Liven up communications with podcasts and video

With just a few electronic tools and some practice, you can create low-cost, yet high quality podcasts or videos for your business or your clients.

Roy Harryman, long-time KC IABC member and owner of Roy Harryman Marketing Communications, presented top tips at a KC IABC lunch meeting.

First things first

Start with the basics before you pick up a piece of equipment or schedule a recording session. Determine your objective, deadline, resources and the forum/medium you will use. If you’re absolutely new to creating A/V content, start with a podcast, Roy advises.

Podcast basics

Podcasts are more suitable to longer form content – 10 to 30 minutes – and allow your subscribers to multitask while listening – driving, exercising, etc. Podcasts spur subscriptions and are easily shareable. Subscribers receive an email notification when a new segment is available, so podcasts are low maintenance.

“Podcasts are a low entry point,” Roy says. “You can even use your smart phone to record a podcast, they’re great for camera-shy people and are low cost to produce.”

Audio recording tips

Be yourself, but the best version of yourself, Roy advises. Bring a little bit of zip to your delivery and if the podcast is more than just a few minutes long, enlist one or two subjects to interview. Present your interview questions in advance to your subjects and create an intro and an exit to your podcast, perhaps with catchy music. Record in a quiet place using a wired lapel microphone for your interview subjects and yourself. Edit your recording with Garage Band on the Mac or with a program like Adobe Audition or Audacity for the PC.

Stepping up to video

Although a bit more complex in production, creating a video can also be a low-cost venture, and you can even use a smart phone or tablet device to record. Always use a tripod, mic the talkers and use ample lighting when shooting footage. If you’re the interviewer and the camera operator, keep yourself out of the picture and audio and let the subjects do all of the talking. Supplement your interviews with B roll that you shoot on location and edit into the final version. It can contain interesting video, supplemented with still photos and slides to illustrate points.

As for editing, upload your video footage into a cloud-based service. Macs have a built-in video editor, while you can use Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas for editing on a PC.

If this all sounds a bit intimidating, don’t let it be. “Push yourself to take a chance in an environment where it’s OK to fail,” Roy advises. Practice with friends and family. You might just end up surprising yourself and delighting your audience with your newfound audio and video talents.