Category: Marketing Automation

Journalists crave juicy stories and viral marketing campaigns, but standing out in a sea of conventional pitches is one of the biggest challenges for any public relations professional.
When you need a dose of inspiration, it can be helpful to explore the most compelling PR plays in recent years. To save you some time, we curated a list of the absolute best of the best to get the creativity flowing for your next campaign.

Read on to get inspired by some of the best minds in public relations.
1. Spotify: Wrapped

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Spotify’s Wrapped campaign has quickly turned into a viral, end-of-year event. Since 2016, the streaming app has provided each user with a “wrap up” of their listening habits which are delivered in colorful, eye-catching graphics. Naturally, you can share your stats on different platforms, like Instagram and TikTok.
Spotify’s Wrapped is not just another marketing campaign— it’s a viral, multi-platform, FOMO-inducing social campaign. It’s highly personal, relevant, and shareable. It’s this winning combination that its rivals, namely Apple and YouTube, haven’t been able to recreate.
2. Subway: Eat Fresh Refresh

For the longest time, Subway has rolled out countless marketing campaigns featuring its trusty tagline, Eat Fresh! But now, in light of changes to both its brand and menu, a new campaign has emerged, fittingly titled “Eat Fresh Refresh.” The campaign includes many sports stars, like Steph Curry and Serena Williams, who lend their humor to promote Subway’s new meal options. In one commercial, Tom Brady pulls a loaf of bread from an oversized perfume bottle. “Smells so good, you can almost taste it,” he narrates. It’s a humorous take on the moody, often confusing perfume ads – while highlighting Subway’s new ingredients and options.
3. HostelWorld: Even Divas are Believers

Traveling the world can give you some of the best experiences of your life, but it can also thrust you into situations that you’ll want to scrub from your memory, like staying the night in a hostel. There are countless hostel horror stories online and hundreds of videos that mock their hospitality scattered throughout social media — so needless to say, they don’t have the best reputation.
But HostelWorld, a hostel booking website, decided to team up with Mariah Carey to freshen up their image and showcase the pleasant reality of staying in a modern day hostel. Together, they blasted through affordable accommodation stereotypes by spotlighting the lesser known luxuries of hostels like having access to the same facilities as more expensive accommodations, but at a cheaper price, and being able to connect with other fellow travelers.
HostelWorld’s message is simple: if hostels are nice enough for divas like Mariah Carey, then they’re nice enough for everyone..
4. Lego: Rebuild the World

According to Lego, rebuilding the world starts with a single (lego) brick. It’s a powerful message for those rebuilding their lives following several tumultuous years — and one delivered by a company that believes in building, experimenting, and breaking the rules. 
This campaign is not only well-timed, but it effectively presents its products in such a way that goes beyond their basic functionality.
5. Dove: #TheSelfieTalk

When it comes to creating positive brand associations, Dove is in a class of its own. For example, its #TheSelfieTalk campaign takes a poignant look at the pressure young girls feel to look “perfect” — and the lengths they take to appear this way online.
It’s one of many campaigns by Dove that explores how the beauty industry impacts women’s self-esteem and body image. As a result, the brand is often associated with positivity, self love, and confidence.
6. Ikea: #StayHome

During periods of lockdowns, Ikea wanted customers to see their homes from a new perspective. Enter the #StayHome campaign, a love letter to our homes, and all the life moments that happen there. It reframes the idea that our home is a place we’re trapped in, to a place of warmth, shelter, and growth. It’s a message of hope that leaves a lasting impression on the audience.
7. Stabilo Boss: Highlight the Remarkable
There have been remarkable women throughout history that might not have been celebrated as they should have been. Stabilo Boss — the company that sells highlighter pens — started a campaign to highlight these women and their incredible accomplishments. 

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Stabilo took famous black-and-white photos from historical moments and drew a yellow highlight line to showcase the woman in the photo that made it all happen. The Boss PR campaign highlighted women like Katharine Johnson, the NASA mathematician responsible for the calculations that sent Apollo 11 to the moon. Other examples include Nobel Prize winner Lise Meitner and First Lady Edith Wilson.
The campaign blew up on social media and went on to win multiple awards.
8. Logitech: BS Detection Spoof

Hours after April Fools Day, almost every marketing publication rounds up the best spoofs, pranks, and stunts that distracted everyone at work that day. One of the funniest spoofs that earned a spot in all the major roundups this year was Logitech’s fake Business Speak Detection product video. By giving their product a punny, yet subtly accurate name, the video pokes fun at most businesses’ obsession and overuse of buzzwords. But it also has the feel of a real product overview, which makes it even more hilarious.
9. Old Spice: Paper Blazer Ad

