Businesses and retailers need to embrace this idea; your consumers want to listen to strangers, and many younger purchasers say they won’t even make a purchase if those opinions aren’t available to them.

A new study released by Bazaarvoice, a company that tracks social media and online trends, found that members of Generation Y (generally those born in the late 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s) rely on user-generated content (including testimonials and reviews) more than they rely on pretty much any other content source.

Many say they find user-generated content more believable and reliable than information provided by brands themselves.  More than 40 percent say they’d rather hear from strangers with knowledge of a product or service than from friends or family members.

And, most millenials see companies that include customer feedback on their website as honest and credible.

So, what can you do? Give your customers a forum to share their feedback. Through ENERGIZED Testimonials, we allow your customers easily give you video feedback, which you can use on your website, in social media and for other marketing purposes. One email, and you can have a testimonial recording widget on your website today.

Text testimonials can be collected via email or comment form, and posted on your website or in social media. Those are a great supplement to video testimonials.

Regardless, make sure your customers and clients have a way to share their feedback. It can help you improve your operations, and can give your potential customers the information they need to make a purchase.

The NFL is an economic machine like no other. It seamlessly incorporates multiple revenue streams. It dominates television, has a presence on radio and is well represented on the internet. And, perhaps most importantly, the NFL has a rabid fan following that any other business would envy.

Your business, whatever it is, can learn a lesson from the NFL. Should you expect hundreds of thousands of people to wear your logo on their shirts? No. Will millions of people pay to watch you work. Likely not. But can you duplicate some of the intrigue surrounding the Gridiron Greatness to benefit you? Yes, definitely.

First, let’s think about what the NFL delivers. The NFL delivers excitement. The NFL delivers inclusion. The NFL delivers a culture that sucks you in. At the beginning of every game, fans are not 100% sure what to expect. They know they’re going to get an exciting matchup, but who will win is anyone’s guess. There are relatively few barriers to entry; while tickets to watch live are expensive, anyone can be a fan. That excitement, and the idea that anyone can cheer—that’s what makes football a way of life, not just a brand or an event.

Next, let’s think about how the NFL delivers all of that. The NFL delivers its product predictably. The NFL delivers its product through multiple channels to reach multiple audiences, all with one single message. While you don’t know who’s going to win a game, that game comes in a comfortable “container”; you know the field, you know the rules, you more or less know the players; you even know what consistent times each week you’ll be watching your favorite teams. And, if you can’t afford a ticket to see the game live, that game will be brought to your living room; all you’ll owe is some of your time for watching commercials.

Last, let’s figure out how these ideas can help drive your business to a win:

• Ask yourself, what is exciting about your business? If your work doesn’t excite you, it probably won’t excite anyone else. This doesn’t mean that you need to make plumbing or data security or waste disposal sound as fun as the circus, but it does mean you need to see the most exciting benefits of what you do, and play those up. (Do your plumbers take care of problems at 3am? That would excite a homeowner with an overflowing toilet. Does your security system allow small businesses to securely get files to clients? That would intrigue a business owner. Still don’t know how to find excitement in what you do? Maybe you need to ask me. Or maybe you’re doing it wrong ☺ )
• Determine if you’ve put up barriers to entry. While you’re likely not looking for 60,000 ticket buyers every weekend, you are looking to reach every potential client or customer you possibly can. If you aren’t offering multiple price points, or delivering your message across a number of channels, but might be putting up those barriers.
• Make sure you’re offering the familiarity and predictability your customers need. You might think your creative web design idea is going to revolutionize the internet. It might, but it’s more likely the design will only confuse your clients. Figure out what predictability your clients need to do business with you (Consistent updates? Familiar structure?) and don’t sacrifice that in the name of excitement. Remember, each NFL game is exciting, even though the rules don’t change.
• And, make sure you’re sticking to one single message, regardless of what channel you’re using. Your blog shouldn’t have a totally different voice than your Twitter feed, and your Facebook page needs to be consistent with your YouTube videos. You don’t have to say exactly the same thing, but you should make sure that regardless of how you’re reaching your audience—be it in their living room, or in the equivalent of your stadium—they’re getting the same message.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know! @ansleymeredith

That admonition from my mom echoes in my mind even today, decades after I heard it for the first time. I learned when I was very young that while my words have meaning, my tone and body language could mean the difference between having an apology accepted and having one very angry mother.

