By Tshepo Rakumakoe
In a panel discussion presented by Francois Retief, two American broadcasters also joined in on the conversation of podcasting and its future in South Africa as a broadcast medium.
Retief described podcast as a broadcast form that broadcasters can use to target niche markets in order to reach a specific number and demographic, while providing them with the relevant content.
He elaborated saying that this means content producers must have a clear understanding of its audience in order to draw more listeners. He defined the process as building a profile.
“Your product must have no music and not be too stiff,” he added. He elaborated further stating that a good podcast should avoid advertising, though a professional jingle is acceptable. “You must edit it in a way that the edited audio is clean while not being too sneaky with your editing.”
Another thing he noted was that podcast producers need to know the duration preferred by its listeners, ensure the delivery of the same duration each time and to take the time to listen to the final product.
Retief explained that knowing listenership statistics is important in podcasting in order to tailor make the content for a specific audience and importantly, to know who is listening.
Finally, he mentioned that the only obstacle in podcasting is the value of data for South Africans.
Edited by Bridget Lepere