OMG Blog

Leveraging Relationships During Times of Uncertainty

While the world around us is currently in the throes of chaos, the timing of this piece couldn't be better. Here's why:

‍Pick any point in history — having a great working relationship with your agency and freelancers has always been a critical part of owning or operating an ad agency or eCommerce business. At OMG Commerce, we've always been committed to a world-class level of service and assistance to our clients, but "world-class" has taken on an entirely new meaning in the last few months. There's no doubt that COVID-19 has been an opportunity to gauge the strength of our client relationships.

During a global crisis, you can either panic and cut ties or double down on the trust you've fostered with your partners. The first few months of COVID-19 have been a significant adjustment for everyone, but I'm so proud of our team and our clients who have dug into the foundation of trust we have built to rely on one another fully.

I don't know what the next few months will bring, but one thing I do know is that for our partners who have benefitted from our "all hands on deck" mentality to steer them through these tough times, we've demonstrated why that trust is so important. 

Here's a tip: Build your agency and freelancer relationships to weather a pandemic, and you'll thrive as a team and benefit mutually.

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It's About TIME

When it comes to getting the most out of your professional relationships, the way you set the tone will carry through the entirety of your working relationship. Setting expectations and building that trust necessary to depend on an agency or a freelancer starts on day one. I like to use the acronym TIME:

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T - Transparency

Honesty and integrity are essential in a new partnership. I think Kim Scott's book, Radical Candor, is worth reading, and there's a reason why it's made the rounds at some of the most successful Fortune 500s. It's all about directing successful collaboration without losing humanity and the respect of both sides of a relationship.

One of the most important things to realize is that when you hire a freelancer or an agency, you're hiring people. If you're putting on a front or trying to be manipulative in pursuit of productive collaboration, they're going to see right through, and the relationship will be irreparably damaged.

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I - Implementation

Transparency goes hand-in-hand with the ability to implement instructions proactively and, when necessary, course corrections. If you feel that your agency/freelancer is going down the wrong path or that adjustments are needed, don't just let it happen and try to fix it when the work isn't what you wanted. Offer feedback and ask questions to make sure the strategy and expectations for what you're working on are clear. 

The collaborative process is fluid, and the right partner will receive feedback in a productive way. The alternative is wasting time because you weren't able to lead effectively and keep the team on track.

M - Meeting Face-to-Face

Always try to form real relationships with your agency or freelancer. Have a meal, or host them at your office. Organizations and agencies are cohesive groups, but at the core, they consist of people who have goals, families, and lives outside of work. When you understand someone else's work environment, the members of their team and their world, it's a crucial step to developing the critical empathy needed to have a high-functioning collaborative relationship.

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E - Expectations

Relationships are agile, and they should be continuously evaluated. What's working for you now may not be the same as what you need in three months, but at the same time, you need to make sure your agency/freelancer understands what you expect from them. If one side of a partnership is unclear on expectations or KPIs, then it can produce a volatile, uncomfortable workflow.

I recommend getting everything down in writing — meet with your agency partners and make sure everyone is clear, not just when it comes to expectations, but also what's feasible at a given time or on a specific budget.

Following these guidelines will help you form stable working relationships and increase the satisfaction you get from working with an agency or freelancers to move your business forward.

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Step 2: Create a 3-Step Video Remarketing Campaign Sequence

Sometimes a simple reminder is all someone needs to get them back to your cart to complete checkout. Other times, you need to be more persistent. For those that take a little extra persuasion, it’s best not to beat them over the head with the same video over and over again. Also, you may not want to offer a big discount or incentive to come back and purchase when a simple reminder would have done the trick. How can you help deliver the right video remarketing message to your cart abandoners in order to recover as many as possible? Create a campaign sequence.  While you don’t have to be this specific, this is what we recommend.  

Build up to 4 campaigns. A 3-day, 7-Day, 14-Day Campaign and 30-Day Campaign.  Each campaign will target the remarketing list you created for that time window and exclude any and all of the shorter duration lists. So, the 14-day campaign will target the 14-day list and exclude anyone one the 3-day and 7-day lists.  

If you choose to do so, you can also look at making a stronger offer with each subsequent campaign. Maybe the 3-day campaign is a simple reminder message.  Then, starting with the 7-day or 14-day campaign, you could extend a free shipping or other discount offer to make it harder for someone to resist.

Step 3: Utilize the Power of YouTube and Google Shopping With a TrueView for Shopping Campaign

I remember when I first heard about the TrueView for Shopping ad format. The marketing nerd in me felt like it was Christmas. Why was I so excited? TrueView for shopping combines the super effective Product Listing Ad (PLA), aka Google Shopping ad, with YouTube pre-roll video ads. I’ve been a Google shopping superfan and practitioner for the last 6+ years. I even wrote the Ultimate Guide to Google Shopping that Shopify published. 

What makes this ad format so effective? It combines the selling power of video with PLAs that display price, product image and product title.  When you’re targeting a group of people who nearly bought something from your site recently, this ad format is hard NOT to click on.  

