CX Demo

Author: Franz Malten Buemann

  • I Have the Jordan Welch Ecommerce Course (497$). If you want it Dm me

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  • Go lean or go home: marketers face huge budget cuts and drops in customer loyalty if they don’t optimise now

     

     

    74% of CMOs have already – or expect to – face cuts to marketing budget or team due to recession 42% of marketers think customer loyalty will drop in the next 12 months 40% of marketing teams struggle to prove ROI in the face of cuts, with majority feeling only partly aligned to their CEO

     

    Seventy four percent of CMOs have either seen – or are facing – cuts to their marketing budgets. That’s according to new data from Customer Engagement Platform SALESmanago, which surveyed 250 CMOs in the UK to discover whether marketing needs to take a leaner approach as we head into recession. 

    The findings revealed that despite what we have learned in previous recessions, 40% of respondents said they still struggle to prove the ROI of marketing to the CEO and moreover, 63% think marketing could be leaner (more optimised). A worrying prospect when – at the same time – 42% of marketers think customer loyalty will drop in the next 12 months. 

    The relationship internally could also be improved, with the majority of marketers only feeling partly aligned with their CEO (46%), with one in ten not feeling aligned at all. Additionally, 75% of respondents  feel that less than half of marketing output is directly aligned to a stated business goal.

    The research showed that half of marketers say they have some visibility on customer data and trends, but feel it could be better. Additionally, nearly half (49%) either don’t – or don’t know – if they get significant and tangible ROI from their Martech investment.

     

    Greg Blazewicz, CEO and Founder at SALESmanago commented: “Marketing faces a perfect storm as business heads into recession. But instead of accepting its demise and being side-lined, teams need to prove they can get even closer to customers and encourage loyalty that will help their brand get well positioned for better times. A marketing revolution needs to happen, and quickly. Therefore adopting ‘Lean Marketing’ to be more efficient, more effective and more sustainable will be a smart move as we tackle these turbulent times head on. With this approach, marketers can prove ROI,  gather insight into what the consumer really cares about and cut costs in the meantime.”

    When asked which areas would be most impacted if budgets are cut in 2023, 68% of marketers say advertising/campaigns will be most impacted. This was followed by customer engagement (30%) and headcount (26%).  

    “Martech doesn’t need to be costly but it must be results-focused and transparent when it comes to ROI,” added Blazewicz. “Customer data is the new gold, and using insights to do more with less should now be the aim of all marketers. A customer data platform which brings all of this knowledge together is imperative at this time.” 

     

  • How SKIMMS, Liquid Death, and Other Brands Made Age-Old Products Feel New, Exciting, and Different

    Let’s face it — there’s always another brand out there that makes a product similar to yours. Chances are that there are quite a few brands that make products or services similar to yours.
    It’s also likely that new brands and businesses will pop up in the future with similar products. With this in mind, how do new brands compete in such saturated and competitive markets, so much so that they become market leaders in their niche?
    In this post, we’ll discuss how three brands, SKIMS, Liquid Death, and Dollar Shave Club, introduced old but new products to market and achieved significant success.

    Revitalizing Old Products: How Skims, Liquid Death, and Dollar Shave Club Achieved Their Success
    Making “old” products come alive in new and exciting ways revolves around audiences, their needs, and how you can make what you offer them more exciting than their available options.
    Doing this falls on new, unique branding that speaks to their desires and a product that positions you above your competition.
    Let’s discuss three brands that excelled at this.
    1. SKIMS Made Shapewear Exciting
    SKIMS, founded by Kim Kardashian, is a shapewear brand.
    Shapewear had been around for centuries when SKIMS launched in 2019, yet it was able to make a significant splash and repeatedly sell out of a product that many of its customers likely already had on their shelves.

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    This success happened because SKIMS listened to its audience’s desires and built the brand around that, specifically regarding size and shade inclusivity. People who didn’t see themselves represented by other brands now had an opportunity to find what they were looking for in a new product.
    It was also able to generate hype, excitement, and purchases through its marketing tactics, specifically the drop campaign model, where a limited number of products were released as capsule collections, so not everyone in line to buy one could. Those who aren’t successful are more likely to return and keep trying until they can make a purchase, keeping SKIMS top of mind.
    It’s also undeniable that SKIM’s success with the drop model was learned from Kardashian’s sister Kylie Jenner and her Kylie Lip Kits that repeatedly sold out products with a drop model.
    2. Liquid Death Created Hype and Excitement For Water
    Liquid Death sells canned still and sparkling water. For those with consistent access to water, it’s an everyday product.
    Despite only being water, Liquid Death raised $23 million in series B funding, has grown to be sold in 60,000 stores across the U.S., and holds its place as the top-selling still water on Amazon.
    Liquid Death’s success is based on its unique and humorous branding. More specifically, Liquid Death’s water cannot actually cause death; it does the opposite.

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    The name is also more reminiscent of an alcoholic beverage or energy drink, like Monster or Red Bull, that claim to give people the energy boosts of a mythical creature or 1,000-pound animal. It also comes in a can instead of a plastic bottle, which mirrors the experience of drinking a can of beer or an energy drink.
    The brand succeeded through its unique branding, unlike any other water brand, as well as the fun and unique experience that comes from drinking an everyday necessity from a can affixed with a name reminiscent of heavy metal and extreme energy.
    3. Dollar Shave Club Re-invigorated Razors With Convenience
    Shaving razors have been around forever, and there are multiple market competitors, like Gillette, Venus, Shick, Billie — the list goes on.
    However, since Dollar Shave Club launched in 2011, it has risen in the ranks and has a community of loyal subscribers that use its products despite the multitude of other brands that offer the same thing.

