Podcasting 101, Part two

Note: The posting schedule has been moved around a tad, so here’s part two of Podcasting 101 — look for the digital media resource collection Friday

In my last entry, you learned what a podcast was is, how it works, and how it can be of use in PR. Today, we will look at how you go about developing your podcast, software to help you create your podcast, and directories to help you promote your podcast.

Five key steps to creating podcasts
1. Revisit your PR plan
Does a podcast fit in with your messaging strategy? Do you have the time and resources to do this? No strategic fit, no resources = no podcast. Good strategic fit + resources = podcast.

2. Plan to succeed
Figure out your tactics. What is your key message? How often will you podcast? How will you arrange for podcast production? Who is responsible for what, both client-side and firm-side? What will be the format? What content will you have? How long will the podcast be? And so on.

3. Differentiate
What competing podcasts are out there? Visit the podcast directories, listed below, and see who your competition is. Then figure out how you will differentiate.

4. Play nicely with others
Want to use content, including interviews and music, from another source? Get approval. Want guests on your podcast, such as guest speakers or people you will interview? Contact them and book time.

5. Produce
Have at least 5 podcasts in the bag before you go live. This gives you a chance to deal with the inevitable first time errors before you commit to a schedule.

I pod, you pod, we all pod
Now that you know how to create a podcast, you need software to help you do so. Three worth looking into are:

• FeedForAll. This tutorial shows how simple this software is.
• ePodCast Creator. This option offers a free demo to try.
• Pod Producer. The advantage here can be summed up in one word: Free.

Podcast shout
Of course, your podcast won’t do you any good if no one know it exists. The solution? List it on podcast directories. Here are three to get you started:

• Podcast Bunker. They limit their list only to those that they believe are the very best, so it is of some value to make it to this list.
• Podcasting Station. This directory allows visitors to perform handy podcast topic searches.
• Podcasting News. More extensive than Podcasting Station, podcasts are also sorted by topic.