Thanks to all of my followers for the great feedback I am receiving from BizTini Episode 1,2 and 3.
I’ll get to a couple of the questions people are asking me a little later.
A special thanks to my grandson, Riley Fate, for providing the voiceover for the Intro.
What will I talk about in this episode?
- Why VideoCentric Digital Marketing is a must
- Business One-on-one are killing Coffee Shops
In 2015 the entire digital marketing world proclaimed 2016 as the year of video marketing…this means that it was time for four business to suck it up and move to use video marketing in their digital marketing strategy.
Did you listen? Well… maybe not since over 60%…yes 60% of businesses do not currently have a viable video-centric digital marketing strategy.
This means…there is a boatload of businesses and brands who still do not get it.
Now, I am not sure there will ever be 100% of the business world who will move to develop a video-centric digital marketing strategy, but maybe 90% should.
OK, are you ready for the stats on why businesses of any kind should be using videos?
- What are some of the reasons businesses state is why they are not using videos?78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day. (HubSpot)
- By 2020, online videos will make up more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic (85% in the US). (Cisco)
- YouTube is the second most trafficked site, after Google. (Alexa)
- One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. (Forrester Research)
- Users view more than 500 million hours of video each day on YouTube. (Business Insider)
- 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. (Wordstream)
- 55% of people pay close attention when consuming videos — more than all other types of content. (HubSpot)
- In the past 30 days, more online video content has been uploaded to the web than the past 30 years of TV content. (Blue Corona)
- 51% of all video plays are on mobile devices. (Adelie Studios)
- Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text. (Wirebuzz)
- 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63%, the number reported in our 2017 survey.
Cost obviously is number one business owners and executives give for not using Video Marketing. Being an executive producer of videos I certainly can contest to the fact that videos are expensive to produce…and probably will always be expensive, especially for the quality level of video production consumers are demanding.
But like paying rent or salaries, the marketing of your business products and services using videos is just as vital as your business’ operation.
Unfortunately, there are a large number of business who ventured out to having videos produced, spent a ton of money and got nothing out of it.
Why did they not get anything out of the videos they had produced?
I got the opportunity to discuss with business executives or marketing directors who said they produced videos and got nothing out of it. I found two things as being why they got nothing out of the videos..and it is these two reasons we find are the core reasons for most businesses not using video marketing.
- Have No Strategy or the Wrong Strategy
- Poor quality
Let me talk about the lack of a strategy..or worse..the use of a wrong strategy.
I could spend an entire podcast just on the need for a video strategy and maybe I will in the future, but let just me run down what happens when you do not have a strategy..or attempt to use the wrong strategy.
4 out of 5 people who come to us at SyncLab Media start off by telling us they need a video. Our response is always the same…OK, what kind of video do you need or want?
99% will answer with… I do not know. Again, that is an appropriate answer because it is true..they do not know.
In addition to what we have found is… 50% of the time when someone comes to us asking us to produce a video it is usually less than 72 hours after they left a social media conference or digital marketing expo or meeting with a mentor who just told them they need to get started with video marketing by having a video or series of videos made.
So, first of all, I want to give a tip-of-the-hat to those expos and conferences for telling these businesses they need videos. That send these business people to search Google where they are going to find us…so thank you for your support.
It is natural for businesses not to know what kind of video they need. Many know what kind they want..however, 90% of the time is not what they need.
Other Digital Marketing Agency Do Get It
Unfortunately, other digital marketing agency who are confronted by these same businesses will present them with a strategy their agency uses with all of their clients. It makes it easy for the Digital Marketing agency to develop these cookie cutter strategies because it allows them to control their costs by knowing that all of their video productions are going to be the same.
What usually takes place when a business signs up for their strategy is it sends them down a very expensive road…a toll road in fact…that produces nothing because that strategy was the wrong strategy to use in their market, or for their industry.
