The Social Media Content Calendar Template Every Marketer Needs [Free Template]

"We have a 9 a.m. meeting? Hold on — let me scour the internet to find content for the morning tweet."

Sound familiar?

Scrambling for social content is nothing new. We have meetings. We miss deadlines. Things come up. And it's really hard to get any meaningful amount of work done when you have the next social media update looming over your head every 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Social media content moves so fast that you might occasionally feel thrown for a loop, which is why a pre-scheduled social media content calendar should be your new best friend.

To make social media content easier for companies to plan and schedule across the accounts they manage, we created a social media content calendar template. And because this field moves so quickly, we’re always updating this template with the latest social platform features to help you share your content strategy at a tactical level.

Use the Above Template to Plan Out Your Social Media Holiday Posts

What's in this social media content calendar template?

Every social media content calendar is different and should be customized to fit your unique social media strategy. In this one, you'll find a schedule tab, your monthly planning calendar, a repository for website content, and updates for each of the top social media platforms:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Pinterest

The great thing about this template is that as new social media platforms become popular and part of your content strategy (looking at you Tik Tok and Clubhouse), you can simply copy the spreadsheet and repurpose it for that new channel.

This blog post will walk you through exactly how to use a social media content calendar template to stay on top of your social media content planning for each channel.

Pro Tip: HubSpot customers can also schedule content through HubSpot's Social Media Management Software, or use this spreadsheet to organize and upload content. Detailed instructions for doing this can be found in the cover sheet of the template.

How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar Template

When you open the social media content calendar template, you'll notice the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet has several different tabs, most of which are dedicated to a specific social network.

Since each social media network is a little different, you don't want to craft a generic social media post and use it across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Instead, it's best practice to create a different worksheet for each platform.

Why?

A few reasons. Image sizes vary across all platforms, the types of content that work well on Facebook might tank on Twitter, and external links are great for Twitter but nearly impossible to use effectively on Instagram.

You can certainly promote the same piece of content across those networks, but that doesn't mean you'll craft your update the same way for each of them. In fact, you may want to add additional tabs if you're active on other networks, like Quora or YouTube.

How to Use this Template

The following subsections will show you how to fill out each of the tabs you see in this template — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. But before we get to that, let's start with the Monthly Social Calendar.

Monthly Planning Calendar

The tab Monthly Planning Calendar provides an overall snapshot of your monthly social media campaigns. It'll help you coordinate with other stakeholders and keep all the moving parts in order. Here's what it looks like:

There are three sections to take note of when you edit this template. First, the color-coding key. Each color represents a type of content or campaign you might coordinate, like ebooks, webinars, blog posts, product launches, and so on. Though only some of these might be relevant to you, they're just the beginning of what you may want to include here — so be sure to add and remove categories that align with your own types of content.

The other two sections you'll need to edit are the Month and Year at the top of the calendar, as well as the cells below each day of the week. In those cells, you should enter the type of content you'll be promoting that day and color-code it to align with the campaign it's supporting.

Instead of deleting all the content in this spreadsheet each month, I recommend copying this worksheet twelve times over and creating a separate sheet for each month. (If that gets to be too overwhelming, you can always save those tabs as a separate workbook.)

Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for Twitter

Alright, now let's get to the social media content part of the calendar. This section will be the longest because all subsequent sections will draw on the instructions we go through here. If you only read one section in this whole post, make sure it's this one.

Let's say you want to add some tweets to your scheduling template. Scroll over to the Twitter Updates tab in the content calendar spreadsheet, where you'll see this:

The first four columns, Day, Date, Time, and Date & Time are there for your convenience, and if you choose to use a third-party app for pre-scheduling your tweets (like HubSpot's Social Media Management Software), then these columns will be useful. For now, just fill in the date for when you’ll publish updates to Twitter, and the time at which you'd like them to go out. The Date & Time column will automatically change based on what you type in the previous two columns.

Now, let’s move over to the Message column. Here, input the copy you’d like to appear in your tweet, bearing in mind you should cap it at 217 characters to allow enough room for a link. (Read this blog post for a full character count guide.) This spreadsheet will auto-calculate the number of characters you’ve entered to keep you on-point, turning yellow and eventually red as you approach 240 characters.

After you've composed your tweet, paste the URL you'd like to include in your tweet in the Link column. Be sure to include UTM parameters so you'll know whether these tweets are driving traffic, leads, and customers. This is an important step to remember if you'd like to demonstrate ROI from social media. You can also use the Campaign column to add an associated campaign which helps with more detailed tracking and reporting.

Finally, in the Image column, attach the tweet's image (if you have one). For Twitter, we recommend images that are 1200 x 670 pixels.

(Click here for a full cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

If you're having trouble attaching your image to the spreadsheet, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on the cell where you'd like to place your image.

Step 2: Click Insert in the top row, then click the Image button, and finally, click Image in cell to choose your image.

Step 3: In the Insert image window, choose the option your photo will come from. In this example, we uploaded an image from our computer.

