Author: Franz Malten Buemann

Do you say G-IF or J-IF? We haven’t made up our minds either – but what we know for sure about GIFs is that they’re a fun, interesting, and effective tool to make your emails engaging. If you’ve been on the fence about including GIFs in your brand emails, here are some numbers about them…
The post A Step-By-Step Guide for Adding Gifs in Your Emails appeared first on Benchmark Email.

An honest suggestion after 5 years of working on these 2. At least if you’re a SaaS platform don’t separate them. Most of the time goes in “troubleshooting” the data sync issues and I believe our time is more worth in doing creative work than keeping a check if data is flowing as expected. I’m seriously considering moving to Hubspot or Freshworks where CRM and Marketing Automation are together
submitted by /u/MadMaxReddy [link] [comments]

Any decent/ thorough online resources for Custom Objects in Marketo? I don’t have a dev background and am totally new to automation and Marketo. I haven’t had much luck using any of the Adobe resources that are available online. YouTube videos I found didn’t really explain the fundamentals either.
submitted by /u/dueduedue_itnow [link] [comments]

Admit it: Launching a new website is stressful — even for the most seasoned digital marketers.
Websites are complex. There are so many things that are easily overlooked, like a broken link or a misspelled word.
And of course, a handful of things could go very, very wrong. Like what if you forget to test an important data capture form and then lose out on generating a bunch of new leads? Or worse, what if you forget to properly set up site redirects, and those valuable search engine visitors get a page not found message?
Instead of worrying about the what ifs, wouldn’t it be much easier to have a comprehensive website checklist to run down before every site launch? One that you could use for enterprise websites, microsites, landing pages, and everything in between?
Fortunately, we’ve created just that. Keep reading to learn everything you need to do before, during, and after launching a website. 

What You Should Do Before Beginning Your Site Design
Whether this is your first website that is being built from scratch or you are doing a website redesign, there are a few steps that you should take before hiring a web designer or diving in yourself.
1. Analyze your previous website (if applicable).
In order to make good decisions, you must first understand where you’ve been. That starts with your existing website if you have one. Ask yourself: 

What is the purpose of a new design or overhaul?
What haven’t hasn’t been accomplished with this existing site?
How will a new design serve the new organization?

The answers to these questions can help you identify your gaps, which can then inform goal setting for the new site.
2. Crawl your old site (if applicable) and document its structure. 
You can get an idea of your site’s existing structure, pages, and assets by using a crawling tool such as Screaming Frog. This is a necessary step in creating your website development plan because you’ll have a more concrete view of what pages existed before, what redirects are in place, and what the meta data currently looks like.
3. Obtain benchmark data from your previous website (if applicable), and confirm testing procedures.
Not only will you want to compare how your new site performs compared to the old, but you’ll also want to continue identifying gaps that will provide data-driven insights to aid your new strategy.
Additionally, you’ll want to confirm testing procedures. Soon, you’ll begin testing your website to make sure all the different components are working, everything flows, and there’s a system for tracking bugs and enhancements.
Use a form (like Google Forms) instead of asking people to email their thoughts so the feedback-gathering process is more streamlined. Then, put one person in charge of choosing which bugs to prioritize, and filtering all the creative feedback you receive through the form.
4. Identify your goals for the new design, how you’ll achieve them, and how you’ll measure success.
Once the gaps are fully fleshed out, you can begin crafting your goals for the design. You may come to conclusions such as: 

The current site is unwieldy, and we need ease of use. 
The current site no longer looks trendy, so we need a visual refresh. 
The current site doesn’t perform, so we need a more SEO-friendly structure with a better UX. 

