Monday, February 21, 2011

Promoting your company in today's world of multimedia. Some thougths and ideas to think about.

One of the questions I am asked quite frequently is; "How do I promote my company today on the internet?" or "What is the latest craze for marketing my company on the net?"

Well, these questions have about half a gazillion answers. And no matter who you ask - no two answers are quite the same. One hears about everything from Social Network Marketing (perhaps the acronym for this is SNM?) to SEO or Search Engine Optimization and then there is SEM or Search Engine Marketing, and you need to do this all while eating M&M's. Okay, the last part just sounded funny, hence, why I wrote it.

The simple fact of the matter is of course, one may need to do all of the above. Particularly the M&M part. But kidding aside, there is one thing that very few really talk about. That is the model of multimedia and your business.

When I talk about multimedia, I am talking about video and sound. Simple enough. I would assume that if one did a survey today to the general public and asked if reading or watching a movie is preferable, you will find that most will take the latter as a preference. People love being entertained. People want it now. People don't like to read much if at all possible, to get the point. That last sentence can actually be understood in two ways or could be interpreted as:
  • People want to get to the meat of things quickly. 
  • Or, people don't like to read much anymore. 
Both are actually pretty true in today's world of disseminating information to the masses. Let's assume you are a small business and you want to take advantage of this model. And I do want to point out, there is nothing new about this model - but it rarely gets explained properly. In a nutshell, all of the various components of marketing and advertising your business, your product, your livelihood need to work together. I am not going to get into too much detail here and now, but rather just stick with a couple of important pointers. Of course, should you want more detail, you can always contact me directly for such information.

Before you even consider venturing onto the net, you really need to think about what it is you want to accomplish:

1. Understand your business! It is unbelievable how many inquiries I get from people wanting a video for their website, that have no clue on how to present their business, product or venture. I usually end up becoming a business consultant at this point. :)

2. What specifically are you trying to say? So many, particularly small businesses have no clue about explaining what they do to their potential client base. You need to take your business model and turn it into an "apples and oranges" explanation. Oh, and keep it short.

3. Keep it short! Didn't I just say that? Nothing like listening to self promotion about a business where the topic gets repeated 2 gazillion times.

4. Use humor. Now, this is not say go out and become a comedian, not does it mean to overdo it. But let your potential client base know that you are human.

5. Tell a story and make it entertaining. This is probably the most challenging thing you will ever do.

6. Always implement a CTA (call to action) of some sort.  Or simply put, the point of any marketing plan is to get business. To get business you need to have clients take action. That action is at the very least to call and ask a question. Basically, this is called a lead. Then, what you do with that lead is up to you. And that my friends is where most fail. They get the lead, but they don't have a plan on what to do with it.

Of course, doing these things, which usually means organizing and planning, is not an easy task. And in many cases it is totally done incorrectly or haphazardly. Hence, the result is usually not what one expects.

I could go on and on about all the possibilities, but as I produce multimedia (a.k.a. video), I am going to focus on just that part, or quite simply the process of creating a nice video to help promote your business.

I have already listed the recommended strategy to get there. So without further rambling, here are a few examples of exactly what I mean. All of these videos were produced and edited by me. Also note, there is a very distinct music class to set the mood for each video as well. It may seem minor, but music makes a tremendous difference.:

Professionals
  • The Professional - from doctors to lawyers - it's not easy promoting one self. But if you let an outsider, a layman (such as me) throw in their take and ask many questions, you will be amazed at how it will change your view of how the public looks at your industry or profession. It will also help you in creating a personality which is probably the most important part of the process. After all, there may be many of you around, but only you are you. People make decisions on how much they like someone when it comes business. So be human. It's okay to be nice, humble and friendly. And please remember, people already know you studied hard to get where you are, so don't end up rubbing it in their face.  

Contractors
  • Contractors of all walks of life - from builders to painters to plumbers. So how the heck can you even fathom making these professions friendly or even fun? Plumbers immediately bring certain imagery to one's mind. Painters we think of as a real messy job. Contractors, well, do we even start to trust them? These are things that need to be considered and overcome. Humor works really well here, but so does personality. These types of services or contractors really need to set themselves apart from others. Your potential client not only needs to like you, but also feel comfortable in knowing you know your business and that you are fair. 
 Online Retail
  •  Online Retail - most likely the industry voted top in regards to having a dire need for multimedia. People want to know they are dealing with humans, not computers. They want to know they have a chance of making contact should any issues ever arise. So, let them know that. Let them know who you are. And most importantly, let them know what it is you are selling. Oh, and whether you sell low ticket items or high ticket items, the same rules apply. Sometimes doing a simple FAQ (frequently asked questions) segment can act as a very powerful marketing campaign.
Niche Industries
  • Specialty or niche industries - depending on whether the business is B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) or both, will most likely impact a presentation. Leveraging what you specialize in never hurts, even during a presentation. Show and tell is always one of the best models of presentation. One can talk all day long, but showing actual results of the same is far superior. 
Retail  (as in having a store front, not online)
  • Retail - whether you advertise already on TV, billboards or wherever, you can never advertise enough. TV commercials are fine, but they limit you time wise. So why not leverage the multimedia online and take your time to give a friendly tour? You can say more, show more, oh, and make it so much more inviting. No?
So when you really want to produce something of value, that you also can be proud of, think about what you just read and looked at. Or better yet, call us (520-647-2901) or visit us at www.vadervideo.com. We will be most happy to help you get on the multimedia wagon.

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