We ask prospects to give us their personal data for free and in exchange, we offer them a few uncertain benefits. If all you do is ask a user to become a subscriber, there’s no engagement. The best way to overcome this difficulty of low customer engagement is to offer something very valuable in exchange, such as a free guide, service, or discount.

Lead generation is tough

Lead magnets are also known as a "bribe to subscribe" offer and a way to get your visitor's information in exchange for something valuable. You can offer anything that can be received immediately via email. If it hits the target, visitors subscribe and you earn leads.

Lead magnets: a smart approach to lead generation

<ul><li>They are engaging. They know your customer's problems and can offer an immediate solution.</li><li>They generate quality leads. A specific offer can attract customers that are already interested in your offering and may want to learn more.</li><li>They provide value. If your bait is relevant and intelligent, it shows your customers you are not trying to just get their money.</li><li>They are shareable. It's easy to share links to your research or to use your video in a blog post.</li><li>They promote your brand as an authority. </li></ul>

Why Should You Try Different Types of Lead Magnets

Offer a piece of content that can solve your customer's challenges. When they click the button and enter their information, they'll receive an email with your content attached. For example:<ul><li>Text content: How-to guides, reports, whitepapers, cheat sheets, case studies, checklists.</li><li>Video content: Video guides and video courses.</li><li>Visuals: Infographics.</li></ul>

Сontent “Bait”

Widgets are built-in tools that integrate with your website or landing pages. They enable you to collect valid personal data, such as email. <ul><li>Some widgets offer a service, a report, or other important information that is difficult to get for free.</li><li>Another way is to add a callback widget to your website that enables a potential client to contact you directly and request a response.</li></ul>

Widgets

Gamification can be an effective way to attract leads. You might create interactive quizzes and send the results via email to encourage users to leave their email addresses, and you can use the collected data for multiple purposes.

Quizzes

A survey that exists primarily for your market research can also be used as one of the best B2B lead magnets. Prospects provide their opinions on the topic related to your industry, and you can, in turn, collect data about their interests.  You can encourage users to answer the survey questions and share their contact details in exchange for the whole industry report for free or as a data pack in exchange.

'State of the Industry’ Surveys

Engaging your customers in a question-and-answer session can connect them ‘live’ with your customer care. You can show them ‘in person’ exactly how your product can resolve their problems. When you add the possibility of sharing your screen with them,  you can reveal any hidden function of your service.

Online Demos

<ul><li>You can ask industry experts to take part in your webinar.</li><li>You can promote your company’s expert reputation by providing useful tips while showing them the benefits of your offer.</li></ul>

Webinars and Podcasts to Engage With Your Audience

Organize online events, such as industry conferences and roundtable discussions. Instead of granting open admission, ask people to leave their email addresses to register for an event.

Online Events

Free trials allow your product to sell itself. When your customers decide that they need your product after trying it for some time, you’ve provided them with a great experience.

Free Trials

Contests have the potential to go viral. Challenge your audience and get them feeling excited about your offer. For example, an agency engaged users by asking them to share how they wanted to activate their business and marketing goals.

Contests

Special offers: Coupons, discounts, or a few valuable freebies are powerful ways to entice an audience to subscribe. Live Chats: Chatbot technology that enables you to engage with your customers via a personal assistant on your website can create leads in your CRM and book meetings in your calendar for qualified leads.

Special Offers, Live Chats

<ul><li>Give Your Lead Magnet a Suitable Name: X ways/tips/resources to get Y. "9 tips for success in job interviews."</li><li>Ensure the offering is obvious and easy to understand.</li><li>Use Actionable Text: Encourage users to click on your CTA. "Get started."</li><li>Try Opt-in/Opt-out Buttons that are different in size, design, and colour.</li><li>Add Social Proof: Display customer reviews and testimonials to highlight the value of your offer and prove that other clients are satisfied.</li><li>Be Open and Honest About Your Messages. Subscribers should know when they’ll be receiving your messages and that they won’t be excessive.</li></ul>

How to Create Lead Magnets that Engage

What are lead magnets and why should you use them on your website? Find out how to attract more leads for your business and get inspiration from these 12 ideas.

Stashed ideas

12 Lead Magnet Ideas for Your Website

Most experts agree that our species, Homo sapiens (Latin for “wise men”), is the ninth and youngest human species. The lives of the other eight species tell a story of how humans slowly evolved away from the other apes, developing the ability to walk, eat meat, hunt, build shelters, and perform symbolic acts. Our ancestors probably pushed our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, to extinction. Wise guys finish last.