As a result, the business rightfully bails on using their strategy and leaves with a bad taste for using digital marketing…especially video marketing.
This does not help our industry. Unfortunately, it is happening more and more as more creative type people move into starting a digital marketing agency.
We recognized early on the need for a business to have a video-centric digital marketing strategy and since 2013 we decided we would not attempt to produce a video for a client without there being an in-depth long-term strategy developed.
We started offering these businesses our consultation services in developing what we call a Digital Marketing Roadmap.
Briefly, the DMR is a discovery process where the SLM staff will sit down with the client’s entire marketing staff for a face to face meeting. We gather all the information needed to determine where best the video should be used which will ultimately determine what type of video..or videos..area need to be produced for a 12-month campaign. The DMR gives the client everything they need to know including how much a 12-month campaign will cost them.
But enough on the DMR process and the first reason for not getting anything out of the using videos for marketing.
Let’s get into the second reason businesses are giving us on why they are not getting anything out of their video marketing.
Reason Number 2
The Businesses who come to us explain why they did not get anything out of their previous experience using video marketing. It all has to do with the Quality of the videos they had produced.
Let me start this off by saying that like it or not, the age of cell phone videos is nearing an end. The overuse of cell phone videos and the misuse of cell phone videos have hurt a lot of businesses images…many of them are not even aware of the negative image they give off when using a cell phone video.
I mention this because many of the businesses I have talked to about why they did not get anything out of their video marketing took the advice of some of the OTT (Over The Top) social media influencers who use cell phone videos to tell businesses they need to use cell phone videos to marketing their brand. Naturally, since OTT Social Media Influencers are the ONLY people who can get anything out their poorly produced Cellphone videos it stands to reason that most other businesses will get little, if anything, out of their attempt to use cellphone videos.
Now I am certain that most of you have seen business people on LinkedIn attempting to promote themselves by turning their phones on themselves while they walk around talking about whatever.
Not very well done are they?
Right, consumers are very internet savvy.
83% of consumers who search the social networks like LinkedIn, Google +, Twitter and Facebook will not bother even clicking on a Video produced by a Cell Phone. They have been burned way too many times to take the time to what a video produced on a cellphone.
Consumers have now become very savvy to what marketers attempt do to get them to watch a video.
Poor Quality Videos Hurt
- According to BrightCove.com, 65% of viewers will develop a negative perception of a brand that published a poor quality video.
- However, the cell phone videos are just one of the type of poorly produced videos consumers will not watch.
- A large number of videos are produced with poor audio or out of focus cameras or shot in poor lit areas.
- Many have a lot of background noise that is so loud you can’t focus on what the person is saying.
- Poorly delivered messages also will reflect on the quality of the video
- Too much use of Green Screens..the technique where the video is shot using a Green Screen background and then in post-production, the director will place in the background a visual or image that is more visually pleasing.
- There are other things that produce a low-quality video.
- The’nose cam’ comes to mine..where the camera is placed below eye level and appears to be focused on looking straight up the person’s nose….not very flattering. This usually is where the laptop camera is used.
- No thought to the backdrop a person uses. I see business people attempting to put a monitor behind them in an attempt to appear to be using a green screen.
- Or will have things placed in the background that draws the viewers attention to it and not to what the person is saying.
All of these things result into a very poorly produced video…that nobody is going to watch.
It is really a shame people would allow a poorly produced videos to be posted to the internet.
I use to hear from the people who published these low-quality videos that they did so because…Hey, it’s the internet…nobody takes any of this seriously..so why bother to take the time or spend the money to produce a quality video for some dude sitting in his living room in his underwear to watch and not buy anything?
Well, I am here to tell you that those dudes sitting in their living rooms are more than likely the decision maker for the businesses you want to do business with or for certain is now someone who search Google and found your video….if it poorly produced they are not going to watch it or if they do for only about 3 seconds.
