By
Bobby Mardis
We are converging upon a time where marketing and advertising are
synonymous with the Internet and electronic press kits. It's officially
the information and visual media age, as the Internet is single
handedly threatening the viability and justification of spending
exorbitant resources on television, radio and newspaper advertising.
Although these mediums are still relevant, or "primary outlets" for
promotion and advertising, small business owners are finding it
difficult to use them when juggling their limited financial resources.
Electronic Press Kits, or EPKs, have been around for a number of years,
but more recently they have exploded on the Internet as a way to achieve
marketing goals on an abbreviated budget. Any prudent business looking
to increase sales has an objective of augmenting the number of
advertising impressions they receive while using the financial resources
available to them. The power of the Internet coupled with the EPK is a
marketing methodology that one might consider when accumulating
customers and heading towards product branding, as well as significantly
increasing their market share.
First of all, for those who may not be familiar with EPKs, some marketers define it as a longer running commercial. We all know that the standard commercial running times are fifteen, thirty and sixty seconds in length. An EPK is usually three to five minutes in length and it is used to exhibit more of the product or service benefits, and examples. It is also used to express the philosophy of the business owners and provide a brief overview of the inception of the product, along with manufacturing methodologies, or the development process. A useful benefit of an EPK is to show more about the qualities of the product, but more importantly, the key spokesperson's passion, knowledge and commitment are exhibited. Customers buy from people they like and an EPK gives a spokesperson more time to be likeable. It just gives one a longer time to convince buyers and solidify the sale.
So why mix this EPK tool with the Internet when one could easily send a DVD to the prospect? The Internet provides marketing options and is much cheaper, not to mention quicker. Technology has simplified the method of "searching for information" when people are on a quest to find products or services. The telephone book, or 411, used to be the way we found companies that we needed to do business with as a solution to a problem. Searching the phone book has proven to be a slow process and has its limitations, especially when companies are outside of the local, or geographic parameters of the book. If you call the 411 operators as a mode of acquiring information too many times, you will see the impact on your bill.
EPKs associated with your business are one of the most up-to-date marketing tools that you can use to promote and advertise. The Internet and company websites put millions of resources at your fingertips within seconds. All you need to know is the right search words, tags, or combination of words to input within a search engine like "Google's" search field. You then have an appropriate answer, or company in seconds. If that answer is not to your liking, you have the option to immediately seek others and peruse their website moments later. The problem now is that there may be hundreds of companies that are in direct competition with each other, so how do you choose the company or resource that is right for you in a sea of options? Customers in today's generation instinctually pick up their cell phones and computers to search for answers, information and companies to do business as a natural reflex. We are over stimulated with information and options that overload our brains with choices. Every creator of product needs an edge to stand out, be different and separate themselves from the crowd. An EPK can achieve this goal.
In the age of commercials, YouTube, Hulu, streaming images and WebTV, it's easier now than ever to customize your message to the general public. If a person surfing the Internet finally reaches your website or media, you have to seize the opportunity and assure that they get the right message, or the message you want to them to see. It's a good idea to take advantage and cater every image, sound, word, and appeal that is designed specifically to inform them of your services. Your objective is to entice them into "giving you or your product a try" and ultimately turn them into a valued customer.
It has become standard operating procedure for a company, or an independent contractor to have a web address. It is as common as having a set of personal keys to your car. It's also similar to having a telephone number, fax or email address. The point is, once customers find you, they have to be able to reach out and communicate with you. Once they connect with you, that is your big opportunity. Attaching an EPK to your website has become a necessity to take advantage of the valuable time that you have with the prospect. When your customers find you, they may take the time to read your material and view your media. What you show them in the first minute has to be on point. They say that first impressions are the most important.
Since web-surfers, including myself, have a very short attention span, you want to take advantage of ever minute that they stay on your site viewing your customized material. If they take the time to read your material, you have a minute or so to capture their interest. If they are watching a compelling video, or interesting piece of media, then you have about three to four minutes. Anything longer than five minutes is placing your message at risk of not being completely seen and absorbed by the viewer. You are just a click away from your customer moving on to the next prospect, so being informative, concise, and showing clear examples, is mandatory. There is some value in being entertaining, witty, different and creative when appropriate. Remember, your customer has competitor options a click away.
