Category Archives: B2B

In my agency days, I once woke up at 5:00 am to meet a TV host at my client’s donut shop for a behind-the-scenes first look at their pumpkin-spiced lattes and donuts. (In Indiana, we love our donuts.)

The TV coverage was great, but you know what made an even bigger impact? The Instagram stories the media personality shared.

In the last five years, influencer marketing has come a long way from an experimental content-for-product swap to a full-fledged marketing tactic.

Influence Marketing Hub estimates that the industry will total $24 billion by 2025, up from $1.7 billion in 2016.

Instagram influencer marketing is one of the most popular ways to work with influencers, and I’ve compiled all the details you need to know to get started with any budget.

With this guide, you won’t need to trek out at dawn to launch your campaign — you can do it right from your computer or phone.

• What is Instagram influencer marketing?
• Why use influencer marketing on Instagram?
• How much does Instagram influencer marketing cost?
• How to Find the Right Instagram Influencers to Promote Your Brand
• How to Work With Instagram Influencers

What is Instagram influencer marketing?

Instagram influencer marketing is a social media tactic in which brands collaborate with influencers to feature or review a sponsored product or service with their followers.

Most Instagram influencer campaigns are paid and require the influencer to generate original or co-created content around the brand.

Why use influencer marketing on Instagram?

The power of influencer marketing comes down to one word: trust. People want to hear advice recommendations from friends, family, and people they admire — not brands.

As consumers, we can’t connect on the same emotional level with brands as we can with humans. We also trust what a third party says about a brand more than the brand itself. Giving a recommendation carries far more weight.

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So, why Instagram? According to our Global Social Media Trends Report, Instagram is the best source of ROI among social media platforms and has the biggest potential for brands to grow their audience.

Instagram is the most popular influencer platform (27% of brands have run influencer campaigns on Instagram), though TikTok is hot on its heels.

Shoppable Commerce on Instagram

Another reason to launch your influencer marketing strategy on Instagram is because of the e-commerce potential it offers. You can set up an Instagram Shop for users to browse and buy without going to your website.

80% of social media marketers say that customers now prefer to buy in-app.

Instagram is saturated with millennials and Gen X, who have more disposable income than Gen Z.

And influencers earned their name for a reason: We found that 21% of social media users have made a social media purchase influenced by influencer content in the past three months.

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Best Instagram Features for Influencer Marketing

Beyond shopping, Instagram offers several effective influencer marketing tools for content collaborations.

1. Stories

Instagram posts shouldn’t stop with photo posts.

“Stories are gold for working together with influencers,” shares Kate Ross, hair and beauty specialist for hair brand Irresistible Me. “They’re perfect for sharing quick, engaging content that disappears after a day, making things like promos feel urgent and exclusive.”

2. Links

In the past, story links were limited to a “swipe-up” feature that was limited to accounts with 10,000 or more followers. This feature retired in 2021. The replacement, the Instagram link sticker, serves the same function.

Folks can now encourage viewers to click on a link sticker and venture to an external site.

“We’ve doubled down on this by collaborating with audience-targeted influencers to share personal finance tips or card reviews, directly linking to our site and resulting in huge engagement and traffic,” says Gareth Boyd, head of growth for Credit Card Compare.

3. Reels

“Reels have become a game-changer for brand collabs,” argues entrepreneur and digital creator Udemezue John.

“They‘re a fantastic way to showcase products or services creatively, and the reach can be incredible. I’ve partnered with a clothing brand to create Reels showcasing their new line, and it generated tons of buzz.”

4. Branded Content (Paid Partnership Label)

Instagram has specific policies and ways that it wants influencers to disclose influencer marketing posts. Influencers must tag posts for paid content using the paid partnership label.

This is a plus, though — the content is distributed to both of your audiences, making it easy for the influencer’s audience to discover and follow your account.

5. Partnership Ads

With partnership ads (previously called branded content ads), influencers can grant permission for brands to boost their influencer posts across Instagram and Facebook.

That means you can go beyond organic content with the full force of your ad budget.

How much does Instagram influencer marketing cost?

Everyone wants to know how much to budget or charge for an Instagram post, but the typical response applies here: It depends.

First, let’s take a look at payment structures for influencers and how much to pay for different types of influencers.

Do you need to pay influencers?

It’s a best practice to pay influencers for content, but not all businesses do.

Influence Marketing Hub found that 50% of brands now compensate influencers with a sales commission from their campaign, while 24% pay a flat fee to influencers.

Others offer discounts or free products or services, but that isn’t a best practice anymore.

If you want the best quality content and to build a long-term relationship with an influencer and their followers, you need to compensate fairly.

“Top brands understand that content creation is a job, and almost all their creators are self-employed,” says Olivia McNaughten, director of product marketing at creator management platform GRIN. “As such, negotiate rates respectfully, provide clear compensation timelines, and pay creators on time.”

Compensation by Types of Instagram Influencers

If you are imagining Kylie Jenner or Lionel Messi plugging your brand, put that fantasy aside for now. Only the biggest brands can afford the price tag of major celebrity influencer campaigns, but that isn’t a bad thing for your business.

There are influencers available for every size of business and budget. Working with nano-influencers and micro-influencers isn’t just a consolation prize.

44% of brands say they prefer nano-influencers, followed by 26% who target micro-influencers.

Why? Nano-influencers and micro-influencers have loyal, engaged followers and are perceived as more authentic. Let’s look at the data: the average engagement for a post on Instagram is 2.05%.

But for accounts with a million followers? It’s just 0.95%. While famous influencers have a wide reach, they don’t always produce the best results.

Types of Influencers	Size of Accounts
Nano-influencers	1,000 – 10,000 followers
Micro-influencers	10,000 – 100,000 followers
Macro-influencers	100,000 – 1 million followers
Mega-influencers/Celebrities	1+ million followers

How much should you pay for a sponsored post on Instagram?

According to Izea, brands pay an average of $1,311 for a sponsored Instagram post and $2,784 for an Instagram story. You can use a rough estimate of $100 per 10,000 followers to set your rate.

Expect to pay more for an Instagram story or reel than a photo post and pay even more for multichannel posting (like Instagram with Facebook or Instagram with YouTube) because of the higher engagement rate.

How to Set an Influencer Marketing Budget

If you’re setting your first influencer marketing budget, take inspiration from the chart below. The top 15% spend over $500,000 a year, but the normal range– nearly half of influencer marketers– spend less than $10,000 a year.

I’ve seen brands start influencer marketing with as little as $50 or $100. Start small, focus on the basics, and measure your ROI. As you see results and hone best practices, scale up your influencer program and budget.

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How to Find the Right Instagram Influencers to Promote Your Brand

First, finding the right influencers is crucial to make your campaign successful. Of brands, 48% say that finding influencers is their top challenge in influencer marketing.

I chatted with Olivia McNaughten about why fit matters.

“Consumers are savvy. They can spot transactional content from a mile away, such as product placements that miss the mark or dishonest endorsements,” she says.

McNaughten notes that your audience can identify when a partnership is inauthentic or feels forced. This can actually damage your brand.

“So, brands must ask themselves: Is there brand alignment? Are our values aligned? Is it a good fit? And if yes, then brands should focus on building a direct relationship with that creator to cultivate a true advocate of your brand. That is the key to authenticity,” McNaughten says.

1. Define your ideal creator profile.

McNoughten advised that brands identify their top values and goals before searching for influencers. Then, they can envision their ideal creator profile.

“Your ideal creator profile should specify the type of influencer you are looking for, such as ideal engagement rate, what sort of content the creator should be posting, desired audience demographic, and so on,” McNoughten says.

2. Practice social listening.

The best starting point for finding like-minded influencers is to pour through Instagram to see who’s creating great content in your industry.

Instagram’s search bar and the HubSpot Marketing Hub are two simple places to start. Follow common hashtags, start making influencer lists, and consume lots of content before approaching an influencer to make sure they’ll be a good fit.

Pro tip: Find influencers who are already talking about your specific product category or the brand itself.

If you can find someone who already knows and loves your brand, you’ll have a high chance of success of them agreeing to partner with you and creating authentic, engaging content.

3. Use an influencer discovery platform.

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If sifting through millions of accounts sounds too overwhelming, there is a more systematic way to approach finding influencers.

Use an influencer discovery management platform like GRIN, HypeAuditor, Brandwatch, or Upfluence to search for influencers by category, demographics, reach, and engagement rate.

These platforms recommend potential matches and let you filter down results, but they also help by flagging potentially fraudulent accounts.

72% of marketers worry about influencer fraud, and these platforms show you an audience quality analysis so you aren’t wasting your money.

Influencer management platforms are also useful for managing influencer marketing at scale. Speaking of scale, let’s get into the nitty-gritty practical items: how do you work with Instagram influencers?

How to Work With Instagram Influencers

Ready to get started? Hold onto your wide-brim fedora, and make sure you have a plan before you jump in.

1. Outline your goals.

Before you start, define your goals and which KPIs you’ll use to measure success. Is the goal of the campaign to grow your brand through impressions? To gain more followers? To sell a specific item?

This will set the stage for everything to follow, from your compensation structure to your creative brief for influencers.

2. Structure your influencer marketing program.

Now, let’s look at how you’ll structure your influencer program. Answer these questions to give parameters to your program.

What will your compensation structure be?

Choose between a flat rate, affiliate commission, or other non-monetary compensation.

What is your campaign frequency?

Many influencer campaigns are structured per month, per quarter, or even per year. The frequency gives influencers a timeframe they must post within and a cadence for sending new, timely campaign briefs.

How will you track results?

The most popular success metric for influencer campaigns is views/reach/impressions, followed by engagement, then clicks.

A smaller number of brands judge success by sales. Just remember that if you need to track sales for affiliate commission, make sure you have a watertight attribution system in place.

Pro tip: Use UTM codes, coupon codes, or another method to make sure you can track all transactions.

What contracts or legal documents do you need your influencers to sign?

Since you are paying influencers to represent your brand, you need to get a few things in writing to protect yourself. Here are some common ones brands ask influencers to sign:

• Terms and conditions for your partnership.
• An image release so you can use the branded content videos without copyright concerns.
• A non-disclosure agreement to keep the terms confidential.
• Your brand or content guidelines.

Pro Tip: If you work with dozens or even hundreds of influencers, find a way to automate your workflows so you aren’t tracking myriad conversations and contracts across DMs and email

How will you communicate and set expectations?

Think about the experience you want to create for influencers since this will indirectly sway their opinion of your brand and bleed into their content.

Prioritize timely communication with creators such as approving content, discussing payments, negotiating, and collecting contracts while remaining approachable and trustworthy.

Set clear expectations on content guidelines, deadlines, payments, and shipments to ensure there are no hidden surprises. Brands who put the effort into a white-glove influencer experience will build long-term relationships and reap the rewards.

3. Make personalized outreach.

When it’s time to make contact, don’t just send the same templated message to everyone. Personalize your outreach based on their content. Explain why you like their content and why you think they’d be a good fit.

If you can, go the extra mile by contacting influencers outside of Instagram DMs. Take an extra minute to find their website or email address, or use a platform to reach out.

This saves you from getting lost in a sea of messages and shows professionalism.

Be upfront on whether an opportunity is paid or not. “Paid partnership opportunity” is a door-opening subject line, but don’t bait-and-switch.

4. Let them be themselves.

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The worst thing you can do in influencer marketing is to hand your influencer a script. That’s a surefire path to low engagement or even backlash. Instead, send them a creative brief with broad ideas, like:

• A behind-the-scenes sneak peek.
• An unboxing video.
• A taste test or crazy challenge.
• Memes.
• Interactive content.
• A personal review including both pros and cons.

“Creators know their audience best, so don’t micromanage,” advises MacNaughton. The best content comes from giving your influencers trust and creative control.

5. Follow Instagram requirements for sponsored posts.

You should be upfront about Instagram influencer marketing campaigns, period.

Outline your disclosure requirements for influencers to make sure your branded content doesn’t get flagged as spam. Use #ad or #sponsored with influencer posts and stay up to date with Instagram’s branded content policies.

6. Analyze and adjust.

Your influencer campaign might not land on day one, and that’s ok. Experiment, test, and iterate to find the best combination for social media success.

Be open to different content types, work with different types of creators, and analyze and optimize your content strategy.

When you find something that works, keep going with that influencer. 63% of brands prefer repeated influencer partnerships over one-off collaborations.

That’s because they see the value in building relationships and repeated brand exposure to the same audience.

Put Instagram Influencer Marketing to Work for Your Brand

Instagram influencer marketing is a powerful way to introduce your brand and products to new audiences with the credibility of an influencer recommendation.

Remember to look beyond follower count to find the best fit and values for your brand. Take a personalized, systematized approach to managing influencers and pay them fairly for their efforts.

When you find the right match, buckle up and watch the magic happen.

