Ways To Rethink Creating Another Company Podcast

So you are thinking about a company or branded podcast, there is a lot to know.

Firstly, Podcasts Are Hard!

Podcasts are an exploding category, with thousands of shows being added each week. I’ve had two podcasts (the future state of podcast and fixing the broken world of work) and you’d be amazed how hard work it is, from pod prep, to booking guests, to selecting the right products and software, to creating the right questions and enabling great conversations, when then you have to edit, create great show notes and keeping it entertaining and educational enough to compel an audience for 15 to 60 minutes plus.

The numbers will surprise you: Most podcasts don’t make it past three podcasts and then the top 2% don’t make it past 20.

A secret that many don’t want to tell is most podcasts do not make it past 16 minutes of listening and rarely any are completed. 16 minutes is not long enough.

This shows you how much work is required.

Vodcasts Booming

There has been a lot made (by the founder of anchor and the Hubspot marketing leadership) of the move from podcasts to video podcasts (aka vodcasts), there has also been an influx of brands attempting to cut through with audio, opting to release a branded podcast.

Yes, video is mostly more compelling and garners more attention but it is right now more work and can be even harder to get cut through.

In my Marketing Coaching and throughout my consulting, podcasts often come up in conversation or when reviewing clients’ annual Marketing plans.

A recent tweet from the smart Jennifer Hoffman made me dip into my notes and share the most simple form of my advice.

Here’s A Flow How Many Should Think

Create A Podcast

Create your own, have something to say, add to conversations, and ensure you are going to make it for the audience and add value.

Even your biggest brand superfan will struggle to make 30-45 minutes each week for you.

Tip: Record three practice runs and gather reviews from friends and industry colleagues. If feedback is not great, reconsider if it’s going to be a success as gaining and keeping an audience is difficult and podcasts done right take a lot of planning and editing.

Check out charitable, Spotify and Apple‘s top 100’s have very few to no branded pods.

Host/Co-Host

Could someone internally host or cohost one we could support, is it something you can be part of without needing a team or added expense?

Tip: If you decide for one of the team to host or co-host how much do you want to be involved and how will you naturally fit into the conversation?

Sponsor

is it natural for you to sponsor & support a podcast or a network of podcasts? Will sponsoring add value to the audience and be something you can create an audio jingle or ad for that will stand out and not just be another read or host read.

Tip: Host reads work but they have to be invested and you have to be aligned to the podcast and not be afraid of the conversations as you won’t have much control and brand teams will fear how you will be associated with the discussions and content.

Support

Can you get behind a podcast, does it talk to your audience, does it align with your messaging and your brand?

Tip: You can support by appearing, promoting or by embedding on your blog or newsletters.

Appear

Is there a podcast or podcasts you should appear on? Most likely, there are numerous pods that surface to the top or a series of pods that your team will listen to or hear about.

Tip: Are you or your team members relevant? Can you add actual value to the audience and offer a perspective or point of view that enables the audience to want to check out your brand or team member? Leverage tools like listenernotes to search for keywords and people.