Finding the Right Podcast Marketing Strategy

With so many podcast marketing strategies to choose from, there’s a process to figure out exactly which tactics will work for your show with the goal of growing your brand and business. Lately, I’ve been diving into our marketing strategy for our podcast More than a Few Words, hosted by Lorraine Ball.

Over the years Roundpeg has established authority in the small business community, interviewing small business owners and advisors from all around the country. Now totaling over 500 episodes on the “More than a Few Words” podcast, you’d think it would be a breeze getting all this valuable content to podcast listeners all over, but it is no walk in the park. 

Strategies that worked 5 years ago may not prove to work in 2020. A method that sky-rocketed other small business podcasters may not give you that same boost or results. That’s why our team has been going back to the drawing board and discussing new creative ways that can gain more responses allowing us to spread the knowledge.

While it is important to always try new avenues of marketing, remember that results don’t happen overnight and your efforts must be constant. According to a report from Podcast Insights, there are more than one million active podcasts and counting. But numbers dwindle down when you look for more specific niche companies in smaller areas. There will always be a challenge to continue the steady increase of downloads from month to month and the strategies mentioned, current and future, can help your show grow as well.

Current Marketing Strategies

• Eye-catching Social Shares – Creating features for our individual episodes allows us to consistently show off our branding in a creative way. We get to feature our guest with a relevant tagline from the show. This can stand out and increase that chance of a click-through post.
• Available on Multiple Platforms – MTFW is available on several platforms including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Overcast, Podbean, and many more. Knowing that we are listened to from different outlets lets us know that even the unpopular podcast channels give access to people all over the world, extending our reach in as many ways as possible.
• Actively Promote Past Episodes – With a content list of over 500 episodes, we have a great opportunity to bring older episodes back to the surface. MTFW is a great platform that creates timeless content that always deserves a reshare.
• Becoming a Guest – As the host of MTFW, Lorraine Ball actively searches for opportunities to be a guest on podcasts that can introduce the content of Roundpeg and also allows for more engaging interviews with a slightly different audience.
• Promote Listeners to Share & Leave a Review – At the end of every MTFW episode, the listener is always asked the question. “If you liked today’s episode, write a review and share it with a friend.” Enabling a guest to take further action after listening to an episode leads to more traffic and a wider reach with every share and review.

Future Marketing Strategies for 2020 and beyond

• Network with Your Community & Other Podcasters – One of the best ways I see other people promoting their podcasts is by joining communities of other podcasters. It’s a good idea to fully invest in the community to keep track of trends and other information. Networking is a skill that when fully utilized, can be a great resource.
• Publish Content at Peak Times – People are more active during certain times of the day. By digging through our podcast analytics, I will see when people listen to our episodes and look for certain trends of our audience.
• Paid Advertising – There are many great ways to connect with our target audience using paid ads. One major thing we consider is if it is actually worth it to spend time and effort in the area with little results.
• Influencer Marketing – Influential people have the capability of exposing a podcast to new audiences. We  look for someone that has a similar audience so that both sides will benefit from the relationship. Having influential marketers would be a great way to spread the word of the podcast in the community and build credibility.
• More Giveaways on Social Media – Giveaways are a great way to pique the interest of our audience. The key to our audience is to potentially giveaway something that increases our growth as a business. Although gift cards are fun, it is best to have a giveaway that keeps our audience interested in our brand such as a free redesign or SEO cleanup.
• Cross Promotion with Influential Podcasts – Although it can be difficult to establish relationships with podcasts like ours, it could be a benefit to both sides because small business shows often have the same audience.

Conclusion

There are many actions to take when trying to figure out the right podcast marketing strategy for your business. Learning how to promote a podcast is a trial and error process and requires testing to see what yields the best results for your show. Not only does it involve creativity, but it also takes a diligent effort to consistently track and create new goals.

Always keep your eyes open for new ways that an audience can discover your content. Podcast marketing may not be easy but it is worth it.