What does this mean?

In an interview at the 2010 Marketing Sherpa Email Summit in Miami last week, conference attendees were asked: “Is the Efficacy of Email Going Down in the Face of SMS or Social Media?”

Campaigner’s product marketing manager said “absolutely not, email marketing is a private channel for communications whereas social media is public”. http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5527/Is-Email-Dying-in-the-Face-of-Social-Media-and-SMS.aspx

Melanie explains in the interview that social media is a terrific way to broadcast your content at large and to reach out to others who like minded. As such, social media is most commonly being used to share opinions, or to chat with friends and family.

But when it comes to B-to-B or B-to-C transactional conversations — a private channel is necessary. Using email is great for this kind of communication because the sender can be extremely selective in who receives the initial message and can control the timing of delivery. Email is also highly customizable on a one-to-one basis – something that social media does not have – excluding private messages.

Furthermore, email has the great advantage of being highly track-able. Social media is the first online marketing tool that does not offer precise numbers. As such, its benefits relate more to the public awareness effect – and the benefits of email relate more to targeted (and private) direct marketing capabilities.

Posted by Melanie Attia

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I’m working on a task that I only occasionally do for clients… Cleaning up recorded audio from a live webinar to make the archive more presentable. This is mind-numbingly tedious work. I typically work in sub-second increments, removing breaths, fixing stutters, reducing intrusive sounds, adjusting pauses between words, filtering out background noise, and balancing volume.

What is particularly heartbreaking on this project is that I know the end result will be imperfect. You see, the recording was made by a presenter on a poor phone line using a speakerphone. The audio exceeds the microphone’s volume range, introducing clipping and fuzz into the recording. And you can’t eliminate that… All you can do is try to reduce how irritating it sounds.

I hear bad audio on webinars all the time. Presenters use cheap headsets, mobile phones, and speaker phones. They sit in offices with loudspeaker announcements. They have their pet dog in the room, who starts barking during the presentation. They don’t check levels and they don’t position their microphone correctly, so they produce whooshes, hisses, and pops while talking. Their chairs squeak and they rustle papers loudly during their talk.

Once the bad artifacts from improper setup get into your recording, they are almost impossible to remove. Things usually get worse when the session is recorded by the web conferencing software. Almost every vendor compresses the audio down to a tinny, flat version of what it was during the live event. This saves file space and computing power.

What’s the answer? Do it right the first time. Test audio ahead of time. Have two other people on the line to listen and give you feedback on your levels, clarity, and noise artifacts. You can not and must not trust how things sound to you while talking. Think about intrusive noises and take steps to eliminate them. Put the dog in the garage for an hour. Get a different chair. If you have papers, remove any staples or bindings to leave a stack of individual pages. As you finish with each page, let it fall gently to the floor (this is an old radio announcer trick).

If you know you will be doing post-production on your recording, you may be better off recording the audio separately from the web conference recording using your audio conferencing provider’s recording capabilities. The reputable teleconference vendors have a vested interest in giving you clear audio quality and will record at a higher bitrate for better sound. Then you can make your edits and reassemble the audio with the video into something you’ll be proud of.

By Ken Molay, president of Webinar Success

Originally posted on The Webinar Blog

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We’ve all read alot about content marketing, and we’ve seen stellar examples, as well as shabby ones.  Like all other marketing approaches to engage interest, content marketing is highly effective if offered genuinely without a naked commercial pitch at its heart.

The central idea behind content marketing is to promote oneself or one’s company by offering up valuable content to relevant parties, without a direct appeal to do business.  That is to say, content which is clearly valuable on its own merits.  And content marketing can be accomplished via credible blogging, creation of case studies and white papers, informational videos and informational webinars, to name but a few means.

On the Web, within an environment so driven by the perception that everything within should be free, content marketing most certainly has found its most effective channel.  I’d like here to “tiptoe” along a fine line that explains WebAttract’s approach to promoting itself, without offering it necessarily as a reason to do business with us.

