Sunday 27 February 2011

First Impressions Count – the Importance of Online Video for Your Business



We all know first impressions count and that we begin to make a judgement within 5 seconds of seeing somebody or something. Our later thoughts often go down the road of confirming what we had initially thought.

And that’s the key reason why a short,impressive and powerful video can make the difference between a customer identifying your opportunity (and hopefully purchasing) and walking on by. That’s also the reason that upstairs restaurants or shops that aren't on the ground level of a mall have much more difficulty of attracting the footfall of a prime location.

And that’s what a short Low Cost Business Video can do – in the crowded world that is internet search YOU NEED TO BE ON THE FIRST PAGE – there are myriad web pages remaining untouched and unobserved with the virtual tumbleweed blowing through their cherished pages by their owners because they didn’t know it wasn’t just enough to have a website.

At Low Cost Business Videos we can get you started with prices starting at just £99.

Saturday 26 February 2011

Latest Customer of Low Cost Business Videos

Very proud to present the video of our latest customer at Low Cost Business Videos. It is the world famous Thai Spa and Massage Centre in the heart of London's Soho. If you love Thai massage then check it out next time you're in town. Meanwhile sit back and enjoy our latest video. And if you've got a business yourself get in touch and get online soon.

Localism and the Power of Online Video to Increase Your Sales



In previous blogs I’ve written about the importance of videos to search engines to get a high ranking for your online website and 'bricks and mortar' business.

But what if you don’t have a website – how can a video help to get the right sort of customers (ones who spend money through your door and onto your bottom line). 


The customers that everybody is after.

That’s where the power of local search comes into its own and the online Low Cost Business video can be a vital tool for increasing your profitability.

When a customer uses the search engine - often it will be as a local directory – to get the number of a restaurant, or to see where they can get their watch fixed, that kind of thing.

It is very difficult or nigh on impossible for the small business owner to get their shop, product or service to feature highly on the page rank of Google or other search engines without paying handsomely and by working persistently over a long period of time (Search Engine Optimisation – SEO) or by paying Google for Pay-Per-Click 'PPC' ).

So if I was to search for sofas for sale the big retailers such as Sofa World would dominate the search. But if however I was to qualify the search by including a location then it would narrow down the results dramatically so Sofa Shop Camberwell or Leather Sofas East Dulwich who have a good chance of appearing on the first page and the customer selecting the item to evaluate further. Now without a flashy website it may just be a simple online directory listing and the user has no way of identifying WHY they should bother going to your shop.

However with a well designed, short and informative video – on the first page of the Google search results - you will have a high chance potential customers will click through and then you have the opportunity to showcase your business, your staff , your products and the key reasons why the customer should CHOOSE YOU over the competition. 


The high price of such video productions in the past would have meant you felt you couldn't afford having such a presence but now with prices starting from just £99 they can click through, watch your video and you will have got into the key place that all marketing tries so hard to reach – the customer’s mindset. This is ever so important for businesses that have a 'user anxiety threshold' to overcome before enter your shop.

These can include beauty salons, spas and hairdressers - businesses that have an personal service offering.

My very first product offering was for Singhara Health and Beauty and within hours of the video going live the owner happily reported an immediate and now sustained footfall into her business.


There's never been a better time to seize the opportunity to get your business noticed with an online video at such an attractive price. 






Monday 21 February 2011

Using music for your Business videos



The use of background music on your Low Cost Business Video can provide a powerful undercurrent to the key selling messages contained within however you should take care that it doesn’t dominate the narrative and so obscuring the key business messages you want to make.

For this reason I strongly recommend using low-key instrumental music rather than a high powered anthem. Simply the Best by Tina Turner will just served to highlight you’re not and possibly remind viewers of David Brent !

Copyright and You Tube

The issue of copyright is a thorny issue and where possible I would recommend the use of non-copyright music to prevent any potential issues once your video goes live. Low Cost Business Videos have a number of tracks which we can use which should prove powerful accompaniments and underpin your business messages. 

If however you think must use particular music to which you don’t own the copyright then we can still go ahead and use it. Once the video has been uploaded You Tube will identify the ownership and in this instance will flag up that the owner has asserted copyright. Often no action is necessary and as result You Tube will include the music track for download from the ITunes store and/or include relevant ads next to the video so revenue can be generated for Google (You Tube’s owner) and the copyright holder.

