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Evergreen content will always be an important part of content marketing. However, relying too heavily on evergreen to drive engagement is not going to be the most effective strategy for marketers going forward. Today’s consumers expect content that’s live, on-demand and hyper-relevant. If you are a business or marketing a brand, you’re probably already considering how to make your content strategy more compelling, concise and addictive. And if the trends are telling us anything, it’s that video is on the rise—from vertical video on social media, to using video for storytelling in micro-moments and geolocated video discovery and sharing. Vertical video and it's Popularity By 2019 i.e. next year, video will make up 80% of all internet traffic and this means that two out of three marketers expect video to make up the majority of their content in the near future. In the mobile-first world, vertical video rules the day and is only expected to keep growing. Today, 94 percent of people hold their phones upright when capturing content on their smartphones. Tons of Instagram and Snapchat stories are created worldwide every year, nearly all shot vertically. With the debut of IGTV which is also all vertical, it makes sense that we’re seeing major brands across categories move to embrace the vertical video format. Even Facebook is seeing the vertical video light, with a recent upgrade to its default video orientation. In fact, last year, Facebook tested the “larger rendering” of vertical video in their news feed on mobile and discovered that not only did people like the larger view, they watch longer—and with the sound on. Live video is taking off, as well: According to Facebook, live videos have six-times the engagement as non-live videos. We’re already seeing more live vertical video on mobile-first platforms like Snapchat and Instagram along with IGTV moving forward, we might see even more savvy brands experimenting with live streams across mobile, social and digital mediums. Storytelling in short form Our time is even more fragmented online. Instead of spending hours online surfing the web and social media, people explore the digital world in short bursts, from mobile devices. And those micro-moments—moments when people go online looking for recommendations for what to do, where to go, what to buy—are opportunities to connect through storytelling. In the coming years, we’ll continue to see investment by brands in live, ephemeral and localized content for Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Geo-located video discovery and sharing The power of Snapchat is real although the app itself is beginning to struggle a bit. The location feature however is very powerful. You share your location for snaps, which then appears to friends on a map and updates when you open the application again. Location is already starting to play a bigger role in how people discover video at events. We’re seeing it one Facebook Messenger as well as You Tube. The Summary Ultimately, successful storytelling and content starts with being human and connecting—having a two-way conversation. Live content, especially when it’s relevant and local, provides brands with an incredible opportunity to create a fast-track memory shortcut, building real relationships with consumers and brand affinity with people directly in their community. -Roy Tags: #video #marketing #social media #branding
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 We all know video in today’s business climate can increase your brand awareness and generate engagement with your products, image, or services. But what are the top 4 key things you can do when implementing video? Here are our takeaways. Engagement Engagement is a great way to connect with your audience on a more relatable level. Posts with high engagement (likes, shares, comments, etc.) are also more likely to spread and be seen by other people with similar interests as your already-existing audience. Brand awareness Brand awareness isn't really something you can measure but if you have lots of people sharing your video and/or more people than usual are visiting your Page, website, landing page (via your campaign link or not) you can assume this new level of traction is building your brand awareness. Increasing web traffic We traffic building is the number one reason people are using video in social media ads this year. This is a clear and easily-measurable goal. With social media, web sites have taken a hit for overall traffic and video has helped make things turn around. Generating excitement and educating people about products/services This is another one that is difficult to measure, but also a really great way for people to use video. Videos give you more time and space to get your message across. You can show a new product from every angle or use text to tell a story throughout your video. -Roy Tags: #video, #digital video, #marketing #social media #social platforms
 Choosing the right type of social media platform can be a bit challenging. With so many different social networks, businesses need to narrow down the choice and select a platform that will enable them to target the right audience and increase their social media presence. Narrow the Choice of Social Media Platform There are too many social network platforms to present your brand on them all, so the key is to choose the one where the most of your target audience is active on a daily basis. Some of the best social sites are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. So What Are Your Goals? When using social media, you won’t get anywhere without having specific goals in place. By having determined goals, you can choose the social platform as well as tailor your content to engage and attract your audience. These are the most common ways that marketers benefit from social media: You need to learn about the habits, needs, and wants of your ideal buyer persona and customers, and increase traffic towards your site. The improvement of your customer service offerings is to provide some other platform where customers can ask you questions, make complaints and express concerns. Connecting with a new audience and demographics that may like what you have to offer, thus increasing your brand awareness and exposure. Know What Platforms Your Followers or Demographics Are Using It is essential to choose a platform where your targeted audience operates the most. So, the best thing to do is to figure out which platform your audience prefers and reach out to them on the networks that they are already using. One of the easiest ways to do this is through a simple customer survey. Include questions about what social websites they use, where they usually receive information, and which influencer they love the most. Determine the Type of Content You Will Create The type of your content you should create is based on the kind of social media platform you will use. Also, it needs to represent your brand in the best possible light. So, which types of content should you focus on?
