Tag: video marketing

Are You Content With Your Content?

Nancy Boisvert Newsletter , , , , , , , , ,
content is king

The English language is a funny thing, isn’t it?

Many words, depending on their pronunciation, have different meanings. The word “content” in the title of today’s article is a great example of this.

To be content is to be satisfied, or happy with the current state of things. And content is also the substance of something, such as a book, website, etc.

So, back to my question: are you content with your content?

We all know that to attract prospects and clients, we have to engage them. One of the best ways to engage them is through content. But not just any content. You have to provide something of value to them, something that stirs emotion and reaction and stimulates their desire to know more.

Many business owners, although great at delivering their product or service, don’t really understand the value of providing good content on a consistent basis. Keeping your clients and prospects interested is the key to keeping them engaged.

Now, I understand that as a small business owner you may not see the correlation between the service or product that you sell and simply writing about it on your website or blog. But just think about this for a minute; if you can provide insights and help educate your client or prospect, what would you expect the result to be?

Consider your own behavior as well. If you are researching something online, do you simply find a provider and run out and purchase from them, or you check out a few different sites and interact more with those sites that are providing a more personalized experience?

We all like to do business with people we like, know, and trust. In our current world of electronic communication, it can be difficult to establish and build that relationship. Therefore, it helps your prospects and your clients understand and trust you and your business by learning about you through your content.

There are many ways that you can provide content as well. Consider sending an online newsletter to folks who subscribe to it on your website. Think about writing articles about topics that are pertinent to your business and posting them on a regular and consistent basis to your website. Determine which social media platforms your clients and prospects use, and post updates and interact with them regularly there. If you are camera shy, get over it and make a few short “how-to” videos, explaining certain processes on a YouTube channel that you set up and link to your website.

These are just a few examples of simple ways to interact and build trust with your clients and prospects. If this is an area that you aren’t comfortable with, consider outsourcing this service. You will find that you will gain a huge advantage from that small investment.

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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How To Market Your Financial Services Business

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financial services business

To those of you in the financial services business, welcome to our “How To…” series!

This series will provide some marketing tips and strategies for different business sectors.  Today, we start this series by giving some ideas to the financial services industry.  If you work in any of the areas of this industry, you will want to watch it; if you work in another niche, you will still benefit.

Watch our video here, or watch on YouTube.

Transcription of video:

Hi, Nancy Boisvert of Agapi Marketing & Consulting here and I wanted to talk to all of you professionals out there in the financial services industry today.

I know there are some you who are independents, but the larger portion of you do work under the umbrella of a larger corporation, and I do know that many times you folks tend to defer your marketing to the larger corporation. And that’s fine if that’s working for you. But I guess my question to you is, what is setting you apart from all the others? That comes down to branding. So what I’m going to discuss with you today is ways to set yourself apart from your competition.

I wanted to address just a handful of ideas, give you some tips and some ideas that perhaps you can implement.

Now, one of the things that we all know is that people like to do business with people that they like, know and trust. So, assuming that you’re getting a large portion of your prospects from a pool out there, and not necessarily from referral business, how do you get people to like, know and trust you?

Well, that boils down to, first of all, being seen as an expert in your field. And how do you do that? Well, there’s a handful of ways that you can look at doing that.

One of the things that you can do is set up your own YouTube channel. I’m doing this video here in my home office just to show you that you don’t need to be fancy, you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment, and you don’t need a studio to do it. What you need to do is shut your door, turn off your phones, get in front of your Webcam and share a little bit of your expertise and your knowledge with the people who are your target audience. So you can do that.

Another thing you can do is write a book. Now, don’t get intimidated; I’m not talking about writing “War and Peace”. I’m talking about putting together a 30 to 45-page book that you can sell on Amazon – or just give it away to your clients and prospects. But what I am suggesting is that if you do you have it published, that also helps enhance your reputation as an expert. If you don’t have time to do that, consider ghostwriter.

Another thing that you can do is send out newsletters on a monthly basis. Now, I know you’re governing company probably does have some sort of newsletter, some sort of monthly communication that they can provide, but again loses all that personal touch. If I know that you’re just one of 400 agents under the umbrella of specific Corporation, what is it that makes me want to stay with you or do business with you, instead of somebody down the road who has the same shingle? So, set yourself apart from your competitors.

Do “lunch and learns”. Bring in a handful of people once a month. Invite a dozen different people, bring in a guest speaker and present something and give people something that they’re going to remember. They’re going to have a lunch, they’re going to get some information, they’ll have some one-on-one time; a really, really great way to get people to build that trust factor with you.

So that’s just a handful of things that you can do.

