We have three new features that are extremely quick to set up, but could mean significant growth and new revenue streams for your business.
The first two have been added to your ecommerce options in our Landing Page builder: Subscriptions and Payment Plans. Now, in addition to offering a one-time payment, you can set up a subscription service or payment plan for your customers.
Read on to learn more:
Subscriptions
You can now set up a subscription payment service directly on your landing pages.
Subscriptions, also known as recurring payments, are incredibly beneficial for all businesses. Here’s why:
You have a dependable revenue source every month.
They help build ongoing relationships with your customers.
Subscriptions are often more affordable than bulk services and expensive products, allowing a lower barrier to entry.
You can set them up as ongoing donations, allowing fans to tip you or donate to your non-profit endeavors on a regular basis.
How to get started
To get set up, add an ecommerce button to your landing page and choose “Subscription” rather than “One-time” when setting up your payment.
You can choose a weekly, monthly, or yearly subscription model and choose or create any new product at any price.
Note: To set up payments you will need to be connected to Stripe, which you can do in minutes.
Payment plans
You can also offer payment plans for products and services on your landing pages. Do you have a high-value item or course you offer?
Payment plans are a win-win for you and your customers. Here’s why:
Customers with budget limits can still access your more expensive offerings by paying over time.
You don’t have to reduce costs in order to expand your customer base.
Reduced financial pressure leads to more satisfied customers, who could become local advocates for your business.
How to get started
The same as you would for subscriptions, add an ecommerce button to your landing page and choose “Payment plan” rather than “One-time” for your payment. You’ll need to set a number of payments and a frequency, either weekly, monthly, or yearly.
Note: To set up payments you will need to be connected to Stripe, which you can do in minutes.
We’ve also made an update to make web push notifications better for you and your subscribers.
Web push welcome notifications
You asked, and we answered!
You can now set up an initial notification that welcomes new subscribers when they opt in to receive your web push notifications.
As a quick recap, web push notifications — also known as desktop notifications — are short, one-time messages sent straight to your subscriber’s desktop when they have a browser open.
You ask people to opt in on your site, and then you can send them a message whenever they open their browser, no matter what site they’re on.
The initial opt-in pop-up looks like this:
Welcome and all future notifications look like this:
Tips to use the welcome notification effectively:
This new welcome push notification, in essence, confirms to your subscriber that they have opted in to receive your web push notifications in the future. But there are some creative ways you can use it.
Offer a first tip or challenge to engage your subscriber
Give those who opt in a discount code they can use while still on the site
Set expectations by letting subscribers know what future notifications will look like
Scroll to the “Welcome Notification” section and enable them.
Edit the Logo, title, message and notification link URL
Click “Save Notification”
That’s it! Now whenever a website visitor subscribes to notifications on your website, they will receive the welcome push notification immediately after sign up. This signals to them that their subscription was successful.
After the welcome, they will only receive notifications when you proactively send them to your list of subscribers.
What would you like to see next?
Drop your thoughts in the comments section below. We love hearing from you and your feedback means so much to us.
Social media marketing seems to get more complex by the day as platforms add more features and more ways for businesses to reach their audience. The latest craze that nearly every platform is jumping on seems to be social media stories.
While social media stories aren’t anything new, as more platforms add this capability to their apps, it’s important for businesses to understand how to properly use these to their advantage. Not only does it give you an entirely new avenue for reaching your followers, but your content doesn’t have to be nearly as polished as it does on your feed.
Let’s dive into a little bit more about what these stories are, what platforms you’ll find them on (for now) and some of the best ways you can use this feature.
What are social media stories?
Social media stories started on Snapchat, but have since branched out to nearly every other social media and communication platform. These are quick, typically 10-15 second photo or video clips that give people a slightly different glimpse into a person or business and disappear within 24 hours.
While feeds are carefully curated, social media stories tend to be more spontaneous. For brands, this can mean showcasing smartphone-captured behind-the-scenes footage, company announcements and more.
The biggest defining factor in stories is that they are temporary. On most platforms, they last only 24 hours, although Instagram does give users the option to save certain stories to their highlights reel for users to view again and again. This helps drive the more casual feel of stories, and can also create an element of FOMO.
Now that you know a bit more about what social media stories are, let’s cover the platforms that have now introduced various versions of this feature.
What platforms offer social media stories?
For years, Snapchat was the only platform with this disappearing content feature. Then, in 2016, Instagram incorporated it into their platform. Facebook and Facebook Messenger followed not long after that. And now, we see it in nearly 10 different platforms.
We’ll show you where you can access stories on each of these platforms below.
1. Facebook Stories
As you’ll see, most platforms showcase their stories right at the top of the app so it’s one of the first things you see when you open it on your smartphone. This makes it a great way to ‘skip the line’ of the curated algorithm on many networks.
Even for desktop users, Facebook displays Stories at the top of their feed, but this feature is definitely meant more for mobile use.
You can add a story to Facebook by clicking the plus sign icon on the photo that says Add to Story, or you can create your story in Instagram and connect it to your Facebook Page.
Stories from both businesses and friends appear alongside each other, which means you’re much more likely to reach an audience on Facebook if you regularly use stories rather than only posting content to the feed.
2. Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories appear in small circles at the top of your feed. They’ll disappear once you begin scrolling, but you can easily tap the top of your screen to scroll right back up to view stories.
The first bubbles that appear will always be live videos – if anyone you follow is live – then the rest is a mixture of brand and profile stories, just like Facebook. Additionally, as users scroll through their feed or explore pages, profiles with available stories will have a colorful ring around their profile photo as a call-to-action.
3. Twitter Fleets (Stories)
Twitter’s stories feature, called Twitter Fleets, is relatively new, released in late 2020. This is a way for Twitter users to share quick thoughts that they don’t want on their regular feed via photos, videos or text. (As Twitter’s Fleets creation interface says, “Share a fleeting thought…”)
Fleets are also another way to get your actual tweets in front of more eyes. Just like how users often share their Instagram posts to their stories, you can do the same with Fleets on Twitter. This means your tweet will appear in the feed of some followers via the Twitter algorithm, whereas others might simply find it by watching through the available Fleets.
4. LinkedIn Stories
Even the business networking platform LinkedIn also has their own version of stories available at the top of their apps. While you’re not able to share the content you post on LinkedIn to their stories, this is a unique way to let your business connections get a behind-the-scenes look into your processes and business.
