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People always tell you that building a business isn’t a quick and easy journey and that the “overnight success” stories you see tend to downplay the years of work that go into creating that success. So, when I started my innovative undergarments company, Perkies, I expected it to be about the journey, not the destination.What I didn’t expect was for it to be a three-year journey of figuring out how to develop my signature product (a sticky bra with replaceable adhesives) before selling a single unit.I’m not saying it wasn’t worth it. Seeing the glowing reviews from women who feel more confident while wearing our product makes up for every long day spent cold calling manufacturers, every prototype I had to assemble with my own hands, and every rash I developed while trying to find body-safe adhesives that actually worked (true story).I also don’t think my multi-year timeline was out of the ordinary for creating a product that hasn’t existed before. But, there are things I wish I had known to set expectations for myself (and maybe help the process go a little smoother).So, to help other inventive entrepreneurs who are embarking on the journey of developing a product, here are four things I wish I had known from the get-go.1. It Was More Complicated Than I ThoughtWhen I first had the idea to create a product for women who were tired of throwing away an entire sticky bra just because the adhesives had worn down, it seemed so obvious. “How has nobody thought of this before?” I wondered.I quickly realized, though, that while others had probably had the same idea, no one had gone to the trouble of turning the idea into a final product—likely because there are so many steps involved in doing so.Here’s just a brief overview: I had to determine where to source the materials for each component of the product, and then find separate manufacturers to put all those elements together. We ended up working with a manufacturer in China for the bras, manufacturers in the U.S. for the three different adhesives we use, and an adhesive converter who laminates the adhesive layers together into the finalized stack up. I also had to work with many different experts to develop specialized materials and processes—and quickly realized I wouldn’t even be able to automate everything immediately. Until recently, I was cutting the specific shape of our adhesives by hand, and I still add in the layered pull tabs myself.And this is all on top of shipping and fulfillment, plus the supply chain issues that have been plaguing us since, well, the plague started.There were a lot of steps between my original idea and my early prototypes (on the left) to the functioning sticky bra with replaceable adhesives we have today (on the right)!Oh, and Murphy’s Law applied at just about every step along the way. I can’t count the number of times I had to extend deadlines because I was waiting on a manufacturer, I’ve been close to tears because a supplier sent me something that didn’t work, or I accidentally sent a faulty sample to a customer.Ultimately, what separates an idea from an actual product is entrepreneurs who have the grit to get through all of this. Based on my experience, I’d recommend giving yourself enough time and mental fortitude to deal with the complications. I also found it incredibly valuable to make friends with other product-based founders to commiserate with when I was in the weeds.2. I Either Needed a Lot of Time or a Lot of MoneyI knew that I’d be able to streamline the development process if I could raise a little funding: I could pay materials experts to source the perfect adhesives, I could pay manufacturers to rush my orders, and the like. Unfortunately, I quickly found that no investors were interested in signing a check until I had a working prototype. I couldn’t create my product without money, and I couldn’t raise money without a product.Instead, I sacrificed my own time to do the R&D. And it was not glamorous. I would spend weeks finding manufacturers who could answer tiny questions like whether the adhesive could be a few millimeters thicker to improve adhesion. For months, every time I went to a workout class, I wore different adhesives to see what held up to sweat. I’d invite friends over with different bra sizes to test molds for me. It was a lot of time and effort for tiny gains toward my goal.You can’t be afraid to ask for help—friends were often thrilled to help me test product samples.I also opted to move in with my family to give myself more financial runway (not that I had much of a choice). If you don’t have the luxury of moving home to start a business, I’d recommend making a plan for how you will fund your idea or how you’ll give yourself enough time to put in the work. Can you find friends and family or angel investors who believe in you despite not having a prototype? (I’ve since found that former founders are much more understanding of the product development process than VC firms or angel investors who have never started a company.) Can you do product development on nights and weekends while you continue working your full-time job?3. I Needed to Build Interest Long Before My Product Was ReadyEspecially since I didn’t know how long this whole process would take, it was tempting to not tell anyone except my closest friends and family what I was working on until the product was ready.Instead, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and started creating traction on our social channels. We didn’t have product images yet, so instead I designed fun graphics hinting at our final product. I also found that followers loved getting a peek into the behind-the-scenes of product development. In the end, it was helpful to already have a following of excited potential customers once the bras were ready to sell.Early Perkies marketing images gave a sense of our product shape and purpose.Another valuable way I found to start building brand trust (and making a little money) was developing an ancillary product that I could get to market faster. While doing early customer research, I realized sticky nipple covers were a popular undergarment in this category and that they would be much easier to develop—so we launched “Perkies Petals” six months before the sticky bra came out. This had the bonus benefit of helping me iron out kinks in sales and shipping before the sticky bras were ready.Finally, I learned a lot about the common strategy of soliciting pre-orders. We did a friends and family pre-order for the bras, and while the influx of cash was nice, it also added extra pressure, especially when we had to keep pushing back the timeline (see point #1).My advice: If you’re considering a pre-order, only do it with people who you know will be forgiving! And whatever approach you choose, do everything you can to build buzz along the way. The last thing you want is to finally have a product—and then spend months and months finding customers to buy it.4. Product Development Never StopsAfter pushing back the launch timeline again and again (leaving my friends and family who had pre-ordered hanging), I finally set myself a hard deadline to launch in May 2021. Even though the product still didn’t feel 100% there, I knew I needed to get it to market at some point (plus, I wanted to get people their backless bras before summer!).This was hard for a perfectionist like me, but it ended up being incredibly helpful. I’ve learned so much from hearing about the experiences of real customers using the product. It was a good reminder that, while you obviously don’t want a product that disappoints customers, you can and will continue improving things even after you launch. (Remember: the iPhone didn’t launch with all the features it has today!)Most of the feedback I have received has been excellent, but based on some constructive notes from customers, I’ve changed the location of the pull tab on the replaceable adhesive, improved the instructions that come with the bra, and more. We’re also in the process of developing new products to keep the business growing.In other words, even after almost four years, I’m far from done. Product development truly never stops, and if that sounds exhausting, this may not be the right path for you. But if you, like me, think the constant journey to build something new will energize you every day, then stick with it. If you can put your pride aside and put in the time and effort, you’ll create something customers love—and that’s an amazing feeling.

