Category Archives: B2B

A few weeks ago, a colleague asked: “What does a good marketer really ‘look’ like?”

(Obviously, we’re not talking about appearance here, folks.)

After initially responding to myself internally with the thought of, “That’s easy, I can answer that,” I stopped. 

Of course, I could answer it, but that is a terrific question.

How often do we think about this? Not so much, I’d suspect.

What Makes a Good Marketer?

Our industry moves quickly. 

The skills required when I entered the field a dozen years ago have been lapped by the next generation of thinkers, doers, and innovators.

But the foundational principles remain the same.

Marketing mastery is a journey—one that demands agility, learning, and strategy.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, so I asked LinkedIn what my peers think a good marketer looks like.

Here are some of their responses:

“Someone who is constantly learning.”
– Emily Amos | CEO, Uplift Content, Inc.

 

“In my view, a good marketer is someone who understands people—what they need and how they want to be served. A good marketer is curious, growth-minded, and humble.”
–Kelly Furia | CMO, DLL Finance Group

 

“In general, I think you have “good” marketers who are able to get attention or drive sales using any tool they can, and “good” marketers who are thoughtful about applying the right solution to the right problem but may never have a huge win.

These two are not always the same because you can do the “right” thing and fail or the “wrong” thing and be wildly successful. Tough question.”
– Jeff Gibbard | Co-Founder, Super Productive

 

“When I think about good marketers, I see clear ideas and the ability to build and execute a plan. However, the great ones are leading change through impact.

However, the great ones are leading change through impact. They are bold, relentlessly curious, constructively challenging, and always building the grit muscle. Most importantly, they have big ears and listen to everyone constantly…customers, competition, culture, employees, and their instinct and leverage data to ground their insights. 

Great marketers lead movements that transcend the products or services they sell. When you talk to great marketers, most will tell you that becoming great takes time, courage, humility, and lots and lots of lessons learned through the journey of experience.”
– Rose Hamilton | Founder, Compass Rose Ventures

 

“A good marketer can’t just be good at marketing; they need to understand the tech and data analysis.”
– H. Parker Smith, III | Product Owner, Senior Specialist, Vanguard

 

“Being newer to the field (~3 years), I’ve found that my adaptability keeps me going. On top of that, I’ve been fortunate to work with such smart and stellar people who fuel that trait!”
– John Rossi | Digital Strategist, M Booth

These opinions only represent a small sliver of experiences from marketing pros. 

But everything they shared is true.

Good marketers must be:

• Curious
• Adaptable
• Technically-Sound
• Analytically-Inclined
• Creative
• Personable
• Relationship-Focused
• Unafraid

That’s a lot of different traits required for one profession. And that’s not even counting the tools, slang, and marketing basics we’re all presumed to know!

A marketer’s job is difficult and multi-faceted. So we wanted to make it just a little easier.

Introducing The 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook

NetLine, in collaboration with Heinz Marketing, is proud to bring you the 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook. 

This workbook equips marketers with the tools to master the B2B landscape.

Seasoned or new, this workbook helps you refine strategies, target audiences, and improve campaigns at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

What’s Inside?

The 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook breaks down essential marketing practices into four distinct yet interconnected sections. 

Each chapter delves into critical aspects of B2B marketing, providing both theoretical frameworks and actionable exercises.

Here’s what you’ll find in each chapter:

• Chapter 1:
  • Learn how to effectively identify and target your most valuable audiences using data-driven insights and strategic segmentation techniques.

CHAPTER 1 | Discover Your Buyers Uncover new audiences and connect with those ready to purchase.
Learn how to: Define your best audiences with unique segmentation criteria Identify decision-makers and members of a buying committee Understand their goals, motivations, and reasons to buy	Templates in this chapter: Audience Segmentation Framework Buyer Persona Framework

• Chapter 2:  
  • Gain a deep understanding of the buyer’s journey and learn how to create content that supports buyers through each stage.

CHAPTER 2 | Explore Your Buyer’s Journey Gain clarity into your target accounts, their buying committees, and the individuals within them.
Learn how to: Define the stages of the buyer’s journey Decode different types of buying intent and signals Align personas and audience needs with each decision-making stage	Templates in this chapter: Buyer’s Journey Framework Intent Signals Framework Buyer Engagement Framework

• Chapter 3:  
  • Learn how to develop personalized content that engages buyers and drives them toward a purchase decision.

CHAPTER 3 | Create the Content Your Audiences Crave Create irresistible, personalized content that resonates at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
Learn how to: Develop high-impact content for each persona and buying stage Build a detailed messaging framework Amplify your content with a robust promotion plan	Templates in this chapter: Content by Persona and Buying Stage Framework Messaging Framework Content Strategy Framework Content Outline Framework Content Promotion Strategy Framework

• Chapter 4:  
  • Discover how to create integrated marketing campaigns that maintain consistent messaging across multiple channels, ensuring buyers remain engaged throughout their journey.

CHAPTER 4 | Ignite Engagement with Full-Funnel Integrated Campaigns Engage and convert your audiences across multiple channels and experiences.
Learn how to: Plan and launch an integrated campaign Tailor your strategies for each stage of the buyer’s journey Coordinate channels, programs, and tactics with detailed templates	Templates in this chapter: Inbound Campaign Framework Outbound Campaign Framework Campaign Strategy Brief  Campaign Tactics Briefs Campaign Timeline Framework

All told, this comprehensive guide espouses the foundations of what good marketing is. While it covers modern practices, much of what can be found in this asset is timeless.

In 130 pages, this workbook not only presents, defines, and demonstrates, but it also presents opportunities to challenge yourself.

Packed with frameworks, templates, and exercises, this workbook lets you apply what you learn—immediately or at your own pace.

Why we created this workbook

The impetus for creating this workbook centers on the reality that B2B marketing has recently felt a bit… chaotic. 

“So much of the world today is about chasing trends and tools, chasing our tails,” said Josh Baez, NetLine’s Sr. Manager, Demand Generation Marketing. 

As the primary driver of this project, Josh found himself trying to make sense of the current B2B marketing landscape. He’s certainly not alone.

“There are so many new tools,” he said. “There’s AI this and digital transformation that, and I think a lot of us are feeling pretty overwhelmed and a little jaded by everything that’s coming to market.”

When we find yourself stuck in life, going back to basics is crucial. In this case, refamiliarizing yourself with the principles that make good marketing good is really important. 

We created this workbook as much for ourselves as we did for our peers. 

“This workbook really is meant to be this companion asset to any kind of marketer, whether you’re a seasoned pro, just starting out—or maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. I think it’s always good to have reinforcement of your foundations and re-familiarize yourself with the tools and strategies to get back to basics.”

“Many of these templates and frameworks are ones I use,” Josh shared. He emphasized just how beneficial they’ve been in his career and how useful they’ve been for clients, partners, and colleagues.

How actionable is this workbook?

98% of it. It’s true, we measured it; using science.

This workbook is meant to be something you can pick up, read a few pages, and immediately know what you want to do next. We want you to be able to understand how to do XYZ and have the tools and frameworks to get work done.

“That’s something we strived for—having applicable, real-world use cases and frameworks,” Josh said. “There’s nothing worse than being promised to learn something, filling out a form, reading the content, and then feeling like you didn’t learn anything.

With AI impacting everything, everyone can move faster. But by moving faster, we’re also at risk for forgetting what makes content different and special for our readers.

Just because we can create 10 blog posts in 10 minutes doesn’t mean we should.

What are the benefits of using this workbook?

The workbook gives marketers the tools to identify and target buyers, build integrated full-funnel campaigns, and deliver timely, relevant messages.

Beyond that, here are four specific takeaways from this workbook.

• Actionable Exercises and Templates: The workbook is filled with exercises that guide you in applying the concepts you learn. These templates help you better understand your audience, create compelling content, and design impactful campaigns.

• Holistic Approach to B2B Marketing: From targeting to content creation to campaign execution, the workbook offers a holistic framework that can be adapted to any business.
  
  
• Strategic Guidance: More than just a how-to guide, the workbook provides strategic insights that encourage marketers to think critically about their efforts and adjust for maximum effectiveness.
  

• Collaborative Opportunity: The workbook encourages marketers to involve their teams, providing a collaborative environment that leverages diverse strengths and insights.

 

3 examples from The 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook

The most valuable elements of this workbook are the exercises, templates, and frameworks. 

Here are three examples of what you’ll find inside:

• Targeting Matrix Framework

Define your ideal target audience and segment them by account fit, industry, company size, geography, and buyer behaviors. Use this information to build custom audience segments that maximize your campaign efficiency.

 

• Buyer’s Journey Framework

Place yourself in the buyer’s shoes and define their goals, challenges, and needs at each stage of the buyer’s journey. This helps create tailored content that aligns with their journey.

 

• Persona Development

Build a detailed buyer persona that includes not only job titles and responsibilities but also motivations, pain points, and content preferences. Use this persona to guide your marketing efforts and ensure you’re speaking directly to your target audience.

Get your copy of the 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook

The best marketers understand that true creativity thrives within the boundaries of knowing their audience. 

Recognizing your buyers—whether broad or niche—gives clarity and direction. Know your sandbox, and you’ll experiment, innovate, and craft interactions that resonate. 

The 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook is designed to help you do just that—equipping you with the tools to confidently navigate your market, create authentic connections, and ultimately, drive results. It’s not just about reaching your audience; it’s about truly engaging them. 

Get your copy of The 2024 Marketing Mastery Workbook today and start mastering the art of intentional B2B marketing.

On my fridge, I’ve got a magnet my parents gave me that says, “Hold on… Let me overthink this.” So today’s marketing master’s third lesson really hits home for me. 

Jenna Kutcher is a digital marketer, podcast host, and author. As the founder of a multi-million dollar brand, she thinks marketers are overcomplicating it. 

Keep reading to learn her three favorite tips for marketers looking to get ahead during a time of such intense search volatility. 

Lesson 1: Don’t sleep on Pinterest.