Although Stories content tends to be more candid, make sure that the content you share on LinkedIn stories remains professional. You’re likely not going to be sharing photos while out at happy hour on your LinkedIn the way you might on Facebook or Instagram.
5. Pinterest Stories
Pinterest’s story feature offers another way to share your Pinterest content on this platform, and the different stories stack up at the top of a user’s app. As you can see above, Glitter Guide had two separate stories they shared.
Pinterest stories also differ from other networks because they don’t disappear after 24 hours, and they stay on your profile in story form after you share them.
6. Snapchat Stories
Of course we all know Snapchat the originator of disappearing social media stories. While this format is now widespread, Snapchat did offer the first platform for many brands to experiment with how disappearing content and a more casual approach to content production might work for them on social media. Many publications and influencers have attempted to make something of their Discover pages, but Snapchat marketing can still be a strategy that works depending on your brand.
7. YouTube Stories
YouTube is also rolling out their own stories feature, although it’s currently only available for channels with over 10,000 subscribers. With YouTube Shorts appearing as a rival to TikTok’s short video content it makes sense that the most popular video sharing platform is trying to capitalize on all of the ways creators can share video content and attract audiences.
What to post on social media stories
Now that you know all of your options with publishing social media stories content, it’s time to take a quick look into a few of the types of content that perform well. These seven ideas are great ways to get started on creating social media stories for one or multiple networks, and test out the content that works for your brand.
1. Share behind-the-scenes
Social media stories are the perfect place for sharing the less curated and styled parts of your business’s products and services.
Here’s an example from a local bar sharing a quick video from a staff training day. While their feed showcases professional photos of their food and drinks, this behind-the-scenes clip shows a different side of the restaurant.
Think about what your business can do to share behind-the-scenes photos or videos. This might be showcasing employees or sharing the packaging process of your products.
2. Poll your audience
Many stories platforms have stickers that allow your viewers to interact with your stories. This means it’s a great idea to ask questions or poll your audience to get their direct feedback.
Here’s an example from Grove Collaborative, a company selling sustainable household products, uses one of their highlighted stories to educate their audience and get direct interaction from their audience via the poll sticker for Instagram Stories. Not only can this be a fun way for your viewers to engage with your brand, but you can also use it to get consumer insight on potential product ideas.
3. Link external content
Another great idea is to use your social media stories to send followers to your additional products, services, landing pages, blog posts, lead magnets and more.
While platforms like Instagram require users to meet the 10,000 follower threshold before getting access to add the swipe up link out to external content, Pinterest allows all users to link out to external content. Pinterest is more of a search engine, though, so this makes sense.
As you work towards 10,000 followers on Instagram, start taking advantage of Pinterest and other stories platforms to send traffic to your website, like we see below with Glitter Guide.
4. Share recent social posts
Want to get more traction to your regular social media posts? Share those to your stories so they’re essentially located in two places at once, maximizing reach.
We see Social Media Examiner doing this on Twitter Fleets below, and you can also do this on Facebook and Instagram Stories.
You can also share posts from other users on your stories, which can be a great way to share mentions, user-generated content or partnerships.
5. Showcase products and services
Social media stories are a great place for showcasing products and services in action, or even promoting a flash sale or a daily/weekly special.
Here’s a great example from a taco restaurant on Facebook Stories, sharing a photo and description of a limited time taco.
Create graphics like you see here, or simply share photos or video of the product/service that you’re promoting.
6. Announce company updates
Company launches, announcements or major releases are also perfect content to share on your stories. This type of content gets people excited and wanting to interact with and work with your brand.
Here’s an example from Freddy’s, announcing the opening of a new location. The announcement will show up prominently thanks to the visibility of Stories at the top of feeds, letting fans of the restaurant know and share news about the new location.
7. Repurpose content
Whether you repurpose blog posts into graphics or edit YouTube videos into vertical Stories videos, repurposing content to extend its shelf life and maximize its reach is a great use for your social media stories.
Here, we see graphic design software Visme repurposing a horizontal video and publishing it on Pinterest Stories to reach an entirely new audience.
Make the most of your social media stories
Social media stories should be a major part of your social media content strategy, especially as nearly every major network starts adding them to their sites. The disappearing and casual nature of stories makes them a great venue for experimenting with some formats that are more spontaneous or outside your usual feed content. Start testing the types of content we covered to see how your audience responds and refine your stories strategy across social networks.
As an expert, you shouldn’t lower your prices in order to make more money. That’s simply the wrong direction to go in.
First of all, the cost of what you offer is worth the value (otherwise no one would have bought it). Plus, you have profits to make — that’s the point of having a business.
But what happens when you price out people who need, want, and deserve what you sell, just because they don’t have the cash immediately?
Let’s look at an example. Jen has a high-value, expert-level marketing course. It’s 28 hours of content over 10 videos. The people who take it have 100% satisfaction in becoming better at marketing. She sells her course for $2,000.
But most small business owners, new grads and people looking for career changes don’t have $2,000 sitting in their bank accounts. So Jen’s missing out on a large number of potential customers.
Bigger companies have solved this problem in 2 ways: With payment plans and subscription models.
Now, anyone can have subscriptions and payment plans with AWeber Ecommerce!
That’s great for Jen, who can now offer an ongoing subscription to her course (sending a new video every month). Or she can keep her pricing, but allow students to pay over the course of 3-6 months, making it affordable to many more people.
These plans are unbelievably easy and quick to set up. And there’s no cost to start.
Here’s how it works: Using your existing landing page (or setting up a new one), you can now offer up to three purchase options for your customers:
One-time payments
Subscriptions/recurring payments (weekly, monthly, or yearly charges indefinitely)
Payment plans (weekly, monthly, or yearly charges until they’ve paid in full)
These three payment options open up dozens of ways to monetize your business, sell to new demographics and create additional forms of revenue that work better for you and your customers.
If you already have a subscription model or are offering multiple payments on higher-priced courses or items, you can now build this solution directly onto your AWeber landing page (so your customers don’t have to navigate away in order to pay you).
But I challenge you to see this as an opportunity to actually make more money from what your business already offers. I’ll give you some suggestions below.
But first, what are subscriptions and payment plans?
