by MRPwebmedia
You’ve heard of mission statements, elevator pitches, and other variations of the same thing. What it all boils down to is telling people who you are, what you do, and why any body should care. The notion is you delivery your core marketing message in the time it takes to get where you’re going on an elevator. Today these short marketing messages are more likely delivered on websites rather than elevators.
Unfortunately most of these so-called elevator pitches are nothing more than mind-numbing platitudes that convey none of what people are really looking for. We all know how impatient Web-visitors are. People have hair-trigger click-fingers, bouncing from page to page without ever absorbing or understanding any of the content. Your site becomes instantly forgettable.
50% of your web traffic disappears in seconds.
Let’s face it. There are lots of people selling similar or competitive products or services. So why would anybody respond to your message if you’re saying the same thing, the same way, about the same stuff as your competition? People do business with people, people they trust, people they like. And if websites have one major drawback, it’s that they are impersonal and for the most part, devoid of human contact.
In short websites lack personality and character, the signature appeal that makes you stand out from the crowd, makes you different and appealing. And that is what you can achieve with the right 136words of video and/or audio. One minute of expertly crafted dialog delivered by an experienced professional Web-video host or voice-over announcer. All you need is sixty seconds to say everything that needs to be said, out loud, by a real human being.
There is a reason why the business consultant’s classic opening question to a CEO is, “What business are you in?” Of all the complex issues with which corporate leaders have to contend, this simple query is probably the most troublesome.
Knowing who you are, what you do, and why your prospects should do business with you seems like something that every business professional should be able to rattle-off at the drop of a business card. But ask this question and what you get is a rambling explanation of company products combined with a series of B-school platitudes about striving to work hard to deliver the best widget.
Don’t make them sift through dozens of pages of S.E.O. mumbo-jumbo…
Call it a value proposition, an elevator pitch or simply your ‘raison d’etre’. What matters is delivering your marketing message in a memorable manner with a human voice: the single most effective communication tool at your disposal.
Nothing compares to the impact and meaning conveyed by a professional Web-video host or voice-over announcer delivering a well-crafted presentation that tells your brand story.
Nothing conveys the infinite variation, subtlety, and nuance of character like a real person: a human being who makes eye contact and talks directly to you.
It’s called communication and isn’t that what websites are supposed to do? And it can all be done in sixty seconds, that’s 136words of signature video and/or audio.
You may have dozens of pages of text on your website, crammed with information that few will ever actually read. But by adding only sixty seconds of video and/or audio, professionally written and delivered, you will turn your website into something useful: a marketing messenger with brand-defining impact; one that makes you standout from the competition.
It’s not surprising that many CEOs, marketing managers and business owners are frustrated by the ineffectiveness of their websites. Everyone in business understands the power of the Web and we are all tantalized by its potential. But rarely does that potential get fulfilled.
So whose fault is it? Well there is certainly enough blame to go around: website designers who don’t understand business; IT departments that superimpose technical solutions on marketing problems; and business managers who fail to clearly define and deliver a consistent marketing message. And let’s not forget executive egos and tightwads that insist on do-it-yourself techniques that are ‘good enough’.
Let people know right up front what you’re all about.
The prime directive in any webmedia initiative is to deliver the marketing message. It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, have a huge budget or are working on a shoestring. It doesn’t matter if your intention is to build name recognition, showcase corporate expertise, present merchandise, distribute product knowledge, provide customer service, facilitate order-desk inquiries, drive brick-and-mortar traffic, or implement an e-commerce sales system; if you don’t deliver a consistent and coherent marketing message, you will fail. All your efforts will be lost in the clutter and noise of a ferociously competitive marketplace.
How much time do you expect people to invest in deciphering your website? Give yourself a chance to succeed, give your audience something to remember, something to think about. You may not get the instant sale, but you’re more likely to gain a customer.
The Web is a communication environment where its practitioners have ignored the basic building blocks of effective communication. The sound of the human voice reinforced by an on-screen Web-video host or voice-over announcer communicates more than information. It communicates character, personality, and your ability to connect on a human level.
You’ve only got one chance to make an impression…
Nothing makes us sit-up and take notice more than the sound of a real person speaking directly to us. And nothing engages our attention like an attractive performance from a professional who knows how to use both body and voice to convey meaning and impact. It’s an evolutionary imperative driven by the earliest recollections of our mother’s voice and the reassurance of the protective psychological cocoon it created.
