I've written entries before about how elusive successful viral marketing is and what happens when you try to manufacture viral marketing, but Ochman may have hit it on the head.
Using viral marketing in isolation will fail because it's not a substitute for traditional marketing techniques.
...mounting a viral campaign requires not only social media, which provides remarkable new tools, but also integration with offline marketing, from street teams and guerilla marketing, to billboards, TV, radio, and print.
Based on this, it seems that viral marketing isn't as inexpensive as many people had hoped.
While Ochman primarily deals with blogging, there's certainly a lesson in here for podcasters. I think it's becoming accepted now that organizations that intend to produce a podcast simply as an ongoing commercial for their products will be disappointed in their listenership. The alternative, however, is to use a podcast as a single tool in a larger campaign that invoves more traditional methods to not only get the attention of a greater number of people, but to hold it.
Especially love the last paragraph here. Companies who think a podcast will succeed simply because it exists will be disappointed. Companies who podcast but don't support it with other communications efforts will also be disappointed.
As you rightly point out, pocasting is but one tool in a business's communications toolkit. When created in that context, a podcast can be a very valuable communications channel indeed.
I have a similar post here:
http://www.bryper.com/2006/09/26/do-you-need-more-than-just-a-podcast-consultant/
--Bryan Person
Blog: Bryper.com
Podcast: NewCommRoad.com
Posted by: Bryan Person, Bryper.com | September 27, 2006 11:55 AM | Permalink to Comment