Category Archives: B2B

If you are running a business, odds are, you’ve already figured out your business model.

It’s usually the first thing entrepreneurs build out, as it’s key to figuring out the value you’re bringing to the market and consumers.

But what about your people, processes, systems, and technology? Those are all key components of your business that should be outlined in your operational model.

Let’s dive into what an operational model is and how it compares to a business model, plus cover the steps to create one today.

Many people confuse business models with operating models. However, they outline different things and serve different purposes.

A business model outlines how a company captures and offers value through its products/services, value proposition, customer segments, key partners, etc. An operating model, on the other hand, lays out how a company will run in order to deliver that value.

So, in simple terms, a business model looks at the what. An operating model focuses on the how.

Let’s take the example of a fictional lifestyle business called EarthBound. Their business model will describe their sustainable and eco-friendly approach as their value proposition, outline their various product lines, lay out their customer channels through brick-and-mortar and ecommerce stores.

Their operating model will focus on how they source their products, the roles they need within the company, the systems they use in each business area, their data management plan, and more.

Unsure why you should design an operating model? Here are the benefits:

• It helps you identify the systems and structure necessary to serve your customers in a way that’s in line with your larger strategy.
• It’s a blueprint for how resources are organized and operated so, that serves as a baseline from which to scale your business.

Operating Model Template

When you build out your operating model, you focus on three key elements: process, people, and technology.

There are two approaches you can take: role-based or process-based.

When you take the role approach, you design your operating model based on hierarchy and the roles within your company. With a process approach, you focus instead on the journey to deliver value to your consumers.

The template you follow will depend on what makes the most sense for your business based on strategy. For instance, say you’re reviewing your operating model because you’re considering restructuring or reallocation of resources. In this case, a process-based approach may work best.

What You Need To Build Your Operating Model Design

You have to start by asking yourself: “How do we manage our resources to effectively run our business and deliver our services as intended while meeting our goals?”

As you start to think about that, focus on each area outline here.

1. Strategy

To build your operating model, you first need to be clear on your strategy.

This is because your strategy and core priorities will inform your operating model. Once you define it, the next step is creating a set of design principles.

Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, suggests drafting a list of around seven statements that outline what your company must do to execute your strategy. This will serve as an anchor as you build out your model.

Anyone on your leadership team should be able to state these concisely and clearly using simple language. Here are a few examples:

• Standardize the customer experience across all regions.
• Reduce siloes and align the organization on key company priorities.
• Transition to digital-first approach.

2. Systems and processes.

For any company to run smoothly, they need systems and processes.

When creating or reviewing an operating model, you need to fully understand the inner workings of every business area.

What business systems are in place in X department? What hardware and software do they rely on?

As you think about these questions, make sure you consider both internal and external tools that your organization relies on.

This means knowing what every department needs to succeed in its roles. For instance, EarthBound’s finance department handles activities like invoicing, accounting, payroll, and billing. Going deeper, this means they may use software like Quickbooks.

The marketing team is likely responsible for lead generation and brand awareness through content, social media, paid advertisement, and more. As a result, they rely on tools like Casted to achieve their goals.

Once you know the systems and processes, you can figure out how it fits into your strategy and what changes can or should be made.

3. Organizational Structure

Over the years, new methodologies have been introduced that invite business leaders to revisit their organizational structure and make changes to their operational model.

One big shift in recent years has been how companies tackle projects. In the past, companies followed the waterfall methodology, which organized projects in linear, sequential phases. Today, many companies prefer the agile methodology, which is iterative and offers more flexibility.

Each framework is unique and comes with its own advantages and limitations. As such, it’s important for a business to know what direction they want to head in as they develop their operational model.

4. Talent Management

You can’t have a successful company without talent.

As you develop your operating model, one important question to answer is, “What do your teams look like?” and “What does success look like in every role?”

In this phase, you’ll want to understand the key roles and responsibilities needed to run the business and how those roles will evolve over X period of time.

Furthermore, you should also have a clear culture code that outlines the norms and behaviors you expect from your team and the values you celebrate.

These elements seep into other areas of your business and as a result, are incredibly important when working on your model.

5. Technology

As we’ve seen in recent months, the world is constantly changing.

More teams are remote than ever before and companies are investing in virtual tools like video conferencing and messaging. With this shift comes a need to have the technology to support growing global teams.

Beyond that, there is also the business technology needed to keep everyone in sync. Too often, companies suffer from siloes and have difficulty creating cross-functional teams. By understanding how you envision your team operating, you can seek out software that meets those needs.

Building your operating model is essential in maintaining the health of your company. Whether you’re just now creating one or revisiting an old one, doing so will help you better understand how to execute your strategy.

Podcasting is here to stay. According to Insider Intelligence, there are over 117 million podcast listeners in the U.S. alone, a 10% increase from last year, and that figure is expected to rise.

So why are so many people listening to podcasts? 74% of podcast listeners say they tune in to their favorite shows to learn new things.

Podcasts offer knowledge and inspiration in an easy-to-digest format for a variety of topics. If sharpening your skills as a marketer is on your list of priorities, then tuning into marketing-focused podcasts can be a great way to prioritize your professional development.

I asked members of the HubSpot content team what podcasts they like to learn the latest in marketing and entrepreneurship from. Here are their recommendations for the best podcasts covering digital, content, and affiliate marketing.

Best Marketing Podcasts

1. The Shake Up

Why Listen: The Shake Up is a weekly podcast hosted by Alexis Gay and Brianne Kimmel. Each week, the hosts facilitate engaging discussions about business leaders and companies that shake up the status quo. In each episode, you’re bound to learn a new perspective or strategy to support your work.

2. My First Million

Why Listen: Looking for your million-dollar idea? Add My First Million to your podcast queue. Hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri examine business trends and opportunities and brainstorm potential business ideas on-air. If you’re in a creative rut, My First Million can help inspire new ideas for campaigns and offerings.

3. iDigress

Why Listen: If you need strategic direction, tune into iDigress, hosted by Troy Sandidge. Troy specializes in finding creative solutions to complex problems, leaving listeners with actionable takeaways to implement better marketing and business strategies.

4. The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: The Duct Tape Marketing podcast has been delivering expert insights and tips for marketers since 2005. Host John Jantsch interviews top marketers and thought leaders for daily tips, tactics, and sources of inspiration geared towards small businesses.

5. Marketing Made Simple

Why Listen: Marketing doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. The Marketing Made Simple podcast by StoryBrand offers weekly tips to help marketers simplify their efforts for better results.

6. Go-To Gal with Jaclyn Mellone: Online Marketing + Mindset for Female Entrepreneurs

Why Listen: A healthy mindset is a non-negotiable trait for successful marketers and entrepreneurs. Host Jaclyn Mellone along with her guests tackle important topics such as building a personal brand, creating effective marketing systems and creating equitable and inclusive businesses.

7. The Marketing Analytics Show

Why Listen: In marketing, data is everything. The Marketing Analytics Show helps listeners feel more confident working with marketing analytics. In each episode, host Anna Shutko interviews marketers and analysts who share how they leverage data to make informed decisions and strategies.

8. The Market Your Genius Podcast

Why Listen: Nikki Nash is the author, speaker, and marketing mentor behind the Market Your Genius book and podcast. In weekly episodes, Nash and guests share personal anecdotes mini-trainings with actionable takeaways to empower listeners to grow their businesses and reach the right audience.

9. The CMO Podcast

Why Listen: Ever wish you could pick the brains of top Chief Marketing Officers? Well, you can by tuning into The CMO Podcast. Each week host Jim Stengel, former CMO of Procter & Gamble turned entrepreneur, facilitates in-depth conversations with CMOs of all backgrounds to inform and inspire.

10. The Sakita Method

Why Listen: Award-winning publicist and entrepreneur Sakita Holley shares a mix of solo episodes and interviews featuring successful creatives, entrepreneurs, and business professionals. Each episode has tangible insights listeners can apply to their own careers and businesses to drive positive results.