Step 4: You'll now see the image appear in the cell.

Pro Tip: This process is just for organizational purposes. If you decide to upload the spreadsheet to your social media publishing software, it will not attach — you'll have to do that manually. If you're a HubSpot customer, details for how to bulk upload your Twitter content to the HubSpot Social PublishingTool can be found within the downloaded template.

Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for Facebook

Now, let's talk about how to plan your Facebook marketing content with this template. First, navigate to the tab in your template labeled Facebook Updates.

The first three columns, Day, Date, and Time are there for your convenience. Scroll over to the column labeled Message and input the copy you'd like to appear in your status update, corresponding to the days and times you'd like those updates to run. Then, move to the Link column and input the link that'll be included in the update. (Don't forget that UTM parameter.) If you'd like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the Campaigns column. Finally, attach an image just like you did with your Twitter updates — if you're using one. (These images should fit the dimensions of 1200 x 628 pixels.)

Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for LinkedIn

LinkedIn Groups let you start conversations with your Group members and share company updates on your Company Page.

To begin, fill out the first column, Message, for every post you create, including those for a Company Page or a Group. Simply enter your copy into this column, and then navigate to the next two columns, Link and Campaign. Here, you’ll add your URL with a UTM parameter that you'll use to track activity. Then add the campaign in the Campaign column, if you're using one. If you'd like to use an image for an update, attach one using the instructions we shared earlier. We recommend uploading the image in the dimensions of 1200 x 1200 pixels for a clear, professional-looking post.

Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for Instagram

Now, let's move on to setting up your Instagram photos and videos. Scroll to the tab in your template labeled Instagram Updates.

The first three columns, Day, Date, and Time are there for your convenience. Head on over to the column labeled Message, and input the copy you'd like to appear in your post's caption, corresponding to the days and times you'd like those updates to run. Keep in mind that although Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters long, they cut off in users' feeds after three lines of text. The exact length of these three lines depends on the length of your Instagram handle. (Read this blog post for a full character count guide.)

Next, move to the Link for Bio column and input whichever link you plan to put in the bio when you publish the accompanying Instagram post. Oh, and don't forget the UTM parameter.

If you'd like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the Campaigns column. Finally, attach an image just like you did with your other social media updates — we suggest you edit it to be 1080 x 1080 pixels. (Here's the cheat sheet of social media image sizes.)

Pro Tip: Even though you can't schedule Instagram stories automatically, you can still add them to your social media content calendar. Stories also support links once your account has over 10,000 followers, so you can include specific links for these types of posts in your content calendar. The dimensions for Instagram Story posts are 1080 x 1920 pixels.

Planning Your Social Media Content Calendar for Pinterest

Next, let's go over how to set up your Pinterest Pins in advance with this template. Navigate over to the tab in your template labeled Pinterest Updates.

For your convenience, we’ve added Day, Date, and Time columns, but you can skip them if you don’t need them.

Next, go to the column labeled Message, and enter the information for the pin's description. Then, scroll to the Link column and add the link you'll be including in the update. (And seriously, don't forget the URL Parameter.)

If you'd like the update to be tagged to a certain campaign, include this in the Campaigns column. Finally, attach an image the same way you did with your other social media updates — we suggest you edit it to fit the dimensions of 1000 x1500 pixels. This is the standard size, but Pinterest Pins can be much longer if your audience responds to longer content. Just make sure your Pin fits the aspect ratio of 2:3.

Content Repository (Or, Where to Source Social Media Content)

This template also provides you with a tab called Content Repository, which should help you keep track of all your content and maintain a healthy backlog of fodder to make sourcing social media content easier.

As you create more assets, you'll likely want to resurface and re-promote those pieces down the line, too. To ensure you don't lose track of all of that content, record it on this tab so you're never at a loss for what to publish on social media. If the content you're promoting isn't evergreen, be sure to include an expiration date in the column marked Expiration so you don't promote it after it's out of date.

This tab will also help you maintain a healthy balance of content. Here you can include a mix of original content, curated content, various formats and types, and lead generation content vs. MQL-generating content.

Perfecting your social media content calendar doesn’t have to be a chore. With these essential components, you’ll have a foundation to organize your social media strategy at a tactical level.

Key

As you noticed in earlier sections, your stakeholders will appreciate having an easy-to-read key that they can use to understand the information in the calendar. We’ve color-coded our example here, but you don’t have to go that extra step if you have fewer channels and types of content to differentiate between. As long as your key is clear, just about anyone in your organization can view your social media content calendar and understand exactly what’s happening on all platforms.

URLs and UTM Parameters

We've harped on these UTM parameters throughout this post for good reason. They're critical to tracking the success of your campaign. Without them, you won't know what's working and what isn't.

URLs and UTM parameters are similar, but they’re not one and the same. URLs are the links you’ll want to share from your website (or even another website if you’re curating content) on your social media platforms.

