Monthly Archives: February 2023

In 2022, the marketing world continued to evolve.

Not only did we get the ability to shop directly on our favorite social media apps, but we also began to hear lots of the futuristic buzz around AR/VR, the metaverse, and Web3 development.

As we move into another unique year, marketers might wonder if and how other companies in their industry are keeping up with everything going on.

To help marketers like you keep a pulse on how other brands are doing, HubSpot analyzed data from 150,000+ companies. In this post, we’ll note the three key marketing themes we discovered and how they could impact you today.

Want a full view of how the bigger business performed and what you can do to keep your company up? Read our full-year Business Data Recap on the Hustle Blog now.

About this Data: These insights are based on data aggregated from 130,000+ HubSpot customers globally between July 2021 and September 2022. Because the data is aggregated from HubSpot customers’ businesses, please keep in mind that the performance of individual businesses, including HubSpot’s, might differ based on their own markets, customer base, industry, geography, stage and/or other factors.

3 Marketing Data Themes We Saw in 2022

2022 Web Traffic Struggled to Outpace 2021

In 2021, much of the world was still reopening following the worst of the pandemic. And, although people were starting to get out of the house and disconnect from their screens more often, others were still highly connected, working mostly remote, and doing everything from shopping to entertaining themselves from home.

In 2022, as the global events we went through seem farther and farther in the past, more people than ever are trying to get out of the house, get off their computers, and continue to trade Zoom calls and texts with real, in-person connections.

In 2021, we also saw people become more honest with themselves about work. Instead of spending 10 hours a day in the office or working from home, they opted to take more time off, set work-life balance boundaries, or even take part in quiet quitting.

Lastly, we saw in our quarterly analyses, and note in the section below, that marketers sent fewer emails which also received lower email open rates overall throughout the year. For some sites, email can be the biggest traffic source following search engine and direct traffic. And, when any channel sees these impacts, it could greatly impact year-over-year performance.

With the factors above in mind, it’s not too shocking that web traffic across all industries took a hit in 2022 compared to 2021, with a 6.7% YoY dip.

The only industry that didn’t see a dip was, unsurprisingly, Leisure and Hospitality. This industry, which saw major business impact during COVID travel and country-wide shutdowns, is now showing signs of picking back up with a 6.35% YoY traffic increase.

The industries that saw the biggest dips were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, as well as  Professional and Business Services, which both saw more than a 7% traffic tip in 2022.

Marketing Emails Struggled to Capture Subscribers

As we hinted above, email open rates took a tip in 2022. Across industries, email open rate dropped by a whopping 12.89% while email opens dropped by just under 4%.

Metric

YoY (2022 vs. 2021)

Sample size

Email sends

11.01%

167,457

Email opens

-3.32%

167,457

Email open rate

-12.89%

167,457

While there could be many possibilities for this, a few impacts that seem likely are:

Businesses sent too many emails. In 2022, companies sent 11% more marketing emails than usual, which could have easily fatigued subscribers, caused disengagement, or even hurt email subscription size. On top of this, sales reps also might have been sending emails more frequently as sales email open rates dipped by 11.6%, hinting that those who were subscribers AND prospects could’ve definitely gotten bloated inboxes.
Email oversaturation from all sorts of brands (which also likely amped up email sends) could have caused higher competition in subscriber inboxes than in previous years. On top of marketing emails to compete with,
Growing subscriber lists. While this shows people are investing in your brand and content, it can open rates harder to maintain. Because open rates decreased by a much larger percentage than that of opens, this could mean marketers added more contacts to their subscription lists, but only received opens from the same or slightly fewer people.
Inboxes are continuing to improve organization, junk, and spam filters. While this is better for the consumer, these pivots could be moving emails out of sight, although this is less likely if spam rates for your email campaign are low.
Competition from other mobile platforms: With the growth of social media and other mobile content-driven apps, emails could be feeling less relevant to some consumers, despite still being a solid marketing tactic.

If you leverage email marketing, keep track of your subscribers and your competition, as well as how email consumption and content is changing to ensure that you’re prioritizing sends with the highest potential impact. This will ensure that your content has a fighting chance of catching your subscriber’s eye in a busy list of unread messages.

Ultimately, your subscribers, prospects, and potential customers could reward you for understanding their needs with both engagements and even purchases.

Still, Marketing Efforts Yielded Lead & Conversion Impact

Although marketers aren’t closing deals like sales reps, they still drew in business impact despite lower traffic and email open engagements.

Leads and conversions, the biggest ties marketing departments often have to a business’s bottom line actually went up year-over-year.

While web conversions saw a nearly 11% increase, inbound leads went up by 6.66%

Although web conversions would be likely to go up due to the lower ratio of web visits (noted above), the number of inbound leads rising shows that companies are still growing their prospect lists.

Unsurprisingly, Leisure and Hospitality saw the largest growth in leads at a whopping 18.3% YoY, as well as the second-highest increase in website conversions at just over 12%.

Although they saw lowering traffic in 2022, other notable lead-growth industries were:

Education & Health Services: 10.6% lead growth and an 11% rise in conversion rate.
Professional & Business Service: 7.7% lead growth and a 13.7% rise in conversion rate.

These industries all make sense as top performers because the businesses within them often sell expensive or high-commital offerings (whether they be B2B or B2C). A random consumer won’t just pay for something like this after reading a single landing page, so the marketing teams within these areas are likely skilled in building robust lead-nurturing strategies.