It’s 2024, and the highest-ROI marketing channel is still good ol’ social media. 

Our State of Marketing & Trends Report shows that 43% of marketers use it as a marketing channel. I wonder why that number isn’t even higher.

These days, sharing content on social media is a no-brainer for brands. Whether you’re looking for a strategy refresh or trying out the channel for the first time, this post is your guide to the different types of social media content, what works best, and how it can empower your business.

 

Different Types of Social Media Content

1. Video (Short-form, Specifically)

Social media marketers are still placing their bet on short-form videos in 2024, some even upping the ante: 

• 67% plan to increase their investment in short-form videos
• 31% will maintain their current investment 
• 33% plan to invest more in short-form videos than any other content form

It’s not surprising, considering short videos yield the highest ROI for social media marketing, according to HubSpot’s 2024 Social Media Trends Report.  

Some common examples of short-form videos are TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts. This TikTok below is from Candeeze, a small husband-and-wife brand that sells freeze-dried candy online. It racked up 1.8 million views by showing the behind-the-scenes of their business operation. 

Don’t forget live video — they gained steam during the pandemic allowing remote participation in events. Twitch and other popular live-streaming platforms let people interact with their favorite creators in real time. This format has the second highest ROI of all social media content types, according to 57% of marketers.

Long-form videos are also popular, despite having lower ROI than short-form. They’re more costly to produce; consumers expect high production quality from them while lacking the attention span to finish them. 

But if long videos are your jam, don’t worry — for each long-form video you produce, you can repurpose it into multiple shorts, maximizing the value of your resources. 

2. Audio Chat and Live Rooms

Remember when Clubhouse was all everyone could talk about? That frenzy has passed, but audio chats and live rooms are here to stay. Many platforms have native audio features, like Twitter Spaces, LinkedIn Live, and Facebook Live Audio. 

Audio chat rooms let brands directly communicate with audiences and develop closer relationships than seeing a billboard or watching a YouTube video. And, during a time when customers value connections with brands more than ever, audio chat rooms are a valuable tool.

After seeing satisfactory ROI, 91% of social media marketers plan to continue or increase their investment in audio chat and live rooms. 

Audio chat rooms are also trendy among Gen Z, the biggest social media demographic. A Spotify study found that 80% of Gen Z enjoy audio content because it allows them to express their individuality and explore different sides of their personalities. 

3. Content That Represents Brand Values

Almost half of marketers say that content reflecting brand values is part of their existing social media strategy. 

This type of content is anything that highlights what your company stands for, such as commitments to sustainable production practices, fair treatment of employees, social justice, and more. 

Consumers care more than ever about what the brands they buy from stand for and the values they have. They want to know the causes that businesses support and the commitments made to bettering the world.

If you need an example of doing brand value content right, look no further than Patagonia. 

It’s not just about loyalty: Marketers also say that it has the 5th biggest ROI of any trend. 48% of marketers are already posting this type of social media content.

4. User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is content your audience creates that features your business/brand that is not paid for by your business. For example, someone shares a non-sponsored TikTok about how much they like your product or posts a picture wearing your clothing and tags your business.

This type of content is great to share on social media because it helps your audiences see that people use and like your products, vouching for you in a real-life way. Why toot your own horn if you can get someone else to do it, right? 

UGC pays off, as customers trust reviews from friends and family more than they trust branded ads, and nearly 80% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchase decisions, considerably more so than branded content and influencer content.

When you do use UGC, the platforms it performs best on are YouTube (26%), Instagram (24%), and Facebook (21%). 

5. Funny, Trendy, and Relatable Content

Social media marketers know the value of a viral post too well. They’re hard to come by, but you can increase your chance by hopping on viral memes, relating them to your business, and using trending hashtags or sounds. 

This type of buzzy content requires a high level of awareness of what’s happening online, cultural moments, and current events. 

Over 40% of marketers already share funny, trendy, and relatable content on social media, and 59% say they will double down on funny content in 2024, it being the most effective of the three. Consumers love it, too – they’re starved for quality humor from brands. 

Our very own social media team is savvy at this kind of content, like this funny and relatable tweet. 

6. Shoppable Content

Shoppable social media content allows consumers to browse through products on your accounts, discover things they like, and even make a purchase without leaving the app.

The image below is an Instagram storefront for Ink Meets Paper, where someone can browse its products, find what interests them, and make a purchase.

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This is a valuable content type as social shopping is currently on the rise, and consumers are discovering new products and buying products on social media apps more than ever before.

In fact, social media is the most popular way for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X to discover new products — over 1 in 5 have made an in-app purchase in the past three months. No wonder 87% of marketers plan to maintain or increase their investment in social selling enablement tools in 2024. 

The most effective platforms for selling in-app are Instagram (26%) and Facebook (26%). 

7. Educational Content

Educational content shares helpful information with audiences that helps them reach their goals and meet their needs. It can come in infographics, videos, text-based posts, images — any of the content types we discussed in this post.

HubSpot often shares educational content through YouTube videos, where viewers can learn more about concepts of interest. The video below is a recent one that educates viewers on creating a brand style guide.

8. Ephemeral/Disappearing Content

Ephemeral/disappearing content is content that only stays up for a certain amount of time, like Instagram Stories that disappear after 24 hours.  

Leveraging people’s FOMO is one of the oldest tricks in the marketing playbook. The feeling gets even more amplified in social media, which is why 47% of brands plan to increase their investment in this kind of “limited-time” content. 

Users only have a set period to engage with it, so they might be more eager to keep track of your profiles and keep returning to experience. 

Creating quizzes and polls in your Stories is a great way to leverage this type of content. People only have a certain amount of time to respond, generating excitement and immediate action and inspiring respondents to come back and see results.

Check out examples from LEGO, Harvard Business Review, and Outback Steakhouse, and see how they’re crushing it at the Instagram Stories game. 

9. Other Types of Content You’re Familiar With

Images

Our recent survey found that 47% of marketers leverage images as a media format, which works well on all social media platforms.

Actually, 54% of marketers think that social media content that’s polished and has high production value (e.g. high resolution images/videos) is even more important than the content being authentic and relatable. But try to aim for both! 

Text-based

We see text-based content on social media everyday, from Twitter(X) threads to thought leadership posts on LinkedIn. The primary goal is to share insight through words — you can pair it with an eye-catching image, but the point of the post is in the text.

Blogs are popular text-based content where people read longer posts and discover helpful information. But a common mistake is sharing blog links directly on social media. Social platform algorithms don’t favor linking out (they want you to stay!), so you better adapt an existing blog post into snackable takeaways that’s more suitable for social users’ habits. 

Infographics

Infographics are a content type with the share-ability and visual appeal of photos but are filled with helpful data and information. It’s an impactful form of social media content and educational content.

The image below is a post from HubSpot’s Instagram account that is an infographic that informs viewers about the most effective traits of a sales leader.

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Infographics are effective, too, with 51% of marketers that regularly use them saying it yields high ROI.

Repurposing Content Is Still A Valuable Strategy

Social media marketers say they use an average of three platforms in 2024, each with its best practices and norms to follow. 

It can be challenging to create individual pieces of content for every single platform, so many marketers share similar content across platforms but repurpose it to fit the tone and requirements of each one.

The key to success, however, is repurposing content, not resharing. People don’t look fondly at brands that share the exact same thing on each platform. 47% of marketers already share similar content across platforms with tweaks to make it more relevant to the platform’s demands.

It’s a new era for social media. To keep up, I recommend you check out this video about creating a social media strategy this year and beyond. 

Want More Social Media Insights?

Learn more about the State of Social media with more of this data, videos, and exclusive industry tips on our State of Social Media Hub— which will come with a free downloadable resource.

Writing a cover letter can be daunting.

I’ll never forget my college career coach, who made writing a cover letter look easy. Even with her tips, I’ve always found it incredibly difficult to talk about myself and hype up my accomplishments.

While it acts as a letter of introduction, I’ve wondered if a cover letter is necessary in 2024. To find out, I spoke with two recruiters and gained insights on how to write the best cover letter for any job application.

How important is a cover letter?

Is a cover letter necessary?

When to Skip a Cover Letter

When to Include a Cover Letter

Tips for Writing a Cover Letter

What if the cover letter is optional?

How important is a cover letter?

Cover letters are short letters of introduction that you include with job applications.

Typically, they are your chance to go into deeper details about your accomplishments that you might not have highlighted or had room to mention on your resume.

Tiffany Hall, a professional resume writer and founder of Resume911, says cover letters are an important part of the job application process.

Hall says, “Cover letters can be very important. It’s supposed to sell why you, of all applicants, should get the job. The issue is that applicants use them to regurgitate what’s on their resume, and that’s not what it’s for. It should speak to what isn’t easily explained with your resume.”

For example, if your resume says you’re skilled at building web pages, your cover letter is a great place to name-drop companies that you’ve worked for to create their websites.

Matthew Muehleisen, a corporate recruiter, thinks a cover letter is also a great place to show you’ve done your homework and researched a company.

Muehleisen says, “It can be what sets you apart from other candidates and applicants and is a good opportunity to show that you’ve done research on the position and company to further showcase your interest in the role.”

Knowing the importance of a cover letter still begs the question: Is a cover letter necessary in 2024?

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Is a cover letter necessary?

While a cover letter can help demonstrate your knowledge of the company you’re applying to and highlight more of your achievements, both Hall and Muehleisen agree that a cover letter isn’t entirely necessary.

Muehleisen says, “Unless it’s a requirement of the application, I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to include a cover letter. There are some roles (usually in content creation and marketing) that will ask for a cover letter as a form of a writing sample. In these instances, make sure your letter is polished and focused.”

If Hall had her way, she would eliminate the cover letter entirely, focus more on the resume, and ask for a link to an applicant’s LinkedIn profile.

According to Hall, “Most cover letters either repeat the resume or they speak to why the applicant isn’t a good fit. Neither is the purpose of a cover letter.”

Nevertheless, 74% of hiring managers still prefer applications to include a cover letter. So, it is definitely worth considering including one — even if the application says it’s optional.

When to Skip a Cover Letter

If you’re looking for a new role, writing a cover letter can be time-consuming — especially if you take the time to personalize every letter you send to a hiring manager.

Although a cover letter does serve a legitimate purpose, and 83% of hiring managers read it, there are a few situations where you shouldn’t include a cover letter. Let’s take a look at those scenarios.

If You Only Have a Template of a Cover Letter

I get it. Writing an effective cover letter takes a significant amount of time.

But consider not sending one if you only have time to plug your information into a cover letter template without personalizing it before hitting submit on an application.

Don’t get me wrong. A cover letter template is a great starting point to write your cover letter. Templates often remind you to include pertinent information like the hiring manager’s title, name, and your contact information.

However, if you don’t take the time to edit the body of the cover letter and personalize it with research and your relevant experience, you risk sending the same letter as another candidate.

And considering that 48% of hiring managers spend anywhere from 30 seconds to two full minutes reading each cover letter, the chances are high that your hiring manager can spot a form letter a mile away.

Don’t send it if you don’t have the time to personalize a cover letter.

If Your Cover Letter Is Full of Critique

A cover letter is meant to explain why you’re the best candidate for the open position. However, a cover letter is not a place for you to share your ideas of how the company can improve.

Sure, every company likely has areas of improvement, and the job you’re applying for might be the role that gets a say in that, but a list of improvements might read as a critique.

You don’t want to potentially offend a hiring manager before you even get an interview. A bad cover letter can hurt a strong candidate, according to 33% of hiring managers.

Before you submit your cover letter, read through it several times to make sure it’s not a critique. If it does sound like a critique, throw it out.

If It’s Not Required

There are other instances where you shouldn’t send a cover letter. For example, if the application’s instructions specifically state that you do not need to submit a cover letter for consideration for the job.

In fact, sending a cover letter anyway can signal to the hiring manager that you don’t follow instructions. Not following instructions is also a great way to land your application in the trash bin.

The bottom line is this: If the application specifically states not to send a cover letter, don’t send it.

When to Include a Cover Letter

Of hiring managers, 74% prefer to see job applications with a cover letter apart from the resume. Knowing this, if you have the time to include a cover letter with your job application, don’t skip it.

Here are three instances when you should send a cover letter with your application.

Send a cover letter if you’re very interested in the role.

Think of your cover letter as your time to shine. Use it as a place to highlight your experiences and the qualifications that make you a great fit for the position.

Hall says, “If you can speak to why you’re a good candidate without copying your resume in paragraph form, include a cover letter.”

In other words, don’t use bullet points in your cover letter to describe your previous employment history.

Instead, talk about what you learned on the job and how your skills will help you excel in the role you’re applying for.

Send a cover letter when there’s a gap in your resume or you’re transitioning industries.

If you’re looking to transition to another industry, you should definitely include a cover letter with your application.