Whatever your goals, you’ll want to understand exactly how a new site will help you achieve them so that you can craft its implementation accordingly.
5. List out action items, roles, and responsibilities.
Make a project management checklist for the website. What content needs to be written? What calls-to-action need to be created? 
Make a master list of the things you need for your website and deadlines for when they should be completed. 
Then, assign each action item to an individual or team. It usually takes a lot of people to launch a website: You have marketers writing the content; designers choosing images and laying out the overall look and feel; a technical team doing all the back-end development. To ensure everyone’s on the same page and there’s no role confusion, you’ll want to lay out a comprehensive plan for what each team or person is responsible for.
One great way to do this is by using the DARCI model, which stands for Decision Maker(s), Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, Informed. It’s a powerful tool that’ll help everyone understand which individual is responsible for completing which action items, which individual(s) or group(s) need to be consulted before any final decisions are made, and who needs to be consulted once a final decision has been made or an action has been taken. 
6. Prepare for worst-case scenarios.
Poll everyone involved in your website launch on their concerns about what could go wrong, and then devise a few backup plans for what to do when — not if — some of these things go wrong.
7. Choose a Solid CMS.
If you’ve never launched a site before, the long list below might intimidate you. However, it actually shouldn’t take too long to run through most of the aspects on this list — especially if you built your website with a solid CMS. 
A CMS, or content management system, often allows you to design a website from a pre-created template, optimize your content for SEO, and edit content after it’s published. If you’ve already built your website, you might have already gained experience with using a CMS. 
But, if you’re still building a website, one way to make going through this checklist less time consuming is by building your pages on a CMS that already does a lot of the work for you.
For example, HubSpot’s CMS that allows you to create and edit content including landing pages and blog posts. It’s features also allow you to organize your content, schedule it, track analytics, and optimize it for SEO. 
Alternatively, you can also test out CMS platforms like WordPress, Wix, or even Drupal.
8. Develop a consistent brand.
Decide on a consistent brand message and tone, one that you’re committed to presenting consistently across. This will make you look more legitimate, credible, and memorable.

Understand your value proposition.
Choose a mission statement, vision statement, and tagline that represents that value as well as your brand identity. 
Choose colors and fonts that convey that identity well. 
Decide on the type of imagery that you’ll use to further convey your messaging.

9. Create your technical SEO strategy.
Take some time to ensure that your website has been given a solid foundation for SEO success. From site architecture and content hierarchy to metadata and XML sitemaps, do not leave any stone unturned.

Perform keyword research and decide what you want to rank for. 
Create a content strategy that satisfies those keywords. 
Understand how your existing pages (if applicable) can be adjusted and which pages will need to be created new. 
Figure out which pages are no longer necessary.
Map out where unnecessary pages can be redirected to (using a 301 redirect).

10. Strategize your conversion paths.
Once you have an understanding of the primary pages that will exist on your site, you’ll need to figure out exactly what actions you want users to take and how you’ll capture their information. This includes thinking through: 

What premium top-of-the-funnel offers are needed
What bottom-of-the-funnel action will be presented on main pages
What forms need to be created
What landing pages and thank you pages need to be created
How conversions will be tracked
What actions will happen after a website visitor converts (email responder, etc.)

11. Set up analytics software.

Choose which analytics platforms you will be using on the new site.
Decide if any previous Analytics tracking scripts will be used or if new accounts/scripts are needed. 
Set up new accounts (if applicable).

12. Set a launch date.
Once you have an idea of what needs to get done before the launch, pick a launch date. Give yourself at least a month. Most agencies plan for two-to-three months of research, design, and development.
What to Check Once You’ve Built Your Site
Once you’ve chosen a CMS and built a site that you’re ready to launch, here’s a list of 80 things to check before, during, and after going live. Feel free to copy, edit, and make your own based on the software you’re using to launch and host your website.
Don’t have time to check all 80? Here’s a list of the most important highlights from each section:

Website Launch Checklist

Make sure text is accurate and error free.
Replace all placeholder images with final images and designs. 
Ensure copy aligns with the new brand.
Check that all styling preferences have been implemented.
Ensure your design is aesthetically pleasing.
Ensure that rights to images, fonts, and other content have been properly licensed or cited.
Test the site for User Experience (UX).
Check that the conversion paths have been implemented properly.
Create your site backup strategy. 
Store passwords and credentials in a secure place. 
Audit the technical SEO implementation for errors.
Test the site for user experience again. 
Test your conversion path’s functionality.
Check that integrations with third-party tools are running smoothly.
Make a copy of the final website for backup purposes. 
Ensure that backups are running properly. 
Make sure your site is secure.
Comply with all applicable laws.
Crawl the site to ensure no errors happened on launch.
Check the technical SEO components for errors. 
Optimize your metadata.
Set up analytics.
Build anticipation with teasers before the site is live. 
Create a social media strategy for the announcement. 
Identify exciting ways to promote engagement for the new site. 
Send an email to your existing database. 
Continue to promote the launch for a month.

