The podcast as content
There’s been talk lately about the use of podcasts as part of a business content marketing strategy.
Take a segment of prerecorded content, post it on your website and gain a loyal following from consumer listeners who find it engaging and share it with others.
That’s the theory, anyway.
Written content like blogs, articles and research papers, and shareable video posts, are the cornerstones of content marketing. A podcast featuring an expert extolling the company’s virtues, or even an interview with a decision maker, can be an effective option, especially as part of a mobile content strategy.
A blog writer, for example, can record the key points of his piece on a podcast that can be heard on demand by anyone with a smartphone or tablet.
The demographics of podcast listeners make this option appealing to businesses. A 2013 Pew Research Center study finds that those downloading podcasts tend to be male and between the ages of 18 and 29. College graduates and online adults earning at least $75,000 a year also are most likely to access podcasts.
But there are caveats to consider. While a podcast can enhance your company’s visibility, it isn’t very effective at generating client leads. Is a consumer willing to devote five to 30 minutes to listen to your brand message? Is your voice of brand authority one that drones on, or one that can present the enthusiasm and knowledge needed to make the podcast content engaging?
Ryan Hanley, who podcasts for Content Warfare, offers this advice in Search Engine Journal:
“Instead of podcasting for traffic numbers, use podcasting as a VIP offering. Give customers who sign up for your podcast access to information and resources that no one else has access to. Give these subscribers a behind the scenes look at your business or what you think about during the course of a transaction, providing your service and/or creating your product.”
Marketing strategist Ann Druce, in a recent article, offers this take:
“It’s not enough to give expert advice, you need to do it in a way that will engage them and make sure that they don’t drift off. And if you aren’t sure you’re going to achieve that, go back to a visual format – even if it’s just the humble blog. “
Do you employ the podcast as part of your business content strategy? Does it work for you? Tell us about it.
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