It’s not a secret that we think podcasts can elevate you and your brand to the next level. Starting a podcast is an exciting way to tell a story. But telling your story isn’t done once you’ve finalised your edits or posted the podcast to the world. You then have to tell the world that your story exists! Marketing gets your story out there, and will help drive the benefits of starting a podcast in the first place.
So, how can you start pulling together your ideal marketing plan for your new podcast? Let’s explore.
How to launch your podcast
Align your podcast content with your wider marketing strategy
A podcast can form a powerful part of a larger marketing strategy. And if you have a larger marketing plan, then your podcast should aim to align with your overall goals. Your podcast content is the first thing to consider – how do the guests or themes align with your wider audience? Communicate this with your producer. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to ensure that you attract the biggest audience possible with your marketing efforts:
Is my podcast catering to the right demographic? Does the content meet their need?
Are my guests influential in the space I’m in (industry, subject area, etc)?
Does my content offer something new in the space?
Can I reuse the content I share by creating other content and sharing it online?
Is the podcast host an advocate for the podcast online? (Do they share the podcast, and get excited about telling people about it?)
Are there potential events that could be generated or joined in alignment with the podcast’s subject area?
Key takeaway? Keep your podcast on target with your wider business goals and allow this to help your podcast strategy unfold. A podcast can elevate every other part of your existing marketing.
Leverage social media
Social media is always going to form a really important part of your podcast marketing strategy. We always encourage the use of audiograms, to provide potential listeners with a taste of your podcast – creating short teasers in this way can be really powerful for reshares too. We recommend:
Try multiple formats and platforms for sharing the news about your podcast. This should align with the demographic target of your podcast – many younger users are more commonly found on TikTok than Facebook, for instance. If you’re targeting other businesses or professionals, LinkedIn is a great platform to try. So it makes sense to use the platforms that make the most sense for your podcast.
Sending out the audiograms to your podcast guests ahead of pushing the podcast live, and asking them to share social media posts when they do go live. You might consider creating a template for them with an example post and any relevant links, to make it easier for them to spread the word on your behalf.
Make sure you always tag the relevant guests, companies and/or organizations who are featured in the particular episode you are releasing.
Schedule your promotion at appropriate times when you know your audience is the most active and engaged.
Make sure to engage with your audiences if anyone does comment, shares or likes the post you put out.
Always use a universal link for the podcast, so that listeners can open the episode in their favourite app or browser. You can use a tool like PodFollow or PodLink to generate this.
Key takeaway? Sharing podcast content and audiograms can provide great content for your social presence – and do a lot to help your podcast get discovered by a wider and more varied audience.
If you’re looking for tailor-made insight into how to market your podcast, get in touch with us today to find out more.
Start fostering a community
Forming a community around your podcast can do a lot to help encourage engagement. Though you can form this around a more general social media presence if you have the capacity, a Discord group, Patreon or dedicated Facebook group can do a lot to help build a more active community around your show. Here are the potential benefits:
Giving your audience a place they can discuss the show
Opportunities to put forward questions or polls to help get audience input or feedback on episodes
Greater insight into who is listening
Greater insight into what gaps you could fill with upcoming episodes of your content
Key takeaway? Community fosters engagement. By dedicating space to your listeners, they can feel part of the process – and give you important feedback to make your podcast even better! They also become podcast advocates.
Use paid advertising
If you have some budget behind your podcast, paid ads can provide a real push. Our audio ad promotion plans can help ensure that listeners are directed to your series courtesy of some of the world’s most loved shows from around the world. We send you a list of shows that are curated to align with your podcast and its audience, and together we would decide on the ideal places to advertise your show.
Audio ads that we create are made with our in-house team of expert podcast producers who can reach your perfect audience via podcast distributors. We usually run campaigns to deliver between 388,888 to a million impressions. After the campaign, we provide detailed analytics to review the impact of your ads. To give you a feel for what our audio ads are like as well, you can have a listen to previous campaigns and possibilities.
Sponsored ads: For these, we provide a list of podcasts within the same space as your podcast, and organise with the hosts of popular podcasts to give your podcast a recommendation during their airtime! It’s a great way to build trust with a new audience, growing your following by leveraging the established trust these hosts have with their own audience. It’s like getting a recommendation from a friend.
Key takeaway? Ads can provide a solid push in the right direction – but they have to be done thoughtfully and with expert understanding to be really effective. Learn more about how we can help you with this here.
With a well-rounded marketing plan dedicated to your podcast, you can ensure that your story is heard by the right people. Discover your future fan base today and maximise the power of a story well told. And remember: We’re here to help your story find its fans! Get in touch with us today to find out more about how you can take your podcasting marketing a step further towards success.