Branding Archives

As Google and Facebook continue to change the way ads are seen, marketers must adapt their strategies to strengthen their spots in their target’s feed. Looking for some guidance? Here’s what marketing tactics worked well in 2019.

Storytelling

Bringing your brand to life with storytelling continues to be one of the biggest trends of 2019. Stories tend to be remembered up to 22 times more than just facts alone. Burt’s Bees took this approach and continued to build upon it by introducing Burt himself. They gave him the opportunity to share what drove him to start his business, what values he holds, and “Burtisms” such as ‘If the shoe fits, wear it. Unless it’s my shoe.”

With help from a strong branding campaign, Burt’s Bees was successfully able to launch into the highly competitive cosmetics market and emerged as the leading lip balm brand in the US in 2019.

Social Justice

Storytelling has been proven successful with big and small brands. We saw this firsthand when brands aligning themselves with social justice issues made waves during the election in 2018. Multiple companies emphasized the importance of voting in last year’s midterm elections in an attempt to turn out voters young and old. But self-proclaimed Secretaries of Ice Cream Ben and Jerry’s continue to take it a step further with their blog, with a collection of recipes, quizzes, calls to action to contact Senators to pass the Equality Act, and other posts highlighting opportunities for social justice.

Even with their political bias, Ben and Jerry’s continues to grow with local farmers and fill freezers across the globe. After posting their support of the Green New Deal in April, Ben and Jerry’s spiked to its highest popularly on Google Search in 2019.

Influencers

You don’t always need an expensive marketing plan like Ben and Jerry’s; influencer marketing is still a powerful way to reach consumers. After seeing success in their Facebook advertising, Native, a natural deodorant brand, worked to partner with multiple influencers who raved about them – and added an affiliate link at the end of their video. In fact, their reviews are something they never stop highlighting, making them a key focus on their website.

With the feedback from influencers and customers, Native continued to improve their product. The result? They now boast over 500 5 star reviews on Amazon. They’ve also expanded their products – now featuring body wash, toothpaste and more, and striking up deals to be sold in Target. But the biggest success comes from their rate of growth. In 2.5 years they earned over a million customers. That’s not all: in 2017, they sold to Procter and Gamble for $100 million.

Podcasts

From internet celebrities to recruiting websites, podcasting continues to be an important trend in any marketing plan. Listening to online audio content has hit an all-time high in 2019, with most people reporting that they listen to podcasts (or other online media) for seventeen hours a week.

But podcasts can convey more than just updated industry practices. Makeup mogul Sephora is taking it a step further with the podcast #Lipstories. Partnering with Girlboss, host Kristina Zias gathers powerful women from the beauty industry every week to talk about how to feel self-confident in a chaotic world. Blue Apron is doing the same, tackling the issue of where our “local” food comes from, and how to expand your palate.

Data Privacy

Podcasts are a great way to begin interacting with your customers. But the relationship you maintain with them (and their personal data) is just as important as the initial interaction. Hackers that are attempting to get into your system are getting better. In fact, data breaches increased by 54% in the first six months of 2019.

Did you think big companies were safe? Think again. After the Cambridge Analytica data breach, Facebook tightened down its security, assuring users their data was safe. But it April of 2019, it was found that over half a billion profiles were being stored on unprotected Amazon servers, and were accessible to be downloaded by anyone. Facebook released a statement in April, and later in September revealed that it was much bigger than people had expected, with tens of thousands of apps suspended.

Today, people are more interested in what big tech companies are doing with their personal data – and how businesses are profiting from it. It’s easier than ever to find articles on how to keep Facebook from accessing your data. And with another election coming up in less than a year, Washington still has quite a few questions, too.

Missed these trends this year, or unsure what trends to lean on in 2020? Partner with us today and jump-start your branding in 2020.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a national, award-winning, digital, creative, content/PR, and video marketing firm. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, our team unites creative branding and data analytics to accelerate our clients’ growth, while combining our clients’ vision with our marketing expertise to increase sales opportunities and drive brand success. From video advertising and web design to social media and PR, Millennium can guide your marketing efforts every step of the way. Contact the professionals at Millennium Agency to learn more!

