Chapter 19. Podcasting as a Marketing Tool


IN THIS CHAPTER

  • Business in General

  • Movies, TV, and Radio

  • Churches and Nonprofits

  • Education

  • Nongovernmental Organizations

  • Government Agencies

  • Where to Go from Here

"Partially we're doing it because it's cool. We have the ability to do it, and it's a good community tool. It's also another facet of the marketing strategyright now everyone who listens is already part of the Lulu community, but we hope that we can soon reach potential interested creators and users of Lulu. And who knows? Maybe we'll be able to get people in the Lulu community to do their own podcast.... One of the things that Lulu is always working on is improving our community, and [podcasting has] been an asset to the growth of our company. It can tie marketing and the community together."

Jason Adams, Lulu Radio

We've talked mostly about approaching podcasting from an individual's standpointhow to make your hobby better and even how to generate some revenue. But it is no secret that podcasting can be a valuable tool for businesses. The ability to reach people is vital to any business or service, and podcasting gives you a new way to do that.

When the Internet gained popularity, companies needed to rethink how they reached audiences. They no longer had to think in terms of 30 seconds of audio or video, a magazine spread, or billboards. Suddenly they could leisurely explain who they were and what they could offer the public. Those that did a good job of entertaining people as well were the ones that received the most traffic.

The same can be said for podcasting. When you use a podcast as a marketing tool, at its basis it is simply an ad. As any non-football fan who watches the Super Bowl can tell you, a lot can be done with an ad. Podcasting can announce new products, give news associated with a product or service (if you're with a sporting goods company, you can include sports scores or commentary, for example), and act as a supplement to the information on your website.

Tip

Consider this: Podcasts can get your information to visually impaired customers who might not be able to access your website otherwise. Powerful screen readers are available, but some of the more "clever" website designs can confound them, making surfing the site frustrating for the user. If you get your message out in podcast form along with your site, vision-impaired users will appreciate it.


In some cases, the podcast can actually enhance your product. We'll talk more about this later, so read on!




Tricks of the Podcasting Masters
Tricks of the Podcasting Masters
ISBN: 0789735741
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 162

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