Category: Marketing Automation

All about Marketing Automation that you ever wanted to know

  • Best Facebook Ad Software For Creating Effective Campaigns

    In 2020, the number of monthly active users on Facebook was 2.74 billion.
    Based on that statistic alone, it goes without saying that marketers need to be on Facebook.
    And they are — in fact, in 2020, there were 10 million active advertisers using Facebook to promote their products and services.
    But how can you ensure you’re targeting your unique audience while also breaking through the noise of all of the other ads on Facebook?
    With the help of Facebook ad software.

    Facebook Ad Software
    Facebook ads are an effective way of getting in front of your target audience on the platform.
    In this article, we’ll review 1) what Facebook ad software is, 2) why it’s important, and 3) popular ad tools to choose from.

    Benefits of Facebook Ad Software
    Here are examples of the beneficial features you get from using Facebook ad software.

    Targeting and customer segmentation to help you reach your audience based on their behaviors, characteristics, and traits (e.g. location, demographics, age, past actions or purchases, languages).
    Automation to expedite the processes of creating and sharing ads, data collection, and reporting.
    Reporting to share, visualize, and analyze all of your Facebook ad and contact data.
    Customization to create ads and CTAs that help you achieve your specific goals.
    Ad creation for different points in the buyer’s journey and for new and returning leads/ customers.
    Integrations to connect your Facebook ads and data with other business, marketing, and social media tools.

    By incorporating Facebook ad software in your strategy, you’ll have the ability to tap into the benefits listed above and more.
    1. HubSpot Ads Software

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Managing and creating personalized Facebook ad campaigns all within your CRM/ HubSpot.
    Price: Free, $45/mo Starter, $800/mo Professional, $3,200/mo Enterprise

    With HubSpot Ads Software, you can use your CRM data to create and optimize customized and highly personalized ads for your target audience. Report on those ads to determine which are converting audience members into paying customers.
    HubSpot offers direct integration with Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Instagram so you can easily create, share, manage, and report on your ads all through one tool. Report on the ROI of individual ad campaigns across Facebook and those additional platforms.
    HubSpot also has automated lead follow-up — meaning, once your ads do what they’re supposed to (convert leads!), it automatically saves their contact details and routes those leads to the right reps on your team.
    Pro Tip: Use HubSpot Ads Software to manage and personalize your Facebook Ads with your CRM data.
    2. Facebook Ads

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Creating ads tailored to your target audience within Facebook on a pre-determined budget.
    Price: You determine the price of Facebook Ads by deciding 1) how much you want to spend on your ads or 2) the cost of each result of your ads.

    Source
    Use Facebook Ads to tailor ads to your target audience by first selecting your business type and goal.
    Facebook makes it easy to then create, publish, and edit ads, as well as track and share their performance across any of their platforms (e.g. Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, etc).
    Customize ads by selecting one of the six available formats as well as the specific audience you’re going after based on their behaviors, characteristics, demographics, and more on the platform.
    Stick to your ad budget on Facebook by setting a daily and/or lifetime budget and determining the amount of time your ads will run. As a result, you’ll only spend the amount you set aside on your ads.
    3. Qwaya

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Ensuring your target audience sees fresh ads on Facebook using the tool’s automatic ad rotation feature.
    Price: Plans starting at $149/mo

    Qwaya is an ads tool for Facebook and Instagram. It allows you to identify the right audience segments for your ads with A/B testing and targeting criteria. The tool makes it easy to test ad types, ad placement, text, images, and more on Facebook.
    Qwaya automatically manages your audience segments and ads for those segments¸— ads and audiences are placed in a “campaign and ad set” folder structure to keep all information organized accordingly. You can also automate the process of running your ads when your target audience is most likely to be on the platform (e.g. certain time of the day and/or week).
    4. AdEspresso

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Split-testing Facebook ads and saving the most successful ads and creative elements for easy, future access.
    Price: Plans starting at $49/mo (billed annually) for a $1,000/mo spend limit.

    AdEspresso is an advertising platform by Hootsuite with features for ad creation and management across Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads.
    By making it easy to split test all aspects of your Facebook ads (e.g. creatives, headlines, images), AdEspresso helps ensure they’ll reach and resonate with your target audience so you can increase conversions.
    Once you determine which Facebook ads work best through split testing, save ads and creative elements in the tool for easy access across your team.
    You can also bring your product catalog into AdEspresso to create dynamic ads for your individual products that are tailored to your audience. These relevant product ads will then be placed in front of your audience when they’re most likely to convert.
    5. SocialPilot

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Using a single social media marketing platform for Facebook ads and “boosting” those ads to increase their reach.
    Price: Plans starting at $25.50/ mo for 10 social media accounts and one user.

    Source
    SocialPilot is a social media engagement platform with a tool meant specifically for Facebook ads. With this tool, you can create, schedule, and manage your Facebook ads.
    With audience targeting, customizable CTAs, and dynamic ad content, SocialPilot helps you create Facebook ads that generate high-quality leads.
    Use the “Boost Posts” feature (paid ads offered by Facebook) to increase the reach of your ads. Once you create your ad, select your audience, and set a budget, SocialPilot will publish the ad and immediately “boost” it for you to increase reach among your target audience.
    Additionally, if the platform believes you’ve scheduled an ad that would do especially well with a “boost”, SocialPilot will give you that suggestion.
    6. Revealbot

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Merging multiple actions into individual automations to save you time and increase productivity when it comes to your Facebook ad strategy.
    Price: Plans starting at $83/mo for maximum ad spend of $10,000/mo.

    Revealbot is a Facebook ad automation and management tool. Use the drag-and-drop automation builder to establish automation for all parts of your Facebook ad strategy — you can set more than 20 actions for single automation to save you time.
    Connect your external marketing and ad data to Revealbot to report on and analyze ads while maintaining a holistic view of your data.
    Track and analyze ad data you care most about by creating unique and/or customized metrics and timeframes in your conditions. You can also use comparison conditions to compare and visualize metrics to better understand the performance of your ads.
    7. Madgicx

    Best Facebook Ads tool for: Using artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize and automate your Facebook ads.
    Price: Plans starting at $49/mo for up to $1000/ mo ad spend.

