As the competition for attracting viewers to your web site intensifies, the questions of where to go from here keep coming. Today I am sharing my thoughts about the addition of web video to your web site.
In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs. While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.
It’s been a rather busy couple of weeks here at RSA. Besides working our burros off on client projects of all sorts, we’re also working on our new website. Thus, it’s been a slow couple of weeks for our blog.
I know, you heard: “blah blah blah excuses blah blah blah.”
But we’ve got tons more to talk about, so don’t think for a second that we’re done. Call it a summer break; a vacation, sort of. Though if you miss us that badly, just stop by and visit!
Sometimes you just can't say it better than Mark Twain.
I love marketing quotes – the wit, the punditry, the directness – and how an entire concept can be summed up in one sentence (or two or three). Here are some of my favs:
“Tell a story that is memorable and remarkable and worth listening to. Seduce your customers, because that’s exactly what they want you to do.” – Seth Godin
“Strategy should be developed from the bottom up, not from the top down. In other words, strategy should be developed from a deep knowledge of and involvement in the actual tactics of the business itself.” – Jack Trout
“The essence of good marketing is the commitment to be something. … You cannot hold two divergent positions at one time.” – William H. Davidow
“In good times people want to advertise, in bad times, they have to.” – Bruce Barton
“When executed properly, an ad campaign will pay for itself, then buy you lunch.” -Robert D. Sharp
“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” – Mark Twain
“Delay is the death of the sale.” – Gary Halbert
“Advertising is totally unnecessary. Unless you hope to make money.” – Jef I. Richards
“The spider looks for a merchant that doesn’t advertise so he can spin a web across his door and lead a life of undisturbed peace!” – Mark Twain
“There is more money wasted in advertising by under-spending than by over-spending. Years ago someone said that under-spending in advertising is like buying a ticket halfway to Europe – you’ve spent your money but you never get there.” – Morris Hite
There are many, many more quotables out there (especially with all the great content now in blogs and Twitter). Please feel free to add your favorite marketing quotes or witty sentiments in the comments!
The web has changed the way we communicate, presenting brands the ability to reach a worldwide range of people in ways never before possible. Businesses, both large and small, can harness the power of the web to not only reach more people than ever before, but they can also extend the user experience by encouraging people to interact with their brand – making the brand more available to their audience.
Sounds good, but why does this matter? Why is this important?
Increase the bottom line.
With the new-found ability to reach a wide audience coupled with the chance to engage and interact with their audience, businesses are not only reaching new customers, they are building relationships with people. This is important because these relationships build loyalty…and this ultimately translates into dollars. People who are loyal to the brand are buying more than just a product.
Take the French bottled water company, Evian. They recently introduced a new advertising campaign to re-energize their brand in a struggling economy. The new campaign combines a more traditional advertising medium, TV, with an innovative web strategy focused on sharable content and user interaction.
The new “Evian Babies” video features break-dancing, rollerskating babies. It began a sensation when the company first released the ad on YouTube and then later launched the popular commercial on television. The video’s objective was to project the brand’s values of health, youth and purity in a much more playful way than in the past.
To continue the experience, “Evian Babies” fans can visit their website, see the casting call, outtakes, and interviews of the cast (yes, 3 of the 96 babies are interviewed). Then, fans of these now famous (fake) babies are directed to their Facebook page where they have the chance to meet other fans, interact with these tiny celebs, and get the “inside scoop”.
So far, the campaign has proven to be a success – generating buzz, receiving millions of views, and thousands of fans. This is great, but, remember the main objective was to “re-energize their brand in a struggling economy”.
The true test of the campaign will lie in the coming months – the next time you go to the store, will you buy just any ‘ol water, or the one that reminds you of health, youth, purity…and cute rollerskating babies?
An old, rickety car slowly pulled into the car dealership lot and parked. It belched black smoke as the clunky engine finally backfired and gave up. A man got out of the car and strolled into the office. The salesman met him there, asking if he could be of any assistance.
