What’s more valuable to a company? A visitor to its website who spends 15 minutes scanning a wide variety of pages, or a visitor who comes and goes in three minutes? The obvious answer is the first one, because as any marketing executive can tell you, “stickiness” and time on site are drivers for the website experience. But what if the first person is taking so long because they can’t find what they are looking for and the second person came and left quickly because they readily found the white paper they wanted or even transacted? The lesson here is not that time on site isn’t the only metric you should be evaluating. In fact, using metrics to evaluate the performance of your site may not be as straightforward as it looks.
Take the recent news about Instagram over-taking Twitter in terms of volume last year. “Instagram Is Now Bigger Than Twitter” was the headline everywhere from CNBC to Re/Code to the New York Times. But how meaningful is that comparison? Twitter has some 284 million active monthly users, Instagram more than 300 million. Yet, as an article in Slate describes it, the two are different: “One is largely private, the other largely public. One focuses on photos, the other on ideas. They’re both very large, and they’re both growing.”
Another metric that is often bandied about is unique monthly visitors. This measures the number of people that come to a site and discounts repeat visitors. Again, that might sound like the ultimate metric for evaluating the attention that a site is getting. Still, it doesn’t measure what those unique visitors are doing on the site. If it is a content-driven website, like the Huffington Post or Buzzfeed, a more important measure may be “total time reading.” There, the number of visitors who come and leave quickly isn’t very valuable to advertisers who provide the revenue for content-driven sites. Total time reading is far more important, and smart advertisers recognize the difference and factor that in accordingly.
A common measure reported on widely in the media when comparing different brands’ web traffic is the number of website visitors. This is frequently sourced to web measurement and analysis companies who make these types of evaluations. But even these can be highly misleading. First and foremost, according to a recent post in medium.com, the most widely quoted source of web traffic, Comscore Networks, only counts U.S. users. If a brand is global or operates overseas like a many government defense contractors, the metrics will not include that traffic in the totals. In addition, these reports are often based on sampling which can distort the actual numbers for smaller brands with a more limited number of visitors. It’s also not yet clear whether these services are including site traffic from mobile apps, which may be a very important measurement tool for many websites as more and more visitors use mobile devices to access information on the web.
So if the three most commonly-used metrics for measuring the success of a website—time on site, unique monthly visitors, and total traffic—all have their flaws, what is the best way to evaluate how a site is doing?
The answer is there is no best answer. All three of those key metrics are useful, but they need to be taken for what they are which is a set of imprecise and blunt tools.
A better way to look at the most effective mix of metrics is to find the best blend that will help evaluate “value.” Time on site is important, but only as an element in value. In reality, for media websites, advertisers don’t actually want a customer’s time, they want to make an impression that will lead to a transaction or buying decision. On the other hand, for an enterprise site offering IT solutions where the buying cycle is long and a visit to the website may be part of the research process, time is valuable as a measurement for a customer’s information gathering step in the cycle. Where they go on the site—to resources, for example—may say a great deal about where that customer is in the cycle and how to best to pursue him or her.
Where the visitor enters the site may be a key performance indicator for both organic search results or for a lead-generation driven campaign that takes the visitor directly to the intended content. Spending time on the blog page may be an indicator that the site’s content is fresh and engaging and is bringing target audiences back for more. Reading product and solutions pages may indicate a prospect that needs to be watched to make sure they are getting what they need to make a purchasing decision.
The right answer is that value has to be a combination of a number of factors, and using multiple metrics can help understand if the site is achieving its goal of providing that value. But no marketer should get too hung up on any single measurement.
Content management systems (CMS) are a dime a dozen and selecting the right solution for your next website can be challenging. They have become a commodity and being able to objectively evaluate one versus another is hard. All of them do the same thing and when you’re done you will have a fully functional website that will hopefully serve your needs. What sets them apart are their processes. Specifically, how they empower you and your team to build and maintain your website. It’s these differences like licensing, installation, front-end coding, content construction, user management, extension and maintenance that you should focus on when comparing one system with another.
In this post we’ll use these factors to investigate the differences between two popular content management systems on the market today: ExpressionEngine and WordPress.