On the other hand, a UTM parameter is an extension of your URL. It’s a string of tracking code that’s appended to the end of the URL and it helps social media marketers track how well their posts are driving traffic to their website. By tracking and analyzing UTM parameters, you’ll be able to see what content is meeting your conversion goals and what content is better for engagement on social media platforms.

Date and Time

If you have stakeholders or other teams that rely on your social media content, you’ll quickly see the benefit of including dates and times in your social media calendar. When teammates can view the calendar and identify exactly when a post was or will be scheduled, they’ll be able to quickly proceed with their workflow which is beneficial for you, too. That means you won’t be interrupted to give status updates about every Tweet on the docket for the day.

Message

Transparency and context are invaluable when it comes to social media content calendars. Giving a brief synopsis of the message or even sharing the caption for a post can go a long way in helping others within and outside your team understand what the intent of the post will be.

Pro tip: If you’re adding a video to your social media content calendar that isn’t finished, consider adding a short Loom video that gives an overview of what the video will be about.

Campaign

When it comes to tracking, it’s too late to start when the campaign is over. Start tracking your social media campaigns in your content calendar. You can make this prescriptive by having a dropdown list of predetermined campaign names, or if your campaigns are few and far between, simply copy and paste the names next to the corresponding content.

Pro tip: Align your campaign name with the campaign section of your UTM parameter for seamless tracking.

Image

Your social media content calendar will become just another spreadsheet without some imagery. Since much of your social media content will probably be visual, add a thumbnail-sized version of the image that will be included in the published post. Coupled with the message, stakeholders who view the calendar images will have a pretty good idea of what will be shared and when. To make editing your images for each platform easier, check out this cheat sheet for ideal image dimensions on each platform.

Don't Forget to Interact With Your Followers

Whether you use this spreadsheet to plan your content or upload it to a third-party app, you'll still need to supplement these updates with on-the-fly content. Breaking news hits? Whip up a quick update to share it with your network. Did someone in your network tweet something interesting? Give it a retweet with some commentary. Got a fascinating comment on one of your updates? Respond with a "thank you" for their interaction.

Coming up with and scheduling your social media content in advance is a huge time-saver, but it should go without saying that you still need to monitor and add to your social presence throughout the day.

Finally, we encourage you to experiment with your social media publishing. This template provides publishing dates and times for each social network, but you may find those are way too many updates for you to fill, or perhaps too infrequent for your booming social presence. If this is the case, you should adjust your social media publishing frequency as needed.

Now that you’ve got the ins and outs of a social media content calendar, download the one below for free and start planning your content.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The Social Media Content Calendar Template Every Marketer Needs [Free Template] was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

Top 5 Reasons to Attend INBOUND 2021, According to HubSpot's Global Events Team

INBOUND 2021 — hosted with love by HubSpot — is a fully immersive, online experience that gives you access to transformative business trends, proactive conversations, and key actionable takeaways that future you will appreciate.

INBOUND has been hosted by HubSpot for over ten years, and is one of the world's largest marketing conferences, attracting more than 26,000 attendees from 110 countries.

But this year, INBOUND is especially unique — as it's built with remote work in-mind, so you can learn from anywhere with audio sessions, meetups, and on-demand content.

Additionally, you'll hear from Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee, David Chang, and more.

Here, let's explore five reasons you'll want to attend INBOUND 2021, according to HubSpot's Global Events team.

1. BLACK@INBOUND

Black@INBOUND is a global community that gathers Black professionals across industries to grow and network. HubSpot customer Devyn Bellamy first founded Black@INBOUND at INBOUND to find and connect with other Black professionals.

Since then, Black@INBOUND has grown into a dynamic and interactive meet-up for passionate HubSpot fans and INBOUND enthusiasts.  

Don't miss the Black@INBOUND events just for you — including our exclusive Meetup with the community at 3:45 PM EST on October 12. Join the virtual cookout and meet all the members of the Community. Then stay tuned for an amazing panel: Mentorship and Advocacy in Black Business Leadership. 

Black@INBOUND is an inclusive community intended for Black business professionals as a space to gather, connect, and share resources.

Black HubSpot users, customers, or fans are welcome to join this space by creating a HubSpot Community profile.

2. The HubSpot Podcast Network

The HubSpot Podcast Network Live will be live at INBOUND 2021! Yes, we want you to step away from your computer screen, give your eyes a rest, head out for a walk and learn from anywhere.

HubSpot's Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration to best approach the ever-evolving business landscape.

We will feature exclusive episodes recorded specifically for INBOUND from Entrepreneurs on Fire, My First Million, The Salesman Podcast, and the MarTech Podcast at INBOUND 2021:

Entrepreneurs on Fire

Host John Lee Dumas delivers the inspiration and strategies you need to fire up your entrepreneurial journey and create the life you've always dreamed of.

My First Million

Host Sam Parr and Shaan Puri brainstorm new business ideas based on trends and opportunities in the market and share the stories of how companies made their first million.

