Results of recent study prove podcast usage continues to gain momentum as a marketing content delivery vehicle.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 10, 2006 -- KnowledgeStorm, Inc., the Internet’s top-ranked search resource for technology solutions and information, and Universal McCann, one of the world’s largest media services firms providing strategic services and consultancies, today announced the results of a joint research study on the emerging role of new media, particularly podcasts, on B2B technology purchase decisions.

This is one of the first surveys focused specifically on the B2B audience and it clearly shows that podcasts, blogs and other new media types are viable mediums for reaching B2B technology buyers.

The survey was completed by more than 3,900 business and IT professionals, representing a variety of job titles, vertical industries and company sizes. "The objective of this study was to explore the impact new forms of media, concepts of Web 2.0 initiatives, such as podcasts and blogs, are having on content consumption and purchasing influence within the B2B marketplace" says Matt Lohman, director of market research, KnowledgeStorm. "This is one of the first surveys focused specifically on the B2B audience and it clearly shows that podcasts, blogs and other new media types are viable mediums for reaching B2B technology buyers."

Podcast usage among B2B technology buyers is significant and growing; 41% of survey respondents claim they have listened to podcasts on more than one occasion, while 13% stated that they "frequently" download or listen to them.

Thirty-two percent of survey respondents stated their usage of podcasts has "Increased" or "Significantly Increased" in the last six months. The same question yielded 39% for blogs. And, there is plenty of upside as the innovative media types, like podcasting, blogging and RSS, are still gaining momentum in the technology buying community.

"With this particular study, our goal was to determine marketing opportunities with podcasts by closely examining the behavior of podcast users as well as non-users," says Stacy Malone, vice president, interactive media director, Universal McCann. "The results of this study prove that opportunities with new media are growing rapidly. In fact, podcasts have moved into the Top 10 most frequently accessed types of online content. This spike can be directly attributed to the addictive nature of this on-demand medium."

B2B technology buyers are listening to podcasts for business interests, specifically technology-oriented topics, according to the study findings. Respondents are listening to a combination of personal and business interests in most cases — 65% responded that they listen for both personal and business interests. Furthermore, these respondents are listening to technology specific topics — 72% claimed that they have downloaded or listened to podcasts on technology topics on more than one occasion. Twenty-three percent do so "frequently."

The study also revealed that B2B technology buyers want research content, such as white papers and analyst reports, delivered as podcasts. Nearly 60% of respondents said that information on business or technology topics, currently delivered as white papers or analyst reports, would be more interesting as podcasts. Fifty-five percent of respondents would be more likely to consume white papers and analyst reports if they were delivered as podcasts.

"Business and technology-related subject material is a perfect match for podcasting content," says Malone. "Podcasts are no longer being used only for pure entertainment value. They are turning into an indispensable, business-critical information tool."

"This survey presents a lot of encouraging findings for marketers considering podcasts as a content format. Not only are business and IT professionals tuning in, but frequent users are eager for more business and technology podcast content," says Lohman. "Fifty-seven percent of the frequent podcast users stated their biggest challenge with podcasts is the scarcity of interesting content. That represents real opportunity for savvy marketers."

This is the first in a series of joint research studies focused on the effect of new media with the B2B marketplace. Upcoming studies will cover topics such as: blogging, RSS feeds, Wikis, Webcasts and mobile technology.

---

From smh.com.au

Have you considered using Podcasts, blogs, webcasts or webinars to reach a larger audience for your business?

Do you actually understand what these web 2.0 initiatives can do to increase your exposure? Or do you think these are just buzz phrases used by marketing gurus who purport to be at the cutting edge of technology?

Stats from the US point to podcasts, especially, having a huge takeup rate in the B2B market and gaining strength in B2C communications strategies.

So why would you want to use them for your business?

---

From Smh.com.au Aug 11 2006

When Nathan Moss began podcasting his introductory psychology lectures last semester, he assumed no one was listening to them.

His classes stayed full and no one commented on the podcasts that he was taking up to six hours to prepare each week, until the time he was late putting them on the website. "I started getting all these emails saying, 'Where are the podcasts?"' said Dr Moss, a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology.

