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There’s a certain moment that hits right after you’ve come up with a fantastic idea for your own business. While crafting a fundraising website or dedicated business website is more accessible than ever before thanks to sophisticated website builders, finding the capital to make your dream business actually happen is a whole different story. The good news is, we live in an innovative world and the bank isn’t your only option anymore. In the last few years, the term ‘crowdfunding’ has become a part of every day lingo. As opposed to a one-time loan (see our guide on how to get a startup business loan) or waiting for a giant angel investment to come through, crowdfunding is the practice of raising money in small amounts from a large number of people (usually via the Internet). Considering how successful this method has become, there are a couple of crowdfunding platforms you can choose from when starting your business. When selecting the correct one for you and raising money for your business, it’s important to consider all the fees, terms and conditions that come with it. Recently, some niche platforms have also popped up to serve specific audiences, like filmmakers. To help you select the one that’s right for you, here are 15 crowdfunding sites you should know about in order to turn your dreams into reality. 01. Kickstarter Our first site is possibly the most popular name that comes to mind in the world of crowdfunding platforms: Kickstarter. Their mission is to help bring creative projects to life. As of 2019, Kickstarter has funded 445,000 projects in the music, art and tech field. To get started, all you have to do is set up a goal and a time period. After it’s approved by Kickstarter, you can start promoting your campaign to friends, family members and donors. Best suited for: A wide variety of innovators. Costs involved: First, it’s important to note that Kickstarter has an ‘all or nothing’ approach. Which means, unless you raise 100% of your project, you don’t get any of the cash. If you do reach your intended goal, there’s a 5% fee and the payment processor will charge an additional 3-5%. 02. Indigogo Indigogo was founded in 2008 when owners, Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin and Eric Schell faced a similar issue of trying to raise funds to make their own ideas come to life. This crowdfunding site enables millions of people to launch groundbreaking products as well as help surface innovations in tech and design. Here, users can choose from two options: fixed or flexible funding. Fixed is most appealing to those looking to reach a predetermined figure. Flexible is ideal for those looking for any help they can possibly get. If you decide on the flexible option you will receive any money that is raised. However, with the fixed option you will only get your funds if you reach your target. Best suited for: Entrepreneurs of all fields looking to get their projects out there in the early stages of development. Costs involved: For both the fixed and flexible route you’ll encounter a 5% to release your funds. Plus an added 3% processing fee as well as $0.30 per transaction. (If you’re a nonprofit or your campaign is socially minded there are no fees involved.) 03. GoFundMe While GoFundMe is more geared towards social fundraising, personal causes or emergencies, businesses can use it as well. Majority of the campaigns on this platform are for people in need after illness or to help victims of natural disasters. Therefore, the donors of this platform tend to give to causes that come from within their personal network or social circles. Due to the nature of this platform, there are no sign up fees, no deadlines or goal requirements and campaign owners get to keep everything that is raised. Best suited for: Personal and social fundraising. Costs involved: While GoFundMe doesn't take any fees, there are still the industry standard transaction fees (about 3%). 04. Patreon Here’s a platform that works a little differently. Patreon allows donors to submit monthly contributions. Making this platform an excellent choice for any creatives who produce and release continuous content (think of podcasts or YouTube channels). Creators who use Patreon are able to build meaningful and long term relationships with their fans, generate predictable revenue and they can give their members exclusive access or benefits. Best suited for: Digital creators such as YouTubers, podcasters and bloggers. Costs involved: Patreon offers three types of memberships with different pricing plans: Lite (5% of the monthly income you earn), Pro (8% of the monthly income you earn) and Premium (12% of the monthly income you earn). Plus payment processing fees starting at 3%. 05. Fundly ‘Raise money for anything’ is Fundly’s motto. You can use this crowdfunding platform to raise money for anything from personal health to special events. To get started, create your campaign page (and update it throughout), manage it through the Fundly app and harness the power of Fundly’s Facebook OpenGraph integration to spread your campaign far and wide. As it’s not so business focused, there is no time limit or goal that needs to be met in order to receive the funds. Best suited for: Nonprofits, charities, churches, schools, teams and any other cause for family and friends. Costs involved: All users have to pay a 4.9% platform fee plus credit card processing fees. 06. LendingClub LendingClub is on a mission to transform the banking system in order to make credit more affordable (and investing more rewarding). Since 2007, they have helped three million people achieve financial wellness. This platform is what’s known as ‘peer-to-peer’ lending. You can apply for a loan for personal, medical and business needs. All you have to do is sign up, choose a loan offer that includes customized rates, terms and payment options (your loan options are based on what you intend to use the money for). Best suited for: Personal or business loans. Costs involved: Costs are dependent on amounts and loan options. 07. CircleUp If you’re past the developmental stage and looking to scale up your flourishing business, then CircleUp is your solution. This crowdfunding site aims to create a transparent and efficient market to drive the innovation of consumer brands. What makes CicleUp unique amongst a list of competitors is that they offer both credit funding and equity. Plus, they boast an industry wide network and partnerships with brands like Amazon. A couple of brands you may recognize from the fridges of Whole Foods that were backed through CircleUp are: The Coconut Cult and Pop & Bottle. Best suited for: Entrepreneurs who are a little bit more established looking for additional funding and guidance to lead their business to the next stage. Costs involved: The fee percentage is based on the total amount raised. 08. Experiment Your scientific discovery awaits with Experiment. From finding out how pigeons have evolved to pinpointing the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe—experiment gives scientists the backing they need in order to research and unlock new knowledge. Unlike when scientists receive grants from universities, with Experiment, there is no overhead involved (which is usually 50-60%). However, the platform does operate on an ‘all or nothing’ basis. Meaning the project must meet the target or no one’s pledges are charged. Best suited for: Scientific researchers. Costs involved: It’s free to start a project but if you reach your goal, Experiment charges an 8% platform fee plus processing fees (between 3-5%). 09. Chuffed Thanks to Chuffed, you can take action against the issues you care about most. In order to use this specific platform your campaign must be fundraising for a social, community or political cause that has a project with a defined outcome. Plus, all campaigns need to be approved by Chuffed before they are live. Chuffed has a detailed step-by-step guide on how to set up your campaign, how to write a catchy pitch, promote it and how to release your earnings. Best suited for: Nonprofits and caused-based organizations. Costs involved: Unlike the other crowdfunding platforms, Chuffed makes it so that donors pay the fees involved. On top of that, contributors are also encouraged to donate to Chuffed as well. 10. Causes Causes is a social network of sorts combined with a crowdfunding platform. It’s the largest in the world and aims to bring impactful and important issues to light. As the name suggests, they focus on helping nonprofits who focus on social, political and cultural issues. While you raise funds for your cause, you can also find like-minded people by connecting with meaningful members who share the same passions as you and want to join in on your cause. Best suited for: Nonprofits or anyone looking to raise awareness. Costs involved: Zero. 11. SeedInvest SeedInvest started when two friends, Ryan Feit and James Hon, saw just how hard it was for their fellow classmates to raise capital for their startups. This crowdfunding site is best suited for those looking to make it big! The process starts with creating an application which then needs to be approved by a screening committee. After that a team conducts in-depth due diligence on the your business, team and your product/service. After you’ve got the green light you can create a profile with all the information about your company and present it to investors. Best suited for: Startups, high-growth and early-stage companies. Costs involved: 7.5% placement fee that’s charged on the total amount raised. Additionally, there’s a 2% processing fee. 12. CrowdRise CrowdRise (now owned by GoFundMe) is all about giving back to causes, charities and personal fundraisers. It’s a great platform used by tens of thousands of charities in order to raise money for social initiatives. It’s easy to set up a fundraising website and there are no deadlines or penalties. An added bonus is that they offer personal customer support. The platform is linked to many influential partners including, Red Cross, UNICEF, Ironman and many celebrities. Best suited for: Personal funding, races, corporate philanthropy and charities. Costs involved: It’s free to join and costs are covered by donors. 13. WeFunder WeFunder knows the struggle and pain of fundraising first hand as they themselves have also raised cash to launch their platform. That’s what you call ‘eating your own dog food’. Start a campaign, tell your family and friends about it (and of course the 245,360 investors on WeFunder). Most campaigns take anywhere from one to three months to reach their goals. WeFunder only charges you if your funding is successful so essentially you have nothing to lose on this crowdfunding site. Best suited for: Various start-ups, business types and industries (Tech, food, hardware, software, retail and entertainment). Costs involved: 7.5% of your investment (Which includes investment contracts, account manager, Escrow and more). 14. Seed & Spark The film industry is a tough one to crack. Anything worth watching takes a good amount of cash to actualize. Enter: Seed & Spark. A funding platform specifically aimed at helping filmmakers. They boast an 80% success rate which could be due to their bank of helpful resources. Each project is given crowdfunding classes, personal feedback, crowdfund rallies and access to distribution options. If you’re not a creator yourself but appreciate the art you can watch movies and shows directly on their site. Best suited for: Filmmakers. Costs involved: Seed & Spark takes a 5% platform fee but they encourage backers to cover the fee (up to two thirds of them opt to do so). Processing fees are $0.30 plus 2.9% of the actual pledge. 15. GoGetFunding Whether you’re looking to fund an existing project or start up your own, GoGetFundraising is fast, easy and trusted my millions. Get going by creating your page, share it with your community and start accepting donations with credit/debit cards or PayPal. The platform operates on a ‘keep-it-all basis which means whatever you raise you get to keep. Also, you have access to the money at any time (unlike other platforms which only allow you to withdraw funds after the campaign has completed). With GoGetFunding you also gives you access to a personal fundraising coach to help you raise more money. Best suited for: Anything personal, from emergency medical treatments to travel adventures. Costs involved: Transaction fees start at 2.9% and a $0.30 handling fee for every donation made.

It’s no longer uncommon to see people taking to platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, or creating a fundraising website or dedicated business website to raise funding for a new venture. Sometimes, the funds are meant to launch a new product. Other times, the goal is to fundraise for a charity or even an adventurous trip. Regardless of the reason for seeking funds, the trend of crowdfunding has grown and become accessible to anyone from your high-school friend on Facebook to budding entrepreneurs. But, just what is crowdfunding and how do companies succeed in using it to raise money? There are many different elements that go into a successful crowdfunding campaign, and if you’re just getting started it’s best to learn the ins-and-outs before jumping straight in. What is crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is the practice of collecting money from multiple individuals or sources in order to finance a new project. Often, crowdfunders turn to social media to share their platform or idea with the purpose of inspiring others to contribute to the crowdfunding campaign. What crowdfunding essentially does is eliminate the back-and-forth between entrepreneurs and investors. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to pitch their product idea to a team of investors, entrepreneurs can take their offer directly to the public to seek financial support from people who are interested. In other words, the waiting period between having an idea and raising the funds to make it a reality is significantly reduced. How does crowdfunding work? It sounds simple, but exactly how does crowdfunding look in practice? Well, sometimes crowdfunding campaigns seek financing in the form of donations or investments, but that’s not always the case. Some crowdfunding campaigns offer an incentive, such as special access or pricing at the launch of a product. When setting up a crowdfunding campaign, you need to set a fundraising goal, which is usually the amount you need to get your project off the ground. You’ll also need to create a sense of urgency by setting a time limit for your campaign, ranging anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months. Once a campaign is up and running, backers can contribute just a few dollars or even larger sums, it’s up to you to set different contribution levels or make it open. What is the success rate of crowdfunding? Crowdfunding success rates can vary, depending on the type of campaign and the end amount it hopes to raise. In general the more money crowdfunding campaigns aim to raise, the less successful they tend to be. Data from February 2023 shows that the chances of achieving a fully funded crowdfunding campaign on the platform Kickstarter was 40.2%. This means 4/10 campaigns on the platform were fully funded, while 6/10 were unsuccessful in reaching the full intended amount. Of 235,300 successfully funded campaigns on Kickstarter, 30,237 raised less than US$1,000 124,929 raised between US$1,000 - US$9,999 34,059 raised between US$10,000 - US$19,999 35,666 raised between US$20,000 - US$99,000 9,705 raised between US$100,000 - US$999,999 704 raised US$1M The main benefits of crowdfunding Some of the main elements of using crowdfunding to raise money for a business include: Access to funding: Crowdfunding allows you to access funding from a large pool of potential backers who may be interested in supporting their project or product. This can provide a way to secure funding when traditional financing options may not be available. Validation of your business idea: Crowdfunding campaigns can serve as a way to test the market and validate the demand for a product or service. A successful campaign can provide evidence that there is interest in the project or product, which can help as you write your business plan and plot your businesses's path to profitability. Marketing and promotion: Crowdfunding campaigns require creators to promote their project and engage with potential backers, which can help to raise awareness of the project and generate buzz. This can also provide valuable exposure for the creator and their business. Early adopters: Backers of crowdfunding campaigns are often early adopters who are passionate about the business idea or product. This can provide a way to build a community of loyal supporters who can help to spread the word and provide feedback on your business. Control and ownership: Crowdfunding campaigns allow you as an entrepreneur to maintain control and ownership of your business or project, as you are not required to give up equity or control to investors as you might have to with other types of business funding. Drawbacks to crowdfunding While crowdfunding can often be a quick and successful way to fund a business idea, there are a few potential drawbacks to bear in mind when starting a crowdfunding campaign. Risk of failure: Crowdfunding campaigns are not guaranteed to be successful, and if a campaign doesn't reach its funding goal, you may end up not receiving any funding. This can be a significant risk in terms of the loss of time and resources invested in setting up, managing and sharing the campaign. Time and effort invested: Running a successful crowdfunding campaign requires significant time and effort, including developing a marketing strategy, creating engaging content, and engaging with potential backers. This can be a challenge if you're at the stage where you're still heavily focused on developing your product or service. Fees and costs: Crowdfunding platforms typically charge fees for their services, which can range from 5% to 10% or more. At the same time you may also incur costs for rewards, shipping, and other expenses associated with the campaign. Public disclosure: Crowdfunding campaigns are often public, which means that information about your product or service may be disclosed to competitors at a very early stage. This can be a concern if you're developing proprietary technology or products. Legal and regulatory compliance: Crowdfunding campaigns may be subject to legal and regulatory requirements, such as securities laws or consumer protection laws. Make sure to seek legal advice and ensure that they're complying with all relevant laws and regulations. The 6 main types of crowdfunding There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the broad question of “what is crowdfunding?” In fact, there are a few different methods of crowdfunding. What works for raising funds to start a business may not work for someone looking to raise money for charity. It’s important to understand the advantages of different types of crowdfunding to find one that fits your goals and campaign. Let’s take a look at six types of crowdfunding campaigns and how to best use each one: 1. Reward 2. Donation 3. Peer-to-peer 4. Real estate 5. Equity 6. Royalty 01. Reward Who’s it for: Entrepreneurs selling or producing client-facing products Popular platforms: Kickstarter, Indiegogo Average crowdfunding amount: $100,000 or less For reward-based crowdfunding, people are incentivized to back a project because they’ll earn something in return. This type of campaigns is often used to back ideas such as new tech products or other creative ventures that are typically released by small companies or startups and work really well for B2C products. Usually, reward-based crowdfunding will offer tiered donation suggestions, with each level of donation providing the backer with a specific prize. For example, a company that’s looking for donations to create a new weather-proof backpack might offer a steep discount when the product launches with a $20 donation or a free backpack with a $50 donation. 