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When Fragrance brands advertise in magazines, they usually show off their aromas by drenching an ad with their latest cologne or perfume. But Old Spice realized people usually don’t enjoy unexpectedly pungent scents violating their nostrils when they’re flipping through their favorite magazine.
So, in typical Old Spice fashion, they gently ribbed other fragrance brands by inserting a paper blazer doused in their new cologne, Captain, in their print ad in GQ magazine. Then they wrote about how these paper blazers can help men attract attention not only with trendy style, but also with masculine smell. The only drawback of the blazer is that it’ll turn into papier-mâché on you in the rain.
Humor and cleverness is one of the best ways to appeal to your audience and gain earned media attention, and it seems like Old Spice can leverage them both on any marketing channel.
10. Star Wars: Passing the Box-Office Baton to The Avengers

Congratulations, @MarvelStudios and @Avengers: #InfinityWar. pic.twitter.com/PnHfaouOlP — Star Wars (@starwars)
May 1, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War recently shattered Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ record for the biggest opening weekend ever by grossing over $250 million. LucasFilm, the studio that created and produced Star Wars, wasn’t bitter though.
Instead, they were proud of their friends over at Marvel Studios, and sent them a heartwarming congratulatory tweet. By applauding them for their incredible accomplishment, and not sulking about their broken record, Star Wars earned the respect of movie lovers everywhere — not to mention some media coverage for the gesture.
11. Johnnie Walker: Jane Walker

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To promote gender equality and honor the many achievements of women throughout history, Johnnie Walker launched a female version of its whisky on International Women’s Day called Jane Walker. The limited-edition bottle featured a woman on their iconic logo, instead of a man, which connected the brand to individuals who also support their commitment to social progress.
In March 2018, Johnnie Walker released 250,000 bottles of Jane Walker, and for every bottle sold, they donated $1 to organizations that empower women. This tangible impact helped their campaign gain even more support and publicity.
12. AirBnB & BBC Earth: Night at Blue Planet II

Blue Planet II is considered the greatest nature series of all time, with its first episode attracting over 14 million viewers and earning the title of Britain’s highest rated TV show in 2017. Watching the show can almost place you into the habitat they’re filming, but BBC Earth wanted to take things to the next level for their biggest fans: they offered them a chance to experience what it’s like to be a researcher and filmmaker for Blue Planet II.
To do so, they teamed up with AirBnB to run a contest for their members, and two lucky winners got to spend three days and two nights in the Bahamas on the research and exploration vessel used in the show’s filming. During their expedition, they lived with and discussed work with researchers and dove deep into the Atlantic Ocean in a submarine with filmmakers to observe some of nature’s most unique underwater wildlife. By offering a once in a lifetime opportunity, BBC Earth could get more people to watch their hit show, and AirBnB could build their brand affinity.
13. SpaceX & Tesla: SpaceX Sends a Tesla into Outer Space

View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O — Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
February 6, 2018

Everyone knows Elon Musk wants to send humans to Mars. So when SpaceX launched their newest rocket, Falcon Heavy, into space, it made some headlines. But when the Falcon Heavy suddenly shot a cherry-red Tesla Roadster blasting David Bowie’s 1971 hit “Life on Mars?” into orbit, it was being called the greatest automotive PR stunt in history.
The car will now float between Earth and Mars for millions of years, and serve as reminder for current and future generations to always reach for the stars. The success of both launches also improved SpaceX and Falcon Heavy’s reputation. Falcon Heavy is now the most powerful rocket on earth, so it’s realistic to say it can launch heavy satellites and future space stations into orbit, shuttle cargo to Mars, and even transport humans to the moon. And that’s exactly what Elon Musk needs the public to think if he wants to accomplish his ambitious goals.
14. State Street Global Advisors: Fearless Girl
On the morning of International Women’s Day, the world woke up to find a four-foot high statue of a girl across from the Charging Bull statue on Wall Street in New York. She is standing tall and brave, hands on her hips, in a dress and high top converse. 
Fearless Girl, as she is called, was commissioned by the investment management firm State Street Global Advisors as a part of their campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards. By standing up to Charging Bull, she is standing up for gender diversity on Wall Street. 

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Some argue that the girl’s defiance toward the bull — and male-dominated corporate boardrooms more generally — is controversial. There has been lots of pushback to the statue, but in general, this PR campaign received widespread support for the women’s movement and diversity in the workplace and remains outside the New York Stock Exchange.
15. ALS Association: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
A few years ago, videos of people dumping a bucket of ice water over their heads flooded social media, now known as the Ice Bucket Challenge. The viral sensation of 2.4 million videos was a way to raise awareness of a neurodegenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The idea was to raise money for the ALS Association and research on the disease. 

The viral challenged raised more than $115 million dollars, with almost $80 million going towards research. The campaign was a massive success — awareness and funding for ALS has skyrocketed, all thanks to millions of people giving themselves brain freeze.

If you’re playing along with buzzword bingo, you’ve heard the term “employee engagement.” But it would be a mistake to dismiss it as just a buzzword. Ignoring engagement costs the global economy 8.1 trillion dollars each year, according to a study by Gallup.
Thankfully, the opposite is also true. Improving employee engagement can boost profitability, improve customer satisfaction, and even make for a safer workplace.

