Businesses all over the place are launching their own podcasts, and with very good reason: a podcast for your business can help to drive brand awareness, build authority in your niche, connect with your audience on a new and more personal level, reach new customers and grow your business. The same is true for many different forms of content marketing; whether it’s a blog, YouTube channel or podcast, by creating and giving away high-value content for free in the name of your business, you’re creating a relationship with a new audience and creating an exchange of value with no financial barrier to the consumer of that content.
The consumer will then develop a knowledge of, and positive opinion of, your brand and its products and services, so is much more likely to one day become a paying customer. Even if just a small percentage of those who consume your content go on to become paying customers, a small percentage of a large number can still be a very interesting figure and can often compete very strongly with more “traditional” forms of marketing. Plus, if you make your content easily shareable – and make it the sort of content that folk will want to share, too – then your own customers and audience will end up doing your marketing for you, for free!
But I haven’t a clue where to start, and don’t have any microphones!
Don’t worry, starting a podcast doesn’t mean that you have to learn how to produce audio and invest in lots of equipment. That’s where a podcast production company, like us, comes in. We’ll even come to your place of work and set up our portable podcast studio; you won’t have to worry about any of the technology setup, editing or hosting/distribution so you can focus entirely on the contents of your shows. Plus we also work with professional producers who have years of experience in the radio and podcasting industries, who will help put you at ease behind the microphone, to get the very best out of you and to help you produce compelling content that captivates your listeners.
So, now you know we can help you produce your podcast… what’s the point of starting a podcast for your business, and how can you reap the benefits whilst having fun at the same time?
A Business Podcast Can Help You Develop Your Brand
Over 7 million people in the UK say that they listen to podcasts every week, and that figure has probably increased even more by the time you’re reading this. With so many people counting “listening to podcasts” as a regular and frequent part of their lives, podcast listening has truly found its place alongside listening to the radio and watching TV. That gives you amazing potential to reach new customers.
Whilst, admittedly, your podcast episodes might not have the immediate viewing figures that a prime-time BBC One drama would, one huge not-to-be-overlooked benefit is that you have full control over your show and how you portray and position your business strategically within it. If you commit to producing consistent episodic content then you can build brand awareness, leading to brand loyalty because you’ll be in the forefront of your customers’ minds meaning they’ll come to you first rather than a competitor.
Business Podcasts are Personal
There’s something very intimate about talking directly to your audience, and as most people listen to podcasts with headphones or earbuds you’ll literally be talking directly into their ears. When you communicate on such a personal level with your listeners, it can be really quite powerful. The casual, unfiltered and no-holds-barred nature sets a podcast apart from more traditional marketing material and turns it into something people actively want to listen to, rather than impatiently waiting for 5 seconds to pass so they can click ‘Skip’.
Producing a podcast for your business enables you to portray your brand in a positive, personal way; your company is not just a faceless logo but a group of humans with real thoughts, feelings and interests. People do business with other people. The authenticity you’ll ooze will set you apart from other businesses who might be more stuffy and formal in comparison.
Plus, whilst setting up a YouTube channel for your business is absolutely a fantastic idea too… the advantage of audio over video is that people can listen to a podcast whilst doing something else like driving, doing the dishes or going for a run. Video podcasts are great as well of course, and they can add additional visual interest for those who prefer to watch something (and they enable podcasts to flourish on platforms like YouTube and Facebook) but you should always ensure that even when it’s a video podcast that you’re producing, anything visual is an added bonus and not essential to get the most out of the episode.
With A Business Podcast You Can Establish Yourself as the Authoritative Voice in your Niche
A podcast for your business gives you a platform to speak both about and to your industry. You can speak about your unique knowledge and the passion that you bring to your business, and show that off to your customers. That way, you can establish yourself (whether that’s you as a person, or a group of you at your business) as the expert(s) in that field.
New customers will be attracted to work with you as they will want to deal with the best and most knowledgeable company out there – listening to your podcast will convince them that that’s you.
Podcasts Let You Cover a Topic In More Detail, for a “Deep Dive”
You can dig deeper into a topic when you discuss it in a podcast episode. Most other marketing channels like social media and TV/radio ads are very short bursts of content, whereas a podcast episode – even if it’s only 10-15 minutes long – can let you cover a topic in far more detail, giving great value to the listener.
Other formats simply can’t accommodate that same level of detail to showcase your expertise, but a podcast allows you to tell the story of your business and the products/services you offer. This can be especially useful for new or upcoming products and services before or just after launch – your listeners can get the exclusive!
Another great way to harness this scope for extra detail is to record a Q&A episode where you ask your listeners in advance to send in their questions and then answer & discuss them in the next episode.
Business Podcasts Create Direct Business & Marketing Opportunities
If your podcast starts to do well, a sponsor (such as one of your suppliers) may agree to sponsor the show, creating additional revenue streams for your business. They might also sponsor a competition by giving away a prize to your listeners, creating a great marketing opportunity not just for your podcast but for your business as a whole, too.
Affiliate marketing programs are another fantastic way to generate revenue from your podcast (where you receive a small commission each time someone buys a product you recommend from a retailer such as Amazon), as well as more traditional ways to monetize your podcast with good old-fashioned adverts at the start and end. Depending on where you host your podcast, this may be an option for you.
If another business in your industry also hosts their own podcast, you could appear as a guest on their show and vice-versa, allowing for some great cross-promotion opportunities for you both and allowing you to tap into each other’s audiences to further build awareness of your show and your brand.
Will Anyone Listen to your Business Podcast?!
But “hang on…”, I hear you say. “My business is quite dull… who’d want to listen to us talk about it?!”
You’d be surprised how possible it is to create entertaining content even if you don’t think your products and services are “interesting enough” to talk about in a podcast episode. It’s often said that working with good colleagues can make even the dullest of jobs fun – so why can’t the same be true for your podcast? Go on, you might surprise yourself!
Innobella Media is a Podcast Production Company in Liverpool.
