We’re always excited when Leo Laporte is able to speak at one of our events, and this time around was no different. Leo gave our Day Two keynote, talking about how podcasting is changing the world of media. Check out his keynote, recorded live at NMX 2013 (made possible by our livestreaming partners Ustream and TechZulu):
If you don’t have time to watch the entire keynote, here are some of the best moments from his talk:
“Podcast your passion but don’t do it for money.”
We all want to make money, but that’s not what it has to be about. You should be podcasting because you love what you’re doing and you love the topic you’re podcasting about, not because you want to make money. Passion is where it’s at. If you’re not passionate, your listeners will know.
“We’re not making little shows to download. I think what we’re doing is changing the world.”
Leo often talks about his disdain for the word podcasting since it doesn’t cover the entire industry and doesn’t sound as important as it is. As Leo stated, podcasters are changing the entire world, especially in the media industry. Mass media is actually a very young industry, and it’s still changing rapidly. Podcasters are shaping the future.
“Our opportunity is not to create audience but create community…Our type of advertising works because we have an engaged audience.”
We often talk about finding new listeners and building our audiences, but podcaster’s listeners are more than that. They’re our friends, our peers, and our community. And that’s what podcasters need to focus on – making their show a good experience so people want to be part of what you’re doing.
“When we talk to our advertisers we tell them this is going to be a different relationship for you. And some of them don’t like it.”
Consumers are smart, so you can’t trick them anymore. Instead, you have to present ads in a way that makes sense for your listeners – your community, if you will. For example, on Leo’s show, they do ad slots, but it’s more of a conversation about the features of a product instead of a commercial. Ad recall for him is extremely high, which is great news for his advertisers, but some aren’t interested because there’s no smoke and mirrors. You have to have a good product with good features instead of tricking the consumer.
“We need to really think differently. We can’t just say “What we really want to do is be like the media on the internet.”
Digital broadcasting isn’t like big media as we know it today, and in Leo’s opinion, we should stop trying to be like television, radio, etc. We’re going to succeed because we’re different, and today’s mass media should be scared of that. Podcasters (any kind of digital broadcasters really) need to embrace their different-ness, because that’s how we’ll really change the world.
Want to see even more content from the show? Check out NMX University, our educational membership community where you’ll find virtual sessions, keynote recordings, bonus videos, and more!
