Content Marketing: How Search Engines and Social Media Have Outdated Your Old Marketing Strategy

 

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COPYRIGHT © 2010

All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. law, no part of this book may be reproduced in any way without permission in writing from the copyright holders.

 

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Table of Contents

 

 

Introduction: The Content Marketing Revolution                                  3

 

Chapter 1:  Traditional Marketing- The Beginning of the End              6
       Why Traditional Marketing Methods are No Longer Effective
       Business Needs to Change its Marketing Ways                                         

Chapter 2:  Content Marketing Answers the Challenge                        9
       What is Content Marketing?
       Why is Content Marketing the Future of Internet Marketing?         

Chapter 3:  Let's Get Started: Content Marketing for Beginners         12
      A Rose by any Other Name:  The Many Faces of Content Marketing
      Why your Customers Love Content
      You Need a Plan: 5 Steps to Effective Content Marketing

Chapter 4:  Implementing a Content Marketing Strategy                    16
      Great Content and How to Get It
      How to Market with Content           

Chapter 5:  Optimizing Results                                                            21
      Promoting your Content
      How Am I Doing?  Measuring the Program     

                                            

Conclusion:  Are you Ready for the Future of Marketing?                  26

 

 

 

 

Introduction: The Content Marketing Revolution

 

Today's marketers are at a crossroads.  Whether they know it or not, the old, familiar ways of doing business are changing, and those who can adapt will survive and even thrive.  Those who can't - well, you know what happened to the dinosaurs. 

Whether you are head of marketing for a large corporation or the owner of a small business (or anything in between), the path you choose to take to reach your customers at this critical juncture will determine your long-term success. A revolution is going on in the world of marketing, and it all started with the Internet.  

For over 15 years, this marvel of technology has provided us with quick and easy access to information of all kinds.  During that time, the reasons that people use the Internet have rapidly evolved.  According to Lee Rainie, director of the Washington-based Pew Internet and American Life Project, "One of the hallmarks of this era of the Internet that distinguishes it from five years ago, is that it's become a starting point for people [who] are trying to solve their problems." Rainie goes on to say, "In this day and age, people turn to the Internet to address the needs that they have for the context in which they find themselves."

Did you notice the focus on people's needs and problems?  The Internet has become one of the most important sources of information for people looking for help with a variety of things.  Often, the ultimate goal of the search is to make a purchase that will help solve a problem or answer a question.  The quality of the information found determines whether or not a purchase is made.  And this is where marketers need to start paying attention.

In the past, marketing to consumers meant a literal or figurative knock on the door, a tap on the shoulder, an interruption that was not always welcome.  This came in the form of print and radio ads, direct mail, cold calls and billboards.  These traditional marketing methods have been the standard since practically the beginning of mass media itself.

Imagine- you're sitting down to dinner and suddenly you hear a knock on the door, or the phone rings.  It's a salesperson, looking to talk you into purchasing a product you didn't ask for and don't need.  Needless to say, that person isn't going to be very popular at that moment!  This kind of marketing simply doesn't work in the Internet age, and the reason is obvious when you think of it.  People don't want to be interrupted anymore.  They seek out what they need when they need it- online.

Enter content marketing.  People have been selling online for years, but only recently have forward-thinking businesses started to understand what the power of content can do for them.  Content can sell goods and services to consumers, but more importantly, it can build relationships with them.  

Now imagine this- you're sitting down to dinner and suddenly you realize that you need to get some tips on how to prepare a turkey for the Thanksgiving meal you're hosting next week.  After dinner, you go to the computer, type in your search terms, and come to a site that offers information on everything from how to thaw, cook and carve a turkey to where to find the best accessories for an elegant holiday table.  The site offers a forum for cooks to share tips and ask questions.  The blog is a wealth of information about cooking do's and don'ts.  You print out a recipe for a cranberry gelatin mold.

This site is so helpful that you sign up for their email newsletter and subscribe to the RSS feed to get the recipe of the week and new blog alerts.  You start participating in the forums and comment on the blogs.  You click on the links to purchase the products you need to make your dinner a success.  You recommend the site to friends and family.

Are you starting to get the picture?   It's a whole new game for Internet marketers, and it all starts with a commitment to awesome content and a willingness to market it effectively.  You can be the poor salesperson at the door, interrupting your customer's dinner, or you can be the guy answering your customer's knock.

The revolution is on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Marketing- The Beginning of the End

 

Why Traditional Marketing Methods are No Longer Effective

Prior to the advent of online advertising, traditional marketing methods were the standard way for businesses to reach their customers.  They are still the dominant marketing tools in use today.  However, a 2009 Forbes survey indicated that over 50% of marketing executives now spend about 25% of their budgets online, and that number is growing by at least one percentage point each year.  Why the shift toward online advertising? 

The answer is really not complicated.  A recent Pew study indicates that search is the most common online activity (after email) for all age groups. And what are people searching for?  Studies have shown that 75% of people on the Internet use search engines with the intention of buying a product (TopRank (2009). Top Digital Marketing Tactics for 2009, Feb. 18, 2009). 

So, people are going online to find products and services.  What does this mean for traditional marketing?  Well, it means that, while these methods still have a place in marketing (and probably always will to some degree) the trend is shifting toward digital or Internet marketing.  As recently as 5 to 10 years ago, when manufacturers and retailers wanted you to know about their products, they would use the following outlets to tell you:

• Television ads
• Print ads
• Direct mail
• Cold calls

Before the Internet made it easy for the average consumer to find his own information, these methods were often the only way that people had to find out more about the products and services they needed.  Online search, and the growing amount of useful, informative online content available to consumers, has changed all that. In the new Internet Information Age, it is much more difficult for companies to interrupt consumers with ad material.

Television channels can be switched, mail thrown away and calls hung up on.  People are blocking much of what they used to accept in the way of advertising.  They now have the choice to go get the information they need when they need it.  They are making their own purchasing decisions.

Business Needs to Change its Marketing Ways

This being the case, businesses now have two choices- they can either ignore the trend toward non-interruptive content marketing, or they can get on board.  Do companies have to stop printing ads, quit producing TV commercials or halt their direct mail campaigns?  No.  These methods are important pieces of the marketing puzzle for many businesses.  However, they can effectively supplement these efforts by implementing a content marketing strategy that will boost their results, often significantly.

Since marketing to the new, Internet-savvy consumer is becoming increasingly challenging, businesses are finding that they need to start looking at their marketing strategies from a different angle.  In order to reach people, they need to stop wasting time and money on non-targeted campaigns that try to tell consumers what they need, and start inviting conversation about their products and services.

A revolutionary idea?  For traditional marketers, maybe.  However, today's Internet consumer will tell you that it makes perfect sense.  If you want make the sale, you need to first:

• Find out if the consumer is interested
• Offer him useful, relevant information
• Invite him to participate, through commentary and feedback
• Provide a clear call to action

Do print ads, direct mail or cold calls do this?  Or do they force themselves on consumers who may or may not be interested?  Content marketing is a way for companies to achieve these steps, and precisely target the ideal market so that precious time, money and other marketing resources are not wasted.  Follow them, and you will be talking the people who are interested in your business.  Ignore them, and you might as well be talking to yourself.

The Publisher Mindset

Developing the mindset of a content marketer is the first step toward a successful content marketing campaign.  This involves rejecting the idea that only large corporations with big marketing budgets have the resources to quickly and effectively reach large groups of people.  This is simply no longer true.  The Internet has made it possible for businesses and individuals to market themselves quite effectively, simply by writing, publishing and distributing useful content through a variety of readily available outlets.

If you can start thinking more like your customers, and are willing to research what information they need in order to solve their problems, address their concerns and answer their questions, then you are on your way to developing the proper mindset for content marketing.

 

 

 

Content Marketing Answers the Challenge

 

What is Content Marketing?

At its core, content marketing is a way of marketing products and services to people that takes into account their needs, their opinions and their interests.  With content marketing, customers and suppliers engage in a "give and take" that produces a mutually beneficial relationship.  Customers offer feedback and advice in exchange for the goods they need.  The concept isn't really new.  The idea of relationship-based marketing has been around since the days when people bartered for what they needed, and knew which merchants were the most trusted sources.

The question is this: In the Internet Age, how does a business let people know that it is the authority-the "trusted source"?  We've established the fact that consumers no longer want to be interrupted with traditional marketing methods.  And, since they are finding what they need on their own through online search, how does today's online marketer make sure they find his site?

As every Internet user knows, the Web is a crowded place.  By conservative estimates, there are over 90 million active sites in existence at any one time. Standing out from this mass of sites, all clamoring for the attention of consumers, is the biggest challenge businesses face.  Content marketing answers this challenge, in a way that caters to the new consumer's demand for information.

Content marketing takes many forms.  Let's look at our previous example: The home entertaining and cooking site offered several useful resources for people looking to improve their lives at home.  It included a page with advice about how to prepare holiday meals.  It gave links to sites that sell accessories and related items.  It offered a place for people to share their questions, answers and comments.  A cook could find and offer advice to other interested parties.  Need a recipe?  It's here!

This site not only contains a lot of great information, it invites you to participate.  This is why it works.  And, all of the features are content-based.  The owner of this site identified the target market, took the time to research what kind of information this market was looking for and created useful content that addressed the needs of visitors.  Without a large marketing budget or staff, this site is pulling in subscribers, visitors and leads that would make a corporate giant envious.

Wikipedia defines content marketing in the following way:

"Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases"

And so it is.  But, ultimately, content marketing is more.  It's a way to reach out to customers by inviting them to check you out and learn more.  It's how you will build long-term relationships that lead to greater profits for your business. It's the effective and economical way to establish your authority and become the trusted source.

Why is Content Marketing the Future of Internet Marketing?

The future of Internet marketing is the "give and take" between consumers and businesses.  Companies that are willing to give free information in exchange for feedback, back links and recommendations find that online consumers come to them.  Not only that, but these same consumers will start doing their advertising for them.  By spreading the word through various outlets such as social media and blog commentaries, your customers give you a permanent source of free traffic.

Traditional marketing methods, because they don't engage the consumer, have a harder time creating the relationships necessary to establish this kind of free advertising.  Sure, customers can respond to a TV ad, even recommend the product to a friend.  But will they come back to the supplier for information or advice when the time comes to purchase again?  Do they see that business as an authority, or just an access point for a product or service?

The future of Internet marketing lies with the companies and marketing methods that can create customer relationships, because this leads to long-term marketing success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's Get Started: Content Marketing For Beginners

 

A Rose By Any Other Name- The Many Faces of Content Marketing

Would you recognize content marketing if you saw it?  It is, in fact, everywhere- you just have to look.  Any time you see a company offering information without a sales pitch, whether through a quarterly magazine, a blog or an email newsletter that pops into your inbox once a month, you're looking at a form of content marketing.  Free information is the "give" to the customer, the invitation to explore further what the company has to offer.

When it first became recognized as a viable alternative to traditional marketing, content marketing was known as custom publishing.  In the publishing and marketing industries, however, it goes by a variety of names, some of which you may recognize:

• Content marketing
• Custom publishing
• Corporate media
• Information marketing
• Corporate publishing
• Branded content

There are more, but you get the picture.  The idea is that, regardless of what you call it, this type of marketing promotes business content initiatives.  Joe Pulizzi, in his 2009 book "Get Content, Get Customers" says,

"We chose content marketing because it seems to be the term that's most understandable to marketing professionals.  It's the blend of both content and the marketing of that content that enables customer behavior."

So, content marketing it is.

If you want to get started with content marketing, you should first know what kinds of products or vehicles can be used to distribute and promote your content.  At the beginning of this chapter, we asked if you would recognize content marketing if you saw it.  Have you ever seen any of these?

• Industry magazines (quarterly or monthly publications, etc.)
• White papers
• Newsletters (both print and email)
• Web sites
• E-Books (like this one)
• Blogs
• Videos (YouTube, etc.)
• Webinars
• Articles

If you're like the average person, you've come into contact with at least a couple of these content products, or types, at some point in your life.  They all offer ways that businesses can create, distribute and promote informational content to their target markets.

These content vehicles represent the many faces of content marketing.  A company that wants to get started in content marketing can use any or all of them as part of a strategy to reach its target markets.  The ones you use will depend on a number of factors-- budget, goals and market.  Magazines, for example, are a great way to engage a target market, but they usually involve a hefty initial investment.  Email newsletters, on the other hand, are much less expensive to produce but require that you build a subscriber list.

Later, we'll talk more about implementing a content marketing strategy.  Now, let's take a look at how content addresses your customers' needs.

Why your Customers Love Content

A 2009 Survey on Marketing, Media and Measurement conducted by King Fish Media found that 86% of the 230 marketers polled were already creating, or planning to create, original marketing content for their customers in the coming year.  The same survey reported that custom content was considered the most effective way to reach current customers by 78% of respondents.

Incidentally, email marketing, web sites and social media were the other top marketing methods.  All involve forms of content marketing. 

The surveyors concluded that a growing number of companies are starting to focus on direct communication with their customers, using content and social media as the way to do it.  Companies are beginning to recognize the marketing power of social sites such as Twitter and Facebook, for example, and are ready to accept that their power comes from engagement.  The word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations that are passed around through content vehicles such as social media sites, blogs and social bookmarking sites have become coveted by the new online marketer.

In the popularity of social media, blogs, web sites and other content vehicles, we see the answer to our question.  People love content because it gives them what they are looking for when they search the Web-information, with the opportunity to engage.  Content marketing offers businesses the best way to reach potential and current customers because it answers questions without a sales pitch, solves problems without asking for anything in return, and is easy to pass around. 

Consumers have spoken, and marketers are finally starting to listen.

You Need a Plan: 5 Steps to Effective Content Marketing

Content marketing is all about building your brand, your reputation and your visibility.  Like any other marketing method, it needs to address these general goals in order to be effective.  However, each company has specific goals, as well.  The first step to take before implementing a content marketing strategy is to develop a plan that involves 5 key elements:

            1. Define your goals- You've got a great product, but you're competing with a growing number of companies that want to get in on the action.  You need to define the goals that will place you ahead of the others.  This might include building a better web site, conducting studies that will connect your name with the product and retaining customer loyalty through a content initiative.

            2. Determine Customers' Needs- What kind of information do your customers need from you?  If you want to be the trusted source, you need to first find out what their issues are and how your product can help.  You can find out what you need to know through online surveys, face to face meetings and even through your business blog.

            3. Determine Desired Customer Action- What do you want your customers to do?  Once you've found out their needs and determined that your product is the answer, you want to start thinking about how you can increase awareness of the product with your target market.  Use feedback gathered during step 2 to see what people need in order to buy from you.