Read on to learn what employee engagement is and what factors affect it. Then discover 11 strategies for improving employee engagement at your workplace.

What is employee engagement?
Employee Engagement Examples
Why is employee engagement important?
How to Measure Employee Engagement
How to Improve Employee Engagement

Engagement means that employees:

Know what they contribute toward their team’s success.
Work toward their company’s goals and values.
Are connected to and supported in their role.
Look for ways to learn and grow in their role.

Employee engagement isn’t the same as job satisfaction or employee happiness. Although those ideas are a part of the equation, employee engagement speaks to motivation. An engaged employee invests time, energy, and talent to benefit their team and company.
As Kayla Marchetti – engagement manager for Seismic – puts it, “I want any individual who joins us to feel passionate about our mission and work, to feel a sense of belonging, and to know they have opportunities to grow and develop their career here.”
On the inside, engagement embodies feelings like purpose, trust, and autonomy. On the outside, it looks like a collection of behaviors and attitudes. Let’s take a look at some examples to better understand what these behaviors look like.

Employee Engagement Examples
Employee engagement isn’t a switch that gets turned on or off. It exists on a spectrum from highly engaged, to non-engaged, to actively disengaged. Most employees will fall somewhere in between, and their level of engagement can change over time.
Here are some examples of how engagement can show up. For each example, we’ll also highlight a stat showing how many employees fall within that engagement group, as per the Gallup study we noted in the introduction:

Highly Engaged [36% of U.S. workers in 2021]

Enthusiastic about their work
Helps out co-workers
Gives extra effort when needed
Seeks out new responsibilities and learning opportunities

Non-Engaged [49% of U.S. workers in 2021]

Relatively satisfied with their job, but not committed
Will do what they need to, but not more
May have a 9-to-5 attitude
Could be at risk of accepting a new job opportunity

Disengaged [15% of U.S. workers in 2021]

Complains to co-workers (and possibly customers, too)
May damage company culture and office morale
Unwilling to join in social activities
Likely looking for a new job

It may be tempting to think of these behaviors as personality traits, but they may say more about your company culture instead. Even star employees can become disengaged if they don’t have clear expectations and the resources to do their job well.

Why is employee engagement important?
“You can have the best services and best team, but if you don’t have engaged and enthused employees it won’t matter,” says Maryanne McWhirter, Sr. Inbound Marketing and Sales Consultant for LeadG2.
There’s no aspect of your business that isn’t affected by employee engagement. Your employees are the engine that makes your business function. And when those employees feel invested and respected, that engine performs at its best.

“The experience an employee has at your company soon translates to employee sentiment, which drives company culture over time. Company culture impacts your employer and consumer brand in a big way, so if we want happy, engaged customers who stay loyal, we have to implement that same strategy with our employees first.” ~ Leanne Poirier, Manager of Internal Communications at ZoomInfo

That’s why decades of data from Gallup show the following benefits of employee engagement:

1. 10% Higher Customer Loyalty
From sales to service, highly-engaged employees deliver a great customer experience.
Again, Kayla from Seismic tells us “When we do [employee engagement] well, we can attract, develop, and retain the best talent, which means our customers are more likely to be well-served.”
2. 23% Higher Profitability
It makes sense that higher customer loyalty would lead to increased sales and reduced service costs. But highly-engaged employees also reduce costs associated with turnover, absenteeism, and injury.
3. 18% Boost in Productivity
When employees feel connected to their work, they work harder. They’re also more likely to go above and beyond their daily tasks. Engaged employees are more likely to suggest new ideas and innovate new processes.
4. Up to 43% Less Turnover
Highly-engaged employees feel recognized and rewarded. They understand their growth potential and see development opportunities ahead.
On the flip side, the Gallup study also shows that 74% of disengaged employees were actively looking for new employment.
5. 64% Fewer Workplace Accidents
It’s easy to get complacent about routine tasks, which can lead to carelessness. But when employees are engaged they focus on the work they’re doing. They’re also more aware of their surroundings, and more likely to follow safety rules.
6. 81% Lower Absenteeism
Whether because of increased drive or decreased burnout, engaged employees are more likely to show up.
This doesn’t mean normal sick-days or personal time. Absenteeism refers to habitual and intentional unscheduled absences. The kind that, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), reduces productivity by 36.6% as co-workers take on added work.

How to Measure Employee Engagement
Measuring employee engagement can be difficult because it’s a subjective experience. To get a full picture, you need to pay attention to both the quantitative and qualitative signs.

Seek ongoing feedback. Individual conversations are one of the most powerful ways to discover engagement levels. Ask if your employees feel valued. If they understand their growth potential. If they have the resources they need to do their job.

