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  • 75 Essential Social Media Marketing Statistics for 2021

    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. 

  • 9 Effective Call Center Strategies to Implement This Year

    It’s easy to get complacent in the call center, taking customer queries one after the other.
    The Executive Guide to Improving Call Center Metrics
    If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. By revisiting your business’ goals and values, you can make a much-needed pivot to improve the impact your call center has on your company — and more importantly, your customers!
    The good news is, we’ve done the heavy lifting and rounded up the best strategies to implement in your call center.
    1. Make data-driven decisions with KPIs
    Let’s start with the basics. Most call centers track industry-standard metrics, such as Average Hold Time (AHT), Abandonment Rate, and First Call Resolution (FCR).
    But are you leveraging this data to make necessary changes to your operations? If not, this is a great place to start.
    The Complete Guide to Call Center Metrics
    2. Prioritize agent satisfaction
    If your agents have high job satisfaction, they’re more likely to pass those feel-good vibes on to your customers. So, it’s in your business’ best interest to ensure your team is well-trained, equipped, and motivated to make the most of each workday.

    It’s not rocket science: If your agents have high job satisfaction, they’re more likely to pass on those feel-good vibes to your customers. It’s in your best interest to ensure your team is well-trained, equipped, and motivated. #cx #cctr…Click To Tweet

    Put the focus on employee engagement and find out what would make them happier in their daily work. By maintaining their job satisfaction, you’ll also lower agent attrition, saving you loads on additional hiring.
    3. Eliminate hold-time for your customers
    Eliminate hold time? Can it be done? While it’s impossible to stop customers from swamping your call center all at once, it is possible to give them a better experience by offering them a call-back.
    How to Eliminate Hold Time in Your Call Center
    During periods of high call volume, they won’t have to wait in the queue, and they’ll receive updates on their queue status in real-time. Not to mention your agents will rest easy knowing there aren’t a dozen fuming callers waiting on the line.
    4. Provide self-service options
    Today’s customers are more tech-savvy than ever. Why not use that to your advantage? Complement your call center technology with self-serve databases, AI chatbots, and blogs. This helps connect them with the information they need without tying up your phone lines so your agents can spend their time handling more complex customer interactions.
    5. Establish a comprehensive training & coaching program
    Learning shouldn’t be a one-time gig, especially when it comes to a service role. To help them do their roles with confidence, train and coach agents regularly. That can be in the form of assigning coaches, a mentorship program, and even regular refreshers. The industry is ever-changing, so make sure your team can keep up!

    15 Powerful Call Center Training Methods

    6. Empower your agents to make decisions
    Suppose your agents are repeatedly asking for the same customer information, transferring calls over and over, or worse yet, needing several calls to resolve a single issue. In that case, there’s a good chance your agents aren’t adequately equipped to deal with their customers properly.
    That can stem from several sources — they may require more training or more clarity about when it’s appropriate to escalate a case. But the verdict is clear: agents who have the power to help your customers will do so.
    7. Create a supportive (not competitive) culture
    In the call center’s earlier days, competitive culture was quite common. Despite their intentions to motivate agents to outperform each other and increase productivity, it often left their team members burnt out and exhausted.

    Today, the best call center managers know that providing support and a nurturing environment is the best way to boosting agent performance #cx #cctr Click To Tweet

    Today, the best call centers know that providing support and a nurturing environment is much more useful for boosting agent performance. And if your agents feel valued for what they bring to the role as a person, they’re sure to create a better customer experience!
    8. Have a crisis plan ready
    If there’s one thing the past year has taught us, it’s that disaster can strike anytime, anywhere.
    Call centers are still feeling the lingering effects of the pandemic, so it’s wise to have measures in place the next time your agents are faced with an onslaught of customer queries.
    How to Make Your Call Center More Resilient

    9. Audit your systems regularly
    Regularly reviewing your procedures can help you avoid unnecessary headaches down the road. Something as simple as conflicting messaging can create huge challenges for your call center. Take the time to review your IVR messaging, ensure that your channels are set up correctly, and evaluate your tools and technologies to ensure they’re in working order.The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

  • Avoid the clown suit

    How to get better at graphic design…

    There are more amateur and semi-pro graphic designers working today than at any point in human history.

