5 Reasons Why Online Video Is Key For Small Businesses

Part of Google’s algorithm for search rankings considers the amount of time visitors stay on your website. Google also owns YouTube, put the two together and you can see why online video is seeing explosive growth. Explainer videos have exploded in popularity over the past year due to their affordability and proven effectiveness in growing a business. You can have your own advertising channel on YouTube. This makes explainer videos an excellent marketing tool. Increasing your conversion rates, clarifying your product, and boosting your sales are just 3 of the many reasons your business should have an explainer video.

                                                                               

1. Increase Conversion Rates

According to a recent survey conducted by Video Rascal, 85 percent of people are more likely to buy a product once they see an accompanying explainer video. After all we are all programmed to watch TV, whether it be a commercial or a documentary. Explainer videos give you the chance to engage with your audience and show your personality. At the same time you can monitor the number of views and length of time spent on the video providing vital information about what most interests your customers and prospects.

2. Product Clarity

People gain a better understanding of a product or service once they see and hear someone explain it. You still need good copy but it beats text only as it’s less open to interpretation. Videos take the guess work out of explaining the usefulness and basic function of a product or service. An explainer video helps you to connect better with your potential customer by explaining what your business can do for them and why they should choose you over other competing businesses.

3. Generate Increased Interest

More and more businesses are choosing to use social signals to spread the word about their businesses. They do this by using media such as images and videos to generate interest in their product. According to a study published in The C100, over 70 percent of Internet users watch videos online, and over 50 percent of the population will watch videos this year!

4. Rank Better in Google Search

You have less than 30 seconds to grab someone’s attention when they visit your site. Statistically speaking, neglected websites don’t do well. Sites that contain endless pages of boring text and images rank low in Google search, which means poor exposure. You don’t want to scare away customers that are eager to buy. An explainer video will help to grab their attention. Research shows that websites with videos rank higher in Google universal searches.

5. Increase Web Traffic

Higher rankings means more traffic which, if monetised correctly means more profit. It is important to optimise the video for the keywords you wish to compete for.  Going “viral” is a term that has become synonymous with YouTube. A viral video is one that seemingly pops-up out of nowhere and achieves high popularity and large viewing numbers in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, there is no set formula for “going viral”, but quite a few products have gained popularity through viral videos, including some of the brands we know and love today.

Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham Remarkable 5 Star Review by Mark S.

http://adodo.co.uk 441159701471 Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham reviews New Review In a highly competitive market where customers are largely treated as numbers, Tim has carved a niche in making the experience highly personalised and fresh for his clients. This is ideal for a Channel/Distribution company as the strength of the relationship our partners have with their customers is instrumental in building our brand. Tim was one of a core group of key partners instrumental in helping to build the V brand. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tim to end users for system solutions or to vendors hoping to build strong cross sale opportunities and healthy brand recognition. Adodo Consultancy Services Limited 26 Cropwell Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG12 2FS

Reputation Marketing - UKHangout Community - 0800 849 3080

The good, the bad and the ugly: there for all to see. But visibility is a double-edged sword. Customer reviews of your business are visible too.What if some of these reviews are negative? What if they’re scathing? Well, the bad news is they can haunt your business for years and have a crushing impact on your bottom line. On the flip side, good reviews can fuel positive word of mouth and generate referral traffic like you’ve never seen!

Brand Optimization - UKHangout Community - 0800 849 3080

A common misunderstanding that small businesses have is that Facebook and other networks are just for kids, and thus their target market isn’t represented demographically on the site. But the stats tell another story—the opposite story, in fact. Call us Now to see how you can get more customers by using Social Media 0800 849 3080

UKHangout Community One Week Sale

In support of the UKHC 5 Star Awards beginning Black Friday, November 28th until Saturday 6th December, Small Business Saturday we are holding a fabulous sale. Go here now http://www.ukhangoutcommunity.co.uk/ukhc-5-star-awards-offer-bundles/

UKHC 5 Star Awards 3 Taking Action

Adodo Community Initiative launches the UKHangout Community 5 Star Awards. Get Nominated Now here https://askadodo.leadpages.net/ukhc-five-star-awards-1/

UKHC Star Awards Nominate Now

Adodo Consultancy Services through it's Community Initiative is proud to present the UKHangout Five Star Awards. Get Nominated Now - here's the link https://askadodo.leadpages.net/ukhc-five-star-awards-1/

Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham Incredible Five Star Review by Marie R.

http://adodo.co.uk 441159701471 Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham reviews 5 Star Rating Adodo were introduced to us through Nottingham City Council as a 'pilot' scheme. We didn't know what to expect but we have been delighted with their contribution to our organisation. Adodo Consultancy Services Limited 26 Cropwell Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG12 2FS

Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham Superb Five Star Review by Marie R.

http://adodo.co.uk 441159701471 Adodo Consultancy Services Limited Nottingham reviews 5 Star Rating Adodo were introduced to us through Nottingham City Council as a 'pilot' scheme. We didn't know what to expect but we have been delighted with their contribution to our organisation. Adodo Consultancy Services Limited 26 Cropwell Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG12 2FS

More Reviews = More Money

According to Harvard study a 1% increase in Yelp  ratings leads to a 5% to 9% increase in revenues.

Why would this be, well look at the facts;
               62% of people read online reviews
               70% of customers trust a business with a minimum of 6-10 5star reviews
               (In fact the above figure is almost as high as personal recommendations.)
In short, you must stay on top of all your reviews.

Reputation: More than Just Consumer Reviews  
Consumer reviews have been proven powerful in shaping how buyers decide on which product or service to purchase. And with 97% of all consumers searching for local businesses online (BIA/Kelsey and ConStat), it’s only a matter of time before they find what they are looking for on Google. And chances are, if you appear in the search results, they’re going to see reviews about you too. That’s why it’s crucial that you have positive reviews outranking and “pushing down” negative ones.  If you have no online reviews you are probably damaging your online reputation.
And it's no longer good enough just to simply have testimonials somewhere on your website. Customers are on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networks seeing your competition and looking for 'social proof'.

To sum it all up you need to MONITOR - MANAGE - MARKET until you get that online 5 star Reputation.

Remember your Search reviews are Your Revenue!

 

Catena Network Nottingham Exceptional 5 Star Review by Jackie C.

07595 281315 Catena Network Nottingham reviews New Rating We've been in business a long time and yet I was never tempted to join a networking organisation, until I met Claire earlier this year and attended a Catena event. Catena events are never run of the mill. They always have a certain style and are both enjoyable and beneficial. The most recent event, afternoon tea at Perkins, was a lovely way of getting to know the person behind the business card and, like all Catena events, something a little different. Catena's USP is Claire - she is engaging, professional and with a background in Professional Services Marketing, she certainly knows her stuff! Already looking forward to the next event. Catena Network Arnold Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG5 6SY

Royal Navy Select SpliceCom

More evidence as to the reasons why Adodo are proud to be a SpliceCom Community member.

The Royal Navy has started the rollout of next generation command & control systems, based on SpliceCom’s Maximiser OS based IP PBX, to train its submariners. Working closely with SpliceCom Community Partner iCS Communications and prime contractor British Aerospace Systems (BAe), Britain’s leading developer of telephone systems has delivered specially modified versions of its S8000 Soft PBX and PCS 582G touch screen IP Phones to meet the Royal Navy’s exacting requirements.

The process started when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a tender for equipment to replace the Royal Navy’s existing Sub-Surface Training System (Trainers), which was viewed as obsolete. In particular, on-going maintenance of the purpose built PC based VoIP solution utilising touchscreens was becoming an ever-increasing issue that was having a significant impact on training for submariners.

Although an existing Command & Control system from Speakerbus was under consideration, discussions between BAe and iCS identified SpliceCom’s Maximiser OS based Soft PBX with PCS 582G touch screen IP phones as the basis of a far more flexible solution. “The feature-rich SpliceCom feature set allowed the basic concept of the proposed new training system to be tested using standard “off-the-shelf” products,” explained iCS Communications’ founder and MD, John Gillborn. “iCS then acted as the intermediary between BAe and SpliceCom to agree, define and timeline the developments required to enhance the IP PBX and IP phones to meet the MoD requirements. SpliceCom’s flexibility as a company and our close relationship with them as a business partner, were key to making this happen,” continued Gillborn.

Developments centred around the adaptation of the PCS 582G IP Phones to work as “headless” comms clients with specific specialist headsets, the addition of Push-To-Talk (PTT) functionality and interconnects for multiple (Binaural) audio inputs to be used simultaneously.

