Marketing your business online is constantly changing. Much
of the change has to do with the way that consumers are getting their
information. As little as five years ago, you could depend on being able to
reach a customer at their personal computer. The concerning issue was whether
or not that customer was on a laptop or a desktop computer.
All of that has now changed. As a rule, consumers are now
using mobile devices. And while statistics may be helpful, it is fair to say
that in the next five years most of those individuals who would be your
customers will be using a mobile device and you will have to reach them there.
However, one thing that hasn't changed over the last five
years is a consumer's quest for information. Those that need and want to make their
decisions based on facts, are constantly searching the internet for more
information to give them assurance. Currently, one of the ways that companies
market themselves is to make the information the consumers are seeking visible
online as a service to those that will eventually be their customers.
However, search engines are moving to make information a
component of the service that they offer. In other words, with their Knowledge
Graph technology, they are less likely to deliver their visitors to websites
and more likely to attempt to deliver the information themselves.
Where does that leave small businesses? Small businesses
must establish their own connections with customers and deliver the information
and/or education that is needed to make good buying decisions.
There are several venues that companies can use in order to
deliver education. As technology progresses in its sophistication, customers
can watch and experience education from anyplace where there is an Internet
connected device. That means that if you can deliver content through the
Internet, you can educate your customer.
Audio Podcasting:
One of the ways that businesses can easily educate their
customer is to use the podcasting format. Podcasting is basically an audio
program organized to educate its listener. A podcast can be listened to on a
mobile connected device or a special device designed for digital entertainment.
The benefit of delivering education through podcasting is
that it is all done through audio files. Audio does not require that the user
be seated in front of the device order to experience the fullness of the
content. They can listen to it in their automobiles (while they drive), at
their fitness centers (while they exercise) and even when taking a break from
their work.
This is important because there are some significant ways
that creating an audio trumps video creation in the education process. Often in
the creation of a video recording, there are things that the creator assumes
that their viewers understand as they watch. That means that even when the video
recording is turned into a strictly ‘audio’ based recording, it may not
communicate a full picture to the listener. The video creator isn't
communicating to provide an audio listener with a full picture.
Audio creators on the other hand, understand that their
audience does not see them. As a result, they communicate images that are
fuller, and they speak with the understanding that an audience needs to be
cultivated to ‘see’ through what they hear during their program. The audio
creator, by default provides rich examples that draw in a listener.
Business owners can get started creating audio content very
easily. All that is needed is a computer with mic and headset jacks. Even if
that does not exist on their laptop and/or personal computer, they can use a
USB port to connect a mic and headset.
With this minimal equipment (mic and headset) in place,
companies can then decide whether or not to record their audio program or to
broadcast it live. In order to record the program, software on a personal
computer is typically needed as well to connect over telephone lines. The most
cost-effective way to implement this software is to use Skype (free) for
telephone connections, and the recording program Pamela to record the conversation
(less than $50).
If the company chooses to broadcast their podcast live, they
have several options. One option is the free site BlogTalkRadio.com, which
allows at the company to conduct a call-in audio program. BlogTalkRadio.com
allows the audio creator to distribute the link ahead of time and to invite
individuals to hear the program to be streamed.
Once the program has ended, BlogTalkRadio.com makes the
audio available to anyone that wants to hear it in archive form. The same or
similar service exists with another company called Spreaker.com.
If the company wants only one person to communicate on the
audio, then the free program Audacity will allow audio recordings to be created
on a personal computer. In this case, the individual would simply hit a record
button on their computer and create audio programming and feel real-time.
Once the program has been recorded, the company can then
take the MP3 file and host it on their site or an audio sharing site. Of
course, then the link would need to be made available to prospects and
customers to hear.
Screen Sharing Education:
One of the other ways that a business can educate their
consumers is to take information on their PC and display it to viewers on the
Internet while discussing its points audibly. The format is common to
businesses in the webinar format. A
webinar is a cross between a seminar and a web-based streamed program.
What is unique about the webinar is that the individual
sharing with an audience, can allow them to see what is on their computer
screen while they talk. This means that the company can do a live demonstration
using images, case studies, presentations and websites. Anything that can be
displayed on the computer screen can be shown to individuals attending a
webinar.
Although there are multiple webinar platforms available to
business owners, the standard resource is Cixtrix’s GoToWebinar. Companies that
would like to test GoToWebinar to determine whether or not it fits into their
program can undertake a 30 Day Trial.
The key to delivering good webinar content is to be prepared
with both slides and a formal presentation. In order to keep the attention of
viewers, webinars need to move quickly through their content to get to the
Question and Answer portion. Webinars are unique in that they allow the host of
the webinar to determine if or when one of the attendees can be brought on to
the broadcast to become part of the audible discussion.
If there is a downside to webinar technology, it is the cost
associated with renting the line. A webinar can cost as much as four hundred
dollars ($400) every month in order to have access to the facility.
This may or
may not be with in your budget to spend on web-based education for your
customers.
What some companies have done to limit the cost of the
webinar is to deliver the content live, and then to take the recording and
deploy it as an “automated webinar”. This can be effective for educational
purposes when the viewing audience understands that they are watching a
recording and not a live webinar. It's also effective when the business creates
the webinar with the understanding that it will be used in an automated format.
However, some companies have moved away from traditional
webinar technology and have embraced Google Hangout technology. Google Hangouts are part of the Google Plus social network and are free to
deploy by any company with a Google account.
