Do you have a podcast channel but no audience? Wondering how to get people to listen to your podcast? How to make your podcast go viral or how to get it on iTunes? Not to worry, it takes time but with a little marketing and quality content, you can get a loyal base of subscribers, not just downloads and grow your channel.
Podcasts are a mainstream audio content that you can listen to on the go. People are so used to reading blogs or watching videos that their attention span is shrinking. Podcasts on the other hand can be more engaging medium in digital marketing field.
Podcast sessions involve 2 or more people or just one person too. Podcasts can be an interview, educational, fun, entertaining, etc. However, your podcast channel needs to have quality content that’s better than your competitors and it should be something that people would like to listen to. So let’s start with how to provide quality content that people love.
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Provide quality content that people love
Typically lasts not more than 10 minutes. But there are some hour-long sessions too. However long your podcast session is, the important thing is to people listening to it. For that, you need to provide value, rather than just content. So, how can you do that?
Competitor research – First, find out what your competitors are doing in your domain. For example, if you’re starting a podcast on digital marketing, check out Digital Prateek, Marketing school, SEO.co, The Vikas Roy show, and more. These podcast channels on Spotify are quite big because they provide quality content with unique tips and how tos on digital marketing.
Listen to what kind of information they give, on topics they talk about and how they talk about it. If you’re just starting out, you need to do enough research to know what kind of content you need to provide to be successful.
Research your audience – Who is your ideal audience? Get to know them, what they want to listen to, what interests them and where they are listening and downloading podcasts.
Use ask the public and Quora to find what questions are being asked on a topic of your podcast discussion. Create content for your audience.
Research about your niche topics and create valuable content with the latest updates and tricks. Cover the discussion topic in detail, rather than just scratching the surface. Provide what other podcasts aren’t providing.
Plan out your content, which brings us to the next point:
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Invest in quality production tools
Providing quality content with poor audio quality is a waste of time. People look for quality in both audio and content. So it would be wide to invest in some high-quality mic, recording tools and edition software.
You have to sound like a professional if you’re going to talk on your podcast, so take time to find your tone and style. Practice the right way to interview the guests on your show.
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Branding
Your podcast shows need to have a signature music. It’s not necessary but can help people identify your brand and stay tuned for more. Create an eye-catching cover for all your podcasts because you need to stand out from the list that appears on your audience’s phone.
Your podcast cover should give a hint about what your show is about or incorporate your company’s branding in it.
The only way to get their attention is to stand out with eye-catching cover, design, and colors. Even titles play an important role in determining if a user clicks on your podcast and gives it a try. Thus, branding is important to get your audience’s attention first.
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Create a podcast marketing strategy
Some of the ways you can create a podcast marketing strategy is by
- Creating a dedicated site for your podcast episodes
- Creating a consistent marketing plan
- Distributing on multiple channels
- Optimising for SEO
- Promoting on social media
- Repurposing the podcast content into blog posts and videos
Learn more about marketing strategies in this online digital marketing course with certificate.
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Be consistent
If you say your podcast is a daily show, then provide new episodes everyday. If you don’t your audience will be disappointed. It’s like when you’re watching your favourite sports but your favourite players decide not to show up. You’d be disappointed, right?
Must read: What is Marketing?
If not daily, at least provide a weekly podcast and stick to a day in the week to produce consistently. So planning and scheduling is very important so that you don’t miss an episode. Plan ahead as recording and editing takes time.
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Reshare on social media
Every time you upload a new episode, update about it to your audience on social media and wherever you can find them. You can post a link to the episode on social media so that they can directly go to their page and listen to the episode. You can even pin it on your Facebook and Twitter page.
Also read: 10 Points Checklist for Social Media Marketing
If you don’t have a social media account yet, then you need to create one ASAP and grow your audience fast.
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Add a call to action button
Inspire your audience to take a certain call to action – it can be to subscribe, download, share, and just like too. When you build an impressive list of podcast episodes that’s providing great content, then the rest of the job will do itself. People will automatically start subscribing to your show and download new episodes as it is uploaded.
Make it easy to find these call to action buttons on your channels. You can also add a rate us or review form where people can rate your episodes after watching it. This will also help you get the attention of new audiences who visit your channels and also rank your podcast higher.
How to get people on your podcast
Build your guest list from existing connections
If you’ve been in the digital marketing industry for quite some time, then you must be knowing a few experts or professionals who have more experience than you. You can invite them to your podcast show and interview them.
Attend conferences and big events
You may meet influential people at conferences and big events. Connecting with them can not only strengthen your network but also gives you a chance to have them on your show and discuss industry-related topics with a unique spin. Talk about your business, what you do, about your podcast shows and why they should be on it. Get them interested in you first and slowly build a relationship.
Use a podcast guest services
There are sites and tools that help you connect with potential guests to your podcast show. Use it to your advantage and grow your guest list. You can also find them on Facebook groups.
How to drive traffic to your podcast
If you’re just starting out, uploading a podcast and hoping people will start listening to it won’t get the job done. What’s the use of having a podcast show if people are not discovering it?
You need to know how to promote a podcast. You can use social media to promote your show, use paid advertising techniques like mobile app ads, Google ads, and social media ads. Updating your followers about new episodes and providing them with a direct link to it can bring in quality traffic.
Also read: How to Make Your Podcast Viral
Influencer marketing – Find an influencer who might be interested in your niche and ask them to listen to your podcast and share it with their followers. This can bring in high traffic to your show or your podcast channel.
However, how you approach the influencer matters a lot. It can determine if they would be interested to lend their ears to your show or just ignore your request.
So, approach them with a professional tone. Send them a link to your podcast and share the details of your brand or your company, what you do, and give them a good reason as to why they should listen to your show.
Feature guests – You could invite a reputable guest to your show and talk about their expertise in the industry or interview them to provide valuable content. This not only brings in more traffic but also adds value to your content and the show. You could also participate in other podcasts shows as a guest and provide valuable content on their show, while talking about your own. This way, you’re slowly building your audience base and spreading brand awareness.
Also read: Search Engine Optimization Technique 2022
Optimise it for SEO – Add keywords in your episode titles and also in the description. So that when crawlers analyse it, it knows what your podcast is about. Now that voice search optimization is becoming increasingly popular, adding relevant keywords in your content speech can help it optimise for voice search. Make sure that your episode title is something that a user would type into the search bar on Google.
Ranking your podcasts for search comes down to how well your content is engaging. The same SEO principles for blogs and articles apply to podcasts.
Places to upload a podcast
You can upload a podcast for free on Buzzsprout and on your website. Take a look at some other places you can upload a podcast.
- Spotify
- Soundcloud
- iTunes
- YouTube
- Podomatic
- Blubrry
- Buzzsprout
- Gaana
It takes time to get people to listen to your podcast and make it go viral, but don’t give up! There are too many people who give up too soon but you can be the exception. All you need is some great recording environment, great content, an effective podcast promotion strategy to get started. If you want to learn more about marketing your content of any kind, then check out Learn Digital Academy’s best digital marketing course in Bangalore. Do check out our podcast on digital marketing and graphic designing for some amazing content!
