How podcasts can help to boost your PR strategy – 5 top tips.

Why are podcasts so valuable?
There are over 2 million podcasts in the world, and more than 48 million podcasts episodes – and these figures increase daily (2021 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research From Apr 2021) (podcastinsights.com). And when there’s that much of something, chances are there’s a good reason. In this case, it’s pretty simple: people like podcasts!

More than 19 million Brits listen to podcasts (Podcast Statistics — Top Podcasts UK [2023] (cybercrew.uk) and 48% of those say they tune in specifically to learn new things. Still need convincing? Thought not.

Podcasts are a golden opportunity to share your stories and messaging directly with an audience.

How can a podcast work for your business?

You can make a podcast about absolutely anything you want. No matter how niche a market your business may be operating in, there’s an audience out there interested in a podcast all about it. In fact, we find that the more niche, the better! It’s much harder to make a dent in the market for a broad topic – because there are likely already hundreds and thousands of popular shows already established in that arena. But chances are your business is a market leader in a particular area, and once you start honing in on that, it becomes much easier to become a market leader in your podcast sector too!

The flexibility of the medium means that you can easily find a way to make a podcast work for you. Pressed for time? No worries! You might find short, snappy 10 minute episodes fit into your schedule with ease. Nervous about recording with a guest? That’s fine! Your subject matter might be perfectly suited to a solo show, where you can personally engage with your audience and share your expertise directly with them, without ever having to record with someone else.

Of course, if you can secure guests, that’s a great way for your business to network and meet new contacts. Needless to say, that could be a real boon for your company – and when your guests start inviting you to feature on their podcasts in return, you’ll start reaching a whole new audience, and introducing them to your business without having to do anything. It’s a no brainer.

 Our top 5 tips to launch a successful podcast:

1. Know your audience
   It’s imperative that you understand exactly who you’re aiming your podcast at, and make sure the type of content you’re producing is appropriate for that audience. It can be really helpful to build what we call an audience persona, to give you a very specific idea of the sort of person your podcast is targeting. For example, a podcast themed around logistics could build an audience persona of a 45 year old male who has worked in logistics for 20+ years, is married with children, spends a lot of time on the road, and is motivated by his career and learning more about his sector. Once you know who you’re producing your podcast for, it becomes much easier to craft your content, and directly engage with the people you want to reach.

2. Tell the stories only you can
   There’s an awful lot of podcasts out there – so how can you stand out? It’s surprisingly simple. Everyone is unique – so embrace that. Lean into the experiences and knowledge that only you have, and share it. You can take inspiration from other podcasts, but you’ll never be better at making someone else’s podcast than they are. At the same time, nobody can make your podcast better than you can. It’s much better to be the best podcast in a niche field than the 100^th best podcast in a broad one.

3. Use analytics to inform your moves
   There’s so much to say about analytics, we could do a whole blog on them alone. But in a nutshell, the analytics provided by your podcast hosting service will tell you a lot about what your listeners like and dislike about your show. For instance, if you notice a big dip in your listener retention figures, listen back through the episode in question and skip to the moment the drop off happens. Maybe there’s a technical glitch, or an editing mistake. Or maybe it’s just a particularly long and rambly part of a conversation. Whatever it is, it’s putting your viewers off – so make sure you don’t repeat it in future episodes. Don’t be scared of analytics: embrace them, and make them a big part of your strategy.

4. Incorporate as part of your wider marketing strategy
   The beauty of podcasting is in how wide-ranging and flexible a medium it is. Of course, primarily it’s a long form audio recording – we all know this. But you can repackage that content in so many different ways, and incorporate it across your digital marketing strategy. If you film your podcast, you suddenly have the ability to make and share video clips across social media platforms, and reach people who wouldn’t have discovered you otherwise with snippets of your most engaging moments. You can also create an SEO-rich website for your podcast, loaded with key terms and search queries, driving considerable traffic to your content that again would have been unlikely to find it any other way. You can then use the website to publish each episode as a written transcript – yet another way to repackage the same content and get further mileage from it. Podcasts really are the gift that keeps on giving, and if you plan smart, you can make them go really far.

5. Book the right guests
   Having guests on your podcast feels like a no-brainer. But it’s important to get the rights one – otherwise you’re potentially wasting everyone’s time. Your listeners won’t be interested in an episode featuring a guest outside of their comfort zone, and the guest won’t be keen to return or invest in any future cross-promotional exercises if they know there’s no market for them on your channels. The opposite is true if you get the right guests, however. Get someone with an existing audience, who is of interest to your listeners, and already you’re giving them something engaging to get stuck into.