As someone who believes in face-to-face interaction through event marketing, I wonder how will B2B Podcasting change marketers plans? B2B trends seem to be leaning in the direction of podcasting as another marketing channel according to Podcast Alley and B2BOnline. In the world of seminar and conference planning, adding value through strong, educational content is combined with face-to-face interaction and relationship building. With podcasts, you can still provide targeted content, but you lose the personal interaction.
Podcasting is a great option for those that could not attend a seminar and would have the option to download it post event. However, what incentives would they have to attend an event if they could simply download the same content and listen to it at home. In person, company representatives get the opportunity to experience the presentation with the attendees, read their body language and discuss the topic real time.
I think podcasting is an excellent channel of communication. I am curious to see how B2B marketers will combine podcasting and event marketing into their overall strategic plans.
Brian Carroll's blog also offers some interesting statistics on the future of B2B Podcasting.
I think it's just one more channel for folks to access the content, not competition for live events, especially not event marketing events where the buzz is the whole point. Lots of event organizers have been selling tapes and CDs of conference content for years; I see this as an extension of that practice.
Posted by: Sue Pelletier | July 17, 2006 at 10:17 AM