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  • 12 Essential Media Planning Tools

    Your customers are consuming messages in more ways than ever before — online, in publications, on TV, the radio, and on their phones — to name a few.

    For companies hoping to reach their audiences across multiple channels, engaging in media planning is a must. However, it’s almost impossible to pull off without media planning tools that give you insight into your efforts.
    To help you with your media planning efforts, we’ve compiled a list of the essential media planning tools, templates, and software to use this year.
    Your customers are consuming messages in more ways than ever before — online, in publications, on TV, the radio, and on their phones…to name a few.
    1. HubSpot Media Planning Template [Featured Resource]

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    HubSpot’s paid media template will help you keep track of how much you’re spending on paid media, where your messages have gone out, and how much attributable revenue has been generated from each source.
    You’ll also gain access to charts that automatically adjust when you add your spend and ROI. This resource is free — click here to get your copy now.
    What we like: This template lets you compile data from your media buying efforts on a monthly basis. With it, you can determine which paid media channel works best for your company and yields the best results for your bottom line.
    2. Bionic Media Planning Software
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    Bionic prides itself on its media plans, flowcharts, RFPs and IOs, trafficking, reporting, and client dashboards.
    It has an average of 3.1 software updates on a monthly basis, meaning agencies using the software are provided with up-to-date planning tools to run and organize their campaigns.
    What we like: Unlike other tools, Bionic is cloud-based — meaning you’ll be up and running in minutes. You also get unlimited training, support, and data backups at no extra cost.
    3. Kantar SRDS Media Planning Platform
    The most valuable resource for media planners is data. To feel confident promoting media on a specific platform, media planners need to know who is on each channel, in addition to understanding their target audience.
    What we like: SRDS gives media planners access to extensive datasets on audience statistics and demographics so media planners can choose the right platform, message, and audience to target.
    4. Media Plan HQ

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    Not a fan of spreadsheets? No problem. Media Plan HQ’s got you covered. The tool tracks dates, placements, and budgets in real-time over an organized interface without having to deal with Excel. The tool is also collaborative, allowing you to work alongside your team members without the headaches caused by back-and-forth emails.
    What we like: This tool gets a gold star for its collaboration capabilities. You can work alongside your team members (or share your plan with stakeholders) without the headaches caused by back-and-forth emails.
    5. BluHorn

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    Promising easy media planning and buying, BluHorn integrates with Nielsen and Comscore to provide users with instant access to data-rich insights. The tool is rich with useful features, such as post-buy, a vendor database, and data filters.
    What we like: BluHorn is integration-rich. Connect with Nielsen & Comscore for easy planning; Google Analytics and Facebook for better tracking; and programmatic for seamless digital buying. And here’s the icing on the cake — BluHorn also integrates into Amazon AWS.
    6. Quantcast
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    Quantcast is an audience insights tool with data from 100 million websites. Quantcast uses AI so users can “better predict and influence [their] desired audience,” which is especially useful in an era where consumers are showered with ads wherever they go.
    What we like: If you’re looking to dig into your audience’s behavior, look no further. Quantcast provides real-time insights into your ad campaigns, empowering you to better understand your audience and drive results.
    7. Basis Technologies
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    Rated the #1 demand-side platform on G2 Crowd, Basis “addresses your direct, programmatic, search & social through a single interface.”
    The software gives users access to 9,000 vendors and 11,000 publishers and informs them with more than 180 unique data points. It also contains a messaging tool for seamless team communication.
    What we like: Running multiple ad campaigns can sometimes feel like an unorchestrated chaos. But with Basis, you can integrate all your advertising (including programmatic, direct, search, and social) in one central location.
    8. Comscore
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    Comscore is an essential tool for “planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms.” Best known for providing data for digital platforms, film, and television, Comscore provides audience measurement metrics for companies looking to promote their products on a visual medium.
    What we like: With Comscore, you can access data to determine the true impact of your media plan. Then, you can optimize your plan across a variety of media and screens in one place.
    9. Nielsen
    A household name, Nielsen is synonymous with audience measurement. Known mostly for TV viewership metrics, Nielsen’s global strategy also provides users with metrics for podcasts, streaming services, and social media. This gives users an all-encompassing view of where their audience is. It’s no wonder media planners and sellers have relied on Nielsen for nearly a century.
    Fun Fact: Nielsen is considered to be the first company to offer market research and is responsible for the term “market share.”
    What we like: Along with advanced audience segmentation, Nielsen also provides competitive intelligence that paints a complete picture of the media landscape — which helps you identify ways to differentiate your brand from competitors.
    10. HubSpot Social Media Software

