveness accurately.
• Your analytics will be skewed.

You can avoid being deduced to spam with the following.

Get whitelisted.

A whitelist is a list of approved senders that can reach the subscriber’s inbox. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have your new subscriber add your email address to their address book.

Include directions on how to do this in your welcome email.

Mind your copy.

Avoid using all caps and multiple exclamation points, as well as spam trigger words, like “opt-in,” “click below,” and “order,” that are easily detected and marked down by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Use a reliable email service provider.

Your email service provider’s reputation affects your deliverability, so stick to established, well-known companies.

Implement a double opt-in.

Once someone opts in to your email list, send an email asking them to confirm. This ensures that your new subscriber is genuinely interested in your emails and will likely be more engaged.

(Check out more ways you can avoid the spam filter.)

And last but certainly not least, you need to consistently measure the success of your email marketing efforts. There are a number of options you can choose from when it comes to your business’s email marketing analytics.

Email Marketing Tips

While you probably don’t think twice about the formatting or subject line of an email you send to a friend, email marketing requires a lot more consideration.

Everything from the time you send your email to the devices on which your email could be opened matters.

Your goal with every email is to generate more leads, which makes crafting a marketing email a more involved process than other emails you’ve written.

Let’s touch on the components of a successful marketing email:

Copy: The copy in the body of your email should be consistent with your voice and stick to only one topic.

Images: Choose images that are optimized for all devices, eye-catching, and relevant.

CTA: Your call-to-action should lead to a relevant offer and stand out from the rest of the email.

Timing: Based on a study that observed response rates of 20 million emails, Tuesday at 11 AM ET is the best day and time to send your email.

Responsiveness: 55% of emails are opened on mobile. Your email should, therefore, be optimized for this as well as all other devices.

Personalization: Write every email like you’re sending it to a friend. Be personable and address your reader in a familiar tone.

Subject Line: Use clear, actionable, enticing language that is personalized and aligned with the body of the email.

Featured Resource

• 100 Email Subject Lines We Actually Clicked

Pro tip: Leverage AI for email marketing. By using tools like our AI Email Writer, you can generate copy that suits your goals, saving time along the way.

Personalize your email marketing.

“Personalization isn’t just about adding a contact’s name to the subject line anymore but is all about creating personalized experiences that demonstrate you understand them and have insider knowledge about how they can use your products to succeed,” Aleia Walker, growth marketing manager at HubSpot.

Now that you know who you’re emailing and what’s important to them, sending emails with personalized touches will be much easier.

Sure, you’re speaking to 100+ people at one time, but your leads don’t need to know it.

Personalized emails have higher open rates. In addition, 83% of customers are willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience.

You’ve gathered all this unique data. Your email marketing software allows for personalization tokens. You have no excuse for sending generic emails that don’t make your leads feel special.

“It’s more impactful to base email personalization on two or three factors instead of just what a contact is engaging with on your side,” Walker says.

Walker suggests, “Consider personalizing emails based on what you know about your contact, such as their location, industry, employee size, etc., alongside how they engage with your content.”

Here are a few ways to personalize your emails:

• Add a first name field in your subject line and/or greeting.
• Include region-specific information when appropriate.
• Send content that is relevant to your lead’s lifecycle stage.
• Only send emails that pertain to the last engagement a lead has had with your brand.
• Write about relevant and/or personal events, like region-specific holidays or birthdays.
• End your emails with a personal signature from a human (not your company).
• Use a relevant call-to-action to an offer that the reader will find useful.

4. Use email marketing templates.

Email marketing templates — like these ones from HubSpot — are another great resource to help you with your email marketing.

Unless you’re a designer and developer, on top of being a skilled marketer, templates will save you a ton of time — they take the design, coding, and UX-definition work out of crafting your emails.

Just one caveat: when making your selection, choose email templates that are proven to be effective.

The highest-quality templates come from the most reputable ESPs that have tested them against thousands of alternatives. So, stick with the professionals.

If you’re struggling with the above tips, HubSpot offers e-mail marketing tools to help personalize your marketing emails, optimize your emails with A/B testing, and create aesthetically pleasing emails using templates.

Furthermore, HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant uses AI technology to generate copy for marketing emails.

Beginning Email Marketing

While there are many rules to sending a marketing email, the most important is this: Treat the reader on the other end like you’re writing to a friend.

Trust me, you can achieve all of your email marketing goals if you keep this golden rule top of mind in every autoresponder, lead magnet, and subject line.

And remember, the more you help your subscribers, the more they will want to hear from you and look forward to opening emails that you send.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Ah, quarter one. It’s a time when many of us reflect on the last year, make new bets, and refresh our playbooks. If the fourth quarter is about finishing strong, then the first quarter is about starting smart.

It’s an exciting time but also a bit overwhelming. You have new goals to reach and new strategies to execute. You also need to create enough room to pivot at a moment’s notice.

But have no fear – here, I’ve rounded up seven data-backed strategies for nailing Q1, as well as Q1 marketing tips from HubSpot experts. Let’s dive in.

1. Interested in influencer marketing? Start with micro-influencers.

Half of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing investment in 2024. If you’ve always wanted to work with influencers — but the price tag seems out of reach — I have some good news.

Among marketers who leverage influencer marketing, nearly half (47%) found the most success with micro-influencers. These are influencers who have anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 followers. While these creators don’t have millions of followers, they hold influence with a smaller, more engaged community.

In fact, when asked about the biggest benefits of working with micro-influencers, 42% of marketers say micro-influencers are less expensive, followed by 39% who say micro-influencers give access to more niche communities.

Want to learn more about working with micro-influencers? Check out this helpful guide.

2. Approach social media as an ecommerce platform.

Websites like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay have been the top dogs in the ecommerce space for decades. But now we’re seeing social media platforms — like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook — evolve into shopping destinations, creating new opportunities for marketers.

50% of marketers plan to increase their investment in social commerce in 2024, and 14% plan to leverage it for the first time this year.

On the consumer side, 67% have already bought through social media platforms. What’s more, consumers ages 18-54 prefer to discover new products on social media. Personally, I’ve purchased far too many products on TikTok than I care to mention, so it’s nice to know I’m not alone. 

What makes social media such an effective ecommerce channel is that it gives marketers access to a pretty wide net of people. This enables them to tap into audiences who are already engaged, which is ideal for brand building and product discovery.

On top of that, running influencer campaigns on social media is becoming much more streamlined; influencers drive awareness to products, and users can purchase them without ever leaving the app.

But, most importantly, platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer powerful analytics, enabling marketers to reach their audiences for maximum impact.

3. Double down on short-form video content.

Short-form video continues its reign on social media, with 53% of marketers planning to increase their investment in 2024. It’s also the trend marketers are investing in the most this year, outpacing influencer marketing, podcasting, and live-streaming.

But wait, there’s more: short-form video generated the most ROI from any media format for marketers last year, closely followed by images. It’s clear that audiences love visual content, and platforms like TikTok and Instagram can help you amplify it.

Short-form video isn’t necessarily new (remember Vine, anyone?). But it’s quickly proven itself as an effective marketing format. It’s relatively low-cost — if at all — with quick turnaround times. This allows marketers to jump on trends and showcase their brand’s personality. It also fits within the fast-paced social media landscape where attention spans are short.

4. Up-level your customer service with a multi-channel strategy.

For 1 in 4 marketers, providing customer service through social media became more important in 2023, and I predict this trend will carry into this year. 

In fact, 50% of marketers plan to continue the same investment in social media as a customer service tool in 2024, whereas 33% plan to increase their investment.

If this trend tells us anything, it’s that elevating your customer service to a new level requires adopting a multi-channel strategy. While the more traditional channels (e.g., phone and email) are far from over, you want to take advantage of other opportunities to connect with your customers, like social media direct messages, live chats, and more.

Not only does a multi-channel strategy offer more convenience to customers, but it also allows them to engage and interact with your brand in the way they prefer.

5. Leverage AI for productivity.

AI: it was seen as a threat to marketers at first, but now the conversation is changing. Oddly enough, artificial intelligence has given most people, marketers or not, a greater appreciation for human creativity and inventiveness. 

AI can’t replicate that (at least convincingly), but it can assist us in the process. This is why 75% of marketers either somewhat or strongly agree that AI helps them focus on the more creative aspects of their job.

One way AI is supercharging productivity is by taking the more monotonous and tedious work off marketers’ plates. 78% of marketers agree that AI helps them spend less time on manual tasks like data entry and scheduling meetings. AI also supports 40% of marketers with data reporting and 39% for research. 