I think there’s a chance that some CEOs didn’t learn this lesson from their mothers. Or maybe they learned it and then forgot it sometime between the playroom and the boardroom. Sure, they say, “I’m sorry,” a lot, but again, it’s not what they said…

So what is it? It’s where they are, it’s how scripted they seem, it’s whether or not you believe they’re actually sorry.

I travel a lot. I know what it’s like to sit on a taxiway and hear a pilot say your 22nd in line for takeoff. I understand the frustration of being stuck in a seat waaaaaaay in the back of a plane, and having to watch as everyone else takes their steamer-trunk-size carry-ons out of the overhead bins ever so carefully while you are left to wonder if you’ll deplane in time to make your connection.  I can imagine those frustrations are multiplied by approximately 200 when a planeload of people is expected to wait on a plane for 7 HOURS within site of an airport but with no way to get inside. I feel frustrated for them just hearing about it.

This happened recently to a bunch of JetBlue passengers. And the COO says he’s sorry.

Or does he say he’s sorry? He says he’s sorry JetBlue let people down, but not necessarily sorry it happened. Is that supposed to be implied? He says JetBlue will cooperate with government investigations, and conduct internal investigations to learn from this event. But someone at JetBlue should have known that this recent apology would be watched alongside previous apologies… that pretty much promised the exact same thing.

JetBlue gets points for responding. They did not ignore the problem. But they could have done better in the execution of the video apology. So, what can the rest of us learn from this?

1. If you must apologize, be genuine… not affected genuine, but truly genuine. Do I believe the COO of JetBlue works in a cube farm where he perches on desk corners? No. Leave the guy at his desk. That’s where he lives. That’s where he solves problems, or tries to at least. “We did not deplane these aircraft in our target time allotted,” he said. PEOPLE SAT ON PLANES FOR 7 HOURS! So, say to those people, “We know some of you sat on planes for seven hours!” Know your audience, and the language they need to hear. You’re saying the same thing, but one version is corporate-speak and one version is people-speak.

2. Don’t just apologize for upsetting people, apologize for what happened to those people. Talk to them so you can understand their frustration. They’ll like it when you listen.

3. It’s good to promise to change what went wrong, but only if you then change what went wrong. And if you fail to change what went wrong and you’re forced to apologize for the same thing again a few years later, you’re going to look even dumber than if you hadn’t made the promise in the first place.

Interested in more CEO video apologies?  Check out this Wall Street Journal blog post. You can watch the good, the bad and the really ugly.

Need a tool to easily and quickly record your own videos (apologies or not)? Check out ENERGIZED Testimonials. You record from your laptop. We make you look good. And you get a video; no fancy camera or editing equipment required!)

What's impressive today will be expected tomorrow.

On a recent business trip to Chicago, I stayed at a hotel that was perfectly nice.  The lobby was open and airy, albeit a bit dated; the room was comfortable, even though it was smaller than most these days; and the bathroom served its purpose, but was definitely showing signs of years of wear. And the internet was… well, I don’t know how the internet was because (even though it would have been a business expense) I wasn’t willing to pay $10 for what would have amounted to two waking hours of internet access.

I left this hotel not thinking about the fact that I got a decent night’s sleep or was able to take a hot shower before leaving for my shoot; instead, what stuck with me was all the needed upgrades, and the idea that something I’ve come to expect as an included amenity at hotels catering to business travelers was not included.

So why am I telling you about this?  If your website is stagnant, or if your marketing plans haven’t evolved, they might have a lot in common with this hotel. They’re still giving your customers the basics they need, but they’re not doing much else. And while today it might be just fine to have a website without video, or a marketing plan without a social media presence (or a business hotel that doesn’t include internet access),  in a few years that’s not going to fly.