These two terms may seem obvious as a consumer, but it’s important to understand as a business owner how they work.
What is subscription pricing?
A subscription, or recurring payment, is an automatic charge that goes through on a regular basis. We often think of subscriptions in relation to newspapers and magazines or Netflix and Hulu. Even AWeber pro is a subscription.
In the past year, entrepreneurs from all industries have been finding ways to set up subscription models that work for them. These recurring payments can help you build better relationships with your customers and offer a source of regular dependable income.
What is a payment plan?
A payment plan offers your customers the ability to purchase your content, product, or service which is valued at a higher price than they can pay immediately. Instead, they pay over several weeks, months, or years.
Payment plans solve a significant pricing catch-22: if your business offers something of high quality, you don’t want to reduce the price and undervalue it. But you also don’t want to offer it only to people who can afford a large payment all at once. By allowing people to pay over time, you can grow your customer base without reducing your prices.
How do subscriptions and payment plans work with AWeber Ecommerce?
But here’s a quick AWeber Ecommerce recap: You can set up a one-page website or landing page to showcase your business, and add a button where your customers can purchase directly from your landing page. In essence, it’s an exceedingly simple way to create an online store.
Now, you can set up buttons that allow your customers to start recurring payments. So, for example, if you charge a monthly fee for access to your premium content (writing, courses, videos, etc.), you can quickly set up your landing page to start the subscription.
You can also set up a button that allows your customers to pay for a larger flat fee over time. So, for example, if you have an online consulting course that costs $900, you can instead offer customers to pay $300/month for three months. (Or $320/month for three months to account for you offering that convenience.)
The best news is that your Ecommerce store can sync with your subscribers. So you can set up automatic email follow-ups, add new customers to your email lists, create segments for smarter marketing, and much more!
What types of businesses can use subscriptions and payment plans?
In short, almost every business can benefit from these alternative pricing options. But here are a few specific examples for inspiration.
Digital services providers
Marketing agencies, copywriters, web designers, SEO consultants, social media managers, graphic designers, developers, and anyone else offering online digital services often provide ongoing monthly services. They can set up a recurring payment to be automatically paid monthly for their services.
For bigger projects like a rebrand, full website design, logo creation, or app development, digital service providers can offer payment plans to make their high-value services available to smaller businesses and nonprofits.
Consultants and coaches
Already have a course out there ready to buy but you think everyone can benefit from it — not just those with more money? A payment plan is one of the best ways to offer online courses, guides, and master classes to a wider audience.
For live coaching — either in person or online — set up a monthly subscription to give students regular lessons. Plus, you can depend on a monthly revenue stream.
Artists and musicians
Art is a wonderful thing for anyone to have in their lives, but not only those who can afford a big payment for it should get it. For artists and musicians who have big ticket items, a payment plan in advance can open up an entirely new audience — without needing to shake people down for payment.
Creators and authors
Subscription pricing models are on the rise for creators and authors. If you sell a physical product, offer up a monthly box that includes something new from your collection and a few knick knacks. For creatives with digital assets, offer up a subscription service to opt into premium online content.
Podcasters
People who make podcasts are monetizing in tons of ways these days. If you have sponsors with monthly payments, set up a subscription. Do you offer 6 or 9 month contracts? Charge for your fees using a payment plan.
As a podcaster, it’s also becoming very common to accept donations from fans. Try setting up a regular, ongoing donation in exchange for premium content or just good vibes. It costs nothing to set up and, who knows, you may have a bunch of fans out there who want to contribute!
Physical product sales
When stores were forced to close during several periods in 2020, an innovative idea emerged: subscription boxes. Rather than buying just one thing from a business, you could sign up to have them send you a month’s worth of products customized just for you.
For example, clothing stores were making use of excess inventory by sending custom boxes of pieces picked out with the customer in mind. The store largely eliminates waste and the customers get a monthly box of new clothing at lower prices. It’s a win-win!
Think about your business — could the subscription box be right for you?
Other small businesses
Every business has a different model — even yours. Check out the examples above for inspiration on how you can get more revenue. What works for you? You can set up a landing page to accept recurring payments or a payment plan in minutes and just see if it takes off!
What are the benefits of payment plans and subscriptions?
Let’s break it down to the basics. What’s the real benefit to offering these pricing models for your business?
Payment plan benefits
Sell to a wider audience, not just those with more money to spend
Avoid late fees and collection conversations
Create a flat fee structure and allow for payments over time
Make more sales when you offer a lower cost barrier to entry
Subscription benefits
Offer ongoing value to your customers
Get predictable monthly revenue
Loyal customers can regularly contribute to your business
Different pricing models can capture a wider audience
How much does it cost?
AWeber Ecommerce is free to get up and running. You can set up unlimited landing pages at no cost and add as many “Buy now” buttons as you like.
When someone purchases a product from you, the following charge will be taken from the purchase:
1% on the AWeber Free plan
0.6% on the AWeber Pro plan
Remember, you only pay as soon as a customer purchases from you! And if you sign up for our pro plan, you get tons of extra value from your email marketing.
Sign up today for landing pages, ecommerce, email marketing, and more
Want to get started selling online, or start a subscription service or payment plan? Sign up for an AWeber account for free right now.
When you hear the word evangelism, religious connotations might spring to mind, but in modern times, it can extend to other areas. Today evangelism may denote a vehement and vocal fan of something, whether it’s a popular sneaker brand or their favorite TV show.
Businesses can also have evangelists, and they take the form of extremely loyal customers. These people typically buy specific products from one brand and never venture to their competitors. They use their satisfaction with a particular business as a means to convert others into becoming loyal fans as well.
Brand evangelists are also excellent sources of marketing. Seventy-one percent of consumers saysocial media posts by friends or people that they know influence their purchasing decisions, according to research conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Sprout Social. People prefer to rely on recommendations from people in their circles, or who they feel might be unbiased and trustworthy.
Additionally,Upland Software foundthat “each evangelist, on average, produces about three new customers. So, if you’re able to build up a following of 100 brand evangelists, you could easily be looking at 300 new customers.”
Beyond being loyal customers, evangelists are early adopters of your products and services and are happy to provide feedback. They’ll look for ways to promote your brand online, becoming an unofficial member of your sales force by way of review sites, social media posts, blog comments and word of mouth. Given the benefits that brand evangelism can bring to companies, working to inspire this loyalty is important for businesses to consider.
