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A Free eZine for Business Owners & Professionals by MediaPower & Mediastreams.ca January 2009 issue In our forthcoming newsletter series we will continue to explore & present New Media Communication Techniques that add value & efficiency to your online promotional efforts. Static websites are a thing of the past & your business deserves to be right up there with the leaders, utilizing every available New Media technology to communicate your value. We hate spam as much as you do. If you have received this newsletter by mistake, please click here to be removed from our free information mailing list. |
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Thought for the Month Did you know that the average Internet surfer loses interest and clicks away from your site in just 6 seconds if they don't see something that catches their attention? And did you also know that if they don't find what they're looking for in the next 16 seconds, they're gone - Forever! So what's your solution? How do you get them to stay longer? That's Why They Invented Streaming Web Video! Websites are a highly cost-efficient and valuable promotional medium and a dull, static site is just a waste of your time, money and resources! Our mission is to raise awareness of powerful & inexpensive New Media promotional tools and how they should be used to Convert Viewers into Customers! |
in this issue...
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Feature Article Making Money With Video |
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It may seem too overwhelming
for some, but like it or not, video has already become a
permanent fixture on the Internet. These days, if your
website does not provide the Return on Investment you
expect, the reason may be a lack of "viewer engagement'
by not using video as one of your main marketing tools. 'If You're Not Using It, You're Losing It!" |
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Internet Marketing - Marketing in a Recession Is the current market recession the right time to be slashing your advertising budget? Not if you want your business to survive the economic downturn and lay the groundwork to thrive when the economy improves! Tough times actually provide the best opportunity to reach out to customers with little or no competition because so many competitors are doing just the opposite, in an attempt to save money. During good times everyone has the money (and guts) to seek out clients, creating an atmosphere of extreme competition where reaching the consumer with your message proves to be exceedingly difficult. NOW is the time to have faith in your product or service, to reach out to your customers and to secure your success now and into the future. And there are easy and cost effective ways of doing so. Remember, "When times are tough, the tough get going!" There are some simple things that you can do. Not everyone is aware of the many free ways to get exposure on the internet.
These are just some of the ideas that will help your business grow in any economy. There are plenty of marketing options out there. You just need to find the ones that work for you.
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Watch a VideoBlog by a leading expert in the SEO Business
Video courtesy of WebPro News |
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New Media Advertising With Google AdWords, the novice is tempted to spend far too much time and energy on trying to write that perfect ad. The truth however, is that writing ads is an art as well as a science and here are some of the rules. Monitor Your Results There has never been a successful AdWords campaign that didn't track conversions. AdWords Conversion Tracking is simple to install and a "must" for measuring your ad performance. By itself, the Clíck-Through- Rate (CTR) of an ad tells you nothing about the ROI (Return on Investment) it's delivering. There are many instances of ads with a lower CTR, but higher conversion rate. Google Analytics obviously adds a great deal more data, but takes time to master. One feature worth using is its ability to tell you which ad position yields the best results. Don't forget the AdWords Reports section. This has improved significantly over the past year, and the Search Query Performance report is a real asset in optimizing keywords and your ad copy. Cut Out the Middle Man In this case, the "middle man" is Google. When developing and testing your ads, it's crucial to keep control as far as possible: Delivery Method: By default, Google spreads the delivery of your ads evenly throughout the day, ensuring you don't exhaust your daily budget (and they get to spend as much of it as possible). However, it also serves to mask the true demand for your product or service. We have seen many cases where ads are more profitable at certain times of the day. If you have a limited budget, spend it when you'll get the best return. We recommend running campaigns using Accelerated delivery. Keep an eye on your daily budget and adjust accordingly. Ad Serving: If you're running multiple ads, Google will automatically start favoring the one with the highest CTR once a certain volume of clicks have been received. Don't use the default Optimize option, rather select 'Rotate' for more optimal ad serving. Testing: Always maintain at least two ad variations per ad group. Even if there's only a single word difference, one ad will ultimately prove superior and deliver an improved ROI. Network Options: Start your testing using Google's Search network only. Uncheck both their Partner and Content networks. Once you have some solid data from mainstream search traffic, you can add their Partners. Google's partners are a pretty "mixed bag", and it doesn't hurt to exclude them altogether. Finally, enable the Content network and Content Bids. Don't run on the Content network with the same bid as Search - you're just handing Google money. By default, we set Content Bids at 1/10 of that on the Search network: so if your Search bid is 0.50p, set your Content bid to 0.05p for openers. If you find your product or service has "traction" on the Content network (true in about 25% of cases in our experience), it may be worth running separate campaigns for Content searches. All these options can be set from the Campaign Management tab in your account. Select a campaign and click the Edit Settings button. Prevention is Better than a Cure: Optimize your ads (and your keywords and bids) to a fixed schedule. E.g. a three-month cycle: Every three hours for the first day. Every day for the first week. Every week for the first month. Every second week for the second month. At the end of the third month. You can adapt this schedule to suit your click volume, but make sure you have a schedule and stick to it. You'll learn more about your target audience, and employ your time more efficiently. Don't forget to take weekdays, weekends and seasonal trends into account. Study the Competition Before writing your first ad, take time to study your competition's ads using a selection of core keywords and phrases. This is particularly important if you're thinking of using Google's Keyword Insertion feature. This is becoming increasingly popular and can be counter-productive; making your headline look identical to the competition. All for One and One for All... Achieving a good Quality Score, and providing visitors with a rewarding experience, means treating your keywords, ads and landing page as a single unit. Make