Many of us know the fear of public speaking. Too many of us may have to face the fact that well have to get over it as video becomes more of the norm as technology continues to drive small business advertising to the Internet. I remember my apprehension with that one week MBA class when you had to have presentations taped. Ugh. Not a pretty sight upon the first run. I guess I got over it. But it took some time. That was back when video was expensive and camcorders had yet to be invented (yes, I know . . .).
One of the ways to work your way into this new type of media advertising is to do a podcast. OK, for those of you who are new to this type of thing, a podcast is simply a digital audio file downloaded to a computer or web site. Many folks I know have started to do them by just talking into a microphone on their PC and posting it somewhere (their web site, on LinkedIn, on Facebook, etc.).
For these people, this is a way to have others hear what they have to say or advertise what they have to sell. For others, it is a way to get noticed by the Internet spiders and algorithms and enable ones web site to become interesting and increase the sites ability to be found by other web surfers. It is the way people are beginning to market their businesses to beat their competition.
As someone who now is in podcasting I know how powerful this can be for someone who wants to have potential customers find them on the internet. My podcast program is attached to a network that can leverage many such podcasts (and videos) and connect to any place they have been posted. I know how this can be a very viable way for a business to validate itself because I am a small business advisor. I also know how scared some folks are if they even see a microphone! (this is starting to sound like a commercial I heard on the radio recently!).
Most people think podcasting is just a modern way of saying radio. This is not true. Radio is live, or taped to soon becomelive (tape delay). The goal is to reach listeners who just happen to be tuned in to the proper channel, at the right time, in the right location (though some radio is repurposed via the internet via a podcast ? think tape). However, the radio station owns the tape and you cant use it. Often, you actually pay to be on the show.A lot.
Using a podcast via a network can be an arsenal to your marketing. Think of this. You go on a program and get interviewed about you and/or your business (22 minutes). So far this is simple. The interviewers job is to make you look good. Once done, you take that podcast and post it on your web site. You write a blog about it (200 ? 250 words, also simple) and post that to your web site. Both of these things could reside on the networks website as well. You then take those 2 things and point to them via LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. You talk about or blog about parts of them periodically. Think about how often people may see this or hear about you. If the podcast is interesting, people will listen to it. Even if they dont, the Internet algorithms will pull your web site up. Why? You have relevant, interesting and changing information on your web site that answers peoples questions. This is why people go to the Internet in the first place. If you answer peoples questions, people will go to your site, learn about you and voila! They will buy from you. I know a few people where business is booming from doing this in just a few months.
Still scared of a microphone? You shouldnt be. Podcasts go through (good ones) anedit process before they are released. If you really screw up, redo it! That is hard to do on a live radio show. Advertisers will not pay for replays!And radio hosts often do not care about you as they need to cater to the advertisers. They pay the bills. And we all know of programs and or shows that had people who should never have been on air live. What to do. . . .
Now, find a microphone and get talking.
