#SproutChat Calendar: Upcoming Topics for November 2017

It’s hard to believe that 2018 is just around the corner. With the oncoming holiday season and end-of-year wrap ups, it’s more important than ever to carve out some time for personal development. That’s why this November #SproutChat is offering a big variety of topics, from holiday planning to agency life, SEO and more. We’ve got you covered.

Interested in a particular chat? Just click the “Add to Calendar” button. If you can’t make a chat but want to connect with other folks in the industry, join our Facebook community.

Wednesday, November 1: Planning for the Holidays

Every social media professional knows that the holidays are synonymous with planning ahead. We’ll chat about best practices for mapping out social strategy during one of the busier times of the year, planning out your content calendar, tracking traffic and in-store purchasing.

Add to Calendar: Apple   Google   Outlook   Outlook.com   Yahoo

Wednesday, November 8: Overcoming Challenges in an Agency

From juggling multiple accounts to perfecting brand voice for different brands, working in an agency is never dull. In this week’s #SproutChat, we’ll be joined by Sprout All Star Elite, Kellen McGugan of BigWing, to chat best practices for making #AgencyLife as efficient as possible.

Add to Calendar: Apple   Google   Outlook   Outlook.com   Yahoo

Wednesday, November 15: SEO & Social Media

What’s the relationship between SEO and social? Is it possible to boost your brand’s SEO ranking with social media? Join this week’s #SproutChat with Sprout All Star, Lexie Kimball of Netvantage Marketing, to talk about getting the most out of social media and SEO.

Add to Calendar: Apple   Google   Outlook   Outlook.com   Yahoo

Wednesday, November 29: Essential Tools for Community Managers

Community Managers have multi-faceted careers that really flex their communication skills and require them to stay on top of current trends. In this #SproutChat, we’ll discuss essential tools to make your life as a Community Manager a breeze.

Add to Calendar: Apple   Google   Outlook   Outlook.com   Yahoo

This post #SproutChat Calendar: Upcoming Topics for November 2017 originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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YouTube Optimization: How to Score More Views & Subscribers

Great British Bake Off judge tweets winner after timezone mixup (spoilers)

The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) final is the highlight of the UK television calendar. The anticipation is palpable, as the British public wait to find out who will be crowned master baker. That anticipation will be deflated somewhat, much like a souffle that wouldn’t rise, as GBBO judge Prue Leith just tweeted out the winner, hours before it was due to be announced officially. Spoilers, obviously. Prue, who is currently in the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan, blamed the tweet on the fact she worked out the time difference incorrectly. She has since issued an apology and deleted the…

This story continues at The Next Web

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Instagram Campaigns Failing? Learn From These Highly-Successful Brands

Russians orchestrated rallies and protests across America using Facebook

Russian-backed Facebook Pages were responsible for dozens of real-world political events in the US, including a “Blue Lives Matter” rally in one city and a police brutality protest in another – on the same days. The extent to which the Russian propaganda machine has influenced Americans continues to unfold, and it’s becoming apparent ads purchased by bad actors may be the least of our worries. A Wall Street Journal investigation today revealed at least 60 marches, rallies, or protests were orchestrated, publicized or financed by eight Russian-backed Facebook Pages. By the numbers, the report seems to indicate a level of…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Facebook

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After 10 years the Like Button still gets a thumbs up from us

The Like Button, made famous by Facebook, has officially hit its 10th anniversary — and it’s so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine our internet without it. In case you don’t remember the dark, wild time of 2007, let me give you a quick crash course: Facebook didn’t create the Like button, per se. The button originally debuted October 30, 2007 on a platform called FriendFeed. At the time, it just looked like a blue hyperlink with the word “Like” as anchor text. Like, ten years, today!https://t.co/n42z9g1SgD @btaylor http://pic.twitter.com/8gHhvTaiIj — Paul Buchheit (@paultoo) October 30, 2017 FriendFeed, which was acquired…

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Why Single Opt-In? And an Update for Our EU Customers

Last Tuesday, we announced in an email to our customers that MailChimp is adding single opt-in as an option for email lists, and making it the default setting in new and existing lists starting October 31.

However, we’ve made an important change for MailChimp users located in the European Union: If your primary contact address is in the EU, your existing forms will remain double opt-in. You can change your lists to single opt-in on the Signup Preferences page at any time. After November 3, you’ll also be able to make that change in each list’s settings.

We made this decision after receiving a lot of feedback from EU customers who told us that single opt-in does not align with their business needs in light of the upcoming GDPR and other local requirements. We heard you, and we’re sorry that we caused confusion. Customers located in the EU will receive an email from us today to let them know how we’ve changed the plan.

Please know we are committed to helping our customers get ready for the GDPR. Double opt-in provides additional proof of consent, and we suggest you continue using double opt-in if your business will be subject to the GDPR.

