A podcast is defined as a series of digital media files mostly in the audio format. Apple's very popular portable media player iPod formed the basis of the term podcasting. In fact, the term has been coined from the words "pod" and "broadcasting". Podcasting gained instant popularity in the year 2004, and today, online businesses use it as a powerful online marketing tool.

Some advantages of podcasting are:

? Podcasts are downloaded by interested customers and thus, they remain stored in their computers and media players till they want to hear them.

? New software and setups allow newly added podcasts to get automatically delivered to subscribers.

? Podcasts target audiences that are interested in listening to the content you provide.

From the business point of view, here are some advantages of podcasting in the field of online marketing:

? Podcasts can spread the business message to the global audience.

? A regular mode of communication with listeners and customers is established through podcasting.

? Value-added content is supplied to subscribers that that make up a significant percent of the loyal audience.

? Podcasts increase the market visibility of the business and also have a positive affect on sales and conversion rates.

Here are some ways to make use of podcasting as a useful online marketing tool:

Providing News and Updates to Subscribers

The subscribers to your business website podcasts receive news and updates about your business and products on a regular basis. Whether it is the opening of a new branch, launch of a new website, or an announcement for a new business product, the information is effectively delivered by podcasts to the subscribers.

Establishing Internal Marketing

For a business to grow online and offline, it is important to keep all employees involved in various company events. Podcasts can help you establish internal marketing within the organization, which further translates to efficient external marketing. Here are some ways of doing so:

? Business presentations and conferences that are not attended by all employees can be podcasted to keep them updated.

? Sales representatives can be easily updated on new products and guidelines using podcasts.

Marketing Your Business Expertise

Podcasting helps a business group create programs that offer guidance, suggestions and advice, and solve common queries of the customers. You can involve the expert members of your staff in discussions that can be recorded as podcasts and made available to subscribers. This maintains the interest of subscribers to keep in touch with the podcasts released by you.

Podcast the Business Feedbacks

Podcasts are quick ways to inform subscribers about the feedback received by the business in the market. You can integrate customer feedback in regular podcasts and make them available on the internet. It is a good way to make an impression on those who have recently joined your podcast subscriber list.

Distribute Your Podcasts

Podcasts can be easily distributed across the web by submitting them to online directories. The links to podcasts can also be distributed on social media marketing platforms. This helps enhance the market reach of your business.

How to Make Podcasts Effective

Here are some useful tips to make the best out of podcasting for online business marketing:

? Just like online videos, podcasts must be short in length, but should carry valuable information for subscribers.

? Quality is an important factor in podcasting. For this, you must use popular recording devices and editing software.

? It is important to make the content informative and entertaining to bind the interest of the listeners.

? Regularly update the content of the podcasts, and don't allow much gap between two consecutive podcasts.

? Make sure to submit podcasts to genuine online directories and search engines.

Podcasting provides a great opportunity for online businesses to regularly communicate with their targeted prospects. Remember that podcasting is the medium to build up long-relationships with the customers and to enhance the brand value of your business.

Abe Malik
Information Products for Targeted Business Marketing
http://www.UnitedOnlineMarketing.com