Instagram content needs to have a high-quality aesthetic. Your every post should have a theme and color palette to get more engagement from your followers. Instagram is best for businesses from lifestyle industries, such as food, travel, and fashion and interior design. Also, it’s suitable for growing brand awareness and interacting with your community, since you can’t post links on Instagram. Facebook is best for views, engagement through ads or boosted posts, reach driving traffic and impressions for websites or blogs. Its content depends on the paid strategy you use to be more visible. It means that the reach is more important than the number of followers on Facebook. The platform is excellent for almost any industry with the budget that wants to target generations X and Y and baby boomers. These demos use Facebook the most. YouTube is the center of video content. By opening your YouTube channel, you can share your videos with the whole world. Any line of work can benefit from YouTube since it’s a great way to communicate with your consumers as long as it’s creative and unique. Twitter is for sharing messages to a global audience of new and existing customers, regardless of the type of business. It is an excellent tool for communicating with other companies and customers, especially for brands with large media budgets for paid strategies on Twitter. LinkedIn is used by professionals who want to connect and build their networks. Here, you can access jobs, news, people, and industry updates as well as share industry insights and other valuable educational content. It is meant for B2B marketers because you can target users by job role or industries. Being able to target a specific audience assures you that your paid strategy is a sound investment. Social media represents one of the most important assets for any business that wants to grow their exposure online, as well as to connect with people from all around the world. With social media, you can create brand awareness, generate more leads. Just be sure to always get the right social platform to give you the best R.O.I. Roy Tags: #social media, #marekting, #social platforms #business
 Almost all businesses use social media in one form or another these days. However, using those platforms correctly is a must. Here are 12 social mistakes your business does not want to do. While you may think it's my platform and I will do what I want, then you may turn right around and think why is no one following my business? I myself am guilty of some of these very things and it is easy to caught up on a few of these. Getting in a hurry because of your busy day is a lot of the trigger finger mentality as well. Take a look at these and see if your business is committing some of these mistakes. Only sharing content about your company Ignoring your audience’s needs & expectations Limiting your content types Failing to listen to customers Creating a sales-focused social presence with no personality Not engaging with your audience Deleting or ignoring negative comments Making spelling & grammar mistakes Delivering poor customer service on social media Posting irresponsible or insensitive content Too many hashtags or handles Failing to promote two-way conversations with customers Anything jumping out at you? I hope the above has got you thinking and will help improve your traffic, followers, and customer interaction going forward. -Roy Tags: #social media #marketing #small business #social platforms #marketing
 Branded video content is a major investment. They’re time-consuming and require a higher caliber of production resources along with involvement from producers, directors, and editors. Sure, you can get your smart phone out, shoot some stuff, throw it up on your social platforms and see if it sticks. The problem is your consumers and followers are smart people and if it looks shabby, they will not watch it. The average cost of a video that’s only a few minutes long can vary anywhere from $1,000 upwards, depending on budget, campaign, and scope. We know that is expensive but video today is a very key tool and it dominates over everything else on your marketing and branding needs. With this much budget on the line, every content marketer knows how important it is to measure the results of their efforts, but knowing exactly which metrics to focus on can be perplexing. Video is more than volume or content. Here are some very helpful tips I found that works in using Facebook and YouTube in your video scheme of things. Each platform offers you different demographics, goals and results. Metrics for YouTube Videos Getting results on YouTube comes down to growing a healthy and robust content hub where each video contributes to your brand’s overall user experience. Despite its original reputation for “viral media” or one-off video sensations, success within the current YouTube landscape comes through offering audiences frequent, updates (episodic if you will) The three most important metrics for videos you upload on YouTube are:
