Article to Video Marketing Benefits

Posted on by

Article writing has been one of the more popular ways of driving traffic to a website. You can submit your article to a variety of article directories and if they should get syndicated then you can expect even more traffic. There is now something called article to video marketing which takes marketing to a new level.

Articles tend to be made up of a header paragraph, body text and a summary paragraph. There are no set rules, but this kind of structure will serve you well.

Try to make your article informative and educational. If you can inject some humour then do so. It cannot do any harm and will make the video light hearted in nature.

Converting articles into video marketing tools

What makes article to video transfer an innovative way to do marketing? Instead of a plain text article the content now becomes visual. You can read out loud the words and record it.

For people who are visually impaired the audio part of the article can be very beneficial. The audio alone can be enough to engage the person.

If you have captivating article to video material you can expect a good supply of traffic back to your website. The benefits here are easy to see: More subscribers equal more sales and profit for you.

You can upload a video article to video sites, but also add them to your website or blog. This can help to move you up in the search engine rankings. Hopefully you can see the benefits of video marketing and how it can help your business.

Some people also ask, can you make money on YouTube using article to video content. The truth is you can, but you need to do the article conversion correctly and create something of benefit to viewers.

Video marketing keyword research

There is so much content on the internet you may be wondering how your video is going to be found. The truth is it may not unless you do some keyword research first.

Think of the terms people would type into a search engine to find your video. Whatever your niche is it will have a number of search terms that people will type into search engines such as Yahoo, Google and Bing.

For example, your niche could be on how to stop smoking. The likely search terms would be things like ‘Stop smoking’, ‘Quit smoking’, ‘how do I give up smoking’ etc. Try to think of what you would type in if you wanted to locate something on the internet.

Have you come across the Google keyword tool? This is a free keyword tool that will tell you the terms people are searching for each month. Make a note of these terms and save them to a file so you can refer to them later.

When looking for good terms to use, pick something that gets at least 50 searches a month and keep the upper limit to around 5000.

Also make a note of any related keywords that you can use for the article to video project.

Your main keyword term can be used in your YouTube video description. It should also be part of your video filename. By doing keyword research you are optimising your video for the search engines which in time will be good for your traffic.

How can you create an article video?

To create a good video you need article to video software to convert the article into content rich video.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a good candidate to convert articles into video, but it can take a lot of time to do. It may be worth handing this task over to someone who has the correct article to video converter software and has experience of doing it. There are plenty of article to video businesses around who can handle this kind of work.

If you are outsourcing the work keep in mind the following:

  • Ensure the narrator speaks clearly and comes across well during the article to video conversion process
  • The video conveys all points concisely
  • Content is well put together and has a nice flow

To convert the article you need to grab the main points and bring them into the article to video software. Don’t use huge paragraph chunks. Tidy it up until all looks presentable.

It is off-putting to have to read a lot of text in a video as it defeats the purpose of doing it this way in the first place. Try and keep things simple and ensure your article video content runs for no more than two minutes.

Sometimes people have short attention spans and you don’t want them wandering off to look at other videos.

YouTube Promotion

Now you have your article converted, you can now go and load it up onto the video sites on the internet. The most popular one is of course YouTube. Keep in mind this site will get you a ton of viewers for your article to video content and some of them are likely to come and visit your website.

As part of your article to video strategy, make sure you add your link in the video description as well as to the video itself.

It has been rumoured that YouTube uses technology that can identify and rate video content. With this in mind, make sure your keyword is mentioned verbally in the first ten seconds of the video.

Your keyword should be placed in the first few words of the YouTube description.

Ensure your keyword is among the tags you choose to enter for the video. Multiple words are separated by speech marks so try to use variations of the keyword.

For example, if your keyword is ‘cat training’ you could use something along the lines of “cat training” “cat training for kittens” “Persian cat training” etc.

If you look at the top ten videos in your niche you will get an idea of which videos are popular. By doing this you can tell which are the popular keywords being used. Your article to video content will benefit from more tags so use any additional keywords in there.

