How to Effectively Use Podcasts for Marketing

How to Effectively Use Podcasts for Marketing

Don’t have a Podcast yet? Well, have one!

Podcasts are on the fast lane to becoming the preferred medium for the audience world-wide. And that is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on as a marketer. What could be better than getting your brand loyal followers who listen, the next level in invitation marketing.

Here’s how a Podcast can add value to your business:

• Engage audience (through an added and different medium)
• Building upon customer loyalty
• Announcing news and updates about your products to your customers
• Creating a personality with opinions, values and emotions around your brand
• It may also help in your search engine rankings! Well not directly but you could always use the link of your Podcast to post on various sites, including social media, which can help get visibility both in the audience and in the search engines. And the way Google’s algorithm changes to incorporate user preferences, you never know there might be a way Google might add brownie points to Podcasts as well.

How to get started?
Well, it’s easy. All you need to do is record. You can do the recording on a free tool available on the Internet like Audacity or Garage Band (for Mac users). You would need a head phone, a microphone for recording and the recording and audio editing software.

Recording is the simpler part. The tougher question is what would you say? You need to have a topic that has longevity, like a series that can be made, and you need to have a detailed write-up on the topic.

Here’s a little help to get you started with the topic:

• You could talk about the latest news and updates in your industry. For instance, if you are in the business of apparel, you could talk about latest in the fashion industry.
• Subject expertise.
• Interviews
• Stuff you write about in your blogs

After you figure put the topic, writing a script won’t be that difficult. And you don’t have to get it right in one take. You can always re-do it till you are satisfied.

Once your recording is through, you could either host it on your own website or you could host it on an external platform like SoundCloud, Podomatic, PodBean etc. Its actually like a blog, only audio. So all you need to do is establish a connect with your audience and stick to it.

You have more ideas on Podcast marketing? Share with us in the comments below. We’d be delighted to know about your experiences.

Amazing Ways to Use Geofencing to Engage Customers

Amazing Ways to Use Geofencing to Engage Customers

Geofencing is a great tool for app owners for one-to-one personalized marketing. The idea of location tracking was initially intimidating for users but with the convenience Geofencing brings to the customers, it has fast gained trust and dependability. New to a place and looking for a good eatery? Need to find a particular location? Looking for a cab? Geofencing has answers to the most basic problems of people.

It can be an incredibly important function in an app. And companies can leverage Geofencing to actually engage users. To give you a heads on, here are a few examples of some really great ways companies have used Geofencing to engage users.

• Friendly reminder to bring back customers – As a user walked by Sephora in Boston, she received a push notification from Sephora about the gift cards she had received and totally forgotten about. The user was overwhelmed and started shopping regularly at Sephora.


• Routine and event reminders – Apple has an amazing geofencing feature that clubs with the calendar, and just like a personal assistant, keeps your life on tract. If there’s a birthday party you have to attend and you are passing by Macy’s or some other store likely to have gifts, Apple will gently remind you to pick up the birthday gift.


• Reminders for making use of sale, discounts and offers – GeoQpons is one of the most amazing apps with this feature. If you walk past or are in close proximity of a store that has a sale, an offer or discounts going on, you get a push notification, telling you about the sale and also giving you e-coupons to get further discounts. Wouldn’t you just love that!

There can be many interesting ways to engage customers though location detection. But one important thing to be taken care is that companies need to use the feature in a way it seems helping and not invasive. There is a very fine between personalization and breach of privacy.

Got any question about Geofencing or use of Geofencing in your app? Leave a question in the comments below and we would be glad to answer.

In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

The last 4-5 years have been rather eventful for marketers. Mobile commerce, app marketing, omni-channel presence…there’s been a lot keeping marketers, retailers and service providers busy. Now that the waters have been tested, strategies evaluated, marketing blueprints analyzed and overall customers’ gizmo and technology thrill settled, the market seems to have a clearer vision of what works and what doesn’t (well, more or less).
The one thing that has undoubtedly emerged as a clear trend is that no one-channel, or no one-approach can suffice for a company. It has to be a fine mix of different channels at different touch points, each with its discreet level of customer engagement, well coordinated and well aligned with the central marketing strategy.

In-Store or Online?
Although there can be no absolute answer to this question, the likely answer lies in the company’s overall strategy. Here are a few points that can be considered:

• How large is your scale of business?
• What is your target segment?
• What are your customers mostly engaged in?

If you are a retail chain, restaurant chain or basically a large set-up with multiple stores across the country, then your customers mostly expect you to have a strong on-line presence, mobile platform and great in-store service. In this case each channel should be a full fledged sales and customer service point meticulously integrated with the central database that is enriched at every touch point.
But if you are more like a local business catering to the local market, then your in-store experience should be the point of focus. But this does not mean that the other channels do not hold any significance. Rather, an online presence and a mobile app would strengthen your business and also ensure that the cycle of contact is not broken.
To take a use case, there’s a bakery that specializes in cakes. Say a customer saw their listing in the yellow pages, logged on to the Internet to check out their website. Now if the bakery does not have online presence, bam, the link’s broken. The customer just moved on. Now in another scenario if the bakery does have a good, informative website, has social media presence where a prospective customer can go and check reviews, testimonials etc. and can see real people connect with the brand. This prospect has better chances of converting into a sale. And just in case the bakery has an app that sends notifications about special promotions, updates you about weekend specials or even better, tells you what’s freshly baked when you are in the vicinity, you probably would be overwhelmed as a customer.
There are various permutations and combinations that can be worked out depending on the needs of an individual business. Need help with finding your perfect marketing balance for your local business? Reach us out at info@xymob.com.