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My first time getting hired — a college internship — wasn’t exactly memorable. Honestly, there wasn’t much of a new hire onboarding process at all. Instead, my boss gave me a brief rundown on how the organization was structured, what my role entailed, and what my first assignment would be.

By the time I got to my cubicle, I was feeling pretty unprepared and even frustrated. Who was on my team? Wasn’t I supposed to meet them? What do I even do? While I may have been a lowly intern, my experience wasn’t unique.

Ultimately, your new hire onboarding experience will set the stage for your overall employee satisfaction. So, I’m going to draw from experience to give you an example of an onboarding process that will help you nurture a more cohesive company culture. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

• Why Effective Onboarding Is So Important
• Onboarding Checklist
• Employee Onboarding Best Practices

Why Effective Onboarding is so Important

Before we explore my approach to onboarding, I need to highlight why your employee onboarding process matters. After all, if your company’s onboarding process just involves filling out new hire paperwork on day one and meeting a bunch of HR professionals the next day, that experience might be clouding your judgment on just how influential onboarding can be.

In essence, there are two main reasons you want your onboarding process to be effective. First, you reap what you sow. You need to give employees what they need to help you achieve your company goals.

In a 2022 onboarding survey by Paychex, 52% of the 1,002 surveyed working Americans reported feeling satisfied with their onboarding experience.

What’s really surprising is that despite that being the case, the same number of employees (52%) felt undertrained after their most recent onboarding experience, and it was even worse for employees in small businesses (66%) and remote positions (63%).

And if you’re thinking there’s a significant gap between how these workers perceive their level of preparedness for their role and how prepared they actually are, you’d be correct.

We’ve all dealt with this before — we start a job thinking we’ve received adequate training, only to learn that it wasn’t the case later on. And for the average person, it’s easy for them to start feeling inadequate or thinking their role has fallen victim to scope creep and, in turn, questioning whether they made the right decision when they joined your organization.

Which brings me to the second reason why you want your onboarding to be effective: you want the employee to feel like they made the right decision by joining your organization.

Admittedly, that’s easier said than done. As you’ll see in the next section, there’s a lot of preparation and effort that goes into it. But it’s the only way to avoid the negative outcomes after an awful onboarding experience, which, according to the same Paychex survey, include:

• Feeling disoriented (56%).
• Feeling let down (52%).
• Feeling devalued (49%).
• Losing interest (46%).
• Losing trust in the organization (33%).
• Feeling negatively about the organization (20%).

I’d be deeply concerned and, quite frankly, sad if my new hires felt any of these things. I’ve been in that position, and these are anything but good feelings.

Companies should also be worried about what that would mean to their overall retention rate and productivity — especially when you consider that a strong onboarding process can increase new hire retention by 82% and improve productivity by 70%, according to Zippia’s recent onboarding research.

So, to summarize: High-quality onboarding helps everyone involved in the employer-employee relationship avoid wasting their time and feeling frustrated. And when you’ve got an onboarding plan in place, it’ll be so much easier to hire and train marketing all-stars.

I also want to stress that onboarding is just one part of the recruitment process, and there are many important steps to take before you bring a new team member on board. To ensure you’re hiring the best person for the job, check out our ultimate guide to hiring and recruiting great employees.

Now that we’ve discussed why proper new hire onboarding matters, let’s review my onboarding checklist.

Onboarding Checklist

Although onboarding can make or break your company‘s professional relationship with a new hire, creating a solid new employee onboarding process isn’t as complex as you may think.

Managers and HR departments should approach it with the understanding that the more thorough they are while integrating new employees into the company, the more benefits they’ll reap from that employee in the long term.

We have that mindset at HubSpot, and it pays off. Not only does it help create long-lasting working relationships with our team members, we get to see first-hand how our efforts impact the employee experience.

Take it from Kuba Niechciał, director of engineering at HubSpot, who recently went through onboarding at HubSpot and had this to say: “I’m super grateful for that experience, both for the team to host and educate me, and the org to invest in long-term success of new leaders. It was very energizing, reflective, and also intimidating!”

With that in mind, I’m going to walk you through what a typical onboarding process for my team members looks like. I’m going to draw from a recent experience with a new member — let’s call her Holly. That way, you can refer back to my process and use it as a checklist when your next new hire arrives.

Before the First Day

The key to this pre-boarding stage is preparation. And although a lot of the things you’ll see here are usually part of any company’s hiring standard operating procedures (SOPs), you definitely want to account for everything to make a strong first impression.

Here’s how I prepared for Holly before she set foot in the office for the very first time:

• The first thing I did was gather the necessary paperwork (e.g., W-4, I-9, insurance forms, and direct deposit forms).
• After that, since I know Holly will need to review the employee handbook and sign a non-disclosure agreement (such is the marketing life), I added them to the list. I also made notes for where she can park and what time she should arrive.
• I also prepared a workstation for Holly since she’ll be in the office three days a week. That involved setting up her computer and updating the software she’ll be using.
• Since she’ll be working remotely for two days a week, I also compiled her login credentials for our tech stack and wrote down her company email.
• Moreover, I prepared relevant reading material that was not already included in the employee handbook (e.g., SOPs for the software she’ll be using).
• I also asked Holly’s soon-to-be supervisor what he wanted her to catch up on before she officially started. He asked me to pass on one of the campaigns our team is working on to start familiarizing her with what we do.

Before the first day, I think you should also consider leaving a note on your new hire’s desk or sending them an email. I opted for an email to strike up a casual chat with Holly, and it was nice to get to know her a bit before we officially met.

This helped us build a little rapport before she clocked in for training. Plus, I found out that she likes Indian food, so I knew what to plan for lunch on our first day.

Lindsey Chastain, founder and CEO of The Writing Detective, a content strategy and media relations company, also does this, and told me she prepares by “sending the employee a welcome email and what to expect for the first few days. I ensured the new hire had the contact information of an employee other than me, ‘just in case.’”

On the First Day

If you prepared everything in the previous step, everything on the first day should sail smoothly. Plus, you’ll have more time to focus on the human side of things on the first day as opposed to having to problem-solve because something went wrong.

Here’s what I focused on during Holly’s first day:

• I had her arrive at 9:00 a.m., so I could prepare the team that’ll be working with her ahead of time. That way, they could say hi and introduce themselves to her when she arrived at her workstation.
• When Holly got settled, I provided her with the welcome packet containing the hiring paperwork, employee handbook, agreements, and other guidelines so she could start reviewing them.
• By the time she was done, it was lunchtime. So, I took Holly and a few team members to a nearby Indian restaurant. I was happy to see her connect with her co-workers and that she enjoyed the meal.
• When we got back, I gave her a tour of the office, including the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the support desk. I also introduced her to everyone as we walked by and gave her a brief idea of what everyone does in each department. Joel Wolfe, president and founder of HiredSupport, also likes the tour approach. He says, “It helps break the ice and get them well acquainted with the company.”
• Then, I set up a meeting between Holly’s direct supervisor and her. This meeting allowed the supervisor to introduce himself, explain how the department is structured, and answer a few questions Holly had.
• Lastly, I had Holly meet her onboarding mentor (a fellow marketer on the team). This is the person she’ll go to whenever she has any questions to get her up to speed.

The first day will vary depending on how many new hires your company onboards at a time and how you engage them. But generally, this is what the new hire onboarding process looks like on the first day at HubSpot, and it’s something even our directors go through.

Niechciał found this experience at HubSpot humanizing, to say the least. Since he felt “The experience of working day-to-day with a team is something easy to forget if you stay in leadership positions for long,” he believes these first-day activities helped him connect with his co-workers from the get-go and hit the ground running.

Pro tip: To boost employee engagement and keep things focused, I also gave Holly a “30-day plan,” which included:

• Names of people she should reach out to for lunch or coffee. I went with people she’ll be working with closely or people I believe can offer her guidance.
• Reading material that will help her succeed in her new role — since she’s one of our new social media managers, I included some blog posts about the current landscape of social media that I’d like her to keep in mind.
• My expectations for her first month (e.g., “I’d like you to brainstorm and present one marketing video campaign idea by the end of this month”).

During Week One

After the first day, the true challenge began. Not because I expected things with Holly to get difficult, but because after the first day, my team and I must work hard to be there for Holly and hold our end of the bargain moving forward.

After all, we didn’t want Holly to think we just made empty promises at the start — we want her to feel like we’re truly there for her and are invested in her growth as much as we expect her to be invested in ours. With that in mind, here’s what Holly’s first week looked like:

• Within the first few days, we assigned Holly her first project. I find this helps new hires feel like a valuable asset to the team and allows them to become more comfortable in their roles. She checked in both with me and her boss on questions she had, but it was great to see how quickly she took the initiative.
• Meanwhile, I double-checked that all of her paperwork was completed by this point.
• Holly, her supervisor, and I also went over what the set goals and employee performance evaluations would be for her first month. We did this together to make sure everything was clear on both sides.
• Lastly, I made sure to set aside a bit of time to go over her HubSpot portal. She was already pretty familiar with the software, but there were a few features she still had questions about, and learning the software is vital to succeeding in her new role.

Pro tip: It’s critical to keep your schedule open if you’re mostly in charge of a new hire’s integration into the new team, like I was with Holly. I made sure she had some one-on-one lessons and we went over our software or work processes a bit each day.

During the First Month

Although my interactions with Holly dropped quite a bit after the first week, I still made myself readily available in case she needed anything. On top of that, I did the following:

• I scheduled weekly meetings to give Holly constructive criticism regarding her first couple of assignments. Although these meetings were straight-to-the-point, I really took time to highlight Holly’s strengths and show appreciation for the efforts she made. I really recommend doing these sessions where you share meaningful feedback — Gallup even deems it a great manager’s most important habit to keep employees engaged.
• I continued to give Holly blog recommendations, and threw some books in the mix. As a marketer, I really want to foster a culture of keeping up with current trends across my team.
• I checked in a few times to make sure she was meeting the right people and getting together with core members of her team.
• I also asked for feedback from Holly. If I’m working with a large group, I’ll offer the option to fill out an anonymous survey. But in this case, I just asked her if she needed anything else to succeed or what she wished we could provide.
• As day 30 approached, I organized a team outing to help Holly bond a little more with the team — we went out to lunch with her whole team that day, and I made sure the conversation kept up all afternoon.
• Finally, I checked in with her mentor to see how their meetings had been going so far.

After the First Month

After a month, some companies will consider the new hire onboarding process finished. However, HubSpot has a pretty long new hire onboarding process that can often last at least six months (even up to a year).

That said, here’s how I’ve been handling Holly’s onboarding now that she’s been with us for five months:

• I still make sure to send Holly an email at least once a month, but it’s usually every other week.
• I also asked her supervisor for feedback on how she was doing after about three months. Note that this isn’t me just trying to assess her performance. I’m also trying to determine the areas in which our onboarding process can improve.
• Lastly, I’ve been having weekly or biweekly one-on-one check-ins with Holly. I use these sessions to talk through any tricky task-related situations and discuss personal goals and performance with her. Having this clear line of communication has proved invaluable in measuring her performance and finding areas where we, as a team, can improve.

Employee Onboarding Best Practices

There’s quite a bit to keep in mind to create a solid employee onboarding process. That said, I’ve personally found coming up with a process much easier after laying out the fundamentals that will help me build it.