To run this ad format, select the Video campaign subtype of Shopping. Then you can either choose the specific products you want to be featured in the PLA area, or you can let Google decide.  In most cases, I recommend you pick the products. This can get a bit tricky if you offer thousands of SKUs. If someone was looking at sneakers on your site, then you retarget them with a video that has only shirts in the PLAs, the prospect will be less likely to click the ad. In that case, you might select a campaign subtype of  Trueview for Action so that you are creating a companion banner rather than displaying PLAs. See the Grammarly ad below as an example of this ad format.  

The results for Boom have been stellar. While the Boom team targets a CPA of $15 or less for remarketing efforts, YouTube consistently operates in the $5 to $9 CPA range.  

Step 4: Build a List of Converters

Who’s the most likely group of people to buy your products? Your current customers. Selling more to your existing customers is always easier and cheaper than trying to sell to new customers. Now that you are recovering more cart abandoners, it’s time to look into targeting existing customers.  

We’re going to build this list of converters in Analytics like we did the cart abandoner list.  Again, we’re going to login to Google Analytics, then under the admin tab, click > Audience Definitions >  then Audiences, then + New Audience.  

 Then, choose an Audience definition of “User who completed a transaction.” 

Consider your repurchase cycles when you build these lists. If you sell a consumable, think about how soon someone will most likely need to repurchase. Is that 30 days, 90 days, 180 days? You should also consider what time a customer might like to buy a complementary product.

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Step 5: Boost LTV by Building Bought X, Not Y Campaigns

This is a campaign innovation I learned directly from Ezra Firestone. This is where you target a list of buyers who’ve purchased a product, but haven’t purchased a complimentary product. So maybe someone has purchased an air purifier, but not the filters. Or, in Boom’s case, maybe someone has purchased Boom Sticks (makeup replacement products) but haven’t purchased Boom Silk (skin moisturizer). The key here is building the list. Again, we’ll head over to Google Analytics to build this list. We’re going to create a condition where:

• Someone has purchased
• They’ve purchased a particular SKU
• They haven’t purchased a complimentary SKU
  

It will look like this:

Then, you set up a campaign running a video that sells the complementary product and you target your list. How compelling is it to say, “Hey, you have Boomstick, now layer on the benefits of Boomsilk.” Then you can run PLAs of the different Boomstick options along with the video.  It will take some serious willpower for your prospects to say no to this type of appeal.  

Step 6: Close the Loop by Adding YouTube Remarketing Lists to Search and Shopping Campaigns

For users who see your Trueview remarketing ads, but still don’t purchase, not all hope is lost. Some clients will come back later via other channels. Some people will see your YouTube ads, not click, and then later go to Google to search for your products.  

In this scenario, it’s nice to make sure your search and shopping ads show up for those users when they hunt for you on Google. It’s also nice to see how many of them convert. You can accomplish both by building lists of people who view your videos as ads and then layering them into your Google Search and Google Shopping campaigns.  

In your search and shopping campaigns in the Google Ads interface, click the audience tab, then select YouTube Users list and choose options for “Viewed Video as an Ad.”  Make sure you chose the “Observation” rather than “Targeting” option. Targeting means you will ONLY target people on that list. Observation means who can observe how that list performs and even bid more for people on that list if you chose to, but you will also reach people who aren’t on that list.  

Key Next Steps for YouTube Retargeting

Now you're ready to unleash the power of YouTube retargeting and client retention/repurchase. Check out the 4 recommendations below to get started.

1. Turn on your remarketing lists now.  Once you build your remarketing lists, they start populating. Depending on how much traffic you have, you probably can’t create a list today and then start running campaigns to that list tomorrow. Your remarketing lists take a little time to populate. Turn your lists on even while you work on your video creative so you’ll be ready to launch once you have your videos created.

2. Focus more on the message rather than production quality of your videos.  You don’t have to spend a lot on video production. I’ve seen some ads do phenomenally well that cost less than a few thousand dollars. The key is to get the message right. Make your benefits come to life in the video. This usually doesn’t require special effects, explosions, etc.

3. Test different videos.  Don’t launch with just one video when testing your video retargeting. If you do, you might come to the conclusion that that video doesn’t work, when, in reality, you just didn’t have a great video. Test different appeals, different openings and different offers.

4. Watch other key metrics.  While conversions and sales are king, there are other metrics that you need to watch as you evaluate the effectiveness of your ads. In addition to CPA, also consider View Through Rates (VTR). Your View Through Rate is the percentage of people who see your ad who watch it through to the billable point. So a VTR of 30% means that 30% of the people who are served your ad actually watch it to the :30 point. Here’s a quick guide for what’s good and what’s not:
   

• Not so good -  A VTR of Less than 20% is fairly weak.  If you get into the single digits you can be confident that something is wrong with your video.
  

• Good - Anything in the 20-35% VTR is strong to really strong.
  

• Great -  If you are in the 35-50% VTR, then your video is amazing.  
  
  

Now that you’ve learned all about video retargeting, we hope this guide serves as motivation for you to get started with your own YouTube remarketing campaign. If you want to learn more about advertising with YouTube, check out our YouTube ads guide. So what are you waiting for? Start testing YouTube ads for remarketing to transform your business now.

