Every business needs a strong brand to stand out in the competitive marketplace. A brand is more than just a logo or a tagline – it’s the story behind your business and what sets you apart from your competitors. In this article, we’ll explore the concept of a “story brand” and how you can use it to create a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience.
A story brand is a way of framing your brand in a way that connects with your customers on an emotional level. Instead of simply listing the features and benefits of your product or service, a story brand uses storytelling to create a narrative that people can relate to and engage with. This can be done through a variety of mediums, including video, social media, and even your website.
One of the key elements of a story brand is the “hero’s journey,” which is a common narrative structure found in many successful stories. This journey involves a protagonist (the hero) who is faced with a challenge, goes on a journey to overcome that challenge, and ultimately emerges victorious. In the context of your brand, the hero could be your customer, and the challenge could be a problem that your product or service helps them solve.
Another important element of a story brand is the concept of a “guide” – a character who helps the hero on their journey. In the context of your brand, the guide could be your product or service, or even your company itself. The guide provides the hero with the tools, resources, and support they need to overcome the challenge and achieve their goal.
To create a strong brand story, you need to identify the key elements of your brand and weave them into a compelling narrative. This may take some time and effort, but the payoff can be significant. A strong brand story can help differentiate your business from competitors, create a lasting impression on customers, and build trust and loyalty.
In conclusion, a story brand is an effective way to create a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience. By using the hero’s journey and the concept of a guide, you can craft a narrative that connects with your customers on an emotional level and helps your brand stand out in the crowded marketplace.
How Bad Branding Can Cost You Money
Bad branding can have a significant negative impact on your business, and it can cost you money in a variety of ways. First and foremost, bad branding can lead to confusion among your customers. If your brand is inconsistent, unclear, or just plain unappealing, it can be difficult for people to understand what your business is all about. This can lead to lost sales, as customers may simply move on to a competitor that is easier to understand.
Bad branding can also damage your reputation. If your brand is not well-defined or is perceived as unprofessional, it can make people less likely to trust your business. This can lead to lost customers, as people may be hesitant to engage with a company that has a negative reputation.
Finally, bad branding can make it more difficult for you to attract new customers. A strong, compelling brand can be a powerful marketing tool, as it can help you stand out from the competition and draw people to your business. If your brand is weak or ineffective, it can be much harder to get people to notice your business and consider becoming a customer.
In conclusion, bad branding can have a serious impact on your business and can cost you money in lost sales, damaged reputation, and difficulty attracting new customers. To avoid these negative consequences, it’s important to invest in creating a strong, compelling brand that resonates with your audience and accurately reflects the unique value of your business.
Using Video to Deliver Your Brand Message with an Explainer Video
Video is an increasingly popular medium for businesses to deliver their brand message to their audience. One effective way to do this is through the use of an explainer video. An explainer video is a short, animated video that explains a product, service, or concept in a clear and engaging way. These videos are often used to introduce a business or its offerings to potential customers.
One of the key benefits of using an explainer video for branding is that it allows you to tell your brand story in a visual and engaging way. An explainer video can help you capture the essence of your brand and convey it in a way that is easy for people to understand and remember. This can be particularly effective for businesses that offer complex products or services, as an explainer video can help break down these concepts and make them more accessible to a wide audience.
Another advantage of using an explainer video for branding is that it can help you create a personal connection with your audience. A well-crafted explainer video can be engaging and entertaining, and it can help people see your business in a more human light. This can help you build trust and credibility with your audience, and it can make them more likely to consider becoming a customer.
In conclusion, using an explainer video for branding can be a powerful tool for delivering your brand message to your audience. By using this visual medium, you can tell your brand story in a clear and engaging way, create a personal connection with your audience, and build trust and credibility with potential customers.
So what’s the difference between Paid Traffic and Organic Traffic? What even is TRAFFIC? Is it really possible to get on the 1st page of google? Watch this week’s episode of Moron Monday to find out. The answer might surprise you!
If you missed last week’s episode, you can watch it here. (We talked about creating the right message for your target audience)
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION
Hey guys. What’s up? This is Jace with another episode of Moron Monday. This is actually one of my favorite episodes which is, Traffic. We’re going to talk about paid traffic today. We’re going to be talking about organic traffic.
Now, is traffic hard? I put this up here first. Yes, traffic’s hard. Yes, this is difficult. Can you do this alone? Probably not, unless this is your full time job.
