Mario Sundar's Speakeasy

Well, we knew this was going to happen, but the speed with which it’s happening is surprising even to me (Full Disclosure: my current agency dabbles in corporate podcast production).

Some of you may have read my earlier post where I predicted the future of customer references gravitating towards multi-media and this analyst report is further proof that the transformation is actually taking place. For those of you from Corporate America, I’d recommend reading the entire FREE report. But for the time-strapped among you, below are the five facts I found encouraging & useful to all corporate marketers.

1. Podcast usage gains momentum

Duh! moment, but “hear” are the numbers. 53% – Have experimented with podcasts in varying levels

Among those 53%, 41% claim to have listened to more than one podcasts and is the fastest growing segment. What interested me the most was the fact that 32% of those who listen to podcasts have seen a “significant increase” in podcast usage over the past 6 months.

2. Preferred choice for listening – Computers NOT iPods!

I have written about the ambiguity caused by the term “podcasting”. I’ve seen that in effect while talking to corporate marketers as well. Everyone mistakes podcasts as being suitable only for their iPods or mp3 players but it is now proven that:

68% – listen to podcasts on their computers
32% – listen to podcasts on iPods/mp3 players

3. Majority listening to technology-specific topics

Of those who listen to podcasts regularly, 72% are listeners on technology-specific topics. Of course, that’d have to be true since the survey was conducted among business/IT professionals. But, the fact remains that they ARE listening to tech-relevant podcasts.

4. White papers are podcast-friendly

Paul Dunay, Director of Global Field Marketing for BearingPoint (his blog) had experimented with utilizing podcasts to increase white paper downloads and had met with considerable success. This McCann report further validates that.

Here’s why?:

60% – would rather have white papers delivered as podcasts

5. If you want me to listen, better make it worth my while!

If you are in the business of creating content you better create podcasts that are hear-worthy. I hear this all the time: first from Scoble and now from this report, which proves that “among “frequent listeners”, 57% reported there aren’t enough podcasts of interest at this point”.

And remember: If you don’t make it interesting, nobody will listen. As always, CONTENT rules!

(Source: Emerging Media Series: The Influence of Podcasts on B2B Technology Purchase Decisions Analyst Report by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann via Dana Gardner’s Blog)

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