YouTube Marketing 101 for Small Businesses

This is an overview of the video from Trevor Erikson. These are the highlights of his video, but doesn't include all of his examples. Trevor has a lot of experience with YouTube marketing and in his first online marketing position, he boosted the online sales of his business by 343% in three years. His video can be found here.

Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine with Google being the 1st! That means that it's extremely important, and can have a huge impact on your business. 

• 5700 searches per minute
• Reaches more adults (18-34) than any cable network
• 100 hrs of video uploaded every minute

Many small businesses have little if any online sales, and YouTube can have a huge impact on that. Your potential is yet to really be tapped. The only cost to making videos and putting them on YouTube is your cost for making the video. That's why this is such a great marketing tool for businesses with a lower marketing budget, all the way up to the top of the top.

From the graphic, we learn that YouTube videos can influence purchasing decisions and brand trust significantly. It's important to have a good presence on YouTube and to create interesting content.

What content should you create?

Here are five of the most effective types of content:

1. Video Unboxings - Show the package and what's inside. Show the product, but also focus on the presentation.
2. How-to's & Tutorials - 1. Tell them what you'll be telling them 2. Tell them 3. Tell them what you told them
3. Product Comparison - Compare on key metrics (important features to the consumers)
4. Product Reviews - Review the product, focusing on what the customer doesn't know yet...
5. Torture Testing - How does the product hold up against ____? "Will it blend" from BlendTec is a great example of this type.

When you make the videos, consider your audience. You want to get straight to the point and be as brief as possible. Do your research and know about the product, about the competition, and also about your viewers. What do your viewers want to know? Show them things about your product that they can't see in pictures. Give them insights into the smell, the feel, the quality, etc. Make it interesting, and worth your viewers' time.

How should you get started?

• Create a Youtube channel for your company
• Use what you have that others don't. Leverage your strengths and the advantages you have.
• Create a publishing schedule - You don't need to post every day, just create a schedule and make sure it happens.

Resources for more information:

• James Wedmore
• ReelSEO
• Social Media Examiner
• Social Media Today
• Distilled Video Marketing Guide

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Learn How to Increase Conversion on Your Landing Page

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Learn How to Increase Conversion on Your Landing Page

Oli Gardner is one of the most well-known experts at conversion optimization, which is changing elements on your landing page in order to reach a better level of conversion. He mentioned his A/B Testing, but focused in this session mostly on seven proven techniques that he uses over and over again as he assesses over 1,000 landing pages per week.

1. Attention

Attention Ratio = The number of things you could do compared the number of things you should do.

This ratio is critically important, because in internet marketing, there is only one thing that they should do. That's our goal, and our conversion. We need to eliminate the distractions and the links. In essence, we need to take out all the fluff.

In some pages, the ratio is as high as 180:1! That's terrible. 

Even just changing a landing page from a 10:1 ratio to 1:1, can easily make a 36 percent difference, as demonstrated by Oli through an A/B Test.

Hobson’s Plus One Choice Effect says that people like to make successful choices. So... If we give them two choices (one they like and one they don’t), theoretically they should feel good about themselves when they choose the successful choice, right? Wrong! Even adding just one more unnecessary link dropped conversion by 14 percent!

Keep these elements of design in mind next time you're making a landing page.

• Proximity - Elements close together are perceived as being related
• Anomoly - Difference/uniqueness indicates importance
• Dominance - Greater size = greater importance
• Consistency - Makes order out of chaos (similar elements look the same)
• Continuation - Use lines and arrows to guide people through the page
• Direction - Point to important things
• Contrast - Make the important elements stand out and contrast with the page

2. Context - Inbound channels change expectations. Post-click success is determined by how well you deliver on pre-click promises.

In Pay-Per Click (PPC) advertising, message match is key.

• Message match failure happens when the message on the ad doesn't match the heading on your website. (e.g. Your ad says "Online Master's Degree", but your site says, "Study Anywhere - Reach Your Goals Online."
• Make the ad match your landing page heading exactly! Don't make viewers think. Tell them, "Yes, you're in the right place."

In Facebook and Display Advertising, Design and message match are key.

• Design match failure happens when the visuals on the ad don't match the visuals on your landing page.
• Make them the exact same! If there is a man drinking a soda on the ad, then show the same man drinking soda on your landing page. We need to carry the design before the click, through the click into the landing page.

Email Marketing should include the same elements, as the two above, but also including the brand.

• When you advertise a specific product, make sure the consumer is taken to the landing page for THAT product. Don't make them search any further.

3. Clarity - Communicating the value proposition to your page properly.

When people look at our page, our goal is that they understand it, without having to think very hard. A great tool to measure this is UsabilityHub.com.

This shows different people your landing page for about five seconds and then asks them questions like:

• What do you think this page is about?
• What do you expect to happen when you click on the CTA link?
• Do you think this page looks trustworthy?

When creating a page, always keep in mind that "Copy informs design, not the other way around"

Don't find a template and try to fill it with your copy. Each page should be designed after the copy is written. It will flow much better that way.

We should make sure our design has a clear flow. 1, 2, 3… Where do people look first? Is that where we want them to look?

• Strive for linear design (it’s alright if people skip left and right when the content is the same…)

4. Congruence - Aligning every element on the page with your campaign goal.

Form-first design - design the form as if it were the only thing on the page. So many landing pages have forms that say things like, "Download", "Sign-up", etc. What am I downloading or signing up for? Designing your form first, gets rid of this problem. It forces you to be specific.

