Podcasting To Get New Customers

Writing by Brick Marketing on Tuesday, 25 of March , 2008 at 10:01 am

Is it worth your time to get into podcasting? Instat.com says that 182 million MP3 players were shipped in 2006, up 42% from 2005. Probably the main reason is that so much cheap, legitimate music is available online … but it also means your own market is probably buying more and more of the exact social networking media you can use to communicate to them. Projection for 2011: 275 million players shipped!

If you have a business, or a blog, or any sort of web presence, podcasting means just connecting a microphone to your computer and talking about your business.

Why? Several reasons:

• You’ll reach new people, many of whom you’d have never connected with otherwise.
• A lot of people download MP3s to play while they drive or work out.
• When they hear your voice, podcasting helps you build “know, like, & trust” a lot quicker than on a webpage.
• Podcasts are opt-in, so you are reaching only your targeted market.
• Your presentation marks you as a leader, an authority in your field.
• Your “prospects” have the option to listen when at a time convenient for them.
• You can state in your podcast that all questions “received by tomorrow” will be answered on the next podcast - giving your market a strong reason to contact you.

To do a podcast, all you need is a good microphone and audio editing software (available free online - do a Google search). So the cost of entry is almost zero. And you can post your audio files on your website, or give them away as a lead-generator on your site.

Two caveats:

1. Don’t record a commercial. Make it a session of valuable instruction or hard-to-find information. When your podcast gives real value, people will bond with you.
2. Plan on regular podcasts. Don’t do “one and done.” When you do a regular podcast, you have the opportunity to build a base of raving fans.

It’s pretty tough to lose when you do podcasting. Even if you make zero money, you get either more products to sell or more valuable items to give away to customers or prospects. Long-term, podcasting is a big plus.

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Category: Podcasting, Social Networking

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