Once you’ve established a prominent YouTube presence and started publishing video content at a regular cadence, the next step is to analyze trends in your overall video performance on both an immediate and extended timeline. To gauge how your video is doing, the first seven days after initial upload is a very good cutoff to measure how strong a piece of content is, and whether you’ll get a return. If a video has a strong launch in terms of engagement, the amount of views and watch time tends to reap compound rewards. These figures could double or even quadruple within 12 months. Marketers should track video views and watch time in monthly intervals, as well as break these metrics down into even more specific sub-metrics to get a fuller idea of watcher behavior. Within watch time, video completion rate is useful to help identify user engagement. So, let’s say a four-minute video gets a few thousand views. People are really engaged if 50 percent watch it at least halfway through. If at least half of your total viewership watch at least two minutes before breaking their attention, the brand may take that as an indicator to spin the video into a series. If need be, tweak the way you deliver your message to meet their needs. Brands need to create hooks for your audience to continue to watch the video. Someone clicking and watching the video for five seconds won’t help with your watch time. Metrics for Facebook Videos The algorithms for Facebook versus YouTube are very different. Whereas long-form videos perform better on YouTube, Facebook favors short-form content. Ninety seconds in length is pretty much the norm. That’s because Facebook will only allow ads on videos that are longer than a minute and a half. “And Facebook favors videos with ads it can make money off of you. Just a plain fact. Whereas watch time and views are both key metrics for videos on Facebook, watch time is prioritized over views. The reasoning behind that is that videos on Facebook are being pushed to the audience, instead of someone actively searching for a specific video. Since someone could randomly click on a video and not engage, watch time is a stronger indicator of user engagement, and in turn indicates the strength of a video. Facebook’s snackable video approach also makes it a perfect platform to repurpose some of your brand’s existing video assets. Consider taking videos created for YouTube and breaking them down into smaller chunks or re-editing them to show just the highlights of the full piece. One way to track video performance on Facebook is to benchmark against your own videos on the page, specifically identifying what has worked from the top 10 percent of your videos. For example, if you published 20 pieces of content in last three months, you would want to isolate the top two either in terms of watch time or views, then deep dive with your content creator to analyze what worked in those videos that allowed their performance to rise above the rest. YouTube and Facebook Serve Different Video Goals When evaluating the kind of video, you want to make and the message you want to tell, consider how the platform will work with you telling your brand’s story. Video consumed on YouTube is an active user experience. Since YouTube videos are essentially evergreen, you have a much better ROI for your branded videos. Conversely, video consumed on Facebook is a passive user experience. If you’re a new brand and still looking to use content as a tool to build awareness, start with Facebook. You need to push out content on both platforms, but adjust the video length accordingly. By gaining an understanding of these social media metrics and how YouTube and Facebook play into one another within your larger distribution strategy, you can figure out the best approach for producing branded videos. In turn, you’ll net the greatest ROI. -Roy Tags: #facebook, #youtube, #marketing, #branding, #videos, #video production
Small Business, Small Budgets, Big Ideas. How To Make Your Social Media Campaigns Work For You!10/16/2018  Social media today drives the internet. Naturally, it is the preferred channel for businesses to reach out to consumers, generate brand buzz, and achieve business goals. Businesses big or small, all have social profiles and are working towards making their presence felt on social media. Here are some tips I recently came across on how to crush social media marketing while optimizing limited resources. Social Media marketing becomes more difficult if you are on a shoestring budget. But if you are thinking about it – you are on the right track. Let’s find out how you can optimize and effectively utilize your limited resources for an effective social media marketing strategy. Before You Start, Look At The Big Picture! You have to be economical, which means you cannot splurge to experiment widely and see what works. So, start small. Conduct a simple survey to understand who your potential customers are, where they are spending most of their time, and what kind of content they like to engage with. You cannot target everyone, but narrowing down your options will help you use your resources more concretely and effectively. To get the most out of the process, follow these simple procedures: Identify the right audience: Use surveys and gather feedback to understand what your customers want, which target audience is most likely to find value in your business, and what their preferences are. Determine the right content: Audience analysis helps you