Author: Franz Malten Buemann

There are over 24 million eCommerce websites online and counting. In the competitive space that keeps growing, it’s even more essential that your eCommerce store be customer-friendly and make the buying process seamless. The industry is booming. Ecommerce sales are projected to grow exponentially to 6.54 trillion dollars, and there are things your eCommerce brand…
The post 9 Must-Have Features for eCommerce Sites appeared first on Benchmark Email.

https://digitalthoughtz.com/linkedin-advertising-how-to/ submitted by /u/digitalthoughtz [link] [comments]

We are a SaaS business and are distributing our product in a marketing-led and now product-led (PLG) motions. The buyer is the end user which we source primarily through Linked, Zoominfo. As we aspire to scale the business, we are thinking of experimenting with a referral program to acquire new customers by incentivizing the existing customer base to reach out to their colleagues and professional network and refer them to our solution. Dropbox had a very successful model which is aspiring because it wasn’t a pure consumer product, but had a more professional usage. We are thinking of developing some tools to do this, which would require some development work. I wanted to reach out to the network to inquire if: – anyone had direct experience in doing something like this ? – Has anyone tried partnership management solutions like Impact.com and can share some insights ? – Are there other subs more suitable ? Cheers submitted by /u/No_Way_1569 [link] [comments]

Linkedin is one of the best networking platforms for professionals without any debate. It is home to around 830 million professional profiles. No matter what stage you are at in your job candidate search or recruitment, LinkedIn will assist you in putting your name on the professional map and exploring the abundant supply of network connections. submitted by /u/linked_camp [link] [comments]