Find your Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). Your eNPS is a great way to get a snapshot of employee sentiment. This is especially helpful when you also give your employees a chance to say why they gave the score they did.

Watch your rates of absenteeism and turnover. Spikes in these metrics are common symptoms of low engagement, and a sure sign something has gone wrong.

Do exit interviews/stay interviews. Exit interviews can be a good source of candid and honest feedback. Just be sure these interviews aren’t the first time you’re asking these kinds of questions.

How to Improve Employee Engagement
Employee engagement should be thought of as an ongoing process, like developing your company culture. Engagement isn’t about ping-pong tables and casual Fridays. There are no quick fixes, so think about the full picture instead.

Marchetti of Seismic, tells us, “Our goal is to create an environment that supports and encourages our people to do their best work every day.”

With that in mind, here are some strategies to consider for improving employee engagement:
1. Start with a plan.
Poirier from Zoominfo suggests, “Taking the time to ask questions like ‘Who is our typical employee? What does their work-life balance look like? What challenges do they face? What do they need and what do they want?’ We know good marketing strategies lead to increased revenue; employee experience works the same way. When companies treat their employees with the same thought and care they do with customers, everybody wins.”
2. Communicate clear expectations.
Engaged employees understand their tasks, responsibilities, and goals. More than that, they understand how those things fit into the wider company goals. That understanding can only come from leadership.
This means holding goal-setting meetings, performance reviews, one-on-ones, and regular, ongoing feedback.
3. Provide the knowledge and tools they need to do their job.
This may seem like common sense to some, but many times employees are only given enough information or resources to do the next task. Sharing knowledge and access empowers employees to contribute beyond their to-do list.
4. Give them trust and autonomy.
Trust and autonomy go hand-in-hand. When employees feel trusted enough to work autonomously, they feel like their skills and contributions are valued. This fosters a sense of responsibility and satisfaction toward their work.
5. Offer ongoing training and development opportunities.
Developing new skills encourages employees to think of their role in terms of a career. Investing in new skill training encourages them to think of that career within your organization.
Workplace training programs help to engage and retain employees. This can take the form of an education stipend, internal training programs, peer-to-peer training, lunch-and-learns, and more.
6. Provide a clear growth path.
Having a roadmap for career growth helps create a sense of purpose at work. Managers should have regular discussions about career goals and development with their employees.
This is especially true for younger generations. A study published in the Journal of Leadership in Organizations found that 91% of Millennials valued discussion about career progression as early as during recruitment.
7. Be transparent about compensation.
According to PayScale’s survey of over 500,000 employees, pay fairness and transparency were more important than market value.
Put another way: believing their pay was determined fairly had a greater impact on employee engagement than being paid more.
8. Start employee recognition programs.
Everyone wants to be recognized when they do good work. Whether it’s a few kind words or a small perk, public recognition can go a long way toward boosting engagement.
Design a program that highlights behaviors that align with your company values. This not only encourages those behaviors but helps to show that your values aren’t just a slogan.
Pro Tip: Rewards can be difficult to coordinate with remote employees. Third-party vendors make it easier to distribute incentives. We like personalized swag from companies like Reachdesk that give a human touch to your gifting. Or virtual gift cards from services like Rybbon, because cash is always a welcome bonus.
9. Start peer recognition programs.
Peer recognition programs are a great way to create a sense of community and collaboration. They also help to celebrate successes that may otherwise go unseen by management.
One lightweight solution is to make an outlet for public kudos. Matthew Stibbe, CEO of Articulate Marketing suggests, “Set up a ‘validation channel’ in Slack or Teams and encourage your colleagues to use it to recognise great work across the business. Peer and manager recognition can be very motivating.”
You can also give your employees the power of perks. At HubSpot, each employee has a quarterly opportunity to nominate a teammate that’s helped them in some way. The nominated employee gets a monetary bonus and the knowledge that their help was valued.
10. Create social outlets.
62% of employees with one to five work friends would reject an outside offer, according to SHRM’s Workforce study. Creating a sense of community and belonging is a powerful driver of engagement.
It’s even more important for remote employees who may not have daily positive interactions with co-workers.
“In the remote world we’re living in, a great way to create the employee experience is through building a virtual community and destination for the employee base. Company intranets are often outdated and overlooked, but when given the right resources, they’re an exceptional tool for employee connection and helping your employee engagement program reach its potential,” adds Leane Poirier from ZoomInfo.
Here are a few ideas for virtual socialization to get you started:

Shared virtual activities. Think wine-and-design, book clubs, or even Dungeons and Dragons.
Optional drop-in “water cooler” meetings. No talking about work allowed.
Slack channels dedicated to shared interests. HubSpot has hundreds of Slack channels, for everything from pet pictures to true crime podcasts.

