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HubSpot website builder review (2024): Pros and cons, features tested by our experts

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By Mirza Bahic

In addition to advanced CMS tools, does this popular CRM platform provide a beginner-friendly website builder?

If you’re in search of the best website builder to create an eye-catching website for your startup or side hustle, HubSpot website builder is certainly worth a look. In our hands-on review, we’ll dive deep into HubSpot’s offering and decide whether it’s a game-changer for solo entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to make their mark online.

After all, HubSpot is more than just one of the best free website builders – it’s the heart of HubSpot’s comprehensive content management system (CMS) suite. Whether you’re launching a side hustle or rebuilding your current site, this tool streamlines website creation. Despite a slight learning curve associated with advanced tools, HubSpot provides a powerful tool to support your online efforts.

To help you make the right choice, we’ve rolled up our sleeves and delved into the nitty-gritty of the HubSpot website builder. Our team of experts has rigorously tested this builder, creating multiple websites to assess its user interface, design flexibility, and integration with HubSpot’s ecosystem.

So, whether you’re a first-time website creator or want to level up your game, our Hubspot website builder review can serve as your roadmap to navigating this tricky tool.

IS HUBSPOT THE RIGHT WEBSITE BUILDER FOR ME?

Choosing the right site builder is crucial for the success of your online presence. Let’s break down who HubSpot is best for and who might find it less suitable.

Who is HubSpot best for?

HubSpot drag-and-drop website builder is an excellent choice for solo entrepreneurs entering the online realm, especially those prioritizing inbound marketing. It provides tools to create and promote content that resonates with the target audience.

Additionally, HubSpot is one of the best small business website builders on the market, allowing entrepreneurs and marketers to benefit from its all-in-one solution with strong integration capabilities. If you’re seeking a platform where your website, CRM, live chat, email marketing, and automation are interconnected, HubSpot is a solid choice. It also supports up to three languages with automatic connections between language variations.

Who might find HubSpot less suitable? 

HubSpot’s pricing structure can be confusing and costs significantly increase with advanced features. If you’re on a tight budget, the leap from the entry-level plan to more advanced tiers might be limiting.

The user interface of HubSpot’s builder can also be overwhelming, which might not be suitable for those who prefer a simpler, more straightforward dashboard. In such cases, a site builder like Wix, with a more intuitive design, could be a better fit.

HubSpot website builder - perfect for CRM and marketing integrations

HubSpot website builder – perfect for CRM and marketing integrations

HubSpot’s website builder integrates with their CRM and other marketing tools. With a generous free plan, it makes HubSpot a great option for small, start up, and growing businesses.

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HUBSPOT FEATURES AND TOOLS

TEMPLATES

Screenshot of Hubspot website builder in use

HubSpot’s themes are clean and bold, a great way to make a statement about your business. (Image credit: HubSpot)

HubSpot boasts a collection of over 170 themes, covering a diverse range of categories and you’re invited to preview themes before installation. And if that’s not enough, you can even spice things up by adding themes purchased from ThemeForest, expanding your design options.

When it comes to customization and adding a personal touch, the theme editor is your creative playground. You can easily tweak colours, fonts, and spacing to match your brand’s vibe. What’s best, these changes ripple across all your pages, saving you time and effort.

One advantage that sets HubSpot and Wix apart is HubSpot’s ability to switch themes without bidding farewell to your content – it’s really a rare gem in the website-building realm.

HUBSPOT WEBSITE EDITOR

Screenshot of hubspots website editor being used to view a website on mobile

HubSpot’s website editor is easy to use, but lacks flexibility (Image credit: HubSpot)

Now, the heart of the matter – HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editor takes centre stage, offering an array of content elements and modules to elegantly populate your pages.

From dynamic galleries and testimonials to structured columns and vibrant videos, the editor is there to empower your creative choices. Tweak the finer details of your website’s appearance effortlessly, from global fonts and spacing to typography, buttons, forms, and tables, ensuring a polished and cohesive design throughout.

However, despite the decent creative potential, HubSpot’s website editor is far from being a champion of flexibility. Precise placement can sometimes feel like orchestrating a dance routine without mastering all the moves. Text editing takes a brief detour into a separate pane, introducing a slight interruption to the flow. For those meticulous about the alignment of elements like text and images, you might find yourself desiring a bit more control.

DOMAIN

HubSpot offers a free subdomain, providing a starting point for your online presence. If you’re seeking a personalized touch, HubSpot simplifies the domain registration process right within its platform. However, you don’t need to upgrade to a paid plan right away.

Unlike many other of the best free website builders, with HubSpot, you have the benefit of connecting your own domain name for free – and it offers a simple step-by-step guide to help you do it.

If you don’t own a domain, registering one usually falls in the range of $10-20, though it can vary based on factors such as popularity and the registrar you choose.

HUBSPOT ECOMMERCE

screenshot of hubspot's ecommerce tools

HubSpot’s app marketplace is the go-to for those looking for advanced ecommerce tools.  (Image credit: HubSpot)

When it comes to ecommerce functionality, HubSpot CMS doesn’t provide native features for selling products. Still, the platform allows you to receive payments through your site, primarily suitable for processes like donations or simple payments, but this functionality is limited to users based in the US.

Despite this limitation, HubSpot extends its ecommerce potential through its app marketplace. Here, you’ll find plenty of free ecommerce Apps compatible with HubSpot, such as WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, and more.

As for transaction fees, HubSpot adopts a transparent approach with no setup fees, monthly fees, minimums, or hidden charges. The cost structure is based on a percentage of each transaction, ensuring you only pay for the service when it’s actively utilized.

The specific fees, however, depend on the payment processing option you choose within HubSpot. If you opt for HubSpot Payments, expect to incur a 2.9% charge on all credit card transactions and a 0.5% fee (capped at $10) on ACH payments. Alternatively, if you integrate your Stripe account as the payment processor, HubSpot applies a platform fee of 0.5% per transaction, alongside the processing fee agreed upon with Stripe.

HUBSPOT MARKETING INTEGRATIONS

screenshot of HubSpot's app marketplace

HubSpot’s marketing integrations are plentiful and high powered. (Image credit: HubSpot)

HubSpot shines in the realm of marketing integrations, providing powerful SEO tools to boost your online presence. With features like personalized content, email marketing, and seamless integration with CRM and automation tools, HubSpot provides an all-in-one suite for managing various marketing aspects.

The platform’s Marketing Hub is aimed at experienced marketers, offering capabilities like email campaigns, SEO strategy development, ad management, automated campaigns, content uploading, and detailed reporting. This makes it an attractive choice for businesses seeking streamlined lead generation and nurturing processes.

HubSpot doesn’t stop there – it also integrates seamlessly with various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, further enhancing your ability to reach and engage with your audience.

WEBSITE SECURITY

Screenshot of hubspot security details

HubSpot offers top-notch security for your website. (Image credit: HubSpot)

As soon as you connect your domain, HubSpot will automatically set you up with a standard SSL certificate through Google Trust Services, giving your site a secure foundation.

Behind the scenes, HubSpot entrusts your website’s security to top-tier cloud providers like Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services. These providers adhere to strict security standards like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance, ensuring your website is in good hands.

HubSpot employs a web application firewall (WAF) to safeguard against attacks, including DDoS threats. Real-time monitoring keeps an eye on traffic, promptly identifying and thwarting any malicious activity.

And when it comes to data protection, HubSpot has it covered. Your information is securely replicated and backed up across multiple storage locations ensuring your data’s safety and quick recovery if needed.

To keep a pulse on your website’s security, HubSpot’s Security Health is your go-to tool. It provides a comprehensive overview of your security measures, pointing out areas for improvement. You just need to follow the links to address any concerns and strengthen your account’s security.

HUBSPOT PRICING: IS HUBSPOT GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY?

Hubspot pricing page screenshot

HubSpot offers a great free plan and an affordable starter plan, but for advance features the jumps in price are significant.  (Image credit: HubSpot)

To start your journey with HubSpot, you’ll have to choose from their CMS Hub plans, each tailored to cater to specific business needs.

There’s a forever-free plan and it comes packed with essential tools for marketing, sales, service, content management, operations, and commerce. They’re perfect for small businesses looking for budget-friendly yet impactful solutions that can be simply upgraded as their business grows. However, keep in mind that this fee plan comes with certain limitations, such as up to 25 website pages, no dynamic content, and includes HubSpot branding with a non-customizable favicon.

The next in line, the Starter plan ($20/month paid yearly) is likely enough for most small-to-medium businesses, but if you crave advanced features, the Professional plan ($360/month paid yearly) offers personalization, A/B testing, custom reporting, and more.

The Enterprise plan ($1,200 /month paid yearly) goes further with advanced development-focused features such as additional root domains, memberships, adaptive testing, web apps, and custom objects – everything needed to build a robust foundation for wide-ranging business growth.

HubSpot lets you create custom bundles for your business. The four key products – HubSpot CRM (free), Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub – come in Free, Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plans. For an all-inclusive approach, the Growth Suite bundles them together at a discounted price.

You have the option to optimize your HubSpot experience with expert assistance, ensuring you make the most of the platform’s capabilities. To dive deeper into specifics about HubSpot’s plans and pricing, check out their pricing page.

HUBSPOT HELP AND SUPPORT

screenshot of HubSpot's support page

HubSpot offers several good ways to get support and learn more about the platform.  (Image credit: HubSpot)

Even on the Starter plan, you’ve got the backup of both email and live chat support, and the team is quick to respond and genuinely helpful when you’re facing challenges. Also, if you’re ever curious or need quick updates, hit up HubSpot support on X (Twitter) – they even encourage their users to do so.

The knowledge base is like a gold mine, covering a ton of topics. It might seem a bit overpacked at first glance, but think of it as your go-to resource, helping you through common issues and diving into advanced features.

There’s also a community forum where you can chat with fellow users, tap into their collective wisdom, and pick up strategies to grow better with HubSpot. Plus, HubSpot keeps you in the loop with real-time updates on system status and security – just visit their status page.

However, to get round-the-clock phone support, you’ll have to go with the Professional or Enterprise plans. For a pretty penny, this will add that extra layer of assistance for a smooth website-building journey.

HUBSPOT: WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED? WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

While HubSpot CMS Hub offers an extensive array of business-focused, particularly marketing features, the platform could benefit from increased flexibility within its editor. Design flexibility is limited, requiring potential reliance on developers for precise customization, making it more akin to a comprehensive content management system like WordPress than other DIY website builders such as Wix and Squarespace.

