Print 4A Purpose

Great PowerPoint Presentations: The Secret

I read a short and sweet post on the SAMBA Blog the other day about The Secret to Great Presentations. Their answer for a great presentation? To figure out the one change you want people to make as a result of your presentation and sell the audience on the one thing.

Do you agree?

If you have any mileage on your body whatsoever (over age 30), you have endured many PowerPoint presentations. Some good, but most very bad. Most of the presenters probably just turned and read the slides to you. This is after you, of course, had already read them. When they are on bullet point #1, you have already read down to bullet point #10. Most of us sit through these presentations because we have to, we can't sneak out, or we are hoping to glean a nugget of useful information and will suffer to end waiting for it.

Now that I am on the "presenter" side of the podium and projector, I took a vow NOT to be the guy that bored the audience stiff by just reading, word-for-word, each slide. Then 'click' to the next slide and repeat. I also swore not to use all the "nifty" PowerPoint gadgets to Zoom/Flip/Turn/Wipe words on to the slide.

So that's why I agree with SAMBA's thoughts are what makes a good presentation and presenter.

In his book, The Exceptional Presenter, Tim Koegel talks about the five components of any presentation. The very first component it to begin with a purpose. Obviously, that makes great sense and there are a million books out there that tell you to do the same thing. What Koegel does, is give you a very practical, relaxed approach to accomplish this as you begin your presentation. He suggests completing the following sentence:

"If you remember just one thing as you leave here today, remember this…"

Seems so simple. But I have used it a number of times and everyone knows what they are about to learn, what they need to listen for, and what to remember when we finish. By completing the sentence, you, as the presenter, identify the most relevant and mission critical information of the presentation. Then, as you build your presentation, you should never lose sight of that one thing. It's your purpose.

Delivering the purpose statement at the beginning of the presentation will keep the audience focused on your key points. If you tell people what they are about to hear, they are more likely to actually hear it. The more defined the purpose, the easier it is to frame your message around it and stick with it. Just define those 1, 2, or 3 key points in more details and you'll have a fantastic and memorable presentation.

What the heck is a Personalized URL (pURL)?

Have you ever received a direct mail piece that caught your attention because it was personalized? More than just a "Hey Bob" or "Dear Alice". I mean multiple areas with not only your name inserted into the piece, but relevant pictures and content that, coincidentally, are your hobbies or favorite product type.

This was the result of Variable Data Printing (VDP). Because of the digital capabilities of some printers, clever marketers can customize and personalize direct mail pieces to increase responses and therefore, ROI. With that VDP ability, one can combine that with custom web design for unique personalized landing pages, PURLs.

I am sure you've seen: www.vipspecial.com/JohnSample. It grabs your attention and even if the offer isn't one of your hot buttons, may recipients check out the website anyway. Marketer's mission accomplished.

The challenge with traditional campaigns using a website or HOMEPAGE has been the inability to figure out exactly which recipient visited the website but never completed the requested information. That is important info and it's now lost since the potential customer remains anonymous.

But now there is a way to capture who, what and when a visitor responds to your offer, even if they just look and leave.

The unique URL (personalized URL) overcomes this challenge. John Sample clicks on the website, looks around and decides to leave…that's ok. Your marketing dollars are still well spent. You know that John Sample was a warm lead anyway and with a little patience, you can make it happen next time.

Click here for a 3 minute video: Introduction to PURLs

 

More on Unique URLs vs. Your Homepage

Something I left out yesterday mentioned in this featured article was ROI. If you really need specific measurements on a particular campaign, the microsite is the way to go. Your will also see these called pURLs (personalized URLs). With the specialized site you can measure a precise ROI as opposed to sending to the homepage for "blind" responses.

Check out the article Unique URLs vs. Homepage URLs : The Best Method for Lead-Gen?

Reasons you might want to consider a Microsite

Your website probably has tons of info packed into multiple pages. The more pages, pictures and gadgets…you thought the better deal I'm getting. When you built or had your website built, you probably modeled it after one of your favorites or maybe even your competitors. Most of the time all that info is a good thing. But sometimes it's easy for something new and important to get lost.

So the next time you need to highlight a new product, service or special promotion, consider developing a special "landing page" or microsite.

A microsite is a separate landing page or minisite meant to function as a supplement to your main website. It will typically have its own unique URL, look and function, and focuses only on content regarding the new product, service or special promotion. To decide whether or not you need a microsite, consider your goals and objectives. If you are looking to do any of the following, it might be right for you.

New Product, Service, or Promotion – If you're unveiling a brand new offering, a specialized site can increase response rates. Because the microsite doesn't necessarily have to look like the parent site, you can switch up the design and use things like videos – that you wouldn't use on your company website, allowing you to mold the microsite to fit your objectives. Plus, the microsite can link to your primary site if visitors want more info about you.

Target a Special Audience – Sometimes it just makes sense to customize your message for a targeted group. For example, I did a workshop series targeting Nonprofits. For that promotion, I had a site built just to direct interested nonprofits to that page only. It gave them all the info they needed without excess fluff. They could learn more and register for the workshop or pass. But also on the page, I had links for my main website just so they will think of me the next time. For my next special promotion to a targeted audience, I can tweak the landing page and do it all over again.

Reach Mobile Phone Users – This has become more and more of a problem. As smart phone usage grows, you realize how many websites are not cell phone friendly. If the site is too difficult to navigate on a cell phone, users aren't likely to come back. So, again, looking at the above, New Promotion + Target Audience (i.e. Cell phone users), you may want to create a microsite engineered for easy viewing and navigation with a cell phone.

In fact, I am certain you are already visiting more microsites (landing pages) than you may be aware. Notice the special promotions next time. For example, North Carolina Aquariums has a special promotion called Show Us Your Fish Face . Check it out. It doesn't take you to the main NC Aquarium but, indirectly, that's the objective. And then get you into the aquariums. And that's just local. Be aware and you'll see what I mean. They really are everywhere.

With that in mind, how can you use the concept to grow your business or organization for 2009?