By Nettie Hartsock
For this interview, we tapped Ted Demopoulos, author of the soon-to-be-released book, What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting. Ted has more than 25 years of experience in the high-technology market and has served as a consultant to blue chip clients including Cisco Systems, IBM, Hong Kong Telecom and others. Ted is also the editor of the highly respected “The Ted Rap” blog - http://www.demop.com/thetedrap/.
WhitePaperSource: Tell us a bit about your background.
Demopoulos: I’ve always been interested in technology and business. As a little kid, I’d take apart old TV sets and build new electronic devices, and I remember selling seashells to tourists when I was 5. I started using email and the Internet in college way back in 1979 and thought, “Wow, there might be some great uses for business here.”
Today I consult on new media like blogs and podcasts, do a lot of computer security work, speak on new media and write.
WhitePaperSource: Tell us a bit about your upcoming book What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting?
Demopoulos: My first book, Blogging for Business (Ted Demopoulos and Shel Holtz - co-authors) is a how-to and why book - I’ve gotten hundreds of emails from readers who have started business blogs and podcasts, and from their feedback I decided the lack of hard-and-fast rules was often slowing people down.
What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting has advice from 101 veteran blog and podcast users-bloggers, business strategists, marketers, and consumers discussing strategy and benefits of blogs and podcasts with instructions to help business professionals effectively create, plan, and promote them. A friend describes it as “101 short case studies that got me motivated and boosted my business.”
There is great practical advice from luminaries like Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki, as well as 99 other very smart and imaginative people. I’ve been totally immersed in blogging and podcasting for a long time and I learned a lot from these people.
WhitePaperSource: Who needs podcasting and what are the best ways to utilize it in marketing efforts?
Demopoulos: Podcasting can be used effectively in a wide variety of areas. I’ll give some examples later. What’s important to keep in mind is that it’s another channel to reach existing customers as well as new customers, and podcasts can reach very niche audiences. Want to reach high-end recreational and endurance cyclists? Maybe you could advertise on The FredCast - an audience that lives and breathes and spends on high-end bicycling. Want to reach people passionate about yellow-green XYZ Widgets? There probably isn’t a podcast yet, but you can start one.
WhitePaperSource: Can you talk about the relationship between podcasting and white papers?
Demopoulos: White papers - there just isn’t enough time in the day to read all of them I’m interested in! I do have time when commuting to work, mowing the lawn, exercising, etc. but I certainly can’t read then. I can, however, listen. I DO have extra “ear time.” If the white paper information is available in a podcast format, I can listen.
So, should a white paper just be read verbatim for a podcast? Maybe - certainly that’s one possible format. However, a less formal format that conveys the same information may be better. Common formats include a host interviewing an expert, or two knowledgeable people discussing a topic.
WhitePaperSource: Can you talk about some of the most unique success stories as far as companies utilizing podcasting?
Demopoulos: Let me give you three quick examples.
One is the popular American Family podcasts from Whirlpool. They don’t talk about appliances; it’s hard to imagine an interesting series of podcasts on washing machines! These podcasts concentrate on family issues, and presumably many families buy appliances, at least as compared to single people in their 20s! Recent topics include home schooling, baby food, and children’s playdates.
Another is Right Look Radio. Right Look primarily sells auto-detailing equipment. Why would they podcast? A typical customer is an entrepreneur looking to invest $25,000 to $35,000 to start an auto detailing business. The podcast explores opportunities in the industry, interviews successful automobile-detailing company owners, explains new add-on services that can be provided, discusses business issues such as the importance of professionalism, and more. In other words, they provide the kind of information their target market wants-information to help them succeed in the auto-reconditioning business. It’s not unusual for Right Look to get a big order from someone who’s been up half the night listening to their podcasts!
Mommycast is a very different example, but illustrates the power of podcasting. Imagine two mommies talking about being mommies twice a week. Now add 100,000 listeners, and sponsorships close to half a million dollars a year. Not bad for a part-time hobby! And their sponsors, like Dixie, think it’s absolutely fabulous. They get very targeted exposure, and their relationship with a popular podcast makes them seem “cool” as opposed to an old stodgy company.
WhitePaperSource: How is podcasting being underutilized and how do you see it will grow in the future?
Demopoulos: Podcasting is just starting to be used today by businesses. It’s so new, most companies don’t know what to do or are only testing the waters. When a company starts podcasting, it’s news. Podcasting, or at least some audio presence on the Internet, will become as mandatory as a website is today.
WhitePaperSource: What excites you most about the possibility of blogging and podcasting working in tandem for marketing and brand-building?
Demopoulos: What excites me the most is the personal and conversational nature of most blogging and podcasting. When you have conversations with people, they get to know you, they get to like you, and they become open to doing business with you. They may actively be leaving comments and furthering the conversation, or just listening, but the familiarity with you, your company, and your products grows. This does not happen as readily with traditional corporate and marketing communications.
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