Have a look at other videos related to your niche and leave a comment on them. Leave a good comment that adds value and it is likely your comment will be approved and people will check out your video.

You can also ask the owner of the video to become friends. You can do this easily in article to video marketing. The owner will appreciate your comment, if it is nice of course.

Conclusion

I have outlined some useful article to video strategies for you to use. If you want to you can do so by creating an engaging well made video. If you use these tactics you can be sure to stay ahead of the competition.

If you are asking can you make money on YouTube then you now realise what is involved.

By spreading your message in diverse ways you are increasing the likelihood of getting sales and customers.

Work From Home Employment Opportunities Exposed

Posted on by

Deciding to work from home is an easy decision for most people. Given the current state of our economy and the job market there are a lot of people looking for work from home employment opportunities. However, most people do not have the knowledge or skill set to have success in this demanding but rewarding industry.In the next few minutes I will discuss three simple steps, which are used by the elite, that will bring you success in a work from home employment setting. Most home businesses are network marketing or MLM opportunities. There are hundreds of companies from MaryKay to Amway to MonaVie. Almost every company out there is legit and will pay you for the efforts you put in towards building the business.The basic requirements for most network marketing or MLM companies are to sell the product/service and recruit others to do the same. Doing this correctly can create a snowball affect where you can sponsor hundreds of recruits and earn residual commissions on thousands of customers within your downline.This brings up the first step to creating a six and seven figure income with any work from home employment opportunity. Its simple really….you must build a list. Building a list will create an endless supply of prospects to you that will fuel your business. Without a fresh supply of leads your business will not and cannot grow.The second step is to to market to this list. If you want to make any sales or recruit others you must constantly communicate with your list in an effective manner. Traditionally, network marketers utilize phone skills to communicate with their prospects. However, new methods are being developed online that take advantage of email marketing technologies that automate this step. Using the internet to keep in contact and market to your prospects is a great tool to learn and use. There are many work from home employment opportunities but all require this step if you want to succeed.Finally, the last step practiced by the elite and top income earners in the industry is leadership. Being a leader is not easy. You must develop into someone that people look up to and will follow. The use of self-improvement books and educational material is a must. If you asked anyone in the work from home employment industry that makes over six figures they will all tell you that reading is a MUST. Reading leadership and personal development books will become self evident to anyone that you come in contact with. This is the hardest, but most rewarding step in the process to becoming a six or seven figure income earner in the work from home industry.

Health and Fitness – The Best Ways to Work Out!

Posted on by

Are you looking for the best ways that lead you towards health and fitness? This article tells you the basics that let to get the most out of the physical exercise efforts you make. Enjoy!How do I know my height is adjusted to my weigh?Firstly, you could consider checking out your BMI. It is the acronym for Body Mass Index. The internet has scores of BMI index calculator. Just insert you height and weight and you’ll find your BMI score. It even tells you whether you’re underweight, medium or on the verge of obesity.Check the Basal Metabolic RateYou can also check the BMR – which stands for the Basal Metabolic Rate. This thing tells you the degree of calories you’re supposed to take every day. This’ll be the essential chunk of calorie your body needs. That way you get to know how much of energy you need to render your day to day functions.People love this since it gives them the stop eating signal. You will also get some idea regarding which of the food items or calorie intakes you got to moderate for handling your food consumption. This means, you’re allowed to take whatever food you like. It’s just that you have to keep an eye on the calorie intake you have everyday.How many Calories do I burn?Fortunately, you may also compute the number of calories that you’re able to burn in one single day. But as you might guess, a lot depends on the life and lifestyle you are leading currently. It also depends on the kind of workout you’re doing these days. You get to know all that from the HBF or Harris Benedict Formula.For people who has not begun working out yet or not doing anything during the day time besides doing some net surfing, there’s not much to worry, since they are still able to burn a bit more calorie than the chunk of calories taken in one single day.When you’ve done your calculation, you’ll know the best ways for adjusting your caloric needs. The bottom line here is that, all your fitness as well as day to day weight training would revolve around some specific numbers/gauges.Eat a healthy dietFor going along a smart diet plan, you’d need to work hard with the caloric needs of your body. Just as mentioned before, the caloric intake involved with your life mustn’t exceed the chunk of calorie you burn usually. That is because have excess intake of calories would be transformed and stored as fats. As we all know, piling up fats are not the best thing to have – especially when it comes to good health and a lean figure. According to most experts, the best way to go is to use some sort of diet moderation. This doesn’t mean you’ll deprive yourself of the essential nutrition. It’s just that you have to be weary of what you’re eating and the underlying impact of that.