If you haven’t leveraged AI yet, it may be time to explore ways to add it to your workflow. Check out this article if you need help figuring out where to start.

6. As AI streamlines the content creation process, have safeguards to maintain quality.

If you read #5, I explained how AI can be helpful to marketers wanting to boost their productivity — but now I need to add a big caveat.

While AI is helpful to marketers, it’s far from infallible. AI writing tools like ChatGPT, for example, are trained on limited data, so they may generate outdated or inaccurate content. And, obviously, the last thing you want to do is publish outdated or inaccurate content.

Luckily, most marketers are aware of these shortcomings. 67% of marketers agree that AI sometimes offers incorrect information. However, only 27% of marketers are “very confident” they would know if the information AI produced was inaccurate.

The solution isn’t to stop using AI altogether, but to have guardrails in place to maintain the quality of your content, reports, and so on. Always have a human editor to review your materials and double-check for any inaccuracies with quotes and statistics. For more tips, visit this article.

7. Social responsibility isn’t going out of style.

For a quarter (25%) of marketers, creating content that reflects their brand values was the biggest change in the marketing industry from 2022 to 2023. 

Fast forward to today, and 45% of marketers plan to increase their investment in this type of content this year. 

Brands recognize that value-driven content isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s becoming essential for modern consumers. We often see enhanced brand loyalty and better business outcomes when consumers feel aligned with a brand and its values. 

However, a key element in this strategy is authenticity. Today’s consumers are highly discerning and can spot when a brand is disingenuous. Ultimately, value-driven content is about building a genuine and sustainable connection with the audience, which requires a thoughtful approach.

Q1 Marketing Tips from HubSpot Experts

Embrace an elastic approach.

A big part of formulating a strong marketing strategy is understanding that it might change. This is why Drue Stinnett, Content Marketing Manager at HubSpot, recommends an elastic approach.

She told me, “Be adaptable and ready to pivot throughout the year. By embracing an elastic approach to your marketing efforts, you can quickly respond to market shifts, consumer feedback, and emerging opportunities.” 

The ability to make quick pivots also gives you a more competitive edge. As Stinnett points out, “Adaptability also allows your strategies to remain effective within a fast-paced business landscape.”

Reflect on last year’s performance.

Marketers should be forward-thinking — of course – but this often entails looking back. 

As Carly Williams, Head of Monetization at HubSpot, told me, “Before you dive right in, take a moment to reflect on last year’s performance and let go of strategies that didn’t show a return. This exercise will help you free up resources to support fresh ideas and success in the year ahead.”

In doing so, you can strike the right balance — innovating and trying new things where needed, but also recognizing and executing strategies that work well.

Go back to basics.

“To succeed in 2024, marketers will find themselves in exploration mode,” Basha Coleman, Senior Program Manager at HubSpot, told me.

And if there’s one area you should continuously explore, it’s your target audience.

“Getting curious about your audience—what they like, and what they’re doing with the content that they like, and where they’re engaging with it, is going to be an evergreen strategy that marketers will find themselves coming back to throughout Q1 and the rest of 2024,” she adds.

Knowing your target audience is something that never goes out of style. But if your content isn’t sparking engagement — or you’ve noticed shifts in your audience’s behavior and preferences — it’s a good indication to revisit your audience and refresh your strategies accordingly.

Back to You

As we wrap up, remember that Q1 is about starting smart and staying flexible. 2024 already presents plenty of opportunity, so long as you stay creative, focused, and adaptable.

On the hunt for the best WordPress survey plugin? Whether you’re looking to improve the user experience on your website, increase your customer satisfaction, or simply learn more about your visitors, embedding a survey on your website is the fastest way to get the feedback you need.

To help you find the best WordPress survey plugin, I went hands-on with as many options as possible. Then, I curated my picks for the 15 best options based on that. Here are all of the plugins installed on my site, so you can be confident that I tested them all.

Let’s dig in!

1. HubSpot WordPress Plugin

Why I like it: HubSpot is a great option if you want to use your surveys for customer service/feedback, marketing, and/or sales purposes, as it includes a built-in CRM and lots more advanced features.

HubSpot’s plugin for WordPress is a free and easy way to add forms, live chat, CRM, and more to your WordPress site.

Using the drag-and-drop form builder allows you to collect contact information or qualitative feedback from your site’s visitors. Then, you can easily sync that data to HubSpot’s free CRM to track any feedback you receive in an organized manner.

For even more powerful surveying tools, HubSpot’s customer feedback software allows you to send net promoter scores (NPS), customer effort scores (CES), customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT), and more. These tools can help you understand your customers while tracking and improving their experience over time.

Overall, I think that HubSpot is a good option for situations where you want to really understand your individual customers on a deeper level, thanks in large part to the integration with the CRM.

Pricing: HubSpot’s WordPress plugin is free to use and includes live chat, forms, CRM, email marketing, and analytics within your WordPress site.

2. Quiz and Survey Master (QSM)

Why I like it: Quiz and Survey Master is one of the most versatile free WordPress survey plugins, which I think makes it a great option if you’re on a tight budget.

While I think Quiz and Survey Master’s interface lags a little behind some other survey plugins in terms of ease of use, this plugin offers a ton of survey-specific functionality — a lot of which you get for free.

First off, I think that it has one of the most versatile collections of survey question types. You can ask basic questions like multiple choice or radio buttons, as well as more unique questions like matching pairs, polar choices, radio grids, checkbox grids, and more. You can also ask free-form survey questions with short-form text or paragraph boxes.

You can even accept image answers from users, which is something most other plugins don’t offer.

You also get tons of other useful features, such as the ability to add a contact form as part of your survey, customize the results page, analyze results, and more.

Additionally, you can purchase paid add-ons to unlock even more features, like email integrations, conditional logic, and analytics reports. The data you get from your survey and quiz results isn’t especially detailed or helpful, however, unless you purchase the add-ons.

Pricing: There’s a free version at WordPress.org that is fine for simple surveys. To access more features, you can purchase individual add-ons or a bundle of add-ons starting at $129.

3. WPForms

Why I like it: WPForms is a versatile form builder with an easy-to-use interface. Plus, it has a dedicated Surveys and Polls add-on to help you implement and analyze surveys.

WPForms is one of the most popular form builders for WordPress, with over 5,000,000+ active installations. You can use the 300+ pre-built templates and the easy drag-and-drop builder to create any type of form in no time — surveys included.

WPForms also has a dedicated Surveys and Polls add-on that lets you use survey field types (e.g., Likert scales and Net Promoter Score fields) and adds features to help you analyze survey responses.

Additional features specific to surveys include smart conditional logic to filter and personalize your questions and real-time polling functionality. Plus, you can get interactive survey reports with beautiful graphs and charts.

You have the option to show survey results on your WordPress website page with a shortcode or to redirect users to a results page at the end of the survey.

However, if you want the dedicated Surveys and Polls add-on, I think that WPForms can be a bit expensive when compared to other WordPress survey plugins.

Pricing: You can start using WPForms for free, which might be okay for simple surveys where you don‘t need advanced analysis. However, to access the Surveys and Polls add-on, you’ll need at least the Pro license, which costs $399 (discounted to $199.50 for the first year).

4. Gravity Forms

Why I like it: Gravity Forms is a flexible all-purpose form builder, but it still includes a dedicated Survey Add-On to help you implement popular survey questions (like Likert scales) and analyze results. It also integrates with tons of other tools, which lets you use survey results in interesting ways.

Gravity Forms is a well-known premium form builder. While you can still create a survey with just the core form builder, the Gravity Forms Survey, Polls, and Quiz add-ons make it easier to manage your users’ responses, along with adding some survey-specific form field types.

You can build powerful surveys with their drag-and-drop form builder. Plus, you can use conditional logic to create branching surveys that change based on previous responses or set limits on the number of responses. You can choose to display the survey results publicly and close the survey after a certain date or number of responses.

Gravity Forms also offers a number of integrations to help you connect to other tools that you might be using, such as your email marketing service. In fact, I think that Gravity Forms’s flexibility and large integration list are some of its standout features in comparison to other WordPress survey plugins.

However, Gravity Forms doesn‘t offer a free version, so it’s not a good option if you’re looking for a free WordPress survey plugin.

Pricing: Gravity Forms only comes in a premium version. While its plans start at $59, you’ll need the $259 Elite license to access the survey add-on. This license gives you access to every single Gravity Forms add-on and supports unlimited sites.