One industry that seemed to struggle in 2022 was the Construction industry, which saw decreases in all metrics we looked at across the board, including inbound leads (-3.8%), web conversions (-0.65%), and web traffic (-6.84%). While we aren’t completely sure why this is, here are two of our best guesses (which would likely be temporary):

Due to the rising costs of inflation, materials, and construction team talent, construction projects that consumers and businesses might have invested in within the last decade have gotten more expensive or unaffordable..
During 2020, building and/or owners took advantage of their time at home or the lack of people in public/office buildings and used that time to invest in construction, remodels or maintenance. But beginning in 2021 and continuing on in 2022, construction has seen a less motion. Ultimately, as the cost of living rises and people return back to work, these projects might not be gaining as much interest or engagement online.

What’s Next for Marketers in 2023

While we can’t predict the future, we expect lead generation and conversion plays to be more important than ever to marketers as they aim to benefit their business’s bottom in still-unprecedented times. But, because people of the internet are still as hyperconnected as ever, anything could happen with traffic or email marketing.

Ultimately, what you do with your brand’s marketing plan is up to you. And, those decisions should be made with data from your company, your targets, and your own competitive analyses.

If you’re a marketing leader, entrepreneur, or just really interested in how overall businesses compared in 2022, check out this detailed business recap o all of the 2022 metrics we dug into. Or, get more tips on planning the most innovative marketing plan from our State of Marketing Report below.

Over the past few years, Instagram has seen exponential growth — from one million users at its inception to over one billion in 2022.

If you’re interested in getting an Instagram account, or just created one but aren’t sure how to use it, you’re in luck. Here, we’re going to cover all the basics, so you can learn why Instagram is the top social media platform for engagement today.

It’s hard to remember a time before Instagram. At one time, “Do it for the ‘gram” was a common saying, which meant, essentially, “Do something so we can take a picture and post it to Instagram.”

Since then, Instagram has placed a larger and heavier emphasis on video. So you no longer hear the phrase “Do it for the ‘gram.” I bet, though, that a second version of the phrase will soon follow. (Maybe “Do it for reel?”)

If you’re not part of the one billion users on Instagram, you might want to reconsider. The app is a great chance to engage with top brands and stay a part of friends’ lives. When I want to see how my college friends are doing, I don’t check Facebook, I check Instagram. Plus, you can follow your favorite celebrities or political figures to see candid photos of their everyday lives.

Additionally, it’s a phenomenal platform for investigating what other brands are doing — for instance, Nike uses the Instagram Stories’ feature to promote inspirational athlete stories you won’t find anywhere else.

If you’re ready to sign up for Instagram, follow these steps below:

Go to the Instagram site on your desktop, or download the Instagram app from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android).
If you’re on desktop, click “Log in with Facebook”, or fill in the form with your mobile number or email, name, username, and password. Then click “Sign up”.
On Android, click “Sign Up With Email or Phone Number”.
On iPhone, select “Sign Up”.
Enter your email address or phone number, then click “Next”. Alternatively, you can sign up with your Facebook account.
Once you’ve filled out your username and password, you will be instructed to fill out your profile info. Then, tap “Done”.
If you register with Facebook, you’ll need to log into your Facebook account if you’re currently logged out.

How Do Instagram Notifications Work?

When your account is created, you’ll want to adjust your notifications so you only receive the information you want. For instance, you can choose to receive notifications when you get likes from everyone — but, alternatively, you might decide to only receive notifications when you get a like from someone you follow. Or, you might turn off notifications for likes altogether.

You can adjust notifications to “Off”, “From People I Follow”, or “From Everyone”, for the following categories — Comments, Comment Likes, Likes and Comments on Photos of You, Follower Requests, Accepted Follow Requests, Friends on Instagram, Instagram Direct, Photos of You, Reminders, First Posts and Stories, Product Announcements, View Counts, Support Requests, Live Videos, Mentions in Bio, IGTV Video Updates, and Video Chats.

If you’re overwhelmed by that list, I get it — I am, too. If you’re unsure what notifications you want to receive, you might start with your notifications on “From Everyone”, and if certain notifications begin to annoy you, you can turn them off later.

To customize which notifications you receive, follow these steps:

1. Open up the Instagram app on your phone.

First up, open up the Instagram app on your mobile device. You can also access Instagram on desktop if you prefer. Then, head to your profile by clicking the image of your profile picture on the bottom right.

2. Access “Settings.”

After you arrive at your profile, click the hamburger menu on the top right-hand corner.

A popup menu will appear. Tap “Settings.”

3. Tap “Notifications.”

On the next screen, click “Notifications.” 

There, you’ll be able to change the notification settings depending on category. These categories include:

Posts, Stories, and Comments
Following and Followers
Direct Messages and Calls
Live and Video
Fundraisers
From Instagram
Email and SMS
Shopping

You also have the ability to pause all notifications by toggling the Pause All option up top.

4. Check off the notifications you want to receive.

Access each category individually and choose the notifications you want to receive. Here are the options, for example, for “Posts, Stories, and Comments”:

The options will vary depending on category.

And that’s it! Next, let’s explore how to connect your other social media accounts to your Instagram, so when you post an image to Instagram, you can share it with your other online audiences, as well.

Can you connect to Instagram to other social accounts?

