Links and Usability, Verizon Buys Yahoo, And More: Weekly Forum Update

Yahoo is sort of alive and sort of dead as of this week – the end of an era, and the end of the road for Yahoo’s last minute, brazen, experimental approach to recovery.

Our communities have been discussing the story, along with a few stories about links, AdSense, HTTPS, and more this week.

One of our stories about links is actually quite different from the usual “how do I get them” discussion – on WebmasterWorld, users are wondering about the UI/UX aspect of links.

The standard practice is to make them blue and underline them, but if you’ve been surfing the web lately you might have noticed that not everyone does that anymore. Here’s the rest of our new and exciting discussions for the week:

Color Us Surprised: Links Are Still Incredibly Important!

As Google grew and became more sophisticated, there were some webmasters who wondered if links would fall by the wayside. Would new ways of identifying a website’s importance and relevance to a search query develop? If they have, they haven’t impacted links very much.

Eric Ward recently reported for Search Engine Land that links are actually more important than most people think. Some of us are less surprised to learn this than others – you can get some great links for reading over on Threadwatch!

Making Links Usable Again

Blue, underlined text (or magenta/red underlined text if you’ve clicked it already) has been the hallmark of a link since the dawn of the ‘Net. But, as ergophobe of WebmasterWorld writes,

“…for many years now, the vogue has been to make links practically impossible to find. I actually run some sites that I did not design where I basically cannot see the links…”

This thread is all about the UI/UX concerns of links. Web users have been trained how to recognize links for years. When we change how our links look, are we making it more difficult for users to parse our websites?

Keyplyr writes that compromise is possible:

“Usability vs aesthetics has always been a conflict, but IMO I found the compromise best suited for my design and my users.”

Graeme_p emphatically disagrees:

“The internet diversifying is a bad thing. Different approaches for different audiences is a bad thing. Usability depends on convention.”

What do you think?

What is the Value of Attending an Industry Conference or Trade Show?

Attending regular industry conferences and trade shows involves some sacrifices – money and time, specifically. And are they worth those sacrifices? Kim on Cre8asite writes that,

“For me, taking risks and working hard to get to a conference where I would be educated and network was how I was able to teach myself.”

EGOL agrees that they have value:

“…especially if you are in the early to middle stages of your learning…A lot of people balk at spending [the kind of money it takes], but this type of education can be self-funding if you are serious about getting educated and applying what you learn.”

For other members, the value of conferences diminishes as your own experience decreases. But at that point, isn’t it worth giving back to the community with what you’ve learned? Smaller niche-specific conferences are almost always valuable for the networking, Cre8asiteforums users agree. What’s your stance?

AdSense – What’s Good Traffic Mean?

Plenty of people who run AdSense are obsessed with getting as much traffic as possible. But there’s good traffic and there’s bad traffic, and your goal should be to maximize the former. So what makes traffic good?

Threadwatch has some highlights from a recent WebmasterWorld thread all about it. You probably want

“…traffic that purposefully visits your site, sticks around for more than two pages without bouncing, visits multiple times, comes from an authoritative or relevant link, and is relevant to your niche and location.”

Beyond that, there may be certain age groups that work best for you, too. The definition of good traffic is a little different for everyone – get some ideas from this thread!

HTTPS – One More Reason to Change

Chedders on SEO Chat pointed this out –

“…Chrome as of version 50…no longer supports any requests for user location unless it’s via HTTPS.”

So if you’ve got a website that takes a user’s location to display relevant ads or content, that function could be totally broken for Chrome browsers as of April, 2016!

How Do I Get Someone’s AdSense Suspended

A user from WebmasterWorld has fallen victim to a very stubborn and malicious content scraper. A significant amount of their content has been stolen and re-purposed to make a quick buck with AdSense.

Now Mr_Jefe wonders how to get the scraper’s AdSense account suspended. Or, failing that, how to end the scraper’s attacks. Everyone deals with content scrapers eventually – but this one is so prolific that it makes for a very interesting read.

Vahoo – Verizon Buys Yahoo

Did you know that Verizon also owns AOL? For many of us who have been around to watch the old search engines come and go, putting AOL and Yahoo in the same bucket says a lot about Yahoo’s potential future.

The sale to Verizon doesn’t include Yahoo’s most valuable components, though – Yahoo Japan, the company’s cash, or its lucrative stocks in Alibaba. Users on Cre8asiteforums wonder what Verizon’s plans are – and what about Yahoo’s current deals with Bing and Google?

