Alright, in Part one of this series you saw how New Media Marketing was used correctly by the design/build firm of Rosenlof/Lucas. And in Part two you learned three simple ways that the company could have substantially increased the marketing impact of that one video invitation. And now it’s time to learn from the mistakes of another landscape company that’s been left green with envy.
If you haven’t followed this series from the beginning, you definitely want to return to part one and start there to learn the most from this New Media Marketing case study. If you have been following along, here’s the Rosenlof/Lucas video again as a quick reminder to make the comparison really stand out. Just click the small play button under the video image.
Now, to save the second company the pain of humiliation and shame with deep analysis let’s just take a look at the video and make a quick summary. Watch this one minute video and be prepared for a BIG difference.
Click the image below to open the video in a new window
Obviously this is not much different than some mass media style commercial you’d see on your local cable station. And actually, that’s probably where this video came from. It looks like a recycled cable commercial for this landscape company.
From a New Media Marketing standpoint — why would anyone pass this video along and share it with family or friends? There’s no online persuasion here. Heck, there’s not even any clear call to action at the end of the video other than “Stop by today…” so even by direct response marketing standards, it’s useless.
Use this shocking contrast with the little you learned about New Media Marketing in part one and two of this series to drive a big point home…
If a landscape company can use New Media to market their business so can you!
Once again you see how there’s no excuse for missing out on the impact and effectiveness of marketing with blogs, podcasts, social networks, and all New Media. If one of the lowest tech industries in the world can effectively market with New Media to get new business and new profits — so can you.
If you haven’t already done so, grab the excerpt of our upcoming book Secrets of Online Persuasion. When you do you’ll automatically get a free one-year subscription to the New Media Marketing Journal where you’ll get fresh new ideas and insightful case studies like the one you just read. When it comes to marketing with blogs, podcasts, RSS, and other New Media — it’s only too late if you don’t take action today!
John-Paul Micek is a Business Acceleration Coach with four multi-million dollar businesses under his belt and over 8000 hours of experience helping entrepreneurs like you get the profits, performance, and lifestyle you want from your business. He’s a published author (Secrets Of Online Persuasion,) a weekly columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin, and professional speaker. You can reach J.P. directly via [communicationcommando@gmail.com].
In part one of this New Media Marketing case study, you learned how effective stepping beyond marketing with business blogs is. And you saw why this type of marketing with New Media can work in generating buzz, building your prospect list, and boosting profits. Today let’s take a look at three simple things Rosenlof/Lucas could have added to their video foray into New Media Marketing for even greater impact on their bottom line.
#1. Encourage immediate action: Along with the invitation shown at the end of the video there could have been a simple landing page where an “Invite Acceptance” was completed by the viewer. This one added step would do three things very powerful things from a marketing standpoint –
a. The pre-qualified viewers contact info would be captured for later follow-up whether he or she actually shows up at the party or not.
b. By completing the “Invite Acceptance” the viewer will have taken a small action that psychologically motivates them to follow through and actually showing up on October 5th.
c. With full contact info collected, all confirmed attendees could be mailed a post card confirmation or be sent a text-message the day before to remind them of the party.
#2. Reward immediate action: To really create anticipation and excitement Rosenlof/Lucas could have added a contest to the “Invite Acceptance” process. Something as simple as offering all “Confirmed Guests” the chance to win one $3000 design/build certificate would go a long way in getting people jazzed about the event. And a further note that the winner would be announced at 8pm the day of the party, and that the invitee had to either be there live.
#3. Leverage the business blog: OK, so let’s end with the simplest and most effective marketing addition to this entire optimized process — the linkage to Rosenlof/Lucas’s business blog. (Which I was surprised to not find. )
If the two online persuasion strategies highlighted above were used, then after the registration form for the “Invite Acceptance” was completed, the new registrant would be taken to a special post on the company business blog where they are encouraged to share their opinions on the video or what they’d like to see more of.
This interaction and participation builds rapport and trust before the prospect would even talk to Matt or his partner.
