Recently I’ve been working with the Industry Trust, increasing copyright awareness. You can read about the campaign here on The Drum, and watch behind-the-scenes of a photostunt we did with Gemma Atkinson.
Look out for the man with the flat cap! Video produced by Terry Church PR (my brother).
Toyota have turned the tried and tested viral nature of cat videos into a mainstream advert for its new Corolla. ‘Feels Good Inside’ features a cat that keeps getting itself injured so that it can ride in the back to the vet. Although I’m not one for the cat fad, this is charming and funny.
You make a video, upload it to YouTube, and sit back… One view, two views… two views… that’s it. You’ve just experienced the YouTube nightmare/truth of that to get a video highly viewed or ranked, you have to work for it.
For most brands, this means distributing the video through blogs (I use GroupHigh), paying for YouTube advertising (just less than $1 per view), getting sponsored Tweets (fancy Mike Tyson tweeting about you?) and spamming every email address you have.
But what if there was a way you could get 150,000 views without doing any marketing at all? What if you could get other people to do all the hard work for you? Hell, what if you could get your target market to do it?
That’s exactly what Lenovo (world’s #2 PC maker) did through it’s Seize The Night competition. Lenovo created a competition which asked 15 finalists to produce and market a video on YouTube, featuring their product, and the winner would get $15,000.
This entry, which I’m helping to promote, features an incredible mass cycle ride through London
So Lenovo didn’t just make one video, it got 15 made for them, and had the producers do the marketing themselves. Together (at the time of writing), these videos amassed to a collective 150,000 views.
Now, I recognise that 150,000 isn’t that much compared to the millions of views viral videos receive, but these views are by the friends of the video producers – their target market in this campaign, students. That’s much more valuable. Plus, it’s likely that Lenovo will feature the winning video in more campaigns.
When you’re thinking about creating a video campaign on YouTube, re-think your preconceptions. Does it matter if your views are spread across many videos? Can you create a competition and get others to do the work for you?
Martin Hudson, CEO of iTendit, discusses the merits of creating a white-label app and the challenges that arise
In this exclusive video interview, I asked Martin Hudson how he successfully created and monetized his white-label app, iTendit. Bringing him more money and the ability to grow his business to include sales staff, Martin’s business model has challenged the mobile business status quo.
Here, he calls for entrepreneurs to re-evaluate common business principles when looking at the mobile app space, and talks about his future plans for expansion. Whilst being lively and insightful, Martin also ushers caution to the overly-optimistic, explaining the challenges that arise with such a business and what to look out for.
Continue reading “Merits of white-label apps: Interview with Martin Hudson” »
In the first of its kind, this is a video interview with Matthew Gardiner – professional copywriter, creative, and entrepreneur. Watch an unscripted discussion about copywriting and how to use it to boost business.
Matthew was a copywriter for PwC, the international professional services juggernaut, and he has just set up shop whilst simultaneously launching his own enterprise: Organic Dynamo (want to find something or someplace organic?).
Sitting on the Crowded Couch, we not only discuss copy and what it can do for you, but also the startup scene, 50 Shades of Grey, A/B split testing, MSN and S&M!
With over 30 minutes of information rich footage, this video goes against all YouTube kitten convention. I hope you enjoy it for what it is, and learn how useful copy can be for you and your work.
If you have any questions, ask them in the comments below and Matthew will do his best to answer them. To the video!
Follow Matthew @thewknow.
In my first real video, I introduce a technique used by Napoleon and successful marketers to guarantee you always win
You’ve got an app, or a new product, or a service, and you want to sell it. But here’s the problem: You have no money. Whoops. Marketing should always be seen as a production cost. One that should be researched and tested before you start developing the product.
See also: How to get free PR
Branding experts at Nike and Procter & Gamble have for years had a say in product development. If employees at Amazon want to create a new product, they first have to send out a press release to see if it sticks.
But startups don’t always work that way and that’s what I want to address here. If you’ve made a product and have no money left to sell it, then you’ll want to learn the Guaranteed Win Strategy.
Inspired by Napoleon, the Guaranteed Win Strategy is a flow chart that marketers (especially those on the telephone) have been using for decades in various forms. I used it to secure my first few contracts with uHouse.
It involves planning for every single possibility, and removing all dead-ends. No matter what happens, because you’ve prepared for everything that might happen, you can always move the pitch or the sales process back towards your end goal. Nothing, even a downright ‘NO’ is a waste. It’s all turned into your advantage and with enough persistance you will succeed.
Watch the video and try it for yourself. Then tell me what you think, and also what you think about my first video (shot on an iPhone 4, edited on iMovie).
This video was made in response to a reader’s email, so if you’d like me to tackle one of your questions, please just get in touch @tomchurch or use the comments below.
George from Think Tall Films came over to briefly discuss what startups and entrepreneurs can do to market their videos. He explains how YouTube is the second biggest search engine after Google itself, and that videos are great ways to rank well in Google itself.
