Thursday 21 April 2016

Five tips to ensure a memorable presentation



With the plethora of information that people are bombarded with on a daily basis, the only way to get cut through is from leaving a memorable impression on an audience.

It is becoming increasingly more and more difficult to leave a lasting impression on people, especially with the access one has to information these days. With more research being developed and released, the field of psychology has unravelled a number of key factors behind memory formation, and with the right set of tools anyone will be able to create a long lasting impression to their audience and further improve their presentation skills.

Below are five factors to keep in mind to avoid being forgotten.

Create associations
One of the most easy and memorable ways to ensure your audience remember a story is to create associations that connect to particular emotions of something of familiarity. One of the easiest ways to enable your audience to remember a story or detail is to create associations – particularly those that are connected to emotions or something familiar. To try and help create emotional memories for your audience, try and encourage them to form a connection between your presentation and their own lives.

Activate the senses
The three senses you can appeal to during presentations are: sight, sound and space, and the great thing about each of the three is that you can target them all through your presentation’s design. Within the way you have structured your design and presentation, you can use evocative themes that match your subject of communication. The trick here is to remember that these items are meant to emphasise the content of your presentation, but they are not the point of the presentation itself. It’s easy to get distracted by multi-media and the likes of embedded videos, however try to keep them to a minimum. You are trying to capture your audience’s attention with your idea, not someone else’s video.

Stay in range
At one time, people can only keep five to nine items in their short-time memory. If you have a difficult topic to discuss and want to ensure your audience stays connected, it is important to stay within this range. To put it simply, if you’re presenting an unfamiliar argument or idea to an audience, you cannot expect them to consider more than seven points at once. It is easy to overlook this, but it is important to keep in mind, even in the most simple of tasks.

Know when and how to repeat yourself
As interesting as you might be, no one wants to hear the same information over and over again. Redundant presentations are boring and one of the quickest ways to lose your audience for good. However, rehearsing information can boost retention and be the key to converting short-term memory into long-term. The right way to repeat an idea is to let your audience know that they will hear it more than once or, even better, ask them to join you in repeating it. Providing your audience with key ideas and then queuing them to repeat them helps maintain focus and build memories.

All in order
There are two opposing effects that can determine memory: the primacy effect and the recency effect. On the one hand, the primacy effect states that information presented first is remembered well. On the other hand, the recency effect would suggest that information presented last, or most recently, is most likely to be stored away in long-term memory. You can decide for yourself which one you think is more important, however, you should never decide to bury key ideas in the middle of presentations.

Friday 15 April 2016

Tips to Evaluate Marketing Campaigns


source: http://www.convasverity.com/img/banner_marketingsupport.jpg
Evaluation of the fact that our ads are being viewed by the people is important to us, because only then are we able to make sure that our products are being known, appreciated, or sold in the market. When a customer views the ad, the TRP, or total rating points of a specific brand are increased and the awareness about the brand and its products is established in the public. For evaluation of the success rate it is therefore needed to be seen what our target market is. Tapping the right target audience and then getting a response from them is basically the foundation of a good marketing plan. If you know what market segment you have tapped, then in accordance with that evaluation is conducted. Use the means that your target audience uses to express their views and you will have a better know-how of how your product and brand is doing in the market. Evaluation is also carried out to understand whether or not the positioning that you were aiming for with your product has been established or not.

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns we will have to consider the following points:

Sales
Firstly, a significant increase in the volume of sales will indicate that people are getting enough awareness about our products and they are actually going out to purchase our products. The marketing objective of higher sales volume and greater revenue will be an indicator of the fact that our advertisements are executed successfully and viewed with much interest. People when buy something after watching a TVC, it indicates that they have a potential understanding and established positioning of our brand and marketing media.

Social Media
Social media, Facebook and other networking websites, allow us to see whether our TVCs or marketing campaigns are running and operating successfully or not. The fact that people get to post their views about anything on Facebook, for example, will help us to judge whether people are watching commercials or not - and if they are being watched, whether or not they like it. Social media is a direct evaluator of the effectiveness of our commercials.

One on One interaction
We can have our sales force actually go out and access the attitudes of people regarding our marketing campaigns. Our company personnel can go out and interview people in malls and shopping places about whether or not they have heard and watched their products on TV. This direct interaction with the customers will establish a strong, effective medium of evaluation of our ads.

