There is a difference in Internet marketing strategies.

We at Allied Video services are uniquely qualified to help you for several reasons.

• As video producers we are story tellers. We know how to present material effectively.
• As website designers we know that a professional looking site is important but so is the content, layout, and ease of use by both the business and their customers. For this reason we produce custom websites that are easy to update with photos, text, pages, and video. This feature saves you time and money and requires no software or steep learning curve.
• As a production company in business for 28 years we have the assets to make your campaign shine. First impressions still count and how your business is portrayed on the Internet is important.
• As SEO experts we have designed a unique system that can get propel your company up the search engines and increase your exposure across the Internet.
  

We are very excited about our “Viral SEO” programs that are designed to not only help businesses transition to the Internet, but make it work for them as well. Our programs have a wide variety of options to fit any business need and estimates are free, so give us a call and let us show you the difference our program can make in your business.

On Sunday December 26, 2010 I was watching (snowed in) the CBS Morning Show. A story caught my eye about Kodachrome film being officially dead on December 30. Photographers explained that Kodachrome had a very unique blend that required a special process to develop. This blend and process allowed it to capture color and quality straight out of the camera as no other. Even the best digital shots are processed through Photoshop to increase saturation etc.

As digital has made cuts into the marketplace for film, Kodachrome went from the brand which everybody was using to a photographers only brand. In fact there is only one facility in the world still processing it and they will close on Dec 30, 2010.

For 75 years this brand has had parks named after it, songs written about it and captured our memories. It was the foundation of Kodak and of a whole industry of projectors, cameras etc. It was clearly the format of choice for all of us for a long time. But in a digital world Kodachrome was edged out.

So why am I writing about this?

Well I have seen the photo stores and camera shops close or down size and when you have a product like Kodachrome going out of business, it shows you that no one is immune.

Today January 2, 2011 I get an email from Kodak announcing three new products being introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 6th. They are geared to making social networking with images easier with new still cameras, services, and video cameras. The campaign slogan is “SO Kodak”. Obviously Kodak is moving on to embrace the new technology and the way their customers want to experience their products. They are investing in the future. Are you?

Take a look at your markets and how you might update them to serve the client better.

Is there a market you can tap into or get into?

The world is changing fast. If it can happen to Kodak, it can happen to you.

The Internet Factor

My name is Rory Graham and I have been a video producer in Chesapeake VA for over 26 years. It was not that long ago that I would begin a video project with a large camera like the one pictured here. It was a Betacam SP camera that was big, heavy and expensive. But at the time it was the tool that I needed to get the result that I wanted. Today a small High Definition camera can run circles around that one providing better quality at 1/3 the price.

If I wanted to, I could still shoot with the Betacam, but it would be more difficult and my results would certainly not be as good. Fortunately I realize that times do change and our businesses need to keep up with them or die. In fact, if you think about it, no matter what business you are in, your marketplace has changed just like my cameras did.

In this series of articles we will explore these changes that are affecting all of us and explore how we can take adjust and harness them to our advantage. We have a lot of information to cover so let’s get started with the topic of this article that we call the new frontier.

The Internet Factor In Action

Here’s what I mean by the new frontier. Not too long ago, starting just about any business was a really big deal. It was expensive, risky and not for the faint of heart. You needed a product, distribution, advertising and on and on. Today is no walk in the park either but there are some very real differences.

For example, depending on your business, the high start up costs in the past have, in many cases have been substantially reduced or eliminated. This is good news if you are starting a business and bad news if you are already established because it invites more competition.

Which brings us to our second difference, competition. In the past it was very common to have a competitor in the same town but today they may not even be from the same country. Businesses are constantly facing competitors offering products and services from vendors all over the world. Of course our customers and your customers are changing too.

Today’s consumer is better educated about your product and or service, your competition and your field of business than ever before. With the Internet, research is at their fingertips. It’s easy and instantaneous and they are taking advantage of it in huge numbers. Of course the Internet is main the reason for this paradigm shift in business operations, competition and customer knowledge. It’s having a major impact on everything it touches.

The Internet factor has connected us to information is such a way as to transform how we work, buy, interact and live our lives. The technology that has evolved with it has made science fiction of yesterday science fact of today. This rapidly expanding technology has killed some businesses, changed the ones that stayed and created many others.

Some have found opportunity in the crisis and have adapted to this new fast paced environment.. Others stubbornly clung to the old ways of doing things and were left wondering what happened. The simple fact is, the Internet is changing how we interact and communicate with each other as both consumers and businesses.

Let me give you a personal example. At the start of this Internet boom, I saw a few people involved with new technologies such as chat rooms, ICQ and message boards. I had no interest in this at all. Obviously I was oblivious to the changing landscape and let the Internet factor slip by unnoticed. By the time I finally started to see some benefit in these technologies, everyone had moved on to something else and I was playing catch up. I decided right then that I would never wait to start using something personally before recognizing that others all ready did.

In a more recent example I found myself looking at text messaging but this time I was aware of the Internet factor and the changes that it was bringing. I myself do not use text messaging much at all. I do not really see the point of texting instead of talking and find it frustrating, but I am aware that there are millions who do not share my point of view. So when I see a technology like texting or facebook or an application that is connecting with millions, I no longer need to wait until I want to use it myself. I don’t need to wait until I personally see the value in it. Instead, I study and analyze how I might make this new technology, trend or product work for me and my company. If it makes sense, I use it and then track the results.

Its not hard to see that the Internet factor is playing a huge role in our lives today and is a tremendous force for all of us to use effectively if we want to succeed. Let me show you what I mean.

Internet factor statistics.

• The internet is now reaching over 1.5 billion people worldwide on a daily basis through computers.
• Add to that the 2.5 Billion mobile phone users coming on line now and you can see the explosion that is about to happen.
• 89% of Internet users say they use the internet to look for information.
• 81% say they research online first before buying many products and services and
• 71% say they shop online with the age group 33 to 44 leading the online shopping crowd.

Speaking of ages, lets take a look at how different age groups are using the Internet.

Generation X: (30 – 45) now spends more time on the computer than watching TV, and tend to use technology that supports their lifestyle like online banking, shopping, research

Gen Y (19 – 30) integrate the internet technology into everything they do. They watch more online video, and connect and socialize on the web very easily

We called this introduction, the new frontier which depending on your age might remind you of cowboys and cattle drives or Captain Kirk and the Enterprise. Regardless we are in for an real adventure with plenty of twists and turns to keep it interesting. The Internet is certainly here to stay and the associated technology has created opportunity by opening the doors of wealth to all who want to learn, work, innovate and create.

If you examine the whole business spectrum you can see a huge shift happening because the big players in these fields are no longer calling all the shots. There has never been anything like this in history. If you think about it, newspapers, magazines, books radio, retail stores the travel business have all been changed drastically by the Internet. This is because the power has shifted to the individual, to the small business and to the entrepreneur.

Today, you really just need a desire and a plan of action to take your product or service to the world. That’s what this and the following articles are all about. Helping you and your business take command and tame this new frontier. Its not about getting access to the opportunity anymore. Today, anyone can have access to the entire connected planet, its what you do with that access that will determine your level of success.

As you business boldly heads into the future

Consider the Internet factor in all your decisions