Think about what you are coming with your company’s brand when you decide to Not use video…for whatever reason. Cost is a very concern but as I said, it is the price of doing business today so you need to find some way to fund your video marketing.
There are ways to make your video marketing affordable…you just have to reach out to the right digital marketing agency ..one that is video-centric would be preferred.
I am sure I will be back to cover some more reasons business do not use digital marketing, but for now..the reason for them thinking video marketing cost too much is the number reason I wanted to address here.
I’ll be back to talk about how the one-on-one face to face coffee shop meetings are killing the places where they are held.
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Business One-on-one are killing Coffee Shops
Welcome back to the BizTini Podcast, I’m Scot Duke your host.
Now, for those of you who are Solopreneurs or work on your own and have a need to network your business needs you know, there is nothing more rewarding to developing business than the one-on-one face to face visit.
This has been going on since the beginning of time.
Today these meetings are held over a cup of coffee…sometimes lunch or cocktails…and they are usually always done in a cafe, Coffee shop or bar.
Nothing wrong with that right..spend an hour talking shop with a potential client or job interview or whatever?
Well, a few years ago these small get-togethers for a cup of coffee was not a problem, but today..they are….and they are causing an obvious problem.
The problem is the volume of these meetings that are taking place throughout the day at what used to be quit little coffee shops or cafe. There are reasons why there are more of the meetings
In 2011, MBO Partners, a consultant and independent contractor resource firm headquartered in Herdon, VA, launched a research survey for their State of Independence in America Report.
In their inaugural report, they predicted that there would be 40 million independent workers-full time consultants, freelance professionals, and regular “side-giggers” in the American economy by the year 2019.
The new 2017 report indicates we have already surpassed that number. 41 million Americans are building businesses, taking their careers in new directions to pursue their passions, or simply supplementing their incomes through some form of independent work.
The “Solopreneur” is now in the mainstream, representing more than one-third of the American workforce. There’s no stereotype. Independent workers are spread almost evenly across generations, gender, and geographies from cities to suburbs to small towns and rural America.
The results of the survey I am sure you will also find interested..I’ll provide a link to this information in my BizTini Blog and on the BizTini website.
The bottomline is..there are whole lot more people working the one-on-one face to face coffee chat meet-ups than there were three years ago.
As a result, the local watering holes, coffee shops, fast food restaurants and now even Hotel Lobbies are crowded nearly from the time they open up to the time dinner starts…that is most of the day.
The problem is compounding.
The next time you go to lunch or grab a coffee, look around to see how many people wearing business attire are paired up in what seems to be an intense conversation.
The “Let’s have coffee’ meeting has become very popular and as a result, is filling many of the cafes. Even many of the larger restaurants are starting to see the early morning and midday cup of coffee meetings.
Unfortunately, the owners of these favorite eateries have had enough.
The volume of these one-on-one meetings that only order a cup of coffee…or even worse…a glass of water…are starting to cut into their profits.
I recently saw first hand the problem these owners and managers are having with the large volumes of people taking up tables and booths and even just standing around outside.
Having been out of the business networking arena for the past four years due to my recent back surgeries I found seeing a large number of people at the local Starbucks and cafe’s was very strange.
Five years ago there was not nearly the volume of people who check into a booth at the local salad shop and it was unheard of to see the number of people today seemingly setting up office at a tble in a large restaurant.
What Happen???
Recently I was asked by a new contact on LinkedIn if I would have coffee with them at a local hangout (I’ll naturally not give the name since I said I wouldn’t) but I’ll call it the “Bakery”.
I took the meeting for 2 PM since I figured that would allow for the lunch crowd to clear out making the place a little quieter.
But that was not the case.
When I pulled into the parking lot it was packed. Instead of pulling up front I had to park 500 yards away.
When I stepped into the door the place was not completely full but in nearly every booth..they had about 25 booths..were two people facing each other with papers laying out on the table and all were in serious business attire.
