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In 1978, Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation sent out the first ever mass email to approximately 400 clients. He claimed to have generated $13 million worth of sales as a result, revealing the high potential of email as an effective marketing tool. Today, email marketing remains one of the most efficient methods for promoting brands and engaging with prospects and customers. Since Thuerk's first email, campaigns have evolved over the years from mass email blasts to strategic, highly targeted messages. In this article, we’ll dive into what email marketing is, as well as how your brand can use it to build engagement and growth. Does Wix have email marketing?  We explain what features you get with Wix's email marketing and how to build your own campaign. What is email marketing? Email marketing is an effective type of marketing that involves sending emails to prospects and customers. This valuable tactic can be used for a variety of purposes, including driving conversions, promoting products, or generating interest and loyalty in your brand. Learn more: Small business marketing While far from being novel, email is a key strategic channel for nearly every industry and is one of the most effective ways to convert people into customers. In fact, research has shown that organizations receive an average ROI of $42 for every dollar spent . Benefits of email marketing Marketing emails can fulfill several purposes for your company or organization, depending on their content. Their main benefits include: Promoting your products or services Building engagement with your brand Driving traffic to your website Turning prospects into customers Turning one-time buyers into loyal fans Because email is a direct line of conversation with your customers, it has advantages over other forms of marketing communication. First, people are more likely to see an email than a social media post, which may not appear in the feeds of prospective customers and followers. Second, emails let you send different messages based on your subscribers’ individual desires and needs. Compared to one-size-fits-all marketing campaigns, this targeted form of communication is far more effective in generating conversions. Types of marketing emails From automated emails to weekly newsletters (we've got some email marketing examples and newsletter examples here ), different types of messages achieve different goals for your brand. You can use a combination of them to put together a comprehensive email marketing strategy: Email campaigns are sent with a specific purpose in mind, whether it’s to promote a special offer, encourage users to download a whitepaper or e-book, or sign up for a free trial. Email newsletters are sent on a consistent basis to provide regular updates to subscribers. A newsletter might share new blog posts or case studies, discuss a product update or recent milestone, or highlight upcoming events. For more information, take a look at this article on how to make a newsletter that stands out. Automated marketing emails are automatically sent based on predefined triggers. For example, you might send a welcome email to new subscribers, a celebratory email to subscribers celebrating their birthdays, and a reminder email to customers with abandoned shopping carts. Or, you might send a drip campaign that nurtures leads and convinces them to buy. Whichever email automation you choose, you can set up strategic automated responses using free email marketing tools . Automated transactional emails are another effective form of marketing automation that are automatically sent following a transaction. They include order confirmations, shipping updates and reminders about appointments or events. While these emails are quite simple, they’re important for building customer trust, particularly for eCommerce websites . How to do email marketing Now that you have some background on email marketing, it’s time to learn how to create effective marketing emails in 5 simple steps: Build your mailing list Choose an email marketing service Segment your audience Create great content Optimize your campaigns 01. Build your mailing list The first step in beginning your email marketing strategy is to get subscribers. Keep in mind that you’ll need to obtain people’s permission in order to use their addresses. It’s poor practice to purchase a mailing list, and most email marketing companies have a strict permission-based policy. In addition, you’ll need to make sure you’re compliant with any applicable laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act in the US, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, and the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) . With that in mind, the best way to build an email list is to use tactics that encourage people to voluntarily sign up. One way to do this is by using lead magnets - something valuable that you give away for free in exchange for an email address. Most lead magnets aren’t products but, instead, digital goods that you can create cheaply and easily using your industry expertise. These include: E-books Webinars Whitepapers and case studies Business toolkits and guides Consultations Coupons Once you define your lead magnets, add opt-in forms to your website to encourage people to sign up. Be sure to use enticing headlines and compelling CTAs asking users to subscribe. For instance, you might offer a downloadable guide to email marketing using the title “The Complete Email Marketing Checklist” and the CTA “Download Now.” Next to the CTA button, you’d have one field for the subscriber’s name and another for their email address. You can place these forms in a variety of strategic places on your site, including a pop-up, sidebar, or a blog post. 02. Choose an email marketing service Because email marketing involves handling a large number of subscribers, sending targeted messages and analyzing your email metrics, you’re going to need a robust email marketing service to help you manage and organize your work. There are several different platforms available, including: Wix Email Marketing MailChimp Moosend GetResponse ConstantContact SendInBlue Wix Email Marketing is a particularly effective tool that you can conveniently integrate into your website. It includes inbuilt analytics features, such as statistics on email opens, views and clicks, so that you can analyze the performance of your campaigns. In addition, you can customize the design of your emails so that they look professional, reflect your brand identity and resonate with your audience. On top of that, Wix Email Marketing lets you connect your email to your website . That way, you can send emails through a special business email address, and view data about their performance directly through your site's dashboard. 03. Segment your audience Another key email marketing tip is to divide your audience based on their unique interests, characteristics and behaviors. This process, called segmentation, allows you to send more targeted communication so that your emails directly appeal to the wants and needs of your target market. There are a few different categories by which to divide your subscribers. These include: Demographics: Factors as age, gender and income level can tell you about a person’s needs and interests. Geographic area: Information about your audience’s country or region can help you tailor your content based on different interests, languages and cultures in different parts of the world. Website behavior: Data about users’ interactions with your website - such as which pages they visit and which products they view - can point to their interests and help inform your targeting strategy. Purchase history: Details of your customers’ purchases can help you differently target one-time versus repeat buyers, as well as send distinct messages to people with different interests. Amount spent: The amount of money customers have already spent on your site can give you an idea of how much they’re willing or able to spend in general, and what kinds of products they’re likely to buy. Position in the marketing funnel: Whether a user is a brand new subscriber or has an abandoned shopping cart, you can use this information to create emails that guide them toward making a purchase. Personal interests: Information about people’s personal interests - which you can gather by allowing users to create profiles on your website or save their favorite items - gives you a better understanding of your customers’ individual preferences. Overall, keep your communication as targeted as possible, even if you choose to send email blasts to mass audiences. By sending different email campaigns between these categories, you can create content that is more relevant, relatable and convincing. 04. Create great content At this point, you have everything set up to start creating your email marketing campaigns. The next step is to generate the content itself. Whichever kind of content you’re creating - an automated message, a newsletter or an update about a new product - you’ll need to keep a few key principles in mind. First, remember that your goal is to become a welcome guest in your subscribers’ inboxes. Rather than come across as spammy or annoying, craft thoughtful emails that provide your audience with real value. You can do this by providing perks or insights your subscribers will appreciate, whether it’s actionable tips, exclusive content or a seasonal coupon code. The writing itself should be engaging, too. Build rapport with your audience by speaking to them individually (e.g., addressing them by name and writing in the second person). Infuse your content with personality, and add humor when appropriate. Your goal is to sound like a helpful friend, rather than a corporation. Finally, conclude with a professional email signature , as this creates an immediate association between your brand and the campaign. 05. Optimize and improve Once you’ve written and sent your emails, you’ll need to analyze your email marketing KPIs so that you can continually optimize your campaigns. These metrics should already be built into your email marketing service. The most important analytics to track include: Delivery rate: This tracks the number of emails delivered. If some emails aren’t getting delivered, you may be sending to addresses that don’t exist. 95% or higher is considered to be a strong delivery rate; if your number is any lower, clean up your subscriber list and delete any invalid addresses. Bounce rate: Opposite from the delivery rate, this metric shows how many of your emails were not delivered. If your bounce rate is high, you risk destroying your sender reputation, which can trigger filtering and blocking on your IP. Be sure to regularly purge your email list to keep your bounce rate low, boost your engagement rates and avoid the spam folder. Open rate: This shows the percentage of subscribers who opened your email, giving you an understanding of whether people are actually interested in your messages. If your open rate is low, consider how you can improve your email content, better target your audience and create more compelling subject lines . Click rate: This reveals how many people click on the links within your emails. It’s also a helpful way to understand which links generate the most clicks. If your click rate is low, chances are you need a more strategic targeting strategy and better CTAs. Spam complaints: This shows whether your emails are getting marked as spam. To avoid this, make sure you have a valid list of subscribers who have opted in to receive your content. You should also maintain high open rates and low bounce rates to maintain a strong sender reputation and avoid the spam filter. Based on these numbers, you can find out what is working and what needs to be improved in your email campaigns. You can then use this analysis to refine your marketing strategy , engage subscribers and boost your conversion rate. Email marketing best practices As you optimize and improve your email campaigns, there are a few key strategies you’ll need to implement in order to avoid common email mistakes and, instead, boost engagement and drive conversions: Follow proper email etiquette: Always make it your goal for people to actively appreciate and enjoy your emails. This means treating your subscribers with kindness and respect. Only message people who have demonstrated interest in your company by subscribing to your emails. Also make sure to keep your promises to your users: use a subject line that isn’t misleading, don’t send emails more often than you say you will, and make it easy for people to unsubscribe. Perfect your timing: Think carefully about the time of day you send your emails. There is no black-and-white answer for which times are more strategic than others; in fact, your audience’s age, location, and occupation will affect their email open times. However, you can get a sense of which times work best for your business by performing A/B tests and using the results to inform your future campaigns. Stay mobile-friendly: Recent research has shown that mobile accounts for nearly 50% of all email opens in the US. For that reason, it’s critical your emails are optimized for mobile as well as desktop viewing. Consider ways to adapt to the small size of the mobile screen, including making your subject lines shorter, simplifying your formatting, reducing your image sizes, and using large CTA buttons that users can easily tap with the thumb. Add value: You may have enticed your customers to subscribe in the first place by offering them some sort of value, whether it’s a free downloadable guide or coupon code. After that initial offer, keep the value coming. Continue to delight your customers with actionable tips, special content, and the occasional holiday or birthday message. You’ll generate engagement - and build brand loyalty - as a result. Pro tip: Check out these email marketing statistics to help strategize your email marketing efforts.