Now, you have to also be careful because this is where most people are being sold. You’re getting phone calls all day that say, “Hey, we’re going to rank you #1 on Google.” All of you have probably got those phone calls and it’s BS. A lot of people are saying, “Hey, I’m going to get you thousands of Facebook leads, for $3 a lead.” Are they good leads? Probably not.
This is where the good marketers and all of the bad marketers separate themselves. When you find somebody who really knows what they’re doing at Google Ads, you’re going to get an ROI. If you know somebody who’s really good at Facebook, you’re going to get an ROI there. But first, you have your video, you have your website, everything’s sitting there ready to go.
So, now what? If you build it, will they come? No, they will not. Just because you have a video, just because you have your website, doesn’t mean you’re going to sell your product or service.
That’s probably the number one thing I see, people come to us, we create their video, we give it to them, it sits. Then they call us a year later saying, “Hey, I need help.” So, let’s go over that.
Paid Traffic
The very first thing, paid traffic. Now, I like paid traffic and I recommend everyone out there to do a Google Ads campaign. Why do I say that? Because Google Ads always have an ROI. Now, if you bid position one, or even two, three, you might not get a return on investment there. But you might say, “Okay, I’m going to bid a few cents, position six, seven, eight.” And you’ll get a return on investment later on. But you just have to play the game and you have to optimize Google Ads.
Google Ads is not a set it and forget it thing.
You need to be on there every day, adding negative key words, until you get everything dialed in. Then you can let it run. I love Google Ads because people are searching for your product and service. So, somebody types in plumber in California, and you pop up as a plumber in California, pretty efficient. Got it?
Facebook and Instagram
Next, Facebook and Instagram, I love Facebook, I love Instagram, I run ads there all the time.
It is cold traffic. What that means is you need to nurture them. You can’t just run a simple ad and hope they convert. You need to run an ad, run a remarketing ad, get multiple touches. All this stuff, the reason you’re doing everything is because you want to get multiple touches.
I harp on that a lot because, I myself, I take probably 12 to 15 touches before I buy a product or service, so you’re going to use all this.
Facebook, Instagram, I like. If you’re marketing anything like in the sports industry, sports products, fitness products, weight loss products, all that stuff, Instagram’s probably your play. Boutiques, Instagram’s your play. I have tons of tutorials on Facebook and Instagram ads.
I also have set up some tutorials on YouTube, I love YouTube ads. Not a lot of people are doing it, they’re new. They are getting better and better with Google and how they’re optimizing things, so I like YouTube ads.
Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Solo Ads
There’s other ones. You have Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, Solo Ads, all these ones are great but they’re not as efficient nor do they have all the tracking capabilities and all the targeting that these other ones have.
Now, LinkedIn is good if your product or service is 7 to 10 thousand dollars, then you could probably do LinkedIn. Got it?
Organic Traffic
Now, organic traffic. This is a tough one.
SEO, let’s talk SEO. SEO is search engine optimization. Is SEO easy? No, it is one of the most competitive. Because think about it, you’re competing against some of the the biggest company’s Yelp.com. You’re trying to take the number one spot from Yelp, or you’re trying to take the number one spot from the biggest companies in the world, who are spending thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on search engine optimization.
Normally how this goes is you get a call, somebody says, “Hey, I’m going to get you ranked number one on Google.” And you’re like, “Hey, that’d be great, perfect. How much is it?” They sign you up for some fee and six months down the road, a year down the road, you see nothing. This is why SEO is a problem.
One of my companies I started, we did awesome at SEO for two years, Google changed the rules and all of a sudden it was like, okay we’re on page two. Bigger companies went ahead of us and we can’t seem to beat them out.
Other companies that I’ve done stuff with, we’d get lucky, we’d beat out a lot of people. But does it take time? Yes. If you think that you’re going to dominate in search engine optimization, you need to plan on a year, minimum. Two years is a good number and it takes huge amounts of content, takes back links. That’s the only way.
If you’re being sold on SEO, be careful because it is a game that is difficult. Google changes the rules all the time and it requires you to beat out the big boys. Got it?
So be careful with SEO. I always say create your own content and do 15 hundred word articles, if you want to win at that game.
Social Media, Daily Posts, and Interaction
Social media, daily posts, interacting with your audience. This works really well. A lot of people don’t interact with businesses, so just know that.
If you’re going out there posting on your Instagram, your Facebook, and thinking hey, why aren’t I getting any interactions? It’s probably because you’re under your business name, not a lot of people interact with businesses.
Outbound
And the other one is Outbound. You can outreach to people. I do a LinkedIn outreach, which is Outbound. I do cold emails. That works really well, so there’s a lot of Outbound tactics that you can use to get traffic.