    Madgicx is an AI-powered, omnichannel advertising platform with a Facebook ad optimization and automation tool. Over 100 audience targeting options exist to help you develop a customized advertising strategy that covers every stage of the funnel.
    Input your KPIs targets in Madgicx’s PPC tool so it automatically optimizes your account. Meanwhile, the AI-powered creative intelligence feature analyzes the performance of your ads and creatives based on a variety of data points.
    As a result, you’ll have the information you need to target all of your buyer personas both effectively and efficiently.
    Improve Upon your Campaign Strategy With Facebook Ad Software
    Facebook ad software has the ability to help you create, optimize, and analyze your advertisements and campaigns on the platform. Begin improving upon your Facebook ad strategy by incorporating one of these tools.

  • Exit Intent Pop Up Examples and What Makes them Effective

    It’s common for people to visit websites without converting — maybe they’re conducting product research, educating themselves on your brand, or weighing out the advantages of your product versus one of a competitor.
    All of these actions are normal but they’re not always ideal for your business — you want those visitors to stay on your site and convert (e.g. provide their contact details, sign up for your newsletter, or make a purchase).
    One way to help accomplish this — and avoid customers coming and going without converting — is with the help of exit intent pop ups.

    In other words, exit intent pop ups know when one of your visitors is about to leave your website — they serve a visitor a valuable offer/ message that’s designed to keep them on the page (and, hopefully, influence them enough to convert). 
    How do exit intent pop ups work?
    Imagine a visitor is on your ecommerce site — they’re browsing your product line. They then decide they want to exit the web page they’re on and they move their cursor out of the frame/ boundaries of your website. But a pop up appears with an offer (e.g. coupon code, free ebook, free trial, etc.) that they stay on the page to read. They click your CTA and convert in the way you intended them to.
    So, exit intent pop ups make it possible to retain visitors on your site for longer periods of time, increase conversions, decrease cart abandonment rates, grow your email subscriber list, and more. 
    What about exit intent pop ups on mobile sites?
    Your target audience is bound to browse your site via mobile device. But if exit intent pop ups work by tracking cursor movements, then how does this strategy work on mobile devices? 
    Exit intent pop ups will often appear on mobile devices after one of two actions are completed by visitors. 
    1) A visitor scrolls down your web page at a normal pace, but then rapidly scrolls back up to the page. 
    2) A visitor presses the “Back” button on the screen. 
    How to Implement Exit Intent Pop Ups
    The easiest way to implement exit intent overlays on your web pages is with the help of a tool specifically designed to do just that.
    Let’s take a look at the features and benefits you can get out of one of these tools by looking at an example.
    Exit Intent Pop Up Software: HubSpot Exit Intent Forms

    Price: Free forever, $45/mo (Starter), $800/mo (Professional), $3,200 (Enterprise)
    HubSpot’s Exit Intent Forms track visitor mouse movements and clicks on your website and then display your form when visitors appear to be leaving. In addition to showing your customized exit intent form, HubSpot can send automated emails (e.g. cart abandonment) and re-engagement campaigns or content.
    Implementing exit intent forms with HubSpot is simple and quick — you simply embed your exit intent messaging on your website. HubSpot also allows you to customize your message, theme, and pop up timing.
    With HubSpot, you can also:

    Customize your exit intent form’s location, branding, and messaging.
    Trigger email campaigns once visitors leave your website to reengage them.
    Integrate with your other systems for marketing, forms, and meeting scheduling without the need for additional development (e.g. Zapier, Shopify, WordPress, etc.).

    Other tools on the market to help with exit intent pop ups are Optinmonster, Sleeknote, and Informizely.
    Why would you use an exit intent pop up?
    When they’re used and shared on the right web pages at the right time, exit intent pop ups are an effective strategy for increasing revenue. This is because they help you lower cart abandonment and increase retainment, form submissions, and subscriptions on your website.
    To better understand how exit intent pop ups work, put yourself in the shoes of your website visitors for a moment. Imagine you’re browsing a website with a specific product that you like and/or believe can help you resolve a challenge you’re facing.
    But you then say to yourself, “Ehh, I’ll think about it and come back to this later.”
    You move your cursor to the top of the screen to exit the page. But suddenly, a pop up appears on the screen — it’s a coupon for 20% off your first purchase.
    You’re likely going to consider applying that coupon code and purchasing the product now, right?
    Exit intent pop ups work by providing customers and website visitors with the value that they wouldn’t otherwise have had on the landing, web, or ecommerce page.
    An important piece of information to note is that exit intent pop ups should be used when people haven’t already taken action — this feels redundant and impersonal to your visitors.
    For instance, if someone already clicked your CTA to subscribe to your newsletter — which shares discount codes and information about product deals — then you shouldn’t show them an exit intent pop up with that offer.
    Exit Intent Popup Examples
    In this section, we’ll review some of the best exit intent pop up examples.
    Best Exit Intent Pop Up Examples
    Here are some of the best exit intent pop up examples for lead generation to inspire and guide your exit intent pop up creation.
    1. Cart Abandonment Exit Intent Pop Up Example

    Source
    Why it’s effective: This cart abandonment exit intent pop up is effective because it appears on the page the moment someone who has an item in their cart moves their mouse towards the “exit” button on the screen.
    Not only does it remind visitors that they are leaving items in their shopping cart, but it also asks for feedback about why the visitor is deciding to move forward without making a purchase.
    This is unique and powerful because it shows visitors that the company cares about them on a personal level — they want to know their opinions, challenges, feedback.
    These are the types of customer experiences that leave a good impression on visitors and leads even if they don’t complete a purchase. You’re offering them a personal experience that may lead them to come back in the future or promote your business among their networks by word-of-mouth.
    2. Email/ Newsletter Subscription Exit Intent Pop Up Example