Healthcare marketing is entering an age of unprecedented transparency. Hospitals and medical practices are making strides toward more consumer-focused healthcare in the wake of recent federal regulations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed new rules about how hospitals must share pricing information. The goal is to avoid “surprise medical bills,” or unexpected charges faced by insured patients when a member of a healthcare team that treated them is considered an out-of-network provider.

Hospitals are now required to be transparent about the items and services they offer. They will need to disclose how much they’ll cost by publishing “chargemasters,” or list prices for both gross charges and payer-specific negotiated charges.

However, hospital chargemasters are very difficult to decipher. This is because they include thousands of individual hospital services, often listed in incomprehensible abbreviations. To the average consumer, these are all but incomprehensible. Why? Because the average consumer doesn’t purchase individual services from hospitals or know exactly what services they will need.

How can a hospital comply with the regulations and make it easy for consumers to find price information?

The answer is simple. Give customers the information they want in a format they are familiar with. Take a retail approach by offering bundled pricing, personalized price quotes, and price comparison tools for shoppable healthcare services. These are common, widely available services that most patients pay most or part of.

By grouping health care products and services into units that patients understand, customers will know exactly what they are getting for their money. List bundled pricing information for core services (such as surgeon, facility and anesthesia fees), the price of start-to-finish procedures, and hospital stays (price per length of stay). Bundled pricing can be advertised online through pay-per-click advertising, paid social advertising or other digital marketing strategies.

Pre-visit, personalized price quotes will also help customers avoid the aforementioned “surprise medical bill.” They would also be helpful to insured patients, who never pay the full sticker price (listed on the chargemaster) of a service because insurance companies bargain with hospitals and doctors for discounted rates.

An online price comparison tool, available on a hospital’s website, would be a helpful healthcare marketing tool. It would allow patients to compare the cost of various tests and procedures based on their specific insurance information. This tool could also be advertised through various digital marketing campaigns.

Takeaway

Healthcare price transparency is happening now—and it’s changing the way hospitals and other providers market and advertise their services. Integrate pricing into your healthcare marketing strategy, adjust pricing to stay competitive, and advertise your most popular, economical services. Healthcare organizations that leverage these new regulations will be most equipped to become industry leaders in the era of price transparency and consumerism.

Learn more about healthcare transparency marketing by downloading our eBook or giving us a call to discuss how Millennium Agency can help your hospital or medical practice market your services in a way that will attract and retain potential customers.

About Millennium Agency

Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency located in Manchester, NH, and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

Still considering whether your business website needs a blog? Let us save you some time and trouble by telling you right now: a blog is a must-have for your website.

Why Your Business Website Needs a Blog

Despite the widespread popularity of video marketing and its omnipresence on your social media feeds, blogging remains a highly visible and popular content marketing strategy. And data supports this fact. In the U.S. alone 42.23% of people from the ages of 18 to 49 read blogs and there are over 440 million blogs on the internet. And considering how there are currently 1,702,064,883 (and counting) websites, competition for an online audience continues to be fierce. Blogging provides another tool in your arsenal to help potential customers find you.

When you build out and add fresh blog content to your website, you’re enhancing your website’s visibility and helping to better connect with your target audience. Keep reading to find out exactly how a blog can help your business.

Blogging Increases SEO Performance

A standard small business website may only consist of approximately 7-10 pages. While that may be enough to get your point across, it might not be enough to attract potential customers to your website. That’s where blogging comes in. Search engines rank web pages individually – not entire websites. So, adding a blog to your website is a simple way to help your website rank higher in Google rankings. A blog also allows you to insert keywords and links—the hallmarks of effective SEO—which send traffic to your site. If you’re interested in learning how to add SEO keywords to your website pages, our article Why SEO Keywords Increase Website Traffic covers the topic in depth.