Also, I can’t comment on how much (if any) effort Rosenlof/Lucas put into using this video with their existing client list, how they used other New Media channels, or if they took advantage of any off-line PR, publicity, or promotional opportunities. I now that with a solid click-and-mortar marketing approach this New Media Marketing blitz would be the type of HUGE list building event that would keep the business swamped for months.
So if this is the way the oldest profession in the world can market correctly with New Media, what’s the wrong way to do it? We’ll cover what you can learn from the mistakes of others in Part 3.
John-Paul Micek is a Business Acceleration Coach with four multi-million dollar businesses under his belt and over 8000 hours of experience helping entrepreneurs like you get the profits, performance, and lifestyle you want from your business. He’s a published author (Secrets Of Online Persuasion,) a weekly columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin, and professional speaker. You can reach J.P. directly via [communicationcommando@gmail.com].
New Media Marketing Case Study: A Tale of Two Landscape Companies Leaves One Green With Envy — Part 1, Done Right
YES! Even the least techie industries in the world can use New Media to market, build their prospect list, and boost profits. It’s true that all business owners and marketers have access to the same technology and tactics of blogs, podcasts, RSS, social networks, etc. But the “secret” to successfully marketing online or offline is the same as to achieving goals in any other area of life. The difference between winners and losers is not in the technology — it’s in strategy, mindset, and the ability to influence.
As some of you know, the way Deb and I got to live our ideal lifestyle in Hawaii is through my starting, growing, and selling two multi-million dollar companies in the horticulture industry. Both were big money makers but my passion always lay with the design/build work we did for affluent clients with private estates. Because of that past life, I still keep my finger on the pulse of the horticultural industry. That includes monitoring how companies in that industry are using New Media to market their business.
Part of that monitoring of the New Media Marketplace includes subscriptions to track new videos at the top viral video sites.
The world’s oldest profession shows how to (and how NOT to) use New Media Marketing
While we were speaking in Baltimore two weeks ago, a video popped up at You Tube that really caught my attention. Not just because it was a landscape design/build firm. But because these members of the world’s oldest profession (yes, gardening is what Adam was told to do in the Garden of Eden) used New Media Marketing to influence, persuade, and connect with new prospects and their existing client base in a memorable way.
As a comparison, the second video is from a company that is using New Media — but their strategy is completely mass media/interruption marketing inspired.
The business that got it right
The landscape design/build firm Rosenlof/Lucas in Minnesota had a project that was the focus of an episode of an HGTV program. But instead of relying on a single episode of a cable show to generate buzz, they created a simple four-minute video that has given the project a very productive life attracting new clients using New Media channels.
Click on the small play button below the video to watch and the read on to learn from what they did right marketing with New Media.
OK, so it may be pretty obvious what they did right at the end of the video, but let’s start at the beginning and go through seven online persuasion strategies they incorporated with this New Media foray.
New Media Marketing done right
1. Use a personal/informal tone: The video starts with an informal and completely “personal” intro to the company. You feel as if you’re riding along with Matt Olsen.
2. Grab your target audiences attention up front: The initial intro to Rosenlof/Lucas is brief and immediately defines what differentiates their design/build firm from the competition. Don’t be afraid of losing people. If you don’t turn off (and turn away) some people, you’re probably not going to really turn anybody on either.
For example; not everyone likes contemporary design. But Rosenlof/Lucas specializes in that styles, so they’d be foolish to not make that clear. Who cares if people who don’t like contemporary design tune out. That’s not their target audience.
3. Tell a story: Matt starts the story feel right in the beginning of the video and that continues throughout the four minute clip. He and the owners of the subject property (owners of Hive Modular Homes) share their personal thoughts, inspirations, and most importantly — their passion for what they do.
I recently read and commented on a business blogging case study by Thom Singer over at ProBlogger. In that post Thom shared about his growth and experience blogging for his business over the last year. He’s been using Blogger up till now, and he mentioned three things in particular that I knew would be valuable for me to address in depth here for other business owners who are trying to market with business blogs.
