Get visible (Internet Video)

Video is being utilised more and more by companies with an online presence, either as a tool to help differentiate, to communicate a concept, to demonstrate a task, to introduce a personable quality or simply advertise. I can’t help but press the ‘play’ button when confronted with a video – we are after all intuitively curious!

Did you know that 52% of people who watch a video take action?

That’s a stunning statistic.  Even if only half true, it’s something businesses can’t ignore if they are depending on their online presence for business.

Differentiation

One of the biggest problems with competitive websites is differentiation. Anyone can have a website and it can be difficult to determine whether you are dealing with a company operating from the back bedroom – or an established business with sound credentials. Most people take an immediate decision on whether a website is worth pursuing based on how it looks and how easy it is to find the information they are looking for.  Good design has much to answer for!  The one thing that many viewers do find appealing  – is a short video.  It needs to be relevant, short and well executed.

Videos can be simple screen cams to demonstrate a software product or service (such as this MailCentric video) or may involve location footage, interviews, and animation. A video puts a face to your business and a personality. It can help make the viewer feel they have already met you and therefore build familiarity and ultimately relationship. After all – isn’t that what all businesses are trying to achieve?

Popularity

You only need to view the YouTube stats to realise the popularity of video over the Internet…

•  YouTube exceeds 2 billion views a day, nearly double the prime-time audience of all 3 major US broadcast networks combined.
• 24 hours of video are uploaded every day
• 70% of traffic comes from outside the US
•  94 of Advertising Age’s 100 top advertisers have run a campaign on YouTube

YouTube is just one video streaming avenue, but perhaps the most well known. Video can be hosted on such a service and embedded onto your website very simply.

Production time

Internet video does not have to be professionally produced. Chances are, you have pretty much all the hardware and software you need between the phone in your pocket and your PC to produce a basic video blogg.

However, to make an engaging and well-crafted video, some consideration is needed.

We can help you tackle Internet video at any level – from video bloggs to corporate presentations. We can help you storyboard and plan out your production, even film it and edit it. We can help you with video streaming sites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), share your creation and embed it on your website…

You may even find yourself picking up an Oscar.

Microsoft SharePoint Server – Branding

Why brand Microsoft SharePoint, we are only looking at an internal facing interface?

Microsoft SharePoint Server has increasingly become the standard collaboration platform for businesses around the globe.

Branding Microsoft SharePoint is an important part of a businesses’ corporate communications and brand strategy, ensuring consistency of look and feel and the projection of brand values – yet it is something that is often overlooked.

Brand is not simply a company’s logo or corporate identity. Brand encompasses how you are seen (visually, verbally, by actions and content), your attitude, your personality and brand promise.

John Lewis is a well-respected business we all know. They have a strong brand. It isn’t just what they look like that matters – it is how they do business. You know that when you shop at John Lewis, you will meet helpful well trained staff. You know you will see a range of products that are chosen for their quality. You know their restaurant will serve high quality food. This is no accident – John Lewis understand and promote their brand values strongly throughout their organisation and via every communication channel they can.

This is where branding SharePoint becomes an important part of a businesses communication strategy. It’s about taking your people with you, presenting consistency of communication, promoting and enforcing brand values, corporate styling, attitude to business etc.

For many companies, brand is their most important asset. Branding SharePoint in-line with your businesses corporate identity becomes a little more important when you realise the power of brand management and the consequences for underestimating its relevance.

Branding SharePoint is a specialised service we undertake working alongside technical partners Deltascheme Ltd. Deltascheme are Microsoft Gold Partners and have been working along side Design Centric for over twenty years.