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With over 200 million daily users, using Twitter right offers you massive benefits as a new or existing business.

Just as you would spend a considerable amount of time choosing your business name, Having a good handle is always a plus for marketing on Twitter. It’s also crucial to take time to consider your options before choosing or changing your Twitter handle.

This article will show you the do’s and don’ts of choosing a Twitter handle and 25 examples of great Twitter business names.

Twitter Name Do’s

Do use your full business name.

Making your Twitter handle as close to your business name as possible will make it easier for people to recognize you online.

Furthermore, whenever you tweet, you promote brand awareness for your business.

Do use short names.

Another tip is to use a short username. Why? Because it makes it easier to remember and spell for anyone that searches for your brand on the network.

If your business name is pretty long, then you can shorten it.

Do use taglines.

Sometimes it happens that your username has already been taken. When that happens, you could report the account for impersonation(if your business name is trademarked), or you can use an abbreviated form of your business tagline as the new handle.

Do be consistent.

If you already have a following on Facebook, Instagram, or some other social media, it’s a great idea to use the same username for your Twitter handle.

This way, it’ll be easier for your followers on those platforms to identify you on Twitter.

Twitter Name Don’ts

Don’t use numbers or symbols.

Unless a number is relevant to your business name, avoid using it on your Twitter handle. It isn’t a cool look and can be confusing for some users.

Don’t use witty names.

A witty username is excellent for a personal account, but it might not be the right fit for a business handle. Customers expect some level of professionalism, and funny names rarely give that impression.

Don’t overdo underscores.

Underscores separate characters in a username, which can be useful if two or more words make up your business name. However, be careful not to overdo using them. It’s recommended to use no more than a pair of underscores.

Good Twitter Name Examples

Here are 25 examples of great Twitter usernames. This list is divided into existing usernames and imaginary ones. Either option can serve as inspiration as you update your current Twitter handle.

Existing Twitter handles

1. Real Madrid – @realmadriden

Real Madrid FC is the biggest football club in the world and is loved by fans from different parts of the world.

The Real Madrid handle, with “en” indicates it’s the club’s official account in English, making it easy to remember and search.

This Twitter name can inspire you if your business exists in different locations around the world or communicates with customers in different languages,

2. Wendys – @Wendys

Wendys might not be your go-to fast-food chain, but they’re probably one of your favorite Twitter accounts. The burger joint is famous for its savage roasts and rivalries with other restaurants online.

We love this Twitter name because of its simplicity. It’s relevant to the brand’s name, which makes it very easy to find and identify.

3. Taco Bell – @tacobell

Using an underscore or number can differentiate your account, but it also makes it harder to find.

That’s why we like Taco Bell’s Twitter username.

Although the brand’s made up of two names, Taco Bell discards the underscore. Therefore, it’s easier to search for it on Twitter without wondering where the underscore appears.

4. PlayStation – @PlayStation

Playstation makes arguably the most popular gaming console on the planet, so it’s important that its customers can find it on Twitter and other social platforms.

It uses ‘PlayStation’ instead of ‘Playstation’ or ‘playstation,’ which we find interesting.

The capital ‘P’ and ‘S’ are synonymous with PlayStation, so it’s no surprise that it remains so even in its Twitter handle. If your business name has prominent features, something along the lines of PlayStation’s P and S, then you can also retain the feature in your username.

5. Yves Saint Laurent – @YSL

The designer apparel maker has an iconic, and lengthy name. Therefore, it might be rather tedious to find the official handle on Twitter.

Perhaps that’s why Yves Saint Laurent decided to use the ‘YSL’ username. It’s short, memorable, and definitely easier to find.

Do you have a long business name? Then take a leaf out of Yves Saint Laurent’s username.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo – @Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the most popular sportsman in the world, and his personal brand is worth millions of dollars.

It’s no wonder, then, that all his social media accounts, Twitter inclusive, use his easily recognizable name as their usernames.

If your business is tied to your name, you can use your first or last name (or the two). We like the ‘Cristiano’ handle because it’s pretty easy to recall and is quite unique.

7. CNN Breaking News – @cnnbrk

CNN has made a name as one of the most popular news networks in the world. The company has several departments, with some focusing on fashion, sports, politics, and more.

@cnnbrk is the account focused on releasing breaking news as it happens, so it needs to be different from the other official CNN accounts.

If your business runs a similar model, with different departments, then you can draw inspiration from this username.

8. Slack – @SlackHQ

Slack is a messaging platform, and more. It’s become a favorite messaging platform for companies across the world.

It would’ve been pretty easy for it to use the @slack handle — if it weren’t already taken. So, instead of paying off the current owner of the handle, it simply added HQ to the brand’s name.

With the HQ (Headquarters), Slack circumvents the ‘Slack’ username elegantly. You can copy Slack’s example if you face the same challenge.

9. PayPal Support – @AskPayPal

Paypal is a financial platform that facilitates sending and receiving money to and from almost everywhere in the world.

As such, it’s only proper to have a channel where users can reach it on Twitter.

Paypal uses ‘ask’ right before its brand name, which is a nice move for a handle that handles customer inquiries and issues. It’s a brilliant username you can copy when creating customer care Twitter handles for your brand.

10. eBay – @eBay

eBay is a hugely popular ecommerce platform that allows users to sell and buy goods.

Just as PlayStation mentioned earlier, eBay has an interesting Twitter handle. It continues the tradition of lowercase ‘e,’ and uppercase ‘B’ in its Twitter handle. Anyone who uses eBay won’t find it hard to find the Twitter handle.

So if your brand’s name has distinct features like capitalized letters, you can incorporate that into your Twitter handle.

11. Union – @JoinUnion

Union is a digital platform that connects startups to resources and networks across the world.

This handle works because the company is a service-based business, and ‘Join’ aligns with the community mandate of the business.

12. The New York Times – @nytimes

The New York Times is a popular news media company based in the United States.

The media company uses its already popular URL name ‘nytimes’ as its username. Thus, readers will find it easy to find.

You can also use your existing URL name as your Twitter handle to make it easy for people familiar with your website to find you on Twitter.