"It was really good because the [lecture] numbers weren't going down at all, so they were using them to revise," he said.

Podcasting has emerged as the latest innovation in university classroom teaching. Business and education lecturers are using it at Wollongong University, arts and medical lecturers are using it at the University of Sydney, and various disciplines are using it at Macquarie University, Newcastle University, the University of NSW and the University of Technology, Sydney.

UNSW started using podcasting this year through Lectopia, a technology developed by the University of Western Australia that is now licensed to 30 per cent of Australian universities. Lecturers request to have their classes podcast over the telephone and may provide PowerPoint presentations.

Students log in to use the recorded material on the internet and can download it onto an iPod or MP3 player.

The university introduced it for students with disabilities or poor English, only to discover other students were using it too, said Professor Tony Koppi, director of UNSW's Educational and Technology Centre.

At UTS the dean of education, Shirley Alexander, opposed a systemic rollout of podcasting on the ground that lecturers may limit interactive activities in class that cannot be recorded. "A lecture is not just a dissemination of information," Dr Alexander said. "Lectures can be and should be a lot more than that.

"[The US education thinker] David Thornburg said, 'Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer should be.'

"I would modify that and say any teacher that can be replaced by a podcast should be."

---

From Nielson Net ratings. July 12, 2006

Podcasting gains an important foothold among U.S adult online population.

Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research,
announced today that 6.6 percent of the U.S. adult online population, or 9.2 million Web users, have
recently downloaded an audio podcast; 4.0 percent, or 5.6 million Web users, have recently downloaded a video podcast.

These figures put the podcasting population on a par with those who publish blogs, 4.8 percent, and online daters, 3.9 percent. However, podcasting is not yet nearly as popular as viewing and paying bills online, 51.6 percent, or online job hunting, 24.6 percent.

Podcasting is a relatively new technology that enables users to quickly and easily download multimedia files, including audio and video, for playback on mobile devices including iPods and other MP3 players as well as cell phones.

“The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences,” said Michael Lanz, analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly popular as portable content media players proliferate”.

---

A New Way of Pitching Sales is Growing

New technology for getting and reaching clients and prospects is changing the way we communicate in business. In one example, on-line ordering portals for business are growing in ways that are replacing salespeople. Pod casting is another way businesses are getting their message out and driving sales to websites. An RSS feed is another way to reach prospects or an industry with new information. However, only about 12 percent of the population knows how to use an RSS feed today. Expect this number to change quickly in the coming months.

With the growth and adoption of web meetings, streaming media including audio and video, salespeople can multiply their efforts and reach more contacts. The bottom line is that salespeople must practice and sharpen their sales skills using new technology and communication tools.

Source: "Ezine Articles"

---

Online media metrics firm Nielsen/NetRatings just released some insight into the podcast world and the demographic configuration is almost cliquish. Though some headlines have indicated that the figures put podcasting above blogging in popularity, that's not quite accurate.

The study actually said that there were more people downloading podcasts than people publishing blogs, which is a strange comparison, unless it's just for the sake of perspective.

Nielsen//NetRatings found that 6.6 percent of the US adult population, or 9.2 million Web users have recently downloaded an audio podcast; 4 percent, or 5.6 million, have downloaded a video podcast. But what's more telling than the numbers, is who is downloading podcasts. This isn't your father's medium.

Here's a portrait of the average podcast listener/viewer:

• Between the ages of 18 and 44 (but mostly 18-34)

• Uses Apple's Safari or Mozilla Firefox to browse

• For audio, visits Macworld, Lycos Wired News, Slashdot, Niketown.com, Apple and iTunes, more likely in the 18-24 age group

• For video, visits StarTrek.com, Live365.com, Fark.com, eMusic, and Niketown.com, more likely in the 25-34 age group

Judging from that we could accurately say that the podcast audience is young, tech-savvy, early adopting, and (perhaps) more on the affluent side of the spectrum. It's Silicon Valley in a podshell.

Michael Lanz, an analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings believes this target will expand as portable media becomes more popular. "The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences," said Lanz. "We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly popular as portable content media players proliferate."