Yes, you can connect Instagram to Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, but it’s no longer done through Settings, as it used to be.

Now, you do it on a per-post basis.

If you want to share a post to other platforms, you navigate to the actual post you want to cross-publish on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, and then manually share it that way.

Here’s how:

1. Open up the Instagram app.

2. Navigate to your profile.

3. Tap on the post you’d like to cross-post.

4. Click the three dots on the top right-hand corner of the post.

5. On the pop-up menu, click “Share.”

Note: Don’t click “Share to,” which will give you an option to AirDrop or share the post to your contacts.

6. Toggle the accounts you’d like to share the post to. If you’re not already signed in, you’ll need to do so right within the Instagram app.

Once you’ve connected your accounts for one post, you can then toggle the sharing options for any new posts without needing to sign in again.

If you connect Instagram to Facebook, you can share your Stories across both accounts. We talk more about how to do that below.

How to Connect Instagram to Facebook

Since Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company, Meta, you can connect the two accounts for a more seamless experience. Connecting your Instagram and Facebook accounts allows you to:

Share Stories across both Instagram and Facebook
Login with Facebook into Instagram
Sync your profile name and picture across both profiles
Use Facebook Pay on both platforms
Access your shopping activity on both accounts

If you’re a frequent Facebook user, then connecting your account to your new Instagram profile is highly recommended. Here’s how:

1. Open up your Instagram app.

2. Click on your profile picture on the bottom right-hand corner.

3. Click the hamburger menu on the top right-hand corner.

4. Tap “Settings.”

5. Under the Meta logo, tap “Accounts Center.”

6. Tap “Set up Accounts Center.”

7. Follow the prompts to log in into Facebook.

Done! Your two accounts are now connected. Here’s how it’ll look like once you’re finished: 

In the next section, I’ll show you when a linked account comes in handy.

Upload, Edit, and Post an Image

Now, for the most important part of Instagram — how to upload and post an image.

Instagram is an entirely visual platform. Unlike Facebook, which relies on both text and pictures, or Twitter, which relies on text alone, Instagram’s sole purpose is to enable users to share images or videos with their audience.

On Facebook, you might choose to post 100 photos on an album. On Instagram, you need to be choosier about which photos you post. There are a few reasons for this — first, you don’t want to post more than once a day (typically). And you don’t want to post too many similar photos.

For instance, it would be odd for you to post fifty photos from the same beach vacation on your Instagram profile. Instead, you might choose five or six, and place them all within the same post.

(These are called carousel posts, and they allow you to share multiple photos in one post only. Carousel posts are awesome for posting similar pictures in one package while keeping your overall profile aesthetic diverse.)

Curious about creating an aesthetic? To learn more about Instagram account themes and get inspiration, take a look at these Instagram themes. Additionally, if you want to embark on a deep-dive, you can take HubSpot’s Instagram Marketing Course.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s explore how to upload, edit, and post an image.

1. Click the “+” icon at the top-right hand corner.

When you tap the “+” icon, you’ll be prompted to choose the type of post you want to share. Since we want to publish a post directly on our profile feed, tap “Post.”

2. Choose your media file.

Here, you have three options. You can look through your Photos library on your phone, you can take a new picture from right within Instagram, or you can take a new video. For our purposes, I looked through my Photos library and found a picture of Boston I wanted to use. Then, I clicked “Next” in the top right.

3. Add filters if desired.

There are two categories you can use to edit your image — “Filter” and “Edit”. Instagram automatically shows you filters first. You can scroll through the carousel and click any of the filters to apply it to your image.

Additionally, if you want to use a filter but you want to tone it down, double tap the filter and move the cursor to the left to lessen the intensity of the filter.

4. Edit your image if desired.

Next, click “Edit”. Here, you can adjust contrast, brightness, structure, warmth, and more. When you’re happy with your edited image, or if you don’t want to edit it at all, click “Next” in the top right.

5. Write a caption and toggle sharing settings.

Now, you can add a caption, tag people (you can only tag someone if they also have an Instagram account), and add a location. Additionally, click the button beside Facebook or another linked social media account to share your image on that platform, as well. When you’re ready to publish, click “Share” in the top right.

If you don’t want to use your app to post on Instagram, you can also do so from your computer. Learn how to post to Instagram from a Mac or PC here.

Upload an Image or Video to Your Stories

Instagram Stories is a feature that allows you to post videos or images that disappear after 24-hours. Instagram’s Stories feature is similar to Snapchat in terms of content — users often post more casual and candid videos and images, offering glimpses into their every day lives.

For instance, on your normal feed, you might post a heavily-edited picture of yourself and friends at a baseball game. But you might post a more candid video to your Story of the stadium singing “Sweet Caroline”.

To learn how to upload an image or video to your Stories, follow these steps:

1. Tap your profile picture in the upper left-hand corner.

Alternatively, swipe right on your feed or tap the “+” button in the top navigation bar.

2. Capture or add your media.

Once you’re within the Stories feature, you can take a picture or video right from within the app. Alternatively, if you have an image saved to your phone that you’d like to use, you can choose it from your media library.

3. Add stickers or filters.

On the left-hand side, you have a few different editing features.

The “Create” button lets you add a location, hashtag, time, date, and other fun images or emojis to your picture.

The “Boomerang” option allows you to create a looping video. And the “Aa” icon is your text button. Once you click “Aa”, you have the option to change your font.

