Chew on this:

When it comes to online video, YouTube and other Google video sites are still king.

A comScore Video Metrix report found that 180 million Americans watched an average of 18 hours of online video content in August. That’s what the company called “a record 6.9 billion viewing sessions.”

Not surprising, Google sites and Hulu logged the longest viewership – with an average user watching 5.7 hours on YouTube and 3.2 hours on Hulu.

That means video ads aren’t going away anytime soon.   In fact, just watch them grow.

Americans watched more than 5.6 billion video ads last month — 996 million on Hulu, according to comScore.

More than 85 percent of Americans using the Internet watched some form of video online last month. The average length of video – whether viral or favorite TV show – was 5.3 minutes.

So what does this mean to you – dear business owner and marketer?

It confirms the ongoing conditioning of Americans away from the written word.  While it pains me to say that, there’s no getting around it.  Attention spans are shorter than ever and getting shorter.  Our audiences want you to get to the point, entertain them…video does that.  Even mediocre video can do that.

And before you say that it’s all the fault of those Millenials (read kids to some), think again.  On-demand video – live, podcasted, streaming – whatever – is in demand by all age groups.

So adjust your web sites and emails.  Your group presentations.  Replace words with video.  Be careful and remember, we haven’t even mentioned where video is being watched (think tablets and mobile).  Where the video is watched also affects the dynamics.

iPad and iPhone don’t play flash.  But that’s another story.

All this video is having an effect on how we communicate at home.  The other day I took my son out to dinner and I asked him the typical fatherly question – so how’s school?  “Watch my video”, he said.

I guess I’d better upload my talk about the birds and the bees to YouTube.

On Saturday 11/21, Lego – they of Danish building block fame – put on an event called Lego Kids Fest at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut.

They promoted it in their magazine received by Lego Club members across the country, on their website, in calendars, all over locally and was picked up in many corners of cyberspace.

My son and his mom drove the 2 1/2 hours from Albany yesterday afternoon, he’s a Lego-head and a member of the club.

Turns out, they weren’t even allowed to get off the exit for the arena.

The event was mayhem.  It was oversold and over capacity.  The fire department started to eject attendees.  Hundreds of 7 year olds stood outside with their parents howling in disappointment.

My wife called Lego in San Diego and a customer service rep said that they hadn’t promoted it and were taken by surprise.  When informed that it was promoted everywhere an event could be, a supervisor came on and came clean.  “I’ve gotten calls from several families.  We just weren’t prepared.”

OK.  Fine.  A case of be careful what you wish for.  Now we’ll see how Lego will respond.

What would you do?

Posted by: Steve Banis

For over a year now, I have preached the gospel of content.  More content.  Better content.  Relevant content.  Just keep generating and distributing content…it’s the “software” of marketing.

While preparing content and materieals for the launch of the “new” Burst Marketing, I’ve broken my first commandment:

“Thou shalt never stop producing new content.”

While attending to new clients and the launch of a new business, I ingnored the responsibility to connect with Burst Marketing’s readers.  And such, Google rankings are down.  I’ve lost some continuity with readers.  I’ve been a bad boy.  And I apologize.

So let my misguided ways be your beacon of light.  Once you start your blog, newsletter, friending campaign, tweeting, or however you communicate with your peeps – don’t stop, never stop.

That’s just the way it is.  See you next week.

Posted by: Steve Banis

The ambitious goals and strategies of my new business required that I recruit like-minded, motivated, and competent partners.  When I found them, the fun and momentum of a new venture kicked in and we were soon off and running.  Well, sort of.

Something wasn’t quite clicking.  The idea and profit potential was there.  The skill sets.  The market need.

But just when you’d think things were ready to roll, another distraction would pop up.  Went on like this for about a year.

Our wheels were stuck in the mud.

Time to change the wheels.

Not only did partners change, I chose a different type of partner.

Now we’re cruising down the road at 65mph, driving towards a relaunch with business in the bank and a growing pipeline.

Hitting the skids along your planned route is like the pain you feel when you’re hurt.  It’s a warning system.

It means you’re faced with a decision of change – whether a mild adjustment or a major overhaul.

It’s important to maintain the perspective that almost every plan needs adjustments along the way to goal achievement.

Heed the warning and pause. Review your strategy, make corrections, and rededicate yourself to your vision.

Posted by: Steve Banis

The truth about where you stand.

