Business Podcast: How Every Business Can Benefit from Podcasting

December 27, 2014 by

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This is Episode 23 of This Old New Business weekly business podcast with Jeff Korhan. 

Business Podcast: How Every Business Can Benefit from PodcastingIn this episode we dive into why every business should be podcasting – and how to get started. My journey with podcasting started long before our launch on July 26th, 2014.

Many of my friends said: You have to start podcasting! After 23 episodes I now understand their enthusiasm. If anything, I would say they undersold the benefits of starting a business podcast.

Note: There are some affiliate links associated with the recommended resources in these notes, but only for products and services that I personally use and pay for myself. That’s why I recommend them.

Podcasting is the New Talk Radio

It’s helpful to think of podcasting as the new talk radio – because it is. Just a few days ago I was listening to a traditional radio station in my car and the host suggested downloading their app for listening on a smartphone.

That alone should tell you that the proliferation of mobile devices is behind the explosive growth of podcasting.

Just like so many other forms of media, reaching an audience used to require hefty budgets for equipment; but no more. You only need a computer and microphone to record with free software, and a low-cost hosting service (there are many) that syndicates your content to iTunes and other channels, including your own website.

In the next episode we tackle the technology. For now, let’s take a look at 5 benefits of a business podcast that will get you inspired.

#1 – Share Your Unique Perspective

The goal of marketing is be memorable, and that is naturally accomplished by sharing your voice on topics relevant to your business audience.

Your perspective and that of the people within your organization is a differentiator that personalizes the business, thereby making it more likeable.

#2 – Learn from Experts and Like-Minded Professionals

You are in an enviable position as a podcast host, because people want to tell their story. They are eager to reach and help your audience, and when encouraged to share, your show will help their audience in return.

Your podcast interviews give you the opportunity to meet and learn from influential people. Plus, you’ll learn how to be a better listener and conversationalist.

#3 – Build a Sustainable Audience

Podcasts help to build sustainable audiences because the audio content tends to naturally build familiarity and intimate relationships. Listeners tend to subscribe and regularly listen to each episode, often more than once.

As long as your show continues to deliver valuable content, it will earn the trust of listeners that is vital for them to invest in your products and services.

#4 – Audio is Easy to Create and Consume

It takes time to create quality content for a blog. However, with a little organization and a few good ideas you can create interesting and useful audio content. That’s the creation benefit.

In terms of consumption, people tend to listen to podcasts when they are commuting or exercising. These are times when you have their full attention, which is seldom possible with a blog or even a YouTube video.

#5 – Technology is Affordable and Easy to Learn

We’ll cover technology in detail in the upcoming episode. For now, check out some of the resources in the KeyTakeAways below.

The key to learning the technology for podcasting is a structured, step-by-step approach that is coupled with a reliable support system.

Is your business ready for podcasting? Listen to the audio to learn more.

Lighting Round Tips and Advice

Jeff’s Sales or Marketing Advice – Make lists of whatever requires your focus, such as prospective buyers, key influencers, or social media channels that need more attention. You can use Checkvist to organize your lists.

One of My Favorite Productivity Tips – Trello is a flexible workflow management tool that helps you organize projects into lists and tasks according to their place in the workflow.

A Quote that has Inspired Jeff’s Success – “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” Steve Prefontaine.

Key Take-Aways

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About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+

Single Serve Content for Mobile Consumers

August 18, 2014 by

Single Serving Content for Mobile Audiences

We have previously discussed the importance of planning both the construction and deconstruction of your content.

The idea is that creating great content takes time, so while you are doing that put in a little extra effort to also plan which pieces of it will be shared on, let’s say, Instagram.

Content often brings to mind a blog post or an article, but as content consumption with mobile devices becomes the norm, you will need to redesign your content strategy to adapt.

The good news is that if your business is not yet creating much content, you may find these newer methods easier to sustain than traditional ones. Read further to learn why they work so well.

Create Bite-Sized Content Snacks

I recently co-authored a yet to be published article with my colleague Jay Baer. One of his suggestions for that audience was: Give your expertise away one bite at a time. This whets the appetite for what follows, which ultimately are the products and services your company offers.

Content marketing doesn’t make sense to some folks, but I think this snack metaphor nicely captures the essence of how it works.

Jay gives away content snacks with his daily video podcast entitled Jay Today. Top podcaster Pat Flynn used to answer audience questions on his weekly Smart Passive Income show. He accumulated so many that he now answers them every day at his new podcast, Ask Pat.

I’m planning a similar one myself, so if you have a question, leave a comment or send a private message and I’ll add it to the list.

Expand Your Audience and Boost SEO

There are plenty of people in your communities that will not always tune in to the your primary content marketing channel, which most likely is some form of a digital magazine (a blog). So, the choice is missed opportunities, or serving the bite-sized snacks some folks especially desire.

Do you still watch the evening news on television? Me neither. While they still attract an audience, many of us prefer to get our news in quick nuggets on our smartphones. Your customers are no different.

Can you come up with 365 tips or questions to answer for your community over the course of a year? All you need is a smartphone and 30 minutes a day to pull this off like my friend Ryan did.

You will learn in that article that Ryan realized significant SEO benefits from his micro-content strategy. When you consider the minimal time commitment, that you are serving a segment of your audience better, and the impact on your SEO, this is a no-brainer.

In addition to all of that, the increased connectivity with your audience will build greater familiarity and trust, which of course is vital for consummating new deals.

To get your single-serving content creation process going, all you have to do is choose a format and create templates to make everything repeatable. Then, it’s a simple matter of setting aside one morning or afternoon every week to knock out 7 pieces of content to serve up daily.

You can do it. Just take it one bite at a time.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business and host of This Old New Business podcast.

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+

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