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Brands in ecommerce have the wonderful advantage of having access to a broader number of consumers than their local counterparts. Before you can woo a broader base of consumers, it is important to recognize the diversity that exists among them, and the intention required to convert them.

I’m an inclusive marketing strategist and run an inclusive marketing consultancy.

Last year I did audits of multiple ecommerce websites, and found the same opportunities for improvement over and over again from the perspective of how brands can do a better job of converting more of their ideal consumers who are part of underrepresented and underserved communities.

Consumers, no matter their identity, are looking for an answer to this fundamental question: is this brand for people like me?

There are three core areas that signal to a consumer whether or not a brand is for them or not. And as a result of those signals, the consumer will make a decision whether or not to take the next step forward with you, or not.

Signals That Tell Ecommerce Customers a Brand Is for Them

1. Representation

The people you want to serve need to see themselves, or who they aspire to be, reflected in the visual imagery your brand puts forth.

When they see themselves represented in the models you use, in your customer testimonials, or even imagery of your team, they receive a signal from you that communicates “people like me belong here.” When they don’t see themselves represented, the signal they receive is, “This brand isn’t for you.”

2. Customer Experience

Delivering experiences that have as little friction as possible for the people you serve, especially those with identities that are part of underrepresented and underserved communities, will demonstrate to them that you’ve taken the time to consider them to ensure they feel like they belong with you.

3. Identity-Based Design

One of the most effective ways to eliminate friction in your customer experience, is to design your ecommerce user experience with specific identities in mind.

By considering the various types of identities your ideal customers hold in the design and development process, it makes it easier for you to incorporate elements that make people with those identities feel seen, supported, and like they belong with you.

If you need additional resources to help you with your ecommerce strategy, check out this Ecommerce Planning Kit from HubSpot.

Examples of Inclusive Ecommerce Websites

Here are eight examples of ecommerce websites that have done a good job of designing for the needs of consumers with specific underrepresented and underserved identities.

1. Moo and Farm Rio take a global approach to converting more consumers.

Smart marketers know that people who have the problem their brands solve don’t just live in one country or speak one language. As such, it is helpful to showcase to these consumers immediately when they land on your website that your brand is for them.

Business card print house Moo does it by placing an option in the main navigation of its website that enables site visitors to select which country they are in, and the associated language they need. Based on the selection, the website automatically changes to the country’s corresponding language.

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Retailer Farm Rio takes a similar approach. Consumers are able to select which country they live in from the main navigation. Once confirmed, pricing and shipping options for the clothing items change to reflect the local currency of where the consumer is shopping from.

In this image, the country selected is Morocco, and prices are shown in their currency, the Dirham.

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Having to do a price conversion adds unnecessary friction, and sends a strong signal that “This brand isn’t for me.”

This episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast details how to build an effective multilingual content strategy so you can attract more people who speak other languages to your website.

2. Dolce & Gabbana leans into accessibility.

Just because someone has a disability, that doesn’t mean that they don’t enjoy wearing stylish clothes. 15% of the world’s population has some form of disability.

As such, making your website accessible enables you to support the needs of a broader group of people, while delivering an experience with less friction.

Fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana has embraced accessibility, by making it so website visitors can adjust accessibility settings to suit their needs.

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3. Amazon delivers an effective experience for neurodivergent consumers.

Estimates show that between 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent, including people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and sensory processing disorder.

Amazon is a brand that is making an intentional effort to serve these consumers.

In this video, three neurodiversity consultants, who are also consumers, share the ways in which Amazon delivers an experience that supports their needs.

You can catch the full discussion on how brands can design experiences that work for neurodivergent consumers on this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast.

4. Calvin Klein, Fenty Skin, and Bonds welcome LGBTQ+ consumers.

Smart brands demonstrate to the LGBTQ+ community that they are seen, supported, and belong all year long, rather than just with PRIDE month limited edition products and rainbows.

Retailer Calvin Klein does it by showcasing a broad diversity of masculinity in the models it features on its website. Here’s how one gay male consumer explained why that range of representation is important to him.

Another way ecommerce brands can show support to the LGBTQ+ community is in how products are classified.

Fenty Beauty made its skincare line gender neutral, so there was no need to label products being for “men” or “women” which can exclude people who are non-binary. The brand even goes as far to showcase gender diversity in the models using the products.

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And underwear brand Bonds has done it by offering a gender-free line of its clothes.

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You can find more tips on how to build an LGBTQ+ inclusive brand on this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast.

5. Cooper’s Hawk embraces dietary restrictions.

Many restaurants now have an ecommerce arm to their business, as they start asking, and even encouraging, people to grab takeout via online ordering.

As someone with dietary restrictions, I’ve always been reluctant to embrace the convenience of ordering food online, for fear of the staff not seeing my write-in requests for accommodations with my food.

Cooper’s Hawk has addressed this fear. Within the online ordering section, they’ve created separate products that are labeled gluten-free. Even the name of the product has a “GF” at the end, so me or anyone else with a gluten-free restriction doesn’t have to write anything in and pray the notes were read.

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The brand takes a similar approach to vegan items on the vegetarian menu. A person can feel reassured that their food will in fact be vegan because it is labeled on the website as, “Vegan Sweet Corn & Tomato Risotto”

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6. Savage X Fenty puts women of all sizes front and center.

The average clothing for a woman in the US and the UK is 16-18. But too often, the models showcasing clothing on ecommerce retail sites are models who wear much smaller sizes.

Savage X Fenty takes a different approach. The brand features a broad range of diversity in the models it uses, including a range of body sizes and types.

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And when it comes time for consumers to select their size, they don’t have to deal with being labeled “plus-sized” as other retailers often do. They just select from the broad range of sizes offered by the brand.

7. David’s Bridal’s approach to race and ethnicity.

There are many different identities your consumers have when it comes to race and ethnicity.

As such, when you’re thinking about the people you feature on your website, make sure you include a range of models that reflect those races and ethnicities.

Pro tip: Don’t opt for trying to use models who are racially ambiguous to try to appeal to the broadest range of consumers. It actually has the opposite effect, and frustrates people (often those of darker complexions) who often don’t see themselves represented.

Retailer David’s Bridal does this on their website, by highlighting a broad diversity of races and ethnicities with their models that is reflective of the people who buy their dresses.

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8. Ikea embraces religious traditions like Diwali.

Consumers who have the problem your brand solves will also have a diversity of religious affiliations, traditions, and celebrations. While most brands lean hard into traditional Christian holidays, such as Christmas, more brands are starting to add additional holidays to the ones they celebrate.

Ikea has added products for Diwali, to see and serve consumers who celebrate it.

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And consumers appreciate that IKEA has products for them. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube of people showing their Diwali hauls from IKEA.

Make Your Ecommerce Website More Inclusive

There’s no downside to doing so. The more people you’re able to send clear signals that “you belong here” through your intentional design and user experience choices, the more people you’ll be able to convert.

The post 8 Inclusive Ecommerce Websites That Drive Growth appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

What I Learned About Using AI to Identify Target Audiences & Tools to Try

I‘ll be honest: I don’t know anything about an “AI target audience” or finding an audience via AI.

However, I want to learn because I recently started working with a local pole fitness studio in my neighborhood.

I want to help it gain new students. So, dear reader, we are going to learn about AI audience targeting, its benefits, and helpful AI target audience tools together.

Here we go!

Table of Contents

• What is AI audience targeting?
• Benefits of Using AI for Target Audiences
• How to Find Your Target Audience Using AI
• 6 Best AI Tools for Target Audience Research

What is AI audience targeting?

After some research, I’ve found that AI audience targeting is when you use artificial intelligence to find and engage with a distinct group of potential customers (your target audience).

Specifically, AI target audience tools examine audience behaviors, interests, regional preferences, and demographics to guide marketing strategies and content.

Benefits of Using AI for Target Audiences

Using AI target audience tools can help improve many aspects of a marketing strategy.

I’m personally most interested in how it can help with advertising, content, and customer engagement since these are most important to me as I help my neighborhood business.

Advertising

AI target audience tools would be most helpful in advertising because they could analyze large quantities of data in seconds, allowing me to draw conclusions quicker, decide on my advertising strategy, and pivot quickly when necessary.

As I said, the business I‘m working with is a pole fitness studio. An AI target audience tool would help me quickly figure out our target audience’s behaviors, where they search for pole fitness content, and what platforms they frequent.

From there, I can craft an advertising strategy tailored to them, thus boosting the studio’s visibility and gaining more students.

Content

I‘m trying to grow the business’ visibility on social media. I’ve found that some videos perform better than others, but analyzing all the content performance data is still tedious, and I need to figure out what our audience likes.