            4. Choose your Content Products- Content marketing is a flexible strategy in the sense that you can create a mix of different products that suits your needs.  If your customers tell you that they like to get their information through a web site, you can add content to your site.  If they would welcome a quarterly print newsletter, you can plan a newsletter campaign. 

Adding a blog encourages customer feedback, e-books and white papers offer in-depth information.  Email newsletters and social media keep fans up-to-date on the latest industry news.  You can announce any piece of news relating to your company through press releases.

            5. Track Results- A content marketing strategy is quite trackable, using analytic software, services and sites, such as Google Analytics and Alexa.com.  You can find out a wealth of information about the effectiveness of your content initiatives by looking at unique page views and visitors, e-book downloads, Twitter statistics and subscriber numbers.

Sales that result from downloads and other customer actions can be tracked, which makes it easy to compile statistics and determine what's working and what is not.  Marketing dollars can then be funneled to the most effective initiatives.

By taking the time to plan out your content marketing strategy carefully, based on customer feedback and industry research, you will target your efforts more precisely and, therefore, increase your chance of success.  

 

 

Implementing a Content Marketing Strategy

 

Great Content and Where to Get It

As mentioned above, one of the steps to effective content marketing is choosing content products.  But, where does this content come from?  In the sense that content is the foundation of your marketing strategy, it can also be the biggest challenge you have.  Why?  If you're like most business owners, you're geared toward selling products and services, not creating content.  You are new to the idea of the publisher mindset.  Consistently developing and implementing great content as part of a marketing strategy is still foreign to you.

The good news is that, while you're learning more about content marketing, you can outsource the content development portion of your plan to outside experts.  This would include editors and writers who understand how to write search engine optimized content that will appeal to your customers.  Large corporations have been doing this for years.  They hire firms that handle everything from project management to content creation and distribution.  This frees up time for owners to focus on overseeing product development and other aspects of their businesses.

Does the small business owner need a large corporation budget in order to effectively outsource?  Absolutely not.  As you are starting to see, content marketing can be scaled to any budget, because it is not dependent on having a complex corporate infrastructure.  A one-man start-up can do the same kinds of content marketing as a Fortune 500 company- just on a smaller scale.

Getting outside help is a good idea for people who lack the time and expertise to create and distribute their marketing content.  However, outsourcing your content doesn't mean that you can let go of the process.  In fact, before you choose your team and implement your content strategy, you should plan out and supervise the process.  This will give you the structure you need to ensure that your campaign runs smoothly.

So, where does great content come from?  Ultimately, it comes from a great plan and the skill of those who know how to write effective online marketing copy.  Journalists and seo copywriters are two resources for content that is both engaging and easy to find by the search engines.  Targeting your hiring efforts to these groups is sure to yield good results.

Where else can you find great content?  Sources for content are everywhere, including your own company.  Have you or anyone in your organization given a presentation lately?  Do you produce technical documents on a regular basis?  Do you write white papers a few times a year?  All of these pieces of content can be rewritten and repurposed for your customers.  The information in a presentation, for example, can be turned into a video and put on YouTube.  Your white paper could become an engaging eBook.  The ideas are almost endless.

So, getting great content is often a matter of knowing where to look.  Outsourcing your content allows you to take advantage of the years of experience that journalists and seo content writers have.  But, you can also repurpose existing content, and you can also create your own content on a regular basis.  Business owners, for example, are starting to find that a company blog is a great way for them to engage directly with their customers.  You don't need to be an experienced writer to create content that people will find interesting and informative.  You just need to be willing to share your knowledge and expertise, and post regularly to retain the interest of your readers.

How to Market with Content  

SEO

We've talked a little bit about where to get great content.  But what about how to use it?  There are many inventive ways to use content for marketing purposes.  However, all online marketing content, regardless of the content vehicle, must adhere to the principles of SEO in order to be found by search engines.  SEO is search engine optimization- the techniques used by writers to make content visible to search engines. 

Without SEO techniques, your content may not be indexed properly, and it will be more difficult for potential customers to find you.  To put its importance in perspective, if your pet grooming service is showing up in searches for "hair salons", you have a problem.  Clearly, in this case, the search engines are not able to index your site properly.  So, people searching for your site won't find you.

Whether you outsource to an seo copywriter or do it yourself, you should understand how seo will help market your site.  Back in the days of the early, less sophisticated, search engines, most seo content was really nothing more than keyword-stuffed fluff.  People realized that all they needed to do to rank in Google was to place a lot of their relevant keywords on their site.  This led to content that was often essentially meaningless sales material that didn't make sense and did not sound natural.

One might say that content marketing is the antithesis of this kind of content.  Mentioning the way it used to be done helps to illustrate how far marketers have come regarding seo content.  The principles of seo remain much the same- it's how we use it that has changed drastically, and for the better. 

You still need to research your keywords.  Google AdWords and other research tools make it easy to find the ones that are targeted to your site without being too competitive.  Once you have your keywords, however, the most important thing to remember is that they should be used intelligently in your content.  They should fit in naturally, and they should be surrounded by related terms.  Your article about pet grooming, for example, should be sprinkled with terms such as "dog", "cat", "paws", "claws" and "groomer".  This will ensure that the new (more sophisticated) search engine algorithms make no mistake about your topic.

Above all, seo content must engage the reader.  Rather than making search terms the main focus of the content, think about how the content can solve a problem, tell a story or provide a benefit to the consumer.  Just like actual conversation, it should sound natural.

Distribution Options

SEO is essential to online visibility for your content.  Once you've got the idea of how to write good seo copy (and recognize it, if you're outsourcing), you want to think about how you can distribute it.  We've mentioned a few of the most popular content types, or products, used by online marketers.  Each of them has a path they take for creation and distribution.

For example, email newsletters are a great way to use new or repurposed content in order to stay in touch with customers.  These require that you build a subscriber list, generally through your site.  One way to build your list is to use a squeeze page that contains a call to action.  For example, you can offer something to your visitors, such as a white paper or eBook, in exchange for an email address.  In general, email newsletters should be mostly informational, but can also include some sales material from time to time.  This is where you can put the latest company news and product launches, articles related to your industry, even stories and contests designed to elicit a response and keep interest high among your subscribers.

Blogs are probably the most popular form of content marketing in use today.  In fact, a recent study by GuideWireGroup revealed that approximately 89 percent of businesses polled use blogs as a way to communicate with their customers.  Blogs are a content type, usually located on your site, that allow direct engagement with readers.  The fact that readers can comment on your blog gives you a free source of feedback, and thus, a way to improve your products and services without having to spend marketing resources on focus groups, surveys and test markets.

Distributing your blog can be done through subscriptions to an RSS feed, social bookmarking and links on your social media pages.

Another way to distribute content and establish your authority is through articles.  As part of your content marketing strategy, plan on creating at least one new article each week that talks about topics related to your field.  Submit these articles to article directories such as EzineArticles, GoArticles and ArticleDashboard.  These directories allow you to link your articles directly to your site.  So, consumers can read your content, determine that you're a good source for information, and go to your site to see more.

It's important that your article content be strictly informational, and not salesy.  Establishing trust through article marketing depends upon giving your readers free, useful information that does not ask for anything in return.  The quality of your information is what draws potential customers to you.

Another very effective vehicle for your content is video.  Many people don't think of videos as content, but, as a publisher (remember the publisher mindset!) you need to start thinking of everything your company produces as content that can be used for marketing purposes.  You can make videos inexpensively, with content that you create or with content that was originally used for something else.  Think about that white paper you just produced.  Could you turn it into a script for a video? 

Inventive, compelling videos consistently rank high in the search engines.  People like this format because it appeals to their visual nature.  It's an effective way to distribute your content and improve visibility for your company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimizing Results

 

Promoting your Content

There are many ways to distribute your content; however, when it comes to getting noticed, distribution is only half the story.  The fact is, once your content is out there, you need to promote it.  This doesn't mean that you need to have a large budget or put together an extravagant ad campaign.  Content marketing lends itself to a variety of affordable but highly effective promotion methods, most of which can be implemented by anyone.

Of course, whatever method you choose, be aware that, while content promotion can be cost-effective and simple, it does take time.  Keeping your content in the public eye involves an ongoing outlay of time and energy, and a commitment to constantly creating fresh content for your target market.  Optimizing results means that you not only keep track of your customers' needs and the latest developments in your industry, but also monitor your results and make adjustments as necessary.  This kind of agility is often what separates online marketing from its counterparts in traditional marketing, and what makes it so successful.

Some good ways to promote content include:

• Article marketing
• Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
• Social News/Networking Sites (Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn)
• Press Releases

Article Marketing
As mentioned in a previous chapter, articles are one way to market your business.  They're popular because they're cheap and easy to do, and yield surprisingly good results for many companies.  If you can put in the time to produce fresh articles every week (or hire someone to do it for you), you can quickly develop your reputation as an authority.

Promoting with articles is called article marketing.  It involves creating an account with an article directory that publishes your articles so that they can be viewed by millions of interested readers.  Check into which directories are the most reputable and which ones will consistently give you the best ranking in search engines.  EzineArticles and ArticlesBase are two of the most popular.

These directories allow you to add information to a resource box or section at the bottom where you can link to your site, so that readers can access you directly.  If you produce enough quality articles over time, you can see an increase in traffic on the strength of your authority alone.

Social Media
The recent social media explosion has opened up opportunities to use this tool for content promotion.  Some marketing departments even have social media coordinators now, to handle the daily posting and monitoring of information that passes through these accounts.  Facebook and Twitter are the most popular, but there are many others.

Both of these sites have features designed to help users promote their businesses.  Facebook, for example, allows you to create a fan page for your business where people can find out about your latest news and upcoming events.  Users can recommend your fan page to others, thus giving you free traffic and links to your content.  Twitter allows short links that give people access to your articles or to your site, where they can view your content.  Like Facebook, users often recommend, or "retweet" your information, thus spreading the word for you.

Social News/Networking Sites
Another recommended option is to "bookmark" your content to social sites that compile news and articles.  If your content becomes popular through exposure and votes by the site community, others will do the job of bookmarking for you.  Like social media, social bookmarking sites can spread your content through reader recommendations and back linking.

Reddit, Digg and StumbleUpon are three of the most widely used sites for social bookmarking.  LinkedIn is a professional networking site that also allows you to bookmark to it, thus making it available to thousands of people in your field and other interested parties.

All of these social media sites can be highly effective at exposing your content to a wide audience.  They also demonstrate why your content needs to be of the highest quality.  Users of these sites will not accept salesy content, and they will not pass on content that is not interesting, compelling or in some way useful.  After all, a recommendation is a reflection on the person making it. 

Press Releases
The press release is not a new idea in marketing.  Traditional marketers have been doing them for years.  In the digital age, however, their potential to reach wide, targeted audiences is even greater.  Sites such as PRWeb will distribute your release to dozens of news sites throughout the Web, where readers interested in your industry can filter through to find yours.  There are options for getting the maximum exposure, as well.

Consider setting up a schedule for your press releases, whereby you release a certain quantity per month.  Mix educational content in with announcements, such as product launches and company events.  An example could be the release of an eBook, or a personnel hiring.  As with articles, viewers will be able to link to your site through the press release.

How Am I Doing?  Measuring the Program

Tracking the results of your content marketing campaign is a critical step in the entire process.  Once you have implemented your campaign by planning, creating, distributing and promoting your content through all available vehicles, you need to know how well the plan is working.  The good news is that, because content marketing is such an agile and flexible kind of marketing, and methods of tracking and measuring results are often in real time, you can quickly make adjustments to your plan.

Since your content is, essentially, your company's Web presence, you will want to keep track of a number of Web statistics that tell you how effective it is at improving both your visibility and your sales.  Some of these are:

• Alexa.com rating
• Blog comments
• Google PageRank
• Unique site visitors
• Repeat visits
• Downloads (of eBooks, white papers, etc.)
• Social media conversations
• Subscription rates (RSS feeds, newsletters, etc.)

Used by about 60% of site owners, Google Analytics is the most popular platform with which people measure many of these important statistics.  There are, however, other options.  Some of questions you can answer with these services are:

            -What are my most lucrative geographic markets?
            -Which pages on my site are most popular?
            -Are people who download content products more likely to make a purchase?
            -Have I reached my sales goals?
            -Which of my efforts are not producing results?

This is just a sampling of the information you can get when you track your results using analytics.  By monitoring results on a weekly or even daily basis, online marketers have the ability to quickly determine strengths and weaknesses.  There is no longer a need to conduct studies (although you can, if you like), wait for survey and focus group information to come through or waste time on initiatives that aren't working.

Your Alexa.com rating is another useful indicator.  This site compiles information about websites. As a site owner, you can use it to discover how popular your site is (or your competitor sites).  You can also find out which search terms people are using to find you, and which ones your competitors are using to get traffic.  Explore Alexa to find out how to use it to get the information you need.

So, how are you doing?  The only way to find out is to check your analytics, compile the statistics, and act on them.  If your content isn't performing up to your expectations, check the following:

• Quality- Is your content compelling? Does it contain the proper keywords? Does it offer something of use to your readers every time? Have outside parties and/or SEO experts read through your articles, blogs etc. to see why your content isn't ranking.
• Distribution- the distribution of your content may be missing the mark. Target your audience precisely by seeing where your market is getting its information. This can be done through surveys and information gleaned through analytics services.
• Promotion- Make sure you're promoting your content properly. Maintain your social media accounts every day, update your material and post something interesting on a regular basis. Run contests and take surveys to keep people interested. Keep up with your press release schedule. If you can't manage the maintenance, consider hiring an outside firm to handle it. It's too important to neglect.

By staying on top of your content marketing campaign, you'll know exactly what measures you need to take in order to achieve your goals.  If you adhere to the five steps for effective content marketing, are willing to make changes as necessary, and commit your time to it, your content strategy will pay big dividends in increased authority, better visibility and long-term profitability for your company.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: Are You Ready for the Future of Marketing?

 

"Content marketing is the only marketing left" - Seth Godin

At the beginning of this book, we stated that today's marketers are at a crossroads.  Hopefully we have explained why.  The doors that have opened as a result of the Internet, and the consumers' endless quest for answers and solutions, are letting in a host of new possibilities for marketers.  Content marketing is leading the way.  Why?  Content lends itself to solutions.  It gives Internet consumers what they need and want.  It allows businesses of any size to take full advantage of the opportunity to reach thousands and even millions of potential customers.  By providing something of value to those who need it most, content has become the linchpin for marketing success. 

Is it, as marketing guru Seth Godin states, the only marketing left?  According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, search engine marketing spending is expected to reach $11 billion dollars in 2010.  The number is rising each year.  With content as its foundation, SEM has established a strong foothold with Internet marketers.

