Reversal of opinion

For the record, after reviewing our marketing efforts in January, I’ll publicly admit a shift in my thinking. I’ve always thought holiday cards were hokey and a complete waste of marketing time. So I’ll readily admit I wasn’t optimistic about the value of creating an electronic New Year’s missive.

However, I was intrigued enough to try one because our Xmas card: Do you know if Santa read your wish list? Johnny does… drove a significant bump in Free Account signups. Our Xmas “card” was a humorous and cleverly disguised product demo highlighting a kid using VisibleGains’ Outlook plugin to share his gift wish list and receive notifications when Santa read it.

As a new year’s follow-up, we decided to create a parody of the Old Spice Man—inspired by a draft script I created long ago. With some copy tweaks, we were off and running. We sent it to our core email distribution list. Happily, the HTML Open Rate on the New Year email Parody was 12.74%.

Data from our video app tells us roughly 1 out of 3 folks viewed the video and most stayed until the end. Google analytics (below) shows a spike in traffic the same day we sent it out when we didn’t have any other campaign running. Additionally 2.5% of viewers signed up for our Free Account that day. I know 2 to 3 percent is pretty standard but for the investment of time—and as a way to fill the lull between vacations when people are slow to get back to full throttle—we were happy.

So for a couple of hours of creative fun, we fed our Free Account program which in turn drives business. That’s better performance than many of the trade shows with speaking engagements we’ve invested significant more time and resources in! (Fodder for another blog post—or rant. In my humble opinion, trade shows are often too expensive for the return on investment.)

Are corporate Ground Hog’s Day cards or valentines worthwhile marketing investments? (Just kidding, I think.)

Building Trust through Content

Before you can sell your services to a customer, you need to build a relationship. In business, the relationship between the salesperson and the customer is based on a foundation of trust.

One of the easiest ways to generate profitable publicity and to build a foundation of trust is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. The point is to create a reputation as being the source for information about your product or service. – and the best way to provide information is via content.

Here’s six ways to use content to increase sales:

Be the Expert

First impressions are everything, and chances are your customer will first ‘meet’ you on your website. In a study by FOCUS two-thirds of a prospects mind is made up prior to engaging a sales rep. So be sure to fill your site with content that establishes you as a well-informed authority on your product or service. Your website should not be a supermarket of content with relevant  information buried under layers of lingo and buzz words.  Creating landing pages which are specific to the individuals you are trying to converse with is important.  This is the cornerstone of trust.

Don’t Sell, Teach

People love to buy stuff, but they hate to feel sold. Avoid this turnoff and focus your content as providing information. Fill your website with educational, tutorial-style content that will decrease sales resistance. Create content that allows the viewer to self direct their education. Consider using Video, PDF’s, Slides, Pictures, Lists and anything else that will speak to them about their concerns.

Don’t Just Tell, Show

Video is an excellent way to provide engaging content to your potential clients in a unique format. Consider making a how-to video. If you make a demonstration video, the content should focus on the benefits of the product or service.  Video does not have to be overly produced consider – business casual video.  Clean and clear recordings with good audio conveys and honest and direct approach which will be appreciated.

Engage

Follow blogs and social media sites that deal with your product or service to see what customers are talking about. And then engage with them in a conversation by offering pointers, answers and advice.

Write for Others

Chances are there’s a trade publication, blog or site dealing with your sector. Why not write a guest article for it? Just make sure the article doesn’t preach but provides valuable information to the reader.

Don’t Forget SEO

When writing your content, don’t forget to make sure it’s search engine optimized. Customers will only find you if you show up on the search engine results!

David Meerman Scott just launched his revised & updated book The NEW RULES of MARKETING & PR (Click to buy).  If you haven’t read it you should.

In it David talks about the creation of a video category called business casual (page 252). He explains that video in all its forms need not be the high production difficulty and cost you’ve come to expect from “formal video”.  David goes on to make several points

1. You can produce simple low cost engaging content that works/converts.
2. Do not create poorly shot video, with bad lighting and editing – there is a baseline.
3. He is “convinced that the trend towards casual content means that consumers want to get closer to the organizations they do business with”.
4. Informal “telling it like it is – will make us more efficient”

One additional learning that David and our customers have stressed is -

Trust.

Business Casual video is honest. You’re standing out there on your own with no fancy backgrounds nor teleprompter.  People love the directness and the honesty that comes through the simple format.  We find that people appreciate it and are therefore willing to advance to conversation with such a forthright individual that’s focused on the content delivered.

