chat with friends and family members that liver far away. The options that are available,
however, are robust and often free or inexpensively priced, making Skype a resource you
shouldn’t overlook. Guerrilla marketers are always on the lookout for new technologies
that can help them better perform their marketing tasks, and this is certainly one of them.
Skype announced in their year-end review in December 2011 that there are now 200
million average monthly connected Skype users, showing that many people are
substituting Skype for travel. The 300+ billion minutes of live talk people spend on Skype is
slightly less than 50% of the time people spend on Facebook.
Right off the bat, the benefits of Skype are evident:
. Free and low cost worldwide calling and video conferencing options
. Great quality audio
. Easy to use
. Portable - works anywhere you go
. Can call regular telephones in addition to calling computer-to-computer
One of the greatest things about Skype is that Skype-to-Skype calls and video chats are free
anywhere in the world. This means, you can call clients, prospects, vendors and associates
all around the world and not spend a dime. Guerrillas love Skype because they like to save
money wherever they can so that they can put their money into important marketing
weapons that they might not otherwise be able to afford.
The steps to making a Skype-to-Skype call are simple:
1. Go to www.skype.com and download the Skype software (PC and Mac versions are
available).
2. Add contacts such as friends, family members, colleagues, clients, prospects and
suppliers. All you need to add them is their Skype name.
3. Make a free call by choosing a contact from your contact list and clicking the call
button. Determine if you would like to talk to them by voice only or by video and
choose the corresponding option (video is also free when dialing Skype-to-Skype).
If you need to call someone who isn’t on Skype, you can choose a subscription program,
which gives you an allowance of minutes to use every month. Select what countries you
want to call and how many minutes you want to use. You can call landlines and mobile
phones for only 2.3¢/min. Unlimited plans are also available at extremely low rates. For
example, at the moment, you can sign up for the Unlimited World option and pay only
$13.99/month. These are such low rates that any guerrilla marketer would want to look
into this option.
In addition to calling and video conferencing features, Skype offers many other options that
would be useful to a guerrilla like you. For example, SMS Texting is available via Skype. If
you want to text someone abroad, using a cell phone can be costly (often .50¢/ text or
higher), but if you type the text on your computer keyboard through Skype, you can pay as
little as 4.7¢/message.
In addition, Skype’s Online Number feature allows you to be assigned your own Skype
phone number. Clients and prospects can call you from any phone or mobile device, and
you answer using Skype. They never have to know you aren’t using a real landline. Plus,
voicemail is included with every Online Number.
Additional features are available as well, such as: call forwarding, caller ID, conference
calling, instant messaging, screen sharing, file sharing and Skype WiFi.
As a business owner, Skype can help you work smarter and less expensively, no matter the
size of your business. Here is a breakdown of what Skype can do for you depending on the
type of business you have:
Home Offices: Enhance your client relationships by working face-to-face through
video conferencing so that you can talk with associates and colleagues about
projects. It’s a great way to stay connected in a setting where you can often feel
isolated. You’ll save money on your phone bill as well.
. Small Businesses: Grow your business by working closer with clients, colleagues
and suppliers through video chats. It’ll add more flexibility to your business and
allow you to save money by cutting down on travel expenses that would normally be
needed for face-to-face meetings.
. Mid and Large-Size Businesses: Interact in real time with clients and associates,
and increase productivity with integrated collaboration tools. You can create Skype
accounts for colleagues, assign Skype credit to each account and determine what
features you’ll allow them to use within Skype Manager. You’ll also be able to save
time and money by reducing the travel involved with face-to-face meetings by
switching to Skype Group Video calling. You’ll be able to share large files easily and
quickly, use the instant messaging feature, and even share computer desktops using
the screen sharing feature to demonstrate new software to a group or fix computer
issues without having to be in the same office. Plus, by using Skype Connect, you’ll
be able to extend Skype to your existing phone system so you can enjoy calls for as
low as 1¢/min no matter where you’re calling from.
Skype and Social Media
You can now integrate your Skype account with your Facebook account so that you can
video call or voice call any of your Facebook friends direct from Skype. You can even
interact on your Facebook page by updating your status and liking comments and photos
right from within Skype. Skype also allows you to create happy birthday videos to share on
Skype, Facebook, Twitter and email. What a creative way to add a personal touch to your
business relationships.
Since baby boomers are one of the largest groups on social media, this is where you want to
be. This interactive feature offered by Skype is “cool” and “hip,” and since baby boomers
love being part of what is currently hip, this is where they will be.
Creative Marketing With Skype
It’s evident that Skype is a useful resource for business owners, but can Skype be used in a
guerrilla marketing plan? The answer is certainly yes. On the surface, most people may not
see it, but guerrilla marketers are creative, and when you think creatively about marketing
with Skype, the ideas start flowing. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Make free worldwide calls to prospects and clients. When they answer, say “Hi Jack,
this is Mike calling from ABC Marketing in the United States.” It will certainly make
an impact, and they will never have to know how little it is costing you.
. When you schedule calls with clients and prospects, ask them to participate in
video-conferencing through Skype. This will enhance your personal relationship
with them. Instead of just exchanging voice-to-voice conversations, you can interact
with them face-to-face. Play this up by having a lot of visuals that you can show
them.
. If your services or products are something that involve seeing a person to determine
the best route of action, use the video-conferencing feature to do that. For example,
hair salons could easily provide video consultations with prospects via Skype. By
seeing the prospect’s hair, they could make suggestions as to what they could do for
them.
. Create a landing page for a product or service and include a Skype button so people
can call or message you directly with questions.
. Advertise on Skype as soon as it is ready. As this book is rolling out, Skype is
currently working on an advertising plan that will allow business owners like you to
post unimposing ads on Skype. The program is still in beta, but they plan to use
demographics such as location, gender and age to make sure the ads that show up
are relevant to the viewer.
Advertising on Skype will allow you to reach baby boomers since many of them are
now using Skype to talk to their kids and grandchildren. Empty nesters have
children that moved away for college or to start families, and they love being able to
use the video conferencing feature to bring the families closer together again. You
can target your ads to them, which they are sure to take notice of when they are
talking with their family, since they love feeling specially catered to.
Skype isn’t just about free VOIP calls anymore. Check it out for yourself and see what it can
do for you and your business. Think creatively like a guerrilla always does and imagine
how you can speak to your baby boomer market with this tool.
Skype
Next Chapter - Chapter 16: Facebook, LinkedIn and Other Social Media
