Podcasting is nothing short of a communications revolution, it’s a revolution that is sweeping the globe and one which you and is worth serious consideration as part of a wide range of marcomms plans.

OK, but what is a Podcast? Well, put simply it’s an audio or video file that is delivered straight to any computer and then on to an MP3 player. In fact, you can now even send a Podcast directly to a mobile phone. Users subscribe to a Podcast so subsequent Podcast “editions” are delivered automatically using specially designed software such as iTunes. If a listener has an iPod, they can plug in their iPod or alternative mp3 player and the most recent episode is automatically downloaded to the player for playback "on the road".


Build up Podcast marketing regular episodes

The thing that sets a Podcast apart from a single mp3 download is the subscription mechanism, once a listener has subscribed to a Podcast they will automatically receive each episode of a Podcast series. This means that a well thought out and sustained Podcast programme will generate an increasing listener captive base which is great news for marketing and PR professionals.

Podcasting as a communications channel

Now, what really differentiates the Podcast as a superb communication channel is that it’s personal. It’s an engaging one-to-one conversation with the listener. So, Podcasts are a great way to motivate staff, inform shareholders of company performance, enthusiastically communicate new products and services to customers and provide news updates to journalists and financial analysts. What’s more, Podcasts can be produced in any language and distributed quickly and efficiently, all at a fraction of the cost associated with conventional media such as printed newsletters.

Richard Frais works for Podcast Production, a professional and media experienced team with the Podcast production, scripting, recording and experience to support your communications plan.

Let's begin with a nice quote, ‘Forget the 99.99% you get right, it’s the .01% error that’ll bring a chopper down’.

When dealing with military, engineering, medical and industrial documents, the life of your company and your clients resides in the detail. Over a quarter of APT’s business comes from ‘damaged goods’ – i.e. companies whose product has entered the global market with wince-inducing poorly translated literature. We believe that every translation, from a caption to a catalogue, is an undertaking of trust.

The international arena of translated technical material is an ever evolving language medium, which means that using subject qualified experts is essential. But, if they are non-native translators, they will alienate the company’s target audience in that country’s marketplace.

"When your overseas client receives your product and opens your manual, he is holding your company’s ‘silent ambassador’ – so he’d better speak the language well.", Tim Francis, APT (Bristol).

As an international PR consultancy, BCM have encountered similar issues. For example, a former German speaking client provided regular "English" translations of highly technical press releases that were undertaken in-house as a cost saving excersise. The result was a German (non-native) translation that would have confused even the most clued-up specialist in their technology.

The unfortunate Account Manager had to use a combination of the original "Deutsche Pressemittielung" and the English version to achieve an adequate press release.

This press release would then have to be re-approved by the German engineers, to ensure that the facts were correct before finally distributing the press release.

Now, ask yourself how many hours that takes and compare it to the cost of a professional translation undertaken by your regular translation partner. The sums, the delays involved and the number of stages introduced are undesirable. More importantly, as Tim explained above, the quality and company image is at risk if the work is not completed satisfactorilly.

From a PR perspective, of course, a holistic view is essential. Why spend money and time building a reputation for a company as an international player in PR materials when their product brochures say "We about us" or have completely meaningless translations?

The apparently poor state of industrial marketing in Europe for a number of years has been a source of despair for magazines - most of which derive their almost all of their income from advertising sales - and for magazines editors who were often forced to work in isolation without the traditional support of junior assistants and full time journalists.

This is largely the result of a downturn in the manufacturing and process industries and various government and tax controls. In the meanwhile, public relations was maturing as a discipline. This meant increased awareness of PR as a form of marketing communications, and more reason to use it in the absence of astronmical advertisign budgets.

These two trends have resulted in companies focussing more effort on PR, an abbreviation for both public relations and press releases. Many companies, driven by the quest for an immediate return and justification produce only the latter, whereas even a well written, well targetted press release is weak in isolation.

Modern public relations is about strategy, and how tactics integrate into that strategy. BCM's US partners Tiziani Whitmyre have recently published a white paper entitled The Five Deadly Sins of B2B Marketing on how to avoid common pitfalls and get the most out of PR.

Needless to say that advertising is not a waste of time and should be encouraged as part of a long term strategy! More on strategy, PR and industrial marketing coming soon.