The Video Press Release

There’s an old saying; “Seeing is believing.” With the Video Press Release, your potential customers can now see and hear what you’ve achieved directly for themselves. Whether it’s a spectacular launch event for a new retail unit, a innovative development in the way you run your business, or the signing of the big contract you just won, the Video Press Release will bring your good news to life.

“What do I get?”: a 90 second-2 minute Hi Definition ‘news-style’ video, containing interviews with key people answering the questions that will put your message across, along with detailed coverage of the event, or shots which illustrate your story, and some basic graphics.

“How long does it take?”: We film for about 2 hours, but will make sure we record everything that’s important to you. You will have your finished video within 48 hours, normally within 24 hours.

“What’s my investment?”: £400

Video Testimonials

Which do you think is more effective – talking about how great you are, of having other people talk about how great you are? Testimonials are an important part of any online strategy for a business because they provide the “social proof” many customers need before they’ll consider buying: “other people are happy buying from them, so they must be good.” The Video Testimonial is a powerful way of showing a target market that you’re the one to buy from, because
they’re hearing it directly from satisfied customers.

“What do I get?”: a very simple interview-style video of one of your happy customers, talking about the benefits they’ve received from your product or service, with your branding at the start and end. It’ll last no longer than 1 minute.

“What’s involved?”: We will travel either to their home or other convenient location, or film the interviews in a setting related to your business. We would always try to arrange to do more than one in a day, and at the same location, to give you the best value for money.

“What’s the price?”: £350 per testimonial, but if multiple videos can be filmed in a day, we can offer substantial discounts.

Web Video Packages

The Vodcast (video podcast)
Every business needs to find a way to communicate more quickly and effectively with suppliers and employees, clients and potential customers – we all know the high price of miscommunication! Some people have found a way to do just that using the power of online video.

With a Vodcast, it’s like you’re talking to people directly, and they’re more likely to trust, understand, and act upon the information you’ve given in a way that benefits your business. “What do I get?”: a 2 minute-5 minute HD video, of you (or someone else from your business), talking about the subject of your choice.

“What’s involved?”: The process is simple. We write a script on the topic in consultation with you; after all, you’re the expert! Then, at a convenient time, we come and film your video podcast, either at your work premises or another suitable location. We can even set up a simple Autocue, so you won’t have to memorise lines!

“How long does it take?”: To film one vodcast should be no more than 30 minutes, because you may want to do a couple of takes until you get the hang of it. We normally advise doing a series of vodcasts in one session, which saves time and money in the long run.

“What’s the price?”: £500-£550 per video (depending on the need for lights, Autocue etc).

The Ident

Let’s face facts…your brand identity adds incredible value to your business. Your logo, your company colours, and your company name make you immediately recognisable to your customers, and help you stand out from your competitors.

So…would it be OK if we helped you to enhance your brand in the growing world of video marketing? “What’s an Ident?”: An Ident is a very short video consisting of animated graphics and music, which identifies the maker of the video which follows it (in this case, you). Think of the Channel 4 idents before the start of programmes, where bails of hay, buildings, or rocks form a ’4′ as the camera passes. Or the hippos or skateboarders going round in circles before BBC shows. They’re Idents.

“What do I get?”: A video with your branding incorporated into eye-catching graphics, and music. Normally, these will be 10-15 seconds long.

“What’s the price?”: Prices start from £550 (depending on the level of complexity).

For those vintage camera and Charlie Chaplin Fans out there…

Christie’s auctioned the Bell & Howell Model 2709 camera once owned by Charlie Chaplin on July 25, 2007, It was expected to fetch between £70,000 and £90,000 ($140,000 to $180,000). The auction included a copy of the original sale document indicating that the device was sold to Chaplin about a month after he founded Chaplin Studios Inc. with his brother Sydney in 1918. At the time, this state of the art device sold for $2,000 – about $31,000 in 2006 dollars.

The Bell & Howell 2709 was a hand-cranked 35mm camera that became the mainstay of Hollywood silent movie production upon its introduction in 1911. In fact, nearly every major Hollywood production of the era was shot on a 2709 or its competitor, the Mitchell Standard. Unbelievably, this model remained in production into the 1950s, although I suspect many of the later units were used for animation purposes, rather than hand-cranked live action.

Chaplin’s company owned three other 2709s, but this camera is special because it was the only camera purchased by Chaplin himself — one of the few Bell & Howell 2709s owned by an individual. It is very likely that this camera was used to shoot some of his most important work, including A Dog’s Life (1918), Shoulder Arms (1918), The Kid (1921) and The Gold Rush (1924), since the studio possessed only one other Model 2709 during this period. It’s also probable that the camera remained at Chaplin’s side through the 1930s, when he continued to cling to silent film while others made the leap to sound. As a result, it could have played a role in the production of his highly regarded later works including City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936).

