Category: Martech

Martech

The Importance of Marketing in Dental Industry

Miley on September 1, 2018

In the previous decades, dentists relied on the word of the mouth, if you pardon the pun, and community reputation to build their practices and business. However, today dental health practitioners need to adopt digital marketing in building their new image. By the year 2021, the total global revenue for the dental industry is projected to reach $36.8 billion, with strong indicators that the driving force behind such a revenue surge is going to be the shift towards digital marketing. If you’re not really sure about how to market your dental business, let’s take a look at the most promising trends.

The current situation

According to the American Dental Association (ADA) reports, in 2016 there were more than 196,000 licensed dental practitioners in the country, including those in special fields like orthodontists and oral surgeons. The Australian Dental Workforce In Numbers Report published by the Australian Dental Industry Association (ADIA) shows that the number of dentists in Australia grows by 2% annually, increasing to 16,781 in the twelve months to December 2016. Such figures have prompted dentists, like many other businesses, to look for new ways to differentiate their practices from the clinics down the road.

High population mobility

According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, about 12% of people move to a new location every year. To take Australia for comparison, the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that 350,000 people have moved between states and territories in 2015. When it comes to overseas migration, Australia is the only country that received more historic migration from the US than the US received from it. The ABS data shows, however, that Americans in Australia aren’t overwhelmingly retirees, but largely people in pursuit of work and schooling, motivated by the stout economic growth and shared language. So why are these migrations important for the dental industry?

Marketing based on location

Because with each person or family moving to a new community, there’s the issue of finding a new dental provider. The increase in mobile usage has driven more marketing strategies to optimize local marketing approaches. Optimizing your local SEO is an important move for staying ahead of the competition. One way of doing it is utilizing local keywords in your SEO strategy, or for example, if the client is browsing for the best Chatswood orthodontist, they can use a simple Google search or a specialized service finding social media.

Smart content leads to value

One of the ways that the digital world is changing the dental industry is, by the way, people value and choose a dentist. While in the past it used to be the respect and authority that win the industry and community, today it’s no longer the case. So, when you’re marketing your dental business, you need to appeal to a new mindset, which is more interested in what value you can add to their lives than 20 years of great service and experience that stand behind you. In 2018 and onwards, the dental industry is expected to make a strong turn towards providing value-based content, focused primarily on the customer, rather than on your dental business. A website that provides valuable information to the clients on their landing page is going to get a much higher response than content that only highlights your experience and success in helping clients with gum problems.

Optimize for mobile

Mobile optimization today is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. Since more people use mobile devices than desktop and laptop computers for their daily searches, your site and SEO need to be optimized to reach them. This means replacing boxy lengths of text with a captivating homepage and an easy contact icon. Mobile users also love videos, so if you have one, your page is guaranteed to see a surge in visits. Finally, include the same-day appointment option and the appointment schedule calendar on your landing page.
These simple digital marketing strategies will ensure that years of your dental practitioner experience find their way to the new clients, who are always looking for the best value for their money but much quicker to make an appointment if your local SEO is done right.

Development Insights Martech

Video Marketing – Tips To Succeed With Your Online Videos

Miley on August 21, 2018

Video marketing is a sales strategy in which audiovisual pieces are used to promote a product or service, mainly online. In short, it is about adding videos to your online marketing strategy, through different platforms.

Here, you will see the different reasons why you should use video marketing in your online strategy to improve your communication to your target audience, as well as a series of tips and the different channels that you can use to broadcast your audiovisual messages.

This type of marketing is booming in our society; you have to take a look at the data of recent months, which reveal that nine out of ten people see the videos of the brands they like. And more than 65% of these people visit the website of the brand in question after viewing the video.

A bit of data

The online audiovisual content has a significant consideration today. It has become a key player among the population. An average user watches 66 minutes of online video per day. The audiovisual content already exceeds 70% of the entire volume of the network, estimating that it will reach 84% by the end of 2018 according to a study carried out by Accenture.

The so-called Generation Y or “Millennial” (young people between 18 and 34 years old) is having a significant weight. They are modifying the way to receive advertising. This generation has changed television hours by watching online video. These viewers watch 20 hours per week of video on the internet, compared to 8 hours of television (Adweek data). This means that television campaigns are less seen by this young public. It is therefore imperative that companies adapt and seek new ways to reach this part of the population.