But for now, your podcast target is the geeky, hipster, upwardly mobile dotcom type who likes decent shoes for mountain biking and tennis, when he's not debating Kirk versus Picard :P

---

Podcasting is a marketers dream!

PR: Audio press releases, messages from company executives, expert interviews and other industry related material, all delivered directly to the media.

Direct marketing: Sales letters and other ad creative, delivered in audio and directly to your prospects.

Customer Relationship Management and User Support: Personal messages and greetings from company executives, persoanlized messages to key clients by key account managers, educational content and industry interviews, seminar or conference recordings, product support information and tutorials

Promotion: Achieving additional company/brand/product exposure by providing podcasts and promoting them via podcast directories and search engines.

E-commerce: Audio product announcements and presentations, delivered to prospects that opt-in to receive latest product information. In the case of audio products, podcasts can also carry short excerpts or previews of new editions, thus enticing prospects to order.

Branding and Prospect Conversion: Educational content and industry interviews that help shorten the sales cycle or generate/improve company credibility and enhance its brand.

---

John Furrier, podcasting pioneer discusses with PodTech.net Host Jennifer Jones how podcasts can build a company’s brand and better leverage visibility. John and Jennifer also discuss the importance of viewing the podcast as a means to build a stronger relationship with the customer.

Content copyright Podtech.net

---

In an interview conducted with the Bulldog Reporter (scroll down three-quarters way for the actual piece), New York Times veteran tech reporter John Markoff said that Steve Jobs told him he’s "getting interest from corporations about creating podcasts to reach customers and others directly — without going through [traditional media]. An example might include something like Adobe wanting a podcast for Photoshop users.” Is Apple eyeing corporate podcasting?

---

Reuters reports that Microsoft is developing an iPod and iTunes Music Store competitor From the article: . Few details are available, but it's known that Robbie Bach (the man behind the Xbox) is heading up the project.""Most iTunes rivals charge monthly fees to access a catalog of entertainment, but some allow consumers to buy individual songs for about $1 each. Microsoft's service will emphasize the pay-per-download, or a la carte, model, the sources said. A subscription component will also be offered, according to early accounts of the planned service. One source, who has seen a demonstration of the service, said it was an improvement over iTunes."

---

At PodWorkx, we offer package solutions depending on your requirements.

You may need a fully managed Podcast solution, updated daily from a word document sent to our production staff, or you may just need a single Podcast software setup on your IT systems.

We take a step by step approach ensuring your needs are accurately met.

Your Podcast project may follow the following steps:

• Initial consultation via phone or face to face
• Detailed project plan (so you know exactly what your getting)
• Project Go Ahead
• Web and Podcast server setup and installation.
• Podcast branding & graphic design for your podcast website
• A set number of professionally produced Podcast MP3's  (or)
• An ongoing arragement of podcast production services
• Telephone/Email Support
• Ongoing Internet marketing and promotions for your podcast

We can tailor a package to your requirements, but typically a Podcast solution for your company may be $10,000 to $100,000 AUD depending on the level of service and amount of content production you require.

Contact sales@podworkx.com for a further discussion.

---

Today we had the pleasure of interviewing Mick Stanic. Co-Founder of ThePodcastNetwork and Ex Manager at Singleton OgilvyInteractive. We talk about the state of the podcasting industry aswell as how Advertising and Media companys can relate to Podcasting as a technology and as a marketing channel. Thanks Mick!

---

Our services include:

• Podcast strategy consulting
• Podcast recording & production
• Podcast and blog server software
• Podcast promotion and internet marketing
• Podcast directory and iTunes Music Store listing
• Podsafe music licensing
• International voice over artists
• Corporate branding, graphic & web design
• Server hosting and management
• Custom software development
• Video casting
• Telephone and email support

Contact sales@podworkx.com for a further discussion

Podcasting home.

---

Podworkx had the pleasure of interviewing Cameron Reilly, who is unofficially the first Australian podcaster ever. Cameron is the CEO of ThePodcastNetwork.com, the largest international publisher of independent podcasts on the Internet.