An EPK is a way to tell your story and get your full message across to targeted customers. It is like standing in front of a massive audience and convincing them to buy your product for three to five minutes with any visual presentation tool you want to use. Remember, your customers may have searched for your product so they are already qualified as a motivated buyer; now it's your time to show them that you are the solution to what they are looking to purchase. The fact that they are they're watching your EPK to see what you have to offer, is like looking at the theory of "when opportunity meets preparation." If these two points intersect, then there is a strong possibility of success, or in practical terms, a sale from a customer. One of the key words here is preparation. An EPK prepares you for when a customer walks through your Internet door, takes a seat and listens to your pitch. The good thing is, your door is always open for customers to hear your pitch 24 / 7 / 365, or in short, every second of the day or night.
There are other ways of finding people to view your EPK other than random searches. Much like mailing lists or leads are sold and purchased, email lists are similar in that web-links are sent to targeted buyers every second of the day. These links are literally the roadmap for your potential customers to find you quickly. There are more ways to draw qualified customers to your site or media, which will be the subject of another article. If you are really eager, just Google the words "SEO" or "search engine optimization."
As a quick review, once your EPK is created and published on-line, it will work for you while you work, play or sleep. It will always be there to inform your customers. You can give a complete overview of your services, who the management team is, why you are their solution, while showing clear images of what you have to offer with complete benefits when customers utilize your company. Remember, the Internet has the ability to reach a massive audience, quickly. Keep in mind the power of YouTube when posting videos there. It has started careers for people like Justin Bieber who gets an average of 20 million views per song. He acquired 143 million views on the song, "As Long as You Love Me" alone, so it is possible to reach millions of people with the right material. You might not be Mr. Bieber, but reaching a few million potential customers with a little Internet ingenuity and elbow grease will be worth your time.
Keep in mind that your website may have a limited storage capacity and once you exceed that limit, you simply have to pay more money to your ISP. If you use the power of YouTube by storing your videos and media, then you pay absolutely nothing. Your media is stored in "the Clouds" and you have the ability to make your message "open to the public" to view, or make it "private" so that only selected viewers can see the media. There are literally fifty to a hundred Internet media exhibitors like Vimeo and others, that you can utilize to post your EPK. Each outlet has their own set of viewers and dedicated audience; your job is to reach as many people as possible and drive them to your material. The more your media and message is out into the world, the better chances you will have in reaching the largest segment of buyers of your product. Clearly, your EPK is your Internet solution to expanding your customer base in the most cost effective manner.
As of June 2012, there were 7 billion people in the world with over 2 billion regularly exposed to the Internet. There are over 5.1 billion Google searches per day of people looking for information. It is imperative that you have a "web presence" so that you are in the position of being the subject of Google searches and more importantly, that customers looking for what you have to offer, find you and your message.
In the age of "we want it quickly, and we want it right now," it is a benefit for customers to receive an overview of what you have to offer. Your presentation should sell your product while you are tending to other tasks, including sleeping. By the time the customer comes into your brick and mortar business, they may be completely sold on your product based on your EPK. It is possible and often likely that they are simply coming to your "point of purchase" to pick up the product, contract your service, or book you on the next job based on the results of their research. Large corporations know the expenditures per sale, or the cost of the sale. Some of the expenses of doing business the traditional way allow for travel, ground transportation, hotel, per diem, wining and dining potential customer, and all increase the costs. If you believe that time equals money, then your valuable time is monetized in that aforementioned scenario. Using the Internet will significantly decrease your cost-per-sale.
You need a web presence that "you" can control and "now" is the time to create your own EPK so that you can control what customers find on you. If you don't have one, you are placing yourself, and your company at an unfair disadvantage when competing. Remember, sites such as Angie's Lists and Yelp give the general public the ability to review your services, however, if one disgruntled customer posts a negative review and that is the only review that a potential customer reads, then it decreases your chances of converting that customer. The point is to control some of the information on the Internet that customers stumble across, or intentionally find. You want them to find your EPK, review it, and then make an informed decision on your product leaning your favor.
The Internet has opened up the world to see you, your product and your services. Make sure you are ready to show them what you have to offer. The days of selling your product on your street, or in your neighborhood, has just expanded to selling around the world with a strong visual web presence. State to state commerce is at your fingertips, and worldwide trading and income is just a click away with E-commerce.
