Happy New Year to all our customers, readers and visitors!
New Year is traditionally a time when we all think about goals for the year ahead and put plans into place to achieve them. As a media company, we are very aware of the growing use of multimedia content by companies of all sizes.
So what is multimedia content? Are you already using it or have plans to do so?
According to Wikipedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. This contrasts with media that use only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only or traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material. Multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, or interactivity content forms.
Let’s look at some options.
Audio Podcasts
Audio became more popular with the emergence of podcasts. Podcasting is the term used to describe the act of broadcasting audio content online.
Creating the content is relatively simple if you have the ability to talk about your business, answer questions and discuss related topics of interest to your market.
The simplest and cheapest way of creating an audio podcast is to purchase a USB headset and download the free audacity software. With a little practice you can record and edit suitable recordings that can then be distributed on the web and to your clients.
If you wanted to step up the quality you could purchase a USB studio mic and some professional audio production software, however, the simpler route is a good option for most newcomers.
If you want to make it sound more professional, use of royalty free music and sound effects can be really effective. You could even hire the services of an audio producer to achieve that professional sound.
There are several podcast delivery platforms that low cost or free, such as: –
If you want to record on the go, and maybe interview people, including customers and industry figures you might want to consider a pro audio recorder such as the Zoom H4n.
You can also create audio help files and turn written content into audio. If you wish to do this and don’t want to use your own voice you can write a script and get a professional voice over to record it for you. It can be surprisingly affordable.
Taking your audio into the visual arena
Let’s presume that you have created a great audio file, you should also consider capitalising on the video audience too. YouTube is the 2nd most popular search engine and is free to use.
Once you have your audio you can easily use Microsoft’s Movie Maker that comes free with Windows (or iMovie on Mac). Simply add photos, your company logo or a series of slides to create a visual representation of your audio.
Again, if you want to get more sophisticated, there are other more featured software packages available on the market such as: –
- VideoPad Video Editor
- Free Video Editing Software from Serif
- Jing, Screenshot and Screencast Software
Putting your face out there
If you are confident speaking into a microphone you may wish to take it a stage further and put yourself in front of the camera. Small flip style cameras are relatively inexpensive and provide a great option for creating multimedia marketing content for the web.
You could do this using these two items and get great HD quality results.
These are only suggestions, you would have to do your research to see which fits your requirements best, but I hope this gives you some ideas for your multimedia marketing in 2013.
Have a healthy, happy and successful new year.
Feel free to comment and subscribe. Video version to be posted soon.
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