The three points related to marketing with blogs:
1. Blogging with YOUR business in mind 2. Feeling “stuck” with Blogger 3. Getting hung up on “regular readers” defined as RSS subscribers
I gave Thom a few tips in my original comments on both these points, but let’s get you some expanded business blog coaching here with specifics.
1. Effective marketing though your blog
First of all, since Thom is primarily focused on promoting himself and his business by educating his target audience, he’s got the right mindset. It’s great to see another business owner using blogs the right way — to promote THEIR OWN products/services!
This may seem obvious to some who are new to advanced business blogging, but we see far too many business owners get confused and taken off course with the advice/consulting of professional/full-time bloggers who make money of traffic monetization (AdSense, etc.). So don’t let any self appointed ‘experts’ make you feel bad by slamming you with some ‘rules’ of the blogosphere that you shouldn’t promote yourself, your products, or your services.
No! You should not be blatantly marketing or using any type of ‘hard’ sales techniques on your blog. That’s not the place for that type of copy, audios, or commercials.
Yes! You should be educating people about your niche and/or industry.
Yes! You should be differentiating yourself from your competitors. Not by attacking them openly. But rather, by sharing your opinions, your strategic approaches to problems, and offering creative solutions that highlight your passions and expertise.
2. “Stuck” blogging for your business over at Blogger?
Thom triggered what I see as a great opportunity to address publicly a question/concern we often get from business owners who started blogging over at Blogger and now feel ’stuck.’ Here’s his comments that served as a catalyst:
“I used Blogger.com as my platform solely because that was what the panelist had recommended (and because it was free). SEO to my blog and my web site went through the roof because I post 4-6 times a week. That has been a huge perk. Search engines like fresh content and regular posting is the key.”
Now, if you’re like Thom and you’re happy with what you’ve achieved so far on Blogger — you haven’t seen anything yet as far as SEO (Search Engine Optimization)! From the results we’ve seen with hundreds of business owners, I can say confidently that you’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to motivating people (in your target audience) to take action.
The right tool helps when blogging for your business
Although successfully marketing with business blogs is not necessarily dependent on a particular blogging software, having the right tools can be a big help. The WordPress community has developed more business/marketing friendly plugin modules than you can shake a stick at.( You can check out some of the best WordPress plugins for business blogging here.)
Fact is, when you see how much easier WordPress makes reaching all your marketing goals, you’ll be amazed. When it comes to capability to carry the weight of the results you want in your business, blogging with Blogger is like using a Ford pickup. Business blogging with WordPress like using a Caterpillar earth mover!
Moving from Blogger to WordPress
Moving from Blogger to WordPress is easier than most people think. You can do it yourself if you’re good with code and MySQL. Justin over at JustInsomnia gives a great overview of the steps you’ll need to take.
If you’ve been wondering about marketing with podcasts and how you can use New Media Marketing with your business blog, I’ve got something special for you. Watch this video, then check out how they’re making money with this and read my bold prediction on their upcoming success!
Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine are two comedians from LA who have put together (among other things) the AskaNinja.com site. It’s a compilation of hilarious, clean but cutting, comedy clips.
When you check out the site you’ll see how funny they are. (This’ll give you some idea of my and Deb’s sense of humor.) Kent and Doug have put together an incredibly professional multimedia blog too. Must be that LA air they breathe. Or maybe a friend who’s an awesome video editor!
Anyway — when you go to Ask A Ninja, you’ll probably wonder why they’re putting this much effort into a free multimedia blog.
How are they making money? And what’s this have to do with business or Advanced Business Blogging?
Well, first of all Kent and Doug are promoting their main business Beatbox Giant (BBG.) Secondly they’re currently in production on an animated show called ‘Kinzai Ninjas‘ that will be out later in 2006. Building an audience now, before the release is smart, stealth like marketing. Just like a Ninja.
And when it comes to blogging for business, building an audience — that’s priority #1 for business owners. Even though it’s not the same as a “typical” business, Ask A Ninja shows how building a list fast can be done.
Lots of ideas over there. And once again, here’s another business blog that proves that you can get the marketing results you want without posting multiple posts per day like so many blogging evangelists promote.
