Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.

Aspiring Native entrepreneurs face many challenges in growing small businesses. Complex land lease laws, strained infrastructure, and a chronic lack of credit access all inhibit Indigenous success. However, thanks to growing federal, organizational, and tribal support, potential business owners have more resources available than ever.

Navigating new financial mechanisms, tribal incubators, and government programs can still present a challenge. By appraising available resources, and when to leverage them, Native entrepreneurs gain a great head start in launching new ventures. Starting on the right foot, with the right tools, can make all the difference – especially when climbing over systemic barriers.

Native Community Development Financial Institutions

Native access to capital can prove a complex and frustrating obstacle for up-and-coming business owners. Chronic systemic discrimination, along with general confusion around complicated land laws, can stymie new businesses before they ever get started. Generational poverty often means that Natives don’t have alternative means of obtaining start-up capital, either.

A May 2021 report by the National Indian Council On Aging states that 16.3 percent of Native households don’t use banks.  The same report notes that high poverty rates, systemic racism, and a lack of brick-and-mortar institutions on Native reservations leave many Indigenous people without good financial standing.

Natives also can’t use lands held in trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs – meaning reservation lands – as collateral. As a result, traditional banking and the consequent access to business loans remain out of reach.

In response, many tribes or non-profit organizations have established Native Community Development Financial Institutions or Native CDFIs. These institutions use non-traditional methods, often backed by tribal or federal funding, to lend to otherwise ineligible borrowers.

There are over 70 Native CDFIs across the United States. Some are tribally owned, such as the Lummi CDFI in Bellingham, Washington. Others are established as regional organizations, such as Native Community Capital in New Laguna, New Mexico. Many are part of an overarching organization called the Native CDFI Network, whose website hosts a list of member institutions.

As Native-led or Native-serving organizations, these institutions understand land law, tribal sovereignty, and the issues facing Indigenous entrepreneurs. Loan officers at Native CDFIs often use metrics other than credit scores or collateral to support their lending or offer financial literacy and credit-building programs to improve clients’ standing.

These groups also share many of the perspectives and experiences of their surrounding constituents, which means a wider array of business models can be encouraged and supported. An October 2022 report from banking giant Wells Fargo notes that traditional, national banks frequently lend more often to tribal enterprises with established presences, while CDFIs help cover the gap for smaller loans and riskier businesses.

Potential Indigenous entrepreneurs who have access to a Native CDFI should make reaching out and establishing a relationship their first step in drumming up business capital. In addition to establishing credit, working with a CDFI to build financial literacy and refine a business model can get things started on a high note.

Business Incubators for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Good products and services may form the cornerstone of successful business ventures, but they’re just a part of the overall operation. Entrepreneurs need a good understanding of cash flow, marketing, scale, and a wide array of other subjects to maintain that success.

Indigenous-led business incubators serve an important niche, combining traditional business sense with a deep understanding of a community’s traditions, needs, and issues. Where non-Native incubators might falter in addressing challenges specific to Native entrepreneurs, Indigenous incubators work from a Native perspective, tailoring their programs to fit their communities.

For Tuba City, Arizona-based Change Labs, an incubator serving the Navajo (Dine) and Hopi peoples, that means initiatives such as providing storefront space and no-credit-needed micro-loans, according to their Theory of Change report. These tailor programs address the limited availability of workable retail space on Navajo and Hopi lands, as well as a widespread lack of credit.

Incubator cohorts typically include dedicated programs packed with classes, projects, and networking. These cohorts often pair participants with experienced mentors in their chosen industries, building relationships and connections for striking out on their own later.

Much like Native CDFIs, Indigenous incubators form for both tribes and regional organizations. While Change Labs targets the Hopi and Navajo tribes specifically, Traverse City, Mich.-based Arrowhead Incubator aids entrepreneurs across that area. While there aren’t many incubators fully off the ground, the passage of 2020’s Native American Business Incubator Act aims to grow that number considerably. Where there isn’t a resource now, one may exist soon.

Native entrepreneurs growing their businesses or who are uncertain of their next steps may find it worth it to locate an Indigenous-led business incubator either through their tribe or regional support. In the absence of a nearby resource, larger incubators such as the Spokane-based Native Business Center provide a range of online classes and workshops.

Economic Development Organizations for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Even as Indian Country struggles with building wealth, national organizations work to combat those issues and develop strategies for new Native entrepreneurs. Many of these organizations develop programs for funding and supporting Indigenous businesses. Some of these organizations include:

1.  The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development provides a wide array of programs for supporting everything from procurement for Indigenous small businesses to securing government contracts through the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. The Center also offers Native Edge Institutes, one-day in-person events providing concentrated bursts of business training.

2. The Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

The Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which offers data-driven research on industry trends, headwinds facing Indigenous businesses, and policy recommendations.

3. The National Minority Supplier Development Council

The National Minority Supplier Development Council certifies and supports businesses whose owners are majority Native American, Asian-American, African American, Asian-Pacific, or Hispanic. The council connects member businesses with over 500 corporate members,  provides seminars and training, and offers a range of capital access programs, like the Growth Initiative.

In addition to wide-net organizations like the above, many states have American Indian Chambers of Commerce, such as chapters in Oklahoma and New Mexico. These organizations provide advocacy, management, and networking services to Native-owned businesses in their given regions, making them crucial and powerful tools for accessing localized support.

Federal and Tribal Government Programs for Indigenous Entrepreneurs

New COVID-19 era legislation has poured unprecedented funding into Indian Country and prompted the development of new federal support. Some of that is leveraged toward small businesses, chiefly through offices like the Small Business Administration, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

1. The Small Business Administration

The SBA offers free technical assistance for business owners through the Office of Native American Affairs. The Administration also partners with Native-led organizations like RedWind and Sister Sky, Inc. to provide entrepreneurial workshops for Indigenous business owners. The administration also manages the 8(a) Business Development Program, which offers federal contracting preference to certified minority-owned businesses.  

2. The Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs supports Indigenous entrepreneurs through its Native American Business Development Institute, which can fund feasibility studies and market research for business plans. The agency also manages the Indian Loan Guarantee and Insurance Program, which can help provide collateral and support for first-time borrowers.

3. The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency

Lastly, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency serves minority-owned businesses with research, market data, and a wide swathe of Native-centered business grants and projects.

It’s also worth checking in with individual tribes and their corresponding economic development institutions. While tribal gaming continues to be a juggernaut in generating tribal revenue, tribal acquisitions and diversification are on the rise – a tribal member’s small business may be the next best fit for the tribe’s economic strategy. Alternatively, tribes may have support programs and individualized help available for citizens running new ventures.

Use What’s Out There to Build Your Career

Starting a business can be hard in the best circumstances – and Native American entrepreneurs hardly ever begin in the best circumstances. As more and more institutions grapple with Indian Country’s generational trauma and how best to ease that trauma, Native business owners find themselves with more resources than ever.

Native businesses are important parts of local, tribal, and state economies, generating roughly $50 billion a year across the United States, according to an SBA report. Moreover, starting a successful business remains one of the fastest ways to pull a family out of poverty and begin creating generational wealth, combating one of the longest-running problems in Indian Country.

With the range of new opportunities available, it’s never been a better time to start a new business, whether that’s selling arts and crafts, providing IT services, construction contracting, or a large-scale farming enterprise. Aspiring Indigenous business owners should take advantage of renewed interest in Indian Country’s well-being and secure self-sufficiency and success for themselves in the future.

As a business, you likely run marketing campaigns all year round.

There are specific occasions, though, where you might spend more time and money on your efforts to maximize exposure and inspire the most sales. Holidays are a great example of this, where events like Black Friday can bring in significant sales and revenue compared to other days of the year.

In this post, we’ll go over insights from marketers on the holidays and annual events that they spend the most money on and why.

What holidays and annual events do marketers build strategies for?

We asked marketers and advertisers about the holidays/annual events they plan to build marketing strategies for in the next 12 months. They were asked to select up to three options, and the top three responses were:

• Winter/End of Year Holidays (ex. New Years Day)
• Black Friday
• Halloween

What holidays and annual events do marketers spend the most money on?

We asked marketers and advertisers about the holidays/annual events they spend the most time and money on marketing. The top holidays were winter/end of year holidays, Black Friday, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day.

