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How to Create Effective Podcasts to Engage Your Audiences: presentation used in workshop at IABC World Conference, San Francisco, June 7, 2009
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How To Create Effective PodcastsTo Engage Your Audiences
Neville Hobson, ABC
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
“How-To” in The Next 75 Minutes
1. Start your own podcast and make it a success
2. Build a community of listeners or viewers and promote your podcast
3. Use podcasts to support your business strategy
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
What is a Podcast?
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
What is a Podcast?
• Digital audio file, typically MP3
• “Radio show” format– Time-shifted: listen when you want
• Delivered via RSS
Optional:• Auto-sync with
portable digital player– Detach and go: listen where you want
• Complemented by show notes
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Podcasting Growth Drivers
1. It’s easy
2. It’s inexpensive
3. It’s portable
4. It’s available
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S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Who Listens to Podcasts?
• Majority of top-rated podcasts come from recognizable media entities that are using podcasts to expand their existing radio, TV, cable or satellite audiences
• The US podcast audience is ballooning– By 2013, there will be 37.6
million people who download podcasts monthly, more than double the 2008 figure of 17.4 million
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Who Listens to Podcasts?
“The demographic patterns of the podcast audience, like those of the online video audience, are highly dependent on the nature of the content.”
Podcasting: Into the Mainstream
eMarketer, March 2009www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006937
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
It’s All About The Content
• The barriers to entry are incredibly low– All you need is a computer, a microphone, some
free software and imagination
• Your audience can number in the single digits– Unlike radio, you don’t need big numbers to be
successful
• Whatever you do, it’s all about the content and your passion– Actually, it’s all about your listeners
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Podcasting’s Advantages
• Audience can listen while they do something else• Deliver specialized content to a niche audience they
can’t get anywhere else• Convey information that’s best conveyed through
audio• Build a loyal community of listeners• Use the podcast as a means of soliciting feedback• Use a podcast as an alternate channel to reinforce
communication via other channels
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Why Not to Podcast
• Your message does not lend itself to audio (or video)
• Your audience is not inclined to listen• Your message requires focus• Your boss/client says “Hey, let’s do a
podcast!”– there must be a measurable (strategic)
business reason
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Why Podcast?
• Easy and complementary extension of your existing PR and marketing activities
• Connect with customers, employees and other groups in new and interesting ways
• Reach niche audiences otherwise (financially) unreachable
• Be perceived to be at the leading edge• Be seen as a thought leader• …
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Elements of Successful Podcasting
• Relevance• Keep to the point• Avoid fluff• Info-tain• Build and engage
community
• Don’t sell• Be authentic• Respect listeners’
time• Integrate into
blogosphere
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Who’s Podcasting for Business?
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Strategizing a Business Podcast
• Communication is strategic when:– It is planned as a means of addressing core
business issues– Its impact on the business can be measured
A simple 4-step plan...
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Step 1: Goal
• Our example goal:– Stem the defection of long-time customers to
a competitive brand
(“Produce a podcast” is not a goal)
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Step 2: Strategy
• Strategy = Plan of action to achieve a goal• Our strategy:
– Influence customer perceptions favourably to our brand
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Step 3: Objectives
• Objectives = Measurable activities as elements of strategy (Step 2)
• Our objectives:– Help customers feel like they are privileged insiders
by providing a unique window into the brand– Create a bond between customers and the people
behind the brand– Give customers more of a say in the development of
future brand extensions and marketing programmes
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Step 4: Tactics
• Tactics = Communication channels and tools• Based on objectives (Step 3), we might consider a
variety of tactics, eg:– Customer advisory panel– Brand-focused blog– Podcast
• The tactics we decide on will be what we conclude to be the most effective for the job and where the results can be measured
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Building Community
21
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Building Community
• Members of a community share a common bond that increases a sense of loyalty to a show
• Building community increases listener loyalty, is a catalyst for content and helps spread the word to increase your audience
• Tap into the social networking potential presented by a podcast
• Host your podcast on a blog
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
The Hobson and Holtz Report• First episode on January 3, 2005• Co-hosts: Neville Hobson, ABC (UK) and Shel
Holtz, ABC (USA)• 60 mins, twice weekly, Monday and Thursday,
recorded via Skype• Average per-podcast downloads: 1,3001
• Global audience2 Primary: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, continental Europe
• Building community: 2 on-the-ground regular correspondents; 2 occasional contributors; listener comments; Friendfeed Room
• Two sponsors: Lawrence Ragan Communications and CustomScoop
1. Libsyn aggregate metrics averaged for all FIR podcast downloads, retrieved May 4, 2009.
2. FIR Listener Survey, April 2009.
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Building Community
• Involve listeners• Encourage listeners• Address their needs• Engage
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Measuring ROI
• What are you actually measuring?– Much depends on your goal
• Put the question in the context of other communication tools– How do you measure the ROI of an employee
newsletter?
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Measuring ROI
Not so difficult: How many listeners?
First time, repeats? How many subscribers to the
RSS feed? How many citations by others? How many comments to
episodes? And does the podcaster
comment on other podcasts? Anecdotal commentary on
what people think …
Not so easy: Financial return The value of a
relationship And how are we
defining ‘relationship’?
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Desired Outcomes
• Reinforce brand loyalty• Deliver targeted messages• Heighten awareness of brand• Create user-driven community• Educate to build brand affinity• …
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Producing Your Own Podcast
• Basic gear:– USB microphone/headset– Free recording/editing software
• Audacity for Windows/Mac/Linux
• Intermediate gear:– Cardioid or condenser microphone– Headphones– Mixer– Portable audio recorder– Higher-end software
• eg, Adobe Audition (Windows), GarageBand (Macintosh)
• High-end gear:– + digital mixers, compressors, pre-amps…
Less than$100
$1,000 to$5,000
$6,000and up
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Producing Your Own Podcast
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Producing Your Own Podcast
30
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Promoting Your Podcast
• #1: Get listed in iTunes• Get listed in key directories
– Eg: Podcast Alley, Blubrry Network
• Get some influencer recommendations• Network in the podcasting community• Create podcast badges• Record podcast promos• Pimp for votes
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Reference
• Some of this material is based on content in this book
• Available from good booksellers and online (eg, Amazon)
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Other Reference
S2 / Podcasting / Neville Hobson, ABC
Who’s Podcasting? 5 of The Best
FIR listeners recommend:
• Inside PR with Terry Fallis and David Jones (Canada)
• Marketing Over Coffee with John Wall and Christopher S. Penn (USA)
• Six Pixels of Separation with Mitch Joel (Canada)
• Managing the Gray with C.C. Chapman (USA)
• Donna Papacosta’s Trafcom News (Canada)
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Copyright applies to this document - some rights reserved.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.Details: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
www.nevillehobson.comwww.forimmediaterelease.biz
June 7, 2009