When you think of learning, your first thought might be of books, videos, or hands-on experiences. For visual learners, engaging with content through imagery, diagrams, and videos is often the go-to method. However, in the world of eCommerce, there’s a hidden gem for visual learners that they may not always consider: podcasts. While podcasts are primarily an audio medium, they offer unique ways to engage with eCommerce content that can be just as effective as visual resources. Here’s why eCommerce podcasts are perfect for visual learners, along with some tips for getting the most out of them.
Podcasts Engage Your Imagination and Visualisation Skills
For visual learners, the key to retaining information lies in creating mental images. Podcasts may not offer visuals directly, but they stimulate your imagination, encouraging you to visualise the concepts and strategies discussed. With experts discussing ecommerce and sharing insights on creating a customer journey or building a brand, it’s up to you to picture the steps in your mind. This active engagement can help reinforce learning in a way that’s similar to how you would digest visual content.
By envisioning the topics as you listen, you create a mental blueprint for applying the knowledge to your own eCommerce business. It’s a process of translating audio information into visuals in your mind, which deepens understanding and recall.
Combining Audio Content with Written Notes
One advantage of podcasts is that they can be consumed on-the-go. For visual learners, this offers the perfect opportunity to complement the audio with written resources. Many podcasts provide show notes or links to relevant articles, charts, and diagrams. By taking notes during the podcast, you can jot down key ideas and then create visual representations, such as mind maps or flowcharts, to map out the information in a way that suits your learning style.
For example, when a podcast discusses a new eCommerce marketing strategy, you could pause and sketch out a diagram of the process. The combination of listening and visual note-taking helps reinforce learning and gives you a tangible, visual way to reference what you’ve learned later on.
Podcasts Encourage Active Listening and Focus
While visual learners typically prefer seeing information, they can also benefit from the focus that podcasts demand. With podcasts, you can’t rely on images or text to fill in gaps; you must actively listen to retain information. This process strengthens your attention span and comprehension. As a visual learner, you may find that focusing entirely on the audio can help improve your overall understanding and absorption of eCommerce concepts, particularly when podcasts present practical, real-world examples that you can later visualise and apply to your own business.
Listening carefully allows you to absorb the finer details of topics such as website design, SEO strategies, and customer experience, which you can then picture in your head or translate into a visual strategy once you’ve completed the podcast.
Storytelling and Case Studies Create Visual Context
A big benefit of many eCommerce podcasts is the storytelling aspect. Hosts and guests often share their personal journeys or case studies, painting a picture of the challenges and successes they’ve experienced. For visual learners, these stories can be powerful tools for understanding complex topics.
As you listen to an eCommerce entrepreneur describe how they scaled their business, you’ll likely visualise the entire process. Picture the setup of their website, the flow of their marketing campaign, or how they handled customer service. These mental images are often just as effective as watching a step-by-step video guide, as the visualisation process helps embed the lessons more deeply.
How to Tell that a Podcast Episode is for You
Have you listened to some eCommerce podcasts recently and realised that they aren’t for you? There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling like you’ve wasted your time. This is particularly true if you’re listening to podcasts to improve your business. Well, the good news is that you can quickly identify a podcast episode right for you with some time and analysis. Let’s take a look at how you can tell a podcast episode will be enjoyable and educational to avoid wasting your time.
Look at the Title and Description
Most podcasts are going to have several episodes you can listen to. In order to choose the right one, you should read the title and description. This is going to let you know the topic they’re covering in the episode and whether it’s going to be content that you enjoy. Good podcasts will make sure that this is detailed and gives you a summary. Then, you can select the episode that’s going to be beneficial for your business, and that’s going to be interesting to listen to.
Read the Comments
Some podcasts give listeners the ability to leave feedback on an episode. Indeed, this is information you can use to decide on what you want to listen to. If there’s a lot of positive feedback, this is a sign that the topic is well-received by other people, and it can encourage you to give it a go. But, if there’s negativity, you can take this as a warning and stay away from this episode.
Check the Length
Are you somebody that wants quick and short bursts of information? You’re not going to benefit from a slow-burn, two-hour-long podcast episode. Instead, you’d be much better off listening to shorter ones where you can stay engaged and get the most benefit out of them. Therefore, always check how long the episode is before choosing it.
Conclusion
While podcasts are predominantly an auditory medium, they can be just as valuable for visual learners. By engaging your imagination, combining audio with written notes, and focusing on the stories shared, you can translate audio content into visual concepts that enhance your understanding. Podcasts also offer the flexibility to pause, rewind, and revisit key ideas, making them an excellent tool for those who prefer learning through visualisation.
If you’re a visual learner, don’t overlook the power of podcasts in your eCommerce journey. By using a combination of audio and visual resources, you can deepen your knowledge, strengthen your business strategies, and build a strong foundation for success in the eCommerce world.