13. Notion – @NotionHQ

Notion is a tool that lets users manage files, save documents, schedule tasks and generally organize their work.

Like Slack, the Notion handle had already been taken. So what the Notion team did was to add HQ to the end of the brand’s name. Problem solved.

14. Carolina Hurricanes – @Canes

The Carolina Hurricanes is a professional ice hockey team based in North Carolina.

How’d you fit a lengthy brand name like the Carolina Hurricanes into a Twitter handle? By abbreviating it to ‘Canes.’ It’s a simple solution that can inspire business owners with long business names.

15. Bobby van’s Grill DC – @BobbyVansDC

Bobby Van’s is a restaurant that opened its doors in 1996 and is famous for its delicious steaks.

We like this handle because it includes the location of the business in the handle. An advantage of this is how the eatery appears in local searches for eateries on Twitter.

If you run a local business, adding your location in the handle can increase the chances of getting found by users.

16. Forever 21 – @Forever21

Forever 21 is a huge clothing company that sells trendy yet affordable clothing pieces.

Although we said you should avoid using numbers in your handle, this example works because ‘21’ isn’t a random pair of numbers but is part of the brand name.

So if the numbers in your brand name are tightly associated with the brand, then by all means add them to your username.

17. Chipotle – @ChipotleTweets

Chipotle is an American chain of fast casual restaurants in North America and Europe.

Chipotle had to resort to taking a lengthier Twitter handle because its first choice was already taken. This alternative handle works, though, as it reinforces that the handle belongs to an official account.

Adding ‘Tweets’ to your brand name can make your handle more recognizable to users.

18. Chick-fil-A – @ChickfilA

Chick-fil-A is the biggest American restaurant specializing in chicken sandwiches and is one of the biggest fast-food restaurants in North America.

Chick-fil-A could’ve gone for a handle like @Chick_fil_A, but we’re grateful they didn’t. The current handle is simple and doesn’t give searchers a hard time.

Editing a brand name to something simpler and easier to search for makes sense and pays off in the end.

19. Arby’s Guest Support – @ArbysCares

Arby’s is another fast-food company whose Twitter handle offers inspiration to any business looking to create a Twitter account.

The brand prides itself on an emotional connection with customers, and its customer service handle uses a username that conveys sympathy.

When creating a username for your business, you want to go with something that conveys positive emotions and puts the consumer at ease—like this handle.

20. Chili’s Grill & Bar – @Chilis

Like all great business Twitter usernames, this username does a great job of being simple and easy to find.

Users don’t have to search for ‘Chili’s Grill and Bar’ but can find the brand right away by just typing ‘Chilis.’ This is another hack you can use if your brand has a relatively long name.

21. ReadWrite – @RWW

ReadWrite aggregates professional communities dedicated to specific subjects of interest such as connected cars, smart homes, AR/VR, fintech, and APIs.

ReadWrite aggregates content from professional communities dedicated to interests like AI, fintech, APIs, and technology.

A shorter handle makes it easier for people to mention you in tweets without taking a lot of character space. The ReadWrite handle is an excellent example because they’ve abbreviated their name into just three letters.

As ReadWrite shows, abbreviations can be a cool way to create a memorable username.

22. Oberto Specialty Meats – @ObertoBeefJerky

Oberto is a specialty meats company that’s famous for its delicious cuts and beef jerky.

We like this handle because it uses keywords in the handle. Thus, the profile is likely to appear when someone searches for beef jerky on Twitter.

If you offer specific services or products, including it in your username like this example can boost your chances of popping up when people search for them.

23. MADE.COM – @madedotcom

Made designs and retails furniture and homewares online and in showrooms across Europe.

This is a cool handle because it makes it easy for users to remember the brand’s website.

If you’re looking for something non-generic and memorable, then copying this example can be what your username needs.

24. Netflix – @netflix

Netflix is arguably the most popular streaming platform on the planet with millions of subscribers paying for its content monthly.

The main account, @netflix, is simple and a no-brainer to remember. The brand name is consistent on every social platform, including Twitter.

If you’re setting up an account for your brand, it’s best to have a consistent username across all channels as Netflix has.

25. Cakes Decor – @CakesDecor

Cakes Decor is a community dedicated to showcasing beautiful cake decorations that inspire cake makers around the world.

The handle is great because it includes the keywords ‘cake’ and ‘decor,’ which means anyone searching for cake decoration inspiration on Twitter is likely going to come across the page.

So include keywords in your username to increase visibility.

The Perfect Twitter Name for Your Business

Twitter is one of the most popular social platforms on the web today, and how you show up isn’t limited to just what you say, but the name you say it under, too. Choosing the right Twitter name for your brand is key, so follow the tips in this guide and take inspiration from the list of businesses above that did it right. You’ll have the perfect Twitter handle in no time.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2009 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

According to 2021 HubSpot Blog research on social media trends, 77% of social media marketers say social media marketing was somewhat to very effective for their company in 2021.

We often talk about the best strategies to use on social media but do you ever wonder about the top mistakes to avoid? In this article, we cover the top ones categorized by platform.

Instagram

1. Ignoring new features.

Instagram is constantly evolving.

Just this year, the social network has announced several big features it’s either testing or fully rolling out, like the Creators Marketplace, supervision tools for teens, pinned posts, Reels up to 90 seconds – and that’s just to name a few.

What often happens when the platform rolls out new features is that it will prioritize accounts that use them. For instance, when Reels first launched, the algorithm would prioritize accounts that used them – earning them more reach and impressions – than those who posted videos on the feed.

With this in mind, it’s important that businesses stay updated on the latest features coming out and how they will impact the platform’s algorithm.

While a smaller change, like a new button on the Shop tab, may not affect your day-to-day, a new bigger change may warrant a strategy review.

2. Not live streaming.

Live streaming is one of the most powerful tools on Instagram.

In fact, the HubSpot Blog conducted a survey in November 2021 to discover social media marketing trends and found that it offers one of the biggest ROIs compared to other formats.

In fact, marketers surveyed ranked it #2 in the social media trends that brought in the biggest ROI in 2021, behind short-form videos.

