I read an interesting report on podcasting earlier this week. It’s published by Edison Research.

Besides exit polling, Edison provides strategic polling data for radio stations all over North America. Given that their listener base can be jeopardized by Podcasting, you can understand why radio stations are keen to understanding who’s listening to Podcasts, and why they are listening to them.

Here are some of the highlights from the Edison report:

• 43% of Americans have an awareness of podcasting.

• One in four Americans indicated that they have downloaded and watched/listened to an audio or video podcast.

• The number one reason given for podcast consumption was time-shifting — the ability to consume content whenever the consumer desires.

• Podcast consumers continue to be attractive advertising targets; yet are increasingly unreachable through traditional, interrupt advertising.

The upshot?

As a business, if you’re not podcasting you’re missing out on a tremendous targeted advertising medium. The fact is, traditional advertising is becoming less effective at reaching a burgeoning consumer base; busy people. People working 50, 60, or 70 hours a week (read: people who are making more disposable income) have fewer and fewer opportunities to listen and watch traditional, interruptible media like radio shows, television programming, etc..

Even if you have “traditional” advertising methods like broadcast radio, television, or print, podcasting is a lower-cost medium that is definitely worth looking at. The cost of production is lower because traditional broadcast standards (dimensions, time, duplication, etc.) do not apply. The cost of media placement is almost non-existent. The most important and often challenging aspect of podcasting is promotion. However, if your business has a website and takes advantage of social networking sites like facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. you have a built-in promotional base.

Podcasting, much like this email, eliminates the distribution and speed limitations of traditional media. You can be “on the air” after a brief editing session and your content is easily consumed all over the world. Broadcast radio or print media cannot offer you that.

More importantly to your busy potential customer, podcasting is something they can consume on their schedule. Your sales message is not languishing just because the target audience is not seated in front of the TV set or listening to the radio exactly when you ad airs.

Applicability.

Finally and most importantly is what we’ve come to term, “applicability.” Applicability refers to an ad’s ability to apply to the people that see or hear it. I’ve been monitoring applicability lately. While watching TV I’ve been counting the number of ads I see for products or services I’ve actually bought or consumed in the past 12 months.

What percentage of TV and radio ads do you think I’ve consumed in the past year? 50%? 80%? 85%?

Try less than 12%. That’s right, less than 1 in 8 ads.

Am I typical? Maybe not, but I may be typical, and for your business, that would be wastefully typical. In either event, the ads on TV simply are not that applicable to me, and I’m right-smack in the middle of the target audience most TV advertisers are going for.

Now, with podcasting – where the audience is generated by sharing the link among people who are part of your social network and current referral network – you have a much greater rate of applicability. Also, as the content is spread, it’s preserved in a digital format so the audience can go back and listen to it repeatedly, they can pause it, re-play it, save it, email it, and your audience can distribute your message for you all over the world at no cost to you.

How do we start podcasting?

If you’re interested in producing a podcast, August Hour has several options available including audio-only, video and audio podcasts, or podcasts featuring music and talk programming. In addition to our professional recording studio – Guttersnipe Recording Co. -, we have a solid group of professional voice-over and on-camera talent available to really bring that polish to your podcast.