I've written a post or two on other blogs and forums about why small businesses should take advantage of this new and ever so popular trend, but I have failed to reiterate what I have come to learn, and many may be questioning. Is Video Marketing Overrated?
The stats would tell you no, but I am hear to speak otherwise and these are my conclusions on why.
1) Brand Recognition: Video Marketing is great for brand recognition. Many marketers have taken this route over television commercials in hopes to achieve brand awareness on a large scale. And why not, if it fits the audience and the
person watching, it can help your brand stand out. Video marketing makes all this possible with a very affordable price tag. But these outlets in which we broadcast must be the proper channels in order to relate to our customers. What we are feeding them at that time
specifically must meet their needs at that given moment.
2) Sales: Video Marketing is not to be relied on to bring in the sales. First, I think the confusion lies in the type of business, type of video, where it is posted, and what the bulk of viewers are looking for. Most videos are viewed for pure entertainment.
I've seen companies spend a lot of money on producing a video in hopes to see large conversion rates from it. It really all relies heavily on the audience composition and what they are there for. For example, YouTube.com is mostly used for entertainment. Not that you can’t upload any video, but most are searching and wanting to be entertained.
So that brings us back to sales. How will that convert your video to sales? Most likely one looking to be entertained isn’t ready to get out their check book, but they might be ready to look into you’re company further. That’s why it’s so important to fit the video to reason for viewing. A company would be much better off creating a video to entertain
with a call to action to get noticed on YouTube.
3) The Overrated Part: All the numbers we're seeing about the increase in popularity from video marketing are real. The overrated part comes from what they are viewing them for and how videos reach their target. Right now video marketing is overrated because:
1. The numbers are mostly coming from people looking for entertainment. Videos today are mainly used and searched for this purpose. Online video watchers don’t want the commercials and to be sold. That’s why they left the television. Online they are in control of what they watch.
2. The channels aren’t organized; there is so much noise and not enough collaboration on how and where to post.
3. Videos are popping up now like banner ads once did, un-wanted, in your face, and such a huge annoyance. If companies would follow a simple formula on what, who, when, and where to post, we wouldn’t have to go through the overrated part, we could all start benefiting from positive and favorable brand recognition we all desire, which ultimately makes us all happier customers.
So, yes and no, video marketing is overrated to the extent that unless video marketers are hitting the right audience, with a clever video, at the right time, they are better off using you time and money doing something else.
Marketing on a Startup Budget
Author: Christine Van Buskirk, GSS
We're excited to announce that we have a few really cool Shop Spots that can assist you with marketing on a startup budget. You can find these helpful businesses with their information and links below. Since we've been on the topic, Cost Effective Advertising on a Budget, I would also like to share with you InsideCRM's 101 Free Offers List and Coupons, for "Marketing on a Startup Budget."
MCTT is about strategic, solutions-based, and affordable marketing. We are your partner, not in word but in deed. Your success is our prime directive. We're here to make you look great. And we'll never waste money, resources, or your time in the process. Never. MCTT is proven to be the most effective and affordable marketing think tank you'll ever work with. Challenge us to offer up a solution to your greatest marketing problem.
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Low Budget, Cost Effective Advertising Online
Join the New Marketing Revolution
Author: Christine Van Buskirk, GSS
As we've stated in last blog entries, it's vital to advertise online for small business success. But let's face it; we can't simply afford all the advertising that is out there.
So how does a small business achieve a great online presence? Well, it's funny because not only small businesses should take the following into account, but the larger, more established businesses as well. Heck, one
could even hire someone for such a presence with all the possibilities that are out there today.
Below is a list of quite a few sites every business should consider in their online media plan. Starting with social networking sites and ending with classifieds.
Some of these sites may take higher priority to others depending on your target market and niche. The possibilities are endless here. Be sure to join and comment on forums and groups specific to your niche that may not be listed below.
There are many other smaller localized sites to look into as well. It may seem overwhelming at first but the key is to pick your target and diversify, so you're not putting all your eggs in one basket, or in one online medium.
This has been a work in progress. Please feel free to contact us to include sites you feel we've missed out on. Our team will review for inclusion in another post.
Short Cuts to the GSS List of Coolest Sites to be Seen On!
Oodle Online classifieds - cars, homes, jobs, pets, & more.
Pikaba Community marketplace, online merchant network.
CMather Classified advertising for your products and services.
Dazzle and Delight your Customers with Photos that Sparkle!