02. Donation Who’s it for: Non-profits, charities Popular platforms: GoFundMe, FundRazr Average crowdfunding amount: Around $10,000 Donation-based crowdfunding campaigns are usually run by nonprofits or other charitable organizations to help drum up funding and support. You’ll typically see smaller nonprofits or local organizations using platforms like GoFundMe for a specific cause, such as donations to buy animal shelter supplies. Larger NGOs or charitable organizations are more likely to run campaigns directly through their own platforms. Aside from charities, you can also have individuals who are looking for donation-based fundraising to help cover the costs of a major event. It could be donations for a medical procedure or home renovation following a natural disaster, or even people looking to fundraise for a race or adventurous trip with a fundraising element. 03. Peer-to-peer Who’s it for: People looking for a personal loan Popular platforms: LendingClub, Prosper Average crowdfunding amount: Personal loans of up to $40,000 Also called debt crowdfunding, peer-to-peer crowdfunding is when people seek out loans from other channels so that they don’t need to go the traditional route and apply through a bank. While usually marketed as personal loan lenders, platforms like LendingClub and Prosper rely on crowdsourcing to connect lenders with people looking for loans. The advantage of this type of fundraising is that it gives you access to funds quickly, securely, and in a way that is accessible to almost anyone. While some people might find it difficult to figure out how to get a business loan through a bank or have been previously rejected, these crowdfunding sources give people the opportunity to apply and receive a loan in a different way. 04. Real estate Who’s it for: Anyone looking to invest in real estate without complications Popular platforms: RealtyMogul, Fundrise Average crowdfunding amount: $1,000-$100,000 minimum investment, depending on the project Before you get too excited, no, this doesn’t mean you can crowdfund to afford your first home. Real estate crowdfunding is for people who are looking to invest in real estate but want to avoid all the red tape that comes along with it, like dealing with contracts, agents, or brokers. As a combination of investing and crowdfunding, real estate crowdfunding allows contributors to back a specific real estate project in return for equity in the property. Due to the nature of this type of crowdfunding, real estate projects are usually commercial buildings. The advantage of this type of crowdfunding works well for contributors since it provides a simple, flexible, and low-cost alternative to investing in real estate, which is often seen as out-of-reach for many people. 05. Equity Who’s it for: Businesses or startups Popular platforms: AngelList, SeedInvest Average crowdfunding amount: $100,000 or more Equity crowdfunding gives investors the opportunity to invest in private companies or new startups. However, this isn’t the same as rewards or donation-based crowdfunding, but rather it’s a more conventional way to raise money for a business. As an investor, you’ll have a stake in the company that matches your investment, and you can contribute amounts as small as $500 to get started. Many startups turn to equity crowdfunding platforms since they can show their product or idea to a greater number of investors. Not only that but unlike with more traditional forms of investments, like venture capital, investors don’t have any sort of ownership of the company, meaning a startup can retain control over its business. 06. Royalty Who’s it for: Businesses and startups Popular platforms: AngelList, Quirky Average crowdfunding amount: $5,000-$250,000 depending on the project Royalty-based crowdfunding can be used by businesses that don’t want to give away a lot of their revenue from all their ventures. For example, if a startup is developing a new app or platform that runs on subscriptions, they might need funding to finish the project. In a royalty-based campaign, investors will get their money back only after the product launches and generates income. Unlike other forms of crowdfunding, royalty-based investors don’t have a stake in the business and will only get money back from the specific project they invested in and not from the company or startup as a whole. In other words, once that app we mentioned before earns money from subscriptions, contributors will earn royalties based on the amount they invested. 10 crowdfunding tips for a successful campaign After choosing the type of crowdfunding campaign you want to use and selecting the best crowdfunding site for your project, you’re ready to launch your campaign and start earning investments. As an entrepreneur, you may think that your idea is one-of-a-kind and that alone will translate into investments from contributors. We hate to burst your bubble, but there are hundreds if not thousands of other entrepreneurs who think the same and are also vying for funds on the same platforms. Therefore, you need to ensure that your project stands out from the rest and attracts the right contributors. Here are the best crowdfunding tips for a successful campaign: Tell a story Create an engaging video Optimize your social media strategy Keep an open line of communication Provide different giving levels Stalk the competition Set your budget Focus on the first 48 hours Get creative with rewards Deliver as promised 01. Tell a story Don’t just jump straight into promoting your startup or product. Sell it with a convincing story to give backers an idea of the project’s roots, and don’t be afraid to tug on a few heartstrings. Tell potential contributors about what problem you’re addressing with this new venture, what you hope to accomplish, or how you got started. 02. Create an engaging video A well-made video has the potential to go viral, and when looking for investments, that’s exactly what you want. You can use a high-quality video to showcase your product, introduce your startup’s founder or CEO, or tell your business’s story in a more creative way than just a block of text. 03. Optimize your social media strategy The thing about crowdfunding these days is that there are a lot of campaigns that the average person is exposed to regularly. Focus on spreading updates and news of your campaign on social media so that it can reach as many people as possible. A mix of strong content and a good call-to-action is likely to lead to a lot of traffic to your crowdfunding campaign page. 04. Keep an open line of communication Backers of your project want to know what’s going on with the money they’ve invested. Is there a delay in production? Do you need to increase your target fundraising goal? Be transparent in what’s going on with your business and provide regular updates of your progress both during the campaign and after it ends. You never know, your backers could soon become your loyal customers. 05. Provide different giving levels This is primarily for rewards and donations-based crowdfunding campaigns, but by offering business funding options for lower-level donations and levels of larger amounts, you can attract a wider audience of contributors. Not everyone can afford to invest or donate hundreds or thousands of dollars, but when you offer a reward, even for a small amount, it incentivizes more people to participate and engage with your business or charity. 06. Stalk the competition Ok, we don’t mean literally stalk, but it’s a good idea to keep tabs on what your competitors are doing so that you can remain one step ahead. You should also research your competitors in your research phase so that you can get an idea of what crowdfunding in your niche looks like and what methods have worked in the past. 07. Set your budget You might initially think that crowdfunding is all about earning money, but you need to consider the cost of running your campaign. Whether you’re hiring people to help run your campaign, building a new website, or if you simply need to pay fees to the crowdfunding platform, these costs can add up and should be factored in from the get-go. 08. Focus on the first 48 hours There should be a big lead-up to the launch of the campaign where you run promotions to create awareness and hype around your project. After that, the first 48 hours following the launch are critical in building momentum for a successful campaign. 09. Get creative with rewards Aside from offering backers a product or a discount, find other creative rewards to incentivize them to invest. This is also great for charities or nonprofits that don’t have rewards to give. You can provide contributors with creative prizes like a personalized thank you video, dinner or event in their honor, or even just a shout-out in a newsletter. 10. Deliver as promised Lastly, the most important thing you can do after a campaign is over is deliver what you promised your backers. Again, be transparent about updates or expectations, but failing to deliver or under-delivering will impact the success of any future crowdfunding campaigns you attempt and can be harmful to your brand.

TikTok is more than just a place where Gen Z dances to viral soundbites. TikTok’s high engagement rates appeal to businesses who want to grow audiences with new types of social media content. Create a website for your business and promote the URL in your TikTok account bio to direct engaged viewers to your portfolio, product pages, affiliate links, and more. In this post, we’ll look at top tips and ideas for businesses to gain traction on TikTok. Why you should use TikTok for business But before we get into some tips, let’s set the stage for how opening a TikTok account can benefit your business. Tip: If you’re unfamiliar with the social media network, learn more about it from the What Is TikTok guide. TikTok has a high engagement rate Regular users as well as influencers see significantly higher social media engagement rates on TikTok compared to similar networks like Instagram. For example, Justin Bieber’s dance challenge garnered a 3% engagement rate on Instagram, while the same post on TikTok got him 49%. There isn’t as much competition yet While TikTok became wildly popular over the past few years, the platform is still growing as many brands haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet. Businesses who catch onto TikTok marketing early can win big. Low competition means you can connect with a larger segment of your target audience. Not only that, but low competition also leads to lower paid ad spend, making it an even more appealing ad platform for your business. TikTok increases brand awareness and reach Authentic content is king on TikTok. While many influencers and brands on Instagram go for highly-polished photos and videos to capture attention, users like TikTok’s spontaneous and genuine content. These posts especially attract Gen Z, who often prefer to consume more relaxed and easy-going media (for more details on the best time to post on TikTok, check out our guide). Brands who deliver this on TikTok can help improve their brand awareness and reach younger audience members. Tip: For even more brand awareness and engagement, use a link in bio tool like Hopp in order to link to other social media profiles and brand assets from your Tiktok bio through one URL. How to use TikTok for business We’ve covered the why, now let’s look at the how: You must know how to optimize your TikTok content to meet your business goals. Consider these suggestions and test what works best with your brand’s target audience. Tip: Take your account to the next level and learn how to make money on TikTok 01. Find your niche Without a niche, you risk your content getting lost in between the viral dance trends and informational videos. By focusing on one within your industry, you can get creative within certain restraints. Your niche should, of course, be related to your business or products, and the more specific, the better. TikTok user, @iamnicorojas makes videos in the marketing and branding niche that garner thousands and even millions of views. Just remember to consistently highlight your brand’s main points in every post to keep your brand memorable in users’ minds. 02. Leverage user-generated content Many businesses don’t know where to get started on TikTok, but you can easily kick off your account by repurposing and sharing user-generated content. User-generated content (UGC) is any post another user creates that mentions or shows your brand or products. You can ask your audience to share videos of themselves with your products on TikTok and then repost those videos on your own account to engage with your audience right away and generate original content with little to no budget. What’s more, their posted videos will help you reach new users. Often, bigger brands, such as Adidas, accompany these posts with branded hashtags. If you search for a popular brand on TikTok, you'll see user-generated content that the brand's customers have created with its products. Furthermore, since this organic content doesn’t appear as promotional, it tends to effectively catch eyes and captivate audiences. 03. Create a branded hashtag challenge Using a unique hashtag, you can dare your audience to create and share original videos either as a viral trend or for a prize. With many people creating videos, you'll expose many new users to your brand in a positive, organic way. When Pringles joined TikTok, the brand created a branded hashtag challenge # playwithpringles to inspire users to get creative with a Pringles can. The campaign went viral in Europe and led to over one billion views and 343,000 user-generated content entries. 04. Incorporate trending sounds Song clips have a tendency to go viral in TikTok videos. While individual users and influencers often use them, brands can get in on the fun, too. First, it’ll show your audience that your brand stays on top of trending conversations. Second, the TikTok algorithm will likely show your video to more users. Even if you don’t base your video around the trending sound clip and it simply plays in the background, it can still show up for other users when they search for that sound on. 05. Be authentic We already mentioned that TikTok users value authentic content, so they won’t identify with polished videos that seem more like commercials. No one looks for perfection on TikTok, they want entertaining and relatable personalities. Make sure your brand fits that tone, too. If you run a business selling products, try showing the behind-the-scenes of your business to come across as authentic and relatable. Videos as simple as showing you packing orders, answering audience questions, explaining your products, and introducing yourself or your employees can have a big impact in humanizing your brand and attracting new audiences. Small business owner @safetyxxfirst makes keychains with items meant to keep women safe. She often appears in her TikTok videos to answer followers’ questions. These videos help put a face to the brand and the personality that shines through helps sell products. 06. Dabble with paid ads If your social media marketing strategy includes paid ads, extend your budget to TikTok, too. Paid ads can effectively reach even more viewers, promote a certain product or simply create more brand awareness. Choose from these different paid ads on TikTok: In-feed ads: These minute-or-less ads show up in a user’s feed as they scroll through videos. TopView ads: Users see an auto-play video with sound and a CTA when they open the TikTok app. Branded hashtag challenge ads: Brands pay to have users see their hashtag challenge on TikTok’s Discover Page. Brand takeovers: These full-page ads also appear when users open TikTok and a static image, GIF, or short video up to 5 seconds long pops-up, promoting a brand takeover. Branded effects: Brands create filters, stickers, or video effects that other TikTok users can apply to their videos. 07. Partner up with influencers Collaborate with influencers on promotional content to expand your reach. There's a lot of potential if you use influencer marketing correctly, so don't overlook this tactic. To begin, make a list of influencers who fall into your niche. Don’t deviate too far from your industry or brand personality or you’ll risk alienating your audience or seeming inauthentic. Reach out to let them know you’re interested in hiring them, and let them know your budget. Once you find a collaborator, base your scope of work on what deliverables you both agree on. It can be anything from the influencer posting about how they use your products, adding links to their page or videos to sending more clicks to your website. You can even request for them to post a review of a highlighted item from your product line. 08. Check out your competitors Follow hashtags in your niche as well as competitors in your industry to see how other businesses use TikTok. Watch their videos to understand how your audience might interact with specific video edits and effects. For example, you see similar brand videos that often feature text overlays and reactions, your videos should emulate this as well. While dermatology advice may seem out of place on TikTok, it has become a hugely popular niche on the platform with users like @dermdoctor getting millions of views on their videos. A popular format is reaction videos where a doctor comments on another TikTok video, and for businesses entering this, it makes sense to replicate this video editing format and tap into this existing audience. 9. Experiment with different video types TikTok offers users many creative video options, so take the time to learn the platform and get comfortable with using different effects. Don't limit yourself to a single video feature or risk your viewers seeing you as a one-trick pony. Your business could use these different types of videos: Team introductions: Show your users a day in the life of your employees. The grand tour: Give your followers a quick tour of your offices or workspace. Case studies: Share examples of what you’ve done for clients in the past. Before and after: Highlight a change before and after using your product or services. Tell a story: Share your brand’s origins or an inspirational customer journey. Product demos: Demonstrate how your product works in a short TikTok video. Tip: You can even use a video maker to get creative TikTok footage. Just change up the videos you post so that it doesn’t get too repetitive. There’s no limit on what you can post. From cute office pets to time-lapses of your processes, TikTok affords brands the space to get creative while uniquely engaging users. Tip: At Wix, we use TikTok content to engage with our audience. Here you can find a Wix branding expert sharing tips and insights about logo color psychology. While the video has an educational and playful approach, we also use it to introduce our Wix Logo Maker tool.

