Although podcasting  has come to mean both audio and video files syndicated over the internet – video podcasting and its benefits are beyond the scope of this article.

As we think about podcasting for business profits we need to keep in mind that this medium is a tool.  A great tool for you to build a relationship with your customers because audio programming is a very personable medium. When we listen to talk radio, for example, we perceive the host to be talking directly to us. Audio seems more like a conversation than a broadcast.

This can be useful to businesses and organizations in building a "voice" of the company. A person who regularly records audio content can become part of a listener's daily or weekly routine and will eventually become a trusted source of information.

This brings me to my next point. Podcasts beg to be helpful. What do I mean by this? Quite simply the best podcasts are the ones that add value to the listener's life. For this reason podcasting in education is exploding.

One of the biggest mistakes your business can make is to attempt to use this medium as a direct sales tool. Sales may be the final goal and how you will measure ROI, but it shouldn't dominate the main message of the program.

Let's suppose you have a medium size printing company. Your ultimate goal is obviously to recruit businesses to to send your shop print work. You decide that you'd like to begin producing a weekly podcast.  In the podcast you make a pitch for why your presses are the best in town. You ramble on and on about the quality and flexibility of your digital printing division. Your mouth keeps moving as you discuss the benefits of your in-house mailing department. Who cares? To be honest – no one does. And most likely no one will listen past the first minute.

Now contrast this with the printing company that begins to produce  a weekly podcast explaining the benefits of direct mail campaigns. These podcasts are helping the small business owner with his sales and marketing strategies. Each week your short and to the point podcast is packed full of tips and strategies the small business owner can use to gain more customers using print based materials. This owner will begin to see you as a trusted source of information and knowledge. And the next time he needs something printed he's going to chose the company that added value to his business and life.

Finally, audio podcasts don't have to be difficult to produce. To begin, a simple USB microphone plugged directly into your computer can do the trick. The key is to add value to your customers and prospects. By adding value you will earn their trust ultimately leading to more sales.

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ABOUT FOLK MEDIA

Folk Media is a new media studio that specializes in helping businesses produce, distribute, and promote online media like blogs, audio podcasts, video and Facebook fan pages that drive sales and promote your business on the Internet. Some of the organizations our team has worked with include Open Eye Media, ARMA International, Blue Sky Factory, The Baltimore Business Journal, The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, The National Aquarium, and the Maryland Science Center.

www.FolkMedia.org

Wikipedia describes Twitter as "a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length."

That's a pretty good way to explain it. I think I would also add that it is more like a text based telephone than a micro-blog. Of course it is a telephone conversation that anyone can listen to. But I think this is the power of Twitter. And Twitter for business can be very powerful.

Twitter gives you an opportunity to be transparent as a business allowing you to build a case for yourself or your company through dialogue.

My experience with Twitter

I thought Twitter was really stupid until I gave it a try. And then I still thought it was stupid.

My problem was misunderstanding how it can be used as a tool for business and communications. But I've really changed my mind on this. And now Twitter has become indispensable to me and our business.

The tipping point personally came when I was recently speaking at a conference in Las Vegas. If you've ever been to the Las Vegas Convention Center, you'll appreciate the fact that even a smart guy like me was able to get lost. The building is a small city and navigation can at times be very difficult. In order to find my way around I pulled up Twitter on my cell phone and tweeted out a quick message asking for directions. Within moments I had an answer from a stranger who was following me and was able to easily find my way to the conference hall.

The tipping point for my business came when clients began contacting me from seeing Tweets. I decided right then and there to begin taking this Twitter thing seriously and have developed some strategies for how we are using Twitter in our own company.

Things your company can do with Twitter

Twitter for business?

Yes.

While Twitter can  be used for actual business communications, it is important to remember that this tool isn't for everyone. It should be used wisely like any tool online. I would say that about 80% of businesses can use Twitter to:

• Listen to what people are talking about in your market or industry
• Break news related to your industry or customers
• Link to insightful articles that will help your clients
• Offer quick tips to help people with particular problems
• Conduct surveys to get instant feedback
• Spread knowledge by re-tweeting other's posts
• Ask for customer service feedback and engage those folks

Twitter is one of the most interesting and fastest growing online applications for personal and business communications. Even if you decide Twitter isn't for you,  at least give it a try and do some experimentation. There are a lot of opportunities to harness Twitter for your business.

