So why do Video and Radio on the Internet?
When I go out to do workshops, most people are already converted – they know the power of multimedia and the internet and already have some ideas about how to use it to further their organization’s objectives.
I always have someone in every workshop who is a bit more skeptical. And I’m glad when someone asks the question “who listens and watches videos and radio programs on-line?”. And “Why should we spend money from our communications budget on this?”
Questions like these keep me on my toes and reminds me that not everybody is “there” yet … and that’s because not everybody uses the internet in the same way. For people who use the internet mostly to browse text and graphics based pages, it’s a good question. Watching video and listening to audio programs on the internet is growing, but it’s not so common that everybody has downloaded a podcast or vodcast (video program). So there is still a lot of explaining to do.
So, okay, time to get down to basics and make the “case” for multimedia on the internet. And why it’s a good (nay, excellent) idea for organizations to start getting on board … now.
Let’s start by taking a look at who’s already listening and watching on-line (apologies for American data – considering that Canadians are among the most enthusiastic nations in the world in their adoption of new communications technologies, I think it’s safe to assume that Canadians are at least as technically savvy)
- 57% of Internet users have watched videos online and most of them share what they find with others, according to the Pew Research Centre, which tracks internet usage in the United States. 2007
- More than 22 million American adults own iPods or MP3 players and 29% of them have downloaded podcasts from the Web so that they could listen to audio files at a time of their choosing. That amounts to more than 6 million adults who have tried this new feature that allows internet “broadcasts” to be downloaded onto their portable listening device. (Pew, 2007)
- An IBM survey of consumer digital media and entertainment habits shows that audiences increasingly replace time they spend with traditional media with Internet time. (Neilson Media Research August 2007)
- The Internet already leads television among 12-17 year olds, 18-24s, 25-34s, and 35-44s. One has to get above age 45 to find age groups that still put television in first place. Edison Research – Media Usage 2002-2007 Released Jun 26, 2007
- The Internet leads television among all age groups under the age of 55. In 2002, only 12 17s and 18-24s had more people saying the Internet was “most cool and exciting” — today 25-34s, 35-44s and 45-54s all feel the same way. Edison Research
The evidence is convincing that the Internet is becoming increasingly more important. That’s why it’s equally important for your organization to embrace new ways to use the web and other internet based tools to reach your clients, donors and supporters. With the rapid growth of audio and video ipods, radio and video programs on demand will be an important part of the communications mix for progressive organizations.
The time to learn the skills you need, and to establish your multimedia presence on your website is NOW.
That’s because most organizations aren’t there yet – you can establish a strong presence without having to compete with the ones who are not yet on-stream. And your supporters, customers and clients will be impressed that you are on the “cutting edge” … you’re leading the parade, not lost in the middle or straggling along at the end.
And the biggest advantage .. your staff is on the learning curve NOW … new ideas are emerging all the time. By starting to learn the skills you need to do on-line productions, you’re way ahead of everybody else. Which means you will ALWAYS be ahead of the pack, and your productions will be that much better than everybody else’s.
And people will notice you ….
