Biznik Blog

I had a great interview with Tim McDonald on Spreecast today. Though it was our first time connecting, it will not be our last.

I like to geek out on stats. When I was first introduced to Google analytics, I felt as though I had been given the keys to a new world.

I was like: I can KNOW what people DO with the stuff I WRITE!

COOL!
The good news is these guys are more into analytics than anyone I know.

@csavage

@brendan

Which is very good for you – because they are all about making sure your web videos get the engagement from your customers you want.

As independent business owners, your goal should be to drive maximum engagement from your communication efforts. And the best way to measure engagement from your video work is to take a good look at the analytics.

Here are three key things I learned today from an online event Chris and Brendan hosted from the Wistia office:

Front load your message

If you have something really important to say in your video, then don’t bury it 40 seconds deep, or a minute into your video. Put it right up front so you viewer starts to get the information as as soon as possible.

They showed some slides during the presentation which proved without a doubt, audiences want to see the important stuff first, and when you bury it, you are more likely to lose them too early. If the viewer bounces before you get to the good stuff, not only will your message not get heard, but your viewer will think you do not respect their time.

Contextualize your video

If you have a super fun video of your team having a Ms. Pac-Man-a-Thon during an after hours work party – don’t put it on a content rich page where you want your customer to buy something. Rather, put that video on your blog.

When your customer is on a content page, or in a sales funnel, give them the content from the video to support the page.

This seems pretty obvious, but business make this mistake all the time.

The trust your viewer has with you and your business affects how they watch your videos

All of this and everything is based on a level of TRUST your viewer has or is building with you. I love that they said this.

If your viewer trusts you, your videos are likely to do better. So true, right? Think about your own experience watching video – whether personally or professionally. You are probably way more likely to give the video more of a chance if you trust the video producer, artist, or business.

I learned a lot more stuff in the very efficient 25 minute and 20 second online event. The questions following the presentation were good as well.

But don’t take my word for it (although you could, I am a very trustworthy guy) go check out their blog!

The webinar I was on is not up on their blog yet, but I know it will be shortly.

Until then, you could enjoy their first webinar which is all about Video Marketing.

All of this information is put together with rock solid backup on the Wistia blog – and I highly recommend that you subscribe to it. They are always putting out great content to help you be better at making and promoting your videos so you can connect and engage with your customers.

We don’t send press releases out very often.

While they are not exactly the most fun to write, I think that we did a killer job on this one.

Basically, we had to convey that we used to give a lot of stuff away for free, and now we are going to start charging for it. But with good reason.

1. We are a business – and we do not have ads on the site.
2. We offer a unique service – MLM free, editorialized content, and great networking opportunities.
3. We verify that everyone on Biznik is a real person – real, like not a profile created by an SEO firm.
4. AND, we still do have something for free – the webcard (better than I Manta listing!)

Last summer our friends as Seattle Interactive used Business Wire to get a their release in a big national circuit. And it worked. So we did the same. I worked with Lauren Linscheid to get the word count, distribution, images, and timing just right. She gave me great insight and feedback on the process and made me feel like I was being well taken care of as a customer.

Here is some proof, our press release was picked up by four news sources and a whole bunch of tweets from each one of these, mostly the MarketWatch source.

Unfortunately, MarketWatch did not make the links in the PR active, nor do they have a social bar. Also, they did not embed the infographic that Column Five did for us.

My preference would have retweets of the Yahoo Finance piece, which has a social bar, links, AND a place for comments.

All in all, the press release was not the huge pain that I thought it was going to be.

Working with the Biznik team to craft it was actually kind of a fun process; paring huge concepts to less than 400 words (first price tier for Business Wire), while still getting the position of the message just right.

And while I do not want to become a press release writer, I am looking forward to helping to craft the press release for the new software coming soon from Biznik, MyFive [TM].

Download a PDF of the February 22, 2012 press release.

Weeks before the launch of the new Biznik, I was compelled to reach out to core users who had demonstrated an affinity for Biznik.

Lara and I selected a group of about 3000 members who had at one point elected to upgrade to one of the premium levels of Biznik, members who had invited more than 10 people to the community, and members who had hosted more than 10 events.

I wanted to reach out and thank these members for their support and dedication, without them, there would be a far less successful Biznik.

I had a budget and pretty much full creative control.

Thinking back to a wedding invitation I had received last summer, I was inspired to use a company called Paperless Post to send the thank you card.

I knew I wanted to say thank you in a card, but did not want to sit down to lick 3000 stamps and envelopes.

Getting a Paperless Post email is an experience, which is exactly what I was going for. I needed something to take the viewer out of the typical hum drum of the email wasteland.

Don’t get me wrong. A thank you all by itself is nice. But I wanted more.

I contacted Scott Berkun who has complied, edited and carefully presented in a brand-spanking new way, a collection of some of his best essays in a self published book, Mindfire: Big ideas for Curious Minds. So we bought the rights to 500 copies of the book. I assured him that we would only give away 500 copes, which he was happy with. (I’ll tell you how I did that in a bit.)

After some wordsmithing and image selection, we sent the cards out. The thank you card opens in this lovely animated sort of way, leaving a space for the recipient to leave a comment. We said in the note that the first 500 replies to the thank you note would receive a copy of Mindfire.

