How Much Branding Should My Podcast Have?

We believe in the power of branded podcasts. It takes multiple factors working together in harmony to create a successful branded podcast. But how much branding is too much branding?

Why brand your podcast?

Branding your podcast is a chance to increase the awareness around your brand in an engaging way. There are many strategic benefits to creating a podcast for your brand, including:

• Reaching a whole new audience

• Networking with key people in your industry (or other industries you want to associate with!)

• Adding flexibility and adaptability to your marketing strategy

• Growing the reputation of individuals within your business

• Making the most of your existing content strategy

• Connecting more authentically with your audience

… Amongst many other benefits.

All this hinges on creating a podcast that holds an audience – that is coherent, easy to follow, enjoyable to listen to, and which deliver on its promise to entertain or inform (or both!). That means that there’s a balance to be found. You want to let the world know about your brand, but overdo it and you might just end up driving listeners away instead. So, how do you strike the right balance?

How to maintain your branding balance

1. Always lead with the story, not the sales pitch!

While having a podcast can do a lot to teach people about your business and what it offers, the people listening to your podcasts aren’t just there because of your brand – they’re there to hear your story!

This is because a podcast is a storytelling method that can be personal and authentic – hearing a voice speaking directly to you is inherently connective. It’s an opportunity to teach, inspire and entertain.

Trying to sell your product or service too often in your podcast is bound to get tiring to listen to, and is likely to be ineffective. After all, podcast listeners have really good recall of your business or brand – they’re more likely to engage with your brand, resonate with your content emotionally, and remember your story long term. That means that you don’t really have to keep hammering home on the hard sell. Telling a great story will do all the selling for you.

So, remember that branding in your podcast should be secondary to the amazing stories of your company, or the inspiration behind your podcast. You are storytellers who are explaining the story of your brand, rather than advertisers selling a product. Show off your company in your introduction within the podcast itself (i.e. by saying “this podcast is brought to you by…”), your outro and through any promo codes you might share.

Do you need help branding your podcast? Check out our ‘Press Play’ package that will make sure your podcast is up and running with a cohesive message throughout.

2. Keep the visual branding connected – but separate

It’s good to use elements of your branding in your podcast – think colours, style, fonts, etc. However, it’s not always good to slap your logo and brand name as front and centre on your podcast’s visual assets.

Maintain a sense of your branding without the podcast looking like a repeat of your website or other visual presence. After all, a podcast is a unique medium – treat it like one!

You don’t need to mention your brand too often – either visually or audibly – for the podcast to resonate as being a part of your brand. A great example that we’ve helped to create with Buffer is the Small Business, Big Lessons podcast. You can see that the podcast is related to Buffer, but it isn’t the overwhelming message – the podcast is a distinct offering that sits alongside the wider brand strategy.

3. Plan for the long term

Brands change over time, and podcasts are growing in both their audience numbers and the creativity of the stories they can tell, every day. By viewing your podcast as a long-term component of your brand strategy, you ease the need to keep hammering home about your brand right now.

After all, with time will come new ideas, new stories to tell, and more chances to keep offering your audience the information and/or entertainment they are looking for, that will successfully introduce your brand to the world. Space out your branded moments, and focus on long-term value over the temporary sell!

There you have it – some ways to keep the brand in balance, while delivering great podcast content.

If you’re looking for more personalised advice on how your brand can use podcasting as part of its marketing strategy, get in touch with us now.

Should You Convert Your Blog into a Podcast?

Branded podcasts are on the rise. Not just terms of active listeners, but also in the number of shows being created and shared. Currently, 6.5 million adults in the UK are listening to at least one podcast a week. This means that if you’ve been sticking to blogging up until now, you might be missing out on one of the best ways to tell the world about your brand or business – podcasting.

But is it as simple as turning your blog into a podcast series? And what would this involve? In this article, we unpack what you need to know to ensure a smooth transition blogging to audio.

5 top reasons to convert your blog into a podcast

 

1.     Repurpose for smart and efficient content production

If you’ve already got your content production down in words, you’ve got the material you need to get started. Why not make more of your knowledge and insight, and repurpose? It’s an efficient way to take your content and stretch it further.

Using existing blog posts as a basis for a podcast comes with a few caveats, but it can be a great way to start fielding ideas that you know your audience is interested in. It’s also a great way to get more engagement from your existing content as research show that 80% of listeners will complete an entire episode, or most of an episode. This means that if you’re struggling to get readers to the end of an article, it could be a good alternative.

2.     Expand your audience in new directions

Appealing to a wide range of people means tapping into different channels to reach them. By the end of 2025, it’s predicted that there will be over 144 million monthly podcast listeners in the US, with an average listening time of 23 minutes a day.

