Video/Podcasting in Marketing and PR ...In my opinion

 VIDEO

The effect of the visual is undeniable and arguably one of the most effective way to market yourself or product. after all people trust and gravitate toward things they can see and touch - and in that regard the Video is powerful. Everyone knows that YouTube is filled with videos about almost every and anything you could think of, immediately satisfying the need for instant gratification or information.
      Its no secret some people don't have time to read, others don't like to read and well ... there are some who cannot read at all, and greatly appreciate something they can look at. A video could help in areas where there may be a language issue - if they don't understand what you are saying - they might get the gist of it just by watching the video. Hey i speak no Chinese but you cant tell me i don't get whats going on or being said in those classic Chinese Kong -Fu flicks. this doesn't mean you can make some terrible video and expect great things just because its "visual," remember you are what represents you! and if your video looks like crap ... then need i say more.
     If a big budget worries you then rest assured, there is a movement towards casual videos that even big companies are doing. Yeah Professional lighting, make-up, yadda yadda is good but hey, this can also seem orchestrated and not achieve anything at all. it also doesn't give the personal touch that web consumers seem to prefer.
     Podcast however have no visual, so they might be a little trickier. While consumers might tolerate 30 maybe 60 secs of terrible video, they will not have the same patience with audio. So the message must be first, clear and concise.Writing for podcast should be different, short direct statements that get straight to the point, while sounding conversational. What are you selling,? or what services you are offering should be first and foremost, this way even if they don't listen to it all, they at least heard your company name.

NEWS RELEASES

   Another avenue for reaching potential clients/consumers is with News releases, or better yet Direct News releases. Unlike the past news releases are no longer at the mercy of a handful of media people and you can use one of the many news release services to get your message out there. Like anything else you must have a strategy, know your target audience or your buyers persona, use specific terms and phrases that are intimate to your buyers and consumers.
     Always include links in your release if nothing else they help to greatly increase your site availability to search engines. Also add links to your social media sites, Blogs and personal site - if you have one.