The conversation went something like this:
Salesman: “Hi, how are you doing? What can I help you with?”
Customer: “I need a new car.”
S: “Ah, I see! Well you’ve come to the right place. We have plenty of cars on the lot, and can order anything you might want that we don’t already have. Any idea what you’re looking for?”
C: “Yes, you see I am a salesman myself, and I spend a lot of time driving to see customers and prospects. But my car is rather old, and the engine barely works. In fact, I can only drive in first gear!”
S: “Wow! I bet that makes it hard to visit many customers in a day. Can I interest you in this brand new Complete Car? It’s well-rounded with a great engine, good looks, comfortable interior, and will certainly connect you with your customers.”
C: “Well, I wonder if you can just repaint my old car, maybe get rid of some of the dents. It could probably use new upholstery, too.”
S: “…”
If that seems to you like a strange turn of events in this completely made-up story, you’re not alone. I see this all the time, except instead of cars, we’re talking websites.
Out with the Old
Online competition is much too stiff for the old, static, “brochure-style” website to be very successful anymore. That kind of website is the old clunker with a weak engine; it doesn’t get around very well.
The pitfall I see people running into – especially in this region of South Dakota – is the notion that an “updated look” will take their website into the modern age. To be fair, a snazzy-looking website doesn’t necessarily hurt – provided it’s on target. But there are other important considerations in today’s online market.
This is your website on SEO (credit: SFB579)
For example, how are people going to find your website in the first place, and what are you doing to facilitate this? Will they find your competitors instead? How do you know if customers are finding you online versus other media? How much traffic hits your website? How do visitors use the website? What are people telling each other about your products or services?
In with the New
You can’t answer these questions with a paint job. You need a better engine, better tires, power steering – you get the idea. Your website needs analytics, search engine optimization, and social media engagement is also something to consider. These elements combine to give you a well-rounded (and much more effective) web presence; a Complete Car.
The point: SEO is not just something to add to your website. If you want to be at all successful in your online market, SEO is a must, at least to some degree.
You may be on a tight budget, and so tempted to cut these elements out of your online marketing plan. Resist the urge! Cut back on something else – perhaps the redesign of the site graphics can wait. If no one can find your website, they won’t be able to see the cool new paint job anyway.
I recently tripped over a former high school classmate on Twitter. His user name looked really familiar so I checked his profile to see if it was, in fact, the person I was thinking of. After following his profile to his personal website, I found the proof I was looking for: a photo confirming my suspicions.
Cool! It’s always neat to run into tweeps you actually know outside of the twittersphere.
So after poking around his site, I find he’s also running a little side business with its own website. Being the curious cat (see: nosey) that I am, I checked out this side project. What I found was a one looooooooong page of a website making all sorts of extravagant claims and looking like an all around scam.
BUT.
Since I knew this person from a number of years ago, I found myself thinking, “Yeah, this might be something I would actually buy.” Full stop. What’s going on here? I’m presented with a totally unprofessional site that just screams “Nigerian email scam”, yet I am seriously considering opening up the wallet. Wow.
How much more do you believe the statement you’re reading when you trust (or in my case, vaguely know) the source? How much value does the source inherently bring to the table?
Your grandma makes her cookies from scratch. If Big Box Corporate Cookie Manufacturing Co. advertises their cookies are made from scratch, just like your grandma’s, would you believe them? Note: if your grandma is lead chef at Big Box Corporate Cookie Manufacturing Co., then my analogy fails. Oh well, I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles! (Oh come on, the joke wasn’t that bad…)
Moving right along: customer reviews and peer testimonials are immensely powerful forces in the purchasing process. Similar to the situation with my acquaintance and I, people will trust another person, even if a complete stranger, more readily than advertising (though advertising does have its place).