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    It was able to achieve success because it revitalized the market with new prices and increased convenience. In its early days, customers could pay as little as $1 to get razors delivered to their homes monthly.
    They didn’t have to pay higher prices for another brand or remember to go to the store and ask someone to unlock the cosmetics locker; it would just be in their mail every month when they needed it.
    Over to You
    Many of the products we use daily are offered by other brands, but we have favorites.
    For SKIMS, Liquid Death, and Dollar Shave Club, competitors exist, but their unique approaches to marketing and branding (and having a high-quality product) have helped them become household favorites for their users, and their practices are worth learning from.

  • YouTube Analytics: The 15 Metrics That Actually Matter

    Some of us marketers have an unhealthy obsession with YouTube analytics — we track too many of them. Maybe we think we can prove any video marketing campaign is producing results if there’s an eye-catching percentage by its name. But, deep down, we all know that some metrics are more revealing than others.
    There are a ton of KPIs we can look at that provide minimal insights. Fortunately, though, we created this guide to help you navigate YouTube Analytics and measure the metrics that actually matter. It’ll save you from drowning in the sea of analytics that most marketers only have a lifebuoy in, helping you not only stay afloat but swim safely to land.

    Read on to learn about the YouTube metrics that actually matter, and how they’ll enhance your video strategy.
    YouTube Analytics: The 15 Metrics That Actually Matter
    1. Watch Time

    Watch time is the total amount of minutes viewers have spent watching your videos. It’s a key metric because YouTube elevates videos and channels with higher watch times in their search results and recommendations section. YouTube does this because the more watch time a video has, the more engaging their algorithm presumes it is.
    In the Watch time report, you can see the amount of watch time your videos have accumulated. You can also rank each of your videos by watch time and group your videos by themes, styles, and lengths to determine your most engaging types of videos.
    How to find Watch time in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Overview > Watch Time
    2. Average Percentage Viewed

    Average percentage viewed is the percent of each video the average viewer watched. It measures your video’s ability to hold viewers’ attention for its entirety. And when YouTube realizes your videos can hold people’s attention, they’ll reward it with higher search and recommendation rankings. You can find this metric in your watch time report.
    How to find Average Percentage Viewed in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Overview > Watch time > See More > Content > Watch time > More Metrics > Overview > Average percentage viewed
    3. Average View Duration

    Average view duration is the total watch time of your video divided by the total number of video plays, including replays. This metric measures your video’s ability to engage viewers. If your video can’t engage viewers, they’ll bounce from your video quickly, leaving you with an unimpressive average view duration. But if your video can engage viewers, your average view duration and total watch time will increase at the same time, boosting your search and recommendations rankings. You can also find this metric in your watch time report.
    How to find Average View Duration in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > See More > Watch time > More Metrics > Overview > Average view duration
    4. Audience Retention

    Audience retention shows you the percentage of viewers who watch and leave your video at every single moment of the video. YouTube elevates videos with high audience retention in their search rankings and suggestions because these videos can effectively capture viewers’ attention.
    Audience retention can also inform your future video strategy. The most engaging parts of your video could be your next best video topics. And watching your video during steep dips of engagement will tell you what might be boring your viewers, allowing you to scrap those elements from current and future videos.
    When you have enough data to generate YouTube’s audience retention report, there will be two graphs: the absolute retention curve and the relative retention curve. The absolute retention curve shows you how well your videos retain viewers. And the relative retention shows you how well one of your videos retains viewers compared to all other YouTube videos of similar length.

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    How to find Audience Retention in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Engagement > Audience retention
    5. Re-watches
    Re-watches are the amount of times viewers re-watch certain parts of your video. If a lot of people are re-watching a specific part of your video, then they’re probably interested in the topic your video is covering during that moment. These topics can be fodder for your future video strategy. You can find this data in the absolute audience retention graph. Re-watches are usually indicated by rising curves in the graph.

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    How to find Rewatches in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Engagement > Audience retention > Absolute audience retention
    6. Engagement

    Comments, shares, likes, and dislikes provide marketers with a lot of valuable qualitative data.
    Comments can paint a clear picture of your video’s emotional effect on viewers. Shares can gauge how much viewers value your content and brand — since people share content that confirms their ideal self-persona, people who share your video are publicly displaying that they trust and support your brand. Likes and dislikes can help you determine what video topics work best with your particular audience. You can find your videos’ engagement metrics in YouTube’s Interactions Report.
    How to find Engagement in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Engagement > Likes (vs. dislikes) > See More
    7. Impressions Click-Through Rate

    Impressions click-through rate measures your video’s ability to prompt people to watch your video after seeing it on their homepage, recommendation section, or trending section. A high click-through rate means your title was compelling and your video’s topic resonates with a lot of relevant audiences on YouTube.
    A common trend for impression click-through rates is that they usually spike immediately after you release your video — your subscribers will see the video at the top of their home page and probably click on it. But once your video spreads beyond your core audience, your click-through rate will decline and then stay at a stable rate.
    You can also couple this metric with average percentage viewed and average view duration to see if people actually watch your video after they click on it. A high click-through rate is great, but if people are leaving right at the beginning of your video, your title or thumbnail could be misleading. Preparing viewers for what’s to come is crucial because if your title or thumbnail is inaccurate, they’ll feel deceived and lose trust in your brand.
    A low click-through rate but high engagement could mean that the video has a small yet specific audience that is enamored by the content.
    How to find Engagement in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Reach > Impressions click-through rate

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    8. Card Clicks

    Cards are slide-in panels that encourage people to take a desired action during a video like watch another video, subscribe to a channel, or click through to a different website. Each of your cards’ click-through rate tells you which action your viewers prefer to take while watching your videos. This can help you place the most engaging card in each of your videos, potentially boosting your watch time, subscriber growth, or website traffic.
    Analyzing card clicks can also help you uncover the optimal timing, placement, and duration of your cards in future videos.
    How to find Card Clicks in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Reach > See More > Impressions by: Content > More Metrics > Cards > Card Clicks

