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9 Practical Reasons Why Web-Audio Is A Necessity
By Jerry Bader (c) 2006

1. Limited Screen Real Estate

Computer screens have increased in size over the years but
website designers still have to deal with the problem of how to
get all a client's information presented 'above the fold' so
visitors don't have to scroll too much.

It's hard enough to get prospects to read anything, let alone
copy that drones on. This problem isn't being helped by SEO
tacticians promoting inflated text presentations often
amounting to exercises in key-phrase diarrhea.

If you have a lot to say, turn some of it into audio, so
prospects can sit back, listen and absorb what you have to say,
rather than hunt desperately for the information they're looking
for. The single most important thing that effects a user's
Web-experience is how fast they find what they came to learn
and what could be easier and faster than pressing an audio
button.

2. Computer Screen Readability

We have all been raised with the eight and half by eleven
format permanently implanted in our heads. Unfortunately
computer monitors' four by three aspect ratio is horizontal and
the new breed wide-screen monitors use a sixteen by nine format
- great for timeline editing and spread sheets, not so great
for reading.

Computer monitors have never been all that easy on the eyes and
the new flat screen LCDs are brighter and display more contrast
which is great for graphics but again not so great for reading.
So instead of giving your potential clients eyestrain and a
headache, deliver the information using audio, a much more
user-friendly experience.

3. Skip, Scan and Skim Searching

We have learned from usability studies that seventy percent of
Web-users scan and skip Web-copy paying attention only to
captions and bulleted points. If your information is the least
bit complicated or sophisticated, your Web-visitors are
probably not getting a complete or accurate story. Ignoring the
fact that prospects misread your copy and scan for highlights
can be a costly mistake in miscommunication.

Burying your message in reams of text leads to confusion and
misunderstandings that will ultimately cost you money in lost
sales and disgruntled clients. If your web-logs show a lot of
visitors are opting out of your site shortly after entering, it
is probably because they can't find what they're looking for,
buried in your SEO-friendly jungle of text. If you've invested
a significant amount of money attracting visitors to your site,
you owe it to yourself to deliver the information they came to
find.

Allowing visitors to click an audio button to receive your core
marketing message in sixty seconds of professionally delivered
voice-over will do more to turn prospect into customers than a
thousand words of boring, hard to read text.

4. Consistency of Message Delivery

Anyone who has run a sales department knows that different
people deliver the same message differently. Some sales people
have a greater grasp of your marketing message, and others are
just going through the motions 'taking orders' rather than
'selling.'

Even good sales people often find that key information gets
left out or ignored because the client asks questions, gets
interrupted, or just plain isn't concentrating. When clients
are left on their own to browse your website, you never know
how much of your copy they actually read and how much of that
they really understand. It's called 'browsing' for a reason -
not 'studying.'

By presenting information in audio, you deliver a consistent,
error-free message without anything left out. The human voice
cuts through the concentration barrier and leaves an indelible
impression of who you are and why prospects should be
customers. When you deliver your reason-for-buying in audio,
everyone hears the same message, in the same way. If content is
king, consistency is the kingmaker.

5. Multitasking

Today's modern work environment is hectic. It would be nice if
we could all act like doctors and lawyers with secretaries to
screen our calls and organize our days so we can concentrate on
what we are doing. Unfortunately, that's a pipedream for most
modern day business people, especially the entrepreneur.

Most of us are answering the phone, writing emails, surfing the
Web and dealing with colleagues and clients in an ever-dizzying
whirl of activity. Asking a multitasking businessperson to stop
and concentrate on your beautiful prose is not exactly
realistic. People want it short, quick, and precise. If TV
advertisers can deliver their marketing messages in fifteen-
and thirty-second spots, imagine what you can deliver in sixty
seconds of finely crafted audio delivered by a professional
announcer who knows how to grab your prospects attention and
make an impression.

6. Memory Retention

Years ago commercials were sixty seconds, kids played board
games for hours; life was simpler. Today commercials are
fifteen seconds, kids play video games with incessant audio and
visual stimulation, and we are perpetually on-call with our cell
phones and Blackberrys. Our ability to retain information is
severely compromised by a new world order of constant contact.
Instant messaging has even created a whole new short-form
language that brings sophisticated communication down to a new
low - where is John Simon when you need him.

If you want to be heard, there is no better way than with the
sound of the human voice. The human voice penetrates the
clutter and embeds itself in your prospect's consciousness.

7. Branding - Creating a Corporate Personality

Successful businesses all have personalities and there is no
better way to transmit that personality to your prospective
clients than with audio. You spend thousands of dollars on how
logos, print material, emails ads, and websites look and so you
should, but giving your business a personality is more than
deciding that everything on your website should be blue.

Differentiating your company from the competition is about
creating a memorable business persona. One of the best
illustrations of this is the J. Peterman story. Anyone who
watched the Seinfeld show remembers John O'Hurley's J. Peterman
character. O'Hurley's interpretation of Peterman was so strong,
so memorable, and powerful that when the real J. Peterman
company went under, it was the actor, John O'Hurley, who was
able to get it back in business based on his fictional
presentation of the real J. Peterman. That is the power of
voice and it's ability to create personality.

8. Persuasive, Provocative, Compelling

Competition is fierce and getting noticed in a crowded
marketplace is difficult. We cannot afford to let any
opportunity to communicate effectively with prospects get by.
You are not the only one with a website, blog, or product that
meets your prospects needs, You must do more than just state
your offering or even provide some me-too promotion, you must
be persuasive, provocative, compelling, and concise.

It only takes 136 words to write sixty seconds of audio. With
the right 136 well-written words, delivered by a carefully
chosen, professional voice-over artist, you can deliver more
than just a pitch: you can deliver your entire marketing
message, corporate personality, and brand image.

9. Cost Effectiveness

Many business people are scared-off by an assumption that
multimedia solutions like audio are expensive - but that is
just not the case. Audio is far more cost-effective than video,
animations, and other labor intense rich media creative. If you
hire the right people who know what they are doing, you can
have an audio presentation professionally produced and
incorporated into your website for a budget within the reach of
any serious marketer.
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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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