Small Business Podcasting

Podcasting, or Netcasting is an area that many small or home based business owners overlook.  Today, it takes very little to create your own radio or television program with little or no outlay.  In this article we will discuss the why’s and how-to’s of this subject.

Why:

The biggest and most expensive issue for most small businesses is marketing and advertising.  Every small business owner has a message they want to get out to their designated demographics.  Creating a Video On Demand (VOD) or Audio On Demand (AOD) program can help in this endeavor.  Running an ad on a radio or television station is no longer guaranteed to reach your target audience.  This is because, these mediums are not the only way your current and future customers receive their content.

Content:

Once you have made the choice to do it, now you need to decide what to use for content.  This of course depends on your business and your target audience.  Its a no-brainer for Real Estate or Mortgage Brokers, but for other types of businesses it becomes a little more difficult.  Many businesses will do a show that discusses their upcoming sales, discounts, etc., where others will focus on community events or a meet the owner type of program.  This is totally up to you.  The point for many is that, as your customers start to follow your show, they learn more about your business, the owner and staff.  Its all about building relationships.

Software:

The tools that you will need, will of course depend on what type of show you plan on doing.  Some start out with just an audio show, then move up to video.  Much of this will depend on your audience.  Following are some suggestions that we have used to help our clients set up their own shows with:

Free Not So Free
  • Skype
  • Skype MP3 Recorder
  • CamStudio
  • Any Audio Converter
  • Any Video Converter
  • Paint.Net
  • Audacity
  • Windows Live Movie Maker
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

Hardware:

Hardware again depends on the format of your show.  For most shows you will want to have a computer that has a built-in webcam or you will need to purchase a USB Webcam.  The other item that we recommend is a microphone headset.  You wont need to purchase the most expensive on either of these items, but don’t buy the cheapest either.

Where To Upload:

Making your show easily found is not as difficult as it sounds.  Below are some sites that you can upload your finished product to.  It is highly recommended that you have a blog to create an RSS feed of your show.  This will make it easily found by Google and other search engines.  There are many free blogging platforms available such as Blogger, WordPress, and TypePad. It is also possible to add a blog to your current site, this is probably the most desirable.

  • Your Website
  • iTunes: Desktop Install
  • YouTube: http://youtube.com
  • Feedburner: http://feedburner.com

Well Thats It…Happy Casting.

Sample Video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk06RAi5gjU