One of the most frustrating experiences for Jenna is chatting with marketing big-wigs and hearing Insta and TikTok and Google getting all the hype — without a peep about Pinterest. 

And I get it: When most people think of Pinterest, they probably think of the internet equivalent of a middle school collage. A hodgepodge of DIY projects, one-pot recipes, and wedding inspo — just without the Elmer’s glue. 

But when Jenna thinks of Pinterest, she thinks of dollar signs. 

Why?

Pinterest is Jenna’s number one organic traffic driver for her business (far surpassing Instagram), and her most lucrative channel. 

Yep. You heard that right. And the reason boils down to longevity. 

“The average entrepreneur is spending 20 hours a week on marketing and eight hours on social media,” Jenna told me. 

“By comparison, Pinterest takes me under an hour a week, and gives my content a longer shelf life. The average lifespan of a post on Instagram is 24 hours at best. The average lifespan of one pin on Pinterest is four months.”

As Jenna points out, Pinterest is not a social media platform; it’s a search engine. A visual-forward version of Google, if you will.

 

So lean in, B2B marketers: There’s a massive opportunity here to get your content in front of new audiences, particularly in a time of extreme volatility on the SERPs. 

Lesson 2: Less strategy, more heart.

I’ll admit, this lesson sounds suspiciously like a Friday Night Lights quote. 

But it’s also a takeaway Jenna is passionate about sharing. 

“As creators, we need to get back into the creation of our content. We need to go back to what worked a decade ago and share our lives and what we love online,” she tells me. 

“Too many business owners have created systems and teams and gotten too far away from the content, and their audiences feel that divide.”

Case in point: How likely are you to respond, “OMG CUTE” to an Instagram reel from Lululemon’s branded handle? I’m guessing not likely. 

But what about when a friend posts herself in new Lulu joggers? 

In the age of AI, people are desperate to connect with real humans.

Impressively, this means Jenna is the only person who creates IG content for her 1M+ followers. She also responds to all her own DMs and comments. 

Nobody on her team has access to her login because “that’s the heartbeat of my connection with my audience.” 

Jenna’s advice here is simple, but not easy: “Take some of the strategy out, and put the heart back into it. Be off the cuff, and share things for the sake of sharing versus just looking for ways to monetize.”

Lesson 3: Don’t overcomplicate it. 

“We overcomplicate marketing every single day,” Jenna said. For her, every business should focus on only two things when it comes to marketing: 

• Growing your email list
• Getting people off of other platforms and onto your email list

Honestly, amen (from a fellow newsletter writer). 

Jenna has one goal when it comes to podcasting, social media, and Pinterest, and I was surprised to hear it’s not “driving sales” — it’s getting people to subscribe to her newsletter. 

“My goal is to get people into a space that I own and can control,” she says. “I don’t look at likes, follows, or engagement. I look at conversions to my list.”

Why? Because, as Jenna points out, it’s the easiest way for her to provide value. She loves being that guaranteed-value-add in someone’s day, popping up in their inbox between all the Anthropologie ads and Asana notifications.

If you’re a marketer who’s obsessed with mastering the algorithms on each platform and being everywhere at once, Jenna has some wisdom for ya: “Recognize that this is a rented space that you are fortunate to be renting, but it shouldn’t be your end destination.”

Are people still using Facebook? Is BeReal still next big thing? And is TikTok still just for Gen Z?

If you’re looking for answers to those questions, I’ve got ‘em.

We asked 700+ U.S. adults about the social media platforms they use in May 2023 and again in January 2024 to find out which apps are growing and which are slowing down. Here’s what I gathered from the data. 

Table of Contents

• Social Media Usage in 2023 vs. 2024
• The Fastest Growing Social Media Platforms
• What platforms are losing steam?

Social Media Usage in 2023 vs. 2024

Unsurprisingly, 87% of US adults use social media. But what platforms are they using most?

Here are a few fast facts about the top platforms US consumers use in 2024, keeping in mind that this list might be different in other countries.

• Facebook (71%), YouTube (61%), and Instagram (42%) are the most popular social media apps. 
• Lemon8 (+200%), Tumblr (+20%), and TikTok (+9%) saw the most growth since 2023.
• The greatest declines in usage were seen on Reddit (28%), X/Twitter (23%), and LinkedIn (22%). 
• While Facebook is the most popular social media platform for people over 28, Gen Z’s favorite platform is TikTok.

It’s interesting to compare these growth stats to social media marketers’ predictions for 2024. In 2023, social media marketers rated Instagram as having the highest growth potential, followed by TikTok and Facebook. At that time, Instagram was used by 65% of marketers, TikTok by 36%, and Facebook by 67%. 

On the consumer side, out of those three apps, TikTok experienced the most growth (+9% YoY), then Instagram (+5% YoY) then Facebook (+4% YoY).

Social media marketers’ usage of the apps they predicted to have the most growth actually fell YoY: Instagram usage fell -20% YoY, TikTok by -5% YoY, and Facebook by -7% YoY.

With that, let’s take a deeper dive into the fastest-growing platforms.

The Fastest Growing Social Media Platforms

1. Lemon8

Lemon8 saw +200% YoY growth in usage from consumers we polled in our 2024 Consumer Trends Survey. It’s a photo-sharing app (owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company) and is described as an Instagram-Pinterest hybrid.

It has only been available in the U.S. for a year and a half, so, why’s it so popular?

For starters, Lemon8 is more of a platform for consumers. It’s centered around user-generated and organic content, which is a welcome respite to consumers who might feel that the most popular social media platforms are brand-forward and too salesy. 

Consumers also care that the content they see on social media is authentic and relatable, so the content they see from other users speaks directly to that interest. A majority of people who use the app say they do so to get ideas and inspiration and to share their own pictures/videos. 

As with all emerging platforms, there’s no guarantee that Lemon8 will last, so my advice for brands/businesses is to get on the platform to secure your handle and see what’s trending for users interested in your niche. 

You can also leverage the platform for influencer marketing. If you make an account and find popular influencers/creators in your niche, you can form partnerships with them to build awareness for what you offer to its users.

2. Tumblr

Tumblr, launched in 2007, is a microblogging site where users can share text and multimedia posts. It’s grown +8% since 2023, and its users say they use the platform to find entertaining content (28%) and keep up with news/cultural trends (28%). 

So, 17 years in, how is it still going strong? 

I think Tumblr is so popular because it is a community-based platform. You’re almost 100% guaranteed to find people who share your same interests, and to be able to fill your feed with content that only speaks to your interests. 

It’s also a personality-driven platform, which gives users the advantage of feeling like they can be themselves, especially if they’re heavily involved in the communities they’re most interested in. 

Tumblr is essentially fandom central — a judgment free zone for people to find their people.

3. TikTok

Despite TikTok’s ongoing regulatory concerns, people are starting to use the channel for the first time, and people who love it stick around. 

Between May of 2023 and January of 2024, TikTok usage among our surveyed consumers grew by +20% YoY. Usage also grew across all generations, especially older ones that once seemed totally uninterested. 

The number of Boomers using TikTok grew by +60% YoY and +12% YoY for Gen X, showing again that they’re catching on to many viral Gen Z trends and apps. From our research, we estimate that one in three American adults now uses TikTok.

I’m attributing this growth to the popularity of short-form video, which has stolen the show completely in recent years. Consumers told us that, of all types of content they see on social media, they enjoy short-form videos the most—exactly what TikTok offers. 

Consumers are also doing more social shopping, which TikTok offers. In fact, TikTok is the second-most likely app for consumers to have used to make a purchase in the past three months. 

If you aren’t on TikTok yet, you should keep it on your radar and consider whether the app makes sense for your brand. Just keep in mind that building a successful strategy will require some video-related time and resources, as well as user research into all the trends going on there. 

If you use it, you’ll likely reap the benefits: social media marketers are more likely to rate TikTok as having high ROI and say that short-form videos (which TikToks are) have resulted in the highest ROI this year. 

You can learn more about TikTok marketing here.

6. Instagram

It’s no shocker that Instagram is one of the favorites among multiple generations. Between May and January, usage by consumers we surveyed grew by +5%.

While the channel continues to win over Gen Z and gain attention from Boomers, it might be losing some of its Millennial audience. Below are just a few fast facts.

• Around 42% of U.S. adults use Instagram, up 5% from last May.
• Instagram grew the most with Baby Boomers with a +53% increase (from 15% to 23%). 
• There was an 8% drop in usage among Gen X, from 51% to 47%. 
• Despite being among Gen Z and Millennials’ top three favorite apps, growth was relatively low, with 1% and 2% increases, respectively.

4. Facebook

Facebook turned 20 this year, and usage among consumers grew +4% YoY. As of April 2024, it is the most popular social network worldwide and the favorite platform for consumers over the age of 28. 

Despite the major privacy issues it faced (Mark Zuckerberg was required to testify in Congress about a data leak), it’s still going strong. I think its continued growth and interest from consumers are due to its novelty—it was one of the first three modern social media platforms (after LinkedIn and Myspace).

Now that we’ve covered some of the fastest-growing social media platforms, here are the ones slowing down in 2024.

Which platforms are losing steam?

The most significant change from 2023 is that BeReal, which led the pack with 313% usage growth, had a 0% change this year.

Twitch, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter were also part of the group with high growth, but all three experienced significant drops. 

I was surprised to see LinkedIn and Twitch drop off, but not X/Twitter. Its 22% decline aligns with Elon Musk’s controversial takeover. 

To dive deeper into the shifts, Click here to learn why Reddit, Pinterest, and YouTube might be losing steam compared to their competition.

Want more social media insights? I also recommend checking out these helpful resources: 

• 2024 Consumer Trends Report
• The State of Social Media in 2024
• The Best Social Media Channels for Marketing

More Social Media Insights

If you’re looking for even more social media insights, I recommend diving into your 2024 State of Social Media reporting. 

It’s based on results from a survey we ran of 1,500+ social media marketers. You’ll learn all about how to drive community, sales, and virality, and the best part is that the report is free to download.

Check out our 2024 Social Media Trends Report for free below.

