Adding Media to Your Website
Just as technology has vastly changed the way we use our phones, it also has changed the way we use websites. It used to be that only the big corporations had websites. Now, every established organization is expected to have one. Whether you are a large or small business, a not for profit or a religious organization, people know that the quickest way to get initial information about you is to visit your website.
Websites used to have only static information—pictures, graphs or text that did not change frequently. But now more and more websites are incorporating various types of audio and visual media into their websites.
Why Add Media
Media such as podcasts and videos have become a way for organizations to not just tell, but to show visitors what they are all about. Think of a newcomer to town who is seeking a new church home. Which is more compelling—a welcome message that the visitor reads on the website, or a video welcome that comes directly from the pastor?
In his article “5 Reasons Your Church Website Should be Using Video,” marketer John Panico says that the video welcome helps to build a relationship with the viewer. “You are not just some figure head that leads a church or a church ministry,” Panico writes in his article. “Instead, you are another person just like them having a human experience that is quite possibly similar to their own. Thus a relationship develops.”
In addition to giving a visitor a glimpse of your organization’s personality and culture, media can be used to promote learning. A podcast or video of a presentation or sermon can be available for anyone to see, 24/7. For small companies or nonprofits, business presentations, meetings, and messages can be captured and passed on so all company personnel can be informed.
Another benefit of adding media to your website is that it can be viral, so it can be passed on to others, therefore giving you and your organization even more exposure.
Trinity Church, a historic Episcopal parish in lower Manhattan uses Windows Media Player for video addresses from the staff. They also create video postcards so visitors to the church can send a message to people back home. Trinity also records podcasts of weekly sermons.
R3volution Church out of Kansas City, Missouri, puts sermons on itunes that can then be downloaded on to iPod and listened to on demand.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, an association of conservative congregations in North America, posts educational webinars online, including subjects such as marketing nonprofits. They also have informational “rabbipods” for audio information.
Many organizations are still at the very beginning stages of incorporating media into their website. Those that do are finding that using media enhances the message by telling their story in a more compelling way.