    Looking to keep things just to a social media audience? HubSpot’s Social Media Software allows for easy publishing and audience analysis for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram on a single platform.
    Plus, you can measure how your audience converts from social media in your CRM on their journey to becoming a customer.
    What we like: Are you constantly refreshing your social media to monitor interactions? With this tool, all your social media interactions link back to your CRM — which saves you time and effort.
    11. Scarborough from Nielsen
    Another appearance from Nielsen on this list, Scarborough is a media planning tool for companies looking to get more local, hyper-focused audience insights. This tool is great for region-specific messaging or promotion and can facilitate a more systematic rollout of the word you want to spread.
    What we like: With this tool, you can profile consumers beyond standard demographics — such as their lifestyle, shopping behaviors, and media consumption. You can also narrow in on specific audience segments, like sports betters or streamers.
    12. MRI-Simmons
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    Marketed as “The Essential Consumer Truth Set,” MRI-Simmons provides both national and regional focus studies to those looking to learn more about their audience and plan media more effectively. Its clientele includes companies spanning multiple industries like Dell, Spotify, Coca-Cola, and Men’s Warehouse — which makes sense, given the massive amount of segmentations available to users.
    What we like: As I mentioned above, MRI-Simmons is a powerful tool for segmentation. Why is this important? With segmentation, marketers can identify new audience trends to anticipate their behavior, attitudes and preferences and reach them in the most effective way.
    Bonus Resource: HubSpot Academy’s Paid Media Course
    HubSpot Academy’s course on How to Build a Paid Media Strategy is the perfect introduction to media planning. Whether you have a generous budget or none at all, this course provides marketers with the fundamentals of developing a paid media strategy, utilizing media throughout the buyer’s journey, and finding the ROI of your efforts. Click here to take the free course.
    Media planning is an essential task for marketers. But doing it alone, or with disconnected software, will make it unnecessarily difficult. That’s why it’s important to look at the available tools and use ones that make sense for your goals.

  • 11 Talent Acquisition Strategies to Find the Best Employees

    It can be difficult to find the ideal candidate for a specific position — in fact, in 2021, 69% of companies have reported talent shortages and difficulty hiring – a 15-year high.
    Regardless of the state of the economy and your talent pool, to succeed long-term, your business should be able to hire and retain the best, most talented employees.

    But hiring can be a daunting task, which is why you need a talent acquisition strategy.

    To succeed long-term, it’s critical you attract and retain talented employees regardless of vacant roles. Talent acquisition can help you do this, while solving for long-term organizational needs.

    Now that you understand what talent acquisition is and how it differs from recruitment, let’s dive into the most effective talent acquisition strategies.

