tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72205341429543701102024-03-13T02:31:35.561-04:00X2 Media corporate presentations and videosYou don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression, if you are concerned that the message or image about your company, product, or service isn't getting the results that you expected, we can help. We think...create...and inspire.John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-16667843663052091672024-02-28T16:17:00.000-05:002024-02-28T16:17:44.994-05:00Surveys, Polls, Forms, and Progressive Profiling: How to Write Questions That Deliver Valuable Insights<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Surveys, Polls, Forms, and Progressive Profiling: How to Write Questions That Deliver Valuable Insights</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2l-6zNE-KCe0CDy0bv-UDFQVYoaPSs7B8tJoAKTAcTryDc9qm4by6l_VHU5xeFbPTqLzkGjzkDwHqxqduATxjxu_2SSkubtxI7F3uDLydvf5xtN9SO50nT4nKR7FyCxE0gCCe4bte3jbZjf4Y-6s4xwXFYlLlWCp-ZCaQyXf4lJzGS5FnibRdo_rm4d0/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2l-6zNE-KCe0CDy0bv-UDFQVYoaPSs7B8tJoAKTAcTryDc9qm4by6l_VHU5xeFbPTqLzkGjzkDwHqxqduATxjxu_2SSkubtxI7F3uDLydvf5xtN9SO50nT4nKR7FyCxE0gCCe4bte3jbZjf4Y-6s4xwXFYlLlWCp-ZCaQyXf4lJzGS5FnibRdo_rm4d0/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-weight: 700;">As third-party cookies come to an end, brands are focusing on collecting more zero-party data directly from their customers and prospects so they can better understand their needs and wants.</span></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although larger surveys will play a role in that process, most brands will gain insights a few answers at a time through signup forms, profile pages, polls, and other forms of progressive profiling.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It sounds simple, but writing a good question and collecting reliable answers is harder than it seems. Things can go wrong...</span></p><ol style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before you write a question</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When writing the question</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When writing answer choices</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Around the timing</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When analyzing the responses</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When repeating data collection</span></li></ol><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's talk about best-practices and things to look out for during each of those six steps.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">1. Before You Write a Question</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's possible to go entirely wrong before you even begin with your progressive profiling efforts. Consider the following two things.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Always start by understanding exactly what you want to learn from your audience</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's your objective? Why do you want a certain piece of information from them? How are you going to use or operationalize that data point? Does that data give you the insights you want?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That last question gets at a disconnect that many brands struggle with. The goal isn't to collect data. Not really. It's to gain insights you can use to drive the desired outcome. Yes, you need data to get insights, but the two aren't the same thing.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A favorite example of data vs. insight is from B2C marketers who ask customers about their gender. Most of the time that data is used to personalize message content about products for men or women. However, a person's gender doesn't tell you what kind of products they want to buy, because they could be buying primarily for someone else or they could be interested in products for the opposite gender or both genders.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, the better question is the more direct one: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Are you interested in products for men, women, or both?</em></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Don't ask questions you won't act on</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Simply asking a question sets an expectation that you'll use that information to make the customer experience better in some way—even if you're just sharing it out with the community.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you don't do anything with it, however, that can lead to disappointment. And it can lead to lower response rates for future progressive profiling efforts.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also, gone are the days when you'd collect information because you might need it in the future... at some point... maybe. You don't want the liability of retaining data you're not using, so don't collect it in the first place.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">2. When Writing the Question</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once you're clear on your objective, then it's time to craft your questions. Here are some things to keep in mind.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Craft questions that are universally understood</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To the degree that it's appropriate, avoid jargon or technical language. If it's needed, consider providing quick definitions in parentheticals.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If your audience is international, think about non-native speakers, who might struggle to understand some long words, colloquialisms, and cultural references.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And finally, use unambiguous time windows, such as saying the past 12 months instead of the past year, which some might interpret as the previous calendar year.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Provide any needed context <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">before</em> the question</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The primary concern here is that some people, once they've read a question, will skip to the answer choices because they're in a hurry. (And everyone's in a hurry.)</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another reason is that in the absence of immediate context, people bring their own context to questions, which forces your post-question context to work harder to override the respondent's initial thinking.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Avoid context and introductory statements that might impose a bias on answers</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, you shouldn't ask, Given the current state of the economy, do you think now is a good time to change supply chain management software providers? You'll get more accurate answers without that introductory clause.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Ask judgment-free questions</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Marketers are great at asking leading questions in marketing copy, but you don't want to do that in polls and surveys if you want meaningful results.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes that means you need an introductory statement or clause that gives the respondent cover to answer truthfully about something that might otherwise make them look or feel bad.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, you might preface a question with a clause like Recognizing that you don't have full control over your program... to make it easier for respondents to answer truthfully.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Recognize that people are bad at remembering past behavior</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People provide the most reliable answers about now and the recent past. When you're asking about the actions of their organization, things can get even hazier, because the respondent may be relatively new to their company. Consider asking about actions or behaviors from the previous 12 months, at most.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Avoid redundant questions</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The more questions you ask, the lower your completion rate will be. So try to ask as few questions as necessary. For example, a recent B2B lead-gen form that asked for both the person's country and world region. If you get the person's country, you can figure out the region of the world, so that question was completely unnecessary.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">3. When Writing the Answer Choices</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most likely, the vast majority of the polling or surveying you'll be doing will involve answer choices rather than open-ended questions. So consider the following when crafting those answer choices.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Make answering easy</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While this has a lot to do with the questions you ask, the answer choices you provide also have a major impact on how easy a question is to answer.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, here's a recurring question asked of marketers:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What percentage of your company's email marketing revenue is generated by automated and transactional emails?</span></em></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20;"><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Less than 20%</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">20% to 50%</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">More than 50%</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Not sure</em></li></ul></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #231f20;"></span></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ranges make answering the question much easier, because the chances of knowing the exact percentage is low—and you absolutely don't want people to go hunting for information, because they probably won't come back.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Five- and three-point rating scales (e.g., Always, Sometimes, Rarely) generally produce the best results while keeping things easy.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Be careful when using subjective measures</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Other times, it's not. For instance, some people think that an email deliverability rate of 50% is good, but it's actually horrible.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, if you asked about brand' email deliverability, you'd likely get very different distributions if you ask whether their inbox placement was Excellent, Good, or Poor versus Over 95%, 90%-95%, or Below 90%.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Provide an N/A option</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even if answering a question is optional, give people the option to not answer the question by selecting N/A, Not sure, or Don't know—or a combination of those, such as Not sure or don't know. Otherwise, they'll guess or put down the answer they think you want to hear, degrading the accuracy of your responses.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">4. The Timing</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you ask your audience questions depends on several factors, but the most consequential is whether the responses are useful long-term or short-term.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Answers That Are Useful Long-Term—for Many Months to Years</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These include demographic information, such as a prospect's company name or industry, and technographic information, such as details about their tech stack.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That type of information doesn't change often, so answers are useful over a long period of time. It also means you can collect it throughout the year, over the course of multiple campaigns.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Answers That Are Useful Only in the Short-Term—for a Few Weeks or Months</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These include, for example, whether prospects are attending a B2B Forum this spring and whether they're interested in attending an email marketing meetup. This kind of information is incredibly valuable.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, such questions need to be asked close enough to the event to ensure respondents are certain they're going, but not so close that you don't have enough time to act on their responses.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">5. When Analyzing the Responses</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Get it all right up to this point... and you can still stumble when it comes time to interpret the results. Consider the following four issues.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">A. Whether to Report <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">N/A, Not sure,</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don't know</em> Responses</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Generally, such answers aren't meaningful, so it's best to remove this noise from your reported results.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, it can be telling if, say, most or a plurality of respondents select those types of answers. That can signal that the technology, tactic, product, or whatever else you're asking about has low awareness, which can be interesting in and of itself.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It could also signal that your question is confusing.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">B. Look for Opportunities to Simplify the Story</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just as you don't have to report your N/A answers, it's OK in some cases to roll together responses to tell a cleaner story.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, say you asked respondents to respond to a statement using a 5-point Likert scale of (1) <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Strongly Disagree,</em> (2) <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Disagree,</em> (3) <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Neither Agree nor Disagree,</em> (4) <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Agree,</em> and (5) <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Strongly Agree.</em> In some circumstances, it might make sense to combine the two disagree answers and the two agree answers when reporting results.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">C. Reporting Statistically Significant Results Across Segments</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Particularly with demographic questions, brands often provide a long list of answer choices because they want more granular data. For example, they might ask about company size and provide lots of choices, such as <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fewer than 10 employees, 11-25, 26-50, 51-100, 101-200, 201-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-2,000, ,2001-10,000, More than 10,000.</em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Reporting those responses is fine; it gives your audience valuable perspective on your respondents. However, sometimes, brands then try to report how each of those groups answered other questions. Depending on your brand's audience and how the survey or poll was fielded, you might have a relatively small number of respondents in some of those buckets—too small for the results to be meaningful.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In many instances, it makes sense to combine some answer choices. For example, in past surveys, I've rolled together respondents by company size into two buckets: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">500 or fewer employees</em> and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">More than 500 employees. </em>That dividing line created two groups that were fairly evenly powered and provided interesting insights about the differences between what smaller companies and larger companies were doing.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">D. Understanding Intent</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just as people are bad at remembering things that happened more than a year ago, they tend to be bad at predicting what they and their organization will do in the year ahead.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Experience show and depending on what you're asking about and how much effort, cost, and buy-in is required—fewer than half of respondents follow through on what they say they'll do in polls and surveys.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Needless to say, that's totally fine. Your respondents are answering to the best of their ability. That said, when you report the results, you shouldn't overstate the results of such intent-related questions.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">6. When Repeating a Question, Survey, or Poll</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Collecting data on the same question over and over (e.g., every year) is powerful, but there are a couple of issues to be mindful of.</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Be mindful of changing previously asked questions and their answer choices</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Doing so will likely render historical answers useless for comparison or trend purposes. Even changing an introductory statement or clause can change the responses so much that you can't compare them to past responses.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That said, if you've identified a serious flaw in the wording of a previous question, don't hesitate to reword it so you get more reliable answers next time.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Similarly...</span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Be mindful of controlling your audience</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, if you promoted a poll question to your email and social audiences last year, but then this year you work with partners to have them also share your poll question, the poll results could be materially different because of that audience change.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's not to say that expanding your audience is bad, but don't disregard that change when analyzing results.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">As Privacy Protections Strengthen...</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Companies need more ways to collect information about their customers and prospects so they can understand their audience better and create more relevant experiences.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Asking your audience questions through forms, surveys, polls, and other progressive profiling mechanisms is a highly valuable way of staying close to them and serving them better.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="clear: right; color: black; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-family: arial;">john@x2media.us</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="clear: right; color: black; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-51325826709206295822024-01-30T15:47:00.001-05:002024-01-30T15:47:36.448-05:00'Subtractive Innovation': Four Steps for More Efficient and Effective Marketing<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> 'Subtractive Innovation': Four Steps for More Efficient and Effective Marketing</span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1l4eyuUmGJ_bznsmZWS4EKKsppdbC4xi9IRi3wEjHOoyIt8aPyzihw-JG_x_5QympoguTRrutEqONkInWlySAZ5_P9M8izHb8Q-zjAKbJQDUCyP1miW2ZfmgfcooKf9G4jOTk_Xy1Pg6n9H7BohQD-9NP6AdNoP9yInIs-Ga4JeKWGNV8x11D1UwWjA/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1l4eyuUmGJ_bznsmZWS4EKKsppdbC4xi9IRi3wEjHOoyIt8aPyzihw-JG_x_5QympoguTRrutEqONkInWlySAZ5_P9M8izHb8Q-zjAKbJQDUCyP1miW2ZfmgfcooKf9G4jOTk_Xy1Pg6n9H7BohQD-9NP6AdNoP9yInIs-Ga4JeKWGNV8x11D1UwWjA/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
concept of "less is more" has permeated our personal lives in one way
or another, at least in part because of the rise of minimalism and the
widespread popularity of Marie Kondo's philosophy of purging things in your
home that don't spark joy.</span></b></h2><div>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">In marketing, however, we often tend to veer down the path of
"more is more"—addition, rather than subtraction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Because we marketers are pressured to show the value that our
marketing brings to a brand, that value often tends to be proven through
addition: onboarding a new measurement partner to provide additional metrics,
adding more data segments to an audience, adding new creative to a campaign to
avoid fatigue...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">We often find ourselves hyperanalyzing processes, documents,
products, and resources in search of what can be added to make up for what is
lacking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">It's almost as if it's hardwired in our DNA to think that
problems stem from shortcomings and the only way to overcome them—to solve
those problems—is to figure out what is missing in ourselves or our
organizations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Why <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">do</span></em> we default to
addition?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">It actually is natural instinct, it turns out: Humans
instinctively gravitate toward additive approaches, even if it means more work, a
study by two University of Virginia academics, engineer Leidy Klotz and
social psychologist Gabrielle Adams, uncovered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">In one exercise for that study, participants were asked to make
a pattern symmetrical by either adding or removing squares. Only 20% of
participants opted for subtraction, despite fewer squares' requiring removal
rather than addition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, just because we naturally gravitate toward a certain
behavior doesn't mean it's the ideal or most efficient choice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Enter the practice of subtractive innovation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 16.5pt;">What
Is Subtractive Innovation?<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Forrester Research defines subtractive innovation as
"a mindset and process aimed at improving a company's business through
subtraction rather than addition."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Organizations that opt for a subtractive approach can often
experience stronger performance from their employees (and increased happiness
from simplification rather than overcomplication) as well as better end
products and results.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">A great example of the concept is the revered Dyson vacuum.
Dyson noticed the inefficient experience of dust collecting with a vacuum bag.
Instead of looking for parts to add to strengthen the suction or exploring
alternative vacuum bag materials, the company instead invented a vacuum that
removed the bag, which led to the creation of an effective product and a
sustainable solution that generates less waste. And, by many people's account,
Dyson is still the gold standard of vacuuming today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Similarly, marketing teams often don't need to reinvent the
wheel or build something new to improve a campaign or measurement. Instead,
it's often the process of elimination that can engender true creativity and
productivity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 16.5pt;">Four
'Less Is More' Steps to Thinking and Acting Substractively<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">So how can you get started down the path toward thinking
subtractively? Here are four key steps you can take as a marketer to lean into
a "less is more" approach.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%;">1. Pause and evaluate</span></i><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">The first step toward subtractive innovation is to start by
stopping, which may seem counterintuitive at first.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">However, it's important to pause and evaluate the tools and
processes currently in place and whether and how much each contributes to the
day-to-day success of your business or your marketing campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">One way to simply conceptualize that process is to think about
grocery shopping. To be an efficient shopper, you take stock of what you
already have in your pantry and identify a list of ingredients you need before
heading to the store. That helps you avoid unnecessarily accumulating three
containers of garlic salt or wasting time and money looking for the garbanzo
beans that don't actually have a place in your selected recipes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">The same concept applies to your organization: Take note of what
you have and determine what you need before you start shopping for something
new.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%;">2. Consider what can be done with less</span></i><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">When Apple removed the earbud cord and released AirPods,
consumers got to experience firsthand how having less enables them to do more.
You can apply that approach to identify things that get in the way of
efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Think of a current process that's in place and consider what
removing a step in the process could result in:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Does eliminating a step remove red
tape that prevents team members from taking ownership over projects?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Does it improve efficiency by
decreasing the process timeline?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Does your organization have multiple
analytics or research tools that have similar capabilities that accomplish
the same business need?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Those are the types of questions you must start posing so that
you can see the opportunity that subtraction offer for streamlining and freeing
thinking and behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">An overly complicated marketing undertaking with a plethora of
audience segments and creative versions doesn't necessarily mean it's the best
approach to take.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Marketing initiatives that have the media budget sliced and
diced in a million ways to run across multiple DSPs and myriad inventory
sources, or that utilize every single creative type available, tend to result
in cost inefficiencies and limited campaign learnings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Opting for a more streamlined plan that focuses on the brand's
core audience and message, and selecting platforms and inventories that best
align with the goal, can be a more efficient and effective way to achieve
success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Negative targeting is another subtractive strategy to utilize to
ensure media dollars are used as efficiently as possible. For example,
maintaining an advertiser blacklist of sites and apps that are either not
brand-safe or prone to suspicious activity ensures that impressions are being
served where they matter most.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%;">3. Implement guardrails for addition</span></i><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">The goal of subtractive innovation isn't only to remove but also
to be mindful about what gets added.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">To create a practice of thoughtful addition, develop a framework
of conditions that must be met in order to add.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">For example, if you want to adopt a new measurement tool, it's
always important to keep the "why" at the forefront and consider how
the addition of a new tool would help solve a business need. Also, take note of
what measurement tools your organization already has and consider whether those
tools have untapped capabilities that could solve your need without your having
to pay for something new.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">These are some thought-starters to use as a guide before adding:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Is there an applicable business case
for this addition?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Does the organization already have a
resource that can be used to fulfill the business need?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">How will this addition improve
efficiency or effectiveness, or both?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Can the problem be better solved
through subtraction?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%;">4. Encourage your organization to think subtractively</span></i><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 15pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">To weave a subtractive mindset into the ethos of your
organization, you need to create a culture that applauds not only creation but
also subtraction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">We live in a society that perpetuates the idea that addition is
incredibly valuable. It's critical to recognize individuals or departments that
have improved strategy or campaign efficiency through a subtractive approach;
doing so prompts others to view subtraction as another avenue toward success.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">A subtractive approach to innovation—and everyday work—can help
unlock a new realm of possibilities for producing better end results. Removing
extra steps in a process or streamlining your product by removing an
unnecessary bell or whistle can lead to less friction and even cost savings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;">Challenge yourself to go against the natural instinct of solving
a challenge through addition, and instead take a moment to pause and shop your
