Multimedia Advertising: Some Recommendations To Improve Effectiveness And Visitor Responsiveness.

More and more online businesses and internet marketers are


recognizing the tremendous benefits and responsiveness that


multimedia generates when used as an advertising medium and


marketing strategy.





For those that utilize multimedia effectively, significant


increases in buy rates, conversion rates and subscription


rates have been experienced and all within a very short period


of time. However, many believe that just adding any old media


content, such as video and audio onto their website will generate


significant increases in visitor responsiveness regardless of


content presentation, quality, and other attributes that


contribute to a positive experience for the website visitor.


Just so that we are clear, this assertion is very wrong and can


have potentially negative consequences from a marketing and/or


advertising standpoint.





My philosophy is quite simple. Using multimedia to advertise


your product or service needs to follow the same basic rules and


principles as would apply to any other strategy or medium that


can be used to convert prospects into subscribers and buyers.


Yes, multimedia does improve conversion rates but it has to be


done right and convey professionalism. This is absolutely


essential.





When it comes to video and audio content online, what's often


been the case is that those who have tried to add this type of


media content to their websites have unfortunately had disastrous


results. For example, with video content, many have added videos


to their webpages that are of extremely poor quality, small and


ugly. The overall experience for the viewer - Poor. One of the


biggest problems has been the fact that the videos load very


slowly. Visitors are turned off completely by the fact that they


have to wait for minutes, even longer sometimes in order for the


video or audio file to start playing. This, unfortunately, is a


result of these webmasters using cookie-cutter solutions to add


video or audio content to their site without really knowing the


implications and limitations. As I said, with multimedia...either


do it right or don't do it at all. For those who do their


research and take a little time to produce video and audio


content that is of good quality, the results have been


tremendous.





Bottom Line: If you want to capture the attention of your


visitors,you need to use top notch technology to bring your


message to that person and provides the viewer with a positive


experience.





If you do plan on adding video and audio content to your website,


here are a few simple guidelines to follow when determining what


the best multimedia solution is for you:





1. Cost Effective: You need a solution that doesn't cost an arm


and a leg and leaves you with great video and/or audio content


on your website but flat broke.





2. Fast loading Media Content (Video/Audio) that can play almost


immediately. Website visitors are fickle and inpatient so its


not wise to keep them waiting when trying to view your video


advertisement or listen to your audio message.





3. Superior Website Integration: Video and Audio Content that


can appear to be seamlessly Integrated into your websites and


emails. Viewers don't have to view video and audio ads with


media player's that annoyingly pop-up on top of their internet


browsers and distract them from the rest of your website.





4. Superior Customization: Video and Audio Advertisements that


can be customized for your websites and emails based on your


specific requirements.





5. The ability to handle a large volume of simultaneous


visitors.





6. Large-Scale Playability: Viewing/Listening DOES NOT require


the


download of additional plug-ins. Don't make your visitors have to


download any special software to view or listen to the video and


audio content on your website.





7. The media content needs to be of reasonably good quality and


resolution. Don't worry, you don't need Lord of the Rings quality


to provide your website visitors with a positive experience. They


won't expect perfect quality but you need to make sure that the


content is of good quality.





Of course, we can get into specific details about each one of


these things but we won't get into that in this article. These


are just high-level, general guidelines that you can follow


when shopping around for a good multimedia solution for your


business.





Multimedia does have impressive results from a marketing


perspective. That's why the big companies and brand names are


utilizing multimedia content to sell their products and services.


However, not everyone has the exact same budget and requirements


and if you are looking for a multimedia solution you need to


spend some time shopping around to find a solution that offers


the best bang for the buck.











Resource Box:





Shane Kukec is a Corporate President, Trainer and Publisher


of a popular newsletter "The Intelligent Marketer" at


http://www.theintelligentmarketer.com where he shows people


how to generate a substantial income using simple and very


powerful marketing strategies. Shane's also the developer


of 2 revolutionary new products guaranteed to help explode


any business quickly and easily: (http://www.jvmining.com)


(http://www.videoaudiogenerator.com). You can reprint this


article for free on your site or newsletter but the entire


article, resource box and live links must remain intact.