The initial rollout was for three training sites, each one consisting of SpliceCom’s Soft PBX with 30 modified PCS 582G touchscreen extensions, plus spares. Each site was allocated 3 weeks to strip out the old system, install the new and successfully complete Site Acceptance Training (SAT). Following the successful completion of these tasks, within the allocated time, the systems were handed over to the MoD to commence training.

“The Royal Navy’s training suites are used for “real world” simulation,” said Gillborn. “The communication system is a fundamental part of this, providing the senior ranks with an open channel that the whole bridge listens to. This bespoke multi-party command & control system fuses off-the-shelf British technology with SpliceCom’s in-house development skills to deliver a solution that is simply not available at this level of functionally or price.”

“By using the SpliceCom system to fulfil this role, we have achieved this in a way that is easy to deploy, simple to use, quick to diagnose and maintain, without the need to completely close the Trainers as was the case with the older systems. Fast start times and easy “on the fly” configuration makes this system a pleasure to work with,” said Steve Johns, Area Support Manager for British Aerospace Systems.

“There are already plans for the deployment of a 4th site, but now the initial systems are in place and being used by the Royal Navy there is a lot of interest from other training facilities and maintenance teams within BAe and the MoD.  We recognise that this will be a slow process, but there is a lot of promise for this product over the next 2 to 3 years. The bottom line here is, if there’s a system requirement that’s a little out of the ordinary, and there’s a real business need with a realistic budget in place, you’re far more likely to achieve it with a SpliceCom system,” concludes Gillborn.

10 Critical Errors to Avoid with Your Strategic Plan.

The beginning of the year is a great time for re-thinking your organisation's strategy. Come February most plans have already failed.

Successful strategic planning requires the avoidance of critical common mistakes that we all make over and over again.

Here are 10 pitfalls you must avoid in order to successfully execute your strategic plan.

1. Commitment from Everyone

It’s in everyone’s best interest to have a strategy but it is crucial to get buy-in from right through the organisation. Without a shared vision and commitment, even the best strategy is unlikely to succeed.

2. Not Getting the Right People Involved

Anyone who is crucial to setting forth the company's vision as well as those responsible for carrying it out should be involved. This ensures team commitment and helps resolve stumbling blocks early.

3. Failing to Focus on the Big Picture

What is your vision? Strategic planning is intended to focus on high-level thinking. Is the vision clearly defined? Make sure to give priority to those major issues critical to the organisation's success.

4. Assessing your Starting Point

Where are you now? It's easy to see yourselves as you want to be seen, our how you hope thinks will turn out in the future but you must get real. It is absolutely crucial to make an honest assessment of internal and external issues as they exist today. This may even involve bringing in one or more third parties. But without an accurate assessment of where you are, your strategic plan will be flawed. It’s just like planning a road trip.

5. Failure to Account for Continual Change

Both inside and outside of an organisation things are always changing, requiring you to constantly make assessments of how it affects you. Management teams must be fully aware of these forces and assess how they affect the market, your organisation, your customers, and your future.

6. Unwillingness to Change

Change is inevitable. Successful leaders must be nimble and ready to adjust with change, rather than fight against it--or even worse, ignore it. A good plan today may no longer apply tomorrow.

7. Failure to Set SMART Goals

A good strategic plan sets forth a vision, but also provides a working framework within it. Make sure that goals and milestones are set, and develop a timeframe for achieving them.

8. Failure to Put the Plan into Action

If you don't put your plan into action, then you are just wasting time. As Zig Ziglar said, "You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win." Take action every minute on the things that matter.

9. Lack of Accountability

Putting the plan into action is only the beginning. If it isn’t measured it generally doesn’t get done. It's pretty simple. If no one is held accountable, nothing gets done. To make sure things get done, assign areas of accountability to specific people. Share the plan openly with the entire team, so all members are openly held accountable.

10. Failure to Monitor and Follow Through

Set regular intervals for formal review of the strategic plan and action items. Most strategic planning experts suggest this be done at least on a quarterly basis.

Start Now

If you don't have a strategic plan, or if you have one that isn't working for you, now is the time to get on track. And one last thought, does it include a Communication Strategy?