Category Archives: B2B

How To Change All Margins In Google Docs

1. Navigate to Page Setup

2. Enter Margin size

3. Click “OK”

Many marketers use Microsoft Excel every day, whether it’s to create a chart, analyze data, or run a report to present at the next team meeting.

Creating reports like these in Excel is time-consuming enough. How can we spend a little less time navigating, formatting, selecting, and entering formulas for our data? Wouldn’t it be great if there were keyboard shortcuts that could help us get our work done faster?

So glad you asked.

We’ve put together a list of 43 keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel. Although you can do all of these maneuvers manually, knowing these tricks will help save you time so you can focus on the stuff that really matters.

All of these shortcuts can be accessed on PC and Mac, so we’ve included both types below where applicable.

(Note for Mac users: To access the F keys (F1–F12), you’ll have to hold the Fn key before pressing any F key — unless you’ve enabled those keys as standard function keys.)

43 Excel Shortcuts You’ll Definitely Want to Bookmark

Navigation Shortcuts

These simple shortcuts can help you navigate between workbooks, sheets, rows and columns:

Format Shortcuts

Formatting in Excel can be difficult if you don’t know of what you’re doing. Here are a few shortcuts that to help you easily format your cells. To start, here’s a featured formatting shortcut you might not have known about:

Here’s what cells look like with (left) and without (right) a border:

Shortcuts for Selecting Rows & Columns

Save yourself the manual dragging and selecting rows and columns with these handy keyboard tricks. To start, here are two featured rows-related shortcuts you might not have known about:

Formula Shortcuts

Formulas are a huge part of every marketer’s Excel toolkit. Here are a few shortcuts that’ll make you a formula wiz:

Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Here are a few more time-saving shortcuts. To start, here’s a final featured shortcut for managing the size of your Excel worksheet:

More businesses and social media platforms are relying on digital creators to boost brand awareness, revenue, and engagement — making digital content creation popular among marketers and creatives. But what exactly is a digital creator and how can you become one? In this blog, we’re going to explore what a digital creator is, the difference between being a creator versus an influencer, and how to get started in content creation.

What is a digital creator?

How To Be a Digital Creator

1. Find your niche.
2. Gather the materials you need.
3. Create.
4. Set SMART goals.
5. Get organized and on a consistent schedule.
6. Be active on social media.
7. Take advantage of monetization opportunities.

What is a digital creator?

A digital creator is someone who creates content across digital platforms. The content can be videos, photos, graphics, blog posts, or other forms of media — and the platforms can be YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, a website, or any digital space.

Often called content creators, digital creators produce content meant to engage an audience. Engaging content can include formats like TV show reviews, tutorials, or day-in-the-life vlogs. But no matter what their content looks like, a digital creator must produce high quality and engaging material —ultimately, that’s their job.

Though the two can overlap, digital creators are not the same as influencers. Influencers are social media personalities whose content is meant to influence their followers to do or buy something.

Typically, the influencer earns a percentage from the sale or receives some other incentive. Digital creators can influence their audience, but that isn’t the intent of their content. The intent is to educate, entertain, and engage people.

How To Be a Digital Creator

There is no one way to get started as a digital creator, but if you follow the tips below, you can set yourself up for success.

1. Find your niche.

You need to have a clear niche for a couple of reasons. For one, it’ll be hard to attract a loyal audience if your content is too broad, because your audience won’t know what kind of content to expect from you. Secondly, a specific niche will help keep you focused and consistent. If you hit a mental block and you’re not sure how to move forward, you can circle back to your niche to remember why you create content in the first place.

For example Therapy for Black Girls is a podcast with a niche that focuses on mental health as it applies to Black women and the specific issues they face. This niche attracts a loyal audience that desires that kind of content. It also keeps the podcast focused on its goal — providing Black women with mental health advice and resources.

Image source

2. Gather the materials you need.

Once you know what kind of content you want to make, it’s time to gather the equipment you’ll need, such as a mic, camera, and lighting. Just remember — you don’t have to splurge on the most expensive materials to get started, especially if you’re new to content creating.

For example, if you want to start a YouTube channel you can likely get away with using your smartphone’s camera while you save up to buy a higher quality one. For lighting, natural sunlight from a nearby window can work just fine. If you’re in need of a mic, Amazon has a variety of mics that are as cheap as $10.

Not only is it perfectly fine to use more affordable equipment at the start of your creator journey — it’s wiser too. You wouldn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on equipment only to realize you don’t enjoy content creating enough to stick with it.

3. Create.

Now you know your niche, understand the kind of content you want to make, and have the right equipment — it’s time to start creating! Don’t be discouraged if your content isn’t perfect at the start. The best way to get better is to keep doing it.

Keep track of your creative process, and take note of what works and what doesn’t. For example, you may find that filming earlier in the day is better than filming in the evening because you get more natural lighting for longer. Whether you’re doing a podcast, posting to YouTube, or blogging, make sure to go back and evaluate your work so you can get better with each post.

4. Set SMART goals.

One of the best ways to improve as a digital creator is to set goals. For example, your goal as podcaster could be to increase your listenership by 30% in the next year. To help you set proper goals and to keep yourself focused during your creator journey, you should set SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific, clear and well-defined.
• Measurable and can be tracked with numbers — like the podcaster example.
• Achievable, which requires being honest about what you’re able to get done.
• Realistic and relevant to your overall purpose.
• Timely and includes a target date for the goal to be completed.

SMART goals are more likely to be accomplished because they serve as a road map to achieving your ultimate goal as content creator — whatever that goal may be for you.

5. Get organized and on a consistent schedule.

To keep your audience engaged, they need to know they can expect quality content from you on a regular basis — so it’s important to get on a consistent schedule.Consider strategies like recording content in batches and scheduling it out over a period of time. For example, over the weekend you can record five TikTok videos in one day and schedule them to post individually over the next week.

When it comes to organization, some digital creators do just fine with physical planners and calendars, but there are also apps and digital tools that can keep you on track. One tool that’s popular among digital creators is Notion — an app that allows you to write, plan, organize your content, and coordinate deadlines all in one place.

Image source

6. Be active on social media.

No matter what kind of digital creator you are, you have to be active on social media to get your work in front of as many people as possible. Being active can be as simple as responding to comments under your social posts.

