Podcast- New Marketing Strategy for Business

In terms of marketing strategy, the content vertical has been witnessing revolutionary evolution; the credit goes to the digital wave. Earlier, companies used to depend mostly on TVC (television commercial), which only allowed them to describe the brand in a line or two. Lately, advent of digital mediums is enabling brands to tell not just the story but also visions at a very low cost.

Fortunately and unfortunately, digital mediums are accessible by every company and brand. This opens the gate for enormous yet fair competition.

Not to be ignored, in the era of the internet, customers are not just interested in products but also story beyond. Lately, customers are seeking transparency with every brand that they are associated with anyhow. This behavioral change in the audience has both pros and cons.

It is easy to advertise about the upcoming product launch as well as any sort of variation in the existing products. On the other hand, brands might lose their customers in case of any discrepancy that has been left unaddressed. In short, digital advertising channels are keeping the companies on their toes.

Hence, to stay in the business, or moreover on top of the game, companies are implementing various formats of content to reach out to their prospective clients. Content, in its various forms, serves the curiosity of the customers and make a bridge between customers and brands to stay connected consistently.

Content Strategizes Brand Position in Market

In the initial phase of the digital era, companies started providing information in the form of blogs, articles, journals, and e-books. Further, the marketing method shifted to video, webinars, and similar infographic form.

In the recent decade, the marketing and advertising domain has discovered an audio channel to deliver and engage the target audience.  Podcast- radio on demand (as defined by Wikipedia), has been emerging as a breakthrough innovation to channelize the information to the prospective customers.

Podcast Makes Way as Most Convenient Advertising Tool

As per a report published by IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), the podcast industry has witnessed a breakthrough in the year 2018. Both- the number of shows and the audience have increased substantially. Over 619, 000 podcasts were added to Apple podcasts. Besides, music streaming platforms are creating new platforms for publishers, globally.

Also, as per a report published by The Infinite Dial 2020 from Edison Research, the number of podcast listeners has surged by approximately 9% between 2017 and 2019 i.e. 67 million to 73 million.

Adaptation of podcasts as a marketing tool has a direct impact on approaching the customers. The medium enables the brands to tell their part of the story in most convincing tone. As a result, it has a positive impact on business.

The audio channel is emerging as a two-way road. It is aiding in balancing the supply and demand value chain of information. Here are few major points to capitalize the channel to proliferate reach to the audience-

1. Know Your Customers: This is one of the key steps in defining the content of the podcast. Rarely, we come across a podcast type that is meant for the general public. And if that is the case, the type of podcast is usually found to be eccentric. Hence, it is advisable to concentrate on demography aligned with the niche of the company.

For example, athletes would be the preferred audience for companies operating in the fitness domain. Hence, the podcast should revolve around fitness topics.

Further, for accurate podcast content, the interest of the audience is needed to be well-researched. Later, narrow down the content for the audience with similar interests.

Researching about interest may seem like a tedious job. Though, checking the followers of the podcast session and other social media platforms can give a better idea.

Let’s suppose, most of the listeners are runners. This will drive the podcasters to insert advertisements on shoes amid the podcast contents.

Delivering the right kind of content along with the product advertisement would help bridge the trust gap between customers and the company.

Finally, a survey is a great way to find out precise and clear information about the audience. Google forms and Survey Monkey are some of the easiest ways to find out who are following the podcast. It may seem like a burden to the audience, however, this is one of the efficient ways to find out their demand without asking for favors.

2. Know Your Products: The content of the podcast should always be crafted to support and endorse the product. Hence, it is advisable to create or choose the content of the podcast that is relatable to the product.

Moreover, when an advertisement is associated with the podcast it will sound authentic to the listeners. While interpreting the idea of a product, the benefits should be stated explicitly somewhere in between the storyline.

For example- if a company wants to endorse VPN, the content should revolve around website security, privacy, and data breaches. That way, the listeners will be interested to know about the role of VPN in maintaining internet security.

Convincing tone of story-telling will drive the listeners to approach the website. This eventually will act as new building block in marketing strategy for business.

3. Provide Personal Touch: There is a pool of podcasts on the web. This brings us to the next question- What would attract listeners to our podcast (about any topic)? Hence, experts advise creating a personal touch for higher engagement.

For example, if the geography of the audience is pre-decided, the host could start with, “Hey Seattle!” with energized background music.

Also, the evolution of podcasts allows telling a story in a tone of choice. By using a casual and familiar voice, and seamless transition between story and advertising will enhance the listening experience of the audience. Hence, instead of inserting a commercial advertisement, it is advisable to advertise the product in form of experience.

Try and include CTA at end of the podcast. This will guide the listeners to take further actions, be it visiting website, fill a survey form, or buy your product.
The CTA will also help determine the performance rate of the podcast post-campaign.

4. Publishing Platform: Once the story is ready, rolling out the audio clips to the target audience is the next step. This brings us to the next step- the selection of the right platform to reach out to maximum number of audience.

While sorting out the publishing platforms, pinpoint your requirements. Storage capacity, audience analytics, website integrations, and content repurposing services are some of the major areas to focus on while deciding the podcast publishing platform.

Besides, few hosting platforms also provide monetization support by offering premium membership subscriptions to its listeners. Such websites aids to convert the podcast from side hustle to the main source of income. Some of the podcast platforms also offer a trial period where the customer need not pay anything.

It is the best idea to go with a growing platform that supports growth of the show and enhances visibility of their platform.

5. Promote Podcast: Once the podcast is ready and rolled out in the market, the next big responsibility is to promote the podcast to the right set of listeners. Till now there is no fixed formula for promotion. It follows the trial and error method. At times, social media may appear as a prominent channel for promotion. On other hand, the prospective audience is oblivious to fancy social media platforms and e-mail might be the right path to encounter such audience.

In any case, it is suggested to begin with a minimum of three podcast releases at the beginning. Apart from that, the best kind of content and publishing at the strategic time are major factors that would influence the audience.

The evolution of podcast has, indeed, brought a new channel to reach prospective customers and promote the product. However, promotion of a product is only possible if the right kind of content is delivered at the right time and right people. Above mentioned points provide an overview of the marketing strategy of the podcast to scale up the brand endorsement.