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10 Lessons That All New Business Owners Must Heed In The Modern Era

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Lessons for Business Owners|10 Lessons That All New Business Owners Must Heed In The Modern EraLaunching a new business is a dream shared by millions and the pandemic has encouraged more and more people to take the leap of faith. When done right, it can be the key that unlocks the future you’ve always wanted. However, you must not fall into the trap of thinking success comes easily or through guesswork.

A large percentage of startups launched in the post-lockdown era will struggle. You can give your hopes a significant boost, however, by investing in the right strategy. Use the following 10 tips to avoid the common pitfalls and you won’t go far wrong.

#1. You Need To Love The Business

When starting your business, it can be tempting to fall into the trap of chasing quick profits. After all, we’ve all seen stories of overnight successes and trends that are currently doing great. In reality, though, if you choose a company idea for the wrong reasons, it will show.

It is far better to work on something you feel passionately about. For starters, a lack of care and knowledge for a subject will prevent you from achieving success in the “easy” fields. More importantly, working on your passion makes work enjoyable. This helps you through testing moments while also promoting improved mental wellness.

Crucially, you should find that your passion and positivity are contagious. This will inspire better responses from employees and clients alike. Besides, there is no greater reward than knowing than building a company that fills you with pride.

#2. You Can’t Go It Alone

The thought of being in control of the entire business model may seem like perfection. In reality, though, even the most talented entrepreneur will lack some of the distinct skills needed to run things. Moreover, there simply isn’t enough time to do it all alone.

Consequently, then, recruiting the best team of workers should be a priority for all business owners. This can include on-site workers, remote workers, outsourced services, and temporary contractors. As well as finding talented candidates, you should focus heavily on their personality traits. Above all else, they should share your enthusiasm for the brand.

A strong team of employees won’t only lead the company to increased productivity. They will also give you the confidence to let them work with autonomy. In turn, you’ll be able to dedicate more time and effort to your personal tasks.

#3. Not Everyone Will Be Interested

If you truly love your business, you will want to share it with as many people as possible. Sadly, though, it’s very unlikely that your company will have a universal appeal. Worse still, any time and money spent trying to win over outside audiences will be a waste.

Therefore, learning how to find your niche audience is key. From here, you can ensure that SEO, ad placements, and other marketing tools are built to reach the right people. You should also find that it provides significant help when choosing products and interacting with clients. Their age, location, and financial backgrounds are just some of the key features.

Conversely, if you try to reach everyone, your brand will become bland. It’s better to resonate with your core audience and alienate others than fade into obscurity. The sooner you adopt the right mindset, the better. It will save time, money, and your sanity.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Lessons for Business Owners|10 Lessons That All New Business Owners Must Heed In The Modern Era#4. First Impressions Count For A Lot

Whether your first interactions are conducted online or offline, you only have a few seconds to create a good first impression. While getting it right won’t guarantee success, a bad one could end your hopes of a sale before you’ve started. Engaging content is key.

Nobody knows the business better than you, but that doesn’t make you the best person to promote the brand. Experts who can see your brand from a consumer’s perspective are the best choice. A skilled video production company can create visual content that wins over audiences and celebrates your USPs in style. It yields more traffic and greater conversions.

Videos are great because viewers retain more of the brand message too. However, interactive social media posts and blogs can play a huge role. In today’s climate, having a few social influencers tell their fans about the brand can pay dividends too.

#5. Clients Crave A Good Experience

Winning new clients is great, but true success stems from having a loyal fan base. It is shown to be a lot cheaper to retarget existing clients than new audiences. So, if you can increase the customer lifetime value, you should. The user experience is crucial.

Studies show that most customers are prepared to pay more for a good brand experience. This means offering better payment options and smoother transactions. It should also cover customer care as consumers need transparency and quick solutions to their problems. Supporting yourself with FAQs, chatbots, and fair returns policies will also help.

Providing a better user experience wins new clients and keeps past ones coming back because they feel valued. Better still, once you have established a community, there is a strong probability that they will spread the word to their friends and family.

#6. It Takes Time To Generate Revenue

As a business owner, you may set out to achieve several goals. However, any progress made in other aspects of the business will be rendered futile if the finances aren’t in good health. You won’t necessarily start gaining immediate sales and must adapt accordingly.

