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Using Video to Enhance Your Reach
Use Video to enhance your Web site or blog
In previous articles, Linda showed you how to begin to build a base foundation for your Web site, including adding news stories and articles. In this article, she'll provide resources that point to video that you can use in your blog or Web site.
Pros and Cons of Video
Building a foundation for your social media endeavours is essential. Why Twitter or build a Facebook page when your readers, friends or fans have nothing to research to understand your base philosophies? Your Web site or blog is that foundation, one where you build a premise and then broadcast your intent. Using video is part and parcel of the communications package, but it has its limitations.
- First, there is a digital divide. If your clients get into the Internet via a land line, or if they don't bother with computers at all, then I have to question why you have relegated yourself to those clients (unless that choice is your preference). If you focus on print, or if you build a site for a business person simply to provide that business with an online 'calling card,' then you don't need to introduce that client to social media. Nor, do you need to concentrate on it yourself, as most clients who seek social media design/programming experiences already are seeking those designers via social media.
- The other part of the digital divide is reach to readers other than clients. The readers who are limited by lack of Internet connectivity are frustrated by the use of video because it cannot be downloaded via slow lines. Additionally, users who have limited eyesight or hearing may not perceive your use of video as enlightening.
To reinforce the use of video for any purpose in your Web site or in client sites, be sure to add scripts for that video. Scripts that can be read in place of the video create a usable and accessible environment.
Outside the issues of usability and accessibility, video can enhance your philosophies and messages. For instance, if you focus on creating video, you would be a fool not to include video in your blog – especially videos that you have produced. In other cases, you can use video to illuminate "how-to" articles and to validate your philosophies on Web development, marketing, coding practices and more.
Videos can Enhance the User Experience
Many graphic designers have asked me why they would want to use other designer's ideas in their Web site. Using press releases, articles written by other designers, videos produced by other design houses and more seem to point to the idea that other designers might have better ideas, right?
if you want to look at integrating other designers on your site as a means to undermine your "professionalism," then yes. You can look at integration (or aggregation) in that light.
Or, you can alter your perspective to show readers that you're not afraid to pull in other people to understand and utilize a design situation. Unless you have a full staff willing to write, produce videos, blog, Twitter and keep your Facebook Page up to speed (among other things – such as fulfilling design jobs so you can afford to keep doing all the above), then using other people's free-to-use (copyright sharing) is a brilliant idea.
Linda Goin
Linda Goin carries an A.A. in graphic design, a B.F.A. in visual communications with a minor in business and marketing and an M.A. in American History with a minor in the Reformation. While the latter degree doesn't seem to fit with the first two educational experiences, Linda used her 25-year design expertise on archaeological digs and in the study of material culture. Now she uses her education and experiences in social media experiments.
Accolades for her work include fifteen first-place Colorado Press Association awards, numerous fine art and graphic design awards, and interviews about content development with The Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, and L.A. Times.