sure that your most popular keywords appear in your ad's headline and copy. If you cannot accommodate core keywords in your ads, segment your ad groups further. Make sure core keywords follow-through to your meta data and landing page copy. Try to write ad copy that flows naturally and qualifies visitors to your site. If you sell software for Microsoft Outlook, for example, a headline such as "Using Microsoft Outlook?" will help avoid Apple users, who might find your product of interest, but are unlikely to become customers. Keeping it Simple Capitalize letters and words in your ad copy for emphasis (but not all the time). Be aware that capitalizing the first letter of every word in your copy actually makes reading more difficult. Be honest and don't use words like "free" unless you're really giving something away for free within 3 clicks of your landing page. Understand what Matters According to research undertaken by Google in 2005, the headline of your ad represents 40% of its impact. The first line of copy accounts for 25%, the second line 20% and the Display URL 15%. AdWords' power comes from the ability it gives you to intercept prospects at the exact moment they're looking for what you sell. The basic PPC ad format is simple, and works best with a single clear message and a strong call to action. |
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Tip of the Month: Tune in to Video Marketing |
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Is your product or service visually appealing? Does it require explanation that is cumbersome (or boring) using text? Do you hold seminars or workshops? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes', you need to implement streaming videos to promote your business and to separate yourself from the competition on your website. It's not as difficult (or expensive) as it was. Video marketing can range from a clip of a seminar, a tutorial, a demonstration of your services, to a commercial. Here are some useful tips:
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Did You Know... About Google & Your Copyright Notice |
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Updating your copyright date on your website can give your website a significant Search Engine benefit... This SEO tip is probably something you've never considered and something we all need to do at the beginning of each year: update the copyright data on all of the web pages on your web site. This does have a lot to do with search engine optimization... Technically speaking, the copyright date indicates the year the web content was created and/or published. For articles or blog posts on your web site, we recommend that the date when it was published is inserted at the top of the article or blog post (if that is how your blog template allows). However, the website's copyright date should appear in your website's footer region. Take another look at your web site and check if you have updated your copyright notice. If not, then we recommend that you update it: For one, it forces you to review your site's web pages and, if you update the web page manually, then you will have updated every page on your web site Which leads us to the second more important benefit - all the search engines will notice this change and as a result, will re-index your web site. Updated pages prompt search engines to 're-spider' those web pages, which can only help your page ranking. |
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Featured Service |
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LIVE EVENT VIDEOCASTING ON THE WEB with WebcastLive.Mediastreams.ca Extend Your Reach Allow audiences anywhere the chance to participate in your Event in Real Time & share your event "Live!" with anyone, anytime, anywhere...
While Webcasting your Event Live is often used to broadcast sports or music events to the world, it is also a very powerful tool for companies who may wish, for example, to reach shareholders or maybe to have more of their workforce involved in a meeting - but without wasted time, effort or travel costs. Live Event Streaming can send video and audio of any event being held Live - events like a company Annual General Meeting (AGM), weddings or just about any other event to viewers around the world, allowing them to watch it from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Anywhere you want to be, Streaming Media will help you broadcast successfully. You can now reach a much wider audience over a much larger geographic area anywhere in the world - an all this using a regular internet connection. Read All about it... |
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Convert Your PowerPoint to a Video Just $75.00 for a Standard 30 Slide Presentation [Regular: $150] Offer expires on February 21st. 2009
Convert your PowerPoint Presentation to a Video for customers to watch on TV, DVD or as streaming video on your Website or YouTube.
Note: This promotional offer is for standard presentations without AV components. If you require conversion of presentations which include audio and video we can do that too. Give us a call and we will help promote your presentation in ways that set you apart from your competition.
Call 604.926.5805 for instructions & more information |
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Featured Business Live Streaming Video Event
The World
Outlook Financial Conference Mediastreams is producing a Live Streaming Video of this exciting event which will be available for viewing online 'LIVE' in Real-Time on February 6-7, 2008. Founded by Michael Campbell, British Columbia's most respected business analyst, a nationwide host of Money Talks Radio, Senior Business Analyst for BCTV News on Global TV, the two-day event has a mandate to offer unbiased, world-class information and analysis. You will have access to the finest caliber of independent financial thinking whether you live in China or South Africa. Now anyone can watch the World Outlook Financial Conference from the comfort of your own home or anywhere there is a link to the Internet.
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Humour How to confuse an idiot! |
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Helping People by Helping The Earth Let's all of us take some corporate responsibility to keep our world clean and help the underprivileged at the same time
Click here and donate your old electronics to a worthy cause |
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Contact Us |
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Mediastreams.ca is the Streaming Media division of MediaPower New Media Communications Call 604.926.5805 or Toll Free 877.936.8377 visit us at: www.mediastreams.ca Thank you for your interest in MediaStreams. We appreciate any feedback you can give us. Please do let us know how we can serve you better and if there are any specific areas of interest you would like us to cover, do give us the heads up - we will do our best to accommodate your requests. If you enjoy receiving this eNewsletter compliments of MediaPower, please feel free to forward it on to your friends and colleagues. Or if you have been sent this eNewsletter by a friend and would like to subscribe to it yourself, please click here. You have received this newsletter because you are on our email list of subscribers, an association member or a client. If for any reason you do not wish to receive it in future, you may Click here to unsubscribe |
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