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    9. Playlist Engagement
    Playlists are a great way to organize your videos in a digestible way. It helps your viewers easily consume videos about their favorite topics and prompts them to keep watching, which racks up watch time for your channel.
    You can uncover your playlist engagement by analyzing two metrics in YouTube’s Playlist Report: views per playlist start and average time in playlist. Views per playlist start is the average number of video views your playlists gather, and average time in playlist is the average amount of time that viewers viewed the videos in your playlist. If these two metrics are underperforming, try starting your playlist with videos that have the highest retention rate.
    How to find Playlist Engagement in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Engagement > See More > Watch Time > More Metrics > Playlists
    10. Unique Viewers

    Unique viewers is the estimated number of individuals who watch your videos over a certain period of time. This metric really helps you understand the actual size of your audience.
    You can also use this metric to gauge your subscriber’s engagement with your videos. If your unique viewers are lower than your subscriber count, then your subscribers aren’t watching as much of your video as they could be. To get them to be more active, ask them to set up notifications for your new videos. You can find this metric under the Reach Views and Audience tab in YouTube Studio.
    How to find Playlist Unique Viewers in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Audience > Unique viewers
    11. Views Per Unique Viewers
    Views per unique viewers is the amount of times the average viewer watches your video. This metric tells you if people can’t get enough of your video and keep rewatching it. Video topics with a lot of views per unique viewers could also be your most popular content topics, and if you cover them more, you could generate more views, watch time, and subscribers.
    How to find Playlist Unique Viewers in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Audience > Unique viewers > See More > Average views per viewer

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    12. Who’s Watching Your Videos
    In YouTube’s demographics report, you can see the different types of people who watch your videos, segmented by age, gender, and geography. This data tells you who your most engaged audience is and who your target audience should actually be. You can take the opposite approach with this data too. If you’re not reaching the audience you want, try pivoting your video strategy and cover topics that would attract them.
    How to find Demographics in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Audience > Age and Gender

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    13. Subscriber Growth

    Subscribers are your most loyal fans. They’ve made a public commitment to your brand, content, and values. And they’re most likely to be your evangelists too. Subscribers are also important to your channel because YouTube will send them notifications about your new videos and feature them on their homepage. This means they’ll see your videos more frequently, which will help generate more views. Subscribers also watch twice as much video as non-subscribers, so the more subscribers you have, the more watch time your videos will collect.
    YouTube’s Subscribers Report will show you which videos, locations, and time periods gain and lose subscribers. This data will tell you what video topics resonate with your subscribers and where to target new subscribers. And by prioritizing your subscribers’ needs, you’ll create videos that they crave, increase your watch time, and boost your search rankings.
    How to find Subscribers in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Audience > Subscribers
    14. Traffic Sources

    External referrals like social media or sites that embed your videos and YouTube referrals like search, the recommended section, and the homepage are all traffic sources. The Traffic Sources report shows you how viewers found your videos and what sources rack up the most views and watch time. You can use this data to better optimize your video promotion strategy.
    How to find Traffic Sources in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Audience > Subscribers > See More > Traffic Source

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    15. Keywords

    In YouTube’s Reach Report, which is under the Traffic Sources Report, you can see the most popular queries guiding viewers to your videos. If these queries are slightly different from your video’s topic, consider updating your video to fill these content gaps and add the keywords to your metadata. If there’s a stark difference, consider making a new video about these popular queries.
    How to find Keywords in YouTube Studio:
    Analytics > Reach > YouTube Search terms
     
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • The 13 Best Blogging Platforms for 2022 (& How to Pick One)

    Companies that blog get 55% more visitors than businesses that don’t. But to get that increased traffic, you need the best blogging platform for your needs and goals.
    Publishing blog content offers many benefits. Blogging can help you establish authority in an industry. It can drive brand awareness, share company news, and better convert website traffic into leads.

    But the wrong platform can also limit your returns. It can restrict your ability to gather leads, improve SEO, monetize your blog, and more.
    There are many great choices for blogs that come at little or no cost, with a ton of valuable features that can bring you results for your efforts. To find the best platform for your new blog, keep reading or jump to the section you’re looking for.

    What is the best blogging platform for you?
    How to Choose a Blogging Platform
    Finding the Best Blogging Platform for SEO
    Best Blogging Platforms

    What is the best blogging platform for you?
    Building a blog takes time and dedication. It’s a long-term investment, and that includes the platform you use to create it.
    This means that no matter how great a blog platform is, it needs to be right for you. It’s challenging to move a blog to a new site after it gets going, so the better you prepare before you start blogging, the more likely you are to have lasting results.
    So, before we cover the most popular choices, let’s talk about what you need in a platform for your blog.
    If you’re just starting out, you’ll want a platform that’s easy to set up and use. If you don’t have coding experience, it’s important to find a platform for your blog that doesn’t need you to code. Developing a blog isn’t simple, and you’ll have more than enough to do without adding new skills to your to-do list.

    Next, you’ll want to do some big-picture thinking about the type of blog you want to make. This means drawing inspiration from the blogs you admire. It’s a good idea to create a list of layouts and features you like, and take note of blog tools you may need as your blog grows.
    Below are a few questions you’ll want to ask yourself to prepare:

    Do you plan to monetize your blog with a newsletter now or in the future?
    Is a multimedia experience with lots of images and videos your goal?
    Are you starting a blog to build SEO for your small business site?
    Or are you hoping it can build your reputation as a thought leader?
    What skills do you need to learn to build your blog?
    How many of those skills can a blogging platform help with?

    Once you have a clear plan for your blog, you’re ready to choose the best blogging platform for you.

    How to Choose a Blogging Platform
    For many, choosing a blog platform starts with cost. Some of the best blog software is free. So, check what plans each provider offers and how many tiers there are. Then look into their primary and unique features. Pay special attention to the value that out-of-the-box features offer in comparison to add-ons.

    But what you’re willing and able to pay is just the first of many important decisions. Let’s take a look at some other features you might need for your blog. This can help you compare different blogging platforms.
    Themes and Templates
    Themes and templates allow you to customize a blog quickly and easily. When looking at different blogging platforms, check out their selection of themes and templates.