Never forget that no matter how produced your video is – the content must be authentic and engaging. That is what converts visitors. The business casual content is easily produced on small high definition capable cameras (Cisco Flip, Kodak Zi8) that are simple to use and cost less than $80 to purchase. The quality is fantastic and as of this post Flip cameras are still online for sale.

Here is an example of business casual video content –

Today, when visitors see this business casual content they find it genuine and engaging. The results are excellent and the more you do it the easier it gets.

CHALLENGE: GETTING MORE WEBINAR REGISTRANTS

As we all know, breaking through and getting prospects to respond to webinar invites is getting harder given the inbox overload that most people are experiencing.
For Building Engines, they were looking for new ways to draw people into webinars and adding video seemed like a cost-effective solution. The goal was simple and easily tested add a short video promo to their traditional webinar promotion (through email) and see if it converts more attendees.

SOLUTION: SEND A WEBINAR PROMOTION APP

Building Engines used the VisibleGains webinar promotion application with coaching and best practices for one of their campaigns. In just a few hours, Sarah was able to script, shoot, and build a webinar promotion video app to include in her campaign. She featured the video app in her email and on her landing page.

Click Here To See How IT Worked

RESULTS: LARGE GROWTH IN WEBINAR SIGN-UPS

For this campaign, Building Engines was able to generate an immediately measurable impact. The key results were:

• 13.8% click-through rate for the 11,000 email send which was almost double the prior webinar*s click-through rate of 7%
• Quadruple the number of registrants over the prior month with the second highest total registrants in a webinar to date
• 65% of the audience was Highly Engaged during the webinar

Since this first video app with VisibleGains, Sarah has created a number of other VisibleGains videos for her webinars with continued success.

CHALLENGE: GENERATING MORE ACTIVE LEADS

As Jill Konrath says, “Today’s buyers are crazy, busy people” and the impact on webinar attendance has been one of the casualties. So how can content be leveraged in other ways that are more consumable by an audience? At byallaccounts, Barbara Kotlyar was looking to use a webinar in new ways to achieve two primary goals:

1. Generate net new leads for her sales team to call into
2. Warm up leads already in her funnel

SOLUTION: INTERACTIVE VIDEO FAQ AND ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

Click Here To See Barbara’s Solution In Action

Joe Chernov from Eloqua says that people these days prefer “pre-digested content” and byallaccounts used a combination of the VisibleGains Teaser Interview and On-Demand Webinar formats to provide this to the people in their funnel.

Working with VisibleGains coaches and the easy-to-use VisibleGains builder, byallaccounts created interactive video apps that allowed the viewer to navigate to short segments they were interested in from a GotoWebinar recording and a related video interview with the presenter.

RESULTS: GROWTH IN WEBINAR SIGN-UPS

By using interactive video before and after her webinar, Barbara achieved the following:

• 20% increase in live webinar attendees by including interactive frequently asked questions with presenter
• 4x additional On-Demand webinar viewers with simple quarterly re-marketing of interactive webinar segments

After this success, byallaccounts continues to use video to promote webinars and for on-demand webinar assets. In addition, byallaccounts experiments with FAQ interviews and Highlight reels as promotional assets to increase the long-tail nature of the content.

CHALLENGE: PITCHING A SOLUTION TO THE RIGHT STAKEHOLDER

One of the hardest things to do these days is communicate your solution to the right business stakeholder especially when there is a gatekeeper that you need to work through.

For TimeTrade, they are focused on ramping up their business and they needed something that could quickly communicate their solution to enable them to get a first meeting with a prospect.� Within this communication, they wanted to cover what their product does, some of the key benefits, and the business impacts that a customer could expect.

SOLUTION: SEND AN INTERACTIVE SALES VIDEO

TimeTrade used the VisibleGains interactive sales pitch application to help get the first meeting with a prospect. Working with best practices and the easy-to-use VisibleGains builder, TimeTrade was able to combine a personal video intro with an animated overview to engage viewers for about 2 minutes followed by a set of actions including watching a demo, learning more from their website, and booking a meeting.

Click Here To See Gary’s Solution In Action

RESULTS: VIDEO SHARED TO TEAM, DEAL CLOSED

TimeTrade uses this video app for numerous prospects, but for a major retailer they were targetting, the key results were:

• One email sent to one person who shared it with 10 different people generating 14 views
• 10 Days later, TimeTrade had a booked meeting
• 90 Days later, TimeTrade had a signed deal

TimeTrade has expanded on their success to utilize video throughout their funnel in both sales & marketing communications as well as within their actual product for training and support.

