A discussion about corporate and business podcasting with tips and guidelines

List Week continues. Who should podcast and why? I don't think anyone has to podcast. However, if you've decided that you're going to, then you've likely figured out the reasons.

Here's what I consider the top 5 reasons to start producing a podcast. In no particular order:

1. Because you want to. Actually, scrap that order statement - this is definitely number one. If you don't really, really want to podcast then don't. If you're not into this 100% then the schedule will lag, the content will suck and ultimately you're going to hurt your rep and your brand. If you can't hit this first point, then don't even bother looking at the last 4.
   
2. There is a void. There are podcasts of all ilks out there, but it's still a relatively small community. There are tons of areas that are either underrepresented or not represented at all in the podcast space. I was looking for virtualization podcasts the other day, for example, and as far as I can tell there is only one. If you're operating in a space that isn't saturated yet, you have a very real opportunity to become the flagship podcast. I would consider any topic with less than 15 podcasts in it to be wide open.
   
3. Expanding your offerings. Perhaps you're already podcasting. If so, that's excellent because you've already established yourself to some effect. Use that momentum to help market your new products or services.
4. Your customers want it. Be very careful here. I think we can all agree that giving your customers what they want is generally a good idea, but temper this customer desire with point number 1. Podcasting solely to satisfy anyone's desires than your own will fail in many, and possibly spectacular, ways.
5. To educate. By education I'm not just referring to podagogy. I'm also referring to the oportunity to educate customers and potential customers about your products or services. Every thing has its 'distinctive difference' (or it's about to die a horrible death) and sometimes the things that separate you from other apparent competitors isn't immediately obvious to potential customers. In other cases, your product or service may genuinely be complicated and require clarification.

I can honestly say that the only point on this list that I hit is number 1. I podcast for fun and while we take a few sponsors now and again, for the most part we don't. You have to have a pretty cool product to sponsor our show like the guys at Wicked Lasers do and did.

Why do you podcast?