Our Species Are Not The First Humans On Earth

Around 6 million years ago, a branch of apes evolved to become the first species of the genus Homo. These early humans ditched the long arms of apes for stronger legs. While they could no longer swing around on trees, they could stand upright, walk, and colonize new ecosystems, away from the forest. The brains of early humans grew until we were using complex tools to hunt large animals, build fires, and construct shelters.

Planet Of The Apes

By the time Homo sapiens arrived on the scene some 300,000 years ago, we were the ninth Homo species, joining habilis, erectus, rudolfensis, heidelbergensis, floresiensis, neanderthalensis, naledi, and luzonensis. Many of these species lived for much longer periods of time than we have, yet we get all the attention. It is time for a family reunion.

We Are The Ninth Species

H. Habilis was small, clocking in around 70 pounds and standing somewhere between 3.5 feet and 4.5 feet tall. We also know that H. habilis made complex tools, including stones used to butcher animals. H. Habilis lived as the only member of our genus for nearly a million years.

H. Habilis: The Handy Man (2.4 Million – 1.4 Million Years Ago)

H. erectus is the first human with a significantly larger braincase than that of apes. They also had smaller teeth. The latter adaptation probably helped H. erectus eat meat and quickly digestible protein. This would fuel the increased nutritional requirements that came with taller bodies and larger brains. H. erectus was a very successful species. They walked the Earth for a period lasting nearly nine times as long as our current reign.

H. Erectus: The Enduring Hiker (1.89 Million to 110,000 Years Ago)

We know little about Homo rudolfensis, a hominid discovered near Kenya’s Lake Rudolf (now known as Lake Turkana). H. rudolfensis had a considerably greater braincase than Homo habilis — a good indicator that the species was human. However, some scientists argue it may be better placed with the genus Australopithecus, a close relative of Homo, because of its smaller size and similarities in the pelvis and shoulder.

H. Rudolfensis: The Stranger (1.9 Million to 1.8 Million Years Ago) 

Around 700,000 years ago, Homo heidelbergensis (sometimes referred to as Homo rhodesiensis) arrived on the scene in Europe and eastern Africa. Scientists think that these smaller, wider humans were the first to live in cold places.The remains of animals like horses, elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses, were found together with H. heidelbergensis. That proximity suggests that this group of humans was the first to hunt larger animals with spears. To stay warm, these humans also learned how to control fire, and they built simple shelters out of wood and rock.

H. Heidelbergensis: The Hunter (700,000 to 200,000 Years Ago)

Homo floresiensis is known only from remains found in 2003 on the Island of Flores, Indonesia. Along with the remains of H. floresiensis were some stone tools, dwarf elephants and komodo dragons — a discovery that paints quite a scene of the island life of these small humans.The isolation of H. floresiensis likely contributed to its small brains and stature (estimated at approximately 3 feet, 6 inches from a female specimen).

H. Floresiensis: The Hobbit (100,000 to 50,000 Years Ago)

Neanderthals were shorter and stockier than us but had brains that were as big, or even bigger, than our own. Neanderthals lived a tough life. We find bones riddled with fractures, suggesting they did not always succeed when they hunted large animals. They also lived in seriously cold environments in Europe and in southeastern and central Asia. To cope, they made fires and lived in sophisticated shelters. They also made clothing, using complex tools such as sewing needles crafted from bone.

H. Neanderthalensis: The Neanderthal Thinkers (400,000 – 40,000 Years Ago)

Homo naledi were small hominids that lived in South Africa. We do not know much about H. naledi, because they were only discovered in late 2015. In a single expedition, scientists excavated an astounding 1,550 specimens from at least 15 individuals. These specimens show us that H. naledi were small (around 4 feet, 9 inches). While the excavation unearthed a treasure trove of human fossils, the researchers found no tools or other animals alongside H. naledi, so their lifestyle remains a mystery.

H. Naledi: The Enigmatic Newcomer (335,000 to 236,000 Years Ago) 

In 2019, researchers visited a small cave on an island in northern Indonesia. Inspired by the discovery of H. floresiensis, the scientists wondered whether other islands also had human dwellers. The researchers struck gold — kind of. Though they found human remains, they only unearthed seven teeth, three foot bones, two finger bones, and a fragment of a thighbone. Still, due to its geographic isolation and small size, the scientists felt confident in declaring that this <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01152-3">species was unknown to science</a>. They named it luzonensis after Luzon, the island on which it was found.

H. Luzonensis: A Polemic Finding (at Least 67,000 Years Ago)

Not all these extinct humans coexisted with our H. sapiens ancestors. Most of them probably went extinct due to intense changes in climate. After humans moved into Europe, Neanderthal numbers began to dwindle. We competed for space and food, and we outmatched our closest relatives. The fact that they held on for so long suggests the tides could have turned easily against us.