Why you should use video marketing

The reasons for using video marketing are innumerable. These are some of them:

Message: A message transmitted audiovisually is much more effective, precise and comprehensible to the general public. One minute transmits the same information as 1.8 million words. A video allows you to express a message with many more resources, getting a more creative and emotional message. Also, when reaching the user through several senses, 80% of consumers remember the brand better if they have seen an audiovisual content about it.
Leisure: Watching videos does not require any effort on the part of the viewer, and they are associated with leisure. Therefore, it is easier to capture and maintain the user’s attention than with a written text.
Virality: Audiovisual material is the most susceptible format to be shared and therefore to be a viral content. 90% of shared videos appeal to emotional and humorous content. The important thing is to know what the audience is looking for so that more people share the content.
Purchase: The audiovisual content of a page helps the decision of online buyers. 85% of users say that they are willing to buy pages with videos about the product, as it makes it more attractive and provides extra information about its content or operation.
SEO: The videos help the positioning of your web page. Specifically, there are 50 times more chances to appear on the first page of Google. Thanks to audiovisual content, users spend more time on the website for its reproduction. Also, the more you share the video, the more visits your web portal will have.

Types of Video Marketing

To know what is best suited to your company, we will differentiate between different types of video marketing:

Advertisers: They are classic television spots, which can also be distributed by online media.

Corporate: Those that show the functions and values of the company. It is the presentation of the entity in an audiovisual way.

Portfolio: They show the different professional jobs of the company so that the client sees their best work.

Demonstrative: They are the ones that show the operation, characteristics and advantages of a product or service. Highlighting its value and importance, and thus encouraging its sales.

Tutorials: Explanatory pieces that offer training on one of the company’s products, positioning themselves as experts in the sector.

Testimonials: They reflect the experiences and opinions of real customers about products and services of the company.

Events: They show the presence of the company in important events of the sector, increasing its value and leadership in the guild.

Broadcast channels for Video Marketing

For a video marketing campaign to be a success, the distribution platform must be chosen correctly. The most successful channels are the following:

Email marketing: Thanks to the video marketing implanted in the mail, you ensure the attention of the viewer from the first moment you open the mail since the video will be played immediately, thanks to tools such as Autoplay. The success of this method is explained in that it is the user who has asked to receive information about the company and will pay much more attention and interest to a video than to a written text. Also, we will avoid distractions from the traditional advertising of e-mail providers.

Youtube: It is the largest and most important platform for videos on the internet. In a month, more than 5,000 million hours of audiovisual content are displayed, uploaded by the users of the platform.

There are different ways to use YouTube. The first is to use free video marketing. It consists of uploading videos of the brand to its official channel, which can be viewed through a link on the company’s website, or on the Youtube platform. The second is to use tools like Trueview. With the payment of a fee, the video of your brand will appear at the beginning of the video that the user wants to see, as an advertisement. Videos of less than three minutes are the most successful.

Other broadcast channels for video marketing are Vimeo and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tips to succeed in video marketing

Finally, here are some tips to help you succeed with your video marketing campaign:

Starts strong: The first seconds of your video marketing is the most important. You must capture the viewer’s attention from the start.

Pass a message: Your video should convey valuable information about the product or service that is promoted, convincing the viewer that yours is the best in the competition.

Be consistent: If you make videos promoting your brand frequently, the viewer will know it better and will tend to consider it as the main one in case you need a product.

Feelings: Videos that use humour or emotions are the most persuasive when it comes to selling a brand. Try to provoke an emotional response. This way, the viewer will remember the brand much better.

Brevity: A video marketing should last less than two minutes. The less, the better, to avoid taking the time of the users and having a bad image of the brand.

Action: Your video should end with a call to action. A web page or purchase link is enough. This serves so that the spectator becomes a client.

Author Bio:

Melissa Crooks is a Content Writer who writes for Hyperlink Infosystem, one of the leading app development companies in New York, USA & India that holds the best team of skilled and expert app developers. She is a versatile tech writer and loves exploring the latest technology trends, entrepreneur and startup column.

Insights Martech

4 Useful Visual Effects That Can Help Marketing Videos Stand Out

Miley on August 1, 2018

Visual effects can be a powerful tool – when used carefully. With the right approach, you can make use of visual effects to make your marketing videos stand out so that they draw more attention and keep viewers engaged.

However the trick to doing that is to use the right visual effects at the right time – and that starts by knowing some of the more useful visual effects for marketing videos:

– Video filters

Essential filters will process your video and enhance its colours by stylizing it in some way. Different filters can produce vastly different types of looks when you apply them to your marketing videos.

Generally, filters are a popular way to make marketing videos look more polished. That being said you should take care to check how a filter affects your entire video before deciding whether to use it.

By using the same filter across all your marketing videos you can create a consistent look that viewers will start to associate with your brand.

– Split screen

As its name implies, a split screen effect involves dividing the screen into two parts with different videos playing on either side. In marketing videos, this effect is often used as a way to display the similarities or differences between products.

Although learning how to make great split screen videos may sound complicated, most editors are able to produce this effect. For example, in Movavi Video Editor it will only take a few clicks to apply. If you want to create a simple split-screen video for free on Mac, you can try iMovie as well.

It is worth noting that the split screen effect can create other visual illusions such as ‘cloning’ the subject by playing two videos with the same subject and an identical background.