Ensuring that you begin the process with enough capital to get through the initial stages is crucial. Raising funds through personal savings, private investors, or crowdfunding are just some of the options. Whatever you do, though, learning to use the available money in the most efficient ways should be high on the agenda.

It is important to check that you are getting the best value for money when buying materials, energy rates, or insurance. When supported by the right courier partnerships and help from an accountant, you should be positioned to keep your finances in a good place.

#7. Prevention Is The Best Form Of Protection

Building a successful company is one thing, but maintaining it is another altogether. The harsh reality is that the list of potential threats to the company is huge. Without the right protection, financial and reputational damage will cause you major headaches.

Preventing many of those problems can be achieved with help from an IT cybersecurity firm. Their data protection services can be supported by staff training to prevent malware and ransomware. Intellectual assets should be guarded by copyright documents and non-disclosure agreements. It should protect you from internal and external threats.

As a growing number of risks come from digital interactions, it becomes easy to overlook physical assets. Safe workspaces that are further supported by security equipment and teams will give you one less thing to worry about. Embrace it from day one.

#8. Modern Tech Is Essential

You don’t have to be a tech-based business to appreciate the value of modern tech to your venture. The right facilities and automation can boost productivity, accuracy, and financial management. In many cases, it can spearhead quicker growth and expansion.

Modern tech features can range from cloud-based software and file management to factory equipment. Meanwhile, 3D printing can be used to print small parts or complete prototypes when testing out new ideas. The functional flexibility offered by those items can have a telling influence on the overall productivity of the team.

The harsh reality is that failure to use modern tech in offices, factories, and shop floors will hit you hard. Competitors will take advantage of your shortcomings to steal your clients. And once they do, getting them back can be a very difficult task indeed.

#9. Your Approach To Operations Is Key

Both B2B and B2C customers are now invested in brands like never before, they want to work with companies that they can relate to. Given that they can conduct valuable research with ease, they will. If they have a reason to dislike your brand, they will vote against using it.

Therefore, it’s vital that you invest in corporate social responsibility. Taking accountability for your brand’s carbon footprint can have a hugely positive influence on your workers as well as the clients. This can be further supported by volunteering at local events or donating excess stock. For example, food retailers can donate food to homeless shelters.

People buy people. So, if customers can buy into your brand they will be more likely to purchase its products. Try to introduce winning concepts and actively try to build a community. Positive results should follow with almost instant results.

#10. There Is No Time To Stand Still

Finally, if you are eager to start a business, you must remember that there is no time like the present. While research helps you make calculated decisions, sitting back on an idea could mean that the ship sails without you. And once you’ve established some success, be sure to keep moving in the right direction. When you do, nothing can hurt your progress.

Job roles within video production

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article |Video Production|Job roles within video productionOver recent years within the United Kingdom, video production has become an effective way for brands to market themselves and tell their brand story. A lot of work and effort goes into producing a video for a business; therefore, it requires a team of talented people. If you are interested in starting a career in video production, or just want to learn more about what goes into creating a video for a business, then here is a list of job roles that are available within video production.

Director

One of the main roles within video production is that of a director. Directors are typically involved in all stages of creating a video. Video production companies, for example this company who work in video production Cardiff based, play an integral role in boosting sales for a business. Therefore, having a good director is vital for the videos and business’ success. Directors oversee and manage all aspects of the video production from start to finish. It is the director’s job to set the scene for the video production, and essentially direct all crew members on how to create an effective video.

Producer

A producer is another vital job role within video production and is necessary for making effective marketing videos. Producers ensure that a schedule is followed, secures funds for the production and manages the entire cast and crew of the video production. Depending on the size and scale of the production there could be a number of producers working on a project at a time. Producers also usually stay involved throughout the whole video production development and would have the most contact with the business client.

Camera operator

Camera operators, also known as videographers, are the people who are in charge of operating all the cameras and equipment on the production set. Along with the help of a lighting, sound and technical team, camera operators have the role of capturing the footage that will be used in creating a video production for a business. People who work in this role typically have a good eye for things and great attention to detail. Camera operators can create a scene or clip of footage based off what they have been told by the producer and the director. Essentially, they have the role of bringing a client’s vision to life.

Lighting operator

Lighting operators work closely with the camera operates, helping them to create effective videos for a client. Lighting operators must make sure that a set is well lit by coordinating all of the lights on set. Good lighting is essential for achieving the look envisioned by the client and producer. It is also extremely important if the video production company is creating a video that markets a certain product. Lighting operators must make sure that the product that they are trying to market is clearly seen in the video, that way it will catch people’s attention.