determine the type of content your target audience would prefer consuming. Would they prefer quizzes? How about story form content? Which contest are they more likely to enjoy: the one that gives them free passes to a book launch or the one with a discount coupon on their favorite sports gear? Pick the content that fits your brand persona. For example, does your product need demonstrations? Video content might be the answer for you. Ascertain the right social channels: Once you have identified whom you are targeting, you can figure out which social channels they use the most. If you are in the travel industry, Instagram and Facebook may be the best channels for getting engagement. You need not spread your eggs across all baskets, a strong presence and a focused approach on a couple of channels will be more effective. Set Your Social Media Goals It is essential to have realistic expectations from your social media campaigns. You should have clear, attainable and measurable goals like: Creating brand awareness Lead generation Boosting engagement Customer service If you have identified your goals, you would be able to align your business decisions with them. Remember, social media is most apt for creating brand awareness and establishing brand relevance. Plan Your Strategy Once you have set your goals, you should devise a strategy to achieve it. You could be on a low budget, have a small team, have basic tools at your disposal, and little experience. But if you are creative and systematic, things will fall into place. Create customer profiles based on your surveys. Create your brand persona by creating a brand personality Devise a posting strategy to determine the number of posts per day, the type of posts, time of updates, etc. Of course, it won't be fixed, but there should be a pattern which your audience can identify with. Relevant Value Proposition: Tell your prospects what’s in it for them. It makes you stand out from the competition if the customer feels you are offering some value to her. Analyze Content Performance: Test what content performs the best, and the one that is lagging. Is it the content or the content format that is making the difference? Is the audience moving towards videos rather than blog posts? Do they prefer educational content over a story form? Measure and tweak your content strategy accordingly. Use Videos: Marketers swear by videos as they are more appealing, grab attention, are easier to recall, and communicate more information in less time. Include videos for demos, tutorials, how-to, customer experiences, etc. Go Interactive: Interactive content is more engaging and informative for customers and helps you capture good data for your marketing. Hire a Good Social Media or Marketing Professional If you can possibly make room to invest in professional help, do so. This will speed up the process, and you may end up saving resources. Hire Professionals that have proven experience, and that can give you a head-start. There are many small but creative agencies, which will not charge the earth but will help catapult your social presence, hence delivering ROI. However, stay clear from those who promise big numbers in a short time. Influencers are a great way to reach out to your target audience. You need not chase big names. Try teaming up with local influencers. They may fit your budget and have a niche following which is well suited for your following. There are plenty of content creation and social media marketing tools that are free and easy to use. These tools can help you design, curate content, automate, track and analyze performance. Social media marketing cannot be ignored as traditional channels are losing their steam. Whether you are a big brand or a small upstart, you need to leverage social media to reach out to your target audience. Allocating time, budgets, and teams becomes tricky for businesses with limited resources, but if you have clear goals and a focused approach you can establish an effective social media presence that will keep giving you dividends -Roy Tags: #social media #branding #marketing #advertisng #small business
 FDMC Digital Media Provideos Video Marketing Services As a company that performs video production as part of our tier of services, I found a report that I would like to share with you. It is very interesting about the use of video for your business! This year will mark a milestone for digital video advertising in the US, according to eMarketer, a great on-line publication I subscribe to, the latest ad spending forecast shows video will grow nearly 30% to $27.82 billion. That means video ad spending will make up 25% of US digital ad spending. Facebook will capture nearly one-quarter (24.5%) of all video ad spending in the US this year, at $6.81 billion (including Instagram). That makes Facebook the top social video ad platform in the US. We expect that dominance to continue over the forecast period, with double-digit growth through 2020. Not surprisingly, Facebook controls nearly 87% of US social network video ad spending. Their new video advertising service, “In-Stream” seems to be taking off fairly solid. Snapchat Snapchat’s US video revenues will reach $397.3 million this year, up nearly 19% over 2017. Video is by far the driving