ABM. If you don’t know what those three letters mean, you need to get up to speed—right away. And if you do know what those letters mean, there’s still a good chance that you’ve got more to learn, as strategies in this area of marketing evolve at a rapid pace. These days, an up-to-the-minute “ABM game” can be a major difference-maker for your overall marketing strategies and efforts. According to a recent Forrester Research article, organizations using ABM strategies experienced a 200% pipeline growth and also saw a 20% increase in their deal size. What is account-based marketing? ABM is shorthand for “account-based marketing.” The term itself was coined roughly 15 years ago, but B2B companies have been practicing it for longer than that. The central concept: target-marketing from the get-go, using the most sophisticated tools at your disposal. In the traditional inbound model, marketers begin with a broad-based approach aimed at attracting the widest range of customers, then narrowing down from there to close actual sales. Account-based marketing does the opposite, focusing on landing a specific target, and then pulling in similar accounts. Agencies then treat that single client as a whole “market” unto itself—a practice commonly thought of as “flipping the marketing funnel.” The basic idea behind ABM is a growing awareness that an effective marketing-and-sales strategy often isn’t about “chasing the lead.” Instead, it’s about “winning the account”—successfully engaging the integrated group of leaders who, as a unit, make key decisions for a given company. And how exactly do you pull this off? You hone in. You customize and personalize. And, usually, you do it on multiple fronts such as account-dedicated campaigns, content, events and creative means. Learn more: Small business marketing Why does ABM work? Account-based marketing isn’t necessarily a replacement for the inbound approach. It’s an alternative type of marketing and especially promising as a way of attracting larger-sized clients. And the industry’s data suggests it’s highly effective and gaining in popularity. 8 advantages of using account-based marketing in your agency: 1. Resource optimization 2. Sales and marketing collaboration 3. Customized client experience 4. Long-term relationship building 5. Client advocacy 6. Analytics refinement 7. Trend navigation 8. Expense reductions and increased ROI 01. Resource optimization By zeroing in on targets that are most likely to become customers, you’re emphasizing quality over quantity. This allows you to allocate resources more precisely, cutting down the dead ends and unfulfilled efforts that are necessary evils of inbound marketing. 02. Sales and marketing collaboration Sales and marketing divisions are rarely on the exact same page—they simply lack communication and use different strategies. ABM puts the divisions on the same page, with the lead-chase and marketing strategy directly synced from the start. 03. Customized client experience By tailoring a specific approach to a specific potential client, you’re getting to know who your client is and the services they offer. You’re thus establishing a firmer foundation as you enter your actual working relationship. 04. Long-term relationship building If you don’t close that account quickly, you’ve still built a bond that can pay off down the road. And whenever you do manage to close, you’ll find that the personalized relationship puts you in a better position to retain the client going forward, which is frequently a challenge. 05. Client advocacy After snagging such an account, you’ve often gained more than a customer—you’ve gained an advocate; someone willing to spread the word on your behalf, and assume some of your marketing burden. This process, known as “land and expand,” is a core ABM strategy. 06. Analytics refinement With the narrower approach, you give yourself clearer insight into how your marketing resources are actually working. You can easily monitor the performance of your assets. For example, you can compare the performance of two different banner ads for the same asset and you can adjust your budget and outlays accordingly. 07. Trend navigation The rise in the use of ad blockers, and the decrease in the efficacy of display ads, indicates that customers are turning from mass-market approaches. This is due in part to living in a world that is oversaturated with advertising. The fluid nature of ABM meshes with this larger shift in consumer attitudes. Following the latest consumer trends will help you cut through the noise and connect with your targeted customer. 08. Expense reductions and increased ROI By confining focus, ABM simply tightens your bottom-line expenditures across the board, even in ways you can’t foresee. You spend less time chasing leads that go nowhere, and in turn your ROI inevitably elevates. What are the key components of an ABM campaign? As noted, an ABM campaign unifies your sales and marketing divisions around a direct and singular goal that’s established from the beginning. Customized around that specific target (and the decision-makers who comprise it), the campaign might use a range of services, techniques and talents within each division. Here are a few examples of talents a successful ABM campaign may use: Data analysts, who assess a range of indicators (from average yearly revenue to brand associations) to construct lists of potential targets, then work in allocating the resources toward reaching those targets Content writers, who take the marketing strategy and convert it into actionable language across a range of platforms, from personalized emails to in-depth business reports prepared exclusively for your target Website developers, who construct client-specific online offerings—for example, customized landing pages on sites Social media experts, who can help funnel content in the right online directions Event planners and creative strategists, who can arrange special activities (meals, meet-and-greets) that get you directly interacting with the clients or developing customized gift ideas Successful account-based marketing examples The following examples of notable campaigns demonstrate the range of possibilities with the ABM approach. While the details tilt extreme—very big companies, very bold ideas—they show how ABM rewards fresh thinking and how it can really push an agency forward. Agency: GumGum Target: McDonald’s GumGum, a Santa Monica-based outfit that develops artificial intelligence tools for use in a variety of industries, wanted to make a direct run at McDonald’s. They decided to build an ABM strategy showcasing the kind of innovation that spoke both for GumGum’s cutting-edge perspective and to McDonald’s key decision-makers. First, GumGum built “burger kits” that included demos of the company’s capabilities. They sent these kits to top McDonald’s employees, with individualized tags on each one. Then, in short videos, they linked one of McDonalds’ core products—the Big Mac—to GumGum offerings, again directly targeting McDonald’s leaders, this on a variety of social media channels. Agency: Intridea Target: Ogilvy & Mather Intridea, an upstart design and development consulting firm, was looking to catch the attention of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather—literally. So they rented a billboard directly across the street from O & M’s New York City offices, and on it they featured a blunt but compelling copy line: “Ogle this, Ogilvy.” In smaller letters, the billboard directed Ogilvy execs to visit a customized website that featured an assortment of gifs showcasing Intridea’s skills and speaking directly to O & M’s needs. Agency: Rapid7 Target: multiple select accounts To raise its profile, Boston-based security-software firm Rapid7 designed a strategy that mixed old-school with new-school. They assembled a list of executives representing a handful of elite accounts, then direct-mailed each an unusual gift: a throwback model of the View-Master toy. View-Masters are stereoscopes that feature “reels” inside that display classic images. Rapid7’s reels were a little different: They were customized to depict various examples of the company’s latest offerings. 10 Account-based marketing tactics The best ABM tactics fuse three basic elements: the organizational, the analytical, and the personal. On one hand, a quality campaign requires sophisticated data-study and -mining. On the other hand, you’ll soon be moving into territory that goes beyond generic sales pitches and mass mailings, and so you’ll need a distinct, and sometimes delicate, touch. What follows is our funnel, from one end of the process to the other, taking you through 10 tools and techniques that will help you navigate the ABM frontier. Some of these options can be combined, and some work best in isolation; some are new, and some are (relatively) time-tested. Customize your process to ensure best results—just like the best ABM. 01. Create your ABM team A big word in ABM-speak is “alignment,” which refers to the union of historically mismatched agency departments. One great way to strengthen alignment is to create an integrated team within your agency that’s focused exclusively on ABM prospects. Thus your sales and marketing team are automatically—and always—speaking the same language, with a 360-degree operating perspective that will help streamline efforts at defining strategy, organizing messaging and tracking results. This team doesn’t have to be especially large, as long as sales and marketing get proportionate representation. But it does need to be able to develop a strategy that’s fluid, and that’s able to answer all the questions the ABM process throws its way. 02. Nail your research fundamentals When it comes to launching successful ABM campaigns, everything starts with the quality of your lead-generation, and this directly depends on the quality of your number-crunching. “Firmographic data” is the term used to cover information related to industry, location, revenue and company size. This also includes strategy elements ranging from market influence to anticipated break-even points. This is your baseline, and you can’t go anywhere without it. With that foundation, your analysis should pivot into more specific areas of information—the kind you’ll find in your own database, from your own past jobs. The more info you have, the better. You might even find a new lead very close to home, built on an existing relationship. 3. Search for lookalikes Lookalike modeling refers to the process of using an account you already know to project toward the kind of account you want. You can do this by studying your existing customer roster and finding the peak performers in appropriate categories—from “delivering the most referrals” to “best at elevating the reputation of collaborators.” When you do this, you’re more than just exploring a particular dataset. You’re creating what is known as your ICP—your ideal customer profile. And this can, and maybe should, become your standard going forward. 4. Rank your prospects Because ABM by its nature requires a higher-than-typical conversion rate, your team should design a scoring system that squares directly with your agency’s objectives. Not all agencies, of course, value the same things. Create echelons, from most promising on down, built around that self-created criteria (i.e., size, location, culture, brand), and develop inclusion and exclusion filters that stay firm. If you’re doing it right, your list will become the map that guides your ABM strategy going forward. And after you’ve crafted that list, you can input it into one of many online advertising platforms that generates lists with similar leads. This way, leads will start to spawn more leads. But remember: You’re no longer in inbound territory. If you don’t get high-enough scores and strong fits, don’t bother pursuing any further. 5. Embrace the latest technology As ABM continues to grow as an essential option for agencies, the unifying effects of CRMs will help you further manage your accounts and keep departments in sync. Finding the right tool is as important as developing a strong ICP, and now there are platforms—such as Terminus and Engagio—devoted exclusively to ABMs. Terminus, for example, puts a special emphasis on analytics and advertising, and allows you to input your data into its library with specific personas, and then run a simulation to determine how your campaign will perform. By test-driving the campaign before trying it in real life, you can further manage resources and refine goals. 6. Follow their social media accounts When you’ve found an account you’re set on chasing, you’ll also find that you have a direct (and free) window into the client’s mindset: social media. Track down every account on every platform associated with your potential client (i.e. Google Alerts), and just start taking notes. Consider this to be another due diligence step. Soon enough you’ll get a real sense of how your target thinks and operates. Once you’re conversant in their language, you might want to engage—discreetly. Maybe reply to a status update or converse with your target in a Twitter chat. The relationship has begun to form almost naturally. 7. Use online engagement Direct engagement takes the relationship to the next level. The question becomes just how many levels you’re willing to go. By now, individuals receive so many different forms of content that your agency must be ready to meet a variety of content needs at any given time. And that content must invariably be focused, personalized and dynamic. There are many ways to deliver such content, starting with basic customized imagery and messaging via, say email or Facebook. From there you can push further, and consider commissioning eBooks, blog posts and case studies that address areas of your client’s interest. Maybe a whitepaper or webinar connects with a subset of a target’s decision-makers, or a particular sales offer is earmarked exclusively for the target. Yes, you’re thinking about verticals, but don’t take your eye off specific accounts and specific decision-makers at those accounts. 8. Master the platforms The right content needs the right forum. Your research should tell you where the clients you’re targeting make their biggest online imprint, be it on LinkedIn or Instagram. And you should know exactly how they prefer to consume content. For example, they may digest their content in videos, blog posts and direct messaging. However, the website is an ever-dependable entry-point for starting the dialogue or keeping it going. You can design account-specific landing pages that showcase bespoke text and offers, and you might even consider flashing the name of the targeted visitor on the landing page. 9. Add a personal touch Email and social media are no doubt strong marketing tools. But they’re not the only tools, and they can often become crutches. More innovative ABM practitioners try to connect in the real world, too, and there are lots of ways to do this. You can send over thoughtful gifts like sweet treats to the company’s office or direct-mail coffee shop gift cards to the executives. You can also organize workshops, lunch-and-learns and other getting-to-know-you events. Keep these engagements diplomatic and small. The point is not just to make the interaction personal, but to make it engaging. Ideally, you’re no longer seen as a sales caller, but as a fun colleague. 10. Surprise yourself Sure, you can send care packages—or you can send kitschy old toys. And you can craft a custom eBook—or you can rent a terrestrial billboard with a provocative slogan. Previous ABM strategies have incorporated everything from piñatas to tattoos. Ultimately, that’s the point. In ABM, there are few set rules. Just as long as you keep your eyes firmly on your target.

