Podcasts: what content do you consume?

In the world today, we are spoilt for choice with regards to content. From multiple media houses, millions of blogs, digital distribution, podcasts, radio, TV, streaming platforms, and many other elements that are bidding for our attention. So how do you select which platforms to use or can you use them all?

This is something that I have given a lot of thought to lately as I am deeply engrained in the digital world. The digital environment will play a big role in our future – increased connectivity, dramatic growth in the number of consumers who have access to a smart phone, and the development of content on demand to raise just a few of the things we need to consider. Working with different brands I try to stay ahead of the curve, so that I can consider how these changes influence the required messaging and positioning of a brands story.

As you may have picked up by reading a few of my blogs, I am a data nerd and I am fascinated by how we can use data. Everyone has (or should have) data at their fingertips when making decisions, but the biggest strength I think is in the interpretation of the data because one needs to use it to understand changes in behaviour.

In economics a trade-off is expressed as an opportunity cost.

“Making decisions requires trading off one item against another. In economics, the term trade–off is often expressed as an opportunity cost, which is the most preferred possible alternative.”

With the variety of content platforms available to us, we are often faced with a trade-off. Read an article from the Harvard Business Review or read an article from someone that you follow on Medium… or maybe scrap the reading and turn on your favourite Netflix series. You may challenge me that the notion of a trade-off doesn’t fit into this context, but give it some thought. Content producers are ultimately bidding for your attention and developing a framework to peak your interest. More on this in another blog soon.

One of the best forms of marketing or brand growth techniques is through word of mouth. People sharing their stories and what they value from the experience that you have created for them. Generating referral marketing is incredibly power, but it doesn’t happen overnight and you need to be conscious of all the story that you are creating… because after all you are asking someone to make a choice.

In the digital age, marketers spend a lot of time focusing on the audience that they should be talking to. Data has helped to provide a deeper insight, but we shouldn’t lose focus on the relevance of bigger brand awareness elements that may not talk directly to the intended target audience. Brand recognition still has a massive role to play in a strategy, so think carefully before “writing off” more traditional distribution mechanisms.

With our consumption habits in mind, here are a few things I think are worth your time.

Podcasts from the last week:

• Recode’s Peter Kafka: ‘Netflix is winning’
• Data-Driven Storytelling with Varun Kohli, Head of Strategic Marketing, PMO, & Global Demand at Symantec
• Mastering Developer Marketing with Vidya Peters, CMO of MuleSoft
• What’s in the fridge?

Articles that I have read or shared:

• Gaming on Twitter is a whole new playing field for marketers
• Learning from millennials:  How to run a socially conscious business
• Can China avoid a growth crisis