If you click the smiley face icon, you’ll see the following screen. Simply click on one of the icons to add them to your image. If you don’t like it, drag it to the bottom, and a trash can will appear so you can delete it.

For instance, I clicked the smiley face icon to add a poll to my image. You can also swipe to the left or right to add filters to your photo or video.

4. Publish your Story.

Once you’re happy with your content, you can either click the white arrow icon in the bottom right, which allows you to share your Story with everyone who follows you, or select “Close Friends” first, so that only your close friends see it.

Then you’re done! Your Story is immediately live.

How to Follow on Instagram

It’s incredibly easy to find and follow users. Using Instagram’s search feature, you can find celebrities, brands, and friends. Additionally, you can search “Tags” or “Places”. “Tags” is particularly useful if you know what type of content you want to find, but you’re not sure who posts about it.

For instance, you might search “#familyrecipes” under tags — your results will include any images with that hashtag. As you peruse, you might find someone who posts content you really like, and you can choose to follow them so their content appears on your feed.

To follow someone, follow these three easy steps.

1. Click on the search icon at the bottom of your screen.

It looks like a magnifying glass and will be right next to the “Home” button.

2. Next, type in a person, topic, or brand.

For this example, I searched “architecture.”

Instagram allows you to either search all posts that contain the word “architecture,” or “See all results” and see tags and places.

3. Tap the account you’re interested in following.

Once you’re on someone else’s account, you’ll see a blue “Follow” button at the top. For public profiles, you can click and immediately begin following that account. However, if the profile is private, you may need to wait for them to accept you first.

And that’s it! You’re on your way to becoming a pro. To take your account to the next level, plan out your next posts using an array of content ideas and templates.

Using Instagram is Key for Growing Your Personal Brand

If you want to grow both professionally and personally, then using Instagram is more important than ever. You can start by observing first, then begin posting as you learn your way around the user interface. With over one billion users, Instagram is an extremely worthwhile social media platform to join — and it’s only set to keep growing as time goes on.

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

Reputation management happens on online review sites, social media, and in the news.

Managing the chatter online can feel like a daunting task, mostly because so much of it is out of your control.

After all, 77% of consumers read reviews when they’re browsing local businesses. 79% of consumers expect brands to respond within 24 hours after reaching out on social media. There are so many channels where people can talk about your brand, it can be tough to listen and respond to it all.

Luckily, there are plenty of tools and strategies you can use to protect your brand and reputation. In this post, we’ll give a clear overview of what you need to know to manage your business reputation including:

What is reputation management?
What is brand reputation management?
Reputation Management for Businesses
How to Build a Reputation Management Plan
Reputation Management Software

Reputation management techniques can include suppressing or reacting to messages online. These strategies might also include SEO, social media, or PR outreach and campaigns.

When your reputation is positive, you inspire customer loyalty, a significant driver of revenue and growth. A negative reputation can be damaging to sales and customer retention, but it also helps you learn about what customers like, which can be helpful for updating business processes to better meet consumer needs.

Brand reputation management is a continuous process. It allows you to stay on top of your brand’s public perception and address possible damaging situations as soon as they occur.

Reputation management and brand reputation management are sometimes used interchangeably. While there are similarities in definitions and practice, there are some crucial differences.

Brand reputation management focuses on a single brand, while reputation management impacts the business as a whole.

If a brand develops a reputation that isn’t connecting with its target customers, businesses have the chance to rebrand. For example, Airbnb rebranded in 2014 to help shift perceptions of the brand from tech-centric to people-centric.

That said, some businesses are so brand-centric that a rebrand can’t transform the reputation of the business. For example, Weight Watchers rebranded to WW in 2018 to shift the focus of the brand from dieting to health and wellness. In this example, rebranding made a less positive impact.

The reputation of your brand is only one part of how people perceive your business.

A strong brand reputation can entice a customer to trust a business. But reputation management measures and responds to the reputation of the business as a whole.

So, a business can have a strong brand reputation. At the same time, it may also need to do reputation management for production practices, sustainability, or other concerns that can impact reputation.

Brand safety is often connected to brand reputation management. We’ll explain it below.

Brand Reputation Management vs. Brand Safety

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), brand safety makes sure that advertisements, their content, and any content shared by brands are appropriate. It also guides brands to steer away from inappropriate topics. Although somewhat similar concepts, brand safety falls into brand reputation management.

An example that can risk brand safety is correct ad placement. The IAB recommends purchasing ad space from trusted publishers. This way, your ads aren’t next to content that consumers may find offensive or cause them to distrust your brand.

Image Source

You also want your advertisements to relate to what you’re advertising. If customers click on an ad for a new blanket and they’re sent to unrelated content, you’re practicing malicious advertising. This risks the safety of your consumers.

Brand safety goes both ways. It protects your business from outside sources that aim to harm. It also protects your customers from malicious business practices that may offend them or cause them to lose money.

Brand safety is a process within brand reputation management. You’re ensuring that your advertising practices are legitimate. This makes sure that your consumers feel they can trust your business and what you have to offer.

Reputation Management for Businesses

To understand how a business might develop a reputation management strategy, I spoke with Ellie Flanagan, a HubSpot alum who specializes in corporate communications.

“The first step in shoring up your brand’s presence online is making sure that all your owned channels reflect your current imagery, messaging, and values. Check for outdated logos, company descriptions, or mission statements. It’s also helpful to do regular audits of other places where your logo or brand might be in use — such as on partner or customer websites.”