– Chroma key

The ‘Chroma key’ effect is more widely known as the ‘green screen’ effect and involves recording videos against a solid-coloured background that will be replaced later with a different video. It can be useful in marketing videos because it will give you full control over the background.

Sometimes this effect is used in product videos to record the product separately and then place it onto a different background later. In other cases, it is used for webinars to use the entire video background as a projection screen of sorts.

– Slow motion

Slowing down videos can help make any actions that are being performed more visible, and some marketing videos may benefit from that. For example in a how-to guide or product demonstration, it could be used to more clearly display actions that would otherwise be difficult for viewers to notice.

It should be noted that shooting slow motion videos has specific requirements – and if your video frame rate is too low in particular its quality will suffer.

Before you use any of the effects listed above in your marketing videos, think about what it is you’re trying to use them for. As a rule, you should only ever use effects in marketing videos with a goal in mind – so start by defining that goal and then figuring out how to use the effect to best achieve it.

Insights Martech

Using videos in digital marketing – 9 best ways!

Miley on July 25, 2018

Videos are a must in your digital marketing strategy because videos are versatile, and also one of the most profitable marketing tools of today! Over the past decade, there has been a radical shift from textual information to digital information. Won’t you agree? As a result of this, every business is developing a digital marketing strategy to clamour their audience’s attention. The mothership of them all are the videos without a doubt. Videos have embraced the digital age and established themselves to be the present and future of digital marketing. By using videos in your digital marketing strategy, you are choosing the right way to promote your business, build brand awareness, educate your audience while attracting them towards your business. Regardless of the type of business you own, a video is a must in your digital marketing landscape, since there’s nothing better to nail your marketing campaign. Now that you know why you need a video, and before you overflow with ideas for the same, check out the different ways to use videos and make the right choice for your business’s digital marketing strategy.

1. Commercial Videos

Is gaining the attention of a mass audience one of your objectives? But maybe you have only a little time. That’s okay! Commercial videos are less than 30 seconds, simple videos with the ability to create a huge impact amongst the viewers, in a short timespan. Best to be advertised on television, social media platforms, video hosting platforms or public events, creating a commercial video as a part of your digital marketing will help in better visibility, as well as a mass audience engagement. For that reason, they might cost you a fortune but is worth every money you spend. No matter what your business is, you’ve got the budget? Then, your digital marketing team needs to invest in a commercial video!

2. Animated Explainer Videos

While saying that there is no limit to what you can animate, as a matter of fact, it is ultimately the truth. Therefore, by including an animated explainer video in your marketing strategy, your business can pop up to great heights. There are no limits to locations, characters or objects in an animated explainer video. No matter how complex your business idea is, animated explainer videos can convey it as simple as possible. Using characters, objects or maybe a combination of these, use these videos in your digital marketing strategy for abstract and conceptual topics such as Cryptocurrency. They can be used literally by anybody from startups, B2B, B2C, mobile apps, software etc.

3. Tutorial Videos

Seems like you have a great product or service with some amazing features for its users. Do you wish to clarify the proper functioning of your product or service? In that case, including a tutorial video in your digital marketing using real product screens! Tutorial videos are instructional videos guiding your customers through the various steps to use your product or service. Including them in your digital marketing will make it easier for the users to follow, since they are engaging and educational at the same time. They are perfect to inform new customers in a business, to inform existing users about an update, while launching a new feature, in your FAQ page, as email responses, in sales demos, for training purposes of new employees and so on.

4. Live Action Explainer Videos

Locations, cast, properties, set, wardrobe! Does all that sound exciting? Well, seems like your interest lies in live action explainer videos. Live action explainer videos use real places and people to shoot the video. Using such a video in your digital marketing is helpful since, people can connect with other people, and it helps in humanizing a brand. Also, if you have a hardware product to showcase or require a human body talking to your audience, including them in your marketing idea would be great. They can be uploaded on Youtube, social media platforms, your website’s homepage etc.

5. Testimonial Videos

Letting your existing clients communicate with other clients through a video is a great digital marketing strategy. Testimonial videos are what you need to make for this. In testimonial videos, you can find real clients speaking about your business, as well as their experience of working with you. There are also case study videos used to outline a business’s effectiveness, thereby elaborating your project. It gives an idea of the challenges faced, the process and the end result of that project. Using them in your digital marketing will create a positive influence on the buying behaviour of your clients. You can incorporate them in your newsletters, blog, about us page, website landing page, social media etc.

6. Company Story Videos

Have fun at work, create an enthusiastic team and an envious work culture. Also, show this to your prospective customers. But how? Through company story videos! Company story videos are short videos to be used in your marketing, which serves the purpose of taking your clients through a stroll of the founders, employees, executives or any other person working in your organization. They show the ambience of work, with people speaking about your business thereby creating loyalty, personal connection and trust with your business. Therefore, these videos should be used in the consideration phase of the purchase funnel. Company story videos can be used in newsletters, about us page of your website, etc.

