GATEKEEPERS: Instagram (Facebook) and users.
STRENGTHS: Easy-to-use native mobile photo and creation with easy-to-use photo filters, seamless social sharing features, and the ability to embed content in websites.
Largest photo/video app user base among peer set.
Ownership, support, and integration with Facebook, the world’s largest social network.
Support for hashtags and “@” names (just like Twitter handles)
CHALLENGES: Requires a photographer’s or videographer’s mindset to generate maximum engagement and value.
May have limited value to companies that aren’t visual in nature.
1. Anthony Wing Kosner, “Instagram Simplifies Making Video Pictures While Lightt Aims at Ongoing Movie of Life,” Forbes, June 21, 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/06/21/instagram-simplifies-making-video-pictures-while-lightt-aims-at-the-ongoing-movie-of-life/.
2. For current brand popularity on Instagram, see Nitrogram 50, “Most Popular Brands on Instagram,” http://50.nitrogr.am/sort-photos.
3. Jay Baer, “Social Pros 6—Instagram Lessons from a Giant B2B Company,” Social Pros Podcast, Convince & Convert.com, 2012, www.convinceandconvert.com/social-pros-podcast/social-pros-6-instagram-lessons-from-a-giant-b2b-company/.
4. Lauren Johnson, “Taco Bell Builds on Doritos Locos Taco Promotion with Instagram,” Mobile Marketer, October 10, 2012, www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/13959.
5. Michael Sippey, “Vine: A New Way to Share Video,” Twitter Blog, January 24, 2013, https://blog.twitter.com/2013/vine-new-way-share-video.
6. Dan Primack, “Breaking: Facebook Buying Instagram for $1 billion,” CNNMoney, April 9, 2012, http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/09/breaking-facebook-buying-instagram-for-1-billion/.
7. “Stats,” Instagram Press Center, accessed August 6, 2013, http://instagram.com/press/#
Chapter 20
Podcasts: Listen Carefully
A few years ago I was planning on killing myself in my garage, and now I’m doing the best thing I’ve ever done in my life in that same garage. It’s a podcast. You know what a podcast is?1
—Marc Maron
As a former radio D.J. (shout-out to the dearly departed @WOXY), I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for podcasts. Birthed by the forces of audio digitization (MP3s), RSS distribution, and Apple’s launch of the iPod, podcasting democratized audio content like never before. Instead of needing to get a job at a radio station to reach the masses, you could literally record a show in your garage and distribute it for free to millions of LISTENERS on iTunes.
Of course, the issue is the same you face with any proprietary audience: It takes time to build podcast LISTENERS and SUBSCRIBERS. If you don’t invest time (and sometimes money) in the effort, you’ve created a podcast that nobody hears—and that’s of zero value to your company.
Some may think of the podcast a quaint, obsolete relic of Web 1.0, but the channel has undergone quite a renaissance of late as illustrated by the success of comedian-turned-podcaster Marc Maron (@MarcMaron). A veteran of the stand-up comedy scene, Marc was between gigs when he launched his WTF podcast (@WTFpod) out of his garage in September 2009. He didn’t have a plan, just a desire to do something.2
Over 400 episodes later, that “something” turned into Marc’s career-defining moment. At a time when others were rushing to social media, Marc picked the medium—podcasting—where his humor, interview skills, and Rolodex of famous friends could shine. As his loyal audience grew, so too did his professional opportunities, culminating in the debut of Maron, his TV show on IFC (@IFC) and publication of his autobiography, Attempting Normal, in the spring of 2013.
What fascinates me about Marc’s success is that he’s spent his entire professional career in pursuit of audiences in comedy clubs, at festivals, and on radio and TV. But none of those audiences were his—not until he started building podcast LISTENERS and SUBSCRIBERS. Like all stand-up comedians, Marc was and truly is an entrepreneur; and now, thanks to the Internet, he’s building proprietary audiences that don’t disappear when he steps offstage.
So, yes—podcasting is still a very viable channel through which you can develop proprietary audiences. Whether it is right for you depends on:
Your ability to produce high-quality, valuable audio content
That you publish on a consistent schedule
That serves the needs of a LISTENERS
Who have the time and desire to download and listen
These requirements are a bit more demanding than many of the other channels we’ve discussed. That’s because podcasts aren’t created with the push of a button. They take time, talent, and marketing savvy to produce and distribute. However, they can help you: