Ken Drives

This is the very last Ken Drives video! Sooooo, what happened? Nothing really . . . producing these videos on a regular basis was part of our own content marketing plan – and it works! We finally got to the point that we are attracting more clients than we can process in a timely manner. So, we’re going to take a break from producing Ken Drives videos while we catch up on all the new business. But, instead of bringing it back later, we decided that 420 Ken Drives videos was quite enough! Ha Ha! So, we’re developing a newer, more engaging show that will be a LIVE, weekly, talk show. That’s right – we said LIVE! We’ll launch this show in the spring of 2020 and probably run it from Apr – Sep. We’ll have a guest on the show every week – and you can interact with the show live on Facebook. We’ll distribute the completed episodes to YouTube, website, podcast, and other social networks and we’re REALLY excited about this one! Our existing talk show, Ken’s Think Tank (now in its third season) will continue through the season and into Season 4 (at least) next year – we love doing that show too – so keep watching for those episodes to come out twice a month. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit: https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/We hopped in the machines and went poking around on the north side of Francis Canyon at Navajo Lake. There are some really pretty views of the lake and the valley from over there! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit: https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/I drove down through the wash to find the edge of the water in La Jara at Navajo Lake a few weeks ago – this is that video. I went back last weekend, and the water was much further up the wash than it was in this video. It’s awesome – you can stand there and actually watch the water rise – quickly.Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

The way your website is constructed on the backend will affect your search engine rankings. Concentrate on these areas: URLs, internal links, mobile responsiveness, and site speed. Learn more about why these are important in the video. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/Wanted to see how far back the water had made it into Francis Canyon at Navajo Lake. Haven’t seen it this far up in a long time!Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/Tomorrow is the 4th of July. Have fun, but be safe! I’ll be spending the weekend with my lake family. Enjoy a clip from last year’s parade. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

You’ll need more than great content to get good search rankings – you’ll need to code your site properly. Put some effort into these elements for every page: page titles, headers, meta descriptions, image alt tags, and structured markup. There are many other things to do, but these are the easiest and most effective areas to focus on to make an marked impact on your search engine rankings. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/Dave was my co-pilot on a group ride into the Carson National Forest. We went up to the Colorado border, but my camera ran out of juice. This ride takes you through the Jicarilla Wild Horse Territory – we always see lots of wild horses there. The ride also takes you past Buzzard Park Campground where we stopped and ate lunch. My camera ran out of juice at the horses, so that’s as far as this video goes. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

The first step in creating optimized content for your website is to conduct keyword research to find high-quality, relevant, long-tail keywords with low competition. Every page on your site is another opportunity to rank for a keyword – and you’ll need content to do that. Reach for 500 to 1,000 words per page. People might not read it all, but the search engines will. Additionally, the newest content is the best content – so you’ll need to continue producing high-quality content for your site – the more, the better. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Please excuse the sound quality - we had equipment difficulties.SEO is one of THE most important tools in your marketing toolbox. If you don’t understand it, you need to hire somebody that knows what they’re doing to take care of it for you. Even if you do understand some aspects of it, I still recommend you hire somebody to take care of it – you won’t have the time. You’ll need to handle the content, code, and site architecture portions of your on-site SEO requirements. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

On our group rides, sometimes we cut through the top of Francis Canyon at Navajo Lake. The water is REALLY high, but not quite high enough to make it this far up the canyon. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