11. Metrics & Chill: The Podcast About Improving Business Metrics

Why Listen: The Metrics & Chill podcast by Databox takes the saying “what gets measured gets done” to a whole new level. For listeners looking for innovative ways to collect and analyze business data, Metrics & Chill offers informative case studies and takeaways from how successful companies manage their data.

12. MarTech

Why Listen: Tune in to the MarTech podcast to earn directly from marketers just like you. Each episode features an innovative marketer who shares the challenges and triumphs of their careers in the field. By the end of each episode, you’ll hear tangible tips and tricks to take your career to the next level.

Best Digital Marketing Podcasts

1. Online Marketing Made Easy

Why Listen: Online Marketing Made Easy hosted by Amy Porterfield is a top-rated business podcast covering digital marketing strategies for online business owners. Porterfield specializes in taking big ideas and breaking them down into actionable steps the listener can immediately apply to their own business.

2. Marketing School

Why Listen: Digital marketing experts Neil Patel and Eric Siu share bite-sized daily episodes packed with actionable advice. Topics covered include the latest SEO strategies, maximizing engagement on social media, and setting meaningful goals.

3. The Digital Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: The Digital Marketing Podcast hosted by Ciaran Rogers and Daniel Rowles is equal parts informative and entertaining. With many episodes clocking in at under 30 minutes, listeners can gain a wealth of information about the latest and greatest digital marketing strategies in an easily digestible format.

4. Socialette: Bite-Sized Online Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: If you’re looking for quick tips you’ll actually use, Socialette by Steph Taylor is for you. In each episode, Taylor dives into a different area of digital marketing to answer questions at the top of every digital marketer and online entrepreneur’s mind.

Best Content Marketing Podcasts

1. Copyblogger

Why Listen: If you enjoy deep dives into content marketing, email marketing, lead conversion, and copywriting the Copyblogger podcast is for you. Each week host Tim Stoddart sits down with content marketing experts who share their lessons learned and actionable takeaways for the listener.

2. Social Pros Podcast

Why Listen: Social media is an ever-changing, yet critical component of many company’s marketing strategies. Social Pros features top social media strategists who spotlight key trends and changes happening in the social media landscape so marketers can be ahead of the curve.

3. Actionable Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: The Actionable Marketing Podcast is a weekly show for marketers who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Each episode is designed to be concise and actionable for marketers at any stage in their careers.

4. The Agents of Change: SEO, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing for Small Business

Why Listen: The Agents of Change helps listeners learn how to use content to get in front of their ideal customers. Host Rich Brooks interviews guests who offer practical advice on SEO, social media marketing, and more.

5. Build Your Tribe | Grow Your Business with Social Media

Why Listen: Though primarily geared towards entrepreneurs, Build Your Tribe by Chalene and Brock Johnson offers valuable advice for anyone looking to leverage online platforms for business growth. Topics include branding basics, the latest hashtag strategies, social media content ideas, and more.

6. Perpetual Traffic

Why Listen: Perpetual Traffic, produced by DigitalMarketer, is all about lead acquisition and audience growth for businesses of all sizes. Hosts Ralph Burns and Amanda Powell discuss paid advertising strategies companies can use to expand their reach.

7. The Influencer Podcast

Why Listen: The Influencer Podcast is a must-listen for those who focus on influencer marketing. This show provides valuable insight into the world of influencer marketing and has key anecdotes for influencers and marketers alike.

8. Social Media Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: Social Media Marketing is hosted by Social Media Examiner’s Michael Stelzner and has been a valued resource on all things social media since 2012. This podcast delivers weekly episodes designed to help marketers learn new strategies and deliver better campaigns.

Affiliate Marketing Podcasts

1. The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast

Why Listen: Smart Passive Income hosted by Pat Flynn covers various topics related to online business and affiliate marketing. Flynn offers a mix of solo episodes and interviews with guests to cover a variety of topics including ethical affiliate marketing to help companies and their affiliate partners generate revenue.

2. The Affiliate Guy

Why Listen: Marketers interested in learning the latest affiliate marketing news can subscribe to The Affiliate Guy hosted by Matt McWilliams. This weekly podcast shares tips, news, and insights related to how companies can better manage affiliate programs and help their affiliates earn higher commissions.

3. Affiliated: ClickBank’s Official Affiliate Marketing Podcast

Why Listen: Hosts Thomas McMahon and Kyle Kostechka publish bi-weekly to share effective affiliate marketing strategies that work across industries.

Press Play

For marketers ready to expand their skillset and learn new strategies, there is a wealth of information waiting for you.

Did you know LinkedIn has over 774 million users across the globe? This metric alone makes the platform one of the top social networks today.

Is your business using LinkedIn to its fullest potential to improve brand awareness, build your network, boost leads and conversions, and increase revenue? With new social networks sprouting up constantly, LinkedIn is a platform that’s often underutilized. The truth is, LinkedIn can be a powerful addition to your social media content strategy.

This guide is chock full of LinkedIn tips you can begin implementing immediately to help you learn how to use the platform to improve brand awareness, share your marketing content, and grow your business.

When you use LinkedIn to market your business, you gain access to useful features related to analytics, connections, and brand-building, just to name a few. (Don’t worry, we’ll review all of these in-depth momentarily.)

But first, here’s a quick primer for those of you who may be new to LinkedIn.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn launched in 2003 with a focus on networking, building careers, and sharing ideas. The platform enables its members to connect and share content with other professionals including colleagues, potential employers, business partners, competitors, new employees, and customers.

This is why having your business on LinkedIn is so powerful — the platform is a fantastic marketing tool.

For a quick guide on the tips below, check out our video on “How to Use LinkedIn for Business and Marketing.”

 

Now, let’s review the ways you can use LinkedIn to market and grow your business.

LinkedIn allows you to drive traffic to your website, identify quality leads, share your expertise through thought-leadership content, and grow your network. It’s also a great way to market job openings and attract new talent to your company. These are just some of the reasons why LinkedIn is an ideal platform for all businesses to market on. Here are a few more tactical ways you can incorporate LinkedIn into your social media content strategy.

1. Use hashtags.

Hashtags are often used to add emphasis to your LinkedIn post, but they actually serve a purpose that can change your marketing strategy for the better. These simple phrases preceded by a hashtag symbol are goldmines for tapping into new audiences, industries, and niches. But using too many, or worse — the wrong ones, can hinder your reach.

That means you’ll want to strike a balance between relevant and popular hashtags by doing hashtag research on LinkedIn. Use the search bar to query a broad hashtag first. For example, if you work in growth marketing, start by searching #growthmarketing to see how many people are following the hashtag, and how often it is being used.

From here, start with three to five hashtags that reach the audiences you want to speak to. These hashtags should vary in the number of people following them, so don’t get too fixated on high numbers. Related but lesser-known hashtags can narrow your reach to an audience who would be likely to engage with your LinkedIn content.

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LinkedIn Pages are able to be followed without sending a connection and waiting for approval. That means when a LinkedIn user shares your Page with their connections, those individuals will be able to follow your page and see your business’ content right away which has the potential for high engagement. LinkedIn Pages and LinkedIn Profiles serve different purposes in LinkedIn marketing. Pages are public and used primarily by businesses. Profiles are private and used by individuals. Each of them works with the LinkedIn algorithm, but you’ll have different tools that you can leverage to grow your audience.

LinkedIn Profiles can be followed as well, but what makes them unique is the ability to have one-on-one, private conversations with connections who request to join your network. If you’re a consultant, work in direct sales, or prefer to take an individualized approach to your business, you’ll want to have a LinkedIn Profile to capitalize on this feature.

Both of these LinkedIn entities can work in tandem to create the ultimate marketing workflow. For example, you can list yourself as an employee of your business by listing your business’ LinkedIn Page as your employer on your personal Profile. That way, when a visitor lands on your Profile, they’ll see your Page, too.