Licensing
Before wading in to the features and how-to’s of each system you first need to look at their licensing. Are they open source or propriety? If open source, what license do they use? Any commercial limitations? If proprietary, do you have access to the source code? Are there ongoing expenses beyond the initial licensing fee? How much does it cost? It’s important to answer these questions first and make sure the answers jive with your organizations’ rules and regulations before deciding to move ahead with any particular system. You have access to the full source code and there are no ongoing licensing costs or restrictions.
WordPress is one of the most, if not the most, popular CMSs on the market today due in large part to its open source license. Users are free to use and/or modify WordPress for any personal or commercial project without restriction. ExpressionEngine is built on LAMP technologies, just like WordPress, but is closed source and propriety. Users can purchase it for a one-time fee but will need to ensure they continue to use it within any requisite license restrictions.
Installation
Before you can start using either CMS you first need to install them on your server and run any necessary updates. WordPress and ExpressionEngine are both very straightforward and simple to install. WordPress has its famous “5-minute install” process as well as plenty of automated install options offered by hosting providers. ExpressionEngine’s install process doesn’t get as much hype, or have as many automated options, but it is equally straightforward to get up and running. The primary difference is that WordPress requires less IT support and resources where ExpressionEngine will likely require a helping hand from IT to get up and running.
Front-end Coding
When it comes to writing the HTML, CSS and JavaScript of your site, content management systems offer two clear options: those that are theme based and those that are template based. Theme based CMSs, like WordPress, are more plug-and-play and modularized. You can easily purchase pre-made designs and be up and running in a matter of minutes. Template based CMSs, like ExpressionEngine, provide developers with easier workflows and lower learning curves but are not as modular, making it more difficult to find available plug-and-play front-end components. This is important to consider when determining what kinds of internal technology resources you will have to work on your project. It is important to ask yourself which will they be more comfortable working with?
Content Construction
How does the CMS manage the content? All systems tend to work off a content categorization concept that closely resembles the information architecture of your website. Meaning that if your site has a news section, you will likely have a news content type or category where all content matching that footprint should be placed. Out of the box, WordPress provides two content types: posts and pages. Posts are meant for “dynamic content” or content where content will be added or changed often and pages are for “static content” which doesn’t change. ExpressionEngine provides a different set-up out of the box, allowing administrators to create their own completely custom content types in the admin area which tends to keep things a little more organized and straightforward for website managers.
It’s worth mentioning that WordPress allows for the creation of custom post types, which creates a very similar kind of workflow to ExpressionEngines. However, this functionality needs to either be defined within the theme (by a developer) for each post type or enabled by installing a plug-in which allows administrators to create custom post types and fields through the control panel.
User Management
Will visitors be able to register for an account on your website? Manage a profile or configure account settings? These are common features on a lot of websites today and using a CMS that provides a framework for this out of the box can save time and money. Both WordPress and ExpressionEngine have user registration capabilities but offer different levels of configuration. WordPress’ approach is limited out of the box requiring users to use the CMS log-in screen, not providing much in the way of user profiles or other capabilities. ExpressionEngines user management functionality is extensive and highly customizable, allowing administrators to create custom profile fields, custom log-in pages/workflows and additional advanced features.
Extension
Your website is unique and as such will likely require whatever CMS you choose to be modified slightly to fit your needs. Can this be done easily or will developers have to hack in to the core code of the system causing all sorts of headaches in the future? Both WordPress and ExpressionEngine provide robust extension options empowering developers to modify both front-end and control panel look, feed and functionality. WordPress plug-ins can be written to change everything from the CMS log-in process to how content is passed to the front-end of your site independently from the core code. Same for ExpressionEngine, where developers have the option of developing modules, plug-ins, extensions, accessories or field types without interfering with the core system code.
Maintenance
You should always be keeping the concept of maintenance, as in “how much will this solution cost to maintain?”, in the back of your mind. Beyond the strictly financial cost there is also staff time and required skill level to consider as well. It’s very important that your CMS be updated and maintained on a regular basis to keep your website secure and ensure everything is working correctly. WordPress has the clear upper hand when it comes to updates and maintenance as it’s largely automated. The system will, from time to time, automatically install minor updates to ensure your install remains current. But other major updates can be completed with one click and little to no IT intervention. ExpressionEngines update process is much more traditional and requires IT intervention throughout.
Picking a content management system today is hard. Trying to filter through the marketing lingo and hype to find the right solution for your organization is difficult but extremely important. The next time you find yourself in the CMS isle of the Internet superstore try using some of the above criteria to help you choose the right software for your project.