You should also create graphics, videos, polls, and other unique social media posts to build engagement and communicate with your followers. For example, you can post short clips from your YouTube videos to TikTok or Instagram Reels. You can also create video content for your podcasts to promote a special guest.

7. Take advantage of monetization opportunities.

Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitch, and Instagram all have paid opportunities for creators who have a certain number of followers and engagement. Keep track of your progress on these apps to see if you’re eligible or close to being eligible. Other ways to make money as a creator is through brand partnerships, sponsorships, and collaborations.

If brands aren’t reaching out to you organically, then create a press kit that has information about your content, follower count, social media, and engagement —and start reaching out to brands yourself.

The path to digital content creation looks different for everyone, but if you use the above tips to get started, you’ll have an easier time navigating your journey. With proper planning and goal setting, you’ll know the kind of digital creator you want to be and how you can grow over time.

Did you know that the first video published on YouTube was only 18-seconds long?

While short-form content on YouTube isn’t new, it does have a new name: Shorts. Launched in 2021, Shorts is YouTube’s answer to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other viral video platforms. But is it worth your time?

Let’s talk about what YouTube Shorts is, how it works, and how brands like yours can leverage it.

Table of Contents

What is YouTube Shorts?

How to Make YouTube Shorts

What Makes YouTube Shorts Different from Its Competitors

How 7 Brands Use YouTube Shorts

How to Prepare for YouTube Shorts

The launch of YouTube Shorts comes at a time when many social media platforms are making a drastic pivot towards video content — specifically short-form content.

Even in its most basic beta form, the Shorts feature saw solid performance in India. In March 2021, less than a year later, the Shorts beta was fully released in the U.S., quickly surpassing 6.5 billion daily views. By July 2021, Shorts officially launched globally in over 100 countries.

Today, a few things have changed. Most notably, the time limit on Shorts has expanded to 60 seconds, and many creators take advantage of every second. In fact, more than 70% of Shorts are longer than 15 seconds.

Although Shorts is still in its infancy — and only time will tell how viable it is as a marketing tool – this feature still deserves your attention, especially if you already have a video strategy on YouTube.

Below, I’ll walk through the basics of YouTube Shorts and what opportunities it presents for marketers pivoting to short-form content.

How to Make YouTube Shorts

When you have the YouTube app, creating a Short is one tap away.

When you land on the home screen, you’ll see the “+” icon on the lower center navigation. Once you click it, you’ll see “Create a Short” from the menu.

When you tap Create, it opens to a camera screen that allows you to:

• Record segments of a 60-second clip or a full minute-long video.
• Upload pre-created content from a camera roll.
• Film a “short” with back or front-facing cameras.
• Adjust video speed.
• Set a recording timer.
• Pick sounds for musical overlays.
• Add filters and text.

Here’s a quick screenshot of some of the platform’s features.

Image Source

Watching YouTube Shorts

YouTube has a dedicated tab for Shorts which can find to the left of the “+” icon.

Additionally, in an effort to promote YouTube Shorts, you can find a scrolling menu of recommended Shorts on the home page (see below).

When watching a Short, you can tap icons on the right bottom of the screen to “Like,” “Dislike,” or comment on the video. If you enjoy what you see, you can also tap “SUBSCRIBE” to follow the channel.

Once a viewer finishes a Short, they can swipe up — like on Reels or TikTok – to see a more Shorts from other creators.

What Makes YouTube Shorts Different from Its Competitors

As a marketer, seeing every social media platform pivot to short-form video may feel overwhelming. So much so, you may be asking yourself, “Is YouTube Shorts worth my time?” or, “Will it provide more opportunities than Instagram Reels or TikTok?“

Because YouTube Shorts is still in its infancy, it’s too early to measure its impact. That said, there are a few noteworthy factors that differentiate it from the pack:

1. Shorts provide a funnel to your long-form content.

To state the obvious, people like to engage with different videos throughout the day. For instance, someone may scroll through TikTok during their lunch break but then play a 2-hour long podcast on YouTube when they get home. 

Unlike TikTok and Snapchat, which are entirely dedicated to short-form content, YouTube is positioning itself as the go-to destination for both short- and long-form content.

In this way, Shorts could be a way for creators to reach a new audience who may become regular viewers of their longer content — giving you the best of both worlds.

2. Shorts do not expire.

While Instagram Stories and Snapchats expire after 24 hours, Shorts are permanent — which can help your grow awareness long-term on YouTube.

For example, if someone’s in a rush and searching for a quick how-to video related to something you’ve filmed, they might find and watch your short videos on that topic — even if you published them months ago.

3. Short-form creators could see a bigger reach.

While Gen Z users flooded TikTok, causing its astounding early growth, YouTube, the second largest website globally, launched Shorts to more than 2 billion monthly active users.

Rather than wondering, “Will YouTube Shorts get awareness?”, ask yourself instead, “How do I tap into YouTube’s huge audience with Shorts?”

According to Nelson Chacon, HubSpot’s principal YouTube content strategist, you’ll want to know which segment of YouTube’s huge audience you want to market to before producing Shorts — or any other YouTube video for that matter.

Additionally, if you have a solid subscriber list, continue to create content that’s still relevant to them — even if it’s shorter-form.

“Your subscribers know your channel for its content and Youtube, as a platform, works best with consistency,” Chacon says.

For example, say you regularly create long-form content related to your product or industry and find that it engages your audiences. Chacon notes that you can use Shorts to create quick tutorials or step-by-step videos around those content topics.

4. Brands in most industries could leverage Shorts.

Because TikTok has a somewhat niche user-base filled with younger consumers, some types of brands, such as B2B companies, might have a harder time growing awareness there.

While YouTube shares similar popularity with young adults, the content on its platform is so vast that it brings in people from all sorts of age groups, countries, industries, and niches.

Ultimately, there’s a video for everyone on YouTube. With Shorts, more brands will be able to engage with audiences from a much wider range of audience targets.

For example, while a B2B brand might have difficulty connecting with Gen Z consumers on TikTok, they might be able to connect with professionals looking for industry-related content on Shorts.

Similarly, if you target older generations, such as Gen X, your short-form content might get more engagement on YouTube than TikTok.

5. YouTube Shorts could be less vulnerable than other viral platforms.

Throughout most of 2020, TikTok was facing threats of a ban and censorship regulations.

