Rich Media: Marketing Content for Maximum Lead Generation
August 29, 2008
By Tom Masotto
Without question, rich media content—i.e., Webcasts, videos and podcasts—is an important tool in any marketer's toolbox for lead generation and brand awareness campaigns.
With Webcasts, for example, marketers have a captive audience viewing a 40-45 minute presentation on your products, services and solutions. Rich media also provides marketers with a wealth of marketing information to identify and prioritize sales leads. This, in turn, allows sales forces to engage prospects in meaningful conversations.
The question then becomes, how can marketers strategically market rich media for effective sales lead generation campaigns? Here are six helpful hints to get you on the right track:
1. Keep the title simple and relevant. Remember, you only have a few seconds to capture someone’s attention, so it's key to convey the benefit of the content. The title also has to be relevant enough to entice the viewer to click through, whether it’s to read the abstract or view the Webcast, video or podcast. And don't forget to leverage keywords for SEO purposes.
2. Write informational abstracts. In line with point one, use informational abstracts to further maintain the person's interest in your content. The abstract should be about 65 to 100 words. This is the perfect length to convey the gist of your content in a quick review. Be sure to incorporate the main keywords in the title in the description to improve SEO.
3. Use educational, not promotional, content. Educational-based content positions your company and spokespeople as industry experts. If you can address you audience's pain points, the audience is more likely to remember you as a solutions provider. Otherwise, you risk being seen as a salesman. And instead of having a company spokesperson speak on the Webcast, video or podcast, secure an industry analyst or subject matter expert as a speaker. This implies that your content is educational in nature and may generate more interest in the material.
4. Include a visually enticing thumbnail. Use a screenshot of your corporate logo, PowerPoint presentation or video as a visual representation, which augments the text based title and description. By using descriptive image tags, the screenshot can also appear in image-based searches.
5. Be interactive. Rich media is a more dynamic medium than plain text, such as white papers or case studies. Take the opportunity to use polls and surveys to elicit more information from your audience. This ultimately increases the connection that viewers have with you, your message and your company.
6.Don't underestimate the value of on-demand content. Most marketers focus on the live online event for lead generation campaigns. But there is a wealth of archived Webinars, podcasts or videos found on corporate Web sites and servers. You can expose this content to new audiences by creating more visible resource centers or posting the content on relevant online directories. This not only extends the shelf life but also maximizes your ROI.
Tom Masotto is general manager of Insight24, a business-to-business rich media network (www.Insight24.com).
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