As I said earlier, AI audience tools can analyze this data faster than I or any human could, allowing me to adjust my content strategy and create engaging content more quickly.

How to Find Your Target Audience Using AI

According to my research, I can find and understand my target audience using AI via the following:

1. Predictive Analytics

I can’t stress enough how efficient AI is at analyzing data. In this case, AI can quickly assess data to build models for future consumer behavior.

For example, my neighborhood studio could use predictive analytics to figure out when someone is in the market for classes if a potential student:

• Attended one of its events, such as the Halloween-themed pole dance workshop it hosted
• Is a part of a demographic of people who are interested in learning pole fitness
• Lives in an area where there are gyms, fitness programs, and dance studios
• Clicked on an ad for the studio recently

If someone does one or more of the following, AI will help the studio find them and create targeted ads and content to encourage them to become regular students.

2. Behavioral Analytics

AI can analyze behavioral analytics metrics such as where your audience is coming from, what they click on your site, and how long they’re on your platform to help you better understand their behavior.

For example, visitors to the pole fitness website always click on the website’s banner. That would encourage me to update the banner to take visitors to a signup page to register for classes.

3. Hyper-personalized Content

AI audience targeting can effectively analyze data to deliver personalized content and ads to potential consumers. For example, let‘s get back to the pole fitness studio I’m working with. AI target audience tools can assess:

• The time of year most students sign up for fitness classes or gyms
• The needs and concerns of first-time students
• How old the average student is
• Where most potential students reside locally

Thanks to AI’s speed, I could use all this information to create targeted and quickly pivot when consumer needs change.

6 Best AI Tools for Target Audience Research

Now that I know what AI target audience tools are, their benefits, and how they can be used, it‘s time to explore tools to help me market my local pole fitness studio and help you market your own business.

Here are the best ones I’ve found and plan on testing out for the pole studio I’m working with.

1. HubSpot’s Breeze AI

I promise I‘m not biased when I say HubSpot’s Breeze AI boasts several excellent tools for finding and engaging your target audience. One feature I find most useful for my marketing goals is Breeze Social Media Agent.

I’m currently leveraging social media to boost awareness of the pole fitness studio and encourage potential students to register for classes.

Breeze Social Media Agent can help me achieve this by analyzing past post-performance data and assessing business details and industry best practices.

It will then use the information to optimize my social media strategy with data-driven post suggestions.

Best for: Refining and optimizing your social media strategy.

2. ExactBuyer

ExactBuyer helps businesses find their ideal customers, gather relevant data, and use the information to create realistic, targeted buyer personas.

Even better, the AI-powered tool allows users to consistently update and refine the gathered data to optimize the personas in real time.

I wanted to use ExactBuyer to create realistic buyer personas for prospective students interested in the studio’s classes.

Best for: Creating hyper-focused buyer personas.

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3. OpinioAI

OpinioAI is one of the most interesting AI target audience tools because it allows users to create buyer personas and chat with them to get insight into consumer thoughts on their business.

You can talk to your persona about its favorite brand, hobbies, behaviors, needs, and more to get insight into your target audience. Think of it as a virtual one-on-one conversation with a potential consumer.

Best for: Gathering insight into the wants and needs of your target audience.

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4. Pixis

Pixis AI features allow users to create precise, targeted content for their audience.

Its AI Targeting feature is most interesting because it establishes custom audience cohorts based on search trends, competitive keywords, and brand keywords.

Best for: Identifying niche audiences.

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5. GapScout

GapScout delivers AI-powered insights that pinpoint content gaps and emergency trends that competitors in your niche are missing.

Best for: Helping your brand tap into underserved needs in your market.

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6. Userpersona

This is a great AI tool for marketers new to creating and understanding user personas to guide their brand strategy. All users need to do is describe their product and service, and Userpersona will do the rest.

For example, I typed in the information about the pole fitness studio I’m working with, and here is what Userpersona generated.

It only took one sentence for Userpersona to generate a persona called “Sarah Smith” to represent our target audience and give me an idea of how and who to market the studio.

Now, we both know quite a bit more about AI target audience tools and how to use them.

I plan on using HubSpot’s Breeze AI to help my favorite local pole fitness studio attract more students. I hope you will also try the tools I listed. Good luck!

The post AI and Target Audiences – Insights and Tools to Try appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

Acting Responsibly – A Guide for Brands During a Crisis

It’s been 53 days since Hurricane Helene devastated my hometown of Asheville, but I’m going to level with you: I showered in a FEMA trailer this morning, so it’s still really hard to care about send rates and conversion optimization.

Lucky for you and me (and my editorial calendar), I found a story that I do care about. And my sense of humor is still (mostly) intact.

It’s a story of cleverness and kindness. A story about how one business owner used her clout to help her community. And a story about how your brand can do the same, should you find yourself in the middle of a crisis.

And don’t worry: we’ll also check out examples of how businesses of different sizes chipped in, so there’s plenty for you SMBs and enterprise marketers, too.

Making Magic in a Time of Trouble

Charla Schlueter sits in front of me meticulously shuffling a deck of Magic the Gathering cards. Yet each time the door beside us opens, she greets each newcomer with a smile and their first name.

Schlueter’s the owner and operator of Gamers’ Haunt, a little game shop in Asheville, North Carolina. Since the hurricane hit, my son and I have been visiting weekly in search of something the shop gives away for free: normalcy.

But we’re not actually in Gamers’ Haunt. Not properly. We’re seated in the two-room kung fu studio that’s graciously allowed Schlueter to host a makeshift shop after a maple tree rudely inserted itself into her roof during the hurricane.

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Despite the change in venue, the studio is packed wall-to-wall with Schlueter’s regular customers. It’s game night and the turnout is high. They’re here for a bit of normalcy, too, but they’re also here to support Schlueter and her team.

This is the kind of community your social media director would commit crimes to have. It’s fiercely loyal and consistently engaged. And it’s anchored by Schlueter’s unflagging friendliness.

Her friendliness is belied by only two things: The way she absolutely annihilates my 9-year-old kid in Magic. And the shrewdness with which she leverages her business influence to help this community.

A Stormy Surprise

We each draw seven cards and begin trading stories about how the hurricane flipped everything on its head.

“After the storm, I did my best to try to track down as many customers as I could to see how they were doing and make sure that they were good,” Schlueter tells me while arranging her hand.

During one such check-in, she and her crew helped a customer clear wreckage from his flooded home.

“We go to his room, and it’s all covered in mud because the whole house was submerged,” she says. Yet among the silt and sludge, there was a surprise: The cards he’d bought from Gamers’ Haunt had survived. The boxes they were stored in, designed to protect against casual wear and tear, were apparently also disaster-proof.

“Sure enough, we open up the Boulder boxes, and they’re totally fine.”

To spread a bit of levity during a tough time, Schlueter shared the discovery on the Gamers’ Haunt Facebook page. That’s when the brand behind the boxes took notice.

Schlueter lays down a card.

“Once I posted about it, Ultimate Guard reached out to me and was like ‘Oh, that’s incredible. Do you mind if we share this?’ And I said ‘Absolutely!’”

She turns the card sideways to signal her attack.

“As long as you’ll share my customer’s GoFundMe with it,” she grins.

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If I have enough, I’m good.

Ultimate Guard agreed to share the customer’s GoFundMe with their audience — about 10 times the people that Gamers’ Haunt could otherwise reach. (As a bonus, they also sent some free swag to both the customer and the shop.)

I asked Schlueter why she didn’t request that they share her own GoFundMe. After all, the shop had to be gutted after the tree hole let the hurricane in without asking.

“I’ve always had this motto, ‘If I have enough, I’m good,’” Schlueter says. “At this point, the community had risen up and done a lot of wonderful stuff for my business.”

To that end, the shop’s own GoFundMe had reached its original goal in just over two days. And the community gave her more than just financial support.

“It was unbelievable. Six people brought tables and chairs. I had hordes of people come help me get inventory out of the shop when it was still flooding. I can’t even name the number of customers who came and helped me.”

So, why did the community rise up for them? Maybe it’s because all of the employees know them by name. Maybe it’s because the shop is run by the kind of people who shovel mud for casual acquaintances.

Schlueter thinks it’s something deeper.

“It sounds corny, but I very strongly believe that if you take care of a community, it will take care of you. And the hurricane proved me right.”

Takeaways from a Typhoon

I recognize that building a community is a different exercise for a mom-and-pop shop, but if you zoom out, there are lessons here for brands of any size.

I sincerely hope you never need these lessons, but you should consider them before a crisis hits.

1. Take care of your community.

When disaster strikes, it’s okay to worry about your own business. Put your own oxygen mask on first. But once you’re safe, your next thought should be your community.

Following the storm, Schlueter and her team created free decks of Magic cards for people who lost theirs during the storm.