One notable downside is the platform’s learning curve, attributed to the multitude of features available. Less tech-savvy users may find it challenging to familiarize themselves with the different interfaces and editors for various tasks. The editor’s rigidity, despite offering drag-and-drop functionality, might make it a bit challenging to customize the design exactly as you want.

Still, if you’re willing to invest time in navigating the learning curve, HubSpot website builder can be a powerful choice, particularly if you’re already using HubSpot’s CRM or marketing tools.

HUBSPOT REVIEW: FINAL THOUGHTS

In summary, HubSpot’s website builder comes as a compelling all-in-one solution, especially when integrated with HubSpot’s CRM or email marketing tools. It might not be the most beginner-friendly choice out there and isn’t as flexible as some of its competitors, even free website builders. Nevertheless, HubSpot is a marketing powerhouse that excels with robust tools for SEO, blogging, and lead generation.

If you’ve decided on HubSpot but are looking for superior customization or lack the time to navigate the learning curve, consider collaborating with a developer. When understood and utilized effectively, this comprehensive solution can empower your online presence and marketing endeavours.

The bottom line is, if you are a small or growing business that wants an all-in solution for CRM, marketing tools, and website building, there is little out there that can beat HubSpot’s offering. However, if you want more flexibility in your website design, assessing other options will be worthwhile.

HUBSPOT WEBSITE BUILDER FAQS

Is HubSpot really free?

Yes, HubSpot offers a forever-free version but with basic features, including CRM tools. For more advanced features and capabilities, you’ll want to check out their paid plans.

Is it hard to learn HubSpot?

HubSpot can have a steep learning curve due to its extensive feature set. While it provides user-friendly interfaces, the diverse range of tools may require some time to master. Fortunately, HubSpot offers training resources and solid customer support to help you navigate the platform effectively.

Is HubSpot good for SEO?

Yes, HubSpot is in high demand for its SEO capabilities. The CMS Hub, in particular, provides robust tools for optimizing content, managing keywords, and enhancing website visibility on search engines. It is considered a powerful option for businesses focused on inbound marketing and SEO strategies.

By Mirza Bahic

Mirza Bahic is a freelance tech journalist and blogger from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the past four years, Mirza has been ghostwriting for a number of tech start-ups from various industries, including cloud, retail and B2B technology.

With contributions from

Sourced from techradar pro

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The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

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By Shubhomita Bose

If you ask the person next to you about the difference between marketing and advertising, there’s a strong possibility you won’t get a clear answer. That’s because for many people, there’s only a subtle difference between marketing and advertising that’s often difficult to explain.

To be honest, advertising and marketing are closely related disciplines that have much in common. Yet they differ in many ways too. To see the differences and how each can benefit you as a small business owner, you must first understand the basics of both.

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

This section aims to unpack the distinct roles and impacts of marketing and advertising, clarifying how each contributes to the success of a small business. While closely related, understanding their unique functions is essential for strategic planning and growth.

What is Marketing?

Marketing, in simple terms, refers to the means of communication between a company and its target audience. The American Marketing Association defines it as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

Marketing involves techniques such as market segmentation, target group identification and market analysis to adopt the right strategy for customer engagement and product promotion.

Four primary elements that form the crux of marketing include Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These elements were introduced by marketer E. Jerome McCarthy. See the breakdown for each of these elements below.

Product

A product is seen as an item that addresses a consumer demand/need. It could be a tangible good or an intangible service. Choosing the right product is critical because it’s the cornerstone of your business and what attracts customers in the first place.

Price

This is the amount customers pay for the product. Price determines the company’s profitability and, thereby, whether or not the company will succeed. Setting the right price requires understanding your market and ensuring value for your customers.

Place

Products must be located in a place where consumers can access them. Place involves strategies such as selective distribution, franchising, and exclusive distribution. The right location or distribution channel can significantly increase a product’s success by making it easy for customers to find and purchase.

Promotion

All means of communication that a company adopts to provide information about the product are considered promotion. Promotion may include elements such as public relations, advertising, and sales promotion. Effective promotion increases the visibility and awareness of your product, encouraging more sales.

Let’s now try and understand what advertising means.

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

What is Advertising?

Advertising is defined as a form of marketing communication used by companies to promote or sell products and services. In essence, advertising is one of the components or subsets of marketing. In other words, if you think of marketing as a pie, then advertising will be an important slice of that pie.

The primary goal of advertising is to influence buying behavior by promoting a product, service, or company. To achieve this goal, advertising focuses on creative positioning and media. In doing so, advertising spreads awareness about what you have to offer.

According to the “Hierarchy of Effects” model put forth by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner, a buyer moves through six stages when making a purchase. These are awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction and purchase. These six stages are further divided into three categories: Awareness and Knowledge (Cognitive), Liking and Preference (Affective) and Conviction and Purchase (Conative).

These three categories are explored a bit further below.

Cognitive

At this stage, consumers process the information provided to them through advertising communication. Advertising should, therefore, present information on the product’s benefits to pique the interest of the target audience. It’s essential that the message is clear and compelling to create a strong first impression and foster curiosity.

Affective

When consumers are in the affective stage, they should be able to start associating with the brand. Advertising should, therefore, resonate with the audience’s emotional aspects. This connection is vital for building brand loyalty and preference, as consumers are more likely to choose brands with which they feel an emotional attachment.

Conative

The conative stage refers to a stage where buyers are either actually making a purchase or simply showing the intent to purchase. At this stage, advertising evolves into a method of expediting the purchasing process. The conative stage refers to a stage where buyers are either actually making a purchase or simply showing the intent to purchase. At this stage, advertising evolves into a method of expediting the purchasing process. Effective advertising here encourages the consumer to take action, making it as easy as possible for them to make the purchase.

Aspect Marketing Advertising
Definition Communication between a company and its target audience for creating, delivering, and exchanging offerings with value. A subset of marketing focused on communication to promote products or services.
Key Elements Product, Price, Place, Promotion Creative positioning and media
Product Addresses consumer demands/needs Promotes products or services
Price Determines profitability and success of the company Not directly related to pricing
Place Strategies for product distribution and accessibility Not related to product location
Promotion Includes public relations, advertising, sales promotion, and more Primarily focused on promotional activities
Goal Customer engagement and product promotion Influencing buying behavior
Hierarchy of Effects Cognitive, Affective, Conative Cognitive, Affective, Conative
Cognitive Providing product information to capture interest Presenting information on product benefits
Affective Creating an emotional connection with the brand Resonating with the audience’s emotions
Conative Facilitating the purchasing process Encouraging purchase or intent to purchase

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

How Do Advertising and Marketing Differ?

As you can probably tell by now, marketing and advertising differ. As noted, marketing presents the overall picture of how a company promotes, distributes and prices its products or services. Advertising is a component of this overall picture.

Apart from advertising, a marketing plan includes other components such as public relations, sales and distribution strategies. All these elements are expected to work both independently and interdependently. All must work together to support the same marketing goal.

What’s interesting to note is that advertising typically accounts for the largest expense in most marketing plans. It’s not difficult to understand why. A well-executed ad campaign is run on multiple channels and at a high frequency to create the desired impact.

It’s also worth mentioning that creating a marketing plan is typically more time-intensive than creating an advertising campaign. Since marketing involves various disciplines such as market analysis, marketing research, positioning, and segmentation, it includes more strategizing than advertising.

In other words, advertising supports marketing by creating the right buzz about a company’s product or service. It generates curiosity in the minds of the target audience but ultimately works to support the overall marketing plan.

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

Blurring the Line Between Advertising and Marketing

In the digital era, the thin line that exists between marketing and advertising is getting increasingly blurred.

With search engine marketing (SEM) and display advertising, digital marketers are now working in the online ad space. Social networking is turning out to be the most preferred channel for most of these marketers who are pairing advertising with marketing to achieve the best results.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing. Here’s why.

Many believe social media is a powerful marketing channel that should be used cautiously for advertising purposes.

Ted Rubin, Chief Social Marketing Officer at Collective Bias explains in a guest blog on IBM.com, “Ads have their place, but too many brands try to “advertise” within their social communications to drive immediate action. Not a good scenario, because over time that misuse of the medium diminishes trust and efforts to build relationships.

To leverage social media in the most optimal way, marketers need to have the right strategy for advertising and marketing. To begin with, it’s important to understand what customers want. Do they use social media to be bombarded with adverts and gimmicks? Or are they looking for information presented in an interesting way?

Brands that have checked the pulse of their target audience know how social media can benefit their integrated marketing communications strategy. Keeping that in mind, they know how to leverage it without overusing it.

For businesses, the key thing is to really understand how advertising and marketing work together to bring about the right results.

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising

The Evolving Landscape of Advertising and Marketing

In today’s dynamic business environment, the line that once clearly separated advertising and marketing is becoming increasingly blurred. The digital era has ushered in new opportunities and challenges, pushing marketers to explore innovative ways of leveraging both disciplines for optimal results.

The Power of Digital Marketing

With the advent of search engine marketing (SEM) and display advertising, digital marketers now operate within the vast realm of online advertising. This transition has allowed businesses to harness the precision and reach of digital platforms to target specific audiences effectively. Social networking platforms, in particular, have emerged as favored channels for marketers, offering unique opportunities to blend advertising with broader marketing strategies.

The Cautionary Note

However, it’s crucial to exercise caution in the digital marketing landscape, especially within the realm of social media. While social media can be a powerful marketing channel, the overuse of advertising tactics can lead to adverse consequences. Bombarding audiences with adverts and gimmicks may yield short-term gains but can erode trust and hinder long-term relationship-building efforts.

Crafting the Right Strategy

Successful digital marketers understand the importance of crafting the right strategy that aligns with customer preferences. It’s essential to discern whether your audience seeks to be bombarded with advertisements or if they are looking for information presented in an engaging and meaningful way. This requires a deep understanding of your audience’s habits and values, ensuring that the strategy respects their online experience and adds value to their digital interactions.

Finding the Balance

For businesses navigating the digital landscape, the key lies in comprehending how advertising and marketing can work harmoniously to achieve the desired outcomes. Striking the right balance between engaging marketing content and strategically placed advertising is the path to building strong customer relationships and achieving sustainable business growth. Tailoring your approach to serve both your business objectives and your audience’s needs is crucial, as it ensures that your marketing efforts enhance rather than disrupt the user experience.