    Presentations, instagram posts, websites, the cover of your kindle book or the logo for your podcast–anyone who’s touching a phone or a computer is called upon to do design, and most of us could get better.

    Understand the difference between good graphic design and simply putting ideas on paper.
    Acknowledge that you want to get better and realize that you can.
    Improve the picture in your head.
    Learn the skills of making that picture real.

    Understand the difference: Simply throwing type or a picture up will definitely put the information in front of people, but it won’t carry with it all of the care, insight and professionalism you want and need.

    We don’t tolerate typos in commercial products, and the market has the same feeling about design that’s lazy or out of place.

    Graphic design represents an emotional commitment to the work. Long before we read the words or understand the images, we see the layout. Kerning and color and weight and form arrive in our brains before we have decided what the words on the page actually mean. You wouldn’t wear a clown suit to a job interview, and yet people dress up their ideas in clown suits all the time.

    Getting better: If you are sure that you’re already good enough and that feedback is simply annoying, you’re probably not reading this. For the rest of us, there’s the chance to say, “I’m going to move to a higher level, and that means leaving this level behind.” Don’t defend your work with the generous critic. The entire point of getting better is to eagerly abandon the approaches you were taking on your way to gaining new skills that are more effective.

    The picture in your head: This is a huge step. If what you’re designing looks right to you, then it’s never going to improve. The leap here is to go shopping. Find ten websites that succeed by whatever measure matters to you. Go to a bookstore and find ten book covers that represent the level of authority and professionalism you seek. Go to the Dieline and compare 40 package designs. Check out the difference between the photos you’re taking and the ones that are on the most successful online retail sites. Find some heroes. Understand the genre you’re working in.

    Make the picture real: And now–copy them. Step by step, learn what you need to learn to make something as good as your heroes. A direct copy is not what you’re going to publish, but at least you’ll understand how to add the level of care and signalling and understanding of genre that’s needed to get the emotional element of your point across.

    Once you know how to do good lighting, color choice and typography, you are welcome to abandon it. But it certainly pays to know how and to make it your choice.

  • 7 Ways to Improve Customer Experience with Email Marketing

    A happy customer is a loyal customer. And loyal customers are important. In fact, the chances of selling to an existing customer are between 60-70%. Which drops to a mere 5-20% for new customers. But what is the key to keeping customers happy? 64% of customers state that experiences are worth more to them than…
    The post 7 Ways to Improve Customer Experience with Email Marketing appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • Marketing Automation Tools in 2021

    Hi Marketers, We’re trying to find the right marketing automation software or software stack with good integration but after several months of research, we’re yet to find a system that will do everything we need. Most systems are really good at their “thing” but only do 70% of what we need. We sell travel insurance so we have 3 main phases: Nurturing (transactional) User responds to an ad -> hits a relevant landing page -> gets a quote -> is emailed a quote specific to them -> added to a remarketing list (FB, Adwords, Youtube etc) -> added to a quote follow up sequence (email, SMS, scheduled call). Sale (transactional) User buys a policy -> added to a date triggered email sequence for delivery of the product (sale confirmation, reminders, event warnings, friend referrals) Rebuy (campaign) Regular campaign sequences triggered by sales, important dates, world events, etc. The features we need: – Journey builder – with decisions based on page visits, email opens/clicks (both transactional and campaign) – Campaign builder that supports complex sequences – Email builder (Marketing and Transactional) with split test and dynamic text – Transactional email system that supports complex sequences and multiple transactions for the same customer – Able to connect sequences with Google, FB, SMS & other remarketing – Landing page builder / pop ups – SMS / WhatsApp – Tracking of repeat site visitors with ability to launch a sequence based on this – Split testing emails and landing pages in a sequence – Attribution reporting We have our own custom CRM and have devs that can do any integration work required. I hoping someone out there has solved this and can suggest a tool or stack of tools that has worked well to solve the above. Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Cheers, Dean
    submitted by /u/Dean_ve [link] [comments]

  • Shared or Dedicated IP Configuration: Which is Right for Me?