Reasons You Need to Make the Switch

If you've made it this far, you must have that nagging feeling that you need to make a switch. Here are a few potential reasons to begin moving into the process for disengaging with your agency/third-party:

• Lack of accountability (Give them kudos when they do own it)
• Inconsistency consistently
• Poor communication (that hasn't improved)
• Lack of innovation/ongoing strategy
• Overt malpractice

When you have resolved that disengaging and firing your agency or freelancer is the next move to make, remember this: Removing your agency should be a process and not an event. If you've begun writing your "notice of cancellation" email and it's still in draft status, you may want to consider the following items before you hit send.

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Be DIRECT

Your agency or freelancer will appreciate the direct, honest feedback.   

Use the DIRECT acronym and follow the following process when you believe it's time to consider a change. 

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1. ‍Discuss and reconfirm expectations: Most agencies or freelancers will have already sensed that something isn't right with the account or the relationship. Before pulling the plug, hop on a call and discuss the expectations that were outlined originally and listen to their perspective on how they feel they have met or missed those expectations. In some cases, you'll find that the agency is indeed hitting the original expectations, and you need to become re-aligned with the expectations you have for the project. 
2. Inform the agency or freelancer precisely what your concerns include (with evidence) and focus on systemic issues rather than one-off matters. 
3. ‍Review the issues with an audit from another agency or expert and ask them if this was their agency if it is malpractice, a matter of opinion, or minor. In other words, if I was your client, should I fire you for this campaign/account structure, optimization, and results/ROI?
4. ‍Encourage the current agency/freelancer to defend/speak to the findings. At OMG Commerce, there have been a few occasions where if we had an opportunity to defend or speak to the situation, we were confident the client would have seen the case differently. Occasionally, this has involved personnel issues on the client-side that the decision-maker was caught unaware. These personnel issues can be a case of “Cover Your A**” (CYA) that shines a negative light on the agency. These situations are tricky for the agency as they don't want to go over the head of the team they were directed to work alongside. Once, at our agency, we had a decision-maker (who was about to fire us) allow us to speak openly about the issues that concerned him. It ended up in us keeping our agreement, and the “CYA” team member was allowed to go work for someone else. 
5. ‍Count the cost before making your final decision and consider the transition along with seasonal implications.‍
6. Terminate verbally and follow-up in writing. Understand if you react quickly without respect to the notice you are required to give in advance, you should be expected to honor the amount of time needed under your agreement. Typically a 30-day notice is very much appreciated. If you give notice of cancellation a week to 10 days into the month, you should expect to pay for that entire month. 

Once you do decide to disengage, check your original agreement and make sure you give the notice required. After you have ended the relationship, schedule an autopsy with your team.

ASK:

What did we like about this engagement? 

What should we do differently next time?

*https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/cmo-tenure-2017

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How to Hire The Right Agency or Freelancer(s): 

In this first point, I’ve broken it down with the acronym WIN.  Isn’t this ultimately why you’ve arrived at this decision to hire outside help? You want to grow; You want to WIN!

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The critical first step to WIN when hiring is answering the WHY question. 

You can begin by asking yourself and your team these questions before researching potential agency/third-party fits.

• What Is Your Outcome?
• What is my/our budget and KPI’s?
• What are we(your team) great at doing?
• Where do we need help?
• How much will it cost you/us to delay?
• Who is telling you that you should?
• Where are you hustling vs. where are you overextending yourself/your team?
• What/Who is suffering as a result?
• Should we decide to not engage with an agency/third-party to help us at this time, what will the actual and potential costs be?

These are all great questions that will give you striking clarity on your needs and what you should specifically be seeking.

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The second step to WIN in hiring an agency or freelancer(s) is to Investigate and Interrogate.

Begin your investigation of potential fits by preparing your list of potential suitors. Ask yourself/your team, who are the influencers in the space.  Pay attention to your favorite business podcasts; many times the host will have guests that will fit with your needs. In some cases like Brett Curry with eCommerce Evolution, he’s a podcast host, but also is the CEO of a world-class Google & Amazon agency.

Think about your favorite content authors, event speakers, and thought leaders in your space. 
 

 
Of course, lean on referrals. Who comes highly recommended? In our agency OMG Commerce, a high percentage of our leads are from personal recommendations and referrals. Referrals from trusted brands are an honor and we don’t take those referrals lightly. When you receive a recommendation from a trusted friend, peer in business, or advisor, please don’t take it at first blush. Ask questions.  How was the entire relationship? Are you still working together? If not, what happened.

After you have developed your shortlist, follow these tips before you connect with them. First, review their website. Does their website mirror what your research revealed they do best?

Next, search for [“name of agency” reviews] and read both their Google, Yelp, Facebook, and other business reviews you find.  Be sure to review any Glassdoor reviews. These review sites will give you robust insights into what their employees think about the CEO and the company culture in general. If they don’t have any Glassdoor reviews, it could be they’re small or haven’t invited their employees to submit online feedback. Additionally, if they only have one review post and it’s not great, I recommend giving the company a pass on that one. We’ve all had the one bad apple in the bunch.

The second part of a WINNING strategy includes the interrogation phase. Avoid skipping this vital step and fly by the seat of their pants with the prospective agency or freelancer. Come prepared with a list of questions. Prepare like you would for hiring someone on your internal team or utilize the resources listed below to jump-start your list. 

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Here are my top 3 questions to ask in the interview process:

1. Tell me about the last client that you ended.  Share what happened.
2. Tell me about a client you recently ended services with. Share what happened. 
3. Are there any reasons we should not work together?