At this time, there are many marketing methods available to companies.  The future, however, belongs to content, and to those who not only understand its power as a marketing tool, but who can successfully use it.  To this end, we've provided you with an overview of what content can do for you, and how it will help you to gain visibility and enhance your online presence.    

Why is content so important?  For today's marketers, the answer lies in the fact that people are bypassing interruptive methods of advertising, and finding out what they need to know for themselves.  Content gives them the information they need.  Is your content (on your site and elsewhere) drawing your customers to you?  If it is, then, much the like the owners of our successful home entertaining and cooking site, you have harnessed its power to gain massive exposure, back links and increased traffic.  

Start with the publisher mindset.  Start thinking of yourself as a publisher who can create unique, authoritative content as well as, if not better than, any big-budget multinational company.  Take that content and use it to get the word out, whether it's on your site, your blog or your social media fan page.  Watch as you transform into a customer-focused organization with a global reach. 

In the end, whether you're a large corporation or a small business, it's the connection with your customers that reaps big dividends for your company, and useful, problem-solving, thought-provoking content is what builds that connection.  You are at a marketing crossroads.  It's time to decide which path you're going to take. 

Go forth and become part of the content marketing revolution!

 

Social Media Marketing – Using Social Networking to Build Links, Leads, and Sales

 

 

                          Download this Ebook as a .pdf file 

 

 

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COPYRIGHT © 2009

All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. law, no part of this book may be reproduced in any way without permission in writing from the copyright holders.

 

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Introduction: Can Social Media Marketing Really Work for You?

Chapter 1: Will They Stay Your Facebook Friends?
Chapter 2: Making Your 140-Character Tweets Count
Chapter 3: Can You Digg It?
Chapter 4: Are Your Stumble Upon Efforts Stumbling?
Chapter 5: YouTube: Why Going Viral Is a Good Thing
Conclusion: How Combining Your Social Media Marketing Sites Will Benefit Your Company

 

Every year, companies spend millions of dollars to attract customers. In fact, much of the operating cost of any successful company is spent in getting potential customers to buy into their services, and company owners often find that no matter how much they spend, their message often isn't reaching the people who will buy their product.

For that reason, many firms are looking to the Internet and to expanding their social media marketing efforts on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and anywhere that they can make people aware of their companies. While most social media sites were created with the idea of linking everyday people with their friends or with strangers who will become their friends, it didn't take long for businesses to realize that these websites were powerful tools to use to build their links, leads and sales.

The premise seems pretty great if you own a business. You create a page and profile on the website, and suddenly, everyone will know who you are. If you're a business, you've just made the whole world aware of you without having to pay a cent out to advertising salespeople, creative artists or any of the many other professionals who you've been spending so much money on. It's easy and it's free, right?

Wrong.

Yes, social media marketing and networking is a great tool to use to let potential customers know who you are. However, just creating a profile is just part of the work. So many companies just have someone create that profile, make a couple of posts and then sit back to wait for the customers and money to keep flowing in.

That isn't the way it works. While social media sites don't charge you to use them, unless you're purchasing advertising, that doesn't mean that it doesn't cost you anything to use them to market your business. It might not cost cash – unless you hire professionals to keep your company's information out there – but it will cost you time and effort to make sure your social media marketing efforts are working.

Sites like Facebook and Twitter have thousands of corporate profiles that have been created and that lie dormant. That's because those companies have short-sighted leaders who think that Internet users are trolling the sites, just looking for corporate profiles. If you've just about given up on your social media marketing efforts because they don't seem like they're working, please keep reading on. In this ebook, you'll not only learn how to start your social media marketing campaign, but how to keep it succesfully moving on and gathering followers on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg and YouTube. Followers eventually become customers, and with these proven strategies, you'll find that your marketing efforts will show marked improvements.
 

 

Until recent years, word purists would have laughed at you if you told them you were going to “unfriend” them.

However, this year, the word is being used so much that it's been named the word of the year for 2009 by the New Oxford American Dictionary. One of the reasons it was chosen is that there is no doubt what it means. It's defined as a verb that means you're removing someone as a “friend”, primarily on Facebook, but also on other social media sites such as My Space, or anywhere that you have virtual friends.

And while we might have a falling out with a friend in real life, and while we might even be angry enough to decide not to be friends with that person anymore, until now nobody has said they were “unfriending” their friend. They just quit calling or going out to lunch, and that was that.

It's a whole different thing on Facebook. If someone is posting items you're not liking, or has been insulting or intrusive, you delete them from your list of friends ¬-- or unfriend them – with a simple click of the button.

It's unusual, sort of, for the folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary to choose as its top word a phrase from the Internet. However, Christine Lindgerg, senior lexicographer for the Oxford U.S. Dictionary program, said in a press release that the choice was made because unfriend “has both currency and potential longevity. In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year."

But if you think of it, anyone who has had a Facebook account has at one time unfriended someone or another. Maybe it was an old boyfriend whose friend request you approved out of curiosity; maybe it was someone who was using their Facebook account to try to convert others to their religion.  The most unfriended accounts, however, are likely the corporate campaigns that are sometimes so enticing, you can't help but friend them, or become a fan of their site, just to get the gift they're offering in exchange.

One of the most successful marketing ploys of the past season was for the restaurant chain TGI Friday's, which offered a coupon for a free burger to everyone who became a fan or friend of their site within a certain period after seeing the personable spokesman, “Woody” and his friends and their funny anctics.
The commercials led thousands of people to sign up and become “Woody's” friend in exchange for that coupon? Free food is free food, after all, and those burgers are pretty tasty.

The coupon came in a few days after TGI Friday's lured enough fans to its Facebook page, and it's likely that TGI Friday's did a bang up business for a few days serving up beers or sodas to wash down that free burger, and plates of appetizers to eat while customers were waiting for their sandwiches.

But it's hard to tell just how many of those people actually kept Woody and TGI Fridays as a friend on their sites after the coupon excitement was over. After all, while many people on Facebook like to have as many friends as their lists can hold, others are pickier and want to keep their own pages from becoming full of companies' advertising. TGI Fridays, while having one of the more successful Facebook marketing ploys in 2009, was not the only company to use the promise of a gift to entice people to their profiles.

There have been offers of everything from free lipbalms to the promise of being the winner of a gift card drawing. Come one, come all, said the companies, and with the economy being in its ongoing dismal state, Facebook users did. Many of the most-viewed profile pages of the year were those of companies that offered users a prize to visit.

But think back. If you're a Facebook user and you became a fan to get a burger or some other prize, did you keep up with those companies after you signed up with them? Or eventually, did you unfriend them?

Numbers are a great thing, and it's impressive to get a lot of them, particularly on a social media site such as Facebook. However, each of those numbers represents a potential customer. If you're not keeping those potential customers interested, then they're not going to stick around and be your friend.  It's just like when you try to buy friendships in real life. Do those friendships ever really work out? Or does the friend who is doing the receiving just want more and more? Because when one party wants more, and the other party doesn't deliver, eventually the relationship breaks up.

So if that's the case, how do you keep your Facebook friends from unfriending you? The best way is to provide posts and items that are interesting, not just posts that advertise your business.  Then, when it comes time to try to get people to purchase something your website is selling, you're not giving them the idea as an advertiser, but as a friend who has something great to show you.

One great example of a company that is doing its Facebook marketing in a very effective way is vintageroadside.com. Vintage Roadside is an online gift shop and history site that features t-shirts and other items with authentic graphics from the 1930s – 1960s.

Every day, Vintage Roadside puts something interesting on its status updates. Its owners travel extensively throughout the country, and snap photographs of many vintage points of interest, including old hotels and motels and much more.
They post their travels all the time though their site, and encourage others to post their own travel photos in return. Not only that, but they encourage their fans and friends to converse back and forth with them on Facebook, and they get very involved in the conversations.

Even if Vintage Roadside was selling nothing, they get you involved in their profile through these conversations and photos.  And then, when they have a new t-shirt that they're selling, they put a link and photo up, just like they would any other of their links and photos – and the fans and friends are very excited to see what the new addition is.  There's no push by anyone to sell shirts, just a statement saying “here's our new shirt. The picture was taken from a 1950s ad for the old Such and Such hotel.”

And the fans and friends always are happy to see the newest t-shirt, and they line up to buy them.  That's because the folks at Vintage Roadside have learned the proper way to use social media. They always treat their followers like they truly are friends, and when it comes time to make a sales pitch, they present it like a suggestion from one friend to another.

Anyone looking to keep their friendships alive on Facebook should treat them like real-life friendships. Remember:

1.    Communicate frequently. Just like in real life, you shouldn't connect with your friends only when you want something from them. Respond to comments and occasionally start some conversations of your own that don't have anything to do with whatever the item is that you're trying to sell.

2.    You can't buy your friends. Yes, you'll attract people by offering free items. In fact, you'll attract a lot of people by offering them presents. But once that free item is gone, the new friends will be too. That's because a friendship based on a bribe is not a friendship at all.

3.    Keep it interesting. Take, for example, NASA. The agency effectively markets itself on Facebook by posting minute-by-minute updates of shuttle launches and other space programs, that makes its followers really feel as if they are part of the space missions. It's a fascinating inside look at the program that has brought the agency to the attention of a whole new generation of people who weren't even around during the moon launches. A interesting friend is one everyone loves to visit often.

4.    Listen to what they have to say – good or bad. Not all of your friends are always kind in their comments, nor should they be. We've all got a right to our opinions, and this includes our friends on Facebook. If you are getting comments on your Facebook page that indicate you're not doing something right, listen respectfully and respond. If your Facebook friends think you're taking them seriously, they'll keep you on their friends list.

It's great to have friends on Facebook, and don't forget, those people on your lists have friend lists of their own. The potential to connect with others, and to expand visits on your own website, is amazing. However, you do need to work to maintain your friendships on Facebook, so your efforts aren't putting you among the ranks of the unfriended.
 

Just the other day, one of my co-workers asked me why I Twitter.

“Don't they only allow you 140 characters?” he said. “What can you say in that space?”

It's funny, many of the most memorable sentences ever uttered come in at under 140 characters or less. Take, for example:

•    Jesus wept. 11 characters.
•    I have a dream. 16 characters.
•    Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. 37 characters.
•    There's no place like home. 27 characters.

As you can see, the value of any message isn't measured in how long it takes you to write it; the real value is what the message itself says. So just why do you only get 140 characters, anyway? After all, it's a big website, so why isn't there more room on there?

While Twitter is one of the largest social media marketing sites on the Internet, it's only been around since 2006. In that short time, it hasn't just been a popular website to visit, but one that has actually added to the web's vocabulary. After all, who would have ever thought of “tweeting” before now?

It still seems like quite the marketing gimmick. Give someone 140 characters, and see what they can say? Realistically, the 140 character-limit was determined because of the use of text messaging. When you're text messaging, who wants to, or even can, put in a message that's really long? You get in and out with a few characters that say what it is you want to say, and then you get back out again.
It's the same with Twitter. There's no room for novels, and once you reach that 140-character limit, that's it. You can't type any more words. Therefore, it's important to get in and say whatever it is you want to say, and get back out again.

CEO Evan Williams explained it like this in an article about the surging popularity of Twitter: “What we have to do is deliver to people the best, freshest and most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter like it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.”

So if Twitter is an information network, why not use it to get out the best information you possibly can about yourself or the product you're marketing?

So how does this all translate into getting sales leads for your company?
The art in Twitter isn't just in creating amazing statements, but in creating links that other Twitter users will pass along to their followers. After all, nobody's going to talk about your website, or link back to you, if you're using Twitter to post statements like “I have new shoes for sale.”  But if you're really wanting to sell those shoes, you might just be able to track down some shoe-loving Twitter users by reworking that boring little Tweet and providing a link to those shoes.

But you'll have to do it in such a way that would entice people to click on that link.
If you're looking for great shoes, which would you click on? “I have new shoes for sale,” or “Are your shoes hot?” followed by a link?

There are thousands of people using Twitter these days, and of course, not all of them are being followed, let alone retweeted. The basic fact of life is this, when it comes to Twitter, if you're boring, you won't be followed. And if you're not followed, that's a whole subset of people who aren't visiting your website or buying your service or product.

So let's get you followed, shall we? To get you followed, you're going to have to work on making your tweets not only interesting, but relevant for whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. That means taking a good look at your strategy, if you really intend to use Twitter as a serious marketing tool:

1.    What is it you are trying to say? You have 140 characters to catch a customer's attention, or lose it. That means you will have to make your message very specific.

2.    Do you know the importance of that old standby, the keyword? Keywords aren't just important in a blog or on a website. They can make or break your Twitter efforts. That's because other Twitter users – and possible customers – won't just find your tweets by stumbling around and discovering them. If someone is looking for shoes, they'll type shoes into the search engine on the site. If you don't have a keyword or two in your tweets, will your customers find you? Of course not.

3.    Do you have anything in your tweet worth repeating? Are you having a great sale? A great bargain that people won't be able to find anywhere else? Or do you offer a product that's very unique? Go ahead and tweet about it.

4.    Find other companies in your field and follow them. Yes, they might be competitors, but it's likely that other Twitter users who follow those companies will see you among their followers and then follow you as well.

5.    Tweet every day. It can be a couple of items or several. But if you don't tweet, you won't be heard. Companies that aren't heard don't sell anything.

6.    Make sure your links work. Check them carefully before tweeting. Links that don't work just annoy fellow Twitter users, and links that take them to other websites lead them away from your business.

The main thing to remember about Twitter is that there are many users involved. If you know how to follow them to your advantage, and to get them to follow you, then this is one social media site that can bring visitors and potential customers to your website or business by the hundreds.

This can also work against you. Since there are so many users, it's easy to become lost in the crowd. That's why it's important to make your tweets count.
After all, there is a great deal you can say in 140 characters, if you pick those characters carefully. Those characters have a way of adding up to being a quite powerful tool.

Meanwhile, you should also be very mindful of how Twitter, just like any other social marketing site, is contributing to your reputation.  It's not enough to just be putting great tweets out there. Do you realize that other Twitter users won't follow you if they perceive that you have a bad reputation?

For example, if you follow about 1,000 people, but nobody is following you, that tells other users that your posts aren't worth following.  Likewise, if your followers consist of pornographic websites, women selling various “services”, and spammers offering get rich quick schemes, that will also cause people to quit following you.
And once that happens, it won't matter if you write the modern-day equivalent to “Call me Ishmael” (yet another great sentence with far fewer than 140 characters!), your posts won't be read, followed or retweeted.  Be very careful who is following you on Twitter, and cultivate your relationships carefully. Every follower you lose is a potential customer that would be lost.

So you've built the great website, and you're tweeting it like mad. Every day, you update your Facebook updates, and you're well on your way to getting that big fan base.

But are people digging you?

