Podcasts聽can be a key part of a business鈥檚 marketing strategy but there are a few key things to consider before jumping on the bandwagon, says entrepreneur Traci Long DeForge.
With a background in broadcasting and business consulting, DeForge started her production business Produce your Podcast after realising the potential of the medium in 2015.
Working with everyone from early stage start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, including Google and British Airways, US-based DeForge also hosts her own podcast, Journey to There.
She believes podcasts can be incredibly effective if set up in the right way but there are a few things that must be established beforehand.
鈥溊暇牌凡鑕s want to be sure the content they鈥檙e creating is an extension of their expertise or around regarding education or entertainment, because podcasts aren鈥檛 effective as a sales platform,鈥� she told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淭here鈥檚 also a lot of subjectivity in terms of cost effectiveness versus investment in a business鈥檚 鈥榓udio brand鈥�.
鈥淧eople invest so much in their visual brand with logos and product packaging but then will go and launch a podcast recorded on their phone. There鈥檚 nothing wrong with that but it doesn鈥檛 allow a level of professionalism and quality, and doesn鈥檛 create an audio brand that鈥檚 congruent with the visual brand.鈥�
Where people tend to fall down is cutting corners with podcast budget, when they should actually invest in it like they would any other marketing initiative, says DeForge.
鈥淵ou want to allocate for quality production and equipment,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven if you do it yourself you want to invest in a microphone.鈥�
The other key thing for busy entrepreneurs, employees or individuals wanting to start a podcast is to factor in what鈥檚 practical for their lifestyle.
鈥淭he key to the longevity and sustainability of a podcast is consistency,鈥� said DeForge.
鈥淵ou want to come out of the box with a plan that not only has great engaging content and good quality production, it鈥檚 something you can keep up with 鈥� whether that鈥檚 once a month, once a week or daily, make sure it can work into your lifestyle.鈥�
However, while podcasts can be useful not every business will need one, and should approach it in the same way as they would social media, says DeForge.
鈥淧odcasts are like when everyone thought they needed Facebook and Twitter,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭hen ultimately many accounts faded because companies didn鈥檛 energetically learn or understand them.鈥�
When done right though, podcasting is powerful marketing strategy which can reach millennials and audiences turning away from radio on the go.
鈥淧odcasting is a really great platform to elevate users to the position of an expert in their space, especially if you鈥檙e in the process of either writing, or have written, a book because it allows you to grow your audience,鈥� said DeForge.
鈥淵ou can have it in complement with your social media and email marketing to really gain a strong following for when the book is released, and it鈥檚 also helpful in creating content.
鈥淭he reason I started my podcast is because I wanted to write a book and prefer audio, so I decided to take the episodes and transcribe them for book content.鈥