5. Survey Maker

Why I like it: Survey Maker has a strong free version for people on a budget, and it also offers lots of question types to help you collect survey responses in an optimal way. It also has a very easy-to-use interface, which shares a lot of similarities with Google Forms.

Survey Maker is a dedicated WordPress survey plugin from the same team behind the popular Quiz Maker and Poll Maker plugins, which collectively cover pretty much every way of collecting information from your site’s visitors.

I think that it’s strong when it comes to the different ways that you can collect information, with support for 20+ different question types, including closed-ended and open-ended questions. For example, you can have free-form text fields, rating scales, drop-downs, checkboxes, and lots more. You can also use logic branching to take your surveys in different directions depending on how people answer earlier questions.

The backend interface feels a lot like Google Forms, which I think can make it easy to use if you’re already familiar with the Google Forms interface. I really mean that — it almost feels like they cloned Google Forms and put it inside your WordPress dashboard.

In addition to embedding surveys in a page, you can also display surveys in a popup, which I think is an advantage over some other survey plugins.

Once you collect some responses, Survey Maker includes data analysis tools to help you analyze results, including charts for survey answers. You can also send the survey results to participants, including showing different results pages and sending different emails depending on how a person filled out the survey.

Pricing: Survey Maker has a functional free version at WordPress.org. Paid plans start at just $39.

6. Formidable Forms

Why I like it: Formidable Forms is a flexible WordPress form builder plugin with dedicated survey functionality, along with tons of pre-made templates and the ability to display form/survey data on the front end of your site.

Formidable Forms is a form builder plugin with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. While the plugin allows you to create surveys, that’s not the only feature. This plugin gives you the power to create everything from calculators and directories to contact forms and registration pages.

With regard to its surveying features, there’s a lot of value packed inside this plugin. Its survey templates are quite useful — bringing together many of the common use cases you’d want to run a survey around. Some examples include employee satisfaction, net promoter score, and cancellation surveys.

Additionally, Formidable Forms’s survey tool has features such as smart question branching and multi-page progression, giving you added control.

I think that one area where Formidable Forms really excels is in displaying survey results (and other form data) on the front end of your site. So, if you want to share survey data publicly, that could make it an especially good option.

However, I think that one downside is the price, as it uses the same pricing as WPForms and is one of the more expensive plugins on this list (if you need the dedicated survey add-on). You might be okay with the free version for very simple surveys, though, which would eliminate this issue.

Pricing: There‘s a free version of Formidable Forms at WordPress.org that can work for basic surveys. However, to access the dedicated surveys and polls functionality, you’ll need at least the Business license (which includes an integration with HubSpot forms). This license costs $399 (discounted to $199.50 for the first year).

7. Forminator

Why I like it: Forminator is one of the most generous survey plugins in terms of functionality that’s available in the free version, which makes it a great option for creating WordPress surveys on a budget.

Forminator is a free and expandable form builder for WordPress. Like many of the items on this list, you’re able to do a lot from within one plugin. With Forminator, you can add forms, surveys, polls, quizzes, calculations, and payments to your WordPress site. This gives you a lot of functionality to connect with and convert your visitors.

You can use a simple builder to create forms and surveys. These elements include common fields such as name, email, phone number, text, radio boxes, and more. Another benefit of using Forminator is that you’re able to connect your account to a variety of third-party integrations.

These include connections with leading apps such as HubSpot, Google Sheets, Zapier, Slack, and Trello.

Overall, I think that Forminator is one of the most generous free survey plugins when it comes to the functionality that‘s available to you. However, I think that its form creation experience isn’t quite as nice as plugins like Gravity Forms and WPForms because it doesn’t include a visual builder like those plugins.

It‘s still easy to use because you can still drag and drop form fields — I just don’t think it quite matches up. But at the same time, those other plugins cost a lot more than Forminator to access the same functionality.

Pricing: Forminator has a free version at WordPress.org that‘s quite capable. You can also access more functionality via Forminator Pro, which is available on the WPMU DEV membership. This membership starts at $90 per year and gives you access to all of the developer’s plugins.

8. SurveyMonkey

Why I like it: SurveyMonkey offers very advanced tools for analyzing survey results. If you’re okay with integrating a third-party service into your WordPress site and you need advanced analysis, that could make it a great option for your site.

SurveyMonkey is one of the world’s leading survey tools. While it’s not technically a WordPress plugin, you can easily embed surveys into your WordPress site by adding the SurveyMonkey embed code to the Custom HTML block in the WordPress editor.

You’ll be able to set up simple or advanced surveys through the SurveyMonkey website. You can choose from a variety of open-ended or closed-ended question types, even including some advanced options like a click map (survey respondents can click on an image to provide feedback).

You can adjust the look and feel of your surveys with custom fonts, colors, and imagery to reflect your brand. You can also customize whether respondents see a thank you page, if the survey stops showing up after a certain date and time, and more.

As I mentioned above, I think that SurveyMonkey really stands out when it comes to analyzing your survey results, as you get lots of different visualization options, as well as tools to monitor trends so that you can see changes over time.

Pricing: SurveyMonkey has a limited, forever-free plan that might work for short surveys. For example, the free plan limits you to a maximum of ten questions per survey. Paid plans start at $35 per month for unlimited surveys and questions, along with up to 1,000 survey responses per month.

9. Opinion Stage

Why I like it: Opinion Stage has some of the most advanced survey functionality of any tool on this list, which can make it a great option for complex surveys (as long as you’re okay with using a SaaS tool instead of a 100% self-hosted solution).

Opinion Stage lets you create interactive surveys to boost your engagement rates and get more qualified leads. This tool is used by large corporations including BBC, Uber, and TripAdvisor.

Its intuitive interface makes it easy to use. You can manage all of your polls and quizzes in a single dashboard and track your results thanks to detailed analytic reports, which track impressions, the number of votes, click-through rates, social sharing, and more.

Opinion Stage’s built-in templates help you customize your surveys and polls to fit your brand. You can even add images and videos to your surveys to make them more engaging.

Additionally, when you upgrade to a paid plan, you can integrate forms into your surveys to capture leads’ contact information — plus, you have the option to incorporate ads, opening up an additional revenue stream for your business.

However, I think it‘s important to understand that Opinion Stage is a standalone SaaS tool that you can connect to WordPress via its integration plugin. This means that you’ll need to create and manage your surveys from the Opinion Stage website instead of your WordPress dashboard.

Pricing: The basic tool is free for up to 25 survey responses per month. To remove the Opinion Stage branding, unlock additional features, and increase the response limit, premium plans start at $25 per month when you pay annually.

10. Typeform

Why I like it: Typeform offers a unique conversational interface that creates an engaging survey experience for your visitors. If you like this conversational approach, it could be the best WordPress survey plugin for your needs.

Typeform is a contact form builder that also lets you create surveys and quizzes in a unique conversational interface.

Choose from an epic selection of survey, questionnaire, and quiz templates that you can customize to your needs. Your surveys can include a number of different question types, including ratings, multiple choice, or closed and open-ended questions.

Your “typeforms” present your questions one at a time to keep users engaged and can include images, GIFs, or videos. This tool includes Calculator, a PRO feature for you to add calculations, scores, or prices to your questions. You can assign different values to each answer to a question and then perform calculations based on those values.

To embed Typeform in WordPress, you can use the official Typeform WordPress plugin or just add the Typeform embed code directly to a Custom HTML block.

However, like Opinion Stage, I think it’s important to understand that Typeform is a SaaS tool rather than a totally native WordPress plugin.

If you want this type of “conversational” form interface in a 100% native WordPress plugin, some of the WordPress form plugins from above also offer conversational interfaces. This includes Gravity Forms, WPForms, and Formidable Forms.

Pricing: Typeform has a basic free plan that lets you create a single survey with Typeform branding. Paid plans start at $25 per month for unlimited surveys and up to 100 survey responses per month.

11. TotalPoll

Why I like it: TotalPoll has a user-friendly interface and includes some unique survey question types, such as letting you add images, videos, and audio files to your survey options. The backend interface also gives you lots of control over how your surveys function.

TotalPoll is a freemium plugin that you can use for both simple polls and more complex surveys.

I think it has one of the better backend user experiences of the plugins on this list. Beyond a simple interface to add questions, you also get separate areas to add custom fields to collect users’ personal information, control the design of your surveys, and integrate with other tools.

For example, when setting up the design of your survey, you can choose a template and then customize it using a visual preview, which I think makes it easy to control how your surveys will look.

As I mentioned above, TotalPoll also offers flexible question types. Beyond adding text questions, you can also add images, videos, audio files, or even custom HTML.