MarTech Podcast

The MarTech Podcast tells stories of marketers who use technology to generate growth and achieve success. It unearths the successes and pitfalls of industry experts and teaches the tools and tips that they've learned along the way.

The Salesman Podcast

The Salesman Podcast is the world's most downloaded B2B sales podcast. Host Will Barron helps sales professionals find buyers and win business in a modern, effective, and ethical way.

3. HubSpot at INBOUND

Join us at HubSpot's Product announcement, where you can join Yamini Rangan, Brian Halligan, and Dharmesh Shah as they continue to push the boundaries at HubSpot. Explore some of HubSpot's new and improved product offerings and how we are focusing on customer success to meet our goals.

This is Yamin Rangan's first INBOUND as the CEO of HubSpot.

Of her new role, Yamini Rangan said, "It's the honor of a lifetime to partner with our founders to write HubSpot's next chapter. My goal is to make our customers, partners, employees, and investors proud — proud to grow their businesses, careers, and futures with HubSpot ... I couldn't be more excited for the future of HubSpot's journey."

4. Diverse Spotlight and Breakout Speakers

Oprah Winfrey will be headlining INBOUND 2021.

Oprah Winfrey is a global media leader, philanthropist, producer, and actress. She has created an unparalleled connection with people worldwide, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today.

For 25 years, Winfrey was host and producer of the award-winning talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. In her role as Chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, she's guiding her cable network to success. Winfrey is also the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine, and oversees Harpo Films.

Oprah Winfrey's exclusive session at INBOUND 2021 is all about the lessons learned on the road to success. See how Oprah — and yourself — can transform failures into lessons.

Spike Lee will guide attendees through an exclusive session that helps you draw ambition out of themselves and others.

Hasan Minhaj takes attendees with him as he explores different ways for you to find your inner voice and follow your passions.

David Chang of Momofuku helps you turn those passions into a business, and he gives you his secret recipe on how he did just that.

Additionally, join lifelong advocate and internationally recognized leader Judith Huemann for an insightful discussion on what ableist privilege looks like and what it means for companies to truly support disabled employees as a prominent community in the DI&B ecosystem.

Experience over 100+ similar sessions at INBOUND 2021 with some of the smartest and innovative thought leaders.

5. The Agenda

INBOUND 2021 offers an immersive and interactive digital experience for all attendees. You will get the chance to create a personalized avatar, join sponsoring partner's meetups, explore workshops for personal development, and network with a global audience from various backgrounds and industries.

The agenda this year is extraordinary. You can find educational sessions, workshops, Ask Me Anything, debates, and meetup networking sessions. You can customize your agenda by filtering out tracks for Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, HubSpot Academy, and RevOps. There's something for everyone.

How to attend?

The great thing about INBOUND 2021 this year is that it's a fully immersive digital experience. You can attend from the comfort of your couch, hop on over to your favorite cafe, listen to sessions while you're working out. There are endless ways to attend and enjoy INBOUND this year.

You can go ahead and claim your free starter pass, which will allow you to attend our exciting spotlight speaker sessions. You can purchase our Powerhouse pass, which gives you full access to the INBOUND 2021 agenda and platform.

Top 5 Reasons to Attend INBOUND 2021, According to HubSpot's Global Events Team was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

Best Display Campaign of Summer 2021: Telenor

Our Summer 2021 winner of our best display advertising campaign competition was a neat blend of brand and an engaging summer feeling! Congratulations to Telenor for it’s summer campaign for the Swedish market.

 

Telenor is a leading Nordic telecommunications company in mobile, broadband and TV services, as well as other ventures. Worldwide, Telenor Group has 188 million customers, with Sweden just one of its markets in the Nordic region.

We spoke to Digital Designer at Telenor, Kristel Thalström about creating display campaigns at scale and how she designed the winning display ad. In particular, just how she was able to inject a warm flavour into the campaign!

How does Telenor Sweden use display advertising as part of its marketing mix?

Kristel Thalström, Digital Designer, Telenor: We use it for both our upper funnel and tactical marketing. Our full upper funnel is usually made by an external studio, so ours is more of the tactical marketing parts. And we use display advertising heavily for general campaigns, like the summer campaign, or our winter campaigns, such as black week. We also use it for new launches and campaigns for TV or streaming services too.

What was the purpose of this campaign and how did this translate into design challenges?

Kristel Thalström: For the summer campaign we wanted to have a summer feel but still keep the Telenor identity without making it feel too cluttered. The template for our ads is clean and simple – especially in our banners. We will always have our logo, the campaign creative, the copy and then an image of a phone or another product. So there are already a lot of elements.

An example of the Telenor drafting process

 

We created the entire campaign in-house. We had a group meeting with all designers and content creators, discussing what we could do for the summer campaign. And we came up with our creative concept using our blue/black background still but using it more as a wave or sea and adding the little summer-specific illustrations.

When you were creating the ad, how did Bannerflow help?

