A SQUARE DEAL

Why QR Codes Hold Promise for Your Business

By now you’ve probably noticed them, the quirky looking little squares made up of seemingly random blips of even smaller black and white squares.
 
These objects, resembling the blocky looking dot matrix patterns of old, are popping up in a variety of places lately, from product packaging and various print media to roadside billboards.

What are they? They’re called quick response codes, or QR codes for short, and they’re gradually gaining traction as a marketing tool throughout the United States and beyond. Although they seem to have abruptly appeared on the scene, the truth is that QR codes are not really that new. In fact, they were invented in Japan back in the mid 1990s to help automobile manufacturers, using scanning devices, track the movement of parts in their supply chains. Then someone came up with the bright idea of using these codes for wider applications, including marketing.
 
QR Codes and Smart Phones
Until fairly recently, QR codes weren’t making much headway into American markets, but the concept has received a huge boost due to the power of web enabled smart phone technology and the expansion of powerful wireless networks that deliver content on demand. Now, an ever growing number of users can access the Internet at high speed from virtually anywhere. As it turns out, QR codes and smart phones (enabled by the appropriate code reading app) go hand in hand. App-enabled smart phones can instantly scan and decode the 2 - dimensional QR code images, and, unlike standard barcodes, each QR code is capable of conveying a surprisingly large amount of information.
 
So what can a QR code do? Basically, these magical little matrices store information that is useful to end users that gives them the opportunity to acquire product information, learn about time sensitive deals and coupons, visit websites, purchase tickets and otherwise become engaged in the web of marketing promotions.
 
Various Uses of QR Codes
Because QR codes store information, including Internet URLs, about products and services, they’re gradually emerging as a legitimate vehicle that directs traffic to websites where, as you know, transactions can occur. In an age where technology both satisfies the need for instant gratification and intensifies competition, the QR code allows handheld device users (in particular, smart phone users) to more quickly access information and, hopefully, make faster purchasing decisions based on that information.
 
So let’s run down what QR codes can be used for:

• Product or event registration

• Product and parts tracking

• Promotional coupons/special offer information

• Products and services information

• Contact information

• Direct link to websites

• Link friends and customers to your social networking pages

• Mobile ticketing for entertainment and transportation

QR Codes Are Low Cost, Paper-Based ‘Hyperlink’
From a marketing perspective, QR codes are used to link conventional advertising (through various print media) to online sites and promotions. For example, in your magazine ad or coupon, you may include a QR code that when scanned opens up your website on their smart phone and potentially results in a purchase. This practice of linking physical objects such as paper promotional material directly to online resources is called hardlinking. In effect, a print ad with a QR code on it becomes a paper-based hyperlink.
 
Maybe your QR code contains information about an important new product or has a time sensitive offer or inducement to draw potential customers to your online presence. Some businesses now include QR codes on employee business cards, providing more information about the company and the services it offers.
 
Another attractive feature of QR codes is that you can make your own, for free, through any number of web-based services (just Google “Create QR code"). Not only that,QR codes are not restricted by any licensing requirements. As awareness of QR codes continues to grow and with more and more people utilizing smart phone technology and mobile applications, QR codes can become a significant, and relatively low cost, part of your overall marketing efforts.

written by SCOTT WIGTON

Put the Power Back in Your Internet Marketing

Videos Could Be Just What You Need To Drive Traffic
 
There’s a region of ocean circling the planet that sailors call the doldrums. One minute, a sailboat is cruising right along. The next minute, the sails are sagging without even a puff of wind to move them along.

The doldrums (a word derived from Old English for “dull”) have been known to last days, trapping unfortunate mariners in a stifling nightmare of boredom and inactivity.
Do those words reflect your online marketing? Maybe for months or even years you’ve enjoyed smooth sailing and suddenly you’ve come to a near standstill. Traffic has plunged, sales are fizzling out, and, in short, you’re going nowhere...just like those sailors of old.
Are you caught in the online equivalent of the doldrums?

Putting the Wind Back in Your Sails
If so, one way to put the wind back in your sails is through video marketing. A song once famously proclaimed that Video Killed the Radio Star, but video can breathe fresh life into your online marketing through compelling content say experts such as Jennings Hanna*.

“The applications and effectiveness of online marketing videos has grown enormously over the last five years,” says Hanna, an award winning film school grad and web video developer*. “This is mainly due to the dramatic increase in bandwidth available to Internet users and the rise of affordable digital video technology.”

In fact, Forrester Research indicates that videos made it 53 times more likely that your website would have a higher ranking in Internet searches versus traditional text based marketing. Other reasons you should add video? Studies show good quality video means people hang out longer on your website, increasing the chances for a transaction. Good quality (these are important words!) videos also build trust in the professionalism of your brand.