pantry first.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-42147858806928769052023-11-29T22:37:00.000-05:002023-11-29T22:37:08.117-05:00<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> How to Craft the Perfect Cold Email With ChatGPT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBROIS81CarJ1LC-WwVlRIetDrI_X66Tl-kI0OtGzdp2k9JVgsomsx7hNzWpQrU-ujN_hxSQ0k4y7R1H0uOgIwC-GGFq01BGb0FlSsUO7JLarBCnJOqVjlF6mJXSqmwkSmQ_rqyTmT3Ow-siijSsvA5JKLyQfOXihfFJ_yPNfOrEFR8I-stEjFUz8ONI/s309/Email-Main.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBROIS81CarJ1LC-WwVlRIetDrI_X66Tl-kI0OtGzdp2k9JVgsomsx7hNzWpQrU-ujN_hxSQ0k4y7R1H0uOgIwC-GGFq01BGb0FlSsUO7JLarBCnJOqVjlF6mJXSqmwkSmQ_rqyTmT3Ow-siijSsvA5JKLyQfOXihfFJ_yPNfOrEFR8I-stEjFUz8ONI/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><b style="font-family: arial;">A few years back, artificial intelligence was just a buzzword for tech geeks. But fast-forward to today, and it has become a hot topic for just about everyone—thanks in large part to ChatGPT.</b><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what's the big deal with ChatGPT? </span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">ChatGPT is a natural language model that can generate human-like text based on prompts that you input. It's like having a virtual writing companion that can help you craft blog posts, SaaS product reviews, novels, poems...</span></div><br />And cold emails? <br /><br />Cold emails often get a bad rap for being intrusive, generic, and spammy. In fact, only 8.5% of outreach emails receive a response. Can ChatGPT help? <br /><br />Yes, it can. With it, you can create personalized cold emails that generate responses. <br /><br />The three tips outlined in this article will help you write cold emails using ChatGPT. <br /><br /><b>1. Enter thorough prompts specific to customer personas </b><br /><br />The thing about generative AI models is that the content you get can only be as good as your prompts. Unless you're specific with your prompt, you'll likely end up with generic content that won't get you any meaningful results. <br /><br />But why are prompts so important? <br /><br />Prompts provide the context and information the AI needs to generate the desired output. So, if you want a personalized cold email, you must provide a prompt specific to your target customer personas. The prompt also needs to be detailed enough so the AI can understand your goals. <br /><br />That said, these are the questions you should ask when inserting ChatGPT prompts: <br />Who is your target audience? <br />What are their pain points or challenges? <br />How can your product or service address those needs? <br />What's the purpose of the email? Is it to introduce your product or service, request a meeting, build a relationship? <br /><br />Here's a detailed prompt for writing cold emails using ChatGPT that considers those tips: <br /><br /><i>Write a cold email to the sales manager at A&B Superstores. Their challenges include rigorous store inventory management and irregular balance sheets, which have proven to be time-consuming and tasking. Our solution is an automated inventory manager that streamlines the process. Keep the characters within 120 words. </i><br /><br />Check out this result:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi0rqJhIpkbpVsdY0tj1kI9iBALvzMuUuqAC_C0uoyUxHp64InjPDvs9FWzh0jw43MZzVMRZ76s6F_LQG7qgZW9q25zJuoSBrhgNayE0UVinfA4gXXO2oblMu7ttmWP6phJz2sqSDmY3R4xdzddGiavTFiL00diMnnp_iKv-_t0NhQ_r24j0sgb1qpck/s616/Picture1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="616" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsi0rqJhIpkbpVsdY0tj1kI9iBALvzMuUuqAC_C0uoyUxHp64InjPDvs9FWzh0jw43MZzVMRZ76s6F_LQG7qgZW9q25zJuoSBrhgNayE0UVinfA4gXXO2oblMu7ttmWP6phJz2sqSDmY3R4xdzddGiavTFiL00diMnnp_iKv-_t0NhQ_r24j0sgb1qpck/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Although that email is a good start, it could be improved. <br /><br />So let's personalize and make the email shorter. Here's the prompt that was used: <br /><br /><i>Can you shorten the email above, and also make it more personalized? </i><br /><br />This is the result:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMu-T4u3667HFzCcBnC_05bo-kQIqN8rAqSNLMe-3GRUSlZ5zJvnObV2Mvp8UDWycFLaRp9ViCDFzkfY77KXkcWhSqiXgxc06iwSN64TEeqkgdLOBNu141_kNfi1nn9aG2AcC5ClU6kfgcOcaTwTpDHOgmwSxu2XKa1ulog1J6J-eAsaxtlS1Fz69SBs/s624/Picture2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="624" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMu-T4u3667HFzCcBnC_05bo-kQIqN8rAqSNLMe-3GRUSlZ5zJvnObV2Mvp8UDWycFLaRp9ViCDFzkfY77KXkcWhSqiXgxc06iwSN64TEeqkgdLOBNu141_kNfi1nn9aG2AcC5ClU6kfgcOcaTwTpDHOgmwSxu2XKa1ulog1J6J-eAsaxtlS1Fz69SBs/s320/Picture2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">The concise email is almost ready, but it can be improved with personalized email greetings, a conversational tone, and persuasive language. <br /><br />See the prompt that was used... <br /><br /><i>Can you refine the tone of this email to make it more friendly and conversational? Please add an exceptional greeting, too. </i><br /><br />...so that ChatGPT makes the specified changes:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR_tsgG7Buxuw88SEwjU7F0FlAQ01uWV0pNBgi-r3uoU9Sgg4_sPMVMwYk44myqGjv4x8wEy02gFhCD5V_1EdCkOgFWaNdZEdJyNJZJUEv2yyc46qYTAuLx9smDq8U0I-J3zkjy8UZOrxxPvPPJ5scoY6f66TDNGNFQa_5Mi9pjIiSzNx7Pf9ZfBuvuM/s624/Picture3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="624" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR_tsgG7Buxuw88SEwjU7F0FlAQ01uWV0pNBgi-r3uoU9Sgg4_sPMVMwYk44myqGjv4x8wEy02gFhCD5V_1EdCkOgFWaNdZEdJyNJZJUEv2yyc46qYTAuLx9smDq8U0I-J3zkjy8UZOrxxPvPPJ5scoY6f66TDNGNFQa_5Mi9pjIiSzNx7Pf9ZfBuvuM/s320/Picture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">In the example above, ChatGPT has refined the tone of the email, making it more friendly.</span></div></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">But the email lacks a clear call to action. So let's add one to encourage engagement from recipients. <br /><br />Let's use this prompt: <br /><br /><i>Can you add a compelling CTA to the email? <br /></i><br />And voilà!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHXWk-ATioJJXKI5gShCotb7LE-VwHRM-GBFj4g2ATb_mUEQERy74-moI0LqqQWf_ybjrEnohN2ItEX9GdYsDhWE0uAtdKz1UX6PBgyYjeFVP9wcJimeGfnejkEcNHQnAXSThpivyYyzYVEj9LlySyCiLawa6lMmhk5kMFBaXfOZzR_UasfHAKhdIbg0/s624/Picture4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="624" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHXWk-ATioJJXKI5gShCotb7LE-VwHRM-GBFj4g2ATb_mUEQERy74-moI0LqqQWf_ybjrEnohN2ItEX9GdYsDhWE0uAtdKz1UX6PBgyYjeFVP9wcJimeGfnejkEcNHQnAXSThpivyYyzYVEj9LlySyCiLawa6lMmhk5kMFBaXfOZzR_UasfHAKhdIbg0/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Now the email recipient knows to either reply to the email or give the sender a call to learn more about the inventory manager tool. <br /><br />Like what was used in this example, insert as many specific prompts as needed until you're satisfied with your cold email. <br /><br /><b>2. Create a clear subject line </b><br /><br />You've personalized the email and added a call to action. What next? <br /><br />Now you add final tweaks to optimize the email for higher clickthrough rates and conversions. Think blog content optimization, but for a cold email. <br /><br />Start by prompting ChatGPT to craft a catchy subject line. <br /><br />The subject line is the gateway to your cold email. Your ideal customer is likely busy, so you want to pique interest quickly. Prompt ChatGPT to generate subject line ideas that are concise and compelling and will entice recipients to open the email. <br /><br />This is the prompt that was used: <br /><br /><i>Can you share 10 catchy and concise subject lines for this email? </i><br /><br />So, ChatGPT gives me these email subject lines:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hp0X_pXlhJgWWRl6gvuEevbaDsDw_Ng9jhCXp2qaYT2NZd7gqtgMOyx9gtUA2lCldtd1yT9KGnDFaF-vWik26ykXSaMf5OrUfckI76YvR_BwcC98jIAx9ZcO1KOnHWG6AIQh8lfOIt1M40Zoyj2ysQq3xfalf5LZ868C2FN1EKIP0KYFffLdrPkiTp8/s618/Picture5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="618" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hp0X_pXlhJgWWRl6gvuEevbaDsDw_Ng9jhCXp2qaYT2NZd7gqtgMOyx9gtUA2lCldtd1yT9KGnDFaF-vWik26ykXSaMf5OrUfckI76YvR_BwcC98jIAx9ZcO1KOnHWG6AIQh8lfOIt1M40Zoyj2ysQq3xfalf5LZ868C2FN1EKIP0KYFffLdrPkiTp8/s320/Picture5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>But those email subject lines seem overly promotional. So let's prompt ChatGPT to tone them down and personalize them to address the recipient's pain point. <br /><br />Recall that sales emails with personalized subject lines have a 35.6% open rate. So we can either mention the recipient's name or reference a shared interest or recent event the recipient attended. <br /><br />Check out the prompt used to that end: <br /><i><br />Can you write 10 personalized and engaging email subject lines for this email? The recipient's name is Jones, and they recently attended the HubSpot sales event. Please keep within 60 characters. </i><br /><br />This is what ChatGPT generated:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRrKOO9fIggtCqcn61OJ080IFs1qUdd6quJYF89WVwvMJOeinXvTcSrATFJEQ6ciQFDjXtJIy7NcIfppl84rZor2lzkM3lWBzDqIAtzFLIMQuL_KC-XO7L7ZBetEFxpb14SSV9qjGaf2Br7xlE_YpCrVa9sEa2nxxx1fRzNTXjFitc5qWk3uwxRxb59I/s624/Picture6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="624" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRrKOO9fIggtCqcn61OJ080IFs1qUdd6quJYF89WVwvMJOeinXvTcSrATFJEQ6ciQFDjXtJIy7NcIfppl84rZor2lzkM3lWBzDqIAtzFLIMQuL_KC-XO7L7ZBetEFxpb14SSV9qjGaf2Br7xlE_YpCrVa9sEa2nxxx1fRzNTXjFitc5qWk3uwxRxb59I/s320/Picture6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>One more thing: there's no preheader text. <br /><br />The preheader text provides an overview of what the email is all about. We have to create one. <br /><br />While you're at it, ensure your subject lines and preheader text are highly optimized for mobile view, as about 81% of emails are read on mobile devices. <br /><br />This is the prompt that was used to get ChatGPT to generate preheader texts for the email subject lines it previously generated: <br /><br /><i>Can you reshare the above subject lines and add their preheader texts? Please keep them concise, within 60 characters, and highly optimized for mobile view. </i><br /><br />Here's the result:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7c7_QaGphjTtIpxKyz-v9LOUeWpYKU9EtKfpP1Nhg39sibxdRYnZlfjsP5II5bkpkpUBvSz6fPVxSgU5YXMnzG_m7GeD9enS-PVXtoqp73_QGDS1noBxGsr1tcv4-Qh0VmeseIh6M5JKlEJfRtzqVQ2ckiW7tlLxe3KXL41jrmkPLXAkcgVs18khue4/s624/Picture7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="624" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7c7_QaGphjTtIpxKyz-v9LOUeWpYKU9EtKfpP1Nhg39sibxdRYnZlfjsP5II5bkpkpUBvSz6fPVxSgU5YXMnzG_m7GeD9enS-PVXtoqp73_QGDS1noBxGsr1tcv4-Qh0VmeseIh6M5JKlEJfRtzqVQ2ckiW7tlLxe3KXL41jrmkPLXAkcgVs18khue4/s320/Picture7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Finally, to make your cold emails more effective, apply some email copywriting tips while using ChatGPT. <br /><br />Although ChatGPT-generated emails can be engaging and catchy, using those tips can further enhance your messaging and improve email deliverability. <br /><br /><b>3. Craft follow-up emails </b><br /><br />As noted earlier, cold emails have an 8.5% average response rate. So, chances are, you will not get a response on your first try. However, sending multiple follow-ups to a recipient can double your response rate. We suggest sending three follow-up emails to demonstrate your persistence and commitment to your recipient. <br /><br />To create a successful follow-up email with ChatGPT, start by addressing your previous email. Then offer helpful insights to solve the recipient's needs. You can also add value by sharing an informative article or useful tip, or connecting them with a helpful resource. <br /><br />To get ChatGPT to compose three follow-up emails for the previous email, this is the prompt that was used: <br /><br /><i>Could you please share 3 follow-up emails for this same email for prospects that have opened the email but not responded? Reference the previous email and express genuine interest in addressing their needs by sharing an insightful resource. Add a lead magnet, too. <br /></i><br />Check out the results: <br /><br />Follow-Up Email #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUt_JC1YLw8m7Xp-xrgbMgJCkdo-fTsesFKjXjN7wVKm2xXXCGcbGfQ-SpADrWo2flD43rFj_G-5khWE0D8zU_Hs8sotUgsOHb5-9-gaFs53ZbIuWXopexfhU3_fX92jCdv1B2W7s1vz_eBsc6s0wORtY9CyEAER350T0k9WiCOZc7U3O1j2YVI1SFtY/s610/Picture8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="610" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUt_JC1YLw8m7Xp-xrgbMgJCkdo-fTsesFKjXjN7wVKm2xXXCGcbGfQ-SpADrWo2flD43rFj_G-5khWE0D8zU_Hs8sotUgsOHb5-9-gaFs53ZbIuWXopexfhU3_fX92jCdv1B2W7s1vz_eBsc6s0wORtY9CyEAER350T0k9WiCOZc7U3O1j2YVI1SFtY/s320/Picture8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Follow-up Email #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQb5lWDqTiM7nnBoQ914G-Cw1VdU9STgcPnyDtcg8KzLtPMFU80LElBLnbKvOkA1Db9pbN0EOX7QYaUvtqujkzbn-Ap421c2ZqMPzGjZ1IkNEyUwUpV_H9xtqV4b_anvrCRg2m2nkWNakadAZoFFuXh04MPsqdaGp1ShKgcHYEmUrMrs9719anT11gH0/s608/Picture9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="608" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQb5lWDqTiM7nnBoQ914G-Cw1VdU9STgcPnyDtcg8KzLtPMFU80LElBLnbKvOkA1Db9pbN0EOX7QYaUvtqujkzbn-Ap421c2ZqMPzGjZ1IkNEyUwUpV_H9xtqV4b_anvrCRg2m2nkWNakadAZoFFuXh04MPsqdaGp1ShKgcHYEmUrMrs9719anT11gH0/s320/Picture9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Follow-up Email #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiA154aZLK6jihMVFkCac7VnUSrMnd3G3xsBCzTyYIBOMjqBeQiYjcU-0PDFYtzoWvt4iTF-O2gnrJLYG5zo2rS7JQAKzedEPo0MvlLUzJC6NlYR8aB247g8bH0GXuEv8zJ2Hw281WdI0Edff4HyJfsykZTJsq5bLwxcCnFxBKr-D4jrpMiVIDgKi0g0/s600/Picture10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="600" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiA154aZLK6jihMVFkCac7VnUSrMnd3G3xsBCzTyYIBOMjqBeQiYjcU-0PDFYtzoWvt4iTF-O2gnrJLYG5zo2rS7JQAKzedEPo0MvlLUzJC6NlYR8aB247g8bH0GXuEv8zJ2Hw281WdI0Edff4HyJfsykZTJsq5bLwxcCnFxBKr-D4jrpMiVIDgKi0g0/s320/Picture10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>You can also employ FOMO to create a sense of urgency and get them to act faster. However, ensure that your tone is respectful and professional while conveying your enthusiasm and passion for your product or service. <br /><br />You can use this prompt: <br /><br /><i>Can you please share a fourth follow-up to these emails leveraging FOMO to make them take the desired action? </i><br /><br />Here's what was generated by using that prompt:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8lagrP6DfhalW_79DDed1kR1fTNx95Lgoqnj3ls86bpX4CdG5Rmmn74CpGGsH_k3Ncjyz988R8mio2fsx2Uk9P8-r5HLKXE8vClB58r5a68-Cp6Ky-qVnflgIH5wkseF61Az1SOowv1V9RKvP4kT1ztOYhgRvXvTMQf-epGbAi9JYLCLipu08Icxv4/s716/Picture11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8lagrP6DfhalW_79DDed1kR1fTNx95Lgoqnj3ls86bpX4CdG5Rmmn74CpGGsH_k3Ncjyz988R8mio2fsx2Uk9P8-r5HLKXE8vClB58r5a68-Cp6Ky-qVnflgIH5wkseF61Az1SOowv1V9RKvP4kT1ztOYhgRvXvTMQf-epGbAi9JYLCLipu08Icxv4/s320/Picture11.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>Finally, you can always use ChatGPT to fine-tune the language and tone of your follow-up emails, making them engaging and compelling without being pushy. <br /><br />Crafting the perfect cold email has always been tricky. A great cold email that worked the last quarter could generate bad results today. So you must remain innovative in your cold email strategy and come up with creative content. <br /><br />The good news is large language models like ChatGPT are making it easier to write cold emails. You just need to know what prompts to use. <br /><br />Generative AI will give you a great starting point. Just add a touch of humanity to your draft, and it should be good to go.<br />-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-27829656904269508552023-10-30T15:53:00.000-04:002023-10-30T15:53:20.682-04:00Three Ways to Embrace Deep Personalization in Content Marketing<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> Three Ways to Embrace Deep Personalization in Content Marketing</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dJMZ-BKYhB3HL7R6hEKyflzpNWzGX_Fw-t6axNHQPGnL0SLACANh_oHVFnuXa-XVd1p48sVgzrgX6Kp69maHZzzcMGBBK7dmDf3S0Owa26cb-f7NxQNcGf4bzzbjNbhyF3wtHQ8P6qivlH8LxHTXcb58HiDJBZt9PvRa9AdAiCm2S17ukuJi7l4UP_4/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dJMZ-BKYhB3HL7R6hEKyflzpNWzGX_Fw-t6axNHQPGnL0SLACANh_oHVFnuXa-XVd1p48sVgzrgX6Kp69maHZzzcMGBBK7dmDf3S0Owa26cb-f7NxQNcGf4bzzbjNbhyF3wtHQ8P6qivlH8LxHTXcb58HiDJBZt9PvRa9AdAiCm2S17ukuJi7l4UP_4/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many
scientific studies highlight the link between hearing or seeing our own name
and the ways that causes our brain to react as a result.</span></span></span></b></div><div>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Dubbed the "cocktail party effect" by psychologists,
marketers of all industries have embraced the concept to enjoy success.
Coca-Cola's </span><span style="color: #231f20;">Share a Coke campaign</span><span style="color: #231f20;"> is a perfect example.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">But going further is where the real opportunity lies: </span><span style="color: #231f20;">EasyJet's 20th
birthday campaign</span><span style="color: #231f20;"> used 28 points of customer data to create stories about
each customer's travel journey with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, in B2B marketing, the tactic is often limited to
just changing the name on an email, even though deep personalization is
considerably more effective.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Marketers already collect various data points, so why not
connect them to content marketing efforts?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Deeply personalized content results in 64% less of an audience
loss than content that is not personalized, and 43% more engagement. The
overall impact of deep personalization is an 84% increase in engagement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Although previously deep personalization would have been
prohibitively expensive, costs are coming down thanks to advances in CRM and
content platform technology.</span><span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-transform: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Taking
the humble PDF as an example, this article suggests three ways B2B marketers
can embrace greater personalization—and why that matters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1.
Clever Covers</span></span></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whether for an e-book, whitepaper, or brochure, most covers on
B2B materials tend to have a cookie-cutter look and feel. When readers are
overwhelmed by choice, grabbing their attention in an instant helps documents
stand out and be memorable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One way to do that is by adding a prospect's name, company, or
even an image or video on the cover that changes depending on how the user
arrive at the content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also, cover images can be customized depending on the
sector—e.g., imagery of a retail shop for a retail customer vs. shots of
scientists in lab coats for a pharmaceutical brand. Making subtle changes like
that is effective because we are naturally drawn to information or ideas we are
invested in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That kind of personalization is also effective because the
prospect is likely to notice it only on a subconscious level.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">In fact, average interactions increased 32% for content that was
personalized vs. nonpersonalized, a </span><span style="color: #231f20;">research study</span><span style="color: #231f20;"> in 2022 by Turtl found.
Personalized content also reduced the bounce rate 49%.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Journeys</span></span></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Those who grew up in the '80s or early '90s might remember a
publishing phenomenon called </span><span style="color: #231f20;">Choose Your Own Adventure</span><span style="color: #231f20;">: stories in which the reader
was given a chance to shape the story at the end of each chapter by choosing
what happened next and going to the designated page.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Within the broad framework of self-determination theory,
autonomy is an important consideration, which is why the books proved popular.
We also equate choices with control, so having the ability to change an outcome
through our choices is immensely powerful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Take that learning to marketing: Instead of defaulting to a
traditional, linear "start at the top and scroll to the bottom"
experience, experiment with different page layouts and </span><span style="color: #231f20;">interactive elements</span><span style="color: #231f20;"> to
create a journey through your content that is unique to each visitor. Before
users see your content, create a form in which they can pre-select the content
that is most relevant to them. That way they read only what really resonates,
and engagement will increase as a result.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another way of creating a unique journey is by creating modules
of content that can be hidden or revealed depending on the preferences or
behavior of the target audience. Sections within content can also be signposted
so the reader can choose what they want to consume first.<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16.5pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3.
Visuals That Go Beyond Aesthetics</span></span></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Marketers understand that when information is presented in a
visual format, our minds pay more attention and process and retain the written
information better. So it's highly likely that every report you create will
include some kind of chart or illustration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But by using static images you could be missing out on an
opportunity to personalize. Instead, nudge readers to explore more by making
images clickable so they can be expanded. That can help readers engage on a
deeper level. Moreover, clicking on a digital document provides the ability for
the behavior to be tracked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why does that matter? Seeing what is and isn't clicked can
provide detail about what content is resonating. It also provides an
opportunity to retarget those readers with follow-up messaging that is relevant
to them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Interactive documents have the added benefit of the ability to
add polls. Polls are often used in </span><span style="color: #231f20;">webinar presentations</span><span style="color: #231f20;"> and across </span><span style="color: #231f20;">social media</span><span style="color: #231f20;">, and
it's easy to see why. In fact, LinkedIn suggests posts with a poll reach 3-5
times more people than those without one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By using a poll in your marketing content, you're moving the
reader from passive to active and capturing data that could be used to
personalize in the future.</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The variables cited in this article are but a handful that
marketers could be implementing to increase conversion; the reality is there
are hundreds of options.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Basic personalization elements that once had an impact are now
table stakes and therefore losing their impact. Personalization shouldn't just
be consigned to changing the greeting on an email. It's now possible to add
personalization into brochures, sales decks, and research reports.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking directly to prospects in every sales interaction is
proven to reap results, so why not exploit every opportunity to make content
relevant?</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-51633663831052443442023-09-28T15:56:00.002-04:002023-09-28T15:56:46.901-04:00How to Secure More Press for Your Company<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>How to Secure More Press for Your Company<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx8qCSiXBmJeXredi-_xOz47irL_ro543h00Dx4irOkoU4l2UrNxV0CiK00_4t0mkgTaaQj3YJSfQpjeOVcBt1Xpdgz5LNLvVAUCEzVQIcZXeYT9hJTYBdEIDY17xzp1fcAUhtt-xafSD0366Nv_fGNLqL9XS5RnVmE5AUAoBuOwNhZA3GfBuy_AfwB4/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx8qCSiXBmJeXredi-_xOz47irL_ro543h00Dx4irOkoU4l2UrNxV0CiK00_4t0mkgTaaQj3YJSfQpjeOVcBt1Xpdgz5LNLvVAUCEzVQIcZXeYT9hJTYBdEIDY17xzp1fcAUhtt-xafSD0366Nv_fGNLqL9XS5RnVmE5AUAoBuOwNhZA3GfBuy_AfwB4/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The value of good PR has never been higher than in today's
digital age, when information spreads rapidly and public scrutiny is intense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The old saying "There's no such thing as bad
press" no longer holds true. Instead, businesses of all sizes are
recognizing the immense value of positive publicity, media coverage, and
endorsements in shaping their brand's reputation and perception.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A strong reputation is vital for attracting customers,
fostering loyalty, and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A thoughtful digital PR strategy plays a crucial role in
enhancing brand reputation and perception. Positive publicity, media coverage,
and endorsements work together to build trust, credibility, and positive
associations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Positive PR initiatives can also highlight a brand's
values, mission, and ethical practices, instilling trust among consumers and
potential employees. When customers view a brand in a good light, they are more
likely to engage with it, recommend it to others, and develop long-term
relationships with it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In addition to those benefits, good PR also fosters
customer engagement and loyalty by creating emotional connections. Impactful
storytelling, community involvement, and corporate social responsibility
efforts resonate with customers, leading to brand advocacy, positive
word-of-mouth, and, ultimately, brand ambassadors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As a result, even if crises occur, brands with strong PR
histories are better equipped to mitigate the impact.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The PR and
Content Marketing Gap<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Unfortunately, many brands still don't understand the
benefits of </span>public
relations<span style="color: #231f20;"> in marketing and fail to include a PR component in
their digital </span>marketing
strategy.<span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One reason for that is PR requires a strong network of
media contacts and expertise in building relationships with journalists,
bloggers, and influencers. Many brands may lack the necessary connections or
internal resources to effectively navigate the media landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some brands may also hold the misconception that PR is a
pay-to-play game. If they think PR is solely about paying for media coverage or
buying advertorials, they may prioritize other marketing tactics, such as
advertising or influencer partnerships.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Although sponsored content and advertorials can be part of
a digital PR strategy, genuine media coverage relies on building relationships,
telling compelling stories, and offering valuable insights. Brands that focus
solely on paid channels may miss out on the credibility and authenticity
that </span>earned media coverage<span style="color: #231f20;"> can
provide.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, brands may fail to recognize how the impact and
benefits of public relations in marketing can move the needle on their overall
marketing objectives. They may perceive PR as a nice-to-have rather than a key
driver of business growth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Four Simple
Steps to Get Press Coverage for Your Business<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Good PR helps your company </span>reach new audiences and create brand awareness<span style="color: #231f20;">. That
increased visibility leads to more opportunities, higher website traffic, and
potential business growth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When your brand consistently receives positive publicity,
it stands out in a crowded marketplace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Follow the four steps outlined here to use PR effectively
and maximize its impact on your brand's success.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Build
thought leadership<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Spark your PR efforts by taking a thoughtful approach to
writing your own content on your blog or website—or partnering with other
industry professionals to guest post on their channels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can use PR and content marketing to enhance your
reputation and position yourself as an expert in your field. And when
journalists reach out for insights or interviews, your demonstrated thought
leadership will make you a sought-after source, providing you with valuable
media exposure and further solidifying your position as a trusted industry
voice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Have an
opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">The Web is full of homogenous industry articles. If you
want to stand out, take a distinct, memorable point of view. Figure out </span>what makes your perspective different<span style="color: #231f20;"> from
others in your industry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you do get in contact with the media, ensure your
pitch isn't about—or like—others that the journalist is likely receiving
regularly. You might, for example, present a bold and thought-provoking stance
on a relevant industry issue or you might challenge conventional wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By offering well-researched insights and addressing
unexplored angles, you increase your chances of piquing the journalist's
interest and creating a lasting impact with your pitch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Think like
a journalist<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Journalists can sense a sales pitch from a mile away.