Need help with a content management or other digital marketing project. Please contact us.
When it comes to marketing and communications, government contractors and public sector IT providers face a set of unique challenges. For one, the customer base of Federal, state and local decision makers responsible for purchasing technology products and services – ranging from CIOs and CTOs to program managers, IT managers and procurement officers –represents a finite group that can be difficult to reach.
Compounding this predicament is the fact that government contractors must not only market their brand, product and services to these decision makers, but also time these marketing efforts strategically. This means building awareness far enough in advance of a contract award, and then sustaining marketing and PR efforts throughout what can be a multi-year process from pre-RFP to the contract award – and even beyond due to potential contract protests, delays and budgetary obstacles.
Marketing to agency decision makers is just one piece of the puzzle. For small to mid-sized contractors, marketing and public relations efforts must often extend to larger prime contractors in order to ensure these lesser-known firms are on the radar when Primes are assembling teams to pursue contracts. Large contractors, for their part, must also market needs and capabilities to smaller partners that might hold an elusive product/service, market expertise, status or agency relationship.
We have assembled 6 ways that forward-thinking contractors and IT providers can grow their business and contract opportunities by looking beyond traditional marketing, advertising and public relations tactics.
Leverage responsive landing pages
esponsive design is a critical website approach for providing customers with a seamless experience across all device sizes. With a responsive website, government contractors and IT providers can be in front of buyers at every step of their online journey. A user viewing a website on the go via a mobile device can have the same powerful experience as when sitting in their office.
Responsive websites provide continuity between different viewing contexts, remaining completely agnostic to the type of device used and the size of the screen the user has. Responsive websites also rank higher in search engines’ rankings, as Google recommends responsive web design because having a single URL for desktop and mobile sites makes it easier for Google to discover content and for Google’s algorithms – which are constantly changing – to assign indexing properties to content.
It was the need for a responsive website that brought GovDelivery, which enables public sector organizations to connect with more people and to get those people to act, to Bluetext.
As the number one referrer of traffic to hundreds of government websites, including IRS.gov, SBA.gov, FEMA.gov, IN.gov, and BART.gov, the GovDelivery Communications Cloud is an enterprise-class, cloud-based platform that allows government organizations to create and send billions of messages to more than 60 million people around the world. Bluetext was hired by GovDelivery to help them reach public sector organizations that can benefit with tremendous cost savings while reaching more people, automating complex communications and driving mission value through deeper engagement with the public.
For this responsive design project, Bluetext conceived and designed a responsive landing page with an infographic demonstrating the benefits of using GovDelivery for government agencies as the centerpiece of the campaign. We also developed a responsive email template and infographic poster to be used across many marketing channels.
Extend reach and share budget with partner campaigns
While going it alone from a marketing and public relations perspective provides a company with more control over a campaign, it also can be costly and restrict the reach and impact that could otherwise be achieved by aligning in an innovative way with industry partners.
Bluetext has worked on numerous occasions with industry partners that align around a specific campaign targeting government decision makers. Govplace, a leading enterprise IT solutions provider exclusively to the public sector, turned to Bluetext to develop FedInnovation, a destination designed to help government agency executives get the latest information on current technology challenges and solutions for big data, cloud, security, mobility and storage. Developed in conjunction with leading technology providers including Dell, Intel Security and VMWare, it includes exclusive content, videos, blogs, and real-time social feeds.
FedInnovation combines relevant, fresh content, complementary offers, and financial resources to deliver an educational platform to drive awareness and leads for Govplace across its target market. The development of platforms is a continued focus for Bluetext as we look to conceptualize, design and develop creative solutions that deliver measurable business impact for our clients. It is increasingly clear that customers of our clients demand unique experiences with premium content delivered in an easy to consume manner.
Another partner campaign targeting U.S. public sector executed by Bluetext was FutureAgency.com, a digital content experience effort on behalf of McAfee and Intel that depicted virtually a “future government agency.” For this project, Bluetext created a virtual experience around client subject matter experts in an effort to present content for government decision makers in a more engaging fashion. Rather than static white papers and marketing slicks that often go unread or unfinished, Bluetext created an experience whereby avatars of actual company thought leaders were created, and they delivered presentations on topics in a virtual conference environment. The clients found length and quality of site visitor engagement superior to that of traditional white papers and similar content.
