Paying For Online Content — How To Bring Producers & Users Together

Category Marketing concepts | 1 comment »

The dilemma of getting people to pay for online content is a big one. Let’s face it, why would you pay for content when you can get it free elsewhere? Newspapers are struggling with this one, but they aren’t the only ones. Websites that stream TV programs, movies, provide access to games, music, and even regular business owners are running into this same problem. This thought is changing, according a recent Nielsen survey, but we’re still not too open to the idea.

A Misplaced Sense Of Value

At the root of the problem is our collective sense of priority. We’ll easily shell out $200 on a weekend at that bar, $50+ on a new game, and even spend thousands of dollars on fancy company stationery, but when it comes to content, we complain if we spend $20 a month. I’m included in this group as well. Heck, I recently complained about paying $3/month for online music!

I’m not saying that entertainment has no value. In fact, quite the opposite. I think we generally underestimate the value of the content we’re getting for free as well as the content we refuse to pay for. I touched on this a little bit in the post ‘Are Big Bloggers Taking Dirty Money?‘, but I think the topic deserves a bit more attention. I’d also like to bring up a couple of possible solutions.

If you were a guitar player, what would you be willing to pay for a lesson from Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, or Slash? If you love racing cars, what would you pay to spend the day with Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, or Jeff Gordon?

So, why do we feel learning from some of the best in our respective industries should come free? Because we’ve become accustomed to getting it for free, but not without some downsides.

The Problem With the Current Content System

It’s no secret that free content has some serious issues. Spam is just the beginning. We often end up having to wade through a pile of junk to find the good content, and then there’s multiple postings to contend with. In fact, I know I spend more time digging through the garbage than I do reading anything of value.

Even paid content today has its downfalls.

If I wanted to subscribe to the Chicago Tribute, it will cost me $10/month. Pretty cheap right? We still complain about it, but let’s continue. I also like reading the New York Times, which costs me another $10/month, and the Toronto Sun, for another $5/month. Then, to get the local news, I can buy the Medicine Hat News for another $12.59/month. This means a month’s worth of information will cost me $37.59, which translates into $451.08.

This doesn’t sound bad at all until you start adding in the content from some of the big advertising and business sites around the web. I could easily be spending thousands of dollars a month, particularly if I had to pay to read my favorite bloggers.

(One last little problem, whether you visit the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Toronto Sun, or the local paper, it’s difficult to find the link to subscribe and even more difficult to find the price! You’d think this would be more important. I’m sure it pops up when you click on content behind the pay wall, but still!)

Some would argue ‘why pay what you can get for free?‘ In this instance, I think quality is the biggest difference, and if I don’t have to search through a bunch of junk to find it, I’m a happy camper! Plus, if they were to adopt my solution, newspapers, magazines, and even video bloggers could expand their content to include more topics and subjects.

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Possible Solutions For Paid Content

I would love to see online content providers get together and offer things through aggregation. Let’s say that 200 of the world’s biggest newspapers and magazines get together and offer their content up as part of a package.

How about choosing what I pay for by subject? After all, I could care less about the sports sections and the classifieds. I want to read the latest headlines, business topics, and lifestyle pieces. Let me choose a certain number of subjects for $X a month, or even X of content providers for $X a week.

Maybe I could customize the topics I read about each day. This aggregated reader for paid content would let me select say 4 subjects that I usually read about. I can click to read these four topics, or I can choose a unique set of four subjects for the day because maybe there’s an amazing sporting event I want to read about today instead.

This would help these publications get in front of the eyes of new readers and expand their reach. For example, let’s say you like business topics. Because this new system lets you read the latest business headlines, my local newspaper suddenly appears in your reader. You would have never had the opportunity to read this great content because you would have never known about the local paper.

If the entire system was contained in a reader of some sort, there are additional opportunities for advertising, affiliate sales, and even marketing opportunities for the content providers themselves. And, because readers are already interested in the specific topics, companies would have access to a targeted audience. Everyone would be able to benefit from this, including the reader who wouldn’t have to ignore weight loss articles while reading the food section. (People reading low fat recipes maybe, but I’m thinking fitness sections would be a better fit. With this system, you’d have that option.)