If you’re a marketer who spends time mastering content strategies on a social media app, a ban or regulation of that app could mean that the content you’ve worked so hard on might never be seen.

However, because YouTube is one of the oldest and most successful online platforms, and it’s owned by the publicly traded Alphabet, it might be seen as more trustworthy than viral apps that provide less public data security information – like TikTok.

How 5 Brands Use YouTube Shorts

1. ESPN

Looking for bite-sized news about your favorite pro athletes? ESPN has you covered by providing Shorts that showcase trending videos, highlights, and fiery commentary.

ESPN’s YouTube channel has a loyal audience with over 8.5 million followers. By utilizing Shorts, the network is leveraging another format to connect with its audience online.

2. MrBeast Shorts

For Youtube megastar Mr. Beasts, Shorts are a great way to repurpose content from longer videos.

If you’ve been in the YouTube game for a while, consider clipping segments from your existing long-form content to make minute-long Shorts. While it may take some finessing, creating Shorts can breathe new life into your past content.

Plus, YouTube’s new “Edit into a Short” feature makes it easier than ever to cut videos into bite-sized snippets.

3. The Voice

To promote its new season, NBC’s The Voice created a Short featuring this year’s hosts.

What works well here:

• It serves as an ad for the brand.
• It utilizes text to emphasize certain phrases and keep the audience engaged.
• It includes a banner at the end with clear directions for viewers on when and where to watch the show.

4. LYFE Marketing

Who said informative content had to be long? LYFE Marketing shows that you can create fun, engaging, and informative content in under 30 seconds.

In this Short, the brand breaks down color psychology. The talent in front of the camera simply points to the text which appears on different parts of the screen during the video.

If you don’t have a big media budget, this is an effective, low-effort method of creating content your audience will be interested in.

5. WebFX

Shorts are a great way to repurpose content. You can take content from a blog post, live stream, or downloadable report to create a short-and-sweet video.

Digital marketing agency, WebFX, created a short to explain the costs behind social media marketing.

With the use of graphics, WebFX delivers great information in a succinct way. It’s likely the brand has an article or other form of content that dives deeper into this topic.

But for social media, snippets are the way to go. When done right, they pique your audience’s interest and lead them to your website.

6. Danessa Myricks Beauty

Have exciting news you want to share with your audience? Take a page out of this brand’s playbook.

In this countdown-style video, Danessa Myricks Beauty used a short to promote its launch in Sephora and build some anticipation.

In the first half of the video, multiple people can be heard saying “One more day.” Then, we see the CEO sending off a package to be sent to Sephora stores.

Here’s why this works: There’s no time wasted in this Short. It’s engaging from the very start and every frame serves a purpose. Secondly, there’s a clear message – the audience leaves knowing the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why).

Lastly, this Short creates excitement for the brand’s growth and invites the audience to join in the countdown.

7. Satori Graphics

Here’s another great example of how graphics and illustrations can take your Shorts to another level.

Satori Graphics is a popular YouTube channel to learn graphic design. The channel features hundreds of long-form videos on the topic and this Short serves as an extension of what’s already on the channel.

This tactic can work well for attracting new viewers to the channel, as a one-minute video is less intimidating than a 20-minute video. It’s similar to how you present a content offer at the end of a blog article.

A reader may be more likely to read a blog post first than read a 20-page report, as it’s an easier point of entry. The same concept can apply to Shorts.

How to Prepare for YouTube Shorts

While we aren’t sure how Shorts will evolve, it’s not too early to consider how you could implement it into your social media or video marketing strategy. Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind.

• Optimize short YouTube videos: Chacon says global creators should begin to add, “#shorts” to descriptions of videos that are 60 seconds or less.
• Identify short-form topics: Are there any topics your team creates content around that could be distilled into a few quick tips, steps, or data points? If so, you might be able to repurpose this information by creating a Short.
• Audit your short-form videos: Have you created Instagram Reels, TikToks, or other social media videos that would only need a few light tweaks to engage your YouTube audience? If so, you could test them on Shorts when the platform launches.

To learn more about YouTube Marketing, check out our Ultimate Guide – or download the free resource below.

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

If you’re sitting at your desk staring at your to-do list and you have no idea where you should start, you need to apply the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80/20 Rule.

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule, is a common principle used across various industries and businesses to help determine the highest priority tasks that yield the most impact.  When you’ve identified the high-impact tasks, you’re guaranteed to increase your productivity and your profits.

In the early 1900s, Vilfredo Pareto recognized this occurrence when studying Italy’s wealth distribution.  Pareto observed that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by only 20% of the population.  Pareto also noticed this same 80/20 occurrence in other things, like the productivity of the pea plants in his garden.

It is important to understand the 80/20 Rule is not a mathematical formula. Instead, it is an observation explaining the correlation between effort and outcome. If only 20% of your task list is deemed a high priority and those high priority tasks yield the highest return, why not spend your time and effort there? 

Examples of the Pareto Principle

In business, for instance, this means 80% of your profits come from 20% of your sales.  So, it would help if you focus your energy on those clients who make up the 20% of your highest sales.

If you’re a marketer, you may have noticed that 20% of your marketing messages account for 80% of your campaign results. Or, if you’re working on a major marketing project, you might see that 20% of your initial efforts are responsible for 80% of the final outcome.

If you’re a financial advisor, you might have noticed that 80% of your business profits derive from 20% of your clients.  It might be best to work on maintaining the relationship with those particular clients.

The Pareto Principle doesn’t just apply to overall outcome observations, though.

Instead, the 80/20 Rule can be applied to nearly every part of your workday to help maximize efforts and productivity.

How to Use the 80/20 Rule to Your Advantage

According to the 80/20 Rule, 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results.

If you think about the Pareto Principle in terms of productivity, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should only work 20% of the time or go into the office one day of the week.

It is essential to note the Pareto Principle does not suggest you work less.

Instead, when applying the 80/20 Rule to your workday, the Pareto Principle can help you identify the tasks you need to focus on to maximize your time and results.

In other words: work harder on the tasks that matter the most and don’t sweat the small stuff.

How to Apply the 80/20 Rule to Maximize Productivity

If you are in charge of a team or overseeing a project, using the Pareto Principle can help you identify your team’s high-priority tasks.  The 80/20 Rule assumes that even if your team spends an equal amount of time on each task on the to-do list, only two of those tasks will carry the bulk of the results for the project.

