10 Fascinating Follow-Up Stats That Can Impact Your Bottom Line Posted on May 19, 2016May 26, 2016 by Jessica Lunk If you market online, leads are one way to measure your success. A far better measure, however, is how good you are at converting leads to customers. In this post we’re sharing the top tips for responding to leads so they’ll convert. By taking this “best practices” approach to lead response, you can be more effective at turning your lead pipeline into revenue for your business. According to a study, Best Practices for Responding to Online Leads authored by Dr. James Oldroyd, visiting research fellow at MIT and David Elkington, CEO of InsideSales.com – when it comes to lead response, time is of the essence. Salespeople report that when a web-generated lead is responded to quickly, they are more likely to close a sale then when calling later. Even a few minutes can make a difference between a lead gone cold and a hot lead on the line. Lead follow-up best practices cover many things from what day to call on, to the best time to call, to how many calls to make. So, let’s unpack those best practices so you can stop wasting more than 70 percent of your leads: Our number one tip & most important takeaway from this post: Call back your lead as quickly as possible. When it’s time to make a follow-up call, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to call if you want to contact someone (almost 50% more likely over the worst day – Friday). Morning calls are most productive between 8 am and 9 am. Evening calls are best made between 4 in the afternoon and six in the evening Eleven in the morning to 2 in the afternoon are too close to lunch hour, call at other times. The sales rep that calls a lead within 5 minutes has awesome close rates. Rather than feeling like you have spyware surveilling them, leads are impressed by a very quick response. The chances of your calling a lead decrease by more than 10 fold in the first hour. The odds of making a phone call to qualify a lead decrease more than 6 fold in the first hour. The odds of contacting a lead if called within the first minutes of getting it are 100 times greater compared to just 30 minutes. The odds of qualifying a lead called within five minutes of contact increase 21 fold when compared to a 30-minute response time. Researchers into lead management best practices also wanted to know why time was such an important factor. Two key findings were, Fast response time allows us to experience “presence detection” which means that if they just typed an inquiry into their computer it is most likely that they are still at their computer and next to their phone. Calling back rapidly takes advantage of “top-of-mind awareness” which is a fancy way of saying you are still on their minds. It takes time and effort to drive leads to your website through SEO, Social Media and online ads. So to lose a potential deal due to lack of follow-up or slow response is kind of a shame. So how can you ensure you’re following up with leads as quickly as possible? Marketing automation software can help manage every lead that comes in from your website. With marketing automation on your website you can track leads and get notified instantly when they fill out a form, reach a specific lead score, or visit a specific page of your website. You can also automate follow-up tasks and reminders – so if you don’t reach a prospect the first time, you can continue to reach out without losing a hot lead in the shuffle. When it comes to lead response, timing is everything. Give your sales team easy to use marketing automation tools, and you can ensure that no opportunities slip through the cracks.
The 6 Cardinal Sins of Website Design Posted on May 18, 2016May 25, 2016 by Jessica Lunk A typical website visitor hangs around for a whopping ten seconds before leaving for greener pastures. In ten seconds, you must convince visitors that your site is worthy of further investigation. So don’t scare them off with these 6 cardinal sins of website design: 1. It takes too long to load. The internet is full of enticing distractions, and users are notoriously impatient. Research from Kissmetrics indicates that visitors expect sites to load in under three seconds. This can be a tall order for anybody with a minimal bandwidth budget and a desire for plenty of rich content. If forced to choose between rich media and short loading times, it’s best to keep it simple — and fast. Not to mention, keeping your site simple makes it easier to optimize the user experience across a multitude of browsers and devices. Which brings us to our next cardinal sin… 2. It isn’t responsive. If your website looks sleek on a desktop only to break when rendered on your mobile device, it’s not doing its job. In fact, Google reports that mobile searches now outnumber desktop searches. So, odds are your customers are visiting you from their smartphone. And if you want more insight into what browsers and devices your users are accessing your website from, take a look at your Google Analytics Audience metrics. 