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These top three questions will shed an enormous amount of light on the company or individual you are interviewing.  Look for defensiveness or dodging the question and dig deeper.

I’ve included a few additional questions to add or consider based on your situation, and you can find those in the full guide “How to Hire, Fire & Make The Most of Your Agency Relationships.” 

After you’re satisfied with the answers to your questions, make sure to share with the potential agency or freelancer: “Here’s what success looks like” and be sure to define your short term (in the first 90-120 day goals) and your 2nd Quarter, 6-month, annual, and annual goals.

If you believe this agency/freelancer could be a fit, ask for an action plan based on your conversations.  Be reasonable. Give them at least 3-5 business days to complete and ask if that works for them.

Finally, how do you make the final call to engage?  Here’s my quick checklist:

• Did you enjoy your assessment conversations?
• Were questions answered thoroughly or vaguely?
• Did you receive, or were you offered a strategic plan?

Before you get “hitched” be sure to assess with your team any red flags that you experienced along the hiring process. Give the agency a chance to respond to the red flags you noted. Sometimes a red flag can be removed. For instance, if you have a  red flag because you didn’t receive a written proposal, it could be that the proposal went into your spam folder two weeks ago. Be sure to communicate the concerns you have.

Here are a few of my favorite Red Flags:

• ‍‍Immediate Results Promised
• Long Term, No Exit Contracts
• No Written Plan or Proposal
• Evasive/Defensive In Answering Questions
• Can’t Meet Whom Will Be Working On Your Campaign(s)

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If you follow this outline and tweak it to fit your situation, I can guarantee you’ll dramatically reduce the churn you have with third party providers and increase the overall results and satisfaction you receive from working with the best potential fits.

Feel free to share any insights or experiences with me!

Deal-Based Offers

Deal-based offers are what most people think of when they hear the term irresistible offer.  Certainly, deal-based offers can be very effective and very profitable in the long run for you, but it’s important to remember that this is just one type of offer.  

Deal-based offers are great for any product that naturally leads to repurchases.  This deal then becomes the first purchase in what will hopefully be a long and profitable relationship.  The best example of this had to be subscribe and save. This is perfect for supplements, skincare, or any consumable. Offer the customer a one-time purchase price and then a price 5-15% lower (or more if it makes sense) if someone subscribed to automatic orders and shipments.

Education-based Offers

When you offer education two things happen.  One, prospects begin to see you as the expert, and two, you have a great opportunity to show why your product or service is superior to the competition.  The key here it to not be boring.  Remember what we discussed in the beginning about hitting hot-button issues.  Make sure your education covers an area of pain or an area of pleasure.  Here are a few types of education to offer up.

Videos: online video is hot and there is no sign of them slowing down any time soon.  If you want to require an opt-in before people can see your video then it had better be pretty darn good, but it’s still possible to get an opt-in.  Offer a video with the #1 Secret to…or the #1 Tip to overcoming

Webinars: While not the hot commodity they were several years ago, webinars can still be effective. So how does an eCommerce company make use of webinars?  Consider what you might do for an in store event if you had a brick and mortar store and translate it for online. Product demonstrations and how-to classes work well. The kitchen supply company can bring in a chef to do demos and share cooking tips. The makeup company can bring in a professional makeup artist to do a lice makeover and reveal common makeup mistakes. The exercise equipment company can bring on a trainer to share stretching tips and ideas to shorten your workout without reducing results. The webinar can then be turned into a video that is shared by YouTube or on product detail pages. 

Reports and Guides: This can still work, but it’s not as easy as it used to be.  Once upon a time, the “white paper” was novel idea and was met with minimal resistance.   Now you need to offer a really interesting and valuable white paper in order to get someone to opt-in.  A 13-page report on tomato farming if you sell kitchen supplies probably isn’t a good strategy.  However, a report titled “3 Diet Myths that are Making You Fat” might be of real interest to prospects if you sell weight loss products.

Every business needs to provide education of some kind.  Education will set you apart and endear prospects to you.  You also need the 3rd type of offer – experience-based offers.

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Experience-Based Offers

People are motivated by experiences.  That’s why families save up for trips to Disney and it’s why we spend so much time and money on sports and entertainment.  I recommend that every business work in an element of “experience” into their offers.

I have a friend who owns a brick and mortar jewelry store.  Each November he hosts a “Ladies Night” by invitation only.  The staff of the store hand addresses over 500 invitations to customers and prospects in the community.  Each lady who attends gets a free long-stemmed rose just for coming and the first 50 who show up receive a free gift worth $50.  The ladies spend the evening talking, shopping, sipping wine, enjoying hors d’ oeuvres, and filling out wish lists.  The biggest “hook” of the evening is that someone will win up to two items on their wish list absolutely free.  The ladies go nuts over this.  The best part?  We also get the contact information of the husbands, boyfriends, or fiancés and send them a letter after the event saying, “good news, we know what she wants for Christmas this year.  Come in and we’ll make you a hero.”   Each year they have a few hundred women attend and they sell a ton of jewelry.  I might also add that they don’t offer any discounts.  They sell at their normal markup all year long. This same event could be modified and hosted online with special deals after someone fills out an online wish list.

