Video and Podcasting

L 11

Ing. Jiří Šnajdar 2014

Creating audio and video content for marketing and PR purposes requiers the same attention to appropriate topics as other techniques.

It requiers targeting individual buyer personas with thoughtful information that addresses some aspect of the life or a problém they face.

However unlike text based content such as blogs or news relases, audio and video require a modest investment in hardware such as microphones and video cameras and as well software.

Organizations that deliver products or services that lend themselves to video to actively use the medium to market and deliver information about their offerings.

Many amateur and professional sports teams, musicions and other groups also use video as a marketing and PR tool.

The idea of companies using video for Web marketing is still relatively new. Some companies are placing video into their existing blogs and online media rooms.

One development that is helping change the relative scarcity of corporate marketing video is the Flip video camera. The Flip camera is quickly becoming a tool for marketers to carry all the times.

It allows you to be ready to interview customers, employees, industry analysts and to quickly post the video on your site or blog. It can also help you shoot clips showing how your products are made or used. No professionals required.

Some companies have started with providing video cameras to employees and even customers.

The organizations get their video content onto the computor screens of buyers in several ways:

Posting to video-sharing sites:

You Tube is the most popular video-sharing site on the Web, although there are others. Organizations post video content on You Tube and send people link to the content.

It is possible also to place a You Tube video into your site, your blog or your news release.

Creating a simple video is easy, all you need is a You Tube account and a digital video camera. There are all sorts of enhancements and aditing techniques you can use to make the video more professional.

Developing an online video channel:

Companies that také online video programming seriously develop their own channel.

Vlogging: Short for video blogging, this term refers to video content embedded in a blog. The text part of the blog adds context to each video and aids with search engine marketing.

Vodcasting: A vodcast is like podcast but with video. The company uses the vodcasts to publicize the „cool“ things i tis doing around the world.

Inviting your customer communities to submit video:

These companies sponsor contests where customers submit short videos. The best are usually showcased on the company site and the winners often get prizes. In some cases the winning videos are also played on TV as real commercials.

The video is an important component in an effective marketing mix. For brands big and small it is just putting out interesting and engaging information.

The bigger companies build brand communities to excite brand loyalists and advocates. In this way video extends the two-way dialog of the blog.

Podcasting

A podcast is a piece of audio content tied to a subscription component so people can recieve updates. The simplest way to think of podcasting is that it is like radio show except that you listen to each episode at your time by downloding it either to your computor or mobile device like iPod.

The equipment you need to start podcasting wil range in cost from few hundred $ at the low end. To that to add to host your audio files on an external server requiring monthly fee.

Beginning with developing a script, following are steps and technical issues involved with producing a podcast.

Show preparetion includes gathering ideas for the show and creating a script.

Think about your customers and what you can discuss that interests them.

If you plan to interview guests, make sure you know how to pronounce their names and have their titels, affiliations and other information correct.

Recording when you are near your computor

is done with a microphone that deliveres the audio to your computor. You will need podcasting software as an interface to create and publish your podcast.

Mobile recording gear

is required if you are going to do the reporter and interview people and events.

Phone interviews require a way to record both sides of a conversation. A good way to go is to use Skype through your computor and then record on a digital recorder.

Editing your audio files is optional – you can upload your files as you recorded them.

Postproduction editing

Tagging the audio

is an important step that some people overlook or perform without due care. This step involves adding text-based information about the audio to make it easier for people to find.

Hosting and distribution

are necessary to ensure that people can easily obtain your podcasts. Services host the audio files and syndicate them to the distribution networks such as iTunes.

Promotion

is essential to make sure that people find out about your podcasts. If you do interview shows, make sure that you provide links to the show to all guests. Many people will help you to promote a show that they have been featured on.

A companion blog

is a key component used by all podcasters to discuss the content of each show. An important reasons for having a companion blog is that its text will be indexed by the search engines, driving more people to sign up for the podcast feed.

Most organizations that use podcasting as a marketing tool also use the podcast blog to place to move people into sales proces by providing links to the company site or to demonstrations or trial offers.