Are you a small business owner who is thinking of starting a podcast for your business?
But, there are a few fears that businesses that are jumping into podcasts face.
“I don’t know if podcasting will be beneficial for my business or not.”
“The cost of quality equipment exceeds my small budget.”
“I don’t know much about podcasting and the technicalities of podcasting scare me.”
Don’t worry. This blog will help you answer all these fears and anxieties. By the end you’ll be ready to start a podcast. We’ll deep dive into how businesses can podcast even without any experience.
Benefits and Opportunities
Since podcasts are consumed passively the listenership is high, and in fact 82 million people listened to podcasts in 2021. Furthermore, 28 percent of podcast listeners have purchased a product they heard about on a podcast (Pew Research Center, 2023).
Its reach and influence make it a great marketing strategy, and 47 percent of marketers who leverage audio content and podcasts plan to invest more in it in 2024. There are various reasons why it is a great marketing tool and the next section sheds light on this.
Why Businesses Are Using Podcasts as a Marketing Strategy- Podcast as a Marketing Tool
Reason 1: Podcasts are up and coming
There is a recent wave of brands and creators paying attention to podcasts, making it currently unsaturated. It indicates that there is still an opportunity to use podcasts as a marketing tool, but not for long.
As GaryVee said, “Start a Podcast Today Before You Do Anything Else on Social Media,” right now is the perfect time to jump on board the podcasting for businesses train!
Reason 2: Podcasts Are Cost-Effective
Unlike other channels that require costly production equipment, podcasts only require your voice, and audio recording equipment. The rising cost of video production, a great way to break into the podcasting world is via audio podcasts. You can always invest more and shift towards video podcasts eventually.
Reason 4: Establish Brand Awareness and Recall
When there are so many brands and businesses vying for their customers’ attention, brand awareness and recall is crucial. On an average, it takes seven touchpoints with your ideal customer for them to make a purchase.
Podcasts can be one of those touch points that are cost-effective and that get you top of the funnel awareness and recall. Podcast listeners are very loyal too with retention rate of podcasts being high.
According to the 2022 MIDAS Survey, 68% of people listen to a podcast episode all the way through. With a good content strategy and wide distribution, you are bound to get great brand awareness and recall.
With a good marketing strategy that pushes your users further down your marketing funnel, podcasts can be a great way to convert these customers.
Reason 4: Podcasts Can Help You Repurpose Your Materials
Podcasts are audio, usually long form; thus, it becomes easy to repurpose it for various other channels. Alternatively, you can also turn your best performing content pieces into podcasts as well. Since you know it performs well, there are high chances that your podcast will perform well with your target audience as well.
Reason 6: It Complements All Your Other Marketing Channels in Various Ways
Since you can repurpose podcasts in various ways, they compliment your other marketing channels. Making it into a blog and putting your embedded player alongside the blog helps people consume it in a way they would like.
Your podcast host (that we’ve talked about in detail later) should provide you an embedded player. Hubhopper has an easy to use no-code embedded player you can embed in your blogs.
You can also convert clips and use it as an audiogram for your social media channels. Tiktok and Instagram are filled with these clips and get a lot of engagement, which can be a great way to direct traffic to your podcast.
Reason 7: Podcasts Are Great For Networking
Depending on your format (which we’ve talked about later in the blog), you can opt to call people in your ICP as guests on your podcast, which becomes a great networking tool. It also helps you establish a good rapport with your guests which helps you seal the deal later.
Reason 7: Podcasts Can Position You As An Authority
When you have a strong base of knowledge about your industry, converting them to episodes can position you as an authority. Since you’re talking about a topic you’re passionate about aka your business, editing it can be outsourced and what you’ll be left with is a piece of content that didn’t take much effort to create from your side.
If your competitors don’t have a podcast yet it gives you the first movers advantage. And if your competitors do have a podcast, you can create different and engaging podcasts that are better than your competitors.
Reason 8: Podcasts Get You Sponsorships
Not many businesses aim to get sponsorships since the aim is to promote their own products and services, but when a well performing podcast can be leveraged to get sponsorships from brands and companies that are in your industry but not necessarily your competitors.
For example, a burger company can partner up with a soft drink beverage company, to promote their products. A podcast one right can also be an additional revenue channel.
There are eight other benefits of podcasting for businesses that we’ve discussed in detail in another blog that you can check out.
So why wait? Start your podcast and unlock all the benefits of this dynamic medium! Lets jump into the Beginner’s Guide to start podcasting for businesses.