We also asked marketers why they spend the most money on the events they selected and the most common responses were that their selected annual holidays and events drive the most sales and bring in the most revenue.

For example, some marketers said they spend the most money on marketing for Black Friday because people begin their holiday shopping during this time and are more excited and willing to spend money, so reaching them with effective and personalized campaigns is essential. Marketers can spend more time and effort creating marketing campaigns for Black Friday because it pays off.

Holidays and Annual Events Provide Opportunity for All Businesses

Every business is different, but holidays and annual events are great for sales. How do your marketing campaigns, marketing spending, and high-traffic events align with other marketers?

As a writer for HubSpot, the most I thought I would use our product was creating marketing blog posts and measuring their performance over time. I never envisioned myself actually using a CMS to, well, you know, build a website.

But, that quickly changed in the Fall of 2022 when I created a blog that cataloged my journey down the Great Divide, a mountain bike trail that stretches from Canada to Mexico.

Before I knew it, I was managing Pedaling4Pups.com and producing a handful of blog posts each week all while biking the 2700-mile trail. Even as a seasoned blogger, I was amazed at how much I learned about creating content — mostly when doing it on the go.

Here’s what publishing a blog post looks like when you’re 12K feet above sea level:

In this post, I wanted to share the lessons that I learned about content creation from my trip. Below are five tips you can use to create awesome content from the top of a mountain, on a sandy beach, or wherever inspiration hits you.

How to Start Creating Content On the Go

If you’re just here for the tips, scroll on down to the next section for the good stuff — I promise I won’t hold it against you.

If you’re curious about the blog that I created and are wondering how I managed to publish 2 posts per week all while biking through thousands of miles of remote wilderness, you’re in the right place.

I had two goals when creating my blog. First, I wanted a way to easily share updates with friends and family. What better way to do that than with weekly blog posts accompanied by a recurring newsletter that readers could sign up for?

The other goal was more personal. I wanted to use my platform to generate donations for a charity. Readers could follow my journey while simultaneously having the opportunity to donate to a cause that I was passionate about.

This led to me to create Pedaling4Pups.com, a dog-centric blog that would not only follow my journey on the Great Divide but would also support an animal shelter in Ukraine. While on the trail, I wrote two posts per week all by writing and uploading content via my smartphone.

When I was at my campsite, I would type up content in my Notes app, then upload it to the blog whenever I had the luxury of cell service.

It was an awesome way to pass the time and I was shocked at how easy it was to pull off. With pre-made templates and themes, creating a website took no time at all, and writing and uploading posts on a phone is more efficient than you may think.

Skeptical? I would be, too. It wasn’t always a downhill ride (bike pun intended) and I had to adapt my content creation skills to fit each situation I found myself in. Read on to learn about how I did it and what you can do for your website if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

5 Tips for Producing Content On the Go

1. You can produce content literally anywhere.

Creating content on the go is easier than you think. If you have a smartphone or a tablet, you’re already halfway there. I used HubSpot on my phone, but you can use any blogging tool that offers a mobile CMS.

Even if you just have a pen and paper, sitting in a tent in the middle of the woods, you can still come up with stories, lessons, or other pieces of interesting content that your audience will want to read. Just jot it down while it’s fresh in your mind then transfer it to your phone or laptop as soon as you get the chance.

As for the actual creation part, you will still need a platform to post your content on as well as internet access so you can share it with the world. Some platforms to consider using while on the go:

• Your Website: Don’t have one? If I can create one, then I’d argue most land mammals can, too (sorry whales). Just grab any free website builder and you’re off to the races.
• Social Media: Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Club Penguin — take your pick. There are plenty of social media sites to choose from and they all have their own features that make them unique.
• Community Forums: These days, it’s tough to be original on the Internet. But, that’s okay. There’s strength in numbers which means there’s likely a community forum or chatroom that would be interested in your content.
• News/Media Outlets: While I didn’t do this personally, I do know two content creators who did get some media attention for their perilous canoe trip down the Mississippi River.

When it comes to uploading content, you might have to get a little creative as to when and where you’ll have internet access. Here are a few places to keep an eye out for if you’re in need of internet or cell phone charging while on the go:

• Libraries: Libraries always have free wifi and usually don’t care if you hang out for a while. They may even have computers you can use if you’re tired of uploading content via cell phone.
• Gas Stations: Gas stations are great places to upload content. Many offer free wifi and there are often charging ports scattered around the building.
• Rest Areas: Rest areas are a no-brainer if you’re traveling via a busy road. Along with bathrooms and snacks, these places are pretty reliable for free wifi and charging stations.
• Public Parks: While wifi may vary from park to park, keep an eye out for charging ports as well. I found parks were one of my favorite places to stop and steal a charge for a while.
• Restaurants + Coffee Shops: So long as you’re a paying customer, most businesses won’t mind you plugging your phone into their wall outlets. Some will even have free wifi you can use to upload your content.

So, there you go. If I can find a way to upload a blog post here:

Then I have the utmost confidence that you can upload your content anywhere, too.

2. People still read personal blogs.

That’s right. Social media hasn’t stolen all of blogging’s thunder. Sure, you can post like-grabbing pics on Instagram, or shoot viral videos on Tik Tok, but you can’t replace the storytelling ability that a blog platform offers.

Blogs are excellent spaces to share personal experiences, and you don’t have to be sponsored by a business to be a popular blogger, either.

In fact, our research shows that nearly a quarter of all creator businesses do not yet generate income (mine for sure didn’t). That means you don’t need to be a business to drum up an audience for your website, you just need to create compelling content.

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Here are some tips for creating awesome content on the go:

1. Be transparent: If you’re posting about personal experiences, make them real. People want genuine content and most are good at sniffing out when something is fake. And, as soon as they think you’re ingenuine, it’ll be hard to win them back.
2. Be optimistic: Don’t drown in your sorrows or seek empathy too often from your readers. While this may gain you some attention in the short term, people will grow tired of hearing about the negatives if they aren’t ever followed by a few positives.
3. Don’t shy away from conflict: Now don’t get me wrong. This is not me saying go out and stir up trouble. This is me saying that my two top-performing posts were the ones where I faced the biggest challenges on my journey. People want to hear about your struggles and how you overcome them so don’t be afraid to play up the dramatics when it calls for it.
4. Break the 4th wall: Don’t be afraid to talk directly to your reader. This makes the experience feel more personal like they’re on the journey with you.

3. Anyone can be a content creator.

Before this trip, the most website-building experience I had was creating my bio on AOL Instant Messenger. I do know some coding, enough to know I know nothing about coding — certainly not enough to build a full-scale website.

Fortunately, I had one thing going for me. I worked for a company that sells this website-building tool you might be familiar with. It’s called HubSpot, and like Squarespace or WordPress, one of its tools is a drag-and-drop website builder that makes blogging simple for non-technical people like me.

Is this a plug for HubSpot? Yes, but that’s not my point. My point is, anyone can build a website if they have access to a drag-and-drop page builder.

Mine took me about a week or so to design, and from there I was posting content in no time. I used a pre-built template for my web pages so none of my design involved hard coding and I was thrilled with how much customization I had access to with each of the modules that were already included on the page.

The hard part was getting into the mindset of a content creator. You have to be a little vulnerable and willing to accept that some content won’t perform as well as others. In time, you’ll get the hang of it, but learning what works and what doesn’t can certainly pose an intimidating challenge for new content creators.

4.  Content creators are everywhere.

One of the coolest things about my journey was how many other content creators I ran into. My hands-down favorites were Jesse and Fien who manage the website “Two Tired Belgians.” These two adventurers are biking from Alaska to Argentina all in one, two-year trip — putting my measly little ride through the Rockies to shame.

The good news is that you don’t have to travel 20K miles by bike to become a content creator. There are plenty of reasons to get into content creation and bikepacking is only one of many.

Below, are a few other reasons why content creators do what they do.

5. Remember, it’s just a blog.

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that your blog is just a blog. Don’t overthink it, just enjoy it as an outlet to share your experiences with others.

After all, if you’re not making money from it, you should be having fun with it and testing what works with your audience and what doesn’t. If you aren’t having fun creating your content, your audience is not going to have fun interacting with it.