Just be sure to make these activities optional. Nothing ruins the mood like mandatory fun.
11. Seek ongoing feedback.
Communication should be a two-way street. Listening to your employees– and then acting on that feedback– makes them more likely to contribute.
Upward reviews, employee surveys, and feedback discussions should be regular features. Be receptive to, and transparent about, the feedback you receive.
Again, be sure to act on it. Few things destroy employee engagement faster than making them feel ignored.
12. Prove It.
Any company can say they live their values, but can they prove it? Outside frameworks like B corp certification or ‘Investors in People’ accreditation show where your priorities are.
Stibbe from Articulate Marketing points out, “The best people want to work in companies that reflect their own values and priorities. If you want to engage employees, you need to show them what you believe in. Words matter. Commitment is important. But in our experience, externally-audited standards such as B Corp and Investors in People are essential to set objective standards and demonstrate our progress towards them. It’s not just words. It’s proof.”
Getting Engaged.
There’s a lot to consider here, but you don’t have to do it all on day one. Choose a few strategies and commit to taking action. Be upfront with your employees about your engagement goals, and then share the progress you’re making.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

One of the main things we’ve learned during the COVID-19 pandemic in regards to how people consume content is that they want to be entertained in different ways.
Consumers want the convenience of being able to consume content where they spend the most time, and on their own terms. If your brand doesn’t give consumers this option, then you’re missing out on a big fraction of your audience — that’s where the powerful tool of video comes into play.
In our recent 2022 State of Video Report, we found that people were watching more videos than ever before in 2020 as many spent extended periods of time at home due to the pandemic. But even more shockingly, as the world opened up and employment rates rose, consumers watched even more video content.
With all this talk about video, you may be wondering a few things: What length should my video be? How do I create videos that stick? And where should I promote my videos?
In other words: What’s the best video marketing strategy for 2022 and beyond? 
HubSpot Blog Research surveyed 518 video marketers in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan, Australia, and the U.K. to find out about their goals and strategies going into 2022. Let’s dive into what you need to know so you can make your next, or first, video strategy a success.

What is the optimal length of a marketing video?
Short and sweet is generally a safe strategy — especially if your company is just starting to use video. According to 36% of video marketers, the optimal length of a marketing video is one to three minutes.

If you’re new to video, starting with short-form videos will help you get a feel for what resonates with your audience and where you can add the most value.
Consumers are inundated with videos, so it’s critical to create meaningful content that can be consumable within a few minutes. Shorter videos are great for establishing an initial connection where you can introduce your brand or product. For instance, a snappy video showcasing a product feature can build interest and anticipation before a product launch.
We know that time, resources, and cost are three major barriers to creating videos.
The solution? Shorter videos — they are less time-consuming, perfect for various platforms (like social media), and typically cheaper to produce.
Short-form videos lead in usage (58%), ROI, lead generation, and engagement. So, if you’re looking to get more bang for your buck, then shorter videos are the way to go. In fact, 83% say the optimal length is under 60 seconds.
Believe it or not, longer videos are also on the rise. With more brands planning to create original branded series, product-specific demos, case studies, and customer stories this year, it’s important to find what works best for your company and audience.

What people are willing to watch is correlated to how connected they are to your brand or video topic. Don’t underestimate how much time someone will spend with your brand.

People who want to learn more about your company or product will do so through long-form video content, such as a webinar.
Yes, shorter videos will be the most leveraged form of video this year, but don’t take creating long-form video content completely off the table.
Which social media channels should your content live on?
Most B2B marketers often don’t take a video-first approach when it comes to their social media strategy.
But here’s why you should.
Social media is the top channel used to share marketing videos (76%) and has the biggest ROI by far. Incorporating video into your social media strategy differentiates your brand and can bring your brand’s story to life in ways that other content can’t.
So, what social platform(s) should you use? Begin by identifying your business and marketing goals. Once you have those set, nail down your strategy by figuring out how video will meet those goals. This will help give your video strategy a framework and determine which social media channel can tell your story.
For example, while Instagram is the top social media platform for ROI, engagement, and lead generation for marketing videos, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for your brand. Figuring out what social platforms to use depends on whether your brand is B2B or B2C, and what type of video you want to create.
Customer stories or case studies might do really well on a landing page, whereas company culture videos would do really well on LinkedIn.
For B2B, LinkedIn and Twitter – my personal favorite social channels – are good places to start. You may gradually incorporate other platforms into your social media strategy, but if you aren’t engaging on LinkedIn and Twitter, then you’re missing out on a big opportunity.
If you’re B2C, you should be on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Do video marketers create videos in-house or with an agency? 
Have I convinced you yet that your brand needs to start using video? If your answer is yes, you may be wondering if you should try and create videos yourself or hire an agency.
While nearly half (49%) of video marketers create videos both in-house and with an agency, it can be tough to figure out what route you should take.

