Benefits of YouTube as a Marketing Tool

Since Google has purchased YouTube, there is now more opportunity to get your videos noticed.

Last week I was invited to a Google Partners meeting in downtown Phoenix.  Google continues to fine tune their Trueview for Action to help capture more leads based on consumer patterns:

Intent

Attention

Action

This service allows marketers to target audiences rather than keywords (much like Facebook).  Google AdWords will allow marketers to use Consumer Patterns & Life Events to create Intent Audiences and Remarketing.

Although these are smaller groups, they tend to be closer to the end of the sales funnel at the purchasing decision.  According to Google Support:

Like other important milestones, life events are infrequent, and as a result may reach smaller audiences compared to affinities. However, since life events may correspond with many related purchasing decisions, they’re often larger than in-market categories which correspond with a single purchasing decision. For example, someone who’s about to move will likely buy new furniture, moving services, mortgages, and other moving related items during the months of their move.

The total number of people who use YouTube – 1,300,000,000. 300 hours of video are uploaded toYouTube every minute! Almost 5 billion videos are watched on Youtube every single day. In an average month, 8 out of 10 18-49 year-olds watch YouTube.  

Youtube Statistics - 2018 - FortuneLords.com

The benefit for marketers is they are charged unless a viewer watches a video for at least 30 seconds.  At the same time, the marketer can include call to action offers that could actually pull the viewer away sooner than 30 seconds.

Trueview for Action is definitely on our radar to explore more in the future as it becomes more refined.

Social Marketing Plan for Campus Advisers

In the past Campus Advisers could rely on making a connection at a high school to schedule a parent workshop.  Today, this can still happen but it is now done primarily through the Facilities Dept.  The Facilities Department at a high school as NO attachment to the success or failure of an event.  It is now in the hands of Campus Advisers hand to "get the word out" about upcoming workshops.  Which leads to interested families.  Which leads to long-term clients.  First and foremost, Campus Advisers has to get in front of the families.

This campaign will target Small Business Owners at any income level because the financial aid process can be unclear.  A low Adjusted Gross Income can open up grants, work-study, and lower cost loans.  A high Adjusted Gross Income opens up the opportunity to talk about tax strategies not available to W-2 income earners.

We've loaded 2 lists into Facebook to create Lookalike Audiences within the Phoenix Metropolitan area:  1)  Current and former CA clients that are small business owners 2)  Prospects that are small business owners, entrepreneurs, contractors, etc.  We will also focus on the families that are either nearest to us or driving past the McCormick Ranch location using geolocating.

• We plan to grab attention with a video on Facebook ($10/day for 90 days) and offer a Free Report.
• To access the Free Report, a prospect will provide their email address and graduation year of their student. 
• This will drop the contact into an email series educating them about the process and helping them get familiar with CA.
• The family will have the opportunity to schedule a phone appointment, in-office appointment or an invitation to a local parent workshop in the fall.

Success will be determined by the following:

All current CA metrics will increase

Workshops Scheduled

RSVPS to workshops

Workshop Attendance

Scheduled Appointments

Prospect Meetings

Campus Advisers CLIENTS

Spider Solitaire is my game

When I think of online gaming, I think of shared games with others like Words with Friends or Call of Duty.

I'm an avid Brainium Spider Solitare player on my iPhone.  I also have Spider Solitare on my iPad but I don't enjoy playing games on my iPad as much.  The phone is compact and easy to hold.  I do, however, have to wear my reading glasses because of the small font size.

We recently read in the MKT110 class that almost 60% of people play games on their smartphones and tablets and that 40% of people use their tablet and smartphone at the same time.  I definitely fit into that category.  I'll play Spider Solitaire for hours while watching a movie or listening to music.  I feel like it keeps my mind active and helps me to problem solve.

My aunt is 83 years old and an avid gamer player as well.  She does it specifically to keep her brain active.  We watched as my grandmother in her late 90's starting losing her mental faculties.

Just a few stats for Spider Solitaire:

Games Played:  12638
Games Won:  8353 or 66.1%
Total Time Played:  44:16
Avg Moves to Win:  103
Avg Time to Win: 5:46

Thomas Peschak, ocean photographer & conservationist

https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_peschak_dive_into_an_ocean_photographer_s_world?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Thomas Peschak is a nature photographer that focuses on the world's oceans and conservation.  In this video he explores some of his favorite places, including Baja California (at 7:30 in the video).

As an avid fan of the Baja and grey whales, I appreciate that he highlighted San Ignacia Lagoon on Baja's Pacific side.  The San Ignacio Lagoon is one of the many places along the Baja that the grey whales come to birth and nurture their young before making the long journey north towards Alaska.

The best part as Thomas shows in his video, the whales come right up to the small boats to interact with the curious whale watchers.

Here is a picture of me and my daughters on one of those whale watching excursions:

For more information about Baja whale watching destinations, check this out: http://www.marinebio.net/marinescience/05nekton/GWlagoons.htm

If you also care about the oceans and conservation, take a look at Thomas Peschak's beautiful photography as displayed in this Ted Talk.

Post for CIS-103

In May 2017, I returned to the Baja after 7 years.  Boy, oh boy, do I miss that place and the people!

My Baja daughter, Samia

I am so proud of the lovely woman she has become.  Samia has such a loving and gracious heart.

Jacque & Brenda

It was such fun to catch up with friends that inspire my journey.  Living in another country provides so many joys ... and challenges.  These women have truly experienced it all as they embrace living in Mexico.

Samia, Pepe, Angel & Kevin

Thank you for sharing your loving family!  I'm looking forward to watching the boys become young men and follow their dad's footsteps.

Me and my babies, circa 2000

Whale watching, Magdelena Bay