    Here are eleven critical talent acquisition strategies to ensure you’re finding the best people.
    1. Align with your business goals.
    Consider your business goals for the next one to five years, and use those objectives to tailor your acquisition strategy to meet those needs. While recruitment tends to focus on filling vacancies within departments, talent acquisition is more about considering how your company is going to expand long term and then finding employees who can help take you there.
    For instance, are you planning on expanding into Latin America? If so, perhaps your HR department should focus on attracting candidates with international or regional experience. Or, maybe you’re planning on creating a new product, in which case, your HR efforts should focus on attracting talented software developers and coders.
    Certain roles might not even exist yet, but you’ll want to consider what type of talent you’ll need to hit your business’s long-term goals. Remember, investing in the right candidates will pay off for your company, long-term.
    2. Use data and marketing to create better acquisition material.
    You wouldn’t create a marketing campaign without data, so why should you recruit without it?
    Talent acquisition should be treated with just as much importance as any of your marketing campaigns. Convincing people to join your company is just as necessary as incentivizing people to buy your products.
    There are plenty of different opportunities to use data to strengthen your talent acquisition strategy. For instance, you might use data to figure out where your top talent came from, and use that information to focus your talent acquisition efforts on certain academic programs or professional networking sites.
    Additionally, your HR team should partner with your marketing department to refine job descriptions, career pages, emails, and more.
    Using data, you can figure out if certain questions are deterring candidates from filling out job applications, and eliminate those questions. Alternatively, perhaps you’ll find adding images or videos to highlight company culture incentivizes more candidates to fill out job forms. Or, maybe more candidates apply for a job with description A over description B.
    By using analytics and data, you’re able to ensure your job descriptions and career pages aren’t deterring qualified people from applying.
    Bullhorn is designed to tackle some of the biggest tasks of talent acquisition: recruiting candidates, and sorting through the job pool. Their software was created to streamline applicant tracking systems and improve profitability for any size business.
    3. Expand outreach strategies.
    To find better talent, you’ll need to expand your sourcing strategies. Different skill sets require different methods of outreach. You’ll find your best marketers in a different place than your best programmers, so you’ll want to diversify your sourcing approach.
    Rather than spending all your time on LinkedIn, consider other specialized job boards, academic programs, or networking events where you might find a specific group of talented professionals. For instance, SmartRecruiter is a CRM that is developed for recruiting candidates and coordinating calendars for potential new hires.
    It’s critical you identify where you can find the vast majority of your top talent, whether that be professional events, conferences, online forums, or social networks. Then, focus on strengthening relationships and networking with the right people — not only will you grow your pool of potential hires, but you’ll also grow brand awareness for your company, which will help you attract talent in the future, as well.
    4. Build your company brand.
    Millions of millennials and older Generation Z candidates make up the current job force. This group of potential employees came of age with the internet and social media. In researching your business, these individuals look at social media accounts, websites, and job boards to understand your work culture.
    When looking into your company, candidates will have questions. What is the workplace atmosphere? Do their employees look happy? Is there potential for growth? Leverage your current employees and capitalize on the instant broadcast capabilities of your website and social media. Post images and videos of your employees at work. Encourage employees to interact with your company on its platforms. Congratulate employees on internal promotions.
    Note the focus on employees. A company that focuses on the well-being of its staff is a place where people will strive to work. Building your company identity to reflect a positive, expanding environment can be an effective tool in your talent acquisition strategy.
    5. Emphasize the company’s corporate social responsibilities.
    Companies have taken a step back from policies that only benefit them. Your company needs to focus on pursuing its goals while benefiting others. Your company’s corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are a considerable tool for attracting top candidates aligned with your organization’s values and beliefs.
    Corporate social responsibilities lead to the betterment of your brand image, workplace culture, and general society. For example, while Ben & Jerry’s is known for its collection of ice cream flavors, the brand also stands out for its long-standing commitment to social responsibilities. Since 1985, Ben & Jerry’s has donated 7.5% of its pretax earnings to social causes like Greenpeace and Vietnam Veterans of America. Since then, the company has supported voting rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. With a menu item dedicated to its values on the landing page of its website, the ice cream company emphasizes the importance of its CSR.
    On the career landing page for your company, your CSR should be immediately noticeable through images and videos throughout the page. If your company focuses on diversity and inclusivity, demonstrate that. If your company stands behind sustainability, illustrate that through your content. Employees rarely want to work for a company that contradicts their values and beliefs. Use your corporate social responsibilities to attract like-minded candidates who will be passionate about working for your business.
    6. Increase budget for the DE&I department.
    Diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical for creating a successful talent acquisition strategy — in fact, Dan Schawbel a best-selling author and managing partner of a New York City-based HR research and advisory firm says “This year, 70 percent of job seekers said they want to work for a company that demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
    The face of the workforce has changed drastically in the last fifty years. In 2022, there are more women and minorities applying for jobs, and as stated by Schawbel, the majority of job seekers want to see this reflected in a company.
    DE&I training is imperative and demonstrates that your company is willing to stay current and relevant with changing times. To see an ROI on your investment in training, prioritize retention. During the job application process, continue to eliminate biases in resume reviewing. Ways to remove biases include removing names and photos when sourcing candidates, making applications and resumes anonymous before review, and creating a diverse hiring team.
    7. Offer updated work options.
    The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the American work model. Talent acquisition specialists adapt their work models to conduct online onboarding versus meeting candidates face-to-face. As the workforce evolves with more technological advances, workers will strive for more work/life balance.
    A professional at Goldman Sachs posted a question on the finance message board of Blind, an anonymous professional network. They asked, “Would you rather make $30k more switching to a new job that requires you to work in the office, or would you rather keep your current salary but WFH anywhere after covid?” The network found that 64% of professionals prefer to permanently work from home over a $30K compensation increase. Other professional groups who favored permanent work from home over a compensation increase include Airbnb (71%), Lyft (81%), Twitter (89%), and Zillow Group (100%).
    Employees want to work from home. Remote work models lead to higher productivity. On average, workers are 13% more productive when working from home. As technology continues to advance, your company needs to adjust and consider incorporating remote or hybrid work models while also cutting costs in outdated recruitment techniques to funnel the money into talent acquisition software.
    8. Design a competitive and comprehensive benefits plan.
    When it comes to compensation packages, employees may be willing to accept a lower salary if balanced by comprehensive health benefits e.g. medical, vision, and dental. Employees want good health benefits, and that includes mental health.
    Life inside the workplace is not all that matters in talent acquisition. Consider what happens in an employee’s life outside the business. Does your business model allow for a healthy work/life balance? Are your employees able to receive sufficient healthcare? What kind of retirement or investment opportunities do you offer? Potential candidates will ask these questions about your company. It is necessary to provide the answers with a comprehensive benefits plan.
    9. Promote internal diversity.
    Many industries are dominated by men leading to women feeling underrepresented within the company’s culture. While the number of women in the workforce has increased significantly over the last few decades, men still hold most positions of power. There is also a racial disparity in corporate America. When HR departments create internal coalitions to rally morale, it increases diversity and inclusion efforts from inside the workforce. To build a diverse and inclusive culture, your company needs to give a voice to people from a wide range of backgrounds.
    Diversity should be a company-wide model; however, it begins at the top. Educate yourself on various cultural traditions and backgrounds. Create a workplace where different perspectives are valued and voiced. Employees tend to follow the example of their boss or manager, and setting this example can span internal diversity across your company.
    10. Partner with local universities to build an applicant pool.
    To build a pipeline of potential candidates, companies partner with educational institutions. It helps establish a relationship between students and future employers.
    Take IBM, for example. The technology corporation has partnered with The University of Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Florida State University to provide access to its systems for teaching and research. IBM has also planned joint-research collaborations with Duke University and Harvard University.
    Instead of waiting for interested candidates to come across the company, IBM has started cultivating relationships with potential applicants. This strategy attracts candidates after graduation and boosts company retention.
    11. Add other incentives.
    Large to mid-size corporations use eye-catching bonuses and employee benefits to compete in a global market to attract top talent within the industry, but financial incentives aren’t the only things that matter.
    When talented candidates are comparing companies, they’re going to consider values, culture, and work-life balance, too. By cultivating an impressive employer brand, you’ll attract better talent and find more long-term success.
    To succeed with talent acquisition, consider how you can reframe your branding to focus on the best aspects of your company’s values and culture. You might mention your flexible remote policy and other work-life balance perks, or your company’s emphasis on growth opportunities.
    It’s important to broadcast these unique attributes through employee review sites like Glassdoor, as well as your “About Us” page on your company website. When highly qualified people are contemplating your company over your competitors, it just might be those reviews that end up convincing them.
    A Talent Acquisition Strategy to Find Top Talent
    Your pursuit of top talent shouldn’t solely rely on traditional, short-term recruitment strategies like sending LinkedIn messages or attending job fairs. To ensure top talent acquisition and retention, you’ll need to devise a strategic long-term talent acquisition plan.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • The hobgoblin of fidelity

