The Advantages of Podcasting; Another Social Media Marketing Trend

Podcasts are audio files published as RSS or Really Simple Syndication feeds, using XML file format technology to deliver MP3s to computers or portable music players. Podcasts are most often listened to on an MP3 player, but they can also be heard on a computer using media player software.

Podcasts are a little like TiVo, which allows television watchers to download only the programs they want to watch and to skip the advertising. However Podcasts are most often audio format but there are video Podcasts available as well.

Podcasts are automatically delivered directly to your personal computer, and can be transferred to your iPod or other MP3 player. They are often conversations, and include co-hosts and discussions or interviews. Podcasts are downloadable audio programs and are a simple way to automatically get regular audio broadcasts which you can then listen to at your leisure from your computer or MP3 player.

Podcasts are available with RSS feeds that allow listeners to select files they wish to download or set software to automatically download new content when it’s available. They are different in that most people will listen to a show from start to finish and are popular for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they’re free.

Wikis, blogs and Podcasts are all relatively easy to use, which partially accounts for their popularity. Simply put, Podcasts are free downloadable audio in the form of a digital media file that you can subscribe to, via syndication feeds over the internet.

Though the marketing opportunities associated with Podcasts are obvious, how internet marketers, for example, can insert their ads into Podcasts isn’t so obvious and tracking actual listeners and viewers of these ads is even less obvious. There are many Podcasts which are second-rate at best, and often you have to put up with the advertising and needless musical interruptions.

The two main advantages of Podcasts are their ease of use and the availability of many free or low-cost software and hosting options to run them. Also small business Podcasts are a great way to attract new customers. And for those of us with little time to spare, Podcasts are one of the most valuable tools available for staying on top of trends in technology and keeping up with current events.

Some other advantages of Podcasts are their ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added. Many Podcasts also allow users to direct download by giving a link to the audio file in an RSS feed or web page. The number of people interested in Podcasting, or who have downloaded a Podcast, is increasing according to Nielsen Net Ratings.

The estimate is 56 million by 2010. This provides a great internet marketing opportunity using Podcasts with the added bonus of their ease of distribution through RSS feeds.

In summary the very low cost associated with Podcasting combined with the distribution opportunities and the fact that it attracts search engine traffic makes Podcasting a very attractive target for internet marketers and social media marketers in general.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on Affiliate Marketing to apply his trade. Bob changed career paths four years ago when both he and his wife began working with Autistic adults in the US, which along with his Home Business and Affiliate Marketing, is his focus right now. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about Affiliate Marketing and Home Business opportunities please visit:
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This is my new Blog and having been away from it for a couple of years it’s great to be back because I really enjoy it. Just to tell you something about myself, my wife and I are currently working with Autistic adults in the state of Maine and we love it. Although we’re from Canada, originally from Newfoundland, this is our second stint working in Maine and the two men we are working with this time around are great. We’ve become very attached to these young men and we consider ourselves to be a family. Actually our job title is that of Therapeutic Foster Parents and of course we take it very seriously. One of the main reasons we take it so seriously is that we are advocates for these young men because at times they can’t speak for themselves.

The sad part about our job here in Maine is that we have to leave the country after 18 months. The reason for this being the company who hired us and sponsored us into the US could only get us into the country by way of a Training Visa with the main condition being we have to leave after 18 months. We were here under the same circumstances in 2007 and had to leave the guys we were caring for at that time at the end of 2008.

This of course was very difficult for the three men we were working with and living with at the time and it was also very difficult for us because we became very attached and as I mentioned earlier we became a family. One of the main benefits of coming back is that we get to see the guys we worked with on our first visit and we also get to do what we enjoy which is caring for and helping these young men.

Because of our love for what we do and for the people we work with I will be dedicating a Page on this website to Autism and to the people who live with it on a daily basis. I’m hoping this will help educate people who aren’t familiar with what is fast becoming a global concern and help to raise funds for research.

The other objective of this website is to offer Home Business advice and present opportunities to people who are interested in making a legitimate living by working from home.

I’m hoping to have a great deal of relevant content added soon and I hope people will make it a point to visit often. Thank you for visiting and for taking the time to read this information.

The following two videos should give you some idea of the majestic beauty of Newfoundland:

I’ve added a video below, one of which is actually an advertisement by a local brewery located in St. John’s, Newfoundland which is where I’m from. But it contains some great shots of the area and I like to think portrays what we, as Newfoundlanders, are all about: People who care about people, who work hard and play hard but aren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves. In the following videos you will see many examples of this outlook on life as portrayed by local entertainers performing at what we call “Kitchen Parties”.

These are events where neighbours come together to have a few drinks and entertain one another through song and dance. Please take the time to have a look.