Wise Guys Finish Last

There were at least eight other human species, some of whom existed for far longer than we have. Who were they?

Homo sapiens is #9. Who were the eight other human species?

The rise of the corporate nomad will be inexorable in the wake of the pandemic. These are individuals who, while maintaining a full-time employment relationship with their organizations, will increasingly participate part-time in geographically dispersed initiatives and projects within their employer’s global network. The benefits are many. It gives individuals a sense of financial stability while also allowing them to be exposed to new people, new geographies, new cultures, new values, and new work projects without having to leave their current organization.

Corporate Nomads: Employees Working While Traveling Around The World

Fostering this type of global exposure and contribution will also become an increasingly important and effective way for organizations to retain and develop top talent. It can provide individuals and corporations alike with an extraordinary chance to reap the benefits of job enrichment and change, without requiring individuals to jump into the wrong place with the wrong fit, and without creating a situation where organizations must replace great employees who should never have been lost in the first place.

Retaining Top Talent

While freelance relationships will likely continue to be an attractive option at the beginning and toward the end of our professional lives, stable employment relationships have important financial benefits from our early 30s to 50s, when we are struggling to pay our mortgages, the family’s education, and save for retirement or future financial independence.

The Appeal of Being a Corporate Nomad

In addition to financial stability, emotional and social stability are extremely important assets for our well-being. Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has focused on the importance of positive psychological capital (PsyCap). This combination of self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience is easier to develop when we are not alone. A rich network of colleagues, professional home and family, and a culture where we fit and belong become ever-more valuable assets in an increasingly challenging world.

Psychological Capital

For those raising families in their 30s to 50s, giving their children a stable environment without frequent relocations will strongly contribute to their emotional and social health and development.A stable community and network of local friends and relationships can help kids develop strong roots. In turn, your global perspective as a corporate nomad can help you expand your children’s vision, while your growing international network of virtual friends and relationships will help them open their wings for sporadic travels, exchanges, international friendship, and studying abroad.

Stable Family Time

<ul><li>As we navigate the waves of the Great Resignation, switching jobs has become increasingly risky.</li><li>72% of those who recently switched jobs have been frustrated, and almost half of these would consider trying to get their old jobs back. </li><li>Virtual interviews can limit our ability to get a good sense of a new job environment, while the Great Resignation is increasing employers’ pressure to paint unrealistically rosy pictures. </li><li>Corporate nomads can find exciting part-time challenges within their current organizations — lowering the risk of making a company move they may regret.  </li></ul>

Switching Jobs Isn't Easy

Being a corporate nomad allows you to be exposed to new people, new geographies, new cultures, new values, and new work projects that will foster your development through stretch assignments.A rich stint as a corporate nomad can be an extraordinary training ground and networking platform if in the future you decide to embark on a new free agent stage.

New Kind Of Exposure

The rise of the corporate nomad will be inexorable, given the strong and growing benefits for individuals and organizations alike.In the wake of the pandemic, and even more so in today’s delicate global geopolitical scenario, we increasingly crave meaning. Before even thinking about what new internal contributions and experiences you might want to apply for, get clear on your purpose. This <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/10/reigniting-your-purpose-in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic">Six C’s model</a> can help you think through what you’re looking for, including what to look for in a new job if your corporate nomad visa is denied by your organization.

How to Become a Corporate Nomad: Clarify Your Purpose

Once you have clarified your purpose and come up with a series of attractive generic options (in terms of experience, learning, and contribution), you should systematically source for organizational units, functions, and geographies that could benefit from your potential contribution. Equally important, you should search for (and check references on) specific individuals you may want to partner with in your nomadic experience. You should take this as seriously as an actual job search, for which <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/06/how-to-find-a-great-job-during-a-downturn">this article and its downloadable decision support tool</a> may be of help.

Systematically Search for Potential Project Partners

Once you have spotted an attractive opportunity with a significant chance for success, you should candidly and enthusiastically speak with your boss about the reasons why you would like to focus some of your time on your proposed initiative. In my experience, assuming your choice is a sensible one, most people will interpret your initiative as a very positive sign and strongly support it.

Pitch the Idea to Your Boss

Productivity in knowledge workers has a dramatic spread, as does happiness, and those at the top of both curves are masters at resisting technological invasion: They always plan their week ahead while blocking out time for important tasks; they avoid digital distractions and invasion, and they feel fully comfortable saying no when they have an alternative burning yes.

Proactively Manage Your Life

It won’t be enough to <a href="https://hbr.org/2011/10/how-to-hang-on-to-your-high-potentials">successfully implement high-potential programs</a> (already a major challenge). Organizations will need to avoid the trap of rigidly segmenting people into high and low potentials, and instead <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/06/21st-century-talent-spotting">look deeper into each person’s unique potential profile</a>, including their very personal combination of curiosity, insight, engagement, and determination. A look beyond someone’s experience, knowledge, and even current competence will allow leaders to imagine a wide range of opportunities for personal development and corporate contribution.