    Source
    Why it’s effective: The moment you scroll back to the top of the page and move your mouse out of Omsom web page’s framework, a bright exit intent pop up appears with a form so visitors can sign up for the Omsom newsletter.
    The pop up is well-timed, on-brand and eye-catching (even for someone who has the intention of leaving the page), and clearly states the value a lead will get out of submitting the form (getting the latest brand information, recipes, tips, and “hot takes”).
    3. Discount on Purchase Exit Intent Pop Up Example

    Source
    Why it’s effective: If you go to leave the Elaluz landing page an offer appears on the screen with a 15% off discount. Whether a visitor was thinking about moving forward with a purchase at that moment in time, the coupon is enticing for anyone on the site.
    In addition to influencing purchase behavior with the coupon code, it also requires an email address — meaning those visitors who want the code must convert whether they use the code that day or not.
    4. Exclusive Offer Exit Intent Pop Up Example

    Source
    Why it’s effective: When you go to leave Curls’ landing page, you’re shown an exit intent pop up that asks you if you’re leaving. It then succinctly tells the visitor what they’ll be getting out of submitting the form.
    In addition to this exit intent pop up’s timing being effective, it’s also located in an ideal spot — it’s at the top of the page, where a visitor who’s leaving the page naturally has to move their cursor. Lastly, it’s unique because it makes the offer a surprise — visitors know they’re getting an “exclusive offer” but they don’t know exactly what that offer is which is exciting and enticing.
    5. Resource Offer Exit Intent Pop Up Example

    Source
    Why it’s effective: When you’re on ActiveCampaign’s blog and you go to leave the page, an exit intent pop up appears with educational resources. It’s a free guide with six emails for your “welcome series”.
    Not only is ActiveCampaign positioning itself as valuable because they have helpful information to share with their target audience, but the company is also positioning itself as a thought-leader in the industry.
    Additionally, although the offer is free, visitors who want it have to submit their email address ¸— meaning, a new lead and contact for the business.
    Other Ideas for Exit Intent Pop Ups
    These aren’t the only five types of exit intent pop ups you can create and implement. You can offer your target audience anything you believe they’ll find valuable, whether it drives leads or not — here are some more ideas:

    Free shipping
    Contest entry
    Blog subscription
    Customer experience survey
    Course or lesson
    Customized offer of some kind based on past buying experiences
    Product demo

    Increase Conversions With Exit Intent Pop Ups
    Exit intent pop ups are a simple yet powerful marketing and lead generation strategy. Once you implement them, you’ll be able to retain more audience members on your website and increase conversions and revenue.

  • Here’s How To Get More People To Fill Out Your Email Survey

    When it comes to email surveys, you have to tread lightly. About a third of survey recipients tend to leave them unfinished, and the majority will dump them in their trash folders if they contain the word “Survey” in the subject line. However, surveys are critical for remaining competitive. They’re a necessary component in understanding…
    The post Here’s How To Get More People To Fill Out Your Email Survey appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • Freshmarketer

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

  • Boosted Posts vs. Paid Ads: Key Differences and When to Use Each

    For many businesses, social media is an intimidating landscape. You know that you need to be on several platforms to reach your audience, but you’re not entirely sure if your content is getting enough organic reach to make the time investment worth it.
    To add to that, you’ve been collecting followers and page likes for years and your audience is somewhere in the thousands. Why then, do your posts only reach a few hundred people at a time?

    Thanks to complex social media algorithms, your posts will only reach a fraction of your actual audience. This means that no matter how good your content is, it will never be seen by everyone who could benefit from it. Sure, every once in a while, a post may be liked, commented on, and shared so many times that Instagram or Facebook deem it worthy to be seen by the masses… but that shouldn’t be your only strategy.
    If you need to get it in front of a lot of people to introduce a new product, announce an event, or just spread awareness about who you are and what you do, it’s time to invest in paid advertising.
    Facebook Advertising
    Within Facebook, you’ll find two types of paid advertising: boosted posts and Facebook ads. Let’s take a look at what each of these is and their pros or cons.
    What is a boosted post?
    A boosted post is a post that you’ve made on your page’s timeline that you can boost to an audience of your choosing for a fee. It’s a very easy way to get your posts in front of more people who may not know who you are and what you do.

    When you boost a post, you’ll be asked a few questions to help optimize the experience. These include:

    Who do you want to reach? This prompts you to choose a targeted audience who may enjoy your content.
    What is your budget? Pick a max budget that you’d like to invest over the life of your campaign.
    How long do you want to run your boost? Facebook will take your max budget and divide it by the number of days, then apply your investment accordingly.

    Pros of Boosted Posts

    Boosted posts can be a great way to help your content reach more people.
    They are easy to set up as you work directly from your timeline.
    Compared to other forms of advertising, they can be more affordable

    Cons of Boosted Posts

    These still show up as “ads” to your audience so they’ll know that you paid for the reach rather than it happening naturally.
    You have limited customizability when it comes to creating your ideal audience.

    What is a Facebook ad?

    Unlike boosted posts, Facebook ads are created in the Ads Manager where you’ll have many more customization options to choose from.
    Pros of Facebook Ads

    You can choose where your ad is placed. In addition to the Facebook time and Instagram, you can also choose from the Facebook News Feed side ads, Messenger ads, Instagram stories, instant articles, and Audience Network.
    Be goal-oriented by choosing an objective early on in your ad building. This can help you align your marketing strategy with your business goals. You can choose from options like store traffic, conversations, and lead generation.
    Get creative. Facebook ads include carousels, allow for specific descriptions, and provide a call-to-action button to motivate your audience to do something.
    Customer your audience. Facebook ads give you more options to identify and reach your ideal audience. They also have advanced tools that allow you to create “lookalike audiences” and create overlapping audience types.

    Cons of Facebook Ads

    Facebook ads can be complicated to create and require more in-depth knowledge of your ideal audience.
    Ads are created from scratch rather than boosting an existing post that’s already doing well.
    Facebook ads can be more expensive than boosted posts.