The Beginner’s Guide to Start Podcasting For Businesses
Define Your Podcast Roles
Who is going to take responsibility for the podcast? If you don’t decide roles now, you may start a podcast with a lot of enthusiasm but it will become an incomplete project left forgotten. Thus, a person from your team needs to take the lead on this project.
You don’t necessarily need a whole team, you can outsource the pre-production, production and post-production responsibilities, freeing up time to focus on your business. The project lead can ensure that the outsourced tasks are being executed timely. Essentially you only need one team member if you outsource the podcast production.
If you don’t plan to outsource, you will need a 4 member team. One that leads the project and looks over guest bookings, one that records the episodes, one who publishes the podcast, one who edits your podcast, one that markets the podcast.
Identifying Your Target Audience and Niche
Once your team is set up, you can brainstorm the details of the podcast.
The first thing to decide is the podcast topic. The topic can be related to your niche but not necessarily about the product you sell. Choosing a niche or a topic depends on your target audience too.
So, make a customer persona and identify the pain points they face. Make a list of all the pain points they have and pick a few pain points you can easily tackle with an informational podcast. You can always come back to these pain points and tackle them in future episodes.
Once you’ve found a few pain points, identify a common theme and use that as your topic for the podcast. Why focus on pain points? Because it will help you attract your target audience and make them an avid listener of your podcast since you’re providing proactive solutions to their problem.
Choose a Tone and Name
Once you’ve chosen a topic it’s time to pick a tone and name. Whether you’re a B2B, B2C or D2C company, picking your podcast’s tone is crucial. There is a common misconception that B2B content has to be formal and boring. But at the end of the day you’re connecting with another human at the other end, so let’s ditch the boring and adopt something new.
Pick a tone that suits your brand tonality. Your tonality will help you stay consistent with how you write and record your podcast and create a cohesive experience for your listeners. Once that’s done, you can pick a name for your podcast. Here is a blog that you can refer to pick a name, we’ve also given 200+ name ideas, so you can pick a podcast name directly from that list.
Choosing the Right Format for Your Business Podcast
The format of your podcast is another crucial element that you need to decide at this stage. There are essentially five types of podcast formats.
- Solo – Solo podcast as the name suggests is when there is only one host
- Co-hosts – When there is more than one host in all the episodes.
- Guests – This is where you invite a new guest every episode, you can have a solo or co-hosts in this format, it totally depends on how you want to approach this.
- Guest panels – This is when you have multiple guests each episode, again you can go the solo or co-host route here.
- Hybrid – It is not necessary for you to pick between having hosts and guests. You can mix the two approaches. You can have some episodes with all the co-hosts or each episode with a different host, some episodes where you invite a single guest and some where you invite multiple. However, this approach can cause confusion among your audience so pick this judiciously.
You can read about the advantages and disadvantages of each podcast format in this blog, and which one you should pick for your business.
Dive deeper into the nuances of each format in our comprehensive blog, where we explore the pros and cons of each option and provide guidance on choosing the right format for your business podcast.
Podcast Type
Choosing a podcast type lets your audience know what to expect and gives structure to your podcast as well. There are three podcast types:
Serial – Here the episodes follow a sequence and need to be heard one after another. Think of it as a show series where the story continues.
Episodic – Here the episodes are independent of each other but all have a common theme. Think of it as a sitcom where each episode has a different story but carries the same characters.
Episodic with Seasons – some podcasts also have seasons where each season may have a different theme and all the episodes in the same season have a common theme.
Cover Art
Once you have built a strong foundation for your podcast, it is time to create the cover art for your podcast. Cover art is the first visual impression of your podcast so you need to create an appealing and attention grabbing cover art.
We have an entire guide on how to create eye-catching cover art that will help. The guide covers the use of color psychology to choose the branding colors for your cover, the importance of font and how to pick one for your podcast cover art and the significance of visual elements for your podcast.
Pick an Intro and Outro
Every podcast episode has three components, an intro, the main episode and the outro.
The intro is meant to keep the listener engaged and tease them with the main content of the episode. You can include your catchphrase in the intro, but keeping it in your outro makes much more sense to increase audio recall. Use the juiciest bits of your episode as your intro, preface it with a phrase – This episode is packed with information you can’t miss, followed by the clips. Keep in mind to limit the intro to 30 seconds.