The note went out later than I wanted,  3pm PST, Friday. We got the first 300 replies in about 2 hours – with about a 50% reply rate.

By Saturday afternoon, all the books were spoken for.

Because I did not want to tap Andrew Lippert, our CTO to build a custom system to manage all of this, I exported all of the results manually and sorted the replies from the opens, then sent each of replies the .pdf and .mobi., with a reminder that this was not a social gift – and if there was a special someone in their lives they would like to read the book, to buy it for them.

Scott generously gave me a link with three free chapters to give anyone who replied after the 500 books were gone. (So far we are at about 650 replies.)

498 people were incredibly grateful and excited to get Scott’s book. I know because most of them sent me thank you emails (wow, that is fun to read 500 happy emails in a day).

2 people were annoyed that I sent a pdf and not a book. There you have it.

All in all it was a fantastic way to connect with thousands of Biznik members.

It was also a great opportunity to work with Scott, a talented speaker and insightful author.

If you have yet to do so,  I encourage you to buy the book.

cover for Mindfire

It’s not that long ago that social networks were novelties kids used. When Biznik was created in 2005 we had to explain that a user account meant you could edit and maintain the information in your profile by yourself, without having to call a web master to make the changes for you. Hard to believe how far the world has come in such a short time.

When Dan and I started Biznik, we were craving community and we were on a personal quest to create “business networking that doesn’t suck.” Almost 7 years later, nearly 100,000 independent businesses have joined us on that quest and turned Biznik into a community that supports one another, and shows an authentic interest in the success of one another’s businesses. I am honored to be part of that community too!

Not a week goes by without a 4 or 5 dozen events added in cities all over the country. Nearly 100 articles are published every day. Matt, our community manager reviews every single one.

As a social networking application we’ve won awards and continue to receive praise for our easy to use site. We’ve had Andrew, our Chief Technology Officer, on staff since 2009. We don’t outsource our development. Every change, modification and improvement is done in-house, by the team-of-three that is listening for your feedback and requests.

All of this came about in an organic way. What started as a pet project hosted on a server in our garage, grew and grew. You know that children’s story of the little boy who’s goldfish kept out-growing his container — before long he was busting out of the public swimming pool. Biznik continues to feel those growing pains too, like when Google hops on and indexes more than 200 pages a second. We’re thrilled that Google is so interested in you and your content, and we’re continuing to scale and improve our infrastructure.

Over the years there were a few dozen people who helped fastened the tent straps but the largest contribution has come from you and your fellow Bizniks. Each of you is responsible for turning Biznik into a community that takes an authentic interest in each others’ success. I am continually awed by the generosity you display to one another.

I get asked the question — why independent business. It can be summed up in a quote by indie-advocate, Seth Godin: “All artists are entrepreneurs. All entrepreneurs are artists.” I believe in a world where people are happier because they get to do what they love. If what you love is running your own business, then you have a tribe in Biznik.

The world is a better place because you and your business is in it.

The most challenging part of my job is walking the line between being one of you — a fellow independent business owner engaged in living my passion — and being in charge of the container for the connections that occur here. One of my responsibilities is to ensure the viability of Biznik-the-business. Reinvention is part of every business. Improvements are sometimes a difficult pill to swallow. Biznik-the-business is not exempt from that. As we continue to grow, changes are inevitable. Change is scary. But change is good!

I am committed to supporting you on your path of becoming an expert and getting your business found. So we’re bumping up our commitment. Today your membership just became more valuable.

By creating a paywall/a community where everyone pays a nominal membership fee, we’ve just upped the ante. Every member you meet is someone who wants to be here. The quality of engagement will increase. When you meet a fellow Biznik, you’ll know you have something in common — you both “get” the challenges and rewards of running your own show.

What does the future hold for Biznik?

We have drawn from six years of experience — learning from community — to create what we think will be the most highly evolved networking platform on the planet.

We are super excited to bring this to you very soon. (Drum-roll please…) Today we officially pull back the curtain on the new name: MyFive™ is a peer relationship management tool that helps you take care of your 5 most important business relationships. Visit myfive.com for an invitation to join the beta in April.

With social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter competing for your time, I want Biznik to continue to be the place for your tribe, where you are not alone and where you are introduced to new business opportunities and referrals to new clients.

A down economy is the best time to support your peers locally. When over 50% of small businesses go out of business in the first 5 years, WE SHARE the responsibility to help each other thrive.

If you like predictions, I predict that the next five years will see the start of more independent businesses; “main streets” will thrive with unique entrepreneurial-driven storefronts. I predict that the large number of those unemployed since the recession, will give up their hunt for a J.O.B. and go out on their own.

Join me in making the world a better place. When you join Biznik as a member, you are elevating yourself to a position that can help a fellow business professional stay in business.

Go one extra mile. Make one introduction. Meet one person in a forum and answer their question. Ask one person what they need — and fulfill it. The tipping point is just around the corner. When we band together, we can start an indie revolution.

We’ll all benefit from it. You’ll benefit from it.

I hope you’ll stick around. I am confident that this change will result in a community that is even more valuable and more committed to each others’ success.

Thank you for joining me on this journey thus far. I look forward to continuing to engage with you as a fellow “Biznik”.