The Digital Practitioner: strategy
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 December 2017

Friday, 10 November 2017

Amateur VS Professional Video Production - Read The Difference

November 10, 2017 0
Amateur VS Professional Video Production - Read The Difference

Video Production is now among the most important business strategies to help in brand awareness and it also increases sales conversion. Whatever the type of business you are running today, it is possible to leverage the power of video marketing to stay ahead of the competition. A lot of brands have even built in-house teams to carry out productions. Others are using any available camera to shoot amateur visuals.


The only problem is that it is easy to differentiate between amateur and professional content. If you consider how effective this marketing tool is for any campaign, it is not advisable to try and save money while compromising quality. The modern consumer is very keen and will tell between quality and shoddy productions.
Using marketing materials to boost your brand's visibility is very valuable especially in the digital age. Hiring a professional videographer or video production company can in fact save you money and showcase your brand in the right light. Don't make the mistake of using an amateur solution just to save money because it may back fire. Remember whatever you put out there represents your brand and can never be taken back. If you are wondering how it's possible to tell between amateur and professional video production, consider the following.


Amateur vs Professional Video Production Service Providers
  1. Lack Of Diverse Camera Shots - A professional cameraman knows what's visually appealing and they can get as many creative angles as possible efficiently. Such angles help tell your story more creatively and this boosts your brand. With the expertise these professionals bring on board, you have the advantage of more shots and saving time. An amateur is limited when it comes to the number of shots they get because they are not well versed in using the equipment and knowing what angles work best to tell the story effectively.

  2. Poor Audio and Visual Quality - One of the greatest mistakes any marketer can make is creating a poor quality video meant for marketing purposes. With the popularity of visual content on all platforms, it goes without saying that your content might eventually get noticed, but then it will be used to ridicule your brand. This is the greatest danger to any company brand that's online. This mostly happens when you use amateurs for your production. When you have an expert working for you, you are assured of high quality content because the equipment required for shooting is available and their important technical expertise is utilized. What's more, they understand the best environment, and use other specialized equipment such as external microphones and camera stabilizers, tripods, hand held devices to guarantee quality. Other considerations include lighting, which all works towards boosting the quality of video and content.

  3. Unnatural Scripting - If there is no one with script writing skills around, you can bet the final product will not have a clear and concise message. Many ideas that look good on paper can't work when you are producing visual content. If you have ever watched a commercial that you didn't wish to complete due to lack of logic, then go for an expert to avoid making a similar one.

  4. Editing Techniques - Poor editing can kill even the best story line for a video production. For amateurs, there is nothing much to do once shooting has been done, but for a professional, editing is the most important phase. 
Looking to get started on your next project? VCM Interactive is a strategic forward thinking team with over 30 years of experience who understands the time sensitivity and cost-effectiveness as well. Contact us for your free quote today!




by: 
Paul Nandrajog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9808836

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

Storytelling - How Important Is It To Your Brand?

November 01, 2017 0
Storytelling - How Important Is It To Your Brand?

In this 21st Century there are stories everywhere, moreso than before. On television. In newspapers and magazines. Online. Offline. Everywhere we look and see, there is a story. Enhanced by various tools of technological; stories, whether true or 'fake' news, now move more rapidly. Traversing communities and countries within seconds. 
Within this quickly changing information environment, for businesses, companies or corporations need to find a way which enables them and their products to stand-out amidst the noise. Therefore, having the "right" story to promote their brand, helps. 

As an ancient art form, storytelling narrates traditional, cultural and social norms providing communities and countries to express through various mediums. Using the vital elements of plot, characterisation and narrative point of view storytelling is used in many ways, as demonstrated through various genres: whether written, theatre, film or video, poetry or music, magazine or newspaper. 
Compelling, emotional, motivational, inspiring, negative or positive, a story has the ability to move the reader or watcher from and through various psychological states.
As storytelling is not new and in business moreso and in today's business environment some organisations are mastering the ability to tell tales on digital platforms, resulting in positive outcomes on their bottom-line. Creating a connection with businesses and customers, regardless of demographics, the love of a story enables people to make a connection with the narrative.

Therefore, with this connection or 'brand storytelling' will help to transform any content marketing strategy, enabling the content's power to easily engage their audience. It is advisable to invest in telling story and according to Monte Lutz of Edelman Digital, "as companies begin to adjust to the real-time nature of content marketing, it's easy to lose track of your core brand narrative."
Social media has pushed content to being more authentic and transparent and personal and storytelling is a part of this swing since at a stories core is a great story that engages the business client or customer's emotions recreating an experience for the audience.


