Podcasting is an increasingly popular pastime in the U.S. and there were an estimated 120 million podcast listeners in the country in 2021. Forecasts suggest that the number of podcast listeners will surpass 160 million in 2023 after increases of around 20 million each year.
An estimated 120 million people in the United States listened to podcasts in 2021.
A podcast can be a great marketing tool when done right, with a defined purpose and alignment with the business’s core values. But that doesn’t mean it will get you where you want to go. There are so many things to consider if you want in on the podcasting action.
Podcasts advertising can be effective but in this article we are going discuss creating podcasts as a business strategy for your marketing plan.
Developing a Marketing Plan
Every business should have a marketing plan that is measurable. Marketing plans are similar to media plans in that they have goals and objectives, include end dates to complete the goals, are measurable, and have strategies to be implemented. The difference between a marketing plan and media plan is that a marketing plan acts as a roadmap and a media plan is based on paid advertising strategies.
How do you know if podcasting would be effective for your business? If you’re a business in an industry that has a high customer value, then a podcast may be one of your most effective education and marketing tools. Similar to blogs, podcasting can provide information that can be the deciding factor in future purchase.
Benefits of Podcasting
Depending on the industry you might have your own reason utilizing podcasting as a marketing strategy. Most often the main reason a business uses podcasting is to reach a potential audience that they are missing or to connect with current customer and followers in a more personable way.
Become the Expert in Your Industry
A podcast provides a format for sharing your expertise in your industry. Audio files allow you to inject your enthusiasm and speaking skills to add an air of authority to the information that is often lacking in the written word. Regular podcasts with accurate information or ideas help establish you and your company as an authority in the business. Customers want a company that knows the industry, and podcasts help build up that trust.
Create Brand Awareness
The familiarity and consistency of regular podcasts helps develop your company’s brand to make it a household name. You are able to integrate information about your products and services as they relate to the information in the podcast. For example, if you are a financial planner producing a podcast about retirement planning, work in information about the services you offer in that area. In this way, the podcasts serve as a type of advertisement for your business.
Reach People with Busy Schedules
Most people will tell you their lives are busy. Between work, family, extracurricular activities and responsibilities, it leaves little time for consuming traditional media. Podcasts offer the ability for a listener to consume content anytime and anywhere. Whether at the gym, driving to work or while making dinner, podcasts are perfect for busy lifestyles in 2022. Many people are getting more of their education, entertainment and news from podcasts than any other source.
Low Cost to Get Started Podcasting
Anyone who starts a podcast will tell you it can be a lot of work. But, in reality, as the host, the only thing you have to do is show up and talk. Depending on your time and interests, you can outsource everything from booking guests, editing, publishing, transcription, show notes, and promotion.
You can start a podcast with just a mic and hosting. The most important tool for podcasting is obviously the mic. You can also expect to pay about $20 a month for podcast hosting, and that’s the total cost if you are doing all the editing and production yourself. If you need help, I would suggest hiring a podcast consultant for assistance in helping plan your shows, make edits (if needed) and to help distribute to podcast directories. After a few months of podcasts, and your newfound skills, you might be able to produce the shows on your own.
Tips for Great Business Podcasts
We could give you lots of times but our best advice is to keep it simple to start and have fun with it. Don’t try to be an actor, just let your personality and knowledge guide you. That being said, here are a few of our best podcasting tips.
- Plan Ahead – You should try to have content planned a month out.
- Create Episode Outlines – Don’t write a script, but organize yourself to stay on track.
- Test Recording – Take 5 minutes and record yourself summarizing the podcast. This will make sure your audio is working and also keep you focused on your topics.
- Use Your Social Accounts – The are there for a reason, so share your podcast to your social accounts and remember to include them in your podcast so listeners know where to find you.
- Network and Have Guests – You may be the expert in your particular business but an expert in another industry might bring you more customers as well. I like to use the example of a pool business. You could talk about pools all day long, but it could get boring if you are the only person ever on the podcast. Ask a homebuilder, realtor or pool supply store owner to come be a guest. Most will be excited to do it and obviously they will share the podcast on their social channels as well.
- Use Backlinks in Episode Descriptions – Podcasts can offer lots of SEO value to help your website rank higher in searches. Adding keyword backlinks in the descriptions is free and adds authority to your site.
If you think podcasting might be good for your business but want to discuss more, contact us and we can help guide you in the right direction. Whether you just want to know what’s a good podcasting mic, how to plan your podcast or you need someone to product your podcast, we can help.
