Need Some Marketing/Promotion Ideas

[greengecko]

Hello guys,

After a very long and stressful (but totally worthwhile process!) we have finally managed to secure sole distribution rights to a brand of products in the United Kingdom, along with hire two additional members of staff and move to our new premises.

While we sell quite a few other lines of products, we want to focus a lot more of our efforts on this particular brand as it has been very successful in the USA market (it is a home electronic product). We have recently launched a dedicated website for this brand, however it does still need a few finishing touches but is still getting around 250-300 unique visits a day without any serious optimisation.

I guess I am looking for some ideas or experiences you have undertaken and the results. I know my way around SEO, both blackhat and whitehat methods and could quite easy get these setup for the site - however after reading some of the information out there I am unsure of the best route to take, especially with the most recent updates to Google. Have you focused on any particular area and got results?

We are in the process of getting video reviews done by various successful YouTube review channels - has anyone had any experience with this? Furthermore we are trying to get in contact with some websites of which we believe their viewers would have an interest in the product to do some sort of review or giveaway, hoping to link back to our site and gain traffic that way.

In all honesty, while we have facebook and twitter feeds (twitter is regularly updated usually on a daily basis), we haven't had that much success. Some advice on how you have grown your social media would be great, we do already quickly respond to any posts directed at us so do try to engage as much as possible.

We are also looking at some offline marketing, as the brand have offered to cover half of all costs for the foreseeable future. We have been looking at getting posters at some of the most used London railway stations - not sure if anyone has ever done such a thing? We have used newspapers before but had relatively little success.

Another thing is leaflet drops, we haven't done this before either and again would be great if someone with experience could comment on any success or pitfalls with this.

If you have any suggestions for marketing, promotion, just getting the brand out there and ultimately driving traffic to our website it would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

 

[cameroncruz]

The are many ways that you can do in promoting your business like email marketing, social media, safelist, forum and blog commenting and traffic exchange.

 

[Ammon]

Wow, ton of post there with just as many questions.

Okay, lets start with the first question I remember - posters on London Transport. When I was with one startup in London, we ran posters on the tube trains, all the trains on the District Line. It was a reviews site where people could get paid by simply reviewing products they used.

Simply put, while it helped get some limited initial traffic to the site, it was an incredibly expensive method of promotion that yielded very little result beyond creating some brand awareness. Unless your Marketing strategy is geared around making good use of brand awareness, it really isn't worthwhile. And those were posters inside the carriages that people would be faced with for 10 minutes or more.

Pay per click in search yielded 24 times the ROI of the posters in terms of signups and submissions (the conversions of a reviews site). However, the brand uplift did help our sales team in selling advertising space, although the amount of help was never quantified. We ceased those transport poster ads at the first review of our channels, and never regretted cancelling them.

It is often far cheaper, and multitudes more effective, to arrange a publicity stunt or event at the station, such as having a stall out in Victoria Station (the busiest of all the London railway stations). Arranging that takes time, as Transport has special health and safety considerations (like evacuation proceedures) but would be worth looking into.

While uploading video to YouTube can be great for getting views, and thus again creating a certain brand awareness of your exclusive product, its a specialist strategy. The only really massive success there is "Will it blend?" demonstrating the toughness of their blenders in a fun and crazy way that appealed to casual people searching for whacky video. People don't usually go to youtube to shop or be advertised to, but to get away from those things, so to make YouTube work for you, you have to create something fun and not overtly commercial.

I have seen success with other quirky/crazy video, such as getting a celebrity to do weird 'experiments' or a demonstration that a mobile phone had more germs on it than a public toilet seat, etc. But these don't directly help sell stuff. They just get your name or product out there and known. Selling happens elsewhere, usually later in search, where the payoff of people remembering your brand/product helps you get click-thru.

More commercial video should be hosted on your own site, where (a) you get the traffic yourself instead of promoting youtube and (b) people are desiring more demonstrations of your products.

To be frank, beyond those questions, I'd really need to know at least generally what type of electronic product is being discussed. Ideas that work for a dishwasher may not work for adult toys, even if both technically use electricity.

 

[greengecko]

Wow, ton of post there with just as many questions.

Okay, lets start with the first question I remember - posters on London Transport. When I was with one startup in London, we ran posters on the tube trains, all the trains on the District Line. It was a reviews site where people could get paid by simply reviewing products they used.

Simply put, while it helped get some limited initial traffic to the site, it was an incredibly expensive method of promotion that yielded very little result beyond creating some brand awareness. Unless your Marketing strategy is geared around making good use of brand awareness, it really isn't worthwhile. And those were posters inside the carriages that people would be faced with for 10 minutes or more.

Pay per click in search yielded 24 times the ROI of the posters in terms of signups and submissions (the conversions of a reviews site). However, the brand uplift did help our sales team in selling advertising space, although the amount of help was never quantified. We ceased those transport poster ads at the first review of our channels, and never regretted cancelling them.

