As someone who has been producing audio since 2003, I consider podcasts part of my natural way to communicate. When people ask me about the value of adding audio to the communications mix, I start with these 12 benefits of podcasting:

1.    Establish your organization’s leaders as experts in their niche.
2.    Help to deliver the CEO’s message to employees using the warmth of the human voice in addition to traditional text channels.
3.    Create a “radio show” to educate customers and prospects.
4.    Add life to case studies by producing audio interviews with your staff and customers.
5.    Showcase the work of your nonprofit organization and its people by interviewing those who benefit from the work you do.
6.    Build buzz before a trade show by highlighting the work of key speakers and influencers.
7.    Capture the excitement of your company’s conference or sales meeting for the benefit of those not in attendance.
8.    Give your employees an audio version of the company news as an adjunct to the newsletter; they can listen while commuting or at the gym.
9.    Bolster your training efforts by adding an audio component; some people learn best while listening.
10.    Customers and prospects can easily subscribe to your podcast; this means that they are asking you for more content!
11.    Podcasting is relatively inexpensive; you can start with free tools.
12.    Podcasting can be fun and rewarding when done right.

What would you add to this list?

There was a time when printed brochures, news releases and ads in trade publications were the main tools we used to promote events. Now, in addition to these traditional media, along with Web sites and email, we can add social media to the marketing mix.

Increasingly, organizations are using blogs, podcasts, Twitter and Facebook to publicize an event, and then keep the conversation going during and afterward. In some cases, organizers succeed at creating a community that thrives long after the conference or trade show is over.

Let’s take a quick look at some of these tools.

Blogs
Think of a blog as a publishing platform. They’re no longer considered “online diaries.” Use your blog to publish content that builds excitement about the event by showcasing some of the key speakers and sponsors. Encourage questions and comments on the blog.

Twitter
As a micro-blogging platform, Twitter can work nicely with your blog, allowing you to publish 140-character bursts of information. Many event organizers create a hashtag in advance, so that everyone on Twitter who is talking about the event uses common terminology. For example, the popular South by Southwest conference is #sxsw.

Podcasts
I’ve worked with many clients who’ve used podcast interviews before and during their conferences, with great results. At Autodesk University, for example, we ran in-depth interviews with organizers, speakers and other experts before the event, to build interest. During the conference, we conducted more interviews and also grabbed quick sound bites with attendees. These were used as part of the marketing campaign to promote the event during the following year.

Video
If your story has a visual element, then use video. Keep them short, though, because editing time will eat up much of your budget otherwise.

Facebook
Have you thought of using a Fan page or Group on Facebook to drum up interest in your event? We’ll be covering these in more detail in future blog posts. There are differences between the two that you need to be aware of.

Ning
One of my clients recently used Ning to set up a community for attendees, so that they could congregate in a private online area before the event, and then keep the relationship going afterward. A group like Ning also provides a safe place for people to try out their social networking skills, rather than out in the wider world.

LinkedIn
Don’t forget about LinkedIn, which you can also use to promote your events. You can also post articles to stimulate discussions.

What are some of your favourite social media tools to promote events?

I recently wrote about HOW to make your meeting or conference social-media friendly. A commenter then asked for more information about WHY you would want to do so.

I have covered the “why” elsewhere in my PodcastYourConference site and in various presentations and Webinars, but here is a quick list of the reasons why you should consider incorporating social media into your event planning.

• Running an event blog, or blogging about the event on your regular blog, will help to publicize the event among potential registrants.
• Tweeting about the event can do the same. In fact, Twitter, which encourages re-tweeting, may help your message spread even more quickly than will your blog. Of course your content has to be interesting. You can’t keep rebroadcasting the same “Hey we’re having an event” message.
• Ditto with building your presence on Facebook or any other venue where your audience gathers online.
• Pre-event podcast interviews with key speakers offer potential attendees, exhibitors and sponsors a glimpse of what they might be experiencing in your event’s keynote presentation, workshops, breakouts or other sessions. You’d be amazed at how much interest you can generate with a 10-minute audio podcast.
• Suppose you’re running an annual event, and your members, employees or customers are traveling from all over the world to be there. Do you think this is an opportune time to capture audio and video conversations, presentations, event feedback and so on? In my humble opinion, YES! The cost of recording, editing and publishing this content is likely to pale in comparison to your total event budget. USE this content now and in the future. Repurpose it. Repackage it. Make the most of it!
• If you take a few minutes to create an event hashtag (such as #iabc09), you make life easier for those who are blogging and tweeting about you. You also simplify your own tracking of the conversations about your event. Do you care what people are saying before, during and after your event? You should. This feedback is real and unvarnished, and can help you to organize even better meetings in the future.

