Your Tube?

 

 

 

YouTube, the video-sharing website created in 2005 and has since become one of the most powerful tools in social media marketing.  There are a variety of cases in which YouTube has played a crucial role in not only promoting products, individuals, or services, but in some cases it is ultimately the reason of success. One example is musician Justin Bieber whose recorded performance posted to YouTube landed him a contract with Def Jam Recordings, and is now earning over $55 million per year.  Millions of videos are posted each day and not all of these videos capture the attention of viewers.  However, for many it can be very discouraging to put efforts into learning the software and creating a video which in turn will  only receive 10  or less views, with no subscribers.  

Second Chance Solutions specializes in creating on online presence for your company. Our goal is to not only establish your brand on YouTube but also create a channel which will be followed.  Often times we find that individuals explored this option but had little to no result and there fore left this unfinished, or made a bad first impression with their first attempts and never tried again. We want to recreate that first impression. Here is a glimpse of how we start.

“So how does your business capture viewer attention in a positive light?”

#1.

You begin by using the available options to create an appealing welcoming video for example music which invokes strong emotional response in an audience.  The idea is to create and share valuable video content that’s relevant. This generates business.

#2.

 Next you want to turn viewers into subscribers; one way to do this is with a trailer video. A trailer video allows you to tell viewers about whom you are and what your business is about and what they can expect from your content.

#3.

Once those viewers have become subscribers it’s important to get them to move to action. You do this with persuasive, relatable content.  Your content must be accurate, engaging, and the layout is just as important as the content this is what will attract subscribers to keep tuned.

Lastly, MEASURE your results using YouTube Insights.

Optical Illusions

Have you ever seen an optical illusion?  Maybe an oasis in the desert or a line that crawls across the street? As you approach, it morphs into something entirely different or disappears entirely.

Watch the video below.  It is a test against yourself, so don't worry, it is only a spot of fun.  How many did you get right?

Second Chance Solutions can help create an optical illusion of your first impression, giving you a chance to recreate that first impression into a more positive one for you.

Give us your impressions of our site, of our posts and mostly, how has it changed you?

Karen Boggs

Trick or Treat??

OK, so sometimes we make the exact first impression, just like we intended.  This is a funny video about a prank pulled on Halloween for the Trick or Treaters.  Kind of keeps you honest, don't you think?

Second Chance Solutions does not need to try a correction on this one.  There are some things even we do not want to change.

Did you pull off a scary prank or have one pulled on you?  Share it with others. Join the conversation.

Most of all, have a Happy, Safe Halloween.

by Karen Boggs

People We Love To Hate

Establishing a Professional Image

There are people in this world that make a living from being obnoxious and hateful.  Chef Gordon Ramsay is one of those types of people.  Chef Ramsay turns his fellow chefs inside out, has declared war on his in-laws and lost a fortune trying to open too many restaurants too fast.  Why is this man such a success when he berates people, throws temper tantrums and is an obnoxious, foul-mouthed restaurateur?

Even joining the prison crowd for his reality show of Bad Boys' Bakery you would think he would have toned it down a notch or two.  That is definitely NOT the case.  He began this particular reality show with 12 inmates in a program to train them for a productive livelihood once they did their time.  The initial 12 were soon whittled down to 9.

Chef Ramsay has 11 branches of Caffe` Nero in London that stocks the Bad Boys' Bakery cakes and wraps and four restaurants named after himself, Ramsay in Tokyo, two Ramsay in London and a restaurant in New York called Gordon Ramsay at the London. 

 Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.  Who would have thought he could break through the reputation of English cuisine being bland and tasteless?

That said, Ramsay is the only chef in London honored with three stars by the Guide Michelin.

Gordon Ramsay did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth.  Perhaps that is why he is such a tough task master with his staff in the kitchen.  It was difficult trying to come up with a positive YouTube video that was not filled with such filthy language Chef Ramsay is know for, something the average person could listen to with younger ones afoot. 

 Below is an inspirational piece of work featuring a failing restaurant Chef Ramsay took on. He actually liked the Soul Food cooked and served there.  Is this a first?

After you have had a chance to view the video, give us your impression.  What makes this guy a celebrity?  Why would anyone ant to participate in a cooking show like Hell's Kitchen? It is one of America's favorite reality TV shows as well as the European market.  It is said that even though he is one of the country's "most unbearable bosses," why do people that work for him demonstrate such a "tenacious, irrational loyalty verging on love"?

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Gordon LIKES it!!