With 8.5 billion search queries processed every day, Google’s strength as an online advertising platform is unquestionable. With so many people flocking to type their questions into that waiting empty box—from locating the nearest Italian restaurant to learning how to paint their bedroom—there are many opportunities to promote your small business. If you’ve only just finished creating your website , Google Ads can help you get in front of new audiences immediately and complement your SEO strategy. But like all marketing strategies , you'll need to learn some tricks of the trade to make sure that your campaign is successful. Keep reading for tips on how to make Google Ads work for you (and check out our guide on Wix Google Ads ). Ready to get started with Google Ads? Manage your campaigns right from your website dashboard using Google Ads with Wix . How does Google advertising work? Google Ads provides a variety of different ways to promote your products, services and content. At the most basic level, Google Ads is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform, allowing you to bid on keywords and pay only when/if your ad is either clicked or viewed. Beyond this, Google Ads offer the below benefits: Campaign types : Google Ads supports search, display, shopping, video, app, smart and Performance Max ad campaigns. The latter two options apply machine learning to automatically enhance the targeting and performance of your ads. Placements : Your ads can appear in a variety of places within a Google search result page (e.g., the top of search results, or on the Google Shopping tab), as well as on YouTube, Gmail or affiliate sites (Google Display Network). Targeting options : Ads can be targeted by keyword, demographics, interest and/or placement. Alternatively, you can choose to target existing customers (or people who are similar to your customers) via remarketing , in-market audiences or similar audience campaigns. Bidding strategy : Google Ads are based on a bidding system, in which the highest bidder receives the best placement. That said, you can choose from several bidding models: cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-mille (CPM, or cost per 1,000 ad impressions) or cost-per-engagement (CPE). Ranking factors : Aside from your bid amount, Google Ads factor in the quality of your ads (a.k.a. “quality score”), the competitiveness of an auction and the context of a person’s search (e.g., location, time, etc.) to decide when to show your ads. These factors together determine what Google calls Ad Rank. Smart Mode vs. Expert Mode Getting started with Google Ads is easy, especially since you have the option of choosing between Smart Mode and Expert Mode. Smart Mode offers a simpler experience that allows you to delegate most tasks to Google. However, you’ll have limited control over your ads and only be able to launch Smart campaigns. This is a good option for first-time advertisers with smaller budgets, or for business owners who don’t have the time to manage their ads closely. Alternatively, Expert Mode gives you maximum control over your ads. You can choose everything from your campaign type and your targeting, to your bidding structure and exact ad appearance. However, you’ll have to invest your own time into closely monitoring your ads and spend. Expert Mode is the best choice for advanced marketers, though it could also be a good option if you’re willing to spend time testing, learning and tinkering with Google Ads on a regular basis. Note: If you start on Smart Mode, you can switch to Expert Mode whenever. Just go to the settings of your Google Ads account and make the switch. How to advertise on Google (Smart Mode) Ready to start advertising on Google? Below are basic steps for getting your feet wet following the Google Ads’ Smart Mode setup instructions. Do your due diligence Create a Google Ads account Write your ad Select keyword themes Choose your geographic parameters Set your budget Review and pay Analyze and strategize 01. Do your due diligence Before jumping head-first into the world of Google Ads, you’ll want to take some time to map out your goals for advertising on the search engine. This upfront work will help you structure your ad campaigns in an organized way—even if you’re entering in Smart Mode. For starters, ask yourself why do you want to advertise on Google? Are you looking to drive more traffic to your website? Do you want to increase sales on a particular product? Or, do you simply want to raise brand awareness? Consider other factors as well, such as: Your target audience : Who are you looking to reach with your ads? What characteristics, interests and values do your target consumers share—and what should you consider when writing your ad copy or setting up targeting? Your budget : How much are you willing to pay in a given month on Google ads? Set a realistic budget that aligns with your financial resources, while also factoring in the competitiveness of your industry, desired reach and the value of a customer. Your unique selling proposition (USP) : What sets your business apart from competitors? Is it your price, quality, convenience or other factors? This will help you create compelling ad copy. Relevant keywords : What terms or phrases are people searching on Google to find products or businesses like yours? Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you see the monthly search volume, as well as the average cost of certain keywords. Relevant landing pages : Which page(s) will you send people who click on your ad? Keep in mind that even though someone clicks on your ad, it doesn't mean that they’ll convert. This is why it’s very important to select or create a landing page that is closely aligned with your ad and includes content that visitors expect to see. 02. Create a Google Ads account Now that you’ve defined your purpose for advertising on Google, it’s time to open an account. You can set up Google Ads using your Gmail credentials, so signing up is as easy as clicking “Start now” from the Google Ads homepage . From here, you’ll be prompted to provide basic information, such as your business name, website URL and advertising goals. You can choose from the following advertising goals: Get more calls Get more website sales or leads Get more visits to your physical location Get more views and engagement on YouTube Note: If you have a Premium Wix account, you can start your Google Ads journey directly from Wix, plus leverage Wix's AI for Google Ads . Simply go to “Marketing & SEO” from your site dashboard and click “Google Ads.” Choose a Smart campaign or Google Performance Max campaign (if applicable), and automatically sync your Google ads with your Wix website content and/or product pages. 03. Write your ad Google’s setup process makes it easy to create your first Smart Campaign ad. Google will pre-populate some text suggestions for you based on your business information. Tweak these suggestions as needed, keeping your target audience in mind. You can add up to four headlines at this stage, each containing up to 30 characters. Google will show these headlines in any order that it sees fit, so make sure that each headline makes sense on its own. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to make sure that your headlines include strong action words and relevant keywords. “Your three headlines should work together, building on each other to say something about what your customers are searching for (without repeating themselves),” advises Google . “For example, if your small business sells sunglasses, your three headlines might say: ‘Sunglasses For Sale,’ ‘Find Your Perfect Frames’ [and] ‘Shop Our Collection!’” Add up to three descriptions (each containing up to 90 characters), which will appear below the headline on the text ad. Keep in mind that Google may not only show one of your descriptions depending on the SERP—you’ll therefore want to make sure that each description can stand on its own, and to include a strong call to action. Avoid making claims that aren’t supported by evidence (e.g., “Number One Bathing Suit of All Time!”) or spamming your descriptions with keywords. 04. Select keyword themes Keyword themes are phrases that help Google understand which keywords you want to target with your ad. In other words, instead of picking individual keywords to target, you can feed Google a few keyword themes; Google will show your Smart ad for similar keywords. For instance, by picking the keyword theme “gym,” your ad might appear for “gym near me” or “local gym.” For this reason, you’ll want to make sure you pick a keyword that has the right intent. Don’t simply look at search volumes. Rather, look for keywords that precede the right actions, e.g., “gym shoes” if you’re looking to sell sneakers. You can additionally add negative keyword themes (i.e., keyword types that you want Google to avoid targeting) after you’re all done with setup. Google recommends adding 10 keyword themes at most—any more than this, and you risk targeting too broad of an audience. If you have more keywords than you know what to do with, you can always create separate campaigns for various keyword themes and thereby better monitor your targeting and spending. 05. Choose your geographic parameters At this stage, you can specify whether you want your ads to appear to a broad audience or audiences within specific locations. Enter an address, zip code, city state or country. Location targeting is especially useful if you have a brick-and-mortar location. For example, if you have a store located in New York City, you can set up your ads to appear in front of visitors within 25 miles of Manhattan or your specific store location. Alternatively, if your store is able to ship to anywhere in the U.S., you can set your location to “United States.” 06. Set your budget Google will provide a few budget options with estimates for how many ad clicks each budget can get you. Alternatively, you can enter your own budget—but bear in mind that your daily spend will fluctuate. You may spend more than your daily average in one day, but spend less on another. However, Google will not exceed your monthly max. 07. Review and pay Double check your work before activating your campaign. Rest assured that you can make edits even after your ads are live. If everything looks good to go, confirm your payment information. At this point, you can either set up automatic payments—in which Google charges you on the first of every month—or make manual payments. 08. Analyze and strategize Once your Google ads are like, the Google Ads dashboard will track four metrics: impressions, clicks, calls and conversions. You can also use your search terms report to drill down a bit deeper. In addition to this, Wix users can lean on Wix Analytics to see how many new site visitors or purchases are coming from Google ads. If you notice a large gap in numbers between how many people click on your ad and how many people interact with your website, take another look at your landing page and make sure that it’s tightly aligned with your ads. Strip your page of any distractions and test out different CTAs or other special features. Keep close watch over the quality score of your ads. Strategically thinker with your ad creative, as well as your pages. How to advertise on Google (Expert Mode) Once you get the hang of Google Ads, consider switching to Expert Mode for more customization options and to get a deeper look into your campaign. Or, you can create your first campaign on Expert Mode by simply switching modes on the first few setup screens. Expert Mode requires more maintenance and strategic thinking than Smart Mode, but it gives you complete control over your Google Advertising campaign. When starting a new Google Ads campaign in Expert Mode, you’ll have to: Choose your objective Define your campaign settings Set your budget and bidding Decide on ad rotation Create your ad groups Add your keywords Construct your ads Incorporate assets Confirm payment info and launch 01. Choose your objective When switching to Expert Mode, you’ll see many more options for how to set up your campaign. You can choose from the following: Sales Leads Website traffic Product and brand consideration Brand awareness and reach App promotion Local store visits and promotions Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance Depending on what you click, Google will suggest the best campaign type for your goal (though you can always go off-script and choose one that’s not listed). You can choose from one of these campaign types: Search Performance Max Display Video App Smart Discovery Shopping Each campaign type will have its own series of setup steps, such as choosing a conversion action or deciding on a campaign subtype. 02. Define your campaign settings This setup page will look a bit different depending on your campaign type and objectives, but you’ll generally need to fill in the following the details: Campaign name : Choose a name that’s easy to understand and defines the intent of your ads. The campaign name is for internal purposes only, but it’s key for remaining organized. Networks : When applicable, you’ll need to choose whether to show your ads on Google’s partner sites to broaden your reach. Locations : Decide which regions you want to target, be it a country, city or zip code. You can even choose locations to exclude—for instance, if you only want to target the contiguous U.S., you can exclude Hawaii and Alaska. To take this one step further, you can choose whether to target people who are only present in your target location, or those who are present and/or have shown interest in your location. Languages : Choose the languages that apply to your target customers. Audience segments : This is an optional setting, through which you can either add a remarketing list or add additional parameters for targeting, e.g., only target parents of toddlers (one to three years old), or people who’ve shown an interest in children’s toys. Pro tip: exclude this setting or start broad to begin with, then start narrowing your audience once your campaign is live and you have more data to work from. 03. Set your budget and bidding Decide on your daily budget. The goal is to spend just enough to get enough reach (and, as result, data to work from) without overspending, or paying for irrelevant impressions and clicks. A good starting point is to perform keyword research. See the average CPC for your target keywords, and make sure to identify keywords that—like your budget—aren’t too narrow or too broad. Use your research to calculate your daily budget. Google may go above or below your budget on any given day, but it will not go above your daily budget times the average number of days in a month. Plus, you should expect your budget to fluctuate depending on seasonal demand or other factors. After you’ve set your budget, decide how you want to be charged. Bidding options will vary by campaign type, but you’ll generally want to choose between clicks or impression share. You may see options for manual bidding versus automated bidding: with manual bidding, you’ll be telling Google how much you’re willing to spend for each keyword, whereas with automated bidding, Google will decide on your max CPC bids for you. If you’re new to Google advertising, it’s recommended that you start with automated bidding. 04. Decide on ad rotation (optional) Within your campaign settings page, you can click “Show more settings” to change your “ad rotation” settings. By default, your campaign will be set to “Optimize” which means that Google will show the ads that it believes will get the most clicks or conversions. However, you can choose to rotate your ads evenly or rotate ads indefinitely (without optimization). These options may be good if you’re looking to run controlled tests, but you’ll likely want to begin with the default setting. 05. Create your ad groups Ad groups are particular sets of ads within your larger campaign. Each ad group has its own ad creatives and target keywords. They’re intended to keep similarly themed ads together to ensure that your audience is presented with the most relevant ads. For instance, let’s say you have a Search campaign that’s intended to drive more web traffic to your online pet supply store. You may create these ad groups: Ad group 1: Dog Supplies Keywords : dog food, dog toys, dog beds, dog collars Ad 1 : “Shop for dog supplies online. We have a wide selection of dog food, toys, beds, and more.” Ad 2 : “Dog supplies on sale now! Save up to 50% on our selection of dog supplies.” Ad group 2: Cat Supplies Keywords : cat food, cat toys, cat beds, cat litter Ad 1 : “Shop for cat supplies online. We have a wide selection of cat food, toys, beds, and more.” Ad 2 : “Cat supplies on sale now! Save up to 50% on our selection of cat supplies.” Alternatively, you might want to create separate ad groups per product (e.g., one ad group for dog toys, another for dog beds). How you organize your ad groups will depend on your business, your target audience(s) and your keyword research. You’ll want to make sure that each ad group has a distinct focus, and a large enough audience as indicated by your research around keyword volume. 06. Add your keywords As noted above, you’ll need to select specific keywords for each ad group. At this stage, you’ll want to experiment with a variety of keyword match types . Broader match types capture a larger audience, but may not attract users with the right intent. Meanwhile, narrow match types (i.e., exact match) will target more specific users. However, your reach will be very limited. As a general rule of thumb, it’s better to start broad and narrow down your keywords as you collect more data—at the same time, using phrase match or exact match can help you control costs better. Note that you can also add negative keywords, which prevent Google from showing your ads for irrelevant searches. 