Creative Marketing Ideas©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

Creative Marketing Ideas That Aren’t Blogging

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Blogging is big for many marketers, but it isn’t the strength every business relies on or that every audience can appreciate. New creative ideas are needed.

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Why Podcast?©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

Why Podcast? The Marketing Benefits

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When many people hear the word ‘podcasts’, they automatically assume it’s for political purposes or for some large non-profit. However, podcasts can be an incredible tool for the business world to help build brand awareness and loyalty. But, first let’s bring it back to basics on what exactly a podcast is.

A podcast is a series of digital audio files that a user will download to listen to. This is usually done as subscription based and will be downloaded to the individual’s own electronic device. A podcast will have a consistent narrative tone with an underlying message in each “episode.” In other words, think of it as an episode of your favorite TV series, only in audio form.

Why Podcast? How is it Beneficial for Business?

It may not seem very obvious that all businesses should consider starting a podcast, but there are very valuable reasons why it should be done.

  • Advertising & Sales – this can be a great way to introduce your company, brand, services and products in a new setting, all while converting listeners in to consumers.
  • Customer Relations & Community Building – are there issues that are facing your company that could affect your brand? Using this forum to openly speak to your audience will give them a sense of belonging and make them feel essential to your company.
  • Content Marketing – what is your company an expert in that no other brand can compete with? What deeper understanding of certain topics can you offer your audience? Developing strong strategic content will entice the listener to become a subscriber and convert to sales.
  • Minimal Investment – there may be some startup costs with acquiring a good microphone and software to edit files, but the biggest investment will be time. Time in developing and vocalizing the necessary content or arranging for guest speakers to sit in.
  • Shelf Life – podcasts can last indefinitely. In doing so, you will want to be careful in the content that is created and shared to last alongside the availability of the podcast.
  • Shareability – with everything that is digital, the podcast is no exception. This can be shared across channels and across audiences to increase awareness of your brand.
  • Multi-tactical – with podcasts, not only are you engaging in content marketing, but you can also take advantage of including social influencers that would help spread the news of your brand. This can include podcasts that are in an interview setting or allowing the influencer to be the ‘guest host.’ Inviting outsiders to be immersed in to your brand, can show flexibility and inclusiveness to your audience.

Success in Podcasts

Above are the answers to the question–why podcast? A company’s brand or marketing strategy will be crucial, but how can podcasts be executed successfully?

  • Name the Podcast – this should be relevant to your company, but also to what the content will be speaking to, all while grabbing your audiences’ attention.
  • Format – considering format for your podcasts is a must first step before developing content. Are there different series that have different formats or is there one defined podcast series with an interview or open forum conversationalist format?
  • Content – just as you would build out a social calendar to work in special offerings, posts due to external circumstances, you will want to do the same in your podcasts. Having clear and consistent messaging throughout each podcasts is crucial when adhering to your brand standards. Providing your audience with a complete left turn on a topic may leave them confused and disinterested in your brand.
  • Placement – making sure that you cross promote your podcasts will be crucial in developing a strong following for your podcasts, but your brand as a whole. Embedding links in blogs, social posts, publishing the podcasts on YouTube as well as your own website, will increase traffic and awareness. Referencing your social and content marketing calendars will help fill in the gaps of where and when links can be placed.
  • Software – utilizing compatible software to edit files to have high-quality audio will be beneficial for the podcasts and for your listeners downloading the content.
  • Sponsors – when your podcast is gaining traction with subscribers, this is a great way to bring in other products or services that will compliment, but not overrun your brand, to help capitalize on the success of your podcast. The host will need to mention the product at the beginning, middle or end of the show.

Colleen Eakins Design can work with your company to develop intriguing content that meets your goal of launching a new podcast series. Contact us today to learn more!

influencer marketing still works©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

6 Reasons Why Influencer Marketing Still Works

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Influencer marketing still works and here are 6 reasons, to back up that claim. Do you use influencers as a part of your business’ marketing strategy?

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5 best apps for editing videos©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

5 Top Video Editing Picks

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Here are 5 of our favorite picks for the best apps for editing video. Are you using video as a part of your digital content marketing strategy?

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social video marketing©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

Incorporating Social Video Marketing

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Currently, in the content marketing landscape, video marketing is the highest valued strategy. The personal touch that a video can offer that other content marketing tactics can’t, is unbeatable. Social video marketing is replacing commercials on TV because more people are spending time on their phone than watching the tube.