This auction lot included the original camera, a selection of lenses, a Mitchell side-mount viewfinder, wooden legs and a pan-and-tilt head, along with four top-mount “Mickey Mouse Ears” 400 ft. Bell & Howell film magazines. Interestingly, the magazines aren’t the originals that were shipped with the camera, for the simple reason that these were probably worn out from years of hard use.

It is hard to imagine any other vintage camera that had such an enormous impact on the film industry. Modern equipment is usually rented from companies such as Panavision because of its prohibitively high price, so the cameras remain largely anonymous. This particular machine had a far more organic relationship with its owner, since Chaplin and cinematographer Rollie Totheroh hand-cranked many thousands of feet of film through its magazines over the span of decades.

Commission your video from the idea buro and what ever else you need…

The packages above are really just the beginning of what’s possible with the power of web video. Follow Chaplin’s example, anything you can think or dream of, can now be done. Couple that with our experience in web development, social media strategy, and PR, and we can harness all this expertise to help deliver a return on your investment. To talk to us about how we can help your business, give Jess a call on 07808 767 127 or email her at jessica@theideaburo.co.uk

In the current climate and an increasingly competitive online environment, there is little time for weighty approval processes and the sign off of every piece of external communication before it goes live. Competitors are dangerously agile and it’s a no brainer that the web rewards business’ who are nimble and adaptable.
Technology is changing consumer behaviours and the perception of value. Whilst this is the main driving force behind creating new technology and opportunities (which we’re all for by the way), we are witnessing products and services increasingly lacking tangible value, whereby they are a commodity that simply competes on price alone. When a business model is commoditized, it is forced to sell on quantity to scale the business. We’ve never been fearful of competition, but while competitiveness is good for most industries, excessive competition or lack of competition is resulting in business’ having to change their model at short notice.
A good web proposition doesn’t stay under wraps for long and there are opportunities, short lived as they are, for business owners to interact with potential clients with compelling communications if they can only realise, partner with the right people (hint hint) and act.

With social media topping the most popular digital marketing tactics of 2012, there are many challenges and opportunities for business owners. As well as understanding the tools themselves, one of the largest challenges and opportunities is the idea of being agile, a quality that defines brands and individuals who have leveraged the web to become industry leaders.

The Idea Buro utilise agile web development and marketing techniques. Let us guide you, inform you, teach you, to harness your strengths online so you’re not pipped past the post by the competition. Contact Jessica@theideaburo.co.uk for a free no obligation consultation.

I rather liked a description I once read that LinkedIn is ‘facebook for adults with jobs’. It made me smile… I am often asked, ‘what is my return for the time spent blogging and networking?’ – the age old ‘you get out what you put in’ answer springs to mind, but i always try to hammer home the point there has to be focus and an end business goal in mind when we are online, as it is so easy to be side tracked, where time spent can do more harm than good.

The mechanics of using LinkedIn are pretty simple: sign up, fill out your profile, invite your business associates, search for people, request/forward/receive introduction requests, etc. But turning that into effective business strategy can be a challenge, especially when you hear so many mixed messages online.

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn by Guy Kawasaki is a good starting point in understanding the opportunities to be had from regular use of this site; to strengthen your online brand reputation and leverage your professional network. Even though most of the ten are relatviely obvious, its well worth a read:

1. Increase your visibility.

   By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.

2. Improve your connectability.

   Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include
   past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as
   an attachment.

3. Improve your Google PageRank.

   LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you.To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in
   search engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.

4. Enhance your search engine results.

   In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc.If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”

5. Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.

   LinkedIn’s reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data.Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager’s references? Most interviewees don’t have the audacity to ask a potential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out.You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you’re interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck “Current titles only.” By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential.By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we’re apt to see more truthful resumes. There’s nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.

6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.

   Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work.

7. Make your interview go smoother.

   You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you’re meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, “I’m doing fine, thank you.”

8. Gauge the health of a company.

   Perform an advanced search for company name and uncheck the “Current Companies Only” box. This will enable you to scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company’s prospects than someone who’s still on board.

9. Gauge the health of an industry.

   If you’re thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors—or even better, companies who failed. For example, suppose you wanted to build a next generation online pet store, you’d probably learn a lot from speaking with former Pets.com or WebVan employees.