Kristel Thalström: It simplifies the process. If I do one set and one banner, I simply put all the elements in the other sizes and then rearrange them to make them suitable. It’s far quicker than doing it manually in Photoshop or another programme. I get a good overview as well, as we have about 10 or 15 sizes for each campaign, meaning I can review each size, which is helpful. For example, with this campaign, for some of the sizes we had to remove the illustration because it just didn’t fit

Are the creative assets repurposed from your existing brand library?

Kristel Thalström: A mix I would say, because we use the same brand elements, like the logo and the site address and things such as the button. Therefore, I always start by dragging all of those in and then start adding the extra elements, be it an illustration, etc.

As a minimum: we always need the copy, the headline, and then the blue pattern and a nice graphic. Once that’s in, I start adding other elements.

Does the context of where your campaign is placed influence your ad designs?

Kristel Thalström: For sure, this especially the sizes we produce. Sometimes we scale up some things for the more difficult sizes, or maybe just remove elements. For example, some smaller sizes don’t have a CTA button because it is unnecessary due to the size of the ad.

Also, we try to keep our designs simple, as a lot of our ads are on really busy sites. Therefore, we don’t need to add tons of things because the viewer won’t see them anyway, because where they are viewing the ad is already too busy.

We try to keep it clean and simple. The viewer reads it once and then gets the information quickly – before clicking on the ad.

How do you tackle the design process of producing display campaigns?

Kristel Thalström: Usually I get all my information from copywriters, content creators and project leaders, or Head of Design. This is the campaign, this is the main focus, this is the phone, or devices, we are trying to highlight, etc. Then I take all of that information and try to place it as best I can in the banners – then it’s sign-off. So it’s very straightforward.

We don’t have a strict approval process, sometimes we share how it’s going to look. Or if we have a problem, the brand name is too long or the device image is a bit strange, then we consult our project leaders. For certain brands, we need approval and then it’s an external feedback process. Often we will act on the feedback, usually about the copy or how the image of the device is placed.

When working on the design process which other tools, beyond Bannerflow, do you use?

Kristel Thalström: Usually we just work in Bannerflow. It’s a quite straightforward process where we have a focus and I just try to do it as digitally as possible. Sometimes we use pen and paper for the brainstorming sessions where we try to come up with concepts, but that’s not so much today.

What have been the most radical shifts in how you create campaigns?

Kristel Thalström: I actually started using Bannerflow when I started at Telenor a year and a half ago! I had never used it before. So a really big benefit for me was that it’s very self-explanatory, you barely just need the guidance! Here is the programme, you log in, and then you figure it out yourself. It’s very easy to use.

But I would say the major benefit for me is time and the exporting functionality. Sometimes I create sets for both display and social, which I can export as either still jpegs, or as movies as mp4. For me it’s a very easy tool and saves me a lot of time.

What big dates do you normally prepare for? And do you prepare?

Kristel Thalström: How I prepare is usually based on the campaigns that are decided. So in that way I can’t really prepare until I get information! But in general, we always set out time for Black Friday or black week, Christmas and Christmas sales. And then summer sales as well. They are our big regular events of the season. And then of course, there are iPhone launches, and Samsung ones too, which are the major device brands that are important for us.

How has the pandemic affected how you work as a team?

Kristel Thalström: Well, I was hired in May last year during the pandemic. So I have rarely met my colleagues more than once or twice. Meaning we’ve done everything online, and you know what, it’s gone surprisingly well! Though it took a few weeks to get into it, adjusting to all the Teams meetings and how to use Bannerflow.

How has Bannerflow helped you take your designs to a higher level?

Kristel Thalström: I would definitely say the video plug-in. It’s great to be able to have devices that are moving or illustrations that are animated in our banners and still keeping the weight of the ad really low. That’s perfect for us.

As a designer, how do you continue to find inspiration for your work?

Kristel Thalström: I think it’s just keeping updated on what’s happening with other brands and the world in general, then always keeping your eyes open. Looking at what competitors are doing, but also looking at what other brands not in your area are doing too.

Maybe it could be the way the copy in the ad is animated – if it’s really effectual then it does not matter if it’s from a mobile device or a dishwasher. You don’t have to look for inspiration if you always keep your eyes open.

Take the next step

If you would like to find out more information about you too can create display advertising that engages, then get in touch. Or if you would like to see how Bannerflow Creative Studio works, apply for a demo now!

The post Best Display Campaign of Summer 2021: Telenor appeared first on Bannerflow.

Best Display Campaign of Summer 2021: Telenor was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

How To Use Hashtags on LinkedIn [Step-by-Step Guide]

Even though LinkedIn has been around since 2003, the platform didn't allow the use of clickable hashtags until 2016.

Social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have encouraged hashtag use for years as a way for users to connect with their communities. They even offer analytics, allowing content creators and influencers to gauge their impact.

Now that LinkedIn has fully embraced the use of hashtags, brands can too.

Let's get into the basics of using hashtags on the platform and dive into how to find the top trending ones in your industry.

How To Use Hashtags on Your LinkedIn Status Update

There are a few ways to add hashtags to your status update.

