Welcome to Podcasting 101, Part 2

By Mark G. Auerbach

(Editor’s note: You can read Part 1 of this series here.)

Why people podcast: Getting the word out

As you will see from the examples below, companies and solopreneurs put in the hard work required to do a podcast in order to expand their audiences, in conjunction with their company mission and programming. Their podcasts are a part of their marketing efforts, using traditional approaches (websites, mailings, advertising) and social media, with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter among their best resources. They succeed when they have a marketing campaign for their podcast in general, and a specific campaign for each episode.

Casting Actors Cast is the brainchild of actor, director, teacher, and casting director Jeffrey Dreisbach, who produces a weekly 20-minute podcast from his home studio. The podcasts have been available over two years. Dreisbach promotes his work on social media—Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and his podcasts are geared primarily to actors and the audition process. The podcast is of particular interest to university and college theatre programs. The podcast is hosted by Podbean, which provides Dreisbach with insights and analytics.

Goodspeed Musicals, known for presenting new musicals and revivals, and for having sent blockbusters like Man of La Mancha and Annie to Broadway, has launched a new podcast, In the Spotlight, an hour-long podcast that drops every other Wednesday. The podcast, led by two staffers adept in musical theatre, explores classic musicals, a topic many people turn to Goodspeed for. At present, it’s produced in-house. According to Goodspeed’s publicist Elisa Hale, the theatre markets the podcast through e-blasts and its social media channels. It’s not monetized, but being used as an audience development tool.

Podfobbler Productions is the brainchild of author Victor Acquista, who puts out 12- to 13-minute podcasts every 10 days to two weeks. Having written non-fiction and fiction, Acqusita describes his podcasts as “a mashup of fiction, nonfiction, ideas, and commentary.” His format includes: commentary on some of his own work as well as features on other authors whose work he narrates and comments about. His work is self-produced, available on eight platforms, and can be found on Facebook and YouTube under Podfobbler Productions. Acquista podcasts to build an audience for his current and upcoming books.

Real Men Feel, a weekly one-hour podcast produced by Andy Grant, has been available for four years. Grant self-produces his work, which deals with issues men face. He promotes his podcasts via his website, through social media channels, and also blog posts that are syndicated to GoodMenProject.com. Grant uses the podcast to drive people to his coaching and counseling services, and he accepts advertising and sponsorship. He says he measures his return on investment “through new clients, business opportunities, and direct income from the podcast. I’ve gotten jobs narrating audiobooks, speaking opportunities, book sales, coaching clients, guest appearances on many dozens of other podcasts… as well as a surprising amount of close friends thanks to Real Men Feel.”

For every episode of ArtsBeat, which I produce, I use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, with a post in advance of the broadcast (my “Tune in or stream” post), and a second time, when the program is posted on YouTube. I post to my own business Facebook page, the station’s Facebook page, and I send a link to the person or people interviewed, so they can share it. I include tune-in information on my business blog and my company’s monthly newsletter. And, every so often, I repost the link, with a heading “in case you missed this.”

Since many of my programs are theatre-related, I also send them to some local publications that cover theatre, plus BroadwayStars.com, which posts all kinds of information on theatre journalism, and to Berkshire Theatre Critics Association, which posts its members’ works. I also make sure that my program is part of my signature line on emails.

My next article on podcasting will feature a profile of Dramatic Health’s new podcast launch. This i a company known for its film and videos about the health industry, the healthcare providers, patients, researchers now enters the realm of podcasting with a great plan for success.

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Mark G. Auerbach is principal at Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, a Springfield, MA, based marketing, public relations, development and events consultancy. You can find more information about Mark at Facebook and LinkedIn. Mark also produces ArtsBeat in print in The Westfield News, on radio for Pioneer Valley Radio and 89.5fm/WSKB, and on TV at WCPC15.

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