Posted on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 11:32 AM
We recently introduced the value of providing viewers content-based information, but it’s time to look at a much more interactive solution to providing information. Webinars have become very popular since they became capable of informing viewers, “live”. This is a very attractive setting and allows interaction with the speaker of the webinar through Q&A sessions, surveys, and polling to increase product awareness. Typically, participants will be e-mailed a powerpoint presentation before the "live" webinar begins to give an even better understanding of the topic. I enjoy webinars because it gives me a chance to respond to the speaker without the added pressure of an entire room of people wondering, “Why would he ever ask that?” Here are five reasons to use webinars and how they can be used efficiently.
1. Create Brand Awareness
There is great response to an event being “live” and having the ability to hear the "real voice" of the speaker. This gives your viewers a chance to interact with you and others in an attempt to inform and notify what services you intend to promote. “Live” webinars are a professional setting that can take place virtually anywhere, which makes it a very attractive place for viewers.
2. Interaction
What viewers love is the fact that they can break down components of the webinar into what he/she finds most interesting and have the ability to ask questions that are of importance to them. This eliminates the guesswork of creating content online because you’re able to instantly respond to what is being asked. Also, if you’re providing information that is resourceful to others, it can be passed on virally in the form of the webinar's video file. That can be the easiest form of promotion without actually having to do anything yourself.
3. Build A Community
This is about as close as you are going to get to having a one-on-one meeting with a client without actually having to move from your desk. “Live” webinars allow thousands of viewers from all parts of the world to attend your meeting. Such a feat simply cannot be achieved through simple content production. Once you provide valuable information, your viewers will be hooked and an online relationship is born. Creating a series of “live” webinars will attract a following that will need more information and have even more questions that you can respond to instantaneously. This in turn creates brand loyalty for your product.
4. Convert Visitors into Business Partners
Webinars will help you find out who really is interested in what you have to say. Before having webinars, you may have been missing out on a niche market that you didn’t think was there but was starving for information. From your new niche markets, you can target these visitors to form partnerships. If anything, these visitors will inform their current market about the value that you hold for them.
5. Generate Income
With the ability to promote your product “live”, you’re able to sell your product without the sales pitch. All you’re doing is providing information about your product to those interested. It’s not as if you’re going after them for a sale, so the information you provide is much more valuable to those in need of answers. Conversion rates will rise with the addition of webinars and that is added revenue for your company that was missing beforehand.
By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate
Posted on Thu, Jun 17, 2010 @ 05:43 PM
Companies of all sizes have been leveraging social media on their homepages in an
effort to establish online communities. After exploring several companies who are at the forefront of this trend, I came across Uni-ball who appears to be effectively using social media to differentiate and promote their brand. Where there once was no online community for pen lovers to share their experience, Uni-ball has filled that void by utilizing three social media networks. The company now has a solid social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as promoted on their homepage.
There are a number of ways that Uni-ball is using Facebook to promote their products and encourage conversation. The following is a list of just some of the various ways they are engaging in online communities:
1. Scavenger Hunts - Answer questions correctly and receive awards
2. Contests - Draw a picture with a Uni-ball pen. Winners receive free pens and get their picture up on the Uni-ball Facebook page - which currently boasts more than 10 thousand fans!
3. Famous Signatures - Identify the signature and win FREE pens
A trend is apparent in how the company gets its online visitors involved; through these interactive contests and events, they are able to effectively motivate users with rewards for their social engagement. By offering free pens and prizes, Uni-ball has established an incentive for consumers to converse with one another and create a buzz for their products.
After exploring their Facebook page, I felt compelled to inspect the company's YouTube page. YouTube is often an important component of a brand's social media strategy because it engages users by encouraging them to comment, subscribe, and post their own experiences. The videos posted by Uni-ball are informative and help differentiate them from competitors by exploring the unique benefits of using a Uni-ball pen. To maintain a dynamic social media presence, they frequently update their YouTube page with new content and regularly interact with their 50 subscribers.
By this point, I felt so immersed into community of pen lovers that I was eager to visit Uni-ball's Twitter page. Here, I was pleased to find more contests and a following of nearly 2,300 users, many of which provided positive feedback and excellent reviews.
According to Mashable.com, internet users spent 5 hours, 46 minutes on Facebook in the month of August. That is triple the amount of time they spent on Google! It should come as no surprise then, that nearly every successful brand has established an online presence, thus revolutionizing conventional marketing approaches. Research has indicated that approximately 70% of consumers trust fellow consumer opinions that are posted online. In fact, brand websites are trusted around the same 70% level, while only 14% of consumers trust advertisements. As a result, companies have transformed their traditional advertising roles and now act as event planners, aggregators, and content providers. Uni-ball is a great example of a company that has effectively incorporated social media into their overall marketing strategy. They have managed to engage customers by creating an online community for them that had not previously existed, resulting in increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. I would like to hear from Uni-ball to further discuss their use of social media, its impact on their business, and whether my observations are consistent with their experience thus far.