Naturally, if you do decide to incorporate video into your website (and you almost definitely should, unless you don’t mind drifting in the doldrums), you will have to make some important decisions. The following tips will help ensure happy sailing as you move through the video process.

What are you trying to accomplish? Yes, adding videos to your website and online marketing efforts can be a good move, but only if you think through EXACTLY what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Just doing a video because you think it’s cool, fun or cutting edge doesn’t cut it.  Are you trying to get more customers, make more sales or simply educate your customers and build their confidence and long-term loyalty? Your specific purpose should dictate the content for each particular video.

What are you going to film? Is your video going to be a company overview, about a certain product or service, or even testimonials from satisfied customers? Maybe it’s about an accomplishment or a particular promotion or event. Whatever it is, make sure it’s timely and relevant to your audience.

How are you going to film it? Oh boy, you didn’t go to film school did you? And it’s safe to say your next door neighbor isn’t Steven Spielberg. Don’t fear. The most sensible thing to do is bring in a creative consultant who can give your videos the level of professionalism that you and your customers expect. You, and hopefully your consultant, will decide what you’re filming and then build a shot list (a sequence of items that tell your story or make your point or pitch) that meets your goal. The advantage of a consultant is that he or she will save you valuable time and money wasted on poor camera work, poor lighting and a failure to adequately plan out the video.

“The truth is that a quality video that puts a professional face on your company requires specific knowledge and techniques that most people don’t have. While equipment costs and digital technology have made online video much more affordable, you still have to have someone who knows what they’re doing,” Hanna advises.

So you’ve filmed it. Now what? Editing, that’s what. Editing, most experts will tell you, is one of the toughest yet most critical aspects of making any video, even a short one. In most cases, you’ll be trimming down many minutes of film into a short video (don’t make your web based videos any longer than 2-3 minutes at most). Quality editing ensures that all the good stuff stays in, while the unnecessary material is cut.  You’d be surprised how difficult it is to make these decisions and too often novices fail when it comes to making a tight, relevant video. Again, a consultant can give you that critical eye that makes sure you tell exactly what you need to tell and no more.

Time to spread the word! When it’s all done, it’s time to upload your masterpiece of video marketing. Make sure to embed it on your website so people don’t have to wait for long downloads to their desktops. Also, don’t overlook posting your video to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other sites that attract the all important attention of search engines like Google. Plus, include links to the video in your e-blasts and e-newsletters.

Finally, sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Video can really put the power back into your Internet marketing sails (and sales!).

written by SCOTT WIGTON

7 tips to boost your business through ARTICLE MARKETING

YES, YOU ARE AN EXPERT

7 tips to boost your business through ARTICLE MARKETING

You may not realize it, but if you’re a business owner or operator, you truly are a goldmine of information.

The facts, figures, insights and know-how in your noggin’ is valuable stuff! And it’s not just valuable in terms of how you use it to manage your day-to-day business affairs. It’s also valuable to other people who can use it to solve their problems or fulfill their needs.

Few people know your business (or industry niche) like you do. Years of painstaking experience have made you an expert, someone who is trustworthy and reliable.

leverage your EXPERTISE
Now it’s time to leverage these qualities to drive more traffic to your website. How? Through article marketing. Article marketing basically means writing informative (and useful) articles to subtly promote your products and services to people with an interest or need in your business or industry. You reach your intended audience by distributing your articles via free online article directories on the Internet.

Well-written, relevant article will increase your credibility as a go-to source of information and provider of solutions in your field. This in turn should result in more traffic being directed back to your own website as clients seek answers to their problems.

cheap, easy and EFFECTIVE
Here’s how it works. You write an article and place it through free online article directories. Directories with good web page rankings (based on search engine algorithms such as Google’s PageRank) and lots of visitors will increase your article’s chance of being seen and read. Sprinkled with “back links,” your article will lead visitors to your website, thereby increasing your chances of new business.

If your overall marketing budget is small, article marketing can be a reasonably effective and inexpensive way to drive traffic to your site. Remember, most listing directories are free and you should try to get your articles posted on about 10 of these. Try to list on too many and you risk your submissions being seen as a form “spam” by Internet search engines. Another way to boost your submission is by becoming a “guest expert” on popular blogs related to your business or industry niche. Blogs rely on fresh, relevant content and may enjoy higher search engine placement as a result.

HOW to get started
So how do you begin article marketing? Here are a few tips:

1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – Who are you writing for? What do you want to tell them? Try to think from the point of view of a potential reader/customer who has problem only you can solve.
   
   
2. KEEP IT SHORT – Shorter is always better. Limit your articles to 500 words maximum with a good range about 350 to 400 words.
   