You can also offer VIP events, product release parties and more - all online. When you offer experiences that are fun and memorable, you can attract and convert customers in ways you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.  It’s usually fitting to put on events or experiences a few times a year or more.

Another great “experience” based offer is to provide free samples. A good friend of mine runs a skincare care company. Recently when they wanted to launch some new products they started gifting samples into existing customers orders. This allowed customers to experience a new product with no risk. If they love the new product they’re likely to become a paying customer. If they don’t like it, they still might appreciate the chance to try something new for free.

So what about you?  How can you use deal-based, education-based, and experience-based offers in your business?  Once you master the art of getting the first “yes,” you are well on your way to closing sale after sale.

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Creating videos is now easier than ever.  

When I first started talking about video it was fairly easy.  Anyone remember when the Flip Camera first burst onto the scene? Man, that thing was cool. Anyway, as cool and as revolutionary as that was, now it’s even easier to create video content.  Now all you need is your smartphone and a plan.  

Why should you use video to grow your business?  If the stats above aren't enough, here’s some more food for thought.

1. Video Builds “know, like, and trust” FAST. The fact that people do business with people they know, like, and trust will never change. Video can build “know, like, and trust” faster than almost any other medium.  When prospects and customers watch you on video, they begin to feel like they know you and your products.  You can even become a bit of a celebrity over time.
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2. Video drives traffic. YouTube is the second most visited search engine on the internet. And it’s not even search engine. It’s a video sharing site. Posting your video on YouTube and Facebook can send some serious traffic to your site.
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3. Video drives conversions. Product pages with video often outperform pages without video by a healthy margin. A recent study by Visual Website Optimizer showed that video used by a fitness store increase click throughs to their order page by 46%.Treepodia showed that video used for fashion retailers can increase conversions by up to 134%.

What kinds of videos should you make?

Here are some ideas to get you started with online video.  Once you get these videos produced, you’ll quickly see that video ideas will naturally start coming to you.  The number of useful videos you can produce for your audience is truly limitless. Because getting traction on organic videos can often take time, I also recommend you also consider video ads.  Find out more about that how to create killer  YouTube ads here.  For the rest of our time here, we’ll focus on non-video ad content.

1. Product Demonstration
   People love to see products in action before they buy it. Seeing is believing for a lot of your customers so you want to show them how your product works. It’s a must that you make these interesting and relatively brief.  There is no hard or fast rule on length, though. For certain topics, people will watch 20 minutes or more of the video.  Generally though if you are doing a product demonstration you probably only need a few minutes. One great example of this type of video is the ** (insert link to video on YT)** “will it blend” series by Blendtec.  Instead of making boring videos of someone blending fruit, they created a series of videos where they blend household products like golf balls, Bic lighters, and even an iPad (kind of sad to watch really). The iPad blending video has garnered over **10 million views to date (update view stats)**.  These videos make statements like “Everybody knows that the iPhone can make calls, play movies & music, surf the web, and a lot more.  But, will it blend?  That is the question.”  These short, funny videos have accomplished what nothing else could have for such a small budget. In fact, since these videos have turned to YouTube gold, online sales for Blendtec have grown by 500%….not bad.  After all, if a blender can blend a bunch of golf balls and not break, it must be durable.
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2. Answer the burning questions
   What questions do you get asked most often? What questions are prospective customers searching for right now? Set up a camera and answer each question in a simple and concise manner. Depending on your product people may be wondering.
   
   - Will it work?
   - Will it hurt?
   - What if it doesn’t work?
   - Is it easy to use?
   - Will it last?
   - What if I’m not happy?
   - Are other people like me using it successfully?
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3. S.A.Q – Should Ask Questions
   You’ve probably seen ads that say something to the effect of “Don’t buy an X until You Ask These 7 Questions.” The idea is that you educate your prospects on what they should look for in a product and what questions they should ask before buying. Explain why these things are important.  You also share with them how your product meets those standards.  Create this like you’re giving advice to a friend or family member who doesn’t know your product category. How could you help guide them to making the best decision for them?
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4. What you can expect
   In some businesses, first-time customers might be a little apprehensive about buying your product. Will it deliver what you promised? Will you really deliver what you promised?   One of the best and most effective ways to do this is with an unboxing video. The unboxing video for the **(insert link)** iPhone X has 14 million views and counting.  Why?  People love to get the first look at something and now what to expect. Unboxing videos for your new eye serum won’t drive the views that the next iPhone will, but it can still be a very effective video.
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5. Customer interviews
   ‍What you say about yourself isn’t nearly as believable or as powerful as what your customers say about you. In my opinion, the best type of interview you can have is an unscripted interview.   Actors can deliver a script in a believable way, most other people can’t. Just asking a series of simple questions is all you need to do.  We have a full guide on that topic that you can grab here **(link to our video testimonial guide).**
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6. Behind the scenes
   Backstage passes, going behind-the-scenes, and insider knowledge all carry a very strong appeal. We want what we can’t have.  We also want what other people can’t have.  If you can pull back the curtain and show people some of the interesting things that go on behind the scenes in your business and your industry, people will feel like they really know you and are almost part of a club. They will also be grateful toward you for educating them and they will begin to trust you.
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7. Product reviews
   For this video type to be authentic you need a 3rd party to review your product for you. Ideally an influencer or a real customer who presents well on camera.