    Boosted Post vs. Paid Ad
    Both options can provide additional reach, so how do you know which is best for you? Even with knowing the pros and cons of boosted posts and Facebook ads, the real decision comes down to your goals and what you hope to get for your money.
    Before we dive in, it’s important to note that whether you choose a Facebook ad or a boosted post, both will show up on your bill as an ad.
    Boosted Posts are good for bringing your business more exposure because it helps your posts reach audiences that may not be familiar with your brand. They are helpful for raising awareness but are not necessarily effective for converting customers or donors.
    Consider Boosted Posts If You Want To:

    Grow your following
    Develop brand awareness with a new audience
    Increase audience engagement on your Facebook page
    Improve visibility on your best posts
    Host promotions or giveaways
    Get more website clicks

    It’s always best to boost posts that are already doing well with organic reach. This will allow you to maximize your budget while increasing engagement.
    For example, let’s say that you’ve got an amazing success story testimonial. A customer used your product and had phenomenal results. You’ve got a relatable character, strong visuals, and a wonderful outcome. You’ve shared this story as a post and notice that it’s getting a lot of engagement from your audience. Hundreds have liked it, commented on it, and several have even shared it.
    This presents a wonderful opportunity for you to boost the post and be seen by potential customers who may not know your business existed. You’re not necessarily looking to convert customers right then and there (although you certainly wouldn’t say no!), but rather to introduce your company and what you can do, to a larger audience. In this case, a boosted post may be the perfect way to spend your advertising dollars.
    Maybe though, you’re looking to do more with your advertising budget. You want to capture leads, convert customers or donors, and see both a short-term and long-term benefit from your investment. If this sounds more like your advertising goals, you may want to invest in Facebook ads.
    Consider Facebook Ads If You Want To:

    Convert website visitors
    Generate leads
    Drive traffic to your store
    Get orders for your store
    Have your videos seen by more individuals

    Perhaps you just opened a new brick-and-mortar location or have expanded your business to sell products online. You not only want people to know about your business and what you do, but you want them to take action and shop in your store.
    You’ve got a decent social media following, however, you’d like more than just your regular audience to know about your latest expansion. You understand your ideal customer or “avatar” and rather than build an audience from scratch, you’d like to target people who are just like your existing customers and are ready to buy. In this case, a Facebook ad will help you better reach your goals.
    Boosted posts and Facebook ads both have their place in robust marketing and advertising plans. The key is to learn when to use each one so you can capitalize on your effort and get the best results for your business.

  • 7 Digital Branding Tips for Your SMB

    Your brand is your business. And when you’re a small-to-medium sized business working with a limited budget and resources, getting smart with your digital branding strategy is key to seeing positive outcomes online.  You may not have a large budget to work with a branding agency, outsource content creation, or hire a design and development…
    The post 7 Digital Branding Tips for Your SMB appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • What should one look at when choosing MA software for a beginner?

    I am looking for MA solutions for a small company. My problem is that it is hard to know what are which criterias i should have when choosing a platform that is user and beginner-friendly.w should it be number o contacts, landing pages, or how many sends? So far I have found sendinblue and constantcantact interesting.
    submitted by /u/melee141 [link] [comments]

  • Getting Started with Salesforce Flow – Part 79 (Salesforce Flow Naming Conventions)

    As a declarative programmer, you always want to create clean flows where naming has to be appropriate so that any other programmer can find it easier to read the flow and understand.  Now, this may seem meaningless to you but think about a situation where you are investigating a flow
    The post Getting Started with Salesforce Flow – Part 79 (Salesforce Flow Naming Conventions) appeared first on Automation Champion.

  • Buy-now-pay-later services are flourishing. How they are changing the eCommerce experience

     

     

    Buy now, pay later purchase model is nothing new, but somehow now is booming, and the steady increase of its market share at a CAGR of 13.23% is expected. The consumers demand it, as research shows, and the e-commerce entities are especially obliged. At the same time, it provides the retailers with chances to increase revenue, again, especially e-commerce. What exactly is it, why is it booming, and how can you benefit?

     

    Payment method is one of the most important factors in the purchase process. And the latest e-commerce booming made the customers used to choose in this matter. Unlike in the case of stationary shopping, clearly visible options are a part of the interface, necessary to navigate in order to finish the purchase process. Customers have to choose consciously. And they begin to wonder if they could be provided with even more choices. 

     

    This can be seen as a drawback because, in the case of stationary shopping, the clients are not exposed to this choice in such an apparent way. The other side however is, that the consumers tend to visit the stationary shop when their purchase decision is more or less made up and the funds somehow secured. In the case of e-commerce, your site is available at any given moment for the users, and they are often just browsing. BNPL model in e-commerce enables you to convert watchers to customers, even if they don’t have the funds secured at the moment. When they show engagement in the product, all it takes is providing them with a flexible payment method.

     

    Right now, there are more ways to pay online than ever in the history of e-commerce. Customers may choose trusted Visa or Mastercard, others will go with Apple Pay, PayPal or use one of the many other digital wallets.

     

    Lately, more and more of them decide to choose one of the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) operators. 55.8% of consumers have used BNPL service, up from 37.65% in July of 2020 – an increase of almost 50% in less than one year.

     

    The background of BNPL services

     

    What BNPL services are, where did they come from

     

    “Buy now, pay later is not a new concept, but as with anything, timing is everything,” said Doug Bland, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Credit at PayPal. BNPL was around for many years now is known by many names: installment payments, shop now pay later, pay in 4, or deferred billing. 

     

    No matter the names, it always boils down to the fact that in this model, the customers can make the purchase, have the product delivered at the doorstep, but the full payment will be significantly delayed. Installment payments are usually paid in 3, 4, 6, or 12 months.

     

    This is how it looks from the customer’s side. What is extremely important for e-commerce, is that the brand is paid full upfront by the BNPL operator. So it is a win-win situation for both sides. 

     

    The most interesting BNPL platforms

     

    Klarna

     

    A Swedish bank and one of the most prominent players in the BNPL market, operating in almost 20 countries. Offers two ways to make repayments:

    Slice it. Payment is divided into four weekly installments
    Pay Later. Full bill delayed by 30 days.

