Including a Podcast as part of your overall marketing strategy can be beneficial in building brand loyalty, credibility, and customers.
A Podcast linked to your business can build trust, turn ‘uncertain’ prospects into ‘engaged loyal customers’, and put your expertise out there to be discovered in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, and many more high-leverage places. Not only that, but your ideas also become shareable forever, which means that once you produce episodes, they can drive new listens and prospects forever.
At last check, there were over 2 million different Podcasts available, with that number growing daily. As of April 2021, those Podcasts had produced 48 million episodes. While your company may not be trying to take on the world with its podcast, you still need to understand your potential audience to have any chance of success, even with those on your mailing list.
Do Your Homework
At face value creating a Podcast may seem a relatively inexpensive exercise. Grab the person with the best voice in the office, write about relevant topics linked to your business, source a bunch of guests and you’re away!
The reality can be very different. The hours to prepare and maintain a quality Podcast is often underestimated – substantially. And then there’s that other issue, who will listen? Just because you created it, doesn’t mean they will come.
Some companies have invested a substantial amount of money and resources in creating a Podcast, only to see it flounder and then decide it wasn’t such a great idea after all.
To avoid what could become an ROI disaster, for a fraction of what the real cost of producing an on-going Podcast series would be, it makes sense to do your homework.
The Goals:
- To help prove whether your targeted audience will be receptive to the show you want to create, and its potential for success.
- Test the second-by-second appeal of your Podcast Pilot.
- Determine the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of content and hosts.
- Identify where your Podcast will be positioned in comparison to others that are similar.
- To ultimately determine if your decision to commit the time, resources, and money to a Podcast is worth it.
Why Use Xtra Insights?
Objectivity is often compromised when you take a do-it-yourself approach and make decisions about something you are emotionally invested in. That’s where an independent audience expert can provide critical, uncompromised information before your take that leap.
Xtra Insights has extensive experience and success in testing audio content. For over 15 years we’ve worked with some of the biggest radio networks in the world, who are now amongst the leaders in producing and hosting Podcasts.
In relative terms, it’s a small investment to determine the potential of your Podcast, and a fraction of the real cost should your Podcast investment fail. Results can be turned around quickly, in some cases in a matter of a few days.
Whether your audience tells you they can’t wait for your show or they’d rather pass, it will be exactly what you need to know before you invest time, money, and energy in setting up a new Podcast.