If you want to make a splash in your industry, you’ll need a marketing strategy that nurtures your audience over time. That’s where drip marketing comes in. With a name that brings to mind the tranquility of falling raindrops, a drip campaign is a series of emails scheduled over the course of several days. This strategy tends to generate more engagement - and drive more conversions - than standard email marketing. You can get started with drip marketing using this helpful email marketing service . Here’s a comprehensive overview of the process - including examples of different types of drip campaigns and step-by-step instructions for crafting your own. What is a drip campaign? A drip campaign is a form of email automation that is most commonly used for email marketing . By this method, a series of pre-written, pre-scheduled emails is sent to your contacts over an extended period. The timing of each email in the campaign is based on predefined triggers. For example, you might schedule a particular email to be sent to users after they subscribe, and a second one 3 days after that. This way, you deliver your message in gradual “drips,” adapting your communication strategy to your audience’s behavior. There are several benefits to sending drip campaigns. First, they help you gently nurture your contacts over time, building interest progressively rather than overwhelming them with an aggressive campaign. Since drip emails are targeted and personalized, they tend to be more compelling to users than a single email blast . Ultimately, this technique can lead to fewer unsubscribes and an increased conversion rate. Second, drip emails boosts engagement by keeping your business at the forefront of your audience’s minds. They serve as an ongoing conversation about your brand, establishing trust over time and gently guiding them through the sales funnel. What drip marketing platform should you use? The most convenient way to create drip emails is to do so when you create your own website . That way, you’ll be able to keep all the information about your business - from site data to email marketing campaigns - organized on a single platform. To get started, navigate to Business Tools in the sidebar menu of your Wix dashboard. From there, hover over Customer Management, and then click Automations. Using the Multistep Automations feature, you’ll be able to create a sequence of up to 10 highly targeted email drips based on a single trigger. What are the different types of email drip campaigns? You’ll find that automated email sequences are useful in a variety of scenarios, whether you’re following up with a customer after a subscription or getting them to purchase the items in their shopping cart. Here are examples of the types of drip campaigns you can create: Welcome emails: Create automated welcome emails when a new person signs up, subscribes, or requests a free trial. Let them know you’re glad to meet them, and introduce your company’s products and insights to build a strong first impression of your brand. Lead nurturing campaigns: Write a series of lead nurturing emails that, over time, convinces prospective customers to buy. This can include educating users about your industry, or offering them free trials and consultations. As you move people further down the marketing funnel, consider ways to onboard them to your product, such as getting them to sign up for a webinar or download your app. User engagement campaigns: Craft messages that invite users to return to your site. For example, you might want to send a “We miss you” email to subscribers that haven’t interacted with your brand in awhile, or a “You might also like” email that entices them to browse more of your offerings. Abandoned shopping cart emails: Build email campaigns that re-engage customers, particularly those with full shopping carts who still haven’t checked out. Cart abandonment is a huge problem - in fact, the average rate is approaching 80% - and drip emails can reignite the purchasing process. To close sales, target those shoppers with a series of powerful automated prompts that pulls them back in. Renewal emails: Send renewal reminders to customers if your product operates on a subscription basis. If the renewal is automatic, notify users that their account will be charged with a pre-written automated email. Otherwise, alert them that their subscription is about to run out, and create a drip campaign that prompts users to sign up again for your service. Confirmation emails: Create a confirmation drip that not only thanks customers for their purchases, but that also generates continued engagement. After sending the thank you email, for example, consider re-engaging them with drip emails that promote new product features or accessories. Step-by-step tutorials: Create a series of bite-sized educational courses to share your expertise and generate traffic to your site. By offering subscribers a comprehensive set of drips - rather than a sequence of unrelated emails - you can build interest and engagement in your brand. Try repackaging blog content into a multi-part email crash course, whether it’s a quick SEO tutorial or a series of social media marketing tips. How to set up a drip campaign Ready to create an email drip campaign of your own? Here’s how to get started: Identify your main goal Determine your target audience Plan the campaign Create compelling content Start the campaign Refine your strategy 01. Identify your main goal Perhaps you’re eager to obtain new leads, or maybe you’d like to generate buzz around your brand. Whatever you’re aiming for, it’s important that you have a clear goal in mind as you craft your drip campaigns. To define your goal, think about what you’d like your audience to do by the end of the drip campaign. Do you want them to buy a product? Sign up for a free trial? Re-engage with your site? If you’re having trouble deciding on a specific goal, try seeing whether any of the following resonate with you: Promote a product Make sales Build brand awareness Boost engagement Drive sign-ups or registrations Once you’ve selected your goal, write it down. This will serve as the roadmap for your entire drip campaign. 02. Determine your target audience Email marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all; instead, you’ll find yourself more consistently achieving your goals if your messages feel personal and relevant to your readers. With that in mind, you’ll need to craft different emails for specific subsets of your target market. The process - called market segmentation - involves dividing your audience into different customer types based on their shared features. These characteristics can range from anything from their demographic data to their behavior on your site to their purchasing history. Based on this information, you’ll want to create triggers that determine which campaigns you’ll send to which people. For example, you might create a trigger for abandoned shopping carts. In that case, your segment could be people who haven’t returned to their shopping carts in 24 hours or more. You’d then create a drip email campaign specifically for this segment, with the goal of closing the sale. Another trigger might be a new subscription to your company newsletter . Here, you’d create a segment for new subscribers. You’d then send a drip of welcome emails to people who fall under that category. 03. Plan the campaign At this point, you should know what your goal is in sending your drip emails, and which groups of people you’ll be sending them to. But how many drips should you create? And how often should you send them? On the one hand, you want to keep your audience interested and engaged. On the other hand, you don’t want to annoy them with too much content. Effective email drip campaigns vary from 4 to 10 emails, with a space of 3 days to 2 weeks between messages. You may want to leave a gap of just 3-4 days between your first few emails so that you can engage with users immediately after the trigger. After that, space out your emails further to avoid overwhelming your contacts. Keep in mind that while there are a few best practices, there are no magic numbers. After you send out your first few drip campaigns, analyze your data and adapt the quantity and timing of your emails until you hit the sweet spot. 04. Create compelling content So you’ve defined your goals, determined the segments and triggers, and planned the timing and spacing of your drip emails. Now, you’ll need to dive into the content itself. As you write the emails, aim for a message that’s helpful, interesting, and drives readers toward your desired action. Here are some email marketing tips for creating powerful content: Use strong subject lines: The first step toward a successful drip marketing campaign is getting people to open the message. If you’re feeling stuck, take a look at these tips on how to write an engaging subject line . Make it personal: People are more interested and engaged when they feel that your emails are meant for them . Use your audience segments to determine which messages and promotions will attract different groups. Then, tailor your drip campaigns accordingly. Use a consistent brand voice: Brands, like people, have personalities. Help your contacts get to know - and love - your business by building a memorable brand identity. You can do this by adopting a particular way of speaking or tone of voice in your emails, whether it’s humorous and fun, professional and authoritative, or something in between. Keep it concise: Don’t overwhelm your subscribers with a deluge of new information or big blocks of text. Keep your message short and sweet - with plenty of white space - to make them easily digestible and increase the likelihood of people reading them. Focus on value: Don’t simply use your emails to explain the details of your business or the features of your offering. Instead, focus on how your product or service benefits users. Create a sense of urgency: Make users feel that their next action can’t wait. You can do this by offering exclusive deals with deadlines, such as a coupon code that expires in one week. Include a CTA: Each of your emails should include a call-to-action that guides readers toward your ultimate goal. This should be presented as a prominent button with direct, action-oriented language such as “Start now,” “Download,” or “Sign up.” Build anticipation: Conclude your emails by getting readers excited for more. Include a “P.S.” to drop hints about an upcoming holiday sale, user contest, brand new e-book and more. 05. Start the campaign Once you’ve created your emails and finalized your strategy, it’s time to send them to your audience. Because the process is automated, all you need to do is set the initial trigger (e.g., a subscription to your newsletter) and specify the number of days between the emails that follow. You can do this directly through the Automations Dashboard of your Wix website. 06. Refine your strategy Just like every good marketing campaign, you should continually adapt your strategy to optimize the results. If you’re not meeting your goal, you may find you need to edit the audience segments, readjust the messages, or alter the timing of your emails. Using your email marketing tool , take a close look at your email marketing KPIs . If the open rates are low, for example, try cleaning up your email list or rewriting your subject lines. If conversions are low, try creating more compelling CTAs that entice your audience to click. The bottom line is to analyze the results of your campaign so that you can continually improve with each new iteration. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) What are the main benefits of a drip campaign? Automation, personalization, the nurturing of leads over the long term, potentially increased conversions and higher customer engagement are just some of the key benefits. How do I track and improve my drip campaign? Start by tracking and analyzing key metrics of drip campaigns such as: open and click through rates, conversion rates and ROI. Also consider using techniques such as A/B testing and segmentation to test different versions of your campaigns. What are some important best practices for running a drip campaign? Segment, segment, and segment your email list. It's the only way to make sure you're reaching the right audience with the right content for them. Personalize emails, it works. Don't be afraid to keep testing and optimizing the emails that you send, combine what works from multiple tests and keep trying. Always track your campaign data and use it to make the next one better. Don't overwhelm your email list with content, stay true to your brand and your messaging.

The Minions campaign marketing strategies were so successful that the yellow creatures and their fans seemed to spread across social media channels like—well, hordes of minions. One of the strategies the campaign used was trendjacking. By making memes, creating GIFs that commented on trending events and pairing movie clips with viral TikTok sounds, the marketers helped Despicable Me become one of the best-performing movies of 2022 . In this article, we’ll define trendjacking, discuss its benefits and offer some tips for how to use the strategy. Create a website with Wix to give your social media accounts a central hub. What is trendjacking? Trendjacking is a social media marketing strategy in which a brand uses trending topics, events or memes to connect with their audience. “The number one goal of marketing is attention,” explained Daniel Murray , creator of The Marketing Millennials, a podcast and newsletter that caters to marketing professionals. “Trendjacking is a way to get attention by inserting your brand into everyday conversations.” What are the benefits of trendjacking? While trendjacking holds so much opportunity for businesses, a few of the main benefits include: Attracts followers To gain success on social media, you must attract your target audience and make them want to follow you. Trendjacking shows people that they’ll get engaging content from your brand beyond ads and promotions. Murray says that increasing your follower count can lead to increased business. “Do the math: Only 2% of my audience converts,” said Murray. “If I have 10,000 followers, 2% is 200 conversions. If I have 20,000 followers, 2% is 400 conversions.” Encourages engagement Trendjacking encourages social media engagement because it requires your brand to participate in an already active conversation. Plus, people like to share things that make them laugh. “If you go look at the most shared things on Instagram, it’s memes,” said Murray. “People share them all the time.” Appeals to Gen Z Market research shows that 85% of Generation Z learns about new products on social media. Trendjacking can be an effective Gen Z branding tool because it taps into the generation’s interest in humor, authenticity and creativity. Saves money Trendjacking can be one of the most affordable types of marketing because you just have to capitalize on concentrated attention—you don’t have to build it yourself. It doesn’t require any additional promotion costs and you can develop a post in less than a day. So, if you’re strapped for cash, you can use trendjacking to drum up interest without blowing your budget. Tip : Use Wix’s social media design tool to execute your vision. What are the drawbacks of trendjacking? Although trendjacking can be a cost-effective way to boost your following and amplify your brand, it comes with risks. You could turn off segments of your audience or ultimately miss the mark, impacting your brand reputation. Trendjacking isn’t right for every business, either. The strategy might not fit a business with an older clientele, has a more buttoned-up brand or deals with sensitive subject matter. How to decide if and when trendjacking works for your brand Whether your business can gain from trendjacking depends on if it fits your social media branding . Your company’s social media skills and bandwidth also factors in. “If you think that this is one way to get attention for cheap because you have a low budget, you could put this as one of the things you focus on,” said Murray. “But if trendjacking is just a side thing you’re trying out, then it might not be super successful.” How to make trendjacking work for your business Like most social media trends, trendjacking can be simple if you know how to do it right. Use these trendjacking tips to grow your strategy: Use audience research tools to stay in the know Research the trend Set brand guidelines Dedicate some time to scrolling Get to know your audience Comment Be human 01. Use audience research tools to stay in the know Murray recommends using trend-tracking tools such as Google Trends and social-listening tools such as SparkToro to keep up with the conversation. Set up Google Alerts on relevant topics and notifications on relevant accounts so that you can pounce on trendjacking opportunities as soon as they arise. 02. Research the trend If your post doesn’t hit the mark because you either didn’t fully understand the trend or didn’t have anything new to add to the conversation, you’ll come off as inauthentic. Even worse, you might accidentally participate in a meme that has political or harmful undertones. To avoid this, research the trend before you participate on sites like Know Your Meme. 03. Set brand guidelines Because trends move quickly, speed is essential to trendjacking. You don’t have the same amount of time to plan, design and deliberate on a post. Setting brand guidelines allows your business to move quickly on trends and introduce content that aligns with your marketing objectives and identity. “You have to commit to having guardrails and not micromanaging,” said Murray. “That’s where brands won’t be successful with trendjacking. If you try to make it too buttoned-up, it won’t fit.” 04. Dedicate some time to scrolling The best way to get good at trendjacking is simply to spend time on social media. Murray says that trends usually start on Twitter and Reddit, so spend time on those platforms to stay ahead of the curve. Follow meme accounts as well to keep your finger on the pulse. 05. Get to know your audience Know your target market beyond demographics—you need to know what your customers care about, what interests them and how they communicate. “If you do a Friends meme, but none of your audience knows what Friends is, you’re not going to hit with the audience,” Murray explained. Build a customer profile that identifies what they watch, what they read, who they follow and how they spend their time. This profile can act as a blueprint to help you figure out what posts will appeal to them. 06. Comment If you’re new to trendjacking and don’t know if it’ll fit your brand, start by commenting on viral posts. “People forget that commenting is a way of creating content,” said Murray. “Commenting is a great way of testing content because if your comments get a lot of likes, then you can go and create [similar] content.” 07. Be human The most effective brands approach social media with the same energy that an influencer would. The content managers behind Netflix , The Museum of English Rural Life , RyanAir and Duolingo know that they need to speak the language of social media to tap into the Internet’s power. “We’re in the age of people wanting to follow people,” said Murray. “People want to see behind the scenes. People want to know who works for your company. People want to know that you're human.”