As the digital realm continues to evolve, small business owners must adapt their approaches to advertising and marketing, ensuring they leverage the latest tools and techniques effectively. By doing so, they can position themselves for success in an ever-changing business landscape.

Aspect The Evolving Landscape of Advertising and Marketing
Digital Marketing The digital era has blurred the lines between advertising and marketing, ushering in opportunities for precision targeting and audience reach through online platforms like SEM and display advertising.
Social Networking Social networking platforms have become favored channels for marketers, offering unique opportunities to integrate advertising into broader marketing strategies.
Caution in Social Media While social media is a powerful marketing channel, overusing advertising tactics can lead to negative consequences, eroding trust and hindering long-term relationship-building efforts.
Crafting the Right Strategy Successful digital marketers tailor their strategies to align with customer preferences, understanding whether audiences prefer information or advertisements presented in an engaging way.
Finding the Balance Achieving the right balance between engaging marketing content and strategically placed advertising is key to building strong customer relationships and sustainable business growth.
Adaptation Small business owners must adapt their approaches to leverage the latest tools and techniques effectively in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Leveraging the Synergy of Advertising and Marketing

While advertising and marketing each have their unique roles and objectives, it’s their collaboration that often leads to the most significant impact. Here’s how businesses can harness the synergy between these two disciplines for a powerful competitive advantage:

  • Integrated Campaigns: Develop comprehensive campaigns that seamlessly blend marketing strategies with advertising tactics. Ensure that your advertising efforts align with your broader marketing objectives and brand messaging.
  • Consistent Messaging: Maintain a consistent and coherent message across all marketing and advertising channels. This consistency reinforces your brand identity and fosters trust among consumers.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Utilize data analytics to gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences. Incorporate these insights into both your marketing and advertising strategies to create more targeted and effective campaigns.
  • Cross-Promotion: Promote your marketing content through your advertising channels and vice versa. For example, share blog posts or informative videos through paid advertising to maximize their reach and impact.
  • Feedback Loops: Establish feedback mechanisms to gather insights from advertising campaigns and use them to refine your marketing strategies. The insights gained from advertising performance can inform your broader marketing decisions.
  • Unified Goals: Ensure that your marketing and advertising teams share common goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). This alignment ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives and fosters a sense of collaboration.
  • Customer Journey Mapping: Create a comprehensive customer journey map that includes touchpoints from both marketing and advertising. Understanding the customer’s path from awareness to conversion allows for a more integrated approach.
  • Personalization: Leverage data-driven personalization techniques in both marketing and advertising efforts. Tailor your messaging to individual customer preferences for a more personalized and engaging experience.
  • Testing and Optimization: Continuously test and optimize your advertising and marketing strategies. A/B testing can help determine which approaches are most effective and where adjustments are needed.

Read the complete Small Business Advertising Guide:

By Shubhomita Bose

Sourced from Small Business Trends

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What Is Integrated Marketing?

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By Rob Starr

What is integrated marketing? It’s key for optimizing efforts across both online and offline channels, enhancing brand coherence.

At first glance, the statistics seem like they’re at odds with each other — as though someone had mixed some generational marketing numbers up and accidentally placed ones that spoke to Boomers’ shopping preferences beside stats for the Millennials.

Consider the chart from The NPD Group that states 81 percent of Millennials’ retail purchases take place in a brick and mortar store.  Another statistic from Valassis seems to muddy the waters further. It states that 51 percent of respondents between the ages of 18- 34 reported the newspaper was the top source where they spotted deals.

What is Integrated Marketing?

Integrated marketing is a strategic approach that unifies all aspects of marketing communication, such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and social media, to provide a consistent and seamless customer experience across all channels.

The goal is to ensure that all messaging and communications strategies are centered around a single, clear message about the brand or product.

This approach helps to amplify the message, increase brand awareness, and drive customer engagement by ensuring that customers receive the same message in various forms, regardless of the channel or platform they use to interact with the brand.

Integrated marketing recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that transcends traditional and digital marketing boundaries, focusing on the optimization and coherence of all marketing efforts to achieve maximum impact.

Tech Savvy Generation

It may seem odd to find out that the most tech savvy of all the generations jumps from digital to traditional when they shop, but the concept is old hat to marketing gurus like Mark Schmukler. In fact, Schmukler and other forward thinkers have long championed a concept called integrated marketing that mimics the preference for something old and something new as a preferred way to market both on and offline. Schmukler started his career in engineering and switched to marketing over thirty years ago, so he understands the nuts and bolts of this specific tool.

“I’ve worked in the older ad agencies which practiced outbound marketing and the new digital agencies which are really inbound,” says the CEO and Co-founder of Sagefrog Marketing Group. “We have always believed in optimizing across all available channels.”

What Is Integrated Marketing?

Smart Philosophy

It’s a smart philosophy and one that works perfectly with the definition of integrated marketing as a method that combines outbound traditional marketing with inbound marketing. It’s a bridge between older styles where ads on television, print, radio and flyers and brochures got a message out to potential customers. Inbound marketing is primarily digital and designed to draw clients in.

The Inbound version took hold with the introduction of search engines generally and Google specifically in 1998. HubSpot was one of the companies that helped to define inbound marketing in the new digital age.

Those Twitter hashtags that appear during commercials are one common example. They entice people watching television to interact and engage with the brand online.  Most recently, big names like Porsche have used pop-up events at football games and geo-targeted mobile friendly content to let people know these events are coming up and get them sharing the message.

Pendulum Swings

Schmukler is quick to point out there have been a few trends over the years as the pendulum swings back and forth between the marketing techniques.

“What happened was the trend went from traditional to digital and now I see it starting to cycle back. The common thread is about optimizing across all channels. It’s not an either or world.”

For small businesses that listen to the integrated marketing gospel preached by people like Schmukler, the payoffs of integrating inbound and outbound techniques can be large. Core Solutions is an EHR provider that used Integrated Marketing to triple its traffic in less than five months and increase leads by more than 700 percent in only one year.

What Is Integrated Marketing?

Good Measure

They did this by combining content marketing with email marketing and social media with measures of more traditional public relations added in for good measure.

Still, there are some things that don’t change when small business is looking to mesh the marketing types together into these integrated platforms. One is the desire to find the best leads and Schmukler has some advice for small businesses on one of the best foundations to start out with.

“You find the highest quality, highest value leads with live venues, tradeshows, networking and conferences in your industry. Digital marketing is good for getting quantity leads and live venues are good for quality,” he says.  “If you’re looking for high value client leads, the live venues are where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck.”

Nurturing Customer Relationships

Building and maintaining strong customer relationships is a cornerstone of successful integrated marketing. Here are some valuable insights into nurturing customer relationships within an integrated marketing framework:

  • Personalization: Tailor your marketing efforts to individual customer preferences and behaviours. Use data-driven insights to deliver personalized content and offers that resonate with each customer segment.
  • Consistent Branding: Ensure that your brand message and identity remain consistent across all channels. A unified brand image fosters trust and recognition among customers, whether they interact with your brand online or offline.
  • Multi-Channel Engagement: Engage with customers across various touchpoints. Encourage them to interact with your brand through social media, email, live events, and other channels. Consistent and meaningful engagement deepens customer loyalty.
  • Data Analytics: Leverage data analytics to gain actionable insights into customer behaviour. Analyse customer journey data to understand their interactions with your brand, helping you refine your marketing strategies.
  • Feedback Loops: Create feedback mechanisms to gather customer input and insights. Use surveys, reviews, and social media listening tools to understand customer sentiment and make improvements accordingly.
  • Customer Support: Provide exceptional customer support across all channels. A seamless support experience, whether through traditional phone support or digital chatbots, reinforces customer trust and satisfaction.
  • Omnichannel Experiences: Strive for a seamless omnichannel experience where customers can transition effortlessly between online and offline interactions. Ensure that information and preferences are synchronized across all touchpoints.
  • Loyalty Programs: Implement loyalty programs that reward customers for their engagement and purchases. Loyalty programs can bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experiences.
  • Content Strategy: Develop a content strategy that caters to customers’ information needs and interests. Share valuable content that educates, entertains, or solves their problems.
  • Community Building: Foster a sense of community among your customers. Encourage them to interact with each other and share their experiences, creating a loyal customer community that advocates for your brand.
  • Responsive Marketing: Be responsive to changing customer preferences and market dynamics. Adapt your integrated marketing strategies based on real-time feedback and insights.
  • Measure and Optimize: Continuously monitor the performance of your integrated marketing efforts. Analyse key metrics and adjust your strategies to maximize customer engagement and conversions.
Nurturing Customer Relationships Valuable Insights
Personalization – Tailor marketing efforts to individual customer preferences and behaviours.- Utilize data-driven insights for personalized content and offers.
Consistent Branding – Maintain a unified brand message and identity across all channels.- Foster trust and recognition among customers, both online and offline.
Multi-Channel Engagement – Engage with customers across various touchpoints, such as social media, email, and live events.- Consistent and meaningful engagement deepens customer loyalty.
Data Analytics – Leverage data analytics for actionable insights into customer behaviour.- Analyse customer journey data to refine marketing strategies.
Feedback Loops – Create feedback mechanisms to gather customer input and insights.- Use surveys, reviews, and social media listening tools for continuous improvement.
Customer Support – Provide exceptional support across all channels, including traditional and digital options.- Reinforce customer trust and satisfaction through seamless support experiences.
Omnichannel Experiences – Strive for seamless transitions between online and offline interactions.
– Synchronize information and preferences across all touchpoints.
Loyalty Programs – Implement rewards-based loyalty programs for customer engagement and retention.- Bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experiences.
Content Strategy – Develop a content strategy that addresses customers’ information needs and interests.- Share valuable content for education, entertainment, or problem-solving.
Community Building – Foster a sense of community among customers, encouraging interaction and sharing of experiences.- Create loyal customer communities that advocate for your brand.
Responsive Marketing – Be adaptable to changing customer preferences and market dynamics.- Adjust integrated marketing strategies based on real-time feedback and insights.
Measure and Optimize – Continuously monitor integrated marketing performance through key metrics.- Adjust strategies to maximize customer engagement and conversions.

What Is Integrated Marketing?

