In a rapidly changing world, businesses need to run with the times and meet their customers where they are. According to data published by media expert Edison Research, those customers can increasingly be found listening to a podcast if you consider that 41% of the US population aged 12+ listened to a podcast within the last month and 28% are weekly podcast listeners, an audience that has practically doubled since 2017. Given such exponential growth, podcasts must be regarded as a key component of your digital marketing strategy. But if that argument alone doesn’t convince you, here are 6 reasons why your small business needs a podcast.
- A PODCAST HELPS BUILD BRAND RECOGNITION AND CREDIBILITY
Podcasts are an excellent way to create content that carries the message you want to position with your target audience. They are also an effective medium to showcase your passion and expertise in the industry, share insights into your business and provide valuable information to your listeners. By engaging with your audience on a regular basis with relevant content, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field and become their go-to voice in your industry, which inevitably benefits your business’ brand recognition and credibility.
- PODCASTS FOSTER CUSTOMER LOYALTY VIA A DIRECT PERSONAL CONNECTION
Podcasts are casual conversations that you share with your audience. By following a format where you speak informally and directly into your listeners’ ears, a natural connection is more likely to be established than when you share an edited article or a very curated ad. To achieve this connection successfully your content should be relevant while also being authentic, personable and easy to digest. Gaining listeners is more difficult than adding followers on social media, but you can bet that listeners who are choosing to engage with your business on a weekly basis will become loyal to your brand, which will translate into higher conversion rates and therefore into revenues down the line.
- PODCASTING IS AN EFFECTIVE NETWORKING TOOL
There are many different formats your podcast can have, some involve featuring a guest speaker like a vendor you partner with, a potential business partner, satisfied customers or industry experts. The variety and quality of your speakers adds value to your content but is also an excellent networking tool. How? Well, on the one hand guests can help widen your reach by introducing you to an audience that follows them but didn’t know you (until now); this is also true when you are the guest on somebody else’s podcast and are effectively introduced to their established audience. On the other hand, successful podcasters strategically invite key industry decision makers whom they didn’t know before as guest speakers so they can establish a rapport and create business opportunities going forward.
- PODCASTS PROMOTE REVENUE GENERATION
Podcasts boost revenue generation for your business in a myriad of ways. As mentioned above, they help build brand recognition, foster customer loyalty and expand the audience you can reach therefore increasing your potential customer base and conversion rate; they also help you establish new profitable relationships through effective networking. Other sources of revenue are sponsorships, ads and paid interviews that parties interested in reaching your audience will be happy to pay for.
- PODCASTS PROVIDE VALUABLE CONTENT FOR YOUR OTHER MARKETING CHANNELS
Your business’ digital marketing strategy must consider all the different avenues at your disposal. Those channels should be able to feed each other and help you get in front of your customers wherever their content consumption preferences lead them. For example, you can use interviews from your podcast as material for a blog on your website. You can also announce on social media what your next podcast is about and by tagging your guest speaker you can steer the attention of their followers in your direction. Finally, increase traffic on your business website by reserving a space for your podcast where you post links to your latest episode as well as to your most popular ones which can attract potential customers who might not have found you otherwise. By taking this comprehensive channel approach you can provide your customers with the information they want from you in the format of their choosing.
- DID WE MENTION PODCASTS ARE INEXPENSIVE AND EASY TO MAKE?
Compared to traditional media marketing, podcasts are very inexpensive and easy to make. To get started all you need is good content, a microphone, your voice, software like GarageBand or Audacity to edit the audio/video and an internet connection. Then just choose a hosting platform where you want your material to reside such as Ivoox, Buzzsprout, Spreaker or SoundCloud (just to name a few). Finally, make the podcast available to your audience by submitting it to some of the leading podcast directories like iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or YouTube (among many others). It’s as simple as that!
Are you ready to get started but don’t know where to begin? Don’t fret! Fortunately this is one of our areas of expertise and we’ll be happy to guide you so your podcast is up and running in no time. Let’s talk!
