Generative AI

CheggMate

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Is Chegg facing an inevitable decline due to AI? Discover the nuances behind its revenue drop and industry changes. The post CheggMate appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Content Planning

The 6 Best Content Planning Software — Experts Explain Their Top Choice

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I’ve been in content marketing since early 2015. With almost a decade of experience, I’ve tested dozens of content planning software, spreadsheets, and calendars over the years. Collaborations with leading companies like HubSpot, Cognism, Userpilot, and small startups gave me the chance to work with tons of workflows and features. Some were love at first click, and some were meh. This article is a rundown of my six favorite content planning tools out there, complemented with insights from other content experts. Table of Contents What is content planning software? 4 Benefits of Using Content Planning Software What to Look for in Content Planning Software The 6 Best Content Planning Software What is content planning software? Content planning software is a tool that helps you organize, schedule, track progress and post-dues, and manage your content creation process with teammates in one place. It keeps your ideas, deadlines, briefs, publishing, and content distribution tasks on track, whether you’re working solo or as part of a team. A content marketing manager easily spots gaps in content planning one month’s time ahead and gets their team to address the issues collaboratively. 4 Benefits of Using Content Planning Software Content planning software is so versatile that its benefits become a long list. Yet I’d group them together into four categories: 1. Keeps everything organized and saves time. Remember the days when your content ideas were scattered across random docs and notes? OK, I’m still guilty of it. But now I move everything written to software and set deadlines, add attachments, draft the concept into a task’s description, etc. Plus, it became a priority for our team’s weekly planning meetings — every idea goes to a backlog where a manager or responsible person picks tasks to work on a given week. At HubSpot, we also use Asana to organize content marketing, media, and SEO, work with contractors and freelancers to keep them on track, and govern the whole process of content creation. 2. Helps track progress. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing tasks move from “in progress” to “done.” I love the visual progress bars and calendars — they keep me motivated and show me exactly where things stand. Speaking of that, Scan2CAD demonstrated how Trello streamlined its workflows. With over 90,000 customers and fewer than 25 employees, they needed a simple way to track progress. Before Trello, juggling multiple systems made tracking a headache for the entire time. Now, Trello takes care of everything and gives a clear view of where each task stands — from content creation to sales to development. Its straightforward setup made it easy to manage workflows and hit deadlines. As CEO Luke Kennedy, says, “We’ve saved hours of time and pain, plus a lot of money.” 3. Encourages collaboration. Instead of endless email threads, everyone in the team updates the same tool. Comments, changes, and approvals happen all in one place, saving us tons of back-and-forth. Mangopay’s experience with Notion is a perfect example of this. They streamlined their knowledge-sharing by replacing multiple tools with a single workspace. This added to collaboration and engagement — 64% of their 500 employees contribute as editors and 91% are active monthly. By tearing down silos, Mangopay saw impressive results — like eliminating an HR Slack channel because answers were all in Wikis. Source 4. Improves efficiency. Having a clear plan means fewer last-minute scrambles, which leads to better ideas and execution. I can now schedule brainstorming sessions and still have time to refine everything before it goes live. A perfect example of this is ON24 and their experience with CoSchedule. Before they started using it, their marketing team struggled with organizing their social media and blog content. Deadlines were missed, and opportunities to grow their online presence were often overlooked. But once they centralized their content planning, they quadrupled their blog output from 24 to 112 blogs a year🔥. This boost in content production drove a 98% increase in blog traffic and a massive 1,412% growth in organic traffic. Source A content planning tool is a must. But how should you select which one to use from so many options? What to Look for in Content Planning Software When I was looking for a perfect content planning tool, here’s what I focused on: Ease of use. I wanted something simple. No complicated dashboards and a fancy design to waste time figuring out how to use it. Collaboration. Since I work with a team, it needed to have real-time collaboration features. Task assignments, comments, attachments, postponed tasks, notifications, recurring tasks, multiple assignees, subtasks, and easy file sharing were a must. Content calendar. I needed a solid content calendar to keep everything organized and on schedule. I wanted to see all my posts and deadlines in one spot. Customization. I needed to adjust the tool to fit my process. I didn’t want to change how I worked just to make the tool fit. Integrations. It had to sync with other tools I already use — social media managers, analytics, you name it. Analytics. I wanted to track how my content was doing without pulling info from a bunch of places. Templates. Templates for blogs, social posts, and newsletters helped me save time. No need to start from scratch every time. Mobile access. I needed a tool I could access on the go. Cloud-based or mobile-friendly was another must. Storage. I wanted to store everything in one place — drafts, images, final pieces — so I don’t need to dig through emails or folders. Alright, let’s now see which tools cover all (or at least most) of these nine points mentioned. Each one has its strengths, and in the end, I’ll leave the final decision up to you. The 6 Best Content Planning Software 1. ​​Asana My first time using Asana wasn’t exactly a great experience — but I didn’t really give it a fair shot. Plus, to be honest, it wasn’t as awesome back then as it is now. Now, 90% of my past

marketing budget

Marketing Budget: How Much Should Your Team Spend in 2025? [By Industry]

