Very well put, Sheila, and great comments. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and knowledge with us.

Penny Haynes, http://www.1stPodcastPublis...

Penny’s right - audio can do great things for businesses with websites! People do trust what they hear and testimonials from happy customers go a long way. As Penny says, audio on business websites creates that connection, either on its own or alongside video. However, putting together testimonials for business websites is very different from the “DIY”, market in audio and video. There is clearly a massive market for social networking, podcasting and short film technology, like YouTube, MyVideoTalk, etc. But for businesses, brand reputation is critical. Poorly executed audio or video can easily lead to brand damage. For audio to sound professional, it needs to be just that – professional! Certainly, testimonials from real customers, in their own voice are hugely effective, but in that case, the packaging is critical. Welcome messages need purpose. Website audio or video has to add value and deliver something that can’t be done with text or images alone. If you want an example, look at http://www.nrg-networks.com or http://www.bishopslaw.co.uk .

Using audio to describe your products can be effective, but overusing it can drive away customers rather than attract them. If you’ve got a particular product which isn’t selling well, perhaps because there is a complexity about it, highlighting it and explaining it using audio your website is a really efficient, cost-effective use of the medium.

Writing for voice, recording and producing audio and video scripts, understanding marketing, brand values, the power of the spoken word - even the physical distance between mouth and microphone - are all essential skills to add to the technology. It's the difference between brand enhancement and brand destruction – calling in professional help might be more expensive in the short term, but far less costly for your corporate future.

Getting out the headset mic and sitting in a quiet part of the office to record a friendly message for your website is the easy part. But think carefully about how your words will impact on your company brand and reputation before you press the record button.

Sheila Brill, Red Ferry