Starting a podcast can be an effective way to reach out to your target audience and support your business objectives, but without due consideration it can also be an expensive and sometimes distracting endeavour. We have a lot of conversations with businesses and individuals looking to start podcasts to promote their brand and have pulled together this brief guide to help you shape your own thinking.
What are the Business Objective You Are Hoping To Achieve?
Podcasts allows you a unique opportunity to create content around topics that are important to your customers, giving them the opportunity to learn more about your brand and products. It may also be an opportunity for you to educate them in your given field, allowing them to make more informed choices. But without clear business goals, your production can lack direction, fail to create engagement and it can be difficult to assess its success. Before you do anything, discuss, agree and write down your business objectives for the podcast.
The business objectives you hope to achieve from a podcast depend on your product, your audience and the goals of your company. Whether you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or boost sales, having a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish (and how / if you can measure this) will help ensure that your podcast is money well spent and an asset for your business.
Choosing the Right Format for Your Podcast
When creating a podcast, one of the first decisions to make is whether you should produce an audio-only podcast or one with video. Both formats have their advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered before making your decision. It is worth considering the pros and cons of both audio-only and video podcasts so that you can make an informed decision about which format is best for your content.
Audio-only podcasts are the traditional format and offer your audience the convenience of listening to podcasts while doing other tasks, which makes them a great way to consume content. 59% of podcast listeners prefer to listen to podcasts at home (source Riverside: Podcast Listener Demographics). They are also more cost effective than video podcasts due to the reduced volume of editing / mixing work required. The downside to such podcasts is that they offer less in the way of social media content than video. The opportunity for your listeners to come to know and engage with your host/guests is also limited as they will only hear their voice and never put a face to a name.
Video podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as a way to engage with audiences. They offer an interactive, visual experience that can be great for social media and other platforms. However, they can be expensive to produce and edit and any business considering this option should be clear on the tasks involved and the budget required before pursuing a video podcast.
Creating Unique Content & Structuring Your Episodes for Maximum Impact
How you structure your podcast can have a significant impact on how the listener interacts with your brand. For example, without structure a conversational podcast can easily stray and whilst the conversation may be interesting, it may not serve your business objectives. The length, frequency and structure of your podcast is worth consideration before you invite guests, or book studio time.
As you can see from this graphic from buzzsprout, 60% of podcast episodes are less than 40 minutes long with the most popular length for an episode being about 25-30 minutes. This makes it easier for your audience to listen to and complete when commuting, or doing other tasks. With editing, it also allows your conversations or story telling to remain succinct and to the point. There are no rules, but frequency should be considered based on a) budget (how often can you afford to produce your podcast both in terms of peoples time and cost), and b) how does this relate back to your business objectives. It is often better to produce a number of episodes at a time so they be released frequently over the upcoming months.
A common assumption from clients we talk to is that conversational podcasts are the best way of engaging your audience. You have a host, now you need some interesting and preferably high profile guests right? This is not necessarily the case. Returning to your business objectives, if you are trying to educate your customers, might a documentary format be better to discuss the history or origins of your product? Equally, if the goal is to build brand awareness, the subject matter of the podcast may not necessarily need to be about your business field. An interesting series on a topical issue done well may be very well received and appreciated by an audience, who will remember that it was brought to them by your brand.
Marketing Your Professional Podcast & Building an Audience
Making a podcast is one thing, getting people to listen to it is an equally difficult task! If you goal is to achieve large audience numbers your podcast will take a significant amount of time and resources, however, this may not be the case. If you are niche specialist business, you may want your podcast to only reach a few other niche specialist. If an episode gets 150 streams, but one person gets in touch and starts a longstanding and lucrative relationship, that may have been worth it. Your marketing strategy will depend on your circumstances and the objectives of the podcast but it should be considered up front alongside the design of the content itself.
These stats illustrate the efficacy of the medium as an advertising platform:
60% of podcast listeners have bought something from a podcast ad.
72% of listeners who have listened to a podcast for four or more years have purchased a sponsored ad.
69% of respondents say podcast ads increase their awareness of products, brands, and services.
81% say they pay attention to podcast ads more than they do to radio, TV commercials, billboards, and even digital ads on social media.
Ad revenue from podcasting is projected to exceed $2 billion by 2023.
In conclusion, starting a podcast can be a powerful tool to reach your target audience and achieve your business goals. However, it requires careful consideration and planning to ensure that it is a valuable asset for your business. Before embarking on your podcast journey, take time to define your business objectives, choose the appropriate format, create unique and engaging content, and develop a marketing strategy to build your audience. Remember to keep your content relevant to your audience and your business objectives, and keep your episodes structured and succinct. With the right approach, your podcast can become an effective tool to reach and engage with your audience, generate leads, and boost sales.
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