Building a massive list? Here’s what I mean….
The first post over at Ask A Ninja was 1/9/06, but the real (more…)
Business blogs, podcasts, and RSS are poised to dominate Internet communication for the next half decade or longer. The evidence shows clearly why. It’s because of what a business owner recently in one of our Marketing With Busines Blogs sessions called “the business blogging pardox.” Blogs are not complicated, yet they can accomplish so much for small business owners and professionals.
No magic wand here, and no hype!
Blogs are not the magic wand that many tech gurus and blogging pros tout. But business blogs are an undeniable part of a master marketing formula. And it’s a formula you need to blend yourself if you’re going to master the marketplace of the new millennium.
Whether you realize it or not, elements of blogging are cropping up in nearly every area of marketing, media, and general communication. And the most important reason is because of one key element (what blogs are based on,) — RSS (Real Simple Syndication.)
The solution that binds the marketing formula together
RSS is at the core of podcasts, instant digital distribution, and on-demand media.
You can use it covertly to monitor your niche, industry, or competitors.
Use it to stay up to speed filtering an incredible amount of info in a radically shortened timeframe.
Or out in the open, you can put this core power source of business blogging to work in your marketing, positioning, and promotion.
RSS is something that will exponentially multiply all your online marketing strategies, and many of your offline ones as well. Simplicity is the key.
That’s the beauty of business blogs. You don’t have a lot of moving parts, and what you do have is easy to manage. But the best part is the viral (search engine based and human) multiplication of your efforts.
How digital positioning makes a real world difference
Business blogs, podcasts, and RSS all work together to allow for rapid assimilation and leadership in niche areas of the marketplace. Take Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba for example. These trainers and first time authors took their first book, Creating Customer Evangelists, to levels of national recognition so quickly that they seemed to come from nowhere.
How did this pair of trainers position themselves as first time authors to be crowned the national “go to experts” in their niche by the New York Times and Harvard Business School? (more…)
Business blogging is gaining more power and momentum as blogging in general gains popularity. Blog readership has increased 45% in the last year according to a recent report by comScore. And that means more and more businesses are trying to jump on the marketing bandwagon and take advantage of this groundswell.
But when it comes to marketing effectively with business blogs, most companies (large and small) are stumbling along blindly, or just falling flat on their face. A recent example is highlighted by Loren Baker over at Search Engine Journal. He goes into significant detail about what the upstart search engine company Quintura Search has done right, and verrrry very wrong with their blog marketing campaign.
Quintura Search just released their 1.0 beta system, and when they did they simultaneously started a press release/public relations campaign which has built some solid web coverage on their search application. But when they started their blog marketing strategy, that’s where a downhill slide started. It’s something we’re seeing again and again as businesses try to jump into the new and expanding World Live Web to quickly piggyback or blatantly exploit the blogosphere. Many companies just don’t understand how to market with business blogs so they try to apply “old school” internet marketing methods to get results — and that’s where they fail miserably.
I’m not trying to say that Quintura has knowingly stepped completely and intentionally into the internet marketing spam arena. I only bring this to your attention so you can learn from their mistakes. And Loren makes it clear that he’s not launching an all out attack on Quintura either when she states:
… I would like to say that I do not intend for this post to be an attack on Quintura Search, just a review of their questionable blog marketing tactics to date and how they can improve on their strategy by building a trustworthy relationship with bloggers and the search community.
The key point that Loren addresses is the comments Quintura’s blog marketing team has been posting to blogs all throughout the search engine optimization industry are as he puts it, “spammy.”
I found it especially funny (or sad, depending on your view) as I read the comments Loren highlighted — Quintura’s blog marketing people had obviously at least scanned the posts they were submitting comments on. But none-the-less they still leaned way over into spam comment territory anyway. It almost seems like there was a combination of a self-promoting spam approach combined with a poor understanding of the English language. At any rate, I seriously see that you can learn a lot from (more…)
A new Google Inc. blog specific search engine sifts through the Internet’s millions of frequently updated business blogs (personal blogs too :)) with astounding speed and accuracy. Google rolled out the beta version of its blog search engine on Wednesday 9/14/05 and it seems to be all you would expect from the world’s leading search engine.