force behind Snapchat’s revenues, representing 60% of its US ad business through 2020. However, Snapchat’s share of social video spending will be 5.1% this year, while its share of the overall US video pie will be just 1.4%. The jury is still out on how or if Snapchat can continue to go head to head with Instagram. It’s user base is also younger than Instagram dealing with teens to mid-20’s somethings. Twitter will derive more than half (55%) of its total US ad revenues from video in 2018. This year, video ad revenues will grow just over 12% to $633.3 million. That gives Twitter an 8.1% share of US social video ad spending, and a 2.3% share of total video spending. Its share will continue to drop slightly through 2020. You Tube While eMarketer’s report did not consider YouTube a social network, its importance in the video ad space is too large to ignore. This year, YouTube will generate $3.36 billion in net US video ad revenues, up 17.1% over last year. YouTube now derives 73% of its ad revenues from video in the US. YouTube overall represents a steady 11% of Google’s net US ad revenues. Because traffic acquisition and content acquisition costs exceed half of YouTube’s gross revenues—higher than its rivals—it would not be entirely accurate to compare YouTube’s share of video ad revenues to the other platforms that I mentioned here. Conclusion It is no secret that digital video marketing and advertising is going to continue to rise. We here at FDMC Digital Media have used video production as our main services since our conception. If your business is considering video as part of your next digital marketing campaign, feel free to reach out to us. Regardless of who you use, you need to start putting video into your marketing and advertising mix! Numbers do not lie! -Roy (portions of this article from eMarketer report on digital ad forecasting) Tags: #videomarketing, #video, #advertising, #dgital media, #digital marketing, #social media
Your Small Business and Instagram. The Basics You Need To Know To Make Your Brand Work For You!10/4/2018  Instagram I love Instagram and have done a few pieces focusing on getting small businesses to take advantage of this useful app to increase their brand awareness. Without trying to sound like a broken record (some of you might remember records. You know, those plastic disc shape things? Ahem. well..) So lets continue on with some more tips on your branding and Instagram. The Best Practices Of Using Instagram Using Instagram is not a difficult thing to do but every business should follow these tips.
Peel back the corporate veil and let followers see what goes on in your workplace. Highlight your brand’s story by showing the people behind it. When you post those kinds of shots, you’re selling your brand more than you’re selling any product or service. That kind of marketing is important, too. You can also use behind-the-scenes photos and videos from your workplace in Instagram Stories. Focus on Employees Followers love these kind of stories Got an employee of the month? Post a pic of that person on Instagram and explain why he or she got the honor. You can also just post mini-bios of employees every now and then. Tell Your Product Story So how did your product come to market? There’s a story behind it, right? If so, make a short video telling that story and put it on Instagram. Share Company Values and what makes your business special Your business is more than just a money-making machine. It’s a corporate entity with a set of values. Share those values on Instagram in image and video format. Share Customer Success Stories Feel free to use Instagram for social proof. Find a few happy customers. Ask them to do video testimonials in exchange for free service. Post those testimonials on Instagram and reap the rewards. Post Product Use Images and Videos If you’re offering a physical product for sale, then it’s a breeze to find Instagram content. Just highlight what you’re selling. One of the easiest ways to do that is by posting high-quality images of your products. Please note: you’ll likely need to enlist the aid of a professional photographer to make that work. You don’t want to tarnish your brand with shoddy photos. Also, create videos that show people using your products. That’s one of the best ways to highlight your brand’s benefits. Conclusion There are plenty of ways you can use Instagram to promote your brand. Think about the kind of content that will resonate with your target audience and also reinforce your corporate identity. Consider also the use of Instagram surveys and maybe a contest. -Roy Tags: #branding, #small business, #instagram, #apps #marketing, #mobility
