Todd Fuller and Gail McCray produce and co-host The Pulse, a weekly podcast for the Missouri State Teachers Association. The 25 podcasts they’ve produced since January, 2006, cover a wide variety of topics. When I listened to one of their podcasts last week, I was immediately struck by the quality and professionalism of the production. Not sure why I was surprised, since they’re both communications pros but it drove home one more time that anyone with something to say now has the means to be heard.
Near the end of the 30 minute chat (AUDIO), Todd mentions something I found very interesting. The association endorses political candidates and it’s a big deal (at least to the candidates). Typically those announcements would be made via news release to the big newspapers and media outlets. This year, MSTA plans to make the announcement on their podcast as well as putting the word out via blogs. I think that is brilliant I’ll bet they get a lot of play out of it.
Todd and Gail are making great use of podcasting and I have no doubt other associations will see the impact of what MSTA is doing and jump in the water.
PS: In addition to Todd and Gail, you’ll hear David Brazeal in a couple of places… but we lost him due to my lack of experience with Skype.
Listening to Todd and Gail really got my wheels turning and, rather than continuously updating the post, I’m going to use the comments to add additional thoughts.
Podcast vs. thirty second commercial. Two different formats, one not necessarily better or worse than the other. So when do you use which?
Use the :30/:60 when you want to reach a bunch of people that are not necessarily interested in hearing your message. There, I said it. Forget –for the moment– that most radio listeners hit the button when a stop-set comes up. And, yes, I might be interested in one or more of the commercials in an eight-spot cluster. But I really have no control over the commercial messages I listen to in this listening environment.
Use the podcast when you have something to say that your audience wants to hear about. Because they are the only ones that will hear it. All “pull”…no “push.”
And doesn’t that explain why spot advertising is something you pay for… and podcasting is virtually free? I’m paying the TV/radio station/newspaper/magazine/cable channel… to get me through the “attention door.” As Dave Winer said, you don’t have to pay me to listen to something I want to hear. Or, more accurately, you do have to pay someone else (media) to make me listen to something I do not want to hear.
And I do want to hear/watch some ads (Get A Mac, HBO promos, etc). But now we have an effective, affordable way to talk to people who want to listen to us. And that is going to change things in ways we cannot imagine yet.