Instead, tell a story that is useful and educational.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The more you can provide value through PR and
content marketing, the more likely consumers and journalists alike will want to
learn about your brand and potentially purchase your product.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Start by putting yourself in reporters' shoes. Their goal
is to publish an interesting story as quickly and
efficiently as possible. The more you can provide them with a compelling quote
or perspective that is nearly "publish-ready," the more likely you'll
get quoted or featured.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can also sign up for services such as Help a Reporter Out<span style="color: #231f20;"> (HARO),
which sends email updates containing requests from journalists looking for
targeted story sources.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although good PR and content marketing are valuable, they
should be consistent and align with your brand's values and actions. A cohesive
brand message and voice are key!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Positive press is the best press, and now is the best time
to start making it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Write the
perfect pitch<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When writing the perfect pitch, it's crucial to personalize
it for each journalist; for example, you might reference their recent work and
showcase your understanding of the journalist's interests.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, consider mentioning the journalist's recent
article on a specific topic and how your pitch aligns perfectly with that
focus. By demonstrating your familiarity and genuine interest, you can capture
the journalist's attention and increase the likelihood of a positive response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Make your pitch timely by connecting it to current events
or industry trends, and highlight the unique value of your article, emphasizing
your expertise while offering fresh perspectives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Keep your pitch concise and clear, stating the key
takeaways and benefits for the publication's audience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">End with a clear call to action, indicating your
availability for further details or an interview.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A well-crafted pitch that combines personalization,
timeliness, and conciseness is the key to securing valuable media coverage.</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-17078503238568497392023-08-30T22:39:00.000-04:002023-08-30T22:39:06.228-04:00Top 3 AI Tools for High-Quality Content Creation<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> Top 3 AI Tools for High-Quality Content Creation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvK7mjf84YUkDuZRbj0myCHapiypQ_haDHuwAZTqJs1U-xRswGPWJZZGTN0Mp7YvPruC6YhEq9N7WLdF4H-M40hUeRcCjiZheU2RzFFUMqvZtvm6I21skp1MpiJ2EgDV22ng5vMmm-vcm6HCvr7PeOCUFQXwolDgiHbuDcvsAY9P6dVDjNvwmBa1uWCS4/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvK7mjf84YUkDuZRbj0myCHapiypQ_haDHuwAZTqJs1U-xRswGPWJZZGTN0Mp7YvPruC6YhEq9N7WLdF4H-M40hUeRcCjiZheU2RzFFUMqvZtvm6I21skp1MpiJ2EgDV22ng5vMmm-vcm6HCvr7PeOCUFQXwolDgiHbuDcvsAY9P6dVDjNvwmBa1uWCS4/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A lot has been said
about content creation through AI—most notably that the key to creating value
lies in incorporating personal experiences and expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Many tech platforms include the newest AI </span></span><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">neuromarketing</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;"> advancements
for content creation, and each platform offers its own benefits to stand out
from the others. These three tools, ChatGPT,
Neuroflash, and Jasper optimizes the results. By combining those three tools,
you can create content of the best quality and accuracy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This article will help you to create high-quality AI-generated content without having to try every
tool available.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Integrating ChatGPT,
Jasper, and Neuroflash<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reason these three tools were combined in
particular is because each has a value that strengthens overall content
creation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">ChatGPT is our base for every new topic, from
questions ("What is the quote of the day?) to complex prompts: "Write
a marketing campaign for outsourcing your marketing. Include </span>social media<span style="color: #231f20;"> (LinkedIn and Instagram
only), SEO, and SEA ideas. Make a content plan for the upcoming six months.
Focus on our target KPIs: 1,000 impressions on LinkedIn, 1,500 website visits,
10 downloads, and 2 new customers."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ChatGPT provides bullet points that can be
used to build your text around, and it gives a strong foundation for the
content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That is a great start. But ChatGPT cannot
write your content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's why working with Jasper, which contains
many different workflows to write everything from a long piece of content to a
strong email subject line, and which has a comprehensive set of editing
features. It can also be used to assess the performance of your content and
make necessary adjustments to ensure that it meets your desired results.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, Jasper integrates with SurferSEO,
which checks your content SEO and gives you valuable insight on which keywords
your contents lacks, how many visuals to include, and whether you should use
more or fewer paragraphs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But you haven't updated the piece for your
target audience. Although you can include a tone of voice in Jasper, it does
not always align with your buyer persona.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's why we paste the written text into
Neuroflash, which has the ability to customize content based on the emotions
and brain of your target audience. By understanding the emotions and brain of
the target group, Neuroflash produces texts that are accurate, clear, and
logically structured.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Neuroflash is also able to analyze hard
scientific data to tailor texts for various personas within your target groups.
That ensures that the content is optimized for maximum impact on the audience.</span></span></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A Pre-Workout for
Content Creation With AI Tools<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Content creators must have a good base of
knowledge and experience in content creation if they are to create high-quality
output using AI.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Figure out where
your piece is going</span></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Before you start using AI tools, know where
your piece is going. Is it a how-to list? Do you want to inform your audience
of your products? Are you writing best-practices? All that has influence on the
questions you ask ChatGPT.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Possible questions/prompts regarding your
topic:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is, however, no unified set of questions
that works for every topic; rather, the approach must be tailored to each
subject.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Write for your buyer persona(s)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;">AI tools can help you keep the right voice for
your </span>buyer personas<span style="color: #231f20;"> in
mind. Neuroflash contains a section where you can create your own target
audiences. That way, all of your content is consistent in its tone of voice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If your target audience consists of marketing
managers, the description of your persona might be as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Prepare your prompts wisely<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AI tools have the potential to generate
content effectively when they are given a specific prompt that is detailed and
comprehensive. The more precise the instructions provided, the higher quality
the outcome will be. So, when creating content with AI, you can play with
different questions to optimize your prompts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, these are prompts we used to
create this article:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Other prompts to consider:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The responses to such inquiries will be the
bedrock of the article.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How to Incorporate AI Tools Into Your Content Creation Process<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Learn how each tool works<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before you start using an AI tool, it is
important to understand its capabilities. Familiarize yourself with the
functionalities so that you can make the most out of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Define your content goals and target audience<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Clearly identify the purpose of your content
and the audiences you want to reach. Understand their preferences, needs, and
pain points. That will help you tailor your content and make effective use of
the buyer persona toolkit in Neuroflash.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Generate ideas and outlines using ChatGPT and Jasper<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ChatGPT can help you with idea generation and
provide insights based on the prompts you provide. Jasper can assist in
structuring your content ideas and creating outlines.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Use Jasper to help write your draft<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Supplementing the piece with your own
knowledge and experiences will ensure unique content tailored to your specific
needs, improving the overall quality of your output while also ensuring its
originality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. Refine and optimize your content using Neuroflash<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After creating the initial draft using Jasper,
use Neuroflash to review and optimize the content for your audience, and
improve its clarity, coherence, grammar, and style. Neuroflash analyzes the
text and suggests specific improvements, allowing you to polish your content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6. Implement SEO optimization using Jasper<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many content creators employ tools such as
Ahrefs, Semrush, and Yoast to make their texts more SEO-friendly. Jasper
provides an integration with SurferSEO, an SEO platform that assesses webpages
and offers information regarding which elements of the page can be improved for
better search engine rankings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Possible ways to optimize text from within the
Jasper platform itself:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Application of keywords</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Length of the text</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Use of headings</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Division into paragraphs</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amount of images</span></li></ul><p></p><p></p></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">SurferSEO suggests the best content items to
use based on keyword analysis. That includes a list of competitors' URLs from
the Top 10 Google SERP results, plus potential new topics for you to include in
your text.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Conclusion Regarding the Use of AI for Content Creation<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AI tools can be invaluable for content
creation, providing speed and accuracy beyond human capacity. By combining
ChatGPT, Jasper, and Neuroflash, you can create high-quality and accurate
content faster than any single tool could alone. Each of the tools has its own
advantages and disadvantages, and when combined they become a powerful force in
content production.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, to ensure high-quality output, it's
important to add expertise and knowledge to the process. AI can help save time
and effort while still producing top-notch work, but it should be used
carefully to avoid potential legal risks.</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-87735488729096990212023-07-30T16:53:00.000-04:002023-07-30T16:53:53.705-04:00More and more B2B companies are using video as a means to promote their products and services<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Lately, more and more B2B companies are using video as a means to promote their products and services.</span></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's understandable, because videos let you address complex subjects in an engaging and dynamic way, as well as create interesting pieces that enhance the customer experience.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The most effective product videos are those that quickly convey the benefits of a product without boring their viewers.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet, a lot of B2B businesses seem to overlook that critical fact!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Operating in a complex, professional setting doesn't mean you have to make your videos bland and tedious. Even if your target is other businesses and brands, you still need to get the decision-makers behind those brands on board.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, to help you make engaging B2B product videos that stand out and keep the viewer's attention, here is a list of seven high-quality product videos. Take a closer look at the lessons you can learn from each one.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. Differentiate yourself with a creative approach</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/miM6mBAfA8g" width="320" youtube-src-id="miM6mBAfA8g"></iframe></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Microsoft 365 markets its product in an unusual but compelling way. The 3D graphics in a cheerful and bright color palette combined with the rhythmic pacing and fluid transitions create an eye-catching video that attracts viewers and keeps their attention as the video unfolds.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even without a narrator in the video, all of those elements help build a story. The office tools' turning into app logos symbolizes the digitalization of workspaces—the core message Microsoft wants other businesses to walk away with.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> Whoever is making the decision to purchase your product has most likely seen thousands of videos before yours. To leave a lasting impression on those buyers, you need to differentiate yourself. Creative and eye-catching design elements can play a big role in that.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><b>2. Appeal to the viewer by using humor</b></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #231f20; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/71E0t7BIV8E" width="320" youtube-src-id="71E0t7BIV8E"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Whether you want to make someone feel joy, curiosity, or desire, video is a great format to generate emotional reactions because it appeals directly to viewers by presenting scenarios they can see themselves in. Which is exactly what this Adobe video does.</span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><b>3. Show, don't tell</b></span></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Moving to a work-from-home setup has been a tough transition for many, and Adobe Document Cloud uses humor to address that fact while conveying how its brand can help.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Appealing to the audience's common experiences is a key aspect of humor in marketing. And in the B2B environment, showing awareness of your customers' needs can make them feel understood, which makes your video and products more memorable.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>B2B Video Best-Practice:</b></span> Although your company may be targeting other companies to do business with, the ones who will ultimately make the call are humans, too. Using emotions can work to generate empathy in your viewers, thus making them more interested in the product you have to offer.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zy1bqL4DhFc" width="320" youtube-src-id="zy1bqL4DhFc"></iframe></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Showing your viewers how to use a product in a way that is clear but engaging at the same time can be challenging, but this Workday video makes it seem like the easiest thing in the world.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><b>4. Be mindful of time</b></span></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The video uses a technique known as <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">screencasting,</span> which entails recording your screen as you navigate a product's functionalities. The technique works particularly well for software companies because it allows them to guide viewers step-by-step through the ins and outs of the platform, making viewers actually experience how a program works.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By taking advantage of that technique, Workday is letting its product speak for itself. You can see how easy to use its software is.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> Great product videos are all about demonstrating the benefits and features of a product in relatable scenarios, and that's as true for B2B as it is for B2C content. To avoid creating confusing pieces, you sometimes need to get straight to the point and literally show viewers just how good your product is at doing what it does.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7iA6dkaXYoo" width="320" youtube-src-id="7iA6dkaXYoo"></iframe></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you're working on a product video, one of the most important considerations is runtime. B2B clients are, by definition, busy people, so creating brief and concise content can be vital for improving the effectiveness of your video.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><b>5. Invite an influential figure</b></span></p><p></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Grammarly provides a great example.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The video begins with a phrase that states the most important feature the company wants to highlight right away instead of waiting until the end, as most businesses do. Afterward, the narrator continues by giving relatable examples of real-use scenarios.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also note that instead of just telling you what happens when you use its product Grammarly shows you what happens when you <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">don't</em> use its product, which empowers the message by focusing on results, not promises.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> Just like this example's title says, in the B2B industry you need to communicate effectively. The best video production agencies understand that the first few seconds of your video are crucial. We advise starting your content on a strong and relevant note.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Stating the most important feature of what you're offering right at the beginning and then quickly explaining why is an effective approach.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLyYuEz-ws0" width="320" youtube-src-id="qLyYuEz-ws0"></iframe></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cisco is not afraid of investing in a famous celebrity as its spokesperson. Having an influential figure explain the benefits of your products can help garner attention and add awareness to your brand.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><b>6. Develop a concept and build around it</b></span></p><p></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What makes the collaboration work is that the mood depicted in the video matches the serious persona associated with Peter Dinklage.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But remember that the high-profile talent is representing you and your brand. Star power is great, but you have to make sure that whatever the star is conveying is not only accurate in its representation of your product but also in tune with your overall branding strategy.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> An established industry personality can be a powerful asset in garnering credibility for your company's product. It's okay if you don't have the budget for a celebrity; you can still look to partner with relevant industry leaders or influencers who'll lend credibility and prestige to your brand. Just make sure you are compatible!</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GEn2ISAFvvs" width="320" youtube-src-id="GEn2ISAFvvs"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So far, we've listed high-quality B2B videos with a whole cast of actors and narrators or compelling 3D animations. But even if you're operating with a limited budget, you can still produce effective pieces.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Employing the right music, using slick and fluid animations, and including kinetic moving text can do wonders for conveying your message and doing so in an appealing and engaging way. You just need to find the right aesthetic and tone to help viewers understand what your product can do for their business while creating a visual language that feels uniquely <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">yours.</em></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Creating a concept can be hard, but once you know what your videos need to be about, you'll be able to create powerful pieces that convey just what's necessary without breaking the bank.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> It's not always necessary to have a large budget for your video marketing. Even with limited resources, you can make fantastic, impactful pieces by using a straightforward but effective concept, proving that sometimes less really is more.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, "sans-serif"; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>7. Use insider insights</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, "sans-serif"; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t-bHrnLfYQ0" width="320" youtube-src-id="t-bHrnLfYQ0"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, "sans-serif"; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>What makes this B2B product video stand out is that it doesn't shy away from making niche content.</span><p></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although avoiding overly technical vocabulary is often a concern in B2B content for fear of overwhelming the audience, your potential clients are professionals who know about their business and needs, just like you do. Using insider terminology and industry insight can help your audience connect with your videos in a deeper way.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Volvo does that by building its video around a shared philosophy its viewers would find relevant: safe trucks that are also comfortable because they're spaces where their drivers not only work but also live.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">B2B Video Best-Practice:</span> We frequently forget that businesses have missions, visions, and shared objectives defined by the industries they operate in. By pouring your unique insight as a B2B business into your content, you can easily connect with companies that share the same views and values as you, and build longer-lasting relationships through your product videos.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People used to believe that B2B companies lagged behind B2C in producing high-quality product videos. Nowadays, that's no longer the case.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As you can see, there are many great B2B product videos out there. The competition may be rough, but it's important to keep your eyes open, learn from it, and use it to improve your own marketing content.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-32560199096350007772023-06-29T21:51:00.001-04:002023-06-29T21:51:29.494-04:00Artificial Intelligence: Powerful Writing Tools or the End of Creativity?<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b> Artificial Intelligence: Powerful Writing Tools or the End of Creativity?</b></span><div><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcMvit3L_yk_rrPb_fLcwhC7VioaY-pkDeJBy-o_Kn0RGL_Xq1374t79H0Mz3pwq_RInY3LIJsLIhm429IlKRMu2W0sIwkx69NfSSqTva9YLFkCMSSklOdXYpVPwhBgIlbhtfVm_hiWZJyKx-m4aYV_Niw63WnTrCyuk-l9COCOxIc27N2FPZrfxvlP4/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcMvit3L_yk_rrPb_fLcwhC7VioaY-pkDeJBy-o_Kn0RGL_Xq1374t79H0Mz3pwq_RInY3LIJsLIhm429IlKRMu2W0sIwkx69NfSSqTva9YLFkCMSSklOdXYpVPwhBgIlbhtfVm_hiWZJyKx-m4aYV_Niw63WnTrCyuk-l9COCOxIc27N2FPZrfxvlP4/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">It's
a little bizarre to be at a point in history when it bears considering whether
technology is going to eclipse innate human creativity.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That said, artificial intelligence
(AI) first contributed to music in the early 1950s, so
it's long been involved in creative projects to some degree. We could even
consider predictive text on our early 2000s Nokia brick phones as a primitive
form of AI writing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Recent advances in AI writing
software have resulted in an increase in the amount of AI-generated content
published online. Should writers be concerned?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before we start to panic and
envision a <em>Planet of
the Apes</em> scenario—but with robots—let's consider whether AI
really is the death of creativity, or whether it's a helpful tool that can
create compelling content.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ChatGPT took only five days to reach a million users, and Jasper's net worth has
reached $1.5 billion, so there's no denying generative AI is
already a massive industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But is the interest in and
desire for AI content generation warranted?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some agency owners are
favoring the software for a variety of reasons. It's cheaper than hiring a
human, and it's quicker. Plus, there's an element of novelty that makes
AI-generated content fun to experiment with. Jasper specifically focuses on
helping marketers create content by offering over 50 templates for various
forms of content, such as blog and social
media posts, ad campaigns, email marketing, and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">How to Use Tools Like ChatGPT and Jasper<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Research has been done from
the perspective of professional copywriters to clear things up on what AI
writing tools can do. Here's what has been determined.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">1. Generate blog post
title ideas</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When writer's block strikes,
enter generative AI! Generating blog post headlines is a useful way to employ
AI in your content strategy. Wrestling with writing a concise but meaningful
post title can be tricky, but AI prompts can help nudge you in the right
direction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's also handy if you're
stuck on subheadings within your blog post, and for email subject lines, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">2. Get ideas for
outlines</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AI tools can provide helpful
material for further inspiration, which can be especially helpful if you're
writing about a topic that's new to you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Using generative AI, you can
generate outlines that help you organize your thoughts and provide a framework
for your post. AI-created outlines take the work out of planning a blog post,
allowing you to enjoy the creative process of writing it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">3. Generate copy for
humans to edit</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you don't have an in-house
copywriter or you haven't outsourced a professional copywriter, AI can provide
you with a starting point. Some tools are quite proficient writers; with a bit
of human editing, the material can be suitable to publish. But there is a
caveat: You shouldn't fully trust artificial intelligence as the sole author.
It needs human intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">4. Gathers sources for
backlinks</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This use of AI has been a bit
of a gamechanger for improving SEO. Backlink generator tools use AI technology
to scan your writing to find options for backlinks that can increase traffic to
your website. Using AI to generate backlink suggestions is many times faster
than doing it manually, and the AI tools can search a wider range of sources
than a human could.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">What We Still Need Human Writers For<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And now, behold the
humblebrag.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">1. Flexibility of
writing style</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's not that difficult to
tell when a piece has been written by artificial intelligence. Generally, all
AI tools—ChatGPT and Jasper included—have the same tone of voice and are
lacking in personality (surprise, surprise) and individuality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Humans
have the creative advantage, and we can use it as often and as effortlessly as
required. We're able to adapt our tone to a brand's unique voice and tailor our
writing style according to the subject matter, splashing in a bit of sass or
treating delicate topics with compassion and care.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">2. Accessible analysis</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
tackling complex issues, humans once again come out on top. Often, AI-generated
content around a topic with multiple layers can either miss the mark entirely
or focus on just one element.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Humans
are still best at taking complex ideas and breaking them into smaller,
digestible points. Human-written content is often more
readable and is better at providing unique and interesting takes. Writing
requires many subtleties that AI cannot yet keep up with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">3. In-depth research</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There's
no denying AI's capacity to scan and interpret material online at a pace
unachievable by humans. However, AI tools simply mimic the information they
find online. They do it exceptionally well, but they are not creating their
own, original research. It takes a human to do that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
have the brain power to gather information from various resources in an
intuitive way that can change with our findings. We have the capacity to
interpret what we learn from that research and expand on it, forming original
ideas and valuable insight; AI can't yet match that ability.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">4. Emotional connection</span></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h3>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Contrary
to what films such as Her or Ex Machina might have you believe, AI's grasp on
emotion doesn't make it a viable option for a romantic partner, regardless of
how jaded you are from the dating scene.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jasper,
ChatGPT, and other AI writing tools copy the language of human writers. They
don't have the capacity to create original emotional connections between a
written piece and its audience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Humans
understand the emotional power of words. Professional writers know how those
words can engage fellow humans online to connect with an audience and lead
buyers through the buying journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Emotion
is integral to great copywriting, and it simply cannot be achieved by
artificial intelligence copywriting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">The Bottom Line<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
are ChatGPT and Jasper going to lead to the demise of human creativity?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
certainly hope not. And we also don't believe that it ever will.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AI
writing technology can serve a purpose in content writing when used correctly.
