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Upgrading Your Company Website
By Jerry Bader (c) 2008

Dealing with website development issues can be an overwhelming task. There are many 
things your marketing team must consider, in fact, there are so many things to bear 
in mind that many of the most important ones never get dealt with, or are buried under 
competing interests.

To avoid project paralysis you should focus on certain key areas of concern from which 
all other issues flow. Whether upgrading your existing website or developing a new webmedia 
initiative from scratch, consider these four vital questions that need to be answered:


1. What content should be included?
2. How should content be delivered?
3. How is your website going to be marketed?
4. What will visitors remember?

What Content Should Be Included?

Content is a function of purpose. Unfortunately many websites don't have a clearly thought-out 
realistic purpose; and orders alone, is not an adequate website objective. Obviously every 
company needs sales, that's a given, but sales are a result of all the marketing elements you 
put in place, and the degree to which your presentation distinguishes you from your competition. 

There is a prevailing view that traffic translates into sales; this viewpoint may be valid for 
websites whose economic model is commodity or advertising-based, but businesses that don't compete 
on price alone, or are more than an excuse to deliver advertising, must be structured around a 
purpose that is more meaningful, and far more compelling than 'give me an order or don't bother me.' 

An over-emphasis on search engine friendly site design ignores the fact that when someone does 
a search for what you do, they'll not only find you, they'll also find many of your competitors 
as well. And even if you appear first in the search, nothing will stop potential clients from 
clicking on any of the other organic or advertised listings, or even the numerous Adword links 
on the side of the page.

The biggest website design problem companies have is not the amount of traffic generated from 
search engines, but rather how visitors react to your content. Are visitors engaged, enlightened, 
and entertained so that they stay on your site long enough to get your marketing message, and is 
that message compelling enough for them to remember it?

There are many misconceptions about advertising content, one of the biggest is that people hate 
it, but the truth is, what people hate is bad ad content; qualified clients actually look forward 
to good advertising because it presents a relevant problem, and provides a believable solution, 
in a distinctive memorable presentation. 

If your content doesn't engage your audience with a persuasive, memorable presentation then 
you'll never achieve whatever website marketing goals you've set. 

How Should Content Be Delivered?

We know the vast majority of people don't like to read text on a computer screen, so they scan 
for relevant information concentrating on bulleted points, captions, and headlines, but does 
that truncated information really get your message across? Website text is really designed for 
search engine spiders, which is fine, but how about paying a little attention to people and how 
they absorb and remember information?

We also know people are impatient and are ready to abandon your website with the click of 
mouse, often in mid sentence before they ever get to the point you are trying to make. Your 
clients are sophisticated media consumers raised on video games and television, and are used 
to making quick decisions on limited information; this kind of leap-of-logic protocol demands 
a clever focused presentation. 

Your audience will be gone in seconds no matter how convincing you think your content is, 
if it is not presented in a media-savvy manner that holds viewer attention, otherwise your 
website is nothing more than a glorified Yellow Page ad.

Audio and video has the potential to deliver information in a form and format that attracts 
and holds viewer interest while it makes a memorable impression. But even audio and video 
will fail if it is badly conceived, poorly written, and amateurishly performed. 

How Is Your Website Going To Be Marketed?

Everyone is concerned with traffic and how to drive it to their websites. Search engine 
optimization is only one marketing technique, and it's one that ignores the impact of 
content on your audience in favor of attracting the attention of search engine robots. By 
all means, build search engine friendly elements into your site but don't ignore people-friendly 
elements as well.

Having text-based articles on your site is an excellent way to provide search friendly 
information, but presenting that same information as a professionally produced audio option, 
or a lively video presentation is certainly more memorable.

An entertaining webmedia presentation makes a lasting impression that viewers are more 
likely to recommend to colleagues, thereby increasing your traffic and reputation. 
Word-of-mouth is the best way to generate qualified traffic, and the best way to generate 
interest in your site is to make your site's presentation a rewarding experience. 

What Will Visitors Remember?

In a brick-and-mortar environment, visitors are more likely to make a decision to purchase 
on the spot, simply to avoid driving halfway across town to save a few dollars, but on the 
Web jumping from New York to California is as easy as the click of a mouse. People are just 
more likely to shop-around because it's so easy. 

Of course what people think they want is the lowest price, but providing the lowest price 
only attracts the least profitable buyers and ignores the biggest obstacle website businesses 
need to overcome, and that's credibility. Who are you, and can you be trusted? And after 
visiting ten different websites all selling the same thing, can they even remember who you are?

Your presentation has to be memorable and establish credibility so that when all the searching 
and browsing is finished, your site is the one they remember and go back to; your site must be 
the one visitors can trust to deliver what's promised.

How to Hire A Web Video Firm

The ability to produce an effective video or audio presentation requires more than the 
possession of some cool hardware and software. Owning an expensive camera doesn't make 
you a producer, and even the technical ability to edit doesn't qualify you as a commercial 
marketing expert. When the time comes to hire someone to add video and/or audio to your 
website what should you be looking for? Below are eight things you should consider when 
hiring someone to create webmedia.

1. Can the webmedia provider deliver a turnkey solution from concept to 
implementation, or do you have to act as your own producer hiring different people with 
different skills complicating the project and creating both technical and conceptual 
implementation problems?

2. Can the webmedia provider produce everything from scripts to custom music 
in-house, or do they have to farm-out some of the work increasing costs? 

3. Does the webmedia provider understand how to use verbal and visual performance 
to create a convincing, memorable presentation, or do they substitute expensive production 
techniques for cost-effective psychological persuasion? 

4. Does the webmedia provider just shoot video, or do they have the ability to 
analyze your offering and purpose, and focus it into a consistent, meaningful, branded 
presentation?

5. Does the webmedia provider have the ability to think strategically as well 
as tactically? Can they implement and repurpose your investment into your existing 
website, create a targeted mini campaign site, and provide alternative versions ready 
for ad implementation? 

6. Does the webmedia provider have the ability to create lasting campaigns that 
can be rolled out and built upon, or are they just interested in making a quick buck 
from a one-off effort? Are they willing and able to be your ongoing webmedia marketing 
advisor? 

7. Does the webmedia provider have the ability to turn advertising into content, 
and content into an experience, or can they only produce nondescript infomercials?

8. Does the webmedia provider understand business, marketing, branding, and what 
can and can't be achieved so that you have appropriate achievable expectations? 

Commercial presentation production requires a multitude of skills and talents. Big 
companies solve the problem by hiring advertising agencies that drive the cost of 
production beyond what most businesses can afford. By understanding what's needed 
to create an effective webmedia presentation, you can look for a firm that possesses 
all the necessary talents in-house; an approach that keeps costs down, while producing 
an exciting Web video campaign that achieves corporate marketing objectives.
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About The Author
Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio 
and Web-video. Visit (http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads),(http://www.136words.com)
and (http://www.sonicpersonality.com). Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com
or telephone (905) 764-1246.   
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