The outro includes your catchphrase to build audio recall, and a teaser about the upcoming episode, the guest it will feature, and when you’ll upload it. Ending it with a CTA to subscribe is a great way to build loyal listenership. Any relevant links in your show notes can be mentioned in the outro.
These links can be for your product or a service you mentioned in the episode. Another covert way of directing people to your service or product is to add your blog in the show notes, and directing the audience there.
Podcasting is a great way to cross promote your resources, product and services without directly selling.
The Equipment You Need to Start a Professional Business Podcast
One hurdle businesses face when they want to start a podcast is the costly equipment it requires. It is true that as a brand you should have good equipment for sound quality, however, you don’t need to break the bank to get decent podcasting equipment.
Microphones: Investing in quality microphones ensures clear, crisp audio. While the choices are endless and quite overwhelming, dynamic microphones are a popular choice for podcasting.
Recording Device: Your trusty laptop comes in handy as a recording device. Whether you’re recording solo episodes or hosting a roundtable discussion, your laptop is sufficient. If you plan to upgrade your equipment, you can invest in an audio interface. It will connect your microphones to your computer for optimal sound quality.
Headphones: Don’t overlook the importance of headphones. A pair of comfortable, closed-back headphones allows you to monitor your audio while recording. Why do you need to monitor your audio? It is to ensure that your recordings have no unwanted background noise or technical issues (like a weird buzzing noise).
Recording Software: Fortunately, there’s a plethora of recording software options available, ranging from free to paid subscriptions. Audacity and GarageBand are popular choices for beginners, offering intuitive interfaces and essential editing tools to enhance your audio recordings. We’ve discussed other options for recording software below as well.
Pop Filter and Shock Mount: If you want to take your audio quality a step further consider buying a pop filter and shock mount. So what do these two do for your audio? A pop filter helps reduce plosive sounds (such as “p” and “b” sounds). On the other hand, a shock mount minimizes vibrations and handling noise, resulting in cleaner audio.
By investing in these essential pieces of equipment, you can smoothly start podcasting for businesses with confidence. Remember, the key is not to focus on the costliest gear. Rather select reliable, budget-friendly options that deliver professional-quality results.
Choose a Podcast Hosting Platform
A podcast host basically creates the RSS feed for your podcast and makes it easy to manage and distribute your podcast. There are many in the market to choose from, here are the things to look for when choosing one for your podcast:
- Look for the episode credits or duration. Some podcast hosts present you with how many episodes you can upload or how many hours of episodes you can upload in a certain duration.
- Whether they have a Teams feature. If you decide to do this in house or outsource it, you would require a host that lets you collaborate and keep everybody on the same page. So look for a host that lets you get your entire team on the platform.
- The storage and downloads capacity. Some platforms limit you on how many episodes they will store or how many downloads you can accrue.
With Hubhopper, there is no limit on the hours of audio you can upload, instead you just choose a plan based on how many episodes you can upload in a month. Moreover, we have a role-based Team feature, that gives you the control to choose which member has what access. We also have unlimited storage and downloads. You can start your 7-day trial as well.
For a deeper dive into what is a podcast hosting platform, why you need one and how to choose one for your needs, check out our detailed blog for valuable insights and guidance. Explore key features, considerations, and tips to help you make an informed decision.
About Editing Software and Post-Production
You can always outsource editing and post-production but if you want to do this in house, you have multiple routes.
In the beginning, keeping your editing process simple is our recommendation. Try to avoid noise in your background, that has a huge impact on your audio quality. When it comes to editing, a free editing software called Audacity gives you a wide array of functionality but has a steep learning curve.
If you want something beginner friendly. If your podcast is hosted on Hubhopper, you get a pretty easy-to-use recorder and editing software that you don’t need to download. Our online editor and recorder is good to go when you’re just starting out. To learn more about Hubhopper’s online editor and how it can streamline your podcasting workflow, check out our informative blog.
If you’re willing to shell some money, Alitu is an option you can explore. It is beginner friendly and has all the tools you need to get a professional level episode.
Planning and Structuring Your Podcast Episodes
Recording episodes is no easy task especially when you’re just getting started. But consistency is key with creating a successful podcast. We recommend posting one episode a week. However, you can start with a frequency you’re comfortable with, depending on the resources and bandwidth available.
You can also reduce the time you need to allot to the podcast by outsourcing podcast management and publishing.