Blogging Establishes Industry Credibility

Blogging offers your business a place to share its insights, news, and awards. It also allows for greater transparency between your business and your customers. Blog articles that include behind-the-scenes information about your business—or your thoughts on the latest news in your field—help your business establish itself as authentic, trustworthy, and an authority on subjects related to your industry. Plus, if you establish your website as a go-to source for industry information, more people will click on your articles, other websites will start linking to them, and your website will rank higher in search engines.

Blogging Creates Content for Social Media

A consistently updated blog offers a wealth of content that can be shared easily on social media networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Fresh, information-rich content creates additional opportunities for sharing. This, in turn, develops inbound website traffic which can lead to new customers and increased sales. Blogs can also be promoted via email campaigns, advertisements, and even linked to at the bottom of an email signature. They can also be used as visual content on Instagram and Pinterest. Simply share your main blog image, overlaid with the post title or a quote from the post, and add a caption.

Blogging = More Time to Convert Website Visitors into Customers

Picture a prospective customer perusing your expertly designed, meticulously crafted website. This person may want to know a little more about your business before they are ready to make a purchase or get in touch with you. They may want to gauge your expertise, learn more about your services, or verify that you are still in business. If you are updating your blog with new and relevant information, they will continue to stay engaged with your website instead of clicking over to the competition.

Blogging Can Improve Your Email Marketing Strategies

An active blog with useful, engaging content may entice people to:

subscribe to your mailing list just to read your blog posts
stay informed about your industry and/or
keep up to date with your latest news and updates

And, if people are reading your blogs, your business will stay on their radar and potentially convert them into customers. By adding an email subscription option on your blog, you can build a steady stream of regular visitors for your website. Plus, an email subscription option provides another avenue for people to consume your blog content. This is especially valuable for marketing to people who don’t use social media and therefore don’t see your shared posts.

Blogging Can Offer Big Benefits for Any Business

Adding a blog to your website can make a huge difference for search visibility, leads, and sales. But blogging success doesn’t happen by accident. It begins with a smart content marketing strategy and a consistent, deliberate approach.

At Millennium Agency, our team of blog writers will take the time to learn about your business, evaluate your competition, and perform keyword research before we begin writing blogs for you. If you’re interested in learning more about our blog writing and content marketing services, give us a call today.

About Millennium Agency

Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH, and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

The average American is exposed to up to 10,000 marketing messages per day, making it more difficult than ever for marketers to engage with potential customers. So how can your business stand out from the crowd? The simple answer: create a buyer persona. Buyer personas are fictional profiles of your ideal customer. Creating detailed buyer personas for your business will help you segment your customers and provide valuable insight for smarter, stronger, targeted marketing campaigns.

Research Your Target Audience

Start by gathering relevant information about your customers through market research and analytical marketing platforms such as Facebook Insights and Google Analytics Audience Report. These powerful tools will help you find data about your Facebook visitors and website users such as demographics, location, interests, purchase behavior, lifestyle, and more.

Perform Interviews and Conduct Surveys

Interview your existing customers to get a deeper understanding of their psychological attributes such as habits, values, and hobbies. Alternatively, or in addition, conduct surveys to help define your buyer persona. Surveys can save time and resources, and many online survey companies offer analytics tools to help you sort and analyze your data.

Identify Customer Challenges and Goals

Talk to your sales and customer service teams to see what kind of questions they answer the most. What problems are your customers or potential customers trying to solve? What are your customers trying to gain by using your products or services? You can also search social media platforms for mentions of your brand, products, and services to find out what people are saying about you online.