Voice over talent

When creating videos for a business client it is quite common for videos to include voice overs. This involves someone speaking over a series of clips, typically about the brand or the product or services that they offer. This narration is usually recorded off camera, and the person doing the voice over will often read from a script that that been written by the client. Voice over is considered to be one of the most important steps in video production marketing as they play a huge role in building a connection with the audience. Businesses typically use someone who is relevant to their audience, making the video seem more personal, therefore building a strong connection.

Video editor

Without a video editor, a video would not exist. Video editors have the task of taking all the clips that were previously filmed by the camera operators and compiling them together into one video. They will also take the voice over audio that has previously been recorded and edit that over the video. Video editors usually spend a lot of time cutting out unnecessary clips and condensing all the clips into a shorter video suitable for the clients. They will also use a variety of sound effects, graphics and special effects while editing the video, in order to enhance the clips. Along with the camera operators, video editors play a huge role in bringing a client’s vision to life. Poorly edited videos do not usually market well, therefore they must make sure that their editing is seamless.

From reading this list hopefully you will now be aware of some of the amazing jobs that video production has to offer. Whether you have just graduated from university or are looking for a new and exciting career change, you’ll be sure to find a great job in video production Cardiff or UK based.

How to Use Video as Business Training Materials

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Video Training|How to Use Video as Business Training MaterialsUsing videos as part of your training resources is a no brainer in this day and age.

Videos can be a great way to increase the retention of information by trainees; in some cases, up to 90% of the information compared to written text alone.

It’s not just enough to film a PowerPoint, though; video content needs to be interesting and enticing to keep your employees on task.

Stick to One Topic

Just as your marketing team will tell you that every piece of content needs one, and only one, call to action, so too does your training video.

It’s better for everyone if your training videos are shorter and designed to tackle one aspect of the role rather than an epic feature-length video that covers everything.

As a business, you’ll want to make your training videos available to your employees to come back to if they’re going to, they are much more likely to do that I the videos are in short and easy to digest chunks rather than hours long and a little on the dull side.

Decide How You’ll Approach It

How you’ll approach your training materials and training videos is very much dependent on your company culture, but it’s important to remember that people learn better if they are entertained rather than just lectured at.

Very few lecturers and trainers can be charismatic and interesting while delivering a talk, but even the most uninteresting of topics can be made better when you spend some time considering how you’d like to present the material.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Bold

Speaking of how you’d like to produce the material, there’s no reason why you can’t be bold with your training videos!

Include some epic b-roll, a few cinematic effects, and maybe even some sound effects to get the party rolling.

Most training videos will be internal, so as much as they need to be on-brand, you can afford to be a little looser with your brand than you would be in public.

Script and Storyboard Your Training Videos

Once you’ve got everything planned out, you’ll need to script and storyboard your ideas.

It’s a good idea to get them down on paper and make them official before you start, as this will be the key to keeping everyone on-task and keep the momentum up when you’re putting together your training videos.

One of the biggest bonuses of scripting and storyboarding is that you can plan exactly what to say and ensure that no important information is left out!

Stay Away from PowerPoint!

If you’ve ever seen the video ‘How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint‘ Ted Talk by David JP Phillips, you’ll know exactly what is meant by staying away from PowerPoint.

In this pandemic-hit era, many of us are used to webinars over Zoom and, although they are useful in these challenging times, it doesn’t mean they are exciting or interesting.

Ditch the PowerPoints and focus on the story of your training videos!

How an Enterprises Video Content System Helps Your Business

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Video Content|How an Enterprises Video Content System Helps Your BusinessVideo content became the most popular way of conveying a message on the internet. Users in the US watch over 180 million hours of video content every day, making it the perfect method of spreading the word about your business.

Videos have the power to help transform some areas of your business and help you communicate with customers through content to improve sales, solve problems, and build trust. Keep reading, and we’ll explain how an enterprise video platform can help you grow your business.

What Exactly Is an Enterprise Video Content System?

When put in simple terms, an enterprise video content system is a centralized management system that allows you to manage and deliver online video content. While it might seem simple, it’s a complicated and handy tool for growing a business.