Speaking from personal experience, if I had only submitted a resume to my school district when I applied to be a Spanish teacher, the hiring manager would have just seen my experience in Public Health and would not have known about my skills and success in tutoring students in Spanish.

Muehleisen puts it this way, “If you’re looking to transition to a new industry or if there is a position and company you’re really excited about pursuing as an opportunity, these are the best instances to include a cover letter so that you can possibly give yourself an advantage.”

A cover letter can also help explain any gaps in your resume — especially if the gap in your employment history is beneficial to the role you’re applying for.

For example, maybe you volunteered in South America, and the role you’re applying for is for a position in Global Operations.

It never hurts to include positive, pertinent information in your cover letter.

Send a cover letter when it’s required.

The most obvious time to include a cover letter with your application is when it is required. Just like not including a cover letter when it’s not required, it shows you can follow directions.

Include a cover letter when the application asks you to submit one, which shows you can follow directions.

Plus, if the application asks for a cover letter, you can bet the hiring manager will look for it. If no cover letter is included, well, you’re sabotaging your chances of getting an interview.

Only 13% of hiring managers will consider giving a candidate an interview if they don’t attach a required cover letter to an application.

Tips for Writing a Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter is not as painful as it sounds. There are great templates you can use as a starting point for your cover letter.

The trick with a template, though, is to make sure you always personalize the letter to your own experiences and qualifications.

Here are five expert tips to write a winning cover letter.

1. Tailor your cover letter to the job description.

When writing a cover letter, especially if you use a cover letter template, you should tailor the letter to match the job description and meet the requirements of the application.

For example, if the application asks you to attach a short cover letter, keep it brief. Your best bet is one to two short paragraphs detailing why you’re a great fit for the position.

You’ll also want to reference keywords from the job description in your cover letter. Many recruiters use applicant tracking systems that scan application packets for the best fit.

Often, hiring managers review the applications that match the keywords first.

Now, that doesn’t mean to stuff your cover letter with keywords. Instead, use them in a natural way as you discuss your qualifications.

2. Be personable with your greeting.

You might have seen the advice telling you to use “To Whom It May Concern” instead of the hiring manager’s name. This is good advice, but only if you do not know the hiring manager.

Before resorting to a generic greeting to start your cover letter, take the time to look on the company’s website and LinkedIn to find out who makes hiring decisions.

If you have contacts in your network who are familiar with the company, ask them. Taking the time to research the hiring manager and the company shows you care about the details — a quality many hiring managers look for in a candidate!

If you’re still unsure after researching the company, consider using “Dear Sir or Madam” as your greeting.

3. Be yourself.

While a cover letter is a formal introduction of yourself to a potential employer, it doesn’t need to be lacking in personality. Hall suggests sprinkling your personality in your cover letter to spark connections with the hiring manager.

Hall says, “Be your best professional self. I’m a foodie and will include references to food on my LinkedIn, and I’ve done it in a cover letter. I’ve had managers reference them, and we had a chuckle. I am also very clear about aligning myself with companies whose mission and goals I respect and can contribute to. I make sure to speak to that in the cover letter.”

Take Hall’s advice. Showcasing your vibrant personality in your cover letter can help break the ice in your interview!

4. Proofread your cover letter.

Once you’ve written your cover letter and before you hit “send,” double-check that it is free from spelling and grammar errors and that the company you referenced is the company you are applying to.

Muehleisen says skipping proofreading your cover letter is a big mistake — and it could cost you the job!

Muehleisen says, “Make sure that you are proofreading prior to sending. If the cover letter feels like it is a simple cut/paste or if the job title and company name are incorrect, it may do more harm than good. So, be sure that what you’re sending is pertinent.”

5. Be cautious of AI.

AI tools, like ChatGPT or Claude, are great for helping draft content. You might be tempted to ask generative AI to write your cover letter for you. However, both Hall and Muehleisen say to proceed with caution when it comes to AI.

Hall says, “AI is coming along in amazing ways, so it may come as a surprise that my best tip didn’t include AI. I tell my clients when they’re stuck to look to their peers. You can search people by job title on LinkedIn. See how they describe themselves and pull from there. Or, hire a resume writer or career strategist to help you.”

Muehleisen agrees with her. He says, “I would hesitate to use a tool or service for a cover letter as the point should be to show your authenticity. If you are going to use AI for assistance, make sure to put your own words in as well.”

However, when you write your cover letter, whether using a template or generative AI, personalizing it is key to standing out from the competition.

What if the cover letter is optional?

If the job description says a cover letter is optional, should you send one, or can you get by without it?

That can be tricky, considering 72% of recruiters still expect a cover, even if it’s optional.

According to Muehleisen, sending a cover letter is not a bad idea. He says, “I’ve never heard of a cover letter hurting an applicant’s chances; just make sure the one you’re including is specific to the job description and posting.”

Check out these cover letter examples for more inspiration.

Experiment With Your Cover Letters

Writing a cover letter is a breeze once you get the hang of it. With today’s challenging job market, sending a cover letter with your application can make a difference in whether you get called for an interview.

I can’t make promises that your cover letter will dazzle hiring managers each time, but for the right position for you, it will.

Remember Hall and Muehleisen’s advice when you craft your cover letter. Personalization is key to success!

Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conference that brings together more than 300,000 professionals in the film, TV, music, education, and tech industries.

In 2024 alone, featured speakers include include Jane Fonda, Dwyane Wade, Alex Cooper, and Daisy Ridley.

All of which is to say: It‘s a massive event centered around various creative verticals. So who better to speak on creativity than SXSW’s Co-President, Hugh Forrest?

As Forrest puts it, “Our north star has always been creativity. I’ve been with the event for over 30 years, and the event has changed a lot over that time period … But what hasn’t changed is our focus on creativity.”

Let‘s dive into some of Hugh’s top tips for injecting creativity into any event planning process. Interested in hearing the full interview? Check it out on the Hustle Daily show.

How to Inject Creativity Into Your Next High-Attendance Event

1. Allow creatives to learn from other creatives.

One of the biggest benefits of large-scale events is the opportunity to network with professionals outside of your vertical.

As a marketer, I‘m not always interested in learning from other marketers. Sometimes, I’ve found the most inspiration in conversations with script-writers, educators, or social media creators.

Hugh Forrest believes wholeheartedly in the power of interdisciplinary networking.

He says, “In particular, we’ve seen how different kinds of creative people can learn from each other. If you’re a musician, you can learn a lot from connecting with other musicians … But you can learn even more from connecting with an innovator in the food space, or an athlete, or someone who’s doing a tech startup.”

If your event is overly-siloed, it will be difficult to foster the type of collaboration and creativity that your attendees crave. Instead, consider how you might merge seemingly-opposite groups of professionals to interact and learn from each other.

2. Stay focused on your community and what matters to them.

Forrest says that SXSW has always mirrored the creativity in Austin, Texas.

When SXSW first began in 1987, they entirely focused on music — and then, in 1994 when Austin became a burgeoning film scene, SXSW adapted and added film and multimedia.

More recently, when the University of Texas added a medical school, SXSW introduced health and medical technology into their content lineup.

As Austin expands and shifts its interests, so does SXSW. Ultimately, Forrest has discovered one critical component of long-term success in the event industry: Stay on-top of what matters to your audience, and find ways to pivot when appropriate.

Click here to listen to the full podcast episode here.

As he puts it, “I mean, if we’re relevant, if we’re compelling, if we’re improving, so much of that is because we are very in touch with our community or the various communities we serve—whether that’s bands and filmmakers for the film and TV festival, or entrepreneurs, innovators, and creators. The event has thrived for 35 years because of this focus on massive creativity in all its many forms.”

He adds, “If Austin continues to push into AI and becomes this world center for AI innovation, we’ll push a lot more into AI at South by Southwest. If Austin becomes the sneaker capital of the world, then we’ll see a lot more sneaker stuff in Austin.”

Similarly, when you consider testing out new content at your next event, keep your community at the forefront.

AI is a trending topic right now, but are you sure your community cares about it? Or are they more interested in learning how to expand their TikTok following? Leaning into the content that applies to your community will be key to creating a fulfilling and high-attended event.

3. AI is increasingly important … but don’t under-appreciate the face-to-face component that lets creativity shine.

“One of the themes that we always rediscover at SXSW is on the one hand, we’re an event about technology and celebrate new ways for people to connect,” Forrest says.

He adds, “But on the other hand, the most important technology is face-to-face interaction. And that hasn’t changed. Bringing people with diverse ideas together in a city that has always cultivated and celebrated creativity — in a time of year when you have the manifestation of rebirth and creativity (i.e. springtime) — has turned out to be a very strong formula for good things to happen.”

AI is all the rage right now. But the most compelling reason people purchase tickets to conferences and events is the in-person offering. With 65% of workers preferring a completely remote setup, face-to-face interactions are rare.

When given the chance, people want to jump on the opportunity to connect in-person.

So, while it can be tempting (and cost-effective) to create an entirely virtual event, you might want to consider offering attendees the opportunity to engage in real life — even if that just means an optional meet-and-greet after the main event.

As Forrest puts it, “Creativity is what makes us human. And in 2024, as we see more and more machines taking over, we really need to lean into our humanity.”

Creating a productive workplace for yourself is tough enough, but doing it for the entire team? That’s a whole different ball game.

As a marketing team leader for many years, I learned firsthand the importance — and the challenges — of building a productive workplace.

But wherever I worked, my goal was the same: to inspire my team and help them break through barriers to achieve their best. I led the way, guiding each member from beginner to expert. I turned juniors into specialists and even team leads.

Being a team leader taught me that creating a productive workplace isn‘t about rules and plans — it’s about people. How do they feel? What motivates them? Do they feel heard?

In this piece, I’ll share my personal insights blended with tips from ten amazing industry experts to help you build a highly productive workplace.

Table of Contents

• What is Workplace Productivity?
• How to Increase Productivity in the Workplace
• How to Build Productive Teams
• Tips for Managing a Productive Workplace

What is Workplace Productivity?

Workplace productivity is the contribution each team makes to the company’s success. You can measure it in different ways — like how much work gets done in an hour, how much money each employee brings in, or how often projects are finished on time.

But there’s more to productivity than just, well, producing. The “how” we produce also matters, and it’s a big part of equipping ourselves and our workplaces to become more efficient.

We need to treat productivity more holistically, or as Dan Shipper said in his TED talk, “We think productivity is about software, notebooks and to-do list frameworks, calendars, schedules, and inboxes. And it is all of those things, but it’s also about our brains and our bodies.”

So what should a productive workplace look like? Here are four things it should prioritize.

1. Healthy Work-Life Balance

When your team feels like they’re constantly in work mode, with no room to breathe or pursue other interests, productivity suffers.

Working more doesn’t mean more work gets done — especially not quality work. People need a good balance between work and free time. They need to recharge and feel supported in managing their personal lives alongside their work.

And that’s not just my opinion. A 2022 study on the interactive influence of work-life benefits backs this up. It found that perks like flexible work hours and childcare support lead to happier teams, a better work atmosphere, and everyone being more productive.

2. Good Communication and Collaboration

Being a team leader is about more than being an authority figure. Sure, you have more responsibilities — approvals, guiding the team — but you’re not the sole idea generator or decision-maker.

According to a 2023 research study, most employees said they felt left out of decisions. Needless to say, this shouldn’t be the case, since communication and collaboration are essential to true productivity.

During my time as the head of outbound content marketing at Serpstat, I led my team by keeping communication open, and I genuinely welcomed every strategic or creative suggestion. I found it valuable when someone offered a different perspective, even if it contradicted my own.

After all, being a leader didn’t mean I had all the right answers — it meant I needed to empower my team by showing I valued collaborative ideas, conflict resolution, and smooth teamwork.

3. Clear Goals and Objectives

A 2022 Forrester study found that only 39% of participants fully understood their company’s goals. On the other hand, 78% of them completely understood their personal/individual goals.

That poses the question: Is it really necessary for team members to know company-level goals?

No.

Is it beneficial?

Yes.

If they understand how their individual goals fit into the company’s goals, they’ll feel more productive and motivated to hit the target.

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When all employees understand a company’s core motives, goals, and mission, they show amazing results. As the bestseller book “Start with WHY” suggests, sharing your company’s mission with employees, and helping them feel invested in it, must be in every successful company’s DNA.

Mission alignment also helps with motivation. Mateusz Calik, CEO at Delante, shared an interesting story on how he recognized the power of goal setting:

“I’ve always hated and felt so tired and undermined in jobs where there was no clear end to a task … What helped me was a system of work my second-ever boss exposed me to. Set deadlines, set projects, and set purposes. It is the true antidote to procrastination.”

How to Increase Productivity in the Workplace

Take breaks to keep at peak performance.

Breaks are not wasting time. Breaks are for recharging batteries and then getting back to do more and better.