I stared wide-eyed at my computer screen, frozen with disbelief. $306,055.05. That was the total revenue number I saw at the top of my profit and loss statement at the end of 2021. Without a doubt, it was the biggest financial year my freelance writing business had ever had—both in total revenue and in net profit (which was right around $175,000 before taxes and retirement savings).After a quick moment to pat myself on the back, I found myself facing the question that plagues every business owner: So…what’s next?I knew what my plan was for the next few months: A three-month maternity leave to welcome my second son (so that high-earning year definitely came in handy to self-fund my own leave). But what about after that? Should I start offering new services? Should I continue building a team of subcontractors to help with the work? Should I spin this into my own full-fledged content agency? Traditional wisdom and hustle-obsessed posts on LinkedIn would nudge me in the direction of chasing more. More clients. More credibility. More projects. More money.And yet, I’m doing the exact opposite. After my highest-earning year ever, I’m intentionally scaling back.Blame it on burnout, the pandemic, or becoming a mom (or all of the above), but I’m craving more time and less stress. That nagging need for better balance started about a year ago, when I accidentally skipped completing a family art project for my son’s daycare. It remained forgotten on our kitchen counter because I was too swamped with work to sit down with him. I decided then and there to cut Fridays out of my workweeks.That change helped me feel like my schedule was more aligned with my priorities. But, after adding another kiddo into the mix, I still felt strapped for time—even with my three-day weekend. So, I’ve taken things a step further. I’m saying goodbye to the long hours and working weekends that built my business and only working Monday through Wednesday for the foreseeable future. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) In some ways, it was an easy decision. It felt like the perfect way to get the best of both worlds. In other ways, it was a change I wrestled with, especially when so much of my identity is wrapped up in what I do for a living. Stepping back to part-time felt like admitting that I had failed miserably at “having it all.” But, despite the challenges, the decision has taught me quite a few valuable lessons about growth, priorities, and that coveted work-life balance everybody is trying so hard to achieve.Lesson #1: balance takes constant commitmentIt often seems like work-life balance is a puzzle to be put together. A code to be cracked. As if it’s something that you figure out once, and after that, you can reap the rewards of a life that’s perfectly proportional.That’s not the case for me. I’ve set a hard boundary of working only three days per week, but my responsibilities don’t magically fit inside of that container. Holding that line requires constant choice, commitment, and even sacrifice.That’s the flip side of work-life balance that gets far less attention. Many people talk about what they’ve gained (and of course, there’s plenty of that), but it’s rare that they talk about what they’ve lost.When I first scaled back my workweek, it meant parting ways with a retainer client I had worked with for over six years. That client made up about 20% of my income, but the nature of the work didn’t fit with my reduced working hours. I’d love to say that ending that arrangement felt like a symbolic rebirth of my business and a reset of my priorities, but the brutal truth is that it felt…well, terrifying. I summoned my courage and did it anyway. That was the start of a series of tough (but necessary) decisions to make my ideal schedule a reality. Since then, I’ve turned down clients that were a great fit for me. Projects I was excited about. Paychecks that would’ve been meaningful. There are speaking opportunities I can’t accept, initiatives I can’t take part in, and ideas I can’t pursue—all because they simply don’t fit within the limitations I’ve set. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I know that I’ve won more than I’ve lost. I have more time, more energy, and more patience (which was admittedly in short supply when I felt constantly burdened by an unreasonable workload). But the relentless trade-offs have shown me that work-life balance isn’t actually a finish line to be crossed—it’s the marathon itself. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) Lesson #2: I’m OK with a ‘middle ground’ businessSo much business advice feels so… well, extreme. You hear from people who boast about their unshakeable commitment to their companies and careers. They’re working 80-hour weeks and sleeping on their office floor, all in the hopes that their bank statements will someday look like lottery winnings.And then you hear from the people on the other side of the spectrum. They had some sort of awakening, left high-powered careers, and now are living from a converted Sprinter van as they bounce between national parks. And here I am, somewhere in the middle. The business (and income) I’ve worked so hard to build is still important to me, but it’s not going to consume all of my time, energy, and attention. That doesn’t mean I have a desire to leave it all behind either.I’d love to say that I’m perfectly content hanging out between those two extremes, but it’s actually quite counterintuitive and inspires a hefty amount of restlessness for me. To combat those anxious and itchy feelings, I set a goal: I want to earn somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 each month. Now, I use a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the projects I book for each month and, when I’ve reached my income goal, I stop accepting work. It’s a simple approach that helps me avoid overextending myself as a result of the, “Well…I might need the money…” trap. I’ve found solidarity with many other business owners who are occupying my same middle ground. And I’ve come to embrace that, despite what clickbait would have us believe, it’s totally possible (and more than okay!) to run a moderately successful business—without it monopolizing my entire life.Lesson #3: people aren’t paying much attention to my scheduleThis thought was on repeat inside my head as I debated cutting back my workweek: But what if somebody—gasp!—emails me when I’m not there?It feels so ridiculous to write out, but I can’t blame myself for feeling that way. The constant connectedness of our world has often inspired a sense of allegiance to my inbox. Over the years, I’ve felt the need to be readily accessible and able to immediately jump on whatever red-alert-three-alarm-this-is-not-a-test emergency that might, potentially, maybe land on my desk (in eight years, I have yet to experience a real “blog post emergency,” by the way).I tossed and turned over how I’d still be able to serve my clients if I was only signed on three days each week. Would they resent me? Would they opt for somebody else who could be reached at all hours?Here’s what actually happened: I cut my workweek back to three days and nobody even noticed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) Yep. You read that right. I explicitly told a few clients about my new schedule when we needed to set up meetings. But, not a single soul has picked up on my adjusted workweek on their own. Or if they did? They certainly didn’t care enough to say something. I fit my workload within my restrictions and respond to messages when I’m reasonably able to, and so far, we’re all alive to tell the tale. When it comes to that sense of urgency most of us feel saddled with, it’s easy to point the finger at other people’s demands and expectations. But, it’s worth looking in the mirror. In my case, a lot of the pressure was self-imposed.Lesson #4: I can’t always measure success by the numbersAs a business owner, “success” has always felt tough to wrap my arms around. After all, there are no defined career paths, promotions, performance reviews, and lofty company targets handed down from on high.That means that numbers have often been the indicator I’ve used to review how the business is doing. Is revenue ahead of what it was last month? Last quarter? Last year? I’m on the right track. If not? I’d send pitches, pursue new work, and pack my schedule and workload to the brim.I learned to love the quantifiable—and it’s that black-and-white perspective that would have me believe that 2021 was my most “successful” year in business. And yes, it was my highest-earning year, but looking back, it wasn’t my most successful. In fact, I feel far more “successful” this year. I’m being more selective than I’ve ever been about what clients and projects I take on. I’m thinking strategically about the next steps in my business and making sure they’re aligned with my priorities. I’m taking time for things I enjoy that don’t have a paycheck attached to them. My kids and I potted some flowers and are caring for them. We take weekly trips to the library or playground. I’m trying out new recipes and started reading again. Will I earn as much as I did last year? Nope. Probably not even close. But at the end of the day, it’s all the other stuff that feels way more like “success”—even if the number on my profit and loss statement is smaller.

Do you remember a time where a piece of content made you a longtime fan of a particular brand or company? Maybe it was a funny YouTube video or a super informative blog post — both of which are content marketing examples.
Content marketing examples include media like newsletters, podcasts, social media posts, and videos. All of these forms of content are meant to provide useful and relevant information that delights users and attracts them to your brand.
To help you use content marketing to your company’s advantage, here are some of my favorite content marketing examples of 2022.

 

1. Spotify Wrapped Playlists
Spotify Wrapped is one of the music streaming app’s most successful content marketing campaigns. Near the end of every year, Spotify users get a fun roundup of all the music they’ve listened to that year. The roundup is broken down into genres, years, artists, and more, and is displayed with brightly colored graphics.
It then creates a personalized playlist of the user’s most listened to songs, and users have the option to share their wrapped playlists on social media — a key element that has made the campaign to trend on social media every year since its inception.