Like webinars, Google Hangouts allow the company to broadcast
screen sharing education to a live audience. The live audience can join the
viewing of the presentation through Google's video sharing site YouTube.com.
One of the advantages that Google Hangouts provide to those
conducting presentations (in addition to costs) is that up to 10 individuals
can be panelists simultaneously. This can be of great benefit, if the company
is leveraging the following of the presenters on their social media platforms.
The other advantage that Google hangouts offers presenters
is the ability to utilize the recording much faster than they would have been
able to do otherwise. Every Google hangout that is broadcast across the
Internet automatically becomes a YouTube video presentation. That means that it
will be easy for the company to send a link to the presentation. For those who
were unable to attend.
In addition to this, Google Hangouts allow for the
presenters to take questions from those viewing on YouTube. This allows for an
interactive presentation with a widespread medium such as the Google Plus
network. Companies that do not have the capital to invest on a monthly basis in
GoToWebinar can and should learn how to conduct Google hangouts as it has
advantages all its own as well as the basic capabilities of webinar facilities.
Document Sharing:
Whether a company is presenting on Google Hangouts or GoToWebinar,
they are likely to use presentation software in order to provide the viewer
with a way to follow their discussion. Typically this software will be
Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Presentations or some other ‘slide-based’
software.
Once the live presentation has been completed, companies can
make the information available to those that would prefer not to take the time
to listen and/or watch the presentation. In this case, companies can still
provide education by building out their presence on a document sharing site.
Document sharing sites include Slideshare.net, Scrbd.com and
Issuu.com. In order to utilize the sites, Businesses can simply take their
presentation, once they've completed their webinar, change it to a PDF document
and upload to one of the document sharing sites.
However, in order to make the document helpful to the
reader, it would be best to include verbiage on the actual discussion.
Therefore, if the presentation was delivered from a script, companies can and
should include it with the document. In addition to this, those companies that
have their presentations transcribed, can and should include it on the document
sharing site with their presentation.
In addition to this, companies can very easily upload the
transcript also. What makes presentations so appealing to those that read
through them is that the information has been condensed into memorable
bite-size chunks.
Those that create presentations understand that they are
simply providing summary content and not an entire written article. Therefore,
it is very easy for busy executives to find the document sharing site scan it only
for useful information they need once they have completed their investigation.
Blog Posts and Articles:
Companies that seek to educate their customers using blog
posts, need to take into consideration the nature of information processing in
today's fast-paced society. Consider that there is likely to be someone using a
mobile device needing to sift through a considerable amount of information.
How can the company
deliver education, under these constraints?
When writing a blog posts, the margins are very narrow and
short sentences should be used when possible. In addition to this, the entire
document should be ‘scannable’.
What is meant by
scannable?
Basically, the company should follow the pattern of giving
their readers an indication first of what they are going to learn. Therefore
titles should be numerical in nature. For example, "five easy ways to
market your business online." By providing a title with a number and
giving the structure of the presentation, the reader will be able to squeak
rescan the information to find what it is they want.
Writing exhaustively on the topic, may or may not be best
for a business as consumers. The best thing to do before committing to writing
long pieces, is to find out what the audience would actually want and what they
would benefit from knowing. In most cases, marketers will find that company’s
customers would rather have short information to follow rather than long.
Video Creation:
While companies can deliver video content through webinar
and Google Hangout technology, it will not always be feasible to do so live. In some cases, screen sharing
technology would be highly appropriate. However, it would need to be
structured, condensed and delivered after thought has been given to the actual
presentation. It may also be that companies may want to edit the video in order
to provide branded information.
Companies should use YouTube.com and all of its available
tools in order to educate their customer base. In addition to being able to
create Google Hangout videos, companies can upload their premade videos to
specific channels designated for their company.
In addition to being able to utilize their channel, the
company can segment certain video content in order to be seen by those that
have a desire for it. For example, companies can designate a certain section of
videos for product reviews. And then, a company can designate another set of
videos for product demonstrations. In other words, the YouTube video channel is
very easy to structure so that companies can attract the viewers that they want
to see the content that they designate.
YouTube also provides information creators the ability to
link directly back to specific pages on their site. Therefore, once your
company has educated customers on a certain issue, a link can be provided to
the specific product or service from that video so that the customer can make a
direct association.
Concluding Thoughts:
All information based promotions take time and effort. In addition
to this, the strategy has a longer cycle than just presenting sales information
for immediate reaction. With information based promotions, a company is
basically trying to get customers and prospects to sign up for their opt-in
e-mail list. The thought is that if someone can be attracted into this part of
the marketing funnel, that the company can then market to them until they
become paying customers.
This education-based effort is to become a trusted advisor
to the prospect or customer. When the effort is working as well as it should,
individuals will tune into the content because they find it helpful.
This is one of the closest things that a company can do on a
small level toward branding as anything else. It has the same effect as a
traditional commercial; however, the delivery of information cements their
position as an expert in the mind of the viewers.
Companies should start small and deliver content on a
regular basis. This likely means that companies should choose one of the delivery
platforms and begin to deliver content on a regular basis. The key to leveraging
the system is to be consistent. Companies that are consistent in delivering
good and helpful content will eventually began to draw an audience or
following. It is this following that will be easily convinced to sign up for an
opt in list.
However, all mediums (webinars, video, documents,
podcasting) offer something different to the customer base. Determine which of
the mediums your customer would most likely find the most benefit in attending,
and began to use that medium. Ultimately, the key is not level of interest, or
even listeners/viewers. The determining factor as to which of the methods to
use will be percentage of conversions coming from the content delivery method.
