Am I missing something?

The stats show that more of us are listening to podcasts, up from 12% of Americans in 2013 to 24% in 2017. Our lives are getting busier and podcasting acts as a time saver, allowing us to multi task. Podcasts were most often listened to while driving (52%), traveling (46%), walking/running/biking (40%), commuting on public transport (37%) or in the gym (32%). [1]

In the UK, podcasts topped the charts for audio consumption increase in 2017, beating digital music and audio books into second and third place. The same study found the two biggest reasons people listened were because they found them interesting (51%) or to learn something new (26%). [2]

What I don’t understand is why more people in the hospitality industry, who are uniquely placed to educate and entertain are not producing podcasts.

That being said, I think the industry should be producing podcasts of their own to entertain and educate an increasingly audio hungry population. Let me share some ideas I’ve been having about how various players in the hospitality industry can win with podcasting.

Restaurants could produce engaging content that tells the backstory of the food and dining experience in greater depth than visual platforms like Instagram can. It’s all well and good showing the perfect, finished plate, but what about the growers and chefs telling the real story of the dish in their own words? As restaurant menus change constantly through the year there is a seemingly limitless source of new, fresh material.

Another reason why restaurants (especially those at the pricier end of the spectrum) should be podcasting is that it gives a way for patrons to interact without spending money. If someone can only afford a restaurant visit once every six months, but can engage every month with the restaurant podcast, it leaves much less opportunity for them to be tempted away then next time it comes to splurge.

Bars could adopt a similar approach. The main difference in consumer behaviour being that visits can made on a more regular basis than with restaurants because of the price difference. I would adapt the restaurant strategy by posting more often, perhaps releasing a podcast every couple of weeks, and by giving more practical advice. Drink and snack pairing, or suggestions about making cocktails, non-alcoholic or vegan friendly drinks with interesting ingredients.

I think the biggest opportunity is for wine fairs and trade tastings, especially annual or biennial ones (every two years). It is all too easy to overload social media channels with pictures, tweets, hashtags and other content immediately prior to and during an event. However, for many events, once the doors have closed, all interaction ends until next time, with nothing new to keep the attendees mentally engaged in the meantime. This ‘fallow period’ would be the perfect time to drip feed content produced at the show via a podcast, updated with stories from behind the scenes.

An annual wine fair could release the audio of grower interviews from the show to remind those who came what was said and also to engage those who couldn’t make it and let them feel a part of the live experience. Information of a more technical nature, such as wine production detail and price, could provide useful details for buyers, and if published in advance, could also help them prepare their plan of attack on the day.

As far as I can tell no-one is currently producing voice content of this type and no-one (so far) can tell me why.

Google ‘restaurant podcasts’ and you are served up restaurants making guest appearances on other podcasts. Why are restaurant owners not taking control of their diner’s audio experience once they have left the restaurant and ensure it is of the same quality they enjoyed on-site.

If I’ve sparked a flicker of interest then I have included my current list of podcasting equipment on my Instagram page (below) and I would love one of you to take up the podcast challenge.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Listen to Interpreting Wine on

Follow Interpreting Wine on

REF:

Related posts:

Catalan independence is Brexit with helicopters. … a very poorly thought-out idea, taken with little thought of the consequences, driven by some strange desire to “take the power back”..

The problem was that when a user tries to download something from the website, the icon in URL bar disappears. The expected result is for the icon not to disappear. It took me more than three weeks…

Visit almost any city or major town in the world and you will be confronted by the same images, the same brand names — Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Nestle, Nike, VW. We now have instant news available…