About 25 million people own MP3 players in the United States -- and that number grows every day. (Apple, the leading provider of portable MP3 players, sold 14 million iPods in one quarter last year!) While the cool kids mostly use MP3 players to play music, an increasing number of people use them to learn, get the news, be entertained -- and even do business.

Regardless of the message, the medium du jour is podcasting -- audio and/or video files downloaded from the Internet and enjoyed on an MP3 player or computer. In some cases, podcasts can even be subscribed to so updated shows will download automatically. Part of the beauty of podcasting is that almost anyone can produce one and gain an audience. All you need is a computer, a microphone, and a little tech-knowledge or a how-to book. Throw in interesting content, tell a few people, bake at 365 degrees, and voila! Podcast is served.

Okay, you say, but can podcasting really bolster business -- is it a viable marketing tool? Absolutely. First, podcasts are similar to radio broadcasts -- with similar advertising potential. Whether you produce your own podcast or scout out and approach those reaching your target audiences, one option is to insert commercials into a podcast. Another option is to leverage the marketing power of sponsoring a podcast -- like sponsoring public radio or public television programs, but potentially better in that you reach a more sharply targeted audience. Besides commercials and sponsorships, you can also create a podcast just to promote your company or a particular product, or to increase the impact and memorability of communications with customers, employees, suppliers, and contractors.

Business-to-consumer companies are already prolific users of podcasts to market their products, particularly to consumers in the 18 to 28 demographic. A quick search through any podcast directory turns up countless podcasts promoting myriad consumer goods, as well as TV shows, movies, bands, and so on.

Business-to-business companies have been slower to adapt podcasting, and most B-to-B podcasts produced so far have focused on reporting stockholder information. Not surprisingly, technology companies like Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, and Hewlett Packard are leading the way in showing that regular podcasts can serve a broader range of business objectives. Such companies are using podcasts for everything from employee recruiting to promotional or informational interviews with top managers, designers, and other key staff.

KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann have conducted research to examine how B-to-B buyers interact with new media like podcasts, blogs, and social network sites. Surveying IT and business professionals in a wide variety of fields, they announced in July 2006 that 32% of those polled said their usage of podcasts had "increased" or "significantly increased" in the past six months. 41% said they had listened to podcasts more than once, and 13% said they "frequently" downloaded podcasts. On the other end of the spectrum, 32% said they had never heard a podcast -- so clearly you're not going to reach everyone via this medium. Of course, the same can be said for almost any marketing tactic -- there is no magic wand you can wave and reach everyone at once. In most cases, good marketing and sales employ multiple forms of communication -- podcasting is one more valuable tool to have in that toolkit.

Another interesting finding in the survey was that 69% said they usually listened to podcasts at their computer. This should help correct the perception that podcast audiences are limited to young people wearing headphones. It also greatly expands the market you can expect to reach via podcasts -- we're no longer talking about the 25 million people who can listen to podcasts through portable MP3 players; we're now looking at the 200 million people who use the Internet in the United States and can take in podcasts via computer.

It's still early in the evolution of podcasting for B-to-B purposes -- companies and marketers have just begun to explore the most beneficial uses of podcasts, and there are still questions to be answered when it comes to influencing buyer decisions, namely "who" will really be influenced, and "how" and "when" podcasting best fits into a larger sales cycle. It must also be acknowledged that downloading podcasts represents a larger shift in people's behaviors than, say, blogging -- it will take time for people to become comfortable with the technology to the point where podcasting can be described as mainstream.

Then again, you may recall similar points being made a few years back when those odd tech-tools called Web sites first started appearing. Skeptics and slow adapters who waited to see how that "fad" panned out tended to regret the decision. Podcasting presents another opportunity to be a leader in new media -- or to be one of the wait-and-see competitors who will eventually have to scramble to catch up with those leaders. Our advice? Podcasting is not an all-or-nothing play. There are plenty of cost-effective ways to explore the potential power of this technology -- adding a low-cost podcast to your Web site, for example, or combining a podcast with an existing blog to create a unique two-way communication with your audience. In short, it's not necessary to be the first one in your industry to use podcasting or the one who uses it most extensively -- but you don't want to be the last one to use it either.

Kolbrener branding agency is an agency for fast growth companies and organizations seeking a more evolved brand that engages customers, realizes value, and keeps its promise