Image Source

 

2. DuoLingo’s TiKTok
You likely know DuoLingo as the website and app that helps users learn a new language, but the company has generated buzz on TikTok for another reason — the company’s self-proclaimed “unhinged” mascot.
DuoLingo has amassed over 4.5 million followers on TikTok thanks to its consistent stream of content featuring the company’s iconic green owl mascot. Though many of the videos do not mention the company’s products and services, the account’s ability to create funny, trendy content has helped raise brand awareness on the app — something many brands struggle to do.

@duolingo ⚠️ CW: minion jumpscare
#comedy
#trend
#duolingo
#dualipa
#DulaPeep
#🤪
♬ original sound – Dr. Civi

3. Canva’s Design School
Canva’s Design School provides value to its users by teaching them how to create engaging images with minimal design experience and without complicated software. It also does a great job of showing all the design possibilities Canva has to offer.

Image source

4. Hairstylist Theresa Van Dam’s TikTok
Theresa Van Dam is a hairstylist and owner of the Fantastic Sams Salon in Lenox, Illinois. Her TikTok account is famous for her skits that show how she deals with rude customers — all of whom she calls “Karen.”
Her content is often praised for being relatable to anyone who has ever had to deal with unruly customers.

@theresavandamstylist Yes, stylists also have social lives lol.
#hair
#foryoupage
#hairtok
#hairstylist
#karen
♬ original sound – Theresa Van Dam

This relatable approach to content works because while TikTok users come to the account for laughs, they are also shown videos of her excellent work as a stylist. Her TikTok now has 4.9 million followers, and Theresa has said often in her videos that she now has so many customers she often requires new ones to book her months in advance.

@theresavandamstylist 💙💜💖
#hair #
foryoupage #
hairtok #
hairstylist #
haircolor #
fyp #
pride
♬ original sound – Theresa Van Dam

5. Girl With The Dog’s YouTube Channel
Girl With The Dog’s is a YouTube channel run by a professional pet groomer named Vanessa, owner of Perfect Pooches Dog Grooming in Ontario Canada.
The channel features excellent content marketing by providing entertainment for viewers while also showing off her skills as a groomer — I mean, who doesn’t like to see dramatic huskies screaming at a little blow dryer?
As a result of her content marketing efforts, Vanessa’s channel now has 1.5 million followers — and her clientele has grown to include cats and the occasional pig. She was also able to raise enough money to donate to animal sanctuaries.

6. Crunchyroll Collections
Crunchyroll is a U.S.-based company that licenses, distributes, and streams anime around the world. One of the ways Crunchyroll markets itself online is through YouTube via its Crunchyroll Collections channel. Crunchyroll Collections hosts clips and compilation videos of highly searched moments from popular anime.
This type of content marketing engages viewers, keeps the brand at the top of search results for popular anime, and shows how broad the company’s catalog is — encouraging viewers to subscribe to its streaming service. Notice there is even a button in the channel’s banner that viewers can click to start a 14-day free trial if they want more content.
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7. Chewy’s YouTube Channel
Chewy is an online retailer of pet products that has found a unique way to promote its different products. Chewy’s YouTube channel is full of advice regarding pets, training, and animal health. It also features educational videos, like “A Day in the Life of a Special Needs Cat Rescue and Sanctuary.”

In most videos, Chewy provides valuable information while tying in their products. For example, in the video “How to Introduce a Dog to a Cat,” the company lists the materials needed to introduce the two animals — showing all the different products they sell.

Furthermore, the description of the video includes a link to a post on the company’s blog that gives more information. The blog post also provides links to where pet owners can buy the materials they need off the official Chewy website. This encourages viewers to visit its website and make purchases.
Image source
8. Amazon Prime’s The Anime Club
Anime has become more popular over the years, and many streaming services are cashing in on the trend — including Amazon Prime. But how does Amazon stand out among the stiff competition of Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu? It started by partnering with actress and content creator Cheyenne The Geek to create a web series called The Anime Club.
The Anime Club gives anime recommendations based on genre and tackles different topics often referenced in anime. All the anime Cheyenne references are available to watch on Amazon Prime, encouraging viewers to subscribe to the streaming service.

9. UN Refugee Agency’s “Forced to Flee” Podcast
The UN Refugee Agency’s Webby Award-nominated podcast helps raise awareness for refugees by telling their unique and heart wrenching stories. This form of content marketing is compelling, leaves the audience with a better understanding of a refugee crisis, and shows the importance of agency’s work.
Image source
 
10. The Washington Post’s TikTok
The Washington Post’s TiKTok takes a comedic approach to history, news, and politics — appealing to its 1.4 million followers. The account also links to the Washington Post’s website.

@washingtonpost Scorching temperatures have swept across parts of Europe, with many locations in Italy among those setting June or all-time records for heat.
#burnbabyburn
#disco
♬ sonido original – matiasduf

11. Jackson Galaxy’s YouTube Channel
Jackson Galaxy is the former host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat from Hell,” a show that cat owners get along better with their unruly cats. Now, he has a website where he sells cat products and consultations.
To help promote his work and establish himself as an expert, Jackson runs a YouTube channel where he answers common questions regarding cats and cat ownership. In these videos, he provides advice, promotes his book, and showcases the products he has on his website that can help cat owners.