3. It features autoplay videos. Few things are more annoying than being bombarded by pop-ups and videos that begin to play the moment you enter a webpage. Digiday claims that autoplay is the most-hated digital advertising tactic. Do use video on your website and in your email campaigns to share ideas, add value, and show your products and services. Don’t ever autoplay the video with sound. 4. It abuses pop-ups. While internet users tend to hate pop-ups, pop-ups do have their place in the lead gen process. In fact, pop-ups on your site can be your secret weapon to capturing new leads, growing your list of subscribers and customers. Tools like OptinMonster and SumoMe give you simple, elegant ways to capture leads from your site with slide-ins, pop-ups and subscribe bars. Where pop-ups go wrong, however, is when they interrupt the user before they are even engaged with your website and your brand: If a visitor has to close several pop-ups before hitting a product page, for instance, you are doing pop-ups wrong. If your pop-up is unrelated to the content on your site, you’re doing pop-ups wrong. Keep your pop-ups polite, and offer value once a visitor is engaged to avoid this cardinal sin of web design. 5. It’s a keyword-riddled disaster. In the early days of search engine optimization, many people associated keyword stuffing with high search engine placement. Although this was once true to some extent, Google has long since changed its formula, favoring quality content with well-placed keywords over fluff pieces crammed with awkward keywords. Not only do sites with primitive SEO fail to rank high on Google and other search engines, those who somehow stumble across these sites invariably grow frustrated and leave. If your SEO strategy currently consists of links and keywords shoved in haphazardly, the reason for your lack of return visitors and conversions is simple: your content is written for old SEO bots – not people. Conduct a thorough overhaul and develop a more sophisticated SEO strategy, complete with careful keyword research and sharable, digestible content. 6. The links don’t make sense. Bad links are nearly as obnoxious as excessive, awkward keywords. Do your links lead visitors to random, confusing pages? Do linked phrases have little to do with the pages on which visitors eventually wind up? If so, it’s time to revamp your linking strategy. Instead of bombarding visitors with links, choose a few meaningful destinations. Connect these to phrases that actually make sense. The goal is to drive visitors further into your site, boosting engagement with your site’s content, but that’s not possible if visitors don’t understand why they ended up on a particular page. As you improve your website, think about your personal experiences as an internet surfer. Which sites do you frequent? What distinguishes them from the sites you ditch almost immediately? Ultimately, like most visitors, you probably stick around when sites load quickly and aren’t annoying to use. Avoid these 6 sins of website design, and you’ll have no trouble landing those sought-after conversions.
5 Tips That Will Supercharge Your Sales and Marketing Posted on May 17, 2016May 27, 2016 by Jonathan Herrick You’re passionate about your business. You’re an expert in your industry. But when it comes to sales and marketing, the thought of “selling” stresses you out. After all, you’re the best in your biz, so shouldn’t your products sell themselves? The truth is, even if you have a great product, it’s tough to cut through the daily noise and reach your target audience. These 5 tips will help supercharge your sales and marketing, keeping quality leads coming in the door while you focus on the parts of your business you love best: 1. Build an Engaging Website In this modern, digital era, the face of a business is not its storefront or primary office space; it’s a strong website. But you already knew that. What you may not know, though, is that your website should be working for you 24/7 to capture fresh leads that fit the profile of your ideal buyer. It’s not enough to just have information about your products and services any more. Lending your expertise to your audience will help you slice through all of the distractions they face online – and even incentivize them to leave their contact info behind so that you can start a meaningful conversation. An active blog and a great lead magnet or two are essential tools that will turn your static website into a lead generation machine for your small business. 