How podcasts can bolster your social media marketing efforts
Podcasts have technically been around as long as iPods and they're in the middle of a massive surge, with more high quality podcasts drawing larger numbers of listeners all the time. Many are run by musicians, radio stations, or professional coaches, but podcasts can be a powerful tool for any business.
What is a podcast anyway?
A podcast is an audio recording which users can download to their computer or other media playing device. Most podcasts are part of themed series but they don't have to be. Many podcasts also have a video and/or live streaming component.
Why should you make a podcast for your business?
There are several good reasons to make a podcast for your business:
1. They can easily be made into videos
Many podcasts are also filmed by their creators, but you don't have to do this to turn your podcast into a video. If you don't have the time, equipment or desire to set up a decent film space you can create a slideshow of images or even just choose one image to display while the podcast goes on. Videos are the most frequently shared type of content and this is a great way to do them affordably.
2. You can make podcasts about whatever you want
There are podcasts on almost every topic, from productivity to guided meditation to recordings of tabletop RPG games. When you're making a podcast for your business you'll want to choose something your customers will actually find useful, but that's the only limit.
3. Podcasts can be posted in places your other content can't
Podcasts can obviously go up on iTunes, but there are also dozens of other places where you can post a podcast, ranging from the Google Play store to niche sites such as the Christian Podcast Network. All of these places will expose you to entirely new potential customers.
4. Podcasts can be a great way to meet your heroes
Many podcasts run on an interview format, and if you decide to follow this route you can use it as an excuse to meet some of the biggest names in your industry. If you're an even mildly established professional in your field many people will agree to an interview while you're still doing the prep work. As your podcast grows you'll get bigger and bigger names to agree to interviews, but don't wait to ask. You might be surprised who says yes.
So how do you make a great podcast?
A great podcast starts with a great plan. You need to figure out how long your podcast will be, what format you'll use, how often and at what time you'll record, and much more. I'll go over some of the absolute basics here to get you started.
Topic
I already touched on topic above so I won't say much here, but it is important to bear repeating. Once you've started using a topic you're stuck with that topic, especially if you create a topic-specific name for your podcast.
Make sure the topic is something you're going to be interested in making week after week and something that your customers will also be interested in. The best way to do this is to know your customers really well. You can even send out a simple survey asking people what they would like in a podcast.
Length
Podcasts can realistically be any length you want but most podcasts are either in the 15-20 minute range or in the 45-60 minute range. Many podcasts actually vary slightly in length from one episode to the next, but you don't want to vary too much because certain listeners will be counting on your podcast to finish in a specific amount of time.
The most important thing is that you give yourself enough time to leave listeners with a truly valuable lesson or experience without giving yourself so much time that you run out of useful content. To some extent you have to learn this by doing it but you can get an idea what length you're looking at by writing a podcast script.
Format
For format I don't want you to think about what type of file people will download(although .MP4s are a common podcast format), I want you to think about what you're going to do in the podcast. Are you going to interview industry professionals? Will each podcast be a lesson about a specific thing related to your business? Does it make sense to create an informal podcast that gives a glimpse of daily life at the office?
Keep in mind that a podcast focused on pre-written content such as specific business or productivity lessons can be tiresome to keep up with week after week, so you may want to include some flexibility here. The important thing is that you know what kind of content you need and whether or not you have to reach out to people for interviews. More important people will need to book interviews further out in advance, so this decision should be made as early as possible in the planning process.
How often and at what time you'll record
This one's all about what you can reasonably manage over a long time period without burning yourself out. After all, you're doing this podcast on top of all the other things you have to do to keep the business running. You want to post a minimum of once a month and a maximum of once a week at first, ideally at the same time on the same day of the week every time so people know when to tune in.
As for when you record, if you're going to stream the podcast live you need to record whenever you want the podcast to go up but otherwise you have a lot of flexibility. The important thing is that you record at a time when there aren't going to be any distractions. The time must also be scheduled consistently from week to week or month to month so your podcast always comes out when it's supposed to.
