Use Podcasting to Break Through Social Media Noise
Social Media Noise
Back when social media first started, it was an uncharted land with plenty of real estate for a person to take up residence and others to visit with. As does happen with many land development deals, the area started getting crowded with MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and eventually Google + (and for the professional fields, LinkedIn). An area this crowded leads to a very noisy area, one where it’s very difficult to think much less be heard. This is social media noise.
If you’re an author, musician poet, graphics artist, web designer, programmer – whatever your calling in life happens to be, how do you break through the noise to promote yourself?
Jeff Bullas points out in an article the 5 digital assets that are required to create, market and manage your digital brand online. I submit a 6th digital asset – the Podcast.
Podcasting
Before podcasting was called podcasting, it was simply recording audio and placing it on a website for consumption by your visitors and readers. With the rise of Apple’s “i” devices (iPod specifically), and the mere fact that it became the most widely recognized and successful MP3 player, these audio files were rebranded as podcasts. At one point, Leo Laporte refused to call them podcasts, choosing to name them Netcasts because they weren’t limited to iPods and other Apple devices.
The name podcast has stuck, even though the trend now is leading to the new term “Internet Broadcasting”. Regardless of the name, the intent, the purpose and the delivery are pretty much the same as they have been for the last six or more years.
To help break through the social media noise floor, adding a podcast to your arsenal is a smart and cost effective move with a good return on the time investment. Yes, it does take time to record and distribute a good quality podcast, but I’m confident that you’re already spending a huge chunk of time promoting yourself on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.
What should your podcast be about? Simple – what are you currently promoting or marketing? Is it a new book title, or a new musical piece? Do you have a new tutorial that could help others?
How long should the podcast be? A podcast doesn’t have a required length – whatever it takes to get your message across is all you need. The length could be fifteen minutes or forty-five minutes. It’s up to you – just don’t get boring or your listeners will tune out!
How often should you do the podcast? As often as you have information that is helpful to your followers and can help promote your latest work at the same time. One word of caution: Don’t record a podcast for the sake of recording one. Your listeners and followers will know that you’re basically “phoning it in” and you’ll potentially lose your credibility The purpose of your podcast, along with all the tools you use to promote yourself, is to provide a solution to a problem or to provide entertainment in the form of escapism (books, movies, music).
In my book, Podcasting: Year One, I detail my one year journey of discovery while I learned about podcasting. I didn’t take baby steps in the learning process. I jumped into the deep end of the pool and started treading water immediately. In hindsight, there are some things I would have done differently such as my equipment purchases and attempting to get too large, too fast. If you’re interested in hearing more about my journey, pick up your copy today (shameless self-promotion here).
Every day it gets harder and harder to set yourself apart in the noisy arena of social media. However, promoting yourself through these channels is a must and a very cost effective solution. Just don’t stop there! Use podcasting as one more weapon to slice through the noise so that others may benefit from what you have to offer to your community and possibly the world.
Donovan was born and raised in the deep south of South Central Georgia, roughly two hours from the Georgia-Florida line. His father was a guitar player, farmer, and eventually blue color worker for GM. His mother suffered from Scleroderma starting a few years after he was born, so she became a home maker. Growing up as an only child, Donovan’s interest included music (though he really never learned to play anything) and anything dealing with technology, but specifically computers.
He has spent his entire life involved with computer technology either as a hobby or as a career. In his middle to late teens, he ran a BBS (electronic bulletin board system – the precursor to the modern day Internet). He learned about networking computer systems, building computers, and communication technologies as part of his career.
Later in life, he fulfilled his dream of running his own ISP (Internet Service Provider) when he was hired first as the Network Manager and eventually the General Manager of the Telecommunications Department for the City of Tifton, known as CityNet.
Today he runs his own IT business and has been podcasting in some form or fashion since 2011.