Learn Digital Photography – Newbie Tips

Posted on by

All of us love photography. None of us can ever have an aversion for such an art. The effect of the digital photos make us think that it requires a professional and formatted study. No, that is very, very, far from true. Anyone can learn digital photography within few hours.There are many types of digital photographs that can be taken, basic digital photographs, freelance photographs which is nothing but just shooting casual events, glamour photography refers to the skill of shooting models, for suits, articles, or whatever, landscape photography is concerned with shooting landscapes, sea shores, waterfalls, etcetera.Well, there are situations where you would have taken an image and you will be struggling to find out how it has got saved. You may not know how to search for that particular image and view it. It is a very simple process you just connect your camera to the computer and click the get picture option in file menu and your file opens! Similarly you can delete any undesired images that you have taken. There are various lighting options available, if you desire to take an image in a night effect you can use the night mode, and there are other options like black and white option and green image options available in digital photography. We can take photographs in black and white mode and merge it with a color background creating a fusion image. The user manual of the digital equipment can be referred for immediate apprehensions on usage.It up to the photographer to decide what kind of image to take you can take landscapes, mountains etcetera. It is a brilliant idea to freelance the immediate scenes around the environment if you are a beginning photographer. Any events like the poor man on the streets can also be visualized and captured such stills can be used for magazines and award wining surveys. There are various competitions held for the best freelance photographs taken too!. You as a basic photographer can shoot anything you come across, create a portfolio and send across your best ones. Who knows you may be a winner too.The photographs that you take can be loaded on to the computer and edited for clarity or for further enhancement. You can adjust resolution and pixel units that are number of dots and many, many options to get a better enhanced image of the photograph you have taken.Punctuality is an important aspect for a photographer. You want to shoot a wedding be there before the ring exchange and vow ceremony is over. Don’t miss that and be there for dinner when you aim is to shoot the marriage event.The art of digital photography is simplified with the advent of modern technology such that any basic layman can become a photographer with little and basic understanding of the subject. And moreover technology is such that any scrap you shoot becomes an event. So, go ahead!