Final Advice
Whatever you do, don't rush into posting your first podcast. Make sure you have several podcasts planned and/or recorded before you post the first one so you can maintain a regular schedule from the very first post. You should also take the time to listen to some podcasts to grow accustomed to the format.
What is a podcast anyway?
A podcast is an audio recording which users can download to their computer or other media playing device. Most podcasts are part of themed series but they don't have to be. Many podcasts also have a video and/or live streaming component.
Why should you make a podcast for your business?
There are several good reasons to make a podcast for your business:
1. They can easily be made into videos
Many podcasts are also filmed by their creators, but you don't have to do this to turn your podcast into a video. If you don't have the time, equipment or desire to set up a decent film space you can create a slideshow of images or even just choose one image to display while the podcast goes on. Videos are the most frequently shared type of content and this is a great way to do them affordably.
2. You can make podcasts about whatever you want
There are podcasts on almost every topic, from productivity to guided meditation to recordings of tabletop RPG games. When you're making a podcast for your business you'll want to choose something your customers will actually find useful, but that's the only limit.
3. Podcasts can be posted in places your other content can't
Podcasts can obviously go up on iTunes, but there are also dozens of other places where you can post a podcast, ranging from the Google Play store to niche sites such as the Christian Podcast Network. All of these places will expose you to entirely new potential customers.
4. Podcasts can be a great way to meet your heroes
Many podcasts run on an interview format, and if you decide to follow this route you can use it as an excuse to meet some of the biggest names in your industry. If you're an even mildly established professional in your field many people will agree to an interview while you're still doing the prep work. As your podcast grows you'll get bigger and bigger names to agree to interviews, but don't wait to ask. You might be surprised who says yes.
So how do you make a great podcast?
A great podcast starts with a great plan. You need to figure out how long your podcast will be, what format you'll use, how often and at what time you'll record, and much more. I'll go over some of the absolute basics here to get you started.
Topic
I already touched on topic above so I won't say much here, but it is important to bear repeating. Once you've started using a topic you're stuck with that topic, especially if you create a topic-specific name for your podcast.
Make sure the topic is something you're going to be interested in making week after week and something that your customers will also be interested in. The best way to do this is to know your customers really well. You can even send out a simple survey asking people what they would like in a podcast.
Length
Podcasts can realistically be any length you want but most podcasts are either in the 15-20 minute range or in the 45-60 minute range. Many podcasts actually vary slightly in length from one episode to the next, but you don't want to vary too much because certain listeners will be counting on your podcast to finish in a specific amount of time.
The most important thing is that you give yourself enough time to leave listeners with a truly valuable lesson or experience without giving yourself so much time that you run out of useful content. To some extent you have to learn this by doing it but you can get an idea what length you're looking at by writing a podcast script.
Format
For format I don't want you to think about what type of file people will download(although .MP4s are a common podcast format), I want you to think about what you're going to do in the podcast. Are you going to interview industry professionals? Will each podcast be a lesson about a specific thing related to your business? Does it make sense to create an informal podcast that gives a glimpse of daily life at the office?
Keep in mind that a podcast focused on pre-written content such as specific business or productivity lessons can be tiresome to keep up with week after week, so you may want to include some flexibility here. The important thing is that you know what kind of content you need and whether or not you have to reach out to people for interviews. More important people will need to book interviews further out in advance, so this decision should be made as early as possible in the planning process.
How often and at what time you'll record
This one's all about what you can reasonably manage over a long time period without burning yourself out. After all, you're doing this podcast on top of all the other things you have to do to keep the business running. You want to post a minimum of once a month and a maximum of once a week at first, ideally at the same time on the same day of the week every time so people know when to tune in.
As for when you record, if you're going to stream the podcast live you need to record whenever you want the podcast to go up but otherwise you have a lot of flexibility. The important thing is that you record at a time when there aren't going to be any distractions. The time must also be scheduled consistently from week to week or month to month so your podcast always comes out when it's supposed to.
Final Advice
Whatever you do, don't rush into posting your first podcast. Make sure you have several podcasts planned and/or recorded before you post the first one so you can maintain a regular schedule from the very first post. You should also take the time to listen to some podcasts to grow accustomed to the format.