7. Branded Content

Suppose you could make a business video that influences individuals by creating a desire to see the video, as opposed to compelling them to see it. Wouldn’t that be great? That is what branded content can do in your marketing strategy. These videos barely mention the company, but the entire focus is laid on the targeted audience. These videos are attractive, engaging and impactful without a moment’s delay, therefore influencing your clients to share it all by their own will. They create audience engagement overselling the brand, hence being perfect for building a mindfulness about your business, item or service. They can be hosted on social media platforms, video hosting websites and on television.

8. Retention Videos

Are you facing huge competition in the market? Is it difficult to retain your existing customers and maintain their loyalty to your brand? That’s where you should use retention videos. Retention videos are indeed essential to engage your existing customers, connect with them and maintain their interest in your business. This type of business videos is helpful in making your customers keep coming back. Creating retention videos will ensure that you don’t lose them, while also increasing their relationship with your business. They can be either a video answering their queries, a festival greeting, a thank you video, or videos about customer updates etc.

9. Live Videos

The camera is in your pocket and you are celebrating a year of your business’s success. What are you waiting for? Take your mobile out and go live on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Live videos are nothing but videos that are shot and broadcasted at the same time, thereby helpful in connecting with your users and prospective clients in real time. These videos are an epitome of who you originally are, what your organization looks like etc. Users can shoot any questions and you can instantly send them replies or reactions. Awesome isn’t it? Live videos are a must have in your marketing strategy because they can create a rational bond with the customers, increasing their trust factor due to unfiltered content offered. Summing up, above were the different ways in which you can incorporate video into your digital marketing strategy, and shoot up to marketing heights. These video types are undoubtedly the best in town to get your marketing grip upright!

Martech

Marketing tech: how to build and manage your reputation as a newbie entrepreneur

Miley on July 4, 2018

Your brand or company is an extension of your work ethic. Entrepreneurs all over the world toil endlessly to give birth to an idea that was formed in their minds. The Disney universe is an extension of Walt Disney’s imagination, and Ali Express came into being because of Jack Ma’s life story.

When you come up with a revolutionary idea, the first thing you face is harsh criticism. We are creatures of habit, so our brain negates the ideas that move us away from our comfort zone. Once we beat this habit, something beautiful and meaningful comes into existence.

As an owner of a new enterprise, you have to wear many hats at once. You may or may not be comfortable in building your personal brand, but it is crucial to start working on it. Personal branding bridges the gap between your personal and professional life. When you bring value to the business environment, people immediately start taking you seriously.

Martha Stewart and personal branding:

Let’s take the example of the housekeeping queen that is Martha Stewart. This remarkable lady built a whole brand around her name, and until today we see Martha Stewart’s brand as a product of her creativity and hard work.

There are so many things you can do the ‘Martha Stewart way.’ Be it weddings or crafts; this person created a brand around things she was insanely good at. I would rather choose a recipe from Martha Stewart’s cookbook, rather than believing in anything on the internet.

Creating an experience around your brand is essential. If you are a true professional at what you do, there is a way to project that positive image that impresses people. Stewart started her lifestyle business from catering, and slowly escalated to the top by writing books about it. She is one of the most trusted lifestyle influencers in America because of her unique sense of style.

Once you have kicked off with the business, work on your brand and make sure you keep your personality secure from habits or things that can tarnish the reputation of your company.

Personal website:

It doesn’t matter if your professional venture is a few years old or a few weeks old, you have to invest in a website. Personal websites are like the internet real estate of your own brand. People visit your site to learn more about you and your work that led to the creation of a company. Successful entrepreneurs like Seth Godin are famous for their quirky blogs which work as a marketing medium for little or no cost.

Don’t underestimate the potential of a personal website or blog. However, don’t do it just because the cool people are doing it. You must be invested in this affair and reach out to your audience regularly to collect feedback.

For B2B causes, a personal website becomes your knight in the shining armour. People look up to you for news, professional info, and future investment opportunities. You can craft a unique digital narrative simply by crafting a website that depicts the best version of you as an entrepreneur.

Here are some vital things to have in observance when creating a personal website:

URL: your website should contain your name in the URL. For example, rickbennet.com looks like a trustworthy site owned by Rick Bennet, the Moreover, the site will turn up first when people search for you on the internet
About page: this is where you should put all the right info. Investors and current vendors will visit the about page to know more about you and your work
Add an active page that can be a blog, a news section or a press section. It gives an impression that you are regularly in the news
Include a call to action like a sign-up form for your newsletter. The newsletter is a great marketing tactic for entrepreneurs because the email has more chances of getting noticed by people, compared to a time-bound social media post
Add an active phone number and email ID so people can contact you easily. Don’t make it difficult for people to reach you

Provide value:

If you are dwelling in a saturated market, people may perceive you as just another entrepreneur. If you work hard to provide value to the audience, they may be able to distinguish between you and the rest, giving you a competitive edge.