The post Links and Usability, Verizon Buys Yahoo, And More: Weekly Forum Update appeared first on Internet Marketing Ninjas Blog.

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Customer Data: The Solution to Lead Generation

More leads, please.

In most companies, it’s an ongoing process to generate interested buyers to your product and services.

We want qualified leads that move effortlessly throughout the sales cycle.

But the problem lies in our preparation. Some of us just don’t have enough information about our prospects.

The CSO Insight study reported that “42 percent of sales reps feel that they don’t have the right information before making a call.”

Use accurate customer data to prepare your team. Knowing key insights can make or break the deal.

Power up your data profile. Leverage it to produce more qualified leads.

Gathering Reliable Data

Based on a Ascend2 study, “35 percent of those surveyed said the biggest barrier to lead generation success is the lack of quality data.” Your data should tell a vivid story of your customer.

To gather reliable data, track anonymous users who visit your website. Watch leads interact with your content via session replays.

Ask for feedback from current customers. Monitor the trends of loyal consumers.

B2B marketers must also “embrace more third party and real-time data sets to really understand buyer’s across the entire customer journey.” For example, that may include using social logins to access a prospect’s profile information.

Data is widely available. Your team must decide which acquisition channels work for your company.

What’s the best way to collect email addresses? Or how can you quickly accumulate customer preferences?

“Understanding who your customers are and, in turn, what they like, will undoubtedly enable you to increase conversions and sales. Make it easy for your customers to share their data with you, and use that data to keep them engaged with your business,” says Josh George, a senior applications engineer at Lyons Consulting Group.

Know who you’re serving. Collect valid data for better results.

Enhancing Buyer Personas

Get inside your prospects’ minds. Map out your ideal customer to understand their reasons for buying.

But, what’s the point?

Buyer personas are roadmaps to navigating through your prospects’ interests, dislikes, and habits. If you’re aware of their behaviors, your team can create targeted solutions.

“By developing research-based buyer personas, you can create effective, highly targeted marketing campaigns. Each piece of communication ties back to your buyer personas so that every message addresses relevant pain points and positions your software as a viable solution,” states Brie Rangel, Account Strategist at IMPACT.

Knowing the basic demographics of your buyer is a given. Your team’s goal is to dive deeper. Learn your customers’ goals, challenges, and personal story.

Below is an example of a buyer persona for a specific startup founder. The story section offers a complete picture of the prospect, everything from the stage of his product to what he does for fun.

The role of customer data is to provide accurate information for your buyer personas. You don’t want to waste time selling enterprise-level B2B SaaS software to a B2C startup.

Moreover, inaccurate buyer preferences and habits will leave both the prospect and sales rep frustrated. So, double-check your personas.
Because in the end, your mission is to match your product with a qualified lead. That’s how you bring in sales.

“Use personas to spend more time with qualified leads, because they’re the ones who are most likely to turn into those long-term customers you’re looking for,” says Nicole Dieker, freelance writer and copywriter.

Enhance your buyer personas. Use data to add a face to the customer.

Segmenting Your Audience

After learning your customers distinct behaviors, it’s time to serve those individual needs.
It makes no sense to group everyone together.

If Sally specifically likes apples, why send her emails about oranges and grapefruits? Instead, educate her about the difference between gala apples and pink lady apples.

That’s a mental hurdle for most SaaS teams. We assume if our customers like X; they will definitely love Y. It isn’t always that simple.

Segmentation comes in many shapes and sizes. From geographical to behavioral differences, your customers vary. And it’s up to your team discover how to connect with them.

You might consider a city in a particular state or the buyer’s readiness to purchase. Work with your team to develop a goal.

Define your reason for segmentation. Experienced marketing and product leader Doug Goldstein offers the following common segmentation objectives:

• Create segmented ads & marketing communications
• Develop differentiated customer servicing & retention strategies
• Target prospects with the greatest profit potential
• Optimize your sales-channel mix

Segmentation is impossible without customer data. Add insights derived from analytics to guide how you group prospects.

And don’t be afraid to experiment. Testing is how you’ll discover the right messaging for your sales reps. Plus, it can help you market product information on your site.

“When practicing website optimization, leveraging customer segmentation provides a framework for running intentional, well-hypothesized experiments on your website that drive value,” writes Junan Pang, a solutions architect at Optimizely.

Segment your audience to deliver more personalized and timely experiences. With a segmented list, you’ll be able to target the right services to interested buyers.