It's best used as a tool to assist your creativity and workflow, not as an
alternative to human brainpower. Although AI writing tools have many useful
benefits, they are not capable of the level of cultural nuance and unique
emotional capacity of the human perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Only
humans draw on lived experience and inspiration to truly connect with audiences
and fellow humans.</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></div></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-52196425415992740042023-05-30T19:48:00.001-04:002023-05-30T19:48:44.970-04:00What Is Marketing Strategy? A Brief Introduction<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">What Is Marketing Strategy? A Brief Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4U4piQ3HGdLlRU8zPnEBSQZlLYZwQkQXF2afGM6BgG5CXRAwnQkSBc4_lvJBFXUrq1fnf3sK2lZif7UWhgEjtKvmtrrMb1bdBMDz86U_nrPF0HwwnycbiOJlSUBhA7xDJ51Ek6IBFdzLaQZJpUtkBdbRtIfnRARQM2xBkXoqPNMRof-HEwG3aCjCC/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4U4piQ3HGdLlRU8zPnEBSQZlLYZwQkQXF2afGM6BgG5CXRAwnQkSBc4_lvJBFXUrq1fnf3sK2lZif7UWhgEjtKvmtrrMb1bdBMDz86U_nrPF0HwwnycbiOJlSUBhA7xDJ51Ek6IBFdzLaQZJpUtkBdbRtIfnRARQM2xBkXoqPNMRof-HEwG3aCjCC/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;">"What
is the definition of </span></b><b>marketing
strategy</b><b><span style="color: #231f20;">?" is a common question among
marketing professionals and others in the business world.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So let's cover some basic
ideas that separate marketing strategy from other aspects of marketing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: #231f20;">First, the focus of a
marketing strategy is broad—it takes a </span></strong><em><b><span style="color: #231f20;">helicopter
view</span></b></em><strong><span style="color: #231f20;"> of the marketing landscape.</span></strong><span style="color: #231f20;"> As
such, it does not focus on tactics—such as lead generation, content
marketing, </span>social
media<span style="color: #231f20;">, and the like. Strategy asks different, larger questions. And
although the mindset of strategy tends to be analytic, strategy escapes
analytic boundaries and ventures beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: #231f20;">Second, the perspective of
marketing strategy is </span></strong><em><b><span style="color: #231f20;">long-term.</span></b></em><span style="color: #231f20;"> That
clashes with the short-term attitudes that dominate marketing. You do need a
short-term viewpoint, but a strategy's long-term view is what sustains
organizations over time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><strong><span style="color: #231f20;">Third, marketing strategy
aims to provide a </span></strong><em><b><span style="color: #231f20;">sustainable, differential
advantage over the competition.</span></b></em><span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's ground all that in
terms of the common ways we think about marketing: Strategy is not focused on
personas or specific people—say, a customer. Nor is a strategy focused on the
level of market descriptors, such as SIC codes or Industry verticals. Instead,
marketing strategy comes into play at the level of the entire market—and even
potential markets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, when we think about that
higher level, what questions arise that are the domain of marketing strategy?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
is the market changing over time?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
is the future of the market?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where
are future competitors coming from?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
types of growth strategies exist right now and might in future?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
does my company get a differential advantage over the competition now and
in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">What Is a Market?<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those questions about
marketing strategy bring into focus a central issue: You need a deep
understanding of your market.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But what is a market?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, that's a bit tricky to
answer because a market is not tangible: You can't touch, smell, taste, see, or
hear a market—it's a concept. So there are various ways to think about it,
including these two common, lower-level approaches:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20;">The
simplest definition of a market is <strong>your
current and potential customers and the competitors vying for those customers.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #231f20;">A
more specific market definition is at the level of <strong>product category, industry, or
vertical.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many companies focus on those
two narrow, limited ways to define a market. As a result, they get blindsided
by the competition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Who Is Your Competition?<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A
classic viewpoint on competition comes from Michael Porter, who wrote the
seminal book on the topic: <em>Competitive
Strategy,</em> in 1985. Porter says companies face competition from
five sources:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At
the two levels of a market noted above: <strong>competitors vying for your
customers right now.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
competition could also evolve from <strong>suppliers to your industry</strong> and <strong>buyers in your industry.</strong> The
classic example of the first is a manufacturer who sells to retailers but
decides to go around and sell directly to end customers; and in the second
case, some buyers can integrate backward, such as buying a company that
supplies the brands or services needed for production.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
the two sources of competition perhaps most surprising (and terrifying)
for companies because of the threat they pose are <strong>new entrants</strong> and <strong>substitutes.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Higher-Level Strategic Thinking<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Going
beyond the lower-level definitions of a market, let's see if we can think at a
higher-level approach to view potential new entrants and substitutes—sources of
competition that are particularly threatening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A
higher-level view considers a market as "a group of customers who want or
need the benefits they derive from product/services"—and not the
products/services themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's
provide an example.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Consider
the taxicab industry. Taxis can be traced back to 1640, when horse-drawn
vehicles were available for hire. The modern taxi business was critical to many
cities, such as New York, as they provided transportation around urban areas.
Under the medallion system, taxis operated with limited competition. Although
they competed with other modes of transport—buses, subways, private cars, shoe
leather—there was no other convenient way to get from one point to another in a
city except by taxi that could be hailed or called.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
smartphones came out in the early 2000s, the taxi industry made no attempt to
provide more control and certainty to consumers who wanted rides. Eventually,
along came Uber (2010) and Lyft (2012).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Taxi
companies could not believe anyone would jump in a car with an unlicensed
stranger. But people valued the benefits of hailing and paying for rides from
their phones. Meanwhile, what had made taxis dominant—the centralized dispatch
systems, limits on the supply of medallions, industry regulations, and the
like—became liabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bottom
line: companies that regularly look to both understand the benefits customers
want and are willing to re-examine their business practices are less likely to
get blindsided by inevitable market evolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
the point about marketing strategy is simple: Think at a
high-level view. At a strategic level. When you do, you will see competitors in
the market: You will see the threat of new entrants, you will see substitute
products, and much more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You
can achieve that level of insight not by focusing on your company, the
competitors in your market right now, or your products and services. You
achieve it by focusing on the benefits that customers in the market want or
need.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
focus will help you take a "helicopter view," a strategic long-term
viewpoint, which will lead to a differential advantage over the competition.</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-14244207978034240002023-04-27T18:37:00.000-04:002023-04-27T18:37:35.669-04:00The days of spray-and-pray advertising are dead<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>The days of spray-and-pray advertising are dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLiI5pNxybrPHRQVgzGYP594626Hy9hlzrDGwxNyekAcj0xbzziDUgMKjgQALV3pZHuY4bpaZk3cE8PgTc7nvB1h3XCllPgdAGIYK2r2x8pNPcby4JXRtWPj_uxwHrk5IdUW7jxDeNQUtqK1Qy_4MuRWBWbDjLSp5z8nMAepw7Mgdub3G0S_JatuQ/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLiI5pNxybrPHRQVgzGYP594626Hy9hlzrDGwxNyekAcj0xbzziDUgMKjgQALV3pZHuY4bpaZk3cE8PgTc7nvB1h3XCllPgdAGIYK2r2x8pNPcby4JXRtWPj_uxwHrk5IdUW7jxDeNQUtqK1Qy_4MuRWBWbDjLSp5z8nMAepw7Mgdub3G0S_JatuQ/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
days of spray-and-pray advertising are dead. They have been for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These days, audience targeting is a critical part of
any marketing campaign. Most marketers use Big Data—the decade's sexiest
buzzword—to target prospects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The bad news is that Big Data is worthless unless it's of the
highest quality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, most ad campaigns are fueled by irrelevant,
untrustworthy data. Bad-quality data costs companies on average nearly $13
million per year, according to a Gartner survey.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you don't have high-quality data, you're in a lose-lose
situation: You lose out on potential customers because of mistargeted ads, and
you put yourself at risk financially, legally, and reputationally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To address that issue, before launching campaigns you should
ensure the accuracy and quality of any data that you are using.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Easier said than done, right? But there are ways to verify data
sets and ensure that the data you amass in the future is trustworthy and
accurate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Conduct
a data audit of your current assets</span></span></p><ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">The data has been collected with the
appropriate consent.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">It abides by privacy regulation
requirements.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">The sources and methods of data
collection are transparent.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">The process for producing the
resulting data follows industry best-practices.</span></span></li></ul><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Look
for problems</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">1. Identify and eliminate duplicates</span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">2. Check for out-of-date data</span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">3. Look for incomplete records</span></i></span><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;"><span><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Prevent
bad data in the first place</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">1. Standardize your data auditing process</span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">2. Set up ongoing data monitoring</span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #231f20; line-height: 107%;">3. Rinse and repeat</span></i></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;"><span><i><br /></i></span></span><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't
let bad data ruin your ads</span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You might not be sure of the quality of your data right now, but
it's possible to introduce processes that will help you find out exactly what
you're dealing with. Possible, and necessary: data verification and hygiene
should be a routine practice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To start, conduct a thorough audit of all internally and
externally sourced data sets. That includes data that you are directly
collecting as well as data that you license from other partners.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nobody likes the word "audit," but it's a necessary
part of your data verification process. Simply put, you need to confirm that
your data is legally OK.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Use internal teams or work with a partner that specializes in
data process and policy verification to confirm that...<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of your data might not be up to snuff, but it's better to
find that out now than during a lawsuit later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you have a better understanding of the processes and
policies used to produce your data assets, you can conduct a risk assessment of
your data sets. That will then help you decide which data sets to continue
using and which to stop using because of potential compliance issues or quality
risks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After your audit, it's time to review and assess the data
itself. When reviewing and cleaning your data, there are a few key problems to
look for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Duplicate data can come from a variety of places: Data
migration, manual data entry, third-party connectors, data exchanges, and batch
imports can all cause duplicate entries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having multiple records for the same data point means you're
paying extra for the storage, and you risk misinterpreting your results. You're
also sending redundant messages to your prospects.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Data is not like wine or cheese. It doesn't age well at all. In
fact, the older the data, the less useful it is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For instance, you may be targeting a prospect who clicked on
your ad a year ago, but who no longer works at the company you have in your
records. Or you may be relying on intent data from a partner that was
based on shopping behaviors the person exhibited six months ago while your products
have a much shorter purchase cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Incomplete records are especially likely if you have any kind of
manual data input in your process.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Imagine you convert 30% of your prospects who come to you
through Google Ads, but for half of those conversions you don't have the
marketing channel recorded as a consequence of a technical error. When it's
time to pull together a marketing report, you might mistakenly believe Google
Ads aren't very effective. You could lose the opportunity to double-down on a
winning strategy, and you might instead mistakenly invest in a less effective
channel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you have a handle on the scope of the data cleansing
problem, you can decide whether it's small enough to fix manually or whether
it's worth investing in technology to help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're just a small company, it may be worth your time to
spend a few days hunting through your CRM to ensure your records are complete,
and maybe spend some time on LinkedIn to update your data. If you have too much
data to reasonably comb through manually, you can look to automated technology
or services that could do it for you instead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ideally, you won't find yourself in the position of having to go
back and verify data sets after you have been using them. As they say, an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are three tactics that can help you avoid the issue of
low-quality data altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Establish the criteria that you will rely on to select data
sources up front, and establish a process—internally or with an audit
partner—for verifying compliance with your criteria. Such verification must be
conducted before working with new data partners or introducing new data
collection methods yourself. It needs to become a standard operating procedure
to ensure everyone knows your best-practices and is evaluating data sets
consistently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite your best-practices, bad data can and will creep in.
Even if your data collection and sourcing technique is flawless, age will
render your records less valuable. Data partners can modify their collecting
techniques or methodologies, which can then have an impact on your performance
from using that data.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Instead of waiting for data quality to become an issue, set up
regular monitoring of your data, either automated or manual. Also, conduct
regular re-audits of your data partners to verify what has or has not changed
in their processes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you repeat those two steps, you'll have a clean, robust,
low-risk data set you can rely on for your marketing campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In a perfect world, ideal prospects would see the most
persuasive ad at exactly the right time, and they'd convert.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That perfect world is not so far-fetched: Data can help you
accomplish that with ease—if it's good-quality data.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Consider this situation: You source data from a partner that did
not provide a clear opt-in during the original data collection. That partner
also wasn't transparent with the user about how the collected data would be
used. You try to contact the prospect, but you're met with annoyance and
frustration because, of course, he or she never consented to being contacted by
you in the first place. That prospect does not turn into a lead, which
obviously is a waste of your time and money. Worse, you could face potential
compliance issues as a result of your using data that was collected
noncompliantly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now imagine this scenario: A Google ad reaches your ideal
prospect, who sees it and, upon being presented with a clear opt-in, signs up
for your mailing list. Your sales team speaks with that person and knows
exactly what the prospect's needs are thanks to the clear consent and clean
data about that prospect. The prospect converts, and your marketing team knows
that Google Ads are a great way forward thanks to clean data collection and
clear consent from the prospect to be contacted by you. Big Data for the win!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By rigorously validating data sources, cleansing current data,
and setting up procedures to avoid poor data collection risks in the future,
your ads will increase in both effectiveness and ROI.</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p></div><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-20427845497331054752023-03-30T16:22:00.001-04:002023-03-30T16:22:41.594-04:00Why You Should Be 'Cloning' Your Best Customers to Grow Your Business<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Why You Should Be 'Cloning' Your Best Customers to Grow Your Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-hqeLWbsz_xiE6yGNYZ0nvY3aIwBPYHG1y4Z_SaDoP5F15mb7MZLOw9JjBU9WHh2k9_6YQKkY2VnZobR8MykRSeZBX0IOMbFMSSzbp--ZRoPj0JmVwXXLf3r7OvvZQpFuKm8xFuLtOqWSAdQq1MZuqmL-Kqbg0-5gp5rU-fUgipE_XRysQQhfHc9/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX-hqeLWbsz_xiE6yGNYZ0nvY3aIwBPYHG1y4Z_SaDoP5F15mb7MZLOw9JjBU9WHh2k9_6YQKkY2VnZobR8MykRSeZBX0IOMbFMSSzbp--ZRoPj0JmVwXXLf3r7OvvZQpFuKm8xFuLtOqWSAdQq1MZuqmL-Kqbg0-5gp5rU-fUgipE_XRysQQhfHc9/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Growth looks different for each company, but there are generally a few core tenets companies must adhere to: hire the right people, provide superior customer service, and engage in the right form of targeted marketing.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those key elements will help your company acquire the customers you want. But once you have those customers, how do you get more like them?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By analyzing your most successful customer interactions and understanding customers' goals, you can better inform your marketing efforts to replicate your best and favorite customers.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So how is that done? Let's break it down into a few key steps.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">1. Define your best audience, and find where they hang out</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To replicate your best customers, you first need to define who they are at their core. That can be done by tapping into data you likely already have on them.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Look at the attributes of your current customers:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What industries do they work in?</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is their role in their organization?</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What pain points does your company or product help them address?</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What do their engagement and attitudinal data (feelings, motivations, and opinions toward a product, brand, or customer experience) tell you?</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which ones are bringing in the most revenue for you?</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After you've collected the data, look for common patterns and themes.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those patterns and themes ultimately provide a data-driven picture of who your best customer is and, therefore, who your lookalike best customers are. And to reach those best customer prospects, you will need specific messaging at the right place and at the right time.</span></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">2. Use AI for data-crunching and creating predictive audience models</span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although data can be pulled together manually, a lot of companies aren't sure how to scale it. An automated approach can help you continually build digital intelligence regarding your customers.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Because artificial intelligence can create simulation models and customize buying processes through suggestions and predictions stemming from machine-learning technology, many companies now use AI to determine the courses of action they should take with their target audiences. For example, AI can suggest products based on earlier purchases, pageviews, and inquiries.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first thought many have in regard to using AI is, "I don't have the data to do this," when, in reality, they do. Though the quality of your data might be questionable, there are ways to mitigate that concern.</span></p><p id="anchor1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For example, a lot of manufacturers have siloed data in their organization; it's just a matter of being able to connect and crunch the data to determine who your best customers are—and then assess the quality and quantity of the output.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ultimately, cloning your next best customers starts with such data-crunching and eventually moves on to creating audience models. Those models can take several forms; ideally, though, you'll use a predictive audience type model. Those data-driven models work to identify your next best customers through leading (predictive) indicators, such as these:</span></p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Product affinities: What items customers purchase together while shopping</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Customer lifetime value: The total worth to a business of a customer over the entire period of their relationship</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Promotion engagement: Discounts, rebates, etc.</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When building these predictive audience models, you will still rely on typical data points—channel and website engagement, demographics, and psychographic information as well.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The AI tool you use will help you to crunch the data much more quickly using machine-learning, and automatically send those audience suggestions to your other platforms, including for marketing (marketing automation, Google ads, social platforms, etc.) but also other key areas of your business, such as your sales CRM and customer service tool.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Marketers can use the predictive audiences to not only find net-new customers but also mine your current database for lookalike customers and provide them with meaningful product recommendations.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even at the engagement level, marketers can look at predictive audiences to know who might unsubscribe from their ad or email channels and adjust their channel communications to avoid unsubscribes from those customers before it happens, which will save valuable touchpoints and dollars in the meantime.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Using tools like Salesforce Einstein, which is a comprehensive AI for CRM, is very helpful here because it automatically helps you crunch your data at scale (faster than our human brains and hands can process data!) and target these kinds of customer-acquisition and current-customer growth opportunities.</span></p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">3. Arm your internal team with the data to 'digitally hunt' clones</span></h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once the data is gathered and the picture of your ideal customers is more complete, your internal teams—those who have the most customer-facing roles, usually Marketing, Sales, and Service—can use that information for their campaigns or customer touchpoints to not only find and target the next wave of best customers but also deepen their share of wallet and delight your current customer base.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You might find that your next best customers are already in your own backyard!</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's use the example of a company that makes and sells heavy-duty truck and trailer parts. It wants to find businesses that buy trucking parts online so that its marketers or salespeople can follow up with a personalized email. If the company has an existing database of 3,000 contacts, it's unrealistic for the salespeople to go through every contact, harvesting and cross-examining data points to make up models. Instead, the data they've collected can be fed into an AI tool that will help them choose the contacts who match up to their ideal target audience, ultimately narrowing down the list. By doing so and by subsequently creating a more targeted segment, you ensure your messaging will resonate more since it's designed for that specific audience—versus the "batch and blast" method that can lead to disengagement with your channels and your brand.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As privacy laws and regulations continue to become stricter, affecting how companies are able to track and use data, beware of purchasing and using third-party lists. Companies often purchase such lists with the hope of having a quick surge of contacts in their database that are "ideal" customers. However, those lists can quickly pose problems:</span></p><ul class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even though they are sold as "verified," it's not uncommon that those verified contacts are unreachable shortly after you purchase the list: people change jobs, update their names, and more.</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's more important is that they have not opted in to receive communications from you, which puts you at risk of confronting CAN-SPAM and other regulatory issues.</span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Moreover, people on such lists are likely to not only opt-out but also come away with a negative experience with your brand, which most definitely won't turn them into new (or repeat) customers.</span></li></ul><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Replicated customers = growth</span></h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With the right planning, data, and tools in place, you'll gain the complete picture of the best customers you're replicating. The result? Net-new acquisition of highly valuable customers and increased share of wallet within your own (existing customer) backyard.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-91220146239177577002023-02-27T14:30:00.000-05:002023-02-27T14:30:10.004-05:00AI for Customer Support: More Meaningful Interactions, Less Costly Resolutions<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> AI for Customer Support: More Meaningful Interactions, Less Costly Resolutions</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ryUs5jk3iyBG3qPvEBheO-QzG57M5-2XnEium4q4xiYkb1yk7FpTaLnAcxJuwPhEeVK150--PMEsk21ny8lUpCasGowUKTvlNoxtPgoRFeV0PDMjBZzQRYPNCPCM8iipRXxwDnruXqHFY9wyYnLTgjP-oh_ctW466q8PLsNjSrC1gBc361hU3_lD/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ryUs5jk3iyBG3qPvEBheO-QzG57M5-2XnEium4q4xiYkb1yk7FpTaLnAcxJuwPhEeVK150--PMEsk21ny8lUpCasGowUKTvlNoxtPgoRFeV0PDMjBZzQRYPNCPCM8iipRXxwDnruXqHFY9wyYnLTgjP-oh_ctW466q8PLsNjSrC1gBc361hU3_lD/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In an uncertain
economy, excellent customer service is paramount because customers must make
tough decisions about where they spend their tighter budgets. Companies that
recognize that and prioritize creating amazing customer experiences will come
out as winners.</span></b></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But customers aren't
the only ones tightening their purse strings in a volatile economy. As
companies reduce headcount and shift spending from (perceived) "cost
centers," such as Customer Support, customer service leaders have to do
more with less. Any investments in customer experience require quick, concrete
benefits to bottom lines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, how will companies
provide impressive service to customers while working with leaner support teams
in the coming years?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Artificial
intelligence has been at the heart of many back-office systems in customer
support for years, turning time-consuming manual processes into lightning-fast
automated workflows. But the advent of <i>generative</i> AI, which
interprets human language and mimics human speech, writing, and art (among
other creative outputs) means companies can help customers while also making
them feel understood and appreciated––at scale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Generative AI tools
have the potential to revolutionize customer support for companies. By
improving agent productivity, reducing resolution times, and creating more
personalized experiences, generative AI tools can help companies save money and
compete better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moreover, making
customer support more enjoyable for customers will help create repeat customers
and </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">brand loyalty</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">.<span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's examine six jobs
that AI tools can handle for customer support teams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Automate and improve support ticket routing<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Businesses are using
AI to handle the tedious tasks involved in triaging and routing tickets,
freeing up agents to focus on more pressing issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the past few years,
AI-powered support products have been reducing manual work for agents by
automatically tagging support tickets by category. But the release of OpenAI's
ChatGPT means AI capabilities now go beyond picking up keywords and using
decision trees to send a ticket to the right department.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Generative AI tools
can completely change the customer service experience by reading customer
messages and understanding sentiment and intent to determine the customer's
urgency level. They can write tickets for agents, summarizing key information
about the customer inquiry and highlighting any elements that might be of
particular concern. All that allows for a more personalized experience that
will ultimately lead to happier customers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For common customer
support issues, AI tools can remove the need for ticketing altogether. </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Solve</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> from Forethought, for example, can deflect customer
inquiries directly to knowledge base articles, or use those articles to
generate unique, personalized responses to customer questions. Customers can
get answers to their questions immediately—without the need for support team
help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As companies strive to
meet rapidly increasing demand, AI-powered ticketing solutions help deflect
customer inquiries to self-service channels. That allows companies to grow at a
reduced cost, without increasing headcount.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Answer customer questions across multiple channels<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unhelpful customer
interactions with pre-scripted chatbots will soon be a thing of the past.
