Three Reasons To Launch a Business Podcast
It seems like every company on earth has their own podcast at this point, which makes many business owners feel like they need to launch one to keep up. Although we don’t advise having one just to be like everyone else, there are many compelling and valuable reasons to.
Here at Alice Violet Creative we take away the guesswork and time-intensive editing by offering full podcasting services from editing, hosting, producing and distributing to show format, sourcing guests, tone of voice and iconography. We also offer one-off training sessions if you want to run the whole thing in-house.
Here are three reasons to consider launching a podcast for your business.
1. People invest their time in podcasts
When a person decides to listen to a podcast this is an active decision. They haven’t passively played a 30–60 minute episode; they have chosen to invest time to listen. More often than not, people will plan time in advance to listen to their favourite podcasts, for example when they have a long drive or while they cook their evening meal. According to Edison Research most people who start a podcast will listen to at least 80% of it, having this dedicated time to connect with your target audience is extremely valuable.
I would advise that your podcast is a minimum of once monthly to give your audience this regular content to look forward to. The worst thing you can ever do is trick them into a long-form advertorial. Podcasts are a medium to allow your audience to get to know your employees, your brand values and your opinions. Sharing content which is entertaining, appropriately paced and valuable is key.
YouTube is another medium people actively consume content from as it is consumed in a similar way to Netflix and other streaming sites. It’s also a large search engine meaning that people are (mostly) searching for content to consume rather than just having it served up in the algorithm like other platforms. Sharing full or partial podcast episodes on YouTube with or without video is really valuable. YouTube also has enormous SEO benefits so ensure your titles and descriptions are adequately optimised for maximum exposure.
2. Podcasts enable you to build authority and credibility
We’re huge advocates of showcasing your knowledge and expertise as a content pillar, and this is especially important in podcasts. A great way to do this in a timely fashion is to have a section dedicated to current news. Discussing and explaining things that may impact your audience right now means they will see you as a trusted source and they’ll actively seek out your opinions when things happen.
It’s also great to have opinions and thought leadership surrounding things that are happening in your industry on a longer term so that your content has a longer life-span. If you can establish yourselves as experts and leaders within your given field of expertise this will make converting those listeners into customers much easier.
You can invite industry experts and leaders or even partners and customers onto your show to tell their story, it’s ok for self-promotion as long as it’s a side serving with genuinely valuable content.
3. Podcasts enable you to delve deeper
Most content types these days are short to account for both our dwindling attention spans and the sheer volume of content available to users. Podcasts (and again YouTube) are mediums in which long-form content still reigns. This enables you to take a deeper dive into topics and content themes and really explain your perspective in full. This is also a great place to show personality and opinion rather than just formally share information on a topic.
That being said, you need to remember that a podcast is a form of entertainment, so if a topic can be covered in less time it should be. The only reason to spread something over a longer time frame is because it requires it.