To conduct regular audits, follow the reputation management guidelines below.

Flanagan also says, “Make sure you have clear language on your website that outlines your company’s trademarks and sets guidelines for how others can use your brand assets. That will be a helpful reference if you need to reach out to someone who’s using your brand incorrectly or without permission.”

I also spoke with Alice Sol, a Senior Public Relations Marketing Manager at HubSpot.

She told me — “Protecting your brand has never been more important, and that goes hand-in-hand with customer trust. We live in a world where information travels rapidly, and we can get a response in seconds at the touch of a button. Technology has enabled us, as consumers, to get in touch with brands quickly — at the same time, it’s given brands the ability to form deeper connections and resolve issues faster.”

Sol also advises businesses to do their best to meet customer needs and offer a seamless experience, start-to-finish. She says, “The stakes [on delivering a good experience] are getting higher. If a customer has a bad experience, technology allows information about that experience to travel quickly. At the same time, if a customer has a very positive experience, that creates a strong brand reputation and forms trust.”

“Your customers are your biggest asset and it’s critical to take those needs very seriously by responding in a timely manner and communicating effectively.”

To sum it up, when protecting your online reputation, you’ll want to focus on the following tactics:

Make sure all your owned channels show your current imagery, messaging, and values.
Check that all online information about your business is up-to-date and consistent.
Use precise language on your website to outline your company’s trademarks and set guidelines.
Cultivate a positive user experience, start to finish.
Listen to customer feedback and respond to negative feedback with helpful, actionable solutions when possible.

How do companies manage their reputation?

Each business is unique, so each business will make different decisions to manage its reputation.

For example, small businesses can make a huge impact just by being trustworthy and offering value to customers. But as a business grows, communication can get more complicated.

The strategies and tactics above can help support your brand. You can also influence business reputation with:

Local SEO
Community management
Employer branding
Customer experience strategy

Looking at reputational risk, corporate image, and review management can also help support your reputation management efforts.

What does a brand reputation manager do?

A brand reputation manager supports a brand’s reputation on the internet by managing online resources.

Some brand reputation managers get involved in the branding process. Others use online channels and platforms to track and influence public perception of the brand.

Brand management might involve analyzing reviews and online mentions. It could also mean measuring brand sentiment to create and maintain a positive brand image.

Whether you’re part of a small team or a large enterprise, reputation management is essential. Let’s go over a sample reputation management plan that you can adapt to fit your business needs.

Important note: Reputation management is a continuous process. For a powerful and positive business and brand reputation, follow these steps consistently as long as your business is up and running.

1. Research, monitor, and audit your reputation.

The first step to reputation management is research. During this phase, you’ll use the internet to discover conversations about your business and what people are saying about you.

Aim to seek out different types of conversations. All feedback is helpful for understanding perceptions and improving your reputation.

You can conduct this audit by searching:

Your customer reviews
Review sites
Social media
Searching for your business’s name on Google and other search engines

You can also search for business-relevant keywords or even the feeds of your competitors. Consumers are talking; you just have to meet them where they already are.

There are many different platforms and websites you can use to conduct your research. That said, using a high-quality reputation management tool will make the process easier.

If you’re ready to get started, check out recommendations for a reputation management tool here.

2. Create reactive and proactive management strategies.

Once you understand your brand and business reputation, you’ll know where you need to focus to improve it.

For example, suppose your audit shows that conversation around your brand is unfavorable. In that case, you’ll want to improve the experiences that people have with your business and conversations about your brand.

This research can also help you notice trends and industry changes that could impact your reputation in the future.

Image Source

Using this information, your next step is to create a consistent management strategy. This strategy should clearly outline what your business wants to achieve with each piece of shared information. It includes goals, preferred tools, and timing. Regardless of what your current standing is, your plans should address the following:

Who will consistently monitor online conversations?

Choose specific people at your business to track your reputation. These employees will be in charge of continuous research and tracking conversations about your business online.

If your business doesn’t already have a brand reputation manager, employees on customer-facing teams are good candidates. They’re likely the most equipped to speak with customers and create public messaging.

How do you decide which comments, reviews, or mentions need responses?

Some people’s only intent is to troll rather than speak about legitimate experiences. These comments and conversations are fake, created to purposely diminish your reputation. But most comments come from real interactions and experiences. They’re genuine feedback about your brand, both positive and negative.

You should never respond to reviews that seem fake. Here’s a guide on spotting and removing fake reviews from Google.

But you should respond to comments from real consumers, which is why it’s essential to understand which reviews call for a response.

It’s not always possible to respond to every review. If this is the case you might want to create a strategy to prioritize your responses, like responding to customer questions first. Or create specific requirements that dictate when a response is necessary.

If your audit and monitoring reveal a strong reputation, it’s still wise to prepare for change.

Recent data says that 69% of surveyed businesses experienced at least one crisis in the last five years. At the same time, only 45% have a documented crisis communication plan.

The way that a business responds during a crisis can have a major impact on its reputation. This makes a proactive reputation management plan that accounts for crises important.

Planning for emergencies can help your team craft the right response during situations that escalate quickly or are difficult to control. These situations may leave responsible parties frantic and less likely to follow standard guidelines.