07. Construct your ads Now that your campaign and ad groups are all set up, you can construct your ads. The steps will vary depending on your campaign types: For search ads : Write clear, persuasive copy for the headline and description. For display ads : Provide a headline, description and an image or video in the appropriate specs. For video ads : Upload a video that’s formatted for YouTube. For Shopping ads : Upload your product information—or use Wix’s Google Ad integration to automatically sync your product data with your ads. Make sure your ads are tightly aligned with the search intent of the keywords that you’re targeting. Consider your audience’s preferences and traits when building any visuals, and speak to their values in your copy. 08. Incorporate assets Assets , or ad extensions, are content pieces that you can add onto your ad to provide extra information to searchers. They increase the amount of space your ad takes up and don’t cost extra, so use at least one. Assets lead to a higher CTR (up to 15%, according to Google), which increases the quality score of your ad. There are nine types of assets: Sitelink assets : Specific page links Callout assets : Brief company highlights Call assets : Phone number or call button Image assets : Visuals that complement text ads Location assets : Address and other business information Structured snippet assets : Additional header with related values Price assets : Interactive price breakdowns App assets : App download links Lead form assets : Contact forms 09. Confirm payment info and launch As the final setup step, you’ll need to enter your payment information and confirm that everything looks as it should. When ready, hit “submit” and launch your ads. Establish a system for checking on ad performance frequently and making tweaks as necessary. Simplify Google Ads with Wix Looking for a smarter and simpler way to manage your Google Ads? Google Ads with Wix lets you create an ad campaign directly from your website dashboard. Avoid having to manually upload your product data or jumping from screen to screen to manage your ads. With Wix’s Google Ads integration, you can create a Smart campaign or Performance Max Shopping Campaign (only for Wix Stores). Learn more . How to advertise on Google FAQs How much does it cost to advertise on Google? The cost of advertising on Google will vary, depending on the keywords you want to target their competitiveness and how many people click on them. Cost per click for a Google ad can range from a few cents to tens of dollars depending on the type of ad and keyword. When you start Google ads you will need to set a budget for your campaign either as a total amount for the entire campaign run or as a daily budget. Google also uses an auction system for ads, where you bid on keywords and depending on your relevance and budget, Google will show whether to show your ads and in which order. Generally the more you pay, the higher on the search page your ad will show. Other pricing models on Google ads include cost per acquisition or cost per impression. How to advertise on Google for free? It's not possible to advertise for free on Google. However SEO, or search engine optimization is a way that websites can appear in search engine results pages as organic results. This is a marketing strategy that involves optimizing your pages for search engines and their organic, not paid results. How to advertise on Google for beginners? Follow these basic steps to get started: 1. Create a Google Ads account. 2. Define your campaign goals and target audience. 3. Choose campaign type (Search, Display or Video). 4. Set a budget and bid strategy. 5. Create compelling ad copy with relevant keywords. 6. Design eye-catching visuals if using Display or Video. 7. Monitor performance and adjust settings regularly. 8. Check and interpret Google A4 (once Google Analytics) for in-depth insights. What is Google Analytics? Google Analytics , now renamed GA4, is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic. It provides valuable insights into user behavior, helping businesses understand their audience, measure marketing efforts and optimize website performance. With features like traffic sources, user demographics and conversion tracking, it aids data-driven decision-making when advertising on google. What is Google Adsense? Google AdSense is a program that enables website owners to earn revenue by displaying targeted ads on their sites. Advertisers bid to display ads and website owners earn money when users interact with the ads. It's an effective way for publishers to monetize their online content through Google's advertising network. It's a popular way to advertise on Goog.e

Since Twitch launched in 2011, the live-streaming platform has evolved beyond its gamer origins into a viable social media marketing tool. That said, Twitch is no Instagram or Twitter. While some brands may find it incredibly valuable and lucrative to leverage Twitch as a means of building brand awareness and generating leads, others won’t. In this post, we’ll learn the platform’s ins and outs—plus how Twitch works for business and whether or not it fits your brand. Starting a business with Twitch? Make sure to create a website for your brand and direct Twitch audiences back to your owned-and-operated channel. What is Twitch? Twitch is an Amazon-owned, live video-streaming platform. While the most popular content created on Twitch falls into the video game category, creators stream out other genres of content as well. The main categories of content include: Games IRL (In Real Life) Music Esports Creative However, individuals and brands alike can live stream content related to topics like music, web design, product unboxing, DIY, animals and fitness. How does Twitch work? The Twitch.tv platform works as follows: Account page Twitch streamers create branded account pages. At the very top of the page, users can see if the streamer is currently online or offline. While offline, the streamer can choose to embed a recent stream for users. For example, the Netflix Twitch account page looks like this: Users can peruse information about the streamer, view recent broadcasts, watch select videos and look at the upcoming streaming schedule. They can also follow the streamer from this page. Some channels also allow followers to subscribe for a fee. In return, the subscriber gets special benefits such as ad-free streams, exclusive chats and special badges. Live broadcast Twitch creators can stream videos that last anywhere from one minute to eight hours. When streamers go live, the video broadcast takes up the majority of the user’s screen. For example, a broadcast from TheStockGuy looks like this: In many of these broadcasts, the streamer appears in a small box in the video’s corner so that users can watch them as they talk. This format is common in gaming and other visual-forward content. Other broadcasts look more like YouTube or Instagram’s video streams. Here’s a good example from the tominboston account: If users want to focus on the broadcast, they can minimize the two sidebars. The one on the left shows recommended streamers and the one on the right contains the stream’s chat. Chat box Like other live streaming services, Twitch creators can engage with anyone watching their live streams via the chat box. Users can also interact with other users—replying to and sending emoticons. However, Twitch allows streamers to enable and create custom Emotes (i.e. emoji) for their audience. You can catch a glimpse of one of these Emotes in the chat box beside Maya’s live stream: When you click on an Emote a user shares, more details appear about the Emote: You can see that these Emotes are unique to Maya’s channel and that only Tier 1 subscribers can access it. Calls-to-action for following and subscribing appear as well. Who uses Twitch? Back in 2018, Business Insider reported that, on average, about 1 million people tune into Twitch at any given moment. That put Twitch on the same level as major cable platforms like Fox News, ESPN and MSNBC. According to Twitch Sales in 2022, roughly 2.5 million concurrent viewers and about 31 million pass through the platform every day. This is likely because Twitch streams to many devices, including: Desktop computers Laptops Tablets Smartphones Streaming devices (like Roku and the Fire stick) Smart TVs Game consoles According to TwitchTracker, Twitch users have watched 841 billion minutes of streams in the first eight months of 2022. In terms of Twitch users, the audience breakdown looks like: 75% of Twitch users are between 16 and 34. 65% of users are male. Users stream Twitch content in 35 languages. English is the most commonly spoken language. Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Korean are other popular languages. In sum, Twitch tends to attract a young, multicultural and heavily male audience that use the platform for building and engaging in community. How to use Twitch for business The massive number of highly-engaged number users make Twitch one of the best marketing strategies for businesses. Twitch Sales reports that its users have a special relationship with advertising: They believe that ads enable streamers to continue creating free content. They tend to buy from brands they’ve seen advertised on Twitch. They’ll buy products or services to feel a greater connection with a community. If you can use Twitch for your brand, you’ll market to an audience that’s receptive to marketing and advertising. In return, you’ll boost brand awareness, enhance your lead generation efforts and increase sales. Pro tip: You can generate traffic and exposure towards your Twitch channel along with all of your online assets with the help of a link in bio tool such as Hopp by Wix. Businesses use Twitch in three ways: 01. Become a streamer Brands, both large and small, have their own streaming channels on Twitch that lead back to their website via captions. GameStop, for instance, streams a video every Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: GameStop has extended its in-store brand experience online. Some videos give previews and highlights from video games while others show content like unpacking videos or how to build a custom PC gaming system. Smaller brands and entrepreneurs become Twitch streamers, too. For example, Jeff, a personal trainer, runs the FitForPurpose account: Monday through Thursday, Jeff livestreams new videos on the channel. His goal isn’t to push his personal training services on anyone but to instruct and inspire his community. To succeed as a streamer, you must have something valuable, entertaining or educational to share with your audience—and not ask for anything in return. 02. Run ads Streaming isn’t a viable marketing option for many brands. Creating content, engaging with the audience in real time and building a community around a channel can prove to be too time-consuming. If streaming isn’t for you, you can boost your brand’s presence through paid media. Similar to YouTube’s advertising model, you can run video or display ads on Twitch. Both Twitch creators and their followers understand the necessity of mid-stream ads—especially when the content is free. With all parties receptive to advertising, consider this avenue if you have the money for it. Twitch doesn’t actively publish its ad rates on the site, but there is a contact form that asks for your budget. The smallest budget range is Less than $50,000. The highest budget range is Greater than $1,000,000. This high cost can explain why companies like McDonald’s can afford to run ads on top Twitch channels like VALORANT’s: Granted, brands can walk away with huge benefits. VALORANT has over 3 million followers and streams for hours every day. That means huge boosts in brand awareness (and sales) for brands whose ads appear during the broadcast. 03. Partner with streamers Your last option for using Twitch for business is influencer marketing. By partnering with an established creator or sponsoring their content, you can get your brand in front of a large audience. Depending on how actively the streamer promotes your brand, it could bring you major leads and revenue. That said, a popular streamer doesn’t need to name-drop a brand to influence their followers. A visual brand placement can effectively reach viewers as well. For instance, Monster Energy sponsored a cristijAn stream, and placed their logo atop the streamer’s window: Pro tip: You can explore your options and create a similar logo for yourself with a Gaming Logo Maker or Twitch Logo Maker. Learn how to make a Twitch logo for your channel. Twitch influencer marketing costs often depends on the following: What category they create content for How many followers they have How many views their videos get How frequently they will promote your brand What type of partnership or sponsorship they run Whether they want payment, free products or free services in exchange for promotion Just as with other types of influencer marketing, if you want to get the greatest ROI, your Twitch partner should relate to your brand. For example, CristijAn’s channel centers around gaming; energy drinks are popular with gamers, so the partnership works. Note: Entrepreneur reported in 2022 that Twitch had plans to cut streamer earnings from subscriptions. Estimates put the earnings reduction between 50% and 70%. While streamers who depend on user subscriptions are furious about this decision, this opens up a massive opportunity for brands. For starters, you likely don’t care about subscriber revenue as you’re using Twitch to build brand awareness and gain leads. So if streamers start abandoning the platform, that’ll make room for brands like yours to revolutionize the content that gets noticed there. Also, if streamers don’t make as much money from subscriptions, they might take on more advertisers, partners and sponsors. This could mean partnering with smaller, unknown brands they might not have previously considered. Is Twitch right for your brand? When brainstorming types of marketing, you may want to consider if Twitch fits your brand. Consider the following: 01. Is your target audience there? Twitch tends to skew younger, male and international. If your brand targets a broad range of users, then you might be okay using Twitch. However, if your brand happens to attract older users or operates in a more traditional or conservative space, then you may not find Twitch to be a worthwhile investment. 02. Does your brand fit with Twitch's vibe? You don’t need to be a gamer or influencer to fit in with the Twitch crowd. All that matters is if you can naturally convey your message in a live video. For instance, have you ever considered starting a vlog or podcast for your brand? Think about how you’ve used video or audio in your business and see if you can translate it for a Twitch audience. Dr. Drew, for instance, has a channel on Twitch where he airs hour-long "Ask Dr. Drew" episodes: 03. Will your content be entertaining enough? Back in 2014, Slate contributor Seth Stevenson asked why anyone would want to watch others play video games on Twitch. After spending some time watching various streams on the platform, Stevenson came to an interesting conclusion: “What about those low-key channels where it’s just one dude gaming, and shooting the breeze with his thousands of viewers? Well, those viewers are finding a community of like-minded souls, they’re engaging over a shared interest, and they’re getting tips from superior gamers on how to win at the games. How is this different from watching a cooking show that mesmerizes you while also teaching you how to make a soufflé? Or, for heaven’s sake, watching a show about remodeling nondescript houses in suburban neighborhoods?” Unlike reality TV programming or YouTube channels, Twitch allows users to engage with creators and other users in real time over their shared interests. Does your brand (or even just you as the face of the company) have something entertaining or edifying to share? TheCrossFitGames is a good example: CrossFit, in general, is known for its community. It can also produce content around its Games for others to watch and enjoy. 04. Do you have the time to devote to it? If you choose advertising or influencer marketing, you’ll devote minimal time designing Twitch ads or promoting your live stream. However, if you want to create, you must invest a significant amount of time. First, you’ll need to design your channel’s artwork, come up with content for the About page and maybe even customize Emotes for your subscribers. Second, you’ll have to produce your content, create a schedule, promote it on other channels, film the live streams and engage with viewers. Your broadcasts must not only be super engaging, but also well-managed. Planning and organizing has allowed Twitch brands like NASA to amass over a million followers: 05. How much money can you realistically invest in Twitch marketing? Streaming is an affordable venture. By Entrepreneur’s estimates, it could cost about $100 to buy a bundle of live streaming gear. That includes things like a tripod, an extender and lighting. Advertising, on the other hand, will likely cost your brand thousands of dollars a month. You may cut costs through influencer marketing—especially if you exchange product for exposure—but it’ll still cost your brand money.

