Get the Scoop on Why You Should Podcast
You own a business and don’t have a podcast? Why not? There are so many advantages to having a podcast that I am going to attempt to convince you that you should podcast. Before I do that, let’s examine some of the reasons people like you give for not having a podcast.
Reasons Given for Not Having a Podcast
I Don’t Have an Audience
This is one of the most common objections to starting a podcast. It is an ironic excuse. The fact is that a podcast is one of the best ways to build an audience.
With the increasing popularity of podcasts combined with the fact that they’re easily consumed (unlike reading a long article, or ebook) means you’ll have a far greater chance of building a loyal audience that likes, trusts and feels like they know you. This is essential to any business owner because customers only buy from people they know, like and trust.
A podcast will enable you to present your vision to your customers and potential customers. It will help you build an email list of potential customers who are fans of YOU!
I Don’t Have Room for a Studio
If you have a desk, you have room for a studio. A desk is really all you need as far as space to record.
With your desk, the most you might need is some blankets or towels that can be hung on the walls to dampen the sound and avoid reverb later.
I Can’t Afford the Equipment
You really don’t need much to get started. While you can go for a full on digital workstation, one is not needed to get the job done. To get started you only need a very small amount of equipment.
- A computer
- A microphone (your Apple Earbuds will work to start)
- Podcasting software (Garage Band is free with a Mac and you can get Audacity for free for Windows)
- A topic to discuss
These are the main reasons given for not having a podcast. Now let’s talk about why you should podcast.
Why You Should Podcast
Your Customers Like Podcasts
Podcasts are popular because they are easy to consume, especially on the go. Podcasts have continued to show steady growth for the past 7 years and counting.
People do not always have the time to read a long blog post, but they can always take your podcast with them in the car. They are able to listen during their commute or on breaks at work.
Customers need a connection to your business for you to keep them as long-term customers. Hearing the voice of the host gives the audience a stronger connection than simply reading the information on a web page.
This is why you should podcast regularly. If you release regular podcasts, the listeners become familiar with your voice and presentation style. This keeps them coming back and keeps your company in their minds.
A podcast is a more personal way to reach out to potential new customers. They get a better idea of your values and way of running the business. Your audience also has more flexibility in how they listen to the podcast. With traditional print articles or websites, users must focus more attention on the task. Podcasts allow the audience to listen while doing other things. This is key.
Consistency is Easier
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” ― Stephen King
Whoa! If the great Stephen King is saying there’s no shortcut to writing, then what does that mean for the rest of us?
The good news is that you should podcast because it allows you to create an amazing piece of content without having to go through countless revisions of your work. In fact, the more conversational and casual it is, the better it will connect with your audience. People love things that are not politically correct.
One of the biggest compliments we get about The Nightly Rant is that it is conversational, approaches any and all topics, is real, is honest and it is extremely casual.
If you’d still like to clean up your audio after recording Yogi’s Podcast Network can handle that for you and can take out any pauses or “ums” and “ers”. We have 2 packages of editing services available for a great rate.
Podcasts are Sticky
People who choose to listen to an episode of a podcast tend to listen to the entire episode. If they like what they here, they will likely listen to another episode.
This means you are hitting them with a lot of your content!
People tend to share podcasts they like with their friends. This helps spread the word about your business.
You Should Podcast for Your Personal Brand
Building a personal brand is a very important thing to do. Having a beautiful logo and a catchy slogan makes you average in today’s digital world.
The most important factor is for your business to have a personality. There just is no better way to give a brand a personality than to give it a voice.
The familiarity and consistency of regular podcasts help develop your company’s brand to make it a household name. You can integrate information about your products and services as they relate to the information in the podcast. For example, if you are a financial planner producing a podcast about retirement planning, work in information about the services you offer in that area. In this way, the podcasts serve as a type of advertisement for your business.
Yogi’s Podcast Network now publishes My Podcast Academy, a podcast aimed at helping you understand how to create, sustain and grow a podcast. Episodes are released every weekday.
Become a Welcomed Guest
As previously stated, customers will buy from people they know, like and trust. When someone listens to your podcast you’ve suddenly become the “invited guest” within their home or office. It becomes no different than sitting across from this listener and having a face to face meeting with their undivided attention. It is pretty powerful stuff.
Sharing Your Expertise
A podcast provides you with a format for sharing your expertise in your industry. As mentioned, the customer connects with you because they hear your voice. They can hear your enthusiasm and speaking skills to add an air of authority to the information that is often lacking in the written word. Regular podcasts with accurate information or ideas help establish you and your company as an authority in the business. Customers want a company that knows the industry, so the podcasts help build up that trust.
You Should Podcast to Create Trust
Podcasting creates an inner circle of sorts. The podcast becomes a portal through which your listeners are invited into your inner circle. You reveal things to them you haven’t before.
Within this inner circle, you are able to build trust in a way that is impossible through billboards or TV commercials. You can reveal the multi-faceted, layered soul of your business by giving a voice to the people who make up your company. This happens with intimate audio storytelling in the form of engaging interviews, discussions, testimonies, or stories from the employees and customers that make your brand possible.