I learned this lesson when I wrote about my tent getting sprayed by a sprinkler system in the middle of a frigid night. Trying to find some humor in the situation, I wrote about the experience as if I were at war with the sprinkler system and used military terms to describe how I moved my tent to safety or “engaged in defensive maneuvers.”

I was soaking wet, cold, and sitting in the dark waiting for a sprinkler to stop spraying my tent. The last thing I wanted to do was write about it. So, I had some fun with it.

I poked fun at myself for pitching my tent in such a ridiculous spot and sarcastically applauded my efforts to salvage the night of sleep. It was quirky and probably not all that funny, but it was what I needed to do to get a post out that day.

To my surprise, this was one of my best-performing blog posts. Friends and family reached out to tell me how much they enjoyed the lighthearted storytelling and how they thought the whole situation was hilarious and was glad I shared it.

While it wasn’t my shining moment as a bikepacker, it was memorable and by putting my own humorous spin on the situation, I shared a genuine experience that my audience wanted to hear more about — isn’t that the mark of a good piece of content? 

Bonus: Dog content always sells.

If there’s one fundamental truth that I can speak to about bikeblogging, it’s that dog content always sells. It might not make sense, it might be irrelevant, but sprinkle in a few pics of pups if you can and you might just see your engagement go up a little bit.

Definitely not a science, but it’s a wagon I’m willing to hitch my horse to.

Which generation do you think is the hardest to reach with marketing content?

Is it Gen Z, hiding out on TikTok and exploring virtual worlds like Roblox? Or Millennials who many other generations think are busy with “quiet quitting?”

While the two generations above are incredibly unique, it’s neither. The data we recently found might just surprise you. 

According to our most recent survey of 1,200+ marketers, it turns out Baby Boomers (age 55+) are the hardest to reach: 

Because Boomers are the oldest generation, and might even have more purchasing power than others, you’d think we’d know them — and where to market to them — pretty well by now. Right?

The truth is, while marketers find it challenging to understand and engage younger ever-evolving generations, Boomers are the clear outlier.

Why? It all goes back to how Boomers like to discover and purchase products, which stands out like a sore thumb compared to other generations.

How Boomers’ Shopping Habits are Different

You might think Boomers are the hardest to reach because they’re not always on the internet, but our survey of over 1,000 consumers shows that more than two-thirds of Boomers use social media. On top of that, searching online is one of the most common ways they discover new products.

So what exactly is it that makes the 65+ audience so hard to reach? In a nutshell, most marketing efforts targeting either Gen Z, Millennials, or Gen X will likely reach all three generations to some extent – while leaving boomers in the dark.

For example, marketers can effectively reach the three younger generations by advertising on social media, streaming services, and on YouTube — but this would do a terrible job of reaching Boomers, shown in yellow below.

Just 17% of Boomers have discovered a product on social media in the past 3 months. This drops to 13% for streaming services like Netflix, and goes down to 8% for YouTube ads. In comparison, these are among the best channels for reaching Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.

So where can you actually reach the elusive Baby Boomers?

 

The Top 3 Marketing Channels to Reach Boomers

Television Ads Drive Boomer Product Discovery

More than any other generation, Boomers prefer to discover new products through television ads, which is also where they discover new products most often

Online Search is Second Best, but Boomers Do It Differently

Online search is second-best for reaching Baby Boomers. While this channel is also a top product discovery channel across generations, Boomers are searching differently.

All other generations heavily favor their phones for online shopping, while most Boomers are using their computers.

Boomers Prefer Retail Shopping More Than Any Other Generation

Another common and highly preferred product discovery channel for Boomers is in retail stores. 44% of Boomers have found new products in stores in the past 3 months, and 37% of them say it is their preferred method. Both numbers are the highest of any other generation.

Keeping Up With Consumer Trends

Boomers might be the most unique, but each generation has its own way of engaging with brands and their content.

To keep you updated on how each generation’s shopping habits change over time, we’ll be running our consumer trends survey twice a year. For a more detailed breakdown of Boomers’ shopping habits, along with every other generation, check out our full Consumer Trends Report.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation went up 8.2% between September 2021 and September 2022. As a result, experts theorized that this would take a toll on both retailers and shoppers.

Shoppers would be looking for larger-than-normal discounts while retailers could struggle to offer them.

Below, we’ll highlight what we learned from polling 300+ consumers after this Black Friday. Then, we’ll share a few marketing tips on creating effective Black Friday ads.

What We Learned About Black Friday Shoppers & Brands in 2022

1. Inflation didn’t have the impact we expected.

The word everyone had on their mind in the weeks leading up to Black Friday was inflation. With inflation up over 7%, retailers feared consumer spending would be much lower than typical.

According to Retail Dive, brands like Target and ThredUp projected lower earnings for Q4.

Contrary to speculation, consumer spending did not see a sharp decrease this year. In fact, one Adobe Analytics report found that online spending was up 2.3% year-over-year.

One way consumers handled rising inflation is by using buy-now-pay-later services. According to a CNBC report, these transactions increased 78% compared to the week prior.

One thing’s for sure: Black Friday is no longer the long lines and midnight openings. Consumers believe they can get the same – or better – deals online and as such, visiting a store will require a different motivation.

For ecommerce brands, this is great news. For offline brands, this may require adopting a new approach that prioritizes an online-first strategy.

More on that in the next section.

2. Ecommerce brands are outperforming stores.

One Criteo survey suggests that Black Friday is becoming more like Cyber Monday, as consumers are conducting most of their transactions online.

The survey found that retailers’ websites saw a 9% year-over-year increase in the week leading up to Black Friday. In addition, consumers increased their online transactions by 4.8% globally.

Here’s another shocking figure: Online transactions for U.S. retailers increased over 374% month-over-month whereas in-store ones only increased by 64%. This suggests that online deals are more enticing to consumers.

Retailers in the EMEA region also saw similar trends, although the increases weren’t as high.

According to the Criteo study, a large reason for that is price. Consumers spend a lot of time online to find the best deals and they also believe they can find better prices this way versus in person.

We surveyed 325 U.S. consumers and when asked, “Did you go to a physical store on Black Friday after seeing an ad for its deals?” only 38.5% answered yes.

3. Social media was a top channel for Black Friday ad engagement.

It seems impossible to go through Black Friday without seeing at least one ad. When we ran this survey last year, respondents clicked on the ads they saw on social media the most.

This year, online ads (meaning on websites or search engines) took the #1 spot with 32.9% of respondents saying those are the Black Friday ads they clicked on. However, social media came close with 32%.

Social media can be a big revenue driver when it comes to Black Friday ads. And the opportunities it offers continue to expand.

Let’s take a look at Instagram for example. You can discover a brand, scroll through its profile, see a product you like, and complete a purchase without ever leaving the platform.

With so many social media platforms offering ecommerce features, brands can attract shoppers at any stage of the buyer’s journey and consumers can experience a seamless shopping experience. It’s a win-win.

From an advertising perspective, it’s important that brands strategize and launch their campaigns early.

According to Nerd Wallet, brands like Target and Amazon started their Black Friday campaigns as early as Oct. 6 this year.

This is in response to a recent consumer trend where shoppers start their holiday shopping earlier than in previous years. As a result, brands are launching early to ensure potential consumers are seeing which promotions they have to offer.

So, instead of waiting for the week leading up to Black Friday, when timelines are already flooded with ads, consider starting a few weeks before and you may get better results.

5 Tips for Creating Effective Black Friday Ads

1. Plan (and launch) early.

This year, consumers started holiday shopping early.

We can’t predict with full accuracy what things will look like next year. So, in absence of knowledge, it’s better to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.

In other words, don’t start planning your promotion strategy in early November. You want to give your team enough time to plan an effective strategy that will reach your target audience at the right place and at the right time.

You’ll need enough time to craft a plan, develop the strategy, build the creative assets, and launch the campaign. You’ll also need to account for any obstacles you may encounter along the way.

2. Highlight how a service or product can solve for your customer.

Your ads should aim to educate ideal customers about your offerings, how they can help them, or why they might need them in their daily lives.

But, how do you convey that your offerings are valuable, important, or necessities when you don’t actually sell an essential product? Although it can take some creativity, it is possible to do this.

Above is an example of Twitter content from InfoArmor, an information security service owned by Allstate.