   
3. TEASE THEM – Give them good information, but not TOO much information. You’ve got to make them want to come to you for the complete solution!
   
   
4. TERRIFIC TITLES – This probably cannot be stressed enough. Your title must be catchy and relevant or your article, no matter how well written or useful, will simply be ignored.
   
   
5. TERRIFIC TOPICS – Your title will likely flow out of your topic. If your topic is dull and irrelevant, don’t expect good results!
   
   
6. QUALITY CONTENT  – Your writing must be clean, punchy and direct. The information must be interesting and useful. If you fail here, your credibility as an expert is undermined. Be sure to sprinkle keywords in your article to link back to your website.
   
   
7. CALL TO ACTION – Conclude your articles with a call to action, especially one that drives them to your site for products or services.

Oh, and one last thing. If you’re truly NOT a writer, or simply can’t stomach the thought of scripting an article, be sure to engage the services of a professional, or at least someone in your organization with a knack for writing. And, whatever you do, be sure to proofread before posting!

written by SCOTT WIGTON

Qualities that make web content good and how to improve yours!

YOUR WEBSITE'S FATAL FLAW and why you need an honest appraisal

Remember that “stuck-up” kid in school? You know, the one who thought she had the real “wow!” factor going on and considered herself to be the coolest thing in the universe (and therefore beloved (and envied by all).
 
There was just one little problem. Nobody really loved her and few wanted to be friends with her. It’s hard to love a snob, isn’t it?
 
Well, this is just the sort of problem many websites have. Too often they’re bloated monuments to the self-importance of their owners and creators. It’s as if they’re shouting “Hey, look at me, aren’t I cool? Aren’t I smart? Aren’t I clever and cute?”
 
To which most website visitors respond: “Um, no, you’re actually pretty lame. See you later.” And who can blame them? You’re saying you’re great when...you’re so obviously not.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T DO THIS

It’s frequently obvious in the copy, the lifeblood of every website. Funny thing is, so much web writing is so very bad. Take, for example, this little gem pinched from a florist’s website describing a flower on offer: “Pinkly pulchritudinous and amazingly delightful, infinitely charming and sensationally fascinating. Ugh. Would that entice you to purchase that flower, or, more likely, induce a fit of eye rolling exasperation?
 
Words matter. If your web copy is oozing adjectives, clogged with shop talk (words and terms understood only by business/industry insiders) or heavily seasoned with $10 dollar words (that’s you lawyers!) that would require readers to consult a dictionary, then you’ve definitely crossed the line.

Even worse is to clumsily tout yourself, especially if you’re in a crowded and competitive e-marketplace. Consider this all too common variation of website self-appreciation: “Why choose us when you have a million choices? The answer is simple. Because we are the best! Best in quality, best in service...” etc.
 
Yeah, right! If that doesn’t sound like that stuck-up kid from school (“I’m the best!”) then nothing does! Websites that do this are essentially saying “We’re great because we say so!” (Can’t you just hear Dr. Phil asking, “How’s that line workin’ for ya?”)
 
Have you committed these website sins (among others)? Chances are you probably have and don’t even realize it. Don’t worry, though, the good news is that you can repent and change your ways!
 
It all begins with an honest appraisal, or audit, of your content. This can be personally and professionally painful, especially if you are the content creator, as is the case with many small businesses.

WHO IS THIS ABOUT ANYWAY?

The most important lesson in this process is: It’s not about you! It’s about your audience. Too many companies of all sizes inundate website customers with information about themselves and how wonderful they are. Who cares!
 
Every word and image must be geared toward meeting THEIR needs, not yours, and helping take an action or make a decision. Therefore, content rule number one is to know who your audience is, what interests them and how to meet their specific desires. Fail to heed this overriding rule and you might as well forgo a web strategy.
 
If, however, you do observe this rule, then a careful analysis of your existing or planned content is in order. The following will be helpful in guiding you through a content appraisal.
are you saying what you think you're saying?

Are the graphics, words, video and audio elements on your web pages conveying the information, the feel and the ability to take action that your audience desires? Carefully look at your content to make sure it is saying precisely what you intend it to. Better yet, have someone else (who didn’t create the content) take a look at it. Being removed from the creation process, they’re much more likely to be able to determine if your message is hitting the mark.

1. are you saying what you think you're saying?
   Are the graphics, words, video and audio elements on your web pages conveying the information, the feel and the ability to take action that your audience desires? Carefully look at your content to make sure it is saying precisely what you intend it to. Better yet, have someone else (who didn’t create the content) take a look at it. Being removed from the creation process, they’re much more likely to be able to determine if your message is hitting the mark.
   