Keeping track of SEO trends is like hitting a moving target.
From algorithm updates to evolving innovation — it can feel like the goal post is always moving. And while the goal of SEO remains the same — to boost your presence in relevant search results — the tactics for getting there look different from year to year.

Here, we’ll cover the top SEO challenges facing marketers in 2022 and the five biggest trends to watch this year.
SEO Challenges in 2022

A HubSpot Blogs survey identified the top three challenges of SEO marketing:

1. Algorithm changes.
The number one challenge for marketers is keeping up with algorithm changes. This doesn’t surprise me — in 2020 alone, Google ran more than 500,00 experiments that led to 4,000+ changes to search.
If you’re like most marketers, this stat can feel pretty overwhelming. After all, how can you succeed when Google keeps rerouting the path to success?
The key is to respond to these changes strategically. For one, this means staying on top of industry news. If there’s a significant algorithm change, the SEO industry will likely comment on it.
The second strategy may sound counterintuitive — which is to wait until the dust has settled after an update. Why? In some cases, Google discovers a change has not panned out as expected and they revert back.
2. Not ranking.
SEO is a long-term game. Unlike paid search, organic results take time to show results — and it’s usually a culmination of smaller efforts.
To use a metaphor — SEO is like a mutual fund slowly building over time. It’s not the stock market, where you see gains and losses in real time. This can be helpful to mention when clients expect quick results.
There are some “solutions” to fix a low ranking, such as technical SEO and content marketing. However, even more important is developing a long-term strategy that focuses on three to four initiatives at a time.
3. Keyword research.
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. But today, rather than scanning for just a keyword, Google takes a high-level look at your website to get an overall sense of its tone, scope, and relevancy.
This means that keyword stuffing is out. Instead, the goal is to understand user intent, or the deeper problem your users hope to solve. With this understanding, you can perform better keyword research and write content based on this insight.
Check out this helpful article on how to add user intent to your keyword strategy.
5 SEO Trends to Leverage in 2022
1. Voice and Mobile Search.
“Hey Google, what’s a good substitute for heavy cream?”
This was a question I asked my Google Assistant last week while baking a cake, hands covered in flour. It looks like I’m not the only one using voice search — around half (44%) of all internet users in the US use a voice assistant.
There’s no denying that voice search is becoming a part of our daily lives. But how can we optimize our content for people searching with their ears — not their eyes?
The answer is clear — optimize your site for mobile. Since most voice searches occur on mobile and smart devices, it makes sense that Google prefers mobile-friendly sites with fast speeds.
Another strategy is reworking your content to include common questions users may ask. For example, identify long-tail question keywords and include them in your h2 or h3 headers.
2. Tightened page headers.
In 2021, Google rolled out a new search ranking feature called Passages. This feature lets Google rank specific sections of a page (or “a passage”) semi-independently from the page itself.
In other words, instead of ranking an entire page on relevancy, Google will now score for relevance in specific sections of a page.