The whole idea of everything here is to get people to your website so that they can listen to your message, and fill out a form or give you a call and do business with you.
Which ones do I recommend? Which ones do I like the most? I like them all. I do them all.
I don’t know which one’s going to convert the best. So, the best thing you can do is start with everything and then eliminate. If SEO is just not your thing, eliminate it. But I like to do everything here.
You don’t need to put all your budget into one spot. You can say five dollars here, five dollars here, ten thousand here, ten thousand here, just depends on your budget.
I hope that helped. Go out there and start pushing the traffic, because that’s what matters. That’s what’s going to get you the conversions. Then follow this up with an actual remarketing campaign.
Don’t just go out there and send traffic to your website, go out there, get the traffic, follow it up with a remarketing campaign and nurture it with an email campaign. Which we will talk about on the next episode.
If you have questions, look us up. You can go to our different websites. You’ve got ydraw.com or you’ve got marketinghy.com, reach out to us, we’d be happy to help. That’s it. Peace.
We’re coming up on the end of the year, folks! It’s time to look back on your company’s marketing expenditures, evaluate your results and begin planning for the year to come.
But wait, not so fast!
Though it’s always important to look ahead don’t forget to follow through with 2018’s marketing campaigns and finish the year out with a video-marketing bang!
Most companies slow their marketing efforts as the year-end approaches. By consciously doing the opposite of this common trend, you can gain a competitive edge to break away from the pack by keeping your marketing push strong right up until the 2019 ball drops.
Top 3 reasons to for beefed-up fourth quarter marketing:
Spending Deadlines:It ain’t over, till it’s over.
As the year comes to a close, some departments may locate excess budget floating around. With the “use it or lose it” policy found in most organizations, department managers are looking for opportunities to spend these additional dollars.
Don’t let your department get passed up. Be vocal and visible with your video campaign ideas just in case these other departments are looking for ways to spend their dollars.
Stay on top of your marketing efforts. This includes value-based bullet points that highlight achievable results in the current year and extending into the next year. Being organized and keeping your campaigns rolling forward can help justify last minute marketing purchases.
2019’s Budget:Spend More Now= Get More Later.
Now is the time when many companies start kicking off their budgeting efforts and mapping out spend for next year.
During this time, department heads are looking for ways to get the biggest bang for their budgeting buck.
This also makes now a good time to use the current year’s budget to get a head start on next year’s campaigns… think ahead by producing next year’s content NOW!
Marketing Momentum:Stay Visible To Your Audience.
Don’t let preparations for a busy first quarter make you invisible to your customers during the Holidays.
This is the most wonderful time of the year, where they are programmed to spend some serious $$$. Keep your products and services in view with some fresh videos.
Ongoing communications is key to creating leads and keeping your target prospective customers engaged.
Video and Marketing Are A Match Made In Heaven
If you want your message to find it’s way in front of a set of eyeballs and a pair of ears, the proof of video’s prowess is in the statistical pudding:
75 Million people in the U.S. watch online videos everyday.
Merely mentioning the word ‘video’ in an email subject line, the click-through rate increased by 13%.
Nearly 50% of all video is watched on a mobile device.
By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic
Videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement.
Create Videos Now
These forgotten fourth quarter months can be the prime time to wrap up 2018 with a video that will create a buzz leading into the new year while also increasing your spend that may lead to more funding for the future!
Creating new content can ensure ongoing communication with your audience while building and maintaining brand recognition. This constant buzz breathes life into your value proposition, year round.
2018 Budget: Use It Or Lose It… Create With Ydraw And Market Strong All Year Long
“My Dad is cooler than yours!”
“Na uh, my Dad could beat up your Dad!”
“No way, my Dad can run faster than any one earth!”
“Oh yeah! My Dad is so strong that he can lift up a car!”
“Hey, Hey, that’s enough from you two…”
Do you remember when you were a little kid arguing about why one thing was better than another? It would go on and on, and after a while, the argument was no longer of benefit…it was just an argument for arguments sake.
This same problem often happens in our brand messaging. We want to prove every reason why our product is superior, but cramming every reason into your messaging loses the simplicity, and your target audience will get disinterested. Couple that with the long amount of time it takes to create that messaging, you are not only losing their attention, but you are rarely creating content.
How do we remedy this conundrum?
Simple. That’s it. Simple. Keep your Brand messaging simple.