And while that’s a kind thing to do on an individual level, it isn’t just about replacing material goods. Without their cards, community members can’t join in on the weekly games.

“If you lose your Magic deck, you lose your community. So I think there’s a lot more tied to it than just belongings.”

2. Use what you have at hand.

As a business owner, Schlueter had the attention of a supplier, which she leveraged to bring wider awareness to her community’s needs.

That’s what she happened to have at hand. Your business may have different resources.

When local restaurants Blunt Pretzels and Bear’s Smokehouse had to shut down normal operations following the storm, they could have just closed their doors. Instead, they partnered with World Central Kitchen to use their kitchen space to offer free hot meals to the community.

Highland Brewing’s main resource was an abundance of space, which they offered up to relief organizations like Beloved Asheville, World Central Kitchen, and Wine To Water. These organizations used the brewery as both a central hub and a storage area for the massive amount of supplies needed.

3. Patronage is a resource, too.

Don’t forget that the money you spend (on daily operations, relief efforts, or even your own recovery) can also be a form of relief.

When Red Fiddle Vittles and Mother Earth Food began offering fresh-cooked meals to shelters, they sourced the ingredients from local farmers. That support means the world to small businesses that may have lost their ability to support themselves.

4. You don’t have to fix it all.

In the aftermath of a crisis, the scope of what needs to be addressed can feel overwhelming to those who want to help.

Take a deep breath. You don’t have to fix everything. Find an area that you can address and focus on that.

When our schools were shut down for several weeks, kids needed something to occupy their time. (Keep in mind, we also had no electricity during those weeks.)

Comic Envy, a local favorite comic shop, responded by offering a sale on children’s books and comics.

As the parent of a 9-year-old, I can tell you that the sale was deeply appreciated.

5. Don’t treat it like a campaign.

Throughout October, a community care station with showers, laundry machines, and potable water was set up in the parking lot of a nearby grocery store.

It was quietly paid for by Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace company with a manufacturing plant in Asheville. There were no signs announcing this. No banners stating that it was proudly sponsored. No brand awareness was being generated.

But word gets around. And locals remember these things.

How You Can Help

While Western North Carolina has fallen out of the news cycle, we’re still very much in need of your attention.

In the days and weeks immediately following the hurricane, an outpouring of food, water, clothing, medicine, and love helped us to simply survive.

But as we transition from survival to recovery, the kind of help we need is transitioning, too.

The resource I happen to have at hand is a newsletter and a blog, with a big audience full of beautiful people like you. So I’ve loaded this article with links to incredible local brands that could use your support. If you find yourself moved to help, consider clicking a link and checking out what they’ve got to offer.

The post How Brands Can Act Responsibly During a Crisis appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

Risk Assessment – A Complete Guide with Free Template

No matter what you do for a living, you deal with all kinds of risks daily — whether it’s operational hiccups, financial uncertainty, or potential reputation hits.

But it’s the unexpected curveballs you don’t see coming, like a sudden cybersecurity breach or equipment failure, that really shake things up.

Trust me; I’ve been there.

That’s where a risk assessment comes in.

With it, I can spot, analyze, and prioritize risks before they turn into full-blown problems. I can get ahead of the game, so that when the unexpected strikes, I already have a plan in place to keep things under control.

In this guide, I’ll share tips for running a risk assessment in five easy steps. I’ll also feature a customizable template to help you sharpen your decision-making.

Table of Contents

• • What is a risk assessment?
  • Purpose and Benefits of Risk Assessments
  • When should you conduct a risk assessment?
  • Types of Risk Assessments
  • How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Your Business
  • Free Risk Assessment Template

What is a risk assessment?

A risk assessment is a step-by-step process used to identify, evaluate, and prioritize potential risks to a business’s operations, safety, or reputation.

It helps businesses understand the threats they face and determine how best to manage or reduce those risks.

The risk assessment process involves identifying hazards, assessing how likely they are to occur, and evaluating their potential impact.

With this information, businesses can allocate resources effectively and take proactive measures to avoid disruptions or accidents.

Purpose and Benefits of Risk Assessments

At its core, a risk assessment is all about identifying potential hazards and understanding the risks they pose to people — whether they’re employees, contractors, or even the public.

By doing a deep dive into these risks, I can take action to either get rid of them or minimize them, creating a much safer environment. And sure, there’s the legal side — many industries require it — but beyond that, it’s about proactively looking out for the health and safety of everyone involved.

It‘s important to note how crucial risk assessments are for staying compliant with regulations. Many industries require businesses to conduct and update these assessments regularly to meet health and safety standards.

But compliance is only one side of the coin. Risk assessments also show the company genuinely cares about its employees’ well-being.

Benefits of Risk Assessments

Think of a risk assessment template as your business’s trusty blueprint for spotting trouble before it strikes. Here’s how it helps.

Awareness

Risk assessments shine a light on the risks lurking in your organization, turning risk awareness into second nature for everyone. It’s like flipping a switch — suddenly, safety is a shared responsibility.

I’ve seen firsthand how, when people feel confident enough to call out risks, safety compliance just clicks into place. That’s when you know the whole team is looking out for each other.

Measurement

With a risk assessment, I can weigh the likelihood and impact of each hazard, so I’m not shooting in the dark. For instance, if I find that one task is particularly risky, I can change up procedures or workflows to bring that risk down.

Results

The real magic happens when you act on your findings. By catching risks early, I can prevent different types of crises like machine breakdowns or workplace accidents — things that can quickly spiral out of control.

Not only does this safeguard employees and minimize the fallout from those risks, but it also spares your organization from costly legal troubles or compensation claims.

When should you conduct a risk assessment?

Here are the most relevant scenarios for conducting a risk assessment.

Before Introducing New Processes or Products

If I’m launching a new product or service, I’d want to assess all the potential risks involved. This could include safety risks for employees, financial risks if the product doesn’t perform as expected, or even supply chain risks.

For example, as a manufacturer, you might evaluate the risks of new machinery affecting production lines​.

After Major Incidents

If something goes wrong, like a data breach or an equipment failure, a risk assessment again comes in handy. I can better understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

For example, after a data breach, an IT risk assessment could reveal vulnerabilities​ and help bolster defenses​.

To Meet Regulatory Requirements

Staying compliant with industry regulations is another big motivator. In industries like healthcare or finance, this could mean avoiding hefty penalties or fines.

Compliance frameworks like HIPAA risk assessment in healthcare or OSHA for workplace safety make regular risk assessments a must​.

When Adopting New Technologies

Integrating new technologies, such as IT systems or machinery, can introduce new risks. I recommend conducting a risk assessment to identify any potential cybersecurity or operational risks.

Without this, your business could be exposed to new vulnerabilities​.

When Expanding Operations

Whenever expanding into new markets, it’s essential to assess potential risks, especially when dealing with different local regulations or supply chains.

Financial institutions, for example, assess credit and market risks when they expand internationally​.

Pro tip: Don’t wait for problems to arise — schedule regular risk assessments, either annually or bi-annually. This keeps you ahead of potential hazards and ensures you’re constantly improving safety measures.

Types of Risk Assessments

When conducting a risk assessment, the method you choose depends on the task, environment, and the data you have on hand. Different situations call for different approaches.

Here are the top ones.

1. Qualitative Risk Assessment

This assessment is suitable when you need a quick judgment based on your observations.

No hard numbers here — just categorizing risks as “low,” “medium,” or “high.” It’s perfect for when you don’t have detailed data and need to make a call based on experience.

For example, when assessing an office environment, like noticing employees struggling with poor chair ergonomics, I should label that a “medium” risk. Sure, it impacts productivity, but it’s not life-threatening.

It’s a simple approach that works well for everyday scenarios.

2. Quantitative Risk Assessment

When you have access to solid data, like historical incident reports or failure rates, go for a quantitative risk assessment.

Here, you’ll assign numbers to both the likelihood of a risk and the potential damage it could cause. This makes the assessment a more precise way of evaluating risk, especially for industries like finance or large-scale projects.

Take, for instance, a machine that breaks down every 1,000 hours, costing $10,000 each time. With this assessment, I can calculate expected annual costs and decide if it’s smarter to invest in better maintenance or just get a new machine.

3. Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment

This is a blend of the first two.

In this risk assessment method, you assign numerical values to risks but still categorize the outcome as “high” or “low.” It gives you a bit more accuracy without diving into full-blown data analysis.

At HubSpot, leadership used this when relocating an office. The team couldn’t exactly quantify the stress employees would feel.

By assigning scores (like 3/5 for impact and 2/5 for likelihood), leaders got a clearer picture of what to tackle first — like improving communication to ease the transition.

4. Generic Risk Assessment

A generic risk assessment addresses common hazards that apply across multiple environments.

