In an article posted over Business 2 Community titled Why Podcasting For Business Needs To Be In Your Content Marketing Strategy, the writer Danielle Winski makes a number of salient points. She begins by mentioning that podcasts are just “starting to get the recognition they deserve as an effective content marketing tool, but they’re “too often overlooked for the more common options of blogging and social media.” This is beginning to change, as more organizations are realizing how effective a well-thought-out podcast can be in communicating more than “thought leadership” – podcasts are by definition more personal, even intimate, and when done right, enable an organization to communicate in a more authentic way.
Here are what I thought the most arresting points Ms. Winski’s article made:
1. Loyalty and Trust–The nature of a podcast’s episodic structure encourages people to anticipate and come back for the next installment. As you develop loyal listeners you begin to build trust with them. It is no wonder 65 percent of fans say they are more willing to buy services and products that they hear about on their regularly listened to podcast.
2. Emotion – hearing the enthusiasm in your voice is a powerful tool. The emotion you feel when you’re talking is projected to your audience. While you can convey feelings in social media, blogging, and other forms of content marketing, it’s more difficult to achieve and does not have the same draw as hearing the eagerness in someone’s voice.
3. Influencing – A well-liked podcast is a source of expert information for a listener. When establishing your own podcast, you give your business an opportunity to become experts as well. Listeners become loyal to podcasts that prove they know what they are talking about, and with loyalty comes trust. As you grow your audience, you increase your influence through your expertise and trust.
Agreed. Podcasts help to educate and connect with customers at a deeper level while building community. The challenge is in producing a regular podcast that is consistently engaging and enlightening, and if you want to include guests, making sure they’re engaged so they’re at their most natural, forthcoming, and insightful. Producing a podcast is easy, doing it consistently well and making yourself heard above the “din” – and keeping people coming back every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday – isn’t so easy. For more on delivering a consistently engaging pod, check out our podcast marketing services page – and feel free to schedule a call to discuss how you can make podcasting a powerful extension of your company’s voice.
