How to use podcasts to get your message out
It’s no secret that podcasts are bigger than ever. Research from Statista suggests that there are 21.2m podcast listeners in the UK alone, with over 40 percent of Brits listening to podcasts. From gardening to history, sport to politics, there’s a podcast to suit everyone’s interests.
This is just as true in the B2B world as it is in the B2C world; listeners are fascinated by the ins and outs of running a business, particularly if you work in a sector such as renewables, sustainability, engineering or professional services, where the intersection of knowledge and technical skill makes for many interesting conversations.
At McBryde & Co, we recently launched a new podcast from leading ecologist David Hill and his team at Environment Bank. Focusing on biodiversity and nature restoration - David’s areas of expertise and passion - the ‘How to Avoid Moving to Mars’ podcast sees him interviewing guests from across the world on how we can tackle the climate emergency together. Recent interviewees have included Tim Male, former advisor to the Obama White House, and former Countryfile presenter Sarah Mukherjee MBE.
As well as bringing together a range of diverse voices and perspectives, How to Avoid Moving to Mars is a great opportunity for David and Environment Bank to cement their own position in this area.
If you’re a business voice - whether an MD, head of marketing or simply someone within an organisation with a great story to tell - podcasts are a great way to demonstrate thought leadership and your genuine expertise and enthusiasm for a topic.
So, how can you launch and maintain a podcast to get your B2B message out in the world, make your mark in your industry, and enhance brand awareness?
1. Identify your audience: Whenever you’re launching a podcast, but especially if it’s a B2B podcast, have a clear idea of who you want to target.
To identify the preferences of your audience, ask yourselves the following questions (also known as audience mapping):
What sector are they in?
What jobs are they likely to do?
What are they most interested in?
What are they not interested in?
What vocabulary/key phrases will they be familiar with?
What are their challenges/frustrations?
What kinds of insights are they looking for/would be useful in their sector?
Media research, LinkedIn Analytics (to understand who is following you on LinkedIn) and competitor content analysis can be a really helpful way to find this information.
2. Tell your story: It’s a busy podcast world out there, with new series being launched every day. How can yours stand out?
Think about what is unique about yours. Is it the expertise and passion of the host (e.g. as with David Hill at Environment Bank)? Is it the calibre of guests? Is it the topic/s being discussed? Perhaps they aren’t being discussed elsewhere, or you have a unique viewpoint.
Once you’ve identified the USPs of your podcast, this will help you develop the content you need to launch and promote, such as:
Series description
Visual identity
Website/blogs
3. Build a bank of episodes: Record as many as you can and get them ready so that you have at least 2 - 3 to launch at once. Make sure you have all the assets you need to launch on podcatcher platforms (i.e. the apps used to listen to podcasts), including:
Series and episode descriptions
Header image
Call to action (CTA), including a URL where listeners can find out more
Having a separate website for your podcast, or at least a dedicated hub on an existing site, can help direct users to find more information about the podcast, the host, guests and topics discussed, as well as stream directly from the page (via Spotify integration). Take a look at https://www.davidhillpodcast.com/ to see how we’ve done this here at McBryde & Co.
This kind of web hub can house engaging content about your podcast, to not only attract listeners and interest, but also to boost the podcast’s SEO. You can also make your audio content work harder by transforming it into different content formats, including:
Blogs
Social media content (including audiograms)
Videos (e.g. of an interview recording)
Photography, ‘behind the scenes’ images and quotes
At a minimum, make sure you are rolling out across the following platforms:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Pocketcasts
iHeart
Amazon
Spreaker is a handy platform to access many of these, but it does require a subscription.
4. Set a schedule - and stick to it! Agreeing a consistent release schedule in advance is not only helpful for your forward planning, but also means your audience know when to expect the next episode.
Industry best practice is to release during the week, when people are most likely to be downloading and listening on their commute or during their lunchbreaks.
Stick to one particular day, such as a Tuesday or Thursday, and a set regularity (weekly or biweekly). Any more than this will bombard listeners, and any less means they may lose interest.
As well as sticking to your release schedule, make sure you always remain on-topic for your podcast. Guests should be chosen carefully and be relevant to the sector/topic. Consider having a core set of questions the host can use, and brief the host in advance (especially if they don’t know the guest already).
Dividing the podcast into series/seasons helps listeners know when to expect episodes to commence after a break, and also gives you the opportunity to plan and record future episodes.
Best practice is to have 8 - 10 episodes per series, although this can include shorter ‘mini’ episodes. When you come to the end of your series, or take a mid-series break (e.g. over Christmas or summer), record a scripted message letting listeners know.
When you’re ready to start a new series, make sure you shout about it on your social and content channels, so that listeners know when to expect new episodes.
5. Choose your channels: Similar to the audience mapping you did in Step One, consider where your audience is likely to be.
For a B2B podcast, this is likely to be LinkedIn, so make sure you create a content calendar of regular, engaging LinkedIn posts.
These posts will help launch and promote the podcast to your target audience, and when posting regularly, will help develop a loyal following who keep up to date with the latest episodes.
Where possible, make sure you have visually engaging creative assets to accompany these posts, and always include a link to the episode. Consider starting a hashtag for your series too, so users can easily find all related content.
6. Share and get reviews (lots of them!): Make sure you share your podcast with as many people as possible, both through social media and one a one-to-one basis. Ask them to rate and review it, and to share with their own networks.
This can also be applied to any guests you’ve had on the podcast - let them know in advance when their episode is coming out so they know to share it, and make sure you provide them with the episode link and template social copy (if appropriate) so that they can share on their own channels.
Positive ratings and reviews can help the podcast climb up the charts and reach more people, so don’t be afraid to ask!
7. Analyse your stats: As soon as your first episodes are released, you will be able to start gathering performance statistics across each platform you’ve released on (e.g. Spotify, Apple Podcasts).
The key metrics you’re looking for include:
Plays
Downloads
Streams
Country listened from
By identifying those episodes that have done particularly well, you can analyse the topics that have proved most popular, and use this in your forward planning for future episodes.
To find out about how McBryde & Co can help you launch your B2B podcast, get in touch with rachel@mcbrydeandco.com