What I’d like you to do is connect to my website. I’ve got a link here on this video. You can connect connector there. I’ve got a transcript of this video on there in case you wanted to print it off or some of the ideas. But what I’d really like you do is give me a call or drop me an email. No obligation. Let’s just explore what it is that you’re doing and let’s see if there’s some way that I can help you build your business and become more popular to your target audience out there.

So I’ll leave you with that. Thank you very much for watching the video and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Bye for now.

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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The Case Against Using Video

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video marketing green screen

So you don’t want to use video for your marketing?

Well okay, let’s outline the justifications for not using video:

1. People will criticize how I look
2. People will criticize what I say
3. I hate the camera!
4. No one will watch my videos
5. It’s too expensive

Do any of those points look familiar to you?

I gotta tell you straight up – all of those points played a part in my hesitation to create video. In fact, prior to the release of my first video series, I actually did a blog post about the camera shy guide to video marketing warning people about how uncomfortable I was in front of the camera.

Let’s examine these obstacles point by point.

The first point is that people will criticize how you look. You think they’ll notice the bags under your eyes, or that you don’t have that perfect smile, or that you’re having a bad hair day. Reality check: no one on this planet is perfect or without their flaws. Those icons of perfection that are paraded in front of us on TV and in print have the help of professional hairstylists and makeup artists, to say nothing of the airbrushing techniques that are used to remove imperfections. If people watching your videos are more concerned with how you look rather than what it is you are saying, then it is unlikely that those people are your audience anyway.

Which takes us to point two; people will criticize what you say. Yes, there’s always the chance that some of the people tuning into your videos will criticize what you have to say. But does that really matter? If you are imparting your knowledge, in your own unique way, you will attract the people who are your target audience. There are always people with more knowledge, or different experiences, or different ways of delivering the same information.  But don’t lose sight that you, too, have a level of experience and expertise that can help others. And those are the people you will reach!

Let’s talk about point number three. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t come across that many people in my life who are completely comfortable in front of the camera. But as I learned, you will get more comfortable with it, the more you do it. I know when I first started doing video (as you can see for yourself by watching my first series), I was terribly uncomfortable presenting to the camera. I wasn’t sure where to look, I read from my notes, and I just generally came off as completely stilted. However, I persevered and am now able to focus on the information that I am imparting, rather than how people might perceive me. I am now able to look at that Webcam and not see it as a camera, but rather, I see the people who I am trying to speak to.

Item number four is the belief that no one will watch your videos. My first response is – so what? Now, I don’t mean to be quite so glib. Of course you are producing these videos to provide information and to reach a specific audience. But it is a very, very rare instance (to say nothing of the expense involved) that someone will do one video and it will become viral. You have to exercise patience and persistence. Continue to make your videos, to post them, and to share them via your social media channels, emails, blogs, or whatever other mediums you might employ. You will gain an audience, you will share your expertise, and you will significantly boost your rankings in search engines.

The final point is that it is too expensive to create video. I would agree that in certain circumstances and for certain businesses, it makes sense to hire a professional videographer or a studio to produce a video. But to share nuggets of your wisdom, your experiences, and to help others you don’t need a fancy studio. An inexpensive Webcam – even your smart phone camera – is really all you need to shoot a video. If you want, you can create an inexpensive green screen yourself and edit your background using a video editing software program which, again, does not have to be expensive. Or, create more casual videos in your office and post them on YouTube. The most important thing is to make sure that you have good lighting, good sound and a good message.

As you can see, there really is no reason not to use video for your marketing. It is the most engaging form of social sharing and for imparting knowledge, and, believe it or not, it can even be fun!

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

Speaker Series Presentation – Getting Clients Even in Lean Times

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get clients even in lean times

Getting Clients Even In Lean Times…

Back in November, I was invited to give a presentation to the Speaker Series Event for Sunwapta Solutions. The Topic was ” Getting Clients Even in Lean Times.” Those of you who follow my posts know that this is a topic I have written about in the past.

I was one of several speakers that day, and the event was delivered to a live audience as well as an online audience via webinar. The hosts of the Series recorded the session (as they always do) and have now provided me with the video of my portion of the presentation.  I wanted to share this with you, and invite you to tune in. Apologies for the quality…

Watch our video here, or watch on YouTube.
 

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

Crowdfunding: How To Make It Work!

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Crowdfunding: How To Make It Work!

Today, let’s talk about crowdfunding.

I’m sure most, if not all of you are familiar with what crowdfunding is. Over the past few years, several sites have appeared, giving variety and choice to anyone looking to raise funds through the generosity of the public at large.

Simply put, crowdfunding consists of an idea that is posted on a crowdfunding site with the intention of raising funds through connections, connections of connections, and the public at large. Sounds simple, right?

In theory, yes it is. However, just like every other form of marketing, planning and appropriate strategy around the delivery of your project is crucial to your success or your failure.

