How to Add Streaming Audio and Recorded Messages to Your Web Site
Personalization and going the extra mile for your website is a great way to make your site stand out to clients. Instead of just reading text, they are able to see and hear who runs the website. You are able to achieve a personal touch, which will be appreciated and bring a new level of professionalism.
Establish Who Your Audience is
First and foremost, you must first think about who your audience is and how you want to present yourself. If you're a Visual FX artist, it probably would be best to display your demo reel instead of showing a greeting of some sort. If you're aiming more for clients, then an introduction and a simple message before showing what you can do would be ideal.
Other Factors to Consider:
- How professional do you need to be? Is your audience expected a black suit and tie or are they more into your personality and who you are?
- How professional does your video need to be? If you're in a field that would require the best light up setting and audio quality, don't skimp on the production value and get a good videographer.
- Do you have all of the equipment needed to capture your audio/visuals or do you need to find someone with a camera and an eye for video?
- What do you want to say or establish in your video? What is your message?
Do you have someone read over your script before recording?
The Script and Content
After deciding on how professional you need to be and who you're making this video for, it's time to begin thinking about a script. What are you going to say in your message?
Writing the Script
When writing your script make sure that you keep your focus and message short and to the point. You shouldn't have a video longer than one minute if it's just a simple introductory piece, with no cut away images or footage to show. Remember that this is just a greeting and you want to get to the point right away. The attention span for people on the internet, especially with video is minut.
Be sure the content in your video is relevant and necessary. Time is definitely one of your biggest factors to watch.
Tips on Script Writing
- Be sure to have plenty of time to draft up your script, especially if you're paying someone to shoot your video/audio. You don't want to be fumbling for words, as it creates more work when editing the footage and doesn't effectively use your time and money.
- It's always a good idea to have another person read over your script. If you can, ask multiple people to read over what you're going to say. Even choose people who have no idea about your industry and see what they're reaction would be to your message.
Helpful Guides on Recording
Recording Better Sound for Youtube - A look at different microphones and accessories for improving audio quality.
Recording Your Message
If you're recording just an audio file, you'll need some sort of a microphone to record your audio file. You may be able to use your phone, depending on what kind of cellphone you're using.
If you're recording a video, you'll want to make sure that you have a camera that will be able to capture the quality that is expected of your video. If you're selling video services, you obviously will need to focus on video and audio quality in your video, but if you're just making a simple video to say hello for something like a church or a community event, there will be more forgiveness and less expectations for top notch quality.
If you need a free audio recording program for your computer, Audacity is the one that is by far recommended. You can download and find out more information here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
You may also want to look into a portable sound recorder, although if this is a one time thing, it may just be easier to use your cellphone to capture audio and won't require you to spend around $100 to get it.
How to Add Audio and Your Video to Your Website
If you have your own web host, you may want to consider hosting and embedding your own audio and video file onto your website. This will cut out any third party between you and your message. However, it is often easier to just upload to a website and grab their embed code. It all depends on how much effort you want to put into it and how much money you want to spend.
Another easy way to host your audio file, is through a blogging websites. A lot of client-based websites are running on a content management system like WordPress. They are blogging websites that include free hosting of files, images and video, along with their hosting plans.
Some of the most popular third party hosts are:
Sound Cloud (audio only)
YouTube (for video)
WordPress (blogging website with free hosting for files).
If you want to host your own file and you have your own web host, you'll want to consider looking into flash audio files or use a simple HTML audio embed code. Each have their benefits and varying degrees of difficulty in setting them up.
For a more in depth guide on how to add sound to your webpage, read this guide: How to Add Music to a Web Page. It goes over the advantages and disadvantages of third party hosting websites compared to hosting your own audio file.