Generative AI tools can extract information from millions of documents to
deliver answers to almost any customer question in a conversational,
personalized way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Customer support
solution companies such as </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Forethought</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Ada</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> have built support-specific chat tools using ChatGPT that
are designed to mimic the way humans process and understand language. Such chat
solutions are ideal for helping customers with live chat, help lines, and email
support, as well as social media support and chat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To ensure more
helpful, on-brand answers to customer inquiries, companies can limit their
customer support chat tool's dataset to their knowledge base content.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using automated
workflows, AI-powered support tools can also connect with CRM or e-commerce
platforms via application programming interfaces (APIs) to carry out simple
customer requests, such as reporting on order status or changing contact
information—thus eliminating wait times for customers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although GPT-powered
support chats are text-based for now, we anticipate voice solutions will be
developed in the next year or so.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Make customer interactions more personalized<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When given access
to </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">first-party customer
data</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">,</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> such as purchase or
website browsing history, generative AI tools can provide support interactions
tailored to the individual needs and preferences of each customer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An AI tool can turn a
support chat with a customer into a friendly, helpful conversation that
troubleshoots known issues related to recent purchases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Imagine a support
conversation in which a virtual agent, powered by AI, greets a customer by name
and asks whether the customer is contacting support about a recent purchase.
Once the customer confirms, the virtual agent asks about the issue. In this scenario,
let's say the customer needs a replacement part. The virtual agent arranges for
the part to be sent to the customer's mailing address and offers to have a
support team member contact the customer once the part arrives for a
walkthrough of how to install the part.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Human agents can also
partner with generative AI writing tools to give customers more white-glove
treatment. Support agents can prompt AI tools to compose follow-up emails using
customer service call or chat transcripts. The AI can tailor messaging to each
customer, summarizing the conversation and referencing "human"
moments from it, such as mentions of sports teams or complaints about the
weather. It can even recommend products based on the conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In both scenarios, the
customer leaves the interaction feeling seen, valued, and supported. When
customers have that kind of experience at scale, customer satisfaction scores
and retention rates soar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Assist and train customer support agents<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the handoff to
support agents, AI chatbots can help agents resolve tickets faster by providing
recommended resolutions derived from the knowledge base, previous responses,
and known bugs. Based on past interactions and similar cases. an AI solution
could suggest the best course of action for each customer interaction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To boost productivity,
agents can use AI to automate simple or complex processes, such as processing
refunds and checking order status.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AI can also run
simulated situations for agents to respond to, providing feedback on areas
where they can improve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the assistance of
AI, supervisors won't need to constantly monitor calls and chats for training
purposes, freeing them up to do higher-level work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Develop more effective content for help centers and knowledge
bases<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Help center articles</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"> are a necessary part of providing
excellent customer service, but they can be time-consuming to create.
Generative AI tools such as </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Writer</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">, </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Jasper</span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">, and </span><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Copy.ai</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> can help save time by automating some of
the processes*.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AI writing tools are
trained on your company's documentation and marketing content. They can walk
writers through creating FAQs and help center articles, instantly generating
language based on information gathered from your company's materials; help keep
terminology and messaging consistent across all articles—no matter who's
writing them—by enforcing brand guidelines; and detect readability issues to
make sure the language used is accessible to all readers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*At least
four hours were saved by using Writer to help outline and edit this article.</span></i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Analyze customer data to pre-empt issues<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AI solutions can use
customer data to address issues before they become costly problems. By gaining
insights on customer purchase history and support interactions, businesses can
understand their customers' needs and preferences. That data can be used to improve
self-service options, find gaps in knowledge base and help center content, and
provide more personalized agent interactions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Tools such as </span>IrisAgent<span style="color: #231f20;"> can
predict escalation and churn risk by discovering trending product and customer
experience issues detected from anomalies in support and product data and alert
CS teams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">There's no denying
that generative AI will change the landscape for customer support. Even in the
face of tighter operating budgets, companies already dedicated to providing
more engaging and efficient support experiences can continue to do so with the
help of AI tools.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AI isn't about
removing humans from Customer Support. It's about offering high-quality
interactions, empowering human support agents to do their jobs, and making
customer relationships last.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-75137401812194593422023-01-30T16:40:00.000-05:002023-01-30T16:40:55.388-05:00DIY vs. Professional Video Production: A Brief Guide<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> DIY vs. Professional Video Production: A Brief Guide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWD8kfVeC5kvX2HG5gPeNtmsieVAv6_kJYmafFgQeJDQWXXYWNecWtUZ4KASKE93nB2Zj5Wy3hdfdxvYZQQKfTtM1ub9F_sax9G8KcLq1yBcjjjzcjnh5HsSD86hLUOqzFV4UhSoSbwGFQibj0PMUiq1hkU8TcSoNMgzWky6mwl09QyUB819q1sv5/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWD8kfVeC5kvX2HG5gPeNtmsieVAv6_kJYmafFgQeJDQWXXYWNecWtUZ4KASKE93nB2Zj5Wy3hdfdxvYZQQKfTtM1ub9F_sax9G8KcLq1yBcjjjzcjnh5HsSD86hLUOqzFV4UhSoSbwGFQibj0PMUiq1hkU8TcSoNMgzWky6mwl09QyUB819q1sv5/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h1><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's a tough spot to
be in: You know you need a video, but man... does video production cost a lot!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That's when you ask
THE question: Maybe we could just DIY the video?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That's a question
asked at marketing agencies and marketing departments all over the
country—every day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unfortunately, there's
no easy answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But... I'd like to
give you <i>some</i> guidance—and maybe help make your decision a
little easier.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Now, because I'm own a </span>video
production company<span style="color: #231f20;"> specializing in marketing videos, you might
assume I'd suggest you hire a pro.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not so fast!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">DIY marketing videos
have their place. In this
article, I'll give you the (figurative) Cliff's Notes version of what you'd
find in </span>Lights, Camera, Impact.<span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You Should Probably Do It Yourself If...<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yours is a small organization<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are you a small
business or organization? No fancy coffee machine. Sarah is the only one with a
decent desk chair. No marketing budget to speak of.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If this fits the
description of your company, feel free to DIY your video.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The reason is
simple... you probably can't afford to hire a pro to produce it for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You have a highly informal company culture</span></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is your company
culture a bit kitschy? Ping pong table in the office. Everyone wears T-shirts
and flip-flops. Most important... your customers know that about your business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You're probably a
candidate to DIY your marketing videos.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Producing a video
yourself will likely only lend to your kitschy reputation: The amateur nature
of the video will be seen as fun and endearing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your videos are for social posts<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">If you're just
producing </span>short videos for social channels<span style="color: #231f20;"> (e.g.,
Instagram) or doing a Facebook Live, it's totally fine to DIY those.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your audiences in both
cases aren't expecting a big production. You can get away with mistakes. As a
matter of fact, many viewers will appreciate the raw, authentic-looking
production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are plenty of
social videos that deserve a more polished production, but something 30-seconds
or less, or a live video, are in the DIY marketing video category.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But You Should Hire a Video Pro If...<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You don't fall into
those categories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In that case, you
should seriously consider hiring a pro.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An About Us video for your
website? Hire a pro.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">A product or service video
you're planning for a </span>landing page<span style="color: #231f20;">? Hire
a pro.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A testimonial you're planning
to use to close a sale? Hire a pro.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are some good
reasons for choosing professional video production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Produce video better and faster<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first reason is
that a video pro will produce a better video than you, and will probably do it
in less time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Video pros have dedicated
their working lives to mastering their craft, just as you have with whatever
you do for a living.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Protect your reputation<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe most
important... your reputation is on the line.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once a CMO at a
billion-dollar corporation asked, "How can I sell my CEO on this when I
know she's going to ask, 'Can't we just shoot this on one of our
iPhones?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I picked up one of her
business cards off her desk and said, "Wow, this is a really nice business
card. I'm sure you just went down to Office Depot and bought the DIY Avery
business cards, right?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you have an
established business with a good reputation, why would you produce a subpar DIY
video for all your potential customers to see?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A bad marketing video
makes the entire company look bad. Don't DIY a video and risk tarnishing the
reputation you worked so hard to build.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If You Decide You're Going to DIY Video...</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OK, you're going to
DIY your video. The last thing I want you doing is flying blind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's give you some
practical advice—some tidbits that will improve your project.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let the robots do it<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Maybe the best and
least time consuming piece of advice is to find an AI business that can do it
for you. There are some online options available to you to make it
simple: </span>Lumen5<span style="color: #231f20;"> is one, </span>Raw
Shorts<span style="color: #231f20;"> is another.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You upload some photos
or video, add text, and let the algorithm do the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't sweat the camera too much<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you're going to
shoot the video yourself, the camera is the least of your worries. The one in
your pocket is fine. Yes, you can use your smartphone. It's better than the
cameras I was using professionally 10 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just a couple of
simple tips:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First, if you're shooting a
person on-camera (or yourself), think about how you shoot a selfie to take
a flattering photo. You want the lens to be eye-height or slightly higher.
Kim Kardashian knows what she's doing.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Second, make sure you're not
including too much headroom. You want the top of the head almost butting
up against the top of the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Audio is worth investing in</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The best way to
recognize an amateur video from a pro video doesn't have anything to do with
how the video looks. It's all about how the video sounds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's worth investing
in a microphone. Even a cheap $20 mic is better than the one built into your
camera or phone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lighting will give you away<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second easiest way
to spot an amateur video is the lighting. If you don't have a separate video
light attached to your camera or on a stand, get creative. The brighter the
room the better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you're lighting an
interview subject, grab a lamp and put it as close to that person as possible
without seeing it in the frame. Or stick the interviewee in a window, but not
with their back to it; that will put them in silhouette. Instead, make sure the
outside light is shining in their face.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Focus on story and emotion<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't just spout out
stats. Video isn't about facts and figures. Video is about emotion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do your best to tell a
story that's going to tap some sort of emotion. Leave your viewers feeling good
about the business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wrapping Up<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Video is an incredible
marketing tool. You can use it to communicate a message, tap emotions, and
build trust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: arial;">Following the video
guidelines and tips in this article will put you on the path to creating better
corporate and marketing videos.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at <a href="mailto:john@x2media.us">john@x2media.us</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-82858580111947644862022-11-29T10:57:00.000-05:002022-11-29T10:57:17.686-05:00Why PR (And Marketing) Pros Need to Embrace Imperfect AI Writing Technology Now<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Why PR (And Marketing) Pros Need to Embrace Imperfect AI Writing Technology Now</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: xx-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1RfcHvriS4eeGR0-n7AHttgDjaaIoyWXjsEkUS3h6NfVbeJoBRtez4UySrYf0qY2E4RGCWqc9P0yb5y__aFuZpWllrZ-GzYoU7-xgOvAvxkhfszqm5VrVSOcO_3edq_yjzTERcsQ12NobQr9DXKyCHOr00kPkURZhBuvotMlheShd_hFHq33FqYJ/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1RfcHvriS4eeGR0-n7AHttgDjaaIoyWXjsEkUS3h6NfVbeJoBRtez4UySrYf0qY2E4RGCWqc9P0yb5y__aFuZpWllrZ-GzYoU7-xgOvAvxkhfszqm5VrVSOcO_3edq_yjzTERcsQ12NobQr9DXKyCHOr00kPkURZhBuvotMlheShd_hFHq33FqYJ/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">People often say
artificial intelligence (AI) isn't going to put anyone out of a job any time
soon. But they're wrong. Unless you work out how to incorporate AI into your
workflow today, tomorrow you'll be out of business.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Not saying an AI writing bot is literally going to do your job
for you: AI still can't produce intelligent, comprehensible text without human
supervision. But AI can already generate pitches, press releases, email
outreach, and social media updates, and it can do it faster than a human
can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">So, although AI may not replace PR professionals outright,
agencies that don't adopt AI run the risk of obsolescence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Many industries have seen the writing on the wall. Healthcare,
finance, and transportation have all become leaders in AI adoption,
and those industries have become more efficient and profitable as a result.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">But for some reason, PR lags behind. Despite dozens of articles
written on how to use AI in marketing and PR, many agencies just
aren't biting. Why?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Yes, change is hard, and it's certainly understandable that PR
firms and marketing companies would be comfortable with their established
patterns and workflows. It can be tempting to keep doing things as you always
have.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">But it's time for the PR industry to adopt AI and adapt it to
its own purposes. Even if AI is not perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">The Rise of 'AI Wrote This'<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Right now, for many PR companies, AI is a novelty. We've all
seen the quaint blog posts and articles that marvel,
"AI generated this text!"—although usually with human oversight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">The articles get shared in the company Slack channel. The
reaction is often "pretty cool, smarter than expected, wild to think AI
came up with this all on its own." Maybe someone says, "Should we try
this out sometime?" And then the idea is forgotten or dismissed as mere
curiosity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">The lack of urgency is understandable. AI applications for PR
right now are admittedly limited. Here is an example of a leading AI
text-generator company to generate a LinkedIn outreach message, it was
basically a word salad:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Hey Steve,</span></em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">I love that you founded Intelligent Relations and it was
co-founded by startup founders. And our experience, startups are often super
innovative, always questioning the status quo and doing things differently - I
admire that. Also the fact that the industry has been around for so long but it
hasn't improved as a real issue - I'd love to see it be more transparent and
accountable.</span></em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Not exactly Shakespeare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">You can see why you'd dismiss an AI text generator as a
time-wasting tool. Why bother taking the time to change your processes to
incorporate a tool that is still flawed, at best?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">Novelty vs. Application<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Imagine two PR
companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">PR Company A is still
stuck in the curiosity phase. The company tinkers around with AI, maybe using
it once in a while to see whether it really <em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">can</span></em> write an article. The people at
that company are having fun, but they're still thinking of AI as a toy and
failing to see its true potential.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">PR Company B has
integrated AI into various facets of its business: drafting press releases,
sending pitches to journalists, and doing social media outreach. Yes, sometimes
it's messy, and the results require human intervention to catch logical flaws
and just plain weirdness. But the company understands not only the current
applications and limitations of AI but also its future promise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Some firms have incorporated
AI into every process you can think of, from scanning the media landscape for
trends to gathering data about publications and journalists to generating
pitches to send to those publications and journalists. No, AI isn't perfect,
but it's a hell of a lot faster to ask AI to generate text and then edit it
than to come up with the text yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">It's the difference
between sending out 25 focused pitches and sending out 100 spray-and-pray
pitches. It's the difference between getting a press release to a client in
just one or two days vs. needing a week to put it together.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">And as AI inevitably
improves, companies that adopt it now are going to be the ones best positioned
to take advantage of those improvements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">Sometimes AI text
generation will generate a press release that needs a lot of work. The
journalist outreach it generates is not always pitch-perfect. But capacity and
overall levels of high-quality output have increased incorporated AI into projects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">PR Company A will
eventually realize—maybe in a year, maybe in five—that AI isn't going away and
that its applications will become ever more crucial to running a successful
company. But by then it'll be too late. By the time Company A begins
integrating AI into its workflows, all of its clients will have moved on to
companies that already did—and are better, faster, and more efficient as
result.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">A Necessity, Not a
Replacement<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">It's understandable
that although AI will never replace human ingenuity, creativity, and
originality, some marketers are intimidated by it: It's a tech-heavy subject
full of unintelligible acronyms and terms such as "neural network."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">When things are
working well as is, and when AI is still laughably bad in many cases, it's
tempting to conclude that you don't need it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But that's not the
danger. The danger is that if you don't start using AI now—even with its
limitations—you'll be outrun by companies that do. Because AI is here to stay.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at<span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-44294049901180625142022-10-30T21:19:00.002-04:002022-10-30T21:19:53.175-04:00To Close More Deals, Use Memorable Messaging to Control Your Buyer's Attention<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b> To Close More Deals, Use Memorable Messaging to Control Your Buyer's Attention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZNA6MfhSUY9oK5jNZXyqes47jfTjdJQP5V8c8UOLgL3ItipYhOT9U-o1P1DURLJxh3wdT6YfOGKdC17R88gAsQumAeJ5hp8PoeccfiR7FHM2Q2HRtbqVRLprWtobpEdafnPAimsk0oCQjO8FNk4gZAUwH41pYOz2aaxnnR6PmkwbuGN33kYCPLLc/s309/Email-Main.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZNA6MfhSUY9oK5jNZXyqes47jfTjdJQP5V8c8UOLgL3ItipYhOT9U-o1P1DURLJxh3wdT6YfOGKdC17R88gAsQumAeJ5hp8PoeccfiR7FHM2Q2HRtbqVRLprWtobpEdafnPAimsk0oCQjO8FNk4gZAUwH41pYOz2aaxnnR6PmkwbuGN33kYCPLLc/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">When your sales cycle
is complex and lengthy, you might feel anxious that your leads will pull out at
any moment. After all, the B2B sales cycle lasts for more than half a year,
on average. And for SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses? It takes nearly
nine months for the delivery of a newborn deal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">That's a long time for your buyers to feel motivated about your
service.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Now sure, you have the essentials down: Your technical features
are impressive and your testimonials are glowing; and as for your marketing
and sales efforts, they're addressing your customers' needs—just as they
should.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">But the question lingers: How you can you remain <em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">memorable</span></em> during
the consideration stages?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Your product might well be strong, but that's not enough to keep
your brand memorable to buyers. Many SaaS companies "struggle to get
inside [buyers'] consideration sets. It's because they over-index on the
product and under-invest in messaging, narrative, and point of view," CXL's
CEO, Peep Laja, points out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Therein lies the key: messaging is what gets you into
more consideration sets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">And to make your messaging more memorable, you'll need to start
with your most important touchpoint. It's the one usually visited at multiple
stages during your customer's journey: your website.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Yep, your website is the most important marketing channel buyers
use when forming their consideration sets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">OK, so your buyers visit your website. You want them to choose
you... but your product isn't enough. That leaves one question: How are your
buyers' decisions being made?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You can get a clear answer from Harvard Business School's Gerald
Zaltman: "95% of our purchase decision-making takes place in the
subconscious mind."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So if you want your brand to be memorable, it's time to climb
into your buyers' mind. Here are three ways you can get into more consideration
sets using persuasive and memorable messages.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">1. Optimize your messages to
please a buyer's irrational brain<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">As humans, we're considered to have two decision-making brains:
the lizard, unconscious brain, and the conscious, thinking brain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">It's the unconscious brain that makes quick judgments. Your
buyers' attitudes toward you can be formed very quickly—often within 1/5th of a
second. In those first moments, they may reject or approve you. So it's true to
say that your prospect's first impressions can make or break your sale.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Problem is... your buyers will use mental shortcuts to save on brain
energy. Those shortcuts aren't always rational. And your buyer's unconscious
brain tends to reject anything that contradicts its irrational
beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So your buyer has an irrational brain that you need to please.
But how can you do that—without lying to them?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">The answer: influence your buyers' cognitive biases. All
while telling the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">For example, when you use real before-and-after stories of past
clients—you're tapping into a bias known as Contrast Effect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">There's also the Status Quo Bias: We want to stick to our
current habits, rather than learn new forms of behavior. So if your solution is
complex, aim to delight your buyers' unconscious brains. Show how easily you
fit into your buyers' current workflows. And distract them from short-term
losses (like money and time) by focusing on longer-term gains, like your most
attractive outcomes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Create an easy "yes" for your buyers' unconscious
decision-making brains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">2. Keep your prospects
interested by controlling their attention<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Your marketing and sales team are fighting a battle for your
prospect's attention. With so many distractions in your buyers' life—including
your competitors, who can easily lure them away—you should keep them
focused.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">That is, focused on <em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">your</span></em> brand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So draw your reader in with engaging and hyper-relevant
messages—speak straight to your buyers' interests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You can find a goldmine of insights into your buyers' concerns
by conducting customer research—such as surveys and interviews—and reviewing
transcripts from sales calls and chatbots.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">For example, learn how
your current users evaluated your solution during their buying processes. How
did they measure the success of your software? And who or what did they compare
you with?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">But be careful with
competitor comparisons: "If the real alternative in the mind of a customer
is Excel, you can't say your product is easier to use unless it is easier to
use than a spreadsheet," positioning consultant April Dunford points out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Know who or what your
real competition is—in the eyes of your buyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">And use messaging that
focuses primarily on your prospect. Keep them engaged and excited by repeatedly
using the word "you." Otherwise, they may engage more half-heartedly
with your messages—and forget your brand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">A scientific
study found that when businesses spoke to prospects' concerns, attitudes
towards those brands were more positive; but when they didn't... fewer
marketing messages were actually remembered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So keep your copy
razor-focused on your prospect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Consider this example
from Flow by Pluralsight's webpage aimed at C-level execs:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGTPkr4WYOzho2AbpWl42NvhfDRCy9_Miq_JNO149hXH-60hIAmhFYT_7ISA19m3sugNDzXwa6N_iMXYsHjymF4mK4KEdvcVE1LJMj-Uces0J15_Tske1Tt0PEn05k_zQ47vTaWg7OCctlZCD_i7rRe6srk3VCuQELikcDxRMdrWTpkoyaMZOxCcq/s750/photo%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="750" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGTPkr4WYOzho2AbpWl42NvhfDRCy9_Miq_JNO149hXH-60hIAmhFYT_7ISA19m3sugNDzXwa6N_iMXYsHjymF4mK4KEdvcVE1LJMj-Uces0J15_Tske1Tt0PEn05k_zQ47vTaWg7OCctlZCD_i7rRe6srk3VCuQELikcDxRMdrWTpkoyaMZOxCcq/w400-h156/photo%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">The messaging helps
convince executives to consider the SaaS—by focusing on their biggest concerns.
You can create relevant and specific copy only if you do your research first.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">3. Make it easy for buyers to
understand your value<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">When the service you
market is complex, you place more of a strain on your prospect's memory.
And our short-term memories are notoriously weak. Your C-level decision-makers
could struggle just to understand the descriptions of your service.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So consider how you
can simplify your copy while still showing respect for your prospect's
intelligence. Simplifying doesn't mean dumbing-down. Instead, aim to reduce
unnecessary jargon, shorten your sentences, and actually unpack what each of
your data points means.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Your website visitors
are often on a fact-finding mission. They seek certain nuggets of info that can
help push the sales cycle along. At the same time, your prospects likely have a
cognitive-dependent job role. They don't want <em><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">yet another thing</span></em> to think too hard
about.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">So don't bury
important information within long paragraphs. I can't tell you how many times I
see SaaS websites make that mistake. Your web visitors are often scanners. When
you make it easy for buyers to understand and grasp your value, you're more
likely to persuade them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">In fact, UX study
participants had better memories of a B2B tech webpage when it became more
scannable (using bullets and boldface) and more objective (no buzzwords or unsupported
claims). The result: "The data showed that the rewritten version of the
site was 'better' for all four measures: task time (80% better), task errors
(809%), memory (100%), and subjective satisfaction (37%)."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You want an easy
"yes," not struggling to remember your value. And how your features
work. And how they can implement your solution.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">No matter how educated
or successful your buyers are, they will have a limited capacity to process
information. We simply can't take every bit of communication and data into the
imperfect brains of ours. So we're efficient. We look for important
information... but only when we can actually find it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You might think you're
targeting decision-makers. But it's more realistic to say that you're targeting
the decision-makers' decision-makers—their conscious and unconscious brains.