If it’s easy to understand, it will stick with your audience. The next step is to keep creating and releasing that simplified content on a consistent basis. Once a week, two or three times a week. Whatever your goal is, if you have simple, easy to understand content, that is consistently getting in front of your audience, then you are going to have far greater success with your product.
Now how about a Simple Recap?
LONG-OVER-COMPLICATED MESSAGING + RARELY RELEASED CONTENT = BAD
SIMPLE MESSAGING + CONSISTENT CONTENT = GOOD
Got it!? Now give Ydraw a call. When you work with us, we’ll help you simplify your brand messaging, and start you on our system for releasing consistent content.
So, you have this spiffy new Ydraw video ready to download and share with the world.
Now what?
Don’t leave what happens next to chance. How you market your video will make a huge difference in how many of the RIGHT people actually WATCH it.
That’s where a social media marketing plan can help. If you’re thinking, “I already have a marketing plan.” Good for you. You’re already a few steps ahead.
But, if that plan doesn’t spell out exactly how you’ll take advantage of the amazingly effective, and mostly free, opportunities on social media marketing sites – then sit down and take some notes.
Your class on Social Media Marketing 101 just got started.
1. GET NOTICED:
Basically, if your business isn’t active on the main social media sites, you may not exist yet to your target consumer.
To give you an idea of how many people are regularly using the most common social media sites, here’s a quick summary of the current numbers, according to Statista:
Facebook: 2.23 billion profiles, with 1.45 billion users visiting daily.
YouTube: Over 1 billion users, with over 500 million hours of videos watched daily.
Instagram: 800 million users and adding over 100 million in the last year alone.
LinkedIn: Over 562 million profiles in more than 200 countries worldwide.
Twitter: 335 million active users visit Twitter monthly.
Pinterest: 200 million monthly active users, predominantly female.
Can you really afford to pass up that kind of exposure?
Or, better question, why would you want to?
2. PEOPLE WANT VIDEO:
Mike Henry said, “We’re operating in a world where ONE GOOD VIDEO can lead to a massive social following.”
Now you have that good video – so what do you do with it?
Not only does social media offer an incredible marketing opportunity, but posts that use video have a much higher conversion rate on all of the social media platforms. Check out just a few of the many powerful statistics on the impact of video in this infographic created by The E Word.
So, if your consumer is browsing Facebook, your video should be on Facebook. If they’re tweeting about their morning bagel, your video should be popping up on their Twitter feed. When they’re scrolling their LinkedIn at lunch, you want that video to smack them right in the face. YouTube? Instagram? Same story – different channel.
Social media allows you to deliver your video to your target consumer on a silver platter.
3. START A CONVERSATION:
You don’t want your marketing plan to be a monologue. Your target consumer really only cares about themselves. If you’re doing all the talking – that doesn’t mean that they’re doing all the listening.
Instead, put your video out there and start a dialogue. Use your video as a springboard into building a community. This will also make your brand relatable and that will attract even more followers.
4. MARKET MORE; SPEND LESS:
Did I mention that social media marketing is …. FREE? That’s right. It costs ZERO dollars to set up business profiles on social media sites and begin posting.
Now, you may eventually choose to pay for ad campaigns that will further your reach, and many companies find it very effective, but you certainly do not have to do that to get started and get your video out there.
Plus, since we already discussed how much more effective video is as a marketing tool on social media, you’ll get pretty good reach without paying another buck.
5. FREE FOCUS GROUPS:
You know the value of focus groups when branding your business or making business decisions.
Well, with social media marketing, you have access to a focus group – 24/7, 365 days a year, that never sleeps, never slows down, and is actively engaging in dialogue on what they like and don’t like.
There has never before been a greater opportunity to talk directly with your target consumer whenever you want than today – on social media.
So, gather information by reading and following their conversations. Or, utilize free tools on platforms like Sprout Social and Hootsuite, where you can access trending conversations pertaining to your target market.
Take it a step further and download apps like Instagram Insights, WhenToPost and Crowdfire to learn more about what is really engaging your target audience and when they’re online looking for it.
You can even learn about your competitor’s performance and connect with Instagram influencers on apps like Iconosquare.
And – yep, you guessed it – it’s all free.
The bottom line is – we live in unique technological times that can sometimes present challenges, but in other cases, offer you an incredibly insightful, effective, and affordable opportunity to connect with your target consumer like never before.
Leverage whatever you can to promote your video and your brand!
And, if you have any questions on how Ydraw can support you in developing your own social media marketing plan, please reach out. We can’t wait to hear from you.