Building The Relationship

You can collect the data, create the buyer personas, and segment your audience. But all that data can’t substitute customer relationships.

And that’s where most businesses miss their opportunity.

“[C]ompanies often manage relationships haphazardly and unprofitably, committing blunders that undermine their connections with customers,” states Jill Avery, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School.

Customer data is intended to facilitate the relationship between the sales rep and the buyer. However, research shows that companies without sophisticated data management tools “derive erroneous results that annoy customers, resulting in a 25 percent reduction in potential revenue gains.”

Don’t attempt to foster a customer relationship with poor-quality data. If you do, prospects will seek out your competitors.

TechTarget executive editor Lauren Horwitz and SearchCRM site editor Tim Ehrens agree:

“Customer data management often falls to the bottom of the priority list. Organizations get bogged down with more pressing issues, such as cutting costs or keeping daily operations running. But relying on poor-quality customer data almost always frustrates customers — and many of them take their business elsewhere.”

Relationships are built on human-to-human contact. That means being genuinely interested in your buyer’s concerns.

How can you make their lives better? Where can you offer convenience?

And sometimes your product won’t be the solution. Yes, your SaaS service may not be the best option for that particular person.

Sales teams must recognize that it’s okay to remove unqualified prospects from the pipeline. This action should be commended, not frowned upon.

Use customer data as a tool to score leads. Then, gain insight on how to target prospects that matter to your company.

Data shouldn’t supplant the customer relationship. Make the human connection.

Go for the Data

Your team needs qualified leads. Focus on customer data as a solution.

Gather data from reliable sources. Use buyer personas to target your audience. Segment their behavior to create a personalized approach. And focus on building relationships throughout the sales cycle.

Want more leads? Go for the data.

About the Author: Shayla Price lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology and social responsibility. Connect with her on Twitter @shaylaprice.

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We Want to Be The Very Best — Like No One Ever Was!

Pokemon GO may be all the rage, but here at Vidyard we’ve been PokeNerds for a long time. From trying to get Snorlax to move on our monochrome, brick-sized Gameboys to perfecting our Pikachu strategy in Super Smash Brothers, Vidyard’s marketing team is packed with Pokemon Veterans.

To celebrate the launch of Pokemon GO and a brand new lunch-hour addiction for our team, we imagined ourselves as Pokemon trainers and gym leaders, and looked at which Pokemon would be our loyal friends in the quest to catch ‘em all.

We want to be the very best – like no one ever was!

Kimbe & Noah

As the leader of the Content Gym, Kimbe and her Arcanine Noah bring in powerful PokeLeads with their commitment to quality, informative content. Noah uses Extreme Speed to create content faster than any other Pokemon, and Fire Fang to create red-hot blog posts.

Emily & Finn

Emily and her Umbreon Finn work late into the night building Vidyard’s PokeSite and Brand. Emily’s special bond with Finn allows them to use Tackle to bring complex branding concepts into focus and Mean Look to make sure people follow them.

Julie & Piper

As the newest trainer in the Design Gym, Julie and her Jolteon Piper use their energy to create beautiful graphics for Vidyard’s content. Piper is always there to use Helping Hand to get design projects finished faster, and throw out a few Thunder Shocks when everyone needs an energy boost.

Amar & Jam

Amar is not only the strongest member of the Rev Ops Gym, but he’s also the most focused. Jam, his loyal Pinsir, can use Focus Energy any time reports don’t look right, and Submission any time the data gets out of line.

Jeff & Carmen

Jeff is a man of many words, and as leader of the Product Marketing Gym, he and his Ditto Carmen have to be ready for any battle with other gyms. Jeff helps show our customers and prospects the true power of Vidyard, and Carmen can Transform into any Pokemon that will help!

Joe & Big Green

The days are long for Joe, the leader of the Rev Ops Gym, but his Snorlax Big Green is always there to help with a quick nap. After a long day of wrangling revenue data, Big Green loves to curl up for a nap, and uses Snore to make sure Joe gets one now and then too.

Mike & Red

Mike is the trickster of the Rev Ops Gym, but his Cubone Red is no laughing matter. When our marketing automation gets out of line, Mike gets Red to whack it on the head with Bone Club, and throws in a Headbutt for good measure.

Raj & Eva

As the leader of the Design Gym, Raj has to be both creative, and focused. His Dragonite, Eva never leaves his side, showing off her Hurricane attack when projects start to mount up, and boosting Raj’s creativity with a Dragon Dance when the going gets tough.

