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In some circles, market research is a catch-all term for asking the industry what it wants. “Do we know what the demand is for this product? Who’s even looking for our services? Let me do some market research to find out,” someone might say.

But what does that actually mean?
Here’s a simple definition of market research that encompasses all the possible goals of this practice, in fewer than 100 words:

Market Research Definition
Market research is the process of examining an industry’s buyers, the product these buyers want, and where they’re currently getting it. By engaging the right people and data, a business can use this research to position itself in the market and predict where the market will go in the future.

Market research can answer various questions about the state of an industry, but it’s hardly a crystal ball that marketers can rely on for insights on their customers. Market researchers investigate several areas of the market, and it can take weeks or even months to paint an accurate picture of the business landscape.
However, researching just one of those areas can make you more intuitive to who your buyers are and how to deliver value that no other business is offering them right now.
Certainly you can make sound judgment calls based on your experience in the industry and your existing customers. However, keep in mind that market research offers benefits beyond those strategies. There are two things to consider: 

Your competitors also have experienced individuals in the industry and a customer base. It’s very possible that your immediate resources are, in many ways, equal to those of your competition’s immediate resources. Seeking a larger sample size for answers can provide a better edge. 

Your customers don’t represent the attitudes of an entire market. They represent the attitudes of the part of the market that is already drawn to your brand. 

Here are some examples of insights you can gain from market research:

Consumer attitudes about a particular topic, pain, product, or brand
Whether there’s demand for the business initiatives you’re investing in
Where to advertise or sell to (geographically or online)
Unaddressed or underserved customer needs that can be flipped into selling opportunity
Attitudes about pricing for a particular product or service

Getting answers to these questions based on real data can help you make sound business decisions and minimize risk.
Types of Market Research
To give you an idea of how extensive market research can get, consider that it can either be qualitative or quantitative in nature — depending on the studies you conduct and what you’re trying to learn about your industry. Qualitative research is concerned with public opinion, and explores how the market feels about the products currently available in that market. Quantitative research is concerned with data, and looks for relevant trends in the information that’s gathered from public records.
Let’s talk about four different types of market research studies you can conduct, a potential goal of each one, and how these studies help you better understand your market.
Interviews
Qualitative information
Interviews are the personal, one-on-one conversations you can have with the buyers in your industry. You can conduct interviews in person or over the phone.
Your interviewees can answer questions about themselves to help you design your buyer personas. These buyer personas describe your ideal customer’s age, family size, budget, job title, the challenges they face at work, and similar aspects of their lifestyle. Having this buyer profile in hand can shape your entire marketing strategy, from the features you add to your product to the content you publish on your website.
Focus Groups
Qualitative information
Focus groups are similar to interviews, but in this case, you’re assembling a large group of people for one shared interview. A focus group consists of people who have at least one element of your buyer persona in common — age or job title, for instance.
This type of market research can give you ideas for product differentiation, or the qualities of your product that make it unique in the marketplace. Consider asking your focus group questions about (and showing them examples of) your services, and ultimately use the group’s feedback to make these services better.
Surveys
Quantitative information
Surveys are a form of quantitative research, and you can distribute them over the phone, via email, or through an online survey. A survey could cater to people who’ve downloaded content from your website or interacted with a member of your business.
Enough completed surveys can help you determine your customer satisfaction level. This denotes how happy your customers are with what you’re selling them. You might include questions like, “How well did we solve your problem?” and “Would you recommend our product to a friend?”
Secondary Data
Quantitative information
The interviews, focus groups, and surveys are all sources of primary data. Secondary data, on the other hand, is the public information — online and offline — that characterizes your industry. This includes competitor websites, social media business pages, trade magazines, market reports, and even census data published by the government.
If you examine enough secondary data, you can learn how much brand awareness you have in the marketplace compared to the companies that provide the same product or service as you.
The market research you perform doesn’t have to include every source of information described above. What data you collect will depend on the needs of your business and what you might be most interested in at the moment. 
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

 

 

Green marketing is advocating sustainable policies of a given organization or particular items. It covers actions promoting the protection of the environment. The consciousness of our decisions and the impact they have is rising therefore, 6 in 10 consumers find it essential that the product is sustainably made. 43% of Americans would more willingly purchase food from a manufacturer committing to sustainability and 25% of US citizens admit to willing to pay more for eco-friendly garments.