It’s crazy that I have to say this . . . again . . . but I continue to run across business owners that don’t place any value in their website or the rest of their digital presence – or lack thereof. No matter how “different” you believe your market to be, your business is ALWAYS better off when you do the things you need to do online. ALWAYS . . . there are no exceptions. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Once your website is launched, the work has just begun. With a DIY website design, all of that work falls on you. You’ll need to make sure your site stays up and running, secure, functioning properly, and updated regularly. Besides all of the background work, you’ll need to consider how your website will scale, what features and functionality you’ll want to add, and conduct regular content additions and changes. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/Had to stop by Abe’s for some gas, then straight out to the Francis Canyon Ruins near Navajo Lake. Wanted to show the “new guy” the lay of the land. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Most DIY websites do not perform well, thus they provide no real increase in your bottom line. The cost to you on a DIY website project is high – in the amount of time it will take you to do it right. So, you’ll spend a TON of time on something that won’t give you anything in return. However, for a one-time fee, you can have a proper website designed for you, and have a MUCH better chance that it will increase your bottom line. Chances are, if you design your own website, you’ll invest all that time to find out that you need to hire somebody to do it right later. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) begins with your website. If you understood SEO best practices, you would immediately understand why any of the DIY web design platforms are a bad idea. In order for your site to come up in search results in a way that benefits you, you’ll need to design a proper website on the right platform, understand SEO best practices, and know how to edit website code. Without those, you have little hope (if any at at) of achieving good search rankings with your website. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

There is a massive underground tube that diverts water from Navajo Lake over to Cutter, where it’s then moved to NAPI for irrigation. There are several spots where the tube comes to the surface. This is the first of those on the way to Cutter. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

For most new customers, your website will represent their first impression of your business. Just like a professional artist will create a better painting for you, a professional web designer will create a better website than you. If your competition uses a professional, and you build your own site, it will be apparent to your website visitors and they will most likely choose your competition. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Unless you run a marketing agency or a web design company, designing your website yourself is the wrong place to put your effort. There are much more productive things you can do for your company than spending lots of time and effort trying to design your own website. This is a time-intensive process – so you’ll waste lots of time for a site that does not deliver results for you. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/One of the regular stops we used to make on our rides was by this natural watering hole. Every time we would drop by, we’d find TONS of tadpoles . . . so we named it the frog pond. This has been dry for many years so we never stop anymore. I wanted to see if it had water in it again . . . REALLY muddy, but we have water again! Didn’t see any tadpoles though. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Businesses who offer complimentary products or services without being competitors can run mutually beneficial promotions to increase business within a warm market. If there is a business near you that offers products or services that compliment your own, chances are the customer base of each business will enjoy both businesses. Both businesses can equally promote the deal to their customer base and beyond – which doubles your promotion budget. AND – people who already love a business that is complimentary to yours are much more likely to do business with you. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Referrals are often the life-blood of small business – so do something to get even more of them. Try giving a deal to the person who sends you referrals – but ALSO give the same deal to the person who was referred. This not only makes it more likely that somebody will refer you – it makes it more likely that somebody who was referred will actually give you a try. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. To see the full video, visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/What do you do on a cold and windy day? Me? I strap on the RZR and go for a ride! Ha Ha! Ran up to the Buzzard Park Campground in the Carson National Forest. I had a pretty good idea where it was, but I did have to check the map now and then. There are always wild horses on this ride – and saw more of them today. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

It might sound obvious, but it’s not. Instead of trying to sell somebody that hasn’t walked through the door yet, just focus on getting them in the door without the expectation of a sale. A person is much more inclined to walk through the doors of your business if they can do so without being expected to buy something. However, once they’re in the door, they are much more likely to buy something while they’re there. It’s much easier to convert sales for people who are physically in your business that it is for people who have to make the decision to buy before walking through your door. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Just because you are an established business does NOT mean everyone knows who you are, where you are, and what you do. Our attention is pulled in every direction. If you don’t tell your prospective customers who you are, where you’re located, and what you do – they won’t know – no matter how long you’ve been in business. Additionally, look at your products and services for features and benefits that you believe are common knowledge. Just because they are common knowledge to you, does not mean your customers know about them – use that to add value to your offerings. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a visual episode. Listen to some music here or visit https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/ to see the full video.It rained good last weekend, so we strapped on the RZRs and headed out to find puddles and play in the mud. We went straight for the airport at Navajo Lake to start there – and we were met by a military helicopter that may have been using us for target practice – it was pretty cool! During the last flyby, they were so low that I felt the prop wash. We found the most mud at the end of the ride on the mesa on the way towards the Francis Canyon Ruins. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Strive to be as different as possible – make your business completely stand out by differentiating yourself from your competition. If you spend all your time just trying to be better than your competition, you still just blend in with the crowd in the eyes of the consumer. Instead of being another business with claims that you’re better, let them see how different you are. You can have the best-looking black jacket in a room full of people wearing black jackets – or you can wear the red one and have EVERYBODY notice you. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Many business owners spend their time marketing in between the sunny days and the rainy days. When times are good, marketing suffers because “you’re doing fine,” but what about the eventuality of the rainy day? When times are bad, marketing is non-existent because “we can’t afford it,” but how do expect to get more sales? Spend your time marketing when times are good, and most importantly, when times are bad. Spending time marketing when times are good will make those times even better and make it easier to whether the bad times. Spending time marketing when times are bad will help you get back to good times. Basically . . . NEVER stop marketing. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