So, to help you get started, I’ve compiled some of what I think are the best practices that will help you build a successful onboarding program.

1. Work backwards.

I know it sounds weird, but starting from your end goal is a great way to make sure you accomplish your onboarding goals. It’s a bit less overwhelming to frame things like “I need to get these seven forms signed by Friday” rather than “I need to start our new hire onboarding.”

For example, in a past job, I was tasked with helping train a new employee in my department. My boss and I sat down before the new guy ever walked in the door and decided what we wanted him to be able to do on his first day.

We talked about the programs he needed to learn, what he’d be helping me with the first week, and even which email templates he needed to learn first. From there, we figured out how to build his training.

2. Decide what your employees need to learn.

Whether you want to familiarize a new team member with a process or your company policies, you need to figure out how to get them there.

Now, that doesn’t mean dumping loads of company documentation on the new hire and walking away. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of that and to say it’s sigh-inducing would be an understatement.

Instead, focus on the tasks the employee will be performing and develop documentation based on that. You’ll be surprised at how much fluff you can trim to give way to meaningful, actionable guidance that empowers your employees to do their jobs.

For instance, if I was being hired to work in an ice cream shop, and I was expected to know serving sizes and how to work the ice cream machine, I’d like to receive thorough guidance about these things to ensure I’m understanding or doing them correctly — and not much else.

Beyond that, make sure to anticipate any questions the employee might have and include the answers in the documentation. Nothing beats the nice sense of comfort in knowing you can find the answers to your questions right away.

3. Delegate part of the onboarding process to key team members.

While a team leader or HR manager might seem like the obvious pick to lead a successful onboarding, they aren’t the only stakeholders in this process.

Think about it — new employees will spend more time with the members of their department, so they might learn their new job better from those familiar with it. Not to mention, it’s in the team’s best interest that the new hire carries their job successfully to meet their goals.

Pro tip: As you might’ve noticed from Holly’s onboarding process, this is why I like giving my new hires a mentor — someone who is close to the processes and work the new hire will come in contact with and can relate to any struggles they may have.

It gives them the much-needed hands-on experience they’ll need to perform their job effectively and iron out issues moving forward.

4. Use the right tools.

Yes. I, too, have been knocked over by onboarding notes containing instructions for ten different tracking tools that basically do the same thing. It’s overwhelming and fuels you with the desire to run in the opposite direction of the job you just got.

The (obvious) truth is that having the right tools for the job makes learning and doing the job easier for everyone involved. Take it from Kuntze, a water analysis instrumentation company that was using multiple products to create and track its sales deals.

That system was so complex and inefficient that the mere thought of welcoming someone new to the company made team leads shudder, fearing how long it’d take to get someone up to speed with their processes.

But then they switched over to HubSpot’s Sales Hub, Service Hub, and Marketing Hub to replace the hodgepodge of other automation software they’d been using before. The results? They were able to grow their team by 66%.

“Being able to segment functions into roles, and hire new employees to step into those roles, may not sound like a big deal,” said Hannah Blinn, former project manager at Kuntze. “But for a small company like us, it really is. No one struggled to find information because it’s no longer spread out all over the place,” she added.

I’ve found there are clear-cut, company-wide benefits to simplifying your tech stack. Still, one that isn’t immediately apparent is how much easier it is to pass on knowledge of your internal processes when your operations aren’t bogged down by a trillion tools and guides to use them.

5. Don’t make people go at it alone.

I know some of you might be more concerned with remote employee orientation and onboarding. Luckily, Amanda Stephens, vice president of operations at seoplus+, an Ottawa-based digital marketing agency, is pretty familiar with that.

Her solution is to pair remote employees up, similar to the mentor system I mentioned earlier.

She notes, “It’s much harder for new hires to build connections with their peers, particularly outside of their department in a remote or hybrid environment. There are no accidental conversations, no water cooler talk. We overcame this with a few initiatives, the best of which is our ‘onboarding buddy’ program.”

Level Up Your New Hire Onboarding Process

Ultimately, I feel like a good onboarding process should account for what your team needs from your new hire and what your new hire needs to succeed in their role. It might require flexibility and patience, but it’s fundamental to making the new hire feel like they’re a valuable asset to your team.

I hope you’ve found some useful advice on how to improve the workflow of your new hire onboarding. Whether you’re working in-person or remotely, an effective onboarding process will help you improve your new hire experience and set your team up for long-term success.

If Hubspot is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.

Credit: Original article published here.

Our view at Stack - Simplify growth with an all-in-one platform. Powerful marketing, sales, and support automation. Integrated CMS. Scalable software. Crafted for customer experience.

Free and paid tools for small businesses save time, streamline operations, and, importantly, save money.

From my experience running a small business, I know it doesn’t always feel productive to invest time and money into a new tool, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

I know how overwhelming it can be to choose the right tools, so I’ve compiled a list of 20 free and paid tools for small businesses. There’s something for every budget, and where I’ve tried and tested them, I’ve given you my unbiased review.

Table of Contents

• Why Do You Need Small Business Tools?
• Types of Tools for Small Business
• How I Curated the Best Free Tools for Small Businesses
• 20 Free Tools to Help You Run Your Business

Why Do You Need Small Business Tools?

Small businesses need tools. The early days of building a business are a scramble, and small teams do many tasks.

The more pressure you can relieve on yourself and your team, the better. There are a host of benefits to using tools, but here are the top four.

Increased Productivity

Tools are a cheap way to improve operations, automate work, and “outsource” tasks you don’t want to do.

With your newfound freedom, you can put your time into work that a) helps the business and b) fulfills you.

With focused time without niggling tasks, everyone will feel more motivated to work. Plus, tools will take some tasks in their entirety off your to-do list so you can focus on the heavy-hitting work.

Cost Savings

Sometimes — even though I’m writing this article — I also find it hard to part with hundreds or thousands of hard-earned cash to spend on a tool.

The trouble with this mentality is that it’s short-term thinking. The money out is measurable, but the money saved from tools can be harder to qualify.

It’s worth making an effort to examine a tool’s savings to vet its worth. You must consider hidden benefits, such as happier staff who can automate tasks they dislike, leaving them more motivated for what they love.

Scalability

If you want to scale your business, tools will help.

Increased productivity alone will help, but tools will force you to create processes that can be shared with team members. If you can onboard new team members or clients into your operations quickly and smoothly, you can grow faster.

Additionally, tools like cloud services can scale as you need them, allowing you to store data without risking big migration projects or paying for space that you don’t need yet.

Improved Decision-Making

Many tools are designed to help you make decisions. Tools, especially those including AI, can analyze large data sets and compile information that you can use to steer your business.

Types of Tools for Small Business

You’ll want to assess the tools that most benefit your unique business, but let’s look at some commonly used tools.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

If you’re still in spreadsheets, it’s time for an upgrade.

CRM software is an absolute must. Your pipeline of leads is arguably the most important element of your business. You want to manage them properly.

A good CRM will help your team work efficiently, nurture leads, and many have automation and AI add-ons that elevate your sales processes.

Project Management Software

I’ve been a project manager for over nine years. When I started out, my project management was done in spreadsheets and emails.

When I discovered project management tools, I realized how badly I’d missed out. I now run my entire business and client businesses in either Asana, Motion, ClickUp, or Trello.

Digital Marketing Tools

My small business is a boutique SEM agency, so digital marketing tools are a must for me. Over the years, I’ve tried and tested many of them. Digital marketing tools can help with analysis so you know what’s working and where to invest your cash.

Plus, many marketing tools can do some of the marketing for you. You can use generative AI which is often included, or you can schedule marketing campaigns ahead of time.

Storage Tools

Google Drive, SharePoint, and Dropbox are tools that will help your team work smarter.

Instead of sharing documents in emails, you can store everything online and people can edit the same document without issue. Everything is stored on the cloud, so the risk of losing documents is small.

If you’re still emailing documents, you have to shift to a storage tool.

How I Curated the Best Free Tools for Small Businesses

I wanted to create a list of small business tools that almost anyone could try.

They needed to be:

• Affordable. For me, this meant free, cheap, or able to return their investment in abundance.
• Easy to use. It can be challenging to get a team to work with a new tool and a new process, so I wanted the tools in this list to be intuitive.
• Good customer support. We all need a hand from time to time. All the tools in this list have good customer service or a demo so you can try them.
• Multi-purpose. If one tool can do two things well, even better. For small businesses, the less you have to invest, the better.
• Scalable. An investment into a tool ideally brings longevity. I wanted to include the tools that will grow with a small business.

20 Free Tools to Help You Run Your Business

1. HubSpot CRM

In sales, speed matters. Think about it: In the time your salespeople spend digging through their inboxes for information about a prospect, they could be losing a sale to a competitor.

HubSpot CRM enables sales teams to work more efficiently by providing reps with a detailed history of their interactions with a prospect.

Unlike other systems, HubSpot CRM is both intuitive and automatic, making it easy for users to log emails, record calls, and manage their data.

This easy access to touchpoints helps ensure that reps aren‘t sending repeat emails or mismanaging their time with prospects who aren’t interested.

My experience with HubSpot: HubSpot is ideal for small businesses because it’s intuitive to use. To begin with, I signed up for a free account. The guided tour within the CRM took me through everything.

Plus, there’s an abundance of videos and guides available on the HubSpot website. HubSpot will certainly scale with your business.

2. HubSpot’s Free Marketing & Lead Generation Software

Looking for a free tool to help generate leads? Check out this tool from HubSpot.

HubSpot’s Marketing and Lead Generation Software can be used as a free WordPress plugin and standalone web app.

Built to help you better understand your website visitors, this tool makes it easy to find out not only who is on your website but also what they’re doing.

With this tool, users automatically get insights into everyone who fills out a form on their website. From pages they‘ve visited to social networks that they’re on, these details can help you make more strategic marketing moves.

3. Boomerang for Gmail

Ever want to send an email on a Friday but don‘t want it to get lost in the recipient’s mailbox over the weekend?

With Boomerang for Gmail, you can write an email now and schedule it to be sent at a more convenient time.

But that‘s not all. Boomerang boasts a ton of other features designed to make your life easier.

For example, if your inbox feels a little unruly, you can choose which emails you’d like to temporarily archive until you need them. Simply pick the time and date that you‘d like them to reappear, and they’ll be there — magical.

4. HubSpot’s Free Persona Generator

Thinking through your personas is important.

You might think you know who you’re targeting, but setting time aside to identify your target persona will help with all the marketing.

Plus, you might be surprised at the results when you give this task the time it deserves.

Hubspot’s free personal generator guides you through a seven-step process to help you determine your target persona.

At the end, all the information is consolidated in a stylish design, ready for download. You can add more personas and share them with your team.

5. Hubspot’s Free Brand Kit

HubSpot’s free brand kit covers the foundations of any good brand: logo, typography, colors, your website, and marketing, such as social media profiles.

The free tool makes setting up your first brand very easy. It will walk you through your brand identity, providing ideas and examples. At the end, you will get a brand guideline that you can download.

6. HubSpot’s Free Email Signature Generator

With HubSpot’s free Email Signature Template Generator, you can create an on-brand email signature in minutes.

All you need to do is choose your favorite template, fill out the form with your professional details (name, website, role, etc.), fill in the brand colors, and the generator does the rest.