Listeners are diverse, but almost half of all listeners in the US are under 35 years old. This is great news if you’re looking to target a younger audience. Equally, half of all listeners have a full-time job and an income between US$100-150k. They have the purchasing power to really make an impact on your business.

3.     Increase brand recognition and accessibility

While blogging is straightforward, it’s only one way of telling the world about your brand. Not only is audio more accessible for many who may not have the time or desire to read through long texts online, but it also adds a far more personal touch. When we hear a voice, we have an opportunity to connect in a more friendly, intimate way. Personalise your brand’s offering through a branded podcast that will create opportunities for your audience to really get to know the people behind the name.

Many podcast listeners also enjoy their favourite episodes while doing other tasks – like commuting, or household chores. Podcasts are easy to listen to while completing other tasks and are totally portable, making them a great medium to improve the accessibility of your message. Offer your audience a branded podcast that fits in with their everyday life. 

4.     Explore new storytelling possibilities

While a blog can be easy to access and create, there’s only so much you can do when it comes to telling your brand’s story in words. What new storytelling options might you unlock with a podcast?

With a variety of formats and genres out there, branded podcasts open up space to consider what new stories you’ve got to offer the world. We’ve talked before about the various formats you might consider for your branded podcast – including the solocast, the documentary, the interview and even the fictionalised podcast. There are no limits to the creativity you can use to share memorable stories.

5.     Create more memorable content

And speaking of memorable, did you know that audio is 36% more memorable than video? This means that investing in audio can offer a far more memorable message for your listener, over investing in other media. If you’re wanting to send a message to your audience that will stick with them, turning your blog into a podcast can be a great way to go.

The sticking points: What to be aware of when converting your blog into a branded podcast

Keep it professional

Because of the sheer number of podcasts out there, anything that doesn’t sound slick and put-together is going to stand out – for all the wrong reasons. A third of listeners will stop listening if they detect a podcast is low quality. That means there’s no room for bad sound quality, dodgy editing or disjointed episode structures.

An experienced producer can make all the difference. We have the knowledge to ensure your podcast passes the quality test.

Take a look at our branded podcast production packages to find out more about how we can help give you a consistent, quality result in audio format.

Know the medium

If you’ve never made a podcast before, you might struggle to create something that really maximises the medium. While your audience might be excited by the pivot, podcasts and blogs appeal to different people in different ways. In other words, you can’t just read out your blogs and call it a podcast!

If you have tried to dabble in podcasting from a blog already, but are noticing that your output isn’t quite translating, you might not be maximising the new medium.

Our Power Up package is here to offer your branded podcast the boost it needs to really make sure it reaches your audience in the right way.

All in all, we’re biased when it comes to the power of the podcast – but the stats are here to back us up! Though podcasting is an effective medium for telling your brand’s story, it’s also a crowded marketplace.

Make sure your podcast stands out from the crowd with the right production, strategy, and delivery methods in place.

Get in touch to learn more about how we can help turn that blog into a whole new listener experience.

How to use Podcasts to Boost your Content Strategy

What can a podcast do to boost your overarching content strategy? Learn more about how podcasts can help create a more effective content offering for your brand.

There are so many great reasons to consider creating a podcast for your business. Not least, a quality podcast can serve every part of your wider content strategy. From ideation through to engagement, a podcast can elevate your content one step further and maximise the efforts of even a small content team.

Are you considering the value of creating a podcast for your business or brand? In this blog we outline the ways a podcast can improve your content offering, to better serve your business and maximise your digital presence.

Podcasts offer a platform for unique storytelling

Any holistic strategy already accounts for the use of blogs, newsletters, social media and video. But podcasts appeal to audiences that may not wish to engage in text or video – as an audio medium, podcasts are popular with all sorts of individuals, and this popularity only continues to rise. 

Creating a content strategy without the consideration of audio is a missed opportunity. Podcasts can take so many formats – from two-hander conversations, dynamic multi-person discussions, re-enactment and in-depth reporting, thought leadership, and more. Take a look at The Cut and the New York Times podcasts – both publications have created specific spin-off blogs that boost their reporting in an audio format, making the most of the in-depth work their journalists already do, reaching new audiences and facilitating easy sharing and listening. So, ask yourself: What messaging and goals could you use podcasts for, rather than another medium? 

Podcasts are perfect for dynamic thought leadership

If your brand is keen to create thought leadership within your industry, podcasts are an incredibly effective way to go about this. They enable a vibrant conversation to take place, and you can invite those from your industry but external to your organisation, demonstrating your network, expertise and engagement within your field. 

Take a look at the work we did with NatWest for a specific example of how to make thought leadership work for your brand.

