By Catherine Lang-Cline
How podcasts started can be up for some debate, but Adam Curry, a former MTV personality, is the one that popularized the format. In 2005, iTunes began to carry podcasts and the rest is history. It is a format that has evolved from radio broadcasts to entertainment to business and there are easily millions of episodes available. So, how do you know if podcasting is for you?
The beauty of podcasting is that if you have the equipment and the know-how, you can do a podcast. As far as if podcasting is for you, that depends. We started a podcast because there was a piece of our staffing business that was repeated constantly, the steps to finding a job and the steps to hiring the right people. Every candidate wanted to know how to get started and every client wanted to make the right choice. We had the option to write a book, and that may still happen, but the quickest and most cost-effective way was to start a podcast.
How did I start? I Googled it. It is amazing what you can all find on the web. There are a variety of ways to do this, so just keep looking until you find the one that works for you. That could be by price or buy what you think you can do. At the highest tier, you can find a company that will take care of it for you. All you do is show up with some content and they take care of the rest. The other end of the spectrum is where we are. I researched the equipment, plugged it all in, troubleshot it, learned the recording software, learned how to edit, and got it online for people to hear. I felt that a conversation was the best type of podcast so I volunteered my business partner to join me and three… two… one… we recorded.
Once we completed our first 10, which is the “How To Get A Job In Creative” series of podcasts, we knew that there were more issues for artists and our clients. So we continued. The wonderful thing about doing this is that the conversation is always current and fresh. We can talk about things that are currently affecting hiring. We can respond to new rules and regulations and what the current companies are needing to know now. We can talk about diversity in hiring, hiring for values, and how you can be the next person a company wants to hire. It illustrates that we are the experts in this area and we are offering a slice of our 15 years of knowledge in staffing and double that experience in design and marketing.
Now, how about you? Is there a group of people that can benefit from your vast knowledge of something? Are you an expert? Can you invite guests to your podcast that offer more expertise? Are you looking for a new way to communicate with your clients? Podcasting might be the best way to do that. Write a script, craft an outline, or just wing-it, styles vary and you will have to discover what will work the best for you. You can then add links to the podcasts in your e-newsletters, to your social media, and on to your website.
If you are interested in what we have talked about, listen to all episodes of the Illumination Bureau podcast at portfoliocreative.com/podcast.
