How to Change Your Body Language to Be More Successful [Infographic]

Body language: It’s one of the most subtle, yet important things to master at work. If you’re not in tune with what your posture, facial expression, and other nonverbal cues are telling others, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

For example, let’s say that you’re in an important meeting and want to show your boss that you’re a leader on the team. During the meeting, you end up sitting in the back with your legs crossed and your posture hunched – it’s just how you feel comfortable. 

But that’s not how your boss might read the situation. Your body language could make you appear unconfident and nervous, which in turn could make your boss question your leadership abilities, even if you offered up smart insights throughout the whole meeting. 

To make sure your body language doesn’t get in the way of your success, check out the infographic below from Gengo. It explains why mastering your body language is so important, and gives tips for changing your body language based on your situation. 

While body language interpretations are often different depending on where in the world you’re doing business, these tips will help you get a baseline understanding of how body language can help – or hurt – your success at work. (And if you want to learn more about international business ettiquette, click here.) 

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10 Ways to Reach Customers Who Don’t Know They Need You

Event planner, lawyer, daycare owner, tow truck driver. Regardless of our chosen professions, it’s fair to say that we all want to build our businesses’ customer bases. It’s how we thrive. So it’s only natural for us to want to market our products or services to everyone, in hopes of capturing a larger audience, and thus making more money.

But every business has a few “unreachables.” Now, some of these people are placed in that category for a reason. If you sell retirement plans, for instance, your unreachables might be children because they’re simply too young to purchase your product. But that doesn’t mean they have to remain that way forever. Even the most unexpected groups of people could be your biggest advocates later on. You just need to know how to speak to them.

Here are some tips for successfully reaching your unreachables:

1) Do your homework

This is an important step you won’t want to skip. Before you start trying to reach all different types of groups, you’ll want to find out who your individual unreachables actually are. They may or may not be who you think they are. That’s why researching and surveying are important parts of this process. 

You might look at your current demographics for visitors to your website or social media platforms and determine which audiences aren’t connecting with you. You might also try comparing your demographics to your competitors’ to see if they’re reaching an audience you might not be. Or, you could conduct interviews and send out questionnaires to gather additional information. Whatever methods of obtaining this data, be sure that in the end you have answers to questions like:

• Why are these groups uninterested/uninformed about my business? 
• Are they also uninterested/uninformed about the products/services I sell, too?
• Do they know they might want/need what I’m offering?
   

2) Find a common ground and apply it to your approach

At this point, you’ve narrowed down exactly who your unreachables are, but the research stage isn’t over just yet. You still want to find out what their likes and dislikes are, where they live, where they work, etc. Researching the specifics of their day-to-day lives can be helpful when brainstorming the message and channels to reach them. It can help you create a story that appeals to multiple audiences.

Look at Budweiser. Who knew that a beer company would create 2014’s top-performing spot on USA Today’s Ad Meter with a commercial that not only doesn’t display their products once, but also is themed around the love between a puppy and a horse. It’s effective because it appeals to multiple audiences by finding a common ground through storytelling.

 

3) Customize your approach to appeal to them, not your current customers

This is a continuation of the previous action. When brainstorming ways to speak to your unreachables, it’s important to remember that the same message that works really well for your current audience probably won’t be received well by another—or at least not as effectively. 

A successful example of this is with Old Spice’s marketing efforts. Marketers realized that they could reach a lot of the younger generations with humorous and quick-witted advertisements. Of course, there were changes to the products as well, but a lot of the instant success of the brand stemmed from the viral nature of the ads that spoke to a much broader group of people than ever before.

4) Offer them something truly unique 

As wisely stated by Entrepreneur contributor Murray Newlands in his article, “The 8 Fundamentals for a Successful Inbound-Marketing Strategy”, “Think of your website as a hub, not a megaphone.” This applies to all areas of your brand’s presence—both online and offline. Treat your unreachables as if they are already your most loyal customers, rewarding them with valuable resources they can really use. Because if you can provide them with something they can’t find elsewhere, it will build trust and credibility—two things that give you an instant leg up on your competition. 