Podcasts enable conversations that boost engagement

Conversations with your audience are an essential way to boost brand awareness and appreciation. Podcasts can help facilitate this, beyond the recording studio – they offer something for your followers to listen to, think about and respond to, in a format that may be more appealing and varied than a simple blog. After all, reading long paragraphs of text doesn’t appeal to everyone – in this time-poor age we live in, audio might serve your audience better.

Introducing guests also introduces the opportunity to widen your audience, bringing in the supporters of your guests to pay attention to your brand and business. Syndication efforts are also eased, as podcasts can be embedded in a variety of places where conversations that concern your brand take place.

Podcasts can spark ideas for your whole content strategy

Given the variety and dynamism of a podcast conversation, episodes you create can feed your wider strategy, helping to support your content creation efforts across platforms. Take our Buffer case study as an example – the creation of a conference using podcasts helped to flesh out ideas for their next quarter of content, filling up the calendar with relevant new ideas born of strategic podcasted conversations with industry experts.

Episodes that we created together received a whole host of replies from interested listeners, which also helped Buffer determine what their audience really wanted to know more about from them as a business. It also helped them source ideas from industry experts themselves who are at the forefront of their field. Taking all these ideas and this information from their audience, Buffer was able to create new content plans and specific ideas going forward.

They also utilised snippets of the conversations from the episodes we collaborated on, reusing this to help boost their social media content, and also creating spin-off blogs. In this way, a podcast can help fuel a larger content plan and be reused and repurposed for other platforms.

If you’re ready to look into how a podcast can serve your business or brand, take a look at more of the best advice from our site for getting started. With one well-placed and thoughtfully created podcast, your entire content strategy can benefit.

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch.

7 questions to guide your podcast strategy

You know you want to make a podcast. But what comes next? Here’s the low down on developing a strategy that sets your podcast up for success.

Creating a corporate podcast is often more than just a matter of having a great idea. Making a podcast worthwhile for your business requires a strategy. A strategy can make the difference between a podcast that’s simply fun and satisfying to create, and a podcast that really works for your larger business or brand goals.

During lockdown, we worked closely with Historic England to deliver a detailed podcast strategy that supported their aims as a business, as well as their wider content strategy. In particular, we utilise a Discovery Workshop process that is the key to defining everything a podcast strategy needs. This involved conducting a series of workshops conducted online, using various visualisation tools to help our teams collaborate and brainstorm around several important questions. 

In this blog, we’re going to break down parts of this process, sharing with you the important overarching questions that you need to answer to develop a podcast strategy that works towards your goals as a brand. 

Our virtual whiteboard used in our Discovery Workshop with Historic England.

1. What are your business/brand values and goals?

All content that you spend time creating as a brand should reflect your values and should be created in alignment with your goals. So, a good place to start is here: what does your brand or business value? Knowing what you stand for can help get the ball rolling. 

In the case of Historic England, they had used podcasts before to support exhibitions and events. Their aim was to inspire people and create advocates for the built environment. These key values helped dictate the way in which we defined a strategy for their future podcasts. Creating content that speaks to an ethos really helps to shape and define the scope of your podcast and will lead towards certain themes and ideas that are important for you to explore. 

Next up: What are your goals for your content? Content that aims to acquire new members, for instance, is likely to be different to content that furthers brand awareness. While your podcast may be intended to achieve many things, it’s important to define exactly what this might be before you get stuck in creating episodes.

2. What content have you created already?

Reviewing or auditing your content to date is a good way to help define what’s missing, and what your podcast might build upon. What worked? What didn’t? Spend time reviewing what content you’ve tried to create, the effect it had, any measurable qualities of success, before defining your podcast.

3.  What are your competitors up to?

Have your key competitors already got a podcast? If so, it’s worth taking a look to see what they are up to. Set your podcast apart from the outset by researching your competitors and the way they present themselves. Take note of what stories they’re telling and use this to help find your niche. If they don’t have a podcast yet, all the better! It’s your opportunity to create something that’s missing in the market.

4. Who is your audience?

Defining your audience is a great way to hone your podcast content. Thinking about who they are, what they are like, what they need, and what information you can uniquely provide them. All of this will help get you one step closer to creating a successful podcast.

5. What themes do you have in mind already?

There might already be some obvious themes that relate to your industry, the experts or guests you have access to, content you already create or content that is missing. Define your themes in a broader sense. Brainstorming here may reveal new areas that your podcast can explore - after all, it’s not a text-based medium, which means that you can define ideas that suit an audio format specifically, and this might bring to mind new areas to explore in your content. 

