Other Marketing Opportunities Provided by Web Rings

When you have found a Web ring that attracts your target market, you
can participate and enjoy the increase in visitors to your site. The Massage
and Bodywork Web ring shown in Figure 23.2 is an example of a
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professional type of Web ring. It is a Web ring devoted to massage schools
and educators and other support services for massage professionals.
Web rings provide an array of other opportunities as well.
You can search through the list of participants in a Web ring to
arrange reciprocal links. You can also search a Web ring for banneradvertising
purposes. You can either exchange banners or purchase advertising
on these sites. You can find sites that may be appropriate for
cooperative advertising purposes. You can exchange coupons with another
site you are linked to, which works especially well when you sell
noncompeting products to the same target market.
Internet Resources for Chapter 23
I have included a few resources for you to check out regarding public
Web rings. For additional resources on a variety of topics, visit the Resources
section of my Web site at http://www.susansweeney.com/
resources.html. There you will find additional tips, tools, and techniques.
Figure 23.2. The Massage and Bodywork Web ring is an example of a
professional Web ring; it is exclusively for massage schools, educators, and other
services supportive of massage professionals.
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372 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
RingSurf
http://www.ringsurf.com
Sites of a particular subject together in a ring. A visitor to any site in the
ring can easily move forward or backward through the ring and visit
other sites within that subject area. This drives targeted qualified traffic
to all the ring sites. Surfers don’t want to deal with mounds of irrelevant
search engine results. They want to visit sites on topics they love. RingSurf
is a free service that lets users quickly, easily, and reliably navigate thousands
of related Web sites organized by areas of interest.
WebRing
http://dir.webring.com/rw
Web rings are one of the fastest and most exciting ways to navigate the
World Wide Web. In each of its tens of thousands of rings, member Web
sites have banded together to form their sites into linked circles. Their
purpose is to allow more visitors to reach them quickly and easily.
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Webcasting and Rich Media
Webcasting is defined by Netlingo (http://www.netlingo.com) as: “Using
the Internet, and the World Wide Web in particular, to broadcast
information. Unlike typical surfing, which relies on a pull method of
transferring Web pages, Webcasting uses push technologies.”
According to a study conducted by Arbitron New Media and
Northstar Interactive, 70 percent of the Webcast audience clicks for
content information, and while listening to or viewing streaming media,
nearly 60 percent click through for advertising information. The
study also states that approximately half of the Webcast audience buys
online-advertised products and 44 percent click online ads. The majority
of Webcast users tune in from home (63 percent), followed by atwork
users (37 percent). In this chapter, we cover:
• Streaming versus nonstreaming media (also known as rich media)
• Advertising with rich media
• Barriers to acceptance of Webcasting
• Uses of Webcasting
• Prominent Webcasters.
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Streaming versus Nonstreaming Media
Before we explain the marketing implications of Webcasting, or rich
media, it is important to explain some of the terms and what the end
user requires to view them. Webcasting consists primarily of video and
audio. Whatis.com defines rich media as:
Rich media is an Internet advertising term for a Web page ad that
uses advanced technology such as streaming video, downloaded
applets (programs) that interact instantly with the user, and ads
that change when the user’s mouse passes over it. For example:
• An ad for a Hollywood movie that includes a streaming video
sample of a scene from the movie
• A mouse cursor that changes to an image on a particular Web
site if the user requests it
• A standard-size banner ad that includes an inquiry form about
ISDN installation, capturing the user’s filled-in personal information
and telling the user he or she will be contacted by a
company representative—all simply by interacting with an ad
on an online publisher’s Web page.
This section talks about streaming and nonstreaming content, with
most emphasis placed on streaming because it has the highest promotional
potential. What is the difference between streaming and
nonstreaming? To put it simply, streaming is presented as it arrives.
RealAudio files are an example of streaming media. Meanwhile,
nonstreaming requires you to download the entire clip or file before
you can listen to it or view it. AVI, MP3, and MOV file formats are
nonstreaming file formats.
• Video. This category includes both streaming formats (Real
Audio, G2, and Windows Media Player) and nonstreaming video
formats (such as AVI and MOV files). Streaming video is often
sent from prepared files but is usually distributed as a live broadcast
feed. Examples of this include news clips, movie clips, and
online movie presentations.
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• Audio. Audio also includes streaming and nonstreaming formats.