If you’re thinking about doing video in-house, you need to figure out what types of video and how many you want to create for your business.
Maybe you want a video that answers frequently asked questions or one to onboard new users. These types of videos don’t always need the flashiness of a branded series. Doing videos in-house can help save you money and empower your team to get involved. And, there are certainly many DIY resources to help you create video in-house.
You may even have employees who have video experience and can help pitch in. HubSpot’s report found that 69% of video marketers own their video equipment.
Additionally, we found that most companies use their own in-house video experts to create video content on a weekly or monthly basis. Other companies rely on a mix of talent, calling on freelance help and video production agencies to fill in the gaps.
Agencies that specialize in marketing videos are certainly worthwhile if you are looking to create an array of public-facing video content. Zeroing in on an area of your business where video can make a big splash will help the agency tailor a video strategy that meets your goals.
I suspect that companies are going to invest more of their time in creating in-house videos in the coming years — but most of these videos will be created by people whose job isn’t strictly focused on video.
Whether it’s someone on your design team creating a product tutorial or your CEO leading a webinar, there will be an uptick in businesses that leverage internal resources to create their video content. The good thing is that there is countless video editing software that your company can use.
According to HubSpot’s Blog Research, Adobe Premiere Pro (36%) and iMovie (18%) are the most popular video editing software, but you’ll definitely want to explore all your options.    

Thinking about doing more in-house video content? Make sure you have the right amount of people helping with your video content.
The majority of marketers (45%) have two to five people on dedicated video marketing teams; with another 37% reporting six to 10 on a dedicated video marketing team, and 15% reporting 10 or more employees on a video marketing team.
While this is dependent on your business and where you are in your video journey, it’s important that you have a solid in-house team that can handle the amount of video that you intend to put out there.
How do you create better videos? 
The most important factors for creating an effective marketing video are effectively promoting your video (36%), capturing viewers’ attention in the first few seconds (36%), and keeping your videos short/concise (33%).
All marketers want their videos to be successful — but what your audience takes away from your video content is perhaps the most important.

As an example, let’s say your video isn’t getting enough clicks. You need to put yourself in the consumers’ shoes and figure out why they didn’t engage with your video. More times than not, they aren’t getting what they expected.
To solve for this, you’ll want to ensure your video thumbnail is encouraging people to click your video. Your thumbnail offers a first impression of your video, so make sure you use it to tell potential viewers what your video is about.

Interest wanes as viewers get distracted or realize the video isn’t for them. The best way to grab the attention of viewers is to hook them the moment the video starts. For example, the John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum trailer tells viewers the title of the movie within the first few seconds rather than saving it to the end.  

You also need to approach video creation similar to how a journalist writes a news article — where the first line is the entire crux of the story — rather than approaching a video as a movie. It’s often better to put what consumers need to know upfront.
Once you’ve created a dynamic video that grabs viewers’ attention, it’s time to start thinking about promotion. While the most effective video promotion strategy is promoting on social media (63%), there are other effective, and fun, ways to get the most out of your video.

Placing videos in unexpected places
Ever click a link and wind up on a 404 error page? This can be frustrating for the consumer, but use this as an opportunity for your brand. Making your 404 pages friendly and helpful to avoid deterring potential customers can go a long way. Add videos to these pages to help guide viewers back to the main page and highlight your products in a non-intrusive way.
Creative looping videos or videos of team mascots can help customers feel connected to your brand. If you’ve ever found yourself on a 404 error page on the Wistia site, chances are you have seen our team mascot Lenny:
Email signatures are another great place to add videos. Adding video to your employees’ email signature can really make your brand memorable and can capture the attention of new customers. A personalized video connecting them to your brand in an email signature can really go a long way in building trust and loyalty.
What type of videos will brands start making in the future?
Video content showcasing your products/services is the most leveraged type of content and has the highest ROI, according to 66% of those who use it. Content that reflects your brand’s values is the second most leveraged type of video content. With this in mind, you need to figure out how you want to portray your brand within the content.
Do you want it to be relatable? Would adding a nostalgic element to your video add value? Asking yourself these questions will help kickstart the video process. Trendy, funny, and interactive content all have high ROI and can boost engagement.
Nostalgic content and user-generated content (UGC) consistently rank in the least popular types of video content, though nostalgic content will still see 19% of video marketers using it for the first time this year, compared to 3% for UGC.
Let’s face it, millennials are becoming the decision-makers. Marketers need to focus on incorporating emotional elements into the content they produce. Topics that harken back to millennial youth, like Saturday morning cartoons, is a great way to instill nostalgia and emotionally connect with viewers.

What comes next?
Once you make a video and feel confident, you have the power to make more. As companies invest in video, I predict they’ll put out more short, authentic, niche, and relatable content. Why? Because this type of content is what consumers crave. Video helps to humanize your brand and makes consumers feel like they can relate to you.
Brands need to figure out how to not only educate, but also entertain. With so many brands competing for viewers’ attention, it’s up to you to keep people coming back to your brand. With the right video strategy, you’ll be able to achieve strong, lasting relationships with your audience.