I think a system like this would encourage more people to join and discourage a lot of them from distributing their content free because of the perks. After all, if I knew I could publish my content to this type of system, the added exposure, the temptation of some cash, and the chance to be seen at the same time as the New York Times would be awesome!

I could filter the results like my gmail account and completely customize my content experience. This means, if I’m sick of hearing about the Olympics, for example, I could eliminate all of the content about it with a quick click. If I only wanted to read content from around the province, I could do this too.

Readers wouldn’t have to sift through useless content, and for me, the time and sanity I save would be well worth it. You know the content is decent and you’ll find something of value. Having paid for access to the content, archives would be a must. Let me access the archives free, or let me search my four main topics free and pay a daily rate for the rest.

The other option, while similar to this one is to create an aggregated library. I pay, say $30 a month, and get access to a selected list of providers…maybe as many as 100. These could be selected by me the reader, or I could choose packages of providers depending on what I’m interested in. So, for example, I’m a Canadian who enjoys business and politics, so the Globe and Mail would be one of the big providers in my ‘package’. Those interested in lifestyle and beauty, however, might get Cosmopolitan as one of the big providers in their package.

What Readers Want and Providers Should…Well…Provide!

While what I’m offering here may not be the ideal solution, I think it covers exactly what online content providers will have to offer if they ever hope to make their sites work. In short, people today want:

Customization — They want to be able to find what they want on demand without having to waste a bunch of time digging through crap!

Efficiency — Being in an online format, readers want something that works with them instead of against them. They don’t want to have to dig around through your website to find things that interest them.

Convenience — Because the world is so connected, it seems to have gotten a whole lot busier. Let people call up and read content on their own terms, using the methods that work for them. Let’s face it, I can read a blog on virtually anything that can access the Internet, so of course I’m going to read them while I’m waiting in the doctor’s office!

Quality – People worry that when they pay for something, they’re going to be disappointed. If they know they’re getting content from top providers, this worry just isn’t there, but it also means there’s more pressure on newspapers and other providers to focus on what they’re providing instead of how much!

Considering the popularity of eReaders, smart phones, and laptops, I think paid content has a place online. It’s simply a matter of figuring out what works. Besides, electronic editions cost a fraction of the price, and because there would be no transportation or printing involved, they could focus more on providing good content!

What are your thoughts?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Is Your Social Media Strategy Like Your Favorite Jeans?

Category Marketing concepts | 7 comments »

A favorite pair of jeans is easy to identify. It’s the pair we frantically dig for Saturday morning and we’ll wear them all weekend, even if they get a ketchup or coffee stain. They’re a must have when we want to relax and watch movies…well, we might also hunt down a bag of Cheetos…oh and possibly a tub of mint chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream…

Where was I? Oh yeah, we love our favorite jeans, but they’ve got holes in them and they don’t exactly show off our best features, if you know what I mean. Interestingly, I’ve found a lot of businesses do the same thing with their Social Media strategy, and this isn’t always a good thing.

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Getting Comfortable

When you start using Social Media for your business (PDF), it’s uncomfortable. Things don’t always go where they’re supposed to and the entire thing feels strange. But, after you’ve used it for awhile, you start to get comfortable and things just seem to work. It feels natural.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with this (that awkward tweeting, blog commenting, and updating can’t exactly give your business a professional mage), but don’t get stuck in the rut either. I’m a firm believer in the concept that if you’re bored with it, your client base likely is too. Don’t be afraid to do things a little differently and let loose once in awhile (within reason, of course!).

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Not Testing and Tracking Different Options

Chances are, you and your best friend aren’t going to like the same jeans, so don’t be afraid to try a few different pairs, colors, or styles. The same can be said for Social Media concepts. Here’s what I mean:

It’s not hard to throw some buttons on a blog or website to your social profiles, but there’s a lot more to using Social Media than that. First, the public can be very fickle.

Imagine you have two sites in the same industry, selling the same things, and using similar templates and content. You’ll likely find the two audiences behave in very different ways and have different needs. It could be the feel of the site, how it was shared, who links to it, and an unlimited number of other factors.

The important thing is to take the time to test things thoroughly instead of relying on ‘well, so-and-so said it worked on his site’. Also, don’t change lots of things at once. Change one or two things and let it go for a good length of time, otherwise you’ll notice an improvement or loss and not know what caused it! Lastly, without a basic understanding of testing, you’ll find yourself unable to truly benefit from the information you’ve collected.