The person I was there to meet had not arrived so I went to the counter to get a Smoothie.
The line for smoothies was 5 people long..all of who were people in suits or business attire….not too many people in shorts or jeans as you would suspect for the type of eatery.
I got my smoothie and started looking for a place to sit. I found a Bar table with two chairs. I could now take a more detail look around at what was going on and to also look to see if the person I was there to meet had arrived.
What I saw were at least four individuals sitting in a booth for four people all had their laptops out with notepads and papers spread out on the table..with a single glass of water.
Then there were a couple of the smaller two-person booths where a third person had found a chair and was sitting at the end of the table in the walkway.
Then the rest of the huge dining room had flattop tables for four. Nearly all of them taken by business people sitting across from each other nursing a small cup of coffee..for what appeared to be for a long time.
By then my appointment arrived out of the blue and suggested I join him in a booth he had found.
As I walked towards the back of the dining room I got an eye full of all of the different business meetings going on with not Food and mostly only water or small cups of coffee on the table.
When I got to the booth to sit down I saw that the person I scheduled the face to face with was one of these people who seemingly had set up shop in the booth for the day.
When I remarked about the set up he said he sets aside three days a week to schedule all of his face-to-face meetings. I found that I was his fourth of six meetings he had scheduled. Needless to say, the outcome of that meeting did not overwhelm me since it produced what I expected it would produce which was not a discussion but a one-sided conversation sales pitch filled with name dropping and the clamping noise produced from him patting himself on the back.
OH, don’t get me wrong… you have to expect to get one of these face-to-face meetings with a stranger.
The type of meeting we just had would normally be one a true professional would have had in his office where the discussion of this type would be more appropriate. But No…he said he uses his office to get his work done and this location..which he said was down the street from his office…was for prospecting or Business Networking as he called it.
Man, things sure have changed in four years.
But Wait..there is more to this story that is relevant to the problems these type of meetings are causing.
As I was leaving I noticed a gentleman wearing a golf shirt with the “Bakeries” logo standing at the door with his arms crossed seemingly in deep thought.
As I have the nature to do I greeted him and thanked him for the use of his facility for my meeting. He had a cordial response but there was obviously not a tone of gratitude or excitement of me being there.
I remarked as to make a compliment to the large crowd he had and how business really seems to be booming since my last visit four years before.
My comments triggered him to open up a bit and as he opened the door for us to step outside onto their patio…where there were a dozen more people sitting at 10 patio tables..he lit into a quiet rant.
He explained that four years ago he welcomed the “Coffee Sippers” to come during the early mornings and mid-afternoon when the store was traditionally empty, but now things have changed.
Seems the eating patterns, or time of day people eat in his area, have changed to be at the same time the “Coffee Sippers” want to come in and take up tables and booths for Hours. He said..”I flat going broke from 1 PM to 5 PM Monday through Friday”
“I am getting emails and Facebook remarks and reviews on Google Maps rating us low from people wanting to order a meal but can’t because they can’t find a seat and when they do they have someone sitting next to them talking like loud on their phone or pitching someone like a used car salesman”
Clearly, the owner of the “Bakery” was not a happy camper and rightfully so.
He went on to say he had attempted to take control by walking the floor and interrupting conversations to ask if they would like more coffee or to push to see if they are going to need anything else in hope it would move people on, but all it did was get them to buy another cup of coffee or pastry..like putting more coins in the parking meter.
Meanwhile, the people who wanted to pay $30 to $40 for a meal for 4 were walking out and will not come back due to there was no place to have a quiet meal.
I wrapped up the chat with the owner of the “Bakery” with agreeing with him it was a problem and hope there is a solution. He agreed he needed to find a solution and maybe do what the other eateries have started to do to curb the drain on their operations which was to close from 2 to 5 PM until the “Coffee Sippers” moved on to another location.
This incident I am sure is not isolated to just this one facility and I would suspect it is going on on a wide scale across the country and it is really a shame it is happening.
