Three years ago, adding streaming video for your website would definitely give it the wow factor that could distinguish your pages from their competition. It would give your regular visitors something to be excited about, and it would provide for your website enough buzz that could potentially generate a lot of traffic.

Nowadays, the rules of the ballgame have changed. People, in general, have become accustomed to streaming video, live or pre-recorded. It just doesn't have the umph effect that it once possessed, partly because the method has been overused, and partly because the technology behind it has become rather stale.

This shouldn't be taken to mean that videos are totally useless for your website, however.

They're not. They still remain as amazing tools that could stir up a lot of fun for your visitors, only, the traditional ways of creating and implementing them have become old.

Nonetheless, if you want to create streaming video the old fashioned way, the only thing you have to do is to prepare a video file. This video file must have either .wmv, .avi, .mpeg, .mov, or .rm extension. Thereafter, you'd only need to upload it to your web hosting server and provide a link for the same. Every time your visitors would click on the link, the appropriate viewing program would automatically start and they'd be able to view your presentation.

If you desire true streaming, then you'd have to upload your video file in a dedicated streaming server. This would allow your visitors to view the feeds as they arrive, and is perfect for live events.

Another method is progressive streaming. This means that your visitors can immediately watch your video file while they are downloading the same. This is the most popular approach these days. Websites like www.youtube.com are implementing it. You'd also need a dedicated streaming server for this.

Here are some dedicated streaming servers you could avail of:

http://www.realnetworks.com/products/mas

http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashcom

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tools_tips/services

There are novel models that have been introduced in recent years that brought additional life to the medium, especially on a marketing perspective.

Video testimonials, for example, can become powerful tools for sales pages. The problem is, sales pages should load up fast, and video streaming might make the process slower, which would prove fatal for your conversion rate. Thankfully, you could convert your video files into miniscule .swf files and stream them using derivative RSS technology. No need to subscribe to a dedicated streaming server for this one, as technically, your video is not a video file, it's a Flash file!

Downloadable video files have also been given a new lease in life with the surging popularity of videocasts. Since more and more people are downloading video files these days to upload them in their iPod Videos or other portable video players, a back to basics approach, with a little innovative twist, has been deemed proper. Downloadable video files are experiencing a renaissance.

Also, many marketers are fast realizing the potentials of using videos in lieu, or in support, of manuals for their products. Studies show that pursuing this approach have reduced the number of technical queries from their customers by as much as 67%. The reason? People respond more to what they could see and hear, compared to what they could merely read. Since videos are instructive by their very nature, they are perfect tools for this purpose.

Also, many marketers are creating video products to supplement their packages. Doing such has been proven to increase their sales rate by as much as 23%. Furthermore, with the seeming professionalism attributed to video creation, marketers can justify a higher price for the packages they offer.

Video streaming, and videos in general, are internet marketing staples. Though some approaches may grow stale, a little creativity would catapult them back again in the limelight. Such is the power of videos for marketing purposes.