First, let me say that one of our core missions, from the start, is to elevate webinars from their “red haired stepchild” status to a legitimate means to raise brand awareness, enhance thought leadership and drive demand generation.  We firmly believe that, by “raising the standard” for how informational webinars are executed,  we can collectively, along with our competitors, “raise the tide for all boats”.  And, I believe we’ve played a central role in accomplishing that to the degree we can in WebAttract’s relatively short lifespan. In the past 2 years, partly as the result of the recession’s impact on travel and expense budgets and the business world’s demand that marketing efforts deliver measurable ROI, informational webinars have become an important part of many company’s integrated marketing strategies.

Secondly, and more specifically as it relates to WebAttract…  We made a decision early on that we would share the majority of our intellectual property with our prospective audience.  Of course, if we were nuclear physicists or national security advisors we would not have such an option.  But as a marketing services companies, much of what we do is not so much confidential as it is a perfect orchestration of best practices around audience recruitment, impactful live productions, deep domain experience and a burning passion to tell great stories.  Not rocket science, in other words…just well executed, with passion.

By “giving it all way”, we have a very unique opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and differentiate ourselves from the “imitators”.  AND, whether our IP is used by competitors to validate or fine-tune, or by others who wish to build their own efforts, there’s still plenty of room in the “sandbox” for us all.  We don’t want to rule the world…we simply want to enjoy a thriving business with clients we find engaging and interesting and who look to us to deliver a valuable service.

So, at the risk of sounding self-serving, have a look at our blog and our website which are rich with best practices videos, discussions of all the elements of our approach, case studies, white papers, and more.  What you’ll find is not a single attempt to capture your contact details in exchange for information, or to engage you in automated chat, or to hit you with localized content based on your IP, but rather a “living case story” of content marketing and the WebAttract philosophy of free.  Enjoy!  It’s on the house.

Posted by Bret Smith, Co-Principal, WebAttract, LLC

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I just finished watching my first “scented webinar” – an educational/marketing production hosted by Tracy Pepe of Nose Knows Consulting. The subject was considerations and effectiveness of scent-based marketing for both business and consumer target audiences. Although I found the content interesting and thought provoking, that’s not what I’m here to write about. I’m not a scent marketer.

I was interested in whether the use of scent in a webinar setting would prove effective, and I wanted to see how Nose Knows would handle the logistics. The company took this webinar very seriously. They made sure to send registrants several emails ahead of time, detailing what to expect and when to expect it.

A few days before the event, we received a padded bubble pack mailer with a fancy printed instruction card that also detailed additional webinars in the series. There was a smaller postcard marketing glossy and our scent generators (provided by third party sponsors eager to show off their scent delivery products to prospective customers).

One of the scent gadgets was a little plastic pouch with a slit cut in it. Squeezing the pouch blew a puff of scented air. I found that it took some experimentation to find an optimal distance from my nose where the scent was clear but not overwhelming.

The second gadget was a plastic USB stick (just like the flash memory drives you are familiar with). The plastic case was empty, with a hinged flap that opened to reveal space for a little foam pad. You place the pad inside the case and close the flap. Then you place a few drops of special scent liquid on the pad through a hole in the case. When you stick the device in your computer’s USB slot, it heats up, releasing the aroma of the liquid. I wasn’t quite as happy with the performance of this device. It was hard to figure out the optimal amount of liquid to place on the pad, the tiny bottle of provided liquid didn’t want to dispense properly, and the plastic heater got really hot… I couldn’t leave my hand on it while plugged in and I wasn’t entirely comfortable having that hot item resting next to the plastic case of my laptop!

I did notice that immediately upon opening my items and without even trying to generate scents, I was hit with that “Woman’s Fashion Magazine” sensation of overly concentrated mixes of smells assaulting my olfactory receptors. Then I started playing with each of them individually to try to isolate the aromas. And I decided I didn’t particularly like the USB smell.

