UPDATED: Why Every Business Should Podcast

In the early days, marketing consisted of full page ads in papers and magazines, and maybe a radio and TV slot. Other than that, it was word of mouth, which will always be the most powerful way of creating a successful brand.

In the second stage, the internet provided business, entrepreneurs and individuals the ability to gain new information in a relatively consistent pace, allowing for products or services to be added, new messaging to be created, thereby giving companies access to new customers overnight.

The third phase brought social media and more real time engagement, where companies would begin to communicate their product or service, market with various forms of entertainment and value and get people’s feedback (buy-in) instantaneously. Companies began writing blogs and slowly started releasing both professional and impromptu videos, which would be the catalyst to a whole new generation of content consumers.

We are now at a place where this content truly matters. As Gary Vaynerchuk says, he’s competing for our attention. All brand are doing the same thing.

In fact, the content is the prequel to the product or service a company (or entrepreneur) would offer. Why? Because consumers (you and me), today more than ever feel we deserve a company’s transparency, their commitment and honesty. That’s what makes us want to do business with them. The days of monopolies in business have diminished significantly, giving us the ability to inherently receive more for what we spend. We not only shape the ingredients in our food by demanding (through our purchasing habits) better quality, Non-GMOs, organic and Bee-conscious food sources, we drive how businesses position themselves in every channel of marketing.

How does podcasting fall into this mix?

Think of podcasting as an ongoing voice for a company. Unlike social media which is a quick-passing cloud of content, podcasting gives a listener a real pulse for the heart and soul of an organization, regardless of size. As long as the content of a podcast is genuine in its nature, the dialogue, interviews and interactions help reveal a level of openness that listeners become immersed in and make the company seem personal and intimate. Despite all the social engagements, a real VOICE of a company resonates with the auditory person who needs that validation for comfort and trust.

Benefits of Podcasting:

1. Brand stories can be told.
2. The content is sharable.
3. Content can be packaged/bundled/divided up for re-use.
4. People can take it on the road.
5. Companies can measure performance, reach and conversion.
6. Small businesses can establish a unique value proposition over larger competitors who might not participate in podcasting.
7. Audio books represent a massive portion of consumed content. Podcasts appeal to that same large audience (Think of a highly tuned talk radio show that speaks to something you truly care about.)

Because the podcast audience is growing by over 20% a year, it would seem intuitive that more small, medium and large businesses would invest the time to stand out in their respective industry by podcasting in what ironically seems to be a noisy yet silent world of content.

How To THINK About A Podcast

1. Think about what your company represents.
2. Who is your target audience?
3. How do they consume information?
4. What discussions, stories and education can you provide around your brand?
5. Do you have the resources to podcast consistently?

How To START A Podcast

1. Keep it simple to start.
2. Install free recording mixers like Audacity or Apple Garage Band.
3. Buy a couple of ATR2100 mics. (see amazon)
4. Draft a topic but don’t obsess! Podcasts need to feel natural to your listener.
5. Record something, and be sure it’s entertaining. Nobody wants to fall asleep at the wheel. If you don’t think you’ve got the enthusiasm to podcast, designate an influencer within your organization who can do it.
6. Upload it into RSS feed and publish onto places like iTunes.

ADDED 4/1/2018

Create your podcast on your phone and distribute it across multiple feeds with a SINGLE CLICK!

So you are ready to put out some (valuable) content. You’ve reached out to possible guests (a great exercise to master rejection).

1. Download Anchor from the iTunes store. I’m not sure if it’s available on Android. Sorry :(.
2. Plug in your headphone/mic or plug in a lapel mic (I’ve used both). The lapel will give a stronger bass but you may get some additional unwanted distortion if it’s too close to your mouth. I keep it further down near my throat.
3. Create a graphic for your podcast. I used the iPhone photo editor to add text and image.
4. Practice and test! Record some content and play it back. Get some feedback from friends and colleagues. One thing you don’t want to do is aim for perfection. Remember, the content is what is most important.
5. Add intro to each episode. Anchor Podcasting app allows you to add pre-selected music options for your podcast. Depending on the subject and mood of your podcast, you can choose either something upbeat, jazzy or mellow. Try to create a brand by selecting music and sticking with it across all episodes.
6. Create segments in each episode. What’s cool about Anchor is you can create mini podcasts (segments) within each episode. You may have multiple topics within a single podcast. This is a great way to give new titles for each segment, making your content more consumable in small chunks.
7. Syndicating is ridiculously simple. Once you’ve created segments and have uploaded them into your episode, you are ready to upload to various platforms like Spotify and iTunes! Simply follow the “publishing steps and voila!

Ok that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’ll add my analytics and listener data by April 15th. So, bookmark this article and revisit it.

To hear the quality of my latest uploaded marketing podcast, visit

Marketing Your Podcast

You know this is the fun part! Leverage social media to get the word out. Get your email lists onboard. Create a email marketing campaign that keeps users abreast of latest episodes and why your podcast will impact their business and life.

Give it a shot. Create a 60 day podcast plan and execute on it. Once you get going, you won’t be able to stop. There’s just something that connects people to voice. Speak up. Be genuine. People can sense bullshit.

Want to learn how to podcast for your business? Access FREE content at Podcast Academy.