     

    For qualified consumers the payments are interest-free.

     

    Affirm

     

    Aids in financing purchases of all sizes. Usually payments are divided into weeks or months, and are interest-free. More significant purchases may be divided into 6 up to 18 months and are interest-bearing. 

     

    The company charges no fees, including late and repayment.

     

    Quadpay

     

    The platform enables the consumers to divide the payment into 4 installments paid over 6 weeks. 

     

    The retailers don’t have to install Quadpay in their checkouts. The company provides users with their own Quadpay Visa card number, so the tool is available anywhere Visa is accepted.

     

    Sezzle

     

    No fees and no impact for the credit card for the consumers paying in time. The payments can be divided into 4 installments paid over 6 weeks. They are interest-free.

     

    Afterpay

     

    The platform differs strongly between new users, reliable and unreliable users. They approve the user for every purchase, favoring those who previously used the service and paid on time. Interest-free purchase is divided into 4 installments paid every 2 weeks. Delay results in a 10 USD fee, with a further 7 USD for every week.

     

    The reasons why BNPL options are gaining popularity

     

    The aforementioned words of Douglas Bland about timing being everything are especially important to explain the phenomenon of the latest BNPL growth. The aftermath of the pandemic changed the consumers’ expectations and preferences. Uncertainty around the employment and finances drives them to spread out the costs of all purchases, not only the large ones, and to seek responsible ways to finance the purchase. They seek flexibility and predictability. What they don’t want is incurring interest and credit card negative rating impact.

     

    This option is especially attractive to the younger consumers, used to the subscription model of D2C and product-as-a-service. Monthly fees for streaming services or curated goods are a norm for customers under the age of 30. No wonder, that such consumers form a third of PayPal’s Pay in 4 clients. A study from Netfluential and PayPal showed that 28% of consumers between ages 18-39 would more likely shop again at a merchant that provides them with BNPL possibilities. 32% would make purchases they would’ve otherwise postponed. BNPL clearly means the future.

     

    So why don’t the Millenials and Gen Z consumers use their credit cards instead? After all, a recent Forrester study, commissioned by PayPal, found that “48% of those in Generation Z (between the ages of 18-22) report they are comfortable or extremely comfortable using credit. An even greater number of younger millennials (ages 23-29) and older millennials (ages 30-39) report feeling the same way, to the tune of 60% and 69%, respectively”.

     

    Young consumers are not reluctant to credit seen as debt or responsibility to actually have money in upcoming months to pay their dues.  It is the possibility of having no interest for a period of time that drives them towards BNPL services. It is also much simpler and exposes the consumer to no risk, as no credit card number is being asked during a purchase process.

     

    The benefits of offering BNPL method – why you should apply it to your eCommerce

     

    As it turns out from the aforementioned surveys, BNPL is a preferred payment method for the incoming future. And although installment payments come with a fee, sometimes larger than those of Visa or Mastercard, in this case, the pros easily outweigh the cons. The most important pros are:

     

    Increasing sales

     

    Often the consumers, browsing your site and showing their engagement in the products, are ready to make the purchase. Lack of funds is all that holds them down. If they are certain that they will be able to pay in the next few weeks, with payday over the horizon, they are very likely to switch from watchers to buyers. Especially if your goods are on the expensive side, you will see the conversion rising.

     

    Keeping up with the competition 

     

    It is estimated that by 2025 BNPL payments transaction volume will increase to 680 billion USD, with a CAGR of 13.23% from 2018. Your competition is probably already implementing this method.

     

    Attracting new customers

     

    This is the most probable way your sales will increase. Not only will you convert more watchers into customers. You will also attract the customers actively seeking the stores offering the BNPL payment method.  As the aforementioned survey shows, there are many, especially among Millenials and Gen Z consumers.

     

    Providing convenient financing solution

     

    For many consumers, BNPL is a much more affordable method than a credit card. In addition, it is also safer, as no credit card number or billing address is required. For this reason, the checkout is also much smoother.

     

    Decreasing cart abandonment

     

    Baymard Institute survey shows that 6% of cart abandonments are caused by the lack of payment options. Considering how many users now pay closer attention to the BNPL method, your cart abandonments should go down if you decide to integrate it into your website.

     

    To sum up

     

    The new consumers are looking for responsible ways to spend their money, care about their credit ratings and the security of purchase. They demand choice, flexibility, convenience and are perfectly fine with debt. They just don’t want incurring interest. These consumers are valuable now and will be even more in their forties and later. 

     

    BNPL effectively answers these needs. As an e-commerce entity, you are especially obliged to provide them with a choice. Incorporating the BNPL method, you will increase not only the advantage over the direct competition. You will also deepen the advantage over the traditional retail, not only enabling the customer to buy from home, and delivering the product at their doorstep but also letting them pay later, without endangering precious credit card rating.

     

  • 41 Types of Marketing Your Brand Can Invest In

    Like many of the people who currently work in the industry, digital marketing was born in the 1990s. Since then, the industry has evolved at breakneck speed, sprouting many more types of marketing.
    From search engine marketing to account-based marketing, every brand can use a combination of these tactics to attract its target audience and bring in more revenue.
    Read on to learn about the top types of marketing around today.

    Types of Marketing
    1. Traditional Marketing
    Traditional marketing refers to brand promotion on offline channels that were around before the rise of the internet. Think billboards, flyers, and radio spots.
    Because information wasn’t as easily accessible and readily available, the majority of traditional marketing relied on outbound tactics such as print, television ads, and billboards.
    2. Outbound Marketing
    Outbound marketing refers to intrusive promotion, such as cold calling, email blasts to purchased lists, and print ads.
    This marketing method is called “outbound” because it involves pushing a message out to consumers to raise awareness on your products or services — regardless of consumer interest.
    3. Inbound Marketing
    Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is focused on attracting customers rather than interrupting them. The majority of inbound marketing tactics fall under digital marketing, as consumers are empowered to do research online as they progress through their own buyer’s journey.
    Inbound is built on three pillars: Attract, engage, and delight. Your initial goal is to create valuable content and experiences that resonate with your audience and attract them to your business.
    The next is to engage them through conversational tools like email marketing and chat bots, and of course continued value. Finally, you delight them by continuing to act as an empathetic advisor and expert.
    4. Digital Marketing
    Digital marketing is the opposite of traditional marketing, leveraging technology that didn’t exist traditionally to reach audiences in new ways. This type of marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that live online.
    Businesses leverage digital channels, such as search engines, social media, email, and websites to connect with current and prospective customers.