In addition, 52% of marketers who invested in it last year say it performed better than expected.

Live streaming is a great way to engage your audience and get real-time feedback that can help you optimize your Instagram strategy.

3. Uploading videos with TikTok watermarks.

When Reels first launched, everyone believed it was in response to TikTok’s success.

This was unofficially confirmed when Instagram announced on its @creators account that it was making changes to its algorithm, specifically which Reels it recommended to users.

According to an article by The Verge, the network spokesperson said users have reported via survey that videos recycled from other platforms can provide a negative user experience. As such, Instagram will start deprioritizing videos that are clearly recycled.

One way to know a video’s recycled? The TikTok watermark. This appears when users upload a video to the short-form video platform, then save it. When it’s shared, the watermark appears.

The lesson here is if you’re going to cross-post on multiple social media platforms, make sure you upload the original content and customize it within the app. This will maintain your content’s quality and ensure it’s not shadow-banned when published.

4. Sharing low-quality content.

The head of Instagram recently said the platform is no longer a photo-sharing app.

While that may be true, visuals are still king and if you’re going to be successful on the platform, you have to produce high-quality content.

Just look at Twitter: Although you can upload images and videos, it is a text-based app. From threads to retweets, the main feed is designed to prioritize written content.

The same is true for Instagram. Visuals are everywhere on the platform and if yours is not up to par, you will struggle to retain your audience’s attention.

5. Forgetting about your bio.

Your Instagram bio is a very small section of your profile but it holds so much power.

For starters, it’s a major point of discoverability. When users search for accounts on the platform, the information on your bio will help them find you. From your username to your business category to your bio description.

Your bio is also a place to convert your users.

Instagram tries to keep users on the platform as long as possible. That’s why today, users can discover a brand and complete a purchase without ever leaving the app.

That’s also why the platform limits when and where you can share external links. One of two places is in your Instagram bio.

With a Linktree, you can include multiple links in your bio and lead your audience to your website, landing page, product page, and more.

6. Having a personal account instead of a business one.

Are you doing Instagram right if you don’t have a business account?

If you’re debating between a personal and a business one, here’s the reason why you should get it: Analytics.

When you have a business account, you have access to a slew of data that you wouldn’t know otherwise. Everything from how your users are finding you to which posts are driving the most traffic.

That insight will be invaluable in building out your Instagram strategy and gaining insights into what resonates with your audience.

7. Buying followers.

If you’re a small business on Instagram and you want to establish some credibility, or perhaps get more post engagement, you might consider buying followers.

After all, they don’t cost much and you can have thousands of followers overnight. But, there’s a catch – otherwise, everyone would be doing it.

Buying followers is like receiving a bad check – you’re promised something of value but in actuality, there’s nothing there.

While you may get a boost in followers, those followers will not help you in the long run. They’re often bot accounts that will not engage, share, or promote your content.

This will also significantly skew your data, making it difficult to know what strategies are actually working. The only way to ensure this is by growing your followers using organic methods.

8. Skipping captions.

If your picture or video is what grabs your user’s attention, your caption can get them to stay.

Many brands overlook the caption, focusing instead on creating great visual assets. However, both play an equal role in engaging the audience.

Your caption can offer more context to your post and drive conversions. So, as you’re prepping upcoming posts, make sure your caption isn’t an afterthought.

TikTok

9. Being too promotional.

TikTok is a place for authenticity.

In fact, a 2021 study by Nielsen revealed that 64% of TikTok users say they can be their true selves on TikTok. In addition, roughly 56% of TikTok users say they can post videos they wouldn’t post elsewhere.

If you go on the platform simply promoting your products and services, you may have a hard time getting any traction.

Focus instead on sharing a lifestyle – specifically the lifestyle of your target audience. Their challenges and pain points can make for relatable, funny content.

The more authentic your content is, the better it will perform on the app.

10. Using viral sounds in ads.

Viral sounds come and go quickly on the app.

The average sound has a shelf life of a week or two – that’s why it’s great to use in your posts. However, it’s not a great strategy for ads.

Why? Well, an ad will likely run for several weeks and by that time, the sound will no longer be popular. In fact, users may be tired of hearing the sound, and using it may hurt your likeability as a brand.

Don’t age your ad by including trends that are sure to die off. Instead, stick with evergreen content that will work any time.

11. Not using filters.

Just as sounds go viral on TikTok, so do filters.

From effects that expand your face to those that take you to space, there’s so much to choose from. For brands, this offers a lot of opportunities to be creative and have fun with your audience.

Of course, with any trend, it’s important to know when to join and when to skip. If something doesn’t align with your values or strategy, don’t participate – as there will be another one around the corner that will be a better bit.

Twitter

12. Ignoring mentions.

Social media is a two-way street. You share, and your audience responds.

Too often, brands focus on sharing and forget to interact with their community. On Twitter, this is especially easy as a text-focused app.

Brands will Tweet away and forget to respond to mentions, which could hold valuable insights into brand perception.

This leads us to our next mistake, in the section below.

13. Retweeting too often.

When a user lands on your Twitter profile, they should have a good idea of what you’re about and know what to expect from your page.

If your page is 90% retweets, it makes it difficult to make that assessment.

Instead, have a healthy mix of tweets, retweets, replies, and threads.

14. Tweeting the same thing.

Imagine stepping into a store and seeing the same item displayed everywhere. Once you realize there’s nothing new to explore, you’ll lose interest and quickly walk out.

Think of your Twitter page like your store: The more variety you have, the more opportunities you have to attract your audience and encourage them to stick around.

While it’s valuable to repurpose high-performing content, the key is spreading it out over a long period so that it seems fresh every time. You should also try to find fresh angles to give a new life to your content.

15. Treating it like other social platforms.

Twitter is one of the few social networks where written content is king.

If you’re active on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, you may be tempted to use that same approach for Twitter.

However, the golden rule on social media is to adjust your content to the platform, not the other way around. This means that you’ll have to make sure you’ll likely have to swift from a video-first approach to a text- and audio-forward one on Twitter.

Facebook

16. Having a low response rate.

When you land on a Facebook Page, one of the first things you’ll see is the page’s message response rate.