A quick search using the term “marketing with business blogs” (what else would I try first?) at http://blogsearch.google.com turned up 4 entries — all blogs, and all directly related to the search term. Over at Google’s regular engine I got 155 entries, a mix of blogs and regular sites, many of which were directly related to our multi-media coaching course. And using http://technorati.com I got 59 results, again most of which directly related to the course or referring back to AdvancedBusinessBlogging.com.
What happened when I went to an open search (without parenthesis) on a more general term was even more insightful. I used the semi-generic term business blogging was pleased to find that AdvancedBusinessBlogging.com appeared in Google’s new “Related Blogs” listing at the top of search engine results.
(For a full-size screen shot, left click on the image above and it’ll open in a new window.)
That’s like a top priced Pay Per Click listing using Google Ad-words in their regular search engine! Plus — as you can see, we even had a link through to AdvancedBusinessBlogging.com AND MarketingWithBusinessBlogs.com at #8, thanks to a mention about us in the blog for the public relations firm Burson-Marstellar on their e-fluentials blog.
The same open search in Google’s main engine turned up a massive mish-mosh of 42,600,000 results. And in Technorati, the results were just as much a time-waster with 67,427 results only loosely related to the search term business blogging. And the results were provided in a non-user friendly chronological order starting with the most recent posts.
(Business coach’s note: I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for info on the web — I’m most concerned with the relevance of the results — not the most recently published. This is the main reason I only use Technorati when searching for breaking news being published on blogs in situations such as with hurricane Katrina where the lack of balanced coverage by mainstream media is a concern. But enough on that for now, I won’t go on that rant… for now. :))
The bottom line:
1. Compared with Google’s main engine, blogsearch.google.com did a much better job of locating blog related mentions of the Marketing With Business Blogs multi-media course.
2. Google’s main engine (the undisputed digger of hidden relevancy) added more relevant links for the more specific search phrase Marketing With Business Blogs. But with the more general term business blogging Google provided an overwhelming mass of non-related content that most searchers would feel was impossible to wade through.
3. Technorati did a good job of finding the specific term “Marketing With Business Blogs” within blogs. But on all other counts, Technorati failed to live up to the accuracy of the new Marketing With Business Blogs multi-media course, especially with more common (less specific) keyword searches.
Over the coming days and months I’m sure Technorati and the other search engines will vow to add more features to their search engines with Google in the game. But busy business owners (and overwhelmed consumers) will go with what they find the easiest to use and yields the most relevant results. The Google brand with trust, familiarity, and user experience definitely holds a decided advantage with the average consumer.
A final note on business blogging and Marketing With Business Blogs
We’ve been preaching the benefits of starting and maintaining a business blog with our business coaching clients in the Business Owner’s Coaching Club and business owners in general with the Marketing With Business Blogs multi-media course. But now the benefits of taking action are becoming crystal clear for proactive business owners to see.
A new world of information is about to break wide open for mainstream society. http://blogsearch.google.com is going to launch blogging into mainstream society, that is undeniable. The only question that remains unanswered is — what are you doing to take maximum the marketing advantage this movement presents?
Early adopters of business blogging are already reaping rewards. Don’t miss this next wave of growth where the masses shift the whole market up the growth curve. If you decide to start on your own — there are plenty of tips, strategies, and free advice to get you started on this blog (including the FREE e book “21 Ways To Boost Your Business With Business Blogs” which you can download from the upper left column of this blog.)
And if you want to get a decided marketing advantage in the marketplace and beat your competitors to the top of your niche — then you should strongly consider the Marketing With Business Blogs multi-media course. With a 100% success rate and rave reviews from happy business owners, you can’t go wrong!
Learn how to unleash the maximum marketing power of business blogs, podcasts, and RSS (in any industry, profession, or niche) with Marketing With Business Blogs.
John-Paul Micek is a published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. He’s known as the “Click-and-Mortar Business Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.
