Embed On Website

Embed some of your videos on your website.  Make sure your home page has video content on it but beware of embedding too many videos on one page (increased page load times).  If you have a video on each of your main top navigation pages you’re doing great.  Additionally, make sure the Youtube icon is present in the Footer or navigation of your site so that visitors can get to it in 1 click from wherever they are on your site.

E-Newsletter

Feature one of your videos in every email newsletter you send; sort of like a feature column in a newspaper.  Write a sentence or two about it and then either embed or link to the video.  Also make sure you have your Youtube icon link in every newsletter along with your other social media icons and channels.

Email Directly To Strategic People

Nothing beats a direct and personal communication.  Personal emails written from one person to another get read. Period.  Take an hour and send personal emails to some of your most important partners and connections and insert the link to a relevant video in each email.  This goes a long way and is well worth the time it takes to make it personal.

Before And After Presentations

If your company has a staff meeting, leadership retreat, pitch, presentation, board report or other in-house or outward focused presentation then make sure you start or end every presentation with your video content. If people are nodding off after 10 minutes of your PowerPoint show I guarantee you they’ll perk up when you say, “And now let’s watch this short video.”  It works every time.

Events And Fundraisers

Video is a powerful force when it comes to fundraising and mobilization.  If your organization is sponsoring an event or is somehow part of a fundraising effort make sure you incorporate your video content into every aspect of the ask.  Video is able to make the emotional connection (to people’s hearts and wallets) that a simple speech or presentation can’t.

Loop In The Hallways

Make a DVD loop of your video content and have it playing continuously in your office lobby or reception area.  If you’re hosting an event have that DVD loop playing at your booth, display or in the hallway or lobby of the facility you’re in.  Flat screen TV’s with built-in DVD or USB drives are fairly cheap and you don’t need a gigantic screen.

Press Releases

Create press releases for some of your most interesting video pieces and share the stories and personalities that surround them.  Write some quality press releases and, if you’re using a PR software tool like Vocus or PRsafe, embed or link your Youtube content right into the post.  Don’t forget to contact local news people directly and share this content with them as well.

Blog About Each Video

Write a blog post about each of your video pieces. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, just embed the video and write a paragraph or two about the back-story surrounding that video.  What led up to this video?  What happened as a result?  How have you seen people respond to the video?  Don’t get technical with dates and details but try to capture the ongoing story that surrounds that one moment in time in your video.

Connect With Other Organizations

If you have video content that features notable business leaders, celebrities or politicians then make sure you deliver that content to the respective offices of the noteworthy people that appear in your video.  If you have a brief interview or feature spot with a congressman or community leader then make sure you send a link to their staff or PR person so that they can glean benefit from that content as well.  Additionally, if you have partner organizations or parent companies make sure you deliberately connect your relevant video content with the right people in those organizations for double yield.

Success with your digital or print materials comes down to knowing beforehand what you want your audience to do.

Most businesses have a plethora of marketing and communications materials out there.  Chances are that your business has a website, a couple social media channels, printed promo packs, trade show handouts, trade show displays/booths, some video content, business cards, brochures and an office of some sort.  It’s a lot of words and images all rolled up into individual assets that you hope will lead someone down the path from not knowing about you to becoming a client. But here’s the thing. A lot of these materials will not be effective for 2 reasons:

1.  They were all created in isolation from each other with no deliberate complimentary components from one piece to another.

2.  They were not created in context (where will it be, who will see it) and therefore do not lead the viewer to a deliberate and clear next step.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.  All of your communications components fit into an inter-related web with varying degrees of overlap and interconnectivity.  Your website, brochures, print ads and business cards will all relate to and be seen with the other at some point. So you have to factor this in as you design your materials.  The questions to ask are:

• Where will someone pick up this material?
• Will they pick it up alone or will there be other things to take as well?
• Will they be taking these materials without the parallel experience of personal contact or with it?
• Will they be getting these materials in the mail, at an event or direct from my staff?
• How does the online component complement or enhance each piece of hardcopy?

The answers to these questions won’t matter if you design your materials in isolation from one another but if you’re taking into account all these factors and all the materials you have then it will make a big difference in your success rate.  To convert a bystander to a client normally takes multiple exposures, multiple approaches and a clear next step.  The more you can do to make your materials complement each other the better success you will have.  Now let’s walk through the “next step” component.

What Do You Want Me To Do?

