How to Think Outside the Box with your Brand’s Podcast Marketing Strategy
At StudioPod, podcasting is what we do. Since our formation as a business, we have worked with brands to incorporate podcasting into their overall marketing and media development strategy. We've helped a wide range of businesses implement podcasting in their brand growth routines - companies looking to reach their customers in a new way, entrepreneurs seeking to evangelize their product outside of online advertising streams, and even doctors connecting with an audience through insightful conversations. Our hope and belief is that brands will continue to find podcasts to be a viable way to reach customers and connect with loyal audiences.
But podcasting is still a pretty new medium for brands to implement, and the playbook is still being written as to how to master the format. And given that podcasting is our area of expertise, we feel comfortable saying that starting a podcast is not a winning strategy for each and every brand out there. It could be a valuable tool for every company, but it’s not always the right move right away. And that leads us to our co-founder TJ Bonaventura’s conversation with Jakub Zajicek of Speak On Podcasts.
Jakub’s company, Speak On Podcasts, books speakers as guests on relevant podcasts. Jakub and his team don’t necessarily help clients run podcasts from scratch, but they do work with podcasts as a crucial part of brand awareness and growth. So when is the right time for companies to consider guesting on podcasts, and what other lessons can be gleaned from Jakub’s work in the industry?
Guesting on podcasts - when and why
Jakub’s story of founding Speak On Podcasts is a common one in the world of entrepreneurship: he started with one idea and then pivoted to another. At first, Jakub thought he wanted to start a company to help coaches and entrepreneurs create their own podcasts. But after having many conversations with his target audience he heard a common refrain. “[Your idea] sounds good, but it sounds like a lot of work. Can you just help me get booked on other people’s podcasts instead?” was what Jakub would commonly hear. Hence, the idea for Speak On Podcasts was hatched.
So, when and why should people start to consider guesting on other podcasts?
1) When individuals or brands want to test out the audio format, without starting a full podcast
Starting a podcast can be a powerful tool for growing a brand, but it is a major commitment. “Starting a podcast isn’t always the right move,” says TJ. That said, appearing as a guest on other podcasts is both a much lower up-front commitment and a good way to test whether audio appearances can make an impact. “If you know that you should have a podcasting strategy, but you know you are not ready to launch a podcast just yet, or you don’t have a budget to sponsor podcasts in your space, then I think appearing on podcasts as a guest is a really good alternative,” says Jakub.
2) To generate more content they can distribute at scale
We are a big fan of repurposing audio content for video at StudioPod. Jakub agrees. By appearing on podcasts, individuals can gain access to a large trove of video content that can be chopped up and turned into shorter form content for distribution across LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks. This can be a powerful distribution tool for brands.
3) To increase brand awareness and drive demand
Brands know that their customers are listening to podcasts, and so appearing in this format gives them a chance to connect with their audiences in a new way. “[Brands] know that if they show up on podcasts and deliver value to thousands of listeners at scale, it will move the needle for their brand in the right direction,” says Jakub.
Brands and podcast personas
When companies begin to think through their process for starting a podcast, or for scheduling people to appear on other shows, they may get hung up on which job roles from their organization should represent the brand. Jakub thinks that, at least at the onset, this is the wrong way of thinking about things. “I think the bottom line is that the speaker should really know the challenges of the target audience that they want to reach,” Jakub says. His point is that brands should analyze the audience closely, understand what questions, pain points, or challenges they might face, and then choose a person within the organization who can speak to those issues. Whether that person is the founder, CEO, CMO, or simply someone who can evangelize a company’s mission or product well, it’s not worth overthinking the persona speaking - it’s more crucial to have a person speak well to the audience.
Where organizations falter with podcasting
Podcasting has steadily become a major brand-building initiative for companies, but organizations do encounter speed bumps along the way of implementing the media format into their growth plans. The book is still being written as to how to successfully incorporate podcasting, but TJ and Jakub think they can see warning signs as to how some orgs struggle with it. “I think it’s about having wrong expectations about a timeframe,” Jakub says. “I think that [a successful podcast] initiative needs to be driven by someone with the right mindset.”
TJ agrees wholeheartedly with this stance, and embracing the long-term view is something that the team at StudioPod preaches from the start with all of our member organizations. “It doesn’t surprise us that the ones that are seeing the most success are the ones that see this as a one to two year initiative that is going to drive a lot of value,” TJ adds to Jakub’s point.
Brand building through the podcast medium
We were so lucky to have Jakub on with TJ to discuss all things podcasts and B2B marketing strategy. After our conversation, we are more confident than ever that podcasting, whether with an original series or with a targeted guesting plan, will continue to drive value for brand marketing initiatives.
Our Content Frequencies series dives into all things B2B marketing, podcasting, and brand development. Follow StudioPod on LinkedIn to check out more clips from this series and to learn how to take your brand to the next level.