The Role of Data Integration in Integrated Marketing

In the era of integrated marketing, data is a critical driver of success. Here’s a deeper dive into the role of data integration and analytics:

  • Data Silos and Challenges: Many businesses face the challenge of data silos, where customer information is scattered across different departments and systems. Integrated marketing seeks to break down these silos by centralizing and unifying data from various sources, including CRM systems, social media platforms, email marketing tools, and website analytics.
  • Customer Insights: Integrated data provides a comprehensive view of each customer’s journey. By combining data from online and offline interactions, businesses gain richer insights into customer behavior, preferences, and conversion paths. This knowledge enables more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
  • Personalization and Segmentation: Integrated data empowers businesses to create highly personalized marketing experiences. By segmenting customers based on their behaviours and preferences, you can deliver tailored content and offers that resonate with specific audience segments.
  • Attribution Modelling: Integrated data allows for advanced attribution modelling. Businesses can accurately attribute conversions to the most influential touchpoints, whether they occur online or offline. This insight guides marketing budget allocation and optimization efforts.
  • Real-Time Decision-Making: With data integration, businesses can make real-time marketing decisions. For example, if a customer visits a physical store and interacts with a product, this data can trigger personalized email recommendations or targeted social media ads in real time.
  • Marketing Automation: Integrated data fuels marketing automation. Businesses can set up automated workflows that deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time. This efficiency enhances customer engagement and conversion rates.
  • Predictive Analytics: Integrated data supports predictive analytics models. By analysing historical data and trends, businesses can make data-driven predictions about future customer behaviours, allowing for proactive marketing strategies.
  • Data Privacy and Compliance: It’s essential to prioritize data privacy and compliance when integrating customer data. Ensure that you adhere to regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, and implement robust security measures to protect customer information.
  • Continuous Improvement: Integrated data is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process. Regularly audit and refine your data integration processes to ensure data accuracy and relevance. This iterative approach leads to continuous improvement in your marketing efforts.
  • Data-Driven Culture: Fostering a data-driven culture within your organization is integral to successful integrated marketing. Encourage cross-functional teams to collaborate on data initiatives, share insights, and align strategies for a unified customer experience.
Key Aspects Description
Data Silos and Challenges – Businesses face data silos where customer information is scattered across departments and systems. Integrated marketing centralizes and unifies data from various sources, breaking down silos.
Customer Insights – Integrated data provides a comprehensive view of each customer’s journey. Combining online and offline data yields richer insights into behaviour, preferences, and conversion paths.
Personalization and Segmentation – Integrated data enables highly personalized marketing experiences. Customer segmentation based on behaviours and preferences delivers tailored content and offers.
Attribution Modelling – Integrated data supports advanced attribution modelling. Accurate attribution of conversions to influential touchpoints guides budget allocation and optimization efforts.
Real-Time Decision-Making – Data integration enables real-time marketing decisions. Customer interactions, even in physical stores, trigger personalized recommendations and targeted ads in real time.
Marketing Automation – Integrated data fuels marketing automation. Automated workflows deliver timely messages to the right customers, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
Predictive Analytics – Integrated data facilitates predictive analytics. Analysis of historical data and trends allows data-driven predictions of future customer behaviours for proactive marketing strategies.
Data Privacy and Compliance – Prioritize data privacy and compliance in customer data integration. Adhere to regulations like GDPR and CCPA, implementing robust security measures for data protection.
Continuous Improvement – Integrated data requires ongoing effort, not a one-time task. Regular audits and refinements ensure data accuracy and relevance, fostering continuous improvement in marketing efforts.
Data-Driven Culture – Cultivate a data-driven culture within the organization. Encourage cross-functional collaboration, sharing of insights, and alignment of strategies to provide a unified customer experience.

Leveraging Integrated Marketing for Competitive Advantage

In today’s saturated market, standing out among competitors is more challenging than ever. Integrated marketing offers a strategic solution by ensuring a consistent and cohesive message across all channels, enhancing brand recognition and customer loyalty.

This approach not only aligns marketing efforts but also strengthens the overall brand presence, making it a critical tool for gaining a competitive edge.

Key Strategies for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Integrated Marketing:

  • Unified Messaging: Develop a core brand message and ensure it is reflected consistently across all marketing channels. This consistency helps reinforce your brand identity, making it more memorable to consumers.
  • Cross-Channel Analytics: Implement analytics tools that track customer interactions across channels. Understanding which channels drive the most engagement and conversions enables businesses to allocate resources more effectively, maximizing ROI.
  • Customer-Centric Campaigns: Center your marketing efforts around the customer journey. By integrating customer feedback and behaviour data into your strategy, you can create personalized experiences that resonate deeply with your audience, fostering loyalty.
  • Innovative Content Strategy: Use integrated marketing to push creative boundaries. By coordinating content across platforms, you can create compelling narratives that capture attention and encourage engagement across customer touchpoints.

Enhancing Customer Engagement through Integrated Marketing

At the heart of integrated marketing is the goal of deepening customer engagement. In an era where consumers are bombarded with information from countless sources, capturing and maintaining their attention is paramount.

Integrated marketing leverages multiple channels to engage customers in a more meaningful and sustained manner.

Strategies for Boosting Customer Engagement:

  • Seamless Omnichannel Experience: Ensure that customers receive a seamless experience, whether they are interacting with your brand online, in-store, or through social media. Consistency in service and messaging fosters trust and satisfaction.
  • Interactive Campaigns: Use the interconnectivity of channels to create interactive marketing campaigns. Encourage customers to participate in social media challenges, online contests, or in-store events that are promoted across platforms.
  • Educational Content: Beyond promotional content, provide value through educational materials that help solve customer problems or answer their questions. This approach positions your brand as a helpful resource, encouraging ongoing engagement.
  • Community Building: Utilize integrated marketing to build a sense of community among your customers. Encourage user-generated content, facilitate discussions on social media, and create spaces for customers to share their experiences and connect with each other.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can leverage integrated marketing to not only navigate the complexities of modern consumer behaviour but also to create more meaningful connections with their audience. Integrated marketing isn’t just about coordinating different marketing channels; it’s about creating a unified customer experience that resonates on multiple levels, driving engagement, loyalty, and ultimately, business success.

What Is Integrated Marketing?

Integrated Marketing: A Powerful Strategy

Integrated marketing stands out as a potent strategy in today’s marketing world, combining the best of traditional and digital approaches to meet the complex demands of modern consumers. Here are the key takeaways:

  • Harmonizes Traditional and Digital Marketing: It blends outbound and inbound marketing tactics for a unified brand experience across all channels.
  • Adapts to Consumer Behaviours: This approach is flexible, catering to the varied preferences of consumers, including the tech-savvy Millennials who appreciate both digital and physical shopping experiences.
  • Driven by Data Integration: Success in integrated marketing hinges on the use of unified customer data to tailor marketing efforts, foresee behaviours, and automate interactions.

Strategies for Success:

  • Embrace Data Integration: Leveraging comprehensive customer data is crucial for personalized marketing.
  • Prioritize Customer Relationships: Building strong connections with customers is essential for brand loyalty.
  • Foster Data-Driven Culture: Making decisions based on solid data ensures adaptability and resilience in a changing market.

Integrated marketing is more than a mere strategy; it’s a philosophy that values customer diversity and strives for memorable brand experiences, guiding businesses toward sustained growth and deeper customer engagement.

Feature Image Credit: Integrated Marketing Photo via Shutterstock

By Rob Starr

Sourced from Small Business TRENDS

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MARKETING VS COMMUNICATIONS: WHAT’S THE BIG DIFFERENCE?

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By Ashley Simpson

The good news is that marketing and communications have some overlap that makes both a great move for your career. They are both a core component of a robust marketing strategy, but they have slightly different focuses.

NUMBERS AND STATISTICS VS. WORDS

The first and most significant difference between marketing and communications is how success is measured.

Those responsible for marketing strategies are focused on the bottom-line numbers: how many clients or leads are brought in, campaign performance, and profit. Marketing managers know exactly who they are targeting and use market research to do just that. Statistics are a core component of marketing.

Communications strategies are more focused on the words used to relay a feeling to that ideal avatar that the marketing strategy targets. Oftentimes, they rely on copywriting to create content for a wide variety of customers and outlets. They might write newsletters for email marketing, copy for a landing page, and blog content.

OUTCOMES VS. ATTITUDES

Because of the last difference, it might be clear to you that there’s another difference between those who have a communications degree and those who have a marketing degree.

Namely, they concern themselves with two dramatically different levels of success.

Marketing managers are typically concerned with the outcomes of a digital marketing strategy. They want to know what the bottom line of the advertising effort is costing them and if it has a great return on investment (ROI). If there is no discernible outcome, then the marketing department will need to refocus its efforts.

On the other hand, corporate communications is focused on the attitudes of those public relations campaigns. Communications focuses on how people feel about a brand and if the target audience is likely to view them favourably. It’s less about the numbers and more about the feeling.

SALARY DIFFERENCES

Last but not least, there is a salary difference between marketing and communications careers. For those who are more concerned with the bottom line, a marketing career may be the better option. It tends to pay more than communications in the long run.

Entry-level marketers make an average of $48,752 annually, while marketing managers make about $140,000 annually.

Entry-level communications representatives make slightly more at $62,101, while managers make about $123,777.

While you may make more initially from communications careers, marketing has the better salary if you are looking for a career you can stick with long-term. However, they are so similar at higher levels that it may pay off to score that higher starting salary associated with communications careers.

WHAT IS MARKETING?

Now that we have the differences between marketing vs communications out of the way, it’s time to think about what each one offers individually. Pursuing a marketing degree means you are going to be thoroughly invested in the nitty-gritty details of marketing campaigns.

Marketing covers promoting and advertising for the company you work with to help them find new clientele who will contribute to the bottom line of the business. It’s a lot of strategic planning and statistics that prove that target customers are being reached with a campaign.

In other words, marketing focuses on emerging technologies to help leverage these capabilities for financial profit.

WHAT IS COMMUNICATIONS?

 

Unlike marketing, communications focuses on both written and spoken communication. Instead of looking at the numbers, a communications degree helps you to focus more on the experience of the ideal customer avatar. Everything about it is designed to be customer-centric, including the essential experience of intercultural communication.

It’s about the quality of the relationship you’re nurturing over how many leads and sales you make. Communications professionals want to make a lasting impression rather than just making a sale in the here and now.

While the goal is ultimately the same (help customers find a brand they love), they take different forms. Communications is often focused more on inbound marketing such as content creation, including writing a blog post or email campaigns. Marketing is more focused on outbound marketing, reaching new and potential clients. If you choose to work in communications, you may want to consider becoming a content marketing consultant.