Here are some tips to help you with your form:

1. Form Headline - What?
2. Subhead - Why?
3. Benefit Bullets *optional - Why?
4. Form - How?
5. CTA - How?
6. Closer - Important details to get people to click.

Scorecard - Take a site and look at the copy only. Identify the headline, subhead, and so on and score it with how it is aligned with the campaign goal.

5. Credibility

People may ask, "What if I don’t have testimonials? How do I have social proof?"

Here are your options:

1. Be okay with no testimonials
2. Give your product/service to a select few (influencers) for free in order to get a testimonial
3. Support the concept instead… Instead of searching for testimonials about your product, find what people have already said about the category your product fits in to.
4. Ask bloggers to reviewer your product

6. Closing - Applying positive click triggers and removing negative distractions

Look around the CTA. Is there anything that's scary or would keep them from clicking? If so, remove it. The closing could be a line that encourages them to act and removes any fear they may have.

7. Continuance - Always ask for something else after the conversion

The order we do this in is critical. We don't want to confuse those who just bought our product. Make the hierarchy clear by first thanking them for purchase, and then prompting them to do something else.

This is a great example! 

1. Thanks 

2. Try LemonStand Free

When you are designing your next landing pages, keep these tips in mind. Remember... This is the recipe to increase your conversion!

Thanks Oli!



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Business Owners! Make Sure You Have Done This...

After chatting with Diogo, Sean, and Matt from Entrata (formerly Property Solutions), I've realized just how right they are...

Besides having cool red shoes, these guys have some serious marketing know-how. They covered one of the most crucial points to the online presence of any business.

Get your business listed on Google My Business!

What is this? Well, when's the last time that you were looking for a gas station, barber, or ice cream shop nearby? You probably took out your phone and asked google where the nearest _____ was? Behind the scenes, there are many business listings that help your business show up on this search, making it easy for people to navigate straight to your front doors, or press call to connect with you directly.

Google My Business now has a business listing that is extremely helpful and will have heavy weight in where you show up on the search. Don't worry, it's not limited to storefront locations. You can also register a service, specifying the geographic location you cover, or you can register a product or website.

Here are the steps (for a storefront location):

• Go to https://www.google.com/business/ to get started
• Pick 3-5 categories to rank for
• Get at least 3 photos in each section
• Go to google plus photos
• Add a caption for each image
• Add the URL of your site
• Add the address of your store
• Add your business phone number
• **Geotag your image with your location!!** (Super important to use with GPS!)
• Click (share this location with viewers)

Make sure your address is completely correct, because you'll be getting a letter in the mail with a verification code so you can show that your business is real. When you get the verification code, finish the process, and it will be all up and running.

If you are trying to enter your address into multiple listings, MAKE SURE YOUR ADDRESS IS THE EXACT SAME IN EVERY LISTING! Another alternative is to use http://www.yext.com/, which is a resource for listing your business across multiple listings. You list with Yext, and it will list your business on multiple sites, guaranteeing that the information matches everywhere, and increasing your local SEO ranking.

It may seem cumbersome to get your business listed, but the payouts are well worth it. It's free, and helps people find your business.

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Land Your Dream Job With These 5 Tips

Applying for your first real job can be daunting... From the résumé to the interview, people wonder where they went wrong.

After sitting in on a panel discussion with high-level executives, I made a list of their tips.

Tip #1 - Track Record of Success

Make your résumé stand out from the others by showing what you've accomplished. It's not enough that you've worked at your job for two years. The important thing to companies is what you did in those two years. Feature your accomplishments and make your résumé results driven. If you can, put a monetary value to your results.

ex. Doubled the conversion ratio on five of our main webpages, having an annual estimated increase of $78,000.

Tip #2 - Ability to Learn

Don't worry... David Hunt, head of marketing at Illusive Networks said, "We all have times when we failed, when we didn’t know what we were doing, and when we wanted to quit." It's not so much about always being successful, but rather learning from your mistakes and becoming better.

What?! You don't have years of experience in your field yet? Here's a news flash, nobody else does either. We all need to start somewhere, so if you don't have much to show for experience, focus on what you HAVE done. Focus on the skills that you do have and your ability to learn and be flexible in almost any situation.

Tip #3 - Ability to Influence Others

The companies you are interviewing with are in it for the long haul. They want to know how you are going to benefit them as a future leader. How do you approach situations? How about group projects? The most successful businessmen are motivated and driven to lead a group. These people take initiative and execute on projects, often utilizing the skill of all members of the group. They influence others with their motivation.

Tip #4 - Clear and Concise Communication

Communication was among the most important attributes for many of our executives. They expressed frustration at long answers. When they interview, they prefer clear and concise answers. If they need more explanation, they'll ask for it. CEOs have a tight schedule, and they don't need a novel to figure out your answer to the question.

Tip #5 - Questions About the Company

At the end of most interviews, you'll have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about company or the interviewer. Many candidates, blow this off, and don't ask any questions. Executives from our discussion expressed that these questions may be one of your biggest opportunities to get the job. Scott Overson really emphasized the importance of your answer by explaining how your question shows your preparation. He stated, "Before you interview, do your research about the company. Find whatever you can about the company and embed it in one or two questions to show that you're prepared."


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The panel discussion was held on Friday, September 11, 2015. Executives interviewed include: Scott Overson, Scott Pulsipher, David Hunt, Jordan Archibald, and Whitney Seamons.