10. Track startups.

    You can see people in your network who are initiating new startups by doing an advanced search for a range of keywords such as “stealth” or “new startup.” Apply the “Sort By” filter to “Degrees away from you” in order to see the people closest to you first. [Republished from: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn via "How to Change the World" -- Guy Kawasaki's blog]

If you have time, i would then recommend a visit to LinkedIn Intelligence for 100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn…

Linkedin Training and Ongoing Mentoring.

At the Buro we’re big believers in encouraging transferable skills. We offer training and coaching to help you learn how to use LinkedIn more effectively. Let us guide you through developing your online profile – send us an enquiry and we will be delighted to give you a call at your convenience to gather your requirements, to best meet your needs now and in the future.

As always, thanks for reading

best regards

Jess

So, I’m increasingly being asked about the viability of introducing ecommerce to retail business’ as a way of maximizing return on investment from marketing spend. I’m finding a large part of theses project’s involve mentoring a business owner or their team, in the introduction of the ecommerce as a sales and marketing tool into their business and how to negotiate social media. The cost of a bespoke ecommerce can be anything from £1000, but i’m finding by the time we’ve put together the ecommerce, social media profiles, looked at feeds, investigated shopping channels and put together a 12 month marketing strategy that the successful business owner will have spent closer to the £10,000 mark and upwards. An ecommerce is a business within the business itself and it’s difficult to manage expectations where the customer is concerned. There’s no room for cutting corners on design, functionality, or ongoing search engine optimisation and search engine marketing, if we are to deliver on our promises; healthy profits to the business owner in competitive markets. The journey of the established business is often easier than the ecommerce ‘newby’ who will have a corporate branding exercise to go through first. Lucky we are on hand with mentoring and seasoned advice to guide our customers through the process of strategy, design, development, marketing and management.

You’re thinking of commissioning an ecommerce from us…lets look at something new you may have come across that could be part of your ecommerce marketing strategy. That way i get to show you we keep our finger on the pulse. Heard of Groupon?

Groupon has recently unveiled its newest foray into e-commerce product sales: Groupon Goods. Making £1.25 million in its first week alone, Groupon Goods is anticipated to be the next big marketplace for retailers. Groupon was originally made famous for offering services on the cheap,but is now sending out “Groupon Goods,” a weekly offering with products at discounted prices. The products range in price point, discount level and target audience. One of the issues that has plagued daily deal sites is the lack of targeting within the emails. For example, a woman would likely be far more interested in a manicure daily deal than a man; however, with the current business model everyone gets the same email, regardless of prior buying patterns or preferences…

Could Groupon become a marketplace like eBay or Amazon? The answer is yes. What does this mean for the online marketplace? It’s been suggested that value-oriented customers of Ebay may now look at Groupon and Living Social which is a distant number 2 to Groupon (30 million subscribers compared to Groupon’s 142 million globally), may accelerate their development to become attractive to Ebay and Groupon consumers. Amazon is at less risk than others since it tends to focus on customer experience, selection, ease of use and convenience over value. The company does, however, have a stake in Living Social, so it could either become more involved with Living Social or could distance itself because of the conflict of interest. Google and Facebook haven’t as yet  shown their cards regarding inroads to selling physical goods, but it can only be a matter of time. Google is upgrading Product Search and its Trusted Merchant program and Facebook has access to an audience of 800 million and Facebook credits, so they can’t be completely discounted yet.

When Groupon Goods catch on it’s very likely that the number of deals will increase, we’ll get more  emails from them, they will begin promoting Goods more heavily on the site even letting popular deals persist on the site indefinitely in a searchable format according to Channel Adviser.

They advise:
✓ The Groupon Goods Interface is very easy to use and purchase through 3 steps: Click Buy, Login, Confirm
✓ Groupon has access to 142 million users globally and has permission to email them daily
✓ Groupon can send segmented, targeted promotions to this list

The verdict for business owners from Channel Adviser is give it a go. Groupon has a captive email audience of 142 million members that you could get a product in front of in one email, or,even better, a targeted subset that is right in your sweet spot.  Not sure it would work for every business. I spoke to an outdoor adventure experience company that saidby the time they’d calculated how much of a deal they would have to give, there wasn’t much profit and it was hardly worth the effort. Answers on a postcard or comments on our blog, i’d appreciate your feedback and experiences with Groupon.

Retailers can learn more and apply to have a product listed by contacting jessica@theideaburo.co.uk
We’ll be standing by to keep you informed of the progress of selling online.

The Cairn Hotel was the perfect host and we had a great round of 60 second introductions from the members and 20 second introductions from the guests. Lots of new faces and so much energy and positivity in the room didn’t go unmissed.