Create compelling digital experiences to reach decision makers
The web has become a go-to resource for decision makers to research products and services prior to purchase. Product sheets, white papers and other pieces of online collateral can be useful supporting resources for government decision makers, but will hardly help contractors stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Recognizing this, government contractors and IT providers are creating more dynamic, immersive digital experiences that can more effectively engage target constituencies and impact the decision making process. Additionally, these experiences are molded to be as valuable as any in-person interaction site visitors would have with products and services.
A recent Bluetext project showcases a forward-thinking technology provider, CSC, which was seeking to ensure prospective customers could have a similar experience as they would if they were physically at CSC’s corporate headquarters.
Bluetext designed and built CSC’s Digital Briefing Center, a virtual experience where clients and CSC’s entire ecosystem can come to learn about CSC’s key technology conversations across its target verticals.
Bluetext designed a virtual office building where each floor represents a specific vertical industry, and visitors can learn about CSC’s key solutions and experience across cloud computing, big data, applications, cyber security, and mobility. While not specific to the government market, it is indicative of how “stickier” digital experiences are reshaping how existing and prospective customers interact with content.
Highlight customer innovation
No matter how large or well-known a government contractor/Federal IT provider is, gaining approval from an agency to speak publicly about a technology project is often mission impossible. Agencies must be careful not to appear to endorse a specific vendor in public comments or a press release quote, and even when project leaders are amenable, the process often grinds to a halt with the more conservative public affairs officers.
As such, vendors often have their hands tied on how to showcase a successful project so that other agencies – or even other decision makers within the same agency – will take notice. An approach that can bear more fruit involves shining the spotlight on an agency leader or the agency itself through awards and speaking opportunities.
Multiple editorial publications and associations hold annual award programs that showcase outstanding IT projects and agency leaders at the federal, state and local government level. Agencies tend to be more open to sharing an IT story through an award because it demonstrates innovation and can assist with employee morale and retention.
Beyond award programs, there is also significant benefit in generating media coverage and awareness of state & local customer projects. These agency customers tend to be more amenable to participating in public relations campaigns, and the drawing attention to these projects can demonstrate capabilities to prospective Federal customers as well.
Develop targeted campaign to pursue a specific contract
As contractors and IT providers know all too well, winning an agency contract requires a very different sales cycle than a small business user signing up online for Dropbox or a similar “as-a-Service” software offering.
At some level, there will always be marketing activities designed to reach decision-makers across multiple civilian or military agencies – and in some cases both segments. These external efforts may involve communicating product capabilities, service chops, or the expertise of the contractor’s team. But in today’s hyper-competitive market for agency contracts, developing innovative, targeted campaigns in pursuit of a specific contract or that are designed to reach decision makers at a particular agency, can make the difference between a game-changing contract win and a devastating loss.
Bluetext is increasingly tasked to partner with contractors in developing innovative branding and outreach campaigns around a specific contract pursuit. In early 2014, L-3 Communications, in partnership with Harris Corporation, hired Bluetext to help them pursue the Air Force’s $1B Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) Modifications, Maintenance & Operations (CAMMO) Contract.
Bluetext worked with the L-3/Harris Capture teams to develop a campaign strategy that would position them as a Prime by highlighting the many advantages they bring to the table. The overarching campaign theme Bluetext developed is:
“The Power of Partnership, From Vision to Reality”
The creative strategy of this project began with the core concept of the ad, “from vision to reality.” The left side of the ad is a wireframe representing the vision with the right side representing its reality. After the wireframe of the satellite was created, it was overlaid on top of the red diagonal to create a striking visual element to draw attention to the campaign. The first series of ads were placed in high visibility areas inside of Colorado Springs Airport, a key travel hub for Air Force brass. The media plan for the campaign also includes online, print and OOH media placed strategically to maximize reach and frequency throughout the entire contract RFP and award lifecycle.
Focus on agency challenge, not yourself
Dramatic changes in staffing and mission of government IT media outlets means that the days of getting a product reviewed or corporate profile written are for the most part a thing of the past. As such, contracts and IT providers must get far more creative when it comes to communicating capabilities.
Government IT press don’t want to hear about products. They want to hear about trends and challenges sweeping through agencies, and how contractors and IT providers are developing solutions to solve those challenges.
