Podcasting has emerged as a hugely popular and rewarding method of reaching your target audience with your brand message. According to Nielsen podcast insights, podcast listening is not only up, it’s favouring businesses.
- As of April 2020, there were over 30 million podcast episodes available
- Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel
- There has been a 157% increase in podcast listening on smartphones since 2014
- Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media
If you have the resources, the skills and above all, the commitment (or you know someone who does,) podcasting is a no brainer for businesses that want to connect on a personal level.
Wait… Are you ready?
Embarking on a new podcast series is exciting! It’s often extremely tempting to announce your launch as soon as possible, after planning out just a couple of episodes. However, there’s lots to consider if you want to be consistent and grow a steady audience over time, without burning out of ideas and resources, fast.
Your podcast is going to be a major marketing platform for your brand. Like any new venture in marketing, it can’t be effective without a sound strategy.
Consider the following five points in your podcast marketing strategy, before you put on those headphones!
Audience
Who are you talking to? What’s the key demographic? In the same way inbound marketing relies on a thorough understanding of your target market, so does your podcast. Identify the ideal listener:
- What’s their age range?
- What do they do for a living?
- When are they most likely going to be available to listen?
- What topics would they tune in to?
- What questions about your product or service do they need answering?
Programme schedule
What subjects will you cover? Brainstorm episode ideas; an exhaustive list of 50 episode ideas, discussion topics or themes will enable you to begin to plan a programme schedule you can realistically deliver, without the series losing its focus and impact later down the road.
Format
Not all podcasts are the same; listen to as many podcasts in your field as you can! Determine the format that suits your business best:
- Formal and corporate
- Informal and light-hearted
- Intimate, one-on-one conversations
- Monologue
- Roundtable discussion
- Chat show style
- Documentary style
Hardware and software
Whether you are producing your podcast yourself or entrusting production duties to a team of professional content creators, ensure your podcast has the best possible chance of performing among the top shows in your market. A modest recording set up is enough to get started, but you need recording and production skills in order to be competitive.
Location!
Even with the most elaborate recording technology and techniques, a poor choice of location can ultimately spoil the quality of your podcast. Ensure your audio is being created in a suitable space, with minimal outside interference and unwanted sound reflections inside. A bad acoustic setup cannot be fixed in post-production. Getting your location right means getting your podcast right from the start.
Start off right
Most podcast series that fail to get off the ground, do so because of a lack of planning right at the start. Think about where you want to be in a year’s time; how can your podcast series help you to achieve that? Is there anyone who can help get you there?
Talk to Socially Grown if you have any questions about podcasting, and let’s get your podcast strategy off to a winning start.