2. Embrace Social Media If a website is the face of your company, social media is its voice. Social media is a brilliant way for small brands to have a two-way conversation with their audience. So, while you may not have the budget to buy a primetime radio or TV spot, you can reach your audience and talk with them – not at them. When social media first burst on the scene, it was great for small businesses because it provided free, organic reach. As social media channels have been pressured to monetize their platforms, it has become more of a pay-to-play model for small businesses. Organic reach has declined on sites like Facebook, meaning you may have to pay to boost a post or to get more likes. However, because of the rich data social platforms are collecting, you can be extremely efficient with your ad spend in reaching a specific audience. Why be on social media? Because it’s where your customers are. And if they aren’t there, you could be wasting precious resources investing in the wrong place. For instance, if you’re a B2B company whose target buyer is a man in his 50s, you could be wasting time trying to build a following on Snapchat, where the average age is 18 to 24, and the gender profile is typically female. Being strategic about which social platforms you leverage and how you invest your spend there will give you another touchpoint with potential customers in this fragmented, noisy digital landscape. 3. Use Video Every person loves a good story, and video can add another dimension to your small business’s narrative, stamping your branding on the hearts and minds of your audience.. “More than 72 percent of buyers are watching video throughout the entire path to purchase and nearly 50 percent are watching 30 minutes or more of video content. If you’re not producing video content, then you’re not meeting the content requirements of today’s video-hungry buyers,” says Kimbe MacMaster, Content Marketing Manager for Vidyard. You already know the value of video marketing because you probably catch a few videos a day on your favorite device. But you may be hesitant to try video as part of your marketing strategy because it is such unfamiliar territory. Video doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. With a little creativity and small business-friendly tools, you can produce and test bite-sized videos in your marketing campaigns and sales process. Try recording a Google Hangout with another thought leader in your industry and add it to your email campaigns. Get your team to promote an upcoming event like in this Vidyard video: Or use Camtasia to capture a video of your product to add to your landing pages like we did in our 1-minute quick tour. Leveraging videos in your sales and marketing can help you deliver content to your audience through the medium they’re craving. (And, if video just isn’t your speed, you might try a weekly podcast…) 4. Upcycle Content Blog posts deliver your story and insight to peers and customers, positioning your business as an industry thought leader. When managed effectively, they instill confidence and educate people on making smart decisions—like investing in your company. It can, however, be a chore to create new, engaging content on a daily or weekly basis. If that’s a problem, follow the lead of some of the best brands in the content marketing industry and spruce up evergreen pieces (ones that aren’t time-sensitive) with updates, infographics, and videos. Your business has lots of content within reach, you just may need some inspiration to tap into it – like our blog post, “How to Write a Popular Blog Post – Without Writing.” Upcycling is a great way to produce new content with ease, keeping your brand fresh and relevant without draining your resources. 5. Follow Up Getting your audience’s attention by optimizing your website, managing social media, leveraging video, and blogging is an investment of your time – and time is money. So it can be frustrating when those hard-won leads don’t convert. Fortunately, getting leads to convert isn’t rocket-surgery. It just takes persistence and organization – well within the reach of any small business. If at first you don’t succeed (or immediately hear back), try again. It’s easy for communications and concerns to get lost in the bustle of daily operation, so having a process in place for calling or emailing prospective clients is imperative. Marketing automation does just that – gives small businesses a simple way to stick to a follow-up process through automated emails, notifications and tasks. So when a new lead doesn’t answer your first email, you have a task queued up to call them the next day. It can take 7 or 8 touches for a prospect to convert, so having a solid process in place is a must if you want to squeeze all of the revenue you can out of your sales pipeline. Sales and marketing doesn’t have to give you the cold sweats. By implementing these effective tips into your business, you’ll boost your sales and marketing efforts and convert more online visitors into customers.