 

The trend of being green

 

In the reality of climate change, natural disasters and species extinction, there is no wonder people started to pay attention to their actions. Living sustainably and advocating companies acting for the sake of the environment became a strong trend. The assumptions of marketing based on conscious help of nature have become the foundation for creating necessary tools, useful for increasing sales, and expanding the customer base. Moreover, with the help of social media and eco-influencers, sustainable life and the support of companies acting for the environment became popular, especially amongst young people.

 

Why should organizations go green?

 

Green marketing is an excellent solution and a mix between serious global issues and a promising strategy. With an accurately chosen plan and tactic, your business can not only benefit the environment but also put you one step ahead of the competition. The demand for eco-products and solutions is living its golden age. 

 

According to the Environmental Performance Index, the leader in promoting green marketing is Europe – with Denmark, Luxemburg, and Switzerland in the top 3. The US is positioned in 24th place, which is not that bad given the size and population.

 

Consumers want to be eco-friendly

 

When it comes to being green, the first thing we have in mind is the food industry. As it is something we introduce to our bodies, we are reaching for healthier and therefore more sustainable groceries. 

 

From the Food & Health Survey of IFIC Foundation conducted in 2020, we can deduce that 43% of Americans would more willingly purchase a product from a manufacturer committing to sustainability, while 34% say that sustainable products have a real impact on their buying decisions. Moreover, 6 in 10 consumers find it crucial for production to be sustainable. 

 

When it comes to different branches of purchasable goods such as clothes and accessories, we are willing to pay more for products from companies adding to green ideology.  According to the CGS Retail and Fashion Sustainability 2020 poll with over 2000 participants, 61% say sustainability plays a substantial role in product selection. 25% of US and 24% of UK, 18-34 age pollsters said they would pay even 25% more than the original price for goods produced while maintaining environmental awareness.

 

Millennials and Gen Z as leaders of eco-revolution

 

According to statistics, the demand for environment-friendly products is high, especially among Millenials and Generation Z, and it should be. After all, they are the ones to experience the effects of air pollution, microplastic in oceans, and exploitation of natural resources. It is not only that – companies target their customer base via Social Media, so naturally, the information will reach people who use it daily. Studies show that 68% of millennials are more likely to buy a product with a social or environmental benefit.

 

Opportunity for companies

 

Generally, products advertised as eco-friendly constitute around 22% of store sales and it is estimated to rise to 25% in 2021. Considering 80% of Americans claiming they are more respectful of companies applying environmental awareness in the production processes, 92% would more willingly buy wares of the sustainable brand. That shows green marketing is an excellent opportunity for the company to expand its consumer base and increase sales.

 

Greenwashing as anti-advertisement

 

Inevitably, every hero has to have his antagonist, and so as the opposition to eco-friendly tactics, greenwashing appears. Its assumption is to use slogans and pictures related to the protection of the environment which, however, do not bring any useful actions. At some point, green marketing became so popular, that a significant number of companies started to benefit from it without living up to their commitments. Therefore brands using eco trends only as a marketing trick are more detrimental than beneficial to themselves in the eyes of customers.

 

An example of greenwashing could be popular clothing companies, often launching their own “green” lines and making an impression of being eco-friendly. Boasting about the use of sustainable materials, the companies themselves operate in the trend of fast fashion, using tons of artificial textiles and violating human rights.

 

A popular airline that used misleading data, declared itself as the one with the lowest emission, which was not entirely honest and resulted in a disadvantage for the company.

 

Joining the battle for the environment pays off

 

Although converting existing or starting a new investment, following the principles of green marketing may seem difficult or even impossible (depending on previous practices), it will undoubtedly have a positive impact on your company. However, there is a very narrow line between Green Marketing and Greenwashing that companies can cross (even unintentionally), which can result in a decrease in their reliability to the consumer. Having a quick look at the numbers above, properly conducted eco marketing can be a powerful marketing strategy. 

