Online Media Tools to Enhance Your Website
"Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared." —George Clason
Winter 2010
In today’s digital age, most would agree that their website is a primary marketing tool. Ten years ago, you were cutting edge if you had a website…and it was probably basic HTML with little modern appeal. Now, people want to interact with the site, see stuff move, and distribute information. While I’ve never been a fan of complete Flash websites, having a little Flash here and there doesn’t hurt your SEO.
In my web hunts recently, I found a few really cool tools that could really be helpful to businesses and organizations, for little or no cost. The three that I want to share with you are SnackTools, SlideShare and Issuu, which cover online Flash tools and document sharing. All of their products can be embedded on your website.
SnackTools
SnackTools.com is the parent of two products: BannerSnack and PhotoSnack. BannerSnack is a tool that lets you create Flash banners online. You can set the size, add transitions, cool effects, and images all from your web browser. So whether you need to create a banner ad or a flash e-card, this tool is definitely helpful. Design sensibilities are still required because you have to select your type, layout, and image options, but give it a try. It’s free! Here are some examples. PhotoSnack enables you to create very nice, animated online slideshows, portfolios or product presentations. These could be great for realtors, sales teams or cause-marketing. Here are some of their examples.
For both products, there are free versions and paid versions. The paid versions run on a point system which can be used for BannerSnacks and PhotoSnacks. The free versions include their logo at the beginning of your presentation before is starts playing. The paid versions, around the $10 mark without a subscription, remove the advertising and allows you to either get embed code, much like YouTube, or download the SWF file to host on your own server.