In the tweet, InfoArmor shared a blog post about the dangers of information security when working remotely and how InfoArmor could protect remote employee information.

3. Diversify your promotion channels.

We mentioned that social media is a huge revenue generator during Black Friday.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s the only channel you should leverage to attract shoppers. In fact, you should promote your ads across all channels to maximize your reach.

Have a newsletter? Share your offers there. You could also consider running a Google Ads campaign.

Regardless of which online platforms you embrace, be sure to create content that speaks to those customers, rather than just placing a basic ad on every website you can access.

By creating content that’s tailored to the platforms your customers use, you’ll increase the likelihood of catching their eyes as they scroll through endless web pages, feeds, or email inboxes. And, once you grab their attention, you can use that content to highlight your value proposition in an entertaining or interesting way.

For example, if you’re creating an ad for Instagram, it might be tempting to just use a picture of the ad you made for a website or newspaper on with a basic caption.

But, that might not be engaging for people scrolling through their feeds looking for valuable product information or entertaining content. Instead, consider creating a short marketing video or a series of photos of customers with your product to better engage this audience.

Below is a great example of a Black Friday post that could also work well as an ad on Instagram. The post shows a video demo of someone from Hair Vivi putting on one of the brand’s wigs.

While the video shows viewers how easy it is to put on the wig, the caption also highlights the product’s value and the company’s Black Friday deals.

4. Present deals, sales, or affordable offers.

Budget-conscious shoppers will be looking for the best deals this holiday season. If you can offer a deal or sale on your product or offering, highlight that information in your advertising.

Here’s a great ad from Walmart that highlights all the online deals they’ll be offering this year:

Along with the ad highlighting a bunch of great deals and alternatives for Black Friday in-person sales, the ad is also interesting because it’s interactive online but formatted so it can also work as a static print ad if needed.

Aside from the ad above, Walmart has created content with a similar aesthetic and deal-oriented message for social media platforms like Facebook. Here’s a screenshot of featured content on its Facebook Business page.

5. Embrace video marketing.

If you think video marketing is only for big brands, think again.

In our 2022 State of Marketing Report, we found that video is the leading form of marketing content used across industries. And, with Gen-Z and millennials embracing video more than ever for product discovery, this format becomes more of a low-hanging fruit each year.

In the last year, we’ve seen all sorts of small and large brands affordably embrace video to attract and nurture leads.

Every Black Friday is an opportunity to learn more about your target audience. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t, and look out for trends that will help you improve your ad strategy.

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in December 2019 but was updated for freshness and comprehensiveness.

When creating a company site, few things are more important than website homepage designs. The homepage is your brand’s virtual front door. If a new visitor doesn’t like what they see, their knee-jerk reaction is to hit the “back” button.

What makes a website’s homepage design brilliant instead of bland? It has to look good — but it also has to work even better. That’s why the most brilliant homepages on this list don’t just score high in beauty but also in brains and creativity.

Before we dive into the examples, let’s go over best practices. You’ll notice the best website homepage designs we look at take these principles and implement them for optimal results.

All of the homepage designs shown here use a combination of the following elements.

Not every page is perfect, but the best homepage designs get many of these right.

1. The design clearly answers “Who I am,” “What I do,” and/or “What can you (the visitor) do here.”

If you’re a well-known brand or company (i.e., Coca-Cola) you may be able to get away with not having to describe who you are and what you do; but the reality is, most businesses still need to answer these questions so that each visitor knows they are in the “right place.”

Steven Krugg sums it up best in his best-selling book, Don’t Make Me Think: If visitors can’t identify what it is you do within seconds, they won’t stick around long.

2. The design resonates with the target audience.

A homepage needs to be narrowly focused — speaking to the right people in their language. The best homepages avoid “corporate gobbledygook,” and eliminate the fluff.

3. The design communicates a compelling value proposition.

When a visitor arrives on your homepage, it needs to compel them to stick around. The homepage is the best place to nail your value proposition so that prospects choose to stay on your website and not navigate to your competitors’.

4. The design is optimized for multiple devices.

All the homepages listed here are highly usable, meaning they are easy to navigate and there aren’t “flashy” objects that get in the way of browsing, such as flash banners, animations, pop-ups, or overly-complicated and unnecessary elements. Many are also mobile-optimized, which is an incredibly important must-have in today’s mobile world.

5. The design includes calls-to-action (CTAs).

Every homepage listed here effectively uses primary and secondary calls-to-action to direct visitors to the next logical step. Examples include “Free Trial,” “Schedule a Demo,” “Buy Now,” or “Learn More.”

Remember, the goal of the homepage is to compel visitors to dig deeper into your website and move them further down the funnel. CTAs tell them what to do next so they don’t get overwhelmed or lost. More importantly, CTAs turn your homepage into a sales or lead-generation engine, and not just brochure-wear.

6. The design is always changing.

The best homepages aren’t always static. Some of them are constantly changing to reflect the needs, problems, and questions of their visitors. Some homepages also change from A/B testing or dynamic content.

7. The design is effective.

A well-designed page is essential to build trust, communicate value, and navigate visitors to the next step. As such, these homepages effectively use layout, CTA placement, whitespace, colors, fonts, and other supporting elements.

Now, let’s dive into 23 examples demonstrating what excellent website homepage designs can do for real businesses.

1. FreshBooks

VIEW ENTIRE HOMEPAGE

Why It’s Brilliant

• It’s easy to consume. There is much debate on whether short or long homepages work better. If you choose to do the latter, you need to make it easy to scroll and read — and that’s exactly what this site does. It almost acts like a story.
• There’s great use of contrast and positioning with the primary calls-to-action — it’s clear what the company wants you to convert on when you arrive.
• The copy used in the calls-to-action “Buy Now & Save” is compelling.
• FreshBooks uses customer testimonials on the homepage to tell real-world stories of why to use the product.

2. Airbnb

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant

• It includes the destination and date search form that most visitors come looking for, right up front, guiding visitors to the logical next step.
• The search form is “smart,” meaning it’ll auto-fill the user’s last search if they’re logged in.
• The primary call-to-action (“Search”) contrasts with the background and stands out; but the secondary call-to-action for hosts is visible above the fold, too.
• It offers suggestions for excursions and getaways Airbnb users can book on the same site as their lodgings to get visitors more excited about booking their trip on the site. It also shows which of these offerings are most popular among other users.

3. Pixelgrade

Why It’s Brilliant

• You know right off the bat what this company is all about: WordPress Themes. The big title, followed by a descriptive subtitle, lets visitors know what to expect.
• The design is simple, and the color combination does a great job of making the call to action stand out.
• The right side provides a glimpse into what the company’s  WordPress themes look like without having to scroll or dig deeper.

4. Mint

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant

• It’s a simple design with a strong, no-jargon headline and sub-headline.
• The homepage gives off a secure but easy-going vibe, which is important for a product that handles financial information.
• It also contains a simple, direct, and compelling call-to-action copy: “Sign up free.” The CTA design is also brilliant — the secured lock icon hits home the safety message once again.

5. Dropbox (Business)

View entire homepage 

Why It’s Brilliant

• Dropbox carries over its simple design and branding. It includes everything important: A big, bold, call-to-action button “Find your plan” along with a sample image to show you everything that Dropbox is capable of
• Dropbox’s homepage and website is the ultimate example of simplicity. It limits its use of copy and visuals and embraces whitespace.
• Its headline is simple yet powerful: “Do more than store with Dropbox” It leaves a little bit to the imagination of the reader of the endless possibilities

6. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

Why It’s Brilliant

• The emphasis on family, community and locally made food gives you every reason to want to support this business. And that’s before you get to the video playback, showing the exquisite food here.
• The bright orange buttons for ordering direct your attention to the meat of the page. If you want a great meal, you are just one click away.

7. The Stepping Stone Group

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant

• This website is beautiful in its simplicity. The backdrop shows real families who have worked with the Stepping Stones Group and seen results. The headline appeals to the visitors’ emotional side: “Transforming Lives Together.” This subtle messaging is effective because it includes the visitor in this process.
• There are several pathways visitors can take when they arrive on the page, but the calls-to-action are positioned well, worded, and in contrast with the rest of the page.

