Podcasts continue to replace or augment other content forms as a key way to do business, meet customers and engage with your audience. Estimated to hit a $40 (£29.4) billion global business this year, and with growth set to triple by 2030, if the age of reading content is over, podcasts are the new king.
However, competition is fierce, even among relatively niche markets. Whether you want to boost your own podcast, or find the ones that can deliver exposure to your products or services, creators need to undertake aggressive marketing and PR efforts to gain visibility and deliver revenue. And as with any digital metrics, teams should focus on value, not vanity.
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor
Sponsorship is the easiest way to gain revenue from your podcast, with many companies in related subject matters or markets looking for a simple way to boost their profile. They might pay directly or trade some products/services for exposure.
Going through their PR team to negotiate a package is a better option than taking directly what they might offer. PRs know how to handle the discussion and will have a strong idea of the messages they want to get across that can be written into a contract. They might also suggest marketing and content ideas that will benefit both parties.
One recent podcast example comes from Honeywell, a big name but just one among many as far as consumers are concerned. The company’s PR agency identified Steve Dennis as someone already having done much of the hard work in capturing an audience. They partnered with him for their podcast series to save building an audience from the ground up, and delivered instant success.
Whatever the PR value creation, results are income for the podcaster, growing authority and credibility for the sponsor, and the option to expand or share content with your podcaster and a growing audience of other potential partners.
Get PR To Push Your Podcasts at Events
PRs often shudder slightly when offered yet another interview at their event. But many trade shows, experience days and launch events have a cluster of podcast booths alive, without the need for heavy cameras, lighting gear and other deadweight.
These podcasts provide engaging chat and show-and-tells that provide a more engaging experience, with clips of the event, show floor, live keynotes and other elements to make it a grander production.
PRs can take this a step further, offering exclusive access on your podcast to business or market or thought leaders, celebrities and other luminaries. In return for a modest or high fee, they are likely to promote your efforts in return, and deliver some insights that can be used in social media posts to drive traffic to the podcast.
Podcasts With Good PR Do Better Than Good Podcasts With No PR
A good podcast might get some exposure when it launches and gentle growth for each episode. But that will typically tail off quickly without promotion. With a strong PR effort behind it, podcasts are buoyed by constant buzz, fresh posts and exposure, promotion and brand awareness up and down your pipeline will drive growth, attract high-profile guests and help develop the podcast strategy.
A podcast income calculator can help estimate your advertising income revenue, and highlight what types of advertising or PR might benefit it most. PRs are also used to diving into ROI optimisation, brand-building, and how to develop key metrics like audience specificity over size.
From B2B podcasts focused on leaders and buyers to B2C shows trying to attract the biggest possible audience, a good PR team can help define the best-fit audience, refine messages to appeal to them and suggest the most useful and valuable content types.
As podcasts continue to grow in value, getting PR oversight and involvement from the beginning, or as early as possible, for your podcast plans will save much wasted expense, time and depression when it fails to take off as you’d hoped.
And, unlike written content, fake or AI-created podcasts are immediately obvious and be rapidly ignored, with the audience keen for organic and genuine news and stories.
