How Video can be used Effectively
Online
A powerful way to convey your communication messages to your audience
is to be able to have your promotional video available on your website.
Yet, we have probably all experienced visiting a website and clicking
on a video only to have to been irritated that the content is not viewable
or that the sound is inaudible. The result is we leave the website in
frustration.
So how do you make sure the video content on your website can be
watched by your audience? It all boils down to how you want your viewers
to access your video file and the level of video quality you want your
movie to be played at.
There are two different ways of sharing your video file on the web:
1. Streamable Video
This is where the viewer is able to download sections of your video
(otherwise known as "streaming"), while the video is playing. The main
benefit of this method is that the user does not have to spend time
downloading the complete video before viewing.
There are three major streaming video formats ? RealVideo (RM),
QuickTime (MOV) and Windows Media (WMV). These are playable on Real
Player, QuickTime Player and Windows Media Player respectively. Windows
Media Player is widely available on most PC's, as it is part of Windows
Operating System. The other players need to be installed.
The only negative with streamable video is that the quality of the
video is dependent upon Internet connection. In addition, it has the
annoying habit of dropping video frames because the streaming software has
to adjust the data rate based on the speed of your Internet connection, in
order to keep playing the video.
2. Download and Play
This is where the viewer needs to download the entire video first, then
play it on their video player application. The main advantage is that the
video quality is not affected by Internet connection speed.
However, it can take some time for the video to download if the file is
large.
So which format do you choose?
In a world where first impressions always count, it is extremely
important for companies to appear professional and trustworthy at all
times. Marketing videos with poor picture quality are likely to reflect a
poor quality company in the mind of the viewer. Consequently, we always
recommend the download and play option. This is because it allows for high
quality video content to be viewed.
However, as you don't want viewers to give up on downloading your
video, we only recommend that short video clips are inserted onto your
website.
This means your website users will be able to download a short video at
a high quality picture resolution that will portray your company in the
best possible way.
(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2004. All rights reserved.
Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works
with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training
materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted on 0500
800 234 (Australia wide) or at
mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at
http://www.digicast.com.au. |
