Smarter mobile phone technology, iPads and so forth mean that the Internet is accessed in more places than ever - dare we say basically everywhere you go! So online marketing is not just for the home or office customer anymore. It is a wireless world and the Internet has gone wireless!
Some sources predict online advertising will be a $50 Billion dollar industry in 2011. Whether it reaches or exceeds that exact number or not, one thing is for sure, online marketing will become more local and more social. Why is this? Because it is trying to become more personal and more meaningful.
"These days, people have been over-saturated with interruptive types of advertising and have developed thick skins that shut out information overload. So if it is not immediately relevant to them, it gets ignored" says new media strategist, Marcus Kaiser.
He went on to add, "The customer is more and more in control, filtering their news and information, selecting and rejecting business/personal relationship connections in all their social media, controlling their music and video watching." We will see a continuation of the truth that people don't want "commercials". They do want to be informed but not "sold." They want peer-review of their products and services to boost trust and see for themselves that companies truly deliver what they claim. They want to avoid the lemons out there.
"2011 will be a bad year for companies wanting to take shortcuts -- shortcuts on quality, authenticity or customer service. Thanks to the Internet and Social Media, researching a company or a product now takes just a couple minutes -- enough to know if they are for real. The public has options on who to use and where to spend and knows how to use them." Kaiser said.
He added, "That is why our social media marketing strategy service is more valuable than ever. We help companies connect with their prospects, demonstrate value, retain customers, develop brand loyalty - and all of that translates into honest profits for our clients."
Less Commercials, More Story Telling
Your "value proposition" is a popular term in marketing, but it really is the key. Your distinctive value is where it is at. More specifically, your ability to effectively communicate that value - to present it - is what means the difference between success and failure.
When it comes to making what you have to offer relevant, it means meeting the customer where they are. This need is what is driving marketing to be more local and more social. However, there are two other elements that must be addressed to really pull it all together.
You see, a relevant value proposition determines whether people know about you and want what you have to offer. That means market awareness, which in our digital age is much the same as "Internet Visibility". If you have visibility, you have awareness, but do they want it for themselves? Wanting what you have to offer all depends on how you present your value.
That leads us to the first of the 2 other key elements: Presentation. Today, technology empowers presentation, from typesetting choices through an actual Powerpoint presentation, image and context speak on fundamental sub-verbal level. However, the most powerful form of presentation through technology is video.
Video allows both physical and conceptual messages to be presented with amazing power. And technology has embraced video, putting it everywhere from our screens to our phones.
OK, back to those 2 other key elements:
Human beings create meaning out of a story. The Myths of ages ago were stories that answered fundamental questions people had about their world, Their mythology literally described what was meaningful to them. It set the boundaries of their inner worlds, their views, their values, what they could and could not conceive of. What we're point to in all this is that storytelling is not just entertainment; rather it is generating the context in which your products and services have real meaning, and thus real value - how want-able they are!
Conclusion
To reach your prospects in a way that makes them want to take the action of using your products and services is all about being relevant -- about being meaningful. Relevancy has essentially Four Factors:
- Make it local - touching us right where we live.
- Make it social - can you surround your product with a culture? Can you make a community -- whether in physical space or "virtual" online space, of individuals whose values intersect at a point large enough to stir up sufficient interaction - sufficient buzz? Get an aligned consensus around your message and your company values gives momentum and leverage to your marketing.
- Powerful Presentation - use the technology of video whenever possible! Video is power for many reasons but one big reason is all the many ways video can spread and be shared like never before.
- Tell a Compelling Story - human needs psychology has distinguished 6 core needs which we all share, just in different proportions from person to person. Every message that has ever grabbed you or motivated you has done so because it touched on one or more of these 6 human needs. Every movie you love or relationship you wanted to stay in touched you because it touched one or more of these 6 basic needs. (and those 6 are a story for another time)
Our point is that humanity is not a nuisance to be marginalized in the age of technology, it is the very reason that makes technology serve us instead of enslave us. Those who can lead with the heart in their marketing communications, will end up capturing minds and pocketbooks as well.
We at Promise Productions believe that online video meets all these requirements far beyond anything else out there. Those who can control the images people see on screens, influence thoughts at a profound level. Those who tell a story (a human story, and thus a relevant story) with video, grab us and pull us into their message. That's why we've invested heavily into Dallas Video Production.
Video is not magic in and of itself; it must be mindfully and "heart-fully" (just made that word up) produced. At Promise Productions, we understand motivation and can use video to tell a meaningful story that is relevant to your audience.
We are unabashedly excited going into 2011 because we have the best of all worlds available for powerful results! We look forward to advancing your success and getting to know you and your goals. Let us be your advocate and put our skills to work for you by calling 877-858-0071.
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