Are Videos THAT Successful?

You are probably thinking that social video marketing is just another fancy term for commercial. Yes, but also a big NO. With commercials you get a 30 second blimp in to a product without any real emotional connection. With video marketing pushed out on social, the brand is able to position themselves in a way that allows for full interaction. Think about the videos you have recently watched on any social media platform – you can view, re-watch, like, comment and share all within minutes. This not only can increase your social media awareness, but drive engagement and sales from having one or several small snippets of valuable brand-boosting tools.

Types of Videos

When deciding on what video is best for your company and brand for a specific campaign or goal – you must take in to consideration that not everyone in your audience will respond to one type of video the same way. Being able to have a selection of videos ready will help serve the whole audience.

  • Interview (Q&A) – try different formats of this type. Prepared questions with a team member/leader of the brand or taking live questions from the comments. This can also be done with one person who speaks directly to the followers and answers questions as they come in.
  • Behind-the-Scenes – this type of video is a great way to show your audience how you operate as a team, company, and the real work that is put in to produce a product or service.
  • Product Video – watching someone else who knows the product demonstrate its capabilities is a great way to convert your audience to purchase the item. Keep in mind that an informal video might perform better than a paid ad, as it will seem more sincere.
  • Live Video – using a platform that offers live steaming is very beneficial. It can make it seem like your brand is more ‘human’ and willing to showcase that mistakes happen because what you are showing is live and there is no editing. This will create a great connection with the audience. This type of video is great to incorporate other types in a live setting (Q&A, behind-the-scenes, announcements, etc.).
  • Audience Generated Content – let your loyal followers share their own content. This will show how willing your company is in engaging with those that enjoy your product of service. Find organic fan posts, reach out to them individually or hold a contest to collect clips.
  • Announcements/Breaking News – whether these are live or filmed beforehand, using these types of videos can create a buzz and following for a launch of a new product or service. A lot of users will go to social media to find their news and any breaking stories. And your followers will feel like they received the news first and have the power to share that information, if they please.
  • Events – you can use this type of video in a live setting or as an edited reel post event. This can give the audience watching online a chance to see what those attending can’t see with behind-the-scenes footage or speaking one-on-one to special guests.
  • How-Tos – everyone has looked up in a search, “How to….” and received many video choices about what they are needing. These will need to tailored to the social media platform that it is being posted (a few minutes vs. an hour), but can be very useful if your product can be difficult to use or your offerings can be combined with many different items.

What Social Media Platforms Do I Use?

This will pertain to the type of video you are producing and targeted audience from the determined campaign or goal. We know YouTube as the ‘king’ of videos, but other platforms are great for video marketing, as well.

YouTube will offer the chance to create longer content, if needed. Although, keep in mind your audience and if their attention span will be able to handle a feature film. YouTube does not have the live feature and may be best suited for interviews, demonstrations, or company/event reels.

For Facebook and Instagram, the time length of your video will need to be shorter. It will also need to be more entertaining, and creative to compete with the other items in your follower’s feed. These two platforms also offer the additional story feature, which you can use for announcements, quick behind-the-scenes exclusive views, how-tos, and live streaming.

Snapchat will offer you the shortest amount of time to show your content. This however, may be where your audience may live if they are in a younger age group. Short, fun videos will keep the attention of your audience while pulling them in to seeing what will be shown next.

Loop in your analytical findings to determine which channel may best serve your goal. Use a variety of video types and channels to help test which avenue resonates with your followers.

Creative Tips

Small team? Don’t have the budget or resources to create high quality videos? There are some great applications that can assist in developing great videos:

  • FilmoraGo – is a free mobile video editor, with purchase options built within the program. Features include: trimming video, adding themes or filters, music, and captions.
  • Magisto – is a free mobile app that prides itself on turning images and videos into stories within just a few quick clicks with similar features as FilmoraGo. They also offer a business plan that offers a company to reorder movie scenes.
  • Adobe Premiere Clip – is a free mobile app, with paid upgrade plans. They offer an automatic edition option that will generate a clip based on the uploaded content with customized options or use their freeform editing option that will allow you to edit as you see fit. You can also share the content to the app’s community.

At Colleen Eakins Design, we can help strategize what design components will be needed in your video along with a storyboard to guide you in producing the best content for your campaign. Contact us today!