Build Your Buyer Persona

Use the commonalities you discovered in your data collection to come up with more than one ideal type of customer. Outline each persona to include age, gender, location, income, profession, hobbies, aspirations, and fears. Then, take the general characteristics of your persona and narrow them down to a very specific personality. It can be helpful to name each of your buyer personas and give them a short biography. To create more depth to each persona, include:

“A Day in The Life” scenarios, written in the first person. By thinking about what a day in the life of your persona looks like, you can better understand their problems and objectives. For example, if your persona is ‘Diana,’ a full-time administrative assistant also working towards her CPA online, ‘Diana’ might say: “I work a nine-to-five desk job but I’m studying for my CPA at night so I can get a better job and help pay for college for my two kids.”
Objectives, goals, and responsibilities. For example, ‘Diana’ wants to “find out quickly if my kids will qualify for direct, subsidized student loans.” This targeted information allows content creators to tailor their marketing specifically toward the persona’s objectives.
Problems that the persona might face. For example, ‘Diana’ is pressed for time because of her full-time job and part-time studies. She also has limited use of the telephone for personal phone calls during the day because she is an administrative assistant. With that information, marketers could create online forms and FAQs about student loans that are relevant and easy to find.
Preferences, such as topics she has shown an interest in, personal communication preferences (email, text, online chats, telephone, mail), her favorite social media websites and how she uses them, her favorite content platforms and channels, and where she finds news and information.
Keywords and phrases she might type into Google’s search box. People typically search similar phrases to what they use in conversation. ‘Diana’ might search “how do I find information on what student loans my kids will qualify for.”
Engagement scenarios that pull together all the information about your persona. Create questions or concerns your persona might have and then provide answers to them via the content you create. Think about how your persona will interact with your content over time to find meaningful ways to link your content together.

Ensure that every piece of information in your persona is something your business can use, either from a content creation, sales, strategy, or marketing standpoint.

Create a Negative Buyer Persona

Use a similar process as explained above—just look for different qualities—to create a negative buyer persona, also known as an exclusionary persona. A negative buyer persona can help you understand who to avoid and who isn’t a good fit for your business. Ask your team what customers they disliked working with and why. Find out which customers were difficult to retain, and which customers generated the least amount of revenue. Knowing the characteristics of your negative personas will provide valuable insight into attracting the right leads.

Once you have created your buyer personas, you can start to personalize your messaging and branding campaigns. Create customer experiences, targeted advertisements, and blog and email content catered specifically to various personas. By targeting your messaging to distinct buyer personas and addressing their priorities and goals, your business will attract quality customers and increase sales while building brand loyalty and trust.

It takes time and effort to research and build buyer personas. Not sure you have the time or inclination? Give the marketing experts at Millennium Agency a call today.

About Millennium Agency

Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

Social media integration is a must-have when it comes to marketing strategies that work well in the digital age. It’s important to use a variety of marketing channels to reach your target audience, and utilizing the power of social media is one of the best ways to do that. Though sharing content on social media can help you increase brand awareness and drive traffic back to your website or blog, using social media the wrong way can do more harm to your brand than good. Keep reading to learn how to win over customers by effectively integrating social media into your digital engagement strategies.

What is Social Media Integration?

Social media integration is a marketing tool that allows you to use social channels as an extension of your existing branding strategies. A social media integrator helps promote brand awareness and increase the visibility of marketing campaigns by creating opportunities on various social platforms for customers to link or share information between their website and social media. Businesses that don’t utilize specific social platforms — or that don’t integrate social media accounts into their websites — risk missing out on new prospects and leveraging their online presence.

Here are a few tips to integrate your social media efforts into your overall business strategy to reach a larger audience, save more time, and promote a consistent, trustworthy brand.

Integrate Social Media to Promote Your Website

Organize your social media marketing efforts around directing traffic to your website. Think of your website as your home base — the place where all the action should occur. Include a visible social media button along the top, bottom, or side of your website. Create buttons or links that open your social media pages in new windows to ensure that visitors don’t leave your website altogether. HubSpot has an excellent guide on creating social media buttons for any social platform directly on your website. This is a surefire way to help increase traffic to your social networks and boost your brand positioning.

