It’s often said that we’ve reached peak podcast. It’s a cliche to say that everyone and their mother has one. There is some truth to this in the sense that the number of podcasts has exploded in recent years. However, the demand for original audio content has also never been higher.
In the B2B world, a little over a third of small business owners listen to podcasts. The more employees a company has, the more likely it is that the person in charge is a podcast listener. There are similar listening rates in the B2C sphere too.
44% of Americans listen to podcasts regularly. And the numbers keep going up for younger demographics. In fact almost half of millennials tune in to a podcast at least once a week.
So your customers are listening. That’s not one of today’s 5 reasons to start a podcast though. Call it a freebie. As if that weren’t reason enough, let’s take a look at some more reasons why you need to start creating audio content.
It’s Not That Difficult
One obvious reason why marketers might be reluctant to start a podcast is the barriers to entry. Setting yourself up with the right equipment and software seems quite daunting. Then there’s actually sitting down and speaking into a microphone.
Between cheap audio gear and free editing suites, there a plenty of options to get you up and running for next to nothing. As for the speaking thing, no-one likes hearing their own voice, but this is incredibly easy to get over. If for some reason you absolutely can’t record yourself speaking, there’s bound to be someone with your organisation who would jump at the chance.
Besides, when compared with starting off making video content, podcasting should be a walk in the park.
There’s Room to Breath
It’s never been more difficult to make your content stand out. Having a blog is basically non-optional at this point. Every month, more video is published online than has been on US television in the past thirty years. To say the least, these mediums are crowded fields.
Podcasting, not so much. That is, we’re still in the relatively early days of the medium, so you still have the chance to reap the benefits of comparatively early adoption. In this way, you can set yourself up as an authority in your niche, rather than playing catch-up on other mediums.
Networking Opportunities
Then once you’re in that authoritative space, people will be knocking down your door to appear on your show. Well, hopefully. Podcasts, by nature, are discursive. They feature conversations. As such, having a podcast with a healthy listenership is a fantastic way to start building relationships with the big names in your industry.
And the flip side is true too. Once you’ve made a name for yourself as a podcaster, you’ll have other upstarts trying to get you onto their shows.
The benefits of podcasting over the other two major content types in this regard are clear. Scoring high quality guest posts is difficult because of the level of competition. Appearing on other marketers video shows is impractical unless you happen to be in the same locale. Podcasting suffers neither of these issues.
Additionally, having a high listenership podcast is a bit of an ace in the whole if you’re trying to sell to the c-suite. Getting through to top decision makers with a sales pitch is pretty much impossible. Interviewing these people on your show is a great way to actually get in front of them and put your brand on their radar.
It’s Effective
A good marketing podcast should use a light touch. That is, you wouldn’t bombard your listener with marketing spiel about your product for a full thirty minutes. Or if you did, you’d quickly learn that you shouldn’t.
Instead, you should be focusing on industry trends and news, how-to content, and other topics which will provide value for your listeners. This way, you’ll get regular listeners tuning in to every single edition. Of course, all the while you’ll pepper in mentions of your own brand.
This is a sure fire way to create high-quality leads. This works by creating a deep brand relationship with potential customer. If a prospect listens to your thoughts on the industry week in and week out, you can bet that when it comes time to buy, you’ll be the first thought they have.
It Can be an Extra Revenue Source
Creating a successful podcast is just like any other type of marketing in that it centres around creating an audience. The first priority is ultimately to get these people to purchase from you. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t other ways you can benefit financially.
Having an audience is a valuable asset. If you’re running a B2B podcast, chances are you have a fairly cohesive and affluent listenership. At some point, it will come time to think about monetising this by selling advertising.
I don’t need to tell you that you wouldn’t be selling advertising opportunities to your competitors. Rather there will be plenty of brands in very different niches who’d like to sell to exactly your audience. This can be done through advertising networks, or by reaching out directly to other brands to request sponsorship.
You may even be able to get your audience to donate directly to your podcasting efforts by offering subscription and donation options through the likes of Patreon. This is fairly common, but you’ll need to come up with something that you can offer your listeners in return for their money.
Wrapping Up
There are plenty of other reasons why you should start looking at creating audio content, but these should be enough to whet your appetite. To wrap it up in a sentence, podcasts are a cheap, easy and effective way to market your brand.
However, they also offer opportunities to grow your business in other respects, which simply aren’t offered by other types of content marketing. These include diversifying your income streams and reaching greater numbers of higher quality prospective customers and clients.
If that sounds too good to be true, get out there and give it a go. Then let me know.