We’ve grouped items based on pre-launch and post-launch, making sure to touch on page content, design, functionality, SEO, branding, analytics, security, and compliance. Keep on reading to make sure you don’t forget a thing before your next launch.
Website Pre-Launch Checklist
Before you launch, it’s important to review all of the content on your website with a fine-tooth comb. Of course, that means page content, but don’t forget about your premium content, too. From data-driven content and downloadable documents to rich media such as videos and images, you want to make sure everything is in place, working properly, and looking beautiful.
It’s important to note — you’ll want to set up a staging site to prepare your new website before going live. Staging sites are exact copies of your website on a private server that are used to prepare and proof content and code changes before they go live. The staging site is a place to edit and play around with updates in an environment that’s almost identical to the one that will be live. This is so you don’t have to worry about crashing your site or screwing something up when you make a change.Later, you’ll sync content and templates between the staging environment and your live website via your content management system (CMS). If you’re a HubSpot customer with the website platform, you’ll find there’s a staging environment built right into the software. It allows you to generate a preview URL of the entire site, so you can click around and test things in context.
1. Make sure text is accurate and error-free.

Site content has been proofread for spelling and grammar.
Company contact details are accurate throughout the website.
Generic content, such as lorem ipsum, has been properly removed and replaced.
All premium content, such as case studies, ebooks, and whitepapers, have been proofread. Spelling and grammar are correct.
Copyright date (perhaps in the footer) includes the current year.

2. Replace all placeholder images with final images and designs. 
On occasion, a website designer may use a placeholder image if they didn’t have the correct asset at the time of the page’s creation. It’s up to you to make sure each page is picture-perfect.
3. Ensure copy aligns with the new brand.

The text has been copy-edited to ensure consistent brand voice and style. 
All company tag lines and mission statements are up-to-date.

4. Check that all styling preferences have been implemented.

Paragraphs, headers, lists, and other formatting are correct.
Brand colors have been implemented correctly, including link and button colors.

5. Ensure your design is aesthetically pleasing.

Scripts are optimized across web pages.
Images are optimized across web pages.
CSS is optimized across web pages.

6. Ensure that rights to images, fonts, and other content have been properly licensed or cited.
Even if you outsourced the design to a web designer/developer, the responsibility falls on you to ensure there are no copyright licensing issues. Otherwise, you could end up with a hefty infringement settlement on your hands.
7. Test the site for User Experience (UX).

Website pages are compatible across browsers.
Website pages are compatible across devices.
Images, videos, and audio files are in the correct places, formatted and working on all devices.
All premium content, such as case studies, ebooks, and whitepapers, are stored in their proper libraries/databases and work properly.
Internal links across web pages are working properly. 
Social media share icons are associated with the correct accounts.
Company logo is linked to the homepage.

8. Check that the conversion paths have been implemented properly.

All necessary forms are present. 
Landing pages and thank you pages have been implemented. 
The correct buttons and calls-to-action (CTAs) are present in the proper locations. 
Everything is linked together appropriately.

9. Create your site backup strategy. 
You can prevent loss of data and protect against malware and other damages by properly setting up site security and regular backups. Check that:

Backup schedule has been created. 
Backup location has been identified. 
A plan for implementation is set to be put in motion after launch.

10. Store passwords and credentials in a secure place. 
Many individuals have likely been involved in the website launch up until this point, so ensure that passwords are reset when the time comes and proper password etiquette is followed.
11. Audit the technical SEO implementation for errors. 

Pages have unique page titles. 
Pages have unique meta descriptions. 
Each page has a specific purpose, and pages meant to rank organically are optimized around a single keyword or set of keywords.

12. Conduct a stress test.
In a typical website redesign, it may not be 100% necessary to do a stress test because the traffic spike may not overrun your server’s capacity. But a stress test (also called a load test) is a must for any company that plans for a large influx of visitors during specific times — such as the holidays or after a major press event. It’ll help you figure out how much simultaneous traffic your website can handle by simulating up to tens of thousands of simultaneous virtual users from different locations around the world.
While stress tests simulate virtual users, the test won’t be totally replicating a real-life scenario — so you’ll want to find a test that brings you as close to reality as possible. Ask a developer which load tests they recommend. Here at HubSpot, many of our developers use JMeter by Apache, but this is a pretty technical tool that’s not ideal for someone who’s new to the concept.
Be sure to notify your host or provider that you want to perform a stress test before you actually do one. Otherwise, your test might look like a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on your provider. Many providers (including HubSpot) consider an unauthorized load test a violation of terms of service.
User experience is a key aspect of how they view your company, so testing your website before it goes live will bring more confidence that visitors will not be immediately displeased with your offerings.
Website Post-Launch Checklist
Let’s say you’ve done it. The button has been pushed, the domain is pointing to the new site, and you’re about ready to tell the world…
But wait just one second because you still have things to check for now that your site is officially live.
13. Test the site for user experience again. 
Just in case there was an issue with the implementation, you’ll want to ensure the experience is consistent with what you reviewed before it went live.

