How A Podcast Grows Your Business
If you’ve been wondering about starting a podcast, you likely have many questions like “will a podcast benefit my business? Will it helps us grow? Is it hard to do and worth the effort? Will anyone even listen??”.
These are all really valid questions. As an entrepreneur running a small business, you don’t have time to invest in anything that requires a ton of extra work or that doesn’t create a solid return for you on the effort invested.
While every business is different, and starting a podcast will be easier for some, one thing we do know is that the stats don’t lie. Podcasts are constantly growing in popularity and are expected to continue to do so throughout this year and beyond. Podcasts offer easy to consume content that educates your audience and allows them to feel connected to you on a personal level. There is no better way to elevate your profile, boost the profile of your business or to generate more inbound sales leads than to create this type of personal connection with your audience.
Nearly 11 million Canadian adults (37% of the 18+ population) have listened to podcasts in the past year. Alberta is second only to British Columbia with the highest number of podcast listeners in the country!
The Canadian Podcast Listener Calibration Study of 2019 states that podcast listeners are affluent and educated, with over 43% of podcast listeners having a university degree and as many monthly listeners have an income higher than $100k per year. If a listener likes your podcast, they are very likely to “power listen” to several episodes back to back, and really take in what you have to say.
So why does your business need a podcast?
Because it allows you to tell your customers and prospects about you. Sharing your insight lets people get to know you and your business on a personal level as you share the knowledge you have with your audience to benefit and educate them. By offering regular episodes, you’re also able to easily stay top of mind with your clients and to build trust through consistency.
Starting a podcast has many benefits for your business and for the audience. Podcast are easy and convenient for people to access and consume, making them a preferred way to learn more about things they care about and to “get inside your head”. Being a trusted advisor and giving them knowledge they want helps to highlight your expertise, create trust and offers a ton of added value. Having a podcast benefits your business because episodes can be easily shared to grow your audience and sharing knowledge will increase your lead pool. Podcast episodes also make great social media, YouTube and website content to keep things fresh, not to mention the SEO benefit of publishing regular content relevant to your industry.
Creating a podcast will help you to grow your business in many ways. Being a podcast host positions you as a trusted expert, creates a loyal following of those who resonate with your perspective, creates trust, widens your lead pool and does a lot of the “pre” selling for you. Also, producing and distributing more content makes you more discoverable and makes it easier to create connections with your audience that last and generates repeat customers.
Setting up a podcast is much simpler than most entrepreneurs realize, though to really save on time, you may want to consider working with a company that specializes in podcast production. A marketing company can typically help you through the steps to create awesome podcast content that is researched, relevant and well produced. They can also help you to publish and distribute your podcast episodes for maximum exposure.
It is recommended to publish regularly so your audience knows what to expect from the cadence you create. It’s also a good idea to start with a bank of episodes before you begin releasing episodes. To make things easier on your schedule, you can also bulk record episodes when you’re free so you can release them at regular intervals down the road.
Producing great podcast episodes requires the following steps:
1. PREP – Choose topics based on data that tells you what customers in your industry want to learn more about. Draft notes so you’re prepared with the key points and message you want to get across.
2. RECORD – Choose a basic mic and any other equipment your require to create your podcast episodes. You may need to try out a few different options until you get the equipment just right.
3. EDIT – The most important thing to remember with podcasts is that you need them to be well edited. Add an intro, remove unnecessary pauses and have a proper exit.
4. PUBLISH – Choose which platforms to make your podcast available on. Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube are the most popular.
5. PROMOTE – Share your podcast on social media, your website, in newsletters and anywhere that is relevant to your industry.
Another common question we hear from entrepreneurs when they first start their podcast is what to talk about. Listeners will come to hear your unique perspective on your industry, so don’t be afraid to say what you believe in. Talk about your industry, experience, background and your approach. Focus on your vision, your expertise and what makes you different. Chat with members of your team and other influencers in your industry to create a wellrounded point of view on common topics. Another great way to bulk up your listener base and reach a wider audience is to invite guests onto your podcast and to actively participate in podcasts with others that align with your values.
We feel that every industry, especially a small local business, can benefit greatly from having a podcast. If you’d like to chat more or need some direction getting your podcast started, contact us today to discuss the next steps and get your voice heard!