Rob & Spoons

Rob leads the Partnerships Gym, and his Alakazam Spoons makes bringing on new agency partners a snap. Spoons helps Rob Teleport to agency meetings in far away lands, and uses his Psychic power to see just what each partner needs to be successful and happy.

Wes & Mr. Splashypants

Wes may be the tallest member of the Demand Gen Gym, but without his trusty Lapras Mr. Splashypants, even he couldn’t swim to all the islands in Vidyard. Mr. Splashypants uses Water Gun to help shoot PokeLeads out of the sky, and Sing to help Wes write soothing nurture emails.

Katie & Coco

Katie is the longest-standing member of the Design Gym, and her Vaporeon Coco has been there through thick and thin. When design projects pile up, Coco uses Muddy Water to clear away the clutter, and Helping Hand to do twice the design work in half the time!

Kim & Etta

Kim radiates joy and happiness at the Demand Gen Gym, and her Bellossom Etta can’t stop smiling. Kim and Etta team up to run the best webinars in the world, and Etta uses Energy Ball to make sure everyone is as excited as can be.

Kari & Manola

Kari is the sole member of the Events gym, but with her Wigglytuff Manola she can do the work of a hundred trainers. Kari works hard to make sure Vidyard’s events are the best they can be, and Manola can use Dazzling Gleam to wow crowds of any size.

Cam & Jay

Cam is the newest member of the Video Production Gym, and his Psyduck Jay is still getting used to all these moving pictures. Cam helps Vidyard customers personalize their video content, and Jay can use Psych Up to keep Cam going when videos take too long to render.

Mat & Scooter

Mat is rarely found without a camera in his hand, and his Slowbro Scooter is usually not far behind. Mat writes and directs films for the Video Production Gym, and while he’s not the quickest pokemon, Scooter is always there with a Psyshock to keep Mat focused!

Blake & Bebop

Blake is the leader of the Video Production Gym, and his Blastoise Bebop means business. When complex projects pop up, Bebop uses Water Gun to blast them into tinier, more manageable pieces so Blake and the rest of the gym can attack.

Jesse & Snap

Jesse helps keep customers happy in the Product Marketing Gym, and his Zapdos Snap helps Vidyard soar above other companies. Snap is always there to lend a helping hand, using Thunder Shock to power our influencer marketing community.

Tom & Scorch

Tom is the newest member of the Partnerships Gym, and his Charizard Scorch is a force to be reckoned with. Scorch helps heat up cold leads with Heat Wave, and uses Inferno to burn anything that stands in the way of our partners’ success!

Jon & Mick

Jon joined the Content Gym because he loves to talk, and his Meowth Mick can’t keep his mouth shut either. Jon whips up content quickly, and Mick uses Slash to cut through deadlines, and Echoed Voice to amplify posts on social media.

Jodi & Gus

Jodi is the leader of the Demand Gen Gym, and her Ninetails Gus knows who’s boss. While Jodi travels the world generating PokeLeads for Vidyard, Gus uses his psychic abilities to charm prospects, and can use Safeguard to ensure potential customers are happy and comfortable.

Matt & Zephyr

Matt is the newest addition to the Design Gym, building our PokeSite with his Koffing Zephyr. Matt turns complex design ideas into beautiful websites, and Zephyr can use Clear Smog to get rid of bad code and Assurance to make sure everything works the way it should.

 

Greg & Zap

Greg and his Voltorb Zap are masters at turning product ideas into great marketing campaigns for the Product Marketing Gym. Zap uses Spark to help get Greg’s creative powers flowing, and Rollout to make sure complex projects are always finished on time.

Tyler & Viddy

Tyler is the grand master of the Marketing Gym, and his Pigeot Viddy means business. Viddy flies high into the sky so Tyler can see every other gym in marketing land all at once, and uses Aerial Ace to outsmart challenges, competitors, and quotas.

Want to join our Pokemon gym? We’re always hiring! Check out our careers page, dust off your PokeBalls, and help us catch ’em all! These amazing renditions of our marketing team were designed by the talented Katie and Julie!

The post We Want to Be The Very Best — Like No One Ever Was! appeared first on Vidyard Video Intelligence Platform.

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Getting Started with Live Streaming

So, you’re thinking about setting up a live stream, but you don’t know how to get started?

Well, worry no more. We’ve got you covered.

Live streams can range from a simple talking head video featuring your charismatic CEO, to a full-fledged production featuring a dozen audio and video feeds, lighting, special effects, and cuts to commercial breaks.