So how do you transform your customers into evangelists for your brand? It starts with your business being authentic and truly caring about its audience. The more you make your customers the hero in your story and look for opportunities to highlight and reward them, the stronger the connection and growth of your network. When your customers succeed, you succeed.
There are a variety of methods you can employ to delight your customers and turn them into evangelists. The following list outlines a few of these options, but if you want to develop a full digital strategy, HubSpot’s newDigital Marketing Certification Coursemay be the answer for you.
1. Become a social media detective
Everything begins with understanding your customers. This means understanding their demographic information, what they stand for, and what they like to see from the businesses they purchase from. You can glean a lot of information from industry reports, purchase histories, and call center conversations but there is a lot more you can learn simply by listening to and talking with your customers on social media.
Start by asking probing questions that help you learn more about your audience and keep the conversation going. Here’s an example of this in action:
As you can see, the post has some decent engagement and a number of retweets. There are also about 25-30 replies, but the HubSpot social team doesn’t just leave it there, they ask another question to find out more about her preferences.
These types of questions engage more than one person, and even though HubSpot only responded to Nthabiseng here, all the people that saw the Tweet feel an affinity because HubSpot ispart of the conversation.
Keep in mind, however, that social media can be like the wild west. People are accustomed to sharing candid feedback, honest opinions, and unfiltered ideas, with varying levels of emotions. Be there to respond with an open heart and mind. Take the time to listen to them and respond accordingly. Your goal is to create meaningful conversations.
When you ask these types of questions, keep track of which receive the most engagement, and how people respond to different types of messaging. Think of each of your social channels as a party that you’re hosting. Your goal is to provide attention to each person to make sure they’re enjoying their experience. It can take time in the beginning, but making an effort to create an engagement strategy for specific conversations will help you build brand loyalty and start the wheels turning on the road to building brand evangelists.
2. Create a personality for your brand and stick to it
There are a few brands who really do this well. The Motley Foolknows their audience wants sound advice. Notice there isn’t a single meme or image used. Their language, however, isn’t stuffy. It’s clear and accessible, even for someone who might not have financial smarts.
On the flip side, eSports energy drink brand,GFuel, understands its mostly young, male audience perfectly, serving up irreverence and fun at the same time.
The Motley Fool and GFuel posts are wonderful examples of brands understanding their audience and serving up content that resonates with their fans. But there is another aspect of aligning with customer interests that has come to the forefront in the last couple of years–that of taking a stance on social, civic, health and environmental issues.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the values and beliefs of businesses when making purchasing decisions. In fact, 71% prefer to buy from companies that are aligned with their values. These days, brands that don’t actively tackle social issues in their brand marketing run the risk of facing public backlash, or at a minimum appearing out of touch.
It also means you need to understand your customers, and understand the risks and advantages of deciding to take a stance. And when you do, they need to align to your company’s values.
Digital creative software company, Canva, regularly tackles social issues in their posts, such as in this one about sustainable printing.
We can all play a part in creating a greener future for all. This #EarthDay, we'd like to present our sustainable…
They understand who their audience is–digital creators. And when announcing a print solution, they knew they couldn’t ignore the environmental impact. So they created a campaign that highlights what they are doing to make their print solution sustainable, in part by planting trees.
Remember to be authentic in everything that you do. In a world of automated responses, people crave 1:1 connections. But you also have to believe what you are posting. Your audience will see right through you if you can’t carry the weight of your words. It’s not just about saying what your customers want to hear. It’s also about being true to your brand and attracting the right customers.
Chobani’s motto is to bring better food to more people, which they literally tell you in this TikTok video, which shows you exactly how they do that. It’s interesting, it’s fun, playful, and you get to see real people who work for the company doing their job.
Target is very responsive to their audience, joking with them, resharing user generated content, asking questions, and generally showing how much they appreciate the people that buy from them.
This type of engagement takes commitment, but the rewards of loyalty and brand love are worth the results. Eighty percent of consumers expect brands and companies that have a social media presence to interact with their customers in meaningful ways, a truth that Target appreciates.
6. Curate and post follower content
Another great way to build brand loyalty is to make your audience the heroes of your story. When you highlight their content, it encourages them to create more and to share it with their followers. Even better, it may inspire their networks to do the same.
It’s possible customers already post stories with images or video highlighting your products or services. If they don’t, experiment with sweepstakes and giveaways to reward people for their content. However, when offering an incentive, try and connect it to your brand. Giving away an iPad might get you content, but giving away a product or service will also help you identify brand evangelist transformations in progress.
How is studying going for you this semester? We bet you'd enjoy it so much more with a Sharpie S-Gel in your hand 😉 #midterms#collegemidterms
While some customers may feel satisfied just by knowing that their friends and family are also enjoying your products, most want to be recognized for being loyal customers. Developing a loyalty program that rewards customers for spreading the word about your brand can be a cost-effective way to reach a much larger audience.
The great thing about this is that you don’t have to start in social media, but can develop programs that give your audience a way to use their channels to tell others. A great example of this can be found in theMorning Brew,Marketing Brew, andSidekicknewsletters (and why yes, those are referral links). Their program rewards subscribers with swag and special events for sharing their (highly recommended) newsletters.
With the right incentives, customers are more likely to return and continue to purchase products to reach different loyalty tiers. Those who continue to buy, share and earn rewards are most likely to become brand evangelists.
Direct engagement is the key to developing brand evangelists
When customers feel like they are cared for and listened to, they become loyal. This is also true when they witness similar interactions the business has with other customers, whether in online social media communities, through helpful customer service representatives or customer loyalty programs. And when this is ongoing, it further strengthens affinity.
It’s worth taking the time to learn more about your customers and to develop an experience that meets their needs, celebrates them and rewards their engagement, because that’s how you build brand evangelists.
It feels like everyone is all in on the creator economy. Venture capital firms are backing creator startups. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat have all announced their own versions of creator funds designed to attract the internet’s most creative talent. Instagram went so far as to host a first of its kind “Creator Week” and even BuzzFeed is hoping to capture a slice of the creator economy. And in the first half of 2021 alone, the creator economy recorded a booming $1.3 billion in funding.
In short: creators are hot—and it’s no surprise brands want in.