6. What format will your podcast take?

There are many possible formats a podcast can take. From monologues, to interview, to narrative-style podcasts (like the infamous Serial podcast), round tables, multi-host (like our work with NatWest), and more. Defining what format might suit the stories you want to tell will help define how to execute your content, when it comes to turning ideas into reality. 

7. How do you want to be different?

Here’s your chance to really brainstorm and get creative! Having reviewed what you’ve already created in terms of content, as well as what your competitors are doing, the themes and formats you prefer, what your audience needs, and keeping in mind your values as a brand, it’s now finally time to start fleshing out your niche. What would you most like to try? What story do you uniquely have to tell? Setting your podcast apart is key to creating something extra special with each and every episode. 

With these key questions answered, you can begin to define a successful podcast strategy. At Message Heard, we work with this as a starting point with each and every one of our clients. As we dig into the Discovery Workshop process, we can help you unveil the insights that can help your podcast stand out. By defining a detailed strategy, production also becomes a far smoother and more time and money efficient process. Take your ideas and turn them into a reality that serves your brand.  

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch.

The untapped value of podcasts for subscription services

Rather than getting a slice of airtime on someone else’s podcast, why not host your own?

How many times have you heard an advert on a podcast for a recipe kit, a beer club or razor delivery? We imagine the answer is, “lots.” You might even be advertising your subscription service on a podcast or two. And they work. In fact, 76% of UK podcast listeners have engaged with an ad, according to Acast.  

But why not take it a step further? Rather than getting a slice of airtime on someone else’s podcast, you can host your own.  

Podcasts and subscription services are a match made in heaven — both nurture ongoing relationships with consumers who come together over a niche interest.  

A podcast is the perfect platform for you to engage, expand and educate your customer base. Here’s how.  

Engage: strengthen your relationships 

As Fast Company put it, branded podcasts are “the ads people want to listen to.”  

So, if you’re searching for a way to engage your subscribers’ attention, then look no further, podcasting is for you. 

That’s because they’re informative, entertaining and engaging — in other words, they don’t sound like your typical advert. They blend intriguing narrative or gripping conversation with music and sounds to keep the ear hooked. They keep you company during routine activities like doing the dishes or commuting. They create the sense of an intimate and informal connection between the listener and the host.  

That last one is possibly the most important factor for a subscription service podcast because having a close relationship with your customer is so important. If providing extra, bespoke content for loyal subscribers is your way of making sure they stick with you and your service, then a private podcast feed can help.  

Did you know you can host a podcast for your members’ ears only? What better way to show your members that you’ll go the extra mile for them.  

Expand: help new subscribers find you  

But what if you’re hoping a podcast could help you reach new audiences?  

Have no fear, podcasts are a growing trend with one in eight people in the UK now listening to a podcast every week. You can tap into that market by hosting a publicly accessible podcast, rather than a private one. As your podcast grows in popularity, word about your subscription service will also spread.  

Creating unmissable content for your market niche or interviewing amazing guests will help you to direct conversation and become the leader in your industry. Great guests are extra helpful because they can bring their following to your podcast and introduce new audiences to your brand.  

While advertising on someone else’s podcast may help to get your name out there, hosting your own gives you more control over your brand message. Rather than figuring out which podcasts you’d like to be associated with and finding out where your audience is, you can grow your own listener base, perfectly aligned to your niche. As the BBC’s Jamie Robertson says, “podcasts offer a chance to speak intimately to a very precise selection of people.”  

Educate: build brand awareness  

A podcast will give you the time and creative space to craft your message exactly how you wish it to be. There are several ways you can use podcasts to educate listeners about your brand so feel free to get inventive.  

Your podcast series could be a how-to guide for making the most out of your product or service. It could be a conversational podcast including interviews with staff, customers or inspirational figures in your field. You could use the podcast to share the stories and ideas that make your company tick. It could even be an audio accompaniment to your service - something enjoyable to listen to while you use the product.  

Whatever you decide your podcast should be, and the possibilities are endless, it will help your subscribers to gain a deeper understanding of your brand and what it can offer them.   

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch. 

How to Become a Better Podcast Host

What does it take to be a great podcast host? Here’s what you need to know to make successful podcasts. 

Podcasting is one of the most popular forms of media right now. The best corporate podcasts have something in common: a great host! While anyone can try their hand in front of the mic, it takes something special to be a capable podcast host. After all, contrary to popular belief, an engaging podcast isn’t just about creating a conversation — it’s  about how you curate that conversation for the listener. So, what can you do to become a stronger podcast host? Here are our tips to get you started.

Start preparing early

Hosting a podcast  can be intimidating - most of us aren’t used to being recorded! This means that having confidence on your subject matter is a great way to start, as well as preparing yourself for what needs to go into the episode you’re making. 