So, to apply the Pareto Principle, you’ll need to make a list of all tasks that need to be done to complete the project. Make sure you include everything on this task list.  After making a list, consider which tasks will have the most significant impact on the project to give the highest results.  Some tasks may seem small, but sometimes the smaller tasks have the most significant effect.

Delegate these high-impact tasks to your team and worry about the other tasks later.

You can apply the same concept to your own to-do list. Identify which tasks will yield maximum results and focus your efforts there.

How to Apply the Pareto Principle to Make Business Decisions

The 80/20 Rule can help you make tough business decisions, too. Maybe you have a list of projects for several different clients, but you’re running short on time. If the 80/20 Rule is true, you’ll want to focus your time and efforts on pleasing and developing solid relationships with the 20% of your clients who yield the most results for you (read: profits).

This isn’t to say you should be unprofessional and disrespect your other clients. But, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or tight on time, it might be helpful to recognize where you’re receiving the most of your results and dedicate your time and effort to those clients.

The Pareto Principle can also help you think about business problems and potential solutions.  To apply the Pareto Principle to help you solve your problem, think of all the possible solutions, and work backward. You’ll want to work on the two best solutions that solve your problem.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of the Pareto Principle

Like all principles, the Pareto Principle has a few drawbacks. 

It’s important to remember that the 80/20 Rule is not about reducing your workload. Instead, the Pareto Principle helps you identify the most critical, high-impact tasks on your to-do list.  Don’t neglect the small tasks, unimportant tasks, though.  Eventually, those small tasks will become important if you let them sit too long.

The 80/20 Rule might help you identify which of your employees are producing the most work if you’re managing a team.  Looking at the 20% of employees that complete 80% of the work doesn’t necessarily mean you should fire everyone else.  Instead, use the findings of the Pareto Rule to delegate tasks to your team fairly. 

Encourage your team to collaborate on high-priority tasks.  Or assign different jobs to different people and check in with everyone to ensure they feel responsible for their part of the equation.   Your employees will be encouraged to work harder if they know they’re contributing to the biggest piece of the rewards—not just the minor details.

Understanding the Pareto Principle

Remember, the numbers 20% and 80% are not exact statistics, just estimations and observations.  The point of the 80/20 Rule isn’t the numbers.  The point is everything in business is not created equal.  There are a few things that are weighted with a far greater reward compared to other things.

Spend your time working on tasks or working with clients that will yield the highest results.  Applying the Pareto Principle to your business makes you more likely to increase your profits while cutting back on wasted time and efforts.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in [Month Year] and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

All told, our 2022 Content Consumption Report ended up being a whopping 65 pages. While that’s quite exciting from a productivity point-of-view, some folks might be scared off by the sheer size of it.

We get that.

So, in taking our own research to heart and knowing that Cheat Sheet consumption was up 56% last year, we wanted to highlight some of the most important stats and takeaways from our sixth annual report. 

Key Learnings From NetLine’s 2022 Consumption Report

There’s more than 15 individual sections inside the sixth annual report that segment the data within a number of NetLine’s specific job parameters. We’ll get to some of the different slices of data in a moment, but for now, let’s start with some of the most impactful takeaways.

Flagship Stats From the 2022 Report

1. NetLine delivered 4.6 million first-party registrations across our platform in 2021, a 9% increase YOY.
2. Since 2019, NetLine has observed a 33% increase in total registrations, clearly indicating how important content marketing has become post-pandemic.
3. eBooks were 4.8x more likely to be requested compared to White Papers.
4. “Pandemic” was the #1 Keyword Rank across all content titles.
5. The 5 Most Active Job Areas: IT, Executives, Education, Engineering, & HR.
6. Senior VPs were the fastest to consume content, while Owners were the slowest.
7. 90% of all registrations came during the work week.
8. eBooks represented more than 43.3% of all registrations.
9. Webinar promotion increased by 69.8%.
10. The 10 most requested content types accounted for more than 87% of all requests.
11. The Spring and early Summer (Q2) saw an incredible swell in demand for content, post-the-most-stringent-COVID restrictions. This is staggering, considering Q2 2020 accounted for the least amount of engagements. Conversely, Q4 2020 accounted for 43% of the most active days for Content Consumption. 2021? 21%.
12. Desktop consumption represented nearly 93% of engagements.
13. More than 25% of Technology Job Areas consumed 10 or more assets, while Marketing Job Areas, start out as eager consumers, (representing nearly 8% of the audience consuming a second piece of content), but peter out as they reach the 10th asset (4.4%)
14. Information Technology professionals were the most active Job Area audience in 2021, representing 28% of all registrations.

By Job Area

NetLine’s Job Area analysis hones in on the specific consumption trends of the B2B professional within the individual disciplines their roles demand.

15. Manufacturing/Production/Operations were the smallest Job Area audience in the Top 10, accounting for only 2.42% of all registrations.
16. The Executive job area (13.12% of the total audience) had a sizable gain in demand, topping it’s 2020 totals by 19.41%.
17. Conversely, Marketing (4.17% of total audience) saw a 4.07% drop in consumption by job area.
18. With the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, professionals working in Biotech job areas were quite busy to start the year, requesting 25.9% more content than the prior year.

By Job Function

NetLine’s Job Function analysis looks at a B2B professional’s given role and which assets they request.

19. IT Systems Management professionals were the most active Job Function, accounting for 12.6% of total registrations. 
20. It’s remarkable to see this group at the top of the pile considering that this job function saw a 26.83% dip in overall consumption.
21. Faculty job functions had the largest loss in total consumption (-30.76%).
22. Executive Senior Management, however, had the greatest gain in consumption (+116%).

By Industry

This one should be self-explanatory. By Industry assess the consumption habits of users at the Industry level.

23. 75% of all Industries saw a Job Area increase in consumption.
24. Computers & Technology was king once again, representing 17.86% of all registrations from this group.
25. Construction represented 3.57% of all registrations, good for number 10 in the Top 10.
26. Of the 24 industries NetLine tracks, all but two groups (Advertising/Marketing -6.09%, Agriculture -12.07%) had more registrations in 2021 than in 2020.
27. Much like the Job Area chart, consumption from the Biotech field saw the greatest YOY gains (+22.42%). 
28. As the world faced a shipping crisis, Manufacturing (+12.86%) and Transportation and Logistics (+12.15%) each saw significant increases in B2B content consumption.
29. Healthcare/Medical (+15.7%), Manufacturing (+12.86%), Education (+9.11%), Finance (+7.96%), and Computers and Technology (+7.10%) also all saw sizeable gains, as well.