For all live streams, there are essentially four components that come together to deliver a stable and scalable experience worldwide. These are:

1. Video Camera

This is a no-brainer. You actually need something to capture the video and the audio. In more advanced setups, you could have multiple cameras hooked up into a switcher before it sends to step two.

2. Video Capture Card

The video encoder takes the video recorded by the camera and prepares it to stream. For video capturing you have two options:

1. Use an external peripheral hardware device, or
2. An internal capture card in the computer.

USB enabled cameras like webcams can generally be plugged directly into your computer to work with your software encoder. If you choose a USB camera, you can get away without using a Video Capture Card.

However, most Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) consumer, “prosumer”, and professional-grade cameras are equipped with at least one of the following outputs:

• Composite
• Firewire
• Component
• SDI
• HDMI

And these outputs generally require a video capture card (either external or internal).

In general, large and more complex streams should use External Hardware devices, while simpler streams can get away with a USB camera plugged directly into your computer.

3. Laptop/Desktop Computer with Encoding Software

Whether you stream through peripheral hardware or directly to your computer, you will still need to send the feed to software to manage the video and audio inputs, transitions, and most importantly, send the video feed to a live stream enabled-player and CDN.

Encoding software is where you preview and manage the stream as it’s being sent online, and where you’ll add all of the other fancy stuff like overlays, sound effects, and star wipes.

4. Live stream Enabled-Player and CDN

Lastly, you’ll need a live stream enabled-player and CDN, which will host and display the final product from the encoding software. This is what the viewer will experience. This will be cloud-based tool that will take the stream and generate embed codes and webpages where the video can be displayed online.

This component is also responsible for syndicating the content to locations around the world, so the stream can be effectively played from anywhere.

Cameras

Switching gears now, it’s your first live stream, so what camera should you buy?

There are so many out there on the market that it’s easy to get lost. Thankfully, what’s important isn’t the specific brand of camera, but the output. Depending on your camera’s output, you will either be able to connect it directly into your computer to encode the feed, or you will need to attach it to a video capture card or hardware peripheral. You can expect to come across a number of different outputs in your research, with some common ones being USB, HDMI, SDI, and analog.

USB cameras like high-quality webcams are the quickest and easiest way to get set up on a live stream. They can be set up in minutes and can connect directly to your computer without the need for a capture card. On top of all that, they often cost as little as $100 (or they’re already built in)!

However, webcams aren’t perfect, and lack a lot of the advanced features you might be looking for in high quality broadcast. Most of them don’t have zoom or advanced focus controls, and you might find the picture quality to be lacking.

If you’re looking for something a little more configurable, HDMI enabled cameras are a great choice. You can get a professional quality picture at a relatively low price point. The pros will often use SDI output, as the connections are lacking and you can have very long cable runs. However SDI cameras can be very expensive, so a common workaround is to use an HDMI camera with an HDMI-SDI converter.

Video Capture Cards

If you are using any non-USB camera, you will need to feed your stream through a video capture card to convert the stream into a format that is usable by your software encoder. Video capture cards are also a great way to manage multiple inputs and offset some of the processing load on your computer. With video capture cards, there are two choices: internal or external.

Internal cards are generally more configurable and tend to be less expensive than external cards. Unfortunately, they are often incompatible with laptops and require a little bit of computer “surgery” to get them installed. External capture devices are plug-and-play and usually just need a driver to get them up and running. Whichever card you end up buying, it’s important to first check that it’s compatible with your software encoder of choice. Vendors like Wirecast have lists of tried-and-true capture cards readily available on their website.

Broadcasting Software

Now that you’ve got your cameras set up and feeding into a video capture card, you need a program to actually manage the broadcast and distribute it from your computer. There are a lot of quality offerings out there, both paid and free. Here’s a brief list of some that we have used here and can recommend:

• Telestream’s Wirecast
• NewTek’s TriCaster
• XSplit Broadcaster
• OBS
• FMLE

Although these products all have different interfaces and features, their basic capabilities are similar. They provide you with a central location to manage all your streams, mix them, and push the feed out in real time to a player. These programs also have a place where you can input your RTMP credentials provided to you by Vidyard when you set up a live stream.

Live Stream Enabled Player

The final step in your live streaming journey is what the end user is going to see: the player. This player will likely be embedded on your website or a landing page so that people can tune in when the stream goes live. Vidyard is one of many providers that can help you with this step by providing you with a live streaming-ready player and a global CDN to stream your content the world over.