Ensure your design is rendering as you expected it to across browsers. 
Ensure your design is rendering as you expected it to across devices. 
Ensure CSS/HTML is properly validated. 
CSS styling is rendering properly.
Favicon is in place and rendering properly. 
Internal links across web pages are working properly.
External links across web pages are working properly, and open in a new tab.
Social media share icons are working properly.
Feeds are working properly (RSS, news, social media).
Company logo is linked to the homepage.
404 Redirect pages are in place (page-not-found.aspx).

14. Test your conversion path’s functionality.
Take some time to test and validate all of the different features on your website. Lead generation forms, CRM integration, and any other technology should work flawlessly across your website.

Forms are submitting data properly.
Thank you message or page displays after form is submitted.
Form data is being emailed to a recipient and/or stored in a company database.
Auto-responders are working properly (if applicable).

15. Check that integrations with third-party tools are running smoothly.
Integrations such as your CRM, e-commerce software, and/or marketing platform link to your site and help you run your business. If there is a potential issue that can cause data loss, you don’t want to find out way after the fact. 
16. Make a copy of the final website for backup purposes. 
Now that everything is in place and finalized, you want to have a pristine copy of it should you experience data corruption or loss. 
17. Ensure that backups are running properly. 
Now is the time to check the implementation of your backup strategy. Check that ongoing copies of the website are being created and stored on a regular basis.
18. Make sure your site is secure.

24/7 monitoring scripts are installed.
There’s a plan in place for updating plugins (if applicable). 
Ensure that all applicable parties are aware of your organization’s password etiquette policies.
Purchase an SSL certificate if need-be. An SSL certificate takes up to two weeks to purchase and set up, so ensure you have it prior to launch. (An SSL certificate will ensure your website is encrypted so hackers can’t intercept any of your data. Not only will this put your website visitors at ease, but it’ll also boost your website’s SEO since SSL is now part of Google’s search ranking algorithm.)

19. Comply with all applicable laws.
Make sure your website complies with any applicable laws and regulations. Internet law can be sticky, and each industry has its own set of rules to follow. So it’s best to consult with your legal counsel to make sure you aren’t missing anything — this post is not legal guidance. Here are a few you might need to know about:

Web pages offer accessibility for users with disabilities (WAI-ARIA).
Web pages announce if the website uses cookies (required in some countries).
Website is compliant with usage rights for purchased or borrowed code, images, and fonts.
Terms and privacy policies are visible to website visitors.
Website is PCI compliant (if you’re storing and processing credit cards).

20. Crawl the site to ensure no errors happened on launch. 
Compare the crawl to the previous crawl and see if you find any inconsistencies that were not intentional. You’ll also want to ensure that all pages have the proper search engine indexing settings.
Additionally, you’ll want to check for formatting consistency. Sometimes, font codes get dropped into a page accidentally, so you’ll want to scour your site for any of these weird formatting errors. Make sure all your formatting is consistent and there are no weird blips in your copy.
21. Check the technical SEO components for errors.

Page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs are all present and match the original technical SEO strategy.
Load time for site pages is optimized.
A dynamic XML sitemap has been created.
The XML sitemap has been submitted to search engines.
Page URLs consistently reflect site information architecture.
301 redirects are in place for all old URLs (redirecting old to new pages).
rel=”nofollow” tags are in place on applicable links and pages.
Images on the website are properly compressed (which helps with load time). 

22. Optimize your metadata.

Metadata is properly in place for any content in an RSS feed.
Metadata is properly in place for any social media sharing content.
Spelling and grammar are correct in all metadata.
Alt tags have been added to every image.

23. Set up analytics.
Make sure your website is set up to capture web data and analytics. This valuable information will allow you to continually improve your website going forward, so you don’t want to forget this stuff.