By Sub-Industry

We know that Industry analysis can be a bit broad at times. That’s why we dig further to get more specific about the kind of work users are doing.

30. Can you guess which sub-industry was the top performer? You guessed it: Information Technology at 7.58%!
31. Service Industry professionals accounted for 3.23% of all registrations, good enough for fourth on the Top 10 list.
32. YOY, this sub-industry saw a 10.42% growth in overall registrations, as professionals in this field raced to keep up with the breakneck pace and overwhelming demand placed on them and their colleagues.
33. Consumption at the local levels of Government rose 62.52%.
34. As supply chains tightened, Manufacturing had a 12.86% increase while Transportation and Logistics also saw a sizeable 12.15% increase.

By Job Level

Job Level analysis gives you an idea of where inside an organization your content is being consumed and requested.

35. 40% of all consumption stemmed from C-Level, Managers, and Directors.
36. Directors consumed 27.8% more content YOY while Individual Contributors accounted for 25.5% of all registrations.

The Consumption Gap and Consumption Times

The Consumption Gap is the time between the moment content is requested and the moment it’s opened for consumption.

1. 37. The average time for professionals to consume content rose by 3.6, increasing from 29.7 hours in 2020 to 33.3 in 2021.
   38. In 2020, the average time between a user’s first registration and their second was 16+ days. In 2021, it was 13+, meaning there was a 3+ day improvement—a 19% acceleration.
   39. Hypothetically, consumption can increase infinitely. B2B professionals, on the other hand, have a finite amount of time to dedicate to consumption. Therefore, as registration volume grows, the more likely it is that the consumption gap will widen.
   40. EVPs shaved nearly 4 hours off their 2020 consumption time.
   41. Supervisors had the greatest improvement, reducing their 2020 consumption time by more than 7 hours. 
   42. And while VPs saw their consumption time grow by nearly 5 hours, they were the Job Level most likely to consume their requests first.
   43. When it came to additional consumption, Consultants were the first group to come back for more, clocking in at 8.71 days between first and second request. 
   44. VPs were on the other side of the spectrum, as they took more than three weeks (22.37 days) before returning for another asset.

C-Level Observations

No matter who you are, what you’re writing about, or how you’re trying to position it, everyone wants the attention of the C-Suite.

45. The C-Level represented 14.8% of NetLine’s total audience in 2021—a 15.8% jump in volume.
46. Historically, when C-Level consumption rises then consumption from Directors and Managers dips. In 2021, this was not the case. Managers upped their overall consumption by 3% while Directors upped their registration by 27.82%, the second-largest YOY jump behind Individual Contributors.

Buyer-Level Intent Findings

Discovering “who” a prospect really is—and whether they’re actually a potential customer—has been a mystery to B2B Marketers and Sales professionals for years.

47. Content consumption is directly driving investments within the next 12 months. The more your audience consumes, the more likely they are to be closing in on a purchase decision.
48. Buyer-Level Intent Data: ~31% of professionals expect to invest in the next 12 months; 15% expect to invest in the next 6 months.
49. Of this ~31%, 55% expect to invest in the next 6-12 months, 26% expect to invest in the next 3-6 months, and 19% expect to invest in the next 3 months.
50. White Paper registrations are a greater indication that a user is in a late stage of a purchasing decision.
51. Professionals registering for Webinars are 29% more likely to have a purchase decision within six months of registering for the content vs. any other content format.

Get More From NetLine’s 2022 Report

There’s a ton of actionable information that we’ve taken out of this report but there’s still so much more that we couldn’t include. Uncover everything else that you’re missing and more by downloading our sixth annual Content Consumption Report!

YouTube is the internet’s second largest search engine, meaning that advertisers have significant potential when it comes to reaching audiences and driving conversions.

In this post, discover essential YouTube advertising statistics you need to know in 2022.

YouTube Advertising Reach Statistics

• YouTube advertising revenues reached 7.34 Billion USD in Q2 of 2022, a 5% YoY increase. (Statista, 2022)

• YouTube ads have the potential reach of 2.56 billion users, or roughly 1 in 3 people on Earth. (Hootsuite, 2022)

• YouTube ads reach more than three quarters of adults aged 18+, and more than 90% of adults in a total of 14 countries. (Hootsuite, 2022)
• YouTube’s biggest advertising audience is males between 25 and 34. (Hootsuite, 2022)
• The cost of YouTube ads can vary and can cost between $0.10 and $0.30. (HubSpot, 2022)

YouTube Advertising Statistics

• Apple Inc. and Disney were the top spending advertisers on YouTube in 2021. (Statista, 2021)
• 63% of people say they bought from a brand after viewing an ad on YouTube. (Think With Google, 2022)
• YouTube ads with strong CTAs have shown to increase the likelihood of short-term sales by 30%. (Think With Google, 2022)
• Audio is the No. 1 lift multiplier for effective YouTube ads. (Think With Google, 2022)
• The attention, branding, connection, direction (ABCD) YouTube ad strategy delivers a 30% lift in short-term sales and a 17% lift in customer lifetime value. (Think With Google, 2022)
• Testing different YouTube ads can lead to greater success, as advertisers who tested different YouTube ads and used the most effective result saw a 60% higher ad recall. (Think With Google, 2021)
• Using YouTube’s native product feed tool to showcase your products alongside your ads can drive on average over 60% more conversions. (Google, 2021)

Ready to start filming?

As shown above, advertising on YouTube has the potential to reach large audiences and drive high ROI. To reap these benefits, create a marketing strategy for the platform and, as they say, lights, camera, action!

To be honest, Gen Z can feel like foreign territory to all. Even myself, born in 2001. Although I’m smack in the middle of the TikTok, middle-part wearing generation, I don’t always fully understand the trends we start, stop, or totally cancel.

Even though I’m no genius when it comes to how to market to our generation, I can tell you it’s pretty obvious when marketers try too hard to sell to us. It often feels too forced and fake.