Once you receive some survey responses, you have tools to analyze aggregate data as well as view individual entries.

Pricing: TotalPoll has a basic free version at WordPress.org. If you want access to all of the features, TotalPoll Pro costs $79, which includes six months of support and lifetime updates for a single site.

12. Modal Survey

Why I like it: It offers all the core features most people need and includes lifetime updates at no extra cost, which makes it an excellent long-term value if you plan to rely on your survey tool for multiple years of usage.

Modal Survey is another popular option for building surveys, polls, and quizzes on WordPress. I think it‘s one of the stronger options when it comes to visualizing your survey results, so it could be a good choice that’s important to you.

In addition to seeing basic data, you can also view lots of charts and graphs, including five different types of pie charts, as well as some unique visualization options like polar charts and radar charts.

Beyond surveys, it also includes lots of features to create custom quizzes, which I think can make it a good option for people who want to create both surveys and quizzes.

You can ask users to answer questions and then recommend products based on their results — which is particularly helpful if you own an e-commerce website.

Additionally, you can equip your quizzes with countdown timers (one for your overall quiz or one for each question) and subscribe respondents to your email list, thanks to the many email marketing service integrations available.

Pricing: You can purchase a license on CodeCanyon for $44. That price includes lifetime updates for a single site, as well as six months of support.

13. Google Forms

Why I like it: Google Forms is an excellent option for people on a tight budget because it lets you have unlimited survey forms, questions, and responses for free. If you need the absolute cheapest tool for high-volume surveys, I don’t think you can beat Google Forms.

While not an actual survey plugin by itself, Google Forms is a very popular free survey tool that is still worth mentioning. You can easily embed Google Forms on your WordPress website, either via a third-party plugin or by adding the embed code to a Custom HTML block in the WordPress editor.

Google Forms is very straightforward and easy to use. You can ask multiple types of questions, including open-ended and closed-ended question formats.

You can set up restrictions for who to accept responses from, when to close the survey, and whether or not you would like to collect email addresses. You also get some style options to help you match the survey interface to your WordPress site’s branding.

Once you have some survey responses, Google Forms also includes tools to help you analyze them. You can also quickly swap between aggregate and individual responses.

Again, I think that one of the standout details in Google Forms is that it lets you have unlimited forms, questions, and responses for free. However, your survey forms will include Google Forms branding by default, so I don‘t think it’s a good option if you want a 100% white-labeled WordPress survey plugin.

With that being said, there are WordPress plugins like FormFacade that can help you customize the Google Forms styling, which I think can be a good option to consider if you want your surveys to more closely match your WordPress website’s branding.

Pricing: Google Forms is totally free for unlimited usage.

14. WP-Polls

Why I like it: WP-Polls can be a great option for running simple one-question polls. However, you’ll want to pick a different plugin if you want to create more in-depth surveys.

WP-Polls is a popular option for free basic polling functionalities. Your polls are easily customizable via templates and custom CSS.

However, I don‘t think it’s the best option for non-technical users, as you might struggle to style your poll results without at least a basic understanding of CSS. I did find some basic styling options in the plugin’s settings, but most users will probably want to go beyond those.

Outside of that, though, WP-Polls is pretty flexible. You can schedule your polls and even set expiration dates on them. Your users are automatically shown the results after voting.

You can keep a log of who voted on your polls, allowing you to manually keep track of duplicates.

I think that it’s also important to highlight another limitation with WP-Polls — you can only use radio buttons and checkboxes to collect answers, and you can only include a single question in each poll (though you’re free to create unlimited polls).

This can make it a good option if you just want to create simple polls, but I would recommend choosing a different plugin if you want to create more detailed surveys.

Pricing: WP-Polls is 100% free and available at WordPress.org. The developer does accept donations, but that’s 100% optional.

15. YOP Poll

Why I like it: YOP Poll offers an easy way to implement short polls with a more modern interface than the WP-Polls plugin above. It also has a premium version that supports multiple questions, which lets you set up longer surveys if needed.

I think that the free YOP Poll plugin can be another good option for users who want to create simple one-question polls rather than more in-depth surveys. If you’re willing to upgrade to the premium version, you can also add multiple questions to a single poll, which can be helpful if you want to create longer surveys.

YOP Poll lets you create polls that you can manage right from your WordPress dashboard. You’ll get access to customizable templates and can schedule polls, set limits on votes, and restrict access to certain users based on their usernames or IP addresses.

I also like that you’re able to use images and videos in your poll questions, which I think opens up some unique use cases (such as surveying users about which design they prefer).

Compared to the WP-Polls plugin above, YOP Poll’s default styling looks a little more modern, and you also get some options to customize the styling without needing to use custom CSS. The premium version also adds 30+ pre-made designs that you can use.

The main drawback of this plugin is that it doesn’t allow for open-ended questions, except for an “other” fillable field. This tool is, therefore, ideal for predefined options.

Pricing: YOP Poll has a functional free version at WordPress.org. There’s also an affordable premium version starting at $27 for use on a single site.

Final Thoughts on WordPress Survey Plugins

That wraps up my curated list of the best WordPress survey plugins. Choosing the right plugin for your site will depend on your budget, the type of surveys that you want to create, and whether you’re okay with integrating a SaaS tool into your site or you want a 100% native WordPress plugin.

If you want a free tool, Survey Maker and Quiz and Survey Master are both good options for general surveys, while HubSpot works well if you like the idea of having a built-in CRM. If you’re willing to pay, using a full-powered form builder like Gravity Forms gives you a lot of flexibility for setting up your surveys.

When I started my content creation journey, one of my friends said over brunch, “Erica is officially in her influencer era.” I love it when my friends inflate my ego, so I let the comment slide and raised a glass to celebrate my first YouTube video.

However, the reality is that though I am a content creator, I’m not an influencer. While the terms influencer and content creator are often used interchangeably, they’re not always the same.

My friend didn’t need to know that, but marketers definitely should since both serve different purposes in the marketing world.

So, let’s dive into the differences between creators and influencers and which you should invest in.

Influencers vs. Creators

When to Use Influencers in Your Marketing Strategy

When to Use Creators in Your Marketing Strategy

When to Use Both in Your Strategy

Influencers vs. Creators

Comparing influencers and creators is like comparing squares and rectangles. Not every creator is an influencer, but all influencers are creators. Let me explain.

Content creators are individuals who craft media to entertain or educate viewers. The term especially pertains to digital content, such as YouTube videos, TikToks, Reels, blogs, or social media posts.

Some content creators create it as a hobby, while others do it to earn income.

Modern Millie is a content creator who occasionally features products and services in her YouTube videos, but her content is always sponsored by the items she’s mentioning.

For example, Modern Millie’s video shows viewers how to use a service called STAN, but she mentions early on in the video that she is not being paid to promote the service.

She simply enjoys using it and thinks the information could be helpful to her followers.

Conversely, influencers are individuals who amass sizeable followings on social media and create content meant to promote or sell products and services.

Influencers typically have partnerships or deals with brands and use their online presence to advertise on the brand’s behalf.

For example, beauty and lifestyle influencer Jackie Aina is often sent PR packages from makeup and skincare companies to review the products on camera and influence viewers to purchase.

In the video below, she reviews products sent from Makeup by Mario. A link to purchase the products is in the video, and it’s possible she may receive a commission for each purchase.

So, how are all influencers creators, but not all creators are influencers? Well, every influencer must create and distribute content to advertise a product, service, or brand.

However, not every creator crafts content to promote a brand or generate income.

For example, I’m a YouTuber who creates content about things I enjoy (movies, anime, manga, etc). Still, I do not work with any brands, nor do I have any professional obligation to promote anything on my channel.

Thus, every influencer is a content creator, but not every content creator is an influencer.

When to Use Influencers in Your Marketing Strategy

I think most brands could benefit from influencer marketing. There is no right time, especially considering that 69% of consumers trust influencers more than they trust information coming directly from a brand.

Moreover, 81% of consumers say social media posts from influencers, family, or friends drove their interest in an item in the past year.

However, if you‘re still on the fence about incorporating influencer marketing into your strategy, here’s a quick breakdown of when to know it’s time to give it a shot.

When You’re Trying to Tap into Gen Z

One thing you need to know about Gen Z is that they hate blatant advertising. A recent report found that 99% of Gen Z consumers will skip an advertisement if given the option, and 63% use blockers to online ads altogether.

So, how can you reach a generation that wants nothing to do with advertisements? The answer is to have an influencer reach them for you.

33% of Gen Z consumers have bought a product based on an influencer’s recommendation in just the past few months, and 72% of Gen Zers follow influencers on social media.

