Does the following give a pretty good picture of your current marketing activity?You have a website but you’re not really satisfied with it. You go to networking events once in awhile. If someone asks you to give a talk, you’re happy to do it. You post on Facebook and/or LinkedIn semi-regularly. When you find the time, you send an article to those on your relatively small email list. You occasionally set up meetings with colleagues to explore opportunities.Now there’s nothing wrong with any of those marketing activities. And usually, they will result in landing some new clients.But this is not the approach that works to get a steady, predictable stream of new clients.Please don’t tune me out here, thinking, “Well, I really can’t do more than this. I’m already stretched thin. If you give me too much to do I’ll get overwhelmed.”I agree. It’s not that you need to do more marketing, it’s that you need to shift your marketing paradigm from one of “Randomness” to one that is “Focused.”Random marketing is just that; it’s all over the place. You do a little bit here and a little bit there on an inconsistent basis. You are trying to keep your face, name, and message in front of your prospective clients but the results are unpredictable.The Random marketing paradigm is not very effective because it doesn’t gain a lot of momentum. You don’t do enough of one marketing activity to grab the attention of your prospective clients and move them to take action.The Focused Marketing Paradigm is very different. It’s based on repeatedly communicating very directly to your target market with a very definite end in mind. It gets the attention of your prospective clients and they ultimately take action.The Focused Marketing Paradigm has Five PillarsUnderstand and implement these five pillars and I promise you’ll see a shift in your marketing results.Pillar One: Focused GoalsA Random goal is saying something like, “I’d like to attract a few more clients to my business.” Not very compelling is it?A Focused goal is much more specific. “My goal is to land 3 new clients in the high-tech plastics business in the Houston area with an average project size of $30,000 each by the end of the year.”The more detail, depth, and specificity about the goal, the better. You’ve really thought through what you want to achieve and also have confidence that you could deliver if you did reach your goal. It’s so real to you that you can taste it.What is the Focused Goal for your marketing?Pillar Two: Focused Program or Service Random programs or services are generalized consulting, coaching or training programs. “I offer management consulting and training to corporations.” Kind of vague, right? But this is what I hear all the time.A Focused Program or Service is more tangible. “I offer the high-tech plastics industry Management Acceleration Programs for emerging leaders in the industry.”In my business, I’ve always offered programs: The Marketing Mastery Program, the Marketing Action Group, and the More Clients Club. And each program has very specific parameters, deliverables, and objectives. It sure makes intangible services easier to market and sell.What is the Focused Program or Service you’re offering?Pillar Three: Focused Target MarketIn the above example, the target was the “high-tech plastics industry.” But it’s more common to hear things like, “I work with large companies who want to increase productivity.” This is too general and it makes it hard for clients to know if you understand them and can help them.A Focused target market is where you are absolutely clear what kinds of people or companies can most benefit from your expertise. And then you articulate that clearly.I worked with a financial planning company last year that targeted middle class families in the Buffalo New York area. Guess who they attracted to their practice? When people read about who they worked with on their website, they said, “That’s Us!” and called them.Who exactly is your Focused Target Market?Pillar Four: Focused Message and Value PropositionA Random message or value proposition tends to be too general and can be hard to pin down. It avoids making a promise that is meaningful to the prospective client.Messages such as, “We offer the best service in the industry,” or “Smart insights into great management,” are meaningless to your prospective clients. The value is not immediately obvious.A Focused message or value proposition zeros in on exactly what your clients get and what it means to them. I admit that this can be the marketing pillar that is hardest to pin down. Ultimately you have to test a number of different things.For the re-launch of the More Clients Club, my current value proposition is: “Everything Self-Employed Professionals Need in One Place to Attract More Clients.” And now, of course, I’m bending over backward to deliver on that promise.And a marketing message or value proposition is much more than a sound bite. Your message must permeate every aspect of your marketing, from your website to the emails you send out. Your prospects need to be constantly reminded of the value you offer.What is your Focused Message or Value Proposition?Pillar Five: Focused Marketing StrategyA Random marketing strategy is much like the collection of marketing activities I outlined at the top of the article. You’re just all over the place, throwing something at the wall, hoping it will stick, with no organized system or plan.A Focused marketing strategy is more like a putting on a theatrical production. You have the script, the actors, rehearsals, and opening night, all executed on a strict timeline.Two examples:For my Marketing Mastery Program, I held a series of introductory teleconferences, invited those interested to apply for the program, interviewed each applicant, and then converted 50% into participants. Over a 6-week period, I filled my business for a full year – four years in a row.A career coach in one of my programs recently filled her practice in three months with a focused campaign of personalized emails designed to get appointments with her ideal clients. Then she converted a large percentage into paying clients.That’s the power of a focused marketing strategy.You need to identify the right marketing strategy for your business, but even more important is the way you organize and implement the strategy.Developing a focused strategy is the most complex and challenging of the Five Pillars. You can’t just put together something haphazardly and hope you get the equivalent of a professional Shakespearian production.What is your Focused Marketing Strategy?If you work to build a focused plan with these five solid pillars, your marketing will work better and faster, attracting more of your ideal clients, usually at a higher rate.I recommend you work on one pillar at a time. Write them out and fine-tune them until you feel confident and excited about them. Yes, you will need to do some research and study to make sure your plan is viable. But this is certainly better than spinning your wheels with a random strategy that is going nowhere.Cheers, Robert
Reasons Video Marketing Is Important
There are many ways for a company to market themselves. They can use traditional paper marketing, social media marketing, or search engine rankings with a great website design. Corporate video production is one of the most effective video marketing techniques.
The total number of online consumers doubles every few years. This means that online video views will quadruple in this time frame. Video usage is growing because people love it, and video is becoming a viable marketing channel.