There are many corporate storytelling examples which prove how storytelling can be powerful when done good and well. Emotions sell. Oz Content states: Studies show positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments based on attributes. Advertising research reveals emotional responses to an ad have far greater influence on decisions than the ad's content - by a factor of 3-to-1 for television and 2-to-1 for print ads. According to Oz, there are eleven great and powerful storytelling examples: Weight Watchers, Guinness, Apple, Google, John Deere, Nike, Lego, Airbnb, Harry's, Warby Parker and Dove.
So how does one create the best brand ever?
- Create the right story by ensuring there is value in the 'human element' content
- Making stories sincere and real;
- The importance of having a Point of View (POV) from the target groups perspective;
- Have an awareness of what connects with potential and present customers
- Defining and identifying positive protagonists, victors and heroes within the storytelling;
- Keep the storytelling simple, by being able to tell a story in one line.
Finding the human element in a story helps to connect customers to a brand, company or product, so creating a story around that shows how their lives can be better, connecting them at an emotional level.
In today's world, emotional-connecting storytelling content is king resulting in brand awareness and enabling an enhanced bottom-line.
Kwame MA McPherson is an award winning author and content organiser. He is offering a FREE consultation on storytelling and brand building. http://www.kwamemcpherson.com.


by: 
Kwame MA McPherson 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9798585

Friday, 20 October 2017

October 20, 2017 0

Too often people see the internet as some type of magical, mysterious genie that will give them all the money they need with no work. True, there are many online strategies to make money while you sleep, but the same laws that apply to the rest of the business world apply here, too. 


To illustrate this, we are going to compare the website we are creating with a McDonald's franchise...
Real World Economics
It may seem that the internet lives in it's own bubble. That the money, products, resources, advertisements, etc. are all just "digital" but it is crucial that you understand that the internet is backed by real world products and services preformed by real people. (And when you see the real checks in your mailbox, this will become even more apparent!)

For example, you have a website and Amazon advertises on it. Someone visits your site, clicks on the ad to Amazon and purchases an iPod. The customer receives a real-life iPod, Amazon receives profit from the sale, and you receive a commission from Amazon. Win-Win-Win. 
This entire system was created because a real person bought a real music player. Since you are just getting a commission for showing the ad, it is easy to overlook this process and think that Amazon just paid you for the digital ad space on your site, seemingly for "nothing". In reality, Amazon paid you because you sold an iPod to a real person. The distinction seems minor, but always keep that in mind.
Always remember that you are selling metaphorical hamburgers and french fries to real people in your "McDonald's" on the web. There is no difference.
Supply and Demand
You may be familiar with the idea of supply and demand, and how this affects prices. If your McDonald's restaurant had 100 hamburgers in stock and there was 1,000 people in line, you could charge insane prices. But if you needed to get rid of 1,000 hamburgers and only had 10 customers, you would be practically giving them away.
When supply > demand prices will be low. When demand > supply, you can raise prices higher.


How does this apply to our simple website? The prices your site will earn for each sale or each click will be directly related to supply and demand. Using our last example, when consumers are willing to buy a bunch of iPods, Amazon can afford to pay you much more than when iPods just aren't selling as well.
In a larger sense, there isn't too much you can do about this, but you can position yourself to protect against lower demand. The best way to do this is to ensure that you have multiple streams of revenue (which we will be getting to in the next lessons).
Leverage
Leverage means that you can do a lot with a little. Leverage is the concept that makes the internet an exciting place to make money. Leverage is the reason that I can offer you strategies to make money while you sleep. Let's look at how internet business offers us leverage:
Time leverage is perhaps the biggest advantage. Let me explain how business works online. Because your website is up 24/7, even while you are sleeping, you can profit from it no matter what you are doing with your time. Once your site is up (and you spend minimal time maintaining it), you are free to do whatever you want and your site will continue to profit. If you are ambitious, you can spend your time creating another site, and another, while all of them are making money all the time. See how you can leverage your time? If this was the McDonald's, you would be working 12 hours a day to keep your restaurant in order and when you went home at night, the restaurant would be shut down, unable to make you any money.


A second area of leverage is resources. The system that I am teaching you takes minimal money and minimal skills to create. It is a system that, with a little effort, you can create for under $20 and profit $200 per week or more. Try getting that kind of return with a McDonald's franchise.
The final area of leverage is geography. With our restaurant, we can only serve local customers. With the internet, we can reach billions of internet users world wide. This leverage stuff is powerful and it is the single factor that makes the internet fundamentally different (and in my opinion, better) than the McDonald's franchise.
Visit the Business Blog [http://www.businessgears.com] that gives you instant business headlines.






by: 
Andrew Olson 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4257449

Monday, 9 October 2017

Things to Look for in an AutoResponder

October 09, 2017 0
Things to Look for in an AutoResponder

An AutoResponder can be defined as a program that answers your emails automatically when received. They can be complex or very simple. 
So as to understand what an AutoResponder is, think of emailing system that is set in a way that it can respond automatically using prewritten texts or a system that is able to fill out forms as it searches for any further information on what is on offer.