With there being a surplus of small executive suite type office space across the country you would think these “Coffee Sippers” would want to improve their image and move the one-on-one meetings into their own office.
But I suspect there is a reason behind why so many of these business people would rather either not use their office space, or do not have an office space to use.
Since for decades business networking gatherings have traditionally been centered around using local coffee shops I am not sure the use of these low-cost places to meet is going to change unless more of these coffee shops start bowing to their true consumer’s interest.
I certainly do not have a permanent solution but do have a few changes true business networkers should consider as places to have these face to face meetings.
- Maybe meeting in a Hotel lobby would be a refreshing change…or for those who office out their homes, maybe finding a conference room of a client or at your bank.
- I would even go so far to say if you have the need to have frequent one-on-ones that it might be best to work into your budget renting executive. suite to hold these one-on-ones…there certainly enough of those around.
I feel something needs to be done before there is a blow-up across the country and it negatively affects the image of the people who hold these meetings and the eateries that are their roost for the day.
For now, If you are one of these people scheduling these meetings you might think about alternatives to using cafes and coffee shops…if you are like me..frequently being asked to meet for one-on-one…maybe offering an alternative to the coffee shops would start a change.
Something to think about isn’t it.
Wrapping It Up
Thank you to my faithful and New followers for taking the time to email me…if you would like to ask me a question or give me feedback in constructive criticism I would welcome them..you can email me at BizTini@synclabmedia.com.
Of course for privacy reasons and I as my policy, I will not reveal any real names.
The first email came in from Bob.
Asking if I still play golf and will I be bringing the Mr. Business Golf Show back.
Bob, if you are listening to the answer is Yes, I still play golf but after two back surgeries I am realizing quickly that I probably will not play as well as I use to..but that is not getting me down…I fell in love with the game and sport of golf later in my life and will continue to play as long as I am physically able.
As far as for Mr. Business Golf..as I mentioned in Episode 1 I have a lot of plans in place for all of the Innovative Business Golf Solution programs which include the Mr. Business Golf show, the ClamBake Cafe, the Business Golf Country Club and more. I am hoping 2019 will be a good year for me to start to bring those program back…but right now…those programs take a lot of time and resources and I am actively looking for viable partners interested in making these programs come to life quicker. So, Bob, hope that answers your questions.
From Littia in the UK,
Loved your email and am glad you like my Texan accent. The answer to your question on if I will be talking more about more Business Operations related issues is YES.
I see nearly everyday flaws in the operations of business I do business with and that includes the many people who are branding themselves. I’ll talk about these observations I make from time to time in hopes that those of you who are interested will learn from other people’s mistake. And..if there is an issue you would like for me to expand on here on The BizTini Podcast…well…you know how to get in touch with me.
Now for my Aussie friends which I now have a few…
Roosy and BackRubber
..wanted to know if I had ever had BBQ “Roo”..I assume they are referring to Kangaroo..the answer is no..but I did have a chance a LONG time ago to have some Coon Stew…made out of Raccoon. I am sure it does not match up to BBQ “Roo”.
And Shelia
…which I am certain there is a number you down under…Glad to see you dug into all of my profiles online and found that I raised horse..that was a part of my life I thoroughly enjoyed, however, those 18 years of my life resulted in me being bucked off a number of those wonderful beasts that I found..along with playing American Football as a youth..resulting in me have the back surgery I had over the past five years. But my love for horses still goes on with my daughter who was raised on the back of several horses…so that keeps me around the Horse World..thanks so much for asking.
And thanks again to everyone who took the time to email me…I really enjoy it and I hope you pass on the word about the BizTini Podcast it really is a pleasure to produce them and I look forward to Episode 5…
Well, that it’s for Episode 4 and if you are just joined us..sorry you missed it but I am your Host Scot Duke..and until next time….Let me know how I can help.