    If you’re considering whether a shared IP or dedicated IP environment is better for your business, this quick guide will help you decide. We explain the differences between the two and how your IP reputation can impact your sender reputation and email deliverability.

  • Top 6 Must Try Marketing Automation Software

    What are the Best Email Marketing Software out there for your business? Getting the appropriate Marketing Software product is as straightforward as comparing the features and terms offered by these six software that I personally use and recommend. (HERE) I suggest that you take some time to review their unique features and determine which one is the better alternative for your organization. What’s more remember to take into account your company’s or industry’s special circumstances, for example, a multilingual app for a global company or a mobile platform to help you work in the field. I collected The 6 Most Useful Blog posts about them: Read more here. I also wrote a blog about the Top 3 Best Email Marketing Tools– Check It Out HERE And about the Top 2 Best Landing Page Software Comparison– Read It HERE And The Nr.1 Shopping Cart Software That I Personally Use– Take a look HERE Try Them FREE
    submitted by /u/szdebrecen1 [link] [comments]

  • Giving Compliments

    In Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he talks about giving compliments as being like leaving beacons of light. The world is a very small place and before you know it, you’ll do a full circle and meet people again, and they will remember you for the small compliments that you…
    The post Giving Compliments appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • 20 Ways To Get More Views on YouTube

    YouTube, launched in 2005, the second most visited website in the world. It’s available in 100+ countries, features videos in 80 different languages, and its users watch over a billion hours of content daily.
    Many businesses take advantage of the large number of users and daily viewership to advertise for their business. In fact, YouTube is the second most popular channel for businesses sharing video content.
    However, despite the sheer amount of hours watched every day, it can be challenging to hold up on YouTube. Creators sometimes struggle to get their channel off the ground, resorting to paying for YouTube views to generate engagement. The platform’s algorithm has become better at detecting bots, and, as you can guess, fake engagement doesn’t do much in the way of meeting your business goals.
    Although it will take time, it is possible to generate views (for free) and grow your channel on YouTube. In this post, we’ll go over how to get more views on YouTube and how to continue growing your channel after reaching your first 1000 views.

    How To Get More Views on YouTube For Free
    Getting views on YouTube takes time and effort. But, if done right, it pays off (Forbes estimates that you can make anywhere from $3-$5 per 1000 views). Below, we’ll go over a few ways to get more views on your YouTube account.
    1. Be mindful of SEO and organic search results.  
    YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world, only topped by Google. To get more views on YouTube, follow the same SEO tactics you use to surface your content in organic Google search queries.
    Since Google owns the platform, YouTube has similar algorithms for displaying the most relevant content. The video below goes into detail, but the tips that follow highlight the best steps you can take to obtain more views.  

    2. Use keyword-rich descriptions.
    Your viewers initially see the first 100 characters of your video descriptions (example below), so you should aim to use keywords in snippets that provide the most relevant explanations to your viewers.

    But using your keywords doesn’t mean an excuse to be dull. Get creative with your descriptions and aim to stand out. After all, the goal is to entice users to view your videos over your competitors.
    Your first 100 characters should also entice users to click ‘Show more’ to learn more about what you have to say.
    3. Use business-relevant tags.
    YouTube’s algorithm determines 70% of what people watch on the platform. Using relevant tags for your business is key to surfacing your content in search results and obtaining more views.
    Opt to use a combination of long-tail and short-tail keywords that truly relate to your video, listing the most important keywords first. Be mindful of keyword stuffing, as it is against YouTube policy and doesn’t help you generate more views.
    4. Create unique, enticing titles.
    Video titles are what people read first when browsing search results. So, aim to create compelling, unique video titles that clearly describe your video’s content and make people curious and interested in learning more. For SEO results, you can include your most relevant keyword in your video title.
    Be mindful of clickbait, though, when creating your titles. It can be a valuable tool for getting users to click on your videos (see this article from a HubSpotter who was effectively clickbaited), but it can also backfire.
    You don’t want to say your videos will be about one thing and have interested users find that you don’t touch on it at all. Ensure that your titles align with your content.
    5. Use creative, relevant thumbnails.
    Just as titles are the first exposure to your video content, thumbnails are the first images. Creating thumbnail previews that are exciting but relevant to your content is an excellent strategy for driving views. High-quality, engaging thumbnails can attract users in organic search results.
    Your thumbnails can be screencaps from your videos or even text-based titles. Here’s an example of a thumbnail from popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee. He’s effectively created a thumbnail that depicts the content of the video: reactions to upcoming Apple product rumors.

