Time for YouTube

Company video time. We are on Facebook, we are linking in and we are occasional tweeters and bloggers. So time now to embrace YouTube and add some content about our accountancy practice. But what to do?

Firstly some research. YouTube is the second most used search engine after Google so it is a great way of increasing exposure for a business. Not much on there from accountancy firms though. Most from the US as you would expect. Some having quite a formal, corporate feel. Some using wobbly cameras and Powerpoint slides. One memorable one showing a firm of auditors doing a really bad (and quite lengthy) rap. Then to the UK. Not much video content even on the web sites of the largest UK firms. One or two smaller firms with quite awkward looking accountancy types talking about their firms in little sound bites. All felt a bit scripted and formal.

So my producer and director is my son James who is involved in video production at his University television channel. He is quite clear about the brief. 'It needs to be snappy and punchy as people will switch off after about 90 seconds'. 'It needs to say a bit about who you are, what you do and how you help your clients. The personality of you and your firm needs to come across. That's it.' It was all very painless. The results have been uploaded to YouTube and we will add to our website shortly. Initial feedback has been positive and I am hopeful this will be a new way of engaging with prospective customers.

www.Base52.co.uk

Decisions, decisions...

A recent study has found the secret of true happiness. Apparently its all about following your gut instinct, making your mind up and being satisfied with the choice you have made. People who make decisions on this basis are called 'satisficers'. At the other end of the spectrum are 'maximisers'. They agonise over decisions and are terrified of making the wrong choice. Even when they have chosen a course of action they then stress about whether they have made the right decision and waste time and energy thinking about what might have been.

So that's easy then. Follow your gut and stay happy. Yes well, but I guess that depends to an extent on how effective your 'gut' is. If your instinct is right most of the time things should work out well in the longer run. But what if it's not? It could be a downward spiral from one lousy decision to another.

My first thoughts are often a bit 'off the wall' and its only when mulled over and bounced off a few wiser counsellors that the eventual more sensible options take shape. I find that the older I get the more I dislike making poor decisions. Maybe that makes me a 'maximiser' but I don't feel unhappy or lack commitment (which is another trait of maximisers). Gut feel is also not terribly collaborative. What if your gut suggests a different path from your colleagues or workmates? Unless your persuasive skills are very strong you may end up unpopular, lonely, or both. Collaborative decision making is partly about reaching consensus but also about trying to achieve the right decision - maximising one might say? So each to their own I think. The initial 'gut feel' can often be right but there is no harm in my book with a bit of mulling, consulting and dithering before the final decision is made.

www.Base52.co.uk