Dallas has long been one of the premier locations for office space and running any type of company. The downtown skyline is one of the most easily recognized among American cities, and the city has a history of erecting architecturally interesting skyscrapers. At the moment, it is also one of the most best and secure times to lease office space in Dallas due to the bad economy. Rates in the Central Business District are down, hovering around $21 per square foot. A major factor in the low rents is the high vacancy rate of approximately 25% in the CBD. As a result, and coupled with the scarcity of available financing, there is almost no current construction activity, with the little progress happening in the outlying areas, such as the Park Lane Project, a 33.5 acre, $750 million mixed use development that will include 750,000 square feet of office space and approximately 700,000 square feet of retail commercial property. The project is opening in phases, beginning in late 2009 and continuing until 2011.

Dallas Commercial Downtown Real Estate News:

One project in the CBD is the new Convention Center Hotel, a one-thousand room hotel scheduled to open in 2011. Part of the city’s plan to revitalize downtown, it is hoped that the hotel will initiate additional construction in the areas of dining and entertainment. There are, however, many projects that are still either in the planning stages or on hold until financing improves. These include a 57-story residential tower (1900 Pacific), a 30 story office building on McKinnon, and a 20 story office building on McKinney. Park Seventeen, a 19 story office building, is scheduled for completion in late 2009 or early 2010. In addition, there are several residential and mixed use towers proposed for the area. Overall the local economy has been decent compared to the rest of America, and by the way executive suites are another option to save some $. To find some pricing on office spaces in Dallas check our listings. We also have commercial properties for rent or lease in the following areas: Arlington, Beltline, Benbrook, Carrolton, Duncanville, Decatur, District, Ellum, Grand Prairie, Irving, Frisco, Garland, Keller, Mckinney, Mesquite, Metro, Northwest, Preston, and Richardson.

Dallas Population, Stats, and Office Space:

Dallas has a population of 1.28 million, and has seen a 7.7% increase since 2000. Residents enjoy a cost of living rate of 91.8, slightly below the national average and other Texas cities like Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Current unemployment rates are at the 7.3% level, while job growth is a negative 3.7%. The crime rate has decreased steadily from 857 in 2000 to its current level of 696. Attractions in downtown Dallas include the West End Historic District, a renovated area that is home to numerous clubs, shops, and restaurants and is a great area to rent an office space or suite in Dallas. These nearby locations will include amenities and even furnished options, along with great monthly or 12 month lease options. Many special events are scheduled annually in the West End, such as the Taste of Dallas festival each July. Deep Ellum (along Elm Street) is yet another historical district that is home to several restaurants and clubs. The State Fairgrounds are on the fringes of downtown, and feature several museums and exhibits that are open year-round, such as the Aquarium and the Hall of State. The buildings represent some of the finest examples of Art Deco still in existence. If you are looking for news on other major cities then check out our commercial real estate articles.

Other Dallas Economic News and Society:

Professional sports are represented in the area by the NFC’s Dallas Cowboys, the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, and the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars. Six Flags over Texas is located in nearby Arlington, about halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth, with Hurricane Harbor (a water park) situated just across the street. For more details and history on office space and Dallas in general go here.

Videos have become a must for businesses of all sizes. As the cost of video production decreases and the popularity of this form of advertising increases, even the smallest companies are using videos to reach out to current customers and target potential customers, both online and in-store. A well-made video by one of the growing number of corporate video production companies will more than pay for itself in new business. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that videos can be used to grow your company.

Marketing Videos

A 2011 Nielsen study found that videos are fifty times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results than other types of content. Many potential customers would prefer to watch a short video to learn about a business’s products and services than read through pages of text on a website or in a brochure. A video is a good way to introduce yourself and your employees as well as allow people to see the faces behind the business.

You can show numerous examples of your work in a short, entertaining format that is more viewer-friendly rather than asking a customer to scroll through numerous pictures. Remember that online videos should be short – no more than two or three minutes. Most people will not watch much longer than that. It is better to have several short, engaging videos than one long one. Leave them wanting more – not less.

Instructional Videos

Online videos are an excellent way to demonstrate how to use your products. Step-by-step written instructions can be overwhelming, and many people find it easier to follow visual instructions. If someone feels confident that they can assemble and/or use a product easily, they are more likely to purchase it and then to keep it and recommend it to others. Even if you do not sell something that requires instructions, you can demonstrate the variety of ways to use your product and get the most out of it. Good video editing is key to keeping the piece at an optimum length and easy to follow. A video production company with experience in this type of piece can help you make a how-to video that will inspire customers to purchase and use a product.

In-store/Lobby Videos

Never miss an opportunity to market to current customers – even if they are already in your place of business. While they are waiting, give them something to look at besides their iPhone. As people’s attention spans grow ever shorter, more businesses are finding ways to entertain and inform customers, whether they are in a check-out line at the grocery store, or pumping gas at a gas station. You can use an in-store piece to promote special offers and new products that your customers may not know about or to tell them about something that your business is doing to help the community.

