In 2024 and beyond, digital marketing success is about more than snappy ads and search engine visibility. It’s about a brand’s ability to connect with a target audience on a deeper level. Podcasts offer digital-age marketers an ideal opportunity to do exactly that.
A podcast is so much more than just a great way to convey important brand messaging and promote key products or services. It’s also a way to inject personality into your ongoing brand, as well as to directly engage with audiences and keep them eagerly coming back for more.
But creating an incredible podcast in the first place is one thing. Efficiently promoting it and ensuring it gets noticed is another.
Here, we’ll dive into everything you need to know to create and promote the type of podcast your audience can’t help but love.
Understanding the Importance of Podcast Promotion
Today’s consumers simply expect more from the marketing content they consume. They don’t like feeling blatantly advertised; instead, they expect brands to deliver genuine, consistent value.
For those reasons, marketing content needs to be helpful, informative, engaging, and entertaining if it’s going to convert.
According to the 2024 State of Marketing Report, podcasts are an absolute must-have in today’s digital marketing landscape.
Ongoing, ultra-engaging podcasts are an effective way to tap into this trend and make it work for your brand.
Podcasts are easy to consume on the go, as modern consumers like to do.
They’re also capable of holding a person’s attention much longer than other content types, especially on an ongoing basis.
Why podcast promotion matters
Even the best 2024 podcast isn’t going to accumulate listeners all by itself. As with other forms of marketing content, you need to invest in podcasts and embrace proper podcast promotion. Here’s why:
- Active promotion helps attract a steady stream of new viewers while raising brand awareness.
- The right type of promotion can help foster consumer trust and encourage loyalty.
- Promotion helps keep your podcast top of mind for current and future listeners by reminding them to tune in and teasing especially entertaining episodes.
- A well-promoted podcast will be the most effective at driving traffic and raising conversion rates.
Creating High-Quality Podcast Content
Although quality is crucial when it comes to any kind of marketing content, it’s essential when it comes to something ongoing, like a podcast. As compared to blog posts, podcasts need to:
- Capture and hold a consumer’s extended attention
- Be compelling enough to encourage the person to look forward to future episodes
- Appeal to coveted younger millennial and Gen Z audiences
- Effectively personalize your brand
In other words, great serial content is always exceptional. It has to be to keep people tuning in and ultimately make them fall in love with the brand behind it.
Importance of high-quality content
Next-level quality is so important when it comes to podcasts, making it essential to meet that standard before you start to promote your podcast actively. Let’s dive into a few actionable tips for doing exactly that.
Be easy to relate to
One of the strongest potential benefits of opting for a podcast over any of the alternatives is the relatability factor. A relatable brand is a brand people connect with, trust, and are likely to turn to when they’re eventually in the market for its products or services.
You can incorporate the relatability phenomenon into your podcasts by sharing real experiences, chiming in on relevant industry trends in a personal way, referencing pop culture, etc. The more authentic you are, the better.
Establish a consistent release schedule
Consistency is essential regardless when it comes to marketing content, but it’s non-negotiable when you’re publishing a podcast. Audiences need to know when they can expect the next episode of your program.
Those who love what you’re doing will come to look forward to upcoming episodes and incorporate them into their ongoing routines. Staying reliable in this way also helps immensely with podcast SEO, as all search interfaces reward consistency.
Hire help if you need it
As fun and exciting as podcasts can be to produce, they can be intimidating for creators and marketers who’ve never explored them before. There’s also a lot that goes into a fantastic podcast, including stellar writing, flawless editing, and next-level video production.
Consider outsourcing aspects of your production to seasoned professionals who can bring your material to life and make your brand look good. It could make all the difference.
A Great Example of a High-Quality Branded Podcast
One of the best examples of branded podcasts in 2024 is Shopify Masters — The Shopify podcast.
Shopify’s podcast, “Shopify Masters,” has gained popularity for several reasons:
- Relevant Content: The podcast provides valuable insights and advice specifically tailored to Shopify store owners and entrepreneurs. Listeners can learn practical tips, strategies, and success stories directly applicable to their e-commerce businesses.
- Expert Interviews: The podcast features interviews with successful Shopify merchants, industry experts, and thought leaders. These firsthand accounts and expert opinions offer diverse perspectives and actionable advice, making the content highly valuable to listeners.
- Inspiration and Motivation: Shopify Masters shares stories of entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges and achieved success in the e-commerce space. These inspirational narratives resonate with aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, motivating them to pursue their own ventures despite obstacles.
- Educational Content: The podcast covers various topics relevant to e-commerce, such as marketing strategies, product development, branding, customer service, and more. Listeners can gain practical knowledge and skills to improve their own businesses.