No, we haven't traveled back in time to the 1960s. We're referring to Digg.com, one of the more popular social media websites available these days online. With all the talk about Facebook and Twitter, sites such as Digg are sometimes forgotten about when companies are working on their marketing and sales plans, and that's a real shame, because Digg can be a valuable tool.

It's so valuable because while you're busy building the buzz on Facebook and Twitter, Digg works when other people build your buzz for you.
On Digg, users share content and websites that they personally enjoy. Other users, based on their interests, then view the links and vote on them. The more votes a link gets, the higher the ratings go, and the more other people see them.
In addition to the rising rankings, users can also talk about the websites and items that are placed on Digg. When a site is getting a lot of discussion, it also rises in the rankings.

Sounds like a lot of ifs, doesn't it? And aren't a lot of ifs rather uncertain? 

Ordinarily, a lot of ifs would be an uncertain way to market your business. However, in this case, those ifs can add up to users and ultimately customers. That's because with a few simple posts online, your website, video or online store can potentially be brought to the attention of many potential customers.  But how do those posts get on Digg to begin with?

1.    Use the friends you already have. How are you doing on Facebook and Twitter? Do you have a lot of followers? Use them to refer you. Put a link to Digg on your profile or after your blog entries, and encourage your users to join Digg and refer you.

2.    Are you a member of Digg yourself? Because if you're planning to use Digg to promote your site, you should become active in that site's communities. Find content you like yourself, and become involved in the discussion boards. Occasionally suggest sites that you like and enjoy. Once you befriend other Digg users, they'll see what you have to offer, and they'll follow your sites.

3.    Build a network of friends on Digg. If you chat with people on the site and build a group of friends, those people will be very likely to recommend your posts, when they come on. Also make sure you recommend their posts occasionally; they'll remember the favor.

4.    Find people you trust (even if you have to hire them!) to put your website or links up on Digg. The site itself looks down on people who post their own links on Digg, and in fact, if you do it too much, you'll get yourself banned.

5.    Sign up for RSS feeds and look into what the competition is doing. If there are similar companies to yours, subscribe to them and keep an eye on their news. If they seem to be pulling ahead of you in the Digg rankings, you can always tweak your entries. However, you won't know how they are ranking if you don't follow them some.

Digg does take some time to use, but it can be very effective. Any site that puts your website or product out there and gets you word-of-mouth referrals is a great site indeed. It's all about making friends and keeping them, and then being faithful right back. The result will be much better than having followers who won't help you; it could be followers who will lead customers to your products.

 

Long before I began getting into the use of social media as a marketing tool to let others know I was trying to make some money out of my writing habit, I found this great website that I couldn't wait to tell my friends about.

All you did was type in your interests, and it would feed you a steady diet of other websites you'd enjoy seeing, for as long as you wanted to play. And once I discovered that site – stumbleupon.com – I was addicted.

After all, you can always type in what you're looking for on Google or some other search engine, and you might or might not get websites that match up with what you're looking for.

According to the owners of StumbleUpon, here's how it works. The website uses thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings from other searchers to form opinions on website quality, meaning that when you are using the site, you discover content that usually won't be found through a search engine. That sounds great for a searcher, doesn't it? But how does it translate into a website owner's sales and customer base?

Just like any other social media site, it's all in how you use it. As you can imagine, a website that hand-delivers your company's message right to the specific customer base you're seeking can be a very valuable thing indeed.  The best thing to do with StumbleUpon is try it out yourself. Go to stumbleupon.com and register. You can then come up with a list of interests, and add them to your profile. Then add the StumbleUpon tool to your Internet browser's taskbar, which takes about two seconds.

If you're looking for great sites, click on the StumbleUpon link, and site after site, based on your interests, will come into your browser for you to enjoy.
Now that you've played around with it for a little bit, try this. Put your own sites on StumbleUpon for other people to enjoy, and add some key tags so other users can find it. Then leave it in the hands of StumbleUpon. If you've added key tags that people are searching for, or have added to their list of topics they like, your site will pop up on searches all across the country and world.

And just like that, you've put your own website, blog, forum or video out there for other users out there to find when they're browsing.

Thousands of people are using this, and if your site is optimized and tagged to meet those users, this can be a veritable gold mine. For example, one “mommy blogger,” who is the owner of the website workathomemafia.com, put her own site on there one day. By the end of the day, she had nearly 200 new visitors to the site, all of whom had come across it through StumbleUpon.

The beautiful thing about StumbleUpon is that it's free for everyone. And even if people aren't specifically searching for your site, eventually they'll be lead to it.
The thumbs up feature on StumbleUpon is ready-made for social marketing. If users click the thumbs up on your site, it will give it higher approval ratings. The more approval ratings a site gets, the more the service will send it out as a recommendation to users. It's social media marketing in one of its purest, most simple forms – almost from word of mouth.

And the more people there are “stumbling” onto your site, the more likely they are to click your affiliate links or even buy your products.

Another thing to remember is making your site interesting enough to stay on for more than a few second. Many StumbleUpon users are really browsing out of boredom. You have to have something on your site's landing page that will make those users stick around for a while. If you're selling a product, put a photo up there that catches the eye. If you're selling a service, catch the user's attention through colors, headlines, attractive web design or whatever it takes to keep the user on your site.

After all, if a user clicks on your site and then goes away a few seconds later, they're not sticking around to buy anything, and they're not clicking on your advertising and affiliate links. The attention span of many Internet users is very short, and if you don't catch their attention early through your own fine marketing efforts, StumbleUpon will not be much use to your marketing and sales efforts.
So, are you ready to start stumbling? Here's some tips to remember:

1.    Bring your friends along for the ride. Announce on Twitter, Facebook and whatever other social media sites you're using that you're going after StumbleUpon users. If just a few of your friends and fans from other sites come on StumbleUpon and recommend you, it will bring your site higher on the ratings. The higher your ratings, the more stumblers you'll attract.

2.    Make sure your website is ready for stumblers. Of course, you'll always want to keep your website optimized to keep users on it, but you'll need to take special care of your landing page once you start using StumbleUpon. If your site doesn't have something to catch the eye, others won't stay there long and they won't recommend you.

3.    Join the StumbleUpon communities and talk with other users. See what they're liking and not liking, and if your website needs tweaking, you'll know what attracts others.

4.    Be ready for increased traffic. Is your website ready for hundreds more visitors a day? If you're lucky and your efforts don't fail, you might just find yourself with a lot more visitors, and they won't be happy if your server crashes and locks up their computers. An unhappy website visitor won't give you those coveted thumbs-ups you're looking for on StumbleUpon, and more importantly, if your servers crash, who is going to be able to buy your products?

5.    Use StumbleUpon yourself. The more you use a site, the more you'll understand how it works.

After all, when it comes to StumbleUpon, the more people stumble upon your site, the better. And who can argue with a system that can deliver thousands of customers right to your doorstep – customers who are already interested in what product or service you're selling?

 

Without the Internet and the advent of You Tube, being “viral” wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

Who wants to be a disease carrier, anyway?

But that's not what the word viral means these days. Going viral is actually one of the best things that can happen to a video, a website or any content.  What does going viral mean, anyway?

The term comes from the description of a disease virus, such as the flu. A virus starts out as a small, lifeless particle, and remains that way until it finds something to attach itself to.  Once this happens, the virus begins to grow. It starts attaching itself to surrounding cells, and keeps growing and growing, until eventually it takes over its host body, and when the cells are overtaken, that's when the illness happens.

A video that's gone viral on You Tube works just about the same way. It starts out as a small piece of nothing, and then someone discovers it. They recommend it to a couple of friends, those friends send it on to more friends, and before long, that once-unknown video grows exponentially until it's taking over the Internet world, and oftentimes becomes just as well-known outside the Internet as well.

Take, for example, British singer Susan Boyle. By now, everybody knows the story of the homely little Scots woman who showed up to sing on Britain's Got Talent.
She was laughed at by the members of the audience until she opened her mouth and stunned them by singing like an angel.

Britain's Got Talent isn't a television show that's shown in the United States, but within a short time everyone knew the story of Susan Boyle.  That's because her video went viral. Someone put the video of her appearance onto YouTube and before long, site users found it there, and started sending it on to their friends.

They not only did that, but they started posting it on their Facebook pages, and tweeted the link on their Twitter accounts. It didn't take long before the plain little woman with the huge voice became a household name. She didn't win Britain's Got Talent, but she's well on her way to becoming a major star.

Now there's a television show being made about her. Her first CD, “I Dreamed a Dream,” made its debut at Number 1 and her record label noted that she had the best first week sales of 2009. not only that, but her album was the best-selling debut by a woman in the Billboard SoundScan era.

Now, Susan Boyle is a very talented woman, and she might have become known without a video that went viral. However, when that video -- of the most e-mailed and referenced videos ever on You Tube – went viral, that's when Susan Boyle went from a curiosity on British TV to a superstar.

There are plenty of other viral videos on You Tube. We've all seen the young man who shrieks and cries “Leave  Britney alone!” and the videos of laughing babies.
And it stands to reason that a website that delivers such fame to such small people could be a godsend to anyone who wants their social media marketing efforts to deliver their message to a  huge number of people in a short time.  But there are literally thousands of videos on YouTube. Why would anyone seek yours out?

What you will have to look at are the videos that have achieved success. Go onto YouTube and watch some for yourself. When you enter the site, you'll see tabs for the most popular, the most e-mailed and more. Some are funny; some are serious.
What you'll see about the ones that are getting the most visitors and the ones that are being sent on is this – they're unique, and they make you remember them.
And the videos that make people remember them are the ones that start small and grow, just like that little disease virus.

So how do you get that video to go viral, if only for a little bit?  Here are some steps to try:

1.    Plan out your video carefully. Anyone can grab a Flip cam and start recording and put themselves on YouTube in a matter of minutes. But if you're taking your social media marketing campaigns seriously, a great YouTube video can be an important part of that. Shouldn't you put your best effort out there?

2.    Make your video unique. You don't have to shriek like a demented teenaged girl, but the best videos are either funny, have great music or show some kind of talent that can entertain, enthrall, or just help the watcher come to a solution for a problem of some kind.

3.    Do you have a Facebook account?  Put a link to your video on there for all your friends to see. Most of the time, when a friend puts up a video link, other friends click on it and watch it. If they like what they see, they'll recommend it to their own friends.

4.    Make sure you tweet about your video. You have to help others find your video before they'll know to watch it. If your Twitter followers like what they see, they'll retweet your link, and if your video is good, others will repeat that link.

5.    Don't forget the power of your own website or blog. Put a link on your site about that video. You can even do a blog post about how you made that video.

6.    Do you have a newsletter? If you do, and you mail that newsletter out, include a link to your video on it, or maybe even the video itself.

7.    If you've made a video, include it in your newsletters. If you have advertising, include a link to your video on it.

8.    Make your your tags on the video are effective, so that people searching for the topic you specialize in can find you. A video that isn't found won't ever become viral.

Now, what if it becomes viral? Do you stop and rest on that? Of course not. If you've taken the plunge, do more than one video, and build a YouTube profile. If someone is watching one of your videos, chances are they'll stay on your profile and watch some more, if they like the one they've just seen.  If they think any of those videos are useful, they'll send them on to their friends.

Your videos may never make you as well-known overnight as Susan Boyle became, but if your videos are sent out to more than one person or website, you've become viral, even if it's only a little bit.  Obviously, the more people who see your videos, the more people will know your product. Any effective social media marketing campaign depends fully on people seeing what it is you do.

So get out that video camera and get busy. It's really not hard, and it can add immensely to your social media marketing efforts.

 

Nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy, and the same holds true for a business' social media marketing strategy.

While this ebook has discussed several strategies about effectively selling your product through the use of social media websites, the fact remains that there is no one simple solution for selling your products or services.  A website owner might be tempted to rely on only one social media site to help with marketing efforts, and this is a huge mistake.

Of course, the more exposure a product gets means the more likely it is to be sold. However, using several social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon and many of the other fine sites as well in combination with each other will mean a steady growth of exposure that could lead a company or website to further successes.

For example, let's start with the website you have been working so hard to make complete. You've added great content, maybe some blogs and artwork and possibly even a forum. But how do you get the word out about that website?
Social media networking sites work best by working with each other. While the companies are in very strong competition with each other, networking means to link the capabilities of many different types of services, because such links will serve to make your own marketing stronger.

Let's say, for example, you start your social media marketing right on your site. After your blogs or entries, make it easy to share your site:

1.    Include a share box under every article or video that allows readers to post a link to their Facebook, Twitter, You Tube or even personal blogs.

2.    Open the article up for comments. Depending on the website, you may or may not want to monitor those comments, but getting a conversation going is one way to get more people to read your message.

3.    Don't make people “join” your site to comment. If they like your site, they'll join it anyway, and readers don't like joining every website where they want to make comments. In fact, most people will decide not to comment if they have to join your site, and you'll end up missing some valuable feedback.

4.    Give them a way to subscribe by RSS feed. That means every time there is a new article, they'll get a copy of it. The more articles go out means the more that get shared, and that means more people will be reading your content.  Then move on to those sites you've invited your readers to use while sharing.

5.    Join Twitter and Facebook and create public profiles for your website. Make sure the profiles are entertaining and engaging, as well as ones that will attract fans or followers.

As noted in the first chapter of this ebook, there are a lot of ways to attract fans. Make your public profile posts fun and interesting to other Twitter or Facebook users, and most of all, engage them in your site. Don't just try to sell them, but make them feel as if they are truly involved. Show interest in their comments, good or bad, and include them in your product. People who are involved in your product will be more likely to buy it.

Once you start building that base of friends, you can start putting them to work for your efforts. Don't worry, they won't notice it, and if they like your site, they'll want to share their newfound knowledge with their own friends.  This is where it gets fun, because you can start encouraging people to recommend what they've seen about your site on other sites.

For example, you can have someone place your site on StumbleUpon, or you can even do it yourself. Then make sure you put the news out there on Twitter or Facebook, complete with a link to your site on StumbleUpon. Encourage you fans to support you on there by giving you a thumbs up. The more thumbs up you get, the more new people will see your website. Just a few carefully placed thumbs ups from some friends on StumbleUpon can potentially lead hundreds of new visitors to your website, and of course those visitors could become paying customers for items or services you're selling.

Then try the same thing on Digg.com. You shouldn't post your own items on Digg; doing that too often will just get you banned, and besides you'll just alienate your fellow “diggers.” But if you post an item on your website or blog, or even a Facebook post that encourages your friends to come visit you on Digg, you'll be surprised at the support you can get.

And now that you have your Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon and Twitter campaigns begun, try adding a video into the mix. Keep the video buzzworthy and put it up on YouTube.  Then put links for that video on your Facebook and Twitter profiles. Tweet about your video, more than once. Put the video on your Facebook profile so other people can enjoy it.  You can even put a link for the video in through your StumbleUpon account, so that others can stumble upon it.