In my experience, sales and marketing Excel templates can help you expedite your data analysis and reporting.

To help those of you looking for a way to sharpen your Microsoft Excel skills, I’ve put together a detailed list of templates you can start using to simplify your sales and marketing tasks.

Know what’s even better? You can download an Excel template kit in one fell swoop.

Jump ahead:

• Free Excel Spreadsheet Templates
• Marketing Excel Templates
• Sales Excel Templates
• Project Management Excel Templates

Why use sales and marketing Excel templates?

Many of us can recall a time in high school when we were sitting in math class and thinking, “When am I ever going to use this stuff in the real world?”

And then, we suddenly find ourselves in the real world, only to realize that numbers do play a pivotal role in what we do. At least, that’s true for me when it comes to digital marketing and sales.

The trouble is that many Excel templates and spreadsheets are riddled with numbers and formulas that aren’t all that inviting. And making them from scratch can be especially intimidating.

While I won’t argue with that, I will say that the advantages of using Excel to organize information and streamline tasks are unparalleled.

Benefits of Microsoft Excel Templates

Microsoft Excel has many capabilities, formulas, and shortcuts:

• It stores data and has tools for data analysis.
• It performs calculations and allows you to use code for automation.
• It allows you to create social media schedules, editorial calendars, campaign trackers, and more.

Before I start talking about all things Excel templates, now’s your chance to refresh your knowledge with this helpful crash course on Microsoft Excel fundamentals.

Marketing Excel Templates

Whether you need a source of truth for stakeholders to look at or a way to track the progress of a specific marketing plan or campaign, here’s a list of my favorite Excel templates to help get the job done.

1. Marketing Planner Excel Template

Download Your Free Excel Marketing Planner Template

This marketing planner template for Excel contains everything you need to plan a wide variety of email marketing campaigns. It contains specific columns for the email’s topic, owner, status, and subject line.

You can supplement this template with a full-on marketing plan, written in Word or Google Docs format.

What I like: You can easily use this template to plan any other progressive marketing effort, such as blogging, content writing, or social media marketing. Simply change the titles of the columns to fit your specific marketing plan, and use the column to the left to track the dates of implementation.

Pro tip: If you struggle to get and stay organized with your email marketing, this is the template for you. Use it to stay on top of your audience segments, the various A/B tests you’re running, and high-level results.

Featured Resource: Microsoft Word Marketing Plan Template

Download Now

2. Excel Marketing Budget Templates

Download Free Marketing Budget Templates for Excel

If you want to avoid a budgeting mess at the end of the month or quarter, take a look at this collection of marketing budget templates designed to help you better organize your marketing spend.

Check out the master marketing budget template, which allows you to generate a high-level visualization of your monthly and quarterly marketing budget.

There are eight templates to choose from, so you can truly customize the template(s) you choose to your goals. Whether you’re looking to stay on top of product marketing, branding, web redesign, content, or PR, these templates give you a great budgeting starting point.

What I like: From product marketing and website redesign to content marketing and events, these templates serve as a guide for marketers to visualize and track their expenses to avoid overspending.

Pro tip: Choose one area first and get started. Don’t bite off more than you’re prepared to chew — starting simple and slow is the best way to start tracking your expenses.

3. Marketing Dashboard for Excel

Download Your Free Excel Marketing Dashboard

This particular tool allows you to enter metrics by campaign to auto-populate visual and easy-to-read charts. As a result, you can visualize the effectiveness of spending and activity across multiple initiatives.

You can also track the progress of different campaigns and marketing efforts, such as website content and email marketing, as well as ad spend and sales by platform.

What I like: There is no shortage of data to monitor when it comes to marketing. This template makes it easy to understand your marketing ROI and prove the effectiveness of your campaigns to stakeholders and leaders at your company.

Pro tip: Use this dashboard in your next report to show off your department’s success.

4. Excel Monthly Marketing Reporting Template

Download Free Excel Marketing Reporting Templates

Tracking your budget is part of the game. Justifying it is something entirely different. However, every marketing department is under increased scrutiny and pressure to drive ROI.

I find having a tool to stay on top of the results you’re driving makes it easier to focus on your job, so you spend less time managing the admin and reports.

To simplify your reporting, check out these monthly marketing metrics templates and the corresponding PowerPoint template. Each month, you can update them quickly and easily to reflect your monthly visits, leads, customers, and conversion rates.

From there, you’ll have everything you need to track and report on which channels are performing best.

What I like: I mean, come on — is there a feeling sweeter than hitting all of your goals for the month? Leadership loves to see ROI, and these spreadsheets can prepare comprehensive reports of your marketing metrics to send to your boss.

Pro tip: Reporting is the least fun part of marketing for most people, but it’s hyper-important to leadership. Use this template to create impactful visuals perfect for those monthly check-ins that allow you to highlight the value your team brings.

5. SMART Goal Excel Marketing Template

Download Your Free Excel SMART Goal Template

Whether you’re planning for a new year, quarter, or month, defining a clear set of goals is critical for driving the direction of your marketing efforts.

Start with these SMART goal planning templates. Rooted in specificity, measurability, attainability, relevancy, and timeliness, these templates will help you set your team up for success.

What I like: Its user-friendly and readable format makes it one of the most shareable options on this list. You can easily send it over to your stakeholders without worrying about formatting.

Pro tip: While this template is designed for marketing, you can adapt it for any planning or goal setting, individually or with your team.

6. Excel On-Page SEO Template

Download Your Free Excel SEO Marketing Template

When it comes to SEO, there‘s a lot for marketers to remember to see results. If you’re looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, I suggest pulling up this handy SEO template created in Excel.

Designed to make the process of managing your SEO efforts a whole lot easier, marketers can use this template to guide their strategy step-by-step or pass it off to their webmaster to serve as a helpful guide.

What I like: This template focuses on keywords and SEO best practices, while also providing tips and tricks to identify nuances and increase productivity.

Pro tip: Use color-coded cells to help prioritize your next steps and highlight success. But remember, SEO isn’t one-and-done. Because it’s ongoing, you’ll need to monitor even your most successful efforts on an ongoing basis.

7. Google Ads Campaign Excel Tracker

Download Your Free Excel PPC Campaign Tracker

If you’re doing your Google Ads campaigns right, they probably aren’t “walks in the park.” This Google Ads tracking template is a marketing campaign template that can keep you on top of your Google Ads game.

It‘ll help you catch mistakes and implement best practices across all the different campaigns and ad groups you’re running — for the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel.

What I like: I think it’s a perfect complement to that SEO template you’ve started using. Plus, this tracker will help you get the most bang for your buck from all of those ad campaigns you’re running.

Pro tip: Use your success with Google Ads to drive future campaigns. If you find that “Golden Delicious Apples” is performing well, it’s probably a good idea to create some content or assets related to the topic to support your users’ search intent.

8. Excel Search Insights Report Template

Download Your Free Excel Search Insights Template

Ever wished you had a way to identify gaps in your content, do keyword research, and find competitors … then put your findings into a dashboard that makes sense?

You’re in luck. The Excel Search Insights Template is a must-have marketing plan resource for anyone looking to increase organic traffic.

What I like: This is the perfect template to accompany your on-page SEO template. In addition to giving you a solid place to track your SEO efforts, it has a dashboard you can use to report on progress.

Pro tip: I know search insights can feel like a hefty topic to tackle, and this template goes deep. So, if you’re ready to level up your SEO know-how but, after looking at this template, realize you need a refresher, check out this guide.

9. Excel Lead Tracker Template

Download Your Free Excel Marketing Template for Lead Tracking

It’s no secret that sales and marketing have a pretty rocky relationship history.

With this customizable lead tracking template in your toolbox, you’ll have the information you need to reduce tension and define a concrete monthly lead generation goal. You’ll also be able to track and measure the success of specific lead generation channels and keep close tabs on your current sales close rates.

What I like: You can easily supplement this lead tracker with a marketing-sales SLA template to better align your sales and marketing teams — and get one step closer to crushing your goals.

Pro tip: Take a few minutes to look back at all of your past proposals. Send emails that didn’t get to the proposal stage and enter them in your tracker. You might find your new tracker pays off with sales in the first few days.

Featured Resource: Microsoft Word SLA Template for Marketing & Sales

Download Now

10. Excel Sales Conversion and Close Rate Calculator

Download Your Free Excel Conversion Calculator

You have to set a conversion goal, but you don’t know where to start. It sounds like you could use a hand in calculating your leads and traffic goals. Let me suggest the Excel template for that.

What I like: You won’t have to sort through these numbers on your own. This template will take care of the math and give you a clear picture of what you need to accomplish to achieve your conversion goals.

Pro tip: Close rates are a great way to identify holes in your process, find quick wins, and celebrate them. Use this tracker to look for regular ebbs and flows as well as surprise changes so you can dig deeper to find out why.

11. Excel KPI Dashboard Template

Download Your Free Excel KPI Dashboard

If you’re a fan of the monthly metrics template, you might want to grab a copy of this template as well. The essential KPI tracker, shown above, takes the metrics your marketing team has agreed to track and describes them in more detail.

What I like: Using this template, you can assign specific employees to each KPI, define the frequency at which you’ll monitor each KPI’s performance, and assign each KPI a color that reflects the quality of that KPI’s performance.

Pro tip: Need an example? Let’s say one of my company’s KPIs is organic traffic. I could set up my template such that 100 page views per month are red (poor performance), 500 page views per month are yellow (stable performance), and 1,000 page views per month are green (great performance).

12. Excel Marketing Plan Graphs Templates + 50 Hacks

Download Your Free Excel Graphs Templates

Pretty graphs make it easier to illustrate your success — and you don’t have to have decades of Excel experience to create and use them. In addition to our guide offering 50+ Excel hacks to shorten the time between beginner and proficient professional, you can snag our easy-to-use graph generator template. Your team and leadership will love the way you represent data.

What I like: I love looking at well-designed graphs — but I hate spending time creating them. That’s why this resource jumps off the page at me.