This is a VISUAL episode. Enjoy the music playing during this episode or catch the video on the website at: https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ken-drives/Just a quick RZR ride with a friend to check the Navajo Lake water levels at Skinny Dip Cove. The water is really rising fast! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Some of your best-performing video content will be educational. 65% of people are visual learners – that’s why people turn to YouTube when they want to learn how to do something. Creating educational videos allows you to educate people about your products, your services, and your general industry knowledge. Doing the latter establishes you as a thought leader in your industry – and people will come to you for help and advice. This leads to sales. No matter what type of educational video you choose to do, remember to always go about it with the goal of adding value to people’s lives. Stick to that principle and you’ll do great! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

When you optimize your videos for search, they can serve you for years! Some of my most popular videos are years old and still get many views every day from search traffic. Place your videos on YouTube, and optimize your Title, Description, and Tags. Your title should contain your main keyword relevant to the video content. The description should be as long as possible and be optimized around the same keyword and other relevant keywords. The tags should contain all of the keywords relevant to your video content. Enable embedding, embed the video on your website (like a blog article), and duplicate the settings when you upload it to Facebook. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Business Owners work HARD. That makes it even more important for you to take the time to remind yourself why you work so hard. Find something that gives you balance, improves your mood, and improves your productivity . . . your business will thank you for it! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Using humor in your video content is a hard thing to do, but if you find a way to make it resonate with your viewers, it really pays off. Laughter is a great, positive emotion – and if you can make somebody laugh while staying on point with your branding, your brand is associated with a great, positive emotion. Because it’s hard to do, not too many people do it – so you have a chance to really stand out – and people will remember your brand. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

We have shared lots of advice for creating your own videos – and we’ll continue to do so. But what if you still have difficulty getting them done? We just launched our newest division called “Insert Catchy Title.” This is our video marketing division for our newest service! Go to the website at https://insertcatchytitle.com/ and pick your professional spokesperson, pick the level of service you need, and we do the rest! We’ll come up with the content, shoot your videos, edit them, produce them, distribute them across multiple platforms, and target promotion of your videos to the audience that will benefit your business most! We even have a DIY option for those of you who just need a professional spokesperson and quality editing. Visit the website today and Insert YOUR Catchy Title! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

The RZR videos I put out last year went over well, and we’re upon another season, and the RZR’s coming out of storage! I’ll do more RZR videos again this season, but want to know what my viewers want to see. Do you have an idea for a RZR video? Let me know what it is! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

You have precious few seconds to capture the attention of your viewers so they’ll watch the rest of your video. One fifth of your viewers will click away within the first 10 seconds of your video – so give them a reason to stick around. Within the first 10 seconds, you need to hook your viewers and brand your business. The best “hooks?” Curiosity and emotional. Get an emotional reaction or spike someone’s interest and they’ll stick around a little longer to see what you have to say. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Video content marketing can bring you fantastic results . . . if you do it properly. We are bombarded by sales messages – and we do what we can to ignore them. But a good story is an entirely different thing. When you focus on the story in your videos instead of the sale, the sales will follow. More people will pay attention to your videos – and look forward to future videos. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