It’s no secret: travel is back. Global travel and tourism is projected to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022, contributing $2 trillion to the US economy. But the rush to visit friends and family or go on that much needed vacation has resulted in travel nightmares for many. While demand is high, travel-related businesses are still reeling from the pandemic’s layoffs, staff health issues and closures. In fact, 7 out of 10 hospitality operators report that they still can’t find enough employees. As the industry that makes up 10% of the global GDP struggles to adapt to a post-pandemic landscape, many hospitality businesses, airports and airlines have turned to technology to help boost productivity and optimize their efforts. These technologies can be applied across types of businesses. Here are three tools to incorporate into your business website that can help sustain your business growth amid increased demand and less-than-ideal resources: Chatbots According to a Drift survey , chatbots were the fastest growing communication channel among businesses between 2019 and 2020—and these 24/7 helpers really came in handy as short-staffed hospitality businesses looked to support guests through their booking journeys (check out AI customer service to see just how this works). An NYU School of Professional Studies and StaynTouch report found that 10.1% of hoteliers said they planned to use chatbots in their operation in 2022—the biggest industry-wide technology implementation. While your business may not have a chatbot for the same reasons as a hotel, you can use this technology to supplement your exceptional customer experience just the same. Chatbots provide always-on customer support, whether that’s helpful links, account statuses, and supply product or service-related information. “Thinking about the bot as a frontend representative of your product or service can make a lot of sense, and having a delightful bot that provides a useful service can generate strong attachment to your brand,” writes Amir Shevat, Head of Product at Twitter, in his book Designing Bots: Creating Conversational Experiences . Tip: Connect a chatbot to your site to take advantage of these capabilities. Voice assistants and voice search Voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa are one of the most widely adopted tech trends in recent years, particularly in hospitality. And this investment has paid off during summer 2022, as voice assistants stepped in to assist with verbal requests that normally would be funneled to the front desk or concierge. For example, Amazon’s Alexa For Hospitality has been adopted by major hotel chains, including Marriott. The device connects to smart speakers in hotel rooms and enhances the guest experience by allowing guests to adjust their room temperature, book spa and restaurant reservations, order room service and even check out. “I think it’s safe to say it’s already been a game-changer within the industry,” says Melanie Smith, digital marketing manager at Run2, in an interview with Click. Magazine. “Aside from drastically changing the way people search for and consume information while planning their trip, hotels are now starting to utilize voice search to enhance a customer’s experience during their stay.” Thirty-one percent of smartphone users across the globe now use voice search to conduct online searches at least once a week, a demand that hotels have met by incorporating voice search SEO best practices. In that same Click . interview, Justine McNamara , senior SEO specialist at New York-based hospitality technology company Next Guest, says that it’s important to look at what consumers are asking around hotel bookings and having content on the site set specifically to answer popular questions. That way, travelers get their questions answered without having to speak to a live person. Tip: Learn more about how to incorporate these practices into your own website by checking out this article on voice search SEO. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) VR and AR have become popular technological advances in the tourism industry, and the market is expected to reach close to $300 billion by 2024 . Particularly during the height of the pandemic, virtual reality allowed consumers to see new places without leaving their living rooms. Although travel is back, people are still using these technologies to decide where to jet off to by checking them out virtually first, helping to ease the load of concierge and customer support teams. For example, a British resort called The Hub Hotel from Premier Inn, places AR compatible wall maps in each hotel room. When viewed through a smartphone or tablet, the wall maps include additional information about local places of interest, educating tourists on places to check out. Learn more: How to start a hotel business As a small business owner , incorporating this technology onto your website can help you free up sales or customer support staff by allowing customers to try a product or experience on their own before they make a purchase. For example, if you're starting a business that sells kitchen cabinets, you can implement an AR feature that allows customers to superimpose what new cabinets would look like in their own homes through their smartphone screens. Tip: Connect a 3D/AR viewer to your website to implement this technology.

Website backgrounds often do not get enough attention. This is a shame, because a website background has the potential to make or break the entire design. An ideal website background sets the mood and atmosphere you wish to convey, whether you use parallax scrolling or a still image. It catches the visitor’s eye but never distracts from the actual site content. It raises curiosity and demonstrates originality and sophistication. It can be a photograph used as a fullscreen background, a color gradient , or maybe some cute illustrations that decorate the frame. When you decide how to make a website , take some time to think about which background is right for you. Whether you choose to use your own photos or Wix images , your background should make a powerful statement. Here we have a list of websites – all created by Wix users – that boast a really great background. These will give you a good idea of the different types of backgrounds you can choose from. Get inspired! Charlotte Campbell Daza Cultural Jarow Joram Letwory Ken Riley Jr. Ah Yo Open Up Festival Sitzmuster Des Todes Oceanu HH Photo Graphix Melanie Bellemare Steven Weathers Pro tip:  Use background elements like images, patterns, colors, videos, or even interactive features such as custom cursors  and hover effects  to bring your brand’s story and purpose to life.

Are you one of the 65 million people with a Facebook page for your business? The perfect counterpart to your business website , it’s clearly no secret that a strong social media presence is an essential part of your online marketing efforts. Unfortunately, for many small businesses, managing a social media page can feel like a daunting task. What do you post? When’s the best time to publish content? And worse of all, what if nobody “likes” you? Well, put those worries to rest – because we have a not-so-secret for you. Social media marketers everywhere use a handful of resources that help with everything from page monitoring, to staying on top of the latest internet trends. And the best part? Most of them are totally free and easy to use. Read on to find out which social media tools seasoned community managers can’t live without, and which can help build engagement and make it easier for you to monetize your platform - from making money on TikTok to others. Tools to find trending topics: You know what we love about social media? The fact that it’s like one big water cooler for everyone to share their thoughts on the most popular conversations of the day. In marketing terms, a subject that many people are talking about at the same time is called a “trending topic.” Trending topics can range from anything such as political banter, pop culture, to national holidays and even fun made-up internet holidays . Finding trending hashtags on Twitter and Instagram is as easy as taking advantage of the tools already built-in within the platform. For example, on Twitter, you can clearly see trending topics (often shown as Hashtags) listed on the left side of your screen, and Instagram displays much of its trending content in the search page. But there are also a ton of external programs to help you find fresh new content to cover. Here are just some of our favorites: Twitter Map An interactive map that shows you what topics are trending in any given location in real time. Google Trends See what people are looking up on the world’s most popular search engine in real time. If something is being searched on Google, odds are it’s reached the social-sphere too. Muzli A favorite for finding design inspiration, this website serves fresh content about the latest in technology and design daily. Reddit The self-proclaimed front page of the Internet, every social media manager knows that the best memes and online content are posted here before anywhere else. Tools to schedule your content: Having a well-kept social media account doesn’t mean that you need to spend all day posting content. In fact, much of the content for your social media page can be set and scheduled ahead of time using a social media calendar ! Facebook, for example, has a built-in scheduler within your business page account. If you have a business profile on Twitter , you can schedule any tweet that includes an image, video or GIF in your Media Studio. Naturally, not every social media site is so savvy when it comes to scheduling. For social media pages that don’t have a scheduling function, or if you’re looking to organize all of your content in one convenient spot, a tool called Buffer is a big help! Buffer is a social media scheduling app that can connect to all major social media platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and G+) to set and publish your content while you’re off doing other things. One of our favorite features on Buffer is that it analyzes your page audience and suggests the best time of day to post your content based on when your fans will likely see it. Tools to analyze your success: As a small business owner, you have a number of ways to track your success. Whether it’s the amount of stock sold or the number of people that stepped through your store’s front door – every business has their own metrics. When it comes to your social media marketing, there’s no shortage of metrics that you can use to analyze your content’s performance. Every major social platform has an integrated social media analytics tool. Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest are equipped with built-in insights right within the business account. In each case, you’ll find metrics on everything from the reach of your posts, to how many people viewed and engaged with your page. Of course, the Internet is filled with external programs that allow you to truly dig deep into your social media insights, here are just a few of our favorites: Buzzsumo Buzzsumo is a powerhouse tool that’s used to analyze the success of the content you share. One of our favorite features of this website is that it looks into key components of your publications, like headlines or source and suggests new content topics that your audience might be interested in. Commun.it Communit.it is an expert tool to help grow your Twitter page. One of our favorite things about this platform? It analyzes the quality of your Twitter followers to highlight your brand’s newest online evangelists. Google Analytics The holy grail for looking into your website’s traffic, Google Analytics is most commonly used to analyze traffic from your websites and blog. While not a typical social analytics tool, using Google Analytics to assess the traffic to your website from social media sites is one of its most crucial functions. Don’t know a thing about the platform? Here’s a full guide for beginners on Google Analytics. Tools to monitor your pages: Social media is anything but static. A successful social media manager relishes in the back and forth on any content that they publish, however, replying to users can be a bit confusing and overwhelming on some platforms. Thankfully, there are a ton of social media monitoring tools to help simplify the process. Hootsuite (free and paid plans) and Sprout social (free for the first 30 days only) amalgamate any chatter directed at your social media pages into a much more manageable set-up. Take advantage of these sites to ensure that you don’t miss a beat when communicating with your audience online. With Hopp , creating breathtaking and lightning-fast bio pages has never been easier. Its unparalleled customization options allow you to personalize your page to your heart's content, and its innovative search feature makes it simple for your followers to quickly and effortlessly find your links like never before. Tools to design beautiful social images: Most people know that social media channels come with their own rule book when it comes to posting images. With specific size requirements set in place, social media managers need to be sure that they post the correct image on each platform. There they go saving our social lives once again, these tools are totally devoted to creating beautiful images in the exact pixel-perfect size needed, depending on the channel. Here are some of our favorites: Relay This design asset for dummies gives social media managers the ability to create professional looking images without the Photoshop skills you thought you needed. With social sizes in mind, this platform will auto-resize any of your creations for the specific channel you’ll be posting on. Animoto A recent survey suggests that this year, video content will make up 74% of all internet traffic. For those of us who skipped out on film school, Animoto is an easy tool to create video content with photo and images that we already have at our disposal. However, unlike many of the other platforms we mention above, Animoto comes with a small price tag after the free trial. Of course, there are a ton of other social media tools out there depending on your needs. Did we miss your favorite? Tell us about it in the comments! NB: https://www.medianama.com/2017/02/223-facebook-earnings-december-2016/ https://vivipins.com/internet-trends/