Pro tip: While usually, I encourage people to take it slow, this can be a lot of fun to play around with. Download this now so it’s ready next time you need to tackle a report. And, it’s never a bad idea to have your brand colors handy so you can create something that wows the company leadership (or your clients).

Sales Excel Templates

Sales is a number-heavy field. Whether we’re talking about sales goals or closed-won ratios, here are a few of my top templates to help expedite the process.

13. Excel Ecommerce Planning Template

Download Your Free Excel Ecommerce Planner Template

Ecommerce stores come with many moving parts. This template, which also includes an ecommerce sales plan and go-to-market template, includes dedicated space for each of your ecommerce vendors.

The kit also includes a marketing plan that guides you through market research, target market analysis, channels and vendors, and more.

What I like: Once your ecommerce store is live and running, you can use the conversion template to track performance across vendors and platforms where products are listed to give you a holistic view of your efforts.

Pro tip: Whether you’re new to ecomm or have a ton of experience, you can use the specifics in this Excel template to spot-check your marketing plan and identify any new initiatives or opportunities.

14. Excel Contact List Template

Download Your Free Excel Contact List Template

In a business, the most important people are your customer or client base. Although your current customers constantly need to be nurtured, focusing on your contact or prospect list is also essential.

The information needed to build a prospect list is elementary. You can use this template to start building this list with the person’s name, title and company, location, and contact information. Additional information could include their industry, employee size, company description, and pain points.

What I like: Once you’ve used a template like this one, you’re ready to upgrade to a CRM, which stores the same information in a more user-friendly format.

Pro tip: Even if you’re using a CRM for most contacts, consider creating a printable book of important contacts to have at the office…just in case.

15. Excel Sales Forecasting Template

Download Your Free Excel Template for Sales Forecasting

Sales forecasting is similar to weather forecasting. Without the proper tools, it’s impossible to get an accurate idea of what’s ahead.

Excel sales forecasting helps with business planning, budgeting, and risk management. Using this template will help you track business sales, accurately predict your sales revenue, and plan for future growth.

What I like: Sales forecasting is challenging, but this spreadsheet formula makes the process easier. Ultimately, it helps strengthen the sales strategy that you build for your company.

Pro tip: You’re not in this alone. Your bookkeeper or financial team can help you track down the data you need so you can understand what it means.

16. Excel Sales Metrics Calculator Template

Download Your Free Excel Sales Metrics Calculator

Sales are complex. Once you add sales metrics into the picture, the complications increase.

Not only does this template help you keep track of sales, but it keeps track of your salespeople too. With the sales metrics calculator template, you can calculate customer retention rate, win rates, product revenue, and employee turnover rate.

What I like: I know there are many numbers and figures to calculate, track, record, and document when it comes to sales. This interactive Excel spreadsheet will help you get the job done.

Pro tip: Use this as an opportunity to identify holes in your onboarding and offboarding processes. Yes, sales metrics are important, but if people either leave in the first 90 days or stay for years, it’s time to ask questions. You may have an onboarding or training issue, and it’s an opportunity to give your team training and tools (like these killer Excel templates) to help them succeed.

Project Management Excel Templates

Specific projects require a specific setup, but sometimes, the setup itself can be the most exhausting part. I’ve compiled the following templates to help you manage general projects and track your progress for specific tasks.

17. Excel Social Media Planning Template

Download Your Free Excel Social Media Planner

You might already use a social media scheduler to manage and publish your posts every week, but you still need a place to draft your social copy and decide which posts will go to which social networks.

I like that this social media posting schedule allows you to draft each social post — the time it will post, the message you want to publish, and any link you want to accompany your message (blog post, registration page, an ebook landing page, etc).

What I like: Most social media schedulers allow you to upload social post copy in bulk from a spreadsheet. Once you’ve drafted all of your social posts for the week, month, or quarter, you can easily sort them by social network and import them into your social media platform of choice.

Pro tip: Use this social media marketing plan template to get organized and stay ahead of the game. If you truly are able to plan a quarter at a time, your entire team will thank you for working ahead.

18. Excel Blog Editorial Calendar Template

Download Your Free Excel Editorial Calendar Template

Blogging plays a significant role in your ability to attract visitors and leads to your website. But managing a blog is one of those responsibilities that’s easier said than done.

Use this editorial calendar template as the starting point for keeping track of all of your business’s content. It’ll help you be more mindful of topic selection, buyer personas, keyword inclusions, and CTA alignment.

What I like: When I’m struggling with ideation, consistency, or simply just lacking organization, an editorial calendar helps me refocus my blogging efforts to generate even more traffic and leads.

Pro tip: While there is a lot of fancy project management software out there, sometimes simple is best (and hardest to break). You don’t need fancy tools. You just need to get and stay organized.

19. Excel Work Log Template

Download Your Free Excel Work Log Template

How do you keep track of the day-to-day progress of your company, especially when there are people, tasks, and timelines to monitor? A work log template is essential to keeping track.

This template provides you with a project overview that makes tracking easier than ever. The work log template tracks tasks, time, status, and comments.

What I like: If you’re not ready to commit to project management software, you can still monitor the life cycle and progress of your projects with this spreadsheet.

Pro tip: Use conditional formatting based on the status column to help you pay attention to tasks that need additional follow-up. Also, consider adding a team column to track who is responsible for each update, and identify who is knocking out tasks like a superstar.

20. Excel Social Media Content Calendar Template

Download Your Free Excel Social Media Calendar

Since you’re probably generating tons of clicks from your Google Ads campaigns and writing amazing content, I’d imagine you’ll need some help figuring out how to spread the love on social media.

The social media calendar template is the perfect resource for helping you scale and streamline your social media marketing.

What I like: When you use Excel to break out separate worksheets for each social network you‘re using, you’ll be able to keep a repository of content ideas, so you’re never struck by writer’s block and always have something to post.

Pro tip: Once your calendar is defined, it’s incredibly easy to link related files to each item or to track links after they’re published. When that social media ebook scheduled for the second Tuesday is ready, you can link to wherever you’re stashing the content (another Excel marketing plan template, perhaps?) or link it to the live posts.

21. Excel Campaign Planner Template

Download Your Free Excel Campaign Planner Calendar

Most campaigns have a lot of working parts, so it’s important to stay on top of the tasks that comprise your campaign.

The campaign planner template is the perfect starting point for keeping track of quarterly, monthly, and special campaign deliverables and progress.

What I like: There are great ideas and sample timelines in each of the three main tabs, which helps you evaluate the different aspects you may need to consider.

Pro tip: This is effective if you’re trying to keep all your ducks in a row, or you’re just starting out and need a place to brainstorm and braindump all of the components. From there, you can use this as a project tracker or shift it to project management software.

22. Excel Product Launch Plan Template

Download Your Free Excel Product Launch Plan Template

A well-executed product launch can be a key differentiator for successful marketing and early adoption. This product launch plan can help you organize your thoughts around competitive analysis, positioning, and product strategy.

What I like: This template even goes so far as to help you brainstorm pains, proof points, and key messaging for campaigns. That’s a huge win in my book.

Pro tip: Launches are a LOT of work, so use this template to help you create a single place for your messaging and strategy.

Excel your marketing process.

Data is any marketer‘s friend. Even though spreadsheets seem like they’ve been around forever, Microsoft Excel has so many capabilities that still make it an amazing resource for displaying, organizing, analyzing, and parsing data, in my opinion.

With a little bit of Excel magic, you can streamline your workflow and arrive at some a-ha moments from data insights.

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

You don‘t need to be a sneakerhead to know about New Balance—I know I’m not.

The 118-year-old footwear company is everywhere, from TV to film to neighborhood cookouts, despite changes in fashion, consumers, and how people find and purchase new products.

So, what‘s the brand’s secret sauce to staying relevant longer than we’ve been alive?

New Balance Marketing Associate Calvin Goncalves says thoughtful partnerships and innovative strategies play a huge role. Goncalves is an expert with a lot on his plate.

He‘s part of a team at New Balance that plans out the brand’s strategy years in advance while considering past campaigns and what worked or didn’t work in previous years.

He knows a lot about brand partnerships, having been involved in New Balance‘s creative collaborations with DLTR and Joe Freshgoods.

Fortunately, Goncalves told us what it’s like to walk in his shoes (pun intended), and we chatted about innovation, collaborations, and the best way to partner with others in a campaign.

The Do‘s (and Don’ts!) of Brand Partnerships, According to a New Balance Marketer

Goncalves says partnerships are great for go-to-market strategies because they expose products and services to new audiences.

But working with influencers is a doozy, so here are some of his tried-and-true tips for getting it right.

1. Act natural. Don’t force it.

Goncalves says brands should avoid forcing a partnership if the chemistry isn‘t there. He mentions New Balance’s partnership with Joe Freshgoods as an example.

“When we bring outside people in, like a Joe Freshgoods, from a brand level—we don’t force it,” he says. “We allow them to be themselves but also ensure it’s good for the brand. Instead of trying to force these concepts on people, we say, ‘This is the product that we have. What do you envision?’”

In other words, partner with a brand that is already aligned with your values, show them what your brand brings to the partnership (e.g., a new product or service), and collab, collab, collab.

“We do this instead of just trying to pick the most popular person, shoe, or moment,” he says. “When we just stick all these things together, the collaboration comes across as watered down and tacky.”

Which brings me to our next point.

2. Don’t just stick your best shoe onto the trendiest TikToker.

Picture this all-too-likely scenario: You’re in a pitch meeting with your team to brainstorm some hip, trendy influencers who might want to partner with your brand. (Side note: Am I hip and trendy if I say the words hip and trendy?)

And then your coworker has a great idea. “Ooh, ooh!” he says, shooting out of his seat. “How about Addison Rae? She has 88 million followers… How perfect?”

Goncalves says this is a mistake.

“Okay, cool, someone might have 15 million followers on TikTok, but do they fit your brand?” Goncalves asks. “People are very savvy, and you don’t want anyone to think of something as a money grab.”

Instead, Goncalves suggests considering the ideas and vision you already have for your brand and seeking partnerships with people who align with those goals.

