Podcast Academy: The Business Podcasting Book

Launching, Marketing, and Measuring Your Podcast

Michael Geoghegan, Greg Cangialosi, Ryan Irelan, Tim Bourquin, Colette Vogele

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136031939
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Exclusive Podcast Academy training now available in a book!
Podcast Academy, the leader in audio/video podcast and new media education, brings you their first book, Podcast Academy: The Business Podcasting Book, based on their seminars. Written by industry experts, this book brings you practical experience that you can apply to your own business. It covers planning, content creation, legal considerations, branding, marketing, advertising, monetization, and much more. The authors and contributors have been behind many of the earliest corporate podcasts and share their knowledge, success, and real-world experience with you.
Podcasting is changing the way organizations are communicating with their customers, prospects and the media. It is an essential new medium for any company looking to extend their communications outreach, and expand their brand awareness. This applies for companies, organizations, charities, schools and groups that range in size from small to Fortune 500 enterprises. If you are thinking about podcasting as a medium for your organization, The Business Podcasting Book will give you a solid understanding of how to create your own company's voice, measure your efforts and maximize your opportunity. Implement your podcasting strategy now!

SECTION 1: PODCASTING OVERVIEW: UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIUM AND ITS IMPACT ON BUSINESS

1 The Podcasting Revolution

Greg Cangialosi

DOI: 10.4324/9780080552873-1

Early in the fall of 2004, the word “podcasting” made its entrance into the consciousness of early Web 2.0 adopters and those on the fringes of Internet technology. Although the medium had been around for many months prior, the term first surfaced online and throughout the blogosphere in late 2004.

A few months later the term “podcasting” was one of the most popular buzzwords in both the technology and media sectors. For most of us in the business world, this “new” medium initially seemed to be nothing more than just audio on the Web. What was all of the hype about? Haven’t we been doing this for a while? These questions were valid when podcasting first emerged, and even throughout 2005 and 2006 as it began to develop into a viable medium. But now, a deep understanding of the power of podcasting is essential to any individual involved in marketing, public relations, or business communications. It is important for companies and organizations of all sizes to understand why podcasting can and should be a key element of their strategy moving forward.

The medium of podcasting is truly revolutionary. Although we may not have even realized it at that time, the advent of podcasting symbolized the beginning of a new era of communication. The blogosphere was ripe with conversation, outreach, and dialog in all realms, both consumer and business, and with the emergence of podcasting, the next step in the development of citizen media was solidified. The concept and practice of “we the media” is now coming to you in audio and video format, and being syndicated all over the globe.

Podcasting promises to change the way we think about communications. Individuals have been podcasting for some time now, and businesses and other organizations are now beginning to realize the importance of the medium. Corporate communications can no longer be simply dictated to an audience. Rather, the audience can, and is, talking back, commenting on content and products, and voicing their opinions on corporate policies and practices. Podcasting is changing the roles of “us” and “them,” instead creating the space for “we” as conversations between businesses and consumers become a common practice.

Initially, podcasting was not crucial to understand from a business standpoint. The first wave of podcasters was also the same group that made up the audience—a very selective, technological crowd that embraced the newest way of sharing information. But then something happened—as iPods infiltrated millions of homes across the globe, Apple’s iTunes music store began offering a directory of podcasts that was available to everyone. Today it is one of the largest, if not the largest, podcast directories available online. Suddenly, podcasts had a platform, and people began listening to it.

As podcasting continues to become more pervasive in popular culture, it is more important than ever to understand what exactly this medium is, how it evolved, and why it matters to your organization today. Most importantly, it’s essential for you to understand how you can take advantage and reap the benefits of this exciting new communications tool.

A Brief History

Without getting into a long and detailed history of exactly how podcasting came to be (you can find that on Wikipedia), I should note that several bright individuals are mainly credited with developing and bringing pod-casting to the mainstream. Dave Winer, a well-known software developer—founder of Userland Software and author of ScriptingNews (www.scripting.com)—and Adam Curry, professional broadcaster and technology entrepreneur, are responsible along with a few others for making the necessary technological advancements and popularizing the medium through their early dialog and experimentation. From their initial efforts back in early 2004, a revolution was born.