 

Brands based on building environmental awareness through green marketing tactics are increasing their sales. Thus arouse interest in ecology, which can directly transform into benefits for the company and the entire planet.

marketing automation

marketing automation

Facebook groups have helped me find roommates in Boston, potential dog breeders for a family pet, and women’s networking opportunities in the nearby area.
In short: Facebook groups are undeniably valuable.
Recently, companies have taken advantage of groups for their own benefits, as well — Peloton, for instance, uses groups to connect its users and facilitate a space where people can share exercise plans, training methods, and workout schedules with one another.
Other brands, including National Geographic and Instant Pot, have followed suit, creating their own community-focused groups to inspire action, encourage engagement, and increase brand loyalty.
Even HubSpot recently created its own private group, Marketer to Marketer.
If you’re considering creating a Facebook group for your own company, you’ll want to keep reading. Here, we’ll explore the differences between Facebook groups and Pages, how to create a Facebook group, and whether or not it’s worth the effort.
Let’s dive in.

Should I create a Facebook group for my business?
To determine whether a Facebook group is a good idea for your business, let’s start with the differences between a Facebook group and a Facebook Page.
Most businesses should have a Facebook Page. A Page enables you to advertise on Facebook, and it’s a public-facing profile to post company-relevant updates and announcements to Facebook users at-large.
If you’re a nonprofit organization, a Page also enables you to post a ‘Donate’ button to increase donations from the Facebook community.
Considering 1.56 billion people are on Facebook, it’s vital your business has a Facebook Page to increase brand awareness, advertise to new audiences, collect audience insights, and even chat with users looking for customer service.
As Gary Vaynerchuk told HubSpot’s CEO Brian Halligan, “… You can’t be alive in the game without a Facebook.”
All of which is to say: Having a Facebook Page is a requirement for getting your business active on one of the largest social media platforms.
A Facebook group, on the other hand, is much smaller-scale and typically more exclusive than a Page. For instance, with a group, you’re able to set up open membership, membership upon approval, or even membership by invitation only. Then, once members are accepted into your group, they’re able to freely post and engage with one another.

Simply put, a Facebook Page is company-focused, while a Facebook group is community-focused.

A group is a good idea if you’re interested in connecting your customers or leads to one another, you want to facilitate a sense of community surrounding your brand, or you’re hoping to showcase your brand as a thought leader in the industry.
However, a group is not a good idea if you want to use it to raise awareness about your products or services, or simply use it to post company announcements.
People want to join groups in which they feel a sense of belonging and connection with fellow group members, and to learn about an industry at-large — which takes effort, resources, and time to ensure your team can deliver.
If you don’t feel you have the resources to cultivate a valuable, engaging Facebook group, it might be best to wait until you do.
However, if you’ve determined a Facebook group is the right decision for your own business, let’s explore how you can create one.
How to Create a Facebook Group for Your Business
1. On your company’s Facebook homepage, click “Groups” on the left-hand side.

2. Click the “+ Create New Group”.

3. Type in a Group Name, and then choose your privacy (Public versus Private). You also have the option to invite Facebook friends immediately if you’d like. Then, click “Create”.

4. Click “Edit” on your cover photo to choose from Facebook photos, illustrations, or upload a photo from your computer.

5. Add a description to your Group so people know what your group is about. Additionally, if you want to create a private group for customers, you can copy-and-paste customer email addresses into your “Invite” box.

And that’s it! Your Facebook Group is now ready-to-go.
However, to encourage strong retention and engagement, you’ll want to be an active community lead. To pin posts, create a poll in the group, and more, keep reading.
How to Pin a Post in a Facebook Group
A pinned post is a post that will remain at the top of your group’s timeline for seven days (unless you unpin before then).
This is important if you’ve posted content to encourage engagement. For instance, if you’ve posted an Ask Me Anything, you might want to pin that post to ensure users can find it easily even once group members start posting their own content on the timeline.
Additionally, if you’ve posted to welcome new members to the community and provide some necessary information on your group, you might want to keep that post pinned to ensure new users have the right context as soon as they jump into your group for the first time (of course, you’ll also want to provide context in your description, as well).
1. To pin a post, you’ll first need to type your message into the “What’s on your mind” box, and then click “Post”.
2. Once the post is published, click the three dots at the top right of your post and select “Mark as announcement”:
And that’s it! Your post is now pinned to the top of your timeline for the next seven days.
Next, let’s dive into how you can create a poll in your new group.
How to Create a Poll in a Facebook Group
1. To create a poll in a Facebook group, start by clicking into the “What’s on your mind?” box. Then, click on the three dots that say “More”:
2. Next, click “Poll” out of your menu options.