8. Melyssa Griffin

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Why It’s Brilliant

• Melyssa immediately demonstrates value to the visitor with a quick and fun quiz. This is a clear call to action.
• She adds a face to her brand. This isn’t just a random website; she makes it clear she’s a human with a personality whom people can connect to.
• The page uses bright colors without being overwhelming and makes it easy to understand what Melyssa’s central business offerings are.

9. Jill Konrath

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Why It’s Brilliant

• It’s simple and gets straight to the point. From the headline and sub-headline, it’s clear exactly what Jill Konrath does (and how she can help your business).
• It also gives easy access to Jill’s thought leadership materials, which is important to establishing her credibility as a keynote speaker.
• It’s easy to subscribe to the newsletter and get in touch — two of her primary calls to action.
• The pop-up subscription CTA uses social proof to get you to join her thousands of other fans.
• It includes news outlet logos and testimonials as social proof.

10. Evernote

Why It’s Brilliant

• Over the years, Evernote has turned from a simple note-saving app into a suite of business products. This isn’t always easy to convey on a homepage, but Evernote does a nice job of packaging many potential messages into a few key benefits.
• This homepage uses a combination of white space and its signature bright green and white highlights to make conversion paths stand out.
• Following a simple headline (“Remember Everything”), the eye path then leads you to its call to action, “Sign Up For Free.”
• Evernote also offers a one-click signup process through Google to help visitors save even more time.

11. Telerik and Kendo UI

Why It’s Brilliant

• “Stuffy enterprise” isn’t the feeling you get when you arrive at Telerik’s website. For a company that offers many technology products, its bold colors, fun designs, and videography give off an elegant and modern vibe. Just one important aspect of making visitors feel welcome and letting them know they’re dealing with real people.
• The simple, high-level overview of its six product offers is a very clear way of communicating what the company does and how people can learn more.
• The copy is lightweight and easy to read. It speaks the language of its customers.

12. eWedding

Why It’s Brilliant

• For those love birds planning their big day, eWedding is a great destination for building a custom wedding website. The homepage isn’t cluttered and only includes the necessary elements to get people to start building their websites.
• The sub-headline “912,470 couples can’t be wrong!” is great social proof of the company’s effectiveness.
• The headline is straightforward, and the site includes a call-to-action that reduces friction with the copy, “Start Now.”

13. Basecamp

Why It’s Brilliant

• For a long time, Basecamp has had brilliant homepages, and here you can see why. It often features awesome headlines and clever cartoons.
• The call-to-action is bold and above the fold.
• In this example, the company chose a more blog-like homepage (or single page site approach), which provides much more information on the product.
• The customer quote is a bold and emphatic testimonial speaking to the benefits and results of using the product.

14. charity: water

Why It’s Brilliant

• This isn’t your typical non-profit website. Lots of visuals, creative copy, and the use of interactive web design make this stand out.
• The donation box is a great way to capture attention and allow visitors to donate frictionlessly.
• It employs great uses of video and photography, particularly in capturing emotion that causes action.

15. TechValidate by SurveyMonkey

Why It’s Brilliant

• This homepage is beautifully designed. The use of whitespace, contrasting colors, and customer-centric design are particularly noteworthy.
• The headline is clear and compelling, as are the calls to action.
• There’s also a great information hierarchy, making it easy to scan and understand the page quickly.

16. Chipotle

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Why It’s Brilliant

• The homepage is a great example of agility and constant change. Chipotle’s current homepage is all about the food, which it uses as a unique value proposition to get you to start clicking through your site.
• The food photography is detailed and mouthwateringly beautiful. Now that’s an effective use of visuals.

17. Medium

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Why It’s Brilliant

• The subtle use of whitespace allows Medium to highlight some of their trending articles to get visitors interested and give an idea of what they can expect to find.
• The headline “Stay curious” immediately tells users what the website is about. Medium makes it easy to sign up — click “Get Started.”
• The homepage uses social proof to get visitors to start clicking around: The “Popular on Medium” and “Staff Picks” sections let me know where to find high-quality content.

18. Digiday

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Why It’s Brilliant

• Unlike other online news publications that inundate homepages with as many headlines and images as possible, Digiday’s homepage highlights one article. Its featured image is eye-catching, and the headline asks to be clicked now that the visitor knows what they’re going to read.
• The top of the homepage shows off each of the different resources on Digiday’s website, letting you see all they offer.
• The use of whitespace is a great way to highlight the different trending topics and articles available on Digiday’s website.

19. KIND Snacks

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Why It’s Brilliant

• The bold colors produce contrast, making the words and images stand out on the page.
• “Explore our snacks” at the bottom of the page is a great way to let visitors visualize what is available for purchase.
• KIND also makes great use of the holiday season, creating a good CTA for their holiday sale.

20. Ahrefs

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Why It’s Brilliant

• The color contrast between the blue, white, and orange colors is eye-catching and makes the headline and CTA pop.
• The sub-headline and CTA are a compelling pair: To start tracking and outranking competitors for free is a great offer.
• The homepage presents many options for the visitor, but it isn’t cluttered, thanks to the solid background and simple typography.

21. A24 Films

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant

• The film company’s homepage is made up of only trailers for its new films. We know video content is format audiences want to see more of, and this is a great strategy to showcase A24’s work in a highly engaging way.
• At the top of the homepage, A24 offers a clean and concise menu that directs customers to all the most important parts of its website.

22. Ellevest

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant

• The images show, rather than tell, one of the company’s value propositions: a desktop site and mobile app that move with you.
• “Get Started” is a great CTA — in fact, we use it ourselves here at HubSpot. When clicked, it takes visitors through a few simple steps to set up a profile and start investing.
• The “As Featured In” section is great social proof and features several prominent brands that users are familiar with.

23. HubSpot

View entire homepage

Why It’s Brilliant (If We Do Say So Ourselves)

• “Powerful, not overpowering” is a perfect descriptor, paired with a simple image of the CRM to prove our belief in this tagline. Note how white space is used at the top to bring visitors’ attention to the different features offered.
• Throughout the homepage, our bright blue and orange themes keep returning to draw your eye to links and CTAs.

Getting Started With Homepage Designs

Finding the perfect homepage design is a tall task, but keep an eye out for the common themes in the designs we curated here. Look for ways to get across cohesive branding imagery without being overbearing.

Most important of all, make sure your company’s strengths shine through in your webpage design.

Looking for more inspiration? Check out these incredible About Us pages or a Theme Marketplace.

 

Taking the risk with any new platform is daunting. After all, no one wants to dedicate their time, energy, or budget into something with little return.

That said, it’s hard to ignore the hype around TikTok, its fantastic engagement rate, and its massive user base. If you’re willing to get creative, TikTok could be the perfect home for your short-form videos.

Here, I spoke with HubSpot’s social media team to gather their best tips for bringing your brand on TikTok.

1. Know where your audience hangs out.

It’s important to know where your audience hangs out online. For some brands, this includes TikTok — for others, not so much. For instance, if you sell retirement homes, you won’t get much traction with the platform’s predominantly younger audience.

“TikTok is obviously all the rage right now, and it makes sense that brands want to jump in. But before you do so, make sure to take time to ask the right questions: Does it make sense for our brand to show up on TikTok? Is our target audience there?,” advises Annabelle Nyst, senior marketing manager at HubSpot.

If you’re debating whether or not to bring your brand on TikTok, remember to hinge your decision on the most important factor: your target audience.

2. Find your “why.”

Getting started on TikTok can feel overwhelming, especially when you don’t have a goal to work towards. 

Think of your goal as your compass. It influences the videos you make, the topics you cover, and your overall strategy. You don’t need to have a specific goal right off the bat — and it will likely change over time — but you should have an idea of the general direction you want to go.

Here are a few common goals:

• Build an engaged community
• Increase brand awareness
• Improve brand image
• Promote products
• Generate website traffic
• Expand your audience
• Provide customer service
• Educate your audience

It’s just as important to track your progress. Take a look at several key performance indicators (KPIs) like profile views, video views, video likes, and follower growth to see if you’re inching closer to your goals.

3. Determine how you’ll provide value.

The next step is determining how you want to present your brand on TikTok. For Nyst, this starts with answering a simple question: how will you provide value to users?