For marketers, this change is no cause for concern – assuming your pages are organized. If not, it’s a good idea to tighten your page headers to provide more context for different sections, enabling Google to understand your content regardless of the markup.
Keep in mind that other page-ranking factors still apply — so don’t skip on backlinks, SEO-optimized copywriting, and other ranking strategies.
3. Emotionally-Charged headlines.
Have you ever clicked on a headline that was too compelling to resist? Turns out, a lot of research has gone into identifying a formula for clickable titles.
According to one recent study that analyzed 5 million headlines, emotional titles — either positive or negative — had a higher click-through rate than neutral titles. In fact, titles with a positive sentiment had a 7.4% higher CTR, while those with a negative sentiment had a 7.2% higher CTR.

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That said, emotionally-charged titles can drive clicks — to a point. Go any further, and you quickly enter clickbait-land. For instance, the same study found that “power words” — or words specifically designed to grab attention — can negatively affect CTR.
Power words include terms like unbelievable, insane, and crazy. While these may work on social media, they can hurt your organic CTR — so use them sparingly, if at all.
4. Video in search results.
You’ve likely come across a YouTube video in a Featured Snippet. These tend to appear for “how-to” searches where the reader is looking for step-by-step instructions.
For instance, imagine you’re stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. One Google search for “How to fix a flat tire” will lead you to the following video:

Video Snippets are just the beginning — we predict Google will continue to incorporate video into search results. With that in mind, it’s essential to optimize your own videos for Search.
Here are a few ways to get there:

Add Chapters to your YouTube videos. Chapters break up your video into sections, usually by topic. This layer of context allows viewers (and Google!) to understand the contents of a video. It also makes it easy for Google to use different clips from your video for Featured Snippets.

Include Closed Captions (CC). Closed captions help YouTube and Google understand every word in your video. While YouTube can automatically generate captions, these aren’t always accurate so it’s better to add your own manually.
Optimize your title, tags, and description. Videos are like webpages — they have titles, descriptions (like meta descriptions), and tags (like meta tags). Optimize these using SEO best practices.

Lastly, it doesn’t hurt to embed videos into your website and blog posts — which can improve bounce rates.
5. Tweaking content for “People Also Ask.”
While browsing Google, you may have noticed something new: People Also Ask (PAA). In fact, 43% of search queries now include a PAA box.

With a prominent position at the top of the SERP, everyone wants to rank in this highly-coveted feature. Luckily, you can increase your chances by making some minor tweaks to your content.
Since the majority of PAA boxes start with question words, like “what,” “why,” and “when,” it’s a good idea to incorporate questions and answers into your content. You can use a keyword research tool to identify long-tail question keywords, then include these questions in your page headers.
Or, consider adding a FAQ section at the bottom of your web pages. Not only does this summarize key points for the reader, but it also has useful SEO benefits.
Back to You
The only constant in the SEO world is change. While it may feel like these changes are out of our control, so much is in our control — namely in how we react. Start by keeping an eye on trends and following the best practices in this article to help you navigate the changing landscape.

As we continue to progress into the digital age, a new era of the internet is emerging: web3.
Much of what is (and can be) is up in the air but one question we can try to answer now is what it means for marketers.