3. Type your poll question into the text space, and then add your individual options into each text box. Click “Poll options” to fine-tune your poll. When you’re ready, click “Post” to immediately publish your poll.

How to Create a Private Facebook Group
1. You have the option to create a Private or Public Facebook group when you’re first creating a group:
2. However, if you created a public Facebook group and now want to make it private, you can do that by clicking “Settings” under “Manage Group” (from within your group): 
3. Next, click the pencil besides “Privacy” and click on the “Private” bubble (Note: It takes three days to change a group from public to private):
To learn more about the benefits of having a private Facebook group, read about how HubSpot made the decision to make its own private Facebook group — plus, why the social team feels the Facebook group is critical for faciliating deeper, more meaningful connections between HubSpot users and the industry as a whole.
And that’s it! You’re now on your way to engaging with leads, prospects, or customers directly within your Facebook group to increase brand loyalty and value.
If you’re looking for inspiration before designing your own Facebook group, take a look at 9 of The Best Facebook Groups We’ve Ever Seen.

I will argue with alarming confidence (and no actual data) that 90’s kids were the original vloggers.
When I was about 14 years old, someone handed me a digital camera that I spent hours talking to. I would take my audience (AKA me) on my teen adventures and say things like, “Hey guys, it’s Martina. Today, my cousin and I are going over to her friend’s house.” Exciting stuff. Thankfully, that footage never saw the light of day.

When YouTube first launched, people like me finally had a platform to share stories, entertain, and educate. But then, vlogging evolved into what we know it as today: a sustainable income source for influencers and an effective content marketing tool for brands.
So, how do you start vlogging? We’ll cover that and more here.
1. Feel out the competition and find your niche.
Before you pull out your camera and start filming, you’ll have to do some strategizing. It starts with finding your niche.
This means narrowing down what your vlog will cover based on your brand, audience, and demand.
Starting with your audience: Does vlogging align with your user persona? This is critical, as you want to meet your audience where they are. Imagine creating these high-quality videos for YouTube, but your ideal customer lives on Facebook and prefers short-form videos. In this case, you would have wasted time and resources. So, start by reviewing your persona and ensuring this venture is a worthy investment.
Here are additional steps you should take to narrow down your niche:

Confirm the demand for your content – Use tools like Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner to double-check the interest in the type of content you will be producing. This is a useful step to generate video ideas during the initial planning phase as well as later on, when the channel is live.

Check out your competition – How many brands are currently creating the content you’d like to produce? To get your answer, head to YouTube, put your keywords in the search bar and go through the videos on the results page. This will tell you how saturated the market is and the difficulty level to stand out.

Brainstorm your approach – Once you know who your competitors are, analyze their content and develop a fresh, unique approach to fit your audience.

2. Develop a content strategy.
Now that you’ve found your niche, here comes the fun part: content planning.
Just as you would for a blog or social media account, you want to break down your content ideas. Start with broad topic clusters and work your way down to specific videos. If you’re having trouble, HubSpot’s Business Blogging course can serve as a great foundation for structuring your content.
From there, you can group your ideas into series, which work great on vlogging channels. Think of them as segments on a TV show. They fall under the broader topic but only cover something specific. For instance, let’s say Tasty wants to start a food vlog. There are several subseries they could have, including:

Recipe series.
Food shopping series.
Cooking accessories series.
Food tasting series.

