To make sure things are being run efficiently, small businesses using video content on their company websites must be selective in their methods, according to one expert.

Product manager at Hostway Tom Herbert said businesses must consider exactly what profit they will make from a move to placing media content online.

He added that many small businesses may be unable to provide capably-sized office networks for larger content and as a result they need to be "very selective" with resources available to them.

If the company specialises in selling products through video, they should only showcase their top five in order to cut down on costs before looking at the "technologies on how you are going to build your website".

Download facilities could also be offered to visitors to allow them to access the video from a home terminal and not online.

According to the Deloitte Christmas Survey 2008, consumer spending over the period is expected to drop by seven per cent but 57 per cent of consumers? state that they have no intention to change their shopping habits over the festive period.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.