“Do a lot of research and listen to what people are saying,” he says. “If you’re getting talent, you must vet them because it could blow up in your face. You need to know the right partner; that’s the most important thing.”

3. Be innovative.

New Balance is just shy of 120 years old, and Goncalves credits the company’s longevity to its obsession with innovation.

“We have to be innovative to compete with the bigger brands that are on the rise right now.”

An example of innovation came from an event New Balance hosted with collaborator DLTR in Atlanta, Georgia.

For the event, the New Balance team decided to go all-out with an ice cream truck wrapped in images of the sneaker, plus CGI and 3-D modelling of the shoe.

The brainstorming session resulted in the perfect summertime event to promote the launch of New Balance x DLTR’s sneaker line, Gelato.

Local children and families were served free ice cream from a Gelato-themed truck as kid influencers like King Moore, Heiress Harris, Semaj, and Royal Rose World put on a performance.

Other highlights included games and a face-painting station.

“I was in Atlanta for that activation,” he says. “I got to see it come to life. Honestly, it’s the coolest thing I’ve probably ever done.”

Remember what we said about scoring the right partnership? Well, there’s a reason DLTR was chosen to work with New Balance.

“DLTR knows their community and they know their audience, so that’s why we partnered with them,” he says. “They actually brought live kid models and kid influencers who are huge in their market. And then we made it a perfect balance.”

4. Use a blast from the past.

Let‘s return to our earlier mention of New Balance’s latest collaboration with Joe Freshgood. The partnership consists of two pairs of sneakers called the “When Things Were Pure” pack that are an homage to the early 2000s and Y2K fashion.

Goncalves says nostalgia is a great tool for marketing that can make for creative and authentic partnerships.

“I always suggest tapping into some nostalgia whenever you do something,” he says.

Goncalves suggests thinking about a nostalgic moment and finding ways to connect it with your new audience.

For example, watching videos from the DLTR collaboration event reminded me of the summer block parties of my childhood and begging my parents for a few dollars to get ice cream or standing in line with my friends eagerly waiting to get our faces painted.

5. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work.

Partnerships and collaborations are opportunities to share new ideas, reach different audiences, and create innovative, strategic campaigns. However, a partnership is only as good as the teamwork behind it.

“The most important thing that I would like to stress is teamwork and working cross-functionally,” Goncalves explains. “You see the finished product, but a lot of teams work on it to make it happen.”

Like my middle school soccer coach, Goncalves says team work is the key to the success of any partnership, be it with a creator or another brand.

“The biggest thing for me is being a team player, whether I need to lead or step back,” he says. “I just really want to drive home the point that teamwork is the essential recipe for making things happen.”

Market research is the backbone of all marketing, and we can’t skip it.

After all, how can you promote any products and services if you haven’t dug deep into your market, audience, and competition?

Nevertheless, market research eats up a ton of time. So many marketers take it for granted and settle for superficial research.

To avoid this, make use of AI market research tools. Which?

I tested seven AI market analysis tools and broke down which ones are worth trying.

Let’s jump in.

Table of Contents

• What are AI market research tools?
• Why use AI tools for market research?
• 7 Best AI Market Research Tools

What are AI market research tools?

AI market research tools use artificial intelligence to gather and analyze market data. They pull in data from different sources, spot trends, predict future shifts, and break down complex info into simple insights.

These tools also help with audience segmentation, tracking competitors, and creating detailed reports, making it easier for marketers to make smart, data-driven decisions.

Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) enable these tools to mimic human behavior.

My interest in AI and its impact on markets led me to explore notable success stories from big names who’ve harnessed AI in marketing. One such example is Spotify.

It implemented AI for research last year through its AI DJ feature.

The tool constantly collects feedback and analyzes your listening patterns, essentially conducting ongoing “market research” to fine-tune music choices and feed Spotify’s analysts with data on which songs to add to increase listening time, bring more subscriptions, etc.

Image Source

The AI DJ goes beyond basic recommendations and provides commentary on the songs and artists it plays, making the experience more engaging.

Why use AI tools for market research?

Many people still think that AI can’t understand human nuances like a real researcher can, but that’s just one of the misconceptions, says Ashley S., Ph.D. in Anthropology and Co-Founder of EmpathixAI.

Image Source

The truth is that AI has made huge strides in grasping these subtleties and can provide insights that are just as valuable, if not more so, than traditional methods.

Can I research the market without AI? Sure. How hard is it on a scale of 1 to 10? 11.

That’s why giving these tools a chance is more than a good idea. Here are the top three reasons why you should think about it:

Predictive Analysis

AI algorithms can track customer behavior and predict trends, giving marketers a chance to fine-tune their strategies.

For example, a broadcast company was losing market share to digital media, which was expected to dominate 50% of the market in five years.

The CFO wanted to improve content to win back viewers and boost ad revenue. Scios Market, an AI market research tool, helped analyze which show attributes, like content quality and cast, drove viewership and ad dollars.

Predictive analysis and what-if forecasting identified a show concept likely to achieve the highest ratings. This approach led to a new show with 42% higher ratings and allowed the company to double its ad rates.

Image Source

Personalization and Targeting

AI can segment audiences and personalize marketing strategies based on detailed customer data. This leads to more accurate targeting, better engagement, and higher ROI.

The best example is a Middle Eastern bank that saw a $3.4 million increase in cardholder spending within three months by using Personalization Breeze from Dynamic Yield and Mastercard.

AI-driven personalized offers led to a 60% boost in travel transactions, a 30% increase in premium card sign-ups, and a 15% rise in everyday spending.

This example shows how smart AI personalization can quickly drive significant growth and improve customer engagement.

Image Source

And, according to an Acxiom report, 47% of customers prefer personalized emails or ads because it helps them easily find relevant products and solutions.

Use HubSpot AI Email Writer to quickly generate and customize sales outreach emails and marketing campaigns. No more staring at a blank screen — let AI handle the heavy lifting and watch your email engagement increase.

Improved Efficiency

AI market research tools, like generative AI models, have significantly impacted productivity and efficiency in almost all kinds of tasks.

For instance, last year’s study by Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang from MIT examined the effects of ChatGPT on professionals’ document writing efficiency.

The study involved 444 business professionals across different fields who were tasked with writing two business documents. One group used ChatGPT to assist in research writing, while the other wrote without AI support.

Key Findings:

1. Increased Productivity. Professionals who used the AI finished their documents in about 17 minutes, while those who didn’t use AI took 27 minutes. This means a 59% increase in productivity. Essentially, professionals with ChatGPT could produce 59% more documents in an 8-hour workday compared to those working without it.

Image Source

2. Better Quality. Despite taking less time, AI-assisted documents were rated higher in quality. Documents created with ChatGPT had an average quality score of 4.5 out of 7, while those written without AI scored 3.8. This shows that AI not only saved time but also improved the quality of the work.

“AI is a tool to help you work faster, not a replacement for critical thinking and problem-solving,” says Alex Cattoni from How To Use A.I. For FAST Market Research. “AI tools like ChatGPT are not always connected to the internet by default, which means they can produce inaccurate or even harmful results.

This is known as an AI hallucination. Even tech researchers worry that people rely too heavily on these systems for important advice. Use it as a brainstorming tool instead.”

P.S. If you’re wondering which AI tool writes the best marketing copy, Erica Santiago has tested several different tools and shared her detailed opinions. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this article.

7 Best AI Market Research Tools

After studying lots of case studies and reviews and talking to specialists who use AI tools for market research, I pulled together a list of the seven best tools to try.

I’ll walk you through their prominent features, pricing, and what I find exciting about them.

1. Gong for call insights and sales research.

Gong.io specializes in revenue intelligence and conversation analytics. It analyzes sales calls, meetings (both audio and video format), and customer interactions to provide insights into sales processes, customer behaviors, and market trends.

Features

• Analyzes sales conversations to identify trends, successful tactics, and areas for improvement.
• Provides visibility into the sales pipeline by tracking deal progress and identifying potential issues.
• Offers insights and recommendations for sales coaching based on real conversation data.
• Helps understand how competitors are being discussed in sales conversations and what strategies work.

Pricing: Gong prices each license per user. Reach out to them to settle on a customized quote.

Best for: Gong is equally great for researchers and marketers who frequently hold customer calls or audience interviews.

What I like: Gong provides both contextual and referential insights. Contextual insights analyze real-time conversation details like tone and sentiment, while referential insights compare these interactions to past data, identifying patterns and best practices to improve sales outcomes.

Try HubSpot’s Free AI Chatbot Builder to book meetings and provide round-the-clock customer support. Let it handle common queries, trigger email campaigns, and scale your interactions, freeing up your team’s time.

Testing It Out

I used Gong to analyze one of our company’s sales calls, and the insights were incredibly good.

For instance, its talk-to-listen ratio literally showed that the sales rep spent too much time talking and not enough listening, which Gong flagged as a potential issue based on successful past conversations.

Parts of the call were color-coded, indicating different topics, emotions, or levels of engagement. It was super easy to track key moments and see when important issues were discussed or when the customer’s interest dropped.

I haven’t run into many issues with Gong, but the speech-to-text feature can be a bit hit-or-miss sometimes. It usually gets the job done, but some parts require refinement. Even so, it’s still one of the top tools out there for this purpose.

2. YouScan for social media analysis.

YouScan uses AI to monitor social media and images, helping you track brand mentions, understand customer feelings, and spot trends. It provides real-time insights into how people view your brand.

For instance, YouScan shows whether people are generally positive, negative, or neutral about your brand based on their comments or post reactions.

Features

• Tracks mentions of your brand, products, or relevant topics across different SM platforms.
• Analyzes sentiment and trends to gauge public opinion.
• Identifies and analyzes visual content related to your brand or industry.
• Helps track logo usage, brand mentions in images, and user-generated content.
• Uses AI to assess the emotional tone of posts and conversations.
• Detects emerging trends and patterns in consumer behavior.
• Monitors competitors’ social media presence and performance.
• Generates detailed reports and visualizations.

