Author: Franz Malten Buemann

Have a presentation coming up that involves PowerPoint slides? Creating the content and design for a new presentation can be a daunting task.
Between outlining, deciding on a design, filling it out, and finalizing the details, it’s not uncommon for a few questions to pop up.
Where’s the best place to start? Are some steps better to take before others? How can you make sure you aren’t missing anything? And how on earth do you master those essential — yet slightly technical — design tricks that can take a presentation from good to great?

We’re here to make the process a little easier for you. We’ve talked to some of the best presenters at HubSpot and have included their tips throughout this blog.
With the following tips in your arsenal, you’ll be able to navigate PowerPoint much more fluidly and give a standout presentation that’ll leave your audience wanting more.
How to Structure a Powerpoint Presentation
1. Decide on a working title and the main takeaways.
Beyond picking a topic, your first step should be coming up with a working title for your presentation. A working title is more specific than a topic: Think “How the Right Nutrition Can Strengthen Your Kids’ Bones” instead of “Raising Healthy Kids.” Keep in mind that a compelling presentation title is much like a compelling blog post title: short, accurate, and valuable.
Once you’ve got your working title, make a list of the main takeaways of your presentation to begin to give it some structure. This’ll help you stay focused when writing your outline and elaborating on those sections.
Aja Frost, the Head of English SEO at HubSpot, says, “I try to structure my presentations around a story. Not only does this make the presentation more memorable and engaging, it’s also easier to figure out which information is relevant.”
To do this, Frost says to pick a protagonist. She adds, “It might be your team, your audience, your customer…. Then, identify the rising action, problem, climax, and falling action. It’s just like grade school. This structure works whether you’re talking about an accomplishment, a challenge, a big question—anything, really.”
2. Create a short text outline with your audience in mind.
Once you have your main takeaways and your story in mind, it’s time to begin outlining the content of your presentation in more detail, while keeping your specific audience in mind. A presentation on any topic should sound different if you’re speaking to an audience of college students versus an audience of investors, for example. The tone, words, design, and delivery of your presentation should all cater to your specific audience for maximum impact.
Ask yourself: What do your audience members already know? What new information can you teach them? What are they expecting from your presentation? What’s going to be interesting to them? What will keep them focused and engaged? Then, make choices during every stage of the presentation process accordingly.
Justin Champion, a content professor at HubSpot, says, “Before diving into a presentation, I create an outline of how it’ll flow. I do this by creating an intro (what they’re going to learn), the body (what they’re learning), and finish with a conclusion (recap what they just learned) I use bullet point slide a lot for talking points I can expand on. Pro tip: use animations to guide the story. For example, instead of showing all the bullets at once, click through to each via animation.”
3. Formulate your content as a narrative, if possible.
This may not apply for more formal presentation that have rigid structures (like performance reports), but for presentations that have more flexibility, presenting your content as a narrative can be much more compelling.
Stories appeal to people’s emotional side in ways that information, facts, and figures can’t. They help you relate to your audience — and in turn, they’ll make you and your message far more interesting to your audience. They also help make complicated concepts more easily understandable to your audience, who may not share the same experience level or work in the same industry.
Kyle Jepson, a senior professor at HubSpot, says, “Since I’m an educator, I always structure my presentations around the learning outcomes I want to achieve. If there are three things I want my listeners to understand at the end of the presentation, I’ll have three sections. Whenever possible, I put some sort of interactive element at the end of each section to assess their understanding. In a virtual event, this might be a poll or a question for people to respond to in the chat. In an in-person setting, workshop activities or small-group discussions work well.”
4. Collect data and examples.
While sweeping statements can help you set the stage, supporting those statements with evidence will make your argument more interesting and credible. Data and examples give your argument content, and people will understand what you’re saying much better.
But don’t just slap random stats on your slides and expect to “wow” your audience. Be sure your data comes from a reputable source and that you’re presenting it in a way that’s easy to understand, like through accurate charts and graphs.
Finally, don’t overwhelm your audience with too much data. According to psychologist George Miller, we can only remember approximately five to nine bits of information in our short-term memory at any given time. Keep that in mind as you collect your evidence.
5. Engage with your audience.
During a presentation, it’s important to connect with your audience. But how can you do that when you’re just talking at them?
Anni Kim, an INBOUND professor at HubSpot, says, “Staying engaged during a virtual presentation is tough, so provide plenty of opportunities for participation. You should add a slide at the beginning that points out how people can take advantage of the chat and ask questions throughout the presentation.”
Once you’ve set the expectations, keep up on the chat and answer questions as they arise.
Now that you have a structure in mind, you’ll start to write the content. Below, we’ll give tips for how to start and end your presentation.
How to Start a Powerpoint Presentation
1. Start with a story.
Not to be repetitive, but storytelling is one of the best ways to capture your audience’s attention in general. Presentations are no different. Starting with a hook is a great way to get your audience invested in your content.
Champion says, “The best way to start a presentation is with an interesting story that connects to the content. A great way to keep you audience engaged is to make the content interesting.”
2. Be yourself.
On the other hand, while you want to tell a story, you also want your audience to connect with you as the presenter.
Jepson says, “During the introduction, I think one of the most important things to do is to set expectations for your style as a presenter. You don’t always need to start with a joke or a story. Start out by being you, and then keep being you for as long as you’re on stage.”
3. Include surprising or unusual information at the beginning.
While you’ll most likely use a standard approach with session title, presenter’s bio, and an agenda, you don’t want your audience to get bored.
Jepson adds “I think the standard approach (session title, presenter’s bio, agenda) is pretty effective except that it’s usually super boring. I try to include the standard information but sprinkle in things that are surprising or unusual.”
Some examples include:

Adding a photo of your family on the About Me slide. “A lot of presenters put a picture of themselves on their About Me slide. But I think that’s silly because I’m standing right there,” Jepson says. “If people don’t know what I look like, they will by the end of the presentation! So I’ve started putting a picture of my wife and kids on that slide and saying something sweet or silly about that.”

Asking people to use their phones. “A lot of in-person presentations start with a request to silence cell phones,” Jepson comments. “Sometimes I’ll do the opposite and say something like, ‘Before we get started, I want you all to pull out your phones. You probably think I’m going to ask you to silence them. But I’m not. I’m here from HubSpot, and I’m here to help you however I can. So if there’s anyone from your team who might have questions or need help from a HubSpotter, I want you to send them a message and tell them to send their questions to you before we get to the Q&A section of presentation. To give you time to do this, I’m going to send a text to my wife to let her know I made it here safely.’ And then I’ll literally pull out my phone and send a text message on stage.”

Now that you’ve structured your post and have ironed out the details of your introduction, it’s time to work on the end of the presentation.
How to End a Powerpoint Presentation
1. Recap what the audience has learned.
First and foremost, the end of your presentation should tie everything together.
Champion adds, “Recap what they just learned, explain next steps based on learnings, and offer any associated resources to continue learning.”
This will help people remember the content and give them resources to learn more or reach out if they have questions.
2. Q&A.
Another great way to end a presentation is with a Q&A.
Jepson remarks, “I always end with Q&A. The only tricky thing about that is knowing how to cut it off if you’re getting more questions than you have time to answer or if you aren’t getting any questions at all. In both of those situations, I do essentially the same: I cut it off and tell people to come talk to me individually.”
For in-person meetings, Jepson will tell the audience to come find him after the presentation to ask more questions. However, for virtual meetings, he’ll let people know how to reach him, whether that’s via LinkedIn or email.
3. Call to action.
Calls to action are an important component of any piece of content and presentations are no different. What do you want your audience to do with this information?
In your recap, include actionable ways for your audience to incorporate your information into their day-to-day (if applicable). You can also let people know to reach out to you with questions so they know the next steps in case they want to discuss the presentation further.
Now that you have an idea of what you’re going to be talking about and how you’ll be laying it out, it’s time to open up a new PowerPoint presentation and apply those basic design elements.
Outlining Your PowerPoint Design
1. Pick a color scheme.
Before you begin translating your text outline into PowerPoint, you’ll want to start by adding some very basic design elements to your PowerPoint slides. First, choose a color scheme — one that has enough contrast between colors to make colors stand out. Whether you decide to use two, three, or four different colors in your presentation is up to you, but certain color combinations go together better than others. Read the sections on creating color schemes in this blog post to figure out a good color combination.

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2. Design your slide backgrounds.
In PowerPoint, less is more. You don’t ever want to let the design distract from your message. But at the same time, you want to get more creative than a plain, white background — even if you’re going for a very simple design.
The three main ways to add a background design to a PowerPoint presentation are: 1) to use a predesigned template from PowerPoint; 2) to create a custom background using a solid color; or 3) to create a custom background using an image. Here’s how to do each of those things.
(We also have a few general PowerPoint templates available for download here, which come with a series of videos to teach you some basic PowerPoint creation tips.)
How to Browse Predesigned Templates in PowerPoint
PowerPoint comes with a series of predesigned templates to choose from.
To browse these templates on a Mac: Click on the slide or slides you want to add the background to. Then, click the “Themes” tab at the top of the screen.

You can either scroll through your options up there, or you can access the themes gallery in a bigger window by hovering your mouse over the theme previews and clicking the dropdown arrow that appears below them.
Right-click the background style that you want. To apply the background style to the selected slides, click “Apply to Selected Slides.” To apply the background style to all of the slides in your presentation, click “Apply to All Slides.”
To browse these templates on a PC: Click on the slide or slides you want to add the background to. Then, click the “Design” tab at the top of the screen. In the “Background” group, click the arrow next to “Background Styles” to open up the theme gallery.

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Right-click the background style that you want. To apply the background style to the selected slides, click “Apply to Selected Slides.” To apply the background style to all of the slides in your presentation, click “Apply to All Slides.”
Pro Tip: You can also apply any PowerPoint presentation or template you already have as a theme, even if it doesn’t show up in the theme gallery. To do that, click the “Browse Themes” option you’ll find at the bottom of the dropdown themes gallery, and navigate to wherever the given presentation, template, or theme is located on your computer. Then, click “Apply.”
How to Create a Custom Background Using a Solid Color
Want your slide background to be a simple, solid color? The steps to do this are almost identical on a Mac and a PC.
Simply right-click the slide(s) you want to add a background color to, then click “Format Background.” In the window that appears, click “Fill” and then “Solid.” Notice you can also adjust the gradient or make the background a pattern. Click “Apply” at the bottom to apply the changes.

How to Create a Custom Background Using an Image
Sometimes, making the slide background a high-definition image can really make that slide pop. It also encourages you to cut down on text so that only a few keywords complement the image. PowerPoint makes it easy to create a custom background using an image you own.

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First, choose your image. Size matters here: Be sure it’s high resolution so that it can fill your slide without becoming blurry or distorted. Here are the 17 best free stock photo sites to help you find some large, great quality images.
To create a custom background using an image on a Mac: Click the slide that you want to add a background picture to. To select multiple slides, click a slide and then press and hold CTRL while you click the other slides.
Next, click the “Themes” tab at the top of your screen. In the “Theme Options” group, click “Background,” then “Format Background.”

In the window that appears, click “Fill,” then “Picture or Texture.” To insert a picture from a file, click “Choose Picture…” and then locate and double-click the picture you want to insert. If you want to use this picture as a background for just the slides you selected, click “Apply.” If you want to use the picture as a background for all the slides in your presentation, click “Apply to All.”
To create a custom background using an image on a PC: Click the slide that you want to add a background picture to. To select multiple slides, click a slide and then press and hold CTRL while you click the other slides.
Next, click the “Design” tab at the top of your screen. In the “Background” group, click “Background Styles,” then “Format Background.”

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In the window that appears, click “Fill,” then “Picture or texture fill.” To insert a picture from a file, click “File” and then locate and double-click the picture you want to insert. If you want to use this picture as a background for just the slides you selected, click “Close.” If you want to use the picture as a background for all the slides in your presentation, click “Apply to All.”
Filling In the Content
1. Fill in the text on your slides using concise language.
Your slides are there to support your speech, not replace it. If your slides contain too much information — like full sentences or (gasp) paragraphs — then your audience members won’t be able to help but read the slides instead of listening to you. Plus … that’s boring. Instead, use slides to enhance keywords and show visuals while you stand up there and do the real work: telling a story and describing your data.
When it comes to your slide text, focus on the main phrases of a bullet point, and cover details verbally. We recommend using up to three bullet points per slide and making any text as simple and concise as possible. A good rule of thumb is this: If you’re using more than two lines per slide or per idea, then you’ve used too much text. Depending on the type of presentation, two lines might even be a little text-heavy.
Are you planning on sending your slides to your audience afterward? If you’re concerned about putting enough information on the slides for people to understand your presentation when they go back to it later, you can always add little details into the slide notes in PowerPoint. You can find the Notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen, right below your slides. Click and drag the edge of the pane to make it larger or smaller.

2. Brainstorm your final title with someone else.
Once all your content is there, you’re ready to finalize your title. First, refine your working title as best you can on your own. Is it compelling and interesting enough to engage your audience from the very start? Does it accurately reflect your presentation?
Next — and this is important — connect with someone else to brainstorm the final title together. Read this blog post for a helpful walkthrough on writing a great title and title brainstorming with others.
Filling In Your PowerPoint Design
1. Choose a font that’s easy to read.
Choose either one font to use throughout your presentation, or two (one for your headers and one for your body text) that contrast each other well. Here’s a list of 35 beautiful fonts you can download for free to get you started.
If you decide on two fonts, your header font should be bold and eye-catching, and your body text font should be simple and easy to read. (For more guidance on what fonts work best together, take a look at this visual guide.)
2. Embed your font files.
Fonts changing from one computer to another is one of the most common problems PowerPoint presenters have — and it can really mess up your presentation and flow. What’s actually happening in this case is not that the fonts are changing; it’s that the presentation computer just doesn’t have the same font files installed.
If you’re using a PC and presenting on a PC, then there is a smooth workaround for this issue. When you involve Mac systems, the solution is a bit rougher.
On a PC: When you save your PowerPoint file, click “Save As” and then “Save Options.” Then, select the “Embed TrueType fonts” check box and press “OK.” Now, your presentation will keep the font file and your fonts will not change when you move computers (unless you give your presentation on a Mac).
On a Mac: In PowerPoint for Mac, there’s no option to embed fonts within the presentation. So unless you use ubiquitous typefaces like Arial or Tahoma, your PowerPoint is likely going to encounter font changes on different computers. The best way to avoid this is to save the final version of your presentation slides as JPEGs, and then insert those JPEGs onto your PowerPoint slides. In other words, make each slide a JPEG picture of your slide. (Note that the file size of your PowerPoint will increase if your presentation includes a lot of JPEGs.)
Mac users can easily drag and drop the JPEGs into PowerPoint. If you don’t use actions in your presentation, then this option works especially well.
If you want your presentation to appear “animated,” then you’ll need to do a little tinkering. All you need to do is save JPEGs of each “frame” of the animation. Then, in your final presentation, you’ll just display those JPEGs in the order you’d like the animation to appear. While you’ll technically have several new slides in place of one original one, your audience won’t know the difference.
If you’re a Mac user and want to use this option, then be sure to add this to your checklist as the final step.
3. Adjust the font sizes.
Once you’ve chosen your font, you can start playing around with font size. Carefully choose the font sizes for headers and text, and consistently use the same font face and sizes on all your slides to keep things clean and legible. Be sure your font is big enough so even the audience members in the way back of the room can read them.
4. Adjust line and character spacing.
The biggest PowerPoint no-no is using too much text on a slide. The most effective slides use text sparingly and present it in a way that’s easy to read. One trick to make text more legible without changing the font size or layout is to increase or decrease the space between each line and each letter.
To adjust line spacing:
Select the text you’d like to adjust. On the “Home” tab, in the “Paragraph” group, click “Line Spacing” and choose “Line Spacing Options.” In the Paragraph dialog box’s “Spacing” section, click the “Line Spacing” dropdown list and choose “Exactly.” In the “At” text box, adjust the value accordingly. Click “OK” to save your changes.