The key to successful social media marketing is getting the word out. Luckily, with the many websites available to all of us, we can get the word out about our websites and businesses.

It takes some work, some creativity and some careful cultivation of online friends and fans, but eventually, if you use the many social media sites carefully and thoroughly, you can end up with the kind of advertising that money just doesn't buy – word of mouth referrals that can lead to the exponential growth of your business.  And the great thing about it all? If you do it yourself, all of the sites talked about in this ebook are free to use and to build your business with.
While many people use Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites for fun and friendship, smart business owners know that websites that get people talking are the sites they should be involved in.

Once your social media marketing work is in place, it will be no time to sit back. This procedure takes constant work and updating to remain relevant, and if you let up on your work, your efforts will just slip away while others step in.
Keep up the hard work, and reap the rewards – with a little luck and a lot of technique, you'll go far.

 

Video Marketing – Why Every Business Must Now Be in The Movie Business

 

                                                   Download this Ebook as a .PDF file 

 

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COPYRIGHT © 2009

All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. law, no part of this book may be reproduced in any way without permission in writing from the copyright holders.

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

1. From Snake Oil to YouTube: The Power of the Personal Pitch

• Make It Personal
• In-Person to Online
• But Wait! There's More!
• YouTube Democracy: Free But Not Easy

2. Viral Video: Powerful Marketing for Pennies a View

• Social Media: Electronic Word-of-Mouth
• Secrets to Viral Video Marketing

3. Marketing in Moving Pictures: How to Use Video Marketing

• Demonstrations
• Testimonials
• Personality
• Entertainment
• Training

4. Is Video Marketing Right for You?

5. Movie Making for Video Marketing: What You Need to Know Before You Start

• 5 Questions/5 Answers - Save Money, Save Face
• Budget: What's a Must
• Script: Framework for Success
• How Long: Teaser or Epic
• Images on a Budget: Photography and Stock
• Production Value: Polished or Plain - and Why
• Music: Necessary or Nuisance
• DIY v Production Company
• Buy One - Get Three "Free"

6. Big Screen, Small Screen - In Between

• Website
• YouTube
• Digital Video Screens
• Digital Video Billboards
• Cable/Internet TV

7. Video Marketing: Capturing Point of View

8. Resources and Guidelines

• Hiring a Production Company

 

 

       From Snake Oil to YouTube:

     The Power of the Personal Pitch 

 

"It's a degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it."¹ Sounds like a snake oil salesman's claim from a Wild West traveling medicine show. It's not. But, like the days of old, it hooks you with intriguing, outrageously provocative and irresistible claims. 

The original "live" infomercial, the medicine show mixed a little musical and comedic entertainment with hyperbolic demonstrations of, and testimonials for, miracle elixirs to cure a variety of ailments. Admission to the show was free, so performers made their money selling the cure-alls. 

And it still works, today. Direct-selling on television, via infomercials and shopping channels, generates billions - and YouTube exposure worldwide is in the millions. Communications technologies are dynamic and mobile - people seek moving images instead of static ones - making video marketing an indispensable modern sales tool. 

That degreaser, window cleaner, athlete's foot cure: a mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been mixed up by an electric current - powerful enough to kill anthrax spores without hurting people, according to the research. In a demonstration to the hospitality industry for an effective, non-toxic cleaning alternative, the salesman took a swig of the treated water before mopping the floor with it. 

Make it Personal  

The formula is simple: a unique, easy-to-demonstrate product, an engaging pitch, and a high-visibility venue. It generated a weekly cash income, double the average monthly income in the 1950's, for an enterprising young man selling kitchen gadgets in front of Woolworth's. Face-to-face with customers, he learned what they liked - and didn't - about his products, so he could sell more effectively.  

Using what he learned on the street, he paved the way to immense wealth for himself - and others - using an innovative technology to reach a wider audience, the video marketing precursor: television.  3.

Ron Popeil, one of television's most memorable pitch men, developed and refined his sales technique on Chicago city sidewalks and at county fairs in his teens. At the age of 21, Popeil made his selling debut in the intriguing new medium of television.  

TV sales of his father's invention - Chop-O-Matic - had the company scrambling to keep up with demand. But, it was as the in-person pitch man for the Veg-O-Matic, sold on television in the 1960's, that he became famous - and rich. Over the last 40 years, Popeil has single-handedly retailed almost $1 billion worth of product. Currently, the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ - which he invented - is selling in the thousands every week. 

In-Person to Online 

Popeil's time-tested formula has been making millions for others, too. From the 20-second spot, to 60-minute infomercials, to 24-hour shopping channels, direct sales marketing is big business. But not by itself. 

While more ad dollars are going to Direct Marketing TV (DRTV), instead of traditional TV², "as many as a third of DRTV product sales happen online, not through the 800 number."³ 

But Wait! There's More! 

The new medium capturing television viewers: the internet. Thanks to broadband, the quality of the internet's free, "on-demand" entertainment - including television and original programming, music and gaming - provides options that suit a viewer's schedule and interests. 

According to IDC, a subsidiary of IDG, the largest technology media company in the world, people spend twice as much time surfing the web as watching TV. That means over 250 million in America and over 1.7 billion worldwide.³ 

In a medium that is still virtually "free" - capturing the attention of just 1/100^th of American internet viewers via video marketing could mean exposure to over a quarter of a million potential customers - for a fraction of the cost of traditional media or DRTV. 

YouTube Democracy: Free But Not Easy 

A billion visitors to the largest online video community in the world watch hundreds of millions of videos, and upload hundreds of thousands of videos every day - and it's all free. Eye-popping potential - but the challenge is: how do you get your video marketing seen? 

Marrying the success model of the personal sale with the anytime-accessibility and reach of the internet makes video marketing an important, cost-effective, strategic tool - worth the investment of learning to use well. 

 

 

Viral Video: Powerful Marketing for Pennies a View

 

"Can viral video clips drive traffic?"⁵ That's what MarketingExperiments^TM, a research laboratory in Jacksonville Beach, FL - whose mission is to find out what really works in optimization - wanted to know. 

Here's what they did:

1. Created a series of amateur videos, from 15 seconds to 8 minutes long, which any individual could shoot and edit himself.
2. Made the videos humorous, without a sales pitch and, when possible, provided a link on the video back to the website.
3. Posted them via YouTube and Google Video to the categories
1. Personal Blogs
2. Comedy
4. Ran videos in August/September 2007 and counted views, click-throughs to site and sign-up.  

The result: In 60 days the videos had 324,000 views and 1.49% conversion rate at no cost.

                                                            AUGUST                 SEPTEMBER            60 DAYS

            Views                                           88,589                  235,601                   324,000 

            Click-Throughs to Site                      732                           3,430                    4,162                

            Click-Through Rate                         .88%                          1.46%                   1.28%

            Conversion Rate                                                                                         1.49%

 

A projected rate of views for October was 382,444, with no additional effort or cost. 

In the context of the cost to achieve the same results with Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, the cost would have been about $20 per subscriber.

 

 

                                                           60 DAYS VIDEO                    PPC HYPOTHETICAL

           Views                                         324,000                                           324,000

 

            Click-Throughs                              4,162                                               4,162

 

            Estimated Cost                                  NA                                                 .30               

 

           Click-Through Rate                        1.28%                                             1.28%

      

           Conversion Rate                            1.49%                                              1.49%

 

           Advertising Cost                                 $0                                           $1,248.60

 

          Cost Per Subscriber                            $0                                             

Viral video marketing can deliver a huge audience cheaply, instantly and residually. Large advertisers like Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, and Nike love it. They can afford to stage costly productions, because getting the message out costs nothing. 

BUT - just because you produce a video - even good video marketing - doesn't guarantee it will go viral. The biggest "cost" of viral video marketing is not in dollars and cents to make it available to viewers - it's in time spent working to get it seen: know how, connections and hard work. 

Social Media Optimization: Electronic Word-of-Mouth 

Ever notice how the juiciest rumors spread the fastest? Likewise, electronic gossip travels around the world instantaneously via blogs and forums, on Facebook and MySpace pages, in emails and Twitter. That's the world wide wave that helps take video marketing viral.  

It's the cyber-schmooze: initiate dialogue, invite interaction, make your video easy to find and share among targeted online social networks by adding links to your video site, to look something like this: 

Add to: YouTube | blinklist | del.cio.us | digg | yahoo! | furl  

You want prompt, proper placement - where it will catch on fast - to propel your video onto YouTube's Most Viewed Page. There, you have a chance of capturing 1/20^th of the clicks on that page. (remember, YouTube gets 1 billion visitors a day) 

Secrets to Viral Video Marketing 

Once you've made it onto YouTube's Most Viewed Page - how do you get visitors to click on your video to keep up the count - and defend your position?

• Catchy Title - make it sensational, exclusive and relevant; change the title every couple of days to keep it fresh and interesting for returning visitors
• Provocative Thumbnail - use alluring images in your video. YouTube gives three choices for thumbnails, one of which is always taken from the middle of the video (keep that in mind when editing); thumbnails with people or faces draw attention; again, stay fresh in viewer's eye by changing the images frequently
• Controversial Commentary - give them drama. Create a comments dialogue, a little verbal sparring, that makes viewers curious to watch the video to find out what all the fuss is about ... and, hopefully, make their own contributions to the debate

Launching a viral video marketing effort doesn't happen naturally - it's engineered. There are companies who specialize in making video marketing go viral.  However, anyone who takes the time to understand how social networks and social media technologies function can make a well-executed video marketing campaign accomplish a lot on a relatively small budget.  

 

 

Marketing in Moving Pictures:

How to Use Video Marketing

 

Not all video marketing is meant to be viral. If one picture speaks a thousand words, then moving pictures convey volumes. People want to see moving pictures. Google, always ahead of the curve, recognized that - and bought one-year-old, not-yet-profitable YouTube for $1.65 billion dollars. It is now the leader in online video. 

Give them what they want. With one billion viewers seeking out videos online everyday - video marketing makes sense. In video, you can personalize, entertain and demonstrate your product and services in ways that cannot be achieved in print alone (Some people would rather be "read to" than read, and this expands opportunities to appeal to non-readers.). 

Remember kids saying, "take a picture, it lasts longer"? - that's what video marketing is all about. Marketing messages especially well-suited to video include: 

Demonstrations  

Before-and-after is the most effective video marketing demonstration. Side-by-side images yield visible "proof" that a product really works, and make compelling advertising. Cosmetics, skin care, beauty and cleaning supplies have sold millions of units using this technique. It's why being "demonstrable" is required for infomercial products, and an important feature of shopping channel presentations. 

Easy-to-use is another demonstration technique that works well in video marketing. No more drudgery, hauling floor cleaning appliances on stairs or around furniture. Lightweight, powerful new appliances show how you can do better, faster cleaning - without breaking a sweat. Same goes for pet grooming: trimming their nails, combing thick coats; or people grooming: smoothing feet, getting rid of toxins. Show and tell delivers a powerful video marketing message. 

Never-before-seen products or technologies are best introduced in audio/video presentations. These can be "how-to" video marketing tools, with step-by-step instructions and images that make a concept easy to grasp. Fitness machines, workouts and diet programs are explained through staged talk show formats, man-on-the-street product testing and testimonials, or groups of students in a class setting. Question-and-answer exchanges between show host and guests, or teacher and student, reveal the product's features and benefits in a soft-sell format. 

Testimonials  

Possibly the best video marketing tool is the testimonial. Couple it with before-and-after photos, when possible, and the result is almost irresistible. A series of satisfied customers, enthusiastically sharing how your goods or services solved a problem for them, makes compelling pick-up-the-phone-and-call advertising. Dramatic, life-changing results affecting health and well-being are especially effective narratives. 

Entertainment  

Entertainment is the supreme realm of viral video marketing. Typically, there is no marketing message within the video itself - only a brand-identifying tag at the end, with a link to a company website.  

T-Mobile - the fourth place mobile communications provider in the UK (and outspent by the top 3 competitors: 02, Vodaphone, Orange) - demonstrated the power of viral video marketing to gain worldwide attention, on a relatively small budget, in January 2009.  

On a busy weekday in London's Liverpool Street station, three hundred dancers broke out into a choreographed performance. The surprised reactions of the public - with some joining in to dance - were filmed, perfectly capturing the essence of the T-Mobile tag line: "Life's for sharing."  

Within one week, the two-and-a-half minute film generated 7 million views on YouTube, with 11,500 people giving it an average rating of 5 stars. In a David & Goliath triumph, compared to the last ad released by brand leader 02, which got 14,000 views, T-Mobile's video marketing effort generated 500% more views.⁷ 

Nine months later, it had garnered a total of almost 19.5 million views, 3980 blog posts, 18,433 comments, 980 tweets - and 6 more videos were produced in different public venues.⁸ 

Personality  

Whether it's a Ron Popeil/Billy Mays-type spokesperson or celebrity endorser, a video marketing campaign built on a personality, to present and promote your product, can win customer trust. Via personal charisma or professional credibility - this video marketing approach engages your audience in a kind of dialogue with the spokesperson, who is talking directly to your customer: including and encouraging them to discover the benefits of your product - just like the spokesperson already has.  

Can't afford a movie star, celebrity stylist or Oprah?  Look for local, high-profile personalities (newscaster, socialite, popular leader) or someone within your company who embodies the character and qualities you want to project in your video marketing message. Make sure they are comfortable on camera and in the public eye; credible, enthusiastic and likable. 

Training  

Perhaps the least glamorous, yet the most functional, use of video marketing is the training tool. Used as an audio/visual User's Manual, a video shows how to accomplish complex processes, assemblies, repairs, and how to find specific parts of a machine. Available online 24/7, it is easy to update and it eliminates the expense of printed instructions and manuals. 

Training remote and telecommuting staff, with 24/7 online access, removes time zone restrictions, eliminates travel and associated expenses, and reduces labor costs paid to trainers conducting multiple trainings - while providing complete, consistent and standardized instruction. Again, there is no printing expense. 

 

 

Is Video Marketing Right for You?

 

In light of new media trends and technologies, video marketing makes sense for a lot of businesses. Affordable, dynamic, interesting - and relatively new - video marketing is a trend that may become a must-have marketing standard. Are you ready? 