Once you’re happy with the finished product, you can copy the code or copy and paste the signature into your favorite email app. Instructions on how to do this are provided once the email signature is generated.

My experience with HubSpot’s free email signature generator: I used this tool to generate an email signature, and it truly could not have been easier! There are six templates to choose from. Once I received the signature code, I changed the details so my team’s signatures matched. If you’re looking for a quick email signature, this is it!

7. Customers.ai

Customers.ai enables companies to proactively engage with website visitors through identification and remarketing.

With the tool you can capture first-party data, sync visitors to remarketing audiences, track the customer journey, and turn your anonymous website visitors into customers.

This AI-driven solution also features personalized outreach, high-converting retargeting, and high-def customer journey insights with its ad and email tools, as well as measurement and integration capabilities.

Lastly, integrate your MarTech stack. Automatically connect the opt-ins, signups, and leads generated from your chat messaging channels to your CRM, such as HubSpot, email software, training & webinar platforms, and other business applications.

8. Trello

Keeping your team on the same page — whether you‘re working remotely or side-by-side — isn’t always easy.

With new ideas, changing deadlines, and last-minute adjustments happening throughout the day, you need a place to keep everything unified.

That’s where Trello comes in.

At a glance, Trello makes it easy for users to visualize what tasks are on their plate, what their team members are working on, and what’s already been completed.

Functioning like a virtual bulletin board, the tool offers boards and cards to help you and your team organize a project or just keep tabs on your day-to-day work.

With cards, users can upload file attachments, add comments, create checklists, assign due dates, and so much more.

And whenever a change is made to a card, Trello’s notification system can send an update to the members of the board to keep everyone in the know.

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My experience with Trello: I use Trello both personally and professionally. I choose Trello as the project management tool for a few of my clients because it’s so easy, and you can do a lot for free.

Trello allows businesses to use many of its features for free, and you can invite up to ten members to collaborate before paying for it.

9. Slack

Meetings, emails, and unexpected desk visitors can sometimes make it difficult to actually get work done during the day.

Well, with an internal team communication tool like Slack, your team can collaborate, share files, give feedback, and provide quick solutions, all using real-time messaging.

According to Slack’s website, teams using its software find a 39% decrease in meetings and a 60% reduction in internal email, resulting in a 47% increase in team productivity.

Slack also offers fully native apps for iOS and Android, making it easy for you to pick up where you left off after you leave your desk.

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My experience with Slack: Love it or hate it, Slack is probably the best communication tool for businesses, but I recommend using it smartly. If you push all your communication into Slack, you’ll struggle operationally.

My recommendation with Slack is that you use it for:

• Quick questions such as asking for documents or asking for a quick meeting.
• Chasing a colleague on an action.
• Sharing good news.

For anything project-related, keep the communications in the project management tool of your choice.

10. HubSpot’s Free Blog Ideas Generator

This AI tool will take the mental load out of generating blog ideas. It’s free to use with HubSpot’s free CRM.

All you need to do is visit the generator, start with one idea as broad as you like, and the AI will do the rest. If you don’t love the original ideas, you can regenerate them until you find one you want to publish.

Once you’ve found your blog title, the AI will generate an outline, including headings, that you can amend as you like.

The AI can write the entire article once you’re happy with the outline.

I recommend giving the blog a thorough edit and adding your unique experience, but this generator will give you a strong starting point and remove any writer’s block.

11. Dropbox

Dropbox provides businesses with an easy way to share and store photos, videos, documents, spreadsheets, and other files using desktop and mobile devices.

By eliminating the need for flash drives, Dropbox makes it easy for users to access the information where they need to when they need to.

In terms of collaboration, the tool aims to simplify the way teams collaborate and share files — proving to be especially useful for remote or hybrid teams.

Users can even add comments to shared files, which saves time and eliminates the need for another email in your inbox.

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My experience with Dropbox: I find Dropbox saves a lot of emails and having a shared place where everything lives will encourage better processes for handling documentation. I used it for a long time before I shifted to Google Apps. I think both are excellent tools; you just need to pick the one that suits you best.

12. Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a package of cloud-based productivity apps that make it easy for businesses to collaborate in real time.

With access to apps like Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Meet, and more, you and your team will have the means necessary to innovate, brainstorm, and document all of your great ideas.

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My experience with Google Workspace: I would be completely lost without Google apps. I do everything there, personally and professionally. Google apps have saved me money since I no longer pay for Microsoft Word etc., and for now, the free version of Google Drive and apps has been enough for my small business.

13. Dropbox Sign

Ah, paperwork. One of the worst timesucks of your day.

Luckily, there is a tool to help free up some of that time.

Rather than spending your day tracking down the right people to sign the right documents, Dropbox Sign (previously HelloSign) makes it easy for users to sign documents and request e-signatures.

Once the document is completed, everyone who signed will get a copy delivered straight to their inbox to keep for their records.

Worried about security? You don’t have to be. Dropbox Sign uses SSL encryption during file transfers to keep your documents safe.

To make your life even easier, Dropbox Sign integrates with many of the apps you’re already using — Gmail, Google Apps, Dropbox, Evernote, HubSpot, etc.

This means you can sign legally binding documents in 30 seconds or less without leaving your Gmail inbox.

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14. IFTTT

Running a business requires a lot of hands. Trouble is, your new business budget might not stretch enough to cover new talent. In other words, you‘ve got to work with what you’ve got.

Rather than allowing routine tasks to consume your precious time, try IFTTT. Short for “if this, then that,” IFTTT is a productivity tool that automates your important online processes. (Essentially, it’s like autopilot for your day-to-day tasks.)

IFTTT links together some of your favorite cloud-based services, and can trigger a specific action based on particular events. To clarify, here is one example below, which connects any new HubSpot Marketing Blog posts into an SMS alert.

You can also explore their full library of applets and services.

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15. Hotjar

The health of your business often has a lot to do with how visitors interact and respond to your website. But how can you optimize for the user when you don’t know what the user wants?

With Hotjar, you can leverage heat mapping technology to visualize your website visitors‘ clicks, taps, and scrolling behavior. These behaviors serve as strong indicators of what your visitors are looking for and where they’re getting stuck.

By identifying these opportunities for conversion optimization and improvement, you can then make iterations to your website design and copy in an effort to streamline the user experience.

Looking for more ideas on how you can use the insights you gather using Hotjar to strengthen your website? Here are a few suggestions from its website:

• Discover how visitors react to longer or shorter pages.
• Overhaul forms to generate more leads.
• Remove or rethink ignored content.
• Reveal anxieties about trust or confusing policies.

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My experience with HotJar: I use HotJar on most of my client sites. Seeing where clicks are happening and scroll depth helps me make digital marketing decisions. It’s really easy to use, and you can start for free. If you love the tool as much as I do, you’ll likely upgrade to get more marketing data.

16. Canva

Canva is an easy-to-use tool that allows both designers and non-designers to create designs and documents without a ton of technical knowledge.

Thanks to features like the drag-and-drop functionality, free icons and shapes, collections of fonts, and helpful templates, users are equipped with everything they need to pull off quality designs for presentations, social media, reports, and even business cards.

Canva even offers a Design School, where users can go to learn more about design 101, branding, color theory, design trends, typography, and much more.

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My experience with Canva: I use Canva every single week without fail. I think the functionality and benefit of the tool far outweigh the cost. I’m not a good designer, but with Canva, I can create something decent enough to post on my LinkedIn profile.

I use Canva to design proposal documents, create marketing collateral and guides, and I’ve even edited photographs with its AI features!

17. Evernote

Ever find yourself on the train or at a red light when a great idea strikes?

With Evernote, you can catalog your thoughts on any device to ensure that you don‘t forget to execute on it. And because Evernote syncs across all of your devices, it’s easy to jot down an idea when it hits, and then run with it when you get to your desk the next morning.

The free online workspace provides users with a platform for writing, collecting images and snippets from around the web, and communicating, collaborating, and sharing with colleagues.

Thanks to the tool’s screen-friendly layout, you can even transform your notes into a quick presentation for an impromptu meeting on your latest project.

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18. Manager.io

Want to save time and money? Who doesn’t?

Manager.io makes free accounting software for small businesses. Noteworthy features include: General ledgers, cash management, bank reconciliation, expense claims, accounts receivable, accounts payable, estimates and quotes, purchase orders, billing and invoicing, and so much more.

The folks at Manager.io place a heavy emphasis on design, and that’s highlighted through the functionality of the tool.

Unlike traditional accounting software, Manager.io doesn‘t require users to enter opening balances or configure tax variables before they can issue an invoice or record a payment.

In fact, getting started requires very few configurations, so you get straight to what’s important: your accounting needs.

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19. Google Analytics: G4

For small businesses, G4’s free services aim to simplify the way users view and improve the performance of their websites.

Not only does the solution provide you with the means necessary to report on your website’s progress each month, but these insights can also help you better understand your visitors so that you can create a marketing experience that keeps bringing them back.

My experience with G4: G4 is an absolute must for any business taking digital marketing seriously. I use it to track user behavior, top pages, conversions, revenue, and more. You must set G4 up, even if you’re not using it, because eventually, you will want to take your marketing seriously.

It’s completely free, and trust me, you will be glad for the data in G4. Plus, once it’s done, it’s done!

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20. HubSpot’s Free Website Grader

If you depend on your website for leads, you’ll want to know how it performs objectively. This is particularly important if you’re doing a lot of digital marketing, especially SEO. A healthy site has a better chance of ranking.

HubSpot’s free website grader is easy to use. Visit the website grader, add the web address, your email, and you’ll receive a report with your website’s performance that includes a breakdown of how you can improve it, and short tutorial videos to help.

My experience with the free website grader: I was impressed with this tool. As a marketer, I often examine my clients’ sites to determine their overall performance and health. Other tools like Google Page Insights provide this information, but I appreciated the video tips that HubSpot offered. This is an excellent resource for those who are DIY-ing their web performance.

If Hubspot is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.

Credit: Original article published here.

Our view at Stack - Simplify growth with an all-in-one platform. Powerful marketing, sales, and support automation. Integrated CMS. Scalable software. Crafted for customer experience.

I used to roll my eyes at the word “community.” It sounded like just another marketing buzzword. But after becoming actively involved in building and maintaining online communities around brands, I realized the immense value hidden behind what I once dismissed as a mere fad.

For example, here at HubSpot, building a strong community has enabled us to connect with our target audience on a much deeper level and foster growth. And it’s not just us — 86% of social media marketers believe having an active community is critical to brands’ success on social media in 2024. And an impressive 60% say their companies are already building such communities.

In this complete guide to community management, I’ll tell you everything you need to know, and include practical steps to integrate it effectively into your brand’s marketing strategy.

Why Should Your Brand Care About Community Management?

So, what makes community management so special? Why should you even care? To answer these questions, we need to go back in time a bit.

Communication in the business world used to be largely one-directional. Brands would blast out broad and generic marketing messages to a mass audience and then hope for the best. There wasn’t much room for two-way conversations or feedback from the audience.

Meanwhile, for most customers, it was all about the price. Wherever it was cheaper, that’s where they would buy. They didn’t care much for a deep connection or engagement with a brand.

But we live in a whole different world now.

