I recently learned of yet another way to use social media to market products, services, and messages online. One of my Facebook friends invited me to listen to an interview on BlogTalkRadio. I went to BlogTalkRadio.com to see what the buzz was all about.

I missed the live show but was able to listen to an archived recording on demand. I was impressed with what I heard and saw, so I did a little digging and found that Blog Talk Radio is a social radio network that allows users to create and broadcast a free, yes FREE, radio talk show that is made available as podcasts online.

No special software or programming knowledge is needed, just a great gift for gab. You pick the topic, the schedule, the guests, and voila…a live internet talk show. Tag your shows with key words for search engine optimization and promote with built in tools that allow you to easily share with Facebook and Twitter. You can even participate in a revenue sharing program. The basic free service is quite adequate, but if you see yourself becoming the next John Tesh, you can upgrade to the expanded service for $39.99 a month.

BlogTalkRadio was launched in August of 2006 and has produced hundreds of thousands of episodes on a variety of topics. They have experienced huge growth this year and are receiving around 850,000 unique visitors a month compared to 44,000 a month on WSRadio or 37,000 a month on Modavox’s Voice America, according to Compete.com.

What this all comes down to is another great way to build your presence online, get your message out, and build credibility in your ever growing network. The fact that it’s free is a bonus. I’ve mentioned this to two clients in the past 24 hours with an overwhelming positive response. So, now it’s your turn to share your voice with the world and join the conversation.