   
2. up-to-date and accurate
   Seriously, you’ve got to keep things fresh. Info that is weeks, months or even years old is inexcusable if you expect to get anything out of your web marketing strategy (i.e. more business!). Are your links dead ends? Are your logos, copyrights and trademarks current? How about your stats? Inaccurate and old information undermines your credibility.
   
   
3. getting things done
   This is about your website visitor’s ability to get done what he or she wants to accomplish. Do you make it easy to do so? If you’re selling, is it easy to buy from you? If you’re receiving donations, do you make it easy and secure for people to give? If you’re offering information to help people make decisions, is that information accurate, concise and well presented? Again, is it actionable information or stale and useless? Remember, you must be ruthless when auditing your information!
   
   
4. go ahead and get help—IT'S WORTH IT!
   Finally, unless you are an adept copywriter or trained graphic artist and web designer, it’s best to farm out your web content to professionals. You’d be surprised how many small to medium business websites rely on unskilled, in-house content creators with results that range from the merely embarrassing to the legally suspect. Here again, however, be discriminating and don’t allow your writers and designers to make another cardinal error — that of making your website a showcase of them and their wonderful talents rather than your bottom line!

Remember, your credibility comes from helping your customers accomplish what they want when they visit your website. It doesn’t come from saying how great you are! Leave that to the stuck-up kids at school.
 

written by Scott Wigton

WANT MORE BUSINESS FROM YOUR WEBSITE? try the quality content approach.

MAKE A PLAN FOR QUALITY CONTENT
WHY YOU NEED A CONTENT STRATEGY NOW
 
Last month, we learned the essential lesson that content is king. A successful website lives and breathes good content because good content delivers what end users want. And, by doing so, you will get what you want: more business and more committed customers.

Too bad most websites get it wrong with content (text, videos, graphics, audio and any other data), that, at worst, is ill-conceived, outdated, and useless or, at best, is half-baked and underachieving.

So, what’s the answer to this low quality content conundrum? How do you take this problem by the horns and put your website content far ahead of the blundering herd?

LET'S GET SERIOUS, FOLKS!

The first barrier to overcome on the way to better website content is a psychological one. Simply put, you’ve got to take content seriously! As previously discussed, content has too often been treated like the unwanted stepchild in website development. It gets some attention, because, let’s face it, a website is always going to have content on it. However, the content that finally appears is rarely the product of a well thought out process which has been led by someone whose overriding responsibility it was to ensure end users get what they really want — actionable information. Like the unwanted and difficult stepchild, website content planning gets short shrift, and the potential of your website will suffer accordingly.

That’s why just admitting that content planning is worthy of your full attention is an important victory, though further effort will be required to impart killer content onto your website. Now it’s time for the next step: Developing a strategy to produce content that gets results for your customer and for you!

DEFINING A CONTENT STRATEGY

Without a well conceived strategy, generals lose battles and coaches lose the big games. Without a good content strategy in place, you will miss out on the whole point of having a web presence in the first place — generating and sustaining business. Of course, we all want content to be easy; if only it were. But it will be a whole lot simpler and less painful when you put a content strategy in place. First, let’s take a quick look at an important definition. What, after all, is a strategy?

Succinctly put, a strategy is a comprehensive plan, a map, to achieve a desired result. Sounds easy enough. Yet the wealth of websites burdened by disappointing content and equally disappointing results reveals that most people don’t get this fact.

Too often, novice website owners and developers make the mistake of confusing the content itself for a content strategy. The two are different animals entirely. For example, a plan to include on your website a series of videos, certain types of articles, a blog or links to Twitter and Facebook do not amount to a website content strategy. These are really just specific types of content — content tactics, if you will — that even when combined don’t yield a cohesive content strategy.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

To get beyond tactical thinking, it’s helpful to see exactly what a true strategy will accomplish for you.

Also, as noted last month, it is critical at the outset to appoint a person, a content strategy czar, to oversee this process. Rather than being a dictator, this person shepherds the process along, keeps it on track and ensures that all stakeholders’ interests are heard, respected, and, if applicable, included in the final content strategy document.

So what elements should your final content strategy document include? If done right, it will stipulate:

1. The types of content (articles, data, graphics, video, etc.) required to meet end users’ needs (and thus meet  your primary objective) and, secondly,  who is responsible for creating that content.
   
   
2. How all web content is to comply with your brand and messaging.
   
   
3. How the content is to be organized (information architecture) on the website.
   
   
4. A workflow process, cooperating with other people and departments if necessary, to ensure content delivery to the site.
   
   
5. A process (and an editorial leader) for content maintenance and updating once the site is up and running.

 
Next month, we’ll look at the qualities that make web content good and how to improve yours!


written by Scott Wigton