Oh… please, please, please, for the love of the Internet gods, PLEASE:

• use a decent analytics program
  
• keep track of what you’ve tested, when, and the results of each. When something goes wrong, you’ll figure out why.
  

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Focusing On One For Far Too Long

Most people figure out how to add social features to their website or send out links to whatever it is they’re selling. They’ll even build up a pretty good following on Facebook, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and other sites.

And just like their wardrobe, most businesses find themselves favoring one site or format over another. As a result, they end up missing out on other valuable opportunities.

A good number of businesses completely forget to complete the connection. In other words, they never think to move people from one Social Network to another or from their Social Networks to their main site. (Most users don’t just voluntarily seek you out on other sites unless you’ve made a solid personal connection with them.) And let’s face it, this is how you’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck!

Twitter works well for this. When you tweet a link to your latest blog post, for example, people who follow you will move from Twitter to your website because they have something to gain. It’s the promise of something that lures them from one place to the other. So, knowing that, why in the heck do you not do the same elsewhere and for other networks?

Use contests, games, content, and other strategy components to get people to engage and connect with you as much as you can. In most instances, it’s simply a matter of showing the value of connecting with you elsewhere (Mentioning a collection of additional tips and how tos on YouTube to blog subscribers, for example). Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean make things difficult for them! You should incorporate links, buttons, and whatever else works to make the jump from one site to another as easy as possible.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject, don’t always request things from the same network of people. Eventually, they’re going to get tired of doing this, buying that before this sale runs out, or jumping into the next exciting contest. Mix things up and try to find a good balance between the needs of your business and your followers.

Is your Social Media strategy like your favorite pair of jeans? Are you happy with the direction it’s going? Or have you gotten too comfortable with it in its current state?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Promotional Content and Modern Marketing

Category Marketing concepts | Comments Off

Traditional marketing techniques are all about the push and the hard sell. And to be completely honest, these tactics are ‘traditional’ because they worked and worked well, but they don’t necessarily work well now. This doesn’t mean you can’t sell directly to a certain demographic. It simply means people no longer want, nor will they tolerate having products and services shoved down their throat. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is a change in consumer thinking and spending habits.

Consumers have almost gone backward in time with their spending. They no longer just want to buy a product. For them, it’s almost like buying into a company. They want to buy from a company they can trust and rely on to be there, and I’m afraid using the same tactics as your local used car salesman doesn’t conjure up images of trust or reliability.

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Advertising Isn’t About You, It’s About Them

I figured if anything could be considered the ‘best advertising;, it should be Super Bowl ads. With a single 30 second ad expected to cost more than $2.5 million this year, they would have to know what they’re doing, right?

That’s when I came across a recent study by Dr. Rama Yelkur and Dr Chuck Tomkovick of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Report Available By Request).

After studying 462 Super Bowl ads from as early as 2000, the professors found the amount of focus on the products during an advertisement could actually harm the success of the ad. According to their study, the best ads were full of creativity and held some entertainment value with a minimal amount of information about the product. Interesting thought, don’t you think?

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Marketing in the Social Sphere

Social Media Marketing is all about engagement, blah, blah, blah. Let’s face it, Pepsi dropped its Super Bowl Ads and moved to the social sphere because it figured out the connection it makes with its ideal customer is better on the various Social Networks than on television during the Super Bowl. And when you consider Social Media Sites are experiencing continual growth while users are increasing the amount of time they spend there, this makes sense. But it isn’t just about where you are these days; it’s how you present yourself that’s making the difference.

(Before we go any further, I’d like to say that I’m a firm believer in the idea that SM is NOT for everyone. A recent study by Cone Research revealed that an estimated 41% of Americans don’t use websites, blogs, social networks, and other New Media. An additional 8% only use New Media once a year! So, if your ideal clients are in this 49%, chances are your money would best be spent elsewhere, but that’s another post.)

What Pepsi has done is take its brand out of the untouchable, ‘I’m a massive company you can’t touch’ shell and injected itself into the homes of millions while opening the door to becoming a part of every community in America. What they did is take $20 million of their ad budget, started a website, and asked people to go there to suggest community projects it should invest in. Smart. Freaking brilliant, if you ask me.