A recent study showed that breaks and self-care are crucial for better productivity and overall health. Workers need at least an hour of rest for every eight hours they work. It’s best if the breaks actually break up the working hours, but of course, it depends on the job — just don’t stick to your monitor during a break. Getting away from your screen and your workstation is the goal here.

Pro tip: I use the Pomodoro technique for quality work — 25 minutes of effective work and then 5 minutes of rest. And those 5 minutes mean real rest: a short walk, stretching, drinking water, and breathing fresh air.

While it seems like it would be easier to take more frequent breaks while working remotely, that’s not always the case. Deb Mukherjee, head of marketing at Numeral, emphasized that “we overwork ourselves during remote.” The truth is, while at home, many of us fail to take necessary breaks. Mukherjee suggests that in this work environment, breaks are more crucial than ever.

Mukherjee also believes in seizing quick, spontaneous breaks during the day to share non-work-related tidbits with colleagues, giving our brains a short breather.

“We have a #fun voice channel where folks come on throughout the day and talk about random stuff like their dog’s recent antics,” Mukherjee says.

Get rid of distractions to get more done in less time.

When there’s too much noise or constant interruptions, no one can concentrate.

Set up quiet zones where you can focus without distractions. You can also try using noise-canceling headphones to block out any background chatter. When at the office, I use AirPods and search for “music for concentration” on YouTube Music.

But the best solution here? Get rid of the phone and notifications. Unless it‘s for work calls or messages, tuck it away somewhere so it doesn’t tempt you to scroll through social media endlessly.

Stop multitasking to decrease work-related stress.

Multitasking = getting less done.

Multitasking is jumping from one task to another before it’s done. For example, you might work on a letter, then switch to LinkedIn, then attend a meeting, and then return to the letter. Instead of finishing tasks quickly, multitasking means each task gets less of your attention. And trust me, you’ll goof over something.

A recent study found that multitasking negatively affects work and home life. Despite many believing it’s essential, it actually leads to increased stress, reduced concentration, and poorer results.

While this kind of task-switching makes us feel more productive, it actually slows us down in the long run. As HubSpot Co-Founder Darmesh Shah famously said, “Don’t kid yourself that you can multitask — you can’t. Task switching is cognitively expensive.”

Set SMART goals to keep tasks organized.

Preceden research reveals that visualizing your goals can boost productivity by 18%.

So, instead of just tackling tasks randomly, set SMART goals to avoid burnout and be more productive. SMART is a great framework for breaking down a goal into smaller, more manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

SMART goals are:

• Specific. Make sure the goals you set are specific. The more detailed, the better.
• Measurable. Make sure your goals are measurable so that you can see progress and adjust accordingly.
• Attainable. Goals should be attainable; if they’re not, rewrite them.
• Relevant. Goals should align with you or a company’s values and long-term vision in order to make a real impact on change and performance.
• Time-Bound. Set a deadline.

To put this into practice, I like writing my goals in a notebook every Friday evening or Monday morning, so I know what goals I want to achieve next week. Then, I put them on my Monday board and make sure to track and mark my progress regularly.

 

How to Build Productive Teams

Provide ongoing training in different fields.

From day one, ensure that every team member receives proper onboarding training and ongoing education. These sessions are great for improving skills, communication, and teamwork.

For example, for your content team, offer regular workshops on content creation or SEO updates. Use free and paid resources. Navigate to a free HubSpot Academy for digital marketing and project management courses designed by experts in their fields.

Also, get your senior team members to lead workshops with juniors to significantly strengthen team bonds and share knowledge.

Pro tip: Training doesn’t always have to be work-related. Connor Butterworth, founder of Rug Slinger, shared that his company regularly organizes workshops for personal development. This approach resulted in continuous month-over-month growth.

Support your team in every possible way because their internal well-being directly affects their performance.

Encourage collaboration and lead by example.

Collaboration makes people feel like they’re part of a team. When colleagues work together, they build trust and friendship. This makes the workplace a healthy place to be, projects get finished faster, and the results are often better.

Marcus Clarke, founder of Searchant, states that the best way to foster collaboration is through sessions, meetings, and one-on-one chats.

Once he prioritized this, Clarke says, “I noticed my team felt more comfortable in sharing and expressing their minds and concerns. This led to increased problem-solving, creativity, and productivity in general.”

Also, if you’re a team leader or manager, try to be a role model. Show your team how collaboration works by actively participating and sharing ideas yourself.

As a team leader, I used to often say, “Hey Matt, how does this work? Can you help me with XYZ?” Sure, I could probably Google it, but I wanted to show the team it’s normal to ask for advice and help.

Make your meetings more productive.

Don’t hold meetings just for the sake of holding them — especially weekly planning and retrospective meetings.

Start by setting clear objectives and agendas beforehand. Encourage everyone to contribute their ideas and opinions.

However, leave five minutes for a casual conversation to check on your team’s mood and set a relaxed but professional atmosphere.

Watch this short TedX tutorial on bad versus good meetings.

 

Focus on results, not clock-watching.

When results are the main focus, everyone’s motivated to work smarter, not just harder. For that reason, I don’t like time-trackers for remote jobs.

I used to be a full-time employee for a company that made us use a tracker even when working at the office. As a result, employees felt stressed and as if they were not trusted to do their best work. Needless to say, this works against productivity.

Instead, as a manager, stick to what counts — your team’s performance and results.

Olivier Bretton, the founder of Niceboard, has great perspective on this.

“The most crucial thing that has helped me create a productive workplace for my team at Niceboard is a fully remote setup,” Bretton notes.

According to Bretton, remote work has helped create a more flexible and focused work environment for his team. “It also encourages productivity since employees are not evaluated on time spent ‘at work’ but rather on their actual performance outputs,” he says.

Pro tip: Present time-tracking to your team as a temporary means for troubleshooting, optimizing workflows, and amplifying productivity. Encourage your team to use this as a tool to understand workload versus capacity, find bottlenecks, and improve personal time management.

Tips for Managing a Productive Workplace

Avoid Micromanaging

Don’t micromanage your team.

A 2024 study from the Leadership & Organization Development Journal showed that micromanagement is one of the most common workplace issues, particularly in hybrid/remote work environments. It comes with many negative effects, like anxiety, demotivation, and reduced productivity. I’d also add that micromanaging discourages task ownership.

Of course, you can‘t give your team freedom without first training and guiding them. But once that’s happened, let them take the stage and shine. It’s not always going to be easy, but we need to accept mistakes and failures as a part of the growth process.

We can also take a cue from Alexandra Ilie, project marketing manager at Touchpoint. Ilie says she learned that giving her team freedom was just a start.

“When things started to go sideways, instead of diving back into micromanaging, we set clearer expectations, provided more resources, and really amped up the support. We made sure everyone knew what was expected and had what they needed to meet those expectations,” Ilie says.

Use Productivity and Automation Tools

Teamwork without tools like Trello, Asana, Monday.com, Zapier, Airtable, etc., would be chaotic. They help with managing tasks, sharing files, coordinating schedules, and collaborating in real time.

According to a recent HubSpot study, 75% of +1350 business professionals agree that automation tools help their organization collaborate more effectively.

Kellie Davis, director of content marketing at Impact.com, says, “We keep all project communication in Asana …That way, everyone can see what’s happening, avoiding messages getting lost in Slack or email.” When communication and collaboration are effective, “everyone is happier and feels more control over their work.”

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Pro tip: When offering productivity apps, be sure that each team member receives training on how to use the apps effectively. I find it helpful to create a Loom video where I explain everything step by step. This way, team members can watch at their own pace and leave comments at specific points if they have questions or need clarification.

Ask for Feedback

It’s not just the manager who should give feedback. Your team should also give input on projects, assess team dynamics, and flag any behavior that doesn’t align with your company culture.

Team members can also give feedback on the manager’s leadership style. For example, I often checked in with my team to see how they felt about my leadership and if there were any changes they wanted me to make.

We also rolled out anonymous surveys to highlight both strengths and areas for improvement. This acted like a “health check” for each team, and served a great purpose.

Celebrate Successes

A 2023 Great Place to Work study found that 37% of employees would do better work when they receive personal recognition. So, when your employees do something great, give them a shout-out.

Cheer for both big and small wins. For instance, in your Slack group, give a shout out to a team member who nails a project, crafts a great pitch, or shares an awesome social media post. And when the win deserves more than just praise, think about starting a bonus program or giving out gift cards. You can also reward your team with an extra day off. Trust me — this will be a big hit.

In the words of Vartika Kashyap, chief marketing officer at ProofHub, “You don’t have to wait for major milestones to acknowledge individual or team achievements.”

At ProofHub, Kashyap holds a small team lunch to celebrate successful campaigns. “This shows my genuine appreciation towards them. Plus, it boosts their morale and encourages them to continue their dedicated effort,” Kashyap says.

Positive Environment = Productivity Blossom

We have rolled through a lot of methods, tools, and advice for creating a productive work environment. But if I had to sum it all up in a single piece of wisdom, it would be this: Keep it simple.

People thrive in a work environment that’s straightforward and easy to work in. No micromanaging, no overwhelming tasks. Create a positive, helpful, and supportive vibe. Communicate, share ideas, and encourage your team to speak up about what’s bothering them. When everyone feels like part of the crew, teamwork becomes dreamwork.

Since launching in 2018, TikTok has racked up millions of downloads globally. It can also be a bit of a mystery since TikTok doesn’t always disclose key app metrics.

As someone who’s gotten sucked into the app, hearted hundreds of posts, and even made a few videos, I’m fairly certain that this platform will stick around for quite some time.

To help you make informed decisions about your strategy, we’ll cover key TikTok statistics and facts to know.

Already know what stats you’re looking for? Jump there with this table of contents:

• TikTok Stats for Marketers
• Userbase, Downloads, and Growth
• Demographics
• User Behavior
• Viral Trends and Influencers on TikTok
• Business, Revenue, and Competition
• Where to Find TikTok Stats

57 TikTok Stats to Know in 2024

TikTok Stats for Marketers

Before we jump into overall TikTok stats, let’s review some key figures and best practices for marketers to know when using the app.

• TikTok usage among social media marketers has increased 15% year over year. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• 27% of marketers surveyed plan to use TikTok for the first time in 2024. Ahead of TikTok is Facebook (40%), YouTube (45%), and Instagram (39%). (HubSpot Blog Research)
• Marketers say that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook have the biggest potential to grow in 2024, and 60% of marketers will increase their investment in these apps. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• The best times to post on the app are 6-9 p.m., 3-6 p.m., and 12-3 p.m., and the best day is Friday. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• According to a study, one in ten Gen-Zers is more likely to rely on TikTok than Google. (Adobe)
• TikTok has the third-best engagement rate, according to marketers. Of marketers surveyed, 13% said that TikTok has the highest engagement rate. Ahead of TikTok is Facebook (22%), YouTube (23%), and Instagram (23%). (HubSpot Blog Research)
• TikTok video downloads were as high as 2,733,100 in quarter three of 2023. (Statista)
• TikTok says that a few U.S.-based employees can “heat” videos, which means they can intervene to increase their viewership. (Forbes, eMarketer)
• TikTok’s CPM is half the cost of Instagram, a third of the cost of Twitter, and 62% less than Snapchat. (eMarketer)

Userbase, Downloads, and Growth

Within TikTok’s first year, it reportedly reached 500 million monthly active users. While once considered a fluke, TikTok’s growth has only skyrocketed since then.

• In September 2021, TikTok celebrated reaching 1 billion monthly active users. (TikTok)
• Douyin, TikTok’s original standalone app in China, had 300 million users when Musical.ly merged with TikTok. (The Verge)
• In 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app globally (850 million downloads), followed by Instagram and WhatsApp. (Statista)
• In 2024, TikTok was the third most downloaded app with 128 million downloads, after Temu (132 million downloads), and interestingly, Capcut, TikTok’s video editing app. (Business of Apps)

Demographics

Here’s a breakdown of TikTok’s major demographics. Please note that audience data for individuals who do not identify within the binary are not reported.

• TikTok’s largest age group is between the ages of 18 and 24. (Statista)
• 54.1% of global TikTok users are female, and 45.9% are male. (Data Reportal)
• 70% of U.S. TikTok users identify as sports fans. (TikTok)
• 92% of Gen Z users aged between 16 and 25 years use YouTube. Instagram and TikTok follow, with 85% and 78% of U.S. Gen Z users. (Statista)
• Among social media marketers who build social media communities, 28% say that TikTok is the most effective platform for building an active community on social media. (HubSpot Blog Research).
• The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil have the largest audiences on TikTok as of January 2024. (Statista)
• TikTok is now available in more than 200 countries. (Oberlo)

User Behavior

TikTok is a fast-paced app. The second you log in, you see a video at the top of a feed that’s algorithmically curated around your interests.

