How do you reach today's Software Technology Pro-sumer?

Marketing professionals encounter the daily challenge of reaching their customer base in a way that drives those customers to purchase the latest and greatest product.  Since the need for such a profession was established, the realm of available mediums has been constantly evolving; leading to tough decisions on how to effectively spend advertising dollars.  In today’s connected world, the internet has become a major medium for delivering promotional content.  To most internet marketers, click-through rate is king; but how do these professionals ensure those clicks lead to revenue dollars?

When a potential customer lands on your product’s site they are often bombarded with a variety of consumer education media, in an attempt to inform potential customers about the product.  This media may include colorful images, persuasive text-based testimonials or even better, an attractive video.  With the delivery of broadband internet to the majority of consumer’s homes, preferences have quickly shifted to richer content.  As a result, the growth in the online video advertising medium has been staggering; in fact, a New York Times study showed that “Video is now the fastest-growing segment of the internet advertising market. Digital video amounted to $477 million in revenue in the first half of 2009, up 38 percent from the same time period in 2008".  While it seems clear that online video advertising has taken a significant role in today’s marketer’s portfolio, the delivery of content in this medium is strictly split between two distinct classifications.

The creation of consumer education media begins with selecting the major goal of the video; two schools of thought exist on this selection.  Promotional content focuses on showcasing a product to the consumer, and is characterized by a call to action at the conclusion of the video.  These hard-sell videos typically highlight the key features of the product, and are usually restricted to a maximum of 2 minutes in length.

In contrast with promotional content; educational demonstrations provide the user with a soft-sell walkthrough of the product, allowing them to experience the product in action before they make the purchase decision.  Educational demonstrations often serve a dual-purpose, as they are typically a new customer’s first reference if they have difficulty using a product, saving a company costly tech-support calls.

The combination of these two classes of consumer education media provide potential customers with a meaningful introduction to the product’s functionality and the associated benefits.  While the growth of the online video market has been established, marketers must also realize that the access to this type of content is growing in parallel.  Improving data-rates on smartphones, along with new content delivery systems like the Apple iPad allow marketers to reach even the most mobile consumer.  The advancing level of consumer connectivity has led eMarketer to name video ads as the main channel for advertisers seeking to increase their online spending for the next 5 years.

The merit of consumer education media as a whole has been thoroughly presented; however, marketers are constantly faced with the challenge of quantifying the success of such a campaign.  Canadian Business Online recently discussed measurement of the marketing effectiveness of a classical advertising campaigns; highlighting the importance of ensuring an acceptable return on your marketing investment.  The next step in the evolution of online consumer education media must be the measurement of campaign success or failure; allowing marketers to tweak their use of this emerging medium.  

Educate to Innovate

This article is my latest in a series catering toward the importance of Consumer Education Media:

You've built a comprehensive software tool that is going to specifically address the needs of your carefully selected user-base. The marketing platform is in place, you’ve had a promotional demonstration built and performed countless iterations of SEO and viral deployment; showcasing your product to the world.

Soon enough, your customer base starts to grow and with it, an emerging need for technical support.

Corporations today spend massive amounts of money on technical support. In fact, according to ASPonline, support costs have surmounted to over 20% of the revenue gathered by the software sale. The same concept rings true for internal software tools. Historically, training an employee on a new software product has been estimated at around $200. An article published by the Wall Street Journal commented that “On-demand e-learning, delivered over the Web or by audio or videodisc, has become the second most popular approach to learning and training for small businesses” and “...sales increased, as did demand for more courses, and training costs fell to less than $100 per person from between $175 and $200”.

What does this data mean for software developers? Educational Demonstrations, provided by companies like RedWoodsMedia, are becoming a mandatory offering when new web-tools and software products are being launched. In fact, most companies are leaving it to the professionals and incorporating the costs of said demonstrations into the development process.

Interested in targeting that ever-elusive older demographic?  Breaking down boundaries with this technology-resistant population can be difficult, especially if they’re forced to read pages of technical documentation, or dial-in to a support line whenever they need assistance.  A well-executed video allows them to review instructions at their own pace, and re-visit difficult spots as needed. 

Educational Demonstrations provide an excellent way to greet an unfamiliar user-base.  They guide users through your product’s operation with step-by-step visual instruction and content that caters to their computer skill level.  Many providers specialize in demographic targeting and will ensure that age specific, compelling content is created to meet the target population’s requirements.  These demonstrations provide an engaging way to familiarize your user-base with the functionality you offer.  Not only does this experience improve customer satisfaction, decreased technical support costs will far out-weigh the required investment. 

Educational Demonstrations are now being shipped with hard-sale products. Before a user even begins to install the tool, they are instructed on features and usage models – all to avoid the dreaded support call.  

Developers are also beginning to realize the power these creatively crafted demonstrations have on advertising their entire portfolio. According to the New York Times “Online Ads Are Booming, if They’re Attached to a Video”. A professionally crafted Educational Demonstration can be used to promote other complimentary products in a software portfolio. They can also be used as a tool to up-sell existing customers to a more expensive and functionally-rich version of the software package.

As the Internet develops and evolves, one thing remains true, content is king. Content delivery platforms offered by the producers of Educational Demonstrations stand at the cusp of successful software products and toolsets. Don’t let your customers drown in T-support and documentation - connect with users the innovative way. Educate to innovate. 

For more information on Educational Demonstrations, visit: www.redwoodsmedia.com

Web Sites Without Video Content are like Newspapers Without Pictures

Web sites have always been a fluid medium, ever changing and constantly evolving. Everything encompassing the internet is always on the move and everyone wants to know, what is next? Recent studies from eMarketer.com, a leader in research and analysis on digital marketing, indicate that the future of the internet has become very clear. Video content is the newest online technology and it is taking over faster than anyone could have predicted.

In October of 2009, eMarketer.com published the results from a study it conducted on US online advertising spending. It concluded that the internet giants are no longer sinking their advertising dollars into old tactics such as search engines, email campaigns, or banner ads. The focus has been shifted towards online video advertising. Online video advertising skyrocketed in 2008 with 126% growth and continued to soar in 2009 with 42% growth. Analysts predict that this trend will continue well into 2014. These statistics become even more shocking when it is learned that in 2009, search engine growth was at a mere 4%, while email advertising and banner ads were on a steep decline.

What does this mean for web developers? That essentially web sites without video content are like newspapers without pictures. An article published at the end of 2009 by the New York Times said that “Web sites are starting to look a lot less like newspapers and a lot more like television.” Web developers will need to start adding video content to their websites in order to keep up with the changing times.

Why the change? The biggest factor is the recent leap in wireless broadband technology. Just a few years ago, people could not even watch a video clip on their computer without worrying about buffers and long loading screens. Now videos can be watched on mobile devices instantly, at any time, and in any place. We are living in a society that wants to be permanently connected. Wifi is available from coffee shops to airplanes. Even the cable company is no longer just the cable company, they offer high speed internet and in some cases are even willing to setup your wireless home network free of charge.

What kinds of online video content are there? There are two schools of thought when it comes to video content; educational videos and promotional videos. Educational videos are used primarily as a training tool to help explain a product or service. The top dogs like Google and Apple will not even release a product without supplementing it with an online educational demonstration. Promotional videos, on the other hand, are used to showcase a product or service to the world. They are more similar to television commercials because their main purpose is to advertise.

One thing is clear, online video content is taking the internet by storm and it is here to stay, at least for now. As for the future, no one really knows. The unpredictable nature of technological advances will always keep people asking, what is next?