Fifty years ago, hotels advertised they had televisions. Forty years ago, they advertised they had color televisions. Thirty years ago, they advertised they had cable televisions. Alas, what was once something to brag about soon became expected.  Make sure your website and your marketing plans stay in bragging territory.  After all, what’s impressive today will be expected tomorrow.

That seems to be the finding of new research from Arbitron and Edison Research.  The groups talked to more than two thousand people over the age of 12 to learn what we watch, and where we watch it.  Among the findings:

- Overall, 38% of respondents said they had watched an online video in the past week. (That percentage was 12 in 2006.)

-YouTube specifically: More than 41% of people surveyed said they had watched a video on YouTube in the past month, while 31% said they had watched a YouTube video in the past week.  (In 2007, those percentages were 12 and 7, respectively.)

- On average, online video users report they watch nearly 3.5 hours of online video weekly. (That’s up from two hours, 20 minutes in 2008.)

So… the audience for online video has tripled in the past five years.  YouTube has exploded.  And the time we devote to watching video online has increased tremendously as well.  Marketers need to embrace this information, and figure out how to get their messages to the places where their potential customers’ attention already is.  Your potential customers and clients, whether you admit it or not, are watching video online… on YouTube, on Facebook, on websites.  It’s time for you to get in the game.

(Also of note: Facebook is the 900 Pound Gorilla among social networking sites.  More than half (51%) of respondents said they had a personal profile on Facebook.  That percentage dropped to 9% for LinkedIn and 8% for Twitter.  Surprisingly (to me, at least) 17% of respondents said they had a personal profile on MySpace.  Yes, MySpace.  Apparently it’s not just for 2004 anymore.)

Crock Pots have been around since 1971.  For awhile, they were considered “uncool,” devices our parents used to make pot roast.  But then, a new generation started to realize how functional these appliances truly are.  We got over all the newer gadgets (insulated baking pans, Snap-lock containers, etc.) and went back to a basic that works.

So how does this apply to marketing, and to video marketing?  There are plenty of gadgets you can use in your kitchen, just as there are plenty of gadgets you can use in your marketing plan.  But rather than using gadgets for gadget’s sake, shouldn’t you use what works?  We go back to the Crock Pot not because it’s cool or impressive or everyone else is doing it; we use the Crock Pot because it works.

Figure out what gadgets work in your marketing plan.  Don’t lose sight of those as new, cool things come along.  Realize that telling your story needs to be at the center of everything you do, be it a video or a newsletter or a social media campaign.  Always ask yourself these three questions: What is my message?  Who needs to hear it?  How do I make that happen?

Don’t be afraid to try the new, cool thing.  But don’t lose sight of the storytelling and other tools that have worked for you for years.  It’s time to dust off that Crock Pot.

Here’s the problem… SO many people are tweeting SO many things, you have to question who is really listening.  When Twitter started, the few people on it were following only a handful of people apiece.  Then the Follower Race started, and it became trendy to follow the people following you.  So, numbers of followers ballooned to dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.  The upshot?  Many people are following more people than they could ever pay attention to.

Every once in awhile, I see a tweet that reinforces that.  For instance, ABC meteorologist Sam Champion (@samchampion) has 37,809 followers.  He often tweets pictures, either from viewers or from the Good Morning America set.  When these are sent out as Twitpics, clicking on the link lets you not only view the picture but see how many people have also viewed it.  One picture Sam tweeted this morning had been viewed 67 times after more than half an hour.  Another picture?  Nine views.

So what’s the point?  If it were your business, those 67 views would be great.  However, you likely don’t have 37,809 followers.  This does not mean that you should give up tweeting, but it does mean that you should temper your expectations.  If five people check out a link you post, great!  If 10 people check it out, even better!  But don’t expect hundreds of your followers to drop what they’re doing to check out what you’re doing.  After all, they’re following hundreds or thousands of other people as well.

