What's Wrong with Podcasting?
Posted by on June 16, 2006 at 09:00 AM
Metrics! I remember the day I first looked at online banner tracking. Metaphorically speaking, two dozen doves broke heaven-ward from my computer screen, angels singing in the background, and the Holy Grail revealed itself to me.
I knew which ads worked, which didn't. I could test to see if it was the creative, the promotional offer or the medium that failed. As a marketer I could finally see what I was doing.
Intuition is useful, but it's a lot easier to find your way with a map.
Hey, who turned off the lights! Podcasting takes me back to those dark days of yore. Will the slang evolve into "eardrums" instead of "eyeballs"? What kind of an impression does an impression make?
How many eardrums experienced that 10-second sponsorship identification line at the end of the 42nd episode? The producer tells me that 1,400 fingers subscribed to it. He fails to mention that the ears got bored and tuned-out when he got dull somewhere around episode 36.
Why am I paying for fingers, when it's hearts and minds I'm hoping for?
What's the best indication that I'm not the only one stressed about podcasting ROI? I offer you the launch of a pay-per-call model by Ingenio, distributed through PodBridge.
PodBridge attempts to track its audience by asking them to install software to make the tracking possible. I think of it like those shows where the celebrities invite the Insider to come video tape their house — they do it as long as everything's clean and cool.
And so I'm wondering if everyone's so eager to install, do you really need the pay-per-call option? I suspect installation evasion prevails.
Is the pay-per-call method a way of calming my reservations as a marketer? I'm uncomfortable already trying a new-to-me medium. I'm also suspicious of some self-proclaimed experts as producer/ hosts. Who are the audiences of these pundits?
Pay-per-call is sort of like a risk-free guarantee, pay only if it works. Seems reasonable. Might even be fair. If I don't get any calls, no metric to say, "successful!", so no money out of pocket. And still no data. I still don't know if anyone heard the messages.
What if someone does hear my message, but uses a search engine to find me later? How will I know that the podcast is a good place for my branding? The producer, who doesn't get diddly for my branding successes that pay off on other media, may go broke and disappear. I lose a valuable conduit to my audience.
Seems like we've got a ways to go before podcasting tracking is resolved.
Tags
podcast
analytics
marketing
metrics
Category
Podcasting
Comments (4)
Posted on June 21, 2006 11:14 PM
Podcasts are no less trackable than any other advertising medium out there. It's all in how you advertise in a podcast. Request a link in the feed that delivers the podcast (over 50% of all listeners do so on their computers right from the feed or website) and give a specific, easy to remember url in the audio ad. Bingo - trackable results.
Just becuase a banner is on a web page, an ad is in a magazine, or an ad is on the radio doesn't mean it is viewed, acknowledged or even seen. Podcasting is no different.
Posted on June 22, 2006 08:18 AM
Tim,
I can track the effectiveness of banner ads, pay-per-click ads, email newsletters and even natural search terms, using a marketing analytics program. I can tell how many people visited my company's website for the first time because they clicked on that banner. I can tell if they downloaded a white paper or filled out a contact me form--even if it is weeks or months since the first click on the ad. I can tell what word they typed into google and what page on my site they landed on. I can tell all this, and much more, by using ROI trax--now you know why I'm so disappointed with podcasting. Because it is just like print or radio. Thanks for commenting!
Posted on June 22, 2006 10:28 AM
Racheln, you can do all of that with a podcast as well. Using a unique url that is found only in the audio and accompany it with the same (or different) url in the feed will allow you to track your advertising just as effectively as anything else. We do lead generation with our podcasts the same way we do it with banner ads. The audio ad calls them to action and the unique url takes them to a lead form, download form, etc. - all of which is trackable.
Posted on June 20, 2006 12:32 AM
That will not work either. The barrier of listening to podcasts is already high enough and adding an additional step will only muddies the waters more. PodBridge is not good for podcasters but may be what the market needs to bet advertising behind the new medium.