To adjust character spacing:
Select the text you want to change. Then, on the “Home” tab, find and click the “Font” button.” Choose “Character Spacing Options” from the dropdown menu. Adjust spacing as needed.

5. Add images.
Great visual cues can have a huge impact on how well your audience understands your message. Using gorgeous images in a slide presentation is the perfect way to keep things interesting.
It’s important, though, that you don’t use images to decorate. This is a very common mistake. Remember: Images are meant to reinforce or complement your message, but they can be distracting. Focus on finding high resolution images so that they look good when expanded without becoming blurry or distorted.
If you don’t have your own images to use, check out our roundup of the 17 best free stock photo sites.
Pro Tip: If you’re finding that the background of an image is distracting, you can actually remove it before putting it into your presentation directly inside PowerPoint — no Photoshop required. Read this blog post for instructions.

6. Use multimedia, but sparingly.
Using multimedia in your presentation, like video and audio, can be an effective way to capture your audience’s attention and encourage retention of your message. In most cases, it’s best to avoid using more than one or two video or audio clips so you don’t detract from your talk or your message.
PowerPoint lets you either link to video/audio files externally, or embed the media directly in your presentation. You should embed these files if you can, but if you use a Mac, you cannot actually embed the video. We’ll get to that in a second.
PC users: Here are two great reasons to embed your multimedia:

Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It’ll look much more professional than switching between windows.
Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

Mac users: You need to be extra careful about using multimedia files. You’ll always need to bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation. It’s best to only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder.
If your presentation is going to be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format. That can get complicated, so if you want to use PowerPoint effectively, consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting no matter what (if that’s something you can control).
7. Design your title slide.
The title of your presentation is often the first impression it gives off — especially if it’s going to be on display as people file in to your presentation — so it’s important to put some time and careful thought into its design.
Here are 20 layout ideas for PowerPoint title slides from Chris Lema:

8. Add any consistent elements, like your company logo.
There’s a reason this is at the end. If you add things like your logo that you want to be in the same place on every slide, any adjustments you make to individual slides could slightly alter the alignment … and you’ll have to go back and adjust them all over again.
Preparing For the Presentation
1. Review and edit your slides.
Spend some time on your own flipping through your slides while practicing your talk. Make sure you can check all of the following off the list:

Your slides flow well and align with your talk.
Your slides are free of all grammatical, formatting, or design errors.
Your multimedia files work.
You’ve double-checked any mathematical calculations you made yourself.
You’ve properly attributed any statistics, data, quotes, ideas, etc. to the original source.
You’ve double-checked you’re actually allowed to use the photos/images you used. (Don’t skip this step. Here’s a cautionary tale about internet copyright law.)
You’re sure nothing in your presentation could potentially harm any of your partners, stakeholders, audience members, or your company.
You’ve checked with a friend that nothing in your presentation might offend certain people in your audience — or, if so, that it’s worth it.

2. Know your slides inside out.
The best presenters don’t read off your slides, so it’s important to prepare and practice your presentation ahead of time. You never want to be the person finalizing your talk or presentation half an hour before an event … that’s just poor planning. Plus, what if the projector fails and you have to give your talk without slides? It can happen, and if does, you’ll be incredibly happy you spent so much time preparing.
3. Practice using “presenter view.”
Depending on the venue, you might have a presenter’s screen available to you in addition to the main projected display that your audience can see. PowerPoint has a great tool called “Presenter View,” which includes an area for notes, a timer/clock, a presentation display, and a preview of the next slide.
Make sure “Presenter View” is turned on by selecting it in the “Slide Show” tab of your PowerPoint.
To practice using “Presenter View,” open the “Slide Show” tab within PowerPoint. In the “Presenter Tools” box, click “Presenter View.”

4. Bring your own laptop and a backup copy of your presentation.
This isn’t just a bonus step — it’s an essential one. Technology can mess up on you, and you need to be prepared. Between operating systems or even between different versions of Microsoft Office, PowerPoint can get a little wonky. One way to avoid problems is to ensure you have all the right hardware with you. Bring along your own laptop when you’re presenting, just in case.
Even if you bring your laptop, but especially if you for some reason cannot, bring a backup copy of your PowerPoint file on a flash drive.
What other tips do you have for nailing PowerPoint presentations?
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Social media is everywhere. For many people, social media is used daily for entertainment, socialization, and even news consumption — myself included.
Additionally, over the last two decades, it has become one of the primary marketing channels. 
With over 53% of the world’s population on social media, it’s critical that your business has an effective social media strategy that helps you reach your intended audience. 
But, whether you’re pitching a social media campaign to your boss or deciding which social media platform your business should put paid advertising behind, it’s vital you use data to support your efforts. 
Here, we’ve compiled a list of essential social media stats to ensure you know where to focus your marketing efforts in 2021 to get the highest ROI .

Social Media Marketing Statistics 2021

As of Q1 2020, 420 billion people are active on social media.  (Statista) 
In 2019, 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers were active social media users. (eMarketer)
54% of social browsers use social media to research products. (GlobalWebIndex)
Each person spends an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes on social networks and messaging. (GlobalWebIndex)
1.3 million new users joined social media every day in 2020. (Hootsuite)
Millennials are logged on to social media for an average of  two hours and 38 minutes daily, while Gen Z logs on for  two hours and 55 minutes . (World Economic Forum)

Facebook Statistics

Facebook usage among teens is dropping gradually.  While 71% of teens claimed to use the platform in 2015, the number has now dropped to 67%. (GlobalWebIndex)
69% of U.S. adults use Facebook and 76% have visited the platform in the last month. (Pew Research Center, GlobalWebIndex)
Facebook had 1.84 billion daily active users in December 2020. (PR Newswire)
98.3% of Facebook users access the platform on mobile devices. (Statista)
Videos drive the most ad clicks on Facebook. (DataBox) 
Facebook ads are used by 70% of marketers, and there were 9 million active advertisers on the platform in Q2 2020. ( Social Media Examiner , Statista) 
16% of all Facebook profiles are fake or duplicates. (Statista)
The best time to post on Facebook is Wednesday at 11 AM and 1-2 PM. Sundays show the least amount of traffic. ( Sprout Social )
Facebook Stories have 500 million daily viewers. (TechCrunch)
Political content is the most viewed genre of Facebook Stories. (Statista)
Video promotions are equally as important as photo promotions. (Social Bakers)
81% of businesses prefer video marketing on Facebook. (Buffer)

For more stats related to Facebook, Facebook Stories, and Facebook Ads, check out this detailed list.

Twitter Statistics

Twitter had more than 330 million monthly active users in Q1 of 2019. (Twitter)
The platform reached almost 200 million monetizable daily active users in Q3 of 2020, up 29% YoY. (Twitter)
Twitter’s 2020 Q3 revenue was $936 million. (Twitter)
In 2019, 22% of U.S. adults used Twitter, down from 24% in 2018. (Statista)
Link clicks account for 92% of all user interaction with tweets. (HubSpot)
The best times to post on Twitter are Wednesday and Friday at 9 AM, and Saturday has the least engagement. ( Sprout Social)
Tweets with hashtags get 100% more engagement. (Twitter)
Socially responsible ads on twitter perform 12% better than standard ads. (Magna)
93% of Twitter community members are open to brands getting involved in conversation, such as providing help and support. (Twitter)

For more on Twitter, check out Twitter Marketing in 2020: The Ultimate Guide. 

Instagram Statistics

In late 2019, Instagram Stories had 500 million monthly active users. (Statista)
67% of Gen Z and 57% of Millennials use the platform, in comparison to only 38% of Gen X. (GlobalWebIndex)
64% of Instagram users are under the age of 34. (Statista)

98% of marketers say Instagram is the most influential platform for influencer marketing, which is 44% higher than Facebook. ( Sprout Social)
Videos get 21.2% more interactions compared to images and 18.6% more interactions compared to carousels. (Sprout Social)
90% of people on Instagram follow a business. (Instagram)
83% of people use Instagram to discover new products and services and 87% said they took specific action, like making a purchase, after seeing product information. (Facebook for Business)
The best times to post on Instagram are Wednesday at 11 AM, and Friday between 10-11 AM. Sunday is the worst day for engagement. (Sprout Social)
eMarketer estimated that Instagram added 26.9 million users between 2016 and 2020 — almost double the incremental users expected for Twitter, and far more than any other social platform tracked. (eMarketer)

In 2019, an estimated 20% of Facebook’s total revenue came from Instagram. (The Motley Fool)
For more Instagram stats,
click here.

LinkedIn Statistics

LinkedIn has more than 722 million active users in 200 countries and regions worldwide. (LinkedIn) 
In Q4 of 2020, LinkedIn sessions increased 27% YoY, expected to reach 31% in Q1 2021. (Business of Apps)
In Q1 of 2021, LinkedIn revenue is up 16% in YoY growth. (LinkedIn)
LinkedIn made more than 8.1 billion in revenue in 2020, a 20% increase from 2019. (Business of Apps)
Marketing Solutions is LinkedIn’s fastest-growing segment. It grew 44 percent year-over-year in Q1 of 2019. (LinkedIn)
In 2020, LinkedIn was voted the most trusted network. (Business Insider)
“>LinkedIn is the top paid and organic social channel for B2B businesses. (Content Marketing Institute)
82% of B2B markers report finding the greatest success on LinkedIn. (LinkedIn Marketing Solutions )
Over 46% of all social media traffic to company websites comes from LinkedIn. (LinkedIn)
The best times to post on LinkedIn are 8-10 AM and 12 PM on Wednesdays, and 9 AM and 1-2 PM on Thursdays. Sunday is the worst day for engagement. (Sprout Social)

Want to learn how to up your marketing game on LinkedIn? This post walks you through the ins and outs of using LinkedIn for business. 

YouTube Statistics

YouTube is the second-largest search engine globally. (Alexa)
YouTube is the second most popular channel for businesses sharing video content. (Buffer)
54% of all people want marketers to put out more video content, and this is an excellent place to begin. (Hubspot)
Q3 of 2020 showed that U.S. men and women use the platform at equal levels. (Satista)
On mobile devices alone, YouTube reaches more adults aged 18 to 24 than any TV network. (YouTube)
18-to-34-year-olds use YouTube to view video content on TV, 7.9% more often than basic cable, and 14.5% more often than premium cable. (Variety)
YouTube accounts for more than 25% of total worldwide mobile traffic. (Sandvine)
85% of U.S. teens were active on YouTube in 2019. (Statista)

TikTok Stats

As of January 2021, TikTok has 689 million global active users. (DataReportal)
Douyin, TikTok’s original standalone app in China, had 300 million users at the time Musical.ly merged with TikTok. (The Verge)

TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2020. (Apptopia)
By February 2019, TikTok hit 1 billion downloads, beating Instagram and Facebook in app stores. (Business Insider)
A majority of U.S. TikTok users are between the ages of 10 and 19. (Statista)
41% of global TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24. (GlobalWebIndex)
58.8% of U.S. TikTok users are female. (Statista)
TikTok’s average engagement rate is high at all follower levels. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
In 2019, U.S. TikTok users spent more time on the app than any other social media site, with an average session duration of 10.85 minutes. (Statista)

For more on TikTok, check out this blog post on its growth and popularity.
Reddit Stats

In 2020, Reddit had 52 million daily active users, up 44% YoY. (Reddit)
The site receives more than 50 billion+ monthly screen views. (Reddit)
While Reddit was reportedly sold for $20 million , the company’s valuation grew to 1.8 billion after 2017 funding rounds. (CNBC)
Most Reddit users in the U.S. are male, but 15% of U.S. adults say they use the platform. (Statista)
Only 8% of female U.S. adults say they used Reddit in 2019. (Statista)

Want to determine if Reddit is right for you? Read this blog post for 27 more Reddit stats.
Social Media Consulting Services 
Many businesses hire external social media consulting agencies to manage their voice and reputation online. Alternatively, some businesses create roles in-house for a social media consultant — this is someone who is responsible for increasing brand awareness , responding to customer service complaints across social media platforms, and engaging with your audience online. 
Whether you’re considering hiring an external social media consulting service or creating a role in-house, take a look at these trends that demonstrate the importance of social media consulting: 

Answering a complaint on social media can increase customer advocacy by 25%. (Convince & Convert)
79% of consumers expect brands to respond within a day of reaching out over social media, but average brand response rates across all industries is lower than 25%. (Sprout Social)
73% of marketers believe that their efforts through social media marketing have been “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business. (Buffer)
54% of social browsers use social media to research products. (GlobalWebIndex)
54% of Gen Z and 49% of Millenials say social media is their preferred channel for ad influence. (Pitney Bowes)
79% of people say that user-generated content on social media significantly impacts their purchasing decisions. (Stackla)

Social Media Consulting Proposal 
All these stats have given you the data you need to work with — now it’s time to put your knowledge to use and create your own social media consulting proposal.
If you’re a social media consultant and you’re pitching a branding, marketing, or advertising campaign to a client, it’s critical you’re able to show how you’ll help your client grow their business.
Here are six steps you’ll need to take to ensure your social media consulting proposal or business plan is effective: 

Set clear goals. Figure out exactly where your company or client wants to go as far as their business and social media numbers. The clearer and more detailed the vision, the better. Follow SMART Goal guidelines to ensure that you’re on the right track.

Understand your customers. Know who your target demographics are, because these are the people you’re trying to reach and engage. Gather your own social media statistics and use existing data your company or client might already have to figure out who’s interacting with the business and who might be good future prospects to reach. After you’ve done your research, you can create useful character personas to help you better understand and categorize customers.

Understand your competition. Those “similar-but-different” companies are going to be out there. And, as with most aspects of the business world, the better you know them, the better you can know how to have a leg up on them. You can conduct this research at the same time you’re researching your customers, because chances are they’re interacting with competitors as well. Once you’ve gathered the data on your competitors, one of the most effective ways to use it is to figure out where there might be voids in their services that your business can fill.

Be familiar with any existing social media presence. If you’re hired to run a company’s social media accounts, it’s critical you know about any previous social media postings, accounts, and experiments. By understanding what your client has already tried, you’re better equipped to take them where they need to go in the future.

Don’t forget to pull your data. Before your new implemented strategies go underway, it’s important to collect a baseline of how it was before, so that you have something to measure against in the future. For example, if you take inventory of how many views you’re getting on Instagram Stories before the new strategy is in effect, you can see if the new ideas are improving these numbers or not. It’s important to keep a close eye on what is affecting your growth (positively or negatively) so that you know when you’re on the right track or when you need to try something new so your business can keep growing.

Develop your strategy based on your findings. Define what your content will be, what platforms it will be distributed on, and how it will vary between platforms. Figure out smaller details at this stage too, like your client’s tone and voice on social media (either what it currently is or what it should be), along with design and style elements. Always be sure you’re staying true to your company or client’s brand by consulting with existing materials like mission statements, guides, or brand books.