Social listening will also help you keep your ear to the ground and generate new content ideas.
With vlogging, there’s an additional layer of planning involved. Will you need any props for filming? Do you need to be at a particular location? All of this will call for advanced planning to ensure filming goes smoothly.
Once you know what topics you will cover, tackle the less concrete areas. What will be your channel’s aesthetic and style? Is it light and airy or dark and moody? It’s important your vlog channel matches your overall brand. So, go back to your brand identity and use that as your guide to design your channel.
3. Invest in your equipment.
Having a successful vlog isn’t only about having great content. It’s also about having the right equipment to produce high-quality videos. Every video you produce needs:

A camera that captures in-focus subjects.
Clear and crisp audio.
Lighting to match the brand’s aesthetic.
A non-distracting background that supports the foreground.

If you’re on a budget, here are a few essentials to get you going:

A ring light or softbox for lighting.
A lav mic for audio.
A phone with a camera.
A phone stand or tripod.
A backdrop, if you want an empty background.

As your channel grows, you can invest in additional equipment.
4. Film and produce in batches.

One of the benefits of content planning is that you can then film multiple vlogs at once. Batch filming will save you hours of set up and make scheduling a breeze.
Start by looking at the content you plan on filming over the next few weeks. Then, see which ones can be filmed together.
Keep in mind that not every series will allow for batch-filming. For instance, if some of your vlogs will consist of behind-the-scenes footage, this strategy won’t work. Batch filming works best for videos within the same series with little to no change in the setting, like talking head vlogs.
Once you know which ones you will film, it’s just a matter of scheduling.
5. Optimize your vlog channel.
Once you’ve filmed and edited your video, there’s another step to complete before it’s ready to be published.
The first is making a thumbnail. It’s one way viewers will decide if they want to watch your video. While you can simply take a screengrab from your vlog and use that as your thumbnail, you’ll likely want to stand out with a custom thumbnail.
YouTube’s Creator Academy recommends these following specs for your thumbnail: 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 ratio) with a resolution up to 2MB.
Next up is your video title. It’s key to gaining your audience’s interest and for SEO. Whenever you’re writing one, keep these tips in mind:

Include your main keyword in your title.
Keep your title under 70 characters.
Use numbers and eye-catching words to grab attention. I.e.: “X Ways to Boost Your Brand Awareness.”

Don’t forget about your video tags and descriptions. View these as additional SEO opportunities to rank higher for search queries and help audiences find your content.
6. Upload consistently.
Vlogging is a slow and steady venture that requires consistency. Yes, it’s important to have high-quality content but you can lose your audience if you don’t maintain a regular publishing schedule.
Think of your favorite TV shows. Isn’t it the worst when you’re expecting a new episode but it doesn’t air because of a football game or holiday? Well, it’s the same for vlogging.
Audiences expect consistency. When they don’t get it, they’re more likely to seek out other brands.
7. Analyze your metrics and optimize.
Once your channel begins generating views and subscribers, you can analyze your metrics to review each video’s performance.
Metrics like average watch time and audience retention can tell you if your content is resonating with your audience. Re-watches can help you identify subtopics of interest and develop more content ideas.
Impressions and click-through-rate (CTR) will tell you how attractive your thumbnail and title are. If the rate is low, you may need to try different titling strategies or use a different thumbnail template.
As with any venture, there’s trial and error involved. Analyzing your vlogs’ performance will give you the data you need to grow your channel.
1. Get familiar with the vlogging style.
There are two main types of vlog styles:

The documentary-style “talking head” where the vlogger sits in front of a static camera and discusses a topic for educational and/or entertainment purposes. Brands often use this for how-to videos.
The “come-with-me” style where the vlogger takes the audience with them to various locations. When showing behind-the-scenes or a day in the life, this style is very popular.

