Cool

The Inside Colby Podcast shows there's more to life at Colby than classic Georgian architecture.

Late last night my Twitter friend, @jewelsann announced that she'd just launched the Cantores Cleveland Web site. When I hear someone has launched a new site I typically pay it a visit to see how it turned out. There I discovered that Cantores Cleveland is a local vocal ensemble "devoted to providing an accessible, educational early music experience." Seeing that this was a music site I immediately looked for the audio to see how it was presented. Going to the "Listen" tab, I found a list of five .mp3 files including song titles, track length and file size.

And then I thought, "I wonder if they've considered podcasting." It struck me that podcasting a new song every week, month or other regular interval would be a good way to keep their fans engaged with their music. Or, because they have an educational mission, they could alternate music podcasts with discussion podcasts in which the singers tell stories and explain the history of the early music they perform.

There in the wee hours of the morning my brain had turned to thoughts of content marketing strategies. It was late, so rather than pursue these thoughts I dragged myself to bed, and awoke hours later…thinking about the ways one can use podcasts to provide rich educational content that engages listeners. And by listeners of course I mean our target audience, the people who will enroll in our educational programs, attend our events, support our cause or buy our products.

Podcasts are like product samples delivered regularly to your door.

As you know, the best way to know if you will like something is to try it before you buy it. That's why grocery stores continue to fire up their portable skillets and offer us toothpick-speared bites of low fat chicken sausage in the aisles. It's also why bands like Nine Inch Nails (NIN) give albums away online. In doing so they end up selling more, which in the case of NIN meant topping the Amazon sales charts for 2008.

There are many ways to give away product samples, both online and in the real world, but doing so via podcast gives us two advantages worth considering:

Repetition

Brand recognition is built through repeated exposure to a brand name, product or service. Years ago I had a boss who told me that it takes 16 impressions for a name to stick. (I don't know if 16 still holds true, but we'll stick with that for the point of argument.) In traditional marketing terms this means that each potential customer needs to see 16 ads, media mentions, direct mail pieces or some combination thereof. Online it could mean seeing 16 ads via Google, mentions on Digg or StumbleUpon, etc.

16 doesn't seem like much, but it can take a lot of time and money to get those first 16 exposures one needs to solidify brand recognition. And to maintain recognition one needs to ensure that such exposure continues into the future. Podcasts distributed on a regular periodic basis provide a venue for ongoing exposure.

Automatic Delivery

Some listeners will simply visit your site when they want to hear the latest news, tips, etc. But, if you get visitors to subscribe to your podcast, as I encourage you to subscribe to my blog, you can create a conduit that provides your audience with continual exposure to your brand via regular updates. Every time you produce a new podcast it will be downloaded automatically to iTunes or their podcatcher of choice, automatically reinforcing the connection you've built with the listeners most interested in your organization (a.k.a. your best customers.)

Podcasting Recipe: Inform and Entertain

As I've mentioned before goal driven content should drive technology, not vice versa. I'm not encouraging everyone to run out and start a podcast. For many of you a blog will provide the same advantages of repetition and automatic delivery.

But some of you, both in higher education and industry, have access to information and resources that would be well suited to an audio or video format. Every situation is different, so to illustrate my point here are some examples of podcasts that fill an audience need while also reinforcing branding and other marketing goals.

Boagworld

Boagworld is "the podcast for those involved in designing, developing and running Web sites." I also wrote about this in 2007 in my Boagworld podcast recommendation. As a Boagworld listener I gain new insights and ideas regarding my field of Web development. As a podcast producer, Paul Boag has built up brand name recognition and solidified his reputation as one of the leading Web designers in the world. This undoubtedly helps bring more business to his design firm, Headscape, and also leads to speaking engagements, book sales, and so forth.

Off the Shelf

Librarian Bill Claspy, of Case Western Reserve University's Kelvin Smith Library, created Off the Shelf to expose people to faculty authors from the university. In these half-hour podcasts, Claspy interviews authors about their latest books and their approach to writing so that we, the listeners, gain new insights into the topics within the books while also learning more about the writing process and the personalities behind their work. As an avid reader—who has read some of these author's works—I find it intriguing to hear the story behind the stories. As a writer, who has yet to get far on my first novel—though I can wax forth endlessly here—I also find it helpful to learn about their writing habits and what compels them to get the words from mind to computer.