Today, people expect not just to passively consume content or messages from brands but to interact with this content — and, by extension, with the brands themselves. In fact, consumers are more inclined to support businesses that engage with them on a personal level.

As Viktoriia Khutorna, communications specialist at Promova, puts it:

“People are likely to go to a company that not only sells at a reasonable price but also communicates humanly, jokes, supports, or honestly admits mistakes and goes to fix them.”

Enter community management.

Community management addresses these changing expectations head-on by building a space where your brand can interact with your audience, become an integral part of their lives, and make them feel heard and valued. And trust me, that’s a powerful tool in today’s competitive business landscape — I’ve seen it firsthand.

Community management enables your business to:

• Get feedback and gather ideas from your customers and audience through real conversations.
• Provide timely support to fans, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Increase brand and product awareness within your target demographic.
• Gain deeper insights into your customers’ preferences, expectations, and needs in regard to your products, content, services, and support.
• Build both individual and group relationships between your brand and your audience.
• Increase customer engagement with your brand, fostering trust and loyalty.
• Boost conversions and sales.
• Deliver value that extends beyond a product or service, like a sense of belonging.

Community management comes in many forms. In the next section, we’ll review them so you can determine the most appropriate approach for your brand.

Types of Community Management

There are many ways to look at the different forms of community management, but the easiest one is through the SPACES model. This framework, proposed by CMX, organizes community management strategies based on their primary function and the focus of the community in question.

The acronym “SPACES” represents six distinct types of community management:

• Support
• Product
• Acquisition
• Contribution
• Engagement
• Success

Here’s a breakdown of what each type entails.

Support Community Management

How it works: Support communities empower members to help each other out by answering questions or solving problems. These communities can be organized as an online forum, discussion board, or community website where members ask questions and fellow members answer them.

You can also offer other support resources within these communities. For example, I like to share frequently asked question (FAQ) documents that members can use to get quick answers.

Benefits: Reduced customer support costs, lower workload for your customer service teams, quicker resolution of common issues, and a greater sense of community among members.

Best for: Brands with in-depth product lines, like software or electronics companies, where users can benefit from sharing tips, tricks, and troubleshooting advice.

Community management examples: HubSpot Developers, Microsoft Community, and Fitbit Community.

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Product Ideation, Innovation, and Feedback Community Management

How it works: In this type of community, you create a safe space for your target audience to share thoughts and feedback on how you can improve your product and services or innovate. In a nutshell, it invites members to participate directly in the product development process.

Benefits: Improved product-market fit, continuous product improvement based on user feedback, and higher user satisfaction. Involving users in the development process also cultivates a sense of ownership in the brand, which can boost loyalty.

Best for: Consumer-oriented software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies where user feedback is crucial for iterative product development.

Community management examples: LEGO Ideas and Spotify Ideas.

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Acquisition and Advocacy Community Management

How it works: Acquisition and advocacy communities take the form of networks of brand ambassadors or advocates who help build awareness and promote your products and services through word of mouth, affiliate programs, or even social media.

Benefits: Increased brand awareness, lower customer acquisition costs, and higher conversion rates.

Best for: Almost every type of company can benefit from acquisition and advocacy communities, but from my experience, this form of community management is particularly effective for startups and brands launching new products or entering new markets.

Community management examples: Apple’s Distinguished Educators, Nearpod PioNears, Sephora Squad, and Lululemon Global Ambassadors.

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Content and Contribution Community Management

How it works: These communities encourage users to contribute content and ideas or participate in collaborative projects. Contributions can range from guest blog posts to media submissions (like photos and videos) to involvement in open-source software projects to listings on your website.

Dedicated team members typically curate the user-generated content to ensure it’s appropriate, meets quality standards, and aligns with the community guidelines.

Benefits: Increased member engagement, a strong sense of ownership among contributors, and more valuable content for the entire community.

Best for: Media companies, creative industries, and open-source projects that thrive from user-generated content.

Community management examples: GoPro Forums and Photoshop’s Lightroom community.

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Engagement Community Management (External and Internal)

How they work: There are two types of engagement communities: external and internal. External engagement communities connect individuals who have a shared interest related to a company or brand. For instance, if I run a company that sells outdoor gear, I could create a community of hiking enthusiasts.

Conversely, internal engagement communities bring together a brand’s internal contributors, such as employees, partners, vendors, or suppliers. These communities can serve as a hub for sharing internal news or resources or promoting the company’s culture. A Slack channel made up of an international company’s remote workforce is a great example.

Benefits: External engagement provides people with a sense of belonging that can lead to a stronger connection with your brand. These communities can also organically increase brand awareness via word-of-mouth recommendations.

Internal engagement communities can help align staff members with the company’s goals and values, improve morale and retention, enhance collaboration, and strengthen partnerships with suppliers, vendors, distributors, and other business partners.

Best for: External engagement communities can benefit any type of business. But they’re especially great for lifestyle brands or companies with a strong brand identity that resonates with a particular lifestyle or set of values (e.g., fitness or beauty). Internal communities are beneficial for larger organizations with many departments or teams spread across different regions or countries.

Community management examples: Internal: HubSpot’s Slack community, which is a platform for employees to connect, share ideas, and ask questions. External: HubSpot’s community for inbound marketers, Nike’s Run Club, and Sephora’s Beauty Insider Community.

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Success Community Engagement Management

How it works: As the name suggests, success communities are aimed at helping users succeed with a particular product or service or achieve desired outcomes — such as by sharing best practices, user experiences, and success stories.

Benefits: Greater customer satisfaction, reduced churn rate, and valuable testimonials that can attract new members.

Best for: SaaS, business-to-business (B2B), and service-oriented businesses where product success is closely tied to continued product use.

Community management examples: Salesforce’s Trailblazer Community and WeightWatchers Community.

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How to Build a Community Management Strategy: A Step-By-Step Guide

We’ve looked at the main types of community management. Let me now walk you through my step-by-step process for crafting a community management strategy that gets results.

1. Define your objectives.

The first thing to do when building a community management strategy is to define your primary objectives. Ask yourself: “What is it I want to achieve by building and maintaining a community?”

For example, I’ve built and managed online communities focused on:

• Increasing brand awareness.
• Gathering product feedback for product development.
• Increasing engagement.
• Enhancing customer support.
• Building a network of brand advocates.
• Increasing traffic to a website.
• Increasing customer satisfaction and retention.
• Boosting sales and conversions.

Remember, these are just examples. Your objectives will be unique to your brand or project.

Regardless, defining them upfront helps you lay the groundwork for the entire strategy. Everything from the choice of platform to the type of content you create and share with your community will be geared toward achieving the objectives you’ve defined.

2. Identify your audience.

After defining your primary objectives, the next thing to do is identify and understand the audience.

That means gathering data on your current customers or target demographic, including:

• Demographics. Who are they (age, gender, profession, etc.)?
• Psychographics. What are their values, attitudes, and lifestyles?
• Behaviors. How do they interact with brands and content online? What social media platforms do they use?
• Needs and challenges. What are they seeking to gain from being part of a community? What challenges are they hoping to overcome?

To gather this intel, I use various tools and resources, including market research, social media analytics, and customer surveys.

Taking time to understand the target audience will help you:

• Choose the most effective channels for community building.
• Determine the most appropriate style and tone of communication.
• Tailor content and activities to their needs and interests.
• Predict and manage any potential challenges that might arise within the community.

3. Choose the right channels.

Next, choose the channels where the communities you’re hoping to build and nurture will live. That could include social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, a forum on a brand’s website, Slack channels, or even offline meetups.

When choosing the best platform for your target community, consider these factors:

• Audience preferences. Ensure the platform(s) align with the way your current customers or target audience prefers to communicate. For example, I might choose to focus my efforts on TikTok if I have a young target audience, Instagram if I’m going for a broad audience, or LinkedIn if I’m targeting a B2B crowd.
• Objectives and type of interaction. Remember those objectives we talked about earlier? They play a big role here, too, as do the type of interaction you desire from your audience. ​​For example, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are fantastic for real-time engagement and boosting brand awareness.
• Control. Another critical consideration is control over the user experience and data management. Hosting a community on your own website, for example, offers more control than using a third-party social media platform.
• Platform tools and features. Consider the community management tools and resources each option offers. For example, if you’re hoping to engage your audience via quizzes, polls, or live chats, focus on platforms that have these features.

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For in-depth discussions, user-generated content, and gathering valuable feedback, dedicated forums on your brand website are the way to go.

4. Set your targets.

With the primary objectives set, the audience understood, and the platform(s) chosen, the next step is to set targets. These targets will naturally flow from your primary objectives.

For example:

• If the primary goal is to increase engagement, a sample target could be to increase the average comments per social media post by 15% in the next three months.
• If the goal is to gather feedback in order to improve a product, a potential target could be to collect and respond to at least 100 customer feedback submissions each month.

Needless to say, it’s crucial to set realistic targets. Here are my top tips for setting achievable goals:

Consider industry benchmarks.

This entails looking at similar communities from other brands in your industry and their average past performance. That gives a solid baseline to set your own targets on.

For example, if historical data indicates that similar communities typically see a 10% month-over-month increase in forum participation, you could set a comparable target for your community.

Run your own experiment.

A great alternative to using industry data is to run your own experiments and then use your findings to inform your targets.

Say my primary objective is to increase customer engagement. I could track relevant engagement metrics (brand mentions, likes, shares, and comments) for a set period (like 4- 8 weeks). At the end of this period, I would average out engagement rates to set a baseline. I would then use this baseline to establish an achievable goal for the next period and then update my targets as time passes and I collect more data.

In the course of this experiment, I would also do A/B tests to see what approach resonates most with my followers. In other words, what drives the most engagement? For example, do they comment more on funny memes or insightful industry articles? These findings can then guide future decisions.

Start small.

Building a thriving community takes time and consistent effort. Setting unrealistic goals could lead to discouragement and hinder progress. That’s why I always start with small goals and gradually escalate them as my community grows.

For example, instead of aiming to double the number of user-generated content submissions (photos, videos, and reviews) on your platform in the first month, you could target a 15% increase each month for the first three months.

Align targets with your company resources.

When setting targets, make sure they’re aligned with your resources, including time, budget, and staff. It’s great to aim high, but at the same time, it’s important to remain realistic about what’s achievable with your current resources.

For example, if you’re a solopreneur managing a community on a limited budget, you could set a target of responding to each comment within 48 hours rather than a more ambitious target of 12 hours.

5. Post regularly and engage with your audience.

Consistent posting and active engagement are crucial to keeping your community vibrant and sustaining interest among members.

To help with this, you can develop a content calendar to ensure a steady stream of new content for your audience to engage and interact with.

Depending on your goals and the type of community, content could include:

• Blog posts or articles. Establish yourself as a thought leader or authority in your field.
• Polls and quizzes. Gather valuable insights.
• Discussion prompts. Spark conversation.
• Contests and giveaways. Encourage member participation.

In addition to keeping your community lively, regular posting helps maintain visibility in your members’ feeds, keeping your brand on top of their minds.

That said, life happens, and you can‘t be online every minute. Don’t let that silence your community. Tools like HubSpot’s Marketing Hub let you schedule posts in advance, ensuring there‘s always something for your audience to engage with, even if you’re unavailable.

Besides posting, remember to interact with your people.