Download the MP3 Interview Here (15MB)

We ask Cameron:

• What exactly is Podcasting?
• Why did you start Podcasting?
• What demographic of people listen to Podcasting?
• How is Podcasting going to change over the near future?
• What rewards are there for early Podcasting adopters?
• How can corporations benefit from Podcasting?
• Which company's should be using podcasting as an internal knowledge sharing tool and which should be using Podcasting as an external marketing channel?
• What do you enjoy most about Podcasting?
• How do you deal with a negative response to your Podcasting content?
• Do you think negative feedback/publicity can actually be good?
• What you recommend to company's for translating existing business information into consumable and usable podcasts?

Quotes:

"If your a business or individual that feels no need to have a conversation with people then you don't need to play (in then podcasting industry)"

"Markets are conversations, and the more you participate in the conversation the better off your business will be ... podcasting ...  like blogging, like email, like instant messenger, like the telephone is just another tool that we have to create more diverse, more bi-directional and transparent conversation with our marketplace"

"Companies that are wise will be rapidly adopting podcasting and encouraging people inside their organisation to use podcasting as a tool to have broader conversations with their customers, partners, investors, etc. The companies that shy away from this are basically going to struggle in the 21st century"

"Companies that have customers should be using podcasting externally."
Does that mean consumer product companies or business customers?
"I was specifically broad."

In response to who should be using podcasting:
"Its like asking which kind of companies should be using the telephone."

---

As discussion about the growth of podcasting percolates in the industry, we thought it was a good time to release some statistics from the point of view of the world's largest manager of podcast feeds (FeedBurner.com).

1. FeedBurner alone manages more podcasts than there are radio stations worldwide
2. Podcasting is outpacing the speed of adoption of the last "most successful consumer product launch in history" (more on that in a minute)
3. Podcast directories are growing, and driving activity back to podcasters' originating Web sites. As we saw with text feeds, distribution begins as a mechanism to drive traffic back to the originating source and then evolves to become its own consumption medium

You can read the full article here. Definately worth the read!

---

We specialise in PodcastingSolutions, Business Podcasting, Corporate Podcasting andPodcast Marketing for corporations, marketing executives, content owners, technology providers aswell as government and industry bodies.

You want a Podcast? We make it happen, fast!

We can take care of a fully outsourced Podcast solution for your company or department, or we can offer the right blend of strategy, technology, design, content production and marketing services to meet your needs.

Contact us at sales@podworkx.com for more information, or take a look around the rest of the website to learn more about what we do.

---

A podcast is a series of audio or video files that you can subscribe to online.

---

Podcasting is a new media technology that provides huge potential for content owners to distribute their content in a more effective and convienient way to their customers.

Content owners now have an opportunity to leverage thier existing content and re-use it to generate increased brand exposure, improved product awareness, increase sales and add additional revenue opportunities.

Because clients subscribe to your Podcast service you have an unblockable direct communication to your target audience. This is a totally unique situaton that has not existed online before. This is the crucial part of Podcasting that makes it a high impact marketing tool.

Are you a content provider? Do you own or publish:

• News
• Books
• Music
• Radio 
• Newsletters
• Magazines
• Reports
• Client Advice

Podcasting provides a fantastic marketing channel for your existing services, as well as an opportunity to provide a new distribution channel and improve customer loyalty.

Do you give seminars or provide business coaching? It is becomming increasingly popular for motivational speakers and business coaches to produce Podcasts.

Contact sales@podworkx.com for more information.

podcast home.

---

From an ABC media release issued this morning:

Just over 175,000 mp3s of ABC Radio National programs were downloaded in the week ending 26th February and this was the major cause for a record week for the ABC as a whole: the organisation surpassed 350,000 downloads for the first time.

ABC Radio National continues to extend the number of programs available to download as mp3s. So far in 2006, Radio National Breakfast with Fran Kelly, The Book Show with Ramona Koval, Saturday Extra with Geraldine Doogue, By Design with Alan Saunders, Counterpoint with Michael Duffy,The National Interest with Peter Mares, Rear Vision, Perspective and Radio Eye have been added, making a total of 26 different programs.

Over the next few months a further 12 programs will be made available.

Its looking more and more like podcasting is a natural extension for public broadcasting.

