Just like videos, the use of podcasts is turning to be a preferred engagement tool for many entrepreneurs. It can be used to educate your audience on diverse topics and highlight news in the market. Podcasts can also be a great engagement tool with your clients and audience where you give them a platform to share their knowledge, expertise and opinions.
We asked entrepreneurs, podcasters and business owners how they use their podcasts for business.
#1- Showcase talent
Patina Talks is our series of podcasts showcasing some of the great executives who comprise Patina Nation. We have more than 20,000 top-tier experts in their fields who go on client engagements for us. We record 10 to 20 minute conversations with several on current business topics. They're ideal for almost every professional in nearly any industry. That way, our clients, prospects, and all listeners find insights from leaders that are meaningful and valuable. Our Patina Nation Professionals get to showcase their talents and our contacts get timely insights on everything from employee engagement, to change management, healthcare trends and more. Everyone wins.
Thanks to Mike Harris, Patina Talks!
#2- Educate
My blog, The Boat Galley, is the heart of my business, along with two books, occasional magazine articles and a few speeches at industry events. You could say I'm a media company, or an educator — both fit, as I concentrate on tips and how-to's for my audience. My podcast, The Boat Galley podcast, grew out of the blog as a way for my audience to consume my material while in the car, walking or working out. Unlike many podcasts, I don't do interviews but rather talk about a particular topic for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, providing bite-sized actionable bits for my audience. The podcast has definitely increased my reach; I've added two other podcasters to meet the demand for new shows and information. The bonus has been that advertising on the podcast has opened up a whole new stream of income for me!
Thanks to Carolyn Shearlock, The Boat Galley!
#3- Educate in an easily digestible way
Since there is so much misinformation out there surrounding subjects involving seniors, education has always been the main goal of my company. After writing two books, I wanted a figure out a way to get this information to seniors and their adult children in an even more easily digestible way. A podcast was the route I took to do this. Breaking each subject and sub-subject up into 30-minute conversations has seemed to make it easier for people to comprehend the information. Through education on subjects that can seem really complicated, like Medicare and Social Security, we have been able to find better matches for clients; we can really help them and they understand our message and how our process works. Getting the podcast on a radio station has also been hugely advantageous as it is getting us new listeners from around the country.
Thanks to Hans Scheil, Cardinal Advisors!
#4- Generate more business opportunities
I kicked off 2018 by launching The Social Savvy Geek Show which airs on KDMT 1690 AM on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in Denver. I was already planning to release a podcast and since the show is also made available on iTunes, Stitcher, and other podcast apps, saying yes to the show was an easy yes for me. Since starting my podcast I have seen an increase in several important areas of my business; I have received more invitations to speak at conferences, book deal offers, request for interviews and guest blog posts, and partner relationships. Additionally, I am seeing an increase in requests for consultation and have added more live events to support my new clients. Perhaps the best result of all is the joy and fulfillment I feel when sharing my knowledge in this new (to me) format.
Thanks to Laura Pence Atencio, Social Savvy Geek!
#5- Three purposes
Our podcast, PR Talk, has three main business purposes. First, it is an educational tool for our employees and other marketing and PR professionals. It helps in recruiting for our agency and gets Veracity in front of decision-makers at potential clients. Second, it helps us do our job. By interviewing our target contacts, we are able to make or solidify business relationships with the reporters, editors and members of the media we need to get in front of. It can be hard to get noticed, having a warm relationship is beneficial to get your pitch heard. Finally, it drives our content marketing. In addition to the audio content of each podcast episode, we write a thorough blog post, create multiple social posts and often include in our email newsletter.
Thanks to Mike Rosenberg, Veracity!
#6- Marketing tool
At Track5Media, a small tech company in Lancaster, Pa. we use our podcast BigRigBanter as a way to connect with other organizations in the trucking industry. The podcast is powered by our brand AllTruckJobs, which is a job board website. Powering a podcast through that brand helps us to establish authority and raise brand awareness amongst our competition. Plus, we get to interview and therefore receive influencer insight on what’s happening in transportation. In addition, since we bought the podcast equipment, we’re also able to use it to enhance other content on our website. For example, we can interview experts and use those recorded interviews to boost our blog content. The podcast is a great marketing tool, as it gets our name out there, enhances our content and creates backlinks for us from credible sources. It also increases the value of our website for our clients.