 Marketing your business, especially if it is a small business can be tough. You don’t have the big box store budgets, you probably have competition down the street and you are limited with resources. So how do you do it? Here are some tips I found that do work and if you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us here at FDMC Digital Media. Use video as a major part of content strategy Visuals are everything. There’s a reason YouTube sees more traffic than Facebook. By next year, video content is expected to be at or over 80% of all consumer-based internet traffic. Perhaps see this himself , Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook has said that within five years, his social platform will be mostly video as well. An online ad campaign, at this point, is synonymous with the integration of some sort of video. And with the accessibility of HD cameras and editing software, there’s no excuse for why your brand shouldn’t be making great video content. If you are not comfortable with video always look to a professional to get your brand out. Personalizing email marketing campaigns Only a small amount of business owners have recognized the importance of email marketing. The benefits of email marketing for companies with limited time and money are untold. Unlike other digital marketing products that can cost more, it is neither costly nor time-consuming. In fact, it’s one of the cheapest campaigns you can launch and requires only a bit of writing ability and a strong list of contacts. You’re able to connect directly with your consumers or clients with a click of a button and collect important marketing metrics, like open and conversion rates. Contrary to popular belief, email is by far, not “dead” or “old skool”. It still works. Leveraging collaboration One of the most sought-after traits in the millennial generation is authenticity. There’s no better way to create an authentic brand than by leveraging your consumer’s willingness to collaborate with you. With the incredible power of social media, your customers can communicate your brand for you and foster its growth. Engagement with social followers or those who will share or become a user or your brand can be a gold mine for your business. Reach out to well-known bloggers, contact podcasters that may be interested in your product or service and encourage a conversation about your company. Use free analytic tools for business marketing data While many business decisions are powered by intuition, marketing decisions should be motivated by data. Google Analytics, for example, which gives you advanced metrics about your site, such as bounce rates and the number of unique users visiting your site, is available to you at no cost whatsoever to you. Other free tools such as Keyhole, provide you with the numbers you need to assess your social media marketing campaigns on Twitter and Instagram. These are just a few examples; there is a cornucopia of free resources waiting to be properly utilized by your marketing team. Your brand, your voice Making a brand more personal doesn’t necessarily require data mining or expensive billboard campaigns. It’s as simple as creating a brand voice that sounds natural and in-tune with your target audience; a brand that facilely engages with its consumers on a multitude of platforms and produces spot-on hashtags and curates amazing posts. Summary Digital marketing is never easy. Especially when you’ve got a small team and lack a six-figure marketing budget. Continue to research and re-fine your marketing strategy to fit your audience and customers. Some campaigns will be great and others will fail but always listen and know what the current trends are. -Roy Tags: #digital media, #branding, #marketing, #small business, #digital marketing #advertising
 Every time one goes to a trade show, a chamber networking event which allows your business to buy a table for marketing, you are faced with what to bring for promoting your business. In other words, collateral material. So What works and what does not work? The Printed Word Even if you are not physically out and about, how do you maintain your branding presence? Looking around and what we do and physically have, here are some tips to share with you. A large portion of your marketing materials will be copy-based. And it makes sense: The average company that’s versed in content marketing increases their online visibility with prospects primarily through text. Here are the assets you’ll likely be working with and how you can use them as recurring collateral: 1. Blogs Blogs are the front doors to your website. They’re perfect for owning keywords in organic search, sharing on social media and curating into newsletters. So, with just one individual blog post, you can publish it on your domain, on third-party websites, via email and social, cut up into shorter micro assets and refer prospects to them via a quick hyperlink. One asset, multiple avenues for ROI. Thank you, trusty blog. 2. Case studies I am not a big fan of case studies but there are many out there who like to read them and it brings validity to your field of business and expertise. Consider it a rubber stamp of your product or services. The drawback of this as a reading supplement is that many case studies are long and boring. 