How to choose the right computer equipment for your business to increase your productivity and efficiency without it costing the earth.
Business software helps you complete a range of tasks. Choose the right software, provide support and train your staff with our introduction.
It is highly likely that you depend on the internet for some aspects of your business. Find out how you can use the internet more effectively.
Good communication with customers, partners and suppliers is vital for business success. This summary explores business communication methods.
How would you cope if your IT system failed or was breached? We cover the main IT security issues and how to protect against them.
Good IT management can help you choose, use and implement IT. Our overview helps you manage IT in a way that maximises the return on your investment.
IT support is vital if you rely on your IT system. But how can you set up an effective safety net in case things go wrong? We explore the options.
Getting the right IT is just the first step. Appropriate training, policies and working practices can help you maximise return on your IT investment.
Incorporating audio and video when you create a website can help promote your business and support your customers - and you can get started on a remarkably small budget.
There are lots of ways to use audio and video online. For instance:
Make sure audio and video really add something to the experience of using your site.For instance, background music is a big no-no. Not only can it be irritating, but it can make it harder for some people to use your website.
However, a demonstration video that visitors can choose to watch may be a good way to present product information.
To incorporate audio or video into your website, you first have to upload the audio or video file in question to the internet. Some types of web hosting will allow you to do this. Alternatively, you can use a service like YouTube or Vimeo (for video) or SoundCloud (for audio).
Once you've uploaded the video or audio, you can 'embed it' in pages of your website. This means putting a link to the video or audio file into the HTML code that makes up the web page.
Doing this is usually easier than it sounds. Services like YouTube and SoundCloud give you the HTML code so all you have to do is copy and paste it into your page.
Or if your website was built with website building software, you'll often find it has an option to insert audio or video, so you don't have to touch the HTML code at all.
If embedded correctly, visitors to your website should see a space on the page with a 'play' button, so they can play the audio or video.
Other options may be to play it automatically once the page has loaded (although this can cause annoyance), or to make your audio or video available to download (a good idea if you want to encourage people to watch or listen on their mobile phone or iPod).
You might be surprised at how little audio and video equipment you need to create web audio and business video. For audio, you can get away with:
Budget at least £150 to cover the microphone and headphones. Audio recording and editing software can be found for free - Audacity is an excellent choice.
If you prefer, you can also buy podcasting kits, which offer everything you need. These are usually available for £150 or so.
To film and edit video, you’ll need some extra equipment:
Getting voiceovers right and presenting on video can be difficult, so you can employ a freelance presenter or voiceover artist. This won’t be cheap (count on at least £30+ per hour), but can give your materials real shine.
Try searching online for presenters and agencies in your area.
Similarly, professional sound and video editors can work wonders with your recordings, creating just the effect you want.
If you’d prefer somebody else to handle the whole project, most web design agencies should be able to produce web-ready video and audio for you.
There are two ways people can access your video and audio:
Get permission to use all the sound and visual elements that feature in your business video or audio. Consider getting a release form signed by anyone in the recordings.
To avoid copyright issues, you can purchase video and audio clips to use. Companies like Shutterstock and iStockPhoto offer short video and audio clips from around £1 up.