Work Smart, Not Through Lunch Posted on May 16, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jessica Lunk It feels like the day has just begun, and yet, just as you’re starting to get into your work groove, it’s time to grab lunch. If you’re like the 65 percent of workers highlighted in a 2011 Right Management survey, you’re too busy to actually enjoy a relaxed meal. Instead, you shove food into your mouth as you gaze at the computer screen. This frantic lunch routine can be avoided if you’re more productive throughout the rest of the day, so follow these tips and get ready to enjoy a real lunch. Get Started Early Often, the biggest problem with productivity is not your own work habits, but rather, your coworkers’ penchant for stopping by and hassling you. If possible, show up an hour earlier, when fewer people are at the office. As a bonus, you’ll avoid much of the rush hour traffic associated with the standard 9-to-5 shift. Take a Break It might seem counterintuitive, but you can actually get far more accomplished if you occasionally set your work aside. Stand up from your desk and take a lap around the workplace. This will clear your head and leave you better prepared to tackle tough projects. It’s also okay to occasionally take a break to scroll your Facebook news feed; a study from the National University of Singapore indicates that those who occasionally take internet surfing breaks are actually more productive than those who work nonstop. The key is not getting sucked into a web surfing wormhole. Set a timer and take a maximum of five minutes for surfing — and then get right back to work. Ditch Multitasking Do you take pride in being an excellent multitasker? Turns out, you’re not nearly as productive as your single-tasking cubicle neighbor. The human brain is not capable of truly multitasking; when it feels like you’re doing two things at once, you are, in reality, switching very quickly from one task to the next — and doing neither effectively. Unfortunately, an Inc. report indicates that this can be a very difficult habit to break, as your brain receives a hit of dopamine every time you switch from one task to the next. Prevent a downward multitasking spiral by setting a strict schedule for checking email and social media. Break Projects Into Manageable Chunks Remember when you were a high school student and your teacher advised you to break that large project into several small chunks? The same principle applies to the workday. From students to employees, everybody procrastinates when faced with huge projects. It’s much easier to get started on a small, but important task. The key to a productive workday is following a carefully-planned schedule. Set aside plenty of time for breaks, including a real lunch break involving a meal away from your desk. You’ll enjoy your workday more, and you’ll get far more accomplished.
Knowing How and When to Give Constructive Feedback Posted on May 13, 2016June 3, 2016 by Jonathan Herrick In the workplace, there is a clear difference between friend and friendly. No matter what The Office’s Michael Scott insists, the ideal manager is not an employee’s pal. Rather, a good employer knows how to respectfully tell employees what they need to hear, as opposed to what they want to hear. Constructive feedback is an essential instigator of improvement, but only if it is specific, actionable, and most importantly, delivered from a place of goodwill. The Feedback Sandwich A popular Toastmasters concept, the feedback sandwich has been used everywhere from elementary school classrooms to executive management. Sometimes referred to as praise-improve-praise, the process begins with an introduction that focuses on the subject’s strengths. This is followed by highlighted areas for improvement. The exchange ends with another positive point, ideally different than the one used to open the conversation. Some employees respond well to the feedback sandwich, but in recent years, this common method’s efficacy has been questioned. If this approach isn’t executed perfectly, it comes across as hollow; ‘but’ is often the culprit. Many employees ignore praise that is connected by the word ‘but’ to criticism — and also find criticism less effective if it is attached to obligatory praise. Thus, the feedback sandwich is all about judgment, and knowing when employees require a little additional sensitivity — and when it’s better to tell them straight. Actionable Criticism Whether you sandwich critiques in between praise or get straight to the point, the feedback you offer should always be specific and actionable. In other words, employees should come away knowing exactly what they need to change and how they can do so. Separate Actions From the Person When critiquing an employee, you must detach the person from the behavior he or she displays at the workplace. This can be tricky, especially if you have a strong affinity or dissatisfaction for a particular individual. In general, it is best to use a passive voice and to avoid directly addressing employers with anything that can be misconstrued as an accusation. Likewise, absolutes are best avoided, so keep words such as “always” and “never” out of the conversation. The Importance of Regular Evaluations Feedback is most effective when it is shared regularly, in private, and when employees aren’t already occupied. Adopt an evaluation schedule and stick to it. Employees should know when to expect evaluations and how long the process will take. However, if you need to reprimand an employee for missing multiple deadlines or making an otherwise time-sensitive mistake, don’t wait until the next scheduled review meeting. Some issues need to be addressed promptly in order to ensure that they have a minimal impact on the rest of the workplace. Constructive feedback is best received in a culture of affirmation. The more supported your employees feel, the more likely they will be to fix any problems you address. Don’t be afraid to tell employees what they need to hear, but be sure to do so in a positive and respectful manner.