3. White papers White papers allow your technical expertise to shine. Put them behind form fills on your site, distribute them via email and use them to collect leads. Again, like Case Studies, White papers are cool to have available on line but to bring them to a fast paced trade show or marketing event, nobody is really going to read them there and very few pick them up. 4. Landing pages Your core landing pages are the front line of your online presence. You need that strong foundation first before you can do much else that’s measurable. Product, services, contact and About Us pages are must-haves, and they give you a vehicle through which to talk about your company, your brand and your capabilities as they relate to customers. Landing Pages also allow you to present your CTAs. 5. Employee bios This one may not be top of my list for various reasons but employee bios provide a level of assurance that customers are working with a reputable, talented staff. The disadvantage of this is company turnover (which none of us like but it is a reality) and the upkeep of adding or deleting bios. 7. Infographics Infographics perform amazingly well through virtually every distribution channel because humans process information visually. By using icons, illustrations, characters, graphical narratives and design cues, you can convey even the most complex ideas. You can also print out infographics and bring them to your next trade show. 8. eBooks The more beautiful cousin of white papers, eBooks scale back the text a tad in favor of more color, branding and illustrations. Gate them on their own landing pages and capture leads left and right. Saved as PDFs, you can circulate them via email. 9. CTAs Calls to action are a necessity. Embed them in newsletters, blog posts, landing pages and more. Your marketing communications must provide next steps for readers/viewers to take, and CTAs are just that conduit. 10. Social media posts Social media is a visual artform. This is your chance to use feature images with text overlays, .gifs, punny memes and brand-conscious designs in addition to your snappy headlines and captions. The point is to generate comments, likes and shares, so they’re effectiveness is easily measurable. 11. Product/sales sheets One-pagers are useful in both physical and digital marketing realms, so they should definitely be part of your collateral playbook. 12. Partnership logos Your logo is important, but sometimes the logos of your business partners and affiliates are even more important to those becoming aware of your brand for the first time. You don’t need to do any design work yourself; just ask your partners for a hi-res .jpeg of their logos and you can stick them on your marketing collateral to really add authority and emphasis to your messaging. 13. Email newsletters Newsletters are your digital magazines, the way you stay in contact with email subscribers. Include graphical components like images, CTAs and border formatting along with a few clickable hyperlinks to your blogs or gated assets. 14. Brochures Whether physical or digital, a brochure still holds weight as both marketing and sales collateral. They’re easily distributed and can be circulated for an endless number of purposes. 15. Business cards Similar to the employee bio, a business card confers a level of sophistication, assurance and credibility that is often understated. Ever have someone ask for your business card and you don’t have one? I have and it’s downright embarrassing and potentially perceived as unprofessional. 16. Email signatures Adding contact info, CTAs, links to newsletters and other collateral to email signatures is an easy way to promote your brand with every email you send. Video content Video makes up 80 percent of all web traffic. We’re inundated with video on our laptops, our smartphones, our flat screen TVs; you better believe it has applications as collateral. 17. Video blogs Using an on-screen presenter, a short 60-second script and a rotating carousel of images, video blogs are digestible in a way that longer-form blogs are not. You can also create them very quickly and publish on a number of channels like your website, YouTube, Vimeo and social media. 18. Video testimonials Essentially Case Studies 2.0, video testimonials put your satisfied customers in front of the camera, empowering them to talk up your brand, rave about your excellence and recommend others to your business. That’s collateral that is as closely tied to potential ROI as there comes. 19. Web demos You can think of a web demo as a more appealing stand-in for a sales rep. By demonstrating a product, explaining a service or detailing an intricate process, you let viewers see how your product or service works for them. Using video n this fashion is very popular. 20. Webinars Webinars are seemingly everywhere these days. By soliciting signups from webinar viewers, you gather leads. You can also email the recording after the fact so that you stay in contact with those who may have missed the original viewing. The said thing about these are in our fast-paced world, webinars are losing steam. I am even guilty of this as with our busy schedules, who has time to sit and watch these? Swag Flyers, promotional products and various trade-show giveaways like branded swag still play a role in your comprehensive brand image. People love swag. Freebee hand-outs is one reason people love to come to trade-shows or visit your networking table. Collateral is collateral no matter how it is published or made. It is your mouth piece of your business. Make sure you always have enough on hand as you meet potential customers everywhere be it on line or in person. -Roy Tags: #marketing material, #branding, #business, #marketig collateral, #advertising
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