Some valuable, yet still free/affordable resources you can offer include:  

• Educational information, like e-books, guides, infographics, blog articles, webinars, tips, downloadable templates, etc.
• Coupons/exclusive discounts for first-time customers
• Product/service samples
• Branded merchandise
  

As many in the industry may know already, this method of marketing (inbound marketing) has proven to be one of the most successful ways to promote your brand or business. 

5) Generate awareness of the want/need for what you have to offer

Your unreachables are most likely in the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey—unsure whether or not they even want or need the product/service you’re offering, let alone if they want it from your specific company. That’s why you have to create reasons why someone might need you.

Let’s say you’re a hotel that’s running a special vacation package. An example of the awareness-stage buyers would be a mother and father who just found out they’re able to take a vacation with their family soon, but aren’t yet sure if they want to stay local, travel abroad or go on a cruise. By marketing your vacation package as the most all-inclusive, affordable and family-friendly offer available, you’re successfully generating awareness and a desire for your offer.

6) Demonstrate how your product/service could be the only solution they need

Maybe your business offers a variety of products or services (i.e. multi-platform digital solutions). Or, maybe it offers something a little more niche (i.e. all-organic coffee). But no matter what you offer, there’s always a way to position yourself as their all-purpose solution.

Your unreachables might not even know your business can handle multiple problems they’re experiencing. They might not know that just how well you’ve mastered your very specific product/service. Or, they might not know they need you. Either way, you’ll want to demonstrate how you’re the only solution. 

7) Position your business in the most positive light possible

Though it may hard to conceive, most people want to find out how you can help them, even if they’re not actively seeking you out. If you’ve piqued their interest in some way, they’ll want to find the good in your business, so they can have a product or service that provides a solution or added convenience to their lives.

A few suggestions for keeping your efforts upbeat and positive:

• Use up-to-date content, design and resources in your marketing efforts
• Use language that is confident and inviting, not cocky or abrasive
• Avoid negative messaging that puts down specific competitors (it’s tacky)
• Highlight what specifically makes you better than the rest, but say it in a way that makes you look like the hero 

8) Find ways to get your advocates to promote to them

What’s better than having happy customers who love your products/services? Having happy customers who willingly promote your products/services to others. If they’re happy enough, they’ll do it for free, too. It’s like free advertising.

This is your opportunity to reward your #1 fans with things like:

• Refer-a-friend offers/discounts/coupons 
• Exclusive content
• Donations to fan-favorite charities
• Answered questions/concerns, personalized shout-outs and Q&A sessions on social media platforms
• Fan-appreciation events
• Featured fan videos/photos/etc.
• Project involvement

Whether your business is able to spend a lot or a little toward rewarding your advocates, remember that there’s a huge benefit in having people promote your business for you.  

9) Show many forms of credibility

In addition to having testimonials on top-rated review sites (or on your own website), there are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are credible and trustworthy.

Find unique (yet still truthful) ways to display this in your marketing efforts, such as: 

• Noteworthy awards or certifications (place a badge on your website, post a link to your social media platforms with information about the award/certification, etc.)
• Support a local charity (display information about it on a dedicated landing page on your site, post about it on social media, etc.)
• Mention any environmentally sustainable efforts you make at your business (recycling, volunteering for eco-friendly organizations, etc.
• Case studies and testimonials
  

Though this is certainly helpful for your current customers to confirm they’ve made the right choice with you, those who might not know they need you yet might find your business more desirable than another, simply for your credibility. Research the industry-specific materials you can provide your potential customers to let them know you are not just a viable option, but the best option. 

10) Do all of this in stages—not all at once

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you do these things in different phases. Because it’s not realistic to believe any one effort will magically attract everyone to your business, you should set goals, follow a strategic plan and measure your results. Rinse and repeat as necessary for each audience.

There are plenty of ways to speak to those who seem unreachable. You just have to find ways to make it about them and why they (specifically) would want or need you. If you’re not sure how to get started, try these tips for expanding your reach.

 

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Apple, Google & Starbucks: Inside the Web Design Style Guides of 10 Famous Companies

 

If you’ve ever wondered how designers at Apple defined every little element in iOS as they were building it, then you’re in the right place. Ready to nerd out and get inspired all at the same time? I sure am.

You might be familiar with the concept of content style guides, which align members of a company on all the grammar and punctuation rules they should follow. In this post, I’ll be showing you examples of the version of these style guides for web designers, which we call digital style guides. 