This was the backdrop for a media strategy Bluetext architected for Adobe Government. Over the past few years, government-wide budget cuts have been swift and relatively unsparing in their impact on agency in-person conferences and training events. This presented a significant challenge for agencies seeking to maintain the collaboration and education benefits these events delivered.
The challenge dovetailed with Adobe’s web conferencing solution Adobe Connect, which was seeing a rise in demand in the public sector due to pullbacks in physical, in-person conferences. Bluetext built a PR campaign around this angle that included a pair of thought leadership articles (one targeting the broad federal IT community and one targeting military decision makers), generating multiple articles around this topic in key federal, state and local media outlets, including:
Federal Computer Week – Budget cuts push conferences online
Washington Technology – Budget cuts, scandal fuel videoconferencing boom
Federal Computer Week – Could virtual meetings replace conferences in sequestration age?
Defense News – Communicating in an era of canceled conferences
Federal Computer Week – Defense Connect Online hits milestone
State Tech – Mobile Video Conferencing Powers Collaboration on the Go
Federal Computer Week – DOD connects online to cut travel
Government Executive/NextGov – Agencies are saving millions with virtual events
Federal Computer Week – Cutting costs with virtual conferencing
Reaching and impacting government decision makers requires government contractors and IT providers to push beyond the status quo and engage with partners able to help develop and deliver innovative campaigns to grow their business and increase contract opportunities.
Bluetext Survey Shows How Government Executives Make IT Decisions
Survey Results in Federal Computer Week
Federal agencies can be great customers because they remain some of the biggest spenders and their budgets stay fairly stable even during economic downturns. Yet sales and marketing teams used to marketing to consumer or commercial enterprise customers often find that their efforts fall flat in the government space — wasting everyone’s time in the process.
That’s because talking to the government customer can require a different approach, including the channels used to reach that audience and the messages included. Understanding those needs and preferences can help contractors and feds alike.
We recently surveyed 150 top government executives involved in the decision-making process for IT purchases, to understand directly how they get the information that helps inform their purchasing decisions. The results provide a road map for targeting this audience — and a valuable look in the mirror for agency leaders who wonder if there are better ways to gather the information they need.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT FCW.COM
6 Ways Government Contractors Can Use Innovative Digital Marketing and PR Strategies To Win Business
When it comes to marketing and communications, government contractors and public sector IT providers face a set of unique challenges. For one, the customer base of Federal, state and local decision makers responsible for purchasing technology products and services – ranging from CIOs and CTOs to program managers, IT managers and procurement officers –represents a finite group that can be difficult to reach.
Compounding this predicament is the fact that government contractors must not only market their brand, product and services to these decision makers, but also time these marketing efforts strategically. This means building awareness far enough in advance of a contract award, and then sustaining marketing and PR efforts throughout what can be a multi-year process from pre-RFP to the contract award – and even beyond due to potential contract protests, delays and budgetary obstacles.
READ THE FULL BLOG POST HERE:
6 Ways Government Contractors Can Use Innovative Digital Marketing and PR Strategies To Win Business
Federal agencies can be great customers because they remain some of the biggest spenders and their budgets stay fairly stable even during economic downturns. Yet sales and marketing teams used to marketing to consumer or commercial enterprise customers often find that their efforts fall flat in the government space — wasting everyone’s time in the process.
That’s because talking to the government customer can require a different approach, including the channels used to reach that audience and the messages included. Understanding those needs and preferences can help contractors and feds alike.
We recently surveyed 150 top government executives involved in the decision-making process for IT purchases, to understand directly how they get the information that helps inform their purchasing decisions. The results provide a road map for targeting this audience — and a valuable look in the mirror for agency leaders who wonder if there are better ways to gather the information they need.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT FCW.COM
2015 is upon us and it’s time to start acting on those resolutions we have set for ourselves in the new year. One goal we should all have on our list is to make sure our websites and networks are as secure as possible. With sources reporting as much as a 75% increase in cyber attacks this past year alone, this is the time to ensure that your company’s website and data is safe and secure. Below is a list of tasks that will help you get a jump start on hackers and ensure that your website starts the year off right.
