Industry News
Today’s guest post comes from my Kickbox colleague, Jennifer Nespola Lantz. Don’t forget to check out her posts over on the Kickbox blog. Take it away, Jen!Yesterday, a colleague shared a link, a much anticipated link, a link that adds clarity to a topic that caused some hair to catch on fire (mine in particular), some ire and anger, much speculation, and little support. That topic: Gmail’s Political Pilot Program or as Gmail has coined it Gmail Verified Sender Program Pilot (some speculate there are reasons for this, but let me learn my lesson and not talk about that just yet).I was hot on the topic when I first read about it and quick to comment judge. I was also quick to jump right into this newly shared link, filled with (what I hoped was) answers to some lingering questions. And what an enjoyable read it was. Not because it was
Having a good conversation with a candidate helps you understand who they are, their skill set, and what they’d bring to your team. So, being a good interviewer goes hand-in-hand with hiring successful talent that can contribute to meeting your business goals. Read on to learn everything you need to know about becoming an effective interviewer. Why is it important to be a good interviewer? Being a good interviewer is essential because it helps you hire the right people for the job. Therefore, the skill is key for any employer that wants to hire the right candidates who are motivated, able to do the job, and are a good cultural fit for the company. Being a good interviewer also shows respect for the interviewee. It demonstrates that you value their time and insights and are willing to invest the effort to get to know them better. How to Be an
Are you struggling with what to post on Instagram? In this post, we’ll cover the best Instagram Story ideas to keep your audience engaged and entertained. We’ve broken them down by content type: Follower engagement Conduct a poll. Host a Q&A. Spotlight your customers. Quiz your followers. Repost user-generated content. Host a giveaway. Start a challenge. Team/Company Spotlights Introduce your team. Share behind-the-scenes footage. Celebrate milestones. Do a takeover. Share company updates. Products and Services Share testimonials and reviews. Spotlight products and services. Announce discounts and specials. Educational Content Share industry news. Post quick tutorials. Miscellaneous Direct traffic to other sources. Start a countdown. Promote new posts. 20 Best Instagram Story Ideas for 2022 Cool Instagram Story Ideas for Follower Engagement 1. Conduct a poll. Running a poll on your Story is a great way to engage your audience and learn more about them. The great thing about a poll
This piece originally appeared in Customer Think The email marketing tide has turned. B2B and B2C customers don’t just think personalized content would be nice — they expect it. Key takeaways from McKinsey & Company’s Next in Personalization 2021 Report show that personalization remains a critical ingredient in brand marketing. In fact, 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences from companies, with 76% expressing frustration when those expectations fall short. Over 75% of consumers indicated that personalized communications factored into their brand considerations — and a whopping 78% said personalized content would increase the likelihood they’d make another purchase. It’s clear personalization is incredibly effective for increasing customer loyalty and driving repeat engagement over time. Companies interested in supercharging subscriber experiences, increasing conversions, and driving revenue outcomes can benefit from incorporating dynamic content automation into their email marketing campaigns. How it works Also called “adaptive,” “real-time content” or “smart” content, dynamic content automation
We knew that BIMI support was coming to Apple iOS and MacOS. And now, Apple has published a support page: Prepare your email server for BIMI support in Apple Mail. Reading through the guide, it sounds like support might go beyond just Apple iCloud (mac.com, me.com, icloud.com) domains, if other mailbox providers structure their headers properly. If this support is client-based and not recipient domain based, that could really make things interesting. Here’s hoping I’m reading that right.For more on Apple’s rollout of BIMI support, check out this update from the Authindicators (BIMI) Working Group.
When you run a retail business, you’re always looking for ways to increase customer engagement and improve lead generation. SMS for retail is an important strategy for nurturing leads, improving customer engagement, and driving sales. In fact, Gartner calls it “an effective, yet underutilized, mobile tactic among marketing leaders.” But what is SMS marketing, and how can you use it to effectively improve your retail marketing game? Let’s take a deep dive into this crucial marketing strategy. What is retail SMS? Before you can begin to use SMS marketing strategies, you first need to understand the answer to the question: What is text message marketing for small business? And, just as importantly, how can retail text message marketing help you connect to your target audience? SMS is an acronym that stands for Short Message Service. In essence, SMS marketing is synonymous with text message marketing. SMS marketing for retail focuses
Consumers want brands to make a difference. In fact, Havas’ Meaningful Brands Report 2021 found that 73% of respondents think brands must act now for the good of society and the planet. In that same survey, 64% of respondents said they prefer to buy from companies with a reputation for purposeful action, not just their profits. When brands act for the good of society and the planet, they’re being socially responsible. In this post, we’ll discuss: What is social responsibility? How can brands be socially responsible? 15 Socially Responsible Brands What is social responsibility? For businesses, social responsibility is showing care and value for society and the planet in addition to, or equal to, how much care is shown for their profits and their bottom line. How can brands be socially responsible? Brands can be socially responsible by ensuring employees have a safe work environment and are paid a living wage
According to our 2022 Marketing Trends Survey report, 34% of marketers plan to stop leveraging podcasts or other audio content in 2022. It’s likely because of the major roadblocks that marketers still face in the podcast marketing space. Two podcast experts weigh in on the biggest challenges and strategies to tackle them. Organic Discoverability Currently, there are two main ways to discover podcasts: Search through top-ranking podcasts in various genres or get recommendations based on what you’re already listening to. This makes it very hard for lesser-known shows to get discovered organically. “It’s really hard for podcasters who are creating amazing content and are great creators to figure out ways to get in front of their audience,” says Alanah Joseph, head of creator partnerships on the HubSpot Podcast team. At HubSpot, Joseph says our podcast network addresses this by leaning into our cross-promotion strategy – this means placing ads across
Within the past two years, emerging technologies like NFTs and the metaverse have gotten a lot of hype. But how exactly are brands leveraging it? We’ll cover that and more in this article. Plus, we’ll tackle where small businesses fit in this space and how they can leverage emerging tech. Virtual Experiences 1. Patrón Spirits In August 2022, Patrón held a virtual pop-up event in the Metaverse for a summer campaign. This limited-time event, held on two consecutive weekends, was hosted on Decentraland, a virtual browser-based platform. Participating users could visit three pop-up events dedicated to the brand’s three summer cocktails. There was also a giveaway element in the virtual experience, in which users who collected badges through quests would be entered to win a trip and NFT wearables (virtual clothing and accessories used to dress up your avatar). The benefit of hosting an immersive virtual pop-up event is that
These days, it feels like everyone is on social media. But make no mistake, not everyone is on every channel. As marketers, it’s important to know your audience’s favorite social channels. For instance, if you’re selling retirement homes, it’s safe to forgo Snapchat, where only 3.7% of users are over 50. HubSpot surveyed over 1,000 consumers across the U.S to find out which social media channels are gaining steam — and which are falling behind. Read on to discover which platforms are most popular with consumers in 2022. Social Media Channels Gaining Steam in 2022 Facebook Facebook currently attracts 2.89 billion monthly users, more than any other social platform. A high concentration of its audience belongs to Millennials, Gen X-ers, and Baby Boomers. In the last three months, a whopping 91% of Baby Boomers, 88% of Millennials, and 83% of Gen X-ers have visited Facebook. On top of that, Gen