Your website analytics codes and tracking scripts have been inserted on website.
Relevant IP addresses have been excluded from analytics tracking.
Funnels and goals have been properly created in your analytics software (if applicable).
Google Webmaster and Google Analytics accounts have been properly synced.
Google Ads accounts have been properly synced (if applicable).

24. Start a post-launch enhancement list.
The website you launch should be functional, well-designed, and well-positioned. But it probably won’t be everything you hoped and dreamed on the first go — and you certainly don’t want to spend months of effort designing a site that people may not react well to. What if your client doesn’t like it? What if conversion rates plummet? That could add up to lost money and effort.
Instead, it’s best to publish a solid website, and then test and build on top of it — a website creation approach known as growth-driven design. Create a document that lists out all the things you can’t get done for the launch itself but want to add in the future, and add features and elements to it as you discover more about how users interact with the site. This you can do by using one of these user testing tools. 
How Do You Announce a New Website Launch?
This (hopefully) wasn’t a vanity project; you did all of this work so far for the benefit of your website visitors, prospects, and existing customers. Your next step is to tell the world about your new site design. Here’s how:
25. Build anticipation with teasers before the site is live. 
A launch of a new product, a launch of a new movie, and — yes — a new site launch all require marketing before the actual release. Think of the last movie you watched in the theater. Did you see the trailer before you decided to buy those movie tickets and popcorn?
Teasers for your website launch can only help to build anticipation and get users wondering what the new experience will be like. This can build buzz and interest once you finally break the news.
26. Create a social media strategy for the announcement. 
Decide what channels you want to promote the news on, how you will make the announcement, and how long the promotion will last.
As you craft your messaging, remember to focus on new features and how they benefit your audience. 
27. Identify exciting ways to promote engagement for the new site. 
For users who aren’t as involved in your brand, a new site launch might not seem like a big deal. Your goal, then, is to make it one. Provide an exclusive offer for the first users who visit the site. Or, create a contest that promotes engaging with the site’s new features. Whatever you choose, make sure you make it fun and interesting.
28. Send an email to your existing database. 
You may want to give existing leads and customers a head’s up about the new design, especially if it will cause any confusion when they next visit. You can break the news as a matter of courtesy but also sneak in ways to underscore the value you’re providing.
You can also alert all stakeholders of the redesign and ask them to spread the word of the new website. 
29. Continue to promote the launch for a month. 
Just because you post about your new website once on social media does not mean that your audience will drop everything to visit the site in droves. Make your launch a big deal, and keep the new functionality top of mind so that your audience is prompted multiple times to check it out.
(Once your website is launched, remember to resubmit your XML sitemap to all major search engines once you’re done, too.)
Resources for Launching Your First Website
Launching a new website can be a tedious task, but you can alleviate some of the stress by using this comprehensive website launch checklist.
If you’re just getting started on your first website, here are a few tools that can help you streamline your process

CMS: As mentioned above, a CMS can help you design your website, optimize and publish content, and track your analytics once it’s launched. If you’re looking to test out a few CMS options, start by checking out our 14-day free CMS trial.

Blogging Guides: If you’re interested in using your website to publish a blog that could help you boost brand awareness, it can be helpful to start brainstorming topics. Here’s a great guide to how to be a better blogger with tips from our team.

Landing Page Templates: A landing page is a great way to highlight a product or resource that your brand is offering. It’s important to know what elements lead to a landing page that will convert. Here’s a guide with examples. Additionally, when using a CMS like HubSpot’s, you can create landing pages from pre-designed templates.

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in August 2014, but was updated for comprehensiveness and freshness in June 2021.

If you’ve read the news or surfed through social media recently, you’ve probably heard about the new social media audio app called Clubhouse.
In the last few months, Clubhouse, which allows users to drop in on audio calls as listeners or speakers, has received a $100 million valuation and grown to more than 10 million active users. Now, tech giants like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn are unsurprisingly building similar features to get in on the chat-streaming action.
If you’re feeling deja vu following the competition around Snapchat Stories, and TikTok’s musical overlay features, you’re not alone.
When a new social media app goes viral, you can almost guarantee that at least one of the social tech giants will test a similar, competitive feature. And, each time this happens, marketers wonder, “Which of these social media channels should I use in my strategy? And, is this trend even worth investing in?”
The good news? Strong competition around a social media trend, like chat streaming, signals that it’s not going away anytime soon and might be worth investing in. So, the only thing you’ll need to figure out is where to experiment with the trend.
Below, I’ll give you a breakdown of Clubhouse’s four biggest potential competitors, as well as some marketing takeaways to help you determine which platform is right for your brand.
Need to brush up on your Clubhouse knowledge before diving in? Check out this post for a recap of what Clubhouse is and why competitors are trying to get in on the action.

