COMMENTS
The idea of "giving content away" is not new to social media. Look at engineering and technology oriented magazines, brochures, and catalogs published since the 19th Century. Tons of free information, some of it clearly marked as "advertising." But still extremely useful -- and appreciated.
I totally agree with all those. This logic has been at work for many years via *properly* written educational white papers. What I have seen very powerful is the inclusion of social media hooks within content (such as embedded retweet buttons in a PDF) to drvie reach of the content.
I've also seen multi-stage sales tools where the first free piece is a business-oriented piece and the call to action is another free piece that digs more into the technical detail. VERY effective.
Good article, thanks!
Ryan
Inside Elder Care Leaders in Elder Care
I actually read Chris Anderson's book on the subject and I agree that Free is going to remain a key business strategy for the foreseeable future.
I don't think this is revolutionary, just good marketing.
Why the noise?
The concept of FREE to marketing is anything but new. It has been used as an inducement since the beginning of marketing.
Think of all the trade inducements that have been used from stuffing toys in kids cereals to enticing customers into a bakery or restaurant by offering passersby a taste.
Add to that all the things offered for free prior to the introduction of the personal computer, ie coupons, etc.
I thought it interesting how Chris Anderson responded when he was on Colbert's show. He looked like a snake oil salesman who was exposed for fraud.
It comes to me as no surprise that he is promoting FREE and yet is charging $29.95 for this book.
Although you may induce people to look closer at what you are offering, this model is as viable as the business models on which web businesses operated before the dot com bubble burst.
Now it's being revealed that some of the companies using this business model are having financial problems. When will people learn?
Are the sheeple following this model referred to as FREEple?
Presumably, all web sites give content away for free to some degree. Otherwise it's just a blank page. Still, it's true that giving away information of value (e-books, pdf, webinar, white paper etc.) can, as you note build mindshare, and when someone is ready to make a move (purchase) you may be more readily considered.
In any case, with so many companies going this route nowadays, it may be a competitive disadvantage to not have some freebies to offer.
If you offer content on your site and try charging for it (even a small amount), this might cause your visitors to leave your site and try to find the information elsewhere (for free). Chances are they will find some sort of information for free from someplace else. It may not be as good as your content but the person would never know that because they never had access to your information in the first place. So I think the best thing to do is to offer free content. It keeps visitors on your site and if the content is good and published often, it will keep these visitors coming back. These visitors might then also participate in your webinars, watch your videos, etc.. One day down the road, you will more than likely run into some of these repeat visitors that have now turned themselves into leads. They will be ready to enter into the sales process and you will be there to welcome them with open arms! :-)
Is this presumption that all websites give some degree of information away for FREE necessarily correct?
I can think of a large number of websites and blogs that require registration (the PRICE of admission) to access the information.
While this may not necessarily cost the website visitor anything "out of pocket," access was still conditional and therefore had a price.
Likewise, if you give something away for free, does it make it any more appreciated? Maybe I am a less than desirable player in this marketplace, but I have downloaded "tons" of ebooks, to glance at them then never give the author another thought. Many of these I download I add to the cue of books I intend to read, but never do.
How many of us may view a marketers videos, listen to his/her webinars, but when presented with the price (and here we are talking of an out-of-pocket-expense) think, "Uh-huh, there is a catch!" then never bother opening another email from that marketer, let along re-visiting their site even when they entice you again with another "FREE" offer.
Likewise, how many of us may use a FREE internet service until charged for it, only to shop elsewhere for another similar service that does not yet charge?
This I call, "Eating the Cookie, and not thinking of the baker."
While much marketing today can be eventually set up on auto-pilot-- once you have things set up--when you consider the time=expense that it has cost you (the marketer) to design your marketing materials, then test and re-test the results, how much can you sustain?
I really have become to believe in this free admission to valuable content idea and enjoyed very much reading this post.
I am in the middle of reading "Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson" and am rethinking what services I charge for.
I'm currently promoting a local 3 Day Social Media Marketing Workshop and currently it's advertised as only $57 for the workshop, materials and recorded videos.
But I think I might find a way to make it free for attendees and work in future consulting and services sales, as part of the profit center in this new business model of Free upfront.
Here's my simple site
SocialMediaMarketing101.com Stay tuned; I may be offering the entire 3 days for free and bank on the bankend consulting sales. :-)
Ed Bisquera
Follow me on
Twitter @edbisquera
I think the most effective way to market is to offer something valuable for free, in exchange for a name and an email address, thus building a list of "subscribers" which whom you can build a relationship and later market to. But, as you said, it always is best to test, test and test again the different possibilities.
I just offered my new book Marketing 2.0 for free as a PDF on a separate HubSpot blog post. I'm testing this in the spirit of offering free content. I'm very optimistic it will help me sell books in the long run (my overall objective) because it will gain more exposure with less friction as you point out.
That said, it is an experiment but one I am very excited about.
Visit the blog post to download it: <http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5006/Bernie-Borges-Cuts-Through-the-Marketing-2-0-Kool-Aid.aspx>
I remember how supermarket employees offer free samples to promote and give people the chance to try how their product really works. Eventually, it's the same analogy online. But I think the only difference is, free content never runs out here. I guess it shouldn't. Free content is the magnet that attracts people. I mean, it's a two way benefit. People consume and marketers gain. Even though it's indirect, it's meeting the needs of both worlds.