What do a stop sign, a slice of pizza, an umbrella and a butterfly all have in common? Instantly, you can visualize their silhouette and may even have an emotional reaction to them—of course, it’s their unique and identifiable shape that ties them all together. This is because the human mind responds to each shape in its own way by assigning individual characteristics and meaning. Just like animals in the wild who can perceive shapes in order to stalk their prey or avoid danger, humans distinguish shapes for a variety of reasons. So when it comes to creating a logo—shapes matter. The specific shapes you use, their color and how they work with the typography will not only form your design, but represent your brand. By taking the time to carefully consider and understand the implications that logo shapes can have on your customers' emotions, habits and behaviors, you will craft a logo that is relevant, meaningful and easily recognizable. Here we will explore the various logo shapes, including examples, tips and ways to use them in your logo design ideas. Why logo shapes matter Understanding the psychology behind shapes, and the influence they can have on your branding efforts, will enable you to reach your target audience in a more meaningful and effective way. Let’s look at the Nike swoosh as an example. Even reading the word swoosh, you’re likely visualizing the iconic logo shape. What’s more, you’ve subconsciously made associations with that swoosh without even realizing it. So what comes to mind? Maybe the pair of sneakers you last bought (or are saving up to buy), a flood of Nike sponsored athletes like LeBron James or Rafael Nadal, or just a general feeling of quality and sportsmanship? Whatever it is, none of it is by coincidence. Nike’s success is rooted in their recognizable brand identity, which strengthens their brand equity in the mind’s of consumers and within the industry, ultimately leading to unwavering brand loyalty. Pretty impressive for such a simple design that is considered one of the best logos of all time. With this in mind, the right logo shapes can: Help convey specific emotions or feelings Develop brand recognition and positive associations Influence customer perception Encourage brand trust and customer loyalty Deliver your brand message Foster meaningful connections with your target audience Strengthen your brand identity Logo shapes All shapes can be divided into three categories: Geometric shapes Organic shapes Abstract shapes Now, let’s dig deeper into each of the logo shapes to help you understand which is right for you. Geometric shapes Think back to elementary school and the most basic shapes you learned about first such as circles, triangles and squares. These are all types of geometric shapes which are a result of lines, points and curves coming together in various configurations. Geometric shapes are most commonly symmetrical and have a very distinct structure. Circles The sun, the moon and the earth are all round and perfect examples of circular shapes in our lives. Unlike any other shape, circles are uniquely non-linear and do not have any edges, corners or defined beginning and end. Because of this, circle are universally symbolic for wholeness, perfection, completeness and cyclic motion. They are also representative of community, friendship, inclusivity and strength. So, it is no wonder that circle logos are one of the most popular logo shapes. It is precisely because of these positive and emotional associations that circles have great power and influence in logo design. Clean, simple, and recognizable, circles are versatile, and aesthetically pleasing, which makes them a great choice for any industry. Like circles, ovals and ellipses maintain the same softness and malleability, which is why they are a beloved logo shape choice. Learn more: How to make a circle logo Triangles Unlike circles, triangles have definitive corners and edges, and they represent different ideas based on their orientation. For example, depending on where the point is situated, triangles can traditionally represent either masculinity or femininity. Spiritually speaking, these three-sided shapes are symbolic of enlightenment, growth and energy. Triangles are confident and convey dependability, trust and strength. When designing a logo, they are an excellent logo shape option because they are so flexible and adaptable. Whether inverted or upright, triangles can also appear as the letters ‘A’ and ‘V’ or even ‘D’, and additionally they can be used as arrows. Even more, triangles can interlock or overlap to look visually pleasing while also conveying specific messages. Squares and rectangles Stable, balanced and reliable, squares and rectangles are all around us. You’re either holding a rectangle in your hand right now, or staring at one as we speak. Since most designers work on grids, rectangles and squares are a foundational element of design, regardless of the medium being used. If you’re looking for a professional and strong logo shape for your business, a square or rectangle may be the right choice. Squares are the perfect vehicle to contain or frame visual elements. They anchor the eye and draw attention to the most important aspects of your logo design. From modern logos to startup logos, let’s face it—it’s hip to be square. Lines Both vertical and horizontal lines can create various logo shapes. The composition of lines together show movement and innovation, making them an excellent choice for tech logos and minimalist logos. Vertical lines specifically can be used to convey stability, progress and growth, while horizontal lines communicate fluidity and a sense of peacefulness. If you use lines in your logo design or combine them with other logo shapes, be sure to acknowledge each line individually, and as a part of the whole. Consider the spacing between lines and the impact these have on your overall composition. Organic shapes Naturally occurring organic shapes such as clouds, flowers, rocks and leaves are found in our daily lives. Also known as free form shapes, they are unlike the rigid structure of geometric shapes because they do not follow any rules, meaning they are often asymmetrical and irregular. Natural shapes Think of the four natural elements—fire, water, earth and air to conceptualize these logo shapes. Just as no two snowflakes are the same, shapes that occur in nature follow their own path, meaning there is a great deal of diversity and flexibility. These irregular shapes are pliable and adaptable, making them a creative choice for logo design. Natural shapes are deeply entwined in our collective consciousness, which makes their symbolic meaning very effective in evoking emotion and communicating messages. For example, if you were designing a logo for a natural spa, you’d likely use soft edges and gentle lines to effectively communicate a sense of relaxation all within your logo. To complement this, you could try calming or muted logo colors paired with tranquil shapes like water or rocks. Curved shapes and spirals Like naturally occurring forms, curved shapes are often irregular or uneven. Since these shapes are less conventional, they allow for more freedom and creativity in terms of logo design, and the message your brand wants to communicate. You may have noticed curved shapes have become more commonplace in our day-to-day interactions, like within social media apps or even business cards. This is no coincidence. Evolutionarily speaking, humans avoid sharp corners and edges that can be dangerous or harmful. Because of this, round edges are not just aesthetically pleasing, but they are easier on the eyes. Curved shapes are dynamic and fluid, which conveys agility and ingenuity. In fact, when it comes to designing for UI, rounded corners have become more than just a design trend but an industry standard. Curved shapes and lines can feel safe and inviting, which makes them particularly appealing for food logos, fitness logos and entertainment logos. It is also worth noting that curved shapes can often be seen in wordmark or lettermark logos composed of text. The curvature serves a mold for the typography, creating a guideline for the flow of the text, both impacting the letters themselves, and the shape that holds them together. While you may not concretely see the curved shape within some logos, it certainly impacts the layout and design of the text. Another curved shape, spirals, are less common in logo design, but they are effective for delivering specific messages. For example, spirals are often associated with mathematics and science, like the helical structure of DNA. Spiral shapes are also representative of growth and fertility, which makes them a great choice for medical logos. Additionally, spirals can evoke a sense of curiosity, and healing which makes them a popular choice for natural products, spas and retreats and alternative medicine. Abstract shapes Abstract logo shapes may seem complex or unclear, but actually they are some of the most thoughtful and purposefully designed forms. What makes abstract configurations so unique is that they are often created using other shapes. For example, you may choose to combine a series of circles and lines to create a new form that represents an idea or belief. This is particularly appealing in logo design because you want your logo to help tell a story, or evoke a feeling in your consumers’ minds, and abstract shapes can help share that narrative. Abstract logos pique curiosity and grab the attention of prospective customers who want to know more. Furthermore, abstract shapes can be very useful for creative brands or companies that prefer not to use literal shapes or images in their designs. Abstract shapes are great for both minimalist and modern logos, as they offer flexibility and unlimited creativity. Symbols and cultural shapes Another type of logo shape you can consider are symbols and various cultural shapes. More specifically, this refers to shapes like hearts, stars and crosses, all of which carry a very definitive meaning that is universally recognized. For example, these shapes are symbolic of religion and are often used in religious symbols, or brands that want to convey nobility or grandeur. Stars, for instance, connote divinity, guidance and excellence, and the cross is a common motif in medical industries, along with the unmistakable caduceus (also known the staff of Hermes). Hearts are ubiquitous for love, romance and friendship, but are also a common motif in medical and health logo designs. Symbols and cultural shapes have also made their way into our consciousness through emojis and computer icons. In fact, the heart symbol is one of the top ten most used emojis. With this in mind, it is important to understand the language and cultural meaning behind these specific types of shapes and the message they communicate. What’s more, certain shapes can be interpreted differently around the world, so if you are designing a logo for a global company, be sure to understand the localized language of these shapes. Tips for choosing your logo shapes Good logo design is all about balance, intention and understanding the message you want to convey. If you want to learn more about how to design a logo, you can read our in-depth guide, but here are a few helpful and actionable tips when selecting your logo shapes: Use positive and negative shape: Utilizing the negative space (also known as white space) which is created in between letters or shapes is an effective way to make the most out of your logo composition. One of the best examples is the iconic FedEx logo, that sneakily hides an arrow in the negative space between the ‘E’ and the ‘X’. This arrow helps communicate the brand values of progress, flexibility and dependability. Pay attention to typography: The best fonts for logos are the ones that embody the brand’s identity while also communicating its message. Of course, the same is true for logo shapes. So when combining these two elements in your logo design, it is important to make sure they work together in a harmonious way. For example, if you are using a curved or circular logo, you might consider a Sans-serif font that has subtle roundings on the corners, to maintain a cohesive design. Furthermore, you can think of the shape as a guideline for your typography to determine the specific layout of your text. Work with color and shape together: Do a red heart and a blue heart convey the same message? What about a green triangle compared to a black one? It is very clear that color plays a major role in the interpretation of shapes. Color is deeply entrenched in our consciousness and must be considered in tandem with logo shapes. Explore logo color ideas to figure out what's right for you. Make sure you’re in the right industry: Certain logo shapes work best within specific industries, and for good reason. For example, if you work in a very business-oriented field and want to project professionalism, competence and sophistication, you probably want to avoid informal or folksy hand-drawn shapes, and stick to geometric ones that convey trust and dependability. On the same note, you also want to pay attention to competitors within your industry. If everyone in your field uses square logos, you also want to consider thinking outside the box (literally), in order to differentiate your logo from the pack. Stay on-brand: All content that you create, from your social media posts to your product itself, must speak the same language in order to be aligned with your brand identity. Since your logo will likely serve as the face of your brand, and the first thing prospective customers will see, and hopefully remember long after, you must choose a logo shape that cooperates with your overall vision. Keeping your logo shape on-brand ensures that whoever sees your logo will instantly get a feeling for your brand and what it's all about. Psychology of logo shapes Different shapes evoke different emotions and associations in people's minds. This is why it is important to choose the right shape for your logo. Here is a brief overview of the psychology of some common logo shapes and how they can be used to convey specific brand attributes: Circles: Circles are associated with unity, community, friendship and stability. They help brands convey a sense of warmth and are common on social media platforms and non-profit organizations. Squares: Squares are associated with strength, efficiency, professionalism and practicality. They're often used by brands that want to convey a sense of trust and reliability - for example, financial institutions and legal firms. Triangles: Brands that want to communicate a sense of strength and leadership often favor triangles in their logo shape. Triangles are associated with power, law and science. This is why they're popular with sports brands and technology companies. Horizontal lines: Horizontal lines are associated with calm, tranquility, community and speed. Brands use them to evoke relaxation and peace. Vertical lines: Vertical lines are associated with strength, courage, dominance and progress. They're often used by brands that want to convey a sense of power and ambition. Once you understand the different meanings associated with different shapes, you can start to apply them to your logo design. For example, if you want to create a logo that conveys a sense of unity and community, you might want to use a circular shape. That said, it's important to note that the psychology of logo shapes isn't a science. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The best way to choose the right shape for your logo is to consider your brand identity and target audience. Tips for applying logo psychology: Understand your brand personality: Clearly define your brand's core values, personality traits and target audience to guide your design choices. Research color psychology: Explore the subconscious associations and symbolism of different colors to evoke specific emotions and influence brand perception. Choose colors strategically: Select colors that align with your brand's personality and target audience, considering color combinations that create harmony, contrast or energy. Consider cultural context: Be mindful of cultural interpretations of colors, as certain colors may have different meanings or connotations in different cultures. Understand shape psychology: Research the subconscious meanings and associations of different shapes to convey specific messages and emotions. Align shapes with brand attributes: Choose shapes that reinforce your brand's personality and values, such as geometric shapes for stability, organic shapes for creativity or abstract shapes for uniqueness. Combine shapes strategically: Experiment with different arrangements and compositions of shapes to create more complex and nuanced messages. Choose appropriate typography: Select a typeface that aligns with your brand's personality and target audience, considering serif fonts for tradition, sans-serif fonts for modernity or script fonts for elegance. Apply Gestalt principles: Understand how the human brain perceives visual elements and use principles like figure-ground relationship, closure and symmetry to create a visually appealing and memorable logo. Test and refine: Gather feedback from your target audience to ensure your logo effectively communicates your brand message and make adjustments as needed.