10 Tips You Need to Rock your Podcast Posted on May 12, 2016January 24, 2019 by Jonathan Herrick The podcast is an ingenious digital marketing tool, offering an alternative — and highly effective — means of promoting your brand, demonstrating your authority, and reaching a captive audience. Over the last few years podcast consumption is on the rise with over 57 million active listeners: So if you are looking for an effective way to reach your ideal buyers, chances are podcasts could be a good marketing strategy for your business. Whether you’re starting your podcast or already rolling out episodes, these 10 simple podcasting do’s and don’ts will help you capture a new and more engaged audience: Do: Target a Specific Niche The podcast landscape isn’t as crowded as the blogosphere, but there is still plenty of competition. Searches for general topics return hundreds of results. Fortunately, there is room for growth in many niche areas. Instead of trying to compete with a myriad of general podcasts, find a specific angle that appeals to your target audience and that you are truly passionate about. Don’t: Use Excessive Jargon Although your podcast is targeted at a specific audience, you should assume that listeners know very little about the topic you’re covering. Use clear language that they’ll understand and avoid blanket statements at all costs. Many people use podcasts as background noise and mentally tune in and out, so it may be helpful to redefine terms from time to time. Do: Maintain a Specific Routine The best podcasts are easy to follow, in part because they involve a set routine. This routine does not have to be super specific, but listeners should know what to expect whenever they tune in. For example, Stuff You Should Know begins with a brief chat, expands into coverage of the selected topic (interspersed with a few sponsored messages), and then ends with reader mail. Entrepreneur on Fire follows a consistent routine. Both podcasts are wildly successful, in part because they utilize this winning formula for success. Don’t: Be Overly Rigid Routine is crucial, but if you stick too closely to a specific schedule, you’ll destroy the natural feel of your broadcast. It’s okay to occasionally go off topic or spend a few extra minutes discussing an intriguing idea. If you get too far off track, avoid abrupt changes, and, instead, gently steer the conversation back to your selected topic. The more prepared you are about the guest and the topic the more it will feel like a casual conversation, and the less it will feel like a scripted interview. A great example of this is the podcast Inbound Unboxed. I recently joined Nicholas Scalice on his show to chat about inbound marketing. He had a great conversational approach to the episode while still having structure to the podcast. Do: Edit Thoroughly If your chief goal as a podcaster is to market a brand, it’s best to avoid live broadcasts. Instead, record a session and then take some time to edit out mistakes and awkward moments. Limit editing to incredibly long pauses or factual inaccuracies — there’s no need to edit out every “um” or “like.” Don’t: Make Editing Obvious It’s fine to edit out select awkward moments, but never do so at the expense of a conversation’s natural flow. The less choppy the podcast, the better. Do: Keep Your Podcast to 30 Minutes or Less More and more podcast listeners are tuning in on their mobile devices while they commute to work or during lunch time at the office. Studies show that the average podcast listener stays engaged for 22 minutes on average (Stitcher): So if you are going launch a new episode, keep it bite-sized. Twenty to 30 minutes is a great length for your podcast, allowing you time to cover an important topic, yet short enough not to lose your entire listening audience. Do: Measure Success The goal of your podcast is to effectively reach and engage your audience. That means it’s not just about the quantity of episodes you produce but the quality. After you run your podcast be sure to measure key metrics such as number of listeners and subscribers, downloads, social shares, and reviews. By measuring the success of your podcast, you gain valuable insights into what your listeners are interested in and what topics to stay away from in the future. It also gives you great data to share with potential advertisers and partners – turning your podcast into both a brand awareness channel and a direct stream of ongoing revenue. Don’t: Make it an Advertisement People don’t tune in to your podcast to be sold to every 5 minutes with the product of the day. Your community and listeners are engaged when you make it about the topic at hand and give them something valuable to take away and implement. If you are going to advertise to your audience be sure the timing is right, the ad spot fits your brand and your audience, and do it in moderation. Don’t: Wait for Listeners and Subscribers Just because you may have a killer podcast doesn’t mean the subscribers will roll in. If you want new listeners for your episodes, you have to go find them. Look to PR, blogging, guest blogging, or social as great channels to grow your audience. Another great way to keep in front of potential listeners and grow subscribers is by capturing their email on your website and using email marketing automation to stay top-of-mind. A podcast is a great marketing tool that can propel you as an authority in your field and boost your brand awareness. By delivering a natural, yet professional broadcast that focuses on a niche area — you’ll be able to rock out your podcast and grow your subscriber base.