Add Social Posts to Your Website

Many businesses showcase their Facebook posts and Twitter feeds directly on their websites. Some businesses use these platforms to highlight sales or offers, while others provide information about recent news or events. Whichever you prefer, to utilize this method of social media integration most effectively, make sure to actively manage your social media platforms at least twice a week. Links or posts with outdated information will reflect poorly on your brand and could actually damage your reputation.

Integrate Social Media to Utilize Various Platforms

Develop your social presence across a variety of platforms to cater to customers who may prefer to use different forms of communication. Research various social media platforms to determine those that will most effectively deliver your message to your target audience. For instance, a business serving a high number of professionals may find the most leads via LinkedIn, while others may enjoy increased inquiries as a result of engaging video ads posted on YouTube. Other tactics to determine which platforms work best for your brand include evaluating the competition and deciding which platforms have the highest growth potential and audience engagement.

Focus on the Best Social Media Platforms for your Business

Once you have established a healthy presence across a variety of social channels, it’s best to begin measuring your performance and start focusing your efforts on the social media platforms that work best for your business’ needs. To do this, you will want to measure specific Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs on each of your social channels. KPIs are quantifiable metrics that tell you how well your pages and posts are performing on social media so you can determine your ROI and modify or amplify your strategy accordingly.

This article from OptinMonster goes over the top 8 best social media platforms for business and gives pros and cons for each one to help you decide which ones you ought to be taking advantage of. While you shouldn’t ignore your poorer performing social media accounts altogether, it is wise to boost your efforts on the most effective and engaging social media platforms to maximize your ROI and elevate your brand as much as possible.

Integrate Social Media to Make it Easy to Share Content

If you have a blog, sell products, or post articles on your website, make your content shareable with social share buttons. Share buttons enable customers to easily share or recommend a product from your website to their social networks. Social media integrations for sharing include Facebook, Twitter, Google, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Reddit, and hundreds of others. Plugins such as AddThis and ShareThis offer easy-to-implement share buttons for social media integrators with the added benefit of analytics so you can see how your content is getting shared.

Implement a Strong Social Media Integration Plan

A strong social media integration plan will increase traffic to your website from social media and increase your social media following from your website. Social media integration amplifies your online presence, creates more opportunities to connect with your audience and leverages your brand. To find out more about creating and following a social media integration or marketing plan, or if you would like assistance in getting started, contact Millennium Agency today.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a national award-winning digital creative, content/PR and video marketing firm. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, our team unites creative branding and data analytics to accelerate our clients’ growth, while combining our clients’ vision with our marketing expertise to increase sales opportunities and drive brand success. From video advertising and web design to social media and PR, Millennium can guide your marketing efforts every step of the way. Contact the professionals at Millennium Agency to learn more! Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

Many business owners eventually reach a point of growth when they require the assistance of a marketing agency. The reasons for this vary; they need to build or strengthen their personal brand, they don’t have the skills required to increase their website’s search engine rankings or design eye-catching direct mail pieces, or they simply don’t have the time to focus on marketing and public relations. These entrepreneurs have at least one thing in common: they want to expand their business and increase its profitability.

If this describes your current situation, do you know how to select the right marketing agency for your business? In order to avoid comparing quotes by various firms–and to stay in control of the process–it is critical to take the time to understand your marketing situation before you start researching.

1. Define Your Marketing Goals and Budget

The first step is to gather your existing electronic and printed marketing materials and review them objectively. Using your marketing collateral as a foundation, define your marketing goals so that you can clearly articulate your needs. Next, determine how much you are willing to budget for this assistance. Your marketing budget will depend on your goals, your market space, your structure, and your revenue. It may be helpful to consider how much your competitors are spending and budget a little more. In an annual survey of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) from a variety of industries, marketing budgets made up 11.1% of total company budgets in 2018.

2. Request Recommendations

Ask your colleagues, friends, and business associates for the names of marketing agencies they have done business with and would recommend. Use your social media network to generate a list of recommended agencies as well. Ask detailed questions about your associates’ experiences and results, specifically about past campaigns, including ROI and performance metrics.