See also: How to market your startup without money
Key lessons are to keep your message simple, short and snappy. George and his team at Think Tall Films have racked up over a million combined views from their videos, and you can view some of the most recent after the break.
If you’re looking to create some video content for your startup, follow @thinktallfilms for some tips, or contact George directly.
Continue reading “Video Marketing Tips for Startups & Entrepreneurs” »
On a quiet afternoon, the ticket hall of Estació de França, a public train station in Barcelona, turns into an impromptu wild carnival for vagabonds. Organised entirely via Social Media, it’s an example of 21st Century marketing perfection.
The Vagabundos are an underground community of house and techno music lovers who follow one DJ in particular: Luciano. He created a Seth Godin-esque tribe, who follow him around the world and turn up in thousands to unofficial parties such as the one in the video above, after announcing it just once on his Facebook page:
Luciano invites fans to a free party on Facebook
Marketers dream of such loyalty. So how does he do it? Firstly, when I said people follow him around the world, that wasn’t quite true. Luciano (and various other artists – he has his own record label now) goes to his fans. Berlin, Switzerland, Chile, Ibiza, Japan, Hungary, Barcelona, Ibiza… Day after day he flies (now on his private jet) from city to city, playing gigs at wherever his fans are. Over the years he has developed a global audience, and organises parties sometimes a year or more in advance, keeping their interest going.
As he travels, fans are kept in the loop primarily via social media. His Facebook fan page is full of Instagram photos of him preparing sets, working or playing. They are the first to know of any news, and almost every post is shared by hundreds. Through this, Luciano has managed to develop an incredible brand image: The Vagabundos. Wanderers of the world, his followers live in the moment and roam wherever they please. Beautiful, desirable, shareable, obtainable.
His music, majestic to even an untrained ear like mine, seems to embellish this magically. And that’s the most important lesson of all, his product – the music – is fantastic. He plays it to his fans directly, or they can buy his albums, and to those that can’t make the festivals/gigs/parties he shares the moment through the creation of artistic videos (coincidently made by my brother Terry). These videos are created to capture the feeling of the moment, and as I’m sure you’ll agree from watching the one above, they do so brilliantly.
This has three benefits: One, attendees get to re-live the moment and share it with their friends; Two, fans who couldn’t come get to participate in a different way; Three, new fans are created and the loyalty of old ones increase. Maybe that’s four benefits. The point is, marketers need to think of interaction with their fans in a slightly different way. As Robert Greene, author of 48 Laws Of Power (US) says, “Everything is material”.
So what have we learnt from Luciano? Product is key. Go to where your market is. Communicate your story through social media. Use that to create a desirable brand image that forms a community. Find ways to let everyone share it. And Let the party go on well after the event.
If you want to learn more case studies like this, and receive them directly via email, simply give your email in the box below. You’ll receive my very best including productivity strategies, interviews with serial entrepreneurs and invitations to meetups.
Continue reading “Social Media Marketing: Lessons From The Vagabundos” »
This video is the only marketing The Yacht Week has ever really done. With 2 million+ views, it’s all that’s its ever needed.
Cresting the waves of Greece and the British Virgin Islands every year are 91 yachts full of young people. They’re taking part in The Yacht Week, a very successful event/business that involves teaching how to sail, serving beer, and encouraging pirate raids, parties and hanky panky between crews.
Always fully booked weeks before, The Yacht Week is in an envious position. As if getting to sail in the British Virgin Islands wasn’t enough, they get paid to do it too. But how did they achieve success?
Watch the video above, and you’ve got your answer. This official trailer has gained over 2 million views, shared amongst friends and watched in awe. That’s exactly how I came across it: A friend came over and said, “have you seen this?” That friend then went and produced his own equally amazing video here.
The official trailer ticks all the boxes:
If you’re not already making video content, this example shows you why you should. A viral sensation can send wave after wave of new customers, or significantly boost the value of your brand. Look at how Coca-Cola used video for it’s sponsorship campaign of the Olympics (disclaimer: Coca-Cola is a client). But you don’t need such a big budget – that’s where good internet marketing comes into play, and for that you should read some Ryan Holiday.
If you liked this article, then you might like to learn how to get in the press. To receive a small, high-quality guide using real examples, then give your details below and I’ll email it to you directly.
Want to reach millions on YouTube but don’t know where to begin? Now, you don’t have to. YouTube has announced a new ‘marketplace’ that connects video producers with people like you: companies, startups and media agencies.
“We think YouTube can be a game-changer for small business – online video has made video advertising possible for every business of every size,” said YouTube group product manager Baljeet Singh.
Dirty Dash, a 5k race, partnered with Devin Graham to produce this great video capturing the event. With over 300,000 YouTube channel subscribers, it was a perfect match and great example of what the YouTube Marketplace will achieve. Dirty Dash quickly gained over 700,000 views.
Small businesses know that YouTube is powerful. Yet, until now, many simply haven’t had the time or the expertise to produce high quality content. The YouTube Marketplace changes that. Keep reading to learn more about the YouTube Marketplace and how you can use it.