In this instance your video can continue to be played without any further action. In some cases the copyright holder might not permit this use and so the audio track will be disabled. In the unlikely event of this happening Low Cost Business videos will promptly replace the track with a non-copyright piece meaning your customers can continue to see and hear your business messages. 


Google Loves Video and Why You Should as Well



One of the web’s worst kept secrets is Google just loves videos.

The easiest and quickest way to get your company and its website noticed on Google and other important search engines such as Yahoo and Bing is to produce short, unique video content which will be uploaded onto You Tube and other video sharing sites. 

The Old-Fashioned Way (and plenty of money!)

The traditional way to get high search engine ranking is to produce content, keyword rich sites optimised for the search terms which are most important to your business and then patiently and rigorously work at getting back links, write articles and blogs etc register for directories and over time and with much persistence Google will recognise the worth of your site and give it a higher ranking, hopefully on the coveted first page. It’s worth remembering that 43% of all searches click on the first result returned and hardly anybody goes beyond the first page (can your remember ever doing that?).

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) 

You can of course pay companies to do this for you but SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is very expensive and often many of the companies are unscrupulous and will take your money get ‘quick’ results by using underhand or 'Black Hat' means which will ultimately be found out by Google and get you unceremoniously bounced out of the search engine rankings and into well deserved web obscurity.

However by creating a short, informative video about your business, or individual products and services offered, with relevant keywords tagged then you will have a very high chance of being picked up by Google and the other search engines – usually within a matter of just a few days.

The reason for this (apart from the fact that Google owns You Tube and can cross index relatively quickly) is because Google wants the user to get the best possible search results back from a query so that they will come back again and again to Google.

Google isn’t in business to promote your business rather it wants to give the customer the best possible informtion that satisfies its query. And we are a generation brought up on fast moving images. If a picture paints a thousand words than a moving image must be much more.

Moreover a persuasive content driven video gives you the opportunity at your own pace to showcase your company, its services and products and key selling messages direct to your potential customers time and time gain 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is this sort of approach that builds trust and it is this vital trust that will get customers to your website or through your door.

The Local Element 

Where it gets really interesting is for small bricks and mortar businesses read more about this in our next blog. All about East Dulwich !


We at Low Cost Business Video have seen this at first hand time and time again. 

Now why not let it work for you with
Low Cost Business Videos - from just £99

Sunday 20 February 2011

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and the importance of Videos



As a business owner you may have heard about SEO or Search Engine Optimisation. This is a process of creating regular web content such as blogs,blog comments,forums,videos and links to your site. Google (and the other search engines such as Yahoo or Bing) regularly crawl the web looking for sites and then indexing them. So that when a user types in keywords into the Search Engine box it can return relevant and meaningful results. 


If for instance you are looking for a flower shop in East Dulwich then it wouldn't be much use if you got back an Indian restaurant in Camberwell. It does this by analyzing the site to determine its keywords and content and the links back to site. 


It grades the links back to your site by determining how important they are through a complicated and secret process which is rumoured to do over 800 different calculations ! For instance a link from the BBC website is much more significant than a link put in a comment on a local forum and so scores more highly - Google adds up all these 'scores' to give your site a ranking. 


And what Google particularly likes is user generated content which is regularly updated  - especially videos and particularly ones that are hosted on You Tube which Google now owns. That's why having relevant and interesting videos about your business or services can be vital to get that all important profile - particularly when looking at increasing your local customers. 


It can be very difficult without a lot of time or money to get high rankings for Jewellery Shop UK as there are many hundreds of shops - some spending many thousands on their web sites and support - however when it comes to a local search then a little effort through say an appropriately 'tagged'  video and membership of local sites or forums can pay huge dividends. 


At Low Cost Business Videos we can get you started and noticed and through a series of affordable support packages either done by yourself or by us at low low prices you can generate the traffic to your site and shop that you need to thrive and prosper. 


And as you know the more people that come through your door then the more profits you are likely to make. 


Ring me on 07540 233807 or email me at lowcostbusinessvideos<at>gmail.com and don't forget prices start from just a recession beating £99 !


www.lowcostbusinessvideos.co.uk - the ideal way to;





Some Promotional Videos for the Buddha's Face

The first business video I made was for a friend who owns and runs the Buddha's Face an online store for SE Asian Wall art and Sculptures


Here just a few from the Buddha's Face YouTube Channel ..