‘next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.’ – John D. Rockefeller

Helpful content, positive marketing strategies, sales cycle, paying attention to your customers and building a sustainable brand are all ways in which you provide value to your audience. If you are a newbie in your field, start by researching your target audience and the message, then the content and execution will flow naturally.

Write more “how to’’ posts and refrain from calling out your competitors and highlighting what they are doing wrong. Whatever you do, stay humble to the core and maintain the monotony in your business messages.

As an owner of a new business, if these tips seem overwhelming to you, you can always hire a Contact Manager who can do this job for you. Contact Managers help you flourish while maintaining your positive image in front of the business fraternity.

If you’re new in the business game, then you may also contact them to learn more about various strategies and learn about things such as sales cycle definition and other critical concepts that will help you in understanding how you must successfully proceed forward with your business

Digital PR:

A Contact Manager will also assist you in managing your PR. If you are doing good work, you shouldn’t be the only one talking about it. Other people should talk about it as well. That’s where digital PR comes in with utilizing advanced technologies. Guest posts, leadership articles, lectures, and conferences are great platforms to spread your valuable insights to the world and get some credibility built around your business.

If you are a regular contributor to a publication, your author profile will rank higher than others, earning you valuable links back to your site. Regarding other mediums, you should maintain synonymity around your digital profile, and people should know about the decent things you have done in the industry.

Do you have a tip to help newbie entrepreneurs on this long and tedious journey? Tell us in the comments section below.

Author Bio

Andrea Bell is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.

Find her on Twitter:@IM_AndreaBell

Martech

How to use live videos to grow your business

Miley on May 25, 2018

An important element of crafting a winning content marketing strategy is live video. The tribe of content marketers leveraging Facebook live video and YouTube live streaming is multiplying. This can be attributed to the fact that YouTube has an estimated 1.5 billion active monthly users and stands second to Facebook. Facebook has an estimated 2 billion active monthly users. The numbers are colossal!

Can live videos be used to grow and build a business? Yes!

According to Facebook, users are 3 times as likely to watch a live video as compared to a non-live video. Facebook live video and live YouTube streaming can help you generate business leads, acquire new customers and retain the existing core base.

According to Statista, Facebook live and YouTube are the go-to platforms for streaming live videos. Let’s look at the state of live video streaming platforms.

Platform	Preference Percentage
Facebook Live	17%
YouTube	16%
Snapchat Live Stories	12%
Periscope	9%
Twitter	9%
YouNow	8%
Others	5%

Here is an informative account on how to use live videos to grow your business and make money live streaming.

#1: Host a live session

Thinking of hosting an on-location event? Have you finalized the venue? Have you taken overhead costs such as food, transportation, stationery (books, pens, etc.), etc., into consideration?

Here is a simple and cost-effective solution – Broadcast live so that you can do away with over-head costs. Only a small number of your audiences will be able to join you for an on-location event. By hosting a live session, you can target a big chunk of audiences.

#2: Answer questions

Content marketers and influencers are known to write informative and insightful blogs. Audiences may post their queries and concerns in the comments section. It may take a day or two for the influencers to answer all the questions. Sometimes, it may take a week. In all likelihood, questions may be repetitive and extremely complicated. Providing lengthy answers is not a viable solution. Lengthy blog posts and answers can eat up your valuable time.

Shouldn’t customer service be top-notch? If yes, how should you ration time between doubts clarification and promotion? YouTube live streaming and Facebook live video are here to help.

You can use Facebook live video to host a Q&A session. This encourages audiences to tune into live video sessions. They can get their doubts, concerns and issues addressed sans any delay.

#3: Give audiences behind-the-scenes videos

Audiences are keen on learning about how you work. They want to know more about your core competencies. They want to know how you treat your employees. Introduce your staff to your viewers. If you give your audiences an inside look at your business, they are likely to be delighted.

Let’s say you make ice creams and dairy products. Dairy industry in the US is messed up completely. Cows are exploited a big time. For all intents and purposes, your business can be a first class exception. You can show your customers how you treat and how much you care for animals. You can broadcast the entire quality inspection process.

Such videos can improve customer confidence in your brand and boost your sales

#4: Conduct live tutorial sessions

I use Facebook Live to explain complex processes and methodologies. I have expertise in using Adobe Photoshop. I organize live tutorial sessions to explain how to efficiently use Photoshop software. ‘

I also maintain a Facebook group and more often than not, I give free mini-courses to the members.

Audiences may not be receptive to lengthy blog posts. However, they connect well with live videos.

#5: Host Product / Service Launch sessions

Thinking of launching a brand new product/service?

People go crazy during product launch sessions. This is one of the reasons why Apple announces new product launches, upgrades, and redesigns by hosting live sessions. Check out Apple’s archive of product launches and services. You will gain a mountain of knowledge!