From my own experience, TikTok can easily cause you to spend more time than expected watching an endless stream of often comedic videos. Since these videos can be anywhere from 6 seconds to 10 minutes, the app is ideal for people seeking quick entertainment or longer-form content.

Because of TikTok’s quick pace and entertainment factor, the stats below aren’t that surprising:

• The average user spends 95 minutes per day on the app, according to DataProt. (DataProt)
• TikTok was downloaded 767 million times worldwide in 2023. (The Guardian)
• TikTok is more popular than Facebook for Gen Z in every country, with the Czech Republic being the only exception. (Klarna)
• 90% of TikTok users think sound is vital for the TikTok user experience. (Shoplus)
• After seeing an ad on TikTok, viewers trust the brand 41% more and are 31% more likely to be loyal to the brand. (TikTok)
• Users are 1.8x more likely to agree that TikTok introduces them to new topics they didn’t even know they liked. (TikTok)
• A quarter of U.S. adults under 30 regularly get news on TikTok. (Pew Research Center)
• 40% of users say that their For You Page (FYP) is either extremely or very interesting to them. (Pew Research Center)
• 52% of U.S. adults on TikTok have never posted a video on the platform. (Pew Research Center)

The Impact of TikTok

• Ads on TikTok viewed for less than six seconds still produce a stronger impact compared to ads viewed for 20 seconds or more. (TikTok)
• 71% of TikTok users who take action off the platform say that TikTok shows them exactly what they are looking for. (Market Cast)
• 67% of female shoppers rely on creator recommendations before making a purchase. (TikTok)
• 57% of brands now leverage short-form videos (TikTok, IG Reels, etc.) as part of their social media strategy. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• TikTok users are 1.8x more likely to convince their family and friends to buy the item they purchased previously (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)
• 44% of Gen X TikTok users say the platform helps them discover new things. (TikTok)
• TikTok users are 1.4x more likely to buy a new tech product in the next six months (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)

Shopping on TikTok

• 37% of TikTok users in the United States made purchases either through links on the app or directly on the platform. (Statista)
• TikTok users are 1.4x more likely to order more food or grocery deliveries during festive seasons (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)
• TikTok users are 1.3x more likely than other platform users to purchase a product to lift their spirits. (TikTok)
• Millennial TikTok users are 2.9x more likely than other platform users to make a tutorial about a product after buying it. (TikTok)
• 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok LIVE. (The Drum)

Ready to learn how to harness the power of TikTok shop for your business? Here’s how to get started. 

Viral Trends and Influencers on TikTok

TikTok has opened doors for influencers, comedians, meme creators, and even some brands. Here are a few interesting tidbits about viral trends and influencers on the app:

• The most followed creator on TikTok is Khaby Lame, with 161.4 million followers. Following close behind is Charlie D’Amelio, with 152 million. (Wikipedia)
• 67% of marketers who work with influencers/creators work with micro-influencers (10,000-99,999 followers/subscribers). Only 17% work with mega influencers (over 1 million followers/subscribers). (HubSpot Blog Research)
• 47% of marketers value the quality of an influencer’s content when deciding who to work with. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• 90% of marketers will maintain or increase investment in influencer marketing in 2024. (HubSpot Blog Research)
• The United States has a large pool of influencers, with 10M individuals considered as such. (Influencity)
• In the U.S., the number of female influencers reaches 4.7M. Male influencers, on the other hand, make up only 2.8M influencers. Lastly, neutral-gender influencers follow with 2.5M. (Influencity)
• Warner Music Group teamed up with six TikTok influencers and received over 1.5M likes, an average engagement rate of 17%, and 13.4K user-generated videos. (The Influencer Marketing Factory)

Here‘s a compilation of TikTok’s #CowboyChallenge where people wearing normal clothing cut to themselves in cowboy costumes to the song “Old Town Road.”

[Video: https://youtu.be/LxwpKKK3P4s]

Business, Revenue, and Competition

The launch of TikTok not only put its parent company, ByteDance, on the map, but it also resulted in competition from apps like Facebook, which launched a very similar app called Lasso shortly after TikTok went viral. While TikTok and ByteDance are less transparent about revenue and other major details, here’s what we know:

• TikTok is the top global app for consumer spending. (data.ai)
• TikTok has a 4.7-star rating in the Apple App Store and 4.3 in the Google Play Store. (Apple App Store, Google Play Store)
• Bytedance, TikTok’s parent company, is valued at $268 billion, making it the world’s most valuable startup. (China Money Network)
• In the first three quarters of 2023, TikTok registered a revenue of about $9.4 billion. (What’s The Big Data)
• TikTok generated an estimated $14.3 billion in revenue during 2023, a 52% increase year-on-year. (Business of Apps)
• TikTok was on track to amass around $20 billion in global gross merchandise value last year. (TechCrunch)

The Mysteries of TikTok

Although TikTok is a top social platform and is ramping up its options for advertisers, it’s still rather new. When a company or startup is new, it’s not uncommon for leadership to hide early numbers, even when a brand is successful. In fact, we’ve seen this with other major companies like Snapchat and Netflix.

Despite the launch of TikTok For Business in mid-2020, there’s still a lot more to learn as TikTok’s global teams and ByteDance continue to remain hush-hush about major metrics. In the coming years, as TikTok continues to draw in more advertisers, it wouldn’t be surprising if we started to see more transparent information about the app and its user base.

Where to Find TikTok Stats

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about TikTok, you can read up on its short history and early success in this post, or click here to find a how-to guide for using the app. In addition, you can discover important TikTok facts app on various websites:

• TikTok’s Blog
• HubSpot Blog
• Statista
• Business of Apps
• Global Web Index
• Pew Research Center
• eMarketer

Want to see what other businesses are doing on TikTok? Check out this roundup of brands on TikTok.

TikTok is an essential part of marketers’ strategy. These stats show how wide-reaching the platform is and the power of crafting the right message. Start experimenting with TikTok today, find the right strategy for you, and grow.

Is it better to have a business or personal TikTok account? If you’re a brand or influencer making the leap to TikTok, you want to set up your account for success.

Like many, I believe that creators and influencers are business owners, which adds to the confusion about which to use. Both TikTok account types are free, so which is best?

I’ll answer all these questions and more with my definitive guide to TikTok Business vs. Personal.

TikTok for Business vs. Your Personal TikTok

What is a TikTok Business Account?

Advantages of a TikTok Business Account

Disadvantages of a TikTok Business Account

What is a TikTok Personal [aka Creator] Account?

Advantages of a TikTok Personal Account

Disadvantages of a TikTok Personal Account

TikTok for Business vs. Your Personal TikTok

First, let’s start with what makes TikTok great for engagement and the similarities between business and personal TikTok accounts.

There’s a corner for every kind of content on TikTok, whether that’s ParentTok, FashionTok, PrankTok, or BookTok. I come to TikTok to laugh, learn, and discover, making it a plentiful space for creators and brands alike.

All TikTok users can engage followers through short-form video posts, stories, and going LIVE. Both business and personal accounts allow you to get verified, promote posts, and use the Branded Content Toggle.

That’s about where the similarities end.

TikTok business is designed for brands to launch campaigns and engage with audiences at scale, while TikTok personal is created with individual users and creators in mind.

Here is a breakdown of the feature differences between business and personal accounts, plus a deep dive into the benefits and limitations of each one:

Features	TikTok Business	TikTok Personal
Account privacy	Public only	Public and private
Music/Sounds available	Commercial sounds only	Full library
Analytics	Advanced (including reach and audience demographics)	Basic only
Ads Manager	✅	❌
Business Center	✅	❌
Action buttons (e.g., “Sign up”)	✅	❌
Messaging capabilities	Unlimited	Friends only
Email button in profile	✅	❌
Business creative hub	✅	❌
Lead generation	✅	❌
Auto-messaging	✅	❌
Post scheduler	✅	❌
Integration with third-party platforms	✅	❌
TikTok Shop	✅	✅ (affiliate only)
Creator Next (Creator Fund, Live gifts and diamonds, Tips)	❌	✅
Creator Marketplace	❌	✅
Creativity Program Beta	❌	✅
Series	❌	✅

What is a TikTok Business Account?

A TikTok business account enables brands to share content, build and engage an audience, and sell online. TikTok business accounts come with additional tools for team access and collaboration, like Business Center and Ads Manager.

Advantages of a TikTok Business Account

What makes this mode great? TikTok designed business accounts for teams wanting to reach audiences and run campaigns on TikTok strategically. Here’s what you can do with a business account.

1. Personalize your profile.

A business account lets you add much more detail to your profile, including a website, industry, support email, and custom action buttons like “Sign up.”

Melissa Laurie, Founder of social media agency Oysterly, claims this is one of the features she loves the most for her business.

2. Run ad campaigns.

While personal accounts can promote posts, there’s no way to run strategic campaigns in that mode.

With a business account, you have access to TikTok Ad Manager, a command center for running video campaigns and analyzing your campaign performance.

You can draw inspiration from Business Creative Hub to create timely, engaging content.

3. Engage customers.

Business accounts let you run your business and communicate with customers in ways you are used to engaging as a brand on Facebook and Instagram.

For one, you have unlimited abilities to message any user on TikTok, which isn’t available in personal mode.

You can collect leads in videos and other content, making it a valuable sales tool and easier to organize for follow-up. You can also set up auto-messaging for when you aren’t online.

4. Collaborate across teams.

If you have more than one person planning or posting content, you likely need a business account. TikTok Business Center lets you manage team and agency access and collaborate with creators.

Here’s a very important distinction: TikTok business is also the only account type you can integrate with third-party social media management apps.

So, if you’re used to using Hootsuite, Buffer, HubSpot, or any other app to schedule and manage your content, you can’t do it on a personal account. As a former corporate social media manager, this would be a dealbreaker for me.

5. Sell online.

Did you know 70% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on TikTok, and three-quarters of users are likely to buy something while using the app?

Shoppable commerce is already huge in Asia and will be the next big thing in the rest of the world. With a business account, you can set up your own TikTok Shop for users to buy without ever leaving the app.

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Kate Ross, hair and beauty specialist for beauty brand Irresistible Me, notes that a business account is best for brands.

“It’s packed with features for businesses like putting your website link right on your profile, using TikTok’s ad tools, and choosing music you’re allowed to use without worrying about copyright issues,” Ross says. You also get amazing tools for understanding who’s watching and interacting with your content.”

Disadvantages of a TikTok Business Account

While TikTok business accounts are beneficial for brands, they have a few glaring cons. Let’s get them out in the open.

1. Limited Sound and Music Options

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What would TikTok videos be without the music?

Since TikTok considers business accounts to be using music for commercial use, a major downside is that you can’t use trending songs in your content.

Instead, you have to use royalty-free (aka stock) songs from their Commercial Music Library. You also can’t use stitch or duet options for music.

While they’ve worked to improve the music available in the library, it just isn’t the same as being able to hop on any music trend that comes your way. On the upside, though, you don’t have to worry about any copyright infringement.

2. No Ability to Monetize Content

While you can make money from the products and services you sell through TikTok engagement, there’s no way to monetize the content itself from a business account.

That means that you can’t participate in programs like Creator Fund, LIVE gifts and Diamonds, or Tips. You need a personal account to make money on TikTok.

What is a TikTok Personal [aka Creator] Account?

That brings us to a TikTok personal account, previously known as a creator account. A creator account is an account for individual users and creators.

If you are an individual user wanting to use TikTok for simply personal use, this is where you should be. Personal accounts also offer many tools and ways for you to monetize your content as a creator.

Advantages of a TikTok Personal Account

TikTok personal accounts are the top choice for musicians, artists, and influencers. Here’s why.

1. Use trending music.

With a creator account, you have access to TikTok’s full library of music and sounds, letting you jump on the latest music video trends.

2. Keep your profile private.

If you want to use TikTok for individual use and only post content for friends or select groups, you need a personal account. Business accounts don’t have a private mode — for privacy, personal is best.

2. Make money on TikTok.

As a creator, the absolute best benefit of a personal account is the ability to make money from your content. Many creators have successfully built a business this way.

Image Source

Here’s how it works: Creators make videos that they hope will go viral. When videos do well, creators earn money in a few ways:

1. Earn Tips of up to $100 from fans.
2. Receive LIVE gifts and diamonds directly from fans, which can be converted to cash rewards.
3. Participate in the Creator Fund or Creativity Program Beta, which pay you out of a general fund based on the performance of your content (don’t miss our breakdown between the two).
4. Set up Series, a service where users pay a subscription for premium content.

3. Collaborate with brands.

As a creator, you connect with brands and run influencer campaigns with brands through the Creator Marketplace. When you share products you love, you can also earn affiliate compensation from attributed sales on TikTok Shop.

