Chris Brogan, another respected Social Media guru and consultant, mused recently about the current state of Podcasting. He makes some good points, which prompted me to begin thinking about what is working and what isn’t with regard to the way businesses can effectively use podcasting, as ascertained from our own client consultations.

I disputed a college professor once, who said that broadcast media is all about distributing content. It never has been. It has always been about advertising, and the content exists just to get enough eyeballs or eardrums assembled together to justify the high ad rates.

In the broadcast industry there has always been a distinction and separation between content and advertising, between content producers and advertisers. Podcasting, at least insofar as a valid business model goes, is quite different. Podcasting has been able to successfully fuse the two. Content creators are now their own advertisers.

Professionals and brands are regularly creating valuable content aimed specifically at their target markets, and using that content as the “bait” to introduce them to their product or service. The content-as-advertising model is not new, and certainly has existed in broadcast media as well over the years. But podcasting represents the first time that smaller businesses and individuals have been able to access a wide distribution platform to deliver their targeted messaging.

What’s working:

• Tutorials that highlight specific needs and introduce specific solutions
• Interviews with highly regarded industry leaders
• Q&A shows based on frequently asked questions from existing customers
• Idea Casts – Practical inspirations aimed at your customer’s most urgent and felt needs
• Shows that build a like-minded community through a blog or forum
• Shows that link to good information regularly

What’s not working:

• Sponsored shows – Using revenue sharing ad platforms or ad insertion services
• Shows that are too broadly focused, such as news coverage of multiple industries
• Unprofessional production values AND commercially over-produced shows
• Blatant Podcast-as-Commercial tactics
• Shows with little relevant or valuable information
• Shows with little organizational thought or direction

The Most Important Part
If you are thinking about beginning a podcast to promote your product or service, be sure you are able to commit the time to generating regular content. Blogging takes time. Podcasting takes MORE time, even with the help of a creative services or production company.

If you have a lot to say, have a friendly manner, a pleasant voice and aren’t afraid to speak or be recorded, then podcasting represents an excellent way to reach people with your expertise and provide value to them on a regular basis.

Most of the time, having a show that delivers solid information from your area of expertise, coupled with a well-designed and directed blog and/or forum, all linked back to your business site and web presence, is all that is required to benefit from using podcasting as a way to build your brand, qualify better prospects, and cement your place among the experts in your market.

Product demonstration videos are among the fastest growing segment of professionally created online video. Why. Because people WATCH. Imagine being able to cut down phone calls to answer product questions (easily answered in a 2 minute product video) and convert more sales leads by putting your unique selling proposition in front of people at the moment they are most likely to buy from you?

One report shows a 40% increase in product demo video views in the FIRST TWO WEEKS OF December!

If you have put off using online video as a direct selling tool, capable of reducing yearly overhead and converting more online sales, you need to ask yourself why. Anything less than an educated answer to that question, and you should really talk with us.

This was a great video presentation someone just sent me, which outlines an amazing slew of facts about the pace and growth of technology in our world. Worth a view.

Twitter has gotten a whole lot of people’s attention in the last year. I have had an account since the beginning, but I confess, I did not start really using it until the last few months. What a shame.

I am finally understanding the purpose, but in that statement I am acknowledging that the purpose is VERY subjective and perhaps different for everyone reading this. And to talk about the many ways Twitter can be used is outside the scope of this post.

One specific reason I am using it right now is news qualification. While a feed reader aggregates my news, I found it didn’t do a good job of telling me what was worth reading. Twitter, or more specifically, Twitterers, and those few who bother to find the good stuff and Tweet it, are serving the needed qualification I was seeking. Now, if someone I follow on Twitter says I need to see a post, and five others mention it, then rest assured I will be reading it before long. Even if there weren’t other reasons to love Twitter, that alone is reason enough.

Interesting how social media technologies, when used in conjunction with one another, begin to help filter the information noisefloor, making it easier to find the good layers you crave, and rise above the petty ones you don’t have time for.

Wired is on to something with their recognition of how the new v2.7 of WordPress is a step toward a more fully fleshed out Social Networking platform, or at least tight integration with one.

So far, I am having a hard time coming up with any reasons to NOT like this update. The Flash uploader still doesn’t work with Flash 10, though.

After trying out a handful of Twitter apps, I decided that there just isn’t one out there that does exactly what I want. Having been a part of a development team, and hearing users say we were missing the boat sometimes, I thought I would tell anyone interested what I’d like to see in a Twitter app for a Windows Mobile device. If you build it, let me know!

1) An immediately accessible line on my Today Page, where I could text my Tweet and get it live with no hassle, just like Twit Today (bravo on this, Dale Lane!)

2) A compact yet beautiful stream browser with avatars, an easy way to @ someone’s specific Tweet, and even integrate with TwitPic, like ceTwit, although the UI on that one needs a sprucing, imho.

3) The familiar “Older” button from the Twitter site, for going back in the stream a ways. Of all the apps I tested, NONE had this, and I cannot imagine that it would be that hard to do.

For mobile use, this is about all I really want. Account management, follow/unfollow, etc. is not all that important to me.

Thanks in advance!

(Update: I just found pocketwit and it has pretty much THE BEST interface design of all of them I found. Avatars, twitpic support with access to camera and image browser, GPS updating. And a Sa-weeet kinetic interface! Kudos and thanks!)

This week Automattic rolled out WordPress 2.7, and in many ways, it is the largest update of the year, even eclipsing 2.5. The administration panel back end got most of the attention, and it is beautiful and functional and… quite different. Harkins Creative is already putting it through its paces on this blog, checking out plugin compatibility and the many new features. We will steadily begin deploying it across all client sites with whom we have an ongoing maintenance relationship. Our early report is incredibly positive. Some of the “under the hood” changes mean that WordPress will be certain of enjoying a prolonged life as the front runner of the blogging platform community.

Also look for new WordPress tutorials to cover the layout changes and new features soon.