Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.
If you’re new to either podcasts or this occasional column, click here for background information. We preview specific podcasts to reveal their topics, formats and lessons from listening.
Featured Podcast
This podcast is the backbone of Social Media Examiner, a California-based host of podcasts, emails, video series and live industry events. The company has an email list of 450,000 — according to its website — and provides extensive industry reporting on social media best practices, trends, and consumption.
Podcast listeners can expect to learn how to use various social media to grow their business and online presence. The programs are useful for business owners, and especially so for organizations’ social media/community managers tasked with implementing a multi-tactic strategy.
New episodes are released weekly featuring authors, thought leaders and new, under-the-radar apps; show notes are posted to summarize the high points and discussed resources.
Especially useful are the step-by-step instructions for using new features on established platforms. A recent example is a “how to” on using native video within LinkedIn to increase marketing engagement. As an industry advocate and watchdog, the podcast aggressively seeks and responds to social media changes that will affect listeners or their clients, such as the recently announced changes to Facebook’s news feed.
Hosted by Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, the program is a potpourri of social media usage “in real life.” It uses an adventurer theme to help listeners “navigate the social media jungle” and stay abreast of a constantly changing genre. The company’s roots date to 2009; weekly podcasts found in iTunes began in 2012.
Name: Social Media Marketing Podcast
Host: Michael Stelzner, founder, Social Media Examiner
Source: Social Media Examiner
Find it here: Stitcher; iTunes; Social Media Examiner; Tunein.com
Genre: Marketing
Motto: The podcast for marketers and business owners who want to know what works with social media.
Length: 45 minutes
History/In the Can: Nearly 300 recordings
Format: 1-on-1 interviews with hands-on social media practitioners and thought leaders
What can be learned: How to find and operate the online tools that drive video streaming, lead conversions, webinars, branding, storytelling, page ranking, blogging and other building blocks of a solid social media strategy.
Where to start: Given the ongoing changes to these tools, it’s suggested to start with the most recent podcast on a topic of interest, like Twitter or Instagram, rather than taking a “from the beginning” approach. iTunes and the Social Media Marketing Podcast library make this easy to do.
Changes to social media will only continue at an accelerated pace, so listening to the Social Media Marketing Podcast regularly can be very advantageous for business owners and hands-on practitioners alike.
Have a favorite podcast? Let me know by leaving a comment or email me at byron.ginsburg@gmail.com
Byron Ginsburg provides content writing, media outreach and marketing consulting services to individuals and organizations seeking to raise their visibility, recognition and revenue.