Who is On Video Local?

I started my company last August, since going extensive research during the previous two years on how video is going to be the most important medium on the internet. I first noticed how video is going enhance the internet experience when seeing a video for a vacation rental home in Florida which I then booked with the tour operator in the USA.

Since last august we have created many video informercials on-line and off line for local companies and charities in the Doncaster area. We have also done video production for companies in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield. I also do freelance work for a company in Canada who then sell on my work to Yell.com in the UK. ( Yell.com are also using video on their site to promote SME’s in the UK

What Does On Video Local Stand For in Our Community?

I started On Video Local with just one vision? Help the SME promote their business better using a low cost effective media? According to a campaign by the Federation of Small Businesses, 42% of our towns and villages no longer have a shop of any kind. This shocking figure refers to "small towns" and villages in England. Specialised stores, including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and newsagents, have been closing at the rate of 50 per week - more than 2,000 a year - between 1997 and 2002, and have been replaced by out-of-town supermarkets and shopping centres. John Wright, FSB national chairman, Wants To Keep Trade Local. The FSB has produced a campaign manifesto that says small businesses are not just part of the local community, but are the local community, generating wealth, employment and opportunity. It cites evidence that more than 50% of the turnover of independent retailers goes to the local community, compared with just 5% from supermarkets. ( Source The Guardian )

Why Use Video?

Very simple, society is very voyeuristic that's why we have television programmes like Big Brother, I Am A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Hells Kitchen, Grand Designs and Location, Location. If television programmes like the above were not what the public want, they would not be produced they are programmes which allow us, the public to view into other people lives, homes and aspirations and businesses and as a nation we love it. Additionally the largest channel for voyeuristic viewing is YouTube, as a national we love YouTube to. That's why per capitor head the UK watch more On-Line Video than the USA.

Every second that passes 15 hours of video has been watched on YouTube. Then their is facebook, in two years over 50 million people are now on facebook. That is nearly the population of the UK.

Why Get Involved with On Video Local?

Hopefully you may have scanned through main points from the guardian. I find that article quiet concerning? If I was not a responsible citizen of our community I would just shrug my shoulders and say what the heck and apply for a job in ASDA. However I am very passionate about local business, run by local business people.

What's the Benefit Yo You?

The reason is simple when a person finds one business with in On Video Local website site they will generally look round the website and discover an additional 5-6 business. By adding information about your company and supporting On Video Local, your company is also helping like minded business people in our community.

Did You Know?

Among 18-24 year old broadband users, the UK is second only to China in its enthusiasm for online video. 77% of UK 18-24 year old broadband users watch music videos online (87% in China) and 60% watch TV programmes via their broadband connections (82% in China). Source ofcom

Is Your Business Prepared For The New Emerging Buying Generation

The report from Ofcom is three years old, the same 18 to 24 year olds are now buyers and are used to watching On-Line Video and the same people interact in social media and watch Youtube. When will the same people want to watch a video about your business?

Confidence in e-commerce is high, and the UK will account for at least 40% of online sales in Western Europe. The number of buyers and the average annual spend per buyer are both growing, helping the country to maintain its e-commerce lead over other European nations. ( Source emarketer )

Ok so you have some time left before things really take off?

Well......active on the Internet, one in four people online was 50 or older, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Hitwise calculated that British Internet users over 55, the so-called silver surfers, are set to overtake 35- to 44-year-olds as the age group with the largest representation online. This group accounted for 22% of UK visits to Web sites in the four weeks preceding May 12, 2007, according to Hitwise. This proportion is up 54% since 2005 and 40% since 2006. In the period, 23.5% of visits to Web sites were made by 35- to 44-year-olds. A select group of websites and applications - 10 in all - have averaged at least 500 million UK minutes per month over the last year, and together they account for 30% of all UK online-related time*, according to (pdf) Nielsen Online. Dominated by social sites ( Source e Marketer )

What Does The Word Video Mean?

Latin Definition - To See, To Observe, To Understand and To Comprehend.....

To See:

Allows the customer to view you and your business before making an enquiry?

To Observe:

Allows the customer get a really good feel of your business before they visit your premises it shows that you are friendly and you want people to buy from you?

To Understand:

Allows the customer to understand what to expect when they visit your business?

To Comprehend:

This give the customer quick and easy knowledge transfer what you stand for, what your offering is and what your company is all about. Ultimately what is better about your company than your competition! Your Unique Selling Pionts ( USP's )

My Work and Testimonials?