3. Search Online and in Directories

Review the websites of the marketing agencies suggested by your network as well as any others found through online searches. Marketing agency websites should include portfolios and client lists as well as the successes they have helped their clients achieve. Find out if the agencies have experience with companies in your industry or your specific niche, look for case study examples, and determine if you like their design style and presentation. Check out sites such as AdForum, which is a global directory of agency profiles, and AgencyList, a resource for finding top agencies across the US. Reviewing sites such as Google and Yelp will also yield past client testimonies.

4. Choose an Agency that Aligns with Your Goals

Are you looking for a full-service marketing agency that offers online and offline integration? A digital marketing agency that focuses on blogging and SEO? Some agencies specialize in specific marketing techniques, such as the creation of digital ads or social media advertising. If your business is like most, you will need a combination of marketing strategies. While you could hire different companies to handle paid search, SEO, video, website design and PR, the results will be disorganized and inefficient. Choose an agency that can deliver consistent, measurable results across all marketing sectors. In addition, identify firms that have experience developing and executing your marketing plans in-house. Some agencies contract with a company, only to send the work elsewhere, including overseas. Be mindful of who you will be working with and ask specifically for the account principals and key players.

5. Interview at Least Three Marketing Agencies

Meet in person or via video chat to present your needs and budget to each agency. Make sure to include any relevant information that they would need to develop an effective marketing strategy such as your business and brand background and specific industry, target customers, desired work objectives, budget, and timeline. Request a written proposal with a line item budget included and hourly rates. Find out if the agencies are open to phasing your project and be transparent if funding is still needed for your proposed projects.

6. Evaluate your Proposals and Choose the Best Value

Review the proposals face-to-face or via video chat, allowing the agency to present their ideas to you in person and explain anything you don’t understand. Following your agency meetings, get together with your decision-making team to evaluate each proposal and apply the same criteria to each one. Consider price breakdown, timeline, their ability to meet your business needs, deliverables and expected outcomes, expertise, communication and progress reports. Once you’ve selected a marketing agency, review the agreement and be sure that every aspect is clear before signing.

A marketing agency should serve as your partner in business development. Select one that can be your trusted advisor and that can deliver the scope of services you need to further your business in your local market. At Millennium, a relationship with a new client typically starts with a phone call or a meeting between our CEO, Vice President, Directors and a prospective client. Get in touch with us today and let us know how we can help you achieve your business goals.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business.  Visit www.mill.agency or book time here. 

The use of video content in social media marketing is growing at an exponential rate. This exploding new medium has led to increased sales and expanded brand awareness for companies of all sizes in nearly every imaginable industry.

Studies show that 82% of consumers have been encouraged to take action after watching a business’ marketing video. The success of video marketing isn’t a secret, 63% of businesses are already using video as a marketing tool and customers are more likely to engage with a video than any other type of post on social media. Fortunately, it’s not too late for businesses to get started, even if they’ve never done video before or have struggled with video in the past. With a focused strategy, businesses can create online video content that will expose their products and services to an entirely new audience.

What is a Brand Awareness Video?

For businesses just beginning to incorporate video content into their online marketing strategies, a brand awareness video is an excellent way to effectively connect with customers and expand overall online reach.

Brand awareness videos come in many shapes and sizes, and what’s right for one company might not be right for yours, but what they all have in common is that they tell a story – your company’s story. Share how your business was able to grow from the ground up, explain the mission statement that has allowed your company to prosper, or share the personality that makes your brand unique. Creating a brand awareness video allows your business to grow its connection to your customers by giving them a snapshot of what means the most to you.

How Brand Awareness Videos Build Your Customers’ Trust

Today, a smart consumer is a cynical one. Consumers have learned to avoid marketing slogans that seem too good to be true by being slower to trust brands than they have in the past. This is important because when it comes to shopping decisions brand trust is a deciding factor for most consumers. According to a survey conducted by InMoment, 88% of consumers surveyed agreed that brand trust was “extremely important” when deciding where to shop, and 66% said that a break in brand trust was one of the biggest reasons they had stopped shopping at a retailer they previously loved.

