Multimedia Tools

Enhancing Their Senses will Enhance Your Message

Multimedia can be used in a variety of ways in order to enhance our messaging. It is a great tool for conveying our ideas in a unique way that will capture and keep our reader’s attention. Multimedia can enhance our messages by making our communication digitally interactive. Writers can use PowerPoint presentations, images, flip videos, sound clips, or photo stories on their blog post to enhance its meaning.  When I go to a website or blog and just read a bunch of text with no images or graphics I become very bored and my attention begins to focus on something else. I may even click out of the page and find a new site. Multimedia is all about publishing quality content for readers to go along with your writing. Adding multimedia to your blog or website will not take away from the text. The visuals will actually complement the text and help readers understand your message better and come back to your site over and over again.

These visual tools allow us to share our deepest thoughts, greatest moments, and most thought-provoking ideas with our readers in an innovative way. As writers, telling a story using a multimedia platform will target the readers senses and impact them emotionally and mentally. This means that pictures and video can allow the reader to have a better learning experience and connect with the blogger. Below, I have used Microsoft My Photo Story 3 as an example to share my first 5k story with you.

Using Effective Multimedia Techniques

Today, we are all use to multitasking and are actually pretty good at it. Our attention span over the years continues to get shorter and we want our information faster and in an effective way. As I said in my previous post, clarity is very important when introducing a new idea or trying to make a point in your blog. Multimedia can give readers a clearer understanding of what they are reading. It can also help readers that are multitaskers or have short attention spans focus in on what you are trying to convey. Many people feel that a video is more effective than pictures and pictures are more effective than an audio clip. I think all of these can be effective in their own way, but here is my honest, personal opinion on each based on my use of them:

Audio Clips
In order for an audio clip to be effective depends on the website or blog. I am not too big on audio clips and find them the least effective. I think they work well on political websites or talk radio sites. Also, it is sometimes nice to visit a website and there is music from an audio clip playing in the background. Audio clips actually tend to distract me because instead of reading or seeing what is on the blog I try and listen to what the audio is saying and concentrate on that. I am a visual person, so I need imagery or video on a website or blog to be affected or influenced. 

 The best use of audio for me would be situations where I cannot sit down, read, or look at images. Audio can be a tremendous help in getting the information I need while still being able to multitask at work. I especially appreciate when bloggers or writers tape themselves reading their blog posts or use SoundCloud to record a part of the text. This can be extremely convenient to the reader. Thank you SoundCloud!

Slideshows, Photos, and Illustrations
Photos can be used on a blog in many different forms to enhance the meaning of the text. The most popular forms can be illustrations, slideshows, graphics, or infographics. Photos generally tend to flow very well with the text. They are so powerful because they can influence people and inspire them. Photos can be used with no added features such as sound or can be sorted and put into a slideshow that has music in the background.  Also, slideshows usually start on their own when visiting a blog or website, giving a reader the opportunity to browse the site freely without interruptions. Photos can educate, encourage participation,  or promote change.

A great example of the use of infographics is a blog I found a while back through The Huffington Post's Twitter account. It is called Chart Girl. She uses flow charts, pictures, and graphics to explain current situations in pop culture, rather they are funny or serious. Check it out here!

Videos
Videos do a great job showing the reader what the writer wants them to know. Videos are especially amazing tools to use for tutorials or when you are trying to teach your readers something. For example, explaining how to do a cartwheel will sound very confusing in text, but a video showing how to do a cartwheel will make sense. Videos can also make the writer more credible to the reader. This is because the reader gets to see with their own eyes what you are trying to prove through your writing. The downside is that with videos, the audience usually has to stop reading and play the video which can take them away for a moment. However, videos are still extremely effective because of all the different ways they can be used. Tutorials, event footage, on screen interviews, or documentaries can all be added to enhance the information on your blog or website. 

A great example of using videos on your website is my favorite beauty guru Carli Bybel's beauty blog and website. Her beauty blog is The Fashion Bybel and her main site is CarliBybel.com. She uses bright, lively videos throughout her website to discuss beauty, fashion, and fitness tips. Carli uses photos in her text and also posts a YouTube video tutorial that correlates to the text at the end of each blog entry.

As far as there being one multimedia technique more effective than another, I feel depends on the reader and what motivates them and on how the writer uses each technique to connect to their reader. 

References:

Sniderman, Z. (2010, July 28). How to: Add multimedia to your blog. Mashable.com. Retrieved from 

           http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/add-multimedia-to-blog/