I had the great honour of presenting the first 10 minute presentation of the newly formed group, which was a great opportunity to infom the members on the kind of websites we build at the Buro, the benefits to our clients and what the members can look out for, listen out for and say in order to refer the idea buro with confidence. It was an unexpected surprise to receive an award in recognition of outstanding performance; i’m going to hang it proudly next to my desk  in our office.

Business Network International [BNI] is a business and professional networking organisation whose sole purpose is to generate quality referred business for the members. The best type of business is usually referral business, and the BNI helps all members to network through each others contacts to open doors for new business opportunities.

Join BNI

Serious about expanding your business contacts and located in or near Harrogate, North Yorkshire? come along to the Heart of Harrogate BNI group next tuesday at 11:30 for lunch and business. For more information or arrange a visit to one of our meetings please send an email to iwantbusiness@heartofharrogate.co.uk and join us on facebook and twitter. We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our great business group!

Oddjob

Oddjob is one of the most popular characters in the Bond series. He is superior in unarmed combat skills to Bond in both film and novel, and therefore must be killed by application of superior cunning (by uncontrolled decompression in the book and electrocution in the film).

The character of Oddjob, from his unusual appearance, manners, strength and method of killing, forms the archetype for many privileged senior henchmen of the Bond film series, including Tee Hee, Jaws, Gobinda, Stamper, and Zao.

Have you got any odd jobs you need taking care of? A question i regularly ask our clients. What’s happening in your business in the next few months and can we tell people about it online?

Bernard from Sweeney Dog Pet Services sent me an email, he had an odd job for the website ‘If I need to add another page to the website re dog food, can this be done without spoiling the balance of the home page? The food is going well locally a but I wanted to start a mail order service and wanted this on the site.’ We set to adding a shop to his website and populating it with products. The shop is hooked up to paypal to take secure payments and we also added his blog article to publicise the new online service to his customers both current and potential. The Sweeney Dog blog is linked to facebook and twitter so that we can alert a large number of people for Bernard with the least amount of effort and minimal cost to the business. This powerful form of marketing is a unique selling point of Sweeney Dog Pet Services, which is also available as a franchise. For a no obligation, informal chat please ring Bernard 01904 890666.

If you have the odd job you’d like taking care of on your website, contact jess on 01423 789360 and we’ll take care of it. Assuring you of our best services at all times.

A detective service for the small business owner. A service that ferrets out trouble, not after, but before it has happened and prevents it from occurring. A service that protects customers from annoyance and business owners from unnecessary expense. This service is The Idea Buro. It places your website and online profiles in the hands of men and women who give their full time and attention to web development and web marketing – people who have to maintain the reputation of a company in a sea of web companies in yorkshire and beyond.

Under an Idea Buro service level agreement a website is examined regularly and carefully.

The code is adjusted, it’s digital footprint is checked across the social media plethora. The site is cross browser and cross platform tested. Worn out features are replaced before they have the opportunity to give trouble.

Under The Idea Buro, the website does more than just present your information. It operates smoothly and silently to support existing customer relations and bring an entirely new audience to your door.

It is responsive to online search. It saves you time and money being easily updatable with one of our content management systems. It gives you it’s best in online security, operates to your budget and provides customer satisfaction. Email us for further details of this service which is a available for a reasonable monthly fee.

Mum’s the boss is an affordable, child friendly networking group for mums in business or looking to start a business.

Our shopping/networking extravaganza will give you a unique opportunity to meet fellow business owners whilst finding those “not on the high street” exclusive gifts.

• Children welcome
• Refreshments included
• Charity raffle
• Exclusive gift stalls
• Eyebrow threading
• Hand massage

All profits from the prize draw and entrance sales will be donated to The Sadie Rose Clifford Appeal

www.sadierosecliffordappeal.co.uk

www.mumstheboss.co.uk
Louise@mumstheboss.co.uk
Tel: 07810 103963

kindest regards

Jessica

The Idea Buro are pleased to announce that Brian Allmey is joining our strategic team bringing with him well earned experience in business mentoring and franchising and licensing.

Many businesses have successfully used franchising and licensing to grow faster using other people’s resources, time and money.

The benefits of franchising or licensing your benefits include

* faster growth
* increased profits
* improved cash flow
* your own resources are conserved
* the value of your business is increased

Brian Allmey will mentor you through all the issues and processes involved to identify the right model for your business and develop a franchise or licensing programme. Brian can also help you with the launch of your programme, recruiting franchisees and can help you manage your franchise network if you wish.

The Idea Buro are proud to support Yorkshire business. If you are a business in Yorkshire looking for a local full service digital agency to help develop your online marketing channels with the added benefit of business mentoring services, give us a calland we can meet for a cuppa in Betty’s to discuss your options.