It turned out that Tracy made this exact point after we got underway… The combination of scents in the USB liquid were notes that are often used and that individuals may like, but can produce negative reactions in the larger populace. I found myself wondering though whether the initial negative reaction from attendees might not produce a negative halo effect associated with the webinar and with her company as a provider.

The other problem with the USB device was that it produced an overall area effect that stayed present the entire time. Tracy couldn’t turn on and off the experience for her audience to match the points she was trying to make as a speaker. Even when we were done talking about the base, mid, and top-level notes of the smells she was demonstrating, my office still smelled a lot perfumier than I wanted. I pity the coworkers of people watching this in a cubicle environment!

The puff pouch was much easier to link to a specific point in the webinar. Tracy could tell the audience to take a whiff while she talked about something related to it. The smell didn’t linger and as I mentioned, I could control intensity simply by changing the distance to my nose. But I felt that Tracy might have been more explicit on setting up exactly what we should take away from the pouch scent experience. She basically told us to have our pouches handy while watching a short streaming video. But the video didn’t directly relate to the provided scent. I usually advise speakers to make the connection explicit for audience members so they are primed for what they should know or believe once the factual points have been made. In this case, I wanted a summary of exactly why that scent had been provided and why we were using it at that point in the webinar.

It was an interesting experiment and I can certainly see how it’s beneficial to provide a tangible common experience for audience members when talking about something as ethereal as odors. It makes sense for Tracy and others in the aroma industry to give audiences a practical demonstration of the webinar concepts being discussed. Would I want to use these devices myself for a webinar not associated with smell as the topic of discussion? In most cases I would have to say no. The drawbacks are:

* Forcing early registration deadlines. You need enough time to send people their materials.
* Mailing costs. Obviously you have to provide, package, and post the scent generators to each registrant. But if you charge for your webinar you can pass this cost along.
* Relying on audience actions. You have to trust that attendees have their scent generators at hand and are
comfortable getting them set up. The puff pouch is a big winner here. And you have to separate their casual use while playing with the devices from specific use while you are making a related point involving the smells.
* Follow-on dissatisfaction. It’s now an hour since the end of the webinar and my office still smells strongly. I could see attendees getting tired of the lingering aftereffects.

I’m happy to see there are still new frontiers to be explored in online collaboration. I commend Nose Knows
Consulting for taking the time and effort to put together something unique in the now ubiquitous world of marketing webinars. But next time, could you send me a pouch that smells like candy?

By Ken Molay, president of Webinar Success

Originally posted on The Webinar Blog

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Question…….can an existing customer also be a prospect? My perspective on this is that they can be. Within many organizations, there are different decision makers, different application needs, different locations, different divisions, and different global segments.

So, you may be selling widgets to Bob Jones Manager of Department A, in the plastics division located in Peoria, IL, but do you know if there might be an application for your product in Departments B thru Z in this same location? Are you aware if the machined products division in Scranton, PA might have a need? And finally, what about their assembly division in Tijuana, Mexico? Have you ever spoken to them?

If you are not digging deeper, below the surface of your accounts, how are you to know if you are not losing sales revenue? You know the old saying about assuming, don’t you?

So, the next time you speak to Bob Jones in Peoria, simply ask him who else at his facility might also be able to benefit from using your product? Knowing the various ways that your product applies to various situations is a big help in giving Bob examples of how other areas might be able to benefit from it.

If Bob is reluctant to help, or to give names, remind him that if you could help save another department money or increase their productivity, he would look like a hero for his forward thinking and making it happen. Show Bob how it benefits him to put on his thinking cap, and to open his phone directory, to get you the right name and number.

Any referral that you get from Bob, the conversation should start out something like this: “Hey Kevin, this is Mike Smith from the ABC company. I have been working with Bob Jones over in Department A at your facility. My firm specializes in saving companies money/increasing productivity/etc. The reason that I am calling you, is that I was hoping to ask you a few questions about your situation so we can see if we can do for you, what we have done for Bob, or perhaps even more. Is this a good time to talk, or could we schedule some time for later in the week?”

