Educate PROSPECTS and CUSTOMERS with on-demand content
Mobilize in-the-field training for EMPLOYEES
Leverage industry INFLUENCERS through interviews
Push your company’s thought leadership out to SEEKERS
Podcasting has particular appeal in B2B industries because of its mobile, on-demand nature. I’ve seen this firsthand thanks to my co-hosting duties on the Social Pros Podcast with Jay Baer (@JayBaer).3 Jay started the weekly podcast in 2012 as a way to provide real insights from real social media professionals. And he discovered was that if you’re going to podcast, you should:
Seek multiple distribution channels to LISTENERS and SUBSCRIBERS, as iTunes does not have a monopoly on the podcast market.
Increase the long-tail reach of your podcasts with SEEKERS by transcribing each podcast and turning it into a blog post.
Use interviews to build relationships with INFLUENCERS as they amplify your podcast’s value to their proprietary audiences (Earned Media).
Promote your podcasts to all of your proprietary audiences.
Ask your podcast participants to do the same (e.g. become AMPLIFIERS).
So, whether you have a “golden voice” or a “face for radio,” podcasting might be worth a look. Just be sure you have a target audience with time on the one hand (drivers, travelers, or any folks who have to sit around and wait) and a mobile listening device (iPod, smartphone, etc.) in the other.
All Podcasts Considered
According to the Pew Research Center, about 46 percent of the U.S. adult population knows what a podcast is, and 18 percent listen to news podcasts at least sometimes.4 In December 2012, there were 91,700 podcasts—some 31 percent more than at the end of 2009.5 So basically, podcasting awareness is flat, listenership is sub-20 percent, and more podcasts are being produced every day.
Sounds like a tough channel, right? Well it is, but it still may be a great one for your company. Just look at what National Public Radio (@NPR) is doing. Through promotion and the continued production of quality content, NPR grew its total monthly podcast downloads in 2012 to 29.3 million—up from 28 million per month in 2012 and 23.3 million in 2010.
Yes, NPR is a radio network, but the growth of its LISTENERS points to the fact that podcasting audiences are still out there if you produce and promote valuable content. The question you must answer is whether your company has the time, talent, and discipline to create a podcast people will want and consume.
SNAPSHOT: PODCASTS
FIRST APPEARANCE: 2003 saw the first feed-based syndication of MP3 files, but the term podcasting was not coined until 2004.6
PROPRIETARY AUDIENCES: LISTENERS and SUBSCRIBERS. Podcasts themselves can drive SEEKER, AMPLIFIER, and JOINER audience growth in any number of ways.
EFFORT REQUIRED: Moderate to high depending on volume of content production.
WHO OWNS THE DATA: Listener information and listening data are owned by the podcast delivery services (e.g., iTunes). Podcast creators may have varying levels of access to that information depending on the provider; however, embedding a podcast player does allow you to track listening activity via your analytics provider.
USERS WORLDWIDE: Difficult, if not impossible, to quantify number of podcasters and listeners worldwide. Suffice it to say that podcasts have the same potential reach of any website—any and all Internet users.
SKILLS REQUIRED: On-air talent, content production, audio recording, audio editing, skill to upload or coding to post online.
GATEKEEPERS: None for podcasts hosted on blogs or websites. If syndicated, distribution networks serve as gatekeepers (e.g., Apple iTunes or Stitcher.com)
STRENGTHS: Instant, worldwide distribution of audio content.
Serialized audio content allows you to connect with LISTENERS in a more personal, human fashion that print content alone.
Can be downloaded and then consumed offline by the LISTENER.
Accessible to SEEKER audiences via dedicated search engines like Google as well as distribution networks like iTunes.
Provides a more intimate connection with the content producer than the written word.
CHALLENGES: Takes a greater commitment to listen to audio content than to read the same content.
As with blogs, the best podcasts require a commitment to produce content on a regular basis. Those without such focus will suffer both in terms of SUBSCRIBER growth and search visibility.
1. Don Steinberg, “The King of Podcast Comedy Expands His Rule,” The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324030704578426732432948580.
2. Peter Hartlaub, “Marc Maron Talks of TV, ‘WTF,’ New Book,” San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2013, www.sfchronicle.com/tv/article/Marc-Maron-talks-of-TV-WTF-new-book-4576225.
3. See the Social Pros Podcast, www.convinceandconvert.com/social-pros-podcast/.