Finally, take a look at HubSpot’s free Marketing proposal template (useful for both PDF & Word) to get you started creating a comprehensive social media consulting proposal. 
Let Data Drive Your Social Media Strategy
Social media marketing statistics can show you the state of the business world today, where it might be going, and how you can ensure your business is continuously meeting customers where they want to be met. Use these statistics to your advantage to help you understand what you need to do to effectively use social media for your business today.
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in August 2019, but was updated for comprehensiveness and freshness in February 2021. 

When I was in grade school, Valentine’s Day was one of my favorite holidays. There were cards. There was the possibility that your crush actually liked you back. And, there was the chocolate — so much chocolate.
Little did I know that the roots of this holiday bore little-to-no resemblance to my childhood experience of it. We were never taught that Valentine’s Day actually originated with an arguably gruesome ancient festival, where there was no chocolate or exchange of cute, red-and-pink cards.

But love it or hate it, those are the types of things we associate with the holiday today. After all, there’s a reason roughly 114 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year — it’s what’s become expected of us.
So how the heck did we get from an ancient Roman festival to a holiday that compels many of us to spend no less than $147 on celebrating it? That story, it turns out, is thousands of years old — but we’ll try to condense it.
How Valentine’s Day Began and Evolved
Ancient Rome
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The roots of Valentine’s Day are cited by some sources to lie in the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, largely because it took place annually on February 15 — the day after what is today the observed date of Valentine’s Day — and involved some very primitive forms of courtship and matchmaking. But it was also ancient Rome that saw the famous execution of a St. Valentine on February 14, around 278 A.D. According to legend, he wrote a letter on the night before his execution to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended, and signed it, “From Your Valentine.”
Over two centuries later, Pope Gelasius ordered that Lupercalia be replaced with the February 14 observation of St. Valentine’s Day. That set the tone, some believe, for the day’s forthcoming tradition of exchanging “love messages,” perhaps in remembrance of St. Valentine’s farewell letter.
The Romans are also credited with constructing the idea of Cupid — a god of love often depicted with arrows that, as the legend goes, inflict love upon those who are hit by them. The Roman version of Cupid was adapted from Eros, a god of passion and fertility in Greek mythology. It seems that no one is quite sure when cupid became associated with Valentine’s Day, but the fact that both have origins in ancient Roman culture suggests that there may have been some very early overlap between the two.
Shakespeare (and Chaucer) in Love
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When NPR’s Arnie Seipel set out to explore the history of Valentine’s Day, he found that it first became romanticized by classic authors like William Shakespeare in the late 16th century, and Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s.
Chaucer
Dartmouth English professor Peter Travis cites Chaucer’s epic poem The Parliament of Fowls, which was one of the first literary references to St. Valentine’s Day, or “Seynt Valentynes day,” as Chaucer spelled it. One such mention is made, Travis explains, alongside the line, “Now welcom somer, with thy sonne sonne, That hast this wintres weders over-shake.” In other words, when we celebrate love in the coldest depths of winter — in February, for instance — it’s so heartwarming that it makes summer feel less far away.
Shakespeare
Some literary historians credit Shakespeare for the permeation of love into popular culture with his composition of “Sonnet 18” — said to be written between 1593-1601 — a.k.a., “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” It’s unclear when or how this particular work became associated with Valentine’s Day, but like Chaucer, Shakespeare compares love to the seasons.
“While summer days may fade and fall into” colder months, writes Shakespeare analyst Lee Jamieson, “his love is eternal.”
Of course, Saint Valentine’s day is alluded to outright in Hamlet — written between 1599-1601 — when the character Ophelia recites a song about a young lady’s experience with the holiday, which includes lyrics like, “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day,” and, “To be your Valentine.”
The 17th Century and Beyond
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By the 1700s, it’s said that Valentine’s Day made its way from Europe to the United States, which aligns with the establishment of the North American colonies between 1607-1770. It became traditional, according to HISTORY.com, “for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.” That was more common in England, however, where the Industrial Revolution began earlier and eventually included the production of “fancy valentines [that] were extremely expensive to import.”
It’s said that one American woman, Esther Howland, was so intrigued when she received her first English valentine greeting in 1847, that she became infatuated with the idea of manufacturing them in the U.S. She was an early entrepreneur, and instinctively believed that there could be an American market for these formal, English-style greetings. After procuring materials like high-quality paper and lace from her father, a stationer, she created what many credit as the earliest American Valentine’s Day greeting cards.
Today, Howland is still honored with the nickname “Mother of the American Valentine,” with many citing her work as the start of a multi-million-dollar industry. But it didn’t happen overnight — let’s take a look at how her work paved the way.
A Brief Timeline of Valentine’s Day Marketing
1714
Charles II of Sweden begins communicating with flowers, by assigning a different message to each type. This tradition allegedly assigned love and romance to the red rose, setting the stage for this flower to be exchanged during the later, commercialized era of Valentine’s Day. However, it remains unclear if a specific brand is responsible for first marketing flowers as part of Valentine’s Day gift-giving.
1822
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In England, where Valentine’s Day had by now already been celebrated with the exchange of gifts and cards for many years, the Cadbury chocolate company sells the first heart-shaped box of chocolates.
1849
In Massachusetts, Howland produces a dozen sample Valentine’s Day cards and sends them off with her brother to distribute during a sales trip for their father’s company — S.A. Howland & Sons — hoping to earn $200. Instead, he returns with 25X that amount, indicating a much higher-than-expected demand.
Here’s an example of a card Howland created around this time.

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1850
The first print advertisement for Howland’s cards appears in the Worcester Spy.
1866
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Conversation candies are developed, when Daniel Chase — brother of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase — uses vegetable dye to print words onto confections.
1870
Howland incorporates her booming card business as the New England Valentine Company, operating out of her home via an assembly line that was largely comprised of her friends.
1879
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The New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland’s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts. That same year, the company publishes the Valentine Verse Book, which contained 131 “verses” that people could cut out and paste inside of cards that came without a greeting — or those with a greeting that the buyer didn’t like.
1880 – 1881
Howland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company.
1888
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Whitney has acquired at least 10 competitors, including Berlin and Jones, which had become New York City’s “largest manufacturer of Valentines.” Ten years later, the company moves to large-scale headquarters on Worcester’s Union Street.
1894
The Hershey Chocolate Company is founded, bringing what was previously “a European luxury product” to the U.S.
1902
Conversation candies become heart-shaped.
1906
American Greetings is founded, eventually becoming one of Whitney’s chief competitors.
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1907
The Hershey Chocolate Company introduces its Hershey Kisses candy product. Interestingly enough, the product was allegedly named Kisses because whenever a piece of chocolate was dropped on the conveyer belt at the Hershey factory, it sounded like a kiss.

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1910
That January, a massive fire destroys much of Whitney’s headquarters. However, most of the Valentine’s Day products had already been shipped for the season, having little impact on that particular holiday.
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That same year, Hallmark is founded. Meanwhile, 1910 also saw the creation of Florists’ Telegraph Delivery — today known as FTD — which pioneered the remote ordering and delivery of flowers, providing a way to send them to far-away loved ones.
1913
Hallmark produces its first Valentine’s Day card.
1948
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The De Beers diamond company launches its “A Diamond is Forever” campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love.
1985
In the ’80s companies like Hallmark began launching more Valentine’s Day related commercials. In 1985, one commercial, which dubs Hallmark as “The Valentine’s Store” shows off all of the cards and heart-shaped products you can buy for your loved one in their locations.

1986
As if Kisses weren’t romantic enough based on their name, Hershey’s enforced them as a Valentine’s Day staple with one slight design tweak. The company began packaging Kisses candies in pink and red foil specifically for Valentine’s Day.
2004
As marketers continued to embrace new media, we saw an influx of high-quality and insanely high-budgeted commercials mark the holiday from the ’80s until now. One of the most iconic and beautifully shot commercials was a mini-romance drama, called “Le Film,” promoting Chanel No. 5 perfume.
In the ad, a man falls in love and runs away with a starlet, played by Nicole Kidman. In the end, she returns back to her life of fame. As she walks down the red carpet, he notes all the things he’ll remember about her, including the smell of her Chanel No. 5 perfume.

2005
Valentine’s Day begins to go digital. On February 14, 2005, YouTube — which originated as an online dating site — makes its debut. Co-founder Steve Chen still credits its invention as the brainchild of “three guys on Valentine’s Day that had nothing to do.”
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2013
Ride sharing company Uber rolls out “Romance On Demand,” allowing users to send flowers on Valentine’s Day via the app. This initiative would continue to progress, with on-demand skywriting becoming available the following year.
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2016

Well aren’t you accurate today, @netflix #HappyValentinesDay pic.twitter.com/pUK05gQ8Rs — Tiffany Bukowski (@TheTiffy)
February 14, 2016

NetBase, a social media analytics platform, releases a Valentine’s Day Sentiment Analysis, measuring how people engage with and discuss the holiday on social media. In total, it measured nine million mentions of Valentine’s Day, with the vast majority of them mentioning a specific brand — Netflix. The top hashtag was #happyvalentinesday.
2017
In the earlier years of the Google Doodle, Google used Valentine’s Day to spread awareness of a rare species. In 2017, a series of Google Doodles shown in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day highlighted the stories of pangolins, the only mammal species with scales, as they give each other Valentine’s Day gifts or serenade their mates. Here’s one example:

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While, at this point, Google didn’t need to market themselves with Doodles, this shows an early example of a brand that used its platform to creatively market another cause on the holiday.
2018 to Present Day
In recent years, Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns have gone completely digital, with a particularly strong presence on social media. With these new opportunities, smaller companies that don’t have Hallmark’s budget can easily spread awareness of their own brands during the holiday. Here’s one example of an Instagram post which highlighted a fine Italian restaurant ahead of Valentine’s Day:

While these real dog’s mimicking Lady and the Tramp grabbed attention, especially from the animal lovers on Instagram, this post’s caption encourages audiences to interact with the brand.
What Marketers Can Learn from Valentine’s Day Marketing
Like so many other holidays, Valentine’s Day has experienced a transition into pop culture that has shaped the way it’s perceived, discussed, and celebrated. Sure, it’s often accused of being nothing more than a money-making marketing holiday. But next time you hear someone label Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark holiday,” you’ll have a wealth of historical information to respond with.
From our hearts to yours, Happy Valentine’s Day. We’ll be keeping an eye on its continued evolution. 
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.

Whether you’re in the process of launching a new business or already have one, having a strong online presence for your brand is extremely important.
In fact, consumers learn about local businesses online more than anywhere else. In 2019, 70% of shoppers surveyed say the ability to shop in-person or in a store was important when deciding which brand or retailer to buy from.
Small business owners looking for a way to track ROI and brand awareness need digital marketing. Not only is digital marketing a must-have for promoting your products or services, but optimizing your online assets is also critical to your business’ overall success.