Various Types of Life Insurance Policies Worth Investing In

Posted on by

Living in South Africa presents a real need for life insurance. It is not only an important investment in your family’s future, it’s a necessary one. You may feel as though finding an underwriter that offers you value for money policies which still offer the cover you need might be unattainable. You should remember that you as the insured will not ever get to use the life insurance. Its sole purpose is to take care and provide for your loved ones when you are no longer around. With that said, it is crucially important that you ensure you are comprehensively covered by a well-known insurer with a reputable track record. Working with a trustworthy broker will protect you against the many pitfalls you will need to avoid in your search for the correct amount of cover at affordable prices.Living in a country such as South Africa presents a need for life insurance. Many people realize that it is a necessary investment in their family’s lives, and their future. It is easy to feel as though the search for an underwriter offering policies which afford you value for money might be a fruitless endeavor. It is important to realize that you as the insured individual will not get to see the benefits of the life insurance policy. Its one purpose is to offer financial assistance to your family when you will no longer be there. Therefore, it is very important that you make sure the policy you take out is with a reputable and well known insurer. By working alongside a reliable broker, you will be able to steer clear of the many pitfalls you can so easily fall into in your search for the correct amount of cover at an affordable price to you.Many people have been able to deal with an unexpected death in the family through being thoroughly covered and thinking ahead. There are numerous life insurance products which people can choose from. Due to an increasingly competitive industry and market place, insurers have had to take a new approach to providing their clients with the insurance solutions they need. In recent times it has become the norm for families to adopt a life insurance policy. The policy offers financial assistance by removing the burden from families at a time when there are so many more pressing and important aspects that deserve their attention.Many families have been able to deal better with the sudden and unexpected deal of a family member by being prepared and by thinking ahead. There are various life insurance products which people are able to choose from. With an ever increasingly competitive industry, insurance companies have had to find new and innovative ways to offering their clients with the products they need. Nowadays, it is commonplace for a family to invest in a life insurance policy. The policy will effectively help families cope with the situation of a death in the family by removing financial burdens and leaving them to take care of the more important things which requires their attention.Universal life insurance offers the insured a policy where the terms are adjustable and the client can decrease or increase the amount of the cover and the premiums as he or she needs. The benefits of this type of insurance are that it offers a flexible approach to insurance. The drawback is that management, mortality charges and expenses all factors into the ultimate premium the insured will pay, which are subject to change from time to time. Term end life insurance is the longest standing kind of insurance policy. With this kind of policy the insurer will pay the insured an agreed upon amount when the policy ends. If the insured individual was to die before the end of the policy’s term, the complete amount will be paid to the policy holder’s beneficiary. The child’s policy will be taken out in the form of savings. The policy holder in this instance would be the parent or legal guardian of the adolescent, and he or she will receive the money once the policy matures. A child’s term end policy can be used as a means for the parents to save money for the child’s education or marriage, whatever the case may be.Universal life insurance is a specific type of insurance. The terms of the policy are adjustable, and the client is able to increase or decrease the amount of the premiums and the cover as his or her needs necessitate. The benefits of this type of insurance are that it presents the client with a flexible solution to his or her insurance needs. The problem is that management, expenses and mortality charges will all contribute to the ultimate amount the insured will pay. The amount of the premium is not set and is subject to change from time to time. The oldest type of life insurance policy is term end insurance. This type of policy necessitates that the insurer pay the insured party a certain amount of money when the policy ends, or matures. Should the insured die before the policy ends, the complete amount will be payable to the policy holder’s beneficiary. A child’s term end policy can also be taken out. It will serve as a form of savings for the child. The legal beneficiary in this case will be the parents of the adolescent, and they will receive the payout when the policy matures. This type of term end policy can be used by the parents to save for their child’s further education or even marriage, whatever the case may be.By taking the time to find out what insurance solutions are available to you, you will know that you are getting the best insurance deal out there. Considering a respectable insurance broker to take care of all of your insurance needs will offer a hassle free experience, but their commission will be reflected in your premium.You should take the time to research and determine which life insurance solutions are available on the market, and decide upon the policy which meets your needs best. Working with a reputable insurance broker will mean a headache free insurance experience, but you should be prepared to see their commission reflected in your premium.

All of Us Get Used to Well Renowned Brands and Logos But the Automotive Logo Is Still Important

Posted on by

The automotive logo or branding is still important, because the automotive logo gets used to connect you to the bigger company and what it stands for over time. Many people only look at the automotive logo and forget to look at the company behind this logo, and how it gets run and what it gives back to the greater good and environment.Normally these big companies that have created a logo or brand name over the years have a bigger purpose in life. Next time you decide on a brand or logo do yourself a favor and see if you can get hold of the company’s mission report. It is humanly to believe in a brand as you start to trust it over the years, due to its quality and reliability.Now a day the automotive logo for instance became under massive pressure due to all the makes and models entering the market place all of a sudden. Over the years we get used to the renowned auto brands and they were only a hand full well know names. Everybody in the country where the mother company was situated for this logo or brand knew everything about that company.In the modern world today most of these companies have scattered all over the world having subsidiaries or affiliates. Luckily to the new environment friendly and pollution free laws in most countries these companies have to comply with all the rules. But there started to be companies in one camp that actually manufacture different logos and brands under one roof.This even happen to the automotive logo as well, and not a lot of people do realize this phenomenon yet. The auto industry has changed completely in reasoned years, as some of the companies merged and have more than one logo in their stable. It became a known fact that one manufacturer produces more than one logo or brand name.· These companies must have all the tooling for a model and make, due to the fact that new models come onto the market more quickly. This tooling must be replaced for each new model, so the old tools with very small changes gets use to built a different name car.· All the parts suppliers can carry on making the same parts by just changing the name tag on the part. Some even don’t do that so when you look at the parts logo it differs from the cars logo.· Some people think parts are interchangeable between makes. That is not true due to the fact it is because the same tooling that was used to build a previous make of a certain brand, gets used to build another brand.· This only happen because tooling are very expensive to replace, so by doing it this way the tooling gets used over a longer period. So more cars gets produced with the same tooling to cover the original cost on the tooling.· Some of this absolute tooling even gets sold to another company, with the understanding the new company must make a few changes to the tooling and change the final products name.Different companies have different mission reports and quality standards, so the automotive logo is still important and will forever be. This integration of motor companies cause the automotive logo to look cheap as there is a new one on the market every day.That is one of the reasons cars became consumable items in the modern world, and you must be very careful how you buy your car today. You can read more about this in my new e-book

