Using technology is one of the best ways a small business-to-business (B2B) service can differentiate themselves from its competitors.   And podcasting is certainly a technical medium that has received a lot of buzz recently.  But is podcasting just a consumer fad?  Or can businesses using podcasting really get more customers and clients?

Podcasting is growing leaps and bounds.

Analysts predict that the number of podcast listeners by the end of 2006 will be about 10 million, and that the number of U.S. households listening to podcasts will increase by up to 18-fold by 2010.

So, what is podcasting?

Podcasting is a method of publishing content to the Internet - usually in an audio format (mp3)- that allows user to either:

• download the file directly from your website, blog, or one or more podcast directories 
• subscribe to them automatically via a subscription (such as adding them as a content feature to your email newsletter, or through a syndication service, such as RSS).

Users can listen to the downloaded podcast via mp3 player software on their computer, or they can download it to a portable mp3 player, such as an iPod (and even some smart phones have mp3 players as well).

In general, podcast audio is a longer-form content program just as a talk show, hosted music program, or interview.   The content is usually very similar to a radio show.

Podcasting has grown beyond the teen market

When most people think of podcasting, they think of a booming teenage consumer market listening to social audio blogs, music, and other entertainment. 

But here's what recent research from Edison/Arbitron indicates about U.S. podcast listeners:

• 68% are 35 or older
• 53% hold full-time jobs
• 54% have four years of college or more.

More and more business decision makers are listening to podcasts

Podcasting seems o be well on the way to penetrating the mainstream business-to-business (B2B) marketplace, according to a recent study of B2B technology buyers by KnowledgeStorm and UnversalMcCann.

The study revealed:

• 53% have listened to or downloaded a podcast at least once
• 32% of survey respondents stated their usage of podcasts has "Increased" or "Significantly Increased" in the last six months.

How could podcasting help your small business?

As a business-to-business marketing tool, podcasting could be considered unique way to create your own Internet radio show or broadcast, where you create unique audio content that generates awareness and interest in your service.  Just as you would consider writing a newsletter, special report, case study, white paper or other content to put on paper or as content for your website,  you can also use the same type of content in an audio format for a podcast.  You can even consider re-purposing some of  your current written content into podcasts.