What’s a digital style guide, exactly? It's a manual that sets the design standards for a company’s brand identifiers, like documents and signage. Its key purpose is to create a universal design style for the brand and ensure consistency across all channels and mediums. This is where you establish your logo, color palette, typography, imagery guidelines, and so on.

Style guides have always been a staple of design, with some print versions dating back to over 100 years ago. But as design for the web continues to become more formalized, style guides have begun to find their rightful place in the digital medium as well. They’re especially useful for websites and products that need to produce top-notch user experiences.

But, as a UX designer myself, I’ve always been curious … what can you find in the digital style guides of influential companies like Apple, Google, and Starbucks?

Believe it or not, a lot of companies actually make this information publicly available – they just don’t make it very easy to find. So, every time that I stumble across one, I bookmark it. Here are some of the best ones that I’ve found so far.

10 Examples of Awesome Digital Style Guides

1) Apple

Apple’s style guide is especially interesting because it details out how to design for an entire operating system. Yosemite, one of the latest versions of Apple’s OS X, has a more simplified user interface than it’s predecessor, Maverick’s. Apple demonstrates this subtle-yet-palpable distinction with really nice graphical comparisons, and then goes on to talk about the rationale behind every single aspect of the operating system’s design. It really gives you a window into the minds of the designers that created Yosemite.

2) Google

Google is pioneering a new design style called Material Design, which exists as a hybrid between Skeuomorphic Design (gradients, textures, light elements) and Flat Design (simple, colorful, geometrical). In doing this, they’re hoping to scoop up the benefits that are associated with each design style, while avoiding the drawbacks. Because Google has been practicing Material Design for around a year now, you’ve probably already interacted with it in some capacity – Google Calendar app, anyone? This style guide details out exactly what Material Design is and how Google uses it. I have to say that it is, by far, one of the best style guides that I’ve ever come across.

3) Starbucks

This is one of the most minimalistic style guides that I’ve seen – and yet, it houses a ton of useful information. It places a heavy emphasis on code and you can tell that it was built by developers, for developers. It lacks brand-related elements, so it walks the line between website style guide and code library.

4) Atlassian

The product suite that Atlassian designs for is gigantic – so, naturally, they have a gigantic style guide. From foundational elements (like color palette and typography), to components (like tables and tooltips), to a full-blown pattern library, this guide has just about everything that you would expect from a product of this size. Perhaps best of all, the rationale behind the entire style guide is summed up in three, deceptively simple sentences on the home page.

5) Mozilla

This style guide is primarily concerned with branding and communications. But with Mozilla taking a “privacy and open web” approach lately, it’s cool to see how they reflect this in their design. They also structure their “do and don’t” section in an interesting way, using green and red faces to distinguish between what designers should and shouldn’t do.

6) Buffer

This style guide is unique in that Buffer uses Atomic Design – which basically means that they build their designs in parts (atoms) and combine them into larger pieces (molecules), all of which make up the larger product (organism). Their style guide is small and concise, going from grid through modals all in one place.

7) Yelp

If you’re looking for a solid example of a website style guide, Yelp’s got that covered. This thing has it all: typography, layout, forms, containers, navigation, and code snippets for each piece. They do a really great job of explaining what each element is, where it should be used, and how it should be implemented. Also, if you want to check out their Brand Guidelines, you can do that, too.

8) GOV.UK

England’s government services website has been widely heralded as a prime example of high quality UX. Why? Because it boasts simple and easy-to-use design that accommodates excessive amounts of information. If you’re interested in what makes up a truly clean and effective design (hint: it usually starts with strong color usage, typography, and spacing), then GOV.UK’s style guide is worth taking a close look at. Much like the site, it’s very simple, but very informative.

9) DeviantArt

The new DeviantArt style guide is really unique because it’s more than just a guide – it’s an experience. It tells a story and leverages bold, full-width visuals to immerse the user in the emotional experience of the DeviantArt brand. That being said, it’s strictly a branding style guide, so only items like color and typography are covered.

10) Disqus

Color, icons, typography, and logo … that’s it for this guide. But it’s all presented in a very nice, organized manner. It looks like they built out a components section, but it’s not longer visible. (Although it does direct you to a hilarious 404 page.) This guide could be used as a great example for “where to start” when creating a style guide of your own. It has all of the fundamentals.