Improving your relationship with current customers is key in developing their business. First call, I ask how frequently I should call to be able to give them good coverage. Tell Bob that you don’t want for him to have to come looking for you, that you want to give him great service, without calling too often.

Each call, is “Hey Bob, it’s been sixty days, so I just wanted to check in with you to see if there is anything that we can do for you. This will show him, that if nothing else, he can count on you to do what you say will. If he seems uncomfortable, ask him if a 90 day window is more realistic.

Each time that you speak with Bob, ask a probing question or two, to learn more about him, his interests, his family, etc. The better you know each other, the stronger the bonds between you. A good way to do this is to talk about your own situation briefly, and then slip in quick question about his. make notes for future reference.

Hey, Bob, you are out there in Peoria, so would that make you a Cubs or a Sox fan? It helps if you know something about how each team did the night before to take the conversation a little deeper. Holidays are great for asking family questions. Halloween time Bob, I am going to have to take the little ones trick or treating tonight. Is that on your agenda, Bob, or have your kids grown out of that yet.

Eventually, you will build a base of knowledge about Bob, his family, his interests, etc. So that sales calls become relaxed, friendly calls to check in with your buddy Bob. The better you get to know him, and vice versa, the Bob may just start to look forward to your calls. Will every one warm up to you, like Bob? Maybe not, but if you can find the magic topic that they love to talk about, it is sure to expand and improve your relationship. Just keep innocently probing different topics each call.

From Gerry Nason

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I’d like to share my insights around 5 best practices to make sure that what is advertised and promoted is actually delivered, resulting in being able to extend the dialogue post webinar.

In my over 30 years in the business world, I’ve often scratched my head and asked myself “why is there a disconnect between what is being promoted and delivered, isn’t anybody listening, or at least ensuring that what was promised is actually delivered, and backed up with real examples?”

Think about it, in the B2B world, the primary reason for someone to register and attend your webinar is to learn something valuable and new or to validate current assumptions.

An impactful webinar goes beyond facts and delivers information that is not only credible, but is memorable as well. Memorable in that the information follows these guidelines and connects with the audience:

1. The messaging from the invitation to the actual delivery during the webinar is targeted to an audience that would find the discussion to be relevant and to their interests.

2. Did we do a good job in translating the key invitation deliverables into a compelling message, i.e., here’s the opportunity to make sure that what you promised (e.g. from marketing or the promoters) you’d deliver to your audience (presenters or panelists) is relevant and engaging.

3. Are we telling them something that they didn’t already know? For e.g., the presenters experience around how they solved a vexing business or technology challenge, did we share what were the best practices and lessons learned, or is this a naked product pitch that has nothing to do with why they took the time to register and attend? This is where going beyond anecdotal stories, and using real examples or case studies around results and metrics breathes life and credibility into the webinar.

4. Will the presenter’s style align with the message and content to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of those in the audience to want to learn more, and post webinar would be open to a more in depth 1:1 to see how these best practices could help solve their problems?

5. Time was budgeted for several “table reads” between the presetner’s and the moderator to ensure the information is not only backed up with examples but that the flow and pacing is interesting.

These 5 best practices are part of the framework that will help webinars and those that sponsor them the opportunity to demonstrate their thought leadership on how they solved a clients’s business or technology challenge, raise the brand equity and trust for the webinar sponsor and will ultimately lead to an opportunity to extend the dialogue post webinar for driving fresh new sales leads.

Of course there is much more to delivering a successful webinar than these 5 best practices, as there are a multitude of moving parts and other logistics that need to be managed, a topic for another post.
By Mike Agron, Co-Principal, WebAttract

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“Living Case Stories” is the 4th in our 10-webinar Thought Leadership Series.  You can view it here:  https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/837858546

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Virtual Edge Summit 2010
the Summit on Virtual Events, Meetings & Communities
February 22-23 Santa Clara, California

Virtual Edge Summit 2010 is designed for all virtual marketing and meeting professionals, as well as for those with expertise in producing physical events and in-person meetings that now need to expand into virtual solutions. The event also offers a rich program for digital, IT, and community support professionals. Attendees will meet other event, marketing and community experts from Cisco, IBM, SAP, Oracle, Intel, Disney and top virtual technology and service providers like InXpo, ON24, 6Connex, Stream57, CGS VirtualEvents365, George P. Johnson, Unisfair and Digitell.