What Organizations Need to Do: Shift To A Growth Mindset

There’s a global talent scarcity of <a href="https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/">millions</a> of cybersecurity workers. Organizations can forecast how far someone can develop along with key leadership competencies, so as to effectively provide people with the right opportunities so that everyone becomes more aware of their true individual potential profile while helping them look for ways to unlock that potential.

Organizations Need to Reconsider how They Develop Their Talent

The best management consulting firms have always excelled at developing global talent.The rise of the corporate nomad could provide individuals and corporations alike with an extraordinary chance to reap the benefits of job enrichment and change, without requiring individuals to jump into the wrong place with the wrong fit, and without creating a situation where organizations must replace great employees who should never have been lost in the first place.

Orgs Need to Review Their Incentives Systems, Placing Higher Emphasis on Developing Global Talent

The rise of the corporate nomad should not only make us more successful and happier. It should fundamentally make us better human beings, genuinely and proactively embracing inclusion at a global scale… one nomadic project at a time.When we move, we don’t just learn about the place where we go. We also discover who we are and where we come from.

The Bottom Line

The Rise of the “Corporate Nomad”

The interest in understanding the different NFT types has been growing in recent times.  People are interested in the promising economic potential associated with NFTs apart from a vision for transforming conventional asset management. The gradual growth visible in the domain of non-fungible tokens can ensure prolific opportunities for NFT creators and investors. A clear impression of the different types of non-fungible tokens could help in making better decisions in your NFT journey.

Understanding The Different Types Of NFTs

The foremost classification of NFT types refers to the general categories. The three common types of NFTs include,<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Original or copy of work, documented on a blockchain network or <a href="https://101blockchains.com/what-is-dlt/">DLT</a></li><li class="ql-align-justify">Digitally native NFTs, which have ownership rights to the work constituting the NFTs</li><li class="ql-align-justify">NFT metadata, which involves the NFT providing representation of ownership for metadata files related to the internet</li></ul>

Common Categories of NFTs

The foremost example of NFTs emerged with the development of Cryptokitties, which are online collectibles. As a matter of fact, Cryptokitties are the first instance of people using NFTs. Interestingly, Cryptokitties became so popular in 2017 that they congested the Ethereum network.Cryptokitties are one of the striking additions to non fungible tokens list in the category of digital collectibles. They are basically digital kittens with distinct traits that make them popular and favorable than others.

Collectibles

Artwork is also another prominent candidate for NFTs. The common types of non-fungible tokens in this domain refer to programmable art, which features the unique concoction of creativity and technology. Currently, there are many limited edition artwork pieces in circulation with the scope for programmability under certain conditions. The use of oracles and smart contracts could help artists in creating images which are represented on blockchain networks. Digital art NFTs have also encouraged possibilities of participation from the legacy arts industry.

Artwork

Another promising addition among the types of NFTs would refer to event tickets. Such types of NFTs allow people attending events such as music festivals and concerts to verify their identity and tickets. Event managers could mint a specific number of NFT tickets on a selected blockchain platform. Customers could purchase the tickets through an auction and store them in their wallets with easy accessibility through mobile devices

Event Tickets

The domain of music and media is also trying out experiments with NFTs, thereby leading to another category of NFTs. It is possible to link music and media files to NFTs, thereby enabling an individual with true ownership claim to access the files. While artists get the advantages of reaching out directly to their followers and new audience, the listeners get a premium experience. The sense of exclusivity in purchasing NFT music is one of the foremost reasons for infusing traits of vintage vinyl records.

Music and Media

The common types of non fungible tokens in the domain of gaming are primarily focused on in-game items. NFTs have evoked profound levels of interest among game developers. They can offer the functionality of ownership records for in-game items, thereby driving the growth of in-game economies. NFTs in the gaming sector also focuses on introducing a wide array of benefits for players.  While in-game collectibles were common requirements for a better experience of the games, NFTs have the potential for changing their value.

Gaming

Even though you cannot find many NFT types serving as tokens for real-world items, the progress in NFT domain can make that happen. For example, many NFT projects are presently focusing on the tokenization of real estate alongside luxury goods. NFTs are basically deeds, and they can introduce the flexibility for purchasing a car or home with an NFT deed. Therefore, NFTs representing real-world assets can capitalize on the opportunities with cryptographic proof of ownership.

