Podcasts have become a popular way for small businesses to reach new customers, build their brand and generate revenue. Podcasting is a great way to build relationships with potential customers, which can lead to increased sales and revenue.
But this isn’t just true for large corporations who have the money to invest in expensive advertising campaigns—podcasting is also an effective tool for small businesses that want to connect with their target audience.
There is an audience out there particularly interested in what your industry may be invested in and how small businesses are growing and communicating more than ever.
The opportunity to join more than half of the U.S. population who have listened to podcasts is there and far more accessible to the average person than ever before.
Have you considered stepping outside the car ride home of podcast listening and diving into the world of podcasting yourself?
Here are some ways podcasting can help your business:
Podcasting is a connection opportunity.
Podcasting is a great way to connect with other people and businesses in your industry. This may have been the first thought you had and connecting with your industry outside your local climate is important.
There are thousands upon thousands of small businesses who either have nothing thought of podcasting or do not understand how they could possibly reach an audience themselves.
You can connect with potential customers, partners, investors, business associates, and employees. There is absolutely the time and effort factor that goes into trying your hand at podcasting.
You also must keep in mind that this is an endeavor to enjoy and watch grow as an extension of your business and you get to decide how much time and effort to invest.
Plus you can list your podcast on all the free podcast listening sites – which is great exposiure. Examples of these sites are Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Overcast, Amazon Music, Castro, I Heart Radio, and Stitcher.
Grow and Thrive
Connecting is important for any business that wants to grow and thrive. Once a decision is made to give podcasting a try, there are a few factors concerning how to communicate.
Ask yourself who you may know who has tried their hand at podcasting or reach out to podcasters who may offer their thoughts on getting started, particularly in industries you are interested in.
The more people you know in the industry or the more relationships you have with others who share common interests or goals then the better chance you have at success.
Podcasting allows you to get some press about yourself out there into the world by talking about what makes your company unique as well as how it can help others.
This may seem like an obvious statement but surprisingly it is not. There are thousands of podcasts being prepared to start or starting each and every week in the United States alone.
According to Buzzsprout, in 2022, over 62% of the U.S. population have listened to a podcast, 73% of the population have listened to a podcast in the last month, and over a third (103 million) listen to podcasts regularly.
With those statistics, your interests and offering for your business have an audience waiting and only the effort is stopping you from getting out there and meeting that potential audience.
Once you do, this will not only build trust but also show potential customers why they should work with or buy from your company instead of anyone else’s.
2.Creating a podcast can give you better access to your audience.
When you’re a small business, there are many things to consider when trying to connect with an audience. You may want to reach as broad of an audience as possible, or you may want to target a specific demographic.
Maybe your product or service is more popular among women between the ages of 25-35 who live in Los Angeles…or maybe it’s people over the age of 50 who are part of the demographic of your particular industry in Tennessee.
We can’t know what your ideal listener looks like until we hear from them!
Podcasting is a great tool for connecting with potential customers and clients because not only does it give us access to an audience interested in our product or service (and our industry).
But also allows us to talk about topics that matter most—and that’s important no matter if you’re in the world of technology or selling dog treats.
Humanize Your Brand
Your audience humanizes your brand. Your audience which you may already be aware of in your business is also going to be able to learn more, share, and engage more with you as a brand through one of the most basic forms of communication which are listening.
They too are on those long car rides home or in the office during lunch or at the computer in the evening listening to you on your very own podcast.
Understanding the demographic, asking questions on social media, connecting with other podcasters, and simply doing what you want to do and listening to yourself are key to getting started and gaining access to that audience.
Podcasting has become a way for more than entertainment and news. Anyone can podcast from anywhere with a few basic tools and the right amount of time and effort and of course, knowing who your audience is and what you wish to offer them.
What makes your podcast stand out and how can you connect to your audience and still have fun while learning the podcasting game?
3. Being being a podcast host can create invaluable media relations experience you can use in the future.
You may not have noticed, but you’re in the midst of a new kind of marketing and yes, it is podcasting and yes, it is growing larger and more interesting every day.
And it’s an invaluable way to build your brand, connect with customers to grow sales, and encourage relations with the public.
Connectivity through podcasting has become as normal as how a greater number of the population communicate through social media. However, social media is exhausting!
In some ways, it is similar in how we must first take a step out there into public view or at the very least reach out to others within the podcasting community.
Whether you’re selling products or services or promoting yourself as an expert, you have something interesting enough that people want to hear what you have to say.
If you find it interesting, there are more out there wanting to talk to you about it or listen to the conversation.
As people, we always look to establish a tribe, to seek community with like-minded people. Media relations experience is an important part of growing your business.
Your business includes building community and integrating podcasting into business not only allows you to practice communicating with the public through multiple channels at once; it also helps teach you how important it is for brands and individuals alike to share their messages.
It is important to be consistent across every medium in which they’re presented: from social networks like Facebook or Twitter all the way down through traditional print outlets like magazines or newspapers.
This includes consistency in the message through podcasting.
4. Podcasting is a free and valuable learning opportunity.
Simply put, podcasts are a great way to learn.