Recently, we worked with NatWest to produce a branded podcast. Our hosts were first-timers to the world of podcast production, and one of the hosts, Burcu Karabork, had this to say about the process:

“There is a tremendous amount of discipline and experience required in knowing where to stop conversations, what questions to ask, where to prod a bit deeper...So the question becomes; can you afford that learning curve? Often we only get one chance to impress listeners, after which they turn away from us and don’t come back. It’s imperative to get it right the first time so we don’t alienate them.”

While a lot of podcasts sound ‘off the cuff’, chances are there was still a lot of preparation behind this. That means: having questions in mind, knowing what subjects or information you need to cover, and having thought through the way you want to articulate this. Even some of the most natural, and famous, podcast hosts are scripted. 

An excerpt of Micheal Barabaro, host of The Daily’s, script.

Practice makes perfect

The great thing about podcast production is that you can always re-take a line if you mess it up. So give yourself room to practice! Try out recordings, and listen back to yourself. While this can be awkward at first, it’s essential to know how you are coming across, and whether you need to mix things up. Give it to someone else to listen to: do they know what you’re trying to convey? 

The style of delivery required for a podcast is different from simply talking in everyday life, though it’s not too far removed. The art of hosting is about staying true to your style and tone of voice (as it represents who you are as an individual!). However, learning how to do things like clearly delivering the words in your script; conveying emotion through your intonation and pacing your delivery, are skills that different you from a rookie podcaster and host with command of the mic.

So if you’re new to this… practice, practice practice! Get you phone recorder out and give your read of the script a go (or two).  Listen back to your way of delivering information, try different versions of the same thing as you are recording, and have patience. The process does become easier. 

Work with a producer

A producer can be a huge help for making a successful podcast. In the case of NatWest, our Head of Production, Sandra Ferrari, was there to provide support and advice along the way. In Burcu’s words, “When you know that you’re being looked after and that you have a safety net, you relax. When you relax you say things in the moment that are more genuine and authentic to yourself, which in turn makes you far more engaging for listeners.” 

Sandra was there to guide our hosts through to creating their vision. Burcu adds:

“It’s difficult to know what your artistic vision is if you’ve never worked on that before and Sandra was instrumental in helping us to discover ours. She went above and beyond to introduce variations into the podcasts, allowing us to pick and choose what we liked and discard what we felt didn’t speak to our authentic selves. I really appreciated being allowed to push my own boundaries in that way, expanding my views on what I thought our podcast should sound like, all the while feeling in control enough to let go of what I liked less.”

Producers are there as a trusted minder, to help you stay on track and create the episode you planned to make. 

At Message Heard, we specialise in guiding your project through to completion. Whatever part of the process you’re struggling with, from ideation through to distribution, we can help. 

It takes skill to become a great podcast host. Whether it’s your first time trying it out, or you’re a seasoned professional, the same skills apply. Take a look at our Business of Podcasting section for more great advice on creating amazing podcasts. 

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch.

What's the key to great communications — and where do podcasts fit in?

Consulting Guru, Chell Smith, talks leadership, communication and podcasts.

Want to know how to communicate effectively with any group of any size? Meet Consulting guru, Chell Smith! Chell has grown successful global Consulting businesses at EY, Capgemini and Cognizant. 

I sat down with Chell to talk about how to get your message heard across both internal and external communications — and where podcasts fit in. Read on for the nine key takeaways from our interview.

1. The only problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred! 

As a consultant, communication is all that you do. You’re helping to transfer your experience, your insight and your knowledge to your clients. What I’ve learned is that the challenges of communication are always the same, whether you’re speaking one-to-one or one-to-many. The first thing to understand is that no one can absorb a complex message in one hearing. It takes many iterations. Repeatedly introducing the challenge and introducing the concepts. There’s a reason you see adverts over and over again. Once you understand that, it changes the whole game. 

The challenge for any leader is to communicate a message multiple times without being perceived as repetitive or harping. And to do that requires a combination of varying the language and varying the medium. 

 2. Be crisp, clear and concise 

Whether you're doing a consulting engagement, talking to your team or trying to sell to a new client, you need a crisp, clear way to articulate the issue you want to address. It takes work to get below the surface and find the essence of what you want to say, but the more succinct you can be, the more likely you are to get your message across.

This is vital at the CEO, senior executive level, because here you’re dealing with people who have a lot on their plate and not a lot of patience. But over the years I’ve found that it’s true whoever you’re talking to in an organisation. The difference is that below senior executive level you have the opportunity to be a little more social and a little more engaging in the way that you deliver the information.  

3. Stay authentic 

In any communication, in any medium, the most important element is to be authentic. To be yourself. Don't try and put on airs. People sense authenticity immediately – and they respond to it.  