As the GIF illustrates, you can add a hashtag by:

1. Typing out the pound sign followed by the word or phrase. As you type out your hashtag, LinkedIn will auto-generate hashtag suggestions based on what's trending and popular.
2. Clicking on the "Add Hashtag" button located on the bottom left of the box.
3. Selecting one of the related hashtags next to the "Add Hashtag" button.

Pro-tip: Don't add spaces or symbols in your hashtags, as they will no longer be clickable.

How To Use Hashtags on Your LinkedIn Article

As it currently stands, users cannot add clickable hashtags in the body of their articles published on LinkedIn. However, they can make it discoverable by adding hashtags to the article description box.

How To Use Hashtags on Your Business Page

If you have a business page on LinkedIn, you can associate it with relevant hashtags. This will put you right in the center of conversations surrounding those hashtags and allow you to connect with relevant audiences. Here are the steps to add them:

1. Start on your business page's homepage.

2. Click on the "Add" button on the bottom right under "Hashtags." A smaller page will open up.

   

3. Click "Add a hashtag" and select up to three hashtags.

   You're all set.

Should I use hashtags on LinkedIn?

The short answer is yes, hashtags are a great way to reach audiences beyond your direct connections on LinkedIn.

Benefits of Using LinkedIn Hashtags

Let's say you only have 200 connections on LinkedIn. You publish an article on SEO and don't use any hashtags. For it to make a substantial impact, you'll need a lot of post engagement from second-and third-degree connections.

Why place such limits on your content? By using hashtags, you maximize your post's reach potential. If the SEO hashtag has 100,000K followers and you use it, your post engagement can easily triple what it was without hashtags.

Higher engagement can help you establish credibility and can facilitate meaningful connections with other LinkedIn users.

Now that you know why and how to use LinkedIn hashtags, let's review some common hashtag mistakes you'll want to steer clear of. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. 

LinkedIn Hashtag Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't go overboard – As mentioned above, LinkedIn's former senior director of product management, Pete Davies, recommends sticking to three hashtags. That should be enough to target the main keywords without looking spammy.
• Hashtags don't replace copy – Hashtags don't provide context, they should only be used to improve your discoverability. You should still have descriptions in everything you post.
• Only using popular hashtags – When you only use popular hashtags, your content can get lost. If you go too niche, you may not reach enough people. Using a mix of niche and broad hashtags strikes the perfect balance.

Once you get comfortable with the use of hashtags, you can start identifying which ones are performing the best. You may find that some lead to higher engagement rates than others. If so, those are worth reusing.

LinkedIn Trending Hashtags

LinkedIn released data on the top trending hashtags for Q1 in 2020.

Image Source

In January and February, the list was virtually identical. However, conversations shifted in March when the pandemic started. Searches for topics on remote working tripled and the #remotework hashtag also started trending.

The best way to optimize your hashtag use is by referring to your recommended hashtags and analyzing their performance on your posts.

Where do I find trending LinkedIn hashtags?

There are three types of hashtags that LinkedIn recommends to its users based on their network and industry: recommended, popular, trending. LinkedIn's 'Discover More' page is the first – and best – place to look when considering which hashtags to use in your posts.

To access this page, follow these steps:

1. Click on the "Discover More" button.
   • On the mobile app, this will appear when you click on your profile picture on the top left corner of the page.
   • On desktop view, it will be at the bottom of the left sidebar.
2. On this page, you'll see trending pages, recommended connections and pages, and hashtags toward the bottom of the page.

As a marketer, LinkedIn recommends me many marketing-related hashtags, such as #digitalmarketing, #seo, and #contentwriter. However, this list will vary from one user to the next.

How To Follow Hashtags on LinkedIn

Following hashtags will allow you to see what other content creators are posting, how users are responding, and get ideas for future posts.

1. Head to the search bar and type the hashtag you want to follow.
2. Select an option from the dropdown menu.
3. That will take you to the hashtag's feed where you can see all content published with this hashtag. Click "Follow" at the top of the page.

See the GIF below to see the steps in action.

Now that you're following the hashtag, you'll see it on the left sidebar under "Followed Hashtags" when navigating on a computer. When using the LinkedIn mobile app, you can access the hashtags you're following by clicking on your profile picture on the top left of the window and scrolling down to the "Followed Hashtags" dropdown menu.

Hashtags are integral to the success of your content. By relying on LinkedIn's hashtag recommendations and your analytics, you can ensure your posts are reaching the right audience.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How To Use Hashtags on LinkedIn [Step-by-Step Guide] was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

16 Web Design Trends to Watch in 2021

The landscape of web design is always evolving.

Something that looked modern and fresh yesterday can appear dated seemingly overnight, and trends once dismissed as irrevocably passé can unexpectedly cycle back in vogue.

Still, one thing remains constant: Websites are the most important marketing channel for many businesses, and the second most popular marketing channel among businesses according to HubSpot research.