See the assessment of my work view Henderson Garage Doors in Doncaster or our most recent project the Mayflower Sanctuary and see how good my work is. Also call you can call Miriam at Henderson Garage Doors Doncaster, 01302 556 599 Miriam has said to me on several occasions that “This is the best advertising she has done”

Proposal

We have also partnered with a company in Seattle USA who have given us reseller rights to their self serve video product.

What is a self serve video product?

What this means is that we will teach you how to create online videos of your existing photos of your products and business taken from your existing camera that takes still images.

From here you can add Text, Music, hyperlinks and data capture as the video is playing. The Data Capture is very important. The reason why interactive video is important is that it allows the customer to email you, while watching the video.

The video editing solution allows you add additional information after the video has been uploaded to allow product offering changes. For example: If you have a special offer that you want to promote you can add that special offer with a text overlay. It sounds complex but if you can type an email its really as easy as that.

You can also brand the player with your company logo!

Click here to Take a look at the info button on the top left and to view the examples I just mentioned See how I have branded the video player with my company logo? Look a bit further down and you will see contact sponsor, Donate, Copy Link and Embed in the video also. And click on them to see what happens? If you are feeling generous make a donation to The Mayflower Sanctuary while you are their they will appreciate it?

Copy Link and Embed are important this allows a viewer to send a link to a friend and allows the video to be used in additional sites? Why is that good? Well if someone ( Person ) or something ( Computer ) copies the code they can then place your video in there site giving you FREE marketing. This is called viral marketing and best of all computers and people are doing it for you for FREE.

Bespoke Video Filming and Editing

If you prefer we will create a bespoke video of your company. Its simple to do, we will ask you nine questions about your business, we then take video footage of your business premises and products, we then make that into a video infomercial. ( infomercial is a mixture of commercial and information ) Before we leave we show you what has been filmed and you can choose what you video footage you would like us to use then we go away and edit it. We then place your video in www.onvideolocal.co.uk FREE for the first year and then contact your website designer to place the video on your website. Then we distribute your video in YouTube,myspace, and Google and loads more sites to really make sure your video is found and viewed. You can really dominate search results with video. Click The Link and see how DC Interiors now dominate Google for Kitchen Showroom Doncaster. Best of all the video cost less than a one off advert in a weekly newspaper, or monthly magazine. Our USP is that a video is 24/7 media 365 days a year making it very cost effective.

Before I set off typing another page, it is much better to make an appointment and lets talk through some ideas. Its none committal and the end of the day its purely a business discussion not a sales pitch. As a local business man in Doncaster I am always interested if someone says “ I have a better way that can make your business better” As a Local Doncaster Business Man I am interested in what the person has to say, I just might learn something? Why? Because it just might be the answer to that searching question I consistently ask myself? “What will attract morecustomers to my business” 

Lastly?

Take 5 minutes out a look at the video below.  This will give you a good idea how the world is changing and how we all need to change our current thought process in business. What strikes me with this video reading between the lines? Who is your competition now, well you probably know that?

But who will be your competition in the future?

The answer? They probably don't exist yet?

The video really does make you think? It only takes a small change to make a big difference. Grab a tea or a coffee and take five minutes out, I PROMISE it not a video about On Video Local and how great we are and how we have found the golden challis to wealth and prosperity! But actually............................................ Just kidding! Sony BMG last used the video for a conference in Rome in 2008, There must be something in it for a Big Global Company like them to use to get a message across?

And hot off the press! http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007064 How companies are Moving to Digital Media.

Millington Music Sheffield Tele: 0114 280 040

Millington Music Sheffield owned by John Millington, has recently used our video marketing services to increase his viewer experience on his new website which will be available soon.

John Millington used BT to create his new website and wanted to embed a video of his new store so that his customers could gain a better understanding of his business and engage with them better my using new Media.

John Millington is over the moon with the production and is now recommending On Video Local to all of his colleges in the Music Industry.

We asked John why he was going to do this so quickly even though we had only recently submitted his video to the search engines?

John replied " Its because firstly, On Video Local worked very quickly and professionally to create what we wanted. On Video Local listened to our requirements and delivered the result we were looking for" " Also within hours of the video going live our video was already being found in search engines, something to do with VSEO? Which we don't really understand but on video local does and thats what we paid them for and thats exactly what they delivered. Results!

Local Search is on the Up!

I am pleased to announce that to day a report was made available which stated what I had said in an earlier blogg. With the advancement in mobile technology ( Smart Phones and Mobile Broadband)  local search for local business has never been so important. 

At a meeting at the Danum Hotel in Doncaster when presenting our new interactive video solution I mentioned to a group of people that it wouldn't be long before you spoke into a mobile phone and said "Indian Restaurant" and all the Indian Restaurants in your area would appear on your mobile phone. Well its here! On The iPhone!