More resources:

Situational crisis communication
Crisis communication plan examples

3. Develop a tone guide for responding to comments.

It’s essential to respond to comments about your business and brand with a consistent tone of voice. For example, say you respond to criticism harshly but offer positive comments with returned positivity. This approach could do more harm than good because it seems defensive and inauthentic.

Develop a standard tone guide that you will use when responding, and aim to stick to it. This includes language for your crisis management plan.

Introduce your brand’s tone of voice and tonal values, explaining what they stand for and how they support your brand and company mission. These guides to brand voice and humanizing your brand can help you figure out the right messaging for any situation.

Then, give detailed, practical support to the people creating content for different channels.

Featured offer: How to Create a Brand Style Guide, With Free Templates

4. Communicate the plan to your organization.

Now that you have a clear plan and organized communication for following it, you’re ready to share your reputation strategy with the team.

Reputation management isn’t just the responsibility of your brand reputation manager. Any person connected to your business can have an impact on its reputation. So, your team should share accountability for this plan.

To create this sense of accountability, you’ll want to inspire your team with the possibilities of the plan. Then, hold meetings and explain the details. With each session, communicate how each employee can align their work with its impact on reputation management.

For example, it’s easy for an employee to share a quick internal email externally. While this sharing could be harmless, it could also take a message out of context and put the business in a challenging position.

5. Take action based on comments, feedback, and reviews.

Understanding how consumers view your brand is the most valuable tool for improvement and innovation. It’s also an essential action item for managing your reputation.

Their criticisms and pain points will direct you to areas of your business that need increased attention. At the same time, their positive comments let you know what you’re doing right and what you should continue doing.

As you’re hoping to manage your reputation, take action based on comments, feedback, and reviews. This helps you manage your reputation as you’re making changes that customers want to see.

While your communication plan will include tips and templates for tone and messaging, don’t forget to listen. Solutions are important, but customers will be more open to your ideas if they feel like you heard their concerns.

6. Constantly practice steps one, two, and three.

Managing your online reputation is a continuous effort. Although it feels good to solve a big problem, fixing one situation doesn’t mean that everything is smooth sailing from now until forever.

Always research and track conversations about your business. This will give you a sense of where your reputation stands. Then, follow the steps of your plan and act on the feedback you receive.

As you track your business reputation over time, remember to adjust. Pay attention to small shifts, not just major events. You may also want to conduct regular surveys with employees who spend the most time speaking with customers. This can give you ideas to improve your outreach.

It’s also a good idea to offer continuous training and feedback sessions. This can help your team align with changes in your business that can impact your reputation, even if it doesn’t overlap with their day-to-day work.

7. Track your results.

To learn whether your reputation management strategies are working, you’ll need to measure your results.

There are many different KPIs you can track to assess reputation including:

Financial and sales performance
Brand or customer loyalty
Net promoter score
Customer lifetime value
Repeat purchase rate
Employee satisfaction
Stakeholder surveys
Social media reach
Sentiment analysis
Share of voice

The metrics you use to track your reputation will depend on your business goals as well as the issues you may find in your research.

These resources can help you figure out which metrics are best to track brand health, brand equity, and brand perception.

Let’s go over some high-quality tools you can use to support your reputation management process.

Reputation Management Software

Reputation management software can help businesses in a variety of ways. Some monitor review platform entries by flagging negative reviews and gathering new ones. Others highlight customer testimonials and track brand mentions on social media.

These tools make it easier to collect and analyze reputation data to manage a business or brand reputation. Some also conduct sentiment analysis for quick resolution of potential issues.

It can be helpful to use reputation management software, particularly if you work for a small-to-medium-sized business with limited PR resources. Below we’ll review some top choices.

1. Yext Reviews

Since inconsistent information can impact SEO, it’s critical that your business’s data is consistent on each site. Fortunately, Yext lets you fix inconsistencies all in one place.

This software also lets you manage your reputation through social media. It makes it simple to respond to authentic customer reviews that can impact your brand’s true online reputation.

Yext is ideal for small-to-medium-sized businesses. It’s also a tool for enterprise companies — some of its impressive customers include Lego and Samsung.

Price: Plans start at $199/year.

Pro tip: Sync customer data with the HubSpot integration for seamless review collection.

2. ReviewTrackers

This platform collects online reviews from third-party review sites, including Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook. A critical feature to call out is that you can receive notifications whenever a customer leaves a review. This helps your team stay up-to-speed on feedback.

This cloud-based reputation and review management software also allows you to track trending issues and topics. This gives you a big-picture view of customer issues. Features also include competitor tracking and performance analytics.

The tool, used by customers like U.S. Bank, is available for enterprise companies and small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Price: For pricing, use their pricing tool or request a demo.

Pro tip: Use the customizable Ask Tool to collect more online reviews.

3. Reputation

Reputation is the only platform that manages consumer feedback from acquisition to loyalty. This platform is your business’ eyes and ears in the spaces where customers talk, post, review, and recommend.

Reputation analyzes vast amounts of public and private feedback data to uncover predictive insights for companies to act on and improve the customer experience.

From reviews and surveys to social and business listings, the Reputation platform helps companies anticipate business needs and customer concerns.

Price: For customized pricing, request a demo.

Pro tip: Use RepScore to compare your brand reputation against competitors.

HubSpot customers: Use this integration to pull business reputation data into your HubSpot reports and dashboards.

4. Podium

Managing your reputation on different sites like Facebook, Google, and Yelp can get overwhelming. Podium helps you see all customer interactions and online reviews in a single dashboard.