#6: Promote your scheduled events

Still using Twitter to promote your upcoming events? There is little harm in resorting to traditional techniques. But did you ever think of using live videos? Create a post to keep your audiences informed on your special announcements. When you go live, unfold the specifics and details of your upcoming event

Don’t forget to share your easy-to-remember URL. It is likely that viewers may not have enough time to write it down. It’s best to post the link in the comments section. It’s easy to create easy-to-remember URLs. Use tools like Bitly.

#7: Generate huge product pre-launch buzz

For all intents and purposes, you can bet your chances on YouTube live streaming to generate huge product pre-launch buzz. Let’s say you have a shipment of an innovative product which is yet to hit the markets. Tease your audiences by using a live video. By teasing your audiences, you are building excitement.

Provide a link to take pre-orders. If your prospective customers have any doubts, clarify then and there. Capitalize on the excitement!

#8: Share breaking news

Be the first one to share industry relevant breaking news. Share your opinion(s) on how exciting or terrible the news can be. Tell your audiences to keep viewing your timeline for updates and events.

#9: Go live with an industry influencer

Invite an industry influencer or an opinion leader. Do a live interview with him / her. Your leads are likely to multiply.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to focus on the quality of live videos. Purchase a tripod and a stabilizer to stabilize your videos. Shaky content is loathed by audiences. If you are keen on doing live streaming with a smartphone, invest in a tripod mount. And yes, optimal lighting is also mandatory. Purchase a portable LED lighting solution. Nobody likes dark and poor quality videos.

Found this post useful and insightful? Keep watching this space for more informative content on Facebook live video and YouTube live streaming. Cheers!

Martech

Assessing Virtual Reality as a Viable Marketing Strategy

Miley on April 16, 2018

No one likes to read papers anymore. They are considered by many to be a waste of time, energy, and money in today’s era of lightning-fast media. Why should you wait for the early morning newspaper when you can simply swipe your smartphone screen and get updated without having to get out of bed?

This is a groundbreaking change in consumer behavior which is being felt across the wide commercial sphere. Sensing this transition in public taste, marketers have decided to alter their promotional techniques, shifting from old-school tactics to technologically-incorporated strategies.

One such strategy is the use of virtual reality (VR).

People love watching videos online. It’s now something we can do at any place and at any time. Now imagine if we could interact with the video content as well. This brings us back to virtual reality.

VR is a computer-generated simulation which imitates reality and enables users to actually physically interact with the artificially created visual scenario. It’s nothing short of a thrill ride, which you as a marketer can easily monetize.

The main question then becomes: is VR the new marketing vehicle? If so, will it work?

All about the Immersion

Looking at an image of new sports equipment is one thing. Getting the chance to virtually engage with the equipment in order to test it out is an experience of a whole other level. Which one do you think would attract more leads? The second option, obviously. Why? Because it builds a much more immersive and interactive connection with the product. And it is only possible because of virtual reality.

Potential Adoptions

Businesses are continuously looking for new ways to entice young people and to convert consumers into clients. To do so, they tend to rely on social media marketing, email marketing, and content marketing. But all of this is already being done by their competitors.

So how can they stand out and get an extra advantage? By changing their groove and adopting a new innovative technology, like virtual reality, into their strategies.

In what potential sectors can VR benefit the conversion rate and bring in profits? Take a look at the following industries which can possibly implement the VR advertising strategy:

Travel: With VR, people can experience luxurious flights over the Atlantic Ocean and into the heart of the sunset, the best an airline has to offer, right from the comfort of their home. Or they can travel to exotic places in an artificial simulation as a part of a travel agency’s ad campaign. How cool would that be!?
Real Estate: Virtual reality takes traditional home viewing to a whole new level. Now, you can check out new estates and get virtual tours of properties, even ones under construction, by simply wearing a VR headset and interacting with the sellers’ avatar. Imagine, seeing the house of your dreams in VR even before its creation! In addition to this, and speaking safety-wise, you can also check out the most optimal spots for installing your wireless home security cameras, where they won’t jut out and ruin the outlook of your home.
Retail: People love to shop, but they can’t practically travel to a foreign market just to buy that perfect pair of sneakers, can they? So what can they do? Visit the store in VR right from their plushy armchair, and then buy whatever they like using a simple hand or head gesture. Revolutionary, right?
Education: Reading up on concepts in books gets boring after a while, doesn’t it? What if you could walk through the lives of famous scientists and virtually see them at their work, or visit famous landmarks right from the classroom using VR? Wouldn’t this sort of learning experience stay with you forever?
Music: Watching a music video is all well and good. But being able to participate and interact with the video in virtual reality is a totally phenomenal experience for users. They’d be more than willing to buy such a track using their Xfinity deals, wouldn’t they?

