By Nettie Hartsock
According to a research study on the emerging role of new media conducted jointly by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann, podcast usage continues to gain momentum as an important tool for delivering marketing collateral in the B2B marketplace.
The survey’s results revealed that podcast usage among business-to-business technology buyers is significant and growing with 41% of respondents claiming they listened to podcasts on more than one occasion. Thirty-two percent of the respondents indicated their usage of podcasts had “increased” or “significantly increased” in the last six months.
Stacy Malone, vice-president and interactive media director of Universal McCann, noted the survey revealed that opportunities with new media are growing rapidly. “In fact, podcasts have moved into the top 10 most frequently accessed types of online content. This spike can be directly attributed to the addictive nature of this on-demand medium.”
While the term “addictive” when it comes to podcast listening might be an exaggeration (one does not see podcast listeners gathered together in a room anytime soon, saying, “Hello, my name is John and I’m a podcast addict.”), the survey results do show that podcasting is gaining listeners at a rapid pace.
“Marketers must adapt to the changing preference of the market and deliver relevant content that meets the merging professional and personal lifestyles of their prospects,” said Heather Foster, director of marketing at KnowledgeStorm.
Will Podcasts Replace White Papers?
For white paper marketers, the survey underlines the growing question of whether podcasts will take the place of white papers, and is it valuable to repurpose white paper content? If so, how does one make it engaging to listeners?
(Hint: It won’t come in the form of just putting a U2 song behind your latest and greatest white paper as it’s read by the CTO in your company for podcast.)
OneUpWeb’s CEO Lisa Wehr whose company just released its Corporate Podcasting 101 Guide to Marketers, said by providing white papers in podcast form, marketers are making their valuable content convenient for their audience.
Wehr also cites the most misunderstood fact about podcasting: “We find that people think ‘garage-band’ and the ‘kids’ when they hear the word podcasting. Look around any airport, commuter train, or gym to see the real audience of a podcast. The most popular podcast lists include science, technology and news shows.”
OneUpWeb offers a proprietary technology called PodTractor that enables marketers to determine how big their audience is. Producers can also track audience loyalty and even review where their podcast link appears on search engines like Google and Yahoo, according to Wehr.
John Furrier, CEO of Podtech.net, when asked what he thought was the most misunderstood issue about podcasting, said, “Podcasting isn’t about an Internet radio show, nor is it a one-off audio stream… It’s about developing relationships with users via audio. Voice is very effective in communicating messages and information.”
Furrier also noted he thinks podcasts are replacing white papers in terms of effectiveness. “Podcasting helps engage an audience and increases white paper conversion.”
Tips for Podcasts and the Podcast Craze
On tips for podcasting white papers, Wehr says, “Specifically for white papers, it’s important to remember that your audience isn’t able to view charts in an audio podcast. Produce a script that is comfortable to listen to, with scripted section transitions, summaries and other production values. Just reading your paper into a microphone will sound dull and doesn’t take advantage of the medium.”
Wehr also noted that podcasting enables marketers to connect with their audience on a different emotional level. OneUpWeb produced their most popular white paper, Target Google to Sell Online, on podcast. “While this paper has been well-publicized through press releases, banner ads, text ads, and on our site, tracking shows that the podcast attracted a new audience to our site. We can directly link the podcast offer to sales leads,” said Wehr.
“Podcasts and social media will dominate white papers as a way to communicate and educate Internet users on information. White papers and email marketing will take a back seat as the first-line tactic for lead generation,” said Furrier on the future of podcasting.
We asked thought influencer Britton Manasco, founder and principal of Manasco Marketing Partners, what people might be missing in this podcasting craze.
“The operative word is ‘craze.’ Gartner, the influential IT research firm, talks about the concept of a ‘hype cycle.’ From that perspective, podcasting is now experiencing what they call the ‘peak of inflated expectations.’ It’s easy to grow from a small base, but the expectations are simply too high. What’s next? Right on cue, podcasting will fall into the ‘trough of disillusionment’ when it fails to meet all these unrealistic expectations. Fortunately, it will probably find a sensible place in the marketing mix and rise back up as a productive tool,” said Manasco.
Coming out of Infancy Stage - The Future of Podcasting
The key to the future use of podcasting seems to be in making certain that marketers engage podcasts as value-added options in their marketing outreach efforts. But they also need to recognize it’s a medium still in its infancy and there is still much room for growth.
“Smart marketers will recognize that podcasting is merely one stock - or security - within the marketing portfolio. They will watch it, measure it and determine how much attention it truly deserves. I think of it as ‘plodcasting’ at this point. If podcasting is to become truly valuable, then we are going to need better and faster ways of navigating the audio content in order to find what we need,” notes Manasco.
And it looks as though venture capitalists are ready to invest in pushing the boundaries of audio content. For instance, Podtech recently raised $5.5 million in venture funding. Alex Williams, editor of the Corante Podcasting blog, said this funding demonstrates how the market is changing rapidly for how people consume media. He predicts over the next few years, podcasts are going to be as common as websites.
His take on white papers and podcasting echoes Manasco, in that Williams says, “It’s critical to understand what media should be employed.” Williams described screencasts as enabling producers to create shows that essentially are screen captures with narration, recorded in video and saved in the format of their choosing.
“By creating a series of screencasts, companies may give a snapshot and overview of what they state in their white papers. These screencasts can be detailed or just summaries. In many ways, they do not replace the white paper. Instead, they enhance it, giving customers a new way to easily see what the white paper addresses,” notes Williams.
Williams says the best benefit podcasts offer is in the sheer portability of the material, and its ability to spread far and wide.
“If the white paper is delivered as audio or video, enclosed in RSS, then the potential for it to extend asynchronously is far greater as people have more options to consume it and deliver it to other people.”
The “future sounds bright” for podcasting.
DISCUSSION: Discuss this topic at the WhitePaperSource forum.