    My first computer game design was in 1977–I came up with a version of Star Wars. It was almost nothing like the movie, but it was a pretty good game for something running on a mainframe.

    The Godfather isn’t a perfect retelling of the book. But it’s a better movie as a result.

    A really good recording doesn’t sound like a live concert or what you’d hear sitting in the studio. It sounds like a really good record. And when Alan Dean Foster and I turned Shadowkeep from a computer game into a novel, the goal wasn’t to replicate a computer game, it was to create a good novel.

    When a medium arrives, or time shifts, it’s sometimes tempting to aim for a complete reconstruction of what came before. Follow the rules, don’t innovate. But that’s a mistake–a safe choice that’s actually a trap.

    People desire media that is in and of itself. Each form of media has its own character, and fidelity from one form to another is a compromise that rarely works.

    Because the world has changed, original isn’t original anymore. It can’t be, even if we want it to, because now it’s out of place. Just as we can’t step in the same river twice, each innovation in media forces us to walk away from fidelity to honor what’s possible.

    Fidelity might feel like an option, and it takes effort and care. But is fidelity the best you can do?

    When we switch media, or time zones, or cultures, or technology, it’s up to us to make the idea what it can become, not simply an unpalatable simulacrum of what it was over there.

  • Is Livestream Shopping The Future Of eCommerce?

    COVID-19 has had a profound impact on practically every element of our lives. The epidemic shifted how we connect daily, even with mundane chores like shopping. Shopping at brick-and-mortar stores came to a standstill in many areas — and many consumers are placing more focus on eCommerce even as stores open back up. In 2020,…
    The post Is Livestream Shopping The Future Of eCommerce? appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • Assistance with Eloqua

    I have a couple of questions regarding form processing in Eloqua that I was hoping someone could provide some assistance with: 1. How can form processing be set up to where when someone checks any of the interested brand checkboxes they are then segmented into lists based on their selections? 2. Once the form processing and automation is set up, is there a way to ensure that the form itself is published? 3. I believe I have set up the processing correctly so when a contact fills out a form they will be added to a “New Contacts” contact list, but this may need to be spot checked as well. Thanks! Any help is much appreciated. submitted by /u/brianhdh [link] [comments]

  • Download 9 Bonuses Today with “Wellness Wheel” PLR For Free!

    Wellness Wheel PLR by Firelaunchers is Finest to Boost Your Health and wellness, Improve Your Life by Understanding All The Tricks of Wellness Wheel. Health Wheel PLR features Complete Personal Label Legal Rights. This Implies Your Customers Can Market It To Others Under Their Own Call As Well As Get Significant Cash Money Roll-Into Their Pockets On Complete Auto-pilot. In short, the Health Wheel PLR evaluation is A detailed overview that will certainly aid your target market to find out how to guarantee ample health to acquire an extra improving lifestyle. As wellness wheel is an alternative model that results in an extra effective existence. Examine Right here! In other words, this is your ticket to get yourself on the path of Success, Profits, and Lasting Clients. We offer expertise for you … SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO. This Is A Faster way To Get All The Effort As Well As Have Your Really Very Own Product Ready To Offer And Build Your Checklist In An Issue Of Minutes. This Exceptional “Profit-Stuffed” Product With Private Label Legal Rights Comes Jam-Loaded With this Remarkable BenefitsL; Ready-for-market sales product reduces “Time-to-Profits.” Completely incorporated sales channel Ready-to- Resell. Hot and evergreen subject from a big niche that sells like hotcakes. Rebrand it, re-sell it as well as keep 100% profits, and so on. Simply Think of, in simply 4 actions, you’ll get “Money Credited” Messages Night And Day! All you have to do. https://tescadeux.com/wellness-wheel-plr-review/ submitted by /u/cycysimba [link] [comments]

  • 6 Key Steps To Creating a Buyer Persona For Your B2B Business [+Free Template]

    Hi everyone! Did you know that 56% of the companies that used buyer personas generated higher-quality leads? Yes – Buyer Persona is that powerful. Having the Buyer Personas defined allows your business to: ✔️ Be more accurate about who you are reaching out to, ✔️ Be more productive, ✔️ Have a more personalized approach (aka better response rate), ✔️ And close more deals. Therefore, here is a useful guide on how you can create Buyer Personas in 6 easy steps. We’ve even included how to use them in practice for your lead generation efforts, prospecting, and outreach using automation tool.6 Key Steps To Creating a B2B Buyer Persona For Sales [+Free Template] submitted by /u/Kristina-Sky [link] [comments]