Social media can help you to create buzz, boost registration numbers, foster a sense of community among attendees, entice exhibitors, and create relevant content for your Web site and marketing efforts.

Remember: Conversations about your organization and your event are happening, whether you’re listening to them or not. Be a part of them. Doing nothing is not a viable tactic.

Over the course of a typical year, I  attend several conferences, speak at a couple, and participate in others on behalf of clients – producing content, particularly podcasts. Since I’ve been in this arena for a few years, I’ve come to observe organizations that “get it” when it comes to employing social media and new media tools before, during and after an event. This “social-media friendly” list is by no means exhaustive, but it can serve as food for thought when you’re planning your next conference.

• Is there an event blog and podcast? Have you produced audio and video content before the event, to build excitement? Do these include interviews with key speakers?
• Are you as the organizer posting updates on Twitter before, during and after the event? Are you encouraging registrants to do so as well?
• Are you creating audio podcasts and shooting video at your event? This can enhance the experience of those who are at the event, and help you to create marketing materials for next time.
• Have you considered using a tool like CoverItLive to encourage live blogging?
• Did you create a unique hashtag so that bloggers and Twitterers can use a uniform tag to refer to your event?
• Does the venue have strong, freely available wifi?
• Are there electrical outlets where attendees can recharge their laptops and other devices?

Please contribute your own comments!

Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Sign up for this free Web-based seminar to learn what podcasting is all about, including: how to find podcasts relevant to your interests; how organizations are using audio for internal and external communications; how to create a podcast; how to sell the concept of podcasting to management.

You need just a computer and an Internet connection to attend this free 45-minute session. It’s at 2 p.m. Eastern on Thursday,  November 19 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Just send an email to receive the login instructions.

I’m looking forward to be presenting this Webinar again: How to use new media tools to make the most of your event. This online seminar is designed to answer many of your questions about conference podcasting, event promotion/marketing and so on. It’s designed for people who organize not only big conferences, but all-employee meetings, sales meetings and customer events too.

Over the past few years, I’ve heard this lament many times: “We really want to produce podcasts for our upcoming conference, but our IT Department says they won’t support us. What should we do?”

In a former life, I was a systems analyst, so I’m familiar with some of the workings behind the sometimes-mysterious doors of the IT world. There may be good reasons for not supporting your organization’s multimedia efforts, but I haven’t heard a valid one yet. As my friend Shel Holtz has noted (and I’m paraphrasing): “Has anyone ever said that we don’t have enough paper to print the company newsletter?” Of course not.

Let’s suppose that your IT Department won’t offer technical support for podcasting. Well, that’s OK, because your IT people probably aren’t podcasting experts in the first place. You can hire help or learn to do it yourself.

What if the IT gurus tell you that there isn’t one megabyte of storage space available to you. Here are some suggestions:

• Host your audio or video files externally.
• Build a microsite on WordPress for all the information and multimedia content about your conference. Link to this microsite from your organization’s main site.

Problems solved.

Have you run into roadblocks from the IT people? Please share your experiences in the comments section.

It’s very tempting to record a slew of audio and video before or during your conference and just slap it up onto your Web site. Why is it so appealing? Because it’s so dead easy. Easy for you. But you’re putting  a burden on your audience by doing so.

Let’s put yourself in the shoes of the potential attendee, OK? He’ s thinking of registering for your All About Widgets conference, which is just 90 days away. So he sits down with a cup of coffee to listen to your pre-conference audio. And what does he hear?

• Lots of introductory babble that adds zero value.
• One speaker is very loud and the other speaker is barely audible.
• An interview guest who is obviously very smart, but who starts every sentence with a big “Uuuuummmmm.”

How long do you think he’s going to sit there and listen?
Instead, what if you took the time to:

• Edit out the Ums and Ahs.
• Trimmed the useless introductory fluff.
• Evened out the volume so that the sound levels are consistent.
• And maybe added a high-energy call to action at the end, to encourage the listener to register, maybe with the added enticement of a promotion code?

Think about it. If you want your organization to appear professional, and to be aware of the needs of your audience, you’ll take the time to edit, edit, edit. My example is about audio, but the same rules apply to video. In fact, with video, you have even more to think about. We’ll cover video editing in a future post.

