I'm curious to know how many of you have added an introductory video or audio clip to your business website? Or, if you use audio or video in your blog posts?

I'm exploring adding more multi-media content to one of my blogs and would love to hear from other virtual assistants on this.

I'm particularly interested in the possibility of providing an audio version of each blog post - is anyone doing this?

Thanks for any input or advice you can offer!

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Hey Tess,

As you know we have used Audio & Video on Business Darlings with great results. My personal preference with audio is to offer it for download so those who don't have time to sit at computer and listen, can put on a mobile device to listen later. Also, I think a link to the transcript for those who prefer to read is a good idea too.
With my videos, I haven't felt the need for transcripts as I also post them on the BD Youtube channel so they are easily accessible on mobile devices.

~C

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Hello,

My last post for Business Darlings actually describes how to repurpose blog posts into video. I created a video as well which is featured in the post.

Repurpose Your Blog Posts into Video

Please feel free to comment, LIKE and/or Tweet this post. I appreciate this.

Thank you.

Janine

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Thanks to both of you for the replies!

Christina, for the audio - do you just read your blog post aloud and save to an audio file?
Have you tracked how many people actually choose to listen or download the audio?

Janine, I'll be sure to take a look at your blog post - thanks for sharing that (great timing )

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Tess,
You'd have to check with Darlene as she is the one who has used audio. Personally, I would have a topic in mind and just talk about it (like my videos) then transcribe what was said. I think that would sound better than just reading something. I think audio should be more conversational so you can appeal to the listeners emotions rather than just their intellect.

As for the tracking, I haven't tried to do that yet as we've only had the one audio post and haven't looked in to exactly HOW I would do that.

~C

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Hi Tess,

I used prettyPhoto to put my intro on my website. I've used Camtasia to record audio, edit video etc.

HTH

~Elise

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Elise Tailleur
www.alamodeoffice.ca

Good points Christina - thanks for the tips!

Elise, I really like your Halloween video - very cute!

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Tess,

I've used Audacity to create/edit audio recordings. It is super easy and free! I would say the most important part of actually wanting to listen to an audio file (I'm thinking of podcasts I've heard) is the sound quality. How long would your posts be? I agree with Christina that conversational may be better as far as hooking the listener. I know that when I listen to podcasts, it can be unbearable if it's just one person talking (especially reading) for more than ten minutes. That might say more about me than the podcast though I have a hard time with audio books too

Hopefully my response is helpful to you. As you know I produce audio podcasts, many of them I do write out a loose script.

There have been some instances in the past where I had written a blog post and decided it would make a nice audio feature as well.

In a case such as this, I would read my blog and record to audio (using Audacity) and export as an MP3. Then I would post the blog as written and include options to listen to the post as audio, either by download or in an audio player available online.

I would simply include the player and download link (with instructions to right-click and save as) at the top or bottom of the post.

In terms of using video on your blog - I've found people LOVE to watch video segments and clips as part of a blog post. When I do use video in a blog post, I always try to include a short introduction, then post the video and close out with any additional information not mentioned in the video.

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Darlene Victoria Gonzalez - All-Around Creative Tech. Girl
http://www.darlenevictoria.com/

I know this thread is 6 months old, but I love to have the choice of either watching a video, listening to a podcast (my fav is avirtualperception.com from Darlene!) or reading the info.

It's been so great and I really connected with it that I'm going to implement audio/video on my website for my readers and clients.

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Maryann Matas, Seashore Transcription & Typing Services
Virtually Partnering in Business for Your Success