Formal Education and Bicultural Children

Posted on by

Educators experienced in working with linguistically and ethnically bicultural immigrant parents share a common desire to have their children succeed in school: progressing in the content academic areas, mastering English, and planning to attend college. These beliefs represent an interest in schooling and a legitimization of the American schooling process.Thus, despite the cultural differences, immigrant parents clearly accept the notion that in order to progress in this country, one must have a formal education. The desire to succeed in formal education and in society generally runs across cultures as well as socioeconomic classes and groups. Yet for those who come from lower-socioeconomic groups, there is an obvious disadvantage in achieving their goal.Darder argues that American schools are grounded in the cultural capital (certain types of knowledge, attitudes, or dispositions that families regarded as having a certain status) of the dominant group and in the preparation of middle-class European American children to participate in their own culture. Hence, bicultural parents and their children often find the American schooling process completely alien to them.This frame of reference is transmitted to the parents, who are also expected to follow the parenting strategies of the dominant cultural group. Often, this can be a difficult task for bicultural parents who view schooling from a different cultural perspective. Since many of the diverse parent populations in the United States come from Third World nations that tend to hold education and educators in very high regard, cultural norms prohibit them from questioning the school, the schooling process, and the school personnel.Consequently, they and their children are unable to navigate the industrialized schooling system, in which parent advocacy is not only expected but also demanded for student success. For parents who fail to participate in this expected American behavior of open advocacy for their children, this may be interpreted by school personnel as indifference, lack of interest, and incompetence. Hence, the children’s academic shortcomings are further legitimized by a system that is culturally alien to parents who view teachers and educators as the people who know best for their children.

