It’s customary to build microsites from the perspective of delivering what you have to offer—but it’s critically important to consider the form in which your customers and prospective customers want to receive that information. Increasingly, that means integrating multimedia, also known as rich media, into your marketing and advertising presentations.

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2012–2017, “Globally, consumer Internet video traffic will be 69 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2017, up from 57 percent in 2012.” Beyond the sheer magnitude of those numbers, however, is this point made by Business2Community: “Online video is engaging, entertaining, informative and, most importantly, it has massive CONVERSION POWER… Video also allows much more to be communicated in a shorter space of time when compared with text and images, with 1 minute of video worth a staggering 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research.”

Video is a necessity in today’s marketing landscape and digital experiences—and therefore an essential consideration in microsite development. As this free IBM whitepaper, The Growing Demand for Rich Media, points out, it’s a way of maintaining consistency and improving ROI, but you also need to manage the complexity and manage your digital assets.

With those thoughts in mind, here are several useful resources to help drive your multimedia and rich media efforts in microsites:

• How to Deliver Useful Marketing With Video Resource Microsites. Includes useful ideas about integrating diverse video types, SEO strategies, calls to action, and lead generation.
• Five Tips for Creating Videos That Build Brand and Drive Sales. Makes key points about the difference between conversion and brand building, accessibility, and story telling.
• Move Beyond Awareness With Interactive Video. “Approaches to video online are broader than simply grabbing 30 seconds from your TV commercial and sticking it on an online display network.” I couldn’t agree more with this author’s thoughts on what to watch for.

In an upcoming post, I’ll share some of my favorite rich media examples on microsites, and offer thoughts on what makes them so powerful.

In the comments: As a user, how many videos do you view on an average day? Do you agree or disagree that they’ve got a unique ability to convey a story and convert customers?

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