Disadvantages of a TikTok Personal Account

While TikTok personal offers great incentives, there are a few frustrating limitations.

1. Limited Analytics

Image Source

With a personal account, your analytics are more basic than a business account. You can view key video metrics like post views, profile views, comments, and more.

There is also follower analytics showing you your viewers’ average age, gender, and geography.

While these metrics are available in-app, you can’t download them or run your own analytics through a social media management platform from a personal account.

2. Limited Commerce Abilities

As a creator, your ability to sell directly and drive viewers to websites outside of TikTok is severely limited. You can’t include a link in your profile until you have over 1,000 followers, for instance.

You also can’t set up custom call-to-action buttons in your videos.

As a creator, you can use TikTok Shop to promote shoppable videos and earn as an affiliate, but you can’t set up a shop for your own merchandise, for example, without a business account.

So, what’s best?

Is it better to have a business or personal TikTok account? I’ve got a definitive answer for you.

First, you need to decide your goal on TikTok: making money within the platform or building an audience for a business outside of it.

If your goal is to monetize content, a personal account is the absolute best choice. Artists and individual content creators benefit from TikTok’s tools to help them build a personal brand and content business.

Plus, you can’t beat the authenticity that comes with a personal account over a faceless brand.

“If you’re an influencer on TikTok, stick with a creator (now called personal) account,” advises Ross. “It lets you use all the trendy songs and sounds, plus you can interact with other videos through duets or stitches.”

Beyond that, Ross notes that you get to see how well your videos are doing with analytics. You can push certain videos more with promotions and even earn money through the TikTok Creator Fund.

But, for businesses with ad budgets and teams, where TikTok is just one part of a multichannel marketing strategy, you need a business account.

“A business account is the way to go if you’re a TikTok brand,” explains Diana Zheng, head of marketing at Stallion Express. “A business account allows you to take advantage of TikTok’s full marketing capabilities.”

Zheng notes that you’ll get access to powerful analytics enabling you to tailor your content strategy and track your performance.

“Plus, with features such as TikTok Ads Manager, you can target ads and promote your brand in a way that drives engagement and conversions,” Zheng says.

Fortunately, it’s easy to switch back and forth between TikTok business and personal modes, so you aren’t locked into your decision forever.

If you make a mistake or scale your business to the point where you need to switch from personal to business — you can switch with a single tap.

When I used to work at a marketing agency, I would read expert industry blogs, such as HubSpot, Marketing Brew, and Backlinko (to name a few).

One of my main questions every day was, “How do these brands do it? How do they constantly come up with brilliant blog ideas?”

Today, I’m pulling the curtain back for you here at HubSpot.

How the HubSpot Blog Comes Up With Ideas

Before we get started, it’s important to know that when the HubSpot team comes up with blog ideas, several teams are involved including SEO, Blog, and Monetization.

Because of this, we divide our brainstorming process into two parts: non-organic and trend-responsive research and SEO topic research.

We then combine these efforts in our Insights Report on a monthly basis (which you can download a copy of below).

Featured Resource: Search Insights Report Template

Let’s dive into both those processes below.

How the HubSpot Blog Generates Trend-Responsive Blog Post Ideas

“Blog topics that relate to trends, research, or thought leadership yield bursts in non-organic traffic that can help you gain visitors while you’re waiting for SEO-driven posts to rank,” says Pam Bump, the HubSpot Blog’s Audience Growth Manager.

“Because they often include data, quotes, or other exclusive information, these posts can also earn backlinks, which indirectly boost your search authority.”

She continues, “On top of the potential referral benefits, non-organic content also enables your blog content to be more trend-responsive. By giving your insights on the latest news, trends, and research in your industry, you position your blog as a source for thought leadership.”

“Rather than being a blog people just find when doing Google searches, you increase the chances of audiences following you, subscribing to you, or visiting your website to look for the latest industry information,” Bump adds.

However, while non-organic content provides many solid growth opportunities, finding trendy or research-driven post topics for a specific audience isn’t always straightforward.

In fact, it often requires hours of brainstorming.

She says, “While our SEO team uses specialized tools to identify blog posts that will pull in organic traffic, I leverage a number of trend research tactics to identify post ideas that will pull in non-organic traffic from sources like email, social media, and referrals.”

Below is one brainstorming process we’ve used here at HubSpot.

1. Start by focusing on your blog categories.

Before you get started, it’s important to have some sort of road map in mind.

Choose the most important clusters, or blog categories, that you want to focus on for the quarter and develop ideas around them.

Immediately, just knowing the clusters you want to focus on could spark a few ideas for thought-leadership or data-driven research posts.

Each month, our team chooses a handful of clusters for each blog property. For us, that’s marketing, sales, service, and website. Usually the clusters relate to things like business goals or industry trends.

Additionally, we include other categories besides those clusters, such as Audience Growth, Lead Acquisition, and User Acquisition to help us brainstorm topics that are related to our lead generation goals.

2. Review the content you’ve already written to inspire new topics.

Now that you‘ve done a quick brainstorm of some new ideas, let’s see what‘s already been written in each cluster that you’re focusing on.

To do this, search your site for the cluster. We do site searches at HubSpot, by typing in “site:blog.hubspot.com/service customer experience” in Google, for example.

With this formatting, you can change the link and change the keyword to be whatever you’re looking for. Then, Google will find posts on that keyword on that site specifically.

When you‘re coming up with blog ideas, searching the site to see if the topic has been covered is very important. The reason you’ll want to do this is that you can find high-performing posts that give you inspiration for new angles or you can find posts that you want to update with more quotes, data, or new research.

This will also help you avoid keyword cannibalization.

Caroline Forsey, Principal Marketing Manager and lead of our thought leadership blog program, says. “Think of different angles for popular topics you‘ve already covered. For instance, let’s say you have plenty of content regarding LinkedIn — but you have none from a thought leader in the space.

Perhaps you could conduct an interview with a LinkedIn employee for a thought leadership angle, like ‘Top X Tips from a LinkedIn Marketer’.”

Forsey adds, “I also like to think of some topic angles that feel like they would hit on a reader‘s biggest pain point. If you want to write about TikTok, one of the biggest challenges in the space is generating leads — so something like ’How These TK Brands Generated Leads on TikTok‘ or ’Best Practices for Lead Generation on TikTok’ is a strong contender.”

“You could also consider more case-study-esque content, like ‘This Brand Generated 5,000 Leads on One Viral TikTok Video: Here’s How’,” Forsey continues.

“When brainstorming, I like to think of a major stressor for marketers first and work backwards from there.”

3. See what the competition is doing.

While you never want to copy your competitors, it‘s important to see what topics they’re writing about. This will help you fill in gaps that your competitors are missing and perhaps improve on blog topics they’re discussing.

This also lets you know what‘s going on in your industry. What’s the latest news and should you be writing about it?

“Some of our highest performing blog topics have come from competitive research, or looking at newly published data or studies from credible magazines, websites, or publications we love to follow,” says Bump.

“While we don’t try to repeat exactly what competitors or other publications are doing, we do ask ourselves, ‘How can we cover this trend better, give stronger insights on it, or otherwise put our own spin on it.’”

Forsey adds, “I love seeing what’s being written about, and then thinking of an alternative angle. For example, if publications are constantly writing about how AI could take our jobs, I like to spin my own angle on the highest-paying jobs resulting from AI.

Lean into topics other publications are writing about, but take an opposing or unique twist when possible.”

Additionally, you can browse social media for this reason as well. Social media can let you know the pain points of your audience and check-in with what’s going on with your target audience.

Staying up on industry news is one of the best ways to brainstorm blog ideas.

Forsey adds, “When new features become available for a social media platform or tool, there’s often plenty of opportunities to explore new angles there, as well.

Like when LinkedIn released its own version of Stories, that was an opportunity to brainstorm a topic like ‘X Best LinkedIn Stories We‘ve Seen’, or ‘LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook Stories: Which is Best?'”

4. Have a checklist of blog topic idea criteria.

Once you’ve created some blog ideas, you should check and make sure each blog post topic is aligned with your overall blog criteria.

If you don‘t have blog criteria yet, maybe it’s time to set some standards around what each blog topic should cover.

For example, with the checklist of criteria Bump’s created, all our blog post ideas need to provide value to our blog audience.

They should also either align with a cluster or lead-gen goal, include non-organic elements such as data or original quotes, be either trend-responsive or evergreen, and have some keyword opportunities.

5. Stay organized.

You should track your blog ideas in an organized fashion. At HubSpot, we use an idea generation spreadsheet where writers and editors can brainstorm ideas for quarterly clusters, or just write down ongoing ideas.

Ultimately, this process helps keep us organized when it comes to generating consistent blog post ideas.

Jay Fuchs, Sales Blog Editor at HubSpot, describes his process.

He says, “I try to find topics that reconcile engaging subject matter with practicality when coming up with research or trend-based blog topics.

That means finding buzzy, intriguing subject matter that lends itself to an article with a compelling title, interesting supporting materials, and — perhaps most importantly — actionable advice.”

Fuchs explains, “That could mean a piece about something like avoiding common pricing mistakes or sales strategies that will become prominent in the near future.

One way or another, you need to pick topics that hook and help — ones that command your reader‘s attention and let you make the most of it with insight that they’ll be able to apply, going forward.”

Now that you know the HubSpot process when it comes to generating non-organic blog ideas, let’s dive into the SEO side.

Brainstorming SEO-Optimized Ideas

While Bump and the blog writers brainstorm non-organic ideas, our SEO team is hard at work creating blog topics that have an organic goal in mind. This is their process:

1. Look at your company’s products, goals, and customer base.

To start, HubSpot’s SEO team will review our products, goals, and customer base.

Amanda Kopen, an SEO Strategist at HubSpot, says, “When coming up with blog post ideas, first you need to look at your company’s products, goals, and customer base.

At HubSpot, we brainstorm blog posts as they relate to our different products (marketing, sales, service, etc.). Then, we narrow it down to topics where we have expertise but are potential pain points for our customers (social media marketing),” Kopen adds.

During this phase, our SEO team is reviewing our personas, prioritizing blog clusters (decided by SEO and monetization teams), and brainstorming what would be helpful to our audience.

Additionally, the SEO team will identify large topics, underperforming topics, and old but high-performing topics.

2. Conduct keyword research and run a content gap analysis.

After the initial brainstorm, it’s time to do your keyword research and content gap analysis.

Kopen explains, “Once we have a potential pain point in mind, we use SEO best practices — like conducting keyword research and running content gap analyses — to see exactly what people want to learn about (how often should I post on LinkedIn), and we start writing from there.”

During this part of the process, our SEO team will gather domains with similar audiences and conduct a content gap analysis (find out what these sites are ranking for that HubSpot isn’t).

We‘ll also look at related searches on Google to see what people are searching for. Then, we’ll identify opportunities where we can update old blog posts or recycle the URL (so we don’t lose the SEO juice, but have updated content for that topic).

3. See if there are any linking opportunities.

Finally, the SEO team will also communicate with HubSpot’s product and academy teams to see if there are linking opportunities such as any courses or products of ours we should be linking to.

Creating Traffic-Generating Ideas

And that’s how the HubSpot blog comes up with high-performing blog post ideas consistently.

By taking the time to do solid research and idea brainstorming, you can come up with blog topics that drive thousands of readers in, like me, while boosting traffic, authority, and credibility.

Our most recent State of Marketing Report tells us that marketers are pretty confident when deciding where to invest their budget in 2024.

We’re looking at 57% who feel somewhat confident, and 26% who are very confident their budget plans will maximize ROI for their business.

I want you to feel confident in your spending plans, too, so I created this guide to help you compare how your budget matches up against competitors.

Table of Contents

• Why You Need a Marketing Budget
• Inside a Typical Marketing Budget
• Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue
• Marketing Budgets by Industry
• 7 Expert Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Marketing Budget

Why You Need a Marketing Budget

Today’s marketing landscape is complicated. Budget cuts have become common and underperforming marketers quickly fall under the axe.

And data from our State of Marketing Report supports this — nearly 60% of marketers say the way they spend their budget is being scrutinized either somewhat more or much more now than in the past.

Creating a comprehensive marketing budget is your silver bullet for avoiding these outcomes and having cash to execute your marketing strategy.

Developing a marketing budget also helps you:

• Prioritize projects to invest in.
• Allocate funds for software purchases.
• Compare your year-over-year progress.
• Allocate funds for projects in advance.
• Justify the importance of specific projects.
• Calculate the ROI from your marketing projects.
• Show the value of proposed marketing projects to your higher-ups.
• Show positive ROI, which can help you get a better budget in the future.
• Allocate funds for freelancers and full-time hires who’ll execute your strategy.

Inside a Typical Marketing Budget

According to Deloitte, marketing comprised roughly 13.6% of a company’s total budget in 2023. That’s up 3.9% from the two previous years.

