Trafcom News

Yes, podcasting is mainstream

You can listen to an audio version of this post here.

If anyone tries to tell you that podcasting is “too niche,” “very high-tech” or “just for kids,” please point them in the direction of the report by Edison Research on the state of podcasting in the United States in 2010.

This fifth annual study of the American podcast audience shows, among other things, that:

• More than 70 million Americans have listened to a podcast, and
• The podcast audience has shifted from being predominantly "early adopters" to more closely resembling mainstream media consumers.

A finding I have seen elsewhere and always find interesting is that most podcast consumers prefer listening at their desktops, not on iPods and other dedicated media players. However, not unexpectedly, mobile phone media consumption is increasing.

In my own communications practice, I see more interest in podcasting every month, particularly for leadership broadcasts (more on this topic here); communicating with a specialized audience, especially in the business-to-business space; and podcasting at conferences.

You can see the Edison Research presentation from Blogworld here or listen to a For Immediate Release interview with Tom Webster of Edison Research by Shel Holtz here.

And of course, if you want to discuss podcasting as part of your strategy for creating content in 2011, I’m all ears. And a mic.

Photo: That’s me interviewing author and speaker Richard St. John at the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners annual conference in October 2010.

Please don’t give up on indie life too quickly

Recently a colleague of mine, who is an independent PR practitioner, was lamenting the state of his business. “I’m not making enough money,” he said, “and my spouse wants me to contribute more to our family.” I could understand his concern. He felt he wasn’t pulling in enough revenue. Where he lost me was his next statement: “I think I am going to give up my independent practice and get a ‘regular’ job.”

If this person had asked me for advice, here’s what I would have said:

Before deciding to give up your own business and essentially abandon your existing clients and future prospects, have you tried to build up your business and expand your revenue?

Do you have a viable marketing plan?

Do you know your target market well, or are you trying to be all things to all people?

Have you increased your rates in the last two years?

Do you charge by the hour or by the project?

Does the marketplace view your service as a commodity or as a valuable offering?

What steps have you taken to put yourself in front of clients and prospects?

Have you been sending out a regular newsletter, filled with useful information that people enjoy sharing?

Have you been blogging? Tweeting? Podcasting?

Is your LinkedIn profile up to date, with strong key words?

Do you use LinkedIn to connect with potential clients in your network?

Do you post helpful updates to LinkedIn?

How many networking events have you attended in the past year? How many meaningful connections did you forge at these meetings?

Are you known as a leader in your field?

Have you spoken at any industry events lately?

How many articles have you written for trade publications this year?

Do you ask your current clients for referrals and recommendations, including referrals within a client organization? [This item was updated.]

Have you made alliances with other practitioners, and outsourced where it makes sense?

Is your website optimized for search?

Have you created information products that can generate passive income for you?

Are you constantly learning new things about your field, by attending seminars, reading blogs and listening to podcasts?

Have you considered that an employer can cut your “regular” job without much notice?

Have you calculated the genuine cost of being on salary, keeping in mind the tax breaks for independents, and the cost of suits and lunches out for employees, among other things?

You see where I’m going, right? I’m not saying that there is never an occasion where it’s a good idea to shut down your own business and join someone else’s. However, I do believe that insufficient revenue is not reason enough to jump ship. It’s important to look at the big picture and the long term.

What do you think? What would you add to this list?

Events for indies
If you’re in the Toronto area, you may want to check out two events for independent communicators in January 2011:

• The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Toronto chapter’s group of Professional Independent Communicators is presenting a panel on “Getting Paid What You’re Worth” on January 5.
• The Halton-Peel Communications Association is offering a panel discussion on “Freelancing 101” on January 12.

New resource coming soon!
Please note: In January I am launching a new website just for independent practitioners. If you want to be on the mailing list, so that you can take advantage of the site’s content as soon as I open the curtain, please email me here.

The problem with free services (or Adiós Delicious)

Who doesn’t like free? Many of us have free apps on our mobile devices and free programs on our computers. There have been times that I’ve wished a company would charge me money for their service. For example, I am addicted to the New York Times app on my iPhone. Most evenings, I happily browse my way through that day’s edition of the Times, enjoying the well-crafted stories, news about people and places in my hometown, and even the quirky lifestyle and fashion pieces.

One of my very favourite free services over the past few years has been Delicious, the social bookmarking tool. As anyone who frequents Twitterville knows, Yahoo is going to be shutting down Delicious, so those of us who’ve relied on Delicious to save information to read later or to share with others will no longer be able to do so. (I have thousands of bookmarks there; I've used it to organize my research, curate information for presentations, and more.)

My friends on Twitter have suggested some alternatives. I’ve already exported my Delicious bookmarks to Diigo, which looks terrific. In fact, it seems to offer several nice features that Delicious didn’t, such as capturing and annotating screen shots, and a “read later” tab. I’ve also downloaded Diigo’s iPhone app, so I can consume content while waiting in line at the bank or bakery.

I am also exploring the use of Evernote, one of those highly touted productivity apps that I never seemed to take the time to figure out. The app has been sitting on my desktop and iPhone for more than a year. Perhaps now is the time to learn it and take advantage of its features.