“Demand Creation for Online Events—Getting the Right Eyeballs and More of Them”

Whether your event is a webcast, webinar or full virtual conference, getting the right people to register and attend is critical to success. This session will help you map out a strategy that identifies a value proposition-matched to the group you want to attract and then, look at sourcing contact data and creating compelling, multi-touchpoint messaging.

Feb 23^nd from 4:15 pm – 5:00 pm

http://www.virtualedgesummit.com/

http://www.virtualedgesummit.com/sessions.php

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Amber Avines says “…after today’s useless webinar, I will never waste my time again.” She’s not talking about wasting her time with a single company or a single topic. She doesn’t want to ever attend another webinar, period.

Houston, we have a problem.

What happened to make Amber say “Somewhere along the line, the word ‘webinar’ has taken on a negative connotation for me”? She’s not talking about the old flame wars regarding the coined terminology. She means that webinars as a business offering have turned her off.

And the key complaint? Simplistic content that doesn’t meet her expectations as an audience member, followed by a sales pitch to make her buy “the good stuff.”

Having vented a little, Amber admits that quality webinars do exist. But she’s unwilling to sort through all the garbage trying to find an elusive gem.

Webinar spam is much more injurious than email spam. If you get an email you don’t want, you simply delete it and move on, with a net lost productive time measured in seconds – perhaps less. But if you make a commitment to attend a webinar, postpone other business appointments and tasks during that time period, figure out login and/or dial-in requirements, fidget during the inevitable introductory fluff and then find out there was nothing behind it but more fluff and an unanticipated sales pitch, the provider has just stolen from you. Business time and productivity is a valuable asset and taking it from you under false pretenses is shameful.

Amber, I hope you keep looking for content that has true value, delivered by people who care about meeting audience expectations in a straightforward and conscientious manner. You’re right… They do exist.

And to those of you using webinars as a marketing and lead generation tool, think carefully about what you are promising in your invitation and what expectations you are building. Collecting names on registration forms doesn’t do you much good in building lead lists if the names represent a group of people who mistrust and loathe your company!

One of the first things to do is to decide on a level of detail you will provide and the expected audience familiarity with your topic. If you are going to offer an introductory primer for first-timers, say that loudly and explicitly in your promotional materials. If you are going to talk about your services and products, tell people that up front. There is a self-selecting audience for each type of content. Let people find the content that suits their needs. Then give them exactly what you promised.

Often the problem is not with the marketing and is not caused by evil intent from the hosting company. Instead, it stems from a simple lack of communication between the promoters and presenters. Make sure the presenters have read the marketing materials driving people to the event. Once those materials are in the public eye, they must be adhered to. It doesn’t matter that the presenter has refined his ideas and come up with a different approach to the topic. He won’t have an audience that wants to hear it. His self-selected audience is there to hear what the invitation promised, and he better deliver exactly that.

Webinar administrators, coordinators, and marketers… This is your challenge. You have to be absolutely firm and unyielding with your speakers. And proactive. You show them the materials. Highlight the promised deliverables for them. Tell them what level of detail is appropriate for the audience. Tell them you expect them to stay on topic with real value in their content.

Then if you have promoted an educational topic or benefits-oriented agenda, keep your damned corporate marketing slides out of the presentation. There’s plenty of time to follow up with additional information about your products and services after you have made a good first impression and proved that your company can be trusted to provide what it says it will.

Maybe if enough of us think about this, Amber and others like her will start coming back to webinars and giving you those valuable leads you want.

By Ken Molay, president of Webinar Success

Originally posted on The Webinar Blog

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