Think back to the last time you bought something online. Go ahead, I’ll wait. OK, did you read customer reviews before buying the item? Or did you at least Google it before buying? How much did your research sway your final decision? I’d be willing to bet it factored in quite a bit.
What people say about your brand experience is not easily ignored by others, and should be highly valued (pssst: you need to be paying attention to what your customers are saying, because they’re saying it whether you’re listening or not). It’s up to you to listen, interact or even facilitate the conversation on your own website by offering a rating or comment system for your product.
“But what if a customer posts something negative on my site? Won’t that diminish my product?” Not necessarily. Instead of seeing this as a liability, see it as an opportunity to interact and ultimately provide great customer service. If other users see you reply to a specific concern and address the issue head on (“I know you are, but what am I?” is not a valid response), it only increases your value to the customer and you gain a little bit more of their trust. Conversely, if you ignore the problem or, even worse, censor it, what message will you be sending? I’ll give you a hint: it starts with “B” and ends with “ad”.
*It is far easier to ensure good customer service than to repair the damages of bad service – like trying to repair a broken window. (Photo credit: Shoes on Wires)
Why are any of us in business? I think that’s a question more people should ask themselves. Sometimes, I don’t know why some businesses bother to go on.
Lately service, or rather a lack of it, has really got to me. I recently ordered some replacement glass for my new house from a local (nameless) company. One of the windows was cracked when I moved in. It was delivered after two weeks which is when the trouble started. Not only was the glass too big, but I also had to pay a Glazier for a window that wasn’t fitted.
The glass company happily took the window back, admitting that it had measured it wrong (good so far). They said that they’d let me know when the new glass was ready. Fast forward six weeks; one more incorrectly measured pane of glass, and I am now fuming. For some time they weren’t even answering my calls; even the shop was closed when I went to visit. Eventually after several phone calls – and a call to the owner’s personal residence – I have a new piece of glass that is supposed to be going in this weekend (I’ll keep you posted). What really annoyed me was the lack of contact and severe delays with no explanation or apology. Rest assured I won’t be going back!
If I contrast this with another story of poor service, it illustrates how things can start out bad, but turn out for the best…
In 1998 my niece was born. She was living in Germany and I was living in England. At the time I wasn’t flush with cash, so, saving for a flight took some time. Nevertheless, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see my sister’s first child, a beautiful baby girl. So I ended up in Dusseldorf, Germany, and spent a week there, taking pictures of my new niece and having a generally great time (I am a big beer drinker, eater of fresh pretzels, ahh… Ahem, that’s another blog).
So I got back to England and rushed the pictures to the developers – I didn’t have a digital camera at the time and in England, I used to use a well known chemist who also developed photos. Unfortunately, I did not use the 1-hour service which means that your photos stay in the store. Instead, I used the more affordable option, which took longer, but meant the photos were sent away to a processing center. The developer then lost the photos. I angrily explained the importance of these photos as they were of a newborn far away in Germany; therefore not immediately accessible for more snaps.
A week went by and I received a letter from the company’s Operations Manager, who apologized for the loss and gave me a check for £100 (about $155). While it was nice to receive a check, and also a signed letter, it did not bring my photos back. So I wrote back and enclosed the initial check, explaining that the photos were worth far more than this. A few days later, the company called me, and suggested that they pay for first class plane tickets back to Germany over Christmas for me and my family (three of us). I couldn’t believe my ears – I was ecstatic and accepted the offer – we spent a delightful Christmas and New Year in Dusseldorf.
Even after all of these years, I recall this story easily; it truly restored my faith in this company and it also demonstrated that humanity and dignity are a considerable element in quality service. It also proves a point, that while some customer experiences are negative, they can be turned into a positive if managed in the proper way.