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Many marketers expect their annual budgets to increase in 2024.

Based on our survey of 1,400+ marketers, 41% of respondents reported that their budget would increase. However, the majority of marketers (47%) expect their budgets to stay about the same.

Prioritization of marketing channels is also shifting. Businesses are seeing the biggest ROI from social media shopping tools, like TikTok Shop and Instagram Shops, and investing accordingly.

This doesn’t surprise me considering the growing popularity of influencers on social. Brands are meeting consumers right where they are and on their favorite channels. Plus, if you ask me, being able to buy products without ever leaving the app is top-tier customer experience.

Here are the top five ROI-driving channels based on our survey:

• Social media shopping tools (e.g., TikTok Shop)
• Web/blog/SEO
• Paid social media content
• Email marketing
• Content marketing

Further, video will be a bigger investment in many marketers’ budgets. We found that 71% of marketers plan to leverage either short-form or long-form video as part of their content strategy.

As a marketer myself, I see the power of video in helping brands tell their story. I’d expect this investment to continue to increase over the next few years.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, 56% also plan on increasing their TikTok investment in 2024 — the highest increase of any social media app. Another 33% plan to maintain their current TikTok budget.

Influencer marketing is another lead-generation tactic worthy of investment, and this trend will continue in 2024.

In fact, 87% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their investment in influencer marketing.

TikTok is hot right now, and it’s moving up the ranks with 45% user share in 2024.

Plus, influencers are a great way for brands to connect with and relate to their audiences.

I’d be surprised if marketers weren’t boosting these investments this year.

Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue

The amount of revenue businesses allocate to marketing has grown over the last few years, with the average at 9.1% of overall company revenue in 2023 compared to just 6.4% in 2021.

Decisions related to marketing budget allocation remain largely industry specific.

As a general rule of thumb, B2B companies should spend between 2-5% of their revenue on marketing, and B2C companies sit a little higher at 5-10%.

Marketing Budgets by Industry

Based on The CMO Survey, here’s the average percentage of revenue industries are spending on marketing.

INDUSTRY	MARKETING BUDGET (% OF COMPANY REVENUE)
Banking/finance/insurance	9.49%
Communications/media	14.27%
Consumer packaged goods	25.19%
Consumer services	11.74%
Education	11.50%
Energy	3.83%
Healthcare	6.80%
Manufacturing	3.75%
Mining/construction	6.50%
Pharma/biotech	12.83%
Professional services	7.08%
Real estate	10.61%
Retail wholesale	14.52%
Service consulting	21%
Tech software/platform	11.8%
Transportation	1.52%

As a marketer, it’s important you use these percentages as benchmarks, especially for industries allocating low marketing budgets.

If your industry is reluctant to spend on marketing initiatives, that’s an opportunity for your team to shine.

Once you convince the higher-ups about what you need to execute your top strategies, you’ll easily outshine others in your industry and make your company a reference for how other teams should do marketing.

7 Expert Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Marketing Budget

1. Understand your customer journey.

A customer journey is not as straightforward as Googling a term, jumping on an email list, and then converting. The journey is full of twists and turns.

Figuring out how your customers go from product awareness to purchase varies among industries. What works for B2B brands may not work for B2C, or for small businesses.

This is why David Hoos, B2B performance marketing manager at The Outloud Group, says you should take time to understand your customer journey before spending a dime of your marketing budget. If you invest in this research first, you’ll uncover:

• What channels to spend your budget on.
• What platforms to reach your target audience.
• What messages will resonate with them.
• What creative will entertain and educate them.
• What solution will convert them.

Understanding your customer journey is key to unlocking the highest ROI efforts. And reporting tools like HubSpot’s Customer Journey Analytics can help you paint a clearer picture.

Done right, this guarantees the best use of your marketing budget.

2. Hire a marketing agency where needed.

It may be difficult to oversee multiple marketing projects without help — even when you have an in-house marketing team.

Besides the time required to hire, train, and onboard a team, you’ll pay salaries and offer some benefits. All this might be a stretch if your budget can’t cater to a huge team or if you don’t have the time to supervise them. This is where marketing agencies come in.

While agencies aren’t cheap, they eliminate some of these challenges and they can function as an extended arm of your team.

Partnering with marketing agencies also gives you access to a team of specialists who may help you hit your goals faster and won’t waste your marketing budget.

3. Get an in-house marketing team.

Relying on an agency to run all of your projects isn’t the wisest use of your marketing budget. Marla Malkin, vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships at Attivo ERP, agrees.

4. Invest in content repurposing and updating.

Charlie Southwell, marketing director and SEO specialist at Let’s Talk Talent, notes that creating unique and valuable content is expensive. For this reason, Charlie’s team tries to repurpose everything they create.

Their first step is to produce evergreen content that’ll remain valuable for at least two years. After creating these assets, the team repurposes and promotes them in multiple content formats.

If you have published some evergreen assets a while back, consider updating them. Besides providing current info for your audience, a content update may make your pieces move up the SERPs.

The best part about content repurposing and updating is the leeway to re-promote your assets multiple times a year. In Charlie’s words, “Not doing this is a missed opportunity that prevents content from getting enough mileage and maximizing value from your marketing budget.”

5. De-prioritize underperforming channels.

Understanding the channels that drive the most revenue for your business is critical to marketing budget optimization.

Businesses should constantly assess their campaigns to uncover those that underperform, As says Sidharth Kumar, director of product marketing at Exoprise Systems. Doing so will help optimize spending in the right direction and phase out campaigns that don’t generate any ROI.

If you have data suggesting some underperforming channels might still work, use those channels for experimentation and apply the 70-20-10 rule when budgeting for them.

Here, 70% of your marketing budget goes to proven strategies, 20% goes to new strategies, and 10% goes to experimental strategies, which could highlight opportunities for future growth.

6. Constantly re-evaluate your marketing strategy.

A marketing strategy that’s done right will have objectives and key results, which follow the SMART framework. This is important for budget optimization, as SMART goals and metrics help you track progress and identify channels and campaigns that work.

“Constantly reviewing and re-evaluating your marketing strategy helps you know when to stay the course or pivot,” says Thomas Simon, marketing manager at Monitask. “It also lets you use effective tactics and not blindly follow a particular plan without the data or results to back your decision.”

But how often should you do a review?

Corey Haines, co-founder of SwipeWell, recommends marketers do a biweekly or monthly review of budget allocation. “Regular reviews help you cut unnecessary spending, reallocate to high-performing campaigns, and decide when to increase or decrease variable costs like ad spend,” Corey says.

7. Don’t underestimate the power of automation.

According to our survey, 74% of marketers currently use AI/automation tools in their role, and 59% of those marketers plan to continue using them in 2024.

Chang Chen, Head of GTM at Bardeen.ai, is seeing significant efficiency boosts from integrating AI and automation.

“AI now aids with SEO, user research, and even the crafting of highly personalized emails. This allows our team to focus on strategic and creative aspects of their work, freeing them from routine tasks and enabling them to apply their creativity towards business expansion,” says Chen.

“It also shortens the time to market and quickens the feedback cycle, fostering growth. An experiment that used to take 1-2 months to launch can now be ready in a few weeks.”

Here’s how Chen ties this investment back to budget planning.

“We have incorporated this improved efficiency directly into our marketing budget. This not only optimizes the use of our current resources but also allows room for innovation,” says Chen.

“We have allocated a portion of our budget specifically for experimentation, allowing us to continue exploring the capabilities of new technologies and automation possibilities.”

Manage Your Marketing Budget the Right Way

Ultimately, being a successful marketer isn‘t just about thinking strategically. It’s also about adhering to a strict budget, achieving new levels of growth, and choosing the most cost-effective options for your company.

Now that you know the typical percentage of a marketing budget by percentage and revenue the next step is to learn how to manage your marketing budget effectively.

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

Every marketing team is challenged to do more with less — especially nonprofit organizations. Often, resources are tight, and teams are small. Sound like your organization?

We want to help. That’s why we created this nonprofit marketing guide. Your organization might not operate for profit, but it can still get value from the traffic, funds, and awareness marketing brings in.

Bookmark this guide for later and use the chapter links below to jump around to sections of interest.

 

 

Inbound Marketing for Nonprofits

Your nonprofit organization likely takes up all of your time, and building a marketing plan might seem like an added responsibility that’s just not worth it.

We’re here to convince you otherwise. Inbound marketing is all about creating valuable experiences that positively impact people and your business.

Inbound marketing for nonprofits can help you attract new supporters for your cause, connect to valuable donors, engage your constituents, and inspire your community.

Boost your organization’s awareness and compel action. See firsthand how HubSpot can transform your nonprofit organization.

Here’s how else nonprofit marketing can help.

Nonprofit marketing raises awareness.

Your nonprofit organization is a brand. Therefore you need to raise awareness just like any other business or company. Marketing raises awareness, and brand awareness spreads the word about your organization and your overall cause.

Nonprofit marketing raises funds.

Nonprofit marketing and nonprofit fundraising go hand-in-hand. The more people know about your organization, the more potential funding you can bring in.

Nonprofit marketing drives donor memberships and recurring donations.

Many nonprofit organizations offer donation memberships and monthly giving programs, like this one from charity: Water. These programs are valuable because your organization doesn’t have to fundraise so actively and often. Also, they can actually help you raise more money — the average monthly online donation is $52 ($624 per year) compared to the average one-time gift of $128.

Marketing your nonprofit gets your cause in front of fresh eyes and informs your donors about how they can consistently contribute.

Nonprofit marketing recruits volunteers.

Nonprofit marketing isn’t just for funding. It also drives manpower (and woman-power!) to your organization. Regardless of industry or size, all nonprofits benefit from volunteers, and marketing your organization can help bring in new hands.

Moreover, volunteers are twice as likely to donate as non-volunteers.

Nonprofit marketing promotes your services.

Awareness, funding, and volunteers are integral to your nonprofit, but what about the purpose of your organization? What about the people, animals, or cause you’re helping? Marketing can help with that, too.

The more people who know about your nonprofit organization, the more people you can help.

These are just a handful of reasons you should invest in your nonprofit’s marketing strategy (particularly inbound marketing). Now, let’s discuss how to build a nonprofit marketing plan so you can start bringing in new funds, volunteers, and constituents.

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Template

Download your free nonprofit marketing plan template.

Hubspot’s nonprofit marketing plan template can help you organize your nonprofit’s budget, team structure, and channels of choice to create your marketing strategy.

The nonprofit marketing plan template includes sections for developing your nonprofit’s summary, business initiatives, target market, marketing strategy, budget, marketing channels, and marketing technology.

Our nonprofit marketing plan template can help you:

• Complete a SWOT analysis for your organization.
• Develop a marketing strategy.
• Determine the industries and personas of your target donors.

Crafting a nonprofit marketing plan might not be too different from a for-profit marketing plan, but debatably, it’s more important. Increasing awareness and constituent engagement without exhausting your hardworking team requires approaching your marketing systematically.

That’s where a nonprofit marketing plan comes into play. Putting systems in place to produce and distribute your marketing content allows you to focus on operating and scaling your nonprofit.

Here’s how to create a successful nonprofit marketing plan.

1. Define your marketing goals.

Your nonprofit marketing plan exists to transform your organization’s mission and big-picture objectives into strategic, actionable goals.

For example, let’s say one of your objectives was to protect the welfare of animals in your community (like one of my favorite local rescues, ALIVE Rescue). I’d ask you to brainstorm three to five marketing ideas to advance that objective.

Some ways you could use marketing to advance that objective include:

• Creating and publishing content that educates your community on the state of animal welfare.
• Posting on social media about your organization and the animals you have for adoption.
• Sending a weekly email newsletter sharing your content, adoptable animals, and volunteer needs.
• Hosting a quarterly event with educational resources, foster training, and adoption opportunities.

Next, I’d ask you to turn these ideas into SMART goals. Let’s use idea number one as an example:

acronym	goal
Specific	Educate the community on the state of animal welfare by producing one blog post per week.
Measurable	Increase traffic by 15%.
Attainable	Our blog traffic increased by 10% last year when we upped our publishing frequency to twice a month. A 15% boost in traffic with a 100% increase in production seems attainable.
Relevant	An increase in blog traffic will boost awareness of our organization, educate the community, and alert more people of our adoption opportunities — thus, saving more animals and bringing in more funding.
Timely	We will start producing one post per week and the start of next month.

SMART Goal: By the start of next month, our blog will see a 15% boost in traffic by increasing our content production from two posts per month to one post per week. This increase will boost awareness of our organization, educate the community, and alert more people of our adoption opportunities — thus, saving more animals and bringing in more funding.

See how I turned the organizational mission into a marketing objective and a SMART goal? SMART goals are especially important when it comes time to analyze and measure your marketing performance (which we will talk about later), so be sure to finish this step before moving forward in your nonprofit marketing plan.