It creates an initial impression of the brand and its relationship with its potential customers.

A high response rate suggests that you have great customer service while a low rate signals that you are either not active on the platform or may struggle with customer service.

While this is a seemingly small part of your profile, it can leave a big impression.

17. Removing negative comments.

Negative comments are a part of every brand’s social presence.

There’s bound to be an unsatisfied customer or a frustrated follower somewhere and sometimes, they land right in your comments.

In an effort to protect your brand’s image, you may want to delete the comment altogether. However, having a solid response to your disgruntled follower may actually work in your favor.

Responding to negative comments shows your audience that you don’t shy away from difficult conversations. It can also appease other customers who may have similar concerns.

18. Not having a custom photo cover.

Everything on your Facebook Page can help or hurt your brand and as we know, the devil is in the details.

A custom photo cover is a great way to stand out from your competitors, who may use their logos or stock photos – or worse, nothing at all.

Instead, opt for something that says something about your brand, and speaks to your values or your culture. Using an image that has emotional appeal will likely have a much better impact than a simple stock photo that tells us about your product or service.

19. Neglecting your community.

Facebook is one of the best places to build community. From Facebook Groups to live streams, there are many ways to interact with your audience.

After all, that’s how you build brand loyalists. It’s not from sharing promotional content, it’s from consistent and genuine interactions.

Once you start seeing your Facebook Page as a community-building tool, you will start seeing results.

20. Ignoring your competitors.

One of the handiest tools on Facebook is the ability to learn about your competitors in your analytics dashboard.

Using inputs from data you’ve already shared, Facebook can compile a list of suggested competitors and tell you how you’re performing against them

This can then serve as a benchmark to determine how well you’re doing and what to strive for.

Knowing what not to do can be just as important as knowing what you should do. Although this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s a pretty good place to start and keep you on the right track.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Feb. 2012 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Although you may have a desired path for your potential consumers to take when they interact with you online, the truth is you have no control over it.

Trigger marketing enables you to be at the ready, in whatever way your audience chooses to engage. In this article, we’ll cover all things trigger marketing, including its benefits, example, and the steps to leverage it.

What is trigger marketing?
The Benefits of Trigger Marketing
How to Use Trigger Marketing
Trigger Marketing Examples

When you hear about marketing automation, you often think of detailed diagram of emails sent to different segments, broken out by email engagement, drawing a line from lead to customer?

This has become the norm but there’s a flaw in this approach. It starts with the marketer’s timeline rather than the prospect’s.

The marketer sits down and defines what information the prospect will consume next, what actions the prospect will take next, and the path the prospect will take from becoming a lead to becoming a customer.

But if we’re honest with ourselves, we would admit that the world is not as straightforward as that.

Using the traditional stages of the funnel, from a lead to a customer, we often view things in a linear way. The leads download an ebook, then become an MQL once they start a trial, then an SQL when the sales person follows up with that prospect, an opportunity when they do a trial review call, and a customer when they purchase.

But what if they start a trial and then download an ebook? Or what if they get into a sales conversation after just downloading an ebook, never become a customer, and then go cold until they start a trial months later?

The reality is that you can’t control what your prospect does or in what order your prospect does it. What you can control, however, is how you react to your prospect’s behaviors.

This is where automation and trigger marketing becomes powerful.

The “triggering” event can be anything measurable by your CRM and automation software. Here are just a few examples:

Form conversions
Email opens (or lack thereof)
Number of pages viewed
Chatbot interactions
Cart abandonment

Take this example below: On my birthday last year, wine brand McBride Sisters, one brand I’ve engaged with in the past, sent me birthday wishes along with a discount on their product.

In this case, the triggering event was my birthday – a piece of data they collected at some point.

As a result of the triggering event, you can automate tasks and actions with your marketing automation software, such as:

Send them an email (or sequence of emails).
Update their CRM record.
Add them to a list.
Assign them to a sales rep.
Start an internal ticket.

The Benefits of Trigger Marketing

The biggest benefit to trigger marketing is the ability to quickly respond to consumer behavior.

We can’t always predict how users will behave – however, we can make sure we’re prepared with a response that align with our goals.

Trigger marketing also allows you to automate certain marketing tactics so that you don’t miss the opportunity ot convert a lead.

In addition, this strategy is a great credibility, trust, and loyalty builder with your audience. From welcome messages and birthday wishes to order confirmations and discount reminders, all of these interactions enhance your customer experience and promote a positive relationship with your audience.

1. Understand your buyer persona.

It should go without saying in the context of any marketing activity, but in marketing automation, knowing your buyer persona is critically important.

If you think through the lifecycle stages, pains, and motivations of your target audience(s), you can craft better trigger marketing strategies to guide them along their path to purchase.

The goal of marketing automation is to provide a great experience at scale, and part of that means meeting them where they are.

That’s why collecting data early is so valuable as you can use those insights to craft an effective trigger marketing strategy.

2. Think in terms of ‘if’ and ‘then.’

Software is simple. It sees in black and white rather than the complex outcome that you’re moving toward.

However, you can reverse engineer a great trigger marketing strategy using automation by thinking through your outcome and the path to get there as a series of if/then statements:

If X happens, then do Y.
If the prospect fills out this form, then send them this email.
If the prospect has visited the pricing page, then notify a rep.

The “if” is the criteria. The “then” is the action you want to take.

3. Figure out your triggering events.

In order to get your messaging to the right people at the right time, you must identify the “trigger.” (In HubSpot, it’s called “enrollment criteria.”)

This is the “if” part of the equation, the concrete indicator that the software can use as a green light to execute the actions.

Triggering events are limited to the information you have in your system and your marketing automation’s capabilities. Common ones include:

Actions taken on the website.
Criteria met in the database.
Responses to past emails or campaigns.

For instance, if an email subscriber has been disengaged from your last four newsletters, you can trigger an automated unsubscribe button, followed by an email to the subscriber.

4. Determine the actions you want your system to perform.

Once you know your “trigger” or enrollment/starting criteria, then you can decide what happens next. This is the “then” part of the equation.

