First, let us discuss what video and email marketing methods are exactly. Online Video Marketing is a technique in which you produce a video illustrating your business. These videos usually show the services and products your business has to offer. This allows customers to easily understand your business’s message through a video production. On the other hand, we have the approach of online email marketing. Email marketing is the process of promoting your business through emailing your customers new offers, services, and products. Though this technique can be very profitable, you need to already have your customer’s email address to be able to send marketing material to them. Both are great ways to reach out to your customers and encourage them to choose your services over competitors.Marketing through videos has been around for an exceptionally long time. But with the boom of social media and other online sites, this technique has been taken to a whole other level. This popularity is well deserved as it is extremely easy for customers to digest. With just a click or scroll, customers can view vital information about what your business has to offer them. There are also many online video platforms out there on which you can market your video production. I know I have mentioned an awful lot of pros so far, but we are not seeing many cons. Well, it is hard to find any cons for video marketing as it has become the most convenient way to reach customers. Online video marketing is one of the best ways to advertise your business promotions online.So, we discussed the online marketing technique of video sharing but what about email marketing? It is also a great way to communicate with your customers. This method allows you to contact your customers directly with new offers, services, and products. It also lets you easily send return customers deals to help them to keep your business in mind. But you will need access to the customer’s email address to be able to send them marketing emails. You have to be able to encourage customers to give you their emails, they won’t just hand them over. It can be difficult to reach new customers that have not already provided you an email for which to send marketing information to. This makes email marketing a great secondary marketing technique rather than the main tool. So, in short, email marketing is great for customers you already have and not so great for getting new customers.Though these are both great ways to get information to your customers, one is much more effective than the other for marketing. Online video marketing is the way to go when it comes to getting what you have to offer in front of new customers. Though video marketing is the best way to reach new customers that does not mean you shouldn’t use email marketing once you’ve connected. Email marketing is a great tool to use in unison with video marketing. Let video marketing bring customers to you and email marketing keep them coming back for more.
Which Method Is More Effective: Video Marketing or Email Marketing?
Your Brand Is Your Personal “Package”
What is a Brand? Webster defines a brand as a characteristic or distinctive kind of mark. In contemporary society, a brand is the essence of what people believe or think about you, your product, service or your company. Branding is that touchy-feely good stuff that translates into the way people feel about products and services. There are also negative brands out there, but we won’t go there except to mention that strong brands can very quickly become negatives ones. Consider all the negative publicity about Mattel and all the flak around that brand with the lead paint issue.The brand is what keeps people returning. It makes them feel confident, secure, trusting, and cared for. It builds loyalty, constancy, allegiance, faithfulness and name recognition. So what does it mean to and for you?A brand can be mean different things to different people. One thing remains constant: the brand should be compelling, intriguing, engrossing, fascinating or interesting. If your brand cries BORING, DULL, TEDIOUS, HUMDRUM, STODGY or just plain BLAH, it is time to “transform” the brand.Building the brand will be the most important thing you do in 08. It will impact your business, your career, your family and your customers. You want to position yourself first and foremost in your customers’ or bosses’ eyes. That way when an opportunity arises, you and only you are the immediate consideration.The brand can do that for you. It is vital to realize that a brand is not a static thing. Just because your brand was great in 07 doesn’t mean it will have the same success in 08. A brand can become old, outdated, passé or even obsolete. Remember the Buggy Whip? I don’t either but it disappeared along with soon to be obsolete this like vinyl records (nor so the say).Consider brand recognition. Brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, GM, Apple and McDonald’s not only have instant recognition but they also have the capability to bring an image into focus. Visualize those brands. Not only do their brands represent a product but a feeling too.Some of the most compelling brands stay with us for a lifetime. Think back (I’m dating myself.) Bucky Beaver – Ipana tooth paste, Speedy – Alka Seltzer, roadside signs-Burma Shave, Smoky the Bear – Prevent Forest Fires. That’s what your brand should do for you. It should shift you to the forefront with the people that count. That way when it becomes time for a decision your name or your company’s name comes up first. If your brand accomplishes that, congratulations. Read no more. If not, it’s time to rejuvenate or reposition that brand.Evaluate the following points before you start building your strategy.1. Define your brand attributes. Brand attributes are like your skill sets. If I asked you to describe yourself in one word what would that word be? Strong, emotional, trustworthy, honest, sincere, reliable, friendly. That’s a brand.2. Start thinking in these terms to flesh out the essence of your brand. What one word do you want to be remembered by? Would I be interested in what you have to say? If not it’s time to rethink your core message. It’s also important to understand that building your brand is as much about your customer (boss or client) as it is about you. You need to provide what they need, not necessarily what you are selling.For example, you sell packaging (imagine that), doesn’t everyone? Does a potential customer need a new vendor? No way, but they need you right? So convince them that you are different and not just on price. Distill it down to what can you do for them that no one else can do.