If the video requires it, you can also combine these two styles within one video. You can also use the styles interchangeably from one video to the next.
One mistake brands can make is take their approach to social media videos and TV, and apply it to vlogging. Vlogging audiences tend to look for longer videos that go in depth on a given topic, unlike the short, viral-friendly content you’d typically see on TikTok or Instagram.
With audiences craving more authenticity from brands, vlogs are a great opportunity to show the faces behind your brand and engage with subscribers.
2. Build from a three-act story approach.
A vlog typically follows a similar storytelling format to a blog. When a viewer lands on your video, they expect an introduction to the topic followed by a deep dive. It then ends with a recap of what was discussed and a call to action.
Following this simple story structure will help you develop the content for each section of the video without straying off course. Writing video scripts is another way to make sure you cover key points in your video.
Pro-tip: Use a teleprompter app to deliver your script seamlessly without looking rehearsed.
3. Encourage viewers to engage with your vlog.
Comments, likes, shares are some of the ways your audience can engage with you on your vlog channel. But how do you encourage that behavior? It starts with your video.
Your video should include ways for your viewers to join the discussion. A simple call out like “Tell us your thoughts on X in the comment section,” or “Put a thumbs up if you agree,” urges your viewers to jump in.
Incorporating subscribers’ comments or suggestions in your future videos is another way to encourage participation and drive your engagement rate up.
4. Vlog from your phone (if that’s your style).
Depending on your budget and the style you’re going for, you can choose between vlogging from your phone or camera.
Vlogging with a phone can give a more intimate and informal look to your vlog. It’s often used to show behind-the-scenes footage or when taking the audience on an adventure with you. However, you do sacrifice image quality when filming from a phone.
If you’re on a budget, a phone will do. As your vlog channel grows, it’s worth investing in a lightweight camera that works in different lighting conditions and has key features like image stabilization and mic inputs.
How to Edit a Vlog
Use video editing software.
When filming a vlog, you’ll inevitably pause from time to time, make mistakes, or need to reshoot something. This is where editing comes in handy.
Editing videos allows you to cut down your video to keep the most important parts. There are many video editing software available ranging in price, ease of use, and features. The most popular options include:

iMovie(free) – This is a great beginner option if you are on a budget and own an Apple product. This software has basic editing capabilities with a sound and music library.

Apple Final Cut Pro(One-time fee of $299.99) – If you want to take your editing to the next level, this is a great option. It offers a large array of templates, plugins, and audio mixing settings.

Adobe Premiere Pro(Starts at $239.88/year) – With features like scene edit detection and virtual reality editing, Premiere is one of the best editing tools on the market. It’s ideal for brands who are producing videos frequently and require advanced editing features.

Create an intro.
A good vlogging intro serves the same purpose as your favorite show’s theme song. It helps build a connection with your audience and helps maintain consistency.
There are a few different approaches you can take with your intro. Some brands keep it simple with a simple frame of their logo while others prefer intros that give more context into the channel with voice-overs or animation.
Whatever you choose, be sure to use that intro in every video you publish.
Add sounds and music in the background.
Think of a scary movie without any terrifying music to build up the moment. Not the same, right?
Sounds and music are subtle touches that can keep your audience engaged in your content.
One thing to keep in mind is that YouTube is very strict about the use of copyrighted material. You must use royalty-free music or risk having a muted video your audience can’t enjoy.
Thankfully, there are several free music libraries online to find royalty-free music, including YouTube Audio Library and ccMixter.
Be sure to check the fine print before downloading, as some sites require you to credit the artist on your video. If you want a wider selection of music, you will likely need to subscribe to a royalty-free music library platform.
How to Start a Vlog Channel
Pick a Vlogging Platform
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google and the most popular vlogging platform. According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of adults report using it, most users between 18 and 49 years of age.
So, naturally, it’s where most brands and influencers launch their channel. The platform also allows its content creators to monetize their videos with ads, offering an additional source of revenue.
YouTube is also one of the most lenient platforms when it comes to video length. Users can post videos up to 12 hours. But, like I tell myself when I’m tempted to eat a bag of gummy bears: even though you can, doesn’t mean you should.So, while the option is there, most brands should probably stick to videos under 30 minutes.
Find the steps to create a YouTube channel here.
IGTV
As soon as Instagram launched IGTV, it became another vlogging platform. Users can categorize their IGTV videos by series, which makes it easy to navigate. However, unlike YouTube, content creators are restricted to 20-minute videos.
A major benefit to this platform is the fact that it’s an all-in-one experience. Followers can scroll down a brand’s timeline to see their pictures and videos as well as shop their products.
With Instagram being an influencer hub, brands could benefit from collaborating with influencers for IGTV vlogs.
Vimeo
Although less popular, some brands use Vimeo to post their vlogs. Back in 2019, the site had a reported 170 million active monthly users. One benefit of using this platform is that there’s less competition, making it easier to stand out.
What Makes a Vlog Successful
According to a report by CNET, 70% of the videos users watch are recommended by the platform’s algorithm. So, getting on the algorithm’s proverbial good side is a great advantage.
The first tip for success is creating content that matches your audience’s interests. Google reported that when deciding what to watch, YouTube viewers choose interest over production value at 1.6 times the rate.
Some publishers report that the algorithm favors longer videos. However, spokespeople from YouTube have said it doesn’t prioritize by length, but instead by interest. The better a video performs, the more likely it will get recommended.
So, by focusing on creating high-quality content that aligns with your audience, you can have a highly successful vlog that’s engaging and drives traffic to your brand.