Success in internet marketing
The very success in internet marketing can be achieved by automating the most repetitive tasks as you can. 
The AutoResponder can be very helpful as they can allow you to be much more effective and they can help you to accomplish so much more within a very little time. 
Time is a very valuable thing. If you are able to use time effectively, then you will be able to increase income in a great way.

What to look for
There are several things that are very essential and should be considered when choosing the best AutoResponder. They include:

Personalization features
Personalization is a great way of addressing all subscribers by their names within your letters. When you do this, your response rate actually increases. More people are likely to open messages and review them when they are made personally. Insisting on AutoResponder personalization will give you great returns.


Ability to broadcast
When you think of special announcements, updates and discount offers that are aimed at an entire list, then the ability to broadcast be a feature that can be really helpful. 
You may get a very quick response after you have sent out the messages. You only need to press the send button and everyone will know what is on offer.

The ability to import
Sometimes you may want to migrate those lists or even purchased lists and if you have the import feature, then this becomes very easy and fast to achieve.

Restrictions on size
As you continue doing your online marketing, then you will end up having very large lists of customers. Your AutoResponder should be in a position to handle these numbers of subscribers without any trouble. Being able to manage the long lists is an added advantage.


The very first of the AutoResponder kind was created by agents within the mail transfer sector and they realized that it wasn't possible to deliver emails to a certain address but rather got the bounce messages. Today, it is a very important thing to ensure that email backscatter isn't created because the auto responses can actually be sent to spam folder of messages.
AutoResponders are important email marketing tools and they give important information to various prospective customers. Fallow ups are also done within time intervals that are preset.
Categories
AutoResponders can be categorized into two. They are the server side that enables different users to install the system on their servers and no technical skills are needed. There are also the outsourced ASP models that can operate in infrastructure of the provider. Configuration can be done through a control panel based on the web.
Click on the Link To get more information about AutoResponder and access the services. Here you can access unlimited AutoResponder services that are without any monthly fees.


by: 
Shalini Madhav 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9747714

Monday, 25 September 2017

Questions To Ask Yourself Before Venturing Into Facebook Ads

September 25, 2017 0
Questions To Ask Yourself Before Venturing Into Facebook Ads

It's no question that a good Facebook ad campaign is a great way for any business to reach what could seem to be the farthest of markets. Apart from that, it could also make potential customers that are actually near you aware of your company, increasing chances of gaining a loyal local following.

Before exploring this complex aspect of the marketing world, it's important for a company to know what it's about and what its goals are with the campaign. With that, here are some questions you may want to ask yourself before committing to a campaign via Facebook Ads.

What Exactly Do You Wish to Achieve With the Campaign?
Answering this question before anything else is crucial because it sets the overall direction of your Facebook Ads strategy. Do need more traffic? More conversions? More sales?
By answering this question, you set the base for everything else. At the first level of setting up your ad, you need to set whether your campaign is for 
  1. Awareness, 
  2. Consideration, or 
  3. Conversion. 
You cannot pick one when you are not sure why you're setting it up in the first place.
Do You Know Your Audience?
Any campaign will require a target audience in order to be established and run properly. You need to know which audience you're going to set your focus on.


Facebook Ads has a feature allowing you to target your desired market based on demographics and interest. You can't provide input unless you have a clear understanding of who you want to sell to. Without this input, you cannot expect a substantial output.
Know the location, gender, age, and language of those you wish to invite to your business. This isn't just for the Facebook feature, either. Knowing these things directs what content you're actually going to put in your ads. Subsequently, you will be able to figure out how, when, and where you're going to post these ads.

How Do You Plan to Warm Up to Your Audience?
With all that cleared, you can now focus on your ads and how you plan to use them to make your intended market ready to transact with you.
Is providing free content for your audience a viable option in relation to the business you're in? If so, along with your ads, you may want to regularly post educational, interactive, and/or entertaining content as well. 


This is to help establish a connection with them.
Is giving discounts an option? If yes, then it'd be a good idea to lure customers in with promos and favorable deals.
In addition to gaining initial attention (and sales, hopefully), it's important you re-target those who've already visited your page. You already know that they're interested in your business. Their attention plus new visitors' attention all make for a greater chance at profit.


A Facebook ad campaign could be the next big step for your business. If you do it right, could pay off in exposure and customer loyalty. Once you've got those questions answered, the next best step to take is to get a good team of social media marketers to handle your campaign. Work with this team and you're well on the road to success.



by: 
Donald Smithon 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9785553

Monday, 18 September 2017

A Dead Simple Way To Rank #1 In Google

September 18, 2017 0
A Dead Simple Way To Rank #1 In Google


Tips to reach the Holy Grail for your website!

It is a 'Gold Bong' highlighting the strategy in this video, but hey, it's the the principal of the thing!







Get smart on the actions to implement into your online strategy to maximise results, online presence and ultimately more money in your bank account!

Top Tip: Check out Ahrefs.com to monitor your competitors and for some excellent analysis on Backlink Research for your Niche.

How's your site ranking on google?