For customers outside the EU, existing forms will still switch to single opt-in on October 31. You can switch back to double opt-in at any time through the Signup Preferences page or in each list’s settings. Going forward, all new lists can be set to double opt-in during the list creation process or in list settings.

Why single opt-in?

We know that some of you are curious about why we’re moving to single opt-in as a default, after having been double opt-in by default for so long. I’m happy to address that.

I run the Research team here at MailChimp, and every 6 weeks we go to a new city and interview small businesses. In those interviews, more and more business owners are bringing up double opt-in. What they’ve been saying is that double opt-in is not an easy journey for their customers. Some go so far as to say that double opt-in is “broken.”

At MailChimp, the idea of making something easy for a customer is core to who we are. When our customers expressed concerns that double opt-in was becoming increasingly ineffective, we decided to dig deeper.

What our data shows

Over the past 5 years, most email service providers have moved their email marketing from double opt-in to single opt-in. But that’s not why we’ve followed suit.

Rather, as the majority of companies have moved to single opt-in, recipients have become re-educated on how email marketing confirmation works. Today, most people don’t expect or look for a double opt-in confirmation message when they subscribe to a newsletter.

Indeed, we’ve seen double-opt in rates within MailChimp slip to 39%. This means 61% of people start but do not finish the double opt-in process.

Some of those email addresses may be misspellings, misdirected forum spam bots, or other problematic subscriptions. But after analysis by our own data scientists, we discovered that the overwhelming majority of those who don’t complete the double opt-in process are legitimate subscribers who no longer anticipate the confirmation message.

This shift in norms has led most of our customers to prefer single opt-in. But since MailChimp has only supported double opt-in in our native signup forms, the only choice for customers who wanted single opt-in has been a custom integration or third-party form. (Our API has supported single opt-in since 2009.) This new default doesn’t affect imports or API calls, which account for 98% of subscriptions entering our system today.

So while we’ll continue to support double opt-in, we’re shifting the behavior of native forms in MailChimp to default to single opt-in. We’re making this change now because we have stronger, more intelligent data-backed systems in place to prevent spam for all of our hosted forms—double and single opt-in—so we don’t expect this to impact deliverability.

Benefits to both

Many of our customers are excited about this change, but we’ve also heard from customers who have concerns about our decision to change the default setting on existing lists. We understand that it adds an extra step for those who want to remain double opt-in, but we wanted to simplify the process for the majority of customers who prefer single opt-in. We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to keep double opt-in as well, and you can change your settings at any time.

Ultimately, you should decide which opt-in method is best for your business. Single opt-in helps you grow your list and give customers a fluid, user-friendly experience when they sign up for marketing emails. Double opt-in is great for customers who want that extra step to confirm email addresses have a valid, monitored inbox, and it can have a positive impact on open and click rates. Double opt-in can also be used to satisfy local regulations or meet recommended email marketing practices in areas of the world with differing requirements.

Learn more about both options in our Knowledge Base.

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Tech giants should leave internet policing up to AI, for the sake of humanity

30 years ago, Peter Weller took on the role as Robocop, a dystopian entity revived by mega corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) as a superhuman law enforcer running the Detroit Police Department. Badass cop, but maybe not the most effective one. Robocop had a fourth classified law never to arrest or attack anyone from OCP — the company that made it. But gone are the days when this sci-fi action film was perceived as just another fanatical blockbuster. We have entered an era that some perceive as concerningly familiar — except in this version of events, tech giants YouTube, Facebook,…

This story continues at The Next Web

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#SproutChat Recap: Best Practices for Managing Content

What’s the key to managing content when working on larger marketing teams? What’s best practice for keeping track of content performance? These are questions we face everyday, as content is the bread and butter of any social strategy.

So in this week’s #SproutChat, we discussed best practices for documenting your content management processes for and amplifying your efforts.

Organization Is Key

Take care to organize your multimedia content and keep track of it in an asset library for easy finding. Keep documentation of what kinds of content you’re using for each social platform.

A1. Keep it organized! Have a system for naming/tagging and make sure the whole team is on board. @SproutSocial asset library is amazing!

— Becca Keyes (@BeccaKeyes) October 25, 2017

A1: Having multiple versions of content customized for different platforms. #SproutChat

— Javier Sanabria (@SanabriaJav) October 25, 2017

A1: In the wise words of @garyvee, "Document don't create." #SproutChat

— Flying Cork (@flyingcorkpgh) October 25, 2017

A1: usage accessible, clutter-free, multimedia content should be managed on Social media. #SproutChat

— QL Tech Australia (@QLTechAustralia) October 26, 2017

A1: Keep everything organized! Designate different folders for varied media and make sure you keep track of important content #SproutChat

— Skylar Glunk (@skyglunk) October 25, 2017

Create Now, Edit Later

If you’re in charge of social for a live event or on the go, try to remember that you can always edit content later. Take as many raw photos and videos as you can for repurposing later on in your content pipeline.

A2: Always keep your phone handy (and a battery charger). Content can easily be emailed or sent via Google Drive. #SproutChat

— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) October 25, 2017

A2: Designate roles and responsibilities in advance so people know what visual content to capture during the event. #SproutChat

— Sortis Marketing (@SortisMarketing) October 25, 2017

A2 Take AS MANY pics as possible. Sift later for best content to post.Plan specific shot/video to take & post while attending. #SproutChat

— Russ Palmer (@RussPalmer) October 25, 2017

A2 a: Remember, just because it is live doesn't mean it has to be posted in real time. Get footage, images and quotes and #edit. #SproutChat

— John Venen (@JohnVenen) October 25, 2017

Tagging Creates Seamless Processes

There are a variety of ways to organize social content, but tagging might be the easiest (and most effective) method. Tag your visual assets for quick look up and utilize UTM tagging for easily tracking your content’s performance.

A4 Ensure the tag for the content matches utm code so you can easily track its success via Google Analytics #sproutchat

— Toby Metcalf (@Toby_Metcalf) October 25, 2017

A4. Everyone has a different way to organize things. Just keep it simple enough that others can follow it too 🙂 #SproutChat http://pic.twitter.com/hU5qU0OIWT

— Venture Icon Media (@VentureIcon) October 25, 2017

A4 Saving the media with specific name such as StageEventTW will help differentiate #SproutChat

— Tony Stephan (@SirKingofGifs) October 25, 2017

A4: #hashtag, #hashtag, #hastag!!! Love using these 🙂 #sproutchat

— Carly Stonehouse (@StonehouseCarly) October 25, 2017

A4: We LOVE tags. From #Blogs to #3rdparty – everyone gets a tag! #SproutChat http://pic.twitter.com/6avo8KBLwq

— Bambu by Sprout (@BambuBySprout) October 25, 2017

Amplify Your Efforts

If you’re launching a new social campaign make sure that your employee advocates are aware and ensure that you’ve socialized the news to the company at large. Create easy to share social copy and visuals so that the barrier to share is low.

A6: Set example by sharing on your personal social media accounts! #SproutChat

— Skylar Glunk (@skyglunk) October 25, 2017

A6: Teach employees & brand advocates about your strategy so when they curate their own, it reflects your values & mission #SproutChat

— Alena Colborn (@alenaonme) October 25, 2017

A6: Making people aware. We devote tons of time to campaigns but others just scroll by. Make it easy & shareable. #sproutchat

— Meredith Davis 💖 (@meredithnd) October 25, 2017

A6: If it's a larger campaign we share hashtags and background in our internal newsletters #SproutChat

— Shannonigans (@mausi_nana) October 25, 2017

A6: Visually capturing and easily accessible/shareable material is my key way of amplifying the content I post #SproutChat

— Alec Jones (@alecjonespr) October 25, 2017

A6: I send Slack messages when new content goes live. I've sent emails with prewritten tweets before too. #sproutchat

— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 25, 2017

Join us next Wednesday, 2 P.M. CT at #SproutChat, to talk about planning social campaigns for the holidays. Until then, check out our Facebook community to connect with others in the industry.

This post #SproutChat Recap: Best Practices for Managing Content originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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Instagram adds melodramatic ‘Superzoom’ effect to Stories

Instagram is adding another wacky effect to its Stories camera, and it might be my favorite one yet. Say hello to ‘Superzoom.’ It’s pretty much what it sounds like – you select an area to zoom into it in a video. It’s sure to be used for a plethora of melodramatic videos, and Instagram even includes music to add to the effect. In other words,  you basically get to do this: To give it a go just need to select Superzoom from the camera, and tap and hold to record. Alternatively, tap it once to create a 3-second Superzoom. Considering…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Instagram

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Introducing Click Automations in your AWeber Campaigns

Your email subscribers are distracted.

Between the blogs, vlogs, tweets, snaps, chats and podcasts, not to mention the hundreds of other emails hitting the inbox, you have to battle to stand out.

You have to work harder to send the right content to the right person, exactly when they need it.

Not anymore.

We’re excited to introduce our biggest release this year – click automations. Now you can let AWeber’s Campaigns do the work for you, creating dynamic segments and automatically sending relevant content based on the links your subscribers click.

Want to secure your spot for a demo? Join Tom Tate on Thursday, November 16 at 11 a.m. EST or Tuesday, November 21 at 3 p.m. EST for a live webinar to explore even more practical use cases for automations.

What are automations and why should I use them?

 

 

The release of click automations in Campaigns empowers AWeber users to easily segment their audience and send more relevant emails to their subscribers based on the links they click.

By doing this, small business owners and entrepreneurs can deliver content based on an individual subscriber’s behavior, interests and preferences, which can then drive an increase in sales and revenue.