Leading providers of streaming audio are RealNetwork’s
RealAudio, Macromedia’s Shockwave, and Microsoft’s Windows
Media Player.
Obviously, streaming video file formats contain an audio element as
well. After all, a movie clip is much more interesting when there is sound
associated with it.
Other popular Webcasting or push technology formats include:
• ASF (Advanced Streaming Format). Designed to store synchronized
multimedia data and deliver it over a large variety of networks
and protocols.
• CDF (Channel Definition Format). Permits Web developers to
push information to users through the use of channels.
Push technologies involve sending information to your target market
across the Internet. Internet users install software on their system
that receives content from the Webcaster. For example, they might receive
the latest sports scores, current weather conditions in 20 cities
around the world, or current headlines. The information is “pushed” to
the client’s system. This is different from “pull” marketing, in which the
client specifically requests content from a Web site by loading it into the
browser.
Technically speaking, e-mail is one of the earliest forms of push technology.
Internet marketers send e-mail messages to individuals in their
target market without permission to do so from each of the recipients.
However, we all know that this is spam. Savvy Internet marketers can
still use e-mail to push their message to potential clients, but they must
have the potential clients’ permission beforehand.
Webcasters can use push technologies much as Internet marketers do
with e-mail marketing campaigns. RealNetworks (http://www.real.com)
has been involved in the Webcasting field for several years. Their RealPlayer
software is a prime example of how to use push technology. The basic
version of the player can be downloaded for free from the RealNetworks
Web site. Active channels have been incorporated into the RealPlayer
application. Clicking on one of the active channels in the “Channels”
menu automatically connects the user to a streaming audio/video presen-
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376 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
tation from the site of one of RealNetworks’ partners. In this way,
RealNetworks assists its partners (ESPN, Fox, ZDNet, etc.) to brand themselves
through the RealPlayer Webcasting software, and RealNetworks
likely receives a healthy sum of money in exchange for this advertising.
The RealPlayer software permits you to subscribe to other channels as
well. Thus, RealNetworks gives users a free application, but the company
profits from RealPlayer by selling advertising space. RealNetworks is the
perfect example of how Webcasting can be used to quickly achieve brand
recognition and earn additional revenue.
Aside from RealNetworks, the following companies also provide
software to allow for the distribution of channels:
• Apple’s QuickTime (http://www.apple.com/quicktime)
• Microsoft Active Channels software (http://www.microsoft.com).
Advertising with Rich Media
Companies can use rich media by purchasing a “commercial” that precedes
an online presentation or audio event, or a company can develop
and use rich media on its own Web site to provide a greater sense of
interactivity, which results in more repeat traffic. For an example of
this, go to Yahoo! Platinum (http://platinum.yahoo.com). Yahoo! Platinum
provides current streaming audio and video footage of almost any
event you could imagine. For instance, you can listen to the commentary
of an entire NBA basketball game. However, just before the game
gets under way, you will be greeted by a 25-second audio advertisement.
Why is this good advertising?
• Rich media advertising leaves a deeper impression on customers
than does a static banner ad.
• Rich media averages higher recall.
• Higher customer recall of rich media makes it easier to brand a
company name or product.
• Rich media has higher click-through rates.
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Webcasting and Rich Media 377
• Rich media is more “likeable.”
Higher Recall
A recent usage study among consumers who had recently switched from
dial-up to high-speed Internet access revealed the following results:
• 93 percent of users download more MP3s than they did when
using a dial-up connection.
• 90 percent download more music and videos.
• 89 percent watch more streaming video.
• 86 percent listen to more streaming audio.
• 79 percent transfer a greater number of large files.
• 78 percent share more photos on-line.
This means that more and more people are likely to remember your
company’s streaming media presentation than a static banner ad, as
they are more apt to view rich media.
Better Branding
It goes without saying that better customer recall leads to better branding.
Creating brand awareness with banner ads is difficult because banner
ads are not very interactive. The combination of sight and sound
possible with rich media advertising makes it much more effective than
a static image or looping animated GIF.
More Click-Throughs
A banner ad incorporating Java or Flash Media will have more than
twice the number of click-throughs than a static banner ad. Static banner
ads average less than one click-through per hundred impressions. If
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378 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
you have a banner ad that actively engages your customer, you can
achieve higher click-through rates and generate more sales leads.
