In podcast marketing, podcasts are produced to address the target group. It is worth taking a look at the podcast medium before we go a little further into the use for addressing target groups.
Podcasting
Contents
In a nutshell, podcasts are subscribeable media files, i.e. audios or videos that are recorded once and then offered for download on the Internet. In addition to podcasts produced specifically for the Internet audience, radio broadcasts (from radio or TV) are often also available as podcasts for a certain period of time.
Podcasts are then either downloaded or streamed by listeners and viewers. When streaming, the files are downloaded from the network and played back in real time. If you have to do without a good Internet connection on the go, download the files completely in advance and can then listen to or view them offline.
Podcasts as advertising media
Since approx. In the mid-2010s, as a result of technological advances in mobile devices and mobile Internet connections, podcasting experienced a boom.
In addition to streamed offerings from traditional media, there is a lively market for individual broadcast formats from service providers and hobbyists. The latter use podcasts for entertaining formats or to share life experiences. This is not what this is about, but it is still worth taking a side look: podcasts are also suitable for hobbyists because of the intuitive, emotional and personal way of communication. The former – namely service providers – use the same, personal character of podcasts in the sense of a freemium strategy to bring their consulting services to the target groups and to establish their personal brand.
Advantages of podcasts as an advertising medium:
- Podcasts are perceived as personal communication.
- The speaker’s personal brand benefits. (Building reputation)
- The channel is spam-free, unlike email marketing. (high reliability and open rate)
- Consumers can determine the timing themselves.
- Podcasts can be consumed hands-free, e.g. when driving, before falling asleep, among other activities.
Production and distribution of podcasts
The production of audio podcasts is comparatively simple, which has also led to the boom of this medium. A simple microphone or recording device is needed, both are not very expensive. For better sound quality, a pop filter or windscreen in front of the microphone is used. The soundtrack is edited on the computer – there is free freeware for this. If you would like to produce your own podcasts, you will find plenty of instructions on the Internet.
The simplicity of the means means that a podcast is no more complex to produce than a detailed blog post or article. Once the podcast is “in the box”, it still has to be distributed. This is done via podcast directories.
As in all areas of online marketing or technology, podcasting can be made almost arbitrarily more complex, up to complete television production. Of course, this also applies to advertising podcasts. The effort and quality depend essentially on the available budget, i.e. the costs.