Show them that they aren’t just numbers and that they’re valued by:

• “Liking” their comments.
• Upvoting their forum posts where appropriate.
• Responding to their questions or concerns.

If you’re primarily managing your community on social media, consider following back your biggest brand advocates — if you deem it appropriate — or interacting with the content your audience shares (even if it’s not directly related to your company). It’s a small gesture that shows you support their interests and builds stronger relationships.

By actively engaging with your community, you not only make them feel valued but also create more opportunities to glean valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and challenges.

6. Measure your results.

Finally, it’s time to measure the results. This lets you know whether what you’re doing is working or whether you need to change tactics.

But before we jump in, here’s some advice from my own experience: Don‘t get hung up too much on quantitative data. Numbers can’t always capture the magic of a thriving community. Additionally, building a vibrant community takes time, so be patient and focus on the long game.

Now, let‘s talk about how to measure those results. It’s easier than you might think. Here are my go-to methods:

Social Listening

Social listening means monitoring your social media accounts and other digital platforms to understand what people are saying about your brand and/or its products and services. It involves keeping track of any mentions, keywords, or discussions related to your brand (or those of your competitors). Social listening lets you know whether your community management efforts are paying off. If more people are talking positively about your brand, then you know you’re doing something right.

Platform Analytics

Many community management platforms have built-in tools you can use to measure progress and success. For example, I use tools like X Analytics, Instagram Insights, and Facebook Analytics to get direct insights into the engagement and reach of my posts and interactions on these platforms.

Analytics Tools

If your platform of choice doesn‘t include an analytics tool, or if you’re looking for deeper analysis, consider a third-party tool or platform. HubSpot’s Social Media Management tools, Google Analytics, Databox, and Sprout Social are some of the options I use. They provide valuable data that helps me refine my strategy and maximize my community’s impact.

Community Managers: Who They Are and Why You Need Them

According to Joe Kevens, founder of B2B SaaS Reviews, “A community needs to be actively managed to create and sustain the ongoing engagement community members seek.”

He adds: “Without sufficient community management, you run the risk of your community discussions going stale and your user engagement dropping — or losing them from your community altogether.”

This is where a community manager — the person responsible for overseeing your community management efforts across various platforms — comes in.

If your business has the resources, consider hiring a community manager. Depending on the community you build, you might need more than one, each focusing on a different area. HubSpot’s research shows that 60% of brands have a dedicated community manager.

What is the Role of a Community Manager?

James Watts, community expert and founder of teach.io, says that the role of a community manager is “to be the brand’s voice, ears and heart within the community. They’re there to welcome and help people, start discussions and address any concerns.”

Here’s a look at the many hats a community manager wears:

• Develops and implements strategies for building, growing, and nurturing a community.
• Creates engaging content that resonates with the community.
• Responds to comments and questions and actively encourages member participation.
• Acts as a liaison between the community and the brand.
• Maintains the voice of your brand in all interactions.
• Organizes relevant online events like webinars or contests to keep communities excited and boost engagement.
• Tracks and analyzes metrics to measure success.
• Enforces community guidelines, ensuring respectful interactions and removing inappropriate content.
• Stays current on trends to identify new opportunities for content creation or engagement.

What are the Traits of a Community Manager?

Ready to bring a community manager on board? Here are the key qualities I recommend looking for to ensure you hire the best possible candidate:

• Authenticity and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, i.e., ability to articulate ideas clearly or respond to questions and comments appropriately.
• Empathy toward the needs and feelings of community members.
• Strong time management and organization skills to ensure all aspects of community management run smoothly.
• Flexibility and adaptability to new trends or new audience expectations.
• Creativity and problem-solving ability.
• Patience and resilience (as building a successful community takes time).
• Familiarity with the technical specifications and functionalities of different community engagement platforms.
• Ability to interpret data and metrics to track progress or measure success.
• Passion for the brand and industry to foster more authentic interactions.

Where to Find a Community Manager

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The good news is there are multiple places to find great community manager candidates. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Community Club. This nonprofit offers an excellent resource for connecting with experienced community managers.
• CMX Hub. This website includes a job board where you can post and search for community management positions. It’s especially valuable for finding candidates who are specifically looking to grow in these roles.
• LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to explore profiles of potential community managers, their experiences, and endorsements. You can also post your own job openings and join numerous groups dedicated to community management where professionals discuss industry trends, share advice, and exchange job opportunities.
• Facebook Groups. Facebook is home to community management groups, some of which are location-based while others are industry-specific. These groups are excellent for posting job openings, asking for recommendations, and connecting directly with potential hires.
• Upwork. Upwork is great if you are looking to hire a community manager on a contract or freelance basis. You can create a job post that outlines the project you’re hiring for and the qualifications you need.

Community management, on the other hand, involves building and nurturing a brand’s community across multiple channels and mediums — both offline and online.

Social media community engagement is one of the easiest forms of community management to implement because all you need to do is:

• Sign up on your social media platform of choice.
• Gain followers (some of which will naturally be your current and potential customers).
• Interact and engage with them.

According to HubSpot’s research, Facebook is the most effective platform for building an active community, with 48% of social media marketers who build social communities putting it in their top three. Also popular are YouTube (46%), Instagram (40%), TikTok (28%), and X (20%).

Why is Social Media Community Management Important?

Building a community on social media can provide numerous benefits for your brand. Let’s look at a few.

1. It increases brand visibility and awareness.

One of the biggest benefits of building social media communities that I’ve seen is that it increases brand awareness. In fact, social media is one of the top ways that people discover new products in the modern day. HubSpot’s research found that 41% of Gen Zers and 34% of millennials said that social media is among their top three preferred channels for discovering new products. And a third of consumers have discovered a new product using social media in the past three months.

With over 5 billion people using social media, the potential reach is staggering. Actively managing and nurturing a community on social media allows you to tap into this huge audience and make your brand known among them.

2. It humanizes your brand.

Social media is the chance to ditch corporate formalities and showcase the human side of your business. Engaging in real conversations, replying to messages and comments, and being authentic helps build a stronger personal connection with your audience. They feel like they’re interacting with real people rather than a faceless entity.

3. It cultivates brand loyalty and advocacy.

Consistently delivering valuable content, actively listening to feedback, and showing that you care about their needs will help you cultivate a tribe of loyal customers. And here’s the best part: Loyal followers are one of your biggest assets. They’ll recommend your products or services to others, driving sales and boosting your brand’s reputation organically.

4. It unlocks customer insights.

Social media is a goldmine of useful data and information. I like to think of it as getting a front-row seat to your audience’s preferences, pain points, and feedback. These insights can help you refine your products and services, tailor your marketing strategies, and provide solutions that truly resonate with your audience or cater to their needs.

5. It drives traffic and conversions.

Social media community management is a powerful tool for conversions. Organic interactions with followers create natural opportunities to direct them to your website, blog, or landing pages. For example, by strategically inserting relevant links within comments or posts, I create a seamless transition for my audience to explore my offerings and take the next step in their customer journey.

Community Management Versus Social Media Community Management: Why You Need Both

So, do you need community management if you already have an active and engaged community on social media? I’ve often encountered this question, and my answer is always a resounding yes.

You need both because:

• They offer complementary strengths: Social media platforms are excellent for broad reach and initial engagement but often lack the depth needed for stronger, long-term relationships. Personally, I’ve found that they offer a perfect springboard directing users to more focused communities, like forums on websites, which are ideal for deeper interactions. Conversely, insights gained from these dedicated communities can inform your social media strategy, ensuring content is resonant and targeted.
• Audiences have different preferences: Different segments of your brand audience might prefer different modes of engagement. For example, some might be active on social media, while others might prefer other niche platforms, like dedicated forums. So, using social media alone might cause you to miss out on meaningful engagements and connections with a significant portion of your audience. By implementing both strategies, you make sure no segment of your audience is overlooked and that your brand maximizes its engagement potential across all platforms.

Best Practices for Community Management

Effective community management can transform your followers into loyal customers and potential brand advocates. Here are some useful tips for managing your community effectively on social media platforms.

1. Establish clear guidelines.

Whenever I’m managing a community, one of the first things I do is set firm rules and guidelines for all members and contributors. These guidelines typically cover everything from the type of content allowed to the tone of comments and the handling of disagreements.

Clear guidelines help maintain a safe and respectful environment where each member feels comfortable interacting or engaging.

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2. Encourage members to interact.

A community thrives on interaction beyond just you and your audience. As Hellen Katherine, senior marketing and PR manager at MG Empower, explains:

“Community isn’t solely formed through brand-to-consumer interactions. The interactions among consumers themselves are truly significant elements of a strategy, with the brand serving as the platform or facilitator for these engagements.”

In any brand community I’m managing, I’m always trying to encourage member-to-member interactions. For example, I often highlight any standout posts or comments from members and then encourage others to respond to them.

3. Recognize and reward participation.

An important part of managing a successful community is showing appreciation for your members. It shows you value their time and commitment to your brand.

There are many ways to recognize and reward participation. For instance, try to welcome each member to a community personally. You can thank them for joining and ask what you can do to make their experience a great one.

You also can keep track of the most active members and then acknowledge their contributions via special mentions or gifts from time to time.

4. Personalize your interactions.

Move beyond generic responses — let your brand’s personality shine through your interactions. I like to use a conversational tone in posts and replies to show the audience that there are real people behind the brand. I also address people by their names and try to personalize every interaction.

There are many other ways to humanize your brand. For example, you can share behind-the-scenes content to give members a peek into the brand’s operations and its staff or share personal stories that resonate with community members.

5. Be transparent and authentic.

Try to be as honest and authentic as possible in your interactions with community members. Address any negative comments, feedback, or challenges openly and acknowledge mistakes when they happen. Being authentic builds trust and can help foster stronger connections with your audience.

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6. Use technology to your advantage.

Many community management platforms, including social media, offer features to streamline your workflow and enhance engagement. Whether it’s polls or live chats, take full advantage of them to deliver value to your community and maximize engagement.

7. Respond promptly.

Timeliness is critical in community management. Therefore, another important thing I do within communities I’m overseeing or managing is to make sure to address comments, concerns, and questions from audience members as quickly as possible. This shows members I’m attentive to their needs.

According to Jan Crewe, a social media community manager at ICUC, responding to incoming comments fast is key for building relationships with your audience. She says that “this increases the chance of subsequent responses, extending the interaction.” It also allows you to address any pressing issues before they snowball.

8. Celebrate milestones with your community.

Celebrate any milestones or achievements, both yours and those of your community members. Whether it’s attaining a certain number of followers or members, the anniversary of the community’s founding, or individual achievements of community members, sharing such moments can strengthen the sense of community and deepen the connection your audience feels to your brand.

9. Maintain your brand voice at all times.

It’s important to maintain your brand voice when managing a community. Your brand voice is what makes your business unique and ensures it’s identifiable to your members and audience. If your brand is known for being easy-going, this personality should be reflected in all your interactions and content.

10. Embrace continuous learning.

Community management is constantly evolving. Stay open to learning new ideas and best practices and incorporating them into your strategy.

I try to stay updated on industry trends, changes in social media algorithms, and evolving audience preferences. This proactive approach allows me to adapt my strategies as needed and consequently keep my communities engaged and relevant.

Community Management Examples

1. Gymshark

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Gymshark is a UK fitness apparel retailer that has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade. A big part of this growth has to do with its impressive community management strategy.