For local businesses, it’s equally as important to have essential and updated information readily available for potential clients.
If you’re a small business owner with little experience in online marketing, this might all sound like a foreign language to you. Have no fear — we’ll go through what all these words mean, and why you should care about them!
In this post, we’ll help you build and optimize your marketing strategy using inbound marketing, setting you up to attract new clients and ultimately grow your business.
Small Business Marketing
Marketing is meant to raise brand awareness and build a pipeline of qualified leads that turn into sales. With a small business, getting the word out can be challenging due to less visibility and lack of resources (like budget or time). However, there are key strategies that can help you scale your small business’s marketing efforts.
Whether you’re struggling with a limited budget, the time restraints caused by having a smaller team, or even a lack of direction, a marketing plan that’s appropriate for your business can provide guidance as you scale.
These strategies are fundamental as you generate awareness and revenue for your organization:
1. Know your audience.
A key mistake is thinking that “anyone” is your buyer. Larger companies may be able to appeal to a wide market, but they say, “the riches are in the niches” for a reason. A niche is where you’ll have the most leverage as a small business. And to develop a niche and appeal to buyers within the niche, you must understand their pains, problems, triggering events, and priorities.
What is pushing them to make a purchasing decision? What does it look like if they succeed? Knowing these things will help you craft messaging that resonates and makes a compelling case for your solution.
Start by thinking about your existing customers and who you’d like to work with. Then, create a buyer persona to start the process of getting into the head of your ideal client.
2. Emphasize your value proposition.
If there’s no difference between you and your competition, there’s no reason why a buyer would be compelled to work with you. Your value proposition is what will differentiate you from others in your space and make up your prospects’ minds that you’re the provider to go with. What do you do better than anyone in the industry? Conveying this makes a compelling argument.
3. Stay focused on singular goals and objectives.
If you’re exploring the world of marketing, you may have noticed that there are a gazillion directions you can go in. It’s tempting to do it all at once and craft a complicated machine in hopes that you covered all your bases, and it’s easy to take on too much.
Instead, identify where the biggest impact will be. Where is the biggest blind spot in your marketing that’s prohibiting your growth? Set a performance goal around that one key area and focus your resources on the activities and tactics that will achieve that one performance goal. You can expand your efforts or pivot to other initiatives when you’ve made more progress toward that singular goal.
4. Capitalize on short-term plays.
Start scrappy. As you scale, it’s critical to see ROI sooner. This will give you the momentum and cash flow to put toward larger projects, long-term plays, and more sustainable growth models.
Tactics that take time to build (such as SEO) are poor fits for your primary initiatives because you won’t see a return soon enough for your liking. If you have enough resources to start there, great, but don’t put all your eggs in that basket.
If you have evidence that people are taking to Google with purchasing intent for your particular solution, you may find that paid ads will give you that short-term ROI.
5. Double-down on what works.
Once you have your initiatives running and you’ve experimented with a few things, pay attention to the data. This can inform you of what’s working. As you scale, it’s a good idea to double-down on proven methods of generating revenue.
6. Understand the power of existing customers.
A 1990 study by Bain & Company and HBR, found that it costs, on average, five times more to acquire a new customer than close an existing one. This means you shouldn’t stop marketing once they’ve made a purchase.
Identify your opportunities for repeat purchasing, upselling, and cross-selling. Because your existing customers have already made a purchase, they already know, like, and trust you. If you’ve provided a good experience, you’ve given them a reason to do business with you again should the need ever arise.
Even if the need doesn’t arise (in cases where it’s a one-and-done purchase with no upsell opportunities), you should still delight your customers. Word of mouth is a powerful (and free) promotional tool.
7. Use free promotional tools.
Speaking of free promotional tools, it’s important to note that since you’ve committed to a limited goal and scope, there’s no need to inflate your overhead with gadgets. Use free promotional tools where possible, and only commit to paid tools if you know they will drastically improve existing operations or performance. Here’s a helpful list of marketing tools (some free and paid).
8. Create a website to own your online presence.
Having a professional-looking website is one of the most important assets you will create for your small business. This is where you will show who you are, what you offer, where you are, and how a potential customer can get in touch with you.
It is a channel you will always own (unlike other platforms which may change policies or go in and out of style), and it has the capability of generating organic traffic in addition to being a place to send traffic from advertising and other marketing initiatives.
Your website isn’t just a simple brochure, either. You have the capability of turning it into a 24-7 salesperson by understanding how to convert traffic and turn them into leads (more on that later).
For one of the best website tools, check out HubSpot’s CMS.
9. Consider blogging to attract prospects for your website.
Blogging is a great way to generate organic traffic, particularly for those prospects who have not reached a purchasing decision yet. In addition, it can establish credibility in your space and position you as a thought leader.
To start a blog, you can use an inexpensive or free website tool to make a free site and use one of their templates. Even if you only publish once a week, it will improve your website’s visibility online and help educate your potential customers on why they should trust your company. If you’re planning to write your posts yourself, check out this beginner’s guide to writing.
Once you start writing, you can add a call-to-action on your posts for visitors to subscribe to your blog and receive emails This is a great way to start collecting leads and offering potential customers a way to get information if they aren’t ready to buy anything from you yet.
10. Promote yourself on social media.
Social media might seem like it’s just a fun platform for people to socialize and connect, but it’s actually a powerful business tool. Social media can help you increase your domain authority, improve your search engine rankings, and engage with potential customers. Why wouldn’t you want to be seen where your potential customers spend their time?
11. Invest in ads.
Organic traffic takes a while to build, and as a small business, you want to invest in short-term plays. Pay-to-play tactics that target buyers with high intent are great for short-term wins to jump-start other objectives.
Google Ads are perfect if you know that your target audience is searching the web for your product or solution. If they aren’t, you might consider social media ads instead. Individuals on social media have less buying intent, but with highly targeted ads and enough impressions, you’ll gain the interest of your audience.
12. Make sure you’re capturing web prospects’ information.
We’ve been talking a lot about visibility and traffic but haven’t really covered how these will help drive revenue yet. One simple way to start generating leads or customers from your website is to implement a conversion tool.
A simple, free option is HubSpot Marketing Free. By using this tool to add a pop-up widget to your website, you can start collecting the email addresses of potential customers. From there, you can send out promotions and offers and convert them into paying customers. You can also implement any of these 24 conversion tools to help you optimize your website and use it to drive leads.
13. Use email marketing to nurture leads.
Just because you’ve converted website traffic into leads doesn’t mean those leads are ready to buy yet. It’s important to stay top of mind and move them closer to a purchasing decision.
Email marketing is a critical part of your marketing toolkit. In fact, 73 percent of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email.
This strategy is an easy, free, and scalable way to communicate with both new and existing customers.
Once you have an email marketing tool in place (many are inexpensive or even free), experiment with emailing out newsletters (with your sleek new blog posts), and other promotions to your database. We know small business owners don’t have tons of free time to devote to digital marketing, so consider using marketing automation to make this process even easier for yourself.
To get started planning your email marketing strategy, check out this guide and template from HubSpot.
14. Manage relationships with a CRM.
Email marketing works best when you’re sending personalized, targeted emails. This begins with a customer database or customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Your CRM stores information about your leads, prospects, and customers so that you can keep track of customer interactions and identify sales opportunities more effectively.
HubSpot has one of the best CRMs (and best of all, it’s totally free).
15. Lean into word of mouth as a promotion channel.
As mentioned previously, delighting customers can have a big impact on your business, primarily in repeat purchases and word of mouth. If you provide a great experience, your customers will be more inclined to leave reviews, give testimonials, and tell their friends about you.
That’s why it’s a good idea to measure customer satisfaction and encourage customers to spread the word.
1. Determine your brand’s identity.
Having a consistent brand identity to promote your business will make you look more professional and help you attract new customers. According to a 2020 study, nearly 9 out of 10 people are brand loyal with nearly 25% of them climbing to be more brand loyal in 2020 compared to 2019.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has described a company’s branding as “what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” In other words, your brand is the feelings and emotions people have when hearing your company name. It’s is a combination of your brand name, logo, aesthetic, and the design of all your assets.
2. Identify your buyer persona.
When you imagine a customer searching for your product or service, what are they like? What are their pain points? What is their job? Creating a buyer persona that tells a story of your ideal customer can help you make a website that’s optimized for them.
By learning more about your target customer through creating a buyer persona, you can better figure out what types of things they may be searching for so you can include those terms on your website.
3. Design a logo and other assets.
To start getting the creative juices flowing, consider your color scheme and peruse palettes with Adobe Color or Coolors. You can create your own or look through pre-made or customized color palettes.
To create a logo, I’d recommend checking out Upwork or Freelancer. There are free and less expensive options for designing your own logo online, although using a freelancer or agency can give you a higher quality product and connect you with a designer who can change and update your brand assets as your company grows.
4. Build your website with a CMS template.
If you’re a fairly tech-savvy small business owner, you’ll probably want to build your own website. A CMS (content management system) makes the process simple.
Most CMSs offer customizable templates for your site that you can get for free or a small fee. There are templates for various skill levels — from beginner all the way to advanced.
Once you’ve created your website, most CMS platforms offer plugins to help you optimize your content for search (look for SEO plugins). This will help you rank better in Google — which we’ll discuss more in-depth in a bit.
5. Track your site with analytics tools.
If you’ve never made a website before and aren’t entirely comfortable with the technical elements, there are a variety of free tools and services to help you get started. When you create your website, make sure you implement Google Analytics or HubSpot Marketing Free (both of which are free products) so you can easily track who’s looking at your site.
6. Consult agencies or freelancers for web design help.
If you aren’t on the technical side and want a website built for your small business, you can use a freelancer or a marketing agency that specializes in web design. This is a great option for businesses that already have a website but need it to be updated and revamped for SEO (search engine optimization) to help improve your Google ranking.
To find a freelancer or marketing consultant in your area, you can use Upwork (filtering by design/creative), Codeable (for WordPress experts) or Freelancer.
7. Boost your Google ranking with SEO.
If you already have a business, have you ever searched for yourself or your product/service online? If so, did you think, “Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?” If so, you probably thought, “How do I rank on Google?” or “How can I improve my Google ranking?”
There are a lot of factors that play into why a certain site or page appears in the top spots on the Google (or another search engine) search engine results page (SERP). Backlinko reports some of Google’s top factors, which include having relevant keywords (and their placement on your site), the length of your content, having high-quality content, how fast your page loads, how often you post content, and more.
When it all boils down, Google essentially tries to find the best piece of content to present to the person searching. For example, if I’m searching for the best salon in Newport, Rhode Island, it wouldn’t be helpful for me to find a web page of a salon that has closed down and is located in Newport, Kentucky. It would, however, be helpful for me to find a salon in my area with great Yelp reviews, an easy-to-navigate website, and contact information readily available. Google always wants to surface the most relevant, highest-quality piece of content.
To rank higher on Google, you can leverage the power of SEO, or search engine optimization. To start learning everything there is to know about this powerhouse marketing tactic, check out The Ultimate Guide to SEO.
HubSpot explains SEO as “techniques that help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This makes your website more visible to people who are looking for solutions that your brand, product, or service can provide via search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.” In other words, it’s the basic concept of structuring your website and blog posts to be in the best shape for appearing first on search engines.
SEO strategy usually consists of a few things. These include buyer persona research, keyword research, and on-page SEO research. These three areas can help you learn how your target market is searching online, and position your business to get discovered by the right people.
8. Research keywords opportunities.
Keyword research is an extension of buyer persona research. You can use the personas you’ve created to search for the best keywords for your brand, then use a tool like KW Finder to find related keywords for your target audience.
Then, you can do some on-page SEO research and optimization. This is where you put those keywords in the correct places on your website — like in the meta-description, page titles, and H1 tags.
9. Optimize your website for mobile devices.
Most Google searches are done on mobile devices, so it’s important to have a site that looks clean and easy to navigate when someone enters it on their smartphone. A mobile site can also be beneficial for SEO, with search engines like Google which rewards you with a higher ranking if you have a mobile site.
You don’t have to be a tech expert to build a site that looks good on mobile. In fact, most CMS platforms like HubSpot already offer mobile-optimized templates.
10. Write optimized blog posts.
Content and blogging are extremely important when it comes to your search engine ranking. The more often your desired keywords appear in your high-quality and helpful content, the more likely you are to appear in search results. A great way to become an authority on your topic, product, or service is to blog.
Make sure you’re writing with SEO in mind — use this SEO checklist for bloggers, or a WordPress plugin like Yoast.
11. Experiment with photo and video content.
According to HubSpot Research, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands. Additionally, most social media apps, like Facebook and Instagram are embracing more visual layouts. To keep up with these trends, it’s a good idea to make a few marketing videos. If you use these tips, producing a few can be quite inexpensive.
12. Hire a freelancer to help you scale your content.
If you need some help creating regular blogs or promotional content, consider hiring a freelancer over investing in a full-timer. Try Upwork for a freelance blogger, videographer, or photographer. You could also consider hiring a marketing agency for a larger project.
13. Launch business pages on Facebook and Yelp.
If your business is focused on a local area, the most important accounts for you are Facebook, Yelp, and Google’s business feature. Having high Yelp reviews improves your authority online and helps your search ranking. You can claim your business on Yelp for free, customize your profile and add pictures, and start asking for reviews.
The same thing goes for registering your Google business page. You can register your business with Google (for free) and add pictures. (If you’ve ever searched for your business in Google Maps and been disappointed not to see it, it’s because you haven’t claimed it yet!)
On Facebook, you can create a Facebook business page so that people can find your location and hours.
For any business, having up-to-date social media accounts will help you be found and engage with prospects. Create a Twitter account, Facebook page, learn how to use Instagram, create a Pinterest page (if relevant), and use them as a way to discover new clients.
14. Build out your social media strategy.
While Facebook and Yelp will be great tools for local searches and reviews, platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter will offer you even more opportunities to share your posts, content, and promotions.
If your customers can purchase your products or services online, these platforms will also give them another way to find you.
Be sure not to spread yourself too thin by joining too many platforms at once. To make strategizing easier, here’s a guide to the five types of social media platforms and the pros and cons of each.
15. Use social media for customer service.
Once you’re on your chosen platforms, be sure to answer customer or follower questions when they ask them through post comments or direct messages. This will make your company look responsive and credible. Here are some great examples of how brands have used Twitter for customer service.
If you have the means, consider hiring a social media manager with community management experience. On top of posting content on a regular schedule, community managers are charged with responding to questions or concerns of followers. Interested? We published a guide on what it takes to be a great social media community manager.
16. Build interesting landing pages.
A landing page offers your potential customers a free resource in exchange for filling out a short form of contact information. When they receive the resource, they might be even more pleased by your company and more interested in buying the full product.
Because landing pages raise your chances of customer conversion, you want yours to look enticing. To get started, read this landing page guide to learn more about what makes this strategy successful. Then check out these free and professionally designed templates.
17. Plan an email marketing strategy.
Once you start creating regular content and building out landing pages, you’ll want to share them with the prospects who seem most interested in learning more about your product. For this reason, we suggest building an email marketing strategy.
While you want to be careful not to bombard those who sign up for your email list with too many emails, you want to send just enough to keep your prospects informed and engaged. Here’s how our metrics improved when we streamlined our email marketing strategy.
If you’ve never sent regular newsletters before, you can use HubSpot or a number of other affordable tools to create and send an email with a professionally designed template. Many email tools also offer basic analytics that allow you to track open and click rates.
18. Offer coupons in newsletters or on landing pages.
Placing a coupon in your marketing emails can engage and delight your audience. After buying a product or service at a discounted rate, they also might be more willing to pay for it in full price. If you have a subscription service, it can also be helpful to offer prospects a code for a free trial so they can test it out.
19. Share your distribution channels on your website.
Once you have a few social media accounts and can allow people to sign up for your newsletter, highlight this on your website so your visitors can follow you. One way companies do this is to display all of their linked social icons and a newsletter sign-up call to action on all pages of your website. A good place to include these is on the top right corner or on the footer of each page. This way they are visible but aren’t distracting from any content.
20. Offer a free webinar.
A webinar allows potential customers to sign up for a short online course hosted by you. These courses are usually between 30 minutes to an hour and allow you to give tips and answer questions related to a topic your brand is familiar with. While this strategy can help you boost your credibility in your field, it can also offer you potential leads and sales opportunities.
21. Consider PPC Advertising.
If you’re working hard on SEO, but are still looking for an extra boost, consider PPC — or pay-per-click — advertising. With this search engine marketing technique, you use Google AdWords or Bing Ads to show up higher. and as an advertised listing, in search results. Before you dive into PPC, you’ll want to make sure your landing page is as optimized as possible. If you are paying by the click and those who click on the page don’t convert, you will lose advertising dollars.
To help you get started, read this Ultimate Guide to PPC. Then, use this PPC planning template to plan an optimized campaign. You can also use a few handy tools and software to edit, track, and report on your campaigns.
22. Advertise on social media.
Most of the major social media platforms offer affordable advertising options that can help you target your posts to a specific audience. While many small businesses have been advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for years, Instagram now allows brands to advertise through its Shoppable tool.
23. Experiment with influencer marketing.
Is there someone in your area with a high social media following who’s considered an expert in a field your company exists in? If you’re able to reach out to them, see if they’d be willing to share an experience they’ve had with your product or service on social media. This will alert their follower base of your product. These followers may also trust your product more because an expert is endorsing it.
If you can’t find an influencer to volunteer, you can also consider paying one or two on a freelance basis. To learn more about this strategy, check out our Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing.
24. Try co-marketing.
Is there a local business in your area that isn’t a direct competitor but offers a product or service to a similar target audience? Consider working with them on a cobranded campaign where you promote each other on social media, via email, or in your blog. While you’ll give your partnering company added promotion, it will also allow their fanbase to learn more about you.
25. Draw up a go-to-market strategy.
Once you’ve activated all the tools you need to promote your product or service, you’ll need to create a promotional plan that aligns with the customer journey. Consider which content will attract, engage, and delight your prospects and how you will convert them into a customer.
To help you plan out this process, use this template.
26. Encourage happy customers to share their experiences.
When a happy customer talks about how great your company is on social media or a review site, your product or service looks like a good investment. Even on social media, word of mouth is still a huge factor in someone’s purchasing decision. If a prospect sees a friend raving about your business on Facebook or if they post a photo of a meal from your restaurant on Instagram, they could be more likely to go. After all, 71% of consumers are more likely to purchase based on social media referrals.
If customers are telling you they love your product, encourage them to share about the experience on Yelp, Google, or social. If you have a physical business, you might also want to place signs up with your account handles so customers know who to tag if they post a picture of your product.
27. Try out marketing experiments.
If there’s a new social platform you’re interested in or a new marketing trend, don’t be afraid to experiment. If an experiment goes well, you could be ahead of the game, and it never hurts to be a thought leader in your industry.
When you experiment with a new marketing strategy, be sure to have a solid hypothesis or question in mind. This will keep you focused on the end goal and reduce the desire to chase the next big thing as it comes along. Also, prepare for what your next steps will be if you get good or bad results. Here’s a quick guide to leading a successful marketing experiment.
Well, there you have it. Here’s a round-up of the key takeaways from this article:

Start Marketing Your Business Today
You probably have a long road ahead to build your online presence, but any steps you can make will have a huge impact on your business. Some things like blogging definitely take a few months to start kicking in and generating traffic, but social media posts pay-per-click ads can have immediate effects. If you’re still not sure which direction is the perfect fit for your business, brainstorm your ideas in this marketing plan template.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Instagram hashtags are powerful. 
They can help your posts reach a target audience, attract followers in your niche, increase engagement, and develop a more positive and recognizable brand image.
Here’s the thing, though: with great power comes great responsibility (#spiderman).

