I’m a fan of interviews, but for all the wrong reasons. I enjoy the questions more than the responses. I also tend to analyze the reasons why the interview is taking place and what the motivation was for seeking out that specific person. In any case, the marketing and Web industry as a whole provides no shortage of interesting interviews in all possible formats. Text, video and audio all have pros and cons.
Text interviews:
Pros: SEO benefit, easily scanable, easy to copy-paste interesting bits, encourages conversations and responses in-kind (text begets text).
Cons: Everyone proofs their answers, and while people are in most cases genuine the fact remains we polish these. Also may lack emotion (but not necessarily, some writers exude it).
Video interviews:
Pros: Nice to see face to face, you can’t fake your responses, emotion included.
Cons: They take time and focus to watch, takes skill to give them and make them compelling, hard to quote the interesting bits quickly to reblog/share.
Audio interviews:
Pros: Add to your iPod and throw in your car and your commute is good to go, or you can work and listen.
Cons: Same problem as video – unless you count on people to transcribe, your words might not travel as far as the people listening. Also these take time to listen to – we read much faster than we can listen.
From the perspective of the person consuming the content, to analyzing the most interesting questions, to understanding what makes for a compelling answer there are lessons in all directions. It’s vital for PR pros and marketers alike to comprehend all elements and have a grasp on what makes for compelling interviews.
With that said, instead of reading more from me today, I’m sending you on a mission: explore some Q&A’s from around the web and learn what makes for the best interviews. I could share my insights on what makes for great (or not so great) interviews, but you wouldn’t learn nearly as much as you will if you go through some samples and take notes for yourself:
44 Buzzworthy Marketing Interviews:
1. Inside Seth Godin’s Blogging Philosophy (Ad Age)
2. Austin Lifestyles SXSW 2009 Video: Blogging, Apps and Tech Trends (Interview with Louis Gray)
3. Twitter CEO Evan Williams Interviewed on Charlie Rose [Video] (Mashable)
4. Social Media Interview: Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic (Online Marketing Blog)
5. McCann NY on using Social Media (Marketing.FM)
6. Interview with Rae Hoffman AKA Sugarrae (SEO Book)
7. The Truth About The Early Days of Digg (Center Networks)
8. Lee Odden on Social, SEO, Evolution & Training (aimClear)
9. Interview With Brian Solis (Life In Perpetual Beta)
10. Social Media Mavens – An Interview with PepsiCo’s Bonin Bough (The Viral Garden)
11. Interview With A Pro Blogger: Sarah Perez (The Future Buzz)
12. BlogTalkRadio: An Interview With Deborah Ng (The Blog Herald)
13. WPWeekly Episode 53 – Interview With Daniel Scocco (WP Tavern)
14. Video Interview: The Posterous Team on their Vision, Strategy and Growth (Steve Rubel)
15. The Agency Side of Business: Mitch Joel, Twist Image (Conversation Agent)
16. Social Media And Web Publishing: Interview With John Boitnott (The Future Buzz)
17. Interview with Ali Hale on Staff Blogging (Daily Blog Tips)
18. SEMVideo: Rand Fishkin on the Future of SEO in 2009 (ineedhits Blog)
19. Interview: Jack Conte, Internet Musician (CrunchGear)
20. Darren Rowse Interview: Brand Yourself Like a ProBlogger (Personal Branding Blog)
21. An Interview with Steve Rubel of MicroPersuasion.com (murraynewlands.com)
22. Journalism and Social Media: Video Interview (Read Write Web)
23. WordPress’s Matt Mullenweg Speaks! (All Things Digital)
24. Questions for Yahoo’s Hilary Schneider and Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi (Search Engine Watch)
25. Interview with Threadless (Beyond The Pedway)
26. Mario Sanchez Carrion: Register a domain with your name. Start Now. (Nombray)
27. Scott Monty of Ford Motor Company discusses social media (Web Ink Now)
28. Content Marketing Gets Real: An Interview With Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz (CopyBlogger)
29. Robert Scoble Interviews Mark Zuckerberg (Building 43)
30. Guy Kawasaki’s interview with Bruna Martinuzzi (Open Forum)
31. 7 questions with Josh Bernoff (Church of the Customer)
32. Tim Ferriss Interview (ProBlogger)
33. John Kador and Tom Peters Interview (tompeters!)
34. The Future of the Social Web – Interview with Jeremiah Owyang (VisInsights)
35. Ben Goldhirsh: Good Magazine, Great Business (BNET)
36. An Interview with Language Trainers, Creators of the Accent Game (techipedia)
37. Interview With Stephen Smith – Business, Productivity and SEO (Chris G)
38. Aggregating Data Makes Us Smarter: An Interview With Kayak Founder Paul English (Wired)
39. Personal Branding Interview: Hugh MacLeod (Personal Branding Blog)
40. Future of Work: Interview with Chris Brogan (The Marketing Fresh Peel)
41. Interview Dominic Pouzin – Data Applied (Decision Stats)
42. Interview with Scott Henderson (Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media)
43. World According To Michael Arrington (Portfolio)
44. Interview: Pandora CTO Tom Conrad On Streaming Royalty Rates And New Funding (TechCrunch)
What do you think makes for a compelling and memorable interview?
image credit: R. Gino Santa Maria via Shutterstock (used with permission)