The charm of pantomimes lies in their ability to communicate complex narratives without uttering a single word. However, imagine a world where all our interactions, entertainment, and advertisements were conducted in silence. Despite its vibrant and expressive nature, the internet, much like the renowned mime artist Marcel Marceau, remains largely silent. While there are exceptions like MP3 music sites, news platforms, and a growing number of radio stations, the vast majority of websites, especially business sites, are eerily quiet. This article explores the reasons behind this silence and the potential benefits of incorporating audio into your website.
The primary reason for the lack of audio on the web is a simple unawareness of its potential. Our exposure to web audio has been so limited that it's challenging to envision its applications. Most web designers, unfamiliar with the power and potential of web audio, have never considered recommending it to their clients. Additionally, many websites were built before web audio was a practical consideration.
Incorporating audio content into your website can offer numerous benefits to your business.
A well-crafted audio clip accompanying each product on your site can make those products more appealing, providing potential customers with additional reasons to make a purchase.
Imagine the impact of using actual customer voices sharing their testimonial stories about your products and services.
The style and delivery of a spoken message can make a personal statement about your company. A rich selection of audio options can leave an impression that your company is forward-thinking, setting you apart from your competition.
Our auditory receptors stimulate our brain in ways our eyes cannot. This makes it easier for customers to understand value, remote staff to learn over the internet, and clients to comprehend technical support information.
If you have more to say than you can justify displaying onscreen, audio allows you to provide additional details in a compelling way without cluttering your site.
If you already have radio ads produced, you can repurpose them for your site.
Websites that are more engaging are more likely to be bookmarked and revisited. Combining web audio with regularly updated visual content can keep visitors coming back for more.
Web audio is best supplied in a streaming format. Unlike downloading a file, which requires waiting for the entire file to arrive before it can be used, streaming audio trickles to you across the internet as you listen to it, making it a quick and practical way to deliver audio over the internet.
It's crucial to ensure that your visitors can access sound on your site without having to download an obscure audio player plug-in. Therefore, it's recommended to use Real Audio, which is the format most widely playable by the web browsers currently in use.
While it may seem self-serving, it's advisable to have a professional add audio to your website. Just as you wouldn't hire an inexperienced person to design your website or lay out a sales brochure, it's unwise to attempt to add audio to your site yourself. There are issues of equipment, acoustics, equalization, encoding, and integration that are best left to someone with the necessary skill and experience.
Incorporating audio into your company's website allows you to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Unlike the silent, white-faced clowns on the internet, your audio-rich website demonstrates to the world that you have something to say and know how to say it.