Pricing

• Starter 3 ($299 per month): 3 topics, unlimited users, and 30,000 monthly mentions.
• Unlimited Plans: Configured to your requirements.

Best for: Companies active on social media that want to track their brand’s presence and impact across platforms.

What I like: It doesn’t rely on hashtags and captions only, but it identifies subjects and text in images as well.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works:

1. The AI identifies and tags visual elements in images, such as logos, objects, and scenes.

2. It extracts relevant information from these images, like how your brand’s logo is used or what products are featured.

3. The tool then analyzes this data to provide insights, such as how your brand is perceived or which products are the most popular.

4. You can use filters to narrow down the results and view detailed reports.

Testing It Out

I think every marketer, especially social media managers, will fall in love with this tool.

The analytics are in-depth and give a clear picture of mention volumes, engagement, and sentiment trends.

For example, if your posts receive a lot of happy or positive comments, YouScan will generally reflect a positive sentiment. On the flip side, if the posts show negative reactions or dissatisfaction, the sentiment will be negative as well.

The Insights Copilot, powered by ChatGPT, is my favorite part. It makes data analysis much easier by generating quick summaries and actionable insights.

For example, you can ask what customers like about your product, and it will give you a quick summary based on social media mentions.

Image Source

I also enjoyed the ability to make custom dashboards in 1,000 different ways.

3. Consensus for quick and reliable scientific insights.

Consensus is an AI market analysis tool that digs into scientific studies to give you clear, actionable insights.

But instead of just giving you a list of academic papers like traditional search engines, Consensus scans these papers and summarizes the key findings.

It uses advanced NLP and machine learning to understand the content and present the most relevant information in a simple, easy-to-read format.

Features

• Provides direct answers to specific questions by analyzing scientific papers.
• Highlights the scientific consensus and evidence supporting the findings.
• Summarizes key points from multiple papers, saving users time in reviewing literature.
• Offers links to original papers, allowing users to verify information and explore further.

Pricing

• Free: Unlimited AI filters, searches, and research indicators. Limited Copilot, GPT-4 summaries, and Consensus Meter.
• Premium ($11.99/month): Full access to Consensus Meter, bookmarks, GPT-4 summaries, and Copilot.
• Teams ($12.99 per seat/month): Central billing, discounts for 200+ seats, account management.
• Enterprise (custom quote): Library integration, dedicated support, large-scale user management.

Best for: Academics, marketers, and anyone seeking reliable scientific information. It can help marketers reveal what factors influence purchasing decisions, how different demographics respond to various marketing strategies, and what trends are emerging in the market.

What I like: The Collaboration Hub feature is great for working in real-time with your team members.

Testing It Out

I typed in something about mindfulness and sleep, and within seconds, I had a concise summary of the relevant research.

It pulled together key points from multiple papers into one clear overview.

Then there’s the Copilot feature, which adds even deeper insights using GPT-style summaries, complete with clickable citations for easy access to the sources.

The Consensus Meter is a great feature, too. I asked a yes/no question, and it broke down the research findings with percentages — giving me a quick snapshot of where the science stands.

The ability to save searches, export citations, and integrate with tools like Zotero makes it a must-have for serious research.

And who can benefit from such research?

Concretely, all these findings can boost market research for sleep-related products.

For example, research shows that mindfulness improves sleep, which can lead to the development of supplements or apps that help with relaxation. Data on sleep patterns can also help create better sleep trackers or more comfortable mattresses.

Moreover, marketers can use this information to create targeted ads and content. Understanding sleep patterns can help in designing promotional campaigns for sleep-related products.

You see? Everything is connected. 🙂

4. Lexalytics for advanced text analytics and sentiment analysis.

Lexalytics is a text analysis tool that helps businesses understand large amounts of written data. It can determine if people are feeling positive or negative, identify key names and places, and determine what main topics are being discussed.

Let’s say a company is preparing to launch a new smartwatch.

Lexalytics scans social media and reviews to see if people are excited about smartwatches. Then, the tool tracks real-time discussions to identify what people are talking about most.

Is it battery life or design? The answer helps the company highlight these trends in their product launch.

By identifying key names (e.g., industry influencers, competitors) and places (e.g., tech hubs, major cities) mentioned in the data, the company can tailor their marketing campaigns to target specific audiences or regions.

For example, if some popular tech influencer is buzzing around in conversations, the company could reach out to them and offer an exclusive review or endorsement, turning that buzz into brand hype.

Features

• Identifies and categorizes emotions in text, such as positive, negative, or neutral.
• Detects important names, places, organizations, and products mentioned in the text.
• Allows users to tailor text analysis models and solutions to fit specific industries or needs.
• Provides immediate insights by analyzing text data as it is received.
• Sorts and categorizes text into predefined categories for easier analysis.
• Handles text in multiple languages, making it suitable for global applications.
• Offers detailed visualizations and reports.

Pricing: Request a demo to get more info about pricing.

Best for: Marketing teams, product managers, customer support, data analysts, and researchers who need to analyze and understand sentiment trends in feedback and data.

What I like: The tool effectively handles nuances like negations and intensifiers, which makes results more accurate.

Testing It Out

I decided to focus on sentiment analysis to see how the tool handles this aspect.

First, I created a chart widget in the dashboard and selected the sentiment polarity option.

For my test, I zeroed in on the top 10 topics, which gave me a good range of data to analyze. I started by viewing the total number of documents to understand how sentiment was distributed — positive, negative, and neutral — across these topics.

Next, I adjusted the widget to show the percentages of documents rather than raw counts.

This change provided a clearer picture of what fraction of the documents were positive, negative, or neutral for each topic. It was interesting to compare these percentages and see how sentiment varied by topic.

5. Crayon for tracking and analyzing competitor activity.

Crayon allows you to track what your competitors are cooking. It provides competitive intelligence and market research insights through AI-driven analytics.

Crayon continuously tracks competitor activities across various channels — websites, social media, and news sources.

With this inside scoop, you can see all their moves and make savvy, well-informed decisions.

Features

• Tracks competitors’ activities in real time to keep you informed about their latest moves and strategies.
• Analyzes competitors’ marketing tactics and business decisions.
• Benchmarks your performance against competitors to highlight areas for improvement.
• Detects emerging market trends and informs you about them.
• Provides detailed industry reports to give you a clear picture of market conditions and opportunities.
• Processes large volumes of data efficiently.
• Forecasts future market trends based on current and historical data.
• Sends custom alerts to keep you updated on important events.
• Visualizes complex data with clear charts and graphs.

Pricing: Pricing depends on your needs and team size. Reach out for a demo to get your quote.

Best for: Individuals and teams who want to track multiple competitors, manage detailed battle cards, and organize insights across various topics.

What I like: Compete Hub, which acts as a newsfeed for my latest announcements and helps me stay on top of industry developments.

Testing It Out

Previously, I struggled with the tedious task of sifting through Google Alerts, which took time away from more important tasks.

Crayon AI changed that by providing really good insights with just a click. The platform’s machine learning algorithm prioritizes critical updates, such as significant changes to competitors’ homepages over minor social media posts.

I particularly love the daily email summaries, which deliver a curated list of the most important insights right to my inbox, saving me from endless alert checking.

Try HubSpot AI Summarization to easily generate business reports, summarize customer interactions, and boost productivity with AI-driven insights.

6. Poll The People for crowdsourced decision-making powered by AI.

Poll The People helps you have a global conversation with your target audience. The platform offers more than just polls — it also incorporates public opinions and deeper surveys.

With Poll The People, businesses can find the collective thoughts of a large group and make informed decisions based on widespread feedback — curated and analyzed with Open AI to prevent biases and human-prone errors.

Image Source

Features

• Creates quick and easy polls to gather feedback fast.
• Generates real-time results to help you make swift decisions.
• Targets specific demographics to get relevant feedback.
• Offers both public and private poll options for various needs.
• Provides diverse question formats, including multiple-choice and text input.
• Customizes polls with branding and specific questions.
• Delivers instant analysis for immediate insights.
• Exports poll results in various formats for detailed analysis.
• Ensures anonymous responses for honest feedback.

Pricing

• Lite (Free): 20+ templates, 250 responses per study, 3 tests per month, and more.
• Plus ($50/month): Everything in Lite, 500 responses per study, 7-day free trial, and 10 tests per month.
• Premium ($100/month): Everything in Plus, support, 2,000 responses per study, and unlimited tests.
• Enterprise (from $10,000/month): Everything in Premium, plus expert consultation, unlimited responses, and additional support.

Best for: Marketers, product developers, UX/UI designers, business owners, and researchers who need quick, targeted feedback to make informed decisions.

What I like: It’s not just a text-based tool. Upload images and get feedback on specific designs or logos.

Testing It Out

I used it to get feedback on potential titles for my book. I set up a quick poll asking for opinions on which title resonated best with readers.

Within a short period, I received 100 responses that provided valuable insights into what my audience likes.

The process was incredibly straightforward.

I created the poll with two-choice options and targeted the responses to make sure they came from my intended audience.

Note: I don’t recommend the free version because you pay per response; for example, one response costs $1, so 100 responses would cost $100. It’s more cost-effective to opt for a monthly plan if you need a larger number of responses.

7. ChatSpot for smarter research and data analysis.

ChatSpot by HubSpot is an AI-powered assistant that simplifies market research. It combines the capabilities of ChatGPT to give you powerful insights and personalized responses.

You can quickly spot trends, track customer needs, and get valuable data using pre-made templates and real-time information. It integrates with your HubSpot CRM, letting you connect with your data.

Scouting sales leads or digging into company details like funding rounds and tech stacks? ChatSpot makes research easy and gets the most out of it.

Features

• Leverages data to track and interpret market trends.
• Uses prompt templates and unique data sources for smarter insights.
• Drafts blog posts, writes X posts, and creates AI-generated images.
• Identifies key opportunities quickly with prospecting templates.
• Integrates with HubSpot CRM to interact with your data in real time.
• Provides deep insights into company details like funding rounds and technologies.
• Offers intuitive answers designed to help you take action.
• Allows you to manage contacts, tasks, and notes using natural language commands.

