Where are all the businesses?
Published by on June 12th, 2006
There seems to have been a recent rush of podcast businesses. Small and large companies alike are springing up with the remit to produce podcasts for other business and make a fat lump of cash in return. But how many of these are actually doing the business they are making so much noise about?
As we have discovered with Audacious Communications, generating interest in podcasting from the business community is easy enough - after all, it is one of the big buzz words right now - but actually getting them to commit enough of a spend to make a project, and therefore a business, profitable is another thing entirely. Audacious aims itself relatively high by developing PR and marketing solutions with a social media model (focusing quite heavily on podcasting at this time) and this has been a tougher sell than we expected at the outset. Though I suppose a sales lead time of a few months for a sizeable project commitment is not unreasonable.
It seems everyone is having the same problem. Where are all those agency/consultancy/production-house created business podcasts? Surely in the current early stages of the still emerging space which is podcasting, the benefits of being rather vocal about landing solid projects and marketing the results are there for the taking. I can understand not spotting an announcement from a production company amongst thousands of others, but right now, it’s.. well… a little logo-branded tumbleweed is about all there is to see.
It is the people?
Could this be down to exactly who is trying to build these businesses? We have ‘traditional’ production companies who are the natural winners by already having the talent, hardware and client base to step right up and churn out the podcasts. We also have a growing number of independent podcasters banding together to form production companies, their strength being in their apparent experience in podcasting itself - often more-so than the production houses.
To make it all work these need, as with any business, the right blend of experience. Production houses can be far too focused on their core business and existing client base to to educate and sell new concepts in communication. Independent podcasters on the other hand, may have little or no business-focused marketing experience and may struggle to demonstrate ROI (return on investment) to the decision makers in a business.
Is it the name?
Perhaps it is podcasting itself which is part of the problem. That gloriously light-hearted and jolly little name is hardly something to drop into heavy business conversation. I have been there myself many times now where high level marketing, PR and communication discussions are taking place, then the word ‘podcasting’ turns up and the suits snigger.
Podcasting is still considered the little plaything of geekdom to the business community. Yes there are rumours of good things happening, but it’s just like cheap alternative radio, isn’t it. It’s the kind of thing anyone can do with a computer and a microphone (just like building website, except for the microphone); an amateur concept with amateur attitudes. But silly or not, we’re stuck with the name, we are just going to have to continue the education of potential clients.
OK, so I’m making generalisations, but the picture is a plausible one. I believe that if you get a cracking team of experienced media sales and account handling people together, who are genuinely educated and immersed in podcasting’s potential as a promotional and informational tool, then you would have a the best chance of creating a podcast production company with the teeth to pull off what it claims and actually be producing podcasts. After all, it’s not a sale till the cheque’s in the bank. Perhaps the idea of podcasting needs a couple more years to mature before its acceptance in the professional world is established enough to fulfil the ambitions of the podcast production specialists.
2 Responses to “Where are all the businesses?”
June 14th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Neil, we are not having any problem in attracting businesses with money. However, sell our business expertise, not just the podcasting buzz word. We focus purely on the business benefits and try to avoid the word ‘podcasting’ at all costs.
Also, the outsourcing of podcast production is a very quick road to £20,000 per year max, which is pretty laughable. There is simply not enough perceived value in a podcast episode to allow a decent living to be made. Sure, we do a handful of small podcasts which we find interesting, but only so that we can use them as marketing tools for our consultancy work. And, there is no doubt that that is where the money is.
The issue of press releases is interesting. We just don’t feel the need to shout about what we are doing with each client. Most press releases make those involved sound pompous and just a bit too pleased with themselves. Plus, we just don’t have the time. What matters is that we are known to the right people, and thanks to BNI, we have access to the people with money who want to be ahead of the game.
There are some really big opportunities opening up for those with a detailed knowledge of what is achievable with RSS, but probably not in the way that most people realise. If there are not millionaires made in this industry, I will be very shocked.
June 15th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Discussion on this topic ended up here