3. Create posts of varying lengths.

Quick, bold posts pack a punch on LinkedIn. Long-form stories capture the readers’ attention and lead to a longer dwell time on the app. Both of these types of posts should have a place in your LinkedIn content plan.

You don’t want to become known as the person who only shares monologues because your network won’t always have time to read them. Along the same lines, too many short posts can come across as lacking substance which could make you seem less authoritative as a thought leader.

Varying the length of your posts (as well as adding images and videos) can keep your content fresh and relevant to your network. You’ll have content that gets people excited to see what gems you drop next.

4. Share external articles on the platform.

Unlike other platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn’s algorithm supports external links to blogs and websites. So long as the content you post has value and is relevant to your audience, you’ll find success posting other people’s content on the platform.

Although you don’t have to worry about formally crediting the author if you’re linking directly to their website, it’s not a bad idea to tag them in your post or use their hashtag to give credit. Sometimes, they’ll share your post with their own followers, or comment under the post which introduces your Profile to their audience. How cool is that?

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5. Keep your publishing schedule consistent.

Known as the platform for having one of the longest content lifespans, LinkedIn is a platform that doesn’t need a ’round-the-clock publishing schedule. What it does need is a consistent one.

Whether you publish every day, every other day, or even once a week, your network will come to expect your content regularly which builds trust. Choose a schedule that makes sense for your business and stick to it for a month. See what days and times are yielding the best engagement and make those part of your publishing schedule.

Below, we’ll cover some effective ways to use the LinkedIn platform. These tips can be tailored to your needs — whether you have a personal LinkedIn page, business page, or both — no matter your industry or size. However, you’ll notice some of the points we’re going to cover are more suited for businesses looking to boost brand awareness or share content while others are more tailored towards those looking to recruit and hire new talent.

1. Customize your public Profile URL.

Make your Profile look more professional, and easier to share, by customizing your LinkedIn public Profile URL. Instead of a URL with confusing numbers at the end, it will look nice and clean like this:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/amandazantalwiener.

You can do this by clicking View Profile and then clicking Edit Public Profile and URL. Here you can change your URL to anything you’d like — such as your first and last name or business name — assuming it hasn’t already been taken by another LinkedIn user.

2. Add a LinkedIn background photo to your Profile.

Give your LinkedIn Profile a little bit more personality by adding an on-brand background photo. Although one is automatically provided to you, you can update it to showcase your personal brand, special interests, or catch the eyes of hiring managers and recruiters.

LinkedIn recommends a background photo size of 1584 x 396 pixels, and it must be a JPG, PNG, or GIF file under 8MB.

3. Add a ProFinder Badge to your Profile.

You might consider adding a ProFinder Badge, which is used to identify freelancers within LinkedIn’s ProFinder. This service matches contractors with project managers who are seeking help. Freelancers can display a ProFinder badge on their Profiles to show prospective clients their skills, expertise, and recommendations.

LinkedIn offers two badge themes for you to choose from:

4. Take advantage of the blog and website links on your LinkedIn Profile.

You can add portfolio links and social networks to your LinkedIn page. Links to your content and business information can also be added to your Profile to increase clicks. This feature allows you to draw greater attention to specific areas of your page to drive traffic elsewhere.

For example, if you produced a podcast, you can share links to your episodes on LinkedIn (e.g. SoundCloud tracks) to promote your work.

5. Optimize your LinkedIn Profile for the search engines.

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t limited to blogging — you can also optimize your Profile to get discovered by people searching LinkedIn for key terms you want to be found for. You can add these keywords to various sections of your Profile, such as your headline, your summary, or your work experience.

Download a free SEO starter pack to learn everything you need to know about optimizing your business’ content.

6. Add, remove, and rearrange sections of your Profile.

You can edit and reorder sections of your LinkedIn Profile to highlight specific pieces of information in any way you see fit. When you’re in edit mode, simply hover your mouse over the double-sided arrow in each section. Your mouse will turn into a four-arrow icon, at which point you can click, drag, and drop to another position on your Profile.

7. Use Saved Searches and Search Alerts in LinkedIn Recruiter.

If you use LinkedIn Recruiter, you can use Saved Searches to save your search criteria — if you’re marketing job opportunities via LinkedIn, this is a great addition to your tool belt.

With the feature, you can save as many searches as you want and receive alerts when new candidates match your filter refinements and criteria. You can elect to receive daily or weekly search alerts from the system about relevant results via the Recruiter homepage.

8. List job opportunities and recruit new talent with LinkedIn’s job postings.

And speaking of your business’ open job opportunities, don’t forget to add and market your new positions on the LinkedIn Jobs page.

Here, candidates can learn about your business and openings by searching for specific keywords such as job title, industry, location, salary, experience level, and more.

9. Take advantage of LinkedIn Endorsements.

LinkedIn offers a feature called Endorsements — this allows you to recognize people you work with by endorsing their skills.

You can promote and endorse the skills of the people you work closest with to help refer them for other work, make their Profiles more impressive, show your support, and more.

10. Use Open Profile to send messages to people you’re not connected to.

To branch out and make new connections with potential partners, customers, and other industry leaders, you might want to send them a personalized message.

With the exception of fellow LinkedIn Group members, the platform only allows you to send messages to people with whom you share a first-degree connection. But did you know some people let you send them messages anyway, even if you’re not connected?

Here’s how that works: The ability to be part of the Open Profile network is only available to Premium account holders, but it allows those users to be available for messaging by any other LinkedIn member regardless of membership type.

Additionally, there are options for sending messages to those with whom you’re not yet connected, similar to sending a request to connect with a note (though we don’t recommend overusing this technique). Additionally, if you have a premium account, you can use InMail.

11. Check your Network Updates (or share your own).

Found on your LinkedIn homepage, Network Updates are essentially LinkedIn’s version of the Facebook News Feed. Check this feed periodically for a quick snapshot of what your connections, customers, competitors, and others are up to and sharing. You can also share updates of your own, such as details about your products or services and noteworthy content your business has created and published.

You may choose to sign up for email notifications or sort by “Top Updates” and “Recent Updates” to filter your feed in any way you choose.

12. Be identifiable.

Your LinkedIn connections should recognize your Profile the moment they look at it. A great way to make your Profile easily identifiable is by ensuring your Profile’s name, headline, and other simple identifiers are easy to see.

Note: You should always have your Public Profile setting enabled as well, to be visible and identifiable for your audience.

13. Check out who’s viewed your LinkedIn Profile.

Learn a little about your audience members, potential leads, and customers who are viewing your Profile and marketing content that you’re sharing on LinkedIn.

How? With the Who Viewed Your Profile feature.

This tool, which is accessible in the main navigation via the Profile drop down, enables you to identify the exact people who have visited your page. You can see how you stack up against the Profile views for your connections, other businesses like yours, and more.

14. Export connections.

Now, it’s no secret that you can use the connections you make on LinkedIn to drive traffic to your site and grow your base of paying customers. Exporting your connections — to a contact management system, for example — is a great place to start.

Under your Advanced Settings, you can start exporting your LinkedIn connections.

15. Customize your Connections to grow your professional network.

LinkedIn offers features to help you grow your professional network and make valuable connections. There are several ways to do this depending on what you’re looking to accomplish.

Here are some examples:

• Add, view, and remove connections depending on their level of value to your business.
• Control who can see your connections — maybe you do or don’t want your competitors to see that list of people.
• Leverage your second and third-degree connections to grow your network and build new relationships.
• Import and sync your contacts from your email and other sources to stay in touch with colleagues, partners, leads, and customers across the board. These connections will see your content in multiple places so they learn more about who you are as a business, deepening their relationship with your brand.

16. Join LinkedIn Groups.

LinkedIn Groups are a great way to make connections with people who work in, or are interested in, your industry. They serve as a hub for you and other members to share content, grow your contact list, establish yourself as an expert in the field, and boost brand awareness.

There are several other benefits that come from joining LinkedIn Groups. For example, by joining Groups related to your industry and participating in discussions within those groups, you’ll inspire thought leadership in your industry.

