One More Reason You Need Video Marketing Now and Ten Reasons to Produce It for the Tablet

A compelling video from Gary Hennerberg convinced me that video and tablets -- together -- will lead the digital marketing revolution. Gary is a direct marketing consultant, copywriter and author of Online Video Marketing Deep Dive, so it's no surprise that he is armed with facts, explanations, inspiration, and more than a little great copy, 

In the six-minute video, Gary cites ten reasons marketers need to think about creating video for the tablet market today, including these highlights:

1. The number of tablets purchased this year doubled over 2011, reaching 119 million in 2012 (Gartner). Smartphones started the trend, but this is the early part of the curve for tablets. Takeaway: Get ready now.

2. We’re in the post-PC era, and the amount of video watched on tablets has jumped 26%. iPads presently account for 95% of tablet video viewing. Takeaway: The iPad won’t play Flash, so convert your legacy videos to a format that doesn't rely on Flash.

3. Tablets are one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in history. Tablets are used for "watching" everything (TV viewing, included). Takeaway: The future is “location-based video.”

4. Video viewing is a “given” on tablets. Takeaway? Got a tablet? You want video.

5. Tablet users are three times as likely to watch video on their devices. Takeaway: Shoot and upload your videos in HD, whenever possible. Tabbies expect quality.

6. Nineteen percent of tablet users watch video once a week, nine percent watch daily. Better yet, One in four viewers is willing to pay to view. Takeaway: These users have money and are willing to spend.

7. The heaviest concentration of smartphone and tablet users combined occurs between the ages of 25-44, but the tablet cohort is 28% more likely to be age 65 and older and 25% less likely to be 18-24. Takeaway: Tablet users tend to be well-heeled.

8. Three in five tablet owners reside in households with a $75,000+ income. Takeaway: See takeaway #7, above.

9. Tablets will become the preferred, primary device for millions worldwide by 2015, overtaking notebook PCs by 2016, says Forrester. Takeaway: Start early and travel fast to master this marketing channel.

10. Ten percent of a publisher’s audience are “power viewers” willing to watch five or more videos in a given day. Takeaway: Consider producing an ongoing series of educational and instructional videos to build trust, authority, and a following. Then you can sell.

Check out Gary’s complete video here.  There's lots more good info in the full monty.

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How Does A Quick Printer Flourish?

I was scanning Twitter awhile back and the following tweet came up from Daniel@GlobalElements.

Need a new set of business cards? Give me a call 720-542-6105 I can print 1000 Premium cards for only $49.99 CALL TO…

Daniel is a printer in Denver. 1,000 business cards for $49.99 isn’t all that remarkable, but I was intrigued that somebody was actually advertising a specific service, with price, via tweet, so I took a look at his website.

Global Elements is doing all the small printing stuff – banners and signs, brochures, business cards, CD inserts, door hangers, flyers, invitations poster, rack cards, sell sheets, stickers, tickets, and rush printing. They're also creating promotional products, doing website design, development, and content management, and doing social media for clients.

So, does this mean a quick printer can still flourish? I'm betting that's exactly what it means.

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Macro Trends That Should Be Part of Your 2013 Campaign Planning

7. Big Opportunity Hides in “The Second Economy.”

Digitization is creating a second – and relatively silent -- economy that’s vast, automatic, and invisible. McKinsey Quarterly calls this the biggest change since the Industrial Revolution. As an example of this second economy, Professor W. Brian Arthur contrasts a simple flying experience in 1990 to the digital frenzy accompanying every aspect of an airplane flight today – registration, check in, luggage handling, security, etc. “So we can say that another economy—a second economy—is silently forming alongside the physical economy … This suggests to me that the main challenge of the economy is shifting from producing prosperity to distributing prosperity.”

Takeaway: What revenue possibilities might be hiding in your organization's “second economy”?

Source: McKinsey Quarterly

6. The Marketplace Wants Ever Newer, Ever Fresher.

Trendwaching talks about “Newism” and employs attentive eyes and ears in 170 countries, all focused on spotting trends. 

Takeaway: How might your organization employ its own “trendspotters”?

Source: Trendwatching Brief.

5. Re-imagine.

A few weeks ago, I was trying to imagine what a home entertainment center might look like in three years. Of course I “saw” wireless systems, image projection everywhere, and voice control. But I didn't see any headphones. Surprise: A recent tweet from @HomeTechDudes, reported on the new Microsoft patent that imagines headphones as an accessory that docks everything to the mother ship. [Headphones?]