Image Source

Given the importance of websites to most businesses and the fact that half of consumers think website design is crucial to a business’s brand, it’s worth the effort to make your own website that matches today’s trends.

However, this doesn’t mean you need to scrap your site’s vision to engage visitors. There’s plenty of room for stylistic choices across the spectrum. As HubSpot Senior Product Designer Dan Hartshorn notes, “I've noticed lately many SaaS offerings go either monochromatic or black&white in their UI, or go the opposite direction, and just COVER their UI in color, shadows, gradients, skeuomorphic, etc.”

To help you prepare for wherever the web design tide takes us, we've put together a list of 16 trends to keep a close eye on. Check them out below, and get inspired to tackle your web design projects this year with style.

1. Bold Typography

More and more companies are turning to big, bold typography to anchor their homepages. This style works best when the rest of the page is kept minimal and clean, like this example from Brooklyn-based agency Huge.

Image Source

2. Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs — high-quality videos or GIFs that run on a smooth, continuous loop — have become a popular way to add movement and visual interest to otherwise static pages. Full-screen loops, like this example from French creative agency Social Brain, create immediate interest on an otherwise simple page.

Image Source

3. Brutalism

To stand out in a sea of tidy, organized websites, some designers are opting for more eclectic, convention-defying structures. While it can seem jarring at first, many popular brands are now incorporating these aggressively alternative design elements into their sites, such as Bloomberg.

Brutalism emerged as a reaction to the increasing standardization of web design and is often characterized by stark, asymmetrical, nonconformist visuals, and a distinct lack of hierarchy and order. In other words, it's hard to describe but you know it when you see it — like with the below example from Chrissie Abbott.

Image Source

4. Saturated Gradients

Gradients have been all over the web for the past few years, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going anywhere just yet. Copywriting agency Monograph Communications illustrates a perfect example of how to make this effect look fresh and modern, with its full-screen, gradient-washed homepage.

Image Source

5. Vivid Layers of Color

Staggered, stacked layers of color add depth and texture to a simple site layout, as seen in this stylish example from the snack food brand Pipcorn. A vibrant color palette like this one instantly distinguished itself from competing sites.

Image Source

6. Text-Only

Some websites are cutting out images and prominent navigation sections altogether, relying on a few choice lines of straightforward text to inform visitors about their company.

Danish agency B14 uses their homepage real estate to simply describe their mission statement and provide links to samples of their work. It's a modern, uncluttered approach to presenting information.

Image Source

7. Illustration

More companies are turning to illustrators and graphic artists to create bespoke illustrations for their websites. After years dominated by flat design and straightforward minimalism, adding illustrated touches to your site is a great way to inject a little personality, as seen in this charming example from NewActon (designed by Australian digital agency ED).

Image Source

8. Ultra-minimalism

Taking classic minimalism to the extreme, some designers are defying conventions of what a website needs to look like, displaying just the absolute bare necessities. The site from designer Mathieu Boulet is centered around a few choice links to their social profiles and information.

Image Source

9. Mixing Horizontal and Vertical Text

Freeing text from its usual horizontal alignment and placing it vertically on a page adds some refreshing dimension. Take this example from action sports video producers Prime Park Sessions, which combines horizontal and vertical text alignments on a minimal page.

Image Source

10. Geometric Shapes and Patterns

Whimsical patterns and shapes are popping up more frequently on websites, adding some flair in a landscape otherwise ruled by flat and material design. Canadian design studio MSDS uses daring, patterned letters on their homepage.

Image Source

11. Serif Fonts

Due to screen resolution limitations and an overall lack of online font support, designers avoided serif fonts for years to keep websites legible and clean. With recent improvements, serif fonts are having a big moment in 2021 — and they've never looked more modern. As seen on The Sill, a serif headline adds a dose of sophistication and style.

Image Source

12. Overlapping Text and Images

Text that slightly overlaps accompanying images has become a popular effect for blogs and portfolios. Freelance art director and front-end developer Thibault Pailloux makes their overlapping text stand out with a colorful underline beneath each title.

Image Source

13. Broken Grids

While grids remain one of the most common and efficient ways of displaying text and images on websites, broken grids continue to make their way into mainstream sites and offer a change-up from the norm. Check out the website for HealHaus, for example. Its homepage features images and text blocks that overlap.

Image Source

14. Organic Shapes

Gone are the days of strict grid layouts and sharp edges — now it’s all about curved lines and soft, organic shapes. In the example below from Neobi, the borderline-cartoonish background adds a generous hit of personality and vivid color to the uncomplicated design.

Image Source

15. Web Textures

Web textures are background images that visually resemble a three-dimensional surface. When done well, textures can immerse viewers in a website by engaging tactile senses, as demonstrated by Color Of Change — the background evokes a duct-tape-like texture.

Image Source

16. Hand-Drawn Fonts

Custom, hand-drawn fonts have started cropping up more and more in recent months, and for good reason. These unique typefaces add character and charm, and help designers create a distinct look and feel without a complete overhaul. On the KIKK 2017 Festival website, a hand-drawn font provides a whimsical anchor for the homepage.