Everyone accepts that things go wrong, we all make mistakes; doctors remove the wrong kidney; our troops are hit by “friendly fire”; it’s not intentional – it’s regrettable. I don’t for one minute believe that the harsh realities of modern warfare or mistakes in the medical profession are comparable to my customer service stories. But ultimately the most important thread in all of these analogies is how we deal with the aftermath, how we deal with difficult situations. In my view we need to embrace our mistakes; put measures into place that eliminate their reoccurrence and constantly evaluate our performance. Ultimately, a great customer experience should be at the heart of all we do. We just need to remind ourselves of that sometimes because in this day and age, customer service is a matter of survival. Customer service should never be an afterthought.
Yes, okay, I’m biased. I work for an advertising and marketing agency. You might think, since the welfare of my company depends on the advertising budgets of our clients, I’d say whatever I needed to in order to convince people to advertise. Clearly an inherent conflict of interest, right?
But consider: as such an agency, we’re intimately familiar with the workings of many businesses across multiple industries, and in our role as business partners we share a common goal with each of our clients. Our job is to keep them healthy and growing with the skills and knowledge we bring to the table. So it wouldn’t make much sense to push more advertising if we knew it would hurt a client’s business.
That being said, here are some reasons it might not be a good idea to cut your marketing and advertising budget right away when times are tough:
1. Your reputation can suffer. People can view businesses that cut advertising as having trouble. If you’re not advertising, you must be struggling, right? If the viability of your business comes into question in the minds of your customers, they’re less likely to come back. You may be better off continuing to advertise, keeping your brand visible in the marketplace and strong in the minds of your customers.
2. When times are tough, people look for deals – and will sometimes go well out of their way to find them. If you’re not there to give them a deal, you could be overlooked. Continuing to advertise in such a marketplace and catering to customers looking for the best deal can give you a boost. One way to do this is to look for deals yourself – lower rates or special promos for media buys may be available for you to take advantage of.
3. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. You need new business to grow. One of the best ways to drive new business is to advertise. You have to assume there are people out there who need your services but have never heard of you. Even among those who know you, you’re much more likely to get their business if you keep your name out there. Ask yourself this: if you stop advertising, how will you gain new business?
4. Marketing in a recession can give you a competitive advantage.(h/t Jillian) Your competition may be scared and cutting their advertising. Given all of the other reasons mentioned here to not cut a marketing budget during a recession, the smart business owner who is able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and keeps dollars invested in TOMA (top-of-mind awareness) will have a strong advantage. Now imagine you cut out advertising but your competition doesn’t.
Further, even businesses that are not in direct competition with you are in the running for money people will spend during a recession. Not that you want people to forgo EATING just to buy your product, but if the choice is between two different products or services – even of different kinds – the customer’s limited funds may only go to one or the other. You might want to be the one.
5.Cut advertising, cut market share. (h/t Coree) This is a spin-off of point 4, but deserves to be mentioned. Advertisers that cut back in a recession lose market share while those who continue to advertise gain market share at a lower cost. Even in a recession people need goods and services. It’s up to you to deliver.
It’s true when business slows, you have to cut costs. That’s expected. But is marketing simply another expense, or is it an investment? If you’re not seeing satisfactory return on your marketing efforts, maybe it’s time to get smarter about your investment.
I will grant that there are circumstances in which a business can’t help but cut back on advertising – that happens all the time.
The point here is when times get tough, your marketing budget shouldn’t be the first to go. Negative movement should be a last resort. Try cutting expenses elsewhere or shifting some of that marketing budget into alternative channels that might go a little further. Focus on continued growth, wherever you can make it happen.
Can you think of any other reasons to continue advertising in a recession? Conversely, what are your reasons for NOT advertising in troubled times? Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit: Mykl Roventine Marketing on the Internet is a logical piece of the 21st century business puzzle.
Though people have been finding ways to market on the Internet for years, its broad marketing potential is still pretty new.
In my experience, most small business owners aren’t yet familiar with what internet marketing is and how it differs from/relates to traditional marketing media. I hope to answer some fundamental questions, or at least paint a clearer picture with this post.