So, if you want to gear your marketing efforts toward Gen Z, influencers are your golden ticket.

When You Want a Low-Cost Way to Promote Your Product or Service

When you think of influencers, you might think of people like Jackie Aina or Bretman Rock, who have millions of followers. Influencers with more than 1 million followers are celebrity influencers or mega influencers.

And they are very pricey to work with.

Fortunately, influencer marketing is still accessible if you’re a marketer on a tight budget. Micro-influencers have 10,000 to 100,000 followers and are much more cost-effective to work with than their celebrity counterparts.

Even better, micro-influencers are known to have a higher ROI than influencers with larger followings, and they have higher engagement rates.

This is because the online communities they’ve built are smaller than other influencers so they can form a more intimate bond with their audience.

In 2023, 64% of marketers who worked with influencers chose micro-influencers, making them the most popular type of influencer.

Furthermore, 44% say micro-influencers are less expensive to leverage and easier to establish long-lasting partnerships with. All of this is according to our latest 2024 State of Marketing Trends Report.

To Market on Hard-To-Reach Channels

Social media channels like TikTok can be challenging to tap into with influencers because consumers are flocking to these channels to interact with their favorite creators or join online communities.

So, consider partnering with an influencer to grab users’ attention on any of these platforms.

For example, Hershey collaborated with Twitch influencers Ninja and DrLupo to promote its Reece’s Pieces chocolate bar. The influencers, who each have over 1 million followers, would livestream themselves tasting the new product.

When to Use Creators in Your Marketing Strategy

All of the situations I mentioned above can also be good times to use creators in your strategy.

However, you‘ll also want to consider collaborating with creators or hiring them in-house, if you’re looking to find unique, authentic, and meaningful ways to connect with consumers.

For example, if you want to leverage blogging in your content marketing strategy, you should look into collaborating with a blogger or hiring one in-house.

Content creators also come in the form of graphic designers, videographers, filmmakers, and more — all of whom can make engaging digital content that can be shared across multiple platforms and generate buzz for your brand.

When to Use Both in Your Strategy

If you have the budget to leverage both content and influencer marketing, and you’re looking to execute a strong marketing campaign for an upcoming product or service — why not partner with both creators and influencers?

Now that you know the difference between the two and what both can bring to the table, you’re ready to find a creator or influencer who is aligned with your vision and who will help your brand reach new audiences. Raise a glass!

As Jerry Maguire once said — “Show me the money.”

That phrase is probably something you’ve thought of as a marketer who has invested in paid advertising. With paid advertising, you want to enhance your marketing campaign by showing up in the right place, at the right time, with the right content.

But sometimes, running paid ads — like pay-per-click (PPC) on Google — feels like you’re spending a lot of money without seeing any results. And with 70% of consumers seeing irrelevant ads from brands at least once a month, it’s no wonder so many are put off by online ads.

Contextual targeting is the solution to that problem.

Below, let’s review contextual targeting and the difference between contextual and behavioral targeting. We’ll also explore contextual keyword targeting and how to get started with contextual ads.

Table of Contents:

• What is contextual targeting?
• Contextual Targeting vs. Behavioral Targeting
• Contextual Keyword Targeting
• Contextual Ads
• Benefits of Contextual Targeting

Imagine you’re the proud owner of a local coffee haven, and you’ve whipped up a PPC ad to stir up some buzz. Now, picture a coffee enthusiast nearby, scouring the web for the best brews.

They stumble upon a blog about coffee wonders, and there’s your ad — like a welcome sign to your coffee shop.

Google’s not just throwing your ad anywhere. It’s selectively showing it to folks who can practically smell the coffee from their backyard.

This person’s already got coffee on the brain, so your ad isn’t a cold splash in the face — it’s a warm invite to come and sip with you.

Contextual targeting isn’t just a single-flavor technique; it’s got a variety to suit your advertising palate. Here’s a taste of what’s on the menu:

• Category Contextual Targeting. Think of this as your buffet option — it’s broad, serving up ads based on general categories like lifestyle, automotive, or tech. While it gets your ad out there, it might sit next to unrelated content, like a dessert fork at a soup setting.
• Keyword Contextual Targeting. Here’s where you get to order à la carte. You handpick target keywords, and your ads find their way to web pages that feature these select terms. It’s a more tailored fit, like finding a table at a restaurant that caters to your specific cravings.
• Semantic Contextual Targeting. Welcome to the chef’s table of contextual targeting. This method is all about the nuances, using machine learning to dig deep into the page’s content, understanding the context, and then deciding if your ad should take a seat there. It’s sophisticated, refined, and ensures your ad is more than just seen — it’s understood and relevant.

In the big picture, contextual targeting is about placing your ad into conversations where it naturally belongs.

Whether it’s activewear sidling up next to articles about high-intensity workouts or gym gear ads flexing on pages reviewing the latest protein powders, it’s all about relevance.

The goal? To make your ad feel less like an ad and more like part of the content, people are there to enjoy.

Contextual Targeting vs. Behavioral Targeting

Alright, picture this: You’re in the digital marketing ring, and in one corner, you’ve got contextual targeting, duking it out with topics and keywords. In the other corner? Behavioral targeting, squaring up with a user’s online activity.

Behavioral targeting is a bit like a detective. It’s been tailing you online, keeping tabs on your digital footprints — like what links you’ve clicked, how much time you’ve spent on a page, and what you’ve been searching for. It’s smart to use your online behaviors to figure out exactly what ad to throw at you next.

Take retargeting, for example. Say, I’ve got a thing for sneakers. I’m on the hunt, checking out “running shoes” and “hiking boots,” but I’m just window-shopping. The next thing I know, my social feeds are like a personalized shoe store, thanks to behavioral targeting.

Now, flip back to contextual targeting. Here’s how it rolls: I’m deep-diving into an article about the best running shoes, and bam! There’s an ad for the latest kicks or a local shoe shop on the page. It’s not stalking my behavior; it’s just smart enough to be in the right place at the right time.

But how does contextual targeting really work? One word — keywords.

Contextual Keyword Targeting

Let’s cut to the chase with keywords. They’re the compass for contextual targeting — pointing your ads in the direction of relevant sites.

Here’s how you get in the game: Start with your PPC campaign in Google, and choose those keywords like a pro. You want to be specific but not so niche you’re invisible.

Imagine you’re promoting dumbbells. You’d go for keywords like “dumbbells” and “strength equipment,” making sure your ad flexes its muscles on related sites. But hey, don’t let your ad crash the barbell party — throw “barbells” into your negative keywords.

If you play the topic card instead, say “health and fitness,” it’s like casting a wider net. You might catch more fish, but will they be what you really want?

Google’s two cents? Keep your ad group tight — think 5 to 50 keywords. And don’t get tangled up in long-tail keywords like you’re fishing for organic clicks. Keep it short and strong.

So, what do contextual ads look like in action? Let’s review a few examples.

1. Coffee Maker Example

Roasty is a free blog that focuses on finding and brewing delicious coffee. While I was reading an article, “50+ Different Types of Coffee Drinks Explained,” I came across an ad for a Gevi pour-over coffee machine.

This ad wasn’t disruptive to my reading process because it fit in well with the content I was reading.

See the image below for what the ad looked like:

Image Source

Pro tip: Seamlessly place your ads in contextually appropriate places so that it plays into viewers’ interests to increase the likelihood of clicks.

2. Pizza Cutter Example

Kitchn is an online daily food magazine. While reading, “How To Make Perfect Pizza at Home,” I came across an ad for a pizza cutter.

This is a great example of contextual ads in practice:

Image Source

Pro tip: When choosing your target keywords, brainstorm lots of possible scenarios and keywords which are relevant to your product or service, then narrow them down to the most relevant ones.

3. Gucci Example

Recently I was reading a Conde Nast Traveler article, “All of Our Best Packing Lists in One Place,” when I came across an ad for Gucci.

This is a contextual ad because I was reading an article about travel, and then I saw an ad for Gucci showcasing luggage and travel bags — it’s likely Gucci chose “travel” as a keyword to target for their ads.

Image Source

Pro tip: When you’re running a paid advertising campaign, it’s important to be as specific as you can with your targeting options. Ultimately, your targeting can make or break the success of your ad.

Benefits of Contextual Targeting

In my time in the trenches of digital marketing, I’ve cracked the code on why some ads just work. It’s not just about showing up; it’s about showing up with style and ensuring you fit the room you’re walking into.