Feeling Inspired?

Now it’s your turn. By leveraging a digital style guide in your company, you can communicate your brand’s design language to internal designers, agencies, advertising partners, and even customers.

Start with the basic foundational elements (color, typography, logo, imagery), add some usage guidelines (“do and don’t”), and even incorporate some web components if you need to (modules, templates, code snippets). Use examples from other companies to learn from the best. Your team will be cranking out consistent designs in no time.

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How Often Should You Post on Facebook? [New Benchmark Data]

How often should you post to your business’ Facebook Page?

“It depends." Hmph. Not the definitive answer most people want. 

Truth is, this response isn’t wrong, as frustrating as it is. It does depend – on your followers' age range, interests, Facebook habits, and so on. But that doesn’t mean we can’t glean some valuable insights on how post frequency affects clickthrough rate.

This frequency discussion becomes all the more important when you look at the current state of competition on the News Feed. When your followers log in to Facebook, they’re getting hit with a ton of content. According to Facebook Engineering Manager Lars Backstrom, 1,500 possible stories from friends and Pages like are filtered per day on an average Facebook user’s News Feed. And most people don’t spend enough time scrolling through to see them all.

So, does that mean posting more frequently will help you reach more people? To help answer this question, we pulled some Facebook data from HubSpot’s 13,500+ customers. Let’s take a quick look at how the number of monthly Facebook posts our customers published impacted clicks per post. This will give you a frame of reference for how your Facebook posts should perform based on how often you’re publishing.

How Does Posting Frequency Affect Clicks Per Post?

The chart below shows how the number of Facebook posts our customers published every month affected the number of indexed clicks on each post. The data is organized by the number of followers a business Page has. When reading this graph, keep in mind that the Y-axis represents clicks per post, not clicks in total.

We found that organizations with more Facebook followers tend to get more interaction with each of their posts. Pages with over 10,000 followers were the only ones for whom posting more often increased the number of clicks per post. For business Pages with 10,001+ followers, clicks per post peaked at between 31 - 60 posts per month. When these companies posted more than 61 times per month, clicks per post didn’t increase significantly from when they were posting 1 - 5 times per month. 

For organizations with fewer than 10,000 followers, however, the more often they posted to Facebook, the fewer clicks per post they received. Companies with less than 10,000 followers that post more than 60 times a month receive 60% fewer clicks per post than those companies that post 5 or fewer times a month. There was one, small exception: Pages with between 1 - 200 followers saw a small increase in clicks per post when they posted 61+ times per month compared to the 31 - 60 post bracket. But this is nowhere near the engagement as the 1 - 5 monthly post group.

Takeaways for Marketers

Why does this happen? As the amount of content coming from Pages has increased, so has the competition to appear on consumers’ News Feeds. In other words, Facebook posts coming from Pages are becoming less and less visible in that competitive News Feed. The result? A decline in organic reach that leads to fewer clicks per post.

The biggest takeaway here is this: Don’t overwhelm your customers with content on Facebook, and be selective about what you’re publishing. In other words, spend more time crafting better Facebook posts, and less time crafting a lot of Facebook posts.

You’ll also want to target your content to a specific audience (and maybe even experiment with Facebook’s targeting options). People are more likely to click on posts that are relevant to their interests and needs. As my colleague Shannon Johnson wrote, "The goal is no longer to spray and pray – it’s to get as much interaction from a single post as possible.”

Have you experimented with the impact of Facebook posting frequency on engagement rate? What have you found? Share with us in the comments below.

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11 Ways to Boost Facebook Engagement for Small Businesses

Is your small business on Facebook? Are you looking for better ways to engage your fans? Small businesses are winning on Facebook more than ever before. In this article you’ll find 11 ways small businesses can improve engagement and drive sales with Facebook posts. #1: Move Your Audience to Action Litographs is an online store […]

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5 Ways to Succeed With Pinterest Promoted Pins

Are you marketing on Pinterest? Have you considered Pinterest promoted pins? Pinterest promoted pins (recently opened to everyone) can help you reach more people and drive results. In this article I’ll share five ways businesses can get the most out of Pinterest promoted pins. About Promoted Pins While Pinterest is a social sharing community, users visit […]

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