12. You Suck at Cooking
You Suck at Cooking started off as a funny YouTube channel that showed people help to cook simple meals. Years later, the channel is still hilarious but is also used to promote the host’s cookbook. The channel’s dry humor, random skits, and running gags help it stand out from other online self-help cooking resources.

13. Warby Parker’s Email Marketing
One of the many reason’s Warby Parker stands out from other online glasses retailers is its fun and eye-catching (no pun intended) email marketing campaigns. In the example below, Warby Parker welcomes summer vacation with its bright crystal-themed glasses eyewear. The calls to action in the email are easy to spot, the colors are bright and fun, and the company’s social media accounts are clearly presented.
14. Content Marketing Institute’s Click to Tweet
If you make it easy for people to share something interesting with their network, then they’re much more likely to do so. Embedding a “click to tweet” button that automatically shares quotes or statistics from your article is an effective way to do that.
For example, this blog post that I wrote for Content Marketing Institute is the most widely shared guest blog post I’ve ever written:

Months after publication, I still get daily Twitter notifications from people tweeting about this article. And the majority of the tweets come from the “click to tweet” option that Content Marketing Institute offers throughout the post.
If you want to start adding “click to tweet” options throughout your website content, check out this free tool.
15. Digital Olympus’s Expert Roundup
No matter what industry you’re in, there are influencers to whom people look for advice.
Digital Olympus interviewed over 40 digital marketing experts for one of their blog posts, asking each expert to provide their most effective method for acquiring traffic.
What I most like about this blog post is how Digital Olympus organizes the contributions. At the top of the page, there’s a headshot of each expert next to their name. If you want to read a particular expert’s tip, you simply have to click on their headshot and you’ll jump down to their quote.
There’s also an anchor-linked Table of Contents that allows for topic-based searches. This way, readers can jump to the specific sections that are most applicable to them.

16. Colgate’s Research Page
Creating a resource page made up of helpful links on a given topic is an effective way to create helpful content.
If your business has been producing content for a while, then chances are you have clusters of related content to support the topics around which your business wants to build authority.
For example, oral hygiene company Colgate has over 1,200 pieces of content related to their broad topic “gum disease.”

That’s a lot of content to sift through, which is why Colgate created a resource page made up of specific sections of gum disease-related content, like “What are the Stages of Gum Disease?” or “How to Cure Gingivitis.”
Each section offers:

A paragraph of explainer text
A bulleted list of details on the sub-topic
Links to relevant content on their site

17. Moz’s Topic Clusters
The topic cluster framewor is a highly effective SEO strategy that demonstrates to Google that the content on your website is organized and relevant to searchers. To learn more about this framework, watch the video below.
Some brands have taken this approach to the next level by creating a multi-page masterclass or guide that links together like-themed pillar pages. A pillar page is a website page that covers a topic in-depth and links to a cluster of related content, also known as a cluster. One of my favorite examples of this is Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing.
Moz creatively puts a chapter list at the start of each page that links out to more specific content marketing-themed pages within the topic cluster.
Additionally, using an anchor-linked chapter list is an effective way to connect the cluster together — it provides value to the reader while passing authority through to each pillar page.

18. Mailshakes’ Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is a combination of software and strategy. With marketing automation, businesses can target prospects and customers with automated messages across multiple online and offline channels including email, text, web, and social media. Each message is sent automatically according to a pre-set list of instructions, called workflows.
Marketing automation can be an effective tool to keep your audience engaged with your brand, but it’s important to make sure you’re sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.
Mailshake, an email outreach tool, implemented marketing automation effectively by creating a Cold Email Masterclass to teach people how to make better connections via email outreach. The masterclass is made up of eight comprehensive lessons (i.e. pillar pages).
Mailshake knows that this is a lot of content for people to consume, and visitors won’t likely read it all in one sitting.
To make it easier for people to learn step-by-step, Mailshake repackaged their masterclass into an eight-part email series. In other words, they automated their education to help their audience.

Mailshake acquired 5,321 email opt-ins for their cold email masterclass workflow in under one year — proof that, if done well, this could be an incredibly effective strategy.
19. Townsend Security’s Content Offer
One tried-and-true way to convert visitors into leads is by offering something of value in exchange for their contact information (i.e. email address). This “something” is referred to as a content offer.
Content offers include, but are not limited to:

Guides
Workbooks
Templates
Webinars

It can take a lot of time to create a valuable content offer from scratch.
One effective way to create a meaningful content offer is to repurpose and repackage pieces of content found on your website. For example, data security company Townsend Security created a pillar page for one of their topics of expertise — encryption key management.
To help convert visitors into leads, Townsend repurposed and repackaged the content on their page into a guide. This allowed people to take the content with them, as opposed to having to search for the pillar page each time they wanted to read about encryption key management.

