Nick Saalfeld's Corporate Podcasting Page

Real people, real reputations

Hi there.

In my previous blog, I hinted at the way in which podcasting fits into the broader media mix. Every medium has both positive and negative aspects in terms of its value and execution. Video, for example, is expensive to produce (a negative). Internet marketing can be trialled at very low cost and scaled up if it works (a positive).

Today I want to look at a characteristic of corporate podcasting which has the potential to be both an enormous positive, or an enormous negative if handled badly; a characteristic I call "naked personality".

If your company is used to producing printed materials (and most are...), you'll be used to the lengthy editorial production process too. I don't mean writer's block- I mean the many hands through which marketing collateral goes before it meets the general public. Promotional materials, white papers and product specifications will be assessed and tweaked by marketing executives, public relations staff and technical or professional specialists before they see the light of day. Because of this, these documents are "perfect"- sometimes too perfect.

Podcasts are entirely different. Sure, a podcast can be edited to generate as positive an effect as possible for the client, but in essence podcasts present the unvarnished truth, a "take in one" to borrow a term from the film industry. In doing so, any spokesperson or interviewee will naturally show their true characteristics- their naked personality.

I believe that this is one of the most positive aspects of podcasting. Companies can build enormous trust by putting forward spokespeople who are knowledgeable, encouraging and above all honest. Think of the many times you have heard an interview on the radio or watched an item on TV and felt so "glued" you didn't want to switch over. Nobody was ever glued to a piece of promotional literature.

This is also why my company always produces interviews (rather than monologues) for clients- two people talking can present arguments, work through issues and reach an interesting resolution. That's what makes an interview sticky.

Look around your organisation, and I promise you will find a wealth of suitable spokespeople, ideal for your podcasts. Sure, the CEO is the usual frontman; but look for the rank-and-file staff who have so much to offer too. The sales team are a good place to start- not only are they usually good communicators, but they will be aware of the sorts of questions your clients want answered- they face those questions every day. And from rat-catching to software development there will also be technical specialists who are just itching to shed light on their area of expertise with enthusiasm and depth of knowledge. Companies are full of great spokespeople- use this resource and make the most of it.

So that's the positive, but I said above that there's a negative, too. Because podcasting presents the naked personality of its spokespeople, you do need to choose these people with care. They need to have at least some ability to communicate- monosyllabic interviewees don't present too well. Many companies engage in media training in order to help their executives get their message across, or to perform well under hostile questioning conditions.

I do think media training can help, but the secret of a good podcast is to pick the right speaker in the first place. Don't ask business questions of your techie- you won't get an answer. Keep your spokespersons on their home ground, their area of expertise, and most will naturally open up. A dusting of training can be useful, but over-preparation will make them sound lame and stilted. Keep it natural, honest and unvarnished, and their personalities will shine through- directly to the waiting audience.

The benefit of these staff making their contribution cannot be underestimated. Companies are often seen only through the prism of their PR, whereas a podcast is the ideal opportunity for the personalities and expertise of the real people who make the company tick to be seen.

The old adage that "the most important component of an organisation is its people" is absolutely true, and in a podcast, the visibility of these people goes a long way to maximising a company's reputation and public image- in a way that printed materials could never match.

The Communication Conundrum

First off, welcome along!

This blog exists to collate some of my views on podcasting, specifically its corporate applications.

Last weekend, I was one of around 160 attendees at PodcastCon '06, the second UK event for podcasters. I say event- it was a gathering which was neither a conference nor an exhibition, but full of vitality; the sort of vitality we had ten years ago at the birth of the internet.

Milling around in the excitement were plenty of bands and music licensing companies, discussing royalties and exposure for unsigned groups via podcasts. Also there were what has come to be called "citizen journalists" like John Buckley, who have realised that you don't need to be rich to broadcast your own opinions.

But there was barely a face to be seen from the corporate space.

That's partly because companies take a little time to latch on to new technologies, and it's partly because these things require money.

I hope in this blog we'll redress the balance and help corporates get started.

In this edition, I want to talk about content. One of the hottest terms at the moment is "User Generated Content", or UGC. Companies like UGC... because it's very, very cheap to produce! I work in a place that's much less sexy: I am a journalist and editor. But for companies, UGC doesn't replace carefully crafted content; they should augment each other.

Indeed, they often serve separate but complementary purposes. User-generated questions, testimonials, even criticisms which are well fielded, will serve to preserve and enhance a company's reputation. The promotional materials, website content and marketing collateral are still required to set out a company's stall and explain exactly what the offer is.

Open the door to UGC too wide, and you will be overwhelmed with opinion- and don't think you can keep everyone happy- you can't. Close the door, and you will be perceived as aloof and unresponsive.

There's a balance to be achieved, and it is the job of professional communicators, across a multitude of media, to ensure that companies set the expectations of their real and prospective customers correctly.

Now, if this is the job of professional communicators, who want to be paid for their work, the one question I hear all too often is this: "With new mediums, like podcasting, popping up constantly, how can companies with limited budgets be expected to compete?"

There is a constant demand for companies to reach customers in a meaningful way across a growing spread of paid-for mediums, but marketing budgets are not infinite. My company has produced everything from flyers, web site content, newsletters, text messages, emails, podcasts and videocasts. Where is it meant to stop?

My advice is as follows:

• Match the medium to the message - The right medium to use to reach a customer depends as much on what you want to say and the context in which you want it to be used as on how deep your pockets may be. I was interviewed a couple of weeks back in the Guardian and the pull-out quote was "If you're selling shampoo or staplers, why on earth would you bother with a podcast?". Podcasting is good for subjects which are rich in detail and explanation: technology, finance, gardening, where you can provide expert witness to your audience. Each medium has its own rules and applications- spend your money wisely.
• Maximise your content - One of our key activities with clients is to allow them to understand that the effort and money they put into generating new content can be used in multiple ways, thus increasing the "bang for their buck". If you go to the expense of recording a podcast or videocast, make it available as a transcript (which will also of course increase its exposure in search engines). Then pull out the "Top 10 Tips" and make that available as a PDF- your audience will be grateful. Invite listeners and readers to contribute responses by email or phone, which can then be included in the next edition of your podcast- this will encourage repeat listens. In this way, you are producing multiple ways of reaching your audience from one initial piece of content generation.

Trying out a new medium because it looks fun (and podcasting is fun- CEO's like the sound of their own voices just as much as broadcasters do...) isn't a strategy. Plugging podcasting into a holistic marketing plan where the media you use are structured to reach audiences meaningfully and maximise the audience satisfaction for each pound spent- that is a strategy.