So get started. Go out and make your first video today. All you need is a simple camera and a plan. Then start distributing your videos across the web and start driving some traffic.  Ready? Action!

The basics

Know Your Audience.

It’s a must that you are in tune with your market. You should have a keen understanding of their core beliefs, feelings, and desires. It’s not enough to know basic demographic information about your audience. You need to know what makes them tick, what makes them crazy, and what keeps them up at night. If you are selling to moms you need to keep in mind that typically their greatest joy and their greatest frustration is their children. Selling to moms gives ample opportunity for well-used humor. Most markets lend themselves to the use of humor. Not all, but most.  For an amazingly well-executed humourous video ad that also sells targeted to moms watch this marketing classic from the Harmon Brothers – ChatBooks.

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Use relevant humor.

How many times have you seen a TV commercial, laughed out loud and then had no idea what the commercial was selling? Worse yet, you typically can’t even remember the industry of advertiser. This is irrelevant humor. It has no natural tie-in to the product or service being offered. This creates a disconnect that turns the ad into pure (or impure in some cases) entertainment rather than a funny ad that pays. Humor should only be used when it helps drive home your message. Take for example, this gem of a video ad for Purple Mattress (also made by the Harmon Brothers).  It uses relevant humor to highlight the total failure of most mattresses on the market to really give you a good night’s sleep.  There’s a funny Anakin Skywalker reference (for Star Wars fans) and the whole snarky Goldielocks as a spokesperson works. They even use humor by saying that faking the raw egg test would be lame.  They even throw in that the audience is lame for thinking they may have faked it. Brilliant use of humor.

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Use humor to support your message, not to overshadow it.

Humor shouldn’t be the goal of your ad. Delivering your message in a sticky, persuasive way should be your goal. This has direct ties to point number one, but I think it also makes an important distinction. It’s not critical that you make people bust a gut with laughter. Just being amusing is often enough. Be funny enough for people to receive, remember, and hopefully respond to your message. That is all.

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Execution is critical.

Humor that sells is nuanced. Little things make a big difference. Tone, the speed of delivery (for video and audio), look, feel, and timing are all important. We’ve all heard one person tell a joke that makes people double over with laughter. The same joke could be told by someone with poor delivery and it could fall completely flat. Study other funny ads and videos for help here. Also, run your funny ads by a few people in your target market before running them. This might help you spot things you would otherwise miss.

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With those keys in mind let’s look at a few ways to use humor in your marketing.

Dramatize your benefits.

If you’re a student of marketing you know that people buy the benefits of your product or service. They buy the feeling, the experience, the health, wealth, and enjoyment your product brings. Your market wants to enjoy the benefits of your product or service, but they often won’t believe the benefits you claim in your marketing. Using humor is a fun way around that. When you make people laugh, they drop their guard and will accept what you have to say more readily. Let’s take the example of William Painter sunglasses.  These glasses are made of titanium, look great, and some feature a handy bottle opener.  They are also sold at a premium. This video ad perfectly uses humor to overcome objections and make the product clearly worth the premium price.

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Poke fun at perceived annoyances.

When you are in tune with your market, you know what gets under their skin. If you can poke fun at perceived annoyances and then share how your product or service can eliminate that annoyance, then you can expect to see some good results. I’m a big fan of Southwest Airlines’ marketing. Their original “Bags Fly Free” campaign is a great one. Every air traveler is annoyed by the ever-increasing fees that are attached to baggage. Southwest pokes fun at this by making their baggage crews “Bag Cops” who step in and “arrest” other airlines for charging up to $120 round trip for two bags. These commercials are fun, and they highlight an important competitive advantage – flights are cheaper at Southwest because you don’t pay for bags.

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Make fun of yourself.

Nothing makes you more real than self-deprecating humor. This becomes even more important as you become famous (even on an “internet celebrity” scale). One current master of this is Frank Kern. Frank is great at sharing secrets to his tremendous online success while not taking himself too seriously. This approach makes him immediately more likable and more believable. You can covertly brag about your success when you also make fun of yourself. And it helps him sell more stuff. One of my favorite emails from Frank had the subject line “The worst sales setter in the world (just awful).” By the way, the “just awful” in parenthesis is a very nice touch on this one, makes the email even more irresistible to open. The sales letter was actually quite good, but it was very short and simple and used some takeaway selling by sharing that the opportunity presented was “not for everyone.” Volkswagen did this well with their “Think Small” and “Ugly is Only Skin Deep” ads for their famous beetle. They took what could have been negatives (size and the strange appearance of their cars) and turned them into a positive. They also, ironically, made them cool by making fun of them.

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So how can you use humor in your marketing? Remember that the goal is not to become a comedian. No need for you to become the next Jerry Seinfeld. Just use appropriate, relevant humor to drive home your message. Then you can laugh all the way to the bank.

What is this almost magical sounding marketing factor?

I’m referring to Authority.  

What can authority mean to your marketing efforts and to your overall business success?  A lot.  Think about it, who gives better advice, Dr. Oz or a local nutritionist?  Maybe Dr. Oz, maybe your local nutritionist, heck, they may even tell you the exact same thing.  Who makes more money?  Dr. Oz...by a long shot.  In fact, take your local nutritionist’s income and add a few zeros to the end of it. Then it might be in Dr. Oz’s ballpark. When you, or your company, reach authority status, a world of opportunities opens up for you.