=======================

ABOUT FOLK MEDIA

Folk Media is a new media studio that specializes in helping businesses produce, distribute, and promote online media like blogs, audio podcasts, video and Facebook fan pages that drive sales and promote your business on the Internet. Some of the organizations our team has worked with include Open Eye Media, ARMA International, Blue Sky Factory, The Baltimore Business Journal, The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, The National Aquarium, and the Maryland Science Center.

You don't have a blog and your competition is passing you up.

Or you have a blog but it hasn't been updated in months and it is starting to look like an abandoned old house on the edge of a bad neighborhood.

Your problem?
You need to begin to think past the 30 sec ad mentality.

The foolish notion that you can create a 30 second TV spot or newspaper ad and gain a flood of new customers is dead.

Yeah it still works. But that's like telling everyone at the turn of the last century that the horse and buggy still works. Only fools stuck with making horse and buggies in the face of the automobile and its rise to prominence.

Blogging, podcasting, internet, online marketing?

Same thing.

So should you abandon all forms of traditional advertising?

No way.

I'm just suggesting that you think beyond the 30 second ad.

Of course TV isn't going anywhere and newspapers will always be around in spite of those who would argue this point.

Treating the web as a distribution or broadcast platform is one of the biggest mistakes people make online with blogs, podcasts, and other tools. We are all used to television, radio, and the newspaper as a one-way broadcast medium.

Communications online work more like a telephone than a TV receiver. The web is a conversation medium not a broadcast medium.

As you plan your business blog think about using it to start conversations.

So let me give you a tip on content and what to write about.

What is it about my product or service that people want to talk about?

This is the big question. Ask yourself this and center your blog content around the answer.

Your product or service should have some really great benefits and features. What are the benefits that people would share with their neighbors? Begin to write and talk about these to stir the conversation. The guys over at Will It Blend do this on video in a very funny way.

I would recommend that you put at least 80% of your time into talking about the features that people find amazing about your product or service.

Blogging about your best product and service benefits and inviting discussion can really pull in your business readers and help you create compelling content.

So thinking past the 30 sec ad mentality means thinking as a conservationist not a broadcaster. Does it require hard work?

You bet.

But it is worth it because of the leverage your business will gain from customer feedback, insight, and participation.

Stay tuned for future articles as we help break down ways to use online media to market your business.

ABOUT FOLK MEDIA

Folk Media is a new media studio that specializes in helping businesses produce, distribute, and promote online media like blogs, audio podcasts, video and Facebook fan pages that drive sales and promote business on the Internet.

http://www.FolkMedia.org

 
DRM & iTunes

iTunes store shows EMI sales of DRM free music doing well

 

Seth Godin  "Unleashing The IdeaVirus"
 

Copyright Vs. Creative Commons

 http://creativecommons.org/

 http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives/000904.php 

great video on CC: http://www.verbalism.net/2007/06/great_video_on_.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,116842-page,1/article.html 
 

June 25, 2007

Hosts: Brian Morrison, David Morley, & Joel Mark Witt
Special Guest: Brandon Hardesty

May 18, 2007

Hosts: Brian Morrison & Joel Mark Witt

Post date - May 1, 2007

Host: Joel Mark Witt

Post date - May 1, 2007

Host: Joel Mark Witt

April 12, 2007

Hosts: Brian Morrison & Joel Mark Witt

April 4, 2007

Hosts: Brian Morrison & Joel Mark Witt

We're launching a new show! "Folk Media" will be a 5-20 minute weekly audio podcast that discusses the current topics in film, television, internet, production technology, and new media. The emphasis will be on how the new digital media revolution is impacting the entertainment industry - with a focus on great storytelling. Our guests may change each week but all of them are really in the trenches of the revolution that is upon us.