· Deliver on time (reliability)· Offer design assistance (creativity)· Take inventory (responsibility)· Help them sell more product (loyalty)· Reduce the number of SKU’s (efficiency)· Help them build their brand tooGet the picture?3. Promise yourself to use your brand with everything. The more you see your brand the more powerful it will become. The ultimate goal is instant brand recognition. If I say the word Microsoft, you have an immediate opinion that connotes both good and bad images. My point is that whether it’s good or bad, it’s instant acknowledgment that you know this brand.4. Use your brand to open doors, reinforce the doors that are already open through customer recognition. Get customer buy-in for your brand through testimonials and success stories. When other people do your talking for you that becomes your brand.5. Leverage your brand. Do you have a charity or special cause that you endorse? Volunteer and get active. You never know whom you might run into. Make sure it’s a cause you believe in and not one you have selected for the publicity. Ensure its okay to include your participation in all you promotional materials. Integrate these into your brand.6. Think brand in everything that you do. The average message needs to be seen or heard seven times before it’s even recognized. Consider the places where brand recognition comes into play. I’m not talking about the obvious places like TV, but the more subtle ways brands influence decisions or interests. Subtle brands are those that people really remember.7. All your promotional materials are mandatory branding items. Business cards, flyers, media kit, stationery, websites. The list goes on. Make sure to personalize it and use a photo or a catchy tag line like “Packaging Diva. People remember that stuff. It’s okay to have fun with it. Not all business is serious stuff. In fact, many CEO’s are now taking humor classes to learn to “lighten up” and “social networking” is becoming the next hot way to get your brand out there.Some other subtle branding techniques include your voice mail. Tell me what you do. I don’t care whether you are in the office or not. What are you are going to do for me to solve my problem (that’s why I am calling). Don’t forget to tell me the best way to reach you too. If you never answer the phone (a negative branding message), I’ll soon tire of leaving messages or become agitated that I cannot reach you.Insert your brand message into your SIG file too. You would be amazed at the number of people that just assume that you know who they are when they send you an E-mail. Be sure and check mine out at the end of the newsletter. I update it monthly with what is fresh, new and exciting.8. Promote your brand
This is fun. Promoting your brand is the best part of the process. Get out that horn and start tooting it. Don’t be shy. If you don’t promote yourself, who will? Write articles, give speeches, and get interviewed. Get OUT THERE. There are countless ways to soft sell yourself and your company in order to increase your visibility. Use them all.9. Don’t forget to build a network. I just joined Linked in and already I have close to 400 connections (as a colleague mentioned. I have an awesome packaging network). This is where you can live the brand everyday. Your brand should be clearly visible and identifiable in everything you write say or do. Your brand should continually evolve and crystallize the essence of your message. Think me, I, my, then take the next step. Who are you going to tell? Everyone.Make a list of every person you come in contact with, including friends and family and non-business activities. Think about how you interact with these people. Don’t they need to know about you? Did you remember your hairdresser/barber, vet, and cleaning lady? I’m not reaching here. All of these people know someone who needs to know about you. One can never tell where the next “connection” might come from.10. Who knows about your brand? So you have a great brand, now what? Who knows it? What are you going to do about it? What is your brand action plan and whom are you going to share it with? Ask yourself who should know this. How can I reach them? What makes my brand better than brand X? You do know who brand X is, right? If not, how can you differentiate yourself from them? Better get sleuthing. Investigate what is appealing in the competition and determine how your brand is superior.You need to continually coalesce, amalgamate, blend, consolidate, fuse, synthesize and unify your essence into a core message. The message should be consist and easily repeatable. You want people to remember you and to tell your story for you. When that happens, you become your brand evangelist. You know that you have a strong brand.A brand can be anything whether old or new. Build your brand by understanding your core attributes. Promote and leverage your brand every day in every conceivable way. Use the power of your brand at any opportunity. Plan your brand marketing campaign for 08. Tell everyone who you are. It doesn’t matter if you have the best brand out there if no one knows it. Make sure you a true to your brand; and for heaven’s sake never leave home without it.Wanted to know who or what I have branded lately? Email me back and ask what can you do for my brand too?
Small Business Loans – Provides Platform to Your Big Plans
If you are looking for an opportunity to transform your small business idea into a big plan, then Small Business Loans can provide you a good platform. Small business loans are designed for people to help them attain their goals and targets with a small financial assistance.Since business is subject to uncertainties and fluctuations, sometimes having cash in hand to meet these requirements becomes difficult. Small business loans are framed to provide funds to these small scale businesses for its smooth functioning.Small business loans can be availed for a number of reasons. A borrower may apply for this loan to start or expand your business, purchase or refinance equipments, cope up with certain unexpected or unscheduled expenses or restructure the balance sheet. Other than these it can also be used for paying off current debt to avoid higher interest rates or pending balloon payment. For these purposes a borrower can apply an amount ranging from £1,000 to £250,000 for a term of 1 to 5 years.Initially every small business experiences irregular and unstable income, thus a small business loan offers its borrowers to attain a flexible repayment plan that would allow them to enjoy maximum number of benefits.These loans may be attained by a borrower either by pledging collateral or without any collateral. Thus, these loans can be attained by anyone. A borrower must be prepared with a business plan which can help him to convince the lender.A small business loans allow you to access the loan at reasonable interest rates and provides financial flexibility. Loan schedule offers you the easy repayment plans and a balance between income and expenditure. It also safeguards the interest of your company and allows you to retain its ownership. By refinancing most of your assets, real estate, commercial equipment and vehicles, to arrange for a loan; you may free up your cash flow for other urgent needs.Hence, funds are the building blocks of any business. These look after all your needs and help you attain your target. Small business loans facilitate you to attain these funds at the time you need them with ease and convenience.