The Art of Aging Well
So far in our series, we have talked about what offline marketing is, why you would want to use it, and what types of offline marketing you can choose from. Today, we discuss how to integrate offline marketing with online strategies to get the most for your marketing efforts.
Offline and online marketing methods can actually support each other in ways that create a broader reach. Watch our video to see how that works. Read more
When people think of using video in their marketing, they often dismiss it because they think it has to be flashy or funny or expensive to produce.
Nothing could be further from the truth! As explained in our previous post, creating a video can be as easy as capturing something on your smartphone and uploading it to social media, YouTube, or your website.
And video is becoming an outstanding tool for lead generation. With the use of things such as email gateways and calls to action, this format is quickly becoming an essential part of your marketing and lead generation arsenal.
1. In-Video Gating
Gating is not a new concept. I am sure we are all familiar with being asked for lead information prior to obtaining something of value. For instance, many businesses will ask for an email address prior to releasing a white-paper or an eBook. In fact, we do this ourselves. In order to get our Business Evaluation, we ask for information to add subscribers to our newsletter. Generally, in-video gating is used the same way as text-based gating like in my example, and is used to obtain contact information before a video can be watched.
Some gateways are very simple, asking only for an email address, while other are more complex and ask for name, company, email and phone number, etc. Regardless of the information gathered, the concept is the same; a visitor to your site/landing page who was previously a stranger has now become a known, viable and valuable prospect. By obtaining this information, you now have permission to engage them in a conversation through email or an actual sales call.
2. Calls-To-Action (CTA’s)
Just like in video gating, you are most likely familiar with CTA’s. In fact, it is probable that you are already using them on your website.
CTA’s are used based on the concept that ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’.
Using CTA’s for video is no different than using them on your website. If you simply load your video and allow it to fade to black without at least asking your viewer to interact, you are missing an opportunity. If a viewer has watched your video to the end, capturing that interest and directing them to your site or an offer only makes sense. Typically, video CTA’s come in three forms:
A) Annotations:
An annotation is a method of adding text and links to your videos on YouTube. You can create these annotations to appear at any point during your video, and you can determine how long it stays on the video. Annotations are great to get people to subscribe to your channel, other video content, or link them back to your website.
B) Pop-Out CTA’s:
Because annotations are limited in design capabilities, you may wish to use a pop-out CTA or embed a form to encourage engagement and to collect contact information.
C) End of Video CTA:
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to allow your video to simply fade to black. An end of video CTA has the same purpose as the pop-out CTA or annotation, except that they appear at the end of your video. YouTube calls them Cards, and although they can be placed anywhere within the video, it is more effective to use them as an end of video CTA. Use end of video CTA’s to direct your viewer to your desired next step, such as visiting your website. Or, try embedding a form to capture their information and offer a free download in exchange. Research by Vidyard has demonstrated that viewers who received an end of video CTA for a free trial of their product converted at 21%, vs. only 1% of viewers who did not receive a CTA. Clearly, the inclusion of an end of video CTA can have a huge impact on your marketing efforts.
So, as you can see, once you have decided to include video into your marketing plan, the next logical step is to engage your viewers by integrating some form of lead generation strategy.
Simple and powerful, start using them today and see how your marketing results improve!
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Until next time…
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Just in case you are unclear of what, exactly, this means, demand generation is the focus of targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a company’s products/services.
This article points out the top five reasons why video marketing has become a key component of content marketing and demand generation strategies.
1. Video has higher retention rates and initiates higher engagement.
It is no surprise to any of us that attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter as technology improves and advances. In fact, latest studies have defined our attention spans at a mere 8 seconds. So that’s it! That’s how long you have to capture the attention of your audience. This means that you should be strategic about the content you are providing for your audience. According to a report by Invodo, more than 65% of viewers watch more than three quarters of each video, which is considerably higher that text-based content.
2. Video as a marketing medium drives more conversions.
We all love to share information and help others. But at the core, we are in business to make money. And, without sales, there is no money. Using video to deliver content to your audience can be a key driver in building trust, awareness and interest in your company and its offerings. In fact, over 70% of marketers believe that video is the most effective way to drive conversions, with product videos increasing your prospects purchasing intent by up to 85%.