The sound of our name, or that of someone familiar, stops us dead in our tracks. No static image, no text, no layout pattern has the Pavlovian effect of the sound of a real person. It’s the most powerful, the most memorable, and the most effective means of communication we have. And when you add an optional visual performance to the mix, it demands our attention. And as Web-marketers we ignore it at our corporate peril.
There has developed over time a Web-orthodoxy, a set of acceptable ways of doing things, a litany of dos and don’ts that if scrutinized in the light-of-day prove to be next to useless - useless in doing what needs to be done - creating a memorable user experience that results in turning traffic into customers. If your audience can’t hear what you’re saying, if they can’t relate to your company on a human level, then how do you expect them to respond to your call to action?
You need to define, package and deliver your marketing message in a memorable verbal and visual narrative using cutting-edge webmedia techniques. Creating an unforgettable value statement is not just an exercise in marketing ingenuity but an assignment in business survival.
You can effectively deliver your corporate character on websites, mini and microsites, email campaign landing pages, and offline digital presentations using the 136words video and audio solution.
Show your audience exactly what you mean using audio and/or video.
Real estate companies can use 136words to describe homes, neighborhoods, and sales professionals. Manufacturers can use 136words to provide instructions on how to use their products increasing customer satisfaction and saving money on call center operators. Distributors and retailers can use 136words to launch new product lines or for seasonal promotion campaigns.
Franchisors can use 136words to provide tours, overviews, and testimonials of their franchise operations. Public companies can use 136words to provide background material, histories, and PR initiatives. Consumer product companies can use 136words to create radio-style commercials. Entertainment companies can use 136words to create clever word-of-mouth campaigns.
There’s an endless variety of ways to use 136words. What’s important is that you make a statement that your audience won’t forget.
Define your message by focusing on your core objective. This message must be concise, coherent, and articulate. All too often, business writing is inane gobbledygook. Business-to-business writing in particular tends to cram everything you do into a single presentation. Narrow your focus to a single compelling reason why prospects should do business with you.
Think campaigns not commercials. A campaign is defined as a series of presentations with a theme that ties them together. Let’s say you have six important concepts you want to get across. That requires six video or audio presentations each focusing on a single idea, but with a unified theme that ties them all together. That way you have six chances to persuade and convert traffic into customers.
Writing inane sales copy doesn’t make you a screenwriter.
Don’t think of your prospects as a market; they are an audience, waiting to be informed, entertained, and moved to action by your message. You cannot be all things to all prospects. You must decide who your audience is, and what they will accept. Approach secondary agendas with different initiatives. Your message must resonate with your audience. One-size-fits-all fits no one.
You don’t speak the way you write. Writing for speech requires thinking of how things sound, where to place the pauses, and on what words or phrases you place emphasis. It is not just about grammar, spelling, and composition; it’s about creating a compelling, attention grabbing, entertaining work of persuasion.
List all the human attributes you want your business personality to have. If you’re presentation is audio only, remember it’s the Signature Voice that will make your message memorable. If you presentation is video you also have to factor in the look of your video host. The combination of voice, appearance and delivery is how your message gets communicated. Whether it’s voice or video, it’s the performance that counts. Like a good story, it’s the telling of it that makes it memorable.
The script should not be about you. It should be about how your audience can benefit from knowing you, not just a list of products or services. Writing for voice-over and video is about communicating with the listener or viewer so your message resonates.
Isn’t your business too important to be just good enough.
Our staff reviews as many as 150 audio auditions for voice-overs and dozens of on-screen auditions for video performances. A short list of the best are put up in a special client area of our website for private reviewing. You can watch or listen to the auditions as many times as needed in order to select the right person to represent you. And of course, we make our recommendation that you can consider as part of the selection process.
The process is complete and seamless. Whether it’s audio or video we can deliver the final media in any number formats and file types suitable for a variety of implementations, including websites, email campaign landing pages, and offline digital presentations. We even provide the HTML code required to implement the Web-ready audio and/or video on your site. You can install it, or we can do it for you.
People ask, “What do you do?” You could say we inform, enlighten, innovate, and create; you could also say we deliver our clients’ marketing messages in memorable ways using video, audio, webmedia campaigns and websites; all created in-house from concept to implementation, from graphic and motion design to Web-design, from script writing to video-production to post-production, from music composition to signature sound design.
It costs nothing to find-out what we can do for you.
What do we do? We motivate action by speaking to your audience’s real needs. We tell your story so your brand, your message, embeds in the minds of your clients. We are corporate storytellers.
Contact MRPwebmedia at (905) 764-1246 or email info@mrpwebmedia.com to find out how you can implement 136words on your website.