The greatness of most web videos comes from the pre-production phase. It is here that you will discuss how you want your video to look, what you want to say and why you want to say it. When you figure out the answers to all of these questions, than you will be on your way to creating a wonderful web video, of course, figuring out how you want your video to look is extremely important. If you are going for a more polished look, than you will want to spend more time discovering the actual appearance of your video, all the way down from lighting, clothing and camera angles.
If you want to create a web video that has presence than you want to set a mood. The success of a web video all depends on what mood it is giving out to its viewers. If you want a humorous video, than there are steps to creating a video that exudes humor, and likewise with serious web videos. The planning of how you want to convey your message is extremely important. Of course, there are several tips that everyone must follow if they want to properly explain their content.
The first of these is making sure that your web video has a story. In order to understand how to make a story, you must first realize what a story is. When you think of a great story, there are usually items called peaks and valleys.
A peak is a strong emotional moment; you can convey this many different ways. If you are making a video about a product, than the “peak” of the story would be explaining how this product can enhance your life and what it will do for you. The same concept is true for the “valley” of a video. In the same product web video, the valleys would be showing how the product works, and also how it is made.
Some things to look out for are conflicting information between the title and the extended description. For example there was a listing for an unlocked 16 GB iPhone.
Know the difference between unlocked and locked. Unlocked means that the firmware has been hacked and now you can insert any chip that will work on ST&T or T-Mobile’s networks. If you use T-Mobile you will lose the visual voice mail, which is an AT&T exclusive feature. In the US the iPhone will work only on cell phone networks AT&T and T-Mobile. The iPhone will only work on the radio frequencies that AT&T and T-Mobile provide. The terms “unlocked” and “new, unopened box” are incompatible. You have to open up the box and hack into the firmware in order to unlock the iPhone. Apple does not ship unlocked iPhones. In order to hack into the iPhone you must open the box, and hook the iPhone up to a computer. Locked means that the firmware that Apple shipped the phone with is intact and untouched. These phones will only activate and work on the AT&T network. However, a locked phone has no issues or troubles with any firmware upgrades whereas an unlocked phone must be careful when updating to be sure they do not re-lock the iPhone.
Another thing to look out for when buying iPhones on eBay is to know if the phone is refurbished, new, or used. A refurbished iPhone is one that Apple (hopefully) has taken from not working properly to a like new state. This is a great way to get an inexpensive iPhone. However, an ethical seller will clearly state that this is a refurbished item. Les scrupulous sellers may not disclose this. If unsure, ask.
On eBay, you will see phones called A88, iPhone, PDA, cell phone… These are not Apple iPhones, they are iPhone look alike. Make sure that the manufacturer of any iPhone you purchase is Apple and not CECT.
Finally make sure that you are aware of the sellers return policies and only pay through PayPal using a credit card or pay directly with a credit card. Never pay with cash, checks, Western Union, wire transfers or money orders. This way if you are sold a fraudulent item, you have recourse through your credit card company or PayPal. Buyers who do not take credit cards or PayPal are questionable so once again remember caveat emptor, buyer beware.
The traditional approach to implementing an intranet is to purchase a software package, modify it for your needs, and install it on your system. As you consider the choice between installed software and a web-based intranet, here are some considerations
1. The most important requirement of any intranet is that everyone uses it.
To assure broad-based participation, the intranet must be easy to implement, simple to use, cost-effective to maintain, and offer each individual user the power to post, access and use content in a way that serves their specific needs. In short, the intranet must have value to everyone.
Few employees had the time or the interest (or courage) to enter, rendering the intranet impotent, with the powerful tools unused. This is the plight of traditional, out-of-the-box software solutions. Unlike web-based intranets, they force users into a constrained environment requiring in-depth training, built around rules designed for the group, rather than the individual.
2. Software intranets have unpredictable costs: in time, attention and money.
Software based solutions require extensive internal support. The ongoing expense in both staff time and money takes the focus of your IT group away from mission-critical tasks. System integration, Implementation, maintenance, technology upgrades, training and user support are all on-going tasks that represent a significant, recurring investment. The cost can be substantial, far exceeding your initial license cost and monthly fee.
Most web-based solutions offer a fixed monthly fee that covers all maintenance, technology upgrades, training and user support. It’s for these reasons that companies needing broad-based participation in a changing environment are choosing web-based intranets over traditional software solutions.
But when businesses shift from face-to-face customers to anonymous online customers, there is a loss of personal connection and trust. All the online spamming and scamming hasn’t helped the matter at all. That has eroded the trust in E-commerce and the credibility of many companies. How are you gaining and maintaining customer trust? What are you doing as an online vendor to communicate to your customers?
In an online world, business just doesn’t stop after hours and on weekends. What are you doing to answer your customer’s questions? Here are a few things that you can do to improve communication with your customers:
1. Offer a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and online product support information. This is an excellent way of answering basic questions that may otherwise flood your support email. For example, our voice-changing product, MorphVOX, has a FAQ on the common issues that customers may come across. We also have provided detailed online documentation on topics that users may want to explore more. This takes care of roughly 95% of the questions people may have.
2. Add a support email link on your Web site for issues that can’t be resolved by the Web support. At Screaming Bee, we try to answer our customer questions within one business day. More often, we’ll answer questions within an hour of receiving the email. I believe that we have gained many loyal customers because of our aggressive efforts to meet needs in a timely manner.
3. Provide a message board or forum for customers to voice their opinions, add comments, and interact with each other. Remember that people are social creatures and like to be heard. This also helps to build up a community of users that are empowered and have a say in the products and services that you provide.
4. Write a personal email to each customer. Have you followed up on your customers after they have made a purchase of your products or services? This is essential, not only from the perspective of getting feedback on how to improve your offerings, but more importantly, maintaining the trusting, long-term relationship with your customer. Send them an email within 3-4 weeks of the first purchase. In this way their experience with your products and services is fresh in their mind. Remember, a customer who is ignored is a customer who is lost.