• 1975 – worlds first digital camera prototype was developed by Kodak
• 1997 – they created the world’s first 1.0 mega pixel camera.

He then went on to share some thoughts about online video and suggested that before we create our online video we need to start with is defining what success would look like in terms of the number of views and where we want the video to show up online e.g. YouTube, Facebook, in emails, your website, other sites

He shared his thoughts on what will increase the likelihood of increasing views of your online video – for this he suggested:

• be funny- though he comments that is hard
• be shocking – but do you want to associate your brand with this
• make it sexy
• use a contest
• be timely
• make it short – especially if you are sending the video in email.

You can find Kodak online and their links to Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and their blog here. It wll be interesting to see if Kodak to take onboard ideas from their community.

Mark Tarbatt also shared with me on Twitter that Kodak also asked on their community on their blog and on Twitter  for ideas on what to name their digital camera – see the feedback here.

Colin Hetherington of Zoo Digital also shared some tips to help you optimise your video online incuding:

• using key words in your titles
• using key words in your tags
• sharing your video with friends to increase views
• share your video on many sites online.

I’d also add:

• make sure that your online video is relevant and brings value to your audience
• don’t over promote – most online videos that get high number of views are not sales piches for products and services
• ensure there is a call to action in your video – what do you want people to do or where do you want people to visit when they have watched your video online
• monitor your views – you might be as suprised (as I have been) where what you think will bet lots of views doesn’t, and a video that you think is not as interesting gets thousands of views.

What questions do you have about creating and distributing online video as part of your marketing mix? And who do you think has implemented online video effectively?

Additional Resources

Read about some recent European research about online advertising and the projected spend in 2010 here – it suggests that 33% of the advertisers report that they are increasing spending on online video advertising next year.

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In the first article we explored under what circumstances we should consider translating our website into another language.

I then went on to ask Mark what the three most common issues people have when looking to implement their website in a different language.

Mark: I think the first issue is that so many Irish business people seem to have this notion that everyone speaks English – and there’s no real need to translate. This shows a very ‘insular’ approach to global marketing and the real purpose of marketing which is to make it so easy for your customers to buy from you. So if selling to Germany – make it easy for the Germans by developing a website in German.

Wille Brandt, the German Chancellor in the 1960’s famously said ‘If I am selling to you, I speak your language. If I am buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen’.

So the concept is not new and once someone has understood this perspective, we find that the rest is quite straight forward.

Secondly, budget is naturally a concern at the moment – but what’s important is not to confuse correct marketing strategy with budget constraints. Its possible to match budget to returns, so rather than spending €5,000 to translate your website into one language – why not try four languages – at €1,500 each? Dip your toe in the water first. Depending on results, you can then invest further in the target market that is showing best results.

A third issue we find is that once a website is available in a particular language, it then should be further marketed online. So it would be important to ensure that some Google Ad campaigns or SEO efforts are carried out in the different languages. Perhaps a French-intern in your organisation can start to develop a blog in French? It’s really no different to doing this in English.

And I suppose all these points are relevant once the organisation has developed a professional website in English. Professional does not mean expensive, but it does mean that the website has been well thought-out and have a professional appearance.

Krishna: Thanks Mark – I could not agree more with you in terms of your comment about making it easy for customers to buy from you.

A great question was also asked by Ann Donnelly in response to the first article who said

I do agree that a properly translated site is important if you are targeting such a market. But will visitors expect that you have staff that can communicate in that language? You’d need to manage that expectation so there isn’t disappointment when they come to communicate with you. Any ideas on best way to do that – especially for a smaller business that cannot hire multilingual staff?

Ann – I definitely agree with you that we should not raise expectations so that we are not able to deliver good customer service if we can not then respond in writing or verbally with a potential customer in the same language as the website is translated in. I personally think we have to factor that in when we develop a plan for expanding internationally whether or not we translate our website into another language.

I would recommend that if you don’t have those language skills in your team then if you are a small business you might want to invest in expanding your team perhaps with a virtual office who can pick up queries for you or as I have done in the past and found a strategic partner with the language skills you need.

But what other suggestions do you have – or what have you implemented when expanding your business internationally?

Additional Resources

You can read the first article in the series where we explore under what circumstances we should translate our website here.

If you want to discover how to win more business online and expand your reach internationally, you might want to attend the forthcoming workshop being run by the IIA and at which Mark will be speaking.

It is called ‘Winning International Business on the Web’ and takes place on the 18 November 2009. Find out more details online at the IIA website.

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The Marketers’ Internet Ad Barometer, forecasts that online ad spend across Europe will grow even more rapidly in 2011 with budgets expected to grow by 15% year-on-year.

This forecast by the European Interactive Advertising Association – which counts AOL, BBC, MTV, eBay and Conde Nast as members – will raise hopes that marketers are beginning to regain confidence and increase their budgets across the board.