Here’s a breakdown of how the company has managed to cultivate and nurture a thriving community of fitness enthusiasts:

• Social media engagement. Gymshark uses various social media platforms, including Instagram, X, and YouTube, to engage with its community. It maintains a consistent brand voice and tone across all channels, which helps community members feel connected regardless of where they interact with it.
• Influencer collaboration. The brand often partners with fitness influencers who embody its values. These influencers actively promote the brand by participating in both online and offline campaigns, attending brand events, or just wearing its apparel during workouts. That increases brand awareness and boosts its credibility.
• Fitness challenges and competitions. Gymshark often hosts challenges for its community. An example is “Gymshark66,” a 66-day challenge that encourages followers to pursue, achieve, and share fitness goals. Such challenges increase engagement and strengthen the connection that community members feel toward the brand.
• Global pop-up events. The company regularly holds global meetups and pop-up events that allow community members to engage directly with the brand, each other, and some of their favorite influencers; try out its products; or participate in live workouts.
• Responsive community management team. The brand’s community management team is known for its prompt responses to customer inquiries or comments on social media. That builds trust.
• User-generated content. The brand encourages user-generated content through special hashtags or contests. It then showcases these submissions on its social media channels or website, crediting the creators. That creates a sense of ownership and belonging among community members.

Via these strategies, Gymshark has cultivated a very loyal and engaged community, helping drive success.

2. LEGO

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LEGO, the construction toy production company, is another example of a brand that exemplifies great community management.

Here are some key elements of LEGO’s community management strategy:

• LEGO Ideas platform: LEGO’s most notable community management initiative is the LEGO Ideas platform. Here, fans can submit their own set designs, which the community votes on. Winning designs could be made into official LEGO sets, giving fans a direct role in product development. This fosters a sense of ownership and deepens connection with the brand.
• LEGO events: Lego regularly hosts live events and workshops in its stores, where members can interact with other members, participate in cool building challenges, and generally celebrate their love for LEGO together. Again, this helps deepen members’ connection with the brand.
• LEGO ambassador network: This community network connects adult fans of LEGO (AFOLs) with one another and directly with LEGO through ambassadors who represent local fan communities. Through the network, ambassadors gather insights, share news, and relay community sentiment back to the brand, which it then uses to shape community activities and even business strategies.
• Social media: LEGO also has a strong presence on social media channels, such as Instagram, TikTok, and X, where it interacts and engages with fans through initiatives like interactive polls, themed challenges, and user-generated content showcases.

Through these programs and strategies, LEGO actively maintains and nurtures a vibrant, engaged community that supports the brand’s continued growth and evolution.

Start Building Your Community Today

The power of community management is undeniable. It humanizes your brand, increases brand awareness, provides valuable customer insights, and enhances trust in and loyalty to your brand — all of which are vital ingredients for long-term success.

In this day and age, I think it’s an element that every brand must incorporate into their overall business strategy. So, don’t wait any longer. Use the knowledge, tools, and strategies explored here to craft a winning community management plan.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

If Hubspot is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.

Credit: Original article published here.

Our view at Stack - Simplify growth with an all-in-one platform. Powerful marketing, sales, and support automation. Integrated CMS. Scalable software. Crafted for customer experience.

As a content growth and innovation leader for HubSpot, I know how important it is to find impactful ways to expand your brand’s reach. In my experience, one of the more effective and underrated channels for marketers is podcast advertising.

Outside of work, I’m an avid podcast listener. I’ve been persuaded to test out a new product recommended by my favorite hosts. That’s especially true if I’ve been listening to a show for years. There’s a degree of parasocial trust that pushes me over the edge.

So podcast advertising can be effective, but knowing where to start with podcast advertising can be confusing. To help, I’ve gathered my personal experiences and insider tips from HubSpot’s podcasting team into this comprehensive guide of everything you need to know about podcast advertising.

Table of Contents

• How does podcast advertising work?
• Benefits of Podcast Advertising
• Podcast Advertising Terminology
• Types of Podcast Ads
• How to Advertise on Podcasts
• My Top 12 Tips For Successful Podcast Advertising

How does podcast advertising work?

I think of podcast advertising as similar to other forms of advertising. First, I identify podcasts that fit my target audience and demographics and negotiate a deal. From there, my team creates the ad content, and the host inserts it into the episode.

Podcast ads usually describe the featured product or service and often include the host’s personal experience. Many ads also include promo code-based discounts for listeners. When I think of examples in my life, Blue Apron comes to mind. I heard their ads dozens of times on my favorite NPR podcasts with a nice discount if I use their code.

The host experience is one of the biggest differences in podcast advertising. My ads might be recorded audio or a script the host reads and inserts their experience into to add social proof.

You can also use self-service advertising tools like Spotify’s Ad Studio, which helps produce and launch podcast ads targeted to the right audience on its streaming platform across multiple shows at once. Once an ad is published, teams use metrics such as listens, downloads, and conversions to track ad performance.

Benefits of Podcast Advertising

I’ve found that podcasts are rarely the first marketing channel marketers think of, but they’re one of my favorites. Let’s go through my top reasons for using podcast advertising in my marketing strategy.

Increased Brand Awareness

Podcasts represent a huge potential audience and have become an increasingly popular part of consumer’s lives. According to Edison Research, 98 million people listen to podcasts weekly.

More people than ever are engaging with podcasts during their daily routines — like driving to work, working out, and cleaning around the house — making podcasts an excellent medium for advertising.

Targeted Audience

I find that podcasts are beneficial for accessing niche audiences. For example, the demographics of true crime podcasts are primarily younger women. Many successful shows create very specific niches to reach their ideal listeners and build a community of individuals with particular interests and behaviors.

Higher Engagement

As a marketer and a regular human being, I know advertisements can be an unwelcome interruption. Balancing that reality with reaching more of my target audience can be tricky. Podcasts help solve that problem.

Most podcast listeners understand that advertising funds their favorite podcast shows and see podcast advertising as supporting small creators. As a result, 46% of listeners don’t find podcast advertising intrusive.

Increased Credibility

In my experience, long-form content helps build trust. Unlike influencers who leverage short-form content like TikTok videos, podcast hosts hold their audience’s attention for an hour or more.

That extra time allows them to build solid relationships and provide me with improved brand perception by association when I advertise with them. It’s a form of social proof.

Podcasts provide a unique selling point for advertisers. Audiences are often connected with the host on an emotional level. That means that when the host reads my ad copy, the listeners are already predisposed to trust the message. It’s a bit like an endorsement from a celebrity or trusted friend.

Case in point, I love to listen to The Splendid Table from America Public Media. When the host, Francis Lam, makes a recommendation about a cooking product or technique, I take note.

Measurable Results

With 43% of advertisers worried about measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, we need data. One of my favorite podcast ad benefits is the ability to see how many people listened while the ad was running and use unique links to attribute clicks and conversions to each episode.

Podcast Advertising Terminology

When I first jumped into the world of podcast advertising, there was jargon I had no idea about. So, before you dip your toes in, I want to share some terms I wish I had known sooner. Let’s explore that vocabulary.

• CPM rate — “cost per mille,” the flat standard cost advertisers pay for every 1,000 impressions of an ad.
• Host-read ad — an ad voiced by the host of a podcast.
• Dynamic ad insertion — a self-service advertising method offered by many streaming services that uses software to insert a pre-recorded ad into podcast audio automatically.
• Contextual targeting — a dynamic ad placement method using software and contextual data to match the listener’s mood or actions. For example, ads for mental health services are placed on a relationship or self-care podcast.
• Programmatic ad — pre-recorded ads voiced by someone other than the host, such as an announcer or voice actor. These ads are often placed in multiple shows with dynamic insertion.
• Ad placements — when an ad takes place during the podcast episode. Pre-Roll Ads play before the podcast starts, Mid-Roll Ads are in the middle like an intermission, and Post-Roll Ads play after the episode ends.
• Live-read ad — an ad performed live by the host during a podcast episode instead of being scripted and pre-recorded.
• CTA — “call to action,” which is the hook of the ad, the action you want the listener to take. Most include URLs or promotional codes used to track the ad’s performance.
• Downloads — the number of times listeners have downloaded a podcast episode. This is the most common metric used to determine the show’s potential reach.

Types of Podcast Ads

In addition to knowing industry terms, I find it helpful to understand how different types of ads work. Here are the ones I’ve found most effective, along with examples of each.

Native Ad

Native ads are created by the advertiser and integrate seamlessly into the content of the episode. I like to use these for top-of-funnel campaigns and when I’m working with self-service streaming placements.

Typically, these short audio or voiceover clips run for 15 to 60 seconds and describe a product, service, or promotion you want to feature. They’re often placed as pre-roll or mid-roll ads and might be introduced by the host as “a word from our sponsor.”

Toyota created an ad for the RAV4 with a narrator describing several vehicle features but didn’t use the podcast name in the sponsorship message. By only saying, “This episode is brought to you by,” the ad can be used on many different podcasts.

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content (also called branded segments) is a lot like a verbal version of a blog post and can even be a complete podcast episode. Topics need to be relevant to the podcast and my company or industry, so I work with the podcast’s staff to brainstorm and create content that works for everyone.

While it’s more involved than native ads, I like to use these when a podcast overlaps heavily with my target audience because this can become an ongoing multi-season relationship.

The content doesn’t have to mention your product or brand directly, but the hosts will at least note who sponsored the episode and include a brief blurb about it.

One example is the Fresh Invest show created by Morning Brew Podcasts and sponsored by Fidelity. The host breaks down the investing environment and provides listeners with solid advice and actionable tips. As the sponsor, Fidelity receives brand mentions with the right target audience and (most importantly) at the right time — when the audience’s interest in investing is high.

Paid Interview

This type of sponsored content directly involves me or another expert in my company. We pay the podcast to interview an expert we chose on a topic we select.

This gives our company experts a great opportunity to spread brand awareness and showcase their expertise. In turn, the podcast gets sponsorship money, a credibility boost, and interesting interview content about a topic related to its own mission.

To me, it’s a powerful blend of advertising, brand building, and thought leadership.

In this episode of Freakonomics Radio, host Stephen J. Dubner interviews Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the possibilities and risks of AI. Nadella provides his insights for the audience, placing Microsoft at the forefront of the AI discussion for listeners.

I find that the paid interview approach can be quite valuable when you’re using a demand generation strategy. These interviews give your leadership time to provide much-needed context and explain why there’s an urgent need for the product that the market might not already understand.

Product Placement

We‘ve all seen brand placements on TV and in movies. For example, the actors drive a specific brand of car and mention features as part of the script. That’s product placement, and you can do it in a podcast, too. The hosts will casually mention your product as part of the discussion.

Totinos was placed centrally in a “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” podcast. While Totinos were constantly discussed, they still didn’t come across as too salesy or aggressive to listeners.

The hosts snacked on Totino’s pizza rolls while playing games revolving around food and having random discussions about life.

Direct Response Ad

Direct response ads are a type of native ad that combines product placement. The podcast host reads your script but then adds a call to action, like clicking a link on the podcast homepage or using a coupon code.

I like using these ad spots because they are host-read and can benefit from the listener feeling like they are getting a solid recommendation from the host.

