According to an article in the Baltimore Business Journal –available here, but may be for subscribers only: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/03/24/focus1.html?b=1206331200^1607621&page=1 podcasting is the most targeted way to reach an audience. Perhaps I am showing technological resistance, but I have yet to go to a business or philanthropic website and listen to a podcast. The article states that companies don’t yet know how to best use podcasting.
Certainly in today’s new media/social media environment, organizations have to be as cutting edge as possible. A good website is no longer enough–it must be updated. Blogs have definitely had an impact, but unless they are updated frequently with information that is useful, they are useless. I know of a graphic designer who has a blog with nothing on it other than some self-serving news. Why not talk about design? And now the move toward audio and video via podcasts. Again, you must have something relevant to say, and as the article above points out, production values are important. So a cheesy do-it-yourself podcast may end up hurting you and not helping you by making you look unprofessional or amateurish.
I don’t know if I agree that podcasting is the next frontier in targeted marketing. I think it is just another tool in an expanding arsenal of online possibilities. Thoughts out there?
About Deborah Brody
Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.
