Did you know that over 1 in 3 Americans have listened to a podcast? A few years ago, the popularity of blogs was king, but today, podcasts are making their mark as well. While podcasts are easy to produce, they can be tough to promote successfully. Here are some of the tips from the brands who are leading the way in their podcast promotion: Think About What You Put In Your Podcast Show Notes After you have recorded your podcast, you will be ready to draft a few notes. Instead of a one-liner about the show, think of how you can optimize these show notes for SEO and link sharing. Include relevant links where people can read more about the speaker and tag companies and people who are involved in the podcast in your show notes. Consider Keywords When crafting the headline of your show and the show notes, use keywords that your company is targeting. Listen to the podcast from a marketer’s point of view so that you can include as many relevant keywords as possible (without being spammy!). If there is a high-profile guest on your show, include their name in the Meta title of the page. If your podcast guest does not have a large existing following, use other keywords instead. Make Your Show Notes Sharable If you want people on social media to share links to your podcast, then the show notes need to be crafted so that they are highly sharable. To do this, include a compelling call to action, creative copywriting, and use a strong image to accompany the show notes. Need help with your digital marketing campaign? Then contact WSI OMS...

If you feel you have something to tell your audience, but are tired of the usual blog posts, you should think about launching a podcast. Podcasts are audio content that can be listened to on demand, kind of like a portable radio. A podcast is subscribed to, downloaded, then listened to on a smart device or tablet, whenever it suits you. They come in all sorts of formats, from interviews to panel discussions, entertainment to story-telling. Unlike reading a blog post or watching a video, podcasts are a truly mobile medium – you can listen while driving, jogging, walking, sitting on a train, or lying on your bed. Although podcasts have been around for years, they’re becoming more prolific, with the increase in smart phone users and Bluetooth technology in cars and homes. Podcasts have a powerful ability to start a conversation; as well as educating listeners who traditionally spent their time listening to music or talk shows on the radio. Highly personalised, niche specific information and news when you want it – sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it? There are a few steps to consider when planning to create a podcast: Define your audience and the goal of your podcast Choose a memorable title and a format that represents your content best Write yourself a script Get some high quality album art made Being with a raw recording, then prepare for editing Choose audio editing software that suits your needs – some are free Edit your podcast, then load it into your software Finalise your file and convert to .mp3 Create a show page that sells your content Promote your episode on social media You could also establish a relationship with a production company who will take care of the complicated steps, if you’d rather not do it yourself. Podcasting can be a strong component of your content marketing strategy, allowing you to expand your reach. It’s also a great way to test new ideas and topics – if you hit on something that resonates well with your audience, you can turn it into an eBook or longer article later on. Podcasting is also a clever way to repurpose your work, since not all your followers can read or listen to everything you create – use multiple mediums to distribute your content to reach different audiences. For more on content marketing and a strategy to launch it across different channels, contact us. As digital marketers, we’re all about getting you noticed...

Popular motivational speaker Michael Jackson interviewed WSI Internet marketing consultant Francois Muscat for Mix 93.8 FM last year. In the radio series, Michael interviewed a number of movers and shakers in the conference industry and professional speaking world in South Africa. During his interview with Francois, they focused on the industry that Francois has got to know like the back of his palm – the digital marketing industry. “I help companies and people get found on Google,” explained Francois when asked what WSI does in a nutshell. “Every single type of business needs Internet marketing in some way or another. Whenever a person wants to find out more about a company or person, they jump online to do research. Companies need to manage what gets presented online,” said Francois. One of the best things a person can do to manage their online reputation, said Francois, is to set up a Google Alert. This is a simple – yet effective way – to get notified whenever your name (or your company’s name) gets mentioned online. That way, you get an e-mail immediately whenever someone writes about you online. Whether you’re a regular person or a business owner, you should pay attention to what is known about you online. One of the ways you can do this is by Googling your name. “I always advise people to go out and own as many web properties as possible. Personal web properties include a Google profile, LinkedIn account, Twitter account and so forth. When you own these web properties, you basically control what comes up on the first page of Google,” explained Francois. Want to learn more about online reputation management? Listen to the entire podcast...

Here is a video titled “Podcasting in Plain English” from Commoncraft.  They are famous for their three minute video presentations to help educators and influencers introduce complex subjects. What is Podcasting? Podcasting is a type of online media delivery. You create audio files and then publish the selected files via the internet and allow your users to subscribe via an RSS feed to automatically receive new files. Podcasting lets you create your own syndicated online talkshow or radio program, with content of your choosing. Taken directly from: http://www.commoncraft.com/podcasting “Podcasting in Plain English” introduces the differences between broadcasting shows and making shows available for download on the Internet so that they can be enjoyed at any time. The video includes: How podcasts differ from TV and Radio What’s needed to publish and subscribe to a podcast How podcasting democratizes media A real world example of podcasting in practice This is a a simple, 3 minute video explaining Podcasting....