Does My Business Need a Podcast?
Podcasting is Great for Business
If you're a small business owner or on the communications team for a big business, you might be wondering, does my business need a podcast? Here’s why podcasts are great tools for businesses.
You might have noticed lots of small and big businesses have their own podcasts. And you might also be wondering: why? With so many podcasts out there, creating a podcast might seem like a lost cause. But creating a podcast for your business is actually a fantastic tool even if your audience is small.
Podcasts that come from a brand are aptly called branded podcasts. The key to creating a successful branded podcast is to avoid creating an infomercial for your business, and instead provide the audience with lots of value. When you provide value, podcasts can be a great tool for businesses for many, many reasons. Here are five big reasons why your business would benefit from creating a podcast.
Having a podcast creates another touch point with your customers.
Every time you release an episode, you're creating another opportunity to have a direct conversation with your customers or even potential customers. You can use this opportunity to share information about new products and services. Or more importantly, it's an opportunity to build trust, which is reason number two.
Podcasts can build trust.
Podcasts are an intimate medium, the vast majority of people listen to podcasts on their own, so every episode is an opportunity for you to connect with the listener one-on-one. And if you're providing value to that listener every episode for free, you're going to start building trust. So when the time comes that that listener is looking for help that you can provide and has a budget, they're going to think of you first because they already trust you. You're generating leads with every listen.
Your podcast positions you as an expert in your field, and strengthens your unique perspective.
By sharing your expertise and your thoughts, you're positioning yourself as an expert in your field. If you're a veterinarian, and you have a podcast about taking care of dogs and cats, people are more likely to think of you when they need advice or your services for their pet.
The podcast will also give you an opportunity to strengthen your unique perspective. When you're covering a topic, it will force you to put your thoughts and opinions into clear and concise wording. And your unique perspective is what sets you apart from your competitors. By just doing the practice of creating a podcast, you're actually helping yourself get clear about your values and perspectives.
Podcasting is a learning opportunity.
If you choose to have guests on your podcast, you now have a platform to invite other experts to share their knowledge with your audience, but with you as well. Use this opportunity to ask questions and to have conversations with people you want to learn from.
A podcast is a marketing goldmine.
Your podcast becomes something you can share on your website, in a newsletter, on social media, or directly with people asking questions. And if you're really providing value, it's something loyal listeners will share with their friends and family as well. Let's say your aunt asked a question on Facebook about her cat's odd meowing, and you just heard a podcast episode from your favorite vet about feline communication, you're likely to share that episode with your aunt, and so on and so on.
Pro Tip
If you transcribe your podcast and have it on your website, it can improve your website's SEO, which stands for search engine optimization. Meaning your website is more likely to show up at the top of a search in a search engine like Google.