Real World Assets

One of the crucial traits of non fungible tokens is scarcity. Every NFT is unique and cannot be interchanged with any other token. In the case of identity NFTs, the working is similar to that of event tickets NFTs. They can serve as unique identifiers, thereby serving as reliable support for identity management systems.  The common applications of identity-based NFTs could be evident in certifications and licensing. Minting certifications and licenses and NFTs for proving and verifying records of an individual could change the identity management sector.

Identity

The most significant advancement in the domain of NFTs in recent times is the sale of memes as NFTs. While being a part of popular culture and an instant favorite among internet users, memes have also been associated with NFTs. The sale of memes as NFTs showcases the potential for unique meme creators to participate in an evolving futuristic ecosystem.

Memes

The growing interest in discovering the value of NFTs and their variants are clearly evident among blockchain enthusiasts. Learn more about different NFT types now.

Understanding the Different Types of NFTs

Changing a few words can make huge differences in conversion.  For example:Popsa<ul><li>Old phrasing: Fast Easy Photo Books</li><li>New phrasing: Photo books in 5 minutes</li></ul>Peer Medical<ul><li> Old phrasing: Lung cancer treatment data personalised for you.</li><li>New phrasing: "This is hope. This tool shows me other lung cancer treatments in case my current drug stops working."</li></ul> It is known as language/market fit - Using the right words to explain your product or service that resonates with prospective customers.

Why some headlines convert 10X better

Early startups often underappreciate language/market fit. Instead, they focus on finding product/market fit as refining language seems like "marketing", which is usually left for a later priority. However, not prioritising language/market fit can create difficulties, such as your ads can't pay for themselves, your marketers struggle to deliver results despite their previous success with other companies. Your salespeople struggle to sell your product. On the other hand, companies with language/market fit usually get conversion rates of 8% - 40%.

Language/market fit is under-appreciated

Once you get the language/market fit right, it makes everything easier. <ul><li>It helps you to understand and size your market, </li><li>it narrows on what to build, </li><li>it validates demand and </li><li>demonstrates traction.</li></ul>The business impact is sharp, not gradual.Founders should first find language/market fit before chasing product/market fit or focusing on AdWords or Facebook. Without it, nothing else will really work.

Language/market fit is the lead domino

<ul><li><a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119693/finding-language-market-fit-starting-with-step-zero">Step zero: Making a case for starting with finding language/market fit</a></li><li><a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119833/finding-language-market-fit-use-this-four-step-process-to-unlock-language-market-fit">How to find the language/market fit.</a></li></ul>

The next steps

If you’re struggling to find a product/market fit, figure out what “looks like food” to your prospects. Find the language/market fit first and everything else will be much easier.

After more than a decade of running B2B growth teams at PayPal and investing at 500 Startups, Matt Lerner now spends his days helping early-stage startups with growth. He's seen firsthand how changes in a handful of words can yield jaw-dropping differences in conversion — and accelerate a startup's course to product/market fit. Here, he makes the case for starting with language/market fit first, and offers up his 4-step process for getting there.

Finding Language/Market Fit: Introduction

If you’re struggling to find product/market fit,<ul><li> F<a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119692/finding-language-market-fit-introduction">igure out the language/market fit</a>.</li><li>Finding language/market fit should be "step zero" for startups as it can save you a lot of time and wasted cycles.</li><li>Consider <a href="https://deepstash.com/article/119833/finding-language-market-fit-use-this-four-step-process-to-unlock-language-market-fit">the four-step process</a> to find the language that unlocks the language/market fit.</li></ul>

Struggling to find product/market fit

Finding language/market fit should be "step zero" for startups as it can save you a lot of time and wasted cycles. Founders should generally consider the search for language/market fit as part of the customer discovery process. (There are examples where this is less critical in certain contexts such as biotech startups or founders who are building products to scratch their own itch.) However, if you've started with building and aren't finding a product/market fit yet, take a step back to find a language/market fit.

Step zero

<ul><li>Speed. While product build-measure-learn cycles can take weeks, you can iterate language 5X in one day.</li><li>Traction. A pre-launch lead-capture site to confirm demand with 25% conversion is a clear indication for potential investors.</li><li>Clarity. Articulating your value prop in a clear, validated, and plain language helps the team understand what they're building and why.</li></ul>You can use product/market fit with a build-measure-learn loop, but using a language/market fit gets you there faster.

Advantages with starting with a language/market fit

Founders who want to "educate the market" need to fully capture users' attention, stop their current beliefs and then get them to adopt a new way of operating.  For most startups, it's hard enough to get people to read or click your ads, much less change their habits or beliefs.