You might be surprised at the regions where potential customers might be open to your product and how easy it is to be accessible to you. The Internet and EPK is part of the new frontier in the marketing world. The say that if you are hitchhiking on the info highway you will get run over, so make sure that you are prepared! PRESS KIT PROMOS are experts at shooting EPKs, or commercials that help to sell and inform the general public about you, your company, your product, or your services. Being prepared and having good product is only half the game, reaching your customers and informing them of your "quality solutions," is the other half. For more information on EPKs and production outlets of acquiring your own media presentation, you can go to http://www.PressKitPromos.com.
First of all, for those who may not be familiar with EPKs, some marketers define it as a longer running commercial. We all know that the standard commercial running times are fifteen, thirty and sixty seconds in length. An EPK is usually three to five minutes in length and it is used to exhibit more of the product or service benefits, and examples. It is also used to express the philosophy of the business owners and provide a brief overview of the inception of the product, along with manufacturing methodologies, or the development process. A useful benefit of an EPK is to show more about the qualities of the product, but more importantly, the key spokesperson's passion, knowledge and commitment are exhibited. Customers buy from people they like and an EPK gives a spokesperson more time to be likeable. It just gives one a longer time to convince buyers and solidify the sale.
So why mix this EPK tool with the Internet when one could easily send a DVD to the prospect? The Internet provides marketing options and is much cheaper, not to mention quicker. Technology has simplified the method of "searching for information" when people are on a quest to find products or services. The telephone book, or 411, used to be the way we found companies that we needed to do business with as a solution to a problem. Searching the phone book has proven to be a slow process and has its limitations, especially when companies are outside of the local, or geographic parameters of the book. If you call the 411 operators as a mode of acquiring information too many times, you will see the impact on your bill.
EPKs associated with your business are one of the most up-to-date marketing tools that you can use to promote and advertise. The Internet and company websites put millions of resources at your fingertips within seconds. All you need to know is the right search words, tags, or combination of words to input within a search engine like "Google's" search field. You then have an appropriate answer, or company in seconds. If that answer is not to your liking, you have the option to immediately seek others and peruse their website moments later. The problem now is that there may be hundreds of companies that are in direct competition with each other, so how do you choose the company or resource that is right for you in a sea of options? Customers in today's generation instinctually pick up their cell phones and computers to search for answers, information and companies to do business as a natural reflex. We are over stimulated with information and options that overload our brains with choices. Every creator of product needs an edge to stand out, be different and separate themselves from the crowd. An EPK can achieve this goal.
In the age of commercials, YouTube, Hulu, streaming images and WebTV, it's easier now than ever to customize your message to the general public. If a person surfing the Internet finally reaches your website or media, you have to seize the opportunity and assure that they get the right message, or the message you want to them to see. It's a good idea to take advantage and cater every image, sound, word, and appeal that is designed specifically to inform them of your services. Your objective is to entice them into "giving you or your product a try" and ultimately turn them into a valued customer.
It has become standard operating procedure for a company, or an independent contractor to have a web address. It is as common as having a set of personal keys to your car. It's also similar to having a telephone number, fax or email address. The point is, once customers find you, they have to be able to reach out and communicate with you. Once they connect with you, that is your big opportunity. Attaching an EPK to your website has become a necessity to take advantage of the valuable time that you have with the prospect. When your customers find you, they may take the time to read your material and view your media. What you show them in the first minute has to be on point. They say that first impressions are the most important.
Since web-surfers, including myself, have a very short attention span, you want to take advantage of ever minute that they stay on your site viewing your customized material. If they take the time to read your material, you have a minute or so to capture their interest. If they are watching a compelling video, or interesting piece of media, then you have about three to four minutes. Anything longer than five minutes is placing your message at risk of not being completely seen and absorbed by the viewer. You are just a click away from your customer moving on to the next prospect, so being informative, concise, and showing clear examples, is mandatory. There is some value in being entertaining, witty, different and creative when appropriate. Remember, your customer has competitor options a click away.
An EPK is a way to tell your story and get your full message across to targeted customers. It is like standing in front of a massive audience and convincing them to buy your product for three to five minutes with any visual presentation tool you want to use. Remember, your customers may have searched for your product so they are already qualified as a motivated buyer; now it's your time to show them that you are the solution to what they are looking to purchase. The fact that they are they're watching your EPK to see what you have to offer, is like looking at the theory of "when opportunity meets preparation." If these two points intersect, then there is a strong possibility of success, or in practical terms, a sale from a customer. One of the key words here is preparation. An EPK prepares you for when a customer walks through your Internet door, takes a seat and listens to your pitch. The good thing is, your door is always open for customers to hear your pitch 24 / 7 / 365, or in short, every second of the day or night.
