MarCom Strategist Podcast: Ted Demopoulos Dishes about B2B and Podcasting
MarCom Strategist Podcast #1 | download
[audio:MarCom-Strategist-podcast-TD.mp3]
In this first episode of the MarCom Strategist podcast, I interview blogging and podcast expert Ted Demopoulos, author of the book, What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting.
The question I put to Ted is, can business-to-business (B2B) companies use podcasting to help sell widgets and/or generate sales leads?
Other questions include:
What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of B2B podcasting?
How do you begin a podcasting campaign?
Is it ok to repurpose existing content?
Once you start podcasting, do you have to do it continually, or can you develop a few podcasts and then stop?
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Ted Demopoulos’ Blogging for Business blog
- Oracle, Jupiter Research, and Elastic Path Software podcasts
- RightLook Radio podcasts
- Whirlpool podcasts
You can also find a bunch of how-to podcasting links in the current issue of my MarCom Writer newsletter.
This is my first podcast where I recorded the file using free telephone conferencing provided by Basement Ventures (so it’s a little rough around the edges as I’m still learning how to use Audacity to edit mp3 files) but it was great fun and a huge learning experience. Let me know what you think.
July 9th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Great interview Dianna, and I liked your (yes, unsurprising!) attempts to focus as much as possible on B2B.
More than that, it’s easy for us — regardless of industry! — to get tripped up in the ever-deepening alphabet soup of mediums. How do we make sense of it all?
With that in mind I like the way Ted described podcasting — “really, it’s just audio on the Internet.”
And one could go even more simple than that: “it’s just audio!” Because while you may get a podcast VIA the Internet, you may not consume it while you’re ON the Internet.
E.g., you can listen to the radio in your car and you can listen to a *podcast* in your car (which Ted notes HE does!
). Both are audio content.
Yes, from a production and cost standpoint there are differences, but that’s from the creator’s perspective. From the user’s point of view it’s the same thing: Something to *listen to*!
And even then, THAT isn’t what really matters. Call it a podcast, call it an interview, call it a speech, call it a radio ad or radio show…is it something that will meet the user’s needs? Something the user will WANT to listen to?
This same point naturally applies to video, or to text. Is it something the user will WANT to watch, or want to read?
Thanks again for the great info. Those interested as you and I are in meeting the needs of the user may also be interested in reading “Marketing Communications as Product Development: Building the Portable Salesperson,” written by yours truly. (I say “may” since I’m probably biased on this one
).
Link is http://www.mikeos.com/portablesalesperson.pdf
July 9th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Mike,
Thanks a bunch for your feedback! It is “just audio.” I think what trips B2b people up is that it’s new and they aren’t sure how to use it or if it will drive leads and heaven forbid, what is the ROI (and how do you even measure it?).
If you think of it as content — audio content, that is — then it all makes perfect sense.
Thanks for posting a link to your white paper — I’ll have to read it. Sounds good!
July 9th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
[...] B2B Podcast Discusses How Podcasts Can Help Sell Goods and Generate Leads Posted July 9, 2007 by Dave Olson Our friend, blogging for business writer Ted Demopoulos, appeared on the MarCom Strategist Podcast by Diann Huff (her inuagural episode in fact) to talk about the benefits and pitfalls of B2B podcasting. Besides exploring how podcasts can to help sell widgets and/or generate sales leads, they talk about getting a podcast campaign started, how to best utilize content and keeping the momentum going. [...]
July 9th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
[...] Our friend, blogging for business writer Ted Demopoulos, appeared on the MarCom Strategist Podcast by Diann Huff (her inuagural episode in fact) to talk about the benefits and pitfalls of B2B podcasting. Besides exploring how podcasts can to help sell widgets and/or generate sales leads, they talk about getting a podcast campaign started, how to best utilize content and keeping the momentum going. [...]