One of the best ways for a sponsor to get involved with a podcast is by contributing content aimed at its target market. It helps a brand build brand authority and be a trusted leader in the market.
That’s the approach radio broadcaster Kevin Turner encourages his sponsors to take with his phenomenally successful real estate podcasts, Real Estate Talk for investors, and Real Estate Uncut for agents.
Kevin works collaboratively with his sponsors, and interviews them as he would any guest for their insights into the market.
“We try to meet with advertisers once a month. We talk to them about what their requirements are for content,” Kevin explains. “While advertising can be very powerful both on the sites and in the podcasts, I find that advertorials certainly work the very, very best.”
Kevin says he doesn’t treat advertisers as advertisers. “I try and make them almost advocates or experts in the industry that we’re trying to reach or talk about.”
“So, I think for a big brand, they have got to become almost like a contributor. Not an outsider having a look in.”
The information needs to be relevant and interesting to the listeners.
“As an example, for Real Estate Talk we have our sponsors who deal with investors all the time. So, I’m interested to hear what their experiences are, what they’re hearing from their investors, which is once again a sharing of the information,” Kevin says.
“So, it doesn’t have to be a direct plug, but in effect it is. But, it’s also putting them on a pedestal and saying ‘Hey, they’re an expert, if you want to deal with these people you know you’ll get good advice because that’s what they’re giving you right here.’
“So, I think for a big brand, they have got to become almost like a contributor. Not an outsider having a look in.”
Kevin Turner warns of focusing only on analytics – after all, he says, it’s a long-term game.
“How are your analytics? What downloads are you getting now? That’s not how you’re going to measure your success in a podcast. It’s going to be about how integrated, how involved you’re going to get in that podcast. That’s how you’ll own the podcast, by creating a lot of content inside it.”
Kevin Turner
If you’d like to learn more about how you can build your brand authority using podcasting, then schedule a consultation with us at BE Media Production.