The Small Business Guide To Display Retargeting Posted on May 11, 2016June 20, 2018 by Jessica Lunk If you’ve ever contemplated purchasing a specific item on Amazon and then later seen an ad for that exact same product pop up on Facebook, you’ve witnessed a prime example of display retargeting. This effective advertising method convinces interested consumers to reconsider potential purchases — and it captures conversions that otherwise may have been lost. Display retargeting is an essential tactic in your integrated marketing campaigns. Instead of losing a website visitor after they visit your site, they get little reminders of your brand after they’ve closed the window. The following suggestions will help you make the most of small business display retargeting: Choose Your Platform To get your display retargeting ads out in the wild, you will first need to choose the right platform for your needs. Perfect Audience is an easy to use platform where you can get your mobile, web, and Facebook retargeting ads live. What we love about Perfect Audience is the ability to serve ads to leads who opened and clicked on our marketing emails – allowing for a streamlined and targeted integrated campaign. Adroll is the most popular retargeting service on the market. Adroll provides mobile, web and social media retargeting They offer cutting-edge targeting technologies to get you even closer to your target audience. Adroll establishes a high quality standard in order to for your retargeting ads to be approved. ReTargeter is a great solution if you need aid getting up and started. You receive a dedicated account manager to help you through the process of getting your mobile, web, and social media retargeting ads up and optimized. Google Display Network is a division of their Adwords platform. Like Adwords, you have to sift through all the Google noise to set-up your campaigns. You will also be limited to strictly the Google Display Network. What does your retargeting strategy look like? What are your goals? The platform you choose will be determined by your retargeting strategy and goals. Segment Your Audience Different types of visitors behave differently on your site. Their behavior may be indicative of how they will respond to different display retargeting campaigns. Through audience segmentation, you can target ads based on how visitors have engaged with your site in the past. For instance, you may have 3 calls to action on your site: download a white paper, learn more about your product or services, and speak with your sales team. Each of these actions place the website visitor in a specific stage of the sales funnel: top, middle, and bottom, respectively. Your display ads should reflect the sales funnel and offer targeted information – top of funnel leads will receive an ad campaign with a CTA to download a resource, middle will receive a CTA to learn more, and so on. But, Avoid Over-Exposure Targeting customers who initially failed to convert can be effective, but only up to a point. Eventually, you need to recognize when a customer is not a potential convert, but rather, a lost cause. If, after repeated exposure to your brand, a consumer fails to make a purchase, you risk scaring this prospect away for good with additional ads. Sometimes, if you back off, customers will come around on their own and decide to return to your site. Specific frequency caps will vary somewhat depending on the goal of your campaign, but in general, it is best to avoid showing a website visitor more than twenty ads in a single month. Create Quality Content and Clear Calls to Action High-quality content is just as imperative for display retargeted ads as it is for blog posts and social media updates. The ideal ad features concise content that immediately grabs the reader’s attention. Additionally, a clear, engaging call to action is needed to convince readers to take the next step and return to your website. The first step to creating quality ads is to get the right sizes. The dimensions you’ll run into the most are as follows: 300×250 Rectangle 160×600 Skyscraper 728×90 Leaderboard You’ll want to choose a theme that will be present on all your ads through the sales funnel. Your display ads should tell a story. As the lead goes through the funnel, the ads will change with it. With retargeting pixels, you can drill your campaigns down to exclude or include certain people who visited or didn’t visit a page on your website. This will help you write relevant copy on each ad. Once you get your theme down, your copy and images for each individual ad size is created. To put together sharp looking ads, use an easy-to-use design tool like Canva if you don’t have access to Adobe Photoshop. Analyze Your Data and Optimize As you set up your display retargeting campaigns, set relevant goals for each to you can track the success of your campaigns. Listed below are the metrics to measure to track the success of each campaign objective: Brand Awareness: Impressions Engagement: Clicks ROI: Conversions, Cost per Conversions Optimize your display ads and check up frequently on campaign performance in your display advertising platform. Conduct A/B Tests No one display format will work best for all businesses. Thus, some experimentation may be necessary to determine what ad size and type of content is an ideal fit. Other factors worth considering include headlines, theme, images, background colors, and calls to action. Through disciplined A/B testing, you will discover that even incremental changes can have a huge impact on your retargeting campaign. If you struggle with uninterested first-time website visitors, retargeting may be the solution. Don’t be afraid to dive in and experiment with a variety of display retargeting approaches — you just might stumble upon your most effective ad campaign yet.