Want to follow me on Twitter?  @ansleymeredith.  If I follow you, I’ll do my best to really listen.

Has anyone else been watching ABC’s series Made In America?  It’s on World News Tonight this week, and it’s taking a close look at just how many products that fill our homes are not made in this country.  On Monday, the series visited the home of a typical American family and proceeded to conduct an in-home scavenger hunt for products made in the United States.  The family was sent away for a day, and the ABC crew removed all foreign products.  The family returned a day later to find a couple flower vases and a mirror or two in otherwise empty rooms.

Now ABC is on a mission to replace all those products with ones made in America.  I’m DVR’ing tonight’s WNT to see what the crew is able to find made in this country.  Last night, a map following the story marked places from where ABC ordered replacement products.  There were quite a few markers on North Carolina, and I’ll bet we’ll see some North Carolina furniture in the home.

For years, I’ve been looking for products made in America, and I must admit I’ve been largely unsuccessful.  Every time I have to get rid of a worn-out towel with a Made in the USA tag, I grimace a little, knowing that I’ll likely replace it with one from India or Pakistan.  I’d certainly be willing to spend an extra buck or two per towel if I could find them made domestically, but that’s difficult to do.

I do everything I can to support local businesses, often giving them free communications advice and frequenting local establishments whenever I can.  This series gave me an idea of another small way I can do that.  Are you a local (Charlotte-area) business which stocks Made in America products?  Whether it’s baby bibs or bicycles, dog toys or drills, let me know.  If I get enough responses, I’ll post them here so perhaps we can get an idea of where to look if we want to try to buy American.

(Two final notes: 1. There are people who argue that consumer goods production declining in America is not a bad thing, and that we’re trading manufacturing bathmats and children’s toys to focus on higher-ticket items like airplanes and pharmaceuticals.  However, I would argue that in an economy as large as the United States, there is room to do it all.  And, I would also say it’s little consolation to unemployed textile workers in North Carolina that a bunch of mechanics are working at Boeing in Seattle.  And 2. I understand that the only way Americans will buy American is if the products offered are of equal quality and comparable cost to those made overseas.  I don’t want to start a debate about healthcare costs and payroll taxes; I just want to know which manufacturers are overcoming those obstacles to keep production here at home.)

I often speak to clients and potential clients now who are very interested in one single communication channel or another: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, television advertising.  Before I even begin to tell them how to best use whatever channel they’ve approached me about, I tell them we have to determine to whom they’re talking.

The great thing about media being so diverse is it gives businesses and non-profits excellent, cost-efficient ways to get in touch with the clients and donors they’re trying to reach.  However, those groups need to determine WHO they’re trying to reach, and then bring their message to the channels those people are already monitoring.

My point: Don’t put your business on Twitter just because everyone else is doing it.  Don’t post coupons on Facebook just because you think you should.  Determine who you need to reach, and then figure out where those people are.  You might use different channels for different parts of your marketing campaign.  You might realize one channel doesn’t work for you as well as others.  This information will be invaluable to your business, and finding answers to these questions up front will save you plenty of money and time down the road.

Today, however, I got this feedback from the shoot (and this isn’t an exact quote… I wasn’t recording the conversation!): “Everyone involved in the shoot yesterday told the CEO how good an experience it was.  It wasn’t the hassle they thought it might be, and they can’t wait to see the clips!”

I love hearing things like that from clients.  I shoot video all the time, so I know what it takes to pull off a video shoot.  However, if you’ve only been around the occasional video camera, video can seem like a huge (figurative) headache.  And if you think you’re camera-shy and you have someone telling you to do an interview, that might result in a huge (literal) headache.  So when I am able to go to a location, shoot multiple interviews with eager and not-so-eager participants, and leave with good video and happy clients, I am happy too.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Getting there is half the fun.”  With video production, it should be fun!  It should also be relaxed, easy and productive.  If I can deliver that to my clients, along with quality finished pieces that meet their objectives, I’ll know I’ve done my job.