Today the increasing development of technology has given us new and powerful tools in the business industry. But that implementation of technology has also transformed the nature of business in many ways, from market demands to customer requirements. This means that these new tools are not just a possibility anymore, they have become a necessity if you want to break through today’s enormous competition.
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The tool with a rapidly rising popularity is a podcast. Basically, this is a set of digital audio files on the internet, streaming live or available for download. All you need to do is to subscribe to the podcast and you’ll receive the uploaded digital files, which means that this way your business can easily build an army of followers. It’s obvious that this is a very powerful marketing tool that can easily improve your business prospects, and an increased mobile usage as made its growth even more rapid since it’s considered a new talk radio on these devices.
One of the most important aspects of today’s marketing is getting a connection with your customers on a more personal level, and podcast will enable you to do that – the sound allows you to accompany your words with various emotions. The fact that it’s an increasing trend makes things even easier and the opportunity definitely shouldn’t be missed. The first podcast which was then referred to as an audio blog was made early in 2004 and it took it almost 14 years to turn into a mainstream success, but now the demand for this specialist content is clearly growing. It is a similar case to youtube, Facebook, or Twitter – all these platforms were just playtoys in the beginning, but their increasing popularity has turned them into powerful marketing strategies. So let’s take a look what has this new playtoy developed into and what benefits can it bring to your business.
Quiet evenings around the radio
It is a fact that video content marketing is very important for the business, but it’s also a fact that it has become harder to shoot that video. The audience has become more demanding in terms of quality and they have much less patience to see it throughout the end because they’re bombed with visual content wherever they turn. So if you can’t reach their rapidly growing requirements you can end up even damaging your business reputation.
On the other hand, everybody is nostalgic when it comes to the quiet evenings around the radio, and podcasts are like a new age radio shows. The best thing about that evenings is that you didn’t have to be fully concentrated on the radio itself, there was always another occupation – father reading newspapers, mother ironing, kids playing – that wasn’t in the way of the information you were receiving. The result was that the radio was turned on in every home, creating a very wide range of listeners. The podcast today has the similar effect – you can listen to it on your mobile phone through headsets while going through your regular everyday activities. Multitasking has become like a new religion in these modern times and this characteristic of the podcast can gather around a very large crowd of ‛believers’. The fact that there is a voice ‛whispering in their ears’ wherever they go will build a familiarity with a wide range of audiences. The moment they subscribe they become regular listeners, so all you have to do is to keep the series going. When you add the recommendations to friends and family members you don’t have to be a genius to realize that the podcast can do wonders for your traffic.
The setup
The podcast doesn’t require as much equipment as video, but you’ll have to go through some steps to create one. Nonetheless, these steps are quite simple and they require the minimal investment. The equipment you’ll need is easily available for a reasonable price. The biggest investment is a decent quality microphone and a Blue Yeti USB in which most podcasters swear is available for around 100 bucks. Besides a pair of headphones, you might consider adding a pop filter (to reduce or muffle the unwanted sounds of the surrounding) and this is where your investments end. There are a lot of free editing software like Audacity (PC) or GarageBand (Mac) that will do the job, and we presume today everybody has computers with decent WiFi connection. You can set up your podcast studio anywhere in the house and if space is the problem today you can find a lot of cheap self storage options to transport a part of the ‛mess’ somewhere safe. As you can see, creating a podcast is pretty simple while the increase in the exposure your business will get is unmeasurable.
People have the need to see and meet a person behind a brand and sometimes the results may be disappointing. Public speeches can be a real challenge and the regular hosting of the podcast can enormously improve your confidence when speaking in public. Besides the fact it’s one of the most popular marketing strategies, it’s also a way to develop a healthy communication with your audience where the possibilities to promote your business are endless.
