Digital Strategies of a Digital Book Publisher
If a terrific product is built, but nobody knows it exists, will it ever survive? We live in a digital world. In this day and age, virtually everyone (adults and children) are either walking around with a screen or has access to one at home. These digital devices with screens take the form of cell phones, computers, iPods, Zunes, Gameboys, etc. Still Motion Media is a digital publisher and producer of MobiStories virtual books for kids (www.mobistories.com). Geared to pre-reading and early reading children, these stories are available as downloads on virtually every type of screen. While traditional marketing might make sense for a traditional publisher, the company decided to put its money where its product is and rely much more heavily on digital marketing initiatives. According to Rick Toone, a company co-founder, "We leverage the power of video to demonstrate what our 'video' books look like. Our books are digitally repurposed from the original printed book to create a unique reading experience for our digitally native children." Previews of MobiStories are placed on video sites such as You Tube, Viddler, Revver, iTunes and AOL Video for two reasons. No different than a movie theater showing a preview to encourage visitors to return, Still Motion Media places previews throughout the Internet to entice viewers to visit the MobiStories Website and purchase the entire story. Secondly, videos get quicker attention and potentially higher rankings from the search engines. Taking a cue from the music industry has also had a significant impact on the company’s marketing, development and distribution strategy. After some research, Still Motion Media found that MobiStories also made wonderful audio books. With that knowledge, the company turned to Tune Core, a service that places audio only books into Internet sites such as iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster among others. No longer can one advertisement in one place work for everyone. Different demographics of individuals access different places on the Internet at different times. Knowing your customer is the most important aspect of marketing and by using different sites the company ensures that MobiStories are visible to a much wider audience. Recognizing that moms, dads, grandparents and gift givers may not find MobiStories strictly through audio or video sites, social networking sites are now included in the marketing mix. Individuals can learn more about MobiStories on sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, and Delicious. "We want people to find us on their terms," commented Toone, "and not be part of the ‘push’ clutter we all face everyday." Forcing people to see a message has less impact than creating a message that consumers will find on their own. It does take time to create the previews and monitor the traffic from all of the sites. This requires a disciplined commitment to keeping the marketing efforts fresh. However, with so many people turning to different places on the Internet for information and entertainment it only makes sense that marketing be placed throughout the same medium.
About the Author: Robert Budlow, father of two, is president and co-founder of Still Motion Media, publisher of MobiStories, Virtual Books for Kids. Recognizing that there was little content for digital screen-savvy young children, Mr. Budlow started this company with a former Hollywood Art Director. Prior to this Mr. Budlow was founder of a direct marketing and Internet services firm based in New York City. In addition, he is also Board President of the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation.
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