Takeaway: In the planning stage, imagine old systems in new ways.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/03/microsoft-patent-headphones-accessory-docking/

4. Specializing Is the Newest Old Trick.

Nobody understands “targeted” better than marketers. Still, it’s still difficult to grasp all the "niche niches" that digital can mine. Jess3 is a case in point. Here’s a creative agency that specializes in data visualization – meaning, these folks are expert at turning a complex idea into a single glance.

Takeaway: What current capability can you hone or craft into a unique product/service? 

3. America Is Getting Self-Employed.

Labor historian Richard Greenwald believes that the American workplace is undergoing a shift every bit as profound as our 19^th century move from farms to factories. The current trend, which Greenwald predicts will accelerate in coming years, sees up to 50% of Americans self-employed as free agents, contractors, day laborers, consultants, etc. “These white-collar folks are workers. And, in the new economy, collar doesn't signify class the way it once did," Greenwald says.

Takeaway: Reconsider the attributes and benefits of non-employee talent.

Source: HuffingtonPost, June 15.

2. Everybody Wants Something To See.

I’ve been subscribing to and following Natalie MacLean’s wine commentary since she went online a decade ago. I remember her early-- and cutting edge--foray into electronic newsletters. I’ve watched her successfully sell ebooks and master social media. MacLean has always been ahead of the marketing curve. No surprise, then, that her website is full of lush photos and devotes a tab to “video.” Natalie’s June and July blogs feature an online video interview with Rex Pickett, author of Sideways (from which we all learned to declare, “I’m not drinkin’ any •••••• merlot.”). 

Takeaway: What photos, graphics, and video can your organization affordably gather to capture eyeballs? 

Source: Natalie MacLean's blog.

1. Saying “No” Is Smart.

Greg McKeown writes for the Harvard Business Review. On April 30, he cited “one thing CEOs need to learn from Apple.” Pointing to Steve Jobs approach, McKeown makes the case for culling, paring down, and throwing out. “Jobs cut out profitable business lines at a time when the company appeared it could least afford to do so, culling the business down to four clear product lines.” McKeown concludes with this advice: “So next time you’re leading an offsite strategy session, don’t be satisfied with a list of priorities that you’re going to say ‘yes’ to. Go through the process of answering the essential strategy question: 'What will we say no to?' That question will reveal the real tensions in your team. It is that question that will uncover the core trade-offs in your organization. It is that question that can deliver the rare and precious clarity necessary to achieve game-changing breakthroughs in your business.”

Takeaway: Read McKeown’s advice again.

Source: HarvardBusiness Blog, April 30, 2012.

Objective: Get Publicity. Tactic: Publicize Publicity.

What adds up to “publicity” today? How about the fact that you already got publicity.

I subscribe to PR Newswire for Journalists. The top – and only -- release this morning was as follows:

05-Jul-2012 

 * Bliss Drive Reaches #1 Position for Highly Competitive Key Phrase: 'Orange County SEO'

And your point is .... ? 

Here's what the first paragraph of the press release says: "Bliss Drive, a full-service Internet marketing and web design company that is located in Irvine, California, has just achieved a crucial milestone. They have climbed their way to the top of Google's search results, and now the company's website sits proudly at the number-one position for a highly competitive key phrase, Orange County SEO."

No doubt, today's press release will Bliss-Drive the company's Google positioning up even further.

And, really, that’s what search engine optimization is all about, isn’t it?

Annoying, perhaps. Effective, definitely. Executed, blissfully.

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Will Facebook Go the Way of Yesterday's Yahoo? This Expert Says “For Sure.”

Facebook will lose dominance as a major Web company in less than a decade, Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital said in a June 4 video interview broadcast on CNBC's Squawk on the Street.

"In five to eight years they are going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared," Jackson said. "Yahoo is still making money, it's still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it's 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it's disappeared."

Jackson assumes that Facebook will not be able to evolve any better.

“When you look at Web companies … there have been three generations of Web companies over the last 15 years: Web portals, social Web, and, currently, companies that are purely focused on Mobile (phones or tablets)…. No matter how successful you are in one generation, you don’t seem to be able to translate that into success in the second generation, no matter how much money you have in the bank or how many smart PhDs you have working for you."

