5 Reasons To Use Presentation Audio

We’ve all sat through dry and dull presentations in our time, be it a client pitch, in a business meeting or at an interview. Whenever the content of the presentation is dull it can seriously harm its chances of success - so here’s a tip for spicing things up a bit and increasing your prospects of landing that client, job or the trust of your boss: use audio!

Many people are auditory in nature, so the careful use of sound and voiceover throughout a presentation can not only make you stand out from the crowd, it can also increase your chance of delivering an effective presentation. Here are some top tips for using presentation audio.

1. Audio Adds a Professional Sound

Whether you’re in a business pitch, job interview or company meeting, making yourself seem as professional as possible is always a winner. By using audio, you can help make your presentation sound extra slick in a way that will be sure to impress whoever you’re pitching to.

2. The Power of Audio Testimonials

These can be used in a variety of presentation environments. If you’re pitching to a potential client, why not play a couple of audio testimonials from the happy customers you already have. Hearing other businesses enthuse about your services will make your offer instantly more trustworthy.

Alternatively, if you’re doing a presentation as part of a job interview, why not get your past employers and work colleagues to provide audio references. Hearing your former boss’ voice will lend their words a lot more power than if the interviewer simply read them on a page.

3. Audio Logos Can Capture Your Brand

An audio logo is a short sonic image that captures the essence of a brand. Just think of the McDonald’s ‘I’m loving it’ sound or Intel’s ‘leap ahead’ logo. At their best, an audio logo can encapsulate everything that your brand stands for - something that any prospective client or buyer will want to know. Firstly, make sure you have an audio logo and then use it strategically throughout your presentation for maximum effect.

To create your own audio logo, visit: http://www.voicetakeaway.com/Audio-Logos-s/1853.htm

4. Audio Makes You Stand Out

If you’re presenting to a potential client or employer, the chances are that yours is not the only presentation they’ll sit through that day. By using audio throughout your presentation, you’ll be sure to stand out from the crowd in a way that demonstrates your professionalism, creativity and attention to detail.

5. Audio Can Help If You’re Not A Natural Presenter

If you’re not a natural presenter or you get nervous doing pitches, using audio is a great way to help make your presentation engaging and original without placing too much pressure on yourself to deliver your best performance. For example, if you’re nervous about extolling your own virtues, use audio testimonials from previous clients or employers to do it for you.

To source your own presentation audio, please visit: http://www.voicetakeaway.com/Presentation-s/1832.htm

Using Audio To Boost Online Traffic

This is a guest blog from Tom Benedict, co-founder and director of Britain's Best Home, a property portal showcasing some of the UK's most luxurious homes.

A few years ago, my business partner and I were wondering what would be the next “Big Thing” in online marketing. We’d done everything known to mankind but were looking for something really different, something that would take us ahead of the crowd.

We decided to try a video landing page and experimented with a number of designs before deciding on a page design with interactive links. To save on costs, mine was the voice that guided you through the website. We utilised our own video production equipment and the total cost of the experiment was £42.

At the same time, we were asked to design and host a website for a PR & Marketing company in Northamptonshire and we added this “new” concept. The client loved it and once the SEO was completed, the traffic hitting the site was beyond all expectations. We’d hit on a magic formula.

A couple of years later, I decided to incorporate the same idea into the world of estate agency. The results were outstanding with a traffic flow that exceeded 25,000 visits per week. As an experiment we then took out the voice over and video’s and as a subsequence the online traffic fell by 75%. We knew video and voice was the way forward. From that moment on, we have never changed our thoughts regarding voice over and video production to market products online. 

Done right, voice overs are one of the best ways of communicating with potential customers. We have worked with some of the largest TV production companies in the UK and incorporated our idea to great effect.

We highly recommend Voice Takeaway and the services they offer, it works for us and so why couldn’t it work for you?

For more information about Tom Benedict and Britain's Best Home, please visit: www.britainsbesthome.com

Using Audio To Enhance Film

Businesses are waking up to the power of video to communicate their message. From online adverts, customer testimonials to in-house productions for staff messages or events, video is continuing to gain relevance. Yet oftentimes the difference between a bad video and a good video is nothing to do with the picture quality or production values at all - it's all about the audio. Whether it's pairing your brand with the wrong music, bad audio levels or using amateur voice artists, it's important not to let your video's poor audio undermine the message you are trying to communicate to your customers.