In fact, Yes Lifecycle Marketing recently reported that in the first quarter of 2017 triggered emails yielded open rates of 27.6 percent, as compared to business-as-usual emails which only yielded open rates of 15.3 percent. The same report noted that triggered emails generated unique click rates of 6.0 percent, as compared to the 1.3 percent open rates of business-as-usual emails.

That’s the value in sending triggered emails. You can cut through a cluttered inbox by not only sending the content your subscribers want, but by truly sending the content they need.

Let’s say you run a successful food blog and your primary source of revenue is from selling digital meal plans. You might have meal plans for 30-minute meals, designed for busy eaters with limited time to prep. You might also have allergen-free or family-friendly meal plans.

With click automations, you can tag subscribers with “gluten-free” or “30-minute meal,” based on the links they click in a welcome email. You can then use these tagged segments to deliver one-time, targeted broadcast emails or even launch contextual automation series by these tags.

You can successfully avoid distributing that delicious pork taco recipe to your vegan followers, or a family meal plan to a time-strapped, single professional.

With click automations, you can also give your subscribers opportunities to request additional information with a single click.

Launching a new product or service? Send a link that says, “Click here to learn more about my new recipe book.” Tag subscribers and automatically send a new nurturing sequence of emails to showcase the value of your new collection of recipes and how to buy.

How could I use automations?

There are dozens of practical use cases for automations that will add significant value to your business. (There are dozens of imaginative use cases as well– just check out our Creative Director Chris Vasquez’s virtual pet sequence! It’s amazing.)

Here are two simple use cases and how you might apply them to your own emails to increase sales or grow your business.

Segment your subscribers in your welcome email

 

 

Many subscribers might join your list after filling out a form on your website. While this is a great way to attract a lot of subscribers, it doesn’t always indicate what subscribers want or need, or give you much information about them. And this is a problem because different subscribers might be interested in different content, products or services.

But automations provide an easy fix for this!

With click automations, you can easily segment your subscribers in your first automated message – the welcome email.

By segmenting your subscribers based on clicked links in your first welcome email, you can create two (or more) separate sequences that cater to individual subscriber preferences.

Here’s how this might look using our food blog example from earlier:

Your incentive to opt-in might be, “Sign up to receive a free meal plan!”

When your new subscriber receives their welcome email, use click automations to allow them to choose the meal plan that appeals most to their preferences.

Do this by including two to three self-selection links:

• “I have limited time to cook, and I prefer easy-to-prepare and simple meals.”
• “I love to cook and don’t mind the prep!” or
• “I’d prefer healthy allergen-friendly meals.”

When a subscriber clicks, apply a specific tag, which can then trigger the appropriate campaign and meal plan.

Now that you know your subscribers’ needs, you can send more targeted promotional emails to pitch relevant products, services and offers.

Not running a food blog? You can adapt this to fit your niche or products! Perhaps you can invite your subscribers to choose their skill level if you offer paid courses, or select their specific interests if you sell physical goods.

Survey your subscribers at the end of a series

 

 

Many times, you’ll plan to send all of your subscribers the same welcome series. By sending the same content, you can educate your prospects on a specific topic or the value of your services and products. Not all subscribers are ready to be segmented from the first email.

For example, at AWeber, we’ve found great success delivering automated email courses to educate subscribers on various email marketing concepts.

At the end of the course or sequence of emails, rather than present your audience with a dead-end, use click automations to let subscribers self-select their next step in the customer journey. By presenting options, your audience can choose their own adventure, and enter into a new campaign that meets their needs.

Here’s an example of how this strategy might be applied for a food blogger:

Let’s say your incentive to join your list is a 14-day “healthy-eating challenge!”

All subscribers are added to a 14-email campaign which delivers a single educational email per day. Over the course of the two weeks, you’re guiding your subscriber through the challenge and informing them of the benefits of healthy eating.

At the end of the campaign, include a final email which contains two links:

• “That was great! I’m interested in your healthy-eating meal plans!”
• “I struggled with the challenge, but I still want to learn more!”

Apply a different tag based on each individual response and trigger two distinct automated campaigns that present your paid products and services.

Once you know how your subscribers responded to the challenge, you can send more relevant and targeted content to help guide them to the right purchase. Your different subscribers will resonate with different email content.

How do I get started?

Using automations in AWeber’s Campaigns is simple. When selecting a message within a Campaign, you’ll have the option to add an automation.

First, select your automation trigger. (We are launching automations with a single trigger – link click triggers – but we’ll be adding more triggers in the coming months.)

Second, choose “Clicks a link” and then select which link you want to apply this automation to.

Now, choose “apply a tag” as your action. Enter what tags you’d like to add or remove if a subscriber clicks this link.

Optionally, you can elect to remove a subscriber from the entire automated campaign if they click a link.

Repeat for other links within your message, as needed.

For more detailed instruction, please visit our Knowledge Base.

