How to Deliver a Message

By | Managed Services News

Jun 15

Mixing up mediums ensures that you stay top of mind wherever and whenever customers are getting their information.

As a Senior Director at Cox Business, John Muscarella is responsible for the overall readiness strategy for the indirect business sales channels. His team has the primary responsibility to develop, implement ­and sell solutions utilizing the Cox Communications network throughout the country. John has more than 25 years of experience in business management, which includes sales and leadership positions with companies such as Polycom, Sprint and EDS.

John Muscarella of Cox Communications

In the past few months, I have shared tactical advice on how to build an effective marketing machine for your business, even if your marketing department is just you. In this final installment of our series, I will talk about reaching your customers and prospects however they best receive information. Some of us like to read, others prefer video, and others prefer to listen to podcasts to stay informed.

It takes about six to eight touches to generate a lead. Mixing up the mediums that you employ to connect with prospects and customers ensures that you stay top of mind wherever and whenever they are getting their information.

Formats like video or podcasts can seem inaccessible and difficult to produce, but there is now a plethora of free tools and low-cost equipment that can make creating both of these easy for any SMB to leverage.

Before we talk about delivery, let’s talk about the message.

I’ll delve into the how-to of podcasts and videos in a moment, but first we need to start with the message. When building a plan, remember that often the best content is sharing or teaching, not pushing a particular product. In my last post, I wrote about knowing your audience, and that includes the topics and issues important to them.

Speak to skills and information you believe your audience will value. And leverage industry contacts who are willing to create joint content with you. That type of content is relatively fast to create, and most people are more than willing to build their personal or corporate brand while helping you build yours.

For example, if some of your business comes from work-from-home residential services, find someone in your network (leverage LinkedIn) who has a lot of great information on optimizing your work-from-home day, including the technology people can use to be most effective. Let them talk about what they know, give your audience something useful to implement, and build your brand in the process.

Building content doesn’t have to be overly burdensome. However, it does require some planning and, most important, consistency. Pick a drumbeat (weekly, monthly, etc.) that you can commit to for pushing out new content. Then stick to the schedule.

Video

Video creation has become incredibly accessible with today’s technology. To record videos of just yourself, you can use your phone and a table or floor tripod to keep it steady. For interviews or conversations, you can jump on a Zoom or Webex and record the interview. When using a teleconference tool, however, make sure your internet connection is strong enough so there isn’t lag.

Native tools on your computer, like iMovie on Macs or Video Editor on Microsoft-based PCs, make it easy to edit videos. I recommend adding your logo in the corner of the video and at the end. Both tools are intuitive to use, and, with a little practice, a video can be “wrapped” with your branding and ready to go within a few minutes.

There are four cornerstones to a good video:

Hold the phone horizontally: This only applies if you are using your phone, but you never want to hold the phone vertically to record. It doesn’t fit any video format shape and you will end up with distracting black bars on either side of your video.

Good lighting: Make sure your light source is in front

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