    Ask yourself:

    Do they have a lot of templates for blogging specifically?
    Do they have a variety of free and premium templates and themes?
    Can you edit the themes and templates to create a truly customized look for your site?
    Do you want to create your blog from scratch instead of a predesigned theme?

    These are just a few questions that can help you choose a platform with the design and customization options you need.
    There’s also a strong chance that you’ll fall in love with a blog theme and want to start building your blog right away. But if you’re blogging for your business, it’s about more than aesthetics.
    Content Editor
    The content editor is the core of every blogging platform. As a blogger, you might be working with this editor every day, so make sure you pick a platform with an editor you like.
    Think about ease of use. You want to be able to set up a blog and start adding content to it quickly. And you should be able to get a sense of the functionality and flexibility of the tool.
    To test this, you may want to create a complex blog draft. Be sure to add internal links, videos, and different images. Anything you think you might want to include in your final blog should be ready to test on each platform.
    As you start comparing platforms you’ll start to get stuck on specific details. It can help to break your list of desired features into must-haves and nice-to-haves.
    For example, maybe your editor must have drag-and-drop functionality and an auto-save feature. But it’d be nice to have the option to preview how your post looks on different devices.

    Finding the Best Blogging Platform for SEO
    Another important factor is how a blogging platform’s capabilities align with your goals and needs. For example, if you need to boost your visibility in SERPs, you’ll need a platform with built-in SEO tools.
    Optimizing your content for search is essential to driving traffic to your blog. According to a Backlinko study, sites listed on the first SERP in Google get 27% of all clicks for a keyword or phrase.
    It’s well-established that blogging can improve SEO if it’s a useful resource for your customers. But SEO takes time to learn if you’re just beginning your content marketing journey.
    On-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO are all important strategies that take time and effort to learn.
    SEO Features and Tools
    So, to get on that first page, you ideally want a platform with built-in tools to help you optimize your content.
    Many blogging platforms offer plugins or add-ons to help with SEO. But the features that will be most useful to you will depend on your current know-how. For example, some platforms can help you build a site map or manage your blog URLs.
    Many SEO techniques are repetitive processes full of details. So, it’s also ideal to have a platform for your blog that can remind you to optimize for search as you build each blog. For example, HubSpot SEO software offers on-page tips like reminding you to add alt text to blog images.

    If a platform doesn’t have this type of advanced functionality, then check if you can install a third-party SEO tool. Otherwise, you’ll have to get up to speed on SEO best practices and make sure to add them to your blog.
    Extensions and Integrations
    No blogging platform can offer every single feature every single blogger wants out of the box. Besides, your blogging needs and goals will likely change over time as your audience grows or strategy shifts.
    That’s why it’s important to choose a blogging platform that offers extensions or integrations with third-party tools. Platforms with an ecosystem of apps will be able to scale with you over time. This helps make sure that you don’t have to migrate to a more flexible alternative in the future.

    Now that you know some features to consider in your selection process, let’s take a look at some of the best blogging platforms on the market.
    1. CMS Hub
    Best For: Marketers and Developers

    Blog Software Cost: Free, With Premium Options
    CMS Hub Ideal Users
    What sets CMS Hub apart from other blogging platforms is that it’s ideal for both developers and marketers. It has the tools, technologies, and workflows that developers need to build a CRM-powered blog. At the same time, it offers a great user experience for marketers with easy access to features that drive conversions.
    CMS Hub Pros
    The biggest advantage of this free blog software is that it’s powerful but still easy to use. You can start by choosing a pre-designed theme or building your own custom theme with the drag-and-drop website builder. CMS Hub includes free web hosting and it’s easy to connect a custom domain.
    Then, using HubSpot’s blog editor and built-in SEO tools, you can create blog posts with CTAs, forms, and other interactive elements.
    You can even create multi-language variations of your blog posts and run A/B tests on them to reach a global audience. Before you publish, you can preview how your posts and pages look on different types of devices.
    Once you’re ready to start promoting, you can connect your blog to your social media accounts. That way, you can automatically share new blog posts on your social networks in the same place that you wrote them.
    As you publish more content, you can analyze your blog performance. This can help you understand what topics and types of content are resonating with your readers. That’s because CMS Hub is part of HubSpot’s CRM platform.
    CMS Hub Cons
    Since CMS Hub is an all-in-one solution for marketers and developers, it has lots of rich functionality and a ton of attractive themes. This is a good thing for most bloggers and G2 gives HubSpot a 4.5/5 rating with almost 1400 reviews.
    But, if you’re an individual or small business just starting to blog, then you may not have the time or expertise to leverage the full power of the CMS Hub. In that case, you might be better off with a simpler alternative to start.
    CMS Hub Website Example
    Below you can take a look at this company’s feature-rich blog built on the CMS Hub.

    CMS Hub Key Takeaways

    Meets the needs of both developers and marketers
    Fully-integrated CRM to streamline sales and marketing processes
    Built-in multi-lingual support, SEO recommendations, and more

    2. WordPress
    Best For: Themes and Plugins

    Blog Software Cost: Free, With Premium Options
    WordPress Ideal Users
    Creating and managing a blog on WordPress could mean more maintenance than other platforms, but it will offer the extensibility and content management features publishers and other businesses need to create a complex blog.
    WordPress Pros
    WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform and it has a 4.4/5 rating on G2 with over 8,000 reviews. Though it has evolved into a multi-purpose content management system, it still has many features and themes for blogging.
    WordPress enables you to not only purchase a custom domain and download one of 3,500+ themes specifically designed for blogs — it also lets you add social media buttons, forms, affiliate links, and other features with plugins.
    The customization options are virtually limitless with the 60,000+ free plugins available.
    WordPress Cons
    You will have to make sure your theme and plugins are compatible and up-to-date. Otherwise, they can disrupt the user experience or break your site. Other maintenance tasks like finding and fixing broken links, updating the core software, and optimizing your database will also be your responsibility. This can be difficult for site owners who don’t have the time or technical expertise to regularly maintain their sites.
    WordPress Blog Example
    Tech Crunch, one of the largest and most popular technology news blogs, is powered by WordPress. Take a look at this WordPress website example below.