Let’s break down what web3 is, when it will launch and how it could impact marketers in the short- and long-term.

To understand what it is, let’s take a trip down memory lane.
In the late ‘90s, the world was introduced to the first version of the internet. It wasn’t nearly as complex as it is today, with just basic fonts, gray buttons and blue hyperlinks. Very reminiscent of how a website would load today stripped to HTML.
Then, it evolved to Web 2 around 2005, a phase in which consumers could consume content like never before on blogs, and later, social media.
However, as the internet evolved, so did the methods businesses leveraged to market to consumers online. This has led to growing privacy concerns among consumers who are struggling to trust their data in the hands of brands.
Although the FTC has created some guardrails surrounding data privacy, there’s still a lot that leaves consumers wary.
Just look at the evolution of Amazon. What was once an online bookstore has now transformed into a tech conglomerate with its hands in ecommerce, digital streaming, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
In a deep dive into the business, comedian Hasan Minaj argued on his Netflix show “The Patriot Act” that Amazon has control over the most important 21st-century commodity: data.
“Data about how we spend our money and what parts of the internet we’re using,” he says.
For many, that’s a scary realization. That’s where Web3 comes in.
The goal is that this new iteration of the internet will empower consumers to own and operate tech platforms themselves instead of sacrificing their data by relying on big tech companies.
How would that actually work? Through cryptocurrencies (also known as tokens) and blockchains.
Essentially, when you own a token, you own a piece of the network known as the blockchain. The more tokens you have, the more control you have over the network and the direction it’s headed in.
On a day-to-day basis, tokens would play a role in most, if not all, digital interactions from social media and gaming to digital art and events.
Critics of this approach say it would only be a veiled attempt at decentralization, as the power would still be in the hands of the few with the most money.
When will Web3 launch?
The short answer: We don’t know. There have been talks surrounding web3 for years now, but it’s still very much in its infancy.
A lot of the infrastructure needed to make it a reality is still being built and there’s no set timeline for when it will be completed.
So why the sudden buzz? Well, cryptocurrency is booming right now. In fact, venture capitalists invested over $27 billion in crypto-related projects in 2021, according to an article by The New York Times.
So, this idea of an internet built around it has everyone talking.
How Web3 Could Impact Marketers
1. Limited Access to User Data
In the short term, web3 could mean more data privacy for users.
Currently, companies make money based on the data they collect from users. Either by using it to feed their marketing strategies or by selling it to third parties.
Proponents of web3 believe that a consumer should play a more active role in how their data is used and who they share it with, given the immense value it holds.
Would it make it harder for marketers to collect consumer data? Possibly. It would force marketers to be more transparent with data collection and usage while finding new creative ways to reach their target audience.
2. A More Community-Focused Approach
Web3 is all about redistributing power to the average consumer.
The idea is that consumers will decide and promote the ideas they’re most interested in, instead of being in the passenger seat. With this shift, marketers will have to lean more on building a strong community.
As distrust of brands and how they use data grows, community is more important than ever.
3. More Reliance on Content Creators
Currently, many content creators feel at the mercy of the platforms they publish on with strict guidelines on what they can post to limited earning potential. Web3 would arm them with full autonomy.
In a CMS Wire article, Charlie Neer at MIQ, a leading programmatic media partner, explained this shift.
“Currently, when an individual downloads a song, the creator gets a fraction of the total revenue and the host (think Spotify or Apple Music) makes out like a bandit,” said the chief revenue officer. “The same goes for creators on YouTube, Twitch, etc. This is going to rapidly change with the Web3.0 revenue model, and the content creators will be the ones in control.”
Of course, we’re still a long way off from web3 becoming a reality. However, it’s something that marketers need to be aware of and keep an eye on.

Instagram likes to keep marketers on their toes. Just this past year, we’ve seen a speedy roll out of new features, an expansion into video, and a plethora of new shopping options.