Improving your social media presence comes with plenty of benefits. If you’re going to make a website for your business, you’ll want to optimize your social media channels to drive traffic to your site. Not only that, but an increased social presence helps create brand awareness and reach new clients. Instead of posting randomly on your social channels, look for specific ways to improve your social media presence. Here, we’ll introduce you to 13 different methods that any business can use to start increasing its presence. What is social media presence? Social media presence refers to how present your brand is on social media platforms. Beyond just how visible your brand is on social media channels, it also refers to how a company portrays itself through social media. This type of presence is important to the growth of your brand since it helps you establish your company’s identity and makes your brand appear more trustworthy and credible. It's an integral part of your social networking efforts . With more trust, you can better develop a lasting relationship with your audience as a social media influencer or business owner. Why is social media presence important? Social media presence is crucial for businesses, organizations, and individuals in today's digital landscape. It offers a powerful platform for connecting with audiences, building brand awareness, and achieving marketing goals. Here are some key reasons why social media presence matters: Brand awareness: Social media provides a direct channel to reach a wide audience, increasing brand visibility and recognition. Consistent engagement helps establish a strong brand identity and keeps your brand top-of-mind among potential customers. Customer engagement: Social media allows for direct interaction with customers, fostering relationships, addressing concerns and gathering valuable feedback. It creates a two-way communication channel that strengthens customer loyalty and builds a sense of community. Targeted marketing: Social media platforms offer sophisticated targeting options, enabling businesses to reach specific demographics, interests and behaviors. This allows for personalized messaging and effective ad campaigns that drive conversions. Content marketing: Social media provides a platform for sharing engaging content, including blog posts, videos, images and infographics. It's an opportunity to tell your brand's story, showcase expertise and attract a wider audience. Reputation management: Social media plays a significant role in reputation management. It allows for proactive communication, addressing issues promptly and responding to feedback. Positive interactions enhance brand reputation and build trust. Competitor analysis: Social media provides a wealth of information about competitors, industry trends and consumer preferences. Monitoring social conversations offers valuable insights for strategic decision-making and product development. Lead generation: Social media can be a powerful tool for generating leads and driving sales. Targeted campaigns, engaging content and strategic partnerships can convert followers into customers. Customer service: Social media offers an additional channel for providing customer service and support. Addressing inquiries, resolving issues and offering assistance can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Community building: Social media fosters a sense of community among customers and brand advocates. Building relationships with influencers can amplify brand messaging and reach new audiences. Real-time communication: Social media allows for real-time communication, responding to trends and engaging with current events. It's an opportunity to demonstrate brand relevance and connect with audiences on a timely basis. Social media presence is essential for businesses and individuals to thrive in today's connected world. By leveraging social media effectively, you can build a strong brand, engage with customers, achieve marketing goals and gain a competitive edge. 13 ways to build your social media presence Identify your social media goals Get to know your audience Learn how to engage your audience Stay on brand Be authentic Create a social media posting calendar Branch out to new platforms Stay relevant with current events Make sure not all posts are promotional Strive for relationships, not followers Highlight user-generated content Take advantage of new features Post consistently 01. Identify your social media goals Before you begin putting any of your social media marketing plans into action, it’s important that you establish your goals. A good way to do this is to set SMART goals for specific milestones you’d like to accomplish. Let’s take a look at how you might apply SMART goals to increasing your social media presence. As an example of a goal you might have, you might say you want to drive 20% more traffic to your website through your social channels. Setting your goal will look something like this: Specific: Increase traffic to our website with targeted ads on Instagram. Measurable: We’ll monitor metrics on Google Analytics to see the sources of traffic coming to our website. Achievable: Our goal of 20% is realistic based on our budget and timeline. Relevant: This goal will not only bring more traffic to our site but make our brand more visible on social media. Time-bound: We’re setting ourselves a deadline to reach this goal by the end of the next quarter. Setting your goals early on in your social media strategy will help guide you moving forward and gives purpose to each post that you upload. 02. Get to know your audience As a brand, one of your objectives should be getting to know your audience well since this will allow you to create tailored content that’s more likely to grab their attention and gain their trust. You want to know your end user’s interests, what social platforms they use most regularly and what problems they’re facing that your brand can help solve. An excellent way to start getting to know your clients is to create a buyer persona, which is a profile of your ideal target customer that encompasses all of these elements. To help you get audience insights, pay attention to the metrics provided by social media channels as well as social media analytics dashboards, such as Google Analytics. Look at demographics, age, interests, and the platforms they use to see if there are any trends you can pick up on to fine-tune your target audience. You can also deploy social listening , buzz monitoring and online reputation management , which will help you understand how users are talking about and engaging with your brand on social media. 03. Learn how to engage your audience Pay attention to your audience’s reactions, or lack thereof, anytime you post something on social media. Regardless of the platform it’s on, every post should have a goal of engaging your audience by having them take action. Whether that’s liking an image, watching a video, leaving a comment, or clicking on a link, you want your audience to be as engaged as possible. Pay attention to the type of content your audience finds most engaging and the content that elicits less of a response so that you learn where to focus your efforts. A good way to increase social media engagement is to provide your audience with an easy action to complete. That could be responding to a poll in an Instagram story or leaving their questions for a Q&A session. Here’s how home design brand, Modsy, gets its audience to comment on its Instagram posts by asking them to leave a comment on which design they like best. This engagement method is easy to recreate and it’s a great way to get your audience used to commenting on your social media posts. As a bonus, by analyzing their responses to a question like “Which do you like best,” you’re learning more about your audience’s tastes and preferences, which helps you create social media content and products they’ll love in the future. Learn more: What is Brat? 04. Stay on brand We’ve talked a lot about catering to your audience’s preferences on social media, but the key is finding a way to do this while still being true to your brand. Your brand’s voice and aesthetic are very important on social media, so you want to ensure that each piece of content you release is in line with your branding. Make sure that your social media branding , such as your writing voice, aesthetic, image, and messaging, is uniform across all of your channels. Learn more about social media image sizes to get started. 05. Be authentic Your followers want to interact with a brand that’s human and authentic. There are a lot of ways you can come across as authentic on social media. You can speak to your clients like they’re friends, you can present your employees on your social pages to give a face to your brand, talk about your brand’s beginnings and history, and admit when your company did something wrong or apologize for mistakes. A mix of these things will allow your customers to see you as human instead of just a brand, allowing them to deepen their connection with your company. Skylar Grace, a clothing brand built on Wix, exemplifies this on its Instagram profile. The opening line, “Hey bestie! So glad ur here,” is anything but dry and stuffy and makes customers feel like they’re friends with the brand. The company’s owner, Skylar, also appears in a lot of the company’s posts in the clothes, which helps customers put a face to the brand. 06. Create a social media posting calendar Create a social media calendar that encompasses posts across all the social platforms that you’re using. This will help you stay consistent with your posts, pre-plan any content in advance that’s seasonal or holiday-themed, and it will help you avoid posting repetitive or last-minute content. Having a posting schedule is also a good way to map out your strategy and create and schedule content that’s aligned with your goals. Especially if you’re posting to multiple social channels, you want to make sure your content is coordinated on each platform and that you don’t have any large posting gaps. 07. Branch out to new platforms You might start with the usual suspects like Facebook and Instagram marketing because they’re the most popular social media platforms, but once you get going, you should consider branching out to other social networks. Once you know your audience better, you might find out they prefer long-form video content over images, so it would be in your best interest to start creating content on YouTube. Or, maybe your audience is made up of more business professionals that aren’t on apps like Tik Tok or Instagram, so you want to reach them on LinkedIn. There are a number of social media networks you might consider using, like: Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn (learn more about LinkedIn marketing ) Snapchat Tik Tok YouTube Instagram Facebook Depending on your industry, the type of content you create and your audience’s preferences, try and choose a few new platforms to test out engagement. Pro tip: You can use a link in bio tool like Hopp by Wix to generate engagement towards all of your social media channels by linking to them from one designated URL. 08. Stay relevant with current events Audiences want to know that brands are aware of the world around them. In a study, 66% of respondents said that they want brands to take a public stand on social issues. Many brands are hesitant to take a stance when it comes to controversial political and social issues as they don’t want to alienate any portion of their customers. Sometimes, staying relevant with current events has nothing to do with promoting your own brand but rather showing solidarity with a movement. Nike’s “For Once, Just Don’t Do It” anti-racism video is a good example of this and shows how a brand can still stay authentic to its voice, engage its audience, and partake in a social conversation. You can also post on social media about any commitments you’ve made to external organizations or within your own company when it comes to things like becoming more sustainable, hiring more diverse employees, or donating to a cause that’s important to your company. 09. Make sure not all posts are promotional To help you come across more authentic, mix your promotional posts with other types of content. You want to intersperse more “salesy” posts with other social media ideas such as user-generated content or light-hearted videos or photos that don’t have a promotional angle. Additionally, you want to create posts or engage with customers on social media in a way that focuses on helping them, not necessarily selling to them. This can look like answering their comments on social media, showing how to use your product or service in a specific way, or encouraging your audience to reach out on social media with their questions. Learn more: How to design social media graphics . 10. Strive for relationships, not followers Having a lot of followers might get you access to extra features on platforms like clickable links on Instagram Stories, but getting more Instagram followers shouldn’t be your only goal. Instead, double down on fostering relationships with the followers you have and creating new ones. Social media is your venue to communicate with your customers. This is where you’ll convert followers into brand ambassadors, connect with your audience in a way that instills trust, and talk to them directly. It’s better to have a smaller following with highly engaged followers than to have a larger number of followers that don’t interact with you. So, by focusing on growing your relationship with your audience, you’ll be able to increase your brand’s engagement on social media. 11. Highlight user-generated content Whether it’s through influencers or just clients who were happy with their purchase and shared it online, these are the types of posts you should be highlighting to the rest of your audience. As we saw earlier, user-generated content helps you change the pace from self promotional content, but aside from that, it also makes your brand look more trustworthy and authentic. When other clients see positive experiences from your customers on social media, they’ll be more likely to trust your brand. Since this is also very engaging for your followers and helps you make connections with clients who have posted about your brand online, they’ll also become more loyal. Wix user Timber & Jack , regularly reposts photos on its Instagram feed that were posted or taken by customers or influencers. These photos are still aesthetically fitting to the brand’s page. They also showcase how real customers wear the brand’s products in a way that fits with the company’s image. 12. Take advantage of new features Social media platforms are always evolving in order to stay fresh and exciting. A best practice is to embrace new features on each platform and stay ahead of the curb. Sometimes, the new features may be tricky to get comfortable with, but you can make your brand stand out online if you find creative ways to use them. Instagram is a great example of a channel that constantly releases new features. To most, this platform is viewed as a photo-sharing app, but recently, the app has added many new tools, like Instagram Reels and Shopping, that make it more of a video-sharing app. When it comes to new features, social channels algorithms often favor accounts using them over older ones, so it’s in your best interest to get on board with the trends as early as possible. Dogs of Charm City , a community for pet owners, has embraced many of Instagram’s newer features on its profile. By using a mix of post types like images, carousels, Reels, IGTV videos, and even shoppable items, the company is staying relevant to both the platform and its audience. More than that, it also breaks up the monotony of posting the same type of content all the time. 13. Post consistently Finally, for any of these social media marketing tips to work and help you improve your social media presence, you need to be posting consistently on any platform your brand is active on. Find a posting frequency that you and your audience are both happy with and make sure you release new content according to that schedule. That might mean posting every day around the same time or even having specialized posts for different days of the week, such as posting user-generated content on Fridays or new product launches on Mondays. Reaching your goals for increasing your social media presence won’t happen overnight, but if you’re consistent with your posting and remain active on all your channels, you’ll find that you’ll steadily inch closer to your objectives. Companies with the best social media presence Numerous companies have established a remarkable social media presence, captivating audiences and achieving impressive results. Here are a few examples of brands excelling in the social media realm: Nike: Nike has mastered the art of storytelling and emotional connection through social media. Their campaigns celebrate athletes, promote inclusivity and inspire people to push their limits. Their consistent engagement and powerful messaging have earned them a massive following and brand loyalty. Spotify: Spotify has revolutionized music streaming and leveraged social media to connect with music lovers worldwide. Their personalized playlists, curated content and interactive campaigns have made them a cultural phenomenon. They effectively engage with fans, artists and influencers, fostering a vibrant community. National Geographic: National Geographic has harnessed social media to showcase breathtaking photography, captivating stories and thought-provoking content about our planet. Their stunning visuals and educational posts have captivated millions of followers, inspiring curiosity and environmental awareness. Wendy's: Wendy's has become a social media sensation with its witty humor, sassy comebacks and playful interactions with customers. Their unconventional approach has garnered them a loyal fan base and earned them a reputation for being a fun and relatable brand. Airbnb: Airbnb has embraced social media to promote unique travel experiences and foster a sense of community among hosts and travelers. Their inspiring stories, stunning visuals and user-generated content have positioned them as a leader in the travel industry. These examples demonstrate the power of social media when used strategically and creatively. By understanding their audience, producing engaging content and building meaningful connections, companies can elevate their brand and achieve remarkable success in the digital landscape.