Additionally, by joining Groups, you can view complete Profiles of other members of the same group without being connected. Also, if you’re a member of the same group as another user, LinkedIn allows you to send up to 15 free 1:1 messages to fellow group members per month (typically, you can only do this if you’re a first-degree connection).

17. Create your own LinkedIn Group.

Consider creating a LinkedIn Group of your very own, like HubSpot did with the popular Inbound Marketers Group.

You can use your group to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, grow a community of advocates, generate new marketing content ideas, promote brand awareness, and generate new leads.

18. Communicate with your LinkedIn Group.

And on that note, there are more reasons to create your own Group on LinkedIn. In fact, one of the perks of managing a LinkedIn Group is that LinkedIn makes it simple to interact and communicate with the members of the Group you’re in charge of.

You can either send messages to group members or create a group post. Sending messages allows you to write a member of your group directly, or share content with them, from your group’s page. This is great if you have something to share with a specific person in your group. Creating a group post allows you to share any content you’d like on your group’s page which is ideal for initiating a discussion.

19. Share your LinkedIn status updates on Twitter.

Add your Twitter account to your LinkedIn Profile so you can share status updates across platforms. This is also a great way to boost your Twitter followers and LinkedIn connections.

For example, if you’re posting an update to LinkedIn that you’d also like your Twitter followers to see, you can easily syndicate that update to Twitter by selecting the Public + Twitter option in the dropdown menu within the LinkedIn update composer.

20. Leverage @mentions in your status updates.

Want another LinkedIn user or company to see your status update? On LinkedIn, you can tag — or @mention — users and other companies in your status updates much like the way it works on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Include the @ symbol immediately followed by the user’s/ company’s name in your status update or post. As a result, that user/ company will be alerted that you mentioned them, and their name will also link to their Profile and Page in the status update itself. This is a great way to boost engagement and interaction on your content as well as improve brand awareness.

21. Design all aspects of your LinkedIn page.

The design of LinkedIn pages has changed a lot over the years. Make sure yours is set up correctly and optimized for the latest layout, featuring a compelling and high-quality banner image.

Take a look at what HubSpot’s Company Page looks like for inspiration:

Use guides and templates to discover the best ways to design your LinkedIn page for optimal business, marketing, and professional networking.

22. Create LinkedIn Showcase Pages.

LinkedIn Showcase Pages are niche pages that branch off your business’ page to highlight specific initiatives and campaigns or feature specific content you’re working on.

Think of Showcase Pages as extensions of your main page that allow you to promote specific products or cater to your marketing personas — this provides a more personalized and targeted experience for your page visitors. This is a great way to expand your network on LinkedIn because other users can choose to follow your Showcase Page(s) even if they haven’t followed your main page.

23. Post company status updates and target them.

Publish Status Updates for your business on your LinkedIn page for your followers to see. This keeps your LinkedIn connections engaged and in the loop regarding your business’ latest developments, work, content, and updates. In your status updates, you can share written information, images, videos, documents, and more.

You can also post Targeted LinkedIn Status Updates tailored towards specific people and groups within your audience. To do this, use criteria such as company size, industry, job function, seniority, geography, language, or by including/ excluding company employees.

These targeted updates will appear on your page — or Showcase Page — as well as on LinkedIn for the targeted users (specifically, in their Network Updates feed).

24. Check out LinkedIn’s Content Marketing Score & Trending Content resources.

You can learn how impactful your organic and paid LinkedIn marketing content is with the platform’s Content Marketing Score and Trending Content resources.

Your Content Marketing Score tells you your impact on LinkedIn by measuring overall audience engagement with your content. Trending Content tells you which topics you are posting and sharing content about that are resonating with specific audience groups on the platform, allowing you to optimize your content for greater impact.

25. Experiment with LinkedIn Sponsored Content and Native Ads.

If you’re looking to complement your organic LinkedIn marketing efforts with some paid advertising, LinkedIn Ads are a smart choice. One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn advertising: the targeting options.

LinkedIn’s PPC ads let you target specific job titles, job functions, industries, or company size, to name a few — you know, the people who are more likely to want/ need what you sell.

If you want to get started with LinkedIn’s advertising platform, check out our free guide to advertising on LinkedIn.

26. Share content through LinkedIn’s publishing platform.

Good news! You no longer have to be a LinkedIn influencer to publish new articles on LinkedIn. Publishing is available to all users on the platform. Experiment with how this feature can support your marketing goals by creating content and promoting it on your business’ LinkedIn page.

For example, you might experiment with syndicating content from your blog to LinkedIn — this way, you can promote subscriptions to your blog via LinkedIn.

27. Add a Page Follow Button to your website.

Add the LinkedIn Company Follow button to your website to promote your company’s LinkedIn presence and the content you share on the platform. When your website visitors follow your LinkedIn page via your site, they’ll automatically become connected to you and be able to view your company’s latest updates on the platform.

Using this method, you can boost your engagement and number of connections on LinkedIn by driving traffic to the platform directly from your website.

28. Analyze your LinkedIn marketing performance.

So … how are your LinkedIn marketing efforts faring? Analyzing your efforts and making necessary adjustments is critical to your success on the platform.

LinkedIn has in-depth page analytics as well as reporting tools for businesses to evaluate overall performance. There are specific data about how effective your status updates, content, and reach are as well as details about your page’s engagement and followers (like audience member demographics).

Market Your Business on LinkedIn

Are you ready to get started marketing your business on LinkedIn?

With so many updates and additions to LinkedIn on the horizon, we can’t wait to see how the network continues to make itself an integral resource and platform for marketers, job seekers, candidate seekers, and other professionals. Get started marketing on LinkedIn by experimenting with one of these best practices.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

In 2018, 63% of consumers surveyed in an Accenture study revealed that they preferred to shop from purpose-driven brands. Fast forward to 2021 and that sentiment has only grown.

IBM ran a study in 2020 on consumer behavior and found that 57% of consumers are willing to change their shopping habits to be more environmentally conscious. In the same study, nearly eight of out 10 respondents stated that sustainability is important to them.

So, how does a brand leverage sustainable marketing to appeal to a growing, socially conscious audience? We’ll cover that and more below.

Green Marketing vs. Sustainable Marketing

While both terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between green marketing and sustainability marketing.

Green marketing focuses on strategies that promote environmental awareness and protection. Sustainable marketing, on the other hand, is a little broader.

It encompasses green marketing but it also includes practices that go beyond the environment, like social and economic issues.

1. Have a larger purpose.

Brands typically judge their success by the numbers. How much revenue they have or will generate in any given period is usually the biggest indicator of success.

Sustainability shifts this perspective by having brands evaluate themselves by something bigger than profit.

As a brand, you have to promote something that’s bigger than your products and services and transcends any particular industry.

Do you have a clear social mission? If not, spend time discovering what that is and how your brand plays a role in furthering that mission.

For instance, fashion brand Autumn Adeigbo sells clothing, accessories, and home decor items. However, its mission, as stated on its website, is to impact the lives of women on a global scale. They do so by using female-owned production facilities, employing female artisans, among other practices.

2. Think ahead.

Sustainability marketing is all about building long-term value.

Too often, brands focus on gaining immediate returns. For instance, many marketing tactics like running Google Ads and blogging are great lead generators.

However, what happens once your lead has made a purchase and turned into a customer? How will you build loyalty and create brand evangelists?

Sustainable marketing looks at ways to nurture consumers during the entire buyer’s journey.

Education is one way to build loyalty with your audience early on. From when they first discover you on social media to after they’ve made a purpose.

For instance, a food brand could educate its audience on the importance of ethical farming on social media and continue this process post-purchase with package recycling tips.

3. Be customer-oriented.

You might be thinking, “Isn’t being consumer-oriented what all marketing is? “

Ideally, yes but that’s not always the case.

In traditional marketing, a brand will often try to push a product or service to a customer. With consumer-oriented marketing, it’s more about understanding your customers’ needs and tailoring your marketing to that.