When you create and add a compelling call-to-action (CTA) to any content — such as a website, blog post, or social media profile — you have the potential to convert more visitors into qualified leads and customers. That’s because a well-crafted CTA helps increase conversions and, therefore, prospects, customers, and revenue.
Call-to-Action Tools
Call-to-action tools, or CTA tools, exist to make the process of creating and adding CTAs to your website, blog, or social media posts simple.
You may already have access to a CTA creator/generator in your current business tools, such as your Marketing Software. If that’s not the case, consider using any of the following CTA tools to efficiently create and add CTAs where you need them most.

Here are seven tools for generating CTAs so can begin increasing conversions.
1. HubSpot Calls-to-Action

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HubSpot’s Calls-to-Action tool allows you to create, personalize, test, and optimize CTAs that drive qualified leads to your landing pages in seconds. The easy-to-use CTA builder doesn’t require a designer and helps you make CTA buttons or CTA pop-ups. You can also upload custom button design or image-based CTAs of your own.
When personalizing CTAs, HubSpot provides useful information about individuals from your contact database (e.g. industry, lifecycle stage) to help you tailor the CTA to them. Or, if you’re targeting anonymous visitors, use other helpful details like their location or language.
Once your CTAs are complete, add them to web pages, landing pages, blog articles, or emails. Then, A/B test, analyze, and optimize your CTA’s and their performance — you can easily manage all of your CTA data from a single dashboard in HubSpot that displays views, clicks, and conversions.
2. Wishpond

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With Wishpond, create and optimize CTAs for web and landing pages with a drag-and-drop builder and over 20 templates. A/B and/or multivariate test versions of your CTAs to determine which does the best job of converting visitors.
Advanced tracking provides insight into which CTAs are most effective among your visitors. Meanwhile, marketing automation assists with customer segmentation (once visitors have converted, thanks to your CTA, of course) and sending emails. Wishpond also integrates with over 40 different tools to make tasks (such as data analysis, closing deals, and team-wide collaboration) simple.
3. Sniply

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With Sniply, add CTAs to the links you share (e.g. web page, blog article, social media post) — in other words, overlay a customized CTA on any content.
Simply enter any URL that you want to include a CTA (this can be one of your own URLs or one from a third-party site). Sniply will then generate a slightly different, shareable URL for you. Once your audience clicks on the new URL, your CTA will be visible on the page.
Customize a CTA’s look (color, text, size), type (banner, pop-up), and placement on the page. Then, monitor your results and track CTA engagement from within Sniply to better understand how your audience interacts with your CTAs.
4. ClickMinded

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ClickMinded’s Da Button Factory is a free tool for generating CTAs that you can add to your website, social media post, email, or blog article. Decide what you want your CTA to say and look like by selecting button text, font, style, color, background, and size — then, the tool will generate your CTA.
Once you’re ready to implement your new CTA, opt to either download the image file or implement the button as HTML + CSS.
5. Canva