Since we are talking about the world wide web, there are many advertising and marketing possibilities. But what’s best for your business? Well, that depends on your desired outcome (and budget). I’ll highlight three of the most common ways to market on the internet.
In addition to a company’s website, search engine marketing, social media marketing, and banner ads have proven to be highly effective in generating both web and foot traffic. All of these are useful marketing elements that enhance a company’s internet presence to promote offline business and online sales.
1.) Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
This is largely organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A comprehensive SEO plan is an essential component of any online marketing strategy.
SEO is all about relevant links and content – making both people and search engines happy. When a site’s content is laid out in a way that is easy to navigate, provides valuable/relevant information and stays up-to-date, people are happy when they land there, stay there, come back, link to it, etc. Search engines know what makes the people happy within a site and are programmed to promote sites that people will find valuable when they search.
Every website has a ton of SEO content potential, but few small businesses take advantage of how the internet works and how people can ultimately end up on their website. Without SEO in mind, small business websites are close to useless (as no one will find them).
SEM also encompasses PPC (pay per click) sponsored search results.
2.) Social Media Marketing (SMM)
A very hot topic, this one is kind of tricky to nail down and can be broken into multiple levels and methods. Marketing in social spaces is not cut-and-dry; you can’t just get on and broadcast your message.
Social media is fundamentally about social people, but it can function as a marketing tool for relationship and reputation building/management – and there are many ways to go about it.
The stronger a company’s online interactive presence, the stronger its relationships will be with the customer, and the more loyal the customer will be to that brand.
3.) Banner Ads
Of all internet marketing platforms, banner ads are the most similar to traditional marketing and advertising. The concept is actually fairly simple, initially. You pay a relevant web site owner to post your ad and hope that people will click through to the advertised website or simply show up at the store to buy the advertised product. Banner ads can also be placed as PPC (pay per click) and incorporate geo-targeting, etc.
4.) ***Bonus: Email Marketing
I don’t really consider email as a type of internet marketing, but many marketers do and it is certainly worth mentioning. For the most part, it seems that people are more familiar/comfortable with email marketing (because it’s not new) than with the things that I mentioned above.
Email is a great opportunity to precisely target/personalize/adjust your messages, track results, stay in touch, etc. From newsletters and tips to promotions and coupons, email is a consistent marketing player and has a strong ROI potential.
Most of the online marketing strategies that we’ve seen to be effective include one or more of these elements. Plus, when used in conjunction (and right) each piece will complement the efforts of the others. And if approached properly, internet marketing can be a win-win situation for both companies and customers.
Please comment with any questions that are still unanswered! I’d love to hear what you have to say, even if you don’t have questions (i.e. you love this post, hate it, disagree; we’re 100% on the same page; I missed something, etc). Say hello.
The Vickie Powers Memorial Park Playground Project gets underway today. It’s an exciting event – 5 days of building by hundreds of volunteers, and in the end the community will have a brand new playground in the park.
What’s cool about this playground is that it was designed with the help of children, so you know they’re going to love it. As part of a “community design, community build” concept, Rapid City’s Parks & Recreation Department teamed up with Leather’s & Associates, out of New York, to make this project happen.
The concept of this park’s “community design, community build” is classic and essential. Whether it be by getting involved in social media, encouraging higher levels of customer and community service, relationship building, or by hosting/contributing to community events, the community theme has been a common thread for many of our clients lately. Sort of as a way to get back to the basics. Back to the human connection. Working together toward a common goal.
It’s encouraging to see so many people give so much to such a cause as this park, even in the midst of a recession. This generosity, this sense of community, is now more important than ever. I hope this playground and park will benefit the community by/for which it was built, and perhaps serve as a way to grow our sense of community in the days ahead.
*It is far easier to ensure good customer service than to repair the damages of bad service – like trying to repair a broken window. (Photo credit: 
Marketing on the Internet is a logical piece of the 21st century business puzzle. 