I actually had a different topic plan for today, but was asked to check out a crowdfunding venture for a friend of mine on Indigogo. At first glance, the project seemed to have followed a plan for execution. But, unfortunately, I believe the project has executed itself before it really got off the ground. Read more

The Secret Sauce To Engaging Your Audience

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engage your audience

How to engage your audience – not as hard as you might think…

Well folks, I try to provide quality tips and marketing information every Tuesday and Thursday to post on our Articles and Posts Page. And, to be perfectly honest, sometimes I struggle with the content. This is because I don’t just want to fill space, but I want to make sure that I am providing you with something that will be beneficial to you in your own business.  I like to engage my audience.

I’ve written about many topics over the course of the last several months and it is my intention to ensure that I am providing you with information that is timely, effective, and relevant. I want to provide you with new information and not just rehash the same old messages.

Which brings me to today.

I started the day by reflecting on what I have posted over the past several weeks, and I realized that, although I’ve given many tips and strategies about various elements of the science of marketing, including ideas about how to use video and various other marketing tools, I really haven’t addressed the topic of content in very much detail.

But I didn’t just want to talk about the usual aspects of content marketing. I didn’t want to talk about keyword optimization. I didn’t want to talk about guest blogging. I didn’t want to talk about syndication. All of these are important elements of content marketing, and I likely will address these in future posts. However, to me, the most important element about engaging your clients and prospects through your content is to be compelling.

So, are you ready to learn exactly what the secret sauce is to engaging your audience?

It’s not really that much of a surprise. In fact, it’s actually pretty simple.

It’s called telling a story.

When we are trying to tell our point of view, or teach something, or share something with our clients, our prospects and our readers, we want to capture their imagination. The best way to do this is by telling a story.

Since the early days of man, storytelling has been part of our culture. Look at the cave paintings of our far distant ancestors. Reflect on the history that are taught by archaeologists of how our indigenous people would sit around a campfire and relate the stories of things like hunting and traveling and setting up camp. These were times of celebration; of sharing and of ensuring that the stories would be carried on from generation to generation to generation. Of course, this was before we had invented a way to write an alphabet of some sort, and communicate through the written word. And, although the written word makes it easier to ensure that stories are passed on for generations are not lost over time, we still must ensure that these words are delivered in a way that is compelling, compassionate and interesting to keep our audience engaged.

Let me give you an example of how storytelling can help engage audience rather than just simply relating the facts.

If I was to tell you that I found a way of creating a following on Twitter that would enable you to increase traffic to your website, and capture the attention of more potential business, that tells you a reality of exercising a certain marketing technique.

Now, if I was to tell you that at the beginning of July, I employed a method that enabled me to increase the traffic on my website by 800% through simple technique on Twitter, would that capture your attention? If I was to tell you that I engaged personally with every person who followed me on my Twitter account, responded to direct messages, thanked people for mentions, retweeted information that was relevant to my followers, and made a point of personally engaging with some of these people, not just on Twitter but also on LinkedIn on Facebook, would that paint a bit of a better picture than simply saying that creating a following on Twitter could increase traffic to your website?

Both stories have the same ultimate message. The difference between the two is that the first simply states the facts, while the second speaks more personally about some of the things I did, making it relatable to my audience.

So don’t be afraid to use examples when you’re communicating with your clients and prospects. Everybody has a story to tell, and everybody understands some aspect of everybody else’s story. Telling a story humanizes your article. It helps make your message more relatable, and resonates better with your clients and prospects. It changes your message from that of a clinical approach to a personable, friendly piece of information that helps build trust, familiarity and engagement.

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

How To Use Video For Lead Generation

Nancy Boisvert Newsletter , , , , , , , , , , , ,
video marketing

Are you using video yet?

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.

Let’s take a look at how video can help you with lead generation.

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!

You can also visit our YouTube Channel.

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

The Top Five Reasons You Should Be Implementing Video In Your Marketing

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video marketing

You’ve heard about demand generation, right?

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

Likes, Tweets, Shares, and Subscribes …Oh, My!

Nancy Boisvert Newsletter , , , , , , , , ,
social media marketing

Social media accounts are important, but…

I was having a discussion with a business colleague the other day and the topic came up about how clients perceive their followings on social media platforms.

During this conversation, he mentioned that one of his clients was not satisfied with the number of subscribers she had on her YouTube channel. She has lots of views, just not too many subscribers.

That led us to an exchange about social media engagement in general.

So let me play devil’s advocate for just a minute.

Read more

Top Ten Marketing Mistakes: No. 3

Nancy Boisvert Video Blog , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
video series

Are your campaigns working?

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.

Watch our video now, or watch on YouTube.

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.

If you like the information you are receiving, please consider forwarding this post.

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