Lessons learned?

• Don’t believe that you can rely on a free service to last forever.
• Keep your eyes and ears open for news of free services shutting down. In the case of Delicious, I had plenty of time to export my bookmarks so that I haven’t lost anything.
• Being “forced” to find and use a new service to replace a defunct one may be a blessing in disguise. For me, Diigo looks terrific; without the demise of Delicious, I might not have discovered it.

What do you think? Had you been using Delicious? If so, how are you replacing it?

If you want to explore other bookmarking options, check out this post from Lifehacker.

UPDATE: Perhaps Delicious is not shutting down. This story continues to develop, it seems. See this news item.

How to connect (like a real human being)

My friend Dave Howlett is one of those speakers you remember years after you hear him present. A former naval officer, scuba instructor and sales manager, Dave is the founder of RealHumanBeing.org (check it out here). As such he offers inspirational seminars that encourage people to "do the right thing" for themselves, their organizations and their families. (He's also an Ironman and a marathon runner. Whew.)

I don't want to give away Dave's explanation of first-, second- and third-gear behaviour. Trust me: it's a metaphor you'll remember and think about daily.

If you're in the Toronto area, please think about starting the year right by attending Dave's evening on "How to connect (like a real human being)" on January 18, 2011 at 7 p.m. Register here. Bonus: Dave will make you laugh and offer you a terrific networking opportunity too.

Independent? Get paid what you’re worth!

Proposals, pricing, terms and contracts can be difficult topics for independent communicators, seasoned or new. That’s why I’m excited about the first PIC meeting of 2011, a panel discussion on “Getting paid what you’re worth.” We will cover:

• How to price your work so that it reflects your level of expertise
• Whether to quote by the project or by the hour
• Tips to ensure you get paid promptly
• And more.

PIC is the Professional Independent Communicators, a special interest group of IABC/Toronto.

The panelists are:

• Kevin Hanson, an independent communications consultant and a former practicing lawyer. His specialties include advocacy, organizational accountability and performance, and corporate social responsibility reporting. Kevin has worked as an independent since 2004.
• Marcia Ross, a freelance marketing communicator and copywriter at Alphacomm. She has worked as an independent for more than 15 years and currently is the editor at IABC/Toronto’s Communicator.
• And me, an independent communicator at Trafalgar Communications since 1985 and currently the chair of PIC.

All this fun happens on January 5, 2011 in downtown Toronto.

Please visit the IABC/Toronto site for details and to register. NOTE: We cannot accept payment at the door; you must register in advance. 

 
 

 

Want to sound better? Use your hands

Have you ever had one of those moments when something that you’ve known instinctively turns out to be true, and is verified by an expert? Me too.

I’ve always talked with my hands. In fact, it would probably be difficult for me to engage in an interesting conversation while sitting on my palms. When I was a child, my Irish grandmother strongly discouraged me from using my hands while speaking. To her, it was déclassé.

Sorry, Nana. You were wrong.

As a podcaster, I’ve always known that I would get the most energy in my voice while standing – and gesticulating. Even before I started podcasting, I did some voiceover work, and always found myself actively using my hands for emphasis or rhythm.

Last week, Mark Bowden, who spoke to our IABC/Toronto Professional Independent Communicators group about body language (he was fabulous, by the way), confirmed that not only should we motion with our hands at the level of the “truth plane” (near the navel) when speaking in front of people, but that we should also do so while talking on the phone or recording a podcast. This action conveys energy and authority, and encourages our audience to believe us. Thanks for confirming what I'd always thought to be true, Mark.

Then, just the other day, April Dunford, who was a guest on the Tweep in Profile podcast I produce for Andy Donovan, joked about using her hands while she is being recorded. I’m not surprised, because April speaks with passion, both in person and on podcasts.

Nana, you were also wrong about indoor boots damaging the eyesight, but we’ll save that for another post.

If you’re not going to check your sites, then don’t bother with social media

My friend Dave Howlett once suggested that people wouldn’t have pet peeves if they stopped feeding their pets. (I’m paraphrasing.) Dave is right; in a perfect world, I wouldn’t let anything bother me.

Well, I’m still working on being perfect (ha!), but I do need to get something off my chest. Here goes: Increasingly, I’m coming across Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, blogs and other social media presence points that have been created by organizations and then seemingly abandoned.*

Just imagine a customer or prospect being interested enough to post a comment to your blog or Facebook page, and then being ignored. This is the equivalent of never returning phone calls or answering emails.

So what’s the answer? Do not create a social media site if you don’t have the resources to maintain it and to monitor it. Simple, right?

When I work with my clients, I try to help them to understand the conversational aspect of social media – the give and take, the exchange of ideas, indeed the social aspect. Unfortunately, too many people still view social media as a broadcast mechanism, a way to shove content out into the world. This approach just does not work.

Thanks, I feel better.

(*UPDATE: I haven't even addressed the scourge of spam left on blog posts and FB pages because admins don't even know it's there. Sigh.)