Author: Christine Van Buskirk, GSS
Have you ever been on a site where the product photos sparkle and scream out touch me, buy me, you have to have me? You’re thinking they must have spent hundreds to thousands of dollars hiring a professional photographer. Well that’s certainly one solution, but there are others out there I want to share with you.
Easily learn how to make your products photos sparkle while doing so cost effectively. This article, "Glamour Shots: Inspiring Inventory with Free Image Editors," by Vangie Beal is an extremely helpful resource in doing so.
Keeping Recession at Bay.
Author: Christine Van Buskirk, GSS
After reading countless articles on recession and the economy, I decided it was time to write my thoughts about how I see the small business surviving. If any business can, shouldn't it be yours? Because so many large corporations are making cuts, laying off employees, and finding ways to survive by cutting the obvious, small companies can first take a look at the whole picture and then determine what steps are needed to move forward. I intend in helping you by writing this entry.
What do people do when there's a fire in the building? Run to the nearest exit. Since we can't escape a recession, how do we put out the fire? We can first help the situation by working to not add to the fire. If you take a look at past recessions, there is always a cause and effect of each. For instance, take the housing bubble. The last 5 years we were all chasing the American dream, buying homes, refinancing, and getting home equity loans because it was the thing to do, adding
to the fire. Rates were low and demand was high because everyone wanted a larger piece of the pie. Now, everyone is feeling the pinch, of less home equity, credit card debt, and increase in gas and electric bills. Not to mention, costs of putting your children through school. So how will all this help my business? By taking a look at the cycles of a boom, recognizing signs of a fire, and keeping it at bay before one starts. Since we already have been alarmed of a recession, we need to keep business losses at bay by not running towards the exit door.
Are you ready for the good news? Despite all the talk of spending lows, recession, retail gloom, we can still keep our businesses afloat. You as a small business owner can re-assess a business plan, advertising, and pick up where corporations have left, making their cut back your gain. For a little extra confidence booster, try this. According to eMarketers, Multi-Channel Retailing report, who analyzes the features that contribute to making online product research an essential driver of offline retail sales. "Any retailer who isn't using the online channel to promote offline sales-as well as online sales-is missing a huge opportunity. In 2007, eMarketer estimated that store sales influenced by online research totaled $471 billion. Comparatively, retail e-commerce sales were $136 billion. Another way to look at it is that for every $1 in online sales, the Internet influenced $3.45 of store sales."
So as a Girl Shop Spot advertiser you are ahead of the curve.
These are my suggestions in keeping the fire out at your shop:
1) Whether you're a merchant online or off, it is vital to take advantage of online ads to promote spending. Advertise and promote your business on niche specific sites, where a click is a legitimate lead versus a browser.
2) Try not to make advertising cuts, just be more selective and re-assess campaign possibilities. For example, everyone has headed for the exit signs on Google and Yahoo Ads. This makes it much more affordable and easier to reach your customers with all your competitors at bay. Try buying low cost ads on certain search engines and popular search sites that will help drive traffic.
3) Negotiate for better rates in advertising. Since many have left the building, the opportunities should be endless here. Also, barter with like sites and businesses that can both benefit from the exposure.
4) Support Commerce by Community. When you shop and spend, make sure to support your GSS Community. Shop with them when the opportunity presents itself.
5) Participate in Co-Op Marketing and partner with a business that compliments yours for promotions, contests, and ads.
6) Increase advertising budget if you can. By increasing your budget, your impressions increase, and with less noise, your impressions denote more bang for your advertising dollar.
7) Create more than one way of purchase. If you're only an online merchant, find other sites that link directly to buy from you or that you can sell through. If you are a small business that doesn't have means to sell online, find other ways to achieve e-commerce. GirlShopSpot.com will soon be providing an e-commerce solution for you, at very minimal cost.
Whatever you do, don't get discouraged. Have faith and don't be afraid to ask for help from a friend, your community, and the one above. When this is all over, the ones who fought will stand strong, while the rest begin to run for the next big thing or exit sign. Consuming yourself in these things only keeps you from your main goal, success.
Low Budget, Cost Effective Advertising for the Small Business.
Author: Christine Van Buskirk, GSS
If you just started a business, fell into one by word of mouth, or thinking about increasing your advertising budget to create more exposure and sales, here are a few cost effective ideas that will be easy on your pocket book.
