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podcasts

September 8, 2020 By Debbie Bayes

When it Comes to Media Outlets, Why Thinking “small” can Have a Big Impact.

The various ways to share a media placement online including on social media, in blogs and on websites

Interviews on national outlets are indeed valuable, but in the digital age, it’s important not to dismiss media opportunities with smaller outlets as Dr. Anthony Fauci’s recent experience illustrates.

In the spring when the coronavirus outbreak surged in the U.S., Dr. Fauci was a frequent guest on all the major TV talk shows. However, by August, the New York Times reported most interviews were with outlets like Instagram Live, an online education platform, a local TV affiliate and podcasts. Continuing this trend, Dr. Fauci was a guest on Sirius XM’s Doctor Radio, in early September.

He realized smaller outlets could be instrumental in promoting his public health messages to their audiences and may even be picked up by larger ones. According to the article, “His appearances are widely watched by reporters from large outlets, who then quote him in their news reports.”

Obviously not everyone has the clout that a prominent health expert like Dr. Fauci does to weigh in during a global pandemic, but here are eight reasons to consider opportunities with smaller outlets for a positive impact.

  1. Present, Explain and Expand Your Message. Connect with your target audiences where they spend time which includes smaller channels.
  2. Accrue Online Visibility. Journalists looking for sources on a subject and consumers alike can find the interview, story, feature or content.
  3. Ability to Share on Multiple Channels. Social media, subscriber-based newsletters, websites or company blogs, all provide more eyeballs.
  4. Lend Credibility to Your Brand, Company, Product or Service. Conveying your story on their platform, relays its importance for their community of readers, viewers, listeners, loyal followers and fans.
  5. Raise Local Awareness. Depending on where your customers are based, recognition by local media outlets may be preferable vs. national media.
  6. Engage with Niche Audiences. For certain products or services, blogs, websites or publications that appeal to specific interests may be best to target. For example, ones comprised of health or eco-conscious consumers, fashionistas, home cooks, entrepreneurs, cyclists or golfers.
  7. Express Thought Leadership. Via bylined articles and interviews with reporters at trade publications, promote expertise and convey influence.
  8. Reporters, Editors and Producers Change Jobs. Someone working at a smaller outlet today may leave for a larger one tomorrow, or start their own one day. Connections and positive impressions made in the past, will help build relationships with media professionals that may be advantageous for your business or organization in the future.

For a recent project, we arranged for the owner of a bed-and-breakfast, Woolverton Inn, to be quoted in the Associated Press, but we also intentionally selected to pitch smaller outlets that are a good fit for their messages and various audiences. As a result of our efforts, blogs geared for baby boomers and millennials, a meetings and events publication and a New Jersey business magazine, among several others, featured the inn.

There are many factors to consider when planning a media outreach strategy but keep in mind that smaller outlets may yield big rewards.

Filed Under: Consumers, General Articles, Media, Public Relations Tagged With: Brown Eyed Flower Child, digital media, Dr. Anthony Fauci, media interviews, media relations strategy, New York Times, podcasts, target audience, Woolverton Inn

August 17, 2016 By Debbie Bayes

How Podcasts Amplify Brands

podcasts While the Olympic swimmers have wowed us from Rio, Katie Couric, Hillary Clinton, Fortune and Bloomberg Media have plunged head first into waters of a different sort this summer – podcasting. Why the big interest now?

I wanted to find out more about them myself and did by attending a breakfast event this morning hosted by the Princeton Chamber of Commerce. David Bevins, COO of Connoisseur Media, a company which owns more than 30 radio stations in the U.S. and produces podcasts, discussed the brouhaha surrounding podcasting.

You may be surprised to learn that 6 billion podcast episodes were downloaded last year. *

Appearing on a podcast or hosting your own could make perfect sense for your PR strategy.

Podcasts, which are digital audio files, came on the scene about 10 years ago. Since smartphones are ubiquitous, (80% of consumers have one*) they are a convenient way to learn about favorite hobbies, stay informed or be entertained whether exercising, waiting on line, shopping, relaxing at home or commuting.

Subscribers download podcasts from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, via an RSS feed or from another provider, directly onto their mobile devices and listen when and where they choose. Most podcasts also offer the option to stream or listen online. There are thousands of niche topics to choose from depending on a consumer’s interests.

Podcasts fit beautifully into our on demand at-your-fingertips world, so everyone is getting into the game – small business owners, major media companies, universities, politicians, news personalities, professors, health & fitness influencers, celebrities, major brands, you name it.

Here are seven benefits intrinsic to podcasts highlighted during this morning’s presentation:

  • Versatility – share news, expertise, information and entertain.
  • Loyalty – listeners enjoy their favorite podcasts and hosts, so engagement is high.
  • They make information personal.
  • Connectivity with consumers to help develop trusted relationships.
  • Portability for on demand technology.
  • Easily woven into a social media marketing strategy to enhance digital presence.
  • Can be featured on websites, blogs or newsletters for an inside look into a business, brand, leaders, cause, event, industry trends, etc.

To learn more about podcasting from a business perspective, professional podcaster Steve Lubetkin has co-authored The Business of Podcasting, He says in The Talking Points podcast of which he was a guest, that a goal of podcasters should be to attract the right listeners to your subject matter and not to be concerned with acquiring a mass audience.

Some like NPR and Wharton have been at it for a while. I learned that NPR’s “Fresh Air” with host Terry Gross is the most highly downloaded podcast. Knowledge@Wharton produces many podcasts featuring CEOs, Wharton faculty and experts on business trends, breaking news and market research.

This summer Bloomberg debuted the “Game Plan” podcast exploring the workplace with two of their reporters as co-hosts. Fortune launched “Unfiltered” with Digital Editor Aaron Task as host featuring in-depth conversations with business leaders and the Katie Couric Podcast with big names in the news, politics and pop culture chatting with Katie just began.

Debbie Galant, former New York Times Jersey columnist and current publisher of Midcentury Modern on Medium, launched a new podcast, In the Attic about the things we acquire and the importance they hold in our lives (or not).

On August 12 the “With Her” podcast was launched featuring Hillary Clinton as a co-host with former journalist Max Linsky as a lead up to the November election.

Podcasts, whether as a host or by being a guest on one, are another effective business communications tool to consider in this digital age.

*Source – Connoisseur Media

Filed Under: Consumers, General Articles, Media, Public Relations Tagged With: Bloomberg, branding, Connoisseur Media, Fortune, Hillary Clinton, Katic Couric, Midcentury Modern, podcasts, PR, Princeton Chamber of Commerce, The Business of Podcasting

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