For instance, say your audience is craving more transparency in your sourcing practices or want you to be more vocal on social issues. You could use that information for your next campaign.

With so much competition out there, one way to stay customer-oriented is by innovating.

We’ve all heard the Blockbuster and Netflix cautionary tale. But that speaks to a huge societal shift that Blockbuster was unwilling to make.

But the truth is, innovation doesn’t always have to be so big. It can happen in small iterations – the key here is staying in touch with your audience’s needs.

4. Reflect sustainability in every aspect of your brand.

Sustainability marketing doesn’t work if it’s not authentic.

Imagine finding out a business that claims to be sustainable has failed to implement any practices to promote its mission. Consumers would distrust that brand and it would be difficult to earn it back.

Make sure your brand is looking at sustainability from a holistic lens.

Are you preaching about sustainability but use unsustainable resources to build your product? Are you collaborating with brands that conflict with your mission? Is your team representative of the future you want to promote?

These are the questions you should ask to determine if your brand reflects the mission you’ve set out to achieve. Identify the areas that need work and go to the drawing board to figure out strategies that align with your mission.

Audiences don’t expect perfection, they do, however, value transparency. It’s OK – and recommended – to share where you currently fall short and how you plan to remedy these issues.

Sustainable Marketing Examples

1. Pangiai

Materials science company, Pangiai, wants to save the environment.

Every piece of marketing the brand puts out is centered around this core mission, including this video campaign.

In it, the brand explains its mission to “reverse the cycle from the unnatural to natural, from plastic to plants […], from the new to the recycled.”

What’s effective about this ad is that Pangiai describes the future they want to see and outlines the strategies it will implement to get there.

Throughout the ad, you see Pangiai products but they’re not the focus. This tells viewers the mission drives the products, not the other way around — and that’s sustainable marketing done right.

2. Nada Duele

In the previous section, we discussed the importance of having a holistic approach to sustainability marketing.

With Nada Duele, their mission is reflected in everything: from their name, which represents the idea that products should not cause harm, to the initiatives they take part in.

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When you visit their “How We Work” section, you learn about their collaboration with a Guatemalan institute dedicated to protecting the forestry sector.

It’s important that the partnerships your brand takes on align with your values. Otherwise, you risk losing credibility and trust.

3. Satya + Sage

Social media is one of the best and easiest ways to implement a sustainable marketing strategy.

You can share a range of content, from educating your followers on sustainable practices to sharing ways your brand is being sustainable.

In this example from candle company Satya + Sage, they share tips on how to use the seed paper that comes with every candle.

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On social media, in particular, pay attention to the questions your followers ask and the comments they make, as that can inform which marketing strategies you test in the future.

Why is sustainable marketing important?

Sustainability is a topic that has gained a lot of traction as of late, however, research shows it transcends age.

The 2020 IBM study on consumer behavior revealed that while Millennials are the most interested in sustainability awareness, Boomers (and all consumers in between) strongly consider it when choosing brands.

As a result, even if your brand isn’t rooting in this mission, you will still find value in investing time and resources in sustainable practices and marketing to attract more customers.

Back in 2007, a research firm estimated that the average person saw up to 5,000 ads a day.

Fast forward to 2021, there’s no official number, but we can assume that number has probably doubled. I mean, you can’t stream a show or scroll on social media without being inundated with ads.

On YouTube, in particular, we’ve come to expect at least one ad per video. The question is, which ads are consumers paying attention to?

In this article, we’ll cover the top YouTube ads of the last two years and what made them so effective.

Best YouTube Ads of 2021 and 2020

1. Amazon: “Alexa’s Body”

At 78,344,440 views on YouTube, this ad had everyone’s attention.

To promote its virtual assistant technology, Alexa, Amazon delivers a creative and hilarious ad featuring movie star, Michael B. Jordan.

The ad starts out simply enough with a woman admiring Amazon’s Echo Dot. She then turns to the window, sees an ad for Jordan’s movie “Without Remorse” and imagines a whole life in which Alexa is actually Jordan.

The audience takes this hilarious journey with her, as she enjoys life just a little too much with Jordan – that is until she snaps back to reality.

Here’s why this ad is fantastic: It takes a product that can be hard to advertise and quite literally brings it to life with a celebrity, People Magazine’s 2020 “Sexiest Man Alive” recipient no less.

A celebrity endorsement can definitely help boost brand awareness and recall, as long as they’re well aligned. In this case, it made for a memorable and effective ad.

2. Nike: “Never Too Far Down, You Can’t Stop Us”

When you think of Nike, one word that probably comes to mind is “inspiration.”

That concept is embedded in the brand’s values and mission statement. It’s also reflected in their ads.

Featuring some of the world’s top athletes, this ad dives into the ups and downs of success.

Footage of athletes at their lowest moments floods the screen, as basketball star Lebron James narrates the journey. He describes the struggle of falling down and the ability to get back up.

Nike has found which messaging resonates best with its audience. As a result, they don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they focus on recreating the same impact with influencers, celebrities, and everyday people.

The takeaway here is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

3. Ad Council: Child Car Safety

This PSA is a personal favorite of mine.

You’ve got to admit: Any commercial with kids is usually a winner. But this one, in particular, stands out because it doesn’t rely solely on cuteness as the hook.

In this ad, two children stand in their yard as they watch their parents argue about the installation of a basketball hoop.

The father reassures the mother that “it’s all good” but all it takes is the hoop slamming to the ground for him (and her) to lose all confidence. The perspective then changes to one of the children as they encourage parents to visit a website for safer car rides.

How does it connect? Well, the idea is that the father has proven he’s willing to do anything for his kids including “routinely test [his] handyman skills” and “the strength of [his] marriage.” So ensuring his kids are safe in car rides should be an easy task.

Who said serious topics required serious ads? Often, humor is the best way to get the message across.

4. Zillow: “Susans”

Making a decision isn’t as simple as saying “yes” or “no.” You often go back and forth discussing pros and cons, battling with different versions of yourself.

For instance, the indulgent me often struggles with the foodie me. One side says, “be conscious of the foods you eat,” while the other screams “CAKE.” That one usually wins.

This Zillow ad takes this concept and runs with it.

Susan, the woman featured in the ad, talks through selling her home and buying a new one with the various versions of herself, including Negative Susan, Spontaneous Susan, and Paranoid Susan.

The second best part of the ad – the first is when Late Susan sneaks into the meeting – is when Lazy Susan brings up the hassle of going through that process. Helpful Susan then brings up how Zillow is the solution to this issue.

What Zillow has accomplished here is tackle the objections consumers typically have about real estate in a relatable way. By understanding how their audience thinks and what they struggle with, they made an ad that was engaging and relevant.

5. AT&T: “Say Goodbye to Awkward Chats”

Bad video connection? We’ve all been there.

The person you’re video chatting with starts buffering and frozen for seconds at a time. After you’ve taken the embarrassing screenshot, it stops being funny and you wonder how long it’s going to last.

AT&T takes this situation one step further.

The ad shows a new mom introducing her sister to her newborn. Unfortunately, just as the baby reaches the screen, the aunt’s signal lags and causes her to freeze as her face shows disgust.

The sister inevitably mistakes the sister’s facial expressions regarding the internet and takes it to mean something about her baby.

In just 30 seconds, the ad takes something that happens in everyday life and turns it into a funny, relatable ad.

Moral of the story: You don’t always have to go far to create a great ad. They can come from the seemingly mundane parts of our lives.

6. Masterclass: “Chris Voss Teaches the Art of Negotiation”

Masterclass’ top viewed video on YouTube is an ad for one of their masterclasses: the art of negotiation.

Despite having other videos that feature more household names, this seems to be the video that captured most viewers’ attention.

Some will argue it’s the content, and they may be right. I think it’s the formula they used.

From the second this ad starts, it sucks you in with the statement: “Everything in life is a negotiation.” From there, you’re immersed in the world of the subject and narrator.