Why exact language is critical

People don't read startups' websites like they read books. They scan and occasionally scroll or click. This is called attentional control. Visitors decide how much attention to direct to your website or app store listing.Attentional control modes:<ul><li>Goal-directed attention. When you need to find something specific, you will direct your attention to get it. (Google)</li><li>Stimulus driven. When your mind is focused on raw sensory input, looking or engaging things. (Facebook)</li></ul>To get prospects to invest more time considering your features or pricing, you need to find the exact language they scan for.

Attentional control

People don't think about a list of product features or platitudes. Instead, what is running in their mind are anxieties, fears, doubts, hopes, dreams. So your headline needs to be about the stuff in their heads. If your headline completes the sentence "Our product is...", you're not using your prospects' words. A good marketer will complete the sentence "Now you can..." or "I wish I could..." or " I hope to..."

How to find the exact language

If you’re struggling to find a product/market fit, first figure out what “looks like food” to your prospects. Find the language/market fit first and everything else will be much easier.

Finding Language/Market Fit: Starting with "step zero"

The term “marketing” appeared in the 1900s to describe activities and institutions taking place in markets, and early marketing textbooks were largely descriptive of these activities and institutions.
Marketing Management, which was published in 1967, was the first text to use an analytical approach to marketing and include findings of scholarly studies.

The History Of Marketing

One of the key underlying ideas advanced in the very first edition of the book was that company actions must be driven by customers and their needs. This core principle of customer-centricity has remained the central idea across all editions of the book. 
The rise of big data, social media, and sophisticated e-commerce has not changed the fact that a key purpose of any company is to create value for its customers.

Driven By Customer Needs

Marketing is all about understanding, designing, communicating, and delivering value. This is the foundation of marketing strategy and has not changed with time. What has changed are the tools that companies use to create value. 
Data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence are very powerful tools in managing value, but they are just tools. Without a sound strategy guiding their use, they can become a distraction from a company’s core mission.

Delivering Value

One important change that affects the business philosophy of many companies is redefining their ultimate purpose. As a result, an increasing number of companies include the creation of societal value in their mission statements.
This is an important development that is likely to have long-term consequences on the way these companies act in the marketplace and the way they structure their business processes.

The New Focus: Societal Value

In the old days, a brand simply told you what the product is and does and how it’s priced. But today, a brand is the company’s promise to deliver a specific benefit that addresses a particular need of its customers.
Moreover, the promise of many brands extends beyond functionality and reflects certain aspects of customers’ identity.

The New Approach

As more and more products are becoming commoditized, customers are looking beyond functionality for something that is meaningful. It is no longer just about the product. 
It is also about who the company behind this product is and what this company stands for. As companies understand this, they realize that to be successful in the market, they might have to reinvent their culture and realign it with the values held by their customers.

Countering Commoditization

Having a purpose also helps companies attract and retain employees. If you stand for something, you have a better chance of getting and keeping the right people, which ultimately will enhance profitability. 
This also extends to a company’s partners. For example, companies like Whole Foods prioritize suppliers that employ environmentally friendly and socially responsible business practices.

Having A Purpose

The ultimate goal is to create value, what has changed is the proliferation of information. In the past, advertising was the main tool to inform customers about products. Now, customers can get detailed product information from a variety of sources, both from the company as well as from other customers. 
And the same goes for companies. The proliferation of social media and the advancement in data analytics enables companies to know in real-time not only what customers are doing but also how they are feeling about their brands.

Same Goal, New Approach

It’s important to realize that today’s consumers are different. They are connected with so many people from so many other parts of the world and can find information with a simple click, without needing a salesman or an ad. 
Anyone who’s going to buy a car will probably end up seeing a salesman in the dealership, but most will have done a lot of their own work to know about their options. We have to recognize the existence of such an intelligent, well-informed consumer, which means companies have to make big changes to their traditional marketing tools.

An Intelligent Customer

People tend to go shopping in brick-and-mortar stores for different reasons. 
<ul>
<li>Some go for purely utilitarian reasons. They appreciate the fact that they can see what the product looks and feels like in reality and will eventually be able to buy it instantly and take it home. </li>
<li>Others go for more hedonic reasons; for them, it is more about the shopping experience. They don’t go to brick-and-mortar stores to save time but to spend time. </li>
<li>For many, it is also a chance to socialize with friends and family.</li>
</ul>

Going To The Store

In the past, marketing was not part of the development of the product. It was only called in after the product was made. Then it was the marketers’ job to sell as much as they could. 
But now marketing participates in product development. Marketers can offer design ideas and features. Engineers are the masters of the possible, but it is marketers who can best assess value because they are better at understanding the customers’ criteria for buying a product.