For example, such a system allows you to access files stored across multiple platforms such as Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, and so on. It takes away all traditional restrictions such as file size and type of video and allows you to quickly set up your videos from a single management platform.

Why Using YouTube Isn’t the Best Choice

Sure, you might think that all you need to do to set up a working video platform for your business is to open a private YouTube account used for that specific purpose. YouTube does have some marketing value, but it’s not very good for managing internal video content. Apart from posing another security threat for your entire enterprise, YouTube is followed by other issues you should be aware of.

1. Loss of proprietary content

YouTube has its own policies that keep changing over time. That means that a video you posted according to the rules at the time might become unsuitable according to the current rules. If that’s the case, YouTube will simply delete those videos or the entire channel.

In other words, you’re not in control of your videos – YouTube is. If the platform simply sees your posted video unfit because of whatever reason, they will delete it completely, and you will lose all of the hard work you’ve put into creating those videos.

2. No control over related videos

YouTube comes with its own recommendation tool that pretty much decides what content your videos should be paired with. While that might not be a problem for some type of businesses, it can create a massive issue for your company.

There’s simply no way you can know with which videos your content will be paired with. It can be paired directly with your competitors or with completely irrelevant information that ruins your lead generation.

An enterprise video management system, on the other hand, gives you complete control over your content. It also features advanced security protocols such as restricted access and advanced encryption, allowing you to control who sees the content and who doesn’t.

Other Benefits of Using an Enterprise Video Content Management System

The most basic role of such a system is to provide you with a single platform you can use to save videos on and individually choose who can access each video. However, most advanced solutions, such as VidYard, will give you more advanced features you can use to your benefit. Here are some of those features:

1. Support for large files and high definition videos

Video files can be immense, depending on their video resolution. A minute of a 4K video is often much larger than what most free platforms support. Using your own system, you can upload videos of any size and format, and all of them are saved to a single library for easy access.

2. Built-in video creation tools

A high-quality enterprise video content management system comes with a set of video creation tools designed to make the entire process as simple as possible. You won’t have to spend days and even weeks putting a video together anymore. With built-in recording tools and other features, you’ll be able to record and share videos directly from the manager. That will save you a lot of time and money in the process.

3. Automatic transcription and closed-captioning

Every video should have a transcription to make sure that everyone who sees it understands every single word, even if they are deaf. Advanced video management systems have a built-in feature that processes speech and turns it into text automatically. Again, saving you time and money in the process.

4. Advanced search

Since most advanced enterprise video management systems offer the speech to text feature, you can use it to quickly find the videos you want simply by saying important keywords out loud. A single phrase or sentence is enough to pinpoint the video you want to access.

5. Mobile optimization

Most legacy systems don’t allow access using other devices or software because of the specific formats they use. A management system will allow all of your team members and potential customers to access any content using any device. They can access your video library 24/7, enabling you to spread the word about your business more effectively.

The Bottom Line

Video content is the most effective marketing method used by businesses to generate leads and spread the word about their offers. They will become even more important in the near future, which is why investing in an enterprise video content system is definitely a good idea.

You will get unlimited control over all your video content, and you won’t have to worry about potential security risks or losing your content due to changing rules on third-party platforms.

Competitive Marketing Strategies of the Digital Era

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Competitive Marketing Strategies|COMPETITIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES OF THE DIGITAL ERAIn the booming era of the digital revolution, technological trends are no surprise to anyone. It continues to thrill audiences with exciting and mind-blowing features. From being able to order food online to footing your utility bills – everything is a few clicks away. Likewise, it has hit the business industry, bringing some tech-savvy innovations, especially for the marketing department.

In today’s tech-savvy world, escaping the advantages of digital marketing is impossible. But do you think running after those old-school strategies are of any good now? Surprisingly, the new decade brings a whole bunch of new competitive marketing strategies. Marketers using black hat SEO practices, deceptive advertising, and content scraping – the time is up!

2020 demands an authentic approach to marketing, and you can make this possible by leveraging the latest tech tools and emerging channels. Experiment with new media formats, take a closer insight into changing purchase patterns, and brace yourself to make some digital noise. Are you wondering how? We are here to help you with the competitive marketing strategies of the digital era. Have a look below.

1. Bank on Video Marketing

We are far past that time when people enjoyed reading long paragraphs of text-based information. These days, most people prefer visuals in the form of images, infographics, and especially videos. Alongside increasing engagement with customers, videos are a great way to put your brand message across.