Think about it. With information at your consumers’ fingertips, they aren’t interested in the celebrity who was paid to say things, nor do they trust your statistics or flowery words. They do their own research, fact-finding or asking friends, investigating their favorite social media influencers’ product choices, etc. You should podcast because it will create the trust needed for your customers to stay around long-term.
What customers are really looking for is the human behind it all. A human behind your brand that they trust, because they are just like them. In fact, more and more people are turning to podcasts to find the brands they can trust. The brands that are human. According to Edison Research, podcasting is rising steadily, with monthly listeners growing from 21% to 24% year over year. As the demand increases, this nascent industry is happy to supply, with a job growth rate of 33%.
For reference, this 33% is compared to the advertising industry’s growth rate of approximately 7%… hence why I recommended pausing earlier to rethink where you’re investing your marketing budget.
You Should Podcast to Craft Your Message
Podcasting enables you to carefully craft your message to your target audience in a way that is transparent and personable. Creating trust is a natural byproduct of effective podcasting because you are able to combat sources of distrust in a timely manner. You can go in surgically to specific topics that are preventing your audience from trusting you, and address them personally, with intimate details that may shock them at one moment, and then warm their heart the next. This precision is impossible to accomplish through any other medium (even video, because video requires your customer to pay far more attention).
It is next to impossible to fake it on a podcast. As people listen to you minute after minute on each episode, week after week, they will either grow to trust you or leave you, based on who you are. You can’t hide on a podcast.
In the Harvard Business Journal’s “Decision to Trust,” Robert F. Hurley outlines the human needs that must be recognized and addressed, in order to build a platform for trust.
I’m going to discuss them in three parts as they relate to podcasting.
Risk Tolerance, Security, Predictability, & Integrity
When you understand your audience’s risk tolerance, you are able to effectively create security by delivering with predictability and integrity. These three points make the case for discussing your brand, product or services, in light of concerns your audience may have. Take the time to understand what is preventing leads from converting to customers, and then address them specifically.
This is something that makes a podcast unique. At Yogi’s Podcast Network we have monthly meetings where we discuss what is working and what is not working. We can then address what is not working through My Podcast Academy episodes. We can address customer concerns in a transparent manner.
When addressing issues, the customer can hear your sincerity. They will be able to tell that you care about the issues they’ve raised. Imagine if you had a concern about a local business and told them about it and they later addressed that concern during a podcast episode? You’d be thrilled and you’d quickly become a raving fan of that local business.
Make changes to your business if necessary, and let your listeners know that you hear them. Let your customers know why your company does things a certain way. Give your listeners a new perspective, and give concrete examples of how your core values influence your everyday business decisions and company culture.
“Underpromise and overdeliver” is a commonly used commandment in our life hacker, 5-steps to success, instant gratification world, but when it comes to the actual podcast, this is key. While the content should showcase how your company is striving for excellence and disrupting norms, don’t bite off more than you can chew when it comes to the schedule of the episodes.
Your listeners are loyal, in fact, podcasts are the number one audio source by time of consumption among podcast listeners. Be predictable with your schedule, making sure your episodes are completed and posted according to a schedule for your listeners.
That being said, a podcast’s unique platform for transparency gives you an escape clause. When things get too crazy, tell your audience why in the next episode. They might send you flowers or chocolate or just a thoughtful email. Seriously. I am not joking here.
Level of Adjustment, Relative Power, & Benevolent Concern
Your listener’s level of adjustment is similar to risk tolerance but requires more than just putting their mind at ease with your clearly defined solutions. This takes time and patience, and often more in-depth details to make them feel like they truly have the full picture. This will require effort on your part, but the exercise is valuable. To do so, create a bridge of relative power by explaining your leadership structure in depth and outlining your motivations for why certain decisions are made. Showcase your benevolent concern by illustrating how you serve your clients and the fair processes that you support, live and work by. Customers love this type of “inside information.”
This is where transparency and truth become the real deal breakers. Discussing these sorts of insider nuts and bolts may seem like you’re revealing too much. You are. But that’s what podcasting is all about. It’s storytelling at its finest.
Finding Similarities, Capability, & Level of Communication
You should podcast so you can stop worrying about differentiating yourself from your competitors (that’s a story for another time) and start finding the similarities with your audience. You are able to personally relate to listeners on shared values, interests and goals through your podcast. As your similarities become evident, your audience realizes you align with their vision and trust blooms. Giving your listeners insider information and business transparency is a strong start, but highlighting testimonials and offering value-packed answers is a real testament to your capability.
When you handle your podcast in this manner, you share your expertise, and your generosity and authority, and the customer will grant you major legitimacy points. Building your relationship with your audience through consistent, intentional give and take, improves your level of communication. Answering or addressing questions from your listeners shows you are listening to their concerns or feedback. Remember, you are not just generating content. You are building a relationship and eventually trust.
Take the Steps Needed
I’ve discussed the objections to starting a podcast. I’ve explained the many ways your business will benefit from a podcast. The next steps are up to you.
Many people find it easier to get started by using a podcast coach. Yogi’s Podcast Network can provide you with launch services that will get you going with no problems. If you don’t want a coach, but would still like the help, we have a podcast launch course that you should check out.
Get the scoop on why you should podcast from Yogi’s Podcast Network
Originally published at yogispodcastnetwork.com on January 23, 2019.
