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Hear me talking about podcasting for business... in a podcast.
It's in the latest edition (No. 11) of the excellent Enterprise Nation podcast: http://www.enterprisenation.com/
In the interview, I'm in the company of some other excellent business podcasters- well worth a listen.
Hi there,
First off, apologies for disappearing off the radar- we've been busily putting the finishing touches to some great new client podcasts- but more on that next week.
Today I just want to briefly evangelise about content. In the online world, content generators like me often have something of a crisis of confidence: do people really want all this stuff we produce? Advertisers worry about it too: if people aren't listening and watching, where will the brand exposure come from?
That's why I was pleased to see this in today's Daily Telegraph, written by one of our most respected business journalists, Damian Reece. Talking about the ongoing spat between Virgin Media and Sky (and commenting on the effect this has had on Virgin Media's subscriber numbers), Reece says:
"Virgin will never beat Sky until it reaches deep into its pockets and spends some really big bucks on must-have content. That's what really differentiates Sky from Virgin in consumers' minds and what gives Sky the upper hand in all negotiations between the pair."
Now, I'm not Sky, (and you don't have to spend really big bucks all the time) but this hits the nail on the head: companies all now have the opportunity to be content generators and content owners; and these intangible assets often represent tremendous real long-term value.
Hi there,
So I'm back at my desk after a fun couple of days in the company of US and European podcasters at Podcast Summit Europe 2007. We were truly proud to be sponsors of the event, and it was a pleasure to hook up with so many good people. I met podcasters and marketers, plus some great podcast industry bloggers (Paul Colligan, Jason van Orden, Leesa Barnes- links down the left of this page).
If you go to my company's website, you'll see what we do- and we're proud of it. But this is my personal blog- and whether you're in the podcasting business, a company looking to podcast, or an individual, this is where you'll find the unvarnished truth. So here it is: what I learned this week at CPS-E'07:
So there it is. Clarion call over. A highly educational Summit, our thanks to Paul Colligan for hosting, and let's get our house in order!
Just a quick tip here.
One of my commenters, Dr Savi, makes a comment here, and mentions the right way to insert advertising (or more likely sponsorship messages) into corporate podcasts.
It's interesting because whilst I've said elsewhere that there's no need to reinvent the wheel (use interviews- they work on radio, tell a story- it works on radio etc...), the positioning of messages is very different from radio.
On radio and TV, sponsor messages appear at the beginning and end, and as "bumpers" between programme content and commercial breaks.
In podcasts, this doesn't work at all!
A sponsor message at the beginning tends to set the audience's expectations towards a hard sell, which is very sad if you've put lots of effort and money into an informative programme.
Worse still, at the end of a podcast, your message is lost. Completely. I believe that just as most people will not go to the trouble of fast-forwarding through a twenty-second promo, they will absolutely switch off and move to something else as soon as the end-theme and credits start to roll. So a corporate message at the end will generally lose 70%+ of the audience.
A minority of listeners may well be glued to their Ipods jogging through the park, but as over 60% of listeners are sat at their PC's, it takes only a click for them to miss your hard-won messaging opportunity.
The hard rule here is: don't leave anything important to the back end of your podcast, and certainly not once the outro theme has begun!
So what's the answer?
My intuition says, do anything production-oriented in the middle. In the middle of your show, you've already established your editorial credentials enough to warrant the listener continuing to listen; and they will be aware that there's more good stuff to come.
Additionally, if you want to get a promo in fast at the front end, perhaps do it in an unobtrusive way with a presenter-read comment rather than an overblown production promo. That way the brand profile is neatly dovetailed into the content, and can be presented positively. "Today's edition of Build a Better Widget, with the support of Widgets Inc, looks at how Widgets can help around the home" is a much softer sell and won't alienate the audience.
And of course, soft-sell works in a podcast- unlike online advertising, your promo doesn't have to compete for attention with lots of other stuff on-screen.
So:
Hi there,
It's not often I'm happy to send my entire subscriber base off to someone else's site wholesale, but in this case it's worth it.
Whatever you do, please check out this superb posting from Jeremiah Owyang- he's got it 100% spot-on, and there's perfect advice here for anyone getting started with corporate podcasting. Follow Jeremiah' advice and you're well on your way.
Then come back here for more of my ramblings, please.
Hi there,
In this post I want to skim through some of the issues around advertising in podcasts.
It's a fast-moving business, because new technologies to insert advertisements into podcasts are only just emerging.
First off, as this blog concerns itself only with corporate podcasts, you might wonder why a company would want to have advertisements in its podcasts at all. You wouldn't advertise someone else's product in your corporate brochure, would you?
It's not so simple.
To return to first principles, a corporate podcast is not, and must not, ever, be a pure promotion. Pure promotions are those late night TV shows selling hocus-pocus beauty products and exercise machines you'll never use. There's a reason those shows are on late at night. You don't want to position your business in 'that' sort of company, do you? Instead, I can think of no better description for a good programme than the mantra adopted by the BBC at its inception- "To inform, educate, and entertain".
Podcasts are not like promotional literature; they can be much more creatively executed, and there may well be a good reason to insert advertising from other associated or relevant companies.
The media landscape is also changing: the technology is (almost) here for podcasts to be aggregated into channels, supported by ads. You like chess? Listen to a chess channel which aggregates podcasts from individuals and companies around the world, catering specifically for your interest. This sort of thing is on the way- and it will be highly monetised. Companies like Kiptronic in the US and Cheeze in the UK are matching up clients with podcasts.
Then, there are of course a whole bunch of corporate entities who should actively be recruiting advertisers- publishers or trade show organisers, for example.
So it's fair even in the corporate landscape to be investigating advertising technologies.
I have said elsewhere, that I think there are two trends on the way.
The first is the tools for insertion of adverts at the point of upload. This can happen on the desktop, and is effective for publishers who wish to manage their own traffic- very much like a radio station, in a basic way.
The second trend is server-based, and would insert ads at the point of download. This is much more efficient, as it allows back-catalogue podcasts to be indexed and ads inserted. A sponsor could, for example, own all traffic downloaded in March 2007, even though the original programme was recorded way back in 2006.
This second trend will win through, not only because of its flexibility, but also because clients are demanding ever more sophistication from their podcasts which should be delivered at the point of download. Advertisers will, for example, want A-B testing in order to find out which version of an ad works better. Similarly, clients will want versions of whole shows- one version free, one paid, for example. All this is easy to do at the point of download.
I believe that for corporates, the issue comes down to some very basic questions:
All of which brings us to the content of advertising in podcasts. Some simple rules to be getting on with.
I will return to advertising in future posts, but for now, don't dismiss ads entirely just because you're a company- there are models for business which will make money, and with the tools now at every marketer's disposal, everyone can be a profitable broadcaster.
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.
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:
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.