What We Know About Twitter Spaces
Twitter Spaces was softly rolled out to a small group of beta testers in late December and fully launched in May of 2021. The feature, which closely resembles Clubhouse Rooms, allows users with over 600 followers to host a space — or audio chatroom that anyone on Twitter or just a few pre-selected followers can be invited to.
The Spaces experiment was announced late last year following the success of audio apps like Clubhouse. At that time, Twitter Product Lead, Kayvon Beykpour told TechCrunch, “We think that audio is definitely having a resurgence right now across many digital spaces. … It’ll be fascinating to see how other platforms explore the area as well, but we think it’s a critical one for us, too.”
How Twitter Spaces Works
Although Twitter Spaces is still evolving and will roll out more features in the coming months, those who have access to the full feature already can create a Space by holding the post button of their Twitter app and choosing the new Spaces icon, or by tapping their Fleets icon and choosing to create a Space instead of a Fleet.
At the moment, when a Space is launched, it’s public and can be seen in your followers’ Fleets bar, as shown below. In the near future, Twitter says it plans to enable scheduling and room ticket capabilities that allow people to preschedule chats or sell tickets to a private space.

At the moment, those who launch a Space can invite up to 10 hand-picked speakers. From there, they can adjust who speaks based on who raises their hand and which speakers need to leave early. At the moment, it does not seem like there’s a cap on the number of people who can tune in and potentially request to speak. In the future, Twitter plans to expand the feature and allow co-hosting privileges which will allow two users to host and run a space.
When entering the Space, the UX is similar to Clubhouse in that you can see who’s speaking and who created the Space before seeing a list of other listeners. You’ll also see a down arrow at the top that allows you to minimize, but continue listening to the chat, as well as a “Leave,” request to speak, share, and heart icon — allowing you to signal that you enjoy the discussion.  
Like Clubhouse, users will be muted as they enter the room and will need to get speaking privileges from the Space moderator if they’d like to say something.

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Takeaways for Marketers
Spaces is still evolving with new users gaining access each day. However, this feature could be a good fit for brands that are looking for a broad audience and completely public platform.
While Twitter’s audience exceeds 330 million monthly active users, its app is also available to all smartphone users. Meanwhile, Clubhouse is still invite-only and can’t be accessed by Android users despite its fast growth.
For Twitter and brands aiming to build a community of followers on the platform, Spaces could also be a natural transition. At this point, people are already using Twitter to respond to text-based threads and tweets related to their interests, industry, beliefs, and passions. Now, they can vocally share their thoughts in Spaces without worrying about character limits. This could further engage Twitter’s community-centered audience while also helping brands take community marketing to the next level.
What we Know About Instagram Live Rooms
Shortly after Facebook’s CEO and Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke in a Clubhouse room, the social media company was reportedly experimenting with a similar audio feature. While we’re still not certain if and when Facebook will launch a competing feature yet, its company, Instagram, is expanding its Live feature to add chat rooms.
What makes Instagram Live Rooms significantly different from Clubhouse or Spaces is that it streams full video chats rather than audio discussions.
Before March, Instagram Live allowed two Instagram users (one broadcaster and one guest) to stream their video call for public audiences or followers. For viewers, this experience was like watching two people video call without being able to participate. Now, Instagram has upped the guest capacity of these rooms from one to three. Here’s what the format looks like today:

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A March 1 announcement from Instagram explained, “In the past year, special moments have happened on Live, including informational talks about science and COVID-19 guidelines, interviews with celebrities and record-breaking rap battles. Creators of all kinds — from fitness instructors to musicians, beauty bloggers, chefs and activists, all relied on Live to create moments and bring people together to reach their communities in creative ways. We can’t wait to see what more creativity comes from this highly-requested update.”
“We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities — start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends,” the Instagram statement added.
How to Instagram Live Rooms Will Work
At the moment, the Live Rooms feature is still rolling out, but it will soon be available to global Instagram users.
When Live Rooms is fully implemented, any user can tap their Stories icon, swipe left to the Live setting, choose a title or foundation to promote in their stream. Then, they can tap the “Rooms” icon and pick guests to be in their broadcast. Viewers will also be able to request to join rooms that are already in progress, as shown below:

