You want to take advantage of a captive audience but aren't sure how to connect with more people. Take advantage of an underutilized marketing method and launch a podcast that uses your brand and past content to create an entirely new experience for your listeners. Podcasts as a marketing tool could be the very thing you need to boost business or audience reach.
How can a podcast help, and how can it improve your business?
In this article, we'll cover how podcasts help businesses, assist with marketing, and how you can implement this new strategy into your business, niche site, or authority site today.
If you're ready to learn more about how podcasts can help your brand, let's dive right in!
Why Podcasts as a Marketing Tool Helps Businesses
You may want to consider a podcast if you are wondering why your content marketing strategy isn't taking off as you'd like. Nearly 60 percent of consumers in the United States listen to podcasts, with 65 percent listening to the entire episode.
Chances are that your target audience is just waiting for you to release more content for them to engage with.
Popular podcast hosting platforms like Apple podcasts and Spotify are home to millions of listeners (33.1 million and 28.5 million, respectively).
Podcast listeners are engaging on a personal level with the content that businesses are putting out, so why not incorporate podcast content into your marketing campaign? It can be a simple addition, particularly if you repurpose content (which we'll cover in a later section).
How Podcasts Work as a Marketing Tool
How can you use podcasts as a marketing tool? Here are three core reasons that podcasts work as marketing material.
Informational
The average podcast listener wants to learn something new, so why not share more about what your business does? A great podcast is informational and helps your target audience to engage more fully with what you do.
Teach people something new, and your marketing strategy will thrive.
Many podcast listeners are eager to pursue passive content consumption, listening to their favorite podcasts while commuting to work, exercising, and other activities that may take most of their attention. This makes them feel more productive by learning and working simultaneously.
Extends Reach
The good news if you consider using podcasts as a marketing tool is that they can potentially extend your reach. Despite the popularity of podcasts, it is still a relatively low competition field.
This allows you to stand out as an expert in your field with minimal effort, though you will need to implement SEO to help.
With the right SEO strategy in place, you will be able to find a great and highly engaged podcast audience. Much like your blog and website, SEO is key to your new marketing campaign with podcasts. When done properly, you can easily reach more people than ever before.
If you need help with SEO, be sure to check out our library on SEO strategies!
Builds Community
Part of the reason podcasts are so successful is because they build a deep sense of community among listeners. This is a great way to connect with people on a more personal level. A new podcast is a new opportunity to put yourself out there in front of your audience and to allow them to connect with one another.
Many people will also share a good podcast with their friends and family, extending your reach even further.
Not to mention, Edison Research states that people who listen to your podcast are 20 percent more likely to follow you on social media channels.
If you have struggled growing your social media following, a podcast is one way to quickly and efficiently improve your engagement.
How to Use Podcasts as a Marketing Tool
Now that you know podcasts can serve as great marketing tools, it's time to consider how they can impact your digital marketing. These tips will help you start your new marketing strategy quickly and easily.
Defining Market
With millions of people listening to podcasts on a weekly basis, the odds are that your target audience is among this population. Before you get started, be clear on who you want your target audience to be.
Ask yourself some of these questions:
- Who is your ideal customer or listener?
- What topics do they engage with or what are their pain points?
- What social media platforms are they on?
- Where can you reach them with your podcast (Apple, Spotify, etc.)?
- What goals do they want to achieve?
These questions can help you define the content you will offer as a podcast host.
Technology Requirements
Technology is an important consideration before you get started with your new podcast. Your marketing efforts will be for nothing if the quality of your digital marketing strategy is poorly executed.
You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on new equipment, but having the right tools can improve the quality of your podcast.
At a minimum, you should invest in good recording software and a quality microphone. If your office space doesn't have optimal acoustics, you might want to consider making some changes or finding another place to record.
The best thing to do is test out your new audio format with the tools that you have at your disposal and see what the quality is like. If it could be better, you'll have a much clearer idea of what will improve your content.
Passion for Topic and Dedication to Podcasting
If you are adding a podcast into your marketing mix, you must be committed to covering the show's topic well into the future. Don't choose something just because you think that it might have great market potential.
It would help if you were passionate about the topic to inspire your listeners. People will be able to tell from the inflection of your voice whether you are interested in the topic or bored with what you're sharing. Bringing emotion to your recording is essential.
Keep in mind that you will be spending hours creating content, recording, editing, and sharing on social media channels. That's a lot of work for something that you aren't absolutely committed to or passionate about.
Make sure that your niche topic is well defined and is something that you actively enjoy learning about and teaching to others.
Picking a Platform
Podcast hosting platforms are key if you want to implement this as one of your latest marketing tools. There are many places where your target market may connect with the latest episode of your podcast. Consider where potential customers are most likely to find you.
Most people access their podcasts through Apple iTunes or Spotify. You should definitely consider hosting your podcast on both of these platforms to reach the ordinary people who consume podcasts.
Repurposing Content
The good news is that you can use old content you've already created to build your audio recordings and solidify your personal brand. If you already have blog posts and content on your website, you may only need to repurpose that content to create a new podcast.
One easy way to repurpose content is to read long-form blog posts into a quality microphone. With this simple step, you'll reach far more people interested in consuming passive content instead of actively reading your blog.
One of the best success stories of a brand who uses this strategy is The Blogging Millionaire podcast. You can learn more about their content marketing strategy in their podcast.
RankIQ
If you need help with SEO and creating other types of content, consider using RankIQ.
RankIQ helps you to create blog posts that have more potential to rank on the first page of Google. Using AI, they help you to develop a solid outline. They also help with the keywords you can more easily rank for so your audience can find you. RankIQ helps with:
- Optimizing old posts to boost SERP rankings
- Creating ideal titles for SEO
- Providing keyword research for most niches
In turn, you can take the blog content that RankIQ helps you to create and repurpose it as material for your new podcast. Even if you decide not to post it on your blog (and you definitely should!), you can read the content created into a microphone and post it as a podcast only.
For those who don't have a blog yet, here are a few reasons you may want to consider starting a blog immediately!
Build Brand Awareness with a Podcast
A podcast as a marketing tool is essential if you want to find a new way to connect with your audience. The competition is lower for those who are paying attention to SEO strategy with their titles, descriptions, and content.
Not to mention, it can be a great way to repurpose old content so that you can connect with even more people.
If you're not sure how to start a podcast and make money check out our guide and expand your audience reach today!
The post Podcasts as a Marketing Tool: Expand Your Fanbase With These Easy Tips appeared first on Niche Pursuits.