    WordPress Key Takeaways

    Ideal for publishers and others who want to extend the platform with plugins
    Over 3,500 free blogging themes
    Website maintenance can be time-consuming

    3. Squarespace
    Best For: Design

    Blog Software Cost: Paid, With Plans From $16-65 per Month
    Squarespace Ideal Users
    Squarespace is an ideal blogging platform for businesses and individuals creating image-rich content. It also has a 4.4 rating on G2. With Squarespace’s award-winning designer templates and integrations with Getty Images, Unsplash, and Google AMP, you can create visual content that’s engaging and shareable.
    Squarespace Pros
    While Squarespace only offers about 140 templates, they are all mobile-optimized and fully customizable so you can create a blog that looks the way you want it to. Once you’ve designed your pages, you can use Squarespace’s blogging and SEO tools to create and optimize your content.
    Finally, after publishing your blog posts, you can connect your social media accounts to easily promote them. Then use the built-in analytics tool to learn where your traffic is coming from, what your visitors are looking for, and how they’re interacting with your content.
    Squarespace Cons
    Squarespace offers even more features, from audio file support to newsletter signup forms, but ultimately it’s limited in functionality. That’s because it supports around 30 extensions, so you’re mostly limited to the features Squarespace offers out-of-the-box.
    Since they lack some features that bloggers need — like an auto-save feature, for example — Squarespace isn’t the ideal platform for everyone.
    Squarespace Blog Example
    Squarespace does allow some bloggers to create beautiful sites, like this lifestyle blog below.

    Squarespace Key Takeaways

    Best suited for individuals and brands who want to customize a blog to their personal style
    Small but high-quality selection of templates
    Limited to features and few extensions that Squarespace offers

    4. Wix
    Best For: Beginners

    Blog Software Cost: Paid, With Plans From $16-59 per Month
    Wix Ideal Users
    Wix is a popular blogging platform for beginners who are looking for hosting and blogging tools in one place and who prioritize speed and design over functionality.
    Wix Pros
    Wix has a 4.2 G2 rating and gives you two choices for creating your blog within the Wix Editor. You can start by choosing from over 800 pre-designed templates that any blogger can use, whether you own a retail business or run a food review website. You can also use Wix ADI by filling out a quick questionnaire to have a blog created for you.
    Then you can begin writing and editing posts on desktop or mobile, embed Wix’s stock photos and videos or your own media, and organize them into topics.
    Once you’re done writing, you can configure your SEO settings to boost your organic reach, push your content to your subscribers with Wix’s email tool, and share them through your social media accounts. You can further foster a sense of community among your readers by letting them become members.
    Wix Cons
    While Wix is more versatile than other hosted website builders, it lacks customization options and content management features, particularly when comparing Wix vs. WordPress or another CMS.
    For example, to add more advanced elements to the page, like music or maps, you’ll have to add HTML code. This process can be intimidating for beginners.
    Wix Blog Example
    Take a look at this Wix blogger’s site below for an example of a stylish but relatively simple blog.

    Wix Key Takeaways

    Ideal for bloggers who prioritize speed and design over functionality
    Can use pre-designed templates or start from scratch
    Editor lacks drag-and-drop functionality

    5. Craft CMS
    Best For: Customization

    Blog Software Cost: Free, With Premium Options
    Craft CMS Ideal Users
    Craft CMS is a blogging platform designed for developers, designers, and web professionals.
    Craft CMS Pros
    With Craft’s personalized content modeling, powerful templating, and the option to edit your source code, you can completely control the appearance and functionality of your site — if you have the necessary experience.
    Craft CMS also offers an image editor, collaboration tools, and a localization feature that can translate your content to specific languages. You can now also manage multiple blogs from within a single Craft install. To analyze your content’s performance, you can integrate Craft CMS’ dashboard with Google Analytics. This blog platform has a 4.1 G2 rating.
    Craft CMS Blog Example
    If you have the web development experience to fully leverage the power of Craft CMS, you’ll be able to create a complex blog with custom post types, like this travel blog below.

    Craft CMS Key Takeaways

    Advanced functionality including personalized content modeling and localization feature
    Free version for single admin accounts
    Requires some web development experience

    6. Contently
    Best For: Enterprises

    Blog Software Cost: Paid, With Quote-Based Pricing
    Contently Ideal Users
    Contently is a robust blogging platform that’s ideal for enterprise companies with large budgets but few internal editorial resources. It has a 4.5/5 G2 rating with just over 80 reviews.
    Contently Pros
    Contently allows you to manage your entire content creation process in one place. You can create and visualize your editorial strategy with their customizable production calendar tool or organize your blog posts with their tagging tool. It can also help you effectively collaborate with your team on projects by leveraging their advanced workflow tools. You can even pay for Contently’s well-vetted freelancers to write some of this content for you.
    Before publishing your content, Contently’s smart content review tools will ensure your content is aligned with your brand, optimized for search, and legally compliant. Finally, to refine your content strategy, Contently enables you to compare your content’s performance against industry benchmarks, quantify its ROI, and measure its performance by topic, format, and sources directly in your dashboard.
    Contently Cons
    The biggest drawback of Contently is that it’s beyond many small businesses’ and individuals’ budgets. Contently can be expensive and could be a better fit for enterprise companies.
    They offer quote-based pricing that varies for each client. Their costs factor in editing, strategy, and help from their content creators, as well as visual assets.
    Contently Blog Example
    The Royal Bank of Canada, one of North America’s largest banks, uses Contently to streamline content creation across 14 marketing departments. Check out its blog below.

