Only recently, podcasts have made a sturdy place in the media. A lot of people start it as a hobby and it is a general idea that podcasts are only about hobbyists using a platform to express their views about things. But it is a great source to build your business on. It is a known fact that audiovisuals/videos attract people with the most ease. But another known fact is that people are way too busy these days to sit down and watch a video. This is one of the biggest reasons for podcasts gaining popularity.
But a lot of businesses shoo away the idea of starting a podcast due to some common myths like, ‘I don’t have a studio or the money to make it’ as genuine as this reason sounds but podcasts are not that expensive to make at all, in fact, they are one of the cheapest platforms to build content on. Another one being, ‘I don’t have an audience’ Well, you never will until you start. In this article, we will be busting all these myths and discussing the reasons why your business needs to have a podcast!
1. Podcasts help in building personal relationships with your audience
Trust is a very valuable commodity, and people don’t give it away too easily. Podcasts will help you gain the trust of your potential consumer. With the podcast, it’s not just a brand, it has a face and a voice that people can familiarize with. Plus, podcasts are mostly conversational, it makes you feel as if you are having a one on one conversation with the other person. This will help your audience establish trust in you and also gives you an upper hand from all your competitors.
Slowly people will start associating your brand with you and what you have to offer. And the ones who are really interested will find you on other channels like on twitter, this will give your podcast and your brand an extra push! Building a personal connection with your audience is very necessary and from all the ways to do that, podcasts are a great way.
To learn all the essentials of podcasting you can take online guide “Podcasting in 24 Hours“ which teaches you everything about the Podcasting like right recording equipment, podcast hosting on Libsyn or SoundCloud, show formatting, editing and so on. Moreover, it also teaches you about podcast optimizations.
2. Podcasts are ‘on trend’ these days
The trend of listening to podcasts has only recently picked up. And it has picked up well. Mainly because listening to podcasts gives people a sense of productivity. It’s a great way to multi-task. Especially the people who have a daily long commute or regular tedious chores to do, they prefer just plugging in their headphones and listening to good valuable content. Time is a big winning factor, making podcasts so popular. Even though the average duration of a podcast is 15 to 30 minutes which is usually longer than a blog or a video, people don’t have enough time to give their undisputed attention to one thing unless they are really interested. Plus, mostly podcasts have to offer valuable, straight to the point, content without any distractions or blabber. So people always prefer that.
3. More traffic to your website
Podcasts are pretty underrated still. They are a great way to get more leads for your business and increase your website traffic. Plus, the leads that you get organically from podcasts are way more qualified than the leads that you get from other channels like social media or email marketing. Here the people who will listen to your podcasts will be actually interested in the subject which you are talking about which means they more probable to be interested in your product too. For example, if you talk about digital marketing in your podcast and you also sell a bunch of detailed courses, you are more probable to get conversions there rather than an email campaign because you are already showing them the brand’s personality and quality with what you’re talking about.
4. It’s an added source of Revenue
More the merrier, right? Especially when it comes to money. Podcasting is a great way to add an additional revenue stream to your existing business if nothing. It also needs the lowest investment compared to other channels. As I’ve always said an ‘overnight success’ does not exist. Same way, you do have to work hard on your podcasts, it will take time to gain an audience but once it does, income will start flowing in through sponsorships, affiliates, promotion, etc. But make sure, the products you promote should be closely related to the subject of your podcast. You can even promote your own products to increase sales. Don’t go too overboard with it.
For Further Reading: 6 Interactive Podcast Tips For Your Business Marketing
5. Makes you a better public speaker
Amongst the many benefits of Podcasting discussed here, improved public speaking is another one. When you get more consistent with the podcasts you will automatically develop a skill of public speaking because creating a podcast is not too different than that. You have an audience, you need to make sense and you have to be fluent, there are no second takes. At least in most cases. So you naturally tend to become a better public speaker. This skill will help you in live events and the workshops you go for, you will be able to present yourself as a more confident person.
6. You don’t need to spend a fortune to start a podcast
A major hold up for most people who want to start a podcast is, that ‘I don’t have the necessary equipment or the money to buy it.’ That is a myth I’m here to bust. You know how you can start a whole youtube channel with just your phone camera, the same way you don’t need much to start a podcast either. Here are all the things you will require to start an above average podcast: A good microphone. A pair of headphones. A computer or a laptop. Editing software and your voice! You’re good to go. There are a variety of ranges you can play with here, you don’t have to choose the most expensive equipment ever, just do a little research, read a ton of reviews and you should be able to find the material which fits in your budget.
Podcasts are also easier to be consistent with. There is not a lot of prep work required to create each episode. Until and unless the quality of the content is at par, you can’t go wrong. Most of it is just freestyling. It is literally like having a conversation with a friend. So even if you take out an hour one afternoon, every week. You are on your way to owning a successful podcast.
7. Modify and Reuse Content
As we know, podcasts are all about raw good quality content. So podcasts can essentially act as a rough work for all other content types. For example, you can take a particular segment of an episode and turn it into a Pinterest infograph. Or you can create an entire blog from an episode for people who prefer reading, or if they want show notes. You can also record your podcast on video and post it on your Youtube channel. There are many ways you can use your podcasts on other social channels. Free effortless content! When you are writing the blog, you can also give your audience a link to the complete podcast towards the end, this will create a two-way promotional tunnel for both.
8. Podcasts will help you to connect with people
Starting a podcast comes with many benefits for your business. It is also a very personal channel as compared to other social media. Your audience feels more connected to you because it is as if you are having a one on one conversation with them. They can also respond to your podcast through replies and comments. There is a slight chance that maybe someone very successful from your field may come across your podcast and praise it on their page, which may lead to having further connections with him/her which you can in turn use to expand your business. Once your podcast starts picking up, other famous channels may call you as a guest on their podcast, this will help you double the reach of your channel as well as your brand. Plus, being around so many successful and like-minded people will help you learn and grow every day!
9. A great alternative to videos
Video marketing has been proven to be a very successful measure to promote and grow your business. People love visuals plus the added revenue, so almost every business is behind starting a youtube channel. However, you need a lot of prerequisites to start one. Firstly, the equipment, video cameras, and recorders are getting expensive by the day. You will also need a person to be the face of your channel. And also people behind the screen, the camera artist, the editors, the designers to make the thumbnail, etc. So for people, for whom this is way too much work, and also doesn’t fit in their budget, podcasting is a great alternative. You can make a successful podcast channel with a one-man army, as the recording and editing are not that hard to do with podcasts.
10. Gives your business an upper hand
To run a successful business, one of the major points to work on is being above your competitors, not just in terms of sales. Knowledge is a great way to do that too, and you can use your podcasts to build that authority. If there’s a rare topic related to your business, which a lot of people don’t know about, make a podcast about it! And then make more such podcasts. This will help the audience know that you are a reliable source to buy from cause you know your stuff. You need to create an impact on your audience through authority. You giving away free valuable information to the audience will help them respect more. So no matter how popular your competitors facebook or twitter pages are, a podcast will always beat that and help you stand out from the crowd.
If this was helpful then you can also read “Learn How to Get Started with Your Own Podcast“.
No doubt, there is a lot of hard work involved in consistently working on a podcast and growing it, the benefits that you and your business will reap from it are worth burning the midnight oil. Just consistent and honest work is what you need to take anything and make it successful. Especially, if your schedule is tight, this is a great channel to start with, as it doesn’t require much of your time or resources. So don’t shy away from podcasts, take a mic and start speaking!
Meanwhile, you can also explore the various sections of “The Podcast Masterclass“. It is a complete guide to recording and launching a podcast to grow your business with modern digital marketing techniques.