That’s why I’m here to help! Let me debunk a few myths and predictions marketers might have made about our wild generation so that you can find the right ways to grab our attention and keep us engaged. Let’s dive right into some of those incorrect thoughts, debunk them with data from our State of Consumer Trends Survey, and discuss tips for what you can do instead.

5 Gen Z Myths, Debunked

1. “Gen Z is obsessed with fast fashion.”

It’s easy to see SHEIN or Princess Polly hauls on TikTok or Instagram and think these represent our generation. Of course, these online retailers do have a grasp on our generation to some extent, but what grabs our attention are retail resale sites. For example, 90% of Depop’s users are younger than 26.

Today, Gen Zers are purchasing this apparel, but in a much less harmful way, being that resale clothing is second-hand.

Instead of getting caught up in cheap prices and deals, Gen Z, more than any other generation, considers the brand’s ethics and its stance on social issues. You don’t just need to take my word for it. we surveyed over 100 Gen Zers and found that how a brand approaches social responsibility has a real impact on Gen Z purchase decisions.

And, when we asked whether companies should take a stance on social issues, 50% of Gen Z said they should. As a marketer, this means that, if you haven’t already, you need to prioritize this for Gen Z and even younger millennial audiences.

I also urge you not to think of social issues as a broad term that is often thrown around without any substance to back it up. Instead, break it down into specific issues that you can actually fight with tangible results. And, just to help you out even more, here is where to start:

When we asked Gen Zers who want companies to take a stance on which issues are most important to them, racial justice was by far the top issue (69%), followed by LGBTQ+ rights (50%), gender inequality (46%), and climate change (42%).

2. “Data privacy and security are irrelevant for Gen Z.”

I get why many people believe this one. Gen Z is known for being glued to their phones, which obviously comes with the risk of unsecured and unrestricted data.

Furthermore, we are the TikTok generation, and – as many of us know — TikTok has had its share of privacy concerns. And yes, we may come across as irresponsible at times, especially when it comes to social media (the milk crate challenge was not the best idea); but don’t underestimate us.

As the first generation born into a technology-based world, we’ve seen the realities of a digital space more than any other generation, so data security and safety are naturally top of mind.

As you can see in the graph above, Gen Z purchase decisions are strongly influenced by whether or not they can trust a company with their data (as it is the second highest ranked consideration before purchase, at 83%).

The data above means that, as a marketer, you need to convey data privacy to our generation and can’t just assume we don’t care about these criteria. Assure us that we aren’t being scammed or exploited. We may not always prioritize it over experience and entertainment (as seen with our usage of TikTok), but don’t believe that you can do anything with our data, and we won’t mind.

3. “TikTok is The Best Way to Reach Gen Z”

TikTok is a great space for Gen Z; it offers a genuine feel to the content that no other app provides. This style is quite attractive for some of our shorter attention spans and busy schedules. In fact, TikTok is the app Gen Z uses most often. Despite this, surprisingly (or not), it’s not our favorite social media platform.

When we asked Gen Z their favorite social media app, Instagram and YouTube easily took the cake, with TikTok placing third, as seen in the graph below.

From your perspective as a marketer, this means that even though a significant effort should still definitely be made to generate TikTok content, don’t forget about our trusty old friend Instagram – even for Gen Z.

There are many reasons why Gen Z shies away from directly buying on TikTok. These include the concern for data privacy previously mentioned and just wanting to use that space for the sake of connection and entertainment rather than advertisements and purchasing.

So, If you plan to sell directly through social media, Instagram definitely should be your go-to (as 28% of Gen Z saying they bought something directly in a social media app in the past three months).

HubSpot’s recent Instagram Marketing Report goes into more detail on why the app presents such an opportunity for social marketing and selling, so don’t lose sight of it!

4. “Put a product in front of Gen Z, and they’ll buy it.”

Even though we do gravitate towards TikTok-style content, that doesn’t mean we’re receptive to just any type of short-form videos, including those that market products.

Before making a purchase via social media, we need to be made to feel like we found the product on our own. We don’t want to feel forced into any decision, especially when it comes from a clear advertisement that we can’t relate to.

To persuade Gen Z, brands must prioritize making entertaining content that feels authentic to grab our attention. Then, once they have our genuine interest, they can more easily slip in their product rather, than getting yet another eye roll from us.

As this graph above shows, the top way we prefer to discover a new product is through TikTok, Reel, or other short-form video formats, where the product is shown but not imposed on us. In a world where we are often made to feel powerless, we strongly value a sense of autonomy and agency– help us feel empowered through your actions.

5. “Word of mouth is a great way to reach Gen Z.”

Yeah, I know this may seem contradictory as we really like to talk but hear me out. As just outlined, Gen Z is stressed: we feel out of control, doomed, and like the weight of the world lies on our shoulders.

With that comes a unique sense of camaraderie and connection among us. As a result, Gen Zs trust other Gen Zs as they are also going through the same shared emotions. And, what better way to unify than via social media?

We have turned social media and online communities into our modern-day version of word of mouth. Therefore, we even trust influencers’ recommendations more than those from our friends and family.

This graph above helps emphasize that your marketing focus should be on connecting with Gen Z in the spaces we feel comfortable: social media. Sorry, Mom and Dad, but you don’t have much influence over us anymore.  

More Resources for Marketing to Your Target Audience

Now that we’ve explored and debunk some of the biggest Gen Z myths and predictions, you might be wanting to learn even more about the generation and how they shop. Here’s a quick list of more data-driven resources that we hope you enjoy:

• The State of Consumer Trends [Data from 1000+ Consumers]
• How Each Generation Shops Differently
• 5 Things Gen Z Will Spend Money On

And for a detailed deep dive into all of our consumer trends data survey (including insights not on the blog), download the free report below.

TikTok just announced a new feature in its Ads Manager platform, which allows advertisers to customize their attribution window for better tracking and performance.

Let’s break down how the attribution manager works, how to access it, and the benefits of using it.

Breaking Down Key Attribution Terms

Before we get into this new TikTok feature, let’s first get a refresher on some key terms:

Attribution – A reporting strategy that allows advertisers to know the path users are taking after clicking or viewing an ad.

Attribution window – The time between when a user clicks or views an ad and when they convert.

