Donna Papacosta offers an excellent comment in response to a post by Leesa Barnes about questions to ask and issues to consider when deciding whether to hire a “podcast consultant.”

Donna writes:

I would look for business experience, particularly communications experience. This comes back to the idea of content as all-important in a podcast. Yes, the podcast consultant has to know about bit rates and other technical details, but he or she also must also be an expert in communicating with an audience — whether internal or external.

I think the question really comes down to what is best for the client. The company may really only need someone to do the technical production of the podcast, because it already has a Web 2.0-savvy communications team in place that knows how to promote the show effectively.

But more often than not, a business probably also needs expertise on how to incorporate the produced podcast into its overall communications plan. For example, here are some questions that should also be considered:

  • If there’s a podcast, will there also be an associated blog? If so, who will build and manage that?
  • How will the company handle feedback from the podcast (and blog), and will its responses be timely, transparent, and genuine?
  • Does the company understand the importance of truly “joining the conversation” and does it already have staff that are having that conversation on other blogs, podcasts, and social-networking sites
  • What offline communications tactics and strategies will be used to support the podcast
  • What at-large communications challenges will the podcast help to address?

If companies believe that their podcast will succeed simply because it exists, they should expect to be disappointed. A podcast is an outstanding tool that a business can use to talk to its customers, but it needs to be one of many communications channels that are working in concert.

So if you do need a consultant to help produce your podcast, make sure you know what kind of consultant you really need.

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