Re: Podcasts for Customer Support

[Beth Agnew <beth -dot- agnew -at- senecac -dot- on -dot- ca>]

I don't see manuals being completely replaced any time soon -- people 
like their security blanket user guides --  but podcasts (strictly 
speaking a video broadcast is also a podcast) should be at least 
considered as part of any future documentation project. They have 
multiple uses, including marketing, customer support, sales, training, 
and documentation.

Rather than writing stilted scripts, I recommend storyboarding or point 
form outlines that an articulate narrator will then turn into decent 
instruction. You get the step by step as well as accurate visuals. 
Planning has to be as comprehensive as for a manual, but production 
costs have now fallen so that audio and video are achievable on a budget.

Thinking about the audience, the rising generations are more accustomed 
to getting information in audio and video form than ever before. Reality 
TV is making us accustomed to seeing guerrilla-style video rather than 
studio production style, so our expectations are different. You can 
achieve great rapport with the audience in a podcast -- as companies are 
realizing. Instead of a formal audio walking some unknown user through a 
sequence of steps, you can create a two-way conversation with a real 
user as you literally help them "online" perform a task. They ask 
questions, you answer them, and it's all recorded as you go. Makes for a 
very rich user experience.

There's plenty of potential in this area that we have not even begun to 
implement. One good thing is that you could probably get some of 
marketing's budget if you wanted to give it a go.
--Beth

--
Beth Agnew
STC Presentation Podcasting & Vidcasting, the Future of TechComm archived at: http://www.301url.com/podcasting

Professor, Technical Communication
Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology
Toronto, ON 416.491.5050 x3133
http://www.tinyurl.com/83u5u

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