SIMILARITIES IN MARKETING VS COMMUNICATIONS

As you might have gathered, there is a lot of overlap in what a marketing or communications role may play. Both are focused on improving company perception, though one is focused on the dollars and the other more so on brand management.

Here are some similarities that might lead you to study both marketing and communications as your ideal career path forward.

DESIRE TO REACH AN AUDIENCE WITH A TIMELY MESSAGE

While communicators focus on the actual wording of the message, both marketers and communications majors will want to reach an audience with the right message at the right time. While communications majors might work on inbound marketing and marketers work on outbound, both aim to improve the lives of their target audience.

They are passionate about the companies they work for and want the world to know about what is being offered.

INCREASE PERFORMANCE AND RECOGNITION OF THE BRAND

Despite having different sets of tools to manage any given marketing plan, both roles are focused on driving more sales to the company. Marketers concern themselves with the bottom-line numbers, but that doesn’t mean those in communications careers don’t care. They simply pride themselves on how well the words they write drive sales.

Both want the business to take off and see massive success. After all, their jobs depend on it. While they have key differences in what matters to them, performance is at the heart of all they do.

SKILLS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS

Whether you work in marketing or communications, you will still have to have some of the same skills. As with most positions these days, you need excellent interpersonal communication skills. You should be able to communicate with the team you are on, as well as other departments, to yield the best results.

Plus, you will need to have a great deal of creativity to get the company’s message out to other people. No matter what your niche, you will have to come up with innovative new ways of reaching people via marketing campaigns or content marketing.

PLATFORMS USED (SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, COMMERCIALS, ETC.)

Of course, there is also significant overlap in how marketing and communications professionals reach their given audience. In today’s world, social media is one of the most prevalent areas where industry trends are leading both marketers and communicators to market.

The specific message you send and the specific platform you use will differ, but you should have some familiarity with all of them.

There are also more traditional means of communicating a message to a prospective customer: print ads, website content marketing, Google ads, commercials, and more. There is a seemingly endless list of potential platforms that both marketing and communications professionals will need to understand.

It’s all about delivering information by any means necessary, whether that requires social networking, press releases, or some other means of hitting the right audience at the right time.

COULD YOU USE A MARCOMM DEGREE?

Many people find that they don’t want to decide between marketing and communications. Both aspects of the marketing plan are interesting to them. This is why many schools are now offering what is known as MarComm degrees, where students double major.

This allows the overlap to work in your favour. You can earn the high-dollar compensation of a marketing manager while working with the words and content of the communications department. It makes you more versatile in the industry and gives you an endless supply of potential positions.

Many programs will allow you to get your bachelor’s degree in both areas which can be great for your potential income down the line.

FINAL THOUGHTS: WILL YOU CHOOSE MARKETING VS COMMUNICATIONS?

Do you have in-depth knowledge related to running a marketing campaign or focusing on content marketing? It might be time for you to think about making a career path out of those skills, which could start with going back to school for a marketing degree or a communications degree (or both!).

Whether you want to write website content or analyse the numbers, there is likely something in one of these two career paths for you to follow if you love digital marketing. Consider whether you might be well suited to making a job switch to one of these fields!

Here are some other courses for business that might help you to jumpstart a new career in these areas!

By Ashley Simpson

Ashley is an experienced freelance writer with an enthusiasm for finding creative ways to earn money online. She uses her passion for words to share what she has learned with the world.

She spends most of her time blogging for a multitude of websites and consuming everything she can get her hands on in relation to personal finance and side hustles.

Sourced from Niche Pursuits

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How chatbots helps boost your SEM game

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By Sarishti Arora

In the realm of digital marketing, especially within Search Engine Marketing (SEM), the role of chatbots is transformative. These digital assistants, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), have reshaped how businesses interact with their audience. Chatbots in SEM are not just tools; they’re strategic partners that enhance user engagement and streamline the customer journey.

Picture this: You’re browsing a website, searching for a specific service or product. Instead of navigating through a maze of pages, you encounter a chatbot. This isn’t any ordinary chatbot—it’s designed to understand your needs, offer solutions, and guide you through the site effortlessly. This is enhancing engagement with chatbots at its finest. Through seamless interactions, these AI-driven entities provide personalized responses, making your search more efficient and less time-consuming.

What are chatbots?

Diving deeper, you might wonder how chatbots manage such tasks. It’s simple yet sophisticated. Utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, they’re able to pick up on your queries, understand the context, and initiate conversations that feel incredibly human. Whether it’s midnight or midday, they’re always at your service, ensuring no query goes unanswered.

But it doesn’t stop there. SEM chatbot strategies have evolved to where chatbots now play a crucial role in marketing campaigns. They collect valuable insights about user preferences and behaviours, allowing businesses to tailor their SEM strategies more effectively. This data-driven approach not only boosts engagement but also enhances the overall user experience, thereby fostering loyalty.

Incorporating chatbots into your SEM efforts can significantly elevate your brand’s digital presence. They’re not just about facilitating smoother interactions; they’re about creating meaningful connections. As you dive deeper into the digital era, understanding and leveraging the power of chatbots will undoubtedly be a game-changer in your engagement strategy.

The rise of chatbots in digital marketing

In the fast-paced digital marketing landscape, staying ahead means constantly adapting to new technologies. Chatbots have emerged as a groundbreaking tool, shifting the way brands interact with their audiences. These AI-driven assistants are not just reshaping customer service; they’re redefining the entire customer journey.

Chatbots have carved their niche by offering round-the-clock assistance. Unlike human agents, they don’t need breaks or sleep, ensuring your business is always online, ready to engage. This 24/7 availability massively boosts your SEM efforts, as potential customers can receive instant responses at any hour.

Moreover, the evolution of AI has allowed chatbots to deliver personalized experiences. They can recall past interactions and preferences, making each conversation feel one-on-one and authentic. This level of customization is key in enhancing engagement, a primary goal for any SEM strategy.

But it’s not just about answering queries. Chatbots in SEM are strategic assets. They can guide users through your website, suggest products or services, and even help fill out forms or complete purchases. This hands-on approach in directing traffic can significantly uplift your site’s conversion rates.

SEM chatbot strategies are becoming indispensable. By incorporating chatbots, you’re not merely streamlining communication; you’re also gathering insights. These AI companions can track user behavior, noting which queries come up repeatedly or at what point users tend to leave the site. Such data is gold dust for refining your SEM campaigns, making chatbots invaluable for not just engagement but also for strategic planning.

Lastly, chatbots are instrumental in keyword research. They reveal real-time, unfiltered customer language and questions, which can inform your content strategy. By aligning your SEM efforts with actual user inquiries, you enhance your brand’s visibility and relevance.

In the realm of digital marketing, chatbots offer a dynamic way to bridge the gap between your brand and your customers. They’re not just tools for efficiency; they’re your partners in crafting a more engaged, responsive, and understanding brand presence online.

Understanding the synergy: Chatbots, SEO, and conversions

Diving into the dynamic world of digital marketing, the collaboration between chatbots, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and the pursuit of higher conversion rates stands out as a game-changer. Embracing this synergy not only propels your brand forward but also elevates your engagement strategies on all fronts.

Cost efficiency

Chatbots emerge as financial savants in SEM, reducing overheads without compromising quality. By automating responses and engaging consumers, you’re investing in a tool that boosts your digital marketing efforts at a fraction of the cost associated with traditional customer service channels.

Instant support

In the fast-paced digital arena, immediacy is key. Employing chatbots ensures your customers receive answers to their queries instantaneously. This rapid interaction not only answers customers’ pressing questions but also subtly nudges them closer to making a purchase, enhancing your SEM performance considerably.

Multi-tasking capability

Handling multiple queries concurrently, chatbots in SEM demonstrate unparalleled efficiency. Unlike human agents who can engage in only one conversation at a time, chatbots can interact with numerous customers simultaneously, ensuring no query goes unanswered. This capacity not only elevates customer experience but also significantly contributes to enhancing engagement with chatbots.

24/7 availability

The digital marketplace never sleeps, and neither should your customer support. Integrating chatbots into your SEM strategy ensures your brand is always there to greet and guide your customers, regardless of the time or day. This round-the-clock availability not only boosts engagement rates but also plays a crucial role in converting interactions into tangible results.

Chatbot marketing: Beyond conventional methods

In today’s digital marketplace, your brand’s voice needs to stand out. Chatbots offer a fresh avenue for doing just that, propelling marketing methods beyond the traditional. By integrating chatbots into SEM, you’re not just following trends; you’re setting them. Chatbots facilitate a dynamic interaction with your audience, ensuring questions never go unanswered. This ensures Enhancing Engagement with Chatbots isn’t just a catchphrase but a tangible reality for your brand.

Marketing automation with chatbots

Embrace the power of automation and watch as your SEM efforts soar. Chatbots work tirelessly, handling numerous inquiries simultaneously, which not only optimizes your resources but also keeps your audience engaged. Whether it’s guiding a visitor through your site or offering personalized product recommendations, chatbots in SEM embody efficiency and effectiveness. They’re the relentless workers that ensure your marketing engine runs smoothly, 24/7.

Building a chatbot marketing strategy

How chatbots helps boost your SEM game | News by Thaiger
PHOTO VIA: Shantanu Kumar FROM:Unsplash.com

To leverage SEM Chatbot Strategies effectively, you must first understand your audience’s needs and preferences. This involves setting clear objectives for what you wish to achieve with your chatbot—be it lead generation, customer service improvement, or sales conversion. Next, tailor your chatbot’s voice and responses to reflect your brand’s personality, making sure it aligns with your customer’s expectations. Remember, a well-crafted chatbot marketing strategy doesn’t just enhance engagement; it transforms it, creating a seamless journey for your customers from first click to final purchase.

Embracing chatbots in your SEM strategy isn’t just a step toward innovation; it’s a leap toward redefining customer engagement and boosting your digital marketing efforts. With the ability to offer personalised assistance 24/7, chatbots not only enhance the user experience but also significantly improve your conversion rates. They’re a powerhouse of efficiency, capable of handling multiple inquiries without breaking a sweat, ensuring your brand remains responsive and engaging at all times. Remember, the key to unlocking the full potential of chatbots lies in understanding your audience and tailoring your approach to meet their needs. By doing so, you’re not just staying ahead of the curve; you’re setting new standards in customer engagement and SEM success. So, take a leaf out of the book of leading companies and integrate chatbots into your SEM strategy today

Also, unlock 2024’s top social media strategies for viral success. It’s a world where strategies evolve at the speed of light, and staying ahead means being in tune with the latest trends and techniques. You’re not just posting content; you’re crafting experiences that resonate with your audience. In 2024, the game has changed. It’s about understanding the nuances of each platform, leveraging cutting-edge tools, and engaging with your community in meaningful ways. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just stepping into the arena, mastering these strategies is key to unlocking the full potential of your brand on social media.

