Podcasts have been very popular in recent years. Many Americans find themselves listening to them on their commute to work, during their daily walk or run, and even while doing household chores. That's a lot of opportunities to get people to listen to your podcast.
It seems like nowadays everyone has a podcast, both individuals and businesses alike. They're like the new social media - people just can’t get enough of them. Whether you search a podcast on the Spotify app, Google play, Apple podcasts, Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Twitter, you're bound to get endless results. There are even influencers and marketers on the rise due to their podcast creations. But, is it too late to start one for your business? Absolutely not, there's still time! After all, audio content is where it's at nowadays and it doesn't show any signs of disappearing.
With the marketing world constantly changing and business leaders repeatedly introducing new forms of marketing to try, we can understand why you might be a little hesitant of starting a podcast. But, we can guarantee that this is something you definitely don't want to miss out on, especially if your competitors are already doing it.
Read on to learn why starting a podcast is good for your business and how you can get started.
Podcasting could be the missing piece of the puzzle for your business. Creating a podcast is a great way to increase brand awareness and follow your customer through all stages in the customer journey. Starting a podcast gives you a chance to do some storytelling to help build the trust of your audience and eventually lead to more sales, speeding up your sales process. Creating podcast content for your small business or start-up is an excellent way to spread the word and attract potential customers.
The cool thing about podcasts is that it's sort of like a blog post, but it's audio. Hearing your voice might make customers think of your business as a thought leader or industry expert; therefore, your target accounts will be more likely to trust you and whatever you're selling. It's also a more personal form of digital marketing. We're sure you're putting out valuable content in your social media and email marketing campaigns, but with a podcast, downloads can happen at any time, even months after you’ve put the content out there.
In order to record a podcast episode, you're going to want to start with some best practices to cover the basics.
First and foremost, make sure that a podcast is worth it for your business. Ask yourself the following questions: Are your competitors doing it? Is your target audience likely to listen to podcasts? If your answer is yes to both of those questions, there's room for you to become an industry authority and it's time to give it a go. However, if you answered no to either question, we suggest doing a bit more research on the subject matter before you start. Do some research on the specific topic you hope to focus on and whether or not there's a gap in the market for it.
As far as equipment goes, all you really need is a microphone with excellent audio quality and a single host platform to host your content such as Buzzsprout, RedCircle, or RSS.com. Some podcasters use editing software such as Audacity, Descript, or Adobe Audition to edit the content before they put it up on the internet. Maybe you want a camera to film the podcast - recording a video of your podcast will allow you to share it on additional platforms you wouldn't have hit otherwise such as YouTube or Instagram. It's up to you to determine whether there are any additional podcasting gadgets you'd like to buy.
Are you hoping to increase your lead generation, customer success, or improve your account based marketing (ABM) techniques? Are you looking to create a marketing podcast or even a salesman podcast that people use as a resource? Whatever the reason for your podcast creation, make sure you set clear goals for yourself. Don't be afraid to get creative with these goals and shoot for the stars. Who knows, overtime you may just end up being the new podcast sensation.
Know what you're trying to achieve by creating the podcast. Once you have clear goals in place, it becomes easier to create content. Knowing your goals and your niche is the best way to help you create valuable content for your podcast listeners to ensure they'll be coming back for more.
Just like any other form of content marketing, podcast marketing requires a marketing strategy. Create a strategy around how often you'd like to put out a new episode - will this be a daily podcast? Weekly podcast? You're going to want to find the "just right" amount of posting so that people will be excited when they see you've put out a new podcast and won't view it as spam.
Maybe it's part of your strategy to build connections via networking and have guests on the show. Inviting guest speakers takes some of the pressure off of you to speak the whole time, and can provide the audience with an additional perspective. Plus, inviting a guest on some of your episodes can increase the reach of your podcast. Hello, new podcast listeners!
Once you've established your niche, made a podcast episode or two, and have hit the ground running, don't be afraid to showcase the podcast on your social media platforms. This will help you dig yourself out of the trenches to get on top and might lead you to building that network you hope to create. Plus, you’ve worked hard to create this, don’t be afraid to shout it out from the rooftops.
It's always overwhelming when you try something new. Plus, podcasts involve a lot of work, from establishing the basics, getting the right equipment, coming up with valuable content (this includes SEO and editing) and finally publishing each new episode. If you're ready to get the ball rolling, but are still in search of a little marketing help to perfect your podcast, we'd be happy to speak with you. Reach out to us with any initial questions you might have or schedule a discovery call with us.