There are other ways of finding people to view your EPK other than random searches. Much like mailing lists or leads are sold and purchased, email lists are similar in that web-links are sent to targeted buyers every second of the day. These links are literally the roadmap for your potential customers to find you quickly. There are more ways to draw qualified customers to your site or media, which will be the subject of another article. If you are really eager, just Google the words "SEO" or "search engine optimization."
As a quick review, once your EPK is created and published on-line, it will work for you while you work, play or sleep. It will always be there to inform your customers. You can give a complete overview of your services, who the management team is, why you are their solution, while showing clear images of what you have to offer with complete benefits when customers utilize your company. Remember, the Internet has the ability to reach a massive audience, quickly. Keep in mind the power of YouTube when posting videos there. It has started careers for people like Justin Bieber who gets an average of 20 million views per song. He acquired 143 million views on the song, "As Long as You Love Me" alone, so it is possible to reach millions of people with the right material. You might not be Mr. Bieber, but reaching a few million potential customers with a little Internet ingenuity and elbow grease will be worth your time.
Keep in mind that your website may have a limited storage capacity and once you exceed that limit, you simply have to pay more money to your ISP. If you use the power of YouTube by storing your videos and media, then you pay absolutely nothing. Your media is stored in "the Clouds" and you have the ability to make your message "open to the public" to view, or make it "private" so that only selected viewers can see the media. There are literally fifty to a hundred Internet media exhibitors like Vimeo and others, that you can utilize to post your EPK. Each outlet has their own set of viewers and dedicated audience; your job is to reach as many people as possible and drive them to your material. The more your media and message is out into the world, the better chances you will have in reaching the largest segment of buyers of your product. Clearly, your EPK is your Internet solution to expanding your customer base in the most cost effective manner.
As of June 2012, there were 7 billion people in the world with over 2 billion regularly exposed to the Internet. There are over 5.1 billion Google searches per day of people looking for information. It is imperative that you have a "web presence" so that you are in the position of being the subject of Google searches and more importantly, that customers looking for what you have to offer, find you and your message.
In the age of "we want it quickly, and we want it right now," it is a benefit for customers to receive an overview of what you have to offer. Your presentation should sell your product while you are tending to other tasks, including sleeping. By the time the customer comes into your brick and mortar business, they may be completely sold on your product based on your EPK. It is possible and often likely that they are simply coming to your "point of purchase" to pick up the product, contract your service, or book you on the next job based on the results of their research. Large corporations know the expenditures per sale, or the cost of the sale. Some of the expenses of doing business the traditional way allow for travel, ground transportation, hotel, per diem, wining and dining potential customer, and all increase the costs. If you believe that time equals money, then your valuable time is monetized in that aforementioned scenario. Using the Internet will significantly decrease your cost-per-sale.
You need a web presence that "you" can control and "now" is the time to create your own EPK so that you can control what customers find on you. If you don't have one, you are placing yourself, and your company at an unfair disadvantage when competing. Remember, sites such as Angie's Lists and Yelp give the general public the ability to review your services, however, if one disgruntled customer posts a negative review and that is the only review that a potential customer reads, then it decreases your chances of converting that customer. The point is to control some of the information on the Internet that customers stumble across, or intentionally find. You want them to find your EPK, review it, and then make an informed decision on your product leaning your favor.
The Internet has opened up the world to see you, your product and your services. Make sure you are ready to show them what you have to offer. The days of selling your product on your street, or in your neighborhood, has just expanded to selling around the world with a strong visual web presence. State to state commerce is at your fingertips, and worldwide trading and income is just a click away with E-commerce.
You might be surprised at the regions where potential customers might be open to your product and how easy it is to be accessible to you. The Internet and EPK is part of the new frontier in the marketing world. The say that if you are hitchhiking on the info highway you will get run over, so make sure that you are prepared! PRESS KIT PROMOS are experts at shooting EPKs, or commercials that help to sell and inform the general public about you, your company, your product, or your services. Being prepared and having good product is only half the game, reaching your customers and informing them of your "quality solutions," is the other half. For more information on EPKs and production outlets of acquiring your own media presentation, you can go to http://www.PressKitPromos.com.
Bobby mardis of "Press Kit Promos" has been in business over
thirty years producing content for film, television and most recently
the web. To view examples and acquire more information on how to use
media to increase your profits, go to http://www.presskitpromos.com
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