On this episode of Julia Louis-Drayfus’s podcast, “Wiser Than Me,” you can hear multiple direct-response ads at the 27:00 minute mark featuring brands like Hairstory and BetterHelp.

Both of these ads include show-specific discount codes that listeners can use to receive a discount when they try the brand’s products and services.

Now that you‘re familiar with the types of podcast ads available to you, let’s discuss how I find and sponsor podcasts.

How to Advertise on Podcasts

Whenever I have a new campaign to plan, I follow these steps to help ensure a successful podcast advertising campaign.

Step 1. Determine the type of ad you want to run.

There are several ad formats to consider, and the best option for you depends mostly on your budget and goals. To determine what type of ad to run, I look at budget, goal, and timeline.

Budget

Not every ad can be a long-form production. I need to match my available budget to the type of ad that will give me the best return within that number. Host-read ads and sponsored content can get expensive quickly.

For a small budget, I recommend starting with programmatic native ads. Those are ads you produce and upload to a library for placement into podcast episodes through self-service software in a streaming tool like Spotify Ad Studio.

These are less costly, and streaming services have greatly improved their use of contextual data to find more relevant placements for your ads. These ads also work best for me when my goal is more centered on generating brand awareness than conversions or when I don’t have a specific target podcast in mind.

Goal

What I’m trying to accomplish with my ad is critical to my decision-making. If I want to build brand awareness, sponsored content or a paid interview work well. However, if I need direct action from the audience, a direct-response ad is usually a better choice.

Timeline

How quickly an ad needs to run is a big part of my decision process. Sponsored content takes a lot longer to produce than a host-read ad. Likewise, arranging schedules for a paid interview can take significant time. Even native ads can be time-consuming with voice actors and post-production work.

I need to balance the combination of time I have with my budget and goals to create the best outcome.

Step 2. Select the best ad placement for your campaign.

Next, consider your ad placement, which can impact your budget and ROI.

Overall, I’ve found that more people listen to the first few minutes of a podcast, but pre-roll ads have a lower CPM rate because they’re easy to skip. As such, these work well for top-of-funnel campaigns and building brand awareness.

On the other hand, I find that mid-roll ad placements (ads in the middle of the episode) have a higher CPM as they reach a more engaged audience who are likely to follow a CTA. I choose mid-roll placements if I’m trying to drive website visits, purchases, or free trial sign-ups.

Step 3. Write your script.

Now that I’ve determined what type of ad to run and determined the placement, it’s time to tackle the messaging. Even if I’m doing host-read ads, the on-air talent needs talking points from me to stay on point with my goals for the campaign.

Here are the elements I include when writing podcast ad scripts.

Length

While 30- or 60-second ads may feel standard, it’s important to tailor the length to fit the message, ad type, and budget.

Average CPM Rates

• 30-second ad placement. $18.
• 60-second ad placement. $25.

Once again, I consider my overall campaign objective here. If I’m simply wanting to get my brand’s name out there, then shorter ads can get the job done. However, if I want the listener to carefully consider my product and take action, then I would choose a longer ad so I could write a script that covers their pain points and the value my company offers.

Directions for Voice Actors

No matter how perfect my script copy is, I need to make sure I have the right people reading it and that those folks have instructions about what I want. Voice actors need direction just like live-action actors do.

The two big points I always share are tone and voice description. I include details about the emotions and style of the copy for the voice actor. Examples of tone include bright, cheerful, serious, urgent, or friendly.

I also need to make sure we hire the right voice actor. A voice description helps your staff pick the right person. While voiceover actors often have different “characters” they can create when reading your ads, we still need to ensure that the person chosen can meet gender and age styles, such as a female-sounding millennial voice.

Hook

Every script needs an attention-grabbing statement that resonates with my audience and keeps them from fast-forwarding through the ad. I find asking questions or describing the listener’s pain points to be effective.

Personal Story

Using a personal story about how my product solves the listener’s problem helps make a connection. Humor, education, and emotion are the top three storytelling tools I use when writing scripts.

I recommend choosing your method based on what fits your brand, product, and campaign. For example, if I’m advertising a medication, I might take the emotional and empathetic approach, whereas humor could work better for products like snacks or entertainment.

Call-to-Action

A call-to-action (CTA) tells the listener what action to take next, like visiting my website or signing up for a free trial. I like to create unique URLs or offer codes for podcast CTAs because they encourage action and help me track the results of each campaign.

Step 4. Record and finalize the ad.

Once the script has been finalized, it has to be recorded.

For host-reads, you just need to get the script to the podcast host. But if you will be recording the ad, you’ll select your voiceover actors, arrange for recording and post-production work, and ship the ad to the host or streaming service.

Depending on your company, you may have an in-house production team that handles all of those details for you. If you’re a small shop or solo entrepreneur, you’ll need to manage those details yourself.

Streaming platforms like Spotify have their own tools to help record native ads. However, if you record the script yourself, you’ll need a quiet place and a reasonable microphone. To hire a voice actor on a budget, check out platforms like Casting Call Club, where new voice actors are willing to work for a small fee or no cost because they need credits to add to their resumes.

Ask your voice talent to provide a WAV file, as that is the most commonly used format for native ad production.

Post-production combines voice, properly licensed music, and sound effects to create a finished ad that matches the exact time needed and meets the audio specifications, such as stereo or mono, the bit rate, and doesn’t have any unwanted background noise.

I usually use an audio producer for this, but it can be DIY’d for more straightforward ads using tools like Adobe Audition or Audacity.

Once you upload the audio file to the streaming service or podcast host, the ad will be placed in a podcast episode or multiple episodes by the host or the streaming service’s dynamic insertion technology.

1. Understand podcast demographics.

I find that podcast demographics don’t change drastically from show to show; they’re more of a fine-tuning of a larger audience.

According to HubSpot’s former corporate marketing manager, Sam Balter, the overall podcast audience is mostly made up of “affluent, educated millennials“ and is a ”good audience for brands pretty much regardless of what show you’re on.“

Most podcast listeners are old enough to make purchasing decisions and have enough income to make those purchases.

Alanah Joseph, head of creator partnerships, talks about how important understanding the show’s listeners is for successful ad campaigns.

“We’re looking at the ad from the point of view of a listener. Does the ad feel like it’s an authentic part of the show? Is it enjoyable to listen to?” Joseph postulates.

The more ads match the content of the show, the more likely listeners will stay engaged.

2. Get familiar with podcast advertising prices.

Figuring out podcast advertising pricing can be confusing at first. There are huge differences in pricing, and prices don’t always reflect the show’s desirability.

In my experience, though, podcast advertising tends to be more transparent than you might think. Most podcasters and podcast networks use the same standardized formula to calculate advertising costs.

To get a rough idea of ad costs for a specific show before reaching out to a podcast team or network, I like to look at the show’s previous episodes and plug that data into this formula.

Using CPM breaks numbers down into easier-to-digest chunks per thousand listeners so you can more easily compare numbers. On average, Balter says most podcast ad rates tend to run between $10 and $50 CPM, making it relatively affordable for even small brands, although very popular podcasts will cost more.

That means a podcast with 10,000 downloads would charge around $100 to $500 for an ad placement.

However, when I’m running more intensive promotions, like a fully sponsored podcast episode, I find formulas aren’t accurate. Costs are much more variable for long-form advertising types.

3. Choose shows related to your industry or brand.

My best-performing ads relate to the podcast series or episode because listeners are more likely to remain engaged and respond to the CTA, especially if they identify with the pain points you solve. As a result, I always aim for relevance if I’m manually reaching out to shows instead of using a self-service streaming option.

For example, if I wanted to place an ad about a B2B recruiting service, I would look for a podcast that discusses human resources for B2B companies.

The same principle applies to B2C products. This episode of TASTE opens with an ad for Taste Europe’s French butter, highlighting its uses, benefits, and why it’s the choice of many professional chefs. The ad is a perfect fit for listeners who come to TASTE to get their fill of food and culture.

I look for shows where the host would use and love my product. If the host would love it, there’s a strong chance it will be a good fit with their audience.

4. Leverage competitor analysis in your research.

I like using competitive analysis to help me discover what the other guys are doing. By examining what brands similar to mine are trying, I can find opportunities to gain an advantage over competitors.

I’ve found that watching where my competitors advertise inspires me in my search and helps me narrow my focus by identifying the types of shows and topics that could work for me. That said, I’m not a fan of copying and pasting a competitor’s strategy. I prefer to use it to generate ideas and then challenge myself to figure out what I can do better.

5. Don’t ignore smaller shows.

When I first started in podcast advertising, I had to decide whether to spend my whole budget on one ad for a big show with promising numbers or to hedge my bets across multiple podcasts. I’ve found that Balter was spot on when he said, “It’s better to play an ad multiple times on a smaller show than try to play a single ad on a big show.“

I have to pay much more for one or two ads on major podcasts with a huge listenership, and one or two ad plays are rarely memorable. While you might get great visibility, results are more of a gamble in my experience.

Without a decent ROI, you’re wasting money. By spreading ad dollars across many repetitions, you help prevent an all-or-nothing situation.

I research several smaller podcasts with engaging content related to my product or industry. From there I like to invest a bit of my ad spend in each show and look at the numbers. If one or two of them don’t meet my expected ROI, I adjust my strategy and move my ad dollars to shows that give me more engagement and brand awareness.

6. Advertise with multiple shows at the same time.

When I plan to invest in multiple podcasts — or place multiple ads in a single episode — I look for a network that produces multiple shows aligned with my product and build a relationship with that network, like Gimlet.

This type of agreement with one network is called a pulsing strategy, and Balter explains that “because people who listen to Gimlet shows are likely to listen to other Gimlet shows, you can get a solid number of impressions off of a few shows over a relatively short amount of time without inundating listeners with the same ad over and over again.“

For example, this Hendrick’s Gin ad was featured on multiple Gimlet podcasts and its advertising page.

It’s a simple native ad with a short “sponsored by Hendrick’s Gin” comment before briefly describing the flavors in the gin and highlighting the brand’s value proposition.

The ad feels unique, but because it’s not industry-specific, it can target a wide audience, making it a good choice for placement on multiple shows on the same network with minor changes to the beginning of the ad.

7. Research download numbers.

I always take time to properly vet podcasts when comparing download and listen metrics.

Balter makes a great point when he warns that aggregate podcast downloads aren’t always accurate or tracked properly, so you should always check individual episode download numbers.

Here are some strategies I use to verify a podcast’s numbers:

• Look at all the platforms that they post their podcasts on. If they post on a major website like SoundCloud or Spotify, you should be able to see platform-provided view numbers.

• Look for them on social media. While I don’t look for show numbers here, I do pay attention to follower counts and fan engagement activities that help me gauge how invested the audience is in the podcast.
• Work with a credible network. Podcast networks like Gimlet Media and Wondery vet shows before granting membership, and many have minimum download thresholds that must be bet before podcasts can sign up.

When I finally talk to the podcast producers, I make sure to get as much specific data as possible about views and impressions. I also like to ask if previous advertisers saw an ROI. If a podcaster can show proof that advertisers make money from ad spends with them, I’m more likely to sign up.

8. Look at each show’s back catalog space.

It’s an odd-sounding term, but back catalog just means how many previous episodes of a podcast exist.