Hashtags can skyrocket your business to new heights, but if used too frequently or without a clear strategy in mind, they become pointless and inefficient.
While it can be hard to choose the right hashtags on Instagram, you don’t have to guess. Aside from this article, we’ve put together an ultimate course on using Instagram for marketing. In this course, we’ll teach you to not just attract followers, but to attract the right followers.
First, let’s go over Instagram hashtags specifically — and why they’re so important for your Instagram marketing strategy. We’ll cover the following topics: 

What is an Instagram hashtag? 
Why are hashtags important?
Types of Instagram hashtags 
Best practices for using hashtags on Instagram  
Top Instagram hashtags for 2021
Trending Instagram hashtags
How to use hashtags on Instagram for business
How to search hashtags on Instagram

Why are hashtags important?
Hashtags are essentially Instagram’s sorting process. With around 95 million photos posted on Instagram every day, it’s difficult for Instagram to efficiently deliver the right content to the right people. Hashtags help your post get discovered by viewers most interested in seeing it.
Krystal Gillespie, HubSpot’s Social Media Community Manager, explains the importance of hashtags this way: “Hashtags are like a funnel. For instance, #marketing is incredibly broad and attracts all types of posts. We’ve found #digitalmarketing or #marketingmotivation gives us a more specific, targeted reach. The audience searching for these hashtags are also trying to narrow their search to what we offer related to marketing, so we’re actually reaching more of the right people.”
Essentially, hashtags are a better way to categorize your posts. They help you reach a target audience, and more importantly, they help your target audience find you. These users are more likely to engage with your post because it is exactly what they were looking for.

Types of Instagram Hashtags 
Hashtags are highly versatile little pieces of text. They can build a community, make your account more visible, or simply attract like-minded individuals to your account. 
Before choosing a group of hashtags for your posts, take a look at the most common ones you can use and their categorizations.
Best Instagram Hashtags for Companies
Whether you’re a social media manager at a company, an owner of a small business, or a sole proprietor, you can use the following hashtags to get more visibility on Instagram. 

Product or service hashtags. Companies use product hashtags for posts related to their product and service offerings. This will usually be general, such as #hairsalon or #knitwear. 

Industry niche hashtags. These hashtags are used to indicate the specific work you do and are narrower than your product or service hashtags. Examples include #blackhairsalon or #handmadeknits. 

Branded hashtags. Branded hashtags help you build a community specifically around your brand or business. This can be a slogan. It can also be the name of a specific product that you offer or even your business name. 

Campaign hashtags. If you’re running a sponsored ad, you can use a unique hashtag to keep track of activity relating to the campaign. 

User-generated content hashtags. This type of hashtag is created specifically for your customers. These are different from product, branded, and campaign hashtags because you, the company, can’t influence what gets posted. Other people can visit this hashtag to see unfiltered and unsponsored photos of your product. 

Instagram community hashtags for your industry. These hashtags are great for getting more visibility among other Instagrammers who do what you do. For example, if you were a knitter, you might post in #knittersofinstagram.   

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Event or conference hashtags. As a company or business owner, you can use these hashtags to add to the conversation relating to a specific event or industry conference.  

Cultural movement hashtags. Cultural movements such as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ Pride, and feminism have hashtags on Instagram (#BlackLivesMatter, #Pride, and #feminism, respectively). Use these hashtags to uplift voices, share information, and make your company’s stance clear. 

Location hashtags. These are great to target users in your area. Think #hairsalonnyc or #atlantabakery. 
 

Phrase hashtags. Phrase hashtags such as #writeeveryday and #bebrave can hint at what you do while providing inspiration to users.  

Like individuals, you can also use daily, acronym, and holiday hashtags to engage in trending conversations. 
Top Instagram Hashtags for Individuals
Do you use Instagram for personal use? Take a look at the hashtags that are available to you. 

Personal hashtags. You use these hashtags specifically in posts related to you. Think #me, #selfie, #lovemyself, #vacation, and #lovemylife. 

Daily hashtags. Daily hashtags usually have a theme, such as #workoutwednesday, #throwbackthursday, and #motivationmonday. 

Acronym hashtags. Think #ootd (outfit of the day), #potd (photo of the day), and #tbt. 

Holiday hashtags. Use these hashtags for specific holidays such as #DiaDeLosMuertos or #IndependenceDay to share how you’re spending time during these days. 

Like companies, you can also use phrase, cultural movement, event, and location hashtags. 

Best Practices for Using Hashtags on Instagram  
Using hashtags on Instagram is a relatively simple process, but you’ll want to adhere to a few rules to get the most out of your hashtagging. 
We’ve compiled best practices under the following frequently asked questions. 
How many hashtags can I use on instagram? 
Thirty hashtags is the maximum number you can use. 
The average is eleven, with half of Instagram accounts using between one and three. You can use more or less depending on your Instagram marketing goals. More doesn’t necessarily mean better. 
Should I add hashtags to every Instagram post? 
Yes! Absolutely you should. 
Try to choose hashtags that are as narrow or as niche as possible. The less volume of posts a hashtag has, the more likely you’ll be seen by people who follow them. Plus, if the subject matter is highly specific, people are more likely to engage with your post. 
All of my posts are similar. Can I use the same hashtags over and over again? 
No. Instagram’s algorithm may penalize you for consistently using the same hashtags, pushing your posts down so they don’t show up for those tags. 
Even more, they might even ban your account, because using identical hashtags could make it look like you’re spamming users.
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Try rotating out your hashtags so that they’re highly relevant to that specific post, even if the posts are similar. Let’s say that you own a handmade pasta business. If you always use the hashtag #spaghetti but post photos of linguini, macaroni, and penne, Instagram may flag your account, and users won’t engage. 
Can I hide the hashtags in a comment? 
Absolutely. You can hide your hashtags in a comment. Instagram doesn’t distinguish between caption hashtags and comment hashtags. 
Simply write your caption as you would. After that, navigate to the published post and leave a comment with your hashtags. They will be hidden completely until users navigate to the comment section. 
How do I hide hashtags in the caption? 
Don’t want to post the hashtags in a comment? No worries. 
You can hide the hashtags in the caption by either 1) writing a caption that’s more than three lines long or 2) adding 3 to 5 line breaks with a punctuation mark.  
To add a line break, place the text cursor at the end of your caption and hit Return. Don’t forget to add either a period, a dash, an asterisk, or a tilde to ensure that that line stays there. (If there’s no punctuation, Instagram may treat it as accidental extra space, and delete those line breaks upon publication.) 
Are there any hashtags I should avoid using? 
Yes. Instagram maintains a list of banned hashtags. However, they don’t publish this list, and there’s no authoritative source. 
Some are intuitive, such as NSFW and self-harm hashtags, while others, such as #pushups and #mustfollow, aren’t as self-evident. If you have any doubt about your hashtags, be sure to look it up using the app’s Search function.
If it doesn’t show up, it’s banned. If it does show up, navigate to the hashtag feed and check for a message like this: 
 

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If your prospective hashtag doesn’t have a message like this, you’re all good to go. 
Now that you know some basic dos and don’ts, let’s take a look at the top Instagram hashtags for the year. 

Adding one of the most popular Instagram hashtags to your post doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see more interaction. Since the hashtags below are so popular, they are being used by millions of people, so your post will most likely be obscured by the competition. Narrowing your hashtag topic is important, but we’ll get to that next.
Here are the top Instagram hashtags for this year.
1. #love (2B posts)
Instagram users build their photo galleries on good feelings. For this reason, the #love hashtag is ever present next to the pics of friends, family, vacations, and beautiful scenery.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #love: 
#love #lovely #loveit #loveyourself #lovelife #lovequotes #loveislove #lovefood #lovemylife #lovewhatyoudo #lovethis
2. #instagood (1.2B posts)
Occurrences of this hashtag are inspired by the @instagood Instagram account, which scours the Instagram community for excellent photos and videos that are just too #instagood not to share. Add this hashtag to your content for a chance to be reposted.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagood:
#instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment #instagramhub

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3. #fashion (900M posts)
People often turn to Instagram to see what styles are “in”, looking at posts ranging from fashion week to everyday outfit inspirations. This means that a significant portion of the content on Instagram revolves around fashion — in fact, there are nearly one billion #fashion posts on Instagram. You will find celebrities, luxury brands, clothes, makeup, and other aspirational images tagged with #fashion.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fashion: 
#fashion #fashionblogger #fashionista #fashionable #fashionstyle #fashionblog #fashiongram #fashionaddict #fashionweek #fashiondiaries
4. #photooftheday (883M posts)
Managing a business account? This hashtag is a surefire way to attract more followers and repeat visitors. If you plan to post daily content, all around a common theme, add the #photooftheday hashtag to increase your exposure.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #photooftheday: 
#photooftheday #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday #bestoftheday
5. #art (750M posts)
Artists of all kinds have always flocked to Instagram, and this hashtag holds pictures or process videos of all of their paintings, sculptures, and quirky creations. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #art: 
#art #artist #artwork #instaart #arte #streetart #digitalart #artofvisuals #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #artsy #artistic #arts #artgallery #modernart 
6. #beautiful (717M posts)
Instagram is the place to go to put your best foot forward — whether it be your amazing getaway, a new hairstyle, or a breath-taking sunset, #beautiful photos encompass the best of what the platform has to offer.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #beautiful: 
#beautiful #beautifuldestinations #beautifulday #beautifulview #beautifulplace #beautifulcuisines #beautifulplaces #beautifuldestination #beautifulnature
7. #photography (700M posts)
At its core, Instagram is a photo sharing media, so it makes sense that there are some stunning and artistic images shared in #photography. Instagram is unique in that a user could be scrolling through the #photography posts and see National Geographic and professional photos next to amateur photographers.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #photography: 
#photography #travelphotography #naturephotography #streetphotography #foodphotography #portraitphotography #landscapephotography #weddingphotography #blackandwhitephotography
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8. #follow (620M posts)
This hashtag — currently tagged on more than six hundred million posts — is a tactic used by public accounts looking to gain more followers. It’s a ubiquitous tag, non-specific to any one type of content creator, so you’ll see #follow on fashion accounts, travel blogs, makeup tutorials, celebrity fan pages, and much more. The idea is that if a user comes across content that they like on your explore page, they might be motivated to follow the account for more of that content.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #follow: 
#follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback #pleasefollow #follows #follower #following
9. #happy (615M posts)
Sometimes the best part of feeling good is sharing that sunshine with others. The #happy group of posts is full of radiant people and lighthearted content that brings us joy. Tag a photo of a cute kitten or one of yourself after getting a promotion with #happy.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #happy: 
#happy #happyday #happylife #happyfriday #happyhour #happyme #happymonday #happysunday #happytime #happydays #happydog #happyplace
10. #cute (610M posts)
#Cute puts your content in a pool of Instagram photos and videos that elicit “awes” from all over the Instaverse. If you think your puppy is the cutest puppy that ever lived, it deserves a photo with this esteemed hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #cute: 
#cute #cutedog #cutebaby #cuteness #cuteanimals #cutecat #cutepetclub #cutenessoverload #cuteboy #cutedogs #cutecouple #cutepuppy #cutest 
11. #instagram (600M posts)
Navigate to this hashtag and you’ll find everything from selfies to photos of food to pet pictures to vacation shots. Use this hashtag to signal that you’re on Instagram and that you have something worth sharing. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagram: 
#instagram #instagramers #instagramhub #instagrammers #instagramer #instagramanet #instagramdogs #instagrammer #instagramjapan #instagramcats #instagramfitness

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12. #nature (600M posts)
Nature is all around us. It’s also on Instagram. This hashtag is used to post everything related to nature, including mountains, rivers, and wild animals. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #nature: 
#nature #naturephotography #naturelovers #naturelover #nature_perfection #naturegram #nature_brilliance #natureaddict #nature_shooters #naturephoto #naturelove
13. #tbt (560M posts)
#Tbt stands for “Throwback Thursday,” and encourages Instagram users to post an old photo of themselves or an event they’re reminiscing over. Everyone likes content from the good old days — here’s your hashtag for enjoying the nostalgia.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #tbt: 
#throwbackthursday #tbthursday #tbtphoto 
14. #followme (560M posts) 
A close cousin to #followforfollow and #likeforlike, #followme is used by Instagrammers looking to grow their follower base.  
Top Instagram hashtags related to #followme: 
#follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback #pleasefollow #follows #follower #following
15. #travel (544M posts)
Away for the weekend? Show your followers where you are, using this hashtag to indicate you’re traveling somewhere new.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #travel: 
#travel #travelgram #instatravel #travelphotography #traveling #travelling #travelblogger #traveler #traveller #travelingram #traveltheworld #travelblog #travels #traveladdict 
16. #style (500M posts)
This hashtag has more than 500 million posts associated with it, making it one of the top tags on Instagram. It’s used for beautifully edited photos of outfits, vacations, luxury products, and anything aesthetically stunning. Tag #style on a gorgeous outfit inspiration or new product, and Instagram users looking to add a little glamour to their lives will find you.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #style: 
#style #styleinspo #styleblogger #styleinspiration #styleoftheday #stylefashion #stylegoals #stylediary #stylegram #styleguide #styleblog
17. #repost (500M posts)
Reposting is a common function on Instagram that allows you to share content from other users, with credit back to the original user. Use the hashtag, #repost, to tell others on Instagram that you were inspired by this photo or video.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #repost: 
#repost #reposter #repostapp  #reposting #repostthis #reposted 
18. #instadaily (500M posts)
This hashtag is similar to #photooftheday and is perfect for Instagrammers who post every day.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instadaily: 
#photooftheday #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday #bestoftheday
19. #summer (490M posts)
The summertime is the best season to enjoy fun vacations, fruity drinks, and time by the pool. This tag is full of Instagram users enjoying the long summertime hours on the beach or showing off the breezy outfits keeping them cool under the hot #summer sun.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #summer: 
#summer #summertime #summervibes #summerfun #summernights #summerdays #summerstyle #summerfashion #summerday

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20. #selfie (442M posts)
This is the quintessential selfie hashtag, indicating to the Instagram community that the photo its captioning is a picture of you.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #selfie:
#me #selfies #selfietime #selfienation #selfiesunday  #selfiegram #selfielove #selfieaddict #selfiesaturday #selfiemania 
21. #fitness (433M posts)
Get in on a trending community of workout warriors with photos and videos from your best exercise sessions, using the #fitness hashtag to share the moment.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fitness:
#fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitnessmodel #fitnessaddict #fitnessgirl #fitnessjourney #fitnesslife #fitnesslifestyle #fitnessgoals #fitnessfreak #fitnessfood #fitnessgear #fitnessinspiration
22. #beauty (431M posts) 
The hashtag #beauty is mainly used by beauty bloggers — professional make-up artists and hobbyists — but you’ll also find some pet shots and nature shots in there, too. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #beauty:
#beauty #beautyblog #beautycare #beautytips #beautyaddict #beautysalon #beautybloggers #beautyqueen #beautyguru #beautyproducts #beautyofnature #beautygram 
23. #food (428M posts)
Meal pics are the bread and butter (no pun intended) of a people-oriented Instagram account. Use the #food hashtag to caption your next delicious Instagram photo.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #food:
#food #foodporn #instafood #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
24. #fun (400M posts)
If it’s not fun, it’s not Instagram-worthy. Make it known to millions of Instagram users that you had a blast in your latest photo or video with this popular hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #fun:
#fun #funny #lol #lmao #hilarious #laugh #laughing #tweegram #friends #wacky #crazy #silly #witty #instahappy #joke #jokes
25. #likeforlike (345M posts)
#Likeforlike is similar to the #followforfollow hashtag. Use this hashtag if you want to increase engagement on your Instagram account, telling users that you’ll like their photo or video if they like yours.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #likeforlike:
#likeforlike #followme #like4like #liker #likes #l4l #likes4likes #love #likesforlikes #liketeam #likeback #likebackteam #likeall #likealways
The above hashtags might have helped define Instagram over the last year, but there are still plenty more that end up trending every year. The following hashtags can help inspire photos and videos that Instagram users always find captivating. 

