Put Audio & Video on Your Web Site

As a company that sells streaming media services for a living, we get questions everyday about what needs to be done to make an audio or video presentation that will stream well over the Internet. Most of these inquiries come from small businesses with limited budgets for marketing and advertising. They are always pleasantly surprised when we tell them that they can do it themselves!

Let's start with an audio only presentation:

• Write out your script first! Focus on two to three points that you feel are essential to explain your products or services. Keep the script simple. If your site offers a wide variety of goods or services, you might consider several different messages with each one keying in on one or two important areas.


• Have someone who is not familiar with your business review the script and your site. Be sure that they understand your message. If they don't, rewrite it!


• Practice reading the script until you feel completely familiar and comfortable with it. (You can hire professional voice talent for reasonable rates if you'd prefer not recording the audio yourself.)


• Use the best quality tape recorder available to you. A cassette recorder is fine.


• Use a high quality brand name audiotape.


• An external microphone that plugs into your recorder is preferable to the one that comes built-in. They are very inexpensive and produce a better recording.


• Do your recording in a quiet place with as little background noise as possible. (That one seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?)


• Speak naturally! It can help to have a friend or colleague act as an audience to give you focus.


• Record your presentation several times. Select the one that will sound the most natural and inviting to your site visitors.


• Send the tape to the encoding (streaming) vendor. They'll take it from there!

A video presentation takes a little more time and effort, but you really can do it yourself. Your home video camera will work just fine! All of the same rules you used to make your audiotape apply here including the use of an external microphone. Good quality videotape is essential. The following suggestions will help you prepare a video presentation for your site that should stream very well:

• Keep the camera steady! Put the camera on a tripod or brace it against something solid like a table or a wall. If you must pan or zoom, do it very slowly. (Too much motion can cause a "blurry" stream.)


• Simplify your frame. Think about where everything is going to be. People coming in and out of the frame can create movement that may cause confusion.


• Stay focused. A lot of auto-focus cameras can't focus properly if you are too close to your subject. Five or six feet away is a good distance. Don't try to shoot through a window; the camera will focus on the glass.


• Good lighting is essential. Try to light your scene from the front. Don't stand in front of a window; the backlighting will cause you to be in silhouette. Try shooting outside if possible.


• Use the fastest record speed. This will insure the best video quality.


• Record in a quiet place. Hold the mike close to your mouth to cut down on external noises.


• RELAX AND ENJOY YOURSELF! It really shows. Practice until you feel comfortable.

If you have additional questions or concerns, your streaming vendor should be ready and able to assist you.

Early adopters of Rich Media techniques, streaming being one of them, have already started to reap the rewards of higher click-through rates and increased conversion rates. If your message is meaningful and relevant to your site visitors, your streaming presentation will add to their enjoyment of visiting your site and encourage them not only to buy but also to return and buy again!

Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. With her husband, Don, a digital media engineer, they work with companies to incorporate streaming as part of successful and meaningful sales and marketing programs.

Please direct all questions and comments to: Ronni@wbcimaging.com 520-742-5780 http://www.wbcimaging.com

Gizmodo.com

Blackberry Gets It's First Live Video Streaming Client Gizmodo.com - 16 hours ago Next2Friends has released the first live video streaming client for newer Blackberry phones, like the Curve and the Pearl. Similar to Qik or Justin TV, ...

Boingo Wireless and MLB Advanced Media Partner to Bring Live Video ... MarketWatch - Oct 6, 2008 "Working with MLBAM to bring live video streaming showcases both our commitment to bringing the best of entertainment and sports to our customers, ...

openPR (press release)

Latin American Racing News - Horseracing from Argentina, Chile, ... openPR (press release), Germany - Oct 9, 2008 All tracks feature live videostreaming directly from the tracks including original language commentator. Raceprogrammes are available for all racetracks. ...

NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED IN 1968 MURDER CASE: WEBCAST LIVE BY TODOCAST MarketWatch - Oct 7, 2008 TodoCast is a complete turnkey solution for live video streaming over satellite, packaged into a user friendly and revenue generating system for ...

Microsoft Plans Video-streaming Service in Korea Telecoms Korea (subscription), South Korea - Sep 30, 2008 Microsoft plans to launch a Korean-language version of its Internet video-streaming service, the company's South Korean unit said Wednesday. ...

Tiscali, T-Systems support video streaming for TUI Travel Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - Oct 7, 2008 They have deployed the WISH web-in-shops application to enable video streaming to the desktop across 960 UK stores. This will allow TUI Travel customers to ... Muze completes buyout of Muze Europe joint venture Telecom Paper (subscription) all 412 news articles

Google-killer Baidu invests in video streaming PC Advisor, UK - Sep 29, 2008 Baidu is taking an 8.3 percent stake in the video streaming company. The search company will continue to host its movie.baidu.com channel, which offers free ...

Netflix to raise rates for Blu-ray Video Business (subscription), CA - Oct 8, 2008 Netflix, which began testing such pricing increases in August, also plans to make its video-streaming service available to owners of Apple's Macintosh ...

Majority of boomers have visited video streaming sites Millennium, UK - Sep 25, 2008 Most mature internet users have visited websites that offer streaming or downloadable videos, a new report has found. A US-based study by the NDP Group ...

Multiplied Media announces video streaming capability on Poynt for ... IT News Online, India - Sep 23, 2008 "The release of the BlackBerry Bold has allowed us to add video streaming functionality to Poynt which provides a more robust experience for the consumer, ...