You could benefit from video marketing if: 

1. You can demonstrate your product's benefits:
1. How it works
2. How it's different
3. How it's better
2. You have customer testimonials - especially with
1. Before-and-after images
2. Dramatic results
3. Moving, life-changing stories
3. You want to personalize your marketing message
1. Feature a celebrity spokesperson
2. Feature a company owner or spokesperson
4. Your product or service is entertaining - or you can show different ways to use it
1. Decorating ideas
2. Craft demonstrations
3. Recipes
4. In-the-field applications
5. You can simplify instructions or parts identification with a demonstration
1. User's manual assembly or troubleshooting
2. Remote personnel training
6. You want to make your website
1. More interesting to attract potential and existing customers
2. Rank higher on browser searches filtering for video
7. You want to expand brand awareness via
1. New digital video marketing media: advertising screens and billboards
2. Viral video campaigns
3. Cable or internet TV advertising  

 

 

Movie Making for Video Marketing: What You Need to Know Before You Start

 

How hard can it be? Today's video cameras are engineered with auto irises, zoom features and pretty good optics, to produce nice images for amateurs with simple point-and-click skills. True. That's great for capturing memories - baby's first step, 50^th anniversary, surprise birthday - but not necessarily for video marketing. 

Video production is a complex process. You're dealing with moving pictures, audio (scripted voice talent, music, sound effects), a narrative message with a beginning-middle-end, maybe graphics. Are you familiar with continuity, time coding, lighting, microphones, color balancing? If not, you'll need a professional who does. 

The better you plan, the fewer mistakes you make, the more money you save.  

5 Questions/5 Answers - Save Money, Save Face 

Whether you're using a professional production company or renting equipment to shoot your own video, the most expensive part of shooting a video marketing piece is the assembly of hired labor and equipment. Imagine you've got a 3-man crew, an actor, lights, camera and sound at a combined cost of $1,000 per hour. You'll want to work efficiently and quickly, and that means being prepared: preproduction is the key to a well-executed video marketing campaign. Expect the unexpected - that's why you'll have a "contingency" line item in your budget. Make a check list, starting with the basics: 

1. Who. Who is the audience for this video? Think about basic demographics: gender, age, education, lifestyle, income. Be very specific. To whom are you targeting your video marketing - it will influence the language you use, the actors you cast, the location you choose. Is it for prospective customers, existing customers, sales reps, staff? Knowing to whom you are communicating gives shape and tone to your message.  

2. What. What will you tell your audience about your goods, services, company? Video is a visual medium - if you can't convey your message in pictures (supported by audio and graphics), then choose another medium - or another message.  

3. When. When is your video marketing message relevant - a project which is "time-sensitive" (e.g., a holiday promotion or event) makes lead time for media purchases and production critical: does it require a year's advance notice or is two weeks enough? Scheduling early will protect your investment.  

4. Where. Where will your video marketing be seen - television, home computer, digital billboards? Knowing the delivery medium is vital to understanding technical requirements: for production and the final piece. A low-resolution video that plays all right on YouTube is useless for cable television. A costly special effect is wasted when viewed via a slow speed internet signal. Knowing where you will display your video marketing - now and in the future - helps you make cost-effective choices before the cameras start rolling.

5. Why. Why video marketing - why not print advertising? Is your product or service better understood when it's seen in action, rather than talked about? Are your customers mobile, on-the-go types who may not sit still long enough to read?  Know why you are choosing video to know how to make the best use of it.  

6. How. In "How to Use Video Marketing", above, you learned different approaches to presenting your marketing message. Will you demonstrate, entertain or offer testimonials?  

Take the time to answer these questions for yourself. Knowing what you want from your video marketing project will help focus on realistic expectations. If you decide to hire a production company, you will already be prepared to provide the information they'll need to give you an accurate estimate of the costs.  

Budget: What's a Must 

What's it going to cost? There are two ways to approach the budget issue: 

1)    Spend what you have - know how much can you afford to spend

2)    Spend what it takes - know what you want to do, then learn the cost 

Spend What You Have

What you can - or are willing to - spend on your video marketing, determines what you can - and cannot - do. A video can be cheap (and look it), affordable, or breathtakingly expensive. Like Goldilocks, stumbling upon the Three Bears' belongings, you'll want to find out what's "just right" for you. This manuscript is written for the absolute beginner, so let's start with budget basics: what will be in every video budget. 

A no-frills video budget should always include: 

      Production

      Equipment & Labor

1. Video camera & video tape
2. Audio - cheapest solution is the microphone in the video camera
3. Camera operator  

Post Production

Equipment & Labor

1. Editing suite or software
2. Editor

As you can see, all it takes is a video camera with a built-in microphone to capture image and sound. Unless you shoot in sequence, you will need a way to edit - you can rent equipment, buy software, or hire someone who has the skills and equipment you lack. Much of what you see on YouTube is shot and produced this way. Is this how you want to present your company, goods and services? 

Spend What It Takes

Video production is involved. An experienced video marketing producer can make the most of a modest budget, working with his proven team and reliable equipment. A professional looking video can be very affordable, so request bids from local production companies to get a realistic range of costs for your project. 

All the details, like permits and releases, should be included. Be sure to look for that in your contract or ask to have it included. A package typically includes script, crew, equipment and editing. What you "save" on a production package, you can now spend on "frills" - the extras that give your video marketing message oomph. 

The frills: 

Preproduction

1. Professional Scriptwriter - make your video marketing investment meaningful: start with a good script - it's worth it  

2. Talent - the script may call for actors or voice over talent to give your production a polished, credible look. This means a casting session. Non-union talent may negotiate fees by hourly or day rates. If they're still building a portfolio of work, you can offer a copy of the final video as part of their compensation. Union talent - like all union labor - has set fees and expectations. Be sure to get a signed release, if you're attempting to produce your video marketing in-house.  

3. Location - indoors/outdoors, private/public space. Where you shoot your video influences other decisions and possible expenses to consider.
1. Indoors - you'll need lighting, attention to acoustics in the space
2. Outdoors - what's the weather forecast, extension cords and access to electrical power, possibly fill lights, noise control
3. Private/Public - permission to shoot, signed releases from passers-by whose face may be on your video, signed releases from owners if their storefronts are shown  

Production: Equipment

Camera, audio, lighting, power supplies/cords, transportation, videotape, props, set pieces 

Production: Labor

Camera operator, audio technician, lighting technician, grips (helpers); actors 

Regardless of the budget, you have to start with a message: a story to tell in moving pictures. You need a script. 

Script: Framework for Success 

At first glance, the final script looks deceptively simple. A minute-long script averages about 120 words. Some scripts may have no words at all - except, perhaps, a tag line at the end. Mostly, the video script relies on a sequence of images. 

Unless you are confident in writing for moving pictures, it is recommended you hire a professional to prepare a script. Either way, you will need to provide answers to the five questions, above, and an approach: to entertain, to demonstrate, to train, or a combination. A viral video takes a distinctly different tack than a straightforward video marketing approach. Know which direction you are going. 

A new study by Dynamic Logic, a Web market research firm, offers some guidelines for creating effective online ads⁹, to factor into your script. 

• Make every frame count - even as a standalone - to deliver the brand's image and benefits. It has to work in the blink of an eye - that's all the time you may get.
• Cut to the chase - don't be too clever or coy: show your product at the beginning of your video. Capture "your" audience immediately, by showing them something that interests them. If they don't know what you're selling from the start, you may lose their attention completely. The only time a "delayed reveal" can work, is if your video is entertaining enough to keep a viewer engaged until the end.
• Say it simply - limit your video marketing message to two ideas - tops. If you've got more to say, produce a series of videos. If you do it right, viewers will look forward to every one.
• Show people - appeal to the voyeur in viewers - people are people-watchers; include people images.

How Long: Teaser or Epic 

Budget and placement will help you answer the question of how long to make your video. The longer it is, the more it costs - both in production and air time. Television advertising is sold in 10-, 15-, 30- and 60-second increments - unless you are doing a mini infomercial. What you can afford, can dictate how long your video will be. 

Quick & Easy

Video marketing displayed on the internet - either on a company website, YouTube or email - is best kept under two minutes ... unless the content is very engaging. While you're not paying for air time (in this scenario), what you paid to produce your video marketing is wasted - unless your video is viewed all the way through, by a lot of people. Most people will give you a minute of their time, so give them something worth watching. 

Train Without Travel

Training videos are a smart, cost-effective way to teach a remote sales staff how to demonstrate and sell your products. This is especially useful for independent consultants in network - or multilevel marketing - sales. Even though your audience wants - and needs - the information, make your video concise (one to two topics) and under five minutes.

Epic Infomercial

The epic form of video marketing is the infomercial, typically 30-60 minutes long, and extremely costly to produce. The formula often includes a celebrity host, "live" demonstrations, and scientific or market statistics. Companies specializing in this form of video marketing, already have a sophisticated team of writers, researchers, producers and media outlets to create an infomercial video marketing campaign. They accept submissions from manufacturers who want to sell their products in a venue that can sell millions of units - if the price is right. 

Images on a Budget: Flash Animation and Stock 

Movement without moving pictures - that's what flash animation offers when your video marketing budget can't cover the cost of a video production crew. Flash animation applies camera moves - zoom in, zoom out, pan right or left - to a still photograph, to give a sense of movement. 

Integrate flash animation with video footage to stretch a video marketing budget. Need an exterior shot of your storefront - but you're making your video in the dead of winter? Get out the still photograph you took of your building exterior last May (when you put in new landscaping), apply a little flash animation, and voila! 

Can't afford a video crew, models or custom professional photography? Invest in a good script, well-chosen royalty-free stock photography, flash/graphic artist, and an excellent editor to assemble a video marketing piece for your website or email distribution. 

Production Value: Polished or Plain - and Why 

Dress up or dress down? Production value refers to the quality of the details that contribute to your video marketing piece's finished look. It is revealed by choices in lighting, voice-over talent, sound quality, composition, scripting, editing, graphics.  

Naturally, businesses prefer to present themselves with the professional polish that gets them taken seriously. Good production values need not be extravagant or necessarily costly. Experienced technicians and solid preproduction planning are key factors to producing a well-executed video - on time and on budget. 

Sometimes stark simplicity makes more sense than a full blown production. A short, personal communication, regularly updated, can be effective and practical with minimal production. It can be a weekly, sixty-second motivational thought by the company president, or a daily Tip-of-the-Day by a spokesperson. The focus, then, is on the person speaking directly to the viewer with a useful piece of information - no selling. It's a one-camera shot, a short message, and a personal delivery. 

Music: Necessary or Nuisance 

What do you hear when you think of music for "Star Wars", "Jaws", "The Godfather", "The Big Chill". What comes to mind musically for California raisins or Burger King? A video soundtrack sets a mood, targets a demographic, and creates an emotional association with your message. It is powerful when properly used, and highly recommended. 

Using popular published music requires a licensing fee, determined by how much and where it is used. Producers often own a "needle drop" library - royalty-free music they make available to you as part of a production package - with different music styles, tempos and instruments to suit a variety of moods. Or, if you are musical or know someone who is - you can personalize your video soundtrack - fee free. 

If you can't find suitable music - do without. 

Do It Yourself  vs. Production Company 

Doing it yourself is not necessarily cheaper than hiring a professional. Ask any plumber who's been called out to "rescue" a homeowner from his weekend DIY fix-it disaster. Mathematically, buying a $50 part and installing it yourself looks like a savings - compared to the plumber's $200 estimate - until you strip the threads, drill into a pipe, or find out too late that wasn't the problem, after all. Now you've lost your weekend, your patience and use of your plumbing. The cost to repair your mistakes: $500. 

But some DIY'ers aren't trying to save money: they like noodling around the house and learning how to fix things. A mistake represents an increased challenge, and eventually they do figure it out. It might cost more now, but it pays off for them in the long run. 

When it comes to video marketing, which is right for you? The chart, below, addresses some simple things to take into account:

                                                                                               DIY      PRODUCTION CO.

                                                                                                           

1. You have a deadline                                                                                    x

 

2. You have a budget                                                              x                     x

 

3. You're making only one video                                                                     x

 

4. You're not interested in "getting into" video                                                  x

 

Video Marketing: Maybe

Everyone says you should do it - video marketing, that is. You're open to the idea, and somewhat skeptical, but you're willing to give it a try. If your video will be placed in paid media, or you need it for a time-sensitive (or holiday) promotion, it's best to hire experienced help. If you're paying for air time, you can't afford to miss your deadline or err on technicalities that render your piece useless. 

Video Marketing: Definitely

You've seen it work and you're ready to try something new. While you're enthusiastic about video marketing, you have no idea where or how to start. You want someone to help you, guide you, and make a video. Start by hiring experienced help. They've done it before, so you'll learn the process start-to-finish. 

A couple of things can happen: 1) you find you like the results, and are glad someone else knows what they're doing, so you can rely on them to produce your videos, while you concentrate on your business, or 2) you really like the results, see the potential in making video marketing the cornerstone of your marketing strategy, and consider "doing it yourself". 

Video Marketing: DIY Considerations

Video equipment is not cheap. Producing your own quality videos requires an investment in other equipment: lighting, audio, editing software - and knowledgeable operators. It can make sense to create an in-house production office if: 

1. Money is no object - if your company can afford the investment without hardship, and you will be generating a lot of video marketing materials - training, instructional manual, and promotional series videos
2. You have good, stable talent - you have a family member or someone who comes highly recommended, that you trust to build the department, including writers/producers, able technicians and managers
3. You have short lead times - if you're using videos associated with product development or processes that require quick turnaround, you will need reliable, responsive services. Using an outside vendor puts you at risk for needing something when their schedule is already booked.  

Perhaps you will be generating a lot of video marketing materials, but you have neither the resources nor the manpower to support an in-house production facility - talk to production companies to contract their time and facilities for x-number of hours a year. This can yield preferential pricing and scheduling priority, plus the perks of a consistent look and quality to your video marketing campaign. 

Buy One - Get Three "Free" 

Pay for the first business card, get the next 999 free. In the printing industry, the primary cost of a job is set-up. It is also valid for video production. If you already have a crew, equipment, and talent assembled on location - depending on how well you have scripted and planned your video marketing campaign - you could shoot multiple videos in one production package.  

Maybe, at this time, you can only afford a 15-second cable TV ad. If you can afford to spend a little more now on production, plan to shoot the extra footage needed to make a 30- and 60-second version, which you can use later - when your video marketing campaign is generating more business. Meanwhile, you can post the longer version on your website, where you're not paying for media time. 

Shooting extra footage is an economical way to get material to remix several versions of your marketing message. The key to making the most of your budget: solid preproduction planning based on a series of well thought-out scripts. 

 

 

Big Screen, Small Screen - In Between

 

According to a 2007 Dynamic Logic study, "television, magazines and online work best when used together", with television and online driving brand awareness and magazines contributing to brand favorability and purchase intent.¹⁰  

Video marketing placement can be free or paid, accessible at home (computer and television) or in public (digital display screens and billboards). Here is a mix of opportunities for every budget. 