Social media marketing is a key element in the workflow of every professional nowadays – whether small business owner, service provider, freelance creative or artist. No online presence is complete without it. Just as it is crucial to create a website , learn SEO skills and collect email subscribers, it is absolutely necessary to establish a dynamic social media presence and to devise a social marketing strategy. Part and parcel of a successful social marketing strategy is maintaining a powerful social media schedule. This calendar combines big holidays, interesting cultural events and internet holidays. But why do you need a social media content calendar? Because it can be challenging to create original social content on a regular basis, and special events offer a great opportunity to post excellent content and keep your social channels active. Because these time-sensitive events have a strong sharable effect on social media, and tapping into that can help extend your reach to larger interested audiences. Now that the advantages are all clear, let’s move on to the practical aspect and explore how to create a powerful social media calendar with massive viral potential. It only requires some strategizing, a solid organizational skill and following these steps. Understand what makes your target audience tick Different events matter for different audiences. You won’t find the same level of enthusiasm for the World Series finals among a community of graphic designers as you would among a community of sports fans. Make a list of people your brand wants to engage and chart their interests, passions and subcultures: They could be techies, working moms, foodies or fashionistas. Find out what they do: are they into spending their free time going to movies, clubbing, gardening or exercising? Are they college-aged youngsters, Gen Xers with nostalgia for the 90s, or did they experience the disco era in real-time? Figuring out the answers to such questions helps you define your target audience better, which will, in turn, help you choose the most appropriate and effective dates to include in your social media calendar. Determine your social media strategy goals Generally speaking, every social media action you take on behalf of your brand should be guided by a clear objective. When you know what the desired outcome is, you strategize better, and a social media calendar is no exception. Before you start building your social calendar, clarify what are the broad goals that you hope to achieve in posting this social content: Are you hoping to energize your followers in a lively discussion? Do you want them to share your content with their own communities? Are you building a brand identity by associating yourself with specific events? Are you selling products directly through social media and want to see sales go up? Once you have the larger goals in mind, you can break them down into smaller tasks, like increasing social media followers , generate more leads or creating viral posts. After you have the social calendar more or less ready, and you’re starting to create specific content for individual events, we recommend that you go through this process once again. Ask yourself: What is the goal of this Earth Day post (for example)? Do you want followers to share it, or to comment on it? Are they supposed to click on a link to continue to your online store, or subscribe to your newsletter? Are you promoting some kind of time-sensitive deal? When you know the answer to this, you’ll be able to create a much better post. Tip: Choose from one of these url shorteners to get your links just right for your viral content. Go find those dates! Now, this is the fun part: Put on your research hat and get to work on finding useful, fun and quirky dates to add to your social media calendar. To streamline this process, you can do it in phases: Start with the basics and make a list of important national and local holidays you’d like to include. Do you represent a particular community? Make sure you include meaningful dates that your audience would appreciate: Pride Week, Black History Month, Ramadan or Chinese New Year’s are all great examples. Following the strategizing you completed in steps 1 and 2, think about major cultural events, entertainment happenings or significant dates you can add: The annual Grammy Awards, the Super Bowl, the release of a new Star Wars film, or any similar event that you believe will both be the focus of public attention and is of interest to your audience. Go over lists of online holidays and choose the ones that work best for your brand identity. These things can be silly but also very charming. If you find ones that really resonate with your target audience, you’ll do great. You can also maximize the time around a holiday. For example, posting in anticipation of a holiday or doing a round up post after the holiday has passed. Sample social media pages of brands, organizations and public figures and see what sort of dates they find worthy of mention on their feed (Wix’s Twitter , Facebook and Instagram pages are always a good place to start :) ) Check out the Google Doodle archive for excellent ideas for unique dates. Stay organized! Prepare an actual calendar Unless you have supernatural memory capabilities, you’ll need an actual calendar to keep track of all the dates you gathered. Trust us, the slight effort of entering the dates into a calendar is actually saving you a lot of time and effort in the long run. Plus, working with an actual calendar has multiple advantages: It allows you to make sure that your chosen dates are not too densely centered around the same timeframe. You want your “event” posts to mixed with your regular social content, not focused all at once. It gives you the opportunity to schedule alerts and reminders and set your mind at ease. Seeing the social media calendar in conjunction with your other day-to-day tasks will give you a good idea of how long in advance you need to prepare and work on your posts’ content (we’ll get to that in a minute). In technical terms, creating the calendar should be a breeze. You can either enter the dates into whatever digital calendar you already work with, or you could use a social media calendar template. Plan ahead with copywriting and images You went through all the research and prep work – excellent job! At the end of the day, it’s the content of your social posts that will determine just how successful your social media calendar is. Planning ahead can give you the time and the creative space for generating spectacular social media ideas (another good reason to stay organized and keep track of dates in advance). Take every detail into consideration which can include researching popular hashtags ahead of time, and making sure you're aware of social media image sizes to optimize all your content. Some posts require more real-time response than others. You probably don’t want to create posts about the World Cup Finals before you know which teams advanced to that stage, but you can definitely work on your Mother’s Day post a few of weeks in advance. One of your responsibilities is to determine which posts can be prepared ahead of time, and which require more spontaneity. Match the social content to the event As you create your posts, it’s important that you find the right angle to approach specific dates. A post celebrating Thanksgiving Day should look and sound different from one that celebrates “May the Fourth.” You want to take the essence of each event and find a way to talk about it that will excite your followers and benefit your brand. A helpful step in finding the right content is considering the genre of content that would be the most appropriate. You have many options to choose from: Images, videos, live broadcasts, blog posts, polls, gifs, posts that encourage users to share their own content, games (like image captions or sentence completion posts), and more. While posting photos from your office on Wear Pajamas to Work Day is an awesome idea, for an event like Human Rights Day you may prefer a video or a blog post, explaining in greater detail what this day means to you. Use scheduling tools to never miss a date After all this hard work, the last thing you want is to forget a date and miss out on an opportunity to post terrific content. Fortunately, technology is more reliable than our human capacity to remember everything and multitask perfectly. Scheduling tools, like Buffer , are your friendly little helpers that publish your posts for you. All you need to do is insert the content in advance and pick the exact time you want your posts to go live.

Unless you’ve avoided newspapers, magazines, television, radio, podcasts, and the internet for the last few weeks, chances are you know Super Bowl season is upon us. American football might not be everyone’s favorite, but you don’t have to be a huge fan to appreciate the excitement that surrounds any major sporting event. No matter whether your allegiance lies on a tennis court or a soccer field, the Wix template collection has tons of options that will help you create the perfect site for your passion. So if you’re thinking about creating a sport site for your coaching, hobby, favorite team, little league or even sporting goods store, these just might be the inspiration you’re looking for. In the spirit of all things sporty, we’ve found some really impressive websites that we felt deserved the spotlight. Ready? Set… GO! Learn more: How to make a sports website Adelaide Motorsport Festival >> Tennis for Chances >> Pr Golf Online >> Fantasy Squads >> From the Couch >> Cdc JD Maringa >> Just Premier >> Mes Q Sport >> Oxford Parkour >> Parent Soccer Coach >> Poza Rica Deportes >> Ricardinho >> Shaolin Shi Xing Mi >> Derby Darlins >> Sunshine Coast Referees >> Joern Pollex >>

Having spent years as a Wix Blog editor, I know that learning how to make a website  can be intimidating, even when using a website creator  that’s as intuitive as ours. I’m still discovering new and exciting ways to use it. That's why I think it's so valuable that Wix's YouTube  offers up so many step-by-step, expert-led Wix tutorials to elevate your understanding of our platform. So without further ado, here are the 10 most essential Wix tutorials. Set up your site: “Get to know the editor” Customize the layout: "Work with sections & strips" Make it your own: "How to customize your site themes" Add and edit media: "Add & customize media" Optimize your design for mobile: "Design your mobile site" Open an online store: "How to add products" Promote your site: "​​Get your website marketing-ready" Add some pizzazz: "Use images for navigation" Get strategic: "How to utilize Reports & Insights" Add your own code: "About Velo" 01. Set up your site: “ Get to know the editor ” Getting started is typically the hardest part of any creative endeavor—but that’s not necessarily the case with Wix . As Wix Editor Specialist Ali Flood explains in this lesson, you can choose to start with the AI website builder , a website template or a blank slate. “This video is going to take you through what templates are, how they work and how to choose the right one for you,” says Learning Designer Allison Shelton. “Then, it’ll show you around the Editor and explain what you can do.” In seven short minutes, you’ll get a comprehensive overview of the workspace. You’ll get a sense of the foundational design elements, including sections, site themes, layers, the media manager and the mobile editor. If you’re looking to go into detail, you can watch the full course that this lesson belongs to here: build your website with the Wix Editor . Read also: I built a Wix website for my mom—here's how it went 02. Customize the layout: " Work with sections & strips " When you’re working with the Wix Editor, understanding the functionality of sections and strips is paramount. Ali returns in this video to explain the difference between the two and how to take full advantage of the tools. Sections in the Wix Editor function as containers, ensuring that you can easily move, make quick edits or reorganize related content without affecting the rest of the webpage . “Things in the Editor are made in sections,” explains Allison. “Ali goes into what sections are, how to change the backgrounds of the sections and how to put things into your sections.” She also shows you neat aspects of this tool, including how to get AI-generated layout suggestions. Strips help you get creative with layouts without losing the structure that is so important for ensuring a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing design. It’s also essential for creating a responsive layout (one that always looks good, regardless of the size of the screen it appears on), as the strip will scale proportionally and adapt the layout so that it still looks nice. 03. Make it your own: " How to customize your site themes " Because your site functions as a digital avatar, it’s the best opportunity to communicate your branding to the masses. Keeping the colors and typography in alignment with your style guide helps to reinforce that branding. Wix’s Site Theme feature makes this easy, in that you can update every single element on your site in a couple of clicks. In two and a half minutes, this video will teach you how this website feature works and how to take advantage of it. If you haven’t picked your brand colors or fonts yet, the Site Theme feature has matching colors and fonts to help you find the right match for your business. For example, if you’re starting an accounting business, the “technical” theme will likely be a better fit than the “retro-vibrant” theme. 04. Add and edit media: " Add & customize media " While pretty colors and cool layouts can draw your visitors in, informative images and video will make them want to stay. Therefore, deciding which to feature and learning how to edit them is a necessary skill. This video walks you through your options for uploading, editing and even creating media for your Wix site. “It also gives you best practices in terms of things like image size and site speed,” says Allison. “Then it takes you through cool features like how to mask your video or put in some vector art.” These features are among the many reasons Wix is one of the best website builders for photographers on the market today. Besides allowing you to upload imagery and video from your computer and your social channels, the media manager gives you access to free media libraries from Wix, Unsplash and Shutterstock. 05. Optimize your design for mobile: " Design your mobile site " Designing a mobile site is a vital, yet often overlooked, step in the website launch checklist . “It’s so important these days that all the function and design [of your site] is optimized for everyone on their phone,” says Allison. That’s why this tutorial is a must-see. It explains how to make the mobile version of your site leaner and simpler than the desktop version. This is vital because mobile users want to get things done fast—faster, even, than desktop users. Wix's AI capabilities automatically optimize your desktop design for mobile, but you can always use the mobile editor to make extensive customizations. Ali demonstrates how to hide sections that aren’t as relevant to mobile users and add elements that only appear on mobile, such as a welcome screen that’ll give your site a bit of extra time to load. She also offers some tips for designing for mobile: Optimize for readability: I don’t have to tell you that mobile screens don’t make reading easy. These tiny screens aren’t accommodating to large fonts, and they can make long paragraphs seem never-ending. Ali shows you how to reduce the size of your text or even change the typeface. Make navigation even simpler: Mobile users want everything at their fingertips—literally. Ali recommends either "freezing" your header menu so it always remains at the top of the screen or adding a "back to top" button so that navigating to a different page is nearly instantaneous. She also suggests making buttons larger to accommodate thumb clicks. Minimize scroll: A repeater on Wix is a list of items that have the same design and layout, but different content in each. This feature makes it easy to display and manage large amounts of content on a single page. In terms of mobile design, this is especially handy, because you can make tweaks (such as adjusting the vertical spacing) that apply to the whole layout, ensuring a cohesive and user-friendly mobile experience. 06. Open an online store: " How to add products " The Wix eCommerce system is pretty intuitive, so you don’t really need to watch this video to learn how to add products, but Learning Designer Henry Collie ups the ante by sharing tips he gathered from building his own shop. To start, he introduces you to a few integrations that can help you make your online business a success, such as the dropshipping builder and other Wix apps that will make migrating your existing store to Wix eCommerce a breeze. Finally, Henry shows you how to manage your inventory so that your product availability is always up-to-date. If you found this lesson insightful or already know how to add products to your shop, you can check out the entire course here: Get started with Wix eCommerce . Don’t waste any time— build your store with Wix today. 07. Promote your site: "​​ Get your website marketing-ready " In this lesson, Content Lead Kendall Breitman will guide you through the art of optimizing websites for conversions. You’ll learn how to make a good first impression—and encourage conversions right on the spot. “I would definitely recommend going through the whole course (" Promote and grow your business with Wix ") if you’re a business that needs to get going on getting found,” says Allison. “There are a lot of different ins and outs of promoting your site, whether you’re going to blast announcements on social media, add a blog or focus on SEO.” 08. Add some pizzazz: " Use images for navigation " If you want to make a website that leaves a lasting impression, this course—"Design your website with advanced features"—is for you. Led by UX Designer Robbie Sims, you'll learn how to use customized animations, interactive galleries, sticky videos, mobile welcome screens and more to deliver a truly unforgettable experience. While each lesson zeroes in on specific features, the real takeaway of this course is how limitless the Wix Editor is when you get creative with it. You’ll discover how you can leverage features originally designed for one purpose to create an element with an entirely different purpose. For instance, this lesson shows you how you can use the Subscribe Lightbox to create a drawer-like navigation menu and how to use the Grid Gallery to turn ordinary images into dynamic page links. 09. Get strategic: " How to utilize Reports & Insights " If your eyes glaze over when you’re faced with large amounts of data, you’re not alone. But you’re missing out if you let that stop you from capitalizing on the valuable reports and insights that you’ll find on the Wix Analytics dashboard. In this four-minute video, Henry gives you tips and tricks for using them to their full potential. He demonstrates how to customize the reports to your needs and how to interpret the data. It's worth noting that since the publication of this video last year, we've introduced an AI-powered Benchmarks report. This report can help you assess your site's strengths and weaknesses, offering insights to enhance your performance. Hungry for data? Explore Wix Analytics today. 10. Add your own code: " About Velo " Yet again demonstrating the boundless potential of Wix, this lesson introduces you to Velo , a full-stack web development solution that allows you to add your own code to your Wix website. Developer Advocate Joshua Alphonse takes you on a guided tour of the environment, highlighting its various features and potential. “Velo is a JavaScript-based language that is specific to Wix, but it’s really accessible to anyone with coding knowledge,” says Allison. Although Wix designed this tool with seasoned coders in mind, this lesson illuminates how useful it is for getting started on your coding journey. Joshua's demonstration reveals Velo's seamless integration with the drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to harness the power of both tools concurrently. Check out the entire Velo course here . Check out this explanation of the difference between web designers vs. web developers to find out whether web development would be a good path for you. Ready to put these lessons into practice? Sign up for Wix today.