    Contently Key Takeaways

    Can manage the entire content creation process
    Deep-dive analytics
    Pricing is mainly for enterprise companies

    7. Joomla
    Best For: Community Building

    Blog Software Cost: Paid, With Plans From $8-33 per Month
    Joomla Ideal Users
    Joomla is an open-source CMS with advanced content and user management features built directly into the platform. This makes it an excellent choice for creating community-centric blogs.
    Joomla Pros
    Joomla offers rich built-in functionality as well as thousands of extensions. For example, Joomla allows you to create custom post types, manage hundreds of users, and publish content in multiple languages right out of the box.
    It also offers some great extensions for blogging. EasyBlog by StackIdeas, for example, has a much cleaner drag-and-drop editor than Joomla’s built-in editor. You can also enable star ratings on your blog and automatically publish posts to your social media platforms with this extension. Joomla’s G2 rating is 4/5.
    Joomla Cons
    Because of its robust built-in functionality, Joomla does have a steeper learning curve than a CMS so it’ll take more time to set up. It also offers a smaller selection of themes and extensions, which can limit your customization options.
    Joomla Blog Example
    Below is an example of a Joomla blog built with EasyBlog.

    Joomla Key Takeaways

    Advanced content management features
    Steep learning curve due to robust built-in functionality
    May need a blogging extension

    8. Drupal
    Best For: Advanced Bloggers

    Blog Software Cost: Free, Open-Source Software
    Drupal Ideal Users
    Drupal is a highly flexible open-source CMS that’s best suited for advanced users, as well as enterprise companies, with complex blogging needs who are looking for a self-hosted solution. It has a G2 rating of 3.8.
    Drupal Pros
    Drupal has hundreds of out-of-the-box features and modules. If you know how to use them or have the time to learn, then Drupal will give you more power than other open-source platforms.
    Specifically, Drupal supports a wide selection of content types, page templates, blocks, and more for creating and managing content. It also has advanced user permissions so you can give site admins, content editors, and other stakeholders personalized access to specific content. This — along with its multilingual capabilities, Layout Builder, and other modules — will allow you to create and manage large, complex blogs.
    Drupal Cons
    If you don’t know how to use Drupal’s out-of-the-box features and modules, and you don’t have the time to learn, they can be confusing and hinder your blogging efforts. In that case, you might be better off with a simpler platform.
    Drupal Blog Example
    Below is a Drupal blog that features add-ons and modules.

    Drupal Key Takeaways

    Best suited for technical users with complex blogging needs
    Powerful content management features
    Advanced user permissions

    9. LinkedIn
    Best For: Thought Leadership

    Blog Software Cost: Free
    LinkedIn Ideal Users
    LinkedIn lets users directly share blog posts, helping users reach some of the 875M people on the platform. This gives businesses with new blogs an audience for thought leadership and to drive site traffic.
    LinkedIn Pros
    LinkedIn is an excellent choice for blogging to build brand awareness and drive site traffic. It’s also a valuable tool to develop thought leadership. The built-in audience on LinkedIn can help generate conversations about your content that can boost growth.
    It’s also an excellent choice to supplement an on-site blog. Creating a LinkedIn blog can help you create insightful content specifically for niche users. This can build industry awareness of your brand and products. It can also help your blog generate more authority.
    LinkedIn Cons
    Because LinkedIn blogs live on their platform, you won’t get the SEO benefits of an on-site blog. It will also be important to optimize your blogs for search on their platform as well as search engines. Without this investment, it’s possible that only your current connections will see your content.
    You also may want to look for another platform if you’re blogging for lead generation. Blogs are a great way to collect new contacts for your newsletter and sales team. But blogging on LinkedIn can mean a longer journey to your lead generation forms, which can decrease conversion.
    LinkedIn Blog Example
    These blog examples are from the COO of L’Oréal and the Chief Customer and Commercial Officer at Coca-Cola. They show how this platform can build awareness and engagement for brand initiatives.

    LinkedIn Key Takeaways

    A good pick for new thought leaders
    Easy-to-use interface
    Offers potential access to a large and immediate audience

    10. Write.as
    Best For: Privacy

    Blog Software Cost: Free, With Premium Options
    Write.as Ideal Users
    Write.as is a lightweight blogging platform that’s ideal for individuals looking to create simple blogs with minimal design. It’s popular with its user base, with a 4.4 rating and almost 30 reviews on G2.
    Write.as Pros
    Offering a stripped-down editor with nothing but an auto-save feature, Write.as offers the experience of writing in a virtual journal. This makes it another of the best blogging platforms for writers. Write.as is also free to use and doesn’t support ads.
    Teams can also use it like Google Docs to share updates, proposals, and works-in-progress (for a monthly subscription).
    Write.as Cons
    Write.as does require you to use Markdown, a syntax that uses special characters to format text. For example, you’d type in asterisks to create bullet points, hashtags to create headers, and [Link] to add a link.
    The syntax isn’t difficult to learn, but it might take some practice. If you’d prefer to simply click a button to create bullet lists or add hyperlinks, then you’ll be better off with another blogging platform.
    Write.as Blog Example
    Check out an example of a writing blog below.

    Write.as Key Takeaways

    Best for individuals who want a minimalist interface and design
    Requires you to learn and use Markdown syntax
    Free version is ad-free

    11. Blogger
    Best For: Lifestyle Bloggers

    Blog Software Cost: Free
    Blogger Ideal Users
    Blogger is a free platform designed for newbie bloggers. While it lacks many content management features, Blogger is more feature-rich than most free blogging platforms. For that reason, Blogger is perfect for individuals looking to create blogs as a hobby.
    Blogger Pros
    The biggest advantage of Blogger is how easy it is to create and customize a relatively basic blog.
    To get started, you just need to create an account with Google, choose a template, and get publishing. You can purchase a custom domain, optimize your SEO settings, connect your blog to Google Analytics, optimize your posts with Adsense, and even edit the HTML and CSS of your site — but you won’t be able to do much beyond that.
    Blogger Cons
    To get a better sense of the platform’s limitations, you can compare Blogger vs. WordPress or another CMS. With Blogger, you can’t install plugins to extend the functionality of your site. You can’t create different content types, like portfolio pages. And you can’t change the default display of your content from reverse-chronological order to, say, your most popular posts.
    In short, if you need the content management features and customization options of a CMS, then look into alternatives to Blogger.
    Blogger Blog Example
    Take a look at this personal blog below for an example.