“Asking this question upfront will help you establish what your purpose is for being on TikTok, and what your brand’s presence might look like on the platform,” she told me.

For instance, Gymshark, a popular fitness apparel brand, provides value by entertaining its fans with fitness-related challenges, skits, and clothing hauls. It’s no surprise the brand has over 4 million followers on the platform.

Because TikTok is quirky by nature, it creates a misconception that “serious” brands don’t have a place on the platform. This isn’t true. However, you may have to approach your brand from a different angle. 

For example, the Washington Post has raked up over 1 million followers on TikTok. If you haven’t seen their videos, you might expect serious content. Instead, you’ll find comedic skits about the latest breaking news.

The ultimate goal is to provide value in an engaging way. This is achievable for many brands — serious or not.

4. Save time by creating a content calendar.

TikTok surpassed 1 billion monthly active users in 2021. On top of that, millions of conversations happen on the platform daily, and trends come and go at rapid speed. 

In short, TikTok can get overwhelming. For this reason, Nyst recommends planning a content calendar. 

“Things move quickly on TikTok, and gaining new followers often depends on having a bank of existing content on your profile. So, think ahead to how many videos a week you’d like to post, and what kind of topics you’ll focus on,” she advises.

That said, TikTok is a trends-driven platform, so make sure to leave space in your content calendar to jump on trends and create time-sensitive content.

Additionally, you also need to decide how often you should post on TikTok. Nyst favors quality over quantity, advising brands to aim for 1-2 videos per week. In other words, consistency is key.

Another upside to posting consistently? The more you post, the more insights you gain from your viewers. This will help you understand what topics and video styles they respond to the most.

Want to know the best day and time to publish your videos on TikTok? Check out this helpful guide.

5. Insert your voice strategically.

When you first join TikTok, it’s tempting to join every conversation, hop on every trend, and participate in every challenge. However, brands need to set guardrails and be strategic with their content, says Nyst.

“There are so many conversations happening at once on TikTok, and they’re changing all the time. It’s important to remember that your brand doesn’t need to be a part of every single conversation – so try to pick the ones where it makes sense to insert your voice,” Nyst told me.

She adds, “Sure, the latest dance trend might be exciting, but can your brand actually bring something new, unique, or valuable to the table?”

Not every trend or challenge will align with your brand or its messaging. On top of that, if you can’t add a new or unique spin, it’s better to skip it entirely. But don’t worry about missing out — trends on TikTok are a dime a dozen, and another one is right around the corner.

Back To You

TikTok is the new kid on the block — and has quickly become a viable (and exciting) marketing platform. Before jumping in, make sure that TikTok makes sense for your brand. Once you’re on the platform, focus on targeting your audience with valuable content on a consistent basis.

 

When it comes to marketing, almost nothing is more important than knowing your target audience.

But what if I told you over half of marketers are missing critical information on their consumers?

In our annual survey of over 1,200 marketers, we found that just 42% know the basic demographic information of their target audience, like their name, gender, and location.

And, the data gap doesn’t stop there:

• Less than half of marketers know their audience’s interests and hobbies, shopping habits, the products they are interested in buying, their purchase history, and where they consume content.

• Only 31% know the online communities their target audience is a part of and even less know the challenges they are facing.
• Just one-fourth of marketers know the social causes their target audience cares about – a huge missed opportunity when it comes to expressing your brand’s values, especially when marketing to Gen Z and Millennials.

So why are marketers having such a hard time getting these data points?

Let’s take a look at the biggest challenges marketers face in getting the data they need and discuss some solutions to the disconnection marketers are seeing with their audience.

The Biggest Challenges Marketers Face in Understanding Their Target Audience

A whopping 82% of marketers say having high-quality data on their target audience is important to succeeding in their role – but more than half of them say they’re missing key information.

So why is it such a challenge for marketers to get the data they need?

The biggest challenges marketers face in understanding their target boil down to two main issues:

1. New Data Privacy Measures

Data privacy regulations are reducing marketers’ access to the consumer data they need. At the same time, consumers are less trusting in sharing their personal data.

This results in marketers missing out on critical data on their target audience, from their shopping and media consumption habits to their basic demographic information.

2. Evolving Audience Targets

Consumers’ lives have changed drastically over the past few years, and with a looming recession, their habits, attitudes, and preferences are likely to continue shifting quickly.

The two challenges above are difficult to overcome because they’re actively developing as data privacy regulations tighten and unprecedented events that change consumer behavior continue.

So, what can marketers do now?

How Can Marketers Improve Their Data Strategy?

1. Gather First-Party Data

A great solution to increased data privacy regulations like Google’s planned phase-out of third-party cookies is gathering your own first-party data.

First-party data can be collected from many sources – your website, surveys, email, SMS, your CRM, and more.

Since first-party data comes directly from your customers, it offers high-quality insights about your audience and allows you to create a personalized experience for them.

2. Use a Single Source of Truth for Marketing Data

Only 27% of marketers say their marketing data is fully integrated with their systems and tools, and as we saw earlier, data not integrating well is a top challenge for marketers trying to understand their target audience.

Disconnected marketing data is problematic because you don’t have the full context needed to make data-driven decisions. On the other hand, a single source of truth offers a holistic view of your target audience by connecting all the data points you have.

A single source of truth also improves efficiency by making marketing data more easily accessible for marketers and their collaborators.

3. Keep Your Data Fresh

We talked about how consumers’ lives are changing rapidly and marketers need up-to-date data in order to keep up.

The interests, habits, and attitudes of your target audience probably changed several times over the course of the pandemic. And with a recession looming, your audience will likely change again – so whatever data tracking method you use, make sure your data is regularly updated to keep a pulse on your customers in real-time.

Another reason you need up-to-date information on your target audience is so you can pivot your marketing strategy and messaging in response to the changes your customers are experiencing.

Not only did over half of marketers pivot in 2021, 83% of those who pivoted changed course 2-4 times in one year. And 20% of marketers have already pivoted in 2022 due to a potential recession, so chances are 2023 will be no different.

Needless to say, you need a plan for when things go off course. When the next unprecedented event or unexpected challenge arrives, will you have the data you need to adapt?

In an ideal world, you would have all the data points you could ever want, but that isn’t always realistic. So let’s end by taking a look at which data points marketers say are most helpful to have.

The Most Helpful Types of Audience Target Data

Marketers say the interests or hobbies of their target audience is the most helpful data point, closely followed by consumers’ shopping habits, where they consume content/media, and the products they are interested in buying.

Basic demographic information, purchase history, and the online communities their target audience is part of are also valuable data points.

A Crisis of Connection

If you’re realizing you might be missing critical information on your target audience, don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

Many businesses are currently experiencing a Crisis of Disconnection, and it goes far beyond poor customer data. Read more about the challenges on the horizon and how your company can navigate them in our series on The Crisis of Disconnection.

As a result of the pandemic, there’s been a shift in recent years to virtual conferences.

But a virtual conference strategy can’t be a copy-and-paste of a physical one. Virtual conferences come with unique challenges, and require a new perspective to succeed.

Here, let’s explore the benefits of virtual conferences, take a look at some examples of successful virtual conferences to inspire you, and check out a few tools that can help you plan your own.

Plus, hear from Tamara Mendelsohn, CMO of Eventbrite, on her best practices for hosting a successful virtual event in 2023 and beyond. 

Skip ahead: 

• Virtual Conference Benefits 
• 6 Virtual Event Best Practices, According to Eventbrite’s CMO
• Virtual Conferencing Tools
• Examples of Virtual Conferences

Virtual Conference Benefits

There are plenty of major benefits to hosting a virtual conference.

For one, it can lower the price of admission, enabling smaller businesses with limited budgets to purchase tickets to your conference and offer their own unique insights.

It also lowers the cost your business would have to pay for conference space, on-hand staff, catering, security, and much more.

Additionally, it allows people from across the globe to interact with each other without needing to spend exorbitant amounts on flights and hotels. Imagine how much easier it is for marketers from India, Ireland, Australia, and the U.S. to collaborate virtually, rather than trying to gather in-person.

It also may help you attract high-demand speakers who don’t have the time to commit to an in-person conference, but are happy to share industry takeaways via a quick video call or pre-recorded presentation.

