Mark Goodman
What makes an expert?
We did an interview last week Nick Farina Sr. He is a communications expert who has worked in media and in business. Nick Sr. suggests that a small company can create differentiation through thought leadership. By noting issues in your industry, and suggesting solutions, an entrepreneur can establish a presence beyond the size of his company.
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