Gear Restriction:

Although virtual reality sounds quite promising to many businesses, there are many who are still reluctant to adopt it. Why? The main reason is the equipment hassle and cost. It is still quite cumbersome to set up, even though it provides an out-of-this-world experience.

Thus, VR gives people a preliminary choice. It allows them to virtually test a product before buying it. To expand their experiential scale. To achieve the impossible using this technology.

Though it is still in its developmental stages, it seems to modify the sphere of marketing tenfold and projects it into a progressive future.

Martech

4 Key Areas that Affect Engagement in Marketing Videos

Miley on January 19, 2018

It is important that your marketing videos are able to engage viewers and keep them watching while encouraging them to respond to it in some way or other.

While videos are naturally more engaging than most other types of content, there are still a few areas that can make a huge difference in their engagement – just check out these awesome examples!

Assuming you’d like to create more engaging marketing videos, there are 4 key areas that you should focus on:

Video duration

People tend to have short attention spans nowadays, and the longer a video is the more likely viewers are to stop watching. As such if you want to retain and engage viewers, it is important that you optimize the video duration.

The ‘best’ duration for engagement will vary depending on your platform and target market. Generally it is best to keep it under a minute, and sometimes even under 30 seconds for some social media platforms.

First few seconds

During the first few seconds of a video, viewers will decide whether to keep watching – which makes them extremely important. Typically that decision takes place in the first 8 to 10 seconds, though it can sometimes be a bit more than that.

At the end of the day, however, that means you have a very short timeframe during which you should do your utmost to interest viewers by outlining what your video is about and highlighting its benefits.

Emotions

Have you noticed that funny, inspirational, or even controversial videos tend to have high levels of engagement? That is because people are more likely to watch and respond to videos that trigger emotions, and you should attempt to do the same.

Provoking an emotional response to a video can be tricky, but it is one of the reasons why storytelling can help to frame the video, make viewers feel connected with the subject, and emotionally invested.

Call to action

The call to action in marketing videos is particularly important in terms of engagement because it is what you’ll use to encourage viewers to perform certain actions. Try to make sure your call to action is strong, and gives viewers a good reason why they should perform the action by letting them know how it will benefit them.

Be sure to take into account these 4 areas during the planning stage, and also make sure that you record high-quality footage that looks good. If you want a way to create impressive marketing videos, you should try using Movavi Screen Capture Studio. It will let you capture video from your screen as well as other sources, and you can edit it using it too.

With the built-in editor in Movavi Screen Capture Studio, you can compile marketing videos, enhance their quality, apply special effects, add captions, include background music, and much more. In short by the time you’re done you should end up with an impressive-looking marketing video that is more likely to attract attention and engage viewers – especially if you focused on the areas listed above.

Martech

Is Marketing Automation Right For You? 3 Questions You Need To Ask

Miley on January 19, 2018

If you’re in marketing, there’s a good chance you’ve heard some buzz about ‘marketing automation’. For the past five-plus years it seems like most marketers (and sales reps for that matter) have been dazzled by the concept. And for good reason — it’s intended to make marketing and sales efforts easier and more impactful.

For almost everyone else, the term is probably somewhat familiar but also quite vague.

If that sounds like you, here’s the (very condensed) scoop:

Marketing automation is the use of software to automate repetitive marketing actions (like social media scheduling and campaign emails) with the goal of making those actions easier.

Should You Do It?

While marketing automation continues to gain even greater traction — pushed along by smarter and smarter technology — it’s important to note that it isn’t for everyone.

On the plus side, marketing automation can provide enormous gains in scalability and ROI. But it can also minimize your impact elsewhere by consuming too much of your efforts, or worse yet, damage your customer relations if executed poorly.

So, before you start setting up your marketing automation system, take a run-through this decision checklist:

Marketing Automation Decision Checklist

#1 “You Have the (Automation) Dream, but Do You Have the Team?”

Do you have the people and cash? Sure, automation is meant to make your life easier, but you still need actual humans to put into action.

Be reasonable in what you and your team can put into action. Perhaps automating every single marketing task isn’t reasonable, but a few are. Look at your big time-consumers (perhaps a webinar or event email list) and look for tools that can help you automate that one task.

Also remember that many automation tools require a subscription fee. Shop around and find the tools that are best suited to your needs and budget.

#2 “Show Me the… Lists!”

Do you have enough leads for segmentation? A small lead list will make it impossible to create segmentation for your automation programs. As a result, the same small group of leads will be the recipient of every single marketing automation you send out.

(Spoiler alert: bombarding your leads with email after automated email will quickly earn you a spot on their spam list).

So, rather than investing in automation just yet, spend your time building up that lead base. Once you reach a base that’s large enough to segment by customer persona you’ll be ready to put those automation efforts into action.

#3 “You Say You Know Me and but Do You Really Know Me?”

Do you understand your customer base? According to Microsoft, customers are exposed to as many as 600 messages every day (in the form of emails, ads, text messaging and so on). For brands, having the right messaging is therefore critical to getting noticed within this sea of noise.