    5. Search Engine Marketing
    Search engine marketing, or SEM, includes all strategies used to ensure your business is visible on search engine results pages (SERPs). With SEM, you can get your business in the number one spot when a user searches a particular keyword.
    The two types of SEM are search engine optimization (SEO) for organic search results and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for sponsored search engine results.
    To get started with SEO, you must familiarize yourself with search engine ranking factors and produce content for search engines to index.
    Pay-per-click SEM involves bidding on keywords to get your ads placed, through platforms like Google Ads. There are also ads management tools to make creating and managing PPC campaigns a breeze.

    6. Content Marketing
    Content marketing is a key instrument in inbound and digital marketing because it’s one of the best ways to attract your target audiences.
    It involves creating, publishing, and distributing content to your target audience through free and gated channels, such as social media platforms, blogs, videos, ebooks, and webinars.
    With content marketing, the goal is to help your audience along their buyer’s journey. First, identify common FAQs and concerns your buyers have before they are ready to make a purchase.
    Then, create an editorial calendar to help you create and manage your content. It also helps to have a content management system (CMS) to make publishing easy.

    7. Social Media Marketing
    With platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, brands can promote their business and engage with audiences on a more personal basis.
    However, with social media, two things are key to success: relevant content and consistency.
    No one logs on to social media looking for something to purchase, it’s important to balance promotion with entertainment. Compelling images and captions that encourage your audience to like, share and comment will bring your brand that much closer to gaining a customer.
    Now onto consistency – it’s what keeps your followers coming back. How can they get invested in your brand if they rarely see it on their timeline? To make publishing content across platforms easy, there are a number of social media tools that automate the process.

    8. Video Marketing
    According to a 2021 Wyzowl study, 87% of marketers say using video in their marketing strategy has a positive ROI. Whether it’s for your website, YouTube channel, email list, and/or social media following, video can boost brand awareness, generate conversions, and close deals.
    Some video marketing apps even allow you to analyze, nurture, and score leads based on their activity.

    9. Voice Marketing
    Voice marketing is leveraging smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home to add value to your audience and answer questions about their topics of interest.
    Beyond optimizing your website for voice search by incorporating the right keywords, you can also get inventive by developing a Google Home action or Alexa skill.
    For instance, Uber created an Alexa skill that allowed users to request a ride with a simple voice request. TED developed a feature that allowed Alexa users to play TED Talk based on topic, tone or speaker.
    10. Email Marketing
    Email marketing connects brands to leads, prospects and customers via email. Email campaigns can be used to increase brand awareness, generate traffic to other channels, promote products or services, or nurture leads toward a purchase.
    Email regulations like the GDPR and the CAN-SPAM Act require brands to comply with responsible commercial email practices, which boil down to three principles:

    Only email people who are expecting to hear from you. I.e. they’ve opted in.
    Make it easy for subscribers to opt out.
    Be transparent about who you are when you do make contact.

    With that in mind, the first thing you’ll need to do is strategize how you’ll build your email list — the database of contacts you can send emails to. The most common method is through lead capture forms on your website.
    Then, you’ll need email marketing software and a CRM to send, track, and monitor the effectiveness of your emails. To push your email strategy further and maximize productivity, you may also want to look into email automation software that sends emails based on triggering criteria.
    To learn the ins and outs of email marketing, take the free email marketing course from HubSpot Academy.

    11. Conversational Marketing
    Conversational marketing is the ability to have 1:1 conversations with your audience across multiple channels – meeting customers how, when, and where they want. It is more than just live chat, it extends to phone calls, texts, Facebook Messenger, email, Slack, and other channels. When you’re getting started, you’ll first identify which channels your audience is on. The challenge, though, is being able to manage multiple channels without slow response times, internal miscommunication, or productivity loss. That’s why it’s important to use
    conversational marketing tools

    , such as a unified inbox, to streamline your efforts.
    12. Buzz Marketing
    Buzz marketing is a viral marketing strategy that leverages refreshingly creative content, interactive events, and community influencers to generate word-of-mouth marketing and anticipation for the product or service a brand is about to launch.
    Buzz marketing works best when you reach out to influencers early and have a plan in place to generate buzz surrounding your brand. To track your efforts, invest in social listening software to keep a pulse on how your audience is responding.
    13. Influencer Marketing
    Influencer marketing is designed to tap into an existing community of engaged followers on social media. Influencers are considered experts in their niches and have built loyalty and trust from an audience you might be trying to reach.
    To get started with influencer marketing, you must first build your influencer marketing strategy and define what type of influencer you’re targeting. Then, you’ll want to create criteria for your influencer to ensure they align with your strategy and budget. Factors to consider include their niche, the size of their audience, and their current metrics.
    From there, you can find influencers and reach out to them by:

    Manually reaching out on social media.
    Using an influencer marketing platform.
    Hiring an agency to do the research and outreach for you.

