While we’ve frequently spoken about the power of video in your marketing, particularly for a managed service provider, there are a few aspects that we haven’t really touched on yet. Sure, we’ve talked about how adding videos to your website can help make your message more impactful and how to set up certain kinds of videos, but we’ve never really discussed how to get someone to click on the video to watch it.
You want to engage your website visitors, and talking head videos are a great way to do this. However, you may be apprehensive about embarking on such a labor-intensive marketing strategy. We won’t lie to you; this type of video is a LOT of work to put together. However, that doesn’t mean it’s something you shouldn’t incorporate into your own MSP marketing efforts.
The talking head video format is an interview style of recording where the camera focuses only on the speaker while they are giving their view on an issue or explaining a topic. Let us tell you six reasons why videos of this style are just what your MSP marketing efforts need to drive conversions.
It seems now that nearly all business and marketing practices have gone digital, however the “old school” marketing method of sending direct mail is making a comeback. It is a surefire way of grabbing the attention of your leads.
These days the likelihood of an email being deleted before being read or being overlooked is very high. With direct mail you have a greater opportunity to create a lasting impact, giving the recipient the ability to directly see and touch the information that you send. The simple fact is that people like to get mail!
Direct mail is a measurable, targeted marketing strategy for reaching both your potential and existing customers. If you've tried direct mail in the past and only received mediocre results, don't be afraid to try again and again revising your approach. Use the tips below to help ensure your direct mail piece gets noticed!
Postcards are a highly effective direct mail piece that, if designed and utilized properly, can help a business get the results they are looking for. But, like many types of direct mail marketing, they are overlooked by small businesses who don’t see them as a feasible option.
But actually, achieving success with them is a more attainable goal than you may think.
There are a few different ways that you can reach new potential clients who don’t know your business exists yet. One of those ways is by sending these clients direct mail pieces. Direct mail marketing is not only a great way to reach out to these new potential clients, but it can be used to touch decision makers at all stages of the buying process - even those who are already clients of yours.
Much in the same way as more mainstream social media platforms, the blog, or web log, started as a kind of public forum for personal diatribes. Also comparable to other social media platforms, the blog can not only be used to post videos of goats singing along with TV show theme songs, but can also be a potent tool for online marketing; it’s able to accomplish numerous marketing goals in a relatively quick and easy-to-use engine.
Social media marketing is important... but if you’re not doing it right, your time and efforts are wasted. One common thing we see many MSP’s do wrong is failing to add any visual content to go with their posts. Let us explain why doing so is crucial if you want to make sure your business is seen.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” -- we’ve all heard it before, but that old saying may be more true than ever with the rise in businesses using social media platforms, like Instagram, as a part of their marketing plan. In fact, "Instagram is used by 48.8% of brands - a number that is expected to rise to 70.7% by the end of 2017." If you don’t know what Instagram is or haven’t created a brand profile for your company on Instagram, you’ll soon be late to the party.
Back in mid-2017, we talked about why and how B2B marketers should be on Instagram and using it to promote their company. Since Facebook has been constantly changing and evolving the platform over the years, we thought we’d give you some additional updates on how your MSP can market itself through the ever expanding image-centric platform.
Video plays a big role in lead generation and conversion for B2B companies. More and more managed service providers are discovering how powerful online video marketing is. Have you given it a try?
Part 3 of 3 - Crucial Legal Matters [Series]
The reason that checking this factor is so important is simple: not all stock images are beholden to the same rules. Different photographers and graphic designers will feel comfortable with their art being used for different purposes. As tempting as it may be to bend the rules (after all, what are the chances that they’ll find out?) you must not. The reasons why are long and all-encompassing.
When marketing your company, you’re trying to trigger some sort of response from your target audience. It could be for them to purchase a new add-on you’ve just started offering, or to subscribe to your newsletter. It doesn’t matter what response you’re looking for: no matter what, incorporating visuals into your marketing collateral will help ensure that the message you’re trying to convey is better received.
When business decision makers are attempting to look for an MSP in their local area, they are not picking up a phone book like they would have 30+ years ago. As you probably already know, they are using the internet instead. Specifically, more than 70% are starting the process through a simple Google search. Assuming you set up your SEO right, your website will probably be somewhere on the first page of results.
We’ve spoken fairly frequently on the value of using visual content in your marketing efforts, but on the off-chance that you come across a marketing opportunity as you go about your day, are you really going to be lugging around the equipment to capture it? Probably not, but there is a good chance that you’ll have another invaluable tool: a smartphone.
The use of animated GIFs has exploded in recent years: 69% of consumers reported to frequently using GIFs in their personal communications. It should come as no surprise that this trend has spread to the marketing world - you’ve probably seen some being used already, as many B2C marketers have already capitalized on this movement.
But, do GIFs have a place in B2B marketing?
We’ve often talked about how important it is to include visual content in your marketing materials. Of course, when we talk about visual content, we often mean images and photographs. This raises another question--if you plan to create your own images, does it make more sense to invest in an office camera, or to hire a photographer?
Part 1 of 3 - Choosing the Image You Want [Series]
When it comes to giving your written content a little more ‘pop’ to boost engagement with your audience, one of the best things you can do is to throw a few photos in the mix. People are drawn to images, and will often read what is around them to add to the photo’s context. However, photo content of a high enough quality to share can be time-consuming to produce, and requires a certain degree of skill--and unless you happen to have a trained photographer on staff, professionals can be expensive to contract. Fortunately, there’s another option: stock photos.
Again and again you hear about the importance of content- custom content, relevant content, content in general, but what you aren’t hearing is that you need visual content. You do need visual content. Want to know why?
If you need to get some marketing materials into the hands of your prospects and existing clients, a brochure is an excellent option. However, because they are very visible, you need to be particularly careful that you are doing more harm than good to your reputation with a substandard brochure.
Fortunately, there are a some best practices that you may follow to create a better brochure that represents your company, and your solutions, well.