Aim to please both of those thinking models by using strategic messaging... and
you could have a more confident prospect on your hands.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">It might be tempting
to overestimate your product's importance. And yet, as Peep Laja asserts, it's
"almost impossible to win [deals] by having an objectively better product.
But most anyone can win on brand (the sum of your story, messaging,
positioning, marketing), especially against the category leaders."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">What an optimistic
idea: When you optimize your messaging, you could win more business—even over
rivals with bigger budgets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at<span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background: white; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-78105313764009791802022-09-29T16:49:00.001-04:002022-09-29T16:49:25.916-04:00Avoid These Six 'Kisses of Death' in Business Development to Keep Your Marketing Funnel Alive<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Avoid These Six 'Kisses of Death' in Business Development to Keep Your Marketing Funnel Alive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmObSBS0VsDySym0aEqLvj4cKOaCjjyrAoBm24DTwViBuW1hQzPNmlAWpGR0H8D6WEgIbGaxfXUYIRVg7gLVR8YII6Ok3CetfUKRCA2q8oU6dC9LkWiAt4ZgDZ9vKM4rDCSTtg69c-FwMtP0vuZldeUDQcv3-ATtTrNUQoKzHumuD3jwD2hFFmYcOy/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmObSBS0VsDySym0aEqLvj4cKOaCjjyrAoBm24DTwViBuW1hQzPNmlAWpGR0H8D6WEgIbGaxfXUYIRVg7gLVR8YII6Ok3CetfUKRCA2q8oU6dC9LkWiAt4ZgDZ9vKM4rDCSTtg69c-FwMtP0vuZldeUDQcv3-ATtTrNUQoKzHumuD3jwD2hFFmYcOy/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When you look at a marketing funnel, it appears to be linear. The funnel depicts the customer journey as though one part comes naturally after the previous one.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Awareness, the first stage, should leave people open to future interactions. During the consideration phase, potential clients start comparing brands. Finally, prospects reach the conversion stage and complete the purchasing process.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">However, the customer journey is far from linear. Potential clients might enter your funnel and stay in the awareness or consideration stages for days, months, or even years.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That's because you can't interest people in things they don't need. For example, why would a company buy sales software when it just switched providers a few months back? Unless your potential clients are ready, there's nothing you can do to force them over the finish line.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, what do you do until they're set to convert?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Stay relevant. You must consistently invest in business development to keep clients in the marketing funnel.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Think of your potential clients as skittish deer. Maybe they aren't hungry at this moment, but that doesn't mean they'll never be hungry. Your hand, and your business, must be ready to stretch out the moment they need food.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Everyone has different needs at different times, and your potential clients might not need you right now. There's nothing you can do about that. Remaining relevant by investing in business development initiatives, however, is something you <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">can</em> control.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Just avoid these six "kisses of death" that undermine business development so you can ensure you stay top of mind even when potential clients aren't actively engaged in your marketing funnel.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. You're inconsistent with projects</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Suppose it's the beginning of the year and you've developed a robust marketing plan full of new initiatives. Let's say, too, that you produced one highly relevant podcast episode before realizing that it was too much of a headache and stopped production. Your audiences might want more, and they'll be disappointed when the next episode isn't released.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That undermines your ability to be taken seriously. After all, how are clients supposed to trust you if you can't maintain your own projects?</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. You're doing what everyone else is</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The next kiss of death is when your business or agency looks and sounds like your competitors. For instance, during workshops at my company, most attendees will stand up and claim to be some version of a "full-service, integrated marketing agency."</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A lot of businesses fall into the trap of sounding like everyone else. It's important to offer unique selling points and messaging to your target audience so that you do not echo everyone else in the market.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">3. You aren't targeting your audience with specific content</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If your content gives no impression of who you are and whom you're trying to reach, then it is probably generic. Potential clients might consider that kind of marketing messaging haphazard and unfocused.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Every piece of content should intentionally answer your target audience's questions or concerns. Trying to reach everyone means you won't be relevant to anyone.</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. You have too many niches</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Many businesses and agencies tend to promote that they specialize in several niches. For example, an agency might advertise that it has extensive experience in the wellness, beauty, and pharmaceutical industries. By doing so, it risks creating broad content that doesn't effectively reach its target clients.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you have fewer niches, on the other hand, you can focus your content and engage the right potential clients.</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">5. You think you need more clients than you actually do</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Taking on too many clients decreases the amount of time that businesses and agencies can spend on accounts that drive consistent revenue. If you are targeting the right prospects (those with spend between 2% and 10% of your adjusted gross income) in your messaging, then you need only two to three new clients a year. Growing more than 25% a year strains your resources, so market to and bring on only the right clients.</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">6. You passively wait for new clients to find you</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A lot of businesses are guilty of sitting and waiting for new clients to walk through the door.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Maybe you mostly rely on word-of-mouth to bring in a steady stream of business, or perhaps you already have a solid client base.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">To stay relevant, you should switch up your tactics and try new strategies. That might involve revisiting your marketing plan every quarter or embracing a new campaign.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You don't want to lose the interest of potential clients that could improve your business by sticking with the status quo or doing nothing.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Think through the kisses of death in this article and ask yourself whether you're guilty of any of them. If you are, then you might need to shift your mindset to correct your course.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It could take some work to get back on track, but avoiding such downfalls will help your business or agency grow and change with the needs of your client base—and you'll keep potential clients in the marketing funnel.</p><div><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at<span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-26433806080483793882022-08-29T16:20:00.005-04:002022-08-30T10:47:07.360-04:00<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> How to create a company video that is interesting</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkRy8WzhT173jKa5wIs_izkq2lJoyGb7c6-Ye-kpxSkK-jDucMVyVwya3U5kmdSklrbFEaf7e-rK8h7nF_CtChkwBYLXcZ1LiIiaX1ZuLLaWbv-GMVCfj5dujsUnlD_5tV8pu1gzhDHyBKXBcPnJqNQrHSZD2pOw3hOrGzBgIDgXpGa11Uh1X5-g/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkRy8WzhT173jKa5wIs_izkq2lJoyGb7c6-Ye-kpxSkK-jDucMVyVwya3U5kmdSklrbFEaf7e-rK8h7nF_CtChkwBYLXcZ1LiIiaX1ZuLLaWbv-GMVCfj5dujsUnlD_5tV8pu1gzhDHyBKXBcPnJqNQrHSZD2pOw3hOrGzBgIDgXpGa11Uh1X5-g/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span face=""Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">Considering how most </span><span face=""Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;">customers engage with brands</span><span face=""Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;"> nowadays, you are missing out on a powerful marketing tool if your company lacks a great company-story video.</span></div><div><span face=""Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Those videos make for fantastic recruiting tools, but they also excel at communicating your brand's identity while showing customers what your company is all about.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That's assuming you are doing a good job with them, of course...</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Whether you go with live-action footage or use animated videos to bring your business to life, it's easy to fall into some common traps with company-story videos and end up with something that hurts more than helps your brand and strategy.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, we'll go over some areas you'll need to fully understand to make the most out of company stories and ensure you can develop a video that helps not only your business's branding but also your inbound marketing efforts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R0UWvdyABFo" width="320" youtube-src-id="R0UWvdyABFo"></iframe></div><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">The Three Pillars of the Perfect Company Story Video</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A company-story video, also called a company-culture video, should first and foremost be <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">authentic</span> and true to your company's story and culture. It should also be <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">creative</span> and interesting so that people will actually want to watch it. Finally, it's essential to ensure that your video have a <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">high-quality, professional feel</span> to it that matches your brand. Here's why:</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Authenticity</span> is an absolute requisite for company story videos. You want your audience to understand and experience what your business truly stands for, what it cares about, and who your people are who embody those ideas. All that can be achieved by featuring real employees, event footage, and situations that represent those elements in your video. It's also important to use language that fits your brand's image and tone.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Creativity</span> is another crucial element. If your video is boring or uninteresting, people will not watch it—it's that simple! Try to come up with unique ways to showcase your company and its people. You might use live footage from company events or your production floor, and add animated assets, visually compelling transitions, and interactive elements. Video is a flexible medium, so don't be afraid to explore its potential.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">High-quality look and feel</span> is essential to round out our trifecta. You need well-lit live-action footage, high-quality graphics, and sophisticated animations, using sound design that elevates the piece and employing top-notch editing techniques. The long and short of it is that if your video looks amateurish, people will not take it—or your company—seriously. So, put in the effort to create a polished product.</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Those three core elements form the bedrock of every well-produced company-culture video out there. But there's certainly a lot more you can do to make something truly compelling and memorable.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Let's talk a bit more about some of those elements and see how you can incorporate them into your culture videos.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Four More Company-Story Video Tips</h2><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. Define your company and what it stands for</h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you want a compelling company-story video, you'll have to talk about your company's mission, vision, values, and culture. Most potential employees and customers will want to know what your company stands for before doing business with you.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That said, don't feel intimidated by those highfalutin words!</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A company's mission refers to what the company strives to do, the vision is what the company hopes to become, the values are the principles that guide the company and the people that operate within it, and the culture is how the company behaves toward its customers and employees; in all that, its tone and branding are reflected.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Your company's mission, vision, values, and culture should be front and center in your culture video, but a good company-story script touches on those elements without hammering you over the head with them.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Consider this video, for example:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ft4W1aOP6Xk" width="320" youtube-src-id="Ft4W1aOP6Xk"></iframe></div><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Even a casual viewing of that video will tell you clearly what the company's business is all about: extending capital to small businesses to help them grow.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It also touches on the company's mission: driving innovation and improving through data automation.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">And it highlights a value we can all relate to—"Eat up, drink up"—which is further reinforced by showing how the company nurtures that value through free lunches, a fully-stocked fridge, and snack areas.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. Focus on one core value (or a couple, tops!)</h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Among your company's mission, visions, culture, and values, it is the last one that should feature most prominently in the video. Your company's values are what potential customers or employees usually empathize with the most.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That said, when showcasing your company culture, it's essential not to overdo it—to instead focus on one or two core values rather than of overwhelming viewers with a litany of principles that might dilute your core message.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Showing some restraint here will not only help you to communicate your message in a more concise and accurate way but also keep your video from coming across as too self-serving or disingenuous.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">By the same token, ensure that the values you do choose for your piece are expressed clearly, and that they feel relevant to your company, your audience, and the message you are trying to get across.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">This well-known online retailer places a high value on how its corporate culture informs its hiring practices. So much so that it saw fit to use that angle to craft its company story video—to great effect!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1peSz6zR9F4" width="320" youtube-src-id="1peSz6zR9F4"></iframe></div><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span face="Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">3. Use the power of stories to make an engaging piece</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">By the very nature of culture videos, you won't always be working with a script—many a great company story video is pieced together from event footage, interviews, presentations, etc.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But script or not, you'll always need a story to drive your video forward.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Now, every company is different, and it'd be impossible to suggest a one-size-fits-all approach to story. However, narratives are vital; they are powerful and they can transform a dull message into an emotionally compelling story.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When making a company culture video, storytelling is essential, and that means every element in your video should be working with the rest to tell a cohesive tale that has a beginning, middle, and end. You are not trying to bash your viewers with a bunch of facts and statements; you are inviting them to a short ride that helps them to know your business better.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Some culture videos use scripts, and you'll have to build your core story as you develop that script. Others, though, are more candid and build a narrative by weaving together interviews, event coverage, and other similar pieces of content—often those shared on your company's social media channels. Most of the time, those won't have, and don't need, a script.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As you start thinking about what your video could be about (your message) and how you could communicate who you are as a company to your viewers, think whether there's a story you can share that does that for you, or whether you can craft one from the various pieces of content and media you can include in the video.</p><h3 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. Showcase real people, not actors</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The goal of company-culture videos is to provide a genuine look inside your business. That means your videos should feature actual employees, not stand-in actors.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Though it might be tempting—whenever your budget allows—to hire professional on-camera talent, that's usually not a good idea for culture videos. People are really, really good at telling apart genuine sentiment from performances, and trying to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">fake</em> a company-story video can be really harmful to your company's image and overall marketing efforts.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When you account for all of that, it's clear that the best way to produce a genuine, high-quality culture video for your company is to get employees excited to be a part of it!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That won't even be an issue for you if you are using event coverage footage to make your video. After all, what you already have is real people doing things and—hopefully—having a great time doing it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1snG8ZmLOWE" width="320" youtube-src-id="1snG8ZmLOWE"></iframe></div><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">However, if you are going for an interview-heavy piece, start crafting a list of people from your company you'd like to potentially feature. Talk to them at the very start of the project to see who gets excited by it.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You want (and need) people to be themselves. So, focus more on creating spaces where people feel comfortable working on the project rather than trying to micromanage each contribution. View yourself more like an orchestra director, and leave room for each participant to bring some creativity and passion to the work.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Get people on board early on and invested in the creative process, and you'll be surprised by the results!</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Wrapping Up</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Creating a company-culture video is a great way to show potential employees and customers what your company is all about. When done correctly, it can be a powerful tool for promoting your company.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Hopefully, you are now better equipped to start shaping some of the core elements that can turn a decent company-story video into a powerfully compelling tool that brings your brand closer to your audience.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Time to start thinking about what your company's story video will look like!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-49206480620899509112022-07-28T20:59:00.000-04:002022-07-28T20:59:14.885-04:00The Power of Storytelling in B2B Marketing<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Power of Storytelling in B2B Marketing</b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkCwB3N680AuzKiNl7036IH4IvraD6mtDDHF_qlUi5Jy1NvkfIHcPyxXF0DB22syCUXMcNrL_wMpNR7bziVeLi57RdQFC1M9HgJKdK7cTRhR4GHqWyy0Xfvrf2-aPohVH6v1n7lSh7lYEoTf8s7N4JUAjZW5TuPCAiaFEqjk46o95OyKc8EMc86bL/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkCwB3N680AuzKiNl7036IH4IvraD6mtDDHF_qlUi5Jy1NvkfIHcPyxXF0DB22syCUXMcNrL_wMpNR7bziVeLi57RdQFC1M9HgJKdK7cTRhR4GHqWyy0Xfvrf2-aPohVH6v1n7lSh7lYEoTf8s7N4JUAjZW5TuPCAiaFEqjk46o95OyKc8EMc86bL/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Writer Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."</b></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Storytelling is the language of emotion. When you tell a story, you invite audiences to be in touch with their feelings, to get personally invested and to be swept along in the narrative.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Great brands, like great stories, explore what makes us human.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In 2009, Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn thought to investigate that very idea. They bought 100 cheap trinkets from thrift stores and asked professional writers to invent a story about each object. For example, a heart-shaped paperweight was accompanied by a tale about an office manager who used it to weigh down the lid of her jar of M&Ms. Walker and Glenn then listed the items on eBay along with their stories to see whether the value of the objects would increase.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The results were staggering. From an original outlay of $129, their sales totaled nearly $3,600— a profit of over 2,700%.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That experiment, dubbed the "significant objects project," demonstrates the power of stories and the emotional value they add—to the extent that they can transform the seemingly mundane into something significant and treasured. People who bought the items were willing to pay more simply because there was a story attached to the objects.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You can set yourself apart from your competitors and create a foundation for your brand's vision through storytelling.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In all mature, competitive markets, the only element that separates one company from another is brand—and storytelling is a crucial part of brand.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">B2B decision-makers yearn for companies to talk to them in a more straightforward manner. They don't want to be blindsided with facts and figures, jargon, and tech-speak. No one wants to think they're the target of a sales pitch, but people always enjoy a good story that they can feel a part of.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As in the significant objects project, stories enhance a product, giving it context and meaning. Customers don't want to be told how good your product or brand is; they want a story, an experience.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The standard way to increase prices and profitability in B2B marketing is to add new features and charge more. Sometimes those features are marketable and even exciting, but they're often not what the customers want or need.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Using stories as a central focus attracts the right customers and creates customer loyalty. If you sell a software subscription service for $17.99 a month, having a credible and compelling story to go with it could transform its worth to $25. Your offering becomes more worthwhile to them, but you're also more noticeable. That is the economic advantage that storytelling enables.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Here are four more reasons to employ storytelling in your B2B marketing.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. Stories make facts and figures more easily digestible</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Numbers and facts wake up our inner critic, whereas stories make us receptive to new ideas.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Think of the story as an indispensable ingredient in a recipe. Baking a cake without the right ingredients produces something flat, uninteresting, or even unpalatable. Storytelling is the sugar in the cake; it makes brands satisfying and memorable.</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. Stories awaken feel-good responses in the brain</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A story isn't just something that increases the worth of a product; it influences our thoughts and emotions. When we're exposed to different elements of a story, our brain releases chemicals that give rise to feelings:</p><ul class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Plot devices containing suspense stimulate the release of dopamine, the "reward hormone," which improves our focus, motivation, and memory.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Stories that encourage us to empathize with the main character cause the hormone oxytocin to flow through our bodies; that increases the trust we feel toward both the storyteller and the story.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">And when a narrative is even a little funny and touching, we produce endorphins, which make us feel both focused and relaxed, much like after you've been for a run or had a fun night out with friends.</li></ul><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">3. Stories make customers care more about your brand</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Customers aren't content with brands that seem robotic, corporate, or out of touch. They're searching for the human element. They want to hear from the people behind the product and hear testimonials about the product and company from real people.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Stories have always been powerful instruments for creating bonds within groups, providing a sense of community and harmony. We all want to belong to something, to feel part of a tribe.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In the same way, we want to support brands that make us feel good and impart a sense of purpose in our lives. We want the human truth. That's why humanizing your brand and marketing strategy through storytelling is so essential.</p><h2 class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. Stories amplify your brand</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Storytelling isn't just another fad or lever in your marketing machine. Incorporating it into every aspect of your brand elevates your brand's experience, creating a sense of motivation, trust, and inspiration among your customers.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">What makes your brand remarkable isn't how cutting edge it is or how many features or shiny new gadgets your team of engineers is continually developing. Sure, technological innovation can be a part of the appeal, but that's not why customers stay with any brand or product. They want to be related to and treated as humans, and stories do that.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Stories are inseparable from what makes us human and, therefore, unique. All brands have stories to tell—what's yours?</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-4878063897497889072022-06-29T21:35:00.001-04:002022-06-29T21:40:18.235-04:00<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b> It's 2022: Do You Know Where Your Sales Reps Are?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKy3shr3EbR9MIvAsQendPPjat_dYOqLfNI4wyFVgxYHG8mMhP67Af5rfBGBra7aldjN_2Bvx0rxftB4p3ieJscgEbIYiGCfv--YPAfBW4mRF3K9DVqmNl_6unRxi4b2cj-DmzFYkG5wUxxwAMt3vex8sm1Vg5hM7kIAf_fLJLsUINLI4wm8s5xgB/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKy3shr3EbR9MIvAsQendPPjat_dYOqLfNI4wyFVgxYHG8mMhP67Af5rfBGBra7aldjN_2Bvx0rxftB4p3ieJscgEbIYiGCfv--YPAfBW4mRF3K9DVqmNl_6unRxi4b2cj-DmzFYkG5wUxxwAMt3vex8sm1Vg5hM7kIAf_fLJLsUINLI4wm8s5xgB/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you digitalize your sales processes, what happens to the sales team?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A famous Forbes article tackled that question almost five years ago. Its title, "Death of a Salesman," is misleading because the author, Marie Wiese, did see a future for sales reps who were able to adapt to the brave new world of digital.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But that was before COVID-19 struck.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In this article, let's revisit this subject in light of the lockdown experience, which resulted in the traditional sales channels of face-to-face contact and tradeshows closing overnight—for many months.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Sales teams did adapt, although it was a lot easier for B2B companies that were already making progress toward digital maturity.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The pandemic also accelerated thinking about how the role of sales reps will evolve from the hybrid model that Forbes envisioned in 2017.