Podcasting, a great marketing tool for small business

A podcast is a radio style talk or music show that can be listened to on your ipod or other MP3 player when you want. This listening experience has existed since 2006 and now millions of people are downloading and creating podcasts of their own on every topic imaginable. 

The great thing about listening to a podcast is you choose!  And we are choosing everything from weight loss tips to finance information. In a 15 to 20 minute podcast you can be entertained, informed and inspired. Most podcasts are made by people who are passionate about their subject matter.

Great thing I find about listening to a podcast is I can multi-ask. I would like to read all the new articles being written but I don’t have the time. However I can listen to a podcast while doing other things.

I do my own podcast in itunes because I am passionate about marketing small businesses. My format is to interview small businesses and marketers and ask them the questions I am interested in. This provides a format for my show. It allows me to reach a larger audience and show my marketing expertise. Podcasting is a great tool for building an audience, your credibility.

Podcasting has emerged as one of the best ways to show your expertise to potential customers. It is simple and offers a great way to reach large audiences.

Podcasting isn’t difficult. You could do it today from your iphone. You can spend thousands on sound equipment but you don’t need to. With the right planning you can create your own radio show within 1 day.

How can you podcast?

A simple format that might work for you is to find something that you are passionate about, perhaps some articles you have written and simply record them as a podcast. If you an iphone you can record an MP3 file on this and then simply upload it to itunes or podomatic.com. To make it more professional, you can import it into some editing software like audacity.com or garagebrand on a mac and do an intro and exit to your podcast. 

If you are going to do a series of podcasts then here are some tips:

1. Define your goals. Do you want it to increase traffic to your site, build your brand, demonstrate your credibility, educate people or entertain.
2. Pick a topic and stick to that. This allows your audience to know the sort of content to expect and keep coming back for more. Also it ensures you are not trying to be all things to all people.
3. Pick a target market you are trying to talk to. Try and be specific. You have to identify who you are talking to and if you don’t you will end up losing your listeners.
4. Have a great show idea. Story board your ideas.Jot  If you can’t think of more than 12 ideas you are in trouble and may need to rethink your idea. 
5. Decide on the type of podcast be it interview based, informational, tips and tricks, how -toos
6. Try to set a time aside to do your interviews. Consistency is the key. Once a week is optimistic for me but I try for every 2 weeks. Just get a schedule and stick to it.
7. Decide how long your show should be. I try and aim for 30 minutes, again it depends on your audience.
8. If you are going to have guests make a contact list. You will be amazed who will say yes. If this is the case you will need to be able to record online and so I recommend Skype Call recorder.
9. Have a clear call to action at the end or somewhere in your podcast. Don’t leave it up to chance. Make your call to action very clear. Visit my website at, sign up for my tips on my blog, etc

Preparation

Preparation is everything. If you are having a guest get to know about them so you can ask great questions. Even if you are podcasting your own voice, have a good headset mic or be in a quiet space. Practice and smile when you talk, it sounds better.

Promotion

Once you have recorded and edited your podcast you then need to promote it. Itunes is a great site to list your show on. Podomatic or podbean is great because it creates a RSS feed that you can submit to itunes automatically as well as your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter etc. You will want to have a link to your podcast on your website or blog as well as a sign up form so you can send people your new episodes automatically.  You can also submit your podcast to podcast directories for free!