Image Source

Design Trends You Can Use on Your Website

Of course, you don’t need to incorporate all of these trends to build an effective website — we doubt that’s even possible. However, even adding a couple as prominent components or subtler details can improve your site’s UX significantly, leading to higher engagement, more CTA clicks, and a better outcome for your online business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

16 Web Design Trends to Watch in 2021 was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

What Is a Revenue Model?

Deciding how you’ll generate revenue is one of the most challenging decisions for a business to make, aside from coming up with what you’ll actually sell.

You want to ensure that you’re accounting for production costs, salaries for workers, what your consumers are willing to pay, and that you generate enough to continue business operations. You also want to make sure that your strategy fits with what you’re trying to sell.

Various revenue models will help you set your business on the right path. In this post, we’ll outline what they are and how to choose the right one for your company.

Revenue models are not to be confused with pricing models, which is when a business considers the products’ value and target audience to establish the best possible price for what they are selling to maximize profits. Once the pricing strategy is set, the revenue model will dictate how customers pay that price when they purchase.

RevOps teams also use pricing models to predict and forecast revenue for future business planning. Knowing where your money is coming from and how you’ll get it makes it easier to predict how often it will come in.

There are various revenue models that businesses use, and we’ll cover some below.

Types of Revenue Models

Recurring Revenue Model

Recurring revenue model, sometimes called the subscription revenue model, generates revenue by charging customers at specific intervals (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.) for access to a product or service. Businesses using this model are guaranteed to receive payment at each interval so long as customers don’t cancel their plans.

Recurring Revenue Model Example

Businesses that benefit from recurring revenue models are service-based (like providing software), product-based (like subscription boxes), or content-based (like newspapers or streaming services). Businesses you may be familiar with that use this strategy are Spotify, Amazon, and Hello Fresh.

Affiliate Revenue Model

Businesses using affiliate revenue models generate revenue through commission, as they sell items from other retailers on their site or vice versa.

Sellers work with different businesses to advertise and sell their products, tracking transactions with an affiliate link. When someone makes a purchase, the unique link notes the responsible affiliate, and commission is paid.

Affiliate Revenue Model Example

Businesses you may be familiar with that use the affiliate revenue model include Amazon affiliate links and ticket promoting services. Influencers also use this model to advertise products from businesses and entice users to purchase them through custom links.

Advertising Revenue Model

The advertising revenue model involves selling advertising space to other businesses. This space is sought after because the advertiser (who is selling the space) has high traffic and large audiences that the buyer (who is purchasing the space) wants to benefit from to give their business, product, or service visibility.

Advertising Revenue Model Example

Various types of online businesses use this model, like YouTube and Google, and so do traditional outlets like newspapers and magazines.

Sales Revenue Model

The sales revenue model states that you make money by selling goods and services to consumers, online and in person. Therefore, any business that directly sells products and services uses this model.

Sales Revenue Model Example

Clothing stores that only sell their products in a storefront or business-specific retail website use the sales revenue model as they sell directly to consumers with no third-party involvement.

SaaS Revenue Model

The Software as a Service (SaaS) revenue model is similar to the recurring revenue model as users are charged on an interval basis to use software. Businesses using this model focus on customer retention, as revenue is only guaranteed if you keep your customers. The image below is the HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing page that uses the SaaS recurring subscription model pricing.

SaaS Revenue Model Example

Businesses using this revenue model include video conferencing tool Zoom, communication platform Slack, and Adobe Suite.

How to Choose a Revenue Model

Choosing a revenue model is entirely dependent on your specific business needs and your pricing strategy.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and some businesses have multiple revenue streams within their revenue model. For example, if you use a recurring revenue model, you still may sell advertising space on your website to other businesses because you have a high-traffic page.

There are some key factors to keep in mind, though:

1. Understand your audience.

When picking a revenue model, the most important thing to remember is the target market and audience your pricing strategy has identified. You want to understand their pain points and what model makes the most sense for charging them.

For example, if you’re a service that sells meal kits, your target audience is likely busy and wants the convenience of food that is set up and easy to make after a long day. Using the recurring revenue model makes sense, as you’ll automatically charge them on an interval basis, and they won’t have to remember to submit payment — speaking directly to their desire for convenience.

2. Understand your product or service.

It’s also essential to have an in-depth understanding of your product or service and how your audience will use it. For example, if you sell shoes, your audience likely won’t need a new pair every month, so it may make sense to go with the Sales Revenue Model. Instead, your customers can come to you directly every time they need a new pair.

Choose the Model That Best Fits Your Needs

Ultimately, choosing a revenue model is centered around understanding what makes the most sense for what you’re selling and what makes the most sense (and will be most convenient) for the audiences you’re targeting.

Take time to develop your pricing strategy, choose a revenue model aligned with it, and begin generating revenue.

What Is a Revenue Model? was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns