Listen to the new media trends: a podcast listener is worth his weight in gold
Listen, let’s be honest. All the buzz about podcasts sort of fizzled over the past year or so. Do people still use them and listen to them? Sure. Does everyone want to be a podcasting expert like they want to be a social media expert? Not so much.
This past weekend, I went to PodCamp Boston 5, a new media conference, and one of the big topics discussed was podcasting. This is not a new topic, podcasts have been around for years and the Podcamp community especially enjoys hyping it up.
This year, Podcamp organizer and co-founder Chris Penn brought some new insights into why Podcasts are making a comeback.
It all comes down to accessibility.
Podcasts are easy to consume. People today have the ability to easily consume rich new media through their iPhones, iPads, other smartphones and tablet devices. They are growing accustomed to downloading video & audio podcasts. It’s much easier today than it was 5 years ago.
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Podcasts are commutable. It was also noted during the conference that the average American commute was around 20 minutes. More people are tuning into new media such as podcasts instead of listening to the radio because they get to choose the topic and content they want to hear for those 20 minutes.
Podcasts tend to have big followings. Another point Chris Penn brought up in a recent blog article about Podcasting is that the level of intent with someone who downloads your podcast or video is high. To quote Chris, “They are a true fan. They’re dedicated. They believe in you and the information you have to share.”
Listen, if you can make a great podcast and build a following, you’re IN. If someone is setting aside their time to listen to you, they are worth more than any Twitter follower or Facebook fan. In his article, Chris also goes on to add, “The question is, how well are you treating them? Or are you spending all your time chasing new audience, and ignoring the gold mine you’ve already got subscribed to your podcast?”
Think about it. What can you do with a podcast?