- Consistency and Quality: Shopify consistently produces high-quality podcast episodes with valuable content and engaging storytelling. This reliability and quality have helped build a loyal listener base over time.
- Community Building: The podcast fosters a sense of community among Shopify merchants by providing a platform for them to share their experiences, connect with one another, and learn from each other’s successes and failures.
Overall, the combination of relevant content, expert insights, inspirational stories, educational value, consistency, and community engagement has contributed to the popularity of the Shopify Masters podcast among e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Leveraging WriterAccess for content creation
Knowing outsourcing is a solid solution to your podcast needs is one thing, but connecting with experienced professionals you can trust is something else.
Using a trusted platform like WriterAccess can help take the guesswork out of finding skilled professionals you can count on to come through for you.
All WriterAccess content creators are fully vetted before onboarding to guarantee the highest possible quality. Plus, on-site features and algorithms make it easy to find qualified, niche-specific writers, editors, and designers who can really make your podcast production sparkle.
Effective Podcast Promotion Strategies
Once you’ve got a potential success on your hands, it’s officially time to start the promotion process. Here are some expert tips for how to market a podcast, how to advertise on podcasts, and otherwise ensure your promotional efforts go smoothly.
Utilizing social media platforms
Social media marketing is a key part of promoting content, as built-in algorithms help place it in front of the right people. Just be sure to choose the right platforms in the first place (e.g., LinkedIn for B2B content or TikTok for Gen Z trendsetters).
Use relevant hashtags to boost visibility, and add visual interest to posts with teaser images, direct quotes, etc. Be sure to engage with followers who engage with you, as well.
Leveraging email marketing
As of January 2022, the vast majority of digital-age Americans use email – up to 92 percent. Most people are also in the habit of checking their email multiple times a day, some as many as 20. This is exactly why email marketing remains an effective way to promote just about anything, including podcasts.
If you don’t already have a robust email list, work on building one, and use it to promote your podcast to audiences who would be interested. Consider leveraging tactics like scannable QR codes, exclusive invitations, and incentives to encourage people to check them out.
Collaborating with influencers and guests
Podcasts offer incredible opportunities to leverage other creators’ ready-made audiences by hosting them as guests. Choose top influencers and experts from niches and industries that overlap significantly with yours. Ideally, they’ll have large, highly engaged audiences of their own.
Put together compelling collaboration proposals and be open to different possibilities, like joint promotional campaigns or co-hosted episodes. The more important the guest, the more crucial it is to make that episode top-notch. Invest in quality content and beautiful video production to ensure optimal results.
How to Promote a Podcast Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you still have questions about how to promote a podcast or how to meet your audience’s expectations? Check out the following FAQs for more valuable information.
How do I get my podcast noticed?
Modern audiences have a lot of content vying for their attention, so getting a new podcast noticed can be challenging. Give yours a fighting chance by opting for video podcasts over audio, leveraging social media wisely to build your audience, and submitting your podcast to top podcast aggregators.
How do I get 1,000 listeners for my podcast?
Knowing your audience well and giving them what they want is the best way to steadily grow an audience. But you can speed up the process and hit that first 1,000-follower benchmark sooner by incentivizing people to tune in. Try running giveaways, hosting high-profile guests, and collaborating with other podcast producers.
How do I make my podcast go viral?
Achieving “virality” is a tricky business for which there’s no guaranteed formula. However, you can raise the viral potential of your episodes by focusing on quality to the greatest extent possible. Cover hot topics your audience cares about, cater to audience expectations, host exciting guests, and be as engaging as possible.
What is the best platform to promote a podcast?
That depends entirely on the topic and target audience for your podcast. Consider the members of your target audience, and actively meet them where they live. Are they driven professionals? Head to LinkedIn. Are you looking to connect with multiple demographics at once? Try a platform with a diverse audience, like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.
Don’t be afraid to invest in paid social media ads to help give your promotional efforts a little push.
How do podcasts gain popularity?
Popular podcasts most often gain popularity and attract large audiences by prioritizing superior quality, relevance, timeliness, and consistency.
In other words, focus on putting high-quality content out there and being consistent when it comes to production and promotion. Cream tends to rise to the top, so it’s only a matter of time before people catch wind of what you’re doing and take notice.
Ultimately, while there are many ways to connect with an audience in 2024 and beyond, there are special reasons why you don’t want to sleep on podcasts. They’re among the most addictive, accessible ways to make your brand part of people’s lives and raise the chances of turning them into customers one day.
However, you can’t have a successful podcast without exceptional-quality content. Take the guesswork out of meeting today’s high standards when you sign up for a free 14-day WriterAccess trial today. Instantly connect with talented creators who have what it takes to turn your podcast into the talk of the web!