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As a marketer, I’ve learned firsthand that developing a marketing budget is a critical component of any marketing strategy. Unfortunately, figuring out exactly how much your team should spend can be no small challenge. In this blog post, I’ll share some helpful marketing budget templates. I’ll also share what a marketing budget is, why you need one, and everything else you need to create a marketing budget with confidence. So, let’s get started! Table of Contents What is a marketing budget? How Much to Spend on Marketing Why You Need a Marketing Budget Inside a Typical Marketing Budget Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue Marketing Budgets by Industry Marketing Budget Best Practices What is a marketing budget? As content strategist Rana Bano explains, “A marketing budget outlines the specific amount of money a company allocates to its marketing activities.” She continues, “It influences your marketing strategy by helping you understand how much you spend promoting your business.” But what exactly does this look like in practice? As with anything, the specifics of an effective marketing budget will vary depending on your unique industry, organization, and resources. I’ve found that for companies that prioritize digital ads, for instance, breaking down target spending by different types of online ads can be helpful. For example, the marketing budget below outlines target spending for Google Ads and Instagram Ads: Source In contrast, other organizations may be less focused on digital advertising platforms. For these companies, specifying spending on marketing traditional platforms such as billboards, TV and radio ads, or in-person events may be more useful. The sample budget below details spending for an in-person event, accounting for everything from venue and food costs to name tags, programs, and swag items: Source How Much to Spend on Marketing So, you know you need a marketing budget. But what’s the best way to decide how much to spend on different marketing initiatives? In my experience, I’ve found that it’s important first to determine how much funding is available for all of your marketing efforts. There are different approaches to answering this question, but if you’re not sure where to start, I’ve learned that benchmarking against industry averages can be helpful. A recent survey of chief marketing officers found that an average 7.7% of company revenue was allocated to marketing in 2024 — so, making sure your marketing budget falls around that range is likely a good idea. Then, once you’ve determined how much funding you have access to, you can start to figure out how much to spend on different parts of your marketing strategy. This can start with a fairly high-level view. For example, the sample B2C and B2B budgets below outline how much of a total marketing budget should go toward several broad categories. Source Of course, once you’ve laid out a rough, high-level budget, it’s time to get specific. Here’s one of my favorite examples of a detailed marketing budget, which illustrates just how granular you can get with allocating marketing spend: Source Why You Need a Marketing Budget Take it from me: Today’s marketing landscape is complicated. Budget cuts are more frequent than ever, and underperforming marketers quickly fall under the axe. Beyond that, more than half of marketers in HubSpot’s recent survey reported that how they spend their budget and the ROI it produces is being scrutinized more now than it was in the past. That’s why a comprehensive marketing budget is so important. A well-thought-out budget will help you avoid these negative outcomes and ensure you have the cash you need to execute your marketing strategy. In addition, I’ve learned that developing a marketing budget can help you: Prioritize projects to invest in. Allocate funds for software purchases. Compare your year-over-year progress. Allocate funds for projects in advance. Justify the importance of specific projects. Calculate the ROI from your marketing projects. Show the value of proposed marketing projects to your higher-ups. Show positive ROI, which can help you get a bigger budget in the future. Allocate funds for freelancers and full-time hires who’ll execute your strategy. At the end of the day, sustained investment is critical for marketing success. As Vistatec CMO Simon Hodgkins points out, “To avoid the pitfalls of reduced marketing budgets, companies must reframe their view of marketing from a cost to an investment. This investment should be aimed at achieving long-term objectives, such as brand building, customer acquisition, and market expansion.” It may be tempting to cut costs by thoughtlessly trimming your marketing budget — but that’s unlikely to pay off in the long term. Inside a Typical Marketing Budget According to a recent survey from HubSpot, today’s marketers are seeing the biggest ROI from social media marketing tools. As such, it’s no surprise that these platforms are receiving the lion’s share of many organizations’ marketing budgets. Specifically, when asked which formats deliver the highest ROI, survey respondents highlighted the following areas: Short-form video (21.02%). Images (19.47%). Live streaming video (15.53%). Interviews (15.19%). Blog posts (14.79%). In addition, when asked where they plan to increase marketing investment in 2025, respondents mentioned the following areas: Short-form video (17.13%). Images (14.85%). UGC (13.93%). Live streaming (13.88%). Podcasts or other audio content (13.08%). Of course, social media has been a core component of marketing for years. However, in 2024, another growing marketing trend emerged: Nearly one in four survey respondents reported that influencer marketing played a substantial role in their 2024 strategy. Moreover, respondents shared that in many cases, working with small-scale influencers (that is, influencers with audiences under 100k) is particularly effective. These trends suggest that, when allocating their marketing budgets, more marketers are prioritizing social media marketing and small-scale influencer marketing. Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Revenue Decisions related to marketing budget allocation remain largely industry-specific. But, as a general rule of thumb, experts suggest that B2B companies should spend 2-5% of their revenue on marketing, while B2C companies should spend closer to 5-10%. Marketing Budgets by Industry Diving a little deeper, it’s helpful

