Hi. I’m Rob.

Back in 2006, I wrote a post called What Is A Podcast? and planned to follow it up with with recommendations on great podcasts worth a listen.  Well, guess what, loyal readers?  Today’s the day I cross that item off my to-do list!

The podcasts to which I subscribe cover a variety of topics: Marketing, technology, photography, politics, and video editing.  Today, I’ll focus on my favorite marketing podcasts.  Look for a follow up post with further recommendations…oh, around 2012ish.

Whaddaya Need, a Refresher Course?

For those of you that don’t know what a podcast is, here’s a quick rundown:

• A podcast is is an audio file that you can download and listen to on a computer, portable audio player (like an iPod), or burn to a CD.
• They’re usually episodic–once a week or so–and free.
• Some podcasts also feature video.
• You can subscribe to receive podcasts as they’re released through software such as iTunes, or just download each episode from the podcast’s website.

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

Listening to podcasts takes the right frame of mind.  In our short attention span world of 140 character tweets, multiple tab browsers, and snack-sized iPhone apps, listening to an hour-long podcast seems achingly slow and uneventful.  Like a soccer game.

Some argue that they’re not as efficient as blogs–you can scan a blog post much quicker than you can take in information from a podcast.  True, but reading requires your full attention.  Podcasts can be listened to while doing something else.  I listen to them while driving, working, working out, and sometimes as I’m drifting off to sleep.  Yeah. I’m hard core like that.  It’s kind of like the way Keanu learned Kung Fu in The Matrix.

At their best, podcasts can really get at the meat of issues and go beyond bullet-point descriptions.  It’s usually more than just one person doing the talking, so there’s a healthy back and forth of dialogue and debate.

My Favorites

Many podcasts maintain archives of past episodes, and much of the content has a pretty long shelf life.  So, if you find something you like, go back in those archives and listen to some older shows.  For each podcast below, I’ll give you the website of the podcast and a link that will automatically subscribe you in iTunes if you have it installed on your computer.  When you subscribe with iTunes, the podcasts will download automatically each time a new episode is added.

Marketing Over Coffee – Christopher Penn and John Wall sit at a Dunkin Donuts at 5 in the morning once a week and talk marketing, with an emphasis on social media and SEO.  [ website | itunes ]

Six Pixels of Separation/Media Hacks – The host of this podcast, Mitch Joel, is a former journalist, and it shows.  He’s an excellent interviewer and gets at the “why’s” of internet marketing, not just the “how’s.” The “Media Hacks” episodes bring together a stellar roundtable of panelists, including Christopher Penn from the aforementioned Marketing Over Coffee.  Great brain food! [ website | itunes ]

For Immediate Release – Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson are like the Bert and Ernie of podcasting.  They’ve been at it forever, and are currently on episode #486 of their biweekly podcast.  FIR eminates from a central core of PR and corporate communications, and radiates outward into social media, advertising, and more.  Shel’s like a favorite uncle you hope to sit by at family dinners, and Neville’s an affable English chap who has been tremendously encouraging and kind to me every time I’ve communicated with him directly. [ website | itunes ]

SEM Synergy – Bruce Clay is one of the founding fathers of Search Engine Optimization and anchors this show on SEO, Paid Search Marketing, and Social Media.  A bit more technical than other podcasts on the list, but they cover the nuts and bolts of search without losing sight of core marketing principals. [ website | itunes ]

Purse Strings – A podcast focused on marketing towards women.  Great for someone like me that makes awesome baby gifts! [ website | itunes ]

Internet Marketing – this one doesn’t publish as often as I’d like it to, but when it does, it’s often full of great information on–you guessed it–Internet Marketing.  Plus, the two guys hosting the show have the most lovely British accents that make it sound like you’re being taught by the Geico Gecko. [ website | itunes ]

The Beancast – (added 8/30/2010) How have I been missing this one all this time?  I recently discovered The Beancast, and it’s got excellent roundtable discussions about marketing in the internet age with some of my favorite thinkers.  Another great one for the queue. [ website | itunes ]

Do you have some marketing podcasts to add to the list?  Use the comments section below to add your favorites!