It is often far cheaper, and multitudes more effective, to arrange a publicity stunt or event at the station, such as having a stall out in Victoria Station (the busiest of all the London railway stations). Arranging that takes time, as Transport has special health and safety considerations (like evacuation proceedures) but would be worth looking into.

While uploading video to YouTube can be great for getting views, and thus again creating a certain brand awareness of your exclusive product, its a specialist strategy. The only really massive success there is "Will it blend?" demonstrating the toughness of their blenders in a fun and crazy way that appealed to casual people searching for whacky video. People don't usually go to youtube to shop or be advertised to, but to get away from those things, so to make YouTube work for you, you have to create something fun and not overtly commercial.

I have seen success with other quirky/crazy video, such as getting a celebrity to do weird 'experiments' or a demonstration that a mobile phone had more germs on it than a public toilet seat, etc. But these don't directly help sell stuff. They just get your name or product out there and known. Selling happens elsewhere, usually later in search, where the payoff of people remembering your brand/product helps you get click-thru.

More commercial video should be hosted on your own site, where (a) you get the traffic yourself instead of promoting youtube and (b) people are desiring more demonstrations of your products.

To be frank, beyond those questions, I'd really need to know at least generally what type of electronic product is being discussed. Ideas that work for a dishwasher may not work for adult toys, even if both technically use electricity.

Thanks for the reply, some very useful information in there and much appreciated. The product is for home security, and is priced such that it is very affordable for the everyday consumer - just need to get it out there a little more!

 

[Ammon]

Okay, so for home security product, a winning youtube video might be one that shows it defeating the efforts of some of the TV stars of years past that are way out of fashion to make a comeback. Imagine finding some cheaper kids TV stars like The Krankies, Timmy Mallet, Grotbags, The Chuckle Brothers, etc. willing to be in a quick 'ad'. Their attempts to get back into the homes of the public thwarted by your security device...

Just a quick throwaway idea that came to mind immediately on reading your reply to illustrate the point. I'm sure you can come up with better with just a few minutes thought. It would not directly sell any devices, but it would certainly have people notice and be aware of the brand and the product.

 

[andrewflower12]

hey friend

i helped Mr.p a member of this forum on same topic

You can visit same on Here - http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=2266510&postcount=2

 

[Ammon]

andrewflower12, I'm guessing you didn't read the opening post where he said:

I know my way around SEO, both blackhat and whitehat methods and could quite easy get these setup for the site

 

[JonathanSEO]

hey friend

i helped Mr.p a member of this forum on same topic

You can visit same on Here - http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=2266510&postcount=2

Can't believe this guy hasn't been banned.

Offering nothing and clearly churning out posts for the fun of it.

 

[murdoch]

well thanks to cameroncruz for the following

"The are many ways that you can do in promoting your business like email marketing, social media, safelist, forum and blog commenting and traffic exchange."

I'm busy trying to set up the SEO on my website www.homevet.com.hk and i'm certainly looking for some more ideas... after all the effort of building the site, its feeling like the effort has only just started really as now I need to work more on the SEO!

thanks all

Matt

 

[Ammon]

For a mobile vet, you'd be looking to build up a wealth of content on animal care, giving people a reason to get to know your brand *before* needing a vet, so when they do need one, you are the 'trusted brand' they have already heard of.

Start with all kinds of basic animal care content, perhaps interviews with animal dieticians, as well as grooming guides, guides to how much exercise the animals should have, etc. Have some videos showing some key points, like how to properly check pets for fleas, or deal with ticks, etc.

Basically, find the stuff that the other vets are not doing that you know many first-time pet owners would appreciate, and others would recommend they see.

You could even review pet toys, housing, bedding, etc. The idea is to demonstrate your 'expert viewpoint' and your caring for owners to enjoy their pets.

Build the brand.

 

[murdoch]

Hi Ammon,
yes especially as I have only a mobile vehicle not a physical shop (I share the use of my friend's clinic)... then I need to concentrate more on the markating. The suggestions you make are good, thanks.

 

[MokaBox]

Just following up on the comments relating to the use of videos on youtube, and more specifically Greengecko's question about whether any of us have experience with this.

I own a video production company, but my main activity is as a Yacht Broker.

I experimented with the use of video in yacht sales quite extensively last year. Many colleagues were dubious about whether this would be successful since they pointed out that my videos were unlikely to be seen by anybody who could afford a motor yacht, so I was unlikely to receive any enquiries and, therefore, was wasting my time and money.

To be honest I went ahead anyway simply because the videos were a lot of fun to make, and the owner's of the yachts I sell were happy to see the initiative.

The results were excellent, not only did I receive a number of qualified enquiries but also (unexpectedly) my SEO went through the roof and my videos were found on page 1 of google with certain search parameters.

The reasons for this I believe are:

1. Google purchased youtube and (it seems to me) promote the use of video online.
2. Youtube is the second biggest search engine in the world. Vast numbers of people use it whether to search for a motor yacht or a blender.

If the youtube review sites you refer to are free of charge as I assume, and if you can stop them from publishing negative reviews, I can't see how you can go wrong. With greater broadband now available video is becoming a very effective and affordable tool.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your business.