The reason this ad is so powerful is that it answers the most important question: Why should I care?

It tells viewers exactly how this relates to them, how they would benefit from it, and how they can use it in their daily life.

Unless your ad is product-focused, it should give them the answer to those questions.

7. Travelers Insurance: “Legacy”

It wouldn’t be a top 10 YouTube ad list without an insurance company listed, right?

Insurance companies are notorious for taking the funny route for commercials. Because how else do you market a product that’s only needed in the event of something terrible?

Travelers Insurance did something different with this YouTube ad.

The brand told the story of a businessman passing his legacy, the family business, to his daughter. And they’re able to do that because they had insurance to rebuild the store following a natural disaster.

Using the concept of legacy isn’t something we’ve seen much from insurance ads. It’s heartwarming without fearmongering and that’s why it works so well.

8. Bluehost: “Build Beyond Boundaries”

When it comes to generating buzz for your product or service, showing is better than telling.

In 55 seconds, Bluehost delivered a fantastic ad that covered the brand’s top features without overwhelming the viewer.

The ad serves as a mini product demo, showcasing how easy it is to use using a fictional website concept. Here’s why it works:

• The viewer leaves knowing how it works and what are some top features.
• The video includes rich media to keep viewers engaged.

If you’re interested in creating a media-rich ad like this, consider the audio and video content platform, Casted. 

9. The General Auto: “The Lunchroom”

For years, The General had commercials that many consumers thought were low-quality. In their 2021 ad, the brand came with a fresh new look.

This ad starts with two men approaching former athlete Shaq in a lunchroom as he eats with a young friend. They reference a previous conversation in which they disagreed with Shaq about The General and refused to sit with him.

They acknowledge that they “misjudged them based on their commercials” then ask for forgiveness, plus a seat at his lunch table.

Now more than ever, consumers crave transparency. This was a great move for the brand because it addressed the elephant in the room.

The General realized their ads were contributing to (or causing) a negative perception of their brand. Instead of quietly rebranding, they took the objection and tackled it head-on, weaving it into their new ad campaigns.

The messaging is clear: Our brand is still trustworthy and credible despite our old ads.

So, if there’s a misconception about your brand, don’t be afraid to use that in your next campaign.

So, there you have it – the top YouTube ads of the last two years. What they all have in common is a deep understanding of their audience’s needs, behaviors, and own perceptions of the brand.

Recently, I set an iPhone time limit on my social media use to “45 minutes”.

I figured 45 minutes would be more than enough. Almost an hour? In between working at HubSpot, catching up with friends, and attending exercise classes, I had no doubt 45 minutes would be plenty of social media consumption.

Unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly that I actually spend 45 minutes on social media before I even get to work in the morning.

I know I’m not alone. In fact, the average daily social media use of internet users worldwide amounts to 145 minutes per day.

With all that social media consumption, it makes sense that more businesses are turning to social media to market to their audiences. But marketing is just one aspect of the buyer’s journey — what about sales? Can that be done within social media platforms, as well?

It’s actually now entirely possible for businesses to sell products and services natively within social media sites.

Here, we’re going to explore that very concept — known as social commerce — and take a look at some impressive examples of social commerce, so you can consider trying it for your own company. Additionally, we’ll list some of the most popular social commerce platforms available today, so you can decide which one could give you the highest ROI.

Since many businesses are marketing on these social media sites already, it makes sense to allow users to purchase from within these platforms without leaving the site at all.

Should you leverage social commerce?

If you sell physical products online, leveraging social commerce is a great way to drive sales and revenue to your business. Users are used to the native purchasing experience at this point and prefer to be able to quickly make a purchase right on the social media app.

1. Social media checkout capabilities.

One of the best examples of social commerce is the ability to click a product and checkout right from within a social media site, like Instagram or Facebook.

For instance, Instagram has a “checkout” feature on their app, which allows you to click on a product within a post, choose a size and color, and proceed to payment within the platform.

The first time you use Instagram’s checkout feature, you simply need to enter your name, email, billing information, and shipping address. Once your order is complete, Instagram saves your information so you don’t need to enter it the next time you shop.

Additionally, you’ll receive notifications about shipping and delivery right from within Instagram, so you can also track your purchase without leaving the app.

For instance, let’s take a look at what happens when I click the “View Products” button (bottom right) on one of @NikeWomen’s Instagram posts:

Instagram immediately pulls up a page with all the details of every product included in the image.

Let’s say I’m particularly interested in the sneakers. From within Instagram, I can choose a color and size and then click the blue “Checkout on Instagram” button. If I’ve shopped on Instagram before, I don’t even need to re-enter my information. Pretty simple, right?

Plenty of other social networks have these checkout features, including Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

2. Social commerce plugins and apps.

As social commerce continues to rise in popularity, we’ll continue to see more plugins and third-party apps emerge to make the process even more seamless for businesses and users alike.

For instance, one third-party app called Soldsie allows your followers to make a purchase on one of your products by simply typing “Sold” into the comments section of a post. Once they’ve commented “Sold”, the app takes care of the rest, emailing the user an invoice to complete.

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Soldsie notes — “As fans comment, your sales trend on Facebook as each photo is shared with your fan’s Facebook friends.” For instance, if my friend comments “Sold” on a Facebook post of a cute sundress, I’ll see the picture in my News Feed and might consider purchasing one for myself.

Ultimately, social commerce is a good opportunity to increase brand awareness while also increasing sales — a win, win.

3. Shoppable ads.

Shoppable ads is another example of social commerce, and is currently available on both Instagram and Snapchat.

Simply put, shoppable ads allows businesses to tag products in an Instagram or Snapchat sponsored post, ideally creating a more efficient ad-to-purchase experience. Best of all, this type of social commerce helps businesses collect valuable data on which ads convert prospects into customers immediately.

The features you’ll find on shoppable ads within both Snapchat and Instagram continue to improve — for instance, Snapchat has advanced features on their shoppable ads, including collection ads, product catalogs, advanced pixel targeting, and 30+ new Snapchat partners.

Wish, an e-commerce app, successfully uses Snapchat’s product catalog feature to create different Snap Ads and Story ads to showcase a large variety of their products, as shown below.

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Shoppable ads are undeniably profitable if done well — on Snapchat alone, FabFitFun lowered cost-per-purchase by 36%, while American Eagle increased return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) by more than 3X.

With shoppable ads, you’re able to market and sell directly to your intended audience without causing friction in a user’s social media experience. For instance, 73% of Snapchat users are between 18-24 years old. If this is your ideal demographic, why not try including your products or services directly within the ads you’re creating on Snapchat? This allows users to find products of interest to them without needing to leave the app at all.

4. Chatbot checkouts.

One final example of social commerce that’s critical to point out is chatbot checkouts — the ability for a user to find and purchase a product by chatting with a chatbot within a social platform.

For instance, consider SnapTravel’s Facebook Messenger bot, which helps people find hotel deals and book rooms right from within Messenger:

As you continue chatting with the bot, you’ll receive better, more customized deals based on your requirements. Additionally, you can click “Open Filter” to further modify your search based on your criteria, and a new screen will open up right from within Messenger:

SnapTravel offers deals only available in Messenger, incentivizing users to book with the chatbot rather than on their website.

Using a chatbot to streamline your buyer’s journey is particularly helpful for mobile users who want to find and purchase products on an app they already have on their phones — like Messenger.

1. Instagram

Between its checkout capabilities and shoppable posts tool, Instagram is undeniably one of the most popular platforms for social commerce. Many Instagram users are already using Instagram as an opportunity to discover and purchase new products — for instance, 80% of users use Instagram to decide whether to purchase a product or service, and 83% use it to discover new products. Since these users are already prepared to find and purchase new products, it’s critical that they’re given the option to buy them in-app.

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2. Pinterest

People often turn to Pinterest for fashion, home decor, or beauty inspiration, so it makes sense that Pinterest would be a viable platform for social commerce. In fact, 93% of active Pinterest users said they use Pinterest to plan for purchases, and 87% said they’ve purchased something because of Pinterest.