Join our webinar to learn more

We’ve built automations to be flexible and easy to use, yet incredibly powerful. Whether you’re sending a single welcome email or constructing a robust marketing funnel with branching logic, click automations will empower you to do more with email marketing.

Automations are included for all AWeber customers, at no extra charge.

We are incredibly excited to see what users will build with click automations.

Want to learn more? Looking for a live demo? Have a few questions? Join Tom Tate on Thursday, November 16 at 11 a.m. EST or Tuesday, November 21 at 3 p.m. EST for a live webinar to explore even more practical use cases for automations. (If those times don’t work for you, register anyway. You’ll get a copy of the recording to watch on-demand.)

Not using AWeber? Now’s the perfect opportunity to try it. Start your free trial and begin automating your marketing funnel today.

The post Introducing Click Automations in your AWeber Campaigns appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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#SproutChat Recap: Gaining Actionable Insights From Analytics

We all know the importance of data and reporting, but the truth is it’s what we do with these quantitative insights that really matters. From determining how often to pull metrics to what questions you’re trying to answer with that data, it’s crucial to devote some time to digging into analytics.

In this week’s #SproutChat, we were joined by Sprout All Star, Dave Macdonald, of SocialXpresso, to chat about best practices for gaining actionable insights from the numbers. From what metrics to pull to timing and strategy, we covered the umbrella of analytics.

Different Metrics for Platforms & Goals

Make sure that when you’re creating goals for your social media strategy, that you’re also identifying which metrics are valuable to your brand overall. Metrics differ across various content types as your intent behind each differs.

A1: We put the highest priority on measuring engagement rates regardless of the platform. #sproutchat http://pic.twitter.com/0UksMkL8Xt

— Dave Macdonald (@rdavemacdonald) October 18, 2017

A1: The metric that is most important varies depending on the goal of the social media platform. What are you trying to achieve? #sproutchat

— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 18, 2017

It matters more by content type. If the goal is awareness – impressions + engagement. If the goal is conversion – click through. #SproutChat https://t.co/Zp4qbBxmdk

— JL Summerfield (@JLSummerfield) October 18, 2017

A1 For me for Facebook advertising for eCommerce, I focus a lot on impressions. The consumer needs frequency on an ad #sproutchat

— PCG Companies (@pcgdigital) October 18, 2017

A1: Engagement metrics (shares, likes, comments) are important across all social media platforms. #SproutChat

— Sortis Marketing (@SortisMarketing) October 18, 2017

A1: Different stakeholder may have different goals, which means they should pay attention to different metrics. #SproutChat [TK]

— ModSquad (@modsquad) October 18, 2017

A1: The most important metrics to follow are the ones that lead to your goals/KPIs. I think Cheshire Cat said it best. #SproutChat http://pic.twitter.com/eKDF5kI2YG

— Patricia Weigle (@SocialTruffles) October 18, 2017

Pull Data, but Not Too Frequently

It’s hard to identify particular trends or patterns if you don’t give your content time to full flourish. If you’re looking for granular data points on particular posts, checking in daily is fine.

A2: We only measure the first 28 days for monthly reports and 90 days for quarterly reports to create consistent reporting. #sproutchat

— Dave Macdonald (@rdavemacdonald) October 18, 2017

A2: For Most clients, we pull monthly. A few want to see WoW and MoM- newer and trending brands. #SproutChat

— Jordana (@MamaKujo) October 18, 2017

A2: It's great to measure social media results weekly. It helps to see what's worked and what hasn't with your content. #SproutChat

— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) October 18, 2017

A2 Weekly and monthly, beter to track, analyze and see any changes #SproutChat

— Ivana Ćirković (@i_cirkovic) October 18, 2017

A2: We (mostly my student intern tbh) pulls daily to check for impact (do we repost). I pull and assess monthly and quarterly. #SproutChat https://t.co/bwNO90Aevb

— Josh Kohnert (@JoshKohnert) October 18, 2017

A2. I like to pull metrics weekly to get something more comprehensive to report further on #SproutChat

— Melissa Omolo (@AyotAdhiambo) October 18, 2017

A2: Often times monthly. But then in times where there's good traction I go for WoW. #SproutChat https://t.co/y1TBTF98Mm

— Dhaval Shah (@dhavalgshah) October 18, 2017

A2: always at least monthly, sometimes weekly or daily if I'm looking for something specific or just starting with a brand. #sproutchat

— Heather Montgomery (@heatherslg) October 18, 2017

A2: Daily metrics for individual posts (strong copy/creative) Then compare weekly&monthly engagement to salesforce leads! #SproutChat https://t.co/VEaWoeIQ4r

— Claire Kennedy (@claireakennedy_) October 18, 2017

Track Internal Benchmarks

One of the simplest ways to measuring success on social is keeping track of internal benchmarks. This is how you’ll  see monthly and yearly growth, as well as identify where you’ll need to beef up other areas of engagement.

