This report outlines essential practices for implementing a successful podcast program as part of a marketing strategy, highlighting its business benefits and providing a detailed action plan. Key topics include the advantages of podcasting for branding and lead generation, attracting audiences, optimizing content, and recording methods. The document serves as a guide for organizations looking to leverage podcasting to enhance communication and engagement with their target audiences.

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Best Practices Report:
Nurture Prospects & Leads with Podcasts
Executive Summary:
This report provides practical advice for understanding the
value of podcasting, learning best practices, and getting
prepared to develop and launch a successful podcast program.
Read this brief 8-page report to learn:
• What is a Podcast?
• Business Benefits of Podcasting
• Attracting Listeners to Podcasts
• How to Record a Podcast
• Action Plan
Review this report to understand the business benefits of
adding podcasting to your marketing mix. Additionally, follow
our Action Plan to get started with your podcasting initiative.

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Table of Contents Page
What is a Podcast? 3
Business Benefits of Podcasting 3
Attracting Listeners to Podcasts 4
How to Record a Podcast 5
Action Plan 6
About Demand Metric 7

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What is a Podcast?
Business Benefits of Podcasting
“A podcast is a collection of digital media files distributed over
the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable
media players and personal computers.
Although podcasters' web sites may offer direct download or
streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished by its
ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded
automatically when new content is added. This is done using an
aggregator or feed reader capable of reading feed formats such
as RSS (really simple syndication)”
Source - Wikipedia
Podcasting has quickly become an important part of many
permission based marketing campaigns because it provides
high value at a low cost.
Companies are using podcasts for the following reasons:
• Branding: effective podcasting is an excellent medium
to reach our generations’ tech-savvy consumers.
Additionally, podcasts can position your organization as
an industry leader, provided the content is relevant and
timely for your target audience.
• Lead Generation & Nurturing: keep prospects
engaged with your brand by providing a trusted source
for value-added content and industry best practices. Set
up a simple form on your website to capture visitor
information as they register/subscribe to podcasts.

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Attracting Listeners to Podcasts
• External Communications: keep investors, media
contacts, industry analysts, and current customers
informed with company news and product updates.
• Search Engine Optimization: search engines rank
websites with high download activity as more
‘important’, thus increasing organic search results.
• Website Content Improvements: if you are looking
to beef up the ‘resources’ section of your corporate,
consider adding a series of podcasts.
• Marketing Opportunities: many organizations are
sponsoring solid third-party podcasts, advertising during
the buffering time period as the podcast loads, and
using podcasts to promote brands with listener prizes.
Consider adding a revenue stream to your podcasts to
increase the return on investment for your program.
A podcast is useless if nobody is listening. In order to attract
the right audience and keep them listening, follow these simple
guidelines:
• Keep it Concise: most listeners have an attention span
of 15-30 minutes maximum for a given topic. Keep your
podcast concise, and offer different podcasts on various
topics rather than grouping them into one huge podcast.
• Flexible File Format: use MP3 format for on-demand
podcasts (after the original broadcast) as it can be
played on most rich media players. Avoid .wav files as
the industry has clearly adopted MP3 as the standard.
• Use an RSS Feed: promote and deliver your podcasts
through an RSS Feed to keep listeners coming back.
• Don’t Sell too Hard: while it is fine to communicate the
benefits of your product, ensure that your podcast is
informational in nature, and not a canned sales pitch.

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How to Record a Podcast
• Optimize your Podcast: provide a detailed description
of the content of your podcast, and add meta-tags and
keywords to pages containing your podcasts to enhance
natural search engine optimization.
• Promote your Podcast: use an integrated approach to
promoting your podcast, including the following
channels: contact center, email, blog, website, and
podcast directories.
• Brand your Podcast: have a clearly branded
introduction and conclusion to your podcast to engage
listeners, thank them for their time, and invite them to
attend any future planned podcasts.
Podcasting provides a great opportunity to reach your target
audience but comes with its own unique risks. When recording
a podcast make sure to use the right equipment and delivery
methods to mitigate user and brand experience risks.
Follow these steps to create an effective podcast:
1. Identify Target Audience: determine the audience
that is most likely to join your podcast and consider
what they would like to learn about your organization.
2. Determine Podcast Content: brainstorm potential
podcast themes, such as: investor reports, product
upgrades, business cases, best practices, competitive
insights, executive interviews, company strategy, etc.
3. Write Podcast Script: create a script that will be used
to guide speakers through their podcast recording.
Practice the script until it does not sound scripted.
4. Select a Podcast Solution: strongly consider using
Audacity (free) for recording your podcast and Podcast
Generator for delivering your podcast to your audience.

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Action Plan
5. Get a Solid Microphone: Ambient noise can be a major
problem. The quality of your podcast can be greatly
increased if you take the time of day into consideration
and by using noise canceling filters in the recording
software. Consider using a USB audio capture device.
6. Record your Podcast: record your podcast with key
speakers, ensuring it is no longer than 30 minutes or
more than 10MB in size. Re-record your podcast until it
sounds extremely polished. Consider using Pinnacle
Systems’ Pinnacle Podcast Factory solution for an end-
to-end recording solution. Add text notes to make your
podcast easily searchable for specific content.
7. Test the Podcast: check your bandwidth package with
your website hosting provider as podcasts can be
expensive to deliver if you are have to pay for
incremental downloads and traffic. Ping your podcast to
ensure your podcasts are updated at any podcast
directories you are posting on.
8. Deliver Podcast to Audience: upload an MP3 version
of your podcast to your website (to be made available
following the initial broadcast) and create an RSS Feed
to distribute your podcast to your audience. Podcast
Generator’s solution automates to creation of an RSS
Feed by enclosing one or more MP3 files, and providing
the FTP application to upload the files to a server.
Before you launch into your podcasting initiative, consider the
following action items to get prepared for a successful project:
1. Learn Best Practices: read thought-leader, Rodney
Rumford’s whitepaper called “How to Leverage this New
Media Marketing Tool”. Also, check out iTunes Connect
Podcast Resources and Digital Trends blog post: “How to
Make a Successful Podcast.”

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2. Sell the Benefits Internally – discuss podcasting with
senior management to build the business case for
purchasing any podcast-related software or services.
3. Identify Podcasting Use Cases – discuss this media
option with internal and external stakeholders to identify
what type of content would be valued and in demand:
o Product Management – technical podcasts?
o Senior Management – strategic vision?
o Current Customers – product enhancements?
o Prospective Customers – best practices?
o Media Contacts – company news?
o Investors – company performance?
4. Select a Podcasting Solution – view vendor
demonstrations and select the equipment and services
you require to get podcasting going in your company.
5. Record your First Podcast – record the most impactful
podcast in your line-up first to build momentum and
secure senior management commitment to this medium.
6. Broadcast your Podcast – market your podcast to key
stakeholders and monitor who is signing up.
7. Measure Results – track leads that were generated
from your podcast to determine the ROI of your
program.
8. Tweak the Process – with each new podcast take
lessons learned from your previous experience to
improve your capabilities. Ask audience members for
feedback during your podcasts, or send out a short
survey following the podcast to measure your success.

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About Demand Metric
Demand Metric is a management advisory firm dedicated to
building practical tools and delivering best practices to Sales &
Marketing executives in mid-sized enterprises. Our services
have been specifically designed to save our clients time and
help them become more strategic in their work.
Learn more at www.demandmetric.com