What is a podcast and how can it be used in marketing?

There are many ways to connect with your audience on a more personal level. One of them is the use of sound, as it allows you to hear the emotions behind the words, for example. Among other reasons, this is why podcasting can become a key tool in the digital marketing strategies of many companies. If your customers are also among the 'listeners', it is worth finding out more about podcasts and their use in marketing.

What exactly is a podcast and why has it captured the hearts of audiences?

Wikipedia defines a podcast as 'radio on demand'. It is a recorded audio programme that can be published on a website, available for download to a computer or mobile devices to listen to when the viewer wishes. Podcasts are now an extremely popular, fast-growing format. The first podcasts were produced by individuals, but now they are also produced by companies and organisations. They have also become big business, with companies such as Apple, Spotify and SiriusXM investing heavily in podcasting.

Some statistics - who is listening, how and why?

Who?

• about one third of Polish internet users listen to podcasts
• podcasts are listened to predominantly by young people in the 18-34 age range
• in terms of the gender of listeners, there are slightly more men - 54%
• 43% of the audience are university graduates

How?

• more than 80% Polish respondents admitted to listening to podcasts at home
• the younger the respondents are, the greater the tendency to listen while doing other things, "on the go"

Why?

• half of all listeners turn on podcasts for entertainment and relaxation, and more than one third indicated that they want to learn more about the world through podcasts
• almost half of the listeners indicate that they share the knowledge they gain from podcasts in conversations

Recording a podcast for business

You already know what a podcast is. You're probably wondering how it can be used in business. First of all, with a podcast you can share your industry knowledge, gain authority, tell your unique business story and spread its values, which resonate with audiences. Podcast audiences are not yet saturated with content from brands trying to promote their activities. Therefore, they pay a lot of attention to this type of content - it is worth taking advantage of.

Benefits of podcasting as a marketing tool

Firstly, the podcast reaches a specific target group

Each episode of a podcast usually deals with a distinct topic or issue. It therefore reaches people who are genuinely interested in it and will therefore be more likely to interact with the author. This is important from a marketing point of view. Also, by creating other types of content (e.g. articles, newsletter), you may sometimes miss your audience because... they don't have time to read the content. The advantage of a podcast is that you can reach the "busy" part of the target group. People who can't find a moment to read a long article can listen to the podcast while doing other things - running, cleaning, commuting, for example.

Secondly, the podcast effectively builds the brand and promotes the business

By recording a podcast, you reinforce your image as an expert in your field, create a certain image, and make yourself known as a professional worth trusting. This works for both your company and your personal brand. In a podcast, you can also show a more personal side of yourself and, with your character, make the content you present more original and interesting than, for example, your competitors.

Thirdly, the podcast provides an opportunity to network

Inviting other creatives to contribute to your podcast is a popular tactic. Record an episode with an interesting expert, specialist, business partner or even your employee or regular client. This is not only a chance to provide your audience with content that is interesting from their point of view, but also a way to cross-promote and increase your reach.

Fourthly, podcasting is a format that is ideal for social media

Providing content to publish on social media on a regular basis is a challenge for many businesses. If you take the time to record podcasts, you have the opportunity to make the most of them on social media. Create posts announcing a particular episode, encouraging people to watch it, or even ones showing the behind-the-scenes of its creation. And don't be afraid to revisit the episodes of the podcast that have generated the most reaction, engagement and recycling of this content on social media.

Fifth, a podcast doesn't have to be expensive

If you just want to start your podcast recording adventure, you don't have to 'clear' your marketing budget to zero at all. You can hire a podcast studio, but this is not a necessity either. To start with, you only need a good quality microphone and audio recording and editing software.. So in this respect, the podcast is less demanding than the video format. There is one more thing you will need, which is priceless. I am, of course, talking about a good idea.

Podcasting and SEO

Recording podcasts is also an opportunity to expand the content of the website. Importantly, you can not only add individual episodes to the site, but also upload transcripts. In this way, you will gain further valuable content, which will certainly not escape the attention of both internet users and search engine robots.

Even at the stage of content creation itself, it is worth thinking about measures to make the podcast more visible in search results. The most important is of course selection of relevant keywords. Use your chosen phrases not only in the content of the podcast, but also in its title and description.

What else is worth bearing in mind when optimising a podcast?

• publish each podcast episode on a separate subpage with a unique address URLwith a headline and description and metadata optimised for selected keywords

• take care to link internally and link the episode to other podcasts available on the site. This will give users the option of continuing to listen to the content or choosing another podcast of interest or related topic

• if you plan to add many recordings with similar themes, start grouping them into categories

Podcasts have a voice!

The golden age of podcasts is well under way. Their use brings many benefits from the point of view of marketing strategy. Not only are they a tool for creating the image of an expert in a particular field, but they can also support a website's positioning efforts. Note that any form of content marketing is important, but some content is already so abundant that it has ceased to effectively attract the attention of the audience. This problem does not apply to podcasts - they are still rare in many industries and therefore of interest.