When it comes to structuring your podcast episodes, it depends on the format you choose. If you have a podcast with a new guest each episode, you can decide some constant segments in your podcast. Here are some examples of segments you can include:
- Introduction of the guest and the host
- Ice breaking segment
- Pre-prepared Questions
- Rapid fire
- Free flowing conversations
- Questions from your audience
Finding and Booking Podcast Guests
Finding Guests: Finding the right guests for your podcast depends on your topic, but it’s a good rule of thumb to invite guests who are knowledgeable and masters of their domain. A mix of guests also breaks the monotony or the same insights being repeated in all your episodes.
Your listeners aren’t going to want to listen to the same conversation with the same person over and over. Not everyone is a good fit for the podcast.
You can use websites that match guests and podcasters. Inviting a potential client can also be a great move as we’ve discussed earlier. Someone from your network that you feel is a good fit for your podcast can also be a low hanging fruit. You can also find guests who are industry experts on LinkedIn.
When you think a person is a good fit, send them a link to your booking page so they can schedule their interview.
Scheduling Guests: To schedule guests, consider using a tool like Calendly. It integrates with your Calendar and is fairly easy to operate too. It also gives your guests the flexibility to choose a day and time that’s convenient for them.
Avoid booking too many guests in a single day since the recording process can be exhausting. If you’re conducting recording over Zoom, consider automating emails to send timely reminders and Zoom links for a smooth pre-recording experience.
Leveraging Social Media to Promote Your Podcast and Reach a Wider Audience
A podcast takes time to reach its target audience, thus leveraging your existing social media channels is a great way to spread the word out. A podcast can be easily repurposed and you can create multiple pieces of content from a single episode to not only draw listeners to your podcast but also to keep your social media channels active.
A podcast can be divided into many clips that you can post on your social media platforms like tik tok and Instagram. Audiograms are a great way to do this, with Hubhopper’s integration with Headliner, you can create these audiograms for free. With our AI feature, you can create captions for these audiograms as well reducing the time you need to spend on marketing collateral.
Once you gather some interested listeners, engage with them and make them feel like they’re part of your community. Ask them questions and feedback. You can also prompt them to send you questions to ask your next guest. Through this, you can create a two-way communication with your audience and start building a loyal community that later becomes your customers or clients.
How to Measure the Success of Your Podcast and Track Leads
There are only a few metrics you need to keep a close eye on to measure the success of your podcast. These are:
Listens – the times someone clicks on your episode.
Downloads – This doesn’t mean the number of people who actually download your episode. It means that a listener listened to your episode for 60 seconds and more.
Ideally, your listens should increase over time and you should have returning listeners. Downloads will be lower than your listens but downloads also means that people are engaged, so it is a good metric to keep your eye on.
Monetizing Your Podcast and Turning Leads into Customers
1. Direct Monetization: Direct monetization includes tipping. Tipping means your listeners can directly send you money directly. You can also create exclusive content in the form of a private podcast that only the paying members can access. A private podcast is not available to the general public and can only be accessed when the listener has a unique RSS feed.
2. Strategic Product Placement: Another way you can monetize your podcast is to integrate your products or services in your content. Be careful while doing this because you don’t want to appear promotional. Mentioning your products where it makes sense is the way to go.
3. Sponsorships: You can get brands who are in your industry but not direct competitors to sponsor your podcasts. They can either sponsor your entire podcast or have a host-read ad integrated in your episodes.
The Ideal Everything for Podcasts
While there are some aspects of your podcast that require your creativity, brand and vision, there are other decisions about your podcast that can be prescribed. Here is the list of those aspects and a benchmark you should consider:
1. Ideal Length of a Podcast: Mid length podcasts perform well since it gives you enough time to communicate your message or topic while also keeping the audience engaged. Keep your episodes between 15-25 minutes.
2. Best Day to Post a Podcast: The day you post your episode is vital too since the first few hours after uploading and the engagement on it matters. Tuesday seems to be a day that does well for most podcasts. After you have 10+ episodes out, you can look at your analytics dashboard to see which day and time your audience is active.
3. Best Frequency to Post a Podcast: Being consistent is more important than the industry benchmark. Ideally, you should release one episode per week. But, if your bandwidth doesn’t allow it, decide your frequency and tweak it once you’re comfortable with creating episodes.
Conclusion: Overcoming Common Fears
Despite the hype around podcasting, the soil is still fertile. There are many niches that are waiting for people to occupy. You can have the first mover’s advantage and start commanding strong authority in your niche.