Conversion – The desired action taken by a targeted user, such as visiting a website or making a purchase.

Now that we have the basics down, let’s dive into TikTok’s new attribution manager.

Understanding TikTok’s Attribution Manager

When it comes to ad campaigns, no two are the same. The goal for one may be to increase purchases for a particular product while for another, it may be to raise brand awareness.

Brands may also have contrasting conversion journeys based on their industries.

With that in mind, TikTok introduced customized attribution windows to enable advertisers – those using the TikTok Pixel or Web Events API – to more accurately track performance and assess campaign results.

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The default setting is a seven-day click and one-day view window. This means that a user must convert within seven days of clicking an ad or 24 hours of viewing an ad for the conversion to register within TikTok’s ad manager.

Advertisers can now set different windows:

• 1, 7, 14, 28 days for clickthrough attribution
• Off, 1, 7 days for viewthrough attribution

When is it valuable to pick a one-day versus 28-day attribution window? It all depends on the goals of your campaign, the industry you’re in, and expected user consideration periods.

Say you’re a B2B software company with an ad campaign to convert free users into premium users. One-day conversions are probably unlikely given the product. However, a 28-day one seems more realistic given that their particular industry deals with longer consideration periods.

A jewelry brand, on the other hand, may opt for a 24-hour attribution window when running a sale.

Pro-tip: Want to sync your ads manager with your CRM? Try Leadsbridge.

How to Access TikTok’s Attribution Manager

Now that you understand how it works, here’s how to access this feature within TikTok’s Ads Manager.

1. Login to TikTok for Business.

2. Navigate to “Assets.”

3. Click on “Events.”

4. Narrow down to “Web Events.”

5. Select “Attribution Manager.”

You will also see the option to customize your attribution window when creating a campaign. It should show up under the “Bidding and Optimization” section.

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This great addition to TikTok’s Ads Manager will arm advertisers with more reliable data to understand their audience and leverage these insights into action.

In the early days of YouTube, there weren’t a whole lot of YouTubers or brands creating content on the platform, so it was much easier for content creators to stand out. Fast forward to 2022, and there are now roughly 15 million active content creators on YouTube pumping out 500 hundred hours of content every minute.

With that in mind, you’re probably wondering how to promote your YouTube channel so that it stands out above the rest. And how much will promotion cost? Fortunately, there are many tools, tips, and tricks you can use to promote your YouTube channel without having to spend a lot of money — or any money at all.

In this blog, we’ll explore some of my favorite, no-cost methods to promote a YouTube channel.

1. Create compelling content.
2. Use keywords in your headlines, descriptions, and tags.
3. Use hashtags.
4. Customize your thumbnails.
5. Post regularly.
6. Promote your channel on social media.
7. Promote your channel on forums.
8. Build a community.
9. Run a contest.
10. Cross-promote your videos on YouTube.
11. Collaborate with other creators.
12. Create playlists for your YouTube videos.
13. Embed your YouTube videos.
14. Livestream.
15. Add a YouTube widget to your website.

How to Promote Your YouTube Channel for Free

I have my own YouTube channel where I talk about anime, and when I first got started I definitely did not have money to spend on expensive ads or pricey tools to grow my channel. So, I did a lot of the following to find my audience, and I saw growth pretty quickly:

1. Create compelling content.

There are many tactics you can use to attract viewers to your channel, but none of these tactics can make up for lackluster content. The fact is no one wants to get invested in content that isn’t good.

A major key to attracting an audience and encouraging them to subscribe is to create compelling content that will keep them coming back for more.

Pro-Tip: Look at other established content creators in your niche for inspiration. What do you enjoy most about their videos, and what would you do differently? Use your answers to help you figure out the kind of content you want to make.

2. Use keywords in your headlines, descriptions, and tags.

Hundreds of thousands of videos are uploaded to YouTube every day. To ensure your videos reach your target audience, you need to incorporate keywords into your headlines, descriptions, and tags.

There are free tools like Google Keyword Planner, which can be accessed from your Google Ads dashboard. Don’t worry — you don’t have to run ads to use it. All you need is a Google account.

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Pro-Tip: One of the simplest ways to find the right keywords without using any tools is to enter your video’s topic in the YouTube search bar, and use the autosuggest to find words and phrases you should incorporate into your content.

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3. Use hashtags.

You can also use the keywords you found to create hashtags for your videos’ titles and descriptions. Your video’s content may also inspire ideas for a hashtag. For example, maybe you interviewed a popular guest on your channel — that guest’s name can be used as a hashtag to attract their fans to your content.

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Pro-Tip: Look at other YouTubers in your niche to see what hashtags they are using so you can find the right ones for your content.

4. Customize your thumbnails.

The thumbnail of your video serves as your video’s first impression — and we all know you never get a second chance at a first impression. To grab viewers’ attention, create a unique, eye-catching thumbnail that will compel them to click on your content.

YouTube thumbnails that stand out typically include a combination of the following:

• High-quality images
• A face (humans naturally focus on faces when it comes to photos)
• Bright contrasting colors
• Action shots
• Bold text of no more than six words

Pro-Tip: For my own YouTube videos, I use Canva’s free YouTube thumbnail tool. With Canva, the thumbnail templates are already the proper dimensions and there are tons of fun stickers, bold fonts, colors, and background images to choose from. Plus, I can upload my own images from my phone or computer to the template.

5. Post regularly.

Consistency is important when attracting potential subscribers to your channel. When you post frequently and consistently you’ll gain credibility with your audience because they know you’ll always keep the good content coming. To start, try posting a new video every two weeks and eventually work your way to once or twice a week.

Pro-Tip: You can also use YouTube Analytics to track the days and times your audience interacts with your content the most. For example, if you notice your videos get the most views when posted on Saturdays at 12 p.m., you’re going to want to have videos posted around that time to get the most engagement.

6. Promote your channel on social media.

The news director of a TV station I worked for would always say this about promoting content: “If it’s not on social media, then it doesn’t exist.” Keep this in mind when promoting your YouTube channel.

You can put out amazing content, have the perfect thumbnail, and use all the right keywords — but if you don’t promote your content on social media, you’re losing out on a potentially huge audience.

To attract anime fans to my channel, I started a Twitter account and started using the #anitwt and #AnimeAfterDarkCH hashtags whenever I tweeted about my videos. “Anitwt” is short for “Anime Twitter,” and is used to help anime fans connect with other fans on the platform.