By creating a brand awareness video your business can create the first layer of transparency between your brand and consumers. Joe Forte wrote in the article ‘5 Strategies for Building Brand Trust Through Video’ that customers, “want to know how the business originated, how it grew and what struggles it had to face. All of these things make the brand memorable and relatable.”

Sharing stories that make your brand unique through this medium can be the first step towards building an authentic relationship with your customers.

Why is a Brand Awareness Video the Right Choice?

Brand awareness videos are a great place to begin if you are looking to elevate your business’ current video strategy. There are 75 million people watching online videos every day in the U.S. alone, but those viewers don’t expect every video to compete with the next superhero blockbuster. A simple and professional brand awareness video can reach a massive audience, and help your customers see your company as more than just a name or logo. A brand awareness video is a great opportunity to let your company’s past pave the way to a brighter future.

To learn more about how video marketing can help your company and get started on your very own company biography video reach out to Millennium Agency today.

About Millennium Agency

Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

Brand trust is the most important currency you can have with your consumers. But in the era of social media and influencer marketing, building trust and success for your brand is becoming ever more elusive.

The problem? Many consumers think marketers are not being honest with them, the audience.

For the most part, it’s safe to say marketers don’t lie on purpose. They have goals to hit and a target to reach, and marketing is their way of telling a story to sell their product or service to reach those goals.

But you can’t deny this strategy of getting the most reach at any cost isn’t having an impact on your bottom line.

In a recent study 42% of consumers claim to distrust brands.

Ouch.

Social media influencers can often help bridge the trust void.

Today’s younger consumers have more affinity with an influencer than with any individual brand.

A celebrity endorsement or review can yield more engagement for a product or brand than traditional forms of advertisement.

It’s no surprise that 39 percent of marketing professionals say they will be increasing their influencer marketing budgets this year.

Before you spend, do your homework first. Consumers want influencers that have credibility, relevancy and authenticity to the brand they represent.

Hiring a celebrity strictly because of their social media reach will only generate what I call “anticipointment”. That’s when you are excited to hear about an opportunity, but that excitement quickly vanishes into disappointment. That’s why it’s important to find influencers with brand authenticity. Otherwise, consumers will no longer value influencer marketing as it will be perceived as another way brands fool and mislead consumers.

Consider how you recruit your brand ambassadors.

Open your search for influencers in your local market. If you have someone in your town or city that could be considered an expert on the brand or product, have a conversation with them. While their reach may be significantly smaller than a celebrity, your social engagements may be more meaningful and real. Embrace the idea of authenticity. Interview your influencer like you would any member of your staff. Find out who they are, and if this is someone you think you can TRUST to represent your client’s brand. Find an influencer with brand authenticity and your brand will grow organically.

Be transparent with consumers or risk losing the power of influencer marketing.

For more information on influencer marketing and help achieving your marketing goals this year, contact Linda A. Fanaras, President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency ) located in Boston and Manchester, NH. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 ext. 201 or [email protected].

About Millennium Agency

Online videos have led to increased sales and expanded brand awareness for companies of all sizes and industries, including your manufacturing and technology business – and online video use is growing at an impressive rate. In addition to creating and developing content-rich, customer-focused Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles, business owners should incorporate video into their marketing strategies to effectively connect with customers and prospects – and rapidly expand awareness.

A good entry point is the video-bio. Video-bios provide a great way to bridge the offline-online marketing gap and enable prospects to place a face with a name. They can be posted on company websites, shared via social networking sites, and linked from email footers to increase views. This solution helps promote the expertise and personality of business owners that are abundant in the manufacturing and technology industry and has the proven power to garner trust.