    14. Acquisition Marketing
    With any marketing strategy, your goal is to attract and retain customers. However, each type of marketing focuses on a specific stage of the buyer’s journey. Acquisition marketing focuses on the attract and convert phases to turn strangers into sales-qualified leads.
    What differentiates it from other marketing types is that it extends beyond the marketing team, often involving collaboration with customer service and success teams. Why? Because satisfied customers are the biggest promoters.
    Acquisition marketing can involve a number of tactics to turn a website into a lead generation engine, including offering freemium products, launching education hubs, tightening the copywriting on the site, conversion rate optimization, and lead optimization.
    It may even include a lead optimization and nurturing strategy to facilitate the hand-off between marketing and sales.
    15. Contextual Marketing
    Contextual marketing is targeting online users with different ads on websites and social media networks based on their online browsing behavior. The number one way to make contextual marketing efforts powerful is through personalization.
    A CRM combined with powerful marketing tools, such as smart CTAs can make a website seem more like a “choose your own adventure” story, allowing the user to find the right information and take the right actions more effectively.
    Contextual marketing takes strategy and planning, so start off on the right foot by accessing HubSpot’s free contextual marketing course.
    16. Personalized Marketing
    Personalized marketing aims to create a tailored marketing experience for every user who comes across your brand.
    This can be as simple as adding a user’s name in the subject line of an email or sending product recommendations based on past purchases. Software products like Versium Reach make it easy for marketers to target their B2B or B2C customers with powerful audience insights.
    While it might seem a tad bit creepy, most consumers are OK with it if it makes for a better shopping experience. A 2019 Smarter HQ study reported that 79% of consumers felt brands knew too much about them. Yet, 90% of them were still willing to share information about their behavior and preferences for a cheaper, easier, and more enjoyable purchasing journey.
    17. Brand Marketing
    Brand marketing is shaping your brand’s public perception and forging an emotional connection with your target audience through storytelling, creativity, humor, and inspiration.
    The goal here is to be thought-provoking and generate discussion so that your brand is remembered and associated with positive sentiment.
    To begin brand marketing, you need to deeply understand your buyer persona and what resonates with them. You must also consider your position in the market and what makes you unique from your competitors. This can help shape your values and what you stand for, giving you fodder for storytelling campaigns.

    18. Stealth Marketing
    Stealth marketing occurs when brands promote their products or service to consumers who don’t realize they’re being marketed to. For instance, when you’re watching a television show, and see a branded product integrated into the shot. 
    Before influencers were subject to ad disclosure regulations, they often used stealth marketing to advertise sponsored products. 
    For this marketing style to work, brands have to find opportunities that align with their brand identity and values.
    19. Guerrilla Marketing
    Guerrilla marketing is placing bold, clever brand activations in high-traffic physical locations to spread brand awareness.
    Examples of guerilla marketing include altering outdoor urban environments, promoting during a live event without permission from sponsors or organizers, public stunts, and treasure hunts.
    It can be a cost-effective way to garner widespread attention. However, it also has the potential to go left if its misunderstood by the audience or interrupted by weather conditions, law enforcement or other factors beyond the brand’s control.
    20. Native Marketing
    Native marketing occurs when brands customize their ads to fit the feel, look, and function of the platform on which they’ll be published.
    Often, brands collaborate with publishers to create and distribute sponsored content to their audience. The goal is, by leveraging the brand’s editorial expertise and creating non-disruptive ads, it will increase conversion rates or create some brand awareness.
    For instance, a recipe blogger could have a guest post from McBride Sisters Collection titled “The Best Wine-Infused Desserts For the Holiday Season.”
    To benefit from native marketing, you’ll need to either reach out to media publications yourself or go through a native advert network that helps find and facilitate ad placement.
    21. Affiliate Marketing
    When a business rewards another brand – called an affiliate or affiliate partner – with a commission for each purchase made by a customer through the affiliate’s promotion tactics, that’s affiliate marketing.
    It’s popular among influencers but can also be used by brands to promote products or services that align with their own.
    If you already have marketing assets that are performing well, such as a website that generates leads or an engaged social media network, affiliate marketing is a great way to further leverage those assets. Choose a product or brand that closely aligns with what you sell – but does not compete with you – and promote it to your audience.
    On the flip side, it’s a cost-effective method of spreading brand awareness and a good alternative to influencer marketing. You can leverage affiliate marketing to generate more revenue. And the best part is that every business can design its own rules when launching an affiliate program.
    22. Partner Marketing
    Partner marketing, also known as co-marketing, is a marketing collaboration between brands where they partner up on a marketing campaign and share the results. It’s a great lead generation tool that allows brands to tap into an audience they may not have reached yet.
    For it to work, brands must align on their goals, have products or services that complementary and have similar user personas.

    23. Product Marketing
    Product marketing is much more than what it sounds like. It’s not just taking product pictures and launching campaigns. It’s driving demand for a product and its adoption through positioning, messaging, and market research.
    Product marketers sit at the intersection between product, sales, marketing, and customer success teams. They work with all teams for sales enablement and aligned marketing strategies.
    24. Account-based Marketing
    Account-based marketing (ABM) is a hyper-focused marketing strategy where teams treat an individual prospect or customer like their very own market. Marketing teams create content, host events, and launch entire campaigns dedicated to the people associated with that account, rather than the industry as a whole.
    This strategy allows brands to design personalized campaigns for their ideal clients and dedicate their time and resources to prospects exhibiting high-intent behaviors.
    Here’s how you can start:

    Identify key accounts.
    Create messaging based on issues that matter to them most
    Learn how to put that messaging in action with HubSpot’s introductory ABM lesson.

    Find ABM software that can enable your efforts.

    25. Customer Marketing
    In contrast to acquisition marketing where the focus is on acquiring new customers, customer marketing is focusing on retaining your existing customers. The end goal is to delight your customers with your product or service as well as excellent customer service to turn them into brand advocates.
    The cost of acquisition is much higher than the cost to retain or upsell existing customers, so brands can benefit from investing in this type of marketing.
    However, it does rely on constant improvement of the customer experience, i.e. the impression you leave with a customer after you’ve provided service.
    Simple ways to do this include eliminating friction in the customer service process, providing self-service resources, like online knowledge bases, and using customer service software to manage and automate interactions.
    26. Word-of-Mouth Marketing
    Whose opinion do you trust more: Your friend’s or a brand’s? The answer is obvious.
    That’s why word-of-mouth marketing is so powerful. While you can’t force it to happen, you can position your brand in a way that makes it easier to do so, like:

    Creating shareable, viral-worthy content.
    Offering referral and loyalty programs.
    Requesting reviews after providing a product or service.