He actually had some nice comments.  Amazing!! This may work for Gordon Ramsay, but is this the type of image you want to project to your peers and social sphere?  Please join us in a conversation about the image we project to others and how they perceive us in return.  We look forward to your responses.

by Karen Boggs

How to Start a Movement ~Derek Sivers ~TED

While I was working on my latest blog post, on new product or services marketing, I thought of this exceptional TED talk by Derek Sivers.  It is short, and makes a great point on gaining momentum in a new endeavor.

Enjoy!

Laura McCormack

So You Think Science is Staid? Listen In.

Do you have a crazy invention?  You might be a candidate for an IgNobel Award.

The video below is quite amusing, demonstrating how sometimes ideas are born of necessity and the creative ideas people come up with to combat or alleviate the particular situation.  Human nature can be quite creative.  Listen then join the conversation.

This is a situation where people have taken a chance on creating a new invention; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it is usually ingenious and sometimes even deserves to be acknowledged.

 These people are not worried about the image they portray to the world and their fellow man.  They are not looking for a Second Chance to make a First Impression.  It is not always necessary.  They provide a couple of services to their fellow man, one is comic relief, and a second can be a truly unique solution to an existing problem.

Have you ever thought of an idea to combat a problem in society or for the potential betterment of your fellow humans?  If you would like to share with us, we welcome your comments.

Second Chance Solutions, ideas for getting a Second Chance to Make a First Impression.

by Karen Boggs

How NOT to market a new product / services

Developing the next product is a tough job.  Even more difficult is convincing the consumer that they want or need to buy this product.  There is a vast array of mistakes that could be made in any product launch; and each mistake is unique to the specific product.  These mistakes generally fall into one of four general areas:

DENIAL

For some unknown reason, many companies (especially smaller firms) assume that once their product reaches full development, people will just line up to buy it, without the company having to lift a finger.  The delusion described seems ludicrous when stated that way, yet many companies become so focused on the product in development that the need for a solid marketing plan becomes (at best) an afterthought.  The old adage, “Fail to plan, plan to fail” may be a cliché, but it is accurate, especially in this context.

One Man's Choice to Go His Own Way

The video below is about a Terrorist's son who made the choice not to follow in his father's footsteps. 

This is an inspiring video demonstrating the power of taking responsibility for your own actions, not just following the crowd.  I truly hope this inspirational young man follows the path he has set himself upon to sever the ties to hatred and cherish his fellow man.

Second Chance Solutions applauds Mr. Ebrahim's choice to shun terrorism and to pursue the path of peace and tolerance.

Second Chance Solutions presents this video to demonstrate that you are responsible for your own actions and you do have choices.  Please choose responsibly.

Karen L.Boggs

Hazing and Personal Responsibility

When you choose to act in a manner that is hurtful or harmful to others, how do you change the effects of what you have done?  Many times people are caught up in actions with someone else and use the excuse "so and so was doing it."  Does that make it right?  Do you stop to think of what this action that "so and so" is doing will have on your future?

Especially in today's e-world, things are posted to the Internet faster than you can blink an eye and it is really difficult to "take it back or hide."

Second Chance Solutions asks that you stop to think of what you are about to do, not only to the person or people being hazed, but also the repercussions to your future.  Head-hunters (job recruiters) scour the Internet for information about their prospective employees and team players. Is this the type of behavior you want them to find you involved in?  Is this the type of behavior you want your Mother and Father, as well as your siblings and extended family to know you are involved in?

The Golden Rule states we should Do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Sometimes acts of hazing are just for fun; embarrassing acts.  Sometimes they start out with that intent and escalate.  Regardless, think of your fellow humans and put yourself in their place.  People will oftentimes use a group of people to justify their own illegal or immoral actions.  You are ultimately responsible for your own actions, not your Mother, or Father, not your teachers or principal, not even your peers.  YOU and YOU Alone.

THINK before you ACT.

This is a socially Responsible Message from Second Chance Solutions to YOU>

by Karen Boggs

Crossing Borders: Cultural Differences in Marketing

So you have got your products or services settled in the domestic market and plan to venture into international market place.

Would you use the same marketing mix (product, price, place, & promotion) and strategies that you have developed for the domestic market and apply them to the global market?

The answer should be a resounding no.

When attempting to create a presence in international markets, it is vital to be aware of others' cultural sensitivities and develop marketing campaigns that are in line with the cultural norms of the target international markets. Local market knowledge will undoubtedly come in handy when competing with local companies armed with a vast array of information on the markets and customers.

Cultures are not static and they typically evolve over time. Global marketers must understand the target country's existing and emerging cultures, customs, and needs in order to devise marketing strategies that are tailor-made for that specific market. Failure to do exactly that results in a series of embarrassing marketing blunders. 





For example, did you know that the name of the baby food company Gerber means vomiting in French?