The Manager As Choreographer: From Doer To Delegator

Posted on by

Over the course of a career, a ballet dancer will have dedicated literally, tens of thousands of hours practising and performing leaps, jumps, lifts, scales, whirls, and pirouettes. Eventually, the body succumbs to the compounding and debilitating effect of injuries, pain and fatigue. The dancer is forced into retirement and moves on to establish a second career. In this career transition, many dancers will use their knowledge and experience to teach young aspiring ballet dancers, whereas some others might become choreographers.As a choreographer, the former ballet dancer must evolve from a performing mode to a directing and influencing mode – getting other dancers to execute the ballet in a particular manner. The choreographer dreams the ballet and sees every motion and movement as frozen frames. The choreographer needs to articulate this imagination with sufficient scope, detail and texture, in order that the entire ensemble shares a common understanding and interpretation, thereby delivering a harmonious presentation. The choreographer builds upon this process of illumination, by patiently and persistently coaching the ballet dancers to achieve the desired performance.Managers are somewhat like this image of a dancer-turned-choreographer. Their role is to lead their team to a desired level of performance. They do this by:* setting goals and planning activities,
* securing the necessary resources,
* defining expectations and establishing consequences,
* training and coaching to enhance skills and competencies,
* describing and modelling appropriate behaviours, and
* providing the requisite supporting environment.This can be a daunting task, especially for the new supervisor or manager. A better understanding of what might constrain a new manager will help to establish a foundation for enhancing their effectiveness.Let’s deconstruct the usual chain of events. Generally, we take an outstanding performer on a Friday and make them a new supervisor or manager on Monday. I’m always intrigued with what transpired over the weekend. Did they catch some “magic dust” and suddenly experience deep insight into what it means to be a manager? Most likely, they did a little celebrating about the promotion. That’s all.As a new manager, how are they supposed to know what to do? What their new role requires and how to manage employees, some of whom may be close friends, in what is now a reporting relationship? How is the manager supported in this transition by the organization? Far too often, not very well. We seem to have a proud tradition of stranding people in new roles without training or coaching them. So the manager essentially is abandoned – left on her/his own to sink or swim.Immersed in a new portfolio and consumed with a myriad of unfamiliar demands, the manager struggles to establish order and achieve results. The manager seeks performance from the team, but suffers from lack of expertise in directing staff and assigning tasks, resulting in ever-increasing frustration and stress. In some instances, the manager’s behaviour will become erratic, as feelings of inadequacy and loss of control are magnified.Against this backdrop, the manager may default to the familiarity and comfort of what they know well and become task focused. They take on the work that their staff should be performing and, in turn, the staff becomes marginalized and demoralized. Allowed to continue, the outcome is that we lose a good performer and gain a lousy manager.In the case of the choreographer, the body is so worn out that it prohibits a return to actually performing the ballet. The manager, similarly, needs to impose a metaphorical restriction on her/himself in terms of resorting back to fulfilling tasks that should be performed by the staff. To evolve from doer to delegator, the manager will require personal discipline and organizational reinforcement and support.The first step in this maturation is thoughtful consideration of their new role. Having been so task focused, the new manager often is inclined to see their responsibility simply as accomplishing many more tasks. Even though at first it may appear counter-intuitive, their true function is fundamentally different.The manager needs to achieve the desired outcomes by working through people. S/he needs to orchestrate the actions and performance of the staff. The paramount objective, therefore, becomes a focused approach to developing their people. Tasks get accomplished and goals are achieved by getting people to perform.Just as the choreographer needed to envision the ballet in order to coach the ensemble to achieve the desired performance, it is essential that the manager first scopes-out the objectives for the portfolio, the expected deliverables and a plan of action to guide the staff. The objectives, deliverables and action plan become the framework for ongoing discussions with staff. In this way, the manager establishes a series of goals and activities that are consistent and in alignment.For instance, it is unreasonable to hold an expectation for a standard of performance from someone who is not competent in undertaking the assignment. The manager, therefore, needs to assess and confirm the skills and competencies of the staff. Where there are gaps, training interventions are warranted. The manager also must provide consistent coaching to support employees in their development. Fulfilment of these pre-conditions must be verified, before the manager can delegate responsibilities to the staff.Most managers struggle with delegating tasks and assignments. Very clear and explicit communication is required to establish goals, expectations, standards, and operating procedures. This takes time and attention, particularly when the employee is new to the task. The manager needs to be deliberate and methodical in this process of delegation. (See also the article, “The Art of Delegating”.)As the manager makes the difficult transition from doer to delegator, new dimensions of experiences become available. The manager, no longer being task focused, develops a broadened and enriched perspective. In this process, they learn to appreciate much more the integrative nature of work. They derive satisfaction and fulfilment from helping their staff to develop greater competencies and to assume ever-greater responsibilities.With the development of competent staff, the workload can be shared more equitably; resulting in significantly enhanced overall performance. The manager will have more time available for reflection and planning, all the while coordinating the activities of the staff. And like the seasoned choreographer, the effective manager also will be able to delight in enjoying the performance of others in this grand ballet.

