Why video just might be the secret ingredient in digital marketing.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million"

Video marketing delivers complex content in an informative and entertaining way.  The multimedia nature of video makes it more engaging than regular text-based communications.  Even the addition of dramatic images cannot compete with a well produced video experience.  Video is also a very marketable product in its own right - you can promote a video through any of the popular digital media channels and get instant feed-back about the videos popularity - something you could never achieve through regular communication channels.

It used to be that marketeers had limited content distribution options - TV, radio, print, OoH and direct mail marketing...  Today, digital marketing has created new channels for content distribution and with them new challenges and frustrations.  The benefits are quite obvious but bear restating.

1. Cost effective - bits are cheaper to organize and send than paper
2. Wide reaching - easy to touch diverse interest groups and geographies
3. Measurable results - feedback make it easy to gauge response
4. Follow-up - easy lead generation with follow-up details
5. It's green! - digital marketing lives on an existing infrastructure and requires no paper or plastic

Let's face it, if you haven't been exposed to some kind of digital marketing, you don't live in the same universe as the rest of us (lucky you).  Marketeers are taking full advantage of the many new channels through which content can be delivered.  This includes mobile phones, smart phones, digital signage and the now ubiquitous Internet.  It is widely reported that the Internet will reach 2 billion users this year or about 1/3 of the world's population - the obvious antithesis is that 2/3 of the population are excluded!

All this transparency does have a down side; there are concerns over privacy, increased competition for eye's-on and an ever discerning audience who are rapidly developing attention deficit for anything beyond 140 chars.

Steve Earle is Creative Guy at E2Mktg, call him on 954.806.2188 and get started with a Fast-Track Digital Video for your company today.

The 3 pillars of Digital Marketing (in my view)

Before we get into that, consider this:  If you want to grow your business, you really only have 2 choices - sell more stuff to the same customers -or- get more customers.

Improving your sales team won't necessarily grow your business - it just means you'll close more of the opportunities you already have.  If you want to grow your business you need to create new opportunities - you'll often hear this referred to as 'lead generation'  Lead generation can be a costly process so you'll want to make sure your sales team knows what to do with those precious leads!

Okey dokey - let's see how Digital Marketing can play in the lead generation game. 

1. Website:   Your website is a digital representation of your company - customers will use your website to verify your business.   It therefore follows that your website should reflect as accurately as possible what your business is all about, what you do, how you do it and why you're better at it.

Here are 2 examples of companies that do the same thing but have a very different web presence.  Jamie's website has forms that collect customer data - that's a lead!- while Mike's does not.

Mike's Lawn Service

Jamie's Lawn Service

2. Opt-in e-mail marketing:  E-mail marketing is an easy way to deliver content to your customers.  It puts your message right in their mail-box.  Remember to include a 'call to action' in your content otherwise you're wasting your time - each customer that responds to your 'call to action' is a lead!.  If you're going to embark on an e-mail marketing campaign make it opt-in - not just for legal reasons but primarily so you won't waste your time sending content to people who don't care.

3. Social Media Marketing:  Small business marketing is most often about credibility and one way a you can build credibility is to establish yourself as an expert in your field - become 'the go-to guy'.  This puts you 'top of mind' when customers are making decisions.  There are tonnes of things you can do in the social media space but there are some that you must do.  As a minimum - Blog your message, use Twitter to feed the beast and get a company Facebook page.  You can supplement with a Linkedin account and a company You Tube channel.  Every follower, friend, comment and post is a lead!

Next time: Why video just might be the secret ingredient in digital marketing.

Steve Earle is Creative Guy at E2Mktg, call him on 954.806.2188 and get started with a Fast-Track Digital Video for your company today.

Can you say "My customers are happy!"?

After several years of avoiding my phone bill - what you don't know can't hurt you (right!) - I was forced to take a look following a barrage of marketing material from Vonage.   What I found was not only a revelation but a complete shock.  I won't bore you with the detail, suffice to say I was paying for services and features that I had not used since Lincoln stopped shaving.

Who Cares?  You right, it's not important other than to illustrate an few interesting points.

1. There's often a disconnect between customer service call center reps and the company they represent.  On concluding my call the rep asked "How would you rate my service today?.  Now that's a loaded question.  The assumption being that good service on the part of the customer service rep equals good service from the phone company - WRONG!!!

2. Good service should be proactive. Good service from the phone company would include an occasional courtesy call advising me that I am paying for features and service that "our records show you have not used in quite some time" - and "Would you like me to cancel that option sir?"

3. Follow-up.  After my call I had the mental image of the ubiquitous service rep tearing the note sheet off the pad, scrunching the sheet two-handed into a neat ball and Michael Jordan-ing it into the trash. Of course I'll never know.  Unless I received a follow-up confirmation in the mail - thanking me for the opportunity to be of service.

I would offer that a simple form placed under a "feed-back" button could be the most valuable on-line service tool a small business could have - try it!

Steve Earle is Creative Guy at E2Mktg, call him on 954.806.2188 and get started with a Fast-Track Digital Video for your company today.

You'd be crazy not to!

I'm a pretty good cyclist - and I like to get out there whenever I get a chance.  That tends to be at rather odd times, so I miss the regulars who ride according to a strict time regiment.  The upside is that I meet an eclectic assortment of riders, who, like me are grabbing an opportunity to do something they love.

The other day I was planning a short ride that turned into a 105 mile 'megathon' during which I met Ernie.  Ernie and I exchanged the usual pleasantries and finally (inevitably) got onto the subject of the economy.  Ernie was explaining to me what his company does; essentially they sell a complex financial instrument aimed at the mega wealthy and successful corporations.

This give me an opportunity to expound on the benefits of Digital Video Marketing.  In Ernie's case, his customers want a precise, succinct and unambiguous explanation of the product.  

BOOM! enter Digital Video. 

To quote my old mate Guy Whitcroft,'Video will be huge: a personal belief of mine is that it is a VERY under-used resource and that using it effectively can greatly improve information dissemination for companies. For example, a simple 2-3 minute video can get a relatively complex topic across quite simply, and it doesn’t have to be expensive to produce' - well put Guy.

He's absolutely right, Video is a great medium for simplifying complex messages.  But don't stop there.  Video is also superb at delivering marketing messages, product information, service messages and general information.  what's more, video can address any market sector making it a very broad-based product.  

Perhaps the best thing about Digital Video is how easy it is to adapt for use in various environments.  Everything from SmartPhones to laptops, TV to Digital Signage, hell, you can even burn it onto a DVD if that's what your audience requires.

Digital Video is also relatively inexpensive to produce and given its versatility can you really afford not start building your channel today?

Steve Earle is Creative Guy at E2Mktg, call him on 954.806.2188 and get started with a Fast-Track Digital Video for your company today.