Podcasting seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days.
What is a podcast? What would I say? Why should I start one?
Those are all perfectly good questions. Let’s get to all of that but first… Take a look at the time. Make a mental note of the time (or jot it down). Ready?
Podcasting is simply a method of delivering an audio file to the public.
That’s it. I can end the post here or we can delve deeper into the many styles of podcasting if you like. Let’s start with…
The OFF THE CUFF style of Podcasting
While I was writing this post, I decided to fire up the mic and record one version of a podcast for you. For lack of a better word, I’ve named this “Off the cuff” style. Check it out.
It could have been as simple as talking into my phone or computer. I happened to be using a Yetti Blue Mic and running it in Audacity (a free program). Other than that – it’s press record, speak, press stop and save it. If you screw it up, you simply delete and start again.
You can then upload the file straight into WordPress and embed it as a media player like I did above. It doesn’t get easier than that.
The LIVE style of Podcasting
The next level of Podcasting I’ve labeled as the LIVE Recording. We do this style every Tuesday at Social Media Edge. If we have technical troubles, if a guest doesn’t show up, whatever happens – it’s LIVE. We can and do have an intro, a commercial or two, but all of that is done live. While we might have show notes that somewhat lead us in our topics, often times the conversation just goes where ever it wants to.
Last week we had Bill Risser on #SMEDGE. He’s doing an excellent job on his podcasting series The Real Estate Sessions. We had a great time talking about all things podcasting. He even dropped an incredibly great tip on what real estate agents should be podcasting about in their local area. Bill ROCKS!
Here’s a embedded version of that show:
How cool is that?
The Edited style of Podcasting
This week Bill returned the favor and had me as his guest on his podcast. I’ve been on quite a few podcasts for others and I really liked what Bill did. A day before we were going to record, he sent me 12 questions that he wanted to ask me. He said it took him just a little bit of time to compile. This turned out to be our outline and while the discussion happened naturally, I wasn’t surprised at any of the questions. Remember, your job as a podcaster isn’t to destroy the interviewee with hard hitting questions, it’s to create relevant content that your target audience wants to hear.
Bill sets his guests up for a casual conversation and gently directs the direction that conversation is going to go. He makes sure his guests feel comfortable and not only does he provide quality content, but he makes his guests shine as well.
Once the recording is done Bill goes through it quickly and does a few quick edits. I hacked his website and grabbed the embed code for the podcast. Take a listen to this:
- What is a Podcast? I say it’s any style of audio recording that you can make and share that provides quality content to your audience. My emphasis is on quality content. Your style could anything that works for you. You don’t have to compete with high quality productions and really you don’t have to compete at all. If the system is too complicated for you to make it sustainable it’s going to be a fail. Do what you can continue to do on a regular basis – whatever style that is.
- What would I say? First of all, you don’t need a guest. Guests add a different voice, they add a different point of view, but some of my favorite podcasts have no guests. As to what you would say, know your target audience, know what is important to them and speak to those issues. Give them relevant information in an entertaining way (don’t drone on), and most importantly make it you. The point of the podcast is to build endearment, trust, and knowledge.
- Why should I start one? Plenty of reasons! Let’s start with the idea that a podcast allows you to show of your expertise and knowledge. It allows people to connect with you. It gives them an insight into what makes you tick. Podcasts transfer inflection and emphasis like video, where text cannot. From an SEO stand point we know Time on Site Matters. Take a look at your watch. How long have you been on this one post? Podcasts slow the ‘skimmers’ down. Google is tracking that. If more people stay on this podcast page than other similar podcast pages Google will put more value in mine and show me higher in the search results. Yes. Podcasting is an SEO play! Podcasting can also deliver the message to one of the best places you want to get to – their smart phone.
Want to hear a great example of a Real Estate agent might do? You can’t go wrong listening to my friend, Greg Fleischaker!
What do you think? Is podcasting here to stay or just a fad?
Mike Mueller
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one,bought a cool orange one, and still rides a really slow one), he loves strong beer and good red wine.
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