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TALKINGSITES
WEB SITE AUDIO |
by:
Dane
Scott |
People
love pantomimes because they can communicate
so cleverly without ever
uttering a sound. I find them fascinating.
But imagine what the
world would be like if all our entertainment,
conversation, and
advertising was done in pantomime. Aside
from giving us a new
appreciation for clown-white face paint,
we'd probably tire of it rather
quickly.
The truth of the matter is, the Internet
is still very much like the
great mimist Marcel Marceau. Expressive,
colorful, animated, and stone
cold silent. Are there exceptions? Certainly.
MP3 music sites, some
news sites, and a growing number of radio
stations are making those
little desktop speakers come to life. But
for the huge majority of
sites, including nearly all the millions
of business sites, the silence
is deafening.
Why is that? There are several reasons,
the greatest of which is a
simple lack of awareness about the potential
that exists in web audio.
Our exposure to audio on the web has been
so limited up until now that
it's difficult to even imagine how to use
it. Likewise, most web
designers have not been exposed to an understanding
of web audio's power and
potential, and thus, have never considered
recommending it to their clients. Another
reason for the shortage of audio is the
huge number of sites which were constructed
before web audio was practical, or even
a
consideration.
Why be different?
How is the addition of audio content valuable
to you and your company?
It sells. A well-worded, well-produced clip
of audio accompanying each
clickable product on your site makes those
products more exciting, and
gives the potential purchaser more reasons
to buy.
It convinces. For example, imagine the power
of using the actual voices
of your customers, telling their own testimonial
stories about the
quality of your products and services.
It builds image. The style and delivery
of a spoken message can make a
very personal statement about you as a company.
In addition, when your
web visitors are greeted by a rich selection
of audio options, the
impression it leaves is that your company
is a step-ahead. It is an
instant distinction between your web site
and your competition's, which
is unlikely to have any audio whatsoever.
It teaches. Our aural receptors stimulate
our brain to action in ways
our eyes never will. That's why we're tempted
to read aloud when faced
with a difficult set of instructions. That
same phenomenon occurs in all
aural messages, making it easier for customers
to comprehend value and
buy, remote staff to learn over the net,
clients to understand technical
support information, etc.
It eliminates clutter. You may have more
to say than you can justify
displaying onscreen. By letting people click
on certain points for more
details, you keep clutter down, while making
your expanded points in a
more compelling way.
It leverages existing resources. If you
have radio ads already produced
up, get double duty out of them! There are
effective ways to put those
right on your site.
It encourages return visits. Sites which
visitors find more interesting
are the ones that get bookmarked and revisited.
Web audio combined with
a regular refreshing of your visual content
is a way to keep 'em coming
back for more.
What to do?
First, it's important to understand that
web audio is best supplied in
liquid form. It's what they call "streaming
audio." The explanation is
simple. Generally, when we download a file
from a web site, we must
wait for all of it to arrive before we can
use it. In that sense, it's
rather like a solid block. "Streaming audio,"
on the other hand,
trickles to you across the Internet as you
are listening to it. You
don't have to wait for it to download. That
makes it a quick, practical
way to deliver audio over the Internet.
The last thing you want to force your visitors
to have to do is visit a
web site somewhere to download an obscure
audio player plug-in before
they can begin accessing sound on your site,
so I generally recommend
Real Audio, which is the format most widely
playable by the web browsers
currently in use.
This will sound self-serving, but I am convinced
the best way to add
audio to your web site is to have someone
do it professionally. Just as
a company would be mistaken to hire an inexperienced
person to design
their web site itself, or to lay out a sales
brochure, it's equally
unwise to attempt to add audio to your own
site. There are issues of
equipment, acoustics, equalization, encoding,
and integration which are
far better left to someone who has the skill
and experience to do it
right. My advice is to check around, listen
carefully to the quality of
what each service offers, and consider their
degree of experience and
expertise.
Adding audio to your company's web site
lets you stand out from the
crowd and get noticed. Unlike all the the
white-faced, arm-waving,
silent clowns on the Internet, your company's
audio-rich web site
demonstrates to the world that you have
something to say and you
know how to say it.
About the Author
Dane Scott is a 23 year veteran voice-over
announcer who has recorded TV and
radio voice work around the world. He
operates a professional production facility
where he creates audio for the internet
industry.
To contact Dane: sales@talkingsites.com
To check out "talkingsites.com" www.talkingsites.com
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