    Image Source
    6. Use closed captions and transcripts. 
    Subtitles and closed captions are another way to optimize your video SEO, as they highlight additional keywords and phrases for the algorithms to detect when indexing your videos.
    Most importantly, closed captions and video transcripts make your YouTube account more accessible. If you solely rely on audio and visuals, you’re probably going to lose a large portion of your audience that’s unable to interact with your content in that form. When you create content that is accessible, all audiences can enjoy what you have to offer.
    You should also opt for using closed captions instead of subtitles, as closed captions include dialogue and additional sound descriptions for actions like laughter or closing a door. Here are some resources that can help with understanding web accessibility and how to align your content with accessibility standards:

    Bureau of Internet Accessibility – Closed Captioning Guide
    Accessible Media Inc. YouTube Accessibility guide
    Google Accessibility Resource Database for Developers and Publishers

    7. Encourage subscribers
    While organic search results can be great, the algorithms won’t always surface your videos.  Encouraging viewers to subscribe to your channel is another way to ensure that people can see your videos.
    This means that when you post, your videos will show up in their subscriptions tab (shown below).

    In addition to encouraging subscribers, ask users to turn on post notifications to get notified when you post a video.
    Notifications can be a valuable tool for generating excitement. Users may feel they want to stop what they’re doing to watch your videos so they can actively participate in conversations about your content.
    8. Repurpose your existing quality content.
    Content repurposing is re-using existing content and presenting it in a new format to prolong its shelf life. Repurposing could mean creating a video from a high-performing how-to blog post (the bonus here is that YouTube users love how-to videos) or posting recording sessions from a popular podcast episode.
    You’re repurposing helpful content and sharing it with a new audience in a format you know they enjoy.
    9. Create a unique introductory hook for your videos.
    It’s a unique tip, but it’s worth considering as many popular creators use this strategy.
    Mr. Beast is a famous YouTube persona with almost 52 million subscribers. Each one of his videos begins with a clip of an exciting moment that doesn’t usually play out until at least halfway through the video.
    Users must keep watching to see the moment unfold. Here’s an example:

     
    10. Create a playlist.
    If you create content clustered around a relevant, related topic, create playlists to encourage video views. The image below shows the playlists on the HubSpot YouTube account, where videos are organized by topic.

    Image Source
    Playlists default to autoplay, so users can watch an entire playlist without taking action themselves.
    Playlists and autoplay allow your users to view subject-relevant content that they may not have found themselves. This gives them a well-rounded experience and increases your video views.
    11. Lead users to other videos in end screens.
    End screens are the final 15-20 seconds of your video, sometimes called credits, used to recommend additional content on your channel as cards. Below is an example from the HubSpot YouTube account.

    Video Source
    Your end screens can feature cards for single videos or entire playlists, a subscribe button, links to your associated websites, or secondary channels your business has (we’ll touch on this below.) It’s important to note that end screens should recommend relevant content.
    12. Enable embedding.
    Almost anything can be embedded these days, including YouTube videos. If you’ve created a YouTube strategy, you’ve likely identified your target audience on the platform. They’ll probably give you the most views, but enabling embedding can help you introduce yourself to additional viewers that may not have known your content would be relevant to them.
    Here’s an example of a YouTube video embedded in a blog post.