1. #life (366M posts)
This one goes out to all the photos and videos that encompass the essence of your life — whether in quarantine or not. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #life:
#life #lifestyle #healthylifestyle #lovelife #luxurylifestyle #lifeisgood #lifestyleblogger #lifequotes #loveofmylife #luxurylife #lifeofadventure 
2. #music (350M posts)
This hashtag is for those who love music and the people who create it. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #music:
#music #musica #musician #musically #musicvideo #musical #musicians #musicislife #musicproducer #musiclife #musiclover #musicfestival #musicphotography #musicproduction
3. #amazing (289M posts)
The hashtag #amazing is used for everything you find, well, amazing — places, art, beautiful homes, awe-inspiring videos, and more. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #amazing:
#beautiful #cute #awesome #amazingview #amazingfood #amazingplaces
4. #nofilter (280M posts)
Instagram offers so many different filters to help enhance photos, it’s practically assumed that any picture on Instagram has been edited. But if you’re posting a pic that was beautiful all by itself, let the world know that this gem didn’t need a filter to look so nice.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #nofilter:
#nofilter #nofilterneeded #nofilters #nofiltersneeded #nofilternecessary #nofilterneededforthisbeauty 
5. #sunset (272M posts)
Who doesn’t love a good sunset? Users add posts to this hashtag to show off a beautiful sunset near them. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #sunset:
#sunset #sunsets #sunsetlovers #sunsetporn #sunsetlover #sunsetsky #sunsetphotography #sunsetbeach #sunsethunter #sunsetmadness 
6. #motivation (258M posts)
On Twitter, #MondayMotivation encourages inspiring quotes and messages to help people start the week off on the right foot. On Instagram, the #motivation hashtag has come to caption anything from a photo of a user after a big gym session, to a computer screen right before he or she gets to work.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #motivation:
#motivation #motivationalquotes #motivational #motivationmonday #motivationalquote #MotivationalSpeaker #motivationalmonday #motivations #motivationquotes
7. #instamood (251M posts)
#Instamood is all about the vibe or emotion a photo or video elicits. Pretty scenery, a day at the beach, or a night out with good people are all prominent under the #instamood hashtag. Landscapes are a popular starting point when figuring out what to post on Instagram, according to Jumper Media, and they fit into this hashtag perfectly.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instamood:
#instamood #instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment #instagramhub 
8. #foodporn (250M posts)
I hope you’re hungry! The #foodporn tag is brimming with mouthwatering posts of desserts, pizza, recipe videos, and so much more. This hashtag is for the best of the best when it comes to delectable treats on Instagram — find the most original, delicious, and tantalizing food pictures on the internet under this hashtag.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #foodporn:
#food #foodporn #instafood #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
9. #handmade (245M posts)
The hashtag #handmade is like the #art hashtag for handmade wares, clothing, and novelties. The rise of slow fashion and a growing interest in sustainably-made products makes this one of the top trending hashtags this year. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #handmade:
#handmade #handmadejewelry #handmadewithlove #handmadeisbetter #handmadefont #handmadegifts #handmadejewellery #handmadeshoes #handmadesoap #handmadeaccessories 
10. #dogsofinstagram (225M posts)
We all know that the internet loves cute puppies, so it shouldn’t be surprising when a hashtag for our beloved doggos trends on Instagram.  It’s always a good idea to include man’s best friend in an Instagram post — your followers will love it and you’re almost guaranteed dozens of heart emojis in your comments.
Image Source
Top Instagram hashtags related to #dogsofinstagram:
#dogsofinstagram #dogs #dog #dogstagram #dogsofinsta #dogsofig #dogsitting #dogslife #doglife #dogsofinstaworld #dogoftheday
11. #bestoftheday (210M posts)
The #bestoftheday tag offers a glimpse into the massive amount of varied content that is posted to Instagram every day. Here, you’ll find some of the most noteworthy images on the platform — images of beautiful spots around the world, award-winning photos, yummy recipes, adorable animals, and so much more.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #bestoftheday: 
 #bestoftheday #instadaily #potd #picoftheday #photography #photographyeveryday #photographyoftheday
12. #instafood (190M posts)
This popular tag is different from other food hashtags because it accompanies food pictures that are gorgeous, creative, and, most importantly, worthy of Instagram. Instagram posts are  known for being aesthetically appealing, and #instafood is no different. Use this tag if you’re posting a photo of a colorful, unique, and sumptuous dish! 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instafood:
#instafood #food #foodporn #foodie #healthyfood #foodstagram #foodgasm #foodphotography #foodblogger #foodlover #foodpics #foodpic #foodies
13. #explore (185M posts) 
Instagram has always had an explore section, but only recently have Instagrammers started to use this hashtag to win a highly coveted but elusive spot on this page. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #explore:
#instagrammers #igers #instalove #instamood #instagood #followme #follow #comment #shoutout
14. #memes (180M posts) 
A classic but a goodie. Throughout the years, humor has taken different forms — comedy sitcoms, stand-ups, knock-knock jokes, and more. But none of these forms come near the Instagram-worthiness of memes. Use this hashtag to share a unique meme or repost one from another account. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #memes:
#memes #meme #dankmemes #funnymemes #memesdaily #edgymemes #offensivememes #fortnitememes #dailymemes #spicymemes #memestagram #btsmemes #memes😂  #memepage #memelord
15. #followforfollowback (160M posts)
Interested in building a fast list of followers on Instagram? #Followforfollowback tells everyone who browses this hashtag that you’ll follow users who choose to follow you. This hashtag is always trending highly.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #followforfollowback:
#followforfollowback #follow #f4f #followme #followforfollow #follow4follow #teamfollowback #followbackteam #followall #followalways #followback
16. #tweegram (95M posts)
There is plenty of multi-platform sharing across social media sites, and in #tweegram, you’ll find images taken from Twitter, Pinterest, and more. #Tweegram is best known for quotes, screenshots of Tweets, and memes.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #tweegram:
#tweetgram #tweet #twitter #twitterposts #twitterweek #twittermarketing #twittermemes #twitterpost #twittermeme #twitterquotes #twitterwhy 
17. #instagramhub (65M posts)
This hashtag isn’t specific to one type of post — #instagramhub is a place for active Instagram users to demonstrate their presence on the platform and reach larger audiences. By including this popular hashtag, influencers on Instagram are able to connect with as many users as possible.
Top Instagram hashtags related to #instagramhub:
 #instagramhub  #igers #instagram #instadaily #instamood #instagood #instalife #instalike #instapic #insta #instacool #instafollow #instaphoto #instagramers #instamoment
18. #quarantine (30M posts)
#Quarantine is the quintessential COVID-19 hashtag and has no defined aesthetic or subject matter. Instead, it ecompasses everything that we see, experience, and do — or don’t do — during quarantine. You can find pet photos, cooking videos, memes, and, most shockingly, shots of people on vacation. 
It’s worth noting that there’s no #COVID hashtag because Instagram wants to prevent the spread of misinformation. 
Top Instagram hashtags related to #quarantine:
#quarantine #quarantinelife #quarantineandchill
19. #BlackLivesMatter (26M posts)
The Black Lives Matter movement swept through the United States in 2020 and has been at the forefront of the cultural imagination since the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Use this hashtag to add value to the movement or uplift voices that differ from your own.  
Top Instagram hashtags related to #blacklivesmatter:
#blm #blackhistorymonth #blackownedbusiness #blackgirlmagic #blackouttuesday #blackexcellence
Read HubSpot’s stance on Black Lives Matter here.

1. Keep your hashtags organized.
To create an efficient hashtag system, you can use Excel or an Instagram analytics tool. If you choose an excel sheet, you’ll need to manually keep track of which hashtags you use, how often, and which ones correlate to your most popular posts. Over time, you’ll see relationships between certain hashtags and your most popular posts, and this can help you decide which hashtags work best for your brand.
If you have a more advanced social media team, you might want to consider a tool like Iconosquare, which automatically stores top hashtags and provides reports on which hashtags reach the most people.
For smaller businesses with limited budgets, Krystal Gillespie says that, “an excel sheet is the best way to start. Once you get more advanced I would highly recommend using a tool to track the data. A manual system can get overwhelming when you’re posting three times a day and using about 20 hashtags per post.”
2. Figure out your magic number.
Most top brands use seven or fewer hashtags per post, so it’s easy to assume that’s the magic number for everyone … right? Krystal explains that this isn’t always the case: She told me HubSpot has been more successful with hashtags ranging in the low 20s.
The point is, you can’t know how many hashtags work best for you until you test it. For HubSpot, it took the team several months to find a number that worked best, and during our trial period, we ranged from seven to 30. Give yourself the same flexibility for trial and error.
3. Narrow your hashtags.
There are two big reasons more specific, smaller-volume hashtags are better for your brand: first, you can compete in a smaller pool. HubSpot, for example, doesn’t typically use the hashtag #marketing because it’s too broad. If you search #marketing, you’ll find pictures of restaurants, inspirational quotes, before-and-after hair style pictures, and memes.
The randomness of #marketing leads me to the second reason specific hashtags are a good idea: as a user, I’m more likely to find what I need if I search for something specific, and when your business comes up for my specific search request, I’m more likely to be happy with what I found.
Krystal explains: “Keeping a hashtag close to the interests of your brand really helps. We try to use hashtags tailored for a specific topic and then narrow it down further — for instance, we’d use #SEOTips if our marketing post was mostly about SEO.”
Think of it this way: #dogs is more popular, but it has a wide demographic. If I search #goldenretrieverpuppies and I find your post, I’m more likely to engage with it because it’s exactly what I wanted.
4. Research what other people are hashtagging.
An easy way to generate hashtag ideas is to make a list of your followers or competitors and research what they’re hashtagging on their own photos. It can also be particularly helpful to research what influencers in your industry are hashtagging — by definition, influencers are people with a large social media following, so they must be doing something right.
5. Test out related hashtags.
When you type a hashtag into Instagram’s search bar, Instagram shows you related hashtags in the scroll-down menu. Instagram also delivers related hashtags on the next page after you click on a hashtag. This is a simple way to create a longer list of hashtags to try out.
6. Follow your own hashtag.
Another way to use Instagram hashtags for your marketing purposes is to follow your own hashtag. Krystal explains, “On Instagram I actually follow the hashtag #hubspot so I can find anyone who talks about us and connect with them. As long as your account isn’t private, people will be able to find you via the hashtag.”
Following your own hashtag is an effective way to engage with other people talking about your brand and develop better relationships with them.
7. Create a brand campaign hashtag.
This is the trickiest item on the list, but if done successfully, it can pay off big time. Some businesses have successfully attracted followers by creating their own campaign hashtag. A campaign hashtag needs to be funny, clever, or at least memorable in order to work.
Campaign hashtags are particularly useful for promoting a new product or upcoming event, or even just inspiring people. Red Bull, for example, encouraged followers to post Red Bull pictures with a #putacanonit hashtag (see what I mean about clever?). LuLuLemon, rather than running a more traditional ad campaign, developed a positive connotation for their brand by asking followers to post real, active pictures of themselves with a #sweatlife hashtag.
Now that we’ve covered the importance of using Instagram hashtags for your business, you might be wondering how to search for Instagram hashtags within the app, or how to use the search function to find related ideas. If you’re unsure of the technical process for hashtag searching, here’s how:

How to Search Hashtags on Instagram
To search hashtags on Instagram, tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen, then tap the search bar at the top. Selecting the “Tags” option will enable you to search hashtags and related hashtags based on the popularity of each one.
1. Open Instagram and tap the search icon.
Instagram wants you to use hashtags, and has made it extremely easy to find the perfect ones for your post. To start, open the Instagram app on your mobile device and tap the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen.

2. Tap the search bar at the top of your screen.
The search screen on your Instagram might first send you to a newsfeed-style page (the Explore page) with suggested content based on topics you’ve demonstrated an interest in on social media. To switch to a hashtag search, tap the search bar at the top of this page, as shown in the screenshot above.
3. Tap “Tags.”
Once you’ve tapped the search bar at the top of your screen, Instagram will give you four options with which to filter your search. Instagram refers to hashtags as simply “Tags,” as shown in the screenshot below. Tap this “Tags” option, then tap the search bar above it, and begin searching topics for which you want to find a trending hashtag.
You don’t have to include the pound sign (#) in your search — your results will be the same with or without it — but you will need to use this pound sign in the caption of your photo once you choose a hashtag.

4. Browse hashtags based on post count and current content.
Voila! You should see multiple options for hashtags based on your search. Browse around at each related hashtag that Instagram suggests for you — you might find that a hashtag with slightly fewer posts includes photos or videos that are more in line with the content you’re posting.
After finding the best hashtags for your account, you’ll be sure to create a winning hashtag strategy. 
Use Hashtags on Instagram to Gain More Followers
Using hashtags is a critical part of a strong Instagram marketing strategy. Following best practices, you can increase your follower count and boost the numbers of leads coming from Instagram. Happy hashtagging!
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Ever since email marketing became a legitimate marketing channel in the 1990s, email marketers have largely measured their performance against two metrics: open rate and clickthrough rate.
The open rate measures the percentage of recipients who opened your email, which helps you gauge the performance of your subject line and preview. Your clickthrough rate (CTR) measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on the links in your email against the total number of subscribers who received the email.

This means that a low open rate can dilute your clickthrough rate, even if a large percentage of the recipients who opened your email clicked through to your website. With this in mind, your clickthrough rate may not be the best indicator of engagement.
So, how do you accurately measure your email campaigns’ true levels of engagement? Cue the click-to-open rate, or CTOR.
At HubSpot, our email marketing team measures their campaigns’ engagement against CTOR because it’s a clear indicator of resonance.
“CTOR helps us understand and measure how our email message and CTAs are resonating and performing with our audience,” says Ari Echt-Wilson, a Conversational Marketing Manager at HubSpot and former Experiment Head of HubSpot’s Global Messaging Team. “Since the only people who see the message are the ones that open the email, it makes sense for us to measure clicks based on those who opened the email.”
How To Calculate the CTOR
To calculate the click-to-open rate, the formula is simple: You start by dividing the number of unique clicks by the number of unique opens. Then, you multiply that number by 100. The answer is your CTOR.

Let’s use an example: You send an email to 1,000 subscribers. Twenty subscribers open the email and there are a total of 15 clicks. Here’s how you find the CTOR: (15/20) x 100 = 75%. This would mean that your CTOR is very high, with the majority of subscribers who opened the email clicking on the links.
When using this formula, it’s important to only count unique opens and clicks. For instance, if one of your subscribers opens your email in the morning and clicks on a link. Then, later that night, they go back to the email and click on it again. You wouldn’t want that subscriber to be counted twice, as that would muddle the data. That’s why the CTOR must only account for unique opens and clicks.
Now that you know how to calculate the CTOR, you may want to set benchmarks for your own emails. A 2020 Campaign Monitor report found that the average click-to-open rate across all industries is 14.3%. Brands in real estate, design, and construction industries see the highest CTOR averages at 17.7%. The same report shows that food and beverage brands experience the lowest CTOR at 8.9%.
Use these numbers as benchmarks for your own campaigns.
CTR vs. CTOR: Which one is better?
According to Echt-Wilson, CTOR is arguably the best metric for measuring an email campaign’s resonance. But this rate can reveal even more insights about your email marketing, helping your team understand how to improve your campaigns.
“If an email is never opened, then it’s hard to grasp how we can move the needle in terms of engagement,” says Tova Miller, a Senior Marketing Manager and former Demand Generation Marketing Manager at HubSpot.
Clickthrough rate is still a valuable metric to track though, especially when you need a holistic view of your email’s performance.
“I look at clickthrough rate to get a high-level understanding of how my email performed overall,” says Jordan Pritikin, the Email and Growth Marketing Manager at HubSpot. “Since CTR accounts for deliverability, subject line performance, and how your email’s content performed, it’s a good metric to look at when I need a quick glance at how my email performed overall.”
How to Improve Your CTOR
Whether you’ve been tracking your CTOR for a while or plan to start, there will always be room for improvement. Here are a few steps to take to enhance your CTOR:
1. Use CTA buttons.
A great email has a few elements: engaging copy, enticing images, and compelling calls-to-action. And in an email full of text, button CTAs are great attention-catchers.
You can use text-based CTAs, like “Click here for more information.” However, some data reports suggest that buttons can lead to higher clickthrough rates. In one A/B test, Campaign Monitor saw a 28% increase in conversions by using a button instead of a text link.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using buttons:

Keep the prompt short: one to three words.
Use action-based verbs, like “learn,” “discover,” “find,” and “start.”
Place your CTA after presenting the offer, not before.

