By

Ronni Rhodes

As use of Internet continues to grow geometrically, we see an increased demand for information to be provided by a variety of media. Viewing options can range from simple text to PDF documents to video clips. Unfortunately, each option requires more and more resources and technological know-how. As convergence moves inexorably forward, we have to ask ourselves if there is a practical way to combine best of this technology and still provide user with a satisfying Internet experience.

The answer, at this stage of Internet evolution, is audio.

Voice, by itself, provides means to enhance a user’s enjoyment of Internet. Voice conveys many of intangibles underlying written word. A voice can touch human spirit and deliver a message on its’ own merits. Audio can build community and maintain relationships.

Audio is most mature of streaming technologies and doesn’t have bandwidth requirements associated with video. Any Internet user connecting at 28.8k or better can enjoy FM quality sound without experiencing buffering and other annoyances that can affect video at lower bit rates.

It is common knowledge that people only retain 20% of what they read, but they do remember 70% of what they see and hear. That fact in itself increases value of an audio message delivered from a website for typical user. And, implications of how audio can increase Internet enjoyment for handicapped are overwhelming.

Streaming audio provides Internet businesses with unlimited opportunities to reach their audience and to simplify their interactions. Streaming audio broadens a product’s appeal and helps to stimulate sales. People are comfortable with audio and have few qualms about using it in their day-to-day lives.

Retailers can integrate audio into their operations in several ways. Use it to enhance product descriptions and deliver product information in ways far more persuasive than plain text. Booksellers can have “special events” that offer audio excerpts from selected titles. Art dealers can use voice to give value added information on an artist or a period of history depicted by an artist’s work. (Think of those audio tours that museums offer.)

By Ronni Rhodes

The "Wow" factor that accompanied introduction of streaming media on Web has long passed, and technology now has to prove itself to marketers. Its' acceptance by advertisers, in conjunction with other rich media technologies, is on upswing, but it's still not widely used to enhance commercial sites.

Companies trying to do business on Internet are bombarded with marketing advice. Go to your target market. Promote your brand. Develop a web "community." Publish a Zine. All of it, good advice. But shopping carts are still being abandoned at an alarming rate, and conversion has become most important web statistic.

In absence of live salespeople, who know how to listen and focus in on customers' desires, businesses on Web must use technological tools available to replicate that human experience. Streaming is one of those tools.*

Streaming Media is a natural way to motivate purchasing. It can be integrated into your website as a means to help people get over that “hump” when they haven’t been able to see or touch a product. Use it to calm customers’ nerves, build their trust in your company, and to keep their excitement about your service alive.

When would streaming media serve visitors' needs on a commercial or business site? Use it for:

*Product Demonstrations - Visuals are powerful and convey product features difficult to explain only in text. Medical devices are great candidates. *Installation issues - especially for products geared to personal safety such as child car seats - are expertly handled with video. * Human Resource professionals can use it to enhance corporate Intranets for remote sales forces and clients. Training programs can be stored and viewed by personnel at their convenience. Both audio and video can be used in conjunction with written materials to explain company policies and procedures.