But getting that messaging right means you need to know a bit about your customers in the first place. Remember, customers expect personalized experiences these days, and customized messaging is a huge part of that experience. One thing that could help you with that is a customer service software.

Tailored messaging that speaks to your customer’s needs and journey will get noticed. Boilerplate, one-size-fits-all content — well, you can guess how that’ll do.

If you don’t know enough about your customers in order to create authentic messaging in your automation efforts, your best bet is to hold off until you do.

Last Thoughts

Marketing automation can be a powerful ROI tool, but it isn’t right for everyone. Before diving in, be sure to fully evaluate where you’re at in terms of resources and lead base. And don’t be afraid to start small. Not every marketing task has to be automated straight out of the gate. Have fun and good luck!

About the Author: Dean Ara
Dean is the Principal and co-founder of Total Product Marketing — a B2B marketing agency specializing in channel marketing, positioning, and branding for technology clients.

Martech

Understanding The Voice Search and Its SEO Value

Miley on January 16, 2018

In the past, voice search was that one feature that everyone knew about but no one actually used. Well, recently Google decided that it was a time for its remodel, which made them invest some serious work in its improvement. As a result, nowadays over 55 percent of the teen populace and 41 percent of adults use this feature on a daily basis. It is expected that by the year 2020 about half of all searches will be conducted in this way. Because of this, it is more than clear that voice search and its SEO value are no longer to be underestimated and here are a couple of things you need to learn about them.

1. Voice search is mobile friendly

It isn’t by accident that 2015 was the year of the major turnover when it comes to the voice search. You see, this was the year on which Google officially announced that the number of mobile inquiries officially surpassed the number of searches made from PCs. Needless to say, voice search is much more mobile friendly than the traditional search box typing, seeing as how it gives you a hand free option and reduces the chance of making a typo on the tiny smartphone screen. Google executives probably knew just how important this feature is and what they would risk if one of their competitors was to surpass them in this field.

2. Long-tail keywords

One of the reasons why voice search was so inefficient in the past was due to the fact that it tried to interpret the phonology of words without taking broader context into consideration. Because of this, the value of long-tail keywords becomes more than apparent, seeing as how long-tail keywords always have broader context attached to it. Just by adding a single proposition next to the keyword in question, you are giving the search engine something to use in their interpretation of the phrase.

Now, according to experts behind a reputable SEO company, the major difference between the use of a long-tail keyword is in the traditional search and a voice search. For instance, when people type, they commonly omit proper suffixes and even propositions. The reason why they do this is to save time. However, with voice search, such practice would seem quite unnatural, which makes voice-search-oriented keywords much more grammatical. In other words, these keywords are usually in the form in which they would be in a real conversation.

3. Location-based inquiries

When it comes to voice searches, a lot of people use them when they need something answered as quickly as possible, preferably on the run. In other words, they usually want to know where they can eat, buy or rent a room. Because of this, it might be wise to focus a bit more on local listings. Similarly, to the situation with long-tail keywords, the location of the person asking the question might also be able to give a broader context. One more thing, listing your phone number and address is also something used in Google’s ranking efforts of your page.

Apart from this, the geographical location of your business matters as well, especially if you are doing SEO in a non-English speaking country. You see, the region you are in might give away the language that is used. Interestingly enough, this could even help out the tourists around any mispronunciation they might make. Therefore, such practice usually works out in everyone’s interest.

4. Scannable pages

Another important thing you need to take into consideration is the fact that successful voice-search isn’t where your story ends, quite the opposite. Imagine a person who can’t be bothered to type in a simple three-words-long question in the search box. Now ask yourself the following question – would this person be willing to go through the wall of text in order to find the answer they are looking for? The answer to this question isn’t one that is hard to reach.

Therefore, you need to make sure your content is skim- or scan-friendly. What this means is that it needs to be such that a person accessing it has an easy way of discerning all the valuable information in a matter of seconds. You see, the time one spends on your website isn’t such an important metric here and, although 3000 words long blog posts are all the rage at the moment, this is not a practice you should adhere to in a voice search SEO.

Another thing you should do is make sure that your content is touch friendly. You see, most people will simply try to scroll through the page in order to find the information they need and it is your job to make this as simple for them as possible. This means leaving enough whitespace to make the layout scroll-friendly and making clickable elements transparent enough that they can be easily avoided.

In conclusion

At the end of the day, new SEO trends appear and reemerge every day, however, this upset represents something that deserves your full and undivided attention since it is a game-changer. Getting the grip on voice search SEO requires that some of the most experienced digital marketers abruptly change the way they look at the algorithm, which is always a difficult thing to do. Just try to remember the example with long-tail keywords and you will get the full picture. On the other hand, with the ever-growing popularity of the voice search option, they might soon not have a say in the matter.