Landing Pages

7 Essential Landing Page Elements You Need to Have

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Landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation. But they’re only effective if you know what to put on a landing page to begin with. It’s common to put more attention and resources into your main website and product pages, but landing pages are the most direct way to convert a higher percentage of visitors into leads. To get the most out of your lead generation strategy and increase your conversion rate, here’s what to put on a landing page. Landing Page Elements A great landing page turns your visitors into leads. Sometimes referred to as a lead-capture page, landing pages contain a lead generation form that collects the visitors’ contact information in exchange for something of value, like an ebook, an offer, or a discount. The basic elements of a great landing page are: A headline and (optional) subheading A brief description of what’s being offered At least one supporting image or short video Most importantly, a form on the landing page itself to capture information. If, for some reason, you can’t include a form on the landing page, use a large CTA button to direct visitors to the next step. GDPR compliance and any other legal requirements It’s optional, but supporting proof elements like testimonials, customer logos, or security badges can build your credibility with new leads Optional AI chatbot The difference between a landing page and your main website is that your website doesn’t have a single goal or call-to-action (CTA) for visitors to follow. The goal of a landing page is to tell your visitors exactly what you want them to do and why they should do it. You can create as many landing pages as you want — one for every campaign or offer you launch, for example. According to a 2023 survey we conducted, over half of marketers have between five and 10 landing pages on their websites. Homepages, while still an important element of a website, are typically less focused on a particular task because they serve the masses. They’re great for direct traffic, but when you can control how visitors arrive on your site, a landing page is the best place to send them. When you have a specific product or campaign to promote, create a dedicated landing page for it. You can drive traffic to that page through email marketing, social media, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. If your messaging and the rest of the landing page features are aligned with the visitor’s goals, you’ll have a greater chance of converting visitors into leads. In a 2023 HubSpot survey of 101 marketers, 10.9% say their landing pages have a 20% or higher conversion rate on average. Wondering what it takes to get a stellar landing page conversion rate? Check out the tips below to learn what to put on a landing page to drive traffic and gain leads. What to Put on a Landing Page: 10 Tips and Best Practices 1. Never use your homepage as a landing page. It can be tempting to direct visitors to your website homepage simply because you’re unsure what to put on a landing page in the first place. But if you’re running a campaign for a specific product or offer, you need a dedicated landing page. As mentioned above, homepages typically have too much messaging, making visitors feel lost. I’d also recommend not using a main site product page either. Even if your homepage and sub-pages are awesome, a dedicated landing page will perform better when it comes to converting visitors into leads because they are focused on one task. Plus, you don’t need experienced design skills to create landing pages. You can use a landing page builder to seamlessly create a landing page that matches your website and offering. In fact, our survey found that 43.6% of marketers use pre-made CMS themes and templates to create their landing pages. Get Started With HubSpot’s Free Landing Page Builder 2. Follow the standard structure. Your headline should be benefit-focused to let people know right away what’s in it for them. Keep it brief while clearly communicating your offer. You can go into more detail with a brief description. The description should emphasize the benefit in the headline and provide a few more reasons why visitors should convert. Writing compelling copy that engages users can be a challenge at times. But don’t let this part slow you down in the landing page process. Instead, consider using an AI tool like HubSpot’s Campaign Assistant. The tool can help you generate copy for your landing page in seconds — all you have to do is refine it so it’s in your brand voice. Speaking of AI: If you have an AI chatbot, consider using it on product landing pages. Here’s an example from HubSpot’s landing page for its landing page builder (say that 10 times fast): Finally, don’t skip the visuals. Of marketers surveyed, 38.6% say that video is the landing page element that most positively impacts conversion rate, while 35.6% say imagery or graphics do. In either case, landing page visuals are clearly impactful, so take your time developing images and videos for your landing page campaigns. 3. Remove extra navigation. A landing page is used for one purpose and one purpose alone — to encourage a visitor to take a specific action. To keep visitors focused on your landing page’s content and message, remove the main site navigation from the page so they don’t move off the page. We ran an A/B test for paid ad visitors and found that removing the main navigation boosted our CVR by 11%. Rebecca Hinton, a CRO strategist here at HubSpot, says, “If you send [paid ad visitors] to a website with full navigation, maybe they get distracted. Maybe they just [wanted the ebook].” HubSpotter Curt del Principe talked to Hinton and has the whole story, plus everything you need to run your own A/B test. You should also be mindful of navigation as it relates

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