Get started by: Creating a website →  | Getting a domain → Podcasts have the power to capture millions of listeners' attention, quickly becoming the modern-day radio. But why have podcasts become so influential? One of the main reasons is the combination of creators who enjoy having their voice heard and listeners who want to get inspired with new ideas and solutions to their problems. In order for these two sides of the coin to meet, the content needs to be accessible on a podcast hosting site. This, paired with a professional free website , is all you need to ensure the world hears what you have to say. Because the internet is filled with many places to store and broadcast your work, it’s important to know from the start what you can expect to get out of the podcast hosting site you choose. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up a list of the 15 best podcast hosts on the market and reviewed each platform’s unique features, so you can select a host that truly shows off your storytelling skills. Starting a podcast? Use this podcast name generator to name it. What is podcast hosting and why you need it Podcast hosting platforms store and broadcast your content. They also ensure your site does not face any slowdown or overload due to its large audio files and make your work easily accessible. After uploading your content to one of these hosts, your podcast is immediately available for listeners on your site through their embedded web app. Podcast hosts also make it possible to quickly share your audio to third-party streaming services such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Furthermore, hosting platforms often come with advanced features such as podcast analytics, automatic transcription and tools for monetizing a podcast . These integrations can be very beneficial when starting a podcast . Best podcast hosting sites Wix Podcast Player Podbean Buzzsprout Libsyn Spreaker Simplecast Transistor Blubrry Captivate Castos Audioboom SoundCloud Anchor Megaphone Podcast Websites 01. Wix Podcast Player While the Wix Podcast Player isn’t a traditional hosting platform, it’s certainly one of the easiest and most stylish ways to showcase your podcast on your website, no matter where your host is. There are ready-made podcast website templates designed for you to easily launch. The best part is that the initial setup just requires your podcast’s RSS feed URL. From there, the Wix Podcast Player will do the rest for you. Like magic, the player will begin populating the page with your logo, all of your episodes, and their accompanying photos and descriptions. Plus, it will produce a set of dynamic pages, meaning it instantly creates a page for each episode using a uniform format. Therefore, each episode will open on its own page, yet the design will remain consistent throughout – all with zero work on your end. After it’s set up, you can go ahead and customize the player’s style and design, so it merges well with the rest of your site. Plans: Wix Podcast Player is free and all features are available, without limits, at no cost. Key features: Feature and stream your podcasts, all in one place Easily connect your site to hosts using RSS feeds Instantly create show feeds and episode pages Free web hosting for all your content 02. PodBean PodBean’s user-friendly interface allows you to upload, publish, manage and promote your podcasts with just a few clicks of your mouse. But what really sets them apart from the crowd is its crowdfunding options for those more serious creators looking to make money from loyal listeners. In terms of capabilities, the platform is simple and intuitive. One major advantage of casting your lot with PodBean is that your podcast is included in their network, adding another layer of discoverability for you. Plans: PodBean comes with four different plans to choose from. Its free option is a no-frills, straightforward five hours of audio uploaded a month, with 100GB of bandwidth. It also comes with basic stats, customizable players to embed, and your own podcast landing page site. The first paid tier, Unlimited Audio, introduces paid monetization, increased upload hours and bandwidth to unlimited, plus a few more services. If you’re a beginner, you will most likely find what you’re looking for between the first two paid options. However, if you’ve got some exemplary podcasting skills under your belt and are looking for ways to grow your podcast or need free business tools , PodBeans’s latter two paid options will be more fitting. Key features: Monetization capabilities Alexa integration Free plans 03. Buzzsprout Buzzsprout's name is usually found on top podcast hosts' lists and is credited for its ease of use. It’s a modern service designed to keep things simple. The platform brings exactly what a podcast needs to the table. It includes all the good stuff like stats, easy migration and embedded podcast players. Their well-designed dashboard makes it easy to upload and publish your episodes. On the flip side, you can also schedule shows in advance. That way, your listeners are never neglected. If you’re the obsessive type about stats, then you’ll love the mobile dashboard which includes the option to manage promotions and keep a close eye on your numbers no matter where you are. Plans: Just like the platform itself, Buzzsprout offers simplified paid plans. There is a free podcast hosting plan that allows for two hours of upload a month, and three paid plans that offer increased storage ranging from three to 12 hours a month. The most expensive of those paid plans still only reaches $24 a month. However, instead of having a hard cap of audio hours, Buzzsprout will simply charge you for additional hours. The exact amount you are charged per extra hour is dependent on the existing paid plan you have. It’s a nifty feature to have just in case one of your podcast episodes runs longer than expected. Key features: Free for 90 days Mobile friendly dashboard Easy migration from other hosting platforms 04. Libsyn You’ll see Libsyn at the top of most best podcast hosting lists online, and for good reason: It’s pretty great. It’s been around since podcasting first broke onto the scene, it provides a fantastic set of features, and it is competitively priced. While there are other hosts out there that offer a similar feature set or even better pricing, the combination of a longstanding (positive) track record and multiple plans to choose from, depending on your needs, make Libsyn a good first stop in your podcast hosting search. Plans: Libsyn offers a handful of different plans, each increasing in features as you go up. Plans range from $5 a month to $150 a month and the primary change between plans being storage options (with caps from 50MB to 3000MB). Key features: Custom mobile app YouTube publishing Advanced analytics 05. Spreaker From its website, description of its features and the layout of its plans, literally everything about Spreaker feels professional. One thing that sets them apart from most of the other hosts on this list is that it gives you unlimited daily sessions, allowing you to start a live stream as many times as you want per day. The length of time you can keep the live stream going is indicated by the plan you’re on. While this isn’t something everyone is going to use or even care for, it’s a pretty neat and unique feature to have (freely) available to you. Outside of its unique ‘live’ feature, Spreaker offers up the expected features any budding or expert podcaster could want, with a focus on marketing and other professional services. Plans: Spreaker has a free podcast hosting plan cleverly called “Free Speech” and goes up to a $50 per month “Anchorman Plan.” The value per plan increases significantly as you go up. The more expensive plans all increase daily session limit, storage, and improved analytics, marketing and monetization tools. Key features: Chat while streaming live iHeartRadio distribution Ad-free pages 06. Simplecast As you might have guessed by its name, Simplecast is known for being an incredibly easy-to-use podcast hosting site. In spite of this simplicity-focused approach, this podcast hosting site offers a professional service packed with powerful tools for every stage of your podcast’s life. The platform’s long list of features includes unlimited storage, one-click publishing, analytics tools, and a customizable site. A quick glance at Simplecast’s website makes it clear that the platform boasts a modern and bold brand identity, which translates into aesthetic players that can be embedded into your site. Another key differentiating element that has put Simplecast among the best podcast hosting sites is Recast. This unique tool allows podcasters and listeners to seamlessly share clips to social channels, which is an effective social media marketing strategy, allowing you to reach a wider audience. Plans: Simplecast offers three different podcast hosting plans for independent creators, as well as two high-end tailored plans for professional podcasters and enterprises. You can get unlimited storage and uploads plus features such as distribution and multiple shows management for $15 a month. If you need to add more than two members or use advanced features such as curated audience reports and website analytics tools, you’ll need to upgrade your plan. Key features: Unlimited storage and uploads Integrated social media sharing tools Custom domain name for your site 07. Transistor Transistor launched just a couple years ago, but has quickly grown to become one of the most well-known podcast hosting sites in the market. With a wide array of powerful and easy-to-use features, this platform is meant for both large brands and creators who have just decided to record a podcast . One of Transistor's defining characteristics is the fact that it offers unlimited storage for an unlimited number of podcasts for all users. Other notable features include embedded code, professional websites, distribution tools, and customizable domains. But what truly makes Transistor stand out from the crowd is its advanced analytics dashboard. Users can track stats such as average downloads per episode, what apps people use to listen, trends and historical performance. Plans: Transistor offers three different plans ranging from $19 to $99 per month. Subscriptions can be paid on a monthly or yearly basis. Those choosing a yearly plan will get two months of usage for free. All plans include unlimited podcasts, live customer support, in-depth analytics, and a customizable website. The main differences between plans are the monthly downloads available, additional users per podcast, and the number of private subscribers. Key features: Advanced analytics Multi-platform distribution Unlimited podcasts 08. Blubrry Blubrry prides itself on making it extremely easy to start your own podcast . On top of their hosting and plugin powers, the platform offers a variety of rich statistics that users love. Their analytics makes it effortless to always be on top of your numbers and gaining insights into factors beyond the number of listeners. For example, you’ll be able to see where your listeners are located and what platforms they are using to access your podcast. This podcasting hosting site is not only used for the traditional B2C (business to consumer) experience. Blubrry also offers private podcasting that allows you to use their secure audio and video for corporate communications, training, interviews, and even for guest speakers. Plans: Blubrry offers a series of tiered plans based on monthly storage requirements, starting at $12 per month for 100MB monthly storage and scaling up to $100 for unlimited storage. All of their plans come with professional statistics, unlimited bandwidth, a custom embedded player and free file migration. Key features: Powerful analytics to track your progress Private podcasting Easy to use plugins 09. Captivate Captivate was developed by a team with a long, successful trajectory in the podcast industry, which becomes instantly apparent upon seeing the platform’s unique approach. This podcast hosting site is focused on growth, offering a long list of unique features aimed to empower creators and provide them with everything they need to build a successful online business. Among Captivate’s growth-oriented features you’ll find a mobile-friendly website you can customize with your brand colors, mailing list integrations to power your email marketing campaigns, trackable attribution links, editable web player CTAs, a single subscribe promotion link, educational resources in their growth labs and a downloadable PDF report with your latest stats that can be used as part of a press kit or to show potential sponsors. Captivate also has features that simplify work flows for podcasters such as their guest booking tool, dynamic show notes builder, dynamic ad and content insertion tool, episode planning section and more. These groundbreaking tools are, of course, offered in addition to traditional podcast features such as cross-platform distribution, in-depth industry recognized IAB certified analytics, custom plugins, and more. Plans: Captivate has three pricing tiers ranging between $19 and $99 per month (which is discounted if you pay annually). Unlike other podcast hosting sites, monthly downloads are the only element linked to these tiers. The Personal podcaster plan supports up to 30,000 downloads, while Professional and Business set the cut at 150,000 and 300,000 downloads respectively. All features on Captivate's catalog are available in all plans. Key features: Unlimited podcasts and team members, plus network features Marketing tools such as built-in calls-to-action, attribution links, sponsor kit etc. Simplified workflow tools eg guest booking, dynamic show notes, research and planning tools User-friendly analytical dashboard & industry trusted IAB certified analytics Customizable web player & search engine friendly podcast website Dynamic ad & content insertion tool (AMIE), with four bulk editing features to manage pre, mid and post rolls across your entire episode library Highly-rated customer service team accessible 24/7 10. Castos What’s remarkable about Castos is that no matter which plan you choose you will never run out of storage or bandwidth space, as they don't have any caps or