I’ve rolled up my sleeves and got my hands dirty with every kind of ad campaign you can imagine, and it’s this down-to-earth approach that’s shown me contextual targeting is the real deal. It’s all about making sure you’re adding to the conversation, not interrupting it.

Peek into the toolkit of any shrewd marketer, and you’ll find a gem called contextual targeting — a tool that’s about as close as you can get to a “welcome” mat in the digital ad space.

It’s like finding the right groove in a sea of tunes, where your ad dances to the same beat as the content surrounding it. Here are some of the benefits I’ve found this strategy has to offer.

Tuning Into a Receptive Audience

Imagine placing your ad not just anywhere but in a spot where eyes are wide with interest. That’s the power of contextual targeting.

Whether it’s woven through related categories or sprinkled among specific keywords, your ad lands on pages that resonate with the reader’s current vibe.

It’s the marketing equivalent of reading the room — your ads don’t just show up; they belong, increasing the chances that intrigued users will waltz right into your call-to-action.

Vitaly Pecherskiy says, “Reaching a user in the contextual environment inherently means that they’re in the moment researching relevant topics.”

A Wallet-Friendly Serenade

That’s music to every marketer’s ears: cost-effectiveness.

Contextual targeting sings the tune perfectly. With an approach that’s simpler on the wallet than, say, its high-maintenance cousin, behavioral marketing, it’s a method that lets even the leanest of budgets dance to the beat of broad exposure and relevance.

The Quick-Step Setup

In the dance of marketing strategies, contextual targeting is the easy-to-learn waltz that gets you on the floor in no time.

Forget about collecting and analyzing heaps of data before making a move. With platforms like Google Display Network leading, you can have your ad gliding across screens swiftly with just a few simple steps.

Choreographing Personalization

Digital marketing’s open secret? Personalization is the key to the audience’s heart.

In fact, 71% of consumers actually expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when that’s not their experience.

Using contextual targeting to create more personalized experiences offers a great way to connect with your audience and build a long-lasting relationship for a repeat buying journey.

Boosting Sales With Graceful Precision

Every business’s ultimate tango is with sales, and contextual targeting twirls you closer to that goal.

It’s about placing your ad on the right stage where the audience is already applauding, guiding more traffic to your virtual doorstep, and setting the stage for an encore performance — a conversion.

Future-Proofing with Cookie-less Cadence

In today’s world, where digital privacy is a headline act, contextual targeting moves to the forefront.

It sidesteps the legal limelight that cookies have found themselves in, offering a performance that respects privacy laws like GDPR and dances smoothly with the audience’s expectations.

Hersh Patel says, “With the demise of the cookie, advertisers need to leverage a powerful use case of contextual, which is positive targeting — to target articles that are aligned with the tops of campaigns and align with the values of the products being advertised.”

Unlock the Power of Context With Targeted Ads that Resonate and Deliver Results

Ready to jump into contextual targeting? Start by getting cozy with the topics that get your audience talking.

Pin down where these chats are happening, and set your ads to sashay into the scene right alongside the content your audience is already loving. Quick tip: Tailor your keywords to match the content topics your audience digs into.

Remember, when your ad lands on a page that’s already sparking interest, it becomes part of the landscape, not a billboard blocking the view.

When I first started posting about my writing processes and marketing insights on LinkedIn, I felt exhilarated.

It helped me build an engaged following over time and allowed me to share my ideas and experiences with thousands of people in my network. And the best part is, it helped me avoid the hassle and lengthy process of writing, editing, and publishing full-fledged articles.

That’s when I realized the impact of microblogging. It gives you the ability to capture your fleeting thoughts and share them with the world in real time.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What is microblogging?
• What Microblogging Is Not
• 5 Reasons Why Microblogging Is an Important Aspect of Content Marketing
• 8 Best Microblogging Sites & Tips to Create Engaging Content [+ Examples]

Some popular microblogging platforms include X (formerly Twitter), Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also publish microblogs on Medium or WordPress. It allows for swift dissemination of thoughts, news, updates, or any piece of information that the author deems share-worthy.

Here’s an example of me microblogging on LinkedIn:

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Microblogging has become a big hit these days because people prefer consuming shorter content. Most of us don’t spend enough time to read even a couple of paragraphs in an article. With microblogging, you can create crisp content optimized for shorter attention spans.

This form is best used when:

• The topic or post has low search intent but a high potential for virality.
• You want to take advantage of the communities on common microblogging platforms.
• You’re covering a live event and want to provide timely updates.
• You’re using your microblog to deliver multimedia content without a lot of accompanying text.

When it comes to microblogging, HubSpot Marketing Manager Pamela Bump discusses the importance of catching your reader’s eye fast.

“Draw immediate attention to your piece. Include an interesting image, chart, or graphic. Or, hook the reader with an interesting first line, like a statistic, question, personal anecdote, or zesty take,” she notes.

Microblogging sites have tons of posts competing for attention. While this may mean a larger audience is exposed to your content, you also have more competition.

“Unlike a blog on a website, a microblog on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, or other social media channels will compete on a feed with all sorts of other interesting content that algorithms have handpicked for your reader. You need to do what it takes to capture their interest,” Bump says.

What Microblogging Is Not

After talking to several folks in the content industry, I feel the definition of microblogging isn’t very clear. People perceive this writing technique differently. So, it’s important to clarify what isn’t included in a microblog.

A full-fledged website with a blog section doesn’t qualify as a microblog. While it’s easy to set up a blog site from scratch with HubSpot’s free blog maker, you’re going beyond the scope of microblogging if your content is anywhere more than a few hundred words.

Privately shared articles or detailed breakdowns on any topic/theme also don’t fit the definition of microblogging. Besides, I know that social media and microblogging platforms share some similarities, but the latter isn’t a substitute for networking or content sharing.

5 Reasons Why Microblogging Is an Important Aspect of Content Marketing

I’ve personally found that microblogging works well for sourcing + documenting knowledge. It’s also a great tactic for building social proof when you incorporate direct client feedback or testimonials.

I chatted with other microbloggers in my network to discover these five main reasons for embracing this format today.

Building a Niche Audience

You can appeal to a specific user segment and build a hyper-engaged audience for your thoughts by consistently posting microblogs. It’ll add more credibility to your name and expand your network.

For example, this U.K.-based bookstagrammar posts micro-reviews for all the books she reads, along with a recommended reading list. She has close to 30K followers on the platform.

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Creating a Localized Impact

The geo-tagging function on platforms like Instagram is perfect for sharing region-specific ideas. As opposed to full-fledged articles, you can reach your intended audience quickly and drive conversations locally.

Collecting Real-Time Insights

I’ve also seen early-stage brands getting positive ROI with microblogging. Small teams expected to do more with less can use this technique to share updates, get feedback, and build marketing momentum.

Here’s a cool microblogging example I found on X. This early-stage fintech startup uses X as its microblogging site to keep users in the loop.

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Testing Ideas Quickly

Given that microblogs help you reach a broader audience in a short span of time, they’re great for testing new ideas about your work, life, and everything in between. Explain your ideas in detail and take others’ views on the matter.

Engaging Users at Scale

While most articles take time to rank on search engines, brands can create microblogs to educate and engage users at scale. These blogs can improve visibility and make your brand more discoverable, too.

Here’s an example by Gong, a revenue intelligence platform, on LinkedIn. The SaaS brand posts these helpful microblogs to educate its target users (sales reps) and boost engagement.

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Now that we’ve discussed what microblogging is and how it can benefit you, let’s uncover the best microblogging platforms.

8 Best Microblogging Sites & Tips to Create Engaging Content [+ Examples]

I experimented with and closely observed several microblogging sites to shortlist these eight top sites for creating an active microblog. I’ll break down each platform with an example and actionable tips.

1. X

X (formerly Twitter) is the OG of all microblogging sites and one of the most popular platforms around. It originally focused on the concept of conveying every idea in 140 characters or less, encouraging users to write crisp and clear posts on any idea.

You can include text, links, photos, videos, GIFs, audio, and more in your posts. The platform also lets you enhance discoverability with hashtags. Premium users can also use up to 25,000 characters to share their thoughts.

However, when it comes to X, you’ll want to keep your words poignant. There’s no need to be lengthy if something more succinct works.

“Make content fast-paced and feed-friendly. Once you’ve caught the reader’s attention, you have a few seconds to retain it on these fast-paced platforms,” says Pam Bump. “Don’t overwhelm them with big blocks of text or heavily worded commentary. Explain your points concisely in short paragraphs or listicles with bullets or numbers.”

If my experience of building an audience on X has taught me anything, it’s that you need to post and engage consistently to get some traction and see engagement on your posts.