More Likeable
Intel concluded that a nonstreaming interactive banner ad offers a 20
percent potential increase in likeability. People are more likely to interact
with a banner ad that has some sort of game built into it as opposed
to a static image. Therefore, an interactive banner ad has the potential
to attract many people who are not usually inclined to click on banner
ads of any sort. Likewise, a 30-second spot in a streaming multimedia
presentation (e.g., watching the Superbowl on-line) is going to be more
acceptable to a user than is a pop-up banner ad.
The bottom line is that if people like you, they will probably buy
from you. Both steaming and nonstreaming broadband media advertising
increase your chances of making a positive impression on customers.
More Reasons to Use Rich Media Advertising
Given the high recall rates, the cost per branding impression (i.e., the
number of times a customer must view the ad before becoming familiar
with your brand) decreases. This increases your ROI (return on investment)
because you do not have to invest as much in rich media advertising
to get your message across as you would with traditional advertising.
For instance, to brand your company’s name or product using television
advertising could require a substantial financial investment. People
change the channel during commercial breaks, so it is harder to reach
television viewers.
However, when people intentionally subscribe to an Internet channel,
they are viewing and listening to information they are interested in.
Plus, it is more of an effort to switch channels on the Net than while
watching television. Therefore, the user’s tendency to remain “tuned
in” is higher.
Also, the Internet is a worldwide network. Television, magazines,
and other traditional marketing vehicles are more regionalized. Therefore,
a rich media advertisement streaming across the Internet has the
potential to reach a much larger audience.
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Webcasting and Rich Media 379
The Barriers of Webcasting (Rich Media) Acceptance
With every new medium, there are bound to be barriers to its public
acceptance. Webcasting, both streaming and nonstreaming, is no different.
There are six primary obstacles that Webcasting must overcome
before it becomes a publicly acceptable advertising medium.
Cost
The possibilities are there, but so are the costs, and you must be aware
of this. Although the cost is coming down, the cost of developing streaming
media and nonstreaming media still can be considered expensive for
some budgets. Moreover, if you’re looking to advertise on a site that
applies video and audio content, then you must be made aware that
most of the sites that apply this technology are high-budget, high-volume,
and high-bandwidth sites and will likely ask for quite a fee to
advertise.
You must also consider the potential return on investment. We described
earlier how rich media advertising has a higher recall rate than
standard Web advertising. Also, rich media is more cost-effective and
efficient for branding purposes. Therefore, although the initial expense
of producing a rich media advertisement might be quite high, it could
quickly be recovered by the interest and sales the ad generates.
Rich Media Advertising Is Not Accepted by All Sites
Although many sites do not have the resources to offer Webcast advertising
opportunities, a lot of major sites do. Content sites such as
Launch.Yahoo.com and RollingStone.com place ads in front of some
of the videos you can view on their site. These streaming media sites
offer tremendous exposure opportunities for companies that advertise
with them.
There are also sites such as MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com) that
offer free Webcast advertising. On MP3.com, unsigned music artists
can post MP3 versions of their songs for the world to hear. MP3.com is
a high-traffic site as a result of the community of artists they have created,
and the artists themselves benefit from the increased exposure.
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Bandwidth Constraints
Both streaming and nonstreaming media require that users have high
connection speeds in order to experience a Webcast as it is intended. To
view streaming content, you need a plug-in or player of some sort. Popular
applications used to view or hear streaming content include:
• Windows Media Player
• Quicktime
• RealPlayer
• Macromedia Shockwave Player.
It is important to note that the higher the connection speed, the
more convenient the use of streaming content is. If you’re still using a
14.4 Kbps modem, you’re simply not going to get the performance
needed to make it worthwhile. This presents an obstacle to people
with slower Internet connection rates. Also, some people simply do
not wish to download and install the plug-ins necessary to play rich
media files. You will not be able to target your Webcasting advertising
campaign toward these users.
Irritates User
Does Webcasting annoy users? Sure it does. But this is the case only for
people with low bandwidth or less robust machines. Also, some people
despise advertising in any form, so you probably won’t win over any of
these individuals either.
Too Complicated
The software to create rich media content exists and, with a little initiative,
can be learned by anyone. You first should determine if your target
market is likely to be a user of rich media. Learning to create rich media
just requires a little bit of initiative and patience.