Every potential client you have is asking this question in their minds as they’re reading your material, “What do you want me to do?”  For every piece of printed or digital communication you have you should know exactly what you want the viewer to do after viewing it.  For example, a potential client picks up one of your brochures at a networking event.  What do you want them to do after reading it?  Seriously, do you know?  It’s amazing how much business communication is not done with the end in mind but is created because, darn it, that’s just what businesses do.  Know what you want your materials to do.  And no cheating.  This is not a good next step for all your materials; “I want everyone who reads this to become my client.”  That’s too broad and it doesn’t make any sense. Get specific.  Here are some good examples of next steps for printed and digital assets:

• I want the viewer to go to my website and download the free resource pack immediately
• I want the viewer to watch my promo video on youtube immediately after getting the newsletter
• I want the viewer to fill out the free report form on my website as soon as they read my letter.
• I want the viewer to type in their email address immediately after seeing my invitation.

These are good examples of next steps because they’re completely measurable, specific and very easy to do.  They’re low on risk/commitment and high on benefit/yield for the customer.  You have to get in the habit of knowing where your materials are going to connect with a potential customer and what the action step is going to be. You’ve got to know it. And you’ve got to know it before you type 1 word or download 1 piece of clipart for your postcard or brochure.

Start with the end in mind and you’ll find that you need less overall materials and will gain a higher level of success with the ones that you do use.  The way to fail in this area is to spend thousands of dollars on printed materials but not be clear about how they’ll find a customer and what that customer is supposed to do after engaging it.  Get wise, think ahead and everybody wins.

Whether you’re a small business, large company, sole proprietor or other business owner chances are you’re familiar with the world of email newsletters or at least receive some in your own inbox.  Many business leaders have mixed feelings about email newsletters and often struggle to cobble up content let alone feel confident that their efforts are really worth it.  Whether your company has been utilizing email newsletters since the dawn of time or is just getting started make sure you are taking advantage of this powerful medium and making every newsletter count.  Below is a list of some secrets, tips and tricks to maximize the impact of your organization’s email newsletter service.

• Start with a real-life story or engaging piece of content that will captivate your reader’s attention immediately.  You have less than fifteen seconds to capture your reader’s eye and what’s in the viewable top third of your newsletter is of prime value.

• Include several images of faces and close-up images of people’s eyes.  Readers engage with content more often when there is a human component and establish a deeper emotional connection through eye contact.

• Make it personal! Share stories, testimonials, examples and real content from your actual clients, employees and friends.

• Insert links and things to click everywhere. Remember, every click is trackable so you can see what your readers are really interested in.  You might be surprised to learn what parts of your newsletter people actually care about.

• Communicate a deliberate and clear next step for the reader.  What do you want them to do after reading?  What’s the action item required from them?  Know what you want your audience to do before you ever start assembling your newsletter.

• Make sure your contact information is easy to find within the newsletter; phone, email, mailing address and social media links.

• Make sure you have branded your newsletter with a good design keeping it fresh, uncluttered and with just the right amount of images.  Also be sure to use the logo, colors and design cues of your business.

• Insert links to your social networking sites and use the logos and icons of Facebook, Twitter, etc…

• Find the sweet spot of quantity.  Make sure you don’t have too much or too little content.  Imagine yourself in the shoes of your average reader.  Where are they?  What time of day is it?   What kind of mood are they in?  Write for your readers as if you are one of them.

• Create clear and rewarding incentives for your readers to forward your newsletter on to friends.  Get your readers in the habit of forwarding your newsletter to others.

• Make every reader feel like they are part of an elite inner circle.  Each reader should feel special, unique and exclusive.  Create a “VIP” culture within your newsletter.

• Invent deals and incentives that expire.  Create a positive sense of pressure to motivate your readers to action.  Have an amazing deal but only for the first ten people.  Have a great discount but only for three weeks.  Get creative!

• Write immediately useful content. Provide information that a reader can apply right away; not necessarily related to your business but just helpful information that’s fun and easy to understand.

• Create a positive sense of stress; the type of exciting pressure you feel when there is an amazing sale at your favorite department store but only for one day or “while supplies last.”

• Use simple and catchy headlines like:

“The Biggest Secret of…”

“The Top Five Reasons You Should…”

“Three Things You Can Do Right Now to…”

• Get in the habit of creating limited incentive deals like:

Free X for the first 50 people

Buy two X’s and get Y for free

Bring 3 friends and you’ll get X for half off

Refer a friend and you both get X

Get X for 50% off for 24 hours only

Get X for 50% this Saturday only 9am – 9pm

• Send your newsletter out on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning.  Statistics show that this is the best time of the week to send your newsletter.

Remember that most email newsletter services allow you to track metrics after you send your newsletters so that you can quickly see what your subscribers are reading, clicking or ignoring.  Take advantage of this feature and over time you’ll know what kind of content to create for your audience to connect, engage and motivate your readers to action.