Expert Interview Series: Kimbe MacMaster of Vidyard on Best Practices for Video Marketing Posted on May 9, 2016May 27, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Kimbe MacMaster is a Content Marketing Manager at Vidyard, the video intelligence platform. She loves all aspects of content marketing and has a special place in her heart for using video to drive real business results. We recently caught up with her to learn why video is so important to a brand’s marketing strategy and how businesses can do it better. Here’s what she had to say: How important is video today to a brand’s marketing strategy? Video is a critical component of any brand’s marketing strategy mainly because it’s the medium your buyers are craving. More than 72 percent of buyers are watching video throughout the entire path to purchase and nearly 50 percent are watching 30 minutes or more of video content. If you’re not producing video content, then you’re not meeting the content requirements of today’s video-hungry buyers. And they’ll probably go somewhere else to find it. That being said, using video is about more than simply pumping out content in video form on the regular. Today’s high-performing, modern marketers have built a video marketing strategy into their greater marketing plans. They’re using video content strategically throughout the entire funnel by tailoring different content to different personas, using video to increase brand awareness, educate prospects, and lead buyers down the next steps in the sales funnel. What makes video such a useful tool? First off, video provides both audio and visual stimulation, which automatically makes it more engaging for audiences than other content mediums. Video reels viewers in and can communicate compelling stories and evoke emotions stronger than text-based communications like blogs or whitepapers. And we all know that stories and emotional connectivity are the keys to building strong relationships with your prospects and encouraging interest in your company. Plus, video’s linear nature makes it extremely useful for tracking content success and even individual viewer behavior. With a video, you can see how long people are watching for or if they’re dropping off, allowing you to identify problem areas in your video content. (Bet you can’t do that with your latest ebook!) Similarly, you can track individual prospects if you’re using a video platform in conjunction with a marketing automation platform to see things like who’s clicking which video links and then ultimately sending them new content (or over to sales!) based on the video content they’re most interested in. What trends have you observed in how video is being used for marketing right now? When video first came into marketers’ toolkits, it was generally in the form of high-production videos for limited use cases. Most frequently, it was created to describe their company overall on their home page or to generate brand awareness. As brands realized the power of video more and more and recognized the need for more content without the Hollywood production, companies started developing more in-house production teams. They also began to use video throughout the funnel to generate more leads, score those leads, and help nurture buyers towards the purchase decision. Now, the latest trend is personalized video. This isn’t just video that is created for unique personas, but videos that speak to one specific individual. With personalized components like a name, email address, company, job title, etc. right within the video, marketing organizations are using personalized video to connect one-on-one and increase engagement. How can brands measure the effectiveness of their video campaigns? Measuring video success is about so much more than view counts. If 1 million people viewed your video, but no business was generated from it, was that a success or not? I mean, it does depend on your goal for the video, but generally speaking, you’d hope to be influencing some sort of leads, pipeline, or revenue. The top three metrics I would recommend for measuring the effectiveness of your video campaigns are: Attention span: how many of your viewers are watching your video all the way through? Influencing the next step: how many viewers took the next step after your video (clicked the in-video CTA, filled out the form, etc) Video views influencing MQLs, SALs, and won deals: do prospects who watch this video ultimately convert? Why is it important that brands monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns? We call the approach of publishing videos and hoping for the best the “post and pray” approach. This isn’t what you want to aspire to. What if you spent months getting a video campaign ready and out the door, only to find out that it is underperforming on its lead generation goals? You’d want to know that. Especially if the video your team produced in three days has contributed more to pipeline than any other video so far. If you had access to this information, you could produce more of the second videos and less of the first. You’d have (a) more leads and (b) more time! There is no reason we shouldn’t all be measuring the effectiveness of our campaigns. It’s the bread and butter to building a successful marketing organization. Gone are the days of “we’ll do it the way it’s always been done!”. What do you think are the most common mistakes or oversights organizations make when using video for marketing? The biggest thing I would say we see organizations forgetting about is utilizing the data that’s available for individual viewing behavior. There’s so much information accessible that can help you better understand your leads and who’s consuming what video content, which ultimately paints a clearer picture of who’s more qualified to buy. Why is personalization so important for video marketing? Every single person (and even their dog, at this point) receives so many marketing messages every day. So many messages that our attention span is actually shrinking partly because of this. Connecting one-to-one with your audience is really the best way to capture – and keep – their attention. And doing so with video adds that extra boost since it’s already a preferred medium. What can brands be doing to personalize their video marketing? Utilize a personalized video service that automates the personalization process (we offer this at https://www.vidyard.com/personalized-video). On top of being able to customize certain aspects within your actual campaign videos, you can use personalized thumbnails to get prospects to view your videos. For example, using a personalized thumbnail within an email can increase click-through rates by four-and-a-half times.
