Premiums: An Essential Part of the Marketing Mix.

As someone who’s been marketing for over a dozen years, I know the importance of multi-channel marketing. Even with the advent of social media and other online marketing initiatives, offering face-to-face interactions and tangible premium items can do a great deal to grow your brand and generate sales.

I’ve experimented with a number of give-a-ways as part of my marketing mix. This type of promotion can be used at a trade show, during a presentation, or even via direct mail. And truthfully, not all promotional items are effective. Through trial and error, I have found a number of premiums that have really delivered a positive ROI. This is because they met the following criteria:<.div>

1. They allow for branding or personalization.

2. They are portable.

3. They can be used on a regular basis.

4. Prospect sees throughout the day.

If you filter all possible premium items through this type of filter, you’ll discover a very short list of truly valuable items. Take for example lanyards, mugs, or pen holders. Each of these items meets the above criteria. They are small enough to move from one location to the next, can be used daily, and be personalized. Best of all, they are seen throughout the day as they sit on a prospects desk.

Vendors who offer these types of premiums have the technology to truly customize your promotional items – creating more value for both the advertiser and prospect. Custom lanyards for example can carry your logo, url, brand name, and even an attached items such as a flash drive. The possibilities are limitless.

Traditional premiums like stress balls or pens are somewhat limited in their use. Compared to a pencil holder which sits on your desk every day, stress balls may sit on a shelf until you move out of your cubicle or office. Always be sure to ask yourself the above questions before purchasing premium items.

To get the biggest bang for your buck, consider integrating your premium items with other promotions. If your premium is valued at $10 or more, consider using it as an incentive to prospects in exchange for opting in to a particular form or agreeing to receive a newsletter.

Through an integrated approach, you can improve conversions. But it all starts with gaining the interest of your prospect and driving them to action. Always make sure to use a URL on your premium item and cultivate your leads. Premiums can drive successful marketing programs and have a long shelf life – so consider them an essential part of your next marketing campaign.

How To Create Popular Online Video Content For Internet Marketing

This week I reached out to someone who I consider to be an online video expert, Andy Havard, for a guest post on a marketing topic that matters!  Everywhere I look, online video seems to be exploding - so I wanted to learn more. A special thank you to Andy for sharing these great online video marketing tips.

When you consider YouTube is receiving over 2 billion video views a day from thousands upon thousands of registered users (and even more from unregistered users) it’s imperative to make your online video content stand out from the competition. The following post explores how Internet video marketers can ensure their online video content is as good as possible in order to win over large audiences and generate higher levels of traffic and conversion. 

1. Keep Your Online Videos Simple.Simplicity is key to a successful online video. Using creative effects and animations may seem like a good idea, but such distracting on-screen material can take viewers attention away from the true message of the video. The power of simple one-on-one video can be just as effective and actually more accessible to an audience than any online video that’s been taken straight out of a cinematic blockbuster. Not only is it advisable to keep your on-screen content simple, but your message should be kept simple too. Addressing one point per video is far more powerful than trying to address three or four. If you have a lot to say in your online video think about creating separate episodes to successfully target each subject clearly for your audience. 

2. Keep Your Online Videos Short.When creating and editing online video always think ‘short and sweet’. It’s common in video productions to struggle to cut down content as you may feel every second is worthwhile, but your audience might not feel the same. Be as cut-throat as you can in keeping your videos between the 2 to 5 minute mark. If your content is more than 5 minutes then think about creating more than one video to express each point to its maximum potential. Creating a few episodes is much more beneficial than trying to shove all of your content into 10 rushed minutes of footage. 

3. Keep Your Online Videos Current.  Never promote old news. If your online videos are out of date, there’s not much you can do for them. This is why you need to make your videos current and topical at all times. If news about new developments, productions, services or technologies in your niche crop up in your field create a short online video production to discuss it. Online users will always be searching for information on new developments. If users are interested in your particular niche then a topical video could be very useful to such users, which in turn could generate a great deal of popularity for your brand or business. 

4. Make Your Online Video Content Informative.It’s not always possible to create a video when industry news breaks, but your online videos can be informative and educational in other ways. Creating ‘how to’ guides, instructional videos and tutorials are a great way of being a useful asset to Internet users. By establishing your business or brand as a knowledgeable online entity you can begin to enjoy a great deal of trust from your audience, which is an exceptional trait to among potential clients and customers. 

5. Make Your Online Video Content Entertaining.Entertaining an audience is perhaps the most powerful thing any online video can do. Internet marketers are all too familiar with the idea of viral video and always seek to reach similar degrees of success. Making your online videos entertaining is one of the best ways to achieve such goals. An online video that is funny, inspirational, innovative or interactive can be very entertaining to an online viewer. It’s not an easy feat creating a universally entertaining online video, but mastering it could generate more traffic and leads than you ever thought possible. 

By taking into account these five tips when you next think about creating online video as part of your Internet marketing strategy you can aim to make your content as popular as possible. It’s not easy to create outstanding content, but following these tips will help to ensure your online videos are giving your competition a good run for their money.

Guest Blogger: Andy Havard

Andy Havard is a Marketing Executive at Skeleton Productions, a UK based online video production company.

#1 Rankings For Your Website Or Blog!

This week I read an amazing article by Ryan Woolley via Search Engine Watch which really hit the mark. Being nuts about search engine optimization and getting my websites and blogs ranked in the top organic positions has always been an obsession for me.

And lately, there's been a lot of conflicting information about SEO and what factors have been given additional weight from the latest Google algorithm changes.

That being said its very difficult to separate fact from fiction when so called "experts" profess the impact of Google's seemingly daily, weekly, and monthly changes. The reason I've decided to mention Ryan and this week's article is because it really drives home what we knew all along - that sound SEO principals are still the driver of top search engine placements.

Achieving top search engine placements requires an effective recipe that delivers consistent results. This secret recipe is one that might need a few tweaks here and there but consistently performs. The recipe consists of good keyword research, on page optimization, off page optimization, and measurement.

In the diagram presented in this post, you see the factors that are essential for off page optimization which is largely comprised of building inbound links to your website or blog. Whether you focus on forum posting, guest blog posts or commenting, the goal is to attract and develop inbound links to your web properties from high authority sites and pages. I know the recipe is fairly simple but finding the ingredients can be a real challenge. This is why individuals and companies that do a good job of SEO are so widely regarded and sought after by those seeking top placements.

One of the most important aspects of off page optimization is not just where you are getting links from buy how they appear on third party sites. In addition to the sources of inbound links noted in the fantastic article by Ryan is the need to pay attention to the format of your links. Always make sure to include your keywords in the link text of the link. By embedding your keywords, you give Google and other major search engines a clear understanding of what terms your site should be associated with.

By starting with on page optimization and building a consistent inbound link development program, you can dramatically improve your search engine ranking. Add the proper link formatting, using anchor text, and you're sure to get the results you're looking for.

Do you have some valuable link building ideas you'd like to share? Be sure to Like, Retweet, and +1, this post as well as comment to share your ideas.