TikTok is a bolt from the blue. It broke into the social media market and has ranked in the position of the most downloadable app. My new article reveals the TikTok business models that brought the video-sharing app to such a triumph. submitted by /u/Celadon_soft [link] [comments]

Is your photography business stuck in a rut? Worry not – today we’ll show you 11 promotion tactics to get your work out there and score new clients.

Hi all, I’m looking for some people who are working with Salesforce as a CRM and their business model has the option for one customer to be interested in multiple products/services, is there anyone that can help (full description down below)? Issue: Our Salesforce environment is built in a non-standard way because we want to create as low as possible opportunities that we will lose. Therefore we create multiple duplicate leads from one person if they have multiple projects because our reporting is done on the amount of Closed Lost & Closed Won opportunities. These duplicate leads are an issue if we have person-specific details, like GDPR preferences,… After some digging, we haven’t found any Salesforce standard object that could help us in this way. Down below you’ll find a flow on how we think it should work. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YjPTJUu7K0nCYVZ6JOIsHJcNEhd4hTrY/view?usp=sharing Let me know if you can help or have the same issue! Thanks submitted by /u/Florent-Lesage [link] [comments]

There are many reasons businesses cultivate an online presence, but probably the most important is to generate and convert leads.  If you aren’t creating landing pages to help you take advantage of all the website traffic you receive, then you’re missing out on tons of opportunities to generate more revenue. When you spend so much…
The post The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages appeared first on Benchmark Email.

submitted by /u/Common_Fortune2595 [link] [comments]