It’s best for routine or low-risk tasks, such as manual handling or standard office work. As the risks are well-known and unlikely to change, you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

When dealing with manual handling tasks in an office, for example, the risks are pretty standard. But you must always stay flexible, ready to tweak your approach if something unexpected comes up.

5. Site-Specific Risk Assessment

A site-specific risk assessment focuses on hazards unique to a particular location or project.

For example, if you‘re evaluating a chemical plant, for instance, don’t just rely on generic templates. Instead, consider the specifics: the chemicals used, the ventilation, the layout — everything unique to that site.

By doing this, you can address unique hazards and often high-risk environments, like suggesting better spill containment measures or retraining employees on safety procedures.

6. Task-Based Risk Assessment

In a task-based risk assessment, focus on specific jobs and the risks that come with them. This is ideal for industries like construction or manufacturing, where different tasks (e.g., operating a crane vs. welding) come with varying risks.

As each task gets its own tailored assessment, don’t miss the unique dangers each one brings.

How to Conduct a Risk Assessment for Your Business

When I need to run a risk assessment, I like to rely on a handy guide. Here’s a more comprehensive look at each step of the process.

1. Identify the hazards.

When identifying hazards, I try to get multiple perspectives so that I don’t miss any hidden risks.

Here’s how I go about it:

• Talking to my team. Since my team is the one dealing with hazards daily, their insights are invaluable, especially for identifying risks that aren’t immediately obvious.
• Checking past incidents. I review old accident logs or near-misses. Often, patterns emerge that highlight risks I may not have considered before.
• Following industry standards. If you work in certain industries, OSHA guidelines or other relevant regulations provide a solid framework to help spot hazards you might otherwise overlook.
• Considering remote and non-routine activities. I make sure to assess risks for remote workers or non-regular activities, like maintenance or repairs, which can introduce new hazards.

For example, during a system audit, I might identify obvious risks like unsecured servers or outdated software.

However, I must also consider hidden risks, such as unsecured Wi-Fi networks that remote employees might use, potentially exposing sensitive data.

Reviewing past incident reports, like past phishing attempts or data breaches, may reveal both technical and human-related vulnerabilities.

By taking all these factors into account, you can better protect your data and keep operations running smoothly.

2. Determine who might be harmed and how.

In this step, I widen my focus beyond just employees to include anyone who might interact with my daily operations. This includes:

• Visitors, contractors, and the public. That includes anyone who interacts with operations, even indirectly, is considered. For instance, construction dust on-site could harm passersby or visitors.
• Vulnerable groups. Certain people — like pregnant workers or those with medical conditions — might have heightened sensitivities to specific hazards.

Take the unsecured server example mentioned earlier. IT staff might be aware of the risks, but I also need to consider non-technical employees who might not recognize phishing emails.

3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.

As I evaluate risks, I focus on two main factors: how likely something is to happen and how severe the impact could be.

• Use a risk matrix. The risk matrix isn’t just a tool to categorize risks but a strategic guide to help me decide which business risks need action now and which can wait. I focus first on high-probability, high-impact risks that need immediate action, and then work my way down to those that can wait.

• Determine the root causes. Next, I want to understand why a risk exists — whether it’s outdated software, lack of cybersecurity training, or weak password policies. This will help me address the issue at its core and create better solutions. Consider using a root cause analysis template to help you systematically capture details, prioritize issues, and develop targeted solutions.
• Follow the control hierarchy. The hierarchy of controls provides a structured approach to managing hazards. My first priority is always to eliminate the risk, like disabling unused access points. If that’s not possible, I implement network segmentation, multi-factor authentication, or encryption before relying on user training as a last line of defense.

For example, when dealing with phishing risks, frequent incidents and inconsistent training were the main concerns. To mitigate them, I could start by providing more robust training and enforcing multi-factor authentication. I could implement email filtering tools to reduce phishing emails.

If that’s not an option, I can improve response protocols. Incident response plans would provide additional protection.

4. Record key findings.

At this stage, it’s time to document everything: the risks identified, who’s at risk, and the measures put in place to control them. This is especially crucial if you’re operating in a regulated industry where audits are a possibility.

Here’s how to lay out the documentation based on our earlier example.

• Hazards identified: Phishing attempts, unsecured servers, data breach risks.
• Who is at risk: Employees, customers, third-party vendors.
• Precautions: Multi-factor authentication, email filters, encryption, regular cybersecurity training.

Pro tip: Digitize these records and include photos of the relevant areas and equipment. This will keep you compliant with regulations while also doubling as an excellent risk assessment training resource for new employees. Plus, it ensures everyone can access the information when needed.

5. Review and update the assessment.

Risk assessments aren’t a “set it and forget it” thing. That‘s why I recommend reviewing your assessment plan every six months — or whenever there’s a significant change.

Here’s how to approach it:

• Trigger a review with changes. Whether it’s new equipment, new hires, or regulatory updates, any major shift calls for a reassessment. For example, after upgrading a cutting machine, I can immediately revisit the risks to address updated training needs and potential software issues.
• Incorporate ongoing feedback. Employee input and regular audits play a huge role in keeping assessments up to date. By maintaining open communication, you can spot new risks early and ensure existing safety measures remain effective.

Free Risk Assessment Template

Need a quick, easy way to evaluate different risks — like financial or safety risk? HubSpot’s got you covered with a free risk assessment template that helps you outline steps to reduce or eliminate those risks.

Here’s what our template offers:

• Company name, person responsible, and assessment date.
• Risk type (financial, operational, reputational, human safety, etc.).
• Risk description and source.
• Risk matrix with severity levels.
• Actions to reduce risks.
• Approving official.
• Comments.

Grab this customizable template to assess potential risks, gauge their impact, and take proactive steps to minimize damage before it happens. Simple, effective, and to the point!

Take Control of Your Workplace

Effective risk assessment isn’t just about ticking a compliance box—it’s a proactive way to keep your business and employees safe from avoidable hazards.

Always start by identifying specific risks, whether they‘re tied to a particular site or task. Once you’ve got those, prioritize them using tools like a risk assessment matrix or a semi-quantitative assessment to make sure you’re tackling the most pressing issues first. And remember, it’s not a one-and-done thing—regular reviews and updates are crucial as your business evolves.

Plus, with HubSpot’s free risk assessment template on hand, you’ll always have a strong foundation to stay one step ahead of any potential risks.

The post What Is a Risk Assessment? Complete Guide + Free Template appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

Understanding CMS: What It Is & Why You Should Care

When I first started exploring website-building options, I quickly encountered a flurry of acronyms: SEO, FTP, SERP, CDN, and CMS.

It felt like learning a new language. I kept seeing ‘CMS’ pop up everywhere, so I dove deeper into understanding it.

What I found was encouraging: a CMS, or content management system, is a tool that lets you build and manage a website without needing coding skills.

With over 80 million websites already using a CMS, it’s a reliable solution for those of us who want to build a website but have limited technical skills.

In this post, I‘ll share what I’ve learned in my journey with CMS platforms, breaking down the concepts that initially confused me into simple, practical explanations.

When I started using a CMS, I was amazed at what I could do without any coding knowledge. I could create and publish content through what felt like a familiar word processor interface.

Instead of wrestling with code, I found I could simply download templates to change how my site looked, and add extensions to get new features — kind of like installing apps on a phone.

What surprised me was how multiple team members could work on the site at the same time without getting in each other’s way. I remember wondering, “How does all of this work behind the scenes?”

If you‘re curious like I was, let me break down what I’ve learned about how a CMS operates.

How a CMS Works

To understand how a CMS works, you first have to understand what it’s like to build a site from scratch.

You’d start with HTML to add text, images, navigation bars, and other building blocks of a site. Then you’d add CSS to style those elements to match the unique look and feel of your brand.

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You’d finish up by writing some JavaScript to add more advanced functionality to your site, like slide-in CTAs. Then you’d have to upload this HTML file to your server to be filed away in your database.

Whenever you want to make changes — even simple ones like updating content — you have to download files from the server, open them, and change the HTML code by hand. Then you‘ll have to make sure you didn’t break any links or something else before uploading the files back to the server.

Sounds complicated, yes? For developers and other advanced users with experience in website development, building a site from scratch might be ideal.

But for those who don’t have the coding skills or time and resources to build a site from scratch and maintain it, they can use a CMS.

Let’s talk about how.

How To Use a CMS

A CMS combines two core parts: a content management application (CMA) and a content delivery application (CDA).

I like to think of these as the engine under the hood — they manage all the code, database queries, and infrastructure in the back end while I focus on creating content.

Rather than start with a blank HTML page, I open the content editor where I can bold text, add links and CTAs, and insert images and tables by dragging and dropping modules or clicking a few buttons — no HTML, CSS, or JavaScript coding needed.