Pinterest’s Shop the Look Pins allows users to click on small white dots on various products within a post, and either purchase that product within the app or browse similar products. They can make purchases on both desktop and mobile.

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3. Facebook

With over two billion active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social platforms in the world, making it a good place for social commerce.

If you have a Facebook Business Page, you can set up a Facebook shop to sell your products and services directly within the social platform.

Facebook notes — “While any business can have a shop, this feature best serves merchants, retail and e-commerce advertisers. We recommend it for businesses selling apparel, accessories (including bags and luggage), home furnishings, and baby or kids’ products.”

To upload your inventory to Facebook and create a shop section, you can either use a third-party ecommerce platform like BigCommerce or Shopify, or you can upload and manage your products yourself.

For further inspiration, try searching for major retailers and checking out how they’ve set up their Facebook shop. For instance, take a look at New Balance’s Facebook shop:

Facebook shop is a fantastic opportunity for your business to reach a larger audience — and, even if your customers don’t end up purchasing your products on Facebook, having these products listed on your Facebook Business Page is a good idea for making Facebook users aware of the products you sell in-store.

4. Poshmark

Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace that allows people in the U.S. to buy or sell clothing, shoes, and accessories, either new or used. Poshmark makes the experience even more social with features like “Posh Parties”, which are virtual buying and selling events that you can attend with friends.

Popular brands on Poshmark currently include Nike, Lululemon, and Chanel — to sell on Poshmark, simply download the app and follow seller instructions from there.

5. Shopee

Shopee, reportedly the largest online shopping platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, is a social commerce marketplace that enables users to buy and sell products ranging from home & living to mobile & gadgets.

Major brands on Shopee include Kleenex, L’Oréal, and Oreos. Selling on the app is easy enough — simply verify your phone number, ensure your products aren’t prohibited and click “Add New Product” on your Shopee page. With over 95,000 users on the app worldwide and a unique focus on the Asian market, Shopee is a good option for brands looking to expand their global presence.

Ultimately, social commerce has the ability to eliminate friction in a user’s online shopping experience, and catch users’ at moments when their excitement over your products is highest.

However, it’s critical you do market research to ensure you’re using the right social commerce platforms or apps to reach your audience in the social spaces they frequent the most.

Additionally, remember social commerce is fundamentally social in nature — if your business doesn’t also engage and communicate with its followers, then your company won’t get much out of social commerce as a long-term strategy.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Your business data is the lifeblood that runs through your organization. It powers automated workflows, gives customer service reps the full story every time the phone rings, and informs decision-making.

Even small businesses can benefit from the rise of big data by optimizing their organization’s data and creating processes to put it to work. According to Experian, eight in ten businesses believe data is one of their most valuable assets.

When your business data is reliable and accurate, it’s smooth sailing. But when errors, duplicates, and question marks surface… it’s not so pretty. When you can’t trust your business data, problems quickly arise and multiply in every area of your organization.

Businesses lose as much as 20% of revenue due to poor data quality, shares Kissmetrics. Back in 2013, HBR also talked about the ripple effect of unreliable data as part of “Data’s Credibility Problem”:

“When data are unreliable, managers quickly lose faith in them and fall back on their intuition to make decisions, steer their companies and implement strategy. They are, for example, much more apt to reject important, counterintuitive implications that emerge from big data analyses.”

To get the best results as a data-driven organization, here are some of the best practices to strengthen the foundations and make your business data the most reliable it can be.

9 Ways to Fix Unreliable Data and Increase Accuracy

1. Improve your data foundations.

Data debt – the cost attached to poor governance of data in a business – is a significant problem for many organizations, and 36% of businesses say data literacy is crucial to future-proof their organization, shares Experian.

Making your business data more reliable doesn’t just happen by magic: it requires strong frameworks, processes and a data-literate workplace. As early in your business journey as possible, ensure that you have:

• A strong CRM system to centralize all contact data
• Processes to organize and segment data
• Integrations between apps
• Formal data literacy programs in place to educate your team
• A clear strategy of how you will use and maintain the data you collect

Remember the old proverb: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now. The same goes for getting your data in order!

2. Look at where new data is coming from.

Just like reliable data, messy and unreliable data doesn’t happen accidentally. There’s always a source. To make your business data more reliable, follow the trail back to where data is coming from.

How is data being added to your CRM? Are there forms or manual imports that are causing bad data to clutter your database? Are different team members importing conflicting data in different ways to multiple apps?

3. Optimize forms and data collection channels.

Once you have identified how new data is entering your apps, take some time to optimize these data collection channels.

To collect valid and reliable data, make sure that these factors are true for every piece of data you collect:

• You actually need to collect the data
• You are collecting it in a consistent and standardized format between apps
• You have clear permission to collect it based on data protection regulations
• It will be stored and organized in the right app for the right purpose

4. Break down data silos.

A recipe for unreliable data is having data silos. A data silo is a collection of data that one department has access to but others do not.

The negative effects of data silos are bad news for performance and productivity for any organization: they include a lack of transparency, efficiency, collaboration, and trust.

To remove data silos, use a central CRM between departments, connect data between the apps in your tech stack, and focus on building a culture of collaboration between departments.

5. Segment your data.

Good business data is organized, adds value to your company, and is collected with explicit permission from users. To make your data more organized, segmentation is your friend.

Segmentation can look like labels, tags, list memberships, groups, or other properties that tell you more about each contact and divide your database into clear categories of preferences, demographics, buying history, and more.

When you integrate your data between apps using an iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service), you can create syncs based on your segments and connect the right data two ways between your apps.

6. Clean up your databases.

To make your business data more reliable, clean up any messy data as soon as possible. This means fixing or removing:

• Incorrect data
• Outdated data
• Duplicate data

According to SiriusDecisions, on average it costs about $1 to prevent a duplicate, $10 to correct a duplicate, and $100 to store a duplicate if left untreated.

To help prevent duplicates and other bad data, create company-wide standards for data entry and maintenance, then sync data from the most accurate source to your other apps and create a holistic view of your database. It’s also valuable to set up and document processes to standardize and verify new data.

7. Connect your apps to integrate data.

The most effective data management strategies connect data between apps. This removes data silos, creates an integrated view of all of your data, and syncs up-to-date data to the right places as soon as anything changes.

The easiest way to achieve quality data integration is with a zero-code iPaaS solution that connects the dots between all of your key business apps, from your CRM to your email marketing system and customer support software.

8. Create accessible reporting dashboards.

Instead of hiding your data insights away on private dashboards, make them transparent to the right people in your team. For many KPIs, that means your whole team.

Organizations with the most effective and reliable data typically choose a limited number of impactful KPIs and make these very visible inside the team.

Not only does this help your team to be invested in company, team, and individual performance, but it increases the odds that errors and discrepancies in your data are picked up on. *The most reliable data has eyes on it. *

9. Schedule regular maintenance.

Maintaining data quality in your business isn’t a one-time job: it requires continual upkeep, cleanups, and optimization. If your organization has a dedicated operations manager, part of their job role can be to monitor and optimize data quality. But in any case, it’s worth making data integrity and literacy part of your company DNA – or part of every team member’s day-to-day role.

This means creating the foundations for healthy data to flow into your organization and undergo regular cleansing, alongside processes to fix problems and automate integration.

By optimizing data reliability, you can ensure your company can receive the most accurate results and insights from your database both now and further down the line as data integrity keeps gaining importance.

With automated two-way syncs between apps including your CRM and email marketing tool, you’re in the best position to manage your data holistically, perform regular health checks, and create an updated 360-degree view of your customer data.

When it comes to owning a business, time is your most valuable resource — but, time is finite, and are a lot of tasks competing for your attention. You need to make sure the right products are listed on your website, that you’re fulfilling orders and payments 24/7, and that you’re processing and dispatching packages efficiently… all while staying on top of marketing campaigns, user reviews, and customer service.