Conclusion

Live streaming can sound like a daunting task at first and there definitely are a lot of moving parts. With the right technology and set-up, it’s a great way to extend the reach of your content.

In part 2 of this article, we’ll talk about some lead generation best practices with live streaming, so stay tuned!

The post Getting Started with Live Streaming appeared first on Vidyard Video Intelligence Platform.

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The Brilliance Behind the Ford Barking Lot

Given that my Instagram feed is pretty much nothing but celebrity dogs, seeing funny dog videos when checking out social networks doesn’t usually come as a surprise. That said, seeing funny dog videos from major brands showing up on Facebook is eye catching, to say the least.

A few weeks back, Ford’s Barking Lot video caught my eye:

As I was scrolling through my feed, I saw this spinning little chihuahua without audio. And that’s all it took to get me to click play, and watch the entire video. And then watch it again, and send it to all my coworkers because I knew they would love it just as much as I did.

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Now, car companies aren’t always on the cutting edge of internet humor. Most car commercials I think of tend to fit the following mold:

• shots of fast-driving cars in a closed course,
• a voiceover speaking to why the car is amazing,
• a shot of the car screeching to a halt in front of a vibrant city or expansive vista,
• and a voiceover explaining the car’s basic pricing and/or current specials.

So seeing this video from Ford was not only a welcome change, but a real shift in my understanding of how car companies market their products on social. It also got me thinking about why this video is so effective. So I reached out to Ford to find out more!

Cars, Like Dogs, Are Different

What really struck me about this video was that it wasn’t afraid to be playful with the dogs it cast for the cars. It seems that every car company wants their cars to be seen as powerful, sleek, and fast. The casting choice of dogs in this video speaks to how much Ford understands both the draw of the cars they’re selling and the personality traits of the people that buy them.

 

Ford Fiestas, and their owners, are not always the same as F-150 owners. Casting a spunky, energetic chihuahua as the Fiesta, and showing a powerful St. Bernard pulling a wagon full of tinier dogs is a hilarious way of juxtaposing these two cars as being different breeds of the same awesome animal. Ford goes even further with this, showcasing the Mustang’s raw power and unique personality with a boxer, and highlighting the speedy but family-friendly Escape as an adorable Chocolate Lab.

I asked Ford Canada’s Social Media Manager, Ammar Khan about how they brainstormed this kind of video, and his feedback is a testament to how connected Ford is with their social media fans. “The internet loves dogs. Incidentally, so do we! Our social media team’s mandate is to develop content that supports our pillars of quality, safety, smart technology, and green living.  Our social media team also develops lifestyle content that’s all about building brand love, loyalty, share of voice, and intent to purchase. Strategically, we knew that a video of dogs wearing Ford car costumes would help tick those boxes, and tickle the fancy of our extremely loyal Ford fan base. A piece like the barking lot is also a fun and engaging way to get people who are not part of our customer base to engage with the brand.”

Knowing how big of a company Ford is, I was also curious how Khan and his team went about building a video like this and keeping it within brand guidelines. It turns out, the process was highly collaborative. “It required a huge amount of input from our product teams; the costumes had to accurately reflect the dogs. Even casting the dogs was a thoughtful process, as we needed to select breeds whose bodies matched the proportions of the vehicles.”

“Even casting the dogs was a thoughtful process, as we needed to select breeds whose bodies matched the proportions of the vehicles.”

It Fits for Ford’s Social Audience

A video like this would be funny as a TV commercial, but at a minute and nine seconds, it would be far too long for most network TV stations. Unlike most car commercials, this video also has several models of cars that all attract different buyers, so it wouldn’t have the focus that you need to nail a 30 second spot.

Having this video on Ford’s social channels gives them 3 big benefits over putting this creativity into a standard TV spot:

1. It’s infinitely shareable. By putting this great dog video on their social channels, they open the door up for easy sharing both on social networks and privately. I copied the link for this video and posted it in our Marketing Slack channel, and instantly got them 10-15 more views in one day.
2. Length is less of an issue. Facebook videos can be as long as you want, but Ford played the right card and kept this under a minute and thirty seconds. It’s too long for TV, but it’s perfect for social media.
3. They can break canon. As I mentioned earlier, TV commercials for cars can be a bit programmatic, but social video is fair game. This video breaks the mold for most car companies, and it shines because of it.