Now, they will have numerous non-profits and community organizations singing their praises in addition to the connections they’re making on the various Social Networks. Granted, their brand is plastered absolutely everywhere, but it still takes a back seat to their customers. I think we could all learn from that.

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Engagement and Non-Profits

Cone Research found that cause marketing had a profound effect on the results of a company’s marketing campaigns. They learned consumers who supported various cause marketing campaigns were also more likely to interact with brands through various electronic mediums. And while 28% of marketers think green marketing is more effective, only 22% of consumers have supported environmental causes. Hmmmm.

Bottom line, companies need to show they’re interested in more than just making money and selling products, even if they are! Marketing with mutual benefits has much more effect on consumers, and why wouldn’t it? After all, they’re no different than marketers. They only want to do things that have a direct benefit for them, even if it’s the warm-n-fuzzy feelings of giving to someone who needs it more than they do. They want to be entertained and informed.

So, whether you’re writing a guest post to promote a new product or starting an entire new marketing campaign, forget the cheesy selling and put some thought into it. The creativity definitely pays off.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Why unique selling propositions are a thing of the past

Category General, Marketing concepts | 16 comments »

Diversified Selling Propositions; the modern equivalent for USP

Back in the 50’s a fellow named Tosser Reeves is said to have come up with the term we all know well these days; ‘Unique selling proposition’ or the more oft used acronym – USP. At least if you’re in the marketing game, you should. The main concept was that by promoting certain key aspects, features and benefits over time would drive home the message creating a strong brand in the consumer’s minds.

And while it is a tried, tested and true methodology over the years for the marketing munchkins, it may not be all powerful and defendable in a modern media world, at least not in every situation. You see the word ‘unique’ alone denotes that there are singular reasons for buying decisions on the part of consumers. For that matter singular actions, as we can certainly have primary and secondary conversions metrics in play.

This fundamentally asserts that telling a people a singular message time and time again ultimately will convince them to purchase. While this can work well these days in many instances, often times it isn’t that simple. Not only do we have a variety of media approaches available to deliver our message, but people are often more complex and buy for different reasons. From the emotional to the practical, buying decisions are varied on a given product (or service).

By approaching your marketing with a singular approach it forces the consumer to adapt the message to their own needs.

Can we agree to disagree?

Another issue that arises is that the original USP concepts were more of a branding tool for building a long term concept into relationships with consumers. These days buying decisions are often based from a wide variety of factors and the speed of change means more of a moving target. Being more fluid means a more diversified message.

Obviously there is an inherent risk in diluting your over-al message, thus some tactical decisions are paramount. One way to find ideas if to mine existing customers by asking them what qualities drove their buying decision.

1. Quality of product/service?
2. Competitive/low Prices?
3. Quality customer service?
4. People that referred them?
5. Features or benefits?
6. Emotional draw?

Now try and nail down just ONE that represents you. In almost all cases such qualitative data shows that people have a wide variety of reasons for purchasing decisions. There may be common elements, but always a diversified set of factors are involved. Looking deeper, the demographics of age, location, income and the like will also create different buying decision patterns. This speaks to the difficulties in using ‘unique’ propositions over diversified approaches.

This is why in the modern media world you will often see multiple ads for the same campaign. Not only does this allow for targeting a variety of emotions towards purchase but also ensure that the consumer doesn’t ‘tune you out’ after enduring the same angle over and over.

Use with care

Ultimately you should scope out diversified selling propositions to cover a variety of consumer types and maximize the potential for success. This does not mean to get carried away and promise everything under the sun. Not only can this dilute the selling proposition, but runs the risk of not living up to your own promises; which is not the kind of branding we’re after.

Do your homework and isolate what your market holds and where you fit in. Find out what your primary and secondary demographics are and then work down from there as to what primary factors drive their buying decisions. From there some self assessment to find your strengths should begin to carve out your own DSP. What makes you stand out from the crowd and how do you reach out to consumers while filling the voids left by competitors in the market.

Unique is often not the case… it is more a combination of factors which makes you stand out form the crowd, who themselves are a diverse group in a multilevel media world.

It is certainly worth consideration…

Popularity: 50% [?]