September 1, 2005 bloggers of all types and stripes joined together to participate in Blog for Relief Day. This was one 24-hour period where the purpose was to catalyze an outpouring of donations for relief of victims of hurricane Katrina.
The idea was initially floated by Hugh Hewitt on his blog Sept. 30. Glenn Reynolds from instapundit.com was quick to pick up the idea and suggest September 1 as the day. N.Z. Bear over at truthlaidbear.com quickly jumped into action and built a special area of his site for bloggers the post what they were donating, to whom, and how much.
As word quickly spread throughout the blogosphere, Deborah and I decided to get creative and try to catalyze some action from our business coaching clients and business owners who read our blogs. So we issued $1000 matching challenge on biz-ownersblog.com on the afternoon of the 31st.
We had hoped to get at least $1000 in donations that we could match — but what happened in less than 24 hours blew us away. Including our matching funds we received proof of over $12,500 in donations by 11:59 p.m. September 1.
The total tracked over at truthlaidbear.com was approaching $350,000 at that same time. And with momentum just starting to build, Blog For Relief Day has now turned into Blog for Relief Weekend (Sept 3 – Sept. 5.) The goal is to get international bloggers and corporations to participate to multiply those donations exponentially.
This is how the blogosphere works.
Fast, fluid, viral, and completely in control of the citizens in the marketplace. Bloggers not only keep the mainstream media in check, uncover facts others ignore, and inform readers in real-time. They also act as a cohesive whole to quickly transform digital communication into tangible support for people in need.
In the midst of chaos and calamity being shown on cable news, there’s an untold story going on. A story that consumers of mainstream media still aren’t aware of. It’s a story of Americans helping Americans in a time of need. It’s the story of people taking action, not just talking about affixing blame.
With no direction, no government assistance, and no political leadership blogs like Slidell Hurricane Damage Blog and Metro-Blogging New Orleans sprang into action using digital word-of-mouth to hit the ground at the same time the first rescue started taking place.
Small, local organizations who can act quickly and decisively are getting support so they can reach their full potential and help people immediately. Churches like Canal Street Presbyterian Church right smack in the middle of the city of New Orleans. And organizations like Soldiers Angels which started a special effort to help the families of Louisiana National Guard who are deployed in Iraq.
The new world were word-of-mouth is put on multimedia steroids is here. Climb on board to help, step aside, or prepared to get bowled over.
Learn how to unleash the maximum marketing power of business blogs, podcasts, and RSS (in any industry, profession, or niche) with Marketing With Business Blogs.
John-Paul Micek is a published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. He’s known as the “Click-and-Mortar Business Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.
Marketing Sherpa recently released a mini-case study on a professional and small business owner who definitely could use a business blog to boost her online marketing results. It’s open for public access until Sept 9th here.
This is a great overview of the basics of Web site optimization, and it highlights the key points addressed to boost marketing results with higher search engine rankings.
Women’s health specialist Dr. Randine Lewis used a powerful combination of Web marketing plus bookstore presence to attract hundreds of women to her $10,500 retreats. Yep, that’s right — $10K-plus live events primarily sold online!
Now while that’s impressive, and she has gotten good enough results to turn off her ad-words campaign — she could be getting much higher rankings in the top search engines if she were to add a business blog to the site.
The results prove it out
A quick review of search rankings in both Yahoo and Google for the keywords “fertility” and “infertility” yielded no results for Dr. Lewis’s site in the top 5o results. And using the search term “fertility retreat” (which by the way is the actual URL used by Dr. Lewis, www.fertilityretreat.com,) yielded a position at #11 in Yahoo and #31 in Google on 08/31/05.
Incorporating a carefully crafted business blogging strategy into her overall marketing plan would give Dr. Lewis a powerful advantage over her competitors on her top keyword phrases. With a proper understanding of how to structure the navigation of her business blog, how to select and incorporate keyword phrases in critical areas, and a few other simple (but little known) business blogging strategies — Dr. Lewis would be amazed at the results.
Not only would she gain a top 10 ranking on certain keyword phrases within 30-days, she would be: (more…)
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