While you’ll find multiple microbloggers on X, Justin Welsh, a personal growth strategist and business advisor, presents the perfect example of sharing knowledge nuggets in microblogs.

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2. Tumblr

Tumblr is another one of the most insanely popular hubs of short-form content. This microblogging site lets you write a short blog and include multimedia in your posts.

When you follow other blogs, their posts will show up in your dashboard. You can also comment on and reblog other blogs’ posts on your own blog.

Despite the growing popularity of other platforms, Tumblr continues to be a hit among loyal users and an ideal choice for microblogging.

“I actually am one of those folks who was on Tumblr in high school and came back as an adult,” says Kaitlin Milliken, a program manager at HubSpot. “I run a small productivity blog where I track my different methods for getting things done.”

When asked why she enjoys the platform, Milliken shares the specificity of her niche.

“My posts and others about productivity share the same hashtags. I can make sure I reach the right audience,” Milliken says. “My feed also reflects my interest, so I’m not sifting through random posts just to get to the one that’s relevant to me.”

Here’s a great example that showed me why this platform is so great. A user named Sikfan Kitchen shares their recipes of different food items with ingredient lists and detailed steps.

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3. Pinterest

Unlike most microblogs, Pinterest is purely visual. The platform lets you create boards as collections of pictures curated around a specific topic. You can also post Pins of your favorite pictures and add Tries, which are notes and photos of ideas you tried.

You can also follow other people’s profiles and topics, the most popular Boards covering specific topics. The platform has separate profile options for individuals and brands to create specific content types.

I personally found Etsy’s Pinterest profile to be an excellent microblog. The brand spotlights many sellers in each post and showcases their craft.

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4. Instagram

Instagram is the go-to tool for creators and influencers. But turns out microbloggers love the app just as much. The flexibility of creating content in different formats gives Instagram an edge over all other platforms because people can share their thoughts and stories in many ways.

The potential to go viral on the app also makes it an appealing choice for many. But instead of chasing virality, it’s best to focus on delivering value through your microblogs.

For example, a health creator named Selma has 790K+ followers on Instagram because of her recipe microblogs shared via reels.

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5. Facebook

You might know Facebook as the most popular social media network in the world. But it’s also the most robust microblogging platform out there.

The platform works the same way as most other social media apps. You can share text-based updates, photos, GIFs, videos, an emotion you’re feeling, an activity you’re currently doing, and the location you’re currently in.

You can also ask for recommendations on where to go when you’re about to visit a location, tag friends and events in your updates, poll your friends, support and donate to a nonprofit, answer a question about yourself, create fun lists, and a lot more.

Microbloggers — like The Artidote, an artist collective — use this app to share regular updates for their audience in multiple formats.

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6. LinkedIn

Having tried and seen the power of LinkedIn, I personally consider it the #1 platform for working professionals, service providers, and freelancers.

Whether you want to demonstrate your expertise or share consistent updates on building/learning in public, LinkedIn lets you share long posts, images, carousels, and even polls. You can also share more detailed articles or start a newsletter to share content consistently.

My active presence on LinkedIn has enabled me to share my learnings with thousands of users and earn followers organically.

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When it comes to LinkedIn, you want your copy to be both professional and interesting. That’s also true, as LinkedIn posts have a longer life cycle than those on other social media. When asked for LinkedIn tips, Amanda Sellers, a blog strategy manager at HubSpot, emphasizes the importance of choosing your words wisely.

She notes that humans are curious and love mystery. According to Sellers, you can tap into that natural curiosity by using a technique called open loops.

“Open loops implant a question into the current paragraph without immediately answering it. This helps build momentum and keep them hungry for the next paragraph where the answer may lie…” she says. “The next paragraph answers that but implants another open loop (and so on).”

7. Mastodon

Mastodon is a decentralized social network similar to X. Users can post toots — short status messages — to communicate their opinions or ideas on any theme. The platform is also made up of various communities (like Reddit) to make your microblogging more public and reach a specific audience with every blog.

Mastodon differs from every microblogging site in this list in terms of its privacy settings. You can choose to share content publicly, show it to followers only, or send it via direct messages.

You can also find others’ toots based on a federated timeline and engage with their posts.

Here’s a great example of a Mastodon microblog from Zach Weinersmith, an American cartoonist known for his geeky comics and writing style. He posts his thoughts on human psychology and behavior with these short blurbs.

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8. Threads

Threads is a comparatively newer microblogging platform similar to X. You can post photos, videos, or text-based content with an Instagram-like interface. It’s great for visual bloggers who want to document their ideas visually instead of writing text-heavy posts.

You can become more discoverable on Threads using similar tactics as Instagram — use hashtags, geo-tags, and collaborate with other more popular bloggers.

Here’s a Threads user named plantedinthegarden sharing their experiments and progress from all gardening adventures. This account shares gardening tips and posts pictures of their own garden to help others learn.

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You’re all set to start your microblog.

Microblogging is a unique subset of blogging where brevity reigns supreme. Unlike long-form blogs and videos, microblogging captures your ideas in limited text.

This format is becoming more popular because of a tangible shift in the way people consume content. They’re more drawn toward bite-sized posts that don’t take too much time and effort to understand.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Want to know a secret? Customer retention is much more critical to your company’s success than customer acquisition.

In fact, Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company found that as little as a 5% increase in customer retention can increase company revenue by as much as 25–95%.

Whether you’re a team of one or more, strategic relationship marketing can help you connect with your customers and engage them long-term.

As a result, you can boost customer retention, increase revenue, and run a successful business without all the costs associated with getting new customers.

Let’s dive into the benefits of relationship marketing, examples of excellent companies that build lasting relationships with customers, and relationship marketing strategies you can employ.

Importance of Relationship Marketing

If customers feel satisfied with their interaction with you, they’re more likely to become a repeat customer and return to your business repeatedly.

After all, existing customers are 50% more likely to try a new product and spend 31% more than new customers.

That’s why relationship marketing is essential for every business that wants to increase revenue long-term without spending more.

Starting at the right time is also crucial. The perfect time to start a relationship marketing strategy is when a customer has made a purchase (or several).

And your goal with relationship marketing is to convert customers to brand-loyal patrons of your business.

To do that successfully, take a personalized approach to client retention and integrate into their lives in a natural and genuine way.

What are the benefits of relationship marketing?

There are various benefits attached to using relationship marketing strategies for your brand. Done right, the most impactful ways to improve your business through relational advertising include:

• Strengthening customer loyalty and increasing your customer retention rates.
• Generating greater brand awareness and equity through customer referrals.
• Scaling up cross-selling and upselling opportunities to an audience who already values you.

Let’s look at a few firms that have adopted a relationship marketing strategy to retain customers. Afterward, we’ll explore how you can implement a strong relationship marketing strategy today.

1. Capital One

Capital One understands its customers deeply — down to the minor inconveniences that plague them most. And one of those is the long TSA line at the airport.

Capital One reimburses all venture cardholders up to $100 when they pay the TSA PreCheck fee. All they have to do is pay for it with their Capital One credit card.

TSA PreCheck expires after five years, and this benefit applies every time the cardholder wants to renew their PreCheck status.

Here, Capital One is demonstrating its brand value to its current audience through:

• Offering a perk that’s universally appealing to their base — free money.
• Mitigating a prevalent issue, customers face a long-term resolution.

This benefit speaks to a relevant pain point for Capital One customers and makes keeping an account open with Capital One well worth it in the long run.

2. Delta

Speaking of TSA lines, as the oldest operating airline in the United States, Delta is no stranger to relationship marketing strategies that preserve the brand loyalty of its customers.

One of their most effective methods remains their customer loyalty program, the SkyMiles program.

Customers who sign up for this program earn “miles” based on the money they spend with Delta, which can be redeemed for future travel purchases like airfare, seat upgrades, and more.

They’ve also partnered with credit card companies like American Express to expand their miles offering. They offer bonus miles and accruement when customers use their SkyMiles credit cards to purchase.

In fact, if you qualify for the Amex Reserve card, you will also receive complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club.

By employing these relationship marketing strategies, Delta has been able to:

• Build a loyal customer base that continues to choose them over competitors.
• Seamlessly integrate their business into the lives of their customers through platforms they use daily.

3. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions a person can make. During the purchasing process, buyers typically shop around for the lowest rate. But they’re also shopping for a reliable team to smooth the process.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is an excellent example of a business that takes the relationship marketing approach. For instance, I received a birthday email from Fairway when I needed to make a lending decision.