Not just for Business - One Off Personal Video Tributes - Just £39

Low Cost Business Videos offer not just a business service but a personal one too ! Using our superior Photodex Presenter software we can produce a tribute to your loved one, wedding memories , birthday surprise, pets, Christmas message or whatever you want to preserve those precious memories and reach out to your loved ones. 


The service includes a video for still photographs (and video if appropriate) hosted on our You Tube website and a DVD to play on your TV. It can include captions and messages to make it personal just for you


Please note - if required we can make your video private on You Tube so it can only be viewed by those you choose or alternatively public which means anyone can see it on the Internet.


All you need to do is provide the photographs and videos either by uploading to a website (we'll tell you how)  or burning onto a CD,DVD or memory card and popping them in the post. Alternatively you can send photos which I will scan and digitise and return to you with your DVD.



And all for a crazy price of just £39 inclusive


How can I make it so affordable ? Well I am retired working from home so have minimal costs and I have been doing this for the last 4 years as a hobby - that's how !


So why not email me at lowcostbusinessvideos<at>gmail.com or ring me on 07540 233807 to discuss your requirements.



One of my first videos I made when starting out with much less sophisticated software and no captions ...now over 5000 hits and counting 


Saturday 19 February 2011

Some Satisfied Low Cost Business Videos Customers

A selection of some of our satisfied customers - why not become one too !


Singhara Health and Beauty saw a dramatic increase in customers almost immediately and it hasn't slackened off since. A Low Cost Business Video lets a potential customer know what to expect before they step foot in your shop and gives them all the more reason to come and visit AND SPEND MONEY.


My first video for a friend done in 2006 and now 40,000 hits strong !



No 9 Thai Spa and Massage Centre, Brewer Street Soho 

My most sophisticated work to date and a true showcase of the quality and mood I can bring to your business.



Low Cost Business Videos

A Low Cost Tried and Tested Web Presence for your Business
Which MEANS MORE SALES AND HIGHER PROFITS



Are you a market trader,gift shop owner, jeweller or restauranteur or any small business owner who would like to have an online presence and a site which can showcase your business, services and products AND MAKE YOU MORE MONEY?




Would you like a professionally made video which WILL;  

present your company online in the best possible way
helps you stand out in a crowded market
keeps your target customers longer on your site
Increases your presence to search engines particularly Google
Professionally promotes your business to Facebook, YouTube and other high rated web directories.

Why are my costs so low – well I work from home and am retired and just love making videos using the £250 pound state of the art video authoring software Photodex Producer.

Then Low Cost Business Videos is the ideal solution for you. With prices ranges for every pocket and starting at just £99 it has never been easier to get online and give your business the impact it deserves. This is a local solution and our experience will mean when somebody’s ‘googles’ your product and area then the sites will appear high in Google search ranking which  means more visitors to your shop .

E.g. Our service will mean if a customer googles Flower Shop, Woolwich then our sites will feature high on the page which means more customers on the phone to you through the door.

The £99 low cost business starter pack

What You Get




v     A dedicated You Tube channel along with a professionally made video to showcase your business up to 5 minutes in length.

v     A Google Blogger blog site and entry which can provide a lengthy description of your business. Contact details and products.

v     A Picasa web album complete with all the photos used in making your video alongside links to your video and blog site. 

v     A Google Gmail account which links together all these products.

£149 Mid range

v     All the products from the £99 starter pack plus the addition of a twitter channel that will allow you to regularly microblog news about your business.

v     4 more blog entries

v     1 30 second Video commercial with key selling messages for your business


£199 VIP package

v     All of the above

v     Plus free registration to high rated web directories such as Hotfrog,Yell which again increases traffic to your site and business.

v     These prices are all a one off payment which gets you up and running and visible on the web and there are no further charges. Please note Low Cost Business Videos will retain ownership and access to these sites. If you would like ownership and a half day dedicated one-to-one training at your home and business then sign up £299 Platinum account – this also includes one month phone support so you can create your own blogs,twitter feeds ,videos and web pictures. (Note this is only available in the London Underground Zones). Other arrangements can be made by prior agreement.

So what are you waiting for email me on ;

+Lowcostbusinessvideos<at>gmail.com

or ring me on 07540 233807