WAYN, Metacafe and vodcasting are in, says technology masterclass

Youtube and Myspace are out, WAYN.com and Metacafe are in.

What’s more, the travel industry’s future clients will decide whether they like your website in eight seconds.

This is the verdict of CIMTIG member Steve Dunne, who delivered a master class in podcasting at the Travel Technology Show in London.

Dunne, who is managing director of strategic marketing company Digital Drums, told visitors to the masterclass that today’s under 23-year-olds were now known as digital natives and they represented the future consumer.

These natives do not read newspapers or magazines but respond to audio and visual stimulation, and were far more likely to receive a travel company’s marketing message via podcasts than newspaper and TV advertising.

“Right now we are at a pivotal moment in marketing and we are going to see some very big changes,” he said.

“Podcasts are at the forefront of this. Web 3.0 will be about ubiquity – you won’t have to go to a PC to access the internet, it will be all around you and almost certainly on mobiles and handheld devices which lend themselves perfectly to effective podcasts that interest the listener and subtly put your branding message across.”

He said digital immigrants were used to downloading podcasts and playing them when they wanted (unlike analogue programming which dictates when something is broadcast), were spoilt for choice so highly selective about what they listened to and, most importantly, would not download your podcast unless it had the WIFM factor (what’s in it for me).

“Most podcasts are not successful because they do not spell out how they can help the consumer, or they push the brand too hard which annoys the listener.

“There are many factors you need to get right and having a bad podcast can damage your brand so you need to think hard about how you go about it.”

Some 8 million people a month are now downloading and going mobile with podcasts.

Dunne predicts that vodcasting is the next big thing in digital marketing. This will see more and more brands sponsoring short “how to” videos which interest the viewer while allowing for branding, such as DIY chain Wickes sponsoring short videos on how to lay laminate flooring.

By Dinah Hatch