If you're uncomfortable, if you're being guarded, it stops people believing what you're saying. Now they're going to question everything that you say. This is a human thing: it happens at every level. We all make that judgment.  

Take it to the world of politics. A few years ago, Mitt Romney was running against Barack Obama. You didn't need to agree with everything Barack Obama said to understand that he was being authentic, that this is what he really felt. Whereas Mitt Romney was hamstrung by a Republican platform that he didn’t believe and hadn’t acted on.

You could see that it wasn't authentic for him. I think that was a huge reason why he wasn't successful.

4. Know when to stay neutral... 

Leaders introduce change. But neuroscience teaches us that every change is threatening to people. It can be threatening in many different ways and in many different dimensions. As uncomfortable as people may be in their current situation, change is still threatening. There's just no way around it.  

So, when you are instigating change you have to articulate the current situation and the reason for the shift. But it’s critical that you do that without letting judgement – or the perception of judgment – creep into your voice. When people feel judged, they feel guilt. That prevents them from hearing or absorbing what you’re saying.  

The answer - when you’re describing the current situation and building the case for change - is just to state the facts. Keep the information factual and keep your voice neutral. Then people can hear you.  

This takes practice. When I’m preparing for this type of communication I’ll sit down and sketch my core message out on paper. But – as judgment is all in the perception of the listener – I’ll always run it by other people. I try and find four or five people that have very different perspectives, get their feedback and adjust.   

5. ...when to use emotion... 

Where you have the opportunity to bring emotion into a communication about change is when you start talking about the what's in it for me, for your audience. Why should they care about this? What does this mean to them? What are the opportunities that this opens up? 

6. ...and when to use humour 

Knowing when to use emotion feeds into another point, which is the importance of connecting with your audience. When people feel at ease, they’re able to listen.  

I try and connect with people through some kind of humour. I’ll say something about the situation we're in and it will often be self-deprecating. I want to show that I’m open and vulnerable.  

7. Ask questions 

People want to be listened to.  So I always make it clear that I really am here to listen, not just to talk. 

There are a lot of ways to do that. One I'm pretty fond of is starting with the question and asking for feedback from the audience. So, today we want to talk about cost of sales. You guys have been in this company a long time, give me some perspectives. What do you see around cost of sales? Is it an issue? Do you think you are best in class?  Open it up and solicit feedback.  

8. Use every communication tool you have 

People learn differently. People have different styles, some are more visual, some are more aural, some like to read. So, use all the tools at your fingertips. Meet with people in person; combine white papers and strategy documents with calls; webcasts; video; podcasting.  

“It was clear that we needed something more concise for people to wrap their heads around. That was when we settled on podcasts. ”

— Chell Smith

I've had really good luck with podcasting. What I like about the medium in particular is that people can listen to podcasts anywhere. They can be on the way home or out on a run. That accessibility is huge. And I’ve found that with a short podcast – 10 minutes – people will both listen and re-listen. So, you can give your audience bite-sized chunks of information that are relevant to them and you can meet them where they are.  

9. Make it a conversation 

When you can make communication conversational, it’s much easier to listen to and to absorb. This is another space in which podcasts play to an advantage.  

At Cognizant we had a new concept we were bringing to market about how organisations needed to operate in the face of rapid technological change. It was an approach that we knew would challenge organisational norms: crossing fiefdoms, challenging people’s territory and turf and responsibilities – all of those things that aren’t easy to challenge. 

So, after sourcing feedback, we started communicating. We did a series of white papers. We did internal sessions. We did webcasts with clients to introduce them. It still didn't feel like we were getting though the full uptick, particularly internally. It was clear that we needed something more concise for people to wrap their heads around. That was when we settled on podcasts. 

We started with an introductory episode that introduced the concepts and the research. Then we did a series of industry-based podcasts. If you're in Insurance, listen to this one. If  you're in Life Sciences, listen to this one. That allowed people to select what mattered to them, while absorbing more detail and more context.

The thing that I got the best feedback from was the fact that we did these as a Q&A. I was the moderator, interviewing the people driving the concept. So, the podcasts had the authenticity of being a conversation – which meant we got our message heard.  

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences. Find out how we can help you by getting in touch.

Podcast KPIs: How to measure the success of your podcast

Podcast KPIs: How to measure the success of your podcast

When it comes to making a successful podcast, download numbers aren’t everything. Here’s the KPIs you should really be measuring.

Here at Message Heard, we preach the gospel of measuring podcast performance. It helps us learn, iterate and improve from season to season. 

When we’re talking with clients and partners, we also encourage them to set goals to measure performance against. However, we too often see people hung up on one particular measurement: number of downloads. 