Feature Image Credit: Mariia Shalabaieva FROM: Unsplash.com

By Sarishti Arora

Sourced from Thaiger

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Google’s new bulk sender guidelines spell trouble for B2B

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By Larry Kim

Spam complaint rate rises across the B2B space

Back in October, Google and Yahoo unveiled a pivotal update to their bulk sender guidelines.

Launching February 1, these new regulations, which impact both bulk emailers (those sending over 5,000 emails daily to Gmail accounts) and general Gmail users alike, introduced authentication requirements and defined thresholds for spam complaints. Specifically, they defined a spam complaint threshold of 0.3%.

Our preliminary analysis of the announcement was that this 0.3% threshold wouldn’t be a major problem for most email marketers. In fact, for large companies with established customer bases and large inbound lists, this update would probably help those companies. They likely have low existing complaint rates and can more easily and safely expand their outbound efforts.

However, the smaller, less established companies, specifically, those in the B2B space that may be using more aggressive outbound email marketing strategies or have been leaning on ABM to establish their brand, would likely be in trouble.

And it turned out that we were right.

Spam complaint rates across the B2B space

To better understand how these new sender guidelines would impact outbound marketing and sales, particularly in the B2B space, we studied spam complaint rates across various industries.

Our findings showed that complaint rates were well beyond the 0.3% threshold laid out by Google and Yahoo. In fact, it wasn’t even close! The average spam complaint rate across the B2B space was 2.01%, with a range between 1.1% and 3.1%.

Even worse, for the top 9 spammiest verticals, we couldn’t find a single sender that was able to score below the 0.3% threshold. When you break it down by industry, it becomes ever more clear who the top offenders are:

  • B2B Software: Spam complaint rates peak at 3.2%, with a range of 1.3% to 4.3%.
  • Political Issue & Electioneering Communications: Rates hover around 2.9%, ranging from 1.5% to 3.4%.
  • Sales and Marketing Services: Experience a 2.8% rate, with a broad spectrum from 2.0% to 5.3%.
  • Recruiting: Faces a 2.1% rate, ranging between 1.7% and 3.1%.
  • Retail and E-Commerce: Encounter a 2.3% rate, with variations from 0.5% to 2.9%.
  • Real Estate: Deals with a 1.9% rate, spanning 1.5% to 3.4%.
  • Education and Training Providers: Show a 1.7% rate, within a range of 0.4% to 2.1%.
  • Financial Services: Encounter a lower rate of 1.1%, ranging from 0.7% to 1.9%.
  • Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals: Have the lowest rate at 0.9%, with a range of 0.7% to 1.4%.

This data isn’t entirely surprising when you think about it. B2B software companies and sales and marketing companies tend to do a lot of outbound. Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals on the other hand are beholden to pretty strict laws and regulations around communication.

B2B sales & marketing teams must adjust quickly

This data signals a critical issue for B2B outbound marketing. For businesses that rely heavily on outbound emails for lead generation and sales, this is a significant hurdle. Meeting the new sub-0.3% threshold appears daunting, if not impossible. The good news is there are strategies to mitigate these hurdles:

Boost transactional email volume: If we want to reduce the spam complaint rate %, we may want to increase total emails sent and optimize email volume. Increase the volume of non-spammy, transactional emails such as order confirmations, tracking updates, or purchase follow-ups. These are less likely to be flagged as spam and can balance out your overall email metrics.

Prioritize warm leads: Focus your emails on high-intent users (think those who visited your pricing page or added something to their cart). Tools for website visitor identification can be invaluable here.

Provide clear & numerous unsubscribe options: The unsubscribe option should be easily accessible and in multiple places. Hidden or hard-to-find unsubscribe links increase the likelihood of being marked as spam.

Utilize intent-based email lists: In some instances, there is no getting around cold emails. What you can do however is use intent-based email lists that can help you create more appropriate messaging that will resonate with prospects. The more you know about what your audience is interested in, the more personalized messaging you can create.

For B2B companies, adapting to these new guidelines is crucial. While outbound isn’t gone, it is more challenging. The good news for users is that this new complaint rate threshold should improve the email marketing and outbound space as a whole.

These new guidelines will force B2B marketers to evolve their outbound strategies and build better campaigns. For users this means less spam and more relevant emails. For marketing and sales teams, this should mean better targeting, more personalization, and less laziness.

The result? Improved sales to lead time. At the end of the day, large email providers like Google and Yahoo are focused on creating a better user experience and this means less spam. For B2B teams, the answer is simple…don’t be a spammer.

We’ve listed the best sales management software.

Feature Image credit: Shutterstock/Billion Photos

By Larry Kim

Larry Kim is the CEO of Customers.AI.

Sourced from techradar pro

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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How Instagram Influencers Can Earn Big Using ChatGPT Plus? Check out

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By Yogesh Bhardwaj

Here, we have listed 5 ways ChatGPT can help Instagram Influencers to boost their Instagram income. Check out more details below.

ChatGPT Plus for Instagram Influencers: Instagram influencers are always looking for new and creative methods to improve their online visibility and increase their income. Influencers who are hoping to interact with their followers, produce interesting material and eventually boost their income can use ChatGPT Plus which can be a useful resource. Here are five methods ChatGPT can help Instagram influencers make significant money with their account.

Content Creation

You can use ChatGPT Plus to come up with original and imaginative content ideas. Influencers can use ChatGPT to jumpstart their content production process by using it to write captivating captions, fascinating anecdotes and original post ideas. This guarantees a constant supply of engaging and engaging content to maintain follower’s attention towards your account.

Caption Writing

Creating the ideal caption is essential to success on Instagram. Influencers can use ChatGPT Plus to help them create relevant and visually striking captions for their posts. This improves communication with the audience and raises the possibility of material becoming viral or becoming more visible.

High Engagement Collection

Retaining a high degree of interaction with followers is a crucial part of being an influencer. Influencers can use techniques such as surveys, Q&A sessions and challenges to engage their audience more. Influencers can build stronger communities and draw in more businesses for partnerships by encouraging their followers to take an active role in the community.

Affiliate Assistance

Influencers who promote goods or services can make a lot of money through affiliate marketing. ChatGPT Plus can help with the creation of genuine and compelling product reviews, descriptions and promotional content. Influencers may improve their affiliate marketing efforts and get larger commission revenue by utilizing the linguistic skills of the model.

Brand Collaboration Pitches

Influencers can also use ChatGPT Plus as a useful tool to connect with businesses and inquire about possible collaborations. They can even convince a company to work with them by crafting persuasive pitch emails or direct messages that are composed and professional. This may lead to profitable brand partnerships, sponsorships and other revenue-generating ventures.

By Yogesh Bhardwaj

Sourced from DNP India

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Unpacking Google’s Meridian Announcement

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By Tina Moffett

Google unveiled Meridian, an open-source marketing mix modelling (MMM) tool aimed at tackling crucial measurement challenges. MMM tools gauge the impact of marketing and media investments on vital performance indicators, such as sales or revenue, while also forecasting the revenue potential of marketing endeavours. According to Forrester’s Marketing Survey, 2023, about 30% of B2C marketers use MMM tools to better understand how marketing drives value for the business.

Unpacking Google Meridian’s Core Pillars

Google’s foray into providing an open-source MMM tool reflects an understanding that restricted access to crucial data points within closed ecosystems impedes advertisers’ ability to effectively measure digital ads. Meridian aims to “[empower] teams to build best-in-class [MMM models] and drive better business outcomes.” The tech giant emphasizes Meridian’s “privacy-durable” approach grounded in innovation, transparency, actionability, and education. But B2C marketers must review Meridian’s claims with a critical eye:

  • “Privacy-durable” is redundant. MMM inherently maintains privacy durability, since it operates without individual customer behavior data. Inputs focus on aggregated media cost and revenue data, steering clear of clicks, views, or individual sales conversions.
  • “Innovation” claims are overstated. Most marketing analytics vendors already use the same methods as Meridian. Meridian’s MMM approach leans on solid but common techniques, such as a geo-level Bayesian hierarchical model incorporating seasonality, frequency, and reach data. The inclusion of nonmarketing indicators also remains ambiguous.
  • “Open source” does not equal complete transparency. While open source allows users to view and modify the MMM algorithm, complete transparency remains elusive, particularly for nontechnical stakeholders such as, for example, a VP of marketing. For many buyers, understanding ML approaches presents a significant challenge, necessitating considerable support and hand-holding.
  • “Actionability” may be limited to marketing use cases. Meridian’s scenario planning aligns with MMM providers’ offerings, aiding marketers in forecasting future marketing impacts. It’s unclear, however, whether Meridian offers scenario planning encompassing nonfinancial KPIs, constraint functionalities, frequent optimizations, or multiple optimization objectives.
  • “Education” skews technical, not practical. While Meridian’s technical specifications may satisfy ML engineers and data scientists, marketing executives require more comprehensive education and support. Marketing executives seek guidance on ML-driven models, while data scientists using Meridian need best practices for stakeholder engagement and model adoption.

Unlock Marketing Success Beyond MMM And Build A Comprehensive Measurement Strategy

Google’s announcement underscores the significance of ML-driven marketing analytics for measuring incremental marketing effectiveness and guiding budget allocations. Here are some key considerations before you build an MMM model:

  • Adopt a layered measurement approach. MMM alone will not provide ad tactic or spot level performance. It offers CMOs a guide on overall marketing mix performance and budget allocation. Incorporate marketing mix modelling as part of an overarching layered measurement strategy, utilizing various techniques to gauge marketing efficacy.
  • Choose vendors with diverse analytics capabilities. Evaluate vendors based on their industry experience, data normalization processes, measurement methodologies, and supporting services.
  • Manage expectations with MMM analysis. Expect to see MMM analyses such as channel halo effects, ad decay, optimal frequency of channels, and large-scale programs. But MMM may not offer granular insights into ad tactic performance — the models don’t process clicks and conversion level data as part of their analysis.
  • Implement incrementality testing. If you need help with an ad spot, or a particular display ad performance, testing approaches can help measure marketing uplift. Your data science teams, data-driven agencies, or independent vendors can help set up a rigorous marketing or media test to analyse the incremental impact of different marketing tactics.
  • Educate your organization on marketing analytics. Forrester believes that AI suffers from a trust problem, and explainable AI — the techniques and software capabilities for ensuring that people understand how AI systems arrive at their outputs — is a critical transparency mechanism. Prioritize transparency in MMM, and consider tools with explainable AI capabilities to enhance understanding and trust in AI-driven insights.

