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CMO’S Best Guide to HubSpot for Business Success
The playbook of yore is no longer in use, since the control’s moved to the consumers and CMOs have structured their marketing organizations like never before. With technology enabling more and more innovations in the field of marketing – especially the digital kind – CMOs have had to reinvent their…
The playbook of yore is no longer in use, since the control’s moved to the consumers and CMOs have structured their marketing organizations like never before. With technology enabling more and more innovations in the field of marketing – especially the digital kind – CMOs have had to reinvent their thinking and redo their processes to be ahead of the pack. With the help of HubSpot, the marketing gurus and leaders of today have adapted strategies that can help address the inbound marketing processes. As the marketing leaders, it is their job to know what’s happening around them, stay ahead of the curve and also identify the trends that make a difference in the market. Marketers, it's our job to be on top of trends and stay ahead of the curve. With digital marketing constantly evolving and changing at speeds never witnessed before, many of the strategies need to be relooked at and repurposed for them to be as effective as they are meant to be. We know and fully admit that digital marketing is complex. It also involves not just immaculate planning but also the formidable combination of consumer insights, coupled with talent as well as technology to reach the heights you want to take it to. Here, we put forth a plan of action as well as a vision with a focus on priorities we think will take you ahead in the game. Some of the pointers will be the ones that you definitely will be comfortable with, and may already be performing. While some you may not be very open to this, just take a look and you can decide for yourself. HubSpot lists down some of the tactics that have helped many companies grow their bottom line significantly and spectacularly. 
#1. The big guys buy-in
First things first – the C-level needs to bring in the caliber and the inspiration to handle the complexity and the scale of the challenges that come with the change that is inevitable as well as required to be undertaken soon. The vision and the strategy need to be in place. It should be in tandem with what needs to be achieved in the long run. What are the metrics that will be employed and the tactics that will be used? Should the team be lean, or do more number of people with specialized skills need to be brought in? Are the budgets looking fine, or will it need to be upped and bettered? Is the technology used agile in nature, or does it need to be taken a step further to enhance revenues? These are questions that need answering from C-level managers who are holding the reins of the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.#2. Agile operations
The C-suite will need to bring in an agile marketing team with skills that are definitely a bit different from the ones seen in offline marketing. The skills that CMOs would need to look at would differ depending on the product as well as the market, but you will need employees or freelancers who can create email campaigns and track their efficacy as well. People who could monitor social media channels and optimize profiles would also be of immense importance. Online advertising campaign creators would also be requisite for the team. The people should also be able to make amendments to the website that is being used to test consumer behaviour.#3. Facebook advertising
What does 1.23 billion users mean? An enormous ad platform. Facebook has managed to surpass all predictions and expectations in the social media domain, even with serious competition around. When a digital marketing guru looks at Facebook, all she/he can see is the wonderfully shiny ad platform. And this is one platform that has done better than most others functioning on the same lines. Facebook Ads have even worked wonders for B2B brands. It has demographic information that is unparalleled, so its targeting capabilities too are notched higher than others in the fray. With the target group so well defined, segmentation on the basis of age, occupation, interests etc. becomes much easier and more efficient. With so many options available, you could still look at video afresh because this social media giant is investing heavily in that format. With an algorithm especially adjusted to offer preference to longer videos, it’s time you took this approach seriously.#4. Video marketing
We are sure you’ve had a taste of Facebook Live, and if you think that this is THE medium, then you’re absolutely right; video marketing is – as of now – one of the fastest growing mediums where content marketing’s concerned. With video accounting for around 74% of all the web traffic, wouldn’t it make sense to look at videos a little more significantly? In today’s day and age, the web has witnessed more uploading of video content in a month than TV has managed to create and showcase in over thirty years. Video viewers are patient enough to watch a video until at least ¾ of it and 28% of smartphone consumers see a video on their handhelds at least once a day. 35% of tablet owners use their devices to watch a video for at least an hour. It has also been noticed that when marketers use a video in their email communication, the click rate increases by around 300%. So, as a CMO, if you wish to be amongst the top and gain competitive advantage, you will have to consider video marketing.#5. Facebook Live
We’ve spoken about it already, haven’t we? With Facebook Live kicking the video format a few notches higher, video marketing has redefined engagement itself. It’s interactive, it’s appealing, and – when coupled with Facebook’s comment tools – takes interesting to another level. People now comment much more on Facebook Live videos as compared to regular ones. The users love the transparency that this medium provides and the little glitches that come with it add to the authenticity of the format.#6. Getting rid of silos
Digital marketing entails a lot more than what we experienced in the traditional setup. The team suddenly has to look at a lot more to handle, which wasn’t even part of the deal some years back! Think digital terms and concepts such as social selling, customized customer experiences pop up, among other such concepts. Taking care of these responsibilities is just one part of the big picture. Another challenge that needs to be overcome is orchestrating all the facets together on an organizational level to achieve a unified and continuous customer journey. You may need to battle it out with budget allocations, company wide politics as well as governance. This will help you realize that silos will just not work; there is an inherent need to look at all the pieces together and not in piecemeal.#7. Podcasting is big
This medium has seen exponential growth, and over the last few years become quite a big proposition. Presenting plentiful prospects for digital marketers, podcasting is a wonderful opportunity for those who can speak properly but are camera shy. With a standard format that is followed by interviews, you can face the world by just talking to yourself or team up with someone else too. When you talk to famous people in your industry, you can benefit from their followers and the audience that already loves them. You could also appear on some well-known podcasts to make your presence felt.#8. Content still rules
Short and sweet does not apply here! Gone are the days when 500 words made a mark. If you want to catch the search engines’ as well as the markets’ attention, write some more. Long form content that is unique and spectacularly inventive can only be the way to impress Google and appear on its first page. With no magic number at play, keep posting your blogs that offer value, are long and appeal to the target audience. Conclusion The coming years promise a lot of excitement for inbound marketers who aren’t fearful of transformations and evolution. With newer ways and smarter strategies, it is a time to look forward to impressive results.
