I never really had an overweight issue, but there was one weight loss program that I could not stop thinking of: Susan Powter’s low-calorie, high-volume eating. It was an infomercial in the early 90’s that had this thin woman showing off her new body with pictures of her overweight self plastered behind her. The concept was not only catchy, it seemed to be effective. There is something to be said about a low-high mentality especially in online marketing which is currently overrun with advertisers and informed customers.
Low-Budget
If you have priced web pages lately, you’ll know what I mean when I said that good web design is very expensive. I’ve seen quality web sites costing between $1000 to $3000 or more. A former acquaintance of mine also began charging thousands of dollars for a web page that I could recreate for free. After more than 12 years in web design and development, I have the skills to make a successful website… but I cannot bring myself to charge thousands of dollars. I want to help set people up for success, not bankruptcy.
I’m not unique in my thinking. As much as I would like to believe that I am the best and only solution for low-budget options, the fact remains that effective web designers are seeded into our community and hidden from business eyes. I know several college students in my church that I have come to me for feedback on their web creations which are, in a word, inspired. Friends, students, even new businesses such as Garner New Media are all low-budget options that still provide cutting edge designs and effects.
Another element often overlooked is the wealth of free social media tools online. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube… all of these are free online service DESIGNED to get you connected with other people. And as every advertiser knows, the main goal of any ad is for people to connect to you. Since these are free, we can use them as ad tools, but we must be careful. If you oversell yourself on Twitter, people will get sick of reading your ads and unfollow you.
High-Impact
These days, simply having a web site does not mean you will attract customers. It’s the same trend that hit Hollywood in the mid 90’s… certain styles have been done to death and new styles must be discovered. Since about 80% of all businesses are online (that’s a guess based on a report from 2007), we must assume that most of those business websites are following the original ideas of web design: header with logo, contact information, lots of links and tons of content. And while some of these may be well designed websites, the online audience has evolved and demands more from their Internet information.
There’s a lot of web to see out there and not much time to see it. Today’s online viewers are more pressed for time than they were 10 years ago. So you need to grab them fast. It’s a design theory I call “The One-Two Punch!” Your website content should say two things to customers:
- Who are you and
- What can you do for them
Don’t get me wrong… there is a time and place for tons of content and packed websites. But that place is not in your initial sales pitch. Your site should provide a few links to other areas where they can find more information, but most users do not have the time to sit and dissect the content overload from a front page. Tell them who you are and what you can do upfront.
High-impact also includes clean and attractive layouts and graphic designs that ease the customer into your site. Maybe some minor Flash animation to spice it up a bit, but don’t go overboard. Flash is like garlic in cooking; it’s can add a nice flavor punch, but too much will drown out the rest of the meal. If you MUST add Flash, I recommend adding it too the menu to attract users to a menu item you want them to click first. Or maybe an animated banner. (But be sure your designer knows how to maintain effective SEO profiling if you want your header text replaced with an animated logo.)
When using online media services such as Twitter and Facebook, it is important to craft an ad campaign that can be communicated via text through these mediums, but also does not leave readers with a sour ‘ad-flavored’ taste. Create a giveaway or contest. Make a funny video about your product or service. Post links to articles or websites where people can find useful information about your products or services. Throw a party or event and offer people free products for tweeting and reporting from your event. There’s many more options also.
Low-Budget, High Impact Marketing may not be a completely new or original model, but in today’s online industry, it’s the one businesses need to adopt to survive. For more information, contact Garner New Media.