The term “podcast” was first coined early in 2004 as a means of describing how a media file could be subscribed to via an really simple syndication (RSS) feed, and automatically downloaded to a user’s computer, and then to a portable media device like the iPod. Without much warning, the term “podcasting” was soon all over the place, by causing controversy with Apple over the use of the word “pod” to the development of podcast directories, books and Web sites dedicated to helping people get started with the medium.

Since the fall of 2004, podcasting has grown so rapidly that it can be hard to follow all of the moving pieces, let alone grasp some of its most basic benefits. Only now it has become critical to understand why we should be thinking about the benefits of podcasting as a business tool.

Over the past 2 years an industry has emerged. Look around today and you will find an abundance of companies who are helping take podcasting to the next level. You will come across podcast directories, production companies, advertising networks, sponsorship models, content distribution networks, technology companies, tradeshows and conferences, etc. All of them are based on the medium of podcasting and new media.

Podcasting has rapidly developed into its own industry, and the market and tools for production continue to become more accessible to organizations of all sizes. The barriers to entry are very low.

The Evolution of Podcasting

With all of the activity in what has become a rapidly evolving industry, there still is a common misperception on what exactly podcasting is. A large percentage of people still believe podcasting to be nothing more than an audio or video file that one can simply download from the Web. While it is understandable why many people view it this way, it really is so much more than that.

Let’s go back to the beginning and look at how podcasting evolved and what it really represents in terms of an emerging communications medium for businesses and organizations.

When I first discovered podcasting, I was simply fascinated by the pure power and possibilities that it presented. Understanding podcasting—what it is and how it works—can be boiled down to one simple concept: podcasting allows any person or organization to get behind a microphone or a video camera, record content on any subject matter and in any format they choose, and then globally syndicate that content using the power of RSS, giving a truly global audience the ability to subscribe to that content and be alerted when new information has been published.

The piece of the puzzle that most individuals have not fully embraced is the RSS component of podcasting. RSS is what makes podcasting so unique. This is the element of the equation that gives podcasting “game changer” status. RSS has revolutionized the way that content is delivered on the Internet, giving users control over how and when they receive the information they are interested in.

Later in this book, there is an entire chapter dedicated to RSS that will delve into detail on all of the important aspects and what you need to know about it, but for now it is important to have a base understanding of the role RSS plays in podcasting.

Podcasting is much more than just a downloadable audio or video file that is online. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the differentiator, because it not only notifies subscribers of new information, but also actually delivers it to them, or offers a direct link.

Podcasting is more than just an audio or video file on the Web that can be viewed or listened to. This type of technology has been around for many years. As mentioned earlier, what makes podcasting different and more powerful is that it allows the content creator to syndicate their message, and allows the listener to subscribe to that content and consume it at their own leisure.

Think back to the time when blogs and blogging first became mainstream. Blogs had been around for many, many years, but their real entrance into the mainstream occurred between 2001 and 2003. Individuals had a place online to quickly post thoughts, insights, trends, opinions, etc.; businesses soon followed suit. There were places to converse with each other in the comments of blogs, and conversation was born.

What we know today as “the blogosphere” developed from the dialog created from all of the blogs from around the globe, and continues to evolve every day. Outside of great content and pure interest from blog readers and authors alike, what really helped fuel the blogging phenomenon was the power of RSS. Whether the author knew it or not, most blogging software enabled each blogger with an RSS feed that accompanied it. To keep things basic for now, presence of an RSS feed allowed other individuals to be able to “subscribe” to your blog, so that every time you wrote something new, your subscribers would be notified. From there, they could choose to read your content at their leisure. RSS began to quickly solve a big problem. With the growing amount of content on the Web, it was virtually impossible to visit all of the Web sites and blogs that one wanted to read on a daily or even weekly basis. RSS allowed people to pick and choose the content they wanted to receive, be alerted when there was something new to check out, and then read it when it was convenient for them.