#AnimeAfterDarkCH is a hashtag used for a weekly Twitter space geared toward Black anime fans. Now when I check my YouTube analytics, I often notice about 80% of my views come from Twitter users.

HubSpot’s Senior Manager of Marketing Essie Acolatse also suggests creating videos to cross-promote on different platforms.

“Make shorter bite size versions as teasers for other platforms. These teasers should fit the best video format for that platform, and should be engaging enough to make the viewer want more,” she said. “It’s often times hard to get people to leave the platform they’re already on, but taking advantage of your other social platforms can help drive views to your channel.”

Pro-Tip: Use social media to follow and connect with content creators, figureheads, and other prominent people in your niche. This will help you find online communities that correspond with your niche and can help expose your channel to the right audience.

7. Promote your channel on forums.

Online forums like Reddit are great places to promote your channel. Just remember that many forums have “no promotions” policies — but you can get around them with a little bit of tact. Make sure that you’re contributing value to the conversation and that your posts don’t come off too much like advertisements.

For example, let’s say you’re a fashion YouTuber and you notice a Reddit forum discussing thrift store fashion — a topic you’ve covered on your channel. Instead of replying with “Hey, check out my YouTube channel about fashion.” You can say:

“That’s a really cool perspective! I love thrifting and actually made a YouTube video with some great tips on how to find the best items at thrift stores. You can check it out if you’re looking for advice.”

Then you would link to your specific video.

Pro-Tip: Be an active contributor to these forums even when you don’t have new content to promote. Doing this adds value to the conversation and shows that you’re trying to be helpful instead of just plugging your channel.

8. Build a community.

Use your YouTube to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your niche and to create a space for people with shared interests. The most effective (and free) way to do this is to simply engage with your audience. Reply to comments by sharing more valuable information.

Some YouTubers will even shout out new subscribers in their videos. You can also ask commenters for suggestions on your next topic and give them some recognition for contributing.

Pro-Tip: If you have more than 500 subscribers, you can take advantage of YouTube’s “Community” feature. This feature allows creators to engage with their audience between uploads via status updates, polls, and GIFs.

9. Run a contest.

Running a contest is an effective way to attract new subscribers, but you’ll want to make sure the contest attracts people who are genuinely interested in your niche and not just the prize.

To do this, make sure the prize is something connected to your topic. For instance, if I were to run a contest to attract anime fans, a good prize would be free anime merchandise or a gift card to anime clothing retailer Atsuko.

Pro-Tip: Be sure to promote your contest on social media and in online forums whenever possible.

10. Cross-promote your videos on YouTube.

In every YouTube video I post, I always take advantage of the platform’s “cards” feature. This feature allows you to promote a video across different videos on your platform. This works by posting a small icon at the corner of your video that links to another video or playlist. You can set the duration for how long you want the card to appear. Below is an example of what a card looks like:

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Another way to cross-promote your videos is to include an end screen. Have you ever watched a YouTube video and saw clickable ads for other videos appear in the final 10 seconds? That’s an end screen, and it encourages viewers to explore more of your content and subscribe.

Acolatse also suggests using YouTube Shorts.

“Those bite size video versions for other platforms can also be used as YT shorts,” she said. “YT is investing a lot of money into shorts and because that feed reaches a different audience, it’s a great way to boost engagement on your overall channel. Make sure these shorts hook viewers in within the first couple of seconds and make them very compelling.”

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Pro-Tip: Whenever I upload a new video, I always use cards and the end screen to link back to my previous video. This can give your older content a second life and a chance to gain new views.

11. Collaborate with other creators.

This is another form of cross-promotion that is helpful to all parties involved and can help expand your reach. For a successful collaboration, find a YouTuber whose audience overlaps with yours.

For example, if you’re a fitness expert, you can collaborate with a content creator who also focuses on exercise or nutrition. Once you know who you want to work with, reach out to that person, and you two can plan on how you’re going to make a unique video for both of your channels.

“This is one of the best organic ways to grow. Their audience will get a chance to see you and your audience can see them,” Acolatse said. “Creating content with other creators that have a similar niche and following size as you can help you get additional views on your content.”

Pro-Tip: Now is the time to use the connections you’ve made on social media to scope out the best collaborator.

12. Create playlists for your YouTube videos.

The more videos you create, the harder it will be for viewers to navigate your channel. Creating playlists organizes your content into specific categories, and allows viewers to binge your work. Playlists will help viewers find the relevant content they are looking for on your channel, and they’ll be more likely to subscribe when they finish binge-watching your videos.

Pro-Tip: Keep in mind your playlists when creating content. Ask yourself how you’d categorize the video and what playlist it would fit into.

13. Embed your YouTube videos.

If you have a blog or website, embedding your YouTube videos in your blog content or product page is a great way to boost conversions and attract subscribers to your channel. Having an article or webpage connected to your video can also help it rank higher in search engine results.

Pro-Tip: Make sure to use keywords in your blog or webpage’s content as well to help people find your site and, in turn, your YouTube video.

14. Livestream.

With the rise in popularity of livestream platforms like Twitch, livestreaming content is a trend that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have all incorporated live-streams into their platforms — and YouTube is no different. Some ways you can use YouTube Live include:

• Q&As
• Webinars
• Live tutorials
• Product demonstrations

Gamers will often livestream themselves playing the latest video games and artists will sometimes livestream themselves completing a project.

Pro-Tip: Don’t be too concerned about perfection when it comes to your livestream. One of the biggest draw-ins of livestreams is that no one knows what’s going to happen live. It all just adds to the fun and creates a more personal relationship with your followers.

15. Add a YouTube widget to your website.

By adding a YouTube widget to the footer or sidebar of your website, anyone who visits your site will be able to see and engage with your videos. This can turn site clicks into views for your content. It will also encourage interested visitors to subscribe to your channel.

Pro-Tip: Many website-hosting platforms have their own free YouTube widgets you can easily embed onto your website.

Promoting your YouTube channel doesn’t have to be a financial liability. As you can see, there are many ways to expand your audience reach, find your niche, and promote your content without spending a dime. Now that you have some free promotional ideas, you’re ready to craft the perfect marketing plan to grow your channel.