In the first year of publishing their encryption key management pillar page, 63% of visitors gave their information in exchange for a packaged PDF of the on-page content.
20. Venngage’s Free Product
Your product should be your best marketing. An effective way to provide real value to your prospects is to create a free tool that aligns with your products and/or services.
If you can get a free user hooked on one of your free tools, then you’re giving yourself (and your sales team) the best chance at demonstrating the value of your paid tools, too.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re a writer who needs help with creating visuals for the web content you create. You might consider using Venngage, a company that helps businesses create compelling visuals. In the free version of their platform, users get access to a wide variety of templates for infographics, presentations, brochures, checklists, and so on.
In the future, when your marketing team is considering paid products for design, you’ll have Venngage top-of-mind.

And there you have it — 20 content marketing examples to help get your creative juices flowing. Consider how you can apply one (or several) of these examples to your business to strengthen your content marketing efforts.
We live in a fast-paced digital world. In the time you read this blog post, a new channel, a new tactic, or a new competitor has emerged. The best chance you have at telling your business’s story and growing a pool of engaged prospects and customers is by learning the art of content marketing — and starting to apply it to your business, today.

Logical fallacies — those logical gaps that invalidate arguments — aren’t always easy to spot.
While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations undetected.
Our guide on logical fallacies will help you build better arguments and identify logical missteps.
Jump to:

What a logical fallacy is
Formal vs. informal fallacies
Straw man fallacy
Correlation/causation fallacy
Ad hominem fallacy

What is a logical fallacy?
Logical fallacies are deceptive or false arguments that may seem stronger than they actually are due to psychological persuasion, but are proven wrong with reasoning and further examination.
These mistakes in reasoning typically consist of an argument and a premise that does not support the conclusion. There are two types of fallacies: formal and informal.

Formal: Formal fallacies are arguments that have invalid structure, form, or context errors.
Informal: Informal fallacies are arguments that have irrelevant or incorrect premises.

Having an understanding of basic logical fallacies can help you more confidently parse the arguments and claims you participate in and witness on a daily basis — separating fact from sharply dressed fiction.
15 Common Logical Fallacies

1. The Straw Man Fallacy
This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a “straw man”) to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar — but ultimately not equal — version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you.
Example:
John: I think we should hire someone to redesign our website.
Lola: You’re saying we should throw our money away on external resources instead of building up our in-house design team? That’s going to hurt our company in the long run.
2. The Bandwagon Fallacy
Just because a significant population of people believe a proposition is true, doesn’t automatically make it true. Popularity alone is not enough to validate an argument, though it’s often used as a standalone justification of validity. Arguments in this style don’t take into account whether or not the population validating the argument is actually qualified to do so, or if contrary evidence exists.
While most of us expect to see bandwagon arguments in advertising (e.g., “three out of four people think X brand toothpaste cleans teeth best”), this fallacy can easily sneak its way into everyday meetings and conversations.
Example:
The majority of people believe advertisers should spend more money on billboards, so billboards are objectively the best form of advertisement.
3. The Appeal to Authority Fallacy
While appeals to authority are by no means always fallacious, they can quickly become dangerous when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person — especially if that person is attempting to validate something outside of their expertise.
Getting an authority figure to back your proposition can be a powerful addition to an existing argument, but it can’t be the pillar your entire argument rests on. Just because someone in a position of power believes something to be true, doesn’t make it true.
Example:
Despite the fact that our Q4 numbers are much lower than usual, we should push forward using the same strategy because our CEO Barbara says this is the best approach.
4. The False Dilemma Fallacy
This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. Instead of acknowledging that most (if not all) issues can be thought of on a spectrum of possibilities and stances, the false dilemma fallacy asserts that there are only two mutually exclusive outcomes.
This fallacy is particularly problematic because it can lend false credence to extreme stances, ignoring opportunities for compromise or chances to re-frame the issue in a new way.
Example:
We can either agree with Barbara’s plan, or just let the project fail. There is no other option.
5. The Hasty Generalization Fallacy
This fallacy occurs when someone draws expansive conclusions based on inadequate or insufficient evidence. In other words, they jump to conclusions about the validity of a proposition with some — but not enough — evidence to back it up, and overlook potential counterarguments.
Example:
Two members of my team have become more engaged employees after taking public speaking classes. That proves we should have mandatory public speaking classes for the whole company to improve employee engagement.
6. The Slothful Induction Fallacy
Slothful induction is the exact inverse of the hasty generalization fallacy above. This fallacy occurs when sufficient logical evidence strongly indicates a particular conclusion is true, but someone fails to acknowledge it, instead attributing the outcome to coincidence or something unrelated entirely.
Example:
Even though every project Brad has managed in the last two years has run way behind schedule, I still think we can chalk it up to unfortunate circumstances, not his project management skills.

