Did you know that you can turn PDF’s into podcasts which can be downloaded with iTunes and RSS feeds.

Here’s an example and a shameless plug.

View PDF in iTunes

The authors of the Bran podcast explain some of the whats, whys and hows of podcasting in this nice article about podcasting.For starters the article gives a nice definition of a podcast:

If you’re unfamiliar with podcasts, think of them as prerecorded radio shows that you can download and listen to at any time.What sets them apart from ordinary audio files, however, is the ability to subscribe to a podcast’s special feed called an RSS feed and have new episodes automatically downloaded to your PC as they become available.

They also use the podpress plugin on word press which is a fairly painless to use: A volume control would make it 99.9% perfect. Read more about website sound, volume and usability here. A podcast can be a whole lot more than a “radio show”, it can be delivery platform for all sorts of branded content.Some things that don’t get mentioned in the article are the ability

• to add web/html links to podcasts which can be used to direct listeners to more resources
• to podcast Adobe PDF documents and quicktime movies and;
• to include chapters which allow your listeners to jump to the bits they want to listen to and for you to target your advertising.

or View PDF in iTunes

Go here to see an example of a podcast with links and chapters (click on “play now”) or subscribe and watch the Bollywood Dreams Episode in iTunes

Confused? Post your questions and comments in the the comments/leave a reply section below and I’ll answer them.

Happy chatting

Marcel

Podaddies…has forged a close relationship with Apple (AAPL) to develop advertising compatibility for the QuickTime and iTunes groups… Read the rest here.

Another Podcasting advertiser to watch is Podtrac.com
We use them to track how you use our media files and podcast.

Companies are going to jump on to this more and more.

This form of advertising and brand alignment is powerful because the user has a choice to engage unlike the interruption based advertising of banner ads .

Some things to think about before you jump into the brave new world of ad supported content.

This is an enhanced podcast meaning that you can use iTune’s “chapters” menu bar to jump to the bits you want to hear. Think of it like the skip button on your cd player (if you still have one).

You can also click on links that appear in the iTunes “album art” window.

Read the case study here

Enjoy

No iTunes? Subscribe to the RSS feed here.

You hear a song on a television commercial or website, you like it and you want it. How hard is it to get it?

If you’re experience is anything like mine, it can be a complicated journey through Google searches and forums: Often with no joy at the end.

Why do so many companies make it so difficult for their customers to voluntarily spread their brand? Maybe they’re spending too much time reading books on solving the complexities of viral marketing instead of looking at the obvious.

So who gets it?

Wolf Blass does: they’ve got a link to the great music that everyone talks about here. It’s pretty easy to find on their website.

They could make it easier to download and also embed data in the file so that when it’s played in a mp3 player (software or hardware) the song title and album art will show up; but compared to a lot of other brands they’re doing a good job.

Apple should get it! After all one of their core businesses is playing and selling music. So you like the new iPod/iTunes ad music right. You want to find the tune to put on your brand new iPod right. How easy is it?

Not very. Apple lists the artist and song on their iPod ad site. But can you just click and buy? No.

This is how easy it would be for Apple to use iTunes and music to reinforce brand recognition and association.

Coca Cola Europe gets it: You just click on the Subscribe on iTunes which takes you to their iTunes podcast page. They could go even one click less by automatically subscribing you like this. It would be nice if their music player remembered the volume I’ve set it at, so that it didn’t deep ripping my head off. I do want to listen to the music, just not that loud.

I’m surprised that Coke’s Australian Music site doesn’t take the same approach. Actually I gave up. Too hard, too many clicks. “Why should I give Coke all my personal data? I just like the bands…” right?

It’s common knowledge that music is a powerful tool in creating positive and memorable associations.

So next time your so called integrated communication agency tells you to spend lots of money licensing music for their fancy award entry campaign, ask them whether they have a simple strategy for spreading this valuable asset. If they don’t, maybe they aren’t listening to you or your customers.

Proof we really are just monkeys.

Leesa Barnes over at podonomics.com talks more about what a podcast is and isn’t.

When I see a link or graphic which says “podcast” I expect that the link will open iTunes and automatically subscribe me or at the very least show me an RSS feed that I can subscribe to.

But more and more I am getting this which is misleading, doesn’t meet my expectations and makes me work harder to find the content again.

A podcast is not a file extension. It is a method of automating the delivery of audio and video content. More importantly it makes it easy for you to keep people informed with engaging content… and for people to let you keep them informed.

If you’re feeling cheeky click here to read what this very big digital agency does.

By the way this is a podcast

Enjoy

Marcel

Powered by ScribeFire.

Hi thereI’ve just started a new podcast.

It can be found at http://theambertheatre.podomatic.com/

You can subscribe it entering the following url into your rss reader or iTunes feed://theambertheatre.podomatic.com/rss2.xml

Enjoy

Marcel

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