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Takeaways for Marketers
While Live Rooms could be an interesting prospect for brands that already have a following there, they do seem to have some limitations. For example, while Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse allow more than five guests — aside from the moderator, Live Rooms only allows three additional guests. This might make it harder to take questions or comments from audience members who’d like to add to the conversation.
Another factor that could be a pro or con depending on the brand considering it is the visual nature of Live Rooms. Because speakers must appear on camera, some brands will have more opportunities to show products or visuals. Meanwhile, other brands looking for a more open dialogue will need to find only speakers comfortable with appearing on video.
One solid feature that could make Instagram Live Rooms more competitive for brands is Instagram Shopping. In 2020, Instagram added new shopping features that allow brands to share links to products in live streams that can be purchased directly on Instagram. According to Instagram’s announcement, these features will be available in Live Rooms so brands could begin to monetize their live chats.
Facebook and LinkedIn’s Clubhouse Rivals
At this point, Facebook’s Clubhouse alternative is still in the very early stages of development while LinkedIn’s was confirmed in late March. At this point, there aren’t many details on what LinkedIn or Facebook’s final audio platforms could look like when they launch. However, reports hint that they’ll both have a very similar audio-only user experience to Clubhouse.
For example, here’s a look at the audio chat UX LinkedIn is testing, as reported by TechCrunch:

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Suzi Owens, a LinkedIn spokesperson, confirmed that LinkedIn is testing a new audio feature with the UX shown above.
“We’re doing some early tests to create a unique audio experience connected to your professional identity,” Owens said. “And, we’re looking at how we can bring audio to other parts of LinkedIn such as events and groups, to give our members even more ways to connect to their community.”
When it comes to Facebook, not much has been publicly announced about its feature. However, TechCrunch reports that the feature could be part of the Facebook Messenger app. Here’s a very early mockup of the feature, which was recently leaked on Twitter:

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While Facebook confirms that the mockup above was part of its “exploratory” process, the tech company told TechCrunch that the image doesn’t accurately depict the finalized version of the feature.
Takeaways for Marketers
At this point, marketers should keep these options on their radar and be ready to consider these alternatives if they do launch. While Clubhouse users that love to network and discuss their industry might transition well to LinkedIn’s version, Facebook’s pure size could mean that their in-app audio chat experiences could get more listeners than you’d find on Clubhouse.
Which Audio Social Media Platform Should Marketers Use
Like we saw with Stories and short-form music video features, every social media platform wants to take advantage of audio social media trends. Because each version is pretty similar to all the others, you might be wondering which channel you should invest in.
At the moment, the jury is still out on which platform will be the most successful for the longest, especially since Twitter and Instagram’s features aren’t fully launched yet. However, when all the social media competitors implement their new features, you’ll want to consider a few factors to determine which is right for you, such as:

Potential reach: While Twitter and Instagram have the biggest audiences by far, Clubhouse is quickly growing. If this app were to launch an Android version soon, it could potentially burst in growth due to its current buzz and popularity.

Your following: Do you already have a large following on one platform that has a chat streaming feature? If so, you might want to start there before investing time into another app where you have no audience.

Media formats: Clubhouse and Twitter’s chat streams are designed to be audio-only, while Instagram Live Rooms will show video. If you prefer staying off-camera, you might want to avoid one of the apps that requires your camera.

Miscellaneous features: While Clubhouse enables users to make clubs — or groups of users with similar interests, Instagram enables brands to place Instagram Shopping CTAs in their Live streams. While you’re exploring each platform, take note of the smaller features that differentiate them in case one of these tools could help your brand.

Want to learn more about the latest social media trends and expert insights? Download HubSpot’s 2021 Social Media Trends Report for free below.

In our personal lives, we all want people who champion us.
If we’re lucky, that will start with our family and extend to our friends and significant others. In an ideal work environment, our managers will also champion us and help us climb the ladder.
There’s nothing better than having people cheering for you on the sidelines and advocating for you in the rooms you’re not in.