The Emergence of Web 2.0

The presence of RSS changed the game in that, suddenly, we were all being syndicated. Our words were out there, more and more people began to subscribe to feeds, and the conversations continued to evolve from there. The business world quickly followed the citizen journalists and the publishing world, and soon corporate blogging emerged as an effective way for businesses to communicate with their customers, prospects, and the media. These developments were taking place as the terms “Web 2.0” and “social media” began to surface in the mainstream.

In short, the terms “Web 2.0” and “social media” broadly define the next generation of Internet, a generation where online tools encourage active participation, interaction, and community between individuals. Podcasting plays the role of one of the tools of social media and Web 2.0.

Shortly after blogging went mainstream, the RSS protocol evolved further, and the next version was enhanced with the ability to carry along media files known as “enclosures.” These files consist of audio MP3s and video files. This was how podcasting was born. Instead of just simply syndicating text content, the next generation of RSS opened up a whole new world of syndicating audio and video. Just think about how audio and video syndication over RSS will change the way we think about consuming media. But also think about the possibilities that it presents to us to be able to publish our own media.

Since the beginning of podcasting, my interest in the medium has shifted to focus around my core area of expertise, which is marketing communications. Over the past couple of years, I have spent a lot of time exploring how businesses and organizations are using podcasting to further extend their communication and outreach efforts.

Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to participate in many unique podcasting projects for companies such as Disney, Verizon Wireless, General Motors/Pontiac, Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, among many others. I have also employed podcasting as a branding and marketing medium for my own business, Blue Sky Factory, Inc. Through my collective experience, and from the experiences of others, I have learned several lessons and best practices that I hope to bring to you throughout the course of this book.

It is clear that today a very low barrier to entry exists for businesses and organizations to create audio and video content. When you extend that ability to everything from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations, pod-casting can be used for education, outreach, marketing, advertising, and public relations. Include the power of globally syndicating that content via RSS, and you have a very powerful medium for organizations to embrace. Let’s take a look at why you should be considering podcasting for your organization.

Why Podcasting Matters to Your Organization

One of the main goals of this book is to not only give readers a good understanding of what podcasting is, but more importantly why it matters to your organization and the various ways you can use the medium to your advantage. As I have laid out above, and as you will see for yourself throughout this book, this medium is not just a passing fad. It’s a communications revolution.

As I mentioned earlier, podcasting is the natural extension of blogging. It is an evolution that puts sound and video at the fingertips of our companies. Communications that were once only words are now infused with energy, excitement, and entertainment in addition to (hopefully) engaging content. These are some of the key things that engage individuals and develop audiences around other traditional media outlets such as terrestrial radio and television. Never before has a company or an organization been able to seriously consider developing and syndicating audio- and video-based content globally, unless they were a Fortune 500 enterprise with seriously deep pockets.

We have entered into a new era where any company or organization with minimal investment can begin to extend their communications outreach online. Just like many other marketing and communications mediums before it, podcasting is beginning to make its mark and prove its effectiveness as a targeted and measurable medium.

Podcasting is a natural extension of blogging. Developments in the new media landscape are now empowering organizations to go beyond the written word, making syndicated audio and video available for the communication mix.

No matter what kind of organization you are part of—corporation, non-profit, association, academic, religious—there is one common thread amongst them all: the need to communicate, and communicate effectively. All organizations need to talk to their current and prospective customers, members, constituents, the media, employees, etc., and podcasting opens the door to take these communications to the next level, beyond the simple written word.

As we progress through the book we will be highlighting several examples of organizations that are currently utilizing podcasting for a variety of reasons. There are a few...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• About the Authors
• Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• Section 1: Podcasting Overview: Understanding The Medium and its Impact on Business
• Section 2: Odcasting Fundamentals: Planning and Development
• Section 3: Producing The Podcast: Production, Delivery and Legal Issues
• Section 4: Podcast Distribution: Marketing, Measuring, and Monetizing
• Index