Customer-Centric Job Roles

As technological developments enable companies to track the impact of their activities, managers are expected to be able to document the return on the company’s marketing investment. This has its advantages and drawbacks. 
<ul>
<li>On the positive side, it enables the company to better allocate its marketing resources to areas where they will have the highest impact. </li>
<li>On the downside, however, this might focus the company’s marketing efforts on activities that produce short-term effects, to the detriment of activities such as brand building that have a long-term payout.</li>
</ul>

Transparency And Accountability

Phil Kotler’s groundbreaking textbook came out 55 years ago. Sixteen editions later, he and coauthor Alexander Chernev discuss how big data, social media, and purpose-driven branding are moving the field forward.

How Has Marketing Changed over the Past Half-Century?

Paid media advertising — the bread-and-butter of big brands — can be cost-prohibitive for small businesses. Ad budgets can quickly become bloated without contributing to growth. New small business owners often assume that paid advertising is crucial to getting customers. A few Google or Facebook ads can easily rack up thousands in ad spend per month. Unfortunately, advertising has a poor ROI compared to other forms of marketing, especially for new businesses.

The Importance of Small Business Marketing

Today’s consumers are averse to ads. If they’re not actively blocking them with browser plugins, they’re simply tuning them out. This isn’t to say ads never work, but for small businesses, they can be a wasted expense. Always lead with a strong marketing strategy that reliably connects you with potential customers — even if you’re short on advertising funds for a month. Consumers don’t like to see ads, but they do enjoy gaining value.

People Don’t Like Ads

Outbound marketing entails advertising, cold-calling, and other tactics we commonly think of as “marketing.” This approach is also called interruptive marketing: the idea is that you capture consumers’ attention and create an urgency to buy from you. Outbound marketing can be quite expensive because you must purchase advertising space or pay for labour to perform outreach. Inbound marketing is also called attraction marketing because it draws customers to you. Inbound strategies include content marketing (social media, blogs, videos, etc.), opt-in-based email lists, and earned media.

Building a Sustainable Small Business Marketing Strategy: Types Of Marketing

Small businesses must start with a thorough understanding of their potential customers. What makes them tick? Once you know that, you can start promoting your business in a way that resonates with your target audience. Ask yourself three questions: <ul><li>What is my ideal customer’s core problem or “pain point”?</li><li>How does my business solve that problem?</li><li>Why would they choose my business over my competitors?</li></ul> The answers to these questions compose your value proposition.

Know Your Audience

Your value proposition is a concise statement of what your business uniquely provides to your customers and how it benefits them. Don’t confuse this with your company’s values or mission. The value proposition defines your relationship with your customers. What can they expect from you, and why is that important to them? Your value proposition should include your points of difference: what sets you apart from your competitors. Small businesses often find it challenging to compete on price alone.

Define Your Value Proposition

There is a wide variety of channels, both digital and physical: <ul><li>Reddit, Quora, and other discussion-based platforms</li><li>Pinterest, Instagram, and other visual social media networks</li><li>YouTube and TikTok</li><li>Facebook groups.</li><li>LinkedIn</li><li>Twitter</li><li>Medium, Vocal, Quora plus, and other content-sharing platforms</li><li>networking meetups and online business directories</li><li>physical signage e.g. billboards and marquees</li><li>email marketing: far from dead, this tactic boasts an incredible $42 per $1 spent. </li><li>direct mail campaigns</li><li>chat-based marketing via Messenger and WhatsApp</li></ul>

Choosing Your Channels

Instead of focusing on “campaigns,” think about your overall business goals and how you can turn them into sustainable efforts. More often than not, you’ll have ongoing results you want to achieve. Perhaps you want to generate at least 500 new leads per month, but you also want to increase your conversion rate for previous customers from 10% to 15%. These goals require different tactics: perhaps a time-limited direct mail campaign for the former and more frequent email newsletters for the latter.

Planning Your Content

<ul><li>Any ad or social post should lead to a specific page rather than your main website URL or social profile.</li><li>Each page and post should be optimised for your target audience’s preferred search terms and not vague search terms.</li><li>Keep your target audience’s buying journey in mind.</li></ul>

SEO Tactics

<ul><li>Google My Business: 34% of GMB listings get viewed more than 1,000 times per month. That’s thousands of dollars in free advertising.</li><li>Geotagged Instagram posts</li><li>Facebook pages with business address</li></ul>

Free Advertising Online

The nice thing about paid advertising is that it’s relatively easy. Select your audience and keywords, upload your creative, and wait for results. Inbound marketing, by contrast, requires a lot more time even if it’s cheaper. You may gain a higher ROI and more revenue from high-value blogs, videos, press interviews, and so on, but those all take significantly more time than tossing together an ad.