2. Understand your audiences.

Nonprofit marketing is different from other types of marketing because your organization is likely targeting multiple groups: constituents, customers, volunteers, and donors.

It’s imperative to define and understand each of these audiences (a.k.a. buyer personas) because your marketing will differ based on who you’re talking to. (We’ll get into key messaging next.)

For example, following our animal shelter example from above, an email targeting donors will have different messaging than an email calling for volunteers.

One easy way to organize your different audiences is using a CRM to segment the different groups. By separating contacts with tags and lists, you can easily send marketing messages to the appropriate groups.

3. Craft Your Key Messages

Key messages encompass the information you want your audiences to hear, remember, and share about your nonprofit organization. Crafting these before you employ your marketing is important for a few reasons:

• Key messages keep your organization aligned. No matter who’s doing the marketing, you can be confident the same thing is being said and promoted.
• Key messages simplify your marketing. With these created ahead of time, you already know what you will say in your marketing messaging.
• Key messages help organize your different audiences (as discussed above). As a nonprofit organization, you’re likely talking to donors, volunteers, constituents, and your community — more personas than a typical for-profit business. Developing key messages for each audience informs your team and your marketing to make sure you’re targeting the right groups.

Continuing with our animal shelter example, here’s a look at how you can craft a key message for different audiences.

Key message: We protect the welfare of animals in our community through education, adoption and fostering, and animal advocacy.

• For adoption customers/constituents: By adopting or fostering, or by alerting us of animals in need, you can help us protect the welfare of animals in our community.
• For volunteers: We protect the welfare of animals through round-the-clock animal care and advocacy.
• For donors: You can help us protect the welfare of animals by donating to support animal care, advocacy, and adoption promotion.

All of these key messages have the same purpose and undertone, but they vary slightly depending on your audience. Together with your nonprofit organization’s mission, vision, and goals, these messages will help effectively communicate and market your organization’s needs and purpose.

4. Choose, plan, and create your marketing strategies.

Many marketers jump right to this step — creating and publishing various marketing tactics. Marketing encompasses much more than an advertisement, blog post, or event. To execute successfully, you must complete all the steps before this.

Now that you’ve established your goals (what you want), your key messages (what you’re going to say), and your audience (who you’re going to say it to), you can determine your marketing tactics (how you’re going to say it).

Marketing tactics refer to channels like email marketing, social media, events, and more. We’ve dedicated an entire section to these marketing strategies. Read about them in detail below.

Regardless of which tactic you choose, be sure to conduct thorough planning before and as you execute it. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you prepare:

• What will you do with this marketing tactic?
• When will these marketing activities take place?
• Why is this tactic important?
• Who will be responsible for these activities?
• How much do we plan to spend?
• How does this tie to our organization’s marketing goals?

Tactical planning is an integral part of your overall nonprofit marketing plan. How you approach your marketing strategies and how they impact your organization is just as important as how you execute them.

Before you hit the ground running on any of these strategies, be sure your team has a solid game plan and a full understanding of it.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

Download for Free

5. Analyze your marketing performance.

Your marketing probably won’t perform perfectly from the get-go. That’s OK. Routine reporting and analysis help you figure out what’s working and what you need to change.

As you choose and establish your marketing channels, pay attention to their measurable performance indicators. Here’s a list of examples from our list of marketing strategies below:

Marketing Strategy	Performance Indicator
Email marketing	Email opens
Event marketing	Ticket sales
Video marketing	Video views
Social media	Shares and comments
Website	Page views
Public speaking	Referrals
Content marketing	Subscriptions

Remember the goals you defined in step one? Measuring your marketing performance is essential to stay aligned with those goals.

You can track these performance indicators using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, and the analytics tools built into Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.

If you know what you want to measure before you start marketing your nonprofit, you’ll know exactly what to look for — and how to determine success and impact — when your marketing is in play.

You’ve created your nonprofit marketing plan. Now, let’s talk about executing that plan with actionable marketing strategies.

Many of these nonprofit marketing strategies will overlap, like sharing your blog content on social media or releasing an event invite over email. These methods can and should be used in tandem, but we recommend introducing each strategy slowly, so your team doesn’t overwhelm itself.

In fact, we recognize that your nonprofit is likely operating with a small (but agile) marketing team. For this reason, throughout these sections, we’ll recommend tips for doing more with less. Ultimately, though, don’t hesitate to outsource your nonprofit marketing where needed.

Nonprofit Email Marketing

You might be using email sporadically to call for volunteers or confirm an online donation, but that’s not enough. Email marketing for nonprofits is a highly effective marketing resource. Why? It’s personal and powerful.

Here are a few ways to leverage email marketing to reach all of your audiences:

• Send a weekly newsletter with your newest content, updates about your organization, industry data, and volunteer needs.
• Send monthly emails with donation needs and opportunities.
• Set up an email sequence for new subscribers, thanking them for joining and educating them on your organization.
• Set up an email sequence for new donors, thanking them for their contribution and sharing how else they can support your organization.

Also, don’t forget to put information on your website about how to subscribe to your email list. Nonprofit organization, Acumen, does a great job of this by putting subscription opportunities on its homepage and in its main menu.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Automate as much as possible. Email marketing automation (like HubSpot) saves precious time and energy for your team and can be the key to growing your email list, donations, and memberships. You can also automate an email sequence triggered by website visitor behavior indicating a high level of interest, such as downloading educational content.

Nonprofit Event Marketing

Event marketing is one of the most effective (and enjoyable) ways to grow awareness of your organization, connect with your community, raise funds, and garner support for your cause.

PAWS, which stands for Pets Are Worth Saving, is another local animal rescue I’m a fan of. They hold a PAWS 5K race every summer to raise awareness and funding for the organization.

This type of event is impactful for multiple reasons:

1. It inspires competition and physical activity. Runners raise money for the organization and participate in the run.
2. It brings people in the community together to celebrate the organization and bring awareness to the PAWS cause.
3. It provides PAWS a channel to promote their services and adoptable pets.
4. It’s fun to attend and be a part of! Many people go to the event to support runners, play with dogs, and simply be a part of the fun, all while supporting and sharing PAWS.

From fundraisers to auctions to competitions, you can organize many different kinds of events to market your nonprofit organization.

Nonprofit Video Marketing

Whether they’re consuming content for work, school, or fun, people prefer video content. As a nonprofit organization, video marketing is a surefire way to garner interest and support from all of your audiences.

Here are a few reasons video can help you market your nonprofit:

1. Video is visual. We process visual content 60,000 times faster than written content. We also remember more content longer.
2. Video is personal. It inspires empathy and emotions, which can’t be said about other types of marketing.
3. Video is educational. Many organizations need to educate their communities on their causes in order to garner attention and funding. Video can help you do that.
4. Video is shareable. 92% of consumers on mobile will share videos with others. Consumers love sharing videos, especially those that inspire and resonate with them.
5. Video is interesting. 60% of people report that video is a media they consume thoroughly. Keep your visitors, followers, and supporters engaged and interested using video.

The Girl Effect, a nonprofit that works to empower girls worldwide, is a great example of video marketing. The organization’s homepage is a video that captures visitors’ attention right away. Moreover, when you click “See more,” the site opens an informative video telling you all about The Girl Effect.

Nonprofit Social Media Marketing

Social media is a highly popular marketing strategy among nonprofits. Not only is it free, but it also provides an avenue for organizations to show their brand personalities and engage with their followers and supporters.

Here are some ways to use social media for your nonprofit marketing, as inspired by a HubSpot study of 9,000 nonprofits:

• Share news about your organization and cause
• Boost brand awareness and recognition
• Fundraise
• Recruit volunteers and employees
• Recognize donors, employees, and volunteers

Don’t forget to use the key messaging you crafted in your nonprofit marketing plan to keep your social media posts consistent and targeted. Also, make the most of each platform to promote your organization, such as the Donate button on Facebook.

HubSpot customer, FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a nonprofit organization that works to advance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education among children.

FIRST makes use of social media in many different ways, such as using Facebook to post videos, news, fundraisers, and reviews, as well as making use of the Donate button. The organization has amassed almost 100,000 followers.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Curate content from volunteers, customers, supporters, event attendees, and donors. Implementing a user-generated content (UGC) campaign lessens your workload and acts as strong social proof. To enact your UGC campaign, put out a call for constituent stories, images, and videos. Create a hashtag that people can use to alert you of new UGC.

Also, let curation tools work for you. Use Google Alerts and social monitoring tools to alert you when your organization, hashtags, or relevant topics or keywords are mentioned. This provides opportunities to source UGC, get inspiration for new topic ideas, and participate in relevant conversations.

Nonprofit Website

Every nonprofit organization should have a website, which can be created on a CMS such as Content Hub or WordPress. A website serves as a digital home base for your organization and includes critical information — what you stand for and how visitors can participate and help.

Your website also houses important assets like your blog, social media streams, event information, videos, and the rest of your marketing strategies. Lastly, your website serves as a way to intrigue, inspire, and engage your audiences.

Nonprofit organization (and HubSpot customer), American Nursing Association (ANA), is an example of an organization with an outstanding nonprofit website. The site clarifies the ANA mission, shares news and educational content, and informs visitors how to get involved through memberships, events, certifications, or donations.

Nonprofit Public Speaking

People buy into other people, not products. The same can be said about nonprofit organizations. If consumers believe in the people behind your organization, they’re likely to buy into your cause and donate money or time.

Public speaking is one of the best ways for consumers to get to know your leadership team, not to mention spread the word about your cause and organization. Whether you speak at a local event of 100 people or a multi-day conference with thousands, the impact is the same: telling a powerful story to real people who may not yet know about your cause.

Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, spoke at INBOUND. While he shared information about the conception and organization of the nonprofit, he mostly talked about the people that his organization helps and how the audience can support the mission. Harrison not only moved an audience of thousands but also effectively marketed the charity: water purpose and brand.

 

Nonprofit Content Marketing

Content marketing and blogging are valuable marketing assets for any nonprofit organization. Here’s why:

• Content educates your audiences about your mission, cause, and industry news and trends.
• Content (and SEO) bring in new visitors, subscribers, donors, and leads.
• Content is shareable and serves as free PR among your audiences.
• Content can be repurposed and made into different types of media, saving your marketing team precious time and energy.

Creating a nonprofit marketing blog isn’t always easy. Teams are short-staffed, budgets are low, and time is precious. Thankfully, there are many ways around those blogging challenges, such as sourcing story ideas from volunteers, donors, and customers and implementing an editorial calendar so you can plan ahead.

One of my very favorite nonprofit organizations is called Blurt Foundation. This UK-based organization exists to increase awareness and understanding of depression and support those who struggle with it. There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about depression, so Blurt Foundation uses its blog content and other content resources to educate constituents and supporters. It also incorporates these content assets into its emails, social media posts, and online store.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Save time and resources by repurposing your content. It’s an appreciating asset you can reuse and re-promote repeatedly. Repurposing content to create new marketing assets costs far less than creating entirely new content.

Outline all the ways you could repurpose the content you produce. For example, you could create the following list for your blog content:

• Short versions of posts for use in emails or newsletters with links back to full posts.
• Groups of related posts for report
• Two to three visuals images to share on social
• Infographics with post information
• Reaction pieces to the original post

Since you’re not going to promote and distribute each piece of repurposed content immediately, your content pipeline is never empty.

Check out HubSpot’s free nonprofit content today.

Nonprofit Digital Marketing

You can market your nonprofit using search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). SEO is the process of optimizing your nonprofit’s content to get traffic from organic search results. On the other hand, SEM is the process of getting traffic and visibility from both organic and paid search.

Nonprofits can use keywords in their blogs, videos, podcasts, and other digital content to improve their search engine rankings.

Image Source

The American Red Cross uses many forms of digital content in its marketing, including YouTube videos. The organization uses keywords to help search engines rank the content for SEO and help their audience find their content through organic search. For example, the above video uses the keywords “red cross” and “disaster” in its description to rank in search engine results.

Nonprofits can leverage search engine marketing to increase their contributions through search engine ads.

Google’s Ad Grants program gives nonprofits grants of up to $10,000 per month to advertise their organizations. Many nonprofits — including DonorsChoose.org, We Care Animal Rescue, and SOS Children’s Villages — use Google Ad Grants to attract donations, drive awareness, and recruit volunteers.

Strengthen Your Marketing, Promote Your Cause

Raise your hand if your organization has to constantly do more with less. 👋🏼

If that sounds like your organization, we recommend you use this guide to build a nonprofit marketing plan ASAP. Your organization might not operate for profit, but it can still gain value from the traffic, funds, and awareness that systematic marketing brings in.

These activities and strategies will help promote your organization and take a valuable load off your team’s and volunteers’ backs, freeing them to dedicate more time to your cause and constituents.

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