I asked Khan about the importance of video for Ford’s social media strategy, and it turns out this is far from their first foray into creating viral content. “Video’s ubiquity across the social web has continued to grow over the past years, and we’ve made it a priority to give our fans more of the content they most like to consume! In addition to video, we also publish blog posts, GIFs, cinemagraphs, interactive infographics, animations, split-depth GIFs, run online chats, and interactive  quizzes. It’s all about finding innovative, creative ways to tell the Ford Canada story.”

“Video’s ubiquity across the social web has continued to grow over the past years, and we’ve made it a priority to give our fans more of the content they most like to consume!”

He also elaborated on their strategy of producing the right content for the right network, saying “When it comes to video, we try to create cuts of videos that work best for the channels they will be published on. For example our Facebook videos are often shorter than our YouTube videos and we optimize Facebook video for an environment where it will be played without sound.”

One thing I hadn’t considered was how Ford Canada interacts with the content produced by their partner organizations in other countries, and it turns out remixing content plays a big part of their strategy as well. “We produce quite a lot of original video — like The Barking Lot — throughout the year, but also take videos from Ford’s global channels and re-cut and edit them to create something a little different for our Canadian audience.”

Wrapping It All Up

A campaign like this is no accident, and it’s not hard for your company to execute something similar.

The key to Ford’s Barking Lot is brainstorming without limits. Dressing dogs up as cars is the kind of idea that gets added to a whiteboard as a joke, but slowly blossoms into something hilarious enough to be powerful on social media.

If you want to create content that makes people laugh and gets attention on social, don’t disregard ideas just because they sound silly. Ford has plenty of other video content on their Facebook feed, but this video stands out from the first second with four dogs dressed as cars staring back at you and panting at the camera. It’s also sitting at just under a thousand likes, and well over a hundred comments, which are always nice engagement metrics to have. Khan commented on the impact this video has had on their social programs, saying “This video is performing extremely well. It’s irresistibly shareable, which has really helped our organic reach and engagement. With a little paid promotion behind it on Facebook, we’ve seen outstanding pickup.”

And, since no blog post is truly complete without a good pun, Khan summed up this campaign perfectly. “We have a lot of dog lovers in our already-passionate community, so yeah, I guess you could say that reception has been extremely paw-sitive.”

Ruff, right?

Have you come across any videos on Facebook that made you pause, scroll back, and rewatch? Tell us about it in the comments — we’re always looking for great video examples to share!

The post The Brilliance Behind the Ford Barking Lot appeared first on Vidyard.

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We Want to Be The Very Best — Like No One Ever Was!

Pokemon GO may be all the rage, but here at Vidyard we’ve been PokeNerds for a long time. From trying to get Snorlax to move on our monochrome, brick-sized Gameboys to perfecting our Pikachu strategy in Super Smash Brothers, Vidyard’s marketing team is packed with Pokemon Veterans.

To celebrate the launch of Pokemon GO and a brand new lunch-hour addiction for our team, we imagined ourselves as Pokemon trainers and gym leaders, and looked at which Pokemon would be our loyal friends in the quest to catch ‘em all.

We want to be the very best – like no one ever was!

Kimbe & Noah

As the leader of the Content Gym, Kimbe and her Arcanine Noah bring in powerful PokeLeads with their commitment to quality, informative content. Noah uses Extreme Speed to create content faster than any other Pokemon, and Fire Fang to create red-hot blog posts.

Emily & Finn

Emily and her Umbreon Finn work late into the night building Vidyard’s PokeSite and Brand. Emily’s special bond with Finn allows them to use Tackle to bring complex branding concepts into focus and Mean Look to make sure people follow them.

Julie & Piper

As the newest trainer in the Design Gym, Julie and her Jolteon Piper use their energy to create beautiful graphics for Vidyard’s content. Piper is always there to use Helping Hand to get design projects finished faster, and throw out a few Thunder Shocks when everyone needs an energy boost.

Amar & Jam

Amar is not only the strongest member of the Rev Ops Gym, but he’s also the most focused. Jam, his loyal Pinsir, can use Focus Energy any time reports don’t look right, and Submission any time the data gets out of line.

Jeff & Carmen

Jeff is a man of many words, and as leader of the Product Marketing gym, he and his Ditto Carmen have to be ready for any battle with other gyms. Jeff helps show our customers and prospects the true power of Vidyard, and Carmen can Transform into any Pokemon that will help!

Joe & Big Green

The days are long for Joe, the leader of the Rev Ops Gym, but his Snorlax Big Green is always there to help with a quick nap. After a long day of wrangling revenue data, Big Green loves to curl up for a nap, and uses Snore to make sure Joe gets one now and then too.