Let me show you how I create a blog post using WordPress.

To make other changes on my site, like changing the permalink structure or installing extensions, I just navigate to the appropriate section in my admin panel.

This is the CMA in action: all these changes happen in an intuitive interface that hides the code from me. (I remember how relieved I felt when I first discovered I wouldn’t have to touch any code to make these adjustments.)

When I’m done making changes, the CDA takes the content I entered into the CMA, assembles the code, displays it to my front-end visitors, and stores it.

That means when I want to publish a new blog post, for example, I just hit the “Publish” button instead of manually uploading a page to my server. No more complicated file management — something I don’t miss.

Now that I’ve shown you what a CMS is, how it works, and how to use it, let’s explore the benefits of using one over building a site from scratch or using another website-building tool.

Why use a CMS?

I‘ve already alluded to some benefits of using a CMS, but let’s look at some specific ways it can impact your set-up process, team productivity, and visibility online.

1. No Coding Knowledge Required

As someone who started with zero coding knowledge, I’ve seen firsthand how CMS systems have revolutionized web design for non-developers and other users.

The days of relying on web developers and designers to establish an online presence for your business are gone.

You can create and manage content, customize the design of your site, and install extensions to add functionality to your site — all without coding.

Most platforms do allow you to add custom code for more granular control over your site, too. While I haven‘t needed it yet, it’s helpful to have this option.

Whether you’re starting fresh or you’re someone like me with limited technical resources and time, you can still build a powerful website for your business.

2. Easy Collaboration

Multiple users can access and work in the back end of a CMS at the same time. I find this collaboration capability valuable for teams of any size.

That means on any given day, your marketers can be producing content, your IT professionals implementing security protocols, and your developers adding custom code to your theme.

I’ve seen how this eliminates the bottlenecks that used to happen when only one person could make changes at a time. In fact, they could all be working on the same landing page.

In short, a CMS can help improve workflows and productivity across your team. I’ve found this especially true when coordinating updates across different departments.

Pro tip: HubSpot offers a free CMS tool which is perfect for those looking for a CMS that can grow with them as they scale their businesses.

3. User Roles and Permissions

A CMS allows you to collaborate as efficiently and safely as possible, thanks to built-in (and often customizable) user roles and permissions.

I’ve found this especially helpful when working with different team members — no more worrying about someone accidentally breaking the site.

That means content writers, for example, can have all the permissions they need to write, publish, and manage content, but they won‘t be able to delete plugins or otherwise significantly alter the site’s functionality.

When I set up these permissions for my team, it gave me peace of mind knowing that each person had access to exactly what they needed and nothing more.

Here’s a look at the User Role Editor in WordPress.

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Without a CMS, you’d have to code some pretty complicated conditions and checks to create user roles and permissions in JavaScript.

4. SEO Features and Extensions

CMS platforms offer built-in features as well as add-ons to help you optimize your site for search engines.

Using built-in or third party tools, you can:

• Customize page titles and meta descriptions
• Choose SEO-friendly URL structures
• Create XML sitemaps
• Add image alt text
• Create 301 redirects
• Include breadcrumb navigation
• Optimize page load times

Implementing these best practices will help improve your chances of ranking on Google and other major search engines.

5. Security Features and Extensions

CMS platforms also offer built-in features and add-ons to help you secure your site. Some even offer a dedicated security team.

Content Hub, for example, provides an enterprise-class web application firewall, SSL, custom CDN, SSO memberships, and and other out-of-the-box features.

6. Predesigned Templates

Most CMS platforms come with a selection of predesigned templates you can use to quickly customize the appearance of your site.

I discovered these templates do more than just change how your site looks — they can include built-in features like navigation menus that collapse on mobile devices, image sliders that respond to swipe gestures, or contact forms that validate input automatically.

Choosing a responsive template, for example, will ensure your site looks good on any device without requiring you to write a bunch of code. I learned this the hard way after initially trying to make my site mobile-friendly without a template.

Not only do templates save you design time before launching your site, but they can also make a website redesign much faster and simpler down the road — something I really appreciate when it‘s time to refresh the site’s look.

Webflow is just one CMS that offers hundreds of responsive templates. I’ve found their selection particularly impressive for beginners and experienced users alike.

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7. Simple Updates

As I mentioned earlier, a CMS enables you to make changes on your site faster and easier — from major updates, like a website redesign, to minor updates, like changing the image on your home page.

Before using a CMS, I had to either hire a freelance developer or struggle with coding. Now you can simply go into the dashboard of your CMS to update and edit the content of your website.

I love how this makes it practical to keep your content dynamic and relevant. I can update images, text, or layouts within minutes instead of hours.

8. Blogging Functionality

Blogging offers a range of benefits, particularly to businesses.

From my experience exploring different marketing strategies, I’ve seen how it helps drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, establish authority through thought leadership, and generate backlinks.

However, building a blog from scratch is difficult and a major advantage of using a CMS is that most provide built-in blogging functionality (or extensions) so it’s easy to start creating and publishing blog content and reaping the benefits.

I found this particularly valuable since I could focus on writing content instead of wrestling with technical setups.

9. Content Scheduling

Scheduling content is essential to any editorial strategy.

When building a site from scratch, I learned that you can schedule content, but it will require a combination of coding and tools like GitHub. This complexity initially made me hesitant about maintaining a consistent content calendar.

With a CMS, scheduling content is as easy as clicking a button. I was relieved to discover that most platforms allow you to schedule more than just blog posts, too.

With Content Hub, for example, you can schedule blog posts as well as website pages, landing pages, and emails. This is a feature I find invaluable for planning content ahead of time.

Here‘s a look at the scheduling tab within HubSpot’s blog editor.

10. Easy Access

With a CMS platform, you can access and edit your site on virtually any device with an internet connection.

That’s much easier than the alternative of building a site from scratch, which requires you to be on a device connected to the server or connect remotely.

Plus, most CMS systems have a single dashboard or control panel where you can access your site’s content, theme, plugins, settings, and more — all in one place.

7 Factors to Consider When Selecting a CMS

If your site is growing, you may need to upgrade to a CMS to meet your needs.

To help you choose the best CMS for your goals, here are seven things to consider when selecting a CMS.

Whether you’re focused on scalability, ease of use, or seamless integrations, keeping these key factors in mind will ensure you find a platform that supports both your current and future needs.

1. Avoid vendor lock-in.

I‘ve learned firsthand how frustrating it can be when you’re stuck with a CMS that no longer meets your needs.

Start by documenting everything about your current setup — things like your content structure, workflows, and how data moves through your system.

Then create a detailed checklist to evaluate potential vendors, paying special attention to contract terms and how easy it is to get your content out if needed.

I always recommend keeping ownership of crucial assets like domains and SSL certificates, and storing your custom code in a separate system you control.

Set up regular backups, too — trust me, you’ll thank yourself later if you ever need to make a quick exit.

2. Set clear objectives.

Before diving into any CMS platform, gather your key team members for a thorough discovery session. I find it helpful to map out exactly how content flows through your organization from creation to publishing.

Document your current process and identify what‘s working and what isn’t. Create a detailed requirements list that covers must-have features, technical needs, and where you see yourself growing in the next few years.

Set realistic goals and timelines, and make sure to prioritize your needs into must-haves versus nice-to-haves to keep the project focused.

3. Test before you commit.

Before committing to a CMS, thoroughly test your options to avoid costly regrets down the line.

Dan McGaw, founder of McGaw & Analytics and former CMO of Kissmetrics, warns that “the mistake everybody makes” is rushing into a purchase too soon.

“They get a tool and they‘re like, ‘I’m so excited, let’s buy it,’” McGaw says. Instead, he advises, “Research and figure out what tools are going to work, consider all the factors that you have, and then choose … but don’t buy it.”

During this trial period, involve your content creators in real-world scenarios and workflows that match your day-to-day operations.

Throw in complex workflows and edge cases; these will often reveal limitations you might miss in a simple test. Check how responsive the vendor’s support team is to your inquiries — it’s a valuable preview of their ongoing support quality.

Finally, calculate the total cost, including training and maintenance, to avoid any unwelcome expenses later.

4. Look at integration capabilities.

Think of your CMS as part of a larger ecosystem. Start by mapping out every system it needs to talk to — your CRM, analytics tools, and marketing automation platforms.

Work closely with your IT team to check compatibility and security requirements.

I’ve found it helpful to create detailed specifications for each connection, including how often data needs to sync and what happens if something goes wrong. Build a roadmap that prioritizes your most critical integrations first.

Always keep an eye on the future. Your technology needs will likely grow, so make sure your CMS can grow with you.

5. Prioritize data quality and management.

Having clean, organized data makes everything easier down the line. Before you launch, set up clear rules for how content should be structured and tagged.

