Three Ways an Online Video Contest Can Benefit Your Business
This is a guest post by Sean Rosensteel. Sean is the Head of Business Development at Bravo Video, a web-based platform that enables businesses to easily capture video from customers, users and fans — right over the web.
Innovative companies all over the world are using video contests as a marketing technique, with prizes typically given for the top video submissions. It’s a great tactic for both small and large businesses.
A small, independently-owned coffee shop might focus on inviting locals to participate in the contest and offer a free cup of coffee each day for a month as a top prize. On the other hand, a large coffee chain would more likely blast the contest nationally and offer larger prize, such as a trip, car or cash sum.
Why should you consider hosting a video contest? Continue reading
Six Bright Ideas for Building Customer Loyalty
This is a guest blog post by Anita Brady. An industry veteran, Anita is the president of 123Print.com, a leading provider of high quality customizable items like business cards, letterhead and other materials for small businesses and solo practitioners.
Any business owner will smile when a new customer walks in the door. The smart ones smile even bigger when the old customers arrive.
Apart from a few tourism-oriented ventures, few businesses can survive without repeat business from loyal customers. It’s these clients that trust us, spreading the word to others about quality products and service.
Maintaining a high standard of excellence is the first and foremost key to running a successful business, but plenty of simple “extra credit” ideas can sweeten the deal. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a veteran business owner, these ideas will guarantee that your customers keep coming back. Continue reading
On Social Media, Learn When to Keep Your Mouth Shut
This is a guest post by Shanna Mallon, a writer for Straight North, an Internet marketing Chicago company that provides SEO, Web development and other online marketing services to B2B clients.
The other day, I was sitting at a quiet window-front table in the coffee shop, sipping a latte and working on my laptop, when the thing every writer dreads happened: just behind me, at a large corner table, one loud and assertive voice started dominating the entire room. And with every off-color joke and obnoxious laugh he made everyone nearby listen to, I grew more sure of one thing: I wished he would just shut up already.
This sort of thing doesn’t only happen in the world of coffee shops and restaurants. According to the 2010 Cone Consumer New Media Study, over half of social media users will stop following you if you talk too much and/or if the information you provide isn’t relevant to them.
When you come across as an online loudmouth, you lose your credibility and scope of influence.
That’s why, sometimes, the most important thing you can do for your online reputation is one of the most overlooked: stop talking.
There are all kinds of ways people lose followers by overcommunicating on social media, and they’re about much more than too many Tweets. Here are some examples—could any of these describe your brand? Continue reading
You ARE Marketing. Why Not Own It?
You’ve probably heard of Danielle LaPorte’s new book, The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms. As I write this, The Fire Starter Sessions occupies three top-ten spots on Amazon’s bestseller lists, and is the subject of countless blog posts.
One blog post, by Jonathan Fields, starts with a quote from Danielle herself, presumably an explanation of her success:
“I decided to stop selling and start radiating.”
It sounds good. After all, who doesn’t want to radiate? But Danielle is one of the hardest working marketers I know. She has a blog. An email newsletter. A YouTube channel and a sexy new book trailer.
Maybe she doesn’t call this selling. And that’s fine. But it is marketing. Darn good marketing, actually. Continue reading
