Podcast length: 9:38

Deloitte –- you may also know them as Deloitte & Touche –- is a global business consulting firm with deep expertise in audit, tax, consulting, financial advisory. Its main asset is knowledge, and it has an integrated approach to how it distributes that asset.

In this Marketing Edge segment, you’ll meet Pat Harkin, national director of marketing for Deloitte Tax. Here is a marketer who combines traditional communications theory with new technologies that embrace his client base, using Deloitte’s greatest asset: knowledge. That knowledge gives the firm’s clients the confidence to move forward toward their business objectives.

As you’d expect, a conservative consulting practice like Deloitte is not Twittering away its assets or blogging just because it can (although they do have some blogs, like its Women’s Initiative WIN Blog).

Deloitte is, however, implementing audio and video formats in a controlled environment, guiding its viewers, readers and listeners through the shoals of their areas of expertise. Deloitte also implements several RSS feeds. One of their podcasts is called Deloitte Insights.

Also in this podcast, the Marketing Edge is giving away a copy of Seth Godin’s new book, The Dip. It’s not available yet, but we’ve pre-ordered and you can learn more about the book at www.squidoo.com/theDipBook.

Why do you want The Dip? It will help you figure out if you can quit what you are doing now and pursue a more rewarding experience. Know when to hold to ’em, know when to fold ’em. The Dip comes out May 10, and you can be one of the first to get a copy by e-mailing marketingedge@providentpartners.net or calling 651-695-0174. The first e-mail or call we get gets the book. For all other e-mails and calls, Provident Partners will donate a food item to a local food shelf (up to 100 items per month; I still have five kids to feed, too).

The idea of podcasting for business continues to grow. For those who like numbers, I’ll point you to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (PDF) that shows us that 12 percent of Internet users had downloaded a podcast –- and that was back in April of 2005! The numbers for the 30-49 age range went from 10 percent in the spring of 2006 to 14 percent in August. The 50-64 age category went from 8 percent to 12 percent during that same period.

This chips away at the perception that anything with the word “pod” in it is just for kids.

Moving beyond the numbers, I believe that it is more about the benefits of the medium of audio than it is about playing the numbers game -– and Shel Holtz, another granddaddy of podcasting, agrees. So whether you are a big consumer brand like Purina or a boutique international business consultancy like Technomic Asia, chances are, you can find a meaningful, effective way to use podcasting to achieve business objectives.

In today’s conversation, Shel and I hit on some of the ways businesses are using podcasts. Good audio is a way for people to learn, have powerful experiences, and be entertained. The issue is, does a business entity have the information and skills to tell its story? One of the ways to find the answer is to attend the NewComm Forum in Las Vegas March 7-9. Shel and his “For Immediate Release” podcast co-host Neville Hobson of the marketing firm Crayon will put on a workshop on March 7, the day before the NewComm Forum actually starts, in which they’ll cover the foundation for the “how and why” of podcasting.

Other presentations at the forum will build on this foundation with examples of format styles, business cases, and how to integrate other social media, including blogs, wikis, videos, and yes, even college class projects designed to put your product in front of that demographic. My presentation will talk about that crafty tactic as used by the energy drink Bawls.

Speaking of the NewComm Forum, be sure to enter the Provident Partners drawing to win a trip to the conference, including airfare, hotel and conference registration.

Want to help out a food shelter? Contribute! Give us some feedback by leaving a comment on the blog, e-mail us at marketingedge@providentpartners.net or call our comment line (651-695-0174, extension 3). We will donate a food item for each comment we get. Thanks for listening.

Show notes:

1:00-3:00 — Podcasting 101 workshop overview and who benefits from attending

3:00-5:00 — Build vs. outsource podcasting capabilities

5:00-8:00 — Business use of podcasting

8:00-10:00 — Other business uses for audio

10:00-12:00 — How to register to win a trip to the NewComm Forum

[tags]Shel Holtz, NewComm Forum, podcasting[/tags]