Thinking Home Business

iTunes new and noteworthy selection - screenshot

Thinking about starting a podcast?

One thing I discovered, in working through the process of planning a new podcast, is that it is good to spend some time coming up with a suitable name for the show. What I’ve found in a current exercise of this kind is that to my surprise it seems less about creative brainstorming and more about a systematic process to cover various aspects of how the name can contribute to audience building.

After all, a great name with no or few listeners is not going to be a good look, is it?

As the screenshot above from the Business category on iTunes Podcast section shows, people use a variety of approaches to naming their podcast, from naming after themselves, through addressing some need, to focusing on their product or service.

Six areas to address

I found there were six key areas or issues I needed to address and I phrased them in terms of criteria (in no particular order of priority) for choosing the name:

appropriate to the focus and scope of the podcast
not duplicating an existing podcast title
easy to remember and share
web domain available (not necessarily as primary url but at least for “insurance”)
includes keywords likely to bring more traffic
lends itself to good graphic – esp iTunes badge

If you are interested in knowing more about how I have addressed, and am addressing, each of these points, you might like to check out the longer post I’ve done on the topic on my Des Walsh dot Com blog, Naming a New Podcast.

And while I’m at it I should mention my current podcast, Linking Edge, a weekly show that deals with how to use LinkedIn more effectively.

Do you have a podcast you would like more people to know about? Or one you find particularly helpful, interesting, fun. Please share the address in the comments (usual caveat about appropriateness, civility etc).

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Amplify Your LinkedIn Presence with a Company Page

January 14, 2013 by Des Walsh

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I never cease to be amazed by the fact that many companies, small and large, are missing out on the opportunity to promote their company or brand via the LinkedIn Company Page feature.

One of the many recent changes in features and functionality on the LinkedIn professional networking platform is that the company page is now able to be configured and adjusted in various ways that can help us amplify our LinkedIn presence.

And all at no cost if you are a basic member, or no extra cost if you have a Premium membership.

All it takes is a bit of time. How much time depends on how well you want your company or brand to look. But you can do a lot in under two hours, depending on how uploadable and configurable your content is.

It’s not hard to do. In my blog post LinkedIn 101: Company Pages, for the MYOB blog The Pulse, I explain the basics of setting up your Company Page.

In that post I make the point that the “company” does not have to be an incorporated entity, such as an LLC in the United States, a Pty Ltd company in Australia, etc. You can set up a company page just for a brand.

Don’t stop at just a description of the company

A lot of companies, large and small, set up company pages on LinkedIn, then neglect to provide any information under the tab for products or services. That’s like saying, “Hello, we’re here, but we don’t want to sell you anything.”

Put some work into the image

Depending on your graphic skills and tools, the only thing you might need help with is the image at the top of the page.

If you or a team or family member has Photoshop or similar, you will be able to put something together.

I’m no graphic designer, but I made the image below using Photoshop Elements (an ancient version, 2.0).

And in case the Photoshop or Photoshop option is out of reach, in another blog post, Don’t Waste the Picture Space on Your LinkedIn Company Page, I’ve explained about how to set up the image and some options other than Photoshop.

It’s a no-brainer

When you check on what your competitors have done – or not done – about LinkedIn company pages, you might be surprised at how few of your competitors are seizing this opportunity and at how simple a matter it is for you to use this extra way of getting your story out.

Does opportunity knock for you here?

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Des Walsh provides a range of LinkedIn coaching and “done for you” services.

Contact details for Des at this link.

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Image credit: LinkedIn pen from The Seafarer – Sheila S via Flickr CC BY 2.0

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