Common actions include:

Sending an email.
Enrolling in a sequence.
Categorizing the contact in the database.

5. Craft personalized messaging.

Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to purchase after a personalized experience.

If your action (“then” statement) includes a marketing task such as email sends or campaign enrollment, it’s critical to know exactly how this contact is different from others in your CRM and what messaging will uniquely appeal to them. Ask yourself:

Where are they at in their journey?
How can I provide value and move them to the next step?

6. Identify and eliminate repetitive marketing tasks.

If you’re still not sure where to begin with marketing automation, start by creating a list of your most repetitive tasks.

For example, if you send the same email over and over again to multiple contacts, using automation to eliminate this task from your day will increase productivity and, as a result, performance.

This will help you focus on higher-impact tasks that can’t be automated.

7. Increase the value of your CRM.

Your marketing automation is only as limited as the CRM and the data that power it.

If you have messy data, marketing automation may hurt you. If you have incomplete data, you won’t be able to do the advanced personalization and segmentation that will make a world of difference.

With that in mind, understand how to make the most of your CRM. Part of this comes down to using automation to update CRM records and categorize contacts, but ultimately you’ll have to think about how your organization uses its CRM and ask yourself these questions:

What data (and when) can you gather about your prospects to help the effectiveness of your campaigns?
How can you use automation to ensure the cleanliness and accuracy of your database?
How often can you audit your database to ensure the integrity of these efforts?

Trigger-Based Marketing Email Examples

Trigger: Downloaded an educational offer.

This is a great place to start if you don’t have any triggered emails set up, as this is the broadest trigger – engaging the prospects at the earliest stage of the buyer’s journey.

What to Send: Transactional Email With Next Step Call-to-Action

In this situation, your triggered email can be a transactional email — confirming the download and including any information related to that download.

For example, if this is a follow-up to downloading an ebook, include the name of the ebook and a link to the PDF.

Once you’ve covered your bases on the transactional information, it’s time to think about what you want your prospect to do next. You have their attention — take advantage of it.

Do you want them to convert on a middle-of-the-funnel offer like a demo request or complimentary consultation?

Or do you want to encourage them to share this offer with their network, to expand the reach of your content?

Think about that ideal next step, and include a call-to-action for that in your follow-up email.

Trigger: Took one action in a series, but not the next.

Say your prospect gets close to taking the action you want – like making a purchase – but they don’t quite get to the finish line.

This is an opportunity for you to follow up to get them to cross that finish line.

What to Send: Related Content and an Alternative Action

Perhaps they didn’t complete that action because of some hesitation. They didn’t want to fill out the form, or they had some additional questions.

This is an opportunity to follow up with a cart abandonment email reminding them of their items and offering relevant items to consider.

Trigger: Viewed high-intent content.

Say you have high-intent content, for instance, product pages or product-focused blog articles. When website visitors view that content, you can leverage that data to use in future communication with your user.

What to Send: Tailored Follow-Up Content

Whether you trigger an email immediately or save this intelligence for future communications, the data you collect about which content people view can be used to make your marketing that much more relevant on a one-to-one basis.

In this case, a visitor viewing high-intent content could signal someone ready to view a demo or speak with a sales rep.

With this in mind, you can trigger a sequence of emails designed to lead that user further down the buyer’s journey.

The key takeaway here is to think about the various behavioral data points you have about your prospects, and what you can draw from them.

Trigger: Has been highly engaged (or disengaged).

Figure out what your bar is for a highly engaged prospect (perhaps they downloaded at least three ebooks and viewed at least ten blog articles) as well as an unengaged prospect, and respond and market to them accordingly.

What to Send: Timely Next Step Call-to-Action or Re-engagement Campaign

For your highly engaged prospects, you once again have the attention you can leverage. One great option is to encourage them to share the content they just downloaded.

When a prospect becomes highly engaged, this is a great opportunity to notify that prospect’s sales representative that this is a good time to follow up with the prospect. For your unengaged prospects, send a proactive re-engagement email.

You may even want to have multiple trigger points (e.g. haven’t clicked on an email in three weeks, three months, or more) where you send different campaigns to reengage these prospects or unsubscribe them.

When done right, trigger marketing can yield much higher results than the typical linear marketing automation campaign.

Using some of the same technology, you can reorient your marketing to work around your prospect’s timeline instead of your own, while continuing to drive the actions you desire.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As cryptocurrency continues to be a hot topic, you may be wondering if your business can benefit from crypto like bitcoin.

But what if I told you the biggest opportunity for businesses of any kind is actually related to the technology that underlies bitcoin — blockchain. Blockchain, the public ledger that records all bitcoin transactions, is more than just a fad — it’s changing life as we know it.

Don’t believe me? Follow along to learn more about blockchain and how it works, who’s using it, and the future of the technology. Feel free to email, bookmark, or jump to the section that interests you most.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a ledger system that uses an open, distributed record to keep track of transactions — transactions could mean cryptocurrencies, NFTs, medical information, voting or home records, and more.

These transactions get packaged into blocks — all of which get verified by other users in the system by completing math problems. Once a block gets verified, it cannot be altered and gets added to a chain of other permanent, previously verified blocks.

The records held within these blocks form a blockchain, and the blockchain’s users all keep track of this record. It’s basically a giant, shared ledger, but in practice, it’s much more exciting than that.

Let’s say the air fryer you bought last year isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and you hardly ever use it. You could use a third-party seller like eBay to sell it. These sellers act as the marketplace that connects you (the seller) to potential buyers — they make money by charging fees.

In this case, let’s pretend the buyer is from Germany. When you make a sale on eBay, the platform verifies the transaction with your bank and the purchaser’s bank. It also confirms your air fryer and the end buyer both exist. However, if you use blockchain technology to sell your air fryer, you can cut out all the middlemen while still maintaining a safe, speedy, and secure transaction — even internationally.

No eBay, no banks, no fees, and no exchange rate — it’s that easy.

History of Blockchain

Before we dive into exactly how blockchain makes this possible, let’s talk about the history of blockchain. In October 2008, the secretive founder of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the world to peer-to-peer electronic payments.