So what are my two predictions for 2009? 

1. Local business has to find new ways to attract local customers. Video will be the route to this like it is in the USA and for Doncaster local businesses who have moved into this arena

2. Local retailers will have to adapt quickly if they want to stop the onslaught of Value Stores, Supermarkets offer super value offers and yet another increase an additional increase on internet sales in 2009.  

Internet Sales Increase by 14.2% in 2008

In the UK the retail suffered due to the lack of consumers hitting the high street, while internet retailers saw growth of 14.2% in 2008 according to paypal who reported to SMEweb showed research that consumers bought on line for convenience and thought that the biggest bargins were to be found on the internet?

Also a report by the BBC also shows that the out of town food retailers shown an increase in sales of up to 41% in the run up to Christmas. 

So what does the UK independent retailer need to do to try and gain back the customers from a few years ago? 

1. Make themselves more accessible using up to date technology.

2. Offer incentives to get the consumer away from the PC to the High Street

3. Start opening at different hours like Richer Sounds The UK's Independent HI-Fi Retailer

so to catch the consumer on the way home from work

4. Data Capture for future promotions and incentives to email the customer

5. Connect with the customer directly using video

6. Find out the latest news using Google reader

7. Offer in-store incentives only

8. Offer to pay for the customers parking fee

9. Make your shop windows eye catching to attract the people on the high street into the shop

10. WOW the customer so they tell their friends.

Even In A Downturn Online Video Adertising is Set To Rise

Online video advertising is set to increase despite the down turn. According to the emarketer   online video marketing will account for 4.6 Billion by 2013 plumiting traditional media in crisis  For the SME it has never been a better time to start and switch those advertising £1's into something that actually attracts customers. 

With most retail having a bad time with the exception of large food chain stores, its time that the independent retailer started to move away from passive interruptive marketing into marketing that drives response.

The only way to increase your awareness and  get customers to trade with you is to get them in your store or engage them in your business. Business need start to capture personal information and find a low cost marketing solution to drive customers to your business

 

local business stand to gain good growth over their biggest competitor

I attended a business meeting by the Business Crime Reduction Centre based in Sheffield at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster. At first I was very reticent about attending this meeting. First I do not have an e-commerce site and secondly I wondered what I would learn from it.

However it just goes to show that you can always glean something from a meeting even if it does not have any direct bearing of what I do in my business. This is what I leaned from the meeting

1. 82% of business in the UK use a computer
2. 76% of business have Internet access
3. 66% of business own a website.
4. 55% of business now trade on-line

Out of the 66% of business that own a website they do so to increase their customer relationships and in doing so, the businesses that own a website have a 55% advantage of gaining more business than there competitor.

When I was doing my research when I started On Video Local a report by the Kelsey Group they stated that Of those who said they saw a local online video ad, 47.3 percent said they subsequently visited the advertiser's Web site, 19.1 percent asked for more information about the advertiser's product or services, 18.2 percent visited the advertiser's store to see the product and 16.9 percent made a purchase, according to Kelsey.

So taking the figures from Business Crime Reduction Centre Yorkshire and multiplying the data from the Kelsey Group of the 55% businesses that have a website if a company uses a video in to promote their company in a business directory, youtube, myspace and there own website they stand to gain additional awareness, additional customers and additional inquiries:

1. 47.3 percent said they subsequently visited the advertiser's Web site means an additional increase of 25% more visits to there website
2. 19.1 percent asked for more information about the advertiser's product or services means an additional increase of 10% more enquiries for additional information
3. 18.2 percent visited the advertiser's store to see the product an additional increase of 10% more footfall to the business owners premises
4. 16.9 percent made a purchase, according to Kelsey an additional increase of 9% more sales

Now we are in an age were the Internet is increasingly going mobile, local business stand to gain good growth over their biggest competitor. The recently released figures for mobile Internet searches from the Kelsey Group are as follows:

17.6 percent downloaded or looked at maps or directions, up from 10.8 percent in 2007-- 15.6 percent searched for products or services in their local area, up from 9.8 percent last year-- 14.3 percent searched for products or services outside their local area, up from 6.4 percent last year-- 13.7 percent got information about movies or other entertainment, up from 8.2 percent last year-- 9.6 percent connected with a social networking site, up from 3.4 percent in 2007 according to the Washington Post

Using the power of the Internet which has now gone mobile and multiply that with video marketing I think that the SME has all the tools to stand up and be counted and attract more customers in this difficult time.