Mason Yu, Growth Marketing Lead at MarketerHire, emphasizes the importance of flexibility in your content management system:

“Ensure the CMS is flexible to allow for reusable components and data. Inevitably, things such as pricing, publish dates and brand images change frequently so it’s important that you’re able to modify and implement such changes with agility.”

I recommend setting up automated checks to catch common mistakes before content goes live. Schedule regular audits to keep everything tidy. The key is making data management part of your routine, not a one-time cleanup project.

Pro tip: Create straightforward guidelines for your team — think of style guides and data entry procedures that anyone can follow.

6. Stay flexible with architecture.

Think of your content system like building blocks — the more modular, the better. Document how all your content pieces fit together, and create clear boundaries between different components.

This makes it much easier to swap things out later if needed. I’ve found that taking a headless or decoupled approach gives you the most flexibility. Keep detailed documentation of any custom components you build.

Pro tip: Create a roadmap for how you might need to evolve in the future. The goal is to build a system that can adapt as your needs change.

7. Analyze cost efficiency and rollout.

Start by analyzing which features will give you the most immediate value.

Create a realistic implementation plan spanning 12-18 months — rushing rarely saves money in the long run. Begin with core functionality that delivers clear business benefits.

Track your success metrics carefully to justify further investment. I always recommend keeping some budget in reserve for unexpected needs or opportunities.

Review system usage regularly and don‘t be afraid to cut features that aren’t delivering value. The key is staying flexible — scale up when things are working well, and scale back if they’re not.

After carefully evaluating your needs and considering the factors above, you‘re ready to explore specific CMS options.

I’ve found through countless implementations that no single platform works for everyone — what powers a startup blog shouldn’t necessarily run an enterprise website.

Let’s unpack eight popular CMS platform examples to discover which might be the best fit for your needs.

1. Content Hub

Ideal for: Any-sized businesses

Price: Starts at $15/mo/seat

What I like about Content Hub: With Content Hub, you can build websites that are secure, powerful, and optimized for search engines.

When reviewing the platform’s documentation, I was impressed by how using this all-in-one connected platform, you can create personalized content for visitors based on data from your HubSpot CRM, create custom templates and styles, run A/B tests on multi-language content, safely redesign and relaunch web pages, view performance analytics, and much more.

From my analysis, I can see why this proprietary CMS is ideal for businesses with diverse teams of marketers, developers, and IT professionals who are looking to grow over time.

Learn more about Content Hub’s customization options, multi-lingual support, reporting dashboards, and more.

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2. WordPress

Ideal for: Small businesses and freelancers

Price: Estimated between $30 to $3,000

What I like about WordPress: WordPress is a self-hosted platform that powers millions of sites. When reviewing its features, I learned that you can easily and quickly build a WordPress site using the Gutenberg editor and then customize it with any of the thousands of plugins and themes available in the official WordPress directory or other third-party sites.

When looking into its customization options, I was impressed to find that whether you want to add forms and live chat to your site or want a theme that comes with a built-in visual builder and split testing, leveraging WordPress plugins and themes like these, you can create a unique experience specific to your brand

3. Joomla

Ideal for: Global companies

Price: Estimated between $700 to $6,500

What I like about Joomla: I’ve found that site owners looking for more functionality built right into the platform may try a WordPress alternative like Joomla.

Like WordPress, Joomla is an open-source CMS, but what impressed me about it is its built-in multilingual support and advanced user and content management options.

These features make it ideal for membership, community, and social networking sites. I particularly like how UIDAI uses Joomla to power their multilingual website as a prime example.

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4. Drupal

Ideal for: Corporations and government agencies

Price: Estimated between $5,000 to $20,000

What I like about Drupal: I found Drupal to be a highly flexible CMS, and I can see why it’s favored by large corporations and government agencies like NASA.

One important note I discovered in my research: while you will need web development experience to fully leverage the power of this platform, you won’t have to start from scratch.

The scale of available resources impressed me the most. In addition to its out-of-the-box features, you can choose among 47,000 modules available in its directory and thousands of free themes in its theme repository.

Looking at sites like Rush University Medical Center’s website, I can see how these tools enable building complex sites that handle large volumes of data and heavy traffic.

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5. Magento Open Source

Ideal for: Ecommerce businesses

Price: Estimated at $15,000 and up

What I like about Magento: After diving into ecommerce platforms, I’d describe the self-hosted version of Magento, known as Magento OpenSource, as the Drupal of the ecommerce world.

In my experience researching various platforms, I‘ve found it’s highly flexible and secure, though I should note it’s difficult to learn and take advantage of all its built-in functionality and extensions.

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What excites me most about Magento is its powerful capabilities: with it, you can manage multiple stores, use several worldwide shipping providers, and transact in different countries, languages, and currencies — all within the same dashboard.

From my analysis, I believe if you have the time and resources to invest in set-up and maintenance, you’ll be able to build an online store with a huge product inventory and global reach.

6. Webflow

Ideal for: Web designers and agencies

Price: $15 – $235 per month

What I like about Webflow: I’ve come to understand why Webflow is such a unique “visual” content management system. It’s designed to fill a market gap for web designers who want to focus on creating and customizing sites without worrying about hosting, security, or performance.

What I appreciate about Webflow is its flexibility: you can start with one of the hundreds of pre-built templates or start from scratch using the Webflow Designer shown below.

Webflow is a “visual” content management system designed to fill a market gap for web designers who want to focus on creating and customizing sites without worrying about hosting, security, or performance.

With Webflow, you can start with one of the hundreds of pre-built templates or start from scratch using the Webflow Designer shown below.

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I’m particularly impressed by how you can extend the functionality of your site through third-party integrations or embedding HTML code.

Based on my research, since it requires at least some knowledge of HTML, CSS, and web design, Webflow is best suited for freelancer designers or agencies.

7. Ghost

Ideal for: Bloggers

Price: $9 – $2,400 per month

What I like about Ghost: Among all the complex CMS platforms I’ve researched, I find Ghost refreshingly different. If you‘re looking for a simple and lightweight CMS dedicated to blogging, I believe it’s a great option. What fascinates me about Ghost is its headless CMS architecture, which means that its body (the content repository) is separated from its head (the presentation layer).

I’m impressed by how this allows you to create and manage content and then deliver that content via their Node.js APIs (or another front-end tool you prefer) to any platform and channel, from smartwatches to virtual reality headsets.

After examining its features, I can see why. With an intuitive editor and built-in SEO tools, Ghost appeals to bloggers and beginners who want a basic site that’s simple to create and manage.

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8. Sitecore

Ideal for: Enterprise companies

Price: Must contact company for pricing info

What I like about Sitecore: I found Sitecore particularly powerful — it’s an enterprise-level headless CMS that enables you to create and deliver personalized websites, emails, social media posts, and mobile experiences.

What impresses me most is how you can use its WYSIWYG editor with drag-and-drop functionality, session- and device-based personalization rules, and multilingual tools.

This will help you scale your content creation and deliver content that‘s optimized to your users’ interests, language, and device.

I‘m particularly struck by how, thanks to Sitecore’s headless architecture, you can provide these relevant customer experiences across multiple channels, including web, social, voice, point of sale, and more.

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The platform’s reach amazes me — this CMS powers more than 120,000 websites in industries ranging from sports to banking to travel and more.

Looking at their client list, I can see why major brands trust it — some of its biggest users are American Express, ASOS, L’Oréal, and Volvo Cars.

Choosing Your CMS: Balance Potential with Practical Needs

While exploring CMS platforms for this article, I was amazed by how these systems have evolved from simple website builders to comprehensive content management solutions. Each platform offers unique capabilities, from basic blogging to enterprise-level features.

My favorite among the platforms I investigated was Content Hub. I was particularly impressed by how it integrates essential features like security, content scheduling, and team collaboration into one intuitive interface.

I found the balance between simplicity and functionality particularly valuable. As someone who started with minimal technical knowledge, I appreciate how a CMS lets me maintain creative control while handling the complex technical aspects behind the scenes.

I was also pleasantly surprised by how CMS platforms address common website management challenges I‘ve faced, like content updates and team collaboration.

The time saved from not having to code or coordinate with developers has been substantial — a benefit I hadn’t fully appreciated when I first started.

I’ve learned that a CMS does more than just make website management accessible—it transforms how teams collaborate, how content is published, and how businesses grow online.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2010 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The post What Is a CMS & Why It Matters for Your Website appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

When I toured several small towns in Washington and Idaho with the Inland Northwest Partners, I noticed many part-time and seasonal businesses did not have signs up during their off season.