With increasing popularity, the two enormous marketing giants, Facebook and Instagram, have allocated 44% of their budget to videos. If you haven’t given a thought or you believe it is not your cup of tea, search for digital marketing in Newcastle to help you get started. Since users are obsessed with videos, this trend is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.

2. Build Communities

In the 21st century, social media forums are a lot more than entertainment tools. It has become the ultimate marketing platform where corporations with deep pockets are allocating a hefty budget for social media advertising. On the other hand, the pay to play model is not working for small businesses. Instead of trying to compete, try to innovate better solutions.

Start building communities on social media using the ‘native group’ features. It lets you develop healthy relationships with customers, giving a sense of exclusivity to group members. Utilize this one-on-one level engagement forum to engage and interact with audiences. You can address the audience’s queries, complaints, and regularly host live sessions. You can bring like-minded people together, allowing them to have a dialogue.

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3. Aim for Position ‘Zero’

Have you seen a featured snippet right on the top of the search engine results page – SERP? Marketers call it the position zero as it appears before all other organic listings. Thus, instead of aiming to bag a spot on the first page of SERP, you have to aim for position zero. It significantly boosts your click-through rate – CTR, while helping you become visible to a broad audience. Unsurprisingly, there is plenty of competition out there, but moving ahead can be easier for you.

  • Create content that focuses on problem-solving – what, when, why, who, where, and write headlines accordingly.
  • Focus on creating instructional content ‘how to’ since people find it more appealing.
  • Structure in a list format to promote understandability.
  • Answer questions through your content.
  • With the rise of voice search, create conversational content around simple things.

4. Focus on All Stages of the Funnel

Sometimes, businesses make their way through the top results of SERP but encounter high bounce rates and low session duration. Unfortunately, this happens because of expectation mismatch, meaning you are targeting the wrong audience. The user lands on the website with an intention, but your content doesn’t meet their expectations. That happens when you spend days creating the top-of-the-funnel content but pay no attention to the bottom or middle content.

Diversify your content by bringing engaging topics and different formats. Create infographics, podcasts, along with text, to improve the versatility of your content marketing initiatives. Likewise, focus on addressing queries that are not on the top-of-the-funnel. Diversity and in-depth content allow you to convert visitors into prospects and then customers.

5. Micro-Influencer Marketing

Previously, we witnessed a rise in celebrity marketing, but in 2020, the wave is ebbing down. Customers now prefer trust and expertise over the clout, making brands realize that it is a wise choice to invest in micro-influencers. Therefore, they are no longer running after celebrities but look for someone they can relate to personally.

Micro-influencers act like role models for many people and have a potential reach of 10,000 to 100,000 followers. Pick an influencer of your niche – for instance, if you have an apparel brand, look for influencers who follow fashion. They will expose your brand to the right target audience without costing you an arm, as their charges are far below what celebrities charge.

6. Inspect Programmatic Audio

With the rise of new marketing tactics like podcasts and audio streaming apps – marketers have more avenues to connect with their audience. Are you wondering what programmatic audio is? It is not as complicated as it might sounds. It lets users place ads in the audio content – podcasts automatically, meaning you can advertise through audio streaming programs.

Explore ad formats such as ad pods or companions to get an insight into the benefits they are offering. Besides these formats, even Google, Soundcloud offers programmatic audio advertising features. Thus, give your social media followers a break from routine content and tempt them towards audio streaming platforms, helping you gain an edge.

7. Invest in Artificial Intelligence

Although digital assistants and chatbots are nothing new, still many brands are missing out on them. These tech-savvy tools are capable of delivering content and helping users with their purchases. They provide 24/7 customer support, dealing with customer queries around the clock without any coffee or tea breaks.

Likewise, digital assistants are smart enough to understand user needs, helping customers book tickets, and make reservations. With the increasing trend of voice search, marketers must leverage conversational artificial intelligence tactics, letting people talk to them. Moreover, artificial intelligence systems come in different variations and pretty affordable price, leaving you with no excuse to miss out on it.

Final Thoughts

In the changing dynamics of the digital era, there is so much you can do with marketing strategies. Despite the competition getting intense, technology continues to bring new tools and tactics to keep the users hooked. Hence, don’t be afraid to try new marketing techniques because you never know what works for your brand and always keep up with the competitive strategies.