Why does Dr. Oz command so much more cash, even though his advice might be the same as the local health expert? Dr. Oz has authority as a national celebrity.

So how do you build authority? Do you have to partner with Oprah or have your own TV show?  Not necessarily (although it helps). 

The good news is no, you don’t need to do either.  Here are three of my favorite ways you can build authority quickly and effectively.

Produce Content Displaying Your Expertise

In part, Dr. Oz has Oprah to thank for his success, since he spent 5 years as Oprah’s health expert before launching his own show.  But without the knowledge he acquired, he wouldn’t have had anything to share. 

You are an expert at what you do. No matter the level of knowledge, you have something to share, so start sharing. There are several formats available to get you started on the road to authority.

1. Speak: Very few things elevate you to expert or authority status like speaking.  In general, most people hate to speak in front of groups.  If you can do it, and do it well, you are almost immediately considered a pro.  As long as you deliver real value when you’re on stage. 
    
   Over the last 5 years I’ve made a push to speak at as many quality eCommerce events as I can.  I now regularly speak on stage around the country around 8-10 times per year.  Not a crazy amount, but still a lot.  As we look at partnerships we’ve developed and many of our best clients, many can be traced back to speaking engagements.  
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   So what are some options for building your authority status through speaking?  There are several.  Start with industry specific events, then branch out from there if it makes sense.  The good news is that you don’t have to on-stage and in-person if that doesn’t interest you. 
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2. Webinars: While webinars aren’t a new concept, webinars for the right market can have a profound impact on building connection with your audience and on positioning you and your brand as an authority.  The great part is that you don’t have to physically be in front of a group.  Use webinars to educate, sell, and, in the process, turn yourself into a “celebrity.” Even ecommerce businesses can use webinars. The skincare company can host an “evening with a makeup artist” where a celebrity makeup artist does “live” makeovers on a webinar.    Even if not very many attend the webinar live, it can be recorded and repurposed on YouTube, Facebook and on your blog.
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3. Video: Video marketing brings a lot of the same benefits of public speaking with the added bonus of being able to reshoot again and again if needed. Use videos regularly to show that you are an authority. YouTube and Facebook Live make it easier than ever to record content on video and share socially and on your site. You can create an ongoing show (harder) or just create a series of videos that would be helpful for your prospects (easier).  Consider the following types of videos:
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   - Answers to FAQs - take your top 10-20 FAQs and record a video of you providing concise but helpful answers. Post these on YouTube and on your product pages or a dedicated FAQ page.
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   -“Before you buy” video series - record a video of the questions, considerations, etc. that someone should think about before they buy your product. This helps people know what to look for so they aren’t taken advantage of when making a purchase decision and it shows you and your product in a favorable light.
   
   - What no one tells you about - record a “dirty secrets” video that shows people the dark side of your industry and how you’ve overcome the dark side.
   
   - Behind the scenes - everyone wants an inside look into the factory or the process. Make people feel special and “in-the-know”.  But you can overdo it here. They want to see behind the scenes, but typically not all of the gory details.
   
   - Unboxing videos - people are fascinated by unboxing videos. New iPhone unboxing videos routinely score 10 million plus views on YouTube. Your products likely won’t have the mass appeal or anticipation of a new iPhone, but the desire for unboxing videos applies to all types of products.
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4. Write: Writing can also create a big authority boost for you even in the eyes of people who never read your work. Just having a book published, or having articles and blog posts published is a feat in and of itself.  It’s often enough to mention that you’ve written a book or been published in print or online.  Even if you don’t enjoy writing you should develop the habit of writing regularly.   When you do, it becomes easy to repurpose what you write.  A series of blog posts can be packaged and turned into a book. The same goes for articles.  Articles can be turned into reports, books, and even scripts for videos.  Start by making a list of articles or blog posts you can write.  Maybe the idea of creating videos or speeches is more appealing than writing. If so, take your videos and speeches and have them transcribed and turned into blog content.
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5. Podcast:  Take your most popular webinars and blog posts and make them a podcast.  Have expert guests on that you can interview.  A few years ago we started the eCommerce Evolution Podcast.  We talk about what’s new and what’s next in eCommerce.  I regularly interview eCommerce experts and online merchants who have something interesting and helpful to share with our industry.  It’s a great way for me to learn from my guests while we create valuable content and build both my company and our guest as authorities.  It’s easier now than ever to start a podcast.  Here’s a great guide on who to start a successful podcast from podcast master Pat Flynn.

Associate with an authority figure or celebrity

What’s the quickest way to become famous?  Hang out with other famous people.  Dr. Oz, who we mentioned before is a perfect example of this.  He spent time with Oprah for years and that launched him into fame of his own right.  

For an old-school example think about the hit show Cheers (even though it was mostly before my time, it’s a great show).  One of the more popular characters on that show - Frasier Crane (played by Kelsey Grammar)- was so loved by viewers that executives created a spin-off show that was wildly successful in its own right.  

Who are current celebrities in your industry?  How can you align yourself with them in a way that provides mutual value and allows you to benefit and share in their exposure.