Website - FREE 

Naturally, your website should be home to all your video marketing. But there's a bonus to having video on your site: soon, video will factor into search engine results pages (Google has already begun), ranking your website higher in a search results.¹¹ Get ahead of your competition - post your web video sooner, rank higher. 

YouTube - FREE 

YouTube represents an opportunity to be "found". If you're not attempting a viral video marketing campaign, try smart tags or captions to attract viewers and - hopefully - get them to your site. 

Digital Video Screens - PAID  

They're everywhere - malls, waiting rooms, delis, sports bars, gyms - and spreading. High foot-traffic venues are sprouting flat screen displays with a series of 10-15 second digital video marketing messages, alongside information of general interest (news-traffic-weather) or relevant to the location (health tips in doctor's waiting room; daily specials in restaurants; gift ideas in retail stores). 

To be non-intrusive, typically these are flash messages without audio - and practically irresistible to a viewer in waiting or browsing mode. Ideal for point-of-sale advertising, brand-building exposure, geographic targeting, and tight budgets, a single-location placement - with 10,000+ monthly visitors - can cost as little as $60 month. 

Digital Video Billboards - PAID 

Targeting a younger, more affluent demographic for brand awareness - an emerging venue for video marketing is the digital billboard. Giant LCD screens display a 6-10 second message, in rotation with 6-10 other advertisers. Because it is still relatively new - there are about 900 across the U.S., with a projected addition of about 200 each year - costs are higher than traditional billboards. But, keep an eye on this video marketing opportunity - here's why: 

• Lower Production Costs - compared with pricey printing on vinyl at $1.50-$2.00 per square foot, the only production cost for video billboards is design, layout and PhotoShop. Some outdoor companies offer the service for free.
• Dynamic Placement - schedule ads to appear during certain time slots or rotate different messages; if something's not working, it's quick and easy to replace.
• Immediacy - capitalize on sudden changes: sold out a concert and adding a late-night show? Create an ad, email it to the outdoor company, and get it on the schedule to run immediately.

Cable/Internet TV - PAID 

Less costly than traditional network television advertising, cable and internet TV video marketing is - more importantly - cost effective for local and web-based advertisers. Cable advertising is geographically segmented, so a regional retailer or service provider can buy viewership specifically targeted to their service area. 

Capture an internet TV viewer with your video ad, and they can easily click to your site in a separate tab after the show. 

Both require broadcast quality production, so plan to hire professionals. 

 

 

Video Marketing: Capturing Point of View

 

The written word leaves much to a reader's imagination: tone, rhythm, pace ... nuance. A skilled reader finds pleasure in reading (and rereading) every word. 

However, the readers lacking attention, vocabulary or reading comprehension skills may totally miss the meaning of, or information contained in, a written piece - or skip it altogether. This reader puts down the book, scrolls past your message, or simply clicks to another page. 

A movie, on the other hand, is captivating. Like getting on a roller coaster, once the ride starts, you cannot get off until it stops. If your video is well-done, this is its effect. You create an experience that a viewer wants to watch to the very end - then watch again and again ... and, hopefully, share (for that "viral" effect). 

Using a vocabulary of images and sounds, you control rhythm, pace, tone - and point of view. Transcend language barriers and reading disabilities with universal images and evocative music, to stir emotions - a powerful influence on purchasing decisions. 

Ultimately, this is the true power of video marketing - its appeal to an international and universal audience, speaking the language of human nature and the heart. Video marketing's "mini movies" make people laugh, be amazed, spur curiosity, and let them feel good - about themselves ... and your company brand. 

Thanks to broadband, electronic technologies, emerging digital media, and the internet, more businesses can now use the power of video marketing to reach a broader audience in more venues than just television advertising. 

If you're not yet using video marketing ... you will be. Good luck and enjoy!

 

 

Resources and Guidelines

A step-by-step guideline for hiring a production company prepares you to interview and evaluate prospective video production vendors. The resource directory puts you on track to deepen your understanding of the various aspects of video marketing. 

HIRING A PRODUCTION COMPANY

First, know what you want to do. Review the "5 Questions/5 Answers", above; have a ballpark figure in mind of what you know you can afford, and an idea of what kind of video you'd like to make: demonstration, testimonial, entertainment, etc. 

1. Put your plan in writing.

Write down the "5 Answers" and the kind of video you want to make. Indicate if there's a timeframe - it could be due to weather (shooting your landscaping before it snows), a seasonal promotion you want to feature, or a scheduling conflict, because your facility shuts down for a month of inventory. When you ask for proposals, make sure all estimates are based on the same specifications. 

2. Prepare a script or outline.

Your video will be based on a shooting script. If you don't have one, be very specific about the elements you want included (e.g., an on camera spokesperson or a voice-over, moving or static shots, etc.). Include a script fee in your specification list, or hire a writer directly. To be fair, you want to get apples-to-apples pricing. 

3. Ask for referrals to reputable production companies. Do your research.

Start with people you know personally. Find out their experiences, so you know what to expect - or learn who to avoid - and why. 

If you don't know anyone who has done any video production, do your research. Google "video production" with your zip code. Visit company websites to learn more about the companies that interest you. Google them to see if there are any complaints against them. Check with the Better Business Bureau. When you have a list of at least 3, and not more than 5, candidates, you're ready to interview. 

4. Conduct in-person interviews.

You can either have producers come to your office, or you can go to theirs. If they come to you, assuming you'll do some shooting at your place of business, they can survey the space and logistics of your location to figure into their estimate. 

• Ask them to bring a reel of their work. You want to see the quality of work they do. Ask for references. Call them.
• Make note of the questions they ask you. Not only will it help you anticipate the questions you can expect in successive interviews with other producers, it will give you an idea how they are thinking about approaching your project. Good questions are a good thing.
• If they ask you what your budget is, give them a range, rather than a set number.
• How do they communicate with you? Do they answer your questions thoroughly and graciously? Are they helpful in offering guidance or do they only speak their industry lingo? Chemistry is key to any working relationship - especially if you'll be paying hundreds of dollars an hour.
• If you learn a service you'll need, that was not on your original plan, add it - again, so estimates will all be based on the same specifications.

If you choose to visit a company at its office, you gain an insight into their "housekeeping" - is the space well-kept, organized, inviting? It can reveal their work habits and the condition of the equipment they'll be using.  

Some companies will not have a formal office. That's ok, too. If the majority of their work is done on location, there's no need to carry the overhead of an office - that can mean a better price for you. 

5. Review the estimates all together.

Have the estimates arrive at your office on the same day or within 24 hours of each other. If they stagger in - since it's your first time doing this - you could spend more time reviewing the early arrivals. Rightly or wrongly, whichever one you look at first may set the standard for what you will expect to see from the rest. 

If the first comes in low, by comparison, the next one may seem too high. If the first one comes in high, you'll start to sweat the decision to pursue video marketing ... until you see a price that falls within the budget for which you were prepared. 

Ideally, the estimates should be very close - within hundreds of dollars. If not, look at the line items to find out why. Look at how many crew members, lights, microphones and other equipment are in their package. Even though you gave each company the same specs for what you want to accomplish, the proposals show how each company proposes to fulfill your requirements. 

6. Compare Terms and Conditions.

In particular, look for how your price is affected, if you run over time or want to make any editing changes. There is often flexibility, with a couple of changes included. You want to know the tolerance - and the charges - for change, just in case. 

Know how many days after shooting you can expect your edited video to be delivered, the cost for extra copies, and what your recourse is if you are unhappy with the final product. You want your edited masters and raw footage, in case you want to re-edit your video. 

7. Sign the contract.

If there is one company with whom you feel most comfortable, and their price is acceptable, then that is probably the company you should choose. If they have won your confidence, it is worth something to feel at ease throughout the process. 

If, however, you like the companies equally well and there are big discrepancies in price, find out why. Is one low-balling the price on a slim set of services? Is the other padding their pricing, because you're new to the video game and they're building in a cushion for mistakes? 

In the end, make sure everything is in writing - to protect both parties. 

 

ReelSEO

Online video marketing guide - News, Tips & Trends

http://www.reelseo.com/

 

Dynamic Logic

Marketing effectiveness research

http://dynamiclogic.com/na/

 

YouTube Report 2009

http://youtubereport2009.com/

 

Find Local Talent

Always try to find a referral to copywriters, video producers and technicians. Copywriting services, available online, provide professional writers at reasonable fees. Failing these, or other Google resources, check out nearby colleges and universities with programs in marketing, video production and information technologies programs. Professors can recommend senior students who are knowledgeable and accomplished in the skills you seek - at an affordable rate. 

DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) - Infomercials

Learn about DRTV best practices from industry trade professionals to know what to expect, what to ask, and how to know if this marketing path is right for you. Google "DRTV companies" or "DRTV productions" to find companies who can help you make an infomercial.  

Response Magazine

201 Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500
Santa Ana, CA 92707
714.338.6700 or 800.371.6897 

DRTV Best Practices Primer: Choosing a Marketing Partner: Consultants and Agencies

http://www.responsemagazine.com/response-magazine/drtv-best-practices-primer-choosing-a-marketing-partner-cons-441 

DRTV Resources Online http://www.google.com/adwords/tvads/index.html#subid=general-unbranded 

Direct Response Academy

Austin, TX

512.301.5900 

Direct Response Marketing & Management: Boot Camp

http://www.directresponseacademy.com/drtv_manage.htm  

Google TV Ads

http://www.google.com/adwords/tvads/index.html#subid=general-unbranded 

 

TELEVISION SHOPPING NETWORKS

Direct submissions are accepted by the individual shopping channels. Research their shows and guidelines to find out which venue is the best match for your product. The costs, terms and conditions vary. This can be a price-sensitive distribution channel. 

QVC Product Search

1200 Wilson Drive
Mail Code: 128
West Chester, PA 19380

Vendor_Relations@qvc.com

http://www.qvcproductsearch.com/index.htm?rewrite=no&cm_re=FOOTER-_-QCORPORATE-_-VENDORRELATIONS&cm_sp=FOOTER-_-QCORPORATE-_-VENDORRELATIONS

 

Home Shopping Network (HSN)

http://www.hsn.com/become-a-hsn-vendor_at-4682_xa.aspx?nolnav=1

 

Guthy-Renker

41-550 Eclectic Street, Suite 200

Palm Desert, CA 92260

760.773.9022

productsubmissions@guthy-renker.com

http://www.guthy-renker.com/

 

Houston Inventors Association

Companies Looking for New Products

http://www.inventors.org/productscouts.html 

 

REFERENCES

 

¹ Los Angeles Times; "Simple Elixir Called Miracle Fluid", Marla Dickerson, February 23, 2009 http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:i0BQ5CVrLeEJ:articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/23/business/fi-magicwater23+miracle+elixir&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

 

² Adweek; "New Clients Embrace DRTV as Sales Soar", Steve McClellan, August 25, 2008 http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i67f2ad037eba0dd65ebe4d10ef0c476a

 

³ DRTV Media Buying; "People Switching From TVs to PCs", Peter Koeppel, September 4, 2009 http://drtvbuyer.blogspot.com/

 

⁴ Internet World Stats; http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm

 

⁵ Marketing Experiments; "Can Viral Video Clips Drive Traffic?"; Nick Usborne, November 14, 2006 http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/viral-video-clips-targeted-traffic.html

 

⁶ TechCrunch; "The Secret Strategies Behind Many ‘Viral' Videos", Dan Greenberg, November 22, 2007 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/

 

⁷ BrandGymBlog; http://wheresthesausage.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/01/httpwwwt-mobilecoukhttpukyoutubecomuserlifesforsharingfilmhttpukyoutubecomwatchvvq3d3kigpqmnr1object-w.html

 

⁸ Viral Video Chart; http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/the_tmobile_dance?id=VQ3d3KigPQM

 

⁹ Media Post News; "Dynamic Logic Study Offers Ad Creative Rules", Mark Walsh, October 21, 2009 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?art_aid=115891&fa=Articles.showArticle

 

¹⁰ DynamicLogic.com; "Media Work Best Together, Playing Different Roles in Driving Consumer Purchase Process", October 2007 http://dynamiclogic.com/na/research/WhatsInTheMix/Oct2007.html

 

¹¹ Professional.getlegal.com; "5 Advantages of Using Video on Your Website", Stan Black http://professional.getlegal.com/marketing/video-services/advantages-of-video

Get Rich Slow - Using Article Marketing

Download this Ebook as a .PDF file  

 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Why Article Marketing?
3. Writing Effective Articles
4. Submitting to Article Directories
5. Summary         
    

 

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COPYRIGHT © 2009

All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. law, no part of this book may be reproduced in any way without permission in writing from the copyright holders.

 

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Introduction

Search the internet and you'll find plenty of people claiming that article marketing will turn your business into a traffic magnet and generate thousands of inbound links practically overnight. While some proclaim it to be a quick fix, the truth is, article marketing is more of a "slow and steady wins the race" sort of approach to online marketing.

Now I know some of you may not like hearing this, but it's the truth! We could tell you that article marketing will drive thousands of visitors to your site after writing just a few articles and posting them on a few article directories, but this would only set you up for major disappointment down the road.

The Good News!
Now its time for the good news!  While article marketing is NOT an overnight solution, it IS a proven, time-tested, and affordable way to build back-links, and generated lots of free traffic to your site. With such a wide variety of different online marketing techniques out there, it's a relief to know that there's at least one method that's a sure deal. Article marketing works... we know because we've done it for ourselves, as well as hundreds of others out there, and we have seen the results time and time again.

What is Article Marketing? - In Simple Terms
Article Marketing refers to the development of industry-specific articles that are geared toward a specific audience, and aims to inform them, answer their questions, and solve their problems. These articles are keyword optimized to rank highly in the search engines.

At the bottom of each article is a "Resource Box" that identifies you or your company as the expert author of the article, and contains a link back to your website.

Once the articles are written, they need to be submitted to one or more "article directories" or "information hub sites" out on the web. The most popular article directory out there is ezinearticles.com

These sort of article directories allow publishers to take your articles and publish them on their websites, newsletters, or other publications. When people take your article, they usually will leave the link to your site, giving you an additional link back to your site.

Sites like ezinearticles.com have high PageRank and tend to rank well in Google and other search engines. This means that when your article is added to their site, it has a good chance of ranking for the keyword you optimized it for. This can drive free traffic, and provides a good solid back link to your site from a reputable, targeted page. Over time, all these links help increase your own site's link popularity, causing you own site to rank higher in the search engines!

Why Article Marketing?
With search engines dominating how online traffic is directed, content plays a more important role than ever in determining which websites show up in the top search results. Therefore, search engine optimized articles offer an affordable, effective method for companies to compete in this increasingly competitive landscape.
Throughout this ebook, you'll learn all about the many benefits article marketing offers businesses and how to leverage it for your own business purposes. You will also learn what the advantages and disadvantages are of posting articles to directories vs posting them to your own website.