Mike & Red

Mike is the trickster of the Rev Ops Gym, but his Cubone Red is no laughing matter. When our marketing automation gets out of line, Mike gets Red to whack it on the head with Bone Club, and throws in a Headbutt for good measure.

Raj & Eva

As the leader of the Design Gym, Raj has to be both creative, and focused. His Dragonite, Eva never leaves his side, showing off her Hurricane attack when projects start to mount up, and boosting Raj’s creativity with a Dragon Dance when the going gets tough.

Rob & Spoons

Rob leads the Partnerships Gym, and his Alakazam Spoons makes bringing on new agency partners a snap. Spoons helps Rob Teleport to agency meetings in far away lands, and uses his Psychic power to see just what each partner needs to be successful and happy.

Wes & Mr. Splashypants

Wes may be the tallest member of the Demand Gen Gym, but without his trusty Lapras Mr. Splashypants, even he couldn’t swim to all the islands in Vidyard. Mr. Splashypants uses Water Gun to help shoot PokeLeads out of the sky, and Sing to help Wes write soothing nurture emails.

Katie & Coco

Katie is the longest-standing member of the Design Gym, and her Vaporeon Coco has been there through thick and thin. When design projects pile up, Coco uses Muddy Water to clear away the clutter, and Helping Hand to do twice the design work in half the time!

Kim & Etta

Kim radiates joy and happiness at the Demand Gen Gym, and her Bellossom Etta can’t stop smiling. Kim and Etta team up to run the best webinars in the world, and Etta uses Energy Ball to make sure everyone is as excited as can be.

Kari & Manola

Kari is the sole member of the Events gym, but with her Wigglytuff Manola she can do the work of a hundred trainers. Kari works hard to make sure Vidyard’s events are the best they can be, and Manola can use Dazzling Gleam to wow crowds of any size.

Cam & Jay

Cam is the newest member of the Video Production Gym, and his Psyduck Jay is still getting used to all these moving pictures. Cam helps Vidyard customers personalize their video content, and Jay can use Psych Up to keep Cam going when videos take too long to render.

Mat & Scooter

Mat is rarely found without a camera in his hand, and his Slowbro Scooter is usually not far behind. Mat writes and directs films for the Video Production Gym, and while he’s not the quickest pokemon, Scooter is always there with a Psyshock to keep Mat focused!

Blake & Bebop

Blake is the leader of the Video Production Gym, and his Blastoise Bebop means business. When complex projects pop up, Bebop uses Water Gun to blast them into tinier, more manageable pieces so Blake and the rest of the gym can attack.

Jesse & Snap

Jesse helps keep customers happy in the Product Marketing Gym, and his Zapdos Snap helps Vidyard soar above other companies. Snap is always there to lend a helping hand, using Thunder Shock to power our influencer marketing community.

Tom & Scorch

Tom is the newest member of the Partnerships Gym, and his Charizard Scorch is a force to be reckoned with. Scorch helps heat up cold leads with Heat Wave, and uses Inferno to burn anything that stands in the way of our partners’ success!

Jon & Mick

Jon joined the Content Gym because he loves to talk, and his Meowth Mick can’t keep his mouth shut either. Jon whips up content quickly, and Mick uses Slash to cut through deadlines, and Echoed Voice to amplify posts on social media.

Jodi & Gus

Jodi is the leader of the Demand Gen Gym, and her Ninetails Gus knows who’s boss. While Jodi travels the world generating PokeLeads for Vidyard, Gus uses his psychic abilities to charm prospects, and can use Safeguard to ensure potential customers are happy and comfortable.

Matt & Zephyr

Matt is the newest addition to the Design Gym, building our PokeSite with his Koffing Zephyr. Matt turns complex design ideas into beautiful websites, and Zephyr can use Clear Smog to get rid of bad code and Assurance to make sure everything works the way it should.

 Tyler & Viddy

Tyler is the grand master of the Marketing Gym, and his Pigeot Viddy means business. Viddy flies high into the sky so Tyler can see every other gym in marketing land all at once, and uses Aerial Ace to outsmart challenges, competitors, and quotas.

Want to join our Pokemon gym? We’re always hiring! Check out our careers page, dust off your PokeBalls, and help us catch ’em all! These amazing renditions of our marketing team were designed by the talented Katie and Julie!

The post We Want to Be The Very Best — Like No One Ever Was! appeared first on Vidyard.

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