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The Next Generation Website Model
By Jerry Bader (c) 2006

Narrowcast Communication-On-Demand Websites

The next generation of websites will have a vastly different
way of communicating information to their visitors. Websites
will evolve into true communication platforms that will take
advantage of the Web's multimedia capabilities and the
Internet's broadband penetration.

The new website model will have the look, feel, and sound of
your very own narrow-cast communication channel complete with
audio and video programming and on-site personalities that will
present and guide audiences through the maze of content. But
unlike television, this humanized Web-experience will allow
site visitors to make their own programming choices; audiences
will be able to experience the content they want, when they
want and in the format of their choice: audio and video, or
text and graphics.

Why Websites Will Become Multimedia Communication Channels

1. There are millions of websites on the Internet representing
millions of small and medium size companies with an enormous
aggregate investment, and the vast majority of these websites
are underperforming in large part because they have not taken
advantage of the Web's multimedia communication capability and
the penetration of broadband transmission.

2. Business owners want to see better results but they are
being stymied in part by their own lack of vision and
unrealistic expectations, but more importantly by a
conventional wisdom promoted by particular Industry interests
that handicap website owners' ability to capitalize on the
Web's multimedia communication capability and its democratizing
economic character.

3. Up until recently, major search engines have stifled
Web-based marketing communication by failing to develop
appropriate measures with which to properly index Web-based
multimedia presentations. With the popularity of Google Video,
YouTube, and the advent of Google Video Ads, the search engines
will develop the technological means to better index multimedia
content.

4. Progress can only be halted in the short term. Multimedia
communication technology and the Web's ability to accommodate
it have outpaced the Web's gatekeepers. The limitations imposed
by SEO strategists on delivering content cannot stop the demand
for a more humanized Web-communication experience that provides
material that is informative, meaningful, and memorable.

5. As successful as some companies maybe with their PPC (pay
per click) programs, the vast majority of small and medium size
businesses are not. It is impossible for every business that is
prepared to pay for placement or for SEO-expertise to be number
one or even on the first page in any particular search category.
There are just too many companies in similar businesses, with
similar objectives to all rank on the first page of search
results. As a consequence businesses will begin to focus on
delivering more effective content to truly interested
Web-visitors who take the time to find you on the Web or who
respond to your direct marketing efforts. More emphasis will be
placed on how long visitors stay on a site, and what visitors
learn and retain from that site rather than spending money on
attracting just more random traffic.

6. With articles and books being written about the Web's
natural ability to access niche markets ('The Long Tail' by
Chris Anderson), businesses will soon realize that delivering
meaningful content to interested audiences takes precedence
over attracting volumes of uninterested traffic. High volumes
of traffic may be the goal of sites that make their money by
delivering traffic to advertisers, but if you have your own
product or service to sell, it's about the quality of traffic
not the volume.

7. Human beings are hardwired to listen, learn and retain
information based on how the brain receives information. People
just don't like reading information on computer screens. The
linear narrative (storytelling) delivered by the sound of a
human voice, enhanced by the moving image of a real person is
how information is most effectively transmitted. It's about
communicating the message and how best to deliver the content.

8. The broadcast advertising model is not relevant to the
narrowcast nature of the Web. Even websites that attract
thousands of simultaneous visitors, still speak to one visitor
at a time, and each of these visitors can experience your
content in the order and at the time they choose. The Web
audience for your offering wants content, and your Web
marketing and communication techniques need to be adjusted to
deliver your message as content and not merely as advertising.

9. The Web's hyperlinked nature is a two-edged sword. As
quickly as people can be directed to your site by high search
engine ranking or reciprocal links, they can also leave at
hyper-speed when they are frustrated by reams of text, outbound
links, and distracting advertisements. People want content
delivered in familiar, easily understandable, and digestible
formats - audio and video.

10. Advertising as we know it is dead. Two thirds of television
audiences completely ignore or disengage from television ads,
and website audiences learn quickly where the ads are on a
website and then avoid them. If you what to make your point,
get your message across, and attract interest in what you do,
you have to provide quality content that is entertaining,
compelling, and above all memorable.

The Narrowcast Communication-On-Demand Website

The narrowcast communication-on-demand website model will
deliver information formatted in audio and video programs. Text
and static pictures will be provided for those who need to print
hardcopy information for reference purposes.

This model offers businesses the ability to take advantage of
the Web's full communication capabilities and the hardwired
nature of people to respond to human-based presentations that
enhance attraction, comprehension, and retention of
information.

If you want to improve your bottom line using the Web, you have
to start thinking differently. The same old marketing and sales
models of the past are not going to work on the new multimedia
Web. Web-audiences will demand more than a sales pitch or
product specification sheet.

How to Convert a Static Website into a Multimedia Website

Traditionally websites are divided into sections that provide
information on the company, the products and/or services,
clients, help resources, company news and PR initiatives, and
contact information.

These traditional website elements have to be reformatted into
more effect program-style presentations using video interviews,
expert opinion, and how to sessions, as while as audio FAQs,
knowledge bases, and product or service descriptions.
Testimonials, success stories and corporate histories can be
turned into entertaining and compelling video documentaries
that establish brand personality and build confidence.

The Web has evolved from its early days into a fully
functioning multimedia communication environment. If you've
followed all the rules and listened to all the conventional
wisdom, and you're still not getting what you want out of your
website, maybe it's time you tried a different approach.
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Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a Thornhill,
Ontario based website design firm that specializes in delivering
their North American clients' marketing messages using the
latest audio, video, and interactive Flash presentation
techniques to create compelling, informative and memorable
Web-experiences that enhance brand personality and increase
sales and profits. Visit http://www.mrpwebmedia.com,
http://www.136words.com http://www.sonicpersonality.com.
Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.
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