Over the last four years, I’ve produced conference podcasts for associations and corporations for both internal and external purposes. If you’re curious about whether podcasting your conference can be an effective way to communicate with your audience, please read on for some tips and insights. IN this blog I’ll be covering this topic extensively, but let’s begin with an overview.

What is a podcast anyway?
A podcast is a multimedia file that can be shared with others. A podcast can be audio or video.

How is a podcast different from any old downloadable audio?
The ability to subscribe is what makes a podcast special. After you create your podcast, you can publish it on your blog and/or Web site. You can also make it available on iTunes, YouTube and other locations, and your listeners can subscribe to your podcast for free.

How does a podcast subscription work?
You can subscribe to a podcast in a few different ways:

• By email, if this is offered by the podcast producer. You simply enter your email address on the page, and the publisher notifies you whenever a new show is available.
• Via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) using a feed reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader. Every time a new podcast is published, you automatically receive it.
• Using the iTunes application (which works on Macs and PCs), you automatically receive new shows. You can also synchronize your iPod or other compatible MP3 player to load the new shows.

NOTE: You can certainly produce audio and video content from your conference that is NOT a podcast. As long as you know where you’re going to publish and position this content on your Web site, it doesn’t have to be a podcast.

How will I benefit from podcasting my conference?
Have you ever produced tapes or CDs of your conference proceedings? Do you remember what a headache it was to create and distribute them? With podcasts, you can easily make your content available on the Internet, saving time and money. Beyond saving, you’ll also be creating meaningful information products that can generate buzz before your event and add value afterward. Here are the main benefits of podcasting your conference:

• By offering audio or video content from your most current conference, you can attract people to your next one.
• You will educate prospects about your company, your products and your expertise.
• You can reach a broad audience at a low cost.
• You can make selected content available to your clients, prospects and employees who are not able to attend your conference but who still want your message.
• By creating a Web site or blog to accompany your podcasts, you create a presence that is searchable by Google keywords, therefore expanding your reach on the Web.

Examples of conference podcasts
Pre-conference podcasts can increase interest and may stimulate registration numbers. By adding audio or video content to your Web site and linking to it in your emails and other marketing materials, you can entice potential attendees to check out what your conference has to offer. You can also take advantage of the power of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) to link to your multimedia content and boost your pre-conference buzz even further.

Podcasts produced during the conference itself can capture some of the sessions and grab opinions from attendees too. You may decide to not offer all of your sessions as podcasts. In this case, you can produce “script and clip” podcasts, where you edit your original files down into bite-sized pieces, and add professional narration to tie it together. Think mini-documentary.

A roving reporter on your conference floor can capture all sorts of valuable multimedia content from speakers and attendees.

Of course all this wonderful content can be used to promote your next conference and to educate your employees who are unable to be at the conference.

Tips for successful conference podcasts

• Start planning well in advance. You don’t want to rush this.
• Decide on your goals: increase registration, create a lasting legacy of your event, build multimedia content for your intranet or Internet? Then define success for each goal.
• Get a team together. Who’s going to conduct the interviews? Record? Edit? Publish?
• Assemble your gear. At the very least, you’ll need portable digital recorders, microphones and computers loaded with editing software. For video, you’ll add cameras, tripods, lights.
• Draw up a schedule of who’s doing what, when. Keep track of what’s been accomplished. Revise your schedule as needed.
• Go with the flow. If the opening night reception is generating lots of cool discussion, try to grab some interviews right then and there, even if it’s not on your schedule.
• Record as much in advance as possible. Script and record your introductory sections and closing sections in advance to save time.

Is this a do-it-yourself project?
You can certainly create your own podcasts if you have the skill and the equipment. Compare it to desktop publishing: Not everyone with a copy of InDesign can craft a beautiful newsletter. Ditto: Not everyone who owns Adobe Audition or Final Cut Pro can create a nice podcast with solid content.

Will podcasting my conference be expensive?
In a word, no. Add up all the dollars you’ve spent on organizing your event, printing up literature, marketing and advertising, and so on. The cost of podcasting your conference is the equivalent of a small fraction of your overall cost.

Welcome! What’s this blog all about? You may already know me from my Trafcom News Blog and Trafcom News Podcast, where I discuss communications tactics. In both of these vehicles, I’ve talked about conference podcasting, building buzz around events, and the use of audio, video and social media. Well, this new blog is a forum to explore these ideas more deeply. I hope you’ll be a part of the conversation. Please read, listen and watch, and let me know what you think. Add your ideas. Ask questions. Tell me when I’m wrong. Or right!
Thanks.