Rebranding using Search Engine Optimization ~part 2 ~the launch

Once your "newbrand" website is built, it is time to launch the site.  Doing so correctly is important.  Find out how to avoid mistakes (or fix them) during the final stages of rebranding online.

Laura McCormack

Twitter: What do YOU Expect?

Twitter Expectations

Many companies, brands, and people sign up for a Twitter account with the mind set of marketing their product, service, or even themselves in a cost effective way. Social networking sites are great for that, because most are free or very inexpensive and can be very effective.

Within  the past few years Twitter has become an ordinary habit in millions of peoples everyday life which now makes the challenge of standing out even harder. It isn't as simple as just posting a link and having people click on it anymore that strategy is increasingly becoming ineffective.

The idea of numbers is no longer as valuable as it once was. Just because you can have a million plus followers, tons of tweets per week, your  return traffic can still be and will likely be low. The current average trend is that the more followers you have the less your Twitter marketing click through rate will be. For example someone with 1,000 followers has a click through rate of 6.16% as opposed to someone with 10,000 followers has just a 0.45% click through rate.  This is likely due to the fact that you become less personally interactive with your followers once you reach a certain follower point.

So the question arises how do you create a mass number of followers for product and brand awareness without losing that personal interaction?

Become a Keyword Master

Keyword research is quite simply the most crucial part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  

"Keyword research is the practice of identifying which phrases are used on search engines when people are looking for information, and usually includes finding both the search volume and relative competitiveness of the terms." (Eubanks N., 2014)

It all starts with what you type into a search box. With the right keywords, you can expand your search network campaign and direct prospective customers to your website and products/services. Keywords are the foundation of an online search campaign and help connect potential customers to your site.The right keywords can lead to higher ranking in search lists, greater and more qualified traffic, and more importantly, higher ROI (Return on Investment) for your marketing efforts. 

It is not about driving just any traffic to your site; it is more about getting the right customers discover your products/services on your site. Choosing keywords related to your web content ensures more relevant traffic to your site.

Twitter Marketing

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s recently made a suggestion to Marie Klawe stating

“It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise. That might be one of the initial 'super powers,' that quite frankly, women (who) don’t ask for a raise have. It’s good karma. It will come back.”

Many women took offense to this comment and it wasn’t long before the comment spread, however just several hours after the onstage conversation was over Nadella took to Twitter to backtrack from his comment and later released a statement apologizing for his inaccurate statement.

Rebranding using Search Engine Optimization

Rebranding in a complex topic, especially when attempting to optimize SEO at the same time.  View the following presentation to get an overview of the preparation process.

Laura McCormack

Top 5 Facebook Marketing Mistakes

In business often times we begin with this impeccable vision, it isn’t until we begin the process to achieving that vision that we realize it’s much more complex than what we initially anticipated.  Social Media in particular Facebook is no different. We began by envisioning engaging everyone in our social network and this in turn will create numerous amounts of revenue, it isn’t until you begin setting up this page that you realize it’s much more complex than that. After several hours of trying to set up a page, now extremely frustrated, you settle with just throwing something together.  Below is a list of common Facebook marketing mistakes, if any of the following apply to you, Second Chance Solutions can help you. We assist you in learning about Facebook, creating a successful display, while abiding by the terms and conditions to allow your business to use Facebook to its full capacity and engage your audience.

 

1. Incomplete Profile Page

Not all people will go from your Facebook page to your website. If they see your page is incomplete the likelihood of them taking the time to go view your website has now decreased. You want to make sure you are using Facebook to its full capacity, make sure you have your page complete with hours, address, photo, offerings, web information  so in the event they do not visit your website they have captured all the same information.

Optimize Your Business

Ever curious about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how it can help your business grow?

Many businesses fail to realize the importance of SEO and they pay the price. Second Chance Solutions will educate you on SEO with a series of posts to come.

Let's start with SEO basics. Watch the video below to learn more..

May Mandy Han

Bendgate, Bending the Truth?

The heat is on.  Apple introduced its new iPhone 6 and consumers are ready to put it to the test. What is the real story on the new Apple iPhone 6?

 

 In the first six days of sales, nine customers contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 units (out of approximately 10 million sold initially.)

 

Several outside sources decided to see how much pressure was needed to permanently bend the iPhone 6.

According to Anthony Wing Kosner, a contributor for Quantum of Content and Innovtions in User Experience, given enough force, the iPhone 6 Plus will bend but the amount of force required ranges from 90 to 110 pounds.  The difference is if you are looking for it to bend or actually cause full screen separation, an unlikely event with everyday use. The smaller, thicker iPhone 5 did even better and showed no noticeable deformation up to 130 pounds.