Return On Investment

Social listening tools take the guesswork out of content creation and brand monitoring. Even the most thorough audience research can’t predict which topics, keywords, and links will resonate most with your target audience. Pay attention to these so you know how to optimise your marketing content. Some helpful platforms: <ul><li>Answer the Public for topic ideas</li><li>Frase for popular content</li><li>Hashtagify for trending hashtags</li></ul>

Boosting ROI: Social Listening

A marketing automation platform such as SharpSpring takes care of repetitive tasks and helps your team build stronger relationships with both leads and customers.  Marketing automation allows you to send targeted messages depending on each lead’s origin and activity, as well as coordinate your email outreach and social content. Ideally, your marketing automation platform also integrates with a CRM to handle sales and subsequent upsells/renewals and retention.

Boosting ROI: Marketing Automation

To optimise your content before it goes out to your audience, check out these helpful tools: <ul><li>Grammarly: basic spelling/grammar check, along with tone/diction assessment, readability review, and English variations for different countries</li><li>Airtable: a spreadsheet-based platform that allows you to draft, collaborate on, and automate content for various channels</li><li>Canva: Simple graphic design with social scheduling options, easy content copying, and brand templates</li><li>AI: powerful transcription service to document voice conversations and convert them into reusable content</li></ul>

Boosting ROI: Content Creation

Sales enablement is an emerging field that entails better coordination of marketing and sales teams. The idea is to share data from website analytics and social insights with sales reps, as well as CRM data and service requests with marketers. This allows a small business to better understand its customers’ life cycle, pain points, and preferences. Your marketing automation and CRM platforms both feed into sales enablement, but you’ll also need to set up internal workflows to tweak campaigns and processes. Utilise tools like Clickup, Asana and Highspot.

Sales Enablement

These marketing tactics are now considered black-hat and may run you afoul of data privacy laws, Google’s algorithms, and social platforms’ terms of use:<ul><li>Sending unsolicited messages to purchased email lists</li><li>Keyword stuffing or cloaking</li><li>Link farming (i.e. posting your website’s URL on link-heavy pages)</li><li>Automated messaging or following via LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook (These platforms’ native auto-response tools and messages sent to qualified leads are okay.)</li><li>Follow–unfollow tactics</li></ul>

Stuff To Avoid

The right mix of cost-efficient inbound and outbound marketing allows SMEs to grow their customer base without hurting their profits. Here are the best marketing strategies for small businesses.

Find out why the most effective marketing strategies for small businesses focus on creating customer relationships above all else.

Top Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses - SharpSpring

How vital is candidate experience to a company’s recruitment marketing strategy? Look no further than a Talent Board study that listed the top three reasons candidates end the application process: disrespect of time (37 percent), poor recruiter rapport (32 percent), and length of the hiring process (29 percent).The candidate's experience in recruiting should provide a picture of not only the duties and responsibilities of a role but also the culture, mission, and values of an organization. It should answer common questions: “What happens after I apply?” “When will I hear back?”

The Candidate Experience 

Besides telling candidates what to expect—both in the recruitment process and while on the job—consider incorporating educational content such as blog posts, infographics, and videos into your recruitment marketing strategy. A human-interest piece from an applicant’s perspective can also help pique the interest of potential hires and create a more marketable candidate experience.

Improve the Candidate Experience During Recruitment: Spotlight The Process In Diverse Ways

Let candidates currently in the queue know when to expect a response and consider communicating all pertinent information across different mediums. Email is an obvious choice, but you might also employ automated messaging, chatbots, and text messaging to be even more responsive while supporting the variety of communication preferences modern candidates have. Many companies now use automated communication platforms, 24/7 live chat support, and help desk ticketing systems to meet the urgency people often feel during the application process.

Keep Communication Consistent During The Process

As the world gets more automated, it’s easy to lose that human element in our day-to-day interactions. Even when talent prefers to handle everything digitally, there are still opportunities for warmth and humanity within the candidate experience during recruitment. Automation and other recruitment technology shouldn’t be reserved for only rare occasions, though. You can’t beat the speed and immediacy it affords your candidate engagement activities.

Humanize The Experience

Improving the experience of the candidate

The overall candidate experience plays a significant role in hiring the right people. Here are ways to bolster your recruitment process.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Nina Alvarez
@iamnina

12 Lead Magnet Ideas for Your Website

Homo sapiens is #9. Who were the eight other human species?

The Rise of the “Corporate Nomad”

Understanding the Different Types of NFTs

Finding Language/Market Fit: Introduction

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Nina Alvarez@iamnina

12 Lead Magnet Ideas for Your Website

Homo sapiens is #9. Who were the eight other human species?

The Rise of the “Corporate Nomad”

Understanding the Different Types of NFTs

Finding Language/Market Fit: Introduction

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Nina Alvarez
@iamnina