By Tina Moffett

This post was written by Principal Analyst Tina Moffett and it originally appeared here.

Forrester

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Forrester is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We help leaders across technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, sales, and product functions use customer obsession to accelerate growth.

Through Forrester’s proprietary research, consulting, and events, leaders from around the globe are empowered to be bold at work — to navigate change and put their customers at the center of their leadership, strategy, and operations.

Our unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 700,000 consumers, business leaders, and technology leaders worldwide; rigorous and objective research methodologies, including Forrester Wave™ evaluations; 70 million real-time feedback votes; and the shared wisdom of our clients.

Sourced from Forbes

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59 POWERFUL WORDPRESS TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BEGINNERS AND EXPERTS

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By Steve Allen

Need some WordPress tips to make the most out of the popular CMS?

No problem.

In this blog post, we’ve curated an exhaustive list of 59 things you can do with WordPress.

These powerful tips will save you time and make you a better WordPress user.

Let’s dive in.

WORDPRESS TIPS FOR HOSTING AND DOMAINS

Selecting a quality WordPress hosting provider and setting up HTTPS redirection are crucial steps for optimizing site performance and security.

1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT HOSTING

Choosing the right WordPress hosting provider will significantly improve site speed and prevent security issues.

Iridium Hosting is our preferred choice because it’s optimized for WordPress sites. Plus, it comes with an SSL certificate, free setup, and is one of the best managed WordPress hosting companies available today.

2. SET HTTPS REDIRECTION

HTTPS redirection ensures the secured HTTPS version of your site loads correctly.

The best WordPress hosting companies will include this feature as standard. You can also use an HTTPS redirection plugin to resolve any media issues.

WORDPRESS TIPS FOR THEMES AND CUSTOMIZATION

This section provides practical tips for enhancing your WordPress site.

3. CHOOSE A LIGHTWEIGHT THEME

A lightweight WordPress theme offers robust security and customization. We like GeneratePress because it’s fast and offers incredible support.

But be sure to check out the best WordPress themes for beginners for more options.

4. CREATE A CHILD THEME

Installing a child theme is always a good practice for your WordPress site.

It will keep any changes you make to theme files intact when the main theme gets updated.

You can easily add a child theme with the child theme configurator plugin.

5. USE A CUSTOM HOMEPAGE

Switching the default blogroll page to a custom static home page will make your site look more professional.

Simply add a new page and change the Reading settings:

Then you can customize the design using Gutenberg blocks or a WordPress block editor plugin like GenerateBlocks.

6. FIND OUT WHAT THEMES YOUR COMPETITORS USE

WordPress theme detector will reveal the WordPress theme of any WordPress website you like.

It will also look for any plugins the site is using, which can help you replicate the look and feel.

7. STICKY SIDEBAR WIDGET

This sticky sidebar WordPress plugin will glue any widgets as you scroll down the page.

This is great for enhancing user experience or showing visitors important content.

8. CREATE A STICKY HEADER

Making your header stick to the top of the page is a great way of providing access to important navigation links.

You can enable this with the Sticky Header plugin. Or you can create your own by adding sticky header CSS to your WordPress theme.

9. CREATE A CUSTOM 404 PAGE

Help visitors find their way back to your content with a custom 404 page.

Some themes (like GeneratePress) will let you build your own, but of course, you can always simply use a WordPress page builder.

10. SET A CUSTOM GRAVATAR IMAGE

Welcome website visitors with your face by setting a custom gravatar image.

Create your account here and assign it to your email address.

Alternatively, use a WordPress plugin to override the Gravatar service and upload the image directly to your user profile.

11. ADD CUSTOM CSS

This handy WordPress tip shows you how to add additional CSS to your WordPress site. This is great for making web design changes.

You’ll find it in the theme customizer by navigating to Themes > Customizer > Additional CSS.

12. ADD CUSTOM POST TYPES

Custom WordPress post types are great for organizing quality content on your site, like photo galleries or book reviews.

Custom Post Type UI is an excellent WordPress plugin that makes this easy. You can then use ACF to add custom fields such as book author.

13. ADD A DROP-DOWN MENU

Add a WordPress dropdown menu to your navigation by indenting menu items like this:

Most themes will add a dropdown menu automatically, but you can enhance them with a plugin. Max Mega Menu will do the trick.

14. ADD A SEARCH BOX TO THE NAVIGATION

Adding a search field to your header helps users find your content faster. Some of the best minimalist WordPress themes come with this feature.

Or the Ivory Search plugin will give you way more options for customization.

15. CHANGE THE NUMBER OF BLOG POSTS SHOWN

You can change the default number of articles shown on the blog roll from 10 to whatever you like.

You’ll find the setting in Settings > Reading:

16. ENABLE BREADCRUMBS

Breadcrumbs can improve the navigation and indexibility of your WordPress site, especially on WooCommerce stores.

To add one, SEO plugins like RankMath or Yoast SEO will give you this option. All you have to do is copy the code they provide and add it to your theme.

WORDPRESS SEO TIPS

Enhance your WordPress site’s visibility in the search rankings with these optimization tips.

Adding internal links between related blog posts is a great strategy to increase organic traffic from Google.

And to save time, Link Whisper will automate this process for you.

Make sure you set the permalink structure to something more inviting. Post name or /blog/ structure works well here.

Also, make sure you add your primary keyword in the URL slug too.

19. INSTALL AN SEO PLUGIN

Installing an SEO plugin has a ton of benefits for WordPress sites. It improves the appearance of your rankings and optimizes things like social media posts, and schema mark-up.

One of the best WordPress SEO plugins is RankMath, offering a generous free version.

20. OPTIMIZE THE META TITLE AND DESCRIPTION

Improve CTR SEO by optimizing the SEO title and description.

An SEO plugin like RankMath or Yoast SEO will help you do this.

21. BULK EDIT TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Customizing the SEO metadata can be a drag. But with an SEO plugin, you can update these quickly in bulk.

Yoast SEO does a great job of this, RankMath also offers this feature.

22. OPTIMIZE YOUR CATEGORIES

Enhance the topical authority of your WordPress blog by categorizing your content.

Also, add a category description to add more context to your category pages.

23. REFRESH YOUR CONTENT

This WordPress tip involves updating your content regularly. When doing so, make sure to update the date.

Doing so provides up-to-date information for readers and ensures it gets picked by search engine bots.

24. USE LARGE QUALITY IMAGES

To optimize for Google Discover, one of the best things to do is use large quality images.

Specifically making them at least 1200 pixels will help them get picked up for a Google Discover traffic boost.

25. ADD A TABLE OF CONTENTS

A table of contents sits above blog content and helps people navigate to specific sections.

Adding one of these with a plugin will also help search engines understand your site for better rankings.

26. MONITOR SEARCH CONSOLE IN WORDPRESS

Want to access search console data inside WordPress? Then give Rank Logic a try.

This tool helps you monitor how well content is performing to continuously improve your blog content strategy.

27. ADD XML AND HTML SITEMAPS

Submitting an XML sitemap to Google Search Console is a good practice for search engine optimization and improved website architecture.

You can add one with most SEO plugins, which will also add an HTML version.

These are also great for visitors and search engine spiders to find all your content.

28. USE 301 REDIRECTS

If you ever change URLs, make sure to redirect the old one to the new one to prevent 404 errors and SEO issues.

The RankMath plugin or Redirection plugin does this well.

WORDPRESS TIPS FOR CONTENT MARKETING

Leveraging WordPress effectively can significantly enhance your content marketing strategies, making the following tips indispensable.

29. COLLECT EMAILS AND START A NEWSLETTER

With a WordPress email marketing plugin, you can grow an email list and grow your business.

You can build elaborate optin forms with Convert Pro and even start an email newsletter using FluentCRM.

30. ADD A CONTACT FORM

A contact form lets your visitors send you an email directly from your WordPress website.

Adding one is super simple with a plugin. FluentForms or Gravity Forms are great options.

31. IMPROVE EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

To send emails from your site or get your contact form working right, you’ll need to set up SMTP.

There are lots of SMTP plugins to choose from, but WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP are great options.

Installing one of these will send emails through a secure server instead of the unreliable PHP sender.

32. OPTIMIZE THE COMMENTS SECTION

The comments section is great for encouraging readers to engage with your content. But You’ll want to update the settings for the best results.

These settings will get you started:

They require moderation and an email address, stop pingbacks and trackbacks, and enable nested comments 5 levels deep.

33. ADD GOOGLE ANALYTICS TRACKING

Google Analytics tracking is one of those WordPress tips that can’t be ignored. If you want to monitor site traffic, this is essential.

Use a Google Analytics plugin to add the tracking code. Some will even show site statistics inside WordPress.

This will also give you detailed reporting to see which affiliate links perform the best.

Make affiliate links look less spammy by cloaking them with a plugin like PrettyLinks.

Note: Avoid cloaking Amazon Associates links since this violates their terms of service.

35. ADD SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING BUTTONS

Encourage readers to share your content on social media with social sharing buttons.

There are a few plugins that offer these features, such as Hubbub Lite and Social Warfare.

36. AUTOMATE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Instead of posting your content to social media manually, save time by automating it.

FS Poster or Social Media Auto Publish are good options to help you automate your content marketing strategy.

SPEED AND OPTIMIZATION TIPS

Check out these speed and optimization tips for a superior user experience.

37. OPTIMIZE SITE SPEED WITH A PLUGIN

Adding WordPress caching improves the site speed by storing and loading a static version of your site.

Plugins like WP Rocket or WP-Optimize will also minify files and optimize the database for better performance.

38. REMOVE WORDPRESS BLOAT

WordPress is great, but it can also generate a lot of bloat, slowing down performance.

The PerfMatters plugin aims to remove WordPress bloat and also improve security, providing an optimized user experience.

39. OPTIMIZE DATABASE

The WordPress database is where all your site’s data is stored, from content to plugin settings.

