Podcasts aren’t just a trend. In fact, they’re now more popular than ever. Find out why you should include podcasts in your marketing strategy in our blog.
At the turn of the century, the concept of podcasting was attaching sound and video files in RSS feeds, while also being considered a relatively obscure form of spreading audio information. Today, podcasts are a recognised medium for distributing audio content for both businesses and hobbyists, producing radio-style programmes to be listened to at the convenience of the consumer.
As years went by and interest in the format grew, more companies began to offer podcasts as an uploadable option on their platforms. In June 2005, Apple’s iTunes 4.9 added formal support for podcasts, which negated the need for consumers to download what they were planning to listen to on a mobile device. Since then, the market has exploded. With the introduction of Spotify as an industry-leading streaming service, as well as others like YouTube and Google Podcasts, there are countless places to share audio content in 2021 as the podcast industry continues to grow.
What’s more, podcasts offer an incredible marketing tool at an inexpensive price. There are a variety of methods we can use to target consumers, but podcasts are often underutilised. They allow you to hyper target your audience – especially when the industry is a niche one – with informative, educational, and entertaining content. If you’re looking for another revenue stream, podcasts may not be for you – but for a small outlay, creating your own podcast offers a strong return on investment, a potential increase in sales and a more engaged audience. Oh, and they can also have a positive effect on your SEO too!
If you’re an avid listener of podcasts, you will know that there are no set rules when it comes to what you could talk about. There are podcasts about relationships, serial killers, football, and a whole host of other topics – and a lot of these genres of podcast overlap in terms of multiple podcasts covering them.
If your business is in a niche industry, there is a huge opportunity for a podcast relevant to your industry. If your business is more popular in terms of the service you provide, there is still big opportunity to build a separate podcast that elevates your business and the awareness of your main brand.
But which format should your podcast take? Some of the most effective examples are outlined below.
Interview-Based Podcasts
Interview-based podcasts are a terrific way to delve deeper into your industry and get guests with relevant knowledge to share. This can elevate your brand as a leader in its field, whilst also providing a great mini-marketing boost when your guest shares their appearance on your podcast across social media. Getting regular guests can be tricky depending on how niche your industry is, so make sure you’re advertising far and wide.
Educational Podcasts
Educational podcasts are underutilised in business and can provide a real way to connect with a large audience. If you’re a marketing professional, you have more than likely listened to a podcast on Spotify or YouTube (or another platform) and gained some concrete knowledge to take back to your day-to-day work. There are plenty of educational podcasts covering history and politics, but you can truly hyper target a specific audience with some valuable information and your expertise. If you have a wide range of expertise within your company, then you can educate people about multiple subjects across multiple episodes!
Conversational Podcasts
This is a great option for two to three people to regularly sit down and dissect industry news or more wide-ranging trending topics. If you have experts that can speak about trends or news topics, then your listeners are provided with relevant, strong conversation that is topical to the week or month that it’s produced in. Think sitting around a table and having a chat with friends, but your friends are incredibly well-informed. And even better, if there’s passion in that conversation, it will certainly reflect in your episode.
Documentary Podcasts
There is the possibility that your industry is too niche and that interest in it is going to be low. That is not the end of the world. A limited docu-series about your industry, dispelling the myths surrounding it, could do wonders for public relations and consumer trust. Think Louis Theroux or Dispatches, but in podcast form and relevant to you.
Vodcasts
Vodcasts can take on any format. The only difference is that the podcast is available in all of the expected places, but also on a video hosting platform too – think YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo. People will be able to listen as usual, but for those that prefer a visual aid with their content, they’ll be able to see the faces of those experts who are talking.
There are many benefits of starting a podcast and using it as a marketing tool. Podcasting allows your business to showcase the personality and character of the organisation and helps to attract new clients and increase sales – but it also creates trust between the consumer and the business too.
A podcast offers the ability to recycle, repurpose and reuse content too – something that can only benefit you in the long run. A podcast episode can be turned into a blog post, and a blog post can offer talking points or be part of a script for an upcoming episode – just because someone reads your blog or listens to your podcast doesn’t mean that they do both. What’s more, podcasts allow for a deep dive into content you’ve already produced, either in a written or audio form, to truly engage your audience. With the recent announcement of Anchor and Wordpress joining forces, this has never been easier.
There’s also the world of podcast advertising, where your brand could get short advertising segments in other podcasts. Or, you could offer other brands (maybe not competitors, though!) the opportunity to advertise in yours. If your podcast is its own brand, then advertising your own company via your own podcast is also a possibility.
Perhaps the strongest benefit of starting a podcast, however, is the ability to become an authoritative presence in your industry. Showcasing your enthusiasm and knowledge is something that’s not always easy to do in writing, and regular podcasts could establish you, your hosts and your organisation as leaders in the industry.
If you’ve decided that starting a podcast is the right move for your business and you’re ready to cast your podcasting net across a potentially entire new audience, then there’s no better time to start planning and producing your shiny new marketing tool.
Not sure where to start? Hop on the microphone with our podcasting experts by booking a call to discuss how we can start your audio journey.