When I conduct strategy sessions with business owners and managers – The first thing I do is guide them towards a clear, unbiased view of where they stand at the current time.

Sometimes a company comes in on a winning streak.  Sometimes it’s trending down.

Regardless, it’s imperative to distinguish the difference between the fundamental strengths and weaknesses of a business – and not let them become masked by outside factors. Like the economy.

Good times can mask weaknesses and strengths.  But bad times show the blemishes your business has like a fluorescent light in the bathroom at 6am.  It can be a little unnerving.

But it has to be done.

Like it or not, your core weaknesses and strengths have been exposed. Ask yourself some questions. Then ask yourself why?

• - Have you lost key accounts?
  
• - Are key employees leaving or showing up at your door?
• - Are you unexpectedly winning clients you never could?
• - Are you losing business that used to be a slam dunk?
• - Have you been able to hold the line on pricing?

Believe me, you can’t blame it all on the economy.

Figure out what’s actually in your control?

The truth is, there will be fewer competitors in just about every industry when the dust settles. In fact, I believe that firms will be bought, sold, or fold in even greater numbers when things pick up a bit.

And the nation’s long-term problems will surely dampen any recovery once one does begin.

But that doesn’t mean there ain’t money to be made.

So there you are…basking in the bright light of truth.

Can you look at it long enough to do what needs to be done?

Posted by: Steve Banis

The four main developing powers in the world – Brazil, Russia, India and China held the first ever BRIC summit. Their hope is to challenge the economic dominance of the West – namely the U.S. and Europe – and to challenge the dollar as the main global currency.

For now, the differing agendas and styles of these countries are a major obstacle to creating a united front. But mark that date, June 16, 2009, as a day when the “American Century” more formally transitioned into the 21st century of global economic balance.

Meanwhile…on the home front

Partnerships among nations is a real big bite to swallow all at once. But I believe that partnership strategies will move full speed ahead all around our businesses.

Not too long ago, outsourcing was both a way to save money and a dirty word. That tainted reputation resulted from the movement of service and manufacturing jobs to India, China and Mexico among others.

What many may not know is that over 80% of all U.S. outsourcing is sent to other U.S. companies. All sorts of non-core business functions like; Marketing and Sales, Human Resources and Accounting are sent to firms more proficient in those areas.

Outsourcing is simply one type of strategic partnership.

Done right, partnerships can help participants create and capitalize on new economic opportunities, become more competitive, grow and create jobs.

Another partnership type, joint ventures with complementary businesses, can open up new revenue possibilities, increase your available talent, and lower costs. The same can be accomplished via a strategic alliance.

As the economy begins to find its bottom, and the lull of sunny days are upon us – put your business under the microscope.

Are you reaching all of your potential targets? Are you maximizing the revenue from your existing client base? Are you missing certain products and services that can generate more income?

If so, believe me you’re not alone.

You might be the answer to another company’s need and vice versa. It’s up to you to find out.

Posted by: Steve Banis

How about a tag line?

You know, the short snappy little phrase that makes everyone remember you. Millions of people remember the big ones:

Just do it. The right choice. The king of beers. I’m loving it.

Sure, these are good tag lines.  Even more importantly, these guys also spend mega millions on advertising to put them in front of your face. It makes it a little easier for people to remember if they hear it in the first place.

Does your business have the money to communicate on a massive level like that?

Even if you gross over $100+ million a year, I doubt you could put your message in front of your entire target market with enough frequency for it to be remembered.

Are tag lines important?

In Marketing 101, you learn the 4 “P’s” – Product, Pricing, Placement (distribution) and Promotions.

Your company’s name, logo, tag line, and key positioning statement (what I consider as your Brand’s Opening Statement) should work together through pictures and words to explain what’s unique about your business when it comes to these 4 “P’s” (your USP).

While it’s nice and extremely useful to have a memorable tagline – I wouldn’t knock myself out trying to come up with the magic words. One short phrase can’t do it all.

I know that some of those big guys pay marketing consultants millions to create and test the ultimate memorable tag line.

That’s Grrrrrreat! (no offense Tony). But as I said, tens of millions will be spent to support the new tag.

If you’re like 95% of all businesses, your most important task in this area is to create a clear and persuasive case for your business – your Brand’s Opening Statement.

It’s that combination of business name, logo, tag (if needed) and positioning statement designed to provoke a reaction in your target audience.

Of these four, the tag line is the least important element. Depending on the type of business you have and the market in which you compete, either your name or positioning statement are your most important, followed by your logo.