    Image Source
    You can embed your videos in your content, like blogs and email newsletters, but it’s also a valuable way to expose your content to new audiences.
    Other people can embed your content within their own pages and share your expertise with their audiences. These views still count towards your overall view count, even if they’re not on YouTube.
    13. Promote videos on other platforms.
    YouTube probably isn’t your only social media profile, and you should use this to your advantage. Share new video announcements on your Instagram Stories, share links and clips on Twitter and Facebook, and share them in your blog posts and emails.
    You’ll expose new audiences to your content, and, as mentioned above, views on other platforms count towards your YouTube view count.
    14. Leverage current trends.
    Leveraging YouTube trends is a valuable tool for obtaining more video views. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should create content that is exactly in line with a current, trending meme on YouTube, but you should pay attention to what types of videos get lots of views.
    For example, Mediakix released a list in 2019 of the most popular types of videos. Among them are how-to and Q&A videos.
    Suppose you’re a business hoping to utilize one of these trends. You could create a how-to video demonstrating how to use your product or service and a Q&A video where you troubleshoot consumer inquiries. You’re creating content that users want to see that provides value to them to generate more views.
    15. Focus on creating relevant content.
    Leveraging trends is important for generating views, but you shouldn’t abandon your topic type to get views.  
    A YouTube channel filled with unrelated content can generate views but won’t be seen as a source of authority. Your content would be scattered, users might write you off, and algorithms won’t know your niche. So, the two tips come together to leverage current trends to create content that aligns with your existing strategy.
    Also, relevant content outweighs video quality. YouTube found that, when deciding what to watch, content relating to a user’s passions is 1.6x more important than the video’s quality (like visuals and camera quality), and 3x more important than whether it features well-known actors.
    This means that the most valuable content you can create isn’t expensive and high budget — it’s content that’s in line with your audience’s needs. When you understand what they want, it’ll be easier to earn views.
    16. Collaborate with similar accounts.
    One of the exciting aspects of YouTube is its community. There are people creating all different types of content, from gaming videos to exercise classes. You’ll likely find people who make content like yours, and collaborating with them is a valuable tool for generating more views.
    Collaborations usually involve creating two separate videos, one for your channel and another for the collaborators’ channel. When they’re posted, you’ll gain exposure to their audience group and them from yours.
    If you’ve collaborated with a topic-relevant channel, new viewers will likely already be interested in your content and may even subscribe to your channel. It’s also a valuable way to create more content, and more content always inspires more views.
    17. Post at the right time.
    There is a right time to post on YouTube. The best times to post on YouTube are Thursday or Friday afternoons between 12:00 and 3:00 PM, and on Saturdays between 9:00 and 11:00 AM.
    You can certainly leverage these numbers and obtain views, but it’s also essential to create a posting schedule that aligns with your existing viewership.
    You can get this information from YouTube’s native analytics tool or your preferred service. If you’re a HubSpot user, you can connect your YouTube account to Marketing Hub and generate custom reports.

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    Posting at the right time translates into views, because your subscribers are more likely to watch during a time that they’re free versus when they’re at work.
    18. Use a multi-channel approach.
    If you’re a large business, consider creating multiple YouTube channels for different purposes. For example, HubSpot has five separate YouTube channels (shown below) tailored to different audience groups.
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    Multiple channels ensures that content is accessible to different viewers, and it generates more views.
    This isn’t just a HubSpot thing — Interbrands says that the top 100 brands on YouTube have an average of 2.4 channels.
    19. Optimize for mobile viewers.
    More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices, so create content that these audiences can enjoy.
    Optimizing for mobile viewers means creating videos that can adapt to different mobile device aspect ratios, video titles and thumbnails that don’t get distorted on smaller devices, and recommend videos in end-screen cards.
    20. Remember to be patient.
    As marketers, we all want virality and immediate success for the content we create. While you may sometimes get lucky, generating more YouTube views takes time and patience.
    There’s not much concrete advice to give with this tip, but understand that if you’ve leveraged the tips on this list, you’ll likely gain more views to begin growing your channel.
    Next, we’ll go over how to keep growing your channel after reaching your first 1000 views on YouTube.
    How To Reach 1000 Views on YouTube and Keep Growing Your Channel
    Although it certainly would be nice, there is no equation to help you generate your first 1000 views on YouTube. Some people gain instant success, while others struggle to reach even 100 views after making hundreds of videos. In fact, 88.4% of YouTube videos generate fewer than 1000 views.
    This may be discouraging to hear, especially since you can only begin to monetize your videos on YouTube after having more than 4,000 public watch hours. Many creators, including Zac Snyder, have attempted to figure out the perfect formula.
    Snyder highlighted his mathematical approach in a Medium article recommended that a good start could be to make 300 videos a year at 10 minutes a piece. However, this strategy may not work for all creators.
    There are ways to generate more views sooner rather than later. First, you should use and reference the tips mentioned above when creating your videos. There are also four additional tips to consider to continue growing your YouTube channel after reaching 1000 views.
    1. Increase your upload frequency.
    If it’s taken you a long time to reach 1000 views, it may make you nervous to risk your viewership by doing anything differently. However, it’s easier to generate more views with more videos than to generate more views from one or two standalone videos.
    Pay attention to your channel analytics, understand when you generate the most views, and increase your upload frequency to match your engagement metrics.
    Once you’ve developed a schedule, identify time frames in which you’ll reassess your strategy. For example, maybe you’ll aim to upload three times per week until you reach 10k views, and then you’ll analyze your metrics and switch to uploading twice a week.  
    2. Keep introductions and opening credits short and to the point.
    Attention spans are short, so any unnecessary content in your videos can cost you viewers. Once you’ve reached 1000 views and generated an audience, you don’t want to lose them.
    Use analytics to understand their behavior and adjust accordingly. If viewers seem to stop watching after a certain amount of time, consider shortening your introductions so viewers get to the core of the content faster and feel more inclined to finish the video.
    3. Optimize for ‘Suggested Video’ views.
    Suggested videos show up in the sidebar of a desktop YouTube screen, as shown below in the red outline.