Source Article at Corporate Engagement

---

Podcasting appeal transcends geek factor
Sheena MacLean
09mar06

IT'S less than a year old, but radio podcasting is rapidly moving from the realm of hip and hype into serious media. The ABC, the country's main podcaster, recorded 368,000 downloads last week compared with fewer than 50,000 a week when it started its serious push into the area last May.

There are 83 radio shows across ABC networks offering podcasts with specialist content on Radio National, especially science and health, and programs from the youth network Triple J the most popular.

Commercial broadcaster Austereo, which operates the metropolitan FM networks Today and Triple M, also reports a huge jump in demand. In less than eight months, downloads have grown from about 5000 a month to 400,000 for February. Podcasts are digital recordings of radio programs or show segments that can be downloaded to a computer or portable MP3 player and iPod and listened to when you want.

Gordon Taylor, manager of podcasting for ABC radio, said content from 23 of Radio National's programs comprised nearly half (177,000) of last week's downloads. There were 88,000 downloads from Triple J, 63,000 from news and current affairs shows such as AM and 28,000 from Radio Australia, with the remainder spread across other networks.

In something of a surprise, the heaviest consumers of RN podcasts are not youthful geeks but people aged between 40 and 54.

"Obviously that wouldn't be the same for Triple J, but we found that incredibly encouraging," Mr Taylor said. "We thought the early adopters would be younger and we're getting people from older demographics embracing the technology as well. We're quite surprised."

As with early internet take-up, podcast usage had been skewed towards "younger male, more geeky people", but that was quickly changing, he said. If take-up continues at the present pace, the ABC expects that in a year it could be close to 500,000 downloads a week.

An extensive ABC survey last year found an even split on how podcasts were listened to: about half via computer and half on an iPod or MP3. Contrary to expectations, many people preferred to download hour-long podcasts of entire programs rather than shorter segments or snippets, Mr Taylor said, which showed that the convenience of time-shifting was an important factor.

The study also showed that some programs attracted a huge overseas audience of new listeners, sometimes higher than 40 per cent. People had found the ABC through searching for special interest topics on the internet.

Karl Kruszelnicki's hour-long chat about science on Triple J, as well as RN's science shows including All in the Mind, regularly made the list of the top 100 podcasts in Britain and sometimes in the US. "Some of the stuff we are making, the science and health programs in particular, are some of the best in the world and there's a limited amount of it so people are seeking it out," Mr Taylor said.

On Triple J, one of the most successful shows among young people is the current affairs program Hack, with 46,000 to 47,000 downloads a week.

Mr Taylor said the ABC had looked at whether it should charge listeners for podcasts. "We've decided not to at the moment. We're establishing ourselves, finding out how things work, as everyone else in the market is. I think the ABC would be able to do it but it's a fairly high-level policy decision and certainly there's been some work done on it. As of now, we've decided to keep going the way we are."

In March last year, Austereo launched a compilation of its breakfast, drive and night shows in a 25-minute podcast on the Today Network and began offering a daily podcast of its main shows towards the end of last year. Listeners could choose between four to five-minute snippets or a 25-minute segment.

Austereo's head of multimedia Martin Jones said it had increased its offering from five podcasts a week up to 60. He said the biggest demand by far was for comedy-based material, followed by news, music and information, celebrity news and sport. Full music downloads are not available because of copyright issues.

Austereo does not charge and is building its podcasting business on a sponsorship and advertising model.

DMG Radio Australia's under-40s station Nova also offers podcasts and Vega's Sydney and Melbourne stations launched podcasting this week. News talk station 2GB began a news video podcast in February.

Mr Jones said he expected the novelty value would lose pace and many of the small, home-based amateur podcast services would fall away. "That's an opportunity for serious, commercially based operators to try to build a viable business model around podcasting," he said. "I think you'll see that happening in the next 12 months."

---

Welcome to Podworkx for Podcasters. Do you ask yourself the following questions;

•    How do I get my Podcast noticed by more people
•    What is RSS and what do I need to know about it
•    What technology and software do I need to improve my service
•    How do I market my Podcast services
•    How do I need to manage my extensive media library
•    What equipment and software do I need for professional recording
•    What sites and third parties should I use for my servers
•    What is blogging and how does it relate to Podcasting

Then think no further we have all the answers!

