I’m a content guy by way of a media production background. I’ve always been an A/V geek at heart, with a strong desire to tell creative stories that resonate. That said, rarely does a day go by when I don’t have a bee in my bonnet about how companies approach content creation for inbound marketing.
Case and point, I’ve seen so many content marketers use these goofy looking USB microphones that either look like stress balls or toy microphones emulating the golden age of radio. Do they work well? Sure. Should you buy them? If it makes you happy, go with God, my friend. But if you’re going to get serious about content creation and spend the money on it, it pays to think flexibility.
Why do people buy these microphones? They’re dead simple to use out of the box. They’re (relatively) cheap. They can go down to Best Buy in the morning and have a podcast in the afternoon. That’s all well and good, but what happens when you want to record multiple people on a podcast? Say you want to record something in the field, or for a more specific purpose down the road — will this be a usable solution?
For the cost of a USB microphone like a Blue Yeti, you can get a very capable and flexible USB mixer, and a solid dynamic microphone. Why do this? Flexibility! You can get a good Behringer USB mixer with four microphone inputs for less than a Yeti, allowing you freedom to record just about anything now and into the future. It has USB connectivity, so you can plug it into any computer just like a Yeti, but also the ability to use it as a bona fide mixer for field recording or PA purposes. They’re just as simple to use. Trust me.
You can apply the same principle to just about any other form of content creation. If you take the time to think down the road, take a look at what’s out there and not just go bounding after the quickest solution, you’ll be amazed what you can do. (And, how little it’ll cost you!)
