Podcasting is a term coined by Ben Hammersley in a 2004 article he wrote for The Guardian newspaper when trying to create a term to identify the online audio recordings being made for MP3 players and iPods. Ben blended ‘Pod’ from the iPod and ‘Cast’ from the end of the word Broadcast to form podcast, which has made Apple jump for joy at all the free marketing of their iPod.
A podcast is an audio recording which is loaded onto the internet and then synced to your MP3 player, it’s that simple. However, a podcast can also be a video, but that is not very common.
The simplest way to think of a podcast is as internet radio. It could be music, a retelling of a story, a blog post read aloud or a shopping list because there are no limits as to the types of podcasts people create. Just like everything though, some podcasts are dreadful to listen to and others ones you can’t wait to hear again. So a big plus as a podcast listener, is that you also have the ability to pick what you want to hear, when you want to hear it and can delete or replay it anytime you want.
People love getting things for free; music, prizes, presents and podcasts. In fact, most podcasts are free to download and because you can subscribe and automatically receive new podcasts from your favourite podcasters, they are becoming extremely popular.
In business, the world of podcasting remains mostly untouched and written content is still the most common form of communicating with clients or customers. Yet for a business who creates regular podcasts, the benefits include:
Sending regular traffic to your website by directing listeners to it
Become a respected authority on your subject or business
Building great personal relationships with your clients and customers
Develop fabulous public speaking skills, helping you to never again mess up a public opportunity to promote your business
It’s free advertising and everyone with a microphone can create one
Easy to build brand awareness with
Quick and easy for your audience to receive your message at a time and place it suits them
For some ideas about what to include on your business podcast and even just to listen to how some expert podcasters are rocking it, please read The Entrepreneur’s article on the Top 25 Podcasts For Entrepreneurs.
Posted: Sunday 8 May 2016