Thanks to Lenay Ruhl, BigRigBanter!
#7- Driving engagement
Our podcast has been instrumental in driving engagement among our core business of facilitating C-level peer conferences. We've used the podcast as a way to continue the topics discussed from our events, and it has been a great way to engage our attendees and event sponsors. It's also a lead generation tool for us – we ask guests to be on our podcast who are potential speakers & sponsors at our events. Response/success rate of asking them to be on the podcast has been 70%.
Thanks to Dan Bruton, PDX Executive Podcast!
#8- A valuable teaching tool
The fact that we are a cybersecurity company, tends to make some of our most valuable teaching tools available through podcasts and online webinars. These casts can walk the company or individual step-by-step through securing data and ways to avoid phishing scams or other types of malware.
Thanks to Lindsey Havens, PhishLabs!
#9- A few key ways
I share insights and actionable advice about leadership and communication skills from world-renowned expert interviews as well as from my own 20+ years' experience on my occasional solo episodes freely with the world on my podcast, The TalentGrow Show. It helps me achieve my mission of helping as many people as possible maximize their potential and optimize their talent. I help develop great leaders and reduce the number of bad managers out there! I am able to reach more people with my message, value, and brand than I would otherwise. Some of them may decide to also join my list and even become clients. I can connect with or strengthen existing relationships with experts and influencers who are guests on my show, and when they share their episode, reach some of their followers with my message and brand. I create a more intimate bond with my audience than is possible through written content like a newsletter, blogs, articles, and my books. Being in their earbuds for 30 minutes at a time helps me create trusting connections that are more likely to produce loyal fans and future customers or renewing clients.
Thanks to Halelly Azulay, The TalentGrow Show!
#10- As an introduction
Podcasting has been an Incredible way to grow our Business and Brand. Our Podcast serves as an “introduction” to listeners to our community to receive free guidance and support and is the first step in building an authentic relationship and trust with potential prospects. We have utilized out podcast to drive free organic traffic to our website and make strategic connections and partnerships with other like-minded businesses and Brands. We have also strategically designed our podcasts so that only 25 out of a 60 minute interview with an expert is loaded is on the podcast show with the entire interview found within our paid membership community. This has been a productive way to organically grow our membership site and increase our revenue. Podcasting is an easy way to personally connect with prospective clients, establish yourself as a trusted authority in your industry and reach prospects worldwide.
Thanks to Maria Fuller, Raising a Powerful Girl!
#11- Boost awareness for our Instagram specialist company
My Co-Founder and I use our podcast to boost awareness for our Instagram specialist company, Ace The Gram. We interview brands that utilise Instagram for marketing and influencers that have monetized the platform. This way, we're able to provide epic tips and tricks to our audience and they're also able to get an insight into the world of successful marketing and personal branding on Instagram. The podcast has already seen us convert listeners into paying consulting clients, and also into members of our FB Group, Instagram Growth and Engagement. We've also seen spikes in web traffic and our podcast sponsors have already seen conversions after 3 weeks of their ad being at the beginning of the show (a bonus podcast revenue stream for us!). I'd recommend podcasting to anyone that wants to increase the top of their sales funnel and establish themselves as an authority in their chosen niche.
Thanks to Viv Conway, Ace The Gram!
#12- Think tank
We started the Workforce Institute Radio podcast in 2008 as an expansion of the Workforce Institute blog that we had launched the year before. The Workforce Institute is a think tank that helps organizations drive performance by addressing human capital management issues that affect both hourly and salaried employees. Through education and research, we empower organizations with practical ideas for optimizing their results and their employees’ experience in the workplace. In the podcast, we interview thought leaders in the workforce management and human capital management domains who can speak to how organizations prosper by implementing strategies that benefit their bottom line and their employee experience. Being able to share these concepts via conversations with a wide range of leaders helps us bring best practice advice to life for our listeners.
Thanks to Joyce Maroney, The Workforce Institute at Kronos!