eStrategies - 5 Podcasting Best Practices

If you’re looking for a way to create meaningful, engaging, branded content with results that can be tracked, easily shared, drive sales, build your brand and boost your positions on the search result pages, give podcasting a try. There were 17.4 million monthly podcast downloads in 2008, and the growth curve isn’t expected to stop skyrocketing until 2013.

Podcast best practices
Podcasts aren’t just something you can download to your iPod. These are audio broadcasts as well as video productions that can be viewed online from your Web site and offline on devices. And they can play an important role in your marketing plan as social media continues to grow in popularity. Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Market to your target audience. Your advertising, e-mail marketing campaigns and other forms of marketing are all designed with a target audience in mind. Your podcasts should be no different. The language, content and distribution media should be geared toward reaching that target market in the most effective way possible — enhancing your brand.

2. Planned content. Whether five minutes or 15 minutes, have a topical outline — or even a script — for your podcast before you record it. Factor in where you need to have music and sound effects.

3. Easily accessible. The search directories need to easily find and categorize your podcast so your target audience can do the same. As a result, your podcast should be optimized with proper tagging, descriptions and code for RSS feeds. Also, don’t forget to include well-written, descriptive text in the directories. If done correctly, this text will interest potential listeners and compel them to download or listen to your podcast.

4. Track performance. What gets measured gets improved. Know which of your series and episodes are popular, whether listeners are downloading single episodes or becoming subscribers, which directory is referring the most downloads, and what positions your podcasts hold in directories and search engines.

5. Be committed. A podcast is a great way to build and strengthen customer relationships. Be able to invest the time and resources you need to keep the conversation going. Plan podcasts in series instead of single episodes, and promote them as upcoming events.

Lisa Wehr is CEO and founder of Oneupweb, a Traverse City, Mich.-based digital marketing agency. Reach her at info@oneupweb.com or send her a tweet @LisaWehr.

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