5 Things You Should Know Before Setting Up Your Credit Union Podcast

Posted by Tony

July 11, 2007

The word on the street is….

Podcasting.

Thats the stuff man, thats the dope, thats the new wave - maybe…

Look, I am not all that convinced yet. Podcasting has it’s place. I am just not sure that the place is a credit union website. The idea behind podcasting, for those who don’t know, is an audio file that can either be played on the web page so that you can listen presumably while working or reading the webpage. Or, you may download the podcast to your iPod (hence the name) or other MP3 player. I download them to my Palm Treo to listen to in case my wife decides to try on some clothes while shopping.

So the question presents itself, would you listen to something your credit union wants you to know in your free time? It is purely anecdotal, but I would not - and I am in the biz. I would listen to books on tape (MP3) or financial planning podcast or Richard Pryor - Live in Concert (earphones are great - but, boy do I get funny looks in the ladies bathing suit department as I sit in the corner chuckling to myself). But I can’t seem to wrap my head around actually listening to a credit union podcast. I am sure that there are good ones, but the idea is akin to being a kid and having to do homework on the weekend. Maybe my geekiness hasn’t reached that level.

All that being said. If you are convinced to podcast. Please take a few things into consideration. None of these tips are too technical. They are just general “Rules of Thumb”. If you want to get some more technical information, please visit Podcast411.com or Apple’s Podcast Site.

So now that you have your popcorn and soft drink, on with the show!

1. Write down the format and focus of your podcast.

This is number one for a reason folks. Do not skip this step. Do not pass GO. You might know what you THINK your podcast will be about. Write it down. Roll it around in your head. Put it down and come back to it later. Tape it to the refrigerator in the break room for everyone to see. Get opinions. Find out if people would be interested in listening to a short audio about your focus. Understand that whatever you write down is likely to change. Some technical decisions that you will need to make are:

Overall show length
Number of segments
Segment lengths
Timeframe (daily, weekly, monthly, etc)

Honestly folks. You might think that your members want to hear you ramble on for hours about how great the credit union is. But, you need to keep it short and sweet and max out in the 10-12 minute timeframe. Remember people’s attention spans are getting shorter as more things are coming at them all the time.

2. Think of your podcast as fun and informative

Podcasts can be a good addition to your general marketing plan. Recent studies are showing its growing importance and relevance. So don’t skip on the good stuff! Make the show (because thats what it is) interesting and informative to members and non-members who could use your products and services. But don’t underestimate the power of entertainment. Interesting means more than just spouting facts, figures and best practices. It also means making all your great facts and figures easy to swallow. Some of my favorite speakers have bad days. They need to get into the nuts and bolts of marketing or finance and it as dry as a cracker in a sandstorm. Keep those parts short and come up for air. Now you don’t need to do stand-up or improvisational skits, but please don’t be afraid add a little personality…..PLEASE…..

3. Don’t be afraid to go BIG!

One thing to keep in mind is that your intended audience wants to listen to experts. They don’t want people who “kinda” know what they are talking about. If you can, find experts that people have heard of. Give them the opportunity to plug their book or something. They can sometimes even phone in their podcast using a variety of services. Nothing says expert advice than a budgeting 101 podcast from Suze Orman or Larry Winget.

4. Don’t Go Cheap!

Yeah, audio production can be pricey. But most of it you can do yourself with simple and free tools found online. But I remember something I heard on the Cosby Show that stuck with me since high school. “You took a beautiful steak, and served it on a garbage can lid.” Bill was talking about his daughter’s date, and we are talking about podcasts.

Your website needs to support the podcast! If this means a microsite devoted to the podcast, you can do that. If you want to spread them around throughout the site - you will lose listeners. I have actually spent hours listening to podcasts sequentially because the first was so fascinating. Isn’t that what you are looking for? Wouldn’t you love to get a member to sit for 2 or 3 hours listening to your broadcast and absorbing and accepting that you are the experts when it comes to whatever you are talking about? Here are some things your podcast page or microsite should have:

Make sure you have pages with show summaries
Give people the option to listen to the podcasts on the site or to download them.
Let them know how long the show will be
Provide links to other information or sites that comes up in the conversations.
A forum or comments section for the podcast. You can moderate these so nothing unflattering is hanging out there. This is extremely important. Remember we’re in a “Brave New Web 2.0 World”, where mass collaboration is the name of the game.
If you have the time, a transcript of the shows are nice. It is incredibly search engine friendly thing to do and if you have members viewing your site from work, it lessens the chances of them getting busted by the boss.

5. Subscriptions, Marketing and RSS feeds

Now that you have a banging web site for all your podcasts, you should know that 75% of all podcast downloads come from iTunes. This means there are a great deal of people who may listen to your podcast who may never see your site. So it’s really important to take time to write catchy descriptions of your podcasts in your show’s RSS feed. The feed is the way the majority of folks will learn of your podcasts and credit union, so you want to make sure you set it up correctly. Many podcast directories, especially iTunes, are very picky about this, so before you submit your feed go to www.feedvalidator.org to get it validated. Also sign up with www.FeedBurner.com to begin getting stats on who’s subscribing to your podcast and when they are accessing it.. Also you can use a tool like www.feedforall.com to walk you through creating the RSS feed.

Now, don’t forget the marketing. You have spent all this time and effort on getting your podcast up, site is looking good and subscriptions linked in. The final thing to do is TELL PEOPLE! Get it into your newsletters, your email marketing, your printed pieces. Let me give you a “Ferinstance”. You send out a postcard promoting your low-rate HELOC and tout all the wonderful things that you can do with a HELOC to make your life wonderful. At the bottom of the postcard or in a bubble near the top you could say “Log Into CreditUnionXYZ.com an hear what Tammy Teller did to her house!”. Your HELOC podcast can be a “Home and Garden” type run-around on the new sod tammy installed. Talk about how much she spent on 2,500 square feet of sod. Discuss the challenges she had with the landscaper. Explain how the landscaper wanted 50% deposit but she negotiated down to 25% and a milestone based completion and payment schedule. Talk about the new ceiling fans she installed to reduce air conditioning costs. Did she install UV film for the windows? You bet she did! Tammy is one smart cookie! You don’t have to focus on the HELOC - make it fun and informative. I want to know if Tammy built a deck in the back yard or installed pavers and why. How much did it cost? Did it improve the value of her home? Thats a podcast! Sell me on the improvements and quality of life improvements - then I might get the HELOC.

So those are my 5 tips. Thanks for reading. I know I can ramble on sometimes.

I hope this helps everyone. The main point to this post is if you really want to get the ball rolling - do it right. It is easy to get someone to give you a chance the first time, but if you blow it - they will never come back. Give this project a prominent place on your budget - don’t just lump it into “Contingency or Miscellaneous” expenses. Like my dad used to say to me when I was a kid - “If you are just going to half-ass it, you are wasting your time as well as mine.”

And your member’s time (and mine) is valuable.

There is just the tip of the iceberg, but a few things to think about before taking the plunge.