Would your customers benefit from having more information about your product or service via tutorials and reviews? Would publicized discussions with other industry professionals be helpful to your clients? Could you benefit from being seen as an authority in your industry?
At this point, your business probably has a blog, Facebook, and Twitter, but have you considered how a podcast would appeal to your customers?
One of the main benefits of podcasting is its flexibility in both time and format. Podcasts can last an hour or just a few minutes, making them suitable for almost any business. They can also be adjusted to reach a broad audience since they are easy to listen to.
What’s it take to plan and execute a successful podcasting strategy?
What to Consider Before Recording
Choosing Your Format
Short podcasts (under 10 minutes) can be very useful as tips to accompany a product. For instance, a business that sells cars could provide brief podcasts with car maintenance advice for customers. These shorter podcasts can also tackle common questions from your customers, helping to build a knowledge base that you can share with them at the time of purchase.
Longer podcasts lend themselves well to interviews, roundtable discussions, extended tutorials, and lectures. Interviewing notable people within your industry is an outstanding way to build authority and credibility with consumers.
How Often to Record New Episodes
This depends on your business and the type of podcasts you’re producing, but generally you should attempt to have a new podcast episode each week. In fact, make an effort to record multiple episodes per week when you first launch your podcast, because iTunes lists your podcast in the “New & Noteworthy” section for a maximum of eight weeks. If you pump out lots high-quality podcasts in this “grace period,” your podcast will stick at the top for the eight week period and you’ll immediately get many subscribers.
Recording Your Podcast
- If you’re serious about podcasting, lose the laptop microphone and invest in a high-quality microphone.
- Get familiar with recording software such as Garage Band (Mac) or Audacity (PC).
- Plan, plan, plan. Don’t jump into a podcast without planning and expect it to sound professional. If you’re interviewing a guest, do your research and be sure you have compelling questions that will drive the conversation. If you’re going at it solo, have plenty of content ready and prepare specific segues to keep the podcast flowing since you won’t have the natural flow of conversation to rely upon.
- If you’re not comfortable setting up the podcast and recording manually, check out BlogTalkRadio for a turnkey solution. Your podcast episodes will be recorded live and automatically archived where it can be easily shared on your blog, social media, and iTunes. Premium versions also allow you to edit your recorded podcast, which is great for taking out that awkward silence or cutting down the podcast’s length.
Promoting Your Podcast
One of the best ways to promote your podcast is to set up an RSS feed strictly for your podcast episodes. You can do this using the Blubrry PowerPress Podcasting Plugin.
Of course, you’ll likely want to feature your podcasts in a special section of your blog or website. Setting up a landing page and driving traffic to that page using social media is also a great way to bring attention to your podcast.
Even a simple promotional tactic like adding a link to your podcast in your email signature can have big impacts.
Is a Podcast Right for Your Business?
Regardless of your industry and customer base, it’s very likely a podcast could be beneficial. There is, of course, a significant time investment when it comes to consistently planning, recording, and promoting a podcast, but the payoff is huge if you the planning and execution is on par!