Harnessing the Power of Digital Media

 

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Today, business and social networks are simultaneously expanding and contracting. It can be overwhelming for even the most tech-savvy person, but that doesn’t mean it has to be.

 

On May 5th, Comcast Spotlight New York invited representatives from across the digital media spectrum to educate clients about how they can best use digital tools to help their businesses grow. With the green field of the New Meadowlands Stadium as a backdrop, Patrick Schwerdtfeger, an author and speaker from Bloomberg TV, Wendi Kaplan-Carroll, Regional Development Director of Constant Contact, and Peter Goldstein, Regional Development Director at Mixpo, discussed social media victories, best practices in email marketing, and dynamic video advertising, respectively. Later, Tom Duffy, Interactive Sales Manager at Comcast Spotlight, mediated a panel discussion with all three, joined by Stefanie Smentek, Digital Marketing Manager at Comcast Spotlight.

 

 

So if you were in the audience, what did you learn?

 

Well, for starters, it takes time, money and effort to build trust with your audience and get the most out of digital and social media. Baby steps are okay, but only if you’re consistent and diligent in your efforts. 

 

It’s notable that Facebook has over 500 million users worldwide and YouTube is officially the second-largest search engine after Google (garnering over 31 billion searches per month, in case you were wondering). Providing valuable content in the middle of that “raging river,” as Patrick likes to call it, is key to building awareness for your products and services, and, even more so, to connect with people at all points of the sales cycle. While some may think that all the videos, photos, blog posts and tweets out there are junk (a recent study showed that only 8.7% of tweets have “pass-along value”), our presenters consider all that “junk” a great opportunity to create quality content that stands head and shoulders above the rest.  

 

 

First, know what you hope to accomplish with your Facebook page, blog post, podcast, tweet and so on. Do you want to promote your business? Motivate purchases? Increase event attendance? Inform? Relate? Differentiate your business? Increase loyalty? Encourage referrals? You might answer, “All of those,” and you certainly can. But each time you communicate, you should have a focus. And include an incentive (or three)!  People are motivated by incentives. One more thing to consider: including video in your content is a way to garner more eyeballs. It’s more likely to go viral and potentially expand your customer base.

 

Ready to dabble? Comcast Spotlight’s suite of interactive products helps business reach customers where they’re already spending a lot of their time – in front of the television and on the internet. Whether it’s a banner ad with video that connects people right to your Facebook page, or a TV commercial that drives traffic to your website, it’s time to get dynamic with your advertising and marketing.

 

Happy surfing!