EIAA also found that while TV ad spend may be under pressure, websites such as ITV.com that offer programmes online are starting to catch on with marketers.

The Guardian goes on to report that in 2010 there is a predicted 7.6% year-on-year increase across Europe.

The research, conducted with senior marketing executives across nine European markets.

Some 33% of the advertisers reported that they are increasing spending on online video advertising and about 20% of respondents stated that their spend on mobile advertising was increasing.

I can not find the current research posted on the website of the European Interactive Advertising Association online at the time of writing this article. You can however find their previous research here.

What are your plans for 2010 – will you be increasing money spent or other resources with online advertising?

Is that with Facebook ads, Google pay per click, online video or banner advertising?

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

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Mark ’s business provides a translation and localisation service and are based in Dublin. Cipherion Translations regularly work with Irish organisations as they take their first steps in developing a global presence.

Mark also heads up the Irish Internet Association’s International Strategy Working Group.

I suggested to Mark that he might like to share some of his advice with the ‘Biz Growth Community’ and posed a few questions for him. This is the first in a series of three articles where Mark addresses the questions I raised with him.

Krishna: Under what circumstances should we consider having our website translated into another language versus relying on an automatic translation.

Mark: What a great question. I think that if your website is used for “customer acquisition” or is meant to help to differentiate your product (e.g. if you are a hotel in Kerry that wishes to attract more German customers than your competitor down the road) then automatic translation is not really going to help.

At best, automatic translation will help the buyer to understand your product offering – but we know from research that purchases are made based on ‘feelings’ – and justified with logic.

A poorly translated website gives the sense that you are not really interested in the customer – but just hoping to make the sale.

For instance, if you are a specialist at manufacturing horse-riding gear and sell it around the world, then a French customer looking for such horse-riding gear will likely be checking 4 or 5 other French sites – in addition to your “translated site”. What will make them purchase from you? Well, the nature of the French translations are going to go a considerable way to convincing them that you are a serious alternative. Obviously, if you are a large Brand like Nokia or Sony, well, you have the budget and will have a properly translated website.

Now, we always come across people out there who say, ‘I have gained 20 customers from my automatically translated website’ – and its probably true. However, to gain real presence in a market and grow your customer base – most professional organisations will look to have a properly translated website.

The secret to international success is to appear to be a ‘local’ brand. In other words, make it easy for your customers in Spain to select you – make sure your Spanish is real Spanish– not something that has come from a free translation tool.

Krishna: Thanks Mark for your insights. I know from living and working in many countries that the approach that worked best for the businesses I was involved with were those who thought globally but acted locally. Being able to deliver a clear and relevant marketing message on your website in the countries you are looking to expand in is definitely something we should consider.

If you have questions for Mark and are looking for guidance on translating your website you can contact him at mrodgers@cipherion.com.

Additional Resources

If you want to discover how to win more business online and expand your reach internationally, you might want to attend the forthcoming workshop being run by the IIA and at which Mark will be speaking.

It is called ‘Winning International Business on the Web’ and takes place on the 18 November 2009. Find out more details online at the IIA website.

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Today I tested out the platform when creating a Tweetup invitation for an event with another Shel – this time Shel Israel author of the new book Twitterville.

Long time podcasting pal, Adrian Moss, who I met a few years ago at the Corporate Podcasting Summit where we were both speaking,  dropped me a direct message on Twitter some weeks ago to say that his company Parity Group were sponsoring a speaking series for Shel in Europe and did I think it would be possible to organise a Tweetup in Dublin.

The details have only just been finalised and on Sunday the 8 November 2009 we are organising an informal  Tweetup at ‘The Barge’ in Dublin – the drinks will be sponsored by Parity Group PLC thanks to Adrian. We’ll be meeting up from 8.15pm.

Shel’s most recent book ‘Twitterville, How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods’ includes  stories from more than 100 business people who are using Twitter in their business so it is a unique opportunity to connect with him and of course meet up with other Twitter friends.

Twtvite.com is very simple to use and people can register their attendance and interest in the event. You can also incorporate your own hash tag for the event (ours is #sheltweetup), it includes a map and you can quickly add it to your calendar. The one problem I found is that it did not hyperlink the full URL for the location of the event. It also makes it easy to share the details of your event through Facebook, Twitter, email and other social platforms. And it’s free!

Another tool you could use to promote your Tweetup is Tweetvite which provides similar functionality. However it also allows you to customise your event page and you can even add your own design, images and video.

So if you are thinking of organising and in person meetup of your Twitter community of followers and friends why not try out Twtvite or Tweetvite.  Networking online is great, but sometimes there is no beating a get together in-person.

Have you used other services to help you plan your own Tweetup? what do you recommend?

And remember if you are in Dublin and would like to join us for the Dublin Twitterville Tweetup you can register online at our Twtvite page.