Pricing: ChatSpot is free to use and automatically connects to your HubSpot account.

Best for: Marketers, sales teams, customer service reps, business analysts, content creators, small business owners, and project managers who want actionable insights and improved efficiency.

What I like: The accuracy of the data it provides. I also love ChatSpot’s Image Generator, which creates a variety of stunning visuals.

Pro tip: Interview AI as if it were your ideal client. Provide it with demographic details and ask it to respond with motivations and struggles using the language of your target audience.

With just a few clicks, you can generate blogs, social posts, and emails. HubSpot Content Writer is perfect for saving time, overcoming writer’s block, and scaling your content without extra costs.

Testing It Out

First, I tested ChatSpot’s primary chat feature by asking it a question about current ecommerce trends:

As you can see, it provided a brief but clear response, with bolded words that highlight key ecommerce trends.

Then, I asked about what influences clients when choosing between Google Drive and Dropbox for cloud storage:

ChatSpot delivered a crisp answer in a brief paragraph, highlighting the key points with bold text again.

But ChatSpot offers more than just a question-answer feature, and that’s what I love most about it — quickly prospecting for sales with handy templates, drafting blog posts and social media updates, and generating AI images. It also lets you dig into company data like funding and tech used.

Plus, you can manage your HubSpot CRM tasks — like adding contacts and creating notes — using natural language commands, making everything more intuitive and efficient.

From Spending Days on Analysis to Getting Results in Seconds

If someone had told us a few years ago that everything we used to spend hours on — creating detailed analyses, charts, and struggling with Excel — could be done in just a few clicks, with results sorted in seconds, we wouldn’t have believed it.

But, that‘s our reality today, and it’s only getting better.

That’s why I hate when people say, “AI takes jobs.” No, it makes them easier.

We’re still the ones setting tasks and making final decisions. But AI market research tools help us track trends, analyze competitors, and compare data more quickly and efficiently.

Just as we no longer use carriages to travel from point A to point B, there’s no need to manually do tasks when a faster, smarter solution is right at our fingertips.

The most important thing is to find high-quality solutions that meet our needs and budget. That’s it. Don’t be afraid of AI. Let’s keep up with the times.

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

Here’s something difficult for a marketer to admit.

Sometimes, marketing is incredibly glib.

It’s so intensely focused on highlighting positives that marketing often comes across as superficial. Advertising campaigns, slogans, and product launches all use the same rhetoric.

They talk about how great the thing is.

Gillette is the best a man can get. Coca-Cola Opens Happiness. And KFC is Finger Lickin’ Good.

Image Source

I’m not surprised.

If you want to persuade someone to buy something, you’ll probably talk about how great it is.

If you wanted to hook your roommate up with a work colleague, you wouldn’t tell them that they put tuna in the office microwave. No, you’d focus on the positives.

It’s conventional wisdom.

But is it right?

See, I think all of us, deep down, know that we’re not solely drawn to positive things.

No. Sometimes, we prefer imperfections.

Embracing imperfections in marketing is about buyer psychology.

If you told McDonald’s to change their slogan from I’m lovin’ it, to, I’ve only got $4 so this will have to do — you’d get kicked out of the boardroom.

But this is a problem. It’s marketing that’s based on gut instinct, not evidence.

It’s marketing based on opinion, not fact.

It’s marketing based on experience, not science.

See if we focused on understanding the psychology behind our buyers, we might not laugh at this suggestion for a new McDonald’s slogan. We might embrace it.

Perfection isn’t perfect.

Adam Grant shared a study of world-class sculptors in his book Hidden Potential.

It turns out that world-class sculptors weren’t world-class students. They showed little talent as they studied and definitely weren’t perfect. Their pieces contained lots of faults.

66% of the world’s best sculptors graduated high school with Bs and Cs.

A similar pattern emerged when comparing America’s most influential architects.

The great architects had rarely been great students: they typically finished college with a B or C average.

Adam Grant writes how, in their quest for flawless results, research suggests that perfectionists tend to get three things wrong.

1. They obsess about details that don’t matter.
2. They avoid unfamiliar situations that might lead to failure.
3. They berate themselves for making mistakes.

There’s something powerful in embracing flaws. Acknowledging that perfection is impossible and instead showcasing the imperfections that make you, you.

And the same is true for marketers. Those who embrace their flaws tend to create better ads.

The Pratfall Effect

This is known in psychology as the pratfall effect.

The pratfall effect was documented back in 1966 by the Havard psychologist Elliot Aronson. His studies revealed that people saw intelligent quiz contestants as more likable when they spilled coffee down themselves. In other words, competent people are preferred if they’re a little clumsy.

In Aronson’s words, “the pratfall effect made the quiz contestant appear more appealing, increasing his approachability and making him seem more human”.

Jo Sylvester conducted a followup study at Swansea University. Her team found that when job candidates revealed a weakness they were considered more likable, and thus were far more likely to be offered the job.

The Pratfall Effect in Practice

Consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier, a previous guest on Nudge, proved this by asking a representative sample of 626 people a question about cookies.

The participants were shown two cookies that were identical apart from one small difference. One cookie had a rough edge, while the other was perfectly smooth.

But, I’m never convinced until I’ve tested these principles myself. So, I created two Reddit ads to promote my podcast, Nudge.

A Pratfall Effect Marketing Experiment

The first ad was traditional textbook marketing stuff, highlighting all the positives about listening to my show. It was titled “5 reasons why you should listen to Nudge.”

The second highlighted my flaws. Titled “5 reasons why you SHOULDN’T listen to Nudge.”

I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect the pratfall effect ad to work. It was too literal. I was literally telling people not to listen to my show AND giving them reasons why.

Sure, the reasons I gave weren’t too damning and it was all written in a jokey manner, but I still didn’t think it would beat the control.

I spent around $110 in total. Over 300,000 people saw the ad. And I couldn’t believe the results.

It was 4x more effective.

The click-through rate on the control was 0.09%, but the click rate for the pratfall ad was 0.47%. I got a 391% uplift telling people not to listen to my show. Over 500 new listeners tuned in to the show from that one ad. And to date, it’s my most successful test on Reddit.

And yet, this is something that I doubt I’d ever use in a business setting. Your boss wouldn’t dare let you try something that says not to buy the product. It’s so rare to see companies embracing imperfections in marketing, or showcasing weaknesses, because it seems too risky.

But it pays to be different.

It pays to apply science to marketing.

And it pays to embrace your flaws.

Whenever I think about social video platforms, the first ones that come to mind are YouTube and TikTok, but those are only the tip of the iceberg regarding video sharing. There are several more video platforms out there.

However, before we explore the vast options marketers have at their disposal, let’s dive into the importance of social media videos, where consumers are watching them, and other important findings.

Where are consumers watching social media videos?

YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are among the social media platforms with the highest ROI, according to our 2024 State of Marketing Report. So, it‘s safe to say that’s where consumers watch social media videos.

In fact, our most recent Video Marketing Report shows Instagram is the top social media platform for ROI, engagement, and lead generation for sharing marketing videos.

Behind Instagram is YouTube regarding ROI and lead generation.

Of course, I can‘t leave out TikTok, considering it’s the app I find myself scrolling through for hours on end. The short-form video platform has the 3rd highest ROI and comes in 2nd for engagement behind Instagram.

Finally, there’s Facebook. While 60% of marketers sharing marketing videos use the longstanding Meta-owned platform, it comes in fourth place for ROI, lead generation, and engagement.

13 Best Social Media Video Platforms

1. YouTube

YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform and the second-largest social media platform in the world, with over 2.7 billion users. According to Neilsen, YouTube topped the list for streaming time for 17 consecutive months in July.

So, if you‘re wondering if the platform can be a great addition to your video marketing or social media strategy—the numbers suggest that’s the right move!

What I love most about YouTube is how the platform can host diverse formats of videos, such as live streaming, short-form videos, and long-form videos.

You can also utilize YouTube’s Community tab to speak to engage with your audience in between video uploads.

Other key features and benefits include:

• AI-generated transcriptions and captions
• Straightforward privacy settings
• Option to pay to promote your videos on YouTube and Google
• The ability to curate your videos into playlists
• Data analytics and management tools via YouTube Studio
• Monetization options via the YouTube Partner Program
• Robust audio library

2. TikTok

TikTok is an excellent platform for attracting a Gen Z audience.

Our 2024 Consumer Trends Report shows that 48% of Gen Z consumers prefer to learn about new products via short-form videos on TikTok, and 72% say they’ve used the app in the last three months.

Some of my favorite features of TikTok are:

• Live stream shopping capabilities
• Several monetization opportunities, including the ability for viewers to send gifts
• Hashtags for boosts in engagement and community building
• Advertising options for business accounts
• Constantly growing library of trending songs and sounds

3. Instagram

Instagram is also popular among Gen Z, with 72% reporting to have used the app in the last three months. It’s a great platform for promoting products and selling them in-app.

Here are some of the best features:

• E-commerce capabilities via Instagram storefronts
• Live stream capabilities
• Shoppable stories

4. Facebook

Facebook is known to be more popular among millennials and Gen X, but our Consumer Trends Report shows it still has loyal users. Our report shows that 42% of consumers consider the app their favorite.

Features include:

• Facebook Live
• Facebook Stories
• Paid Video Ads
• Community pages to connect with your audience

5. Snapchat

I was a junior in high school when Snapchat launched, and I remember it being extremely popular among college students a few years later.

The app is still going strong among younger consumers today, with 57% of Gen Z consumers saying they’ve used the app in the last three months.

It also remains quite popular among Millennials, with more than a third (37%) also reporting using it within the last few months.

Marketing on Snapchat can be tricky since the app‘s main draw is that users can send each other videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours. It’s more popular for interpersonal communication.

However, marketers can still leverage the app thanks to various features like Snap Ads, Story Ads, and Collections Ads.

6. Twitch

Twitch is a live streaming platform especially popular among gamers; however, you don‘t need to be in the gaming industry to leverage it.