7. The Correlation/Causation Fallacy
If two things appear to be correlated, this doesn’t necessarily indicate that one of those things irrefutably caused the other thing. This might seem like an obvious fallacy to spot, but it can be challenging to catch in practice — particularly when you really want to find a correlation between two points of data to prove your point.
Example:
Our blog views were down in April. We also changed the color of our blog header in April. This means that changing the color of the blog header led to fewer views in April.
8. The Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy
In place of logical evidence, this fallacy substitutes examples from someone’s personal experience. Arguments that rely heavily on anecdotal evidence tend to overlook the fact that one (possibly isolated) example can’t stand alone as definitive proof of a greater premise.
Example:
One of our clients doubled their conversions after changing all their landing page text to bright red. Therefore, changing all text to red is a proven way to double conversions.
9. The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy
This fallacy gets its colorful name from an anecdote about a Texan who fires his gun at a barn wall, and then proceeds to paint a target around the closest cluster of bullet holes. He then points at the bullet-riddled target as evidence of his expert marksmanship.
Speakers who rely on the Texas sharpshooter fallacy tend to cherry-pick data clusters based on a predetermined conclusion. Instead of letting a full spectrum of evidence lead them to a logical conclusion, they find patterns and correlations in support of their goals, and ignore evidence that contradicts them or suggests the clusters weren’t actually statistically significant.
Example:
Lisa sold her first startup to an influential tech company, so she must be a successful entrepreneur. (She ignores the fact that four of her startups have failed since then.)
10. The Middle Ground Fallacy
This fallacy assumes that a compromise between two extreme conflicting points is always true. Arguments of this style ignore the possibility that one or both of the extremes could be completely true or false — rendering any form of compromise between the two invalid as well.
Example:
Lola thinks the best way to improve conversions is to redesign the entire company website, but John is firmly against making any changes to the website. Therefore, the best approach is to redesign some portions of the website.
11. The Burden of Proof Fallacy
If a person claims that X is true, it is their responsibility to provide evidence in support of that assertion. It is invalid to claim that X is true until someone else can prove that X is not true. Similarly, it is also invalid to claim that X is true because it’s impossible to prove that X is false.
In other words, just because there is no evidence presented against something, that doesn’t automatically make that thing true.
Example:
Barbara believes the marketing agency’s office is haunted, since no one has ever proven that it isn’t haunted.
12. The Personal Incredulity Fallacy
If you have difficulty understanding how or why something is true, that doesn’t automatically mean the thing in question is false. A personal or collective lack of understanding isn’t enough to render a claim invalid.
Example:
I don’t understand how redesigning our website resulted in more conversions, so there must have been another factor at play.
13. The “No True Scotsman” Fallacy
Often used to protect assertions that rely on universal generalizations (like “all Marketers love pie”) this fallacy inaccurately deflects counterexamples to a claim by changing the positioning or conditions of the original claim to exclude the counterexample.
In other words, instead of acknowledging that a counterexample to their original claim exists, the speaker amends the terms of the claim. In the example below, when Barabara presents a valid counterexample to John’s claim, John changes the terms of his claim to exclude Barbara’s counterexample.
Example:
John: No marketer would ever put two call-to-actions on a single landing page.
Barbara: Lola, a marketer, actually found great success putting two call-to-actions on a single landing page for our last campaign.
John: Well, no true marketer would put two call-to-actions on a single landing page, so Lola must not be a true marketer.

14. The Ad Hominem Fallacy
An ad hominem fallacy occurs when you attack someone personally rather than using logic to refute their argument. Instead they’ll attack physical appearance, personal traits, or other irrelevant characteristics to criticize the other’s point of view. These attacks can also be leveled at institutions or groups.

Example:
Barbara: We should review these data sets again just to be sure they’re accurate.
Tim: I figured you would suggest that since you’re a bit slow when it comes to math.
15. The Tu Quoque Fallacy
The tu quoque fallacy (Latin for “you also”) is an invalid attempt to discredit an opponent by answering criticism with criticism — but never actually presenting a counterargument to the original disputed claim.
In the example below, Lola makes a claim. Instead of presenting evidence against Lola’s claim, John levels a claim against Lola. This attack doesn’t actually help John succeed in proving Lola wrong, since he doesn’t address her original claim in any capacity.
Example:
Lola: I don’t think John would be a good fit to manage this project, because he doesn’t have a lot of experience with project management.
John: But you don’t have a lot of experience in project management either!
16. The Fallacy Fallacy
Here’s something vital to keep in mind when sniffing out fallacies: just because someone’s argument relies on a fallacy doesn’t necessarily mean that their claim is inherently untrue.
Making a fallacy-riddled claim doesn’t automatically invalidate the premise of the argument — it just means the argument doesn’t actually validate their premise. In other words, their argument sucks, but they aren’t necessarily wrong.
Example:
John’s argument in favor of redesigning the company website clearly relied heavily on cherry-picked statistics in support of his claim, so Lola decided that redesigning the website must not be a good decision.
Recognize Logical Fallacies
Recognizing logical fallacies when they occur and learning how to combat them will prove useful for navigating disputes in both personal and professional settings. We hope the guide above will help you avoid some of the most common argument pitfals and utilize logic instead.
This article was published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Influencer marketing is a trendy topic these days, but it doesn’t require a lot of work or a ton of money to harness the power of influencers on your brand’s social media channels — and hosting something called an Instagram takeover is one of the lowest-effort, most organic ways to do just that.
Not sure what we’re talking about? Instagram takeovers involve a person or brand posting on your Instagram channel to give followers a peek at new and unique content from another perspective. Here’s an example of our friends at WeWork taking over our Instagram account:
 

In this post, we’ll dive into how to host your own Instagram takeover to drive engagement, brand awareness, and positive outcomes for your brand.

