Remember your P’s: Podcasts and PR!
Finding effective ways to produce and promote content are common topics of discussion. Strategies that highlight your content allow your organization to build its reach and engage with an expanded audience.
Podcasts and audio posts allow collaborations with industry experts and provide new mediums for content consumption. In turn, this can enable PR professionals to successfully promote their organization.
Benefits
New mediums for consumption
Industry blogs publish written content every day to engage with their audiences. Written content communicates useful concepts and allows writers to engage with their audience.
Podcasts offer a different medium for content consumption, which stimulates interest from audiences who are overwhelmed with written content. In addition to stimulating interest from your audience, audio recordings allow users to listen during activities that wouldn’t allow simultaneous reading, such as driving and writing. This increases value and versatility.
Connect with other industry experts
Unlike written content, podcasts enable an open discussion and exchange of ideas. Hosting a weekly or monthly podcast facilitates routine conversations between members of your organization and other industry leaders. This can give your audience access to dynamic and informative discussions.
Disadvantages
Despite the possibilities for standing out and broadening conversations with podcasts, they do pose challenges, which should be considered prior to launching one.
Building a community of listeners
Although audio recordings do allow unique and expanded opportunities, converting people to listeners can be a challenge. Unlike blog posts, podcasts require greater involvement from your audience.
Production processes
In comparison to written content, the production of podcasts can pose additional complications. Podcasts require a bit more work.
Expensive audio equipment isn’t required to produce podcasts. However, higher quality microphones are recommended for producing a better sound quality. Microphones that minimize background noises and unwanted sounds like echoes are ideal because these sounds can be distracting to listeners. Headsets that are structured for cell phone use do offer an inexpensive option for recording. However, USB and analog microphones are sold at various prices and provide higher quality results.
Audio editing software is another requirement for making changes to recorded files. There is professionally licensed audio software, but these can cost hundreds of dollars.
Although establishing a podcast poses potential difficulties, successful employment allows professionals to expand their engagement with their audience and provides opportunities for more dynamic, engaging discussions of relevant industry topics.