If you'd like an example of just how good audio can enhance a video - check out this fabulous video from soundideas.com which is not only great fun to watch also illustrates the transformative effect of professionally made audio:

Pretty cool, eh? It just goes to show how important good audio can be when trying to produce a great video. And it doesn't just apply to movies, in fact it's especially important when you're trying to sell your brand - poor audio quality will make your business look unprofessional, no matter how good the rest of the video is.

Therefore, when making videos for business use, make sure you invest in quality audio. Be it through top quality sound editing software, or through outsourcing it to professionals like ourselves, make sure you don't let your video down with poor audio.

For more information about using audio for videos, please visit: http://www.voicetakeaway.com

5 Ways To Use Audio To Sell Books

Audio is one of the fastest-growing means of marketing and one of its greatest advantages is the fact that it can work for almost any product. Today, we’re going to explore how you can use audio to sell books. Below are your essential tips:

1 - Create A Book Trailer
A book trailer, I hear you ask?!? Believe it or not, book trailers are one of the hottest new things within the book market. Record a short audio or video clip that captures the essence of your book and share it online via social media. Want some inspiration - check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90INxcl1bc

2 - Audio Book Previews
Long before the obsession with e-books started it was all about the audio book. As any parent will know, it’s hard to find a young boy or girl in the western world who hasn’t listened to the Harry Potter audio book series. And in this newly digital age, the appeal of the audio book has by no means disappeared. Therefore, try using audio samples of your book as a way to reach out to potential buyers. Do a reading from your book - it could be anything from a few paragraphs to a couple of chapters - and publish it online.

3 - Book Club Podcasts
Podcasting is one of the most effective means of marketing as it shows off your expertise and draws in new people without appearing like a blatant marketing exercise. Within the context of selling books, perhaps use a podcast to have the author discuss their latest publication, what inspired them to write it, what it is about, etc. You could even upload a regular book club podcast, encouraging regular listeners to write in and review new books. If a potential customer hears an in-depth review of the book they are far more likely to buy it than if they just read the usual promotional jargon.

4 - Online Bonus Material
Ever finished a book and loved it so much that you just wanted more? Online audio content is the perfect way to provide bonus material for loyal readers, but can also be great for giving those who haven’t purchased the book a chance to get a glimpse at what it’s like. Why not try uploading short audio chapters about the main characters or the central themes?

5 - Guest on Radio and Other Podcasts
Don’t feel like you have to only use your own channels of communication to sell your book. Try pitching your book to radio stations with book review/arts shows and offer to come on and guest. Similarly, hunt down some of the many other book review podcasts available online and offer to come on. You’d be surprised how often these types of shows are looking for guests and contributors!

For more information about how to use audio for selling books, please visit: http://www.voicetakeaway.com

How The Travel Industry Can Use Audio Marketing

This is a guest blog from travel journalist Ben Clatworthy.

Audio marketing is one of the fastest growing ways to communicate a message, and it is particularly effective for businesses who rely on selling experiences. In few places does this apply more than the travel industry, where a well deployed piece of evocative audio can often be instrumental in securing those all-important bookings.

Imagine you're starting to think about holidays in the cold, damp months of late winter and early spring – the relaxation of the summer can seem a million miles away. Yet if you're a travel agent, hotel or resort, you can use audio marketing to help make such a scene feel a little bit more tangible. An exotic audio logo can neatly define the essence of your business. An emotive radio advert can make the listener dream of their summer break. Perhaps a collection of audio testimonials from your previous customers can help convince them that yours is a company they can trust to deliver a quality experience.

There is almost no limit to the number of ways in which audio can be used to help sell the wide range of products and services associated with the travel industry. Because of the nature of audio, its a great chance to get creative and communicate your message on a more instinctive level. For example, the sound of cow bells will always be more effective at painting a mental picture of a skiing break than some words on a page. Or try an audio blog from travel experts offering holiday advice and tips – it will always sound more personal and trustworthy than a round-robin email.

A key part of what drives our decision to book holidays, travel and foreign trips is our emotive desire to get away, explore and discover new experiences. Audio is one of the most powerful tools to unleash those emotions and it's about time the travel industry took full advantage.

Ben Clatworthy is a British journalist, specialising in travel, skiing and adventure sports. He has written for various publications including 'The Times' and 'In The Snow' magazine. For more information about Ben, please visit: http://benclatworthy.com

5 Reasons To Discover Audio Blogging

Everyone has heard of blogging, right? Well image what would happen if you could HEAR blogging? Well, you can. Audio blogs are becoming an increasingly effective tool for businesses, organisations and charities to communicate their message. Want to know why? Here are Voice Takeaway’s five reasons to discover audio blogging.

