I wrote this post in 2007 about how podcasts are the way of the future:
Podcasts are currently the hottest marketing tool a business can have. Just ask any organization already using them, and you will get the response that there has been an increase in customer awareness. You are now probably wondering, “What is a podcast?”
A podcast is a small audio files distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds, portable devices, or computers. It was invented by Apple who derived the name from their own portable device, “Ipod.” Yahoo has a great guide that will further explain what this little marketing tool is in their guide, "What the Heck is a Podcast".
If you are ready to learn on how to create your own for your business web site, blog, or add to feed readers, I recommend About.com‘s tutorial how to create your first podcast. You will need some tools, but more than likely, you will already have those because they usually come with your computer or laptop.
A research firm expects that businesses will spend over $400 million dollars by 2011 story here The article also states that "Podcasting — like all alternative media — is also benefiting from a general trend in the advertising market: A shift by brand marketers away from traditional advertising and marketing media and toward the Internet, Kivijarv asserted." If you do a search, you will see that a lot of big companies have already started using podcasts.
Therefore, it’s time to get going on this hot marketing tool before your company is left behind.
Was I right? I think that more companies and individuals are podcasting now, and it has reached a bigger audience. According to EMarketer, “The podcast audience has grown, too, and eMarketer projects that growth will continue at least through 2013, when there will be 37.6 million people downloading podcasts on a monthly basis, more than double the 2008 figure of 17.4 million.” It has now evolved from audio podcasts to video podcasts, which is great because it makes the person(s) more personable to listeners.
Will more people start podcasting? Yes, I think now that the tools have gotten more user friendly, people are going to find it easier to podcast, whether it be for business or personal. I have even considered podcasting. I have dabbled here and there with Seesmic Video, but nothing of much substance. Maybe I need to join the podcasters and start regularly creating podcasts. I think that I would probably be more apt to use the video over the audio format because I feel like you still need to be kind of savvy to edit and format the audio ones, which with video you really don’t have to do.
Do you podcast?
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