Be Found

Where do your customers congregate online and offline?  Make a big presence there.  Are your customers on Facebook?  Linkedin?  Snap? IG?  All of the above?  Wherever your customers are, you need to be there too, in highly visible fashion.  

Commit and Get Started

While authority isn’t built overnight, it can be built fairly quickly.  If you establish yourself as someone who delivers value, you can build authority in fairly short order.  Unique, helpful content that is readily visible will help establish you as a thought leader.   The rewards of authority are massive and sometimes hard to measure.  Authority makes all of your other marketing efforts substantially easier.   If you commit to becoming an authority I’m confident you’ll be able to look back one day and trace most or all of your biggest “wins” to your authority-building efforts.

Benefits of Amazon Video Ads (SBV)

If you’re wondering how to increase sales on Amazon, then SBV ads are the perfect solution. Right now, Sponsored Brand Video (SBV) campaigns are delivering some of the lowest ACoS performance of any Amazon ad type. In fact, ACoS for Amazon SBV ads is typically 15-45% lower than ACoS for Sponsored Product Ads. They also seem particularly adept at driving new-to-brand shoppers. Utilizing these videos in the right way will help reduce your ACoS, increase sales on Amazon and improve your company’s profits.

Where do SBV Ads Appear?

SBV first launched in the Amazon app only, and originally only on iOS devices. Then they were released on the android app. Now they are available on desktop too.  Amazon has always mixed paid listings with organic listings in their product search results, and with SBV, this practice continues. However, Amazon video ads do not show above the fold.  If you’re not familiar with that advertising lingo, “above the fold” refers to what’s visible on your screen without scrolling. In order to see SBV ads, shoppers have to scroll down the page a bit. On mobile, SBV ads appear toward the bottom of search results. On desktop, SBV ads are at the very bottom of the search results.  

Typically, a shopper that gets to the bottom of the search results page is earlier in their shopping journey and really checking out all of their options. Shoppers who are looking for your product specifically usually don’t scroll far enough to see SBV ads. Hence the stronger new-to-brand performance. 

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What Products are Best Suited for Sponsored Brand Video Ads?

The short answer is that nearly any Amazon seller or vendor should consider using Amazon video ads. We’re currently running highly profitable campaigns for supplements, home decor, outdoor products, sporting goods, a variety of pet products and dozens more.  

The only category of products that might not benefit as much from SBV ads would be staple products. Does anyone want to watch a video on toilet paper before buying it? Probably not. But given the extreme efficiency of SBV ads, even some staple products might benefit from them.

Understanding the Mindset of the Customer

When someone’s searching for a product on Amazon, they usually know what they want in terms of features and benefits. At a minimum, they know what problem they’re trying to solve. They may be early in their shopping journey or planning to buy today. Either way, they’re coming with the same basic questions: what product is best for me in my situation? What product offers me the best value for what’s important to me? Or maybe they’re early enough in the shopping journey that they’re just curious what’s available.  Shopping on Amazon is comparison shopping. So, what do customers want to see to help them make the best purchase decision? They want great photos, reviews, descriptions of features and proof that the product will work for them. They also want good value. 

Recommendations for Quality Amazon Video Ads:

These videos are less about special effects and detailed storytelling and more about product demonstration and differentiation. Some storytelling is fine, but ultimately, the shopper needs to see the product in action - doing what it was designed to do.  Remember that a shopper is scrolling through a list of other product listings. If they get to your Sponsored Brand Video and all they see is a talking head droning on and on about the product without showing it, they will likely just scroll on. Here are some recommendations for solid Amazon video ads to help get you started.  

Creating Solid SBV on Amazon

Do:

• Show the product in action immediately - in the first few seconds of the video.
• Show the product from multiple angles.
• Combine text and visuals to map out features and benefits.
• Answer burning questions. Your shoppers have questions surrounding compatibility, durability, fit and function, etc. 
• Optimize for mobile viewing - think tight shots and bold, easy-to-read text.

Don’t:

• Show extended shots without the product in it.
• Rely too heavily on a voice over (narrator). The sound is off initially, so your video needs to visually demonstrate and differentiate your product without depending too much on a narrator.  
• Take too long to get to the point.
• Put too much text on the screen. This is a video. Some text is great, but make the product the star.

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What to Expect for Your ACoS

It’s very rare that Sponsored Brand Video Ads don’t perform well. Usually, when it comes to ACoS, Amazon Sponsored Brand Video Ads perform at least the same as Sponsored Product Ads, often better. Below are a few recent results across several categories. Need more examples? Check out the Amazon Ads Case Study to see how other companies have benefitted from Sponsored Brand Videos. 

Pet Product Company

• Sponsored Product ACoS: 17%
• Sponsored Brand Video ACoS: 13%

Supplement Company

• Sponsored Products ACoS: 33%
• Sponsored Brand Video ACoS: 18%

Home Decor Company

• Sponsored Products ACoS: 26%
• Sponsored Brand Video ACoS: 16% 

Want to Learn More?

Want to see extra SBV ad examples? Want to learn more about pricing for Amazon video ads? We put together a Sponsored Brand Video Success Guide that goes into greater detail on what works and what doesn’t for these Amazon video ads. It also has several real-world ad examples to serve as inspiration. Download our free Guide to Amazon Video Ads and get started today!