Update Your CMS
Whether your website is running an open source content management system (e.g. WordPress, Drupal) or a proprietary one (e.g. Adobe CQ5, ExpressionEngine), it’s important that you update your install with the latest releases and patches promptly. Software providers are constantly pushing out updated features and functionality, but you will likely find new and updated security patches and safeguards sprinkled in as well. You should get in the habit of reviewing your software providers change log as new versions are released so you know what security updates are being included.
It’s important to note that updating your CMS can sometimes cause unforeseen issues and should be done on separate copies of your site first, to ensure that they don’t adversely effect your set-up, and then deployed to your live environment.
Maintain Your Server
Your CMS isn’t the only way attackers can gain access to your website. The environment your website is hosted on must also be secured to prevent attackers from gaining access to your websites raw data and files. If you are using a fully managed hosting solution like WordPress VIP or a shared hosting environment like GoDaddy then you are covered as your provider will take care of your servers updates and security for you. However, if you are hosting your site on a cloud environment or dedicated/virtual private server (VPS) then the responsibility is yours.
As with your CMS, your server should also be updated regularly. Operating system patches are constantly being released and should be made to your server on a regular basis. Firewalls (software or hardware) are another good way to protect your servers by giving you fine grained control over who can access your website or server and what they can do. And finally, you should scan your server for vulnerabilities on a regular basis. Attackers commonly scan servers looking for weak spots, like open ports, they can exploit so it’s important for you to have the intel first so you can beat them to the punch.
Restrict Access
Hackers can only attack what they can gain access too. One of the more restrictive, but effective, steps to take is to limit access to your websites server or CMS to select IP addresses. This means that only requests coming from a certain IP (like your offices) will be able to access your websites or servers controls. While this is an effective defense it’s important to mention that most internet access comes from shared IP addresses which means your trusted users won’t be able to access your systems from home or other locations without a dedicated IP.
Create Strong Password Policies
Every user account you create in your CMS or server adds one more potential vulnerability to your infrastructure. Once a hacker has determined a username they can easily run a dictionary attack and determine simple password without much trouble. Make sure that your users are doing their part to keep things secure by creating secure passwords. Policies can be created in most content management systems and servers requiring users create passwords of a certain length, containing symbols and special characters and that don’t contain common terms found in the dictionary.
Review User Permissions
One preventative measure to take, in the event that an attacker gains access to your website posing as one of your users, is to ensure that all users have only the permissions that they need. Too often users are given more permissions than they require to complete their jobs, being assigned admin or greater permissions. While you may trust the user you have given these permissions too, an attacker who gains access to this account now has more than enough permissions to take down your site. When adding users to your system you should always follow the principle of least privilege.
Enable Dual Factor Authentication
As an added layer of protection on the user side you should also enable dual factor or two-step authentication. Enabling this requires that users not only enter a password but also provide an additional credential (typically a numerical code) which is sent to them via SMS or email before gaining access. This requires that attackers posing as recognized users must also have access to that users phone or email account in addition to their password. Many content management systems have modules or plug-ins available for this or you can use a full service provider like Duo.
Video has become an essential element in nearly every integrated marketing campaign. Whether it’s to highlight a key executive or subject expert, capture a discussion that demonstrates leadership on a topic or issue, or provide a better explanation of a complicated subject, video delivers a strong platform from which to tell a story.
The challenge with video is that it can be of poor quality and doesn’t hold the audience’s attention when not done well. While it may seem simple to set an executive behind a desk and start running the video camera while he or she starts talking, there are a lot of stumbling blocks when taking this easy path. Offices and even conference rooms can be cramped, making it difficult to get the best angles. The lighting is always uneven. Shadows in the wrong places are a constant issue. And if you’re doing a series of video interviews, each office will look and feel different on camera. In addition, sound quality is particularly hard, especially in today’s modern offices where air is constantly moving through the ventilation systems. While often barely audible in person, lavaliere microphones are extremely sensitive and amplify that hidden sound.
A better solution is getting the individuals out of their office and putting them in a controlled setting before a curtain or green screen. This approach offers a number of important advantages for a compelling and quality video experience:
1) The lighting will be consistent across every video. Shadows can be controlled, and office clutter is removed from the scene.
2) Audio can be controlled, with ambient sound kept to a minimum.
3) Backdrops, colors and tones can be chosen to meet the mood of the topic or the intended feel of the interview.
4) Multiple cameras can be more easily used, offering more interesting ways to edit the final piece.
