Kelli S. Burns, Ph.D.

I finished the HubSpot Content Marketing Certification which is available for free. Here are my top nine takeaways from the program:

1. HubSpot has a fun Blog Ideas Generator. Just put in some keywords and it will suggest some headlines for you.
2. HubSpot’s Content Compass is a useful Excel spreadsheet for organizing content ideas by month, SMART goal, campaign, etc.
3. Some of the metrics you might track for your content include brand awareness, engagement, lead generation, conversion/sales, loyalty/retention, and website performance.
4. When running a campaign, it’s best to set up a specific URL through Google’s Campaign URL Builder so that you can track it.
5. For top-of-the-funnel campaigns to generate awareness, you can use targeted Facebook ads, podcast advertising (you can purchase podcast advertising through networks like Midroll), or secondary SEO on sites that already attract traffic. For example, if your company offers payroll software, look for lists like “best payroll software” and get your company listed there.
6. Keep blog post headlines to 50-60 characters so they don’t get cut off in Google search results. HubSpot also had suggestions for different types of headlines like the “how to,” list, question, negative angle (“why you should never…”), little known advice, interesting statistic, “the secret of,” a quick tip, and “you should know.” I couldn’t find that list published elsewhere, but did find this other great resource from HubSpot on writing headlines.
7. Brainstorm blog headlines and develop 5-10 that you consider for your post. In doing so, try to add to the conversation by understanding what already exists and what is missing and write for how people search (the terms they use). Offer one core idea in your post and have a call to action at the end.
8. Push your content to more audiences by publishing it on other sites. I’m not exactly sure what canonical tags and NoIndex means, but definitely understand these if posting content elsewhere. Some good places for content include Business Insider, Next Web, Social Media Today, Medium, LinkedIn, and Huffington Post. Update your headline when posting on other sites.
9. HubSpot offers free ebook templates. When you create an ebook book, take your content and repurpose it as a slide deck, webinar that you upload to YouTube, infographic, videographic, email series, or podcast. They have more information on this blog post.

Most of my takeaways are related to resources available from HubSpot because these could be useful in teaching classes where students are creating content. This was my first HubSpot certification and I hope to complete others. If you are interested, you can check out their certifications.