How Podcasts Can Increase Brand Awareness: Full Guide & Strategy
Spotify has changed its description from just songs to songs and podcasts; that’s when you know that podcasting is the new hot thing. Another thing to know is that if something’s on trend, it’s never just about entertainment. Attention brings traffic, and traffic brings money. Brands are no strangers to this medium as podcasts really can increase brand awareness. Whether their involvement is limited to occasional ads and sponsorship or an entire branded podcast, trust us, you don’t want to exclude this marketing channel from your strategy.
With a 58% increase in traction over the last five years, podcasts are here to stay.
While compelling copy and blogs play an important role in your company’s search engine rankings, there’s nothing more intimate and persuasive as a human voice telling you all about it. By unveiling your brand’s background, behind-the-scenes and employee stories you will humanize your brand and better connect to your existing and future customer base.
It’s up to you to decide how much effort and to what extent you want to include podcasting in your marketing strategy. Whatever amount you land on, there is a way to go about each one of them. Depending on your availability and willingness to be engaged in the creative process you can:
- Start your own podcast
- Sponsor a podcast related to your industry
- Spread your message as a guest on other podcasts
Dedicating your time to launch your own podcast may not always be the most effective tactic for your particular audience, that is why we’ll discuss the advantages of each of these options.
Start your branded podcast
At the end of the day no one can do it better than you. Whether you’re a budding brand, or already possess a loyal customer base, a branded podcast is exciting news for both targets. So if you have the time and a team, starting a company podcast is a great way to bring attention to your brand, engage with your customers and promote your products and services. In case you don’t, maybe it’s time you allocate some resources to make this audio-marketing approach a part of your brand.
The networking benefit of this venture is undeniable. You’ll be making a lasting impression on whoever you engage with whether it’s your audience, or the guests on your podcast. Your guests will most likely be sharing their episodes on their social medium, too, exposing your brand and message to more diverse audiences. This way collaboration and connection with industry experts will be much more organic, and as a result more effective.
Starting a podcast brings nothing but benefits, including the improvement of your site’s ranking. This way you get additional opportunities to increase backlinks to your website and encourage further activity on it.
Creating engaging content for your podcast, finding the right set up and a podcast host, recording, editing, finding a hosting platform — seems like there’s too many steps. Don’t get intimidated though. With a free podcast creation platform such as Podcastle, at least half of these steps get so much easier. This podcast audio editing software offers on-site recording, seamless editing, noise cancellation and many other features. You can even record multitrack remote interviews without having to figure out the logistics for your guests.
Long term commitment carries the most benefits. Yet, you can still partially integrate podcasting into your strategy without allocating as much time and effort.
Sponsor a creator
Now, launching a podcast isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. As mentioned above, the latter requires a lot of resources. Luckily, there is another time-saving option. For busy entrepreneurs and/or solopreneurs sponsoring a podcaster is a great way to expose your brand to an existing audience. If annoying ad-inserts are what comes to your mind, then you’re undermining the potential of many podcasters. These talented creators do a great job at seamlessly integrating your message into their content. According to a Nielsen report, 69% of podcast listeners have learned about a new product or a service through a podcast. This one, however, requires a lot of research, considering you have a finite budget.
You will need to explore and find creators that make content closely related to your industry. There are niche podcasts on any topic you can think about. Take into account the size of their audience and whether their podcast format goes in line with your message.
Once you identify podcast creators you’d like to work with, it’s time to reach out to them. Include only the most important and relevant information about your product or the service-the kind that would get their attention and spark their interest in becoming your brand’s ambassador. It’s time to brainstorm with your new collaborator on how they can promote your podcast. Keep in mind that during the process you may have to reach compromises as the podcaster too has to be comfortable with your promotion ideas.
Increasing your network is always a positive, however, it’s important to make sure that the audience of whichever podcast you sponsor, really is your target.
Be their guest
A lot like guest blogging, guest podcasting is just as good when it comes to raising brand awareness. You’ll be able to present your brand to an entirely new audience without having to record or edit anything yourself. In case your interviewer uses a podcast recording platform that allows remote interviewing, you won’t even have to leave your workstation.
Just like you are about to get on a hunt for a podcast to attend, there are thousands of podcast hosts looking for experts or brands that will share insightful information whether it’s about the industry or their product. With a little bit of research and communication, you’re bound to find a creator that would enjoy having you on your show.
Radio broadcasting is making a comeback in the form of podcasts. As you can see, podcasting offers a plethora of marketing opportunities; whichever of the above-mentioned tactics you choose, be prepared to harvest the benefits that this medium harbors.