The 10 Greatest Business Leaders of All Time Posted on May 6, 2016January 8, 2021 by Jessica Lunk There’s no greater, more fascinating story out there than world history itself. If you find yourself wanting to model your business style off of the successful leaders from decades gone by, consider these greats; they’ve all changed the world in one way or another. 1. Henry Ford Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. The pioneer of the Model T launched more than just engines, but, through his Model T assembly line, a more efficient means of working. This approach to production lowered the cost of materials and the final product, which changed American vehicle accessibility and the world around him; changing the course of history really does pay. 2. Steve Jobs That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. He didn’t necessarily invent the wheel, but he sure did reinvent it—the computer, that is—to become more accessible and exciting to the entire world. Steve Jobs, the iconic face of Apple Inc., is a name known by millions whose technology affects millions more. 3. Madam CJ Walker I got my start by giving myself a start. The most brilliant business leaders find an unserved corner of the market and serve it; no one better exemplifies this than Madam CJ Walker. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Walker developed hair care products that directly targeted the needs of a demographic often overlooked by mainstream American beauty companies: African-American women. Her business took off and she quickly became one of the most successful American businesswomen in history. 4. John D. Rockefeller Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one’s aim. It takes some severe business savvy to become the first American billionaire. John D. Rockefeller wrangled and ran nineteenth century America’s oil economy, bringing travel and transit to Americans more cheaply than ever before. Standard Oil also managed to shape America’s laws and public attitudes towards monopolies. 5. P.T. Barnum Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself. P.T. Barnum’s success was no freak accident. This showman and founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus captured American fascinating through the fascinating and unexpected. He became known as the Shakespeare of Advertising, for his knack of promoting his business with lurid language was unparalleled. 6. Estée Lauder Projecting your mind into a successful situation is the most powerful means to achieve goals. Hers is a name known throughout America today: Estée Lauder. When she was a child, she took great interest in her uncle’s chemistry products and demonstrated an immediate entrepreneurial knack from a young age as she sold his products where she could. She went on to develop her own products, brand, and permanence in American beauty. 7. Andrew Carnegie People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents. Many historians cite Andrew Carnegie as being the transformative force that ushered America into its industrial revolution. This iconic steel baron’s work, through his use of middle managers and other professionals, is what also helped expand the country’s middle class. Few could dispute that he’s one of the country’s most influential leaders. 8. King Croesus Though not a businessman in the traditional sense, King Croesus—an Asian ruler in sixth century B.C.—created the world’s first coin currency. By creating cash flow, his inclusion here makes “cents.” 9. Walt Disney A man should never neglect his family for business. By marrying the creative and the corporate, entrepreneur and animator Walt Disney created the internationally-beloved brand that has captured millions of hearts worldwide. His work has shown the value of heart and creativity of business. His storytelling served not only to entertain, but to also develop trust in his brand. 10. Sakichi Toyoda Before you say you can’t do something, try it. Part of being a successful business leader is knowing when to use past success to invest in future successes. Sakichi Toyoda invented an error-detecting loom in 1924; he later sold that loom’s patent for nearly $150,000. He then used that money to help launch his son’s start-up company: a little automobile business called Toyota. Toyoda’s knack for automation in machine products would later go on to revolutionize many industries. Part of being an effective and innovative business leader is using tools that enable your process and increase your revenue. Sign up for our free plan today and learn how our marketing automation software can help you grow your business.