In the town of Deary, Idaho, (population 500) there is a wine tasting parlor in a well-kept brick building on a corner in the downtown. Unfortunately there are no signs to indicate that the building is in use as a business during the tourist season. All during the winter it looks like just another empty building with blank paper covering the windows. By the time I toured in March, the paper was water stained and looked unattractive at best.

This contributes to the look of having an empty downtown or being less occupied than it really is. The way your downtown looks affects how people think of your downtown. Looking bad hurts the entire community’s development, which in turn hurts the wine-tasting business.

It would be quite easy to create signage that indicates what months during the year the business is open and when it is not, much like operating hours.

I suggested a number of options for the wine-tasting room. The owners could paint decorations on the windows, hang a permanent sign on the building, put posters or artwork inside the building to show through the windows, or use perforated decals with the marketing message and keep people from looking through the windows while still admitting light to the interior.

This tip applies to seasonal service businesses just as much as retail businesses. Whether your business is seasonal tourism equipment rentals or tax-season accounting, keep signs up year-round so you don’t look abandoned.

Every business in a small town wants to be part of a thriving local economy. Posting signs year-round on your part-time seasonal business is one way to contribute to that thriving local economy.

Does Your Town Need a Boost of Enthusiasm and Fresh Ideas?

Learn more about my working visits to small towns here.

Learn more about my working visits to small towns here.

The post Why Seasonal Businesses Are Displaying Signs All Year Long appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

— How many times have you heard it? Someone lamenting, “There’s nothing to do here!” Worse yet, hearing someone tell visitors that. “What is there to do around here?” “Nothing, really. I don’t know.” Enough with that. Let’s give people an easy way to answer, and let’s do it the Idea Friendly way. Make a […]

—

How many times have you heard it? Someone lamenting, “There’s nothing to do here!”

Worse yet, hearing someone tell visitors that. “What is there to do around here?” “Nothing, really. I don’t know.”

Enough with that. Let’s give people an easy way to answer, and let’s do it the Idea Friendly way.

Make a “What to do in (town)” Pinterest board

It’s simple to do. Make a new board. Call it “What to do in” and the name of your town.

Then start pinning everything there is to do in your town. All the tourism things, all the lodging, all the events go on this board.

Add the murals, the public art, and the creative studios.

Don’t miss the eateries, the breweries, the wineries, and the local hangout spot.

Hot tip: Make it a group board.

You don’t have to know everything if you’ll invite others to help. That’s Gathering Your Crowd in the Idea Friendly Method.

Build Connections to find out who they know, what attractions they like, and how they see your community.

The last part is Take Small Steps, and folks, making a Pinterest board is a small step.

An enduring trend

Since it launched in the 2010s, Pinterest has grown and endured as a social tool that generates action from people of all ages. Each year, their trend reports reveal what people are searching and pinning. Take a look at the Pinterest influence on rural tourism trends and small business trends.

Promote your board in your town

Yes, visitors will find it when they search for what to do in your town, but locals will have to be told about it. Promote your board in your newsletter and all your media. Bring it up at gatherings. Email it to friends and ask for ideas.

Make a poster promoting it with a QR code and hang it in convenience stores, motels, and all around town. 

Take Small Steps

You can start today, with just a few pins. You’re already online, so why not do it now?

Subscribe to SmallBizSurvival.

The post How to Create a ‘What to Do’ Pinterest Board for Maximum Engagement appeared first on Marketing & Business News.

Shaping Tomorrow is a groundbreaking video podcast that showcases deaf professionals and has deaf creatives at the heart of its production.

A new video podcast series aimed at amplifying the voices of deaf professionals in the creative, sports, and entertainment industries has just been launched by UK social enterprise Hear Art.

Titled Shaping Tomorrow, this is the first deaf-led video podcast of its kind and has been created with a 90% deaf production team. Each of its four episodes explores the career journeys of deaf professionals, uncovering the challenges they’ve faced and how the landscape has evolved over time.

The first episode is exclusively available on YouTube, with the rest to be released every two weeks. At the start of November, each episode will follow on Spotify, Audible, and Apple Podcasts.

Architecture To Acting

Episode one sees designer and entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway MBE have an open and honest conversation with deaf architect Christopher Laing about their comparative experiences and journeys through the same industry. Christopher speaks of the limitations faced by deaf architects and founding the DAF (Deaf Architecture Front) and its support for young people looking to follow in his footsteps.

Episode two sees make-up artist Caroline Barnes sit down with deaf make-up artist Nicky Weir. The two chat about how being profoundly deaf yet incredibly visual helped Nicky on her journey. She also discusses how ruthless the make-up world can be for deaf people and what improvements can be made to how things currently work.

“When I started out, people would laugh at how I speak and tell me, ‘Nicky, get that phone’, knowing that I can’t because I won’t be able to hear,” she says. “I think people just need to be more supportive, have a bit of understanding, encourage us to actually get into the industry, and be welcomed into the industry. I want to pass the baton on to those who really want to do this without the hurdles.”

In episode three, deaf mountaineer Michael Woods chats to adventurer and solo expeditionist James Aiken about the obstacles he faces in achieving his dream of climbing Mount Everest. He discusses the hardship of navigation during mountain climbing when you need to sign BSL in foggy conditions, read it with a headlight in your face, or call 999 in case of an emergency.

Episode four sees actress Maxine Peake speak to deaf actress Sophie Stone, who was always told that she wouldn’t be able to make a living as a deaf actor. But even when she proved them wrong and forged a career in the profession, she was always given subdued roles and deaf characters, whilst she longed to have roles full of life. She chats about learning how to speak for different roles, her doubts about herself, and the fact that she has to work twice as hard as her peers.

“I wanted to play hearing roles, scripts that didn’t necessarily have a deaf storyline, characters that fall in love, have an amazing sex life, or gun down loads of people, hold up a bank or whatever,” she explains. “I was never given those roles. I was given the vulnerable, sad, the pathetic, the lonely, the weak woman. I was fed up with that. I was given the subserving roles, the roles to be pitied, and I was really frustrated throughout that time.”

Supporting Creative Talent

An award-winning Community Interest Company (CIC), Hear Art was co-founded in 2020 by visual artist, producer, and academic Cindy Sasha and TV actress and writer Rachel Shenton, who won an Oscar for her short film The Silent Child in 2018. Both have deaf family members and want to support the creative talents within the deaf community.

Hear Art has already successfully produced four deaf-led short films that gained commercial success in the short film festival circuit and saw podcasting as the next step. The organization was the first to introduce the 50% deaf and 50% hearing crew/cast employment model in the TV and film industry, improving employment and commercial opportunities for deaf creatives.

The Shaping Tomorrow video podcast is fully accessible to all deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. It features inclusive British Sign Language (BSL), captions/subtitles, and complete transcripts to ensure an engaging and inclusive experience for all.

“Podcasts offer an alternative way to access information and storytelling,” says producer Cindy Sasha. “I realized how podcasts are exclusively hearing experiences, so I created and produced an inclusive video podcast for everyone to enjoy and be inspired by deaf voices and stories.”

Neglected Voices

Sam Arnold, recently a producer on the award-winning film Name Me Lawand, brought together the crew for the podcast. “I know that many talented deaf voices have been neglected or overlooked by all industries,” he explains. “Cindy and I shared the same vision to create a platform for them.

“As a deaf director, I am passionate about enhancing the video podcast experience to immerse deaf and hearing viewers,” he adds. “It is particularly important for deaf viewers who are disadvantaged and unable to access many podcasts that are audio only or end up watching unengaging shots of two people talking.”

Hear Art co-founder Rachel Shenton says, “Shaping Tomorrow’s conversations is so exciting as it’s our first independent venture. As ever, we are committed to encouraging the deaf and hearing communities to work together and learn from each other, and these conversations are a perfect way of doing that.”

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Global branding agency How&How has launched GetEven, a pro-bono, studio-funded initiative designed to support women in the creative industry. We chatted with founder Cat to discover more.

With gender disparity still a significant issue across multiple creative sectors, GetEven is a new initiative that aims to provide women with expert advice on various essential topics, including leadership, confidence building, financial literacy, and salary negotiation.

The idea for GetEven originated from a growing demand for mentorship and guidance from female creatives. “We get several requests a day from female creatives looking for feedback, mentorship, and advice in navigating their careers,” explains How&How founder Cat How. “We never have enough time in the day to get back to everyone with actionable advice, and I felt like I was failing these calls for help. So we decided to launch the initiative as a studio-run project where every female in the team would help shape what we did.”

Rather depressingly, despite women making up 63% of graphic design students in the UK, they hold only 17% of creative director positions. Additionally, diverse representation in leadership roles sits at just 12%, and the gender pay gap remains at 20.3%. These stark statistics underscore the urgent need for projects like GetEven to address the imbalance and help women take control of their careers.