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Until now, Group activities have been isolated to the group page. This week Facebook have made changes to Facebook Groups – changes are being rolled out across all groups over this week if you don’t see the changes yet.

In summary:

• Facebook Groups will now look similar to PagesFirst, we revamped the design for Groups so that they look similar to other pages and profiles with a Wall that summarises all the recent activities of people within the group and a Publisher that enables members to share their content.

• Facebook Group activities, which previously only appeared in the group, will now be delivered to your News Feed – you will see stories when one of your friends posts within a group rather than when all members post.

• You will be able to interact with Groups directly from the News Feed stories or make comments on these stories directly from your home page. You can choose to see only group-related stories on your home page by sorting by Groups from the filters on the left-hand side.

Facebook comments that while Groups and Pages now look the same, they still serve different purposes. Groups are for fostering member-to-member collaboration, while Pages remain the best way to broadcast messages to your fans if you are a business, organisation, public figure or other entity.

Facebook Groups historically have had a cap at 5,000 members – I’m not sure if that has changed or will change – what is clear is that Facebook is looking to make our content be that on Facebook pages or groups easy to access from our home page.

However the changes are not welcomed by many Facebook Group administrators or members who preferred the old version and many are asking for the option to stay with the old version of Facebook Groups.

If you are a member of a Facebook Group or an adminstrator for a Facebook page, what’s your thoughts on the changes?

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The programme starts at 8.45am and closes at 5.15pm.

The conference promises to cover areas including:

• Tips for surviving an economic downturn
• Entrepreneurship and business planning
• Creative marketing on a shoestring
• Funding your start-up company and getting your pitch right to investors
• guiidance if you are thinking of investing in a franchise.

Speakers include:

• Sean Gallagher: Entrepreneur, Property Developer, panellist on The Dragons’ Den
• Dylan Collins: Online Gaming Entrepreneur and CEO, Jolt Online Gaming
• Alan Gleeson, General Manager, Palo Alto Software Ltd.

There is also a competition that will be running at the event where the Sunday Business Post will award the ‘Best New Business Idea’ a prize of :

• €20,000 worth of advertising in The Sunday Business Post
• A professional website will be designed for the winners by Digital Ambition
• Three months business consultancy for your online PR and digital marketing campaign to the value of €5,000.

I am going to be speaking on the subject of marketing and will be covering:

• The four pillars of your marketing plan
• Essentials tools for your marketing kit bag
• Followers, fans and friends: how savvy entrepreneurs are using social media including Facebook and Twitter to attract customers.

So be sure to say hi if you are planning to attend.

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• 54% of companies were using Twitter
• 32% of companies had a blog
• 29% of companies are using Facebook.

• to distribute news and updates abut the company (94%)
• as part of their customer service programme (67%)
• to announce marketing promotions (57%)
• for recruitment of staff (11%).

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

The

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When do you Tweet? When driving, at work or on vacation?

A recent Gadgetology study by consumer electronics shopping site, Retrevo.com found that most people check Facebook and Twitter a couple of times a day.

27% of respondents to the survey who are under 35 years of age however are checking Facebook more than 10 times a day.

The survey also found that that 36% of people under the age of 35 often use Facebook or Twitter after sex – men being more likely to do this than women – and iPhone users are three times more likely to do so than Blackberry owners.

The Retrevo.com Gadgetology study indicates that only 19% of the over 35 year olds use a phone as the preferred device for social media services with 81% preferring instead a desktop or laptop computer. However 46% of the under 35 year old survey respondents prefer to use a mobile devise to engage with social media..

Among the survey respondents under age 35, 27% of Facebook users check it more than 10 times a day compared to 39% of Twitter users checking in on Twitter more than 10 times a day.

When do you Tweet? And how addicted to Facebook and Twitter are you?

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

The Retrevo Gadgetology Report is an ongoing study of people and electronics from Retrevo, the consumer electronics shopping site.

The survey was an online study of individuals (non-Retrevo customers) conducted by an independent panel. The sample size was 771 distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States.

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

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The survey showed that online marketing budgets have returned to growth, though all other budget categories are still on a downward trend.

Amongst those companies surveyed, internet advertising was the only category to see an increase in spend with budgets rising for the first time since Q2 2008:  Internet was up 4.5% and internet search up 5.4%, with sales promotion down 4.5% and direct marketing down 4.7%. ‘All other’ (below-the-line such as  PR, events, sponsorship) seeing the deepest cuts.

The Bellwether Report is researched and published by Markit Economics on behalf of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). It features original data drawn from a panel of around 300 UK marketing professionals and provides a key indicator of the health of the economy. The first report was published on the 17th July 2000.

What are you plans for your marketing budget in this last quarter? Are you increasing the amount you are spending online? And what about your plans for 2010?

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