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    The algorithm recommends videos based on tags, so choose industry-relevant tags that your competitors are also using. When they match, you have a significant chance of showing up in suggested videos for the same tags.
    YouTube also doesn’t discriminate by subscriber count, so even if you don’t have as many subscribers as your competitors, it’s still possible to be suggested after their videos.
    4. Engage with subscribers in the ‘Community’ tab.
    The Community tab is built for YouTube creators hoping to interact with their audience outside of their video comments. You can create polls, feature images, and generate hype for upcoming videos.
    Post snippets to get subscribers excited about what’s to come, and they’ll likely be looking out for your video and ready to watch when it goes live.
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    If you’re interested in learning more in-depth strategies for growing your channel, check out this HubSpot Academy YouTube Course featured resource. You’ll learn how to build your brand, develop an audience, and gain insight from YouTube influencers on creating a successful channel.
    Create Content That Inspires Subscribers and Encourages Views
    You’re creating YouTube videos because you know you can provide value to your audience.
    Remember, it may be frustrating if results aren’t immediately significant. But if you optimize your videos and channel for SEO, create consistent, relevant content, and engage with your audience, you’ll not only reach 1000 views but own a channel that just keeps on growing.

  • What is a Media Kit — and How to Make One [+ Examples]

    Your competitor releases a new product or service. You offer something similar — but, of course, much better.
    Then, suddenly, your competitor’s product is everywhere. News articles, online reviews, best-of lists, buyers’ guides, even TV segments.
    How is this happening? And your real question: why isn’t it happening to you?
    To compete against your competitors, there’s one thing you’ll need in your wheelhouse: a media kit.
    Here, we’ll explore what a media kit is, and how it can help you increase brand awareness and, ultimately, sales.
    Plus, how to make one for your own brand.

