A couple days ago, I was doing a pre-interview for an upcoming Polycom on Demand podcast. The topic revolved around a new resource Polycom has placed on their website that provides a one-stop location meant to help their customers better implement (or propose) a video conferencing environment. As I was learning about this resource, I discovered that within their “Tools” area, they had included links to a couple previous Polycom on Demand podcast episodes.
I thought this was a great idea.
To help their customers better position the Return On Investment (ROI) delivered by a Polycom solution, they included links two of our Determining Your ROI episodes:
#44: Determining Your ROI – Polycom Video Conferencing Equipment, and
#45: Determining Your ROI – The Support Side of Your Polycom Video Conferencing Equipment
By integrating their existing podcast content into this new customer offering, they’ve enhanced both the podcast’s standing as a valuable educational tool for their customers and the ability to deliver timely, helpful content via their online presence. This is a great use of their podcast.
If we turn our attention towards you, I’d suggest that if you are already producing a podcast for your company, ask yourself,
“What am I doing to help my other marketing efforts by
leveraging the content in my podcast?”
And if you haven’t begun podcasting yet, don’t forget that there is more to it than just creating a new MP3 file for your customers.
With the release of each new show, we provide each customer with a long list of ideas on how to promote/leverage that particular episode. I’d suggest that besides simply posting your latest episode on your server, think hard about how else your podcast can help move your story forward and shorten your sales cycle.
Now, I have a looooong list of other uses for podcasts. But I’d like to hear from you. How do you put your podcast to work for you? Let’s take turns sharing some ideas!
Great write up. Another way to leverage Podcasts is to package them, along with the other company, product and brand internal marketing material, external marketing material and social network material, then push it to all produce/service distribution points (i.e., retail channels, blog postings, social networks). This gives the consumer the information they want, when they want it and where they want it (usually at the point of sale). A great example of this using a book by James Patterson can be seen at http://www.SmartSymbols.com/demo.html
Thanks, Chris. Yep, we’re fans of bundling podcasts with other content. For example, create a “best of” CD that’s included with other marketing material, or available free w/ a website sign up.