Mystery Shoppers
It’s a widely used term in marketing. It refers to sending your own person in disguise to collect the data on how the customers perceive your brand and how the retailers are operating. It is undoubtedly a quite effective medium of evaluating the success rate of the marketing campaigns.
When different brands launch their products and do necessary marketing, they incorporate some of these methods to determine the success rate of their work.

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School


Thursday 14 April 2016

Metadata: Implications for marketers

There is no doubt about it. Metadata is increasingly becoming an important tool for many digital marketers. But what exactly is Metadata? And more importantly, what are the implications of collecting this data?

At present there is no formal definition of what constitutes metadata under Australian telecommunications law. However, it is most commonly seen as a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. In general terms metadata is more widely known as data generated from interactions you have with other people and organisations as you use technology. While no conclusive list is available, examples of metadata include phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses and location information including the time and date of activity.

Source: http://www.thinktankconnect.com/


We now live in a digitally connected world that has given rise to a vast amount of metadata. Embedding metadata into a range of everyday technologies we use has become commonplace. By contrast there is huge global debate as to what exactly constitutes personal information with the landscape constantly changing and evolving. The privacy revelations revealed by Edward Snowden in 2014 brought issues surrounding metadata firmly into the public eye. Metadata is about the footprint that is left behind when a person interacts with technology. The concept of metadata fits into a much larger picture of large data sets. This is data of a very large size, typically to the extent that its manipulation and management present significant logistical challenges. Previously there was no legal precedent for companies to store this data. Telecommunications companies across Australia use considerable resources to store metadata for both data analysis and billing purposes.

From the perspective of the consumer, metadata can reveal private and potentially revealing details about their lives. There have already been abuses of metadata that have raised the privacy implications for consumers. Storing vast amounts of consumer metadata for two years rather than 30 days vastly increases the risk of the information being targeted for hacking. The Australian privacy commissioner has previously stated that the telecommunications companies are among the worst at storing data. The implications of this to individual privacy are potentially huge given the rich detail of the data. By enforcing the increased storage and encryption of this metadata would likely result in higher costs subsequently being passed on to the consumer. The impact that the collection of data has on the lives of individuals is the same regardless of whether the capturing of metadata is legal or not. We cannot control the data being collected by telecommunications companies. But at the same time, consumers should have a choice in the right to control collection, access to and use of their metadata.

Source: http://www.moodyplc.com/

The implications of metadata and privacy are a concern for many worldwide. In 2011, the German politician Malte Spitz filed a lawsuit against T-Mobile to release metadata from his phone account. The European Union Data Retention Directive requires telecommunications companies within the EU to store customer data for a period of six months. The directive was later declared invalid and annulled after lobbying by a digital rights advocacy group. Wikipedia Co-Founder Jimmy Wales has been vocal on the implications of the collection of metadata enforced by federal law, describing it as a ‘human rights violation’. Consumers may feel threatened and concerned about their freedom of speech with so much personal data being collected.

The lack of a clear definition of metadata in Australia is a key issue that contributes in failing to adequately protect the privacy of individuals. However, this lack of a formal definition of what constitutes metadata is meant to protect the fast paced and ever changing technology industry. As a legal definition appears unlikely until new legislation is passed, it would suggest that metadata will continue to be an issue in regards to privacy for both individuals and organisations. Metadata is becoming increasingly important to marketers as a tool to better understand customers. Depending upon its complexity, metadata can be used in a number of ways from everything from search engine optimisation to increasing content uptake. What makes it so attractive to marketers is that it provides rich data that can be analysed to gain a broader picture of users but also that the data can be tailored at the individual level.

Source: http://effusiondesign.com/



Ethically, customers are informed of the data being captured in the privacy policy and under what conditions their information can be shared. However, from an individual perspective we must remember that in the digital age the right to privacy and self-determination are important issues and must continue to be fought for. In the larger picture, this concerns the question of what exactly constitutes individual's privacy and exactly how much control individuals have other their digital footprint.