Customer Testimonial Videos

What better way to present customer testimonials about your business than on film? When a potential customer sees a person extolling the virtues of your business, the impact is more powerful than if they read a written testimonial. They are the next best thing to a face-to-face recommendation from a friend or family member. A few short customer testimonials from different types of people that cover a variety of products or services and how they met the customers’ needs can be an effective marketing tool.

Optimizing Video Viewership

Keywords: If your video is online, it is critical to capture people’s attention with a catchy title that also lets people know what your business does. Keywords are crucial in helping anyone searching the Internet for a service or product to find your business. Place keywords in the title and description box. Be sure to include your website at the very beginning of the description.

SEO: Search engine optimization (SEO) is an entire industry unto itself. Many corporate video production companies have professionals who know all the SEO tricks to get videos in front of the right people.

Social Media: Put your videos on all of your social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+) in addition to your website. Use a service like TubeMogul to share them across multiple video platforms. If you have a YouTube channel, include a link to it on your website, and include it on your business cards and printed marketing materials. Don’t forget to send them to the people on your e-mail contact list as well.

Branding: Every video is an opportunity to get your brand out there. Your company name and logo should be clearly visible in every one.

Video is truly becoming a necessity for building a business. Don’t be intimidated by the idea. No one is expecting Spielberg-directed films. However, they should look professional in order to give potential customers confidence in you and your business. An experienced video production company can ensure that your business is presented in the best light, and that it gets in front of the maximum number of people interested in what you have to offer.

With the rapid growth of the Internet, one of most prominent services made available through the Internet is Online Shopping. Regular shoppers, who used to go to a physical store to search for products and compare prices, are now rushing to online shopping stores due to the inherent advantages they provide. For these online shoppers, the tool that helps them to perform an effective online shopping is Online Shopping Directory services. Some others identify these services as Price Comparison Services.

Similar to any other directory service, Online Shopping Directory lists products which are available to be purchased online. These product listings represent different vendors, categories, brands, etc. The benefit of an Online Shopping Directory is twofold. While these services help shoppers to easily find the products they are looking for, they also help sellers to list their products. It is worthwhile to find out what benefits these services provide for shoppers and vendors.

Benefits for Online Shoppers:

The online shopper, who can be a veteran or a newbie, will find an Online Shopping Directory a very useful service to search for the product that they are looking for and perfect to assist their home shopping. Before the final purchasing decision is made, an average shopper spends a considerable amount of time searching for the product having an affordable price, acceptable quality. Not only price and quality, many other factors like guarantee terms, return policy, warranty, and delivery time are also critical to make the final decision. Shopping directory will provide most of this information with varying degree to the shopper to make an informed decision.

Since there are many different products available for the specification that the shopper is looking for, the shopper has a greater flexibility to cross compare these similar products using various aspects such as brand, quality, price, user ratings, warranty, etc. This will drastically reduce the effort and time to find the right product and also make online shopping a pleasurable experience.

Any online shopper would like to find the best bargain available for the product they are looking for. Online Shopping Directories again become handy to find the best bargain since they provide the best online shopping deals available on the Internet. Make a note to find a directory which has regular updates so the deals you will get are up to date.

Benefits for Vendors:

Vendors will also find that online shopping directories are an ideal place to list the products available from their online shop. One of the key benefits is the user base of these directories. By listing a product, vendors will instantly get access to this large user database which will definitely increase the traffic to vendor products. Since online shopping directories provide searches for shoppers to filter the products they are looking for, there is a higher possibility of getting your product information indexed to potential buyers.

Another benefit of an Online Shopping Directory is the indirect exposure of your product listings through the affiliate services provided by the Online Shopping Directories. These affiliations will expose the products listings of the Shopping Directory through the affiliate web sites making a network of listings. This will again increase the chances of selling your products.

To harness these benefits, vendor must make sure that the product details such as short, long descriptions, features, benefits which are provided to the online shopping directory are properly articulated. Also verify that the keywords which you think your product should be listed with are included in the descriptions. By having the right content as well as adhering to the online shopping directory submission guidelines, the traffic to your product listing can be increased.

Can all these benefits be gained at an affordable price? The answer is yes. In fact most Online Shopping Directory services provide free listing of products and services. If you are owner of any number of online shops, it is worthwhile to consider these benefits and harness the true potential of an Online Shopping Directory to market your products.

To conclude, Online Shopping Directory is a great way to list products as well as to search for products to buy. If you are a regular shopper or a seller, the best practice is to spend some time to find the best Online Shopping Directories out there on the Internet having a wide range of products, larger user base and up to date information. Some online shopping directories are targeted to specific shopping market segments such as online shopping UK, US online shopping, etc. By knowing what market segment a particular online directory focuses on will help you to find the product or to sell your product easily.