limits on those capabilities. Their unlimited storage space makes Castors very appealing for users who want to record longer episodes, test new styles or launch a second channel, as they don't have to be conservative with their recording time. When it comes to advanced features, Casto’s ability to republish your content to YouTube and create automatic podcast transcriptions makes it one of the best podcast hosting sites for cross-platform publication. These abilities are also known to help boost SEO and increase the visibility of your content, which is essential for reaching new audiences. Plans: Castos' plans are split into three main buckets: Starter, Growth and Pro. Even the names of the packages alone can help you find the category that suits you best. Remember that all of them come with an unlimited number of podcasts, episode uploads and downloads. The main difference between the $19/month Starter plan all the way up to the $99/month option is the limit of how many private subscribers you can have. The lowest price plan allows you up to 100 subscribers, while the highest gives you up to 500 subscribers. If you are not sure how quickly you will grow, you can always start with their free 14-day trial and upgrade at any time. Key features: Unlimited number of podcasts, episodes and downloads regardless of the plan Automated YouTube republishing and transcriptions Data from multiple listening platforms into one dashboard 11. Audioboom If you're looking to make money online with your podcast, Audioboom might just be the place for you. This platform prides itself on being the best podcast hosting site for content monetization, operating under the slogan "Host, distribute and monetize your audio." The platform divides its offering into two tiers: Podcasters and Podcaster Pros. The first plan is aimed at content creators with less than 10,000 listeners per podcast episode, providing them with unlimited episode hosting, cross-platform distribution tools, embeddable players, and advanced analytics. Once your podcast surpasses the 10,000 listeners per episode barrier, you'll get access to Podcaster Pros and all the monetization tools that come with it. Audioboom provides established podcasters with sponsorship opportunities, a proprietary targeted ad network, branded content partnership opportunities, premium sales services, live stream collaborations, and more. Plans: Audioboom offers a series of tiered plans based on the number of plays per month your podcast gets. The basic Podcasters plan starts at $9.99 per month for up to 10K monthly plays, and can be upgraded to a Podcast Pros plan for unlimited plays per episode. Both of these plans include unlimited episode hosting, cross-platform distribution, analytics, and embeddable players. The platform's professional plan, aimed at podcasters with over 10K listeners per episode, offers numerous monetization tools for an undisclosed subscription cost. Key features: Monetization tools Multi-platform distribution Embeddable player and social media integration 12. SoundCloud You've probably heard of SoundCloud before, but it wouldn't be at all surprising if you didn't know it's a popular podcasting host as well. In reality, it's not a surprising move for the company. While its primary focus is music, it has positioned itself to be a podcast hosting company without ever really intending to be. SoundCloud's popularity for music gives it a "mindshare" advantage that many names on this list simply can't compete with. This platform already has access to millions of listeners, which lets you kick off with a community around you. Another reason users choose to go with SoundCloud is that they allow you to interact with fans and get immediate feedback. Furthermore, with their Pro Unlimited plan, you can schedule releases, pin your most popular episodes into the spotlight and get access to sophisticated stats. Plans: SoundCloud keeps things simple with only three types of plans: A free podcast hosting plan with a three-hour upload limit per month. On their $135 per year plan you can have unlimited uploading, scheduled releases and more. Key features: Free podcast hosting plans Interact with fans Scheduled releases 13. Anchor Anchor is a free podcast hosting site for creating, distributing and monetizing your podcast, whose goal is to allow everyone's stories to be heard around the world. The platform is owned by the popular audio streaming app, Spotify, which already puts you in great hands if you go this route. This free podcast hosting site has very convenient creation tools that let you capture audio straight from your phone, tablet, or computer, as well as easily edit the content with building blocks that are wonderful for visualizing your editing process. After creating your podcast, the distribution is also made simple. By clicking to a dedicated section on their site, you can easily manage your RSS feed and distribute your podcast among the app directory and beyond. The best part of Anchor is that it empowers users to get paid to podcast, giving you the option to add a donation button so listeners can support your work. Additionally, you can earn money every time people listen to ads that you can even read and record with your own voice. Lastly, in April 2021, Anchor announced they are introducing paid subscriptions which is an easy way for you as a creator to offer paid exclusive content to your listeners. Plans: Using Anchor to host your podcast is completely free. Keep in mind that there is a limit of the file size you can upload, which is capped at 250MB. This size typically applies to files longer than 15 min. Key features: Built-in uploading, recording and editing tools Easy distribute to all major listening apps Monetization features such as sponsorships and listener donations 14. Megaphone Megaphone is not just known for podcast hosting but also for working with advertisers. Their technology is a place where both worlds come beautifully together—allowing both sides of the spectrum to be successful, especially tailoring to enterprises and larger podcasters. The platform’s offering covers the entire podcasting ecosystem, so you can not only publish on their site but also make money and measure your success. Their monetization options use industry-leading targeting so that ads and content can be highly relevant. You also get full control over where, when and in what order ads and promos appear in your show so you can maximize revenue. Plans: There is no price disclosure currently on their website, but you can request a quote on their contact page . It has been reported by other experts that there is a minimum threshold to be part of their network and that Megaphone is geared towards larger publishers. Key features: Dynamic ad insertion and audience targeting Quick and helpful live chat customer support Simple workflows 15. Podcast Websites Podcast Websites was founded by a group of podcasters who wanted to make sure others had all the tools they needed to succeed. You can view this option as a one-stop-shop that handles everything from website creation to the podcast hosting itself. Their services come with website hosting, 24/7 support and many learning tools to help you grow in the podcast industry. For example, if you choose their hosting platform, you will be granted access to a well-stocked video tutorials library, a support community, and monthly Academy education sessions. Plans: There are two podcast hosting plans available to you, one is $97 per month, paid monthly, and the second one is $77 per month, paid annually. The latter includes your first RSS feed for free and both allow for unlimited visits per month, free domain name, and their video tutorial library. Key features: Learning tools 24/7 support Drag and drop page design Features you should look for in podcast hosting sites Choosing the right podcast hosting site is crucial for the success of your podcast. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Here are some key features you should look for to ensure your podcast thrives: Storage and bandwidth Ample storage space: Your podcast episodes will consume storage space, so ensure the platform offers enough to accommodate your current and future needs. Look for plans with at least 10GB of storage, ideally with the option to upgrade as your podcast grows. Sufficient bandwidth: Bandwidth determines how many people can listen to your episodes simultaneously. Choose a plan with enough bandwidth to handle your expected audience size. Unlimited bandwidth is ideal, but pay-as-you-go options can be budget-friendly for new podcasts. Audio quality and features High-quality audio: Listeners expect good audio quality. Choose a host that supports high bitrate encoding (at least 128 kbps) for clear and professional-sounding episodes. ID3 tag editing: Edit ID3 tags like title, artist and episode number to ensure your podcast displays correctly on podcast directories and players. Chapter markers: Allow listeners to easily navigate through long episodes by adding chapter markers. Podcast distribution and analytics Automatic submission to directories: Choose a host that automatically submits your podcast to major directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Detailed analytics: Track your podcast's performance with in-depth analytics, including downloads, listener demographics and playback locations. This data helps you understand your audience and refine your content strategy. Embeddable podcast player: Easily share your podcast episodes on your website or blog with an embeddable player. Additional features Monetization options: Some platforms offer built-in monetization tools like podcast ads, subscriptions or listener donations. If monetization is your goal, ensure the platform you choose supports your chosen method. Website builder: Some hosts offer website builder tools to create a simple landing page for your podcast. This can be helpful for promoting your episodes and connecting with listeners. Mobile app: A mobile app for managing your podcast and interacting with listeners can be a valuable asset, especially for on-the-go creators. Podcast hosting FAQ How do I choose the best podcast hosting site? There are several key factors that should be considered when choosing the best podcast hosting site. Even though price will likely play a strong part in the decision it should not be the only point of consideration. Here are other critical components to consider: tracking analytics, compatibility with a landing page or website, embeddable media player, audio quality and monetization options. Furthermore, you should take into account the storage space, upload bandwidth and download limits. Depending on the scale of your podcast, you can prioritize these different factors to find the best host for your needs. Can you host a podcast for free? Of course, there are several free podcast hosting options available. However, free options often have more limitations on features such as analytics and storage space which you should consider. Many free podcast hosting sites don’t have the same revenue stream from subscriptions so they often serve advertisements to listeners. Be aware that this could negatively impact the experience for your audience, and deter them from coming back in the future to consume more content. Can you make money podcasting? Yes. If your podcast becomes successful and grows to a decent number of listeners there are opportunities to make money, such as through a podcast ad network and podcast advertising . You can also make money by asking for donations or charging a membership. Depending on the podcast topics  you cover, you can also get sponsorships from brands. The key to making money from your work is having high quality engaging content and exquisite digital marketing skills. Promoting your podcast after you launch plays a big part in your success. Does podcast hosting handle distribution? Podcast hosting platforms do not always automatically handle distribution for you. However, some platforms such as Captivate and Buzzsprout allow you to submit your files through a built-in podcast distribution page and directories. This makes the process much easier and faster. Where should I publish my podcast? The most popular podcast directories to publish your show and get more listeners are Apple Podcasts,   Spotify , Google Podcasts,   Midroll  (formerly Stitcher), TuneIn , SoundCloud , Podbay  and Podtail . You can also publish your podcast on your own website, just like we did with our new podcast Now What?  on Wix.com. How do I promote my podcast? Beyond publishing and sharing your podcast to the popular directories such as those mentioned above, there are other marketing and promotional efforts you can take to help promote your show, including prompting listeners to share your podcast to their social networks and write positive reviews. Also community networking and word-of-mouth recommendations are highly effective in this space. Lastly, try guest hosting or appearing as a guest on someone else’s podcast that has a similar audience you’re looking to reach. What is the best podcast equipment and software for my show? You do not have to purchase equipment to get started with podcasting. But depending on the budget you're willing to dedicate to your efforts there are a variety of options to choose from that can help take your podcast to a more advanced level. The most common equipment purchased is a high quality microphone, which you can often plug into your computer using a USB port. Other podcast equipment to consider is buying soundproofing material like foam panels for a recording space that is soundproof. Lastly, you can consider getting a sound mixer, professional recording software and noise-canceling headphones. If you need a little more inspiration before getting started, tune into one of these motivational podcasts to boost your confidence . Where can I host podcasts for free? You can host podcasts for free on platforms like Spotify for Podcasters, Podbean, RedCircle and even Wix. Spotify and the others take care of getting your episodes on major directories, while Wix is perfect if you want a website to build your brand around your podcast. Free plans usually include the basics, but upgrading can unlock extras like detailed analytics or monetization tools.