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">The Battle for Omnichannel Has Been Won</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In 2017, many B2B companies were still sitting on the fence about the necessity of committing to omnichannel e-commerce. Those doubts have since disappeared. A full 94% of respondents to McKinsey's survey of B2B decision-makers agreed that omnichannel is at least as effective as the sales model they used before the pandemic. The lockdowns were decisive in altering perceptions; in April 2020, when COVID led to the partial shutdown of the global economy, that "approval rating" stood at 65%.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As B2B companies were forced to explore new sales channels, their confidence in omnichannel grew. A threefold increase has occurred in the proportion of B2B leaders who say omnichannel is "much more effective" than traditional sales methods in reaching and serving customers, the McKinsey research found. Nevertheless, at 33%, that level of belief in omnichannel has further to go.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The more digitally mature your company is, the better an omnichannel sales strategy works for you. A digital experience platform can give you the power and flexibility to create relevant and friction-free customer experiences; the role of Sales is to intervene at touchpoints in that journey where it can most profitably bring its expertise to bear.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That started to happen meaningfully when COVID struck, and sales reps had to pivot from face-to-face to fully realized digital selling.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Changing the Analog Mindset of Sales and Marketing</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The German manufacturer Dörken grasped the significance of the COVID lockdowns early on. Sales and sales processes had to be digitalized—swiftly—and people would have to continue selling to the buyers with whom they had cultivated deep and long-standing relationships by reimagining those relationships digitally.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Dörken is a manufacturer of industrial coatings, and it sells to wholesalers in industrial paint and paint products. "The paradox of manufacturing is that usually the production processes are state of the art, but the sales team has a hard time letting go of its traditional way of doing things," says the head of digital at Dörken. "And this is also true of the wholesalers that buy from us. Their outlook and practices are—or were—very analog."</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">COVID created a context in which an industry that was not particularly receptive to digital transformation had to adjust to its inevitability. Dörken made that easier by making the new digital processes as recognizable as possible. A tradeshow for wholesalers featured interactive live demos of new ideas or products, with lively Q&As to mimic the traditional tradeshow stand as much as possible.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">"At first we were scared no one would listen or that the wholesalers would fall asleep, but that did not happen. We kept the sessions short and snappy," says the head of digital.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Digital breakfast meetings were made more attractive through gamification: Participants won points by watching 60 minutes of video or by clicking on company links, making them eligible for a weekly prize.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Those digital encounters are gaining traction, especially now that Dörken has built its own studio to host them. "This gives us more control and gives us more possibilities," says its head of digital. "Events are getting more sophisticated with breakout sessions to get our customers more engaged in new products."</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Dörken knew the message had gotten through to the wholesalers when several of them approached the company for help in digitalizing their own processes. "And so now we have come full circle so to speak and are helping our customer base in their digital transformation, digitalizing our ecosystem.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">"Everyone in the industry is agreed, even our older salespeople: There is no going back," concludes Dörken's head of digital.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">How B2B Sales Teams Pivoted</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">B2B businesses adapted in different ways. Fruit and vegetable wholesalers that could no longer sell to restaurants and hotels began to sell directly to consumers. Brewers also pivoted to the D2C business model as their traditional route to market was closed.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Businesses had to think on their feet to digitalize sales workflows. A good example of that is an English textiles company with a significant export market in Milan, one of the first areas in Europe to be laid low by the pandemic.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Travel was impossible, so sales reps could no longer turn up in person to show the buyers a swatch book, as they had been used to doing two or three times a year. The textiles manufacturer had no choice but to digitalize its entire collection of fabric swatches, comprising some 10,000 SKUs.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Buyers in Milan and elsewhere can inspect all the swatches digitally; they can zoom in and get full product details and mark a checkbox next to the ones they want to request physical samples of. That's where the hybrid sales approach comes into play. Sales reps back in England check the sample orders and add value by suggesting that if you like this color/material/price, you might also like that, and they send additional samples to the customer.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Accordingly, with the time saved on travel, sales reps can use their expertise and knowledge of the customer in a more consultancy-type approach.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Toward the Composable Sales Rep</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Sales activities, like the digital experience platform (DXP) that supports them, become "composable" in nature as the sales rep moves fluidly among social networks, Web conferencing, face-to-face meetings, and email to cement customer engagement. The success of hybrid selling depends on the reps, their customers, the warehouse, and the company's fulfillment partner all getting the same up-to-date real-time information about products and prices.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">To anchor omnichannel to that single source of truth, it is crucial to deploy an API-led DXP that integrates effortlessly with the core systems where inventory and financials are stored.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As the technologies of analytics advance, the consultancy aspect of hybrid sales assumes a greater importance, as the data helps the rep anticipate demands and developments the buyer had not foreseen.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That's sales without selling, where the rep works in collaboration with the customer to create business value—for the customer. That shift in emphasis from B2B to B4B is, as always in digital transformation, part cultural and part technological.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">And just as technology will continue to advance, the role of the sales rep will continue to change. The latest development is the emergence of digital sales rooms—microsites where sales reps and B2B buyers collaborate and access content that is relevant to the sales cycle.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Buyers do not move toward a purchase in a linear or logical progression. Instead, they loop from site to site (or from site to sales rep), across different devices. The advantage of digital sales rooms is that they give buyers a single location—a point of reference—to which they can return throughout the cycle.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Buyers Want to Go It Alone—But Only Half the Time</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">B2B sales teams have skills and knowledge that cannot always be replicated digitally. The routine tasks of manually completing order forms can hardly be considered a skill, and automation and digital self-service is freeing up valuable time for sales reps.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A lot has been made of statistics that suggest many B2B buyers would prefer to do business without the intervention of a sales rep altogether, which is perfectly feasible for certain types of transaction—orders of spare parts, for instance.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It comes as no surprise that Millennials feel most strongly about complete digital autonomy, but even there it is barely more than half (54%). The takeaway is that almost half of millennial B2B buyers still need and want to talk to Sales.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That is particularly true for products and services that are highly configured, or where the pricing and discount structures are complex.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Digital transformation is constantly rewriting the sales rep's job description, wherein consultancy and data skills are increasingly coming to the fore.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Post-COVID, sales reps will remain a key part of the B2B e-commerce process.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The sales rep is dead; long live the sales rep!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-62435576453192432382022-05-30T13:06:00.001-04:002022-05-30T13:06:46.075-04:00<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-color: white;">How to Spring-Clean Your Website Content</b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7KtTJMuRnZeSMNACdlOERsU7E2eW2C-SA0VXIXG96UT4Wc9rALC2VwGGk0K6w_PcYaquPSv38HjQp-SxYbIJ3LpjoXB736VUQVLLnMnrYI9IFoQk7C4jU7R8bXyznpG8KzzbrlCEymEDKFdacluDGw59-3YgYFnX7pSHTqLwamulxTV5PiKrMKPb/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7KtTJMuRnZeSMNACdlOERsU7E2eW2C-SA0VXIXG96UT4Wc9rALC2VwGGk0K6w_PcYaquPSv38HjQp-SxYbIJ3LpjoXB736VUQVLLnMnrYI9IFoQk7C4jU7R8bXyznpG8KzzbrlCEymEDKFdacluDGw59-3YgYFnX7pSHTqLwamulxTV5PiKrMKPb/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Did you know your online content needs a regular spring cleaning?</h2><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Although it might be tempting to consider your digital assets as one-and-done deals, you should refresh them as you would any other sales or marketing materials. Most websites could benefit from a regular scrub-down to improve their technical health, continue meeting search engines' ever-evolving standards, and ensure audience relevance.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">From a technical-health standpoint, spring-cleaning your content can identify potential issues. For instance, you might not realize that readers leave a page too soon because of slow load times or poor design. Once you understand the problems on your site, you can make the necessary repairs.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Moreover, search engines are continually revamping their algorithms, resulting in new search rankings. Search engines are businesses, after all: If they don't provide searchers with a decent service, those searchers won't be happy.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That is where scouring, fine-tuning, and updating your content really comes into play. If your page lacks valuable, expert-level content, Google bots won't hang around, and your website traffic and prospects will decrease.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">How to Spring-Clean Your Content Until It Sparkles</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, where should you start on your website's spring cleaning?</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A good place to begin is to examine each webpage for relevance. Check out your blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, and other content. Anything you think might entice viewers to learn more about your company should be put through a relevance litmus test.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That litmus test consists of two questions:</p><ol class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Does this content address and solve a common challenge or showcase your business as an industry expert?</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Is this content relevant to your target audience?</li></ol><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Answering "no" to both questions indicates that the content needs to be shelved or overhauled. A complete or partial "yes" means you should tidy up the content.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Scan the content to make sure that the language and subject matter have kept up with trends. Be sure all statistics, dates, and studies are relatively recent. A good rule of thumb is to look for sources from the past three years. Otherwise, your content could appear outdated and irrelevant.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Once you're done with your scan, focus on the content's introduction. Does it need a more relevant or time-sensitive hook? If your hook isn't exciting, the content has little chance of attracting readers.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Don't be afraid to crowdsource ideas from your marketing colleagues. If your content is evergreen, you might not want to update anything. Just make sure nothing in the piece ages it.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, check out your webpage URLs. Believe it or not, URL value matters a lot in website content relevance. Take all of those "Top 10" lists, for example. You never want to start a URL with "top-10-things-to…" because what happens if you need to switch the title to "Top 8" or "Top 12" in the future? The simple fix for that issue is to drop the number and make the URL "top-things-to…" so your content remains relevant even if it gets updated.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Four Metrics to Help Decide Whether Website Content Should Be Saved or Scrapped</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Now that you've perused your content, you might be wondering what to do with the pieces that are no longer relevant and those that fail to show your company's expertise as an industry leader. Changing a hook or statistic might not be enough to freshen it up. In those cases, you'll need to consider these four metrics to determine whether you should scrap the content.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. Bounce Rate</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If a page has a bounce rate of 70% or above, you can be certain that it's flawed in some way. Maybe it loads at a snail's pace, which can be fixed; or perhaps it just doesn't read well. Your job is to investigate all possibilities so you know how to proceed.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. Goal Rate</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Each piece of content should have a trackable goal. In fact, you might want to construct a goal-related spreadsheet for all the content you spring-clean.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you've never assigned goals to your content before, start with simple objectives. A goal of a blog post might be for readers to download a guide. If the goal isn't being met, then you know the content isn't working.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">3. Total Lifetime Users</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Webpages that have been up at least six months or longer have likely amassed a decent number of lifetime users. Let's say, however, that the total number of users for a piece of content is next to nothing. That could be a sign that the webpage serves little purpose and might even be hurting the overall performance of your website.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. Keyword Cannibalization</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Keyword cannibalization happens when more than one webpage on your site targets the same keyword. Usually, none of the pages end up ranking well.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You can use a tool such as Semrush to help you pinpoint cases of possible keyword cannibalization. Then, consider removing all but one of the pages. You might decide to repurpose the content from the old pages to turn the best-performing URL into a massive, rejuvenated pillar page.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Your website is an important extension of your business. By putting it through a spring-cleaning, you can be sure that customers see your brand as shiny and relevant, not old-fashioned and stale.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-12335947737867272792022-04-28T16:48:00.000-04:002022-04-28T16:48:05.956-04:00How to Use Google Search Console Insights for Your SEO Strategy<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">How to Use Google Search Console Insights for Your SEO Strategy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0CQA6OWPCEWO9JQhK2awUCEvQbsaZVTZWKFpfE8Zl1Kt4XXQNrm5wf88sSttJ1ApAhrRI_pgTKJHeGpAOnKnQEUqMGNhNavJh2IH4PflR0S2Gp71QpNMCMOxi6UdqnABAbeNnQ8LVdobo4xmrUERoBW4M1qPuQryh1nd7fJxv-gtsk5y47sTGy9k/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0CQA6OWPCEWO9JQhK2awUCEvQbsaZVTZWKFpfE8Zl1Kt4XXQNrm5wf88sSttJ1ApAhrRI_pgTKJHeGpAOnKnQEUqMGNhNavJh2IH4PflR0S2Gp71QpNMCMOxi6UdqnABAbeNnQ8LVdobo4xmrUERoBW4M1qPuQryh1nd7fJxv-gtsk5y47sTGy9k/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span></h2><div><p style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Many tools can help you to analyze your
website audience data and improve your SEO strategy; in fact, you may be using
a combination of them—and maybe even paying to use them.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Enter Google Search Console Insights (GSCI), one of the more
recent, and most asked about, SEO improvement tools by Google.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Keep reading to learn how you can grow your brand using GSCI!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">What is Search Console Insights?<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Google Search Console Insights is a free platform that helps you
optimize your SEO results using data collected from Google Search Console and
Google Analytics.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">It gives an overview of website statistics and analyzes content
performance from a technical standpoint. It also allows you to pinpoint issues
with your webpages while helping you tailor the website to your users' needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">It's a useful tool that Web content creators, marketers, and SEO
specialists need—and tend to love.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYChPO9T9USIFiNhfJSN55Dnq8YCm6HakzwQCH4jlxAJ9-JdgJRH69GkDqwa0a4YQHjLe2rT-WM27uiq366xzWIgNPqdq3P5yM99YTOcK74TcuAlUGE2c_FhdJg00gFmcDAD9PCtuKVP4crkI6531vJn-gdgrCcfCRCyspQ4EGKOnnw6NSIwUP4qA/s443/220119-weber-google-search-console-insights-mobile.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="443" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYChPO9T9USIFiNhfJSN55Dnq8YCm6HakzwQCH4jlxAJ9-JdgJRH69GkDqwa0a4YQHjLe2rT-WM27uiq366xzWIgNPqdq3P5yM99YTOcK74TcuAlUGE2c_FhdJg00gFmcDAD9PCtuKVP4crkI6531vJn-gdgrCcfCRCyspQ4EGKOnnw6NSIwUP4qA/s320/220119-weber-google-search-console-insights-mobile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
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</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="Google search console insights on mobile" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" style="height: 307.8pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 332.4pt;" type="#_x0000_t75">
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<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Google Search Console Insights helps business and website owners
on their search engine optimization journey. It is a guide for improving
metrics, such as...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Keyword
positions<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Average
page view duration<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Content
quality<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Website
usability<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">How do I get started on Search Console?</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">To get started, sign up for Google's Search Console, then add
and verify site ownership! It's simple, but it takes a few steps:</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Log in</span></strong><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif"> to Google Search Console
with your Google Analytics account so they sync. (As noted earlier, GSCI
retrieves the website's performance data from both).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Click <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Add
a property.</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Choose</span></strong><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif"> a domain or URL
(preferably a domain).<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Confirm</span></strong><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif"> you own that property,
whether domain or URL, with your DNS provider. However, the easiest way to
verify your property (the URL option) is by using your Google Analytics
account.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">How do you access Search Console Insights?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Click
on the Overview tab in the Search Console and select Search Console
Insights at the top of that page. In the Google app for iOS, click your
profile picture and select Search Console Insights in the account's menu.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Access
from Google Search in Search Results.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Once you have access to this tool, you will need to check in
occasionally to make sure everything is running smoothly—once a month, or
whenever you post new content. If GSCI notices any unusual activity on your
website, you will receive an email alert.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">How do I turn GSCI data into SEO solutions?<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Let's now move on to how to use the data GSCI collects to
optimize your website's organic ranking in search engines.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: #231f20;">Instead of making you arrive at your own conclusions by looking
at plain charts and graphics from the </span>analytics,</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">
GSCI will automatically answer important questions you have probably been
asking yourself about your website, including the following five.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">1. What are your best-performing pieces of content?<o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">"Your most popular content" report shows the best
pages by performance. Based on that data, you can prioritize work on the pages.
You can find out what type of content garners the most attention and which ones
have been trending.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">GSC uses three badges to help you identify relevant info for
your content:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Top
5 Results shows which content's average organic search position is in the
Top 5 spots.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Trending
x% compares your content's previous 28 days with how the content performed
before that period.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">High
average duration highlights high-duration content vs. the website's other
content.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">2. How are your new pieces of content performing?<o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Google Search Console Insights is also helpful for analyzing
your new pages. Check which of the recently published content quickly receives
impressions in Google search results. Use "Your new content" report.
It shows which new pages received its first views within the last 28 days,
sorting from most to least recent.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">If there
were tests or strategies that worked well, you can extrapolate from the
results. We now know which pages Google likes, and therefore we can build
hypotheses and develop strategies to keep delivering similar content.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">3. How do people discover your content across the Web?<o:p></o:p></span></i></h3><div><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">By knowing
where people are discovering your content, you can drastically change your
marketing game to focus on those traffic channels. To understand how people
land on your page, GSCI shows your three most popular traffic sources, such as
organic search, paid search, direct, social, and referral.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aldtjVo4zPW_WnK7oILdwpN-XtDeBMG153j_itANdINutiPA37Z6g7z8FttHmSTRjG1b2qCsFQhayNBRX3N9Q8L-5hVWs9hEOkmMuzKCvBUepHz1qLljOWAK1Du7Vw6HZ0Ro4HwY8iFoQpWkzxgaK3TDXT3XMtEuLTaMBPaul201HM6TcbB4s22w/s442/220119-weber-google-search-console-insights-traffic-sources.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aldtjVo4zPW_WnK7oILdwpN-XtDeBMG153j_itANdINutiPA37Z6g7z8FttHmSTRjG1b2qCsFQhayNBRX3N9Q8L-5hVWs9hEOkmMuzKCvBUepHz1qLljOWAK1Du7Vw6HZ0Ro4HwY8iFoQpWkzxgaK3TDXT3XMtEuLTaMBPaul201HM6TcbB4s22w/s320/220119-weber-google-search-console-insights-traffic-sources.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">But to get
the most detailed information, you still need to check on Google Search
Console, where in the "Performance" report you can open the chart to
show you the metrics for impressions, clickthrough rate, and the dimensions for
queries and even countries.</span><p></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You can go
through the available filters to check the performance of your page in a
specific area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">For
example, you can determine where your traffic is coming from by entering a <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">search
type filter.</span></strong> If you want to know what pages are bringing
traffic from image search results, select "Image" when browsing
through the filters. From the displayed chart, you'll be able to see the
queries, pages, and countries that are bringing in the most traffic for that
particular search.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">4. What do people search for on Google before they visit your
content?<o:p></o:p></span></i></h3><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS5kCSjJ9gYBE7HEG83ud1ETTR7cbQ_3E_nU6GDGRrmnOSVVUZtL7oD4dqA2qYV7yRfMOCRzkOMNUP4aVVjvJ_xVIkzfHQh0ZAWye-_T_z5hNVlxG6wDaomUhJ9qzCsIHOhJrpMibZwbCS3YheCQslGHRPoLC0NTSouxdjztrxuJQfvEkBvbRcsXJ/s632/220119-weber-how-visitors-find-your-site-on-google.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="632" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS5kCSjJ9gYBE7HEG83ud1ETTR7cbQ_3E_nU6GDGRrmnOSVVUZtL7oD4dqA2qYV7yRfMOCRzkOMNUP4aVVjvJ_xVIkzfHQh0ZAWye-_T_z5hNVlxG6wDaomUhJ9qzCsIHOhJrpMibZwbCS3YheCQslGHRPoLC0NTSouxdjztrxuJQfvEkBvbRcsXJ/s320/220119-weber-how-visitors-find-your-site-on-google.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #231f20;">Here you
have access to the section that brings up the Top 50 search queries sending
people to your site from Google's search engine. The queries would be ranked by
the number of times they were clicked on in a Google SERP.</span></div>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">You have a
rank position under each query, and by default the list showcases the
"Most Searched Queries." You can also switch the list to the
"Most Trending Queries" to learn which search queries grew the most
in terms of clicks in the current vs. previous 28 days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h3 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">5. Which article refers users to your website and content?<o:p></o:p></span></i></h3>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">The GSCI
has a report section called "Referring links from other websites"
that shows you how many entries to a certain webpage a specific referring page
generated. There, you can see which of the websites linking to yours are the
most relevant to your users. You can then decide whether you should still post
articles on that referring site or promote the page from which the traffic is
coming from.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: #231f20;">Moreover,
knowing which links work well can help inform your future </span>link-building
strategy.<span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">What Else Should I Consider With GSCI?<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Track the
data over time to see how your website has improved since using this tool.
Consistent tracking of growth is how you can sustain it, so keep the following
in mind:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="color: #231f20;">Confirm
that Google is associating your content to your target keyword. The </span>SE Ranking
keyword tool<span style="color: #231f20;"> can help you choose the best keywords for
your niche and optimize your content with those keywords. You can also
find out what new pages you should create by using this keyword suggestion
tool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Give
priority to the important webpages. Check which ones are performing the
best in terms of search organic growth, and analyze which efforts bring
the best SEO results.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif">Pay
attention to how much time visitors spend on your website (average
pageview duration metric). If this metric is too low, check your content
relevancy and website structure. (Keep in mind that the data for Google
Search Console Insights is different from that of Google Analytics. GSCI
combines data such as pageviews and average time on page from Google
Analytics with Search metrics such as clicks and average position.
Basically, one represents the activity happening on Google's search bar,
and </span></li></ul>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">Ultimately,
it's your audience that decides whether your content and website strategy work.