But it’s not only the platform that’s evolving — the audience is too. Now it’s up to marketers to evolve their Instagram strategy to better align with audience preferences, behaviors, and habits in 2022.
Here, we’ll cover five main challenges marketers are facing on Instagram and the best strategies to solve them.
5 Instagram Challenges Marketers Face
1. Knowing which hashtags to use – and how many.
From the platform that gave us #ThrowbackThursday and #WednesdayWisdom, it’s no surprise that hashtags play a huge role on Instagram. But they can also be difficult to crack — how many should you use? Should you stick with the popular hashtags or target more niche ones?
HubSpot and Mention’s 2022 Instagram Engagement Report answers some of these questions.
For one, while it may sound counterintuitive to avoid popular hashtags (like #travel or #photography), it’s better to lean into niche communities. The reason? Even though niche hashtags have fewer posts, they typically have a more dedicated community following them.
In fact, the report found that hashtags targeting specific interests and communities — like geographic locations and TV shows — garnered the most engagement.
When it comes to the number of hashtags you include your post, one thing is clear — the more the better. The report finds that using many hashtags doesn’t seem to harm post performance. But a word of caution here — always keep your hashtags relevant to your niche. Otherwise, you may reach the wrong audience in an effort to increase engagement.
2. Securing budget for Influencer Marketing.
For many marketers, influencer marketing seems out-of-reach — after all, don’t you have to spend big bucks to partner with mega influencers? Think again.
While it seems like a best practice to partner with influencers with tons of followers, HubSpot’s Instagram Engagement Report says your efforts are more worthwhile if you partner with influencers that may have fewer followers but a more engaged community (known as micro influencers). Another study even found that the fewer followers an influencer has, the better their engagement rates tend to be.
Micro influencers provide smaller, highly-engaged audiences without the hefty price tag of a mainstream celebrity — making this type of marketing more accessible to a variety of brands.
With 97% of marketers planning to increase their investment in influencer marketing on Instagram this year, now is a great time to give it a try.
3. Posting at the right times.
Timing is a detail easy to overlook in your marketing strategy. But with social media algorithms favoring recent content, it’s more important than ever to target the right people at the right time.
The HubSpot’s Instagram Engagement Report offers some clear insights on timing your posts right:

Content posted between 6 PM and 9 PM generate the most engagement
Mornings from 5 AM to 12 PM offer the lowest engagement rate
From Monday to Friday, the engagement rate stays about the same, but the weekend holds a slight edge.

While these stats give a general picture of when to post — this doesn’t mean these times will work for you or your audience. It’s important to explore where your audience is located and when they’re most active.
You should also consider if your content lends itself to a certain time of day. For instance, a coffee shop might prefer to post in the morning or during the afternoon work slump.
No two audiences are the same. Ultimately, you should test different days and times and see which posts perform the best with your unique audience.
4. Writing compelling captions.
There’s a lot of pressure when writing Instagram captions — it has to be compelling and memorable — and less sales-y and boring.
The first mistake you can make is skipping the caption entirely. According to the report, including a caption gives you a significant boost in engagement, from just under 4% to over 6%.
When the time comes to write a caption, the most important “rule” is to lead with your brand voice. If you need to create one, start by noting a few adjectives that describe your brand, then use them to craft relevant captions.
For example, the brand Nike is known for messages of inspiration and motivation — whereas the brand Lego is known for being fun and creative, just like their captions on Instagram.
Check out this video for more advice on writing great captions:

5. Knowing what content your audience wants.
If you’re on Instagram, you might assume images are the most engaging type of content on the platform.
As it turns out, video is king — bringing an average of 24 comments and 1,097 likes per post, according to the HubSpot’s report. Other research shows videos are more “sticky” and shareable.
Following closely behind is carousel posts. As a refresher, these are posts that contain multiple types of media (image or video) that users can scroll through. They offer more interactiveness than static posts because the user has to scroll through the content.
The trend is clear — great marketing in 2022 must go beyond photos. Start by looking at your current strategy and identifying opportunities to incorporate carousels and play around with video formats like Reels and Stories.
Final Thoughts
Instagram is constantly evolving, along with the audience on it. Knowing when — and how — your audience interacts with the platform is crucial for aligning your content and generating more engagement. Start with the tips in this blog and always test your strategies regularly.

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