Disclaimer: I discovered this podcast when I was still working at Case, have come to know some of the authors involved, and have had many e-mail discussions with Bill Claspy about the project. When I first discovered the site, I knew I'd subscribe, but I was also intrigued by the marketing possibilities.

This podcast serves many roles. On an individual basis it provides exposure to the authors, their publishers and their books. For those titles written for a mainstream audience this could garner more sales. The quality of the podcast also reflects well on the university, by showcasing the talented faculty available to students who enroll there, and by supporting the university brand through the repetition of the podcasts. It also serves students who may decide to apply to the school or enroll in an author's class based on what they've heard in the podcast. Thus, in just 30 minutes per episode, Off the Shelf, not only entertains, but also supports a multitude of listener and marketing goals.

Inside Colby: For Students, By Students

The student produced podcast, Inside Colby, offers informal discussions of campus life, programs, surveys, student projects, interviews and other topics offering insight into what life is like at Colby College. Inside Colby truly does what the name suggests, it provides a taste of the Colby experience while also exposing students to new campus opportunities.

While communicating with students is the primary mission, the podcast also serves a valuable marketing role. For prospective parents and students, Inside Colby, let's them know what to expect. It reveals the personality behind the Little Ivies reputation and the beautiful campus, showcasing everything from what students wear (casual-outdoorsy-preppy) to the wealth of activities they engage in—whether they're playing lacrosse, taking classes in the blacksmith shop or ghost hunting in the theater.

For alumni, such as yours truly, Inside Colby invokes nostalgia. As I listen to the students discuss the different personalities of the dining halls or hear an interview with a professor I had, I'm immediately transported back to Mayflower Hill, cross-country skiing in the arboretum and eating a Colby 8 (cheeseburger with fried egg) in the campus pub. While Colby's monthly newsletter, Out of the Blue keeps in me in touch with campus happenings, the student podcast puts me on campus—at least in my mind. And, as it should, it also reminds me that I should figure how much I can afford to give come June 3oth, the end of the fiscal year.

Why (or when to use) audio/video rather than text

Podcasts, as we've seen in the above examples come in many forms. The trick is having the resources and the personalities necessary to create an audio or video experience that surpasses what you could provide in text. Podcasts can offer information similar to text, but add a depth of experience that let's us feel we're part of a conversation. They can be informal discussions or instructional lectures, so long as they include content that somehow seems more fitting when heard or viewed than it would in print.

Boagworld, for example, is also a content rich Web site that would be a perfectly suitable resource unto itself. It features blog posts that cover material similar to the podcast (handy for reference) and a discussion forum. The podcast builds on this by offering an hour of entertaining commentary, tips and interviews with industry leaders that I can listen to at my convenience. While I may not have time to keep up with all my blog subscriptions, I can plug my iPod into the car and listen to the repartee between Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington so that I can keep learning while I'm away from my computer.

This portability in time and space is key. I'm an avid reader. My house is overflowing with books while my Google Reader account is hemorrhaging more blog entries than I can ever hope to keep up with. But when I'm not on my couch with a novel or my Macbook Pro, I can still ingest information by learning about the Library of Alexandria via the BBC or getting cooking tips from The Splendid Table.

If you can offer similar information, be it lectures from your academic department, or educational resources related to your products or services, you too can engage listeners—like me—with an interest in what you have to say.

A few more podcasts worth exploring

• The Moth Spellbinding Story Telling
• Messing About in Ships News and views of the maritime industry
• This Week in Tech Leo Laporte and friends discuss all things tech and usually something about Twitter
• Creative Xpert Interviews with designers
• City Club of Cleveland Forum for free speech

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Read Learning for fun and adventure: online education comes in many flavors between March 18-30th, and click on the red "Edu Blogger Scholarship" image. Every click made during that time period brings me one step closer to the finals.

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