PR! PR! PR! Public Relations can be one of the most cost effective, low budget business directives you can take to advertise your products and services. Create a story on how it all began or a story around one of your products
or services, interview your customers for their stories, and create a package to sell to the press. You could tie stories to public events and holidays too.
You'll also need to draft a list of press contacts and sites to submit your releases and articles to. PRWeb.com is a great site for posting releases on the web. They perform other PR functions starting around $165.00 per release.
There are also many free article directory sites that you could submit your articles to. If you're not comfortable or familiar with writing to sell the press, fielding interviews, and tracking the results of who's interested in what you have to sell, I recommend using a
small marketing firm, like MCThinkTank.net. All-in-all, Public Relations can give you a big bang for your buck with writing that sells, perseverance, and patience.
Viral Marketing! This is how you fell into your business if it got started by word of mouth. Viral Marketing is an awesome way to advertise your products and services. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behavior that encourages
people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily to create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm. It can creatively be done on or offline with text messaging, video clips,
photos, blogs, social communities, parties, and old fashioned word of mouth.
These two low budget creative ideas, parties and videos, will definately get the viral juices flowing. They can easily be created through this site!! Parties are planned to create enthusiasm and talk amongst others during and after the party given. Video clips are a fun and very effective way to make an impression on customers. You can definitely get others talking with video clips. See
GSS Video Marketing, if you're interested in making a video clip for your business.
Web Marketing! Create an online presence. If you don't have a site, not to worry. There are other low cost ways to claim your real estate on the web, such as web classifieds like Craigslist.com and YellowPages.com. You can easily create your own optimized web page, specials/sales ads, sales calendars, and product/service search ads on GirlShopSpot.com. Another possibility is Like.com, which is a product specific e-commerce search for designer look alikes. Etsy.com is also a nice site
if you have an inventory full of handmade products. If you do indeed have a site, you could submit your site to shopping directories as well.
Direct Marketing! You can buy or create a list of potential customers. If you're taking the cost effective, low budget method, start creating a list of people you know. Then do some research on your target and how to contact a percentage
of those each month by e-mail or direct mail. Get some business cards made at PrintsMadeEasy.com. Make sure to give out your card when the opportunity arises. Send a mailer or an e-mail to those on your list at least once a quarter. Don't forget to market to friends and family too. They will always be your viral marketing tool, if not a customer.
Promotions and Sweepstakes! Promotions and sweepstakes are a great way to get your product or service out there and get people talking about it. A low budget way to run a promotion is to partner with another small business to share the expense and garner the attention.
Print! Pick a few local papers and journals in your key target regions. Get a feel for what a general ad would cost and how long the ad would run. Compare pricing and determine your exposure from running each ad. Ask how many impressions the ad will get you and how many leads you can expect by running the ad
(compare the ratio of leads to impressions). Set aside a small budget to reach a percentage of paper and journal readers. If you don't have the time, you can always contact MCThinkTank.net for assistance.
Local
As we've stated in last blog entries, it's vital to advertise online for small business success. But let's face it; we can't simply afford all the advertising that is out there.
So how does a small business achieve a great online presence? Well, it's funny because not only small businesses should take the following into account, but the larger, more established businesses as well. Heck, one
could even hire someone for such a presence with all the possibilities that are out there today.
Have you ever been on a site where the product photos sparkle and scream out touch me, buy me, you have to have me? You’re thinking they must have spent hundreds to thousands of dollars hiring a professional photographer. Well that’s certainly one solution, but there are others out there I want to share with you.
Easily learn how to make your products photos sparkle while doing so cost effectively. This article, 
After reading countless articles on recession and the economy, I decided it was time to write my thoughts about how I see the small business surviving. If any business can, shouldn't it be yours? Because so many large corporations are making cuts, laying off employees, and finding ways to survive by cutting the obvious, small companies can first take a look at the whole picture and then determine what steps are needed to move forward. I intend in helping you by writing this entry.
Viral Marketing! This is how you fell into your business if it got started by word of mouth. Viral Marketing is an awesome way to advertise your products and services. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behavior that encourages
people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily to create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm. It can creatively be done on or offline with text messaging, video clips,
photos, blogs, social communities, parties, and old fashioned word of mouth.
Direct Marketing! You can buy or create a list of potential customers. If you're taking the cost effective, low budget method, start creating a list of people you know. Then do some research on your target and how to contact a percentage
of those each month by e-mail or direct mail. Get some business cards made at 