Lastly, your CTA button should be prominent enough to stand out, but not so big that it hinders the overall user experience. If you’re not sure, do a squint test to make sure it’s just right.
2. Re-evaluate your offers.
One of the reasons why your click-to-open rate may be low is because your offers don’t align with your audience’s interests. You may find that subscribers are opening up your email but as they scroll, none of the links appeal to them.
There are a few ways to address this:

Segment your email list – This will ensure you deliver emails that your subscribers are actually interested in. Your leads shouldn’t be receiving the same emails as your customers. They’re in different stages of the funnel and may have different motivations.

Send a survey – If you’re not sure what offers your audience want to see, who better to ask than the source itself? You can also include link triggers in the email survey that can segment subscribers based on their answers.

3. Stick to one CTA.
There are a few tactics you can use when it comes to email CTAs. Some brands prefer to employ multiple CTAs in their emails, leaving it up to subscribers to click on the one they find most interesting. You’ll see this often in emails for retail offers. The idea is that more CTAs equals more opportunities to increase CTR.
One drawback of this approach is choice overload. It happens when consumers have difficulty making a decision because they are faced with too many options.
With this in mind, consider testing a single CTA. If there’s only one desired action, you may increase your CTOR by using this focused method.
However, keep in mind that this approach may not be appropriate for all campaigns. Experiment, A/B test, and adjust as needed.
Email Marketing Is Always Adapting
Email marketing might be one of the most established marketing channels in the digital era, but it’s always adapting. Clickthrough rate reigned as the superior engagement metric for most of email marketing’s history, but the click-to-open rate is proving to be a lot more revealing and insightful than its predecessor.

When you visit the App Store or Google Play and search “social media,” there are hundreds of apps to choose from. But, as the pool of social platforms grows, will any of them really change the game for marketers this year?
The truth is, probably so. The year 2020 changed the way we did just about everything — including socializing. Social distancing became a familiar part of our lives leaving a void for personalized communication we used to have in-person.
Nevertheless, humans are adaptable, and several new social networking sites have emerged in the last twelve months to recreate the communities we’ve had to abandon abruptly.

2021 Social Media Trends
The hottest trend thus far is audio-based social networking. Stephanie Morgan, social media expert and founder of marketing agency Social Lock sees a bright future for this new type of community, “Audio-based social networking is a relatively new concept, but it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
Aside from Facebook and Snapchat, we’ve also been watching platforms like Reddit and Pinterest aim to improve on advertising and marketing features.
But, if your role specializes in social media, audience growth, or online engagement — or if your company targets the early-adopters in Gen-Z or millennial age groups — you’ll still want to be on the lookout for platforms that could gain momentum later on.
Why? Watching the growth of young, promising social channels will help you determine which are worth joining and which aren’t worth your time. And, if you do end up joining a hot new social channel early on, you may have more time to pick up on what promotional content works there. This will put you ahead of competitors that launch their accounts later and might struggle to come up with creative post ideas.
To help you stay on the cutting edge of social media, we’ve compiled a list of six young social platforms that you might want to put on your radar this year. These platforms have all gained a large user base, interest from investors, or news buzz in recent months.
For each platform, we’ll walk you through how it works, its user base, why it might be promising to marketers later on, and how you should approach it today.
1. TikTok

Year Launched: 2017 (Founded in 2016)

Number of Users: 1 billion monthly active users

In 2018, the lip-syncing app, Musical.ly merged with a similar one-year-old app called TikTok. Since then, TikTok has reportedly reached 1 billion active monthly users. With more than 2.6 billion global downloads, TikTok is now more popular in app stores than Facebook, Instagram, and other prominent social media platforms.
For those who remember Vine or Musical.ly, TikTok is like a mix of the two. The platform allows you to film short videos that play on a repetitive loop just like Vine. But, like Musical.ly or Snapchat, you can add fun effects, AR filters, text, and musical overlays to zest things up. Like similar video platforms, it has been primarily adopted by users under 30 years old.
Once you make a video, the app also allows you to optimize it by adding hashtags that can make it easier to find via search.
One way hashtags have been embraced on TikTok is through its “Challenges” tab. This area of the platform prompts you to propose a challenge with a themed hashtag. When you post a video that responds to a challenge, you can include the corresponding hashtag so those following the challenge can see your videos.
Along with being widely discussed by publications including the New York Times and Digiday, the app has also gained notoriety from comedians like Jimmy Fallon. Here’s a clip from The Tonight Show where he talks about the app and tells fans to compete in his #tumbleweed challenge:

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Aside from being fun and entertaining, the app is “leaking into brand territory,” according to Krystal Wu, HubSpot’s Social Media Community Manager. She explained that more brands are on the platform, adding that, “The Washington Post is on TikTok and they are pretty popular too.”
The Washington Post, as she mentioned, has already gained nearly 850,000 followers.
While you would expect a newspaper like this to post content with a more serious or investigative tone, the Post shows off a lighter, behind-the-scenes look at its newsroom. In this example, one of its journalists struggles to walk up the stairs to the sounds of MGMT’s “Electric Feel”:
Brands like Guess have also started to experiment with TikTok. To highlight its new line of denim clothing, Guess launched the #inMyDenim challenge encouraging users to publish videos of themselves wearing Guess denim with Bebe Rexha’s song, “I’m a Mess.” playing in the background.
Here’s a video that someone posted in response to the challenge:

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Brands like Guess have also started to experiment with TikTok. To highlight its new line of denim clothing, Guess launched the #inMyDenim challenge encouraging users to publish videos of themselves wearing Guess denim with Bebe Rexha’s song, “I’m a Mess.” playing in the background.
Here’s a video that someone posted in response to the challenge:

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At the moment, fashion, publishing, and entertainment companies are starting to play with TikTok. As the platform grows, we might see it expand to other industries that are able to get creative and visual with their marketing tactics.
While you might not want to focus all of your social media resources on TikTok just yet, it’s a great time to familiarize yourself with the app and start experimenting with a few fun videos. You could also try to brainstorm a few challenges or video ideas that could align well with your brand and the platform’s young audience. If you see any brands that are in a similar space as you, follow them for some added inspiration.
2. Clubhouse

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
Unlike traditional social media sites Facebook or Twitter which provide an asynchronous platform for communicating and sharing content, Clubhouse leverages synchronous, audio-only connectivity between the audience and the speakers. It’s not quite a podcast, but a more personal way to share information with your audience who can talk back to you in real-time. You might be wondering “What actually happens in Clubhouse?” And the truth is, a little bit of everything. Topics like starting a business from top VCs, relationship discussions hosted by celebrities, and even comedy clubs by up-and-coming comedians all find their way in front of live audiences.

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Before we talk about how much of a stir Clubhouse has caused in the tech space, we have to tell you that the app is only available in beta on devices that support iOS. That hasn’t been a hindrance to the platform thus far; Investors are lining up to support the development and expansion of the audio-only phenomenon, even without a presence on Google Play Store.
Part of the sudden uproar about this new social media network stems from the way it contradicts every other social platform available today. It’s invite-only — the antithesis of how we’ve come to understand and leverage social media. The developers of the app say they want to get Clubhouse just right before releasing it to the public, but users already part of the in-group act as the gatekeepers to thousands of conversations happening daily. If you don’t know someone willing to give you one of their three invitations, you’ll have to join the waitlist until Clubhouse is officially released.
How can Clubhouse work for marketers and brands? That’s yet to be determined, but professionals are experimenting right now. The race to crack the code on Clubhouse is a fast one as content creators are building their audiences quickly in hopes of securing monetization opportunities when they become available.
If you’ve received an invitation to Clubhouse, but aren’t sure how to use it, consider hosting an informal focus group, starting a conversation about a high-traffic blog article or social media post your company has published, or contributing to a conversation already hosted by a thought leader in your industry.
3. Twitter Spaces

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
You may not have heard of this one yet  (it was just released in December 2020), but it’s picking up steam fairly quickly. Similar to Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces is a beta version of the app’s newest audio feature. This voice chat alternative to the social platform’s traditional 280 character tweets is open to anyone with an iOS device, but only a select group of people chosen by Twitter can create their own space to start a conversation.

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While the app is similar in nature to Clubhouse, Twitter is venturing into this new audio-only territory to discover opportunities and threats in this type of community. Clubhouse has addressed its challenges with enforcing community standards – an opportunity Twitter wants to figure out to make the platform safe for everyone.
Stephanie Morgan, social media manager at Social Lock, predicts some promising insights about the newest audio-only social network by Twitter, “Spaces will be a great feature on Twitter because it’s already a dialogue friendly, majority non-visual platform.” She anticipates that hosting live discussions, training sessions, and customer Q&As could be a few use cases for businesses to utilize Twitter Spaces once it is released to the public.
Although this social tool probably won’t be a good fit for you or your business anytime soon, it is fascinating to watch in real-time. Even if you can’t use Twitter Spaces, perhaps you’ll be inspired by the team’s human-centered approach to developing the feature.
4. Caffeine

Year Launched: Founded in 2016 and unveiled in 2018

Number of Users: Unspecified
Caffeine.tv, a platform built by ex-Apple designers, allows you to create live broadcasts for friends and followers. The broadcasts show up in a feed where you can give an emoji reaction or respond with comments.

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Along with live video broadcasts, you can also stream your computer or TV screens as you play video games. This makes Caffeine a possible competitor to the slightly older game-streaming service, Twitch.tv. Like Twitch, which offers you money for high views or subscriptions, Caffeine has launched a monetization program that rewards engaging broadcasters.
The company hasn’t specified user numbers yet, but its Crunchbase profile reveals that it has over $259 million in investments so far. Caffeine’s biggest investor to date is 21st Century Fox.
Aside from investor interest, the platform is starting to make waves in the worlds of entertainment and sports. Recently, the platform was used to broadcast the 2019 X Games in Aspen.
Caffeine’s success so far demonstrates how live video and video platforms are gaining quick adoption from younger audiences, especially in the Gen-Z age group. If the app continues to gain interest, marketers might consider using it to show off their brand through a variety of strategies, like behind-the-scenes content, Q&As, or other live videos. This platform could also be useful to marketers in a wide variety of industries, including news, entertainment, gaming, and sports.
If live streaming could help your company spread awareness of a product, it might be a good time to familiarize yourself with both Caffeine and Twitch. As you learn more about the platforms, be sure to determine if your audience is actually using either of them and what they’re using them for. Similarly to TikTok, you should also check out what similar brands are doing if you find any with active accounts.
If you have an idea for a live stream that seems too out of the ordinary for Facebook or Instagram, Caffeine could be an interesting place to test it. Because the platform is new, there might not be many norms or rules associated with what content works or doesn’t work just yet.
5. Instagram Reels

Year Launched: 2020

Number of Users: Unspecified
We can’t deny that TikTok changed the game for social media since its debut in 2017. It’s still on our list this year as the platform continues to reinvent itself and expand into new audiences. Last year Facebook took notice of the TikTok trend and responded with Lasso, but ended the effort to make room for Instagram Reels.

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Reels is now in direct competition with TikTok, offering a similar video creation functionality. Instagram users can create videos adorned with special effects, music, and transitions notorious for keeping users in a loop.
How can reels work for your business? Everything from sharing product releases to how-to guides, Reels can be an engaging method for brands to make a presence with the Gen Z audience. If you’re not sure how to start, The Social Impact has some fun and informative examples of how to use Reels.
Not sure how to leverage this new Instagram feature? Start with your brand. Reels are a fun type of content that can display your brand’s personality. You don’t need fancy camera equipment or a director to publish content that has the viral factor. If your team simply doesn’t have the capacity to produce this content yet, consider tapping an industry influencer to create reels on your behalf.
6. Houseparty

Year Launched: 2016

Number of Users: 20 million+

Houseparty is a group-video messaging app that allows video chats that can host eight users at a time. To make things more fun for everyone in the chat, you can use video filters, stickers and other fun effects while a live conversation is in session.

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While the app itself has been around for a few years, it has gone through a few evolutions and recently gained large bumps in interest and users. The app first started as Meerkat, but rebranded itself to Houseparty and revamped its features. Since then, Houseparty has climbed app store charts and risen from 1 million to 50 million users in 2020.
Although the app does offer ad space, marketers of the future might use it in other creative ways. For example, a small makeup company might sponsor a “houseparty” where an influencer can answer beauty questions and show attendees how to use one of their new beauty products.
Although it might sound promising, still keep in mind that this app has a number of big-name competitors, including Snapchat and Zoom..
This app might also take added time and creativity. If you don’t have time to host a houseparty or can’t think of one that would effectively market your product, you might want to prioritize other platforms first.
How to Navigate The New Social Media Landscape
A marketer who discovers a hot new social channel first can become an expert on posting engaging content before their competitors even sign up. But, while it’s important for marketers to keep interesting platforms on their radar, the first priority should still be to focus time, effort, and resources on the platforms that are already thriving.
To make sure you’re balancing your time between new and old channels accordingly, focus on growing and refining strategies on the successful platforms, then timebox an hour or so once a month to look into newer platforms.
If you find a platform like TikTok, that’s both relatively new and has a fast-growing user base, brainstorm, and schedule a few experimental posts.
Be sure to use experimentation time wisely and on the right platforms. While TikTok is a great place to experiment and doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere soon, there’s always a chance that an extremely niche platform, like Clubhouse, could get overshadowed by a larger competitor – Twitter Spaces.
When you’re determining which platforms are worth watching or experimenting on, here are six questions your team should ask themselves:

What are its active user numbers? Big numbers could mean that the platform is gaining momentum and that you have even more chances to engage with a large pool of users.

Are publications or thought leaders talking about it? If a platform doesn’t specify exact numbers, but a lot of people, prominent figures, or news publications are discussing it — it might be promising.

Do older platforms have a similar tool and a bigger user base? If an older platform does the same thing, people might hesitate to adopt a newer platform. For example, marketers primarily use Stories on Instagram as opposed to Snapchat. Although Snapchat pioneered the story, the Instagram interface and experience is something that a lot more people know, understand, and trust.

Will my audiences understand how to use the platform? Will my audiences understand how to use the platform? It might be challenging to get a less tech-savvy person to join Snapchat or TikTok, but they might love a platform like Facebook or Twitter because the interfaces might be easier to understand. Pick platforms that your audience can easily use and enjoy.

Will audiences even be interested in the platform? Will audiences even be interested in the platform? While a tech novice might not enjoy TikTok, a teenager might get bored on a platform like Facebook. In fact, younger people prefer visual apps like TikTok and Instagram. While you want to pay attention to the level of adaptability, you also should pay attention to how your audience wants to consume media.

