“Don't say the old lady screamed—bring her on and let her scream.” In his advice on storytelling, Mark Twain’s timeless wit and wisdom holds true in the discussion of online video. Thanks to advances in Internet technology and increased bandwidth over the last few years, online video has emerged as the fastest growing media platform with an estimated 72% of Web users watching online video clips. In the next three years, Web video consumption is projected to double. The message to marketers? Visitors expect a rich experience when they come to your site. As one of the most powerful tools in the marketer’s arsenal, online video offers a wealth of opportunity for rich storytelling, differentiation, brand building and traffic-generation.

The resurgence of video in storytelling
In the 90’s, corporate capabilities videos were commonplace, but distribution was limited to VHS and DVD.
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I have really enjoyed the Winter Olympics this year. Perhaps it is because of the especially cold and snowy winter we have endured – or perhaps it is that I am truly in awe of the athletes who can spin, jump and fly on skis. And it is easier than in years past to indulge in Olympic fever, with a multitude of media channels providing in-depth exposure. Television and online dominate the coverage, and corporate sponsors have embraced both. Visa or other sponsors go beyond logo inclusion and running tv spots, many have very extensive integrated campaigns – including social media.

Social media has played a big part of these games. Even companies who are not officially sponsors have tried to get in on the action
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Like most service industries, over the past few years HVAC contractors have seen an explosion in online social directories like Angies List, ServiceMagic and InsiderPages.com. As these new social directories take hold, and consumers begin to learn from each other, share stories and rate contractors, their popularity has made other archaic directories like the yellow pages a thing of the past. In fact, according to a recent Decision Analyst study, the Yellow Pages have seen a decline in usage by more than 24% since 2002.

So are these new social directories the preferred advertising medium of the future? The jury is still out on that question. All of these companies are trying to capture that Holy Grail of endorsements that have traditionally only come from word-of-mouth opinions of family, friends, and co-workers. Have they successfully accomplished that…not yet.

Studies show that over 31% of respondents still report that they seek the advice of friends,
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If you have already read J.Leigh Brown’s post about adapting your thinking regarding social media, but are still not convinced that you should include a social media strategy as part of your 2010 marketing initiatives, please consider the following:

Ten Reasons to develop a social media strategy in 2010

1. Real time search results – Google and other major search engines have incorporated Twitter into the results. You could potentially be bumped in the rankings by an outside party tweeting about your company or products.

2. Reduced marketing spend in 2009 – If budget cuts forced you to go dark in 2009, a social media strategy can help you reconnect with your customers and prospects.
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I didn't mean to be anti-social. Really, I didn't. 

I shut down my Twitter and Facebook accounts recently because I was failing to maintain these on-line representations of me, a B2B marketing and PR professional, in a way that was adding value. In fact I was hardly maintaining them at all. And that's not the way to be social these days, much less helpful. So, I've temporarily unplugged. (Oh, not entirely. I kept my LinkedIn page up and even updated my profile a bit, but that's beside the point).

The point, as my 20-something reverse mentor tells me, is to get and stay engaged. "Commit to 10 to 20 minutes a day," she said. I know she's right. And I know it's a bit early for a New Year's resolution, but I think I have one already. It's a matter of see and be seen, listen and contribute, or risk irrelevancy.

In an impressive study released today, Business.com reports about
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I've been hearing rumors of a very disturbing trend of B2B publishers dropping their BPA Audits. Take a look at almost any trade publication and you can't help but notice the issues are thinner than they were a year ago. I understand that trade publishers, just like many other industries, need to lower operating expenses to survive this economic downturn. However, media professionals rely on third party audits when researching a publication's circulation. Circulation is a big part of what publishers are selling, and the only way I have to be sure that a magazine reaches who I'm trying to reach is through third party audit statements like the BPA.

Without an audit a publication is telling me "BUYER BEWARE". And with tight media budgets that will be the reality during the economy recovery, recommending an unaudited publication is just too risky.
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This has certainly been a year of change. And, possibly what has changed the most is where your audience goes to find their information. I know my own habits have changed substantially over the past year. I went from being a person who swore they would never be on Facebook, to joining Facebook and even Twitter. I even have the Facebook application on my Blackberry. These venues have tremendous marketing value if your audience is participating.

As fellow Godfrey blogger Melinda states, “Print is not dead.” But it is different. Trade publications are definitely noticeably skinnier than they once were. And, given the economic slowdown, maybe people even have more time to read the articles this year. My point is that the economic crisis has caused us to change our behaviors not only as human beings but also as target audiences for many marketers.
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Chances are your audience won’t be waiting patiently for you to return as the economy flips its frown upside-down. As marketers, we are challenged to reach our audiences where they want us to reach them, not where we think they’ll be. Listening and researching are imperative in order to offer a successful and relevant campaign.

Here are a few tips to consider:

Think like your audience. Could it be that they are no longer flipping page by page through your industry trade publications but rather reading an online version? Or do they prefer
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With the recent demise (and subsequent resurrection) of Industrial Equipment News, I was once again faced with the question, "Is print dead?"

If you're like me, you've probably noticed that magazines are getting thinner. They have fewer editorial stories and ads. As someone who buys print advertising I may be part of the "illness" that is affecting the print industry. Many of my clients are moving out of print to online. Online, with its ability to track impressions and clicks, seems to be the holy grail of advertising, because you only pay for what you get. Google even allows you to pay only when someone clicks on your ad. 

At Godfrey, we continually talk to our clients about thinking like "publishers." We help them develop websites with interesting content that bypasses magazines to reach their targeted audience.

With that said, I still believe print is
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Finally, we're seeing some early positive indicators among the headlines about the economic situation. They remind us that, eventually, things will turn around. When, how much and how fast are anyone's guess. And there may be more bumps in the road, depending on your industry and company health.

But as we make our way through 2009 and prepare for 2010, it's time to change our thought process from "marketing in a downturn" to "marketing in the recovery." But it isn't just about remembering what to do with a real budget.

Things have changed.

This recession coincided with other changes in the B-to-B marketing landscape. We think it has accelerated some changes and that the marketing landscape in the recovery will not be the same as the one pre-recession.

• The media have changed. Some of the changes are jarring - some storied print properties have gone out of existence.
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