Jump-Start Your Marketing Campaign with an Internet Movie

This blog was originally posted onFoster City Patch by Stevan Browning.

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just getting started building a business, you’ve done a lot of thinking about what makes your company different from the rest. The tricky part is getting your customers’ attention, and motivating them to do business with you.

Maybe you have a small marketing department, or no marketing staff at all. If you’re running a small business, you probably employ just a few people wearing several different hats. You’ve probably sketched out a marketing message and brainstormed about events, campaigns, new products, and promotionals. But how can you bring everything together into one strategy that will capture new customers—without breaking the bank?

Creating a short Internet movie is a great way to start. Today’s technology puts affordable, high-quality media in reach even for small businesses. An Internet movie lets you speak directly to the customer, and get your message across in a short amount of time. With powerful images, sound, and narration, you can reinforce your message and brand and make sure your customers notice you, and remember you.

But making your movie is only a first step. You can’t just shoot a video or create a funny animated story, upload it to the Web, and expect customers to find it or respond. You need to make it part of a bigger strategy.

Follow up on your movie with a web seminar—or Webinar. A Webinar is a powerful, low-cost way to interact with large numbers of prospects from anywhere. You can deliver a more in-depth marketing message, and interact with your audience with polling and chat features, learning more about them as they learn about you and your company.

After a prospect has attended the Webinar, you can offer to talk about their specific project, or maybe create a free estimate. Whether they accept immediately or not, you have established a relationship with them, and they understand what you and your company are all about.

You can tie in your video and your Webinar to any other initiatives that you have, like direct mail, telemarketing, or special events or trade shows. Then you can track your success with reporting tools and reports. Each of these initiatives can reinforce the other, and since they’re all part of a common strategy, you can keep your messaging and branding consistent.

If you’re running a small business, your company might not have all in-house skill needed for online marketing. But a one-stop marketing partner that offers design, rich media, messaging, and writing services can provide the support you need. And more importantly, they can collaborate with you to understand your business and build a strategy that’s right for you.

This article is sponsored by Wells Fargo Works. Watch the video series, then enter the contest where you could win a similar experience, including $25,000 for your business. Watch the videos and enter the contest here.