As a business owner, you also want that level of support for your brand.
That’s where a brand champion comes in as someone who promotes your business and helps grow your loyalty base.
Let’s dive into why you need a brand champion, how to get one, and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.
Depending on the size of your business, you may have one or several champions. Sometimes, that role is embedded in your staff’s responsibilities.
For instance, an employer brand specialist is responsible for promoting a company’s culture and benefits to outside candidates. That, in itself, is a type of brand champion, as their role is centered around campaigning for your brand.
You can say the same for brand ambassadors who partner with businesses to promote them and generate leads.
A key difference to note here is that there is typically a contractual obligation for ambassadors to promote your brand. Champions may be incentivized to do so, but they’re not required to celebrate your brand.
In a small company, the business owner can be the brand champion, motivating employees internally and networking externally to gain more customers.
The key takeaway is that anyone can be a brand champion, and the more champions your brand has, the stronger it will be.
How to Be (and Gain) a Brand Champion
To be a brand champion, there are a few key characteristics and traits you must have. A brand champion should:

Be passionate about the company.
Know the company’s vision, mission, and values.
Be invested in the brand’s long-term success and growth.
Have the skills to lead growth initiatives.
Stay updated on the most effective strategies to build brand loyalty with employees and consumers.

One place where you might want to start looking for brand champions is with your employees.
Studies show that how businesses treat their employees plays a big role in how trustworthy they seem. Especially in times of crisis, consumers look at how brands treat their own.
Encouraging your employees to become brand champions will require some structural implementations within your organization.
You want an environment that creates happy employees because happy employees make great champions who will boost your brand without you even asking.
It’s like when you love a product you’ve just bought. You’ll find any opportunity to tell people how much you love it – even if you don’t have a 10% referral discount code.
Start by conducting regular employee net promoter score (eNPS) surveys. This will tell you how satisfied your employees are and let you know how you can better support them. Once you identify opportunities for improvement, be sure to follow through with action to let your employees know their voices are heard and taken seriously.
If your company is publicly traded, consider offering your employees restricted stock units (RSUs). RSUs are stocks given to employees as a form of compensation with a vesting schedule that can span anywhere from one to a few years after the employee’s start date.
Giving your employees an equity stake in your company can build their loyalty to your company and have them invested in its growth.
Other ways to turn your employees into brand champions include:

Providing professional development opportunities.
Investing in diversity and inclusion initiatives, such as employee resource groups (ERGs).
Creating psychological safety.

How to Leverage Brand Champion Marketing
1. Invest in employer branding.
Employer branding is a form of marketing in which the target audience is candidates interested in joining your company. However, it can create a very positive perception of your brand to consumers.
We’ve mentioned how important employees are to building brand trust. If consumers think you are mistreating your employees or playing profit over people, this can tarnish your brand image.
Your employer branding specialist is the person behind the strategies to showcase your internal brand champions.
At HubSpot, we have @HubSpotLife on Instagram, where we post employee takeovers, our Culture Code, and more.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by HubSpot Life (@hubspotlife)

It’s an opportunity for our employees to tell the world about what they love about working at HubSpot and share their personal experiences.
Employer branding is all about giving people an inside look at the benefits of working at your business.
2. Amplify your brand evangelists’ voices.
Whether you’re a small or large business, you probably know who your biggest customer supporters are.
You may know them by name or through data you’ve collected (like NPS surveys). These customers and loyalists are a gold mine when it comes to championing your business.
Odds are, they’re doing it already through word of mouth. Why not amplify their voices to maximize their impact?
One way to do so is by asking your evangelists to leave you reviews on sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.
If you’re running a campaign and want to include testimonials, reach out to your top supporters and ask them to participate. You could repurpose those same testimonials for your website, landing pages, and more.
Another way to amplify your champions’ voice is by offering them custom referral codes. When your champion refers someone to your brand, they and the recipient get a discount on their next purchase. And you gain a new customer – it’s a win-win-win.
3. Engage your brand champions on social media.
Think of your social media followers as brand champions in training.

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They already like your brand, that’s why they’re following you. The more you nurture your relationship with them and build a community, the more loyal they’ll become. Eventually, they’ll turn into your brand champions.
There are countless ways to engage your community on social media, including:

Responding to comments
Creating private groups
Creating polls and surveys
Conducting Q&As
Going live with your followers
Reposting user-generated content

Brand champions do wonders for your public image, as they advocate for your brand in a way that doesn’t feel like an advertisement. So, nurture those champions and leverage them to further your brand’s growth.