Jackson forecasts Mobile as Facebook's Achilles heel. "I think Facebook will have the same sort of challenge moving into Mobile … The world is moving faster. It’s getting more competitive, not less, and those who were dominant in their prior generation are really going to have a hard time moving into this newer generation."

Google, too, will struggle, Jackson predicts. "Specifically, with Google, in five to ten years, the world of typing into a blue box on your desktop PC to get search terms? That’s going away. In the world of mobile, search is far less profitable for Google."

How can a company with 900 million subscribers disappear? It won't. "I think Facebook is NOT going bankrupt … but something new is coming along that we haven’t seen yet probably… People will be fascinated by it and attracted to it …[As for Facebook] what makes you successful in generation one, doesn’t make you successful in generation two. [In the world of mobile], Facebook is still a big fat website.”

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Source: Cadie Thompson, Technology Editor, CNBC.com

Why Associations Should be Afraid, Very Afraid

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how free flowing content exchange on the Internet -- both video and written --  is striking a blow at the heart of what trade and non-profit associations have offered members for so long: industry-specific information, straight from experts. 

Today, I find out that the Internet also is attacking another major association strength: networking with peers.

When I signed on to LinkedIn this morning, I had an invitation from Citi® to join "Connect" their "premiere network for professional women." In the words of the "invitation," Citi® and LinkedIn are teaming up to bring you a premier group experience designed specifically for professional women that provides career advice and networking opportunities.

How much does that sound like a typical "Join our association" pitch? Except for one thing: it's free.

So, really, why wouldn't I accept this invitation? It could have some benefits. And it costs me nothing to find out.

I hadn't envisioned Citi® partnering with LinkedIn, which goes to show that the CMO at Citi is a lot smarter than I am and tells me that big players (like banks and financial institutions) will continue to refine social media marketing -- using it, in this case, to bypass traditional "associations" and involve themselves directly in the networking and social activities of prospective clients (women).

So how might this work? One dimension of the Citi/LinkedIn effort assists the formation of geographically aligned "small groups," to wit: Network in Your Neighborhood. Does anybody care to network in their neighborhood? Apparently, yes, says their pitch. "A number of you have expressed interest in meeting up with women from Connect who live near you ... If you want to start a group or are looking for one, use this discussion to let us know where you are!"

LinkedIn is a brilliant partner in this effort, of course, because it possesses a superior database of exactly the individuals Citi® wants to reach. Databases, of course, lie at the heart of all social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr, StumbleUpon, ad nauseum.

Talk about effective direct marketing! Really, it doesn't get much better than this.

Expect more of the same ... much more.

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Smart Marketers Are Already Mastering Gamification. Should You Be Playing?

According to allfacebook.com, 50% of Facebook log-ins are specifically to play games like Farmville, Zynga Poker, and Words with Friends.

Yes, we love ourselves some games -- and smart marketers are using the gaming passion two ways:

1. To increase efficiency, customer loyalty, and engagement
2. To improve results in marketing campaigns.

Gamification is the term being used to describe this use of traditional game mechanics in non-game businesses.

According to Gartner Group, gamification is the newest type of loyalty marketing. The analyst firm predicts that by 2015, a gamified service for consumer goods, marketing, and customer retention will become as important to companies’ marketing engagement efforts as Facebook and Twitter. Gartner further predicts that in less than three years, more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application. 

Among respondents to the Acxiom/Loyalty 360 survey, only 14% of respondents already use gamification in their customer retention efforts, but nearly one-third (29%) plan to add gamification. At the time of the survey, more than half (56%) said they have no plan to try ramification and will be putting their resources elsewhere. Ha! We'll see about that ...

The Gamification Summit, which is meeting in San Francisco tomorrow through Wednesday, notes that "Gamification is radically changing the way companies do business, driving unprecedented engagement with customers, employees and stakeholders."

The gamification blog notes that enterprise gamification designers and marketers face a unique set of challenges. "We must advocate for the concept and win budget," says Tyler Altrup -- who also says that gamification is a marketers' business, not the stuff of platform managers.

Altrup describes four familiar marketing steps for good design/marketing gamification : set goals, define behaviors, establish rewards/incentives, and -- listen up: here's the key point -- framing the result according to status. "Every gamification program must be framed as a component of a meaningful status for the user," he says.

For more about gamification in the marketing context, check in with this video from Bunchball's founder and chief product officer, Rajat Paharia.

Game on!

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