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10 Podcast Tips for B2B
A podcast may increase your visibility, but ultimately, you need compelling content to build name recognition and market share. To learn more about how to create a successful show, visit Hobson & Holtz for 10 B2B podcast guidelines.
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Podcasting Leaps into B2B
Podcasting is moving into the mainstream, opening new channels for business-to-business communications.
Blending radio-style broadcasts with the advantages of the Internet, podcasts are making their way from bloggers' tool to marketing strategy. These on-demand audio and video communications were first seen in news, commentary and entertainment circles. They're now a viable addition to the marketing communications arsenal in both the B2B and B2C spaces.
Podcasts are, in essence, radio-style shows on demand. But they are different than radio and streaming media:
- Audio or video podcasts are self-published, syndicated shows distributed over the Internet via RSS feeds or XML. Once an individual has subscribed to a particular podcast, both of these content aggregators check and download new content automatically.
- Listeners choose when to hear a podcast, which they can access on a portable player (such as the iPod, although, contrary to what the term might imply, an iPod is not necessary) or a cell phone.
- There are no time constraints: A podcast can be as long as its creator likes. Industry standard is 20 minutes to an hour, depending on content.
Born as "info-tainment"
It all started in 2003, when various blogs published audio content online using the RSS file format. Podcasting moved to information and entertainment, where it was a natural fit for programming covering news, movies, music and, eventually, politics.
Much like blogging, podcasts did not make a big leap from the consumer realm to the corporate sector until large companies began to experiment with the medium, says News Factor Magazine in an August 2005 article "Podcasting for Business: Next Big Thing."
Companies immediately recognized podcasting's functional possibilities for information delivery. For example, News Factor Magazine cites IBM's use of podcasts to deliver information to investors. EarningsCast.com podcasts let investors listen to financial conference calls held by publicly traded companies. A GM-sponsored site features the company's chief car designer chatting about upcoming models.
Compelling content
But podcasting's possibilities go beyond this basic content. Companies are using podcasts to reach consumers, establish thought leadership and leverage existing content in exciting new ways. The key to podcasting success: compelling content that will make the target audience take notice.
In the consumer space, possibilities abound. BusinessWeek, in a November 14, 2005 article "And Now a Moment from Our Podcast," cites publisher Simon & Schuster's half-hour podcast called SimonSays, which features author interviews. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is creating travel guides for the 20 different destinations it flies to, from New York to Shanghai.
On the Sci-Fi Channel, the producer of Battlestar Galactica has a series of 14 podcasts that have been downloaded 1.3 million times. Pet food company Purina also took a bold move in this direction by converting a call-in radio show with vets in St. Louis into a podcast.
In B2B communications, podcasting provides an opportunity to break open new markets, observes Steven Phenix, founder and president of Phenix Public Relations and an experienced podcast user.
"A typical show might focus on high-profile interviews," Phenix says. "For instance, a company in the mortgage industry might have a podcast with the rock stars of their industry, i.e., the Donald Trumps in their niche, as a way to generate interest and appeal to a wide audience."
Phenix says three of the biggest companies' now podcasting are Oracle, Jupiter and BMC Software. BMC has a multi-pronged podcasting approach. This summer, the company launched a series of podcasts covering key IT issues its customers face. The same week, BMC podcast live updates from the conference floor at the BMC Remedy User Group (RUG) conference.
"In my industry, the Hobson & Holtz report provides an hour-long podcast covering the public relations industry," Phenix adds. "Hobson & Holtz offered a podcast in the early days, and it is still one of the best programs around."
Technology requirements
Setting up a podcast is a step above standard blogging in terms of complexity. Phenix says podcasts are best suited for a Macintosh. The technology is easier to use in that operating environment.
On a PC, a podcast requires a VoIP connection, offered from companies such as Skype or the Gizmo Project. Services average $100 on the low end for four months of service and can go up to $10,000 for a high-end system, Phenix says.
Tracking challenges
The relative ease and novelty of podcasting does come with drawbacks. Tracking is difficult: iTunes, for example, doesn't provide user statistics to the creators of podcasts, Phenix notes.
"Without a means of tracking, it's hard to know whether you have one listener or thousands," he says.
For that reason, Phenix recommends blogging as a better means to track the audience, with podcasting used to supplement the blog. A blog pulls the audience into the podcast: The most successful podcasts are linked with blogs, Phenix says.
"A podcast that doesn't fully utilize a blog misses out on the dynamics of this communication medium," he notes. "The purpose of a blog is to open communication about products."
Microsoft, for example, has 12,000 paid bloggers, Phenix says: It has humanized and reshaped its company, and in turn, Microsoft has become much more customer-focused.
"A company that is just podcasting without a landing page (i.e., a blog) will miss out on the two-way communication between consumers and customers."
When a blog and podcast are linked, a company can enhance the listening experience by including show notes on the blog. The host can ask the listeners to send comments from the blog to the podcast via e-mail. This creates an interactive, listener-driven show.
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