His cryptocurrency formed the world’s first blockchain. Because bitcoin’s software is open source — allowing anyone to see, reuse, and adapt the code behind it — it didn’t take long before users started modifying it for different purposes.

Early on, blockchain users mostly tried to make better versions of bitcoin. Litecoin, an alternative cryptocurrency developed by a former Google employee, aimed to provide faster transactions. Others, like the meme-inspired Dogecoin, were created for people turned off by bitcoin’s high price point.

Namecoin.org developed one of the first uses of blockchain for something other than cryptocurrencies. The technology uses blockchain to register .bit domain names as an alternative to the primary domain name management system.

Namecoin makes it extremely difficult for external players, like the government, to take control of websites. Because .bit domains get registered in a blockchain, they are nearly impossible to change without knowing the encryption key.

The next significant innovation came in 2013 when a small startup named Ethereum put out a paper outlining a way for developers to easily create entirely new blockchains without relying on bitcoin’s original code.

Two years later, Ethereum launched their new platform, allowing users to expand blockchain’s functionality beyond cryptocurrencies.

Currently, companies and individuals are exploring how to use blockchain technology in healthcare, energy, supply chain management, and many other industries —but more on that later.

How Does Blockchain Work?

There are different ways to set up a blockchain, Harvard Business Review laid out five principles that all blockchains have in common.

First, all blockchains use a distributed database — this means that every user in a blockchain can access the complete database, including its past transaction history.

This transparency allows users to verify any information they need and to complete transactions directly, without any intermediaries.

Secondly, any transactions or communications get conducted between peers. Each user stores records and sends information directly to all other parties in a blockchain.

Because of this technology, intermediaries and central storage institutions, like banks, are unnecessary. Users have all the information they need to vet other users, otherwise known as nodes.

Third, although blockchains are transparent, each user associated with a blockchain can remain anonymous. To protect users’ identities, each user has their own unique “30-plus-character alphanumeric address” that they use in place of a name. Users can choose to share their identity or remain anonymous with their blockchain address.

The alphanumeric addresses are also used to verify transactions. You may have heard the term “mining” associated with bitcoin. When someone “mines” bitcoin they aren’t digging around in the earth in search of a bitcoin filled hard drive … except for that one time.

Here’s how mining actually works: When someone wants to make a transaction and add a new record or “block” to the ledger, they first need to solve what is essentially a math problem.

Computers use their computing power to “mine” for the answer, which is vetted by the network of users. If the answer is correct, the new block is added to the ledger. A token, also known as a coin, is generated when this occurs —almost like a receipt to prove it happened.

Fourth, because blockchain uses a digital ledger, the entire transactional process can be automated using algorithms. For example, when you buy a house, you pay for a lot of other small costs like title registration, mortgage lenders, inspections, and legal fees.

There are all these other people involved to provide access, regulate, and administer a sale from one person to another. But a lot of this complexity disappears with blockchain.

You can record property data and even build in digital rules — called smart contracts — that, once fulfilled, allow the system to automatically transfer a property title or money for purchase.

Fifth, once a record gets created, it cannot change. When miners verify a transaction, that record is shared with every other party in the blockchain as part of the decentralized ledger.

Part of each verified transaction is also used to generate the math puzzle for the next block in the chain. This means each transaction gets linked to the ones that came before it and all those transactions get stored across multiple computers with no single point of failure.

Blockchains can also be public or private —both types of networks share the five characteristics listed here but have one major difference. A public blockchain is open to the general public and anyone can join, execute and verify transactions, and everyone maintains a copy of the decentralized ledger.

The bitcoin blockchain is currently one of the largest examples of a public blockchain network. In a private blockchain, participation is limited to users who receive an invitation to join the network and are granted permission to enter. Think of it like the early days of Facebook when users needed email addresses from certain schools.

Aside from the increased security offered by private blockchains, they are also much more cost efficient since much less computing power is required to verify transactions in a smaller network.

Still confused? I don’t blame you. Here are some talking points on how blockchain works for your next cocktail party.

Blockchains are completely transparent. Any user can view any transaction from now until the end of time.
All transactions get completed between individual users. Say goodbye to intermediaries.
Even though blockchains are transparent, a user’s identity doesn’t have to be. All users are assigned a public address to use in place of a name during transactions.
Because blockchains live online, we can use algorithms to automate future transactions — just like you automatically pay your Netflix subscription every month.
Once a block gets added to a blockchain, it’s there forever — no ifs, ands, or buts.

Got it? Let’s move on.

Benefits of Blockchain

You may be thinking, if blockchain is basically just another way to organize records, why are people so excited about it? Don’t worry! This is the part of the article where we talk about the benefits of blockchain and how it has the potential to change the world.

Blockchain Security

One of the largest benefits of blockchain is its ultra-secure network. Because data transmitted using blockchain is inherently encrypted, it’s much more secure than the standard username-password security system. However, the real security benefits come from blockchain’s network of users.

Decentralized data stored using blockchain makes it extremely difficult to hack into because no “single point of failure” exists. What does all this mean? Let’s say you have all your documents backed up on a single hard drive.

If that hard drive is lost, stolen, or destroyed, all of your documents are gone … forever. But if all your documents are saved on thousands of different hard drives, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever lose your data. That’s the power of blockchain security.

Under usual circumstances, to break into a blockchain, hackers would need to overwhelm over 50% of the network in less time than it takes to create a new block. The amount of computing power required to do this in most blockchain networks is tremendous.

Larger networks are much harder to hack because they are more decentralized and have more computers working to verify transactions.

That’s not to say hacks are impossible. Going as far back as 2017, data shows hackers have managed to steal around $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency as they vulnerabilities in the system. In addition to the 51% rule, the hacks can also occur if errors were made during the creation of the blockchain or if there was insufficient security during an exchange.

Fortunately, it’s easy to detect when a block has been tampered with thanks to hash functions. Hashes from one block are added to the data in the next block. Anyone who tries to alter a block will end up changing the hash completely, setting off a red flag and disabling the block completely.