Sometimes, location might be all the positioning statement you need. Just look at your dry cleaner.

Chances are, you use them because they’re close to your home or office and they haven’t ruined your stuff. It’s also likely their name is just something like “Cleaners” or “Joe’s Cleaners.”  That’s it. No fancy logo. No tag. No positioning statement.

Just simple, reliable, convenient, and the comfort of the same friendly face.

Now that’s marketing.

Posted by: Steve Banis

Just ask my friends. There’s a lot not to listen to.

I use AWeber as my email service. It’s pretty good. Don’t like it as much as I thought I would. But it has some nice features that the other big names didn’t have when I started with it.

It allowed me to easily set up a blogcast each week. But it was deceptively easy and I was determined to design it myself…hey I know blogs.

Know your limits my friends, that’s all I can say.

I’ve changed the design of my blogcast template 6 times. It gets worse every time.  I’d like to publicly thank those of you who’ve suffered though my stubbornness. Others didn’t.

Sometimes the teacher needs to be reminded of his own lessons. It happens to the best of us.

I’m going back to the drawing board. I’m hiring my web design partners to do a professional job.

Like I should have done in the first place.

Lesson learned.

Posted by: Steve Banis

This is a tool offered within better equipped email platforms that allows you to program a series of messages to be delivered to your target lists at designated intervals.

What makes this so powerful is the ability to let these campaigns run by themselves. Further, with some extra work, you can separate, qualify, and bring your targets closer to doing business with you by following multiple communication paths.

Scooby Doo, where are you?

For example, say you want to reach customers that are interested in collecting old lunchboxes. (I had Scooby Doo in 2nd grade.)  Some of these babies go for thousands of dollars. (Mine got thrown out, along with my baseball cards. Thanks mom.)

So you set up a landing page showing off examples of some boxes you have for sale.  It also explains that you have a real nose for locating those hard to find boxes that make a collector drool.

Then your targeted communication program brings you visitors to your site who sign up to receive more information.  Now here’s where the autoresponders get to work.

You’ve written a series of messages that goes to every new person who signs onto your list.  Out goes a welcome message immediately.  Next day, you send them a little biography about yourself, and the big finds you’ve made in the past and how you’ve seen some of your clients make lots of money on their lunch box investment.

Lead them to water

One week later, you send out a testimonial letter with a story from one of your customers.  It says that you helped him relive his childhood and connect with his son by finding him the exact box he had when he was 8 – the Rocky and Bullwinkle one with a bright blue background. It made him cry.

Two days later, you send an email asking your reader to let you know what kind of interested party he is…a real collector looking for that hard to find, expensive treasure or someone just interested in the topic.  You can now create two lists from those who respond – qualified buyers and tirekickers.

Now separate them into two lists, and send each their own set of email messages. For the qualified list, it may pay off to make them personalized.  All the while, you’re bringing the qualified prospects closer and closer – without ever picking up the phone.

It takes thought, creativity, intuition, hard work, and a little bit of talent. But once you’ve got your process, it’s all automatic.

Posted by: Steve Banis

As the world continues to shrink, the number of things competing for our attention has gotten way out of whack. That’s been a big problem for media outlets – TV, Newspapers and Magazines in particular.

So marketers have been keeping a closer eye on you.

Don’t be surprised. You used to be able to simply buy a list of “high net worth investors” or “dog lovers” or “golfers” or “cooking enthusiasts.”  But now, those categories are way too big to be cost effective.

“Dog lover” is too broad. You need to drill all the way down to “Labradoodle lovers in Upstate NY.”

The era of 1 to 1 marketing is finally maturing. Mass advertising is inefficient. Enter “on-demand” TV. Direct mail needs more fine tuning. So add a personalized URL (PURL, landing page) to further qualify your list.

Finding your target is a tricky thing. Creating a virtual marketing “GPS” is the way to go. Surround your target and triangulate their coordinates. Then fire off your rounds of communication.

***************

In appreciation

As a father raising a growing boy, I don’t like that at all times, war wages somewhere on the globe…and that all too often our nation is caught in its grip.

Today, however, is Memorial Day. A day to put aside ideology and honor those who have followed their convictions to serve our country. I want to offer my sincere gratitude to all our veterans and to the memory of those who passed in service. My dad is a Holocaust survivor and neither he nor I nor my son would be here without the sacrifice of those in our armed forces.

Posted by: Steve Banis