Mark Kinsley, the VP of Marketing for the Bedding Group here at Leggett & Platt, came to me and suggested we launch a podcast focused on the mattress industry. Huh? “Who would listen to such a thing and how do you even do that?” was my response. After some discussion, Mark had me sold. If we write a blog about the mattress industry, why couldn’t we do a podcast? Kinsley has a background in radio and I am totally willing to embarrass myself in public, so hey, this thing could work.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/150465303″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Social media platforms exist so people can connect, learn, discuss, share opinions, etc. This podcast is going to do that but on steroids. We have Sleep-Geek.com, where people can go to learn about the industry, about sleep, and educate themselves on how to be better RSAs. We write Q’s Views to share thoughts on this industry and then we push a conversation to Mattress Industry Executives on LinkedIn, where people can debate it all. As for the podcast, it will be more of a live discussion where we bring all our online communities to life, talk about what is happening and talk about what you are saying! We will interview guests when it makes sense and share the latest industry news. On a side note, we tip our hat to Dave Perry from Furniture Today, who to my knowledge started the first mattress industry podcast, so thanks for leading the way, Professor.

I think the podcast is a great way for us to make the industry a little more fun, bring it up to speed with others already using this communication tool, and create a platform where we can shine the light on some best practices and allow us the same opportunity to call out people when they are heading down the wrong path. If we are learning from each other on how to make the industry better from the consumer’s perspective, we all win, so let that be our ultimate goal.

I am guessing these podcasts are going to be about 30 minutes to an hour in length, but don’t worry, we will include show notes on each episode so you can navigate right to the section that interests you most, or to where we might be talking about you or your company. In addition, we will always have links to websites we mention in the show itself so you can see what we see.

If you want to know the latest dirt, find out about the coolest new websites, hear about trending social media stuff, or learn something about what others are doing to market their business, you need to tune in.

Thanks for all the terrific feedback so far on Episode 1 – the comments have been great, so keep them coming. If you have any suggestions for show topics, know of someone we should interview, or want to be a guest, just let us know via Twitter: @joplinquinn or @markkinsley. You can also send us a suggestion in the comments section here or in our LinkedIn group, Mattress Industry Executives.

So what do you think needs discussing? Who needs a shout out and who needs to be called out?