Google Search Console Insights helps you understand what your audience likes
and doesn't like on your website. It's a great tool for marketing beginners and
experts alike.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;">GSCI can
help you improve your content strategy, increase your visibility in Google's
search engine, and grow your audience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-54098074006849445762022-03-30T16:28:00.000-04:002022-03-30T16:28:02.027-04:00Five Ways B2B Companies Can Use Explainer Videos<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Five Ways B2B Companies Can Use Explainer Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlF4F1a2Vre0W5GS3xPrD7UtSTKt_ocVld3iGWhnybG_UTvge_ntKC6Fv24o-q2c6W78ID-fNFaEZ1Z71-oFGIn1FS-5n-xlGlAgp6QtdzWaSdg18BvOrs50ZTC0YtjoTWtnSXy-oKT_AmNU4_4WfGd9ipApTMfdX9ooPd8LXJGH3WVzOr61PeFf8J/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlF4F1a2Vre0W5GS3xPrD7UtSTKt_ocVld3iGWhnybG_UTvge_ntKC6Fv24o-q2c6W78ID-fNFaEZ1Z71-oFGIn1FS-5n-xlGlAgp6QtdzWaSdg18BvOrs50ZTC0YtjoTWtnSXy-oKT_AmNU4_4WfGd9ipApTMfdX9ooPd8LXJGH3WVzOr61PeFf8J/s1600/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As a B2B company, you're trying to get other businesses to buy and use your product or services. So, what better way to explain why than with video?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Explainer videos have the potential to become a key solution to many problems companies face, including poor Google ranking, high website bounce rates, leads' misunderstanding what you do or prospects' not knowing why they should buy from you, and more.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Custom videos aren't restricted to the top of your marketing funnel, either; they can be used all the way through:</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Awareness:</span> Where most people consider using explainer videos to discuss their company and create buzz surrounding their product or service</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Interest:</span> Where an explainer video is ideal to show how your business is the solution to your customer's problem</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Consideration:</span> Where you can highlight your product or service's top features and benefits, and include customer testimonials</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Action:</span> Where a video can explain how your prospects get started with your business and give them an offer they can't refuse</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Retention:</span> Where explainer videos can notify current customers about new business updates or features</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">B2B businesses will always need video marketing to break down what they do and how they differ from anything else on the market.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">What's more, explainer videos aren't just for lead generation; B2B companies can use them throughout the customer lifecycle.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Let's take a closer look at five ways to use explainer videos.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. Sales Pitches</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">At most companies, a sales team works directly with potential leads to persuade them to sign on as customers. Many have ways to make a "sale" happen, including keeping a variety of materials on hand to send to leads for them to learn more about the business.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">That's is the perfect opportunity to use an explainer video. Your potential clients have an idea of who you are, but they aren't sure you're right for them. Rather than passing off various pieces of content in PDFs and files, you can have your company's elevator pitch and then some made into a creative and engaging video.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Videos encourage buyers to make a decision: a full 85% are more likely to purchase something after seeing an explainer video about it.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. Customer Onboarding</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You've just signed on a big publisher or a well-known finance firm, all thanks to the explainer video you used in your sales pitch. Congrats! Now it's time to streamline the onboarding process by (you guessed it) using an explainer video.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It's important to simplify every stage of the customer journey, and that includes after a customer has already purchased your product or service.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">An explainer video is useful for customer onboarding because it can...</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Clarify how customers begin working with your business</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Provide more information on a customer's specific plan and the resources that come with it</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Show where customers can access assistance, such as a help center or customer service rep</li></ul><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Explainer videos for new customers don't have to be boring, either. Make them fun! Show how excited you are that your product is going to solve the problem they're having. You can even include customer testimonials to solidify that the user made the right decision.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">3. Email Marketing</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Using videos in email marketing campaigns is nothing new to digital marketers; however, using explainer videos might be. Why? Well, when implementing videos in email, it's usually to promote a recent webinar or a podcast or another video businesses want to create a buzz around.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Explainer videos open up an entire world of opportunity, and that doesn't necessarily have to mean completely reinventing the wheel. For example, if you are offering gated content such as an e-book or a guide, you'll have a list of emails to which the downloadable content will be sent.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Use that to your advantage and create a sequence of nurture emails. Check in on what your recipients thought of the content. By the third or fourth email, you'll have the chance to gradually shift their focus to an explainer video on your business, and how they can get started with a free service, trial, or whatever CTA you have set up.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. Virtual Events and Tradeshows</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Our lives have gone virtual during the pandemic, so online events are nothing new to marketers. Those events have shown the heightened importance of communicating through video, as well as the various ways we can do so. Explainer videos are the perfect addition to your online session, whether it's a virtual conference or webinar.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Place a short clip at the beginning of your talk to preface who you are and what your business does; or, add video to the end to lead your viewers to getting started with your company.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Although it's clear that virtual events are here to stay, in-person events are slowly but surely making their way back. And if you find yourself at an in-person show, explainer videos are useful there, too! Leave a video running at your booth on a table or screen with subtitles for attendees to learn more about your company.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Tip: Have your explainer video cover information you aren't pitching to those walking by so you can direct them to learn more once you've spoken with them. This keeps people around longer and gives them more content that might raise new questions for you to answer.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">5. Advertising</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Using static images for your ads is <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">so</em> last year. We already know how successful videos are at grabbing consumers' attention and leading them to a new business, so why wouldn't you use them in your advertising efforts? Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-users, according to WordStream.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you think using explainer videos as your ads is unconventional, think about how easy it is to grab someone's attention in a 30-second Facebook or Instagram video. So why not fill that video with information on your business? You can even trim longer explainer videos into multiple clips to be used as ad creatives.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Even better, if you're using Facebook, the platform allows you to target your audience by choosing who you want your advertising videos to reach. Just decide on your core audience and which channels you want to run ads on, and begin sharing your explainer video with the world.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">B2B is the perfect space to use explainer videos because the goal is to simplify how people understand your product or service how to put it to use. From sales pitches to email marketing campaigns, explainer videos will put you well on your way to discovering where video works best for your business!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p></div></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-85616213619132385902022-02-27T13:08:00.000-05:002022-02-27T13:08:55.001-05:00<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Four Biggest Mistakes You Are Making in Your PowerPoints and Presentations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyzivZJR92HxEY-ogx5F7KDbkUbv6Jc5xEAkoH6cfwqyVNswyILxLUr57IV3kAJlH8MGFU9DFdXfMC7-4P5-EISTL92QIU92QrVeiiw1TRmlK1oVtGBCTB4NYR3949rVqqeAVHC0njbPkdrISCwL9e1j0atAOajBKC8aSM-r4QXXfu_16qcYJowZlr=s309" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyzivZJR92HxEY-ogx5F7KDbkUbv6Jc5xEAkoH6cfwqyVNswyILxLUr57IV3kAJlH8MGFU9DFdXfMC7-4P5-EISTL92QIU92QrVeiiw1TRmlK1oVtGBCTB4NYR3949rVqqeAVHC0njbPkdrISCwL9e1j0atAOajBKC8aSM-r4QXXfu_16qcYJowZlr" width="309" /></a></div></b></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">PowerPoint is so ubiquitous that many people take it for granted. And, because it's so simple, many don't take the time to truly get the most out of it.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Even worse, too many think "PowerPoint" and "presentation" are synonymous, believing that all it takes to give a great presentation is a slick set of slides.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But great presentations aren't the result of chance, and they are definitely not one-size-fits-all. Even if you are an expert presenter, chances are you can improve a few things in your next presentation that will help sway the audience.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Best of all, most of those common mistakes are easy to fix, and fixing them pays off with huge dividends.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, let's run through four of the biggest mistakes people make when creating a PowerPoint presentation, and some approaches for overcoming them.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Mistake No. 1: You aren't thinking about your audience</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you take only one thing away from this article, it should be this first point. No matter how straightforward you think your presentation is, it always benefits from an adjustment so that it speaks to the unique wants and interests of your specific audience.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Consider the following to get a sense of why this matters:</p><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Your viewers will have various levels of knowledge about you and your product: A busy, C-suite audience will want to hear different things than a product manager.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">The audience may have heard three other pitches for the same service this week.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">A small group may benefit from more interaction, whereas a large group may benefit from a more presenter-led style.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Some people watching may have heard your pitch already.</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In each of those scenarios, you would want to tailor the length, level of detail, and overall approach to match the specific audience. If you were to present the same thing to all of them, you would have little success.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Mistake No. 2: You aren't telling a story</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you do any research into the art of creating better presentations, you'll almost certainly come across the topic of storytelling. Unfortunately, most of the articles you'll read are frustratingly vague on what that is. As a consequence, too many people assume it's a gimmick and don't give storytelling the attention it deserves.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Presentation storytelling can mean a lot of things, but in its most basic form, it simply means putting your ideas into context.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">There are several ways to do that. First, you can start by writing headlines that build to a larger point. That will help take your audience on a journey from the start to the end of your presentation, which is all storytelling really is!</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Another effective way to tell a story in a presentation is to focus on benefits rather than features. If you want members of your audience to know the details of your product, give them a fact sheet. If you want them to understand how their lives (or business) will improve as a result of choosing you, talk about benefits. By showing how things will improve (or "benefit" them), you're describing a change over time, which is the core of what a story is.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The great thing about stories is that they are customizable. You can tweak the way you frame benefits, or the way you guide your audience from start to finish, based on the unique needs and interests of that audience.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Mistake No. 3: You aren't considering format</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Too often, people treat PowerPoint presentations as all-purpose documents that function as in-person presentations, leave-behinds, and sometimes even separate pieces of marketing collateral. But the truth is, the PowerPoint you share in person should be different from the one you share online, and both should be different from the one you leave behind as a printout or PDF.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Let's take a look at what's different about each style of PowerPoint, and how you can design your slides (and presentation) to best suit each format.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">In-Person Presentations</h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When you think of PowerPoint presentations, chances are an in-person presentation is what you picture. People gathered around a table, slides on a screen, a speaker commanding the attention of every eye in the room. For persuading an audience, nothing beats an in-person presentation.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When making slides for an in-person presentation, your content should be minimal and focused.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The reason for that is too much information on a slide defeats the purpose of presenting in person. The value of an in-person presentation is the personal connection you can make with your audience, so when you're in the room, you want people focused on what you are saying, not shifting their attention to read full sentences on a slide. That's because any time that your viewers are reading what's on your slide, they aren't paying attention to you.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, use the content on your slides to reinforce your story (more on that later), and deliver the main point yourself.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Virtual Presentations</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">We've all become familiar with virtual presentations over the last few years. And if you've given even one of them, you've probably noticed that it's a little different from standing in front of a room and speaking.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In a digital presentation, you have to work harder to keep your audience engaged. That means using fewer words and distracting graphics on slides. It also means that you may want to consider changing the length of your presentation to avoid viewers' checking their email or online shopping when they should be listening to you.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Although technological challenges are a big concern for in-person presentations, those challenges are magnified when you're presenting online. Connection speeds can vary, animations can appear choppy, images can be pixelated, audio can cut in and out. Each of those scenarios can change from minute to minute, and they have a negative impact on the vibe of your presentation.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">So, when designing a PowerPoint for a digital presentation, you should stick to the best-practices of simplifying your design, stripping out any extraneous elements, and tightening up your overall timing.</p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Leave-Behind Presentations</h3><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Many (if not most) times, you'll want to send over a version of your PowerPoint for the audience to review or share with people who didn't attend your presentation. It might seem easy to send out the same document you presented, but this is where the value of considering your audience comes into play.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">When watching a leave-behind presentation, readers have time to focus on each slide and go through (and back over) your presentation in detail. And without you in the room to deliver the big ideas, they'll need additional context and explanation. That means if you want to make your case clear and compelling, you'll need to add information that the in-person version of your presentation left out. This is where you can start writing in full sentences rather than giving brief bullet points or including additional slides.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The other big difference between in-person and leave-behind presentations is design. Animations, video/gif, even colors will all render differently (if at all) on the printed page or as a flat PDF. So, if you want readers to have the best experience, you'll need to create a flattened version of your presentation—one that is designed with the specific considerations of the reading format in mind.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">However, that isn't as simple as just exporting your current PowerPoint. Many graphics created in PowerPoint don't transfer well to a different format.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The solution to this problem is actually the final big mistake that people make in PowerPoint...</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">Mistake No. 4: You aren't testing your presentation</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It's the day of your big presentation, and you're banging out the last few slides to fit in all the feedback from your team. You give it a once over, smile that it's all looking good, then share out the final file.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">And then the meeting starts. There's a typo on Slide 2. The wording on Slide 6 is kind of awkward when you say it out loud. Are the numbers in that chart even right? Wait, why does that animation pause halfway through?</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you're like us, most (if not all) of that sounds familiar, because it's happened at least once before. But the good news is, there's an easy solution: practice.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Many people seem to think that because they've given lots of presentations in the past, or because they know their subject well, they don't need to practice their presentation before giving it. But in our experience, there is never a time when you won't benefit from taking a few minutes to run through your work. And if it's more than a few minutes, even better.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">From better writing to sharper design to fewer mistakes, there are so many reasons to take the time to practice your presentation, and no reasons not to.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">If you've seen a few of the mistakes from this article in your own presentations, don't worry! Even experts are likely to benefit from considering each of them before giving their next presentation. If you keep them in mind before you start each new presentation, you'll find that the little bit of extra time you spend will lead to a lot of great results.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><br /></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-17041381166624906102022-01-30T18:41:00.001-05:002022-01-30T18:45:00.011-05:00<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Inspire More Switches: How to Win Customers From Your B2B Competitors</b></span><div><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOogTYlxfFUlnJLnP-REJAFeP8wWr58lp5tTtCoXbRoVYSqX4jlTn6h-pSXzp8FvEgsfxbDOhF2p5rZ76pLlhzAeaasaC9SJgizghfj5Bf78sTpWZ6Z2Qgcztg0lIBtT5PML5ROy2Hk5PmUmwj1wDEaO4mkctkmBBdCHWgCC7m4RIvdX1b9sazLNeG=s309" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOogTYlxfFUlnJLnP-REJAFeP8wWr58lp5tTtCoXbRoVYSqX4jlTn6h-pSXzp8FvEgsfxbDOhF2p5rZ76pLlhzAeaasaC9SJgizghfj5Bf78sTpWZ6Z2Qgcztg0lIBtT5PML5ROy2Hk5PmUmwj1wDEaO4mkctkmBBdCHWgCC7m4RIvdX1b9sazLNeG" width="309" /></a></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the core of your
business, you probably have an enticing value proposition. Perhaps you
outperform your competitors in certain services. And you have plenty of raving
clients that can vouch for your excellence.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the question
arises... Why don't more of your competitors' clients switch to your business?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, there's
something you might not have considered: barriers that get in the way of
switching.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prospects have to
mentally, physically <i>and</i> financially switched over. From a
tried-and-true solution... to you. And in many regards you're a mysterious and
unknown entity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, to entice
prospects to your business, you need to understand how they engage with
the <i>idea</i> of switching—what's really going on in your
prospective client's head. And life. After all, perceptions drive purchases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">We'll explore
the </span><b style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;">four forces that influence brand-switching.</b><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt;"> If you want
the prospect to say a grinning "Yes!" to you, you should amplify or
reduce them accordingly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's unpack those
forces.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Winning Competitors' Customers: Forces That
Work in Your Favor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. Pushes away from your competitor<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some of your best
prospects are the clients who don't think your rival's solution is working as
well as it could be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Opportunities for you:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Find negative perceptions by
reading your competitors' online reviews. Note the most frequent
complaints.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Home in on those
disappointments. </span>Assert your superiority<span style="color: #231f20;"> in
comparison. You can namedrop your rivals or use more generalized
implications. Regardless, your message should be, </span><i style="color: #231f20;">We won't let you
down like that.</i><span style="color: #231f20;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Back up your claims. Ask for
quotes from clients who switched from a competitor to you. Your real
switchers can convince the reluctant switchers. Such messages could
resonate with an unhappy prospect and make them more likely to consider
switching to you.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Pulls toward your solution<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chances are that your
business is something <i>new</i> to your competitors' customers.
You're unused. You're mysterious. Presumably, you offer certain
features/services they haven't experienced. That can attract their
curiosity—and even some good ol' FOMO.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Opportunities for you:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Help them picture the happier
lives they can lead once they become your client. Use "future
pacing" in your messages—get them to imagine what's possible in their
lives in the future. That is, tie your value to powerful outcomes in their
work lives.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Position your company as a cure
to their pain points. Help them think, <i>This service could do a
better job of solving my nagging problems.</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keep the transformations
realistic. If you appear <i>too</i> good to be true, you can
provoke skepticism, and even anxiety—in the form of your prospects'
believing that <i>they're</i> not good enough for you. B2B
marketing can be a psychological tightrope act!<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Winning Competitors' Customers: Forces That
Work Against Your Favor<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Anxieties around your solution<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even in B2B, many
prospects are ridden with social and emotional worries that can get in the way
of switching. After all, nobody wants to be the one who introduced a (pricey)
solution to that didn't work out and so now has to face the higher-ups.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Opportunities for you:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Neutralize your prospects'
anxieties. But first discover what exactly those worries are.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Research your current
customers. Find out about their decision-making journey. Send out customer
surveys and hold customer interviews. Ask: What other solutions did they
consider? What (specifically) drew them to you? What were their biggest
objections?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The insights you glean from
your research can be immensely valuable. Identify the most common
objections and defuse them. That should be done throughout your marketing
endeavors aimed at prospects.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let's say a frequent anxiety is
hesitancy around the quality of your service. Use social proof to
demonstrate that you are indeed a top-quality service. Relevant quotes
from your clients can help substantiate that.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keep concerns about switching
at bay. You should particularly place social proof around calls to action.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Want to make your solution
appear less intimidating? Show your value in smaller, yet engaging,
amounts. That could be a sample, a demo, or a "what to expect"
process overview.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If their colleagues like what
they see, it may weaken the social aspect of your prospects'
anxieties. <i>Hey, they can vouch for it, too! This has potential!</i> That's
how you can remove some of the "friction" of switching.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><b><i><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Habits preventing them from making a switch<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prospects may be stuck
to certain beliefs, delusions, and routines, or suffer from inertia even when
they feel the "pushes" of the competitor's solution.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For example, certain
prospects may have developed close relationships with your competitor's team.
Some prospects might be mentally accustomed to beliefs that hinder
open-mindedness: <i>Management is never open to investing time, effort,
and money into a new solution!</i> Or they could be convinced that if they
keep waiting... the Perfect Solution will just turn up one day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Opportunities for you:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Overpower ingrained habits with
ambition. Show how you provide superior results for your clients vs. your
competitors. Focus on relevant measurements of success, such as improved
conversion rates and levels of customer satisfaction.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Home in on the prospects'
biggest motivators (as shown in your research). Let's say that many
clients picked you due to your eco-friendly initiatives. Emphasize those
values using real data, case studies, and certifications.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't speak only to surface-level
propellants, such as cost-savings. Deepen your persuasion by weaving in
emotion. Make this implication: <i>Switch to us so you can finally
let go of the frustrations experienced with [competitor].</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't overlook the
importance of relevance, emotion, and motivation. They can all give prospects
the incentive to switch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><b><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inspiring Your Prospects to Switch: Influence
Their Narrative<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sure, you want to lure
your competitors' clients. But you may feel stuck in the position of waiting.
Nevertheless, you <i>can</i> take action and increase your chances of
persuading those prospects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, research your
current customers. You'll gain insights that could be useful throughout your
marketing efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Questions to ask:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What are your clients'
motivators, and what are their pain points?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What were their experiences
like with your rivals?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #231f20; line-height: normal; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What anxieties did they have
about your service?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ultimately, your
prospects form narratives about you. And those narratives directly inform the
likelihood of switching.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But you're in a
position to assert <i>some</i> level of control over their
perceptions. Focus on the obstacles keeping them away from you, and neutralize
them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;">Many prospects move
back and forth, regarding switching. They'll probably compare you to your
competitors. So </span>don't be afraid to show your
superiority<span style="color: #231f20;">. Help open-minded prospects to recognize your
usefulness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #231f20;"></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7220534142954370110.post-8518711313100443902021-11-29T13:06:00.004-05:002021-11-29T15:30:08.559-05:00<span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Six Tips for Generating More Leads With Your Marketing Content</b></span><div><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5PPAtMUfy3HQ4I1tSVM3oLzzm8rV459tliMCqySe4Bj8CPA-eEEFB_vOhnsRWwaKCskL_Duitw5TLwv_fVkGD2I8PJOW1lz7EZC1cvsCr5vO5gi2zgyfseuvMZuqaYSHCeon88YT98g/s309/Email-Main.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="309" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5PPAtMUfy3HQ4I1tSVM3oLzzm8rV459tliMCqySe4Bj8CPA-eEEFB_vOhnsRWwaKCskL_Duitw5TLwv_fVkGD2I8PJOW1lz7EZC1cvsCr5vO5gi2zgyfseuvMZuqaYSHCeon88YT98g/s0/Email-Main.png" width="309" /></a></div></span><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Although there's no magic bullet for increasing lead generation, a few simple and direct marketing fundamentals can help you boost response to your content. By applying those proven tactics to both your content and the material used to promote it, you can generate more leads.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">This article outlines how to optimize your content and marketing for response—so more people actually read, watch, or listen to your content.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Specifically, it provides six tips for crafting marketing communications that excel at generating qualified leads.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">1. Give your content an interesting or benefit-oriented title</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Boring titles are one of the biggest mistakes in marketing content used to generate leads. I see it a lot in scientific tech when the company is promoting something to scientists or engineers.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">One terrific way to improve your headline is to include a benefit. For example, look at the title of the following article from the optogenetics field: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Afraid of the Dark? Conquering Fear with Optogenetics</em>. The benefit is overcoming fear.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You can also consider using action words and numbers to make titles —for example, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Seven Questions to Ask When Choosing an Optogenetics Tool</em>.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Benefit headlines and titles increase clickthroughs because you're enticing prospects by telling them exactly what they'll gain from reading your content.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">2. Try using a problem-based headline instead of a solution-based headline</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But that's not the only way to improve response. Another way is to put a problem into the title, headline, or subject line.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Why? Because people are wired to respond to problems; it's just how our brains work. We're always on the lookout for problems to solve in day-to-day life.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As an example, here's a solution or benefit headline:</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">How to Get Ahead in Your Small Business</em></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">And here's that same headline, but rearranged to be problem-focused:</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Struggling to Get Ahead in Your Small Business?</em></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The second headline is also formatted as a question, which is another way to improve response.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">3. Narrow your readership to one target audience</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">This is a tough one. You probably have more than one audience, even for a single product or service.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Most clients have a hard time isolating a single target audience for a piece of content. They often think they'll miss out on reaching more potential customers.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But content and marketing copy written for one audience works best. Otherwise you risk writing something that doesn't appeal to anyone.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">For example, if you sell scientific equipment to both R&D and high-volume manufacturing (HVM) cleanrooms, write separate content pieces for each audience. Research scientists working in cleanrooms have challenges and motivations different from those of process engineers working in HVM labs.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">4. Consider putting the job function in the title</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Putting the job function you're targeting in the title of your content increases the quality of leads you generate and attracts more attention because you're specifying whom the piece of content is for.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">In other words, you're selecting the audience.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Let's say you're writing an article or whitepaper. In the example of research scientists working in cleanrooms, you could simply put a subtitle below the title of the whitepaper that reads something like this: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">A Guide for Scientists Working in R&D Cleanrooms</em></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Now your readers know exactly whom the article or whitepaper is for.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">5. Put a call to action at the end</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You might be thinking that this particular tip is unnecessary. It's 2021, and everyone knows to put a CTA at the end of a marketing piece. Right?</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Well, lots of marketers still don't do it.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You don't want to take the trouble of writing a piece of content and then have your readers or viewers not take the next step. So figure out what you want them to do after consuming your content, and tell them to do it!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Maybe you want them to schedule a product demo, call for more information, visit a landing page or your contact page, or visit your booth at an upcoming tradeshow. Whatever it is, make sure you tell them.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Here's an easy template for a call to action at the end of an article:</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">To find out more about how you can [GAIN BENEFIT or SOLVE PROBLEM] using [SPECIFIC PRODUCT], please visit [LINK].</em></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">6. Promote and repurpose your content aggressively</h2><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It's odd how many companies create a hefty piece of content, send out a few tweets about it, and then stop.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">For every major piece of content you create, you need to have a plan to get it in front of as many potential customers as possible.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Start by promoting the piece to your own audience (email list, newsletter, website blog, followers on LinkedIn, etc.) and ask that it be shared.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Then consider promoting it in industry newsletters, sending out a press release, doing a Google or LinkedIn ad campaign, or giving it away as a handout at tradeshows.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">As for repurposing, you should always slice and dice your content into other forms.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">For example, you can split up a whitepaper into a series of blog posts, each focusing on a specific section of the document (the problem, what's been done before, the solution, etc.). You can also repurpose it as an article to be published in a trade journal, or turn into a slide deck or webinar. You have lots of options!</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The bottom line: make sure your content isn't a one-hit wonder. Follow Joe Pulizzi's advice, and think 1 to 10—that is, repurpose each piece of content into 10 additional pieces.</p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">You've already created the material, so it shouldn't require a lot of extra work on your part.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: Montserrat, "Proxima Nova", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.25; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-top: 0px;">In summary, to generate more leads with your content...</h2><ol class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Give your content an interesting and benefit-oriented title.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Try using a problem-based headline instead of a solution-based headline.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Narrow the readership of your content to one target audience.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Consider putting the job function in the title.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Place a call to action at the end.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Promote and repurpose your content aggressively.<br /></li></ol><div><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="color: #1d1d1b; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at </span><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;">john@x2media.us</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0in;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #231f20; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="mailto:john@x2media.us" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></a></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!</span></span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #231f20; font-family: "Proxima Nova", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: arial;">From X2Media, thank you for your time.</span></p></div></div></div>John Hornyak, X2 Mediahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457474341658688554noreply@blogger.com0