Here’s the question–is podcasting really an effective means of marketing your business?

Let’s look at the advantages:

• podcast listeners are usually fairly affluent
• they choose to listen to your podcast because they are interested in whatever subject matter you bring them
• they can take it with them on their iPhone or iPod
• they can listen at the gym
• they can listen at work
• they can listen at home
• over time, they get to know you because they listen to you regularly
• after a while, you are in their mind whenever the subject you podcast about comes up
• since they think about you, they talk about you to other people

I recently attended the GSATC (Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council) lunch meeting when Geno Church from Brains on Fire spoke about Word of Mouth Marketing.  His main point at this meeting is that word of mouth marketing is not about an ad campaign here and an ad campaign there.  It’s about creating a movement.  Getting people connected to your organization in such a way that they become willing, happy ambassadors for you.  It’s about creating relationships.

When you think about how a podcast works–audio files that you can subscribe to via iTunes; that you can listen to almost anywhere; that becomes a regular occurrence in the lives of your listeners–it seems that this could be a prime tool to ramp up relationship building with people that may otherwise never even find you.  No one can be everywhere all the time.  Most contact networks do not have the kind of reach that iTunes does.

Here’s the challenge:  Give it some thought–if you were going to start your own podcast, what would it be about?

Here are a few quick ideas:

• A home builder might start a Laying the Foundation podcast and talk all about quality building materials and the new ones that come out all the time for this industry.
• A plumber could start a podcast called Pipes–a podcast that introduces you to the various types of piping material available and the pros and cons of each; how to use each type; how to change out faucets and connect the new faucet to the existing pipes, etc.
• An interior designer might podcast a show called Dreamy Drapes or Coordinated Colors–episodes could feature information about how to match the sofa, easy chair, walls, floor, ceiling; understanding color theory; color clues for the interested homeowner; curtain conundrums–fabric choices, colors, purpose of drapes, etc.

Starting a podcast takes a commitment–you must be disciplined to record your podcast episodes regularly and fill them with good information in order to grow your listening audience. It’s better to not even start a podcast if you can’t commit to making it a regular habit.

Podcasting questions?  Ask us — leave a comment.  If you have a question, other people probably have that same question, too.  Leave us a comment and we will answer your question as best we can.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 2:13 pm and is filed under Compelling Content, Portable Media, branding, marketing, podcasting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.