After becoming comfortable with the process of producing and sharing a video, business owners should experiment creatively. Remember to keep the end goal in mind: creating a video marketing strategy that will resonate with customers and prospects and inspire them to engage afterward with comments, reviews, and shares.

Some of the most successful (and viral) online videos have been the simplest. By nature, people don’t have long attention spans. Videos two to three minutes in length have proven to be the most popular, and this length increases the likelihood videos will be viewed to completion.

The subject of the video can be very straightforward, such as product demonstrations, office/site tours, Q&A sessions, and customer features. However, those that are indirectly related to your business – if at all – can often prove to be the most memorable. Don’t be afraid to try a comedic approach or try your hand at creating a planned series of related videos – which has proven to be a popular social video marketing strategy for building buzz and increasing online followers.

Once your video is ready for the masses, post it to YouTube (and any other online video sites, such as Google Videos, Vimeo, or Yahoo! Video) and your company website to drive traffic. It is critical to include related keywords in the video title to increase search engine results – and remember to always include your website’s URL in the video, too.

After you’ve posted your video, make the big announcement via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn with an HTML link. You’ll receive likes, follows, and video comments in no time.

While businesses cannot rely solely on social media and video to increase profit margins, they are important aspects of a successful integrated marketing strategy. Social media and video can prove even more powerful when combined with other online marketing efforts (like search engine optimization and ad placement), and can be integral to transforming a business’ web presence – resulting in increased lead generation, top-of-mind brand awareness, and improved sales.
_____________________________________________________________________

Linda Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].

About Millennium Agency

Who are you anyway? Maybe your perception of you is different from those who know you. How do you become who you want to be? Perhaps you want to be a smart, quick-witted, professional. Or a serious, rigid, powerhouse who never misses a beat. Whatever your personal branding goals are, creating a personal brand that defines who you are, why you are unique, and why you should be sought out for the next promotion is all up to you.

Most likely, you already have the basis of a personal brand in place, but if you’re reading this article, then it’s time to expand on it. Take a deep dive into your current experiences and accomplishments and decide where you want to go. Seek out those new certifications, professional and personal capabilities, and volunteer opportunities that build your resume and your brand.

It is critical to grow and nurture your brand to use it to its full potential. Here’s how:

Step 1: Take the time to analyze your brand and identify what you do best; maybe you’re the most innovative or creative, the strongest leader, or the trendsetter. Determine what makes you and your brand stand out against the other manufacturing and technology companies. Conduct some primary market research by asking former and existing customers about their experiences with you.

Step 2: Research your competitors to find out how they position themselves. What aspect of your style sets you apart from the other businesses in the manufacturing and technology sector?

Step 3: Use all of your collected data to develop a unique selling proposition (USP) – a persuasive message that communicates how your products or services stand apart from those of your competitors. The key to developing a reliable brand is consistency. Once you determine what personal strength(s) you’re going to brand, ensure that you include your USP and slogan on all client-facing documents and forums – including your website, stationery, voicemail message, web directories, marketing materials, and social media accounts.

Step 4: Then take a look at your educational track. Should you consider additional certifications to grow your career – a Master’s or Doctorate Degree or simply some classes to broaden your knowledge? Technology changes faster than the seasons, so there’s always more to learn.

Step 5: Strengthen your brand by writing articles, white papers, and testimonials within your field– but, better yet, consider some speaking opportunities to put you ahead of your game. As mentioned above, there’s always more to learn in the manufacturing and technology sector, so take the time to educate your clients.

Remember that you are your business. When carefully developed, your personal brand will amplify your strengths and work for you – create opportunities, attract customers, and close sales. If you need assistance in jump-starting your brand strategy, contact an integrated marketing firm.

Don’t forget to be cognizant of the fact that every meeting and interaction you have with prospective and existing customers, colleagues, and vendors is part of the personal brand and reputation you are creating.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Linda A. Fanaras is the President and Founder of Millennium Integrated Marketing (www.mill.agency ) located in Boston and Manchester, NH. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 ext. 201 or [email protected].