By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate
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Posted on Tue, Mar 30, 2010 @ 03:01 PM
Recently our good pals at Hubspot posted a blog applauding the marketing tactics of Virgin America. The author, Mike Volpe, offers a lot of great insight into the role that non-traditional thinking has played in the airline's success, and it made me think of some other unique aspects of Virgin's business model that are just as important. I began to craft a blog comment in which I pointed out a few of these elements, and realized that the response was getting so long that I had to create a post of my own.
I love Virgin's image and style- though I'm not wild about the mood lighting (it's a plane, not Studio 54), and if their seats were a bit wider they'd probably be my favorite airline. But the genius of the company lies more in their business strategy than their marketing tactics.
One of the smartest things that Virgin did was they decided not to compete against most other airlines since they have a virtually non-existent corporate travel program (a $200 billion industry) due to the lack of markets they serve. Currently Virgin services only eleven destinations, and most destinations are connected exclusively through cross-country routes (no Ft. Lauderdale to Boston route yet). Virgin is not a major airline, and to compare it with the "big boys" would be unfair to both parties. It is more accurate to say that Virgin is the first airline that is capturing a long-tail segment of the travel industry I would call, "the Continental Destination Traveler." This by the way, is the market Disney should be rushing to fill. Virgin focuses (as Mike correctly points out) on the experience of these targeted destination consumers rather than on offering the convenience of multiple destinations. I would argue that this tactic, and not their inbound marketing strategy, is what has given them such great success and created the social media buzz. After all, content is king.
The next revolutionary tactic Virgin has pioneered is it's definition of marketing. Mike's blog mentions that Virgin has a, "much smaller marketing budget than it's competitors". I won't argue that the raw dollar amount that Virgin invested in marketing is smaller than what a major carrier does, but let's think about what we mean by marketing. The essential service of Virgin's business is to transport people from one select place to another select place through the air. Yet Virgin has invested heavily in non-essential, on-flight amenities such as touch screens, personal cable TV, and that damn mood lighting. Why? Because these "amenities" are actually marketing investments that promote and separate Virgin from other brands (a beautiful form of interactive, guerrilla marketing). Most tech-savvy travelers (Virgin's target market) already have access to many of these amenities in the form of smart phones or laptops, yet they enjoy the fact that these features are a part of the plane. When they get off their flight, they spread the good word about how different Virgin is from other airlines, even though the essential service is exactly the same. Considering this, we can group this investement in "amenities" into the marketing budget and suddenly the gap is not quite as large.
It is a virtual law of business that if your competitor has a distinguishing feature that elevates it's brand against yours, you will do everything you can to level the playing field. It stands to reason that American, Delta and United would be looking to negate this advantage, yet three years since the launch of Virgin and still no significant upgrades on any of these major carriers. (I flew to Chicago from Boston on American recently and had nothing but the half-filled crossword puzzle to entertain me). Why?
The reason for the delay is twofold: Virgin still does not own a big enough market share to threaten the major carriers, and such "non-essential" improvements are financially impractical for these companies. Virgin maintains a fleet of 28 Airbuses, compared to the over 600 Boeing planes American Airlines operates. Adding touch screen TVs to every seat is a much easier task for Virgin than American. Thus Virgin was able to bring a high standard of quality across the board that the larger airlines could not keep up with.
The major airline carriers' biggest concern right now (after security) is price. Southwest's bare-boned style of travel has grown it into the 2nd largest carrier in the nation. But price is not the most important factor in the minds of the consumers. One way or the other travel is expensive, and whether it's a $400 flight or a $250 flight really doesn't matter when you are spending another $1,000 on hotel rooms and meals. Virgin is focusing on what the next generation of Americans care about when they travel. Crappy chicken dinners are out; private TVs are in. 1st Class is out; 6 more inches of leg room in coach is in.
I wouldn't say Virgin America has invested less in their marketing than other airlines (maintence and upgrades of these amenities may actually end up costing them more). I would say they have invested smarter. As we crawl out of this recession, look for Virgin to significantly grow their market share by meeting Gen Y's voracious appetite for a luxurious technological experience rather than cheap tickets or frozen dinners. You'll know the game is over once you see Virgin flying to San Antonio.
Posted by SJ Petteruti.
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