9 Reasons Why B2b Manufacturers Are Investing in Digital Marketing

Posted on by

Manufacturing marketers shifted gears in a big way this year, turning their attention toward sales as a primary goal for content marketing, according to a recent article in Content Marketing Institute (via Joe Pulizzi, @JoePulizzi), featuring research from Fathom. The article explains some of the changes that B2B manufacturers are making in their marketing programs, and the results may be surprising to you! They were to us, which is why we’re detailing out 9 of what we think are the most important findings in this report and sharing them with you in an easy-to-read blog:

82% of B2B Manufacturers Use Content Marketing
The report details that only 18% of B2B manufacturing marketers do not use content marketing. Wow, that’s a low percentage, meaning that 82% do use content marketing, which is defined by the article as: “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”If 82% of B2B manufacturing marketers are using content marketing as part of their strategy, there must be a reason, right?

26% of B2B Manufacturers Say that “Content Marketing is Effective”
According to the report, last year, 30% of B2B manufacturing marketers said they were effective at content marketing. More importantly, 53% of those B2B manufacturing marketers that have a documented content marketing strategy say they are effective. So what’s the key here? Having a strategy and a plan, and executing against the plan.

37% of B2B Manufacturers Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group
And not only 37% already have a dedicated group of marketers that focus on content marketing, but 19% plan to have one in the future. This number, according to the report, is growing rapidly. The most effective among them are much more likely to have a dedicated group (67% vs. 37%).

89% of B2B Manufacturers Say that Brand Awareness is the Ultimate Goal
The report shows that in comparison with other B2B peers overall, manufacturing marketers are much more focused on sales as a goal (85% vs. 75% overall). In addition, far more manufacturing marketers cited sales as a goal this year than they did last year (up to 85% this year vs. 56% last year).

65% of B2B Manufacturers Are Creating More Content
According to the report, the percentage of marketers creating “more” content is down 4% from last year, but still remains high. 21% of respondents are creating “significantly more” content and 44% are creating “more” content than years past. If 65% are creating more content than ever before, then something must be working for these marketers.

87% of B2B Manufacturers Use Video
The report shows that an overwhelming amount of content marketing for this industry is focus on video production. Other important tactics include eNewsletters (85%), Social Media Content (85%), Website Articles (84%) and Illustrations/Photos (82%). The use of videos increased from 80% last year to 87% this year moving up to the #1 tactic from it’s spot in 3rd last year.

89% of B2B Manufacturers Use LinkedIn
The article shows a breakdown of how these marketers use social media platforms. While 89% use LinkedIn, 83% use YouTube (which makes sense as, according to our last stat, 87% use video). “Even though more manufacturers are using YouTube this year (83% vs. 81% last year), LinkedIn has surpassed it as the most often used platform, over a 16% increase from last year.”

27% of B2B Manufacturers Post Daily or Multiple Times Per Week
For B2B Manufacturing Marketers, frequency is important (at least for 27% of the respondents)! But comparatively, these marketers are behind other peers in differing industries where 42% post daily or multiple times per day. Only 14% of B2B Manufacturing Marketers said that they post “less than once per month”.

47% of B2B Manufacturers Plan to Increase Spending
Something must be going write for these marketers! According to the article, 47% of these marketers plan to increase their spending on content marketing within the next 12 months. While peers plan to increase 55%, this is still a high number for the industry. Last year, 46% of manufacturing marketers said they planned to increase spending, so the trend continues.Manufacturers, while in the past more traditional in terms of marketing using tactics like print and direct mail, have upped their digital marketing and content marketing efforts in almost every way.

Using the Marketing Mix to Maximize Customer Returns

Posted on by

The traditional marketing mix used by businesses comprised of 4 key elements thought to be vital to the success of any business. However, with the passage of time and the variations in the kind of products and services offered, there are 7 key elements today in the marketing mix that require constant evaluation to ensure the best possible results. These 7 P’s are:
Product

