The new media landscape is constantly changing. From blogs to YouTube channels to Instagram influencers, there is always a new avenue for the Internet to catch the world’s attention. Even so, through it all, one of the earliest democratized digital channels has endured and is entering its prestige era. The podcast is alive and well and here are some tips to make sure yours survives and thrives.
Podcasting’s Journey and Rise to the Top
Podcasting has been around for years, but really began to come into its own when the blog wave started to taper off. Evolving from basic audio round-table discussions, we began to get scripted podcasts and more diverse culturally-focused offerings. My personal intro to podcasts was The Combat Jack Show. This was the flagship show of the Loud Speakers Network and a wealth of knowledge to the rap historian crowd. From the growth of that show, plus others, I began to see the viability of the medium as a major player. Evidently, other people did to, as we know see an explosion of offerings across interests and formats. Long from the days of listening on Soundcloud, we have dedicated platforms for podcast publishing (Anchor, Stitcher, etc.) plus major investment pushes from Apple, Spotify, and Netflix. With the growth and interest in the medium increasing exponentially, this is a good time to make sure you position your offerings for success in the crowded marketplace.
Make your podcast work for you.
As a content creator, I fully understand how hard it can be to make appealing content to engage your fans and draw new ones. With Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. But if you start creating your content with the cross-channel mindset, you can easily multiply your effort with a lot less work. These tips, with discipline and the right foundation, should take your marketing and brand community building to new heights.
1. Your podcast is a brand, treat it like one.
Don’t post your podcast to Spotify, Apple Music, etc., and just tweet/post the link everywhere. That’s not marketing or building your brand effectively. If you are serious about building your podcast, it should have an independent home where people can find your brand. BUILD A WEBSITE. Don’t be intimidated, just having a simple landing page will be fine to start. You don’t have to blow a bag getting the nicest site designed from scratch. While I would suggest you enlist (and pay) someone who can do what you need within your budget, there are low-cost solutions for you to DIY. Carrd.co has great templates and drag and drop features (plus $9/yr plans!) and there are always low-cost or free WordPress templates to use. Whatever you choose, make sure you buy your domain name and make it work for you.
2. Your greatest strength isn’t just your content, it’s your audience.
Brands thrive on creating lasting connections with their customers. Your customers are your listeners. Make sure you are capturing audience data! Whatever platform you decide to use, make sure you can capture emails. Building and being able to contact your audience at will is key. Metrics are great, but listener count gives you no control or way to scale your brand intelligently. Make sure you can capture this info (on your website/landing page) and organize it well (Mailchimp, Convertkit, etc.).
3. Know how to package your content for other channels.
Upload your podcast to Youtube after your initial release of the episode. You may have to tailor this tip according to your metrics and desired audience targeting, but this is an easy way to put 1 piece of content on (at least) 2 channels. And don’t think you have to go all out and get a video crew or videotape it at all. Easy steps: get a logo made, set it as thumbnail/video, upload the audio and done. Also, an extra tip, transcribe your podcasts. (Hat-tip to @WhutTheHale for the tweet that inspired me to put together this article) Transcription allows you to post your podcast as text if you have a blog (on the website you should definitely have!) as well as make your podcast accessible to hearing impaired people and people who prefer to read over listening. If you don’t want to pay for transcription or do it yourself, you can transcribe automatically with your audio file and Google Docs (some more on the exact method here.
4. Even audio can work visually.
Make your main points from your podcast episode into visual posts. This will allow you to cross post on visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, if you are using them. Hire a designer or use Canva if you are in a DIY mood and put together some visually appealing takeaways. Not only does this give you micro-content to post from the larger piece, it makes it more digestible for casual consumption. Make it visually engaging and make sure it’s branded so people know where it came from when it gets reposted!
I hope these tips help with making your content work for you across platforms and assist you with expanding your brand. I’d like to see how you put these tips to use, so link me on Twitter with your work @recruitzero!