If brands are serious about working with content creators, they need to first understand how the creator economy operates. In this article, we’ll dive into everything brands need to know about content creators including how to find the right collaborators and which social platforms are investing in creators.
Who are content creators?
In the simplest of terms, “creator” applies to anyone who builds, produces or creates a good, service or content. Content creators produce everything from long- and short-form videos to newsletters, viral dance moves and sponsored posts on Instagram. These are some of the most popular people on the internet; they’re not only plugged into social trends, they’re setting the social trends.
Creators are also known for facilitating important discussions on social. “Creators drive so much conversation on Twitter and we’re seeing an evolution in how conversations are happening,” says Kerrie Smith, a content strategist for Twitter ArtHouse. “Creators are well positioned to lend a human voice, personality, perspective and expertise to a brand. They can facilitate conversations that otherwise would not have happened.”
Some of the most influential creators are likely people you’ve already seen on social media. Charli D’Amelio is perhaps TikTok’s biggest star with nearly 80 million followers and deals with brands like Hulu, Dunkin’ Donuts and Morphe. Huda Kattan has built a makeup empire thanks to her Instagram following of nearly 50 million while Dude Perfect churns out sports and comedy videos for their 56 million subscribers on YouTube.
Writers and former journalists are jumping into the creator economy, too. For some, the decision to move to a Substack or Patreon-type platform comes with an increase in autonomy over their work and the chance to write about what interests them most. Craig Calcaterra, a former attorney turned baseball writer, left the traditional newsroom to launch his own baseball, news and culture newsletter on Substack.
I'm announcing my baseball newsletter: Cup of Coffee.
Cup of Coffee, which will include my "And That Happened" feature and a daily baseball news digest, is a one-stop daily briefing before your first cup of coffee.
Of course, we can’t talk about the creator economy without touching on the racial disparities that come with it. One of D’Amelio’s most viewed TikToks, for example, is actually a dance created by Black choreographer Jalaiah Harmon, who was never properly credited for her work. Another popular TikTok star, Addison Rae, was also accused of capitalizing on the work of Black creators when she went on Jimmy Fallon to teach the host eight of TikTok’s most viral dances. While Fallon did end up inviting the original choreographers to perform on his show, Black creators continue to struggle to receive the recognition they deserve for their work.
GUESS WHO’S CANCELLED: Addison Rae and Jimmy Fallon get backlash for stealing dances from black creators in TikTok dance segment on “Tonight Show.” Host of “The View” Sunny Hostin said “This is a miss … let’s give credit to black creators” pic.twitter.com/Uf9Lp7w3S3
The role social platforms play in the creator economy
Creators and social media platforms haven’t always had a symbiotic relationship. On the one hand, social media gave creators an opportunity to grow their following and more widely distribute their work. On the other, creators have long argued they weren’t receiving their fair share of the profits they brought in on those platforms.
The emergence of creator-friendly platforms like Patreon, Twitch and Substack further highlighted the historical lack of consistent creator compensation. On Substack, for example, creators can pocket over 80% of their earnings. But on TikTok, creators voiced their frustrations about having to supplement their content by crowdfunding from their followers.
To level the playing field between platforms and encourage creators to continue producing content, social platforms have since established funds to pay the best of the best. Pinterest established a $500,000 creator fund; YouTube set aside $100 million to pay its top Shorts creators; and since November 2020, Snapchat has paid out $1 million every day to its top creators.
Hi! We’re accepting applications for the second Pinterest Creator Fund, focused on the growth and success of underrepresented creators. Find more info here if interested! https://t.co/29PDQ8z3v0
— Marie-Joëlle Parent (@mariejoelle) June 3, 2021
In addition to paying creators their worth, social platforms are also looking into connecting creators directly to brands for future collaborations through programs and initiatives like:
Facebook’s Brand Collabs Manager, which makes it easy for brands to discover and partner with top creators across Facebook and Instagram.
YouTube BrandConnect matches creators with brands, while providing brands with the tools and insights they need to measure the impact of their collaborations.
Twitter ArtHouse helps brands collaborate with creators to develop and produce Twitter content that engages a brand’s target audience. Twitter ArtHouse “also coaches brands on best practices including experimenting with interactive Tweet formats such as Threads and Q&As, punchy Tweet copy and mastering artful branding,” says Smith.
We love supporting Creators, and we’ve set a goal to hire 50% of the Creators we hire in the US this year to come from underrepresented communities. #NewFronts
Finally, social platforms are continually developing new tools and features to better support creators outside of monetization and brand partnerships. Features like Twitter’s Super Follow or LinkedIn’s Creator mode, while still in the works, are just some examples creators can expect to see as more social platforms invest in the future of the creator economy.
#Instagram is working on stories for fan clubs, exclusive stories visible only to fan club members 👀
There are several opportunities for brands to partner with creators to drive their business goals forward. For example: based on the Sprout Social Index™, 58% of marketers say their primary goal is increasing brand awareness while 41% say community engagement is their priority. One way brands can achieve those goals is by working directly with creators who know what’s trending online and whose fanbases are known for their intense loyalty.
Creators can also help brands gain a leg up in the social commerce space by helping brands leverage social channels to get consumers to commit to a purchase. Fifty-three percent of Millennials say they’ll buy from brands that create culturally relevant social content over competitors. Partnering with content creators ensures that brands can tap into the trends their audience cares about without making it feel forced or out of place. Additionally, creators have years of experience under their belt when it comes to selling on social and can help brands strengthen (or even kickstart) their social commerce strategies.
But like any good partnership, the key to success starts with brands knowing who to work with and which social platforms to use. As brands prepare to embrace the creator economy, consider the following to develop a powerful, lasting relationship with creators:
Look for the right fit, not the flashiest. If there’s one certainty in social media, it’s that people can sniff out a fake partnership a mile away. To avoid coming off as disingenuous, Smith emphasizes the importance of authenticity when partnering with creators:
“Authenticity is everything. Consumers are on the lookout for partnerships that feel forced and many creators now have the luxury of turning down brand opportunities that don’t feel like the right fit for their business goals. People are no longer averse to #ad, but they will reject inauthentic advertising. Invest in tools to help you listen to your community on Twitter and uncover the creators that are talking about your brand already. Leverage insights to align with creators that are driving the trending moments that your brand can participate in.”
