Short Excerpt : “Online video is becoming a first stop for many customers. It is akin to what the Web page was a decade ago — something that can give early adopters an edge over competitors. It gives them a channel to talk directly to customers in ways previously accessible only to large companies that could afford TV advertisements.”
See link below for the entire article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/business/smallbusiness/17sbiz.html?_r=2
Here are a few tips to help maximize the use of your trade show experience in 2011.
First, as electronic as we get, we still use print to share information. Think about adding a QR code to your business card. Then linking that QR code to a video or video rich web experience. When your prospect gets back to the hotel, whose card is going to get looked at first?
Also, if you are going to have brochures or advertise in a show magazine, think about integrating QR codes into the presentation. Here is an example of a QR code used by Costco in one of their magazines.
Second, if you are doing a presentation, put a QR link or video into your presentation.
Third, make a name tag that your booth visitors can scan.
Fourth, capture your show experience on video. Think about the questions and answers that come up at the show. How you create an experience that lives on after the trade show. Something that you can use as a second touch with prospects and customers, or for those who could not make it. Link that video back to a QR code you distributed at the show. Here is a clip we did with Honeywell.
When using QR codes, it is important to plan what you are linking to. Make sure your link is smartphone friendly Additionally, if you have the space, suggest to the reader ways to download readers etc.
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By Mark Goodman, Guest columnist
What is this 2-D Barcode? How are businesses using it to link print content with their Internet strategies?
Have you ever seen a barcode like the one shown below? In the parlance of the Internet, they are QR codes.
A QR code, which links to the e-Conversation Portfolio page.
These two dimensional representatives of data were invented by a Toyota subsidiary, wanting to better track automotive parts in the mid-1990s. As smartphones became more prevalent, they were adapted to link print to some type of URL.
You may have first seen a QR code in a magazine. I first saw one in a golf magazine in Hawaii a few months ago. Then I started to notice them in fashion and travel publications. A month later, the codes were visible in such publications as Time, National Geographic, Chicago Tribune, etc.
So, what kind of content was linked to QR codes? As it turned out, the codes were linked to a variety of media applications. A fashion line linked to a video that showed behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week. A hair dryer went to a set of slides that provided more information on how the device functioned. The Chicago Tribune linked the movie review section to the film critic’s video review. The Chevy Dealers of Chicago offered a link to a dealer locator.
But print publications are not the only place for a QR code. A direct mail piece from a local hospital included a QR code linked to registration for an e-newsletter. A rental property included a QR code linking to a more information on the available apartment. A restaurant put a QR code on the door linked to reviews of the restaurant on Google. A nonprofit is featuring QR codes in its brochure as a bonus for higher level sponsorship.
What are some tips for using QR codes? Here’s a few to consider:
Think about what to link to: Videos and mobile friendly websites work best. A video allows for the viewer to take the next step in getting to know you. Plus, it does not require the viewer to do anything else other than just press “play.”
When creating content, consider how it can be used across various media. At e-Conversation Solutions, our process focuses on the questions that your customers and prospects are asking you. Take those questions and answers and make them part of the dialogue that you have with your community. Ask a question with a QR code, then answer it in your link.
Remember that a QR code requires a smartphone. Smartphones are the fasted growing category of mobile devices, and they are catching on rapidly among business owners. Still, you won’t reach everyone. But even among those who don’t use smartphones, if nothing else, a QR code will surely start a conversation.
Special thanks to:
Ann Meyer
I spent some time over the weekend looking at our YouTube channels. YouTube supplies quite a few statistics in their “Insight” package. You can determine how often videos are being viewed and by what means the viewers find the videos. By using those tools you can better understand what it takes to get a video on page one of a search.
Once you use the analytics package, it is important to verify independently that the video really does get you on page one. If you use your own browser, it is likely your content is likely to appear highly ranked, because Google knows that you prefer to look at your own content.
So, I asked two people to independently research videos. You can do it yourself if you wish.
Achieving a high ranking does involve using the “long tail” of a phrase instead of individual words. However, in order to keep your cost down with pay-per-click, you also have to use “long tail”
The advantage of video is that you can also use your video on your website, in your email campaigns, with QR codes linked to your print marketing. Your keyword pay-per-click efforts only last for as long as you are paying.
We are actually doing a study that will compare video with pay-per-click. So, more to come.
Mark Goodman
We work with many companies who are looking to better utilize the internet to grow their businesses. The discussion about Search Optimized Video (SOV) sometimes creates a broader dialogue around their internet presence.
If you are in the process of updating your website, here are two suggestions:
First, make a list of the top 15 or 20 questions that your customers or prospects are asking you. Additionally, think about 2 or 3 questions that they should be asking you… and are not. We use these questions to create short video segments, but you can use them in developing your web content. Look at these questions in the context of your website. Are the answers on your website? Are the questions on your website?
For example, here is a question and an answer.
Search engines use word match to determine if your website is of value to a searcher. If a searcher is asking a question, and that question is on your website, then your site has a better chance of getting recommended. Also, if your website does not answer some of the key questions your customers are asking; you ought to go back and rethink your content.
For example, suppose you are a professional services company. Your customers are most interested in the services you offer and how you solve their problems. They may not be that interested in your office building. So, if you had a big picture of your office building and a description of your space on your home page, is that the best use of key web real estate?