Additionally, an online conference enables you to create a product — recordings from your conference — that you can continue to share and use as a lead generation tool for months and years after the initial live launch.

And, finally, there’s the obvious: sometimes unforeseen circumstances, like a global pandemic, can make in-person conferences in certain locations simply impossible.

Emily Raleigh, HubSpot’s Marketing Manager of Brand and Strategic Partnerships, provides some advice if you suddenly find yourself shifting your in-person event to a virtual one: “If you are shifting from a live event, try to add extra value to the viewers who are now tuning in online. Do an extra session. Offer more Q&A time. Give an extra special offer. Find creative ways to add extra delight moments.”

Additionally, Raleigh mentions, “Virtual events can easily lose one of the best benefits of live events: human connection. To mitigate that, keep the event engaging and get the audience involved.”

Now that we’ve explored a few benefits, let’s dive into Mendelsohn’s tips for making your next virtual event a success. 

6 Virtual Event Best Practices, According to Eventbrite’s CMO

1. Identify your audience.

As you sit down with your team to organize a virtual event, you first need to decide who the event is for — also known as your target audience. Your target audience will impact almost every aspect of your event, such as the speakers you select, the topics you cover, and even the time you host the event.

Mendelsohn told me, “Dig into who you want to attend your event, and understand their challenges and goals. What’s going to inspire them to register? What value are you providing? How can you best deliver on that in a virtual environment?”

She adds, “Remember that virtual events can broaden your audience beyond the physical restrictions of in-person, so this is an opportunity to connect with new audiences — potentially even globally.”

This is one of the major benefits of virtual events: The opportunity to reach a wider audience than you otherwise could. Of course, when defining your target audience, you’ll want to consider which regions make the most sense for your event.

For instance, is your topic broad enough to be global, or is it better to host one session for your North American participants, and another for specific regions in South America or Europe? Alternatively, perhaps it’s better to start with a small group in one city, and expand from there. 

2. Craft your event strategy.

During the global pandemic, many marketers rushed to repackage in-person events into virtual ones. But in reality, virtual events require a completely different strategy. After all, the medium is different, the technology is different, and the way attendees interact is — you guessed it — different.

A well-rounded strategy should outline your goals, budget, and action plan for the big day, according to Mendelsohn.

A good place to start is answering the “why”, or purpose of your event. On the business side, what do you hope to achieve? For example, maybe you want to build brand awareness, drive revenue, or grow memberships. It’s also important to consider what your attendees want from your event. This could be networking, education, entertainment, or a mix of all three.

Mendelsohn gave an example of one of Eventbrite’s creators, custom glass studio UrbanGlass, which hosted an instructor-led training on crafting glass. After attendance was lower than expected, they revisited their strategy to understand why. They realized attendees were seeking community and opportunities to work together.

By experimenting with their virtual group classes to ensure they offered a better sense of community and collaboration, UrbanGlass ultimately found much more success.

3. Make it easy for your audience to interact and network.

It’s already tough to get people engaged in person, but once you shift the event online, you have to compete against unwanted distractions.

That said, you don’t have to settle for low engagement. In fact, 47% of people are more likely to ask a question at a virtual event, and 37% are more likely to speak to someone in a virtual booth than a real one. The key is finding opportunities for people to interact.

“Build in opportunities for audience participation. This could be a poll or pulse check at the start of an event, a brainstorm in the middle, or a Q&A session at the end,” Mendelsohn told me.

She continues, “If it’s appropriate for your event, send participants into breakout rooms. People are more likely to participate in smaller groups.”

If your event has a physical component — such as a yoga session or cooking class — it’ll be easier to engage the audience. But if there isn’t, Mendelsohn recommends thinking outside the box: “Encouraging your audience to get up, move around, or participate in a group activity can be really fun and powerful.”

4. Promote your event before, during, and after.

Whether your event is in-person or virtual, you still need attendees — and that means event promotion. According to Mendelsohn, this should happen before, during, and after your event.

She says, “This could entail paid or partner promotion, live social media posts during the event, and ‘thank you’ emails after. Make sure to tap into your network and ask others to spread the word.”

Event branding is another important aspect of promotion. This can be anything from your logo and tagline, to your website and promotional materials. For Mendelsohn, it’s all about creating strong branding and keeping it consistent across your program.

5. Schedule tech rehearsals.

Virtual events rely on technology — but technology isn’t always reliable. This is why Mendelsohn recommends tech rehearsals.

She advises, “Host practice sessions with your speakers and crew — and have a fallback plan in case the unexpected happens.”

Another mistake with technology is assuming your attendees are all tech-savvy. In reality, people have varying comfort levels when it comes to technology.

Mendelsohn underlines this point: “For people who don’t frequent online events, even finding the Zoom link or knowing to enter a passcode can be tricky.”

To combat this challenge, consider conducting a test run of the event from the attendee’s perspective. Click on any links, send a message in the chat, and launch different sessions.

Additionally, you might test out using various platforms to increase accessibility based on people’s platform preferences.

For instance, Mendelsohn told me, “One of Eventbrite’s creators, Eastwind Books of Berkeley, saw this challenge when they introduced virtual programming. Their solution? Streaming on multiple platforms, such as Facebook Live, and then archiving events on YouTube, so people could attend via their preferred technology and revisit later.”

6. Show humility, and have fun with the process. 

Finally — have fun, and be willing to show humility if something doesn’t go as planned.

Mendelsohn says, “At our RECONVENE summit last year, the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Victoria Luisi said something that’s stuck with me: ‘Virtual is now our playground to try things we would have never been able to try before.’ This approach can expand our thinking about virtual events as a whole, and it’s especially instructive for engaging virtual audiences.”

She adds, “We’re all in this evolving virtual/hybrid world together. Embrace those moments of levity when things don’t go as planned and use them as a way to further humanize yourself on camera and establish rapport with your audience.”

Now that we’ve explored a few best practices, let’s dive into tools that can help you create your own virtual conference.

Virtual Conferencing Tools

1. Hopin

Hopin is an all-in-one platform for planning online conferences, offering everything from a virtual reception to breakout sessions, a mainstage, and networking events.

The networking tool is particularly helpful, with a timer you can set for each attendee to mingle with another for just a couple minutes before moving onto the next conversation (and, if the conversation goes exceptionally well, they can click “Connect” to receive contact information of the other attendee to follow-up later).

Your event can include both webinars and live-streams, and a Live Chat function enables attendees to ask questions in real-time. Additionally, attendees can use virtual booths to promote their products or services, and offer discounts as well.

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2. Whova

The Whova Event App has been a leader in attendee engagement and networking since 2014. For four years in a row, Whova has received both the Best Event App award and the People’s Choice Award from the Event Technology Awards.

Event organizers can use Whova to help make online events highly interactive, fun, and productive before, during, and after the event. The tool directly integrates with live streaming and video hosting tools such as Zoom, Google Hangout, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. It also provides live Q&A, attendee networking, a discussion board, meeting-matches, a virtual exhibitor hall, and even virtual meet-ups.

Many organizers provide access to the Whova app prior to their events to let attendees virtually socialize and discuss various topics, one-on-one or in virtual groups, making everyone feel more connected by the time the event comes around. Every attendee has a professional profile, allowing them to find others with whom they have common interests. The ice breaker and in-app chat, in particular, make it fun for strangers to get to know one another on a personal level and communicate with both new and old friends.

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3. Accelevents

Accelevents is a customizable and flexible event platform for running virtual, hybrid, and in-person conferences. It is a robust platform offering powerful registration, true white labeling, integrated live streaming, in-depth analytics, and numerous exhibitor and sponsor opportunities. Although the platform is intuitive, they still take support seriously with an average response time of fewer than 30 seconds.

They are known for their suite of networking tools which provide powerful attendee engagement. Among the networking tools are lounges, workshops, 1:1 attendee video, automated speed networking, and live attendee chat.

In addition, exhibitors and sponsors have the ability to customize their own booth and engage in video chat with their prospects that visit their booth. The build-in gamification and push notification tools are a great way to drive further engagement throughout the event. They can also advertise on banners displayed throughout the platform and have easy access to lead management and insightful exhibitor analytics.

