Are Podcasts Worthwhile For Business Purposes?

May 7
08:36

2009

Alex Cleanthous

Alex Cleanthous

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Podcasting has become more established in recent years. But while many people think of podcasts merely as entertainment, it is interesting to be on the flip side of the coin. Are they a worthwhile area for businesses to get into? It seems they are. After all, a podcast is a means for communicating with a potentially large group of people. And therein is a reason for using them to enhance an existing business still further. If you do some research on some of the best known people out there with a hand in internet marketing, you will no doubt find that many of them indulge in podcasting of some kind.

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Podcasting has become more established in recent years.  But while many people think of podcasts merely as entertainment,Are Podcasts Worthwhile For Business Purposes? Articles it is interesting to be on the flip side of the coin.  Are they a worthwhile area for businesses to get into?It seems they are.  After all, a podcast is a means for communicating with a potentially large group of people.  And therein is a reason for using them to enhance an existing business still further.If you do some research on some of the best known people out there with a hand in internet marketing, you will no doubt find that many of them indulge in podcasting of some kind.  But the key to really making this work is to do it on a regular basis.The whole idea about podcasting is to provide a downloadable program that people can listen to or watch.  If you were to produce just one podcast, you would get some viewers/listeners, for sure.  But you would get far more by regularly providing a podcast and watching your audience grow.Many businesses produce a weekly podcast for their followers.  It is a way of connecting with their audience regularly and getting them involved in what they are doing.But one thing you will notice with many of these podcasts is that they are not selling anything directly.  You might think this is a wasted opportunity – after all these people have downloaded the podcast so they are voluntarily listening to it and have an interest in it.  Why not make the most of that opportunity and try to sell them something?It sounds like a great idea, but in fact it can backfire severely.  If you listen to or watch the majority of the podcasts available nowadays, you will see that they offer something more.  They offer information, advice and knowledge.  And that puts in place something far more powerful than simply going for a sale.  It begins to foster trust between the potential customer and the business itself.So what do you think will happen the next time that customer needs to buy something that is provided by that company?  They will very likely remember that company as being one they can trust.  It’s ironic, but in online marketing  the business that doesn’t go for the hard sell quite often results in getting more sales in the long run.And that is one of the reasons why good quality podcasting is one of the best things a business can do to connect with its customers.  That business should plan out a series of podcasts on a relevant subject, and figure out what they want to achieve from doing so.  If they can manage this, those podcasts could attract an ever wider audience as time goes on.Of course there should be a mention of the business and how to make contact during each one.  But that subtle way of promoting themselves will be far better than constantly trying to sell, sell, sell.