And, as you scale, your ecommerce processes get even more demanding.

So, how can you make time for the work that brings in more customers while keeping everything else on track?

With ecommerce automation.

Automation is playing a vital role in the future of tech — and it’s no surprise that we’re seeing more of it in tools designed for ecommerce businesses. As a store owner, it’s your secret to putting your time-consuming tasks on auto-pilot.

In this post, we’ll explain what ecommerce automation is, then show you what it looks like with 15 ways you can automate your online business.

What is ecommerce automation?

It means using software to turn manual tasks into automated workflows. These workflows can trigger internal or external emails, notifications, or actions in other apps — such as creating new support tickets in your help desk. To make sure everything works perfectly, you can set multiple conditions that need to be true for the workflow to run.

Although ecommerce automation saves you time, it doesn’t mean firing your employees — or yourself. Rather, it frees up your team’s time for the customer interactions, creativity, and big-picture thinking that matter most in your line of work.

To get started, here’s a list of some of the best ways to use marketing automation for ecommerce, whether you’re using Shopify, WooCommerce, or another platform.

Ecommerce Automation Software

There are several types of automation software you can use for your ecommerce business. The most popular tools are:

Shopify

One of the most popular ecommerce platforms, Shopify offers plenty of powerful productivity apps in its App Store. Many of these are designed for automation, including Arigato Automation, or “the app with a million uses,” Shop Workflow Automation, and Stock Sync.

Shopify Flow

This ecommerce automation suite is available with Shopify Pro – which certainly isn’t the cheapest (you’ll want to be making over $1 million in annual revenue to justify it). It’s workflow-based and makes it impressively simple to create automation both within Shopify and with other apps via seamless integrations. It includes automation templates that you can copy and adapt to easily get set up.

Shopify Flow automation templates are divided into buyer experience, customers, inventory and merchandising, loyalty, orders, promotions, and risk.

WooCommerce

If you’re using WooCommerce to power your store on WordPress, you also have a lot of options for automation. Most of these are powered by WooCommerce’s huge number of extensions, which enable you to power up your WooCommerce site with premium features and integrations.

Other Software to Integrate With Your Ecommerce Platform

You can also use automation software on top of your ecommerce platform. These include:

• Email marketing automation tools, like Mailchimp to trigger emails to your customers
• Automation tools like ActiveCampaign to trigger workflows for internal process and communication with customers
• CRM tools with automation features, like HubSpot
• Help desk tools with automation features, like Freshdesk and Zendesk
• Accounting and invoicing tools like Wave Accounting, Xero or Quickbooks Online

Read on for 14 of the best ways to automate your ecommerce business, including features from your ecommerce platform as well as other automation tools you can easily keep in sync.

15 Ways to Automate Ecommerce Businesses

Customer Experience & Management Automation

1. Track and reward your most engaged customers.

Do you reward your best customers? Customer retention is valuable for all businesses, including ecommerce.

Turns out you can increase your profits anywhere from 25-95% by increasing your retention rates by just 5%.

To reward customer loyalty, you could automatically add a free gift or free delivery to orders over $100. With a tool like ActiveCampaign, you can also segment customers based on lifetime spend and send them automated emails with rewards inside.

2. Sync your customers to a Mailchimp list.

All of the top ecommerce platforms — including WooCommerce and Shopify — have native integrations with Mailchimp. So, if you’re using the popular email marketing tool to send your newsletters and email marketing workflows, make sure to sync your accounts.

An integration with Mailchimp can automatically pass the email addresses of shoppers who show interest in your emails into a specified Mailchimp list, so you can keep them updated with your latest products and offers.

3. Gather feedback after a purchase.

Every ecommerce store knows how powerful reviews and honest feedback are. It can make or break your business. To encourage reviews, set up automated email workflows to send follow-up emails a certain amount of time after a purchase is made. Ask for honest feedback and share a link to where they can post their review.

4. Reach out to negative reviews.

If you receive an unfortunate 1-star review, make sure you respond to it. You can set up an automation to create a support ticket in your helpdesk software to make it easier to reach out quickly and make amends — or at least listen and understand what’s happened.

5. Tag and segment customers based on buying behavior.

Segmentation can help you understand your customers and stay on top of the different individual needs they might have. With a CRM, you can tag or segment based on demographics (e.g. gender or location), lifetime order value, milestones, number of orders, or any subscriptions or memberships, for example.

Inventory Automation

6. Automate inventory management for low-stock items.

Running out of a product can mean missed income and frustrated customers. To avoid this, automate your inventory management so you know when a product is low in stock.

With Woocommerce, you can trigger low stock notifications (based on thresholds you set) and out-of-stock notifications. This way you can instantly know when a product needs reordering from your supplies.

Order Management Automation

7. Send abandoned cart emails.

75% of ecommerce shopping carts get abandoned. Abandoned cart reminders help you bring customers back to your site — and with automation, you don’t have to do a thing.

Integrating your ecommerce software with a mailing provider is an easy way to send abandoned cart emails. You can also look at other native integrations between your ecommerce platform and transactional email providers.

8. Try dropshipping for passive income.

Did you know some ecommerce businesses automate order fulfillment and delivery? It’s possible with dropshipping — a way to find products, add them to your online store, and ship them directly to your customers without holding any inventory or risk yourself.

Oberlo, acquired by Shopify in 2017, is one of the most popular dropshipping tools. As expected, it integrates neatly with Shopify and you can add dropshipped products to your existing Shopify store, or create a new one for your dropshipped products.

The main challenge with dropshipping is finding the products that match your store’s branding and quality standards.

9. Print shipping labels and send out tracking numbers with one click.

By integrating WooCommerce with ShipStation, a single click can complete several time-consuming tasks:

• Sync your orders with ShipStation.
• Create and print shipping labels for your WooCommerce orders.
• Mark all orders as complete.
• Generate and send tracking numbers.

10. Send reminders to re-order consumables.

Do you sell food, health, or beauty products? Your customers might be interested in repurchasing consumables once they run out.

To let them know, set up automated workflows to send reminder emails for these products a certain time after purchase.

Marketing Automation

11. Nurture leads into customers with email marketing.

People don’t always become customers right away. Your company will have its typical customer journey, with people spending time in research and consideration phases before deciding to hand you any money.

However, if someone has given you their email address and permission to contact them, you can nurture this process along with marketing content. Just make sure that anything you send them is top-quality and valuable, perhaps with discount codes or free gift offers.

12. Schedule social media posts automatically.

If social media takes up too much of your time, there are lots of tools out there to streamline processes.

Use the Shopify app, Post Studio ‑ Auto Posting, to automatically post products to your Facebook and Twitter pages every day.

Buffer is another app that lets you easily schedule messages ahead of time. It’s simple to reschedule content that’s performed well, too.

Business Management Automation

13. Add tasks to Trello, Asana, or Slack.

If you’ve used automation to find out when a product is low in stock or when a customer left a frustrated review, you will also want to notify your team so they can do something about it. Another perk of using automation is that you can notify your team on the internal platforms that you use most — like Trello, Asana or Slack.

If you’re a Shopify user, Arigato Automation offers 100+ pre-built automation features including pushing data to Google Sheets, Slack messages, Trello cards, and more.

14. Choose a powerful help desk software.

As you scale your ecommerce business, it’s important to make sure your customer service is covered. Implementing help desk software is one of the best ways to do this.

With a help desk platform, you’re in the best position to centralize your customer support in one place and get a clear view of tickets from all channels. These tools also give you many options for improving your customer experience with automation, such as with bots and satisfaction surveys.

Working from home can sound like a dream for many people. You get to enjoy more time in your house, you cut out the commute, and you get to see much more of your family.

But the flip side has some not-so-dreamy realities, especially for parents having to balance work and childcare: a difficulty to focus; having to juggle work with looking after children and, in some cases, homeschooling them; blurry lines between work time and personal time, and kids lobbying for your undivided attention when you need to GSD.