Can Podcasting Help My Business?
Author:
Heidi Butzine
Heidi Butzine is Chief Marketing Strategist & Owner of Localista Media; a digital marketing agency. Her mission is to help businesses suffering from rudderless marketing. With over 25 years of career experience, she’s worn all the hats in running a company from start-up to selling her business to a Fortune 500 company for nearly $20 million. She’s a best-selling author and speaks to industry and professional organizations about local marketing. Her latest entrepreneurial venture is launching Social Workplace, a South Bay coworking, office and meeting space offering flexible work space with access to onsite business mentorship.
How Can We Help?
Localista Media provides business and marketing strategy support. And we actually do the marketing tasks for you (website development, social media, content marketing, copywriting, press releases and more). You focus on the big picture of running the business while we worry about all the details of the marketing plan.
As marketers, we’re often asked about podcasting and whether it can help a business or a personal brand. The answer is yes, if it’s done right.
Podcasting has become very popular. In fact, 73 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly and they’re mostly 25 to 54 year-olds (the most influential, affluent audience). For this reason, podcasts are becoming a valuable part of a small business marketing strategy.
Why?
Podcasting is a great educational tool to highlight your expertise especially for professionals such as attorneys, financial advisors and real estate pros. If you can provide value for listeners, then you’re establishing a relationship based on your credibility and expertise.
Potential clients are listening
According to Forbes, more than one-third (39%) of owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) listen to podcasts, with 65% of that population listening at least weekly.
Even if prospects don’t listen to every podcast, consistent podcasting can bring them back again and build a relationship. Listeners who’ve heard your message are better informed about what you provide, which could lead to attracting higher quality clients.
Podcasting reaches more people, more effectively
We always say, it’s better to reach a group of people with your message rather than having onesy-twosey meetings to get the word out. These one-on-one meetings or consults take much more time and how many meaningful meetings can you reasonably do in a week or a year? With a podcast, you can reach many listeners who actually have an interest in what you have to share or teach.
Podcasting can be easy
You can set yourself up so that ideally all you have to do is talk. There are plenty of experts and services you can use to outsource everything from getting guests to editing and promotion. Getting professional help from a company like Turnkey Podcast Productions can take podcasting tasks off your plate and is well worth the investment depending on how frequently you publish and how much help you need.
Podcasting can open doors and generate revenue
Your podcast can be a revenue generator by promoting your own products or services and special offers, getting others to pay for advertising or sponsorship, and affiliate marketing. Interviewing industry leaders on your show can expand your reach to a new audience and lead to other opportunities. Once you’ve built up a respectable following, you may even get people willing to pay you to get in front of your listeners.
Podcast listeners are committed
An incredible 85% of podcast listeners listen to the entire show! When you look at other types of content marketing, like video and blogs, the bounce rates and engagement are much lower. People stay tuned in to their favorite podcasts and committed to listening to you for 30 to 60 minutes or more which gives you the chance as a podcaster to connect with your audience. You don’t get that kind of engagement with a YouTube video or a blog post.
People love podcasts
People love podcasts because they’re easy to enjoy. You can do other things while you listen and it doesn’t require focused time watching or reading. People love podcasts because audio is a great way to tell a story and connect. We’re naturally wired to learn by listening and there’s a certain intimacy and authentic nature to podcasting. Podcasters love podcasts because the conversation continues. We all want to grow our business while we sleep right? Podcasting can keep the conversation going with listeners by being available on demand and convenient to listen to at their choice.
It’s a marathon not a sprint
Like anything in marketing, if you don’t have an overall objective and set the goals to get you there, you’re going to be hugely disappointed. Many people give up on podcasting after a handful of episodes because they’re expecting quick results or think it’s going to magically deliver business the next day. Podcasting takes time to build up. Creating “random acts of content” isn’t a marketing strategy. Consistency is key and hanging in there for the duration is what’s going to grow your audience and turn them into raving fans.
Wanna podcast but don’t know how to start?
A reminder that we’re organizing a Podcast 101 Workshop on January 29th at Social Workplace which will cover how you can use podcasting and how to get started. Podcast experts Doug Sandler, Founder of TurnKey Podcast Productions and JJ Flizanes, Podcast Strategist & Lifestyle Coach will answer your questions about launching a podcast.