  • Vulnerable leadership is key: building a bridge from intent to action

    Last week, I talked to Miranda Cain, the managing director at Elev-8, a consultancy dedicated to changing behaviours to elevate business performance. The team behind Elev-8 won over 27 awards, including the UK Business Awards™️ in 2021. With over 25 years of experience in the L&D arena, Miranda understands well what it means to create…
    The post Vulnerable leadership is key: building a bridge from intent to action appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • 2022 Pay Analysis: Our Unadjusted Gender Pay Gap is Below 1%

    For the first time since we started analyzing the gender pay gap at Buffer, our unadjusted gender pay gap is below one percent. Although this number will certainly fluctuate with team changes, we’re proud and happy to see this progress. ❤️As a reminder, unadjusted means that we are comparing all salaries across Buffer. Adjusted is comparing two people in the same role, we don’t have an adjusted pay gap as we use a salary formula to determine compensation.Here’s a closer look at our pay analysis from 2022 and some of the elements from this past year we believe impacted this number. Buffer’s 2022 Pay AnalysisOur team size has stayed roughly the same over the last 12 months, we have 83 Buffer teammates. Of those, 37 identify as women, and 46 identify as men. The average salary for women is $136,850 and the average salary for men is $137,418, making our unadjusted pay gap percentage 0.41%.Buffer team: 83 peopleWomen: 37Men: 46        Average salary for women: $136,850Average salary for men: $137,418Unadjusted percentage gap: 0.41%*Note: We can’t share data from the folks on our team who don’t identify as men or women as it is not a representative sample so we’ve opted to leave it out of this report but that may change for future reports depending on how we collect data internally. Since 2018, this what our unadjusted gender pay hap percentage has looked like: Unadjusted gender pay gap percentage at Buffer, 2018 – 2022In 2019, our gap got worse before it got better. As we’ve reflected on this over the years, we believe this is because being a smaller company, each departure, and new hire moves the number and in 2019 we hired more women who were in lower experience levels. As a result, we widened our gender pay gap, though we improved our overall gender ratio as a company and we believe this paid off in the long-term.Here’s a look at the gender split on the Buffer team over the last five years: Gender split on the Buffer team from 2018 – 2022We also see a lot of fluctuation in between these pay analyses also due to new hires and departures. You can see over the last 12 months that every month has been quite different:Unadjusted gender pay gap percentage at Buffer over the last 12 monthsClosing the unadjusted gender pay gap at Buffer is something we’ve been working on for years and is cause for celebration. Initially, this didn’t feel like a goal we could attain given that our co-founder and CEO, Joel, is our highest-paid employee and also a man. There are a lot of factors that have made this possible, though. We’ve talked about diversifying our hiring pipeline and creating a career framework in the past. Here are a few changes that happened over the last year that we believe would have also had an impact. What changed in the last year?Buffer is made up of different teammatesHiring and departures are consistently huge factors that impact our unadjusted gender wage gap every year. Hiring: From March 1st, 2021 we hired 24 new teammates, 11 women, and 13 men.Departures: From March 1st, 2021, we had 25 departures, 15 women, and 10 men. In our analysis, we found that 52 percent of departures were above the average pay across the company while 33 percent of new hires were hired above the average pay across the company. Our executive team is 80% women As we calculate the unadjusted gender wage gap by comparing all salaries across all teams at Buffer, our executive team naturally plays a large role here as they are some of the highest paid teammates at Buffer. Over the last few years, our executive team’s ratio of men and women has always skewed slightly towards more women on the team. In the last year, our executive team has shifted to be comprised of all women except for our CEO, Joel. We adjusted our cost of livings bands We use a salary formula to determine every salary at Buffer and in April 2020 we made a big change to that formula — we went from four cost of living bands down to just two. As Joel writes in his blog post on the vision for location-independent salaries, “the change we made resulted in salary increases for 55 of 85 team members, with the increase being on average $10,265.” That’s a huge number of Buffer teammates and a large percentage of the team who was impacted. These changes were entirely based on location, every teammate in our two lowest cost of living bands was brought up to our new Global cost of living band while those in our High cost of living band remained the same. In total, 46 percent of those whose salaries was increased were women and 54 percent were men, however we did have more women in the Low cost of living band, meaning that their salary increased more on average due to this change than men. There could have been other shifts that we missed that also impacted this number, but these are three big themes. Naturally, each new hire and departure will continue to impact this number over time, so this is something we’ll continue to track and report on. We publish this pay analysis every year as we believe this is the best way to help move our industry towards positive change. We hope that as we continue to share this journey it can be beneficial to others who are working towards similar goals. ❤️View all of our past pay analyses here: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Reach out with your thoughts on equal pay or this pay analysis anytime!