We’ve covered some areas of video marketing and talked about the importance of video content for your business. In producing two shows, we’ve become very good at creating, distributing, and promoting regular video content that results in profit. For that reason, we are launching a new service at the end of the month that will allow us to do the same for you. We can create a show from beginning to end for your business. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Because video marketing is so important to business, animated logos to use in your videos and elsewhere are a great addition to your video projects. Our fledgling animated logo design service, launched last year, had some room for improvement – so we revamped the entire service. We now have a DRASTICALLY improved service, and we will draw names to give away the service to two people on Friday, April 19, 2019. Everybody who reaches out and says they want to participate between now and midnight on Thursday, April 18, 2019 will be entered in the drawing. You can review the service here: https://kencollinsmarketing.com/animated-logo-design/ Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

We had this idea before Season 2 of Ken’s Think Tank and scrapped it . . . but it’s being revived . . . maybe?! We’re thinking about doing a segment of the Think Tank called Sing Tank – unless somebody has a better idea for a name. During this segment, my guest and I would sing along on camera to a song chosen by my guest. These segments would be available on YouTube and the website, but not on Facebook. What do you think of the idea? Let me know in the comments – or send me a message. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

A website is supposed to be a marketing machine for you. If yours does no more than show some words and pictures about who you are and where you’re located (an online brochure), then you’re missing out – big time! One of the easiest ways to turn your website into a marketing machine is to add eCommerce capabilities to your site and sell from it. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

We spend so much time on client projects (first priority – ALWAYS) that we often neglect our own website. However, we finally etched out a little time to re-design our own website! It looks better, it acts better, it’s more simple, and it’s easier to use. The new site should launch any time now, so go check out https://kencollinsmarketing.com/ . . . if there’s a shopping cart in the menu, then you’re on the new site. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

I’m headed to Navajo Lake today to trim trees at the Elks Recreation Area in preparation for the lake season, which begins at the end of this month! Super excited about that! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

If you want the best reaction to the videos in the top of your funnel, make sure they feature human faces. That’s right . . . put on that smile and get in front of the camera! Or hire another human face to be in front of the camera. People react better to videos when they get to see other people talking to them. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

What did we just do? Be sure to listen to the end – there’s more! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Be sure to catch the next episode of Ken Drives on Monday to get the news of my big announcement! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Video Marketing is somewhat the same as making a movie . . . in this way: If you don’t have a good message or a good story to tell, all the video production in the world won’t help you. Your first priority should always be about the quality and clarity of your message. Message clarity is always more important than video quality. Focus on your message and get your video out – even if it’s shot on a cell phone and not edited at all. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

Live video is the absolute best content you can share on Facebook – so you should do more of it! But what happens after you’ve completed your live video? Plenty! It’s now a recorded video asset that you can download, clip, edit, redistribute, or just flat out re-post as is. You can use these videos on YouTube, blog posts, or even convert them to audio for podcast episodes! Definitely do live video . . . but don’t end it there . . . use that video to help you with ALL of your content needs. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

I recently started attending yoga classes. What an eye opener! I had no idea how not flexible I was until yoga made me feel the pain. Ha Ha! After only a few classes, I’ve noticed that I’m slightly more flexible. Benefits beyond that will have to wait until I’m not in pain for half the class, but I’ll get there! Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

I use Siri (on my iPhone) to navigate. When I need to know the best way to get somewhere, Siri gives me guidance. If you want that same kind of guidance for your business, reach out to me . . . let me be your Siri! I always have a great time chatting with business owners – you are my people. If you have something you’d like to do . . . or a goal your trying to reach . . . or whatever it is . . . reach out to me. I can give you advice . . . and it only costs you a few minutes of your time. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)

When placing your ads, Facebook always recommends using Automatic Placements. But that may not be the best option for your strategy. The Facebook Audience Network is a network of ad partners outside of Facebook – and it’s usually cheaper than other types of placements – but it won’t usually offer you much in return. If your audience is on Instagram, you’ll get more return out of those placements – but they are more expensive. In automatic placements, Facebook will often shift your placements into the ad network because they can get your more exposure for your budget – but means you get less exposure in the more expensive placements that may actually give you a return. Support the show (https://KenCollinsMarketing.com)