I love targeting these episodes because they’re often listened to and shared by the show’s audience, but because they aren’t first runs, there isn’t as much ad competition for them.

When I’m using this strategy, I look specifically for evergreen episodes that will continue to remain relevant for an extended time.

For example, if you’re a marketer for an ecommerce home-shopping website, you could look for back catalog episodes of home decor podcasts.

9. Consider video podcasts.

While most people think of podcasts as audio-only, more shows are starting to record and post their podcasts’ videos on YouTube. I find that this combination of long-form content and the ability to highlight my product and brand visually is a double-win for me.

In this example, Steven Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO Podcast, presented an ad for Huel Nutrition and simultaneously showed his viewers the products.

The brand also gets product placement throughout the interview, which is over an hour long.

In my experience, video podcast ads are helpful for brands with physical products and even software companies, where a host can show a screenshot of the platform’s features.

10. Buy spots through self-service.

With a complete audio clip for a standard ad slot, I like using tools like Spotify Ad Studio to quickly purchase space and target ads to appear on multiple podcasts.

I also love host-read ads using a service like Midroll. Instead of recording a native ad, I just submit ad information and purchase slots in multiple shows. It’s fast and cost-effective.

11. Build relationships with hosts and producers.

When I’m working on placing more complex ads, in-person connections with hosts and show producers are helpful.

“By being intentional when looking for creators, we can create a truly collaborative environment and allow creators to infuse their personality and voice into our ads,” says Joseph.

Once I’ve researched and selected a few podcasts, I reach out to discuss advertising options and ideas. My first contact might be an email that includes:

• A little bit about my brand.
• Why I think it’s a good fit for the podcast.
• Questions about their growth and key success metrics.

Check out this template for a quick first-contact email idea.

I like this process because it’s collaborative, and the hosts seem to appreciate it. Many like getting involved in writing the script rather than reading something I’ve written verbatim.

Joseph adds, “I’ve learned the more we allow our podcasters to participate in the creation of the ad, the better the ad will be.”

12. Track performance and calculate ROI.

Regardless of what type of ad or ad placement I purchase, I always track the money I spend and the revenue generated by each campaign.

If I’m publishing on multiple podcasts, tracking revenue helps me decide which ones warrant more advertisements and which I might walk away from.

Need help calculating ROI on your ads? Here’s a post on a simple ROI formula you can use to get started.

Boosting Your Advertising Strategy with Podcast Sponsorships

I love finding neglected advertising outlets, and podcasts are full of opportunities. With a generally affluent audience and less ad competition, podcasting is ripe for advertising.

The right podcast advertising strategy delivers your message to an engaged audience at lower costs and higher ROI than many other channels. Podcasting advertising is a great way to gain brand awareness.

If Hubspot is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.

Credit: Original article published here.

Our view at Stack - Simplify growth with an all-in-one platform. Powerful marketing, sales, and support automation. Integrated CMS. Scalable software. Crafted for customer experience.

Imagine waiting for an important email, never receiving it, and then discovering it in your junk folder months later. It’s probably happened to you, and I know it’s happened to me.

I had to contact my IT team, who taught me how to whitelist an email address.

Whitelisting emails is a helpful tech skill. I make sure to whitelist my favorite email newsletters, any important contacts I expect to hear from, and software programs like DocuSign.

I can be sure I never miss an important message, putting my mind at ease.

In this article, I’ll show you how to whitelist an email on all major email providers, such as Gmail and Outlook. I’ll then explain why whitelisting emails matters for marketers and share tips for communicating the process to subscribers.

What is a whitelist email?

Why whitelist emails?

How to Whitelist an Email

How to Whitelist an Email in Outlook

How to Whitelist an Email in Yahoo

How to Whitelist an Email in AOL

How to Whitelist an Email in Apple Mail

How to Whitelist an Email in Windows Live Desktop

How to Whitelist an Email in ProtonMail

Why prompt your subscribers to whitelist your email?

How to Get Subscribers to Whitelist Your Email Address

Best Email Practices Beyond Whitelisting

Why whitelist emails?

If your inbox is anything like mine, it can be tempting to unsubscribe and delete everything. But, that’s not a great plan. Some of those emails in your inbox are important. Like, your whitelisted emails.

If I’m on a recipient’s whitelist, I can guarantee my emails will be received. If I want to make sure I receive messages from a certain person or company, I simply need to manually add them as a contact.

Think of whitelist emails as the “emails you actually want to receive.” These emails could be appointment reminders, updates from bloggers you follow, or coupons to your favorite retail store.

There are tons of other reasons why you might want to whitelist emails, including:

• Staying on top of important emails.
• Managing your inbox.
• Reducing the risk of spam or phishing attacks.
• Complying with certain industry standards.

Whether you use Google or Windows Live, let’s take a minute to learn how to whitelist emails on various email providers.

1. Click the gear icon in Gmail and select “See all settings” from the Quick Settings menu.

2. Navigate to “Filters and Blocked Addresses” in the top menu.

3. Select “Create a new filter.”

In Gmail, whitelisting an email actually involves creating a filter.

4. Add a specific email or a whole domain in the “From” field.

The “From” field is where I specify what’s getting whitelisted. In Gmail, I can specify either a specific email address (e.g., hello@domain.com), or I can whitelist a whole domain by omitting everything before the at symbol (e.g., @domain.com).

The former will whitelist one specific email address, while the latter whitelists anyone who is sending emails from that domain.

5. Click “Create filter.”

From there, I don’t need to input any additional information. I simply click the “Create filter” button at the bottom of the window (next to the blue “Search” button).

6. Check “Never send it to Spam” in the checkbox.

Clicking the button brings up a new window. Here’s where I actually specify that I’m whitelisting an email. In Gmail, I do this by checking the “Never send it to spam: box.

Doing so will ensure that emails that meet the criteria I specified never end up in Spam or Trash (unless I move them there manually).

7. Click “Create filter.”

Once this information is specified, I click the Create filter button again, and this creates the whitelist within Gmail.

Note: The default email provider for Android is Gmail. Follow the above instructions to whitelist emails on your Android device.

1. Click the gear icon in Outlook and select “View all Outlook settings.”

When you select it, a drop-down menu will appear. You’ll choose View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the drop-down menu.

2. Select “Mail” from the settings menu.

3. Choose “Junk email” from the submenu.

4. Click “Add” under “Safe senders and domains.”

5. Enter the email address that you want whitelisted.

6. Choose “Save.”

This will save your whitelist preferences and ensure that emails that fit the criteria don’t make it to your junk email folder in Outlook.

How to Whitelist an Email in Yahoo

1. Open Yahoo Mail and log in.

2. Navigate to “Settings” then click “More Settings.”

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3. Select “Filters” and hit “Add new filters” to enter the email you’d like to whitelist.

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4. Name the filter and add the email address.

5. Select to send all mail to “Inbox.”

6. Save your settings.

How to Whitelist an Email in AOL

1. Log in to your AOL account.

2. Open “Contacts” from the left navigation pane.

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3. Click the “New Contact” icon and add the email address.

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4. Click the “Add Contact” button, and you’re set.

How to Whitelist an Email in Apple Mail

1. Log into your Apple Mail account.

2. Click “Mail” in the menu bar.

3. Select “Settings.”

4. Click on the “Rules” tab.

5. Enter a new description in the box. “Whitelist” is a good descriptor.

6. Type the address you want to whitelist and then select “Inbox” from the dropdown menu.

7. Select “OK” to save your changes.

How to Whitelist an Email in Windows 365 Desktop

1. Open the Windows Outlook 365 app.

2. Navigate to “Tools” and then select “Rules.”

3. Click on “New Rule.”

4. Name your rule “Whitelist.”

5. Select “From” and enter the email address.

6. Then, select “Move to” from the dropdown menu and select “Inbox” from the next dropdown menu.

7. Click “Save” to save your settings.

How to Whitelist an Email in ProtonMail

1. Log into your ProtonMail account.

2. Click “Settings,” then select “Go to settings.”

3. Select “Filters” from the sidebar.

4. Click the “Add address or domain.”

Once I click on the Add address or domain button, it will open the dropdown menu. Then, I choose Allow.

5. Select either “Email” or “Domain.”

Depending on my selection, I can enter the email address or domain in the field box.

6. Click “Add address” to save your changes.

Why prompt your subscribers to whitelist your email?

If you’re a blogger or an email marketer, it doesn’t hurt to ask your subscribers to whitelist your email address. As a former blogger, I found being direct and open about my requests to my subscribers was the best approach.

And often, my subscribers did not know they had the option to add my email address to their contact list.

That can be especially helpful if you write a newsletter. To find out more, I spoke to Kaitlin Milliken, a senior program manager at HubSpot. In a previous role, Milliken wrote two different newsletters for a media organization.

“My newsletters focused on executives at big companies. Their inboxes often filed emails outside of the organization as spam. I wanted to make sure they actually received the emails I wrote,” Milliken says. “Asking folks to whitelist my email never felt awkward. It helped them get the information they wanted and helped me reach my audience.”

Don’t think of asking them to whitelist your emails as pushy. When you think about it, by subscribing to your newsletters, your subscribers invite you into your inbox.

They want to see and read your content without searching their inbox for it. The last place you want your emails to end up is in the spam box — or worse, the trash bin.

How to Get Subscribers to Whitelist Your Email Address

When you write your email asking your subscribers to whitelist you, consider using simple language that frames the extra step as a benefit to the recipient:

“To be sure our emails always make it to your inbox, please add us to your email whitelist.”

Ideally, you’ll include this message in the first email you send new subscribers to improve email deliverability at the onset of a new relationship.

Be sure to use email campaign tools, like HubSpot’s Email Marketing Tools, that allow for personalization to help increase your open rates.

Milliken says she had a specific email dedicated to whitelisting. “When I had a new subscriber, they were put into an email workflow. The first message was a general welcome and the second explained how people could whitelist my email,” she says.

You might use your own flair and brand voice to craft a compelling email message, instead of the standard “whitelist this email” phrase.

Digital marketing agency Yokel Local does this well in their re-engagement campaign aimed at reconnecting with customers who may not be opening their emails:

While the email above is serving a specific function in an email marketing campaign, you can also include a more general whitelist reminder in the footer of all your communications like so:

Keep in mind that not all of your recipients may know what a whitelist is, so you might also want to incorporate steps they need to take. To make the process simple, you can include links to the instructions for the most common web clients like this:

“To be sure our emails always make it to your inbox, please add us as a contact or put us on your whitelist. If you have a Gmail account, follow these steps. Alternatively, if you use Outlook, find the steps here.”

Just be sure that you include instructions for the most popular email providers.

“If you have a page for your newsletter on your website, you can include a drop-down menu with whitelisting instructions. This allows your subscribers to understand why they never got your email. They can then solve their own problem,” Milliken says.

Best Email Practices Beyond Whitelisting

Encouraging your subscribers to whitelist your email is a best practice that can help you improve its deliverability. However, it’s not the only factor that can help you increase deliverability. Here are some additional fail-safes:

• Use inbound methods to populate your database rather than buying email lists and sending spam emails.
• Segment your email database.
• Keep your contact information clean and remove disengaged emails.

All of this is so important in ensuring that your message is heard by your prospects and customers so that you stay top of mind and grow your business.

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

If Hubspot is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.

Credit: Original article published here.