    Key Takeaways

    Best for lifestyle bloggers
    More feature-rich than other free blogging platforms
    Can’t create custom post types or change the display of posts

    12. Medium
    Best For: Writers

    Blog Software Cost: Free, With Premium Options
    Medium Ideal Users
    Medium is often called the best blogging platform for writers. It gives businesses a chance to build a blog and connect with a wide range of industry-specific users. Storytelling is popular on Medium, and many businesses use this to their advantage to build a blog audience.
    Medium Pros
    This blogging platform is easy to use and publish content.
    Another pro is Medium’s readership. The site also features a reader recommendation engine that can generate an audience for new blogs. Since on-site blogs can often take six months or more to generate traffic, a site like Medium can be an attractive alternative.
    Medium also has community publications. Each user on the platform can create up to seven publications. Users can also submit blogs to Medium publications to build a larger audience. For example, the Towards Data Science publication has over 645,000 followers.
    If you’re just starting out, Medium publications can help draw attention and followers to your new blog. This blogging platform can also complement a website blog, and some businesses republish their onsite blog content here without worrying about penalties.
    Medium Cons
    Like LinkedIn, a Medium blog won’t help you get the SEO benefits of an on-site blog. It also has a large community that can favor trends or long-time members over newcomers. While you can use Medium to generate traffic for an on-site blog, it may present a duplicate content risk if you don’t properly set up your website.
    Medium Blog Example
    Both businesses and government agencies use Medium to promote their brand content.

    Medium Key Takeaways

    Ideal for writers and others who want to connect with an existing audience
    Clean and simple interface
    Less likely to offer the SEO and lead generation benefits of an on-site blog

    13. Tumblr
    Best For: Multimedia

    Blog Software Cost: Free
    Ideal Users
    Tumblr appeals to personal bloggers and brands alike. While bloggers might be able to use this as their only platform, brands tend to use it as one platform among many to show their personality.
    Tumblr Pros
    Tumblr combines the power of blogging and social networking in one highly-visual publishing platform.
    Tumblr offers everything you need to create a professional-looking site. You can select from hundreds of free and premium themes and add multiple pages, sidebars, social sharing buttons, comment sections, and more. You can also buy a custom domain name from a domain name registrar rather than use the free subdomain: yourusername.tumblr.com. If you have HTML coding skills, you can further customize your site.
    When you’re satisfied with your site’s design, you can start creating and publishing multimedia post types. Featuring photos, GIFs, links, chat dialogue, audio files, and video in your content makes it more engaging, memorable, and shareable.
    Since other users can easily like, reply, and reblog your posts on their Tumblr as well as their other social accounts, right from their dashboard, this is an excellent platform for engaging and fostering an online community.
    Tumblr Cons
    There are restrictions on the site that can frustrate users. For example, you can only schedule (or “queue”) 50 posts in a day, which might limit your ability to plan and execute a long-term content strategy. You can also only upload videos under 500MB and only track 20 tags at a time. Furthermore, your site can be suspended at any time if you’re found in violation of Tumblr’s community guidelines.
    Tumblr Blog Example
    Vogue has a highly visual and multimedia-rich site on Tumblr. Check it out below.

    Key Takeaways

    Ideal for publishing multimedia posts
    Restrictions on what you post, when, and how often
    Ideal for individuals and brands to engage with followers

    Get Started Blogging
    Once you figure out your blogging goals and needs, you can choose the right blogging platform. With a little focus, you can find a tool with the functionality and flexibility you’re looking for.
    Whichever platform you decide on should combine ease of use and power to propel your business. So get choosing and start blogging to reap the SEO and traffic benefits.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • Call Center Management: The Best Questions to Ask During a Performance Review

    Ah, performance reviews. They’re a staple of almost every workplace, and call centers are no exception. In fact, these engagements are an essential part of running a successful customer service operation.
    Why? Agent performance directly impacts the caller’s experience. If your agents aren’t satisfied in their daily work, or they’re not doing their job properly, it can spell disaster down the road. Performance reviews are an opportunity for management to evaluate, assess, and lead their team members cohesively in the right direction.
    The Executive Guide to Improving 6 Contact Center Metrics
    Of course, there are right and wrong ways to conduct a performance review. And agents have a hand in how the interaction goes as well. If one or both sides come to the meeting unprepared, little good will come from the interaction. It’s important for each party to understand the purpose of performance evaluations and how to get the most out of them.
    A performance review is the ideal time to:

    Evaluate previously set goals.
    Acknowledge individual successes.
    Identify challenges; create solutions moving forward.
    Update team members on new practices and policies.

    Ultimately, well-conducted performance reviews will improve your overall employee engagement, retention, and your team’s overall quality of service. In short, well-supported agents will lead to happier, more satisfied callers.

    DID YOU KNOW?
    Ideally, performance evaluations should be conducted on a monthly or quarterly basis. The more touchpoints management and agents have with one another, the more opportunities you’ll have to evaluate and achieve your shared goals.

    Call Center Managers: How to Conduct a Performance Review
    When it comes to performance reviews, preparation is key. The first step is to evaluate the agent’s performance based on observations and activity data in your call center platform. Stats like first call resolution (FCR), average handle time (AHT) and occupancy rate can give you an idea of where your team is excelling and where they’re falling short.
    Based on this information, you can plan your areas of focus for each performance review. It may help to split the conversation into categories to ensure all topics are covered in the time you have together. Managers should also have an outline of questions handy to steer the conversation towards important topics. Below, we’ll outline some examples.
    Identifying Strengths
    Every agent on your team will have strengths and weaknesses pertaining to their job. It’s important that they’re aware of what they excel in, and that management acknowledges their contributions. A performance review is the perfect setting for this.
    When asking questions, make them as specific as possible — broad questions invite vague answers; by asking specific questions, you invite the agent to respond with more detail.
    Example questions:

    Which of your skills help you excel in your daily work?
    What parts of your job do you find the most fulfilling?
    What is a recent success in your work that you are most proud of?

