Spring is finally here!

In the last issue of our newsletter we discussed blogging and how it can benefit your website and business. This time around we chose video streaming, which is in some ways very different (little search engine benefit) than blogging but also benefits your website in ways that normal content cannot (user engagement and 'wow' factor).

In my early days of web development (circa 2001) web video was still in it's infancy and was considered a premium site feature only the large website properties could afford to do, and do well. If you spent any amount of time online on those dark ages you probably remember having to choose your preferred video format (Real Player, Quicktime or Windows Media) and then having to wait while the video 'buffers' and then loaded in an external application (if it loaded at all). Fast forward to 2009 and thoughts of those difficulties almost seem silly in the age of YouTube, live streaming TV and movie rentals online.

Shooting and publishing video for your own website is no longer costly, complicated or out of reach to small business. Most consumer digital cameras have a "movie" mode which allows you to capture digital video suitable for publishing on the web. Once that video is captured, you simply send the file to a geek like me, or upload it to YouTube and then embed the code to display the video right on your site. The process couldn't be any easier. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when considering video for your site:

• Keep it short. With any web video you don't want your users to have to site through over 2-3 minutes of video to get your point/message across.
• Don't sweat the details. Lighting, hair, wardrobe and heavy video editing are not required in the world of web video. Get something out of the gate early and often, work on your approach over time and upgrade equipment and technique with each version.
• Consider the audio. Good audio is a bit harder to capture than the video itself, consider muting your video and just delivering the picture or dubbing in audio (voice or music) later on with a simple video editor.

For a good example of a very simple video integration one of our clients, visit the Eastham page on the Blueberry B&B website.

Contact us if you'd like to know more about how video can help your business.

Over the winter we worked hard with the good folks over at Whitten Landscaping in South Yarmouth on their new website and online image. We are happy to report that the new site is live, and we're very proud of the result.

Craig and Nicole Whitten run an award winning landscape business, and one that has succeeded in growing and meeting the needs of their growing customer base. Unfortunately their website did not see this same growth & success and was delivering the wrong image to visitors. We worked to upgrade this branding significantly, while making improvements to the site structure and layout.

The next step for Whitten Landscaping is developing more great content, and leveraging their new website to further service their existing customers and obtain new accounts.

Check out the new site: www.whittenlandscaping.com