Blockchain also offers anonymity. Without blockchain, systems use a variety of information like names, addresses, card numbers, and social security numbers to verify transactions. All this personal information is vulnerable to being stolen. In a blockchain, only the private key matters.

Each blockchain user has two keys: a public key and a private key. Their public key is derived from their private key using a mathematical formula and then combined with other information to form their public address for transactions.

Without the private key, it is impossible to verify transactions to the public address. This private key never gets shared with outsiders which means multiple complex formulas stand between a user’s private key and their public address.

You may be wondering if it’s possible to reverse the formula and uncover someone’s private key from their public key? The bad news is that it is possible. The good news is that the chances are very slim.

A private key number is between 1 and 2^256, meaning a hacker has to find the right number between 1 and quattuorvigintillion — a 78 digit number that is estimated to be bigger than the number of atoms in the universe.

Decentralization and Smart Contracts

The second benefit of blockchain comes from decentralization and smart contracts. Presently, smart contracts may represent the most powerful application for blockchain.

HubSpot’s former director of acquisition and resident blockchain expert Matthew Howells-Barby states: “One of the more immediate ways in which blockchain technology is going to impact SMBs is through smart contracts.

Smart contracts facilitate the creation of trustless digital contracts that can be used for all kinds of applications — something that has never been possible before without a third party being involved.

Imagine being able to create digital contracts with contractors that would automatically pay them once work has been completed to a satisfactory standard. This is one of the many applications that smart contracts offer.”

Essentially, smart contracts use blockchain to automate payments and transfers based on a predetermined set of conditions. Using smart contracts, you could automatically pay your electric bill once your electricity usage hits a certain amount.

The transaction would be sent securely to the power company and verified using blockchain. No more late fees, no more stolen financial information — you would never have to think about scheduling a payment again.

Once again, as more and more transactions are automated using smart contracts, the need for middlemen and outside organizations will diminish. Because information gets distributed across the entire network, it’s extremely difficult for one group to seize control of it.

Governments and individuals in positions of power will no longer be able to shut down sources they wish to repress because the information will exist on many computers across the network.

Speed and Efficiency

Third, blockchain is fast and efficient. Manual data entry is tedious and prone to error. Think about it. How many typos do you typically make writing an email? Most organizations maintain multiple record systems for different tasks.

For example, an ice cream store may use one record to track the amount of ice cream and supplies they purchase, another to track hours their employees work, and another to track sales.

Reviewing separate records takes up a lot of time. With blockchain, all this information gets stored and verified as it gets generated.

Blockchain’s verification speed has vast benefits. For example, a simple stock purchase can take up to a week to verify using current methods. Several forms, organizations, and a ridiculous amount of acronyms are involved in the process.

With blockchain, there is no need for third-party verification because all the information needed to complete and verify the transaction gets included in the ledger. That means stock transfers can happen almost instantaneously instead of a full week later. Talk about some serious returns!

Applications of Blockchain

Okay, so we’ve talked about what blockchain is, how it works, and the benefits of using it, but is anyone actually using this technology? Like really using it — not just for trying to get bitcoin rich? The answer is an enthusiastic yes!

In simple terms, bitcoin is only one, tiny application supported by blockchain — there are endless possibilities for the technology. Let’s do a deeper dive on some other applications of blockchain.

FinTech

Payments and Cryptocurrencies

Let’s just get this out of the way — cryptocurrencies are indeed one of the most popular blockchain applications. I know, I know, I said I was going to talk about other applications of blockchain. I promise I will, but it’s impossible to talk about blockchain without taking a look at the application it was originally built for — bitcoin.

Partially because it was the first one and partially because it has the largest network of users, bitcoin is the most valuable cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization.

In fact, bitcoin has become so popular that stores, restaurants, and even bars are starting to accept it as payment. In larger cities like New York, you can live your life only paying in bitcoin, though it isn’t always the most practical approach.

Because bitcoins trade on an open market, investors like the Winklevoss twins were able to make bets on future price movements. Before you go investing in bitcoin, don’t forget that the cryptocurrency is also infamous for its massive price swings.

Other cryptocurrencies like Ripple, Litecoin, and Ethereum can also be used to send payments or for market speculation, but these cryptocurrencies have their quirks. Ripple is positioned to speed up international transactions and reduce transaction fees.

The four to five seconds it takes Ripple to settle a transaction is faster than any other cryptocurrency and significantly faster than the expensive, multi-day process currently in use by most banks. For this reason, companies like top banks have started experimenting with Ripple for international transactions.

Litecoin is also useful for payments but is focused more on the everyday stuff than on purchases across borders. According to its founder Charlie Lee, “Litecoin is targeted more towards payments, faster transactions, and lower fees.”

Then there’s Ethereum and its cryptocurrency Ether. The smart contracts built into Ethereum’s code allow for a wide range of deals to occur automatically once pre-negotiated terms get met. This is a major stepping stone for using blockchain in industries outside of FinTech.

Trade

These cryptocurrencies and, more importantly, the blockchain behind them will have a tremendous impact on trade. Faster verification times, reduction or removal of exchange fees, and elimination of errors will make domestic and international trade easier than ever before.

By implementing blockchain within their internal financing unit, IBM was able to free up $100 million previously tied up in disputes. Imagine how much more could get done by using blockchain for the trillions of dollars in transactions that occur every day in the U.S. financial system alone.

Crowdfunding

Outside the worlds of insurance and international trade, blockchain will also create massive changes in the way businesses and startups raise capital. Sites like Kickstarter, founded in 2009, democratized fundraising by allowing just about anyone to find financial backing from a broad audience instead of traditional sources like banks and venture capital funds.

There’s also a built-in insurance policy since payment only gets collected for projects that meet their funding goal. For this service and for connecting entrepreneurs to potential funders, Kickstarter charges a 5% fee. As of April 2022, the platform has raised over $6.5 billion in funds for various projects.

With blockchain, these fees get eliminated since a network allows for immediate verification and smart contracts allow transactions to take place only once a project is fully funded. Some artists and startups are already experimenting with blockchain crowdfunding in the form of ICOs or initial coin offerings.