So what does it entail? Initially, there are four webinars, each designed around themes suggested by the creative community. How&How gathered input from their followers on Instagram and LinkedIn, resulting in topics that resonate with women facing challenges like imposter syndrome and navigating leadership roles. “We asked what they were worried about or wanted to learn. We got hundreds of replies, which we then sifted through and bundled into pillars,” Cat shares. “We chose the four with the highest number of people asking about them.”

Each webinar will feature a fireside chat with a female How&How employee and an expert coach, followed by a helpful Q&A session. Attendees can also join an aftercare community on LinkedIn to continue conversations and seek further advice. This supportive online community aims to foster networking and mentorship opportunities beyond the webinars themselves. As Cat explains, “We wanted the Aftercare Group to be a place where women could make, develop, and establish these connections after the course had finished.”

The series started in late September with a session titled Know Your Worth, focusing on financial literacy. Led by ex-How&How brand consultant Nina Arshagouni, financial educator Alina Burlacu, and Mykail James, it aimed to break down the stigma around discussing money. The experts provided actionable advice on developing good money habits, negotiating salaries, and setting up financial futures. Cat emphasizes the importance of this topic: “So much about financial literacy is empowerment… knowing your basics when it comes to finances… will help women in any later negotiating situation and at least give them more of a chance in evening out the very sizable odds.”

Upcoming sessions include Make Yourself Heard on 23 October, which will address confidence building and overcoming imposter syndrome. This will be followed by How to Fail on 12 November, which covers how to handle failure and burnout. The final session, Learn to Lead, will be held on 11 December to explore leadership skills. On that occasion, Cat How herself will be joined by executive coach and author Alisa Cohn.

A central mission of GetEven is to create a nurturing community for women, both online and offline – something that resonates with our own focus at Creative Boom. The LinkedIn aftercare group is designed to support continued learning and interaction among those attending the webinars. Even better, there will be an in-person celebration in December at How&How’s London studio. “We knew that we wanted to physicalise this experience too somehow—to make these connections real,” says Cat. “Because I firmly believe that when you meet someone, you do form a closer and more meaningful connection.”

The initiative’s goal is clear: to empower women in the creative industry by providing them with the tools and confidence they need to succeed. As Cat states, “Success for me would be for someone to be able to take even just one actionable takeout from each of the sessions that could have a direct and lasting impact on their life from that moment onwards.”

By addressing the specific challenges women face in the creative industry and offering practical, actionable advice, GetEven seeks to create a more equitable landscape. For many, the initiative offers an invaluable opportunity to gain insight, develop new skills, and form lasting connections with other creatives. Sound good? Join the private LinkedIn group or follow How&How’s page for upcoming events.

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Are you struggling to keep up with your workload or just trying to make more money in less time? Then check out these tried-and-tested tools.

Many of us are finding it increasingly difficult to land work right now, thanks to a range of factors, from the state of the economy to competition from AI. And this can compound the eternal ‘feast and famine’ problem freelancers have always faced.

For instance, in the good times, when three clients offer you work all at once, you’ll happily turn two down, knowing that more will surely come along later. However, when you haven’t had work for ages, you might be tempted to take on two of them… or even all three.

Then there’s the problem of shrinking client budgets. You don’t want to turn work down completely. But if the money you’re getting has gone down, you’ll want to somehow speed up the process and get that work done more quickly to keep your monthly balance sheet in good health.

In both scenarios, becoming more efficient and productive is vital if you’re to avoid pulling a succession of all-nighters. The good news is that there are an increasing number of tools and systems out there to aid you by streamlining your workflows and amplifying your creative output.

To get you started, we’ve compiled a list of tried-and-tested tools that we rate personally. Plus, because many other creatives and studios already use these tools, familiarity with them can also be a useful marketable skill.

1. Be More Organized

Feel like you’ve been working for hours but still haven’t got much done? For most of us, effective time management and project organization don’t just happen by magic. Here are some useful tools to help you master this aspect of your creative workflow:

Trello

Trello is a popular project management tool that organizes tasks using boards, lists, and cards. Its intuitive interface makes it a good choice for those who prefer a more visual approach to task management. You can create boards for different projects, use lists to represent stages of your workflow, and move cards (representing tasks) through these stages as you progress.

Notion

Notion is a great choice if you want a project management tool you can easily customize. By combining notes, tasks, wikis, and databases in one place, you can use them to create a personal knowledge base, manage projects, write and organize content, and even build simple websites.

Toggl

Not sure where your time is going? Toggl is a straightforward time-tracking tool that gives you the answers. With one-click time tracking, you can easily log hours spent on different tasks or projects. You can also get valuable insights into your work patterns, helping you identify time sinks and optimize your workflow. For freelancers, it’s particularly useful in accurately tracking billable hours and generating client reports.

2. Harness AI For Productivity

You might hate the way generative AI art is taking away your business. But don’t dismiss AI entirely because there are some great AI productivity tools that can enhance efficiency without replacing the human creative spark.

Grammarly

For anyone who frequently engages in writing – whether it’s crafting compelling copy, drafting proposals, or communicating with clients – Grammarly can be a game-changer. This AI-powered writing assistant helps improve your writing, not just by catching grammatical errors and typos but also by suggesting improvements in style, tone, and clarity. Usefully, it can adapt to different types of writing, from formal reports to casual social media posts.

Otter.ai

Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription tool that works very well in practice. By accurately transcribing speech to text in real-time, Otter.ai allows you to focus on the conversation or creative process at hand rather than on taking notes. It can automatically distinguish between different speakers. It quickly summarises the main points of a discussion for you. Its searchable, editable transcripts make it a great choice for anyone working in journalism, content creation or filmmaking.

Loom

Loom is a video recording and sharing tool with an emphasis on asynchronous communication. This means that instead of scheduling meetings for every small discussion, you can record a quick Loom video to explain concepts, provide feedback, or walk through changes. This not only saves time but also allows for clearer communication.

3. Automate Parts of Your Workflow

Automation is the key to scaling your creative output without sacrificing quality. By handling routine tasks automatically, you’ll have more time to focus on the creative aspects of your work.

Zapier

Zapier is an automation tool that connects different apps and services, allowing you to create workflows (called “Zaps”) that automate repetitive tasks. For example, you could set up a Zap that automatically saves email attachments to your cloud storage or one that creates a new task in your project management tool when a client fills out an online form. The beauty of Zapier lies in its versatility and its vast number of integrations.

IFTTT

IFTTT, which stands for “If This Then That,” is another powerful automation tool that helps you create simple conditional statements called applets. These applets are triggered by changes that occur within other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, or even smart home devices. For instance, you could set up an applet that automatically posts your Instagram photos to Twitter or one that saves tagged Facebook photos to a specific folder in your cloud storage.

4. Collaborate More Seamlessly

In a globalized, remote-working world, effective collaboration tools are becoming increasingly vital. These tools can help bridge the gap when clients are geographically distant and keep the creativity flowing when team members are physically apart.

Miroa

Miro is a digital whiteboard platform that brings the collaborative energy of in-person brainstorming sessions to the digital realm. It’s basically an infinite canvas where team members can add notes, images, diagrams, and more in real time. This makes it easier to visualize ideas, create mood boards, map out user journeys, or plan complex projects online. You can use pre-made templates or create your own custom boards.

Frame.io

Frame.io is a video collaboration platform that streamlines the review and approval process. Most notably, team members and clients can leave time-coded comments directly on the video, making feedback clear and actionable. This can significantly reduce the back-and-forth often involved in video revisions and ensure everyone is on the same page.

5. Reorganise Your Social Media

Once upon a time, you only worried about Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Now there’s TikTok, Threads, BlueSky, and LinkedIn… the list is endless. Managing all of these platforms can take forever, but these tools can help reduce the time you spend posting from hours to minutes.

Buffer

Buffer makes it quick and easy to schedule posts across multiple social networks. Its intuitive interface makes planning and scheduling your content in advance easy, and its analytics capabilities provide detailed insights into what content resonates best with your audience. Buffer also offers collaboration features, making it a great choice for creative teams managing social media together.

Beacons.ai

Beacons.ai is a “link in bio” tool that has become increasingly popular among creatives on social media platforms like Instagram, where profile links are limited. It allows you to create a customizable landing page that houses multiple links, essentially turning your single bio link into a hub for all your online content. With various modules such as video embeds, mailing list signups, and even tipping options, it’s super-versatile.

Feedly

Staying updated with the latest trends and news in your creative field is crucial for remaining competitive and inspired. Feedly is an RSS reader that allows you to curate and organize content from various sources in one place. You can follow blogs, news sites, and even keywords across the web, creating a personalized feed of relevant information. An AI-powered feature, Leo, can even help prioritize the most important content.

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