💡This piece was a collaborative effort between me and Tamilore.The first-ever Pride parade – also known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March – occurred in New York in June 1970 during the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It was a way for the community to reflect and honor the bravery of the gay, lesbian, and transgender activists who risked their lives during the uprising – an event that heralded the gay rights movement worldwide. While Pride Month is a time for remembrance, it’s also about celebrating and championing the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. We’re proud to have great LGBTQ+ representation here at Buffer, and we hope to continue fostering a culture where every individual feels comfortable in their own skin. To mark this year’s Pride, we wanted to showcase six LGBTQ+-owned small businesses and highlight the ways they’ve celebrated Pride Month on social media. We love how these brands are using their platform to amplify important conversations surrounding LGBTQ+ representation this June. An added perk is that these businesses also provide awesome products, making supporting them an easy decision in our book.Deja Vu BeautyFounded in 2021, Deja Vu Beauty sells makeup with the tagline, “beauty for everyone,” – an important distinction for founder Julie Vu. Before starting the brand, Julie was already known to many through her YouTube channel, Princessjoules. There, she speaks openly about the realities of transitioning and has provided viewers with updates on her journey since 2011. As a proud and vocal transgendered woman, Julie has unfortunately been the victim of online hate and harassment, but she doesn’t let that detract her from her main goal – being a support system for others going through similar situations. Creating an inclusive makeup brand was another way for her to give hope to individuals who’ve felt excluded in the past. For Pride, Deja Vu Beauty offered customers a 15 percent discount site-wide during the entire month of June. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Julie Vu (@missjulievu) Julie has also been highlighting the importance of the month through her personal social media. She partnered with the Canadian fashion brand RW & CO and other LGBTQ+-owned small businesses to have a round-table discussion about the inequalities faced within the community. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Julie Vu (@missjulievu) Julie has a clear goal of speaking up for the rights of transgendered people everywhere and infuses all that passion into Deja Vu Beauty.Haute ButchHaute Butch – a small business founded in 2012 –  creates clothing for those who identify as butch, androgynous straight women, and trans men – and they were one of the first U.S. brands to do so. Co-founder Karen Roberts said that one of her goals when opening her own company was creating masculine clothing specifically tailored to women’s bodies, something that can be quite hard to find in traditional clothing stores. “Our fit and style preferences were not met in the mainstream retail arena and we weren’t necessarily welcome in the men’s department,” she said. “I wanted clothes that I could relate to and feel confident in.” Still, the brand markets itself as gender-neutral and offers suits, button-downs, and vests for all identities. In honor of Pride Month, the company shared a video on Instagram highlighting 10 other LGBTQ+-owned small businesses. “We unite to show people that Pride should be celebrated every day,” the video caption reads, “while also showcasing some amazing LGBTQ+ brands that are changing the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HAUTEBUTCH, Inc. (@hautebutch) The clip features the founders of each video holding up one of their products as they talk about the significance of this month and how they incorporate pride into their lives every single day.  The video wraps up with the various business owners together on a zoom call – displaying a real sense of solidarity between the group.Ink Meets PaperInk Meets Paper, an LGBTQ+-owned greeting card, and stationery brand launched its Everyday Pride collection. The brand, in an Instagram post about the launch, shared that although the new collection is launching during Pride Month, it will be available year-round, “since celebrating community doesn’t end just because the month changes.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by INK MEETS PAPER® (@inkmeetspaper) The letterpress company was founded by Jamie and Allison Nadeau and has maintained its identity as an LGBTQ+-owned brand since its inception. As Jamie told LovetoKnow, “Pride is about living courageously as who you are. When you make the choice to tell people who you are while knowing you may lose people that you love, it’s a big deal We wanted to take this collection, include our own life experiences, and put a beautiful product out into the world.”The brand also conducted two giveaways, one in partnership with other LGBTQ+ brands, and another in partnership with Penguin USA to, in their words, “honor the journeys of LGBTQ+ individuals and the larger movement of love, acceptance, and equality for all.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by INK MEETS PAPER® (@inkmeetspaper) We Are FluideFor Pride Month, We Are Fluide, an inclusive makeup and nail polish brand, released limited-edition makeup boxes and partnered with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education fund to donate a portion of sales to support their work for transgender people. View this post on Instagram A post shared by We Are Fluide (@fluidebeauty) Over the course of Pride Month, the brand also shared posts and videos to promote the collection and the cause they are supporting. They put the spotlight on their customers, showcasing customer videos and content throughout. @fluidebeauty can’t get over @delaneyssheehan using our new Pride Glitter Trio 😍🌈 #glitter #MakeASplash #queerbeauty #fluidefam ♬ original sound – We Are Fluide As to what inspired their decisions for Pride Month, Laura Kraber the brand’s co-founder shared with Refinery29, “We Are Fluide was created to showcase queer joy and the beauty and lifestyles of LGBTQ+ people who have been vastly under-represented in beauty. There are countless ways to celebrate Pride, and most importantly Pride is about advocacy and celebrating our trans ancestors who started the movement.”LeotaLeota is a size-inclusive fashion label founded by Sarah Carson. Sarah told Refinery29 her vision for the brand saying, “I wanted to change fashion for the better. I could make a brand that would inspire self-love and joy rather than diets and conformity. I could create a radically inclusive brand that celebrates femininity as a source of strength no matter what body it shows up in.”For Pride Month, Leota implemented several things, starting the month with their commitment to donate 5 percent of their monthly sales to The LGBT Center which is “advocating for the rights and wellness of Queer-identifying people.” They announced their commitment with an Instagram Reel featuring the founder explaining the history and motivations behind their decision. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leota (@leotanewyork) The brand also hosted a “pre-Pride” party to “highlight the beauty of our community, to celebrate our identities and togetherness.” They spotlighted attendees, asking them questions like, “what is Pride to you” and “how do you express yourself”? and shared the resulting video interviews throughout Pride Month. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leota (@leotanewyork) Boy SmellsThe LGBTQ+-owned fragrance brand Boy Smells kicked off Pride Month with the release of their Forbidden Fruit collection. Through their campaign, the brand pledged to support GLSEN and the organization’s initiatives by donating 15 percent of sales from products in the collection in June and July, with a minimum donation of $50,000. One of the more elaborate campaigns on our list, Boy Smells created videos featuring queer actors Charlie Carver and Meg Stalter to showcase the products. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Boy Smells (@boy__smells) The brand is also including stickers created by queer artist Rooney Simmonds with every purchase from their new collection. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Boy Smells (@boy__smells) Support the LGBTQ+ community through actionA common thread with the businesses on our list today is that, apart from being LGBTQ+-owned, they take action. Whether that’s by partnering with other LGBTQ+-owned businesses or donating to related causes, they’ve all included an element of giving back with their campaigns for Pride month.LGBTQ+ people are still fighting to be seen and heard, and need support. There are many organizations and ways to give back throughout Pride Month and all year-round. Take a cue from the businesses on this list and look into how to support the LGBTQ+ members of your community.

Hey guys, thanks for clicking. My name is Nathan and I run a video editing business where we take on clients and editor for them consistently. tssvideoediting.com At the moment I am at a point where I get a new client every week or two, but also loose clients every few weeks, so the growth is not rapid and sometimes nothing. Usually, we edit 5 videos for a client, sometimes more. What I’m Looking For What I am looking for is a personal marketer that is willing to get on calls with me and talk through some strategies and stuff like that. The pay would be off of commission. On average each client is about $100, once a week. I would be willing to pay 10-15% to you on every single project we do for that client. So if they are with us for the next 5 years, you get a payment every single time for the next 5 years. I am also willing to pay some upfront cost, just talk to me about it. I would prefer commission based though since we are a smaller company looking to grow and you can grow with us. Our Future The future at TSS Video Editing is looking bright, especially if a marketer is willing to help. We want everyone with us to grow with the company. So as we grow, your money gets better and better, which could lead to a full time salary. Contact Thanks for reading, please contact me with one of the following ways. email – [nathansjohnson16@gmail.com](mailto:nathansjohnson16@gmail.com) discord – nathan137#7859 phone – 920-210-8905 submitted by /u/TSSEditing [link] [comments]