    Media kits may live fully-online as responsive online press pages. Or, businesses may choose to make their press kits available as static, downloadable resources, like a presentation deck.
    Whatever format you choose, this much is clear: businesses of all sizes benefit from having a professional, readily-accessible media kit. This vital resource is a key to the earned media coverage all businesses covet — from massive Fortune 500 corporations all the way down to individual influencers and solopreneurs.
    A comprehensive media kit should include a description of the company or individual, contact information, social media statistics, case studies, information on partnerships and collaborations, and testimonials from past customers.
    Basically, it’s all the information a journalist would need to feature your brand in a breaking news story — without the headache of a last-minute information request.
    How to Make a Media Kit: What to Include
    So, you want press coverage and partnerships (what brand doesn’t?). And you understand how a media kit helps make this all possible. But how do you make a media kit?
    Here’s some good news: most of the content and creative assets you need to create your press kit likely already exist.
    Key elements of a media kit include a bio or About Us page, social media statistics, case studies, partnerships and collaborations, and testimonials. To make it even easier for the press to cover your work, you’ll want to include high-quality brand identity images (think both logos, and other brand images or product/service images).
    It’s up to you to (1) find this information, (2) make it look spectacular, and (3) make it painfully easy to find on your site. The rumors you’ve heard about journalists and how overworked they are? Entirely true.
    To catch the attention of someone on tight deadlines with an internet full of story prospects, you’re going to want to make this simple. Most brands choose a direct page name like “Press” or “Media” –– or, if they’re really fancy, “Newsroom” –– and make it accessible directly from their homepage (often in the Footer).
    Even if you prioritize a web version, having a downloadable media kit or deck is worth the time investment. Some media users might prefer the traditional form of this resource, and it gives you the best opportunity to control your pitch and tailor content to all audiences.
    Biography or About Us
    Let’s start with the star of your media kit: you. Here’s where you introduce your name, your logo, your mission. Make sure your media kit design reinforces your overall brand identity, utilizing the colors, fonts, and other visual hallmarks set out in your branding guide.
    Evernote goes all-out in this section, housing their press kit information within the broader “About Us” portion of their website. All the essentials for journalists and partners are there too, but the organization’s values take center stage.

    Social Statistics
    For social stats, you’ll need to conduct a social media audit or collect this data from whoever manages your social channels. Remember your audience for the press kit: media and PR professionals.

    Your media kit needs to effectively pitch your brand to people who specialize in getting people’s attention. So show them you’re capable of sparking conversation — and show them there’s already an audience eager for stories about you and your work.

    Kickstarter puts a unique stamp on this section of their media kit page, highlighting a few top metrics that show massive engagement with their service.

    Media kits aimed at partnerships and collaborations should prioritize engagement rates and similar actionable metrics alongside the bread-and-butter statistics like follower counts. Savvy marketers want to partner with brands and influencers that move people to action.
    [Note: If you are a HubSpot Social user, you can use Reports to analyze the performance of your social posts and determine how well your social media efforts are performing.]
    Partnerships and Case Studies
    This section is your chance to let past partnerships and brand collaborations speak for themselves. Let the old adage “show; don’t tell” be your guide here. Featuring the right partnerships –– either via logos or through short case studies –– is a subtle but powerful tool for positioning your brand.
    International football influencers The F2 highlight past campaigns, putting reputable brand names and logos front-and-center. They also note key engagement statistics for these campaigns

    Testimonials
    Testimonials are another great way to show media professionals the impact and effectiveness of your brand or product.
    Keep this section succinct: just a single testimonial should suffice. Only a few lines of text (even just a single short quote) and a single related image gets the point across, lending your pitch greater credibility thanks to social validation.
    Briogeo does a fantastic job highlighting testimonials on its Press & Buzz page, right below the rewards section for easy access:
    Visual Assets (Downloadables)
    Your media kit isn’t a style guide, but it should pull in the most essential elements of your visual brand. Want your logo and that slick product screenshot to display correctly?
    Provide exactly the images and files you want featured. Have a killer data visualization, infographic, or product video? Include that, too.
    Journalists will especially appreciate portraits of your management team. They’re most likely to cover stories involving people, so show them the people they’ll want to write about.
    Birchbox makes this easy. They highlight “Press Materials” and link to a short but comprehensive set of resources. Having everything in well-organized cloud folders is a nice touch –– especially for those browsing on mobile.

    Without downloading or unzipping a large batch of images, visitors can quickly confirm you have visual assets to make their publication look good. Remember, the audience for your media kit is especially busy and juggling lots of competing priorities. Jump to the top of their “potential posts” pile by making their job as easy and painless as possible.
    (Added bonus: your external media resources are easily updated –– sparing you anxiety about outdated media kits and image files misrepresenting your brand.)
    Perhaps unsurprisingly, Instagram also really crushes it in this portion of their press resources. They even provide branded, editable templates for broadcast media use, making it easy for publishers to adhere to their iconic visual brand.
    Now you know the what and the how of creating a media kit to garner beneficial coverage for your brand. Click here to download our free media kit template and get started.
    And go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back when that Features story comes out. You won’t see your name on the byline, but we both know who the real hero is here.