  • 9 Surefire Survey Email Subject Lines

    Learn how to write a survey email subject line that gets your emails opened and your surveys responded to.
    You’ve probably gotten a survey email before, with a subject line that reads something like: 

     “Customer satisfaction survey.”
    “Your opinion matters!”
     “Let us know what you think.” 
    “Feedback about your recent purchase.”

    …But how many of those do you actually open?
    You already know that subject lines can make or break any email campaign you send out — particularly with survey emails, which require customer responses to be successful. 
    According to a recent report, only 22% of marketers believed customer loyalty for brands has increased over the past two years. 38% of customers, however, consider themselves loyal to brands they love. This shows a very discouraging disconnect between marketers and the people they want to reach. 
    So why is this happening, and what can you do to bridge that gap? Those generic “Let us know what you think” survey email subject lines might only get the attention of your angry or frustrated customers. 
    Remember, the goal of an email survey is to collect honest data about a wide range of customers — happy, unhappy, and everywhere in between — and understand your customer experience from start to finish. 
    10 tips for creating survey email subject lines your subscribers will open
    If you’re sending out survey emails with lackluster subject lines, your data will be measly (and totally inaccurate). Don’t worry, though. Here are 10 tried-and-true tips for sending survey emails with fire open rates (plus 15 example subject lines)! 
    1. Trigger an emotion
    Imagine all the survey email subject lines in your inbox right now. What emotions come to mind?
    Are you having trouble coming up with an answer? That’s probably because most of those subject lines don’t trigger any type of emotion. They’re forgettable. 
    Just like with your other email campaigns, you want to invoke some type of emotion in your subscribers when they see that Gmail notification. Emotion always trumps rationale. “Let us know what you think” will not produce an emotion unless the customer had an extreme experience with your company. 
    While extremely positive reviews are great, it can take a lot to counteract extremely bad reviews, so you want to aim for customers who had a pleasant experience but may need extra reinforcement or reward to write a review.
    The easiest emotion to trigger in your survey subject lines is empathy. People tend to identify with other customers as the “us” and brands as “them.” That’s why word-of-mouth marketing is so important.
    Let subscribers know that they can help their fellow comrades make informed decisions about your company or organization by replying to the survey.
    2. Make sure it’s personal
    “Quick customer feedback survey” doesn’t necessarily pack the punch you’re looking for. Not only is this email subject line dry and boring, but it’s also extremely robotic and impersonal. Your subscriber isn’t an inbox — they’re a human. So in your subject lines, speak to them like a person.
    According to research from Accenture, 75% of customers are more likely to spend their hard-earned money with brands that recognize them by name and remember information about them. Plus, personalized survey emails are vital for understanding customer satisfaction (which = retention).
    We might sound like a broken record, but it’s extremely important to use personalized subject lines. 
    You can also take it a step further by sending personalized automated emails. If you’re requesting feedback about a recent purchase, make sure to incorporate the day, location, order number, and any other unique information you have to help the customer recall their experience.
    Uber does a great job of personalizing their automated feedback emails with a friendly tone and specific information about the purchase.

    3. Pose a question
    Even if you go the route of “Well, how did we do?” you’re still engaging with the subscriber instead of simply reacting to their recent purchase. A question forms the beginning of a conversation with a real human being — it’s not simply a robotic response.
    Questions are excellent survey email subject line choices both for past purchases and general surveys about your brand as a whole. Time automated surveys about products to go out after the subscriber has had a chance to experience the item.
    Source
     