In addition, the loan consultant sent over some marketing documents with their value proposition and benefits for me as a buyer. Their relationship marketing strategies improved my experience as a consumer by:

• Retargeting their audience via email on a major life event like a birthday.
• Enforcing their service offering with valuable supporting documents.

Their retention strategies show they are committed to being responsive, respectful, helpful, and, most importantly — closing on time.

This is a recipe for success in the mortgage industry, as referrals are the “bread and butter of any successful loan officer’s business.”

4. Fenty

When pop star Rihanna made her professional pivot to a businessperson in the fashion and beauty industry, the “Talk That Talk” vocalist also kept people talking about what would come of her brand, Fenty, once it made its debut.

Well, Fenty distinguished itself to the point of changing the industry landscape through inclusivity.

For instance, the popular Fenty Beauty foundation includes shades such as “Vanilla” capturing some of the palest tones, and “Espresso” embracing some of the deepest.

Also, her Savage X Fenty lingerie sends messages of size inclusivity and body positivity to their customers through the wide range of sizes (from XS to 4XL) they offer.

Models and celebrities of all shapes and sizes model the clothing during the Savage X Fenty Show streamed on Amazon.

Customers can also sign up with a membership program that offers first dibs on product launches, exclusive content, and access to VIP-only sales. By applying these strategies for customer retention, Fenty has been able to:

• Present the brand as a solution and product for all through inclusivity.
• Showcase their messaging globally and connect with consumers across borders.

By sending an impactful brand message to its audience, backed up with product offerings, Fenty can stand out from the crowd.

5. GE

Relational advertising offers valuable content to potential and existing customers, regardless of where they are in the buyer’s journey.

GE does a great job of diversifying its content and the platforms on which they’re promoted to ensure its relationship marketing strategy satisfies as many people as possible.

For instance, GE created two sponsored podcasts in the sci-fi genre. It seems strange, but GE positions itself as an “inventor of the future of the industry,” so it makes sense that it dabbles in the world of what-ifs in the sci-fi genre.

Also, the company has a popular YouTube channel that features historic, innovative stories from the perspective of GE employees.

This is because good relationship marketing should appeal to first-time viewers as powerfully as it appeals to long-term customers to ensure your customers grow with you over time.

By consistently offering a diverse range of quality content, GE shows its desire to satisfy its long-term customers even at the expense of short-term wins.

6. Domino’s

In the past couple of years, Domino’s has taken certain risks with its relationship marketing strategy. All for the sake of innovation and improvement.

This includes a series of ads called Pizza Turnaround, where they showcased a series of negative customer reviews before promising a new and improved recipe.

These self-deprecating ads appeal genuinely to viewers but go against any traditional sales playbook, which is why they work. By admitting an area of opportunity, Domino’s re-invented its brand as transparent and honest.

Who wouldn’t want to buy from a company like that?

Domino’s has also done a fantastic job tapping into its digital audience. In fact, 70% of Domino’s sales are now through digital channels. Ultimately, Domino’s has taken innovative steps to cultivate a loyal, long-term customer base through:

• Slowly and strategically re-inventing their product and their brand.
• Engaging with their customers on their favorite digital platforms.

7. Panera

Panera’s commitment to health and convenience has resulted in 40 million loyal Panera members.

In 2014, Panera issued a statement promising its customers it would remove all artificial flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives from all Panera products by the end of 2016.

The company remained transparent throughout the process, publishing progress reports to demonstrate its level of accountability and transparency to customers.

Though it was a risky decision, their promise paid off big-time in 2016 when the brand could officially say, “100% of our food is 100% clean.”

Also, the brand focused on building customer relationships through personalization. For instance, Panera alerts loyalty members about new food offerings that meet their “flavor profile” based on past purchases.

Panera thus builds lasting customer relationships by:

• Making a brand promise and fulfilling this pledge to their customers.
• Improving the quality of their products for customer satisfaction.

The company also meets its customers where they are — starting an online grocery business due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Panera even offers home and business delivery, rapid pickup, and catering to improve customer service.

8. Marriott

Undoubtedly, a 35-minute film is not the most traditional avenue a hotel can take to increase sales. And yet, that’s what Marriott chose to do with their film, “Two Bellmen Three.”

This film enables Marriott to appeal to a younger demographic and build brand awareness on dominant platforms like Snapchat. Best of all, their retention marketing content rarely resembles an advertisement.

Instead, it’s typically focused on providing their audience with fun or helpful information on various travel destinations.

9. ArmorSuit

ArmorSuit’s warranty policy begins like this — “Most warranties are limited to 30 days or one year, but with our Lifetime Replacement Warranty, our customers can request a replacement screen protector for a lifetime.

This way, you never need to purchase a whole new kit when a replacement is needed.”

While it might seem ridiculous to offer a lifetime warranty, it makes sense with retention strategies for two reasons:

• Maintaining customer satisfaction with their products.
• Building strong relationships with their base for the long term.

Now, when their customers need other tech-related products, they’ll most likely check out ArmorSuit’s website first.

Next, let’s explore how to create a strong relationship marketing strategy for your business.

1. Provide personalized, customer-focused service.

Don’t focus on your product or service to create a relationship marketing strategy and engage your customers successfully. Instead, make the customer your primary concern. Always ask:

• Would the customer want to see this ad?
• Would the customer be excited about this Instagram post?
• Does our new product delight the customer?

In addition, create channels for direct support when your customers need help. Your retention strategies can include implementing a Facebook Messaging Bot for service-related concerns.

Or maybe you want to answer your customers’ questions via Instagram DM.

By meeting your customers on platforms they currently use, you demonstrate your willingness to help them wherever that takes you. And that’s a tenet of successful customer retention.

2. Engage with the customer where they are.

The reason Marriott’s strategy works is not only because of the content they create but also because of where they post that content. Creating videos specifically for Snapchat is a great marketing strategy example.

It enables Marriott to appeal to a younger demographic on a popular platform with that audience.

So, research which platforms are most popular for your ideal demographic. You’re demonstrating helpfulness and understanding by reaching out to them through their preferred channels.

And it’s this sentiment that will encourage users to interact with your brand.

3. Incorporate technology to work more effectively.

Technology might seem counterintuitive to building personalized organic relationships, but it can be the key to solving customer pain points.

As your company grows, it’ll become more difficult to manually connect one-on-one with each customer and satisfy them.

Using an automated marketing system can ensure every customer receives communication from your business and has the opportunity to engage.

Tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub can automate workflows and email cadences so you never miss a customer milestone.

4. Offer incentives and rewards for customer loyalty.

To cultivate a long-term relationship with your customers and create lasting brand loyalty, keep engaging with customers after they’ve purchased a product. Consider what you can offer them once they become customers.

For example, a discount on additional products or personalized recommendations based on their preferences, and so on.

By creating a loyalty rewards program, Panera’s customer relationship marketing continues to motivate its customers to purchase additional products.

With information gathered about each customer, they offer unique suggestions based on individual food preferences. And also form a more meaningful relationship in the process.

5. Create valuable content that tells a compelling story.

Customers who have already purchased your product don’t need to see additional product advertisements to become brand loyalists. Instead, make them feel your business offers value, regardless of their purchase intent.

Firms that adopt a relationship marketing strategy attempt to provide quality to their customers continuously.

Marriott’s film isn’t meant to immediately convert viewers into paying customers. The purpose is to increase brand awareness.

And, down the road, when that viewer is ready to book a hotel for an upcoming trip, they’ll remember the compelling film they saw and think of Marriott.

6. Collect feedback regularly.

A relationship works in two ways. To truly develop a meaningful connection with your customers, you must ask for feedback:

• What do they want to see from your brand?
• What do they like about your product?
• What do they wish you wrote about on your blog?

This information improves your relationship marketing strategy so you can meet the needs of your specific audience.

7. Concentrate on building customer relationships for the long term.

There will always be a time for marketing strategies like Pay Per Click ads that generate instant sales gratification. But this moment isn’t one of them.

To foster meaningful relationships that cause customers to connect with your brand, create purposeful content. And also deliver quality service to guide them throughout the relationship.

Doing so will establish brand trust and show your audience you’re not just after a quick buck. This will also demonstrate your commitment to their success, not just your own.

Play the long game with relationship marketing.

Quicker marketing strategy wins have their place and are paramount for hitting goals and KPIs each quarter. However, your marketing, sales, and service teams work better while playing the long game.

Relationship marketing won’t score you consistent, quick wins that you can measure with complex numbers on a dashboard.

But staying the course and nurturing customers through relational advertising will produce happier and more loyal brand advocates for quarters and years.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.