Prioritize diversity and inclusion. It’s no secret brands have struggled to diversify the talent they work with. Not only is it bad PR, it’s also bad business sense. BIPOC creators bring unique perspectives to their work that can reach a broad group of consumers, not just a white one. When Häagen-Dazs wanted to increase its brand awareness among non-white consumers, they partnered with award-winning actor Lena Waithe and marginalized creators to develop branded content. Representation matters in marketing. When brands fail to account for the diversity of their target audience, don’t be surprised to see members of marginalized communities take their business elsewhere.
Go beyond a one-time partnership. While influencers and creators are often thought of interchangeably, the reality is the two are different and should be treated as such. Influencers are seen as using their platform to grow and make money off of their following; in recent years, the term has come with some negative connotations. Creators are viewed as using their unique skill sets to build, produce and create content. Says Smith: “Influencer marketing is often thought of as a transactional, one-off #ad. Brands are looking at ways to hire creators beyond a single Tweet. Whether it’s consulting on a campaign’s tone, hiring talent for internal workshops or embedding creator talent into campaigns, long-term creator partnerships create more trust and authenticity with the talent and their audiences.”
Trust the creators. Above all, brands need to trust that creators know what they’re doing and leave the content development to them. According to Smith: “The biggest challenge for brands is to let creators ‘do their thing.’ As a brand, you have marketing messages you’re driving and it can be a challenge to share creative control. Start by remembering the reason you’re hiring a creator in the first place: their unique voice and creative expression.” There’s a reason why creators have the followings they’ve amassed—they know what their audience wants and how to create content that resonates. “Take, for example, this Tweet from Converse and creator Anthony Potero, which went viral on Twitter,” says Smith. “In the ad, Anthony posts a DM conversation from Converse asking about the creative direction for his post, and [the Tweet] organically garnered almost 200,000 Likes.”
The winning company in the creator economy will be the one who gets rid of as much of everything else as possible and just lets creators create.
With the creator economy showing no signs of slowing down, marketers would be wise to start thinking of the ways they can collaborate with creators on their next campaign. From producing engaging content to building deeper relationships with consumers, creators can give brands the spark they need to elevate their social strategies.
Finding the right creator to work with starts with knowing what your customers really want from your brand. To better understand your customers and to identify culturally relevant initiatives your audience craves, download this guide to start leveraging the voice of your customer today.
Oversharing and spamming on social media. We’e seen it and have been guilty of it at some point as well. These are social media etiquettes we all know (but sometimes fail to follow). Personal accounts aside, businesses also should maintain certain etiquette in their social media presence.
Social media etiquette refers to both the spoken and unspoken set of social conventional rules of personal and business behavior online. It dictates how people conduct themselves on social media so they remain respectful and respectable.
Bad social media etiquette on your personal account will probably leave you with posts that make your future self cringe. But for businesses, it could affect their brand reputation and can deter customers from returning.
That’s why we’ll provide you with the best dos and don’ts to maintain proper social media etiquette for your business and why it’s important.
Why is social media etiquette important?
With an increasingly vigilant internet population, a single mistake on social media can make or break a business.
Outlining proper social media etiquette in your social media policy will help you:
Protect against legal and security issues: If your industry has stringent privacy and compliance laws, your system will keep you on the right side of the regulations.
Protect against privacy risks: Social media etiquette outlines what’s acceptable to share and what isn’t. This helps prevent privacy violations for your business and for others.
Empower staff: When your employees know how to share content safely online, they can represent and advocate for your organization, without harming your reputation.
Defend your brand: Social media etiquette ensures that everyone who interacts with your brand on social media will see a respectable, professional business.
1. Understand Each Platform’s Best Practices
Most social media etiquette principles are relevant across all platforms. But there are also best practices that are specific to each platform, such as:
Don’t use your Twitter character count to ask for Retweets; share valuable content and followers will Retweet organically
Know when and to whom you should send a LinkedIn connect request
Don’t post too frequently and flood your Instagram feed
Make sure you read up on the best practices of each platform, such as Facebook or Instagram, to understand platform-specific etiquette and expectations.
2. Don’t Be Overly Promotional
People may follow your brand on social media to learn more about your products or services. But that doesn’t mean you should constantly share advertisements or promotional content. According to the Sprout Social Index™, Edition XVI: Above & Beyond, 45% of consumers would even unfollow a brand if it posts too many ads.
Use the right blend of entertaining, educational and promotional content to keep your audience engaged. For example, Zoom’s Twitter feed has a healthy mix of informative and educational content, new feature updates and promotional posts.
How virtual will the future be? We asked 7,689 people across 10 countries for their preference between virtual, hybrid, or in-person life and work activities. Here's what they said: https://t.co/3TydV5KVCUpic.twitter.com/GqIsXma0oK
It’s easy to fall into the habit of scheduling your posts and forgetting all about them. But failing to check how people react to your posts is poor social media etiquette. Otherwise, how would you know what kind of posts are resonating with your audience? How would you know if your posts are relevant?
Sprout Social gives you a robust set of social media analytics tools to monitor your social posts, uncovering insights such as likes, comments and saves. These insights give you a better understanding of what resonates with your audience and how to adjust your social strategy.
4. Maintain Hashtag “Hygiene”
Using too many hashtags on a post can look messy and unappealing. Just because you can add 30 hashtags on Instagram, doesn’t mean you should.
Good social media etiquette is picking out only the most relevant hashtags for each post. Using branded hashtags can expand your brand awareness and create communities as well.
Trupanion keeps it short and sweet with just a couple of occasion-based hashtags.
One of the most dangerous things a brand can do is getting caught in an argument on social media. This will reflect poorly on your brand and may even chase away customers.
Rather than quickly reacting to every negative social media comment and brand mention, listen to understand the situation. Then come up with a response that fits the situation and your brand voice. If the conversation gets more heated online, despite your best efforts, try moving the conversation into DMs or have them email your customer support team directly.
In the following Tweet, Hershey’s does a great job of responding to the customer complaint with:
Most brands know the importance of forming a strong bond with their target audience. But some make the mistake of trying way too hard, coming across as inauthentic or even desperate.
Let a connection between you and your audience form naturally through consistent engagement. Post regularly, listen to your audience and respond to them. And don’t forget to stay true to your brand voice.