Your employees can use Podium to request reviews and respond to reviews in real time. They can even exchange text messages with potential customers.

Podium’s support team is available through phone, online chat, or email, and they make sure you have the help you need to install their tool. The software works best for small-to-medium local businesses with the time and resources to manually send texts to customers or leads.

Price: Plans start at $249/month.

Pro tip: Save time with automations that send follow-up texts to request reviews after each deal closes.

5. BirdEye

BirdEye, a SaaS tool used by 90,000+ businesses, collects feedback from 200+ review sources so that you have a complete picture of your brand’s online reputation.

You can monitor, promote, and respond to reviews within one dashboard. BirdEye also offers features to:

Manage your social accounts
Gain insight into your competitors’ customers
Create surveys and tickets

These tools can help you further improve your brand experience and reputation. Birdeye also integrates with over 3,000 apps, including HubSpot.

Price: For customized pricing, request a demo.

Pro tip: Use Birdeye’s dashboard to track reviews, draft responses, and escalate tickets for effective reputation management.

6. NiceJob

NiceJob is a cloud-based tool for reputation monitoring. It also offers easy-to-use tools for review management and social sharing.

A popular solution for small to mid-sized businesses, NiceJob includes features for automated review emails, SMS messages, and review reminders. Their features also offer tools to increase website engagement.

Price: Plans start at $75/month.

HubSpot customers: Use the NiceJob integration to add review requests and reminders to your workflows.

7. Reviews.io

This tool simplifies the process of collecting reviews in a range of formats. Whether you’re looking for genuine text, video, or photo reviews, you can make the most with this licensed Google Review Partner.

Reviews.io also collects reviews in real time and pulls them together in a streamlined reviews timeline. This can help your team speed up responses to the reviews that could most impact your reputation. It also simplifies the assignment process for small, busy teams.

This tool also offers an auto-generated reply feature to craft personalized review responses.

Price: Plans start at $89/month.

HubSpot customers: Use the Reviews.io integration to generate support tickets for urgent reviews.

Pro tip: Ecommerce businesses — use the widget library to add value for your customers on your home page and product pages.

Can reputation really be managed?

It’s easy for customers to focus on the negative if the positive is hard to find. Reputation management is a useful strategy to bring what makes your business and brand great to the forefront.

It’s a way to build back your brand after a crisis and to show customers that you are a responsible, credible, and authentic company.

Planning and strong leadership can help any business sail through rough reputational waters. Review these tips and ideas, then form a reputation plan that works for you and your brand.

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

The beginning of a new year can be filled with excitement and positive change, but a busy lifestyle can still weigh on you, even if you love your job or company. When this happens, you can run into one of the dreaded mental conditions: burnout.

The World Health Organization classifies burnout as a legitimate health condition, saying it’s a “phenomenon” characterized by “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”

This condition significantly impacts millennials. As of February 2021, 42% of millennials report feeling burnt out at work. Regardless of age, burnout is a condition that can negatively impact employees and organizations in all industries.

To help you combat bouts of stress, low motivation, or exhaustion, here are 10 ways to fight burnout at work, according to expert sources, data, and advice from fellow HubSpotters.

How to Fight Burnout at Work

1. Get some exercise.

2. Eat nutritious meals and foods.

3. Plan and prepare.

4. Use the Pomodoro Technique to ensure that you take breaks.

5. Protect your eyes.

6. Try yoga and meditation.

7. Take time off when you need it.

8. Get organized.

9. Lean on your support system.

10. Get a goodnight’s sleep.

Manage Burnout to Maintain a Happier Work Life

How to Fight Burnout at Work

1. Get some exercise.

Depression and anxiety often go hand-in-hand with burnout, and exercise is a great way to ease those factors. According to Mayo Clinic, regular exercise releases feel-good endorphins and other natural brain chemicals that can enhance your sense of well-being.

Exercise can also shift your mind’s focus away from cycles of negative thoughts and stressors. Additionally, Mayo Clinic says exercise can boost confidence. All of these are things that help ward off burnout.

Pro Tip: It’s possible to over-exercise, which can lead to exhaustion and cause injuries — so don’t overdo it! According to the CDC, 30 minutes of exercise daily, five days a week, is enough for an adult to stay healthy.

2. Eat nutritious meals and foods.

Registered dietician and nutritionist Patricia Bannan says there are four core areas of burnout people should focus on mood, immunity, focus, and sleep. Bannan also says foods containing nutrients can help maintain those areas.

For example, according to Bannan, avocados are a great mood booster because they contain folate for neurotransmitters, magnesium to reduce anxiety, and healthy fats for hormones and brain health.

Bannan also says grapes provide excellent immunity support since they have vitamin K for immune and inflammatory responses.

To boost focus, Bannan suggests olives and olive oil because they contain healthy fats for brain function and memory and vitamin E to protect brain cells. To help with sleep, Bannan says tart cherries provide melatonin and potassium for sleep quality.

Pro Tip: Always consult with your doctor and be aware of any food allergies you may have before introducing new foods into your diet.

3. Plan and prepare.

Once you admit that burnout is a solid possibility in your work life, you can start to take steps towards avoiding it or maintaining a work-life balance.

These steps could involve planning vacations regularly, scheduling non-work hours, or trying stress-relief activities such as meditation.

