For a while now, it’s been clear that Instagram isn’t just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram has a whopping 600 active monthly million users as of December 2016, the last 100 million of which joined in the prior six months.
In a world where visual content remains a crucial part of any business’ marketing strategy, Instagram presents a unique opportunity to visually represent your brand, celebrate its personality, and keep it top-of-mind for all those users who scroll through their Instagram feeds every single day.
What could be better than a three-day holiday weekend? Whether you decide to staycation at home or take advantage of the time off by visiting a new place, most people would agree that getting an extra vacation day is a good thing.
The trouble is, once you get back into the office to a deluge of emails and only four days left to get your job done, it can feel overwhelming.
![Does More Data Help, or Hurt Social Advertisers? [Infographic]](https://blog.hubspot.com/hubfs/%5BAgency_Post%5D/social-ad-data.png?t=1487670554181)
Advertisers and marketers have access to more data in 2017 than ever before, but does that make it easier, or more difficult to act decisively?
According to new data from Brand Innovators, 36% of social marketers struggle to “distill data into insights and actions.” Despite having an unprecedented amount of data at their disposal, many marketing teams and agencies still lack the resources and business expertise necessary to turn that information into campaign decisions.
“Google it.” “Can you pass me some Kleenex?” “Let’s take the Jet Ski out.”
These are just a few examples of how brand names have been worked into our common vocabularies. When people ask for a Kleenex, they usually just mean they want a tissue, but because the Kleenex brand is so popular, we’ve started conflating the popular brand name with the object itself.
![The Bird's Eye View of Video: New Stats from Twitter [Infographic]](https://blog.hubspot.com/hubfs/twitter_video_compressed.jpg?t=1487585432420)
Video is crushing it on social media. Videos on Facebook are shared 7X more frequently than links, Snapchat users watch 10 billion videos each day, and video ads on Twitter are twice as memorable as other ads on the platform.
So, how can brands take advantage of high levels of video engagement on Twitter?
Taking on a branding project for a small business can be a valuable opportunity for agencies and freelancers to develop experimental creative work without the intense pressures and restrictions associated with larger accounts.
While big businesses often have multiple decision makers with very specific ideas and guidelines to keep their existing brands consistent, smaller companies are usually more open to exploring new creative directions, and can move faster to implement them.
Simply put, marketers comprise an impressively busy population. With a perpetually incomplete to do list, an eternal quest for work-life balance, and ongoing efforts to keep up with the latest creative trends, where the heck are we supposed to find time to do something like, say, read a book?
But something that might seem recreational on the surface could actually be vital to your career development. Maybe that’s why, despite the perpetual time crunch, 73% of us have still made time to read an actual book in the past year.
It’s getting harder and harder for companies to attract and retain the right people. According to the Talent Shortage Survey, 40% of global employers are unable to find the right talent for jobs that need to be done.
For this reason, many employers are looking internally to their existing team for support.
![7 Core Services Your Agency Needs to Offer in 2017 [Free Guide]](https://blog.hubspot.com/hubfs/00-Blog_Thinkstock_Images/agency-services-2017.png?t=1487331670903)
Inbound marketing and sales continue to have a massive impact on the way busineses market themselves and sell their products. More companies than ever before are opting for agencies that offer a full-funnel range of inbound services.
So what specific services does your agency need to offer in 2017 to stay on top of shifting client demands?
What’s so hard about writing an online job ad?
On the surface, it seems simple enough. Just describe the job’s responsibilities, label it with the role you’re hiring for, and post the ad. While that strategy might get you a few results, there are some best practices that can maximize your ad’s views and clicks. In turn, that can help attract the best candidates.