Every entrepreneur is faced with the same challenge. Somehow, some way, you need your company to stand out and leave its mark in the market. But, of course, this is easier said than done. Memorable brands aren’t built overnight, and a brand development strategy requires much more than a cool logo or a catchy slogan. As a Wix Partner and founder of Small Business Startup Solutions, I've had the privilege of working closely with entrepreneurs across various industries. Together we’ve built, rebuilt and fine-tuned strategies for solidifying their brand positioning and creating a stronger market presence. Below are some of my insights from over the years, and tips for navigating the many components of brand development. Build your brand with the Wix Logo Maker. What is a brand development strategy? A brand development strategy is the plan for creating a brand’s image, positioning it in a market and building brand equity. Having a strategy in place will ensure that consumers can identify your brand and distinguish it from others, even as your business evolves. Often, the first step to creating a brand development strategy is to evaluate your company’s current market positioning, and the brand characteristics that helped you get there. It doesn’t always involve redoing your current branding—rather, a brand development strategy could mean expanding on your existing strategy, and creating better alignment or efficiencies between your assets. While an agency like mine would assist with things like your web design, logo design, email marketing and other marketing efforts, your brand development strategy could also impact your product development strategy and customer service (among other areas of your operations). Branding vs. brand development: what's the difference? Branding and brand development are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually two different things. Branding is the process of creating a unique identity for a product or service. It involves the tactical steps of designing your brand’s visual elements (such as its logo and color palette) and brand messaging (such as its tone of voice and value proposition). Brand development takes the branding that already exists and uses it to create new ways to support your company’s growth. For example, think of a pizza shop that wants to start selling their sauce in grocery stores. This requires creating new labels, packaging and quality standards. The pizza shop’s website branding, social media and marketing all need to reflect the new product line, too—which all relies on having a clear brand development plan to guide the way. How do you know you need a brand development strategy? While your company’s internal goals may be an obvious reason for needing a brand development strategy, there are also plenty of external factors that create a need. For instance, a change in the demand for your product or services may cause you to consider adding or eliminating parts of your brand. Consumer feedback can further indicate what is and isn’t working about your current branding. Or, pressures from new competitors or market challenges may force you to rethink your strategy. A strong brand development strategy can help your products to be seen by the right audience sooner, saving you valuable time and money. 4 popular brand development strategies There are many ways that you can expand your company’s brand. Let's take a look at the four main ways that companies implement their brand development strategy. 01. Product line extension If you’re looking to bring more value to your current customers, you can offer an additional product line. A product line extension involves offering a new product in the same category as your existing products. Under this strategy, you’d apply the same, existing branding to your new product line—which can help create a soft introduction to your new product(s) and encourage customers who already enjoy your products to give your new items a try. At the same time, this strategy could help you attract new consumers by offering something that wasn’t available in your store before. Christiane’s Handcrafted Jewelry offers a variety of silver and gold necklaces, earrings and rings. Christiane is constantly creating new jewelry designs in her studio to extend her product lines within her existing categories. As new jewelry is finished, it can be found on display in her store, online (via her website and social media) or at shows. 02. Multi-brand Your company may decide to create multiple brands to target consumers in different markets. Consumers may not be able to tell that the additional brands are housed under a parent company because each brand or subbrand markets itself differently. For example, Horseshoe Media is a California-based advertising and marketing company that provides digital marketing, social media marketing and consulting services. They house a variety of marketing brands. They own All Country News, a media outlet for country news; Good Scentiments, a candle line that promotes collaborations with musical artists and donations to charity; and MUSICVRSE a music media company that covers a variety of genres. Thanks to this multi-brand strategy, Horseshoe Media has been able to strengthen its following in multiple areas of media advertising. 03. Brand extension A brand extension strategy is when your business uses its established brand name to elevate a new product, product category or version of an existing product. It can also involve combining two well-known products or services together in order to tap into the brand loyalty of existing customers. For instance, artist Rigo Peralta established himself by selling surrealist paintings that, in his words, “represents the push and pull between humanity and machinery.” Peralta’s works are available for purchase online and at his studio (Rigo Peralta Art Studio) in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He has also launched an apparel and accessory line called Rigo Collections. Rigo Collections sells print-on-demand products featuring Peralta’s art, and is similarly available online or in the studio. Peralta additionally decorates his vacation property in the Dominican Republic with his art, creating a fully immersive experience. All of these channels together provide multiple avenues for art enthusiasts to get to know Peralta, not just as an artist but as a powerful, recognizable brand. 04. New brand A new brand strategy focuses on creating a new product in a new product category (i.e., creating a brand name from scratch). Take McPhee Family Farms as an example. This family-owned farm specializes in supplying farm-raised beef, pork and produce to serve its local community. They are preparing to open a second business, McPhee’s Butcher Block, which will pay tribute to the farm while offering an in-person retail location (plus an online store) to meet the demands of the everyday shopper. The Butcher Block logo resembles the Family Farm logo to show the relationship between the two brands. Meanwhile, the Butcher Block site embraces tones of a family-oriented atmosphere by weaving in family history and incorporating cooking methods that have long been honored by the family. The 6 stages of brand development: steps for building a solid action plan Identifying the best brand development strategy and creating an action plan starts with analyzing your company's direction, the industry and the overall market. Then, once your plan is in motion, it’s important to set up a process for measuring the performance of your strategy to ensure that you’re making the best decisions for your company, both now and in the future. These six steps can help you to check off all the essential boxes and get your strategy off the ground. 01. Consider your business strategy Your business strategy can (and should) inform your brand development strategy. Maybe you’re seeing that one product is driving a majority of sales, or that one particular subset of buyers is making the most purchases from your company. Think about who you want to target (new or existing customers), and how effectively your brand is currently reaching them. You can use the same KPIs that you use to assess the current state of your business to evaluate the performance of your marketing, and to serve as a benchmark for future performance. By clearly defining the goals, vision and mission for your company as a whole, you can better create a brand that reaches the right people. Your business strategy can further help you decide whether to focus on a product line extension or another type of brand development strategy. For example, take a look at your current sales and expenses of your business. What drives your revenue and where are your costs high? What do your growth numbers look like? At the end of the day, you’ll want to: Make sure that your messaging is relevant to your target audience Align your brand with real customer needs, as voiced directly to your team or elsewhere (e.g., social media) Create a brand that’s unique from your competitors Ensure that everything from your logo to your messaging can evolve as your business grows 02. Do market research Market research is necessary for understanding how your product compares to its competitors, industry and overall market. External factors like overall industry health and/or new trends can impact how well your products may be accepted. Start your market research with a competitor analysis. Take a look at what your competitors are selling, how they’re selling it and who their consumers are. How have they expanded? Are your competitors selling their products in packages or as subscriptions? By analyzing your competitors, you can dig up some good inspiration or spot strategies to avoid. Next, study the industries and markets that you compete in to glean insight into current and future demand. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a company that may have wanted to expand into a physical retail location may have decided that the market outlook was too poor to attempt to do so. Even though external factors can be out of your control, they can significantly impact the performance of your brand. 03. Determine your target audience It goes without saying that in order to clearly and effectively promote your brand, you need to know who you’re talking to. This means going beyond surface-level information and challenging assumptions that you may have about your current or target audience. This also means narrowing down your scope to specific segments of customers who want and need your products or services. It's possible that your new strategy will cater to the same target audience that you have been serving. However, it’s equally possible for you to identify a smaller segment of customers, or a new segment to engage. One way to define your brand’s target audience is by creating personas. Pretend that your audience can be represented by a single person. Give that person a name. Describe who they are. What do they like? What do they dislike? Where do they live and what are their daily habits? Tailor your messaging to speak directly to these personas, and find the best channel to communicate with them. Moreover, use your personas to guide your thinking around brand development—how can your brand best serve their needs? 04. Develop your brand story and personality Before you start crafting your brand assets, ask yourself, what is your company’s mission? What is your vision? The answers to these questions can re-establish the “why” behind your business, which, in turn, can inform your brand story and personality. Your brand's personality can carry similar traits to that of a person and can be used to influence your company name, logo and taglines. For example, when engineering company EU Design Consulting approached my agency, they knew they wanted to convey experience, reliability and professionalism in their messaging. Understanding these brand characteristics helped to create a simple yet sophisticated logo, alongside a website that reflects the company’s maturity and expertise. Your brand characteristics can further guide the type of content you produce in the future, from your emails and your blogs, to your social posts and advertisements. 05. Build a brand guide A brand guide addresses the visual and messaging guidelines for your brand. It defines your brand’s preferred typography, color choices and style—with the goal of maintaining consistency and communicating your brand personality.You may already have a brand guide in place, but chances are, you’ll need to tweak it for any new offerings. For instance, if your company chooses to introduce a new product line, how does that tie in to all of the other branding that exists? To create a brand guide, I recommend keeping it simple. Your brand should involve two to three brand colors as well as font choices. Make sure your guide includes your logo and all of the acceptable variations or placements of your logo. In addition to this, provide guidance on the types of media to be used, brand voice, tone and more to guide any new marketing and communications. 06. Track your progress As you start applying your new branding across your business, you’ll want to actively track your progress and impact. Establish clear KPIs, such as the ones you already use to assess your business strategy, from the get-go. Use benchmark data to compare your business’s performance from before and after your strategy has entered the market. To that end, Wix Analytics can help you connect the dots between your new strategy and sales or web performance. You should also compare your progress to the performance of your competitors, industry and market. Tracking your progress will help to identify if any pivots need to be made in your strategy, or can confirm if you’re on the right track.

When you think about a farm business, images of sprawling fields, barns and livestock may come to mind. But there's another critical element that often gets put on the back burner: visual branding.  A well-designed farm logo can communicate your brand's values, quality and heritage. It serves as a visual representation of your agricultural business and helps customers recognize your products easily. In this article, you'll learn how to craft an effective farm logo that resonates with your audience. Whether you're starting a new venture or looking to refresh an existing brand, the insights provided here will guide you through the process. From selecting logo colors that convey the right emotions to choosing imagery that reflects your farming practices, we'll cover all the bases to help you create a logo that stands out in the competitive world of agriculture. Create a stunning logo using Wix’s farm logo maker. Understanding the basics of farm logo design After touching base on what is a logo, you might ask yourself, what is a farm logo? Simply put, it's a symbol or emblem that uniquely identifies your farm or agricultural business. It can include text, such as your farm's name, along with imagery related to farming like plants, animals or tools. Your farm logo acts as the face of your brand. It appears on everything from product packaging and business cards to websites and marketing materials. A distinctive logo helps customers remember your brand and fosters loyalty, making it a crucial part of making money as a farmer. Read more: How to make a website. How to create a farm logo from scratch Creating a farm logo might seem daunting, but with a structured approach, you can design a logo that captures the essence of your farm. Here’s what you need to keep in mind when contemplating how to design a logo: Research and brainstorm Selecting the perfect color palette Choosing the right iconography and imagery Font selection Choose the right tools 01. Research and brainstorm Before you dive into the design process, make sure you have a clear understanding of your brand. Ask yourself what your farm stands for. Are you all about organic produce or do you specialize in free-range poultry? Understanding your unique selling points will influence your design choices. Research: Look at other farm logos, especially those in your niche, to see what works and what doesn't. Brainstorm: Jot down words and ideas associated with your farm. Think about terms like "agriculture farming," "farmhouse," and "family farm." Sketch: Start with rough sketches on paper. Don't worry about perfection; this is about getting ideas out of your head. Your logo should reflect key aspects of your business. If you're involved in mixed farming, consider icons that represent the variety of products you offer. For a chicken farm, an image of a hen or an egg could be central to your design. Agriculture Farming: Use imagery like fields, tractors or crops. Farmhouse: A classic barn or farmhouse silhouette can add a rustic touch. Family farm: Emphasize community and tradition with hand-drawn elements or script fonts. Remember, simplicity is key. A simple farm logo is often more recognizable and easier to reproduce across different mediums. Read more: How to start a business. 02. Selecting the perfect color palette Colors evoke emotions and convey messages without words. For a farm logo, earthy tones like green and brown can symbolize growth and nature. Brighter logo colors like yellow or red can attract attention and suggest energy or passion. Green: Represents freshness, organic produce and sustainability. Brown: Evokes feelings of stability, reliability and connection to the earth. Yellow: Can signify warmth, optimism and happiness—think sunflowers or morning sunshine. Consider the psychological impact of these colors on your audience when making your selection. The right color palette will resonate with customers and reflect the type of farming business you run. 03. Choosing the right iconography and imagery The images you choose for your logo should be easily identifiable with farming. Common icons include animals, plants, tools or even landscapes. Icons like barns, tractors or rows of crops work well. 04. Font selection Typography plays a crucial role in conveying your brand's personality. A good font is legible at various sizes and on different platforms. Choose fonts that are easy to read yet have character. For example, if you want to hint at tradition and heritage, you might want to select a more classic serif font like Times New Roman. Conversely, if you’re catering to a younger demographic, you could go with a sans-serif font like Arial for a more modern feel. Read more: Best fonts for logos that will make your logo stand out. 05. Choose the right tools With some concepts in hand, use tools to bring your logo to life. Get started with a free tool, like the Wix Logo Maker to design a professional logo from scratch. This might prove to be helpful when considering your logo design cost. Tips for creating a memorable farm logo A memorable farm logo can significantly impact your brand's recognition and perception. Here are some logo design tips and key elements to consider when designing a type of logo that leaves a lasting impression. Simplicity: A simple design is easier to recognize and remember. Relevance: Your logo should be appropriate for the farming industry and resonate with your target audience. Versatility: A great logo looks good on various platforms, from product labels to digital ads. Timelessness: Aim for a design that won't feel outdated in a few years. When brainstorming ideas, think about what makes your farm unique. Is it the organic methods you use, the heritage breeds you raise or the history and story behind your family? Use these concepts to inform your design choices. Organic shapes: Curved lines and natural forms can convey an organic, eco-friendly approach. Heritage elements: Classic fonts or vintage illustrations can reflect tradition and history. Remember to select imagery that aligns with what you produce or the services you offer to maximize your logo’s impact on customers. For example, if you specialize in dairy products, consider including a cow or milk bottle in your design. Farm logo FAQ

If you’re trying to figure out how to start a business, you would do well to look to Jason Feifer for inspiration. In addition to being the editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur, Feifer produces a podcast, writes a newsletter, and advises people interested in becoming an entrepreneur. If that weren’t enough, he recently wrote a book, Build For Tomorrow, about preparing for change and building a more resilient, fulfilling career. We spoke to him to learn more about his journey and the lessons he learned along the way. Already building your business? Set up your business website to drum up interest. Wix: In "Build for Tomorrow," you say that entrepreneurship is more of a state of mind than a description of your work. Can you tell us a little bit more about that thinking? Jason Feifer: [Entrepreneur] used to be an uncommon word that denoted a founder at a very specific stage in their journey. Now, so many different kinds of people identify with this word. People are looking for ways to be and think self-sufficiently, even if they’re an employee. Obviously, there's a big difference between what a founder does and what an employee does, but the emotional journey of trying to get somewhere by yourself is relatable across so many fields. Horizontal thinking is—I make a thing, I put it out in the world, I move along, and I just keep doing that. But entrepreneurs have trained themselves in what I call "vertical thinking." They do something because they think it’s the foundation upon which to build the next thing. I think the more anybody in any position thinks that way—what they do now will drive toward opportunity later—the more growth they can unlock for themselves. Related: Entrepreneurs and Thought Leadership: Why the Two Go Hand in Hand You talk about “redefining failure” in your book, and I wondered if we also need to redefine what success looks like: How do you define success for yourself if there is no finish line? It's an unbelievably valuable thing if you can think about failure as data. We need to define success for ourselves in realistic and meaningful ways. It's not like you get this thing you were working toward, then there's cake and you get to go home. It just opens the next door. You've got to figure out how to get to the next one. We can step back and set goals for ourselves that aren’t about succeeding but about achieving momentum. I often think back to this guy named Ryan Holiday who has written a lot of best-selling books. He wrote this piece about what it's like to be successful, and how it weirdly doesn't feel like anything. Success and failure don't necessarily transform you. So, we have to set our expectations differently. It sounds like your definition of success is always growing, looking toward the next step of your journey, exploring something different, trying something new. The goal that I set for myself is basically, “How can I figure out what the next transformation is?” This is why I have constantly upgraded the thing that I do and the way I do it. I don't know that it can get any more specific than that, and I'm not sure that it should. That connects to your idea that we shouldn’t identify ourselves by the job we have but by the thing that drives us. One thing that drives all types of entrepreneurs is having a sense of ownership over the thing they're doing. When I was a magazine editor, I used to think that I wanted to be the owner of the thing we were making. I wanted it to be my vision. This is not out of a sense of wanting to control; rather, it’s because the work is a product of my own abilities. When I got to that place with Entrepreneur, I realized that the next step was ownership of myself. I had an opportunity to build things outside of the magazine that were just mine. So, every time I achieve something that moves me further in that direction, I feel like that is a marker of success. It's abstract, but it's scalable—and it means that there are lots of little wins along the way. I really loved all of your examples of moral panics that seem really ridiculous from our vantage point. My favorite was the anecdote in which the musician suggested mothers would stop singing lullabies to their children because of the radio. Do you see entrepreneurs panicking about some sort of change that you think is going to seem ridiculous in 20 years? This is an oversimplification, but you can divide the world into people who feel like they are being acted on and people who feel like they are the actors. I think the fear of new things is often driven by people who feel like they are being acted upon and don't have control over the things that are coming into their world. It's new, so their instinct is to push back on them. Entrepreneurs feel like they produce new things. They have their own set of problems—they are often too optimistic, so they might be blind to how new things might not be as impactful as they think. You can think about those Lime and Bird scooters. I think it's a great technology, and I'm really happy it exists. But when they first came out, the talk was like, “This is going to revolutionize urban transportation.” But they didn't revolutionize transportation. They just added one more good option. We have to understand that the new things that come along aren't going to destroy, but they're also probably not going to transform. Occasionally, you make Google and it literally transforms everything. But most of the time, you don't. Most of the time, what you make is something that's useful and has value. And sometimes it takes us a while to understand the value and how to refine it to be useful for the most people. Do you ever worry that this mindset could be weaponized in order to shut down or dismiss real issues and valid feelings? That’s a very realistic concern about a totally optimistic, unquestioning approach to saying every new thing is good. I agree that problems need to be engaged with. The thing that we should not do is say, “Is this perfect?” Because nothing is going to be perfect. Oftentimes, we focus so much on the problems that we say the problem is the whole thing. We might say, “Oh, these scooters are blocking bike lanes, and the solution is to get these things out of my city.” I don't think that's the realistic or smart way to think about it. I think the better way to think about it is, “Is our new problem better than our old problem?” Because that allows for problems, and you evaluate whether we're on the right path to address this new problem and make things even better.

