How can a podcast help my business?
Interest in podcasting as a medium is on the rise these days, and rightfully so.
Listeners search for topics that they’re interested at on demand.
Businesses are increasingly investing in podcasting as a marketing tool to attract leats.
Having a clear vision about why your business needs a podcast and what you’d like to get out of it is key for investing in it in the first place.
So, what are the reasons a business could benefit from starting a podcast?
1. Traffic Generation
Podcasts are a great way to deliver traffic to your business’ website.
Search engines are where audiences start when they’re interested in learning about a new topic or making a buying decision.
If you are the one that will address their questions, the better the chance will be on landing on your website and learning from you.
Podcast websites are SEO-friendly and people will be interested on listening an expert that can guide them.
You will be a major influence and people will come back to your website or refer your business to people they know.
Nowadays it become more and more common for audiences to search for expert advice directly through podcasting apps.
They will type a topic they’re interested in at the search bar and a list of podcasts or episodes will appear.
They will land on your own podcast and listen to you.
If they’re interested they will visit your website and if trust has been built they will buy from you.
Building a podcast will eventually lead traffic to your website and help place potential customers further down the buying funnel.
If you have a field on your buying form asking where did the customer find about your, you will be surprised to see a few people coming from your podcast!
2. Build relationships with audience
Influence usually comes from people you know, not from faceless businesses.
People are more likely to trust someone they have seen or heard before instead of a brand name on a screen.
When they are searching for a company that will fulfill their buying needs they would be more confortable knowing that there are real humans beings behind that care about helping them and guiding them to make the best buying descision.
Hearing your voice through podcast episodes the potential consumer will feel like they know you.
You will build a relationships with them (even one sided at first), but they will find you friendly and accessible.
You will build trust with them and they will follow your brand.
They will want to buy from you and support you.
When you finally meet them (online or in person, if you have a physical store) they will feel like they already know you.
They will be aware of your expertise on the field and your honest intentions in helping them.
They will be closer to your business and they will be able to understand better about what they want and what you are offering to them
3. Easy to create
Podcasting doesn’t have to be confusing.
It’s not that difficult to make a podcast and it can be quicker than writing blog posts or producing videos.
There’s affordable equipment that you can purchase that will be more than enough for producing good sounding audio.
You don’t need hundreds or thousand of dollars to get studio grade equipment.
Also you can use free software that has all the features that you need to record and edit your show.
You don’t have to buy software that’s been used in professional recording studios.
We have a few articles about how to create your podcast, equipment recommendations and tips for recording great sounding episodes.
Read them and you will get started in no time.
Finally you will need a podcast website and a way to distribute your podcast to podcast directories and apps.
Here we will recommend our own service, Nightcast.
It’s a toolkit that helps individuals or businesses to create, upload and distribute their podcast.
We will setup a customizable podcast website for you automatically so you won’t have to look further and pay more for a separate one.
For any questions our friendly support team is here to assist you.
4. Alternative to video
Let’s be honest.
Video is another rising medium for marketing.
Apart from podcast directories and search engines potential customers will like to be educated by searching on places like Youtube and consuming video content.
But you don’t have to choose one medium over the other.
They can work great together!
You can repurpose your content to fit in multiple mediums.
You can take your podcast episodes and turn them to video or take your videos and turn them to blog posts.
That way you will attract more customers.
Wherever they search they will find content produced by you.
And well, not everyone is confortable watching videos all the time.
You can’t watch videos when you’re walking or transporting most of the time. You can’t read blog posts. But you can listen to music through headphones or… listen to a podcast!
Video is expensive too.
A good camera will cost much more than a simple microphone and you will need a good editing computer too, good lighting, audio recording equipment, a good location, more preparation, etc…
But what about starting with simpler mediums, like blog posts or a podcast and then, after a while, repurpose your best content in video?
You can even put your podcast episodes on Youtube with a static background or record a video podcast that you can publish both on podcast directories and Youtube!
5. Building Authority
You may be an expert on your field, but how can you prove it?
How can you make potential customers trust you over the next business?
People most of the time are not well educated buyers.
They don’t know exactly who is the best fit for their needs.
For example, there’s a lot of web developers out there. But not everyone has the same skills.
How can people decide who to trust for their particular needs?
They could look at each developer’s portfolio but their needs may be completely different from what they see.
A podcast will help you build authority over a subject.
You will be able to talk about what work you would be interested for (and perhaps haven’t had a chance so far for a similar project), what you are best suited for and why people should trust you and your brand.
You will express your beliefs and ideas, helping you project your self the best and making people trust you.
You will be the go-to person for the jobs you want to attract.
People will ask your advice and they will trust your opinion. They will contact you about jobs that you would be interested for and you could perhaps refer them to someone else for the ones you are not.
You just need a better way of communicating your personal goals and aligning your vision with your customer’s wants.
6. Networking And Building Referrals
Networking and getting to know people is one of the most important factors for your business success.
Organic growth and referrals are key to getting new customers and building trusting relationships. It’s how its been done for years and years before the internet, and still continues today.
The more people you meet the more opportunities you will have and the more business you will attract.
People will trust you and you can make common interest collaborations.
Your brand name or podcast will be mentioned in relevant conversations and it will spread.
Also you will be able to connect with people you admire by inviting them as guests to your podcast. Most of the times they will accept and they will bring their own audience to your podcast by linking to their episode.
You will also be asked to be a guest on other shows.
You will get a chance to connect with a broader audience and attract more listeners to yours and therefore to your brand.
People will follow you on social media (like Instagram or Twitter) and they will want to learn about what you will be working on in the future.
You will get more leads from everywhere!
Also through podcasting you will be able to improve on your speaking skills and you may be able to look into public speaking. That’s another great way to establish authority and credibility in a particular field.
Conclusion
Podcasting combined with other mediums, such as blog posts and videos, will definitely be a big boost to establishing your brand and attracting more leads.
You will be able to talk about your field, interests and goals and attract people in the process.
You will establish authority and credibility and people will follow your brand.
Starting a podcast is not difficult, why shouldn’t you begin today?