Web Marketing: Three Tips Before You Start a Podcast

You’ve no doubt heard the increasingly loud buzz of marketers encouraging Web marketers of all kinds to try podcasting as a means of drawing and engaging customers. But as with any emerging technology, don’t just fly in blind and expect to succeed. Online services firm Oneupweb offers the following tips on on podcast production in its recent whitepaper, “Consider Podcasting”:

1. Identify your target audience: The first step in determining whether or not to develop a podcast is to determine if your customers will use it. Are your customers Web savvy? Do they use their computers on a regular basis? If not, a podcast may not be appropriate. On the other hand, a podcast could help you attract a new type of customer, Oneupweb writes. These customers know they can see your products on the Web and in a catalog, but they want someone literally to speak to them directly about why your product or brand is relevant to them.

2. Survey other podcasts: Before you invest your time, effort and brand in a podcast, listen to other podcasts and then determine what you like. “Browse directories such as iTunes to see what podcasts you like and dislike, and why,” the whitepaper’s authors note. Once you know what other podcasts sound like, you’ll be in a better position to create one of your own.

3. Commit to regular production: In order for your podcast to succeed, it needs time to find an audience that enjoys it, wants more and knows when another podcast is coming. Keep in mind, too, that podcast execution shouldn’t only be consistent, but consistently relevant. In order to avoid rambling, boring podcasts, Oneupweb writes, make sure the person voicing your podcast is skilled in front of a microphone, and has a prepared outline of topics -- if not a complete script.

For a copy of Oneupweb’s whitepaper, “Consider Podcasting,” visit www.oneupweb.com/search-marketing-results/white-papers.htm#whitepapers.