Monday 11 April 2016

Four ideas that will help generate leads

Source: http://websblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lead_generation.png











How to generate leads for a company is one of the main questions that business people ask every day. We all want to generate more leads for our businesses. But how do we intend to do it? For many companies, this is literally a million-dollar question. No matter what your business model is, content is still king. One research study a few years ago revealed that plenty of B2B marketers have documented plans to improve their lead generation budgets by up to 50% the following year. That investment is still on the rise overall.
Let’s start with defining a lead:
What is referred to as a Lead?
A lead is a person who has indicated interest in your company's product or service.
In other words, instead of getting a random call from someone who purchased your contact details, you'd hear from a company or business you've already opened communication with.


Check out how these FOUR types of unique content ideas can help you meet your lead generations:

1. SURVEY

We all like to share our ideas. As marketers, let’s absorb that human instinct and use it to drive leads. Rather than just stating the gains of your service, why not ask your prospects to rank their top three problems, or share their own idea for a new program?
Sixty questions in ten point font is not going to drive the leads home, but a quick two to three questions, with an awesome layout, might be just the opportunity your prospects have been looking for to share ideas and preferences. And, as a marketer, you can use the survey responses to suit your own marketing and continue the discussion.
MarketingProfs ran a popular “Day in the Life of a Marketer” survey that acquired a 42% click through rate (CTR). Another awesome example comes from Xyleme, who created a survey on measuring learning that has been helpful in driving leads (82% lead submission rate for those that began the survey).

2. CONTESTS
Like quizzes, contests are no more just for consumer brands. Contests come in all formats, but our favourites are based on user content: upload a selfie, video or art work: You provide the concept — your prospects provide the content. A contest/competition can come with an awesome prize or it might just be “bragging rights.” The key, from a lead generation outlook, is to make sure the contest is bringing in the right prospects for you. The questions and prize should suit the kind of people you are looking to have a sales conversation with.


Do you think your product is too expensive or your market will not be interested for a contest? Atmel, manufacturer of microcontrollers, ran a video contest targeted towards marketers, engineers, entertainers and hobbyists. With almost 500 entries, 218,000 votes, and 165,337 participants referred through social media channels, I’d call it a success!

3. INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHICS AND WHITE PAPERS.
The engaging infographic and white paper take two of B2B marketing’s most important types of content and make them faster by putting in same type of “info exchange” that is made available in quizzes, calculators, and surveys. As opposed to simply texts and images on a page, there are awesome opportunities, questions and results, and a chance to tailor the experience by how the reader relates to these questions. The result is a truly personalized, useful piece of material that takes advantage of the power of digital literacy and provides both the marketers and consumers with targeted info. Endicia, which gives postage and shipping solutions, put together infographic based on package returns. Most importantly your job as a content marketer is to get your listener's attention, and then to harness and keep it. With average click through rates of 60% and lead conversion rates of 50%, interactive content might be just what you need to boost your lead generation in 2016.


4. QUIZZES
No more simply the area of ladies' magazines and Buzzfeed puff pieces, tests are presently genuine business for the B2B advertiser. Especially at the highest point of the pipe, advertisers are utilizing tests as an approach to attract prospects and begin a dialog.
Tests offer various advantages as lead generators.
  • Because they are normally captivating and fast, requiring to a lesser extent a promise from the prospect than perusing a white paper, for instance, they are for the most part more powerful at the highest point of the channel than a white paper download.
  • Quizzes have high begin and fulfillment rates. For instance, a basic trivia test has a normal snap rate of 41% and normal finishing rate of 43%. That last detail is essential: regardless of the possibility that your prospects download your white paper, how would you know whether they have perused it? 
  • In expansion, tests offer two-way data stream: you as an advertiser can share data and by soliciting an arrangement from inquiries, you can pick up data about your prospect that can be caught for future effort and sustaining.
  • Quizzes are likewise, as we as a whole know from our Facebook nourishes, very shareable. Overall, there is a 15% offer rate for intelligent substance such as tests — how can that contrast and your present offer rates?
  • Finally, a well done test assembles trust: with some insightful inquiries and "results," you can show that your organization comprehends the issue, test, or individual they are focusing on, making it more probable that future correspondence from your organization will be considered. For instance, worldwide ability administration counseling firm DDI constructed a Typical Authority Styles test and has found that prospects who draw in with this intelligent substance are 5x more inclined to open subsequent messages from DDI.
Enjoy.

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the 
Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School