Whilst the reach of your podcast is important, it's definitely not the only measure of success and should always be looked at in the context of other metrics. 

To avoid being blinded by the light of download numbers, you should set out clear goals at the start of the podcasting process that align directly with what you want to achieve. 

Using KPIs to set strategic goals 

So, how do you go about figuring out the right numbers to pay attention to?

When we launch a show, we like to think about who we’re trying to reach and how we want them to react and engage. We then select 3 or 4 key metrics which to track closely through the season. 

For example, if your show is about something niche or aimed at an internal audience, there are natural caps to listener numbers but audience engagement levels or listen through rates might tell you more about what you're actually achieving with your podcast. 

Or if you're looking to grow your personal brand, press hits and invites onto other media would be a good measure of success. Want to grow an engaged audience? Why not create a Facebook or LinkedIn group, promote it in your podcast and track the growth. 

What success looks like for branded podcasts

The takeaway: success looks different for everyone. 

As an example, let’s compare our show we measure the success of Conflicted versus how Buffer measured the performance of Breaking Brand.

With our show Conflicted, we boiled down success to three KPI’s (key performance indicators): 

1. Download Numbers - Listener reach is important to us as this is a general interest show where we’re looking to reach as many ears as we can. 

2. Revenue - We wanted to generate revenue via ads and sponsorships to create a sustainable show. 

3. Engaged Audience - We wanted to build an engaged audience across various social channels so listeners could become more involved in the show. 

As an independent show, these are quite direct, mercenary concerns. However, a branded podcast with broader goals of building brand and raising awareness would naturally have completely different measurements of success. 

Ash Read, Head of Editorial at Buffer, told us their key measurement was how long listeners spent listening to the show. And Breaking Brand saw strong completion rates — on average, people are listening to 83% of each episode. 

Message Heard · Buffer - Breaking Brand - Results

Hear more about how Buffer measured the results of their podcast.

This means that the audience isn’t just showing up, they’re sticking around and engaging with the content. For Ash, this has a lot of potential: “If we continue to publish content in this feed, they’ll continue listening. That feels really valuable for us.”

So what are the metrics you should use to measure success? 

What KPIs should I actually be measuring?

Again, it's all about selecting the right metrics for your podcast strategy. So as you read this list, ask yourself why you're making a podcast and what you want to achieve. 

These are all great metrics to select as your key performance indicators, but yet again, they need to be tailored to your individual podcasting goals.

• Downloads - Do you want to reach the broadest, largest audience possible?

• Demographic data - Are you trying to reach a particular group? Can you see that audience growing?

• Consumption Rate - Arguably the most important stat as it measures depth of engagement. How much of each episode are the audience listening too? Are people not just coming but staying till the end?

• Social following - Do you have an engaged audience that are sharing?

• Mailing list - Similarly, have you a dedicated audience engaging with your content?

• Group members (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn) - Are you looking to have a conversation with your listeners or build a community? Groups are a great way to do that. 

• Press - Are you looking to raise your hosts’ profile? What coverage has your podcast achieved and has it put you in front of new audiences?

• Inbound leads - If you’re an agency, maybe you’re using your podcast to draw in leads. If you haven’t already, could you start tracking where leads, asking specifically about the podcast come from??

• Revenue - Are you looking to monetise your show? Is the revenue covering costs? 

• Engagement with sponsors - Are you driving a good amount of traffic to your sponsor? This might be important for keeping them onboard. 

• Engagement with a competition - Are you running giveaways or competitions? You should track social shares and entries.

• Website traffic - Is your podcast driving a large amount of traffic to your website?

Have we missed anything off this list? I’m sure we have! There are going to be even more specific things which will tell you if your podcast is working for you.

Send any suggestions this way, and we can continue to expand the list.

Want to learn more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your brand reach new audiences.

Want to create a podcast that exceeds your brand KPIs? Get in touch!

Working Remotely? Use Podcasts to Boost Employee Engagement

Unprecedented numbers of employees are now working remotely.

It’s a situation in which clear internal communication – always important – becomes critical. Podcasts offer a creative solution.

If you haven’t yet explored the possibilities of podcasts for your internal communications, now is the time to do so. This form of audio has distinctive features that help to facilitate certain forms of communication.

It’s a preferred means of communication for many younger workers. Plus, it’s a medium that is particularly well-suited to the needs of remote workers or for highly distributed organisations. Here’s the run down:

• The distinctive features of podcasts

• The types of internal communication that suit podcasts

• How podcasts facilitate remote working

“Podcasts are a proven and popular channel. They enable us to communicate in an effective and timely way, connect, share important updates and build a common purpose.

