“What is a podcast primer and octo-MacPro dreams ala NAB”

So the deeper I get into podcasting (a general term to cover both video and audio) the more I hear that people do not know what podcasting is or they think it’s one thing when in fact its many more.

The “pod” of podcasting comes form the fact that initially these shows were created to play on an iPod but now many other devices can play them and a large percentage of viewers listen to or watch podcasts on their computers. I doubt that podcasts will ever not be called pod-something but it is a bit of a misnomer and tricks people into thinking that they need an iPod to consume them.

Quickly are some simple podcasting points to clarify.

Podcasting is Internet broadcasting.

You do not need an iPod to watch or listen to podcasts.

It is like watching regular television or listening to the radio except is it sent through the Internet to your computer.

You do not need an iPod to watch or listen to podcasts.

Podcasts are usually niche specific content (i.e. Hosta gardening, Harley chats, Sonoma wines, Mac news, etc.) and typically created by people who have a special interest or passion in their subject.

You do not need an iPod to watch or listen to podcasts.

You can find most podcasts listed in the iTunes music store under “podcasts” and the vast majority of them are free.

How podcasting typically works:

Someone records a show, hosts it somewhere on the Internet and publishes it through the iTunes podcast directory. You can view or listen to the show directly from iTunes or subscribe to it. When you subscribe to it (which, by the way, transfers no information about you) it launches iTunes on your computer and downloads the show as well as links to download previous shows (if there are any). If you have subscribed, the next time you open iTunes the program will search to see if any new podcasts have been published and if so it will download it to your computer. Now this is not like downloading regular files. The concern for viruses is negligible (if at all) and I have yet to hear any computer being infected from a podcast download from all the research I’ve been doing.

So after you do have your podcast on your computer you can…play them on an iPod. But you do not need an iPod to watch or listen to podcasts.

I’ll leave it at that for now and not touch on any of the “techy” stuff that only tech people understand, or care about.

Now how can this be used for marketing?

Let’s take a car dealership for example. Well most corporate organizations have a database of their clients and often they will have their emails. So for the car business we craft a bi-weekly show that highlight their newest inventory of vehicles, special deals, used car sell-offs and employee profiles. We use your, already paid for, graphics and advertising campaign concepts and publish the show in iTunes (and other like web podcast directories, RSS feeders, etc.). You email the podcast link to your database and they subscribe and/or watch the show directly. If they subscribe then they get your new show every two weeks. Beautiful.

You also can setup viewer feedback forums to get information on what people want to see to enhance your next show and to cater to the audience. Because the production models for this type of content is very streamlined you can spend the same amount of dollars (or less) that you would in other wide casted net campaigns and get a better return.

Oh and there are other ways to track the effectiveness of a marketing podcast (or advertising purchased within a specific show or sponsored show) through unique urls and promotional codes that can show where people are coming from.

One of the critical differences of podcasting versus traditional marketing methods is that you are targeting a very specific who already is interested in you, your subject or your product and thus are a very receptive audience. Often they will seek you out for your information. Instead of casting a wide net to see what you can get you are going directly at the people who probably will buy your product or use your service.

I hope that helps.

Now on NAB is happening April 14 in Las Vegas and they might announce a new octo-chip MacPro. Now that would be dreamy. I haven’t purchased the MacPro yet and I’m trying not to wait for NAB to see what Apple may or may not reveal. Except that they also might launch Final Cut Pro Studio 6.0, which doesn’t really affect my clients expect faster workflow and more options for graphics. But that’s nice to have too.

Keep an eye out for more vidcast pilots and for those who didn’t see our first one check it out
here.

CM
www.cmcreative.ca