Podcasting can be a game-changer to market your business. With more than half of people, ages 12-54, listening to podcasts every month, a podcast is a great way to reach and engage an audience.
What makes it better: it’s long-form content that can be sliced, diced and served across social and other digital channels.
As promising as podcasting is, too few talk about this one reality of podcasting:
Podcasting isn’t always as simple as pressing record.
It requires heavy investments of time, energy, networking, and sometimes, money. So, how can you make the most of podcasting – by hosting your very own show or being a guest on others? Here are a few ideas…
Know what you’re getting into
Did you know that over 1 million podcasts have launched since 2020? That brings the total of podcasts to about 3 million.
That’s a lot of podcasts. It’s a lot of voices, too.
Don’t let this number intimidate you. A Reddit post says 90% of podcasters don’t get past episode 3. I can’t verify the stat. I can say it tracks, at least anecdotally. There have been dozens of people over the last 10 years who have told me about their podcast dreams only for the far majority to fizzle after a few episodes (or before releasing their very first).
There’s good news. Because most people quit, there is real room for folks who will truly stick with it, and there is a learnable strategy behind all the madness.
Prepare for your podcast
The off-the-cuff style of podcasting is a popular one. You know, the one where two or three friends come together and just start chatting about nothing, and poof, they create podcasting gold.
It rarely happens this way. Most of the time, the most casual, natural conversations come as a result of hours of preparation. If you’re looking to create a casual vibe to your podcast, and deliver value to your listeners, a little prep work can go a long way:
- Knowing your guest. Take time to learn as much as you can about who they are, how they got started in their line of business and what led them to where they are today. This will give you the context you’ll need to lead an engaging conversation.
- Understand your audience. Why should your audience tune into this episode? What will they gain or learn? Discuss expectations with your guest ahead of your session, so you’re both clear on what you want the audience to take away.
- Review key topics/questions. If possible, collaborate with your guest on a few key topics/questions to cover in the episode. Naturally, you want to leave enough room for in-the-moment connection, but having a framework in mind can help keep the conversation focused and aligned.
Measure podcast performance beyond downloads
As you get going with your podcast, you’ll soon want to know if it’s a worthy venture for your business. Lucky for you, most podcasting platforms offer plenty of metrics to review. Subscribers, downloads, listening times – all are important to note.
Yet, they’re notoriously low for the majority of podcasters – especially in the B2B space. More importantly, such metrics only tell but a slice of a bigger, truer story.
To measure the ROI of your podcast, I recommend looking beyond the metrics. Here are a few questions you can ask:
- Am I generating leads beyond my personal network?
- Have I been invited to share my insights on panels or webinars, in articles or on other podcasts?
- How is my repurposed podcast content performing on my other channels?
Consider being a podcast guest
Podcasting isn’t for everyone. And, it doesn’t need to be for you. That doesn’t mean you should cross podcasting off your content marketing list.
Instead, consider podcast guesting. It’s cost-effective marketing at its best. It’s also your ticket to expand your audience and build trust.
When a trusted podcast host welcomes you to their show as a guest, they are signalling to their audience you are a credible and trustworthy source. Now, you have an audience of warm leads who are open to hear what you have to say.
To make the most of your time, then, you’ll want to carefully select the shows that attract the right audience for your business. Equally, you’ll want to align to the hosts who will help strengthen your brand. Then, squeeze every once of value from each episode.
Prepare for it. Then promote it time and time again.
Podcasting, when considered strategically, can be a powerful content marketing tool. I’d love to hear about what podcasting tips you’d add to this list.
Happy podcasting!