Employee advocacy and influential executives can also help your brand form a stronger, more authentic connection with followers. People may be more comfortable connecting with the human face behind your brand rather than the brand itself.
In our #BrandsGetReal survey, we found that 70% of consumers feel a better connection to a brand when its CEO is active on social media. And 72% of consumers also experience a similar connection when they see employees sharing information about a brand on social media.
PayPal’s Dan Schulman is the perfect example of an influential executive who can connect with the audience. He uses LinkedIn to share empathetic and timely messages as well as PayPal’s efforts to uplift minority business owners.
7. Don’t Beg for (or Buy) Followers
Asking for followers at every single opportunity can come across as desperate and off-putting.
Don’t be in a hurry to gain a following. Instead, let it build naturally through consistent posting, authentic interactions and high-quality content. People who value your content will flock to your page over time.
8. Remember Humor Isn’t Universal
While jokes can add a fun, friendly tone to your message, always remember that humor isn’t universal. What works for one brand may not work so well for yours. And most people may not share your sense of humor.
So even if humor fits with your brand personality, make sure it’s appropriate and well-placed. You could also create a social media style guide that outlines the kind of voice and humor that works for your brand.
BarkBox goes for light-hearted and relatable humor involving dogs, which resonates with the target audience.
My indecisiveness always making an appearance@magik_murph
How you interact with or talk about the competition says a lot about the brand you represent. Brands like Wendy’s have been riding the wave of social media fame with its unrelenting roasts and snarky comments about competitors. But this strategy doesn’t work for everyone.
Even if it fits with your brand style, you still need flawless execution and some level of social media presence to make it work. Otherwise, it will come off as rude and unappealing. In fact, 67% of consumers find it annoying when brands make fun of competitors.
So avoid bad-mouthing your competition as you could end up hurting your reputation more than it hurts theirs.
10. Give Credit to Sources
If your social content strategy involves content curation and user-generated posts, don’t forget to give credit where it’s due. When you’re reposting photos, quotes or videos from others, make sure you clearly attribute it to them.
This is easier on platforms like Twitter, where you can simply hit “Retweet.” For Instagram, using a repost app simplifies this process of capturing the original caption. Still, on platforms like Instagram or Facebook, it’s wise to reach out to the original poster for their permission before you use their image on your brand page.
See how BISSELL gives due credit even when it’s reposting Instagram content to Facebook.
When you catch a moment as beautiful as this one, that’s Pet Perfection. In honor of Pet Month, we’re celebrating…
Social media gives you the perfect platform to strengthen your brand image. And proper social media etiquette will help you reach that goal.
To build a positive brand image, start by spreading positivity through your social media. Share inspirational news, create uplifting content and celebrate your employees. Even in the face of negativity and controversy, respond with patience and kindness.
Maintaining transparency on social media is also crucial for building a positive brand image. In fact, it could even cultivate brand loyalty. According to another #BrandsGetReal survey, 85% of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to a business during a brand crisis if there’s a history of transparency.
So own up to mistakes, give honest responses to customer questions and be transparent about your manufacturing practices.
Do it right on social media
Following all these “rules” may seem challenging. But it all boils down to caring about your audience and what they think. If you put their needs first, you can naturally maintain these social media etiquettes with minimal effort.
“Start a newsletter!” It’s an age-old recommendation. One that’s made its home at the bottom of your to-do list.
Why? Because no matter how many times you hear how useful newsletters are, writing one never sounds easy.
Plus, under constant pressure of more urgent priorities, writing a regular email to customers is almost certain to take a back seat.
The fact is, a newsletter will help your business grow. It’s why those good-intentioned friends keep telling you to start one.
But don’t worry! Starting one is a lot easier and quicker than you think. And once you’ve got it started, then you can worry about making sure it’s the best one out there. In fact, I’ve got the essentials down — and you can use them to start your newsletter in an hour or less.
In this post, I’ll go over how to get your newsletter up and running without spending more time and energy than you need to.
But first, what’s the benefit of a newsletter?
Truly, the question here is — why is it worth my limited time to create an email month-after-month or quarter-after-quarter?
Each time you send a newsletter, everyone who receives it will think, “Oh yeah, Jerry’s Business.” It’s a reminder. And the more recently someone has thought about you, the more likely they are to buy something or recommend you to a friend.
Newsletters can also include important updates, help promote new products or services and show off some of your personality. All these help to build loyal customers — the best kind!
Since a newsletter isn’t salesy in nature, people read them — pretty regularly if you give them interesting and relevant emails to read. It’s a long game, but it works.
Why can’t I use social media?
Social media can be an effective way to find new customers and engage with people who regularly use it. But even if all of your customers were on Facebook and Instagram (they’re not) they wouldn’t all see your messages.
When you send an email, it goes to everyone on your list, every time. To avoid missing out on even one person getting your message, send a newsletter and use social media as a backup plan.
What should I send in my newsletter?
Alright, you’re convinced. It’s time to get started. But what should I actually write, you think?
Your customers are real people. They’re also working, parenting, eating, and doing a million other things in their day. What’s going to be worth your audience’s time?
For example, if you’re a fitness coach, you may want to send 5-minute stretches you can do throughout the day.
Or, if you sell art online, you could send a photo showing how someone could decorate their living room.
Do you offer a coaching course? Give away a small piece of advice for free every month.
Whether or not you realize it, you are an expert in your field and you therefore have tons of small pieces of advice.
If you’re still feeling stuck on content, start here:
Expert insider tips
Business updates and promotions
Local news
Relevant blog posts
Upcoming events you’ll be at
Don’t overthink this part. It’s better to get started with a few ideas, watch the stats and then make adjustments over time.
Okay, now that you have some ideas brewing, it’s time to get up and running with your first newsletter. You can have your first email sent (or scheduled) in an hour.
Seriously, can I start a newsletter in the next hour?
Yes! Just keep it simple.
There’s tons of advice out there about how to make the best newsletter (we have several articles ourselves).
But if you start simple, you can start in the next hour — no matter your experience. It’s more important to get going soon than to make it the best newsletter ever written. That can come later.
There are only three steps to getting your first newsletter out:
Create a list of customers and leads (subscribers) to send the newsletter to.
Design your newsletter using ready-to-go templates and tools.
Write and send (or schedule) your very first newsletter.
Let’s dive into each of these further.