This article was originally posted on Constant Contact’s blog

Creating video for your email marketing campaigns or social media efforts is fun, easy, and it can be done by you — yes, you. I know many people are unfamiliar with how to create video, so they become intimidated. But with a little practice, you can become effective at using video as part of your email and online marketing strategy. Just as exciting: It does not require a lot of money to get good quality. You can use equipment you already have, or for a small investment, buy new equipment and software.

When thinking about how to create video, there are several formats you can use, either individually or in combination:

1. Put people on camera. These people can be employees, clients, or members of your organization.

• Interview style: Have the person look at the interviewer with the camera off to the side (like you’d see on a program like Dateline or 60 Minutes). This makes it easy for the interviewee because it feels like just a conversation.
• Direct appeal: Have the “talent” filmed directly while looking into the camera.

(Learn more: How to Record an Interview/Testimonial)

2. Capture video of products, places, or events. Grab your camera and shoot some video of people using your product, attending an event, or simply being in your place of business. This kind of video can be combined with a separate soundtrack or voiceover.

(Watch an example: Coming Soon to Burnham Harbor)

3. Images with voiceover. Pictures or images are a great way to communicate (remember a picture is worth one thousand words). If you like, you can easily use what is known as voiceover on an image. This combines a narrative that you can record over the image. Put a string a set of these together to tell your story.

• Your pictures: Using any camera, take pictures of your building, product, people, etc.
• Images: There are lots of places on the web to get images, either for free or for a relatively small investment. A few examples include Google Images, iStockphoto, Flickr, and stock.xchng.

(Learn more: Creating Images and Voiceover)

4. Screencast. Capturing a demonstration of your product or a walk-through of your business or organization using your website is another way to create engaging video. Screencast software runs on your computer and captures what takes place on the screen. You can also record your voice speaking at the same time or add music. The combination makes for an informative and engaging experience.

(See an example: Get Satisfaction Video Tour)

Equipment prices have made it inexpensive to capture high quality video. In fact, you can purchase a video camera that shoots high definition video, like the Kodak Z18 or Flip, for under $150. A few years ago a camera that shot such high quality pictures would have easily cost more than $20,000.

Additionally, there are many software tools that enable you to take an image and add a voiceover. Examples are Microsoft’s PowerPoint 10.0, Apple’s Keynote, Camtasia, and iMovie.

Steve Garfield, an author and speaker (and just all-around fun guy), makes all of this very approachable in his book, Get Seen. It’s a wonderful present to buy for yourself as you dive into video.

The concept here is that you can easily master the basics of creating good quality video that will bring your message to life.

I’ll be back next week to discuss where to put video as part of your marketing strategy. Till then, I’d love to know your thoughts about why video works: Feel free to post them here or on Constant Contact’s Facebook Page.

This article was originally posted on Constant Contact’s blog

Last week I presented six great reasons to use video in your email marketing and social media efforts. After reading that blog post, you may have asked, Is my business or organization the type that should use video? The simple answer is: Yes. Video works well for every type and size of organization — from single proprietorships to large companies, nonprofits, agencies, and clubs.

The other part of the question is who should be involved in the creating of video. Again, the simple answer is anyone and everyone. Don’t think it is just the leaders; everyone on your team can be part of communicating your message — and should be. It’s important to involve a mix of people at different levels and functions.

Every organization has an insight to share, a story to tell, or a product to talk about. As I discussed in the first part of this series, video is now easy and cost-effective to create, so it is within anyone’s reach. It also puts a face on your company and brings your story to life

So let’s look at how different types of businesses and organizations might use video:

Retail shops, restaurants, and other businesses that sell to consumers

• Create a video to introduce yourself. Ask your customers to say hello when they come in.
• Tell customers about a special item you have or a weekly special you’re featuring.
• Take a quick video of a customer in the store, and interview her about the item she purchased. Ask for a product review, or how she intends to use it.
• Share a recipe or how to cook a favorite dish.

