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Wouldn’t you love it if customers carried your marketing materials around in their pocket? It can happen when you a create podcast.
Podcasts are audio or video files that get transmitted via RSS feeds and may be played on a computer; however they’re more commonly consumed through iPods and other MP3 players.
A podcast series may benefit your business as part of your content marketing startegy, if you know how to program the content properly.
One of my favorite podcast resources is Steve Lubetkin, who is so into it his handle on Twitter is @podcaststeve. Steve heads up Lubetkin Communications and its subsidiary Professional Podcasts. He’s definitely a podcast pro and offers good tips in this Q &A interview:
Why do you think a company should use a podcast as part of their content marketing strategy?
The primary reason is, useful audio and video programming has a very high positive effect on search engine ranking. So a company that does consistent production of audio or video content will see a big improvement in visibility when people are searching for the topics those programs relate to.
Is there anything in particular you need to know for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes?
You need to learn to use the meta tags in the files. Audio, video and photo files all have the capability of carrying some text information, which is called meta data. And that is what you need to fill out. There are fields you can open with certain types of software, like Photoshop, and you can fill out those fields.
It can be caption information, copyright information and so on. The more information you complete the better it is for you when search engines look at those files. We’re still not at the point where search engines can index the actual audio or video, though that will happen.
What if someone says, “I have a website, I have keywords in the content, and I’ve done SEO on all the pages.” Is there something special a podcast can offer?
Having a website is great, but your ability to bring people to your website is limited, whereas you distribute a podcast with RSS technology using iTunes and other technologies that are discoverable in search.
You can reach a much wider audience who are looking for solutions to problems. They’re not looking for your website. So just relying on, “Well, I have all this information on my website” may not be good enough — because people may not be finding you all that easily.
Is there any kind of content that’s better suited to a podcast?
I think any kind of business to business content can work. Because business people tend to be very busy. And giving them something they can take with them and listen to while driving or traveling to an appointment can be a valuable way of reaching them.
Consumers too. Everybody’s pressed for time.
Is there a preferred way to present the information?
Conversation. Talking to people. If you can create a podcast that has a conversation going on between a moderator interviewing a person, it can be authentic sounding. You can also incorporate audio testimonials from clients who’ve used the product.
If it’s a video podcast you can incorporate demonstrations of the product. You can show the product in the field, with people as they’re using it.
What about having multiple people calling in and having a group conversation — like a panel of experts?
Sure. They could be people who work for you, because you have multiple offices. They may be people that are strategic partners.
I’ve done that with a couple of clients. Where they have a business-based product or service that involves consulting services from another company and they want to have experts from that aspect of the product offering. It depends on the topic area.
What I tell my clients is to think of it as your own radio or TV station that can reach the entire world. How do you want to program your station? You can program it however you want. Your delivery is through the web and your RSS feed is the transmitter.
It would seem not everybody is primed to be a radio announcer. So what’s the best skill set to lead a podcast?
It’s helpful to have a moderator who has some understanding of how broadcasting works. Someone who can keep the conversation moving and who understands the production requirements. The actual guests can be subject matter experts. They don’t have to be radio experts. But that have to be at least engaging and interesting and passionate about their topic… you don’t want someone in a monotone reading from a script.
Of course with a guest you can’t really control what they will say.
Well you can prepare ahead of time. You can collaborate with our guest on what bullet points and messages you want them to cover. It’s not a live spontaneous radio program. It is content that you, the business owner, control.
So it’s not necessarily a free-form discussion. It can be structured, but it can sound conversational.
So what happens when a company doesn’t have anyone with a broadcasting background, but they still what to have someone from their company lead a podcast. What can they do? Is there training for it?
This is where a company might hire a professional to help produce the program. They’re not expected to be radio professionals inside a company, and you probably don’t want to train people. Although it’s not terribly difficult, it may not be the best use of resources. I would focus more on having the people give good presentations on their areas of expertise.
What about the balance between providing expertise – thought leadership – and adding a sales pitch? The reason you’re doing the podcast in the first place is ultimately to drive sales but it may not be a good idea to have a heavy pitch in there.
That’s true. People don’t react well to a podcast that’s a commercial. There are a lot of companies that used to produce commercials for radio and TV where their business has been hurt by the economic downturn and by the transition that’s going on in technology, and so they’re now offering to produce content for the web, but it’s like a commercial.
That gets a negative reaction. It’s a different dynamic. The programming should be more along the lines of the value of a product or service that addresses a particular need, and also to show that you know what you’re talking about.
It sounds like you have to spend a fair amount of time planning the podcast. You want to be sure to structure things pretty tightly.
Absolutely, there are a lot of amateurs doing podcasts because it is so accessible and it’s easy enough to do and the end product is very amateur night because they didn’t prepare. It’s a rambling monologue. For business purposes that doesn’t work…. There are a lot of social media experts who say, the whole purpose is to be off the cuff and informal. But it doesn’t have to be unprofessional. You can be casual a little bit, but you don’t want it to be so loose you miss the points you wanted to hit.
There are definitely important do’s and don’ts to be aware of and it’s great to hear about them from a real podcast pro like you, Steve. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Here are a couple more helpful podcasting resources:
Three Easy Steps to Add Podcasts to Your Blog Source: Content Marketing Institute
Content Marketing with a B2B Podcast Source: Jon Buscall
How to Create Your Own Podcast - A Step-by-Step Tutorial Source: About.com
About the B2Bblogger:Deni Kasrel is a seasoned (slightly spicy) strategic communications specialist. She helps companies build their brands and engage with communities so they can sell more stuff. Having enjoyed a fruitful eclectic career, Deni is versed in both traditional and digital communications, with special emphasis on content strategy, website development and social media marketing. You may contact Deni via LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter @dkasrel, or visit her blog: The Communications Strategist.