Brands like Wendy’s and Old Spice leverage influencer marketing by tapping into well-known streamers who can introduce their products to a wider audience.

My favorite Twitch features and benefits are:

• Monetization options via its affiliate and partnership programs
• Stream scheduling
• Live comments
• Channel analytics

7. X (formerly Twitter)

X is mostly regarded as a micro-blogging platform, but it has video posting and sharing abilities. Users without an X subscription can upload videos up to 140 seconds long.

Subscribers can upload videos up to 4 hours long, depending on whether they use iOS, the desktop version of X, or Android.

8. LinkedIn

I only recently discovered the different possibilities regarding video on Linkedin, and I was pleasantly surprised. Users can upload up to 10 minutes of native video on the platform, stream for up to four hours, and post video ads that are up to 30 minutes long. 

Furthermore, I’ve found that drumming up engagement for videos on LinkedIn is pretty easy because you’re relying on your own network plus the networks of others to share your content. 

One of my most recent videos is a TikTok I embedded in a LinkedIn post. In just a week, that post garnered more than 1,700 views and reached more 1,200 people.

It’s worth noting that I only have about 600 people in my LinkedIn network.

9. Pinterest

Pinterest’s video capabilities are especially helpful for retail brands looking to reach consumers seeking inspiration. Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to create digital vision boards for inspiration regarding style, art, recipes, and more. 

For example, Fenty Beauty uses its Pinterest board to post videos showing its products in use while giving makeup inspiration. Brands can also make curated Pinterest boards consisting of multiple videos, all within the same niche. 

Other useful features are: 

• Shoppable video ads featuring a video clip promoting relevant products to users with similar interests
• Personalized collection ads allow multiple images that can include one video and three supporting images promoting relevant products.

10. Reddit

Reddit is an app that focuses on community and discussions. Brands can leverage Reddit video ads to build discussions around their products and services while building community in the form of subreddits. 

Though videos can be up to 15 minutes long, I suggest keeping them no longer than 30 seconds to a minute. 

11. Discord 

Brands leveraging Discord typically use the platform for community marketing. This is achieved by creating a designated space (server) that serves as a central hub for interactions between the brand and its consumers and segmenting consumers into different channels that appeal to their interests. 

So, where does video come in? Well, I put Discord on this list because the platform allows for video calls, which allows server members to tune in and converse. Brands can host webinars, tutorials, Q&As, and more via live video calls and streams. 

12. Telegram

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging app that lets viewers send messages, videos, images, and files to each other. Users can also make voice and video calls. 

Telegram can be a great platform for providing customer service, and its video capabilities can allow brands to better troubleshoot issues, answer questions, or provide visual tutorials.  

13. Vimeo

Vimeo is often compared to YouTube, but I personally believe the former has some technical capabilities that give it an edge over the more well-known platform.

Vimeo allows users to post videos that can only be seen by followers or selected accounts, which can be helpful if you want to build community via exclusive content. 

 

Tips for Sharing Social Media Videos

1. For most platforms, zone in on short-form videos.

The world is becoming more fast-paced every day. While many people are watching social media videos in their spare time, some are watching them on the go.

For example, I often watch TikTok videos and Instagram Reels on the subway or bus while running errands.

My friends often watch videos in between meetings or while waiting for an appointment.

These short periods of time don’t leave much room for consumers to watch long-form videos, so many marketers suggest focusing on creating short-form, or “snackable,” video content.

“Using snackable videos on social can actually drive more engagement than static images,” says Meisha Bochicchio, Content Marketing Manager at Wistia.

When it comes to creating effective snackable content, Bochicchio says, “First things first, keep in mind that most social media platforms will automatically start playing video content as viewers scroll.

So, make sure your videos are autoplay-friendly. Keep them short and put your key messaging in the first few seconds.”

“Remember that most people won’t hear your audio, so make sure your videos are also silent-friendly, ”Bochicchio advises. “Consider text overlays, or upload captions directly on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.”

To learn more about this strategy, check out this post on snackable content, or this post that highlights the latest short-form video trends.

And if you want to make snackable content on your own, our AI-powered Clip Creator tool can convert text into professional videos for your business with just a few clicks.

2. Test different video formats, too.

While short-form video content is a great tactic to harness, you can still publish longer videos as long as they’re engaging and valuable to your audience.

For example, while people might not want to watch a two-hour commercial, they could watch a longer live video Q&A, an interview with a thought leader, or a video that tells a longer but entertaining story.

While you can certainly test longer-form videos, you can also test out other formats, such as live streams, interactive videos, and shopping videos, on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

It’s worth noting that 46% of Gen Z consumers in the U.S. have participated in live shopping events, and 47% have purchased from a live stream.

As new video formats emerge, it can be helpful to determine if they might work for your brand and design a test around them.

Be sure you identify and track the right success metrics. For example, if you‘re testing a longer video, look at its views and dropoff rate to see how long viewers stay tuned.

Meanwhile, if you try a more interactive approach like a live stream or Q&A you can also take note of comments, engagements, and shares on the content while you’re live.

3. Meet your video audiences where they are.

As with any social media strategy, some content will perform better on some social media platforms rather than others.

While snackable, consumer-facing content might perform well with YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok’s large consumer audiences, a B2B marketing video or a Q&A with a corporate thought leader might perform better on a professional-facing network like LinkedIn.

Luckily, to create a great marketing strategy, you don‘t (and shouldn’t have to) place your videos on every single social media platform.

However, you should research the demographics of each major network, identify which audiences might engage most with your content, and start publishing videos where it makes the most sense for your brand and goals.

Then, continue to keep an eye on platforms you’ve ruled out in case they continue to evolve and provide your brand more audience opportunities in the future.

4. Don’t always lean on repurposed content.

During my early days as a content creator, I would often repurpose content across multiple platforms. That strategy was sufficient for a while, but things have changed since then.

Today, it can still be beneficial for brands to repurpose some video content for different platforms when they have similar audiences and features. This can also be a great way to test whether your content strategy for one platform will work with one audience.

However, because knowing your social media audience is more important than ever, you might want to consider having a slightly different video strategy for your most important video platforms.

While there will be times where you can easily repurpose content to save time or bandwidth, some platforms like TikTok and Instagram are evolving with algorithms that could deprioritize your content if it has a watermark from another network.

5. Embrace influencers and customers.

Even if you’ve done all of your research and churn out videos daily, it can still be incredibly hard to post a viral piece of content that grows your audience.

Luckily, there are experts on every social media platform who know how to create videos. And, some of them will even create videos for you — and then share them with their audiences.

That’s why one great growth strategy can involve reaching out to influencers or thought leaders with expertise in your industry and either featuring them in your videos or getting them to endorse your brand in their content.

If you can’t afford to have an influencer help boost your video strategy, you can also look towards happy consumers.

With this strategy, you can encourage customers to share a video about their experience with your brand on social media, or you can create a video filled with multiple pieces of user-generated content from happy customers.

Because today’s consumers crave authenticity from brands, user-generated content not only can provide you with free video content but can also spread brand awareness to prospects or people researching you on social media.

Navigating Social Media Content

More than ever, social media and content marketing are always evolving. As a marketer, it‘s important to stay up to date with the latest trends and data to better inform your strategies — whether you’re investing in video or other tactics.

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

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

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

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

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

Table of contents

• Why Use AI in Public Relations
• How is AI used in public relations?

Why Use AI in Public Relations (PR)

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

Let’s break down the specifics.

Pros of AI Public Relations

Higher Efficiency

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

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

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

Lower Costs

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

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

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

These small efficiencies add up.

Increased ROI

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

Cons of AI Public Relations

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

Data Quality & Accuracy

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

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

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

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

Privacy

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

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

Lack of Human Touch

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image Source

How is AI used in public relations?

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

1. Drafting press releases and pitches

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

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

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

All you need is a prompt answering these questions:

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

To illustrate, I gave ChatGPT this prompt:

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

Here’s what I got back:

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Automating social media engagement

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

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

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

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

3. Monitoring brand sentiment and reputation

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

It all comes back to social listening.

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

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

Need a more simple or budget-friendly alternative?

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

It’s free and effortless for you to maintain.

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

Image Source

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

4. Maintaining your press list(s)

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

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

Thankfully, this is one area where AI shines brightest.

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

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

Source

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

All this helps reduce list decay and improve deliverability rates.

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

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

5. Reaching out to media.

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

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

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

Source

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

6. Researching

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

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

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

(Ai)ding your public relations success

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Table of Contents

• What is social media ROI?
• Which social media channels have the best ROI?
• Which social media tactics or strategies have the best ROI?

What is social media ROI?

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

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

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

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

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

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

How do you calculate social media ROI?

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

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

This formula can be used with revenue in mind:

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

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

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

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

= (1250–500) / 500

= (750) / 500

= 1.5

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

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

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

Which social media channels have the best ROI?

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

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

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

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

1. YouTube

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

But why exactly?

First off, there’s reach.

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

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

The platform also has a very low barrier to entry.

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

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

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

How to Get the Most ROI Out of YouTube

Team up with creators or influencers.

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

Read more in the Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing.

Experiment with both long and short-form content.

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

Check out our free YouTube Marketing Course to get started.

2. Facebook

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Get the Most ROI Out of Facebook

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

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

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

Boost posts.

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

Learn more on boosted posts.

Try retargeting.

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

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

3. Instagram

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Get the Most ROI Out of Instagram

Team up with creators or influencers.

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

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

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

Post Stories with stickers.

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

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

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

4. TikTok

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Get the Most ROI Out of TikTok

Follow and engage with trends.

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

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

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

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

Try TikTok Ads.

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

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

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

Which strategies get the most social media advertising ROI?

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

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

1. Short-form Video

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Incorporating Humor

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

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

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

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

3. Repurposing Content for Multiple Platforms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Aligning your Platform with Your Goal

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

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

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

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

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

Pro tip: Use UTM tags for tracking

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

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

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

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

5. Establishing Consistency

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Social Commerce

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Encouraging Your Employees to Become Brand Ambassadors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To Many Happy Returns… On Investment

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

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

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