When I arrived home from a trip to the west coast on a recent Friday night, I had received an email from a colleague who wanted me to take a look at a specific segment in a webcast that included some comments about my company. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued, so I clicked on the link only to find that I had to sit through nearly 60 minutes of a presentation that was only marginally relevant to me. Given that I had been away from home all week and it was Friday night, I didn’t have time to sit through the whole program, so I tried to find the reference using the rudimentary slider controls on the player. It turns out that the content I wanted to hear was 45 minutes into the program and it took me nearly 20 minutes to find because of constant re-buffering of the player and lack of any kind of search or other navigational capability. It would have been much easier, not to mention viral marketing friendly, if my colleague could have sent me a time-coded link that brought me to the exact point in the program he wanted me to see. By the time I found what I was looking for, I was frustrated with the vendor that produced the program – exactly the opposite of their goal in producing the webcast. We live in a non-linear world where content is demanded and delivered on-demand and yet the majority of webcasts ignore the reality of what this really means.

I bet if I polled the readers of this article to find out who owns a Tivo, DVR or an iPod, the positive responses would be in the majority. Technology and media have advanced to the point where we’re all accustomed to the ability to access the content that is most relevant, at the time we want it. The web itself is the embodiment of content that is personalized and consumed in a sequence that is right for each of us. For example, Yahoo reports nearly 60 million users globally use “My Yahoo” services to create personalized homepages including content they choose from a multitude of sources. And most web sites use some form of personalization based on information that has been provided previously, or through analysis of current or prior activity, whether it’s searching for books on Amazon, product information or even movies on your favorite rental site.

Given the role that content plays when engaging new website visitors, it’s quite a paradox that webcasts, one of the most visible and in-depth resources a company produces, are so relatively archaic. Webcasts have become a regular part of the marketing mix, because they can effectively deliver complex information to widely dispersed audiences. They often serve as a platform for delivering high-level, strategic presentations from company executives  -- content that arguably impacts your brand affinity the most. Given this level of importance, it is critical to not only carefully consider the content, but also the overall user experience.

Lets take a look at some specifics. Webcast platforms should offer viewers a range of navigation controls that allow them to interact with the program and truly get engaged with the content that is being presenting. Search is the key driver of all web traffic and is an inherent part of every web browser’s experience. Shouldn’t viewers be able to search the transcript of a program and then jump to the section that interests them the most? Think of how much time this would save a prospect interested in specific aspects of your products and services, and how much it would be appreciated by someone just becoming acquainted with your company.

Have you ever been in the situation where you were interrupted while watching an on-demand webcast that required you to go back to the beginning and start over? Navigation controls that allow someone to easily scan through the presentation or pick from a list of topics, would solve this problem. Likewise, downloadable information such as white papers, presentation slides and copies of transcripts are also highly desirable to webcast viewers. Viewers value the ability to “Ask a Question” at arms length, while viewing a program, especially if they are not ready to initiate dialogue directly with a company. Developing a relationship with a new visitor to your web site starts with the quality of the user experience, yet most webcast platforms do not offer the kind of features that support a rich and rewarding experience.

Part of this paradox relates to the fact that many companies persist in delivering their webcast programs live at a specific date and time, in order to achieve the “interactivity” that they deem as desirable. The number of people that can actually interact though is quite limited and few registrants actually show up at the prescribed time. (You’re doing well these days if 25-30% of your registrants actually show up.) At the end of a 45-minute presentation, little time is left for viewers to ask questions, so only a handful of questions are actually entertained. On the contrary, good interactive on-demand media should offer two-way communications for every single person that experiences it.

Analysis by most companies will show that the number of viewers they attracted to a program was greater after it was archived, than when it was delivered live. This is a strong indicator that viewers prefer to watch this type of programming when it’s convenient for them, on their own time. Instead, listeners must suffer through every “um,” “ah,” and “okay we’re almost ready to get started” comment that is inherent in a live program, but incredibly dull if you are listening after the fact. Your most valuable content becomes dated the minute it’s archived, which is how the majority of viewers experience your program. If this is the case, why not produce the program specifically for on-demand delivery in order to make a better impression on the majority of your audience? Professionally produced, edited content can also be leveraged for other uses.

Making a strong first impression not only helps in the effort of acquiring new prospects, it has a very real impact on how receptive a prospect is to receiving more information about a company when a sales representative makes a follow-up call. Research clearly shows that the impression made on first-time viewers is immediate and has a lasting effect. In experiments aimed at revealing how people form perceptions, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, PhD, a UCLA psychologist, found that first impressions are formed from a combination of three components: 55% is visual, 38% is auditory, and 7% is content. 

The significance of the visual component in making an impression on a potential prospect should not be underestimated. Webcast usage and behavior patterns show that when a vendor produces a high-quality video program, it positively impacts the perception of that vendor. Yet, most webcast platforms are constrained to a standard “boxed” format, whereas an evolved webcast platform makes visual interest a priority, allowing for a variety of content layouts and optimal display of information.

Ultimately, the success of a webcast program produced to support sales of a product is determined by how effectively and efficiently the awareness-consideration-purchase gap was closed. Any webcast platform may capture a lead, but if a prospect’s viewing experience is less than ideal it will negatively impact what kind of lead (hot, warm, cold) is produced and how much nurturing of that lead is required.

Because webcasts are no longer a novelty, it is more important than ever to produce quality programs that stand out from the crowd. This can be accomplished with a combination of quality content, sophisticated production, and a flexible, feature-rich delivery platform.

If Content is King, Leverage Your Content

Another paradox worth pointing out is that most webcast platforms require the user to be sent to another location, outside a corporate web site to register and view a program due to hosting constraints. So in reality, most webcasts aren’t even a part of your web site, despite the time, energy and expense that went into producing it. By contrast, alternative approaches exist where webcasts can be embedded into one or many web pages, including corporate web sites, partner sites, or even pushed out in a banner ad unit. Your program can be hosted once, and then embedded in multiple locations to facilitate distribution through all the channels available to you, both internal and external. This approach broadens your reach and exposure, and at the same time allows your content to be delivered in the context that your prospects are most comfortable with. You maintain control over the presentation of the content and the branding surrounding the program, while retaining visitors to your own site.

Adaptive, on-demand marketing models are driving business today because they place a priority on listening to consumers and analyzing how they behave. These models recognize that consumers have a choice about the products they buy and have been developed to respond to business and customers at the moment of need, in order to extract the greatest gain. As a web-based marketing communications vehicle, webcasts need to evolve into something more relevant and useful to the internet culture. They need to incorporate features that allow visitors to meaningfully engage with your multimedia content in a way that allows them to acquire the information they need quickly and painlessly. Webcasts that recognize these needs and enhance the user experience will create more meaningful, lasting relationships.

About the Author
Bill Reinstein is President/CEO of Accela Communications, developer of the leading on-demand rich media platform, AccelaCast. He was also the founding Publisher of ITworld.com, which has grown into an entire network of web sites focused on information technology. Bill is a frequent speaker about the evolution of webcasting and on-demand rich media, and was named one of the '40 most influential people' in the publishing field by Folio Magazine in 2001.