For us, they have brought our solutions to life, bringing clarity in the messaging in a succinct way and have summarised some key points. ”

— Mark Absolom, Head of Marketing, Cognizant

The distinctive features of podcasts

1. Connection-building: One of the greatest strengths of podcasts is that they build intimacy between speaker(s) and audience. That simple experience of hearing an individual human voice creates a sense for the audience that they ‘know’ the speaker. So, podcasts humanise your messages and – in so doing – help to build connections and community.

2. Flexibility: Podcasts are infinitely variable. They don’t have to conform to a particular length or format. That means you can use them to convey clear, top-line information or news or use them to explore an issue in depth. You can feature one speaker or many speakers. You can find a style that works for you – but you can also be creative and surprise your audience! Even recording can be done remotely. Our head of production, Sandra Ferrari, says “with new available technologies and some guidance from a professional, you can get quality sound at home.”  

3. User-friendly: When it comes to featuring guests, experts and speakers, many people find podcasts a less ‘scary’ option than video – for the simple reason that they don’t have to feel self-conscious about their appearance. That means it’s easier to find people to feature on podcasts, which boosts the value of the content. 

4. High engagement: The stats show that podcasts engage and retain their audiences. Plus, the technology allows you to track this, so you know which content keeps people listening.

5. Convenient: The other stand-out feature of podcasts is just how convenient they are. Once a podcast is published, your audience can access it at any time that works for them. They can listen while carrying out other tasks. They can take a screen break while engaging with your content. They can access them on the move. This means that podcasts can be digested in a way that just isn’t possible with other mediums.

The types of internal communications that suit podcasts

CEO / news updates: A short and sweet podcast giving key company/ industry updates. This keeps everyone in touch with the need-to-know information and helps them to feel connected and part of the business.

Explaining strategy/ corporate policies:

Podcasts are ideally suited to expressing complex messages about change or weighty company decisions. The issues can be laid out and explored in depth, with time to answer questions about why a decision was made; what the likely consequences will be and how it will affect colleagues.

Sharing colleague views:

In a longer podcast format, there’s plenty of opportunity to explore issues in-depth and to introduce a range of colleague voices. That can be done using recordists (when we’re not in lockdown!); via voice notes and memos or by utilising easy to use online recording platforms.

Sharing projects:

The podcast format allows you to think creatively and tell stories about your business and industry. Are there projects you want to celebrate? Work your colleagues would like to understand? Volunteering projects that colleagues take part in? Podcasts lend themselves to human interest tales and storytelling are around the great work being done in your organisation that may need more visibility.

On-boarding:

Either...  

• A stand-alone podcast - talking new employees through the culture and values of a company.

Or...

• Episodic content that talks through different aspects of a company and how each part fits into the greater whole.

Learning and development:

This is a form of evergreen content which can be embedded on your website or intranet to be share with employees around career miles stones or transitions. It could cover issues such as:

• Internal progression

• The value of lateral moves

• How mentoring works

• Up skilling

• Colleague career paths

• Colleague career tips

• Industry-relevant niche topics

How podcasts facilitate remote working

The accessibility of podcasts – and the intimacy of the format – bring people together and help them to feel as though they are part of something bigger: even when they are working at a distance from their colleagues. This is content that’s made for them; features them and offers them information that’s valuable and inclusive.

And that’s not all. Podcasts build relationships between different parts of your organisation. They bridge the gap between remote workers, between senior leadership and other teams, between teams that can otherwise feel siloed and out-of-touch and between colleagues who may work in different countries and time zones. They create a community around a shared listening experience.

And that’s not all. Podcasts take account of the needs of colleagues who work remotely: providing an information stream that fits into people’s days and is there to be accessed when needed. They offer the clarity of being only audio: so that people focus on what is being said, without the distraction of visual clutter.

And even that’s not all! Podcasts also allow you to explore a whole range of topics at a depth that is unappealing in other mediums, or to quickly parcel up important information and share it widely in a cost-effective way. It gives your workforce – even when working remotely - a unique content library that benefits them and your business.   

Want to know more? At Message Heard, we make podcasts that help your business to reach its employees, wherever they are. Find out what we can do for you. Email us at contact@messageheard.com.

Podcasts: An Alternative to Conferences?

In his latest post on Linked In, our founder Jake Warren explored six ways podcasts can be a compelling alternative to the conference.

He goes through what we want from a conference, and how podcasts can compare. Including:

1.  Drawing the crowds and accessing audiences who are not able to attend in person

2. Learning from experts: new knowledge and fresh perspectives

3. The opportunity to ask questions, refine knowledge and workshop learning

4.  Networking

5.  Marketing products and services

6.  Discovering new products and services

Have a read of the full article here, and let us know your thoughts.