1 - The Voice Is Always More Engaging Than The Pen
*Not that written blogs are really done with pens but you take our point! Hearing something direct from the communicator has an innate power and personality that is often lacking in standard written blogs. By using your own voice to create an audio blog you can inject personality and pace to enhance its effect. We instinctively trust a human voice more than just words on a screen.

2 - It Can Make Your Blog Stand Out
The blogosphere is a crowded place and so using audio blogs is a great way to shake things up. You don’t have to replace all your written entries, but by publishing an audio blog from time to time you are more likely to grab the attention of your online followers and fans.

3 - They Fit In With Our Busy Lives
The modern world is a hectic place and we don’t always have time to read a full blog post. By contrast, an audio blog which can be downloaded and transferred to a smart-phone or mp3 player gives us the opportunity to engage with blogs by listening to them on our commute, at home or even at the gym!

4 - They Can Showcase A Range Of Voices And Opinions
A great tool for making the most out of audio blogs is to incorporate many different voices or opinions. For example, if your business centres around advice and expertise why not make one of your audio blogs a discussion between members of your team to showcase the experience and knowledge that you can offer. Because of the nature of audio blogs there are far many more possibilities for creativity and innovation, so embrace that and use it to your advantage.

5 - They Are Great For Sharing On A Range Of Platforms
Blogs are already a great tool for creating shareable content, but audio blogs are able to reach a whole new range of platforms. Audio blogs can be uploaded to platforms such as AudioBoo, SoundCloud and YouTube and embedded within your own blog and website. They can also then be shared via Twitter, Facebook and Google+ and help integrate your social media platforms to create a commanding and engaging online presence.

And before you ask, no it doesn’t cost the earth to produce an audio blog. You don’t need professional recording software, indeed you can record yourself via free downloadable apps or software on a smartphone, laptop or PC. We’d recommend checking out some of the free versions of the old Adobe Audition which is a great place to start for no cost at all.

And just to demonstrate the power of audio blogs, here’s an audio blog version of this very post! Have a listen and hear for yourself what effect they can have:

Those are just five benefits of audio blogging - a new and exciting form of online content that could be perfect for your business. If you’d like more information about audio blogging or business audio of any type, feel free to visit our website www.voicetakeaway.com.

The Power Of Audio For Relaxation

This is a guest blog for Voice Takeaway by The One Thai Massage, who offer mind-unwinding therapies in the heart of Manchester city centre.

Imagine yourself in a spa, or a massage centre. You’re relaxed, lying on the massage bed, the room is warm and scented with aromatic oils, the atmosphere is peaceful, and it’s completely silent.

There’s something missing, isn’t there? For the vast majority of people, music is part of the treatment experience. Soothing sounds help to enhance a massage, facial or therapy more than you might realise.

In America, studies by the Touch Research Institute in Miami have shown that music is helpful in reducing people’s cortisol levels. High cortisol levels are often present in people who are stressed, in pain or anxious, and so it figures that anything we can do to bring down the levels of this hormone will be beneficial for them and help them get even more benefit from their massage therapy. In one study, just ten minutes of hand massage combined with music was effective in reducing agitation in a group of elderly participants.

We find that the right music sets the scene for a massage treatment, and all of our rooms are kitted out with separate stereo systems. Therapists choose the musical accompaniment according to the type of treatment, from a selection of options on a memory stick we provide. It makes the whole experience incredibly relaxing, and studies have shown that it’s not just the clients who benefit from the use of music; it also helps to set the tempo for the therapist, and helps them get into a rhythm.

In the future, as we expand, we might look into a more advanced stereo system such as  Sonos or something similar as an option.

We don’t currently have on-hold music although it’s something we are keen to explore as an option as the business expands. We have to be very careful about the type of music we choose too, clients might enjoy staying on hold while listening to a relaxing piece of classical music, but pop music isn’t for everyone, and might be more likely to put clients off in some cases. We’d be looking at selections of soothing, relaxing music that evoke the atmosphere of a massage room, and hopefully set the scene for a potential client’s treatment.

For more information about The One Thai Massage please visit: http://www.theonethaimassage.co.uk/Home.html#.Ut5L3xY4m2w