5) Multiple videos in a series can have a similar look and feel, making them look like part of the package rather than random takes shot in different locations.
Bluetext often uses black curtains as well as green screens to achieve the right look for our clients’ videos. Here are a few examples that should get every marketer thinking about a better way to capture executives, thought leaders, experts and customers as part of successful marketing campaigns.
Use the Background to Set the Tone. For the launch of a new program called Smart Degree that enlists adult learners in college courses to complete their degrees, the education services company Nelnet enlisted Bluetext to capture a single mother explaining her challenges in obtaining those college credits. Because this was about those struggling to improve their career and economic status, we chose a heavy black curtain for a serious tone. We shot the video with two cameras, one from the front and a second with a side perspective, to give us room for close-ups and for editing. While we didn’t use an interviewer in the shoot, we had the mother look slightly off-camera to suggest that she was engaged in a conversation explaining her personal challenges. We shot four different takes, and the two-camera shoot made the video more interesting to watch and easier to edit. We added a hint of soft focus to soften the features and tone down the intensity of the lighting.
For a second video in the series, we took a different approach. This time, we were capturing a university executive explaining the value and benefits of the Smart Degree program. We used a green screen and chose an off-white background in post-production. This color selection gave a totally different tone to the video, offering an upbeat perspective on the value of Smart Degree. It also allowed us to decrease the contrast and add warmth to the final product.
Combine a Green Screen and a Backdrop for a Series of Interviews. For a campaign aimed at the Federal market, NetApp and Thundercat asked for a series of five experts to discuss ways for agencies to consolidate their data centers for more efficiency and to meet government mandates. We created a network interview environment, emulating Charlie Rose and the way he uses a dark studio to impart a sense of gravity and weight to his interviews.
Using a long black curtain to absorb light and give a sense of “infinity” to the scene, for each interview we placed the expert at the far corner of a conference table and focused one camera slightly off-center at their face. I played the role of the interviewer, lofting broad questions that allowed them to talk about the subject. The second camera was slightly over my shoulder, setting up the interview scene. We also captured long-shots of the two of us talking before the interview began. To introduce each segment, we enlisted the services of a well-known journalist and influencer in the government technology space. We placed him before a green screen to make the short introductions, and then overlaid those shots onto the interview long-shots. The effect is as if the he were in the studio with us.
This approach serves several purposes. First, it allows each of the interviews to have the same look and feel so they don’t seem random or disjointed. Second, the black curtains bring a professional tone to the videos. And third, the interview style and introduction make the segments more interesting and engaging to the audience.
Try Something Different to Keep the Audience Engaged. Technology giants McAfee and Intel were looking for a more interesting way to provide video lectures when highlighting their new solutions. As an alternative to capturing their experts behind a podium, we created an entirely different look and feel. We captured each expert in front of a green screen as if they were speaking before a large audience. A still of the first frame of each video was captured and placed inside a digitally-created, 3-D modeled “Agency of the Future.”
As the visitor to the site moves around the virtual building, they can select from each of the discussions by clicking on the still image. That image immediately comes to life as the video begins to play, and simulates a live presentation. As an added feature, we also placed the video inside a larger monitor screen in each video scene next to the speaker, similar to how jumbo screens are used in large auditoriums. That added feature gives visual interest and a touch of reality to a virtual environment. The Agency of the Future has been a huge success for Intel and McAfee, with visitors staying on site far longer than other campaigns they had run.
Video should be interesting, engaging and compelling to be effective. Understanding the options and the value of backdrops, curtains and green screens can make the difference between having your customers take notice and losing their interest.
On its 10th anniversary of connecting communicators, Capitol Communicator determined that to continue to grow and be a vibrant part of the Washington, D.C., marketing and communications community, its next 10 years would be built on a new digital strategy and complementing user experience strategy. As a central hub for news, events and information for communicators in the mid-Atlantic, Capitol Communicator wanted a more modern platform.
Capitol Communicator selected Bluetext to partner with for this complete digital overhaul. Bluetext has delivered an enterprise-level WordPress implementation with comprehensive CMS publishing technologies that are integrated to allow Capitol Communicator to get best-in-class SEO, content management and smart, modern design.
