OC Talk Radio was created by a group of traditional marketeers who realized that marketing is no longer a one way street.  You can't just put up a billboard and hope people buy. The Internet has changed all that.  Just as highways long ago bypassed regular streets and opened up new arteries for commerce to flow, so too has the "information super highway" found a way to "cut thru the clutter" of traditional advertising and open up a direct dialog with your community.  Need to find someone who imports Indian beer?  No problem.  Go online and instantly see who sells Golden Eagle lager.

 

But the Internet doesn't just connect people with information anymore.  It can connect people to each other.  That's the promise of Social Media and the whole Web 2.0.  It allows you to begin and carry on a direct conversation with your customers and community.  But what do you say?  How do you create enough interesting content to fill up your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts on a weekly basis, to say nothing about your daily blogs and monthly newsletters?  That's where Internet Radio can help as well, for it gives you something new and interesting to say each week to your audience to capture their attention and hold their interest long enough to show them what you're offering and why it's so special.

 

It also instantly sets you apart from the rest of your competitors, for who else hosts a radio show on your topic?  You instantly become "the expert" in your area.  And by capturing each broadcast and recording them as "podcasts" for download later, you add valuable "rich media" to your site that brings traffic and raises you Search Engine rankings at the same time.

 

It's all in what you make of it.  You may find that no one is listening to your shows or your weekly message.  But the crazy thing is that it STILL may be worth your time and investment to keep broadcasting, for in addition to raising your rankings, emphasizng your "expertise" and enticing potential customers to carry on a conversation with you over the Internet, hosting your own Internet Radio show is probably the most powerful networking and prospecting tool you can ever imagine.  Want to meet someone but you can't get past the front door?  Try calling them up and asking them to be a guest on your radio show!  Who could refuse an invitation like that?

 

Now you've delivered on every part of the social media promise.  You've enticed a customer to "check you out" and enter into a conversation with you by offering them something FREE upfront, with TREMENDUOS VALUE (the opportunity to be interviewed on a real live radio show). If everything goes as planned, you've also probably left them with a postive impression of "who you are" and "what you're offering".  And if you're really smart, you've found a way to HAVE THEM TELL YOU everything you wanted to know about their company and how your product or service might help them. Hopefully, you've also left behind some material about your product or service that your new connection won't immediately thwow away.

 

Maybe you even invited them to attend one of your free seminars.  Or you took them out to lunch afterwards to thank them for all the information, advice and experience they've shared with your audience.  Whatever your follow-up, you've made it into their Rolodex and opened the door to an ongoing dialogue and continuing conversation. 

 

But there's even more to expect!  You've certainly sent them a copy of their interview to post on THEIR website and forward to THEIR friends and customers, thereby pushing your "viral message" even further and opening yourself up to even more conversations with people you haven't even met yet.

 

For that's the true power and potential of INTERNET RADIO.  It allows you to instantly and inexpensively reach an international audience with your message.  To raise your image and "personal brand" by positioning yourself as the expert in some area or subject.  And it allows you to create regular, interesting content that can be posted on all your other Social Media sites to help increase traffic, raise awareness (along with your search engine rankings) and start real, meaningful conversations with people you want to meet and know.