    27. Relationship Marketing
    Relationship marketing is a type of customer marketing that focuses on cultivating deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers to ensure long-term brand loyalty.
    It’s not focused on short-term wins or sales transactions but rather on creating brand evangelists who will promote the brand.
    The key to doing this is by focusing on delighting your customers who are already satisfied with your brand. Start by using customer feedback software to run a Net Promoter Score (NPS) campaign to help you find out who those customers are.
    Then, come up with ways to turn those happy customers into raving fans. From there, you can request that they leave a testimonial, participate in a case study, or help you achieve your goals another way.
    28. User-generated Marketing
    User-generated marketing is when businesses leverage their audience to participate in creating marketing material.
    It can be anything from a social media hashtag challenge that asks users to come up with a jingle, or asking users to share their pictures or videos using your product or service.
    Why do brands use it? It’s cost-effective, builds connection with your audience, and increases brand awareness.
    29. Campus Marketing
    Some brands target college students, and who better to market to them than their peers?
    Campus marketing is the process of promoting products or services to students on campus. It often involves brand ambassadors who bring awareness to the business.
    You’ll often see campus marketers promoting products at event booths, hosting their own events, and handing out giveaways.
    30. Proximity Marketing
    Proximity marketing is a local and highly targeted marketing strategy that uses users’ location to show them relevant product or service promotions.
    For instance, if you’re walking by an ice cream shop, you may receive a notification of a special discount for a flavor at that shop. There are a few ways to use proximity marketing:

    Bluetooth beacons
    Wi-Fi
    QR codes
    NFC
    Geofencing

    Brands can also use it to organize treasure hunts, retarget users who don’t make a purchase, or simply learn more about user behavior.
    31. Event Marketing
    You’ve got an event coming up to launch a new product. Now, how do you get your target audience to show up? That’s event marketing.
    It requires brands to plan a promotion strategy, develop creative assets to create anticipation, and determine the right channels to spread awareness.
    An event – whether it’s a workshop, seminar, trade show, conference, or pop-up shop – helps brands connect directly with their target audience and build lasting relationships.

    32. Experiential Marketing
    Experiential marketing encompasses in-person and virtual events, experiences, and interactions that forge lasting emotional connections between a brand and its target audience.
    It takes event marketing just one step further with the goal of making the experience magical for attendees and providing something they can take with them after the event is over — other than just information, of course. According to independent HubSpot research, 61% of marketers surveyed said experiential marketing is one of the most effective strategies for their company.
    At HubSpot, we do our best to make our INBOUND conference an immersive experience that extends beyond breakout sessions by including networking opportunities, parties and happy hours, food truck lunches, and other immersive experiences. Instead of a conference, INBOUND becomes a celebration.
    33. Interactive Marketing
    Interactive marketing is a trigger-based marketing strategy that creates a dialogue between a brand and its audience. The brand adapts its approach based on the user’s behavior.
    For instance, let’s say you’re on a bookstore website and searching for a memoir. The next time you log on, you may see recommendations for more memoirs from other authors. This strategy meets consumers where they’re at and adjusts to meet their needs.
    34. Global Marketing
    Global marketing is the process of scaling your marketing efforts to appeal to global audiences. However, it does require lots of market research to determine where a product or service may best resonate and how to market it to reach business goals.
    Take, for instance, a food company based in Germany. If the team decides to expand to the United States, there may be changes in menu items, packaging, pricing and advertising to better reflect the audience.
    35. Multicultural Marketing
    Multicultural marketing is devising and executing a marketing campaign that targets people of different ethnicities and cultures within a brand’s overarching audience.
    It involves in-depth research to understand those communities needs and values, and figuring out the right messaging to resonate with that group.
    36. Informative Marketing
    Informative marketing refers to the type of message that focuses more on the facts and less on emotions.
    This marketing tactic highlights how your product’s features and benefits solve your customers’ problems and compares to your competitors.
    37. Neuromarketing
    Neuromarketing leverages neuroscience to gain insights into consumer decisions and predict behaviors.
    Neuromarketing studies can involve tracking eye movements, analyzing brain scans, and tracking physiological functions in response to marketing stimuli.
    38. Persuasive Marketing
    Unlike informative marketing, persuasive marketing taps into users’ emotions. It aims to make an audience feel something, associate those emotions with a brand, and trigger desired actions.
    There are many techniques, including the scarcity principle or adding .99 to a price, that can aid in persuading consumers to purchase a product or service.
    However, it only works if you understand your buyer persona and know what will resonate with your target audience.
    39. Cause Marketing
    With cause marketing, brands tie themselves to social issues while promoting their goods. For instance, your favorite brand may advertise that a purchase from their brand will result in a donation to a certain charity.
    It can also go beyond a campaign. Some brands’ entire identity aligns with a particular issue. For instance, luxury jewelry brand Civil donates 20% of its profits to underrepresented founders and entrepreneurs.
    Whether it’s temporary or long term, you must answer three questions before starting with cause marketing:

    What causes does my brand care most about?
    How can we leverage our position to support those causes?
    How can we tell my prospects and customers about our efforts and encourage them to get involved?

    40. Controversial Marketing
    Controversial marketing uses controversial topics to drive attention to marketing campaigns. It doesn’t aim to polarize audiences, but rather grab their attention and spark discussions.
    There are pros and cons to this approach. On one hand, it has the potential to go viral and generate some buzz around your brand. However, there’s a risk that you turn off potential customers and negatively impact your brand’s image.
    41. Field Marketing
    Field marketing, a.k.a field selling, is a traditional form of marketing that involves going out to promote your products or services directly to your target audience. You can do this by distributing product samples, offering product demos, or leafleting in a community.
    Best Type of Marketing
    There’s no right or wrong way to do marketing — as long as it connects with your desired audience and provides a return on investment. Most companies use a combination of these strategies to generate leads and acquire customers.
    Ultimately, you’ll want to choose what makes the most sense for your business based on your product, audience, and resources. 

    C