There are several ways to create visibility for a Podcast. You will want to try and implement as many of these best practices to increase the visibility and consumption of your Podcast.
You can also simply set up an account at any Podcast server and your Podcast, RSS feed and podcast sub-domain will be indexed by the search engines.

The first thing that you need to do after your Podcast is produced and published is to do a press release to tell the world about your new Podcast station.

One of the best ways for achieving immediate and wide reaching exposure is to do a press release at prweb.com, business wire and other news distribution channels available. This will ensure that your press release will show up in both Yahoo and Google news. It is not uncommon to have a properly executed press release read 85,000 times online if it is well written and properly distributed.

Podworkx offers a complete package for existing Podcasters to help improve the image and management of their content

Contact us now at sales@podworkx.com

podcasting home

---

Welcome to Podworkx for marketers. There are currently over millions of people listening to Podcasts world wide with amazing growth. Do the following points apply to you;

• Are you currently a marketer or promoter looking for a new way to reach your target audience?

• Do you have clients that are demanding more from you?

• Are you frustrated with traditional marketing mediums and wondering what is next?   
  
• Are you currently involved in ecommerce and want to bring your company to the forefront of technology?

Look no further! Podworkx offers a fully integrated, customizable service to help every marketing company or director achieve more! Podcasting offers many major benefits such as, Content theme (where people listen to receive information), this enables you to pinpoint customers with specific information. Podcasts reach a large audience of listeners that have a narrow focus of interest. As a marketing tool, Podcasting allows you to have the ability to leverage this highly targeted, high value listener.


Podcasting is very high on the return on investment pyramid. The higher on the pyramid the more targeted the media and target audience. Podcasting enables very specific media for a very specific audience that chooses to listen. Because the audience chooses to listen they have a much higher rate of attention and eventual return.

10 Reasons to podcast for the Marketer:

1. An additional communication tool for your business.
2. Increased online visibility to your target market.
3. Increased internet visibility from the search engines.
4. Increased internet visibility & traffic from the RSS, Blog & podcasting directories.
5. Communication medium is more powerful than text. This means increased potential results for your marketing message.
6. Improved level of perceived expertise from your target market.
7. Value added offerings to your target market that are only available in audio format.
8. Increased mind share from your target audience. People listen to podcasts while doing other tasks online. They can also take you messaging with them on their portable media player such as an iPod.
9. More frequent touch points and more frequent “top of mind” participation from your target audience.
10. Increased perception of your product, service, brand or value in customers minds.

It is clear that Podcast marketing adds value to your brand, lets you demonstrate yourself as a market leader by providing industry news, increases customer loyalty, adds value to your promotions, increases your reach and allows you to act as an internal or external broadcaster.

Take the next step! Become a leader, Podworkx corporate podcasting delivered!

Contact us now at sales@podworkx.com

---

PodWorkx is Australia's leading provider of Corporate and Marketing Podcast Services.

Our clients include fortune 500 corporate organisations, marketing departments, government departments, internet companies, radio stations and publishing houses.

We offer consulting and package services providing all aspects of Podcasting including fully outsourced production and management, content production and recording, voice over talent, music licensing, podcast software, web and server hosting, corporate branding, web and graphic design, internet marketing, promotions management.

We are a young, innovative and intelligent group who have been active within marketing and advertising, internet startups, new technologies & ecommerce businesses for over a decade.

We are also active personal Podcast producers and consumers ourselves and are extremely enthuisatic for the Podcast revolution.

---

Two signs point to rising corporate interest in podcasting. First, Frederik Wacka points to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' first official corporate podcast. Meanwhile down under, Cameron Reilly says that over the last couple of days he has been having a very interesting conversation with a senior manager from a tier one US company who is interested in engaging his services to help produce an internal podcast for a certain segment of their staff around the world. Anecdotally, I have heard about other companies looking at podcasting. This year not only will podcasting increasingly become a popular tool for corporations, but also for celebrities and musicians who want to stay in regular touch with their fans.

---