But there are several different approaches to Instagram takeovers that can be beneficial to your brand.
Other types of Instagram takeovers can include:

Employee takeovers
Customer or community member takeovers
Event takeovers
Product or offer promotions

Instagram takeovers are mutually beneficial for the guest Instagrammer and the host account. The host can bring valuable new content to their followers without having to create it themselves, and the guest is able to reach an entirely new audience by posting on another account.
Plus, Instagram takeovers help cultivate good-faith relationships between influencers that can create inroads for future collaboration and cross-promotion.
Now, let’s dive into how to get started with your Instagram takeover.

How to Host an Instagram Takeover
1. Choose what you want to accomplish.
Before choosing a guest to host your brand’s Instagram, you have to determine what you want to achieve with the takeover. Ideally, your Instagram takeover will achieve multiple positive results — but choosing a primary goal of the campaign will help determine which type of guest to invite.
Instagram takeover goals could include:

Increasing brand awareness. This can be measured by the number of new followers the Instagram account gains as a result of the takeover.
Promoting a product, event, or offer. This can be measured by the number of event registrations, offer redemptions, or lead form submissions as a result of the takeover.
Driving engagement within the Instagram community. This can be measured by the number of likes, comments, video and story views, and link clicks as a result of the takeover.

2. Pick your guest Instagrammer.
Now that you know your goal, you’ll have an easier time finding a guest who can make it happen.
For example, the team behind the award-winning musical Hamilton wanted to familiarize fans with the plays revolving cast members.
To do this, Hamilton started #SwingSaturday on Instagram in which a cast member who is prepared to play multiple roles (known as a swing) takes over the official Hamilton Instagram.
I Image source
There are a few types of guest Instagrammers you can invite to create content for your takeover:

Influencers within your industry
Employees at your company
Community members or customers

While it’s certainly possible for Instagram takeover guests to accomplish multiple goals, we recommend choosing your guest with the most effective strategy in mind.

Influencers will draw their followers to your Instagram with their endorsement of your brand, so they’re the best fit if your primary goal is to increase brand awareness by growing followers.
Employees will attract interest from their friends and colleagues who want a behind-the-scenes look at what they do at work every day. They’re the best fit if your primary goal is to drive engagement on Instagram.
Community members and customers will post enthusiastically about your brand and show the value of your product. They’re the best fit if your primary goal is to promote a product, event, offer, sign-up, or download.

Again, these goals aren’t mutually exclusive. Ideally, the content your guest creates will be highly engaging, shareable, and compelling to the viewer.
3. Decide on the content format and takeover logistics.
Once you’ve figured out what you want to accomplish and who will host your takeover, it’s time to nail down the specifics of how the takeover will run. Below are our suggestions of questions to answer when you meet with your takeover host:

When are you hosting the Instagram takeover, and how long will it last?
Who will manage the account? Will the guest get access to your Instagram credentials, or will they send you content and captions to post on their behalf?
How many times per day will the host post takeover content? If you have an optimal publishing schedule in mind, what times per day will the host need to post?
What hashtags will be used? Will you create a custom hashtag to promote the takeover? Is there a maximum amount of hashtags you want the guest to use in any given caption?
Which types of content will be shared during the takeover? Will the guest post photos, videos, Instagram Stories, or live videos? Will they post a combination of these formats?
How will both the guest and the host promote the takeover on Instagram? Will you agree to promotion on Instagram or other channels leading up to the event?
Are there any guardrails? Is there anything the guest shouldn’t record or mention over the course of the takeover?

Once the details of the takeover are finalized, decide how you’ll measure success over the course of the event.
4. Determine metrics to track during the takeover.
Depending on the goals of your Instagram takeover, some of these metrics will be more important than others. Below are the metrics we recommend tracking over the course of your takeover:

# of new followers
# of likes
# of comments
# of mentions
# of direct messages
# of Instagram Story views
# of live video viewers
# of Instagram Story clicks
# of offer redemptions/app downloads (if you promote a landing page)
# of attendees or sign-ups (if you promote an event)
Total social referral traffic to your website