After deciding to create a website, determining how social media fits into your marketing strategy should be your next step. It may seem like a can that you can kick down the road, but social media offers one of the quickest ways to build your online presence. In particular, TikTok presents an opportunity to get in front of more than 1 billion active users each month. With its addictive infotainment-style videos, TikTok gives brands large and small a platform for engaging consumers in a fresh, exciting way. That said, if you’re looking to get started on TikTok, it pays to analyze user behaviors and understand when consumers are most engaged. Audiences differ from market to market and business to business, so you’ll want to take the time to study your specific audience and identify the best times for your business to engage with them on TikTok. Why does posting time matter on TikTok? Going viral on TikTok requires high-quality content and a bit of luck. But understanding what the TikTok algorithm looks at—especially as it pertains to timing—can help you improve your luck. In addition to factors like user interactions, user information and video information, the TikTok algorithm takes timeliness into consideration. It values fresh and recent content. In other words, newer videos have a higher chance of being recommended, especially if they relate to current trends or events. Therefore, posting your content when users are most likely to see it means you'll have a better chance at grabbing their attention and encouraging engagement. More specifically, your posting time on TikTok can have the following effects: Your video may get more engagement: Newly posted videos are initially shown to a relatively small group of users that TikTok's algorithm selects based on past interests and behavior. If they engage with your video, then the algorithm will share it with more people with similar interests. This is the main reason why posting when your target audience is most active increases your chances of reaching more people. Your video is more likely to show up on TikTok's “For You” page: TikTok displays a personalized stream of videos on each user’s “For You” page. The TikTok algorithm recommends videos to users based on their interests and past behavior. So, if you’re able to catch users’ attention early and often, you may have a higher chance of getting seen on their “For You” pages later down the road. You can get an extra boost depending on the context: Trends, seasons and current events all influence what content appears on the “For You” page. Similarly, timing your content based on certain periods of the day could influence engagement. For example, if you’re posting about a current event, it helps to be one of the first covering the breaking news. Alternatively, if you’re posting a dance video, you might have better engagement in the afternoon when students are back from school. You may stand out more when posting during slower periods: It might seem counterintuitive, but posting during times when TikTok is less busy could help your video stand out. With fewer videos vying for attention, your posts may have a better opportunity to stand out and gain traction among the TikTok community. Timing is an essential part of what should be a more robust TikTok marketing strategy that incorporates things like hashtags, influencer partnerships and high-quality video production. All these elements work together to give your videos the best chances of being seen. When is the best time to post on TikTok? Sprout Social’s study of 400,000 social profiles suggests that Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in your time zone are the best times to post on TikTok. Engagement is at its highest on those days because “users are looking to fill their afternoon entertainment boost.” Meanwhile, the same study suggests that Sundays are the worst days to post, especially if you’re working in consumer goods, tourism or education. That said, other studies point to different optimal times, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the above question. For this reason, it’s important to consider other factors that are specific to your audience when deciding the best time to post on TikTok. 5 factors for determining the best time to post on TikTok Knowing the most popular engagement times on TikTok is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to maximizing post visibility. There are other elements that come into play, and each will impact your ability to reach users on the platform. 01. Audience time zone The key to figuring out the best time to post on TikTok is figuring out when your target audience is most likely to be active online. Whether you have followers from around the corner or across the globe, adjusting your posting schedule to match their local time can make a big difference. By aligning your posting schedule with your audience’s time zone, you can increase the chances of getting more engagement and interactions. Pro tip: Take advantage of your website data for insight into your audience’s demographics. For instance, Wix Analytics’ Traffic Overview report can show you the countries and regions that most site visitors hail from. This can help you to identify the best markets to target on TikTok, and inform your posting schedule and content. 02. Audience age Different age groups have distinct online habits and peak activity periods. For example, if you’re targeting a younger demographic, your audience might be more active during after-school hours or in the evenings. On the other hand, if your target audience is more of a nine-to-five crowd, they may be more active before work or during their lunch break. 03. Follower activity TikTok's analytics tool offers valuable insights into when your actual followers are most active. Once you earn more than 100 followers, you can access this info directly from your profile. But if you want even more detailed analytics, you might want to think about upgrading to TikTok for Business. With upgraded analytics, you'll get deeper insights into your followers' activity patterns, how engaged they are and how well your content is performing. Here are some tips for using your TikTok Analytics dashboard to help you plan the timing of your posts: Review follower activity: TikTok provides information about when (by day and time) your followers are most active and where they're located. For example, TikTok Analytics may tell you that your U.S.-based followers are most active at 10 p.m. on Thursdays, whereas your Australian followers are much more engaged at 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Review post engagement trends: Analyze reactions, comments, shares and reach of all your posts to understand when certain types of content resonate most with your followers. Review which posts performed best: This will help you develop a feel for the best days and times to post for your existing followers. It’s also a good way to begin testing a broader time/day posting strategy for TikTok. Review your "follower by the hour" numbers: This helpful stat provides an hour-by-hour chart illustrating when your followers are most likely to be online. Look at both overall and specific metrics: It's important to examine overall audience trends and dive into more detailed insights, such as specific video performance numbers. Doing such a comprehensive analysis will give you the most accurate sense of when and how frequently to post. Pay attention to content metrics: Content metrics like watch time, views by region, full video watches and total shares are important because they help you understand what content is working. Adjust your posting strategy based on these insights to effectively create a posting timeline that resonates with your audience. Pro tip: Compare your TikTok findings with your Wix Analytics to understand which of your posts yield sales. Reports such as Wix’s Top Traffic Sources report can help you track the number of visitors that enter your site through TikTok, as well as the products or services that these buyers gravitate towards. 04. Trends, events and occasions Occasions, seasons and trends are all great opportunities for posting timely content. Look out for what’s trending on TikTok and plan to capitalize on special occasions like holidays, movie releases or occasions like “National Sibling Day" or "Women's History Month." Additionally, staying up-to-date about current events can help you create social media marketing content that resonates with your audience. 05. Competitor activity Doing competitor research on TikTok can provide valuable insights when determining what time to post on the platform. Take the time to explore your competitors' business profiles and identify the videos that have garnered the most engagement. If there are any patterns in the timing of those posts, it’s worth testing to see if those posting times increase the engagement around your content. How to find the best time to post on TikTok for you Ultimately, the best time to post on TikTok depends on your business goals, target audience and the type of content you produce. While there are some basic guidelines to keep in mind—like posting when your audience is most active and testing different timing strategies—you'll need to experiment with a range of different approaches to find the right combination that works for you. Start with your existing followers and content by monitoring post activity, engagement trends and demographics to set the stage for building a wider audience on TikTok. Also, pay attention to content metrics like watch time, views by region, full video watches and total shares. These data points shed light on what your audience finds interesting (or not). Finally, make sure to experiment with different posting strategies. Try posting at different times, on different weekdays and with varying frequency. Since TikTok is a global platform, your audience may be larger than you realize. Post with time zones in mind, then monitor where viewers are coming from and when they respond. Give yourself time to learn and gain data. You may not immediately find a strategy that works, but it's okay if you don't get it right away. Adjust your approach as needed and eventually you'll find the perfect time to post on TikTok for your brand.

When Lindy Alexander left her full-time job to give freelancing a try, she gave herself one year to make it work. In her first 11 months of freelancing, she made $100,000. Seven years later, she is an award-winning travel writer with an expansive portfolio on her business website, a steady stream of assignments and a six-figure income. On top of that, she runs her own online business, The Freelancer’s Year. What started as a career advice blog for other freelancers (across many types of businesses) has expanded to include a newsletter, courses, and private coaching. When I first started freelancing, I knew nothing about how to start a business or how to create a freelance website. Lindy’s course put me on the right track. Although she primarily works with writers, her strategies are applicable to all sorts of freelancers and digital nomads. So, I sat down with her to learn more about the secrets to her success and how you can use them to make it big. Wix: You made $100,000 in the first 11 months of freelancing, which is wildly impressive. What was your plan for your transition to freelance work? Lindy Alexander: My passion was in feature writing, but I didn't feel like I would earn the bulk of my money that way. I decided to get into content marketing. So, I zhuzhed up my LinkedIn profile and reached out to people I had written for before. I leveraged my health writing experience and asked health organizations if they needed a freelance writer. I sent out letters of introduction to everyone. Did you dip your toe into freelance writing while you were working full time, or did you just jump right in? It started as a side hustle. I took a feature writing course and published an article by the time it ended. I just kept pitching, getting gigs and writing articles. Eventually, editors started to come to me with assignments. Suddenly, my desire to be a social worker diminished. I started focusing on freelancing [and hit a] point when I wondered if I could sustain an income as a full-time freelancer. I was thrilled when people started paying me to write. But when I started doing it full-time, I had to look at it from a business perspective. I looked at all the work I had done over the previous 18 months and thought, “I can't spend six hours on an article that pays me $120 unless it’s a passion project.” I focused on getting work that would bring in the bulk of my income. The freelance path is so unpredictable. It’s either drizzling or pouring. How do you manage the flow of your business? I think those feast or famine times come from insecurity. A lot of freelancers don’t feel confident that they can charge what they want, say no to assignments, or push timelines back. Clients often hire freelancers with the perspective that it’s an emergency and we absorb that. I’m much better now at remembering that their emergency is not mine. Holding those boundaries is so difficult, but so important. This is my business, and I need it to work for me. What other factors do you think would make freelancers’ lives easier? Consistency. Freelancers come to me and say, “I’m not getting any traction with these letters of introduction.” But when I talk to them about it, they’ve only done it for a week or so. It’s a numbers game, so you need to keep putting yourself out there. Having a long-term view is really important. When freelancers are busy, they think, “I cannot possibly take on anything else.” But when things are quiet, the vehicle has totally stopped. It takes a while to get those wheels turning again, and people panic. You don’t have to be in full acceleration mode [all the time]. Just stay in touch and people will come back to you. I kept in touch with an editor over the last four years and never worked for him. But he called me last week with work. Some connections pay off quickly, but others take years to germinate. Many freelancers get anxious about quoting or negotiating rates. How do you navigate that conversation? An internal hourly rate makes it easier. Have an income target each month and each week. You need to know how many hours you want to work and how much you want to earn for each hour. Track your hours so you know how long it takes you to write a 600-word blog post or a 12,000-word white paper. You’re not just pulling out a number. You know exactly what works for you. If they don’t accept it, you can move on and pursue other opportunities. When do you forgo the high-paying jobs for passion projects? Usually, it’s travel or food writing. Next month, I’m going overseas for 10 days. I won’t get paid very much, but I’m going to have incredible opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have. I just have to [plan to] have enough work to carry me through. I just had an editor [reach out with] 10 stories to assign. I told her I could only take on two, but I could help find other writers. It comes back to that confidence piece. I’m much better at saying to editors, “I can’t take this on,” or “I’m away, but I could take this on next month.” How do you manage the stuff like networking and blogging that doesn’t make money? For me, I work out how many actual hours of writing work I do a week [and base my rates on that]. When people want to make $100K per year, that is $8,333 a month, $400 per weekday. But you’re not working eight hours a day for 52 weeks. You have to give yourself breaks. And at least 30% of my time goes to bookkeeping, researching, pitching and blogging. It’s really about planning and keeping control of your time. It’s not sexy, but it makes everything so much easier. You’ve stayed in freelance for 11 years at this point. What makes the hard work worthwhile? If you have a salaried position, you have a cap on what you can earn (see how to start a service business). I’m not particularly money-motivated, but I can see the direct correlation between the [freelance] work I do and the amount I get paid. I love the flexibility, freedom and variation of freelance. I’ve written about parenting, health, business and education. Now, I’m in travel writing. There are so many opportunities to pursue what you love and to meet interesting people. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.