"WEBMARKETING
TIPS"
Enrich Your
Web Site with Sound and Video
Sound and video are coming to the Internet in a
big way. Now, with
cheap new technology, anyone can turn their
website into a TV or
radio station without spending a dime.
Given the huge audiences that radio and TV have
(99 percent of
American homes have a TV and most own five
radios), putting audio and video on your site
could be the most important thing you do. Some
studies show audio and video can increase
website sales by as much as 50 percent.
Streaming media, as it is called, excites
customers and keeps you
ahead of your competition. The static printed
web page will be around for a long time, but
watch for most leading sites to start offering
audio and video.
Streaming media requires a lot more data than a
simple printed page. Having DSL or a T line
helps. Since most consumers still use dial-up
modems on lines that support less than 40k,
Internet audio and video rely on clever methods
for compressing and reducing big files of data.
The result is sometimes fuzzy audio and pictures
that look faded and blurry. The level of quality
might be annoying on regular TV, but
it's nothing short of exhilarating coming from
the Internet. One
client who is using web video says he is getting
a phenomenal rate of sales from it.
Your web site visitors won't mind a bit if your
presentation isn't
network professional. They will appreciate the
big jump from reading
text to seeing a media presentation.
Start with Audio.
There is a huge difference between the amount of
work it takes to
produce video and what is needed to build an
audio-only presentation. A single individual can
produce an outstanding radio show while even a
simple TV program requires a full staff.
An audio presentation doesn't require location,
lighting, or the
inconspicuous microphone placement video
demands.
You can record your voice, add some music, drop
in a sound effect
and your audio program is ready to hit the
Internet.
There are a number of cheap or free programs
that let you record your audio as a simple WAV
file, a Real Audio file, or a an MP3. After
trying several of them, I settled on a $20
program called Internet Audio Mix available from
acoustica.com.
It works with your PC's sound card to record up
to four digital
tracks. Operation and editing is completely
intuitive.
Most recent PCs have Real Audio bundled with
windows. That means a large and growing number
of your customers can click on your audio link,
download your Real Audio file, and listen to it
within a matter of seconds.
Speak with energy when you record audio tracks.
Because people can't see your face, your voice
has to pack extra punch. Try to cut down on "uhs"
and "uhms." Don't feel like you have to talk
like an announcer. Customers respond better to a
voice that sounds like a regular person.
Several companies have created easy systems for
producing and hosting your audio for free.
GiveMeTalk.com provides a simple free program
for recording your talk show, then lets you host
it on their site where customers can hear you.
Moving Up to Web Video.
Video experts tell me we're years away from
having quality streaming video on the Internet.
Still, there are some easy ways to offer fairly
good video from your site.
Because the Real Video format is becoming so
widely accepted, you can download and use
several of RealNetwork.com's free video
production applications.
Real Slideshow (free) lets you combine images
with talk, music, and
sound effects. Real Presenter (also free) turns
your PowerPoint
presentations into Internet video.
Several of the free web hosting sites now host
your streaming media
presentations at no charge. Tripod.com, one of
the pioneers in free
web sites, offers a program called ShowMotion.
You can combine still photos with clips of
video, scanned images, and backed with your
narration. Tripod hosts it for free.
If all this sounds a bit too technical, Tripod
features several fine
presentations produced by high school students.
The format is drag
and drop and impressed me as being vastly easier
than designing a web site.
Even though Internet audio and video is
cutting-edge and exciting, it
doesn't come near the quality we are used to
with regular radio and
television. That is good news for small web
sites. You can turn out a
homespun effort and still be right on the heels
of professionals.
Radio is a billion dollar industry. Television
is arguably the most
influential media ever invented. Now that it has
become so easy to
produce your own Internet audio and video, it
makes sense to add
those powerful dimensions to your web site.
SK Kor
Internet Marketing Consultant
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