Entrepreneurs are often looking for effective new ways to promote their brands, and podcasting can be one of them. Increasingly popular in the last decade, podcasts have become attractive to a large number of companies doing business online. If you are willing to
upgrade to a new level of communication with our audience, increase reach and acquire loyal customers, podcasting is the right choice for your business.
The number of active podcast listeners grows year after year. In the US alone, the podcast audience is estimated to reach 57 million by the end of 2016, an increase of 75% from 2013. This can be compared to a number of monthly active users of a large network social, like Twitter. A new study has shown that almost 65% of podcast listeners are likely to buy a product after hearing a call to action. All of this makes podcasting a really smart investment for business. The following 5 milestones will help you get started on your business podcast and make it a success.
1. Define the format of your podcast
In the initial stage, you need to plan everything: what will be the format, duration and consistency of your podcast? You can include various types of content, such as solo, interview, co-host, and video podcast (vidcast). For the best effect, you should mix different content that corresponds to the topic. The recommended podcast length is no more than 60 minutes, as more information can be difficult to memorize. Create a list of 5-6 key themes and break them down into a few episodes. This will help keep your audience excited and motivate them to visit your podcast again when the next episode is released.
two. Get sound recording equipment
Although podcasting is usually not too expensive, it still requires some voice recording equipment and software. What’s really cool is that you can even get started with your smartphone, which has a built-in microphone and free sound editing apps. As a beginner, you’ll need to test the waters in podcasting before increasing your spending. In the future, it is recommended to buy a professional microphone and mixer – good quality should be your top priority!
3. Start your first recording
Before starting the first recording, review the text you will need to say. Don’t worry too much about doing the show. Be confident that your audience knows what to expect. Speak slowly and clearly and don’t panic if you make a mistake. Even professionals can be confused from time to time. Once the recording is ready, listen to it several times to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
4. Posting on podcast hosting platforms
To maximize audience reach, make sure to post your content to at least one of the most popular. podcast hosting platforms like SoundCloud, iTunes, Archive.org, Amazon S3, Ourmedia.org, Podomatic, PodBean, Buzzsprout. Sometimes finding the right hosting platform for podcasting can be a difficult task. The choice may depend on audience size, functionality, ease of use, and price. Since podcasting platforms take care of hosting your content, you don’t need to buy a large storage capacity for your website to make it available online. Popular podcast hosting platforms have hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, so you will definitely find the audience that will be interested in your content. Some podcasting websites even allow you to record and edit audio online, helping to simplify and streamline the time-consuming process of editing podcast audio at home.
5. Add a podcast player to your own website
When you run a podcast about your business, it is important to add it to your own website as well, so that customers who are already familiar with your brand can hear your audio content and new website visitors are motivated to spend more time on it. . . This can be done with a built-in podcast player. Do not worry; You don’t have to be a technically advanced person to add a podcast to your website. In most cases, it is sufficient to simply copy an embed code from a podcast hosting platform like SoundCloud (where you already started publishing) and paste it on your website right where you want the podcast player to appear. If your website uses a CMS like WordPress, you can install one of the many podcast plugins available and publish podcasts directly from your website’s control panel.
Podcasting is a powerful opportunity that companies must seize to engage their audience, build trust around the brand, and increase lead generation and sales. Popular podcast hosting platforms can give you great reach, and your own website should be a target destination for active podcast listeners, where they are more likely to become real customers.