They’re mostly free and they’re easy to listen to, which means if you don’t have time to read a book but want to learn something new, podcasts are perfect.
You and your potential audience can stay up-to-date on your industry or learn about the problems or innovations within a particular industry.
If you’re an entrepreneur, podcasts will help teach you how other companies do things and give you ideas for how you can improve in the future.
They’ll also give insight into the challenges that other businesses face so that when they come up in yours, they won’t be as much of a surprise.
You can also use podcasts as a way to learn more about yourself and what it takes for your business or career goals to not just succeed but thrive as well–even if those goals seem impossible now!
There was a time when you may have just started your business and perhaps you were like many of us who had to learn through trial by fire.
Many of us knew we would always be learning and as we grow, we would need to learn more to excel in our industry and be an example to those coming up and wish to learn from our experience.
Podcasting is an opportunity to do this. Our efforts have a voice and the audience is listening.
5. Podcasting connections your business to potential customers.
When we speak of our potential audience, we must not forget they are our potential customers and clients. You can build trust, relationships, and community by connecting through shared experiences.
For example, if you have an interest in real estate or business development and want to find like-minded people to talk with, podcasts are the perfect medium for that. Many investors will host their own podcasts where they interview people who are doing things similar to them.
How you have succeeded or how you are on the road to success is a shared experience that others can relate to and learn from.
Alternatively, if you want to learn more about a particular subject but don’t know where to start looking for information – podcasts can help! This is coming from the place of both podcast host and also podcast guest.
Listeners might talk about their experience on different podcasts so listeners know what types of questions they should be asking when starting out with something new in order for it not to be too overwhelming (this is one reason why I started my own podcast).
Years of experience were involved but also I understood the value of being a guest to other podcasters. It’s like a referral system within an industry. One guest can become a referral, a colleague, or a client.
6. Podcasting can create an opportunity to generate publicity for your business.
Podcasting offers you the opportunity to get your name out there and create a brand for your business. This does not mean for an established known brand or a new entrepreneurial launch only.
Part of this opportunity is to connect and build trust and credibility, which will help you gain exposure for your business. It’s also a great way to promote what is happening in your industry, in particular your business and business model.
Here is where the aforementioned question of asking yourself “what makes you stand out?” Those things that inspired you, helped you grow, and methods of change or impact within your industry can in turn help others in this way.
There is access to many opportunities that might not be available otherwise because you’re able to connect with people and audiences who are interested in your product or service.
The audience may simply like you.
Keep that in mind in how you wish to carry your message or story into the world.
It is a business publicity opportunity and the opportunity to be seen in the way you see yourself and how you wish your business to be seen and discovered by a greater audience than you could do otherwise.
Podcasts are an amazing tool for connecting people who want to hear what you have to say. If someone likes what they hear on your podcast, they’ll stick around for more episodes or even subscribe so that they get updated when there are new ones posted.
If you’re already passionate about your podcasting decision, then never forget that there is someone out there just like you who is just as passionate and ready to listen or take part in the conversation you have created. It’s a brick-by-brick, step-by-step effort but it is your effort.
Your vision and voice created your business. That business spoke to others who became customers and clients.
The act of podcasting is no different.
Your voice and vision carry over on this platform of communication and does not necessarily mean it is quicker than other media platforms but it is one that can hold your true voice unlike advertising or social media.
Podcasting Statistics
- According to Hubspot, in 2022, 82% of marketers plan to continue investing the same amount or increase their investment in podcasts or other audio content.
- According to Edison Research, 54% of podcast consumers say that they are more likely to consider the brands they hear advertised on podcasts.
- Podcast Insights states that 49% of podcast listeners tune in from home, 22% listen in the car.
- In 2021, dynamic ad insertion accounted for 84% of podcast advertising revenue. 40% of podcast ads were host-read. (IAB Podcast Ad Revenue Report)
- 38% of marketers working for retail companies say podcast advertising is the media channel with the biggest ROI. (HubSpot)
- Podcast advertising revenue is expected to pass $2 billion in 2022. (IAB Podcast Ad Revenue Report)
Podcasting. is free, give it a try!
Podcasting is a free, accessible way to connect with potential customers. You can use podcasts in your business to build relationships, learn about marketing and PR, get feedback on current or future products and services—and even generate publicity for your company!
The key is knowing what kind of podcast you want to make (and why).
I greatly encourage anyone to be a podcaster or podcast guest, especially a business owner. For all the examples and reasons mentioned, there is strong data on how blogging and podcasting affect SEO and helps with Link Building.
Whether ranking and being seen on search engines or podcast platforms is important or not, the end result remains the same; podcasting is a strong and impactful media plan. It should be considered for PR efforts and considered by the fact that podcasts are the evolution of digital media.
Our marketing efforts as business owners go beyond social media and advertising, and so does the way we represent and communicate with our audience on all platforms.
Podcasting is a strategy and podcasting is a way to rethink how we communicate the tools in digital media and how we can better serve our customer/client base and the audiences within our industries.