Watch an example: Seattle Coffee Gear Crew Review: Saeco Via Venezia

Businesses that sell to other businesses

• Discuss a new product or service
• Introduce your team
• Talk about an upcoming event to get more attendees
• Highlight a customer success story
• Answer a question of the week

Watch an example: WellesleyWeston Magazine

Professional services

• Share a tip of the week
• Talk about a recent piece of legislation and how clients might be affected
• Demonstrate a strengthening exercise
• Introduce a member of your team
• Launch a new website or service offering

Watch an example: Borislow Insurance: BI Healthy Advantage

Nonprofit organizations

• Interview someone you have helped; include a call to action
• Speak with someone on your leadership team on a current topic
• Ask a volunteer why she is involved with your organization
• Highlight some relevant research you are publishing

Watch an example: LIFT

Religious institutions

• Educate about an upcoming holiday. Include interviews with children and adult members, as well as the clergy.
• Share a thought of the week
• Introduce congregation members, including new members to the community
• Share a teaching moment
• Make a more personal fundraising appeal

Watch an example: Trinity Lutheran Church

I’ll be back next week to talk about how to create videos like these, and others. Till then, I’d love to know your thoughts about why video works: Feel free to post them here or onConstant Contact’s Facebook Page. And if you’ve created videos of your own, please include a link!

This article was originally posted on Constant Contact’s blog.

Businesses and organizations of all types and sizes use email to communicate and share information with their customers, members, and prospects. Early on, of course, email communication was limited to text. Soon, many remembered the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words and began including pictures and images in their communications. The result of including these images was just plain more — more people opened the emails, more people read the emails, more people remembered what they read, and more people took any suggested action.

So allow me to propose a new adage: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words (according to Forrester Research).

You may be asking, why video now? For one thing, it’s easy, it’s cool, and it works. But it’s more than that. Over the next four weeks, I’m going to share my thoughts on why use video, who should create videos, what kind of videos can you create, and finally, how to create great videos.

To start, here are six great reasons to use video in your email marketing:

1. Tell your story quickly. People don’t have a lot of time, so you want to get your message across quickly. Video can communicate a lot of information in a short amount of time. To repeat the adage above, if a picture is worth a thousand words, a one-minute video is worth 1.8 million.
2. Put a face to your business or organization. A video helps bring your business or organization to life, and it makes your communication more personal. Putting people on camera makes you and your team real to your customers and members.
3. Get your readers to remember your message. Let’s face it: In general we remember little of what we read. Our retention of a message is much better (estimates are three times better) when it includes pictures, sound, and motion. Your readers can only take action if they remember what you said.
4. People enjoy video. People like to read, but they really like video. We watch TV, go to the movies, stream video content to our computers and mobile phones, and more. In fact, according to comScore, the average U.S. Internet user watches 186 videos every month.
5. Videos are easy and inexpensive to create. The great myth is that video is hard and expensive. Video cameras are cheap to buy (many cost less than $125) and easy to use. Look at the Cisco Flip or Kodak Zi8. They both allow you to shoot with one button. If you have an iPhone or some other mobile devices, you already have a video camera. You can also just use images and add a voiceover. Creating video is very simple.
6. Get your readers to take action. Forrester studies have shown that email communication that includes video can double or triple your click-through rate.

I’ll be back next week to discuss what types businesses or organizations should use video. Till then, I’d love to know your thoughts about why video works: Feel free to post them here or on Constant Contact’s Facebook Page.

AOL recently announced that they would team with Mark Burnett (Producer of popular TV show Survivor) to produce video versions of CliffsNotes (John Wiley Publishing).  The concept is to engage the audience by using video with a comic approach.  Although there has been much criticism regarding the further destruction of literature appreciation, this approach is rather focused on engaging an audience so they can comprehend and retain the information.  I believe that this idea is a variation on our theme of  “Business Casual Video”.

There were a couple of interesting takeaways for me:

• Short is getting shorter -  CliffsNotes were the original way to take long form content and shorten it.  Video makes it easier to make short even shorter, as the story can be told more quickly with site, sound and motion.

• Video increases retention -  Studies show that we absorb and remember content much better when it is communicated with pictures, sound, and type together, rather than simply text alone.

• Fun is fun -  Comics are a great medium for engaging an audience.  They are not necessarily easy to make–but it is much easier to be fun than to be funny. Comics can provide a great way to tell a story, and make content digestion much easier for viewers.

So, when you want to mix it up, think about a short video that is simple, with pictures and a fun voice.  These drive engagement, comprehension, and retention, leading to higher and better conversion.

Do you have examples of other ways that traditional written information is being transformed in video?

(Image from http://www.cliffsnotes.com)