Podcast Marketing: A Guide to Grow Your Audience (Pt 1/2)

There are more than 2 million active podcasts... there's a reason why!

As we move forward, audio content is going to become more prevalent. There are millions of listeners already but this consumption will increase further in the coming years.

For brands to stay relevant and tap on this emerging trend, it's a good idea to launch their podcast. The competition is still relatively low and opportunities aplenty.

In this guide, we cover "everything podcast marketing".

Why Podcast?

Podcasts are an inexpensive and effective way to promote your brand or business. You can use them to increase your visibility and drive awareness of your products, services, or causes.

There are several benefits of podcasting as a marketing tool, including:

• Increased reach: Podcasts can be downloaded by anyone with an internet connection. This means they can be shared with huge audiences, which increases the likelihood that potential customers will hear about your business.
• Targeted message: Podcasts are designed to appeal to specific audiences, so you can speak directly to those who need what you have to offer most.
• Low cost: Podcasts don't require expensive equipment or software; all you need is a microphone and some editing software. With a little bit of effort, anyone can produce professional-quality podcasts at home or in their office using free tools like Audacity or GarageBand.
• Flexibility: You can create podcasts that fit any brand personality, style, or tone - from serious and informative to fun and entertaining.
• Easy to produce: Podcasting requires little more than a microphone and an internet connection. If you're already producing videos, audio, or other content, podcasting is a natural extension of what you've been doing, which means you'll have more experience in producing content for your audience.
• Faster to publish: Once you've recorded your show, you can post it on iTunes or other podcasting sites within minutes. It's even easier if you're using premium podcasting software. So, the execution of podcasts is much faster.

Podcast Marketing Tips

Even with all the benefits, here’s a big challenge: Growing your podcast isn’t going to be easy. It requires a fitting approach and defined strategy that attracts attention, drives engagement, and leads to meaningful conversions.

Moreover, it’s important to understand that just because your podcast has thousands of listeners doesn’t mean those listeners will convert to become your customer aka that they will buy your product. Product integration for sales is a different sub-topic altogether.

In any case, to help you get started on the right track and attract more listeners, here are five podcast marketing tips:

Feature industry influencers

Influencers are the people who are actively involved in your industry and are seen as experts. They can have a large following of loyal followers. They can drive traffic to your podcast and share it with their own audience, which could help you get more listeners. So, identify some of the top names in your industry or niche and reach out to them. Tell you would like to interview them for your podcast. Many of them would happily accept the offer.

Distribute it across platforms

If you want people to listen to your podcast, then the best way is by distributing it across different platforms. The more places that people can find out about it, the better! That means making a presence on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and others.

Talk about it on social media platforms

It is important to share your podcast on social media platforms. There are many ways you can do this. You can share it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. When you share your podcast on these channels, make sure you do it with a link back to your website or podcast page so that people can easily find out more information about your show. Use the right hashtag. Attach attention-grabbing creatives with each of these posts.

Don't forget podcast SEO

Podcast SEO is all about creating content that will rank high in search engines like Google and Bing for keywords related to your show topic or niche. This is done by using keywords that you know are relevant to your target audience and setting up your own website or blog where you can publish these posts with links back to the episodes they were created from on iTunes or SoundCloud. Focusing on podcast SEO can significantly boost your visibility, attracting a lot of new listeners. If you need help, connect with a top SEO company San Jose.

Promote it using social ads

Another great way to promote your podcast is by using social ads. You can target people who listen to podcasts, engage with podcasts, and people who already listen to podcasts but haven’t heard of yours yet. Use tools like BuzzSumo to see what types of content are working best for other podcasters so you know what kind of content you should be producing next for your paid ads.

Get help from experts

Podcasting is more than just a hobby for many people. It's a passion and a business, so you want to make sure that your podcast is as professional as possible. One way to do this is by hiring an expert who can help with the technical and marketing side of things. This could include editing your episode or promoting your brand on social platforms via ads. You can connect with an agency that offers the best digital marketing services; someone that has experience working with podcasters. Seek their expertise to increase the number of your listeners, promote products the right way, and drive higher ROI.