Videos allow businesses to create and share quality content with their audiences in a way that text cannot. It also makes people feel connected to company by allowing them to see a face behind the name. People enjoy videos because they may not have the time or patience to read through lengthy product or service descriptions.
Making and publishing videos does not always directly bring in money. However, video marketing is a tactic businesses use to improve customer engagement, click-throughs, and traffic. For example, including videos in emails can increase open rates by five percent and click-through rates nearly 100 percent of the time.
Videos help search traffic increase. Major search engines have begun ranking videos in their results page. Videos have a 50 times better chance of ranking within the first page of major search engines with their respective keywords. Videos also increase traffic for businesses when they are shared. With video marketing, there is a higher chance of a video going viral.
This age of internet and computers allows people the ability to shop from home. However, shoppers have lost the ability to feel and try out the products in person. Businesses who create detailed demo videos explaining their products and services give their customers the opportunity to feel that in-store experience shopping online.
With thorough videos, customer service will not have to deal with common and obvious questions. This can be how does the product work and how big is the product in real life. The video tells customers everything they need to know in order to make a smart buying decision.
Creating corporate videos is a creative and exciting experience for those in charge of it. This is more fun than typing out a blog post or choosing product descriptions that accurately cover any questions a customer may have before buying. The video will bring all company offerings to live.
The more creative and unique a video is, the more customers will appreciate it and remember it in the future. Creative videos will also be shared more among customers to friends, family, and coworkers. This will increase exposure and bring in new customers.
Social media defines marketing today. Therefore, videos are an integral part of most online marketing campaigns. Videos should be cross-promoted with all other online media content a business has. This ensures a powerful way to strengthen the different signals being sent to customers.
Successful video marketing campaigns require support from all other marketing channels. Videos need to be shared on the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Get employees to share the videos on their personal social media accounts.
Incorporate videos into blog posts. In fact, make a theme of it. One day a week, such as Friday or Monday, make a blog post that is centered on a video. This theme idea can translate into the video channel that a business should make on popular video upload sites. Make a schedule for uploading videos on a channel. For example, businesses can have How-To Tuesdays.
Playlists can be created to group similar videos that customers may want on a particular topic. Customers will be influenced to watch more videos in a playlist, increasing view counts and the likelihood they will be liked and shared on social media avenues.
Career Information about Photography
Career information about photography is important to access and focus on initially because it is a competitive market where the work is often attractive to many people. The photographer must have “a good eye”, imagination, and some creativity to do well in this field. That’s not all. Photographers love going into their own business. Accordingly, they must be able to maintain a business and to take advantage of opportunities provided by rapidly changing technologies. While seeking career information about photography you should first speak to one of your local photographers for information. You can ask questions about the job market in your area and how much training was involved before he/she considered themselves ready. You’ll find your local photographer will offer you insight that will be helpful in most cases.What as a photographer do you plan on achieving? Most would agree, the photographer is an artist, historian, and news event person. Perhaps you had already planned on your career and how you wish to achieve it. Career information about photography will prepare you for specific jobs but you should be aware of other elements related to the work. A photographer produces and preserves images that paint a picture, tell a story, or record an event. The successful photographer is required to have the ability to present a subject to achieve a particular effect while also selecting the appropriate equipment. A good photographer may enhance the subject’s appearance with natural or artificial light, shoot the subject from an interesting angle, draw attention to a particular aspect of the subject by blurring the background, or perhaps using different lenses to produce desired levels of detail at various distances.This is just an example of some of the requirements that a good photographer should possess. Career information about photography will vary according to what type of photography interests you. Underwater photography is becoming an exciting field of unexplored areas. Other photographers specialize in areas such as portrait, commercial and industrial, scientific, news, or fine arts photography.Portrait Photographers: The one’s we see most often who usually come with those special family events. They normally take individual pictures, group pictures and often work in their own studios. A lot of photographers specialize in taking wedding pictures, religious ceremonies, or school pictures.Commercial and Industrial: Career information about photography includes professionals who specialize in commercial and industrial photography. These photographers take pictures of various subjects, such as buildings, models, merchandise, artifacts, and landscapes. Why would a photographer go around taking these pictures? This is a specialized field wherein a lot of money can be made. The pictures are used in a variety of media, including books, reports, advertisements, and catalogs. The industrial photographer is usually hired in advance and knows what his assignment will be. He does not take pictures and try to find a buyer. The industrial photographer takes pictures of machinery, products, workers, and company officials. The pictures taken are usually for a specific purpose. In the future these pictures help engineer’s analysis projects, publicity, or records of equipment development or deployment, such as placement of an offshore oil rig.Field of Science: Career information about photography is common in the field of science. The recording of scientific data and procedures is often done by a photographer. The field of unusual phenomena or sometimes called ghost hunting uses special type of equipment and is necessary to help prove the existence of perhaps a haunting. Many things evolve when you work in the scientific field that is why a photographer must have knowledge in one or more areas of engineering, medicine, biology, or chemistry.Photojournalism: Photojournalists are people who take pictures of newsworthy people, places, and sporting events. They are news photographers who often cover political and community events for newspapers, journals, magazines, or television.Career information about photography would not be complete unless I reminded you of working conditions. The working conditions vary considerably from one type of a job to another. For instance, photographers who work for the government and advertising studios usually work a 5-day, 40 hour week. News photographers often work long, irregular hours and must be available on short notice. Some photographers work part time or on variable schedules.One last thing – Career information about photography should include the fact that a lot of photographers spend a small amount of time actually taking pictures because they spend a lot of time editing photographs on a computer and trying to find new business especially when they are self-employed.