Optimizing the database is good practice for maintaining performance. One of the best plugins for this job is WP-Optimize, which lets you do this for free.

40. OPTIMIZE YOUR IMAGES

One of the biggest culprits for slow page speeds is images. That’s why it’s important to optimize them.

You can do this by manually compressing them on a site like TinyPNG or using a plugin such as Imagify.

41. USE A CDN

A CDN stores a version of your site on multiple servers around the world for faster loading times.

Hosting your site through Cloudflare is one option, or you can use a service like BunnyCDN.

42. KEEP THEMES AND PLUGINS UP TO DATE

Did you know you can enable automatic plugin updates? Just click the Enable auto-updates option from the plugins screen:

Just make sure you have regular backups in place. Keeping plugins and themes is essential for optimization, but also for security reasons.

47. BLOCK BAD BOTS

Bad bots are web crawlers that don’t provide any benefits to your WordPress site. They can take up server resources and reduce performance.

To block bad bots in WordPress you can use the popular Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin.

The linked article above has some other options for blocking bad bots.

43. DELETE UNUSED PLUGINS

Removing plugins you no longer use is a great way to keep your site running smoothly. It can also protect your site from security threats.

Just check which plugins you aren’t using and deactivate and delete them in the WordPress admin.

44. SET IMAGE DIMENSIONS

If your featured image dimensions are being scaled down inside the browser, this can eat up valuable resources.

You can fix this by setting the default height and width inside the Media settings to match your theme design.

WORDPRESS SECURITY TIPS

In this section, we explore essential security practices to safeguard your WordPress website from potential threats.

45. ADD A SECURITY PLUGIN

Security plugins help prevent your site from being taken down by hackers. They add several features that make it a lot harder for hackers to break into your WordPress dashboard.

A popular option for WordPress security is All-In-One Security. This plugin offers features like:

  • Limiting login attempts
  • Two-factor authentication
  • Preventing DDOS attacks
  • Changing the database file prefix
  • Removing the WordPress version

46. BACKUP WORDPRESS AUTOMATICALLY

One of the most important WordPress tips on this list is to keep your site backed up.

Many web hosts will have this feature, but it’s also worth taking backups to an external source.

WP Database Backup is a great option for automatic backups to Google Drive, Amazon S3, and Dropbox for free.

48. PASSWORD PROTECT THE ADMIN

Instead of only requiring one username and password for the WordPress admin, why not add another?

You can set additional password protection in most web hosting services or you can add the code in this post to your admin .htaccess file.

49. CHANGE THE ADMIN URL

Another great WordPress tip for protecting your site is to change the admin URL altogether.

Some security plugins have this feature included, such as All-in-One Security or the dedicated plugin WPS Hide Login will do the trick.

50. CHANGE THE AUTHOR URL SLUG

Security plugins will often change the database file prefix, but not the author URL slug.

This can present an issue if any of your authors are also a WordPress admin because the username can be seen in the URL bar.

The easiest way to hide the username URL slug is with All-in-One Security or the Edit Author Slug plugin.

WORDPRESS TIPS FOR GUTENBERG

In this section, we’ll explore the most useful WordPress Gutenberg editor tips to streamline your workflow and enhance your website editing experience.

51. INSERT BLOCKS WITH SLASH AUTOCOMPLETE

Quickly access Gutenberg blocks by typing forward slash. You’ll see a list of commonly used blocks and you can search for the one you need by typing:

Press enter and it’ll be added to the post or page

52. USE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Keyboard shortcuts allow faster access to different features inside Gutenberg.

For example, pressing “Ctrl+Shift+,” will show or hide the settings sidebar.

Other shortcuts include:

  • Save your changes: “Ctrl+S“
  • Make the selected text bold: “Ctrl+B“

You can display a list of Gutenberg shortcuts with “Shift+Alt+H“.

53. DUPLICATE PAGE

If you want to know how to duplicate a WordPress page to speed up your workflow, this WordPress tip is for you.

Simply add the Duplicate Page plugin or another option is to copy and paste the content from one page to another.

54. DOCK THE TOOLBAR

If you don’t like the way to text toolbar hovers over the editor, you can dock it to the top.

Just click on the three dots in the top right corner and click Top toolbar:

55. ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

Eliminate distraction with Distraction free mode:

Click the three dots in the top corner and choose the Distraction free option, or use the shortcut “CTRL+Shift+“.

56. CODE EDITOR MODE

Want to edit the HTML of your page or post?

Hit “Ctrl+SHIFT+ALT+M” or navigate to the three dots to switch between visual and the code editor.

57. REMOVE PRE-PUBLISH CHECKLIST

The Pre-publish checklist is set by default in Gutenberg which lets you review things before publishing.

You can turn this off from the preferences menu in the three dots and Preferences:

58. BLOCKS LIST VIEW

If you want to see a list of all the blocks on your page or post, click the document overview button:

You’ll see a list of all the blocks which makes it easier to drag and drop, delete, and duplicate.

59. REUSABLE BLOCKS

Reusable blocks have evolved into what’s now known as Patterns. These are saved blocks you can reuse across your site.

To create a Pattern, click the three dots on any block and click Create pattern:

Name the pattern and assign a category. You can also select whether you want to sync changes you make to the block or save it as a template.

WORDPRESS TIPS IN CONCLUSION

These WordPress tips are perfect for beginners and maybe even a few experts. Bookmark this post for quick access and become a better WordPress user.

Now, if you want to learn WordPress like a pro, check out our post on the best WordPress courses.

Good luck!

By Steve Allen

Steve Allen is a niche site builder, writer, and all-around WordPress wizard. He enjoys personal development, entrepreneurship, double espressos, and making things work better than they did before.

Sourced from Niche Pursuits

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Creators are frustrated with brands’ affiliate programs – and that’s great for brands

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Sourced from The Drum

Creators are eager to move beyond short-term, transactional deals and build enduring partnerships, says CreatorIQ’s research with Ipsos. Here are four ways brands can capitalize.

We know that brands want to include creators in their affiliate marketing programs. But stopping at affiliate-only engagements fails to leverage the full potential of creator marketing.

According to a recent survey CreatorIQ conducted with market research firm Ipsos, creators are eager to move beyond short-term, transactional deals and build enduring partnerships. That’s great news for brands.

The benefit of affiliate marketing programs for brands is clear: creators promoting products and services in return for a commission of sales is a low-risk, high-reward strategy. The problem is that too often, affiliate marketing deals focus too much on the short-term transactional nature of the relationship and miss the long-term opportunities.

Creators, meanwhile, want something more. They want a real relationship with the brands they work with, not just a transactional one. That means brands who treat their successful affiliate deals as the beginning of a fruitful creator relationship have the opportunity to build enduring, cooperative partnerships that will continue to deliver positive results for the long term.

How can brands build these enduring partnerships? Our research found four key takeaways brands should keep in mind.

1. Partner with creators who use and like your products

Creators prefer to promote brands they personally love, use, and believe in themselves, with “already using products in daily life” cited as a top consideration with 80% of creators surveyed.

Non-financial factors, like product quality and brand reputation, are more important to creators than commission rates and earning potential. In fact, 82% list “product quality and audience relevancy” as a top consideration for working with brands.

Remember most creators (and the ones you want to work with most) consider product quality as the most crucial factor when choosing whether to work with a brand in any kind of relationship, not just affiliate partnerships. That means there’s authentic brand affinity and alignment on values, style, and audience.

Takeaway

Before reaching out to creators with partnership offers, do your research first. Has the creator used or mentioned your product (or your competitors’) before? How closely does the creator’s audience match your target demographic? These are important details that you can find using creator marketing solutions like CreatorIQ.

2. Enable direct relationships

Creators want to work directly with the brands they use, not just given a product to sell. But traditional affiliate programs tend to more on transactions and less on support. That means there’s a need to establish clear lines of communication.

Among the biggest areas of support creators ask for are:

  1. Assistance in resolving payment issues – 36%
  2. Access to a dedicated affiliate manager – 35%
  3. Help resolving technical issues – 29%

Takeaway

Address the mundane nuts-and-bolts payment and support features of your creator program so they don’t cause frustration or eat up resources, freeing you up to focus on the important things like building relationships with your most important creator partners.

3. Provide product training and support

Creators are on the front lines, selling your products to their followers. In short, they’re sellers, so why not provide them with similar training and support as you do your sales staff? This means giving access to additional resources and content that will help them succeed.

This includes details like product education, training on your proven best practices, and a sneak peek at upcoming product launches so they can plan and strategize with more information at their fingertips.

Takeaway

Your creators are your sellers—treat them as such. Give them access to resources and content that will help them be successful in their role, such as product education, best practices training, and advance info about upcoming product drops and sales promotions.

4. Provide opportunities beyond affiliate

If a creator is successful in driving direct revenue through affiliate links, that’s a strong indication that they can contribute in other meaningful ways. Offer these creators additional partnership opportunities and unlock their full potential.

In fact, of those surveyed, 41% of creators said the biggest challenge with affiliate programs is the “lack of additional opportunities with the brand” they have affiliate partnerships with. Not far behind is an inability to evolve the brand relationship further.

Building trust and establishing an ongoing relationship with creators and their audience means moving past the initial engagement, and seeking opportunities for the long haul. One-and-done opportunities reduce creators’ ability to build trust with their audiences, which negatively impacts purchases. Authenticity is paramount to these creators—posting a couple of affiliate links and moving on comes across as disingenuous.

Takeaway

A creator who delivers affiliate sales is a creator with the potential to benefit your brand in other ways. Collaborate with them on new campaigns, new content, and even product development. If they want to work with you and have a proven ability to move the needle on lower-funnel results, there’s little downside in establishing a more direct relationship.

Conclusion

Combined, these findings indicate that brands should think of affiliate programs as a beginning, not an end, to creator partnerships. Our data shows that creator content simply performs better than traditional “ads”, so brands should be leveraging creators for things like sponsored posts, paid ads, product pages, and even in-store signage.

Ultimately, establishing direct relationships with creators and bringing them into the company fold — including such steps as product training, consultation, and other key support activities —  is a far more sustainable and successful strategy.

When used to identify the highest-performing creators through proven performance, affiliate programs are really just the start of the relationship between brand and creators, which can evolve into a long-term, fruitful partnership.

For more details, download the free report Beyond Affiliate: Building Sustainable Creator Partnerships from CreatorIQ here. 

Sourced from The Drum

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