    Areas for Improvement
    Of course, performance reviews aren’t just for praising strengths. They’re also opportunities to zero in on challenging areas of the job. Remember that these reviews aren’t for disciplining agents for their shortcomings; rather, it’s all about providing the support they need so they can improve.
    Example questions:

    What areas of your work do you feel can be improved?
    What can management do to support you better in your daily work?
    How do you plan to correct these issues in future?

    Goals and Outlook
    Once you’ve discussed strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to set goals. This helps ensure that there is progress made from review to review and gives both the manager and the agent a sense of progress and hopefully accomplishment.
    Example questions:

    What are your priority goals, and how do you plan on achieving them?
    How do you plan to measure your success when working towards your goals?
    How can management support you in achieving your goals?

    TIP:
    Encourage your agents to use the SMART approach when setting goals. That means their goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.

    Career Development
    Staying in tune with your agents’ goals and aspirations is worth the effort. Did you know that hiring and training is one of the biggest expenses for any call center. In fact, the average turnover rate for call centers hovers between 30% and 45% — that’s a high figure! Supporting an agent’s career goals will improve employee engagement, minimize turnover, and improve long-term agent retention.
    Example questions:

    What types of call center roles do you see yourself progressing towards over the next year?
    Are there any training or professional development opportunities you’d be interested in?
    What aspects of your current role do you hope to carry forward in future positions?

    Relationship with Management
    You’ve heard the saying: people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers. Since you’re reading this article, we’ll assume you’re one of the good eggs! If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your professional relationship with your agents, the following questions will help you understand how they perceive you as a call center leader.
    Example questions:

    What is your preferred method of receiving feedback?
    Do you have any concerns about management that I can address?
    How can I make myself more available to you?

    Call Center Agents: How to Prepare for a Performance Review
    Agents are frontline workers, and the main connection between the call center and its callers. But even the most seasoned team members can find performance reviews unnerving.
    That’s because call center work can be unpredictable. Between call spikes and frustrated customers, an agent’s individual performance metrics can spike and dip unexpectedly. Because there are so many factors that play into call center performance, it’s important for agents to be able to speak to their successes and challenges, be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to present a plan for improvement.
    While call center managers will be leading the performance review, it’s up to the agent to reflect on their performance and come prepared with information that will help move the conversation forward and prove their commitment to development and growth.
    Identifying Strengths
    Call center managers want to know that their agents are able to self-evaluate. To demonstrate this, agents should be able to identify their strengths in their role, whether it’s working under the pressure of high call volumes, making genuine connections with callers, or maintaining exceptional KPIs such as FCR and AHT.
    Areas for Improvement
    Speaking about work challenges can be daunting. To the agent, it may feel like they’re admitting weakness in the moment. But having these discussions is essential to improving the call center operation. A good manager will understand most shortcomings and offer more support. This may involve upgrading call center technology, addressing policies that hinder service, or setting up more training or mentoring sessions.

    DID YOU KNOW?
    Call-back technology is a simple, but powerful solution to high call volumes, sudden spikes in demand, and customer frustration. Find out how eliminating hold time can improve your call center.

    Goals and Outlook
    Goal setting is an essential part of the performance review, because it allows managers to track and measure agent success. Using SMART rules is the best approach to setting clear goals. Agents should be ready to discuss progress from earlier reviews and to set new goals as needed.
    Career Development
    Call center managers invest heavily in their agents, especially during the hiring and training period. The goal is to maintain high agent engagement and encourage internal career progression. Agents should consider their strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to work with their manager to set career goals with the organization.
    There you have it! Whether you’re leading as a manager or contributing as a call center agent, everyone has a role to play in performance reviews. We hope your next one produces positive outcomes for your organization.The post Call Center Management: The Best Questions to Ask During a Performance Review first appeared on Fonolo.

  • How Pardot (Account Engagement) Throttling Works (+ 3 Use Cases)

    Throttling in marketing automation exists to limit the automated actions a system can make within a set period of time. It’s commonly used for controlling email volume (the number of emails the system is allowed to send at during a period of time), to prevent… Read More

  • Whining and status

    Toddlers don’t get afforded a lot of respect. They whine all the time about how unfair things are, and it’s difficult to take them seriously.

    Lately, in our quest for victory, we’ve established that some winners get there via whining, and perhaps this is a useful strategy. It seems as though working the refs, blaming the conditions and questioning the score is all good as long as it helps you come out on top.

    In fact, whining isn’t resilient or scalable.

    People with confidence, power and reserves are able to admit when they are wrong, when things aren’t working and when it doesn’t turn out the way they hoped.

    If you’re hoping to demonstrate power, confidence or status, taking responsibility is a better signal than whining.

  • How To Run An NPS Survey With Pardot (Account Engagement)

    NPS (net promoter score) is designed to measure loyalty and brand promotion among your customers by asking: ‘how likely are you to recommend us?’ on a scale of 0-10 (not at all likely, to extremely likely). Scores result in three categories: Detractors (0-6), Passives (7-8),… Read More

  • Automatically Post Your TikTok Videos To Instagram Reels

    Hi guys! I have about 10 Instagram reels accounts that reposts tiktok contents which I managed to monetise some money from. I have managed to make this fully automated and I am just wondering if this would be an automation tool that is worth developing on top of and if marketers thinks they will save time by using such a tool? Because if it is I am willing to share this for a super low cost to just cover the server cost with a handful of beta testers to help marketers save some time from uploading a short form video multiple times. submitted by /u/gomey93 [link] [comments]