Despite it being around since 2004, it’s now that businesses are really starting to discover how powerful podcasting can be as a marketing strategy.
That’s according to Evo Terra, podcaster, broadcaster, consultant, and co-author of the original Podcasting for Dummies. Evo compares today’s podcasting scene to websites around the turn of the century.
“Businesses realised that people were no longer reading the yellow pages,” he says. “There was a mad scramble to get launched websites because that’s where people were going to the web to look at their information.”
It was similar to social media around 10 years ago. “Businesses looked around and saw that their employees were spending large amounts of time of their day on things like Facebook and Instagram,” Evo explains. Businesses, he says, were scrambling to have a social media presence.
And now it’s podcasting’s turn. The proliferation of mobile devices, the connected car and smart speakers all mean that “people are consuming audio in ways that they couldn’t do before and there’s a great interest in, ‘How can my business become part of that conversation as well?'” Evo says.
Think of what it does for your business. Understanding ‘why’ you’re doing it will help you get the full benefits of an audio strategy.
“If you have a story that is worthy of being told, and you tell it in a convincing and a clear and a concise and a professional sounding way, then that would make a good podcast for a business.”
“Don’t try to run it as a one-off,” Evo insists. “It’s the same mistake we made with social media back in the day. We gave it to the 20-year-old intern and said, ‘Just do something’, but now we’ve grown up around what social media means for businesses.”
“Take a larger look back and also look at your business goals. What are the business outcomes that you want to achieve and how can podcasting help you get there, is the question you’ll have to answer.”
“If you have a story that is worthy of being told, and you tell it in a convincing and a clear and a concise and a professional sounding way, then that would make a good podcast for a business,” he says.
Branded podcasting is a powerful strategy many businesses are leaning into. For instance, Evo is a really big fan of Choiceology, a branded podcast by Charles Schwab, one of America’s largest banking and brokerage firms.
The popular podcast examines behavioural economics, how intuition has failed us historically and how to avoid expensive mistakes by exposing psychological traps.
“I think that’s what makes a great branded podcast, is when you are able to tell a story that people will want to listen to, that relates to your brand, but isn’t just beating someone over the head with, ‘Buy my stuff, buy my stuff, buy my stuff,’ every single week,” he argues.
It’s a concept for businesses who are trying to figure out how to implement an audio content strategy. “Make a good compelling story,” Evo says. “Make sure that it sounds great, that people want to listen to it for reasons other than becoming a supporting member or a customer of yours. Make it interesting to the world.”
We interviewed Evo Terra on BE Podcasting. Listen here
