Podcasting, The New Generation of Blogging
ALTHOUGH LESS RECOGNIZED NOW, BLOGGING IS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE DIGITAL MARKETING WORLD.
Anyone who has been on the internet in the last two decades has read (or at least skimmed through) more blogs than they can remember. The first blog as we know it today was birthed in 1997 (the same year as the first Gen-Z), and in 1999 there were 23 blogs on the internet. But the early 2000s blog explosion is what changed blogging forever, and by the middle of 2006, there were more than 50 MILLION blogs.
The blog explosion of the mid-2000s brought blogs mainstream. Along with mom bloggers, marketing teams quickly picked them up and used blogs to advertise everything they could with this new digital marketing method. But like any marketing fad, blogs evolved into “micro-blogs” like Tumblr, and Instagram soon followed in 2010.
FOLLOWING THE IT GROWTH AND FAD PHASE, BLOGGING MOVED INTO ITS MOST VALUABLE STAGE. MARKETING FOUNDATION.
Blogs quickly became the first pick as the foundation for two major pieces in marketing. First, blogs became the home for the links to all products, portfolios, partners, and more. Even more significantly, blogs were where all content began before being parsed out for other marketing
streams. Authors wrote 300 blogs that got turned into books, and blogs were long-form versions of what got posted on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram, with everything pointing back to the blog.
However, as we move into this new generation of marketing with busier consumers and the demand for written content is being replaced by more visual and auditory content, a new stage of blogging is here, the age of podcasting.
WITH PODCASTS GROWING FAST, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS (MILLENNIALS & GEN-Z), IT HAS BECOME THE NEW FOUNDATION FOR CONTENT MARKETING.
More than 400 million people listen to podcasts worldwide. With this shift, podcasts and, more precisely, video podcasts are becoming the most effective foundation for content marketing. Blogs still have their place (I mean, you’re reading this one now), but content begins in podcasts and then is pushed out to all other platforms.
Almost all of the content we release starts as a podcast. It allows us to reach every inch of our audience (you all) effectively. Our video podcast “New Gen Marketing” is posted on YouTube and podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Short clips are created for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and the content is written for this blog.
Podcasts are a foundational form of branded content and have one of the lowest buy-in costs financially and with your time. Blogs still have value, but without podcasts, you will miss generations.
BY JOSHUA STANLEY
FOUNDER & CEO OF LIFESTYLED MEDIA