Said Paul Duning, publisher of Capitol Communicator, “After a very exhaustive review, Bluetext had the energy, creativity, digital savviness, and firepower to be our new digital partner, and they really delivered. Our community has spoken, and they all love the new site which is helping us further validate that we are taking the brand in the right direction with a new digital platform as the centerpiece.”
Capitol Communicator is dedicated to bringing together the vast spectrum of communications professionals who influence and educate the Mid-Atlantic region and the world by providing news; trends; education; and opportunities for networking, career enhancement, business exchange and showcasing great work, Capitol Communicator serves as a resource to the region’s communications community. Capitol Communicator focuses on building a community that encompasses professions that include public relations, advertising, marketing, media, creative, video, photography, printing, digital and the multitude of other professions that support this region’s multi-billion-dollar communications industry. And, Capitol Communicator is a proud supporter of many organizations that share in their mission of providing professional development to the communications community.
2014 has been a year of amazing changes in the world of marketing, where micro-targeting via social platforms is now mainstream, banner ads are becoming passe, personalized content is in, native and sponsored ads are growing in popularity, video is getting shorter, and a wide range of other evolutionary marketing trends are exploding on the scene–all designed to help companies and organizations identify and reach their customers. And guess what? The sky hasn’t fallen, at least not yet. But looking at 2014 is almost, well, old news. As fast as digital transformation has hit us this year, it will move that much faster next year. So we at Bluetext thought this would be a good time to start looking ahead to 2015. We asked a wide range of senior marketing executives–including technology leaders, information services providers, financial industry start-ups, and even top trade associations–to gaze into their crystal balls and share with us their Big Bet for 2015. We’ve compiled those below, and think you’ll find their insight provocative and challenging.
BET #1. PREDICTIVE MODELING
by NICK PANAYI of CSC Director, Global Brand & Digital Marketing
As we look forward to next year and beyond, I can tell you honestly that the “next big thing” in marketing has never been clearer to me. What I believe will separate good marketers from exceptional ones is the exploding field of predictive intelligence.
We all have abundant data now. And we all have real-time marketing dashboards that act as a high-definition rear-view mirror of our customers’ digital footprints. That’s table stakes. What gets real interesting moving forward is the ability to leverage increasingly powerful predictive modeling tools to peer into the future and optimize your marketing efforts before they even start! Predictive modeling allows you to extract maximum value from the investments you already made in your digital ecosystem and the knowledge you’ve gathered about your customers’ digital body language…..
Read more about Predictive Modeling, and what top executives from organizations such as Georgetown University, NetApp, and others think is in store for 2015 by registering below.
In the ever changing world of digital marketing the phrases we hear from our clients more and more are around the “Customer Journey” and achieving pinnacle SEO success for their brands.
In order to address this lets first break down the two ingredients:
Search Engine Optimization Best Practices:
- Define Your Target Audience and Their Needs
- Categorize Keyword Research
- Find Gaps and Opportunities
- Define Competitors
- Learn From Your Competitors
- Customize an SEO Strategy & Recommendations
- Create must-have SEO Recommendations
- Prioritize and summarize
Customer Journey Best Practices:
These are five points any company contemplating, planning, or already undertaking a customer journey initiative should consider:
- Define the Behavioral Stages
- Align Customer Goals with the Stages
- Plot Out The Touch Points
- Determine If Your Customers Are Achieving Their Goals
- Create Recommendations for Change
Now that you have your SEO and Customer Journey Best Practices in place, here is your roadmap to creating an SEO Customer Journey:
1) Create your own customer journey map.
2) On your map, identify the specific points at which a user is conducting one of the three types of search queries (navigational, transactional, or informational).
3) Make a list of keywords/queries for each point in the customer journey that involves a specific query type.
4) Connect each keyword to a specific method of SEO strategy.
Now, take those keywords and plug them into your SEO strategy. How? Let’s take one keyword from the above example — “how much storage can I afford?” Here’s what you might do:
1) Create a page on the website
2) Page title: “How much storage can I afford? | Storage Planning”
3) H1: “How much storage can my business afford?”
4) Article: Discuss answers to this question in the article, and provide a clear Call to Action (CTA) at the end.
5) Create a series of four evergreen blog articles that deal with this question. Use this keyword and any long tail variations of ”how much storage can I afford?”
6) Create an infographic that answers the question “”how much storage can I afford?”
7) Interview several experts on storage affordability, and post a video series on YouTube.