A3: All of our goals are attached to internal benchmarks, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't peak at competitor comparisons. #SproutChat

— Dave Macdonald (@rdavemacdonald) October 18, 2017

A3. Internal benchmarks that were derived from researching industries (not just HESM), and competitors. #SproutChat https://t.co/WfwECVkoir

— Josh Kohnert (@JoshKohnert) October 18, 2017

A3: Start with internal benchmarks. If you're not living up to what you're trying to achieve internally, keep your focus there. #sproutchat

— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 18, 2017

A3 If aplicable. Important to know if we're on the right track or do things better 🙂 #sproutchat

— Ivana Ćirković (@i_cirkovic) October 18, 2017

A3: You should look at all of these to see how you measure up to others and whether you're meeting established goals. #SproutChat

— Sortis Marketing (@SortisMarketing) October 18, 2017

A3: mostly internal but keep an eye out for industry and competitors 👀 #SproutChat

— Shannonigans (@mausi_nana) October 18, 2017

A3: Yes, depending on the program & its goals. Important to have a reference to measure success by & in some cases, improve on. #SproutChat

— WolfeSolutions (@WolfeSoIutions) October 18, 2017

A3: We compare against internal benchmarks for growth & to inform our decisions for the future. #SproutChat https://t.co/DYZRizrGEO

— Aisha White (@itsaishawhite) October 18, 2017

A3 All of the above! Normally spend the most time on internal benchmarks, but check on industry & competitors on a reg basis too #SproutChat

— Katie Burton (@KatieBurton_) October 18, 2017

Metrics Answer Strategy Questions

It’s one thing to create a social strategy before the start of the new year, but without tracking metrics it’s difficult to tell if your efforts are paying off. All of the questions you may be asking yourself when you’re posting social content can be answered by taking a peek into the analytics.

A5a: Every bit of data you collect "Yes! Even most vanity metrics" can assist your optimization efforts. #SproutChat

— Dave Macdonald (@rdavemacdonald) October 18, 2017

A5b: The key to SM metrics especially "vanity metrics" is to remember the old saying "correlation does not imply causation." #sproutchat http://pic.twitter.com/AYYOP0qoWf

— Dave Macdonald (@rdavemacdonald) October 18, 2017

A5: Data is a driving force for your strategy. Treat it like a compass to point your strategy in the right direction. #SproutChat

— Flying Cork (@flyingcorkpgh) October 18, 2017

a5) Important to set up the tracking and key metrics upfront to make sure you can capture all key elements. #sproutchat

— Steve Cassady (@SteveCassady) October 18, 2017

A5) How about how much time to spend on it? Maybe you have a small but dedicated following. Have you engaged whom you want to? #sproutchat https://t.co/mm4eZPdAYk

— Jeremy Bond (@JeremyDBond) October 18, 2017

A5: Measuring metrics help you realize what is working and what isn't. It's the only feedback you get on your social strategy. #SproutChat

— Sway Group (@SwayGroup) October 18, 2017

A5 Metrics can show what content your audience is responding to best, what platforms are driving results, & best time to post. #SproutChat http://pic.twitter.com/MlnfPJn9C1

— Katie Burton (@KatieBurton_) October 18, 2017

A5: All about that data to support or deny your theory! #SproutChat

— Cindy Stuntz (@cindy_stuntz) October 18, 2017

A5. When you set KPI, following the metrics helps you see how you´re hitting your targets. And if not, where to make adjustments #SproutChat http://pic.twitter.com/zpqRWypVOa

— Patricia Weigle (@SocialTruffles) October 18, 2017

Be sure to join us in next Wednesday’s #SproutChat to talk about best practices for managing content. Until then, check out our Facebook community to connect with other brilliant folks in the social and digital marketing sphere.

This post #SproutChat Recap: Gaining Actionable Insights From Analytics originally appeared on Sprout Social.

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22 Brilliant Lead Magnets That’ll Inspire You to Grow Your Email List Right Now

If you want to maximize your email list growth, you need a lead magnet. A lead magnet is something you give people when they subscribe to your email list. And really, it can be anything – as long as it's something your subscribers want. The only problem? Sometimes, it can be really difficult to come up with an idea for your lead magnet. You may struggle to figure out what your audience would want. You may worry that it'll be too time consuming to create a lead magnet. You might doubt that your ideas are any good. Or, you may just be out of ideas. So what can you do about it? Check out these 22 brilliant lead magnets. Not only will you get proven ideas from 22 different businesses across multiple industries, you'll also be inspired by how fun and simple lead magnets can be. Let's dive in.

