Behind the Mic

As an instructor for the Direct Marketing Association of Northern California, Susan Finch regularly updates her hands-on workshops. This is for tomorrow's Podcasting Production Masterclass Part 3: Publish, Promote, and Grow! This is a quick checklist of 13 items you should have ready before you launch. It's only a taste of the course, but we hope you find it helpful. It's a two-hour course limited to 15 people and is jam-packed with tips, tools, and guidance.
Links from this episode:
DMANC.org
Susan Finch on LinkedIn
Funnel Media Group to help you produce your podcast or reboot your existing video content in a new venue
 
 

Tired of lackluster virtual and hybrid events? Do you want to captivate your audience, whether in-person or by logging in remotely? This episode will open your eyes to creative techniques for producing engaging hybrid experiences.
Join me as I speak with Howie Zales, an expert in live event production. With decades under his belt working high-profile concerts and stadium events, Howie knows how to make online viewers feel part of the action.
You’ll hear Howie’s tips for incorporating multimedia, leveraging technology seamlessly, and rehearsing for smoother execution. Discover easy ways to boost production value without breaking the budget. Plus, we’ll discuss how to maximize your investment by repurposing content long after the event ends.
If you’re ready to step up your hybrid event game, you won’t want to miss this lively discussion. Tune in now to pick up pointers that will stick with your team long after the stream wraps!
 
About our guest:
Howie Zales is an Emmy Award-winning Camera Operator who turned his passion for television broadcasting into several entrepreneurial endeavors. Howie created HJZ Productions, Inc. in 2000 to address the New York market's need for professional-level sports crewing/staffing. Under his leadership, HJZ Productions grew to a multi-million dollar nationwide provider of top talent in the broadcasting field. In 2019, Howie and his team founded Viridity Entertainment Services, Inc. (VES), initially focusing on staffing in non-union markets.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, they quickly pivoted to offering best-in-class, broadcast-quality live streams of professional sports shows and interviews, corporate interviews and meetings, and religious services. VES now focuses on meeting the growing demand for virtual hybrid event production.
Links from this episode:
Viridity Entertainment
Funnel Media Group, LLC
Viridity Entertainment Services on LI

Today we're wrapping up our series on using Google to promote your podcast. I'll share tips for leveraging Google Maps to get more visibility for your podcast. We'll cover how to create a custom map for your show, add guest pins with episode details, make it public and shareable, and use layers to organize by season or topic. By the end of this episode, you'll have actionable strategies to enhance your podcast's searchability and connect with more listeners through the strategic use of Google Maps.
Here are the key points:
Create a custom Google Map for your podcast under your show's profile.
Add pins for each guest/company, using your show's icon.
Include episode descriptions and links in pin details.
Make the map public and share it on social media.
Use layers to organize pins by season or topic if needed.
Consider multiple maps if you have over 100 episodes.

Welcome to another episode of Behind the Mic! I'm your host, Susan Finch. Today we're continuing our series on using Google's free tools to promote your podcast. In this episode, we'll discuss 7 ideas for leveraging your Google My Business profile to spread the word about your show. We'll cover creating posts when you publish new episodes, asking intriguing questions to prompt listens, making episode series, mentioning guests and their companies in posts, resharing posts on social media, highlighting meaningful guest quotes, and tips for posting frequency. Stay tuned to learn how to maximize your Google My Business profile and boost your podcast discoverability!
Key Points:
Create a post on your Google My Business profile when you publish a new episode. Include an image and call to action.
Ask a compelling question in posts to intrigue listeners.
Make a series for episodes on the same topic and promote the series.
@ mention guests and their companies in your posts.
Reshare Google My Business posts on other social media.
Highlight meaningful guest quotes in posts.
Post on your business profile about once per week.

In this episode of Behind the Mic, host Susan Finch discusses how to leverage Google Workspace tools for your podcast. She recommends getting a dedicated domain and email address for your show through Google Workspace. This opens up free analytics tools and helps establish your podcast's online presence. Susan then outlines the 9 steps to get set up: 
Get a dedicated domain for your podcast
Set up the podcast as a business in Google Workspace
Document login information
Create a Cloudflare account
Change domain name servers to Cloudflare
Add podcast domain to Google Workspace
Create a dedicated podcast email address
Check if your main business site has a Google My Business profile
Create a Google My Business profile for your podcast site

Today is the perfect day to set up Google Analytics 4.0 and elevate your tracking game. Even if you need assistance, our team is here to support you. And if your current team lacks the know-how, we strongly encourage them to take courses that reveal the logic behind Google Analytics 4.0. It's not just an upgrade; it's an entirely new frontier.
The DMANC has a three course series that I found super helpful. 
https://dmanc.org/workshop/google-analytics-4-workshops/ 
After you convert or set up, be prepared for a transformed analytics experience. While reports and dashboards may be different, the customization options are unparalleled. Dive into the granular details and unlock insights like never before. Upgrade your code, ensure proper tracking, and avoid skewed information that makes you look good but hinders your decision-making.
Listen to this 4-minute "Behind the Mic" episode and discover how Google Analytics 4.0 can validate your podcasting and content creation strategy. Handle the transition with simplicity, ease, and success. The future of analytics awaits!
 
BIG TIP - don't forget to update your analytics code in all plugins and add-ons with your podcast hosting company.If you use Podbean, it will be easier.
https://help.podbean.com/support/solutions/articles/25000004993-using-google-analytics-with-my-podbean-site
I found this article filled with tips and logic.
https://martech.zone/how-to-migrate-events-from-universal-analytics-to-google-analytics-4/ 

Have you ever thought about how many keynote speakers are actually introverts? Think about the distance on the stage from the audience - even when you have an engaging speaker who includes the audience. Then think about podcasting and the intimacy of podcasting. You are putting the show in your ears - you are listening to them in your car, your home, while walking the dog. You build a personal relationship with the host and their guest.
 
I’ve been a speaker at events. I see the pluses, but I’ve also seen how limited the opportunity for that 3-5 day effort returned. The biggest benefit is strengthening the relationship with the organization that invited me to speak to its members. Most of my speaking is to private professional organizations, so nothing is recorded and definitely not published. Adding these events to my portfolio of speaking can be problematic as I usually speak on proprietary topics specific to the audience.  I’ve also spoken on behalf of my non-profit to large ballrooms, and conferences. It made a memorable event, but rarely outside that event led to much more than a few compliments. Even when the carrot to speak at the event was access to the list, the attendees were rarely decision makers, so they would read the subject, and typically, that was that.
Here is a recent post on this topic comparing the effectiveness of both options.
https://funnelmediagroupllc.com/speaking-gigs-vs-podcasting/ 

We are regularly asked at Funnel Media Group how to jump-start a show's reach into new markets, and reach new audiences. This episode covers advertising, sponsors, and the change in best practices over the past two years. Consumer behaviors have changed - how they consume media. This is where our guest, Mary Ann Pruitt shines through her agency, Mosaic Media Agency. You will want to consider all of her insights and advice, as well as some great suggestions you can get started with today.
Who are we targeting?
How are we targeting?
What about the third-party cookie thing?
First-party data is available to you - you just don't realize it. It's time to invest in collecting your own first-party data.
Listen to this episode: Programmatic media buying has changed everything.