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Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design software with drag-and-drop features and a variety of pre-built templates that you can customize — if you’re looking to design something from scratch, you can easily do that in Canva by simply selecting your own dimensions.
Canva does not currently have a specific template for CTAs, however, it’s easy to build your own. After selecting the dimensions for your CTA, design and brand the button in any way you want. The Canva dashboard is easy to navigate, even for those without any design knowledge.
Once your CTA design is complete, download the final product and upload it to your content management system (CMS) so you can insert the CTA on a landing or web page.
6. ImageFu

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ImageFu is a button and badge generator — the tool can create CTAs in seconds. Simply type the text you want to appear in your CTA button (this can span multiple lines) and customize it to your liking. Select your border, background, shadow, corners (type and radius), and size. Then, download the CTA and save it to your device so can add it to your CMS and insert it onto a web page.
7. ButtonOptimizer

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ButtonOptimizer is a free CTA generator that helps you customize CTA buttons for your website or landing page. Select the base color of your CTA as well as the text, size, border, icon, and shadow. Once you’re satisfied with the look of your CTA, the tool will prompt you to decide whether you want to download it as a PNG file or CSS code so you can then insert it on your site.

This post is a part of Made @ HubSpot, an internal thought leadership series through which we extract lessons from experiments conducted by our very own HubSpotters.
HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan has said it many times: More businesses die each day from overeating than from starvation. They spread themselves across so many different priorities that it becomes impossible to gain major traction with any of them.
The same is true when it comes to managing customer reviews for your business. There are so many different places a business can be reviewed today that keeping them all in order can feel a bit like a game of Whac-a-mole.
(A few examples would be G2, Gartner Peer Insights, and Capterra.)
This was the problem we faced at HubSpot. If we tried to give the same care and attention to every single review site, we’d only have a minimal impact on each site. While it was important for us to read and consider every piece of feedback, it was also crucial for us to understand which sites were going to have the most impact in moving HubSpot’s mission forward: helping millions of organizations grow better.

However, how exactly could we determine which sites were likely to have the greatest impact? We needed to figure out which sites were wholesome brand-builders and which were just tasty distractions.
This is why I developed HubSpot’s “Customer and User Review Scoring Algorithm”. I designed the algorithm so we could objectively consider dozens of different criteria that assess the importance of various third-party sites. With this algorithm, we could determine how to focus our efforts over the coming months.
The Components of the Customer and User Review Scoring Algorithm
I realized that, for our specific business (as an inside sales-based SaaS company), there were three primary scores necessary to gain a full perspective of the review sites in our orbit:

Health Score: How positively is HubSpot currently represented on this site?

Sales Enablement Score: How important is this site to sales enablement?

Acquisition/Visibility Score: How important is this site to the acquisition of new users or the general perception of HubSpot and its products?

For each score, I chose a variety of criteria I could measure (see below) and scored each site against the criteria. I was then able to weigh the criteria against each other so that criteria we deemed more important would have a greater influence over the score.
For example, we determined that our review rating (out of 5) on each review site was more important than the overall number of reviews we had on each site.

See above all of the criteria I used to create each score, and click here to see an example Google Sheets template of the scoring rubric.
Leveraging the Customer and User Review Scoring Algorithm
To truly understand each score and how the different review sites stacked up against each other, I plotted the data on two different grids. This process allowed us to see the Sales Enablement Score and Acquisition/Visibility Score each plotted against the Health Score.
The grids below represent what this looked like for HubSpot a couple of years ago. The colors of the grid correspond to how much attention should be devoted to improving HubSpot’s health on the given site (see the corresponding notes in red).
The Sales Enablement Grid — English Focused

The Acquisition/Visibility Grid — English Focused

Armed with objective data and these handy grids, I was not only able to better direct my own review-oriented efforts, but I was also able to gain much better alignment and buy-in from other teams that leverage or impact customer reviews.
As a result of the campaigns that came out of this research, we were able to drive hundreds of five-star reviews, bring up our star rating on our goal sites, and influence countless deals.
If you’re looking to spin your business’s flywheel and acquire new customers, then a positive online reputation is a must-have. Approaching these reviews can feel a bit intimidating simply because of the sheer volume of websites, but fear not! Armed with this scoring system you can boil down the ocean and focus your attention purely on what matters.
Check out this template to get started today!