You Speak People Listen
Podcasts are exploding and your business should take advantage.
Even if you don’t listen to one a friend or family member will. It is likely someone is listening to a podcast as they stumble across this article. I am listening to a podcast as I write this blog post.
The most recognisable podcasts; Ted Talks, JRE and Serial are all slick operations capitalising on established brands or famous personalities.
What has this got to do with your products or services? You are not a media empire and Peter Crouch is unlikely to commit to bi-weekly appearances on your restaurant’s vlog.
Thousands of podcasts have capitalised on the rising tide to secure their share in the market. There is no reason why your business should not start a podcast tomorrow. You do not need to top the iTunes charts to secure brand awareness or reach a new market. You just need to discuss your business’ story in an honest and discursive manner.
Podcasting Do It Your Way
Are you a:
· Estate agent? Interview landlords or first-time buyers exploring their fears and how you alleviate them.
· Bakery? step-by-step recipes or tutorials to share your beautiful treats with a wider audience.
· Tradesman? Turn your latest project into a weekly story to captivate possible customers with your commitment.
Podcasting is a versatile tool. Podcasts range from 3-hour interviews to a 10-minute story. Your business or project can adapt the format to reach your objectives. The list of ideas overleaf was written in under a minute. You will think of a novel and engaging idea in the same time.
Podcasting is free advertisement for your brand and services. Podcasts engage demographics that are resistant to conventional mediums like print media. They reach a wider and wealthier audience. Audiences are more likely to share brands on social media. The Bottom line for your business: podcasting gives you an audience with a higher disposable income who will aid your organic growth.
Podcasts are the cornerstones of engagement with your audience. It spurs the creation of newsletters, regular email updates, social media campaigns and direct conversation with your customers. All of these are perfect opportunities to showcase your products and services.
New Skills for A New Age
Podcasts don't just build your brand awareness. It builds your skills. Hosting interviews or exploring stories is a great opportunity to network with your business community and customers. It gives you firm deadlines and the excuse to probe deeper into your processes. Just as your subscribers will grow week on week so will your knowledge of your market and competitors.
The millionaire investor and podcaster Tim Ferriss advises starting a podcast just ‘to get better at asking questions.’ Asking better questions equals better information to lead your company. Hosting or writing a podcast builds skills like effective listening, creativity and the ability to improvise that are useful across all aspects of your business.
An example set up for a medium sized podcast.
Start Small
Start your own podcast now! All you need is your smart phone or tablet.
You are a beginner. Treat your new podcast as any new venture. Create a minimal viable product and see how the market reacts. Get feedback. Adapt. Commit to a minimum regular cycle of podcasts. Collect more feedback. Adapt again.
Preparation is minimal. Do not get lost in how to start guides or audio tools. You are already an expert in your field, and you are passionate about your craft. Expertise and passion; two pillars of every successful podcast.
You do not need a studio, you do not need expensive audio equipment and please do not hire an audio engineer before you hit your first 100k subscribers.
You need a quiet space and a smartphone. That is it.
As your project grows you may wish to invest in a microphone, but these can be found for as little as £10. YouTube is full of guides for free audio editing software like audacity and garage band. Distribution channels will take some short research. However, SoundCloud offers an easy service to share your first efforts.
The important thing is that you do not become lost in the details. Find the voice memo app on your phone and share your story.
Some resources for starting your businesses first podcast
Great advice from some of the world’s biggest podcasters:
Time Ferriss discusses how he built his podcast
Q and A explaining everything from revenue to gear
An in depth guide on how to start your first podcast
Comment below with any questions about podcasting or to request further articles about podcasting.