Price

Placement

Promotion

Physical Evidence

Process

People

Businesses use a unique combination of all these elements in an attempt to achieve the highest customer satisfaction levels.In this article, we will discuss all the 7 elements in detail and will explain how businesses can make constant variations in their product mix to maximize their goals.Product
What distinguishes your product or service from other products? While there are standard quality and service components to establish performance, the product or service needs to be somehow unique, some way better than its competitor. This “unique selling proposition” is mission-critical to the business’s success. Customer satisfaction with your product or service is of utmost importance. Though it’s important to offer a high quality or a more economical price, better availability or quicker delivery time, it is also essential to make sure that your product or service has something that is unique and that sets it apart from the competitors in the market.Price
Consider if the target market sees the price of your product or service as affordable. If the target market is not willing or able to buy, there is no chance to build your business successfully. If the price of your products is higher than competition, it is imperative to convince the market the value of the price premium.Placement
In order to capture the market, make your products and services accessible and easy to buy. If the customer can’t find you, they can’t buy from you. If you offer online sales, carefully consider the process customers must go through to buy online. A difficult purchasing process is a barrier to sales. Know where your target audience lives and shops in order to put your product in front where they can see and learn about it.Promotion
Promoting your product through the right channels to ensure highest exposure is essential to the marketing process. A promotion on broadcast TV or radio is expensive compared to other channels; they will reach people who may have no interest or not be qualified to buy your products. The costly reach of broadcast media can waste valuable marketing dollars with little return. If the channel is online, use the internet – and search engine optimization – to your advantage. Find out the keyword search terms that will bring the most amount of traffic. Leverage the content and position of the websites that feature your product to its best advantage. If promotion is direct mail, give careful consideration to a targeted mailing list. Direct mail can be more focused and waste less resources, resulting in a more exacting approach to your target market.Physical Evidence
Think about all aspects of your organization that your prospective customer encounters. From the cleanliness of the selling floor and lavatories in a brick and mortar location to the ease of website navigation, the visit should be a pleasant and hassle-free experience for the customer. Polite, courteous and well-trained staff should be a priority to convey an image of quality from the product to the people who help sell and re-sell the product. The primary and secondary packaging can elevate a simple useful product and make it more desirable. Everything that the customer comes in contact with comes under the physical evidence.Process
A lead generation process happens from the time your marketing is seen or heard by the customer until they take advantage of your call to action. The sales process starts from that call to action until the product or service is successfully delivered and paid for. Is the process well-tested and reliable? Is the experience the same from the customer’s point of view each time they interact with your company? How efficient is the sales process? If the process can be delivered from lead to sales in the optimum amount of time, conserving resources and expense, it can be replicated over and over to build more sales revenue.People
From the people who answer the phone, greet the customer, handle problems, process payments, follow up on the sale, and manage the team to the president of the company, all actions contribute to an image of quality and service. It’s common to hear companies say we have great customer service in today’s world, but how they deliver the great service is what holds great significance to the customer.How Companies Use the Marketing Mix
The marketing mix experiences a lot of variations throughout a product’s lifecycle stage. For example, if we look at the category of health supplements, a lot of the brands started off as delivering nutritional supplements to men and women in the market. However, in the development stage of the product’s lifecycle, brands were focusing more on gaining exposure through lower introductory prices and different promotional packages. As the brands crossed the Introductory stage and moved on to growth stage, businesses started catering to more specialized categories such as Teens, Men, Women, and the above 50 and began developing more products for each category. These line extensions are typical of a business in the growth stage. When a company is in the mature phase of their lifecycle, it is common to re-launch their products with innovation to capture the surge of business experience in the development stage. In the category of health supplements, many brands identified the opportunity of attracting customers looking for exercise and athletic supplements for enhance performance. This new market segment opened the doors of a completely new marketing niche for businesses that focused on diversifying the market and on increasing the market for this new category.Conclusion
Experienced marketing consultants such as 1st Straw Marketing ask a lot of questions to dive deep into the different aspects of business. Getting to know the perception of the market and the internal workings of the company selling products and services is essential to developing a strategic and tactical plan that can be successful. Depending on each stage of the product’s lifecycle and the influence of the market, business leaders and professional marketers are constantly evaluating their marketing mix and making changes to serve their target market better. Planning, review, evaluation and research goes into determining every element of the marketing mix and is vital to the overall success of a business.