Understanding article marketing is just the beginning. Of course, you must also learn how to write effective articles. An effective article by definition would be one in which captures the attention of a large online audience and, in which effectively elicits a response from the reader which results in a lead or a sale for your business. This ebook will outline for you, step-by-step, how to write effective articles.

Keyword Optimization - The Foundation
One particular area of article marketing that receives a good amount of attention is keyword optimization... for good reason. Keywords must be the foundation of any effective article marketing campaign. If you think about it, why bother writing about something if nooone's looking for it? Using free keyword tools like Google's Keyword Research Tool will tell you how many searches terms are getting, and whether they're worth spending your time on.

Why You Should Be Leveraging Article Marketing

The well recognized phrase, "Content is King" has never been more true than today. Billions of searches take place ever day on search engines like Google. These are people looking for information that answers their questions and solves their problems. This has created an incredible opportunity for savvy online businesses who want to draw all these searchers to their website.

What's the opportunity?  give people the information they're looking for!

By writing interesting, informative articles that include a link back to your site as the author, and then submitting these articles to top sites out on the web, people will find your content, and appreciate that you answered their question. They'll see you as the expert... and when it's time for them to buy, they'll come back to you and re-pay the favor!Here are the 3 primary benefits of article marketing:

1. Generates qualified traffic
2. Builds natural back links, increasing your page rank with Google
3. Establishes yourself as an expert within your business niche

Leverage Other People's Marketing for Your Benefit
When you submit your articles to top sites like ezinearticles.com, you are piggy backing on the previous marketing and link building efforts of others. These top sites have high link popularity (PageRank), which means any content that's added to them has a good shot at ranking high in the search engines. If you put the content on your own site, since your PageRank is lower, the content may not rank as high. Once your article ranks high on their site, the link leading back to your site will draw them back to you, and give you poweful "link juice" at the same time.

Obviously, in the long run, you want the content on your site to rank high, not just content that's on someone else's site. However, when you put your articles on these article directories, they will contain a link back to you, which in the long run will actually help your own content to rank higher.

It's a WIN WIN situation!

No Shortcuts When It Comes to Writing Effective Articles

Writing high quality articles does take some time and effort, but the long-term pay-off can be tremendous.

The first thing to keep in mind is that all content you submit must be 100% unique. You may be tempted to take the easy way out, but don't do it! The consequences of taking shortcuts can be devastating to your credibility... and your pocket book! Its simply not worth it.

The 3 C's - Your Guide to Remarkable Content

When it comes to writing great content, just remember the 3 C's:

1. Clear
2. Compelling
3. Concise 

If you always follow these 3 simple guidelines, your work will be way ahead of the pack and will bring you long term benefit for years to come.

The EverGreen Strategy 

If you want to get more mileage out of your articles, you can leverage an article marketing strategy called the ‘evergreen' method. The term evergreen refers to articles which will always provide value, which don't include newsworthy information or dated material, and which provide value to readers on a year round basis. Evergreen articles do not become outdated over time.
If you want to create evergreen articles, consider these tips in mind:

• Avoid time or date references
• Avoid specific price references for products and services
• Avoid slang, as it can date an article or narrow the target audience too much over time
• Avoid cultural references
• Avoid articles which cover celebrities or current events
• Write How-to articles

These articles are great choices for static website content, as they can remain online long term, allowing your business to get more bang for its marketing buck.

Elements of Creating a Good Article
How can you write an article that will serve its purpose? There are several key elements to a good article, including headlines, the article body, the formatting and the resource or bio box.

1. Article Titles

The first thing that most web surfers look for is the headline or title to a blog posting, news story or article. If it does not grab their attention, they are moving onto the next item in their search. Your target keyword should be included towards the front of the title whenever possible.

For example, if your keyword phrase is "Online Education Degree", effective titles could include "Online Education Degree- Your Key to Changing Careers", "Online Education Degree-Increase your Marketability in this Competitive Job Market".  Both of these titles incorporate the given keyword phrase, and tell the reader what they're about to learn. We will discuss more about the importance of keywords later.

Be sure to capitalize the primary words within your title as well, as again, visually attractive articles are read more often than the rest of the field. You can see this tip executed in the 2 title samples above.

2. Body of the Article

Once you develop a powerful and catchy title, it's time to focus on the article's body. Writing articles for use online is completely different than anything you were taught in English class. Online articles must be designed for quick scanning and, as a result, need to be formatted differently.

Here are some must-do's when it comes to the body of an online article:

Paragraphs should be short- focus on 4-6 sentences in length, not long, hard to read paragraphs which people tend to skip over.

Break up the text with bullet point lists or numbered lists where appropriate to make the text more visually appealing.

Use bold subheadings within your articles to break up paragraphs. Include at least one subheading within every article, but more where appropriate. These bold phrases are typically what an online reader will scan for either when determining whether to read an article, or when just scanning over the content.

If your article is focusing on specific keywords, it is also recommended to include those keywords within these subheadings to increase your page rank with major search engines.

Create crisp, concise content- focus on an article body size of between 400-1000 words. People tend to have a short attention span when scanning online material. Most articles average 500 words, which also happens to be the minimum word count for many of the more popular article directories. So, when creating an article of this length, you are not limiting your directory posting options.

Include live links only when allowable by chosen article directories or when posting content directly onto your website. Each article directory will have slightly different guidelines on if you can include links, how many and which type. Most directories will not allow html tags within the article body. So, before including any type of tag or link, review the specific site's rules to ensure you are compliant.

3. The Resource Box - The "Take"

Article marketing is a give and take. The article body is the "give" - where you give valuable information to your readers.

The resource box is the "take" - where you let people know that you are the expert that wrote the article, and get them to visit your site to learn more.

You always include your resource box at the end of your article. This is typically 1-3 lines, and allows you to describe yourself, your business, your products and services, to post direct links to your website or to an affiliate product your are marketing and is typically where the reader of the article heads when they are looking for more information about the article's source.

Always use a compelling call to action within the resource box. This should not sound overly salesy, but should just let the reader know that they can learn more about the topic by visiting your website.

The Article Summary
Most article directories request or even require that you submit a short article summary along with the article body. An article summary is considered a teaser, and is used to describe the article to potential readers. When an individual is searching for content online, these summaries or descriptions will pop up.

Therefore, to entice more people to read your specific articles, your summaries need to capture someone's attention. The first sentence should make a bold statement, ask a question, or offer a thought. The next 1-2 sentences should give the potential reader a snapshot of what they would find within the article's body.

Overall, you are selling someone on why they should click to read your article, so keep that in mind as you are writing this piece.

Keyword Research and SEO Strategies
When creating article content, keywords should always come into play. Don't even bother starting to write until you've spent some quality time researching which keyword to write about.

There are several methods available for determining which keywords and phrases are the best to use for each article you write. Keyword tools (Google Adwords Keyword Tool, Wordspot.com, Goodkeywords.com, Compete.com), software programs (Word Tracker, Keyword Elite), SEO consultants and manual techniques can be utilized individually or in combination.

Choosing the Right Keywords
While every business is unique, once you start researching keywords, you can usually discover that there are hundreds, or even thousands of keywords that are great candidates to write about.

When looking for the right keywords, you should look for keywords that are in the "sweet spot". This means finding keywords that have enough search volume to be worthwhile to target, but not so much that it's too competitive. Targeting very competitive keywords can be risky since you many never rank for the term. You need to look at your site's PageRank and consider whether your site has enough "link power" to rank for competitive terms.

Geo-Targeting 

Keywords can include any and all combinations of relevant terms. If you wanted to focus on a specific geographic region such as Texas, you should try to include the term "texas" at the beginning or end of the keyword as follows:

texas mortgage company

home mortgage service in texas 

In addition to focusing on keywords and considering your target locations, you also want to give thought to variations of phrases. The reason for this is that individual searchers will type in the same set of words in different variations. For example, if someone were searching for a chiropractor in Dallas, they may search "Dallas chiropractor", "chiropractor in Dallas", "Dallas chiropractic", or even "chiropractic Dallas." Your business may choose to focus on only one, or all of these combinations.

Keyword Density Rules of Thumb
Once you have identified the keywords that your article marketing campaign will focus on, you will need to understand how to properly incorporate these terms into your content.

Keyword density refers to how often a word or phrase is included within the content, and is typically expressed as a percentage. For example, an article with the phrase "Texas realtors" appearing 5 times within 500 words would be described as having a density of 1%.

Most article directories place limitations on the allowable density for posting. The standard for density is 1% for given keywords, although some sites will allow a higher number, so be sure to check before creating your content.

In addition to article directory restrictions, keyword density is also important when it comes to search engines. Articles containing too many target keywords are considered "over-optimized". This type of "keyword-stuffing", could get your site penalized by major search engines, defeating the entire purpose of your marketing campaign.

Check out what Google has to say about keyword-stuffing in the Google Webmaster Guidelines

A .75% to 1.5% keyword density is considered by most seo experts to be the safe range that still indicates high relevancy to search engines. Try to stick within this range, but don't worry too much about it. Just write naturally for humans and everything will be fine.

How Many Keywords Should I Optimize Each Article For?

Some people try to optimize articles around multiple keywords in the hope of getting double or triple the results from the same article. We do not receommend this technique.

Think about it. Google must try and determine what your page is about, in order to know keywords to rank it for. If the page is relevant about 3 different terms, than it is 2/3 less relevant for any of the 3 given terms, and therefore will be unable to compete with a page that is 100% relevant for one of the 3 terms.

Always select one keyword, and focus on that for each article.

Article Marketing Tips
Here are some things to keep in mind when creating articles:
• Stay away from Private Label Rights Articles-This form of article has a high incidence or plagiarism, and re-sale to other buyers, and as a result, this can significantly damage your page rank online.

• Stay away from advertorials or salesy material within the body of your articles, as most online searchers are looking for value from the information that they choose to read. When readers are not happy with the information, they certainly will not come back for more, and will not be clicking on any targeted links that you have included within the article itself.

• If you are placing the same article on both your website and within article directories, make sure that you place it on your website first to assist with your overall page rank. Internet marketing professionals caution against using repetitive content in any circumstance however, so when you can, use new and completely original content when you distribute articles on different sites.

 

• Check your article for grammatical and spelling mistakes before publishing. Read through the entire article, even if you used a spelling or grammar check program, as things can easily be missed.

Article Directories
Now that you understand how to write effective articles, you need to consider where and how you will distribute the information. Article directories provide the ability to distribute your content to a large audience, get your site syndicated to many other sites, drive traffic, and gain targeted back links all at the same time.

More Benefits

• Many article directory sites are ranked by Google, meaning that content posting on the sites is automatically indexed by Google. When an online searcher is looking for specific content, your articles are more likely to appear in the first few pages of their search. And as a result, your business is likely to gain higher volumes of traffic.
• By placing your content on directories, you're increasing your potential readership.
• Many article directories offer the ability to post a basic level of content free, providing you with an affordable online marketing option for your business.

• Most major article directories offer their members detailed tracking information, allowing users to determine if their articles are producing the levels of traffic results desired.

Should I Submit the Same Article to Multiple Directories?

There are many sites and software programs out there designed to help you submit your articles to multiple article directories automatically, with minimal effort on your part. This may sound good, but we don't recommend it.

When the same articles are submitted to multiple directories, the content is considered and treated as ‘duplicate content' by search engines like Google. You could spend time and money buying and learning how to use submission software, but why bother? The same article on more than one site will just be discounted and will never rank.

We recommend submitting one article to one article directory. Always submit UNIQUE content to each one. This is a better approach and will look more natural to the search engines.

The simplest, easiest, safest, and most effective way to start your article marketing effort is to simply submit your articles to ezinearticles.com. They have the highest PageRank, and the highest traffic.

Standing Out From the Crowd
Article directories often have many similar articles on the same subject matter posted. So, it is important to distinguish your piece through formatting, great title selection and by providing quality content. By distinguishing your content from the other similar pieces, your business is more likely to gain high volumes of click throughs to your website.

Finding the Best Article Directories to Submit To
Ezinearticles is the best place to start. In fact, it would be truly fine if you submitted no where else but here. If you are wondering how to find the best article directories to submit your content to, simply search online for an updated list of the top sites. Be sure to consider the Google PageRank of the site, since that is a good way to gauge whether or not your content has a chance at ranking once its placed on their site.
Top 5 Article Directories

• EzineArticles.com
• Articlebase.com
• Buzzle.com
• Goarticles.com
• ArticleAlley.com

Squidoo
Squidoo offers a platform for sharing targeted information to users. While Squidoo is similar to other content distribution platforms, its focus is primarily on segregating content into content modules, or ‘lenses', in an attempt to make it easier for online searchers to locate relevant resources, answers and informative content on particular subject matters. These information portals offer a proven method for business owners to establish credibility as a subject matter expert, which in the long run, works as a method for driving targeted, qualified traffic.

Creating Squidoo pages is free, simple and easy. And, you can create multiple lenses, providing you the ability to market multiple products and services simultaneously on the same website platform. Once you establish your Squidoo lenses, you need to market them in order to build a strong online following, and ultimately, traffic to your website.

Here are several marketing techniques which have proven effective for Squidoo lenses:

• Search for other Squidoo lenses which are similar to your own. Then, post comments, or ask questions. If readers of that lens enjoy your comments, many of them will click through to view your lenses.
• Send an email blast to your current network or lead base to inform them when you establish new lenses.
• Look for Squidoo groups which would likely have members also interested in your products and services. By joining groups, you are leveraging the social networking component of the platform.
• Post new article content onto your Squidoo pages to increase your site's rank.
• Leverage popular social bookmarketing icons and sites so that when a reader likes your lens or content, they can mark it for future viewing.
• Review the top Squidoo pages and implement some of their format, posts and general ideas into your own lenses.

Squidoo individually offers an effective marketing platform for your business. But, when leveraged in combination with articles you have written, its results increase exponentially.

 

Summary
If you're searching for a proven method of generating website traffic, look no further than article marketing. If you're willing to invest a little time and money up front to create compelling content on a regular basis, the rewards can be great in the long run. While it may not be an overnight solution, if you remain confident and committed for the long term, one day you will reap the benefits of having your own, permanent source of targeted, high quality, and FREE traffic and leads to your site.

 

Article Marketing Services by Interact Media

Interact Media understand what it takes to conduct a successful article marketing campaign. With the largest network of certified copywriters anywhere on the web, we can find the best writer to develop remarkable, search engine optimized content for your articles. Then, using our sophisticated Content Marketing Platform, we submit those articles to directories such as ezinearticles.com and goarticles.com - all for one low cost that the competition can't match.

Learn more about our article marketing service, or visit our online pricing calculator and order form today!