I hear the term podcast used almost as ubiquitously as “VOD” nowadays (which is ironic because podcasting is a form of video on demand) and I wanted to take a moment to ask you, do you podcast?
There are a lot of people who seem to think that podcasting is somehow getting your content onto iPods or iPhones. It is, to an extent, but that’s not really the right reason to “podcast.” Podcasting is a method of distribution for episodic content. According to wikipedia, “The syndication aspect of the delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other files that are accessed by simple download or by streaming: it means that special client software applications known as podcatchers (such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes or Nullsoft’s Winamp) can automatically identify and retrieve new files when they are made available, by accessing a centrally-maintained web feed that lists all files associated with a particular podcast. The files thus automatically downloaded are then stored locally on the user’s computer or other device, for offline use.” Well now, that pretty much explains it.
If you need more, check out this video from the awesome folks at CommonCraft:
So when should you use a “podcast” to get your content out there? Well, if we’re “automatically retrieving new files” then you should probably plan to have a lot of new files to distribute over the life of your podcast. Read: this is not meant to be a one-time thing. Many marketers make the mistake of sending out one program as a podcast feed just to get their content onto an iPod or iPhone, leading users to believe that there is more to come. When the tap runs dry they are disappointed. There are other ways to get a single piece of content onto an iPod – much better than setting up and RSS feed and creating an iTunes account, etc.
Instead, use podcasting as a way to grow an audience with a continuous stream of content. Over time you can build up your feed subscribers and reach more people through the natural syndication ability that RSS provides. Oh – one gotcha: RSS isn’t completely measurable, so watch out if you need perfectly accurate data.
UPDATE: I’ve added a few slides here about the general uses of and benefits for podcasts:
Tags: Communications, podcast