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Podcasting is a fine way to communicate your personal thoughts
and feelings on any subject. It can also be useful in the business
world as an "investor relations tool." A session at the
Podcast and Portable Media Expo focused on this application.
WebProNews staff writer Jason Lee Miller sat in on the session.
Speakers included Wing Yu, the CEO of StreetIQ, Brent Clepper, Channel
Sales Director, and Scott Whitney, President and CEO, PodWorx.
A description of the session stated the benefits of using podcasts
to maintain investor relations. "Podcasting enables publicly-traded
companies to stay in touch with current shareholders and analysts
while reaching out to new investors with corporate presentations
delivered conveniently to trading desks, portable media players
and desktop computers. Podcasting is also a cost-effective way to
push information to those who need it in a timely manner."
Once the decision is made to get involved, it's best not to jump
right in, though - planning is key. A musical analogy followed:
"Your first record takes a lifetime . . . and then suddenly
you're a star and everybody's yelling, ‘Gotta have another
record, gotta have another record.'"
The panelists recommended that people create an "episode map."
With that done, "the scariness of what you're going to say
goes away." If the podcast is going to include an interview,
provide your subjects with the interview questions ahead of time,
and conduct a pre-interview as a practice run. "Amateur-sounding
podcasts are not an option," they agreed.
"The opportunities for podcast producers and consultants are
enormous in light of the fact that every publicly-traded company
is required by Regulation Full Disclosure (RegFD) to disclose information
in a timely manner," Yu added. "Many private companies
with early investors also want more exposure on their way to their
IPOs."
One other thing about podcasts is that they remove barriers between
the corporation and the investor. By podcasting, said Whitney, you're
"humanizing your company."
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