Qualitative metrics to keep track of could also include positive comments on Instagram.
5. Promote the takeover across multiple platforms.
Once you’ve figured out the details of your Instagram takeover, it’s time to start getting people excited about it.
A day or two before the event, start promoting your upcoming Instagram takeover. If there are any contests, giveaways, or other incentives for people to follow along, make those clear in your promotions.
Of course, you need to promote the upcoming takeover on Instagram — especially if the takeover is happening within Instagram Stories or Instagram Live and you want to drive visitors to view those spots within the app.
However, you also need to promote the takeover on other social media channels to attract as many people to your campaign as possible. This is especially necessary if your brand’s Instagram account isn’t as developed or engaged as other channels.
The host and the guest should promote the takeover on a few of their channels leading up to the event to get both audiences as engaged and excited as possible.
6. Launch the takeover.
On the day of the takeover, it’s all systems go.
Make sure you have one team member monitoring comments and one team member uploading content to Instagram (if applicable). Remember, users can now upload content from desktop computers in addition to the mobile app, which can make the process easier from the office.
Throughout the day, cross-promote content that the guest is posting on their channels to help draw new people to your own Instagram takeover event.
Make sure to communicate when the takeover is starting and ending. Note in captions when the first and last posts are happening so viewers aren’t confused or abruptly left in the lurch, wondering if there’s more content forthcoming.
7. Analyze the results.
Once the takeover is over, it’s time to analyze its performance. Use the performance data from the takeover to determine how (or if) you’ll do your next takeover differently. Here are some questions to ask in your post-takeover analysis:

Did we achieve our goal? Did you earn more Instagram followers, achieve high levels of engagement, or get visitors to sign up for your offer?
Did we achieve secondary goals? Did the takeover result in other net benefits for your brand and your business?
Was the takeover worthwhile? Did it save you time and energy creating your own content, or did it create extra work? Did it drive a push of traffic and engagement, or did numbers remain mostly the same?

Even if the takeover doesn’t drive hard numbers for your business’s bottom line, takeovers are authentic and real. They also provide an inside look at an aspect of your brand or community followers don’t normally see.
And just because a takeover didn’t achieve your desired results on the first launch it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it another try later. That’s why you need to track its progress and results so that you can do better next time.
Social media is about being social, so pay attention to qualitative feedback, too. If commenters respond positively to the takeover, take their feedback and use it for ideating future Instagram campaigns.
Instagram Takeover Examples
Here are examples of some excellent Instagram takeovers:
1. Broadway Plus
To promote its brand to Broadway fans, Broadways Plus had Hadestown actress Kimberly Marable takeover the company’s Instagram stories. The takeover was promoted the day before by sharing a clip of Kimberly and the rest of the cast singing during an NPR Tiny Desk concert.
During the takeover, Marable shared exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the Hadestown tour and gave followers of the account a glimpse into the day in the life of a Broadway performer. This worked in Marable’s favor as well because doing so promoted the Hadestown tour to more Broadway fans.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
This takeover provided timely and relevant content to fans of Broadway by having a prominent star give an exclusive look into a current tour. Marable was able to share content that only she would have access to, making the takeover that much more valuable.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Broadway Plus (@broadwayplus)

2. Fenty Beauty
Celebrity makeup artist Nina Ubhi took over cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty’s Instagram account stories in 2020. The goal was to show how makeup lovers can use brand’s products to achieve the perfect spring look.
During the takeover, Ubhi gave quick makeup tutorials using Fenty Beauty products while also showcasing her skills as a makeup artist.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
This takeover brings value to both current and potential Fenty Beauty customers. Not only did Ubhi promote the brand’s products, but followers of the account learned how to apply the makeup and create new looks.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA (@fentybeauty)

3. Billboard
As we mentioned before, an Instagram takeover can be just as beneficial for the guest as it is for the host. For example, the boy band Why Don’t We promoted their music and tour by taking over Billboard magazine’s Instagram account. During the takeover, the band shared behind-the-scenes tour footage and live-streamed portions of their concerts.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
The takeover was a treat for general music fans as well as fans of the band thanks to the exclusive content and concert performances. The live-streamed concerts from the band’s performances especially created an immersive experience for Billboard followers.
4. MS Association of America
To raise awareness for multiple sclerosis, the MS Association of America had actress Selma Blair take over the association’s Instagram to share her experience with the disease. During the takeover, Blair read an excerpt from her autobiography “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up” that details how MS has impacted her life.
What I Like About This Instagram Takeover
Having a celebrity living with MS be the guest for the takeover was a great way to raise awareness of the disease. The videos of Blair reading excerpts from her book gave a personal touch that provided insight and stirred emotions from followers.
5. ASOS
Online clothing store ASOS teamed up with Neom Organics by having the organic beauty line company takeover the ASOS Instagram account. This showed ASOS customers that Neom is available at the online retailer and it introduced Neom Organics to a new audience.
What I Like About This Takeover
This is another great example of mutually beneficial takeover for both the guest and host. ASOS showed its range as an online retailer but showing that it sells more than just clothes and accessories — customers can also turn to the company for skincare needs as well.
At the same time, Neom Organics used the opportunity to promote its products, reach new potential leads, and provide information on where its products can be found — at ASOS.
And there you have it — a helpful checklist to launch a successful Instagram takeover and five examples to inspire you. For more ideas on how to drive results for your brand, follow us on Instagram, and download our guide to Instagram for business here.
Has your brand ever hosted an Instagram takeover? Share with us in the comments below.