Food bloggers

Do you have a blog with recipes, cooking or baking tips or anything culinary? These lead magnet examples are for you:

Minimalist Baker: Detox Guide

Minimalist Baker gives their subscribers a free Detox Guide for joining their email list. Since many of the recipes on their blog are healthy, gluten-free or vegan, their health-focused audience would value a free detox guide. And since lead magnets should be aligned with an audience's needs and interests, this makes it a great lead magnet.Skinnytaste: exclusive content and recipes You don't always need to create something big to give your audience a valuable lead magnet. Skinnytaste, a site filled with beautiful food images and healthy recipes, offers exclusive content as their lead magnet. This works because of FOMO (fear of missing out). If blog followers don't subscribe, they'll miss out on exclusive content and recipes.

SmokingMeat.com: A 37-page eBook

Who wouldn't give up their email address for a 37-page ebook that teaches them something they've been dying to learn? That's exactly what Jeff Phillips of SmokingMeat.com deliver to subscribers for free once they subscribe to his email list. And it's an awesome lead magnet because it's something his meat lovin' followers are passionate about.

The Full Helping: Plant-Based Starter Kit

If you've decided to start eating vegan, you probably want some expert advice on where to begin. That's why The Full Helping's free Plant-Based Starter Kit is something site visitors would gladly exchange their email address for. The image on the form helps people visualize what they'll receive when they join, which makes this lead magnet even more effective. Plus, this form content explains additional reasons to subscribe, like getting access to The Full Helping archives and nutrition counseling services.

Fitness experts

Are you a personal trainer or fitness expert? Try a lead magnet similar to one of these four examples:

Athlean-X: "24 Second Fix" video

Have you ever done serious weight lifting? If so, you know that good form is crucial, especially when you're just getting started. Fitness Expert Jeff Cavaliere of ATHLEAN-X created a lead magnet video to help his audience correct and avoid a common weight lifting mistake. By not directly stating what the mistake is, Jeff builds curiosity, making people wonder what it might be. He also emphasizes that subscribers can easily fix the mistake with his "24-Second Fix." By building curiosity and assuring people they can easily fix this mistake, Jeff makes his lead magnet video even more appealing to his audience.

Nerd Fitness: NF Rebellion Starter Kit and free tools!

Geared towards nerds who want to get fit, Nerd Fitness is one of the coolest and most unique fitness sites I've ever seen. In their email sign up form, they promise a free NF Rebellion Starter Kit as well as free tools, downloadable guides and tactical articles for anyone who signs up. Wow! That's a lot of stuff. By offering so much to their new subscribers, they make joining their email list a simple decision.

Tony Gentilcore: deadlift quick-tip guide

Beyond promising weekly fresh content, Personal Trainer Tony Gentilcore gives subscribers a deadlift quick-tip guide. Properly executing a deadlift is difficult, so this guide is a great resource for resolving a common lifting problem. And lead magnets that help resolve your audience's common problems are the most successful! Tony's site has a unique writing tone, which he incorporates in his sign up form and lead magnet. This helps display his personality, and may increase email sign ups, because people love personality.

Betty Rocker: 30-Day Body Weight Challenge video workout series

High value lead magnets get the most subscribers. And Betty Rocker's 30-day workout video series is definitely very valuable. Anyone who fills out this form, receives 30 emails containing 30 video workouts over 30 days. For those fighting to get fit, this is valuable. And she's giving it away for free!   Plus, she's able to demonstrate her expertise and teaching abilities throughout the 30 videos, which will make people more likely to purchase one of her paid video courses in the future.

Business and marketing consultants

Do you offer advice on growing or marketing a business? Check out these examples from other people just like you:

Enchanting Marketing: writing course

If you don't want to create a guide or ebook, there's another simple way to deliver written content to your subscribers: an email course. Copywriter and Marketing Consultant Henneke of Enchanting Marketing offers a 16-part copywriting email course as her lead magnet. She delivers each lesson in a short, snackable email, and subscribers get all of the lessons in under a month.

An email course is a great way to deliver a valuable lead magnet to your subscribers while establishing a relationship with them in the inbox.

Smart Business Revolution: 72-word email template

Everybody loves something that saves them time and gets big results. And that's what John Corcoran of Smart Business Revolution promises people who subscribe to his list. His lead magnet is a "magic email template" that helps people connect with influencers and VIPs. Templates are great lead magnets, because they're easy for your audience to quickly use and get value from.

Your lead magnet could be an email, blog post or video script template – or even something as simple as a Facebook ad template!

Melyssa Griffin: library of free resources

If you have a collection of exclusive, educational resources, they could be the perfect incentive to convince people to subscribe to your email list. Melyssa Griffin, a business consultant and online course creator, offers access to her library of free resources in exchange for joining her list.

This works well because her audience of entrepreneurs are often business newbies looking for advice on a wide range of business topics. And that's exactly what she offers – for free!

 Jeff Bullas: "101+ Tips to Grow Your Web Traffic" eBook

Great lead magnets deliver great results. Jeff Bullas promises to double your traffic with his lead magnet "101 Tips to Grow Your Web Traffic." Not only is this an amazing result, but the lead magnet contains a whopping 101 tips! This increases the perceived value of the lead magnet and the chances that website visitors will subscribe.

On the sign up form for your own lead magnet, mention the good results that people can get from your lead magnet. This will increase your sign up form conversion rates.

Excellence Expected: free weekly coaching session

Your lead magnet doesn't need to be written or recorded video content. You can also give away a live training session, workshop or webinar when someone subscribes to your list. Beyond boosting your list growth, this immediately puts a face to your brand and helps you build a relationship with your audience. On Business Coach Mark Asquith's website, Excellence Expected, he provides weekly free training sessions to anyone who subscribes to his list. By doing this, he increases list growth through offering a valuable incentive and shows off his expertise during live training sessions.

Amy Porterfield: choose between 3 different cheat sheets

So this is cool. Business Consultant and Marketing Expert Amy Porterfield has options on her website. Visitors can choose between three different lead magnets with three different topics (or download them all!). With three options, people will be more likely to find a lead magnet that aligns with their interests, which means they'll be more likely to subscribe to her email list. And because cheat sheets are short and easy to create, you could easily write three of your own cheatsheets and give people options on your site as well.

Authors

Have you written a book and you're wondering how to promote it? Try email marketing. You just need to grow your email audience first. Here are a few lead magnets that help other authors grow their lists:

Candace Payne: wookie coloring sheet

This one's unique. Ever seen the viral Chewbacca mom video? After the crazy success of this video, Candace Payne continues to delight her audience with great content. Her latest project is a book – Laugh It Up. To grow her email audience and promote her book, she uses a creative lead magnet: a wookie coloring sheet. Her subscribers can join her list and color in her wookie lead magnet. This fun lead magnet aligns well with the tone and purpose of her website, to bring  joy to people's lives.

Your lead magnet doesn't need to be an ebook, guide or video. It can be something as creative and simple as a coloring sheet!

Self-Publishing school: free workshop

Chandler Bolt, a best-selling author and online course creator, presents a free, online workshop to anyone who subscribes to his list. During the workshop, he shows people how to become successful authors themselves. This helps him build an email audience for Self-Publishing School, where he sells access to his online courses and his books.

If you're a good public speaker, workshops might be the perfect lead magnet.

The Art of Non-Conformity: top blog posts

Here's a simple, yet effective, lead magnet: Send your subscribers a curated list of your best blog posts in your welcome email. You won't need to create any new content for this lead magnet, and you'll introduce your subscribers to your blog. Chris Guillebeau, author and founder of The Art of Non-Conformity, does this on his website sign up form. Notice the bottom of his form where he writes, "Subscribe now and you'll get the best posts of all time."

eCommerce businesses

Honestly, eCommerce lead magnets are probably the easiest to set up and create, because they're often product discounts. Check out these real-life examples to get ideas for your own eCommerce lead magnet:

Magnolia Market: 15 percent off

Chip and Joanna Gaines' online store Magnolia Market sells home goods. They offer 15 percent off one purchase to anyone who visits their site and subscribes to their email list. On top of that, their email subscribers will also receive exclusive updates, flash sale emails and inspiration.

Levis: 20 percent off and free shipping on first order

Beyond a product discount, you can also offer free shipping to people who subscribe to your email list. Levis offers both to their site visitors. Check out their simple form and lead magnet below:

Sierra Trading Post: free shipping and a chance to win a $1000 giftcard

You don't need to limit your eCommerce lead magnets to free shipping and discounts. You can also offer things like gift cards or free products. Sierra Trading Post gives their subscribers free shipping on their first order, plus a chance to win $1000.

Travel bloggers

Love to travel and blog about your trips? Here are some lead magnet ideas you could use to grow your list, too!

Nomadic Matt: step-by-step insider tips

Believe it or not, emails can be your lead magnet. For example, you could send a weekly educational newsletter or educational automated email series. Nomadic Matt sends his subscribers his best blog content through email automation and one-time emails. This serves as his lead magnet.   When creating your lead magnet, be creative! As long as it's something free and valuable to your audience, it's a lead magnet.

The Blonde Abroad: Exclusive tips and giveaways

Similar to Nomadic Matt, The Blonde Abroad gives subscribers exclusive travel content, plus access to top blog posts, when they subscribe. Pro tip: Notice how this sign up form mentions that 200,000 other people read The Blonde Abroad's content? This is called social proof, and it's a great way to increase sign up form conversions.

Go and create a lead magnet (And download this free video course!)

I hope these 22 examples from other businesses inspired you to create your own lead magnet! Want more guidance? Join our free video course "Email List Growth Blueprint" and get step-by-step instruction on creating your own lead magnet and sign up form.

The post 22 Brilliant Lead Magnets That’ll Inspire You to Grow Your Email List Right Now appeared first on Email Marketing Tips.

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