Nick Saalfeld's Corporate Podcasting Page

We came, we saw, we sponsored: CPS-Europe '07

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:

• Clients still need education. Not on the intricacies of podcasts: I mean on the basics. Like, what is a podcast. Start there. If you're reading this and you know that podcasting is not beholden to Apple, you're already way ahead of the crowd.
• The podcasting industry needs to get its head out of its arse (or ass for my US readers). I got a real sense that delegates were embarrassed because they enjoyed broadcasting so much, perhaps there wasn't actually a business in it. There is. Enjoy. Stop worrying.
• Some podcast companies seem to think that this is about editing or production. No it is not, and anyone who sets up a podcast agency to do production will fail. Production is a "flat-rate", price-sensitive off-the-shelf service which someone on Elance or an outsource agency could do. The value of a podcast agency is in strategy, format development, monetization, audience engagement, ongoing maintenance of feedback loops etc. Production is not a service.
• The excellent David Prever of BrandSpanking asked a superb question. "If a brand has £19 million to spend, how does podcasting achieve a deserving place as part of that budget". He didn't get a straight answer. Let me provide it. Media in the brand context is valued according to its value to the client, not the cost of production. Otherwise the people who think up slogans would charge tuppence ha'penny. Podcasting must prove its value- and do so in the context of engagement, whether to new audiences, existing customers or as a customer service tool. The metrics are currently badly argued (not non-existent, just badly argued in pitches) and we all owe it to ourselves as an industry to present our case more effectively. In the absence of perfect stats (and thankyou Feedburner for improving things) I simply say to clients, start with a £20K job. If I can prove a £100k return on the metrics of the client's choice, then we'll start talking about a share of the £19million.

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!

Come and see us- Podcast Summit Europe March 2007

Just a quick note to say I'd love to meet you at Podcast Summit Europe in March. This event was held in San Francisco around 6 months ago, and the bandwagon is now rolling into Europe. I'm very proud to be sponsoring the event, and sharing the platform with a diverse range of speakers. There are breakout sessions on all sorts of practical issues too. I do hope to see you there!

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.