The virtual coins function the same way as bitcoin, and investors purchase these coins like shares of stock to invest in the business that offers them. However, unlike in the stock market, purchasing these coins does not mean a user purchased ownership rights — this makes ICOs an extremely risky investment.

Property and Identity

There are few things more important than protecting your identity and property records. Birth, marriage, and death certificates allow you to claim a variety of different rights, including citizenship, employment rights, and voting rights. Pretty important stuff, right?

But in many countries, personal and government records still exist only on paper. During the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, most of the country’s paper land registry files were destroyed — so there’s no way to know who owns what. This has opened the door for corruption and further loss. In the future, blockchain will provide stability during uncertainty.

In addition to being a digital fail-safe for important documents, blockchain is also an extremely secure identity management system. Think about how often you provide personal or financial information over the internet. Once a week? Once a day? Two hours ago when you bought those new boots during your lunch break? Hey, no judgment – I’m just looking out for your financial security.

Being able to accurately verify your identity is essential to all online transactions, but the data you provide can be vulnerable to attacks. Blockchain’s decentralized ledger and unique user addresses make it difficult for hackers to obtain your sensitive information.

Supply Chain

Thanks to smart contracts, many retailers are using blockchain to help simplify their supply chain processes. In early 2017, Maersk, one of the world’s largest container shipment operators, joined forces with IBM to create a digital blockchain-based supply chain system. The goal: To create a faster and more secure and cost-effective way to trade goods internationally.

IBM stated, “The costs associated with trade documentation processing and administration are estimated to be up to one-fifth the actual physical transportation costs. A single vessel can carry thousands of shipments, and on top of the costs to move the paperwork, the documentation to support it can be delayed, lost or misplaced, leading to further complications.” Talk about a logistical nightmare.

With blockchain, all parties involved in the supply chain can access any necessary documents and view transportation events in real time. All of the supply chain information is accurate and secure because no individual party can alter the blockchain without permission from others in the network. This transparency helps reduce shipment time, money, fraud, and errors — getting consumers the goods they need from around the world.

Healthcare

Healthcare – yeah, it’s complicated. It’s so complicated and confusing that I often find myself skipping the doctors just to avoid the massive amount of paperwork and stress that comes along with visiting the office. Don’t look at the screen like that – I know you’ve done it too.

Thankfully, blockchain is here to save the day or at least make these processes easier. Blockchain technology allows patients, insurers, and physicians to view and update medical records in a secure and timely fashion. This access to data can also help doctors recognize early indicators of disease or weakening health.

Blockchain can also help in other areas like reducing Medicare fraud, which has proven to be a costly issue. In 2021, the Department of Justice announced over 100 medical professionals were facing charges in connection to healthcare fraud schemes that cost about $1.4 billion in losses.

Blockchain even makes it possible to pay for procedures based on outcomes instead of predetermined rates. In fact, RoboMed Network other players in the healthcare market are already using blockchain to do this for thousands of patients.

Energy

Once energy enters into an electric grid, it’s impossible to tell if it was generated by a fossil fuel plant, nuclear power, or a renewable energy plant. To track the amount of energy coming from renewable sources, power plants use a complex, expensive system.

Cutting out intermediaries, reducing errors, and building a decentralized record for the sources of renewable energy with blockchain would remove many of these barriers — but it doesn’t end there.

Over the last several years, a new distributed grid has grown in size. This grid consists of solar panels on the roofs of homes and batteries from electric cars. When these systems produce more energy than they need, their owners can sell the excess power back to the power company, but it can take several months to see returns.

In 2017, LO3 Energy began experimenting with a blockchain powered microgrid in Brooklyn that lets users sell their excess energy to their neighbors. Because it’s easier to distribute electricity locally than to send it over long distances, decentralized blockchain microgrids could help prevent power outages and maximize energy use from distributed producers.

Investing in Blockchain

Blockchain is a tough topic to grasp, and it’ll likely be many years before the technology is widely adopted. Small- and medium-sized businesses should wait for blockchain technology to mature before worrying about how to adopt it.

However, there are some ways they can start experimenting with blockchain applications. In this section, we’ll walk through how businesses can start investing in blockchain in a smart, deliberate way.

According to Harvard Business Review, there are two factors to consider when thinking about how quickly new technology will impact a business: novelty and complexity. Novelty represents users’ familiarity with the application. The more novel or unfamiliar the technology is, the longer it’ll take to become commonplace.

Complexity is the number of people needed to adopt an application for it to have impact. For example, a dating app is useless unless a lot of people create profiles. How annoying would it be to swipe left on Chad 17 times before coming across an intriguing profile?

These two criteria help inform executives of the roadblocks they might face and the effort needed to implement a specific blockchain application. Take a look at the chart above. Businesses that are looking for a low barrier to entry should consider implementing single-use cases of blockchain. Single-use cases have a low degree of novelty and complexity.

So what exactly is a single-use case?

Accepting bitcoin payments. HBR states, “… bitcoin is growing fast and increasingly important in contexts such as instant payments and foreign currency and asset trading, where the present financial system has limitations.”

Accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment makes it easier for customers all over the world to quickly and securely purchase your products.

If you start accepting bitcoin as alternative payment, your business could then start experimenting with a blockchain application that is increasingly novel but still has a low level of complexity — a private blockchain ledger to record all transactions.

Once you have a good handle on these more simple applications, consider using more complex blockchain applications like smart contracts. The possibilities for how blockchain can help improve business processes are endless — it’s just a matter of how much effort and money you want to invest in an application right away.

Conclusion: The Future of Blockchain

That was a lot. And it’s okay if you don’t understand all of the intricacies of blockchain or aren’t ready to start incorporating it into your business strategy just yet. It’ll take many years and buy-in from numerous different industries before blockchain becomes commonplace. And while we don’t recommend SMBs worry too much about blockchain just yet, it’s important to keep an eye on the emerging tech as larger enterprise businesses start developing more blockchain applications.

So the next time you find yourself sinking into a deep hole of depression because you didn’t scoop up bitcoin while the iron was hot, remember the most rewarding technology — blockchain — is still to reach its full potential.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.