Step 1: Create your list of customers and leads
Whether you already have a list of thousands of customers or are starting today, you can quickly put together a list. Then, get people to sign up and add them all to your email tool.
How to start a newsletter list
Raise your hand if you’re starting from scratch. Not having a subscriber list is common — even if your business is well-established.
Sales platforms like Etsy and Amazon don’t permit collecting purchaser emails. And if you sell in person, your POS may not collect and keep email addresses. Either way, that’s okay. Let’s just get started now!
To start a list from scratch:
Create a basic spreadsheet (you can do this in Google Sheets for free).
Add at least two columns: email and full name. (You can also add columns for phone number, location, interests, etc. But don’t feel like you need to add anything other than names and emails for now.)
Add the email addresses from buyers or advocates who you communicate with regularly. Your top fans will definitely want your newsletter. Note: To avoid spam filters, everyone you add to your list must have specifically opted into receiving communication from you. For more information, seethis article.
Add any other customers or contacts you've communicated with and who agree to hear regularly from you.
That’s it — you now have a list! If your list feels too small, it's not. Sending a newsletter to even a few engaged customers is still worth it. I'll explain how to grow your list, too.
Now it’s time to upload it (I told you this wouldn’t take long).
How to upload your subscribers into AWeber
Note: If you skipped the last step, make sure your existing list is in a spreadsheet. We’ll go over uploading your list to AWeber here, but regardless of your email marketing tool, you’ll need to start with a spreadsheet with names and email addresses of those who have opted-in to receive your emails.
Download your spreadsheet as a .xls, .xlsx, .tsv, .csv, or .txt file (I prefer .csv for ease-of-use).
To upload subscribers into AWeber:
Sign into your account (or create a free account if you don’t already have one).
Click “Subscribers” then “Add Subscribers” and you’ll be brought to this screen:
Click “Import multiple” and then drag-and-drop or browse for your spreadsheet.
On the next screen choose “Only add new” or “Add new and update existing” subscribers. You can associate any additional data with custom fields.
Choose whether or not you would like to send a confirmation message to your import list. If you choose “yes,” everyone on your list will receive a confirmation email and will likely be more engaged if they opt in.
You can add tags to this list, but don’t worry about adding to follow-up lists or Applying list automations for your newsletter.
Finally, specify how the subscribers signed up to your list. Then, submit your import.
We all love graphs that go up, right? The dream is an email list that gets bigger by the day and results in more engagement and profit than you ever imagined.
First of all, keep in mind that more subscribers doesn’t always mean more sales. It’s important to include only people who are truly interested in what your business offers. Part of this comes down to content — which I’ll cover later — but a large part is the way you ask people to join your list.
5 tips to easily start growing your list the right way:
Set up an integration with your sales platform. Whether it’s Etsy, WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, or another Ecommerce platform, make sure everyone making a purchase is added to your list.
Add a form to your website. Let everyone who’s on your site sign up for your awesome newsletter. Bonus tip: offer an incentive — like 10% off your next order — to sign up.
Share your landing page on any regularly used social media platform: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter — all of them. Pin your sign up link to the top of your feed to keep it top of mind.
Ask people to sign up in real life (or on the phone). Your customers will be most engaged if they remember you’re a real person creating the email they’ll get.
There are no tricks here. Building a newsletter list means building relationships: It takes time, effort and patience.
Okay, we’ve got our list uploaded and it’s time to get started designing and writing your newsletter.
After all that list work, you probably want to jump in and write an email. And I wholeheartedly think you should. But while you do, create a process so that newsletter #2 only requires new information, not new design work.
The easier you can make this process, the more likely you’ll keep up with it.
Choose or create a design template
It’s so easy to make your newsletter beautiful — and a good looking email is going to have better results.
Choose a design that will give your particular audience what they want to see. Keep in mind, a lack of design (aka plain text emails) is still a design choice.
Here are a few extremely simple suggestions to start:
In seconds, get a design that looks just like your website
The Smart Designer takes any page on your site and creates a bunch of templates with it. For example, here are three out of seven templates created instantly when I plugged in https://apple.com:
Before doing anything else, plug your website or Facebook page into Smart Designer. Who knows — you might get the perfect newsletter template in seconds.
Choose a pre-made template
Get started creating your email design with our drag-and-drop templates. Take the framework and add your custom logo, image, color, and content.
Here’s our “announcement” layout, which you can customize for your company and easily get going in minutes.
Need to create a logo on the fly? Use our Canva integration to quickly put one together for free.
Create a plain text email to start
Choose our plain text option if you want to start writing, but you’re not ready with your logo, an image, colors, or design choices.
Although most audiences are more likely to respond to a well-designed email, we’re trying to get started today. Give your audience something to read now, and think about more design choices once sending your newsletter becomes second nature.
Think about the last late night show you watched — they have regular sections. A timely standup bit, a skit, an interview, etc.
Sections will work well in your newsletter too — they help your readers know what to expect.
Depending on your personality, these can vary greatly. But here’s a good framework to get you started:
[[Header: The main highlight of your email]]
[[Tip or promo of the day: Your most exciting topic]]
[[Recent content: Blog posts or videos for your audiences]]
[[News: Events, updates, or local news]]
That’s it! Plug in these topics as paragraphs with headers, or swap them out for your own. This doesn’t need to be War and Peace — a few topics are all your audience wants to see anyway.
Step 3: Write and send your first newsletter
Congrats! You have your design and list hammered out. Now it’s time to start on your inaugural email newsletter.
Start a new broadcast in AWeber using the template you’ve decided on. Fill out your sections using recent information. Have fun introducing your newsletter in the header and let your new subscribers know what to expect in the future.
Every month (or week or quarter) when you write your newsletter, keep these tips in mind:
Only write 2-3 sentences per paragraph — maximum. Your audience doesn’t want to read a lot.
Add links back to your website. Give your subscribers the chance to make a purchase when they’re ready.
Edit your writing. Typos and spelling mistakes aren’t easily forgiven by readers.
Include your personality. Your customers will really appreciate the you in your newsletter. Let your true self shine.
Is it even possible that “Create your first newsletter” is the easiest part? It is, because you’re keeping it simple.
Make sure you set a subject line and a message preheader, then send yourself and one other person a test. Check for typos and make sure all the links work. Then you can go ahead and send it (or schedule it)!
