How companies are using video podcasts to educate their market

I'm showcasing this video by Syberworks, Inc. because I think it is a great way that companies can spread the message about what they do and promote their area of expertise.

Information, or content, marketing, is replacing 'interruption' marketing on the Internet today. Interruption marketing is a technique we've all come to know well-- marketing that interrupts what we are doing, e.g., banner ads that pop up or commercials during a broadcast.

With content marketing, customers come to you for one reason or another, and you supply information that is perceived to be of value--either education or entertainment targeted to your market.

We also offer this service for our clients, as we believe valuable exposure is gained through video sharing sites and posting video podcasts on corporate websites.

This example is useful because learners can discover how elearning is being employed by police officers and about the company Syberworks, too. It isn't too selly, and for those interested, the 4 1/2 minutes spent watching is time well spent (at least we hope).

Podcast tip #1: Level out sound using GigaVox Levelator

A useful technique for capturing subject matter expertise is to record an interview. This can provide an invaluable resource to go over if you will be producing any instructional content on a topic. There might be times when you will want to broadcast the interviews as a podcast to your learners and would like to improve the quality of the sound. Here is a short (1.5 minute) demo showing a free tool called the GigaVox levelator that improves the sound quality by leveling out different volumes of two or more speakers.

I thought it would be useful to have this video on-hand for when we begin uploading screencasts on our plone website. More of a reference for me than anything else, but all the better if others also find it useful.

Here is the video explaining how to publish multimedia on a plone website:



Also a link from the plone blog re: updates since the video. Very interesting stats on the adoption of multimedia on the web. There is mention that screencasts would have improved the knowledge transfer - we couldn't agree more!

Veotag looks good

Ok, I thought we'd be waiting for this technology to arrive yet, alas, it is here. Veotag, with it's ability to navigate within a podcast or vodcast, is available. It provides a clickable table of contents which I thought, until now, was an impediment inherent in using podcasts or vodcasts for technical content. While I realize the product places an emphasis on its marketing capabilities, I am sure technical writers will undoubtedly see the potential it has for their trade. Have fun browsing the veotag site (I did). Once you sign up as a (free) member, you can scroll through already made veotags or make one of your own.

Veotag holds great potential to the world of technical communications.