Content marketing podcasts – an untapped resource

The term podcast originates from a Guardian article in 2004. Nearly 12 years on it has become part of the language. Today we look at how plenty of brands are starting to move into the space. Also we flag up some analysis of Barclaycard’s content-marketing efforts

Podcasting enjoying new adherents

If podcasting seems to have been around for years, that’s because it has. Starting off as a way for anyone and everyone to get a show on the air, it has been embraced by broadcasters and publishers alike. Brands such as Prudential, Umpqua Bank, GE and Netflix are also getting in on the act.

According to research, more than 46 million people regularly listen to them in the US alone. In the Fifties, GE sponsored a TV series featuring adaptations of plays and novels. Actors who appeared in them included James Dean, the Marx Brothers and Ronald Reagan. Now the company is bringing back the idea in the form of a podcast.

Nokia launched a content marketing programme in conjunction with Wired earlier this year. The Finnish company produced a podcast featuring Monica Lewinsky as part of its #maketechhuman campaign. It aims to shift the public perception of Nokia to that of a general tech brand.

Does this influence people to purchase? No, probably not. But it can enhance brand engagement and that can only be a good thing.

Barclaycard and its move to become a publisher

This is an interview with Andrew McNamee, vice president of digital strategy at Barclaycard. He discusses how the company has embraced content marketing over the past year.

Among the things McNamee talks about are how the company measures success.

This includes open rates, sharing and its own engagement score. He also explains how it decides what content to produce.

Speaking about Barclaycard’s rationale in using content marketing, he said: “Our research revealed quite a gap, in that we hadn’t been providing our audience with topical and relevant content, instead we had been producing ‘evergreen content’ which was continually relevant.

“This meant there was no ‘why now?’ or immediate reason for our audience to regularly engage with us.”

Content-marketing podcasts as an untapped resource are just one theme examined by Content24 – a daily review of content-marketing news from the past 24 hours.