Podcasts: They’re Cool Again

fashion podcasts

Have you played around with Podcasts yet?  I know, it’s not all that appealing because there are no visuals but they’re actually cool again. It’s not all about visual content when you’re trying to attract new audiences.

Podcasts are no longer un-cool content. They’re inspiring, engaging, and great for on-the-go consumption.

Just think about SERIAL and how it gained momentum. If it sounds vaguely familiar but you’re not quite sure what it’s all about, here’s the deal: It was a weekly podcast that was so suspenseful and well done that people got completely hooked on the story and could not wait until the release of the next chapter. Yes, it was a suspense filled podcast, but just because you’re not sharing a suspenseful story, doesn’t mean you can’t share something that will keep people coming back for more.

If you’re interested, you can check out this list created by Who What Wear fashion podcasts, of the most awesome fashion podcasts for your listening pleasure.

The key with using podcasts to build community around your brand, figuring out a way to tell a “story” that makes listeners want to come back for more.

Podcasts allow brands to reach new audiences and build community by:

  • Marketing themselves to an audience who wants to learn more about a certain category
  • Telling a story through chapters
  • Allowing a brand advocate to voice their brand love
  • Giving an influencer the keys to speak on the brand’s behalf
  • Creating referral traffic back to a site experience to learn more
  • Allowing the audience to see a different side of the brand

For most brands, visual content has been key – especially with Instagram, Pinterest, tumblr, Snapchat, so on and so forth. However, it doesn’t mean that ‘on the go’ and ‘easily consumable’ content has to be visual in order to be engaging. There are multiple ways to tell your brands story, and podcasts are another tool for the toolbox.

To check out the full original post, go to Startup Fashion.

How do you “watch”?

Aside from my social media geekdom and love for being out and about in our great city of Boston — sometimes it’s nice to just be a couch potato and watch some “good” TV. Now I do not mean “reality” tv shows…(no offense to all my friends who love Jersey Shore and the Bachelor) — I prefer Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, True Blood, Friday Night Lights, and other “real” shows.

Like the social media world, the TV and Movie world has many many many options for our “viewing” pleasure. Got your hands full with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Yelp, Quora, and all the other myriad of sites? How do you view your favorite shows and movies? Sometimes I am not sure where to start – like with social media – there is so much to keep up with – every minute there’s a new site, app, option to chose from. For viewing, we have Netflix, Hulu, DVR, On Demand, iTunes, surfthechannel, Red Box, and even those dvd rental retail stores — remember those? Do you prefer free, or the paid options? Do you have one or two or three?

I weighed my options:

1. On Demand and/or DVR: holy expensive on Comcast. I pass.

2. Hulu – I stick to regular Hulu (over Hulu Plus) and watch for free. If I miss a show – I’ll watch it the next morning (unless it’s House and then I have to wait 8 days..ouch!). And as long as the buffering isn’t having issues, I can watch wherever there’s wifi. Perfect.

3. Netflix – monthly subscription — cheaper then retail renting and can watch however much I want online or via mail. Awesome. And I have the app on my iPad now too. Loyal subscriber.

4. iTunes – want a season sooner than it’s available? This was my savior when I wanted Mad Men Season 4. Downloaded – on my Mac, iTouch and iPad and ready to watch when and where I wanted. Kickass.

5. Surfthechannel — not the best quality and you can only watch for 72 minutes at a time — but you can get almost any season of almost any show. I caught up on multiple shows this way!

6. Purchase or rental — my suggestion is go to Best Buy when they have their kickass sales and buy them. On Black Friday I got Mad Men and Heroes for ridiculously cheap (10 bucks a season!) – it was like taking candy from a baby (imagine I said this in Robin William’s voice from his Live on Broadway skit).

7. Red Box – I have yet to try this option but I hear great things including cheap and convenient. Can’t beat that, right?

There is also: casttv.com, myeasytv.com, xfinity (for those who have a subscription) and others out there…

What do you prefer? Any other fun/cheap/free/easy ways to view shows/movies? I love the ease and flexibility of Netflix but like in social media – am always exploring new and kickass options.