According to Maggie Butler, our product team manager, the best way to pull yourself out of burnout is to recognize those feelings when they emerge. Then, take preventative measures.

“I think it’s impossible to avoid burning out at work, especially if you are passionate and give a lot of energy and time to your career,” says Butler. “So why not plan for it? Planning to take time off work and do whatever recharges you is key to keeping burnout at bay.”

Pro Tip: If possible, you can also plan designated “quiet” or “focus” days where you won’t be available for meetings. In doing so, you can use those days to get more work done before you get burned out or use those days for less intense tasks.

4. Use the Pomodoro Technique to ensure that you take breaks.

The Pomodoro Technique is a productivity strategy where you work in 25-minute intervals with a 5-minute break between intervals. After four intervals, you can take a more extended 15-30 minute break.

The idea behind the technique is that taking regular small breaks and one more extensive break each day will keep you more productive.

However, Head of Creative Project Management Matt Eontasays the Pomodoro Technique can also be a helpful way to avoid immediate work stress or feelings of burnout.

“I found myself being much less productive working from home than I was at the office, so I decided to adopt the Pomodoro Technique,” Eonta explains. “It’s been a huge help to my productivity, and it’s helped me avoid burning out because it’s designed to be prolonged periods of deep focus work, followed by short breaks to recharge and reset your mind.”

Pro Tip: You can also adjust the intervals and break times to fit your needs and workload better.

5. Protect your eyes.

While Eonta says he goes outside and plays with his dog on breaks, he also aims to prevent eye strain that can add to feelings of exhaustion.

“My eye doctor told me that every 20 minutes, I should try to focus on an object 20 feet away and focus on it for 20 seconds. It helps keep my eyes from burning out from constant fluorescent light and blue-light computer screens.” Eonta explains.

Pro Tip: Check the lighting in your workspace and reduce glare. This can mean turning off some or all of your overhead lights and using an adjustable desk lamp. You can turn down the brightness on your computer or place an anti-glare cover over the screen.

6. Try yoga and meditation.

Yoga allows you to release endorphins by working out while also priming your mind for examination. Combining yoga and meditation can help you relax after a long day.

In fact, 60% of people who practice meditation find that it improves their energy, while for 50%, meditation aids in their memory and focus, according to a study by The Good Body.

The benefits of yoga and meditation can also help prevent or manage burnout.

“I didn’t realize I was burnt out until I started taking up yoga,” says Krystal Wu, a former social media community manager.

“Yoga and meditation have helped me physically and mentally just to do something that betters myself,” Wu shares. “It became clear that it was the perfect balance to help me recover from burnout in my day-to-day life and have more peace of mind.”

Pro Tip: Practicing yoga or meditation in the morning before you start your tasks can start your day off with mental clarity. You can also do yoga or meditate after work to destress.

7. Take time off when you need it.

Taking time off can be especially difficult if you worry that you’ll fall behind. However, time off is crucial to relaxation, resetting your mind, and gaining a solid work-life balance.

“I was one of those people who would rarely take any time off because ‘there are so many things to be done,'” says Irina Nica, our product marketing manager.

“Even when I did, I still let some work slip into my day, even if that meant only checking my emails. I’d be lying if I said this way of constantly connecting didn’t pay off at all, but overall, I was quite tired most of the time.”

Nica explains, “I was probably close to burning out on several occasions. Fortunately, I’ve changed my views on vacation over time, and it’s been great for my productivity.”

“I learned to disconnect in the evenings and during weekends,” Nica adds. “Now, aside from the regular summer and winter holidays, I take a long weekend trip now and then. That helps me relax and refreshes my perspective.”

Pro Tip: Regularly scheduled vacations and days off can give you something to look forward to, which can, in turn, boost your morale at work.

8. Get organized.

Keeping track of assignments, deadlines, meetings, and other responsibilities associated with your job can be daunting and stressful — and that stress can lead to burnout.

Make time to get organized and establish a routine. Make a to-do list with your most pressing tasks at the top and lower priority tasks at the bottom. You can also invest in planners, alarms, and calendars to keep you on track.

Pro Tip: Applications like Notion provide excellent digital tools to help you manage tasks and track the progress of your projects.

9. Lean on your support system.

When dealing with burnout, you may feel tempted to distance yourself from others and face your problems alone.

However, spending time with friends and family can help you feel revitalized. Even venting to a close friend about a bad day at work can help you tackle the next day with a fresh perspective.

Pro Tip: Check to see if your benefits include anything about free or discounted therapy. Speaking to a therapist can help you understand your stress better, identify roadblocks, and cope with stress.

10. Get a goodnight’s sleep.

According to the CDC, adults between 18-60 need about seven or more sleep. However, the Sleep Foundation says more than a third of adults in the U.S. (35.2%) report sleeping on average less than seven hours per night.

Sleep helps with emotional regulation, which makes stress easier to manage or let go of. Getting a proper sleep schedule that leaves you well-rested and ready to tackle the day is a great way to avoid burnout.

Pro Tip: Create a nighttime routine that helps you wind down and prepare your body and mind for sleep. Taking a warm shower, drinking hot non-caffeinated tea, and staying off your phone before bed are just some ways to prepare for sleep.

Manage Burnout to Maintain a Happier Work Life

Depending on your industry, burnout may be unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be a hopeless situation that negatively affects your work and personal life.

By taking the above steps, you can combat burnout or at least find a healthy way to manage it.