3. Video enhances the results of additional content and marketing efforts.
As stand-alone content, videos have proven themselves to be incredibly effective. Used to support other content assets, video can boost the engagement factor considerably. Consider the effectiveness of a video landing page. The integration of video into a sales page allows the prospect to engage more personally with the company and helps to build credibility and trust.
4. Video helps you gain insight into the behaviours of your visitors.
Let’s face it; we love to sell our products. Perhaps you have an eBook that a prospect has downloaded. But we have no way of tracking what the prospect did with the eBook once it was downloaded. Did they read it? Did they find it useful? There really is no way of knowing. But with video, you can track how many viewers it had, how much of the video is being watched, and if viewers are interacting with any clickable links within the video.
5. Video is more accessible than ever to companies of all sizes.
Prospects and clients are expecting more and more video content. In fact, according to Cisco, nearly 80% of all internet traffic is expected to be video based by 2018. But with the increase in demand for video, the tools have become less expensive, allowing any business to create video for their prospects and clients. Although high end video productions still have their place, newer technologies have brought the ability to shoot and edit video within the reach of any business. The biggest obstacle seems to be getting over the ‘camera-shy’ part of video production.
You don’t need any expensive or highly technical equipment or software to start creating video today. In fact, you can even use your smartphone to record a video. And online video tools such as Camtasia and GoAnimate help you to create a professional video right from your own desktop. As for hosting and distribution, you can easily share video across a number of networks such as YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc., as well as embedding them in emails and on your website. You may want to investigate video marketing platforms as well, to provide you with metrics for measurable ROI.
So there you have it – the top 5 reasons why you should be doing video marketing. What are you waiting for?
You can visit our YouTube Channel here.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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It had been our intention to get this live-streamed yesterday, but we all know what can happen with technology. And tech glitches right after a long weekend… well, we know how that goes!
Regardless of the delay, here is the introduction to our latest video series. This series will be run each Tuesday and Thursday, so keep watching for updates. Watch to learn how to implement 5 easy strategies and increase your marketing results.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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We continue our countdown on the Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make with Mistake No. 2, which speaks to the issue of budgets.
This video will explain why it is so important to establish – and follow – a realistic marketing budget. Expenses can easily get out of hand if a business owner fails to do this! On the flip side, the failure to budget an appropriate amount of time, money and resources can cause the failure of a campaign, wasting the investment and creating the false belief that the campaign itself was the cause of the failure.
Watch this video and learn just how important it is to avoid making this mistake in your marketing efforts.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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One of the most common issues small business owners have with marketing is that they see it as an expense rather than an investment. And this can be true if the marketing campaign is not properly managed, resulting in little to no ROI.
In our video today, Mistake Number 3 of the Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make series, we look at why it is so important to review and evaluate your results upon the conclusion of your marketing campaigns. Neglect this step at your peril!
Watch this video now to see the importance of avoiding this mistake.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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Is it something that you embrace or do you think it confines you and your creativity? Are you using timelines when you engage in your marketing or do you ‘fly by the seat of your pants’?
Our Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make video series presents Mistake number 4 today, which talks about developing and following timelines. Much like everything else you do in business, your marketing should also be managed with appropriate timelines.
Watch this video and you will learn just how important it is to create and follow timelines for your marketing campaigns, and how failing to do so can impact negatively on your successes and failures.
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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Okay, so we have been writing about our video series “The Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Small Business Make” for a few weeks now and today we are live-streaming the next video in this series: Mistake Number 6.
Hopefully, you have followed along with the series and are apprised of the 4 mistakes we have already discussed. As you will see, neglecting to avoid one mistake can often, if not always, cause you to make other mistakes. This video will address using the appropriate tools to communicate with your clients and prospects, and how this decision is predicated on avoiding making mistake number 10.
Are you using the right communication methods and tools to attract and retain your prospects and clients? Watch now and see…
Until next time…
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Welcome back as we continue our series on the Top Ten Marketing Mistakes That Small Businesses Make. Today we address Mistake Number 7.
Do you know the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing campaign? This video will explain the difference and help you avoid making this mistake!
Until next time…
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Without giving too much away, this video will point out how to avoid making the same marketing mistakes over and over again. As Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Keep this in mind while watching this video. 🙂
Until next time…
Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, contact us today.
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