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Examples of Virtual Conferences

Game Developers Conference

The 2022 Game Developers Conference (GDC) switched its in-person conferences to streaming recorded versions on the GDC Twitch channel. The conference will still have ceremonies for The Independent Games Festival (IGF) and Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), and will stream session content starting 9 AM PT daily, March 16-20.

The GDC has a well-organized itinerary posted on their website, with breakout sessions led by influencers and experts in the Gaming industry.

Additionally, you’re able to pause Live sessions if you’re interested in watching at a later time, and the GDC has included “Recommended Channels” with headcounts on the left side of the screen. With some sessions evoking over 30,000 viewers, it’s safe to say the GDC has successfully launched a virtual version of their initially in-person event.

2. HubSpot’s Partner Day

On April 7-8, 2020, HubSpot launched its own virtual Partner Day. The Partner team used Zoom, a popular video conferencing tool, and sent each presenter a “video kit” with a mic, camera, lighting, and backdrop, so that participants could experience an optimal viewing experience from each of the day’s virtual speakers. Additionally, attendees used Zoom to network with other partners.

I spoke with Arden Brust, a Manager on HubSpot’s Partner Marketing team, to learn about some challenges you might experience when planning a virtual experience of your own.

Brust told me: “When planning an online event, it’s critical you remain flexible and open-minded. With a virtual event, you run the risk of technology issues, as well as scheduling issues you might not have considered if you had everyone in-person (including timezone issues). To combat this, continue to iterate with your team and plan on pivoting — don’t get too attached to plan A that you don’t consider how plan B might work out better.”

3. How I Built This, by Women In Product

With the help of the Run The World virtual conferencing tool, the non-profit organization Women In Product launched an entirely virtual event March 7-8, 2020. The Women In Product conference included participants from China, India, Canada, and Silicon Valley.

The conference featured 10 speakers who’ve built successful products — including the Director of Product at GoDaddy, a PayPal Product Lead, and a Senior Product Manager at Ebay. The virtual event included fireside chats, keynote speakers, and networking events that enabled women to hear about the challenges and successes of product launches in different markets.

4. Webinar Mastery Summit

Jon Schumacher had hosted webinars online for a while with minimal results when he launched the Webinar Mastery Summit, a virtual conference for people who wanted to advance their webinar skills.

His first virtual summit featured 25 experts, and generated 7,000 new email subscribers and over $55,000 in revenue with his All-Access Pass sales. With All-Access, his participants receive lifetime access to 17 expert video sessions, full MP3 recordings of all sessions, three months of course creation software, and access to a private community for additional networking.

Ultimately, with virtual conferences, you’re able to create recorded packaged content for future lead generation and sales even after the initial live launch — something in-person conferences, for all its networking benefits, is unable to do.

5. HubSpot User Groups (HUGs)

Meghann Keogh, a HubSpot Marketing Manager in charge of HubSpot User Groups and Events, has experienced circumstances in which she found it necessary to cancel in-person events and create virtual ones, instead. Keogh told me she’s hosted virtual HUGs events for San Francisco, NYC, Berlin, London, Helsinki, Paris, Bogota & Mexico City.

Additionally, she’s created virtual fireside chats, including an upcoming one with CEO & Co-Founder Brian Halligan & Christian Kinnear, VP of Sales & Managing Director EMEA.

When asked how to run a successful virtual event, Keogh told me — “Whether in-person or virtually, people are hungry to connect. The feedback we have received so far has been extremely positive. It’s not just cities that are connecting, it’s countries.”

“What’s made our virtual events a success so far? Our amazing speakers who inspire, educate, and innovate our HUG communities.”

Keogh adds, “We’re committed to bringing relevant content to our HUGs, whether that’s in-person or virtually. We want to make sure our communities still have that chance to engage with one another, and we’re devoted to making that happen.”

Our Chief Strategy Officer, David Fortino, was recently invited to be a guest on The Healthtech Marketing Podcast to discuss NetLine’s 2022 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers. 

As always, Fortino made it a point to state the primary goal of our annual report: To help marketers make more informed decisions.

“We’re using the data (hopefully) to create a more intelligent marketer today so they can make more informed decisions tomorrow.”

Taking a Closer Look Inside NetLine’s 2022 Content Consumption Report

During the episode, Fortino shares some of the fascinating insights we published in our sixth annual report with host Adam Turinas, including:

• What content is most effective?
• What content do buyers want and why?
• How to use content to initiate and nurture relationships
• Trends in content?
• And a lot more

What’s Really Driving Engagement

Content consumption has only continued to accelerate. A real shocker, right?

In total, we’ve observed a growth of 33% since 2019. As budgets tighten, a buyer’s need to have more and more information on a given subject, product, and/or company only continues to rise. This places even greater weight on your business’s content—meaning it had better be good.

“If you’re a marketer creating content, trying to drive dialogue with prospects,” Fortino said, “it’s more critical now than ever before to be raising your bar persistently.” He continued by sharing the volume being consumed isn’t the primary metric on which to focus; rather, it’s the signals surrounding brands producing content with integrity and quality that should have everyone’s attention.

“You are marketing to people,” Fortino said. “The brands that are creating a distinct voice with feeling and emotion connected to their content are the ones driving engagement.” He continues to point out that the most successful assets are the ones delivering immediate value; making it quite clear what a user will receive and learn by consuming it. 

Remember: People do judge an eBook by its cover. How it’s positioned matters and will influence the way your audience perceives it immediately.

Using Content to Initiate and Nurture Relationships

Even the most engaged readers and researchers push content they want to consume to the back burner. It’s true.

In 2021, NetLine reported that the Consumption Gap (the time from initial request to download prompt) was the largest it had ever been, ballooning from 29.7 hours to 33.3 hours—a 3.6-hour increase. Since 2018, B2B professionals have gradually added 6.2 hours to their overall consumption time. In plain English, this simply means users are in absolutely no hurry to read, listen, or watch whatever content they’ve just requested—even if they genuinely are interested!

So why is any of this information interesting or relevant? It matters because we’re talking about the fundamentals of nurturing.

The first time you engage with a prospect is critical. There’s all kinds of information littering the web emphasizing the need to follow up as soon as mechanically possible! However, there’s a caveat here that goes overlooked: These users likely haven’t asked to be contacted yet. Fortino chimed in on this process.

“More often than not,” Fortino said, “[lead data] is being fed in real-time into marketing automation systems, as well as Salesforce, where their Sales colleagues are then immediately reaching out, if not automatically through a sales enablement platform. Without the appropriate context in that message, it’s a dramatic misstep.”

Fortino goes on to highlight the need to be patient, emphasizing the importance of timing in lead nurturing.

A Behavioral Shift

NetLine’s place in the B2B marketing ecosystem is firmly at the bottom of the funnel. Clients use our platform to generate leads with the expectation that users sharing as much information as they do are much closer to making a purchase decision. This isn’t always a guarantee, but users engaging with our platform are much more likely to be closing in on the end than let’s say someone engaging with a video.

Or so it used to be.

Research from Brightcove shared that 95% of the B2B buyers they surveyed said that video plays an important role in deciding to move forward with a purchase. Meanwhile, 88% of buyers have watched videos in the past three months to learn more about a company’s products or services. 

Historically, NetLine’s mostly seen campaigns with long-form, text-based content, with webinars and other multimedia formats beginning to emerge. But that’s beginning to change. “We are beginning to see a behavioral shift across all industries that video is getting leaned in on extremely heavily,” Fortino said. “We perceive there to be a massive disruption and shift more toward video over the coming years [at the bottom of the funnel].”

Fortino added that while NetLine’s video volume is relatively small, he acknowledges the trends and the likelihood of more clients wanting to use long-form video. “Video aligns very nicely to bottom of the funnel orientation and engagement, especially the longer the video,” he said. “Getting someone to give you thirty minutes to an hour of their time, if not longer if you’re doing like a virtual event, is expressing a level of intent that you can’t get when you’re associating behavior back to an eBook or a White Paper.”

Listen to the Episode

These three highlights are just a taste of what Adam and David dug into during their conversation. Hearing Adam’s questions adjust on the fly makes for a fresh, engaging discussion about content consumption and how the report’s insights influence strategy.

This is another must-listen podcast for anyone who is interested in how content can drive more meaningful outcomes via content.

Get comfortable and listen (or watch!) this episode of The Healthtech Marketing Podcast!

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