What type of content or post could we use to promote our brand on the platform? You should always make a plan of action when considering or launching a social platform. If you can’t come up with any interesting ways to market your specific product on a niche platform, you might want to hold off on making an account. On the other hand, experimenting with different posting strategies could allow your brand to look creative and cool to the platform’s audience.

Should you follow the social media trends of 2021?
Consumer behavior changes quickly in the digital space, and businesses that adapt to social media trends could see success. If you keep an eye on this kind of marketing research and tailor it to your target audience, you can craft a stellar social media plan that drives awareness and shows your brand in a creative light.
Remember, every trend won’t work to achieve your goals, so don’t venture into this new social media landscape without the most up to date data. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you in the 2020 Marketing Trends research report. The data inside is sourced from more of the experts you’ve heard from in this article and will help you introduce the next big moment on your social media platforms.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

To have a winning marketing strategy, you need to understand the analytics behind that strategy — analytics that highlight important things like: 1) the metrics you care about most, 2) how your current strategy is doing, 3) how close you are to reaching your goals, and 4) areas for improvement.

Content Marketing Analytics
There are a number of marketing analytics tools available with customizable metrics, a variety of visualizations and dashboards, and integrations to help you measure the impact of your marketing strategy. Let’s dive into 16 options.

1. HubSpot Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software

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Today, the most effective marketing is powered by a combination of customer insights and data that show you what you’re doing well and what needs improvement. However, identifying these insights and data isn’t always a straightforward process.
Enter: HubSpot.
HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software makes it easy to access all data and insights from a single location in just seconds (no SQL required!).
With HubSpot…

Your marketing and CRM data are organized in one, central location.
There’s no code necessary to access or pull business insights.
It’s an exceptionally easy tool to use and navigate.

HubSpot’s Marketing Analytics and Dashboard Software also offers attribution reporting (including granular, contact, and revenue attribution reporting) so you can connect every customer interaction to the associated record and revenue generated.
Attribution reporting also pinpoints the channels that are hitting and surpassing goals as well as which ones need to be revisited or reconsidered — this provides the necessary insight to allocate your budget effectively.
HubSpot comes with pre-built, beautiful, and customizable dashboards to display your data (you’ll have access to different dashboards based on the Marketing Hub plan you select). These templates are easy to personalize thanks to the drag-and-drop editor.
The Custom Report Builder provides access to your data in one place including contact, company, deal, marketing email, landing page, and blog engagement data. Custom Objects capture data that’s unique to your business and combine it with your CRM, custom data (e.g. inventory data), and contact data so you can create segments and build custom reports, campaigns, and workflows.
Use Behavioral Events to trigger or schedule touchpoints, track custom interactions that are unique to your business, and indicate when a customer is ready for another stage of the buyer’s journey.
Lastly, use Account Based Marketing (ABM) — which bridges the gap between Marketing and Sales and helps close your target accounts — to identify highly-valuable accounts as the tool surfaces prospects that match your customer profile criteria.
Price
There are four Marketing Hub plans with different analytics features and flexibility rangingin price from free (forever) to $3,200 per month.
2. Buffer
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Buffer’s content marketing analytics offers the option to build reports according to your goals. Add or remove custom metrics about the performance of numerous social media accounts. You can export those reports to share them easily.
Reports are updated daily so you can be sure you’re receiving timely data. Buffer’s analytics are designed to help you see channel performance at a detailed level on one dashboard.
The software also offers engagement metrics for each account individually. This helps you gain an intricate understanding of how customers are interacting with social content. Measure stories, posts, and hashtag performance as well as access the demographics of your audience across channels.
Price
Buffer’s Marketing Analytics product, Analyze, has two payment options with different features and flexibility that cost $35 per month or $50 per month.
3. Google Analytics

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Google Analytics has an expansive system of tools for content marketing analysis. The intuitive interface is easy to navigate and can be used to understand the performance of your content across multiple platforms. The analytics tool integrates with Google’s array of business software so you can access all of your insights in one place.
Price
Google Analytics offers a free and a paid plan. The free plan is ideal for SMBs and you can get started using it immediately. Meanwhile, the paid plan, called Analytics 360, is ideal for enterprise-level companies and requires you to speak with a sales rep for a quote.
4. SimilarWeb

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SimilarWeb provides traffic and engagement industry standards and tells you where your website stands among them. This information is useful for discovering how performance stacks up against the competition.
With SimilarWeb, break down your daily active users, sessions per user, use-time, and rank. Discover more information about your audience — such as repeated behaviors or interests — to improve your acquisition strategy.
Price
SimilarWeb offers two plans, one of which is free and another that’s meant for enterprise businesses and requires you to contact a rep for a consultation.
5. Moz

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Moz measures the impact of your search-engine-optimized content. Gain insight into how your work is ranking among others in your industry and which keywords are the most effective to use in your strategy.
Moz’s software tracks your site’s keyword rank and how visible it is overtime to learn what is and isn’t performing well among audiences. Additionally, track how competitors rank on search engine results pages (SERPS) — this allows you to spot areas for improvement and the parts of your campaign you can use to target them. To help with this, use Moz’s detailed reports to see how your content is reaching audiences and what you can do to improve.

Price

There are two main Moz solutions, Local and Pro. Both Local and Pro have different plans ranging in features, flexibility, and price. Local ranges in price from $129-299 while Pro ranges in price from $99-599 per month.
6. Hotjar

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Use Hotjar to track sessions on your site. Hotjar provides heat maps about how and where customers spend their time while on your website. In fact, there are real-time videos that capture how visitors are navigating and using your website. This allows you to hone in on the content that’s catching your customer’s eye. You can also track conversions and make inferences about which stage of the buyer’s journey customers might be entering or leaving.
Price
Hotjar offers three types of plans. There are two options for those who want a Personal plan that are either free or $39 per month. These options are ideal for personal and low-traffic websites.
The Business plans range in price from $99-$989 per month depending on the number of sessions per day you receive. Lastly, the Agency plan requires you to contact a rep to chat about a plan for your team and clients.
7. Semrush

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Semrush is used for search engine optimization (SEO) tracking and helps you track keyword performance in your content as well as monitor brand mentions cross-platform.
Additionally, the tool tracks Google rankings and which of your web pages receive the most traffic. This is helpful because discovering what drives visitors to your site allows you to adjust the content you’re presenting accordingly.
Price
Semrush offers three plans that range in price from $119 to $449 per month.
8. Quintly

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Quintly provides you with the insight necessary to analyze your content marketing campaigns. It also helps you make smarter decisions when it comes to social planning by equipping you with customizable metrics so you can better understand how your marketing strategy is working.
Quintly does a deep dive into all of your accounts to uncover metrics that matter to your teams and goals, and you can sort and share reports by team so everyone gets the information they need. Reports can also be automated and measured by impact using Quintly’s machine learning system. Users can access the API, integrate with popular software like Google Search, and overcome data silos.
Price
Quintly’s custom plans start at $300 per month.
9. BuzzSumo

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View and analyze marketing trends in real-time with BuzzSumo by topic so you’re able to create content that’s likely to be relevant to your audience. Trends can also be filtered by location — this way, you’ll have an understanding of what’s popular by region.
BuzzSumo lets you customize your feed so you can get the data that matters most to you. Identify relevant keywords to include in your campaigns, access examples of content proven to be successful on BuzzSumo’s site, and use the data you obtain through the tool to discover how you can drive the most traffic to your marketing content.
Price
BuzzSumo offers four plans that range in price from $99 to $499+ per month.
10. Kissmetrics

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Kissmetrics allows you to spot a customer’s journey across multiple devices, analyze their behavior on your website, and review conversion metrics (e.g. bounce rate and time on-site).
Kissmetrics focuses on behavioral analytics which is helpful if you want to learn about how customers react to and interact with your content. This will also provide insight into what’s most valuable to users and how to keep visitors coming back.
Price
Request a Kissmetrics demo or check out the payment plans for their two main products, one of which is meant for SaaS and one for ecommerce. The SaaS plan comes with three payment options — those plans are $299, $499, or a custom price (based on your custom plan). Ecommerce also has three plans that cost $299, $499, or a custom price (based on your custom plan).
11. Databox

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Databox is a business analytics and KPI dashboard platform that offers insight into the state of your business. The tool organizes all of your business data — from any source — into a single location for accessible performance tracking.
Over 70 available integrations make the process of bringing your data into the tool — as well as displaying, analyzing, and sharing it — simple. There are a number of metrics to choose from as well as custom views that you can apply to your data to display it in a way that works for your team.
The Goal Tracking feature allows you to track progress towards your targets by assigning and focusing on SMART goals within the tool. Scorecards are a feature that notifies you (daily, weekly or monthly) of any updates to your KPIs. There are also other alerts you can receive the moment your data is looking off so you can efficiently resolve the issue before it gets worse.
Price
Databox offers a regular version of their product and an Agency edition. The regular version costs anywhere from free to $248 per month. As for the Agency version of Databox, there’s a free plan but if you need more flexibility, contact a rep for billing details.
12. Supermetrics

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Supermetrics is a business analytics tool that you can use to pull marketing data (e.g. SEO, PPC, social media, and web analytics data) from any source and move it into Google Sheets, Google Data Studio, Microsoft Excel, Google BigQuery, or Snowflake. Use Supermetrics as a reporting, analytics, and data storage tool.
Bring your favorite metrics and dimensions into Supermetrics. Then, organize and filter your data within Supermetrics to analyze the success of your efforts and identify areas for improvement.
Price
Supermetrics offers multiple plans for all seven of their products, some of which require you to contact a rep and some of which list pricing on their unique web page.
13. Demand Sage

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Demand Sage is a tool used to bring all of your HubSpot datainto Google Sheets. There are one-click, customizable reports to help you understand your marketing and sales success and which areas to focus your efforts. Demand Sage offers one-click data sync and one-click, flexible reports.
Within your spreadsheet, create granular, record-level reports and use the table builder to display your data with any view you’d like. Additionally, attribution and revenue reporting connects marketing and sales data in your reports for greater internal alignment and insight into how your pipeline is working as well as what’s driving revenue.
Price
Demand Sage is free.
14. Grow.com

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Grow.com is a business intelligence platform that allows you to import and transform your business’s data from a number of sources and create dashboards with the metrics that matter to you.
Once your data is imported into the platform, it keeps your most relevant data at your fingertips. Build custom metrics, bring disparate data sources together, and select from a number of chart types to visualize your data however you want to. You can also easily share metrics and dashboards with team members to ensure everyone knows where to focus their efforts.
Price
Get a free Grow.com demo and talk to a rep about the price of the right plan for your business.
15. Plecto

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Plecto is a dashboard data visualization platform ideal for discovering real-time insights from an unlimited number of sources you pull your data from. Filter across the sources you integrate with Plecto and display data on your dashboards with different variables as needed.
Display data with pre-built KPI dashboards in Plecto or customize your own. There are also gamification features to increase employee engagement and motivation as well as keep team members focused on their goals.
Price
Plecto offers three payment options depending on which plan you choose ranging from $200 per month, $350 per month, or a custom price (based on your Enterprise plan).
16. Adverity

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Adverity is an intelligent marketing data analytics platform ideal for data-driven marketing. The tool automates data integration from hundreds of different sources to give you a single view of marketing performance.
Adverity makes it easy to remove any data silos you may have and provide easy access to centrally-located marketing data so your team members can identify and analyze the information they need. Adverity comes with augmented analytics, meaning it uses AI to identify trends, areas for improvement, strengths, and new insights in your data. It also automates the process of creating marketing reports and data visualizations to save you time.
Price
Contact Adverity to get a custom quote on the right plan for your business.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Do you remember those old school projectors they used to have in school? Whenever the projector was pulled out in class, I knew I was going to have fun. Teachers would allow us to go up and write on the projector, and it just felt more collaborative.

That’s kind of what whiteboarding is like in business. As marketers, you probably have a lot of brainstorming sessions where you’re laying out landing pages, writing copy, and creating a strategy for a campaign.
And brainstorming sessions and whiteboarding go together like peanut butter and jelly.
In this post, we’ll dive into whiteboarding and learn how you can use this process to improve your brainstorming sessions.

Whiteboarding Session
While whiteboarding sessions are great, it’s easy to lose control over a brainstorming session. To conduct a successful whiteboard session, we’ve gathered a few tips.
Whiteboarding Techniques
1. Be creative.
One of the best parts of a whiteboarding session is that it allows your team to be creative. People can share documents, put up sticky notes as reminders, and share their ideas with the team. When you’re in person, it’s fun to let all your team members use the whiteboard, so everyone has a chance to write down notes and share their thoughts.
2. Stay focused.
With any brainstorming session, it’s easy to lose track of what the goal is. To stay focused, we suggest writing out your goal at the top of your whiteboard, so everyone can see and knows what they’re supposed to be doing. When ideas that are off-topic are brought up, write them down in a section on the side for ideas to follow up on.
3. Encourage meaningful conversation.
Brainstorming sessions also allow teams to have meaningful conversations about different ideas. No idea is too small, and everyone should feel confident speaking their mind. The whole point of a whiteboarding session is to engage and collaborate with members of your team. It’s supposed to be interactive. These sessions also help people feel heard and like their ideas are being taken into consideration.
4. Keep the board organized.
When you’re running a whiteboard session, it’s important to keep the board organized. Even though it’s brainstorming, your ideas should be labeled in sections, so everyone knows what idea pertains to what topics. This is also where you can add a side section just for “off-topic” ideas. You’ll still want to write those down, even if it doesn’t have to do with the topic at hand, so you can come back to it later and keep the meeting focused.
Now that we know what whiteboarding is and how to be successful when you’re running a meeting, let’s review some remote whiteboarding tools to help you be successful in a virtual brainstorming session.
Remote Whiteboarding
As we’ve discussed above, whiteboarding can be done remotely as well. This doesn’t need to be an in-person activity. In fact, remote whiteboarding meetings can be just as effective because everyone can use the whiteboard at once, and have full visibility of it at the same time.
Below, let’s review some whiteboarding tools to use in your video conferencing meetings.
Remote Whiteboarding Tools
1. Zoom

A great thing about Zoom is that a whiteboarding tool is built into the video conferencing software. If you use Zoom for your remote meetings, then you don’t need to look any further for a whiteboard tool.
To access the Zoom whiteboard, click the Share Screen button, and then click Whiteboard. One of the features we like about this tool is that other participants can annotate and participate in writing on the whiteboard (if allowed). It’s also nice because you can turn that feature off if you want as well.
2. Microsoft Whiteboard

If you aren’t using Zoom, or would rather use another whiteboard tool, Microsoft has an excellent option. With this tool, all team members can edit and comment directly on the screen in real-time.
The whiteboard is also infinite, meaning you can draw, type, or add sticky notes as much as you need. You can also save your whiteboards, so you can continue using the tool as much as you want, while also going back to old sessions.
3. Conceptboard

Conceptboard is another remote whiteboarding tool you can use during your meetings. With this tool, you can see live cursors, and everyone can collaborate at once.
Additionally, this tool has video conferencing capabilities, so you can talk to your team while you’re brainstorming.
4. Limnu

Limnu is an online whiteboard tool that’s realism is the biggest seller. It feels like a real whiteboard, but it has the features of online whiteboarding such as collaboration. Anyone can edit in real-time, but you can also limit permissions if need be. Additionally, there’s a chat box function which is helpful for those who don’t have editing permissions to give their point of view.
Whiteboarding is a great way to collaborate and brainstorm with your team. And the best part is, you don’t need to be in-person to have collaborative meetings. With remote whiteboarding tools, you can hold a brainstorming session just as easily.