Hey, MarCom!

A new year and a new office location

We didn't mention it earlier, but November 2009 marked 10 years since the founding of Eccolo Media. We've seen incredible growth over the years, and now we're bursting at the seams at our current space in San Francisco's SoMA neighborhood. So, we're starting 2010 with a move to a bigger, more centralized office located in the city's Financial District. Our new office will help us serve our clients even better, and we're looking forward to even more growth and another stellar year in 2010.

Happy New Year from all of us at Eccolo Media!

Another item to watch for 2010

2009 is quickly winding down, so we've been hard at work getting some new projects ready for 2010. Along with a new supplement to our B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, we're also putting together a new, innovative case study template. In addition to text, the document will feature rich media resources and will highlight all of the different ways you can use case studies to showcase digital content. Keep an eye out for it here early next year.

The long and short of online video

A client recently sent us a link to an interesting article about online video, specifically about how videos should become a core part of any marketing strategies (if they aren't already).

The article, 5 Tips for Using Video to Grow Your Business in 2010, describes some best practices for creating successful videos, and one in particular caught our eye. The article says that videos should be under two minutes in length, but if you can get it down to 30 seconds, that it's even better.

We're curious to know if this two-minute rule only applies to demos and other how-to videos. In our experience, getting a customer to tell their story in their own words in less than two minutes can be a big challenge.

We're not saying online videos should clock in at 90 minutes, but we certainly think different video types call for different best practices when it comes to length. Something that's worked well for us is providing several versions of a video. We'll put together a five minute cut that tells the full customer story, and then cutting it down to a few shorter clips that highlight some great customer quotes.

The ideal length of an online video may still be up in the air, but knowing your audience and what they want to see and hear will definitely help you hit the mark.

Eccolo Media at the Business Marketing Association

It's still almost a month until the new year, but Lorie's calendar for 2010 is already filling up fast. In October, we announced that she would be speaking at the Customer Reference Forum next March, and we recently learned that she's also been invited to present at a marketing strategy roundtable sponsored by the Business Marketing Association of Northern California in June.

During the session, Lorie will present data from our latest B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, share best practices for content development, and give attendees the information they need to effectively plan collateral budgets.

Since the roundtable is still a few months away, the registration information hasn't been posted yet (we'll be sure to let you know when it's up). In the meantime, you can learn more about programs offered by the Business Marketing Association of Northern California here.

A deeper dive in 2010

We've been busy trying to finish up as much as we can before the end of the year (and we know you probably are too), so we just wanted to give you a quick heads up about a new report we're working on for 2010.

Actually, it's not a full report, but a supplement to our 2009 B2B Technoloy Collateral Survey Report. The data we found during our 2009 survey was so rich that we've decided to delve even deeper into the numbers and put together some additional findings that focus specifically on how technology buyers consume reference collateral.

Watch for the supplement early next year, and don't forget to register for Lorie's presentation (where she'll go over some of the new findings) at the Customer Reference Forum in March. In the meantime, you can also check out the full 2009 survey report here.

Flipping for Flip video

Earlier this month, we talked about how video is a rising star in the world of B2B marketing. Not only do the numbers in our latest survey report show that B2B audiences are more receptive to video, but we're also hearing the same thing from our clients. In fact, we're getting more and more requests to create videos, especially customer video testimonials.

One way that we're meeting the increasing demand for videos is by using Flip HD cameras to film interviews. Flip cameras are small (so they're easy to mail to customers) and have good picture and sound quality (so you can produce a quality video). Check out this Flip camera video we created for one of our clients:

Flip cameras aren't ideal for every situation, but they great when you need to interview customers in multiple locations, when you've got a limited budget, or when schedules are tight.

We're creating some best practices around creating Flip videos, and definitely think Flip HD cameras are a video technology to keep an eye on. If you'd like to produce a Flip video of your own, let us know. We'd love to help.