Podcasting has exploded in popularity over the last decade and has quickly become an effective medium for advertising. Two million podcasts live on the web, and U.S. podcast ad spending is rising at double-digit percentage rates yearly and will top $2 billion next year. "Audio ads have evolved over time, and it's quickly changing in recent years to become more of a two-way street, more of a conversation,” Leonardo De La Rocha, head of design for Spotify Ads said on an episode of Wix's Now What? podcast. “We want brands to speak to audiences, but we also want it to feel authentic." Authenticity hasn't always been easy to achieve in advertising, but the podcasting format allows you to reach listeners more intimately. So, after you launch your business and create a website , it's critical to find new and creative types of marketing to get in front of your target audience (and find free places to promote your website ), and podcasts advertising can be a promising method. Starting a podcast? Use this podcast name generator to name it. Why is podcast advertising effective? Before we dive in, it’s important to understand why people enjoy podcasts and the reasons behind their growth in popularity. For starters, unlike watching a video or reading an article, you can listen to a podcast anywhere. Whether it’s at home, during your commute or at the gym, this type of content is extremely versatile. On top of that, there are podcasts about almost anything: health, fitness, entrepreneurship, personal development, creativity, you name it. But it’s the nature of podcasts themselves that makes them ideal for marketers who want to connect with their audiences. Unlike other types of advertising , such as billboard ads and print ads, people who listen to podcasts tend to have an affinity for the hosts - its contextual advertising at its finest. This makes podcasts unique when it comes to advertising since the audience already sees the person delivering the message as captivating and trustworthy. Not only that, but podcast listeners are usually engaged in each episode and listen with intent. Unlike online advertising , such as pop-up ads or videos, podcasts offer advertisers an opportunity to speak to an audience that is much more interested in listening. In fact, 80% of podcast listeners say they’re able to recall a brand mentioned in a podcast. De La Rocha agrees. “We know that the most engaged audiences are those on platforms like Spotify, listening to podcasts, listening to music,” he says. “Just think about how intimate that is. We are literally in your body, through your headphones, through your earbuds. We're physically connected to you the way that other brands really aren't.” You don’t need to be an expert marketer to know that the more engaged your audience is, the better your ad conversion rates will be. If you haven’t yet started advertising on podcasts, now’s a good time to begin. Advertisers have already seen the potential in podcast ads, with the projected global ad spend expected to reach $1.6B by next year. So, how can you take advantage of this colossal source of revenue? Let’s look at some of the ways that brands are advertising on podcasts already with these advertisement examples . How brands should select podcasts to advertise with It can be difficult to know which podcast(s) to spend your ad budget on. Thankfully, there are marketing strategies that brands can use to narrow down their choice of shows to find podcast topics that will fit their messaging and help them reach the right audiences. Here are some points to consider when shopping around for podcasts to advertise with: 01. Your target audience Know who you’re trying to target and research their interests to get a better understanding of which podcasts they’re listening to. Some bigger podcasts, such as those by NPR , publish their podcast demographics so you can see if they’re a good fit. 02. The podcast’s content The reason this works so well is that the product being advertised usually fits with the overall theme of the podcast. If a podcast discusses women’s issues or feminism, then it would make sense to run ads that are relevant to that demographic. 03. The podcast host(s) Finally, a podcast is nothing without its host. Having a good understanding of a host’s background and interests can help you forge an authentic connection with them as well as a genuine interest in your brand. If your host is a fan of your product or company, chances are they’re going to be more effective at promoting it. Key elements of a successful podcast advertising campaign Before you start your search for the right podcast, you’ll want to set up your campaign so that it’s as successful as possible. Podcast ads work a little differently than other types of digital marketing ads, so it’s crucial to have a well-rounded understanding before you jump in. Let’s take a closer look at some podcast advertising tips and strategies you should know. Understand your audience It’s imperative to know which podcasts your target market listens to. But it’s also important to familiarize yourself with the audience so that you know how to best advertise to them. Start by creating a buyer persona. To do so, you need to establish: Your customers’ demographics, including age, location, interests and stage of life Identify customer pain points Their goals How you can help them resolve their pain points and achieve their goals You might already have a solid understanding of your ideal customer from previous marketing campaigns, but it may need to be adjusted for podcast advertising because you need to understand their expectations surrounding a specific podcast. Meaning, are they hoping to stay up-to-date on current events? Are they trying to learn about a topic for personal or professional growth? Knowing their reasons for listening to a podcast will help you create ads that resonate with them. “I think that goes into audio. That goes into video. That goes into any medium that you're using to tell a story of your product. Be thoughtful and authentic with the people you're trying to reach by retaining that customer obsession,” says De La Rocha. Optimize your ad placement Similar to TV or radio ads, podcasts have designated time slots for running advertisements. Hosts will schedule a pause in their conversation to run an ad in the middle, beginning or end of an episode. In general, there are three types of podcast advertisements: 01. Pre-roll Pre-roll ads are within the first 15 seconds of a podcast, before or immediately after the title is introduced. They typically last between 15 and 30 seconds. 02. Mid-roll Mid-roll ads play in the middle of an episode. Usually, there will be a predetermined break in the podcast content and the host will run an ad. Mid-roll ads tend to be longer than pre or post-roll ads, lasting 60-90 seconds long. 03. Post-roll Lastly, post-roll ads run at the end of a podcast before the credits, if they’re listed. A post-roll ad usually runs around 20-30 seconds long. You might need to test out different placements for your banner ads since each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Pre and post-roll ads are much more likely to be skipped over, but some brands prefer being the first or last thing mentioned on a podcast episode. Mid-roll ads tend to be the most expensive because they’re both the longest and least likely to be skipped. There really is no “best” option. Take a look at your budget and the audience you want to reach to determine what’s best for your brand. Know the cost per ad How much will it actually cost you to run podcast ads? Well, that depends. First, it depends on the placement within the episode. Second, it depends on the popularity of the podcast. It stands to reason that the more listeners a podcast has, the more expensive an ad will cost. Typically, this is how the cost is broken down: According to AdvertiseCast , podcast advertising rates in 2021 are set at $18 for a 30-second ad and $25 for a 60-second ad. This cost is broken down by CPM , or cost by mille, which means the cost is for 1000 listeners. If a podcast lists its listener reach, you can easily calculate how much your ad might cost. In general, you can budget between $20-$30 for a 30-60 second ad per 1000 listeners. Of course, everyone wants to advertise on the most popular podcasts, but your ad budget might dictate otherwise. It’s also important to remember that since you want to target your ads to the podcasts your audience listens to, you might not always need to go after the podcast with the highest number of listeners. Pre-recorded vs. host-read ads It’s generally accepted that host-read ads convert better than pre-recorded ones. This goes back to the fact that listeners trust podcast hosts, so having them read your ads tends to produce better engagement. “A trusted voice in front of a brand is so much better than the brand speaking directly at people,” explains De La Rocha. “There is an authentic connection being made that leads to trust from those who listen.” More than that, a host-read ad is typically longer than a pre-recorded ad, meaning you get even more bang for your buck. Host-read ads last on average for 48 seconds, compared to just 27 seconds for pre-recorded ads. Another thing to consider is how your ad might age, especially if you’re using pre-recorded ads. If you’re promoting a time-sensitive event or special, then it might not be relevant at all when someone listens to an episode weeks or months after it’s aired. Host-read ads tend to be more organic and follow the logical pattern of the episode and seem less out of place, even when listened to at a later date. Continuously test your ads Just like any form of affiliate marketing , you’re going to want to test your ad over time and perhaps even in a few variations to see what’s the most effective. Think of it as A/B testing your podcast ads. It’s impossible to see whether or not your ad was successful after just one episode. You’ll need to advertise on multiple episodes to see whether or not it’s converting listeners. If a certain podcast episode happens to be less popular or engaging, it doesn’t mean your ad won’t work on future episodes. Plus, running your ads on multiple episodes fosters a relationship with the audience and creates continued brand awareness. Take the popular podcast, Serial, as an example. In its early days, MailChimp ran ads at the beginning of each episode, and as the podcast became popular, so did MailChimp. Listeners began expecting to hear the MailChimp ad before each episode, making the brand much more recognizable. Measure your ad’s success A simple way to determine the success of your ad is to use promo codes. That way, you can track your codes to see how many are being used, by who, and when. The more people who use your promo code, the higher your rate of success. You should also be monitoring user engagement and what people are saying about your brand on social media. As listeners become more accustomed to hearing your ads in their favorite podcasts, you’ll want to see if they are talking about you on social media. Are they engaging with your brand more? This is another important metric for judging the success of your ads. Also be sure to track the traffic to your website. As listeners hear your brand more, check your website analytics tool to see if there’s an uptick in traffic. Podcast advertising networks Instead of working directly with brands and managing ads, many podcast hosts decide to go through an advertising network. This allows them to gain access to a wider variety of brands. As an advertiser, it often makes your job easier to search for podcasts and pay for ads all in one place. Here are a few of the more popular podcast advertising networks we recommend using. Midroll Midroll is one of the more popular podcast advertising networks out there. They specialize in placing host-read ads that sound natural and convert well. You’ll find tons of world-class podcasts here, such as My Favorite Murder, Office Ladies run by The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations. Many large brands have worked with Midroll and seen results, such as HBO, Toyota, FedEx, and more. There’s a dashboard where you can track your campaign 24/7 and gain insightful metrics on your ads. AdvertiseCast With AdvertiseCast , you’ll have access to over 1,700 different podcasts to advertise on. This platform allows you to search for different podcasts based on factors like reach, cost, and listener demographics. You’ll find a lot of popular podcasts here, such as Dr. Phil’s Phil in the Blanks, The Jordan B Peterson Podcast, Darknet Diaries, and a lot more. There’s a wide range of brands already working with AdvertiseCast, such as Nike, Amazon, NordVPN, and more. PodcastOne PodcastOne allows advertisers to connect with and discover podcasts. There are a few hundred podcasts here to choose from, such as Gals on the Go, Court Junkie, and Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe. PodcastOne sees more than 2.1 million episode downloads each year with 350 weekly episodes. Authentic Shows Authentic Shows is a podcast advertising network that caters to the most popular shows. You can expect to see some big podcast names here, such as This American Life, Stuff You Should Know, and The Daily by The New York Times. The podcasts on Authentic Shows tend to have very engaged listeners, which allows this network to attract many high-end advertisers, like Netflix, Visa, and Dell. Spotify Spotify advertising allows you to scale your podcast campaign with audience-based buying across the Spotify Audience Network. The easiest way to start running podcast ads on Spotify is with its self-serve advertising channel, Ad Studio. Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI) provides campaign metrics and audience insights based on confirmed ad impressions. The future of podcast advertising Podcasts are the present and future of advertising because they allow brands to connect with their target audiences in authentic, engaging ways, through a host they trust. There are multiple strategies that will help you reach this market of dedicated listeners, so experiment with different podcasts and advertising approaches until you find one that works for you.