    4. Mention the word “survey”
    Specifically asking your customers to take a survey in the subject line is a great and clear CTA right off the bat.
    However, you should still word your subject lines in an intriguing way. “Take our survey today” probably won’t deliver the results you want.
    Instead, use personalization or some kind of incentive along with the word survey to boost your subject line’s potential.
    5. …or don’t mention it at all
    This isn’t carte blanche to completely dupe your subscribers. You can, however, entirely avoid even mentioning the survey in your subject line.
    Get creative. Consider how you would start a conversation with a trusted friend you’re asking for advice, and write your copy from there.
    Focus on developing a one-on-one relationship with your subscribers in your survey email subject lines.
    6. Focus on the benefits
    Following up with the previous point, you can avoid mentioning the survey in your subject lines by mentioning the benefit instead. To do this, however, you need to offer some kind of incentive for taking the survey.
    For longer surveys, offer a bigger incentive—like 50% off a one-time purchase. This may seem like quite a large give, but remember the value of a customer’s time and feedback.
    Even quick product reviews on your website could warrant a smooth 10% or 15% off.
    7. Make sure your copy lives up to the survey email subject lines
    If you make promises in your survey email subject lines, make sure you follow through with it in the body copy.
    This point is crucial for several reasons:

    To avoid spam filters (spammy copy = bad copy, always 
    To uphold your brand’s (and email service provider’s) reputation 
    Getting the results you want. Dry, boring copy won’t make people want to take your survey! 

    Source
     
    8. Keep it short
    Over 41% of emails were opened on mobile devices in 2021, and your subject lines need to take that into consideration. Finding the ideal subject line length is tricky, but when it comes to survey email subject lines, we’d recommend keeping them short so they fit into app notifications.
    How short? You should be safe with 50 characters.
    You should also keep it short so that your subject line copy is concise, straight to the point, and easy to understand.
    9. Encourage some kind of urgency.
    If you don’t discuss anything about time constraints, your subscribers might not respond. They’ll think about responding. They’ll have every intention to respond. But they won’t actually respond.
    Expressing urgency can be as simple as using the word “now” in your subject lines. You can also let subscribers know that the coupon for taking the survey will expire at a certain time.
    10. Use emojis.
    A report by Experian revealed that fifty-six percent of brands using emojis in their email subject lines had a higher unique email open rate. 
    Emojis can be over-used in email marketing these days, but they add levity and friendliness to almost any send. In a world of bland corporate surveys with almost no pep, an emoji in your subject line can add a little spark.
    Remember — not all emojis render properly based on the email client. Check to see if the majority of your list uses a supported email provider before going all-in on the emoji front.
    15 survey email subject line examples worth copying
    Most survey email subject lines follow a simple set of formulas: they personalize, incentivize, and/or create urgency to get folks to click in and fill out the survey. 
    Here are a few examples to inspire your next survey subject line:
    Examples using personalization

    “[NAME], people have questions about [insert product]. Can you help?”
    “Hi [NAME]. Can we talk?”
    “Hi [NAME], how do your new [brand] sneakers fit?”
    “Hey [NAME]. Time’s almost up to earn 50% off.”

    Examples using second person POV

    “Your Saturday afternoon trip with Uber” 
    “Well, what do you think?”
    “Your feedback makes us better” 

    Examples using incentives

    “Take a quick survey, earn 25% off”
    “Looking for 40% off?”
    “Penny (or more) for your thoughts?”

    Examples that create a sense of urgency

    “LAST DAY to win a $200 Visa gift card” 
    “Last chance! Survey ends at midnight”

    Examples with emojis

    “Answer our survey, get a ”
    “Got a minute? ”
    “This Valentine’s Day, we your feedback.”

    Start sending those survey emails
    Survey email subject lines are tough because, by nature, surveys aren’t the most interesting pieces of content. Marketers really need to use their creativity to come up with something unique that will spark interest.
    We could write an entire blog post on survey email copy but you need to actually get subscribers to open the email first. Otherwise, you’ve just wasted your time creating something amazing that no one will ever read. 
    Focusing on your subscribers’ wants, needs, and state of mind can help you develop subject lines that hit home. Just don’t forget to A/B test a few different subject lines!
    Need help creating rock-solid subject lines or embedding beautiful surveys directly into your emails? Campaign Monitor can help with customizable templates.
    The post 9 Surefire Survey Email Subject Lines appeared first on Campaign Monitor.