Podcasting is a great way to reach a different target audience and expand the reach of your other types of content. Keep reading for more information plus a few podcast pros and cons.
What Is A Podcast?
A podcast is an audio recording or programme that is made available online for people to listen to. A podcast can be hosted on multiple platforms, the most popular ones include Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and of course YouTube. Because a podcast is usually prerecorded and posted online, listeners can tune in whenever they want.
You may be wondering how popular podcasts are and whether they still have as much reach as they used to. This is because podcasts did have a surge in popularity amongst digital marketers that seems to have died down a little. However, podcasts are more popular than ever – podcast listenership in the United Kingdom has been increasing year on year, reaching an estimated 21.2 million listeners in 2022, according to Statista.
The fact remains, that podcasts are very popular with all types of demographics and are a powerful tool for digital marketers to grow their audience and expand the reach of their content.
Can A Podcast Help Me Grow My Business?
Yes, they can. Whilst podcasts maybe aren’t going to bring hundreds of leads in, they’re extremely useful for promoting your brand and getting your ideas in front of new people. Don’t put all your eggs in one podcast basket but like any other marketing tool, podcasts can be invaluable when used in combination with other methods.
A podcast may get your brand or company name in front of people (or in their ears!) that wouldn’t normally interact with your business, and that can only be a good thing!
How Can I Reach A Different Audience With My Content?
You can use a podcast to cast your net farther than your usual target audience. So, if you’re usually very focused on marketing to the very bottom of the sales funnel people, a podcast is a great way to catch the attention of top-of-the-funnel folks.
Why? Well because a podcast is an excellent way to stretch your creative wings and introduce topics that are related to your business and what you do but aren’t so on the nose.
I’ll give you an example…
GrowTraffic is a digital marketing agency, so our previous podcast was about all things Internet and online related. We never mentioned marketing or SEO, because we just wanted to talk about the online world in general, and it still got our name out there – just in a different way and to a slightly different, but still potentially interested audience.
As a generic example, say you sell cat food, you could have a podcast about the joys of pet ownership.
It helps to keep a podcast on one topic as this is more likely to draw in regular listeners. But on the other hand, you need to leave enough room for you to create a variety of podcasts that are related to the overarching topic.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Podcasting?
Like any marketing tool, podcasting has pros and cons…
Pros
- The opportunity to create more exciting content than usual
- Expand your audience and reach new people
- On-demand content for people to consume wherever they are
- The chance to collaborate with others in your industry or customers (podcast guests)
- A shot at becoming a well-known voice or influencer in your industry
- Expanding brand recognition and raising your online profile
Cons
- Can be time-consuming to create and you need to focus on quality
- May need to buy equipment, although this is relatively inexpensive
- Can be difficult to build a following initially, you have to work at it
I would say one of the most important things to remember is consistency…you need a consistent posting schedule, consistent quality, and a consistent approach to promoting your podcast.
Can A Podcast Help With SEO?
They sure can! Podcasts are now an acceptable tool in any SEO expert’s tool belt because podcast results do show up in Google search results, without a searcher having to specifically state they are looking for a podcast.
Search Engine Journal has some great advice here on how to optimise your podcast but you should generally treat your podcast like any other piece of content, using target keywords in your podcast description, and describing each episode with your keywords.
GrowTraffic Will be Back On Our Podcast After Christmas
I hope this article has been helpful, if you do decide to give a podcast a go, let us know! If you need any help with a podcast, we can also help with content creation, idea generation, market research and promoting your podcast. Get in touch!
I also have some exciting news about our podcast…we’ll be back after Christmas! After a break to assess what we have learned so far, we are relaunching our podcast in the new year with lots of great new topics. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information!