Second, if you are planning on using video, think about where you might place it, even if you are not ready for internet TV. Work with your web designer to leave some places where you can provide updates. You can fill it with a picture, or a bit of text. But visually, design your pages so that there is a logical strategy for adding a video embed. That way when you are ready to record, the space is available.
Use these reserved areas as places where you can regularly add new content. Identify with your developer sections that you can update with a simple text entry or a “cut and paste”. Some web developers will tell you that they will update the site for a minimal charge, but if you do need to pay $50 or $100 to update your site, you probably will not do it very often. If your web designer says that you can’t update the site on your own, you might want to look at a new designer.
Mark Goodman
Many companies are updating their websites. At the same time, they are considering using video to drive customer awareness and lower the cost of reaching users and prospects. As we talk to marketing and web folks, there appears to be some uncertainty as to using the public repositories, such asYouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc., or keeping videos on the website.
Some web developers feel that videos should be on the website. Their idea is to get users to a website, and keep them there. The risk they see to using a public repository is that you will either not get to the website, or be drawn off of the website to some place else.
On the other hand, if you don’t participate in public repositories, like YouTube, you are running the risk of not being found with search. Plus, YouTube will recommend your videos to other viewers. Not being there means you won’t be visible.
Think about being in both places. John Fairley, a noted web developer, noted that “being on YouTube is like a billboard, while being on a website is having a sign in your store”.
If you design your channel appropriately, you should be able to drive traffic to your website – today’s internet user looks for content in many veues. They will find your website if they are interested in your product. Finally, a well designed channel will be able to keep your viewer with your content, as opposed to recommending someone else’s.
For today’s businesses, the first page of search results for your company name are absolutely critical. On the most basic level, your company’s website should be the top result. But what about the rest of the page?
The rest of the page may actually be more important. This is because in most cases a company’s website serves as the first level of validation for a potential buyer. Creating a website that effectively answers your customers’ questions and portrays your company’s professional image takes effort, but in some ways it is “the easy part”, as it’s the part that you have the most control over.
From there, your potential buyer will look at the rest of the page to “check you out”. They will look for customer experiences on third-party website such as Yelp, and they will look to see if articles or other accounts of your company appear. So, how can you control more “first page real estate” without spending thousands of dollars of AdWords campaigns?
Consider this image from the first page of search results for “Porte Brown”:
So, when someone goes to Google “Porte Brown” to check out the firm, even if they don’t click the video, they will see the only full color ad you can place on Google.
It’s just another neat benefit of the Search Optimized Video process.
What are the best practices for using QR codes? While the book has yet to be written as far as the full capabilities of QR codes, here are a few guidelines to consider:
1. QR Codes work best in print advertising. Hyperlinks are still the best way to link to sites online. The real value of QR codes is in allowing people to see an advertisement in print, and then quickly and seamlessly be taken to the digital environment of the advertiser.
2. Link to mobile friendly content. Whether it’s a video or a specific mobile-friendly site, a QR code is worthless if the content it links to isn’t readable on a mobile device.
3. Create fresh content around the QR code campaign. QR codes are exciting, and people expect to find content at the other end that is as fresh and innovate as the code itself. On the same note, people want content that aligns to the ad itself, not just a general website. For this reason, it’s best to program fresh content around the QR initiative.
4. Tell people how to use the code. QR codes are new, so they require some explanation. Consider this template that we use:
5. Track your QR campaign, but manage expectations. Like any other campaign, it’s important to track your QR campaign. There are numerous software products that allow you to create and track QR codes, like Qreate Buzz or beQRious. Initially, however, you need to manage expectations.
I was speaking with the lead media buyer for one of America’s largest magazines recently. He mentioned that for 20 million eyes, he got 20,000 people to actually use the QR codes. However, remember that at this point, even if people don’t scan the codes, they will either reinforce your company as a cutting-edge firm, or at least draw attention to your ad. As such, while it’s important to track the activity from your QR code, don’t rely on analytics alone to measure their effectiveness.
- Nick Farina, e-Conversation Solutions
Mark Goodman
If you are going to use a QR code, think about the user experience on the other end. Two codes in a recent edition of Elle had some issues.
One was a link to a hair dryer. It took you to a slide show about the appliance. The content was might have looked good in a regular browser, but was not smartphone friendly. I could see it, but it was really too much work to get anything out of it.
Another link was to a cosmetic company. It sent you to a rather extended music video about the fashion shoot for the advertisement you saw in the magazine. It was good extension of the ad, and encouraged you to go to a video about “behind the scenes”.
With this in mind, here are a few tips in creating content for QR codes:
First, keep it simple; tell the reader what they are going to see. Also, make sure you give a link to a website to download a reader.
Second, make sure the content that you deliver is smartphone friendly. Videos work well. If you are going to link to web material, a content optimized for a mobile environment is best.
As a final tip, if you are going to put the tag into a magazine, place it on the edge, not on toward the spine of the magazine. It’s extra hard to get the reader to work when you have to focus on the curving part of the publication.
This is the first in a series of posts about QR codes. Make sure to check back for Part 2, where I’ll draw from my background as an early cell phone executive and discuss the issues around standardization of QR codes.