Survey results: The Channel Effect

One of the reasons we’ve been so excited about our 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report is that it gave us a chance to refine our questions from last year’s survey and delve even deeper into how people actually consume content and collateral.

Something new we added for 2009 was a look at how the perceived value of collateral changes depending on the specific avenue through which people receive that content—or, as we like to call it, the channel effect.

First, we asked about frequency of channel usage, and one fact stood out: most people get written collateral through company Web sites. In fact, 73 percent of respondents found white papers through such sites, 71 percent got brochures/data sheets through company Web sites, and 59 percent acquired case studies that way.

Receiving content from a personal contact or from a sales representative came in as a close tie for the second most frequently used channel for receiving a white paper, followed by social media and webinars in a tie for third.

The results were just about the same for podcasts and videos: both were most likely to be “found” on a corporate Web site or received from a personal contact.
 
When we examined the influence of these various channels, another interesting fact emerged: Although a piece of collateral referred to or forwarded by a personal contact was most frequently cited as the most influential channel, browsing the corporate Web site was the second most frequently cited answer.

What do these findings mean? Your corporate Web site is still a very effective way to deliver content to your customers, but don’t forget to make your collateral compelling—people are more likely to share your content with their contacts if it’s highly engaging.

You can learn more about the channel effect by downloading our free report, or if you want help creating some compelling content of your own, let us know.

Survey results: Video is ready for its close-up

For years, marketers have wondered if online video is ready for primetime. According to our 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report, the answer is finally a big, definite “yes.”

B2B audiences are becoming more and more receptive to watching videos to help them make business decisions. In fact, our research shows a dramatic change in how often business decision makers consume online videos. In 2008, only 28 percent of respondents watched a video to prepare for making a purchasing decision. In influence, video was ranked fifth—dead last when compared with other types of collateral.

In contrast, this year nearly half (49 percent) of respondents had watched a video in the last six months. Even more impressive, 79 percent of business decision makers or influencers share video with their colleagues, making it a highly viral form of collateral. As more decision makers grow comfortable with consuming sales and marketing content via video, the B2B audience for online video will grow even larger. Clearly, video is a medium to watch.

We found a lot of other interesting statistics about the changing use of video, so be sure to download our full report to get the full details.

Eccolo Media to present at 2010 Customer Reference Forum

Earlier this year, Lorie Loe swore that she would land a spot on the presenters’ panel at the Customer Reference Forum (CRF) in 2010. And as it turns out, that’s exactly what happened.

This coming March, Lorie will deliver a presentation alongside Kathryn Poole, Senior Manager of Customer Experience at Red Hat. The title? “Collateral That Sells.” Specifically, Kathryn and Lorie will show how Red Hat is applying findings from Eccolo’s research to better reach and target technology purchasers.  They’ll discuss:

• Which types of reference collateral are most influential
• When technology buyers consume reference content in the sales cycle
•  How influencers differ from decision makers when consuming case studies, podcasts, and videos
• The channels (Web, direct response, social media, etc.) through which they’re most likely to get collateral
• Why buyers in the enterprise consume more reference collateral than those in small businesses

It’s going to be a great session—most of all because Lorie will offer up the hard numbers that attendees need in order to plan and justify their collateral budgets. To register for the event, go right here. And to take a look at our research in the meantime, don’t forget that you can download it for free.

Survey results: White papers still best bang for your buck

Like last year, our 2009 survey indicates that marketers’ best use of their collateral budgets is to develop high-quality white papers. Hands down, they're considered the most influential type of content.

In 2008, 68 percent of survey respondents told us they’d read at least one white paper in the last six months. In 2009, we saw that number increase to 77 percent, with the vast majority of respondents (84 percent) rating white papers as moderately to extremely influential when making final purchasing decisions. Add in the fact that white papers are also the most frequently shared collateral type, with 89 percent of respondents passing them along to others, and you see why they are the must-have marketing tool.

Our 2009 B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report offers up all the details -- plus a few best practices that you can start applying to make the most of your white papers. Download the report right here.