Are you a business owner tempted to start your tech podcast, but unsure where to begin? The podcast trend has been growing for some years now – from Amazon to Spotify, Apple and iTunes – if it plays music and radio then it almost certainly allows podcast recordings too – and that presents a great opportunity to get valuable content from your business out there on a wider scale.
The pandemic has only spurred the podcast trend further, with target audiences and consumers seeking new ways of filling their time (which don’t involve Netflix), and businesses across most industries expanding their touch points and using podcasts as another way of generating more interest in what they offer for consumers.
In December, we released our third annual research report, which calls attention to the shift in media consumption that COVID-19 has caused. Here, 31% of the UK based IT decision makers that we asked have consumed more podcasts since the pandemic, whilst the same focus group told us that podcasts will be a source that they will use to access content in five years’ time.
Our accompanying blog on the report highlights further just how quickly changes to your media consumption have occurred in the face of events from the last year.
This blog dives into some of the ways in which you can optimise the way you use tech podcasts, ensuring you keep some level of content structure, and get your podcasts out to the right audience.
Consider your podcast strategy
Strategy is about knowing what to share and when to share it. Podcasts offer an opportunity to not only share valuable content, but to put thought into who would be best placed to discuss it – and that’s where our next point on connections comes into play. But first, back to the strategy. One of the key questions you need to ask is whether you are looking to create your own podcast or be a guest on someone else’s. One of our recommendations from within the tech industry ourselves, would be to recognise the value in appearing on an established podcast with an existing audience first, and gradually building up to creating your own tech podcast with your own audience over time.
Make Connections
We touched on people in our last point – and this is where connections and working relationships come into play. After all, how many times have you listened to a podcast, not to hear the host or because you value the podcast brand, but because you’re interested in a guest they have invited to talk on their show? The tech industry is renowned for housing a variety of high level experts who all know what they’re talking about – and who, crucially, all have different ways of expressing themselves – and that’s something that you can tap into as a business looking to lift your podcast off the ground. It all comes back to who you can approach, what value they can impart on your audience, and how you plan on using their expertise to boost your own industry presence. The more value you can present to listeners through your podcast, the higher the chance that they will keep coming back for more.
Spend time listening to and researching other successful podcasts in your industry, finding out who they talk to and what kind of topics are covered. Find industry names with differing opinions or unconventional ways of dealing with industry challenges and use them to create something unique.
Don’t drop your SEO strategy
Just because you’re not writing or typing your podcast out, doesn’t mean it isn’t important to consider SEO and organic traffic. One of the best things you can do to help boost the SEO value of your podcast on your website is post a blurb or brief introduction above your podcast, outlining the content structure and introducing the listener to some of the discussions which take place within your podcast. What this does is present you with a great opportunity to boost organic traffic to your website, just as you might with a blog. This allows your podcast to reach more of the right people, in the right way.
Market your podcast like you would any other piece of content
Don’t assume that your target audience will find your podcast without help – just as you would market any other piece of content, getting your podcast out there on social media in various formats is key to ensuring it is found by those consumers who you want to reach. Share links and reference your podcast in any blogs you put out there; create sound bites for your social media channels; use Instagram and other visual social platforms to share behind-the-scenes photos from the recording of your podcast, and tag as many industry experts and guests as you can.
Another recommendation is to always include subtitles on your podcast, as this further extends the likelihood that a consumer will listen to your podcast even if they are unable to turn up the sound on their phone. It also makes your podcast more accessible to those with hearing disabilities or sight disabilities – broadening the ways in which you communicate with your audience.
Be Consistent
This is where we circle back to our first point – the importance of structure and strategy, and ensuring that if you decide to go it alone and create your own tech podcast, you keep your plan watertight and consistent in delivery and theming. If you promise consumers a new recording every Thursday afternoon, make sure you stick to that publication time – or you will earn a reputation for all the wrong reasons.
The appetite for podcasts is evidently growing in the tech sector. As the world continues to adapt, more of your competitors will be vying to get your audience’s attention on their business and their brand, so it’s important for you to harness the power of this technology and the opportunities that it brings.
Podcasts have the power to give a voice to your business and reinstate your mission, with connections made between your company and industry experts serving as enhanced marketing for your target audience and consumer. The more you can present yourself as an expert in your industry, the more likely you are to entice the audience who you want to draw in.
There is no doubt that podcasts are a valuable PR tool already, and should be factored into any successful tech business strategy – where you have something to say. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you generate more business through the use of podcasts, get in touch with the team or visit our website: Welcome To Origin Comms – Cybersecurity & Tech PR Agency.